The Anatomy of Melancholy

Subsection 3 Particular symptoms from the influence of stars, parts of the body and humours

Some people have particular symptoms according to their temperament and bodily constitution, which they received from the stars and their celestial influences: varieties of intellect and disposition, as Anthony Zara maintains in Anatomy of Wits, section 1, members 11, 12, 13 and 14. “Celestial influences greatly excite disturbances, from which arise disorders of the mind and diseases of the body.” One writer says that various diseases of body and mind proceed from their influences, as I have already demonstrated from Ptolemy, Pontanus, Lemnius, Cardan and others, inasmuch as they are the chief astrological indicators of character and disease, acting through their mutual aspects or as rulers of the nativity, and so on.

Ptolemy in his Centiloquy—Hermes, or whoever else wrote that tract—attributes all these symptoms in melancholic people to celestial influences. Mercurialis rejects that opinion in On Disorders, book 1, chapter 10; but, as I say, Jovianus Pontanus and others staunchly defend it. That some are solitary, dull, heavy and surly, while others are cheerful, lively, light-hearted and merry, they attribute entirely to the stars.

Thus, if Saturn predominates in a person’s nativity and causes melancholy in his constitution, he will be very austere, sullen, surly, dark in complexion, deep in thought, full of cares, miseries and discontents, sad and fearful, always silent and solitary; continually delighting in farming, woods, orchards, gardens, rivers, ponds, pools, and dark, secluded walks. “Their thoughts are of wanting to build, wanting to plant trees, to cultivate fields, and so on.” To catch birds, fish and the like: always devising and pondering such matters.

If Jupiter rules, they are more ambitious, always thinking about kingdoms, magistracies, offices and honours, or imagining themselves princes and potentates and considering how they would conduct themselves. If Mars rules, they are all for wars, heroic combats and single combat: irritable, hot-tempered, reckless, rash, furious and violent in their actions. They imagine themselves victors and commanders, speak passionately and satirically, boast greatly, and have ruddy complexions. And although they appear poor, mean and lowly, yet, like Telephus and Peleus in the poet,

“They bandy about bombast and words a foot and a half long.”

Their mouths are full of myriads, and tetrarchs are at their tongues’ ends. If the Sun rules, they will be lords, emperors—at least in their imagination—and monarchs, bestowing offices, honours and so forth. If Venus rules, they are always courting their mistresses and are especially susceptible to love, amorously inclined; they seem to hear music and plays, to see fine pictures, dancers, entertainments and the like. Always in love, they dote on everyone they see.