The series Religion and Society (RS) contributes to the exploration of religions as social systems – both in Western and non-Western societies; in particular, it examines religions in their differentiation from, and intersection with, other cultural systems, such as art, economy, law and politics. Due attention is given to paradigmatic case or comparative studies that exhibit a clear theoretical orientation with the empirical and historical data of religion and such aspects of religion as ritual, the religious imagination, constructions of tradition, iconography, or media. In addition, the formation of religious communities, their construction of identity, and their relation to society and the wider public are key issues of this series.

This volume examines the specific role of horoscopic astrology in Western culture from antiquity to the nineteenth century. Focusing on the public appearance of astrological rhetoric, the essays break new ground for a better understanding of the function of horoscopes in public discourse. The volume's three parts address the use of imperial horoscopes in late antiquity, the transformation of doctrines and rhetorics in Islamic medieval contexts, and the important status of astrology in early modern Europe. The combination of in-depth historical studies and methodological considerations results in an important contribution to religious and cultural studies.

G. Oestmann, H. D. Rutkin, and K. von Stuckrad: Introduction: Horoscopes and History
Part I: Horoscopes and the Public Sphere in Antiquity W. Hübner: Sulla's Horoscope? (Firm. math. 6,3 1,l); J.-H. Abry: What Was Agrippina Waiting For? (Tacitus, Ann. XII, 68-69); St. Heilen: The Emperor Hadrian in the Horoscopes of Antigonus of Nicaea; N. Campion: The Possible Survival of Babylonian Astrology in the Fifth Century CE: A Discussion of Historical Sources

Part II: Medieval Astrology: Muslim and Jewish Discourse D. Pingree: Māshāallāh's Zoroastrian Historical Astrology; E. Orthmann: Circular Motions: Private Pleasure and Public Prognostication in the Nativities of the Mughal Emperor Akbar; A. Caiozzo: The Horoscope of Iskandar Sultān as a Cosmological Vision in the Islamic World; J. Rodríguez-Arribas: Historical Horoscopes of Israel: Abraham bar Hiyya, Abraham ibn Ezra, and Yosef ben Eliezer

Part III: The Use of Horoscopes in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe H. D. Rutkin: Various Uses of Horoscopes: Astrological Practices in Early Modem Europe; M. Azzolini: Reading Health in the Stars: Politics and Medical Astrology in Renaissance Milan; St. Vanden Broecke: Evidence and Conjecture in Cardano's Horoscope Collections; K. von Stuckrad: The Function of Horoscopes in Biographical Narrative: Cardano and After; G. Oestmann: J. W. A. Pfaff and the Rediscovery of Astrology in the Age of Romanticism Epilogue P. Curry: The Historiography of Astrology: A Diagnosis and a Prescription