Scourge of winter and source of light and life, the Sun was the biggest and most influential of celestial bodies, the glorious lamp of heaven and its king. Appropriately, the Sun ruled that part of the sky marked by the regal exemplar of dignity, magnanimity and creativity. But all the planets and constellations came under the rule of the Sun, for its yearly path-called the ecliptic-passed exactly through the center of the zodiac belt. the life of the Earth came from the Sun, as well as human strength and health, which was why the Sun depicted as shinning down on sporting exercises.

After the Sun came the Moon, queen to the Sun's king, a female principle to anwer the male-responsive, instinctual and so sensitive and sympathetic that it seemed almost to dissolve into whatever it touched. The Moon held sway over the constellation Cancer, the crab an appropriately changeable water sign-but like the Sun, the Moon brought any sign it occupied into prominence. It was associated with all things of feeling, with giving birth and with motherhood, home and family. Above all, however. the Moon was the mistress of flux, tugging rhythmically at the tides of the oceans and those of human feeling alike.

Each planet controlled two constellations, or signs of the zodiac. Warlike Mars ruled over Aries the ram and Scorpio the Scorpion, sharing the beast's courage and the insect's stinging intensity. Mars governed battles and all who fought them. wing-footed Mercury, the fastest of the planets, had an altogether more peaceful reign, dominating the witty and versatile Gemini, or Twins, and the modest, diligent Virgo-the Virgin Mercury, had powers over travel, the arts, commerce and agriculture.

Disasters and violent death flowed from Saturn, outermost of the five planets. Saturn stood for limitation, contraction and loss. The determined Goat, Capricorn, and eccentric Aquarius the waterbearer were under Saturn's rule, which tented toward disorder and chaos. Huge Jupiter was Saturn's opposite. Expansive, optimistic, protective, fatherly, the planet controlled Pisces the fish and the Archer, Sagittarius, symbols respectively of tolerance and justice. Venus ruled Libra the scales and the persistent possessive Bull of Taurus. Venus was a force for harmony, unison and fruitfulness, the planet's influence brought men and woman together, in love, in dance and in society generally.

As the planets governed the zodiac, so the zodiac governed the human body, that microcosm of all creation. Each sign of the constellation dominated one organ or part of the body. Appropriately enough, the butting Ram had power over the head, the Bull had power over the neck and shoulders, and the twins, Fish and Scales three pairs over the arms, feet and kidneys. The Lion ruled the heart. The shieldlike Crab controlled the chest, the Virgin the belly and the Scorpion the sexual organs, while the legs were governed by the Archer, the Goat and the Waterbearer.

Some seers found the heavens refigured not only in the body as a whole but also in the hands and head. Palm lines, forehead wrinkles and even facial moles were "the stars of our bodies," rich with significance for both character and destiny. each finger was thought to be under the influence of one planet and three zodiacal signs. The palm was devided among the planets and traversed by planetary lines governing luck, intuition and health. The longer, straighter and more continuous the line, the stronger the influence of the signs and planets.on the owner of the palm. The same applied to the forehead, which was devided into seven zones ruled by the sevenheavenly bodies. And the face, forehead included, was similarly ruled by the zodiac. Thus a wrinkle in a planetary zone or a mole in a sign could be read for its astrological meaning. for example, someone with a pronounced wrinkle in the area governed by the Sun would be likely to acquire great power.