top of page

THE CRUCIFIX HIDDEN IN HOLBEIN

https://markmeynell.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/holbein’s-the-ambassadors-unlocking-hidden-mysteries/

  • THE POLYHEDRAL DIAL – next to the bishop’s right elbow is this strange scientific-looking instrument (surrounded by strange instruments) which has a number of different faces, and sticky-out things (called gnomons) like the cylindrical sundial above. Quite apart from what it all means (and I was slightly lost here), notice the angle of the gnomon facing us. If you draw a line tracing its angle back and forth, you come across something remarkable. It will intersect off-canvas to the right with the line where your eye should go in order to see the skull correctly. And if your eye is there, looking up this trajectory, your eye will ‘pass through’ a number of key objects. It will intersect perfectly with the horizon line on the astronomical globe on the upper shelf. (see below) That is no accident. But as your eye travels further, you intersect with the Ambassador’s left eye, and then, lo and behold… The crucifix – at Christ’s left eye, to be precise.

  • THE CRUCIFIX – this is entirely appropriate for a Catholic painting of 2 Men on Good Friday. Notice it is partially hidden by the curtain. Allusions to the Temple curtain, perhaps…? As my friend Gavin McGrath rightly mentioned, this part of the picture is often cut off by over-zealous photo-editors. But there is also another reason – it doesn’t quite fit into the square. As noted above, the whole image is not a perfect square. If you were to draw one, flush against the right side, it would include everything in the painting, except the crucifix. North suggests in his book that this is because there are also astrological designs informing the structure: renaissance horoscopes were apparently often drawn in a perfect square, dissected by various lines and segments. He speculates that Holbein felt it inappropriate to include the crucifix in a horoscope square…

So what do we make of it all – well – there is much more to be said that can be said. But how about this? It is ambiguous about what was going on in the Reformation at least – yes Rome is central on the globe (as you would expect in a portrait of 2 important Catholic diplomats), but what is Luther’s music doing there? Things are not quite what they seem.

But the most startling thing about the picture is not the accumulation and arrangement of various scholarly, scientific and musical objects. It is the whacking great skull in the middle. That is designed to make us think, at the very least. So what happens if we trace the 2 sightlines mentioned above. Both are clearly intended by Holbein.

Well, it seems that there is a profound theological point being made – on Good Friday of all days… Holbein seems to be suggesting (amidst loads of other things), that there are 2 alternative ways of going about your life. [This is my speculation, not North’s, so I could be completely up the spout here.] Or dare I say it, 2 ways to live…

  • Looking downwards: The Skull – the reality of our mortality – dust we are and to dust we shall return. “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio” etc (as the Bard would famously put it 70 years later).

  • Looking upwards: The Cross – the offer of God’s redemption – the heart of the Christian message is what happens on Good Friday.

THREE COURSE V FOUR COURSE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki

The bouzouki (also buzuki; Greek: μπουζούκι pronounced [buˈzuci]; plural bouzoukia Greek: μπουζούκια) is a Greek musical instrument that was brought to Greece in the 1900s by Greek immigrants from Asia Minor, and quickly became the central instrument to the rebetika genre and its music branches.[1] A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but pitched lower. There are two main types of bouzouki. The trichordo (three-course) has three pairs of strings (known as courses), and the tetrachordo (four-course) has four pairs of strings.

 

The name bouzouki comes from the Turkish word bozuk, meaning "broken" or "modified",[2] and comes from a particular re-entrant tuning called bozuk düzen, which was commonly used on its Turkish counterpart, the saz-bozuk. It is in the same instrumental family as the mandolin and the lute. Originally the body was carved from a solid block of wood, similar to the saz, but upon its arrival in Greece in the early 1910s it was modified by the addition of a staved back borrowed from the Neapolitan mandola, and the top angled in the manner of a Neapolitan mandolins so as to increase the strength of the body to withstand thicker steel strings. The type of the instrument used in Rembetika music was a three-stringed instrument, but in the 1950s a four-string variety by Manolis Chiotis was introduced.[3]

 

Following the 1919–1922 war in Asia Minor and the subsequent exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, the ethnic Greeks fled to Greece. The early bouzoukia were mostly three-string (trichordo), with three courses (six strings in three pairs) and were tuned in different ways, as to the scale one wanted to play. At the end of the 1950s, four-course (tetrachordo) bouzoukia started to gain popularity. The four-course bouzouki was made popular by Manolis Chiotis, who also used a tuning akin to standard guitar tuning, which made it easier for guitarists to play bouzouki, even as it angered purists. However it allowed for greater virtuosity and helped elevate the bouzouki into a truly popular instrument capable of a wide range of musical expression. Recently the three-course bouzouki has gained in popularity. The first recording with the 4-course instrument was made in 1956.[7][8]

 

The Irish bouzouki, with four courses, a flatter back, and differently tuned from the Greek bouzouki, is a more recent development, stemming from the introduction of the Greek instrument into Irish music by Johnny Moynihan around 1965, and its subsequent adoption by Andy Irvine, Alec Finn, Dónal Lunny, and many others.[9]

 

The three-course bouzouki (trichordo)[edit]

 

Greek trichordo bouzouki

 

A close up of the headstock of a trichordo bouzouki. Two of these eight tuners are not strung.

This is the classic style of bouzouki, introduced around 1900, that was the mainstay of most Rebetiko music. It has fixed frets and 6 strings in three pairs. In the lower-pitched (bass) course, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string, tuned an octave apart. The conventional modern tuning of the trichordo bouzouki is D3D4–A3A3–D4D4. This tuning was called the "European tuning" by Markos Vamvakaris, who mentioned (but failed to describe) several other tunings, or douzenia, in his autobiography.[10] The illustrated bouzouki was made by Karolos Tsakirian of Athens, and is a replica of a trichordo bouzouki made by his grandfather for Markos Vamvakaris. The absence of the heavy mother-of-pearl ornamentation often seen on modern bouzoukia is typical of bouzoukia of the period. It has tuners for eight strings, but has only six strings, the neck being too narrow for eight. The luthiers of the time often used sets of four tuners on trichordo instruments, as these were more easily available, being also used on mandolins.[11]

 

The four-course bouzouki (tetrachordo)[edit]

This type of bouzouki has 8 metal strings, which are arranged in 4 pairs, known as courses, typically tuned C3C4–F3F4–A3A3–D4D4 (i.e., one whole step below the four high strings of a guitar). In the two higher-pitched (treble) courses, the two strings of the pair are tuned to the same note. In the two lower-pitched (bass) courses, the pair consists of a thick wound string and a thin string tuned an octave apart. On the bouzouki the lower-pitched string comes first in these courses, the reverse of most other instruments with octave-paired courses (such as the 12-string guitar, charango or bajo sexto). These 'octave strings' add to the fullness of the sound and are used in chords and bass drones (continuous low notes that are played throughout the music). The guitar-like tuning was introduced by composer and soloist Manolis Hiotis, who found it better suited to the kind of virtuoso playing he was famous for. Today, the tetrachordo is the most common bouzouki used in Greek music, though a few traditionalists still prefer the trichordo, particularly for the older rebetika style of playing.[12]

I READ A WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE SAYING THAT PENN ACTUALLY RANKED HIGHER THAN ONE OF THE BIG THREE SO TECHNICALLY IT SHOULD BE BIG FOUR- THE FOURTH IS ALWAYS DIFFERENT- UNION COLLEGE WAS ONCE CONSIDERED A PART OF THE BIG FOUR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Three_(colleges)

The Big Three is a historical term used in the United States to refer to HarvardPrinceton, and Yale. The phrase Big Three originated in the 1880s, when these three colleges dominated college football.[1] In 1906, these schools formed a sports compact that formalized a three-way football competition which began in 1878. This early agreement predated the Ivy League by exactly half a century. The rivalry remains intense today, though the three schools are no longer national football powerhouses, and schools continue to refer to their intercollegiate competitions as "Big Three" or "Harvard-Princeton-Yale" meets.

Edward Digby Baltzell wrote: "The three major upper-class institutions in America have been Harvard, Yale, and Princeton." These colleges have, in the past, been set apart from others by a special historic connection with the White-Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) establishment. Baltzell added, "Throughout the thirties and well into the forties, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the University of Pennsylvania were still staffed almost entirely by old-stock Protestants."[7] Of the three, Princeton University was traditionally the preferred choice of the Southern upper class.[8] While describing the recruiting process for The Rough RidersTheodore Roosevelt, mentioned Harvard, Yale and Princeton as well as other colleges as target schools.

We drew recruits from Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and many another college; from clubs like the Somerset, of Boston, and Knickerbocker, of New York; and from among the men who belonged neither to club nor to college, but in whose veins the blood stirred with the same impulse which once sent the Vikings over sea.[9]

The Saturday Review found in 1963 that Harvard, Yale, and Princeton enrolled 45% of boys on the New York Social Register. The University of Pennsylvania was fourth and the other Ivy League members had far fewer, below such schools as Trinity College and the University of Virginia.[10] That year Nathaniel Burt described the social prestige of the Big Three:

It is, above all, the national social prestige of the Big Three which is competition with the purely local social prestige of the University [of Pennsylvania]. Upper-class boys from all over the country, including Philadelphia, go to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Only from Philadelphia do upper-class boys go in any significant numbers to Penn. This is of course a universal national phenomenon. The pattern of upper-class male college preference, as deduced from a counting of noses in the various Social Registers, can be summed up as "The Big Three and a Local Favorite."[11]

Big Four[edit]

More than 150 years ago, Union College was one of the Big Four along with Harvard, Yale and Princeton. Student attrition due to the Civil War and a scandal over college finances led to a decline at Union that caused it to lose ground and drop from the Big Four.[26]

THE IV IN IVY LEAGUE REPRESENTS FOUR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_League

A common folk etymology attributes the name to the Roman numeral for four (IV), asserting that there was such a sports league originally with four members. The Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins helped to perpetuate this belief. The supposed "IV League" was formed over a century ago and consisted of Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and a fourth school that varies depending on who is telling the story.[39][40][41] However, it is clear that HarvardPrincetonYale and Columbia met on November 23, 1876 at the so-called Massasoit Convention to decide on uniform rules for the emerging game of American football, which rapidly spread.[42]

FOUR CHAPTERS LIKE A MANDALA

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Solid_Mandala

The Solid Mandala, the seventh published novel by Australian author Patrick White, Nobel Prize winner of 1973, first published in 1966. It details the story of two brothers, Waldo and Arthur Brown, with a focus on the facets of their symbiotic relationship. It is set in the White's fictional suburb of Sarsaparilla, a setting he often employed in his other books, such as with Riders in the Chariot. The book is typical of White's writing style, and is slow-paced, with little considerable action, instead focusing upon the inner turmoils of the aforementioned characters.

