Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love! (AL I, 12)

Planets

General Considerations

The traditional model of the planets puts Earth at the centre of the universe, with the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn orbiting it in that order. Note that the actual order of the planets from the Sun is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, so the traditional model agrees with this with the exception of the transposition of the Sun and the Earth, since the distance between the two is the same no matter which one orbits the other. The Moon is the first planet in the traditional order because it is the closest to the Earth.

Each planet is attributed to a number, and there is a clear connection between the names of the days of the week and the planets. This is clear from some of the English names of the days, but if we include the French names of the days — representing the romance languages — the attribution is clear for all of them, as it is if we include the Welsh names — representing the Celtic languages — as so:

If the seven planets are placed around the points of an acute heptagram in their traditional order (denoted by the numbers above), by following along the line of the heptagram one reads the order of the days of the week as given above, like so:

A similar numbering scheme exists for each of the numbers one through ten, as follows:

Upwards from Saturn, the fixed stars were what lay beyond the outermost planet. The “Primum Mobile,” or “first whirlings,” was what was supposed to be beyond the fixed stars. Downwards from the Moon, the attribution of 10 to the Earth is natural given our comments in the first paragraph of this section. These attributions agree to the ones used on the Tree of Life.

With the discovery of Uranus and Neptune, it was thought that the tenfold attribution was right all along without needing to add the fixed stars and the beyond. The discovery of Pluto threw a spanner into these works, and the debate as to whether Pluto is really a planet has continued ever since.

The planets beyond Saturn did not figure into ancient symbolism, for the very good reason that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Uranus technically could have been detected, but its orbit around the Sun, at over 84 years, as well as its faintness, would make detection of its relative motion difficult. Since the discovery of more planets, attempts have been made to fit them into the symbolism, but we here exclude them, for the very good reason that being difficult to see with the naked eye, there is no reason why we should give them any special consideration, and the symbolism without them is good enough to begin with. Since we do not subscribe to the traditional astrological view that the positions of the planets either cause or reflect events on Earth, we need not pay heed to this argument.

Saturn

Saturn is attributed to the number three, and as such represents physical — rather than moral — law. Saturn represents the greatest (and most character-building) challenges in life, its most stubborn obstacles, and the hardest lessons it teaches. It shows where rigid systems restrict growth, but also where strength can be found through self-limitation, discipline and planning. There is a suggestion of the concept of sacrifice in Saturn, in the sense that it represents those parts of life which cannot be overcome, and must therefore be accepted, which can often be a very hard lesson. For this reason, Saturn is often referred to as a “tester,” in the sense of providing lessons which the individual has no choice but to learn.

The lesson Saturn teaches is that the universe does not act in accordance with your wishes. Perseverence and determination are useful qualities, but there are obstacles that no amount of these can surmount. You can practise, believe and wish all you like, but you will never be able to travel to the moon under your own power, breathe unaided underwater, or directly perceive matter on an atomic level. The powers and abilities of an individual are often greater and broader than that individual commonly perceives them to be, but to pretend that they are limitless is folly. A person who fails to learn these lessons will experience bitterness, frustration and despair. Many students of magick undertake the study with the avowed intent of overcoming some limitations, and it can be difficult to admit that there are some they will never be able to surmount, such an admission amounting for them to almost an admission of personal defeat and shame. Such an attitude is foolish, and arises purely from a sense of pride. A river does not care that it cannot flow uphill, it merely goes about its business of finding the shortest route to the ocean. In pursuing his goals, the magician must take a philosophical attitude to obstacles, impartially assessing the benefits of overcoming those which can be overcome against the costs of so doing, and deciding simply to work around those that cannot. If his goal itself involves surmounting an unsurmountable obstacle then he must find a new one, unless he wishes to learn the lessons of defeat.

On the other hand, learning the lessons of Saturn will enable to magician to discard any notions of personal pride and self-interest, and instead select the most optimal route to his goal. Since the exercise of energy involves both raising its intensity and freeing it from restraint, this approach will allow him to unleash a large reservoir of power. Having faith in one's own abilities is one thing, but one leaves the path of wisdom when one lets that belief result in restriction rather than liberty.

Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius. Its influence on Capricorn can be seen in the stubborn, serious and disciplined approach to material affairs in that sign, whilst its influence on Aquarius can be seen in the way the Aquarian expresses his opinions in a stubborn, rigid and almost dogmatic manner.

Jupiter

Jupiter is attributed to the number four, and as such represents moral — rather than physical — law. As such, it relates to laws, morals and authority. For the same reason — the imposition of form — it represents cultural and social influences of other kinds. Because of this forming tendency, the drive to bring things under its control, Jupiter also represents a drive for expansion and insight, learning and growth in understanding and influence. This expansional element is what gives it the traditional attributions of fortune and abundance, since that expansion can be viewed in an acquisitive and non-discriminatory way. It can be likened to an emperor expanding his empire in his desire to bring light to his new subjects, to enrichen their lives and to allow them to enhance the glory of his realm.

There is an appearance of a paradox — and it is just an appearance — between the love of freedom, liberty and abundance exhibited by Jupiter and its association with form. We can resolve this apparent disparity by observing that a stable base is necessary for exploration. The division and organisation of labour enabled early society to build up a surplus of necessities, rather than spending all their time providing for their own basic needs. With this surplus time was freed for the pursuit of “higher” matters, such as art, science, exploration and trade. The same is true of the mind; a solid educational grounding is necessary before the individual can explore the higher flights of thought.

Jupiter is naturally associated with Thor, Odin, Zeus, and signifies the King of the Gods in all these systems. It is a strange coincidence therefore that Jupiter has been found to have more satellites than any of the other planets.

Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces. Its influence on Sagittarius is evident from the tendency of the Sagittarian to expand his horizons in a philosophical, spiritual and religious direction, to understand his own nature and the nature of his environment so that he might expand his sphere of influence. The tendency of the Piscean to expand his understanding of the human condition, to cultivate sympathy and empathy with other beings, and to dream and fantasise shows the influence of Jupiter on that sign.

Mars

Mars is attributed to the number five, and as such represents the breaking of form, action, energy, even violence. It represents work in its most basic form, and the fighting instinct with which one meets life. Mars relates to expenditure of energy, dynamicism and battles, as well as the need to express oneself energetically, outside of the “normal” form. It represents a need to accomplish, along with the courage, confidence and endurance necessary to do so.

The energy of Mars, improperly channeled, can exhibit itself in sensations of impatience, urgency, or even rage. It is an energy which cannot be “bottled up” indefinitely. On a mundane level, the individual will find that he is unable to “cease action” even for a moment; it is in the nature of all existing objects to act in one way or another, or more appropriately, to interact with their environment. The challenge Mars presents is to appropriately apply that energy to its proper object, for the individual to appropriately position himself so that the energy flows along with his environment, rather than working against it or against himself. Both form and motion rely on the other for meaning, and the proper application of energy is required to avoid becoming overly burdened by form, and to avoid unnecessarily destroying "beneficial" form. As was suggested in the discussion of Saturn, the efficient application of energy is key to the development of magical power.

Mars rules Scorpio and Aries. The intense energy with which the Scorpian guards and expresses his desires shows the influence of Mars in this sign, whilst it is the tendency of the Arian to commence action which reveals the influence of Mars.

The Sun

The Sun is attributed to the number six, and as such represents harmony, equilibrium and identity. It relates to the building of the character, and the need to express oneself, and well as the creative drive and the search for self-realisation. The Sun represents the basic drives and will that determines an individual's character, and makes them who they are, the part of the personality that is one's “true self” and makes one unique. The Sun represents the “centre of gravity” of the individual, hence the reference to balance and equilibrium. The place of the Sun at the centre of the Solar System, its gravity holding the other planets in place, should make this obvious, as should the fact that it is the Sun that provides the light and heat to Earth which makes life possible, and which illuminates our world.

