A learned astronomical discourse, of the iudgement of natiuities Deuided into three bookes, and dedicated first to Katherin the French Queene, by Oger Ferrier her physition. Translated by Thomas Kelway Gentleman.

CHAP. XII. Of the vnderstanding and manners of a Man.

HOW to knowe the felicitie or infelicitie of the Spirite, & the nature of the same, you must looke in the place of Mercurie and of the Moone, the Planet that in these two places hath most digni∣ties, shall be signifier of the spirite. The which if it be Sa∣turne well disposed, shall signifie the man of a great and profound knowledge, of good counsell, and of good gra∣uitie or a strong opinion: close, secrete, solitarie, dissem∣bling his good and euill, a louer of iust men, and of good age: reioycing vpon the treasures, heritages and labou∣rings; holding discourse of antiquities and of great af∣fayres, admirator of buildings. Sometimes a little merrie, incontinent sadde: sometymes laughing or murmuring by himselfe alone, a lyttle slothfull, a little enuious, and not alwaies keeping hys promise. If he be vnfortunate, he shall be noted enuious, sadde, solitarie, fearefull, mel∣lancholie, faint-harted, a raylor, iealous, a malefactor, e∣uill, a blasphemer, a lyer & deceiuer, a Vsurer, & holder of opinions: reiecting the counsell of others: fearing that all the world doth deceiue hym: vnciuill, a villaine, a slo∣uine, dishonest, flying the company of men vnlesse it be to deceiue them, and to draw any profite, hauing no other friend but his villainous gayne, vsing somtimes sorcery.

Iupiter signifier of the spirite, well disposed, shewes the man sweete, curteous, honest, gracious, amiable, faithfull, pittifull, liberall, of good behauior, of good hart & good loue: following noblenesse and all honesty: louing God, abounding in friendes, dreaming alwaies vpon some ver∣tuous thing, and withdrawes himselfe sometimes solitary, to thinke vpon some goodnes: vsing in all and by all hys affayres, a great equitie, prudence and modestie, hauing great courage to accomplish. If hee be vnfortunate of himselfe, and not to meete with other starres, in the place

of good loue, hee will giue sometimes foolishnes in the place of honesty, pryde in the place of liberalitie, prodi∣galitie in the place of louing good will, doth yeeld hym an hypocrite, seeming to follow noblenesse, when indeed he will dispraise all the world: in the place of honestie, it wyll make hym dreame of tyranny.

If the said Iupiter be vnfortunate of other Planets and not of hymselfe, he taketh all theyr vices, and couereth them with his sayde vertues in manner of an euill hypo∣crite. If Mars well fortunate be the said significator, hee shall cause the man to be of a high courage, hardy, irefull, furious, a hazarder, a conducter of warres, & the first in businesse, and onely in deedes and cogitations gyuen to armes: strong, stubberne and mightie, trusting too much to his owne puissaunce, not fearing any perrill, and bles∣sed in all hys deedes. If he be vnfortunate, it maketh the man tymerous, a theefe, a lyer, blasphemer, mutenous, cruell, a murtherer, hardy, proude, arrogant, not to be borne withall, despysing hys owne proper goods, and the goods of other, vsing force and violence against hys Pa∣rents, and against all the worlde: a diuilish man, without shame, without counsell, without vertue, without loue, without any feare or reuerence of God, furious, seditious, gyuen and prompt to all mischiefe.

If the Sunne be significator in his good disposition, it makes the man mannerly, wise, prudent, of good counsell, a louer of noblenes, following glory and honour, gyuen to iustice and gouernments of Townes and Citties, louing hunting, worthy, and of great estimation. If it be vnfor∣tunate, it sheweth great pride, excessiue ambition, and ty∣rannie, and doth nourish the thought.

If Venus signifie the qualitie of the spirite in good dis∣position, it maketh the man pleasant, merry, dauncing, laughing, content, amiable, gracious, of good conuersa∣tion, and a little ielous. If vnfortunate, it maketh the man frowning, and too merry, of euill maintenaunce, vsing dishonest words, giuen to voluptuousnes, and ielous of

that which belongeth not vnto him.

If Mercurie bee fortunate, it gyues good vnderstan∣ding, good memorie, great perseuerance, great subtiltie of spyrite, good discourse of reason, full of wit, very apt to know the Mathematicals, and the secretes of nature; it makes the man a Poet, an Orator, well spoken, writing well, and a great trader. If it be euill disposed, it makes him presumpteous, of little knowledge, with great estima∣tion of his person, inconstant, a lyer, a mocker, a decei∣uer ordinarily, fine, fantasticall, and vicious.

