Introduction: In the Middle-Ages the study of the cosmos and mythology were blended:
They are planets as well as gods. Not that the Christian poet believe in the god because he believed in the planet; but all three things – the visible planet, the source of influence, and the god – generally acted as a unity upon his mind. I have not found evidence hat theologians were at all disquieted by this state of affairs.
The Seven Planets and their Character
1. Saturn
In the earth his influence produces lead; in men, the melancholy complexion; in history disastrous events…Our traditional picture of Father Time with the scythe is derived from earlier pictures of Saturn…He is the most terrible of the seven and is sometimes called The Greater Infortune, Infortuna Major.
2. Jupiter
Jupiter, the King, produces in the earth, rather disappointingly, tin; this shining metal said different things to the imagination before the canning industry came in. The character he produces in men would now be very imperfectly expressed by the word ‘jovial’, and is not very easy to grasp; it is no longer, like the saturnine character, one of our archetypes. We may say it is Kingly; but we must think of a King at peace, enthroned, taking his leisure, serene. The Jovial character is cheerful, festive yet temperate, tranquil, magnanimous…He is the best planet, and is called The Greater Fortune, Fortuna Major.
3. Mars
Mars makes iron. He gives men the martial temperament, ‘sturdy hardiness’…But he is a bad planet, Infortuna Minor. He causes wars.
4. The Sun
Sol produces the noblest metal, gold, and is the eye and mind of the whole universe. He makes men wise and liberal and his sphere is the Heaven of theologians and philosophers…Sol produces fortunate events.
5. Venus
In beneficence Venus stands second only to Jupiter; she is Fortuna Minor. Her metal is copper…In mortal she produces beauty and amorousness; in history, fortunate events.
6. Mercury
Mercury produces quicksilver. Dante gives his sphere to beneficent men of action. Isodore, on the other hand, says this planet is called Mercurius because he is the patron of profit…Gower says that the man born under Mercury will be ‘studious’ and ‘in [writing] curious’…It is difficult to see the unity in all these characteristics. ‘Skilled eagerness’ or ‘bright alacrity’ is the best I can do. But it is better just to take some real mercury in a saucer and play with it for a few minutes. That is what ‘Mercurial’ means.
7. The Moon
At Luna we cross in our descent the great frontier…from aether to air, from ‘heaven’ to ‘nature’, from the realm of gods (or angels) to that of daemons, from the realm of necessity to that of contingence, from the incorruptible to the corruptible….Her metal is silver. In men she produces wandering, and that in two senses. She may make them travellers…But she may also produce ‘wandering’ of the wits, especially that periodical insanity which was first meant by the word lunacy…
Conclusion:
It will be noticed that while we find no difficult in grasping the character of Saturn or Venus, Jove and Mercury almost evaded us. The truth which emerges from this is that the planetary characters need to be seized in an intuition rather than built up out of concepts; we need to know them, not to know about them…
– All quotes from C.S. Lewis, The Discarded Image, pp. 105-109
