SOURCE: "William Lilly and 'Democratic' Astrology," in Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England, Polity Press, 1989, pp. 28-34.

In the essay below, Curry discusses Lilly's primary role in establishing judicial astrology in mid-seventeenth-century England.

Two men in particular acted as the focus for judicial astrology in mid-seventeenth century England: William Lilly (1602-81) and Elias Ashmole (1617-92). From them, the nexus spread out to take in virtually the entire active astrological community. The one who commanded most attention from his contemporaries was Lilly. Born in the Leicestershire village of Diseworth and educated in the local grammar school, he came to London to earn his livelihood at the age of seventeen. In the course of a variety of pursuits, the chance reading of an almanac aroused his interest in astrology. He began to study it in earnest from the age of thirty, including a spell of tutelage under John...