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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 8

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Abano talks about some of the meanings of Carcer and Conjunctio in the various houses.

Carcer

Carcer in the first means difficulties, preoccupations, melancholy, prison, deep thoughts, secret thoughts.
In the second it means delay in gain and increase, success through toil, but with difficulty.
In the third it means evil siblings, dishonest pleasures, dishonest and disgraceful neighbors, licentiousness with siblings.

In the fourth it means fortresses, cities, stable buildings, inheritance, abudance, hidden treasures, hidden things.
In the fifth it means miscarriage, dead children,1 danger through childbirth, evil children, lame children, or deranged or possessed, womanly pains.
In the sixth it means good, trustworthy servants, gain from animals, long sickness, danger and pain, crying.

In the seventh it means chaste women, stable marriage, good company,2 faithful people, stable peace, people who can keep secrets.
In the eighth it means death, interment, hiding treasures and goods from the dead, funeral or congregation of people caused by a death.
In the ninth it means religion, serving God, hidden things coming to light, long travel or pilgrimage, good monks, just people, faithful Christians.

In the tenth it means a stable kingdom, lordship, palaces, just judges and orators.
In the eleventh it means succession in a kingdom, oppressing enemies, gain with difficulty, hidden machinations, frauds, rumors.
In the twelfth it means dangerous hidden enemies, long imprisonment, death of the inmate.

In the thirteenth it means danger from childbirth, miscarriage, dangers for the mother, long illness, bad in everything.
In the fourteenth it means freedom from dangers and other issues, but after much trouble, leaving all problems behind.
In the fifteenth it means inner strength, delay in getting one’s wish.

Conjunctio

Conjunctio in the first house means an evil disposition, machinations, fraud, cheating, unstable life, a variety of colors.3
In the second it means merchandise, gain through one’s ingenuity, being active, promptness.
In the third it means ingenious brothers and sisters, good short journey and a speedy return, a messenger, false letters, having fun in company.

In the fourth it means good for the father, good inheritance, a beautiful building, ingenious actions, divisions among citizens, killings, rumors, betrayals among them [the citizens]4
In the fifth it means mirth through one’s children, giving birth, false women, a fun evening.5
In the sixth it means good but petty servants, fugitives, various illnesses but not grave, thieves in one’s family.

in the seventh it means iniquitous women, petty women, harlots, false company, thieves, scuffles and brawls, war, a sad marriage, various colors.
In the eighth it means a prisoner being hanged, for the ill man it means death, and likewise for the absent party, desperation, danger of death for women [or through women].
In the ninth it means intelligence, various interests, various journeys, various fatherlands, traveling to acquire knowledge or virtue.

In the tenth it means official documents, judges, litigations, kings, lords, various offices, dignity.
In the eleventh it means promises or oaths, dispatching soldiers or courtesans, instability, wrongful succession, wrong faith.
In the twelfth it means hidden enemies, betrayal, damage through evil animals, infamy, detractions, dishonor, but it is good to buy animals.

In the thirteenth it means good luck in the quesited thing, in marriage and in doing good.
In the fourteenth it means well for litigations and scriptures or writings, for promises and for lordships and congregations.
In the fifteenth it means happy ending and good luck depending on the question.6

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Elsewhere Carcer is given as positive for pregnancies. ↩︎
  2. Usually Carcer signifies solitude. Perhaps, though, if the question is about someone else’s goodness it may indicate a serious character. Needless to say, much depends on the configuration as a whole. ↩︎
  3. Conjunctio’s description is perhaps where Abano is at his most contradictory, possibly highlighting the inherently contradictory nature of this mercurial figure. Keep in mind that Mercury was seen not just as messenger but as patron of thieves. ↩︎
  4. Possibly here Mercury suggests the idea of partisanship. ↩︎
  5. The latin word ‘conjunctio’ can literally means the act of being joined to another in intercourse. ↩︎
  6. Often Conjunctio is taken to means a middling result. ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 7

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Abano discusses some of the meanings of Populus and Via in the houses of the chart.

Populus

Populus in the first house means change,1 a mutable life, but a long one, and water, rivers, company, ships, mills, prairies, rain.
In the second it means gain of a lot of wealth, good merchandise, gain of money.
In the third it means gaiety with siblings, union with one’s neighbors, dangerous travel, gardens, watery places.

In the fourth it means the city, castles, buildings, union, congregation of people, inheritance, usefulness, abundance throughout the year.
In the fifth it means many children, succession, inheritance of a pregnant woman, unstable children.
In the sixth good family, many animals, usefulness through servants, deadly illness.

In the seventh it means good marriage, good partnership or company, usefulness, love of unstable women.
In the eighth it means tears, funerals,2 inheritance, usefulness from dead people, gain through women, fear of death.
In the ninth it means long travel with gain, rain, storm while at sea, shipwreck but ending well, peregrination with company.


In the tenth it means congregation of lords, exaltation of common people over the lords,3 rebellion, schism, diversion, suffocation of common people, grave person.
In the eleventh it means dignity, gifts from lords, usefulness from the mother.4
In the twelfth it means many occult enemies, damage from their coconspirators, unjust machinations, freedom from illness and by sea.

In the thirteenth it means good company, security, safety in travel, gain from friends, goodwill, gain from travel, good return of the absent party.
In the fourteenth it means gain from the mother5 and from relatives, inheritance, good fame.
In the fifteenth it means good things, but with delay.

Via

Via in the First House means a positive journey, whether long or short, poverty, a short life.
In the second it means little wealth, toil, loss of money and possessions.
In the third it means a short journey, gardens, pleasure, gain from the dead,6 few siblings.

In the fourth it means a small inheritance, little gain, desert places, lots of water, a year of dearth, being without a father or mother.
In the fifth it means few children, good relatives, succession for the mother.7
In the sixth it means servants fleeing, small animals, little gain from them, short but dangerous illness, bad servants.

