Vol 2 no 1
J. McKim Malville and R. N. Swaminathan
‘People, Planets and the Sun: Surya Puja in Tamil Nadu, South India’
pp. 3-15.
Abstract This paper analyzes architectural alignments and reports the results of interviews with priests and lay persons at those temples in the Tanjore district of Tamil Nadu in which sunlight of the rising or setting sun enters the sanctum, primarily near equinox. The event, known as Surya puja, occurs most frequently in Shaivite temples and is most often understood to be a case of the sun worshipping Lord Shiva. At some temples it is believed the sun suffers from leprosy, which may be associated with an outbreak of sunspots in the late 11thcentury. Many of today's Surya puja rituals have strong astrological dimensions, which have probably grown in intensity since the temples were built.
Carlos Trenary
‘Yaxchilan Lintel 25 as a Cometary Record’
pp. 16-23.
No abstract available
Graziella Federici Vescovini
‘Biagio Pelacani’s Astrological History for the Year 1405’
pp. 24-32
Abstract. The years between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance were troubled by political conflicts and plots generated by an unbridled ambition for power. In those dark ages the figure of the astrologer stands out as a firm reference point in the shrewd and often merciless political game. Biagio Pelacani of Parma perfectly embodies this character of learned adviser. The actions of the powerful men of the time depended on his predictions.
Frank McGillion
‘The Influence of Wilhelm Fliess’ Cosmobiology on Sigmund Freud’
pp. 33-48.
Abstract. Sigmund Freud’s psychology was influenced both by traditional Jewish mysticism and the cosmobiological theories developed by Wilhelm Fliess (1858-1928). Fliess argued that biological processes were partially regulated by 23-day and 28-day cycles, time of conception and birth, the solar year and the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. We can term these theories cosmobiological. Freud adopted these ideas although he was apparently hostile to the ‘occult’. He investigated traditional astrology, represented by the casting of horoscopes, but concluded that its efficacy was due to telepathy.
Nicholas Campion
‘Sigmund Freud’s Investigation of Astrology’
pp. 49-53.
Abstract. Following the First World War there was an increase in the use of psychics and clairvoyants as the bereaved attempted to contact their dead relations. Sigmund Freud saw this as a dangerous development and in 1921 set out to study it. As part of this he considered the visit of one of his patients to an astrologer, placing the incident in its historical context, looking at the causes and possible consequences of the occult boom. |