Liber Sphaerae: A Dialogue Concerning the Spheres

Liber Sphaerae (The Book of the Spheres) is set in Italy during the late-Renaissance, the time of Michaelangelo. Two women and two men meet to discuss the celestial Spheres of the Cosmos as reflected in their common understanding and everyday lives. At the time of the Renaissance the intelligentsia of Europe were united in the view that the Earth was at the centre of eight concentric spheres. These spheres poured out influence upon the world and determined the health of the body and the fate of kingdoms. Each sphere was the domain of incorporeal beings that were variously regarded as angels, gods, or evil spirits. The book elaborates many notions now considered esoteric or magical, but which were once commonplace and uncontroversial. It is an affectionate tribute to Renaissance Humanism and shows how the cosmology and philosophy of the Greeks had fused with Christianity to reveal an enchanted cosmos of startling richness and beauty. Liber Sphaerae is also a tribute to the women of that period, many of whom were highly educated, fluent in several languages, proficient at statecraft, and celebrated as patrons, scholars and poets. Liber Sphaerae will appeal to anyone interested in the Western Esoteric Tradition, in Astrology, or in the Renaissance foundations of the Tarot. The book contains seventeen original illustrations by the author.