Four illustrations, originally from sources as indicated in the captions, scanned from my volume of "Astrology", compiled by Louis MacNeice, published in 1964. A poem from the same book follows.
The Star-doomed Infant
No sooner does he peep into
The world, but he has done his do . . . .
Married his punctual dose of wives,
Is cuckolded, and breaks, or thrives, . .
As if men from the stars did suck
Old-age, diseases, and ill-luck,
Wit, folly, honor, virtue, vice,
Trade, travel, women, claps, and dice;
And draw with the first air they breath,
Battle, and murther, sudden death.
Are not these fine commodities
To be imported from the skies?
By Samuel Butler, from Hudibras, 1664.
4 comments:
I always like illustrations accompanying the text in so many astrological books. The art work is usually old-time style, ethereal, other worldly, elaborate, and very beautiful. A program I saw recently mentioned several times that the European, Catholic churches were built and decorated to be awe inspiring and to visually indicate that the Catholic god was truly superior to the other choices, and therefore a direct link to heaven. So many of the art plates in astrology books seem to have the same feel or effect on me...LOL. I usually don't enjoy the more modernized art found in some astrology tomes, particularly if it's the very simplistic line-drawings...boring. Guess I'm impressed with glittery image.
mike ~ Yes, I like the old artwork too. Some of the more modern artwork for astrology can be really tacky. I remember the first astrology book I had (1960s or early '70s) was full of garish illustration - that fact has remained in memory more than the quality of information it contained - probably very basic. Book was lost, of course in the Great Fire of 1996, along with a stack of astrology-related magazines, also with some iffy artwork included. Most of the astrology books I have now, other than the Louis MacNeice one, are devoid of illustration.
I do enjoy Sally Fisher's little pics which daily accompany Jonathan Cainer's website.
Madam ... go atom!
http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems/best/astrology
kidd.
Anon/kidd ~ Nice link thanks! I have bookmarked it for future reference. :-)
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