Online Open Day Saturday 7 December

Cosmic Cities and an Astrological Mystery

Dr. Nicholas Campion
One of the most important tasks that any ancient astrologer could perform was the inauguration of the new capital city; Constantinople and Cairo come to mind. Nick Campion will examine the foundation of Bagdad by a team of astrologers working for the caliph al-Mansur in the year 761, and ask why they chose an apparently dangerous moment, presenting us with one of the great mysteries in astrology's history.

Life and Sky, a union that creates Destiny

Caves to Temples, a journey through sacred places

Dr. Fabio Silva
From its dawn humanity has lived beneath starry skies. Ideas, world-views, and fate were reflected in and influenced by the heavenly inhabitants. Fabio Silva will take you on a journey through time and space - from the prehistoric caves of Southern Frances, to Stonehenge and the mysterious European megaliths, the ancient Egyptian pyramids and beyond - exploring how different cultures negotiated fate with the cosmos by incorporating celestial alignments and symbolism into their structures and material culture.

Sacred Statues, bridges between worlds

Dr. Amy Whitehead
Icons, images, 'idols' and other representations of the divine have been problematic religions and cultures for millennia. Plato said 'I strain after images' in his attempt to come to terms with the images and statues of the divine which inhabited ancient Greek culture. Thus examining the role of 'idols' in contemporary cosmologies Amy Whitehead will discuss current manifestations of this problem, as well as examples of the statues that sit on the borderlands between this world and the next.