Section 4

ISuppofe that no man doubts but that thefe inferiour things ferve their fuperiours, and that the generation and corruption of mutable things, every one in his due courfe and order, is over-ruled by the power of thofe heavenly Natures. The Egyptians, who firft proved and found out the cffe&s of the heavens , becaufe they dwelt in the open Champion-fields, where they had continually fair-wea- ther , and there were no vapours fent up from the earth which might hinder their contemplation of heaven, fo that they might continually behold the Stars in their brightneffe , did therefore wholly beftow themfelves in the know- ledge of heavenly influences : and whereas others that were not fo diligenc as they, flood amazed at the caufes of things, thefe men referred all to the heavens and the Stars, that all things took their deftiny from them, and that the influence of heaven bare great fway in all generations and corruptions; and thus obferving the motions of the ftars to and fro, they wrought many wonderful things ;
Of the Caufes of Wonderful things. n
for this was their reiolution, that to certain hours and lee times , there were an- iwerable ceruin afpefh of iuperiour powers,. wnercby all things were eff^&ed, Ptolomj was of the lame minde, who reduced the heavenly influences to a certain order, and thereby did prognoilicate many things: and he thought the mattr ih clear, that it need not mnch proof: and moreover, that the increafe and decreafe of all plants, and all living creature?, mcreorlefle, did proceed from the power andftrokeof thefiars. Ar.ftotle , finding that the hi'^helt motion was the caule aod beginning of all thing-;, \fcr if that fhould ceafe, thefemuit needs presently de- cay) faith,that it was nectfl'iry fcr this world t obi placed very neerand clofe to the iuperiour motions, that all power might be thence derived ; and he faw that all this force of inferiour thing; was caufed itom the Sun, as he himfelf fitly (hews: The winding courfe of the Sun, faith he, in the oblique circle of the Zodiak, caufeth the generation and corruption of alltranfitory things ; and by his going to and frc, diiiingu;fhath times and (Worts, TUto faith, that the circular motions of the hea- vens are the caufes of fruitfuln.fl; and b-irrennefle. The Sun is the Governour of time, and r he rule of life. Hence J m'Uchm following the do&rinc of the Egyp- tians, i'aich,that every good thing cometh certainly from the power of the Sun •, and if we receive any good from any thing elfe, yet the Sun mull pcrfeit and fnifh it. Heraclittu calls the Sun, the Fountain of heavrnly light; 0,-phetts calls it the light of life . TUto calls it a heavenly Fire, an ever li .ingC reature, a (lar that hath a Soul, the greatett and the daily flar : and the natural Philofophers call it the very heart of heaven. And Pfor/«*« fhews, that in antiem times the Sun was honoured infiead of God. Neither yet is the Moon ltiTe powerful, bur what with her own force, and what with the force of the un which (he borrows, fhe works much.by reafon of her neemefle to thefe inferiours. Albu r.a\at faid, That all thing- had their vertue from the Sun and the Moon : and Hermes the learned laid, that the Sun and the Moon are the life of all things living. Tne Moon is nighelt to the Earth of all Planets ; fhe rules moift bpdie?,and (he hath luch affinity wirh thefe inferiour , that as well things that have fouls, as they that have none, do feel in themiclves htr waxing, and her. waining. The Seas and Flouds, Rivers and Springs, do rife and fall, do run fome- times fwifter,fometimes flower , as fhe tules them. The furges of the Sea are toft to and fro, by continual fuccefhon ; no other caufe whereof the Antienrs could find but the Moon only : neither is there any other apparent reaion of the ebbing and flowing thereof. Li\ ing creatures are much at her beck, and receive from her great encreafe : for when fhe is at the fml, as LucUius faith, fhe feeds Oyfters,Crabs, Shelfifli, and foch like, which her warm light doth temper kindly in the night fea- fon; but when fhe is but the half or the quarter light, then (he withdraws her nou- riftiment, and they wafte.Tn like manner, Cucumbers, Grurds, Pompons, and fuch like, as have (lore of waterifli juice, feel the ftateof the Moon: forthey wax as fhe doth j and when fhe wiineth, they wade, as Athens.™ writes. Likewife the very fiemsof plants do follow the ftate of the heavens; witneffe the Husband-man, who finds it by experience in his grafting: and skilful Husbandmen have found the courfe and feafon of the year, and the m nethly race of the Moon fo neceffary for plants, that they havefuppofed this knowledge to be one chief part of Husbandry. Soalfo, when the Moon paffeth through thofe fignsof the Zodiak which aremoft peculiar to the earth, if you then plant trees, they will be ftrongly rooted in the earth: if you plant them when (ru pafleth through thefigns of the Air, then the tree fo planted, will be plentiful in branches and leaves, and eucreafeth more up- ward then downward. But of all other , the moll pregnant fign hereof is found in the Pome-granate • which will bring forth fruit julHo many years, as many daies as the Moon is old when you plant it. And it is a report alfo, that Garlick, if it be fct when the Moon is beneath the earth, and be alio plucked up at fuch a time, it will lofe its ftrong favour.All cut and looped Woods,asTimber and Fewel,are full of muchmoifture at the new of the Moon; and by reafon of that moifture, they wax foft, and fo the worm eats them, and they wither away. And therefore Vtmoeritm counfellcth , and VttruvtHi is alio of the fame rninde , to cut ox lop trees ia
E 2 the
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\% Natural Magick, 2?oo^ i.