The Sun is the most important of all the planets in that the challenge it presents is to both understand and the realise the individual's own true nature. The essence of this task is to simply allow the Sun's light to illuminate this nature, to smooth the veils and dispel the shadows which conceal this true nature. It is only this wholesome solar light which can reveal the true self, rather than the reflected, distorting corpse light which can characterise the moon, and reveal only the terrible phantasms of the individual's dark and discordant subconscious. It is the light of the Sun which can integrate the being of the individual, to bring all of his tendencies and characteristics into a coherent whole, enabling him to fully understand all his constituent parts, which also gives him the ability to most effectively deploy them for action.

The danger in this, of course, is that if the individual mistakes something else for his own true nature, his entire centre of gravity will be "off," and all his other tendencies will be skewed. This will cause both a marked reduction in effectiveness, and a blockage of energy which can be damaging to the individual.

The Sun rules Leo, and its influence can be seen in the characteristic focus on self-expression, self-identity and confidence in that sign.

Venus

Venus is attributed to the number seven, and as such represents desire, aesthetic preferences, the natural attraction we feel towards certain things and the need for inner and outer harmony (for indeed beauty arises from harmony and symmetry). Venus is representative of one's inner values, which determine how we make comparisons and judgments, and colour our values and aesthetic styles. This concept of attraction and desire is what gives Venus its traditional attribution to love.

Venus can be attributed to form in the same way that Mars can be attributed to motion. Motion requires a reference point to have meaning, and a reference point is an indication of form. Motion must be either moving towards something, or moving away from something (or both, if the two things are different). Thus, while Mars indicates the nature of energy that the individual will express, Venus indicates the nature of those objects that energy will be expressed at. The true nature of the individual as determined by the Sun will naturally incline him favourably towards certain things, and unfavourable towards others, and it is this pattern of attractive tendencies that Venus embodies. The Martian energies will determine the manner in which he acts on those attractions.

Thus, both the tendency to form in Venus and the tendency to motion in Mars are key indicators of the true nature of the self which arises in the Sun. By paying attention to Venus in addressing the question “where do I want to be?” and paying attention to Mars in addressing the question “where do I want to go?” the individual can discover much of his true nature by exploring the ways in which he is pulled and pushed in different situations, since it is ultimately the juxtaposition of his true self with his environment that determines these tendencies.

The danger of Venus, which given its passive nature is more pronounced than that of Mars, is the mistaking of these tendencies. Without the clear, illuminating light of the Sun, it is easy to misinterpret the object of attraction, the result being the total confusion of the individual as to what his values and preferences really are. The result of this confusion is often an almost fanatical self-imposed attraction to arbitrary objects, the strength of the attraction magnified by the individual's inability to find satisfaction through ignorance of what it is he really is attracted to. Much religious fundamentalism and extremism is illustrative of this process, driven by a failure — and in some cases, an abject refusal — on the part of the individual to understand and accept what it really is he desires.

Venus rules Libra and Taurus. The characteristics of balance and harmony embodied by Venus can be seen clearly in Libra, whereas the Taurean's focus on building a strong, stable and profitable material position that exhibit those qualities.

Mercury

Mercury is attributed to the number eight, and as such represents intellect, communication, thoughts, mental activity and knowledge. Mercury is concerned with mental talents and methods of communication, as well as humour, wit and interpersonal dynamics. For the same reason, Mercury can be attributed to trickery, deceit, misunderstanding and falsehoods, all examples of form designed to misrepresent. This is important, as the role of Mercury is to form one's experiences in such as way as to make future experiences easier to navigate, so having an accurate representation (form) is critical.

Mercury is firmly a structural planet. Its associations with language, knowledge and intellect reflect the tendency and ability of the individual to classify the impressions and experiences he receives into a coherent whole, which allows his to interpret future impressions in light of that past experience, giving him the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to act effectively on his environment. If the Sun is the true nature, Venus is the expression of attraction, and Mars is the expression of energy, then Mercury is what takes all this, considers it in light of past experience, and presents a plan whereby the nature of the true self can be realised through motion towards the objects of attraction.

