Here begynneth the compost of Ptholomeus, prynce of astronomye: translated oute of Frenche in to Englysshe, for them that wolde haue knowlege of the compost.

¶ Also hereafter foloweth the Natures of the .vii. Planettes / with theyr dysposy∣cyons / after the sayinge of Ptholome∣us / prynce of Astronomy. Cap̄ .xl.

¶ The firste planet is Saturne.

SAturne is the hyest Pla∣net of all the .vii. he is my∣ghty of hym self: he gyueth all the great coldes & wa∣ters / yet he is drye & colde of nature / and he cometh in to Cancer: and his chefe sygnes ben Aquarius and Capricornus: and he compasseth al the other planettes. For Sa¦turne is nexte vnder the firste mobyle that is

vnder the crystall skye / the whiche mobyle moueth meruaylously / for some Astronomy∣ers saye / that he causeth by his mouynge all other planettes to moue / and moueth the mo∣byle aboue. Saturne is so hye that Astrono∣myers can nat well mesure it. For so hye rea∣son hathe power and no ferther / and therfore it is more than .xxx. yere or he may ronne his course. whan he dothe reygne / there is moche thefte vsed / and lytell charyte / moche lyinge / and moche lawynge one agaynst another / & and great prysonynge / and moche debate / & great swerynge. And moche plente of corne / and also moche plente of hogges / and great trauayle on the erthe / and olde folke shall be very syckely: and many dyseases shal reygne amonge the people / and specyally in the chefe houres of Saturne / And therfore this planet is lykened vnto age / as harde / hungry / suspe¦cyous / and couetous / that selden is content with any thynge / for Saturne is ennemy to all thyng{is} / that growe & bere lyfe of natuer / for the colde & stormy bytternes of his tyme.

¶ The proprytes of Saturne.

THe man that is borne vnder Saturne shall be false / enuyous / and full of de∣bate / and full of lawe / and he shal be cunnynge in coryenge of lether / & a great eter

of brede and flesshe / and he shall haue a styn∣kynge breth: and he shall be heuy / thoughtfull and malycyous / a robber / a fyghter / and full of couetous / and yet he shall kepe well coun∣ceyle / and be wyse in counceylynge / & he shal loue to synne wylfully / he shal be a great spe¦ker of tales / Iustes / & Cronycles / and shall haue lytel iyen / blacke heer / great lyppes / bro¦de sholdres / and shall loke downewarde. He shall nat loue Sermons / nor go to the chur∣che / and beware of his handes: & he beholdeth the mylte / & aboue his neres the planet dothe reygne. And the children of the sayd Saturne shall be great Iangelers and chyders / blacke and lene in the face / thyn berded / euyl langua¦ged / & shall be full of lawe and vengeaunce And they wyll neuer forgyue tyll they be re∣uenged of theyr quarell / and lyke as the pla∣net Saturne is colde / and causer of great fro¦stes and snowes / semblably he that is borne vnder hym shall be colde in charyte / and nat mysericordyous and mercyfull / but vengea∣ble / & wyll neuer be entreated. And also they shall be great cursers / and bere malyce longe in theyr myndes and nat forgyue it / and they loke to be obeyed and to haue great reuerence: and comonly wyll prayse them selfe and tal¦ke to them selfe / & laughe at theyr owne con∣ceyte

/ and all euyll shall growe in them / and aboue all coloures he shal loue blacke coloure beste. The planet of Saturne gouerneth of man the mylte / and aboue the neres as is be∣foresayd / & this planet is cause of hasty dethe / for bycause that he is drye and colde of natu∣re / And therfore he is lykened to melancoly. And the sayd Saturne reygneth in Aquary / Caprycorne / and Cancer / but specyally in Aquary and Caprycorne.

¶ Secondely of the noble Planet Iupiter.

