The Seven Holy Planets of the Tree of Life: PART 2

Planet	Sephiroth	Tarot Key	World
1. Moon	Yesod	Key 2 The High Priestess	Assiah -Yetzirah – Astral
2. Mercury	Hod	Key 1 The Magician	Yetzirah– Personal Mental
3. Venus	Netzach	Key 3 The Empress	Yetzirah – Personal Mental
4. Sun	Tiphareth	Key 19 The Sun	Briatic – Egoic
5. Mars	Geburah	Key 16 The Tower	Briatic– Higher Mind
6. Jupiter	Chesed	Key 10 The Wheel of Fortune	Briatic – Higher Mind
7. Saturn	Binah	Key 21 The World	Atziluth – Divine Soul or Cosmic Mind

4. The Sun – Tiphareth 

In a chart the Sun is the indicator of the fundamental purpose for which a person has entered incarnation. It also shows what the innermost tendencies are and the heart’s desire. 

The Sun is related to the cardiac plexus, where the Higher Self, our True I, is located. 

In our solar system the Sun is at the centre with the planets rotating around it. Our interior replica of that is seen as the True Self being at the centre of our being – and all that we think, feel and do is rotating around this centre. 

The Sun’s rays extend throughout the solar system and beyond, so what we see in the sky is just the core of the Sun. 

We are made up of the same atoms as the Yods that appear in Key 19. These represent the atomic structures that finalise from the Sun’s rays. Thus we may be seen as extensions of the Sun. We live inside the Sun, inside its rays, inside its influence. Its living, fluidic radiance of solar force charges our bloodstream as it passes through the heart and this is referred to as the ‘living gold’ of the alchemical philosopher. 

The Sun is also a symbol for the rebirth from natural humanity to spiritual humanity. This is the Great Work and the little children in Key 19 symbolise this regeneration. To attain this goal more than personal effort is required. What is needed is an influx from the superconscious levels which enter our personality through the Sun centre. 

Conclusion – The Sun 

Remind yourself when you are walking in the sunshine that the solar energy shines in us and our energy shines in the Sun. Remember that the Sun’s body is the whole solar system, the Sun’s consciousness is walking around in every human being, every creature and expressing through all Nature. We are all One. The Sun is indicative of the Christ Consciousness of Tiphareth, the state of consciousness we are all striving for. 

…you are walking in the sunshine that the solar energy shines in us and our energy shines in the Sun .

The Sun – General Information

• Surface temperature: 5,778 k 
• Distance to Earth: 149,600,000 km 

The Sun in Mythology

Helios (/ˈhiːli.ɒs/; Ancient Greek: Ἥλιος Hēlios; Latinized as Helius; Ἠέλιος in Homeric Greek) was the personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. He is the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia (Hesiod) (also known as Euryphaessa (Homeric Hymn 31)) and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. 

Helios was described as a handsome titan crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to earth-circling Oceanus and through the world-ocean returned to the East at night. 

In the Homeric hymn to Helios, Helios is said to drive a golden chariot drawn by steeds (HH 31.14–15); and Pindar speaks of Helios’s “fire-darting steeds” (Olympian Ode 7.71). Still later, the horses were given fiery names: Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon, and Phlegon. 

As time passed, Helios was increasingly identified with the god of light, Apollo. However, in spite of their syncretism, they were also often viewed as two distinct gods/titan (Helios was a Titan, whereas Apollo was an Olympian). The equivalent of Helios in Roman mythology was Sol, specifically Sol Invictus.  

5. Mars – Geburah 

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second smallest planet in the solar system, after Mercury. 

In alchemy, solve always comes before coagula. Destruction is the basis of experience. Everything is in this process of destruction at all times. 

We see this especially when it comes to the changing of the seasons, and as far as we go, it can be painful when destruction and disintegration is applied to our personality patterns. The Martian vibration helps us disintegrate the outworn, erroneous beliefs, prejudices, customs and fixed patterns of thinking, acting and negative attachments. 

The discomfort comes when we hold onto the past and what we are accustomed to. How well do we face the lightning of Key 16 and begin to accept reality, even though it may leave us shaken up for a while. 

The fundamental activity of the Mars energy is the formulation of desire and the Geburah aspect as our feeling of will power. This is our creative energy, and because Geburah sits at the level of the Higher Mind, this is our creative energy used on a higher level … so it’s not just creative desire but also the development of the ability to discern severity and mercy in our own and other’s lives. 

Mars gives us the strength to stand by our convictions and to act severely when it is necessary, even when it is not the most easy thing to do.  

Conclusion – Mars

Destruction is necessary for new construction. There can be no new condition without destroying or letting go of the old condition. We cannot open our heart to love until we have pushed out all the hate that was keeping love from entering our lives. Using Mars constructively means that true justice rules our lives. We must learn the greater good, the greater charity of severity when it is needed, not only for ourselves but for those who would use us for selfish purposes. 

