Medical Astrology: Science, Art, and Influence in early-modern Europe

The Medical Astrologer's Toolkit: Part II

Explore: The Planetary Man: Rocks for Docs | The Seven Planets, in Translation | Planetary Hours and Timing

The Planetary Man: Rocks for Docs

The image at left is a variation on The Zodiac Man theme. It comes from the untitled, English medical and astrological manuscript known as MS 26. Dating from 1553, this anatomical-astrological illustration combines The Zodiac Man and Vein Man types together with a new figuration: The Planetary Man. Instead of identifying puncture sites for surgical bloodletting—like the phlebotomy figure in the manuscript two pages prior—its extra-venous latticework now specifies zones of celestial influence within the human body. As the title across the top explains, this image details “The Natures of the Signs and Planets and Their Governance in Man.” The text linked at left and center lists the elements, elemental qualities, temperaments, cardinal directions, and bodily influences attributed to each of The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac. The same information is listed under the red headings at right, which accordingly identify The Seven Planets in traditional order—i.e., Saturn [♄], Jupiter [♃], Mars [♂︎], Soll [☉], Venus [♀︎], Mercurius [☿], and Luna [☽]. This sequence underscores the staying power of Ptolemy’s geocentric cosmology, following the publication of De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (1543) by Nicolas Copernicus (1473–1543)—i.e., the text credited with igniting the so-called Copernican Revolution and the eventual embrace of heliocentrism. Recorded ten years after this publication, the image’s hand-scripted headings continue to identify the Sun and Moon as “Planets” in line with the Ptolemaic model of the universe. The word “Planet,” in this instance, is used in a sense similar to its etymological ancestors: the Latin planēta and Greek plánētes astéres, meaning “wandering stars.” In the Ptolemaic system, these “stars” did not move about aimlessly; they “wandered” within their respective, non-intersecting, nesting circular orbits. These orbits occupied the interval between the inner terrestrial spheres and the outer starry sphere or Firmament, which was home to the astrological Zodiac’s namesake constellations. The two hand-colored images in the gallery below illustrate this system. These scenes of Man overlying the Cosmos are kin to The Planetary Man type—as is the skeletal figure below—though they are more commonly called by another name: The Microcosmic Man. Like The Zodiac Man and Planetary Man types, The Microcosmic Man typically shows the human body in a dependent relationship to the celestial spheres. In this instance, however, Astronomia introduces an alternative. This female allegory for astronomy distinguishes human knowledge about the cosmos from Man’s physical subservience to its influence. Standing behind The Microcosmic Man outside the spheres of celestial domain, she presents cosmic literacy as an intercessory force, repelling the stranglehold of determinism or “governance” announced by the image above. Reaffirming this message is the large Planetary Man below, from Ars magna lvcis et vmbrae (1646) by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680). The banner its figure holds aloft states: “[the stars] incline; they do not determine” ([Astra] inclinant non necessitant). A second banner by the figure’s feet amplifies this assertion, adding: “The wise [man] will govern the stars” ([Vir] sapiens dominabitur astris). The key to this governance, the scene’s complex symbolism suggests, is knowing how to read them.

The Seven Planets in Translation

Early-modern medical astrologers read The Seven Planets as indices of timing. The Planets provided them with general as well as patient-specific information: they portended propitious as well as perilous moments when treatment should be applied or avoided altogether. Time, then, was not only relative; it was also qualitative. Different times of the day, month, or year were thought to possess different qualities as specified by the Planets. Accordingly, certain moments were deemed more advantageous or dangerous than others, depending on the person, place, or task under consideration. Distinguishing providential from parlous times thus demanded detailed knowledge of each Planet and its associated symbolism. Four planets, for example, were characterized as naturally benevolent or malevolent—i.e., Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus. The benevolent planets were Jupiter and Venus, which were respectively described as Fortuna Major and Fortuna Minor, while the malevolent were Saturn and Mars, which were conversely dubbed Infortuna Major and Minor. These interpretations, however, were a sliding scale. A number of factors might magnify or minimize a Planet’s qualitative assessment, including zodiacal location, contacts with other planets, or even kinship with a particular patient.