IVpiter the noble Planet is very pure & clere of nature / and nat very hote / but he is all vertuous. And there is fyxed in Iupiter two noble Sygnes of loue / the one is Pisces / and the other is Sagittary: sygnes of none euyll / nor of none vnhapynes / this pla¦net maye nat do none euyll / he is beste of all the other / he kepeth the lyuer of man: & mayn∣tayneth it ioyously / and euermore this planet dothe alwayes good & none euyll / and with in .xii. yere or there aboute / he passeth all the .xii. sygnes. And he is next after Saturne.

¶ The proprytes of Iupiter

HE that is borne vnder hym shall loue clenlynes of body / and wyll nat vse to speke of rybaudry / and harlottry / he shall euer loue relygyon / and vertuous ly¦uynge / he shall be personable of body / he shal be perfyte in all maner of measures bothe lar¦ge and longe / he shall be whyte in the vysa∣ge / medled with a lytell rednes / large brow∣es / he shall be a fayre speker / and say well be¦hynde a persone / he shall loue grene coloure & graye / he shall be happy in marchaundyse / & haue plente of golde & syluer / & he shall loue to synge and to be honestly mery. And of the man he gouerneth the stomacke & the armes.

¶ Thyrdly of Mars.

MArs is called the god of batay¦le and of warre / and he is the thyrde planet / for he reygneth next vnder the gentyll planet of Iupiter. This planet Mars is the worste of all other / for he is hote & drye / and styreth a man to be very wylful & stasty lyghtly / and to vnhappynes / one of his syg∣nes is Aries / and the other Scorpio / & moste he is in those two sygnes. He causeth all war¦tes

and bataylles / this planet styreth men to bere wepons / as murderers / daggers / swer∣des / bylles / or bowes / or some other wepon of dethe / and wolde euer here of fyghtynge. Therfore let euery man be ware of the dayes of Mars / and in his chefe houres that no man fyghte / for without doubte if god helpe hym nat / he shal be maymed or slayne. Also in the houres of Mars is peryllous metynge with theues / for drede of sleynge of true men. And Saturne mounteth in to the Crabbe / & gothe aboute the .xii. sygnes in two yere / and thus he ronneth his course.

¶ The proprytes of Mars.

HE that is borne vnder this Planet of Mars / in all vnhappynes is experte / he shall be a nouryssher of great beest{is} he is full of malyce / and euer doynge wron∣ge. Vnder Mars is borne theues and robbers that kepe hye wayes / & do hurte to true men / and nyght walkers / quarell pykers / bosters / mockers / & skoffers / and these men of Mars causeth warre and murther / & batayle / they wyll be gladly smythes or workers on yron lyght fyngred / and lyers & great swerers of othes in vēgeable wyse: & a great surmyler & crafty / he is red and angry with blacke heer / and lytell iyen / he shall be a great walker / &

a maker of swordes and knyues / and a she∣der of mānes blode / a fornycatour / and a spe∣ker of rybawdry / red berded / rounde vysage: and good to be a barboure and a blode letter / and to drawe tethe / & is peryllous of his han∣des / and he wyll be ryche with other mennes gooddes. And of the body of man Mars ke∣peth the galle and the reynes.

¶ Fourthly of the noble planet Sol.

AS for Sol is a Planet of great renowne / and kyng of all the planettes / for the Sonne nouryssheth euery age / and yet is he hote and drye of nature / and the pla¦net of Saturne is to hym full contrary: for he is euer colde / & the noble planet of the Sonne is hote / and gyueth all lyght. For whan it is aboue the erthe it is day / and whan the erthe dothe shadowe the Sonne / it is nyght moche be we both man and woman bounde to lau∣de god for this noble planet: for he comforteth bothe man and beest / fysses / and all fowles that flyen in the ayre / all thynges ben gladde of the Sonne / after that the sonne gothe in to the west / the fayre floures close them selfe.

