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Classical planet
In classical antiquity , the sev en classical planets are sev en non-fixed astronomical objects in the sky v isible to the naked ey e: the Moon, Mercury , Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word planet comes from two related Greek
words, πλ άνης planēs (whence πλ άνητες ἀσ τέρες planētes asteres "wandering stars, planets") and πλ ανήτης planētēs, both with the original meaning of "wanderer", expressing the fact that these objects mov e across the celestial sphere
relativ e to the fixed stars. [1 ][2 ] Greek astronomers such as Geminus[3 ] and Ptolemy [4 ] often div ided the sev en planets into the Sun, the Moon, and the fiv e planets.

The term planet in modern terminology is only applied to natural satellites directly orbiting the Sun, so that of the sev en classical planets, fiv e are planets in the modern sense.

Contents
Babylonian astronomy
Symbols
Planetary hours
Alchemy
Contemporary astrology
Western astrology
Indian astrology
Chinese astronomy
Naked-eye planets
Notes
See also
References
External links

Babylonian astronomy
The Baby lonians recognized sev en planets. A bilingual list in the British Museum records the sev en Baby lonian planets in this order: [5 ]

Sumerian language Akkadian language Celestial object Presiding deity

Ak u Sin Moon Sin/Suen

Bišebi Šamaš Sun Šamaš

Dapinu Umun-sig-êa Jupiter Marduk/Amarutu

Zib/Zig Dele-bat Venus Ištar

Lu-lim Lu-bat-sag-uš Saturn Ninib/Nirig/Ninip[a][6]

Bibbu Lubat-gud Mercury Nabu/Nebo

Simutu Muštabarru Mars Nergal

Symbols
The astrological sy mbols for the classical planets appear in the mediev al By zantine codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserv ed. [7 ] In the original papy ri of these Greek horoscopes, there are found a circle with one ray ( ) for
the Sun and a crescent for the Moon. [8 ] The written sy mbols for Mercury , Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn hav e been traced to forms found in late Greek papy ri. [9 ] The sy mbols for Jupiter and Saturn are identified as monograms of the initial letters
of the corresponding Greek names, and the sy mbol for Mercury is a sty lized caduceus. [9 ]

A. S. D. Maunder finds antecedents of the planetary sy mbols in earlier sources, used to represent the gods associated with the classical planets. Bianchini's planisphere, produced in the 2nd century , [1 0 ] shows Greek personifications of
planetary gods charged with early v ersions of the planetary sy mbols: Mercury has a caduceus; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; Mars, a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scy the; the Sun, a circlet with
ray s radiating from it; and the Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached. [1 1 ] A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century Compendium of Astrology shows the Sun represented by the circle with a ray , Jupiter by the letter zeta (the initial
of Zeus, Jupiter's counterpart in Greek my thology ), Mars by a shield crossed by a spear, and the remaining classical planets by sy mbols resembling the modern ones, without the cross-mark seen in modern v ersions of the sy mbols. [1 1 ] The
modern sun sy mbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (☉), first appeared in the Renaissance. [8 ]

Planetary hours
The Ptolemaic sy stem used in Greek astronomy placed the planets in order, closest to Earth to furthest, as the Moon, Mercury , Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. In addition the day was div ided into 7 hour interv als, each ruled by one of
the planets, although the order was staggered (see below).

The first hour of each day was named after the ruling planet, giv ing rise to the names and order of the Roman sev en-day week. Modern Latin-based cultures, in general, directly inherited the day s of the week from the Romans and they were
named after the classical planets; for example, in Spanish Miércoles is Mercury , and in French Mardi is Mars-day .

The modern English day s of the week were inherited from gods of the old Germanic Norse culture — Wednesday is Wōden’s-day (Wōden or Wettin eqv . Mercury ), Thursday is Thor’s-day (Thor eqv . Jupiter), Friday is Frige-day (Frig eqv .
Venus). It can be correlated that the Norse gods were attributed to each Roman planet and its god, probably due to Roman influence rather than coincidentally by the naming of the planets.

Weekday Planet Germanic god Germanic god

English name Roman god Norse name Saxon name

Sunday Sol Sól Sunne

Monday Luna Máni Mōnda

Tuesday Mars Týr Tīw

Wednesday Mercury Óðinn Wōden / Wettin

Thursday Jupiter Thórr Thunor

Friday Venus Frigg Frige

Saturday Saturn — —

Alchemy
In alchemy , each classical planet (Moon, Mercury , Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) was associated with one of the sev en metals known to the classical world (silv er, mercury /quicksilv er, copper, gold, iron, tin and lead respectiv ely ). As
a result, the alchemical gly phs for the metal and associated planet coincide. Alchemists believ ed the other elemental metals were v ariants of these sev en (e.g. zinc was known as "Indian tin" or "mock silv er"[1 2 ] ).

