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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. ↩︎
Occultism and Esoterism, Philosophy, Spirituality and Psychology

Plotinus vs Proclus From a Hermetic Magical Standpoint

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When it comes to searching for philosophical-magical inspiration from pre-Christian times, many occultists look at Plotinus and Proclus, two of the most important among Plato’s successors. After Plato, they are the most noteworthy representatives of Platonism, and if Platonism is up your alley, as it is right up mine, you’ve probably looked into them.

Proclus, who was one of Plotinus’ successors as head of the Academy, and was also the last noteworthy Platonist, is especially popular among those who seek inspiration for magical work. The reason is that, unlike Plotinus, Proclus did have a strong interest in religious and magical practices as well as being an important philosopher.

My personal preference, though, is Plotinus. I discovered his work, the Enneads, in my late teens and read it all throughout college. Unlike Proclus, Plotinus was a pure philosopher, with no interests outside of philosophy. Yet his writings have inspired many generations of theologians, occultists, hermeticians and devotees.

Writing at a time when Christianity and other early odd religious beliefs held sway, Plotinus managed to single-handedly revive philosophy as an exalted pursuit that connected the mind with the divine realm. Although he did not appear out of nowhere (his predecessors at the Academy had already laid the groundwork), his genius does tower over anything and anyone who lived in his time.

Plotinus had the aspiration to simply explain Plato’s work, and as a matter of fact we often find assertions in his writings that he is doing nothing more than saying what Plato has already said. But this is not true. His philosophy sought to coherently explain the whole of reality starting from the initial unity, and to trace the steps that mortals can take to re-experience that unity in their ascent back to the One. Although one could argue that the same aspiration is present in Plato, and especially in his esoteric doctrines, the two philosophers are still very much distinct, as is to be expected, considering how many centuries separate them.

From a philosophical standpoint, Proclus is not a cipher like some others of Plotinus’ successors. In fact, he was a gifted philosopher, who would have probably contributed much more, had he lived a couple of centuries earlier. Yet most of the innovations he introduced in the Platonic doctrine feel like complications rather than meaningful developments. His (over)zealous attempts at systematizing and consolidating the entire wisdom of the Greeks, from religion to philosophy to magic, may appear impressive at first, but soon one realizes that they are just the last ossification of the dying world of classical antiquity.

His systematic fervor, so appreciated by Hegel, finds a neat little place to everything that the Greeks had produced, yet at the cost of sucking them dry of their lymph. Everything is there–the gods, the beliefs, the art, the spirituality, the science of the time–yet only as an empty husk, as a relic with a tag underneath in an intellectual museum.

What many occultists today admire in Proclus is his commitment to theurgy. And from that standpoint, Proclus is definitely an important source of inspiration for us. Yet even that was a product of the crisis of the Greek worldview and of Proclus’ spiritual weakness (or rather, of the spiritual weakness that was typical of his time).

Plotinus, still firmly rooted in the Greek tradition, had no place for rituals. Union with the divine was certainly the aim of his philosophy, but his method was and remained that of philosophy, that is, pure inner moral, intellectual and spiritual cultivation. It’s not that he didn’t believe in the gods or in magic. He simply thought the method of philosophy was superior.

But by the time Proclus came to prominence, the old Greek confidence in the sole power of the human mind had crumbled under the attacks of early Christian or Christian-inspired irrationalism. Everywhere Proclus looked, people were scrambling for a source of salvation outside of themselves, because they felt small and powerless in an uncertain world. Come to think of it, we don’t live in much different times today.

Nothing that belongs to history can ever be retrieved and applied 1:1. But it is certainly permissible to look for inspiration. From a philosophical standpoint, there is no contest: Plotinus’ philosophy is still very much alive, if one knows how to get to its pulp, how to work with it, where to trim, where to add, where to change a part. By contrast, Proclus’ philosophy feels rigid, like a sculpted sarcophagus lid trying to capture the likeness of the dear departed.

From a magical standpoint, one would think that Proclus, given his interest in the topic, would have more to offer than the scoffing, eyebrow-raising Plotinus. Yet a look at Renaissance magic, heavily inspired by Plotinus’ philosophy, tells us otherwise. In fact, though Plotinus’ Enneads are a challenging text, the reader often comes across evocative bits full of beauty and wonder that may be easily adapted to prayer, ritual and other magical aims.

