Latin — 1533, repaired
Sunt et locorum mirandae virtutes, aut a rebus locatis, aut ab influxibus stellarum illa comitantibus, aut alio quovis modo adventitiae: nam, ut refert Plinius de cuculo, quo quis loco primum audiat alitem illam, si dexter pes circumscribatur, ac vestigium id effodiatur, non gigni pulices ubicunque spargatur. Sic ferunt pulverem e vestigio anguium collectum, si cum eo respergantur apes, in alveare reverti; similiter pulverem in quo se mula volutaverit, infersum corpori, mitigare ardores amoris; pulverem autem in quo se accipiter volutaverit, si alligetur linteolo rutilo, ferunt ipsum quartanis remedio esse: sic et e nido hirundinum lapillus collectus, recreare confestim dicitur comitiales, et adalligatus perpetuo tueri, potissimum si sanguini vel cordi hirundinum fuerit involutus: et fertur, si quis incisa vena et ieiunus transierit super locum ubi recenter ceciderit corruens morbo comitiali, in eum transire morbum. Et narrat Plinius, quod clavum ferreum defigere in quo loco primum caput defixerit corruens morbo comitiali, absolutorium eius mali fore. Sic herbam in capite statuae natam collectamque alicuius, in vestis panno adalligatam lino rufo, capitis dolorem confestim sedare tradunt: et herbam quamcunque e rivis aut fluminibus collectam ante solis ortum, ut nemo colligentem videat, tertianam laevo brachio alligatam sanare, ita ut is qui alligat id ignoret. Ex locis vero quae stellis appropriata sunt, Saturno correspondent loca quae vis foetida, tenebrosa, subterranea, religiosa et suspecta, ut coemeteria, busta, et hominibus deserta habitacula, et vetustate caduca, loca obscura et horrenda, et solitaria antra, cavernae, putei, praeterea piscinae, stagna, paludes, et eiusmodi. Iovi adscribuntur loca quaevis privilegiata: purpuratorum consistoria, tribunalia, cathedrae, gymnasia, scholae, et omnia loca nitida, munda, variis suavibus odoramentis respersa. Mars tenet haec loca ignea et sanguinolenta: fornaces, pistrinas, macella, cruces, patibula, et loca in quibus bellorum strages, caedesque factae sunt, et carnificinas, et eiusmodi. Ad Solem pertinent lucida, aer serenus, palatia regum et principum, aulae, pulpita, theatra, throni, et omnia regia, et magnifica quaeque. Venus autem incolit fontes amoenos, viridantia prata, floridos hortulos, ornata cubilia et lupanaria, et (ut Orpheo placet) caerulea littora, et balnea, chorearum palaestras, et muliebria cuncta. Mercurius obtinet officinas, scholas, tabernas mercatorum, fora, et consimilia. Luna habitat deserta, silvas, rupes et immania saxa, montes, nemora, fontes, aquas, flumina, maria, littora, naves: dicitur quoque varios lucos peragrans possidere vias publicas, et reconditoria frugum, et similia. Hac ratione, cum amorem operaturi, solent suae artis instrumenta, sive annulos, sive imagines, sive specula, seu alia per aliquod certum tempus sepelire, aut abscondere in lupanari, quo ex loco illo Venerea quadam facultate afficiantur: quod non secus fieri putant, quam res quae, stante in loco foetido, fiunt foetidae, et quae in loco aromatico fiunt aromaticae et redolentes. Ipse etiam mundi situs huc pertinet. Hinc collecturos herbam Saturnalem, vel Martialem, vel Ioviam, iubent ad orientem spectare, vel ad meridiem: primum, quia gaudent esse orientales a Sole; alterum, quia principalia earum domicilia, scilicet Aquarius, Scorpius, Sagittarius, signa sunt meridionalia: similiter Capricornus et Pisces. Collecturos vero herbam Veneream, Mercurialem, vel Lunarem, spectare iubent versus occidentem, quia gaudent esse occidentales, vel contra septentrionem, quia domicilia eorum principalia, quae sunt Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, signa sunt septentrionalia: sic in opere solari spectandum est contra orientem, vel meridiem, quin potius semper ad ipsum solare corpus atque lumen.
