Robert Fludd's Theory of Geomancy and His Experiences at Avignon in the Winter of 1601 to

1602
Author(s): C. H. Josten
Source: Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 27 (1964), pp. 327-335
Published by: Warburg Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/750529
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 ROBERT FLUDD'S THEORY OF GEOMANCY 327
ROBERT FLUDD'S THEORY OF Any one of sixteen different figures, each
GEOMANCY AND HIS consisting of four lines of one or two dots, may
EXPERIENCES AT AVIGNON IN thus result for each mater. Each of them has
THE WINTER OF 16oi TO 1602 a Latin name,3 its special significance, and
its zodiacal, planetary, and elementary cor-
is not likely to capture the in- respondences.
terest or confidence of a modern scholar
Geomancy Next, the figures of four filiae are extracted
and
as a means of knowing the future or of dis- from the matres: The first, second, third,
bottom lines of the first mater become the top
covering facts hidden to the inquirer, but the lines of the
of that ancient Islamic method of first, second, third, and fourthfilia
theory
divination,1 as elaborated by Robert Fludd respectively. The four lines of the second
affords a certain interest to mater are similarly used to form the second
(1574-1637),
historians of psychology inasmuch as it fore- lines of the first, second, third and fourth
shadows the modern idea of an unconscious filia; then the third and fourth matres are dis-
sected in the same manner to become the
part of the mind working intelligently be- third and bottom lines respectively of the
hind the scenes and giving directions and
four filiae.
warnings that the conscious mind is not Matres and filiae are placed in a line of
always able to receive, leave alone to interpret.
The principal object of this paper, however, eight contiguous compartments or 'houses'
is to contribute towards an elucidation of that are numbered from right to left, the
Robert Fludd's little known life and thought. mnatresoccupying houses I to IV in the order
of their formation, and the filiae occupying
I. The techniqueof geomancy houses V to VIII, also in the order of their
formation.
The technique of geomancy must be briefly The first and second, and the third and
described before Fludd's theory thereof can fourth
matres, as well as the first and second,
be properly understood. and the third and fourthfiliae are now paired to
A question is 'proposed' by the geomancer form four further figures, called nepotes,which
himself or by a person consulting him. Then are entered in four compartments or houses
the geomancer jots down ('projects') four
times four rows of a random number of dots.2 placed below, so that a ninth house is formed
under the first and second, a tenth house under
The geomancer must not count the dots while the third and fourth, an eleventh house under
making them. According as their total in a the fifth and sixth, and a twelfth house
row is an odd or an even number, one or two under the seventh and
dots are considered to be the result of that eighth houses. The
pairing follows the same method as that used
row. The results of each row thus obtained in the extraction of the matresfrom the original
become the constituent parts of four original rows of random dots: The first, second, third
'figures' called matres,each of which is derived and bottom lines respectively of the two matres
from one of the four sets of four rows. For or two
filiae to be paired are added up; if the
instance, if the first and second row of the sum of their first lines is, for instance, an odd
first set both yield even numbers, two dots
will result as top line and two dots as second number, then the first line of the resulting
consists of one if the sum of
line of the first mater; if, then, the third and the second lines of the two dot; to be
nepos-figure
the fourth row of the first set are found to is an even figures paired
consist of an odd number of dots, the result the number, then the second line of
will be one dot forming the third line and one and resulting nepos-figure consists of two dots;
so likewise for the third and fourth lines
forming the bottom line of the first mater, of the nepotes.
so that its completed figure would be: :: The twelve compartments or houses thus
The second, third, and fourth matres are formed correspond to the twelve houses of
formed accordingly from the second, third astrology.
and fourth sets of rows of random dots. Next, the figures found in the ninth and
tenth, and those in the eleventh and twelfth
x See P. Tannery, 'Le Rabolion', in his Mimoires
houses, are paired by the same method as that
iv, Toulouse and Paris,
scientifiques, 1920, pp. 297-411;
L. Thorndike, A History of Magic and Experimental
Science, ii, 1943, chapter xxxix. 3 The Latin names of the sixteen geomantic figures
2 Originally these were impressed on sand; hence are: Acquisitio,Amissio,Laetitia, Tristitia, CaputDraconis,
the name of geomancy, which in Arabic is khattar-raml, CaudaDraconis,Albus,Rubeus,Puer,Puella, FortunaMajor,
i.e. sand writing. FortunaMinor, Populus, Via, Conjunctio,Carcer.

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328
by which they (the nepotes) had themselves
been produced. The resulting two figures,
called testes, are entered in two compartments
under their parent figures. They produce in
turn (by the same method) a last figure, called
judex, which is entered at the bottom of the
scheme, below the testes.
The judex-figure is the principal element in
the interpretation of a geomantic scheme. It
is deemed to contain the answer to the ques-
tion and may reveal it when paired to the
figure of the first mater.
