Theistic Astrology

Venus

Venus represents our loves, pleasures, harmony and balance.

It also symbolises music, art, peace, self-indulgence, vanity.

In traditional astrology it was considered to be the sister or reflection of our Earth, as can be seem in the ‘vanity mirror’ of its astrological glyph.

Likewise, in EU the side of Venus facing us or “looking our way” (see AC7246) inhabits those spirits most similar in characteristic with our own Earth.

It rules two signs: Libra in its more humane manifestation and Taurus in its more beast-like (see AC7249).

Keywords:peace, love, unison, harmony, music, vanity, bestial.

Mars

Mars is somewhat the exception to the rule regarding the similarity of modern astrology to theistic astrology. In traditional astrology, Mars is the god of War. But in theistic astrology this planet is associated with the more basic and trusting nature of its origins with the most Ancient Church, namely childlike innocence. It is the wide-eyed untainted love for the Lord that cannot dissemble, be counterfeit or hypocritical.

It represents the ‘whole-brain’ nature of our race of ancient people, and the mental state of most of the inhabitants of other earths in the universe.

The Will of Mars passes straight into action.

Keywords: Innocence

Jupiter

Everything connected with Jupiter is BIG!

In EU, the spirits of this expansive planet are said to correspond to THE IMAGINATIVE OF THOUGHT (note the capitals used by Swedenborg in that passage: AC8630). Likewise in traditional astrology, people with Jupiter pronounce in their chart are BIG in IDEAS, and outlook. Usually very philosophical or religious, they have a cheerful or JOVIAL attitude to life.

This planet rules the sign(s) of Sagittarius which is symbolised by the half-man, half horse centaur of mythology, and sometimes Pisces. However, as is the case with nearly all of these dual rulership planets, you will discover later on in this course that new planets which were undiscovered in Swedenborg’s time (yet the character of which are described by him in EU) have superseded these old ‘rulers’.

Keywords: Imagination, cheerfulness, horses, publishing.

Saturn

Saturn represents the boundaries of our perception and solar system by restrictions and limitations, symbolized by the planet’s rings. The responsibilities and the lessons we must learn about ourselves.

It rules the zodiac sign of Capricorn, and requires structure and meaning to be given to Jupiter’s imagination and inspiration.

As a stern teacher, both upright and modest, its correspondence in the Grand Human (and in traditional astrology) is to the lower knees and bones.

Keywords: Knees, upright, modest, restriction, structure.

 

Questions

1.      Which planet rules Libra and Taurus?

Answer:

2.      Using the relevant passage in EU, describe the nature of the inhabitants of both sides of this planet.

Answer:

3.      What zodiac is the sign associated with the Moon?

Answer:

4.      Describe the nature of the inhabitants of the Moon.

Answer:

5.      Which planet is associated with the Logos or Word of God?

Answer:

Please e-mail your answers (and any insights or observations you might have) to: Astrotheism@aol.com for marking.

In chapter 3 we will be exploring some of the signs of the zodiac and their possible association with the other earths in the starry universe.

 

3. The zodiac signs

In chapter two, we have explored the associations and symbolism of the planets in theistic astrology.

In doing so, we have also already discovered much about the personalities of the sun-signs that they rule in the zodiac, for they are very similar.

However, as mention previously under ‘Jupiter’, because the Ancients could not see with the naked eye other, more distant ‘earths’ in their night sky, certain planets were designated joint rulership of some of these constellations.

Faced with the disparity of having twelve zodiac signs and only seven ‘planets’ to assign them to, natives born during the solar transits of Virgo, Scorpio, Pisces, and Aquarius were categorised to have similar qualities as Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn respectively.

But with the publication of ‘Earths in the Universe’, and the descriptions of the latter six earths in the starry heaven, this oversimplification of the character of those signs, could perhaps, be redressed.

The earths titled ‘first’, ‘third’ and ‘second’ (yes, in that order! I’ll explain this remarkable discovery a little further on) may now possibly be given their rightful identification as Uranus, Pluto and Neptune.

“But,” you may quite rightly object, “I thought Swedenborg writes that these other earths in the universe are not in our solar system, but orbiting around other stars?” And this is correct, he does and they do.

The answer to this apparent contradiction is that (as mentioned previously in chapter 1 of this course) the purpose of these revelations is to describe the psychological make-up of all the inhabitants in the Lord’s universe.

The planet ‘names’ in EU are perhaps, not intended solely for our solar system (or even necessarily to describe the whole group of inhabitants on each planet) but a generic term for certain mental states and personality traits whichever ‘earth’ one happens to reside on.

This would be similar to when traditional astrologers describe someone as predominantly ‘Libran’ or ‘Aries’ on our own Earth. It doesn’t mean they’re actually from the planet ‘Venus’ or ‘Mars’, as a popular psychology book humorously describes the general nature of ‘women’ and ‘men’!

So in this chapter, we will be limiting our study to the zodiac signs of Aquarius, Scorpio and Pisces and comparing their description in traditional astrology with that of the first three earths in the starry heaven.

Aquarius (or Uranus) 

This happens to be Swedenborg’s own sun sign, and strangely enough, his life-span equalled the approximate duration that Uranus takes to complete one orbit around our natural sun.

In modern astrology, Uranus has already been allocated rulership of Aquarius.

Aquarius is an ‘air’ sign (not a ‘water’ sign, as it is sometimes mistakenly believed to be).

The image of the man carrying a jug employed for this constellation symbolises its humanitarian qualities, and instead of water being poured out from the container on his shoulder, he is instead pouring out ether.

This ‘fifth element’ is the subtle substance that links the whole human race together in the Lord’s universe, and allows the vertical communities to communicate with each other. (Very much like how Swedenborg has done by revealing the science of correspondences to us.)