If it be the Moone that is fortunate, shee maketh him that is borne, pacified, modest, of good hart, or good will, and easie to endure any thing that one will doe. Vnfortu∣nate doth shew inconstancie, lightnes of spyrite, faint-har∣ted, prodigall, faythlesse. If the sayde signifiers, are not greatly fortunate or vnfortunate, it is conuenient to re∣bate the sayde significations good and vicious, after the qualitie of theyr good and euill dispositions.

If any Planet be participant in the signification of the manners, or if it haue great communication of aspect with the principall significator, then considering the vices and vertues of him, that (according to his good or euill dis∣position) wee doe ioyne them to him which gyueth the principall. As if Saturne well disposed, be principal sig∣nificator, and Mars infortunate be participant, or regarde Saturne of one whole aspect with reception, then it is con∣uenient to mingle some little of the nature of Mars vnfor∣tunate, with the significations of Saturue fortunate.

The Astrologians doe aduertise vs, that if the Lord of the ascendant be well placed, and the saide significator of manners euill disposed, you must more consider vppon that which the Lord of the ascendant signifieth, then vp∣pon that which the said significator doth promise. More∣ouer, they consider more particulerly, the place of Mer∣curie and of the Moone, and the aspect which they re∣ceiue. If Mercurie be in the ascendant, it maketh the Man ingenious, and of great and profounde knowledge,

a great Phylosopher, a Mathematician, an Orator, a Poet, a Diuine; principally whē he is in the place in the which Saturne hath at the least 4. dignities, or when he receiues aspect of Saturne.

Mercury in the twelfth, receiuing aspect of the Moone, hath very neere as great force for to giue wit and know∣ledge, as if he were in the first. And where that Mercurie is, if he regard the Moone, and both two, or the one or the other, regard the ascendant or the Lord of the ascen∣dant, thys is signe of a good and subtile spyrite. And if Saturne, Iupiter and Mars, or other Planets, do commu∣nicate to him theyr fauorable beames, if they mingle theyr good vertues, if they regarde the euill aspect, they inter∣mingle theyr vices: except Iupiter and Venus, which of euill aspect doe neuer anoy them, and lesse when he hath reception.

If the Sunne be temporall light, it may signifie the qua∣lity of the spyrite with the Moone and Mercurie in the forme aboue sayd. If Mercurie be occidentall within the house or exaltation of the Sunne, hauing aspect of the Moone, or of the ascendant, or of his Lord, it is the soue∣raigne signe of good and high spirits, of men of al know∣ledge, gyuen to great enterprises and vertues, as Poets, Orators, Mathematicians, Counsellers, Administrators of Common-weales, and Gouernours of Realmes: prin∣cipally when hee is fortunate in euery angle of Heauen.

Mercurie within the seauenth house fortunate, giueth good vnderstanding, and ripe iudgement: it maketh the man subtile, watchfull, and of good counsell, with great craft to gouerne his affayres. Mercurie in the ninth or third house, giueth knowledge and contemplation. The part of the vnderstanding of the spyrite with theyr Lords fortunate, signifieth good spirits and good manners.

Mercurie in the signe of Pisces, doth not any way loue learning: the contrary happeneth, when he is in the signe of Virgo and of Gemini, by all the places of the figure of Heauen. Saturne within the houses of Mercurie, is al∣waies

contemplatiue: Mars, a lyttle deceiuer. Mercurie within the houses of Saturne fortunate, is alwaies studi∣ous, within those of Mars, he is full of euill words, and of∣ten false.

When the lyghts and significators of manners shall be oppressed with ill fortune, the chylde shall be of a verie strange and peruerse nature. The Moone opposite to the Sunne, makes hym hate all men. If the Sunne and the Moone with the ascendant and his Lorde, be all in femi∣nine signes, the manners of hym shall be feminine, and he shal be a man of little hart. If they be in signes masculine at the natiuitie of a woman, her deedes shal be manly, and she shall be a woman of great enterprise.

If Venus be in the signe of the Lyon, or vnder the beames of the Sunne, or in coniunction or other aspect of Mars, she maketh that the man shal be suddainly stri∣ken in loue. And if in that estate shee be within the first or tenth house, without any aspect of Iupiter, hee shall be voluptuous without hauing shame; and when she shalbe in the signe of Scorpio, the aspect of Iupiter towards Ve∣nus, gyueth alwaies chastitie, and loue of vertue.