In the seventh it means an unstable woman, corrupt, sad, unstable marriage, company of few but good people.
In the eighth it means liberation from infirmity and from prison, fleeing danger, return [of someone].
In the ninth it means a long journey soon, goods from the church, messengers, unstable and unfaithful religious people, a bad life.

In the tenth it means instability for the kingdom, lordship, dignity, unjust judges, infamy.
In the eleventh it means little hope, vain hope, unfaithful soldiers and curials.
In the twelfth it means few enemies, unfortunate journey, falling from a high place,8 danger of death, loss of inheritance due to the mother, freedom from prison.

In the thirteenth it means gain from travel, a secure street, little rain, good for selling.
In the fourteenth it means damaged goods, short journey, dispatching goods, the absent party is coming back soon.
In the fifteenth it means good change, a quick resolution.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Usually, Populus is taken as a rather stable figure, while Via should indicate change. Here Abano considers them both rather changeable, possibly due to the association with the Moon. ↩︎
  2. A congregation due to death. ↩︎
  3. Because Populus means the common folk, and finding it in the Tenth House it can show that the common folk take over the place of honor. Once again, this shows very well how we ought to interpret the chart. ↩︎
  4. The mother is the Tenth House, her Second House shows gain from her. ↩︎
  5. Because the Fourteenth derives from the Eleventh and Twelfth and the Eleventh is, as discussed, gain from the mother. ↩︎
  6. I don’t understand why in this house Via should indicate gain from the dead. ↩︎
  7. This is unclear to me. ↩︎
  8. Possibly because the Twelfth House is cadent from the Tenth House, the highest place in the chart, and Via shows physical movement, thus “a movement that falls from a high place”. ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 6

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Here Abano examines some of the meanings of Puer and Puella in the various houses.

Puella

Puella in the first house means happy things, fleeing from adversity, singing, dancing, usefulness, younger siblings or dead siblings.1
In the second it means usefulness for women and for merchandise, good luck, clothes.
In the third house it means love between siblings and relatives, good friends, usefulness through them.

In the fourth it means fighting over inheritance, difficulty in whatever you wish to gain from your father or mother,2 hiding secrets, good profession.
In the fifth house it means good messenger and letters, gaiety with children, obtaining your wish.
In the sixth house it means lovesickness,3 good servants, harlots, fornication, lasciviousness.

In the seventh it means a marriage of love,4 lucky marriage, lascivious women, lack of stability.
In the eighth it means death of small children, arms and swords.5
In the ninth it means usefulness through travel, good change of place, gain through merchanidse, knowledge, good news.

In the tenth it means honor from lords, good servants, good things for powerful people, happiness, goodness in everything.
In the eleventh it means happiness from friends, good luck for sick people, gain, usefulness through injustice, good in everything.
In the twelfth it means being firm, scams, gain through animals, problems through servants and evil people and phony people.

In the thirteenth it means usefulness through travel and lords, happiness, good news, good messenger.
In the fourteenth it means freedom from danger, usefulness, happiness, gain through toil.
In the fifteenth it depends on the other figuers, depending on where they fall.6

Puer

Puer in the first house means happiness, hope of gain, having kids, obtaining your wish, money.7
In the second it means gain through merchandise, selling, abundance, obtaining the wish.
In the third it means discord among siblings and relatives, gain with difficulty and with company, difficulties, useless dream.

In the fourth it means controversy, fighting, discord, rumors about the father or mother due to inheritance, it brings to light the hidden, useful strategies.
In the fifth it means happiness, false messenger, fights, wealth from minors.
In the sixth it means fled servants, dishonest women, danger from giving birth, male child.

In the seventh it means illegal marriage, harlots, dirty words, useful company.
In the eighth it means death of an enemy or of a minor, inheritance, fraud, if with Rubeus8 it means wounds and loss of blood.
In the ninth it means long travel, reunion, false science and false people, false news.

In the tenth fight, bad judge, dishonor, one’s lord is too credulous, loss of dignity and wealth.
In the eleventh it means false soldiers, false friends, false churchmen, unfaithfulness, treason, contrarieties.
In the twelfth it means enemies, invasion, bad for journeying, subjects, the sick person is evil and a traitor.

In the thirteenth it means travel, impediments, murder, evil people, violence, eviction, loss of inheritance.
In the fourteenth it means evil company, false marriage, harlots, instability.
In the fifteenth it is always evil except in war.9

MQS

Footnotes
  1. This last correspondence escapes me. ↩︎
  2. Puella is usually presented as a positive, if weak, figure. Why it should cause strife over inheritance is not clear. In some Medieval books on Geomancy it seems as though Puer and Puella are often mixed together. ↩︎
  3. The connection of love, one of the meanings of Venus/Puella, with the sickness typical of the Sixth House, is rather smart here, and should be taken as example of how to derive meanings from the Figure-in-House combination. ↩︎
  4. That is, as opposed to a marriage of convenience or marriage for money, which were common back in the day. ↩︎
  5. This latter correspondence seems more plausible for Puer. ↩︎
  6. Puella cannot be the Judge. ↩︎
  7. Once again, this feels like a mix between Puer and Puella. ↩︎
  8. It is not clear where Rubeus should appear in order for Puer to be ‘with’ it. Perhaps in company. At any rate, it is an interesting comment as it reinforces the idea that the figures combine their meanings to give us a clearer picture of the situation. ↩︎
  9. Puer cannot be the Judge. ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 5

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Abano gives some examples of the meanings of Albus and Rubeus in the various houses.

Albus

Albus in the first house means obtaining the wish, success in white things,1 happiness, success in watery things, good news, letters.
In the second it means increase of wealth, riches, gain in merchandise, usefulness through partnership.
In the third it means obtaining what you wish, good for serving a lord or nobleman, good brothers and relatives.

In the fourth it means gain through the father, inheritance, gain through travel and water, rivers, watery places.
In the fifth it means good kids, good messenger, good news, good letters, honor, good life.
In the sixth it means serious, long sickness,2 tears, servants, animals.

