But the great work is by Lilly; and entirely devoted to the adepts. He defends nothing; for this oracle delivers his dictum, and details every event as matters not questionable. He sits on the tripod; and every page is embellished by a horoscope, which he explains with the utmost facility. This voluminous monument of the folly of the age, is a quarto, valued at some guineas! It is entitled, “Christian Astrology, modestly treated of in three Books, by William Lilly, student in Astrology, 2nd edition, 1659.” There is also a portrait of this arch rogue, and astrologer! an admirable illustration for Lavater!
Lilly’s opinions, and his pretended science, were such favourites of the age, that the learned Gataker wrote professedly against this popular delusion. Lilly, at the head of his star-expounding friends, not only formally replied to, but persecuted Gataker annually in his predictions, and even struck at his ghost, when beyond the grave. Gataker died in July 1654, and Lilly having written in his Almanack of that year, for the month of August, this barbarous Latin verse:—
Hoc in tumbo, jacet presbyter et nebulo!
Here in this tomb lies a presbyter and a knave!
He had the impudence to assert, that he had predicted Gataker’s death! But the truth is, it was an epitaph to the “lodgings to let:” it stood empty, ready for the first passenger to inhabit. Had any other of that party of any eminence died in that month, it would have been as appositely applied to him. But Lilly was an exquisite rogue, and never at a fault. Having prophesied, in his Almanack for 1650, that the parliament stood upon a tottering foundation, when taken up by a messenger during the night, he contrived to cancel the page, printed off another, and shewed his copies before the committee, assuring them that the others were none of his own, but forged by his enemies.
PRACTICAL ASTROLOGY, &c.
By the word Astrology (derived from the Greek αστηρ, a star, and λογος, a discourse,) is meant the art of prognosticating or foretelling events[[8]] by the Aspects, Positions, and Influence of the HEAVENLY BODIES.
By Aspect is to be understood an angle formed by the rays of two planets meeting on earth, able to execute some natural power or influence; which may be better explained by the following table.
| CHARACTERS OF THE | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Six Northern Signs. | Six Southern Signs. | Planets. | Aspects. |
| ♈︎ Aries. | ♎︎ Libra. | ♄ Saturn. | ☌ Conjunction. |
| ♉︎ Taurus. | ♏︎ Scorpio. | ♃ Jupiter. | ⚹ Sextile. |
| ♊︎ Gemini. | ♐︎ Sagittarius. | ♂ Mars. | Δ Trine. |
| ♋︎ Cancer. | ♑︎ Capricorn. | ☉ Sun. | ☐ Quartile. |
| ♌︎ Leo. | ♒︎ Aquarius. | ⦵ Earth. | ☍ Opposition. |
| ♍︎ Virgo. | ♓︎ Pisces. | ♀ Venus. | |
| ☿ Mercury. | |||
| ☽ Luna. | |||
This art, or rather this conjectural science, is principally divided into Natural and Judiciary.