On the Sun and Light

...from there Aries. Jupiter has Sagittarius on this side and Pisces on the other. Saturn has Capricorn on this side and Aquarius on the other. But once, when the seats of the planets were being arranged in this way in relation to the Sun and Moon, my close friend Bindaccio Ricasoli Bindaccio Ricasoli (1448–1521) was a Florentine nobleman and associate of the Platonic Academy., a man of profound judgment, raised this objection: "Do you see, Marsilio Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), the influential philosopher and translator who led the Florentine Platonic Academy., that these same seats—though in a reversed order—are nevertheless arranged on both sides by the same degrees in relation to the houses of Saturn?" "I see," I replied, "that this is especially fitting for the Sun itself. Meanwhile, however, it also happens to reach even the highest planet, Saturn." But why? If Saturn is worthy of this honor, it is because he, least of all, seems to deviate from the royal path of the Sun original: "regia Solis uia," referring to the Ecliptic..

But let us return to the established subject. Therefore, these five planets each have two seats: one following the Sun, as if from behind, and the other in the sight of the Moon. The former are called "western" from the Sun; the latter "eastern" from the Moon. Nevertheless, the Sun and Moon claim the entire Zodiac for themselves. For the province of the Sun occupies Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn. The province of the Moon occupies Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and Cancer.

Perhaps they called Cancer the "gate of men" gate of men (porta hominum): the point where souls were thought to descend from heaven into earthly bodies because the Sun already appears to be on the verge of descending there. They called Capricorn the "gate of gods" gate of gods (porta deorum): the point where souls were thought to ascend back to the divine realm because the Sun is seen to begin its ascent immediately from that point. But we have explained these things differently elsewhere. Certainly, these two signs, along with Aries and Libra, have claimed such dignity for themselves that they are called the "hinges of heaven" hinges of heaven (caeli cardines): the four pivotal points of the zodiac—the equinoxes and solstices.