How important is mythology in the meaning of planets and signs?

Bunraku

Well-known member
Thread title. Several people here have written before that in order to understand it mythology is important to create the meaning for such things. :whistling:
 

Bunraku

Well-known member
I mean, reading the older scientific works, they seem to be more secular. In the sense that they don't try to use mystical matters to explain things, but finding ways to explain things using their logic/reason.
 

waybread

Well-known member
Mythology has a lot to do with the planetary rulerships. Mercury rules liars and thieves because the young god Mercury was a trickster. Mars rules soldiers because the god Mars ruled warfare.

Mystical and mythical mean different things.
 

Bunraku

Well-known member
Ptolemy doesn’t really mention those things when it comes to the nature of the planets. He doesn’t mention houses that much either, only occasionally.
 

waybread

Well-known member
He doesn't. On the other hand, another Hellenistic astrologer, Manilius (Astronomica) has a lot of references to the Roman gods.
 

waybread

Well-known member
I use a mix of both. So much in astrology depends on the question being asked: what are we trying to learn from a horoscope?
 

Senecar

Well-known member
I don't think there is any connection between mythology and Astrological predication.

Mythology is more to di wth Literature and Religion. Astrology is a separate field of craft, I feel.

Astrology is more to do correlation with planetary enegry and movement of the stars and human life.
 

waybread

Well-known member
Liz Greene, a really famous modern astrologer, has written several books on mythology and archetypes symbolized by the planets and signs.

My personal feeling is that if you look up planetary rulerships, many of them really refer back to mythology. If we want to know why Venus rules romantic love and female sexuality, for example, it's not because astrologers did all kinds of empirical research. It is because this was the nature of the Roman goddess Venus.
 

Senecar

Well-known member
I thought the ancient Astrology was earlier in existent than the Greek Mythology.

When was it, when the Sumerians were forecasting for the fortunes looking at the stars?
 

Opal

Premium Member
Myth is:

"a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events."





Using the above definition, it is very important. Myth is the truth of past ages. Using names and creatures that depicted what was happening in ages past. Myth uses words from folklore from different regions using different names for the same thing. Names that were important to their region, or world at the time of writing, and of spoken word memory.



Thirteen Venus Avatars

Sumer: INANNA, lover Dumuzi. Where Nana, Dana, Anne, Notre Dame.
Egypt: ISIS or Issis. Hence Ys, Paris, Pâris
Akkadie: ISTAR planet Venus, lover Enkidu. Hence star-stern-star
Babylon: ISTARTE, lover Tamuze the Moon. Where Ester, Aisha
Dilmun: ASTARTE, sister and wife of Baal. Hence star-stern-star
Canaan: ASHERAH, consort Asherah of Yahweh. Hence ash, ash-ram
Punt: APHTORET also Annat, sister and wife of Baal
Cyprus: APHRODITE, born in Cyprus according to Herodotus
Rome: VENUS, the current name of the planet
Scandinavia: FRIGG, Odin’s wife
Germany: FRYDA, friday = Friday, the day of Venus
India: SITA, Rama’s wife. She was red or blonde.
Greece: HELENE, lover of Paris, red or blonde ditto.

The ancients used myth to pass on the information of the past and the planets for us to use as a template. One day, we will pass on through the ages, using names of our time and myth. For venus we might use names from our time, maybe for instance Diana. Known worldwide for her charitable actions, and loved by many. Her truth may become myth and be cast to the star.
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
Myth is:

"a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events."

Using the above definition, it is very important. Myth is the truth of past ages. Using names and creatures that depicted what was happening in ages past. Myth uses words from folklore from different regions using different names for the same thing. Names that were important to their region, or world at the time of writing, and of spoken word memory.