In the seventh it means chaste women, honest woman, pregnant woman, gain through women.
In the eighth it means tears due to bereavement, rain, lots of water.
In the ninth it means gain through travel, problems due to rain (during travel), good news from afar, good messenger.

In the tenth it means good luck, good things from noblemen, or friends, good in any question.
In the eleventh it means good luck through friends and happiness in all you wish.
In the twelfth it means certainty in what you doubt in things of war or armed men, good for animals, bad for the prisoner, success after difficulty.

In the thirteenth it means good change of place, gain through congregation of lords.3
In the fourteenth it means help from friends, freedom from enemies, happiness in what you wish.
In the fifteenth it is good depending on the other figures.4

Rubeus

Rubeus in the first means problems, fear of death and blood, great fights, enmity, ingratitude, rumors, all kinds of problems.5
In the second it means theft, loss of gain, poverty, little gain through merchandise.
In the third it means sadness, loss of blood, enmity, discord among siblings and relatives, evil siblings, blood, traveling by night.

In the fourth it means loss of blood or sebum, loss of inheritance, a bad year, drought.
In the fifth it means evil children, useless study, evil science,6 violence, damange through animals, evil life, good luck in war.
In the sixth it means acute infirmity, fever, choler, problems through servants and animals, theft.

In the seventh it means war, fights, evil marriage, evil wife, perversion of the spouse, bad outcome, except in war, depending what side (of the chart) it favors by its presence.7
In the eighth it means loss of blood, fear of death, infamy after death.
In the ninth it means dangerous journey due to thieves, assassins, public violence, wounds, drunkenness, horrible things.

In the tenth it means tyranny,8 public violence due to one’s lords, evil judge.
In the eleventh it means enmity, discord, evil friends, foes, misfortune, problems, evil servants.9
In the twelfth it means toil, enemies, big misfortune, loss of what you wish, damage through merchandise, loss of wealth, bad for the prisoner.

In the thirteenth it means bad journey, loss through noblemen, hatred from higher ups, misfortune.
In the fourteenth it means useless toil, prison of the messenger, hatred of evil servants, theft, evil men, dangerous travel.
In the fifteenth it means good or evil depending on the figures in the other houses, it is only good in war for the victorious side.10

MQS

Footnotes

  1. This is because Albus, of course, means ‘white’. However, one is left wondering what these white things are, and if there are deeper implications based on the symbolic and alchemical meaning of the figure. ↩︎
  2. In many sources Albus in the Sixth House is considered a symbol of medicine. ↩︎
  3. The idea of lords or masters is given by the Tenth House. Albus, being a figure of Mercury, supplies the idea of connection. ↩︎
  4. Albus cannot be the Judge. See my footnote in Book III Part 4. ↩︎
  5. It is known that Geomancers often discouraged people from reading the chart if Rubeus was in the first house. Here Abano does not mention this rule, but rather interprets Rubeus in the First House as a normal figure. ↩︎
  6. The connection of the Fifth House with science is not clear. ↩︎
  7. As discussed previously, in things of war Abano suggests giving one half of the shield to one party and the other half to the opposing party. ↩︎
  8. In classical philosophy, tyranny was considered the greatest illness of politics, so it is fitting that it should be represented by the most sinister figure. ↩︎
  9. This probably refers to ‘sevants of the king’ as the Eleventh is the second from the Tenth. ↩︎
  10. Rubeus cannot be the Judge. ↩︎

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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 3

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Abano gives some examples of the possible meanings of Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor in the various houses.

Fortuna Major

Fortuna Major in the first house means good luck for the querent, science, honor, fame, noble people, health, long life, good in all.
In the second it means gain, good luck, science, victory, money, and good through women1 and animals.
In the third it means good luck, happiness with brothers, relatives, friends, usefulness in travel and through women, obtaining what you wish.

In the fourht it means usefulness in stable things, inheritance, good things from one’s parents and older relatives.
In the fifth it means good fame, friendship, good grace, happiness through children, good news, favors from women, obtaining your wish.
In the sixth it means health, except for women, and gain through animals and servants.

In the seventh it means marriage, increase of wealth, good partnership with gain, overcoming your enemies, good and tranquil life.
In the eighth it means gaining wealth through other people’s death, freedom from danger and from death, gain, increase of wealth.
In the ninth it means travel with honor, gain through it, and through science in foreign countries and with foreign people, good change of place, quietude, divine spirit, true judgment.2

In the tenth it means honor, dignity, riches through one’s ingeniousness and speeches, and thanks to one’s mother, and in things related to God, good fame, gain through great and noble people, and through one’s job, and from prelates.3
In the eleventh it means good luck, gain, increase through friends, servants, kids, and from the King or from lords and prelates and noblemen.
In the twelfth it means health, freedom from danger and fear, gain through animals and servants, but the sick person won’t heal and the prisoner won’t be released, or with difficulty.

In the thirteenth it means gain through travel or from the king or a lord, parties, banquets, and toils and difficulties to have health.
In the fourteenth it means good luck in all you wish, and in animals, agriculture, buildings, long life.4
In the fifteenth it means good success, good outcome, succession, good friendship.

Fortuna Minor

Fortuna Minor in the first means King, Queen, lord, nobleperson, dignity, honor, fortitude, noblewoman, noble things, animals, good journey.5
In the second it means gain, gain through merchandise, and in selling and in buying, and from family or servants.
In the third it means a sister or (female) relative or (female) neighbor, good luck, good science.

In the fourth it means bringing secret things to light, fixed term employment or office, inheritance, unmovable goods, buildings.
In the fifth it means honor, dignity, spouses, happiness among the common folk, happiness through journey and children.
In the sixth it means sickness of a servant, problems through them, female servants, gain through toil.

In the seventh it means marriage, congregation of people, but with problems, partnership, gain throguh movable things.
In the eighth it means quick long travel bringing gain, but with danger of death, good fame followed by death, being killed.
In the ninth it means change of place, honorable journey, peregrination, good sceince, occult things.

