Colophon
Image credits
Every image on this blog is a found, openly licensed work: nothing is generated. Licences are limited to public domain, CC0, CC BY, and CC BY-SA (including IGO ports), verified on each source page. Credits below are the canonical text; the site renders the same line beneath each figure.
Sourcing rules, the licence gate, and the banned aesthetic live in ART.md.
founder-notes
2026-05-01-why-we-are-building-bhagol
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Brihat Samrat Yantra, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, photograph by Daniel VILLAFRUELA, 2013. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaipur-Jantar_Mantar-Brihat_Samrat_Yantra-20131016.jpg
2026-05-16-fear-is-not-guidance
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Sani, plate 60 from Collection de planches pour servir au Voyage aux Indes Orientales et a la Chine, engraved by Poisson after Pierre Sonnerat, 1806. Wikimedia Commons, public domain (PD-old-70). Licence: Public Domain (PD-old-70) Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shani_on_crow_Sonnerat.jpg
2026-05-30-computed-not-composed
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Jai Prakash Yantra, Jantar Mantar, Jaipur, photograph by Hans A. Rosbach, 2008. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:JaiPrakashYantraJaipur20080213-3.jpg
2026-06-13-where-are-the-intellectuals
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Shvetambara Jain Teacher Giving Instruction, possibly by Sahib Ram, Jaipur, c. 1750–60. Cleveland Museum of Art (2018.171), CC0. Licence: CC0 1.0 (Public Domain) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.171
2026-07-07-what-an-honest-reading-looks-like
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Madhava faces a man holding a scale, folio 1 from a Madhavanala-Kamakandala, Northern India, Pahari kingdoms, c. 1720. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund, 2018.95. CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.95
almanac
2026-05-05-how-to-read-a-panchang
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Almanac for Hindu year 1871-1872 (detail), maker not identified, India, 1871. South Asian Rare Book Collection, Library of Congress; Public Domain Mark 1.0. Licence: Public Domain Mark 1.0 Source: https://www.loc.gov/item/2011432170/
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): The Hindu Ecliptic, Samuel Davis, engraved plate in Asiatic Researches vol. 3, 1799. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hindu_calendar.jpg
2026-05-19-the-five-limbs-of-a-day
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Folio from the Vidyāmādhavīyam Jyotiṣa Śāstram, Sanskrit manuscript in Tigalari script, photograph by ಶ್ರೀ, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tigalari-manuscript-Vidyamadhaviyam.jpg
2026-06-20-rahu-kaal-without-the-fear
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Shadow on the quadrant of the great sundial (Vrihat Samrat Yantra), Jantar Mantar, Jaipur; photograph by Wolfgang Sauber, 2018. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaipur_Jantar_Mantar_-_Sonnenuhr_gro%C3%9F_4.jpg
2026-07-21-why-two-panchangs-disagree
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Malayalam almanac, 1866, a page from the almanac's calendar section. Universitätsbibliothek Tübingen, OpenDigi (shelfmark Ci XIV 130-1866). Public domain. Source: https://opendigi.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/opendigi/CiXIV130_1866
myth-vs-method
2026-05-09-sade-sati-a-field-guide
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Nine Celestial Bodies (Navagraha), unknown sculptor, Central India, 700s. Cleveland Museum of Art (1971.61, Gift of Doris and Ed Wiener), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1971.61
2026-05-26-the-mangal-dosha-panic
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Wedding Procession of Rama, Manohar of Mewar, Udaipur, 1649; folio 108v of the Mewar Ramayana, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai, acc. 54.1/19. Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Licence: Public Domain (PD-Art, PD-old-100-expired) Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Wedding_Procession_of_Rama,_From_the_Mewar_Ramayana.jpg
2026-06-09-kaal-sarp-anatomy-of-a-modern-fear
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Churning of the Ocean of Milk, unknown artist, Mandi, Punjab Hills, ca. 1780–90. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/37989
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Nagini (Serpent Queen or Consort of Nagaraja), unknown sculptor, Madhya Pradesh, second quarter of the 5th century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39892
2026-07-14-the-gemstone-question
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Armlet of bazuband, unknown goldsmith, Punjab, India, 18th–19th century. Cleveland Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.268
computed-sky
2026-05-03-why-your-moon-sign-changes-between-apps
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Haemisphaeria Sphaerarum Rectae et Obliquae, plate 12 from Harmonia Macrocosmica, Andreas Cellarius, 1661. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cellarius_Harmonia_Macrocosmica_-_Haemisphaeria_Sphaerarum_Rectae_et_Obliquae.jpg
2026-05-23-the-arithmetic-of-vimshottari
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Horoscope roll (जन्मपत्त्रिका), Sanskrit manuscript scroll, north India, 1770; Ms. Indic 3, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Public Domain Mark 1.0. Licence: Public Domain Mark 1.0 Source: https://openn.library.upenn.edu/Data/0002/html/msindic3.html
2026-06-23-the-slow-clock-of-precession
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Draco and Ursa Minor, plate 1 from Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall, London, 1825. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain (restored by Adam Cuerden). Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Draco_and_Ursa_Minor.jpg
2026-07-18-what-a-birth-chart-actually-computes
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Khalili Astrolabe, probably by Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn Muḥammad Lāhūrī, Lahore, 1648–58. Khalili Collections (SCI 53), CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO. Share-alike applies to this crop. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khalili_Collection_Islamic_Art_05.jpg
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Horoscope of Iskandar Sultan, from The Book of the Birth of Iskandar, Shiraz, 1411 (Or MS PER 474). Wellcome Collection, CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC BY 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Horoscope_from_the_book_of_the_birth_of_Iskandar_Wellcome_L0015229.jpg
