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Of the Four Quarters of the Year, and first of Winter

Winter Quarter began the last year the 12 day of December at 41 minutes after one of the clock in the morning, the Sun being then arrived to his greatest obliquation, being now 23 degrees, 31 minutes causing thereby the shortest day, and being mounted but 15 degrees upon the Meridian, produceth little heat, whereby the year is come to his exhausted age, when all things are dead, consuming Dame Floracs bounty conferred in the prime of the year. It is like to be very seasonable weather in the beginning of the quarter, till about the midst of the quarter, when it will prove very hard, stormy and boisterous, concluding with a pleasing serentine at his farewell.

Of the Spring

This beginning with the Epoch of the year's revolution, viz. at Sol's entrance into Aries being upon the 10. day of March, at 2. of the clock, and 27 minutes in the morning, at what time the eye of the world being sighted in the point of the Equator, causeth equal days and nights throughout the world; then being here elevated 38 degrees 27 minutes by his almous rays extracting forth the treasury of Dame Ops to enmantle her in her richest robe of flowers. The dispose of the weather in the beginning of this quarter will be somewhat moist, and the end tempestuous, the rest very seasonable weather.

Of Summer

Summer beginning at Sol's return into Cancer being then at the highest pitch of his Meridian elevation in our horizon viz. 62 degrees and 4. minutes by his greatest arch of sunshine, causing the longest day and shortest night in the year, whose rays falling now most perpendicular upon the surface of our horizon becommeth thereby the most thick, producing the greatest heat in the year. In the beginning of this quarter the air will be very tempestuous, but for the rest very moderate weather.

Of Autumn

Autumn beginneth the 12 day of September at 8 of the clock and 48 minutes after noon, the days being then equal throughout the world, when by his nutritive warmth Sol allureth the Earth after her disburdening of her Summer fruits to a second Spring. The beginning of this quarter will prove very wet, and the rest hard and stormy.

Of years, months, weeks and days

A year is poetical viz. limited by the cosmical, acromical &c. rising of some notable fixed star; or astronomical according to the course of the Sun or Moon in the Zodiac:  this again is solar or lunar. The solar also is tropical or sidereal:  Tropical, is the time wherein the Sun by her proper course prevolveth himself through the Zodiac to the same tropical point, & containeth 365 days 5. hours and 49 minutes well nigh. The sidereal is the time wherein by his course he arriveth to the same fixed star from whence he departed, and containeth 365 days 6 hours and a half very near. The year lunar is also Common or Embolismal. Common, consisting of 354, Embolismal of 384 days; the first being less than the other solar year by 11 days, which is called the Epact; the other exceeding the solar year 19 days, whereupon it commeth that the lunar year every third year hath 13 new moons.
Months are also solar, usual  and lunar:  Solar is the space that the Sun continueth in one sign, and is mean or equated. The usual is the space of 30 or 31 days, whereby Julius Caesar by the help of solstices devised the year into twelve parts or months, then constituting the leap years and diverse other necessary distinctions or limits of the years which are used to this day. Lunar is fourfold, that is of peragration, apparition, medicinal and of consecution. Peragration being of 27 days and 7 hours &c. in which the Moon passeth through the Zodiac. Apparition, the time of four weeks. Medicinal, of 26 days. And of consecution, being the time wherein she overtaketh the Sun after her departure from him, being 29 days and a half.
A week is the space of 7 days.
A day is natural or artificial:  Natural of 24 hours. Artificial from sun rise to sun set. An hour containeth 60 minutes, a minute 60 seconds, a second 60 thirds.

And here, if I had had room (the the Printer's confines our writing) I could have conveniently answered diverse notes of time and eposes of diverse notable accidents, which both for the truth and consequence thereof would have been worthy the setting down.

Sed valle, sat sit.

[Spelling and punctuation modernized]

John Rudston produced a large number of these "prognostications" in the second and third decades of the seventeenth century.

reigns = Until 1752, the New Year officially began 25th March, so all accessions between 1 January and 24 March are dated here one year earlier than in modern style.

obliquation = deviation from a straight line.

serentine = serenity

almous = alms, charitable

embolismal = Embolism is the insertion of a day or days in the calendar to correct the error arising from the difference between the civil and the solar year.

peragration = traveling through

epos = a series of striking events