Health
39 articles
HealthTemperament and Mental Character: How the Classical Mind Was Read
In classical astrology the four temperaments color the whole personality, yet the mind itself was read chiefly from Mercury and the Moon.
HealthThe Six Non-Naturals: The Galenic Regimen of Health
Galen's six non-naturals, air, food and drink, sleep, motion and rest, evacuation and the passions, were the daily regimen that kept the humoral temperament in balance.
HealthHow to Find Your Temperament from Your Birth Chart
The classical step-by-step method for reading temperament in a chart: the Ascendant and its ruler, the Moon by sign and phase, the season of birth, and sect, the way physicians read it from Galen to Lilly.
HealthTemperament in Relationships: The Humoral Compatibility Model
Long before sun-sign compatibility, classical medicine read love and friendship through the four temperaments. See how the humors were said to complement or clash.
HealthThe Four Elements in the Body: A Guide to Astrological Medicine
Classical medicine read the body as a mixture of the four elements, each a working force: fire as vital heat, air as breath and spirit, water as moisture, and earth as solid substance.
HealthTemperament and the Planets: Which Planet Governs Each Type
In classical astrology each of the four temperaments has its own planet: Mars and the Sun for choleric, Jupiter for sanguine, Saturn for melancholic, the Moon for phlegmatic. A dominant planet tilts the type.
HealthThe Phlegmatic Temperament: Water, Phlegm and the Calm Type
In classical astrology the phlegmatic temperament is cold and moist. It is the humor of phlegm, ruled by the Moon and Venus, and tied to the water signs Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
HealthTemperament and the Season of Birth
Classical medicine paired the four seasons with the four humors: spring sanguine, summer choleric, autumn melancholic, winter phlegmatic. Your season of birth was read as one thread in your temperament.
HealthThe Four Temperaments and the Ages of Man
Classical medicine read a whole human life as a turning wheel of humors: sanguine childhood, choleric youth, melancholic maturity, phlegmatic old age.
HealthThe Melancholic Temperament: Earth, Black Bile and the Reflective Mind
The melancholic temperament is cold and dry, the humor of black bile, ruled by Saturn and tied to the earth signs Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn in the classical tradition.
HealthHumoral Imbalance (Dyscrasia): When One Humor Dominates
In classical medicine, health was eucrasia, a good mixture of the four humors, and illness was dyscrasia, a bad mixture in which one humor ran to excess.
HealthTemperament and the Moon: The Body's Moisture and the Lunar Phase
In classical temperament theory the Moon governs the body's moisture. Her sign and phase tilt a chart toward the cold, moist, phlegmatic side.
HealthThe Sanguine Temperament: Air, Blood and the Warm Complexion
The sanguine temperament is hot and moist, ruled by the humor of blood and the element of air. Warm, sociable and optimistic, it maps to Gemini, Libra and Aquarius.
HealthTemperament and Complexion: Reading the Type in the Body
Classical physiognomy read each of the four temperaments in the body's build, coloring and bearing. See how choleric, sanguine, melancholic and phlegmatic show up physically, and how each ties to the sign and the rising signature.
HealthTemperament and the Ascendant: Why Your Rising Sign Shapes Your Type
In classical astrology the Ascendant and its ruler, not the Sun, are the first things weighed for bodily temperament. Learn why your rising sign shapes your type, sign by sign.
HealthThe Choleric Temperament: Fire, Yellow Bile and the Driven Type
The choleric temperament is hot and dry, the humor of yellow bile, ruled by Mars and the Sun and mapped to the fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius.
HealthThe Four Humors: Blood, Phlegm, Yellow Bile and Black Bile
Before the four temperaments came the four humors: blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile. Learn each fluid and its quality, organ and sign.
HealthCritical Days and Decumbiture: The Moon and the Course of an Illness
A decumbiture chart was cast for the moment a patient took to bed, and the Moon's motion marked the critical days of a fever. Here is the method, from Hippocrates to Culpeper.
HealthSaturn and Melancholy: The Astrology of the Melancholic Genius
In classical astrology Saturn rules the melancholic temperament, cold and dry. The Renaissance turned this Saturnine gloom into the mark of the deep thinker.
HealthThe Plague and the Great Conjunction: Astrology and Epidemics
When the Black Death struck in 1348, the Paris medical faculty blamed a great conjunction of Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. Here is how medieval astrology explained epidemics, as history.
HealthPlanetary Herbs and Astrological Botany: Culpeper's Green Medicine
Astrological botany gave every plant a planetary ruler and read its virtues from the stars. Here is how Culpeper's green medicine worked, as classical history.
