The Answer To Everything (Credibly Ascribed To Kepler)

Wallenstein's Horoscope (credibly ascribed to Kepler)

I. From "Chinese Astrology: Early Chinese Occultism" by Paul Carus

             "There can be no doubt that the entire Western civilization may be traced to one common source.  The Egyptians, the Greeks and the Romans haveinherited their mathematics, the division of the day into twice twelve hours,and their calendars from ancient Babylonia, the influence of which has beenpreserved down to modern times, and can most palpably be recognized inastrology.

Albrecht Von Wallenstein (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634)  --- Austrian GeneralGenerally But Not Consistently Loyal to the Emperor

          Astrology is unquestionably ofBabylonian origin.  It rests on the theorythat the universe is a well-ordained whole governed by universal laws, and sothe ancient sages assumed that life on earth is foreshadowed by the events inthe celestial regions; and these notions adhered to the further development ofastronomy with a persistence that is truly surprising.

Johannes Kepler (December 27, 1571 – November 15, 1630):  Portrait by Unknown Artist dated 1610

 

          Even as late as the fourteenthcentury astronomers were still obliged to eke out a scant living with the helpof astrology, and Kepler himself had to increase his means of subsistence bycasting horoscopes.  But he was greatenough to take the situation humorously, and in one of his letters weread:  'This astrology is indeed afoolish little daughter, but  -- lieber Gott!! – where would hermother, the highly rational astronomy, be, if she did not have this foolishoffspring?  People are even more foolish,so foolish in fact that this sensible old mother must for her own benefitcajole and deceive them through her daughter’s foolish idle talk.'"  [1]

[1] See Carus Sterne’s article, Copernicus,Tycho Brahe, and Kepler, The Open Court, XIV, 405.

Another rendition of Wallenstein's Horoscope

II. Horoscope of Albrechtof Wallenstein on display in Prague (2007)

"Therecently discovered horoscope of Duke Albrecht of Wallenstein is one of themost important of its kind. It surpasses other horoscopes from the period withits detailed explanations of the Duke's life, and its use of the then mostcontemporary astrological techniques. Created in 1627 by an unknown astrologer,it charts eleven years of the duke's life, and is a document which, if it hadfallen into the wrong hands, could have provided what would be regarded assensitive information to his enemies. The horoscope featuring in a major exhibition devoted toWallenstein.

Czech dukeand nobleman Albrecht of Wallenstein (known in Czech as Albrecht z Valdstejna)was the supreme commander of the armies of Hapsburg Emperor Ferdinand theSecond and one of the most influential figures in Seventeenth Century Europe,particularly during the period of the Thirty Years War. Though the precise timeand purpose of the horoscope's creation is uncertain, there is a strongpossibility that its formulation was ordered in 1627, when the Duke assembled alarge army in Nise in Silesia. Likewise, the identity of the horoscope'screator is also unknown, but it was clearly someone practised in the craft, asDr Petr Masek from the National Museum explains:

Thehoroscope was probably created at the end of the year 1627 to the beginning ofthe 1628 and in the greatest probability it was from Nise in Silesia. Whoevercreated it was actually a practicing astrologer, who used a whole spectrum oftechniques. They range from the traditional, including even at those timesalmost forgotten techniques, to the most modern techniques. The latter includedthe so called 'Danish tables' of Tychon de Brahe, which were developedprecisely in that year 1627. So the author had at his disposal the most modernrange of tools.'
 
Uncertaintyand mystery shrouds the question of who ordered the horoscope's creation. Itwas found in a castle in Kopidlno which at one point belonged from 1638 toJindrich Schlik, one of the duke's generals, and there is a possibility that heordered the horoscopes creation in order to ascertain the fate of his lord, onwhom much of the fate of Europe depended. Petr Masek: 

'Itwas regarded as serious information outlining one's fate, to such an extentthat the horoscopes of those prominent figures like Wallenstein were by varioussecret means copied, or basically stolen, and offered to other people for afee, because they were regarded as strategic material. It is understandablethat for many, it was important to know how the lives of personalities whoshaped the annals Central European history would turn out.'
 
However,anyone in possession of the horoscope thinking themselves to be in on fate'ssecrets might have been disappointed, as Wallenstein died ten years earlierthan the horoscope predicted. Next yearcelebrates the 425th anniversary of his birth and the horoscope forms part ofan exhibition at the Wallenstein riding school, which runs until February ofnext year."

The assasination of Albrecht von Wallenstein, 1634