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Delineation Part 1: Signs October 31, 2019

The Vividly Timed Car Accident of Kevin

 October 19, 2011  Anthony  1 Comment  anonymous of 379, Dorotheus, rmicus maternus, free, free
Hart September 3, 2019
ancient astrology texts, free astrology books, Hellenistic astrology, medieval astrology, ptolemy, resources, serapio, texts,
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Online Hellenistic and Persian Texts Ant on Twelve Easy Lessons for Beginners |
8. Delineation Part 1: Signs
It is rather exciting time in the study of ancient astrology. Most of the Hellenistic and Persian source GARY C CALDERONE on Twelve Easy
texts available in English today were rst translated in the last two decades. Additionally, a lot of that Lessons for Beginners | 8. Delineation Part
material has become available online. What are the seven best free online ancient astrology texts? 1: Signs

Ant on Twelve Easy Lessons for Beginners |

Free Astrology Texts from the First 8. Delineation Part 1: Signs

Millennium GARY C CALDERONE on Twelve Easy

Lessons for Beginners | 8. Delineation Part
1: Signs
1. The Anthology by Vettius Valens, Mark Riley GARY C CALDERONE on Twelve Easy
trans. Lessons for Beginners | 8. Delineation Part
1: Signs

Last year (2010), something amazing occurred in traditional astrology. Classics scholar Mark Riley 
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released, for free on his website, his full translation of The Anthology of Vettius Valens in searchable
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PDF format. While it is a translation by a non-astrologer, it is the rst full English translation ever Categories
released. Books VIII and IX were previously unpublished in English. Those familiar with the Project
Hindsight translations of Books I-VII should know that they were relatively expensive to purchase. Analysis (47)
Belief (13)
The Riley translation is a high quality English translation of what is arguably the most important text
of Hellenistic astrology as far as predictive techniques are concerned. The Anthology was written in Biography (6)
the 2nd century CE. It consists of nine books of practical ancient astrology. There is a stress on Character (6)
predictive techniques and Valens provides a wealth of examples.
Current Events (4)

2. The Tetrabiblos by Cladius Ptolemy, Frank Death (10)

Robbins trans. Profession (9)

Sexuality/Relationships (4)
The Tetrabiblos is another pivotal 2nd-century Hellenistic text. Click here to read the Tetrabiblos in
Lessons (9)
English in its entirety online. The 1940 Robbins translation has its aws but it  is a decent translation
overall and great as a free reference. Bill Thayer re-typed the entire text onto his website as the text Other (1)

is now in the public domain. Prediction (11)

Ptolemy is the most famous of the Hellenistic astrologers, namely due to his astronomical work (e.g. Principles (49)

the Almagest). His intricate geocentric model of the heavens was the standard prior to the Beginners (14)
Copernican revolution. In terms of Hellenistic astrologers, his in uence on European astrology of the Elections (4)
late Middle Ages and the Renaissance is considerable. As a Hellenistic astrologer he was atypical in
Lots (5)
that he rejected some elements of the typical Hellenistic system and sought a naturalistic
explanation for astrology, rather than one based on signs. Mundane (3)

Philosophy (4)
The Tetrabiblos has material on birth charts (natal astrology) and also material on interpreting charts
Sign Classi cations (14)
for weather and political events (mundane astrology).
Dignity (6)

3. Mathesis by Firmicus Maternus, Jean Rhys Bram Twelfth-Parts (7)

trans. Resources (8) 

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In the fourth century CE, Firmicus Maternus wrote one of the most important works of natal Software (7)
astrology of the Hellenistic era. The 1975 English translation by Jean Rhys Bram is not without its
Texts (4)
defects, due primarily to the fact that the translator was not an astrology. A better translation, by
Transits (1)
James Herschel Holden, was published in 2011, though it also has some idiosyncracies and comes at
a high price (~$60). The Bram translation is freely available in PDF from the Astrologia Humana
website of astrologer Clelia Romano.
Good Sites
Maternus is signi cant for his cookbook-style listing of example delineations for factor combinations.
The Hellenistic Astrology Website
What might it mean to have Saturn in the 9th house during the day, as opposed to at night?
The Horoscopic Astrology Blog
Maternus will give you his opinion on some indications. This large work of 8 books is sure to give any
astrologer a lot to work with in natal astrology. Astrologer/Translator Ben Dykes

