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Twelve Easy Lessons for Beginners | 1. The Meanings of the Planets

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Learn the Meanings of the Planets

In the last article of this series, Lesson Zero, I introduced the history of astrology and the reasons for studying ancient astrology. Have you ever wondered what the planets mean (signify) in astrology? In this article, we will explore the meanings of the planets and how to read their symbols, as well as how to avoid a few pitfalls along the way.

A Note on Astrological Terminology

The terminology of ancient astrology is sometimes confusing because ancient astrologers were also the first astronomers. Modern astronomy developed over the last few centuries and has taken the same terminology used by ancient astrologers/astronomers but often with a change in technical meaning and application. This re-defining of terminology has been a source of confusion. It is also behind many false assumptions made by critics.

What are Stars?

It helps to think of the ancient astrological terms as being based more on visual considerations while their modern astronomical equivalents are based on physical considerations.  For instance, in ancient astrology, a ‘star’ is basically a glowing heavenly body so it included not only the stars in the modern astronomical sense (defined by their composition) but also the planets and the Moon. Therefore, ancient astrology distinguishes the “fixed” stars from the “wandering” stars.

Sure the Sun is a star, but in astrology, the Moon is also a star and a big one. It’s also a planet in astrology. More on this below.

When a Planet was a Type of Star

The term “planet” causes more confusion than any other, Not only does ‘planet’ have a different meaning nowadays, but modern astrologers have tended to use the term in the astronomical rather than the astrological sense.  For instance, in ancient astrology, the “planets” are the seven wandering stars. These seven glowing lights are seen to wander in a regular path along the ecliptic (i.e. the path of the Sun) moving from west to east.  They include the Sun and the Moon, though the Sun and Moon were given special status among them as the Lights or Luminaries.

A Planet by Any Other Name

The astrological planets didn’t include the modern astronomical outer planets Uranus and Neptune, nor the dwarf planets like Pluto and Eris.  These so-called planets are not stars in the ancient sense (and thus are not wandering stars) because they are not visible glowing heavenly bodies.  For this reason, some modern-day traditionalist astrologers who like to use these modern astronomical planets have taken to calling them “the invisible planets”, or simply “the modern planets”. In this way they can be distinguished from traditional astrological planets.

Uranus is not a planet in the traditional astrological sense, but it’s still damn cool.

The Planets – Order and Symbols

The 7 planets of ancient astrology are typically ordered in terms of apparent speed.  This order was conceived as spheres around the Earth which were the domains of each planet.  At birth the soul would descend from the fixed stars, then through the sphere of Saturn and the rest of the planets to the Moon, and then to Earth. The soul would take on different physical and spiritual qualities along the way, in parallel to fetal development.  At death, the soul would ascend from the Earth upwards through the spheres of the Moon, Mercury, and so forth, tested at each sphere and shedding some worldly attribute (possibly influencing the Christian conception of the seven deadly sins according to some scholars). This order is sometimes called the Chaldean order of the planets.  Typically, the order starts with either the slowest planet, Saturn, or the fastest planet, the Moon.

Planetary Order
        1. The Moon
        2. Mercury
        3. Venus
        4. The Sun
        5. Mars
        6. Jupiter
        7. Saturn

On the right side of this engraving, from Renaissance Italy you can see the planetary spheres starting with Saturn below the fixed stars (constellations), in order to the Moon.

Remembering the Planetary Order

The Sun is in the center of the list, dividing the rest of the planets into 3 “inferiors” (Venus, Mercury, The Moon) and 3 “superiors” (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn).  Closest to the Earth is the Moon, while furthest is Saturn. To aid memory, note that the crescent of the Moon and the rings of Saturn are both wispy circles on either end of the list.

You may have heard the expression that men are from Mars and women from Venus. Mars has to do with masculinity and Venus to femininity. In the planetary order, they they flank the Sun on either side. To aid memory, note that Venus is like a feminine sexual organ pulling into the direction of Earth while Mars is like a masculine one pushing out to the stars.  The giant Jupiter is out toward Saturn and the tiny Mercury in toward the Moon.

Learning the Planetary Glyphs

The glyphs for the planets can also be seen here.  The glyphs for the Sun and Moon (Sol and Luna above) are pretty easy to grasp.  Many are also familiar with the glyphs for Venus (like a stick person, think “female person”) and Mars (a circle with an arrow, think “erection”).  The glyph for Mercury (Mercurius above) is pretty easy to grasp, as it looks like a stick person with a winged hat – Mercury is the messenger.

The symbols for Jupiter and Saturn (Iupiter and Saturnus above) are the most confusing for beginners. They are derived from the Greek Z for Zeus and K for Kronos respectively.  Jupiter looks like a 4; think 4 corners and peace of mind. Saturn looks like a cross with a tail; think cross to bear and a little devilish.

The Basic Meanings of the Planets

The seven planets are the most important symbols in the astrological language.  Your ability to read a chart will depend upon being able to get a sense of their main meanings and associations, as well as their quality or energy.  It is very easy to be misled when reading a chart if you do not have a clear idea of the distinctness of each planet. Master these 7 notes of the music of astrology.

As I explain the meaning of each planet, think about people, actions, and things in everyday life that these planets can describe as adjectives.

Short List of Planetary Associations

Saturn

Ancient, dead, land, raw resources, dark, fear-inducing, lack, obligation, duty, macabre, cold, doubting, restrictive.

Jupiter

Lofty, opportune, joyous, generous, open, fertile, popular, teaching, warm, trusting, expansive.

