Mark, before I reply to parts of your post I'd like to return to the planets for a moment. Do we have general agreement as to the qualities assigned to each of the planets? Such as Saturn is cold and dry...etc....
Could you list the generally accepted qualities associations for the planets? I've been steeped in Jyotish symbolism where one element is given to each planet, which isn't the way of western astrology. I just want to have a reference we can agree on for the planets because I'll need it for discussion.
Thanks,
Therese
Hello Therese,
There is controversy on the essential nature of the planets. In particular regarding the Moon, Venus and Mercury. Ptolemy assigned the Moon as mildly benefic and life supporting due to its moist and warming nature. Although this depends on its solar phase and the light ie warmth it has collected from the Sun. However, the Moon has generally been regarded as cold and moist in medieval and renaissance astrology. We can obviously have too little warmth from the Sun (New Moon) or too much (Full Moon).
Regarding Venus the ancient astrologers mostly described Venus as moist and warm while the Persian/Arabs and later medievals described it as cold and moist. All are agreed it is moist but not whether hot or cold. As an inner planet whose nature was altered by solar phase so much Dorian Greenbaum proposes regarding it as broadly warm and moist when oriental of the Sun and cool and moist when occiedental of the Sun. Of course solar phase is much more complicated than this but Greenbaum was proposing a pragmatic rule of thumb for astrologers in temperament analysis.
Mercury is variously described in texts as dry, moist, cold and warm! However, astrological literature seems unified in agreeing that the nature of Mercury is common or changeable. Following the lead provided by Ptolemy on the nature of Mercury changing due to solar phase Greenbaum suggests it can be regarded as broadly warm and moist if oriental ie rising before the Sun and cold and dry when occidental of the Sun.
Getting back to your basic question since I am principally discussing Ptolemy's system of qualities assigned to zodiacal signs I think it is probably best to offer a quote from Tetrabiblos. Ptolemy refers to the basic nature of the planets in Book I, Chapter 4:
The active power of the sun's essential nature is found to be heating and, to a certain degree, drying. This is made more easily perceptible in the case of the sun than any other heavenly body by its size and by the obviousness of its seasonal changes, for the closer it approaches to the zenith the more it affects us in this way.
Most of the moon's power consists of humidifying, clearly because it is close to the earth and because of the moist exhalations therefrom. Its action therefore is precisely this, to soften and cause putrefaction in bodies for the most part, but it shares moderately also in heating power because of the light which it receives from the sun.
It is Saturn's quality chiefly to cool and, moderately, to dry, probably because he is furthest removed both from the sun's heat and the moist exhalations about the earth. Both in Saturn's case and in that of the other planets there are powers, too, which arise through the observation of their aspects to the sun and moon, for some of them appear to modify conditions in the ambient in one way, some in another, by increase or by decrease.
The nature of Mars is chiefly to dry and to burn, in conformity with his fiery colour and by reason of his nearness to the sun, for the sun's sphere lies just below him.
Jupiter has a temperate active force because his movement takes place between the cooling influence of Saturn and the burning power of Mars. He both heats and humidifies; and because his heating power is the greater by reason of the underlying spheres, he produces fertilizing winds.
Venus has the same powers and tempered nature as Jupiter, but acts in the opposite way; for she warms moderately because of her nearness to the sun, but chiefly humidifies, like the moon, because of the amount of her own light and because she appropriates the exhalations from the moist atmosphere surrounding the earth.
Mercury in general is found at certain times alike to be drying and absorptive of moisture, because he never is far removed in longitude from the heat of the sun; and again humidifying, because he is next above the sphere of the moon, which is closest to the earth; and to change quickly from one to the other, inspired as it were by the speed of his motion in the neighbourhood of the sun itself. Tetrabiblos, Book I, IV, translated by FE Robbins.
A key point about the quality of the planets is how the benefics and malefics vary. Jupiter and Venus are naturally benefic and have a moderating, fertilising, life supporting nature. For Ptolemy, the Moon is moist and warm and therefore a mild benefic too when in an appropriate solar phase. Moisture and warmth are seen as life supporting qualities. However, an excess of any quality can be destructive. The malefics -Saturn and Mars are naturally destructive because of their excessive qualities. In certain phases to the Sun their destructive potential is increased. Hence Mars after opposition to the Sun is excessively dry. Equally, Saturn after solar opposition is excessively cold. Hence these planets are generally preferable in their oriental phase ie rising before the Sun. The Sun itself can operate either in a malefic or benefic way depending on a planets phase to it. Hence a planet can form a trine to the Sun or have its power totally removed during combustion. Looking at Jupiter we can see the difference between the traditional and moderns outlook. For moderns Jupiter often indicates excess while for traditionalists it is the planet of moderation. Traditionalists would only see more excessive qualities likely with a debilitated Jupiter.
To summarise Ptolemy's position outlined in the Tetrabiblos I have put the primary quality in bold
Sun-
Hot and dry
Moon-
Moist and Warm (heat derived entirely from phase to Sun).
Saturn -
Cold and moderately dry
Mars -
Dry and burns (dryness is the major quality according to Ptolemy)
Jupiter-
Warm and moist
Venus-
Moist and warm
Mercury-
Changeable! Moist and Dry. It totally depends on solar phase
I accept my attribution of the dry quality to Gemini and Virgo is oversimplistic. I think one can make a case that since Gemini is a diurnal sign its nature is warmer while Virgo as a night sign is cooler. Gemini forms a sextile to the Sun while Virgo is in the neighbouring sign to the solar sign Leo. Virgo forms a sextile to the Lunar , nocturnal sign Cancer. Jupiter which is warming and moist is in detriment in Virgo and in Gemini. Moreover, Venus is in fall in Virgo. This would seem to support a cool dry nature to the sign of Virgo. As Venus has no major debility in Gemini this makes me think Gemini a moister nature than Virgo and its diurnal nature would incline to more warmth. A support to this position is Greenbaum's point about Mercury and solar phase. To recap she suggests an oriental Mercury is warm and moist while an occidental mercury is cold and dry. The oriental phase is generally seen as the more masculine/diurnal and the occiental more feminine /nocturnal. Hence it seems logical to link Gemini to the oriental phase of Mercury and Virgo to its occidental phase.
While these are the basic definition of the planets Ptolemy later indicates how the quality of the planets is modified by their solar phase. Ptolemy's approach is therefore
dynamic not static. We are required to look at the solar phase of planets in each chart.
Mark
