The Planets

The Planets
The Lights of Consciousness

When the Moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
Gerome Ragni/James Rado/Galt MacDermot

And I’ll look back on Venus
I’ll look back on Mars
And I’ll burn with the fire of ten million stars
Michael Gore

The heavens themselves, the planets and this centre
Observe degree, priority and place.
William Shakespeare

According to the laws of Hermeticism, what happens in the macrocosm, which in this case is our solar system, also happens in the microcosm, which is the life of each human being. The planets and other astrological bodies and points represent specific biological, psychological, social, and spiritual functions common to all human beings. Each represents a specific part of the whole human being and his or her life on Earth. The exact nature and strength of these functions or forces vary from one human being to the next. These variations are symbolized by the unique birth chart of each person.

The Fixed Stars

When ancient civilizations began charting the lights in the heavens, they first noticed that most of lights in the sky remained in fixed positions and maintained their relative distances from one another. That is, most of the lights moved as a whole, maintaining their distances from one another.

This canopy of lights or stars moved, as one big whole, a little each day. After approximately one year they were back where they started, still maintaining their same positions and distances from one another. This group of stars came to be referred to as the fixed stars because their relative distances from one another remained fixed or immovable. 

The Planets

However, there were seven stars, though not always visible, that moved across the sky at various speeds. Five of these stars moved backwards one or more times a year. These seven stars were referred to as the wandering stars or the wanderers. The early Greek word for wandering or wanderer was the word planet. The original usage of the word planet meant that a particular light in the sky moved independently of the canopy of fixed stars. The seven wandering stars were called planets, and they included what we now call the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. Today we reserve the term planet to a satellite of a star. For example, the Earth and Mars are satellites of the Sun and are therefore referred to as planets.

Today most astrologers interpret the significance of the original seven planets (the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) as well as Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, and Chiron. Some astrologers also interpret Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta (some of the larger asteroids or planetoids). A few astrologers include the hypothetical planets of Transpluto, Lilith, and the Uranian planets. Most astrologers also interpret non-planetary points such as the Ascendant, Midheaven, other house cusps, the Part of Fortune, other parts, and the North and South Lunar Nodes. A few interpret the Vertex, the Equatorial Ascendant, some of the fixed stars, and the north and south planetary nodes.

The significance of the planets and points is determined by their locations in reference to the Earth’s cycle (signs), their locations in reference to the Earth’s horizon (houses), their similarities or dissimilarities to the signs and houses (rulerships), their angular relationships to one another (aspects), major aspect patterns and spatial relationships (standouts, etc.), the centers of the angular distances between them (midpoints), and their relationships within their own cycles (phases).

The Lights

The seven planets were divided into two groups based on their apparent brightness. The Sun and Moon were referred to as the lights. The Sun and Moon held a special significance for living conditions on Earth. The Sun seemed to provide most of the light, heat, and energy needed by life on Earth. The Moon seemed to govern the tides and other natural phenomena. Out of the seven stars, the Sun and Moon were the only two that did not change direction and move backwards. Today astronomers do not usually group the Sun and Moon together since we know that the Sun is a star and the Moon is the Earth’s satellite. The Moon’s light is merely a reflection of the Sun’s light. However, the Sun and Moon remain the two most influential celestial bodies in regards to conditions on Earth, and they are considered to represent the two most important influences in astrology.

Planetary Speeds

Each astrological body moves through the zodiac at its own unique speed and in its own characteristic style. The uniqueness of their orbits contributes to their astrological meanings and symbolism. The Moon, as the archetype of adaptation to change, runs through all twelve signs in approximately 28 days. The Sun, of course, takes one year to complete its transit of the signs. Mercury and Venus, whose orbits lie between the Sun and the Earth’s orbit, display variable speeds and changing courses; but, in the end, their tours of the zodiac average out to one year each.

Beyond the Earth lie the orbits of the outer planets—Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The orbits of the asteroids, centaurs, trojans, dwarf or minor planets, comets, and meteors crisscross the paths of the outer planets and reach the extreme outer edges of our solar system. Due to their incredibly large orbits, these outer bodies take more than a year, and in most cases, from several years to several hundred to complete one revolution through the zodiac.

For example, Mars orbits the Sun in 687 days (1.8808 Years), Jupiter takes 11.9 years, and Saturn takes 29.5 years. At these speeds the transits of the outer planets through the signs may last from two months to 50 years or more. Therefore, an outer planet’s stay in a sign or house may not vary significantly over the course of one year. Most of these influence a particular sign or house for many years or even decades. However, the slower the planet, the more we attribute meaning and significance to its transits and aspects.

The Chaldean Order

The order of visible planets as held to have been proposed by the ancient Chaldean astronomers: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, and Moon. This reflects their position in the Celestial Planetary Spheres (Saturn in the outermost and the Moon in the innermost). From a modern perspective, the order expresses the relative speed of the planets, from slowest to fastest.

The Circle of the Day

Each day is divided into twenty-four subdivisions we now call hours. Using the original Chaldean stars or planets, the days of the week were named after the planet that ruled the first hour or subdivision of that day. The planet that rules the first hour of the day is also the ruler of the whole day and gives the day its name. That is, the Sun rules the first subdivision of Sun, the Moon rules the first subdivision of Monday, Mars rules the first subdivision of Tuesday (Tiw – Old English for the corresponding North god Tyr), Jupiter rules the first subdivision of Wednesday (Weden – Old English for the Anglo-Saxon god Woden), etc.  

