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Agrippa: The Philosophy of Natural Magic, Chapter XLVIII — Of the Virtue of Places, and What Places Are Suitable to Every Star

Occult Philosophy, Book I: Natural Magic (Agrippa) · part 48 of 74 · 2 passages · tr. Henry Morley; L. W. de Laurence ed.
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§ About this work

Agrippa opens by positing a three-fold World—Elementary, Celestial, Intellectual—ascended toward the First cause (I), then defines Magic as the chief Science comprehending Natural, Mathematical, and Theological Philosophy (II). He treats the four Elements, their qualities, orders, and the properties of Fire and Earth, Water and Air, their compounded bodies, and their presence in all things up to God (III–VIII). He distinguishes elementary, secondary, and occult virtues, tracing the latter to Ideas, the Soul of the World, and celestial situation (IX–XIV), then how virtues move to their like, infuse likeness, form friendships and enmities, and reside in species, individuals, whole substances, parts, and life or death (XV–XXI). He assigns things to Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, planetary governments, kingdoms, Signs, stars, and Characters (XXII–XXXIII), then shows how virtues are drawn down through conformable things, mixtions, prepared matter, correspondence of Worlds, and animated Images (XXXIV–XXXVIII). Turning operative, he treats raising spirits (XXXIX), bindings, sorceries, catamenia, suffumigations and their recipes, collyries and unguents, alligations, rings, and virtues of places (XL–XLVIII). He describes light, fascination, wonder-working acts, and gestures and bodily figures (XLIX–LII), then divinations—Auguria and Auspicia, birds and beasts, lightnings and prodigies, and the four elemental divinations (LIII–LVII)—and reviving of bodies (LVIII). He treats dreams and prophetic madness (LIX–LX), then man's body, senses, mind, and passions, how the phantasy alters one's own and another's body, and how passions gain power through Heaven, faith, and the stars' minds (LXI–LXVIII). He closes with the power of words, proper names, sentences, enchantments, writing, and the Hebrew letters ordered to Signs, Planets, and Elements, ending the first book (LXIX–LXXIV).

Chapters
Chapter XLVIII

The chapter describes virtues of places. Pliny's cuckoo footprint prevents fleas; snake-track dust returns bees; mule dust cools passion; hawk dust cures quartan; swallow-nest stone relieves falling sickness. Crossing a fit-spot after vein-cutting causes the disease; an iron nail frees the sufferer. Herbs cure headache and tertian. Agrippa assigns places to Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Moon, then treats burying love-instruments and directions for gathering herbs by star, quoting Orpheus.

Chapter XLVIII, Section 1aChapter XLVIII, Section 1b