how does astrology crossover with alchemy?

Question

why are all the planets in the solar system a symbol of a metal?

Answer 1

Certainly, this question does fall into this category. Modern science arrogantly tends to dismiss Alchemy, and its sister Astrology, as pseudo-sciences. This is gradually changing these days as science grudgingly discovers its own limitations. These kinds of excessive points of view are one of the things that Alchemy cautions against. Alchemy is a "Philosophy" that embraces both Art and Science. (In fact, the old Alchemists were called "Philosophers of Nature.") This Philosophy, above all else, teaches the virtue of Balance In All Things. This implies the values of patience, understanding and tolerance for diverse ideas. In short, the value of Wisdom. Also, keep in mind that the discipline of Alchemy has been with us for a VERY long time -- easily since the first millennia B.C.E. and perhaps older. That's over 3,000 years. Modern Science in its present form has been in place for a few hundred years. As to the question of whether the ancients "knew" about Neptune and Uranus; the determination of a celestial body as a "planet" is a somewhat arbitrary one and has something to do with its utility. The perfect example of this is Pluto. For my entire life it has been a "given" that Pluto is a planet. Now the professional astronomers have decided that Pluto doesn't fit their criteria to qualify as a planet. So now we're down to eight, in their scheme. The ancients didn't recognize Neptune and Uranus as planets. They didn't need to. Nonetheless, whether any old sky-watchers of long-ago might have discovered two additional "wanderers" in the sky is unknown to us. The discipline of Astrology was not separate from that of Astronomy in the old days. If one was an Astronomer, one was also an Astrologer. The two came together in one package, hand in hand. Essentially, the modern Astronomer owes a debt to the old Astrologers, for without Astrology there would not be Astronomy. As anyone who has cast a chart knows, the positions of the planets, the Sun and the Moon, are all REQUIRED to cast the Astrological Chart. That means that the Astrologer has to have an intimate knowledge of the movements of the celestial bodies and has to understand the framework and system by which to place their positions on the chart. This is the same framework used by modern Astronomers and was developed by generations of Astrologers, again going back several millennia. In the West, it was the ancient Hellenistic Greeks who began to systematise, in a formal way, the astronomical methods of the Babylonians and Egyptians before them. The center of learning at that time was Alexandria, Egypt. The astronomers Hipparchus and Ptolemy developed the system we still use today for Astronomy. And both were Astrologers as well as Astronomers. Astronomy's place in Alchemy has to do with choosing the most propitious time to do an experiment or operation. This discipline of determining such a propitious time was part of the overall discipline required to practice successful Alchemy. The Alchemist will tell you that the environment in which his operation takes place can affect its outcome. Part of that environment is the position of the Alchemist and his lab in relation to the celestial bodies around him. The fact that the seven metals and the seven "planets" share a sign is a reflection of the overall Alchemical Philosophy of Oneness or Wholeness that developed in ancient times. Aristotle's Physics included such things and held sway up until very recently. Perhaps you are aware that the father of Modern Celestial Physics, Isaac Newton, was also a practicing Alchemist. That's a known fact, but might be suppressed in your public High School science class.

Answer 2

Wrong category for this question, should be in mythology.
The symbols of the planets come from ancient Greece and other ancient civilizations. Since there were seven known metals in ancient time and seven "planets" (they counted the sun and the moon but didn't know about Uranus, Neptune or Pluto and didn't consider the earth a planet so they listed the sun, Mercury, Venus, the moon, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn), it only made sense to attribute the seven metals to the seven known planets.

Answer 3

Hello.

Your question on ASTROLOGY should be entered in the MYTHOLOGY section of yahoo questions and answers.

This is the ASTRONOMY section.

Have a good day.