242

S.A. MEDICAL JOURNAL

Astrology, Drugs and Medicine
By OUR NEW YORK CORRESPONDEKT.
The Archbishop of St. Andrews, stricken with a disease which
baffled the physicians of England, sent to the Continent in
1552 for the aid of the mathematician-astrologer, Jerome
Cardan.
After erecting the horoscope of the prelate, by which it is
said the disease wa discovered and cured, Cardan, according
to Manly Hall, took his leave with these words: "I have
been able to cure you of your sickness, but caunot change your
destiny, nor prevent you from being hung."
Eighteen years later, this Archbiohop was hung by order of
the conmlissioners appointed by Mary, Queen of Scots.
ASTROLOGy-1\ OBLEST OF SCIE:>CES.
Thi happened in the sixteenth century when a new golden
age of astrology had begun. Astrology, which in thousands of
years never had been entirely forgotten by humanity desperately
searching for spiritual support, had flourished in Chaldea,
Babylon, India, Egypt, China, Greece and Rome, and had been
suppressed with the ad,-ent of Christianity. For centuries it
remained quiescent. but it was brought back again when the
Arabs o,'errau Europe in the ninth and tenth centuries.
Soon it was considered the noblest of the sciences. Every
king, prince and duke had his court astrologer. Famous
astronomers, such as Tyho Brahe and Johann Kepler, dedicated
themseh-es to astrology. Kepler, who was General Wallen-
stein's astrologer, made for the year 1619 the famous prophecy
of the six M's: Magnlls ilfonarcha Jlatthias Mense lIlart-is
Morietur-the great Monarch Matthias will die in the month
of March. Emperor Matthias actually died on March 20th of
that year. The Church was opposed to astrology, and an early
modem scientist, Sir Francis Bacon, ridiculed it by saying:
"Men mark when they hit, and never mark when they miss."
Medical astrology at times was. considered the very centre
of medical knowledge, and at other times the height of
charlatanism and humbug. It originated from the belief that
the celestial bodies are concerned somehow with the welfare
of the individual. Jastrow mentions the misconception that the
Deity, the planets and the forces of Xature generally are
concerned wit.h the welfare of the indi\-idual man, and their
conduct brings about his conduct as reward or punishment.
This conception appears in all the discussion of the physical
diseases, but it disappeared as an active force in diseases of
the body long before it disappeared in the diagnosis and treat-
ment of the diseases of the mind.
Babylonians and Assyrians gave the world the belief that
the Macrocosm of the Heavens reflects the Microcosm in
individual man. Astrology passed from Babylon to Greece
without" however, exerting any particular influence upon Greek
medicine, although in Hippocrates' and later in Galen's works
we find several hints as to the yalue of astrology upon man's
welfare.
The seven heavenly bodies-the sun. the moon and the five
planets which can be seen by the naked eye, namely, :Mercury,
:Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn-correspond to the seven
days of the week and the seven metals that were known at that
time: gold. silver, iron, mercury. tin, lead and copper. Priest,
seer and physician in ancient times were frequently one and
the same person. Prognosis and treatment of disease were
influenced by the time of the onset of the disease in relation
to the position of the heavenly bodies.
ASTROLOGICAL TERMS.
Later, as astronomy advanced. the astrological were
increased. The followinl! short explanation of astrological
terms follows in the main points Camac. Two groups of
heavenly bodies were observed: first. those that are always in
the same place (fixed). usually in clnsters. To these the name
ronstellations (con-stella. grouped or clustered stars) was gi\'en.
There were about 28 clusters in the North and 64 in the South.
Between these was noticed a band of 12 clusters which was
called the circle of animals or zodiac (from Greek 'Lodion,
dinlinution of won, animal). Each cluster had a name, either
based on some fancied resemblance to a natural object or
supposedly relating to the weather and agricultural conditions
of the earth and corresponding to the months of the year. To
each was also given a sign, and these were known as the
signs of the zodiac.