The fact is that Plotinus’ philosophy is a living thing that captures something universal, so it is a good framework for other pursuits, including occultism, while Proclus tried to supplement philosophy with magic because he had no confidence in it, so even his view of magic is remedial and somewhat desperate.

I do not mean to be overly critical of Proclus. He did what he had to, given the circumstances he found himself in. Plus, there is much in his work that can be salvaged, if one has the patience to wade through the abstractions. But what one cannot get from Proclus, or at least what I cannot get from him, is the sense that the cohesive picture he presents is still alive, whereas Plotinus’ system is considerably harder to recontruct, and less cohesive than Proclus’, but feels animated by a flame that was alive before him, was alive in him and will be alive forever.

MQS

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. ↩︎

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book I Pt. 2

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Fludd discusses how the diviner should prepare to a geomancy reading.

The Preparation of the Soul of the Diviner Prior to Making a Figure

Since this knowledge is founded on [an operation of] the soul,1 it is certain and manifest that no truth can be guaranteed in it, except in so far as the soul permits it.

Therefore it is required that he who wishes to be versed in this art, before he begins his operation, should have a good and clear conscience, and that his body and spirit should be governed without disturbance, and that he should not think worse of another than of himself,2 nor should his mind be spare in judgment, and not tend to negation more than to affirmation. He should be a just judge of the question proposed.

Finally, he must trust in God almighty, who is the author of all knowledge and truth,3 and pray to him that through this knowledge he will be allowed to find the truth that his heart longs to know.

All of this having been properly considered, and with a soul well established in the proposed matter, he will immediately make the projections of the points.

Hence it is that so much fallacy and uncertainty arise in this art. This is also the reason why the same art is immediately regarded as nothing, namely, because some, falsely ascribing the name of artists to themselves, neglecting God, and not being moved in the least by the pacification of their souls and of the pleasures of the body, falsely judge of the things proposed, and by this reason render this secret and very profound art so despised, that it is also commonly regarded as the most falsified of all.

The fault, then, is not in the science, but in those who profess it: the science is doubtless most truthful, but its proponents are often hindered by ambiguities and difficulties because of their vicious dispositions.

For who can doubt that the soul can direct any part of the body to the true knowledge of the future more easily than the whole body itself?4

When we perceive that she governs her whole body in such a way that she foresees the future every day and every hour, that is to say, that she will arrange such a business the next day, and ride to this or that city, and do other things the following week, or even that she will marry at this or some other time, or that he would carry out his purpose and plan at such or such an hour, etc.5

MQS

Footnotes
  1. As established in the previous chapter. ↩︎
  2. To the modern reader, these tips may seem to have a moralistic taste, but we should keep in mind that, aside from being in part a product of the times, they may be boiled down to the very sensible idea that a diviner, as intermediary between the querent and the divine, should purify himself of that which keeps him away from the divine. One cannot be a bridge between A and B without being capable of reaching both sides. Aside from being against Christian morality, “thinking worse of another than oneself” also implies being engrossed in outside world nonsense. ↩︎
  3. A fundamental truth of all divination is that its knowledge does not originate within the diviner. ↩︎
  4. That is, the soul is more capable of the body of considering the future. ↩︎
  5. This remark may appear odd, but from an occult standpoint it does make sense: our soul is capable of conceiving the future because it is integral part of an inner world (which opposes and complements the outside world, of which our body is an integral part) wherein the normal rules of time don’t unfold as they do outside. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Occultism and Esoterism

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Book I Pt. 1

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Fludd offers interesting anecdotes from his life to elucidate the nature of Geomancy.

The Internal Principle of Terrestrial Astrology, or Geomancy

In the penultimate year of the life and reign of Elisateth, the glorious queen of England whose fame will never die, I was forced to stay in the city of Avignon during the whole of that winter, because of the severity of the weather, which covered the mountains with a lot of snow, and completely barred the journey to Italy.

In the house of a certain captain, together with many other noble and well-educated young men, and having received board from the Jesuits, I discussed philosophy with them one evening during supper, and perceived a variety of opinions concerning geomantic astrology. Some of them denied its virtue altogether, while others, on whose side I stood, vigorously defend the power of that art, and I adduced many reasons by which I proved that I was engaged in that knowledge of fate.

