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astrology, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 7

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Fludd discusses the signification of a figure springing from one house to another.

Of the signification of the 16 figures, when they duplicate in a question, that is, when similar figures are found in different houses, such as two Via, two Populus, etc.1

The figure in the first house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Second, especially if it fortunate and fixed, and so the opposite, which is valid for all other houses.2
In the Third, good situation between relatives, brothers, sisters or neighbors.
In the Fourth, it is a bad mutation3 but not excessively so, unless the figure is Cauda Draconis.
In the Fifth, mirth, vivacious and gluttonous companions, new clothes, music, melodies, antique things, good according to the mind’s opinion,4 so that one couldn’t wish things to be better, unless the figure is Cauda Draconis.
In the Sixth, sickness, tribulations, fears.
In the Seventh, fearful things due armies or evil women; good [signification], unless Cauda or Via are there, which denote all evil in this house, unless a question has been made for a gathering, or for marriages and enemies, for otherwise they show danger.
In the Eighth, evil, great wrath or death or injury, loss, hurtful words, evil tribulations, but if the figure is good, it signifies the acquisition of the inheritances of the dead.
In the Ninth, something good, a firm and stable change to acquire some thing for another,5 and to negotiate some religious business or of the Church, or with ecclesiastical men or people, or with messengers or those who return from a journey, unless Cauda and Rubeus come up in a question made for a journey.
In the Tenth, all good, so that the thing cannot be better, and especially for the acquisition of honor and dignity, unless Cauda or Rubeus are there.
In the Eleventh, good, so that it is not better in the question propounded; for it signifies hope, a good friend, especially if it is Major, Via or Acquisitio.
In the Twelfth, the querent will fall into some tribulation, or a serious illness, or the loss of some thing, or defiance from enemies; nor can the thing be worse if the figure is Cauda.

The figure in the second house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
in the Third, gain from parents, brothers, sisters or neighbors, if the figures are good, but if bad, the opposite.
In the Fourth, what the querent thinks of gaining from his father, or from some great lord [he will get], if the figure is good; if bad, [he won’t get them].
In the Fifth, what the querent thinks of gaining from food, or clothes, or news that will come to him with letters, or loss by fire.6
In the Sixth, future illness of the family, or some loss, or fear, or great tribulation, or disease, or some evil thing.
In the Seventh, marriage, loss from a woman, great enmity for the querent, or robbery, or the thoughts of women about lust, or quarrels, threatening words, change from place to place.
In the Eighth, the return of an absent person, or of some other member of the family.
In the Ninth, gain for the querent, religious or ecclesiastical, or a priest, or some other similar thing.
In the Tenth, the Necromantic arts,7 or that the querent will win the love of some woman, or Lord, or great Majesty, or sciences according to the good or evil of the figures.
In the Eleventh, fortune in that house, or in the family, or through the family, or through gain, or friends, or merchandise; for this is the force and power of the whole question.
In the Twelfth, the imprisonment of some member of the family, or a serious illness, a serious molestation, or the destruction of someone from the family, of what you have gained, great accidents, or future tribulation and anguish.

The figure in the third house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Fourth, brothers, sisters, companions, neighbors, messengers [arriving ] to the questioner, profit or loss according to the nature of the figures.
In the Fifth, joy, gladness, speedy news from friends, letters and messengers.
In the Sixth, tribulation, diseases, some fear, loss through a servant, or machination, or evil enemies.
In the Seventh, quarrels, change of place, there will be hatred and discord between brother and sister, anger against the questioner, marriage, etc.
In the Eighth, death or danger from the past, thoughts about a woman, or about one’s enemies, or fear, and future profit from evil thoughts.
In the Ninth, an occasion for the Clergy, great journeys to be made,8 benefits of the Church, some great prelate or honor.
In the Tenth, brothers and sisters will attain to some arts,9 or great marriages, or great dominion, or they will become great prelates, or be exalted to honor.
In the Eleventh, fortune or good favor from someone.
In the Twelfth, imprisonment, long illness, occupation, or entering into [a period of] tribulation, from which there will be no easy way out.

The figure in the fourth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Fifth, the father will rejoice with his children, or an uncle, or a relative, or some friend, or the father will make a profit through his children.
In the Sixth, the father will soon fall ill, or he will be forced into great labor in his house, or in the town where he lives.
In the Seventh, marriage or enemies, or lascivousness, or a change of state, or a change of land.
In the Eighth, mortality will enter the land10 and inheritance of the questioner, or some tribulation, or, if he is outside his country, a return.
In the Ninth, the death of priests or their loss in the Church.
In the Tenth, the questioner’s honor, gain, riches.
In the Eleventh, the questioner will be fortunate in some profitable matter, so that he will suddenly make a profit in it, and indeed through some of his friends, or some of the querent’s friends will give letters to those living in his house, which will bring the questioner much profit.
In the Twelfth, long anguish and sadness, illness, envy, betrayal of the land of some lord, or of someone of his blood, but if the figure is good, it will not do much harm.

The figure in the fifth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Sixth, disease by contusion or corrosion, or in other such ways, or news of children, the capture of some small beasts.
In the Seventh, a gathering for a wedding or for trade, the joy of friends, fortune for women and children.
In the Eighth, mortality, and the danger of some evil to come, the return of an absentee, and letters of joy, profit or news.
In the Ninth, the son of the querent will be a cleric or a priest of the Church or a religious person, or he will make a great and long journey, or will have great joy through the honor of the Church, that is, through a man of the Church.
In the Tenth, the son will have dominion, and the mother and sister will rejoice or find joy, or some assistance from [those in a position of] honor, or profit from the lord, or a prelature, or he [the son] will be a judge or teacher.
In the Eleventh, the son will have dominion or fortune over his enemies, or in trade or in a similar matter or in news, or his friends will rejoice over his children.
In the Twelfth, illness, imprisonment, great enemies for children, or some loss for the querent, or strangers will rejoice.11

The figure in the sixth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Seventh, disease, or the servant or the woman of the querent, or his companion, will suddenly become angry or will end up among enemies, or the querent and his woman will fall into the hands of robbers, or disgrace, which they will nevertheless escape from as much as possible.
In the Eighth, the servants or the beasts of the querent will fall into danger or tribulation, pain or sadness, and he will be beaten, or he will lose some object, and he will be absent and in the company of enemies of his house, or the woman of the querent will be familiar with someone else.12
In the Ninth, the servant or the animals of the querent will make a fortunate path, diseases will befall a cleric, or will hinder his exaltation, or the servants will have the company of the clergy, and especially with good and fortunate figures, such as Acquisitio and Major.
In the Tenth, those who will remain in the place about which the question was made will be sick or oppressed by some Lord.13
In the Eleventh, fortune, and your enemies will envy you.
In the Twelfth, a disease among one’s animals, or the querent himself will fall ill or be imprisoned and suffer loss either through useless beasts or through a long journey.

The figure in the seventh house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Eighth, the death of one’s woman, iniquities and all those things which pertain to the seventh house, namely lost merchandise, etc.
In the Ninth, the companion of the querent will return to his country, and the clergy will be enemies to the querent, or his wife will enter religious life or go on a long journey.
In the Tenth, honors to those who are represented in the seventh house, or the servant of the querent will be a familiar of his wife, or of his enemies.
In the Eleventh, a friend will immediately become an enemy, or someone will immediately become a friend to the querent,14 or he will gain in some matter, or will suffer some loss from his friends.
In the Twelfth, occupation of large animals, or the querent will fall into a serious and long illness, or imprisonment, or a long journey, or poverty, or that some letters will bring him loss in a short time, which should be kept secret as proof.15

The figure in the eighth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Ninth, a judge of the enemies or of the woman or of the friend of the querent will attain great exaltation in the church, or he will be absent on a journey, or death threatens someone.16
In the Tenth, loss for the querent, or the death of the lord, or a defect in good will, or an impediment in some thing, or the absence of some lord.
In the Eleventh, the death of the querent, or he will acquire some thing, or the inheritance of a dead man, or that while absent he will acquire friends, or that friends will restrain the hatred of the querent.
In the Twelfth, secret enemies of the querent, who labor mightily to oppress him, or while absent he will be imprisoned or sick, or while imprisoned he will die.

