Discussion: astrolabe or armillary sphere

"I think the object being discussed here is in fact called an armillary sphere not an astrolabe - which is a disk-like object usually held vertically to measure angles of elevation. Still, the symbolism is still about the same, I guess - but here it seems to be an astrological kind of symbolism, as if the characters are pondering the future and the unfolding of events, as shown by the planetary bodies within the sphere itself - which is a celestial sphere against which would be marked the degrees of longitude and possible the signs of the zodiac. Astrology played an important role in Tudor and Elizabethan times.
SR"