Astrological symbols

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Astrological symbols are images used in various astrological systems to denote relevant objects. A number of such images are shown below.

Contents

[edit] History and origin

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.[1] In the original papyri of these Greek horoscopes, there are found a circle with one ray (old sun symbol) for the Sun and a crescent for the Moon.[2] The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri.[3] 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.[3] 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,[4] 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.[5] 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.[5] The modern sun symbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in the Renaissance.[2]

Symbols for Uranus and Neptune were created shortly after their discovery. For Uranus, two variant symbols are seen. One symbol, Uranus, invented by J. G. Köhler and refined by Bode, was intended to represent the newly discovered metal platinum; since platinum, commonly called white gold, was found by chemists mixed with iron, the symbol for platinum combines the alchemical symbols for iron, ♂, and gold, ☉.[6][7] Another symbol, Uranus, was suggested by Lalande in 1784. In a letter to Herschel, Lalande described it as "un globe surmonté par la première lettre de votre nom" ("a globe surmounted by the first letter of your name").[8] After Neptune was discovered, the Bureau des Longitudes proposed the name Neptune and the familiar trident for the planet's symbol.[9]

The astrological symbols for three of the Big Four asteroids—Ceres, Pallas, and Juno—were also created after their discovery. Shortly after Giuseppe Piazzi's discovery of Ceres, a group of astronomers ratified the name, proposed by the discoverer, and chose the sickle as a symbol of the planet.[10] The symbol for Pallas, the spear of Pallas Athena, was invented by Baron Franz Xaver von Zach, and introduced in his Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde.[11] Karl Ludwig Harding, who discovered and named Juno, assigned to it the symbol of a scepter topped with a star.[12]

The modern astrological symbol for Vesta was created by Eleanor Bach,[13] who is credited with pioneering the use of the Big Four asteroids with the publication of her Ephemerides of the Asteroids.[14] Bach's symbol for Vesta is a simplified version of other representations of Vesta's altar.[13] The original form of the symbol for Vesta, Vesta, was created by German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Dr. Olbers, having previously discovered and named one new planet (as the asteroids were then classified), gave Gauss the honor of naming his newest discovery. Gauss decided to name the planet for the goddess Vesta, and also specified that the symbol should be the altar of the goddess with the sacred fire burning on it.[15][16]

Pluto, like Uranus, has two symbols in use. One symbol, a monogram of the letters PL (which could be interpreted to stand for Pluto or for astronomer Percival Lowell), was announced with the name of the new planet by the discoverers on May 1, 1930.[17] The other symbol, which was popularized in Paul Clancy's astrological publications, is based on the symbol for Mercury, with the circle and arc of Mercury trading positions. This symbol is described by Dane Rudhyar as "suggest[ing] the planetary character of the Pluto mind by the circle, floating above the open cup."[18]

The symbol for the centaur Chiron, a key with the letter K (for discoverer Charles T. Kowal) was proposed by astrologer Al Morrison, who presented the symbol as "an inspiration shared amongst Al H. Morrison, Joelle K.D. Mahoney, and Marlene Bassoff."[19]

The symbol for retrograde motion is ℞, a capital R with a tail stroke.[20][21][22] An R with a tail stroke was used to abbreviate many words beginning with the letter R; in medical prescriptions, it abbreviated the word recipe[23] (from the Latin imperative of recipere "to take"[24]), and in missals, an R with a tail stroke marked the responses.[23]

[edit] Meanings of the symbols

[edit] Celestial bodies

The glyphs of the planets are usually (but not always) broken down into four common elements: A circle denoting spirit, a crescent denoting the mind, a cross denoting practical/physical matter and an arrow denoting action or direction.[25]

These are the astrological glyphs as most commonly used in Western Astrology.

