Names of the Planets

In the beginning…
Most ancient cultures recognized seven “planets” consisting of sun and moon and the five
planets1[1] visible in the sky. The Latin names of the Planets were simple translations of
the Greek names, which in turn were translations of the Babylonian names, which go
back to the Sumerians. Some interpretation was required for the Greek, and even for
the Babylonian, translations, however. Nergal, for instance, was the god of war but also of
pestilence and, especially, the Underworld —overlapping with the Greek Hades. While
Kronos was the father of Zeus, Ninurta was the son of Enlil. The Babylonians replaced
the Sumerian national gods Enlil and Enki with the patron god of Babylon, Marduk,
and his son, Nabû — though Marduk was actually taken to be the son of Enki (called Ea
in Babylonian). Ninurta, an obscure god inherited by the Babylonians, may have been
identified with Saturn, the slowest moving visible planet, because, at least in one story, he was
identified with the turtle. The ancient Egyptian, Sanskrit, and Chinese names for the planets
are unrelated to the Sumerian.

The Ancient “Planets”:

English Sumerian Babylonian Greek Latin Egyptian Sanskrit

Moon Nanna Sin Selenê Luna Aah or Iah Chandra

Mercury Enki Nabû Hermes Mercurius Sabgu Budha
Venus Inanna Ishtar Aphroditê Venus Ba’ah or Sukra
Seba-djai
Sun Utu Shamash Helios Sol Aten Surya
Mars Gugulann Nergal Ares Mars Heru-deshet Mangala
a
Jupiter Enlil Marduk Zeus Iuppiter Her-wepes- Brhaspati
tawy
Saturn Ninurta Ninurta Kronos Saturnus Sani

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/mean_conjunctions.html

The ancient Egyptians are renown for their interest in celestial events and much of their religion and
mythology was sky-based. Within details of their rituals there are numerous references to
ceremonies being conducted at times amenable to the celestial powers, and many examples of lists
of days ascribed with astrological meaning. In the land of the Pharaohs magic was practiced as a
natural synthesis of Sacred Knowledge in mundane life; even the physical division of the kingdom
itself reveals symbolic expression of the numerological and geometrical laws that underpin the
astrologer's craft.
Yet while the available evidence points to detailed knowledge of the constellations, it shows less
systematic planetary observation of the standard found in Mesopotamia. It has consequently been
suggested that there is little to support a belief that the Egyptians actively practiced astrology prior
to the invasion of the Greeks in the third century BC. Those who perpetuate this line of reasoning
appear to define astrology purely by the use of the zodiac and planetary dignities, and have chosen
to ignore that celestial and astrological allegory embraced all aspects of ancient Egyptian culture.

There is no doubt that Egyptian philosophy has made a significant contribution to the theory of
astrology. In particular, the ancient Egyptian perception of time as a divine element introduced major
developments which became founding principles of Hellenistic astrology. The many pyramids, tomb
paintings, temple reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions left today reveal much about the ancient
Egyptian lifestyle. They show that an accurate measurement of time was highly valued, for obvious
mundane reasons, but also because time represented a mystical concept that was deeply embedded
in their spiritual beliefs. Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians maintained a fusion of science, magic
and religion; integrating myth, geometry, astronomy and spiritual contemplation into an holistic
philosophy that was later to have a direct influence upon Classical culture. Although we cannot credit
the Egyptians with inventing astrology, the symbolism they attached to the notation of time runs
deep within its principles.

Astrology can never be divorced from its relevance to time, for time is its central nucleus, both
practically and philosophically. An accurate knowledge of time is essential before any chart can be
cast, and is the source of symbolic 'directions', whereby days are equated to years, and years to the
full span of human experience. If time is the continuous passage of existence, in which events pass
from a state of potentiality in the future, through the present, to a state of finality in the past [1],
then astrology follows the formula in reverse: the finality of the past is used to measure the quality
of the present and judge the potentiality of the future. In this way the Egyptians viewed each
moment of time as unique, divine and pregnant with meaning.

