Dontent

Esoteric Astrology:
Planets in general
by
Steve Kalinowski
Permission granted for publication on Boudicca's Bard

Planets

In astrology, the planets are the significators of the most importance in the chart. The ancients (excluding the Sumerians -- because their awareness of celestial bodies that could not be `seen' is an entirely different topic of its own) knew of only the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These are the ones visible to the eye unaided by technology.

These planets, or literally translated -- the wanderers -- were thought to be the embodiment of ethereal/divine energies. Their action in the heavens were seen to portend the actions of the earthly world... and, as the Hermetic Law stated; As above, so below.

The esoteric understanding of the planets serves two purposes, first, by describing the characteristic energies, or power tools, found within the personality; and second, by describing a system of initiation and rite of passage in spiritual ascension.

As a description of personality the planets are viewed as one factor in a threefold system of correlation, the other two being the signs and the houses. These three, together, make up an alphabet system of sorts to describe characteristic energies by their various combinations and interrelations.

In this system, one could say, in analogy, that the planets are the `character actors' on a stage... the houses being the props and the settings of the stage, and the signs being the script that the actor portrays.

By various combination, one gets a sense of the energy involved in the personality; in brief example... Mercury is the actor of mental energies. We will place Mercury in Aries and Virgo for comparison.. Mercury in Aries will think and communicate in outbursts, forcefully reaching a conclusion or stating an opinion, and then quickly moving on to an entirely different subject without regard for continuity. Mercury in Virgo, however, will think about, evaluate and communicate every facet and nuance in detail, so much so at times so as to appear like an encyclopedia of information, often overwhelming itself with too much information.

To continue this analogy, placing each of these in, for example, the second house -- which involves issues of self-worth and personal resources -- Mercury in Aries will search for personal value in life much like a honey bee going from flower to flower, jumping from one satisfying moment to the next. Mercury in Virgo, in the same house, will focus the search much like a caterpillar that consumes entire plants on a feeding quest, analyzing every asset and flaw of their life to find some pattern of satisfaction, not finding personal value until every detail is considered.

Moving on to the esoteric initiations, the planets are divided into three categories... those of instinct, those of conscience, and those of societal consensus. One would be expected to master each category in succession.

The planets of instinct are the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. They relate to the instincts as follows:

Sun	--	I Will
Moon	--	I Feel
Mercury	--	I Think
Venus	--	I Desire
Mars	--	I Demand

Integration of these five points is said to bring about the awareness of self. By integration it is meant the ability to recognize each of these instincts in its natural automatic role, to then master each as a tool of life, and then to master the ability to use them together, in unison.

Considering the relationship of these to the numeral five, the integration of these principles of instinct assumes the structural design of the pentagram, or five pointed star:

ANABOLIC ALIGNMENT CATABOLIC ALIGNMENT

These processes represent the dualistic nature of the cycle of integration methods, and the symmetry of the energy structures in interaction is easily noted by placing the related instinct onto the pentagram.

ANABOLIC ALIGNMENT CATABOLIC ALIGNMENT

In symmetry, the thinking and feeling instincts require equal attention. The Moon and Mercury present simultaneous alternative perspectives to the same issue... ie., the distinction between the left and the right hemisphere brain functions. Integration requires operation of the whole brain (ie., one-brain dynamics, or brain sync training). It is interesting to note that they are placed on the `arms' of the symbolic human, and that we are so fond of saying `On one hand..... , and on the other hand..... '.

The symmetry of Desire and Demand are complimentary or tandemscaler-- ie., Increasing or decreasing one without an equal adjustment to the other creates an imbalance. Venus and Mars support and compliment each other in a reciprocal stabilizing manner. These two present the trafficking modes for energy distribution. Venus draws energy inward, while Mars projects energy outward. Together they provide for the flow of energy. Integration requires attention to the `relative balance' between the two.

In the anabolic alignment the Will regulates the balance between Desire and Demand, and therefore, spiritualizes the flow of the energy; in the catabolic alignment the balance between Desire and Demand regulates the Will, and therefore, materializes the flow of the energy. This process of spiritualization/materialization is the profound wisdom of the occulted understanding in esoteric astrology.

Incidentally, this may have been one of the intuitive reasons, <though a very misunderstood reason> to distinguish between the upright and inverted pentagrams. It is easy to see that the relative placing of the Will above the Desires and Demands carries a `good' connotation compared to placing the Desires and Demands above the Will. ( `good' in respect to self-mastery).

The planets of conscience are Jupiter and Saturn. Jupiter relates to the consciousness expanding principle; while Saturn relates to the consciousness limiting principle. If seen diagrammatically on the pentagram, we would see a double-lined circle around the five points.
The first `ring' would appear to be just inside the points, implying that it pushes the points outward; while the second `ring' would appear to be just outside the points, implying that it contains and holds in the points.

As the five inner planets congeal to become one and integrated into the consciousness, there is a tendency to become satisfied with the completion of the integration, as is.. which would eventually become static if left on its own.

The Jupiter principle relates to the centrifugal or externalizing force of integration. Jupiter, by broadening the horizons, forces that self, now integrated, to acknowledge that there is still more, that there can be more awareness by reaching out from the center towards the universe. This relates to the Desire of Venus, but on a higher level where the desire is regulated in the form of a quest and motivated by a specific purpose.