Unicode: ☉ ☽ ☿ ♀ ♂ ⚶ ⚵ ⚳ ⚴ ♃ ⚷ ♄ ♅ (covers both symbols, the difference being in the font) ♆ ♇ ☊ ☋


Name Symbol Symbol represents Meaning of symbol
Sun Sol Solar symbol (circled dot) Divine spirit (circle) surrounding seed of potential
Moon First quarter moon Last quarter Moon A crescent moon Mind or evolving human spirit (crescent)
Mercury Mercury Mercury's winged helmet and caduceus Mind (crescent) poised over divine spirit (circle) and matter (cross)
Venus Venus Venus's hand mirror. Divine spirit (circle) over matter (cross)
Earth Earth Earth; also a Solar symbol (sun cross) Earth — the cardinal directions
Mars Mars Mars's shield and spear. Drive/aim/force (arrow) over divine spirit (circle)
Ceres Ceres Scythe (handle down), emblematic of Ceres as goddess of grain A stylized sickle, a crescent of receptivity resting on a cross of matter.
Jupiter Jupiter Jupiter's thunderbolt or eagle Mind (crescent) rising above the horizon of matter (cross)
Saturn Saturn Saturn's sickle or scythe Matter (cross) taking precedence over mind or human spirit (crescent)
Uranus Uranus H in symbol taken from discoverer's last name, Herschel The circle of spirit and a dominant cross of matter, in form of an antenna that uses matter as a way to insight.
Uranus derived from a combination of the Mars and Sun symbols Astronomical glyph often used astrologically. Drive/aim/force over a divine spirit (circle) surrounding seed of potential
Neptune Neptune Neptune's trident Mind or human spirit (crescent) transcending matter (cross)
Pluto Pluto (alternate) Modification of Neptune's astrological symbol Mind (crescent) transcending matter (cross) to reach for divine spirit (circle)
Pluto PL monogram for Pluto and Percival Lowell Astronomical symbol often used astrologically
Eris Eris an Eye of Providence; proposed by astrologer Zane B. Stein[26]
Eris the Hand of Eris; also used non-astrologically by Discordians[26]
Eris in use by astrologers in Poland and by the astrology software Urania[26][27]
Eris based on the symbols for Pluto, Mars, and Venus; proposed by Henry Seltzer and used in Time Passages[26][28]

[edit] Signs of the zodiac

Further information: Zodiac and Astrological sign
The symbols used in Western astrology to represent the astrological signs of the Zodiac

Unicode: ♈ ♉ ♊ ♋ ♌ ♍ ♎ ♏ ♐ ♑ ♒ ♓

Name Meaning Symbol Symbol Represents
Aries Ram Aries.svg Face and horns of ram
Taurus Bull Taurus.svg Face and horns of bull
Gemini Twins Gemini.svg Companion
Cancer Crab Cancer.svg Crab's claws
Leo Lion Leo.svg Lion's head and mane
Virgo Virgin Virgo.svg Sheaf of barley
Libra Scale Libra.svg Scales
Scorpio Scorpion Scorpio.svg Stinger of a scorpion
Sagittarius Archer Sagittarius.svg Arrow of the centaur
Capricorn[29] Sea-goat Capricorn.svg Body and head of a goat with the tail of a fish.
Capricorn variant.svg
Aquarius Waterbearer Aquarius.svg Ripples of water; sometimes modernly viewed as bolts of lightning, waves of aether, or electrically-charged water
Pisces Fish Pisces.svg Two fish tied together yet swimming in opposite directions

[edit] Aspects

Further information: Astrological aspects
Name Symbol Explanation
Conjunction Conjunction-symbol.svg 0°-10° angle/two or more planets in the same sign
Semisextile Semisextile-symbol.svg 30° angle/One sign apart
Semi-square Semisquare-symbol.svg 45° angle (also known as the "octile" or "semiquartile")
Sextile Sextile-symbol.svg 60° angle/Two signs apart
Quintile Quintile-symbol.svg 72° angle
Square Square-symbol.svg 90° angle (also known as the "quartile")/Three signs apart/Same modality
Trine Trine-symbol.svg 120° angle/Four signs apart/Same elemental triplicity
Sesquiquadrate Sesquisquare-symbol.svg 135° angle (also known as the "sesquisquare," "square-and-a-half," and/or "trioctile")
Biquintile Biquintile-symbol.svg 144° angle
Quincunx Quincunx-symbol.svg 150° angle (also known as the "inconjunct")/Five signs apart
Opposition Opposition-symbol.svg 180° angle/Six signs apart

