Tucked in the very back of Alan Leo's How to judge a nativity, (1928) is his "centiloquy" , or collection of 100 short astrological aphorisms. The most famous are the centiloquies of of Ptolemy, Hermes, and Bethem. The tradition continued well into the 18thc. The astrologer John Partridge wrote a 'centiloquy' of 102 aphorisms and a collection of 80 astrological aphorisms . More generally Nicholas Culpeper wrote a whole series of aphorisms, which are scattered all across my blog. You can find one part here
Leo's Centiloquy is less well known, and as such I felt it is proper to reproduce it here. The centiloquy usually concentrates on natal astrology.
The text has been transcribed from this copy of how to judge a nativity https://archive.org/details/howtojudgenativi00leoa/page/330/mode/2up . Page numbers are left in brackets
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A CENTILOQUY
The 'Centiloquies' of Claudius Ptolemy and others are famous for containing in a short and pithy form the fruit of many years of study. The present Centiloquy is intended simply as a help to the student by which he may fix in his mind the gist of the teachings given in this book, in the form of a hundred brief aphorisms. To each aphorism is added the page on which more detailed information can be found.
I. The ‘squares’ denote opposition and discord, the ‘triangles’ peace and harmony (4).
II. Astrological symbology conceals within itself the history of the earth as a planet (6).
III. The Ascendant corresponds to sunrise, and suggests spirit made subject to matter; the Meridian corresponds to noon, and suggests balance between spirit and matter; the Descendant corresponds to sunset and suggests the triumph of spirit over matter; the Imum Coeli is the great mystery, the occult centre (7).
IV. The Cardinal Houses indicate physical matters connected with the external life; the Fixed Houses indicate matters connected with feelings and emotions, not yet ripe, but maturing; the Mutable Houses indicate matters latent in the mind, and affairs brought over from past lives (8).
V. The Cadent, Succedent and Cardinal divisions represent thought, speech and action, or spirit, soul and body (6).
VI. The six houses above the horizon (xii, xi, x, ix, viii, vii) correspond to the ‘life’ side of the universe, the six below (vi, v, iv, iii, ii, i) correspond to its ‘form’ side (6).
VII. There exists an intimate correspondence between the Signs and the Houses (10).
VIII. The Houses relate to physical and etheric matter, and the Signs to astral matter (10).
IX. The influence of the Signs is greater than that of the Houses, and the former will ‘overbear’ the latter (p. 10).
X. The Houses are like transparent vessels, each having its own pattern; the Signs supply the contents of such vessels, giving a special substance, colour and quality to each house (12).
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XI. The four triplicities are Fire, Air, Water, Earth; or Spirit, Space, Time and Matter. The three qualities are Cardinal, Fixed, and Mutable (14).
