ARIES is a sign
deemed to have a fiery complexion which is hot and dry, and the complexion
of fire is signified by the letter B. in this treatise. Fire is hot with
its own heat, and it is dry through the dryness which it receives from
earth. However, Aries is neither hot nor dry in its own essential nature,
but it naturally increases the heat and dryness of fire, inasmuch as the
heavens naturally shed their influence and virtue upon things below. Like
the Sun, for instance, with its natural virtue for increasing the heat
of fire with its splendor and brightness, which is similar to the brightness
of fire. With its heat, Aries multiplies the instances of heat in the corporeal
things below it, and destroys instances of cold: and with its dryness it
multiplies instances of dryness and consumes those of moisture. And we
say that it has heat and dryness, because its nature has a greater concordance
with fire than with any other element. And so, whenever some planet is
in the house of Aries, judgment is to be made according the complexion
attributed to Aries, and according to the complexion attributed to that
planet.Aries is diurnal, and this is because its own natural virtue has
greater concordance with daytime, than with nighttime. And so astronomers
say that people born during daytime in the constellation of Aries, are
more choleric than those born at night, and that they have, through Aries,
greater and stronger virtue by day than by night. Aries is masculine, which
is to say that the natural virtue it has on its own, has a greater concordance
with the bodies of the beings below it that are of the masculine sex, than
with bodies of the feminine sex. And so, one born in the constellation
of Aries, is more fortunate in things that are of masculine sex, than in
things of the feminine sex; and someone conceived in this constellation,
would be naturally disposed to be a male, but only if the nature of Aries
is not impeded by some planet existing in its house and in conjunction
with it, with a complexion contrary to the complexion of Aries: such as
Venus, and the Moon, that naturally tend to generate female bodies, which
are closer to the complexion of water than of fire..
Aries is mobile, and this is because it has a greater concordance with
the bodies below it through their movement, than through their mere existence.
And thus, although people conceived in, or born in the constellation of
Aries are lighter, and run about more than others who are either conceived,
or born in the constellation of Taurus; nonetheless the things they do
are not as lasting as the things that are done by people either conceived
or born in the constellation of Taurus; but they are more prompt to act
on things they want done, than those conceived or born in the constellation
of Taurus.. Aries has Mars as its planet, with which it is more concordantly
disposed to shed its influence and virtue on things below, than with any
other planet, because Mars is the messenger of the appetites that the lower
bodies have for receiving the virtue of Aries. Mars receives and transmits
this virtue to bodies below along with its own virtue, according to their
needs, through the hot and dry influence, the masculinity, mobility and
diurnal nature of Aries; and according to their needs for things of the
nature with which Mars can influence them. Aries
has three parts: the First part is called the head, or face and is signified
by the letter E., and this is its rising part; the other part is called
the middle, and is signified by F. and this is the standing part; the third
part of Aries is called the tail, signified by G., and this is the descending
part. And the things we say about the rising, standing and descending that
occur by day, also apply to the rising, standing and falling movements
that happen by night. And thus astronomers say that Aries has thirty degrees,
namely ten as it rises in E., and ten as it stands in F., and ten as it
descends in G. And Aries has its own intensive judgment in each of these
degrees, each degree in turn is divided into even smaller parts such as
minutes. And the most difficult of all things in this science is to know
the diversity of these degrees and to make judgments according to these
degrees; the same also applies to the diversity of the degrees of the other
signs. In the human body, Aries influences the head and face, and
in the world its region is that of Persia and Babylon, which is said because
its nature has greater power in the head and face of man, and similarly
in the said regions, than in any other parts of the human body, or any
other regions of the earth. Aries simply has the said conditions
as its own, and with these it gives its virtue and communicates its nature
to bodies below it, in the way that its natural virtue is conditioned by
the natural condition of the planet or planets in conjunction with it.
Because, if the said planet or planets have concordance with its nature,
they transmit its nature to the bodies below them. But, if the planet or
planets in conjunction with it are opposed to its nature, then they transmit
its natural virtue to things below, in an altered form according to the
subject through which they transmit it. This is like an ailing sense of
taste, that signals bitterness when tasting a sweet apple, even though
this sweet apple is not bitter at all.--And the same follows regarding
the other signs, following the complexions and the properties attributed
to them. |