 

The book is split into four chapters, each narrated in the third-person omniscient limited style; by far the largest is the second, which is limited to Waldo Brown's point of view. Following this is a chapter told through Arthur Brown's view.

I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.

The original thinking behind a balanced scorecard was for it to be focused on information relating to the implementation of a strategy, and over time there has been a blurring of the boundaries between conventional strategic planning and control activities and those required to design a balanced scorecard. This is illustrated well by the four steps required to design a balanced scorecard included in Kaplan & Norton's writing on the subject in the late 1990s:

  1. Translating the vision into operational goals;

  2. Communicating the vision and link it to individual performance;

  3. Business planning; index setting

  4. Feedback and learning, and adjusting the strategy accordingly.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_scorecard

The first generation of balanced scorecard designs used a "four perspective" approach to identify what measures to use to track the implementation of strategy. `The original four "perspectives" proposed[6] were:

  • Financial: encourages the identification of a few relevant high-level financial measures. In particular, designers were encouraged to choose measures that helped inform the answer to the question "How do we look to shareholders?" Examples: cash flow, sales growth, operating income, return on equity.[29]

  • Customer: encourages the identification of measures that answer the question "What is important to our customers and stakeholders?" Examples: percent of sales from new products, on time delivery, share of important customers’ purchases, ranking by important customers.

  • Internal business processes: encourages the identification of measures that answer the question "What must we excel at?"Examples: cycle time, unit cost, yield, new product introductions.

  • Learning and growth: encourages the identification of measures that answer the question "How can we continue to improve, create value and innovate?". Examples: time to develop new generation of products, life cycle to product maturity, time to market versus competition.

Since the balanced scorecard was popularized in the early 1990s, a large number of alternatives to the original 'four box' balanced scorecard promoted by Kaplan and Norton[6] in their various articles and books have emerged. Most have very limited application, and are typically proposed either by academics as vehicles for expanding the dialogue beyond the financial bottom line – e.g. Brignall (2002)[25] or consultants as an attempt at differentiation to promote sales of books and / or consultancy (e.g. Neely et al. (2002),[37] Bourne (2002),[38] Niven (2002)[39]).

Many of the structural variations proposed are broadly similar, and a research paper published in 2004[8] attempted to identify a pattern in these variations – noting three distinct types of variation. The variations appeared to be part of an evolution of the balanced scorecard concept, and so the paper refers to these distinct types as "generations". Broadly, the original 'measures in four boxes' type design (as initially proposed by Kaplan & Norton[6]) constitutes the 1st generation balanced scorecard design; balanced scorecard designs that include a 'strategy map' or 'strategic linkage model' (e.g. the Performance Prism,[37] later Kaplan & Norton designs[18] the Performance Driver model of Olve, Roy & Wetter (English translation 1999,[17] 1st published in Swedish 1997)) constitute the 2nd Generation of Balanced Scorecard design; and designs that augment the strategy map / strategic linkage model with a separate document describing the long-term outcomes sought from the strategy (the "destination statement" idea) comprise the 3rd generation balanced scorecard design.

I POSTED ALL OF THIS STUFF BEFORE- IT IS IN MY OVER 60 QMR BOOKS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-sides_model

The four-sides model (also known as communication square or four-ears model) is a communication model by Friedemann Schulz von Thun. According to this model every message has four facets[1] though not the same emphasis might be put on each. The four sides of the message are fact, self-revealing, relationship, and appeal.

 

The four sides of communication[edit]

The matter layer contains statements which are matter of fact like data and facts, which are part of the news.

In the self-revealing or self-disclosure the speaker - conscious or not intended - tells something about himself, his motives, values, emotions etc.

In the Relationship-layer is expressed resp. received, how the sender gets along with the receiver and what he thinks of him.

The Appeal contains the desire, advice, instruction and effects that the speaker is seeking for.

Every layer can be misunderstood individually. The classic example of Schulz von Thun is the front-seat passenger which tells the driver: "Hey, the traffic lights are green". The driver will understand something different regarding to the ear with which he will hear and will react differently. (on the matter layer he will understand the "fact" "the traffic lights are green", he could also understand it as "Come on, drive! ."-"command", or on the "relationship" could hear a help like "I want to help you or if you hear behind it: I am in a hurry it reveals part of yourself "self-revelatory".") The emphasis on the four layers can be meant differently and also be understood differently. So the sender can stress the appeal of the statement and the receiver can mainly receive the relationship part of the message. This is one of the main reasons for misunderstandings.

 

The matter layer[edit]

What I inform about:

 

On the matter layer the sender of the news gives data, facts and statements. It is the task of the sender to send this information clearly and understandably.

 

The receiver proves with the Matter ear, whether the matter message fulfills the criteria of truth (true/untrue) or relevance (relevant/irrelevant) and the completeness (satisfying/something has to be added).

 

In a long-term team, the matter layer is clear and needs only a few words.

 

The self-revealing[edit]

What I reveal about myself:

 

In every news there is information about the sender. On the layer of the self-revealing or self-disclosure the sender reveals himself. This message consists of conscious intended self-expression as well as unintended self-revealing, which is not conscious to the sender (see also Johari window). Thus, every news becomes information about the personality of the sender.

 

The self-revealing ear of the receiver perceives which information about the sender is hidden in the message.

 

The relationship layer[edit]

What I think about you (you-statement) and how we get along (we-statement):

 

The relationship layer expresses how the sender gets along with the receiver and what he thinks about him. Depending on how he talks to him (way of formulation, body language, intonation ...) he expresses esteem, respect, friendliness, disinterest, contempt or something else.

 

Depending on which message the receiver hears with relationship ear, he feels either depressed, accepted or patronized. A good communication is distinguished by communication from mutual appreciation.

 

The appeal[edit]

What I want to make you do:

 

Who states something, will also affect something. This appeal-message should make the receiver do something or leave something undone. The attempt to influence someone can be less or more open (advice) or hidden (manipulation).

 

On the Appeal ear the receiver asks himself: "What should I do, think or feel now?"

 

citation: " Mothers are very appeal-influenced by children." Mum! The shoes .... Yes! I'll be right there to put them on for you.

 

Two people are eating a home-cooked meal together.

 

The one who didn't cook says: "There is something green in the soup."

 

Sender

Matter layer: There is something green.

Self-revealing layer: I don't know what it is.

Relationship layer: You should know what it is.

Appeal layer: Tell me what it is!

Receiver

Matter layer: There is something green.

Self-revealing layer: You do not know what the green item is, and that makes you feel uncomfortable.

Relationship layer: You think my cooking is questionable.

Appeal layer: I should only cook what you know in the future!

The other answers: "If you don't like the taste, you can cook it yourself."

THE FOUR GRAVEDIGGAZ ARE A THREE PLUS ONE IN THE ALBUM COVER- IN THE SONG RZA SAID "THEY NAILED MY HANDS AND FEET TO THE FORM OF A CROSS" at 2:10

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE-5Q_xyiwo

DRACULA IS KILLED BY THE CROSS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssvgMHCa45s

'Dracula' - Death Scene with Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing

http://mauricebroaddus.com/uncategorized/blade-trinity/

Bram Stoker’s “fable” Dracula. Stoker conceived the perfect “anti-Christ”: a creature who sought eternal life through blood, given to resurrection in a new body after three days, defeated by a stake (a piece of the cross), the crucifix, baptism/holy water, or the sun’s (son’s) light.

DRACULA AND THE CROSS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bram_Stoker%27s_Dracula

In 1462, Vlad Dracula, a member of the Order of the Dragon, returns from a victory against the Turks to find his wife, Elisabeta, has committed suicide after receiving a false report of his death. The priest proceeds to tell him that his wife is damned to Hell for commiting suicide. Enraged, Dracula desecrates the chapel and renounces his faith, declaring that he will rise from the grave to avenge Elisabeta with all the powers of darkness. He then stabs the chapel's stone cross with his sword and drinks the blood that pours out of it.

In the chapel where he renounced his faith, Dracula lies dying in an ancient demonic form. They share a kiss as the candles adorning the chapel light up and the cross repairs itself. Dracula turns back to his younger self and asks Mina to give him peace. Mina thrusts the knife through his heart and as he finally dies, the mark on her forehead disappears as Dracula's curse is lifted. She decapitates him and gazes up at the fresco of Vlad and Elisabeta ascending to Heaven together, reunited at long last.

ROSENBERG USES A STAR OF DAVID TO FEND OFF DRACULA BUT THE STAR OF DAVID IS A DOUBLE TETRAHEDRON MERKABA TETRA IS FOUR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_at_First_Bite

Rosenberg's numerous methods to combat Dracula - mirrors, garlic, a Star of David (which he uses instead of the cross), and hypnosis - are easily averted by the Count.

DRACULA AND THE CROSS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVWrVCLs8ms

Van Helsing (4/10) Movie CLIP - I Am Count Dracula (2004) HD

THE QUATERNITY AND SCOOBY DOO

https://theviolethourmuse.wordpress.com/2011/06/11/house-of-mystery/

Although on the animated surface the show stars a cast of five, when the depths are sounded we find only one psyche. When Shaggy and Scooby are considered as one inseparable entity (as their similar names and dispositions seem to suggest), the “meddling kids and their dog” become a quaternity that, according to Jung, is the symbol of “psychic wholeness”. But even more specifically, the gang is a quaternity composed of a trinity plus one: the three super-sleuths Fred, Velma, and Daphne plus the super-sloth Shaggy/Scooby.

 

“Trinitarian symbols […],” according to Edinger, “imply growth, development and movement in time. They surround themselves with dynamic rather than static associations” . This would clearly be the obsessive mystery-solving trio of Fred, Daphne, and Velma. On the other hand, “[q]uaternity, mandala images emerge in time of psychic turmoil and convey a sense of stability and rest”. This accurately describes the often petrified behavior of the fourth entity, Shaggy/Scooby. Jung himself “tended in most cases to interpret trinitarian images as incomplete or amputated quaternities”.

The Famous Five is a series of children's adventure novels written by English author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942. The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne and Georgina (George) – and George's dog Timmy.