thewainingof the Moon, that being cut in feafon, they may latt long without rot- tenneffe. And that which is more, as her age varies, fo her effc&s vary according to her age; for inherfirft quarter, (he maketh hot and moiif,butefpecially mcitt j from thence all moift things grow and receive their humidity in that time : from that time to thefull of the Moon, (he gives heat and moiilure equally, as may be feen in Trees and Minerals : from that time to the half Moon decaying, (he is hoi and rnoili, but efpecially hot, becaufe (lie is fuller of light; thence the fifhes at that time com- monly are wont to iwim in the topof the water • and that the Moon is in this age warm, appears by this, that it doth extend and enlarge moift bodies ; and thereby the moifturc encreahng,it caufeth rottennefle, and maketh them wither and wallc a- way. But in her 'alt quarter, when (he lofeth all her light, then (he is meerly hot ; and the wifes of £ka/dea hold that this ftate of heaven is beft of all other. So they report that there is a Moon-herb, having round twirled leaves of t blewifh colour, which is well acquainted with the age of the Moon ; for when the Moon waxeth, this herb every day of her ags brings forth a leaf ; and when (he waineth, trie fame herb lofeth for every day a leac. Thefe variable effefts of the Moon, we may fee more at large, and more ufually in tame creatures and in plants, where we have dai • ly fight and experience thereof. The Pifmire, that little creature, hath t fenfe of the change of the Planets: for fhe worketh by night about the full of the Moon, but fhe refteth all the fpace betwixt the old and the new Moon. The inwards of mice anfwer the Moons proportion ; for they encreafewith her, and with her they alfo ftirinkaway. If we cut our hair, or pair our nailes before the new Moon, they will grow again but flowly ; if at or about the new Mcon, they will grow again quickly. The eyes of Cats are alfo acquainted with the alterations of the Moon, fo that they are fomctimes broader as the light is lefle , and narrower when the light of the Moon is greater. The Beetle marketh the ages aud feafons of the Planets : for he gathering dung out of the mixen, rounds it up together, and covereth it with earth for eight and twenty daies, hiding it fo long as the Moon goeth about the Zodiak ; and when the new Moon ccmeth, he openeth that round ball of dirt, and thence yields ay oung Beetle. Onions alone, of all other herbs, (which is molt wonderful) feels the changeable ftate of the Planets, but quite contrary to their change frameth it felf; for when the Moon waineth, the Onions encreafe; and when fhe waxeth, they decay; for which cauiethePrieftsof Egypt would not eac Onions, as P/#;*n^writes in his fourth Commentary upon Hefiode. That kinde of fpurge which k called Heliofcopium-, becaufe it follows the Sun , difpofeth of her reaves as the Sun rules them • for when the Sun rifeth, fhe openeth them, as being tfefirous that the morning fhould fee them rife ; and fhutteth them when the Sun fetteth, as defiring to have her flower covered and concealed from the night. So many other herbs follow the Sun, as the herb Turn-iolc: for when the Sun rifeth, (he holds down her head all day long, that the Sun may never fo much as writhe any of her (there is fuch love as it were betwixt them) and fhe ftoops (fill the fame way which the Sun goeth : fo do the flowers of Succory and of Mallows. Likewifc the pulfe called Lupines, ftill looks after the Sun, that it may not Writhe hisftalk; and this watcheth the Suns motion fo duly, that like a Dial it {hews the Husband-man the time of the day , though it be never fo cloudy ; and they know thereby the iuft time when the Sun fetteth : and Theephraftus faith, that the flower of the herb Lotum, isnotonelyopenandfhut,but alfofometimes hides, and fometimes ftiews her ftalk from Sun-fet to midnight ; and this, faith he, is done about the River £h- pbrates. So the Olive-tree, the Sallow, the Linden-tree, the Elm, the white Po- ple-tree, they declare the times of the Suns (landing, when it turns back again from the Poles ; for then they hide their leaves, and (hew only their hoar-white backs. In like manner winter-Creffes or Irium, and Penyrial, though they begin to wither being gathered, yet if you hang them upon a ftick about the time of the Solft ice, they will for that time flourifh. The ftone Selenites, (as much as to fay, the Moon- beam) called by others Aphrofelinon, contains in it the Image of the Moon, and (hews the waxing and waining of it every day in the fame Image. Another ftone
