Abstract

This paper explores Ramon Llull’s critique of political astrology regarding both its literary expression and its epistemological foundations. It opens with a discussion of Llull’s reception of the topos of the treacherous astrologer, which shows how the Catalan philosopher and theologian used this traditional motif in order to rebut the very influential notion of political astrology from pseudo-Aristotle’s Secretum secretorum. Regarding the epistemological foundations of Llull’s critique of astrology, the paper draws attention to his reflections on the changing epistemological conditions of human experience, which he sees as the main reason for the precarious status of astrology. Consequently, Llull pleads for replacing an experience-based astrology by a principle-oriented science of the stars.