Thirteen Venus Avatars

Sumer: INANNA, lover Dumuzi. Where Nana, Dana, Anne, Notre Dame.
Egypt: ISIS or Issis. Hence Ys, Paris, Pâris
Akkadie: ISTAR planet Venus, lover Enkidu. Hence star-stern-star
Babylon: ISTARTE, lover Tamuze the Moon. Where Ester, Aisha
Dilmun: ASTARTE, sister and wife of Baal. Hence star-stern-star
Canaan: ASHERAH, consort Asherah of Yahweh. Hence ash, ash-ram
Punt: APHTORET also Annat, sister and wife of Baal
Cyprus: APHRODITE, born in Cyprus according to Herodotus
Rome: VENUS, the current name of the planet
Scandinavia: FRIGG, Odin’s wife
Germany: FRYDA, friday = Friday, the day of Venus
India: SITA, Rama’s wife. She was red or blonde.
Greece: HELENE, lover of Paris, red or blonde ditto.

The ancients used myth to pass on the information of the past and the planets for us to use as a template. One day, we will pass on through the ages, using names of our time and myth. For venus we might use names from our time, maybe for instance Diana. Known worldwide for her charitable actions, and loved by many. Her truth may become myth and be cast to the star.
'….in modern times especially past thirty/forty years
modernist astrologers begin with mythology
with the name of the planet and any sort of cultural associations
that there are with that name
or
with the designation that is given to the planetary body
or other celestial body.
BUT
in ancient texts mythology isn't as frequently mentioned :smile:
and not referred to
or resorted to commonly
in order to explicate
meanings of the planets/other celestial bodies
as one might assume

if approaching it as a modern astrologer
where that's one of first things people refer to.....'
Chris Brennan
 

Opal

Premium Member
When an entity is refound, or renamed, we go to the name of it, and if it is found in past writings, that is where we start to draw our knowledge from.

[Deleted reference to Uranus because this is a traditional thread. Do not post ANYTHING on the traditional astrologer board without reading AND FOLLOWING traditional forum rules! - Moderator]

When looking at the fixed stars the myth is used to explain the affects it gifts to astrological meaning. They seem to work together.
 
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JUPITERASC

Well-known member
I mean,
reading the older scientific works,
they seem to be more secular.
In the sense that
they don't try to use mystical matters to explain things,

but
finding ways to explain things using their logic/reason.
'....While mythology is relevant, it is not as important
or resorted to as frequently in the early tradition :smile:
as one might expect.
Only in modern times has Myth become the primary go-to for meanings....'
Chris Brennan
 

Opal

Premium Member
Alexander Eliot wrote The Global Myths. While he is not an astrologer, reading on the Global myths you can see an obvious correlation between myth and the astrological interpretation of entities. While the traditionalists say there is no correlation, they did not get there information from past word of mouth or writings, I am inclined to disagree. The coincidences are too many for it to be chance.
 

waybread

Well-known member
I thought the ancient Astrology was earlier in existent than the Greek Mythology.

When was it, when the Sumerians were forecasting for the fortunes looking at the stars?

The ancient Mesopotamians believed that the planets were gods. Their worship of these gods predated their development of astrology. So the characteristics of these gods pre-dated their calculations. Even so, despite the accuracy of their observations, their predictions were based upon their religious beliefs. For example, the planet Mars in certain locations brought warfare and drought, because that was the god's rulership and nature.

When the Greeks adopted astrology, they put names on the planets that corresponded to similar Greek gods. In this way, the Babylonian god Nergal of warfare became the Greek planetary god Ares and the Roman Mars.

In Babylon, you find a mix of beliefs that the planets were gods to omens of the gods. The Greeks thought that the gods ruled planets but were not identical. Prior to the adoption of astrology from Babylon, the Greeks had merely descriptive names for planets. For example, the planet Mars was known as Pyroeis, the fiery one.
 
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waybread

Well-known member
Some of the Greek astrological authors like Ptolemy and Valens partook more of the rationalism that was common in ancient Greece and Rome. But society as a whole still worshiped their gods. Some of the authors talked about the ban on doing a horoscope for the emperor, on the grounds that he was divine, so many of the calculations simply wouldn't apply. One thing that comes across in Manilius (1st century CE) is that the heavens were to be spoken of in poetry, as suited the study of the heavens. These beliefs began to change in his day, however.