Alchemy in the Western World and other locations where it was widely practiced was (and in many cases still is) allied and intertwined with traditional Baby lonian-Greek sty le astrology ; in
numerous way s they were built to complement each other in the search for hidden knowledge (knowledge that is not common i.e. the occult). Astrology has used the concept of classical
elements from antiquity up until the present day today . Most modern astrologers use the four classical elements extensiv ely , and indeed they are still v iewed as a critical part of
interpreting the astrological chart.

Traditionally , each of the sev en "planets" in the solar sy stem as known to the ancients was associated with, held dominion ov er, and "ruled" a certain metal (see also astrology and the
classical elements).
Extract and symbol key from 17th century alchemy
The list of rulership is as follows: text.

The Sun rules Gold ( )

The Moon, Silver ( )
Mercury, Quicksilver/Mercury ( )
Venus, Copper ( )
Mars, Iron ( )
Jupiter, Tin ( )
Saturn, Lead ( )

Some alchemists (e.g. Paracelsus) adopted the Hermetic Qabalah assignment between the v ital organs and the planets as follows:[1 2 ]

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Planet Organ

Sun Heart

Moon Brain

Mercury Lungs

Venus Kidneys

Mars Gall bladder

Jupiter Liver

Saturn Spleen

Contemporary astrology

Western astrology

Planet Domicile sign(s) Detriment sign(s) Exaltation sign Fall sign Joy sign(s) A table of alchemical symbols
Sun Leo Aquarius Aries Libra Sagittarius from Basil Valentine’s The Last
Will and Testament, 1670 ce.
Moon Cancer Capricorn Taurus Scorpio Pisces, Libra

Mercury Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) Virgo Pisces Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aquarius

Venus Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) Pisces Virgo Gemini, Cancer and Aquarius

Mars Aries (diurnal) and Scorpio (nocturnal) Libra (diurnal) and Taurus (nocturnal) Capricorn Cancer Gemini, Leo, Virgo and Sagittarius

Jupiter Sagittarius (diurnal) and Pisces (nocturnal) Gemini (diurnal) and Virgo (nocturnal) Cancer Capricorn Taurus, Leo and Libra

Saturn Aquarius (diurnal) and Capricorn (nocturnal) Leo (diurnal) and Cancer (nocturnal) Libra Aries Gemini, Virgo and Scorpio

Indian astrology
Indian astronomy and astrology (Jy otiṣa) recognises sev en v isible planets (including the sun and moon) and two additional inv isible planets.

Sanskrit
Tamil name English Name Guna Represents Day
Name

Surya (सूय) ஞா (nyayiru) Sun Sattva Soul, king, highly placed persons, father, ego Sunday

ங் கள் (thingal),ம (mathi),

Chandra (चं ) Moon Sattva Emotional Mind, queen, mother. Monday
நில (Nilavau) Astrology: the Thema Mundi shows the naked-eye
planets in their domicile
Mangala ெசவ் வாய் (cevvai), ெசம் ன்
Mars Tamas energy, action, confidence Tuesday
(मंगल) (sem-meen)

Budha (बुध) தன் Mercury Rajas Communication and analysis, mind Wednesday

Brihaspati யாழன்(vyalan), ெபான் ன்

Jupiter Sattva the great teacher, wealth, Expansion, progeny Thursday
(बृह ित) (Pon-meen)

ெவள் ளி(velli), ெவண் ன் (ven-

Shukra (शु ) Venus Rajas Feminine, pleasure and reproduction, Luxury, Love, Spouse Friday
meen)

சனி (sani), ைமம் ன் (mai-m-

Shani (शिन) Saturn Tamas learning the hard way. Career and Longevity, Contraction Saturday
meen)

Ascending/North Lunar an Asura who does his best to plunge any area of one's life he controls into chaos,
Rahu (रा ) க ம் பாம் (karumpaambu) Tamas none
Node works on the subconscious level

Descending/South
Ketu (केतु) ெசம் பாம் (cempaaambu) Tamas supernatural influences, works on the subconscious level none
Lunar Node

Chinese astronomy
The cy cles of the Chinese calendar are linked to the orbit of Jupiter, there being 12 sacred beasts in the Chinese dodecannualar geomantic and astrological cy cle, and 12 y ears in the orbit of Jupiter.

