Picatrix Bk III, ch.

1
The Parts of the Planets Appearing
in Plants, Animals and Metals
ranslated by John Michael Greer and Christopher Warnock
T
Picatrix Bk III, ch. 1
The parts of the planets appearing in plants,
animals and metals
A
fter in speaking in the preceding book of the images
and figures of the heavens and the others that appear
there, now we will speak of which figures or faces in this world
are compared to the celestial figures. And know that according to
when the Sun passes from place to place in the circle of the signs
he cause different effects, and also diverse [effects are caused]
by means of the different planets and fixed stars. And therefore
when there is anything that you wish to arrange you should look
for and pay attention to a time that is appropriate according to
the celestial figures in order to do your works, and then the effects of the work will be created and
produced as the resemblance of terrestrial to celestial things is spontaneously productive and the
agreement of the two things, namely the terrestrial and celestial, is spontaneously creative. There-
fore the celestial pours into the terrestrial according to the movement and alteration of the spirits
which is greatest according to what is asked for. Therefore the works of images are [done] in two
ways, namely [through] the powers of the heavens and earthly natural powers. How much will we
speak about images in this third book as images are the complete knowledge of magic [?] and it is
lofty and high. And in this place we will describe in greater detail the effects and powers which the
planets have as they go separately and the effects and powers of magic.
A
nd first we will speak of Saturn. Saturn is
[the essence] of the retentive virtue. And
he has [rulership, literally an aspect] in profound
sciences, and in the science of laws and seeking out
the causes and roots of things and their effects, and
speaking of miracles and understanding deep and
secret qualities. And of languages he has Hebrew and
Chaldean; and of the external organs the right ear, and
of internal, the spleen, and is [the essence] of melan-
choly by which all members are reciprocally connected;
and he has of laws, that of the Jews; and of clothing all
black clothing; and of professions [literally masteries]
working with the earth, plowing, digging, extracting
minerals, and working on and the profession of build-
ings; and of odors things that smell bad; and of places, black mountains, dark rivers, deep wells, and
desert boundaries and places; and of stones onyx and all black stones; and of metals lead, iron and all
[metals that are] black and smell bad; and of trees, elder trees, oaks, carubia tree, palms and vines,
and of herbs, cumin, rue, onions and all plants that have deep [thick?] leaves, of types of aloe, myrrh
and similar things, white lead (ceruse, known as Spirits of Saturn) and colocynth (bitter apple); of
incense strong cassia (cinnamon) and storax; of animals, black camels, pigs, apes, bears, dogs and
cats; of birds, all having long necks and coarse voices, and cranes, ostriches, duga [?] crows, and all
animals that thrive under ground, and all animals that are tiny, succida [?] and stinking. And of col-
ors all black colors and brown.
he Sun is the light of the world and the governor
of the cosmos, and is the [essence] of the generative
virtue. He rules [literally has an aspect of] philoso-
phy, augury, and the exposition of jurisprudence. Of
languages he has French, and he shares the Greek
language with Mercury; of external organs, the eyes,
and of internal organs, the heart, which rules the
organs of the body and is the source of heat, which
allows the complete life of the body; and of laws
the laws of the gentiles [?] and the spirits of those
that speak of the planets [?]; and clothes that are
precious and noble, those that are made [from?]
gold; and of odors, those that are thick and sweet;
and of places, great cities, royal and beautiful, in which kings linger, and lofty and expensive places;
and of stones, ruby and jacynth [type of ruby] and of metals, gold and of trees, those that are lofty
and beautiful, just as palms grow tall; and of herbs, saffron, roses, wheat, grains and olives which he
shares with Saturn, and of [incense] aloe wood, sandalwood, laccam [shellac?] and all types whose
complexion is hot and sharp; and of odors, good aloe wood; of beasts those that are valuable and
useful to man, oxen, horses, camels, rams, cows and all animals that have great strength and power;
of birds, those which are kept by kings, falcons, eagles, and [the Sun] shares in peacocks; and he also
shares with Mars great serpents and bears; of colors those that look red and [those that are] yellow
like gold.
enus is the [essence] of strength of flavor. And she
rules [literally has an aspect to] grammar and the
art of measuring sound and song. And of languages
she has Arabic; of the internal organs, the right
nostril and of internal [organs] those that meet in
sexual intercourse and project sperm and the stom-
ach, and from whence come the power and taste
in eating and drinking; and of laws, the laws of the
Saracens, of clothing, all painted clothing; and of
professions, all professions [involving] painting and
sculpting [literally forming] selling things that sell
good, playing instruments that are good to listen to, singing, dancing and making stringed instru-
ments; of odors, all that are sweet and good odors; and of places, place of vice, places in which men
are accustomed to healing, and in which men dance, and places of cheerfulness where there is sing-
ing and speech, and places of ladies and beautiful women, and also places of eating and drinking; and
of stones, pearls, and of stones, [those that are] blue and almartach; and of plants, all plants with a
good odor like saffron and arhenda, roses and all flowers with a good odor and smell [and are beau-
tiful?] to look at and of [incense] balsam, and grains of julep, that emit a strong smell, musk and
amber; of animals, females, camels that are beautiful and all beautiful animals of symmetrical bodies
like gazelles, sheep, [gazelles, again?], hares, partridges, calandras and the like. And of small ani-
mals those that are colorful and beautiful; and of colors, those that are [celestial] and of gold tending
a little bit to green.