The figure in the ninth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Tenth, being friends with priests or clerics, or the querent will suddenly marry a wife, or messengers will come from some place, or from the querent’s mother.
In the Eleventh, the journey of women, or a cleric will be your friend, or your fortune will be in the church, or you will have possessions in the church.
In the Twelfth, sadness during a the journey for the querent, or he will have trouble with his horse, or a cleric will be imprisoned. This is a bad place for the querent.

The figure in the tenth house means, when it is duplicated in the following houses:
In the Eleventh, the house or place of some lord, the completion of his fortune and hope, or that he will be a friend to some great lord, through whom he will be fortunate.
In the Twelfth, that the questioner will be shortly in great tribulation or illness, or will be imprisoned, or his enemy will be made a priest, and that the petitioner will have great loss from beasts.

A figure existing in the eleventh house signifies, when it doubles itself in the twelfth house, imprisonment, hatred of enemies, a similar thing.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. That is, if the same figure is found in two different houses. This, as we shall see, is generally interpreted as the two houses being linked together. Some of Fludd’s interpretations are straightforward, others rather obscure. Similar chapters are often found in other handbooks of geomancy as well. Their value consists not so much in their offering interpretations that need to be memorized, but rather in the kind of mental exercise that they allow the reader to engage in. ↩︎
  2. This sentence doesn’t mean much. Fludd is simply asserting that the signification of the link between the two houses is colored by the positive or negative meaning of the geomantic figure. ↩︎
  3. Mutation in the sense that the figure in the First house moves to the Fourth. ↩︎
  4. Somewhat obscure. I think Fludd means that this connection between First and Fifth houses is good concerning whatever the querent is thinking about. ↩︎
  5. Possibly referring to a business-related journey ↩︎
  6. Unclear what fire has to do with this house. ↩︎
  7. The connection of the Tenth house with necromancy is unclear. ↩︎
  8. Probably due to the connection of Third and Ninth houses, which both pertain to journeys. ↩︎
  9. The Tenth house is the house of art in the older Aristotelean sense of poiesis, i.e., practical science, which is what allows people to gain money. In short, it is one’s learned trade. ↩︎
  10. The land is a Fourth house matter. ↩︎
  11. Joy is here brought into the equation by the Fifth house. ↩︎
  12. That is, intimate. Older astrological texts are filled with lists of testimonies to look for to establish whether the querent’s wife is faithful, or even if he is exploring herself. I suggest we leave these things in the past. Still, from a purely didactical standpoint, Fludd’s paragraph makes sense. ↩︎
  13. I have no idea what Fludd meant. ↩︎
  14. Here we see how ambiguous this type of interpretation can become if we don’t keep the question in mind: it could go either way, namely that a friend (Eleventh) becomes an enemy (Seventh) or that someone else (Seventh) becomes a friend (Eleventh). ↩︎
  15. Not very clear. ↩︎
  16. The involvement of a judge here is unclear and seemingly random. ↩︎
astrology, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Which House Is Next To Which?

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In astrology, the contiguity of the houses is obvious, since the houses are usually arranged either in a square or in a circle, but always forming a loop. Thus, we have that the Ascendant is always squished between the second house and the twelfth; that it always opposes the seventh, and, if we go by whole sign houses, that it has fixed relationships with all the others (inconjunct, sextile, square or trine).

This is not the case in Geomancy, where the relationship between houses is controversial, at least nowadays. First off, it is not pacific that the houses of the Shield represent astrological houses, unless we operate an equivalence with astrology, as was done at least since Geomancy reached Europe.

Those coming to Geomancy through Michael Greer, as I did, are probably used seeing the geomantic houses as equivalent to astrological houses: once the Shield is turned into a square chart, the houses follow the same astrological pattern as in an astrological chart. Those coming to Geomancy through the Golden Dawn, though using a different way of assigning the mothers to the houses (the one popularized by Agrippa), still end up dealing with a 1:1 replica of an astrological chart.

However, the idea that the Shield chart and the astrological chart are separate ways of doing Geomancy seems to be relatively new. In most old books, only the Shield is shown, and even when the astrological format is followed, this is done more to show some of the similarities with astrology.

Secondly, which house is next to which is not always clear, and sometimes varies by author. In some sources it seems that only houses that are in company are considered to be next to each other: first and second, third and fourth (but not second and third), fifth and sixth (but not fourth and fifth) and so on pair by pair. This seems to follow the order in which the Shield chart is generated.

An example shield chart. App used: Simple Geomancy

In the example above, Tristitia in the first is next to Via in the second, and Tristitia in the third is next to Conjunctio in the fourth, but not to Via in the second. This is possibly because the first and second combine to form the ninth and the third and fourth combine to form the tenth, but the second and third never combine. This approach obviously restricts the possibilities of perfecting the chart, since most houses end up losing a possible spot next to them for other figures to move to.

Another approach is the one I found while translating Abano’s work. Here Abano started by saying (or rather, implying) that the twelfth house is not next to the first. Initially, I thought this was because he was following the arrangement for the company of houses I just discussed. Yet he gives other examples where he does not follow it, for instance by implying that the eighth and ninth house are next to each other, which would contradict the company of houses (the eighth is with the seventh, the ninth with the tenth).

Then, in another one of his examples, he implies that a figure in the tenth house is next to a figure in the third. This does not make sense from an astrological standpoint, but from a sheer geomantic standpoint it does: the third house DOES border with the tenth, since it co-generates it with the fourth. This would also explain why he doesn’t consider the twelfth house to be next to the first: not because they are not in company, but because they are not close on the Shield (they are, in fact, on opposite ends of the shield).

This approach of considering the houses close on the Shield as being next to each other is certainly different from anything I’ve seen, especially in contemporary geomancy, and if it weren’t for the fact that enough readings I’ve done confirmed to me that the twelfth house CAN perfect with the first, I would find Abano’s approach extremely appealing. Unfortunately, one of my rules when dealing with divination is that practice trumps theory.

Abano goes even further, implying that the Witnesses (and possibly even the Judge) are to be treated as regular houses. This, in itself, is not unique to him, but what I find unique is that he considers the Witnesses capable of perfecting the reading, for instance if the first figure moves to the tenth and the quesited’s figure moves to the right Witness, where, by Abano’s theory, the two figures touch.

Another consequence of Abano’s approach is that not all houses are created equal: the first house, for instance, only touches with the second and the ninth, while the tenth house must be considered to be next to the ninth, eleventh, third, fourth and to the right Witness.

A possible argument, at this point, could be that this approach makes certain readings too easy (like those involving the tenth house, as I just showed). Still, we should keep in mind 1. that divination reflects reality, so a no is a no, regardless of the system 2. secondly, that Abano doesn’t always consider merely the querent and quesited. Often he considers the whole chart, and sometimes he resolves certain questions by dividing the shield into two sides (the left and the right side) and seeing which side is stronger. This is a method he has from traditional astrology, where questions of contest or war are often decided in such manner.