HealthPart of Sickness in Medical Astrology, Explained
The Part of Sickness is a calculated point in traditional medical astrology built from Mars and Saturn. Learn its disputed formula and how classical physicians read it.
HealthAvicenna and Astrological Medicine: The Canon and the Stars
Avicenna's Canon of Medicine ruled the sickroom for six centuries and refined the doctrine of temperament. Here is how his medicine met, and quietly limited, astrology.
HealthThe Tacuinum Sanitatis and the Astrological Regimen of Health
The Tacuinum Sanitatis turned Galen's six non-naturals into an illustrated handbook of wellbeing, tuned to your humoral temperament. Here is how the medieval regimen of health worked.
HealthThe Zodiac Man: How Medieval Astrology Mapped the Body
The Zodiac Man, or Homo signorum, is the old medical-astrology diagram that assigns each zodiac sign to a part of the body, from Aries at the head to Pisces at the feet.
HealthUroscopy: Reading the Urine Flask in Astrological Medicine
Uroscopy was the medieval art of judging health by the urine in a glass flask, read alongside the humors and the chart. Here is how the matula and the astrologer's figure met.
HealthBloodletting and the Moon: Phlebotomy Timing in Medical Astrology
Medieval physicians timed bloodletting by the Moon, avoiding the vein in the body part ruled by the sign the Moon was crossing. Here is how the rule worked.
HealthThe Chiron Return at Fifty: Healing the Wound
Around age fifty, transiting Chiron comes home to where it began. The once-in-a-lifetime Chiron return revisits your deepest wound and offers to turn it into wisdom.
HealthHyleg and Alcocoden: Classical Markers of Vitality
Long before modern medicine, astrology had two markers for the body's lifespan and resilience. Hyleg holds the spark, alcocoden tells you how that spark is supplied.
HealthMercury and Your Health: Nervous System, Lungs and the Gut-Mind Axis
In astrology Mercury is the planet of mind and communication. Its bodily counterpart is the nervous system, the lungs, the bronchi, the hands and the gut-mind axis. Mercury's place in your birth chart maps your anxiety, breath and digestive sensitivity.
HealthAstrological Movement: The Natural Style of Exercise by Temperament
Classical medical astrology tunes not only nutrition but also movement to temperament. Whichever temperament your body leans toward, your natural and sustainable style of exercise feeds the opposite qualities.
HealthThe Moon and Your Health: Emotion, Immunity and Fluid Balance
In astrology the Moon is the planet of emotion, but in the body it means a great deal too. The stomach, breast tissue, fluid retention, lymph flow and immune sensitivity sit on the Moon's bodily line. The bridge between feeling and body runs through the Moon.
HealthSaturn and Your Health: Bones, Skin and Structural Themes
In astrology Saturn is the planet of structure, limit and time. Its bodily counterpart is bones, joints, skin and teeth. Saturn's place in your birth chart draws the structural line of your bodily sensitivities.
HealthAstrological Nutrition: Eating by Your Temperament
Classical medical astrology offers a guide to eating built on the temperament system. Foods that balance your hot-cold and moist-dry axes accelerate bodily healing.
HealthTemperaments and the Four Elements: Astrology's Constitution of the Body
In astrology, your body settles into one of four temperaments. Hot, cold, dry, moist. These four qualities pair with the four elements and form the spine of classical medical astrology.
HealthVenus and Your Health: Skin, Hormonal Balance and Kidneys
In astrology Venus is the planet of attraction and aesthetics. Its bodily counterpart is the soft surface of the skin, hormonal balance, the kidneys and sugar metabolism. Venus's place in your birth chart maps your skin and hormone health signature.
HealthThe Zodiac Body Map: Your Anatomy Through the Twelve Signs
Astrology divides the body into twelve regions, head to feet, each ruled by a zodiac sign. This atlas, called melothesia, is the foundation of classical medical astrology.
HealthMars and Your Health: Muscles, Acute Conditions and Bodily Heat
In astrology Mars is the planet of energy and drive. Its bodily counterpart is the muscular system, acute inflammation, blood, the head and bodily heat. Mars's place in your birth chart maps your energy management and acute health sensitivity.
HealthWhat the 6th House Actually Says: Where Your Body Lives in Your Birth Chart
The 6th house is your body's address in your chart. Whichever sign starts it gives your body its theme. Cancer here points to the stomach, Capricorn to the bones, Pisces to the lymphatic system.