Category: United Kingdom

Known as 'the English Merlin' to his friends and 'that juggling Wizard and Imposter' to his enemies, William Lilly was one of the most well-known and revered political astrologers of 17th century England, who led a colourful life during socially transitional and politically volatile times. The Mystic Meg of his day, Lilly was one of the first conventionally popular astrologers, his fame facilitated by the advent of the printing press and the temporary abolition of censorship laws during the English Civil War and Cromwell Years, which led to a more permissive environment that encouraged more open public discussion and political debate. In this extract from episode six of the Astro-Insights podcast, I look at how freedom of the press aided Lilly's rise to prominence but would eventually also make it personally hazardous to make public predictions, especially if they were not favourable to those in positions of power. An egalitarian and supporter of the populist Parliamentarian cause, Lilly would eventually become disillusioned with the political process and come to agree with his royalist friend, Elias Ashmole, that perhaps sharing too much knowledge, especially with the envious, overly-excitable or the uninitiated, was potentially foolhardy. Given the parallels between the English Civil war and the current geopolitical climate, I thought his experiences might potentially offer us some insights that might prove instructive or illuminating. Watch/listen to the full podcast here: https://youtu.be/qfv7ic-8lpo