The Saturn principle relates to the centripetal or internalizing force of integration. In the quest for the expanded awareness promoted by Jupiter, something needs to monitor the enthusiasm, to sound a cautionary note at any excess. Something needs to show the consciousness acquiescence to the outside world, to give it a structure or form. Saturn presents the limitations to the self's expanding consciousness, the concerns of a practical, grounding nature. This relates to the Demands of Mars, but on a higher level where the demands are actually demands of the self, by the self, as in responsibility and discipline.

Together Jupiter and Saturn act as rival agents that affect a continued and steady growth process of consciousness -- not too fast, but then not too slow either, by providing for the balancing awareness of a conscience. These two together represent the balancing agent of the self vs. others... the ability to balance the needs of the self with the needs of the other.

The imagery of this symbolism of the esoteric astrological processes provides a most powerful and descriptive understanding on the intuitive level. It's similarity to the pentagram of other cultures and esoteric systems suggests that they may have stemmed from the same root source in some ancient time.

The outer planets, too recently discovered to be included in the archaic system and symbolism, combine to provide the cultural and societal factors within a personality. These are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

In the description of the personal characteristics, these describe generational traits.. things in common with all those of the same time period. In describing the rites of passage, they profoundly symbolize the most catalytic and enzymatic energies in the process.

In the esoteric system of the ancients, it was noted that conscience was required to push growth onward past the stagnation of a completed personal integration. Likewise, a modern esoteric system that includes the outer planets, would establish a similar pattern to push past the stagnation of completed social integration. So, whereas Jupiter and Saturn provide a push toward social integration, the outer planets provide the urgings toward spiritual integration.

To facilitate this spiritualization, the jump between Saturn and Uranus must be breached. Saturn, by its nature creates a crystalline form barrier that is, at our present level of perception, near impossible to transcend without a quantum leap. Coming into our awareness at present, the asteroid provide a bridge to cross that gap, by providing alternative methods with which to balance energies ... and this will be discussed further in the section on asteroids.

The three outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto act as a team to enable the spiritualization process, though each has a specific role in that process that when seen separately appears damaging. But then it is damaging to the ego structures that were built during the Jupiter-Saturn phase.

Uranus is truly a catalyst, energizing the challenge to social order and complacency, providing unique and exciting new concepts that threaten the status quo.

Neptune is truly an analyst (as contrasted to catalyst), in that it breaks down the hardened structures of social standards by dissolving the crystallized whole into a solution of undiscernible parts.

Pluto is truly a `metalyst' (sic), in that it enforces or enables transformation, transmutation or transcendence of the parts into a greater spiritual whole.

SUN

The glyph for the Sun is a circle with a dot in the center. The image that this evokes is powerful.

This represents the embodiment of the wavicle of life energy... the dot being the source of that energy; and the ring being the wave that emanates out from that source. It is a two dimensional representation of 3-d space; so it must be perceived that the ring is really a sphere around and surrounding the dot. And, as modern physics advances further, we may soon want to include a multi-dimensional perception of the emanation of this wave, but for now, we consider it as an expanding sphere.

And the wave sphere must be seen in motion, not stagnant but ever growing... we see only a frozen moment in this symbol; while in actuality, the wave continues outward to infinity while followed always by another and another and still another for infinity.
This image represents the dynamics of reincarnation, in that each successive lifetime is like each wave ring that comes from the source, following the previous one, and being followed by yet another.

There are two dynamics that are seen with this symbol, yet they must be understood as one `thing'. The first is the attitude of glowing radiance, the wave that emanates outward, ever widening, ever growing. The second is the power source itself, the center that i s not of the physical world, and yet manifests in the physical. Combined, this is the Life Force, the manifestation of power that radiates throughout the person.

When we think of the Sun, we think about the life source of the person... the character, the vital energy, the `will to live'. How often do we refer to people as `a brilliant personality', a `shining example of...', a `warm and radiant character', or even `a sunny disposition', etc.

This is the intuition in the meaning of the Sun ... being that part of the person that `shines through' the facade of the ascendant mask. This is the part of the person that is seen in the eyes... the windows of the soul.

The Sun relates to the numeral one, in that it stands alone, it is a monad force. It requires no other placement, in fact it gives life to all the other placements. Without the Sun, the Moon will not reflect, nor the other planets. The Sun gives Life to our solar system, our world... so in this way, the Sun is seen as the Life Giver...the Male Divine, or God; the reason and the cause for living.

The place where the Sun is found in the chart will describe the true focus of the individual... the thing or attitude that truly pleases the individual, the thing that they will most enjoyably devote their energy toward. The Sun is therefore seen as the source of love... that part which places the self first is self love and therefore relates to the ego structure of psychology, but also represented here is that part that loves all others unconditionally. This part is generally called the soul. In the symbol, the soul is seen in the dot, and the ego is seen in the ring. Yet both are seen together as one.

The cycle of the Sun is considered in two ways. We call these the diurnal cycle and the nocturnal cycle, or day cycle and night cycle.

The day cycle is the one that we see daily, ie., sunrise, noon, sunset and midnight -- in actuality, this is the cycle of the earth turning on its axis, but the ancients saw the Sun as the one moving across the sky. The night cycle is the one that we can only perceive at night, ie., the slow and subtle movement through the zodiac. In actuality, we know that the earth moves around the sun, but the ancients saw the Sun as the one moving through the heavens.

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