BOOK OF THE SEVEN PLANETS

BOOK OF THE SEVEN PLANETSBlessed Raymond LULLLord GOD, with your Virtue and in your honor here begins this new treatise on astronomy

Many people desire to know the truth about the natural secrets of the heavenly bodies through the art of astronomy, which is very difficult to learn and the judgments made with it have oftentimes proved false. So I, Raymond, with the Art that is general for all sciences, now propose to investigate and clarify the nature and secrets of the heavenly bodies and to find out what things can cause judgments made with the art of astronomy to fail more often than not.

We also want to seek out and find new ways to discover several natural secrets leading to a greater knowledge of astronomy and of astronomical judgments. Moreover, we want to write this book for the benefit of leaders and magnates so they can use it to be warned against some astronomers who deceive them with the false judgments that they derive from the heavenly bodies, because the things we are about to say in this treatise should allow them to detect the deception that some false astronomers are preparing for them, as well as the deception wrought with the art of geomancy.

HOW THIS TREATISE IS DIVIDED Astronomy is divided into two parts: the first part deals with the movements, conjunctions and encounters of the planets in the signs. The second part deals with judgments that can be drawn from the conjunctions and encounters of the planets in the signs. The whole science of astronomy is comprised in these two constituent parts.

THE FIRST PART OF ASTRONOMYWE DIVIDE THIS PART INTO FIVE PARTS: PART ONE IS ABOUT THE PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY PART TWO IS ABOUT THE FIGURE OF ASTRONOMY PART THREE IS ABOUT THE CONJUNCTIONS OF PLANETS AND SIGNS PART FOUR CONTAINS THE OBJECTIONS WE RAISE AGAINST SOME OPINIONS HELD BY ASTRONOMERS PART FIVE, AS THE LAST PART, DEALS WITH QUESTIONS

PART ONE, THE PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY 1. THE FIRST PART deals with the ancient principles of astronomy 2. THE SECOND PART deals with the principles of Raymond's Art as applied by him to the ancient principles of astronomy, in order to understand and discover the truth in the ancient principles of astronomy by discovering and showing their nature and their secrets through the principles of his Art .

1. ON THE ANCIENT PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY This part is divided into two parts: 1. The first part is about the twelve celestial signs. 2. The second part is about the seven planets. And now for the first part...

BOOK OF THE SEVEN PLANETS : CONTENTSTHE FIRST PART OF ASTRONOMY ON THE MOVEMENTS, CONJUNCTIONS AND COMBINATIONS OF PLANETS IN THE SIGNS PART 1. THE PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY (1) ANCIENT PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY The Twelve Signs 1.Aries 2.Taurus 3.Gemini 4.Cancer 5.Leo 6.Virgo 7.Libra 8.Scorpio 9.Sagittarius 10.Capricorn 11.Aquarius 12.Pisces The Seven Planets 1.Saturn 2.Jupiter 3.Mars 4.Sun 5.Venus 6.Mercury 7.Moon .(2) THE PRINCIPLES OF RAYMOND'S ART APPLIED TO THE ANCIENT PRINCIPLES OF ASTRONOMY 2.1. The mutual overcoming of the elements [1] A.B. [2] A.C. [3] A.D. [4] B.C. [5] B.D. [6] C.D.

2.2 Questions (1) Question two: "what?" (2) Question three: "of what?" (3) Question four: "why?" (4) Question five: on quantity (5) Question six: on quality 2.3 Principles (1) Greatness (2) Duration (3) Power (4) The instinct of heaven (5) Appetite (6) Virtue (7) Truth (8) Delight (9) Difference (10) Concordance (11) Contrariety (12) Beginning (13) Middle (14) End (15) Majority (16) Equality (17) Minority

2.4 Definitions of accidents (1) When, or celestial time (2) Where, or the celestial locus (3) Modality (4) Instruments

2.5 The soul of heaven (1) Does it exist? (2) Heaven's soul is not vegetative, sensitive or rational (3) Motion is the soul of heaven

PART 2 THE ASTRONOMICAL FIGURE (1) Description and use (2) Subjects of astronomical judgment

PART 3 CONJUNCTIONS AND ASPECTS OF PLANETS AND SIGNS 1. Conjunctions of planets and signs 1.1 Planets in Aries 1.2 Planets in Taurus 1.3 Planets in Gemini 1.4 Planets in Cancer 2. Oblique aspects between signs and planets

PART 4 OBJECTIONS TO ASTRONOMICAL BELIEFS 1. Misconceptions about the signs and planets 2. Misconceptions about God and the human soul

PART 5 QUESTIONS ABOUT ASTRONOMY 1. First part of questions 2. Second Part of questions 3. Third Part of questions, and conclusion

THE TWELVE SIGNS OF THE ZODIACThe sky containing the fixed stars was divided by the ancient astronomers into twelve parts, and they called each part a house and each house was called a sign, namely a sign of one specific part of the sky, and that sign was signified by the stars found in that house. The first sign is Aries, the second Taurus, the third Gemini, the fourth Cancer, the fifth Leo, the sixth Virgo, the seventh Libra, the eighth Scorpio, the ninth Sagittarius, the tenth Capricorn, the eleventh Aquarius and the twelfth sign is Pisces. By these twelve signs, astronomers consider all of celestial nature and to each sign they attribute its own natural conditions, different from those of the other signs. So we will now speak of each sign according to its own natural condition. And first, about the first sign...

1. ARIES is a sign deemed to have a fiery complexion which is hot and dry, and the complexion of fire is signified by the letter B in this treatise. Fire is hot with its own heat and dry with the dryness it receives from earth. However, Aries is neither hot nor dry in its own essential nature, but it naturally increases the heat and dryness of fire inasmuch as the heavens naturally shed their influence and virtue upon things below. The Sun, for instance, has natural virtue for increasing the heat of fire with its splendor and brightness, which is similar to the brightness of fire. With its heat, Aries multiplies instances of heat in the corporeal things below it and destroys instances of cold, and with its dryness it multiplies instances of dryness and consumes those of moisture. And we say that it rules heat and dryness because it naturally agrees better with fire than with any other element. And so, whenever some planet is in the house of Aries, judgment is to be made according the complexion attributed to Aries and according to the complexion attributed to that planet. Aries is diurnal because its own natural virtue has greater concordance with day than with night, and so astronomers say that Aries natives born by day are more choleric than those born at night, and that Aries gives them greater and stronger virtue by day than by night. Aries is masculine, which means that its own natural virtue agrees better with masculine than with feminine bodies below. Hence, Aries natives are more fortunate in their dealings with the masculine than with the feminine sex, and someone conceived in this constellation would naturally be a male, but only if the nature of Aries is not impeded by some planet in its house or in conjunction with it, with a complexion contrary to the complexion of Aries: such as Venus and the Moon that naturally tend to generate female bodies which are closer to the complexion of water than to fire. Aries is mobile, and this is because it agrees more with the bodies below it when they move than when they merely exist. And thus, although people conceived or born in the constellation of Aries are lighter and run about more than others who are either conceived or born in the constellation of Taurus, nonetheless their deeds are not as lasting as those done by natives of Taurus, but they implement their projects more promptly than natives conceived or born in the constellation of Taurus. Mars is the planet with which Aries sheds its influence and virtue on things below more readily than with any other planet, because Mars is the messenger of the appetites that the lower bodies have for receiving the virtue of Aries. Mars receives and transmits this virtue to bodies below along with its own virtue through the hot and dry influence and the masculine, mobile and diurnal nature of Aries and according to their need for the influence of Mars. Aries has three parts: the First, or rising part is called the head or face and is signified by the letter E, the other part is called the middle, signified by F and this is the standing part; the third, descending part of Aries is called the tail signified by G. And the things we say about the rising, standing and descending that occur by day, also apply to rising, standing and descending movements at night. So, astronomers say that Aries has thirty degrees, namely ten as it rises in E, ten as it stands in F, and ten as it descends in G. There is an intensive judgment for each degree which is subdivided into even smaller parts such as minutes. The most difficult thing of all in this science is to know and read all the different degrees of Aries and the other signs. In the human body, Aries influences the head and face and its regions in the world are Persia and Babylon, because it naturally influences the head and face of man and the said regions more powerfully than any other part of the human body, or any other region of the earth. These are the conditions of Aries per se, and with these it communicates its natural virtue to bodies here below in the way that its natural virtue is naturally modified by the natural properties of any planet or planets in conjunction with it: if the said planet or planets naturally agree with it, they transmit its natural influence to the bodies below, but if the planet or planets in conjunction with it are naturally opposed to it, then they transmit its natural virtue to things below in a form altered by the transmitting medium. This is like an ailing sense of taste that signals bitterness when tasting a sweet apple, even though the apple is not bitter at all. And the same applies to the other signs in view of their respective complexions and properties.