When the supper was over, as soon as I had betaken myself to my apartments, one of these men followed me and asked me to try my art, which he believed to be great, regarding some important matter whose resolution, he said, greatly concerned him.

After making many excuses, at last his prayers convinced me and I made him a geomantic figure in response to the question proposed by him, which was as follows: Whether the girl, by whose love he was vehemently captivated, would redeem him more than the others from the sufferings of mind and body.1

And after making him the figure, I affirmed that I could well describe the nature and disposition of the body of his beloved and, having done so, I noticed a particular mark or a certain spot, namely a fateful wart noticeable on her body, and so also I noted its place, indicating it to be on the left eyelid.2

This, of course, he also confessed. I also said that she was very fond of vineyards. He confirmed, as if exultant, adding that it was because her mother had built her house among vineyards. In short, I answered the question in this way: his beloved was inconstant and by no means firm, so much so that she loved someone else.

To which he said that he also suspected the same, and that he now saw it as if with open eyes. He then left my room with excited haste, and he reported [to the others] with some wonder the truth and power of my art.

But some of them, who happened to know this girl well, totally denied the existence of the mark described on her eyelids, until the next day, talking with her, they themselves also became witnesses to the truth of this matter, which I had explained to them by way of geomancy, and which they had not even observed before.

From here, therefore, more than I desired it, I became renowned, so that the report of this matter was carried to the ears of the Jesuits themselves. Two of them, hurrying to the steps of the palace, told the viceconsul all these things, and, moved by envy, said that there was a certain stranger present, an Englishman, who had foretold the future by a science rejected by the Catholic Church, that is, geomancy.3

These things were reported to me in the morning by the captain of the palace, named Johannes, who also referred to me the answer given to the viceconsul to these very things, which he affirmed to have been such:

“What?” said he, “This is not such an abomination as you make of it. Is there anyone among all the Cardinals of Italy who does not have his birth astrologically or geomantically described?”4 A few days afterward, the consul himself desired to speak with me, and kindly invited me to dinner. With a certain dear friend of mine, Monsieur Malceau, the apothecary of the Papal Palace, I went to the palace, where, having paid due respect in the usual manner, the viceconsul engaged with me in dialogue:

“I understand,” said he, “that you are well versed in the geomantic art; what is your opinion of that science?” To which I replied that I had proved by experience that this knowledge was essential and established by fundamental secret principles.

“How is this possible,” said he, “that there should be any certainty in something that consists of accidental points?”5

I told him: “The principle of these points made by the human hand is internal and very essential, since it is derived from the soul itself, which is the origin by this kind of movement. Moreover, the errors of this science are not caused by the soul itself, but by a perverse and incongruous movement of the body itself, moving against the intention of the soul.

Hence the general rule in this art is that the soul should be peaceful and that the body should obey it, and similarly, neither the body nor the soul should be confused or partial in the question, but let them be like a just and fair judge, and turn to God, praying from the heart that the truth may be revealed. At the same time, turn your soul energetically to the question proposed, and don’t be seduced by extraneous thoughts.”

“What then,” he answered, “is that soul of which you speak? Perhaps you understand by that your own soul, or the genius of Plato,6 or at least some angel?”

To which I answered: “An angel could not be the origin of that knowledge, since angels are divided into good and bad: good angels were seldom granted to the Arabs, Chaldeans, and Egyptians, who were the inventors of this art, and evil angels are all authors of lies rather than the truth, as the Holy Scripture testifies.”7

“From this, then,” said he, “it is evident that you yourself are not able to give a distinct and certain account of the principle in this science.”8

To which I answered that the human body is related to its soul as a servant is related to his master. A master may send his servant hither and thither with letters, without the servants in any way perceiving the intention of his master. Even a distinguished painter can send an excellent picture to a king through his servant; yet the servant is completely ignorant of the mixtures of colors and their symmetrical proportions.

In the same way, a king can impose taxes on his people through others, although the reason for these impositions is known only to the king himself. Similarly, of course, the body itself can perform what the soul commands, while remaining ignorant of the principles of this action except through its effects alone.

