Skyscript Astrology Forum

Hi Folks,

Chakras and the planets/ signs

Very simple question

I've Jupiter at 24?06' in Pisces and the Sun at 19?26', and Mercury at 2?22' Pisces that is their Western locations.

Jupiter is combust and Mercury in detriment.

What Chakras are involved here and when two planets are so close what does it mean for the chakras they rule?

What chakras do they rule ?

Sun = Heart

Jupiter = ?

Mercury = ?

All help appreciated.

H

Jupiter will remain in Pisces in the sidereal zodiac, but Mercury and the Sun will go back to Aquarius.

The traditional attribution of chakras to planets is as follows:

Root Chakra = element of earth = Saturn, ruler of an earth sign (Capricorn)
Sexual Chakra = element of water = Jupiter, ruler of a water sign (Pisces)
Solar Plexus Chakra = fire = Mars, ruler of Aries
Heart Chakra = air = Venus, ruler of Libra
Throat Chakra = akasha (ether) = Mercury (because Mercury is the mutable planet whose nature includes all the other elements)
Third Eye = Moon
Crown = Sun

When planets rule two signs, both signs are linked with the chakra associated with the ruling planet. Each planet will rule a masculine and a feminine sign. The masculine and feminine polarities are equivalent to the two cords which connect the chakras, called the ida and pingala. These two cords are also linked in some (primarily Tantric) traditions with the Moon's Nodes.

Regarding chakras, I learned a different Indian tradition. (Paramahansa Yogananda)

Coccygeal: Earth, smell, excretion (Mercury)
Sacral: Water, taste, procreation (Venus)
Lumbar: Fire, sight, locomotion (Mars)
Dorsal: Air, touch, manual dexterity (Saturn)
Cervical: Ether, speech, auditory (Jupiter)

These are the ayurvedic correlations.

Hi Therese,

Since Yogananda's guru, Sri Yukteswar, was a jyotishi, do you think it is likely that these correspondences come from his teachings?

Ken, my imporession was that they were standard in India. I have a whole stack of books on the chakras, and a few on ayruveda. I'll try to find time to check references. I know that the element correlations with the charkras are standard, and each planet is given an element. The planet-element correlations are discussed in detail in Ernst Wilhelm's Graha Sutras. But they are present in all the older Jyotish texts.

It seems odd to westerners that Earth is given to Mercury and Air to Saturn. But on the Devil tarot card, why is Mercury placed at the genital area? A secret tradition, I suspect. (I'm looking at Elisabeth Haich's major arcana cards at the moment...)

Yes, Therese, I agree that the correlation of the pancha mahabhutas (five elements) with the chakras is standard. The correlation of elements with the planets is also, as you say, standard for Ayurveda.

I have never seen the chakras attributed as per the Ayurvedic correspondences of the elements. The system I cited has appeared in a number of sources (including a Westernized version from Jeff Green) and seems to be founded in planetary rulerships (note that the planets are given in orbital order as well as corresponding to the element of a sign they rule, except for Mercury, which is sometimes said to be tridosha but is exalted in an earth sign). I am not exactly sure, but I have the impression that the system I learned was Tantric.

Considering the diversity of India, I am not surprised to see another well known system based upon Ayurveda.

Ken, I suppose the bottom line is that there are a number of different chakra-planet correlation systems, and perhaps the planet associations may even change for individuals in the process of spiritual development. There are other systems as well, including that of Edgar Cayce. It's a nebulous area of study.

Ken wrote: Apr 12, 2014 6:50 pm

The traditional attribution of chakras to planets is as follows:

Root Chakra = element of earth = Saturn, ruler of an earth sign (Capricorn)
Sexual Chakra = element of water = Jupiter, ruler of a water sign (Pisces)
Solar Plexus Chakra = fire = Mars, ruler of Aries
Heart Chakra = air = Venus, ruler of Libra
Throat Chakra = akasha (ether) = Mercury (because Mercury is the mutable planet whose nature includes all the other elements)
Third Eye = Moon
Crown = Sun

When planets rule two signs, both signs are linked with the chakra associated with the ruling planet. Each planet will rule a masculine and a feminine sign. The masculine and feminine polarities are equivalent to the two cords which connect the chakras, called the ida and pingala. These two cords are also linked in some (primarily Tantric) traditions with the Moon's Nodes.