Mars

Fiery, intense, aggressive, dangerous, bold, pack-animals/swarm/march, very hot, disagreeable, explosive.

The Sun

Vibrant, powerful, prominent, rational, leading, pioneering, hot, influential, attention-getting.

Venus

Beautiful, pleasurable, friendly, sensual, sexual, mysterious, intoxicating, wet, agreeable, soothing.

Mercury

Clever, skilled, complex, cunning, numbers, language, business, transporting, dry, knowledgeable, informative.

The Moon

Primal, powerful, idiosyncratic, irrational, natural, familial, nurturing, journeying, wet and changeable, personal, intimate.

Describing People with Planets

Let’s think of a few well-known figures and what planets we’d associate with their lives and personalities. There are no right or wrong answers in this exercise. Simply try to keep the planets distinct and think of why some signification applies to a certain aspect of the life or personality.

Einstein

He doesn’t strike us as very dark and foreboding (Saturn).  His personality seemed a bit Jupiterian, i.e. lofty, joyful and expansive.  He doesn’t strike us as hot-tempered at all (Mars), but he did deal with themes in his professional life of intense energy.  The genius, pioneering, and attention-getting significations of the Sun seem to pertain very strongly to his life’s work as a whole.  He doesn’t strike one as particularly sensual or artistic (Venus) but he has more of a mysterious friendliness than a gregarious Jupiterian friendliness.

Mercury seems to have had a major impact on his life’s work as a whole as it very much was concerned with numbers, knowledge, complexity, and information.  As far as scientists go he seems more lunar than typical in his personality, in that he appears more natural, idiosyncratic, intimate, and embracing of the irrational.  Overall, it would seem that his legacy is particularly well-described by Mercury and the Sun, while his personality seems more lunar, Jupiterian, and possibly Venusian.

Bjork

Bjork strikes me as very lunar in many ways as her art seems to stress a certain natural, primal, intimate, and irrational side of things.  She is an artist which automatically brings to mind Venus but in her style and approach, she seems to stress attention-getting vibrant creative genius (Sun) and intimate personal expression (Moon).

James Randi

It’s hard to imagine the guy as anything but a dark, duty-bound, doubtful figure aiming to strike fear into con artist New Age gurus, which is Saturn all the way.  As a magician, he’s clever, an entertainer, and an attention-getting rationalist, so Mercury and the Sun also come to mind.

Barack Obama

As a leader, the Sun definitely comes to mind as having a prominent role to play in the life.  Personality-wise he seems somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn, between open and gregarious Jupiter and the cool formal sternness of Saturn. His general tendency to be attended by luck and popularity is consistent with Jupiter.

Useful Planetary Groupings

There are some ways of grouping or organizing the planets that are particularly useful and meaningful.

Benefics and Malefics

One of the most important groupings is according to the tendency to signify pleasant or unpleasant things.  Two of the planets (Jupiter and Venus) tend toward signifying the most enjoyable types of things while another two of the planets (Saturn and Mars) tend toward signifying the most unpleasant and challenging things.

The Benefics tend toward fortuitous balance.

        • Jupiter – Temperate, fertile, joyous, high, opportune, sweet.
        • Venus -Temperate, fertile, pleasurable, beautiful, satiated, fatty.

The Malefics tend toward unpleasant extremes.

        • Saturn – Cold, depressed, slow, extremes of lack of life and activity, rotten/sour.
        • Mars – Hot, angered, overloaded, extremes of violent energy, bitter.
The Lights and Mercury

Three planets are neither benefic nor malefic. The Sun and the Moon signify powerful and important things. Mercury, the planet most closely associated with rationality, is complex and can assist in bringing about pleasant or unpleasant things.

The Lights tend toward prominence and influence, which is neutral but often desired.

        • The Sun – Attainment, honors, leadership.
        • The Moon – Depth, naturalness, subjective significance.

Mercury is amoral, complex, and combining. It is neutral but also tends toward argument, contention, and dryness so it was considered by some to tend toward slight displeasure.

Sect

Another very useful and important division is called “sect”.  Three planets are more associated with the day and the sky (i.e. above the horizon), and three with the night and the ground/underworld (i.e. below the horizon). Mercury is neutral, affiliating sect based on specific circumstances. Each sect is led by a Light and has one benefic and one malefic. We will return to sect frequently in future lessons, as it is an important factor in astrological interpretation.

The Diurnal Sect

The day or diurnal sect is led by The Sun, with the benefic Jupiter and the malefic Saturn.  These planets are also more associated with the realm above the horizon, which is more sky-like, soul-oriented, or abstract. Therefore, they tend to signify along more social, mental, and spiritual lines.

The Nocturnal Sect

The night or nocturnal sect is led by The Moon, with the benefic Venus and the malefic Mars.  These planets are also more associated with the realm below the horizon, which is more Earth-like, body-oriented, or tangible. Therefore, they tend to signify along more familial, physical, and resourceful lines.

Contrasting the Two Pairs of Benefics and Malefics

All of the planets can signify along either abstract or tangible lines. However, the day benefic and day malefic will usually pertain more to social and mental benefits and problems, while the night benefic and night malefic will pertain more to physical and familial or intimate benefits and problems.  The day malefic Saturn would be more likely to signify something like imprisonment or depression (a social or mental problem). By contrast, Mars  would be more relevant to something like assault or a family argument (a physical or familial problem).  Similarly, the day benefic Jupiter will tend to signify getting a job or having a spiritual experience (a social or mental benefit). By contrast, Venus will tend to signify a delicious dinner or a great sexual experience (a physical or intimate benefit).

