Chapter XXII. Exaliations

Tuat which is termed the exaltation of the planets is cons sidered by the following rules:

The Sun on his entrance into Aries is then passing into. the higher and more northern semicircle; but, on his entrance into Libra, into the more southern and lower one: his exaltation, therefore, is determined to be in Aries, as,

* Tho reason for making Saturn diurnal lord of this Py may be Shand. in Chap. vii. t This familiarity seemsa to arise from the sextile aspect hateeen

Aquarius, the diurnal house of Saturn, and Seen the diurnal house of Jupiter. -

46 -PTOLEMY’S TETRABIBLOS, {Book I. when present in that sign, he begins to lengthen the days, . and the influence of his heating nature increases at the same time. His fall is placed in Libra, for the converse reasons. Saturn on the contrary, in order to preserve his station opposite to the Sun, in this respect, as well as in regard to their respective houses, obtains his exaltation in Libra, and his fall in Aries: since, in all cases, the increase of heat must be attended by a diminution of cold, and the increase of cold by a diminution of heat. | The Moon, again, after conjunction with the Sun in - Aries, the seat of his exaltation, makes her first appearance, and begins to augment her light in Taurus, the first sign of her own triplicity, which is consequently ascribed to be her exaltation; while Scorpio, the opposite sign, is her fall. Jupiter, since he is efficacious in exciting fruitful breezes from the north, and since he becomes most northerly, and augments his peculiar influence when in Cancer, accordingly obtains his exaltation in that sign, and his fall in Capricorn. Mars possesses a fiery nature, which receives its greatest intensity in Capricorn, in which sign this planet becomes most southerly ; his exaltation is therefore placed in Capricorn, in opposition to that of Jupiter, and his fall in Cancer. : ~ Venus is of a moist nature, and becomes chiefly moist when in Pisces. Under that sign a dampness begins to be perceptible in the atmosphere, and Venus, from being in — that sign, derives an augmentation of her own proper influence: her exaltation is consequently placed therein, and her fall in Virgo. | ) Mercury is of a nature opposite to that of Venus, and is more dry: in opposition to her, therefore, he takes his exaltation in Virgo, in which sign the autumnal dryness makes its first appearanee; and he receives his fall in Pisces. -

Ghapter XXIII. The Disposition of the Terms *.

THERE are two methods of disposing the terms of the planets, in reference to the dominion of the triplicities ; one is /Egyptian, the other Chaldaic.

But the Egyptian method preserves no regular distribution, neither in point of successive order nor in point of quantity.

In point of order it is defective, since it, in some instances, allots the first degrees of a sign to the lord of the house, in others to the Jord of the triplicity, and in others again to the lord of the exaltation. By selecting examples this failure in order will easily be seen ; for instance, if the order were regulated by the government of houses, for what reason should Saturn take the first degrees in Libra, since that sign is the house of Venus’? orwhy should Jupiter take them in Aries, which is the house of Mars? If the government of triplicities were followed, for what reason should Mercury take the first degrees in Capricorn, which is in the triplicity ruled _ by Venus? If the government by exaltations, why should

Mars take the first degrees in Cancer? that sign being the exaltation of Jupiter. And if the order were regulated even by considering the planet which possesses most of

* In reference to the terms of the planets, Placidus has these words (according to Cooper's translation): ‘ The dignity of the “ planets in the signs and their parts, which are called the bounds “ and terminations,” (quasi, terms) “ have a real and natural foun- “ dation; to wit, the powerful aspect or proportional influxes to the ‘¢ moveable points in which the stars begin to produce the primary “‘ qualities. So that, according to those things we have explained “< in the philosophy of the heavens, these are found to agree so well ‘ with the Egyptian boundaries,” (terms) “ that they are highly de- “ serving of admiration.” —

48 : PPOLEMY’S TETRABIBLOS. [Book 1. these dignities in the sign, for what reason should Mercury take the first degrees in frquarius, n which sign he rules only by triplicity, and why not Saturn, who has government in it by house, as well as by triplicity ? or why in short should Mercury, who does not ‘possess any kind of

domiriion ‘in ‘Capricorn, Teceive the first degrees in that sign .

also? The same want of order ts abundantly evident in the rest of ‘the distribution.

- ‘An ‘equal ‘irregularity exists in the respective quantities of degrees allotted by the ASgyptians to the several terms of the planets. For it‘is‘by no means a proper nor suffictent demonstration ‘of accuracy that the aggregate sum of -all the nutifbers of every single planet amounts to the precise totdl requiring to ‘be divided ito portions of time * ; since, even if it be admitted ‘that this total, collected from every single star, is correctly asserted by the Agyptians, .it may still be objected that ‘the ‘same totdl, so collected ‘by them, may‘be found in many other ways ‘by ‘interchanging the numbers in‘a‘sign. There are persons also who contend that ‘in every Tatitude the same space of time ‘is occupied in ascension by every star; this, however, is manifestly wrong : for, ‘1 ‘in the first place, these persons are guided by the vulgar opinion of the-plane heights of ascension, which is totally foreign to truth, and according to which, mthe parallel of Lower #Egypt, the signs of Virgo and Libra would ascend each in thirty-eight degrees and a third +, and Leo and Scorpio each tn thirty-five ‘degrees:; when it is, on the :eontrary, shewn by the Tables'{, that'the:latter two signs-occupy

‘* This ‘total is ‘the 360 degrees of the-zodiac, ‘requiring'to be divided according ‘to correspondent ‘portions of the equator; ‘by lai all time is reckoned.

t The degrees here mentioned are degrees of the equator.

‘TSee, in the Appentitx, an extract from these tables; the whole of which are to he found in the Almagest.

Chap. XXIIT.] PTOLEMY’S TETRAMIBLOS. = 49

_ in their several ascensions more than thirty-five degrees each, but Virgo and Libra less. It should further be observed, that those who support this opinion seem(by so doing) - not only to dispute the quantity of the terms most generally received, but to be driven also to the necessity of falsifying many points; since (as it is indispensable to keep to the same total amount of all the terms together) they make use of parts of degrees ; but evert that contrivance does rrot ¢tiable them to reach the true point. _. The old terms, admitted by many persons on the authority of former tradition, ate 49 follow :

Thus, by the Egyptian distribution, it appears that the total numbers of the degrees for each planet, added together, make 360 :—viz. for Saturn 57, Jupiter 79, Mars 66,

The method of the Chaldzeans contains a certain simplicity of drrangement as to quantity, and preserves an order of succession rather more conformable to the dominion of the triplicities. It is, nevertheless, highly imperfect, as may be easily discovered even without being pointed out: for in the first triplicity, (which-the Chaldeans also attribute to the same signs; viz. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius,) Jupiter, the lord of the triplicity, takes the first degrees; Venus, who rules the next triplicity, follows him; after her, in succession, are Saturn and Mercury, the lords of the triplicity of Gemini; and lastly Mars, lord of the remaining triplicity. In the second triplicity, (also allotted to the same signs, viz. Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn) Venus stands first; next to her, Saturn and Mercury; after them Mars, and Jupiter last. In the other two triplicities a similar order of succession 1s closely followed ; and with respect to the third triplicity, which is ascribed to two lords, viz. to Saturn and Mercury, Saturn is placed first in order by day and Mercury by night. .