Aquarius (and the planet Uranus) is associated in traditional astrology with the sciences (see  AC 9793).

Visions, mysticism, astrology, astronomy, dreams, space exploration, lightning and electricity also come under its associations.

As a generational influence, Aquarius is more concerned with society as a whole, rather than the individual.

It is a constellation which is connected to the future advancement and perfected state of the human race, or utopian vision of a regenerated society.

Consequently, the inhabitants of this planet in EU worship an angelic society, who provides them with a “fiery and yellow torch” light, or who “flashes with light” (lightning?) when seen collectively as a Divine man.

(See AC9694 and also  AC 9695)

Natives born in this cycle of the Spiritual Sun, usually experience unpredictable lives.

As with the example of Swedenborg himself (who is the embodiment of the ‘pure’ Aquarian personality type); they are often eccentric geniuses, given to surprising revelations that divert their lives into a whole different direction than the path they started out on.

Their negatives traits can be the ability to shock or ‘excite horror’, erratic behaviour and dabbling in occult practices.

The ruling planet’s assigned colour in traditional astrology is blue-green (or turquoise) AC 9794.

So, if you have been following the links to the relevant passages of Arcana Coelestia in this chapter, you will have now discovered that in the contemporary language of Swedenborg’s era, nearly all of these Aquarian/Uranus associations are briefly alluded to in ‘The first earth in the starry heavens’.

This pattern is repeated, as you will soon see, in the following comparisons of Scorpio and Pisces with the second and third earths in the starry heaven.

Keywords: astronomica, sciences, shock/horror, lightning, green.

Scorpio (or Pluto)

If one was seeking examples of the similarity of the first three earths described around other solar systems with the last three of our own, it would be understandable to expect that the series of planets would be presented in the same order of this extended solar family. That is, with Neptune following on from Uranus and finally, Pluto.

But here is the remarkable discovery mentioned earlier above: the ‘second’ earth seen in the starry heaven is described as having nearly all the qualities one would expect to find of Scorpio/Pluto. Not Neptune!

The reason for this would soon be obvious to any astronomer; Pluto’s orbit sometimes slips inside that of Neptune’s, so that for certain periods of time, this planet is nearer to the sun than Neptune is – a fact that would be impossible to know in Swedenborg’s age, any more than the existence of these three planets themselves!

So what are these similar qualities mentioned in this ‘second’ earth in the universe, with Scorpio/Pluto?

Well, this sign and planet are often associated in modern astrology with the Phoenix and Scorpion (although these are rather negative associations for this personality, and could cause the inhabitants to take offence, just as they did with Swedenborg’s comparison of them!).

However, there is an older and more positive symbol of this psychological state in astronomica – that of the Eagle (see AC9969  and AC9970 ).

In traditional astrology, the Scorpio character often has small, piercing eyes (see  AC10163) that can penetrate deeply into anything that attracts their fascination or attention.

There is not much usually that can be kept hidden from the average Pluto ruled Scorpio personality, as their penetrative gaze dives into anything and anyone until all secrets are exposed to their lofty sight and sharp perception (again, see AC9969).

Scorpio is a ‘Water’ sign, and as its ruler Pluto, often wanders into Neptune’s (or Pisces) equally ‘watery’ environment in the starry heavens, some of the qualities of this latter sign’s unfathomable personality rubs off on it. For although perfectly equipped to plummet into other people’s lakes (e.g., Neptune’s! See AC10161 ), they are far too inscrutable and deep themselves.

Like camels, they are adept at surviving the harshest of conditions, and can discipline themselves to abstain from any indulgence they see fit.

Sometimes their personal appearance can even look similar to an eagle, with their nose taking on the protrusion of an eagle’s beak. 

Scorpio is associated in traditional astrology with all flowers of a dark red colour; especially those which have thorns (again, see AC10163above).

Keywords: Eagle, eyes, camels, lakes, roses and nose.

One other pertinent observation here under Pluto, is that Swedenborg has often been criticized for not mentioning the existence of many other planets in our solar system. But in actuality, he did mention them.

A close inspection of his text reveals that in AC9582  “………  Near the end of our solar system, there first appeared a shining but dense cloud, and after it a fiery smoke rising up from a great chasm.  A vast abyss separated our solar world on that side from certain worlds of the starry heaven. The fiery smoke appeared for a considerable distance. I was being carried across this middle region, when underneath in that chasm or abyss there appeared very many men, who were spirits, for all spirits appear in the human form, and are actually men, (n. 322, 1881).  I also heard them speaking to each other there, but was not given to know whence they came and what was their nature; however, one of them told me that they were guards to prevent spirits from this world from passing into any other world in the universe without the needful facilities”.

This multitude of spirits, whom he was “not given to know whence they came”, would still have been around their home planet(s), because as he asserts elsewhere:

AC9968   When I arrived there, the earth itself was not seen, but only the spirits from that earth; for as has already been observed several times, the spirits of every earth appear around their own earth,

AC9578 By means of angels from the Lord I was conducted to a certain earth in the universe, where it was granted me to look at the earth itself; but not to speak with the inhabitants of it, but with the spirits who came from it. For after their life in the world is completed, all the inhabitants, or men, of every earth, become spirits, and remain about their earth.

 The ‘vast abyss”, “shining, dense cloud” and “smoke rising up from a great chasm” may yet be the Oort Cloud http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oort_cloud and Kuiper belt, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuiper_belt discovered by astronomers.

As It is from this cloud, or Kuiper belt, that the recently discovered planetoids, Chiron, Charon and Sedna are believed to originate from. (See also http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/jewitt/kb.html )

In mythology, Charon is known as the ferryman who takes the dead across the river Styx to Hades.