Ultimately, which approach we choose depends on what works, which means that the only way is to try, record and compare with what actually ends up happening.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Career Change (Example Reading)

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In a previous post, I talked about a friend with whom I’m doing an experiment with German Skat cards. According to the spread, he should get the job he applied for. Yesterday we did a Geomancy reading on the same topic of his change of career direction. This was the reading.

A career reading. App used: Simple Geomancy

The more I study Geomancy’s old texts, the more I am inclined to interpret the Witnesses as representations of the querent (Right Witness) and quesited (Left Witness).

In this case, the querent is represented by Via, the way, which is an appropriate symbol for someone looking to change up his career. The quesited is Fortuna Minor, sometimes called “the outside help”. It could easily be seen as an opportunity for this change to happen. The Judge resulting from the two witnesses is Fortuna Major, which is positive and offers long-term good prospects.

Within the chart itself, the querent is indicated by Tristitia. Tristitia is a symbol of sadness and stuckness. The job is indicated, once again, by Fortuna Minor. Minor springs from the Tenth to the Twelfth house. If we go by Abano’s indications, the twelfth house in the shield doesn’t touch the first, so it shouldn’t count as perfection.

Still, I have found in my practice that the two houses can be seen as contiguous to one another. Therefore, Minor moving toward the querent should repeat the testimony of the opportunity presenting itself for a change of career, in this case to relieve the stuckness of Tristitia.

Tristitia also moves toward the fifth and sixth houses. The fifth is good, the sixth is bad. However, if you read the previous post, the job is in the healthcare sector, though it would be hard to see this in the geomantic chart if I didn’t know it in advance. Tristitia’s move toward the sixth house could also indicate the querent’s stuckness is not good for him, so it might encourage him to accept the change coming from the tenth house. I am more inclined to this latter interpretation.

We still don’t know the result, but I’ll update the post when I know more.

MQS

Cartomancy, Divination, Divination Master Post, Everyday Oracle, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Playing Cards, Sibilla della Zingara, Tarot, Uncategorized, Vera Sibilla

The Road – A Deep Dive into Cartomancy

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Following my deep dive into the Door Knockers, which seems to be an exclusive symbol (or almost) of Italian cartomancy, let’s talk about a much more universal presence in many traditions: the Road. Still, even though the symbol is widespread, the interpretations may vary.

I was introduced to the symbol of the road when being taught to read playing cards. In the system I was introduced to, the Two of Clubs is the card of the steps. Actually, the word for it was “cammino”, which means a way, road or path, but it also implies the idea of people taking steps on it. That is, a ‘cammino’ is a road that exists because people walk on it, rather than being a road that has been created so that people may or may not use it. An example would be a path through a forest or a road created by pilgrims as they progress on their pilgrimage.

The Two of Clubs therefore implies forward motion toward a goal of some kind, and the taking of steps, whether literal or figurative. In this, it is similar to the Two of Wands in some Piacentine cards systems, which interpret the card as a road, largely due to its design showing two parallel staves, no doubt (although in some other Piacentine systems the road is the Knight of Wands).

The Vera Sibilla doesn’t have a road card per se, although it does have various cards connected with movement, journeying or taking steps/fighting for something. For instance, the Journey card is connected to traveling, while the Soldier may imply fighting to attain a goal (although, being a Spade card, the struggle is more accentuated).

Etteilla famously attributed the meaning of road to the Six of Swords, and his pupils developed a whole vocabulary of synonyms that extend the meaning into other areas. An example of this is the meaning of conduct, which is, figuratively speaking, the path of the person’s actions through life. Etteilla’s attribution of the meaning of road to the Six of Swords remained attached to tarot through the Golden Dawn, who preserved it in part as a possible meaning in their Book T, and then through Waite, who had Smith design the Six of Swords as a card of journey. Even in the Crowley tradition this attribution has in part been rediscovered in Eshlemann’s Liber Theta.

In the Bolognese tarot, the meaning of road is attributed usually to the Six or Eight of Wands. Some strands of the tradition also distinguish between an open road (Six/Eight of Wands) and a closed road (Nine of Wands or Ten of Swords). The road is in itself a card of forward motion, like the Two of Clubs, it can indicate short trips and it is a card of openness.

The road or path is also present in the Lenormand and Kipper traditions. I am unclear on the Lenormand meaning, as the interpretation seems to have evolved considerably through time. Most contemporary English-speaking sources seem to see it as a card of choice (with two paths, although I am unsure if this duality was intended in the original design). Most German sources interpret it differently. Since I am not a Lenormand reader, I will leave it at that.

As for the Kipper cards, they have a card called Ein langer Weg, a long road. In most of the sources I have consulted, the card is more static than in the other traditions, highlighting the element of time (some call it the Two Years card). Interestingly, in many German Skat systems of divination, the suit of Spades / Leaves is connected with movement, and the low-numbered cards, mostly the Seven and Eight, can show a short trip or something happening quickly, while the Ten is also called the long road, and it can indicate an actual journey or the need to wait a long time.

BONUS: The Road is obviously present in Geomancy as well. The Geomantic figure Via, attributed to the Moon, is a symbol of journey and change. It is the symbol with the least amount of points, only one in every position, so some sources also attribute it to the concept of ‘little’ and to the waning of something.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 5

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Fludd discusses the meanings of Puer, Puella, Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor.

Puer

in the First House, hope, marriage, the cheerful manner of a child, who loves nothing but to sing and spend time with music and the company of women.1
In the Second House, profits in commerce, good fortune, good profit, company of women, reception of debts.
In the Third House, joy on account of brothers and neighbors, charming and cheerful neighbors, a good journey, a good dream, and delightful news.

In the Fourth House, fights, no acquisition of the desired object, refusal of the thing that one desires, water.
In the Fifth House, joy, good children, news and letters, good news, pleasures, love, delights with women, musical instruments.
In the Sixth House, good servants, foolish women, children born from fornication, good animals, and long or prolonged illnesses.

In the Seventh House, evil and foolish women,2 fornication and bad company, marriage of children.
In the Eighth House, death and disease.
In the Ninth House, a journey by land, false belief, lewdness of the church.3

In the Tenth House, litigations over women, or for servants, or children in judgment or before a judge, (being in) the service of some master.4
In the Eleventh House, joy, luck, good love, love of women and men due to lewdness.5
In the Twelfth House, victory, a bad man, dangers, prisons, the failure of that which is equired about, good animals, strong and bad enemies.

In the Thirteenth House, joy and profits come from great people, letters, news, life, joy and travels.
In the Fourteenth House, danger but later a good end, drinking well, eating well, news and love.
In the Fifteenth House, temperance, profit in all things, and the completion of goods.6
In the Sixteenth House, all good.7

Note, when this figure is in the first house, it signifies a young man, handsome, and of good looks, with a fine beard, luxurious, fond of instruments and music, monks, hypocrites, and scholars.

Puella

In the First House, happiness of friends, food, having children, lewd and licentious words, lying, full of superfluous speech.8
In the Second House, profit, a tendency to extravagance.
In the Third House, love of relatives, good company, good relatives, much talk, weariness on the journey, and sometimes robbers.

In the Fourth House, profits in works of love, from father and mother,9 from inheritances, small fruits, talk, lewdness and dishonesty in the house.
In the Fifth house, happy children, news, letters, delights, superfluous words about lewdness, love of women, liars, and cowards.
In the Sixth House, evil women, disease of slaves, profit from animals, slaves (who are) full of boastful and lustful speech, diseases, that is, ulcers, swellings, bruises and the like.

