In episode 324 astrologer Luís Ribeiro joins me to talk about the life and work of his partner Helena Avelar, who passed away earlier this year.
Helena was a respected practitioner and teacher of traditional astrology from Portugal, and had influenced many astrologers through works she co-authored with Luís, such as their 2010 book On the Heavenly Spheres: A Treatise on Traditional Astrology.
She was also a scholar of the history of astrology, and obtained PhD from the Warburg Institute in 2018, with a thesis titled “The Making of an Astrologer in Fifteenth-century France. The Notebooks of S. Belle: Lisbon, MS 1711 and Paris, NAL 398.”
Her PhD dissertation was recently published by the academic publisher Brill, and the book came out just a few months after she died, under the title An Astrologer at Work in Late Medieval France The Notebooks of S. Belle.
In the first half of this podcast episode we focus on giving a biographical overview of Helena’s life and talking about her work and accomplishments, while in the second half we talk about her new book.
This episode is available in both audio and video versions below.
Links to Resources Mentioned in the Episode
Here are some links to different resources mentioned in the episode:
- First Astra Project Workshop: November 6, 2021
- The Academy of Traditional Astrology, Helena and Luís’s school
- The Astra Project YouTube Channel
- Helena Avelar animal fund
- Helena PhD Dissertation PDF
Helena Avelar de Carvalho, An Astrologer At Work in Late Medieval France: The Notebooks of S. Belle, Brill, Leiden & Boston, 2021. - Helena Avelar, “Who Wants to Live Forever? Astrological Methods for Calculating Lifespan in Western Culture and Perspectives on Determinism in Astrology,” in: International Journal of Divination & Prognostication, no. 2 (2021), pp. 161–188.
- Episode 225 of The Astrology Podcast, Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro on Traditional Astrology
- Interview with Volker Schendel, published Nov 14, 2020
Watch the Video Version of This Episode
Watch the video version of this episode on YouTube:
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Transcript
A full transcript of this episode is available: Episode 324 transcript
Listen to the Audio Version of This Episode
You can either play the audio version of this episode of the podcast directly from the website or download it as an MP3 to your device by using the buttons below:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:55:39 — 216.1MB)
I only met Helena through Facebook and more in relation to animal welfare and my cats , that Astrology, though it had been my interest in Horary Astrology that had led me first to Peter Stockinger and then to Sue Ward and her website.
Through them I learned about the, then forthcoming publication of ‘On the Heavenly Spheres’ and when it was published I obtained a copy and wrote one of the first reviews, on the (now defunct) Aeclectic Tarot website). At the time Peter and Helena were trying to get Sue to make use of Facebook, and as a Facebook member, I added my encouragement too.
Helena became, as the other two did. one of my friends, but 95% of our exchanges related to animals and she was kind enough to comment on a number of my photos.
I was impressed by her desire to help relieve unnecessary suffering and her clear enthusiasm for that cause. She was a lovely person and I was so shocked to learn of her passing. My thoughts and condolences go to Luis and her family.