RUGRATS HAS FOUR BABIES TOMMY CHUCKY PHIL AND LIL

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101188/

The cartoon misadventures of four babies and their snotty older cousin as they face the things in life they don't understand.

https://www.beamly.com/tv-film/take-me-there-rugrats?setLocale=uk

We’re just going to say it. Nickelodeon’s Rugrats was a work of art. The adventures of four babies who led completely different lives when the grown ups weren’t around?! IT WAS PURE GENIUS. We lived for the moments when Tommy would free the babies from the shackles of their playpen with the help of his screwdriver (a totally safe object for a baby to store in his diaper!). We lived for Chuckie’s scaredy-cat moments! We lived for Phil and Lil’s grossness! We lived for it all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Craft_(film)

The Craft is a 1996 American supernatural horror film directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Robin TunneyFairuza BalkNeve Campbell, and Rachel True. The film's plot centers on a group of four outcast teenage girls who pursue witchcraft for their own gain, but soon encounter negative repercussions from their actions.

THE QUATERNITY AND THE DIFFERENT FOURTH

THREE MUSKETEERS ACTUALLY A QUATERNITY

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes/

Don't be misled by the title of "The Three Musketeers." Athos, Porthos, and Aramis may form the namesake trio, but their adventures include D'Artagnan. The 1973 version of "The Three Musketeers" was followed by 1974's "The Four Musketeers."

Now, with the iconic original title back in place, a new version of "The Three Musketeers" comes to the big screen, starring (from left) Ray Stevenson, Matthew MacFayden, Luke Evans, and Logan Lerman. Take a look at other famous foursomes in cinematic history.

SPINAL TAP FOURSOME- MY MOM HAD ME WATCH THIS WHEN I WAS YOUNGER

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes?pg=4

This is Spinal Tap!

They may not be the Beatles, but this fake band is arguably the greatest fake band ever assembled. Due to the 1984 mock-rockumentary's popularity, Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer), Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) have even leaped from the big screen to perform live in recent years. Wait, isn't that only three members? Yes, but there's always someone on drums — he's just prone to "spontaneous combustion."

THIS ONE IS FUNNY THE FAKE FOUR MEMBER BOY BAND DUJOUR

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwykvrwvWW4

I POSTED ALL OF THIS BEFORE

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2011/10/19/AM06.JPG__1319135850_2206.jpg

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

If "This is Spinal Tap!" wasn't quotable enough, the Channel 4 News Team in this 2004 comedy serves up laughs due to the brotherhood among their foursome of (from left) Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), Champ Kind (David Koechner), and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). As Kind tells Burgundy, "I miss your musk. When this all gets sorted out, I think you and me should get an apartment together!"

NOW AND THEN QUATERNITIES

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes?pg=7

Now and Then

It's a far cry from "Sex and the City," but this one is surely for the girls. Two sets of actresses, one children set and one adult set, take on the roles of Roberta, Teeny, Samantha, and Chrissy in this story about a close-knit group of four friends.

STAND BY ME QUATERNITY

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes?pg=8

Stand by Me

Based on Stephen King's novella "The Body," this classic tale of friendship follows four friends looking for a dead boy: Chris (River Phoenix, left), Gordie (Wil Wheaton), Vern, and Teddy.

The A-Team

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes?pg=10

Bradley Cooper (left) turns up in another famous foursome as Templeton "Face" Peck in this 2010 film adaptation of the popular television series. Who else is part of the crew? UFC light heavyweight Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracas, Sharlto Copley as H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, and Liam Neeson as Colonel Hannibal Smith.

THE GODFATHER FOURSOME

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Original_Photo/2011/10/19/05_09-tvd-sub-MONHIGH-C-%23-___1319056145_3283.jpg

http://archive.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/foursomes?pg=14

The Godfather

One more classic film for good measure. In the first film of the trilogy, three brothers (Al Pacino as Michael, James Caan as Sonny, and John Cazale as Fredo) and one adviser who is closer than a brother (Robert Duval, fittingly not pictured) keep it all in the Corleone family.

THE FOURTH ADOPTED BROTHER IN THE GODFATHER THE DIFFERENT FOURTH

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Hagen

Tom Hagen is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel Godfather and Francis Ford Coppola's films The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. He was portrayed by Robert Duvall in the films.[1]

Hagen is the informally adopted son of the mafia don Vito Corleone. He is a qualified lawyer and the consigliere to the Corleone mafia family. Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, he serves as the voice of reason within the family. The novel and first film establish that he is of German-Irish ancestry.

ORIGINAL AMERICAN PIE QUATERNITY

The Buddies of American Pie

 

Before Stiffler made it a fivesome for the continuing franchise, the original American Pie was about four earnest, identifiable pals who make a pact to graduate non-virgins.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLSSxsaO

Metallica

In Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s doc Metallica: Some Kind of Monster, we meet a heavy metal quartet in various forms, plus a reminder of a prior lineup, as they transition between members and struggle to remain a solid entity. Metallica is a foursome by name, even if the four individuals aren’t always the same, but if we have to technically distinguish a foursome by the four, not the sum, the re-formation with new bassist Robert Trujillo is the obvious conclusion of the aforementioned point.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLStb4AI

The Video Game Busters From Pixels

If they had another name, I don’t recall. Like much of the movie, there’s little consistency to this team tasked with saving the world from an alien invasion. But no matter the makeup of the four, it always includes the great Peter Dinklage.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLTaySVt

When I was in jail for a little bit we watched this- when I was in jail there was a storm that was so big in San Diego they were going to let the prisoners out that was the same day the judge said that I could leave though

https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/

The Siblings of Four Brothers

Spoiler alert: if these guys could have maintained the magic number to the end, they might have placed higher.

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLU6iD9y

THE FOUR BOYS OF AMERICAN PIE- THIS WAS A CLASSIC MOVIE I REMEMBER WATCHING IT WHEN I WAS A KID

http://americanpie.wikia.com/wiki/American_Pie

American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy directed by Paul and Chris Weitz, and written by Adam Hertz. It was the first film to be directed by the Weitz brothers, and the first film in the American Pie series. The film was a box-office hit and spawned two direct sequels: American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003).

 

The film concentrates on four boys who make a pact to lose their virginity before their high school graduation. The title of the film refers to a scene in the film in which the lead character is caught masturbating with a pie after previously being told that third base feels "like warm apple pie."

The Alien Busters of Evolution

Even if they are a blatant Ghostbusters knockoff (from the same director), this group is hilarious in their own right, and they included a woman so no need for an all-female version down the road.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLVFAMmt

THE FOUR ALIEN BUSTERS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_(2001_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Evolution_movie.jpg

Wayne Grey (Seann William Scott), a fireman trainee practicing in a shack in the desert near Glen Canyon, Arizona, sees a meteor strike his car and land in an underground cavern. College professor Ira Kane (David Duchovny) and his colleague, geology professor Harry Block (Orlando Jones), investigate, taking a sample of strange blue liquid that oozes from it. Ira discovers that it harbors extraterrestrial single-celled nitrogen-based organisms multiplying exponentially, condensing millions of years of evolution within a matter of hours. The next day, they take the science class to survey the meteor site and find it already surrounded by evolved oxygen-converting fungi and alien flatworms. Ira and Harry discover that the cells and organisms reproduce rapidly through mitosis after seeing one of the flatworms they collected in a jar split into two.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

A lot of credit goes to those pants, since we don’t see the four girls together much. Still, together or apart they’re a very likable bunch.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLWJmZJm

I POSTED ALL THIS STUFF BEFORE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sisterhood_of_the_Traveling_Pants_(film)

Four teenage girls—Carmen, Tibby, Bridget, and Lena—are best friends from Bethesda, Maryland, who are about to separate for the summer for the first time in their lives. Lena is spending the summer in Greece with her grandparents; Tibby is staying at home; Bridget is going to soccer camp in Mexico; and Carmen is visiting her father in South Carolina. On one of their final days they went shopping together, the girls find a seemingly ordinary pair of jeans that fit them all perfectly and flatter their figures, despite their very different measurements. The girls dub them the Traveling Pants and decide to share them equally over the course of the summer. They part the next day, and the film focuses on each girl's journey separately.

Veronica and the Heathers

Similarly, I’m torn about this group being so low, but the fact is that the movie Heathers is brilliant yet the foursome itself is an unlikable and incohesive clique, even if Veronica’s membership balances them out some.

 

 

Read more at Film School Rejects: https://filmschoolrejects.com/44-fantastic-foursomes-in-film-ranked-d89628221d18/#ixzz4wLWshMWf

A QUATERNITY WITH THE FOURTH NOT NAMED HEATHER

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heathers

Heathers is a 1988 American black comedy[6] film written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann. It stars Winona Ryder, Christian Slater, and Shannen Doherty. The film portrays four teenage girls—three of whom are named Heather—in a clique at an Ohio high school.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Opponent_color_circle_1917.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_hues

A concept of four unique hues of psychologist Charles Hubbard Judd (1917)

 

Despite the inconsistencies, often four color perceptions are associated as unique; "red", "green", "blue", and "yellow".

THE B52'S WAS A FIVE MEMBER BAND BUT ONE OF THE MEMBERS DIED. IN THE ALBUM WHERE THEY DID THE FAMOUS SONG LOVE SHACK THEY HAD FOUR MEMBERS. THE FOUR MEMBERS ARE IN THE CAR

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Shack

The song received a number of accolades following its release. Named as one of the 365 Songs of the Century in 2001,[10]the video for the song received an award from MTV as the Best Group Video, and was named the Best Single of 1989 by Rolling Stone.[3] Additionally, it was ranked #246 in Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[11]

Band

THE FOUR MONKEES AND FILM

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkees

After The Monkees was canceled in February 1968, Rafelson directed the four Monkees in a feature film, Head. Schneider was executive producer, and the project was co-written and co-produced by Bob Rafelson with a then relatively unknown Jack Nicholson.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Monkees

In 1987, a new television series called New Monkees appeared. Four young musicians were placed in a similar series based on the original show, but "updated" for the 1980s. The New Monkees left the air after 13 episodes. (Neither Bob Rafelson nor Bert Schneider were involved in the development or production of the series, although it was produced by "Straybert Productions" headed by Steve Blauner, Rafelson and Schneider's partner in BBS Productions.)

THE FOUR MEMBERS OF THE MONKEES

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB9YIsKIEbA

THE FOUR BEASTIE BOYS THREE PLUS ONE- FOURTH LEFT

http://img.wennermedia.com/760-width/rs-241451-polly-wog-stew-back_.jpg

Berry is credited with coming up with the name Beastie Boys when they were teenagers. He attended the Walden School in New York with Mike Diamond. The group formed in July 1981, with Berry and Diamond joined by Adam Yauch and Kate Schellenbach. The first Beastie Boys shows took place at Berry's old loft at the corner of West 100th Street and Broadway in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where a small crowd gathered to hear the fledgling hardcore/punk band.