Close translation
There are also wondrous powers of places, either from the things located in them, or from the influxes of the stars that accompany those places, or arriving in some other manner: for, as Pliny reports of the cuckoo, in whatever place one first hears that bird, if a circle is drawn with the right foot, and that footprint is dug out, fleas will not be bred wherever it is scattered. So they say that dust gathered from the track of snakes, if bees are sprinkled with it, makes them return to the hive; likewise dust in which a mule has rolled, worked into the body, allays the heats of love; and dust in which a hawk has rolled, if bound in a red linen cloth, they say is a remedy for quartan fevers: so too a small stone gathered from a swallow's nest is said at once to revive epileptics, and, bound on, to protect them permanently — most of all if it has been wrapped in the blood or heart of swallows: and it is reported that if someone, having had a vein opened, and fasting, passes over a place where an epileptic has recently fallen in his fit, the disease passes over into him. And Pliny relates that to drive an iron nail into the place where a person falling in an epileptic fit first struck his head, will be a release from that illness. So they say that an herb grown on the head of a statue, gathered and bound in a piece of cloth of red linen, at once quiets a headache: and any herb gathered from streams or rivers before sunrise, such that no one sees the one gathering it, and bound to the left arm, heals a tertian fever, provided the one who binds it does not know what it is. Now, of the places that are proper to the stars: to Saturn correspond places that are foul, dark, subterranean, of religious dread, and suspect — such as cemeteries, tombs, dwellings deserted by men, and those collapsing from age, dark and dreadful places, and solitary caves, caverns, wells, and moreover fishponds, pools, marshes, and the like. To Jupiter are assigned all privileged places: the assemblies of the purple-clad, tribunals, professorial chairs, gymnasia, schools, and all places that are bright, clean, sprinkled with various sweet fragrances. Mars holds these places, fiery and blood-drenched: furnaces, mills, slaughterhouses, crosses, gallows, and places in which the slaughters and killings of wars have been done, and places of execution, and the like. To the Sun belong bright things, serene air, the palaces of kings and princes, halls, platforms, theaters, thrones, and every regal and magnificent thing. Venus, however, dwells in pleasant springs, verdant meadows, flowering little gardens, adorned bedchambers and brothels, and (as pleases Orpheus) sky-blue shores, and baths, the training-grounds of dances, and all things of women. Mercury holds workshops, schools, merchants' shops, marketplaces, and the like. The Moon dwells in deserts, woods, cliffs and huge rocks, mountains, groves, springs, waters, rivers, seas, shores, ships: it is also said, wandering through various sacred groves, to possess the public roads, and storehouses of crops, and the like. For this reason, those who are about to perform a work of love are accustomed to bury or hide, for some fixed time, the instruments of their art — whether rings, or images, or mirrors, or other things — in a brothel, so that from that place they may be affected by a certain Venereal faculty: which they suppose happens no differently than things which, standing in a foul place, become foul, and things which, in an aromatic place, become aromatic and fragrant. The very situation of the world pertains to this as well. Hence those who are to gather a Saturnian herb, or a Martial one, or a Jovian one, are bidden to face east, or south: the first, because they rejoice to be oriental with respect to the Sun; the other, because their principal houses — namely Aquarius, Scorpio, Sagittarius — are southern signs; and likewise Capricorn and Pisces. Those who are to gather a Venereal, Mercurial, or Lunar herb, however, are bidden to face toward the west, because they rejoice to be occidental, or toward the north, because their principal houses, which are Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo, are northern signs: thus in a solar working one must face toward the east, or the south — or rather, always toward the solar body and light itself.
