M. Blundevile his exercises containing sixe treatises, the titles wherof are set down in the next printed page: which treatises are verie necessarie to be read and learned of all yoong gentlemen that haue not bene exercised in such disciplines, and yet are desirous to haue knowledge as well in cosmographie, astronomie, and geographie, as also in the arte of navigation ... To the furtherance of which arte of navigation, the said M. Blundevile speciallie wrote the said treatises and of meere good will doth dedicate the same to all the young gentlemen of this realme.

How to finde out the Horoscope or ascendent at any time of the day or night, and thereby to haue the foure principall angles of heauen. The 30. Proposition. (Book 30)

HAuing laid the labell to the houre giuen vppon the limbe of the Mater, stay it there with your finger vntill you haue brought the place of the sunne for that day vnto the Fiduciall line of the labell, and there staying the Rete, looke what degrée of the Zo∣diaque therof toucheth or crosseth the Horizon answerable to your Latitude, for that is the ascendent at that present houre. As for example, I would knowe the ascendent at eight of the clocke at night the twelfth of October 1580. the sunne being then in the 28. degrée 14′· of Libra. Here hauing layde the labell vpon the sayd houre, I bring the 23. degrée 10′· of Libra to the Fiduciall line of the labell, and there staying the Rete, I find by helpe of the la∣bell that my Horizon which is the 51. 40′· Meridian, counting on both hands from the Axletrée, that the first degrée of Cancer, doth crosse my Horizon in the Northeast quarter, wherefore I affirme that to be the ascendent or first house, whose point opposite being the first of Capricorne, is the descendent or seuenth house, then by bringing the Fiduciall line of the labell to the South end of the Equinoctiall at which the ringle hangeth, I finde by helpe of the labell that the 24. degrée 40′· of Aquarius cutteth the Equinoc∣tiall, which is the tenth house or Culmen coeli, whose point op∣posite being the 24. degrée 40′· of Leo, is the fourth house, other∣wise called Imum coeli, and thus you haue all the foure principall houses of heauen for that houre, as you may sée in this figure here following.

[illustration]

A figure of the 4. Angles of heauen, made the 12. of October 1580. the sunne being then in the 28. degree 10′· of Libra, for the latitude 51. 40′·

But the difficultie of finding out the true ascendent consisteth in knowing whether it is to be sought in the Northeast quarter, or in the Southeast quarter of the Iewell. The Northeast quarter is that which lyeth betwixt Imum coeli, and the North pole or East end of the Axletrée, because in this case the Axletrée signifieth the line of East and West, and the Equinoctiall signifieth the line of South and North, at the South end whereof is fastened the ringle or handle. But in the former example you may plainely sée that the North part of the Zodiaque of the Rete doth cut the Horizon, as well in the Northeast quarter as in the Southeast quarter with two seueral degrées and signes, for in the Northeast quarter the Zodiaque cutteth the Horizon with the first of Cancer which is the ascendent, and in the Southeast quarter it cutteth the Horizon with the eight of Taurus, which is not the ascendent: for you haue to vnderstand that euery degrée of the Zodiaque doth both rise and set either towards the North or towards the South, the first point of Aries and of Libra onely excepted, both which do rise right East, and goe downe right West, euen as the Equi∣noctiall

doth, whereof M. Blagraue doth gather a rule how to find out by his Iewell when the ascendent is to be sought either in the northeast quarter of the Mater, or in the southeast quarter, which is thus: The ascention of any of the sixe Northerne signes is to be sought for in the Northeast part of the Iewell, & the ascention of any of the sixe Southerne signes is to be sought for in the south∣east part of the Iewell. For although that the North part of the Zodiaque of the Rete containing the 6. Northerne signes cutteth the Horizon answerable to your Latitude, aswel in the Northeast as in the Southeast part of the Iewell, yet you must séeke the as∣cendent in the Northeast part, and not in the Southeast part of the Iewell, because that euery degrée of any of the 6. Northerne signes riseth Northernly: so contrariwise if the South part of the Zodiaque containing the sixe Southerne signes doe cut the Ho∣rizon, aswell in the Northeast part as in the Southeast part of the Iewel, yet you must séeke the ascendent in the Southeast part, and not in the Northeast part of the Iewell. As for example, the se∣cond day of August 1592. the sun being in the 20. of Leo, I would know the ascendent at foure of the clocke in the afternoone: here hauing laid the labell to that houre, & brought the place of the sun to the Fiduciall line thereof, I find that the 13. degrée 30′· of A∣quarius doth cut the Horizon seruing to your latitude 52. in the Northeast part of the Iewell, and that the 19. of Sagittarius cut∣teth the said Horizon in the Southeast part of the Iewell, which must be the ascendent, because that euery degrée of any of the sou∣therne signes riseth Southernly, and not Northernly.