Dignities Of The Planets - Excursion into Astrology
-
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law,
How were the rulerships and exaltations of the planets established/calculated/assigned ? I realze there is an intrinsic relationship between planets and constellations, i.e. the universe itself "established" rulerships and exaltations..... but I would like to find out more about the "scientific" process that must have been applied in order to nail these relationships down (which led to the tables that are in use today).
Is it basically based on long term observation?thnx for any thoughts
Love is the law, love under will
-h -
93!
for me, i just sat with the planets (ie, meditated) and considered the energy and dynamics of each and then also considered how each of these behaved "in" a specific sign. a little supplemental reading helped also, but largely i relied upon my intuition and my understanding of the relationship. once it started to congeal in my head, then it just "made sense" i don't know of the science behind it, just the correlation of how certain planets seem to express themselves in the best manner when compared with all the other possible positions (signs).
take for example, saturn.
normally, saturn might be considered a 'maleficent' planet and the bringer of hardship or difficulty in a lot of respects. it certainly has a lot of virtue too, don't get me wrong, like determination, steadfast, etc. but if you think about it in EA of the signs, where does it ultimately seem like the best, most positive aspect of saturn is going to express itself?
saturn as the lord of karma seems, to me, to express its greatest merit in libra, the alpha & omega, the great equilibrium, the cosmic scales... la justisse in the tarot. <some study of the tarot, also helped>
here, the expression of saturn is exalted in the sign of libra which is all about determining fairness, equilibrium, harmony among other attributes.
i also like to think that there's some special relationship between saturn and venus though i think this probably has more to do with the sephiroth than astrology, per se.
now, i'm definitely not an expert. these are just a few rough opinions; hopefully something is of help.
-
@anima solis said
"How were the rulerships and exaltations of the planets established/calculated/assigned ? I realze there is an intrinsic relationship between planets and constellations, i.e. the universe itself "established" rulerships and exaltations..... but I would like to find out more about the "scientific" process that must have been applied in order to nail these relationships down (which led to the tables that are in use today). Is it basically based on long term observation?"
I will interpret this as a question about the history of the matter.
For the most part, yes, these are all based on observation of the nature of the planets and the nature of the signs. This took many forms over the centuries, and the Greeks and Romans had a long period of relating the planets to their gods, rather than to planets per se (and not always the gods corresponding to the modern planets). Here is that list:
Aries - Hades / Pluto (alternately Athena / Minerva) Taurus - Aphrodite / Venus Gemini - Apollo Cancer - Hermes / Mercury Leo - Zeus / Jupiter Virgo - Demeter / Ceres Libra - Hephaestus / Vulcan Scorpio - Ares / Mars Sagittarius - Artemis / Diana Capricorn - Hestia / Vesta Aquarius - Hera / Juno Pisces - Poseidon / Neptune``` The planetary dignities IIRC are from Ptolemy, drawing on much older sources. He was Egyptian, but in writing during a still-strong time of the Roman empire and in a land with strong Hellenic (and other) influences. Ptolemy most definitely was of the "rulerships mean similarities of nature" school of thought, as we can see from his treatment of individual fixed stars. The pattern he used to organize observations about the signs was highly schematic: Place the Sun and Moon at Leo and Cancer, then give each of the other planets two signs moving outward: Mercury to Gemini and Virgo, Venus to Taurus and Libra, Mars to Aries and Scorpio, Jupiter to Sagittarius and Pisces, and Saturn to Capricorn and Aquarius. Modern astrologers continued the pattern with Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto - but I'm not going to focus on that right now. You can trace the assignments, though, by continuing in the solar course (forward in the zodiac from Leo). The exaltations were, I believe, originally also conceived in terms of consonant natures between the planets and the signs. However, they can be traced to an exact set of astronomical phenomena. The astronomical details are too lengthy to explain in anything less than a large article or small book (and, in fact, they were first explained in Cyril Fagan's *Zodiacs Old & New*), but the gist is that, in the year 786 BC, an exact set of fundamental astronomical events occurred in which the planets were each found at their traditional exaltation degrees: Sun 19 Aries, Moon 3 Taurus, Mercury 15 Virgo, Venus 27 Pisces, Mars 28 Capricorn, Jupiter 15 Cancer, and Saturn 21 Libra. -
93
@Jim Eshelman said
"For the most part, yes, these are all based on observation of the nature of the planets and the nature of the signs... Here is that list:
Aries - Hades / Pluto (alternately Athena / Minerva)
Taurus - Aphrodite / Venus
Gemini - Apollo
Cancer - Hermes / Mercury
Leo - Zeus / Jupiter"forgive me, but i'm not much of a historian (yet!) and so i'm trying to understand the correlations above... hades is a god, yes, but there was also a god named pluto?
i always thought of apollo being a solar diety -- how does this correspond with gemini? and the cancer/hermes/mercury correlation is confusing to me as well. not sure what's happening here with leo/zeus/jupiter.
the rest of the table, i can grok.
i'm sure that a better understanding of mythology would probably help me out, but just wondering if there's a short answer...
tks!
-
@sesheta156 said
"forgive me, but i'm not much of a historian (yet!) and so i'm trying to understand the correlations above... hades is a god, yes, but there was also a god named pluto?"
Yes. The Roman name for the Greek god Hades.
"i always thought of apollo being a solar diety -- how does this correspond with gemini?"
Apollo and Artemis - the twins - are seen as Gemini and Sagittarius. The twin aspect is mostly given to him, the archery aspect more to here, though they both partake of both. At a further level, the twin heroes of most myths and legends have been called "sons of the Sun." There is always an implicit relationship. Additionally, Apollo especially fits here due to his rulership of music and poetry.
"and the cancer/hermes/mercury correlation is confusing to me as well."
Cancer was seen, to the Greeks and Romans, primarily as ruling the seas with their relationship to travel and commerce. A mercenary spirit is still one of the keenest psychological traits of those with Cancer luminaries.
"not sure what's happening here with leo/zeus/jupiter."
The king - pure and simple. Note that Zeus and Hera (Jupiter and Juno) rule the opposing signs of Leo and Aquarius, the Lion and the Eagle.
"the rest of the table, i can grok."
Yes, don't think in terms of the planets here - think in terms of the myth cycles of the deities.
"i'm sure that a better understanding of mythology would probably help me out"
Yup!
-
I should have added that there are some fascinating Tree of Life correspondences to these old Greek and Roman deific rulerships. Let's limit ourselves only to those signs which the ancients attributed to gods who directly coincide with the 7 classic planets. Here is the list:
"Taurus - Venus
Gemini - Apollo [i.e., the Sun]
Cancer - Mercury
Leo - Jupiter
Scorpio - Mars
Sagittarius - Diana [i.e., the Moon]"Taurus, or Vav, connects directly to the Path of Daleth, or Venus.
Cancer, or Cheth, connects directly to the Path of Beth, or Mercury.
Leo, or Teth, connects directly to the Path of Kaph, or Jupiter (and also to Chesed, the Sphere of Jupiter).
Scorpio, or Nun, connects directly to the Path of Peh, or Mars.Additionally:
Gemini, or Zayin, is a Path rooted in the Sphere of the Sun.
Sagittarius, or Samekh, is a Path rooted in the Sphere of the Moon.