A distinctive feature of early-modern medical astrology was its doctrine of “planetary children.” Historian Robin Barnes explains that this was “the notion that each planet had its natural offspring, people who were born under its influence and who thus shared common characteristics.” First spread by songs and poems during the second half of the fifteenth century, this doctrine was further popularized—and subsequently preserved—by the instructive, illustrated “Planetary Books” that emerged in the sixteenth century. The images, interpretations, and rhyming couplets featured below for each of The Seven Planets provide a sense of the visual, verbal, and written means by which this doctrine circulated. In line with the entries for The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, the images and interpretive selections listed below are likewise excerpted and translated from Des weitberümten M. Johannem Künigspergers, Natürlicher kunst der Astronomei kurtzer Begriff (1528). The couplets, however, are extracted and translated from a slightly later yet related text: Himels Lauffs Wirckung vnd natürliche Influentz der Planeten, Gestirn vnd Zeychen, auf Grund der Astronomei, nach jeder Zeit, Jar, Tag und Stunden Constellation (1564). These translations proceed in conventional order, beginning with Saturn.

 

SATURN is the first and highest planet / by nature cold and dry / the designator of work / of the colors, black / the taste of sour / of the days / Saturday / and nights / Tuesday night / He moves so high in the sky that he travels through the Zodiac or twelve signs in 30 years, 5 days, and 6 hours / is in every sign three-and-a-half years / and because of his elevation, he is seldomly seen. / His exaltation is in Libra / in which he possesses much might / His homes are in Capricorn and Aquarius / in which he has his greatest power. In Cancer, Leo, and Aries he has no auspiciousness. Aries is his fall. In the hours of Saturn, it is good to buy and sell heavy things / like iron and lead and all kinds of metals and heavy bronze / heavy rocks / black clothing / good to cultivate gardens /etc.

An old / cold / rotten one / expending obloquy
Scurrilous / and ill-tempered / I have no decency
Likewise are my kin, harsh, envious, and biting,
Metal, lead, and iron are over what I am presiding.

Image: Saturn—like each of the planetary figures below—is represented as a god of antiquity. Clutching a sickle in one hand and a child in the other, the anthropomorphized Planet stands ready to devour his progeny, referring to the Greek and Roman myths of the same subject. Saturn's sickle, long beard, age-bent physique, and supporting crutch further present the Planet as a symbol of time and temporal change in the sublunary spheres. The figure's meagre astral attire—stamped with the Planet's identifying glyph [♄]—draws attention to Saturn's celestial profile, as do the zodiacal figures on either side. The planetary ruler of Capricorn (the Horned Goat) and Aquarius (the Water Carrier), Saturn is pictured with the zodiacal signs that the text above identifies as its two celestial homes.  

JUPITER is the second planet / by nature warm and wet / the designator of good and judicious laws / peaceful / of the colors, blue/ of the days, Thursday / and nights, Sunday night / in taste, sweet. Jupiter stands next highest in the sky after Saturn / travels 12 years around [vor] the Sun / fulfilling his course in 12 years through the Zodiac / or 12 signs / is in each sign for one year. His exaltation is Cancer, in which he has great power. His houses are Sagittarius and Pisces, in which he also has great power. In Gemini / Virgo and Capricorn, he has no might. Capricorn is his fall. In the hours of Jupiter, it is good to crown kings / to get married / to tailor and don new clothes / to ride all kinds of animals / to travel (by foot) / to sow / to plant trees / to begin construction etc.

Wise / Learned / Discreet / and Just,
All of my children and servants are thus,
Protracted, splendid things are what I impel,
That which merchants are likely to sell.

Image: Jupiter, the king of the gods in Roman mythology, is pictured here with royal regalia better suited to the monarchal fashions of early-modern Europe. The figure’s youthful appearance and ringlet curls allude to attributes associated with the Planet’s mythological namesake, though its beardless visage departs from most Jovian iconographic types. Like Saturn above, Jupiter is minimally covered by a star, bearing the Planet’s identifying glyph [♃], and is flanked by its zodiacal constituents: Sagittarius (the Archer) and Pisces (the two Fish), the Planet’s two celestial homes.

