Bento Serrano

A Portuguese astrologer, writer, and republican activist, Bento Serrano is generally described as a figure of the late 19th century who died in 1939. He wrote across a wide range of subjects, from fiction to esoteric and astrological works, and several of his books have survived in digital archives.

He is especially associated with O Oraculo do Passado, do presente e do Futuro, a sprawling multi-part work that blends astrology, dream interpretation, remedies, omens, and popular lore. That mix of practical advice, superstition, and storytelling gives a good sense of the world he wrote for: readers interested in both entertainment and guidance.

Accounts of his life also portray him as a committed supporter of Portuguese republicanism, producing periodicals in favor of the republic and against the monarchy. Some sources add that he later withdrew to a cave in the Serra da Estrela region, where he kept an improvised astrological study, a detail that only adds to his unusual literary image.