DiotimosReading Desk

Finger names in a planetary polemic

Verpum; Annularem; Medicum; Pollicem; indicem; Auricularem; Verpus; medicus digitus

The five finger names occur in a criticized planetary allocation: thumb, index, middle, ring or medical finger, and little finger receive five planets while Mars and Moon are excluded.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

The five finger names occur in a criticized planetary allocation: thumb, index, middle, ring or medical finger, and little finger receive five planets while Mars and Moon are excluded. The author’s objection is numerical and satirical, not a new endorsed mapping. Verpus is the middle finger here, and medicus is a finger-name rather than a physician acting in the scene.

Places to read

  1. Book 9 · Signature · Passage 35Latin“Soli Annularem seu Medicum”