[edit] Lunar phases

Further information: Lunar phase and Lunation type
Name Symbol[30][31] Explanation
New moon New moon Denotes the new moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 0°-45°.
Crescent moon Crescent moon Denotes a waxing crescent moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 45°-90°.
First quarter moon First quarter moon Denotes a first quarter moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 90°-135°.
Gibbous moon Gibbous moon Denotes a waxing gibbous moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 135°-180°.
Full moon Full moon Denotes a full moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 180°-225°.
Disseminating moon Disseminating moon Denotes a waning gibbous moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 225°-270°.
Last quarter moon Last quarter moon Denotes a last quarter moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 270°-315°.
Balsamic moon Balsamic moon Denotes a waning crescent moon or a soli-lunar arc in the range 315°-360°.

[edit] Miscellaneous symbols

Astronomical symbols/glyphs representing the three most used asteroids Vesta, Juno, Pallas Athena and the comet Chiron in Western astrology.
Name Symbol Symbol represents Explanation
Ascendant Ascendant-symbol.svg Angle The ascendant is the angle rising over the eastern horizon at a particular moment in time; it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart (also known as the "rising sign")
Midheaven Midheaven-symbol.svg Angle The midheaven is the angle where the ecliptic crosses the meridian (line of longitude) in the south on northern hemisphere (and the point in north in the southern hemisphere); it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart (also known as the "medium coeli" or "zenith")
Ascending Node Northnode-symbol.svg Lunar node Not all astrologers use the lunar nodes; however, their usage is very important in Vedic astrology. They are alternately known as the "Dragon's Head" (Rahu, Caput Draconis, or Anabibazon) and the "Dragon's Tail" (Ketu, Cauda Draconis, or Catabibazon). The two nodes together are most commonly referred to simply as the nodal axis, the lunar nodes, or the Moon's nodes.
Descending Node Southnode-symbol.svg Lunar node
Black Moon Lilith Lilith symbol.svg Lunar apogee The traditional Black Moon Lilith is the position of the mean lunar apogee as measured from the geocenter; variants of the Black Moon include replacing the mean orbit with a "true" osculating orbit or with an interpolated orbit; charting the empty focus of the Moon's orbit instead of the apogee; and measuring the desired point's barycentric or topocentric position instead of its geocentric position.[32]
Retrograde motion Retrograde-symbol.svg Apparent retrograde motion Symbol represents the apparent retrograde motion of a planet in an astrological chart
Comet Comet-sym.svg Comet Different comets often use different symbols, but the use of comets is not widespread in mainstream astrology
2 Pallas Pallas Asteroid (variant has triangle on top)
Alchemical symbol for sulfur (both variants) see also Asteroids in astrology)
3 Juno Juno Asteroid
4 Vesta Vesta Asteroid
2060 Chiron Chiron Centaur
Lot of fortune Partoffortune-symbol.svg Lot Glyph for planet Earth rotated 45 degrees.

Some other meanings are:

The Ascendant/Descendant axis horizontal line is a symbol of Earth, while the vertical (MC/IC)line is a symbol of God (of course, the Circle representing the whole chart is symbolic of All is God - the entire Universe, God is Love, God is everlasting, He has no beginning and no end.

