The Kitab al tafhim li awa'il sina'at al tanjim,
the Book of Instructions in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, often known
as the Tafhim, was written in 1029 and thus is not an example of Renaissance astrology.
Nevertheless, this book by the famous Islamic scientist
Al-Biruni provides an excellent
overview of the mathematics, astronomy and astrology of the advanced Islamic civilization
of the Middle Ages.
It was this "New Science", imported into Europe in the
11th and 12th centuries, that
formed the basis of the astrology practiced in the Renaissance. Despite a certain
trend towards both innovation and return to Greek and Roman sources, Renaissance
astrology is essentially Islamic astrology. Those familiar with medieval and
Renaissance astrology will note some interesting idiosyncrasies in Al-Biruni's
assignment of items to various houses.
Selections from Abu'l-Rayhan Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Al-Biruni's
Book of Instructions in the Elements of the Art of Astrology
Soul, life, length of life, education, native land.
Second House
Suck1ing,nutriment,disaster to eyes if
over-taken by ill-luck, livelihood,household
requisites, assistants profession of children.
Third House
Brothers, sisters, relations, relations in-law,
jewels, friends, migration, short
journeys, intelligence, knowledge, expertness in religious law.
Fourth House
Parents, grandparents, descendants, real estate,
fields, houses, water-supply,
knowledge of genealogy; what succeeds death and what happens to the dead.
Fifth House
Children, friends, clothes, pleasure, joy,
little acquisition of property,
accumulated wealth of father, what was said of him at his burial service.
Sixth House
Sickness, defects of body, overwork, if
unfortunate accident to legs, loss of
property, disease of internal organs, slaves, maids, cattle.
Seventh House
Women, concubines, giving in marriage, marriage-feasts,
contentions, partnership, losses, lawsuits.
Eighth House
Death and its causes, murder, poisoning,
evil effects of drugs on body, inheritance, wife's property, expenditure,
poverty, extreme indigence, feigning death.
Travel,re1igion,piety,fate,seriousness,
attainment of knowledge from the stars and divination, philosophy, survey1ng,
sharp discernment, trustworthiness, interpretation of visions and dreams.
Tenth House
Rule of Sultan, government with council of nobles,
absolute authority, success, in business, commerce, professions, well-behaved children,
liberality.
Eleventh House
Happiness, friends, enemies,
concern for next world, prayer and praise,
friendship of women, love, dress, perfume, ornaments, commerce, longevity.
Asking horary questions, important public matters,
nobility, advancement in rank, witchcraft and spells.
Second House
Examining the querent, lending and borrowing,
counting friends, arrival of
stranger, enemies or friends, mandate of emir, winds when they blow.
Third House
Secrets and news and commentaries, well-born ladies,
journeys by water.
Fourth House
Old and hidden things, treasures, thieves'
hiding-places , schools, fortresses,
fetters, dismissal from office, opening abscesses, lancing and cautery, stepfather, prison.
Fifth House
Messengers, right guidance, bribery, rectitude, distant places, poor harvests,
securing the wealth of the ancients, feasts, food and drink.
Sixth House
Lost and escaped, some lost trifle which
does not turn up, affairs of women and
eunuchs, suspicion, hatred, calumny, violence, dissipation, deceit, terrors, prison,
enemy, poverty, moving from place to place.
The absent, thief, places where travelers assemble, treasure, death of
contemporaries, foreign travel, sudden murder [for a trifle], denial, obstinacy,
claiming a right, cheapness and dearness.
Eighth House
Buried, and hidden treasure, things ruined or
lost or old, middens and
rubbish-heaps, sickness of friends, lawsuits without a case, folly, contention,
pride, dullness or the market, leisure.
Kings, notables, judges, the celebrated in all
classes, amir and his conduct in office, things newly legitimized, wine, step-mother.
Eleventh House
The treasury of the sultan, its officials,
trouble in the office, foreigner's
child, servant's child, (read 'abd) things which are sound, beautiful, advantageous,
the beginnings of affairs, friendship of the great, bribery, food.
Twelfth House
Fugitives, writers, those who neglect devotion,
a precious gem, prisoners,
the matter which preceded the question, property of oppressors, thieves,
lost property, scorn, envy and fraud.