MOSAIC Introductory Meeting 3 February 2026

Petra G. Schmidl from FAU, together with a group of researchers from Belgium, Italy and the US, recently received a highly prestigious Synergy Grant from the European Research Council (ERC): MOSAIC: Mapping Occult Sciences across Islamicate Cultures is dedicated to the study of historical sources on occult sciences in Islamicate cultures. The MOSAIC team Erlangen […]
New IJDP Issue Published: Volume 6, Issue 2

We are delighted to announce the publication of Volume 6, Issue 2 of the International Journal of Divination and Prognostication. Contents of Volume 6, Issue 2 Che-chia Chang — “The Rise and Spread of the ‘Red Goat Calamity’ Prophecy.” Kristof d’Hulster — “The Art of Picking the Best Seat: From Seating Positions at a Muslim […]
“Writing with the Phoenix Brush” in the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region – Recap

In July 2025, CAS-E hosted a delegation from a Taiwanese spirit-writing (fuji 扶乩 or 扶箕) community, organized by ISCSD president and CAS-E director Michael Lackner. The visit represented the first public demonstration of “writing with the Phoenix brush” in Germany, providing scholars and the public with an opportunity to observe this traditional religious practice. Following […]
New IJDP Issue Available

This year’s first issue of the International Journal of Divination and Prognostication has been published on July 18, 2025 and can be accessed online at https://brill.com/view/journals/ijdp/6/1/ijdp.6.issue-1.xml. This special issue, edited by our guest editor Stéphanie Homola, is dedicated to the subject of Online Divination Ethnographies: The Transformative Impact of Digital Technology and Social Media on […]
“Writing with the Phoenix Brush” in the Nuremberg Metropolitan Region

We are very pleased to announce the visit of a spirit-writing (fuji 扶乩 or 扶箕) community from Taiwan, hosted by CAS-E at the invitation of ISCSD president and CAS-E director Michael Lackner. The practice of “writing with the phoenix brush” remains widespread in Taiwan and parts of China to this day. A religious temple community […]
ISCSD Book Talk: “Jesuit Astrology” with Luís Campos Ribeiro

The ISCSD Book Talk series is pleased to announce its upcoming event scheduled on October 24, 2024, at 15:00 CEST. Dr. Luís Campos Ribeiro (University of Lisbon), together with Dr. Francisco Malta Romeiras (University of Lisbon) and Dr. Jeffrey Kotyk (Max Planck Institute for the History of Science) will discuss the book Jesuit Astrology: Prognostication […]
International Conference: “Ming 命 as life-conditioning force and as malleable fate: Perspectives from old(er) age” Ghent University, 16-18 December 2024