Classical planet
Astrology |
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Background |
Traditions |
Branches |
Astrological signs |
Symbols |
A classical planet is an
Greek astronomers such as Geminus[1] and Ptolemy[2] recorded these classical planets during classical antiquity, introducing the term planet, which means 'wanderer' in Greek (πλάνης planēs and πλανήτης planētēs), expressing the fact that these objects move across the celestial sphere relative to the fixed stars.[3][4] Therefore, the Greeks were the first to develop the astrological connections to the planets visual detail.[5] Through the use of telescopes other celestial objects like the classical planets were found, starting with the Galilean moons in 1610. Today the term planet is used considerably differently, with a planet being defined as a natural satellite directly orbiting the Sun (or other stars) and having cleared its own orbit. Therefore, only five of the seven classical planets remain recognized as planets, alongside Earth, Uranus, and Neptune.
History
This article should specify the language of its non-English content, using {{lang}}, {{transliteration}} for transliterated languages, and {{IPA}} for phonetic transcriptions, with an appropriate ISO 639 code. Wikipedia's multilingual support templates may also be used. (March 2024) |
Babylonian
The Babylonians recognized seven planets. A bilingual list in the British Museum records the seven Babylonian planets in the following order:[6]
- The Moon, Sin.
- The Sun, Shamash.
- Jupiter, Merodach.
- Venus, Ishtar.
- Saturn, Ninip.
- Mercury, Nebo.
- Mars, Nergal.
Mandaean
In
Each planet is said to be carried in a ship. Drawings of these ships are found in various
Planet | Mandaic | Mandaic script | Akkadian | Other names | Associations |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sun | Šamiš | ࡔࡀࡌࡉࡔ | Šamaš | Adunai ← Hebrew Adonai
|
light and life-powers Yawar Ziwa (Dazzling Light) and Simat Hayyi (Treasure of Life); Yazuqaeans[10] |
Venus | Libat | ࡋࡉࡁࡀࡕ | Delebat | Amamit (the underworld goddess), Argiuat, Daitia, Kukbat (the diminutive of 'star'), Spindar, ʿstira (i.e., ) | success in love and reproduction |
Mercury | Nbu (ʿNbu) | ࡍࡁࡅ ࡏࡍࡁࡅ |
Nabû | Maqurpiil, Mšiha ← Messiah; ʿaṭarid ← Arabic | learning, scribes; Christ and Christianity |
Moon | Sin | ࡎࡉࡍ | Sīnu | Agzʿil, Ṭaṭmʿil, Ṣaurʿil, and Sira | miscarriages and abnormal births |
Saturn | Kiwan | ࡊࡉࡅࡀࡍ | Kayyamānu | Br Šamiš (The Son of the Sun) | Jews; Saturday |
Jupiter | Bil | ࡁࡉࡋ | Bēlu | Angʿil | male; "hot and moist" |
Mars | Nirig | ࡍࡉࡓࡉࡂ | Nergallu | Marik | violence; Islam |
Symbols
The astrological symbols for the classical planets appear in the medieval Byzantine codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserved.[11] In the original papyri of these Greek horoscopes, there are found a circle with one ray () for the Sun and a crescent for the Moon.[12] The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri.[13] The symbols for Jupiter and Saturn are identified as monograms of the initial letters of the corresponding Greek names, and the symbol for Mercury is a stylized caduceus.[13]
A. S. D. Maunder finds antecedents of the planetary symbols in earlier sources, used to represent the gods associated with the classical planets. Bianchini's planisphere, produced in the 2nd century,[14] shows Greek personifications of planetary gods charged with early versions of the planetary symbols: Mercury has a caduceus; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; Mars, a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scythe; the Sun, a circlet with rays radiating from it; and the Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached.[15] A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century Compendium of Astrology shows the Sun represented by the circle with a ray, Jupiter by the letter zeta (the initial of Zeus, Jupiter's counterpart in Greek mythology), Mars by a shield crossed by a spear, and the remaining classical planets by symbols resembling the modern ones, without the cross-mark seen in modern versions of the symbols.[15] The modern Sun symbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in the Renaissance.[12]
Planetary hours
The
The first hour of each day was named after the ruling planet, giving rise to the names and order of the Roman seven-day week. Modern Latin-based cultures, in general, directly inherited the days of the week from the Romans and they were named after the classical planets; for example, in Spanish Miércoles is Mercury, and in French mardi is Mars-day.
The modern English days of the week were mostly inherited from gods of the old Germanic Norse culture – Wednesday is Wōden’s-day (Wōden or Wettin eqv. Mercury), Thursday is Thor’s-day (Thor eqv. Jupiter), Friday is Frige-day (Frige eqv. Venus). Equivalence here is by the gods' roles; for instance, Venus and Frige were both goddesses of love. It can be correlated that the Norse gods were attributed to each Roman planet and its god, probably due to Roman influence rather than coincidentally by the naming of the planets. A vestige of the Roman convention remains in the English name Saturday.
Weekday | Planet | Greek god | Germanic god | Weekday | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
French name | Roman god | Greek name | Norse name | Saxon name | English name |
dimanche | Sol | Helios | Sól | Sunne | Sunday |
lundi | Luna | Selene | Máni | Mōnda | Monday |
mardi | Mars | Ares | Týr | Tīw | Tuesday |
mercredi | Mercury | Hermes | Óðinn |
Wōden / Wettin | Wednesday |
jeudi | Jupiter | Zeus | Þórr |
Thunor | Thursday |
vendredi | Venus | Aphrodite | Frigg | Frige | Friday |
samedi | Saturn | Cronus | Njörðr[17] | Njord[17] | Saturday |
Alchemy
In alchemy, each classical planet (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) was associated with one of the seven metals known to the classical world (silver, mercury/quicksilver, copper, gold, iron, tin and lead respectively). As a result, the alchemical glyphs for the metal and associated planet coincide. Alchemists believed the other elemental metals were variants of these seven (e.g. zinc was known as "Indian tin" or "mock silver"[18]).