In the tenth it means empress, king, lord, dignity, magistrate, mother, judge, excellent master/teacher, law, institutions.
In the eleventh it means happiness, chanting, dancing, various sounds, noble friends, fortitude, travel, obtaining your wish.
In the twelfth it means honor and dignity, fear of enemies and subjects and servants and sick people, freedom from prison, good for animals.

In the thirteenth it means travel with honor, sacraments, faith, gain, quick positive results.
In the fourteenth it means good luck and fortune in all you wish to gain.
In the fifteenth it means good succession, fame, honor among people, obtaining or accumulating wealth.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. It is not clear why women should be connected with the Second House or with Fortuna Major. ↩︎
  2. It is not clear what the word ‘judgment’ refers to here. In some old astrology books the Ninth house represents the court in a court case, though usually, for instance in Horary, we take the Tenth house as the judge. Furthermore, the Ninth House represents the wise people whose judgment was held in great esteem in the community. ↩︎
  3. Although some of these subjects are usually Ninth House matter, gain through them is the second from the Ninth, so the radical Tenth House. ↩︎
  4. The associations of the two Witnesses are taken mostly, as I’ve already discussed, from the two houses they derive from on the Shield. ↩︎
  5. Journeys are not normally associated with the First House, but Fortuna Minor is a mobile figure and the First House can represent the querent’s location and the means of transport they use to move (buggy, ship, etc.) ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 2

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Abano starts a discussion on the meaning of the various figures in each of the houses, beginning with Acquisitio and Amissio.

I have already discussed how every figure has two properties, one by virtue of its essence, and one by virtue of its accidental placement in the chart. What follows is the meaning of each figure in each of the fifteen houses.1

Acquisitio

Acquisitio in the first house means gain through partnerships,2 obtaining what one wishes, acquisition, gain, honor, good life, health, property.
In the second house it means gain, merchandise, money, good outcome, usefulness.
In the third house it means good luck for one’s siblings and relatives or neighbors, and in science, and the dream is true,3 good outcome through journey.

In the fourth house it means inheritance, goods from the deceased, increase of wealth and of stable things, abundance.
In the fifth house it means good luck with children, or through them, recognition, happiness, what one wishes to gain, following one’s lords.
In the sixth house it means sickness, falling ill, relapsing,4 gain through animals and servants and subjects.

In the seventh it means good change of place, good friendship, good partnership, usefulness, properties.
In the eighth it means gaining back the money you loaned, gain through dead people, mediocre outcome in all things, except for sickness, where it lengthens the process.
In the ninth it means gain through travel, honorable travel, especially if of elevated people and people who have fear of God.

In the tenth it means exaltation, lordship, lords, honor, dignity, gaining through one’s masters, kings, emperors.
In the eleventh it means good luck in every question, gain, good friends, happiness and friendship and offspring.
In the twelfth it means prison, loss, toil, problems, fear, gain through serfs, subjects, animals.

In the thirteenth it means honorable journey or journeying with great people or in their stead, or with one’s mother. Gain.5
In the fourteenth it means obtaining what one wishes but with trouble, problems, difficulties.6
In the fifteenth it means good outcome in everything, good brother, good things from brothers and relatives.7

Amissio

Amissio means damage, loss, especially in movable things, coins, in wealth, theft, gossip, evil in everything, except for sickness or prison or travel.8
In the second it means loss of wealth, damage through merchandise, and in everything where gain is hoped for.
In the third it means enmity with siblings and relatives or through them, wrath, discord, malice, good outcome for journeys.

In the fourth it means damage, loss, misfortune in secret things, loss of inheritance, destruction of the city, of the home, of the land, of the fortress.
In the fifth it means problems and misfortune with children, loss of wealth, famine.9
In the sixth it means healing of sickness, liberation of the fled servant, loss due to animals, and when one is sick, depending on the other houses, there might still be doubts [about his health].10

In the seventh it means fraud, treachery from women and enemies, loss through marriage and partnership and friendship.
In the eighth it means loss of inheritance, loss of money and wealth, death of the sick person.
In the ninth it means long but good journey. Late journey in a distant land, problems on the road, with changes, harlots.11

In the tenth it means loss and problems in all you wish to gain, and if Rubeus is born from it it means being harmed, if Tristitia it means prison.12
In the eleventh it means misfortune in everything you wish to get, discord, enmity with friends, bad for prisoners.
In the twelfth it means bad journey, loss through animals and loss of wealth, toil, loss of merchanidse, and you’ll collect a debt at a loss, freedom from prison and sickness.

In the thirteenth it means loss of wealth, damage through one’s lords, change of country, misfortune.
In the fourteenth it means loss of friends, toil, great problems.
In the fifteenth it means bad outcome, flight, not retreiveing what you wish to retrieve, misfortune in all.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. This way of proceeding is rather typical of medieval handbooks of geomancy and even of astrology. It generally aims at allowing the reader to form an idea of the abstract properties of each figure by showing its concrete manifestation. ↩︎
  2. It is unclear why Acquisitio in the First House should indicate gain through partnerships. In most medieval handbooks of astrology, for instance, a planet showing gain in the First House usually indicates the querent’s industriousness. ↩︎
  3. Dreams and science are usually Ninth House matters, although the distinction is not as rigid as some modern traditional astrologers make it out to be. ↩︎
  4. This is a typical example of a broadly positive figure having a negative meaning: people usually don’t want to ‘gain’ an illness. ↩︎
  5. Why Abano characterizes the Thirteenth Figure, i.e., the Right Witness, as meaning all these things is obscure, until we remember that, for Abano, the Right Witness is in connection with the Ninth and Tenth houses, from which it is formed. ↩︎
  6. Probably from the mixing of Eleventh and Twelfth House meanings. ↩︎
  7. The connection to relatives and brothers escapes me. ↩︎
  8. Abano does not say “Amissio in the first house means…” but “Amissio means…” I suspect though that it is just a mistake. ↩︎
  9. Because it shows loss of the products (second from) of the earth (Fourth House) ↩︎
  10. Amissio is generally favorable in case of illness, but what Abano is saying is that we should always look at the picture as a whole, without focusing on a single testimony. ↩︎
  11. This escapes me. ↩︎
  12. That is, if Rubeus or Tristitia are the Right Witness, which is the one born from the Tenth House. ↩︎

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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book III Pt. 1

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In a relatively straightforward passage, Abano gives the reader examples of what it may mean when a figure moves from one house to another.