Statue of Good and Evil, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, NY, NY

Take It Further

Now that you are familiar with the basic associations of the planets, I’d like you to look at two different ancient perspectives on the significations of the planets. Vettius Valens and Claudius Ptolemy are both very important Hellenistic astrologers who practiced in the 2nd century CE. Valens was more in line with the astrological thought of his day (and the Mesopotamian’s before) in that he viewed astrological indications as signs (like writing in the sky from a higher power). On the other hand, Ptolemy sought to understand planetary influence in a physical and causal way, using the Aristotelian physics of his day.

Look over the first chapter of Valens’ Anthology (click the link) in which he describes the planetary associations and their significations for character. Compare and contrast these with Ptolemy’s description of the powers of the planets (click the link). Ptolemy’s descriptions are very weather-oriented. However, later in the Tetrabiblos when he describes actual characteristics and events in terms of the planets, we find that he associates the planets in much the same way as Valens. It is worth reviewing the first chapter of the text by Valens multiple times.

Planetary Thoughts

Think about the basic planetary associations and the indications given by Valens.  Which planet or planets play the greatest role in your life?  What planet best describes your personality?  Which one best describes your work and favorite hobbies? Ask yourself these questions about loved ones as well.

The planets can span nearly any topic in life, so also think about people, place, things, and events in general in terms of the planets.  If someone goes on vacation think “Moon”, as she journeys.  If someone is frequently commuting for work, think “Mercury”.  Seeing a major CEO, think “Sun”.  A homeless person should make you think “Saturn”, and a lottery winner should make you think “Jupiter”.  An attractive musician should have you thinking “Venus”, while muscles and tattoos should have you thinking “Mars”.  A computer database is “Mercury”, while an explosion is “Mars”.

Practice thinking like this and in the next lesson, I’ll address one way to find the general prominence or “volume” (as in loudness) of a planet’s significations in someone’s life.

 

Image Attributions

Featured image is in the public domain.

Luna de Septiembre (September Moon) by ANDY ABIR ALAN, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=54698423

Uranus image is in the public domain.

Music of the Spheres image is in the public domain.

Astrological Glyphs images are in the public domain.

Einstein image is in the public domain. 

Bjork image by Zach Klein from New York, New York, USA (Bjork, Hurricane Festival) [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons

James Randi image is in the public domain. 

Barack Obama Portrait 2006 by By Ari Levinson (Autumnfire), minor cleanup edit by Chicago god. (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], via Wikimedia Commons

Solar eclipse image is in the public domain. 

Statue of Good and Evil image is in the public domain.

The Bounds | Tables and Origins

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The Bounds

The bounds are a system of dividing each zodiacal sign into 5 unequal regions. The regions are called bounds or terms. Each of the five bounds of a sign is ruled by one of the five planets beside the Sun and Moon (i.e. the non-Lights).

Egyptian Bounds

There was some variation found in the ancient literature, in which bounds were of different lengths or ruled by different planets. For instance, check out the different table of bounds at Altair astrology.  However, the so-called Egyptian bounds are independently attested in many ancient sources. Additionally, the Egyptian bounds have been found in early horoscopes recovered by archaeologist. The Egyptian bounds are also the system that I use in my own practice.

Using Bounds

The bound ruler of a planet or point, such as the Ascendant, has an influence over the nature of that planet or point. The bound is link between the two.  You can think of signs as the houses of the planets, and the bounds as their rooms. Additionally, the bounds are key to certain predictive techniques in Hellenistic and Persian astrology. For instance, the bound ruler of the directed Ascendant was an important time lord (the distributor).

You can find a great set of charts of the various systems of bounds on the Altair Astrology site.  When I’m online and want to look up the Egyptian bounds that’s where I go, as it’s a clear presentation.

Egyptian Bounds are Babylonian Bounds

Based on recent evidence, it has been proposed that the Egyptian bounds are actually of Babylonian origin (follow link for paper). The proposal is based on the discovery of two cuneiform tablets in which the bounds of the signs were recorded.  These tablets may date back to the 4th or 5th century BCE.  The paper provides some great technical and historic background on the bounds and their variation in ancient literature.

Featured Image

Featured image of Fresco with Zodiac Signs in Rocca Abbaziale (Subiaco, Italy) by Livioandronico2013 [CC BY-SA 4.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons

Mercury in Gemini, Mercury in Virgo | Not Necessarily Strong for the Intellect

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Mercury with Super-Dignity

If you believe that Mercury, the planet of intellect, must bode well for the intellect in its own domiciles, Gemini and Virgo, then you are mistaken. The delineation of intellectual prowess is a matter that goes far beyond the sign placement of Mercury. Additionally, many ancient astrologers considered Mercury in a mutable sign, especially one of its own domiciles, to have a destabilizing effect on the mind. This is in contrast to what one may assume based on the level of “dignity” of Mercury in its own domicile.

Due to an over-reliance on sign-based dignity in delineation, there is a trend among today’s traditional astrologers to consider a planet in its own domicile as signifying that the natural significations of the planet are strong and beneficial. In the case of Mercury in its own domicile, it would have a dignity score of at least +8 by the most common scoring methods. By such an approach, the natural significations of Mercury in relation to the intellect, communication, cleverness, and quickness would all be accentuated in a beneficial way.

