Humours

I've been doing some astro work on temperament lately and I love the way that the medieval concept of humours describe inborn temperament. Much more accurate than the modern psychological idea of Fire, Earth, Air and Water. In medieval times pretty much every apothecary was an astrologer and when someone was sick the first thing the apothecary did was draw up the patient's horoscope to discover the predominant humour. There are four of them: Choleric - hot & dry, Sanguine - hot & moist, Phlegmatic - cold & wet and Melancholic - cold & dry. Once they knew the predominant humour they were able to pinpoint the part of the body that was the cause of the problem and then they'd prescribe the appropriate herbs to treat the sickness. Every herb had a humoural signature so the doctor knew how apply a specific herb to a particular problem. Clever buggers those apothecaries!
Everybody has a certain percentage of each humour as part of their temperament signature. According to the system I use I'm 60% Phlegmatic and 40% Choleric. I read an interpretation of that and here's what it said:

"Phlegmatic Choleric is the most driven of the Phlegmatics. A Phlegmatic Choleric wants to accomplish what they have set their minds to, however, being Phlegmatic they don’t make a splash about it. A Phlegmatic Choleric with a goal will simply go ahead and do what needs to be done – without fanfare or telling anyone.

Since the Choleric has problems with anger, this is often reflected in the Phlegmatic Choleric as irritability or frustration. Since the Phlegmatic is “hard to read”, there may not be an obvious reason for this reaction. For example, traffic backups can irritate a Phlegmatic Choleric; but little warning about their irritation is visible until they comment.

These individuals can make excellent team leaders – they are the only Phlegmatic type that may rise to leadership. Because their Choleric secondary type is a Driver and their primary Phlegmatic is easygoing, these can combine to make a leader who can handle a variety of personalities. The Phlegmatic Choleric needs to have a partner or spouse who understands – and more importantly – accepts their quiet ways. Another Phlegmatic may be best suited while a Choleric or Melancholy will be a less likely match."

Hmmm, a lot of that makes definite sense to me. It also explains why I've always had problems with women who are too choleric, especially if they didn't have a fair bit of the phlegmatic in their makeup to cool them down and water them a little! I checked Mary Kate's temperament and it turns out that she's 50% Phlegmatic, 40% Choleric (that's thanks to Leo rising and being born during the day) and 10% Sanguine. That explains why we understand each other so well: both our Moons are Phlegmatic :-)

Saba scores 60% Choleric, 20% Melancholic, 10% Phlegmatic and 10% Sanguine. So we match on the choleric side but her lack of the phlegmatic brings me problems cos she doesn't know how to float. She can be very driven and more obstinate than a mule with lead feet, yet she has the high, noble ideals of the C/M and can be very conscientious.

I think it's fascinating that I seem to be attracted to women with a lot of the Choleric in them and the only ones I have ultimately been compatible with were the ones with a lot of Phlegmatic to counterbalance the heat.

Anyway, enough of this badinage. If I'm not careful I'll end up spending all day on this bloody PC instead of putting condiments in bags and bags in boxes.

I love being Phlegmatic!

G'morning colleen. I hope you're smilin' on this gorgeous mornin' :-)