The characterisation of the space in which we live and move is also a heritage of Egyptian
intelligence. Encoded in the complex of temples, monuments and city designs, Egyptian geometry
displays a delicate harmony with the use of letters, numbers, shape and sound to present a universal
science of sacred principles manifest in architectural form. Cosmic symbolism weaved through this
belief and was itself a product of it. Time and space were the principal gods the Egyptians
worshipped and astrology carried their deification forward as the basis of all future adaptations.
Combustion and the Symbolism of Heliacal Risings

The path of the Sun played a central role in Egyptian philosophy and the conjunction of the Sun with
other celestial bodies dominated their astronomy. Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians gave
particular emphasis to the heliacal [2] rising and setting of stars since these could be used as reliable
indicators to agricultural conditions. A heliacal setting occurs when a planet or star enters into
conjunction with the Sun. The increasing proximity of the Sun towards the star each day eventually
leads to a period of invisibility, during which it is masked by the Sun's light. Its setting is the moment
when it is visible for the last time on the western horizon, immediately after sunset. It then rises and
sets with the Sun, remaining hidden from sight both day and night. When the Sun has separated
from the star by somewhere between 8-20 degrees of zodiacal longitude the star begins to emerge,
briefly, on the eastern horizon immediately before sunrise - its first brief appearance being known as
its heliacal rising.

Every first appearance of the new Moon is a heliacal rising and every last appearance of the old
Moon is a heliacal setting. The period of the Moon's disappearance is a brief one, but has always
been deemed unlucky. Planets and stars endure a longer period of invisibility, sometimes several
months, during which they were considered lacking in power and vitality.

All ancient astrologers placed the greatest significance upon heliacal risings and settings and ancient
Mesopotamian astrology was also heavily predisposed to observance of this kind of planetary
phenomena. The Egyptians recorded it more widely with their attention spread to all the stars and
constellations. A star's heliacal setting was envisioned as a form of death, with its period of invisibility
regarded as a time of imprisonment in Duat, the Underworld, a place where it faced a perilous
journey of transformation and renewal. Its emergence in the east, in its heliacal rising, was hailed as
its rebirth, when it arose refreshed to begin a new life cycle.

With this image in mind we understand the derivation of the traditional astrological terms 'combust'
and 'under the Sun's beams' as signifying the greatest fear, imprisonment, impotency or death. A
planet combust was hidden, unable to exert any influence and undergoing a state of transformation.
In the 13th century text of Guido Bonatus we see the similarity between the mythological
perspective of the Egyptians and the traditional interpretation of combustion. He explains that a
planet combust has no strength in signification:

The fortunes when combust and under Sun's beams, signify none, or very little good; and the
infortunes in like case have little or no virtue to signify ill. [3]

Possibly, the malevolent reputation of the Via Combusta ('fiery road'), which stretches from 15
degrees Libra to 15 degrees Scorpio, owes its origin to a similar philosophy. In ancient techniques the
Via Combusta is regarded as a dangerous section of the chart and the Moon so placed continues to
be a warning for the horary astrologer to defer judgement. The area spans the signs where the
luminaries experience their 'fall', which many have pointed to as a source for its malefic reputation.
However, when the tropical zodiac was introduced around the 6th century BC, the point of the
Vernal Equinox was not firmly established but variously placed among the early degrees of Aries.
Older authorities placed it at the 15th degree, so it is not beyond credibility that a symbolic
association attached itself to the region that extended from the 15th degree of Libra, as the area of
the Sun's seasonal 'death' at the Autumn Equinox. Certainly the name of this traditionally afflicted
area suggests some connection with the process of being 'hidden' and certainly, amongst the
Egyptians, all things connected with absence from the visible world, (including deceased men and
stars disappearing from view, either by falling beneath the western horizon or entering into helical
setting), were considered to enter the dark, uncharted region of Duat.

The daily setting of the Sun, Moon and stars at the western horizon, led to that cardinal direction
assuming a mythological connection with death, retreat and weakness. The Egyptians viewed death
as a state that took men and stars towards the west, and consequently nearly all the pyramids and
royal tombs are located on the Nile's west bank. Conversely, the east was the direction of beginnings
and renewed strengh. Illustrations of the Sun's journey across the sky frequently depict the Sun
travelling in different boats and in the form of different gods for each part of the journey. Some texts
refer to him as Khepri (whose name means 'beginnings') in the morning, Ra at noon and Amun in the
evening.