Dignity isn’t Dignified

For those who don’t know, I’m a strong critic of the over-reliance on dignity in traditional circles for matters of the strength and goodness of a planet. I do use “dignity” for rulership, pertinence, and various qualitative considerations including a type of prototypicality (a type of strength). However, I have made it a point to speak out against the use of dignity as a chief strength consideration, and especially for any matter of goodness, benefit, or “dignity” in the dictionary sense.

I completely avoid the use of dignity in that manner in my own work on the blog. I also frequently engage in polemics about the idiocy of heavy reliance on dignity.  For instance, I’ve discussed the dignity problem in “The Curious Case of Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Turner” (and its sequel) and “Dignity: The Biggest Problem with Late Traditional Astrology“.  Here I look at one particularly cogent error of the dignity approach, the belief that Mercury, the natural significator of the rationalizing mind, bodes well for the intellect in the signs where it is most dignified, its domiciles Virgo and Gemini.

Mercury in Virgo or Gemini Can Be An Indication of a Small Intellect

Both Masha’allah (On Nativities, c.f. Dykes trans., 2008, Section 5) and Abu’ali al-Khayyat (The Judgment of Nativities, c.f. Dykes trans., 2009, Ch. 5) discussed the signification of Mercury for thought and speech. One factor examined is its occurrence in sign of different quadruplicities. Signs come in three flavors of quadruplicity, cardinal (aka moveable/changeable), fixed (aka solid), or mutable (aka common). The “quad” in quadruplicity comes from the fact that there are 4 signs in each group.

Their comments take place in their discussion of delineating character, mind, and will in the chart. For that type of delineation, they both rely heavily upon the lord of the Ascendant and Mercury. Mercury indicates the manner of speaking (and also of intellect, to at least Abu’ali).

They seem to agree that Mercury in a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) indicates an enthusiasm, fast grasp of things, and even skill in speech. Mercury in a fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) indicates a deeper more serious search for truth and a giver of good advice. However,  Mercury in a mutable sign, which includes Virgo and Gemini as well as Sagittarius and Pisces, is indicative of a small intellect quick to anger and slow to understand.  Additionally, Abu Bakr, in a passage pertaining to indications of quickness to rage, noted Mercury in one of his own domiciles as an indication of instability.  These passages are summarized below.

Mercury through the Quadruplicities

Mercury in a Cardinal/Moveable Sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn)

Masha’allah said, “…strong and in a moveable sign, it indicates he has a good way of speaking, and an honored one, and one fearing God” (Dykes, 2008, Section 5, p. 398).  On Mercury in a cardinal sign, Abu’ali said, “…it signifies the intellect’s loftiness, easy grasp [of things], and [its] beauty, and love of the sciences, and religion” (Dykes, 2009, Ch. 5, p. 236).

Mercury in a Fixed/Solid Sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius)

Masha’allah said, “…it indicates he is going to be honored, and by means of truth and goodness and counsel in his life, and his advice will be most truthful in every way, and will free hindered advice from hindrances” (Dykes, 2008, Section 5, p. 398).  On Mercury in a fixed sign, Abu’ali said, “…it signifies prudence, constancy, mercy [or pity], and the fulfillment of things undertaken” (Dykes, 2009, Ch. 5, p. 236).

Mercury in a Mutable/Common Sign (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces)

Masha’allah said, “…it indicates he has little wisdom, and is liable to anger, and as a rule he does not believe the advice of another” (Dykes, 2008, Section 5, p. 398). On Mercury in a mutable sign, Abu’ali said, “…it signifies a small intellect with great speediness, and quickness to anger, and a scarce and small stability or perseverance in something undertaken, or advice, or business” (Dykes, 2009, Ch. 5, p. 236).  Additionally, Abu Bakr noted, “If Mercury were in his own domicile, the native will be fearful and unsound” (Dykes, 2010, On Nativities, Book II, Ch. 1.2, p. 143).

Not Just About Mercury

The delineation of intellectual strength is not something to be taken lightly.  Intellect cannot be delineated based on the quadruplicity of Mercury’s sign placement alone.  Many of the quotes above were said to pertain to both Mercury and the Lord of the Ascendant, as both were relevant concerning the character. Additionally, the approach is based strongly on Ptolemy (2nd century) who also emphasized the quadruplicity of the significant personality factors. However, Ptolemy’s main factors were the Moon and Mercury (rather than Asc Lord and Mercury). In what follows, “solstitial” means cardinal and “bicoporeal” means mutable.

Of the signs of the zodiac in general, then, the solstitial signs produce souls fitted for dealing with the people, fond of turbulence and political activity, glory-seeking, moreover, and attentive to the gods, noble, mobile, inquisitive, inventive, good at conjecture, and fitted for astrology and divination. The bicorporeal signs make souls complex, changeable, hard to apprehend, light, unstable, fickle, amorous, versatile, fond of music, lazy, easily acquisitive, prone to change their minds. The solid signs make them just, unaffected by flattery, persistent, firm, intelligent, patient, industrious, stern, self-controlled, tenacious of grudges, extortionate, contentious, ambitious, factious, grasping, hard, inflexible. (Ptolemy, Book III, Ch. 13, Robbins trans., p. 335)

Quadruplicity is just one consideration, and a thorough consideration of quadruplicity should involve looking at the quadruplicity of not only Mercury, but also its twelfth-part, the Ascendant, the Ascendant lord, the Moon, and the Lot of Spirit. There have been great geniuses born with Mercury in each of the signs. Consider the following individuals with Mercury in mutable signs:

Gemini: Nikola Tesla, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, etc.

Virgo: Leo Tolstoy, Howard Hughes, Claude Debussy, George Soros, etc.

