Christopher
Columbus, Astrology, and the Discovery of America
Ponder
the pivotal role that astrological forecasting played in Columbus
discovering the Americas. Would there even be an "America"
such as we know it today without astrology and astrological forecasting?
The
Untold Story
“In
1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue.”
Yep...
the insight that Columbus (1451-1506) discovered the Americas
on October 12, 1492 (Old Style Calendar) pretty much sums up what
I carried away from my elementary school studies regarding Columbus'
discovery of the Americas.
I
do, also, remember learning that Spain had paid the massive bill
for the trip and that it involved three ships named the Niña,
the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
With
my early school years occurring in the late 1950s and early 60s,
the textbook image of Christopher Columbus (Cristoforo Colombo
or Crostóbal Colón) was that of a courageous, fearless,
and dashing explorer.
In
recent years - in the genre of “tell it like it really was”
books - the image, reputation, mortality, and motivations of Admiral
Columbus have all been painted with somewhat darker, blemished,
and realistic colors.
However,
the still untold story is that there was a little known rationale
and/or motivation
spurring on the voyages of Christopher Columbus. This little
known motivation was a mixture of astrology, astrological
forecasting,
and apocalyptic (end of the world) Christian zeal.
Columbus
and Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly
How do we know about this untold motivating factor for Columbus?
According
to historian Laura Ackerman Smoller in her book History, Prophecy,
and the Stars... like many of us, Admiral Columbus had a
practice of scribbling in the margins of his books. Like us...
the more interesting he found a certain passage, the more he scribbled.
What's
fascinating (and important) about this bit of Columbus trivia
is that facsimiles of his "scribbled-in books" are still
around. One such facsimile is the Imago Mundi written
by Petrus de Aliaco (most recently republished facsimile; Boston:
Massachusetts Historical Society 1927).
Petrus
de Aliaco is the
Italian rendering of the French name Pierre d’Ailly.
It
just so happens that this particular Pierre d’Ailly was
a well known, respected French Cardinal in the Roman Catholic
Church during the later Middle Ages that lived just prior to the
life and times of Christopher Columbus.
In
this facsimile of the 288 page d’Ailly book republished
in 1483 AD, there were almost 900 hand scribbled notes by Admiral
Columbus (some possibly by his son).
Bottom
line, Columbus was interested in this book.
The
Great Schism
During Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly’s lifetime (1350-1420
AD), a “Great Schism” (1378-1414 AD) had occurred
within the Roman Catholic Church. At one point, the schism had
become so outrageous that there were simultaneously three different
popes appointed by three differing authorities within the church.
It
was commonly believed by church leaders of the time that the “Great
Schism” was a sign of the end times and of the imminent
coming of the antichrist. Cardinal d’Ailly from France
was a highly regarded cleric and leader within the church,
and as such he played
a crucial role in its restoration at the Council of Constance
held from November 5, 1414 to April 22, 1418 AD. (Whew!
Talk about long
meetings. I thought 3 hour meetings were unbearable.)
Cardinal
Pierre d’Ailly and the Almost Apocalypse
So, with patience now wearing extremely thin, you might rightly
ask: "What
in the heck does an obscure book written by an even more obscure
medieval French cardinal
in the Roman Catholic Church have to do with astrology?"
It
might surprise you to know that Cardinal d’Ailly was an
advocate of astrology and of astrological forecasting. Based on
his own astrological forecasting, d’Ailly shared, preached,
and (most importantly) wrote with increasing confidence that the
"Great Schism" of the church could be healed and was
not meant as a signal that the world was at an end.
Based
on the French Cardinal d’Ailly's advanced knowledge of astrology,
he (d’Ailly) was convinced the coming of the antichrist
would not take place until around the year of 1789 AD. Living
in the early 1400s AD, the year of 1789 AD probably seemed like
a long way away...
For
d’Ailly the astrological planets appeared to be revealing
a religious change of great magnitude that was to take place in
1789 AD. The eschatological (end time) scriptures in d'Ailly's Christian
Bible provided him with the interpretation that this great change
in religion would likely take form as the coming of the antichrist
and the resulting apocalypse.
In
hindsight, we have the advantage of now knowing that 1789 actually
marked the beginning of the French Revolution. Due to the nature
of the French Revolution - focusing its sites on the wealth and
privileges of nobility, the church, and royalty - Cardinal d'Ailly
might well have thought that his beloved France was going to hell
in a hand-basket.
Forward
Back To Columbus
Moving slightly forward in time, Admiral Columbus - based much
on his readings of Cardinal d'Ailly's Imago Mundi - became
convinced that our world had less than 200 years to go before
"the end," and said as much in a letter to his patrons,
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain.
“Astrology
dictated that the world would endure only some 155 years to
come.
Preceding its destruction, however, Columbus told the monarchs:
all of the races would be converted to Christianity. He saw
his
own voyages as part of the universal missionizing of the last
days.” From: History, Prophecy, and the Stars
by Laura Ackerman Smoller
Creative
Manipulation Of Dates
In
the unlikely event you've been paying close attention (yawn),
then you might have noticed that for some odd reason Columbus
felt the need to move up d’Ailly’s astrological prediction
by over 100 years.
Why
did Columbus do this? Well... perhaps he was just really bad at
math. However, my best guess is he thought d’Ailly’s
forecast (placing the end of the world in 1789 AD in around 300
years) wouldn’t be pressing and/or convincing enough for
his rich Spanish benefactors to cough up the vast fortune needed
to fund his voyages.
Ponder
This (Naval Gazing)
Yep! It's fascinating to ponder just how pivotal a role astrology
played in Columbus discovering the Americas. Would there even be
an "America" such as we know it today, if it weren't for
Pierre d'Ailly's admittedly less than perfect apocalyptic and astrological
forecasting of the end of the world? I wonder...
Recommended
Reading: The following two scholastic books are likely
to be of most value to those folks interested in the history of
astrology especially as it pertains to the Medieval Period. These
two books do not contain practical information on how to practice
Medieval Astrology.
History,
Prophecy, and the Stars by Laura Ackerman Smoller
The
Rise of Magic in Early Medieval Europe by Valerie Flint
Related
Article:
How
A Lunar Eclipse Saved Columbus by Joe Rao at Space.com.
Find out how an almanac prepared by the astrologer Regiomontanus
saved Columbus' bacon.
The
Untold Story at Understanding Prejudice. This is the other
untold story. Many people are surprised to learn that Christopher
Columbus and his men enslaved native inhabitants of the West
Indies, forced them to convert to Christianity, and subdued
them with violence in an effort to seek riches.
Great
NDN T-Shirts at WestWindWorld.com
American
History 101 Indians Discovered Columbus - You are lost -
My Native American Indian friend, Colleen Lloyd, creator of
the popular Homeland Security Fighting Terrorism Since 1492
T shirt and poster, would like me to remind you that I've got
things back ass-wards and that it was the Native American Indians
that discovered Columbus.
<< back to Weird and Wonderful
Weird and Wonderful