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Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book II Pt. 6

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Fludd discusses the meanings of Populus, Via, Conjunctio and Carcer in the various houses.

Populus

In the First House, a multitude of thoughts about water, journeys, peoples and nations.
In the Second House, with good (figures), a much fortune and riches; with evil much trouble.
In the Third House, multitude of relatives, neighbors, and little journeys, both good and bad, according to the nature of the figures.1

In the Fourth House, abundance of water, laboring for an inheritance, fruits, according to figures.
In the Fifth House, a multitude of children, letters and news, joy or sorrow, kisses and embraces, gathering of people for delights and joys, fruits, according to figures, and so on in the rest according to figures.
In the Sixth House, a number of animals, slaves, sickness, injuries, and other things according to the figures.

In the Seventh House, a multitude of people gathered, women, enemies, good or bad according to the nature of the figures.
In the Eighth House, a multitude of people assembled for a death, or a multitude of good or evil, according to the goodness or malice of the figures.
In the Ninth House, a multitude of journeys, dreams, knowledge, people on the way, multitudes.

In the Tenth House, a multitude of enemies, kings, of people before judges, doctrines, assembly for good or for evil, according to figures.
In the Eleventh House, a multitude of friends, good fortune, beasts, servants, children, or inconveniences, according to the nature of the figures which have been found in the vicinity.2
In the Twelfth House, a multitude of enemies, inconvenience, long imprisonment, tears, debts, beasts, and slaves.

In the Thirteenth House, much profit to him that goes to any magnate,3 of loss, change, and the like.
In the Fourteenth House, a multitude of people, assembled, either for good or for evil, according to the figures next to it.
In the Fifteenth House a multitude of good or evil, a gathering of people for good or for evil, according to the figure from which it comes, for if it comes from good figures, it denotes much good, if from bad, the opposite.

Note that this figure, found in the first house, represents a merchant of various things passing through the countryside.

Via

In the First House, a good journey, little profit, thoughts of small fruits.
In the Second House, loss or gain, according to the neighboring figures.
In the Third House, brothers, neighbors, water, a good journey, light4 business, journeys for a brother or cousin, comparison of wealth.5

In the Fourth House, parents, labors, lands, the concealment of tainted things, the end of things, poverty, poor parents, poor inheritance.
In the Fifth house, letters, messages of little importance, little fruits, poor manners, poor children, little joy.
In the Sixth House, poor animals, bad luck, unstable servants, sudden increase of disease, deliverance from disease,6 misfortune of animals.

In the Seventh House, robbers, poor women, little sense,7 poor and weak enemies, a harlot, death of robbers.
In the Eighth House, poverty in a foreign country, loss of inheritance.
In the Ninth House, a change of letters,8 messengers of little knowledge, a good journey, benefit of the church, little gain and profit

In the Tenth House, small offices, little profit from lords and noble women, an old judge, little wisdom, loss in any thing.
In the Eleventh House, poor friends, little fortune, little profit, gifts of merchandise and letters of joy.
In the Twelfth House, useless animals, poor friends, easily coming out of prison, liberation from debts or from misery, and sometimes death in prison, according to the good or bad figures around, and from whom it is generated.9

In the Thirteenth House, profitable journeys and changes.
In the Fourteenth House, loss in any matter, according to good or bad figures.
In the Fifteenth House, travel, good outcome according to the figures from which it comes.

Note that when Via is found in the First House, it means a changeable, false and poor person.

Conjunctio

In the First House, a man of good speech, eloquence, subtlety, art and goodness, and if it is combined with good figures, goodness of heart and friends.
In the Second House, the acquisition of good fortune, profits in commerce.
In the Third House, the good will of relatives, the gathering of relatives and neighbors.

In the Fourth House a good path, a good end, a good friend, a profitable inheritance and legal proceedings, letters for inheritance.
In the Fifth House, letters, news, gathering of good people.
In the Sixth House, a long illness, evil servants and robbers.10

In the Seventh House, good company, thieves and subtle and eloquent enemies, whether in litigation or in battle.
In the Eighth House, a gathering to divide the property of the dead.
In the Ninth House, knowledge, a bad journey, robbers on the road, knowledge and eloquence in clerics and ecclesiastical men.

In the Tenth House, the service of lords, kings and profits in teaching or profession.
In the Eleventh House, good luck, the gathering of all things, conjunction of love.11
In the Twelfth House, prisons, bad journey, bad assembly, bad people and bad life.

In the Thirtteenth House, goods and profits from one’s lord.
In the Fourteenth House, a lot of luck in love and work.
In the Fifteenth House, good luck in good things, bad in bad things according to the figures.

Note, when this figure is found in the First House, it signifies a prudent man, a clerk, or occupied in an office for money, of moderate build, as quickly consuming his fortunes as he is acquiring them, skilled in the liberal arts, and so on.

Carcer

In the First House, loss and imprisonment of men, timidity, sadness, sadness of heart, secret thoughts, hindrance of journey.
In the Second House, servitude in all secret things, and thoughts of love of money.12
In the Third House, love of parents and profit, the love of God, hindrance and retardation of the journey, greedy brothers and neighbors.