Hi Ken,

I have seen this system in Kriya yoga before. Do you know any other systems that have it (with references, if possible)?

Is this being used in practical chart delineations (as Rocko's query suggests)?

Therese wrote: Apr 14, 2014 5:56 pm

I suppose the bottom line is that there are a number of different chakra-planet correlation systems, and perhaps the planet associations may even change for individuals in the process of spiritual development. There are other systems as well, including that of Edgar Cayce. It's a nebulous area of study.

It certainly is. As so often in the esoteric sciences, there seems to be no single truth. Sometimes, the attribution of planets to chakras even looks a little arbitrary.

What I like about the scheme mentioned by Ken is that it ties in nicely with the domicile scheme, and the traits of the planets and of the chakras seem to coincide well in this instance.

Michael wrote:

What I like about the scheme mentioned by Ken is that it ties in nicely with the domicile scheme, and the traits of the planets and of the chakras seem to coincide well in this instance.

I'm not comfortable with some of those correlations. For example, Jupiter is a planet of wisdom and spirituality, but it's assigned to the sexual chakra. Venus seems to be more appropriate in that position. There is some logic to the ayurvedic system if you consider the traditional attributes of the planets in Jyotish.

Probably the oldest standard text on the chakras in India is The Serpent Power by Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe). This book was originally published in 1919. I'm just beginning to study the text. I've felt for a long time that a thorough understanding of the psychological functioning of the chakras may be an important key to understanding the birth chart. But...as for most of us....time evaporates all too quickly, and studying a topic in depth is time consuming.

As for Kriya Yoga traditions, there are a number of those connected to various spiritual masters and spiritual paths. So I don't know which tradition you are referring to, Michael.

I suspect that the planetary link to the chakras isn't set in stone, but may change with levels of spiritual development. The assignment of zodiac signs to the chakras is another puzzle. The writings of Yogananda clearly state that six (twelve by polarity) signs are aligned with the six lower chakras, but there is no clue I've found as to which signs align with which chakras.

Come to think of it, although there is a lot of detail on the alignment of the chakras with ayurvedic principles in Yogananda's writings, the planetary correlations may not be given. They may be from another source. (I have too many books collected over more than 40 years, and often can't remember the source of information.) However, we know that Indian tradition places one element with each planet:

Jupiter: ether
Venus: water
Mars: fire
Mercury: earth
Saturn: air

Michael wrote:

What I like about the scheme mentioned by Ken is that it ties in nicely with the domicile scheme, and the traits of the planets and of the chakras seem to coincide well in this instance.

Therese replied:

I'm not comfortable with some of those correlations. For example, Jupiter is a planet of wisdom and spirituality, but it's assigned to the sexual chakra. Venus seems to be more appropriate in that position.

The second chakra is also closely related to man's physical and etheric centre in the lower abdomen, which an issue well understood in all of south-east Asia as well as in the Aborigines culture. This is one of three dan-tien or principal etheric centres of the body in the Chinese system and is regarded as our most fundamental ?store-house? of energy. - Doesn't your system link Jupiter with etheric energy?

Japanese Zen buddhists actually exclusively focus on this centre in their spiritual pursuit. Its wisdom (often superior to conscious reasoning) typically comes by way of "gut feeling".

By the same token, I would by no means separate sexuality from spirituality. Even though this is indeed what not only orthodox-minded Christian preachers, but also some early 20th centuries esotericists seem to suggest. However, Tantra Yogis, Chinese internal alchemists and philosophers like Wilhelm Reich take a different stand on this.