I can suggest some books if anyone's interested.

The sun god of Greece and Rome initially was Phoebus, but by the time astrology became mainstream later in Antiquity, Apollo was identified as the sun god. Apollo ruled intellectual pursuits, prophecy, and a few other things. Hence the sun joying in the 9th house.
 

JUPITERASC

Well-known member
Alexander Eliot wrote The Global Myths.

While he is not an astrologer,

reading on the Global myths you can see an obvious correlation between myth and the astrological interpretation of entities. While the traditionalists say there is no correlation, they did not get there information from past word of mouth or writings, I am inclined to disagree. The coincidences are too many for it to be chance.
When an entity is refound, or renamed, we go to the name of it, and if it is found in past writings, that is where we start to draw our knowledge from.

[Deleted reference to Uranus because this is a traditional thread.


Do not post ANYTHING on the traditional astrologer board without reading AND FOLLOWING traditional forum rules! - Moderator]

When looking at the fixed stars the myth is used to explain the affects it gifts to astrological meaning. They seem to work together.
Some of the Greek astrological authors like Ptolemy and Valens partook more of the rationalism that was common in ancient Greece and Rome. But society as a whole still worshiped their gods. Some of the authors talked about the ban on doing a horoscope for the emperor, on the grounds that he was divine, so many of the calculations simply wouldn't apply. One thing that comes across in Manilius (1st century CE) is that the heavens were to be spoken of in poetry, as suited the study of the heavens. These beliefs began to change in his day, however.

I can suggest some books if anyone's interested.

The sun god of Greece and Rome initially was Phoebus, but by the time astrology became mainstream later in Antiquity, Apollo was identified as the sun god. Apollo ruled intellectual pursuits, prophecy, and a few other things. Hence the sun joying in the 9th house.
I don't think there is any connection
between mythology
and
Astrological predication.


Mythology is more to di wth Literature and Religion.
Astrology is a separate field of craft,
I feel.
Astrology is more to do
correlation with planetary enegry
and
movement of the stars
and human life.
Exactly :smile:
'.....So in modern times mythology is a core element
but in ancient times



if you look at, for example, a translation of Valens



HE IS NOT SAYING the Sun rules the intellect because of
its association with the Greek God Helios.
He just has other conceptual or theoretical rationales
for why the Sun is associated with the intellect
and they don’t necessarily have anything to do with
the God who is associated
or shares a name with that celestial body.


So that is an important point....' Chris Brennan
 

Opal

Premium Member
When an entity is refound, or renamed, we go to the name of it, and if it is found in past writings, that is where we start to draw our knowledge from.

[Deleted reference to Uranus because this is a traditional thread. Do not post ANYTHING on the traditional astrologer board without reading AND FOLLOWING traditional forum rules! - Moderator]

When looking at the fixed stars the myth is used to explain the affects it gifts to astrological meaning. They seem to work together.

Oops, sorry Osamenor, I was looking at the interesting thread title, missed the traditional placement.

Also surprised Bunraku is in Traditional! ;)
 
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sworm09

Well-known member
I think it may have been a factor in determining the meanings of the planets but I don't think it was the determining factor.

The meanings of the planets seem to come from a combination of myth and astronomical factors like speed and visibility, with the latter definitely outweighing the former. Astrological Jupiter has very little in common with his mythological namesake, and his benefic qualities seem to come more from the planet's radiant appearance in the night sky than Jupiter's mythological exploits.

There was some level of association between the myths and planets but not one to one, strict identifications. The planets are clusters of ideas and myths are only a part of that cluster.

But for people practicing traditional astrology in the 21st century, the myths surrounding the gods associated with the planets are largely irrelevant for astrological practice. Unless you're into that kind of thing.
 
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