Rising Signs The Medieval Science of Astrology

Miscellany: Descriptions of Planets, Zodiacs, and Comets (detail), shortly after 1464, German. Watercolor and ink on paper. Getty Museum, Ms. Ludwig XII 8 (83.MO.137)

Medieval Europeans believed that the movements of the sun, moon, stars, and planets directly affected their lives on earth. The position of these celestial bodies had the power to not only influence individual personalities, but also created the seasonal conditions ideal for a variety of tasks from planting crops to bloodletting. Exploring the 12 signs of the zodiac still familiar to us today, this exhibition reveals the mysteries of medieval astrology as it intersected with medicine, divination, and daily life in the Middle Ages.