upiter is the [essence] of the augmentative virtue. And he has
rulership [literally aspect] in laws and legality, in the jurispru-
dence, quickness in obtaining petitions, renewal, retention, and
guarding from human sickness. He has [rulership] over wis-
dom, philosophy and the interpretation of dreams; of languag-
es, Greek; of the external organs, the left ear; of internal [or-
gans], the liver who rectifies the complexion and humors; and
of laws, unity; and white clothing and preciatos [precious?];
and the profession [literally mastery] of making and not mak-
ing, of having command and correcting laws and shining mer-
chandise, and of sweet smells, and of places, oratories, and all
clear places, shining and sacred, of stones, emerald and all white stones and yellow and crystal and
all stones that are bright and believed to be precious; of metals, tin and tutia [Tutty (i.e. Tutia) is in
modern English an impure oxide of zinc, collected from the flues where brass is made]; nuts, hazel-
nuts, pines, pistachios, and all trees that bear fruit, fruit having a rind, and of herbs, white mint, all
herbs that are fruitful with a good odor, and of [incense?] saffron, yellow sandalwood, musk, cam-
phor, amber and mace; of animals, all beautiful animals and valued for their appearance, those which
are sacrificed, and all animals which do not give offense, clear and shining, camels, castones, stags,
gazelles and of birds, those that are beautiful and colored such as peacocks, roosters, male rock
pigeons and quail, and tiny animals of the kind that work just as silk worms and the like. And of
colors he has red and variable white.
M
ars is the [essence] of the attractive virtue. And
he has rulership [literally an aspect] over the
science of nature and rules surgery, and marshalship
of beasts; and extracting teeth and letting blood and
circumcision. And of languages he has Persian; and
of external organs, the right nostril, and of internal
[organs], the gall bladder which filters choler and out
of which choler descends; of instincts, that rousing to
anger and battle. And of laws, those that are hereti-
cal and change another one; and of clothes, linen and
the skins of rabbits and dogs and variable skins; and
of professionals working iron with fire and equipping
for war and robbery; and of smells, those that are
hot, dry and bitter; and of places, strong fortresses,
places that are defensible and warlike, and place where fire ascends; and [places of the] behead-
ing of animals and where wolves, bears and wild animals congregate, and place of judgment; and of
stones, alaquech [Ouroboros Picatrix says this is granite], and all stones that are red and dark; and
of metals, azernech (that is red colored gold) and sulfur and petroleum and vitrum [literally woad,
a dye, but possibly vitreum, glass] that is red; and of trees, all trees whose nature is hot like pepper,
pines, scammony, cumin, cocindium [coccinum? berry (w/Cnidium) of spurge-flax/nettle (Daphne
gnidium); berry of scarlet oak], laurel, euphorbia [cactus-like perennial plants], hemlock, trees that
are useful from which fire ascends [?]; and of types of things [?] everything having a bad complexion
and that kill and consume because of great heat; and of scents [incense] red sandalwood; and of ani-
mals, red camels and all animals that have great red teeth and wild animals, that are dangerous; and
of small animals those that do evil like vipers, scorpions, mice and the like, and of colors intense red.
J
he Sun is the light of the world and the governor
of the cosmos, and is the [essence] of the generative
virtue. He rules [literally has an aspect of] philoso-
phy, augury, and the exposition of jurisprudence. Of
languages he has French, and he shares the Greek
language with Mercury; of external organs, the eyes,
and of internal organs, the heart, which rules the
organs of the body and is the source of heat, which
allows the complete life of the body; and of laws
the laws of the gentiles [?] and the spirits of those
that speak of the planets [?]; and clothes that are
precious and noble, those that are made [from?]
gold; and of odors, those that are thick and sweet;
and of places, great cities, royal and beautiful, in which kings linger, and lofty and expensive places;
and of stones, ruby and jacynth [type of ruby] and of metals, gold and of trees, those that are lofty
and beautiful, just as palms grow tall; and of herbs, saffron, roses, wheat, grains and olives which he
shares with Saturn, and of [incense] aloe wood, sandalwood, laccam [shellac?] and all types whose
complexion is hot and sharp; and of odors, good aloe wood; of beasts those that are valuable and
useful to man, oxen, horses, camels, rams, cows and all animals that have great strength and power;
of birds, those which are kept by kings, falcons, eagles, and [the Sun] shares in peacocks; and he also
shares with Mars great serpents and bears; of colors those that look red and [those that are] yellow
like gold.