Sagittarius: Isaac Newton, Noam Chomsky, Benoit Mandelbrot, etc.

Pisces: Copernicus, Bach, Charles Darwin, Thomas Jefferson. etc.

The Benefits of Mercury in Detriment or Fall

Many traditional astrologers today associate Mercury in detriment or fall with a “debilitated Mercury”. This debility means that Mercury is not able to express its true nature, being weakened by the contrary sign and overall less fortunate. However, Mercury is in detriment or fall when it is in one of the signs of Jupiter, the greater benefic. Rulership by Jupiter at least links Mercury with wisdom, philosophy and/or religion, and the search for greater truth. Rulership by Jupiter also links Mercury with gain and fortune.

Noam Chomsky and Christopher Hirata (child prodigy with a very high IQ who started work with NASA when 16), both have Mercury in Sagittarius. Both also have Mercury combust the Sun in Sagittarius, not regarded by its ruler Jupiter, but conjunct an angle and in a stake, with strong identification with Mercury as it is either in the first or ruling the first house in both charts.  Copernicus too had Mercury ruled by Jupiter, this time in Pisces. Mercury is again with the Sun in a stake, with Mercury ruling the first house (Virgo), though he has Jupiter regarding Mercury.

In these cases, we see that the other factors are more important than dignity, quadruplicity, reception, and combustion. The link of Mercury with Jupiter by rulership, the prominence of Mercury by advancement, and the identification with Mercury shown through some important rulership of the Ascendant and/or position in the stakes are more important indications of notable intellectual prowess. Note that Mercury with the Sun may show additional public importance.

Traditional Emphasis

What is significant is that Mercury in a mutable sign, especially Mercury in its own domicile, was ever considered an indication of a weaker, more superficial, or more unstable intellect. It is also interesting that Mercury was given a relatively similar signification in all the mutable signs. These signs range from those where Mercury has negative dignity by scoring methods to those with very positive dignity.

This historic fact indicates that “dignity” was much less emphasized than it is today, while other sign features like quadruplicity were more emphasized, at least among some ancient astrologers. Today, dignity is too often treated as an over-riding factor for strength and benefit associated with a planet. In truth, it is just a planet ruling itself, one that’s become a little bit more hyper-prototypical and less tied to other planets. In the case of Mercury, this may not be a good thing.

Mercury’s Mercurial Enough

Mercury, as a significator of intellect and speech, moves from place to place and constantly connects things. It is like the syntax of language, chaining complex ideas together.  Similarly, mutable signs are associated with back-and-forth between two things or parties.  It would seem that a mutable sign accentuates the instability of Mercury, rather than directing it and stabilizing it.  Furthermore, when he’s just working for himself, so to speak, Mercury is even more unstable.  This seems to be particularly so in Gemini, which is additionally an air sign, accentuating the flitting quality of Mercury.

In my experience, I find Mercury’s quadruplicity to be a weaker indication of intellectual strength or its lack.  I may address the delineation of intellect at greater depth in a future article. The main idea here is that Mercury in its own signs may be a counter-indication of intellectual strength. For this reason, and many more, we should not over-rely on the concept of dignity for strength or benefit.

Personal Note: Mercury in Fall

On a personal note, my daughter’s early and articulate language use has impressed me. She has Mercury in Pisces and combust, within 3 degrees of the Sun, though strongly advancing and in the 5th. Additionally, four of her seven planets are in Air signs, including a Gemini Moon. Jupiter, the ruler of Mercury, is cadent and retreating in the 12th, so it does not aspect Mercury. She was fluid and articulate in her speech from when she first began to speak. She has always been ahead of the curve both linguistically and mathematically. Teachers have raved to me about the depth of her story-telling and social abilities. She tells her stories with an unusual amount of detail and is not afraid to use big words.

Conclusion

My hope is that this article forces many astrologers to question their assumptions about dignity. A sign’s influence on the significations of a planet are more complex than dignity scoring would have one believe. The quadruplicity, triplicity, and nature of the ruler of a sign are important considerations. They can be obscured in an approach that emphasizes dignity. Additionally, the delineation of any matter, including the manner of speech and thought, involves more than just sign placement, and should involve multiple relevant factors.

For more on the problems with dignity and its scoring, please see the article on Dahmer and Turner, the article on the history of dignity scoring, and the article on James Holmes.

 

Update October 2018

This article was thoroughly edited and updated in late October of 2018 with additional content intended to clarify the main points.

Featured Image

Mercury with Fig Leaf (cropped) by Sputnikcccp at en.wikipedia. Photo taken by Sputnikcccp in the Vatican, May 25, 2003. (Transferred from en.wikipedia) [GFDL, GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

References
al-Tabari, U., & al-Hasib, A. B. (2010). Persian Nativities II:  ’Umar al-Tabari and Abu Bakr. (B. N. Dykes, Trans.). Minneapolis, MN: The Cazimi Press.
Bishr, S. ibn, & Masha’allah. (2008). Works of Sahl & Masha’allah. (B. N. Dykes, Trans.). Minneapolis, MN: The Cazimi Press.
Masha’allah, & al-Khayyat, A.  ’Ali. (2009). Persian Nativities I: Masha’allah and Abu  ’Ali. (B. N. Dykes, Trans.). Minneapolis, MN: The Cazimi Press.
Ptolemy, C. (1940). Ptolemy: Tetrabiblos. (F. E. Robbins, Trans.). Cambridge, MA: Loeb Classical Library. Retrieved from http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ptolemy/Tetrabiblos/home.html

Astrology with Free Software | 1. Best Options

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Free Software Can be Better Software

You don’t need expensive astrology software to do great astrology. In fact, expensive astrology programs are often loaded with various interpretive modules and default settings that make it harder to think for yourself. Some of these out-of-the-box setting turn the program into a bad astrologer, rather than a tool to help astrologers find the information they need.