Berry played on the Beastie Boys' first seven-inch EP Polly Wog Stew, which was recorded at 171A studios in November 1982. He left the group shortly after, followed by Schellenbach in 1983. Adam Horovitz (Ad-Rock) replaced both members. Berry was a member of several other bands, including Even Worse, Big Fat Love, Highway Stars and Bourbon Deluxe.

The Beastie Boys did not neglect Berry’s role in the band. When they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012,Horovitz read a speech by Adam Yauch, who died later that year at age 47 of cancer. Yauch’s speech mentioned John as a formative member of the band’s early years.

THE FOUR MEMBERS

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dandy_Warhols

The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in PortlandOregon in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were joined by keyboardist Zia McCabeand drummer Eric Hedford. Hedford left in 1998 and was replaced by Taylor-Taylor's cousin Brent DeBoer. The band's name is a play on the name of American pop artist Andy Warhol.

Along with band The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Dandy Warhols were the subjects of the 2004 documentary film Dig!. The film captured a love–hate relationship between both bands, highlighting the interaction of Taylor-Taylor and BJM frontman Anton Newcombe. It was recorded over the course of seven years by filmmaker Ondi Timoner, and won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.

 

Courtney Taylor-Taylor

Peter Holmström

Zia McCabe

Brent DeBoer

PRODIGY IS FAMOUS FOUR THEIR MUSIC VIDOES. LOOK HOW THERE IS FOUR CHARACTERS IN THEIR MUSIC VIDOES

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qriH-8yeqcE The Prodigy - Out Of Space FOUR CHARACTERS BAND MEMBERS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_PAHbqq-o4 The Prodigy - Breathe (Official Video)

A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT THE INDIANS ONLY DESCRIBED THREE HUMOURS WHEREAS THE GREEKS HAD FOUR- BUT THE SITUATION WAS THE SAME FOR THE GREEKS AND THE INDIANS. ORIGINALLY THE GREEKS DESCRIBED THREE HUMOURS THEN THEY ADDED THE TRANSCENDENT FOURTH YELLOW BILE. SIMILALRY THE INDIANS SUGGESTED THERE WAS A TRANSCENDENT FOURTH HUMOUR

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Greek_Medicine_and_Ayurveda.html

In the Sushruta Samhita, Sushruta states that blood, which is usually considered to be a dhatu, or tissue type in Ayurveda, could be called the fourth dosha.

THE AUTHOR OF THESE ARTICLES CONCLUDES "THE GREEKS LOVED THE NUMBER FOUR"- IT WAS NOT JUST THE GREEKS IT WAS ALL CULTURES

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_basic_qualities.html

THE FOUR BASIC QUALITIES

 

Yin and Yang, Greek Style

A strong dualism runs through classical Greek science and medicine, which sees all cycles, manifestation and phenomena in the natural world as resulting from the dynamic interplay of opposite yet complementary forces and qualities. Although many such qualities may be observed interacting in Nature, Aristotle concluded that four of them, or two pairs of opposites, were more central and important than all the others: Hot, Cold, Dry and Wet. These he called the Four Basic Qualities.

The Hot / Cold polarity is called active or primary because it drives all change and manifestation and causes or produces the other two qualities.

scales The Dry / Wet polarity is called passive or secondary because they are usually caused by the active, primary qualities.

Both Hot and Dry are qualities that the Chinese would call Yang. They are closely associated with each other because heat evaporates moisture, producing dryness.

Both Cold and Wet are qualities that the Chinese would call Yin. They are closely associated with each other because cold condenses moisture, producing wetness.

Understanding the Four Basic Qualities.

The ancient Greeks had a different understanding of the Four Basic Qualities than we do today. It was less literal, and more figurative and poetic.

The primary, active polarity of Hot / Cold is the easiest to understand, and refers to the relative level of energy or activity present in a system or entity.

Hot denotes a high level of energy or activity. Hot activates, excites, expands, disperses, moves and circulates.

Cold denotes a low level of energy or activity. Cold slows down, sedates, contracts, congeals and obstructs.

The secondary, passive polarity of Dry / Wet is a bit more complex, and has both literal and figurative interpretations.

Literally, Dry / Wet refers to the relative level of moisture present in a system or entity, with Dry denoting a low level or absence of moisture and Wet a high level or abundance of moisture.

When flour is dry, it is a powder that easily disperses. Add water to it, and it sticks together as dough. Therefore:

Dry also means separate, objective, discrete.

Wet also means coherent, subjective, indiscrete.

When a rawhide drumhead is Wet, it gets soft, malleable, flexible and lax in tone. When that drumhead is Dry, it gets hard, stiff, rigid, tight in tone, and withers, or shrinks.

Mix a spoonful of salt into enough water, and it will completely dissolve. When the water evaporates under the hot sun, the salt will start to crystallize and come out of solution. And so, Wet is liquid or fluidic in its behavior, whereas Dry is solid and discrete.

Temperament and the Four Basic Qualities

Greek Medicine is based on the concept of temperament. Temperament is defined as the prevailing balance or makeup of qualities and attributes within a substance, system or entity. Greek Medicine measures conditions of temperament primarily in terms of the Four Basic Qualities.

Greek Medicine defines eight possible conditions of temperament, four of them simple and four compound. In addition, there is a ninth, called balanced or equable temperament.

The four simple conditions of temperament each involve only one of the Four Basic Qualities, as follows:

Hot - Hotter than normal, but neither Wetter nor Dryer.

Cold - Colder than normal, but neither Wetter nor Dryer.

Dry - Dryer than normal, but neither Hotter nor Colder.

Wet - Wetter than normal, but neither Hotter nor Colder.

The four compound conditions of temperament each involve two of the Four Basic Qualities, as follows:

Hot and Dry - Both Hotter and Dryer than normal.

Hot and Wet - Both Hotter and Wetter than normal.

Cold and Dry - Both Colder and Dryer than normal.

Cold and Wet - Both Colder and Wetter than normal.

Conditions of both Hot and Cold can't exist simultaneously, since these two qualities are polar opposites. For the same reason, neither can conditions of Dry and Wet coexist.

Each of the four compound temperaments has associations with a certain element, humor and temperament, or constitutional type.

Working with the Four Basic Qualities

Because the Four Basic Qualities aren't static, but rather always changing, we can work with them. Here are a few simple, basic rules for working with the Four Basic Qualities:

Like increases like. If we wish to increase a certain quality in the organism, we use medicines and treatments that have that quality.

Opposites balance. If we wish to bring an excessive or aggravated quality back into balance, we use medicines and treatments that have its opposite yet complementary quality.

Heat produces dryness. Moderate amounts of heat, applied over a short period of time will only increase heat and dissipate excessive cold. Intense levels of heat applied over a long period of time will also evaporate moisture, producing dryness.

Cold condenses moisture. Moderate amounts of cold applied over a short period of time will only cool down the body and disperse excessive heat. Intense cold applied over a long period of time will also condense moisture, producing wetness.

GREEKS THE FOUR ELEMENTS AND THE HUMAN BODY

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_elements.html

The Four Elements in the Human Body

Each of the constituent parts of the human body is composed of the Four Elements, in varying proportions. Here is where each of the Four Elements is primarily found in the human body:

Fire: The digestive enzymes and secretions, and all enzymes. Yellow Bile. The Innate Heat of metabolism and the Digestive Fire. The heart, liver and stomach. All active, muscular heat generating tissues; the muscles. The Fire of spirit and intelligence, and the sparkle in the eyes.

Air: The lungs, chest and thorax. All the cavities and open spaces, which allow for movement and function. The blood and the Vital Force it carries. The arteries, which pulsate with Air, or pneuma. All hollow or porous tissues and structures, which are lightened, rarefied and refined by Air: the bones, connective tissue, and membranous structures. Points of exchange and contact: the lungs, kidneys and digestive mucosa.

Water: All the vital fluids of the body, especially the clear fluids: phlegm, mucus, plasma, lymph and serous and interstitial fluids. The kidneys, bladder and urinary tract, which pass superfluous Water from the body. The mucosa of the digestive, respiratory and genitourinary tracts. The lymphatic system. The brain and spinal cord.

Earth: All the dense, solid, deeper, more permanent parts of the body. Bones, joints and structural connective tissue. Nerves, bone marrow and nervous tissue. Teeth and gums. The hair and nails.

Qualities, Actions and Correspondences of the Elements

Each element has certain inherent qualities, which give rise to its properties and actions. Each element also corresponds to a certain humor, temperament and season of the year. The basic correspondences are as follows:

Fire: Hot and Dry. The most active, energetic and volatile element, and the greatest emitter of energy. Light, rising and penetrating. Distilling, refining, extracting, digesting, metabolizing, transforming. Yellow Bile. The Choleric temperament. Summer.

Air: Hot and Wet. The subtlest, most refined element. Flowing and fluidic, filling every vacuum. Exchange, movement and contact. Ascending, lightening, rarefying. Blood. The Sanguine temperament. Spring.

Earth: Cold and Dry. The heaviest, densest, most solid element. Draws, retains, solidifies, coagulates, precipitates, sustains, supports, endures. Black Bile. The Melancholic temperament. Fall or Autumn.

Water: Cold and Wet. The most passive, receptive element, and the greatest receiver and absorber of energy. Flowing and fluidic. Cools, moistens, lubricates, dissolves, cleanses, purifies, sinks downwards. Fertilizes and germinates as the Source of all Life. Phlegm. The Phlegmatic temperament. Winter.

IN GREEK MEDICINE DIGESTION HAPPENS IN FOUR STAGES- I POSTED THAT MODERN PHYSIOLOGISTS ALSO BELIEVE THAT DIGESTION HAPPENS IN FOUR STAGES I LEARNED THAT AT UCSD

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_Humors.html

THE FOUR HUMORS

 

Agents of Metabolism

The Four Humors are the metabolic agents of the Four Elements in the human body. The right balance and purity of them is essential to maintaining health. The Four Humors and the elements they serve are as follows:

BLOOD - AIR

PHLEGM - WATER

YELLOW BILE - FIRE

BLACK BILE - EARTH

All four of these humors, or vital fluids, are present in the bloodstream in varying quantities:

Blood, or the Sanguine humor, is the red, hemoglobin-rich portion.

Phlegm, or the Phlegmatic humor, is present as the clear plasma portion.

