The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 / Page 763 (Color Image)

0763	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1

CHAP. XXXIII. THE ASTROLOGERS OF CAMBALUC

447

of the year ; as, for example, under which Moon there

shall be thunderstorms and tempests, under which there

shall be disease, murrain, wars, disorders, and treasons,

and so on, according to the indications of each ; but

always adding that it lies with God to do less or

more according to His pleasure. And they write down

the results of their examination in certain little pamphlets

for the year, which are called Tacuin, and these are sold

for a groat to all who desire to know what is coming.

Those of the astrologers, of course whose predictions

are found to be most exact, are held to be the greatest

adepts in their art, and get the greater fame.'

And if any one having some great matter in hand,

or proposing to make a long journey for traffic or other

business, desires to know what will be the upshot, he

goes to one of these astrologers and says : Turn up

your books and see what is the present aspect of the

heavens, for I am going away on such and such a

business." Then the astrologer will reply that the

applicant must also tell the year, month, and hour of his

birth ; and when he has got that information he will see

how the horoscope of his nativity combines with the

indications of the time when the question is put, and

then he predicts the result, good or bad, according to

the aspect of the heavens.

You must know, too, that the Tartars reckon their

years by twelves ; the sign of the first year being the

Lion, of the second the Ox, of the third the Dragon, of

the fourth the Dog, and so forth up to the twelfth ;2 so

that when one is asked the year of his birth he answers

that it was in the year of the Lion (let us say), on such a

day or night, at such an hour, and such a moment.

And the father of a child always takes care to write

thesep articulars down in a book. When the twelve

yearly symbols mbols have been gone through, then they come

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