After hearing these things, he called me to a table standing in the midst of some of the bishops and deacons. There, taking pen and ink, he composed a geomantic figure, and very skilfully went over it, so that I could see that he himself was far more learned and expedient in that knowledge than me. Having thus finished my meal, I departed with his blessings, and visited him often afterwards; for I perceived that he was a very inquisitive prince, skilled in the sciences, kind to strangers, and in no way tyrannical.

Among the Jesuits, one was very desirous of conversing with me as a lecturer in philosophy. Therefore, at the entreaty of my dear Rheinaud, a young man of marked genius and modesty, I went to him, and was graciously received by him. There, after some philosophical discussions, he suddenly brought up geomancy, thinking perhaps that I would answer him easily.

“How is it possible” said he, “that by means of geomancy someone might be able to foretell the danger or death imminent to this or that person on his journey towards Rome? What is the participation and communication between his soul and yours, since both are contained within the human body?”

To which I answered briefly in this way: “Because the soul of each body is that chief light, having dominion over the rest of the body, no differently than the Sun in heaven has dominion over the other stars. Since the soul is the Sun of the microcosm, directing the whole body with her life-giving rays, there is no doubt that she also casts her invisible rays invisibly through the pores of the body in no other way than that Sun transmits his heavenly ones through the sieve of the elements toward the world below.9

In the same way that one star has a relation to another by ways of aspect, so that by application to one another they create the effects to be transmitted to the lower plane, so also without a doubt between the soul of one and the soul of another, which are invisible lights, rays are emitted, and by the emission they are joined together.

Thus, since either the petitioner himself or his friend is the one to who is in danger, and since the soul is very divine, and is the keeper of the body, she can foresee the future danger (for inasmuch as she is immortal, she can know the future and the present). So the soul will reveal to the querent the future secrets of the body, which the soul could not tell the body because of the body’s thickness. In this way the soul, quiet and peaceful, and prepared for judgment, very responsive to the bodily motion,10 can prognosticate without difficulty.

Moreover, Olaus Magnus,11 in his history of Finland, tells a great story about the amazing actions of the sorcerers of that region, among which he recounts the story of a certain enchantress.

It seems that when some from a remote country came to her in order to know about the state of his friends, the mode of operation was this: the witch, with some other woman and an assistant, entered the room, where, after many words muttered in silence, she took a serpent made of air, and, holding it by the tail, struck it twice with a small hammer, and having done so, she suddenly collapsed as if dead. And the other helped by driving away flies and other small animals, so that they might not touch her. Half an hour later the witch arose from her sleep, and told the truth about the petitioner’s friends.

But what does this mean, if not that the soul of that witch had communion with the souls of the querent’s friends? And since the semi-diameter of its rays was too short to reach the extremity of the soul of the friends, in order to fulfill the desire of the querent it was necessary for the her to depart from her heart to find a place where it could have communication and its application with the rays of the souls of the friends.

Doubtless the animal rays extend themselves insensibly outside the body, far beyond the field of vision, so readily can they penetrate the thinness and purity of their essential substance, as through elementary means without hindrance.

After making some other similar similar remarks, he embraced me in a friendly manner, swearing that he would regard me as his brother, and praying that I would often visit him and his brothers. This, however, I could not do because of my sudden departure from that city to the Duke of Guyse, who at that time was living in Marseilles, who sent for me to teach him and his brother, a Knight Militant, the mathematical sciences.

In conclusion, therefore, this art is a science directly dependent on the soul, in such a way that its root is the soul itself, and therefore it is more subtle than all the other sciences which man can learn in this corruptible world.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. I am not sure I translated the question exactly. However, the gist is correct, as may be seen from Fludd’s answer. ↩︎
  2. It is common for old geomancy and astrology manuals to teach how to find peculiar marks on the querent’s or other people’s body. It was a way of convincing them of the veracity of the art. ↩︎
  3. The status of astrology has always been ambiguous in the West. However, geomancy was more unanimously rejected as dangerous. ↩︎
  4. It was important for Fludd to establish the semi-official status of geomancy as a legitimate science by mentioning the common practice of horoscopy ↩︎
  5. The objection of the viceconsul is similar to the one already discussed by Fludd in the introduction. ↩︎
  6. Possibly the Socratic Daemon ↩︎
  7. In order to conform to the Christian orthodoxy, Fludd must deny the influence of angels, since Geomancy was not invented in the Christian West. ↩︎
  8. The reason for the need to establish the principles of Geomancy as a science is twofold: on one hand, to justify it, and on the other in order to conform to the Aristotelean view of science typical of the time ↩︎
  9. This answer is typical of the Renaissance point-of-view, which always sought to establish correspondences between the inner and the outer, the higher and the lower. ↩︎
  10. probably the bodily motion of the creation of the geomantic figure ↩︎
  11. A Swedish cartographer. ↩︎
Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy – Introduction Pt. 2

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Fludd describes the importance of purification, meditation and other practices in preparation to geomancy.