Modern rendering
Places, too, have remarkable powers — coming either from what is located there, from the astral influences that accompany those places, or arriving by some other route. Pliny reports, for instance, that in whatever spot you first hear a cuckoo, if you trace a circle around your right foot and dig up that footprint, no fleas will breed wherever that earth is scattered. Similarly, it's said that dust gathered from a snake's trail, sprinkled on bees, makes them return to the hive; that dust a mule has rolled in, worked into the skin, cools the heat of desire; and that dust a hawk has rolled in, tied up in a red linen cloth, cures quartan fever. A small stone taken from a swallow's nest is said to instantly revive epileptics, and, worn on the body, to protect them permanently — especially if wrapped together with swallow's blood or heart. It's also claimed that if someone opens a vein, fasts, and then walks, unfed, over the spot where an epileptic recently fell in a seizure, the disease will pass to him; and Pliny reports that driving an iron nail into the exact spot where a falling epileptic's head first struck the ground cures the condition. Likewise, an herb that has grown on a statue's head, picked and tied up in a red linen cloth, is said to relieve a headache at once; and any herb picked from a stream or river before sunrise, with no one seeing you pick it, and tied to the left arm, cures tertian fever — as long as whoever ties it on doesn't know what it is. As for which places belong to which planet: Saturn's places are foul, dark, underground, uncanny, and suspect — cemeteries, tombs, abandoned houses, buildings falling apart with age, gloomy and frightening places, lonely caves, caverns, wells, and also fishponds, ponds, and marshes. Jupiter gets all the privileged places: council chambers of officials in purple, courtrooms, professors' chairs, gymnasiums, schools, and anywhere bright, clean, and scented with pleasant fragrances. Mars holds the fiery, blood-soaked places: furnaces, mills, slaughterhouses, crosses, gallows, battlefields where wars have been fought and people killed, execution grounds, and the like. The Sun governs bright places, clear open air, the palaces of kings and princes, halls, platforms, theaters, thrones — anything regal and grand. Venus lives in pleasant springs, green meadows, flower gardens, decorated bedrooms and brothels, and — as Orpheus would have it — blue shorelines, bathhouses, dance floors, and anything associated with women. Mercury holds workshops, schools, merchants' shops, marketplaces, and similar places. The Moon dwells in wild country, forests, cliffs and huge boulders, mountains, groves, springs, bodies of water, rivers, seas, shorelines, and ships; wandering through sacred groves, it's also said to govern public roads and grain stores, among similar places. This is why people working a love-spell will often bury or hide their tools — rings, images, mirrors, or anything else — in a brothel for a set period, so the objects pick up a Venereal quality from that place: the reasoning being that this works the same way objects left in a foul place turn foul, and objects left somewhere fragrant pick up that fragrance. Even the layout of the world matters here. So those gathering a Saturn-herb, a Mars-herb, or a Jupiter-herb are told to face east or south — east, because these planets prefer to rise ahead of the Sun; south, because their main houses — Aquarius, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and likewise Capricorn and Pisces — are southern signs. Those gathering a Venus-herb, Mercury-herb, or Moon-herb are told to face west, because these planets prefer to trail the Sun, or north, because their main houses — Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Virgo — are northern signs. In solar work, then, one should face east or south — or better yet, simply face the Sun's own body and light directly.
Editorial flags — draft status
- lacuna: Several short inline fragments throughout this chapter ('Sgg l l', 'Mmupmg', 'pUncmfrb', 'ket', 'l#h', 'j /foS? 8 er 1 vid') are almost certainly damaged marginal glosses/sidenote catchwords bleeding into the main OCR stream rather than actual chapter prose; too damaged to reconstruct, excluded from the body text and flagged here rather than guessed at or silently smoothed over
- table: The planet-to-place correspondence table (Saturn/Jupiter/Mars/Sun/Venus/Mercury/Moon, each with a list of place-types) is the highest-consequence content in this chapter for correspondence accuracy — every planet's place-list is flagged in full for manual re-keying against page images, even though the OCR reading is comparatively clean here
- uncertain: Folk-remedy list (cuckoo footprint/fleas, snake-track dust/bees, mule dust/love-fever, hawk dust/quartan fever, swallow's-nest stone/epilepsy, iron nail/epilepsy, statue-head herb/headache, riverbank herb/tertian fever) — each individual remedy-ingredient pairing flagged per rule 3 as recipe/list content
- uncertain: Orientation-for-herb-gathering rule (Saturn/Mars/Jupiter herbs → face east or south; Venus/Mercury/Moon herbs → face west or north) depends on correct sign-to-direction assignments (Aquarius/Scorpio/Sagittarius/Capricorn/Pisces = southern; Taurus/Gemini/Cancer/Virgo = northern) — flagged per rule 3 since a swapped direction would invert the practical instruction
- list: Note that Leo (typically grouped with the Sun/eastern-southern set in this kind of scheme) and Libra/Aries (typically northern or unassigned) are not explicitly named in the surviving direction-rule text — only five 'southern' and four 'northern' signs are enumerated; this may reflect the original's own selective listing (only naming the houses of the five non-luminary planets) rather than an OCR gap, but is flagged for verification against page image since an omitted sign would be easy to lose to OCR damage