According to esoteric astrology, the days of the week received their names by dividing the days into either four quarters or three thirds. The quarters method uses the order of the mean motions of the planets as observed from Earth, beginning with the fastest, i.e. the Moon. The thirds method uses the order of mean motions beginning with the slowest, i.e., Saturn. The names of the days of the week can also be found by using a septagon or seven-pointed star and the Chaldean order of the planets.  

Dynamic Stellar Structures Found in Esoteric Psychology

According to C. C. Zain (Elbert Benjamine) (1882 – 1951), the founder of the Church of Light, believed that many of the stellar-cells of the astral body were conditioned by our desires.¹ Over time, similar stellar-cells became organized into one of ten families of dynamic stellar structures, existing in the astral bodies of all humans. Zain referred to these ten stellar structures as the power urges, the domestic elements, the intellectual elements, the social elements, the aggressive elements, the religious elements, safety elements, individualistic elements, utopian elements, and universal welfare elements.

Using a modified version of the Chaldean order, Zain assigned a planet to each of the ten dynamic stellar structures. He assigned the power urges to the Sun and the domestic elements to the Moon. He assigned the intellectual elements to Mercury, the social elements to Venus, the aggressive elements to Mars, the religious elements to Jupiter, the safety elements to Saturn, the individualistic elements to Uranus, the utopian elements to Neptune, and the universal welfare elements to Pluto.

Zain described the power urges as the oldest of all desires. They are the desires to survive, to be something unique, and to be something significant. The family of power urges is the driving force behind every soul, which impels it to struggle on, over striving, even though blindly, to fulfill the destiny mapped for it by its ego.² The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body that is composed of these Power-elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the Sun. Zain believed that the power urges were the evolutionary source of all the thought-elements, just it is held by some that the Sun is the parent of the various planets.³

Zain described the domestic elements largely in terms of nutrition. By means of nutrition, one’s well-being is maintained. Nutrition in the forms of a home for the offspring, food for them, and ministering to their various needs continues the preservation of the species. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body that is composed of these domestic elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the Moon.⁴

Survival depends on ready and adequate adaptation, and intelligence is the greatest aid to such adaptation. It is no less valuable in procuring a mate, and in insuring that the offspring shall be properly provided for. It is through experiences in the exercise of intelligence, both to preserve the self and to preserve the species, which those mental elements were built into the astral body call intellectual elements. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the though-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Intellectual elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Mercury.⁵

In regards to the social elements, Zain stated that: Creatures that band together often are more secure from their enemies that those that live solitary lives. And it is the rule that Race Preservation requires the members of opposite sexes to mingle. Such experiences when they enter the astral form become those mental elements know as Social. The dynamic stellar structures in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Social elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Venus.⁶

Zain described the aggressive elements as: Self-Preservation is aided by the ability to repel invasion, to destroy the enemy, and to use initiative in the attack on obstacles. The ability to defeat an opponent in the struggle to secure a mate, the courage to battle for the welfare of the offspring, and the initiative to face difficulties for the sake of the progeny, all are aids to Race Preservation. It is through such experiences in combat, in construction and destruction, and in the courageous attack upon obstacles that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Aggressive. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Aggressive elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Mars.⁷

In regards to the religious elements: It is through experiences with such faith and such good fellowship, and the effort to seek the favor of others and of the ruling authority, that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Religious. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Religious elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Jupiter.⁸

The safety elements: The ability to escape from enemies, to avoid harmful conditions, and to provide for security is and essential if the individual is to survive. Providing security for the young is a necessary asset to Race Preservation. And it is through experiences which have sought the escape from danger and the attainment of security that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Safety. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Safety elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Saturn.⁹

The individualistic elements: This departure from the common methods of the race thus lends itself to Self Preservation. Not only is it valuable to invent better ways of doing things for the self, but the development of better ways of caring for the young, and better ways of handling conditions that affect their welfare assist in Race Preservation. It is through such experiences, in which the individual departed from customary practices and had acted differently from the other members of his race that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Individualistic. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Individualistic elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Uranus.¹⁰

The utopian elements: Such forerunners of that which we call ideals assist Self Preservation through the instinctive search for more pleasant relationships. And they aid Race Preservation through the success, in some measure, of the individual in realizing these finer relationships, and leading others of his kind into similar realizations. It is through such experiences, largely filtering through from the inner plane, in which there has been an effort to externalize the yearning for a higher kind of life that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Utopian. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Utopian elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Neptune.¹¹

The universal welfare elements: Co-operation between the individuals of a species helps all to survive and thus assists Self Preservation. And as that which gives advantages to all, helps the young as well as the adults, co-operation is an aid to Race Preservation. It is through experiences in which co-operation of some kind has been practiced that those mental elements were built into the astral body called Universal Welfare Urges. The dynamic stellar structure in the astral body the thought-cells of which are chiefly composed of these Universal Welfare elements is mapped in the birth-chart by the planet Pluto.¹²