The Four Temperaments in Traditional Astrology

Of the Temperament and Complexion of the Native

The temperament and complexion of the native are found by mixing together the natures of the several significators.

As the greater world is composed of four principal elements — Fire, Air, Earth, and Water — so the body of man, which is the lesser world, contains four chief humours answering to them: choler, blood, melancholy, and phlegm.

To discover which humour chiefly rules in the native, observe the following:

1. The Horoscope, or sign ascending.
2. The lord of the Ascendant, and where he is placed.
3. The planets in the Ascendant, or aspecting it.
4. The Moon, and the planets she beholds.
5. The season of the year.
6. The Almuten of the figure.

The twelve signs are judged according to their triplicities:

Triplicity	Signs	Quality	Temperament
Fiery	Aries, Leo, Sagittarius	Hot and dry	Choleric
Airy	Gemini, Libra, Aquarius	Hot and moist	Sanguine
Earthy	Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn	Cold and dry	Melancholic
Watery	Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces	Cold and moist	Phlegmatic

The seasons of the year are judged by the course of the Sun: 

Sun in	Season	Quality
Aries, Taurus, Gemini	Spring	Hot and moist
Cancer, Leo, Virgo	Summer	Hot and dry
Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius	Autumn	Cold and dry
Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces	Winter	Cold and moist

The qualities of the planets are as follows: 

Planet	Oriental	Occidental
Saturn	Cold and moist	Cold and dry
Jupiter	Hot and moist	Hot and moist
Mars	Hot and dry	Hot and dry
Venus	Hot and moist	Cold and moist
Mercury	Hot and dry	Hot and moist

The Moon also changes her quality according to her phase: 

Moon’s Phase	Quality
From conjunction to the first quarter	Hot and moist
From the first quarter to the full Moon	Hot and dry
From the full Moon to the last quarter	Cold and dry
From the last quarter to the next conjunction	Cold and moist

After you have gathered the testimonies from these rules, judge the native’s temperament and complexion according to the greater number of testimonies.

• If heat and moisture prevail, the native is sanguine: gentle, courteous, friendly, and pleasant in disposition.
• If heat and dryness prevail, the native is choleric: rough, harsh, angry, and sometimes tyrannical in disposition.
• If cold and moisture prevail, the native is phlegmatic: calm, slow, soft in nature, and sometimes inclined to mirth.
• If cold and dryness prevail, the native is melancholic: thoughtful, reserved, secretive, and inward in disposition.

But if the testimonies are equal in the nativity, mix them carefully according to these rules, and you shall not fail to discover the native’s true temperament.

A General Rule to Know the Native’s Disposition by the Complexion Alone

Sanguine

Those of a sanguine complexion are generally honest, generous, cheerful, friendly, and faithful. They are peace-makers, sincere, open-hearted, modest, virtuous, and religious.

Melancholic

Melancholic persons are inward and reserved. They are slow in understanding and slow in making decisions. They may be suspicious, fearful, sorrowful, stubborn, ambitious, and hard to reconcile. They seldom forget injuries, value their own judgment above others, and are very secretive and subtle in their actions.

Choleric

The choleric person is commanding, forceful, revengeful, quarrelsome, and quick to anger. He is persistent, bold, rash, and often brings himself into needless troubles and vexations. He may be seditious and difficult, yet in many things he is ingenious, sharp, and quick-witted. But he is changeable in his opinions.

Phlegmatic

The phlegmatic person is overly attached to domestic comforts, meddlesome, and changeable. He is not able to keep secrets. He may boast, brag, and speak greatly of himself, yet lack courage when tested. He is often slow, dull, and sluggish in carrying out any business.

How Every Man, Though Not Acquainted with Astrology, May Know His Complexion

Of Sanguine Persons’ Dreams

There altogether fly in companies,
Of different colours, shapes and qualities,
Bright sanguine Dreams, that seem to cheer the night
With beauteous shapes, and rosy-wings as bright
As is the morning; or those flowers that grace
In midst of spring, the painted Flora’s face:
Within the temple merrily do sport,
To whom the little Cupids oft resort:
The little Cupids from fair Venus’ grove
Stealing by night, do thither come, and love
With those bright sanguine Dreams to pass away
The hours of night in sports and amorous play.

Choleric Dreams

There Dreams of choler in a flame-like hue,
Through the air like little fiery meteors flew
With swift and angry motion to and fro,
As if they sought within that place a foe.
Sometimes up to the temple’s roof on high
They soar, as if they meant to scale the sky;
Or some impossible achievement sought,
To allay the thirst of an aspiring thought.

Melancholy Dreams

But down below with sad and heavy cheer,
On dead men’s tombs and every sepulchre,
The dusky Dreams of Melancholy light,
With sable wings, like bats or birds of night:
Fluttering in darkest corners here and there,
But all alone, and still each other fear:
Courting dead skulls, and seeming to invite
The dismal ghosts, for company by night.

Phlegmatic Dreams

There all along the temple’s whited walls
Phlegmatic lazy Dreams, not winged at all,
But slow like slimy snails, about do crawl,
And evermore are thence afraid to fall,
And so be drowned; for on the floor below,
They do suppose great pools of water flow.

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