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The goal of the Sophia Project is to advance the scholarly study of astrology and cultural astronomy in British institutions of higher education. We seek to make it possible to study any aspect, past or present, of the heavens’ human significance – whether social, intellectual, cultural, religious or psychological – and to do so in accordance with the best academic standards. Funds for this purpose are administered by the Sophia Trust, which is advised by a steering committee comprised of trustees and elected representatives from the astrological community.  

Donations to the Sophia Project

Donations are invited to further the work of the Sophia Project. If you would like to make a donation and would like to find out more, please contact:

The Secretary, The Sophia Project, BM Sophia, London WC1N 3XX, United Kingdom Email: admin@sophia-project.org.uk

Latest News


At present the Sophia Project is funding three principal initiatives:  

UNIVERSITY OF WALES, LAMPETER
The Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture at the University of Wales, Lampeter, offers opportunities for post-graduate research and teaches the on-line, distance-learning MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology. Students study at home and there is no requirement to come to Lampeter.

The Centre’s academic goals are 'to pursue research, scholarship and teaching in the relationship between astrological, astronomical and cosmological beliefs and theories, and society, politics, religion and the arts, past and present' and to 'to undertake the academic and critical examination of astrology and its practice'.

The Centre’s wider goal is stated in its title – to ‘study cosmology in culture’. This enables us to tackle a wide range of topics, from Egyptian sky religion and Babylonian astrology, to astronomy in surrealist painting, astrology in contemporary culture, UFO abduction and the politics of the space race. We also examine such issues as whether our relationship to the sky can be understood through ideas of myth, divination and Max Weber’s theory of enchantment.

Modules in the MA include

An Introduction to Cultural and Astronomy and Astrology (compulsory)
Research Methods: Ethnography and Fieldwork (compulsory)
History of Astrology
The Medieval Cosmos
New Age and Pagan Cosmologies
Stellar Religion
Psychological Perspectives
Sacred Geography
Science and Scepticism

Students may also study for the lesser qualifications of Postgraduate Diploma (PGDip) or Postgraduate Certificate (PGCert). Associate Students may register as ‘occasional students’, for one module only.

Tutors on the course include Bernadette Brady MA, Dr Patrick Curry and Dr Liz Greene.

By joining the Sophia Centre you will be part of a lively, vibrant scholarly community.

For enquiries please contact the course director,

Dr Nick Campion,
Director, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture,
University of Wales,
Lampeter,
Ceredigion,
Wales, SA48 7ED,
UK.
E mail n.campion@lamp.ac.uk



The University of Kent at Canterbury : From September 2006, the Sophia Trust will be sponsoring a new MA programme in Cosmology and Divination at the University of Kent (http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/thrs/postgraduate/cosmology/index.html). The aim of this course will be to examine the relationship between human beings and the cosmos they inhabit, focusing on the modes of knowledge implicit in divinatory practices.  Interpretations of the cosmos characteristically manifest through the forms of divination, thus divination presents both an expression and interpretation of the cosmos.  In European traditions, the principle vehicle for cosmological interpretation has historically been astrology, and the study of hermeneutical approaches to this subject will become the basis for the exploration of the epistemology of divination. The programme will consider both historical and modern theories of interpretation through various  methods, including the study of primary texts and images, comparative and analytical studies of divinatory practices in the context of historical and cultural cosmologies and the phenomenology of symbolic perception.  Divinatory and astrological practices and beliefs will be reviewed in the light of traditional metaphysics, religious, magical, artistic and imaginative forms, contemporary psychological theories and skeptical critiques. Enquiries about the course should be directed to the convenor, Dr Angela Voss at a.voss@kent.ac.uk .  During the academic year 2005-2006, courses in Cosmology and Divination will continue to be offered as part of the MA in the Study of Mysticism and Religious Experience, and the BA in Religious Studies. Further information from Dr. Peter Moore at P.G.Moore@kent.ac.uk, or at: http://www.kent.ac.uk/secl/thrs/postgraduate/mysticism/index.html 

Sophia Fellowship at the Warburg Institute
The Warburg Institute of the University of London exists principally to further the study of the classical tradition, that is of those elements
of European thought, literature, art and institutions which derive from the ancient world. The Sophia Trust sponsors a Research Fellowship of three or four months in the history of astrology at the Warburg Institute. This is taken in a wide sense to include the theory of astrology in historical times, the history of the practice of astrology, astrological iconography, the history of astrology in relation to other
arts and sciences, and astrology in both Western and non-Western societies.

 

 

If you would like information or wish to contact us you are also welcome to do so.

The Sophia Project
BM Sophia
London
WC1N 3XX

admin@sophia-project.org.uk