In the Fourth House, inheritance, hidden treasures, underground houses, hidden and dark places, good inheritance.
In the Fifth House, a few children, a pregnant woman, writing letters and news, rude people, raw food, dirty clothes, secret love affairs.
In the Sixth House, disease in prison, a pregnant woman, a useless servant, a bad man and woman, death or a long illness, disease in a man’s secret place,13 a brute.

In the Seventh House, accidents, bad company, adultery and secret fornication with another’s woman, secret enemies, a vile thief who is caught in his robbery, ships going on water.14
In the Eighth House, death, inheritance of the dead, bad profits in a foreign land, fear of death.
In the Ninth House, a road or journey from the country, death, letters and secret knowledge, secret roads, obstacles on the way, sadness in the church, sad and dangerous dreams, good sense.

In the Tenth House, good fortune, strength of dominion, a sad judge, secret opinions, dishonorable offices.
In the Eleventh House, profitable friends, little profit from lords, profitable in trade through travels, gathering of good kings.
In the Twelfth House, prisons, debts, graves, evil beasts, incurable disease, long imprisonment, long debts, secret enemies, but timid by nature.

In the Thirteenth House, profitable journeys, brothers and friends, gathering of good things, sad and secret thoughts.
In the Fourteenth House, various thoughts, imprisonment with sadness and pain and work, debts and obligations, and these especially when it doesn*t come from good figures.
In the Fifteenth House, much fire15 and destruction.

Note, when this figure is in the First House, it signifies a dark man, with a thick head, curly hair, and often ignorant carpenters, or otherwise working with wood.

General rule

It must be noted that good or evil, profit or loss, is promised through each house, according to the nature of the figures with which the figure of each house is conjoined, or from which it is generated.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. Fludd often repeats this, but it is not always clear what other figures he means. Occasionally it seems he hints at the fact that the whole shield must be looked at and judged to see if it is broadly good or bad. ↩︎
  2. It is not clear if Fludd is hinting at the doctrine of the company of houses. ↩︎
  3. Possibly meaning a lord or noble person. ↩︎
  4. “levia”. I’m unclear if Fludd means little (i.e., not enough) commerce by it. ↩︎
  5. This is unclear to me. ↩︎
  6. obviously depending on the question and the other figures. ↩︎
  7. “parum sensus”. I don’t know what it means. ↩︎
  8. I don’t know if Fludd means an exchange of letters or a mix-up, or something else. ↩︎
  9. This seems to imply that the generative order of the figures is important not just for the Judge, but for the other figures as well. ↩︎
  10. Probably due to Mercury’s influence. ↩︎
  11. Possibly a euphemism. ↩︎
  12. That is, covetous thoughts, ruled by Saturn. ↩︎
  13. Unclear. ↩︎
  14. Here Carcer is interpreted as a vessel. ↩︎
  15. This is a mystery to me. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

The Geomancy of Peter of Abano – Book IV Pt. 2

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Abano discusses the various meanings of Via, Populus, Caput and Cauda when deriving from various figures.

Via

From Via and Populus, its meaning is weakened, but quickened.1
From Acquisitio and Amissio its efficacy is mediocre in every question.
From Major and Minor it means good luck, but it is still mediocre.
From Laetitia and Caput, it means good luck and success.

From Tristitia and Cauda it means misfortune in the question at hand, and it is very strong in its malice.
From Albus and Puer it is mediocre good luck.
From Rubeus and Puella it shows a mix of good and bad, but it brings about the thing quesited.
From Conjunctio and Carcer it means good luck, stability and firmness in all one asks about.

Populus

From Populus and Populus it means stability, getting one’s wish, copious amounts.
From Acquisitio and Acquisitio it means great good luck, great acquisition of what one wishes, usefulness.
From Amissio and Amissio it shows good luck, and being venereal and lascivious.
From Major and Major it means fortune, stability, great gain, honor.
From Minor and Minor it means mediocre good fortune.
From Via and Via it means weakness in the thing enquired about.
From Caput and Caput it means good luck, usefulness.
From Cauda and Cauda, it means great misfortune.

From Albus and Albus it means good effect, good outcome especially in watery things and womanly or white things.
From Rubeus and Ruveus it means excessive evil, war, loss of blood.
From Laetitia and Laetitia it means good luck, happiness, honor, easily getting what one wants.
From Tristitia and Tristitia it means great misfortune, long lengths of time, difficulties and problems, enmities.
From Conjunctio and Conjunctio it means good luck, getting one’s wish, good for marriage and partnerships.
From Carcer and Carcer it means great good luck in everything, melancholy and difficulties, anger, discord, infirmity, prison.
From Puella and Puella it means good luck and fortune, firmness, usefulness, getting one’s wish.
From Puer and Puer it means war, fighting, discord, good for merchandise, mediocre gain, good for marriage.2

Caput

From Populus and Caput it means great firmness, good outcome.
From Acquisitio and Albus it means great good luck, getting one’s wish.
From Amissio and Puer it means misfortune, loss, difficulties.
From Major and Rubeus great good luck, mediocre gain or honor, good fortune.
From Tristitia and Conjunctio it means good luck and gain, but with delay and difficulties.
From Cauda and Carcer it means misfortune and tragedy.

