10. Of the Division of Times.
As we have treated systematically under its several heads the outline of
each kind of inquiry only so far as to explain the general doctrine,
which was our original intention, it would remain to add in the same
manner any observations that should be made about the division of times,
in such manner as to agree with nature and to be consistent with the
specific doctrines which have already been set forth. So then, as, among
all genethlialogical inquiries what. soever, a more general destiny
takes precedence of all particular considerations, namely, that of
country of birth, to which the major details of a geniture are naturally
subordinate, such as the topics of the form of the body, the character
of the soul and the variations of manners and customs, it is also
necessary that he who makes his inquiry naturally should always hold
first to the primary and more authoritative cause, lest, misled by the
similarity of genitures, he should unwittingly call, let us say, the
Ethiopian white or straight-haired, and the German or Gaul blackskinned
and woolly-haired, or the latter gentle in character, fond of
discussion, or fond of contemplation, and the Greeks savage of soul and
untutored of mind; or, again, on the subject of marriage, lest he
mistake the appropriate customs and manners by assigning, for example,
marriage with a sister to one who is Italian by race, instead of to the
Egyptian as he should, and a marriage with his mother to this latter,
though it suits the Persian. Thus in general it is needful first to
apprehend universal conditions of destiny, and then to attach to them
the particular conditions which relate to degree. In the same fashion
likewise, dealing with the division of time, one most take as a basis in
each single prediction the differences and special proprieties of the
temporal ages, and see to it that we do not, in the ordinary, simple
treatment of matters incident to the inquiry, carelessly assign to a
babe action or marriage, or anything that belongs to adults, or to an
extremely old man the begetting of children or anything else that fits
younger men; but once and for all let us harmonize those details which
are contemplated in temporal terms with that which is suitable and
possible for persons in the various age-classes. For in the matter of
the agedivisions of mankind in general there is one and the same
approach, which for likeness and comparison depends upon the order of
the seven planets; it begins with the first age of man and with the
first sphere from us, that is, the moon's, and ends with the last of the
ages and the outermost of the planetary spheres, which is called that of
Saturn. And in truth the accidental qualities of each of the ages are
those which are naturally proper to the planet compared with it, and
these it will be needful to observe, in order that by this means we may
investigate the general questions of the temporal divisions, while we
determine particular differences from the special qualities which are
discovered in the nativities.
For up to about the fourth year, following the number which belongs to
the quadrennium, the moon takes over the age of infancy and produces the
suppleness and lack of fixity in its body, its quick growth and the
moist nature, as a rule, of its food, the changeability of its
condition, and the imperfection and inarticulate state of its soul,
suitably to her own active qualities.
In the following period of ten years, Mercury, to whom falls the second
place and the second age, that of childhood, for the period which is
half of the space of twenty years, begins to articulate and fashion the
intelligent and logical part of the soul, to implant certain seeds and
rudiments of learning, and to bring to light individual peculiarities of
character and faculties, awaking the soul at this stage by instruction,
tutelage, and the first gymnastic exercises.
Venus, taking in charge the third age, that of youth, for the next eight
years, corresponding in number to her own period, begins, as is natural,
to inspire, at their maturity, an activity of the seminal passages and
to implant an impulse toward the embrace of love. At this time
particularly a kind of frenzy enters the soul, incontinence, desire for
any chance sexual gratification, borning passion, guile, and the
blindness of the impetuous lover.
The lord of the middle sphere, the sun, takes over the fourth age, which
is the middle one in order, young manhood, for the period of nineteen
years, wherein he implants in the soul at length the mastery and
direction of its actions, desire for substance, glory, and position, and
a change from playful, ingenuous error to seriousness, decorum, and
ambition.
After the sun, Mars, fifth in order, assumes command of manhood for the
space of fifteen yars, equal to his own period. He introduces severity
and misery into life, and implants cares and troubles in the soul and in
the body, giving it, as it were, same sense and notion of passing its
prime and urging it, before it approaches its end, by labour to
accomplish something among its undertakings that is worthy of note.
Sixth, Jupiter, taking as his lot the elderly age, again for the space
of his own period, twelve years, brings about the renunciation of manual
labour, toil, turmoil, and dangerous activity, and in their place brings
decorum, foresight, retirement, together with all-embracing
deliberation, admonition, and consolation; now especially he brings men
to set store by honour, praise, and independence, accompanied by modesty
and dignity.
Finally to Saturn falls as his lot old age, the latest period, which
lasts for the rest of life. Now the movements both of body and of soul
are cooled and impeded in their impulses, enjoyments, desires, and
speed; for the natural decline supervenes upon life, which has become
worn down with age, dispirited, weak, easily offended, and hard to
please in all situations, in keeping with the sluggishness of his
movements.
The foregoing, then, may be taken as a preliminary description of the
characteristics of the ages of life, viewed generally and in accordance
with the ordinary course of nature. But as for particulars, which are to
be discovered from the peculiarities of the nativities, some of them
again we shall base upon the general considerations already set forth,
that is, upon the prorogations of greatest authority, all of them,
however, and not one, as in the case of the space of life. We shall
apply the prorogation from the horoscope to events relating to the body
and to journeys abroad; that from the Lot of Fortune to matters of
property; that from the moon to affections of the soul and to marriage;
that from the sun to dignities and glory; that from the mid-heaven to
the other details of the conduct of life, such as actions, friendships,
and the begetting of children. For thus it will come about that one
beneficent or maleficent star will not be the ruler of all of them on
the same occasion, for usually many contradictory events take place at
the same time. One may, for example, lose a relative and receive an
inheritance, or at once be prostrated by illness and gain some dignity
and promotion, or in the midst of misfortune become the father of
children, or have other experiences of this sort which are apt to occur.
