Astrology: The Library of Esoterica by Jessica Hundley (Hardback)

From the very beginning of human history, people across cultures and belief systems have looked to the sky for meaning. The movement of the celestial bodies and their relationship to our lives has been the central tenet of astrology for thousands of years — a practice that has inspired reverence and worship while deepening our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. This is the second volume in TASCHEN’s acclaimed Library of Esoterica series.

While modern-day horoscopes may be the most familiar form of astrological knowledge, their lineage reaches all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia. As author Andrea Richards recounts, astronomy and astrology were once sister sciences: the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza was built to align with the constellations, Persian scholars oversaw some of the first observatories, and even Galileo cast horoscopes for the Medicis. But with the Enlightenment and the birth of exact science, the practice moved to places where mystery was still permitted — inspiring literature, art and psychology, and influencing thinkers from Goethe and Byron to Blake, before movements like the Theosophists and the New Agers brought it firmly into the mainstream.

Edited by Jessica Hundley, this vibrant visual history of Western astrology is the first compendium of its kind, exploring the symbolic meaning behind more than 400 images — from Egyptian temples and illuminated manuscripts to contemporary art from across the globe. Works by artists from Alphonse Mucha and Hilma af Klint to Arpita Singh and Manzel Bowman are sequenced to mirror the spin of the planets and the turning wheel of the zodiac, alongside new interviews with astrologers including Robert Hand, Jessica Lanyadoo and Mecca Woods.

Perfect for readers who love astrology, mysticism and the occult, art and visual history — and anyone after a beautiful, museum-grade volume to treasure and return to.