enus is the [essence] of strength of flavor. And she
rules [literally has an aspect to] grammar and the
art of measuring sound and song. And of languages
she has Arabic; of the internal organs, the right
nostril and of internal [organs] those that meet in
sexual intercourse and project sperm and the stom-
ach, and from whence come the power and taste
in eating and drinking; and of laws, the laws of the
Saracens, of clothing, all painted clothing; and of
professions, all professions [involving] painting and
sculpting [literally forming] selling things that sell
good, playing instruments that are good to listen to, singing, dancing and making stringed instru-
ments; of odors, all that are sweet and good odors; and of places, place of vice, places in which men
are accustomed to healing, and in which men dance, and places of cheerfulness where there is sing-
ing and speech, and places of ladies and beautiful women, and also places of eating and drinking; and
of stones, pearls, and of stones, [those that are] blue and almartach; and of plants, all plants with a
good odor like saffron and arhenda, roses and all flowers with a good odor and smell [and are beau-
tiful?] to look at and of [incense] balsam, and grains of julep, that emit a strong smell, musk and
amber; of animals, females, camels that are beautiful and all beautiful animals of symmetrical bodies
like gazelles, sheep, [gazelles, again?], hares, partridges, calandras and the like. And of small ani-
mals those that are colorful and beautiful; and of colors, those that are [celestial] and of gold tending
a little bit to green.
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V
M
ercury is the [essence] of the intellective
virtue. And he has rulership [literally an as-
pect] of learning sciences and wisdom and dialectic,
grammar, philosphy, geometry, astronomy and its
judgment [ie astrology], geomancy, [art of] notary,
augury by birds according to their flight, interpreting
the language of the Turks and other peoples; and of
the [external] organs of a man, the open tongue, and
of the internal [organs] the brain and heart, from
which flow the intellect and powers that arrange
in order, and the sensitive memory; and of laws all
that are unlawful and careless of laws, and [those
that] value the philosophical laws and go according
to the senses; and of clothing, linen clothing; and of
professions, declaring, writing verse, building car-
riages, geometry, explaining dreams, debuxandi and shaping, and all professions that are discovered
through subtle tricks; and sharp smells, and of places, houses [where speeches are made] and places
where subtle masters work, and springs of water, streams, reservoirs and wells; and of stones, all
stones shaped and inscribed; and of minerals, mercury, and all stones that are raised up and used in
noble works; and of plants, reeds, bombax [kapok?], flax, pepper, and all plants with a sharp smell
like cloves, and all fruiting trees with an outer covering; and of [incense] all gums; and all those that
smell good which are for medicine and governance[?] like ginger and spikenard and the like; and of
animals, humans, small camels, azebias [zebras?], rumas[? in Pingree Picatrix], apes, wolves, and all
animals that jump or run swiftly and all beasts that feed through trickery; and of birds, those that fly
smoothly and clearly and those with perception and understanding and have pleasant [?] voices and
of tiny animals, those that move a bit like ants and the like, and of colors, blue and mixed [?] colors.
he Moon receives the virtues of the planets and
pours them out into the world, and is the [essence]
of the natural virtue. And she has rulership [literally
has an aspect] over geometry and arithmetic and of
the conjunction of waters and weight and measure,
and high knowledge, magic and medicine and peti-
tions and old things. And of languages she has Ger-
man; and of the external organs of man the left eye
and of internal [organs] the lungs from which the
breath flows out; and of laws, those that pray to idols
and images; and of clothing, hides and scarves, and of
professions, polishing, leather working, minting mon-
ey and seamen; and of odors, those that dont have a
smell like water; and of stones, very small pearls; and
of metals silver and those having a white body; and of trees, iris and reeds, and all white trees with a
good odor and all born in the earth that dont raise their [roots?]; and all small plants and all stalks
and all plants that are grazed; and of places, springs of water, lakes, swamps and places of snow and
wherever water is found; and of [incense] those that are for governance [?] and medicine like cin-
namon, ginger, pepper and the like, and of animals, red horses, mules, donkeys, cows and hares; and
of birds, all birds smooth in their motion, and all animals born or living in the air, and all water birds
and those colored white. And she has white snakes; and of colors made of saffron and red.
T
A
nd know that the nature of the Head of the Dragon is to
augment; when it is with fortunate planets it increases
them in honor and strength, and if he is with unfortunates he aug-
ments them in condemnation and bad fortune. And similarly the Tail
of the Dragon has the nature of diminution. And when it is with for-
tunate planets it diminishes their good and with infortunates it dimin-
ishes their evil and condemnation. And we have reminded you of the
preceding so you can know it and value it.