¶ The proprytes of the noble planet Sol:

KYnge of all the planettes is Sol / All men and women that ben borne vn∣der this planette of Sol shall be very fayre / amyable of face / and theyr skynne shal be right whyte and tender / and wel coloured in the vysage with a lytell rednes / and they shall haue a pleasure in theyr owne beaute / and they shal shewe theyr lyues as they were good and holy / but they shal be secrete ypocry¦tes if they gyue them to relygyon / they shal be fortunate to great promocyons / they shall be clene and good of fayth / and shall be gouer∣noure of other people / and if they be neuer so poore / yet shall they loue hawkynge and hun¦tynge / with houndes and hawkes / and reioy¦ce to se it / The children that be borne vnder the Sonne shall desyre honoure and scyence / and shall synge very pleasauntly / and they shall be full of courage good and dylygent / & shall desyre lordshyp aboue other people / they shall gyue wyse Iugement{is} / and theyr wor¦des shall sounde all swetely / & if he bere any offyce he shall be lyberall / and he shall be sub¦tyll in dedes of warre / and many shal seke to hym for coūceyle / he shall haue profyte by wo¦men / and he shall be in seruyce with lordes / & by them shal haue auaūtage for his wysdom:

his sygne shall be in the face / he shall be small of stature / with scrype heer and balde on the heed / he wyll be seldon angry / and of all the membres in mannes body the Sonne kepeth the herte / as moste myghtyest planet about all the other planettes.

¶ Fyfthly of the gentyll Planet Venus.

VEnus the gentyll planet reyg∣neth next after the son̄e / and is a planet femynyne / and is a la∣dy ouer all louers / this planet is moyste and colde of nature / and her two sygnes ben Taurus and Libra and in them she hathe all her Ioye and plea∣saunce / she causeth Ioye / & specyally amōge yonge folke / for greatly she reygneth on them and on all men that ben Ialous / and womē also / for Ialousy is but a loue inordynat / as whan a man or a woman loueth more fer∣uently than they shuld: for suche wolde neuer be from the syght of theyr louers: for if they be anone they suspecte them and drede for fere to be begyled. For there is no man that loueth a woman by carnall affeccion / but it is by the influence of Venus / and but fewe men can

escape out of her daūger. This planet Venus reygneth in .xii. monthes ouer the .xii. sygnes.

¶ The proprytes of Venus.

ALl these men & women / that ben borne vnder Venus / they shall be very gaye louers / pleasaunt and delycyous / and moste comonly they shall haue blacke iyen / & lytell browes / red lyppes and chekes / with a smylynge chere / they shall loue the noyse of trumpettes / claryons / and of other mynstral∣sy / and they shall be pleasaunt syngers with swete voyces / & full of wanton toyes / play∣es / and skoffynges / and shall greatly delyte in daunsynge / & in castynge of gamboudes / with lepynge and spryngynge / & wyll vse playinge at the chesse / cardes / & tables / & desy¦re oft to comen of luste & loue / & coueyte often swete metes & drynkes / as wyne / & be often dronken / & desyre lechery / and the beholdynge of fayre women / and the women of men in lyke wyse. And vse the dede of flesshely luste often tymes: they wyll desyre fayre clothes of gay coloure and fyne / with rynges of vany∣te / & all vayne pleasure of the worlde / with perles & precyous stones / they shall loue flou∣res with swete smelles / yet shall they be of good fayth: and they shall loue other as well as them selfe / & they shall be lyberall to theyr

frendes / they shal haue fewe enemyes / if they be browne / they shall be well proporcyoned of body / and if they swere it is true / ye maye byleue them / and Venus gouerneth the kyd∣neys of man.

¶ Syxtely of the fayre planet Mercury.

MEercury the fayre planette / is next vnder Venus / & is mas∣culyne next aboue the Mone / This Mercury is very full & drye of nature: & his two pryn¦cypall sygnes ben these / Gemini is the firste that reygneth in the armes / and in the han∣des of man or woman / & the other sygne is Virgo that gouerneth the nauyll and the sto∣macke of man / this planet is Lorde of speche in lykewyse as the Sonne is lorde of lyghte. This planet Mercury passeth & cyrcuyte the .xii. sygnes / in .CCC. & xxx viii. dayes.

¶ The proprytes of Mercury.