In the Seventh House, marriage, profitable partners, women’s joys, many talkative and lustful women, harlots and dishonest women who touch others without merit.
In the Eighth House, the death of parents or sisters, inheritance from the dead, many words, the death of slaves in a foreign country.
In the Ninth House, profits on the way, sagacity, a man who loves joy and cheerfulness more than prayers and divine worship, dreams, news without much merit, good understanding in one’s teaching, singing, disturbance for the church.

In the Tenth House, happiness and profits on the way of one’s lord,10 good master and duties, but much talking done before.
In the Eleventh House, good friends, profit from slaves and beasts and good fortune, much talk, lust and fornication.
In the Twelfth House, talkativeness, profits from beasts and servants, enemies full of quarrels, beasts quite good.

In the Thirteenth House, profitable journey, profits from some lords.
In the Fourteenth House, good luck, profit from danger.
Note, when this figure is found in the First House, it denotes a man having a small body, and a short neck, a large head, teeth badly arranged, a fine intellect.

Fortuna Major

In the First House, thoughts of kings, treasures, old men, a man of good life, good fortune in all matters of profit and honor of the seeker, steadfastness, good hope.
In the Second House, wealth, profit, and especially from animals, a rich man, good luck, acquisition, joy, sense of gain.
In the Third House, good journey, but a little delayed, a good brother, good and rich relatives, a good dream, good news, joy, profit.

In the Fourth House, a good estate, the acquisition of the inheritance of great lords, treasures hidden in the earth, a good house, great advantage in all things stable,11 a good end, a good father and mother.
In the Fifth House, good children, good news, good letters, good love with wife, security of heart,12 change and honours.
In the Sixth House, long illness and pain, good animals, good servants, faithful and stable.

In the Seventh House, a good marriage, a good and chaste and prudent woman, great wealth, conquering one’s enemies, both in legal proceedings and in battles, strong and stable enemies,13 good in commerce, receiving one’s desire in other countries, the gathering of men and women.
In the Eighth House, rich enemies, riches from the dead, profits in a foreign country; where it is noted that this figure is good, but the house is terrible.
In the Ninth House, good journeys, though slow, good dreams.

In the Tenth House, good judgment, good decision in the place where the figure is duplicated, peaceful kings and kingdoms; a peaceful and firm state of the lords, the acquisition of one’s desire, reward and lasting honor from the lords.
In the Eleventh House, good fortune, noble and faithful friends, profits in trade, good hope of riches from the king and prince, joy and happiness.
In the Twelfth House horses, good and useful animals, a long and dangerous imprisonment, a dangerous disease, long debts, long tribulations, strong enemies14, evil for journeying.

In the Thirteenth House, a good journey and good fortune, acquisition from the king, absence, happiness in riches and joy.
In the Fourteenth House, deliverance from diseases, escape from prison and debts, good luck, sudden riches for the absent, good company, good friends and security in hope.
In the Fifteenth House, a good judgment, a good end, a good outcome for joys, and if it comes from good Witnesses, it will give the petitioner security in all good things, and the good is witnessed in the place (in the chart) where the figure is found.

Note, when Major is in the First House, it means an old man, a merchant of precious cloths, affable, of average stature, well dressed, good hair.

Fortuna Minor

in the First House, goodness, a good journey to princes and lords, a rich and fortunate man, also a king,15 a prince, a leader, a man of great authority, knowledge, good animals, a good and humble wife.
In the Second House, the acquisition of a house by a master or a great man, and indeed without effort.
In the Third House, good brothers, and wealth and profit from them, good neighbors, good knowledge and good faith, good travels, especially by sea, a good woman.

In the Fourth House, treasures of kings or magnates, good journeys to parents, noble inheritance, and acquisition of inheritance.
In the Fifth House, good children, good news, a good journey towards children, joy and comfort, useful journeys,16 pleasures and delights of nobles.
In the Sixth House, the insults of kings and princes and their injuries from other lords,17 as well as victory from them, fear of losing their dominion or kingdom, proud servants.

In the Seventh House, a good woman, beautiful and rich, but it will be doubtful that she will be destroyed by foolish love, murder committed by a great man, denotes to one’s son a noble marriage and good travels.18
In the Eighth House, the death of kings, or the fear of kings, so that he who has become a problem may fear them, and if Rubeus is found in the Seventh House, death due to loss of blood, it is not good to go out of the country or to travel, for imprisonment or violent death are to be feared.
In the Ninth House, a good journey, a good relationship with kings or superiors to obtain favor, a faithful man, of good faith and God-fearing.

In the Tenth House, a good king and a ruler with good virtues, victory, good for migration by sea and making journeys, the acquisition of property from a prince or king, acquisition thanks to the love of judges, profit and honor.
In the Eleventh House, good hope, good friends, good fortune, good company, good fortune in beasts and servants.19
In the Twelfth House, good animals, coming out of prison, poverty for the petitioner due to that, where the figure is duplicated, and especially in the Tenth House, it denotes the loss of the kingdom to the king, either due to himself or his children.

In the Thirteenth House, profits on the way, and receiving one’s wish from some lord.
In the Fourteenth House, a long life, good fortune, and profits in the business one hopes for.
In the Fifteenth House, a good result in all good things, a good end, good company, honor and glory.

Note, Minor in the First House signifies a king or queen, a handsome and brave man, clothed in scarlet, who likes to travel often, covered with gold.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Puer and Puella are the two most confusing figures in traditional texts. Here we find mixed together attributions that, in contemporary geomancy, have been attributed to one or the other. ↩︎
  2. Fludd seems to attribute Puer to women, and since the Seventh House is the house of enemies, it causes the women to be evil. ↩︎
  3. Here seems to emerge the typical sexual theme that some today attribute to Puer. ↩︎
  4. Possibly meaning being subservient to another. ↩︎
  5. Possibly indicating homosexuality. ↩︎
  6. Puer cannot be the judge. ↩︎
  7. This is possibly the only time that Fludd discusses the Reconciler (also knwn as Judge of the Judge) ↩︎
  8. Similar traits are assigned by others to Puer. However, let us also not forget that in those times, sometimes women were considered deceitful by default. ↩︎
  9. Note that typically the Fourth House is assigned to the father and the Tenth to the mother. However, when considering one’s parents in general, they are both Fourth House matter, since the Fourth is the house of the family and the home. ↩︎
  10. “In via de Domino”. I don’t understand what this means. ↩︎
  11. Major is considered one of the most stable figures. ↩︎
  12. The heart is often assigned to the Fifth House, and Major gives steadfastness. ↩︎
  13. In this interpretation, the power of Fortuna Major is in favor of the enemy, ruled by the Seventh House. ↩︎
  14. In the Twelfth House, Major causes prison sentences to be steadfast, that is, long. ↩︎
  15. Fludd seems to attribute worldly honors more th Minor than to Major. ↩︎
  16. I don’t understand the connection to journeys. ↩︎
  17. possibly due to the negative effect of the house. ↩︎
  18. Much of what is said here is hard to understand logically. ↩︎
  19. The connection with animals and servants is odd. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 4

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Fludd explains some of the meanings of Caput Draconis, Cauda Draconis, Albus and Rubeus.

Caput Draconis

In the First House, good and sweet fortune, a man wise, eloquent and prudent, and who keeps his affairs secret, and has firm and stable thoughts in all things. This figure is very good.1
In the Second House, profit and gain in commerce, wealth, good fortune, and secret acquisition of all things.
In the Third House, good relatives, good neighbors, good faith, slowing down the journey for something good.2

In the Fourth House, profit and the acquisition of inheritance, a good house, a good estate, a discreet father, a good end, peace in one’s work.3
In the Fifth House, love of children, good children, joy, secret letters, pregnant women, being honestly satisfied with the love of a woman, good love.
In the Sixth House, a long illness, profitability in all things, secret and discreet servants, good and useful animals, a long secret illness.

