the Eternal. They delude the ignorant, entice the unwary, and too often, we fear, fatten upon the sorrows of the wretched. "From him your wife enquires the planets' will, shall go; And what's the greatest gift that Heaven can give, If after her, the adulterer shall live. She neither knows, nor cares to know the rest, If Mars and Saturn shall the world infest, Or Jove and Venus with their friendly rays, DRYDEN'S JUVENAL. I now proceed to consider the aspects of the Zodiac: these are described as being "certain distances at which, when two bodies are found, they produce a peculiar effect." The Conjunction, is two planets being in the same sign and degree; the Sextile is when they are two signs, or 60 degrees distant; the Square, when they are three signs, or 90 degrees apart; the Trine, when they are four signs, or 120 degrees apart; and the Opposition, when they are six signs, or 180 degrees apart. The New Aspects are said to have been discovered by Kepler: they are the Semisextile (30°), the Semisquare (45°), the Sesquiquadrate (135°), the Quintile (72°), and the Biquintile (144°). Of these, the semisquare, or semiquartile, the square, sesquiquadrate, and the opposition, are denominated MALEFIC ASPECTS; and it is affirmed that— "When planets are found at the distances which constitute these aspects, they act evilly for the native;" and that "if the aspect be not complete at birth, but may be wanting a few degrees, then the effect is less powerful; but that it will be found to take effect at that period of life when it becomes complete." There is another class of aspects called Mundane Aspects: these are the positions of the planets, as regards their distances from each other in the twelve houses, hereafter to be described "If they occur at birth, they act upon the native all through life; if they are found afterward, they influence him for some weeks (sometimes months) at that period of life to which their arc extends." The Zodiacal Parallel is considered the most important of all the aspects: it Signifies a parallel distance from the equator, or being in the same degree of declination; and whether of the same name, North or South, is of no consequence." The Mundane Parallels are very important "Both at birth and when found by direction; and consist of equal proportional distances from the meridian." The Part of Fortune "Is that spot in the heavens which is equally distant from the degree ascending, that the Moon is from the Sun." There are also "the Dragon's Head," and "the Dragon's Tail," and a quantity of other jargon with which I will not trouble the reader. Zadkiel acknowledges that many objections have been made to the aspects, as being merely arbitrary measures, and as having "No foundation in nature, there being no difference whatever in mathematics between the 120 degrees and that of 122 degrees, which can be the foundation of that peculiar effect which astrologers declare that the aspect called a Trine does produce." He then says that many attempts have been made to shew that the aspects correspond to a division of the circle, which is analogous to musical measures, and at last declares himself dissatisfied with all the ingenious plans which have been contrived to bring these aspects out of the book of nature, and further observes, that "The number 360, being the number of the degrees contained in the circle of the Zodiac, may be divided equally by the old aspects, 60, 90, and 180 degrees; and that the number 12, the number of the signs, may also be divided equally by the old aspects, a sextile being 2 signs, a square 3 signs, a trine 4 signs, and an opposition 6 signs ;" and he then adds, that such divisions cannot be made with the new aspects; "that a quintile will divide the circle equally, but not the signs; and a sesquiquadrate will not give an equal division of either." But if these aspects are not to be found in nature, where is the art of astrology? But Zadkiel is de - termined to find them there, for he says-what does he say? "Having closely investigated this subject, I have discovered a very remarkable peculiarity in the angles, which form both the old and the new aspects, and I now, for the first time, publish it to the world. The fact is that [the discovery is announced in capitals] Every astrological aspect forms the exact angle, or supplemental angle of a regular polygon, which may be inscribed in a circle.” By the supplemental angle is to be understood, what the angle wants of 180 degrees. Now this wonderful discovery of his, announced with such pomposity, is swept away by a single observation, and with it, all his aspects, both old and new.-The truth is, that the division of the circle into 360 degrees is not a division made by nature, but is merely conventional. The ancients divided the year into 354 days according to the course of the moon; but finding that this did not agree with the solar year, and supposing the differcnce to be about six days, they then divided the year into 360 days, and made an equally correspondent division of the ecliptic: hence arose the division of the circle into 360 degrees. The modern French writers on trigonometry divide the circumference of the circle into 400 equal parts or degrees, each degree into 100 equal parts or minutes, and each minute into 100 equal parts or * Appendix, No. 8. seconds, &c.-I say then, that the number 360 is artificial, and not to be found in nature; and that therefore Zadkiel's famous discovery, now for the first time given to the world, evaporates into pure air. But at the discussion in defence of the discovery, Lieutenant Morrison observed that the heptagon (which is not an astrological aspect) could not by strict geometry be inscribed in a circle. I admitted it, but contended that when an ALMIGHTY AGENT is at work, his operations would not be obstructed by a heptagon: and further remarked, that with regard to the trisection of an angle, though no rule has hitherto been discovered, purely geometrical, by which this may be effected, there is nothing in the nature of a plane rectilineal angle which forbids its trisection, for it has been accomplished by the hyperbolic curve. This wonderful astrologer (p. 19 of the Grammar) thinks that his discovery will afford "Room for admiration of the works of the Almighty Creator, whose ways are past finding out." But even upon his own plan is the scheme complete? The nonagon is a regular polygon of nine sides, and which forms an angle of 40 degrees, "which has not yet been found to constitute an astrological aspect."-Will Zadkiel then part with his discovery? No indeed: well, what does he say? "I am far from |