Celtic Astrology from the Druids to the Middle Ages

Our understanding of Celtic astrology is based mainly on the speculations of modern authors—mostly drawn from classical Greek and Roman writings—and suffers from many misconceptions. European astrology uses the Greek model, containing many Babylonian and Egyptian elements. But Celtic astrology (and other Indo-European astrologies) developed earlier, with relationships to Middle Eastern systems, as well as their own independent forms. This well documented study takes a fresh look at the development of Celtic astrology and the Druids’ systems of cosmology, astronomy and astrology. The author analyzes commentaries found in manuscript sources from antiquity to the Middle Ages, comparing them with cosmological and astronomical lore found in Celtic cultures. Ancient constellations, calendars, deities and rituals reveal a rich worldview.

M.G. Boutet is a retired teacher and a collaborator of the Midwestern Epigraphic Society Journal based in Columbus, Ohio. He lives in Drummondville, Quebec.

M.G. Boutet

Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 260
Bibliographic Info: 147 illustrations, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2017
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7004-1
eISBN: 978-1-4766-2869-1
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments viii
Foreword by David Frawley 1
Preface 7
Introduction 9
I: On the Origins of ­Twelve-Sign Astrology 17
II: The ­Indo-European Bases of Astrology 31
III: Astrology of the Druids 44
IV: The Luminaries 67
V: The Planets 86
VI: The Stars 95
VII: The Astral Cusps 119
VIII: The Astral Houses 134
IX: The Lunar Mansions 154
X: Signs of the Zodiac 169
XI: Planetary Yokes and Cosmic Forces 187
XII: Themes and Predictions 203
XIII: Medical Astrology 210
Appendix: Additional Data and Celtic Nomenclature 227
Chapter Notes 239
Bibliography 245
Index 249

• “A useful resource…a very readable text…encyclopedically detailed and voluminously illustrated… I am grateful to Boutet for his remarkable analysis and am very thankful to have his lists and diagrams that cover the many aspects of Celtic astrology, which have been so unclear in the past. …I can say that after reading this work, I now feel compelled to revisit some ancient Irish texts”—SMART: Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Teaching

• “This is the first in-depth research on what was, or must have been, the views of the ancient Druids on cosmology and astrology”—ProtoView