Long Course in Medieval Astrology

These books have been grouped by topic and are prioritized within each group.  Some are more expensive or rare. Unless you take a course, they are virtually all you need to understand and practice medieval astrology. In some cases these books are best available through Interlibrary Loan through your local public or university library.

History and Medieval vs. Modern Astrology:

A History of Horoscopic Astrology by James H. Holden (Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1996)

The Houses: Temples of the Sky by Deborah Houlding (available free online here)

The Real Astrology by John Frawley (London: Apprentice Books, 2000)

A History of Western Astrology by Jim Tester (New York, NY: Ballantine Books, 1987)

 

Introductions to General and Natal Astrology

Ancient Greek Group

Tetrabiblos by Claudius Ptolemy, trans. F.E. Robbins (Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1998)

Ancient Astrology: Theory and Practice [Matheosis Libri VIII] by Firmicus Maternus, trans. Jean Rhys Bram (Park Ridge, NJ: Noyes Press, 1975)

Late Classical Astrology: Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus, trans. Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum (Reston, VA: ARHAT Publications, 2001)

Medieval Arab/Jewish/Persian Group

The Beginning of Wisdom by Abraham Ibn Ezra, trans. Meira Epstein (ARHAT Publications, 1998) - available here.

The Judgments of Nativities by Abu 'Ali al-Khayyat, trans. James H. Holden (Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1988)

The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology by Al-Biruni, trans. R. Ramsay Wright (London: Luzac & Co., 1934)

The Introduction to Astrology by Al-Qabisi [Alcabitius], trans. Charles Burnett, Keiji Yamamoto, and Michio Yano (London and Turin: The Warburg Institute, 2004)

The Abbreviation of the Introduction to Astrology by Abu Masar, trans. Charles Burnett, Keiji Yamamoto, and Michio Yano (Leiden and New York: E.J. Brill, 1994)

Introduction to Astrology by Kusyar Ibn Labban, trans. Michio Yano (Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa, 1997)

Latin West Group

On the Judgments of Nativities Book 1 by Johannes Schoener, trans. Robert Hand (ARHAT Publications, 2001) - available here.

Christian Astrology Books 1 and 3 by William Lilly (Astrology Classics, year unknown)

A Brief and Most Easie Introduction to the Judgement of the Stars by Claude Dariot, trans. Fabian Withers (Mansfield, UK: Ascella) - available here.

Beyond Introduction:

The Morinus System of Horoscope Interpretation [Astrologia Gallica Book 21] by J.B. Morin, trans. Richard S. Baldwin (Washington, D.C.: American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1974).

The Real Astrology Applied by John Frawley (London: Apprentice Books, 2002)

The 146 Considerations of Guido Bonatti and the Aphorisms of Cardan, ed. Robert Zoller - available here.

Carmen Astrologicum by Dorotheus, trans. David Pingree (Leipzig: Teubner, 1976)

On the Fifth House by Robert Zoller (Mansfield, UK: Ascella, 1997)

Special Topics:

Primary Directions

Astrologia Gallica Book Twenty-Two: Directions by J.B. Morin, trans. James H. Holden, 2nd ed. (Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 1994)

Solar and Lunar Returns (Solar Revolutions)

Astrologia Gallica Book Twenty Three: Revolutions by J.B. Morin, trans. James H. Holden, 2nd ed. (Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, Inc., 2003)

On Solar Revolutions Part II by Abu Mashar, trans. Robert H. Schmidt (Cumberland, MD: The PHASER Foundation, Inc., 1999) - available here.

Arabic Parts

On the Arabic Parts by Guido Bonatti, trans. Robert Zoller - available here.

Mundane Astrology

On Historical Astrology: The Book of Religions and Dynasties (On the Great Conjunctions) by Abu Masar, trans. Keiji Yamamoto and Charles Burnett (Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2000)

Horary Astrology

Christian Astrology Book 2 by William Lilly (Astrology Classics, year unknown)

On Reception by Masha'allah, trans. Robert Hand (ARHAT Publications, 1998) - available here.

 

Other

Tools and Techniques of the Medieval Astrologer Book One: Prenatal Concerns and the Calculation of the Length of Life, by Robert Zoller - available here.

Astrological Judgment of Diseases from the Decumbiture of the Sick by Nicholas Culpeper (Abingdon, MD: Astrology Classics, 2003)