Cauda

From Populus and Cauda it means misfortune, long illness, difficulties, weakness in getting one’s wish.
From Acquisitio and Puella it means good fortune, firmness, usefulness in mobile things.3
From Amissio and Rubeus it means misfortune and grave danger.
From Major and Puer, it means misfortune under the guise of gain.

From Via and Tristitia it means misfortune in getting what one wishes, and long-lasting difficulties.
From Caput and Carcer it means mediocrity, good for virtue and honorable things, otherwise loss.
From Laetitia and Conjunctio it means mediocre fortune, but gain from merchandise.
From Albus and Minor, it means good luck and freedom from difficulties, but mediocre gain.4

MQS

Footnotes
  1. One of the reasons this Book IV is interesting is that it affords us a look into how old geomancers derived meanings from the interaction of figures. Unfortunately Abano’s process is not always clear. Furthermore, it is not clear whether Abano means what I have written (namely, Via’s meaning is weakened but quickened) or if he is saying that Via’s meaning is weakened more than any other figure. I have chosen my interpretation based on this logical argument: that Populus tends to accentuate the meaning of the figure it interacts with, and Via is weak and quick, so in interacting with Populus it would become weaker and quicker. ↩︎
  2. Generally speaking, it seems the effect of Populus is that of accentuating the meaning of the figures it comes from (‘lots of…’). However, some interpretations are not clear, for instance Carcer and Carcer meaning great good luck. Note also that Populus is the only figure that Abano explains in full, giving all possible combinations. ↩︎
  3. It seems here that the two positive figures rub off on the otherwise foreboding Cauda. ↩︎
  4. Again, the two positive figures it comes from seem to bring out the best in Cauda, according to Abano. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

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”. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Populus / The People (Geomancy Figures)

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Name of the Figure: Populus (The People); sometimes called Double Way
Element: Water
Planet: Moon (waxing)
Sign: Capricorn
Quality: Common
Fortune: Mixed

Populus is the opposite of Via, the other figure of the Moon. Its properties are in many ways diametrically opposite. Where Via forces a radical transformation of every figure it comes into contact with, flipping it into its opposite, Populus passively accepts every figure as it is, like a mirror or a bunch of clay waiting to be shaped. This latter comparison is very apt, as in Medieval (Aristotelian) philosophy, the Moon was seen as receptacle and a symbol of matter, which was capable of receiving all forms, just as the Moon receives her light from the Sun, but was ultimately beyond complete formation.

Illustration of the Geomantic figure Populus, the People

The Medievals, who were fond of finding similitudes and parallels everywhere, also saw the common folk as matter and the Emperor or King as the form-giver, just like they saw the female as matter and the male as form, so they must have felt a great thrill in finding all these correspondences at play in Populus, which also represents people (just like in astrology the Moon rules common people). If Via represents the Moon’s changeable nature, Populus is her passivity.

Populus is formed of the highest number of points of any Geomancy figure, eight, in contrast to Via, which had the least with four. This brings to light another common meaning of Populus: that of indicating “lots” of something, for good or ill.

Some old Geomancers considered Populus extremely bad, some saying that if Populus was the Judge, the chart wasn’t valid. I find this to be nonsense. We already have a limited number of possible charts to play with, and if we exclude those ending in Populus we eliminate a whole bunch more. Plus, in my experience, Populus is a neutral figure, augmenting the good and bad of other figures.

Common Keywords: passivity, receptivity, stability, a situation that may have various influences at play but in the end won’t change much, many people, groups of all kinds, crowd, togetherness, lots of anything that may make sense in the context, large, big, numerous

Populus in the Geomantic Houses (these are only examples. Use context to guide your interpretation)

HousePossible Meanings
FirstA long and/or mediocre life, a mutable life subject to many influences, lots of water, phlegmatic temperament, companionable
SecondLots of money, great wealth, many objects
ThirdMany siblings or cousins, neighbors, small trip by water or near a body of water
FourthCities, castles, buildings, abundance, fertile terrain
FifthGreat harvest, many children, gathering of artists (like an exposition), A fun gathering
SixthMany servants or small animals, dangerous illness
SeventhMany acquaintances, Good marriage, Pliable but unstable partner, Many public enemies
EighthTears, A funeral, Lots of money from the partner
NinthLong travel especially by water, pilgrimage with other people, a class or learning group, a spiritual gathering
TenthA gathering of important people (like a cabinet meeting), elevation of regular people, Rebellion of the common folk
EleventhLots of money from the government, Lots of friends
TwelfthMany occult enemies, evil machinations, groups of prisoners
ThirteenthPublic favor, stable past, good company
FourteenthThe public is against, many obstacles or lots of opposition, stable future
FifteenthSome delay, stability in the end, good if coming from good figures, bad if from bad ones
Possible meanings of Populus in the various Geomantic Houses. Note that this is not meant to be exhaustive, and it only serves to jog your interpretive muscles

MQS