2. TAURUS has an earthy, cold and dry complexion signified by the letter C in this treatise. And Taurus is nocturnal, feminine and fixed, its planet is Venus. Astronomers say that Taurus has an earthy complexion because earth receives more virtue from it through C than through B A D. Another reason why astronomers assert that Taurus is feminine is that it helps feminine substances more than those which are not of a feminine nature. Astronomers also say that Taurus is nocturnal as it has greater virtue by night than by day. They furthermore say that it is fixed because it does not send its influence and virtue to moving bodies below. They also say that Venus is its planet as it naturally agrees better with Venus than with any other planet. Astronomers say that Taurus influences the neck and adam's apple in man, as well as trees that have been planted. And they say that it rules the lower parts of things that receive more influence and virtue from it than from any other sign. And it rules over regions inhabited by the Black race.

3. GEMINI has a moist and warm airy complexion signified by the letter A, as astronomers say that Gemini transmits its influence and virtue more strongly through A than through any other complexion. They also say that it is powerful by day and call it a diurnal sign. And they say that it is masculine, because it is more helpful to masculine substances than to any others. They also say that it is common in movement, meaning that it has no natural inclination either to move or not to move substances below it. Its planet is Mercury because it transmits its virtue to things below more strongly through Mercury than through any other planet. They also say that it rules the shoulders, arms and hands of the human body, that Armenia and Germany are its regions and that it is a liberal sign and produces a good mentality.

4. CANCER has the cold, moist complexion of water signified by the letter D. Astronomers say that Cancer has a watery complexion because it virtually influences water and substances of watery complexion. They also say that it is feminine because it helps feminine substances below it, and mobile, because it gives them a natural appetite for movement. It is also nocturnal, as night influences substances subject to it through Cancer. Astronomers also say that Cancer rules the chest and stomach in the human body inasmuch as it virtually influences them. It rules trees that are naturally equal in height and its region is eastern Armenia and Germany.

5. LEO has a B complexion and is a fixed sign. Astronomers call it fixed because it naturally influences bodies here below that remain firmly in place, without any natural appetite to move. And they say that it is masculine and diurnal and that its planet is the Sun. In the human body it rules the heart, ribs and spine; it also rules large trees, and its region is Tunisia, the habitable regions above the Sahara desert, the Silk Road and regions where silk is found.

6. VIRGO has a C complexion and is called common because it is common both to movement and non - movement. Virgo is nocturnal, feminine, and its planet is Mercury; in the human body it rules the belly, armpits, tissues, diaphragm, and intestines. And it rules seeds sown in earth. It has a good, generous mentality and rules regions like Jerusalem and other sites of pilgrimage.

7. LIBRA has an A complexion that strengthens heat and moisture in elemented bodies. It is masculine, diurnal and mobile, and its planet is Venus. In the human body it rules the front part from the navel down to the thighs. Libra also rules trees that are equal in size; it is liberal and its regions are Rome and Greece.

8. SCORPIO is of the D complexion, it is a watery sign that fortifies moisture and cold in substances here below; it is stable because by its natural virtue bodies below it stay firmly in place and have no appetite to move. Scorpio is nocturnal as it has more virtue by night than by day, and feminine, because it helps the feminine substances below it and its planet is Mars. In the human body, it rules the penis, genitals and anus; it also rules long trees equal in measure; and its region is Arabia.

9. SAGITTARIUS is a fiery sign, common, diurnal and masculine, its planet is Jupiter. In the human body it rules the thighs, and it rules India and regions inhabited by Jews; it is an ingenious and daring sign.

10. CAPRICORN is of the earthy C complexion, dry in its proper quality and cold in its appropriate quality, and it fortifies dryness and cold in substances here below. Capricorn is a mobile sign, which means that it agrees better with bodies below that move, than those that merely exist. It is a nocturnal and feminine sign, its planet is Saturn. It rules the knees in the human body and its region is Ethiopia.

11. AQUARIUS has an A complexion because it strengthens moisture and heat. It is a fixed sign, as by its natural virtue bodies below it stand firm and have no appetite to move. It is masculine and diurnal; its planet is Saturn. In the human body it rules the shins and ankles. Its region is in the third part of Egypt, and it has other regions as well.

12. PISCES has a D complexion because it fortifies cold and moisture in bodies below it. It is a common, feminine and nocturnal sign, its planet is Jupiter. It rules the feet in the human body, and endows people with a humorous and discreet nature. Pisces also rules mixtures of colors with which bodies below it are colored in different ways. It rules the northern regions and has an influence on the Romans. We have described the twelve celestial signs with their complexions and natures, according to the influences that they transmit to things below them. Now let us describe the seven planets and their natural complexions and natures through which they tansmit their influence to things below.

THE SEVEN PLANETSThere are seven planets, namely: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. These stars have a movement of their own from west to east, but because the heavens move from east to west, they accidentally move from east to west. And these stars are called wandering stars by astronomers because they have no unique way of moving, as one planet moves in one way and another planet moves in another way, and each one moves within its own sphere

1. SATURN is of the complexion of earth, which is signified by C, it is masculine, diurnal, bad, and rules lead and Saturdays. It rules Capricorn and Aquarius and completes its cycle in thirty years, as the Sun completes its cycle in one year. Astronomers attribute many properties to Saturn in accordance with its complexion and their experience of these things, but without offering any proof of these attributes. And I, Raymond, intend to speak of certain properties of Saturn as I investigate them with the principles of my Art. I will also speak of the properties attributed by astronomers to Saturn that seem true to me and make no mention at all of those that hold no truth in my view. And this is the process that I propose to follow for the other planets as well. Saturn is bad because its earthy complexion is bad as compared to air whose sanguine complexion is good since blood is considered a source of life, whereas melancholy is a source of death. And people born under the influence of Saturn are melancholic and grave, or heavy because of the heaviness they hold from water and earth which are naturally heavy and weighty elements. And their heavy nature makes them constant and firm in their proposals and appetites, their gaze is naturally directed earthward and they have a good memory because water is restrictive, stingy and impressionable. And they like fantastic and mathematical imagery. Earth is a thick, dense subject where memorized images can leave a lasting impression; and so melancholic people are disposed to acquire vast scientific knowledge through the multiplication of many imaginary species. Also, they are of a suspicious nature and rely much on their imagination that agrees more with melancholy than with any other complexion. The reason why melancholy has a greater concordance with earth than with any other complexion is that the imagination considers measures, lines, figures and colors which can best be imprinted on water and earth whose matter is denser and thicker than the matter of fire and air. As Saturn is of the dry and cold earthy complexion, people born under Saturn are naturally disposed to work hard and build large structures. Also, they naturally have more appetite for occupying positions closer to water and earth, than to air and fire. All the above properties, and many more, belong to people purely and simply influenced by Saturn: but if some other planet or planets contrary to Saturn are in the same sign with it, then the native's saturnian nature is altered along with its conditions by the planets that are in the same sign with it. And we intend to speak in brief about such natural conditions, considering both the ancient opinions and the principles of the General Table. However we do not intend to go deeply into these matters just now, because we have not yet described the properties of the other planets.

