illustration of a memory aid in the form of the sentence: "men very easily make jugs serve
usual needy purposes" - the first initial of each word corresponding to that of a planet:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Also the word
Vibgyor, for the colors of the Solar spectrum, from the top downwards: Violet, Indigo, Blue,
Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.
Planetary Ages of Man. By the ancients the planets were caned chronocrators, or markers of
time. It was presumed that different periods of life are ruled by different planets, as:
Planet..................Period.....Ages
Moon - growth...........4 years.....1-4 the mewling babe
Mercury - education....10 years....5-14 the scholar
Venus - emotion.........8 years...15-22 the lover
Sun - virility.........19 years...23-42 the citizen
Mars - ambition........15 years...43-57 the soldier
Jupiter - reflection...12 years...58-69 the judge
Saturn - resignation...30 years...70-99 slippers
These appear to correspond to the Seven Ages of Man, as listed by Shakespeare in "As You
Like It," which he apparently took from the Chaldeans. Sepharial suggests a slightly altered
set of measures, to include the planets of recent discovery:
...Planet........Duration of Years...Age Period
...Moon..................7...............0-7
...Mercury...............8...............7-15
...Venus.................9..............15-24
...Sun..................10..............24-34
...Mars.................11..............35-45
...Jupiter..............12..............46-57
...Saturn...............13..............57-70