[edit] Unicode encodings

Symbol Image Unicode[33] Glyph
Sun Sol U+2609 ☉
Sol U+1F71A 🜚
Moon First quarter moon U+263D ☽
Last quarter Moon U+263E ☾
Mercury Mercury U+263F ☿
Venus Venus U+2640 ♀
Earth Earth U+1F728 🜨
Mars Mars U+2642 ♂
Jupiter Jupiter U+2643 ♃
Saturn Saturn U+2644 ♄
Uranus Uranus U+2645 ♅
Uranus U+26E2 ⛢
Neptune Neptune U+2646 ♆
1 Ceres Ceres U+26B3 ⚳
2 Pallas Pallas U+26B4 ⚴
3 Juno Juno U+26B5 ⚵
4 Vesta Vesta U+26B6 ⚶
2060 Chiron Chiron U+26B7 ⚷
Eris Eris not present --
Eris not present --
Eris not present --
Eris not present --
Pluto Pluto U+2647 ♇
Pluto (alternate) not present --
Aries Aries.svg U+2648 ♈
Taurus Taurus.svg U+2649 ♉
Gemini Gemini.svg U+264A ♊
Cancer Cancer.svg U+264B ♋
Leo Leo.svg U+264C ♌
Virgo Virgo.svg U+264D ♍
Libra Libra.svg U+264E ♎
Scorpio Scorpio.svg U+264F ♏
Sagittarius Sagittarius.svg U+2650 ♐
Capricorn Capricorn.svg U+2651 ♑
Capricorn variant.svg
Aquarius Aquarius.svg U+2652 ♒
Pisces Pisces.svg U+2653 ♓
Conjunction Conjunction-symbol.svg U+260C ☌
Semisextile Semisextile-symbol.svg U+26BA ⚺
Semi-square Semisquare-symbol.svg ≈ U+2220 ∠
Sextile Sextile-symbol.svg U+26B9 ⚹
Quintile Quintile-symbol.svg U+0051 Q
Square Square-symbol.svg U+25A1 □
Trine Trine-symbol.svg U+25B3 △
Sesquiquadrate Sesquisquare-symbol.svg U+26BC ⚼
Biquintile Biquintile-symbol.svg U+0062 U+0051 bQ
Quincunx Quincunx-symbol.svg U+26BB ⚻
Opposition Opposition-symbol.svg U+260D ☍
New moon New moon U+1F311 🌑
Crescent moon Crescent moon U+1F312 🌒
First quarter moon First quarter moon U+1F313 🌓
Gibbous moon Gibbous moon U+1F314 🌔
Full moon Full moon U+1F315 🌕
Disseminating moon Disseminating moon U+1F316 🌖
Last quarter moon Last quarter moon U+1F317 🌗
Balsamic moon Balsamic moon U+1F318 🌘
Ascendant Ascendant-symbol.svg not plain text ASC
Midheaven Midheaven-symbol.svg not plain text MC
Ascending node Northnode-symbol.svg U+260A ☊
Descending node Southnode-symbol.svg U+260B ☋
Black Moon Lilith Lilith symbol.svg U+26B8 ⚸
Retrograde motion Retrograde-symbol.svg ≈ U+211E ℞
Lot of fortune Partoffortune-symbol.svg ≈ U+2297 ⊗
Comet Comet-sym.svg U+2604 ☄

[edit] See also
Elements
Fire · Earth · Air · Water
Qualities
Nature
The Zodiac
Astrology | Signs of the Zodiac
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
Aries.svg Taurus.svg Gemini.svg Cancer.svg Leo.svg Virgo.svg Libra.svg Scorpio.svg Sagittarius.svg Capricorn.svg Aquarius.svg Pisces.svg
Astronomy | Constellations of the Ecliptic
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer Leo Virgo Libra Scorpius Ophiuchus Sagittarius Capricornus Aquarius Pisces
See also: Ecliptic coordinates  · Precession of the equinoxes  · 13-sign zodiac  · Zodiacal light