2. JUPITER is of the moist and warm airy complexion, it is a good planet and rules tin and Thursdays. It rules Sagittarius and Pisces and completes it cycle in twelve years in the same way that the Sun runs its course in one year, it is masculine and diurnal. As air and earth are opposed through dryness and cold opposing the moisture and heat of air, Jupiter natives must have conditions contrary to those of the saturnians. And thus we should not really need to describe the properties of Jupiter as they can be deduced from what we said about Saturn. Nonetheless we may as well say a few things about some of the conditions that people derive from Jupiter. Jupiter is moist and warm, not in itself, but rather because it gives moisture and heat as it sheds its influence on things below. And it rules blood, which is naturally moist and warm. And people born under Jupiter must be of a happy disposition, because human life is more consistent with moisture and warmth. They must also be generous, because fire is generous inasmuch as it spreads and divides things out in parts, and air is filling, and more convertible than any other element. This is why sanguine people do not dread poverty or shortage; they are also naturally vainglorious and love honor more than others do, because they have a nobler complexion. And by their natural appetite for good, more than others they love to procreate, to have children and to multiply the human species. They are naturally more law abiding than others and put more trust in general human nature than others do. They are not detractors, and speak no ill of others. And they share their knowledge more generously than other people would, as they are of a more loving nature than other people are by reason of the liberality of fire and the abundance of air. A sanguine person born under Jupiter without the conjunction of any other planet must naturally have a fertile imagination, replete with an abundance of air. And for this reason a sanguine person collects fertile and gross species in the imagination, in the same way that a choleric person collects thin and subtle ones; for as water restricts them, so does fire spread them out, and as earth dries them, so does air fill them with moisture. And we say these things to compare two different kinds of imagination, saturnian and jovial . And thus the scientific thinking habits of Jupiter natives give them a law abiding approach to a science that is tangible and easy to understand, for a sanguine person does not naturally keep secrets. However, the imaginative organ of their scientific thinking habit is not as stable as the organ that produces the mode of scientific thinking habitually adopted by saturnians. And this is because the substance of their imagination is soft, as compared to the hard and dry choleric type. And so it is said that natives of Jupiter learn and understand things more easily than saturnian people do, but forget things more quickly than a melancholic person would. Jupiter natives naturally like to hold positions germane to the complexion and other properties of Jupiter: butchers, hunters, fishermen and men-at-arms who cause bloodshed by injuring or killing others, weavers who consider the warmth, color and softness of textiles; or innkeepers who consider wine for its exhilarating quality, and also painters who consider beautiful pictures; and people who consider beautiful clothes and ornaments and beautiful new buildings. Thus, sanguine people are more apt than others to discover new fashions and modes whereas melancholic people stand more firmly by old customs and habits which they prefer to new ones.

3. MARS is of the complexion of fire which is hot and dry, it is masculine, diurnal and bad, it rules iron, Tuesdays, Aries and Scorpio and runs its course in two years. Because Mars is of the fiery complexion and as fire is an element that burns up and consumes individual elemented bodies, astronomers say that Mars is bad; and so they say that natives of Mars are evil, warlike and contentious because of their choleric nature. And they are light in character, as fire is light and consumes the gross, heavy matter of earth and thins out the dense form of earth. It is said that some choleric people do not live long because the matter of earth in them is small and very dry and heat has no sustenance in it: like burnt coal whose matter has been reduced to ashes. However, choleric persons who survive their youth naturally live to a ripe old age because earthy matter becomes more dense and full through its concordance with water giving it cold against the heat of fire. And because water agrees with air through moisture, it gives moisture to earth to offset its great dryness; and when earth in the choleric person is naturally gross and heavy and full, fire cannot consume it with heat, nor can air destroy it with moisture opposed to dryness. Such choleric people can outlive others, because their digestion iis good due to the great heat of fire and the full, stably founded and tempered nature of their earth. As people born under Mars are choleric on account of Mars, so astronomers say that they have an appetite and a liking for conditions pertaining to Mars. And because fire is more mobile than any other element, the choleric type gets angry sooner and more vehemently than others, but this anger does not last because fire consumes it and the dried out earth in the choleric is quickly consumed by the great heat of fire. And they also say that that a choleric person is prompt to agree or to disagree without any deliberation, and quickly accepts things as they are and quickly tires out and is inconstant and two-faced. And this naturally occurs on account of a great movement of fire amplified in this person by Mars with its nature through choler, in the same way that the Sun increases the heat of fire with its light in summertime and by day. Mars native are subtle, learn quickly, but do not naturally have a good memory and can forget things just as readily as they can understand them and love them; and this happens because their imagination is too dry, dried up by the excessive heat of fire. And so the fantastic images and species that they accept have no foundation and moreover, because of the great movement of choler and the nature of Mars, as the intellect transmits its species to memory, it transmits them abruptly, and abruptly wants to retrieve them because it has a great appetite for acquiring and multiplying more and more species. And the memory, through this kind of sudden movement, has no orderly deliberation for recording, conserving and retrieving old species, and is made infirm by the excessive abundance of choler and of Mars. And the same applies to their imagination, which has no deliberation in imagining the figures and the habitual dispositions of corporeal substances. And the same follows regarding the nature of the body, as the choleric person runs about more than others, and faster, and tires out more quickly, because through this great movement the cold complexion in earth is quickly consumed as well as the moist complexion in water. People born under Mars have a fiery appetite that inclines them to become blacksmiths, they like iron, as iron is dry on account of earth; and they naturally like to deal out hammer blows, to strike out with swords, clubs and arrows. And so they become blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors and warriors, due to Mars and to choler. Also, the nature of Mars makes of them players of brass and wind instruments, forcefully blowing air, because thay can blow more wind from the mouth than others can, being more empty inside and less fleshed out than others. Also, choleric persons prefer to deal with objects of the fiery complexion, and the same applies to the various functions they might occupy. Further, choleric people have a greater appetite for hot and dry foods than for cold and moist ones, and a greater affinity for yellow orange colors than for other colors, and likes to wear long clothing, to hunt, use swords, knives and other similar things that pertain to the nature of fire. Also, choleric people dream more than others do, but their dreams are shorter, and more quickly forgotten. They naturally dream in a way that suits the nature of Mars and of fire. Following what we have said about Mars and its fiery complexion, we can speak of Mars as a masculine and nocturnal planet, with its own day and its signs entirely in terms of the conditions it derives from fire, which is its general instrument for transmitting its virtue to several different species, in the same way as a hammer is the blacksmith's general instrument for making knives, swords, nails, and other such things. And the same process applies to other planets, following the conditions they derive from the complexions of other elements.

4.THE SUN is hot and dry, of a fiery complexion, masculine and diurnal. It rules gold, and Sundays. And it is neutral, in the sense that it is good on account of heat and bad on account of dryness because it causes generation through heat and corruption through dryness. It rules Leo and runs its course in one year. The Sun and Mars are both of the same fiery complexion, and thus we can say the same things about the Sun as about Mars. But the Sun has some intense characteristics that Mars does not have and the same can be said about people of the solar type who have certain characteristics pertinent to the solar influence that natives of Mars do not have through the influence of Mars. The Sun is the greatest star in the sky with greater power over fire than any other star. The Sun rules the day and as day is better than night, so the Sun is a good star, bringing joy, beauty and daylight. The Sun is good because it consumes the gross and viscous vapors that shroud the earth by night, such as mist, heavy air and gross humors. The Sun is also good, because it brings daylight during which men can provide for their needs better than at night. And the Sun is good because it purifies places and consumes the corruption in the night air. And the Sun is good as it brings on summer when fruit and grain ripens and the Sun is good, as it is instrumental in harvesting the fruit of herbs and plants. Moreover, the Sun is good on account of many other properties too long to enumerate. And, as the Sun has so many good conditions and properties, astronomers say that its goodness does not reside as much in its hot and dry qualities as in the purpose for which it was created, and this purpose is to light up the day, to bring on summer and to ripen fruit. However, it is bad with excessive heat and drought because its choler produces more searing heat than does Mars, as it is a larger star. More people die in summer than at any other time and this is why astronomers say, as I also believe, that the Sun is the star that can produce both the greatest good and the greatest evil in things here below. It can produce the greatest good with its heat and the purpose for which it was created; and it wreaks the greatest evil with its dryness by drying up moisture in humans. For this reason, solar natives are naturally better in one way, and in another way worse than those born under the influence of some other planet. People who are naturally well influenced by the Sun in the way described above want to be kings, bailiffs, judges, and public persons, so they might do much good; and they desire to occupy that kind of position because the Sun is the most common or public of all the planets in the sky, on account of the size of its corporeal substance, its light, movement and purpose. And so people born under the Sun's influence have more appetite for rising to positions of honor and power than other people and they crave all the things and all the functions that can help their ascent. As for instance, a peasant born under the influence of the Sun may crave to become a merchant and then a bailiff or town councilor, next, a judge or a military officer and so on up to the rank of a count or even a king. But as the Sun is effectively somewhat conditioned by earth, it is bad because of Mars and Saturn. So, natives of the Sun, when evil, are worse in their evil than others because just as their goodness and warmth give them a greater craving for the common good than others have, so also through their evil dryness, they have greater appetite for evildoing than others. Natives of the Sun are attracted to science and to virtue in the same way that the Sun is neutral through heat and dryness, good and evil. And so these people have one habit of scientific thinking as they incline to goodness and warmth and a different habit of scientific thinking is adopted by those who crave for science while dryness motivates them to do evil. And so, good choleric people develop good scientific habits, seek out the truth with a good intention and love the truth that they discover and agree with the teacher who taught it to them; and they have an immediate appetite for communicating this truth, or for learning even more. And people of this kind are positive, learn more than others and raise fewer objections. But natives of the Sun who are evil on account of dryness are subject to earth and to melancholy and raise many objections and more promptly deny than affirm the truth, in their iniquity they refuse to concede the truth even though they understand it they do not want to show it; they are basically scoffers and scorners. They also learn very little, sad and puffed up with pride, inasmuch as they are opposed to the good purpose of the Sun and of the sciences. Further, the subject of their imagination is overly dried up by dryness, anger, sadness and by the great vehemence with which they speak; also, speaking out against their own conscience dries them up physically inasmuch as it oppresses their intellect and their will, because they will not confess the truth. Such people have little virtue in their memory, intellect and imagination and they willingly harbor great vices. Besides, they greatly crave to rise to the top and acquire great wealth through deceit and treachery; these people are evil and false.

