Urania - Astronomy - Astrology. An iconographic problem

Abstract

This study does not start from scratch. For several months, we have been studying the frescoes that cover the vault of the El Escorial library, presided over by the Seven Liberal Arts. So far, we have analyzed, without major setbacks, the iconography of the first six —Grammar, Rhetoric, Dialectic, Arithmetic, Music, and Geometry—. However, when approaching the seventh, we encountered a serious problem: in principle, it should be 'Astronomy,' following a tradition dating back to Antiquity; yet, according to the inscription that identifies it, it is 'Astrology,' a more or less esoteric discipline. How can this fact be explained? Did the person who chose the name make a mistake? Or did they, on the contrary, wish to communicate their actual thoughts regarding the study of the stars?