In the Seventh House, a good marriage, a good and chaste woman, good company, subtle and strong enemies, good change (or removal), good profits in trade, bad for going away.4
In the Eighth House, death or illness,5 gain of money, love and recovery of lost property, secret death, receipt of money from death, security from fear.
In the Ninth House, journeys and return of him who is abroad, letters, good faith, slowness of a journey, good faith, a holy man of the church, knowledge in all arts, good for the church, honor.

In the Tenth House, good judgment, much wealth, a wise king, great honor of dominion and office, much riches, conciliation through the grace of the judge,6 and a discreet judgment.

In the Eleventh House, good luck, happiness, good and faithful friends, good hope, good profit.
In the Twelfth House, poverty, long imprisonment, good animals, good letters.7

In the Thirteenth House, the return of one who is abroad, one’s superior’s profits, good news from the absentee, a profitable and good change.
In the Fourteenth House, good fortune, good hope, long life, and profit in everything.
Note, when this figure is in the first house, it denotes a prince or judge of good counsel, having fair hair, who is proud

Cauda Draconis

In the First House,8 bad for acquisition, poverty, bad journey, harassment and anger, no acquisition of the desired thing, a bad and angry person.
In the Second House, loss of all good and misfortune in all matters.
In the Third House, anguish of a relative and little gain, a bad brother, bad relatives and neighbors, a bad journey, a bad dream, evil in all.

In the Fourth House, a bad house, bad inheritance, and a decrease in profit.

In the Fifth House, loss due to evil (deeds) by bad children, through fruits,9 by enemies, bad tidings, bad letters, bad children, sadness of heart, vexation and anger, doubt lest the child perish in the womb, no loves or kisses, but quarrels and strife with one’s woman, and all evil according to the house.
In the Sixth House, death or illness, illness of animals, bad luck, serious illness and distress, bad servants, evil to receive dowries from women,10 injuries.

In the Seventh House, an evil woman, a thief, robbery, an evil companion, a quarrelsome woman, a lustful woman, robbers, all evil for (buying or selling) merchandise, or for all matters of travel and news, nothing but the discovery of evil in the place where one intends to go and do business.
In the Eighth House, death, loss of goods, property and inheritance, loss in a foreign country, fear, despair, loss from death, surrender, loss from the enemy of the petitioner, anger and confusion.
In the Ninth House, leaving of a high place of dominion, a bad journey and tears (if it is multiplied in the figure, it is a bad sign of treachery, whippings and wounds on the way), a bad dream, evil for the church and for the people of the church, useless skills and knowledge; teaching will bring no good or profit.

In the Tenth House, coming out of a good place and dominion,11 which someone will lose, it is also a sign that someone has been conquered, and expelled from his lands and benefits; it threatens much evil according to the nature of the house.
In the Eleventh House, the discovery of hope,12 believing enemies to be friends, friends who are lascivious, evil, traitors and liars, bad luck, loss in merchandise, a sign that the thing (sought) will be lost, the return of the absent (won’t happen), or that it will be repelled by a stronger hand,13 bad hope and being met with hatred.
In the Twelfth House, escape and flight due to debts, death of a sick person, release from prison, loss of animals, an enemy, terror, a wounded horse; rebellious and ferocious enemies, traitors and deceivers.

In the Thirteenth House, bad for recovering lost things, a change of path, the dangerous anger of the querent,14 disputes and bad luck.
In the Fourteenth House, enemies instead of friends, loss in merchandise, a bad end for what is claimed, bad in all.
Note, when this figure is found in the first house, it denotes loss and a man of average stature, a round face, a long nose, a large mouth, large teeth, a bald head, and a large beard.

Albus

In the First House, the attainment of the desired thing, happiness, good letters, a prudent man, rich, receiver of all goods, but (this figure) will delay journeys for some positive thing, white and useful things
In the Second House, money and profit in merchandise, riches in silver, reception of promised things, multiplication in all things.
In the Third House, getting one’s desire, good brothers, good relatives, good parents, good neighbors and benefactors, good faith, good news, business a little delayed.

In the Fourth House, gaining a lot from the father and mother, a good house, a good estate, a good position for the father, a good and happy end.
In the Fifth House, good children, good letters, joy, good white fish, hugs and kisses from one’s lady or beloved.
In the Sixth House, serious disease, profit from beasts and servants, comfort and good fortune in white beasts.

In the Seventh House, a good and peaceful woman, a good company, profits in trade, peace from enemies, useful marriage.15
In the Eighth House, mortality and a diseased state, security from fear, profit in a foreign country, lost wealth, good change and a good journey.
In the Ninth House, profit on the journey, faithfulness but some delay in the journey, good skills, a well-educated man, a wise man of an ecclesiastical order, a faithful man.

In the Tenth House, joy, health, good fortune, good to the king and the kingdom; if it is found in the Twelfth or Eighth house, it denotes the enemies of the king,16 a good judgment from the judge, the obtaining of what is desired from the superior, and good service.
In the Eleventh House, good luck, good friends, profits in trade, hope, peace, love.
In the Twelfth House, profitable beasts, good debtors, slow to come out of prison, weak enemies who ask for peace.

In the Thirteenth House, profits on the road and from some lord.
In the Fourteenth House, profit from friends and escape from enemies.
Note that this figure, found in the First House, represents a white man, 17well-bearded and often engaged in white things, and he stays near the water.

Rubeus

In the First House, blood, fights, wars, an angry man, full of rage, danger from fire and blood on the journey and elsewhere, enemies and bad change.18

In the Second House, poverty, loss of money through violence, harmful things.
In the Third House, wrath, bad faith, good siblings or good friends angered towards their fathers and parents and neighbors.19

In the Fourth House, blood, dryness and heat in the air, few seeds, loss of parents, loss of inheritance and patrimony and of all firm things, burning of houses, invasions and conquests of castles, shedding of blood, evil in everything, evil end.
In the Fifth House, bad children, bad life, bad letters, bad news, wild and choleric children.
In the Sixth House, diseases from red choler20 or blood, such as abscesses, ulcers, heat of the blood, evil beasts, bites from rabid dogs, injuries, dejection, armed men.

In the Seventh House, quarrels, wars, bad marriage, false company, a bad woman, hot-tempered and quarrelsome, aggressive with insulting words, robbers, murderers, quarrels with public enemies, deceptions and the like.
In the Eighth House, bloodshed, fear, loss of inheritance, loss by force, bad death by arms or by the sword, death in a foreign nation, loss of enemies, fear of death, loss to him who goes away, all evil for the absent party, hindrance of all gain to those making the journey, who will not find anything profitable in the place where they (plan to go).
In the Ninth House, falsity, a bad journey, robbers on the road, corruption on the road, a man of bad faith, little knowledge in his art or teaching, violence in the church, departure from favors and lies.

In the Tenth House, evilaction of the lord, false justice, wrath and anger of the lord, evil for the kingdom, evil for profit, departure from office by violence, refusal of dominion, bad sentence by the judge, execution.
In the Eleventh House, rigor and litigation, refusal by the master, bad luck, bad officials, bad children, bad hope, bad in dealing with friends and in having ownership.
In the Twelfth House, enemies, debts, evil thoughts, loss, death in prison, evil beasts, a vicious condition, damage by beasts, fierce and passionate enemies, evil and hellish prisons, diseases, imprisonment or death of those imprisoned, the rigor of justice.