The following example of a geomantic
scheme will make the process more easily
understood:
FILIAE MATRES
. 8 . 7 .6 . .5 * 4 .3
NEPOTES
S
.12
2
. .:1..:
I . io
TESTES
, .
'4
JUDEX
"• 15
. ? Is5
. follows.
Thus the answer to the question depends
entirely on the composition of the sixteen
lines of random dots which the geomancer
produces at the beginning of the operation.
Though the process of deriving therefrom the
ultimate figure allows for a great number of
permutations, only one of the sixteen geo-
mantic figures will finally emerge. Counter-
acting this seeming lack of variation in the
final result, there are many refinements in the
interpretation of geomantic schemes which,
however, cannot be discussed in this paper.
Suffice it to say that they derive mainly from
the astrological analogies of the twelve geo-
mantic houses and from those of the sixteen
geomantic figures which, according to their
position in the houses and according to the
context of the question, may assume many
subtle shades of meaning.4
4 For (some of many) treatises containing detailed
accounts of the technique and the methods of inter-
pretation used in geomancy, the reader is referred to
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NOTES
II. Fludd's theoryof geomancy
The sources available for a study of Fludd's
geomancy are:
(i) 'Tractatus secundi, Pars XI. De Geo-
mantia. in quatuor libros divisa', occupying
pp. 715-83 of the second part of the first
volume of Fludd's Utriusque Cosmi Maioris
scilicet et Minoris Metaphysica, Physica atque
Technica Historia, which volume contains the
'Historia Macrocosmi' and was printed at
Oppenheim in 1617 and 1618. This section,
'De Geomantia', was reprinted at Verona in
1687 and 1704 under the title 'Roberti Flud
Tractatus de Geomantia in quatuor libros
divisus', as the second item in the Fasciculus
Geomanticusmentioned in note 4.
(2) 'Tractatus Primi. Sectionis II. Portio
* 2 II. De Animae intellectualis scientia seu
x
Geomantia hominibus appropriata, quorum
radii intellectuales extrinsecus, hoc est, circa
'
negotia mundana versantes, & centro dis-
sipati in centrum recolliguntur', occupying
f
.
.9
pp. 37-46 of the second part of the second
volume of Fludd's UtriusqueCosmi . . . Historia,
which volume contains the 'Historia Micro-
cosmi' and was printed at Oppenheim in
'3
1619. Chapters I to VI of this text were re-
printed with slight modifications as the first
item in both editions of the Fasciculus Geoman-
ticus mentioned above; they are the source of
the precis of Fludd's theory of geomancy which
Geomancy is an act of the animnaintellec-
tualis [a part of man's soul to which Fludd
refers also by the terms intellectus and ratio;
it is the region of conscious thought.5 Intel-
lectus and ratio are inferior to the region of
mens [of which man is unconscious].5 Mens
rules over intellectus and ratio as a king over
his subjects, or a master over his servants.
Intellectusand ratio in turn convey the impulses
(impressiones)of mensto the region of imaginatio.
In their service imaginatio operates as a
vehicle. It is drawn by the senses (sensus) as
a chariot is drawn by horses. Thus it is the
action of the senses that ultimately delivers
the remote impulses of mens, the king and
master, to the visible world.
[Fludd does not expressly state, but implies
unmistakably, that the region of mens is un-
conscious.] The servant (intellectusand ratio),
in carrying out his master's command, does
not know what the intentions and secret
Fasciculus Geomanticus, in quo varia variorum opera geoman-
tica continentur,'editio secunda, auctior & correctior',
Verona, 1704.
5 Cf. below; also p. 330 and n. Io.
 ROBERT FLUDD'S THEORY OF GEOMANCY
motives of the master are. Ratio, imaginatio,
and sensuswill be as ignorant thereof as the
servant, the chariot, and the horses. Yet ratio
is far better equipped to make conjectures,
than imaginatioor the senses. Like a servant,
ratio may indeed sometimes, as it were, pre-
sume or guess the idea prevailing in the
master's mind, though never with absolute
certainty.
Mens in man is of the same essentia as mens
divina. On a smaller scale (in virtute minori)
menshumanamay, therefore, perform the same
actions as mens divina. The verbumdivinum is
the centre of mens [humana et divina].
In geomancy mens,operating through the
media of intellectus or ratio, imaginatio, and
sensus,is made to exert its divine virtue, in the
same way as mensoperates more potently and
openly in the act of prophecy. Whereas in
prophecy mens [humana] is united to mens
divina, whereby a multitude of radii superiores
is introduced into the process, menshumana
may by itself and without the aid of any
divine radiiinfuse the geomantic process with
a prophetical power whose effect can be
apprehended by the senses.
