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The Zodiac

The great sages imagined a circle here
called the zodiac,
in which 12 signs, good and bad,
are made to turn in a set order:
Men, beasts, plants, fish, and ships,
seemingly sense their sway.
The sun turns an entire month for each of them,
and there are six of them in each hemisphere.

The Signs and their Complexions1This refers to humoral theory

Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are
firey in nature: hot and dry.
Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, on the contrary,
are moist and cold. After the Ram [Aries] come
Virgo, Taurus, and Capricorn:
each of them is cold and dry.
They are contrary to Aquarius, which is
hot and moist, along with Libra
and the sign where two twins spin together [Gemini].

Seven Spheres, Saturn

Then there are seven planets in seven spheres:
one after the other, downwards in concentric circles.
Saturn is the first among those lights,
which seems to look like an eastern sapphire.
Their proportions are true,
the proof of which everyone can find1that is, mathematically verifiable
through number and measure, without error,
as astrology clearly demonstrates.

Notes and Questions

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Laura K. Morreale LLC

GET WINSTON TO WRITE A FOOTNOTE FOR US! Winston alert!!! at the third stanza.