Classical planet

"Seven classical planets" redirects here. For Wandering stars that are not planets, see Wandering star (disambiguation).
For the failed IAU planet category of Classical Planets, see 2006 definition of planet.

In Classical antiquity, the classical planets or naked eye planets were the seven non-fixed objects visible in the sky: the Sun, the Moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word planet comes from the Greek word πλανήτης, planētēs, meaning "wanderer", because ancient astronomers observed how certain lights moved across the sky relative to the fixed stars. They called these objects asteres planetai, which means wandering stars. [1]

Babylonian astronomy

Further information: Babylonian astronomy

Babylonians recognized seven planets. A bilingual list in the British Museum records the seven Babylonian planets in this order: [2]

SumerianAkkadianplanetgodship
AkuSinMoonSin/Suen
BišebiŠamašSunŠamaš
Dapinu Umun-sig-êaJupiterMarduk/Amarutu
Zib/ZigDele-batVenusIštar
Lu-limLu-bat-sag-ušSaturnNinib/Nirig/Ninip[3]
BibbuLubat-gudMercuryNabu/Nebo
SimutuMuštabarruMarsNergal

Symbols

Symbols for the classical planets, zodiac signs, aspects, lots, and the lunar nodes appear in the medieval Byzantine codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserved.[4] 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.[5] The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri.[6] 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.[6] 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,[7] 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.[8] 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.[8] The modern sun symbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in the Renaissance.[5]

Planetary hours

The Ptolemaic system used in Greek astronomy placed the planets in order, closest to Earth to furthest, as the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In addition the day was divided into 7-hour intervals, each ruled by one of the planets, although the order was staggered (see below).

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 = Mercury, in French Mardi = Mars.

The modern English days of the week were inherited from gods of the old Germanic Norse culture—Thursday = Thor (Jupiter), Friday = Frige (Venus). 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.

Weekday (English name)Planet (Roman god)Germanic god (Norse name)Germanic god (Saxon name)
SundaySun (Sol)SunniSunnu
MondayMoon (Luna)ManiMona
TuesdayMarsTyrTiw
WednesdayMercuryOdinWoden
ThursdayJupiterThorThunor
FridayVenusFriggFrige
SaturdaySaturn

Alchemy

Further information: Astronomical symbols

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" [9]).

Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy text.

Alchemy in the Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) allied and intertwined with traditional Babylonian-Greek style astrology; in numerous ways they were built to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge (knowledge that is not common i.e. the occult). Astrology has used the concept of classical elements from antiquity up until the present day today. Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensively, and indeed it is still viewed as a critical part of interpreting the astrological chart.

A table of alchemical symbols from Basil Valentine’s The Last Will and Testament, 1670 ce.

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:

Some alchemists (e.g. Paracelsus) adopted the Hermetic Qabalah assignment between the vital organs and the planets as follows:[9]

PlanetOrgan
SunHeart
MoonBrain
MercuryLungs
VenusKidneys
MarsGall bladder
JupiterLiver
SaturnSpleen

Contemporary astrology

Western astrology

Astrology: the Thema Mundi shows the naked-eye planets in their domicile
Main article: Planets in astrology
Planet Domicile sign(s) Detriment sign(s) Exaltation sign Fall sign Joy sign(s)
Sun Leo Aquarius Aries Libra Sagittarius
Moon Cancer Capricorn Taurus Scorpio Pisces, Libra
Mercury Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) Virgo Pisces Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius
Venus Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) Pisces Virgo Gemini, Cancer and Aquarius
Mars Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) Capricorn Cancer Gemini, Leo, Virgo and Sagittarius
Jupiter Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) Cancer Capricorn Taurus, Leo and Libra
Saturn Aquarius (diurnal) and Capricorn (nocturnal) Leo (diurnal) and Cancer (nocturnal) Libra Aries Gemini, Virgo and Scorpio

Indian astrology

Main article: Navagraha

Indian astronomy and astrology (Jyotiṣa) recognises seven visible planets (including the sun and moon) and two additional invisible planets.

