The Theory Of Celestial Influence

Before Paulo Coelho and Eckhart Tolle came Rodney Collin. A huge 462 page book full of essential knowledge. How To Become Supernatural Man, The Universe and Cosmic Mystery is an exploration of the universe and man's place in it. Rodney Collin examines 20th-century scientific discoveries and traditional esoteric teachings and concludes that the driving force behind everything is neither procreation nor survival, but expansion of awareness. Collin sets out to reconcile the considerable contradictions of the rational and imaginative minds and of the ways we see the external world versus our inner selves. For readers familiar with Gurdjieff's cosmology will here find further examinations of the systems outlined in by Ouspensky in Search of the Miraculous.

Originally published in 1954, The Theory of Celestial Influence is an exploration of the universe and man’s place in it. Drawing extensively on the teachings of Russian mathematician and esotericist P. D. Ouspensky and Greek-Armenian Esoteric doctrine teacher George Gurdjieff, author Rodney Collins examines 20th century scientific discoveries and attempts to unite astronomy, physics, chemistry, human physiology and world history with his own version of planetary influences. He concludes that the driving force behind everything is neither procreation nor survival, but expansion of awareness. Collin sets out to reconcile the considerable contradictions of the rational and imaginative minds and of the ways we see the external world versus our inner selves.

This book offers a reappraisal of basic aspects of Aristotelian cosmology. Aristotle believed that all celestial objects consist of the same substance that pervades the heavens, a stuff unlike those found near the center of the cosmos that compose us and everything in our immediate surroundings. Kouremenos argues that, contrary to the received view, Aristotle originally introduced this heavenly stuff as the matter of the stars alone, the remotest celestial objects from the Earth, and as filler of the outermost part of the heavens, forming a diurnally rotating spherical shell whose fixed parts are the stars, the crust of the cosmos which has the Earth at its center. The author also argues that, contrary to another common view, at no point in the development of his cosmological thought did Aristotle believe the heavens to be structured according to the theory of homocentric spheres developed by his older contemporary Eudoxus of Cnidus, in which the other celestial objects, the five planets known in antiquity, the Sun and the Moon, were hypothesized to move uniformly in circles, as if they were fixed stars.

A collection of cutting-edge scholarship on the close interaction of philosophy with science at the birth of the modern age.

Today few would think of astronomy and astrology as fields related to theology. Fewer still would know that physically absorbing planetary rays was once considered to have medical and psychological effects. But this was the understanding of light radiation held by certain natural philosophers of early modern Europe, and that, argues Mary Quinlan-McGrath, was why educated people of the Renaissance commissioned artworks centered on astrological themes and practices. Influences is the first book to reveal how important Renaissance artworks were designed to be not only beautiful but also—perhaps even primarily—functional. From the fresco cycles at Caprarola, to the Vatican’s Sala dei Pontefici, to the Villa Farnesina, these great works were commissioned to selectively capture and then transmit celestial radiation, influencing the bodies and minds of their audiences. Quinlan-McGrath examines the sophisticated logic behind these theories and practices and, along the way, sheds light on early creation theory; the relationship between astrology and natural theology; and the protochemistry, physics, and mathematics of rays. An original and intellectually stimulating study, Influences adds a new dimension to the understanding of aesthetics among Renaissance patrons and a new meaning to the seductive powers of art.

This volume is designed as an introductory text and reference book for graduate students, researchers and practitioners in the fields of astronomy, astrodynamics, satellite systems, space sciences and astrophysics. The purpose of the book is to emphasize the similarities between celestial mechanics and astrodynamics, and to present recent advances in these two fields so that the reader can understand the inter-relations and mutual influences. The juxtaposition of celestial mechanics and astrodynamics is a unique approach that is expected to be a refreshing attempt to discuss both the mechanics of space flight and the dynamics of celestial objects. “Celestial Mechanics and Astrodynamics: Theory and Practice” also presents the main challenges and future prospects for the two fields in an elaborate, comprehensive and rigorous manner. The book presents homogenous and fluent discussions of the key problems, rendering a portrayal of recent advances in the field together with some basic concepts and essential infrastructure in orbital mechanics. The text contains introductory material followed by a gradual development of ideas interweaved to yield a coherent presentation of advanced topics.