To truly understand mutation and the variety of the figures, you need to consider the property of the figure, whether it be fortunate or not, entering or exiting, fixed or mobile, and judge according to its meaning the effect of the mutation, always keeping in mind the question, the quesited and the querent.
Another mutation1 to be kept in mind with its meaning in order understand better what has been said so far, is the one that happens to every figure as it changes from one house to another.

If the first figure changes to the second, and is good, fortunate, entering, it means gain, good luck for oneself, and when it is evil it means ill; if it moves to the third it bodes well for neighbors, relatives, traveling; when to the fourth, it means small losses, except if it is Cauda or if the question is about older relatives, friends and things fixed and immobile, endings, buildings and possessions; if to the fifth it’s excellent, except if it is Cauda; if to the sixth, it is very bad, except if it is Via or Cauda, or if the question is about sixth house matters; if to the seventh it has a very bad meaning, unless it is for seventh house matters, as said above, or unless it is Via or Cauda; if to the eighth it means ill luck, accident, loss, death, fear, except if you are asking about your enemy’s wealth or of the wealth of another person; if to the ninth it is good, unless it is Cauda or Rubeus, and if the question is about travel it won’t be made as scheduled; if to the tenth, it is very good, except if it is Via or Cauda; if to the eleventh it is also excellent; if to the twelfth, it is the worst of all, unless it is Cauda and in twelfth house questions.2

If the second figure moves to the third house, it means good luck and gain through siblings and relatives, or due to them, but if the figure is bad it shows the opposite; if it moves to the fourth it shows good outcomes in stable things, and through one’s older relatives; if to the fifth, it means well through messengers, letters, etc; when to the sixth it means infirmity, even of the family, and loss in moble things, and of servants. If it moves to the seventh, if it is good it means well, but if it is bad it shows loss through enemies or women, or games of chance,3 or thieves; if it moves to the eighth it shows that the absent party comes back with good news, and maybe the death of some relative, or loss depending on the angles of the chart; when it moves to the ninth it shows gain or loss from the church or through travel; if to the tenth it means gain from the profession or from one’s lords and good luck; if to the eleventh it shows good luck and good friends, and good luck from the community; if to the twelfth, it means one of his relatives will fall ill or be imprisoned, or shall lose wealth, but if the figure is good it shows buying animals, and things unthought of.

The third figure, when it moves to the fourth, shows gain or loss through relatives; when to the fifth, it shows happiness and new things, and messengers, clothes, etc. When to the sixth, it shows sickness, servitude, toil, small animals; to the seventh, it means copulation,4 change of place, fights, separation; when to the eighth it means gain or loss, death, fear; when to the ninth it means long travel, churches, religious people; when to the tenth it shows the army, profession, dominion, lordship, honor; when to the eleventh it means good luck, noble servants; when to the twelfth, prison, long sickness, retrieving lost animals or buying them.

When the fourth figure goes to the fifth it shows goods from one’s relatives or children, clothes, food, and other things of the home; when to the sixth, it means sickness in the family or animals, relatives, servants; when to the seventh it means getting married, a bandit coming back for you,5 the home becomes inimical; when to the eighth it shows inheritance, the absent party comes back; dying in one’s home country or home; to the ninth, it means death of a religious person, acquisition of church things; when to the tenth, honor of the house, lordship, honors, etc; when to the eleveth, it shows good luck in one’s home, family, congregation of friends, etc.; when to the twelfth, if good, it shows good things, but when bad it means sickness, long prison sentences, toil, difficulties in one’s home or country, or through one’s relatives.

When the fifth figure goes to the sixth house, it means sickness through being hexed6 or food, or issues with children, or messengers, or animals; when to the seventh, it means marrying off one’s child, merchandise, fights, enemies rejoicing, problems with children or a woman giving birth; to the eighth, problems and death of one’s child, or [acquiring] other people’s wealth, and the absent party is doing well; when to the ninth, a child entering the clergy, long travel, happiness and gain, a churchman having a child, gain from things of the church; to the tenth, it means a happy mother, lordship or [happiness] of one’s lord; when to the eleventh it means good news for the child, and a messenger resolving all kinds of issues, and friends are happy for or with the querent; to the twelfth it means sickness or imprisonment for the child, large animals and a prisoner or wayfarer who is doing well.

When the sixth moves to the seventh house, it means sickness, wrath, problems through small animals, servants or one’s wife or other people; when to the eighth, it means death of animals or servants, loss of wealth, sickness of the absent party, and servants helping one’s enemies; when to the ninth, it means a journey full of issues, and sickness during the journey, or a sick churchman, occupation, problems with the church; when to the tenth, it means sickness and problems, but also having good and faithful [servants?], obtaining a lordship; when to the eleventh it means sickness of self or of a friend, or contrarieties with friends; when to the twelfth it means sickness of great animals, loss through them, prison, pilgrimage.

When the seventh goes to the eighth house, if it is good, it means good things for the absent party, but if bad, death, loss and issues for those represented by the seventh; when to the ninth, it means the absent party will come back, the bandit goes away, the querent gets married, the enemy makes peace, long travel, religious people, or a churchman becomes your enemy; to the tenth, the lord gets married or becomes inimical, lordship, honors; when to the eleventh it means a friend becomes an enemy, and what’s good for him is bad for you, the partner won’t keep his promise, the thief is a false friend, the marriage or partnership is changeable; when to the twelfth loss of animals through enemies, or due to sickness of animals, and prison, and the prisoner gets married, problems during a pilgrimage, long pilgrimage, betrayal from hidden enemies.