Yellow Bile, or the Choleric humor, is present as a slight residue or bilirubin, imparting a slight yellowish tint.

Black Bile, or the Melancholic humor, is present as a brownish grey sediment with platelets and clotting factors.

Digestion: Origin and Metabolism of the Four Humors

The Four Humors are responsible for the nutrition, growth and metabolism of the organism. They originate in the digestive process.

In Greek Medicine, digestion happens in four stages:

The First Digestion happens in the gastrointestinal tract, and produces chyle; its waste product is the feces, or stool.

The Second Digestion happens in the liver, and produces the Four Humors. Its wastes are eliminated via the bile, urine and sweat.

The Third Digestion happens in the blood vessels, and feeds the principal organs of the body. Its wastes are eliminated via the urine and sweat.

The Fourth Digestion happens in the tissues, and is the final congellation of the Four Humors into living tissue. Its wastes are eliminated similarly to the Third Digestion.

The Four Humors originate in the liver in the Second Digestion as follows:

Blood, or the Sanguine humor, is the first to arise, and receives the richest, choicest share of nutrients. It is the most plentiful humor, and enters the general circulation.

Phlegm, as Plasma or the Phlegmatic humor, is the second to arise and receives the next richest share of nutrients. It is also very plentiful, and enters the general circulation.

Yellow Bile, or the Choleric humor, is the third to arise and receives a rather coarse, meager share of nutrients. It is not so plentiful. Only a slight residue enters the general circulation; the rest is stored in the gall bladder, its receptacle, to be used as needed.

Black Bile, or the Melancholic humor, is the last to arise, and receives the coarsest, most meager share of nutrients. It is the least plentiful. Only a slight residue enters the general circulation; the rest is stored in the spleen, its receptacle, to be used as needed.

The first two humors, blood and phlegm, are moist and flourishing, and are the metabolic agents of the Wet elements - Air and Water, respectively. Most of the nutrition, growth and metabolism of the organism depends on them.

The last two humors, yellow bile and black bile, are dry and effete, and only needed by the organism in small amounts. They are the metabolic agents of the Dry elements - Fire and Earth, respectively. Although only needed in small amounts, they are potent and essential catalysts where needed.

Blood / Sanguine Humor / Air

Blood is Hot and Wet, or Warm and Moist. It is the very essence of vitality and health, nutrition and growth. Blood is perfect nourishment perfectly digested. Its receptacle or home is in the arteries and blood vessels. Blood carries the Vital Force and Innate Heat, which power cellular metabolism. The essence of blood is exchange and contact, as it is the basic nutritional and metabolic currency of the organism. Blood has an Attractive virtue, or force, since all cells, organs and tissues have an absolute need for it, and are therefore attracted to it.

Phlegm / Phlegmatic Humor / Water

The Phlegmatic humor is Cold and Wet. It includes not just phlegm, but all the other clear fluids of the body: mucus, saliva, plasma, lymph, and serous and interstitial fluids. Together, these fluids cool, moisten, nourish, lubricate, protect, and purify the organism. The Plegmatic humor has an Expulsive virtue, or force, which flushes out impurities, transports vital nutrients, and helps eliminate wastes. The home of the Phlegmatic humor is in the veins and lymphatics. The Phlegmatic humor nourishes the body on a deep and fundamental level.

Yellow Bile / Choleric Humor / Fire

The Choleric humor is Hot and Dry. It is produced by the liver and stored in the gall bladder. Bile has a hot, caustic nature and a Digestive virtue, or force, which gives it a strong affinity with the other digestive secretions of the middle GI tract. Fire and bile digest and consume, metabolize and transform. Digestively, bile powers digestion; digests, assimilates and excretes fats and cholesterol; and acts as a natural laxative to stimulate intestinal peristalsis and defecation. It also colors the stool brown. Systemically, Choleric residues in the bloodstream thin the blood, enabling it to penetrate through the finest capillaries; empowers the inflammatory response; and opens up the lungs and respiratory passages as a surfactant.

Black Bile / Melancholic Humor / Earth

Black Bile is Cold and Dry. Healthy black bile is a normal sediment of blood, or the Sanguine humor. Black Bile has a Retentive virtue or force, and a cooling, drying, astringing, precipitating, condensing, coagulating, solidifying effect on metabolism necessary for building the bones, teeth, and all dense, solid structural connective tissues of the body. Digestively, Black Bile awakens the stomach and appetite, solidifies the stool, and enables the digestive organs to hold on to their contents long enough to process them properly. Systemically, Melancholic residues in the bloodstream thicken the blood, enabling it to clot; this is vitally important in wound granulation, scar tissue formation, and all structural repair of the body. Black Bile also governs mineral metabolism and bone formation.

The Psychological Effects of the Humors

The Four Humors are not just gross, physical substances. They also pervade the whole organism as subtle vapors, even affecting the mind, thoughts, and emotions. And so, the Four Humors also have psychological effects, making them capable of affecting both body and mind:

Blood promotes a feeling of joy, mirth, optimism, enthusiasm, affection and wellbeing.

Phlegm induces passivity, lethargy, subjectivity, devotion, emotionalism, sensitivity and sentimentality.

Yellow Bile provokes, excites and emboldens the passions. Being inflammatory, irritating and caustic, it provokes anger, irritability, boldness, ambition, envy, jealousy and courage.

Black Bile makes one pensive, melancholy and withdrawn. It encourages prudence, caution, realism, pragmatism and pessimism.

The Four Humors tend to have negative effects on the mind and emotions only when they're excessive or aggravated. Otherwise, they can also strengthen positive aspects of character.

Confluence of the Humors

Health is a harmonious balance and interworking of the humors. Although the Four Humors work together to ensure the optimum nutrition, growth and metabolism of the organism, healthy humors still maintain their own identity and functional integrity.

When the humors are harmonious, balanced and working well together, that is a condition called eucrasia, or "good mixture". When the humors are unbalanced, aggravated, or out of sorts, that is a condition called dyscrasia, or "bad mixture".

GALEN AND THE FOUR FACULTIES OF THE ORGANISM AND THE FOUR PRINCIPAL ORGANS

http://www.greekmedicine.net/images/the_four_faculties.jpg

THE FOUR FACULTIES

 

The Basic Functions of Life

Galen was a brilliant physician and anatomist who contributed much to Greek Medicine's understanding of the organs and systems of the human body and how they function. His chief contribution in this area was his doctrine of the Four Faculties.

According to Galen, the human body and all living organisms have to be able to do four basic things for themselves in order to live and survive:

1) They have to be able to vitalize themselves with the basic Life Energy necessary to function.

2) They have to be able to feed themselves and nourish, grow and regenerate their physical structure.

3) They must have consciousness and cognition, perception and awareness to be able to respond to their environment in an intelligent and timely manner in the interest of self preservation.

4) They must be able to reproduce themselves to further the continuity of Life and the propagation of their species.

These four seminal ideas became the basis for his doctrine of the Four Faculties of the organism, which perform these four basic functions. Each of these faculties has a principal organ, which is its central control or processing unit, which in turn is served by subsidiary organs and vessels of the faculty.

the_four_faculties The Four Faculties of the organism, and their principal functions and organs, are as follows:

Vital Faculty - Vitalizes the organism, enabling it to function; coordinates whole body responses. Governs respiration, circulation, cellular metabolism and the immune response.

Principal Organ - Heart

Natural Faculty - Feeds the organism, enabling it to grow and regenerate its physical structure. Governs digestion, metabolism, nutrition and growth.

Principal Organ - Liver

Psychic Faculty - Intelligence, awareness, perception. Stimulus and response. Enables the organism to respond to its environment in the interests of self preservation.

Principal Organ - Brain

Generative Faculty - Reproduction, procreation. Propagates the species in service of the continuance of Life.

Principal Organ - Gonads

The first three faculties are primary, because they're needed on a daily basis. The fourth faculty, the Generative Faculty, serves the purpose of procreation, which is not needed on a daily basis.

To demonstrate the importance of the three primary faculties, let's consider a limb of the body, like a leg, for example:

The Vital Faculty vitalizes that leg, giving it life. Without the Vital Faculty and its lifegiving blood supply, that leg would necrose and die within minutes.

The Natural Faculty feeds that leg, nourishing it and regenerating its structure. Without the humors and nutrients it supplies, that leg would gradually atrophy and wither away over a period of days, weeks or months.

The Psychic Faculty enables that leg to perform specialized movements like kicking and walking, and take us where we want to go. Through the Psychic Faculty, that leg becomes a useful instrument for the indwelling soul, or psyche.

Principal Organs and Attendant Vessels

The principal organs are the master organs, the central control and processing units, which are served by various subsidiary organs and attendant vessels. Those which come before the principal organ in functional order are called afferent vessels, whereas those that come after it are called efferent vessels.

A chart of the Four Faculties, their principal organs, and the afferent and efferent vessels to them, would be as follows:

Vital Faculty

Principal Organ Heart

Afferent Vessels Lungs and respiratory tract; diaphragm

Veins and pulmonary vessels; lymphatics

Efferent Vessels Arteries and capillaries

Natural Faculty

Principal Organ Liver

Afferent Vessels Stomach and digestive tract

Veins of hepatic portal system

Efferent Vessels Inferior vena cava, gall bladder, spleen

Psychic Faculty

Principal Organ Brain

Afferent Vessels Sense organs, sensory nerves

Efferent Vessels Motor nerves, effector organs and muscles

Generative Faculty

Principal Organ Gonads - testes (male) ovaries (female)

Afferent Vessels male - epididymus, vas deferens, seminal vesicles, prostate, urethra, penis

female - fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, vulvae

Efferent Vessels Arteries and capillaries

The Noble Organs

Besides the principal organs of the Four Faculties, there are other important organs, which are also served by their subsidiary organs and vessels; these are called the Noble Organs. Some of the Noble Organs clearly pertain to one faculty, whereas others interface between multiple faculties.

The main Noble Organs, the faculties they serve, and the organs and vessels that serve them, are as follows:

Vital Faculty

Lungs - served by the ribs, diaphragm and upper respiratory tract.

Thymus Gland - served by the lymphatic system and lymphocytes.

Natural Faculty

Spleen - served by the stomach, colon, lymphatic and circulatory systems.

Pancreas - served by the circulatory system, digestive tract.

Kidneys - served by bladder, lower urinary tract; also interfaces with Vital Faculty.

Psychic Faculty

Sense Organs - eyes, ears, nose, tongue, skin - served by their sensory nerves.

