The Antiscion of Sol.

 

Chapter XIV.

Containing certain observations taken out of Cardan and other expert physicians.

A double tertian invaded one, anno 1547, April 23 at six in the morning, at which time the Moon was in conjunction with Mars. 

The twenty-sixth day having taken a purge, the fever left him; the quartile of the Sun and Moon that day was not much considerable, because they had no aspect at the Decumbiture. 

The twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth days, he seemed perfectly cured; nothing of the fever appeared perfectly remaining. The thirtieth day the quartile of Mars excited a continued fever with dangerous accidents, for on that day he began to rave and pull the bedclothes &c, but because the Moon in the beginning of the disease separated from the conjunction of Mars to an aspect of Venus, all the symptoms became remiss and free from danger the sixth day of May, which was the fourteenth day from the Decumbiture, at which time Luna was in trine to Venus; neither could the opposition of Luna and Mars the eighth of May prejudice, because Luna separating from Mars applied to Jupiter and Venus, or it's certain the Fortunes help with what aspect soever they behold the Malevolents or the Moon.

The second observation from Cardan.

John Antoni of Campion (saith Cardan) being about 30 years of age fell sick, occasioned by a journey. Until the fourth day, he seemed little oppressed, because Luna was in sextile with Venus and they in reception; Mercury is also in his own dignities, and Luna being slow in motion the disease increased but slowly, for she was three days and eighteen hours ere she came to the 25th degree of Gemini, wherein she was in sextile to Jupiter and Mars (who are conjunct) and with fixed stars of moist natures, which caused great ardour and turbulency in the urine which began to appear the fifth day. The seventh day, the Moon by reason of her slow motion being not come to the quartile of her place in the Decumbiture but only to the beginning of Leo, he became very ill, because she met with no good aspect, but was with the antiscion of Sol in the Sixth and Leo in the Eighth.

The disease increased the eighth and ninth days; because Luna was in conjunction with Jupiter and Mars amongst moist stars, he did sweat, for heat with moisture causes sweat and much urine, which he also made. The eleventh day, he did sweat but with much difficulty, for Luna was not yet free from the opposition of Saturn, to which succeeded a sextile of Venus. The twelfth day, he was exceeding ill and raved very much, but yet there seemed signs of concoction in the urine. The thirteenth day, he was no worse, notwithstanding Venus' sextile (who was inimical to the Ascendant) because there was a tendency to health. The fourteenth, he sweat again and was somewhat better, the Moon having course to the sextile of Jupiter and of Mars, and to the quartile of Venus, and these caused heat. But the sickness could not then terminate, because the Moon had passed but 174 and 22 from her place at the beginning; therefore, it was continued to the seventeenth day, whereon he was freed therefrom, the Moon having past her opposite place and applied to a trine of Venus.

The third observation is also from Cardan.

The Decumbiture of the one who dies the fourteenth day.

The Moon was in quartile to Venus at the beginning of the disease, whose original was from a surfeit of meat and drink &c. He was immediately much oppressed by the reason the Moon was swift in motion. The seventh day, he was exceeding ill; the Moon was with Leo and void of any aspect of Jupiter, and applying to an opposition of Venus, Sol being also in quartile to Saturn. The eighth day, he was somewhat better, having a flux of blood at the nose, but yet strength failed by reason of the opposition of Venus. The ninth day, he had some respite by reason of the trine of Sol. The tenth day, the Moon came to the opposition of Jupiter and Mars. The eleventh day he was near death, when the Moon came to the conjunction of Saturn at the tenth hour, and to the quartile of Sol the eighteenth hour.

He died June 5th at nine before noon, Luna then coming exactly to her opposition place in the Decumbiture.

The cause of the disease may be seen in Chapter 9 of Hermes Trismegistus, and the Decumbiture was mortal, as may appear by the 84th and 87th aphorism. The Moon being not far from the cusp of the Ascendant collects the light of Saturn by antiscion, and transfers the same to Venus in the Tenth in quartile to the Ascendant and Lady of the Eighth; and although Jupiter behold Luna and horoscope with a sextile aspect, yet could he not help but only prolong the disease, because he was afflicted by Mars his conjunction.

The fourth observation is from the same Cardan.

Baptist Cardan (a kinsman of Cardan's) was run through the arm, December 19th 1552, at four hours and thirty-two minutes after noon. When he received this wound, whereof he died, he was sixty years of age. 

When he was wounded, Mars was near Leo and Luna near Cauda Draconis, and applying to the opposition of Jupiter unfortunate, and to the conjunction of Saturn. Yet, he was not immediately much oppressed, because the Moon is applying to a sextile of Mercury, the wound being in the arm. 