WHo so is borne vnder Mercury shalbe very subtyll of wyt / and shal be a de¦uoute persone to god / and haue good conscy∣ence / and shall be very crafty in many scyen∣ces / he with his wysdom and laboure shall gette hym many frendes and louers. He shall

euer folowe & resorte to them that be of good maners / & shall be fortunate on the see to vse the course of marchaundyse / he shall be very gracyous / he shall haue harme by women / & whan he is maryed men shall nat sette so mo¦che by hym as they dyd before / he wyll haue great loue to ladyes and gentyl women / but yet they shall nat be maysters ouer hym / he wyll be a very good man of the churche / or a relygyous man / and he shall nat loue to go a warre fare / he wyll hate theues & swerers / & he shall gather great goodes by his wysdom. If he be a man of the worlde he shall be per∣fyte in some hande crafte / he shall loue well to preche: and to speke fayre rethoryke langua¦ge / and to talke of Phylosophy & geometry / he shall loue well wrytynge & to rede euer in straunge bokes / & to caste accomptes of great nombres / and shall be a great maker of bala∣des / songes / metres / and rymes / he shal be per¦fyte in the arte of musyke and loue it / he shall loue mesurynge & metynge / and shal be some great clothe maker / he shal be seruaūt to some great lorde / or ellys a receyuer of his money / he shall haue a hye foreheed / a longe vysage / black iyen / & a thyn berde / he shall be a great pleder in the lawe / and he wyll medle with other mennes dedes / and they do nat well &

saye agaynst it / and Mercury gouerneth the thyghes / the bely / and the flankes.

¶ Seuenthly of the Mone.

AS it is knowen and to be vnderstāde / that the low¦est planet of the .vii .is na¦med Luna / the which we call the mone / the whiche planet is called feminyne or female / and is called amonge Astronomy¦ers the Lady of the nyght / for the chefe lyghte and clerenes that is by nyght / is by the presen¦ce of the mone / for the mone is moche more ne¦rer approched vnto vs than any fterre is / & therfore she gyueth vs moch more lyght than the sterres dothe / and also the mone is lady of moysture: and ruleth the see by ebbe and store the mone doth take her lyght of the son̄e .xxii. tymes in the yere. And also the mone is colde and moyste of nature / and her coloure is mo∣che fayrer than syluer / and her chefe howse is Cancer / and there is none of the other planet∣tes that be so lowe / and goth so lytel cyrcuyte as doth the Mone / and descendeth in to Scor¦pio / And she gothe aboute the .xii. sygnes in .xxvi. dayes / and than chaungeth and recal∣led

newe. And this is the course of the Mone: after the sayinge of Ptholomeus.

¶ The propretes of Luna.

SVche men and women as ben borne vnder the Mone shall be lowly and seruyable / and very gentyll. And if it be a mayden childe / she shal be very shame faste and womanly / and they shall be well fauoured both man and woman / theyr faces shall be full & rounde / they shall be very pa∣cyent folkes: and wyll suffre moche wronge or they be reuenged / and wyll be softe of spe∣che and very curteyse / and shall lyue honstly with suche as god shal sende them / and wyl haunte vertuous company / they shal be wel fourmed of body: and haue mery lokes & loue honestly to be glad / & wyll lyue very chaste∣ly / & loue greatly the vertue of clennes / bothe in worde & dede / they hate lecherous talkers / of rybawdry / theyr colour shal be myxed but with lytell rednes / they shal ryght gladly go arayed in many coloured clothes / & they shall soone swete in the forhed. Also they wyll ha¦ue great desyre to be maysters & maystresses ouer great stremes / ryuers / and floodes / and shall deuyse many propre engynes for to take fysshe & to deceyue them / loke what they saye and it shall be true & stedfaste / and they shall

be very honest & good goers on fote: and wyl comforte sycke persons / he shall loue wel to talke somtyme of meruayles / he shall nat ke∣pe hatred longe in his mynde / and he shall ap¦pese the people vnder colour with cōmunyca¦cyons: as well as other shuld do with syluer. Honest women he shall loue / & he wyll hate harlottes & brothelles / and shall norysshe chil¦dren vp in vertu and good maners. And the lyghtes and the braynes of man is vnder the gouernaunce of Luna that is the moone.