Observing that they seem to steer independent courses across the firmament of fixed stars, ancient peoples believed the planets to be gods. Their appearance and behavior were reflected in the divine roles ascribed to them. The one tinged blood-red, Mars, was the god of war. The small planet that darted to and fro but never strayed far from the imperious Sun was the gods’ messenger, Mercury.
The planetary gods lived out great mythical dramas that were reflections of human emotions and experiences. They loved and fought, betrayed and were betrayed, died and were reborn. Astrologers have believed for thousands of years that the planets’ movements not only describe the gods’ behavior and the events related to these myths, but also coincide with manifestations of the same archetypal elements in the lives of human beings.
The positions of key heavenly bodies at the time of an individual’s birth and at later crucial stages are thought to be more than symbolic; they occur in synchrony with forces that shape life in ways that can be advantageous if understood and painful if not properly anticipated.
Authorities in other fields-even some who have nothing but contempt for astrology-concede that the fundamental mythical themes, which have remained constant throughout history and in all cultures, are indeed extremely relevant to life. The famed psychologist Carl Jung held that the mythical archtypes are in grain ed in the collective unconscious of the human species. Only people who understand themselves and the archetypes, he declared, can avoid the pain og blindly reliving the myths. Astrologers believe the planets offer a route to that understanding.
In astrology the term planet apples to the ten bodies in our solar system that appear to circle the Earth, eight actual planets plus the Sun and Moon. We will now look at the supposed character, special qualities, and general astrological significane of each planet. However, the meanings of specific planetary positions in the horoscope are revealed only through complex calculations that account for many factors.
Reference: Cosmic Connections-Mysteries of the Unknown