The science of geomancy is very occult and
inward; it is difficult to account for it in a
rational way. Geomancy transcends vulgar
understanding to which it must appear
foolish, inane, absurd, and ridiculous. Its
principles may elude even those who are
sensibiles and imaginatione forti praediti. We
know nothing of the [superior] ratio lying
behind the acts of mens. Human reasoning
on this subject relies entirely on effectusand
leads only to conjectures. As we may not
know God but a posteriori,so also may we
know mentem aut ejus actus rationem only ab
efectu. Likewise, we know indeed nothing
with any certainty of the source, the vehicle,
or the reason of the life which we receive in
a wondrous way from above, though we
reason about them ab effectuand by way of
conjecture. Likewise, too, we are prevented
by the obstacle of the flesh and the darkness
[surrounding us] from having a proper know-
ledge of the marvellous effects produced in
man by mensdivina. We are content to recog-
nize a monk by his habit, and a thing by its
effects.
By the effects, however, the practitioners of
the art8 have found geomancy to be a true
science through which things future, present,
and past may be revealed, provided the geo-
mancer's judgement is not obscured by the
6 artistae.
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329
obnoxious influences of the body or the deceit-
ful actions of the senses. To give a reason for
the wonderful power of geomancy is as impos-
sible as it is to give a reason for the existence
of prophecy.
Geomancy is not accessible to all. Fools
would never be able to penetrate to that
centre of the action, that unity and very point
of the mens (ad hujus actus centrum,hoc est, ad
unitatem & ipsius mentispunctum)[whose attain-
ment is desirable].7 For that point lies be-
yond the degree of ratio and intellectus, and
only those may reach it who manage to leave
the habitation of their bodies.
The sixteen lines of dots which the geo-
mancer produces at the beginning of the
operation are not caused merely by an adven-
titious movement of the hand, as the ignorant
would say; but in the number and proportion
of the dots of those sixteen lines a prophetic
message of the soul lies concealed. Inasmuch
as the dots establish correspondenceswith the
twelve signs of the zodiac, the seven planets,
and the four elements, they convey the mes-
sage of the soul by the macrocosmical vehicles
of ether and the four elements. Without the
aid of those macrocosmical vehicles, neither
mensnor intellectuscould have descended into
man; and nothing real or essential can issue
from mens unless it passes through those
media. The movement of the hand producing
the geomantic dots is not accidental in so far
as it proceeds from the human soul, man's
very essence. That movement acts, therefore,
in an essentially significant way if it be un-
hindered by the accidents of the flesh and the
senses. Similarly we say that the mineral
natures of lead and iron tend in their essence
towards the nature of gold; but by accident,
namely by [the presence of] impure sulphur,
they are arrested in their natural growth, so
that they may not attain the aim of nature.
The inexperienced will object that the like
impediments will always occur to the human
body, because of the impurity of the flesh and
the darknessof error into which our existence
is plunged. We shall grant them that indeed
the more the rays of mensare impeded in their
movement by the filth of the body, the more
the effect of the action of mensis weakened.
Imaginatiomay indeed be so affected by the
world of matter that it will lie like a thick
cloud over the senses, not allowing them to
receive the sun-like rays of mens. The body
must, therefore, be prepared for the operation
by some kind of abstinence that will temper
SCf. below, p. 331.
22
 330 NOTES
and subtiliate it, that will humble the arro- spiritusor animanot vexed by any troubles;
gance of the flesh, and will make the dissi- so much so that he do not wish anything
pated central rays of the soul contract towards worse to any other man than to himself.
their centre. The whole man must outwardly When so prepared, let him trust God, the
and inwardly be reduced to the simplicity of master of sciences, and pray to Him that by
nature. He must neglect and hate all that is the virtue of this science He may open the
composite and multitudinous. Thus, by the truth to him. Immediately after sedulously
virtue of mens humana herself, will he be best performing these acts he may proceed to the
prepared for the production of works not projection and disposition of the dots, &c.'
