HELENA AVELAR

Helena Avelar de Carvalho holds a PhD on Combined Historical Studies from The Warburg Institute, University of London.

Helena Avelar was the first Portuguese historian to dedicate her research to the history of astrology. After many years of independent research, her MA dissertation (Vir Sapiens Dominabitur Astris. Astrological Knowledge and Practices in the Portuguese Medieval Court: king João I to King Afonso V) was a first step to understand the role of astrology in medieval and early modern Portugal. Her PhD thesis (The Making of an Astrologer in Fifteenth-century France. The Notebooks of S. Belle: Lisbon, MS 1711 and Paris, NAL 398), completed in 2018 at The Warburg Institute, is a valuable contribution for the understanding the inner dynamics of astrological practices. She was also the co-founder of The Astra Project (theastraproject.org), concerned with the study of historical astrological methodologies.

Unfortunately Helena did not live to see the book of her thesis published (An Astrologer at Work in Late Medieval France. The Notebooks of S. Belle, Brill 2021). She only had the opportunity to see and approve the cover.

Although a reserved person, she had a caring attitude for those she counselled and a special gift to promote connections among people. Her immense love for nature’s living beings and her dedication to animal rights and welfare. An excellent teacher, a valued friend, and an unforgettable companion, her legacy will live on in her books, papers, videos and in the hearts of those she touched.