The ancient custom of placing coins on the eyes of the dead was to pay this ‘ferryman’. Or perhaps, as in Swedenborg’s text, “they were guards to prevent spirits from this world from passing into any other world in the universe without the needful facilities”.

 

Pisces (or Neptune)

At this stage in our course, you should now be easily starting to recognise that the description of these other earths in the starry heavens bear very similar characteristics to the astrological interpretations of the signs and planets.

We will be using these similarities to obtain a better understanding of EU in the next chapter, when we systematically work our way through the relevant passages of that book.

So as an example, instead of me describing the qualities of Pisces/Neptune in this final section, I will let some of Swedenborg’s own passages explain them for you (with the emphasis on the ‘keywords’ you should look out for in his text, in bold type):

The 'nebulous' qualities of Neptune (or the sign of Pisces the fish) associated with this planet are alluded to in the following passages of Arcana Coelestia:

AC 10312  “Differently from the spirits of our earth, they were unwilling to think at all about their bodies or even about anything bodily and material….”

AC 10313 “The spirits of our earth declared that they did not dare to approach them, because when they do so they are not only seized with anxiety, but also, from phantasy, they seem to themselves to be as it were bound hand and foot with serpents, from which they cannot be loosed until they retire.  Such a phantasy is from correspondence; for the bodily sensuous of man is represented in the other life by serpents, and therefore by ”serpents“ in the Word is also signified the sensuous, which is the lowest of the life of man”.

AC 10314 “As the spirits of that earth are of this nature, they do not appear as do other spirits, in a clearly defined human form, but as a cloud; the better of them as a dusky cloud with a human whiteness scattered about in it. They said that inwardly they are white and that when they become angels this duskiness is turned into a beautiful blue, which also was shown me”.

In astronomica, Neptune (or Pisces) rules the feet. This planet (or sign) is also partially connected with Saturn (or Capricorn) whose symbol is part goat-part fishes' tail.

Notice how in the following passage we have referral back to the knees which is Saturn's correspondence in the Grand Man. This passage also reaffirms the correspondence of things not external but interior that Saturn has:

AC 10379 “The spirits of that earth appear above, in the plane of the heel toward the right; for all spirits are known by their situation in respect to the human body, which is the case because the universal heaven corresponds to all things of man. These spirits keep themselves at a distance, because their correspondence is not with the externals of man, but with his interiors. Their action is into the left knee, a little above and below, with a certain undulatory vibration that is very sensible, which is a sign that they correspond to the conjunction of natural and celestial things. For the feet correspond to natural things, the thighs to celestial things, thus the knee to their conjunction”.

(You may recall here, that Jupiter was the joint ruler of Pisces before the discovery of Neptune.

Although it can now rightfully be said to rule the sign of Sagittarius, its old association to the thighs of the mythological centaur can be seen in the conjunction of the natural-spiritual-celestial things mentioned in the passage above.)

The sign of Neptune ruled Pisces is considered an amalgam of the preceding 11 zodiac signs. White light (see AC 10314 above) when split by a prism (or ‘crystals’), also separates into a spectrum, or rainbow of colours:

AC 10514 “But it was not granted me to see the nature of the interior of these edifices, except that the light of their sun is let in through openings between the branches, and is everywhere transmitted through crystals, whereby the light all round the walls is variegated into colors like those of the rainbow, especially the colors blue and orange, which they love more than the other colors. Such is the nature of their architecture, which they prefer to the most magnificent palaces of our earth, and which was also esteemed and praised above these by the spirits of our earth”.

Questions

1.      What ‘element’ is associated with Aquarius/Uranus?

Answer:

2.      What does the Divine man ‘flash’ with to the inhabitants of the first earth in the starry heavens?

Answer:

3.      Name one branch of ‘science’ associated with Aquarius/Uranus

Answer:

4.      What happens to Pluto’s orbit in our solar system?

Answer:

5.      What bird is the spirits of the second earth in the starry heavens compared to by Swedenborg?

       Answer:

6.      What types of flowers are associated with Scorpio/Pluto?

Answer:

7.      Name all the ‘keywords’ associated with Pisces/Neptune.

Answer:

 

In chapter 4, we will begin our systematic examination of ‘Earths in the Universe’ using what you have learned about theistic astrology so far in this course.

 

4. Earths in the Universe

The spirits of Mercury

In the previous three chapters we have learned the basics of Theistic Astrology and it’s correlation with Swedenborg’s book ‘Earths in the Universe’.

Now that general knowledge is in place, we can delve a little deeper into his text to discover the psychological states of ‘Mercury’, Venus’, ‘Mars’, etc., again by comparing it with the traditional astrological associations, but more systematically and thoroughly this time.

All of the Threefold Word or Divine Speech deals with us, His human race, and our mental states. Therefore, even the passages that I may skip over in this examination of EU still contain infinite arcana to be unfolded about our psychological make-up.

The ones covered in this course are merely brought to your attention so as you may investigate further for yourself.

As Theistic Astrologers, one of the first things we might expect to find in the description of the spirits of Mercury is the relationship of its zodiac sign Gemini, to the mind:

AC6808   What the spirits of the planet Mercury bear relation to in the Grand Man, has also been disclosed to me from heaven, namely, the memory, but the memory of things that are abstracted from what is earthly and merely material. But as it has been given me to speak with them, and this for many weeks, and to learn their quality, and to explore the condition of those who are in that earth, I would present the actual experiences.