accidental, but essential. His intellectual Geomancy must be performed in a kind of
functions will not be impaired by the flesh, rapture or ecstasy. In prophecy, this rapture
and his spiritus imaginativusaut phantasticuswill or ecstasy is caused by an abstraction, aliena-
become as alert, docile, pure, and unper- tion, and illumination of menshumana,pro-
turbed as will render him a fit receiver of the ceeding immediately from God; in geomancy
prophetic message conveyed by the luminous a similar effect is produced by the gathering
rays of mens. In a mystical way it will show together of the rays of mensinto, as it were, a
the objects of truth as in a looking-glass, and narrow place, namely the human body, so
it will make the sense and movement of the that the divining soul may by their light see
body function precisely as mens directs. The the simple truth more brightly. The rays of
geomancer should be in good health, his mind mensmust, therefore, be made to contract by
unperturbed, his stomach not overburdened diverting them from the objects of the exter-
with food and wine; he should not be op- nal world. As in the rapture of prophecy the
pressed by poverty, nor under the influence rays of mensand animaare carried upwards
of lust or wrath. Quiet religious contempla- towards the divine essence or the region of
tion is conducive to the proper state of mind; mensmundi,so in this lesser rapture of geo-
so is a moderate and temperate way of life, in mancy those rays of the human soul which
accordance with nature. The geomancer are normally sent forth in an outward direc-
should abstain from carnal intercourse, but tion and are dispersed hither and thither are
rejoice in spiritual copulation;8 instead of called back towards their centre and reflected
wine, the illuminating fluid of mens should into mens.11 Thus an inward illumination
inebriate him; he should prosper not in may be produced that is comparable to the
worldly riches, but in the affluence of intel- concentration of formerly diffuse light into
lectus divinus; he should be replete with the centre of the Sun, which took place on
spiritual food, not with crapulence. the fourth day of Creation. When the rays
In confirmation of these ideas Fludd quotes of the soul are collected in this way, the
the following sentences from an ancient nature of inward man is reduced to simplicity.
French manuscript de Geomantiaearcanis: 'Be- He thinks about himself within himself; he
fore you procede to the projection of the dots, is there only by himself and has forgotten all
I want you to know that the dots, while being matters alien to his real self. In such a rap-
made,9 must not be counted. If you count ture or ecstasy, he may to others appear to
them, the result of the operation will be use- be without himself, whereas really he is more
less; for this science has its foundations in the than ever with himself. There will be little
soul and, therefore, the number of the dots distance between him and the divine. The
must depend on the will of the soul, and not judgements of a geomancer who has not
in any way on the appetite of your senses. 10 achieved a reduction of his soul to such sim-
He who approaches this work should not plicity and unity will be uncertain and as
begin with anything unless his heart be well varying from the truth as his anima varies
disposed, his conscience clear and sound, his from that unity of vision which ignores the
multitudinous objects of the external world
8 For an explanationof this concept,which alludes of the senses. May anima,therefore, capture
to a union of animaand mens,see p. 331. from the macrocosmic world that which is
9 inprojectione. her own and which was given to her by the
10It is evidentfromthis passagethat Fludd, as well
as the authorquotedby him, attributedthe divinatory
faculty only to an unconsciouspart of the soul, or 11 The same distinction between prophecy proper
mind. In his 'HistoriaMacrocosmi(Tractatussecun- and a lesser kind of vaticination, as achieved by
dus)', Oppenheim,I6I18,p. 721, Fluddstatesthat by a geomancy, occurs also in Ibn Khaldfin's account of
countingof the dotsduringthe processof makingthem geomancy. See Ibn Khaldfin, The Muqaddimah, i, ed.
the animaof the geomancerwould be perturbed. F. Rosenthal, 1958, p. 231.

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 ROBERT FLUDD'S THEORY OF GEOMANCY 331
Creator; may she impress it on her outward Draconis to Sagittarius, Cauda Draconis to
microcosm12 (she herself being an inward Capricorn, Fortuna Major to Aquarius, and
microcosm) and may she not allow anybody Carcerto Pisces. Furthermore Rubeus, Fortuna
else to enjoy her property. May she by virtue Minor, Amissio, and Cauda Draconis denote the
of her own excellence be raptured away from element of fire and the southern region of the
this world, be returned to herself and linger world; Laetitia, Acquisitio, Puella and Conjunctio
in her ecstasy to behold, as in a polished the air and the eastern part of the world;
mirror, things mundane as well as divine. Populus, Via, Puer, and Albus the water and the
The more indeed she enters into herself, the northern angle of the world ;12aFortunaMajor,
more efficaciously will her visions and im- Caput Draconis, Carcer and Tristitia the earth
pulses guide her towards a truthful vaticina- and the western part of the world. Deeper
tion. still, towards the centre [of geomantic inter-
The rows of geomantic dots comprise and pretation], the spiritusof empyreal heaven lies
express the idea of the whole world no less hidden, which is the revealer of things future
than does the human body. The human body and present, namely [in] the rational or in-
is seen only outwardly, whilst we contem- tellectual collection of these figures and of the
plate its anima and mens inwardly, with our things mundane that are therein contained.