5. VENUS is of the complexion of water which is cold and moist, it is a feminine and nocturnal planet, it rules copper and Fridays as well as the signs of Taurus and Libra. Astronomers say that Venus is a good planet because it offsets the malice of Saturn through the opposition of moisture and dryness and it offsets the malice of Mars in the same way. And Venus is a good planet near to the Sun, which is good with its heat as we said in the chapter about the Sun. Venus is also good because with its coldness it tempers the great influence of heat sent down from the Sun to things below and it is good because it rules over compound waters, whence issue rain, streams, fountains, and rivers on which plants and animals can live. Astronomers say that natives of Venus have a natural instinct and appetite for conditions pertaining to Venus. And so they are temperately phlegmatic as Venus does not have as intense a watery complexion as does the Moon because its proximity to the Sun tones it down. And because the Sun lights up the air, Venus has more intense virtue through moisture than through dryness, hence they say that natives of Venus have a better complexion than natives of the Moon. Water with its moisture and cold occasions growth in herbs, plants and animals and human bodies grow to fullness due to a temperate presence of air. So, they say that Venus occasions lust, pollution and floods of water. And as lust is a natural pleasure enjoyed with laughter, song, and instruments, they say that natives of Venus are actors and comedians, composers of songs and inventors of instruments, lovers of all kinds of occupations that deal with the pleasures of sex, like barbers shaving beards, and hairdressers arranging heads of hair, and laundrymen washing sheets, and painters painting pictures on the walls etc. as for instance, organizers and performers of dances and games at weddings and festivals. Venus is a planet that engages people in idle pursuits and makes them deviate from the real purpose of bodily things, for they have an instinct and an appetite for simply being "somebody", that motivates them to attend to external appearances and to vanity. Also, Venus gets women more excited about beauty and ornaments, than about goodness. And this is due to its watery nature with its appetite for facial lotions, hand lotions, clean sheets, clean homes, clothing and attractive colors.

6. MERCURY is a neutral, masculine and diurnal planet, quicksilver is its metal and Wednesday is its day and it rules the signs of Gemini and Virgo. It is considered as a neutral planet because it runs its course in one year with Venus and has no specific complexion of its own. And the astronomers assert this because there must be an instrument with which the influences of the signs and planets above can be converted, and Mercury transmits this influence to the Moon that relays it to the natural instincts and appetites of the elements and of elemented things. And there must be a planet like this among the heavenly bodies to transmit their influence in an organized way to things below which means any planets whose influence is stronger either because of the signs they occupies or on their own account, have Mercury as the subject that converts their influence. This means that the influence of Mercury is more fortunate and brings greater good fortune to its natives because of this conversion of influences from above performed in Mercury. For instance as in pepper, in which the virtues of the elements are converted to the purpose and intention of fire, and in squash or pumpkins to the purpose of water, and the same with the other elements. Some say that Mercury is hot and dry, and because it is close to Venus and the Moon, it tempers the abundance of moisture and cold coming from Venus and the Moon. And this would be an obvious enough reason, were it not for the natural conversion required by celestial nature. It would be more plausible for Mercury to have an airy complexion which is more easily converted than a fiery complexion that consumes and generates things and is less convertible on account of the considerable virtue of its heat and of the hardness of earth that gives it dryness. Mercury can be greatly converted and altered and thus its natives follow suit with their natural instinct and appetite, as they say one thing now and change their mind a minute later, affirm and deny things rather hastily, get involved in every kind of occupation and science and are less firm and constant than most. And this is why astronomers say that women born under Mercury are seldom chaste. They also say that mercurial merchants do more selling and buying than others and are more often seized by an appetite to eat, to drink, to laugh and to cry. The same applies to other similar things, as mercurians go through frequent alternating phases of gain and loss, health and illness, generosity and avarice, obesity and thinness, friendship and enmity, daring and tepidity, these people are quick to understand or misunderstand, and remember things or forget them. And they go through all these kinds of changes because of their natural affinity with Mercury in which the influence of the heavenly bodies is converted. Thus, mercurial people are better organized than others when their Mercury is good, and more disorganized than most when it is bad.

7. THE MOON is of the complexion of water which is cold and moist and it is both good and bad, feminine and nocturnal; silver is its metal and its day is Monday, it rules Cancer, and runs its course in twenty seven days and eight hours. The reason why astronomers say that the Moon is both good and bad is mainly because it receives and collects in its sphere the influences coming from the bodies above it, in the same way that summer brings fruit and trees to maturity. And when the Moon sheds a good influence on lower bodies it is good, as the waning Moon is good for pruning trees and vines; and to the contrary, the new moon is bad for epileptics. Also, the Moon is considered bad when falcons refuse to hunt, and said to be good, when they are willing to hunt. Also, the Moon is bad, in which wheat that has been sown comes up as grass, and the same when barley comes up as oats. Also, the Moon is said to be bad when women suffer menstrual periods; the Moon is also sometimes bad for things such as bloodletting, navigation, and other similar things as for instance, the Moon at a time when the weather turns to wind and rain. The waning Moon is bad when crayfish are empty. And so they say that the Moon is good in one way and bad in another way. And the natural properties of the Moon that we mention are not formally its own, but it transmits them into the sphere of fire and into the elements in accordance with the instincts and appetites of the elements and of elemented bodies and it relays them in the same way as it formally receives them from the signs and from the other planets above it. They also say that the Moon is bad because it causes phlegm that is moist, cold and a bad complexion that makes people excessively gross, dense, obese, slow witted and slow moving and impels them to excessive sleeping, spitting and coughing. Astronomers also say that the Moon is bad because it does not give as good an appetite to eat, nor does it allow the tastes and smells of food to be appreciated as well as the other planets do. Further, astronomers say that the Moon is bad because it is nocturnal and night is not as good as day because the night air is heavy and viscous. And the Moon is good when it gives light by night. And there are many other similar conditions where the Moon is good in one way, and bad in another way. On account of the bad characteristics of the Moon, its natives are naturally bad and their bad nature can be recognized and described by referring to what was said about the Sun, as it has a complexion opposite to the Moon's complexion. As the Sun causes summer by increasing the heat of fire, an element similar to the Sun on account of its light, so does the Moon cause winter by increasing the cold of water which is similar to the Moon in whiteness. And so the Moon is a planet in which the color of water is converted into many colors as when water receives a red color from wine and blood mixed with it, and a black color from ink and green from herbs and so on for the other colors. Hence, they say that as Mercury has a natural role in converting the influences from above, likewise in the Moon the color of water is converted into many colors. The Moon attracts the natural instincts and appetites of its natives to its own natural sphere in the same way that it naturally attracts watery nature to its own natural sphere because in itself and in its own sphere it can relay influence transmitted from the planets and the signs above to the sphere of water. And this is why lunar people engage in occupations with an affinity for cold and moisture and for the Moon's feminine and nocturnal character: fishermen, launderers, bath house attendants, gardeners who water plants, millers and mariners. And the same applies to other similar occupations for which lunar natives have a natural appetite. More than any other planet, the Moon has a function of filling and emptying things and this is because water has gross matter and is restrictive, closing up pores and blocking the exit of vapors. And air, which is the filling element, needs empty space and cannot stand overcrowding like a man who has had too much to eat and drink vomits through his mouth the food he ate and the wine he drank. And once the Moon has evacuated the substances it influences here below, it has an appetite for filling them up again because water, being greedy, needs this and air also needs this because it wants to fill things. And the same applies to the natural properties of the Moon related to sunlight as the Sun gives the Moon more or less light at different times, causing it to wax and wane. Astronomers also say that the Moon sometimes swells the western part of the sea, and sometimes it swells the eastern part of the sea, and that while swelling one part, it empties the other; and it acts in the same way upon fountains and wells and on the blood of animals and on their natural instincts and appetites. As they say that the Moon receives, in the dark part of its face, influences of black, green, and blue colors in a confused mixture of gross matter and in the other part, where there is no dark shadow, it receives influences of a white, transparent, lucid and intense color; and in whatever place it receives these influences transmitted to it from bodies above, it relays the same to natural elemental instincts and appetites and to their subjects such as plants, herbs, animals and fountains, and whenever these things suffer from great heat and drought, they have an appetite for rain and for the virtue of the Moon to provide them with rain. And the same applies to other similar things, too long to enumerate here and that can be discovered through the General Art for all sciences.

