THE PLANETS

What is a planet?

Long ago the Egyptians and the Babylonians observed that most of the stars in the sky did not move. They called these stars "fixed". An example of this would be the North Star. They also noticed that there was a small group of five stars that did appeared to move in a certain circle or wander. The zodiac probably developed as an attempt to measure these movements. The word planet comes from the Greek word for "wanderer". Therefore the planets refer to the "wandering stars" in the night sky. Today we call the five wandering stars that the ancients observed Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.


Is the Moon a planet?

Yes and no. The Moon moves in the sky so it can be considered a "wanderer" but it is a satellite of the Earth not the Sun. As the Moon orbits the earth its light which we know as its "phases" reflect the relationship between the Earth and the Sun. In astrological analysis the Moon is considered as a planet.

What is the relationship between the planets, the signs and the houses? Or what is wrong with this statement: "My Aries is in Venus"?

The relationship between the planets, signs and houses is difficult to understand at first. But perhaps it can be simplified by thinking about an astrological chart as a movie. Aries is a sign (an energy) and Venus is a planet (an actor). The reason Aries cannot be in Venus is because an actor plays an energetic part, an energy is not the actor.

Let’s look at this analogy with Gone with the Wind.

The Signs would be the different energetic characters like Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler. The Planets are the actual actors, Vivian Leigh and Clark Gable. Because of the signs they are in some planets play a leading role and some are just extras. The Houses are the different places in which the movie (the chart) takes place: Tara, Atlanta, the battlefield.

Without the actors (the planets) Atlanta, Tara (the houses) and Rhett and Scarlett (the signs) would still exist but there wouldn’t be a movie. Like actors the planets are at the core of the astrological framework.

What is the history of how we give meaning to the planets?

Plato wrote that the planets are archetypes or ideas that exist in our superconsciousness and are reflected in each of us as a mirror image. "As it is above, so it is below"

Ficino, a Renaissance astrologer, held that the planets are actually internal psycho-spiritual beings that can be enhanced or harmonized through meditation and sympathetic magic.

The Gnostics, early Christian philosophers, said that the planets were symbols for traits that needed to be overcome in order to gain freedom from the wheel of destiny.

Hindu astrology believes that human consciousness is eternal and changeless. The Hindu system is based on the seven visible planets and the nodes of the moon.

Because Western astrology believes that human consciousness is continually changing, it’s system encompasses the planets that are visible (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars. Jupiter and Saturn) and those that are invisible to the naked eye and were discovered since the invention of the telescope: Uranus (1781), Neptune (1846), Pluto (1930), and Chiron (1977).

Swedenborg, an 18th century mystic and scientist developed the doctrine of correspondences that states the relationship between spirit and matter. Swedenborg said that everything that occurs in the visible world also appears in the invisible world.

Do the planets have relevance in modern day life?

Yes, for example consider the days of the week. Are you aware that the days are named after the planets? Since the days correspond to the planetary energies use this information to your benefit by knowing Monday is a the most emotional day, Tuesday is a good day for confrontation, Wednesday is good for making appointments, Friday is a day of love and so on.

Sunday – the Sun

Monday – The Moon

Tuesday – Mars (Mardi)

Wednesday – Mercury (Woden)

Thursday – Jupiter (Thor´s Day)

Friday – Venus (Fryja´s Day)

Saturday – Saturn

What is the Chaldean Order?

The Chaldeans were a people who lived in Babylonia in the 11th century BC. They developed astrology to such an extent that Chaldean came to mean "astrologer".

The Chaldeans created the planetary order of influence by listing the visible planets by the real or "apparent" speed of their orbit.

APPROXIMATE LENGTH OF SIDEREAL REVOLUTION PERIODS

The length of time it takes a planet to complete one revolution in its orbit measured with respect to the fixed stars is called its sidereal year.

Moon takes 28-30 days to orbit the Earth

Mercury - 88 days

Venus – 225 days

Sun – 365 days "apparent motion"

Mars – 1.88 years

Jupiter – 11.86 years

Saturn – 29.46 years

Uranus – 84.08 years

Neptune – 164.8 years

Pluto – 248.4 years

The Chaldean Order

Moon

Mercury

Venus

Sun

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto


By establishing the sphere of influence of one planet on another we realize that the slower moving planet influences the faster moving planet. From this we can conclude that the effects of Saturn influence Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. The effects of Jupiter influence Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, and so on. The Moon receives influence from all the planets and influences none.