spiritual eyes. As in the body we discern the It becomes thus even more apparent how
elements, [although they are] invisible in carefully spiritus intellectualis should be pro-
their mixed composition, so also we discern tected against the obnoxious influences of the
[by inference] in spiritus and anima media an flesh and of crapulence, for the first impulse
ethereal nature, and an empyreal one in in the production of the geomantic dots issues
intellectus and mens. Likewise, in every one of therefrom and carries away with it, in an
the four sets of four rows of geomantic dots, occult manner, the natures of the celestial
one of the elements lies concealed: the ele- signs, of the planets, and of the elements, con-
ment of fire in the first set, that of air in the cealing all of them under the number and
second, the element of water in the third, and proportion of the dots, as a treasure is con-
that of earth in the fourth set. In the figures cealed in a chest. If we wish to open that
produced from these four sets, the seven chest, so that we may penetrate first to the
planets and the twelve signs of the zodiac are elements, then to the planets and celestial
present, though they may be perceived only signs, and finally to the limit whence this
with the eyes of spiritus. The figure of Cancer motion originally issued, we shall find under
is attributed to Saturn in direct motion, that the [symbolism of the sixteen geomantic]
of Tristitia to Saturn retrograde. The figure of figures, as it were, hidden in that chest, the
Laetitia signifies Jupiter direct, and Acquisitio will of mens in its sanctuary, in the ointment-
Jupiter retrograde. Rubeus denotes Mars store13 of intellectus the reason of the will, in
direct, and Puella Mars retrograde. Fortuna the armory of the signs and planets, or of
Major corresponds to the Sun in direct ether, the act or execution of mens, and in the
motion, Fortuna Minor to the Sun retrograde store-house of mens the effect of the will, of
(though the astrologers deny any retrogres- the reason, and of the act.
sion of the Sun because it has no epicycle). Thus it becomes evident that, as the
Puer is ascribed to Venus direct, Amissio to prophecy of those touched by [a divine]
Venus retrograde. Albus is attributed to afflatus is caused by a union of mens divina
Mercury direct, Conjunctioto Mercury retro- and menshumana (whence originates the fullest
grade. The Moon direct is represented by and greatest vaticination), so also prophecy
Populus, and retrograde by Via. CaputDraconis may sometimes occur in persons not so
and Cauda Draconis have the same significance touched, when, withdrawn from the multi-
as the points bearing those names in an astro- tude, anima with her rays is united to her
logical scheme. The geomantic figures express vertex, i.e. to mens humana, which, without
the natures of the twelve signs in the following any doubt, in conjunction with anima may
way: Acquisitio corresponds in an abstruse perform very great actions and may direct
manner to Aries, Laetitia and Fortuna Minor them towards a felicitous climax and issue.
to Taurus, Rubeus and Puer to Gemini, Albus As far as this account allows of systematiza-
and Populus to Cancer, Via to Leo, Caput tion, the concepts underlying Fludd's theory
Draconis and Conjunctio to Virgo, Puella to
Libra, Tristitia and Amissio to Scorpio, Caput 12a Here Fludd probably has in mind
Ptolemy's first
12i.e. the body. (modified conic) projection.
x13myrothecium.

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332 NOTES
of geomancy may be expressed in the follow- does not introduce the concept of mens to
ing scheme: denote the knowing, but unconscious part of
the soul; nor does he mention intellectus or
DIVINUM
VERBUM ratio, imaginatio, and sensus as servants and
vehicles conveying the divinatory message. It
RATIO
C-- a-- superior ----1 is reasonable to infer that Fludd's geomantic
-
experiences at Avignon and his account
DIVINA
MENS thereof belong to a period in which he had
not yet elaborated certain refinements of his
theory.
(unconscious mind)
Of the internalprinciple of terrestrialastrology
or geomancy.14
_PRPEYthewmod of te In the penultimate year of the life and
reign of the glorious Queen Elizabeth of
MANAMENS
ANIMA
INTELLECTUALIS.
HUMANA

England (whose fame will never die) I was

compelled to spend the whole winter15 in the
RPCpartaking
of city of Avignon, because the winter was very
severe, with so much snow covering the
mountains of [St.] Bernard that the passage
the
into Italy was entirely blocked. With many
IMAGIATIO •partekieg of the

TUS
,RATIO
INmTL IMAGINATIVUS
SPIRITUS
AUT (o PHAMTA.STlCUS5(ANI-
nscioust
AA.
TIought)
ANOMD"IG
MANI7STATION
III. Fludd's experiencesat Avignon in the winter companions followed me there and asked me
of i6oi-i6o22
Fludd's printed works as a rule do not said,
yield much detailed biographical information.
An exception is the opening chapter of the
section dealing with geomancy in the 'Trac-
tatus Secundus' of his 'Historia Macrocosmi'
(Oppenheim, 1618, pp. 718-20).
describes in Latin some memorable geoman-
tic experiences of his younger days so vividly
and with so much engaging detail of colour-
ing and background that the text might have
been extracted from the pages of an auto-
biography. The entire chapter has here been
translated and annotated, not only as a con-
tribution towards a future biography of
Robert Fludd, but also as a fitting illustration
and amplification of the above precis of his paragraphs. To facilitate the reading of the transla-
theory of geomancy.