[edit] References

  1. ^ Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy. pp. 788–789. 
  2. ^ a b Neugebauer, Otto; Van Hoesen, H. B. (1987). Greek Horoscopes. pp. 1, 159, 163. 
  3. ^ a b 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 form 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."
  4. ^ "Bianchini's planisphere". Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/galileopalazzostrozzi/object/BianchinisPlanisphere.html. Retrieved 2010-03-17. 
  5. ^ a b Maunder, A. S. D. (1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The Observatory 57: 238–247. Bibcode 1934Obs....57..238M. 
  6. ^ Bode, J. E. (1784). Von dem neu entdeckten Planeten. pp. 95–96. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZqA5AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA95. 
  7. ^ Gould, B. A. (1850). Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune. Smithsonian Institution. p. 5. http://books.google.com/books?id=uyANAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA5. 
  8. ^ Francisca Herschel (1917). "The meaning of the symbol H+o for the planet Uranus". The Observatory. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1917Obs....40..306H. Retrieved 2007-08-05. 
  9. ^ Gould, B. A. (1850). Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune. Smithsonian Institution. p. 22. http://books.google.com/books?id=uyANAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA22. 
  10. ^ Bode, J. E., ed (1801). Berliner astronomisches Jahrbuch führ das Jahr 1804. pp. 97–98. http://books.google.com/books?id=6GElAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA98. 
  11. ^ von Zach, Franz Xaver (1802). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 6. pp. 95-96.
  12. ^ von Zach, Franz Xaver (1804). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 10. p. 471. http://books.google.com/books?id=vnIEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA471. 
  13. ^ a b "Asteroid Symbols". http://www.suberic.net/~dmm/graphics/astro/asteroids.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  14. ^ "Memorial for Astrologer, Eleanor Bach". http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/bach.html. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  15. ^ von Zach, Franz Xaver (1807). Monatliche correspondenz zur beförderung der erd- und himmels-kunde, Volume 15. p. 507. http://books.google.com/books?id=_Rw4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA507. 
  16. ^ Carlini, Francesco (1808). Effemeridi astronomiche di Milano per l'anno 1809. http://books.google.com/books?id=LPMNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA100. 
  17. ^ Rudhyar, Dane (1966). "PART FIVE: Mercury and Pluto". The Planets and their Symbols. http://www.khaldea.com/rudhyar/astroarticles/planetssymbols_5.shtml. Retrieved 2010-05-20. 
  18. ^ Morrison, Al H. (1977). "Chiron". CAO Times 3: 57. 
  19. ^ Randall, Sidney (2006). The ABC of the Old Science of Astrology. p. 14. ISBN 9781596059207. http://books.google.com/books?id=m1antzbw_DcC&pg=PA14. "...the ℞ with the stroke across the tail stands for Retrograde." 
  20. ^ Lilly, William (1659). Christian Astrology. pp. 35, 37. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/texts.html.  A chart with ℞ by a retrograde Jupiter appears on p. 35; on p. 37, describing the construction of the chart, Lilly says: "And because [Jupiter] is noted Retrograde I place the letter R, the better to informe my judgement."
  21. ^ (Booth, Janet (2005). "Mercury Retrograde". JanetsPlan-Its.com. http://janetsplan-its.com/info/MercRetro.shtml. Retrieved 2010-10-20. "The symbol for retrograde looks like an ”R” with an “X” going through it, the same as the symbol for a prescription." 
  22. ^ a b Smith, Frances Gurney, ed (1852). The Medical Examiner, and record of medical science. 8. p. 804. http://books.google.com/books?id=1hYCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA804. 
  23. ^ "Recipe definition". M-w.com. 2007-04-25. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=recipe. Retrieved 2010-01-22. 
  24. ^ Glyphs of the general astrological and Uranian planets
  25. ^ a b c d Stein, Zane. [http://www.zanestein.com/Trans-pluto.htm#UB313 Chiron and Friends - What's Out Past Pluto?
  26. ^ Astrological symbols of planets, zodiac signs and aspects
  27. ^ Seltzer, Henry. Hail Eris!
  28. ^ Behari, Bepin (2003). Myths & Symbols of Vedic Astrology. p. 155. "Of the two emblems related to [Capricorn], one is a horizontal line terminating with a downward moving arc ending with a loop having an extended arc Capricorn variant.svg, and the other has a V-shaped beginning whose downward arc convexing to the right Capricorn.svg." 
  29. ^ Rudhyar, Dane. "The Eight Lunation Types", from Your Lunation Birthday.
  30. ^ Meyer, Michael R. "Key to Symbols", from KhaldeaEphemeris7z, p. 5.
  31. ^ Revilla, Juan Antonio. "The Black Moon Apogee and its Variants". http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/blackmoon/barycentric.html. Retrieved 2010-08-20. 
  32. ^ "Unicode 6.0 Character Code Charts". http://www.unicode.org/charts/. Retrieved 2010-10-11. 

[edit] External links

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