This is a sixteenth century printed manual on geomancy by Christopher Cattan, translated and printed in English in 1591, presenting Cattan's own system for casting and interpreting geomantic figures. Like other primary divinatory manuals of its period, it sets out a practitioner's invented system of correspondences and procedures as established knowledge, aimed at readers wanting to practice geomancy themselves rather than at proving the method works. Its value to the atlas is as a primary historical record of how geomancy was actually taught and practiced in early modern England, not as evidence for its predictive accuracy. It carries no independent verification or modern scholarly apparatus in this printing, so its claims should be read as the tradition's own voice, not the atlas's endorsement of them.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier3
Christopher Cattan's own 1591 primary divinatory manual, a practitioner's invented system presented as established knowledge with no independent verification or modern scholarly apparatus, hence the tradition's-own-account tier. NotesEnglish translation of La Geomance du Seigneur Christofe de Cattan (1558). One of the two Renaissance handbooks through which the sixteen figures reached the English-speaking world.
Citation
AuthorChristopher Cattan
PublisherJohn Wolfe
Publication Year1591
Source Typeprimary-text
Claims Backed By This Source (23 claims)
This source backs 23 claims across the atlas. As facts: 7 well-attested. Plus 16 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Geomantic Figures, 16 claims: 16 general references.
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
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