Destruction is necessary for new construction. There can be no new condition without destroying or letting go of the old condition. 

Mars – General Information

• Distance from Sun: 227,900,000 km 
• Radius: 3,390 km 
• Length of day: 1d 0h 40m 
• Mass: 639E21 kg (0.107 Earth mass) 
• Orbital period: 687 days 
• Moons: Phobos, Deimos 

Mars in Mythology

Mars was the Roman god of war and second only to Jupiter in the Roman pantheon. Although most of the myths involving the god were borrowed from the Greek god of war Ares, Mars, nevertheless, had some features which were uniquely Roman. Considered more level-headed than the often impulsive and disruptive Ares, Mars was also seen as a more virtuous figure by the more martial-oriented Romans. As a protector of Rome and the Roman way of life and as a defender of city borders and frontiers, important festivals connected to warfare were held in his honour and the god was also closely associated with the wolf and woodpecker. 

6. Jupiter – Chesed

Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the solar system. It is a giant planet with a mass one-thousandth that of the Sun, but two and a half times that of all the other planets in the solar system combined. 

With Key 10 are the ideas of whirling motion and as Jupiter sits on the Higher Mind level, here also are the principles of mercy. 

The Jupiter centre carries the knowledge of all the evolutionary levels of life. The planet Jupiter, as the largest planet in the solar system is the controlling area of the higher evolutionary development of our vehicles. Therefore, the Jupiter vibration can bring happiness or misery, depending upon our evolutionary level. 

The Jupiter centre is where we take in and store all sorts of very fine spiritual energies. The expansive quality of the Jupiter energies means we have to be harmonised with the other six planets. When this occurs, we can balance severity with mercy. 

Being over-merciful can mean that one can become the accomplice of evil. This is a very fine balancing act and requires the discrimination and insight to see the consequences of actions and how those actions affect others. When we come to this we can stop ourselves over-balancing our mercy aspect. 

The greater fortune of Jupiter has to do with the ability to grasp and comprehend the Universal Laws and cycles which govern humanity. This understanding leads us to freedom from restriction. Acting as if we know that our thoughts, words and deeds are cosmic as well as personal, we will develop new comprehension into the very cells of our bodies which leads to the satisfaction of every desire. 

Conclusion – Jupiter

When we truly see that our future good depends upon our present actions, our comprehension and co-operation with all cyclic activity, we have opened the door for the Jupiter vibration to be detected in our lives. 

Thus will we become perceptive to the true guidance from our Higher Self. 

When we truly see that our future good depends upon our present actions, our comprehension and co-operation with all cyclic activity, we have opened the door for the Jupiter vibration to be detected in our lives. 

Jupiter – General Information

Venus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. It has no natural satellite. It is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty. 

• Distance from Sun: 778,500,000 km 
• Radius: 69,911 km 
• Mass: 1.898E27 kg (317.8 Earth mass) 
• Orbital period: 12 years 
• Length of day: 0d 9h 56m 
• Moons: Include Europa, Io, Ganymede, Callisto, Amalthea, Metis, Adrastea,  

Jupiter in Mythology 

Jupiter was the son of Ops, the earth mother and Saturn, the prevailing sky god who ruled over the rest of the Roman pantheon. Saturn had usurped his oppressive father Caelus in order to assume the position of supremacy; however he quickly became tyrannical himself, heeding a prophecy claiming that one of his own sons would overthrow him. In order to prevent this from occurring, Saturn devoured all of his children as soon as they were born. Realizing that her next child Jupiter would be susceptible to the same treatment, Ops hid him as soon as he was born and offered Saturn a large stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in his place. Saturn swallowed the stone, and was forced to disgorge Jupiter’s siblings in the process of ridding it from his digestive system. Jupiter returned from hiding to overthrow Saturn, assuming leadership over the cosmos and forcing Saturn to flee to Italy. 

Considering his status as the supreme god in the Roman pantheon, it is not surprising that Jupiter enjoyed numerous romantic episodes and thereby sired many offspring. By Maia he is the father of Mercury, the god of commerce; by Dione, he fathered Venus, goddess of love, and by Ceres Proserpine, goddess of the spring. Diana bore Jupiter a son and a daughter—Apollo, god of the sun, and Diana, goddess of the moon, respectively. He is also considered to be the father of Minerva, goddess of wisdom. 

So far the personality complex planets of the Moon, Mercury and Venus, and Higher Mind planets of the Sun, Mars and Jupiter have been examined. In the September edition Saturn and Binah are examined and the articles are concluded.  

References

The Esoteric Astrology of Tarot, Wikipedia, Developing Supersensory Powers

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Read more: The Seven Holy Planets of the Tree of Life: PART 1 (Moon, Mercury and Venus)

Read more: The Seven Holy Planets of the Tree of Life: PART 3 (Saturn)