Gemini’s assigned element in all branches of astrology is ‘Air’. It is the ‘lower octave’ of Aquarius (another ‘air’ sign) and therefore resonates at a lower vibration than the ‘ether’ of that sign. But still has the similar function of communicating information:

AC6809 They once came to me and searched the things in my memory. Spirits can do this with the utmost skill; for when they come to a man, they see in his memory everything he knows. When therefore the spirits of Mercury searched out various things, and among others the cities and places where I had been, I observed that they did not wish to know about the churches, palaces, houses, and streets; but only what I knew to have been done in these places, and also matters relating to the government there, and to the genius and manners of the inhabitants, with other things like these; for such things cling to the places that are in man‘s memory, and therefore when the places are excited, these other things also come up. I wondered at this character of the spirits of Mercury, and I therefore asked why they passed by the magnificent features of the places, and only searched out the facts and doings there? They said they have no delight in looking at material, bodily, and earthly things, but only at real ones. From this it at once appeared that the spirits of that earth relate in the Grand Man to the memory of real things when abstracted from things material and earthly.

The Mercurial (or Gemini) type personality can be skilled in memory knowledge. They are able to grasp facts almost instantaneously and often make great students because of their ability to retain (in their short-term memory, at least) vital pieces of information necessary to appear well informed in any given subject.(But note here however, this is the first instance of many ‘opposite’ qualities assigned to the spirits of various planets that such individuals may need to cultivate. For the typical Mercurial character frequently does not retain long-term, what they have learned.)

Obviously, such an ability to rapidly assimilate information makes for great lawyers and politicians (although their own homes and personal relationships can suffer because of their detached attitude to more mundane matters):

AC6810 I have been told that their life in their own earth is of the same character, namely, that they care nothing for earthly and bodily things; but only for the statutes, laws, and governments of the nations there, and also for the things of heaven, which are innumerable. And I was further told that many of the men of that earth speak with spirits, and from this have knowledges of spiritual realities, and of the states of life after death, and from this also they have contempt for bodily and earthly things. For they who know with certainty and believe in a life after death, care for heavenly things, as being eternal and happy, and not for worldly things except in so far as the necessities of life require.

The average Gemini (or Mercury) individual loves to ‘read’, both people and books. They are more at home in cities or towns, are ‘people’ persons, and very interested in social events, but can also be flighty and fickle, leaving instantly once all areas of interest to them have been covered:

AC6811 With what eagerness they search out and learn knowledges, such as are in the memory that is raised above the sensuous things of the body, was made evident to me from the fact that when they looked into what I knew about heavenly things, they ran over them all, continually saying, ”That is so-and-so, that is so-and-so.“ For when spirits come to a man, they enter into all his memory, and excite from it all that is suited to themselves; nay, as I have often observed, they read its contents as from a book. The spirits of Mercury did this with greater skill and quickness, because they looked at the real things themselves, and did not delay over such things as are slow, and which confine and consequently retard the internal sight, as do all earthly and bodily things when regarded as an end, that is, when loved in an extraordinary degree. For realities to which earthly things do not adhere bear the mind upward, thus into a wide field; whereas merely material things bear the mind downward, thus into a narrow one. Their eagerness to acquire knowledges also became evident in the following manner. Once when I was writing something about the future, and they were at a distance, so that they could not look at it from my memory, they were very indignant because I would not read it in their presence, and contrary to their usual behavior they desired to upbraid me, calling me the worst of men, and so forth; and in order to show their anger they induced a kind of contraction on the right side of my head as far as the ear, that was attended with pain. But such things did me no harm. But as the spirits had done evil they went still further off, and yet they waited; because they wanted to know what I had written about the future. Such is their desire for knowledges.

If a Mercury individual is withheld from exercising their innate curiosity, it can result in nervous ailments like headaches and migraine; so eager is their desire for knowledge. They are the ‘toddler’ stage in psychological development, or the eternal child, anxious and impatient for new experiences and forever wondering what is ‘just around the corner’. They can also be prone to slanderous behaviour.

All ‘air’ bound communication falls under the province of this sign, such as news reports, radio, (terrestrial) television and (air) mail:

AC6813 When the spirits of Mercury come to other societies, they search out from them what they know, and as soon as they have done this they depart. There is such a communication among spirits that when they are in a society, if they are accepted and loved, all things which they know are communicated, and this not by any speech, but by influx. By reason of their knowledges the spirits of Mercury are more conceited than others, and they were therefore told that although they know innumerable things, still there are infinite things which they do not know; and that if their knowledges should increase to eternity, they would not attain even to a knowledge of generals. They were told also of their conceit and elation of mind, and how unbecoming this is; but they answered that it is not conceit, but only a glorying in their faculty of memory. In this way they can excuse their faults.

As Mercury is the closest planet to the natural sun (which rules Leo) they can mimic a quality associated with that sign – conceitedness. Mimicry is a typical attribute of Mercury in an astrological chart. And when in conjunction with any other planet, they will tend to take on some of its characteristics.

Because of this ability, we might expect to see further examples of it throughout this chapter of EU. And as you will discover later on, at various stages in the descriptions of these spirits from Mercury, certain attributes assigned to the inhabitants of other planets in our solar system are briefly alluded to in its passages.

AC6814 They are averse to verbal speech because it is material, and therefore I could talk with them no otherwise than by a kind of active thought. Their memory, being of real things, and not of purely material images, supplies the thought with its objects more closely; for the thought which is above the imagination requires for its objects things abstracted from what is material. But in spite of this, the spirits of Mercury excel but little in the faculty of judgment. They are not delighted with matters that belong to judgment and to conclusions from thoughts; for bare knowledges are their delight.

Again, in this section, we find one of those ‘opposite’ or absent traits lacking in many Gemini individuals that needs cultivating. For they are prone to excessive chatter, or even gossip, that excels little in good judgment.

Because Mercurial characters tend to like knowledge without use, they sometimes don’t delve deep enough into any given subject, and therefore can fall foul to the proverbial ‘jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none’, syndrome.