The eighth figure, when it goes to the ninth house, means wealth, help from the church, death of a priest, travel full of fear and problems, the absent party is traveling; when to the tenth, it means death, occupation of stable things, the absent party comes back to the country; to the eleventh, it means death of a friend, gain through a dowry, inheritance, misfortune, loss through friends, good luck of the absent party if the figure is good; when to the twelfth, it means the prisoner or sick person is seriously sick, death of the same, and of the wayfarer, and being imprisoned due to enemies.

When the ninth goes to the tenth, it means ecclesiastical dignity, increase of church things, an honorable journey or for religious purposes; when to the eleventh it means good luck in travel, good company or partnership, luck with friends and things of the church, recognition within the church; when to the twelfth it means issues while traveling, danger through horses, being imprisoned, the prisoner may be released, the wayfarer comes back, the horse is found, and this causes more or less trouble to the querent depending on how good or bad the figure is.

When the tenth figure goes to the eleventh it means good in all things, and one’s lord or master is good and friendly, the year abundant; when to the twelfth it means prison, sickness, one’s enemies are not seen in a good light, and are hated by your friends and by your masters.

When the eleventh goes to the twelfth it means sickness, prison, adversities, problems, and one’s hidden enemies are lucky, and all is good for the querent.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. It is rather typical, in premodern occultism, to use the same word to signify different things depending on the context. ↩︎
  2. The general principle in judging the mutation of one figure to another house is whether it bodes well for the question at hand and whether the figure accords with the question and is fortunate. As such, in Abano’s example, a figure moving from the first to the seventh is unfortunate because it oppses itself, but the same movement is positive if the question is about Seventh House matters (marriage, alliances, etc.) ↩︎
  3. Gambling is often seen as a Fifth house matter, but in this case the relationship with the Seventh House is through the fact that we are playing against ‘other people’. ↩︎
  4. it is not clear why the conjunction of Third House and Seventh House matters should produce sex. ↩︎
  5. ‘Ritorna il bandito’. Bandito is an ambiguous word in Italian, as it can mean both bandit and banished. In this case it is probably the latter meaning which is relevant: someone who has been banished will come back. ↩︎
  6. ‘per fature’, similar to the current Italian word ‘fattura’, which in this context would mean a hex. It is possible the word has another meaning which escapes me. ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book II Pt. 7

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In this short paragraph, Abano introduces several technical terms.

This is an example of a simple mutation, about the question whether one shall be with his girlfriend.1

Geomancy shield by Peter of Abano


The first figure is Conjunctio, the second Puer, the third Puella, the fourth Conjunctio. Look how the first moves to the fourth and the seventh is the same as the third, and thus it means being with her, especially since the first is in the fifth house of fun.2 Moreover, the first is found in both Witnesses.3 Also, this is an example of translation, because the first moves next to the house of the quesited,4 that is, in the eighth, which is associated to the seventh. Moreover it is an example of conjunction, because the first is conjunct to the ninth, and the eleventh with the fifth,5 and the thirteenth with the ninth, and the fourteenth with the eleventh.6

MQS

Footnotes
  1. “Se uno havera la sua amica”, literally, “if one shall have his (female) friend”. This passage warrants its own chapter as it is relatively strange when confronted with the modern doctrine, and it seems to contain odd mistakes, at least prima facie. ↩︎
  2. “Casa di gaudio della cosa quesita”, literally “the house of joy of the quesited”. It could be that Abano means the Fifth house is the joy of the question itself, because it signifies fun, and the question is about fun. ↩︎
  3. It is not clear whether this is good because the figure is Conjunctio or because it is found in the houses of the Witnesses, or both. ↩︎
  4. Abano seems to be using the word ‘translation’ in lieu of ‘conjunction’ here. There is a translation in the modern sense here, but this is effected by Puer, who is both in the Second and in the Sixth. ↩︎
  5. The Eleventh does not seem connected in any way with the Fifth, unless we take the Fifth to be moving to the Fourteenth (the Left Witness) or we count the translation effectuated by Puer ↩︎
  6. This is rather obscure, unless, again, we take the Thirteenth and Fourteenth as regular houses that can come into contact with the others. This would open up the Geomantic Shield to a whole different kind of interpretation. ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book II Pt. 6

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Here Abano discusses topics relating to the Eleventh House and Twelfth House.

Eleventh House

If your friends or family or servants are faithful.
Look at the first and eleventh houses, if they are fortunate, entering and good, in which case it shows them faithful, especially if the eleventh is in the second or if the first and eleventh are the same, or also the Judge. If they are contrary to one another, it means the opposite, especially if the seventh is contrary to the first and the twelfth is unfortunate. When the eleventh is in the sixth and is unfortunate, it means being hated by them.1 If in the seventh, they shall turn into enemies or will help your enemies, and similarly in the eighth. If it goes to the eighth and twelfth you shall be betrayed. However, if said figures which are contrary to the first are good and fortunate and not malicious, it means that you shall not come to harm from them. Always keep the Witnesses and Judge in mind.

If you shall have your wish or what you have been promised.
If you want to know if you shall have what you have been promised by your lord or master,2 or if you want to know if you shall have your wish, look at the first, eleventh and tenth. If they are good, entering, fortunate, it means good hope, and being loved by your master, especially if the fifth and ninth and fourth and seventh are also positive and entering, or if they are exiting but fortunate.
However, if the fourth and tenth houses are involved they show toil.3 And if the figures are unfortunate and contrary one to the other, it shows not being loved, and hoping in vain. This is also valid of one’s mother, doctor, magistrate and promises made by friends.