MARS is the third planet / by nature hot and dry / designator of military expeditions and war / of the colors, red / bitter in taste / of the days, Tuesday / of the nights, Friday night / stands so high in the sky that you see it before the Sun in the mornings / after the Sun in the evenings / The star Mars looks so similar to Venus that they can never be properly distinguished from one another / He fulfills his course through the Zodiac in 7 years / stays in every sign for two months. His exaltation is in Capricorn / in which he has great power / as well as in Aries and Scorpio / the two signs in which he is at home. Mars has no authority in Libra / in Taurus / still less in Cancer / which is his fall. In the hours of Mars, it is good to buy weapons / to buy armored horses / and what belongs to war / good to don armor and prepare for war / to counteract the enemy by water and by land / is good to buy red cloth / red horses / etc.

Best known, I am, for drunkenness and ire,
But Horse, Armor, War, is what I most desire,
At other times, I too am forced to turn my back,
My retrograde is misery and my heart, it attacks.

Image: Mars, the god of war in Roman mythology, is pictured here as a Planet with all the trappings of a warrior. Decked out in a plumed helmet and flashy armored attire, this martial figure is part Roman soldier, part early modern imperial mercenary or Landsknecht. In addition to its attire, the figure holds two hallmarks of the Landsknechte: an enormous Zweihänder, or “two-hander” sword, and the voluminous short-staff standard, which bears the Planet’s identifying insignia [♂︎]. Behind the sword at right, Aries (the Ram) stands on its hindlegs ready to charge, while the second of Mars’ zodiacal subjects, Scorpio (the Scorpion) lies in wait at its planetary master’s feet. As noted above, these signs represent the Planet’s two celestial homes.

THE SUN is the fourth planet / by nature fair, hot and dry / the designator of abundance in corporeal things / pureness of understanding / of the colors, yellow / of the taste of mustard / of the days, Sunday / and of the nights, Wednesday night / called for these reasons “Sol,” the Sun alone shines for all other stars / or alone shines over everything that is on the Earth / and runs the day itself / thus other stars (travel) behind it / Its shape and formation is of the nature of fire and spherical light / eight times as large as the Earth / alone provides starlight from East to West / though it shines through the entire Zodiac / fulfilling its course in 1 year / which comes to 365 days / remaining in each sign 30 days and 10 hours / and thus refines its orbit in 28 years / if the Sun is above the Earth all day / then it also shines the entire night below the Earth /

when it travels through Aquilon [i.e., the north-east wind] / then it makes long days for us / and makes summer for us / but when it goes through Auster [i.e., the south wind] / it makes shorter days for us and the winter. / Its exaltation is in Aries / in which it has great power / but greater still in Leo / which is the house of the Sun. The Sun has no might in Aquarius / and still less in Libra / which is its fall / in Libra it has no felicity. In the hours of the Sun, when above the Earth, it is good to deal with and have dealings with [zu schaffen haben mit] kings / princes and great lords / and also bishops / abbots [äpten] and prelates / Good to elect councilmen / good to buy weapons / to ride golden animals / to hunt. It is a good time to buy and deal in gold / and all yellow-colored things etc.

A fiery, heat-filled teacher, am I,
Who in my progeny, gallantry magnify,
What begins with me lasts uncommonly long,
Is made with great craft and is, in a word, strong.

Image: The Sun, the text explains, is linked to the ancient Roman god “Sol.” Its depiction, however, is modeled after a contemporary interpretation of this deity: the engraving Sol Iustitiae (“Sun of Justice”) from 1499 by Albrecht Dürer (1471–1521). Modifying Dürer’s image, the planetary figure trades the sword and scales of justice—the hallmarks of the Roman goddess Justitia—for Christian symbols of absolute monarchy: the cross-bearing orb and scepter. Cloak and mask are likewise exchanged for sidereal briefs and an effulgent face, transforming the “Sun of Justice” into the Sun as a celestial entity. Supporting this august figure is Leo (the Lion), the Sun’s astrological ward and, as noted above, the sole zodiacal location in which the Sun was said to be at home.