AC6816 The spirits of Mercury are quite different from the spirits of our earth, for the spirits of our earth care not so much for real things as for material, worldly, bodily, and earthly things. Therefore the spirits of Mercury cannot be together with the spirits of our earth, and so whenever they meet them they flee away; for the spiritual spheres which exhale from the two are almost opposite. The spirits of Mercury have a saying, that they love what is drawn out from things material, and that they do not desire to look at the sheath, but at things stripped of their sheath, thus at interior things.

Our Earth is most similar in character to the ‘Taurus’ side of Venus. In the zodiac belt, Taurus precedes Gemini, and is a sign concerned with material values. These two signs are generally incompatible with each other, as Taurus is of the ‘earth’ element. However, the ‘Libra’ side of Venus is an air sign, just like Mercury.

AC6923 At another time I saw a multitude of such spirits, but at some distance from me, in front, a little to the right, and they talked with me from there, but through intermediate spirits; for their speech is as quick as thought, which can fall into human speech only through intermediate spirits. And what surprised me, they spoke all together, and yet just as promptly and quickly. Their speech was perceived as an undulation, because it was of many together; and what is remarkable, it fell toward my left eye, though they were to the right. The reason was that the left eye corresponds to knowledges of things abstracted from things material, thus to such as are of intelligence; but the right eye corresponds to those which are of wisdom. They likewise perceived and judged what was heard with the same promptness as that with which they spoke, saying that this was so, and this not so. Their judgment was as it were instantaneous.

Gemini is a ‘dual’ sign, or indicates more than one. They make good diplomats or spokespersons, being able to see both sides of an argument. ‘Speaking together, all at once’ is very similar to voices singing in a choir, therefore it will come as no surprise that they can also make good composers and musicians because of their dexterity.

AC6924 There was a spirit from another earth who, being a prompt and ready speaker, could speak with them skilfully. They judged in a moment of what he spoke, saying that this was too elegantly expressed, and that too artfully, so that they merely attended to whether they heard anything from him which was unknown to them before, thus rejecting such things as obscure the discourse, which are chiefly all affectations of elegance and erudition; for these hide the real things, and present instead thereof words, which are their material forms.

Gemini types can be skilled orators. The Word or Logos of God is also associated with Mercury, or Thoth in ancient Egypt.

AC6925 The spirits of the earth Mercury do not stay in one place, or within the sphere of the spirits of one world, but wander through the universe. The reason of this is that they relate in the Grand Man to the memory of real things, which memory must be continually enriched. Hence it is given them to wander about, and everywhere to acquire for themselves knowledges. If while thus journeying they meet with spirits who love material, that is, bodily and earthly things, they shun them, and betake themselves where they do not hear such things. From this it can be seen that their mind is uplifted above sensuous things, and thus that they are in interior light. This it was also given actually to perceive when they were near me, and were speaking with me. I then observed that I was withdrawn from sensuous things, insomuch that the light of my eyes began to grow dull and obscure.

Mercurial characters seldom like to stay in one place for very long. They are wandering spirits and love to travel, and thereby broadening their horizons and enriching their minds with new experiences, people and places.

AC6921 At the end of the preceding chapter it was shown that the spirits of the planet Mercury constitute in the Grand Man the memory of things not material; and as they therefore love to know things abstracted from what is material, they are more prompt and quick than other spirits in discerning, thinking, and speaking; for material things are like weights which induce slowness and retard, because they bear the mind downward and immerse it in earthly things, and thus remove it from the spiritual world, whence all clear discernment comes. How prompt these spirits are, can be seen from what follows.

From this it can be ascertained that Gemini characters can be nimble in thought and speech. They tend to think abstractly from the material.

AC6922 There appeared a white flame of some brightness burning briskly, and this for some time. This flame signified the approach of spirits of Mercury more prompt than the rest. When they came, they instantly ran through the contents of my memory. This all spirits are able to do, and being with a man they are in possession of all things of his memory, (n. 5853, 5857, 5859, 5860). But on account of their quickness I could not perceive what these spirits observed. From time to time I heard them saying, “That’s so-and-so” As regards what I have seen in the heavens and in the world of spirits, they said that they knew it before. I perceived that a multitude of spirits in association with them was at the back, a little to the left, in the plane of the back of the head.

As Gemini (or Mercury) is of the air element, hence the briskness of the flame being supplied with oxygen. “That’s so-and-so” is indicative of their ‘matter-of-fact’ personalities, and ‘been there, done that already’ attitude to repeating experiences.

AC6930 There was afterward sent to me from the spirits of Mercury a long irregular paper consisting of a number of papers stuck together, which appeared as if printed with type such as there is on this earth. I asked whether they have such things among them? but they said that they have not; but that they know there are such papers on our earth. They were unwilling to say more, but it was given to perceive that they were thinking that in this earth the knowledges of things are of this nature, thus separate from the man himself, except when the man keeps his eye and thus his mind on such papers. In this way they were ridiculing among themselves the men of this earth, as if they knew nothing except from papers; but they were instructed how the case herein is. After some time they returned, and sent to me another paper, also as it were printed like the former, yet not so stuck together and rude, but becoming and neat. They said that they had been further informed that on our earth there are such papers, and books made of them.

Here we have again the Gemini ability to imitate others. In this instance it is Jupiter (or Sagittarius) that is being mimicked. Mercury rules journalism, newspapers and magazine publishing.