It has been suggested that the almost exact South-North alignment of the Nile helped to foster the
profound interest the Egyptians took in noting the symbolic qualities of cardinal directions. The
strength and permanence of their beliefs are shown by hieroglyphic writings on the meaning of the
cardinal directions - and even intermediate directions such as north-west, north-east, etc., - being
now five thousand years old, treasured as part of the oldest recorded literature in the world.[4]

During the period of the development of the calendar, the heliacal rising of Sirius coincided with the
summer solstice, both of which announced the annual inundation of the Nile, the central focus of the
agricultural year. Consequently Sirius became a most important star, often identified with the
Egyptian goddess Isis whose fallen tears for her murdered husband Osiris were said to cause the
flood. Its heliacal rising was used as a signal to start the New Year festivities while its setting was
commemorated in the standard used for funeral rites; it has a 70-day period of heliacal invisibility in
Egypt which was the time taken by embalmers to prepare a body for burial. Hieroglyphic inscriptions
found upon the tomb of Seti I state specifically that as a star dies it is purified in the house of Duat,
from where, after 70 days of invisibility, it is reborn. [5]

This cycle of reincarnation was the essence of all Egyptian religion and the astrological view of the
lower hemisphere of the chart retains this 'underworld' perspective in the traditional significance
attached to the area termed 'under the Earth'. Little good can be expected to come from a chart
where the main planets are under the earth (ie., beneath the horizon), and in decumbiture charts,
this, like a significator combust, can be taken as an indication of death[6]. From a psychological
perspective, astrologers view the area as a dark and deeply personal one, associating it with the
inner life, the unconscious, and buried emotions; equally, the upper hemisphere is related to the
outer, public life, with the midheaven - the most elevated position - associated with public glory,
acclamation and worldly success.

The Egyptian Calendar and the Zodiac

An example of a mundane effect that arose from Egyptian worship of the eastern horizon as the
spiritual source of 'beginnings' is in their development of the calendar. Like the Mesopotamians, the
early Egyptians originally used a Moon-based calendar. But whereas the Mesopotamians began
their month with the first appearance of the new crescent Moon in the west at sunset, the
Egyptians began theirs with the rising of the old crescent Moon in the east at sunrise; it was
untenable in their faith to associate rebirth with the west. They soon realised, however, that whilst
a lunar calendar was serviceable for most purposes, it had many disadvantages. Its main drawback
being that twelve lunar months fell eleven days short of the solar cycle. An extra month had to be
added every two to three years in an attempt to keep the calendar in line with the seasons.

Sometime in the third or fourth millennium BC the Egyptians decided to break with tradition and
introduce a new 'civil' calendar based on the movement of the Sun. This was used to serve
government administration, with the lunar calendar retained for religious affairs and common,
everyday activities. They were able to calculate that the Sun took 365 days to complete its cycle by
noting the time between one heliacal rising of Sirius and the next. For ease of division they adopted a
year of twelve 30-day months and added an extra 5-day period at the end of the year, which was
mainly used for festivities. Each month was then divided into three 10-day weeks that began with the
nightfall rising of a particular star or constellation rather than any relevance to the phase of the
Moon. In effect, this broke the celestial sphere into 36 subdivisions, the rising and setting of whose
stars were used as a way of telling time throughout the night.

The Egyptian division of the year into 36 ten-day periods, each presided over by a particular stellar
deity, gave birth to the astrological system of ruleship known as decans in classical astrology, though
usually referred to as 'faces' in medieval texts. This is where each 30° sign of the zodiac is subdivided
into 10° segments and governed by one of the planets. Thus the Stars of Time became the Gods of
Time - the Rulers of Destiny. It is not known exactly when the amalgamation of symbolism took place
but the astrological use of decans is shown in the temple of Esna, which has been dated to around
200 BC. The 4th century Sicilian astrologer, Firmicus Maternus, is among many who placed great
emphasis on their use, saying that a planet in its own decan is as good as in its own sign. Like
Manilius before him, he attributed decan rulership to the signs of the zodiac, but most authors,
including Ptolemy, gave them to the planets in descending order towards the earth, (i.e., Saturn,
Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon).
Decan/face rulership

Firmicus refers the system to Nechepso "a most just Emperor of Egypt and a truly good astrologer,
who, ... by means of the decans predicted all illnesses and afflictions".[7] There is no historical record
of such a ruler but Firmicus may have been referring to the last Egyptian pharaoh, Nectanebo II (360-
343BC), whom legend recalls as the astrology tutor of Alexander the Great. A major astrological work
compiled around 150 BC was named after the legendary Nechepso and an Egyptian high priest
Petosiris, most probably the high priest of that name who served during the reign of Ptolemy I
around 300 BC. Nechepso and Petosiris are also quoted as the initiators of the astrological system of
terms, where planets are allocated degrees of dignity in signs other than their own. Although the
dates of origin are hazy, we can suppose that terms and faces were employed in predictive astrology
at least from the 3rd century BC onwards.