3. How a Geomancer Should Prepare Himself, So That the Intentions of His Mind May Be Clearly Emitted, and May Be United With the Senses by Means of Reason

It is thanks to our senses that we can see the geomantic points. Then, we compare these same points to the celestial [bodies] and the elements with our imagination.1 Finally, the hidden virtue, both of these points and of the figures arising from them proceeds from the correctness of the intellect, both active and passive,2 and consequently from the mind.

From all this follows that the human body must be regulated and governed in such a way that its more intellectual part may not be drowned by too much intercourse with the flesh, or become dulled, and that the imaginative or fantastic spirit may not be rendered dull and impure.3

Therefore, before this work is approached, let our fantastic spirit be clean, pure, unmoved and untroubled by cares, so that it may be made worthy of being trusted by the mind and intellect. Thus, such a spirit, most suitable for divination, will receive the light of the rays of the mind without any hindrance, and will depict the objects of truth in a mystical manner, as if in a mirror, and will cause the sensation and movement of the body to proceed exactly and to the degree to which the effect of the mind itself tends.4

When, therefore, we are safe and healthy in body, and not disturbed in mind, not weighed down by food or drink, not suffering from want or poverty, and not ruled by any vices of lust or anger, let us enter into this area of ​​prophecy. Let him also who wishes to use this art keep his spirit pure, both by quiet and religious meditation, and by moderate and temperate diet according to nature.5

This preparation is necessary for him who desires to foretell the truth of future things, either by the geomantic art, or by any other method, since without it no one can access true divination, for he who is languishing in a fantastical spirit6 will not attain the desired end, but will judge confusedly and indiscernibly.

Similarly, when we are filled with wine, our imaginative spirit, as if submerged in noxious vapors, hides and distorts the glory and truth of the rays of the mind, no differently than a thick cloud, or the earth raised in the middle of the air region, shields the glory of the sun from the eyes of the beholder, and produces a refraction of its rays. In this manner falsities will appear instead of truths, and in the very portion of the cloud the objects of the sun will be seen changed into an iridescent or multi-colored substance, and many phantasms will appear in the air, which are not such as they appear.7

Hence they say that the vassals of Amphariaus,8 as Philostratus testifies, ordered one who wished to divine future things, and to receive the oracles of God or of the mind, to abstain from food and wine for a whole day, or even for three days, if this could be conveniently done.

Thus we read that Ezra and Daniel, and even Moses himself, before they came to God, abstained from their wives for three days and washed their clothes: and so they did all this, at the command of God himself, of which we read Exod. 19 and Ezech. 44.9

And so also must he who desires to devote himself faithfully to this form of divination, be delighted not with carnal intercourse, but with spiritual union, not with wine, but with the light of the mind’s milk, not to be lavished with worldly riches, but with the infinite affluence of the divine intellect, not with junk, but to be filled with spiritual food.10

In an old French manuscript on occult Geomancy I found a confirmation of the above in these following words: “Before you get to the projection of the Geomantic points, I would like you to understand that they are not counted. Indeed, if you do this, nothing good or profitable will result from it, since this is knowledge based on the soul, and therefore the number of points is to be found in the will of the soul, and in no way be established according to the appetite of your senses.

It behooves him, therefore, who undertakes this work, to begin nothing, unless his heart is at peace, and his conscience is whole and healthy, and his spirit and soul are not troubled by any disturbances, so much so that he would not even wish worse for another than for himself.11

Finally, having been prepared in this way, let him trust in God, the teacher of knowledge, and beseech him with prayers, that by the power of that knowledge he may reveal to him the truth; having therefore carefully completed these things, it will be necessary to proceed immediately to the projection and arrangement of the points, etc.”

This author in no way disagrees with our opinion, but rather, on the contrary, seems to agree exactly with it.

