Welcome to “Blogging the Heavens: Astral Imagery through Space and Time.” We invite you to join us in exploring the fascinating world of astral practices and celestial representations. This platform showcases the activities and research interests of our Working Group “Visualization and Material Cultures of the Heavens” (VoH). Group members and collaborators from a wide range of disciplines, including historians of science, art historians, archaeologists, museum conservators, artists, and anthropologists, are invited to discuss their work and make it accessible to a wider audience. 

By encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue, “Blogging the Heavens” deepens our understanding of astral practices in material cultures across different time periods and cultures and serves as a forum for ideas about how individuals from diverse social strata incorporated celestial imagery into different facets of their lives.

Our research investigates the ways that the understanding of the cosmos in the past was reflected in artifacts. We also explore the economic, political, and cultural dimensions of astral imagery. Additionally, we are interested in developing new methodologies  for navigating and utilizing the rich material of the VoH database in research.

Stay tuned for entries featuring the “Objects Revealed” event series, digital humanities initiatives, and new ideas and ways of exploring astral imagery across time and space. 

Creator: Stamatina Mastorakou

Communication Support: Rand El Zein, Spencer Forbes