This exhibition (Yale University Library) explores the visual history of medical astrology in Europe between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries. The spectacular collection of early-modern texts at the Medical Historical Library, Harvey Cushing – John Hay Whitney Medical Library provides the conceptual foundation for this study. Nearly 200 images from this archive supply the framework.

Medical astrology, otherwise known as iatromathematics, was widely practiced in early-modern Europe. Part art, part science, it was integral to several fields of study, linking medicine to natural philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy, among others. Although not without controversy, the use of astrology in medicine was by no means fringe. It figured prominently in the training of most physicians, barber surgeons, and lay practitioners by the end of the Middle Ages.

At the university level, astrology was studied as part of the arts degree that was required before postgraduate study in medicine. By the early sixteenth century, educational publications on this topic were widely available and used by practitioners of all levels, from university-trained medical doctors to lay local healers.

Source: https://onlineexhibits.library.yale.edu/s/medicalastrology/page/introduction