4. It Is Not Sufficient for Divination That the Body and Flesh Should be Well Ordered. It is Also Necessary That the Rays of the Internal Soul Be Gathered Together

As concentrating a force generally increases its strength, so also it begets great weakness when it is dispersed.12 Thus we see that the rays of a candle in a confined room illuminate a place in a wonderful manner, since the narrowness of the place compresses and contracts the rays emitted by the flame to each other, so that they have a greater power in illumination. However, if that candle is placed in a larger room, its light is greatly weakened and darkened, because of the dispersion of its rays in a wide area.

In the same way, then, the soul (whose candlestick is the human body) spreads its rays in this or that business, nay, in infinite external things, for example, in lawsuits and legal affairs, in the art of medicine, in the care of family matters, in pain and sadness over a lost cause or the death of a friend, in anger or some unexpected adversity, in some art or knowledge and others of the like, or if he is also affected by the intercourse of concupiscence, the vice of drunkenness, the indulgence of gluttony, or other temptations of the flesh, he will be very weak and have little power to illuminate the body.

But truly, if all these soul-rays are reduced from external affairs to the internal economy of the Microcosm, and are drawn back to their center from the multitude, the force of the soul will be united, and that body, which was formerly dark and gloomy because of the rays, will be illuminated in a wonderful way, and thus the prophetic power in man will be far more effective than it was before.13

However, this reduction of the expanded rays of the soul into one cannot take place without the purification of the body, which is done in the manner mentioned above. As a result it is necessary above all things for him who wishes to claim the name of truth in Geomancy, that his soul should once again turn and reflect its scattered rays upon itself; since the chief virtue of this science consists in the illumination of the soul, in so far as true things are seen in its divine light, as in a mirror of truth, and are explained by the external observation of points in a mystical way through the guidance of the soul that turns its attention to this.

MQS

Footnotes
  1. By using the correspondences of the figures. ↩︎
  2. The concept of the ‘intellectus agens’ or Active Intellect is key to Neoplatonist spirituality both in Europe and in the Arab world, and has many similarities with some kabbalistic concepts. Generally, the Active Intellect was a universal form of intelligence that is not confined to one’s individual nature. Whether Fludd is referring to this or simply to the more active faculties of the human soul is unclear to me. The gist of his argument, however, is that the occult sciences, including Geomancy, rest on the highest principles, which makes them hard to access when one is not pure. ↩︎
  3. Imagination is depicted here as a valid aid to understanding, as long as it is in its pure form and not just mere fancy. ↩︎
  4. To put it simply, the body and the lower faculties of our nature must be ruled in such a way that they move in unison with the higher. Once this is accomplished, divination may take place successfully. ↩︎
  5. Old medicine was of the idea that an appropriate diet could only be prescribed based on one’s nature. There was no one-size-fit-all. As for meditation, Fludd is unlikely to refer to those forms of meditation that entered into the Western consciousness thanks to theosophy’s Eastern dabblings, and that have become commonplace today. The West used to have its forms of meditation. ↩︎
  6. possibly meaning someone who gives in to their fantasy without ruling it appropriately ↩︎
  7. It is impossible to read this passage without being reminded of Plato’s myths, especially that of the cave. ↩︎
  8. Possibly Amphiaraus, the mythological seer. ↩︎
  9. Here Fludd interprets passages from the Bible as episodes describing some higher form of divination. In a way, this is very true. ↩︎
  10. Here Fludd proposes a series of alternatives to ‘lower’ forms of pleasure that may seem rethorical at first, but on closer inspection aren’t. Such ‘substitutions’ are typical of many occult training curricula. ↩︎
  11. Ill-wishing is part of the things that weigh the soul down. ↩︎
  12. The same pressure applied on a wider surface disperses it. ↩︎
  13. This process of ‘unification’ is the same that has been typical of Neoplatonism since (at least) Plotinus, and which has been described, within a Christian context, by the German mystics (Meister Eckhart and his disciples) who described the Seelengrund (ground of the soul) as the point of contact of the individual soul with the universal presence of the divine. Fludd, living at the end of the Renaissance and its exaltation of humanity, gives us a slightly less mystical version of this idea, one geared toward increasing one’s knowledge through occult practices. ↩︎
Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology, Uncategorized

Don’t Overdo Magical Protection!