This process of classification and interpretation is not perfect, however, and can come up with a “bad” plan just as easily as it can come up with a “good” plan. Thus, when we talk about misunderstanding the true nature of the self, it is the structure created by Mercury which is the source of this misunderstanding. Misconception can build upon misconception to the point where the coordination process of the mind takes on a positively destructive and dissonant quality, miscontruing the objects of attraction and misdirecting the will in any case, to the point where effective action becomes impossible. It is for this reason that Mercury is also associated with the ideas of trickery and deceit. The solution is to focus pointedly on the true self to keep the classification system open, to keep it "oxygenated," so that over time its structure more closely approximates a "correct" understanding of the nature of the individual. This system and process is indeed a tool, and the greatest mistake is to treat its messages as having value in themselves, as representing truth.

Mercury rules Virgo and Gemini. The Virgan's attention to detail, discrimination and analysis are characteristic of the structuring and agility of Mercury, whereas the intelligence and love of ideas embodied in Gemini show the influence of the planet in that sign.

The Moon

The Moon is attributed to the number nine, and as such represents reflection, emotions, sensitivity, and the instincts and habits of the unconscious mind. The Moon reflects the light of the Sun to the Earth, in the same way as the mind reflects the exterior world and the individual's attitudes towards it. The Moon reflects the light of the Sun which is the “true self,” but can also distort it under the influence of emotions. This reflective quality also relates to sensitivity, the accuracy with which both internal and external impressions can be seen. Whereas the Sun shows one's true internal nature, one's desire for expression, the Moon shows how one reacts to external events. The Moon relates to the unconscious mind which can distort the true light from the Sun, and veil the individual's true nature from his conscious apprehension. The Moon also represents hidden or unexpressed desires and emotions, for the same reason.

Like Mercury, the Moon has close connections with the idea of mind. All we know of the external world is what we receive through our physical senses; the image of reality that is presented to our minds is just that, an image, a reflection. Similarly, when we act consciously we do not usually act according to what our desires are telling us to do, but according to what our conscious mind interprets those desires as being. Thus, we commonly act on a reflection of ours desires, not our desires themselves. In the same way, the way we act is influenced by the makeup of our mind, by the way it tends towards certain things, which whilst being shaped by our true nature, is not our true nature itself. Thus, the vast majority of our experience is in a world of reflections, a world of images, and not in the real world at all. Whilst this is largely inevitable, it means that the challenge presented by the Moon is to over time make that reflection as accurate as possible, to “polish the mirror of the mind.” It is easy to imagine the madness caused by living in a world which is a distorted reflection of reality, especially if that reflection is mistaken for reality itself.

Aside from the Sun, the Moon is probably the second most important of the planets, as although the Sun represents the true nature of the individual, the Moon represents the reflection of the individual as well as the reflection of the environment in which we experience most of our lives.

The Moon rules Cancer. It is the tendency of the Cancerian to base his identity on the things close to him, the things he cares for, the things to which he is attached which is illustrative of the reflective characteristic of the Moon.

General Correspondences and Observations

Correspondences are taken from Liber 777. Commentaries on some of the correspondences:

