Semiphoras and Schemhamphoras
(1686)

What Man May Obtain from the Twelve Signs

As each creature receives its spirit, number, and measure from God, so also each creature has its time:

• In the Ram, the vegetables of Earth obtain new vigor, the trees sap, and females become better adapted to propogate the human species. In this sign the fecundity of all creatures is limited and regulated. It has Sunday for it's peculiar time and end.
• In the Bull, all transactions and enterprises are prospered and fostered, so that they may go forward according to the will of God, but to this end constant prayers are necessary, and particularly on Sunday.
• In the Twins, the angels have power over bodily changes, and travel from one place to another over the heavens and through the course of the stars; have power over the motion of the waters in rivers and in the sea; cause love between brethren, friends, and neighbors; and give warning against dangers, persons, and objects.
• In the [Crab], the angels rule over legacies and riches, over treasure and treasure-seekers, are calculated by nature to confer power, the art of speaking, and to enlighten the mind in holy, in like manner as did the apostles in their unceasing prayers to God at Pentecost.
• In the Lion, the angels have power to move every living thing, to multiply their species, to watch, and, in certain manners, to judge. And through the gift of God they confer Physicam, Medicinam, and Alchymiam.
• In the Virgin, the spirits have power to subvert kingdoms, to regulate all conditions, to discriminate between master and servant, to command evil spirits, to confer perpetual health, and give to man Musicum, Logicam, and Ethicam.
• In the Balance, the angels derive from God great power, inasmuch as the sun and moon stand under this sign. Their power controls the friendship and enmity of all creatures. They have power over danger, warfare, quarrels, and slander; lead armies in all quarters of the earth; cause rain; and give to man Arithmeticam, Astonomiam, [and] Geometriam.
• In the Scorpion, the angels have power over suffering and terror, over which man makes against God, over common privileges. They compel the conscience to obedience and also force devils to keep their agreements with men, and vice versa. They govern the life and death of all creatures, have power over departed souls, and give to man Theologiam, Metaphysicam, and Geomantiam.
• In the Archer, they have power over the four elements, lead the people from one far country to another, regulate the changes of the elements, and [regulate] the propagation of animals.
• In the Goat, the angels give high worldly honors, worthiness, and virtue, such as Adam enjoyed in Paradise in his innocence. They also enlighten the understanding and confer human reason.
• In the Aquitarius, angels keep man in good health and teach him what is injurious to him, make him contented, and teach him -- through the command of God -- the mysteries of heaven and of nature.
• In the Fish, the angels compel the evil spirits to become subject to man [and] protect the pious so that the great enemy cannot harm him.

See also the Ophiucan Zodiac.

The Twelve Signs Divided