I think that charting should be done with free software if adequate programs are available. It is even better if the software is open-source. Open-source software has freely available source code allowing astrologer-programmers to improve the program to their heart’s content. This type of free modifiable software is truly the software of the community, as it can be adjusted to fit the needs of particular astrological practices.

Morinus

I particularly advocate the use of Morinus, a free open-source astrology program with a plethora of settings. Morinus has the ability to do accurate primary directions. It also has different varieties, including a traditional version that cuts out some of the clutter.  It is written in Python, which is itself a very popular open-source programming language. Python is so powerful and intuitive that it is the programming language used by NASA, CERN, Google, Yahoo!, and other big names.  Nearly always, the charts on my blog will be from Morinus.

There is sometimes a slight learning curve with initial chart entry, compared with other programs, but they are continuously improving in this area.  I’ve addressed installation and chart entry in a past article, which I urge the reader to check out.

A Morinus Chart: Marvin Gaye’s Natal Chart w/twelfth-parts

Astro-Databank

Additionally, I advocate the use of Astro-Databank for researching celebrity chart data. Astro-databank provides the birth data for tens of thousands of celebrities and notable persons. It also has the times and charts for many significant events. You can even quickly view a chart for the data, albeit with modern chart features. You are free to copy birth data into an astrological program like Morinus to see a traditional chart information.

On Astro-Databank, be careful of using anything that doesn’t have a Rodden Rating of A or AA (at least B). Furthermore, understand that the ratings are a bit subjective, so check the source notes. For instance, James Randi’s birth data came from James Randi who was quoting his birth certificate. It is still given a C, rather than an AA, because the people writing the entry just don’t want to believe him.

In conclusion, I advocate the use of Astro-Databank, but I caution against uncritically taking the rating and chart data at face value without reviewing source notes.  In the next post in this series, I will show how to use Astr0-Databank as an aid for building up a chart database in Morinus.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s HORIZONS Interface

The HORIZONS web-interface is a generous offering by NASA.  This is a great resource for generating ephemerides.  It is of particular value to astrologers who use asteroids, but of less value to traditional astrologers.  The reason it is so great for asteroid astrologers is that pretty much every asteroid with an identifying number and/or name can be found. Additionally, you can see the asteroid’s orbital dynamics and even generate ephemeride tables. These tables make it easy to find a planet or asteroid’s position on any given day and to pinpoint times of stationing.

Be sure to change the “Table Settings” such that #31 is checked, so that the table gives the Observational Ecliptic Longitude and Latitude of the planet.  The observational ecliptic longitude is the position in the zodiac. A position of 270.5* is 270 degrees past 0 Aries, which is 270/30 signs into the zodiac. It has exactly traversed 9 signs already (1. Aries, 2. Taurus, 3. Gemini, 4. Cancer, 5. Leo, 6. Virgo, 7. Libra, 8. Scorpio, 9. Sagittarius), so it is at 0 degrees Capricorn, plus 1/2 a degree. Therefore, the position would be 0*30′ Capricorn.  I won’t be working with this interface much on this site, but it can be very fun, particularly for those that work with asteroid.

Fun with Asteroids

As an exercise, try to find where asteroid Linux is today (9* Capricorn at the time of this writing). Next, try to find the degree of its last 1st (i.e. direct) station by changing the time settings to encompass a much larger past period and finding the day when longitude switches from descending to ascending (July 21, 2011 at 4* Sagittarius prior to this article).

One day, I spent hours installing Linux operating systems on about a half dozen computers for friends and family. I got a real kick finding out that asteroid Linux was conjunct my MC within a degree the whole day.  Now go find out where asteroid 911 Agamemnon was on 9/11/2001.  And where was the Sun on that day?  Yes, there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your traditional astrology – but you’ll find the traditional astrology (at least the Hellenistic and Persian varieties) most useful for prediction – trust me on this!

Astro.com

In addition to offering some of the worst new age chart interpretation packages available, Astro.com also offers a very cool online chart calculator and chart drawing module. You can also store a short database of charts on their website for easy retrieval from anywhere with internet access.  I’ll address this at greater length in a future post on calculating and storing charts with their online software.

Another awesome resource on their site is the section with free ephemerides for 6,000 years.  Every astrologer should print (or even buy) an ephemeris. It makes it easy to scan and track the planets, to observe when stations, eclipses, important aspects, and other such stuff occurs.  Astro.com is also the host for Astro-Databank. Their contribution to providing free astrological resources to astrologers is a great one, for which I’m very thankful..

Others

Those above are just my most highly recommended free charting resources.  There are many additional free resources out there for astrologers.  The comments area is a great place to help draw awareness to other free resources that are out there.  Thanks!

Featured image of an Apple II computer is in the public domain.

Vampires, Werewolves, and Shapeshifters: Understanding Maleficence

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Saturn with a Snack

Dark Entries

Vampires and similar supernatural beings are very popular these days. From the TV show True Blood to movies like Cronos and Interview with the Vampire, these fearsome beings continue to probe our imaginations.

Watching True Blood one day, it occurred to me that the powerful trinity of vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters connects strongly with the astrological malefics.  Viewing malefics this way allows beginners to easily grasp the essential nature of the malefic planets. Furthermore, it fosters and understanding of the term “malefic” itself.  In this article, I ask the beginning student of astrology to imagine Saturn as a vampire, Mars as a werewolf, and Mercury as a shapeshifter.

