Aries
Head, face, brain, eyes
Astrology course — Tradition & history
Medical astrology: the body and the sky
The oldest of the applied branches: linking signs, planets and humours to parts of the body and to temperaments. A symbolic and historical reading of health — never a diagnosis.
The zodiac man (signs → body)The four temperaments & humoursPlanets and qualities (hot/cold/dry/moist)Houses of health & decumbiture
Important disclaimer
Medical astrology is a symbolic and historical tradition. It is neither a diagnosis, nor medical advice, nor a treatment. It in no way replaces the opinion of a doctor or a health professional. If you have any symptom or concern, consult a qualified caregiver.
Definition
Medical astrology is the tradition that links the signs, the planets and the houses to parts of the body, to temperaments and to the four humours. It is a symbolic and historical system, not a diagnostic tool.
From Antiquity to the Renaissance, medicine and astrology were inseparable: health was conceived as the balance of four humours, and each sign governed a region of the body. This course presents medical astrology as a symbolic heritage — the zodiac man, the temperaments, the planetary correspondences and decumbiture — without ever standing in for medicine.
What is medical astrology?
Summary
- Medical astrology (iatromathematics) links the signs, planets and houses to parts of the body, to temperaments and to the rhythms of vitality.
- The oldest branch of applied astrology, it shaped medicine from Hippocrates to the Renaissance through the theory of the humours.
- Today it is studied as a symbolic and cultural system: a way of thinking about balance, not a medical science.
What it is not
- A diagnosis or a substitute for a medical consultation.
- A method for prescribing or interrupting a treatment.
- A certain prediction of illness or recovery.
History: the medicine of the humours
Ancient and medieval medicine rested on the theory of the humours: health was the balance of four fluids, imbalance being illness.
The stars signalled and paced these balances. People even chose favourable moments for care (election) according to the Moon.
Hippocrates & Galen
They founded the doctrine of the four humours and temperaments, the bedrock of medicine for two millennia.
Medieval & Arabic medicine
It integrated astrology into care: elective moments, bloodletting calendars, the choice of remedies.
Renaissance — Culpeper
Nicholas Culpeper linked each plant to a planet and published a widely circulated astrological herbal.
The zodiac man: the signs and the body
Melothesia, or the “zodiac man”, assigns each sign a region of the body, from the head (Aries) to the feet (Pisces). It is the best-known grid of correspondences.
Taurus
Throat, neck, nape, thyroid, vocal cords
Gemini
Shoulders, arms, hands, lungs, nervous system
Cancer
Chest, breasts, stomach, digestive system
Leo
Heart, back, spine, circulation
Virgo
Intestines, abdomen, assimilation, spleen
Libra
Kidneys, lower back, skin, acid-base balance
Scorpio
Genitals, bladder, colon, elimination
Sagittarius
Hips, thighs, liver, sciatic nerve
Capricorn
Knees, bones, joints, skin, teeth
Aquarius
Calves, ankles, circulation, nervous system
Pisces
Feet, lymphatic system, immunity
The four temperaments and humours
Each temperament results from the combination of two primary qualities (hot/cold and dry/moist) and corresponds to a humour, an element and planets.
Sanguine
AirHot & moistHumour : BloodJupiter, Venus
Sociable, optimistic, vital; excess tends toward scattering and plethora.
Choleric (bilious)
FireHot & dryHumour : Yellow bileMars, Sun
Energetic, ardent, quick; excess tends toward inflammation, fever, irritability.
Melancholic
EarthCold & dryHumour : Black bileSaturn, Mercury
Thoughtful, enduring, methodical; excess tends toward rigidity, dryness, dejection.
Phlegmatic
WaterCold & moistHumour : Phlegm (lymph)Moon, Venus
Calm, receptive, composed; excess tends toward slowness, retention, congestion.
The planets and their physiological domains
Each planet carries qualities and governs functions and organs. They are read alongside the signs to nuance a temperament.
Sun
Hot & dryVitality, heart, life force, eyes (the right one in men).
Moon
Cold & moistFluids, stomach, rhythms, fertility, lymphatic system.
Mercury
Variable (cold & dry)Nervous system, speech, lungs, hands, coordination.
Venus
Hot & moistKidneys, throat, skin, hormones, balance, gentleness.
Mars
Hot & dryBlood, muscles, inflammation, fevers, surgery, accidents.
Jupiter
Hot & moistLiver, growth, abundance, metabolism, excess.