For it is not usual that alike in goodness or badness of body, soul,
property, dignity, and companions, one must by very necessity be either
fortunate, or, again, unfortunate in all these particulars. This, to be
sure, might perhaps happen upon occasions that are completely blessed or
completely unhappy, when the occourses of all the beneficent planets, or
of all the maleficent planets, converge upon all or the majority of the
prorogations. Rarely would this take place, however, because human
nature is imperfectly adapted to either one of the extremes, but is
inclined toward the balance of good and evil arising from their
alternation, We shall, then, make distinctions among the prorogatory
places in the manner descrihed, and as for the stars whose occourses
take place in the prorogations, we must take into account not only the
destructive ones, as in the case of the length of life, but ahsolutely
all of them, and similarly not those alone that meet the prorogation
only bodily, or by opposition, or in quartile, but also those that are
in the trine and sextile aspects.
In the first place, we must give the rulership of the times in each
prorogation to the star that is actually upon the prorogatory degree or
in aspect to it, or, if this condition does not exist, to the one that
most nearly precedes, until we come to another which is in aspect with
the next following degree in the order of the signs; then to this as far
as the next following, and so on; and the planets which govern the terms
are to be given a part of the rulership. And again we must assign years
to the degrees of the intervals: in the prorogation from the horoscope a
numher equal to the times of ascension in the latitude concerned; in the
prorogation from mid- heaven, as many as the times of the culminations ;
and in the prorogations from all the others, in proportion to or in
accordance with the nearness of the risings, or settings, or
culminations, to the angles, as we explained in the discussion of the
length of life.
We shall discover the general chronocrators, then, in the manner
described, and the annual chronocrators by setting out from each of the
prorogatory places, in the order of the signs, the numher of years from
birth, one year to each sign, and taking the ruler of the last sign. We
shall do the same thing for the months, setting out, again, the number
of months from the month of birth, starting from the places that govern
the year, twenty-eight days to a sign; and similarly for the days, we
shall set out the number of the days from the day of birth, starting
with the places which govern the months, two and a third days to a sign.
We must also pay attention to the ingresses which are made to the places
of the times, for they play no small part in the prediction of the times
of events; particularly to the ingresses of Saturn to the general places
of the times, and to those of Jupiter to the places of the years; to
those of the sun, Mars, venus, and Mercury to those of the months, and
to the transits of the moon to those of the days. The reason for this is
that the general chronocrators have greater authority to realize the
prediction, while the partial chronocrators assist or deter, in
accordance with the familiarity or unfamiliarity of their natures, and
the ingresses infillence the degree of increase or diminution in the
event. For in general the special quality and the length of time are
signified by the prorogatory place and the lord of the general times
together with the lord of the terms, because each one of the planets at
the very time of the nativity is made familiar with the places which
they happened at first to govern.
Whether the event will be good or bad is discovered from the natural and
composite properties of the chronocrators, whether they are beneficent
or maleficent, and from their original familiarity with or antipathy to
the places which they possess. At what time the predicted event will be
evidenced is shown by the aspects of the annual and monthly signs to the
places which furnish the causes, and by the aspects of the signs into
which the planets are making ingress and in which the phases of the sun
and moon occur to the annual and monthly signs. For those whose relation
to the affected places under consideration is harmonious from the
beginning made in the nativity, and which in their ingresses are in
favourable aspect to them, exert a good effect upon the species of the
matter concerned, even as they cause evil if they oppose. And those
which are inharmoniously related and of opposite sect cause evil if they
are in opposition or in quartile to the transits, but not in the other
aspects.
And if the same planets are lords of both the times and the ingresses,
the nature of the predicted event is made excessive and unalloyed,
whether it incline to the good or to the bad; all the more so if they
govern the species of the cause not only because they are chronocrators,
but also because they ruled it originally in the nativity. The subjects
are unfortunate or fortunate in all respects at once, whenever either
all or most of the prorogations are found in one and the same place, or
if these are different, whenever all or most of the occourses occurring
at the same times are similarly fortunate or unforturnate. The character
of the investigation of the times, then, is of this fashion.
Conclusion according to Parisinus 2425:
by the style which agrees with the natural procedures. At this point,
however, the method of attacking, in particular cases, the problem of
the quality of temporal predictions, with a complete account of the
results, which is a complicated matter difficult of explanation, must,
in accordance with our original programme, be left to the astrologer's
good judgement of the matter of temperaments, for thereby he is able
correctly to accommodate to specific instances the effective force of
the stars general nature. Now since the topic of nativities has been
summarily reviewed, it would be well to bring this procedure also to a
fitting close.
Conclusion according to MADProc.Cam.:
We shall, however, omit adding at this point a detailed account of the
kinds of predicted events that happen at the times, on account of the
plan which I stated at the outset, namely that the effective power which
the planets exercise in general situations can be made to apply
similarly and consistently in particular cases also, if the cause
furnished by the astrologer and the cause arising from the mixture are
combined with due skill.
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