What does it mean for a planet to be malefic?

In ancient astrology, certain planets were noted as being “malefic”, namely Saturn and Mars. These malefics tended to signify more difficult or extreme things.  Subjectively, they relate to two types of unpleasant emotions: fear (Saturn) and anger (Mars).  Objectively, few matters in life are more unpleasant than those of death, the macabre, and darkness (Saturn) on one hand, and violence, explosiveness, and invasiveness on the other (Mars).

Here we are getting at the heart of the malefics, Saturn and Mars.  Saturn is dark, and slow, but arriving certainly, like death. Saturn signifies matters of death, cold, fear, isolation, depression, rot, doubt, rigidity, poverty, imprisonment, breaking things down to basics, and energy loss. In contrast to the certainty of Saturn’s looming threat, Mars is erratic, wild, and unpredictable. For example, Mars signifies violence, burn, inflammation, violation, anger, competition, sport, conflict, and an overload of energy.

Ptolemy on Benefic and Malefic Planets

Ptolemy, a prominent second century Hellenistic astrologer, best known for his sophisticated geocentric model, differed from the other ancient astrologers in the way he described the planets. He described the basic nature of the planets in terms of the basic Aristotelian qualities of hot/cold and wet/dry.  According to him, Saturn and Mars are malefic because they represent extreme states. Saturn is an extreme cold. Mars is an extreme dryness.  By contrast, Jupiter and Venus are considered benefic because they are temperate and moist (fertile).

Sun, Moon, and Mercury

Glyphs

The Sun and Moon also tend to be more benefic in their symbolism. However, they weren’t regarded as the benefics. The Lights, as they were called, are symbols of power and influence. As such they can signify fortunate or desirable matters.

Mercury is the most neutral planet, being strongly influenced by other planets that connect with it.  In other words, Mercury has a broad range and can change forms quite readily.  However, the Lot (or “Arabic Part”) associated with Mercury in Hellenistic astrology is one that has overwhelmingly negative significations. Therefore, aside from Saturn and Mars, Mercury is viewed as the next most capable of signifying adversity.

Mercury signifies cleverness, intellectualism, commerce, symbols, language, and so forth.  All of these things involve a fair amount of complication and ambiguity. This complication is a ready basis for deceit, manipulation, misunderstanding, and trivial contention. For example, think about con artists and propagandists. They use language and complication to deceive and manipulate.

What does it mean for a malefic to be accidentally benefic?

The identification of Saturn and Mars as malefics, and of Mercury as ambiguous, in no way entails that their significations are just “bad”.  It is recognized that they signify important and powerful facets of life which serve productive purposes.  Additionally, it is recognized in ancient texts that the circumstances of the chart can make Saturn, Mars, and/or Mercury signify positive and fortunate circumstances. However, their more natural signification is of difficulty.

How Malefics Gain Benefic Significations

Different ancient astrologers had their preferred factors that they thought made a planet more benefic or malefic.  In Hellenistic astrology, sect, place, and regard by other planets were commonly at the forefront of such considerations.

Maternus on Sect and Place

Below is Julius Firmicus Maternus (4th Century C.E.), excerpts from Book II, Chapter VII, “The Conditions of the Planets” (p. 38, Mathesis, Bram translation). He emphasized sect and place as factors that affect the benefit or difficulty associated with planets.

On diurnal planets:

Therefore, in diurnal charts, if they are in favorable positions, they indicate good fortune.

On nocturnal planets:

Favorably located in a nocturnal chart they indicate good fortune, unfavorably in a diurnal chart, the greatest evils.

Valens on Sect, Place, and Regard

Vettius Valens (2nd Century C.E.) also noted the important sect and place, as well as the influence of other planets. This excerpt is from Book I, Chapter I, “The Nature of the Stars” (5P, Riley translation).

The benefic stars which are appropriately and favorably situated bring about their effects according to their own nature and the nature of their sign, with the aspects and conjunctions of each star being blended.  If however they are unfavorably situated, they are indicative of reversals.  In the same way even the malefic stars, when they are operative in appropriate places in their own sect, are bestowers of good and indicative of the greatest positions and success; when they are inoperative, they bring about disasters and accusations.

Dignity?

Astrologers of the Medieval and Renaissance periods tended to put more emphasis on sign-based rejoicing conditions. Chief among those was whether a planet was in the sign that was its domicile, exaltation, fall, or detriment (note: detriment was not a distinct concept for the major Hellenistic astrologers).  Eventually, these sign-based considerations became a system of “dignity”, and a weighted system of dignity pointing, which I am highly critical of on empirical grounds.  For instance, I’ve discussed some of the history and problems associated with dignity. Also, I’ve given a poignant empirical show of how misleading the approach is. Therefore, I don’t recommend using so-called dignity by sign to judge whether a planet is made more benefic or malefic.

Qualities and Quantities

Benefic or Malefic?

The factors that make a planet more benefic or malefic in a chart are often referred to as “qualitative” considerations. That is, they affect the quality of the planet, making it indicate along more productive or destructive dimensions. These factors include sect, place, and planetary influence by configuration (regard and rulership). Often, I refer to them as factors that associate the planet with “good” and “bad”, as subjective and judgmental such an outlook may seem.

These factors can be contrasted with those that make a planet stronger or weaker in power and pertain to prominence or pervasiveness. Such factors are more “quantitative”. Additionally, factors such as advancement, stations, and phasis act to accentuate and draw attention to the importance of a planet’s indications.