Saturn
Cold & dryBones, teeth, skin, spleen, chronicity, blockages, contraction.
The houses of health
I
House I
The body, the constitution, general vitality, the Ascendant as the root of health.
VI
House VI
Illness, common ailments, the terrain, lifestyle, caregivers.
VIII
House VIII
Crises, major operations, what transforms, the end of life.
XII
House XII
Hospitalisation, isolation, hidden or psychic ailments, convalescence.
Decumbiture: the chart of taking to bed
The decumbiture is the chart cast for the moment the patient takes to bed (or for the first urine examined). It is the horary tool of traditional medical astrology.
From it one judges the nature of the illness, its seat, its course and the moments of crisis.
Significator of the patient
Ruler of the Ascendant and the Moon: the life force and the terrain.
Significator of the illness
Often the ruler of the sixth house, or the planet afflicting the significator of life.
The Moon
Describes the course day by day; its motion paces the phases of the illness.
The angles
Angular planets = acting factors; cadent ones = factors in the background.
Critical days and the Moon
The tradition (inherited from Hippocrates and Galen) identifies “critical days” when the illness reaches a turning point, calibrated on the Moon’s course since the decumbiture.
Traditional principles
- The Moon is followed from its position at the moment of taking to bed.
- The aspects the Moon forms to the malefics (Mars, Saturn) mark the difficult passages.
- Its aspects to the benefics (Jupiter, Venus) or to the Sun signal the phases of improvement.
- The classic crisis points fall around the Moon’s successive squares (about 7, 14, 21 days).
Examples of symbolic reading
Constitution & terrain
One reads the sign of the Ascendant, its ruler and the planets in the first house to describe the constitution (robust, nervous, lymphatic…). A strong Saturn on the ASC points to a rather cold and dry terrain; the Moon or Venus, to a moist one.
Dominant temperament
By weighing the sign of the ASC, the position of its ruler, the sign of the Moon and the season of birth, one draws out a blend of qualities (e.g. hot-moist with a sanguine dominance) rather than a pure type.
Body zone involved
A stressed planet in a sign points to the corresponding region: Mars in Aries draws attention to the head; Saturn in Capricorn to the bones, knees and joints. Symbolic, never diagnostic.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Confusing symbolic correspondence with medical diagnosis.
- Concluding to an illness from a single planetary placement.
- Neglecting the disclaimer: postponing or avoiding a consultation because of a chart.
- Forgetting that temperament is a blend, not a pure type.
- Reading the decumbiture without knowing the real moment of taking to bed.
- Treating a symbolic reading as a prognostic certainty.
Frequently asked questions about medical astrology
Can medical astrology make a diagnosis?
No. It is a symbolic and historical system. It diagnoses nothing and never replaces a doctor. Any symptom must be assessed by a health professional.
What is the zodiac man?
Melothesia: a traditional grid that associates each sign with a part of the body, from Aries (head) to Pisces (feet).
What are the four humours?
Blood, yellow bile, black bile and phlegm. Their balance defined health in ancient medicine, and each humour corresponds to a temperament and to qualities.
What is a decumbiture?
The chart cast for the moment the patient takes to bed. It is the horary tool used by the tradition to follow the course of an illness.
Which houses concern health?
Above all the first (body, vitality) and the sixth (illness, terrain); secondarily the eighth (crises) and the twelfth (hospitalisation, convalescence).
How do you determine a temperament?
You combine the sign of the Ascendant and its ruler, the sign of the Moon and the season, to estimate a blend of hot/cold and dry/moist qualities — not a single type.
Frequently asked questions about medical astrology
Is medical astrology recognised by medicine?+
No. Modern medicine rests on biology and clinical evidence. Medical astrology is studied as a cultural and historical tradition, interesting for understanding the history of ideas, but with no diagnostic value.
Where does the theory of the humours come from?+
It goes back to Hippocrates and was systematised by Galen. For nearly two thousand years, health and illness were conceived there as the balance or imbalance of four humours linked to the elements and the stars.
Why did the ancients choose a moment according to the Moon for treatment?+
Certain treatments (such as bloodletting) were avoided when the Moon was crossing the sign governing the area concerned, out of symbolic caution. It is a traditional elective practice, with no current medical basis.
Who was Nicholas Culpeper?+
A seventeenth-century English herbalist who linked each medicinal plant to a planet and published a very popular astrological herbal, emblematic of the historical link between astrology and care.