People who regularly use the Ultimate Vocabulary system for vocabulary study never run out of new words to learn, and those who make a habit of reading from a wide range of resources get constant inspiration and interesting words from the texts they find in bookstores, on line, or at the library. We highly recommend both approaches together to get the maximum impact and input on your vocabulary-building, but if you’re momentarily at a loss for words, then you can always rely on a dictionary and random chance. In other words, grab a print dictionary, open it up to any page, point your finger at the page, and where your finger lands you’ll find a new word to learn, practice, and use. And perhaps it isn’t just random chance that helps you choose the word; perhaps your choice is influenced by the stars. After all, many people throughout human history have relied upon the movement of the stars to predict or explain things that happen to or around them.

Astrologers and physicians (who were often the same people) in the Middle Ages believed that the position of the stars and planets at the moment of a person’s birth would determine their character, disposition, health, and future. Because of this, certain adjectives were derived from the names of the planets and other celestial bodies to describe people, and we use those words today – though not generally with the same underlying meaning. Here are a few examples:

saturnine (SAT-ur-nine)
This adjective means “gloomy, morose, grumpy” (often referring to facial expression). Originally this meant someone born under the influence of Saturn, which for a long time was believed to be the planet the farthest away from the Sun’s heat. This sort of person was also described as cold-blooded or dour, again because of the lack of heat, as opposed to someone with a “sunny” disposition.

jovial (JOH-vee-uhl)
The Roman god Jove, also called Jupiter (or Zeus in the Greek pantheon), was the chief of all gods and therefore the primary source of benefits and blessings. A person born under the planet Jupiter would therefore be very blessed, and therefore very happy. The word jovial means “cheerful, good-humored, happy.”

lunatic (LOO-nuh-tick)
As long as people have watched the moon change phases each month, they have assigned meaning to this change, with theories and superstitions connected to each aspect from the moon’s disappearance to its full display. One theory that persists even to the present day is that when the moon is full, people and animals get a little out of control and do things they wouldn’t normally do. The word lunatic comes from the Latin words for the moon, luna.

mercurial (mur-KYUR-ee-uhl)
If you were born under the planet Mercury, you’re someone who changes attitudes and opinions quickly and unpredictably, or so they say; the definition of the word is “changeable, erratic.” The planet Mercury was named after the Roman god Mercury (Hermes to the Greek) who was the gods’ messenger and known for his swiftness. Mercury, of course, is the planet that orbits the Sun the fastest.

DON PEDRO. Your silence most offends me, and to be merry best becomes you;
for out of question, you were born in a merry hour.
BEATRICE. No, sure, my lord, my mother cried; but then there was a star danced,
and under that was I born.
– William Shakespeare, “Much Ado About Nothing” Act II Scene I