Book of Chess, Its Problems, and Its Subtleties

...the two galls Yellow bile and black bile; along with blood and phlegm, these comprise the "four humors" believed to govern human health and temperament., blood, and phlegm. ⸫ And the third corresponds to the vital forces of animals and plants, which are: the attractive, the retentive, ⸫ the transformative, ⸫ and the expulsive forces. ⸫ And the fourth corresponds to the seasons of world-time, which are: ⸫ Spring, ⸫ Summer, Autumn, and Winter. ⸫ And the fifth corresponds to the divisions of the sun's directions, which are: ⸫ East, West, North, and South. ⸫

And the sixth corresponds to the locations of the celestial sphere, which are: ⸫ the Zenith original: "watad al-sama'," the Midheaven or highest point in the sky., ⸫ the Nadir original: "watad al-ard," the point directly below the observer., ⸫ the Ascendant original: "watad al-mashriq," the point on the eastern horizon., ⸫ and the Descendant original: "watad al-maghrib," the point on the western horizon.. ⸫

He likened those thirty pieces original: "al-a‘lam," literally "the markers." with which the game is played to the thirty days that constitute a month; ⸫ and to the thirty degrees that constitute a zodiac sign original: "al-burj." In ancient astronomy, each of the twelve signs of the zodiac is divided into 30 degrees.. ⸫

He likened the die original: "al-fass," the individual cube of the dice. to the body of the celestial sphere. ⸫ He made it a six-sided cube so it would be the most perfect of bodies, for the most perfect of bodies is that which possesses six directions. ⸫ And he likened the seven markings on the die—which must always face each other as pairs on the bottom and the top—to the seven planets This refers to the fact that opposite sides of a standard die always sum to seven (1+6, 2+5, 3+4). In medieval cosmology, there were seven "wandering stars" or planets., which must inevitably be positioned such that seven are either above the earth or beneath it. ⸫

He likened the players' throwing of the two dice to the rising of the celestial sphere over those striving in this world. And he likened the players' movement of the pieces through the divisions of the board to the nature of worldly management and the shared striving of all creation, where each person attains their needs only in accordance with what the configuration of the firmament grants them.