there
Of the Qaufes of Wonderful things. ij
there is,that hath in it a little cloud that turns about like the 5un,fomtirhes hiding^ fometimes (hewing it l'e:f. The Beaft Cynocephalus rcjoiceth at thcrifingof the Moon, for then he Hands up, lifting his fore-feet toward heaven,and wears a Roy- al Enfign upon hi3 head : and he hath luch a Sympathy with the Mood, that. wru»n fhe meets with the Sun (as bet win the old and new Moon) fo that (he gives no light, the male, or He-Cynocephalus,never looks up, nor eats any thing, as bewailing the icflc of the Moon j and the female, as male-content as He, ail that while piffeth blood : for which caufes, thefe beads are nourifhed and kept in hallowed places,thac by them the time of the Moones meeting with the Sun may be certainly known, as Ortts writes in his Hieroglyphicks. The liar Ar&uru?, at his riling caufeth rain.DogS are well acquainted with the riling of the Canicular ftar; for at that time they arc commonly mad ; and lb are vipers and ferpents ; nay, then the very (landing pools are moved, and wines work as they lye in the Cellar, and other great and ftrange ef- teSs are wrought upon earth : when this ftarrifeth , Bafil-gentie waxeth whiterifh, and Coriander waxeth dry, is Theophrafttumkcih. The riling of this ftar was wont to be diligently oblerved every year ; for thereby they would prognosticate, whether the year following would be wholefome or contagious, as Heracltdes Port- ucut faith: for if it did rile dark and gloomy, it was a fign that the Air would be thick ancTfoggy, which would caufc a peftilence : but if it were dear and lightfome, it was a fign that the Air would be thin and well purged, and confequentiy health- ful. In ancient times they much feared this Srar, fo that they ordained a dog to be effired in Sacrifice to ir, as Columella faith, that this liar is pacified with the blood and entrails of a fucking whelp; and Ovid like wife faith, that a dog bred on the sarth, is facrificed toxhe Dog-ttar in Heaven. The Beaft or wilde Goat, which in fgjpt is called Oryx, hath afenfe or feeling of this Star before it rifeth • for then he looks upon the Sun-beams, and in them doth honour the Canicular ftar. Hip- pocrates faith, it is not good either to purge or let blood, before or after this ftar rifeth . and (jalen (hews that many very neceffary operations of this Star muft be oblerved in Critical dayes ; and likewife in fowing and planting. Moreover, the greater ftarsand conftellationsmuft be known,' and at what time they go out of the iigns, whereby are caufed many waerifh and fiery impreffions in the Air. And vrhofoever is rightly fcen in ail cheie things, he will afcribe all thefe infericurs to the ftars as their caufes ; whereas if a man be ignorant hereof, he lofeth the grea- ter} part of the knowledge of fecret operations and works of nature. Bfe of this argument, we have fpoken in our writings of the knowledge of Plants.
Chap. fX.-
How to Mr aft ani draw firth the vermes of fnptriour Bodies,
Vfl/"E have (hewed before, the operations of celeftial bodies into thefe inferiours, asalfothe Antipathy and Sympathy of things: now Will We (hew, by the affinity of Nature, whereby ail things are linked together as it were rri one com- mon bond, how to draw forth and to fetch out the vertues and forces of luperior bodies. The Platonicks termed Magick to be the attra£tion or fetching out of one thing from another, by a certain affinity of Nature, tot the parts of this huge world, like the limbs and members of one living creature, do ail depend upon one Author, and are knit together by the bond of one Nature: therefore as in us,the brain, the lights, the heart, the liver, and other parts of us do receive and draw mutual benefit from each other, lb that when one part fuffers, the reft alfo fuffer with it ; even fo the parts and members of this huge creature the World, I meaft all the bodies that are in it,do in good neighbour-hood as it were,lend and borrow each others Nature; for by reafon that they are linked in one common bond, there- fore they have love in common ; and by force of this common love, there is amongft them a common attraction, or tilling of one of them to the other. And this in- deed is Magick. The concavity or hollowneffe of the Sphere of the Moon, draws up fire to it, bectufe of ihe affinity of their Natures; and the Sphert of the fire
likewife
i^. Natural Magick. hool^i.