The second group of heavenly bodies were single stars which
were not fixed; they were noticed to "wander" and were
called planets (from Greek planein, to wander). The earth
was the centre, and about it the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars,
the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the moon wandered (Neptune,
Uranus and Pluto were added by modern astronomy). Th'!
signs of the zodiac and the positions of the planets, with
reference to the hour of an individual's conception, birth,
onset of disease, etc., were the basis of what was later h"llown
as "judicial" astrology, and the interpretation came to be
called "casting the horoscope" (hora, hour, season). The
instrument used was the astrolabe (star-taker), the forerunner
of the sextant.
According to the " Geomance abregee " of J. B. de la Taille
de Bondaroy (Paris, 1574), the Moon, Mercury, Mars and
Saturn are generally malefic in their influence; the Sun,
Jupiter and Venus generally benefic. The Moon is the planet
of brooding and melancholy; Mercury is the planet of com-
merce and the arts; Yenus is the planet of love; the Sun
presides over glory and terrestrial riches; 1I1ars presides over
war and battles; Jupiter is concerned with honours and
physical beauty; and Saturn is the most inauspicious and
malefic of all the planets-he foretells accidents, violent deaths,
and disasters. The influence of these different planets is
modified according as they are in conjunction, opposition or
other aspects.
The metals connected with the planets were: Moon-silver;
Mercury-mercury; Venlls-copper; Sun-gold; Mars-iron;
Jupiter-tin; Saturn-lead.
The therapeutic side of astrology is "very much un-
developed ", as a London observer put it, but the course to
follow is plainly indicated. Every plant and zodiac sign has
its typical plants, metals and drugs.
DRUGS PL_-L'\ETS_
Such typical drugs, for instance, belonging to Jupiter are:
stannum, eupatorium, mentha, ginseng, iridin; or to Saturn:
lead, aconite, belladonna, antimony, salicylate of soda, helle-
borns, hyoscyamus, conium, rhus, toxicodendron, verbascum,
Indian hemp, hydrocyanic acid.
. The Chinese tried to develop the therapeutic side of astrology
by surrounding an individual whose horoscope has been
" light", and who therefore is prone to incurable complaints,
with exorcising objects, giving him proper amulets to wear
and proper medicines to swallow and by selecting for him
auspicious days and hours.
General as well as medical astrology are too cryptic an.?
ambiguous; they have too many loopholes to be of practical
value. Forman tells an amusing story which is evidence of
this ambiguity. As early as 1179 many astrologers felt bound,
in virtue of their superior knowledge, to send letters to all
lands announcing a great cataclysm, the end of the world,
seven years hence, in 1186. The populations of Europe viewed
with alarm the fnture. The Persian poet and
astrologer Anwari predicted " a great tempest" for September
16, 1186. The conjunction of five planets in the sign of the
Balance or Libra, on that night, prompted Anwari to his
portentous prediction. However, the night happened to be
very calm, and Anwari was overwhelmed with ridicule for his
forecast. But it was afterwards noted that Genghiz Khan,.
chief of the devastating Tartars, was born on that So
it was considered that Anwari foresaw a great storm, but mis-
understood its nat\!Ie. To this day the advent of Genghiz
Khan is still accounted one of the phenomenal events in human
annals.
Arnold da Villanova assigns particular strength to each hour.
This strength flows into different parts of the body, according
to the position of the horoscope. Most important for blood-
letting is the position of the moon; the best is the cancer, the
crab. Moon + Saturn spoil the effect of medicines, particu-
larly of laxatives.
Mei II 1946 S.A. TYDSKRIF VIR GENEESKUNDE 243
HUMAN BODY AND CELESTilL BODIES.
Here is a table of the connection of celestial bodies and parts of the human body, according to different authors in different
centuries.
STARS.
Saturn
Jupiter
Mars
Sun
Venus
Mercury
Moon
Aries, Ram
Taurus, Bull
Gemini, Twins
Cancer, Crab
Leo, Lion
Virgo, Virgin
Libra, Balance
Scorpio, Scorpion
Sagittarius, Archer
Capricornus, Goat
Aquarius, Water Carrier
Pisces, Fishes
PTOLEMAIOS.
Egyptian Astronomer about
100-178 .-l..D.
R. Ear, Spleen, Arms, Shin-
bone
Lungs, Liver, Foot
L. Ear, Arteries, Genitals
R. Side, Heart
Neck, Flesh
Hand, Shoulder, Hip
L. Side, Stomach
ARNOLD DE VILLA.."'10VA.
