[click on icons to read about each planet]The planets in alchemy
Traditional alchemy incorporates the vibrational energy of the luminaries of our solar system, which the ancients called the seven wandering stars. Each planet corresponds to a day of the week, to a metal, to various medicinal plants, to a deity which embodies certain qualities, or archetypes, which form our conscious and unconscious mind, and governs certain organs of the body. Here are some correspondences:
Planet |
Herbs |
Metal |
Day |
Anatomy |
‘Vice’ |
‘Virtue’ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun |
Camomile | Gold | Sunday | Heart | Pride | Humility |
| Moon | Watercress | Silver | Monday | Brain | Lust | Stability of Christos |
| Mercury | Valerian | Mercury | Wednesday | Lungs | Envy | Benevolence |
| Venus | Rose | Copper | Friday | Kidneys | Lewdness | Ennobling |
| Mars | Gorse | Iron | Tuesday | Gall bladder | Anger | Meekness |
| Jupiter | Dandelion | Tin | Thursday | Liver | Cunning | Wisdom |
| Saturn | Comfrey | Lead | Saturday | Spleen | Avarice | Charity |
NB Vice and virtue from Jacob Boehm, Anatomy from Paracelsus, and herbs from Frater Albertus
Alchemy is concerned with the personal planets, those we can see. The outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto do not feature as they can only be seen with modern astronomical telescopes. Because they are so slow moving, astrologically they are known as transpersonal planets.