The Guardians of the Signs
Each sign gets a god to guard it. Minerva takes the Ram.
[p. 66] These things considered, press no more Divine,And know the Gods the Guardians of each SignWhom Nature order'd to controul their Course,Direct their Influence, and assist their Force:Great Powers are Godlike, we at least assignGods to great Powers, to make them seem DivineFor where Things want, high Titles there bestowAdmir'd Worth, and makes them great in show.
Pallas the Ram²², and Venus guides the Bull,The Twins share Phoebus, and enjoy his Rule;The Crab is Mercury's, and Jove dividesHis Mother's Servant, and the Lion guides:Ceres the Maid, for this her Sheaf declares,And fighting Scorpio owns the God of Wars:Juno pours out the Urn, and Vulcan claimsThe Scales, as the just Product of his Flames:The frozen Goat kind Vesta's Aid requires,She cheers his cold, and warms him with her Fires:Diana draws the hunting Centaur's Bow,And mighty Neptune now is prov'd to knowThe Fish above, which He had fed below,
[p. 67] And now that Reason guides, that Gods do moveThe various Orbs, and govern all above,Must needs erect thy Mind, it must impartStrong Inclinations to pursue the Art;Since Man securely may his Thoughts advance,And hope to find, when undisturb'd by Chance.
The notes
²² The Guardians of the Signs.
Of Aries. Pallas.
Taurus. Venus.
Gemini. Phoebus.
Cancer. Mercurius.
Leo. Jupiter.
Virgo. Ceres.
Libra. Vulcan.
Scorpius. Mars.
Sagittarius. Diana.
Capricornus. Vesta.
Aquarius. Juno.
Pisces. Neptune.
The Reasons of this Assignment are to be taken out of the Old Fables. (Creech’s note, 1697)
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The text is Thomas Creech's 1697 verse translation, checked word by word between three scans of the same type (the 1697 printing, the 1700 printing and a third copy). The long s is printed as s; every other spelling is Creech's. Pages are cited as the 1697 printing numbers them. The portrait is William Marshall’s engraving of Lilly from the front of the 1659 printing (Wellcome Library, public domain).