Moon Lore by Rev. Timothy Harley [1885] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] Written just eighty-four years before Neil Armstrong stepped on the moon, this is a Victorian collection of moon lore: myths, folklore, superstitions and just plain whimsy from all lands. Although contemporary astronomers had fairly well wrapped up the question of whether there was water…
Solar Biology by Hiram E. Butler [1887] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text The next time someone asks you “what’s your sign” as an icebreaker, remember Mr. Hiram E. Butler. Hiram Butler put forward a radically simplified version of astrology during the 19th century. Up until then, astrologers had laboriously plotted out the configuration of the planets, including…
Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans Franz Cumont [1912] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] This is a study of star-worship by Franz Cumont. At the turn of the 20th century, Cumont collected all available astrological and astronomical texts from antiquity. This book summarizes his knowledge and theories on this subject. Cumont shows that astronomical…
The Hindu Book of Astrology by Bhakti Seva [1902] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] If this was really a vintage Hindu Astrology book, it would be a real find. I have yet to locate one, and there has been a steady drip of requests for Hindu Astrology since the inception of the site, which I would…
Sun Lore of All Ages by William Tyler Olcott [1914] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] This is a review of the literature of Sun lore. While for the most part factually correct, this is not an academic study. Olcott is light on the citations, and it apparent that he didn’t use primary sources for the…
The Book of Talismans, Amulets and Zodiacal Gems by William Thomas and Kate Pavitt [1922] Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] This is a study of the symbolism of precious stones, and how they have been used as magical objects through the ages, both intrinsically, and as a vehicle for symbolic engravings. The Pavitts cover Hindu, Jewish,…
From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe by Alexandre Koyré Contents Start Reading Page Index Text [Zipped] The infinite Universe of the New Cosmology, infinite in Duration as well as in Extension, in which eternal matter in accordance with eternal and necessary laws moves endlessly and aimlessly in eternal space, inherited all the ontological attributes of Divinity. Yet only…