likewife draws up Air ; and the centre of the worlddraws the earth downward, and the natural place of the waters draws the waiers to it. Hence it is that the Load-ftone draws iron to it, Amber draws chaff or light ftraws, Brimftone draws fire, the '•un dnws after ir entry fl>w rs and leaves, and the Moon draws after ic the waters. ?lotimuin&Sy*ep.tn fay , Great is nature everywhere; me layetb. certain baits whereby to ta:cn certain things in all places : as fhe draws down hea- vy things by the cenrre of the eanb, as by a bait ; 16 (he draws light things upward by the conca\ity of the Moon ; by heat, leaves ; by moilture, roots ; by ore bait or another, all things. By which kind of auraifion, the Indian Wilards hold that the waole world is kr>ic and bcao1 within it ieif : for ' fay they) the World is a li- ving creature , ever) wnere both male and female, and the parts of it do couple to- gether, within and between themlelves, by reaion of their mutual love; and fo they hold and 'land together, every mem ier of it beins linked to each o; her by a common bond ; which the pint of the Worlc, whereof we fpake before, hah incli- ned them unto. For thiscauft Orpheus calluh Jupiter, and the Nature cf the World, mm and wife; becaufe the World is fodelirous to marry and couple het parts together. The very or del of the Signs declareth, that the World is every- where male and female • tor the former is the male , the latter is the female: fo alfo Trees and H rbs have both fexes, as wetl as living treatures: fo the fire is to the Air, and the water to the Earth, as a male to the femaie : fo that it is no mar- vel| that the parts of the World defire fo much to be matcht together. The Pla- nets are t artly ma^ar-d partly female; zndMercurjis of both fexes itfeif, Thcfe things the Husbar d man perceiving, prepares his field and his feed, for heavenly influences to w cordingly 9 for the preservation both of our bodies, and of univerfal Nature. So the Pbilofopher who is skilful invhe Srars(for fuch is properly a Magkian)works by certain baits, as it were, fitly matching earthly and heavenly things together, and platting them as skilfully ore within anothei, asacunning Husband-man planteth anoidcr fff intoa ycu g (lock: nay, he iayeth earthly things under heavenly things , and bferiouts fo fitly for their fuperiours everywhere to work upon, as if a nun mould lay iron before the Losct ftone to be drawn to it , or Chriifal before j the Sun to be enlighten* d by it , or an Egge under a Hen to hatch it. Furthermore, as fome can focheri hegges$tbat even without the help of living creatures, they will make them live • yea and oftentimes they will prepare fuch matter, fo cunningly, that even wuhout egges,or any apparent feeds, they will brine forth living creatures, (as they will bring fc nu Bees, of an Ox ; and a Scorpion, of Bafil .) working toge- ther by the help. >f universal Nature upon he vantage of fit matter, and a feaicn- able or convenient r;,me: even fo the M.gician, whenonce beknow? which and what kinds of makers Nature hath parti) framed, and partly Art hath perfected, and gathered together, fuch as are fit to receive influence from above t thefe matters efpedally doth he prepare and compound tosether,at luch a time as fuch an influence raignethjand by this means c'oih gain tohimielf the vermes and forces of heaven- ly bodies : for wherefoever there is any matter fo directly Lid before luperiour bo- die?,is a looking-glaffe before ones fate,or as a wall right before ones voice ;fo doth it prefently fuffer the work of the Superiours,the moft mighty Agent,and ihe admi- rable life and power of all things mewing it felf therein. P.Utims in his Book of Sacrifice and Magick, faith, That the Philolophers confideting this affinity and bond of Nature, w" erewith all natural things are linked each to other, did thence frame the Art of Ma°ick,and acknowledged both that the fupenours might be feen in these inferiours, and thefe inferiours in their fuperiours ; earthly things in heavenly, though not properly, bur in their caufes, and after a heavenly fc£t ; likewife heaven- ly things in earthly, but yet after an earthly fort. For whence mould we fuppofe it to be, that the plants called Sun.followers, mould ft ill follow the vuns motion ? and likewife the Moon-followers, the Moons motion ? Wherefore furely even in esrth we may behold both the Sun and the Moon ; but yet by rea!cn cf their quality up- on earth; audio in heaven we may behold all plants,ard ftones.and living creatures, but yet asfollowing the heavenly natures : which things the Aniieuts perceiving,