nakshatra-files
2026-06-16-ashwini-the-first-spark
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Aries and Musca Borealis, plate 16 from Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall, 1825. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, restored by Adam Cuerden. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Aries_and_Musca_Borealis.jpg
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): The constellation Aries, photograph by Eckhard Slawik, 2024. E. Slawik/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Zamani, CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC BY 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Photo_of_the_constellation_Aries_produced_by_NOIRLab_in_collaboration_with_Eckhard_Slawik,_a_German_astrophotographer_(aries).jpg
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2026-06-30-bharani-the-bearer
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Yama as Dharma, the Judge of the Deceased with His Consorts (miniature stele), Northwest India or Kashmir, 800s. Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Willard G. Clark, 1982.134. CC0 (https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1982.134
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Triangulum Majus, Triangulum Minus et Musca, plate AA from Johannes Hevelius, Firmamentum Sobiescianum sive Uranographia, Gdańsk, 1690. Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Hevelius_-_Triangulum_Majus,_Triangulum_Minus_%26_Musca_(also_shows_Aries,_Andromeda,_Piscis_Boreus_and_Perseus).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
2026-07-11-krittika-the-blade-and-the-flame
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Pleiades (M45), 2004. NASA, ESA and AURA/Caltech, Palomar Observatory. Public domain under STScI/HubbleSite release terms. Licence: Public domain (STScI/HubbleSite release terms, 2004/20) Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pleiades_large.jpg
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Taurus, plate 17 from Urania's Mirror, engraved by Sidney Hall, 1825. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons, public domain, restored by Adam Cuerden. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sidney_Hall_-_Urania%27s_Mirror_-_Taurus.jpg
2026-07-28-rohini-the-red-one
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): The Hyades star cluster, NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Digitized Sky Survey 2, released 4 August 2020. NSF NOIRLab, CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC BY 4.0 Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noirlab2018e/
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Chandra, the Moon God, folio from a Book of Dreams, Mewar (Udaipur), Rajasthan, c. 1700–1725. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.83.219.2) via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chandra,_The_Moon_God;_Folio_from_a_Book_of_Dreams_LACMA_M.83.219.2_(1_of_3).jpg
.jpg){kind=link}
decisions
2026-05-12-bring-a-decision-not-a-fear
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): A Ruler Presents a Document to Visiting Nobles, unknown artist, Mughal India (Deccan), c. 1700–1720. Cleveland Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1996.296
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Couple Playing Chaupar on a Terrace, unknown artist, Pahari (Kangra school), c. 1790–1800. Cleveland Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1936.683
2026-06-06-astrology-and-the-anxious-mind
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): A Princess on a Terrace with Attendants at Night (recto), unknown artist, Mughal India (Farrukhabad), c. 1760. Cleveland Museum of Art (Open Access), CC0 1.0. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication) Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2013.341.a
2026-07-04-the-question-you-have-been-avoiding
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Noblewoman at a Jharokha Window Holding a Rose, from a Portraits of Women series, unknown artist, Rajput kingdom of Sawar, Rajasthan, c. 1730. Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Licence: CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication Source: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2018.182
2026-07-29-how-to-choose-an-astrologer
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): An astrologer, unknown Indian artist, ca. 1825. Wellcome Collection (590344i), Public Domain Mark 1.0. Licence: Public Domain Mark 1.0 Source: https://wellcomecollection.org/works/syn7nqv8
tradition
2026-06-02-who-was-parashara
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Sage Narada asks Valmiki to write the story of Rama, anonymous, Kangra school, early 19th century. National Museum, New Delhi (49.19/276), via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain. Licence: Public Domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sage_Narada_at_the_hermitage_of_Sage_Valmiki_requesting_him_to_write_the_Story_of_Rama.jpg
2026-06-27-how-to-read-the-hora-shastra
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Bṛhajjātaka of Varāhamihira, palm-leaf manuscript copied at Kathmandu, 1399 (Cambridge University Library MS Add.2834); photograph by Ms Sarah Welch, 2018. Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Varahamihira%27s_Brihajjataka,_Sanskrit,_Nepalaksara_script,_manuscript_copied_in_1399_CE,_Kathmandu.jpg
- Inline (`inline-1.jpg`): Unidentified Jātikalaṅkāra, folio 6a, undated. Wellcome Collection, London (Or Hindi MS 240; L0024474), CC BY 4.0. Licence: CC BY 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hindi_Manuscript_240,_folio_6a_Wellcome_L0024474.jpg
2026-07-25-the-many-schools-of-jyotisha
- Hero (`hero.jpg`): Planispheric astrolabe by Diya al-Din Muhammad, Lahore, 1647 to 1648. Photograph by Steve Pitkin, collection of the Adler Planetarium, Chicago, inventory A-70. CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adler_Planetarium_A-70.Ga_Opac.jpg
Counts
37 images across 28 posts. Licence mix:
- Public Domain: 9 - CC0 1.0 Universal (Public Domain Dedication): 8 - CC BY 4.0: 4 - CC BY-SA 3.0: 3 - Public Domain Mark 1.0: 3 - CC BY-SA 4.0: 3 - Public Domain (PD-old-70): 1 - Public Domain (PD-Art, PD-old-100-expired): 1 - CC0 1.0 (Public Domain): 1 - CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication: 1 - CC0 1.0 Universal (Creative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication): 1 - Public domain (STScI/HubbleSite release terms, 2004/20): 1 - CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO: 1
Public-domain works are credited as a courtesy, not an obligation. CC BY and CC BY-SA assets carry the licence name and link wherever they appear, and share-alike applies to any crop we publish.