Traditionally, each of the seven "planets" in the Solar System as known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion over, and "ruled" a certain metal (see also astrology and the classical elements).
The list of rulership is as follows:
- The Sun rules Gold ()
- The Moon, Silver ()
- Mercury, Quicksilver/Mercury ()
- Venus, Copper ()
- Mars, Iron ()
- Jupiter, Tin ()
- Saturn, Lead ()
Some alchemists (e.g.
Planet | Organ |
Sun | Heart |
Moon | Brain |
Mercury | Lungs |
Venus | Kidneys |
Mars | Gall bladder |
Jupiter | Liver |
Saturn | Spleen |
Contemporary astrology
Western astrology
Planet | Domicile sign(s)[19] | Detriment sign(s)[19] | Exaltation sign[20] | Fall sign[20] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sun
|
Leo | Aquarius | Aries | Libra |
Moon
|
Cancer | Capricorn | Taurus | Scorpio |
Mercury
|
Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) | Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) | Virgo | Pisces |
Venus
|
Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) | Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) | Pisces | Virgo |
Mars
|
Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) | Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) | Capricorn | Cancer |
Jupiter
|
Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) | Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) | Cancer | Capricorn |
Saturn
|
Aquarius (diurnal) and Capricorn (nocturnal) | Leo (diurnal) and Cancer (nocturnal) | Libra | Aries |
Indian astrology
Indian astronomy and astrology (jyotiṣa) recognises seven visible planets (including the Sun and Moon) and two additional invisible planets(tamo'graha).[21]
Sanskrit Name | English Name | Nakshatras | Guna | Represents | Day | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Surya (सूर्य) | Sun | Krittika, Uttara Phalguni and Uttara Ashadha | Sattva | Soul, king, highly placed persons, father, ego | Sunday | |
Chandra (चंद्र) | Moon | Rohini, Hasta and Shravana | Sattva | Emotional Mind, queen, mother. | Monday | |
Mangala (मंगल) | Mars | Mrigashira, Chitra and Dhanishta | Tamas | energy, action, confidence | Tuesday | |
Budha (बुध) | Mercury | Ashlesha, Jyeshta and Revati | Rajas | Communication and analysis, mind | Wednesday | |
Brihaspati (बृहस्पति) | Jupiter | Punarvasu, Vishakha and Purva Bhadrapada | Sattva | the great teacher, wealth, Expansion, progeny | Thursday | |
Shukra (शुक्र) | Venus | Bharani, Purva Phalguni and Purva Ashadha | Rajas | Feminine, pleasure and reproduction , Luxury, Love, Spouse |
Friday | |
Shani (शनि) | Saturn | Pushya, Anuradha and Uttara Bhadrapada | Tamas | learning the hard way. Career and Longevity, Contraction | Saturday | |
Rahu (राहु) | Ascending/North Lunar Node | Ardra, Swati and Shatabhisha | Tamas | an Asura who does his best to plunge any area of one's life he controls into chaos, works on the subconscious level | none | |
Ketu (केतु) | Descending/South Lunar Node | Ashwini, Magha and Mula | Tamas | supernatural influences, works on the subconscious level | none |
Naked-eye planets
Mercury and Venus are visible only in twilight hours because their orbits are interior to that of Earth. Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky and the most prominent planet. Mercury is more difficult to see due to its proximity to the Sun. Lengthy
See also
- Antikythera mechanism
- Behenian fixed star
- Celestial spheres
- Definition of planet
- List of former planets
- List of Mesopotamian deities § Major deities
- Monas Hieroglyphica of John Dee
- Olympian spirits
- Planetae
- Worship of heavenly bodies
- Wufang Shangdi
References
- ISBN 978-0-387-84825-9
- ^ Classification of the Planets
- Perseus Project.
- ISBN 978-0-19-064792-6, retrieved 2024-02-11)
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link - ^ Mackenzie (1915). "13 Astrology and Astronomy". Myths of Babylonia and Assyria.
- ^ S2CID 213438712. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
- OCLC 1272858968.
- OCLC 864905792.
- .
- ^ Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy. pp. 788–789.
- ^ a b Neugebauer, Otto; Van Hoesen, H. B. (1987). Greek Horoscopes. pp. 1, 159, 163.
- ^ a b Jones, Alexander (1999). Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus. pp. 62–63.
It is now possible to trace the medieval symbols for at least four of the five planets to forms that occur in some of the latest papyrus horoscopes ([ P.Oxy. ] 4272, 4274, 4275 [...]). That for Jupiter is an obvious monogram derived from the initial letter of the Greek name. Saturn's has a similar derivation [...] but underwent simplification. The ideal form of Mars' symbol is uncertain, and perhaps not related to the later circle with an arrow through it. Mercury's is a stylized caduceus.
- ^ "Bianchini's planisphere". Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ^ Bibcode:1934Obs....57..238M.
- JSTOR 1006040.
- ^ a b Vigfússon (1874:456).
- ^ ISBN 978-0-09-945787-9
- ^ a b Hand, Robert. "Astrology by Hand". Astro.com. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56718-088-6.
- ^ "Sky Publishing – Latitude Is Everything". Archived from the original on 2017-03-24. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
Further reading
- Powell, Martin J. "The Naked Eye Planets in the Night Sky (and how to identify them)". Nakedeyeplanets.com. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- Powell, Martin J. "Wandering Stars: The Movements and Visibility Cycles of the Naked Eye Planets". Nakedeyeplanets.com. Retrieved 2023-10-01.