Generative Faculty

Uterus - served by all the other organs and vessels of the female reproductive system; grows the foetus into the newborn.

Breasts - The female breasts produce milk.

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Four_Faculties.html

The endocrine glands, which produce important hormones that regulate and govern important whole body responses, are also noble organs; most of them interface between multiple faculties and systems. Every organ, vessel or gland in the human body serves at least one of the Four Faculties.

FOUR GATEWAYS OF THE CIRCULATORY NETWORK

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Vital_Faculty.html

The circulatory network is the great central highway of the Vital Faculty. Branching out from the heart in all directions, it is also called the vascular tree. The circulatory network includes the arteries, capillaries, veins and lymphatics.

Since it branches out from the heart, the circulatory network pertains most to the Vital Faculty. However, it is also used by the Natural Faculty to transport the Four Humors. Blood, one of the Natural Faculty's Four Humors, is the physical vehicle used by the Vital Faculty to transport the Innate Heat, Vital Force and Thymos. The endocrine glands also use the circulatory network to disseminate hormones. All these factors, plus its ability to connect and integrate all parts of the organism, both superficial and deep, make the circulatory network a very useful and versatile system.

The circulatory network has four gateways, or portals of entry and exit. These are the lungs, liver, kidneys and skin.

GREEKS AND THE FOUR WASTES

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Natural_Faculty.html

The Four Wastes

There are four major waste products of the body in Greek Medicine, which correspond to the Four Elements. Each is produced via the thermal energies and eliminated via the kinetic energies of its respective eliminative organ.

Exhalation is the waste product of the Air element and the Vital Faculty. It's the exhaust of cellular metabolism and is eliminated via the lungs, through the process of gas exchange.

Sweat is the waste product of the Fire element, and is eliminated through the skin, which is the largest eliminative organ of the body. Sweat is the body's main vehicle for eliminating excess heat; many fevers are broken by releasing a sweat.

Urine is the waste product of the Water element, and is eliminated by the kidneys and urinary tract. Urine is the main liquid waste of the body.

Feces, also called the stool or Alvine Discharge, is the waste product of the Earth element, and is eliminated via the colon. Feces are the main solid waste of the body.

Since elimination is the end result of the metabolic process, the waste products can yield many valuable clues about the condition of one's metabolism. Humorally, the organism will try to eliminate escesses and superfluities, whatever they may be, through the wastes.

Analysis of the urine and stool are important diagnostic procedures in Greek Medicine. The right balance between the retention and evacuation of wastes is important to proper hygiene.

THE FOUR INTELLECTIVE FUNCTIONS IN GREEK MEDICINE- I TOLD YOU ALL I STUDIED ACUPUNCTURE EVERYTHING IT WAS ALL BASED AROUND THE QUADRANT MODEL

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Psychic_Faculty.html

The Intellective Functions

The intellective functions of the Psychic Faculty lie closest to the soul in that they involve thought and reason, cognition and intelligence. The intellective functions, or faculties, are four in number, and correspond in their inherent temperaments to the Four Humors.

The Ideation faculty is responsible for all thoughts, ideas, conceptualization, visualization and imagination. It is Hot, Dry and Choleric, and is most highly developed in Choleric types. It is located in the front of the brain. Ideation is always active and never sleeps, even when we're dreaming.

The Judgement faculty is responsible for all reason, logic, discretion and judgement. It is Warm, Moist and Sanguine, and is most highly developed in the Sanguine temperament. Judgement is located in the middle part of the brain. It is asleep in dreams, which exhibit no discretion, and don't have to make sense.

The Memory, or Retentive faculty is responsible for all memory and retention of experiences, facts, information and details. It is Cold, Dry and Melancholic, and is most highly developed in those of that temperament. It is located in the back of the brain, and is garbled and only partially active in dreams.

The faculty of Empathy enables one to sympathize and connect with the thoughts, emotions and feelings of others. It is Cold, Wet and Phlegmatic, and is most highly developed in Phlegmatic types. Empathy is located in the core of the brain, or limbic system. It is the basis of all charity and compassion, love and devotion.

THE GREEKS DESCRIBED FOUR VITAL PRINCIPLES THE FOURTH DIFFERENT AND FOUR STAGES OF THE MANS LIFE

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Radical_Moisture.html

And the Lamp of Life

Greek Medicine recognizes four basic vital principles that give life and health to the whole organism. The first three have already been discussed, and are products of the Vital Faculty:

The Vital Force

The Innate Heat

Thymos

The fourth vital principle is the quintessence or distillate of the Natural Faculty and its Four Humors. In many ways, it's the complement or counterpart of the first three vital principles. It's called the Radical Moisture. It could also be called the nutritive, hormonal essence of the organism.

 

Metaphor: The Lamp of Life oil_lamp

The Radical Moisture is the oil, and the Innate Heat is the flame. These two complementary vital principles form the basis for an important metaphor in Greek Medicine: the Lamp of Life. The burning of the lamp's flame is analogous to the basic evolution and progression of a man's life, which happens in four basic stages, as follows:

When the lamp is first lit at conception, the flame is small but disproportionately bright for its size. It grows quickly and steadily, most quickly at first but more slowly later on, until the flame reaches its peak of heat and light. This stage is analogous to the Sanguine growing years of gestation, infancy, childhood and youth. The flame is small because it's dampened by a lot of Radical Moisture, or oil, and is only warm, not hot. The growth rate of the flame is most rapid at first, during gestation, but gradually slows down in its growth rate as the full flame of adulthood draws closer.

In adulthood, the lamp's flame has reached its maximum size and peak output of light and heat. The flame and its oil are both abundant, and in equilibrium. These are the Choleric full throttle years of life's zenith, full of ambition and drive. The strength and vigor of the body are at their maximum.

In maturity, or middle age, the lamp's flame begins to dwindle, and its light and heat output aren't what they used to be. Neither is the oil supply, or vital reserves of Radical Moisture that the flame feeds on, what it used to be. The flame starts to crackle with dryness. These are the years of declining strength, vigor and resiliency, when a Melancholic, philosophical sense of the transitoriness of life dawns.

In old age, the end draws near, and the lamp's flame begins to flicker and sputter as the oil levels get critically low. The flame's light and heat output are negligible and inconsistent. The Phlegmatic years of old age are coldest and lowest in life energy. When the oil supply is totally exhausted, the lamp runs dry and its flame is finally extinguished.

So now, when some senile, decrepit character in a Shakespearean play gasps on his deathbed, "Alas! The lamp of my life has almost run dry!", you'll know that he wasn't just picking his poetic allusions at random. He was merely using the prevailing medical metaphor of his time.

THE IGNIS OR FIRE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR DIGESTION IN THE GREEK AND AYURVEDIC PHILOSOPHY- THERE ARE FOUR TYPE OF IGNIS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS- AGAIN THE DOMINANCE OF FOUR- IN THE HOLY TEXTS OF PEOPLE SOME OTHER NUMBERS ARE MENTIONED BUT ONLY WHEN THE FOUR HAS ESTABLISHED ITS DOMINANCE

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Pepsis.html

Ignis and the Four Temperaments

Just as there are Four Temperaments, there are also four basic types of Ignis that one can have. Each of the four temperaments has its own type of Ignis, which governs its basic patterns of appetite and digestion.

Each type of Ignis tends to produce an overabundance of the humor associated with its temperament. Each type also has its own particular problematic foods, which tend to aggravate and unbalance the Ignis even further. Often, these problematic foods are the very ones craved by the Ignis type in question, which tends to create a vicious circle of aggravation and imbalance.

The practitioner of Greek Medicine should familiarize himself well with these four basic types of Ignis. Not only will they help him to better understand and treat digestive and metabolic disorders, but they're also very good indicators of constitutional nature and temperament.

Besides indicating the constitutional type of the individual, these four Ignis types also indicate acquired disorders or imbalances of digestion associated with aggravations of the type's associated humor and its temperament. The manifestations of Ignis associated with these acquired conditions will tend to be more transitory in nature, and emphasize the dysfunctional patterns of the respective Ignis type.

The type of Ignis manifesting in an individual's digestion will usually be reflected in the general patterns and behavior of Ignis throughout the organism. Thus, the cellular metabolism of the Vital Faculty will reflect the digestive metabolism of the Natural Faculty, and exhibit the same basic patterns and tendencies.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE IN GREEK MEDICINE

http://www.greekmedicine.net/b_p/Pepsis.html

Ignis and the Four Stages of Life

In the metaphor of the Lamp of Life, we saw that the flame of Ignis does not remain constant throughout the lifespan of the individual, but changes in its quality and intensity. Therefore, it must be fed differently in the different stages of life.

In the Sanguine growing years of childhood and youth, which are Warm and Moist, we must eat a more moistening, nutritious diet to feed the demands of rapid growth. Still, the stomach and digestion have some delicacy to them, and should not be overwhelmed. Children and youths endure fasting with the most difficulty, especially long fasts.

In the Hot, Dry Choleric years of adulthood, the stomach and digestion are usually at their strongest and most vigorous, and able to handle most anything. Because the body has stopped growing, short fasts are OK, but long ones are borne with difficulty, and not recommended.

In the Cold, Dry Melancholic years of maturity and middle age, the metabolic rate slows down, and our caloric needs decline. The digestion generally gets more fussy and delicate, and food allergies and sensitivities may develop. Food should be modest in quantity but high in quality, and in micronutrients. Middle aged people generally tolerate fasting the best, and benefit from it the most.

In the Cold, Wet Phlegmatic years of old age, a light, easy to digest diet is essential. Meals should be sensibly planned and regular. The overall health of old people is generally too delicate to endure long fasts, although short ones are OK.

THE FOUR PHASES OF DIGESTION I LEARNED AT UCSD

http://www.greekmedicine.net/physiology/Digestive_Tract.html

Phases of Digestion

Holistically speaking, the entire digestive process can be divided into four broad phases, each with its own predominant humor and temperament:

In the upper digestive tract, from the mouth through the esophagus, digestion is primarily Phlegmatic. Food is masticated and mixed with phlegm and saliva to reduce it to a watery, semiliquid state, as all subsequent digestive reactions must occur within an aqueous medium.

In the middle digestive tract, or the stomach and duodenum, digestion is primarily Choleric. Hot, caustic secretions rich in the Choleric digestive virtue, like stomach acids and bile, predominate, and most of the digestion, or nutrient breakdown, occurs here.

Below the duodenum, in the small intestine, digestion is predominantly Sanguine, or moderate and balanced, in temperament. Bicarbonate buffers from the pancreas cool down the excessive heat and acidity from the middle digestive tract and facilitate nutrient absorption, which occurs through the Sanguine Attractive virtue.

