Spiritus Mundi is the Renaissance Astrology e-mail discussion group hosted on Groups.io. Here is the Spiritus Mundi page on Groups.io. You can join by sending an e-mail to SpiritusMundi+subscribe@groups.io or using the Subscribe box below.
The name Spiritus Mundi was chosen for the
e-group because of the importance of this force in medieval and Renaissance
astrology, alchemy and magic. The Italian Renaissance philosopher
Marsilio
Ficino uses the correspondence of the Macrocosm (the Universe or Great Man)
and the Microcosm (the little man or individual human) to
explain the Spiritus Mundi,
"Always remember, though, that just as the power of our soul is brought
to bear on our members through the spirit, so the force of the
World-Soul [Anima Mundi] is spread under the World-Soul through all
things through the quintessence [the fifth element-the Spiritus Mundi],
which is active everywhere, as the spirit inside the World's Body [the
material world composed of the four elements of fire, air, water and
earth]..."
The Renaissance mage Cornelius Agrippa makes clear the importance of the quintessence or Spiritus Mundi stating that, "By this Spirit therefore every occult property is conveyed into herbs, stones, metals and animals, through the Sun, Moon, planets and through stars higher than the planets." Three Books of Occult Philosophy Bk. I, Chapter 14