A German Stargazer's Book of Astrology is the first English translation of Astronomia Teutsch Astronomei, published in 1545 in Frankfurt am Main. The original work was one of the earliest astrological textbooks in the vernacular, predating William Lilly's famous English primer Christian Astrology by over a decade. With this translation, Peter Stockinger offers the English reader an exciting insight into the working methods of a 16th century astrologer living on the cusp of the Late Medieval and Early Modern periods. The book contains a detailed introduction by the translator, providing valuable background information and historical context, and is comprehensively annotated throughout. The translation contains, amongst many others, the following chapters: -Of the Twelve Signs their Stars and Effects -Of Pictures of the Heavenly Bodies (Constellations) -Of the Fixed Stars and their Qualities -Of the Seven Planets -Of Eclipses and Comets (Mundane astrology) -Of the Four Seasons (Weather astrology) -Claudius Ptolemy's Perpetual Calendar

This is the story of Sun sign astrology. The sort of astrology that makes up horoscope columns and leads to people believing that there are twelve types of people, described by their zodiac signs. Plenty of histories of astrology detail thousands of years of astrological practice and theory, highlighting famous practitioners, placing them in their historical context and describing their techniques. They rarely mention Sun sign astrology, which has its own exciting history. This book takes a different approach. In the West, popular and mass market astrology is Sun sign astrology, and it goes back a lot further than most people realise. This is the true story of Sun sign astrology.