Montpellier 1235/40-1312.
R. Ear, Spleen, Bladder
LiYer, Ribs
L. Ear, Arteries, Testicles
R. Side, Brain
Kidneys, Tongue
Kidneys, Tongue
L. Side, Stomach
Head
Neck, Shoulder
Arms, Hands
Chest, Ribs
Heart, Lungs, Liver
Intestines, Abdomen
Nates, Anus
Genitals
Hips
Knees
Legs
Feet
HnrMELS LAUFF.
Published Frankfurt-on-Main,
1550.
L. Ear, Spleen
Liver, Ribs.
Gall
Face, Heart
Kidneys
Tongue
Intestines
Head
Neck, Shoulders
Arms, Hands
Lungs, Chest
Heart, Stomach, Back
Intestines, Abdomen, Kidneys
Umbilicus, Bladder
Genitals, Kidneys, Anus
Legs
Knee, Shinbone
Shinbone
Feet
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance medical astrology was
at times encouraged by universities and courts. A court
physician of the 15th century was often an "astronomer
royal "-a deviser of fortune-tellers' almanacs. At the Uni-
versity of Bologna, in the early fourteenth century, there was
a Professorship of Astrology. Here is a modern counterpart:
an Encyclopredia of Medical Astrology has been published in
1933, written by a medical doctor whose title is: Honorary
Professor of Medical Astrology at the First National University
of Naturopathy and Allied Sciences.
INCOME OF AN ASTROLOGIST.
Astrologists as well as alchemists frequently had high
incomes. A leading alchemist and astrologist in the sixteenth
century was Leonhard Thurneysser zum Thurn, born in Basel,
Switzerland. As physician-in-ordinary to the Elector of
Brandenburg he received annually the sum of 1,352 thalers,
which in itself was a high honorarium at that time. His
activities were so extensive that he maintained a staff of 200
people. One of his activities was putting together medicine
chests for travellers which contained more than 100 medica-
ments. The price of such medicine chests was 386 thalers
each. He was a druggist on a large scale, preparing tinctures,
mixtures, inunctions, which he made in his own laboratory, to
high prices. Especially expensive were his secret remedies.
such as amethyst tincture, ruby, sapphire, coral, or emerald
tinctures. Thurneysser earned enormous sums through the
casting of horoscopes; the Count of Oettingen paid 100 gulden
for one. His fortune eventually amounted to more than 100,000
gulden. However, he could not cast his own horoscope as well
as that of others. and did not foresee that ultimately he would
lose his last gulden and thaler in a law-suit.
ArMAc'\ACS A:-'"D CALEXDARS.
A unique copy of a "Calendar for Blood-letting"
I" Aderlasskalender "), printed at Mainz in 1642, is mentioned
by Garrison. These popular almanacs show the hold which
judicial astrology (the "Lasstafelkunst") has taken upon the
peonle. In some of them a special figure. the "zodiacman"
(" Tierkreiszeichen-Mann ") indicates as in drug store almanacs
of more recent data, the parts of the body influenced by
different planetary conjunctions, proper times for bleeding and
purgation under each sign of the zodiac, with. gloomy
prognostications of the terrible diseases, wars, fammes and
other pests which were to befall humanity under different
ascendancies and conjunctions of the planets.
The almanacs and calendars of that time contained endless
tables of the best positions of the planets for various
activities: cutting the hair, drawing the teeth, taking a bath
or a medicine, performing an operation, time for bleeding, etc.
When in the 15th century syphilis spread all over Europe, this
pandemic was believed to have ~ produced by an un!-u:cb:y
position of the Scorpion. At all tunes, however, physlclans
assailed this unfounded belief in the medical effects of star
positions-among them doctors such as Manardo, who died in
Florence in 1536. Some pictures of that period show the event
of childbirth in the living-room, while in the background long-
bearded men (physicians?) contemplate the starry skies.
PARACELSUS AXD MEDICAL ASTROLOGY.
Paracelsus believed in experience and experiment, but he
still was a product of the early sixteenth century, and there-
fore believed in astrology. He stated that lunacy grows worse
with full and new moon because the brain is the microcosmic
moon. Re demands that the physician should be an astronomer
and should choose the proper time for resisting and ruling.
