The Planets in Astrology 
From the dawn of mankind we would gaze up at
the sky and wonder at the heavenly bodies. As we gazed and later
charted the movements of these objects in the sky several different
types of objects appeared. The most obvious heavenly bodies were
the sun and the moon--two lights, the bible says, one to light the
day and one to light the night.
The power of the sun was so obvious--lighting
the day, changing the seasons, charting the passing years-- that
many early cultures worshiped it as a god or the symbol of their
god.
The moon provided a different feel. It's the fastest moving object
in the sky in a distinctive new position each night and returning
to it's starting point each 28 days. And it presents us with different
phases from the exciting and stimulating full moon to the the eerie
crescent and the new moon with all its potential.
The cold colorless light of the moon contrasts with the vibrant
life-giving warm glow of the sun. But these are two grand celestial
bodies, obvious to any observer.
As humans examined the sky further they began to notice travelers
among the constant blanket of stars. These were the starlike bodies
that slowly wandered across the sky, often reversing their direction
for a season only to return to their forward journey. These wanderers
they called planets. They appeared to be stars but did not hold
their constant position.
As the planets progressed across the skies their position was was
recorded against the background of the stars. And the stars behind
this planetary path -- called the ecliptic --were divided into twelve
constellations, each taking up about one twelve of the sky and one
twelve of the year. Astrologers identified the position of the planets
against this constellation map. So Jupiter could appear "in"
the constellation of Aries for example.
Astrologers also noted the position of each planet in relation
to its neighboring planets. So if Saturn and Mars passed each other
in the sky, this was called a conjunction. If they were 120 degrees
apart this was called a trine. The relation of planets to each other
were called aspects
Meaning and personality was assigned to each planet. Then this
meaning would be reflected in its position in the sky in relationship
to the constellations and in relation to the neighboring planets.
These ever changing relationships provided astrologers with a kaleidoscope
of possible influences to interpret.
The rich tapestry that is astrology.
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