Of abundance and dearth.
In addition to what we have already said about the matter,4 also look at the eleventh and second figures, which, together with the angles should have good entering figures. Tristitia, in this particular case, means abundance, and also Populus.
If the first, second and ninth are good and fortunate, it means the first three months are good. If the third, fourth and tenth are good it means the sixth, seventh and eighth month are good. If the seventh, eighth and twelfth are good it shows the ninth month is good, and if the ninth, tenth and thirteenth are good and conform, it means the tenth month, and if the Judge and Witnesses are good it means the last month is good. And vice versa with bad figures. But if it’s a mixed bad of good figures and bad ones it means mediocrity. This same method can be used to analyze a month, such as March, or even for single days.5

Twelfth House

If your prison sentence or illness shall be long6
If you fear you may go to prison and want to know if it’s true, look at the first and the thirteenth. If either of them is in the twelfth or is conjunct the twelfth, such as the first in the eleventh,7 and if they are unfortunate, it shows a prison sentence. Especially if the seventh and eighth are unfortunate. And if the first is in the eleventh and the fifth and sixth are unfortunate, or if the first is earthy, unfortunate and goes to the twelfth, and if the Judge agrees.

If one shall soon heal from a sickness or come out of prison
If the first, second, third, fourth, ninth and tenth figures8 are exiting it means freedom, and all the sooner if it’s Via or Cauda, and similarly if the last figures and the Judge and the Witnesses.9 If you find Acquisitio, Cauda, Tristitia or Conjunctio and they don’t move it shows long sickness or prison sentence. Populus, being formed by good figures, shows freedom, but if it comes from evil mothers it shows delay in liberation or healing.

And if Puella and Amissio, it shows freedom from a serious illness or from prison. And if they don’t move to any other house, it means also freedom. And Carcer in the twelfth lets the prisoner out, but if Carcer or Tristitia are in the twelfth and second, you must post a bail. And if it goes to the third, it will be thanks to the help of your siblings or relatives, and so on with the other houses, depending on their signification. If the Judge of the Judge10 is Rubeus, you shall be executed, and if Rubeus is in the twelfth you shall be hurt, if the same figure appears in the eighth.

Of buying large animals.
If, in the twelfth house, you find Acquisitio, Major, Cauda, Tristitia, Conjunctio or Albus it means the animal is good and will be profitable, but if Carcer, Laetitia, Via, Caput and Amissio it is not good, and you shall suffer losses, and if Puer or Puella, mediocre. If any of the aforementioned figures moves to the sixth or seventh or eighth it means losses through what the house signifies. And if Amissio or Cauda are in the twelfth, the horse shall be stolen, especially if it moves to the sixth or seventh, and the first is unfortunate, and if the twelfth is exiting, it’s best to sell the animal immediately, especially if the twelfth figure is also in the eleventh.

Of hidden enemies and traitors.
Look at the twelfth house, if good and fortunate it shows no ill, especially if it is also in the second, tenth or ninth. But if it is malicious, it shows harm, especially if it is also in the aforementioned houses, or if these houses are unfortunate. And if you want to know who the person is and of what condition, look at the houses where the twelfth moves, and judge accordingly.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. I don’t understand this reference to the Sixth house, unless we take it as the joy of Mars, in which case it justifies the idea of hatred. ↩︎
  2. The lord of master being indicated by the Tenth House, the Eleventh is the thing they promise the querent. ↩︎
  3. This reference to the Fourth House is not clear. Maybe Abano is referring to it because it opposes the Tenth. ↩︎
  4. When covering the Tenth House ↩︎
  5. Old books are full of methods for timing events by the houses. This particular method I haven’t found anywhere else either in geomancy on in astrology books. ↩︎
  6. We are often used to seeing the Sixth House as the house of sickness, but in medieval practice the Twelfth could indicate sickness as well. The late Robert Zoller ended up considering the Twelfth as the house of serious illness (such as would require prolonged hospitalization). ↩︎
  7. Here we have definitive proof that Abano conforms to the modern practice of considering even the houses not in company to be next to each other. This leaves open some questions, such as why he doesn’t accept a figure moving to the Twelfth as conjuncting the First. I believe it may have to do with the fact that the Twelfth house is negative. ↩︎
  8. That is, the figures on the querent’s side of the shield. ↩︎
  9. This sentence doesn’t make much sense. What Abano may mean by ‘last figures’ is unclear. ↩︎
  10. The Sixteenth figure ↩︎
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The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book II Pt. 5

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Here Abano discusses matters relating to the Ninth House and Tenth House.

Ninth House

If one shall have ecclesiastic preferment or benefit through the church.
If the first and ninth figures are entering and fortunate it means good luck in these matters, especially if the first moves to the tenth or the ninth in the second, and even more if the fifteenth is lucky and good. Judge the opposite if they aren’t.

What kind of fame one shall receive from one’s deed.1
If the first and ninth figure are good and fortunate, and also the Judge agrees, it shows honor and good fame, but if not it shows the opposite. If they are Puella or Amissio it means due to women or young people, and if Tristitia or Carcer due to evil, bestial lawless men, and if Rubeus or Puer due to bloodletting or things to do with fire, and if Cauda or Conjunctio due to theft or other lawless things; but if the figures are good, and if they are Albus and Conjunctio, it means through science and the arts; and if Acquisitio or Laetitia it will be through living a good life, accompanied by good people; and if Caput or Major through great lords or through prelates and noblemen; if Populus or Via through common folks.2

On long joureys and relocations.
Consider the first if the travel is by water or earth. If the joruney is by water and the first, ninth and tenth are good and watery or airy, it means good journey; especially if the fifteenth agrees. If it’s Tristitia, Rubeus or Carcer it shows accidents, and if Carcer is in the third it can also indicate one doesn’t complete the journey and will return with delay. If the journey is by land and the figures are good, fortunate, entering or exiting but good, it shows good journey, and with Minor in the eleventh it shows delays, and if Carcer is in the third, the person shall not complete the journey.3

If one shall have good fortune or not through travel.
The first is the traveler, the ninth is the journey, the seventh the need he has to journey and the place where he goes, and the tenth is the person to whom he travels. If these figures are good it shows everything goes well and with ease, but if the first is unfortunate it shows accidents or trouble during the journey, and depending on whether the other houses are good or bad, judge about the accident.