The arrangement of the terms is altogether more complex than that of the faces and it is less
apparent exactly how and why it arose. In his Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy speaks of two systems of terms in
common use: the Egyptian and the Chaldean. He gave more credence to the Egyptian system, which
is believed by many to be the original. It is assumed that, having evolved in Egypt in a complicated
form, it was taken up and simplified by the Chaldeans. Ptolemy's main criticism of the Egyptian
system was that it was arbitrary, with the number of degrees supposed to be in proportion to the
years of life each planet determines when it is ruler of the chart. He claimed to have possession of an
old manuscript that contained a simpler arrangement belonging to the Chaldeans. By combining the
best of both he produced his own system, based upon the signs, triplicities and exaltations of the
planets. This found universal acceptance among astrologers in the west, as noted in the 17th century
text of astrologer William Lilly:

After many ages had passed, and until the time of Ptolemy, the astrologers were not well resolved
hereof but since the time of Ptolemy, the Greeks unanimously followed the method he left, which
ever since the Christians of Europe to this day retain as most rational.[8]

We lack detailed evidence of how the terms and faces were used in practical application by ancient
astrologers, but their use in the classical period is fairly well documented and through the renewed
interest of traditional astrological techniques their medieval application has found its way back into
modern day practice.

The detail to which Egyptians sought to deify the concept of time is worthy of note. Under their
belief every star represents a god and in their calendrical use of decans, the star that rises at the
beginning of the week is considered to be the god or ruler of that week. At a very early stage star
clocks were produced to identify these weekly rulers - diagrammatic devices that indicated the name
of each decan rising on a particular date and at a particular hour of the night. Thus a sky observer, by
knowing the date, could use the diagram to calculate the hour of the night. These are known to have
been in use as early as 2400 BC and the fact that all twelve existing examples have been found in
tombs suggests that they were highly prized possessions offering value in the afterlife. The tomb of
Rameses VI contains a star map drawn as the figure of a seated man, which allows the position of
each star to be marked out on the figure as it moves along in the sky. In this way the positions of the
stars can be shown at each hour of the night for every fortnight of the year.

The Egyptian deification of time went further, to the point where almost every moment had its own
presiding ruler based upon the stars and constellations. The gods of the hour were especially
important in mythology as the guardians of the twelve provinces (daylight hours) of the Sun's
domain. When the Sun-god sank beneath the Earth at the end of each day, he progressed through
the Underworld by permission of the ruler of the hour, who opened the gate leading into the next
hour with a password known to him alone.[9] The ruler of the hour continues to be relevant in
astrology, particularly in horary judgements where agreement between the planetary ruler of the
hour at the time of the question and the ascendant is taken as a sign of a valid and descriptive chart.
Planetary hours are not of constant duration like the clock hours we use today but vary in length,
following on from Egyptian tradition. By devising water clocks the Egyptians were the first to develop
the 24-hour day, which consisted of 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. The lengths of the
hours were equal around the equinoxes but the rest of the time they could vary considerably. They
were reckoned by dividing the time from sunrise to sunset by twelve, resulting in long daytime hours
in summer and short ones in winter. Nighttime hours were similarly calculated by the division
between sunset and sunrise.

Sunrise and sunset were invested with great significance since they highlighted the times of the Sun's
'death' and 'rebirth'. The presence or absence of the Sun transforms the whole quality of life from
activity to rest, and the Egyptians felt it was important to mark this transformation. Religious services
were held at sunrise (Matins) - part of the priest's duty being to invoke the planetary deity of the day.
This planet was regarded as a kind of celestial captain, with the planetary ruler of the hour
envisioned as his deputy.[10] Hour rulership passed through the planets in the Chaldean order:
Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury. Another religious service (Vespers) was held at
the eighth hour, when hour rulership returned to the ruler of the day. Our modern days of the week
still bear the names of their planetary rulers although planetary hours were consigned to the realms
of mysticism when the more convenient, equal-length hours were introduced in the Hellenistic
period, disassociating the segments of the day with the season of the year.