VENUS is the fifth planet / by nature cold and wet / designator of world joy / of song and singing / the playing of all kinds of stringed instruments / and adornment of jewels / of the colors, green / and of the taste, anointing oils or salves [salben geschmack] /of the days, Friday / of the nights, Monday nights. / Venus is the evening star / and the morning blush / the head of the Sun / vespertine and spherical light [kugelecht] / fiery nature / and shines back to the world like Mercury / Venus travels nearest to the Sun / one year she travels before, then after / During the year she travels before the Sun / she is called Lucifer / the Morningstar / the year she travels after the Sun / she is called Vesper / the Evening Star / And whichever year Venus is the Morning Star / then Mars is the Evening Star / thus the two appear so similar to one another that one cannot easily tell them apart / Venus fulfills her course through the Zodiac in 348 days.

With all my spirit I am true to joy and love,
And Music, my child, I add to the above,
Making marriages, and clothes are part of my domain,
As is playing with passion, which I do without shame.

Image: Venus, in this image, is both the Roman goddess of the same name and a personification of the Planet’s orbital characteristics. These two pictorial possibilities map onto the two celestial identities noted above. As a Morningstar—i.e., when the Planet appears in the East before sunrise—Venus was known as Lucifer or Phosphorus in Roman and Greek mythology. As an Evening Star—i.e., when the Planet appears in the West after sunset—Venus was known as Vesper to the Romans and as Hesperus to the Greeks. The characters on either side of the planetary figure reflect these two identities. At left, below the blazing torch and uncircumscribed planetary glyph [♀︎], stands Cupid, the winged, bow-wielding offspring of the mythological goddess. Cupid is aligned with Venus’s identity as the Morningstar or Lucifer: an apt position for a pagan symbol in a Reformation-era text. At Venus’s back, below the second star-installed glyph [♀︎], sit Taurus (the Bull) and Libra (the Scales)—the Planet’s two zodiacal charges. However, neither are so named in the text. Filling in these informational gaps, the image thus aligns the Planet’s two zodiacal homes with its alternate identity as Vesper, the Evening Star.

MERCURY is the sixth planet / his nature is cold and wet / by nature becomes inclined to the planets near him / with the good (he is) good / with the bad (he is) bad / the designator of terrestrial things / knowledge of polite arts / like Rhetoric / Geometry / Philosophy / and the like / of the colors, gray / and vinegary in taste / of the days / Wednesday / of the nights, Saturday night / spherical form / fiery nature / the size of the Moon / though somewhat larger / takes his light and radiance from the Sun / traveling closest below Venus / travels 7 years around [vor] the Sun / fulfilling his course through the Zodiac in 349 years [jarn] (read: days). His exaltation is Virgo, in which he has the greatest power. His fall is Pisces, in this and in Sagittarius he has no might. In the hours of Mercury, it is good to ride all (kinds of) animals / to write letters / to send messengers / to invest money / with which to trade and do business / to ingest medicinal remedies / to plant trees / etc.

Swift of foot and full of sense,
In speed as with art, my skill is immense,
My wards are orators, the knowledgeable and free,
The refined, erudite, and pious are also championed by me.

Image: Mercury, in this image, is pictured as the winged deity and messenger of the gods from Greek and Roman mythology. The planetary figure’s costume has all the hallmarks of the mythological messenger: the winged helmet, winged feet, and Caduceus. It also includes a star stamped with Mercury’s identifying glyph [☿], which points instead to the Planet’s celestial identity. Aiding this identity shift are the three zodiacal figures on either side. The two infants, at right, represent Gemini (the Twins); the skirted maiden kneeling in prayer, at left, is Virgo (the Virgin). Although the text above identifies Virgo as the place of the Planet’s exaltation, it says nothing of Mercury’s connection to Gemini. The image thus rectifies this omission, featuring the two astrological signs that are elsewhere cited as the zodiacal homes of the Planet Mercury.

THE MOON is the seventh planet / by nature cold and wet / designator of quickness / of the colors, white / salty taste / of the days, Monday / of the nights / Thursday night / and from the top down, the Moon is the seventh / but counting from the bottom up is the first Planet. / It travels through the Zodiac in 27 days / 7 hours / and 23 minutes / travels 8 times as far as the Sun in a year. / Is in every sign for two days / 6 hours / 38 minutes / travels through orbit in 19 years. The Moon’s exaltation is Taurus, in which it has great power / and in Cancer/ is at home. / The Moon has no strength in Capricorn / still less in Scorpio / which is its fall. In the hours of the Moon, it is good to begin hydraulic engineering / to buy honey / oil / and all kinds of home specialties / also good to buy meat and tame animals / except sheep / good guile and cunning [Betriegerei] are needed. / Not good to get married / begin building / etc.

