Rules for the judgement of

nativities
as given by Conrad Rauchfuss in
Scholia in Claudii Ptolemaei Quator Libros Apotelesmaticos
(Basilea, 1578)

Four things should be considered in a geniture:

1. factors preceding the birth: parents;
2. factor preceding and following it: brothers and sisters;
3. factors concerning the birth: gender, twins, monsters, perinatal deaths (qui not
nutriuntur);
4. factors following it: life, form and temperament of the body, qualities of mind,
injuries and diseases of the body, diseases of the mind, wealth, the fortune of rank
and the quality of employment, marriage, children, friends and enemies, travelling,
death.

To the preceding considerations we should add the investigation of future times.

Five things should be considered in every question:

1. The place concerning the question;
2. The ruler of this place. Dignities are five:
a. about life, the domicile is more important than other dignities;
b. about the fortune of rank, the exaltation;
c. about fortune, friends and fame, the triplicity;
d. in the individual and singular things, the term;
e. in all the rest, the aspect.
3. The quality of future events, which could be lucky or unlucky;
4. the importance of the event;
5. time when events will happen.

About the kind of what is signified, this could be of different qualities (wealth for example
could depend on money, goods, lands, gifts, rent, and be great or scarce) and depends on:
1. Ruling planets;
2. Planets witnessing the place;
3. Planets having commixture with rulers;
4. The signs1 occupied by significators;
1
Signs of the eighth and ninth sphere.
The eighth sphere is the sphere of fixed stars. The ninth sphere is the “primum mobile”, external to all the others,
incorporeal, invisible, void of celestial bodies. The sphere of Primum Mobile has not its own motion, as the other
planetary seven ones have, but it impresses to the mechanism of the spheres an opposite and very swift motion: the
daily motion . It is the sphere of zodiacal signs, void of light and substance. (Giuseppe Bezza. Glossario astrologico)

Rules for the judgement of nativities

TRANSLATED BY MARGHERITA FIORELLO
 The strength of the planets derives from a fourfold consideration:
1. in virtue of their position in the sky; if in this or that sign, if they are in signs where
they have some familiarity;
2. in virtue of their position in the geniture, if they are in the noblest angles, i.e. the
Ascendant, the Midheaven or if in succedent places;
3. in virtue of their position with respect to the Sun, when for example the are
Oriental;
4. in virtue of their own condition, if they are additive 2 and swift.

The rapidity of the effect depends on three factors, i.e on the place of:
1. the significators in the quadrants of the figure: from the horoscope to the
Midheaven and from the setting place to the I.C. they give swift results, in the other
two quadrants slow ones;
2. the significators in the parts of the quadrants; in the angles swift results, in the
falling parts slow results, in the succendent parts poor ones.
3. eventually with respect to the Sun: the 90 degrees preceding the Sun and the 90
degrees preceding the point opposite the Sum are called matutine, the other
vespertine.

FINIS

2
When a planets moves according his natural motion and increases its pace and it is called for this reason additive.
(Heliodori, ut dicitur, in Paulum Alexandrinum Commentarium)

Rules for the judgement of nativities

TRANSLATED BY MARGHERITA FIORELLO