The fourth day, he was ill by reason of quartile Sol, but yet without a fever because no malevolent opposed; from hence to the tenth day, he was so well that he arose from his bed. The eleventh day, at the third hour of the night, he was greatly oppressed when the Moon drew nigh to an opposition with the Sun, who was anareta (because Lord of the opposite place of the Moon); the Moon and Mercury were also opposition.

The fourteenth day from the time of the time of the wound, he was taken with a fever, which was January 2nd. The 3rd of January, when the Moon came to the body of Mars, he died. 

Thus Cardan. Here are verified the 70th and 71st aphorisms, and others. 

The fifth observation is from Boderius.

In the year 1545, saith Boderius, I being much wearied with a diurnal fever together with heaviness in my breast and hypochondriacks, took my bed on the day and hour hereafter mentioned, the Moon having separated from Venus and Mercury, and in the midst between the bodies of Mars and Sol, and in trine to Jupiter. Although the critical days were fortified with convenient aspects, yet they did not reduce me to health; the significators in tropical signs, the disease very often exceeds a month. 

I was troubled with these distempers seven weeks, and then they turned to a quartan fever which held me about two years. The conjunction of Sol and Venus did portend such a sickness, for Mars causes acute diseases and Sol chronic, the Moon being in conjunction with them did add very much to the length of the disease. Many at that time were much troubled with the like disease, of whom they that were in years fell into dropsies. 

All this being duly considered, I had the advice of many physicians who unaimously affirmed I would be hydropical. Nature began to be somewhat raised, yet for prevention I prepared a decoction of Lignus Sanctus, contrary to the advice of the physicians, of which I drank ten days and began to be bettered by it; and within a few months, after my body (which was nigh spent with these diseases) grew healthy and perfectly amended.

This one thing was unknown to me, that the conjunction of Sol and Mars should portend quartan fevers, chiefly Luna being in conjunction or aspect with them. 

Thus Boderius. 

This is indeed a remarkable Decumbiture, and many have admired it did not end in death suddenly, for Mars and Sol with Luna quickly terminate the disease in destruction; but Jupiter being Lord of the Horoscope was safe and powerful in his own house and angular. Beholding the luminaries joined to Mars with a trine, he would doubtless preserve the patient from death, but not without a long sickness; it was so that Saturn, who was the cause of the quartan, was mitigated by Venus. Saturn in the Ascendant causes long sickness always.

The sixth observation is from the same Boderius.

A certain priest fell sick of a diurnal fever, 1551, August 30th, the Moon in 17 Virgo, being not one degree separated from the Sun. 

About a month this disease separated from the Sun, about a month this disease much troubled and molested him. Them this diurnal fever turned to a tertian, and afterwards into a quartan; at last, having brought up much by spitting twelve days before, the quartan left him. In brief, we may gather thus much, that the Moon being within Sol's rays combust indicated a malignant but not a mortal sickness.

Certainly, we must acknowledge this Decumbiture to be a very dangerous one, for besides that Luna was combust of Sol within one degree of longitude (which in judgement might alone seem sufficient to destroy, as appears by the 85th aphorism), both the luminaries were partly afflicted by the opposition of Saturn Lord of the Ascendant, and the Sun and Moon in the eighth House agreeable to the 70th aphorism. But Jupiter being very strong and aspecting the luminaries with a sextile, and Venus also afforded her assistance to the Horoscope by a sextile, it was the less to be admired that after a long sickness the patient recovered. The Moon was separating from the Sun, and had north latitude, which made her to be more occidental by three degrees, which is very worthy consideration.

The seventh observation is the Decumbiture of John Antonian Maginus, an eminent Mathematician.

I began to be sick (saith he) of a quartan fever under his position of heaven, in which Saturn, author of the disease and Lord of the Ascendant was in the Sixth, and the Moon separating from a quartile of Mars and sextile of the Sun applied to a sextile of Jupiter, her dispositor. By this sign might a long sickness be discerned, but to terminate in health at last, and that especially because Jupiter as radically posited, aspected Saturn with a trine and the Sun in my genesis, who is prorogator of life, is directed to the trine of Saturn in 11, 20 Leo, and afterwards to the antiscion of Venus and trine of Mercury.

