There was nothing obscure about these general assumptions. At the beginning of the sixteenth century astrological doctrines were part of the educated man's picture of the universe and its workings. It was generally accepted that the four elements constituting the sublunary region (earth, air, fire & water) were kept in their state of ceaseless transformation by the movement of the heave

The truth seems to be that astrology had ceased, in all but the most unsophisticated circles, to be regarded as either a science or a crime. After 1700 the volume of astrological writing appears to have fallen off sharply. The almanacs continued although their prognostications were vaguer and emptier than ever. In the nineteenth century, and after astrology was to undergo several revivals but the intellectual vitality the subject had once possessed was gone forever.

Printed publication was thus one of the main methods by which the astrologers made their impact upon the life and thought of the period. Some almanacs were so popular that they took on a life of their own and continued to appear long after the death of their origins founders. But despite their enormous sales, the almanacs did not usually bring their authors much in the way of earnings; for it was private practice which gave the professional astrologer his regular means of subsistence; and it also was the way in which he made his greatest impact upon the lives of other human being.

How was astrology able to retain the allegiance of intelligent men when it was utterly incapable of providing the accurate prognostications they wanted? Dating the seventeen years of subsequent records John Booker's astrological practice showed no signs of respite. On the contrary, the same clients returned again and again, and brought their friends as well. The astrologers, or at least the reputable ones, did not claim for their predictions a binding and inevitable end, all they claimed was that they were likely to be fulfilled.

No doubt it was more comforting to learn that had been crossed at birth than to be told that one had no one to blame for one's misfortunes but oneself. Astrology could thus appeal as a means of evading responsibility, removing guilt from both sufferer and society at large. Like religion, it also combated the notion that misfortune was purely random in its incidence. There really was no such thing as chance in nature declared the astrologer John Butler. The astrologers also claimed to predict the course of political events. If the Scots had read Lilly's almanac thought William Paine, they should have known in advance that their invasion of England was doomed to defeat.

The first line of attack was to point out that religion and astrology frequently offered conflicting explanations for the same phenomena. Whereas the Christian was taught to regard storms, famines or earthquakes as the manifestations of God's secret purposes, the astrologer made them subject to the movement of the celestial bodies and therefore predictable by his art. This attribution of good or bad luck to the stars was a direct threat to Christian dogma: as Calvin said, it 'put . . . clouds before our eyes to drive us away from the providence of God.'

Long life was the reward for godliness, not the legacy of the planets. Much of the war against astrology was fought at this basic level of causation. As the Presbyterian Thomas Gataker declared in 1653, it was essential that Christians should regard all events' 'not with an astrological, but a theological eye'. The astrologers caused the deepest offence by offering a secular explanation on some of the most delicate matters in religious history. They did not hesitate to offer astral reasons for the dominance of different religions in different parts of the worlds.

The remaining major department of the astrologers' art was medicine. The thoroughgoing astrological doctor proceeded entirely by the stars and did not even demand to see the patient. The astrologers were further expected to diagnose pregnancy, estimate how the mother would fare when her labor started and prognosticate the sex of the unborn child. Their consulting-rooms were full of women made desperate by prolonged and unaccountable childlessness.

The availability of English treatises on astrology is a poor measurement for the actual prestige of the subject. Despite the

Some common words found in the essay are:
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