Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey
General
Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales
Chaucer, Geoffrey
English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500
Aries is the mansion (or house) of Mars; the exaltation (or honour) of the
Sun, in the 19th degree of the sign; the lord of the Triplicity of Aries
with its attendant signs is the Sun by day, Jupiter by night, and Saturn in
Common, both by day and night; the first Face of Aries (degrees 1 to 10) is
that of Mars; the second Face (degrees 11 to 20) is that of the Sun; the
third Face (degrees 21 to 30) is that of Venus. And so on for the rest;
noting that Gemini is the Exaltation of the Dragon's Head (D. H.), and
Sagittarius that of the Dragon's Tail (D. T.).
The meanings of the words are as follows:--
A _Mansion_ or _House_ appears to be that sign in which the planet is
peculiarly at home for some reason or other.
The _Exaltation_ or _Honour_ is that degree of a sign in which the planet
named has its greatest power; but the degree was often neglected, and Aries
was called the Exaltation of the Sun, simply.
The _Fall_ (Lat. _occasus vel detrimentum_) of a planet is the sign
opposite its mansion. Libra is opposite Aries; therefore Libra is the Fall
of Mars.
The _Dejection_ or _Depression_ (Lat. _dedecus_) of a planet is the sign
opposite to that of its exaltation. Libra is opposite Aries; therefore
Libra is the Dejection of the Sun. And so on.
A _Triplicity_ is a combination of three signs in the form of a triangle,
each 120° apart. Thus Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius form the first
triplicity; Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn, the second; Gemini, Libra, Aquarius,
the third; Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces, the fourth. Equal divisions of a sign
(third-parts, namely) are called _Faces_. There were also unequal divisions
called _Terms_.
The 'mobill' or movable signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn. The
'fixe' or fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius. The 'common'
signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces.
The signs Aries, Gemini, Leo, &c. (taking _every other_ sign) are _diurnal_
or _masculine_. The rest, Taurus, Cancer, &c., are _nocturnal_ or
_feminine_.
The first six signs, Aries to Virgo, are _northern_ or _sinister_ signs. So
called because astrologers looked towards the east or ascendent.
The last six, Libra to Pisces, are _southern_ or _dexter_ signs.
The signs Cancer to Sagittarius are _western_, _sovereign_, _right_, or
_direct_ signs. Cf. Astrol. ii. 28, and see Fig. 2.
The rest, Capricorn to Gemini, are _eastern_, _obedient_, _tortuous_, or
_oblique_ signs.
This is all that a reader is likely to want. For other points, see the
authorities.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLATES.
§ 32. Plate I. Fig. 1. The flat back of the Astrolabe; see § 28.
Plate II. Fig. 2. The front of the Astrolabe, with raised border. In the
wide depression in the middle, the plate called the 'Rete' is dropped in,
and is shewn in its primary position. Other positions of it are sketched in
Fig. 11 and Fig. 12.
Plate III. Fig. 3. The 'Rewle' carrying two sights, which revolved at the
back of the Astrolabe. Astrol. i. 13.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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