Mean and Range

A planet is never wholly good or bad. Everyone’s chart will show a unique range of pleasant and unpleasant possibilities associated with any planet. These are ready to manifest at various times, with varying degrees of inevitability. Perhaps they are even affected by the person’s own will and consciousness.  All the same, when Saturn, Mars, or Mercury signify positive things, they will still do so with a sense of their own nature. Saturn may show success through control, discipline, fear, and difficulty. Mars may indicate it through atheleticism, competitiveness, and sheer drive.  Saturn can show a certainty fortified against negative possibilities. Mars can show a courage that can surmount the most difficult of obstacles.

The public image of the malefics

The malefics have been ostracized. We may even try to ignore them out of existence. By this I mean that we tend to view horrible things that happen in this world, such as genocide and plagues, as against the natural or spiritual order. However, ancient astrology has a language that encompasses the full good and bad, pleasantness and unpleasantness, of this world. Try as we may, we can’t ignore the fact that murder, violence, war, death, disease, oppression, poverty, and deception exist in the world. Clearly, they are natural elements of our existential reality.

Furthermore, we can’t ignore the human tendency to ostracize these things and to hate them. We view them as abominations, as existential errors, caused by an original sin, a flaw in the system, an indication that God doesn’t exist, or the work of a devil.  In other words, on a fundamental level we view certain categories of things as naturally malefic, evil, devilish, or bad. At the very least they are unpleasant, undesirable, and challenging.

Dark Supernaturals

The supernatural creatures of vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters strike a chord. They help us to understand the malefics. I particularly like their representation in True Blood. In that show they are part of nature but fashioned to feared and dangerous extremes. Furthermore, they are ostracized and pushed into a hidden world, a sub-conscious realm.  Similarly, malefics can signify things that the individual may be comfortable with but which society doesn’t accept or approve of.  The depiction of the vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters in True Blood really resonates with the spirit of Saturn, Mars, and Mercury in traditional astrology. Such mythological personifications help flesh out these forces. Or perhaps these forces flesh themselves out in our mythologies? Importantly, they give us insight into the more extreme and super-natural aspects of being human.

Saturn the Vampire

Vampires are dark, cold, and dead, like Saturn. Vampires and Saturn are about the dark side of things, about fear and the macabre. They exploit the limitations, vibrancy, and uncertainty of life. The key concept with both vampires and Saturn is the idea of sucking the life out of something. They need to control out of fear of the unknown and an identification with the dark.

Ironically, Saturn is of the diurnal sect, fitting in with the more respectable and principled order of day time. Saturn is made tamer and less malefic by day.  However, like a vampire, Saturn becomes the most dangerous by night. Saturn is in touch with the past, with history and tradition, the soil, real estate. In other words, Saturn is less alive, but more certain, and more tangible. Furthermore, there is a dark cynical humor behind the knowledge that there’s nothing new under the Sun, and everything will die and be lost.

Mars the Werewolf

I particularly like the portrayal of the werewolves in True Blood.  The werewolf is presented as rough, naive, instinctual, aggressive, and lacking manners. By contrast, the refined vampire is desensitized and matured to a controlled extreme. Similarly, Saturn’s temperament, like that of the vampire, has been characterized as melancholic. By contrast, that of Mars, like the werewolf, is choleric.

Mars is of the nocturnal sect, led by the Moon. Mars seems more animal-like, connected with the hunt and predation. We all know Mars types who like machismo, sharp objects, dangerous things, getting their hands dirty, and hanging out with their “pack”.  Mars rules over the gangs and bikers of the world. Werewolves hunt in their packs, where violent initiation is the norm.  They are not particularly “bright” but they have strong instincts and reflexes. Werewolves involve themselves in work with sharp or dangerous things. They enjoy working with tools and affecting material things whether by building them or blowing them up.

Mercury the Shapeshifter

Less ostracized than the more malefic vampire and werewolf, the shapeshifter is still a source of suspicion. Mercury’s involvement with intellectualism and commerce is not without controversy.  Furthermore, stereotypes ostracizing intellectuals and businessmen abound. For instance, we see this in the extreme in racist views of the Jewish people from their associations with money lending in Renaissance Christian Europe.

Where there is cleverness and complexity one fears a deceptive trickster may be at hand, especially if money is involved. Additionally, Mercury is associated with theft and con artistry in ancient astrology. Interestingly, we see these themes play out in True Blood with Sam, the shapeshifter. He is the major local business owner and previously he was a thief. Furthermore, he has a brother shapeshifter who is a thief and a liar.  Mercury, like the shapeshifter, can be a bit too clever for his own good.  Mercury is both the magician, as well as the trickster.  The portrayals of the shapeshifters in True Blood bring out these qualities of the planet.

Your Opinion

What mythological creatures, gods, or spirits do you most readily associate with Saturn, Mars, and Mercury?  What about the other planets? I’d love to hear your opinions in the comments.

References

Maternus, J. F. (1972). Mathesis: A fourth-century astrological treatise. (J. R. Bram, Trans.). NY, NY: New York University.

Valens, V. (2010). Anthologies. (M. Riley, Trans.) (Online PDF.). World Wide Web: Mark Riley. Retrieved from http://www.csus.edu/indiv/r/rileymt/Vettius%20Valens%20entire.pdf
Featured image is cropped from Saturn Devouring His Children by Jan van Kessel the Elder (circa 1660) which is in the public domain.