4. Treatise of the Fixed Stars by Anonymous of Project Hindsight

379, Daria Dudziak trans. Digital International Astrology Library

AstroDataBank
Also available for free online is an English translation of the Treatise of the Fixed Stars by
Anonymous of 379 (click here). The treatise is the most notable ancient text on the e ects of the Morinus Software
xed stars.  Those who wish to study the e ects of the xed stars from a Hellenistic standpoint will
Skyscript
not be let down by this text.
Cielo e Terra
The xed stars were primarily used for judging eminence, character, and chronic illness. While there
are many techniques for judging eminence in ancient astrology, bright xed stars in prominent Heaven Astrolabe – Margherita Fiorello
places such as conjunct the Moon or an angle, provide the strongest indications. Perso-Arabic
Arhat Media – Rob Hand
astrologers of the early Middle Ages continued to incorporate bright xed stars in their approaches
to eminence. Altair Astrology

The link provided above provides access to the treatise as well as a table of the constellations and Stars and Stones – Peter Stockinger
maps of the constellations which show the star positions.
Anthony Louis – Astrology & Tarot

Beyond the Heaven

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5. De nitions by Serapio of Alexandria, Eduardo Astrologia Medieval – Paulo Silva

Gramaglia trans. Classical Astrologer

The Lost Horoscope X-Files

Serapio is a Hellenistic astrologer from about the 1st century CE whose works are mostly lost. A
nearly complete set of de nitions survives from him. The last page of his manuscript is lost to Martin Gansten Astrology

history. However, note that the de nitions are from a late Byzantine compilation and are known to
Classical Astrology – Dorian Greenbaum
contain additions and alterations from the Middle Ages. An English translation of the text by Eduardo
Gramaglia was made available as a PDF in late 2013.  Click here to access the translation. Constellations of Words

The text is notable because it is an early text in the Hellenistic tradition and explicitly de nes key Sharon Knight

parts of the system. For instance, Serapio marks out which houses are male c and which are
Tania Daniels
bene c. He also discusses how planets earlier in the zodiac have “superiority” over planets later in
the zodiac when in aspect, and even when in the same sign. International Society of Classical
Astrologers
An even more in uential early set of de nitions is attributable to Antiochus of Athens. That set of
de nitions forms a large part of Porphyry’s Introduction to the Tetrabiblos. It is also included in
Rhetorius of Egypt’s Compendium. Serapio’s De nitions were translated together with the Porphyry
text in one volume by James Herschel Holden, published in 2009. Holden also published a translation
of Rhetorius the same year.

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6. Carmen Astrologicum by Dorotheus of Sidon,

David Pingree trans.
While an excellent translation of Dorotheus emerged in 2017 by Ben Dykes (image below), the older
Pingree translation is partially available for free. Deborah Houlding has made the rst three of the
ve books available free as PDFs on her website, Skyscript: Book I, Book II, Book III (her notes on 
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Book III). She has stated her intention to make all ve books available so stay tuned to the page for
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updates. This is a pivotal text but I position it near the bottom of this list as only 3 of the 5 books are
freely available at this time.

Dorotheus wrote the large and in uential Carmen Astrologicum (Song of Astrology) in verse in the
1st century CE. It has 4 books on interpreting charts of birth time (natal astrology). It also has 1 book
on choosing lucky times to start activities and judging matters from the time of an event
(electional/inceptional astrology). Dorotheus is perhaps the astrologer with the greatest in uence on
Perso-Arabic astrology. In addition to containing important natal astrology, he is the source for
original Hellenistic electional astrology. His rules for electional astrology also form the foundation for
the later practice of horary astrology.

7. Centiloquium by Pseudo-Ptolemy, Henry Coley

trans.
The Centilogquium is a set of astrological aphorisms by an unknown author, which was ascribed to
Ptolemy. The aphorisms likely come from the Perso-Arabic period (~9th century CE). The aphorisms
are available for study on Deborah Houlding’s website, Skyscript. While it is a lesser work, and
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somewhat disorganized, the aphorisms deal with all areas of astrology. They were also historically
in uential, as discussed on the site.

Hellenistic Critical Editions Online

I’ve focused on free English texts online. However, you may also be interested in critical editions of
Hellenistic texts in their original languages. There are many available online. Chris Brennan has
organized a valuable list of free critical editions on his Hellenistic Astrology website.

Note on 2018 Update

This article was updated on 10/01/2018 to drop a dead link, add more online texts, and restructure
the article as a Top 7. Some of the texts – the partial translation of Dorotheus and Serapio’s
De nitions – became available after the publication of the original article. 

Featured image of third-century Heracles papyrus is in the public domain.

← Steve Jobs and Mercury | Strength in Ancient Astrology

New Firmicus Maternus Translation Released →

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Anthony
Blogger interested in all things astrological, especially Hellenistic, medieval, Uranian,
and asteroid astrology.

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