In the Thirteenth house, loss from the superior, bad journey and change, loss for the absent party, short life for the one who hides himself from his enemies.
In the Fourteenth House, loss and anger, poverty, bad luck, accumulation of evil, reception of nothing , evil for all business; and this should be for the house of the geomantic shield, when it is generated by evil figures, or is associated with them.21
Note, when this preceding figure is in the First House, it signifies a red man, and of clever speech, longing for battles, and delighting or rejoicing in the shedding of blood, and whose work is connected with fire.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. The connection with stability comes from Caput’s entering or incoming quality. The connection with secrecy, which Fludd uses a lot, is unclear to me. ↩︎
  2. Fludd considers Caput a somewhat slow figure. ↩︎
  3. “Magisterium” ↩︎
  4. Because Caput implies arriving rather than going away. ↩︎
  5. It is unclear to me why Caput would indicate death. However, in very old texts, both lunar nodes are associated with evil things and sometimes with death. ↩︎
  6. I don’t understand this. Possibly it implies conciliation thanks to the judge’s intermediation. ↩︎
  7. I don’t understand the connection with letters. ↩︎
  8. Fludd doesn’t seem to share here the idea that finding Cauda in the First House warrants the destruction of the figure ↩︎
  9. Probably fruits from the earth, signified by the Fourth House. ↩︎
  10. Dowries are usually signified by the Eighth House, which is the second from the Seventh. Here, Fludd gives it to the Sixth which is the second from the Fifth, which rules love affairs. It doesn’t make much sense. ↩︎
  11. The same description is used for the Ninth House, but it applies more to the Tenth, which is the high place of the chart. ↩︎
  12. “spei inventionem”. It probably means making up a hope, which is therefore illusory. ↩︎
  13. I don’t understand this. ↩︎
  14. The Thirteenth House is the Right Witness, given usually to the querent. ↩︎
  15. From an economic standpoint, probably. ↩︎
  16. I don’t understand the reference to the Eighth House, but the Twelfth is quite obvious. Note that Albus is given to Mercury, which is always somewhat morally dubious. ↩︎
  17. White man doesn’t mean ‘white’ in the current ethnic or cultural sense. ↩︎
  18. As with Cauda, Fludd doesn’t seem to think Rubeus in the First House invalidates the figure. ↩︎
  19. This is very odd. Rubeus in the Third should indicate wrathful siblings or neighbors. ↩︎
  20. One of the humors of traditional Western medicine. ↩︎
  21. This sentence is a bit obscure, but it possibly means that a figure stemming from evil figures is worse than when it comes from good ones. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Personal Journal, Uncategorized

Zazu Says Hi (Example Reading)

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After getting our little Ciuffy, we were on the lookout for another ‘tiel. I kept browsing through the ads for a young, tame male, but I kept seeing either clear scams or birds with other issues. I did a geomancy reading, asking if I would soon find one that fit the bill of what we were looking for:

Geomancy reading: will we find a young tame male? App used: simple geomancy

I am signified by the ruler of the Ascendant, Fortuna Minor. Small animals are a Sixth House matter. Technically, if this was a horary chart, I would have to turn the chart (will I get someone else’s bird? Sixth from the Seventh, i.e., the radical Twelfth). However, I have found that Geomancy is less prescious about this kind of stuff. Let’s see how the chart speaks and let us follow it instead of trying to impose ideas on it.

The Sixth House is occupied by Puer: a male! That bodes well. The Judge, however, is Populus, which doesn’t say much. Worse still, Populus comes from two Rubeus. Still, we also find that Fortuna Major connects the Ascendant ruler with the Sixth House, since it is found both in the Seventh and the Twelfth house. A positive figure connecting two positive figures is a positive sign (Puer is more neutral, but still good in context).

Fortuna Minor, furthermore, usually indicates shorter timespans, and it moves to an angle (the Tenth house), which is also a generally positive sign as far as time is concerned. 

The reading was done a couple of weeks ago, and we found Zazu yesterday.

Zazu, also known as Pollo

I am still unsure about that Geomantic Court, with two Rubeus and Populus as judge. It is sometimes said that Populus has little to say, but I don’t believe that. One possible interpretation is that, since Rubeus has the quality of being excessive, the Populus resulting from two Rubeus might show too many birds (a crowd of too many), which is why the person I got it from wanted to get rid of him (or rather, his wife wanted to get rid of him). The court could also simply be warning about potential scams or questionable deals (and I had to sift through a fair share of those).

Be it as it may, I am not too worried about the Court, since the Judge of the Judge (Judge + First House) gives Fortuna Minor, a positive sign for the long run. I’ll update the post if something comes up.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 3

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Fludd explains some of the meanings of Acquisitio, Amissio, Laetitia and Tristitia in the various houses.

Of the Nature and Meaning of the Sixteen Figures in Each of the Houses of the Shield

Acquisitio

In the First house, riches, prudence, profit, good end (or aim)1 luck, receiving what one wishes, but this figure is not good for selling;2 but it is truthful.
In the Second house, wealth, gain, profit, good luck in commerce, reception of something promised, recovery of lost property, increase of all good things.
In the Third house, good luck from relatives, good relatives, siblings, neighbors, good journey, good sense (or feeling).3

In the Fourth house, good inheritance, good and useful house, in which one will acquire riches, rich father, positive solution to all things connected with inheritance.
In the Fifth house, gain from one’s children,4 good children, good letters, good clothes, happiness in the heart, delighting in women, the fruits of the inheritance.5
In the Sixth house, long illness,6 which however will be cured, good animals, good servants.

In the Seventh house, a chaste and submissive woman,7 good company, good dealings, peace, reconciliation with enemies, whether it be in litigation or in war.
In the Eighth house, redress, natural death, gain in foreign land, freedom from fear of death, the enemy is happy and rich.8
In the Ninth house, gain from death, path or travel, fear of God, positive journey, benefit, good dreams, good sense in all actions, piety and religious devotion, good in things of church.

In the Tenth house, profit from (or for) the master or king, peaceful and happy masters, obtaining one’s wish, good sentence from the judge.
In the Eleventh house, good luck, good friends, gain from commerce, immediate reception of gain.
In the Twelfth house, poverty or incarceration due to debts, profit for (or from) servants and beasts,9 long prison sentence, good in case of illness and in being paid back a debt.

In the Thirteenth house, loss and change in profits,10 good journey, acquisition in everything, receipt, implementation of the wish of the absent person.11
In the Fourteenth house, gain in everything one wishes, long life, luck, usefulness, goodness.
In the Fifteenth house, good in everything, recovery of lost things, delay in one’s journey.

Note that this figure in the first house shows a man who is handsome, with yellow or beautiful hair, mediocre build, a red face, a merchant.12

Amissio

In the First house, a bold, unstable man, full of crime and deception, receiving nothing.
in the Second house loss of merchandise and goods, no profit, loss of all goods from robbers.
In the Third house enmity between relatives, parents, brothers, neighbors full of deception, fear on the way.

In the Fourth house falsity and loss of inheritance and patrimony, bad end of the city or house.13
In the fifth house loss of fruits of the inheritance,14 bad and unstable children, bad letters,15 no pleasure in the love of unserious women.
In the Sixth house escape from disease, loss of animals, flight of slaves, likewise injury and perversity.

In the Seventh house an evil woman, a quarrel with one’s master16 or partner, an unstable and lustful woman, loss of merchandise, fugitive robbers, inimical partners, changeable and deceitful, bad change (or removal).17
In the Eighth house loss from death, loss of sense, no profit in the place where one goes, poor enemies, loss a woman’s dowry.
In the Ninth house a long journey without pleasure, no knowledge, some evil for the querent from the Church.