English Associated Chinese/Japanese/Korean Hanja Chinese Japanese Korean Hangul Old astronomical
Vietnamese
Name element Characters pinyin hiragana/romaji (romaja) names[13]

Mercury water 水星 Shuǐxīng すいせい/Suisei 수성 (Suseong) Sao Thủy Chénxīng (辰星)

Sao Kim, also "Sao Mai" as "morning star" and "Sao Hôm" as
Venus metal/gold 金星 Jīnxīng きんせい/Kinsei 금성 (Geumseong) Tàibái (太白)
"evening star"

Mars fire 火星 Huǒxīng かせい/Kasei 화성 (Hwaseong) Sao Hỏa Yínghuò (熒惑)

Jupiter wood 木星 Mùxīng もくせい/Mokusei 목성 (Mokseong) Sao Mộc Suì (歲)

Saturn earth 土星 Tǔxīng どせい/Dosei 토성 (Toseong) Sao Thổ Zhènxīng (鎮星)

Naked-eye planets
Mercury and Venus are v isible only in twilight hours because their orbits are interior to that of Earth. Venus is the third-brightest object in the sky and the most prominent planet. Mercury is more difficult to see due to its proximity to the Sun.
Lengthy twilight and an extremely low angle at maximum elongations make optical filters necessary to see Mercury from extreme polar locations. [1 4 ] Mars is at its brightest when it is in opposition, which occurs approximately ev ery twenty -
fiv e months. Jupiter and Saturn are the largest of the fiv e planets, but are farther from the Sun, and therefore receiv e less sunlight. Nonetheless, Jupiter is often the next brightest object in the sky after Venus. Saturn's luminosity is often
enhanced by its rings, which reflect light to v ary ing degrees, depending on their inclination to the ecliptic; howev er, the rings themselv es are not v isible to the naked ey e from the Earth. Uranus and sometimes the asteroid Vesta are in principle
v isible to the naked ey e on v ery clear nights, but, unlike the true naked-ey e planets, are alway s less luminous than sev eral thousands of stars, and as such, do not stand out enough for their existence to be noticed without the aid of a telescope.

Notes
a. Sumerian names for the planet Saturn are Kâawanu and (Akkadian) Sag-uš "firm, steadfast, phlegmatic".

See also
Antikythera mechanism
Aspects of Venus
Definition of planet
List of former planets
Five elements (Chinese philosophy)
Geocentric model
Celestial spheres

References
1. Classification of the Planets (http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr161/lect/classificati
on/classification.html)
2. πλάνης (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.00
57:entry=pla/nhs), πλανήτης (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Per
seus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=planh/ths). Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert;
A Greek –English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
3. Goldstein, Bernard R. (2007), "What's New in Ptolemy's Almagest", Nuncius,
22: 271
4. Pedersen, Olaf (2011), A Survey of the Almagest, Sources and Studies in the
History of Mathematics and Physical Sciences, New York / Dordrecht /
Heidelberg / London: Springer Science + Business Media, ISBN 978-0-387-
84825-9
5. Mackenzie (1915). "13 Astrology and Astronomy". Myths of Babylonia and
Assyria (http://sacred-texts.com/ane/mba/mba19.htm).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_planet
6. Pinches, Thophilus G. "5". The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20071217065651/http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/re
lg/non-christiancomparative/TheReligionofBabyloniaandAssyria/chap5.html).
Archived from the original (http://worldwideschool.org/library/books/relg/non-chri
stiancomparative/TheReligionofBabyloniaandAssyria/chap5.html) on 17
December 2007.
7. Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy.
pp. 788–789.
8. Neugebauer, Otto; Van Hoesen, H. B. (1987). Greek Horoscopes. pp. 1, 159,
163.
9. Jones, Alexander (1999). Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus. pp. 62–63. "It
is now possible to trace the medieval symbols for at least four of the five planets
to forms that occur in some of the latest papyrus horoscopes ([ P.Oxy. ] 4272,
4274, 4275 [...]). That for Jupiter is an obvious monogram derived from the initial
letter of the Greek name. Saturn's has a similar derivation [...] but underwent
simplification. The ideal form of Mars' symbol is uncertain, and perhaps not
related to the later circle with an arrow through it. Mercury's is a stylized
caduceus."
10. "Bianchini's planisphere" (http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/galileopalazzostrozzi/obje
ct/BianchinisPlanisphere.html). Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della
Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). Retrieved
2010-03-17.
11. Maunder, A. S. D. (1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The
Observatory. 57: 238–247. Bibcode:1934Obs....57..238M (https://ui.adsabs.har
vard.edu/abs/1934Obs....57..238M).
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12. Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor: Paracelsus and the World of Renaissance Magic 13. 中国古代的日月五星 (http://www.bj80.com/jiaoyanzu/wlz/wlxs/zggdwl2.htm) 14. Sky Publishing – Latitude Is Everything (http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/astr
and Science, ISBN 978-0-09-945787-9 Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100511104928/http://www.bj80.com/jiao onomy/astro21/sandt/latitude.html)
yanzu/wlz/wlxs/zggdwl2.htm) 2010-05-11 at the Wayback Machine

External links
The Naked Eye Planets and how to identify them (http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/)
Wandering Stars: Movements and Visibility Cycles of the Naked Eye Planets (http://www.nakedeyeplanets.com/movements.htm)
Chronology of Discoveries in the Solar System (http://www.nineplanets.org/history.html)

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