We have described the planets and signs with their conditions and natural properties and the things that we have said indicate how judgments are made by mixing and combining the natural conditions of the different planets and discoursing through the houses of heaven to see which house or planet is stronger in the combination at hand as questions are put, or as a birth takes place and we will deal more thoroughly with this matter in the third part of this treatise.

We have dealt with the first part of the principles of astronomy; now we intend to treat of the second part which contains my opinion, proved true by the principles of my General Table with which we will investigate the secrets and natural proerties of the signs and planets.

THE PRINCIPLES OF RAYMOND'S ARTapplied to the ancient principles of astronomy

In this part, we will investigate to see whether what was said in the first part is true and carry out this investigation with the principles of the General Table and the ten general questions which generally apply to everything that can be inquired about. These are the principles of the Table: 1. Goodness, 2. Greatness, 3. Duration, 4. Power, 5. Wisdom, 6. Will, 7. Virtue, 8. Truth, 9. Glory, 10. Difference, 11. Concordance, 12. Contrariety, 13. Beginning, 14. Middle, 15. End, 16. Majority, 17. Equality, 18. Minority. With these eighteen principles all things can be investigated, whatever is intelligible and possible to understand. There are ten general questions which are 1. Whether, 2. What, 3. Of what, 4. Why, 5. How much, 6. Of what quality, 7. When, 8. Where, 9. How and 10. With what. With these ten general questions any question that one might put can be formulated. With Goodness, we will investigate why Jupiter is good, and why Saturn is bad; and with Greatness we will investigate why Saturn is small and Jupiter is great; and with Duration, why they are durable; and the same for their masculinity or femininity, their heat or dryness, etc. With the question "What", we ask: "What is Aries?" and we also ask "Of what does Aries consist?"; and the same for the other questions, signs and planets.

2.1. THE MUTUAL OVERCOMING OF THE ELEMENTSIt has been said that the signs and planets effectively have elemental complexions; now we want to investigate which sign and which planet is better and more powerful and of greater virtue through this or that complexion; and which sign and which planet has greater goodness and greater power and virtue than another. And we will discover these things in accordance with the conditions of the elemental complexions signified by A B C D and by combining these letters we will find out which complexion overcomes another to see which planet overcomes what other planet in the house that they occupy.

AB AC

HYPERLINK "http://www.lullianarts.net/planets/2-1-.htm" \l "33#33" AD BC BD CD

[1] ABOUT A B

We have said that A is warm and moist and B is warm and dry. And A is moist on account of air and warm on account of fire, and B is hot on account of fire, and dry on account of earth. And thus A has two qualities, one as its own and another as an appropriated quality, and the same applies to B. And as a proper quality is better and greater in power and in virtue than an appropriated one, so AB are worth more through their own qualities than through appropriated ones. And thus, substance rests in its own quality and lives on its appropriated quality as human nature rests in the radical moisture which produces the human species, and lives on the nourishing moisture by eating, drinking, sleeping, inhaling or breathing and other things like these. When two herbs or seeds are mixed together, one of the complexion of A and the other of the complexion of B, B overcomes A because A receives its heat from B, and the heat of A has a greater appetite for being in the essence of the B herb, than in the essence of the A herb; and this is because heat in A is an appropriated quality but in B it is a proper quality. And thus, when Jupiter and Mars are in Leo, Mars overcomes Jupiter; and as Mars overcomes Jupiter through heat, so does it overcome it with dryness and also with its natural properties considered as masculine, nocturnal and bad. Moreover, Mars overcomes Jupiter with its natural property which is said to be of the nature of iron, and on Tuesdays and also with its rulership of Aries and Scorpio. And this is because the elemental complexions have more general principles of goodness, greatness, power and virtue than the masculine and nocturnal qualities do, given that the complexions of the elements are general sources issuing from the four elements which are general substances whereas the masculine and other qualities are specific sources, elicited by nativities from specific substances, as astronomers say.

[2] ABOUT A C

C signifies the cold and dry complexion: earth is formally dry on its own and cold because of water. And thus, when two herbs, both equal in goodness, power and virtue, one A, and the other C enter into a medicine, A does not overcome C in this medicine, nor does C overcome A, because here they both equally oppose each other through their own and appropriated qualities. However, if the patient who takes this medicine is of the complexion of A, then C is overcome by A; if he is of the complexion of C, then A is overcome by C. Likewise with the planet - sign combinations, for instance if Saturn and Jupiter meet in Gemini, Jupiter overcomes Saturn; but if they meet in the house of Taurus, then Jupiter is overcome and judgment must be made in accordance with the planet that overcomes the other.

[3] ABOUT A D

D signifies the cold and moist complexion of water and if one medicine is made from two plants, where one is A and the other is D, A overcomes D in this medicine. And this is because in this medicine air recovers the moisture given to water, while the D plant loses this moisture. And supposing that a patient belonging to D takes this medicine, A should not fail to overcome D in the patient. Because if D overcame A through the complexion of the patient and aggravated the illness caused by an overabundance of D, medicine would not be a science. A, therefore, overcomes D but not as strongly as it could if the patient were of the complexion of A. The same applies when two planets, one A and the other D, are conjunct in the house of Aquarius or of Pisces, given that Aquarius is A and Pisces D, the astrologer must consider that A overcomes D.

[4] ABOUT B C

Fire is naturally hot on its own and dry on account of earth; and earth is naturally dry on its own and cold because of water. So when a physician makes one medicine from two herbs, one of which is B and the other is C, then C overcomes B because the dryness of B is naturally the proper quality of earth and C with the coldness it holds from water takes control of B from which it recuperates its dryness, while B cannot defend itself with its heat because its dryness has more of an appetite for the essence of the C herb than for the essence of the B herb in this medicine. And this part regarding the mutual overcoming of the elements is very useful to physicians following the process we established in the Principles of Medicine; and whether the patient taking this medicine be of the C or B complexion, C always overcomes B, just like A overcomes D in the previous chapter. The same applies to planets of the B and C complexions, like Saturn and Mars meeting in a house of B or C, in every case C overcomes B. Naturally if a soldier belongs to the king of France and happens to be a mercenary hired by the king of England, when war breaks out between the two kings, this soldier will leave the king of England and side with the king of France because the constellation would give him a natural appetite to do so.

[5] ABOUT B D

B and D are contrary through both their own and appropriated qualities and neither naturally overcomes the other, but they can overcome each other through some medium, namely the subject. For instance, if Mars and the Moon meet in Pisces, D overcomes B; and if they meet in Sagittarius, B overcomes D; but if they meet in Capricorn, B overcomes D because one point of moisture cannot defeat two points of dryness; and similarly D overcomes B, because one point of heat cannot defeat two points of cold. And thus astronomers cannot read this combination clearly as it is confused because every planet is overcome in some way. But if another planet belonging to A joins with them, then the D planet is defeated; and if another planet of the C complexion joins in without the A planet being present, then the B planet is defeated.

[6] ABOUT C D

C and D are concordant in cold and opposed in moisture and dryness and their concordance and contrariety are equal; nonetheless D overcomes and C is overcome with cold. And if a C planet and a D planet meet in a sign of A, then D overcomes C through A because A and D are concordant in moisture whereas A and C are totally opposed. And the same applies if the planets meet in a sign of C where the D planet is overcome as we consider the judgment in accordance with the mutual overcoming of the elements.

We have described the mutual overcoming of the planets and given a general method for astronomers to judge the combinations and this part has been clearly explained and well proven. Astronomers and physicians really need to know this and we intend to investigate the conjunctions of the signs and planets with this method. But now let us proceed with this investigation by applying the questions to the essences, properties and natures of the signs and planets. And first, we will investigate this with the question about definitions as we want to know what a sign is and what a planet is, and what their natural properties and conditions are.

