Egyptian Oedipus, Volume 3

THEATER OF HIEROGLYPHS. CHAPTER III.

...they assigned specific qualities, by which one could distinguish which thing was subject to which zodiac sign or planet. Furthermore, they indicated with letters the properties, effects, and operations of each of the twelve signs as well as the seven planets, as will be seen shortly. In this way, they expressed matters pertaining to Medicine, Agriculture, Household Management, Politics, Ethics, and the Sciences through just as many characters. For example, they determined what effects Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon would produce in each of the twelve signs of the Zodiac. They did not only attribute much to the stars, but also to the Heavens themselves, even without respect to the stars. But now, let us subjoin the characters of each of the aforementioned things.

Characters of the threefold World according to the Brahmins The Brahmins are the priestly caste of India; Kircher viewed them as the custodians of ancient, albeit corrupted, wisdom..

And first, indeed, these were the characters of the threefold World: the first expresses the Intelligible World The realm of divine intellect and spiritual beings., the second the Sidereal World The realm of the stars and planets., and the third the Elemental World The physical world composed of the four elements.. They expressed the Universe in this way: a square symbol. Indeed, let us place the characters of the principal parts of the World here, lest we seem to have omitted any of these curious matters.

It has not been possible to penetrate the mystical reasons these characters contain; hence it is more likely that they are numbered among Magical characters, involving an implicit or explicit pact Kircher warns that these symbols might derive their power from a "pact" with spiritual entities, a common concern in Renaissance discussions of magic.. The reason for this is evident from the Magic of the Arabs, who stuff both books and amulets with characters of this sort, as we have shown in the Saracen Kabbalah Original: Gabala Saracenica. Kircher's own term for Islamic occult traditions., and they call them hâruf elhend Original Arabic: حروف الهند, translated by Kircher as "Indian letters"., that is, Indian letters.

Characters signifying the effects of Saturn.

1. The following marks are arranged according to the effects of Saturn in the twelve signs, and they indicate all those things which are in any way subject to him. For Saturn operates one way in Aries, another in Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer, and another in the other signs. Thus, in Aries, the marks pertaining to him indicate, among the goods of the soul, a depth of genius, though exposed to changes; in Taurus, they indicate false appearances and the deception of sight; in Gemini, the characters indicate journeys to be undertaken by horse or carriage; in Cancer, dexterity,

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