It will be noticed that, in the text whose
translation follows, Fludd ascribes the pro-
phetic quality to the soul (anima) as such and
ethereal world of
other young men16 of gentle birth and of
the zodiac and the
sound education (former pupils of the Jesuits)
I received board and lodging at the house of
a certain captain. One evening, while we
were drinking at table, I discussed philo-
sophical subjects with the others and noticed
their various opinions on geomantic astrology.
Some of them denied its virtue altogether;
others, with whom I sided, defended stoutly
the validity of that art. I adduced many
arguments whereby I proved myself fairly
well versed in geomancy.
The meal being over, I had no sooner
repaired to my chamber, when one of my
for our love's sake to try my art (which, he
he had seen was considerable) in the
resolution of a problem of some importance
which, he said, filled his mind with much
anxiety. Having made many excuses, I was
at last prevailed upon by his entreaties. So,
a geomantic scheme17
Here he instantly I projected
for the question he had proposed. This ques-
tion was: whether a girl with whom he had
vehemently fallen in love returned his love
with equal fervour, and her entire mind and
and whether she loved him more than
body,
anyone else.
Having drawn my [geomantic] scheme,17
I assured him that I could rather well de-
14 In the original this chapter consists only of two
tion a more frequent division of the text has been
introduced.
15i.e. the winter of 16o1-o2.
16Fludd was then about 27 yearsold.
17figuram.

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 ROBERT FLUDD'S THEORY OF GEOMANCY
scribe the nature and bodily disposition of his
beloved and, having duly described to him
the stature and shape of the girl's body, I
indicated also a particular and rather notice-
able mark or blot thereon, namely a certain
kind of wart on her left eye-lid, which he
confessed was there. I said also that the girl
delighted in vineyards, and this detail, too,
was with pleasure confirmed by him. He said
that her mother had for that very reason built
her house among the vineyards. Finally I
gave the following answer to the question he
had proposed: that his beloved was incon-
stant and by no means steady in her love of
him, and that she loved somebody else rather
more than him. Whereupon he said that he
had always very much suspected that this
was the case and that he was [now] seeing it,
as it were, with open eyes.
He left my room in haste and then related
to his companions with some admiration the
verity and virtue of my art. Yet some of
them, who knew the girl rather well, denied
altogether that she had any such mark on
her eye-lid as I had described, until they
talked to her the following day and thus be-
came witnesses of the correctness of that
detail which I had discovered to them by the
art of geomancy and which even they had
never previously noticed.
Thus I became better known than I
desired, so much so that rumours of this
matter reached the ears of the Jesuits.18 Two
of them went secretly to the Palace and, im-
pelled by envy, reported to the [papal] Vice-
Legate'9 that there was a certain foreigner,
an Englishman, who had made predictions
of future events by the science of geomancy,
which science had been reproved by the
Catholic Church. The following morning
this was related to me by a captain of the
Palace, named John,20 who also informed me
of the answer the Vice-Legate had made,
1s At the time of Fludd's account the
Jesuits had a
school and a noviciate at Avignon (Dictionnaired'histoire
et de giographieecclisiastzques,v, I1930, col. I 134).
19 After 1590, the Vice-Legates were the actual
governors of the papal estates at Avignon, while the
office of Legate, usually held by a relative of the Pope, which you speak? Do you perhaps under-
became purely nominal (Dictionnaired'histoire et de
geographieecclisiastiques,v, 1930, col. I I27). Carlo Conti
di Poli ('Carolus de Comitibus, nobilis Romanus')i
was Vice-Legate from 1599 (or 16oo00)-1604. He was
Bishop of Ancona and Umano from I July 1585 to his
death on 2 December I615. In I6o5 he became a
Cardinal. See G. van Gulik and C. Eubel, Hierarchia
catholicamediiaevi, iii, Miinster, 19Iro,p. 12o; L. Car-
della, Memorie storichede' cardinalidella Santa Romana
Chiesa, vi, 1793, P. 97.
20oJohannedicto
333
which, he assured me, had been thus: I'Truly',
he had said, 'this is not so serious an offence
as you are trying to make out. Is there
indeed a single Cardinal in Italy who does
not possess an interpretation2' of his nativity
after the astrological or the geomantic
method?'
A few days later the Vice-Legate wanted
to have a conversation with me and kindly
invited me to a meal. I went to the Palace
accompanied by a very dear friend of mine,
the papal apothecary Monsieur Malceau.
When I had duly made my reverence in the
customary manner, the Vice-Legate began to
discourse with me as follows:
'I hear', he said, 'that you are well versed
in the art of geomancy. What then is your
considered opinion of that art?'
