cardo

Latin · noun

Edited by: Kierán Meinhardt
Last edited: 2024-03-26

Meanings

1. cardinal point

2. pole

Literal translation

hinge

1. cardinal point

1.a cardinal point astrological place, astronomical term

Nunc ad expositionem cardinum locorumque omnium transferatur intentio

‘Now we must give our attention to the cardinal points and places’

— Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis 2.14.1

Genre: astrological compendium Provenance: Sicily Date: ca. 334 CE

Firmicus Maternus. 1897. Ivlii Firmici Materni Matheseos Libri VIII, ed. W. Kroll, F. Skutsch. Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner. 1.57

Caelum autem dividitur in circulos quinque, qui per mundi cardines eunt: est septemtrionalis, est solstitialis, est aequinoctialis, est brumalis, est contrarius septemtrionali

‘The sky is divided into five circles which pass through the cardinal points of the universe. In these five circles are the northern circle, the summer solstitial circle, the equinoctial circle, the wintry circle, and the one that is opposite to the northern.’

— Seneca, Natural Questions 5.17.2

Genre: philosophy Date: 62/63 CE

Seneca. Natural Questions, Volume II: Books 4-7. Translated by Thomas H. Corcoran. Loeb Classical Library 457. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972. 110-111

2. pole

2.a pole

aera per gelidum tenuis deducitur axis libratumque regit diverso cardine mundum;

‘from there an insubstantial axis runs down through the wintry air and controls the universe, keeping it pivoted at opposite poles’

— Manilius, Astronomica 1.279 f

Genre: astrological treatise

Manilius. Astronomica. Edited and translated by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library 469. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1977. 26-27

Cite this entry

APA (7th)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). cardo (Lemma #971). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/

Chicago (Author-Date)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). cardo (Lemma #971). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/

MLA (9th)

Meinhardt, K. (2024). cardo (Lemma #971). The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/

Harvard

Meinhardt, K. (2024) cardo (Lemma #971), The ZODIAC Glossary: A Cross-Cultural Glossary of Ancient Astral Science. Available at: https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/ (Accessed: July 4, 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{zodiac971,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-07-04]},
	author = {Meinhardt, Kierán},
	year = {2024},
	title = {cardo ({Lemma} #971)},
	url = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/},
	howpublished = {https://zodiacglossary.github.io/lemma/971/},
}