And if the first moves to the sixth, he shall fall ill, and you can judge the type of illness by the figure. Ad if the first and seventh are unlucky it shows harm and trouble. If the first, second, third, fourth, ninth and tenth are unfortunate, it shows illness and death and being killed.4 If Tristitia and Rubeus are in the eighth and tenth it shows drowning and loss of wealth, and if the other houses are unfortunate but the eighth good and fortunate, it shows the querent shall go adrift at sea and will lose his wealth, but will survive.

If the first four are fortunate and entering and also the ninth and tenth, it shows good journey, especially if the Judge agrees, but if the said houses are good, but the Judge evil, it means good at the beginning, but bad ending, and if the said houses are a mixed bag and the Judge good, it means various troubles with a happy ending. Always judge based on whether the figures are good or bad, and similarly depending on the meaning of the houses, and according to the querent’s intention.

Tenth House

Of abundance and dearth.5
If you want to know whether the year will be abundant or not, look at the first, tenth and eleventh.6 If the figures are earthy and good it means abundance. If they are fiery it shows dearth. If Airy, also dearth, but less. If Watery, it’s mediocre. Always consider the Judge, the fourth and the Witnesses. If you want to know the time of the year when there will be more dearth, i.e., at the beginning or at the end, judge by the first and fourth figures, and if the first is good and the fourth bad or worse than the first, it shows the end is worse than the beginning, and vice versa. Likewise one can judge the month of May,7 by giving the first to the beginning and the fourth to the end (of the month.) If you want to know what kind of plant will be abundant or will be lacking, look at the figures. Acquisitio, Puer or Laetitia show wheat. Populus or Via show small grains. Carcer and Tristitia indicate chestnuts and fava beans. The other figures are middling.

If it shall rain.
You must observe the same rules as above, and note that Watery figures portend rain, and the other figures depend on their particular signification. Keep in mind, though, that Tristitia indicates precipitations.8 And if you want to know when, look at the first and fourth, as discussed above, and also look at the Judge, and note also whether the first four figures are Watery.

To know what kind of occupation is more useful (to the querent)
Look at the tenth figure and compare it to the first, and judge their virtue and conformity, and depending on the properties and virtues of the planets. Also note whether the second and the Judge agree, but if they are contrary to one another, look at the proportion of the greater part.9

If one shall obtain a fief or lordship.10
If the first and tenth are entering and fortunate and fixed, and if they are the same figure or are conjunct, it means obtaining what one desires, especially if the Judge is Conjunctio, except if the first goes to the eighth or twelfth, or if the figures are exiting and unfortunate, for this means contrarieties. It’s especially bad if the eleventh is unfortunate, or the Judge and Witnesses. And if the figure leaves you doubtful, add up the first and tenth, and judge by what it shows.

What fortune one shall have in one’s fief.
If you want to know this, look at the tenth figure, and in what house it moves, and judge accordingly, especially if the Judge agrees with the tenth. If it moves to the second, it increases wealth peacefully, but if it is in the twelfth he shall obtain money through avarice, and the people will be inimical to him, and may be despoiled or assassinated by his officials.

If it is in the third, he shall be loved by the people for his justice and good work. If it moves to the fourth, he improves his position and patrimony with great honor. If to the fifth, he shall be glad with many children, and will be loved and honored by neighbors with messengers, gifts and friendship. If it moves to the sixth, he shall be loved by his servants and family, but may fall sick or maybe be poisoned.

If to the seventh, he shall be cruel to his people, and much hated,11 and his enemies shall wage war against him, and he shall be lascivious.12 If it moves to the eighth, he shall be a vile man, shy and fearful, and the people will rise against him. If the ninth, he shall travel a lot and with great honor, and his status shall increase. If the tenth is in the first and fourth houses, it means a terrible man, who shall subjugate other lords to himself, and be truthful and just, and if it moves to the eleventh, he shall have glory through his army, and be feared by his men, but if in the twelfth it shows ruin, disobedience of one’s subordinates, and if also to the eighth, he shall be killed or at least chased away, and if together with the eleventh, betrayed by his subjects or family or advisers.13

MQS

Footnotes
  1. This section is interesting because usually we would judge fame from the Tenth House, not the Ninth. ↩︎
  2. This section is not altogether clear, as it is not always easy to see when Abano means fame and when infamy. ↩︎
  3. The Third House shows shorter journeys, so maybe Carcer in the Third indicates the shortening of the journey. Nowadays, it is conceivable that a journey by air would be indicated by an airy figure. ↩︎
  4. The First, Second, Third, Fourth, Tenth and Eleventh are the houses on the querent’s side of the Geomantic Shield. ↩︎
  5. The Medium Coeli or Midheaven is the point where the Sun peaks during the day, and as such is related to the ideas of “high” or “up above” and therefore to the sky and to the weather. ↩︎
  6. The Eleventh House is broadly considered positive, and it is called the Good Demon, possibly indicating a gift from the Heavens. ↩︎
  7. I don’t understand why Abano is refering to the month of May, unless it has to do with agriculture. ↩︎
  8. Possibly because it points downward, or because it shows a ‘sad’ weather. ↩︎
  9. “Et quando fussino contrarie vedi la proportione della maggior parte”. This sentence is unclear, unless Abano is perhaps merely refering to judging by the most numerous testimony/figure in the chart. ↩︎
  10. These rules may just as easily be applied today to discuss questions about promotion or trophies. ↩︎
  11. Likely because the Seventh House opposes the Ascendant, which in Mundane Astrology represents the people of the country. ↩︎
  12. Because the Seventh is the house of women. ↩︎
  13. This whole section may seem useless today, but with a little fantasy it may be applied, for instance, to how a new superintendant or boss will be with the people under him. ↩︎