In the Tenth house evil lords, loss of honour, dominion or office, unstable lords, troubles of kingdoms, obstacles to honour.
In the Eleventh house loss of friends, loss of merchandise, false hope, changeable and useless friends.
In the Twelfth house loss of animals, escape from debts, bad change, escape from prison, friends full of falsehood, changeable and derisive.

In the Thirteenth house loss and change in authority or government, bad luck.
In the Fourteenth house loss of friends, much toil in every matter.18
In the Fifteenth house a reception of nothing, a bad conclusion.

note, when this figure Loss is found in the first house, it signifies a pale man, a liar, a predator, a thief.

Laetitia

In the First house judges, wise men, a good and upright life, fullness of joy and exaltation, joy to the querent in all things.
In the Second house a multitude of honors, a life full of fidelity and joy.
In the Third house good fortune through one’s brothers, no fear of God,19 good love of brothers, neighbors, parents, much joy in everything.

In the Fourth house profit from inheritances and from all things on earth,20 a happy end, happiness through real estate, happiness of parents, peaceful inheritance.
In the Fifth house profitable children, long life, happiness in all things, happy and delightful letters and news, happiness from women and all good things.
In the Sixth house servants, animals cured from disease, joyful and cheerful servants.

In the Seventh house a good marriage, profitable partners or profit from partners, victory due to a cheerful and chaste woman, cheerful company, peace and harmony, good change (or removal).
In the Eighth house profits inherited from the dead, escape from fear, profit and profits in the place where one removes to.
In the Ninth house, journeys, fear of God, knowledge, faithfulness, cheerfulness, a holy man,21 business of the church, good news, fine arts, devotion and love of the church.

In the Tenth house exaltation to great honors, bishops and prelates, help from the lords, a happy and cheerful office, beautiful temples, a good judge, a just and good opinion, a warm place.22
In the Eleventh house good fortune from associates, profitable animals,23 joyous love, good hope from a good man, cheerful and good friends, a prudent man and of good knowledge, profit in trade.
In the Twelfth house profitable beasts and slaves, coming out of prison, deliverance from debt, and from all tribulation, peace and reconciliation with enemies.

In the Thirteenth house, profit from a journey, from the king, from the lord, positive change.
In the Fourteenth house good hope of fulfilling one’s will, happy hope, the fulfillment of one’s wishes, joy and exaltation.

When this figure is found in the first house, it signifies a bishop, a prelate of the church, religious and ecclesiastical, a long beard, some evil existing in the finger,24 remaining in high places.

Tristitia

In the First house, sad thoughts, debts, poverty, hidden loss, obligations, prison, roadblocks, bad change, unbelieving and without hope.25
In the Second house fortune and commerce,26 avarice, loss of property, an unfortunate usurer, dishonor.
In the Third house bitterness with relatives, silent hatred with neighbors and relatives, a secret obstacle on the way.27

In the Fourth house loss of inheritance and in battles, loss of house, trouble, bad house, bad luck, poverty of parents, loss.
In the Fifth house bad and poor children, false letters, sadness and anguish of heart, secrets in love of sad women, poor food and clothes.
In the Sixth house evil servants, fear of captivity and poverty, timid and useless animals, long illness or death, poverty, rejection without injury and confusion.28

In the Seventh house a bad woman, a victorious man,29 a thief in the night, poor condition, loss, bad change (or removal), a sad woman.
In the Eighth house being poor from the death of another, loss in a foreign nation, damage from the absent person.30

In the Ninth house the road is unprofitable, hindrances in the journey and loss, a man without wisdom and knowledge, a crude understanding, the downfall of the church and benefits.

In the Tenth house, loss and degradation of men, the exaltation of the wicked,31 loss of duties, sad lords, fear of kings and kingdoms, wrong judgment of judges, a fall from honor.
In the Eleventh house, contemptuous friends, bad luck which will last for a long time, but still with hope, a poor friend, no failure in business.32
In the Twelfth house, debts, enemies, loss, long imprisonment or death in prison, a timid and poor enemy, trouble, fear of obligations and debts, long or incurable illness.33

In the Thirteenth house evil on the road and sadness.
In the Fourteenth house, bad luck, small journeys, anxiety and trouble, despair and irreparable evil.

When this figure is found in the first house, it signifies a dark man,34 having torn clothes, and who deals in dark, foul, and vile things.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. It is unclear to me whether he means a good end to the matter at hand or a positive aim in mind. ↩︎
  2. Because it implies receiving rather than giving away. ↩︎
  3. Probably meaning clarity of mind. ↩︎
  4. This was written in preromantic times, when children were often seen as helping hands. ↩︎
  5. Because the Fifth house is the second from the Fourth. ↩︎
  6. Because it implies not getting rid of it. ↩︎
  7. Implying the querent is a man. However, in some old Astrology handbooks, the Seventh house is assigned specifically to women. ↩︎
  8. Because it is the second from the Seventh house, which is the house opposing the first. ↩︎
  9. The Twelfth house rules larger animals. ↩︎
  10. This sentence is not clear to me, nor why Acquisitio would imply loss. ↩︎
  11. “Implementum desiderii absentis.” This is obscure to me. ↩︎
  12. Fludd attributes, like many others, physical descriptions to the figures when they are in the First House. This is typical of traditional astrology, where the first house represents the querent. Note that these descriptions are rather limiting and conform to old stereotypes. Plus, they imply that the same querent would always be represented by the same figure whenever they come to the geomancer for a consultation, which is highly unlikely. They are still useful on occasion, but one must “mix discretion with art”. ↩︎
  13. In addition to one’s home, the Fourth house indicates the city. ↩︎
  14. Again because the Fifth is the second from the Fourth. However, the Fourth house also rules orchards and lands, so the Fifth can indicate literal fruits from the lands. ↩︎
  15. There is some confusion in traditional astrology on which house rules letters. Some say the Third house, some the Fifth, some the Ninth. As far as I can rationalize this matter, the Third house represents communication and private correspondence; the Fifth house represents messengers because it is the second from the Fourth, the Fourth house being the city, and the second house from any house indicates that thing’s representatives (for instance, my Second house would indicate my lawyer, who represents me in a court of law.) ↩︎
  16. It’s unclear why the Seventh would indicate the master. ↩︎
  17. The Seventh house represents “there”, while the Firsth house is “here”. ↩︎
  18. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth houses, i.e., the Witnesses, generally receive their signification (as we have seen in Abano’s case) from the two houses they derive from on the Shield: the Right Witness from the Ninth and Tenth, the Left Witness from the Eleventh and Twelfth. ↩︎
  19. It is unclear whether this is positive or negative, as fear of God was considered the beginning of wisdom. As for why it is attributed to the Third house instead of the Ninth, in some very old Astrological texts the Third House is the house of the Goddess, and in Christian times it possibly came to represent how one’s faith affected one’s everyday life. ↩︎
  20. The Fourth house, the Imum Coeli, is the earth. ↩︎
  21. All these positive religious connotations stem from Acquisitio’s attribution to Jupiter. ↩︎
  22. The Tenth house, the M.C., represents the sky and therefore the weather. ↩︎
  23. I don’t get why. ↩︎
  24. I don’t understand why. ↩︎
  25. Probably as character traits, since it is about the First House. ↩︎
  26. I do not understand why Tristitia in the second would bode well for commerce. ↩︎
  27. Fludd’s insistence on the idea of secrecy is due to Tristitia’s association with Saturn. ↩︎
  28. “abjectionem sine vulnere et confusione”. I do not understand this sentence. ↩︎
  29. I don’t understand why “a victorious man”. ↩︎
  30. The reference to absent people is due to how common it was to ask astrologers or geomancers about people who had simply gone away or vanished. This is understandable, considering astrology was probably the only tracking device available at the time. ↩︎
  31. Because the Tenth House is the highest place in the chart and Tristitia indicates downward movement and lowly things or people, it can show the elevation of someone unworthy or the downfall of someone who is in a high place. ↩︎
  32. This last part is unclear to me. Possibly because the failure announced by Tristitia is mitigated by the positivity of the house. ↩︎
  33. Typically we assign illness to the Sixth house. However, there are old handbooks that assign illness (especially serious illness) to the Twelfth house. Some distinguish between the Illness (Sixth House) and the confinement that derives from it (Twelfth House). ↩︎
  34. From Saturn’s influence ↩︎

astrology, Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 2

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Fludd introduces some preliminary classifications of the houses.