In the large intestine, or colon, digestion is predominantly Melancholic in temperament, as the stool is solidified in the descending colon through the drying action of the black bile sent to it from the spleen, and most of the remaining fluids and electrolytes are reabsorbed back into the organism.

THE FOUR ADMINISTERING VIRTUES IN GREEK MEDICINE

http://www.greekmedicine.net/physiology/Digestive_Tract.html

In Greek Medicine, the smooth, coordinated functioning of the digestive tract and its organs is the result of the harmonious cooperation of the Four Administering Virtues, which are specialized derivations of the Natural Force arising in the liver. These four forces, or virtues, in their usual sequence, are: Attractive, Digestive, Retentive, and Expulsive.

I DISCUSSED THAT ARISTOTLE SAID THAT THERE IS ACTUALLY FOUR SENSES- THERE IS FOUR SPECIAL SENSES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_senses

In medicine and anatomy, the special senses are the senses that have specialized organs devoted to them:

 

vision (the eye)

hearing and balance (the ear, which includes the auditory system and vestibular system)

smell (the nose)

taste (the tongue)

Diagram showing structures in the human neck. The four green shaded areas represent the most common position of the parathyroid glands, which are generally four in number and situated behind the lateral lobes of the thyroid gland (shaded orange).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parathyroid_es.svg

Quadrant

GALENS FOUR BASIC KINDS OF THINGS

http://www.greekmedicine.net/hygiene/The_six_Hygienic_Factors.html

Galen's Four Basic Things

Galen elaborated on this even more, and expanded these two categories to four. The art of hygiene, he said, consists of four basic kinds of things:

Things to be administered - a pure, healthy, nutritious diet and the right kinds of herbal tonics and nutritional supplements.

Things to be done - appropriate exercise and physical activity; getting adequate sleep and rest; a healthy, constructive daily routine; appropriate sex relations

Things to be applied - regular bathing and cleansing of the body; anointing the body with aromatics, unguents and medicated oils.

Things to be removed - cleansing and purifying the body of accumulated wastes, toxins and morbid humors.

Keep these four basic kinds of things in good order and you will enjoy excellent health. Let them get out of order and you will fall prey to illness and disease.

THE FOUR STAGES OF DISEASE PROGRESSION
http://www.greekmedicine.net/pathology/Introduction.html
The Four Stages of Pathology
Disease manifestations, caused by the struggle of the host organism against the pathogenic agent or factor, are of four basic types. These are the four basic phases, or stages, of pathology.
Acute diseases are the manifestation of an all-out struggle, a decisive, short term battle between the host organism and the disease. They are generally of short duration, and follow the classic four stage progression of onset, buildup, climax and resolution outlined earlier. The host resistance and immunity are basically strong and intact, although a critical flaw or weakness permitted the intial invasion and onset of the disease. The signs and symptoms of this all-out struggle are usually strong and vehement.
Subacute diseases can either be the secondary reactions or complications of an acute disease that has been imperfectly or incompletely resolved, or the milder, more subdued manifestations of disease caused by a host resistance and immunity that have been moderately dulled or blunted by previous acute episodes. They can also be caused by the eruption or catharsis of pathogenic toxins and factors held deeply or chronically in the organism, which offer opportunities for greater healing and purification.
Chronic diseases are like long, drawn-out sieges or ongoing battles against one or more pathogenic factors which permit no easy or decisive resolution. In most all chronic cases, host immunity and resistance have been significantly compromised, and the host organism has resigned itself to living with the disease. Although chronic conditions can be greatly ameliorated or remedied with regular, persistent treatment, a final eradication or definitive resolution is often elusive.
Chronic diseases can also be recurring, with multiple remissions and relapses. Certain conditions and circumstances, according to their nature, will bring them on, whereas contrary ones will resolve them. The scales of nature and disease are tipped back and forth by the alternating tides and exogenous influences of life.
Degenerative diseases are those in which the normal, righteous function and structure of the organism starts to break down under the burden of a chronic or unresolved disease process. Characteristic of these diseases are degenerative changes in the organs and tissues. Generally, pathology starts out as being more functional and energetic in nature; finally, in the later stages, organic or structural changes in the organs and tissues set in. When these changes become pernicious and irreversible, pathology has entered the degenerative stage. Finally, when there is no longer any hope of survival, the disease becomes terminal.

GALEN AND THE FOUR MAIN SIGNS OF INFLAMMATION STILL USED TODAY

http://www.greekmedicine.net/pathology/Differentiation_of_Pain.html

Galen identified the four main signs of inflammation as being Rubor (redness), Calor (heat), Turgor (swelling) and Dolor (pain).

https://www.upwellness.com/4-cardinal-signs-of-inflammation-in-latin/

When I diagnose someone with inflammation I look for four cardinal signs. In Latin, these signs were defined by the Roman medical writer Aulus Cornelius Celsus and include redness (rubor), heat (calor), swelling (tumor), and pain (dolor). Redness is the result of small blood vessel dilation. Heat occurs when there is increased blood flow to an area. Swelling (edema) results when fluid accumulates outside of blood vessels which causes pain. All four of these indicators must be present in order for a diagnosis to be made.

THESE ARE CONSIDERED THE FOUR TYPES OF FACE

http://www.greekmedicine.net/diagnosis/Facial_Diagnosis.html

     Generally, one of the most reliable basic indicators of someone's constitutional nature and temperament is the overall structure of their head and face. Included in this are certain facial features and signs as typical indicators of temperament.  
     Each of the Four Temperaments has certain basic facial structures, or shapes, associated with it.  These shapes can also be symbolic expressions of a temperament's predominant element.  Certain other facial signs and structures have planetary and astrological correlations as well.
     Choleric (Fire):  The most common basic facial shape is triangular, with a narrow forehead and a broad, angular jaw.  A prominent, jutting chin can also be part of the picture, and often indicates being emotionally volatile , supercharged, or high strung.  A pointed, prominent nose is also Choleric, and is a Martian sign, as are high, prominent cheekbones.  Arched eyebrows and pointed, angular features are common.  The facial complexion is often ruddy or reddish, or sometimes sallow.
     Another commonly seen Choleric subtype is the Apollonian face, associated with the Sun god Apollo, and the solar-ruled astrological sign of Leo.  The basic shape of the head and face is oval, which can be a bit elongated, with a long, prominent aquiline nose.  The eyes are big and prominent, but the face as a whole is pleasing and well-proportioned, and is often framed by wavy, brilliant golden locks of hair.
     Sanguine (Air):  Since the Sanguine temperament is basically the most equable and balanced of all, it's not surprising that the Sanguine facial types are also quite balanced, aesthetic and pleasing.  The basic shape of the face and head is oval, or egg-shaped, with a tapering, delicate chin, mouth and lips.  The eyes tend to be brown, limpid and almond shaped, quite beautiful in appearance; the rest of the facial features are pleasing and well-proportioned..  The hair is usually brown or chestnut colored, luxuriant and wavy.  Dimples are common, and the neck tends to be long and elegant.  This basic facial type is called Venusian, and is often associated with the sign Libra.  
     A variation on this basic face shape is the acorn shaped face, with a large head, forehead and upper face, and a relatively small and tapering cheeks, chin, mouth and lower face.  The nose tends to be short and compressed, but can also be angular and prominent, or like and eagle's beak.  The ears tend to be large and long-lobed, the eyebrows full, and the hair curly or wavy.  This type of face is associated with the planet Jupiter, and often indicates a philosophical disposition, as well as a tendency towards liver problems and congestion.
     Melancholic (Earth):  The earth element's basic shape is a square; so, too, is the Melancholic face typically square or rectangular in shape.  The balanced, well-nourished, earthy Melancholic individual will have a broad, solid, square face, with a well-developed bone structure; all the facial features will similarly be broad, squarish, and well-formed.  The neck will be broad, stout and strong.   This type is commonly associated with the sign Taurus.
     If the Melancholic individual isn't so balanced and well-nourished, the face will be narrower and rectangular in shape, often with hollowed out cheeks, thin lips and small, beady eyes.  Another common Melancholic face is the inverted triangular face, with a broad forehead and head and a narrow, elongated, tapering chin and jaw; it shows someone of an analytical, cerebral, nervous temperament, also with a tendency to liver problems.  It is the Melancholic counterpart to the more healthy and robust Sanguine Jupiter type.
     The Mercurial face is a Melancholic subtype that shows a nervous temperament.  The basic shape of the head and face are of a considerably elongated oval; the Mercurial face ages well, and looks perennially youthful.  The nose is long and thin, and the eyes large, sparkling and dark.  The head hair is generally wiry and wavy, and men with this facial type often find that a mustache and/or goatee suits them well.  The Mercurial face is associated with the signs Gemini and Virgo.
     The Saturnine face is another Melancholic subtype that is generally associated with the sign Capricorn.  It is generally long and thin, with the complexion often pasty or sallow.  There is usually a prominent aquiline  nose, which may point sharply downwards towards the chin, which is often prominent.  The back of the head, from the occiput to the crown, may be flattened, and the chin may be tucked down into a ramrod-straight neck and spine in a military posture, showing rigidity and inflexibility.
     Phlegmatic (Water):  The basic shape of the Phlegmatic face and its features is round.  The eyes are large, watery and limpid, often blue or gray in color, with thick, luxuriant lashes.  The cheeks are full, and may be dimpled.  There is usually a small pug nose or button-shaped nose.  The chin will be rounded, not prominent, and may even be receding; double chins are common, especially with weight gain.  The head and facial hair are usually light, and eyebrows wispy.  The hairline is often high, and the forehead prominent. 
     The round Phlegmatic face is most closely associated with the sign of Cancer, and, to a lesser extent, with Pisces.  Scorpio, due to its classical Mars rulership, is a mixture of Phlegmatic and Choleric in its facial type.
     These are the descriptions of the basic facial types and subtypes.  I'm sure that you can see them in many famous people, or people you know.  Most of us, however, are of mixed types.

http://www.greekmedicine.net/Principles_of_Treatment/Principles_of_Dietary_Therapy.html     

In recent years, the Four Temperaments of Greek Medicine have become equated with certain glandular metabolic body types.  Certain doctors have come out with systems of weight loss diets according to these metabolic glandular types, with Dr. Abravanel becoming probably the best known among them.  
     The glandular metabolic body types associated with the Four Temperaments, named after their dominant endocrine gland, are as follows:
     Choleric -  Adrenal Type
     Sanguine -  Gonadal Type or Pancreas Type
     Melancholic -  Thyroid Type
     Phlegmatic -  Pituitary Type

THE GALENIC DEGREES- GALEN ASSIGNED FOUR DEGREES TO THE FOUR QUALITIES

http://www.greekmedicine.net/Principles_of_Treatment/Herbal_Therapeutics_and_Materia_Medica.html

To help the physician or pharmacist measure more precisely the relative strength and potency of herbs and medicinal substances in formulating and administering herbs and herbal medicines, Galen devised a system known as the Galenic Degrees. Galen assigned four degrees, or levels of potency, to each of the Four Basic Qualities, with the first degree being the mildest, and the fourth the most potent. The Galenic Degree of the herb or medicine used must match the degree of severity of the disorder while being opposite yet complementary in quality.

