It is enough to state that Astrology existed for many centuries prior to the Christian era, about which time it appears to have been taught chiefly by tradition, being handed down from father to by word of mouth. There is no good evidence of any perfect system of Astrology having been reduced to written rules, depending on mathematical principles, before the first century; though Sir Isaac Newton admits, that it was in existence nearly 900 years before that period. About 133 A.D. the celebrated astronomer, geographer, and astrologer, Claudius Ptolemy, compiled his notable work entitled 'The Tetrabiblos, or Quadripartite, being Four Books of the Influence of the Stars.' In this work he seems to have collected all that appeared of importance to him which was then known of the science; but as Ptolemy did not devote the whole of his time to this study, we may fairly suppose that some of the less important rules had not been tested by him personally, but were merely adopted as the current opinions of the day. The science of Astrology consists of four branches which are essentially different from each other: Nativities, or the art of foreseeing, from the figure of the heavens at the moment of birth, the future fate and character of individuals; Mundane Astrology, or the art of foreseeing, by the positions of the heavenly bodies at certain periods, the circumstances of nations, such as wars, pestilences, inundations, earthquakes etc. Atmospherical Astrology, or the art of foreseeing, by the positions of the planets at the periods of the Sun and Moon being in mutual aspect, and some other circumstances, the quality of the weather at any required time or place and Horary Astrology, or the art of foreseeing, by the positions of the heavens, at any period when an individual may be anxious about the matter, the result of any business or circumstance whatever. The Grammar of Astrology is intended to teach the principles of the science of nativities and to divest them of the trash which ignorant men have introduced, so that persons of an ordinary capacity and a common share of industry may examine and decide for themselves whether there is any truth in astrology or not.
William Lilly was born in 1602 in Diseworth, Leicestershire. He received a basic classical education at the school of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, but makes a point of saying that his master never taught logic. He began to dabble in astrology, reading all the books on the subject he could fall in with, and occasionally trying his hand at unravelling mysteries by means of his art. The years 1642 and 1643 were devoted to a careful revision of all his previous reading, and in particular, having lighted on Valentine Naibod's Commentary on Alcabitius, he "seriously studied him and found him to be the profoundest author he ever met with." Lilly's most comprehensive book, entitled Christian Astrology, was published in 1647. It is so large that it came in three separate volumes in modern times, and it remains popular even today and has never gone totally out-of-print. It is considered one of the classic texts for the study of traditional astrology from the Middle Ages, in particular horary astrology, which is mainly concerned with predicting future events or investigating unknown elements of current affairs, based on an astrological chart cast for the time a particular question is asked of the astrologer. Lilly studied thousands of horary charts, most of the time successfully giving correct answers for a wide range of questions from the location of missing fishes to the outcome of battles. He then began to issue his prophetical almanacs and other works, which met with serious attention from some of the most prominent members of the Long Parliament. Lilly wrote a preface to Sir Christopher Heydon's An Astrological Discourse with Mathematical Demonstrations, a defence of astrology written about 1608 which was first published posthumously, at the expense of Elias Ashmole. After the Restoration he very quickly fell into disrepute. He died in 1681. In 2003 a commemorative plaque was placed next to the disused Aldwych tube station on the Strand. Lilly lived close to this spot. Richard James Morrison (15 June 1795 -- 5 April 1874) was an English astrologer, commonly known by his pseudonym Zadkiel. Morrison served in the Royal Navy, but resigned with the rank of lieutenant in 1829. He then devoted himself to the study of astrology, and in 1831 issued The Herald of Astrology, subse-quently known as Zadkiel's Almanac. In this annual pamphlet Morrison, over the signature Zadkiel Tao-Sze, published predictions of the chief events of the coming year. Morrison died on 5 April 1874.
