{"id":4599,"date":"2024-07-19T19:47:34","date_gmt":"2024-07-20T00:47:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/?p=4599"},"modified":"2024-07-19T19:47:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T00:47:34","slug":"pseudo-ptolemys-treatise-on-the-9-types-of-comets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/2024\/07\/pseudo-ptolemys-treatise-on-the-9-types-of-comets\/","title":{"rendered":"Pseudo-Ptolemy’s Treatise on the 9 Types of Comets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Starting around the 13th century, various astronomical texts began making their way into Christian Europe. These texts were largely translated from Arabic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among them, was a text that was originally attributed to Ptolemy which discussed the character and astrological implications of comets. Scholars have since concluded that this text is not by Ptolemy, but it was still widely distributed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This text is one of many that is under investigation for the Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus project<\/a>. There they provide a scan of a manuscript in the collection of the British Library<\/a> (Sloane 2030) as well as a transcription of the text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, there was no translation. As such, I have attempted my own which is placed below the fold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Pseudo-Ptolemy’s Treatise on the 9 Types of Comets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this book, Ptolemy describes various [astronomical] vexations. There are three kinds of celestial bodies which appear at different times which the common people call \u201ccomets\u201d or \u201chairs\u201d. They are said to be \u201chairy\u201d or \u201ccomet\u201d based on whether they appear hairy or as a bald head. The tails are said to be similar to hair because they emit a ray from themselves like hair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

1. The Broach<\/strong> (or Spit<\/strong>) [Veru<\/em>]
2. Quill <\/strong>[Tenaculum<\/em>]
3. The Staff <\/strong>(or Pole<\/strong>) [Pertica<\/em>]
4. The Soldier<\/strong> [Miles<\/em>]
5. Lord of Ascona<\/strong> [Dominus Ascone<\/em>]
6. Goddess of the Morning<\/strong> [Matuta<\/em>]
7. Silver <\/strong>[Argentum<\/em>]
8. Rosy <\/strong>[Rosa<\/em>]
9. Dark <\/strong>[Nigra<\/em>]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Illustration from a 15th century astronomical text in the collection at Yale<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Of these, the first four are likened to planets and signify wars, terrors, and great events in the world. Furthermore, based on their color and the nature of the [zodiacal] sign in which it first appears, one can know if the future holds evil. Additionally, one can know when that evil will befall – if the comet appears in the east, it will be soon; but if it is in the west, it will be some time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Soldier <\/strong>has the nature of Venus and is as great as the full moon. It has hair and pours rays behind itself as it passes through the 12 signs. When it appears, it will cause harm to kings and other powerful people, and people who want to overthrow the old laws and introduce new things will rise up. And worse things can arise based on the tail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord of Ascona<\/strong> has the nature of Mercury. It is deep-blue [cerulean], small, and has a long tail. And in the part [of the world] where its tail appears, it signifies the death of kings and wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Goddess of the Morning<\/strong> is red and has a long tail, although not as long as the Lord of Ascona, and it has the nature of Mars. When it\u2019s head appears in the east, it will mean drought, great famine, burning fire, and Wars in the land of Babylon, the Arabs, the Horci, and in Egypt until it moves westward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Silver<\/strong> comet has a very beautiful ray and is white as the purest silver which cannot be gazed upon too long. When it appears, it means a fertile year in the lands over which it appears. This is even better if it appears when Jupiter is in a water sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dark<\/strong> comet has the nature of Saturn and is more dark-blue than truly black. When it appears, it signifies death and desolation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rosy<\/strong> comet is large, round, and has a face like a man\u2019s. Its color is like that of silver mixed with gold. When it appears, it means the death of kings or the rich. Additionally that worldly things will change and better things will follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Broach<\/strong> is said to be terrible in appearance and that it lingers near the sun. It signifies the rotting of fruit (specifically of apples and that which comes from the earth), as well as the death of kings and the rich.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Staff<\/strong> has a large radius and signifies drought. If it is in conjunction with the a planet, it will signify something further:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it is in conjunction with Venus, there will be a greater drought
If with Mercury, the young and the wise will die
If with the Moon, people will waste away
If with Saturn, the deaths will be greater
If with Mars, there will be war and many will die by the sword
If with Jupiter, whatever it signifies will impact kings and rich men<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the Quill<\/strong>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[The text cuts off here in all known manuscripts]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Starting around the 13th century, various astronomical texts began making their way into Christian Europe. These texts were largely translated from Arabic. Among them, was a text that was originally attributed to Ptolemy which discussed the character and astrological implications of comets. Scholars have since concluded that this text is not by Ptolemy, but it … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Pseudo-Ptolemy’s Treatise on the 9 Types of Comets”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[77],"tags":[60,78,79],"class_list":["post-4599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-comets","tag-astrology","tag-comets","tag-pseudo-ptolemy"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9ZpvC-1cb","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4599"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4604,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4599\/revisions\/4604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jonvoisey.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}