Astronomical Images : Explanation of astrological figures and horoscopes

Johann Engel

Astronomical Images

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Johann Engel or Angelus (1453?-1512) was a student at the University of Vienna and is said to have studied at some time under Regiomontanus. As well as spending time in Italy, he subsequently practised medicine and astrology at Augsburg, where his first book, <i>Astrolabium planum</i>, was published in 1488. The fact that a book, whose title seems to promise a work on the planispheric astrolabe, concerns astrology and has no account of instrumentation indicates a contemporary association of the astrolabe with the astrologer. Indeed, given an appropriate set of latitude plates, an astrolabe could yield much of the technical astronomical information this book supplies for practising the astrologer's art, as contained in the astrological tables at the beginning of the book and in its concluding table of unequal hours through the year for all the 'climes' or traditional latitude zones. This page shows the three 'faces' of Aries (each zodiac sign had three faces of ten degrees each): Mars, signifying boldness, strength, loftiness and shamelessness; the Sun, indicating nobility, loftiness, of a king and a great lord; and Venus, representing fineness in work, gentleness, games, jollities, and tendernesses. Below are two worked examples of horoscopes, indicating a man who 'labours, and sometimes wages wars' and a man who 'will be litigious or envious, like a dog'.</p>