Of The First Twelve Figures Of a Shield

the first twelve shields of the geomantic house refer to the 12 signs of the zodiac, as we must understand in astrology. Therefore, the first house, both in astrology and in geomancy, is given to Aries, and is always by itself a movable house,1 the second to Taurus, and is a fixed house, and the third to Gemini, and is a common house. The fourth is Cancer and is movable, the fourth is Leo and is fixed, the sixth is Virgo and is common, the seventh is Libra and is movable, the eighth is Scorpio and is fixed, the ninth is Sagittarius and is common, the tenth is Capricorn and is movable, the eleventh is Aquarius and is fixed, the twelfth is Pisces and it is common, that is, neither fixed nor movable, but intermediate between both.

And it must be noted that, when the [geomantic] figures are in these houses, nevertheless the nature of the house is not changed, but remains in itself, that is, it will not change the nature of its sign: hence the first house will be called Aries, and so forth, so that every house, whatever attribute it may have, will stay movable, fixed, or common according to its own nature.

Rule I

Bad Houses make good figures bad, and they make bad ones worse: on the contrary, good figures are better in good houses.

Rule II

A figure in a house of contrary nature, that is to say a fixed figure in a movable house, or a movable figure in a fixed house, is rendered worse in judgment. But a fixed figure in a fixed house or a mobile figure in a mobile house are fortified.2

Rule III

The first four of the twelve houses, namely, the first house, the second, and the third will always signify the season of spring, and so on in the rest, as stated in astrology.3

MQS

Footnotes

  1. Today we call the astrological signs cardinal, fixed and mutable. A more archaic way of describing them is as movable, fixed and common. Note that Fludd is equating the signs with the houses, which is natural in geomancy. In traditional astrology, however, the houses are quite distinct from the signs. ↩︎
  2. Here the reference is to the classification of the geomantic figures shown in Book II, Part 1. ↩︎
  3. In astrology (as well as in magic), the four quarters of the Heaven hold much symbolic meaning, lending themselves to the allotment of various fourfold distinctions. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 1

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Fludd gives some basic details about the geomantic figures.

Of the Names, Forms and Natures of the Geomantic Figures

those figures which can be drawn from the series of four geomantic lines are sixteen in number, which are distinguished from one another by name and form, as follows:1

NameForm
First: Acquisitio* *
*
* *
*
Second: Amissio*
* *
*
* *
Third: Laetitia*
* *
* *
* *
Fourth: Tristitia* *
* *
* *
*
Fifth: Caput Draconis* *
*
*
*
Sixth: Cauda Draconis*
*
*
* *
Seventh: Albus* *
* *
*
* *
Eighth: Rubeus* *
*
* *
* *
Ninth: Puer2*
* *
*
*
Tenth: Puella*
*
* *
*
Eleventh: Major Fortuna (sic)* *
* *
*
*
Twelfth: Minor Fortuna (sic)*
*
* *
* *
Thirteenth: Populus* *
* *
* *
* *
Fourteenth: Via*
*
*
*
Fifteenth: Conjunctio* *
*
*
* *
Sixteenth: Carcer*
* *
* *
*

And these figures are obviously referred to the signs of the Zodiac:

FigureZodiac Sign
AcquisitioAries
Laetitia and Fortuna MinorTaurus
Rubeus and PuerGemini
Albus and PopulusCancer
ViaLeo
Caput Draconis and ConjunctioVirgo
PuellaLeo
Tristitia and AmissioScorpio
Cauda DraconisSagittarius
PopulusCapricorn
Fortuna MajorAquarius
CarcerPisces

Similarly they are given to:

PlanetFigures
MarsRubeus (D), Puella (R)3
SunMajor (fast), Minor (slow)4
VenusPuer (D)5, Amissio (R)
MercuryAlbus (D), Conjunctio (R)
MoonPopulus (D), Via (R)6
Jupiter and VenusCaput Draconis (D)
Saturn and MarsCauda Draconis (R)

These Figures are also:

ElementFigures
Fiery, assigned to the SouthRubeus
Minor
Amissio
Cauda
Airy, assigned to the EastLaetitia
Acquisitio
Puella
Conjunctio
Watery, assigned to the NorthPopulus
Via
Puer
Albus
Earthy, assigned to the WestMajor
Caput
Carcer
Tristitia

The Figures are:

ValueFigures
Always positive and fortunateMajor
Laetitia
Caput
Albus
Puer
Acquisitio
Always negative and unhappyTristitia
Rubeus
Puella
Amissio
Cauda
Minor
Carcer
Neither always good nor always evil, but middling, that is, neither exceptionally good nor exceptionally badPopulus
Via
Conjunctio

The Figures are however:

StabilityFigures
Strong and stableMajor
Acquisitio
Laetitia
Puer
Albus
Caput
Weak and moveableAmissio
Tristitia
Puella
Rubeus
Cauda
Mediocre, that is, neither strong nor weakPopulus
Via
Conjunctio
Carcer7

Rule I
Strong and firm figures make a thing stable and firm, for better or worse, depending on whether the figure is found in a good or evil house.

Rule II
Weak figures are so called, because they render a weak judgement without stability, neither are they so good and stable as much as they are mediocre,8 whether in a question of illness or incarceration or pregnancy.

Rule III
Mediocre figures are so called, because they are between strong and weak figures, and they make a situation mediocre, that is, neither totally good nor totally bad.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Fludd was fond of using tables. I will try to make the layout of the translation as clear as possible ↩︎
  2. Fludd gives here to Puer the form we typically assign to Puella and vice versa. ↩︎
  3. ‘D’ is for ‘direct’, ‘R’ for retrograde.
    ↩︎
  4. The Sun cannot go into retrogradation, which is why some sources, like Fludd, attribute the two Fortunes to the Sun at different speeds. This is still somewhat odd, considering the Sun is always rather constant in its speed (which is probably behind the traditional symbolic view of the Sun as a source of stability, as opposed to the Moon’s changeability). ↩︎
  5. Generally, today, we would assign Venus to Puella and Mars to Puer. It is unclear to me the extent to which Fludd was making a mistake or providing a blind to challenge the reader’s thinking. He is not the only traditional authority who swaps Puer and Puella, though. ↩︎
  6. The Moon cannot go into retrogradation. Usually, Populus is assigned today to the waxing Moon, Via to the waning Moon. ↩︎
  7. There exist other lists with partially different attributions. ↩︎
  8. It is unclear to me whether Fludd means that weak figures are mediocre or that they are worse than those called mediocre. Logic would dictate that the latter interpretation is correct. ↩︎