AC7072 Afterward I represented to them birds of different sizes, large and small, such as exist on our earth; for in the other life such may be represented as it were to the life, the very speech of spirits and angels being full of representations. When they saw those represented birds, they at first desired to change them, but afterward were delighted with them, and acquiesced. The reason was that birds signify the knowledges of things, of which fact the perception then flowed in; and therefore they abstained from changing them, and so turning them from the ideas of their memory. Afterward I was allowed to represent before them a most pleasing garden full of lights and oil-lamps. This arrested their attention, because lights together with oil-lamps signify truths which shine from good. From this it was evident that their attention could be fixed on material things, provided there was at the same time insinuated the signification of them in the spiritual sense; for the things of the spiritual sense are abstracted from material things, but are represented in them.

Mercury is associated in traditional astrology with birds, because they correspond to different thoughts which ‘fly in’ (and out) through their element – air. A common term used for them is ‘Mercury bird’. Oil –lamps too, again indicates a flame being provided with oxygen.

AC7073 I also spoke with them about sheep and lambs; but they would not hear about such things, because these were perceived by them as earthly. The reason of this was that they did not understand what innocence is, which lambs signify, which I observed from the fact that when I said that lambs do not appear represented in heaven as lambs, but that when they are mentioned, innocence is perceived in place of them, they then said that they do not know what innocence is, but that they know it by name only. The reason is that they are affected solely by knowledges, and not by uses, which are the ends of knowledges (n. 6815); thus not being affected by the ends of knowledges, they cannot know from internal perception what innocence is.

In the above passage we have another example of a quality that Mercury personality types need to develop – Mars’ (or Aries the Ram’s) innocence.

AC7074 Some of the spirits of the earth Mercury were sent by others to me in order to hear what was going on with me; to whom one of the spirits of our earth said that they might tell their companions not to speak anything but the truth, and not in their usual way to present to those questioning them things opposite; for if anyone of the spirits of our earth were to do so, he would be punished. But the company from which those spirits had been sent out, which was at a distance, then answered that if they were to be punished on that account, all would be punished, because, from constant use, they cannot do otherwise. They said that when they speak with the men of their own earth, they act in the same way, and this with no intention to deceive them, but in order to inspire a longing for knowledge; for when they present things opposite, and in a certain way hide the real things, the desire of knowing is excited, and in this way the memory is enriched by the study devoted to the exploration of the things in question.

Mercury in astrology is known as the winged messenger, for they can also make great teachers, or instructors. There is a tendency though, for them to play 'the devil’s advocate' and invert the truth:

AC7075 At another time I also spoke with them about the same thing, and because I knew that they spoke with the men of their earth, I asked how they instruct its inhabitants. They said that they do not instruct them how the matter stands but still they insinuate some perception of it, in order that the desire to know may thereby be fed, and may increase, which desire would perish if they answered all questions. They added that they present opposites for the additional reason that the truth may afterward the better appear; for all truth appears relatively to its opposites.

In keeping with the ability of Gemini to mimic whatever planet Mercury may be in conjunction with in an astrological chart, we seem to have in the passage below, these spirits attempt to imitate the humility of Saturn. However, for the most part, it appears that their humiliation is not sincere because the ‘roll, hollowed out in the middle, and elevated at the sides’ gives the impression of a smile or grin – Mercury’s mischievous sense of humour, perhaps?

AC7077 As the spirits of Mercury are of this character, and moreover abound in knowledges, they are in a kind of conceit (n. 6813), supposing that they know so many things that it is scarcely possible to know more. But they have been told by the spirits of our earth that they do not know many things, but only a few, and that the things which they do not know are relatively infinite and that the things which they do not know relatively to those which they do know are like the waters of the greatest ocean as compared with those of a tiny spring. In order that they might know that such is the case it was granted that a certain angelic spirit should speak with them, and should tell them in general what they do know and what they do not know; and that there are infinite things which they do not know; and also that to eternity they cannot know even the generals of things. He spoke by means of angelic ideas much more readily than they, and as he disclosed what they know, and what they do not know, they were struck with amazement. I afterward saw another angel speaking with them, who appeared at some elevation to the right; he enumerated very many things which they do not know; and afterward spoke with them by means of changes of state, which they said they do not understand. He then told them that every change of state contains infinite things, and so also does every least thing of it. [2] When they heard this, as they had been in conceit on account of knowledges, they began to humble themselves. The humiliation was represented by the sinking of their roll downward, for that company then appeared like a roll, in front toward the left at a distance, in the plane of the region below the navel; but the roll appeared as it were hollowed out in the middle, and elevated at the sides; a reciprocal movement was also observed therein. They were also told what this signified, namely, what they were thinking in their humiliation, and that they who appeared elevated at the sides were not as yet in any humiliation. And I saw that the roll was separated, and that they who were not in humiliation were relegated toward their own globe; the rest remaining. As the spirits of the planet mercury shun the spirits of our earth, on account of the material things in which the latter are, and as they had asked whether such can become angels (n. 6929), they now received the reply, that the angel who had spoken with them was from this earth.

The passage below appears also to portray a common phenomenon of the planet Mercury in the starry heavens – retrograde motion. When this illusory backward motion happens (approximately every three months, for a period of about three weeks) earthly affairs can also take on a rather ‘evil’ turn, with communications of all types becoming fouled up, letters and e-mails going astray and the breakdown of transport or electrical (Uranus) machinery:

AC7170 The spirits of Mercury appeared at the left in a ball, and afterward in a roll stretching a long way, and next in a mass extending in length; and I wondered whither they desired to go, whether to this earth or elsewhere, and presently I observed that they bent themselves back to the right, and by unrolling themselves approached the earth Venus, on the side that is turned away from the sun. But when they came there, they said that they did not desire to be there, because the inhabitants were evil; therefore they bent themselves round to the other side of that earth, which looks to the sun, and then said that they desired to stay there, because the inhabitants were good. When this had taken place, I felt in the brain a remarkable change, and a strong operation from there. From this it was given to conclude that the spirits of Venus who are on that side of the planet were in accord with the spirits of the planet Mercury, and that they have relation to the memory of material things, which agrees with the memory of immaterial things, which the spirits of Mercury constitute; and therefore a stronger operation was felt from them when they were there.

