Astrological Talismans and Paper Amulets from Dunhuang: Typology and Function

Over the past three decades,Dunhuang studies have greatly expanded and transformed our knowledge of early and medieval Chinese religions and society.The analysis of documents discovered in the Mogao'Library cave'has led to seminal publications on the history of Buddhism as well as on traditional and parareligious sciences such as divination and medicine.

Do Planetary Transits Predict Synchronicity Experience?

Synchronicity involves the experience of personal meaning entangled with ambiguous coincidences in time. Ambiguity results from incomplete information about the chances of various events occurring. The problem that this study addresses is the lack of empirical research on synchronicity. This study sought to address this problem by exploring the astrological hypothesis that planetary transits predict synchronicity events. Synchronicities were compared with the probability distributions of planetary transits. In comparison with the base rate prediction, planetary transits were not a significant predictor of synchronicity events. The findings of this study provide new insight into the complex, multifaceted, and ambiguous phenomenon of synchronicity. The concept of ambiguity tolerance plays a significant role in synchronicity research since ambiguity cannot be completely eliminated.

Edward Burne-Jones＇s The Planets.＂ Musical Spheres and Visions of a Benevolent Cosmos

Edward Burne-Jones （1833-1898）, a pre-Raphaelite painter, was fascinated with astronomy, as noted in his memorials and accounts. In 1879, he executed cartoon drawings for a cycle on nine planets for the artisans of the William Morris Firm, who would transform them into stained-glass panels. The commission was for the decoration of Woodlands, the Victorian mansion of Baron Angus Holden （1833-1912）, a major of Bradford. Presently, seven of the cartoons--The Moon （Luna）, Earth （Terra）, Sol （Apollo）, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Evening Star--are in the Torre Abbey Museum in Torquay, UK, while the cartoon for Mars is part of the collection of drawings at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, UK, and the cartoon for Morning Star is located at Lady Margaret Hall in Oxford, UK. In the creation of the Planets cycle, Burne-Jones was inspired by cultural events of the time such as British scientific astronomical discoveries and British and Italian humanistic sources in literature and visual arts portraying astronomy. This essay art historically and iconographically examines the nine planets as celestial and terrestrial formations and astral spheres of good omen. It is composed of three sections. The first section discusses the history of the artistic commission; the second analyzes the stylistic and iconographical aspects of the Planets cycle; and the third section explains some of Burne-Jones＇s cultural sources for the Planets cycle as manifestations of seasonal transformations, heavenly and terrestrial realms, musical spheres, and visions of a benevolent cosmos.

Giorgio Vasari’s Mercury: God of Magic and Wisdom

In 1555,assisted by Cristofano Gherardi,Il Doceno(1508-1556),Giorgio Vasari(1511-1574)designed and painted a mythological and cosmological theme in the Sala degli Elementi,an apartment of Cosimo I de’Medici(1519-1574),Duke of Florence,at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.The Apartment of the Elements is dedicated to the four elements(air,earth,fire,and water),which in antiquity were considered to be the basis of the material of the world.The four elements are personified as a history painting theme on the ceiling and the walls of the chamber.Accordingly,on the ceiling is the element of Air,personified by several events:Its center depicts Saturn Mutilating Heaven and surrounding this scene are The Chariots of the Sun and the Moon,the images of Day and Night,and the virtues of Peace,Fame,Justice,and Truth.On the walls of the chamber,there are personifications of the elements of Earth(north),Fire(east),and Water(south).The frescoes on the left hand wall relate to the element of Earth.In the center of the north wall,the first fruits of the Earth are offered to Saturn.1 On the adjacent wall,east wall,above the fireplace,are scenes relating to the element of Fire:Vulcan’s Forge is depicted in the center of wall.2 On the adjacent wall,south wall,the element of Water is symbolized with The Birth of Venus.3 On the window wall,west wall,are two large niches containing simulated sculptures of Hermes-Mercury and Hades-Pluto.These two images connect thematically with the wall decoration of the elements and the pantheon of the gods on the ceiling.This essay will focus only on the image of Hermes-Mercury.It consists of two parts:the stylistic impact of classical and Renaissance sources of this astral and pagan god in Vasari’s imagery,and the signification of the personification of Mercury associated and interconnected with Cosimo I de’Medici,Duke of Florence.

A Tibetan Scholar with Astrology

Yin Ba is director of the Institute of Astrology of the Tibetan Traditional Medicine Hospital of Tibet Autonomous Region. By pure coincidence, he became inthtuated with astrology and Tibetan calendar calculation. Later, he has compiled a computerized Tibetan-language astrological data processing system and published a number of monographs on Tibetan astrology.

Astrology处女座

矛盾重重的完美主义者1一切凭状态,需要安全感都说处女座另类,双重性格,甚至有点神经质,其实原因只有一个,处女座的一切都要随自己外显的性格而转。处女座状态好的时候,可以将自己聪明、细腻、能干、温情、幽默、有内涵等优良品质完全外展,此时他们显得如此完美,并且可以表现得非常外向、健谈。