I replied, experience had proved to me
that it was a valid22 science, built on occult
foundations.
'How can there be any certainty', he said,
'in a method [of divination] that operates by
means of accidental[ly made] dots?'
I said that the principle and origin of those
dots made by the human hand was inward
and very essential, since the movement [of
the hand by which the dots are produced]
emanated from the very soul. I added that
errors [occurring in the practice] of geo-
mancy are by no means caused by the soul,
but by a base and incongruous mutation of
the human body moving against the inten-
tion of the soul. For that reason [I said] it
was a general rule in this art that the soul [of
the geomancer] must be in a peaceful condi-
tion, and a condition in which the body is
obedient to the soul; also that there must be
no perturbation of body or soul, nor any
partiality concerning the question; that the
soul must be like a just and impartial judge;
that [the geomancer] must turn to God with
a heart praying that the truth may be re-
vealed. Likewise [I said] it was necessary
for the artist to think intensely of the question
that had been proposed so that he might not
be seduced by any extraneous thoughts.
'What then', he replied, 'is that soul of
stand by 'it Plato's 806veov23 or at least
some angel?'
Whereupon I said an angel could not be
[at] the origin of this science; for angels were
21 nativitatem . . .
descriptam.
22
essentificam.The word may be one of Fludd's own
invention.
2 geniumPlatonis.

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334 NOTES
divided into good ones and evil ones, yet [the sible that somebody should be able to predict
assistance of] good angels had rarely been by the art of geomancy danger to a man, or
afforded to the heathen inventors of this art, death threatening him on a journey he is
namely the Arabs, Chaldeans and Egyptians, undertaking to Rome? Or is there a partici-
and the evil angels were all rather authors of pation and communication between the soul
lies than of truth, as was witnessed by Holy of that man and your own, though either soul
Writ. be contained within a human body?'
'It appears therefore', he said, 'that you I replied to him briefly thus:
cannot account for any distinct and certain 'Since the soul of every body is that especial
principle in this science.' light that has dominion over everything else
I replied that the human body is to the in the body, even as the Sun is predominant
soul as a servant is to his master. 'The master among the other stars in the heavens, yea
can send his servant hither and thither with since the soul is the very Sun of the micro-
letters, whilst the servant is not in any way cosm directing the whole body by her vivify-
aware of his master's plans. And an eminent ing rays, there is no doubt that it throws forth
painter may send to the king a fine picture its invisible rays invisibly through the pores
through a servant wholly ignorant of the of the body in the same manner as that
mixtures of colours and of their symmetrical celestial Sun transmits its rays, through the
proportions. Likewise a king may impose sieve of the elements, to the inferior [world].
taxes on his people through others, whilst the Likewise, as there is a relationship between
reason for his imposing them is known only rays through the aspect27formed by two stars,
to the king himself. In the same way, no by means of which they determine, as it were,
doubt, can the body perform an action which by consultation and application things to be
the soul commands from its secret domain24 enacted in the inferior [world], so that, when
without the body's perceiving in any way the they have been in communication, an effect
principles of that action if not merely by its in the inferior [world] is produced, so also
effects.' without any doubt are rays emitted between
Having listened to this speech, the Vice- the soul of one man and that of another
Legate, [standing] among some bishops and [both] which [souls] are invisible lights. In
deans, called me to a table nearby, where he [the process of] their emission the rays are
took quill and ink, drew a geomantic figure, so joined together that either the soul of the
and discoursed about it in a most learned quaerent28 or the quaerent29 himself be the
way, so that I saw clearly he was far more one to whom danger is imminent, or else a
learned and skilled than I in that science for friend of his; for [the soul] is very prophetical.
which the Jesuits had denounced me to him. Being immortal, it may know within itself
So, when the meal was over, I went away things that are in the future and things
enjoying his favour,25 and afterwards I paid present. Like a guardian foreseeing a danger
several visits to him; for I had noticed he was with which a body [in his charge] is threat-
a very ingenious26 prince, well versed in the ened, it may explain the secret future of its
sciences, friendly towards foreigners, and in body to another soul applying to it-a future
no way given to tyranny. which it had been unable to communicate to
When these events had become known its body because of that body's grossness. And
among the Jesuits, one of them, who was in this way may a quiet and peaceful soul,
praelector in philosophy, desired very much which is in a fit condition for judging, and to
to confer with me. Moved by the instances which the movements of its body are well
of my very dear [friend] Reinaudius, a young subjected, prognosticate the future to that
man of outstanding parts and modesty, I [other soul]. Besides, Olaus Magnus,30 re-
called on the Jesuit and was gracefully re- porting in his great History of Finland on the
ceived by him. After mention had been made stupendous actions of the sorcerers of that
of a number of philosophical subjects, he soon region,31 relates the following story of a certain
fell into [a discussion of] the geomantic
science, believing perhaps that I might use 27
i.e. the astrological aspect.
