Minderwiz
The Planets
In the earlier part of this thread I gave Robert Schmidt's key principles for each planet. There were deduced from the various significations that were given by the authors, rather than actual statements by Hellenistic astrologers.
One thing I didn't mention but I've become increasingly aware of is the use of 'opposites' not only in the meanings of the planets but also in Hellenistic Astrology generally. That's not going to be a shock to most modern Astrologers, who are used to considering the opposite house when considering the delineation of a particular house. So we might consider the tenth house to get more understanding of the fourth and the possible different pulls on a person trying to balance home and work.
In Hellenisitc Astrology you'll find this is rather widespread. Thus the planets themselves form opposite pairs - Sun/Saturn Moon/Saturn, Venus/Mars, etc. Thus the Sun according to Schmidt shows the principle of selection whereas Saturn shows the principle of exclusion and so on for the other planets.
This isn't the only way planetary opposites become important. The use of benefics and malefics is clearly one of the most important distinctions in Hellenistic Astrology, as is the difference between diurnal planets and nocturnal planets. This is all based on one of the key philosophical principles that a quality cannot be explained unless we have an opposite to compare it too. 'Soft' has no meaning unless we also have a concept of 'hard' (and vice versa). We can't talk about 'justice' unless we have a concept of 'injustice' and 'good' has little meaning unless we have a concept of 'bad' or 'evil'.
I'll point out more opposites as we go, especially when we get to the elments but please remember that for the Hellenisitic Astrologers it was impossible to talk about good things unless there were corresponding and in a sense interdependent bad things. A person would have no ability to judge if something only had one and only one property. It would be what it is and that's all that could be said. So opposites are important for making Astrological judgements.
In the earlier part of this thread I gave Robert Schmidt's key principles for each planet. There were deduced from the various significations that were given by the authors, rather than actual statements by Hellenistic astrologers.
One thing I didn't mention but I've become increasingly aware of is the use of 'opposites' not only in the meanings of the planets but also in Hellenistic Astrology generally. That's not going to be a shock to most modern Astrologers, who are used to considering the opposite house when considering the delineation of a particular house. So we might consider the tenth house to get more understanding of the fourth and the possible different pulls on a person trying to balance home and work.
In Hellenisitc Astrology you'll find this is rather widespread. Thus the planets themselves form opposite pairs - Sun/Saturn Moon/Saturn, Venus/Mars, etc. Thus the Sun according to Schmidt shows the principle of selection whereas Saturn shows the principle of exclusion and so on for the other planets.
This isn't the only way planetary opposites become important. The use of benefics and malefics is clearly one of the most important distinctions in Hellenistic Astrology, as is the difference between diurnal planets and nocturnal planets. This is all based on one of the key philosophical principles that a quality cannot be explained unless we have an opposite to compare it too. 'Soft' has no meaning unless we also have a concept of 'hard' (and vice versa). We can't talk about 'justice' unless we have a concept of 'injustice' and 'good' has little meaning unless we have a concept of 'bad' or 'evil'.
I'll point out more opposites as we go, especially when we get to the elments but please remember that for the Hellenisitic Astrologers it was impossible to talk about good things unless there were corresponding and in a sense interdependent bad things. A person would have no ability to judge if something only had one and only one property. It would be what it is and that's all that could be said. So opposites are important for making Astrological judgements.