" Well, rest be with him! he instilled into me enough of knowledge for erecting a scheme of nativity, and therefore I will presently go about it. So saying, and having noted the positions of the principal planetary bodies, Guy Mannering returned to the house".

Author OF Waverly.

The theme, or figure of the heavens, (which like a celestial map gives at one view the ascending, descending, and culminating constellations,) maybe erected four different ways; viz. by a celestial globe, by the zodiacal planisphere, by trigonometrical calculations, or by" Tables of Houses", calculated for the pole or latitude of birth. These are perpetual; and the latter method, which uses these tables, being by far the most easy of the whole, (especially to those who dislike laborious calculations,) we shall adopt it in the present instance.

The Astronomical day begins at noon; and hence, it must be remembered that when a figure is cast for any given time, the Hours and minutes must be accounted from the noon preceding the birth; thus, were a figure of the heavens to be calculated for 8 o'clock in the morning, the true way of expressing it Astrologically, would be 20 hours P. M. or after noon, accounting from the noon of the preceding day; and thus in all other cases, or schemes of the like nature whatever.

In casting (or erecting) a figure of (be heavens, which is also termed "a horoscope;" the first thing1 to he done, is to find the right ascension of the Sun, in hours and minutes, for the noon of that day on which it is erected. This in eases of great correctness must be done by referring to an Ephemeris, of which White's is the best, for that year, wherein the Sun's true longitudinal place in the zodiac is found in the second column, headed " 's longitude", and by referring to the " Tables of Houses" in that column, which has marked over the top the Sun in the same sign, as found in the Ephemeris; in the column to the left hand side, headed " time from noon", will be found a certain number of hours and minutes, which invariably are to be added to the hour and minute of the day for which the figure is erected. When the result exceeds twenty-four hours, that number is to be subtracted therefrom; and with the remainder again seek in the column of the Tables of Houses, headed " time from noon", wherein having found the number you sought, (or the nearest to it,) on a line with that number will be found the degrees and minutes of the celestial signs, that should occupy the first six houses of heaven; namely, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 10th, 11th, and 12th houses. The opposite houses to these (which are always the same) are:

As the first six houses are opposite to the last six, so the same degrees and minutes of the opposite signs, or constellations, (which were given in a former part of this work, but which we have repeated) must occupy the cusps of the opposite celestial houses.

In order to evade the difficulty of procuring an Ephemeris for the year of birth, whereby many persons are entirely ignorant even of the sign under which they are born, or which in other words, arose in the first house at the time of their birth, the author has inserted a Perpetual Table of the Sun's right ascension for every day in the year; which, in all cases where an Ephemeris cannot be obtained, may be resorted to, and the horoscope of a nativity cast thereby with accuracy quite sufficient for ordinary purposes, where the person is not so certain as to the exact minute of their birth. Hitherto no author has given this desideratum, and we will now give an example of casting a figure by the Perpetual Table of the Sun's right ascension.

As this table is calculated to answer an Astrological mean (or average) for every year, either past, present or future; having acquired the day of birth, the student must enter the table in that column answering to the day and month required, overhead of which is a certain number of hours, minutes, and seconds, marked " h. m. s". being the number answering to the Sun's right ascension on the noon of that day; let him take out these, and thereto add the hours and minutes of the preceding noon, of the time to which he sets the figure. - This being done, the sum in hours and minutes must next be found in the Table of Houses, as before described; in a line with which are the requisite signs and degrees of each house in the theme or figure:

Example

Let it be required to cast the figure for the nativity of a child, born April 17th, 1824, llh. 43m. in the morning; meantime. As before observed, we enter the table of the Sun's right ascension for the 16th day of April at noon, and level therewith we find

Or 1 hoar 21 minutes. Next; seek this in the Tables of Houses, having "time from noon" at top, and opposite to the right hand of " H. M". 1.. 21, there is the number 22, and by looking at the head of the column there is on the head thereof, which denotes that twenty-two degrees of are on the cusp of the tenth house. In the next column there is the number 2, and two lines above it the sign , on the top of which column is the number ,which shows that two degrees of II are on the cusp of the eleventh house (II having succeeded ); in the next column there is found the number 10, and by looking at the top of the column is found; which as is seen succeeding to (by looking up the column) denotes that 10 deg. of are on the cusp of the twelfth house. Pursuing the same tract, in the next column headed we find 11 deg. 12 min., and by looking up the column , will be found lower down (or succeeding) , which shows us that 11 deg. 12 min. of is to be placed on the cusp of the Ascendant or first house. Next, the student will perceive 28 deg. of in the column headed 2, or the second house; and lastly, on the third house, he will observe 21 deg. of , 'in the column headed 3, which are found on the cusp of the third house. These are the whole of the six oriental houses; and in order to find the signs and degrees on the cusps of the opposite, or occidental houses, the student must again refer to the foregoing pages, where they are set down: thus he will find, that the fourth house being opposite to the tenth, and opposite to , there must consequently be 22 deg. of placed on the cusp of the fourth house. Likewise the fifth house being bpposite to the eleventh, and opposed to , there must be placed 2 deg. of on the cusp of the fifth house. Again, the twelfth house is the opposite to the sixth, and is opposite to , consequently 10 deg. of must occupy the cusp of the sixth house. Also the opposite house to the ascendant or first, is the seventh house, and is opposed to , therefore 11 deg. 12 min. of must descend with the cusp of the seventh house. On the second house we have 28 deg. of and still being opposite to that sign, 28 deg. of Host occupy the cusp of the eighth boose. Lastly, the third house and the ninth boose are opposite to each other, so are and ; therefore by the same formula, as we have 21 deg. of on the cusp of the third house, 21 deg. of must take station on that of the ninth; by which means, and by a very simple process, the whole theme of heaven, or figure of the nativity, is formed and erected.

This constitutes what is termed the Radix or groundwork of Astrologers, whereon they build their judgments; and we should presume that the foregoing example, which will hold good in all cases, is sufficiently plain, for even the casual reader of this " Manual" to cast the Horoecope or figure of their birth, provided the true day and hour thereof is known.

The following, is a view of the figure.