Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XXXI — How Provinces and Kingdoms Are Distributed to Planets · 1 of 1 · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
Chapter XXXI, Section 1
CHAPTER XXXI. How Provinces and Kingdoms Are Distributed to Planets . Moreover , the whole orb of the earth is distributed by kingdoms and provinces to the Planets and Signs: For Macedonia, Thracia, Illyria, Arriana, Gordiana, India, many of which countries are in the lesser Asia, are under Saturn with Capricornus; but with Aquarius under him are the Sauromatian Country, Oxiana, Sogdiana, Arabia, Phazania, Media and Æthiopia , which countries, for the most part, belong to the more inward Asia. Under Jupiter, with Sagittarius, are Tuscana, Celtica, Spaine, and happy Arabia; and under him, with Pisces, are Lycia, Lydia, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Paphlagonia, Nasamonia, and Lybia. Mars, with Aries, governs Britany, France, Germany, Bastarnia, the lower parts of Syria, Idumea, and Judea; with Scorpio, he rules Syria, Comagena, Cappadocia, Metagonium, Mauritania, and Getulia. The Sun, with Leo, governs Italy, Apulia, Sicilia, Phenicia, Chaldea, and the Orchenians. Venus, with Taurus, governs the Isles Cyclades, the seas of little Asia, Cyprus, Parthia, Media, Persia; but, with Libra, she commands the people of the Island Bractia, of Caspia, of Seres, of Thebais, of Oasis, and of Troglodys. Mercury, with Gemini, rules Hircania, Armenia, Mantiana, Cyrenaica, Marmarica, and the lower Egypt; but, with Virgo, he rules Greece, Achaia, Creta, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Assyria, and Ela, whence they of that place are in Scripture called Elamites. The Moon, with Cancer, governs Bithivia, Phrygia, Colchica, Numidia, Africa, Carthage, and all Carchedonia. These we have, in this manner, gathered from Ptolemy's opinion, to which, according to the writings of other astrologers, many more may be added. But he who knows how to compare these divisions of provinces according to the Divisions of the Stars, with the Ministry of the Ruling Intelligences, and Blessings of the Tribes of Israel, the Lots of the Apostles, and Typical Seals of the Sacred Scripture, shall be able to obtain great and prophetical oracles, concerning every region, of things to come.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The passage explicitly links planetary rulership to geographical provinces and scriptural lots as a legible cosmic map.
The Stoic and Plotinian doctrine that all parts of the cosmos are bound by hidden affinities, so that a movement in one part resonates through the whole; the metaphysical basis for astrology, magic, and divination.
The passage presupposes hidden affinities binding each planet-sign combination to specific terrestrial regions, and explicitly invokes 'Ruling Intelligences' whose ministry corresponds to these divisions, making this the metaphysical basis for the astrological mapping.
The ritual practice of discerning hidden knowledge — future events, concealed causes, or the will of higher powers — through a structured technique applied to cards, lots, astrological configuration, entrails, oracle, or other sortilege, rather than through direct unmediated insight. Distinct from gnosis_direct_knowledge (unmediated inner apprehension of ultimate truth, not a technique applied to an external medium) and cosmic_sympathy (the underlying doctrine of hidden affinity that many divinatory techniques presuppose, rather than the practice of consulting it).
The passage's final sentence states that one who knows how to compare these planetary divisions with scriptural typologies 'shall be able to obtain great and prophetical oracles, concerning every region, of things to come,' explicitly framing the system as a divinatory technique.
The rule of the stars and planetary powers over mortal destiny — the astrological governors whose spheres bind souls to birth, error, and death; in Sethian gnosis the 'error of the stars' that the savior exposes, and from which the incorruptible generation alone is free. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of universal affinity) in being a bondage-to-powers claim, and from archons (the rulers as personal beings) in concerning the astral machinery itself.
The passage's central claim is that the 'whole orb of the earth is distributed by kingdoms and provinces to the Planets and Signs,' asserting that planetary powers determine the character and governance of each region.