In October of 1666, Englands most famous horary astrologer, William Lilly, was ordered to appear in court. He was made to give a Committee regarding the fire testimony regarding his knowledge of that fire. It seems that Lilly had predicted the September fire in a book of his 14 years earlier.
That book was called Monarchy or No Monarchy in England and it featured many hieroglyphic pictures. One of them was of a big fire in the city of London. As a result, Lilly was suspected of causing the fire but was eventually found innocent.
Lilly was born in Leicestershire, England in 1602. He grew up to help his family after they experienced some hard times by working for an older couple in the city of London. During his 17th year working for them he discovered astrology. He read all he could and even built up an extensive library of books on the subject.
In the 1630s, he began practicing the science of astrology and also began exploring the occult. It took him five years to perfect his astrological abilities. Thereafter he began writing and publishing almanacs which contained lots of predictions, many of which came to pass. His books became very popular in England and his almanacs were highly anticipated every year.
His first almanac for 1644 correctly predicted that the King would be defeated in the Battle of Naseby the following year. He published a comprehensive set of volumes in 1647 called Christian Astrology.
This book gave detailed information on the science of horary astrology. It has never been out of print and is still thought of as the ultimate publication regarding horary charts which are drawn up based on the time and location where a particular question is being asked rather than a particular date associated with a sign.
In 1670, he studied medicine and was granted a license to practice. He often helped the poor with his abilities without charging them anything. He also continued to publish his almanacs. He fell ill and on June 9, 1681, with the help of his adopted son, he passed away. He is still thought of as the authority on horary astrology having accurately predicted the great fire of 1666. While he was seriously suspected of setting it, he was able to prove his innocence with the help of another occultist.
