ASTROLOGERS MANUAL

MS 2978
MS Short Title ASTROLOGERS MANUAL
Text
  1. NATURE OF SACRED SITES AND THE QUALITIES OF SITES FOR THE DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD; COMPARING A NUMBER OF THESE AND THE TYPES OF SPIRITS LIKELY TO DWELL IN SUCH PLACES
  2. A PANEL OF 72 AUGURIES AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE TO BE NOTED AT THE TIME OF THE BIRTH, AND A COLUMN OF 16 PHASES OF THE MOON WITH ANIMAL HEADS AND A PATTERN OF CROSS HATCHING BENEATH 3 PAIRS OF TREES
  3. A PANEL CONSTITUTING THE HEART OF ASTROLOGICAL LORE IN THE FORM OF THE "COSMIC TORTOISE", UPON THE BELLY OF WHICH IS INSCRIBED THE MAGIC SQUARE OF NINE NUMBERS. IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDED BY 8 TRIGRAMS, FAMILIAR FROM CHINESE SYSTEMS OF DIVINATION
  4. A PANEL TELLING OF THE AFFINITIES AND ANTAGONISMS BETWEEN THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS AND ANIMALS OF THE CYCLE OF TIME. THE 5 ELEMENTS, WOOD FIRE, EARTH, METAL AND WATER, MAY COMBINE IN EITHER HARMONIOUS OR DESTRUCTIVE FASHION, DEPENDING UPON THEIR NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER AND THE 12 ANIMALS LIKEWISE
  5. A PANEL GIVING DETAILS CONCERNING THE NATURE OF 8 TRIGRAMS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, AND A SET OF 9 OMENS, BOTH GOOD AND BAD, CONNECTED WITH THE CENTRE AND 8 DIRECTIONS OF SPACE
  6. THE 5 ASPECTS OF HUMAN VITALITY, AND THE 28 CONSTELLATIONS WHICH COMPRISE THE HOUSES OF THE MOON
  7. A SERIES OF DRAWINGS DEPICTING VARIOUS OMENS OF BENEFIT AND HARM
  8. THE ATTRIBUTES OF THE 8 TRIGRAMS AND THE 12 ANIMALS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL, FOLLOWED BY AN ANALYSIS OF ANIMAL RELATIONSHIPS AS THE DAILY PROGRESSION OF ANIMALS INTERACTS WITH THE ANIMAL OF THE YEAR
  9. SECTION OF DEMONOLOGY AND THE PRESCRIPTIONS FOR WARDING OFF OR CURING THEIR BALEFUL INFLUENCES
  10. CHART GIVING SPECIFIC DETAILS OF ONE PARTICULAR CYCLE OF THE 12 ANIMALS. SUCH COMBINATIONS RECURS ONLY ONCE IN EVERY 60 YEARS
Description MS in Tibetan on cloth, Tibet, 18th c., 1 roll, 47x380+30 cm, 49+13 columns, (47x380 cm), up to 69 lines in Tibetan dbu can script, diagrams, ca. 500 drawings and illustrations in full colours.
Provenance 1. Sam Fogg Rare Books Ltd., London. Commentary: An astrologer's mnemonic textbook in the form of an illustrated roll.
Place of origin Tibet
Dates 18c AD