In the figure of the Decumbiture Sol is in opposition to Saturn in the Radix, Saturn not being far from the Sun, as may be seen in my genesis, in our tables of direction being 1555, June 14th, 6.57 pm. I was freed from this quartain when the Sun came to the 29th degree of Sagittarius, being the opposite place of Saturn at the beginning of the disease, and not far from the sextile of Jupiter at the Decumbiture, and that on the 11th of December the same year, for then I had my last fit, neither was I ever after sensible of it, for on the fourteenth day of the same month, when I expected my fit, there appeared nothing of it. The Sun was then in opposition to his radical place, and the Moon in 18 Sagittarius, separating from a quartile of Venus and applying to a sextile of the Sun near the place in the Decumbiture.

The eighth observation is of the Decumbiture of John Baptista Triandula, one of Verona.

This is a very remarkable observation, for whilst this unfortunate young man (being 28 years of age) was a student at Padua, he received a dangerous wound in his right knee, by means of which wound at length his whole leg was amputated, and though he was most grievously afflicted, so that physicians did often despair of his life; yet notwithstanding, he recovered and lived about two years, going upon a wooden leg.

Whether therefore you take the Sun or Moon to be dominators of the Ascendant, it matters not much, for they are both afflicted by Malevolents, the Moon by conjunction of Saturn and the Sun by conjunction of Mars; also, the Moon by the quartile of Saturn, so that it is not to be admired that this young man was so much oppressed under so unfortunate a position of heaven, which did not yet destroy him, because both the Fortunes conspired to help the luminaries to their mutual antiscions, Venus assisting the Moon and Jupiter the Sun, somewhat repress the force of the Malevolents. Of the progress of the cure and the time of the recovery, I am ignorant, for I was more solicitous to see how the native's geniture predicted such an accident. The native was born 1554, die Martis June 12th, thirty-five minutes after Sun setting.  

In this geniture there is no diversion of any signifier in the Ecliptic agreeable to this accident, viz. the wound, for we cannot take the Horoscope to the trine of Mars, because that will make the geniture precede the estimative time half an hour, which is not probable.

Wherefore directing the Horoscope to the quartile of Mars in the Equator (according to our usual manner), it anticipates the time estimative but 10 minutes, and the event does very well answer hereunto, the quartile of Mars falls in 331.28 and meets with the Horoscope in the Ecliptic with 10 and 26 Aquarius, the arc of diversion being 27.25, which is equivalent to twenty-seven years and five months according to the common opinion.

That Mars was author of the event will appear clearly, if we consider seriously his nature in this place, being encompassed with many fixed stars of violent nature as the Hyades and Stars of Orion, with which he descends' he is also in sextile with Saturn; he lived two years after the wound and then died a natural death (being aged 29 years) when Luna the primary giver of life was directed to the quartile of Saturn in the Equator, which happened in 269.22, which subtracted from the forementioned quartile leaves the arc of direction 29.31. The Sun also applied to a sextile of Mars at the time of death. 

Presages of life and death by the body of the patient being sick.

Two ways did the famous Hippocrates leave posterity for the judging of the life and death of sick people, one by the celestial aspects of the planets, and the other by the symptoms of the body of the man lying sick. The latter of these must first be performed, the profit of which, for 'tis good for something, according to Hippocrates, is first the credit of the piss, for first of all he hence avoids defamation, evil speeches and reproaches. The world shall never say he is a dunce.

It will better his own knowledge; he need not apply living medicines to a dying man. Secondly, for the profit of the sick, hereby you may give them warning of death before it comes, and they will the more confidently commit themselves to the hands of a physician when they know he knows something.

If the credit of Hippocrates may pass for starling, he protests that what I here write was confirmed in all his practices in Ethiopia, Libya, Mauretania, the Isle of Delos, Scythia and Italy. 

And he that diligently observes these and compares them with the aspects of heavenly bodies can never without a miracle fail in his judgement upon diseases; for my part, I dare commend the greatest part of them for authentic, though I have not made trial of them all, yet 'tis very probable, set the antiquity of the aside that the meanest of them (if well heeded) may make a more infallible judgement upon a disease than a whole tub full of physicians.

I have somewhat inverted Hippocrates' order, and my reason was because I would bring the business into one single ingress, and make them as plain to the meanest capacity as a pike staff; and if they cannot understand them, as I have committed them to posterity, the fault is in the dullness of their own wits, and there let it rest.

Hippocrates divides them into three books, and in that I will follow him to a hair.

The first book I will divide into these parts:

Presages of Diseases.
1. The Face.
2. The Eyes and Lips.
3. The Manner of Lying.
4. The Teeth.
5. Ulcers or Issues.
6. The Hands.
7. The Breath.
8. The Sweat.
9. Tumors and Aposthumes.