Scofield, Bruce, and Angela Cordova. The Aztec Circle of Destiny.2nd ed. Amherst, MA: One
Reed Publications, 2002.
Tedlock, Barbara. Time and the Highland Maya.Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1982.
Thompson, J. Eric S. Maya Hieroglyphic Writing: An Introduction.Norman: University of Okla-
homa Press, 1960.METALS
At least 4,000 years ago, various metals began to be associated with the different plan-
ets, including the Sun and the Moon, which in classical astrology were also classified
as planets. By the seventh century, the following set of associations had come to be
generally agreed upon: the Sun and gold, the Moon and silver, Mercury and mercury,
Venus and copper, Mars and iron, Jupiter and tin, and Saturn and lead.
By extension, the signs were also associated with the metals ruled by their rul-
ing planet (e.g., Leo, ruled by the Sun, was associated with gold, the metal ruled by
the Sun; Cancer, ruled by the Moon, was associated with silver, the Moon’s metal,
etc.). The analogical relationship between many metals and their rulers is fairly
straightforward. It was natural, for instance, that the most important heavenly body,
the “golden” Sun, should be associated with the most precious metal, gold; Saturn, the
slowest of the planets known to antiquity, was naturally associated with the heaviest
metal, lead; Mars, god of war, had a natural connection with iron, the metal of
weapons; and so forth for the other planet—metal associations. Prior to the emer-
gence of the modern world, these planet-metal connections were taken quite seriously
as real links, not merely as symbolic analogies. Medieval alchemists, for example, paid
attention to the positions of the planets when working with metals, avoiding the use
of certain metals when the corresponding planets were involved in hard aspects.
When the “new” planets were discovered, astrologers experienced difficulty
expanding the old system of rulerships. Certain associations seemed obvious, such as
Uranus’s rulership of uranium and Pluto’s rulership of plutonium, but no astrologer has
really been interested in exploring these new rulerships in any depth, largely because
contemporary astrology is focused on individual human beings, with the result that
almost all contemporary astrologers are primarily counselors, interested more in the
psychological effects of the outer planets. If a significant number of astrologers were
also metallurgists, pharmacists, and chemists, the question of the metals ruled by
Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto would have been resolved long ago. The testing would be
relatively easy: Assuming, as did the ancients, that there is a subtle yet tangible link
between metals and planets, then some variation on the Kolisko experiments should
determine precisely which metals are ruled by the planets beyond Saturn.Sources:
Bach, Eleanor. Astrology from A to Z: An Illustrated Source Book.New York: Philosophical
Library, 1990.
Davidson, Alison. Metal Power: The Soul Life of the Planets.Garberville, CA: Borderland Sci-
ences Research Foundation, 1991.
Kollerstrom, Nicholas. “Planetary Influences on Metal Ion Activity.” Correlation3, no. 1 (1983):
38–50.Metals
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