2.2 THE QUESTIONSQuestion two: "what?" We ask: what is a sign, and what is a planet?

A sign is a part of heaven in which the influence and virtue of heaven first begins to be transmitted to the bodies below that move on their own, even as they are moved by this influence and virtue to do their natural work. And a planet naturally relays the influence and virtue of heaven to bodies below, and influences their natural appetite to move and to impel their own natural virtue along the natural cycles of generation and decay resulting from their specific conditions.

Each sign and likewise each planet has its own essential intrinsic virtue for moving the virtues in the elements and elemented things below that take possession of the virtue of heaven as an instrument for their own movement and action, even as they are moved by the heavenly bodies. This is why the virtue that descends from above to things below is a dual instrument, both proper and appropriated; proper virtue: as the Sun's own light and heat are instruments with which the Sun impels fire to produce heat and light; and with the appropriated instruments it receives from above, fire moves on its own within itself and in the other elements and elemented bodies as it executes its multiple natural operations with its heat and light and the other properties it naturally applies to work such as digestion, ripening fruit, drying substances out, and other natural operations of this kind.

Signs and planets are lords and masters over things below as they move, dispose and organize natural instincts, appetites and movements. And this is why the bodies above are rulers and causes of the bodies below; and thus astronomers say that the natural operations we sense and imagine here below are the imprints of operations above imprinting their likenesses on natural operations with their natural properties and virtues, like a foot leaves its print in sand. The things we have said can provide a doctrine to learn about the heavenly bodies and make definitions of them. Having said what they are and what their intrinsic nature is, let us now investigate what they consist of.

Question three: "of what?"This question asks what signs and planets consist of; in other words, what do the heavens and the stars consist of, as well as the influence and virtue that they transmit to bodies below. The signs and likewise the sky with the fixed stars and the planets which are a part of the sky or fifth essence, all consist of celestial form and celestial matter that constitute a substance known as the fifth essence, which must consist of form and matter because it is a body occupying space with quantity so that Aries and Taurus cannot both be in the same place at the same time, nor can the Sun be in the same place as the Moon. Moreover, heaven must have form because without its own form it could not inform its own action in bodies below. And it must have matter because without its own matter it could not have its own passive part with which it naturally causes the passive parts of things below. And this, in the natural course of things, is an impossibility because the influence of the celestial bodies on bodies below would bear the virtue and nature of celestial form without celestial matter and the passive parts of things below would have no appetite for the passive parts of things above, and nature would be emptied of its appetite through the privation of celestial matter, if it did not exist. This vacuum involves other impossibilities: without passivity, lower matter would have no natural way to participate with the fifth essence, and bodies here below would have no way to participate in each other's activities and without passivity, one star could not act on another star and there could be no passivity in them if they were deprived of matter. And there are many other discrepancies: for instance Mercury cannot convert anything without having matter of its own, nor can the Moon cause appetites and instincts below to receive the influences it relays to them from above. Therefore celestial bodies have their own constituting coessential matter with which they exist as bodies. It has therefore been proved that celestial bodies consist of their own celestial form and matter. Now we want to investigate what their form and matter consist of. Supposing that celestial and stellar form and matter originated solely in themselves and in no other being or beings, many natural impossibilities would follow because if celestial form and matter did not consist of substantial goodness, heaven would be formally good in a merely accidental and not in a substantial way. And the privation of substantial goodness would be bad for celestial substance as it would not be good in its own essence and nature, but only through its accidental goodness. And accident would be good in heaven through its own essence and nature without any substance which is more virtuous, powerful and noble than its accidents. Also, if Jupiter were not good through the substantial goodness which is one of the parts of its substance, the goodness that it transmits to things below would only cause accidental goodness and no substantial essences below; and lower substances would not be effected by substantial good but only by accidental good from above. Hence, instinct and appetite here below would relate more efficiently to celestial accidents than to celestial substance that is the ruler, master and mover of its accidents, and this is an impossibility.

Therefore the form and matter of heaven consist of the substantial goodness which is a part of heaven. And substantial celestial goodness gives rise to the accidental celestial goodness that it uses as a celestial instrument for optimizing substantially good things here below by transmitting to them its own substantially good virtue and influence with which it optimizes the substances in things below including their accidents. If heaven did not consist of substantial greatness, it would have no natural power to hold itself extended in a circle, nor could it have any extended magnitude. While the circle consists of greatness, heaven would be of some other essence different from corporeal greatness, which is an impossibility. Further, if heaven did not formally consist of substantial greatness, it would be accidentally greater through accidental greatness more than through substantial greatness, which is an impossibility given that substance is naturally a more effective entity than accident. If heaven did not consist of substantial duration, it would have more natural lasting power in its accidents than in substance and substantial duration would be sustained in the duration of its accidents. And this would imply disorder in nature given that substance would be sustained in accident, and accident would not be sustained in substance. If heaven did not consist of substantial power as one of its parts, it would be more powerful through its accidental than through its substantial nature, and accident would be more powerful than substance. Further, if heaven did not consist of natural and substantial instinct as one of its essential and formal parts, all of its instinct would be accidental. And the same would apply if heaven did not consist of one substantial appetite, one substantial virtue and similarly for the other principles of the General Table, with the exception of contrariety because heaven cannot consist of contrariety, as it does not undergo any generation or corruption. Hence, heaven would be greater by accident than in substance and have more concordance, end, beginning, duration and fulfillment through its accidents than through its substance. And with this inner disorder it would cause disorderly effects, so that elemented things like fire, trees, man, etc. would be nobler and more perfect by accident than in substance, which is an impossibility contrary to the experience of our senses, imagination and intellect with the lower substances and their accidents. It has therefore been proved that heaven consists of substantial goodness, greatness etc. And goodness communicates with form through action whenever heaven does good and with matter through passivity as goodness can be increased by greatness, and the same applies to the other essential, natural and substantial parts of heaven. The goodness of heaven as well as its greatness, duration and other formal parts is not generated, derived, made or created from any other goodness. Rather, God created it and made it to stand as one general principle for causing all the instances of goodness occurring below, namely, all instances of corporeal and natural goodness. And the reason why celestial goodness belongs exclusively to heaven is that there must be one corporeal goodness just as there must be one corporeal greatness, duration, power etc. If this were not so, we would have to regress to infinity, and say that the goodness of heaven belongs to some other greater goodness, and that this greater goodness from which the goodness of heaven is derived comes in turn from some other goodness, and so on ad infinitum. And thus God would not have determined any first principle general to all the species existing within it, nor would species naturally include any individuals and these things are impossible within the course of natural powers ordained by God. Therefore, the goodness of heaven belongs to itself and is not materially derived from anything else, but came into being as God created it. And the same applies to its greatness and other general constituent parts of celestial form and matter. Now let us investigate the consistency of the influences that are transmitted from the heavenly bodies to the things below them. As a stamp imprints the likenesses of its letters in wax, it influences the wax with likenesses that do not essentially belong to the stamp. This is because the stamp does not put any of its own essence into the wax, and the letters of the stamp essentially remain with the stamp. Likewise a sign or planet does not transmit anything, be it substantial or accidental, of its natural essence and properties to bodies below, but only transmits influence as an imprint of its likeness. And celestial substance moves these influences from potentiality into act in the qualities of lower substances, like a stamp brings the likenesses of its letters from potentiality into act in wax. And the likenesses or influences transmitted from heavenly bodies to things below are likenesses of the celestial principles of goodness, greatness etc. that move the lower substances to bring their potential forms into act. Consider the Sun in summer as it arouses great heat in fire with its powerful sunshine and likewise the Moon whose waxing and waning moves the ebb and flow in fountains, streams an rivers and in monthly periods in women as well as in the appetites and instincts of substances born under its combinations. And so with the other heavenly bodies, for instance Saturn in any sign where it overcomes the other planets, makes its natives heavy in their movements. We have stated what the heavenly bodies consist of, and what the influences that they transmit to things below consist of. Now let us see the reasons why they exist.