To give you an experiential feel for how these Galenic Degrees work, here are the qualities and degrees of temperament assigned to some common herbs used in Greek Medicine:

Angelica root - Hot 3, Dry 3

Borage - Hot 1, Wet 1

Dandelion root - Cold 2, Dry 2

Garlic - Hot 4, Dry 4

Wild Lettuce - Cold 2, Wet 2

Rose - Cold 1, Dry 1

Sweet Violet - Cold 1, Wet 2

Yarrow - Cold 1, Dry 1

Source: Culpeper's Medicine, by Graeme Tobyn, pp. 220 - 224

 

Certain broad associations between the Four Basic Qualities and particular tastes and therapeutic properties of herbs and medicines can also be drawn. These are as follows:

Hot herbs and medicines stimulate and warm the metabolism and disperse chills. Many are pungent and spicy in taste. Many are stimulants, expectorants, adaptogens and energy tonics.

Cold herbs and medicines sedate or slow down the metabolism and cool down fevers, heat and inflammation. Many are antiinflammatories, antipyretics, refrigerants and sedatives. Many are also bitter in taste.

Wet herbs and medicines moisten, soothe and nourish. Many are demulcents, emollients and nutritive tonics. Many also have a bland or mildly sweet taste and an abundant supply of natural mucilage.

Dry herbs and medicines help the body eliminate excess fluids, phlegm and dampness. Many are expectorants, diuretics or astringents.

THE FOUR ANGULAR HOUSES AND THE TEMPERAMENTS

http://www.greekmedicine.net/medical_astrology/Houses_in_Medical_Astrology.html

The basic or essential temperaments of the angles in Greek Medical Astrology are:

Ascendant (Sunrise) - Sanguine

Midheaven (Noon or Midday) - Choleric

Descendant (Sunset) - Melancholic

Nadir (Midnight) - Phlegmatic

In classical Greek or Hellenistic Astrology, the four angular houses were associated with certain important phases in the life span of the individual:

Ascendant - birth, infancy, childhood

Midheaven - the prime of life

Descendant - maturity and old age

Nadir - death and its legacy or aftermath

THE QUADRANT BASED HOUSE SYSTEM ASTROLOGY

http://www.greekmedicine.net/medical_astrology/Houses_in_Medical_Astrology.html

House systems can be broadly subdivided into those that are quadrant-based and those that are not quadrant-based. All quadrant-based house systems take the Ascendant, Midheaven, Descendant and Nadir as being the cusps of the First, Tenth, Seventh, and Fourth houses, respectively. They differ as to where to place the cusps of the intervening houses, which are caslculated according to various elaborate formulas.

Of the quadrant-based house systems, the oldest and most classical is Porphyry, which is also the simplest. The four quadrants of the horoscope are each subdivided into three equal parts to get the cusps of the intervening houses. This is the quadrant-based house system I prefer.

ASTRONOMY AND THE FOUR TEMPERAMENTS

http://www.greekmedicine.net/medical_astrology/Cycles_and_Timing.html

The Ascendant sets the circadian cycle through the daily rotation of the Earth on its axis. The Ascendant also sets the houses of the horoscope, or the mundane wheel, which shows a planet's directional relationship to the Earth.

The four cardinal angles of the natal horoscope represent the four cardinal turning points in the daily circadian cycle. Over the course of a 24 hour day, each planet will:

Rise on the eastern horizon, or Ascendant (First House cusp)

Culminate at Midheaven, the highest point in the sky (Tenth House cusp)

Set on the western horizon, or Descendant (Seventh House cusp)

Anti-culminate at the Nadir, the lowest point in the invisible sky (Fourth House cusp)

The most important planet that makes this trip is the Sun; when He is above the horizon, it's daytime, and when He's below the horizon, it's night time. The Sun's passage through the cardinal angles sets their basic nature and temperament, as we saw in the daily cycle of The Greek Medicine Wheel:

Ascendant (Sunrise) - Sanguine - Warm and Moist

Midheaven (Noon) - Choleric - Hot and Dry

Descendant (Sunset) - Melancholic - Cold and Dry

Nadir (Midnight) - Phlegmatic - Cold and Wet

Although the entire six hour period surrounding each critical turning point has basically the same nature and temperament as the turning point itself, the qualities of temperament are the strongest when the Sun is at the exact turning point, or conjunct the cardinal angle. For example, the entire six hour period surrounding Noon is Choleric, but Noon itself, when the Sun is exactly conjunct Midheaven, is the most Choleric.

The cardinal angles correspond to the solstices and equinoxes, which set the seasons of the year, which share their same nature and temperament:

Ascendant (Sunrise) - Spring Equinox - Sanguine

Midheaven (Noon) - Summer Solstice - Choleric

Descendant (Sunset) - Fall Equinox - Melancholic

Nadir (Midnight) - Winter Solstice - Phlegmatic

Having any one of the planets conjunct any one of the cardinal angles greatly heightens its power and influence. But according to classical Greek Hellenistic Astrology, each one of the classical planets has its own preferred angle, where it's especially powerful, according to its own inherent nature and temperament. These are the directional strengths of the planets, which are as follows:

The Mutable planets, Mercury and Jupiter, are strongest when conjunct the Ascendant. This is due to the inherent Mutable nature of the Sanguine Air element.

The Choleric planets, Mars and the Sun, are strongest when conjunct the Midheaven, which is also Choleric.

The principal Melancholic planet, Saturn, is strongest when conjunct the Descendant, which is also Melancholic.

The two feminine Phlegmatic planets, the Moon and Venus, are strongest when conjunct the Nadir, which is also Phlegmatic.

These directional strengths of the planets represent a more inherent, fundamental form of mundane dignity than their dignities by house placement according to the essential sign / house correspondences. For example, the Sun is dignified in houses Five (Leo domicile) and One (Aries exaltation), but has His directional strength at Midheaven, when He is at His zenith of light, heat and life.

The Moon and the Lunation Cycle

The Moon, as the fastest moving "planet", or heavenly body, is the significator of acute illnessses and conditions in Medical Astrology. Progressions and changes in acute illnesses are linked to the daily phases and movements of the Moon.

The most important cycle to understand is the monthly lunation cycle of the cardinal quarters or phases of the Moon. Significant changes and developments in the progression of acute illnesses, for better or worse, including onsets and remissions, tend to happen at the lunar quarters.

The lunation cycle consists of two complementary parts: the waxing hemicycle, from New Moon to Full Moon, in which the Moon is growing in size and brightness; and the waning hemicycle, from Full Moon back to New Moon, in which the Moon is diminishing in size and brightness. The waxing hemicycle favors nutrition, growth and regeneration; the waning hemicycle favors cleansing, elimination and release.

Halfway through the waxing hemicycle is the First Quarter; this is the dynamic crisis of action. Halfway through the waning hemicycle is the Third Quarter; this is the reflective crisis of consciousness.

Each of the Moon's quarter's has a certain inherent nature and temperament. Each exerts a different influence, by transit as well as natally. Due to the Moon's inherent Cardinal modality, each of the lunar quarters initiates a week-long phase of the same nature and temperament. However, the influences of humor and temperament are strongest at the exact quarters.

The New Moon has a Sanguine temperament, and initiates a period of regeneration, expansion and growth. The vital energies are high, and everything is fresh and new. This is the best time to begin a period of nutritional rebuilding after a fasting or purification regime; it also favors healing and recovery from surgery. Those born at the New Moon have good vitality, and are genuine, wholehearted and sincere, but often lack objectivity and perspective.

The First Quarter has a Choleric temperament, and is associated with hot, bilious conditions. It initiates a phase of maximum lunar light and energy, and a high pressure drive towards fulfillment at the Full Moon. Because the Sun and Moon are in a difficult square aspect, this is usually a period of crisis and struggle in the lunar cycle, which is called the crisis of action. The First Quarter also exerts a Choleric influence on those born at this phase, and spurs them on to take bold, decisive action.

The Full Moon has a Melancholic temperament; initiating the dark, waning half of the lunar cycle, it's analogous to the Fall Equinox, which initiates the dark half of the year. The Full Moon aloso has a Nervous temperament because psychic, nervous and emotional energies and tensions are highest at this phase, when the Sun and Moon are in direct opposition. All fluidic fluxes are also at their height at the Full Moon; surgery isn't advised because of the danger of bleeding and hemorrhage, and for men practicing Tantric techniques of ejaculation control, sexual continence will be the most difficult at this time of the month. Those born at the Full Moon can experience the energy of the Sun / Moon opposition in many different ways: it may put an emphasis on relationships and partnerships; it may give heightened wisdom, objectivity and perspective; negatively, it can couse confusion, dilemma, or psychic tension and instability.

The Third Quarter has a Phlegmatic temperament, and initiates the darkest, coldest, wettest phase of the lunar cycle. Having a Phlegmatic Expulsive Virtue, it favors the eliminative functions, and is a good time to undertake purification regimes. Sleep tends to be the most sound and restful at this phase. Because the Moon is returning to the New Moon, which is opposite the Full Moon, surgery is advisable, and the danger of hemorrhage low. Those born at the Third Quarter are often reflective and contemplative, in response to the crisis of consciousness felt at this phase.

The monthly lunar cycle also corresponds to the female menstrual cycle, which also lasts about 28 days. Women born at the cardinal quarters of the lunar cycle tend to have painful, difficult menstrual periods, with much cramping, because there's conflict and tension between the vital solar and lunar forces. The New Moon isn't so problematic in this respect, but the other quarters are.

It's also good to do a short fast, or to eat very lightly, on the eleventh days of each lunar hemicycle, or three days before the New and Full Moons. This cleansing and balancing prepares the organism to better handle the intense enrgies of the two poles of the monthly lunar cycle.

bottom of page