Galery

1

Planets are the main characters in astrology. Very often the interested in astrology speak for Venus, Mercury and Saturn or the things in life that are associated with them astrologically. And rarely ask themselves why is that? Why Mercury is associated with intellect, thought and movement? Why Venus represents beauty, aesthetics, love? Logically, we should start from how we look to these planets, where they are standing in the Solar system, what astronomical features they have.

Maybe this would seem unnecessary for some. But to understand the astrological nature of the planets, we must turn right to these things. Most of astrology is based on observation – purely astronomical. It is recommended that anyone who is inspired to learn astrology, to get acquainted with the necessary astronomical correlations, because they have very deep connection.

Casual observer can see only 5 of the planets with a naked eye – Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They emit a bright, constant light. And what is most important – they move against the background of the other stars which are immobile. This distinguishes them. The ancient Greeks called them fugitive stars.

Mercury needs 88 days to make one full lap around the Sun and Saturn needs nearly 30 years. Mercury is the fastest planet in the Solar system from this perspective. In addition Mercury is the planet that stands closest to the Sun. This is the prince-heir to the royal court, which plays with words, plays different games, asks many questions. Mercury collects and spreads information - not only between the brain cells of an individual, but among the people themselves. Because of its rapid movement it is associated with the dexterity of the limbs, with man’s ability to distinguish things, to make mental connections, to deal with all on the “I just play” principle.  

I will give a more detailed example with Venus. The ancient Greeks called it Phosphorus or Lucifer, which means “bearer of light”, and Hesperos – “bearer of the evening, the sunset.” Venus symbolizes love in its purest manifestation, elegance, grace, sense of aesthetics, art, beauty. Venus is the one that endows with loyalty and dedication. But Lucifer is the “fallen angel”, which connects the meaning of Venus to all kinds of pleasures and also with man’s desire to amass and get different things from life as well to indulge in passions.

Sanskrit name of Venus is Choukri. One of the meanings is “white” because Venus shimmer with white light and is the brightest in the night sky after the Moon. It looks like a nice little diamond. Venus is so luminous that it can sometimes be seen even in daylight if one knows exactly where to look. Therefore it symbolizes the values in every sense - what man values, what is beautiful and aesthetical, what are his desires, what he wants to take from the world. Another meaning in Choukri is “seed, semen”. Just as Venus is the brightest planet, which is equal to the most potent, as semen is the most potent substance (the only one who creates life) in the male body. People are most passionate and loving, when Venus shines brightly in the sky – either in the first part of the night or early in the morning.

In the royal court Venus is the wizard who cares to teach people how to enjoy the world, it is practical and experienced. More than any other Venus can recognize the true importance and value of each situation and act accordingly. On the other hand, seducing Venus does not allow to be reached, because it wants to be desired, but not owned. Venus also holds the treasury  because it loves anything beautiful and valuable, but it is not happy because it has it but because others admire it. It is also pride that Venus controls, it is the most proud planet among all.

Both acts of Venus are pure projection of the astronomical fact that Venus appears in two types – as a morning and as an evening star. If you follow the rises and sets of Venus, you will see a serpentine shape formed in the sky – a symbol of death and rebirth, which in Tantra tradition is called Kundalini Shakti. For those who don’t know I will mention that the Kundalini Shakti is the universal life energy for living creatures. This symbol of Venus – death and rebirth – stems from astronomical observations.

Venus has a 584-day cycle appearing as a morning or evening star. Between these two periods of visibility, each of which lasts about 263 days, there are two periods of invisibility in which Venus is very close to the Sun. If you notice, each of the visible periods of Venus is as long as the average duration of a pregnancy – 265 days. When Venus, as evening star, moves to coincide with the Sun, it gradually appears increasingly lower and lower, while one night it disappears into the arms of the Sun. It appears bright and beautiful as a morning star for new 263 days after about two weeks. Then sinks again, this time for about seven weeks, and appears as an evening star.

Of course,  when it comes to where everything has started, the Moon always keeps the league. It has always been magnetic, beautiful and inspiring, especially in its full phase. Although Sun is the center and it is the source of light and life for us and Earth, life would be impossible without the Moon. Sun has always been placed first in astrology, and when talking about “Zodiac signs” it means the zodiacal sign through which the sun passes during childbirth. But only when the Sun goes down and the Moon shows in the night sky, we can observe the sky in all its beauty. Which in itself suggests that the Moon is perhaps a more important factor for people when it comes to pure individual expression, psychological characteristics, needs and emotional world of man.

The Sun is the King and Moon is the Queen in the royal cour. The both lights give basic information about a person as all life and existence of a kingdom depend on the two royal personas. Seen from astrological point of view – the Sun gives us life and energy to live, but we live to meet the needs of the Moon. So the two lights in the horoscope, their mutual connection, which is expressed by the lunar phase are crucial, they set the basic tone in the life of man. They are the first things a horoscope should emphasise on. The whole life is built around them.

The correlation of the lights is analyzed from several perspectives:
Zodiac signs
Moon Phase - this shows the angular proportion of the Sun and Moon. In astrology, these angular relationships are called aspects. Aspects are the “visions” between planets. Indian astrology uses the term drishti. Drishti means “looking, seeing.” Aspect is not just some impersonal term. It shows whether two planets are visible and how they see each other, whether they can influence each other, which will have greater influence and how the other will take it, whether it'll change it and in what direction.

Midpoint Sun/Moon. Midpoint means middle point and is an essential tool in the Hamburg School. On that I will devote a separate article.

The mistake of neglecting the lunar horoscope sign and an emphasizing on the solar one is made very often. It is considered that the moon sign is more important in female horoscope. However, this is not quite true. Moon, although it represents the female archetype, is not only limited to that meaning. First, Moon symbolizes the whole emotional and instinctive sense, the prism through which one breaks everything he touches. Indian astrology uses the term Manas – it means mind. Not the intelligence as such, but the instinctive mind. And where is the mind of man, it is the only important thing for him. So Moon and male horoscope hold priority with regard to the question – “What is most important to me? What will I always strive for and what will I care most?”

Unlike western classical astrology, Indian astrology preserved the so-called lunar houses, which were used in Babylon. They are 27 in number. They are called Nakshatri. Moon nakshatra defines mental and emotional human filter through which man refracts all events, things and people around him. People do not even realize that they react in a specific way, which is defined by the lunar nakshatra. In western astrology, this model is determined by the position of the moon in the horoscope, the phase and the aspect it receives.

The next article will be dedicate to the Sun and the Moon, the key meanings of signs and the moon phases.