Prophecy and Power

"Patrick Curry's Prophecy and Power, first published in 1989, represents a seminal moment in the new historiography of astrology. Taking a non-judgemental view of a practice which had frequently been misrepresented, Curry questions simple demarcations such as magic, science and religion, and focuses instead on how astrology was used and conceptualised in seventeenth-century England. He opens up a window into astrologers' universe of discourse, a cosmos in which all things are connected, and sustained by meaning and symbol. The book contributes significantly to our understanding of wider cultural developments in the seventeenth century, as the culture of the Renaissance gradually turned into what we now know as the modern world." - Nicholas Campion

"Prophecy and Power is both original and persuasive . . . The book is written with sympathy, lucidity and vigor. . . . It is accessible to the general reader as well as having something new to say to scholars in the field." - Peter Burke 

"In this ambitious and outstandingly successful reappraisal Patrick Curry explores the role of astrology in England between 1600 to 1800. Curry produces a challenging thesis concerning the resilience of astrology in the eighteenth century. He convincingly demonstrates, utilizing much documentary evidence, that astrology retained its vitality as an ingredient of popular culture." - Charles Webster 

"Patrick Curry's timely and original synthesis of recent studies of the fate of astrology in England . . . offers a remarkable new picture of social and intellectual change among the classes of early modern society [and] . . . presents a fascinating challenge to received versions of the history of systems of thought." - Simon Schaffer