Passionate, harmful and helpful stars

We put in the following table the stars "that provoke passions" (), the stars "harmful to the sight" (), and the stars "that bring help"
() and we set them in order with reference to the constellation. We find these stars in the anonymous text, written in Rome in the year 379 by a non identified Egyptian astrologer. Franz Cumont published this text in the first volume of the CCAG, pages 194-211. It was included in Rhetorius' works in the VI century and it was used again by Theophilus of Edessa in the VIII century. This text is one of the most important sources of the Arabic and Latin-medieval lists of the "beibenia" stars which have been drawn up (see note 1 to the text).

The tables of constellations illustrate the zones of the sky concerning this argument and bring out the position of the stars in the figure made by Johann Bayer (Uranometria, 1603). The picture made by Bayer has been placed over the picture got by the programme VoyagerII in the zone of the sky corresponding to it, and the stars until the magnitude 5.8 have been pointed out on this superposition. In all the figures the dashed line represents the ecliptic, except for Coma Berenices and Canis Major where it is not visible.

The brightest star of the sky visible on Mediterranean have also been included in the text of the year 379. Some of them may be seen in these tables (Aldebaran, Castor, Pollux, Spica, Antares, Sirius, Capella, Rasalhague) and the other stars will be added afterwards.

 Passionate stars: the places in which very small stars "that provoke passions" lie and which were named luxurious, libertine, libidinous signs, zôdia aselghê afterwards. Julian of Laodicea in his brief description of starry images, says that the aselghê signs, impudicasigna, are connected with athymía, which we can translate cowardice, pusillanimity and therefore they denote a spiritual malady: not incontinence in itself, which is a mere lack of virtue, but lustfulness, which is a vice; not the fact of being lascivious and wanton, which is an attitude that derives from a temperament excitable by the spur, the stimulus of senses and which the astrological literature relegates to malakopoià signs, feminine, effeminate signs; but the fact of being immodest and indecent, as well as wild and dissolute feelings and morals. Moreover, the starry images of such a kind do not give rise to or provoke lasciviousness, wantonness or immodesty, indecency in themselves if the significators of the sensitive part of the soul do not denote it. Vettius Valens knows the impudica signa and he recommends their observation, but he does not give a list of them. However, it is said that Capricorn is immodest and indecent (I, 2) and that it makes people immodest, wanton, obscene and indecent and that because of it women become tribades (lesbians). Taurus is considered obscene and indecent (aischropoión) and Leo provokes lust and lechery against nature (kinaidéia) and it makes people shameless, vile and indecent (epàischroi). These signs can be found in all the lists.

 Stars harmful to the sight: it is the same list, with some variations, as that which was known by the astrologers of Latin Middle Ages under the name "azemena" (from Arabic az-zamâna, chronic infirmity or illness as well as inseparable disease). Seven star clusters, nebulas specifically and unanimously connected with eyes indisposition and visual disorders, are included on this list. Six of them are present in the text by Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos III, 12).

 Helpful stars: these are the bright stars which «in case they are in the degree of the place of god or in the degree of the subterranean angle as well as when they rise at the horoscope, they give great succour and help to the person who is born by Divine apparition or by means of dreams».