On the other hand, he says: "Stars control nothing in us,
,uggest nothing. incline to nothing, own nothing; they are
free from us and we are free from them."
Also in the seventeenth century astrology bulked large in
medical superstitions. The influenza (grippe) received its name
in Tta)y in the seventeenth century because its origin was
attributed to the "influence of the stars". A famous book
nf Dr. Richard Mead, private physician to George II of
England, appeared in 1727; it is entitled "De Imperio Sol is
et Lunae in corpora humana et Morbis inde oriundis ".
One of the most terrific satires upon medical astrology is
contained in Frano;:ois Rabelais' (himself a physician)
"Gargantua and Pantagruel". Panurge goes to consult Her
Tl'ipa-identical with the famous doctor of Cologne, Heinrich
ComeJius Al!rippa von ettesheim, who was court astrologer
to Louis of Savoy.
244 S.A. MEDICAL JOURNAL May II, 1946

Her,pes Simplex Keratitis in Malaria.

There appears to be an increased incidence of keratitis
as.sociated herpes simplex in a population heavily infected
WIth malana. Among new patients at the ophthalmologic clinic
during an 18-month period there have been more than
SIX tImes as many from a malarial division as from a com-
parable group that had not been exposed to malaria. However,
less than 0.2 per cent. of patients with acute malaria admitted
to the general medical service of this hospital ever had this
type of the <;>f precipitating
a ulcer In the IndIVIdual patIent WIth therapeutic
malarIa would seem very small. Early diagnosis and intensive
treatment of fever .are .essent!al in the manage-
ment of herpetIc keratItIS occurrmg m patIents with malaria.
Recurrent attacks of malaria are often associated with a
It is said that astrology is flourishing richly in our times,
another means of escaping reality, and when we see the number
of .astrologlcal books, many of which have gone through several
as well as of astrological magazines and departments
m newspapers, we might believe it. The American Society for
the. of Cancer, but a few years ago, felt it necessary
ISsne thIS. statement: "The strange superstition that there
IS a connectIOn between Cancer, the signs of the Zodiac, and
cancer, the disease, still persists, some people believing that
becanse they are born under that sign they are predestined to
die of that disease. This is not so."
Medical astrology has no real foundation in the modern world
of science and art of healing. This does not exclude, of course,
that the attention we give to the physical influence of weather,
atmospheric conditions, etc., on the human body is greater
to-day than it has been at any time for many centuries.
Weather and Susceptibility to the Common Cold.
This is a report of an analysis of changes in the incidence of
the common cold during the year 1942-1943 in a group of 1,600
girls of college age. This is accompanied by a study of the
season to season changes in average physiologic fitness and the
differences in average duration of the common cold as influenced
by the of ascorbic and citric acid. Sharp in-
creases. In the nUJJ.1ber of new colds per day occurred dnring
the p.erlOds of fallmg temperature accompamed by heavy rain.
The mcreases began and were most steadily sustained in the
girls with a total of four or more colds for the year. The
smokers, also, had a tendency to precede the non-smokers. The
weather-precipitated rises in colds-incidence tended to begin 24
to 48 hours after the beginning of the weather change and to
perSIst for 24 to 48 hours after its cessation. The total number
of colds, for the September wave, reached its halfway point
two days earlier for the more-susceptible fraction than for the
less-susceptible fraction. Only a slio-ht deterioration in a
physiologic fitness occurred with proo-ress of the veal'. The
deterioration was not uniform but restricted to a small fraction.
partially balanced by a smaller group showing improvement:
The smokers appeared to be slightly less fit, on the whole,
than the non-smokers. Nose involvement predominated in the
fall colds and throat involvement in the winter colds. which
were, mainly. seconds and thirds rather than first colds.
