Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookt the degree of the sonne, in cas that it be by-forn the middel of the day, among thyn almikanteras on the est side of thyn Astrolabie; and yif it be after the middel of the day, set the degree of thy sonne up-on the west side; tak this manere of setting for a 5 general rewle, ones for evere. And whan thou hast set the degree of thy sonne up as many almikanteras of heyghte as was the altitude of the sonne taken by thy rewle, ley over thy label, up-on the degree of the sonne; and thanne wol the point of thy label sitten in the bordure, up-on the verrey tyd of the day. Ensample 10 as thus: the yeer of oure lord 1391, the 12 day of March, I wold knowe the tyd of the day. I took the altitude of my sonne, and fond that it was 25 degrees and 30 of minutes of heyghte in the bordure on the bak-syde. Tho turnede I myn Astrolabie, and by-cause that it was by-forn midday, I turnede my riet, and sette the 15 degree of the sonne, that is to seyn, the 1 degree of Aries, on the right syde of myn Astrolabie, up-on that 25 degrees and 30 of minutes of heyghte among myn almikanteras; tho leide I my label up-on the degree of my sonne, and fond the poynte of my label in the bordure, up-on a capital lettre that is cleped an X; tho rekened 20 I alle the capitalles lettres fro the lyne of midnight un-to this forseide lettre X, and fond that it was 9 of the clokke of the day. Tho loked I down up-on the est orisonte, and fond there the 20 degree of Geminis assending; which that I tok for myn assendent. And in this wyse hadde I the experience for ever-mo in which 25 maner I sholde knowe the tyd of the day, and eek myn assendent. Tho wolde I wite the same night folwing the hour of the night, and wroughte in this wyse. Among an heep of sterris fixe, it lyked me for to take the altitude of the feire white sterre that is cleped Alhabor; and fond hir sitting on the west side of the lyne 30 of midday, 18 degres of heighte taken by my rewle on the bak-syde. Tho sette I the centre of this Alhabor up-on 18 degrees among myn almikanteras, up-on the west syde; by-cause that she was founden on the west syde. Tho leide I my label over the degree of the sonne that was descended under the weste orisonte, and 35 rikened alle the lettres capitals fro the lyne of midday un-to the point of my label in the bordure; and fond that it was passed 8 of the clokke the space of 2 degrees. Tho loked I doun up-on myn est orisonte, and fond ther 23 degrees of Libra assending, whom I tok for myn assendent; and thus lerned I to knowe ones for ever 40 in which manere I shuld come to the houre of the night and to myn assendent; as verreyly as may be taken by so smal an instrument. But natheles, in general, wolde I warne thee for evere, ne mak thee nevere bold to have take a iust ascendent by thyn Astrolabie, or elles to have set iustly a clokke, whan any celestial 45 body by which that thow wenest governe thilke thinges ben ney the south lyne; for trust wel, whan that the sonne is ney the meridional lyne, the degree of the sonne renneth so longe consentrik up-on the almikanteras, that sothly thou shalt erre fro the iust assendent. The same conclusioun sey I by the centre of any 50 sterre fix by night; and more-over, by experience, I wot wel that in oure orisonte, from 11 of the clokke un-to oon of the clokke, in taking of a iust assendent in a portatif Astrolabie, hit is to hard to knowe. I mene, from 11 of the clokke biforn the houre of noon til oon of the clok next folwing. And for the more declaracion, 55 lo here thy figure. 4. SPECIAL DECLARACION OF THE ASSENDENT. [SPECIALIS DECLARACIO DE ASCENDENTE.] The assendent sothly, as wel in alle nativitez as in questiouns and elecciouns of tymes, is a thing which that thise astrologiens gretly observen; wher-fore me semeth convenient, sin that I speke of the assendent, to make of it special declaracioun. The assendent sothly, to take it at the largeste, is thilke degree that 5 assendeth at any of thise forseide tymes upon the est orisonte; and there-for, yif that any planet assende at that same tyme in thilke for-seide degree of his longitude, men seyn that thilke planete is _in horoscopo_. But sothly, the hous of the assendent, that is to seyn, the firste hous or the est angle, is a thing more 10 brood and large. For after the statutz of astrologiens, what celestial body that is 5 degres above thilk degree that assendeth, or with-in that noumbre, that is to seyn, nere the degree that assendeth, yit rikne they thilke planet in the assendent. And what planete that is under thilke degree that assendith the space 15 of 25 degrees, yit seyn they that thilke planete is lyk to him that is in the hous of the assendent; but sothly, yif he passe the bondes of thise forseide spaces, above or bynethe, they seyn that the planete is failling fro the assendent. Yit sein thise astrologiens, that the assendent, and eke the lord of the assendent, 20 may be shapen for to be fortunat or infortunat, as thus: a fortunat assendent clepen they whan that no wykkid planete, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the Tail of the Dragoun, is in the hous of the assendent, ne that no wikked planete have non aspecte of enemite up-on the assendent; but they wol caste that they have a fortunat 25 planete in hir assendent and yit in his felicitee, and than sey they that it is wel. Forther-over, they seyn that the infortuning of an assendent is the contrarie of thise forseide thinges. The lord of the assendent, sey they, that he is fortunat, whan he is in good place fro the assendent as in angle; or in a succedent, where-as 30 he is in his dignitee and conforted with frendly aspectes of planetes and wel resceived, and eek that he may seen the assendent, and that he be nat retrograd ne combust, ne ioigned with no shrewe in the same signe; ne that he be nat in his descencioun, ne ioigned with no planete in his discencioun, ne have up-on him 35 non aspecte infortunat; and than sey they that he is wel. Natheles, thise ben observauncez of iudicial matiere and rytes of payens, in which my spirit ne hath no feith, ne no knowing of hir _horoscopum_; for they seyn that every signe is departed in 3 evene parties by 10 degrees, and thilke porcioun they clepe a Face. 40 And al-thogh that a planete have a latitude fro the ecliptik, yit sey some folk, so that the planete aryse in that same signe with any degree of the forseide face in which his longitude is rekned, that yit is the planete _in horoscopo_, be it in nativite or in eleccioun, &c. And for the more declaracioun, lo here the figure. 45 5. TO KNOWE THE VERREY EQUACIOUN OF THE DEGREE OF THE SONNE, YIF SO BE THAT IT FALLE BY-TWIXE THYN ALMIKANTERAS. [AD COGNOSCENDUM VERAM EQUACIONEM DE GRADU SOLIS, SI CONTIGERIT FORE IN DUAS ALMICANTERAS.] For as moche as the almikanteras in thyn Astrolabie been compouned by two and two, where-as some almikanteras in sondry Astrolabi |