AC7171 Be it known that the sun of this world does not at all appear to any spirit, nor anything of its light; for to spirits the light of our sun is like thick darkness. This sun remains in perception with spirits solely from having been seen while they were in the world, and it is presented to them in idea as something that is intensely dark, and this behind them, at a considerable distance, in altitude a little above the plane of the head. The planets within our solar system appear in a fixed position relative to the sun: Mercury behind and a little toward the right; the planet Venus to the left, a little behind; the planet Mars to the left in front; the planet Jupiter in like manner to the left in front, but at a greater distance; the planet Saturn wholly in front at a considerable distance; the Moon to the left rather high up; the satellites also to the left, each relatively to its own planet. Such is the situation of these planets in the ideas of spirits and angels; and the spirits also appear near their own planet, but outside of it.

AC7172 I once saw that spirits of our earth were with spirits of the earth Mercury, and I heard them talking together; and then among other things the spirits of our earth asked them in whom they believed. They answered that they believed in God; but when further questioned about the God in whom they believed, they were unwilling to say, because it is their custom not to answer questions directly. But then in their turn the spirits from the earth Mercury asked the spirits from our earth in whom they believed. They said that they believed in the Lord God. The spirits of Mercury then said that they perceived that they believed in no God, and that they have the custom of saying with the mouth that they believe, and yet they do not believe. (The spirits of Mercury have an exquisite perception from the fact that by means of perception they are continually exploring what others know). The spirits of our earth were among those who, in the world, had made a confession of faith from the doctrine of the church, but yet had not lived the life of faith. When the spirits from our earth heard these things, they were silent, because from a perception then given them they acknowledged that it was so.

In the passage above, we have an example of yet another Gemini quality that needs rectifying – hypocrisy. Because of Mercury’s ability to see both sides of an issue, they often cannot decide what they really adhere to or believe in.

AC7173 Certain spirits knew from heaven that a promise had once been made to the spirits of the earth Mercury that they should see the Lord, and therefore they were asked by the spirits about me whether they remembered this promise. They said that they remembered it, but that they did not know whether the promise was of such a nature that they should have no doubt about it. While they were thus talking together, the sun of heaven appeared to them. The sun of heaven, which is the Lord, is seen only by those who are in the inmost or third heaven; all others see the light from it, and also the moon, (n. 1529-1531, 4060). When the sun was seen, they said that this was not the Lord God, because they saw no face. Meanwhile the spirits were talking together, but I do not know what they said. Then suddenly the sun appeared again, and in the midst of it the Lord encompassed with a solar circle. On seeing this, the spirits of Mercury humbled themselves profoundly, and settled down. Then also the Lord from the sun was seen by spirits of this earth who when they were men had seen Him in the world; and they all one after another, and thus many in order, confessed that it was the Lord Himself; and this they confessed before all the company. Then also the Lord from the sun was seen by the spirits of the planet Jupiter, who said in a plain voice, that it was He Himself whom they had seen on their earth when the God of the universe appeared to them.

Keeping promises, appointments or even vows can be a problem for the typical Mercury individual. It’s not that they mean to be so unreliable. It’s just that they are not quite sure whether the agreement was made so that “they should have no doubt about it!” Again, also in the above passage, we may possibly have a brief reference to steadfast qualities of the spirits from another planet Mercury needs to develop – Saturn. For the halo that encompasses the Lord with a ‘solar circle’ could be symbolic of the rings of that planet.

AC7175 After some time there was shown me a woman of the inhabitants of the earth Mercury; she had a beautiful face, but it was smaller than that of a woman of our earth; she was also more slender, but of equal height. She wore linen on her head, put on without art, yet becomingly. I also saw a man from that earth, who likewise was more slender in holy than the men of our earth; he who appeared was clad in a garment of dark blue, closely fitted to his body, without folds or prominences on either side. But that the inhabitants of that earth think little about their bodies, was evident to me from the fact that when they come into the other life, and become spirits, they do not wish to appear as men, like the spirits of our earth, but as crystal balls. The reason they desire so to appear is that they may remove from themselves material ideas; moreover the knowledges of things immaterial are represented in the other life by crystals.

The typical physical body type of the ‘pure’ Gemini is slender (usually only unhappy Gemini’s put on weight). Their astrological symbolism is of a male and female. Crystals are again alluded to in the spirits of Neptune (or third earth in the starry heaven).

AC7177 Being asked also about the sun of the world, how it appears from their earth, they said that it appears large, and that it appears larger there than from other earths: they said that they can know this from the idea of other spirits about the sun. They said further that they have a medium temperature, neither too hot nor too cold. I was then allowed to tell them that it has been so provided of the Lord in order that they may not be exposed to too much heat, by reason of their earth being nearer the sun than other earths; for heat does not come from nearness to the sun, but from the height and consequent density of the aerial atmosphere, as is evident from the cold on high mountains, even in hot climates. Moreover heat varies according to the direct or oblique incidence of the sun‘s rays, as is evident from the seasons of winter and summer in every region. These are the things that have been granted me to know about the spirits and inhabitants of the earth Mercury. At the end of the following chapter I will speak of the spirits of the planet Venus.

And finally, in the above passage, we find a description similar to that of the temperate weather conditions found in spring on our own planet – Gemini’s natal season.

A brief mention should perhaps be made here of a passage from Earths in the Universe that is not included in Arcana Coelestia, (but instead is to be found in the single volume of EU).