• Number — related to the “traditional” but incorrect observed order of the physical planets, see general section above.
• Day — also see general section above. Monday, Saturday and Sunday derive obviously from the planetary names themselves. Tuesday derives from the god Tew or Tiw (“Tew's day”), originating from the Nordic god of war, Tyr, and appropriate for Mars. Wednesday derives from the god Wotan (“Wotan's day”) who originates from the Nordic king of the Gods, Odin. Note that Odin is more properly attributed to Jupiter, so this attribution does not fit. The romance languages, including French, more obviously attribute this to Mercury (“Mercredi”) as do the Celtic languages (Wednesday is “dydd Mercher” in Welsh). Thursday derives from Thor (“Thor's day”), the Norse god of the sky, consistent with Jupiter. Friday derives from Frigg (“Frigg's Day”) or Freyja, the Norse goddess of love, beauty and fertility, the correspondences with Venus being obvious.
• Colour — the colours of the seven planets are the seven colours of the rainbow. Indigo is the darkest colour, suitable for Saturn. Violet suggests religiosity and creativity, according to Crowley. Red, the colour of blood and also the colour of the element of fire, is obviously attributable to Mars, as orange (the colour of sunlight) is to the Sun. Green suggests fertility and vegetation, which belongs to Venus. Yellow is the colour of the element of air, representing the intellect and communication, and naturally goes with Mercury. Finally, blue, the colour of the element of water, which reflects the light of the Sun just as the Moon does.
• Stone — Onyx is often dull and black, suggesting the darkness of Saturn and Binah. The blue of Lapis Lazuli and the violet of Amethyst link them to Jupiter. The red ruby naturally goes with Mars, as the pale yellow of Topaz goes with the sun and the green emerald goes with Venus. Opal is of varied colours, suitable for the intellectualism and analysis represented by Mercury. The Moonstone is obvious, as is the pearl, which looks very similar.
• Metal — lead is a heavy metal, and appropriate for Saturn. Tin is malleable and resists corrosion, rendering it suitable for the construction of containers, suggestive of the structural qualities of Jupiter. Iron (and its derivative, steel) is the traditional metal of weaponry and armour (after the Bronze Age, at least) and belongs to Mars. The gold of the Sun is obvious. Copper oxidises to a green colour, providing the link with Venus, and also exhibits high thermal and electrical conductivity, suggesting the harmony and assistance. The attribution of the metal mercury to the planet Mercury is obvious, the only metal liquid at room temperature suggesting the activity of the mind. The attribution of silver to the Moon is also nature, suggesting as it does the appearance of the Moon (as gold suggests the appearance of the Sun) and silver is the only pure metal with greater thermal and electrical conductivity at room temperature than copper, suggesting the purity of the Moon's reflection.

A table showing the colours of the planets and the planetary symbols in a larger size:

The symbols for the Sun and the Moon are natural, and arise from observation. The placement of a dot in the centre of the Sun symbol suggests its place in the centre of the Solar System, the circumference suggestive of an orbit.

The upward pointing arrow in the Mars symbol is clearly suggestive of the erect penis, whereas the downward pointing cross in the Venus symbol is suggestive of the vagina.

Note that the symbol of Mercury — which is associated, amongst other things, with communication and news — is a nose-down fish atop a cross. Compare this to the piscene symbols (the fish is an old symbol for Jesus, who described himself as a “fisher of men”) many Christians adorn their motor vehicles with to help propagate the “good news” of Jesus the prophet. It is not known whether this resemblence is deliberate, but all signs point to “no.”

The symbols for Saturn and Jupiter are less obvious, but the symbol for Saturn may represent the curved sickle that Saturn used to castrate his father, and the symbol for Jupiter (looking very much like the symbol for Saturn flipped around its y-axis and then rotated 90°) may resemble the lightning bolt of the sky god.

We can see certain relationships between the planets:

• The Sun represents the true nature of the individual, whereas the Moon represents the reflection of this nature to his conscious mind.
• Venus represents the ways in which one is attracted to other things, whereas Mars represents the ways in which one wants to move, or act. In other words, Venus represents the objects of attraction, and Mars represents the motion towards them. In Thelemic terms, we might tentatively associate Mars with the will and Venus with love, although the Thelemic conception of will is rather more broad than the energy of Mars.
• Jupiter represents the imposition of form or law, whereas Saturn represents the inevitability of physical law. Similarly, Jupiter represents optimism, abundance and expansion, whereas Saturn represents limitations, challenges and fears.
• Mercury represents the classification by the individual of his experiences, and his interpretation of them.

© Copyright 2006–2024 Erwin Hessle

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