A total of 298 colds was studied for the ascorbic acid
appraisal, 119 .of which were controls given placebos of citric
aCId. ApprOXimately 60 per cent. of the colds with throat
only appeared to respond to the basic management
both the <;ontrol ascorbic acid groups-restriction of
actIVIty, precautIOn agamst and increased fluid intake
-with a. checking of further development. The
colds WIth nose Involvement were equally responsive to
management, alone, if recognised and submitted to care within
seven hours of presumed onset. For those not recognised and
submitted to care until 8 to 28 hours after presumed onset
the percentage of spontaneous checking of further developments
was, for those given 1 gm. of ascorbic acid at time of first
examination and again 24 hours later, 59 +5 and for those
given citric acid, 21 + 4. ' ,
(Brown, W. B.. et al. : Journal of Immunology, 50: 161,
March, 1945.)
* *
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The Influence of the Placental Site on Fretal Presentation.
The great majority of placentas are located on the anterior or
posterior wall of the uterus. The ratio found in this study was
47 anterior to 53 posterior. The placenta located on the anterior
wall have a definite tendency to the production of occiput
posterior presenting fret uses. Mathematically, when the placenta
was anterior the chance for occiput posterior presentation of the
fretus was double what it was if the placenta was posterior, 33.3
per cent. to 14.5 per cent. The placenta located on the posterior
wall had an increased tendency to produce occiput anterior
presentation in the fretuses. In this incidence, when the placenta
was on the posterior wall the chance of presentation being
occiput anterior was nearly twice what it was when the placenta
was anterIor, 59 per cent. to 33.6 per cent. The incidence of
occiput transverse presentation of the fretus in the first stage
of labour was 26.5 per cent. if the placenta was located on the
posterior wall and 33 per cent. if it was located on the anterior
wall.
(R. Torpin : Journal of the American 1Ifed'ical Association,
February 24, 1945.)
Neurologic Complications Following the Use of Continuous
Caudal Anresthesia.
The authors present two obstetric cases with unusual com-
plications following the use of continuous caudal amesthesia.
In one case the sequela was either an epidural or a subdural
abscess, which responded to treatment with a sulfonamide com-
pound with complete recovery. The exact location of the
abscess was not determined, and no operation was performed.
This case was previously briefly reported by SieveI' and Mousel
as that of epidural abscess. The other complication was
arachnoiditis involving the cauda equina with secondary
osteomyelitis, the final outcome of which is still in doubt because
of a residual pathologic process. It appears, therefore, that the
role of infection in the production of complications following
the use of caudal anresthesia is second only to the introduction
of the anresthetic into the subarachnoid space, and this view
has also been recently expressed by Gready.
(peacher and Robertson: Archives of Neurology and
Psychiatry, December, 1944.)
reactivation or an extension of the corneal ulceration. Through
impairment of vision and prolonged irritation of the eye,
herpes simplex keratitis has necessitated more disposition to
limited duty of patients at this station than any other single
eye condition. .
Sulfadiazine power applied locally to five dendritic nlcers
seemed to promote rapid healing in each instance. In fonr
cases of atypical recurrent herpetic nlcers snlfadiazine was
of no demonstrable benefit. These results suggest that 'sulfa-
diazine may prove a satisfactory adjunct to the accepted treat-
ment WIth strong solution of iodine D.S.P. Local applications
of snlfanilamide were of no apparent value. In three patients
with ulcers of dendritic pattern and in one patient with
recurrent ulceration no improvement resulted. The herpes
simplex virus was isolated from one dendritic nlcer after ten
days' treatment with the drug. From the cornea of each of
two patients with recurrent malarial attacks and dendritic
keratitis the causative agent was transferred to a rabbit's
cornea, and thence to the chorioallantoic membrane of a chick
embryo, where characteristic lesions of herpes simplex virus
were produced. The identity of virus was confirmed by
neutrahsatlOn tests. When the .skIn was tested for
to herpes slIDplex antIgen pOSItIve responses were obtamed in
about 80 per cent. of a sample of hospitalised adult patients,
and there was no appreciable difference in incidence between
malarial and non-malarial patients. Thirteen patients with
herpes simplex keratitis were shown by neutralisation tests to
serum antibodies against a known strain of herpes simplex
VIruS: Each of patients gave a strongly positive cutaneous
reactIOn. The pOSSIble value of such a cutaneous test in certain
atypical cases of herpetic keratitis has beeu indicated.
(Chamberlain, Captain W. P., Jr., and Bronson. Captain
L. H., Jr.: Archives of Ophthalmology,' 33: 177,
March, 1945.)
* * *