Kaart met voorspelling van de stand van planeten in 1708 en 1709 before 1742

This anonymous chart, created around 1708, maps the predicted positions of the planets, a celestial dance rendered with geometric precision. Note the figure of a Goddess amidst cherubic forms. This echoes the ancient Roman goddess of Fortune, Fortuna, often shown with a wheel, symbolizing the unpredictable nature of fate. Fortuna's wheel finds resonances in the cyclical diagrams of the celestial spheres, charting the course of planets, each turn a new destiny. Such a wheel reminds me of similar motifs throughout history, such as the Wheel of Life in Buddhism. Each reflects the human quest to grasp control of destiny. The attempt to predict the future speaks to the human desire to ward off the uncertainties of life, to decode the celestial script and understand our place in the cosmic order. The wheel turns, Fortuna smiles or frowns—a drama played out on the grand stage of the heavens.