Question four: "why?"Question: "Why do the heavenly bodies exist, and why do they have influence?" We consider this question "Why?" in three ways. The first way is as cause and effect, like a room that exists because someone built it. And in this way we say that heaven and the stars exist because they have a maker, namely a creator, who created the heavens and all that exists. And thus, because God is a creator, there is heaven, which is his effect and operation. The second way of answering this question is through the mode of formality. For instance a man is formally a man, because he is a being made of a rational soul joined to a human body. And bread is bread because it is made of water and flour. And likewise with heaven, which exists because it is formally and essentially made of heavenly form and matter. And the from of heaven exists because it consists in the form of goodness, the form of greatness and so on with the rest. And the matter of heaven exists because it consists in the matter of goodness, the matter of greatness and of the others as we have proved in the previous chapter. The third way of replying to the question is the mode of purpose. For instance, man exists as man in order to remember, understand and love God and to serve him. And bread exists so that man may live on it. Likewise, heaven and the stars also exist so lower substances can have life, and so generation, corruption, and privation can proceed through the alteration of life and ensuing death. Because without heaven and the stars, there would be no generation or corruption, nor would there be any days and hours, summer and winter, nor any natural operation at all. This is because without the influence of heaven, elemented things could not be generated from the elements as there would be no natural mover to move the natural instincts and appetites to act in elemental, vegetal and sensual substance. And this is because the lower principles such as fire, plants, man and other similar things, cannot compel themselves to act in a way contrary to their own nature. For instance, without the help of the Sun, fire could not compel the water in a pot to heat meat, which water heats and cannot cool because fire is causing it to act in a way that is against the cooling nature of water. And the reason why fire cannot compel water to heat anything without the help of the Sun, is because water concords with earth through coldness, and with air through moisture. And fire per se cannot destroy this concordance and transform it into a contrary nature by heating it without the Sun, which helps fire more than it helps water. And likewise with other things similar to these, for whose purpose heaven and the stars exist, and so that natural operations can proceed. We have stated why heaven exists and why the stars exist. Now we will state why there are twelve signs in heaven, neither more nor less, and why there are only seven planets.

Question five: on quantityThe reason why there are twelve signs in heaven and neither more nor less that twelve, is so that there could be four seasons in the year, namely spring, summer, autumn and winter. And each season has three months so that there is a tempering of complexions in things below through the circle, through the square and through the triangle. As four times three makes three squares, so the circle is composed of triangles and squares, where four triangles exist in a circular way in four squares and three squares in four triangles. But this could not be so if heaven were naturally divided into a larger or smaller number of parts than twelve signs. And heaven would neither have the nature of the square or of the triangle, and its virtue would be deficient in the property, proportion and nature of the square and of the triangle. And with this deficiency, it could not be the cause of the circles, squares and triangles that exist in things below. Among other reasons that can be given for the fact that there are naturally neither more nor less than seven planets, we will give these three. The first reason is, that seven days make up a week, in which each planet has its day; and the course of the year is completed through weeks, which could not happen if there were eight or six planets. The second reason is, because in the number seven there are triangles in squares, and squares in triangles, in circular fashion. As Saturn, Jupiter and Mars make up one triangle through the natural participation of complexions, natures, properties and conditions; and Jupiter, Mars and the Sun make another triangle, and both these triangles are made up of four planets, as said above. And there is another triangle made by Mars, the Sun and Venus, and yet another triangle made by the Sun, Venus and Mercury; and both triangles exist in circular fashion in a square, made of Mars, the Sun, Venus, and Mercury. And there is another triangle, made by Venus, Mercury and the Moon, and another one made by Mercury, the Moon and Saturn; and both exist in circular fashion in one square made by Venus, Mercury, the Moon and Saturn. And there is yet another triangle, made by the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter, and this one exists in a circular fashion with the triangle made of Mercury, the Moon and Saturn, in the square made of Mercury, the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter. Therefore there are seven triangles in four squares, and four squares in seven triangles, all this in a circular way according to the operations, natures and influences that they transmit to things below. And each planet is with a triangle and a square, and this could not happen without a determined number of neither more nor less than seven planets. There is furthermore another nature and mode that declares that there cannot be and must not be any more or less than seven planets. And this mode is as follows: By experience, we sense and we imagine that there are two complexions that are called active, namely heat and cold. And there are two others that are called passive as compared to the said two complexions which are greater; and these are called passive qualities, namely moisture and dryness. And for this reason, there must be two planets that are similar and concordant through their proper and appropriated qualities, and that multiply heat: these are Mars and the Sun, which have the complexion of B. And there must be two other planets concordant through their proper and appropriated qualities, such as Venus and the Moon, which have the complexion of D. for multiplying cold. And as Saturn is of a dry and cold complexion and there is no other planet that has dryness as a proper quality. And the same with Jupiter, as it has no peer of the complexion of A. And thus the proper qualities of C. and of A. are passive qualities, because they have no peer to help them in the same way as there are two B.'s and two D.'s. And if there were eight planets, there would be a peer to constitute A.A. and a peer to constitute C.C. And moisture and dryness would have as great an action in things below as heat and cold have, and this cannot be so, as our experience tells us. And if there were only six planets, the said order would be destroyed in them. With this destruction, nature would suffer passion on account of the vacuum that it would have because of the destruction of the said order. And nature cannot sustain any such vacuum. It has been proved that in heaven there must be twelve signs and that there must be seven planets. Now we want to investigate why they have proper and appropriated qualities.

Question six: on qualityIn heaven, as well as in the stars, there are both proper and appropriated qualities. The proper qualities are their own proper principles, which have been spoken about in the question "Of What?" in which we have proved that they consist of goodness, greatness, duration and of the other principles of the General Table; and these qualities are the proper qualities of all the signs and all the planets, inasmuch as they are accidents, issuing from their substantial principles. And they are the proper qualities of them all, because they consist of one goodness, greatness, duration and the rest. Their appropriated qualities are the ones which are effectively appropriated to them, such as evil, which is appropriated to Saturn,, and goodness is appropriated to Jupiter, and masculinity to Aries and femininity to Taurus, and so on with the rest. And these appropriated qualities exist in two modes: one is common, and the other is specific. The common mode is, for instance, the evil quality, common to both Saturn and Mars, or for instance goodness, which is common to both Jupiter and Venus, and the same applies to the signs. The specific appropriated qualities are for instance lead, and Saturdays, which are properly attributed to Saturn; and tin and Thursdays which are attributed to Jupiter, and likewise with other similar things. Through their common qualities they associate together in shedding their influences on things below through one and the same subject, for instance Saturn and Mars, which through their bad nature make vinegar and sour grapes bad, inasmuch as with vinegar and sour grapes they cause weight loss in people who include them in their diet, and for whom it is bad to be thin. And if very fat people include these in their diet, then Jupiter and Venus do them good with vinegar and sour grapes, because they are good planets. And thus, with one and the same quality, some planets, as well as some signs, do good or evil according to their good or evil nature. The things we have said about one planet doing good, and another doing evil through one and the same quality, also apply to the masculine and feminine, diurnal and nocturnal, mobile and immobile qualities and other appropriated qualities as well. There is no sign or planet that does any evil through its own proper quality, as it consists of goodness, and goodness is opposed to evil. But accidentally, following the dispositions of things below, the same planet can do both good and evil with its proper quality. Like the Sun, which with its clarity and light is good for the archer shooting a deer, because he cannot see it without light. And with the same clarity of daylight it is bad for the deer, that is wounded because the Sun gives daylight and a clear sight on the deer to the archer. The Moon is cold and moist, and with its coldness and moisture it does good to herbs with snow, rain and dew. And Saturn is dry and cold and does evil to herbs through frost. And in this evil effect, Saturn and the Moon associate through coldness and Saturn associates with Mars through dryness, as they burn up herbs with frost.

2.3 The PrinciplesAs we have given an example of good and bad influences through proper and appropriated qualities, we can similarly give examples through greatness an smallness, duration and privation; and through the active and passive qualities, natural instinct and appetite, virtue and truth; and delight, difference, concordance and contrariety, the beginning, middle and end; and majority, equality and minority. And first, we say the following things about greatness.

About Greatness Greatness, as a part of the starry heavens, is a proper quality of the heavenly bodies because it is an accident issuing from their substantial greatness. And their substantial greatness moves their accidental greatness to produce its likeness in things below. And accidental greatness in producing the likeness of substantial heavenly greatness in things below also produces its own accidental likeness. Hence, upper greatness causes lower greatness. This is why the substantial greatness of lower substances is occasioned by substantial heavenly greatness that makes them substantially great, for instance, great trees and great men. And the same can be said in its own way about accidental heavenly greatness that occasions instances of great heat, intense colors and tastes and other similar things.