Jupiter's sign Sagittarius is depicted as a centaur or half horse, half human creature, the former symbolizing "animalic" instinctive energy, the latter (as well as the arrow pointing upwards) its transformation to more conscious / spiritual levels.

It goes without saying that Zeus / Jupiter did know how to enjoy himself sexually (probably more so than any of his fellow deities!).

On the other hand, Venus has got to do with emotional love as much as with physical love, so her attribution to the heart chakra does not seem off the mark.

The connection of Saturn with the root chakra (grounding), Mars with the solar plexus (self-assertment), Mercury with the throat (communication) and the Luminaries with the two head chakras (the highest and most radiant ones, representing the individuality) make a lot of sense too, in my opinion.

Feel free to negotiate with me about every single planet you find misplaced, though, if you wish.

However, as I said before, I don't mean to imply that alternative systems are without validity.

Therese wrote:

As for Kriya Yoga traditions, there are a number of those connected to various spiritual masters and spiritual paths. So I don't know which tradition you are referring to, Michael.

The assignment of zodiac signs to the chakras is another puzzle. The writings of Yogananda clearly state that six (twelve by polarity) signs are aligned with the six lower chakras, but there is no clue I've found as to which signs align with which chakras.

Come to think of it, although there is a lot of detail on the alignment of the chakras with ayurvedic principles in Yogananda's writings, the planetary correlations may not be given. They may be from another source.

My reference is indeed Yogananda: Autobiography of a Yogi (German translation). I don't have the book handy right now, but I seem to recall the attribution of the planets almost exactly like in Ken's scheme. There is also a depiction of the system including the signs (at least in my edition of the book). I have found an identical scheme on this website:

http://www.astralis.it/achac.htm

Therese wrote:

I suspect that the planetary link to the chakras isn't set in stone, but may change with levels of spiritual development.

There may be some truth to this. For example, R?diger Dahlke suggests in ?Das senkrechte Weltbild? that the order in a pre-enlightened state is reverse to the one I am suggesting here (Saturn = root chakra etc.)

Michael wrote:

My reference is indeed Yogananda: Autobiography of a Yogi (German translation). I don't have the book handy right now, but I seem to recall the attribution of the planets almost exactly like in Ken's scheme. There is also a depiction of the system including the signs (at least in my edition of the book).

I have two copies of the book, one published by SRF and the other by Ananda. I don't remember seeing planet-chakra correlations in either book, and there is nothing in the index on planets or the zodiac. So I leave the reference up to you, Michael, if you can find it.

I don't think it's a fruitful use of time to continue to discuss differences that can only express opinion. But if you find the reference you mentioned, I'd be happy to check my copies of Yogananda's autobiography.

Here is an interesting question-answer exchange from Edgar Cayce (reading 281-29). (This is the only correlation I've seen that includes the trans-Saturnian planets, and Cayce discussed the glands rather than the chakras as such.)

Q-21: Do the planets as placed in our chart have proper relation and significance?

Pituitary--Jupiter
Pineal--Mercury
Thyroid--Uranus
Thymus--Venus
Solar Plexus--Mars
Lyden--Neptune
Gonads--Saturn

A-21: These are very well done. These vary, to be sure, according to the variation of an experience...Then, these are as we have given; only relative... At times these are represented by others. It is here the application of these influences in the experience of the individual rather than there being set, as it were, a blanket to cover each and every individual.

-----------END reading quote 281-29---------

I've been reading Arthur Avalon's The Serpent Power (1919 in reprint), and there is material on the chakras that we never see in later books. The book is a translation and commentary from Sanskrit texts. For example, various multiple colors and deities are connected to the chakras rather than the rainbow order of colors we see so often in diagrams today.

One really needs some knowledge of Sanskrit to fully appreciate the book as it's filled with Sanskrit terms. I suspect that planetary assignments to the chakras is a fairly recent innovation as there is apparently no mention of them in Sanskrit texts.