An Exorbitant Fire

In seventeenth-century England, astrology hovered at the edges of learned society. That is, until one man predicted the Great Plague and the Great Fire, both of which would strike at the very heart of London. This episode brings you the story of the English astrologer William Lilly and his legacy.

Researched, written, and produced by Corinne Wieben with original music by Purple Planet.

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Music

Purple Planet - Ascension

Chopin - Ballade no. 4 op. 52, performed by Frank Levy

Purple Planet - Cobwebbed

Purple Planet - Sense of Loss

Purple Planet - Shadowlands

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Sources

Primary

Lilly, William. Merlini Anglici Ephemeris, Or, Astrological Judgments for the Year 1665. London: 1665.

Lilly, William. Merlini Anglici Ephemeris, Or, Astrological Judgments for the Year 1666. London: 1666.

Lilly, William. Monarchy or No Monarchy in England. London: Henry Cripps & Lodowick Lloyd, 1655.

Lilly, William. Mr. Lillie’s Predictions Concerning the Many Lamentable Fires. London: 1676.

Lilly, William. Mr. William Lilly’s History of His Life and Times From the Year 1602 to 1681, 2nd ed. London: Printed for J. Roberts in Warwick-Lane, 1715.

Secondary

Curry, Patrick. Prophecy and Power: Astrology in Early Modern England. Princeton University Press, 1989.

Geneva, Anne. Astrology and the Seventeenth Century Mind: William Lilly and the Language of the Stars. Manchester University Press, 1995.

McCann, Maurice. “The Secret of William Lilly’s Prediction of the Fire of London.” Astrological Journal 32, no 1 (Jan/Feb 1990).

Parker, Derek. Familiar to All: William Lilly and Astrology in the Seventeenth Century. Jonathan Cape, 1975.

Pfeffer, Michelle. “Astrology, Plague, and Prognostication in Early Modern England: A Forgotten Chapter in the History of Public Health.” Past & Present 263, no. 1 (2024): 81-124