Heaven is substantially and accidentally greater than the planets because heaven includes all the planets and moves all planetary movement as a whole; thus heaven causes more substantial and accidental greatness here below than the planets do. But because heaven is divided into twelve signs, no single sign has as much virtue as the Sun whose sphere is not divided into parts; and even though Saturn's sphere is larger than the Sun's, Saturn does not have as much power in things below as the Sun, a star much larger and brighter than Saturn.

Water and cold are beneficial to wheat when snow and rain fall and bad for wheat when they burn it with frost, for water does good with its proper cold quality and its appropriated quality of moisture as it also does harm with cold, dryness and the heat Mars provides when wheat withers under frost.

Likewise, upper greatness naturally produces lower substances that are great in length, breadth and depth, but accidentally produces substances that are diminished through ugliness, monstrosity, deviation, illness and other such qualities as for instance an enormous nose, etc. Hence, upper greatness always causes physical size, but not necessarily great beauty.

And the same applies to virtue, as it causes greater virtue in the human heart than in the feet, and more sensitivity in the hands than in the feet, and so on with other similar things. But greatness does all these things in agreement with nature existing above and below: it causes great beauty in things below with one sign or planet, and great ugliness with another; and with one it causes little natural virtue, and great virtue with another.

As fire causes water to act contrary to itself when heating meat in a pot, so upper greatness, following the disposition of planets and signs and natural properties of things below, makes great substances that produce little virtue and small substances that produce great virtue: for instance fig trees do not produce fruit as large as do grapevines, and a peppercorn is smaller but hotter than a grape.

Following what we said about the greatness of heaven, we can consider the influence that comes from upper greatness down to lower greatness through signs and planets and how it is received by things below substantially in one way and accidentally in another way. And it causes its likeness in one way with some planets and its unlikeness in another way with other planets, as in the above example of the Moon, Saturn, snow and frost.

DurationDuration is one part of heaven and of the stars, with which they can be durable and cause durable natural properties in bodies below, because its function consists in making things last in time in the same way that the function of goodness consists in optimizing and the function of greatness in magnifying. And it exercises its function in one way through the signs and in another way through the planets. And the same applies to goodness and greatness and to the other qualities because with goodness it makes lasting good things, and lasting great things with greatness, and durable evil things with evil, and small things that last with smallness and so with the rest of the principles. The duration of heaven causes lasting movement in things below, and it also produces durable instances of immobility, masculinity, femininity, days, nights and other natural properties existing in things below. As Saturn, for example, with which heaven's duration causes evil to last because Saturn is bad and causes more durable operations here below by day than by night, more masculine properties than feminine ones, and instances of dryness and cold more than those of heat and moisture. And with Jupiter the duration of heaven produces more lasting heat and moisture than with Saturn, as a nutshell is cold and dry and more lasting than the kernel inside which is warm and moist. And it produces more durability in an olive pit, which is cold and dry, than in the olive rind from which oil is made, which is warm and dry. And with Jupiter, duration does the opposite. The duration of heaven, in winter and summer, produces lasting leaves in trees and hair on animals and feathers on birds through Saturn because cold is restrictive and dryness hardens the bark on trees and hair on animals with its appropriated cold. And with Jupiter heaven makes people warm and causes lasting moisture and warmth in fat persons. Also, with Jupiter it produces lasting blood and flesh, and bones and nerves with Saturn, and so with other natural properties like these. With Saturn, duration produces lasting recollection or memory because Saturn with its cold and dryness rules the organ of memory. And with the Sun it produces durable understanding, because the Sun with its heat and dryness rules the forehead where the organ of the intellect resides. And with Jupiter it produces lasting love, because Jupiter with its warmth and moisture rules the heart. And duration produces lasting imagination with Saturn because the organ of imagination is dry and cold, and so on with other natural conditions with which the duration of heaven influences things below by making them last.

PowerIn heaven and in the stars there is natural and essential power with which signs and planets exercise their action on bodies below. And the power of heaven has conditions and properties that act in one way with one sign, and in another way with another sign. And with goodness they have one condition, and another condition with greatness, and yet another condition with itself; and likewise for other things like these. With greatness, the power of heaven is greater in masculinity than in femininity, as in men who have greater power than women do, and also because they are able to have more power than women. And through greatness with Saturn, power can produce long and subtle substances in humans, animals and plants, because Saturn restricts them and greatness draws them out in length. And Saturn causes matter to occupy the length of the tree, but does not allow it to spread out in breadth, and so with greatness and power, it produces long, slender trees, and melancholy people. And Jupiter works the opposite effect with power and with greatness in sanguine people and in stocky trees that are neither tall nor elongated. The power of heaven, with duration and Saturn makes lead last longer than iron, because iron is eaten away more quickly than lead. Nonetheless, the power of heaven and Saturn cause greater hardness in iron than in lead, and this is done by Saturn with duration, and by Mars as it rules iron. And with Taurus, power makes the works of men last longer than with Aries, as Taurus is fixed, and Aries is mobile. The power and greatness of heaven cause male birds, which do not live on prey, bigger and stronger than females, like the roster, which is bigger and stronger than the hen, and the same applies to partridges, and to other birds as well. And the power of heaven does this with the Sun, which is bigger and stronger than any other planet. But the power of heaven, with greatness, causes female birds that live on prey, to be bigger and more powerful than males as for instance female eagles, falcons and others like them that are bigger and more powerful. And the power of heaven does this with natural assistance from the instinct of heaven. This is because it is fitting for female birds living on prey be bigger and stronger on account of the eggs that they produce, than males. And likewise with other things similar to these, like female harems as they must flee, are bigger than males. And as the lion is a strong beast that does not flee from others, naturally the power and greatness of heaven make the lion bigger and stronger than the lioness.

The instinct of heavenThrough the principle of wisdom we can consider the natural instinct that signs and planets have and with which they move natural agents to act in things below in a natural way. As for instance Aries, which has an instinct for things masculine, mobile, diurnal and for B And it has this kind of instinct with goodness, and it has it with greatness through masculinity and with smallness through femininity. And it has it more greatly in springtime than in autumn. In heaven, each and every sign and planet has its own proper natural instinct according to A B C D E F G Like Jupiter, which has its own instinct in spring as do the Sun in summer, the Moon in winter and Saturn in autumn. And Saturn has an instinct that is heavy and slow, and so on with the others, each according to its own conditions. Aries, in its face, and as it ascends in E, has one instinct, and another one in F in the middle as it stands still, and another one in G in the back, as it descends. And thus in things below substances have instinct to move forward, and in the face and pectoral region through E, and in the middle as they stand still in F that stands neutrally between E and G. And thus they say that in movement the virtue and instinct of goodness, greatness etc. instinctively have the face in front, the tail behind and the virtue and goodness of instinct stand in the middle.

The instinct of heaven causes the formation of the intellectual organ in humans, and it causes this in one way with one sign, and in another way with another sign. And through one planet it makes it good and great, and through another, bad and small. And likewise with masculinity and femininity, as in men in whom it causes the intellectual organ to be formed more greatly as compared to the intellectual organ which it causes in women, who do not require the use of as large an intellect as men do. And the Sun does the same as it causes a greater instinct in the intellectual organ than does the Moon, and more by day than by night, and more through mobility than through immobility; and so on. On account of the instinct of heaven trees naturally and instinctively produce leaves before flowers and flowers before fruit and plants instinctively act in accordance with their nature, as for instance the tendril of a grapevine without seeing anything extends into a tree to attach itself to it and climb so it can bear up the weight of the grapes. The grapevine could never do this without help from the instinct of heaven which moves it like the human intellect moves man to know the truth. The instinct of heaven does the same in irrational animals, for instance spiders to which it gives, through magnitude, a great imagination and many long legs for weaving webs. And it gives foxes great sagacity for survival, and so with other things like these.The instinct of heaven gives ants a natural instinct to store away seeds in the ground, and to bees it gives a natural instinct for building a honeycomb and for installing a queen to keep it in peace and to protect it from wasps.

AppetiteIn the signs and planets there is natural appetite for place, or space, and time. And this appetite moves natural things here below toward the end for which they exist; and it does this with signs, planets and with the other principles and with masculinity, femininity, etc. The natural appetite of heaven naturally moves human will to want the things necessary for the body to which the soul is joined and it moves the will through natural dispositions and through the needs of the body. For instance, it makes humans crave to produce children and reproduce the human species and when the body has a great deal of B and little of D, it gives it an appetite to eat and drink, and it does the same in different ways with animals and herbs. Like a weaver weaving a golden tapestry into which she weaves many pictures by using many instruments, the appetite of heaven causes and moves appetites in things below toward many objects with multiple instruments, forms and figures that are