Sanskrit Name Tamil name English Name Guna Represents Day
Surya (सूर्य) ஞாயிறு(nyayiru) Sun Sattva Soul, king, highly placed persons, father. Sunday
Chandra (चंद्र) திங்கள்(thingal),மதி (mathi), நிலவு (Nilavau) Moon Sattva Mind, queen, mother. Monday
Mangala (मंगल) செவ்வாய்(cevvai), செம்மீன் (sem-meen) Mars Tamas energetic action, confidence and ego Tuesday
Budha (बुध) புதன் Mercury Rajas Communication and analysis Wednesday
Brihaspati (बृहस्पति) வியாழன்(vyalan), பொன்மீன் (Pon-meen) Jupiter Sattvathe great teacher Thursday
Shukra (शुक्र) வெள்ளி(velli), வெண்மீன் (ven-meen) Venus Rajaswealth, pleasure and reproduction Friday
Shani (शनि) சனி (sani), மைம்மீன் (mai-m-meen) Saturn Tamas learning the hard way. Career and Longevity Saturday
Rahu (राहु) கரும்பாம்பு(karumpaambu) Ascending/North Lunar Node Tamas an Asura who does his best to plunge any area of one's life he controls into chaos none
Ketu (केतु) செம்பாம்பு(cempaaambu) Descending/South Lunar Node Tamas supernatural influences none

Planets in Chinese astronomy

The cycles of the Chinese calendar are linked to the orbit of Jupiter, there being 12 sacred beasts in the Chinese dodecannualar geomantic and astrological cycle, and 12 years in the orbit of Jupiter.

English Name Associated element Chinese/Japanese Characters Chinese pinyin Japanese romaji Korean Name Vietnamese Name Old astronomical names[10]
Mercury water 水星 Shuǐxīng Suisei 수성 (Suseong) Sao Thủy Chénxīng (辰星)
Venus metal/gold 金星 Jīnxīng Kinsei 금성 (Geumseong) Sao Kim, also "Sao Mai" as "morning star" and "Sao Hôm" as "evening star" Tàibái (太白)
Mars fire 火星 Huǒxīng Kasei 화성 (Hwaseong) Sao Hỏa Yínghuò (熒惑)
Jupiter wood 木星 Mùxīng Mokusei 목성 (Mokseong) Sao Mộc Suì (歲)
Saturn earth 土星 Tǔxīng Dosei 토성 (Toseong) Sao Thổ Zhènxīng (鎮星)

Naked-eye planets

Mercury and Venus are visible only in twilight hours as their orbits are interior to the Earth's orbit. The third brightest object in the sky, Venus, is the most prominent planet. Mercury is more difficult to see due to its proximity to the Sun. Lengthy twilight and an extremely low angle at maximum elongations make optical filters necessary to see Mercury from extreme polar locations.[11] Mars is at its brightest when it is in opposition, which occurs approximately every twenty-five Earth-months. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest of the five planets, but are farther from the sun, and therefore receive less sunlight. Nonetheless, Jupiter is often the next brightest object in the sky after Venus. Saturn's luminosity is often enhanced by its rings, which reflect light back toward the Earth to varying degrees depending on their inclination to the ecliptic; however, the rings themselves are not visible to the naked eye from the Earth. Uranus and sometimes the asteroid Vesta are visible to the naked eye in principle on very clear nights, but unlike the true naked-eye planets they are always less luminous than several thousands of stars, and as such, do not stand out enough for their existences to be noticed without the aid of a telescope.

See also

References

  1. Classification of the Planets
  2. Mackenzie, Myths of Babylonia and Assyria (1915), chapter 13 "Astrology and Astronomy"
  3. also called (Sumerian) Kâawanu and (Akkadian) Sag-uš "firm, steadfast, phlegmatic"; see The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Thophilus G. Pinches
  4. Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy. pp. 788–789.
  5. 1 2 Neugebauer, Otto; Van Hoesen, H. B. (1987). Greek Horoscopes. pp. 1, 159, 163.
  6. 1 2 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."
  7. "Bianchini's planisphere". Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Retrieved 2010-03-17.
  8. 1 2 Maunder, A. S. D. (1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The Observatory 57: 238–247. Bibcode:1934Obs....57..238M.
  9. 1 2 Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor: Paracelsus and the World of Renaissance Magic and Science, ISBN 978-0-09-945787-9
  10. 中国古代的日月五星
  11. Sky Publishing – Latitude Is Everything

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, May 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.