For many centuries, our physical, psychological, and spiritual health has been related to a paradigm that posits a relationship between humanity and the cosmos. Human beings are considered in both body and soul to reflect a divine design: they are part of a microcosm that replicates the macrocosm. A small part of this system persists in the association of parts of the body (beginning with the head and ending at the feet) with the zodiacal signs, beginning with the first sign Aries and ending with the last sign Pisces.  This was interpreted to mean that if you had significant emphasis on a particular sign in your horoscope, you might have issues with that part of the body.   

But the system is actually quite sophisticated. It has a more detailed and practical use in correlating the health of bodily organs, the efficiency of physiological processes, and susceptibility to particular diseases with both your horoscope and the state of the cosmos.  

As well, on a psychological level, the mixture of ethereal elements (fire, air, water, and earth), constituting the mundane world and associated with the zodiacal signs, is the basis of a personality theory--a theory of temperament or internal balance--that relates not just to your psychology but also to your physical, psychological, AND spiritual health. 

This is the piece that we'll be looking at tonight: the "theory of the humours" or the theory of temperament types and its implications for health on all levels. Can we still benefit from this theory and from the perspective on life of which it is a part? 

PRISCILLA COSTELLO, M.A., Dipl. CAAE, is a counseling astrologer, writer, and speaker with a professional practice spanning over 30 years. She was also an educator for over 30 years, teaching English, Media Studies, and Creative Drama. She has participated in the professional astrological community both in Canada (as Vice-Chairperson of the Fraternity for Canadian Astrologers) and in the U.S. (serving for many years on the Board of the National Council for Geocosmic Research). Founder and Director of The New Alexandria, a center for religious, spiritual, and esoteric studies, she is the author of The Weiser Concise Guide to Practical Astrology (2008), an elegantly written introduction to astrology linking it to psychology, religion, and esoteric wisdom. Her second book, Shakespeare and the Stars: the Hidden Astrological Keys to Understanding the World's Greatest Playwright, is due in April, 2016.