Notes and Queries, Number 69, February 22, 1851

Began to Venus temple for to gon, Up rose the sonne, and up rose Emelie."

In astrology, the heavens are divided into twelve houses, corresponding to a division of the ecliptic into twelve equal parts, the first of which is measured from the point of the ecliptic which is on the horizon and about to rise above it, at the instant which the astrologer has to consider, namely, the instant of birth in the case of a nativity, or that in which a journey or any other enterprise is undertaken.

The hours inequal here spoken of similarly correspond to a division of the ecliptic into twenty-four parts, so that each house comprehends the portions of the ecliptic belonging to two of these hours, provided the division into houses is made at sunrise, when the first hour commences. It is obvious that these astrological hours will be of unequal length, as equal portions of the ecliptic subtend unequal angles at the pole of the equator.

With regard to the time of year at which the tournament takes place, t