28petitoris.
facile arguments in my defence. 29 petitor.
'Well then,' he said, 'is it or is it not pos- 30 Olaus
Magnus (1490-1558), Archbishop of Up-
sala.
24 de occultis suis. 3xSee Olaus Magnus, Historiadegentibusseptentrionali-
25 cumbonaejus
gratia. bus, earumquediversisstatibus,contitionibus,moribus,etc.,
26
valde curiosum. Rome, 1555, p. I21.

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 FRANCISCO PACHECO'S APOTHEOSIS OF HERCULES
enchantress: When somebody living in a
region very remote from hers came to her so
as to learn in what condition his [far away]
friends [then] were, her mode of operation
was as follows: The sorceress, with another
woman who was her assistant, went into a
room where, after much mumbling of in-
audible words, she took a metal serpent and,
holding it by its tail, struck it two or three
times with a little hammer, and then col-
lapsed suddenly as if she were dead. While
she lay in this exanimate condition, the other
woman ministered to her, chasing away flies
and other small animals so that they might
not reach her. About half an hour later the
sorceress arose from her sleep and gave cor-
rect information on [the condition of] the
quaerent's friends. What does this mean if
not that the sorceress'ssoul was in communi-
cation with the souls of the quaerent's friends?
And since the radius of its rays was too short
to touch the extreme end of the soul [s] of
[those of] the quaerent's friends nearest [in
space], to fulfil the quaerent's wish her soul
had to leave its body so as to find a place
whence it could enter into communication,
and converse, with the souls of those friends.32
And, without any doubt, the rays of the soul
extend imperceptibly outside the body and
far beyond the range of visible33 rays. They
32 It is
interesting to note that, whereas Fludd
exempts the knowing, but unconscious, part of the
anima from the limitations of time, he conceives it as
subject to those of space.
33 visivorum[sic], a printing error.
FRANCISCO PACHECO'S
APOTHEOSIS OF HERCULES
n the Academia de S. Fernando in Madrid
there is a pen and wash drawing by
Francisco Pacheco (P1. 41a) which is dated
'9 de Abril I604' and inscribed 'Asamblea de
los doce Dioses'. It may be connected with
the ceiling paintings Pacheco executed in
tempera for the presence chamber of the third
duke of Alcala in the Casa de Pilatos at
Seville. These canvases are no longer in situ,
but were discovered in a store-room in the
palace archives. The central panel (P1. 41 c)
shows the apotheosis of Hercules, the figure of
the hero in a glory being surrounded by the
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335
do so because their essential substance is of
[so very great] purity and tenuity that they
may pass through elementary media without
any hindrance, like an influence. This is so
because their form is exalted and their origin
sublime.'
When I had proffered yet some further
objections and arguments of a similar kind,
he [i.e. the Jesuit] embraced me humanely
and swore an oath that henceforth he would
look upon me as if I were his brother. He
also asked me to visit him and his confrdres as
often as possible. I was, however, prevented
from doing so by my sudden departure from
that city, whence I went to stay with the Duc
de Guise,34 then at Marseilles, he having
sent for me that I might instruct him and his
brother, a Knight of Malta,35 in the mathe-
matical sciences.
We conclude, therefore, that this art [of
geomancy] is a way of knowing that depends
immediately on the soul; that its root is the
soul itself; and that, therefore, it is a science
more subtle than any other science man may
comprehend in this corruptible world.
C. H. JOSTEN
34Charles de Lorraine (1571-1640), fourth duc de
Guise since 1588. See Nouvellebiographiegdnerale,xxii,
i858, cols. 788-90.
35 Frangois Alexandre Paris de Lorraine, chevalier
de Guise (1589-1614), Knight of Malta. See H.
Forneron, Les ducs de Guise et leur dpoque,i, 1877,
'Tableau g6ndalogique de la maison de Guise'; Nouvelle
biographieginerale,xxii, 1858, cols. 791-92.
twelve Olympians-Juno, Jupiter, Apollo,
Ceres, Vesta, Vulcan, Venus and Amor,
Neptune, Minerva, Mercury, Mars and
Diana-and the work is signed by Pacheco
on a scroll at the feet of Apollo, thus: Franc.
Paciccus Hispalens. Superis labori adspirantib.
Pingeb. .A. M. DC. IV. If the gods are not
immediately recognizable in the painting by
their attitudes and attributes, one may refer
to the drawing, where they are carefully
labelled.
It is worthy of note that this apotheosis of
Hercules should conform to the type of Cor-
reggio's fresco of the Ascension in S. Giovanni
Evangelista at Parma. Closer inspection,
however, will reveal its kinship with the celes-