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This post is inspired by a forum page I was reading where various people whose whole magical practice consists in casting the defensive spells were comparing notes. One thing that often amuses me is that many people who are looking to get into magic often start by practicing random rituals which are either plucked off the internet (trust me bro) or taken from old books (it’s old so it’s true).

Even supposing that these rituals are effective (no, your wanting it to be effective is not enough for it to be) practicing them outside of the cultural, philosophical and magical framework within which they were conceived can be extremely dangerous if it is not done with full knowledge of the facts pertaining to it and by supplementing your magical knowledge with your reasoning ability to work out its inner mechanism. This is why I advocate for magicians to study philosophy and logic, among other things.

The first thing these people will rush to is defensive magic, their reasoning being that defensive magic can do no harm. In fact, it’s good for you! How can it not be? There are some words that unfortunately evoke unwarranted feelings of safety. ‘Nature‘ is one of those words. People hear “It’s natural” and immediately assume it’s good. Know what is natural? Ebola. But people in industrialized countries have a romantic notion of nature due to how distant it is from them–they can afford such a romantic notion, since usually nature is allowed into their lives in small, sanitized drops of color.

The same goes with the word ‘defensive magic’. It must be good if it is just for defense! After all, defense is good: That’s why we take karate lessons and install cameras on the front door. This, people think, is the equivalent of defensive magic.

Yes, defense is good. So is hygiene. After all, while hygiene now falls mostly under the cosmetic industry, it was once a matter of defense: cities with running water and plumbing had healthier citizens who could defend themselves more effectively. And what is hygiene, at its core, if not defending the body against certain biological threats?

Still, most people would agree that taking antibiotica every day without a reason, or washing your hands every few minutes is not only silly but detrimental. Our body exists in a dynamic balance with the forces outside of it, and neutralizing those outside forces will inevitably lead to our body being incapable of resisting them. The same is true for our soul. Magical hygiene is a thing, and it does contain certain solutions to keeping a good equilibrium. So how do we know if something is good?

The one thing we need to ask ourselves when looking for protection is: protection from what? What am I doing that requires protection? To put this into perspective: a welder’s mask protects his face from flying sparks. Do you need such a mask? Are you in danger of being blinded by flying sparks? Unless you are a welder, probably not, and even if you are, you probably don’t need it the whole day.

Most people have a certain inborn resistance to low-level magical threats, often supplemented by whatever protection derives from the religion they practice, so long as it’s a traditional religion with established rituals and prayers. This basic package is usually enough for anyone who is not a practicing magician. There is no point in people going around casting Banishing Rituals for no reason.

One universal law, maybe of magic, maybe of life, is: if there is no problem, don’t try to implement a solution, lest you cause an imbalance that only the presence of the problem itself can solve, thus inviting the problem to present itself.

The more we advance in the magical path, the more we are going to be on the radar of the odd inner-world larvae, and perhaps worse, the more we are going to need to keep the defenses up, and this will usually involve an always unique combination of strategies that are always specific to the kind of work we are doing.

MQS

Divination, Divination Master Post, Fortune-telling, Geomancy, Occultism and Esoterism, Spirituality and Psychology

Robert Fludd’s Geomancy, Translated and Annotated / Index

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Back to the Geomancy Index

My translation and comments on Robert Fludd’s Animae Intellectualis Scientia seu Geomantia (The Intellectual Science of the Soul or Geomancy). Please note that I am no professional translator of old texts and sometimes I had to paraphrase. Feel free to leave comments or contact me on how this project could be improved. The translation and commentaries are copyrighted to me, so please ask for my permission before using it.

Introduction
Part I – Geomancy is an Act of the Soul
Part II – Preparing to Divination, the Hermetic Way
Part III – The Mystical Presuppositions of Divination

Book I
Part I – Anecdotes on the veracity of Geomancy
Part II – How to Prepare to Divination
Part III – Basic rules on projecting the points
Part IV – Filling out the geomantic shield

Book II
Part I – Elemental and astrological attributes of the figures
Part II – The Houses
Part III – The First Four Geomantic Figures
Part IV – The Second Four Geomantic Figures
Part V – The Third Four Geomantic Figures
Part VI – The Final Four Geomantic Figures
Part VII – When the Same Figure is Found in Two Houses

MQS