Who is William Lilly?

Astrology and the Occult of William Lilly

Written by: Ccep J. Dew, West Coast Editor


William Lilly was an English-born horary astrologer and occultist. Horary astrology, not to be confused with the more well-known “Eastern Astrology”, focuses less on the stars and heavenly bodies and more on making predictions and unveiling “unknown elements of current affairs”. As such, he was sometimes viewed as a clever detective as opposed to an astrologer.

Born in 1602, Lilly moved to London at the age of 17 and got work caring for an elderly couple. When the older gentleman passed away, it was revealed that he had left money to Lilly. Thereafter, Lilly married the widow. When she passed away, she had left him property.

When the Great Fire of London occurred in 1666, Lilly became the center of controversy.

At some point in his adult life, Lilly set out to read as many astrology books as he could. He developed his own method to astrology and published several astrological essays. His writings included rules for careers, childbirth, detecting curses, lawsuits, and marriage among other things and were similar to today’s Eastern Astrology’s dealings with planetary alignment and significance, as well as traditional zodiac signs. The most notable of these written works is his 1647 published work Christian Astrology which was so extensive that it had to be separated into three parts.

Lilly’s work inspired others to read prior astrological works to enhance their knowledge of the subject. In fact, it inspired “Project Hindsight”, a translation expedition of “Hellenistic and Medieval astrological texts” from their original languages. Project Hindsight was originally undertaken by Robert Hand, Robert Schmidt, and Robert Zoeller.

To read more about William Lilly, Click the link below:
http://etmmagazine.info/future/2009/06/2009_06_williamlilly.html