38 Spirits from Mercury came to visit a certain spirit from our world, who had been famous for his learning while living in the world, wanting to learn about various matters from him. (He was Christian Wolf.*) But they saw that what he said was not raised above the sense-impressions of the natural man, because in speaking he thought about his reputation, and he wanted, as he had in the world (everyone retaining the same character in the next life), to string together various matters, and to link them again with others, leading continually to new conclusions. Since he tried to produce long chains of arguments based on matters which they did not see or acknowledge as true, they said that the chains did not hang together nor did they lead to his conclusions, calling them the obscurity of authority. So then they stopped questioning him, only asking: 'What is this called? What is that?' Since his replies to these questions were couched in material ideas with no spirituality in them, they left him. Everyone in the next life speaks the more spiritually, or in spiritual ideas, the more he has in the world believed in God, and in material ideas the more he has failed to believe in Him.
[2] I should like to take the opportunity this offers to bring in here an experience which shows what happens in the next life to learned men who acquire intelligence from their own reflection fired by a love of knowing truths for their own sake, and so for purposes remote from mundane considerations; and also what happens to those who seek to acquire intelligence from other people without reflecting for themselves, as do those whose wish to learn truths is only to gain a reputation for learning, and so to acquire honours or advantages in the world, not, that is, for unworldly purposes. I became aware of a sound penetrating from below near my left side and reaching up to my left ear. I realised that there were spirits there trying to struggle free, though what sort of spirits they were I could not tell. But when they had struggled out, they talked with me, and said they were logicians and metaphysicians. They had, they said, plunged into deep thought on these subjects, but with no other motive than that of being called learned, and so achieving honours and wealth. They complained that they now led a miserable life, because they had no other purpose in studying these subjects, so that they had not by their means cultivated their rational faculty. Their speech was slow and had a muffled sound.
[3] Meanwhile two spirits carried on a conversation over my head, and when I asked who they were, I was told that one of them was a very famous character in the world of letters, and I was given to believe that it was Aristotle. (I was not told who the other was.) He was then put into the state he had been in while living in the world. Anyone can easily be returned to the state he had in the world, because he carries with him every state in his life. To my surprise he approached my right ear and spoke there, hoarsely, but sensibly. I was able to tell from the feel of his speech that he was of quite a different character from the scholastics who had come up first; in fact he had drawn on his own thinking in what he wrote and in devising his philosophy. Thus the terms which he invented and imposed on ideas thought about were forms of words to describe inward ideas. He had also, as I learned, been impelled to these discoveries by the pleasure he took in them and the longing to know matters relating to thinking and the intellect; and he had obediently followed the dictates of his spirit. This was why he approached my right ear, unlike his followers, known as scholastics, who do not proceed from thought to terms, but from terms to thought, which is the wrong way. Many of them do not even proceed as far as thought, restricting themselves to the terms. If they make use of these, it is to prove whatever they wish, and to impart to falsities the appearance of truth, to suit what they wish people to believe. Philosophy thus becomes for them the route to madness rather than to wisdom, and plunges them into darkness instead of light.
[4] I then discussed with him the science of analysis. I said that a small boy could say more philosophically, analytically and logically in half an hour than Aristotle had been able to say in a book,** because the whole of human thought and the speech it produces is analytical, being governed by laws derived from the spiritual world. Anyone who wanted to proceed artificially from terms to thought was rather like a dancer, who tries to use his knowledge of motor fibres and muscles in order to dance; if he concentrated on that while he was dancing, he would hardly be able to move his foot. In fact, without any such knowledge he can move all the motor fibres scattered throughout the body, and appropriately activate his lungs, diaphragm, flanks, arms, neck and so on, which whole books would not be enough to describe. I said that the case of those who sought to make terms the basis of their thinking was much the same. He approved of this, and remarked that learning to think by this route was proceeding the wrong way round. If anyone wanted to be a fool, that was the way to go about it; but he ought to think constantly about the purpose and take an inward view.
[5] He then showed me what had been his conception of the supreme power, which he had pictured to himself as having a human face with the head surrounded by a radiant halo. He now knew, he said, that that person is the Lord and the radiant halo is the Divine proceeding from Him, which flows not only into heaven but into the universe, controlling and ordering both. He who controls and orders heaven does the same to the universe, since the one cannot be separated from the other. He also said that he had believed in only one God, but that he distinguished His attributes and qualities by as many names as others worshipped gods.
[6] A woman appeared to me, who put out her hand wishing to stroke my cheek. When I expressed surprise, he said that when he was in the world he had often had such a woman appear to him and seem to stroke his cheek; and she had a beautiful hand. The angelic spirits said that once upon a time the early people had seen such women and gave them the name of Pallas. She appeared, they said, to some one of the spirits who in antiquity had taken great pleasure in ideas, and devoted themselves to thinking, but not to philosophy. Since such spirits had been present with him and had been pleased with him for basing his thinking on an inward view, they had caused such a woman to be presented to view.
[7] Lastly he sketched his idea about the human soul or spirit, which he called pneuma.*** He thought of this as a vital principle, invisible as a piece of the ether. He said that he had known that his spirit would live on after death, since it was his inward essence, which cannot die because it can think. Beyond that he had been unable to think clearly, having only dim ideas because he had no knowledge about it other than what he thought out for himself, and even the ancients told him little. Aristotle, moreover, is among the sound spirits in the next life, while many of his followers are among the foolish.

Pallas Athena has an asteroid named after her which is also used in traditional astrological charts. It has associations with Mercury’s air element – Libra, and it’s placement in a sign like Gemini promotes intellectual insight and diplomacy within an individual who is blessed with this aspect in their natal horoscope.

In the next chapter, we will examine the spirits of the planet Venus, and its correlation with the sun signs, Libra and Taurus.