I stay not long of a single mind,
My form obeys none, not even my kind,
We, of the Moon, dictate our own days,
Thus pursuing, at times, contradictory ways.

Image: The Moon is represented here as Diana or Artemis. In Roman and Greek mythology, Diana and Artemis were the goddesses of the Moon, hunting, and wild animals. Like these two ancient deities, the planetary figure is pictured with a bow and handful of arrows, wearing a hunting horn as well as a lunar crown. The crescent moon beneath the figure’s feet, however, points to another iconographic ancestor: The Woman of the Apocalypse. A textual source for this motif is found in The Book of Revelation (12:1), which describes “a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.” This apocalyptic topos was also linked to late medieval sculptural and pictorial depictions of the Virgin Mary on a crescent moon. Prominent examples of this lunar-Marian imagery appeared in the German-speaking regions of the Holy Roman Empire during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries—i.e., around the peak of the Ottoman Empire’s expansion into Europe. Finally, the figure’s crustaceous companion is Cancer (the Crab). Cited above as the Moon’s zodiacal home, the scene’s lobster-like crab aligns its lunar figure’s historical, religious, and political implications with the celestial spheres.

Planetary Hours and Timing

To be born under the influence of a particular Planet was to be born at a certain time of day or night. Underlying the doctrine of planetary children, then, was The Planetary Hours. The table at right illustrates this idea. It presents The Planetary Hours as a qualitative scheme for dividing and measuring time. The defining terms of this scheme are displayed in the table’s horizontal and vertical axes. Along the top, the horizontal axis lists the seven days of the week: Sunday (Suntag), Monday (Montag), Tuesday (Aftermentag), Wednesday (Mittwo[ch]), Thursday (Don[ne]rstag), Friday (Freytag), and Saturday (Sampstag). The vertical axis lists the 24-hours of the day and night. The values plotted in between are the names of The Seven Planets. The names assigned to each hour of the day, for each of the seven days, reflect the planetary influences that were thought to predominate at those particular times. The Planet linked to the first hour of each day was also regarded as the ruler of that entire day. This connection between the Planet, the first hour, and the day overall is preserved—in a few instances—by etymological links between the Planet names and the names for the days of the week. Two examples of this appear in the image at right: the first hour on Sunday (Suntag) is given to the Sun (Sunne), and the first hour on Monday (Montag) to the Moon (Mone).   
 
In contrast to the anthropomorphized images above, this table makes clear that the Planets were not viewed as deities. They were regarded as natural, measurable indicators of celestial influence. Accordingly, knowledge of the Planets, their movements, and timing was immensely significant for both preventative and curative medicine. Tables of Planetary Hours, which appeared in a number of popular publications, thus provided medical practitioners and lay people alike with a straightforward system for assessing illness and timing medical treatment.

 

Works Cited on this Page
German translations by Laura Phillips.

Latin translations by Soffia Gunnarsdottir. 

Barnes, Robin Bruce. Astrology and Reformation. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
             For more on the social implications of “planetary children,” see pages 17–18, 70–74.  
Bober, Harry. “The Zodiacal Miniature of the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry: Its Sources and Meaning.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 11 (1948): 1–34.
Brévart, Francis B. “The German Volkskalender of the Fifteenth Century.” Speculum 63, No. 2 (April 1988): 312–42.
Hayton, Darin. The Crown and the Cosmos: Astrology and the Politics of Maximilian I. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburg Press, 2015.
           For more on the political implications underlying astrological doctrines like the “planetary children,” see Chapter 5: “Wall Calendars and Practica.”
Himels Lauffs Wirckung vnd natürliche Influentz der Planeten, Gestirn vnd Zeychen, auf Grund der Astronomei, nach jeder Zeit, Jar, Tag und Stunden Constellation. Frankfurt: Chr. Egen. Erben., 1564. See Pages 60–66.
Jensen, Phebe. Astrology, Almanacs, and the Early Modern English Calendar. London; New York: Routledge, 2021.