Planets and elements FB2

One day someone told me: 

"I don't have any planet in Water and I have been told by astrologers  that I was not capable of empathy, that I was an insensitive person... but that's not true! I am a very sensitive, empathetic and caring person!" 

Some astrologers - or people claiming they are - are not very good with people, that's for sure. 

I told her: "Maybe you have a Water planet like Neptune or the Moon as a dominant energy?" She shared her chart, and yes, Neptune was conjunct the Ascendant and the Moon near another angle. How could sometimes be insensitive with Neptune and the Moon as main players! 

This exchange proved to me that counting how many planets there are in signs of every element can be rather inaccurate. Things are a bit more complicated than that. 

The Moon rules Cancer and Neptune is the modern ruler of Pisces. They don't rule over any other sign. It's not a big risk taking to state that the Moon and Neptune are Water planets, but this leads to a few questions: what are the connections between planets and elements? 

Are they made of the same stuff so to speak? Should we consider the planets as expressing the same elements that the signs they rule?

 

One of the reference books I used to learn astrology is, in French, the Traité Pratique d'Astrologie of André Barbault. Before the elements he introduces the elemental qualities which are: hot and cold, wet and dry. 

The elements are combinations of these basic principles: Fire is hot and dry, Water is cold and wet, maybe we could say cool rather than cold, Earth is cold and dry and Air hot and wet. 

These elemental qualities are very useful to interpret astrological placements, because human language is full of them. What is a "dry" sense of humour? Imagine Mercury in Capricorn making a joke. 

If someone is flexible, their behaviour is like that of the branch of a tree - but of course not a dry one that would break - so it's kind of wet - but still firm enough. An excessively wet behaviour would be "wishy washy". But wet has its good side: if you break the ice, that's a good start, but if you melt, you become like water and you may end up in love!

 

Water can be relatively warm, and sometimes boiling but as opposed to Fire, it's cold. 

Are you rather hot or cool? 

When we look at astrological charts, an evaluation of the elemental qualities through the elements gives us a lot of precious information. But just counting the number of planets in signs of each element is not accurate. First of all, some indicators are more personal, so they are more important than others. The Sun sign is the more powerful, or maybe it's the Ascendant, there can be disagreement between astrologers about that, but both are very important, then the Moon sign of course, then the personal planets and so on... 

And as the example of the woman with no Water signs placement in her chart but with Moon and Neptune dominant shows, it's also important to take into account the element or elements directly associated with the planets, independently of the sign they are in. The Sun is Fire, the Moon is Water. They are Yang and Yin. With these two, it’s straightforward enough. 

Now, the way planets are associated with elements is sometimes surprising. For instance Mars. Almost everybody associates Mars with Fire, and it makes sense, taking action with energy, getting things done, being assertive or even fighting are what Mars people do.

 These traits are also attributed especially to Aries, the first of the Fire signs. But then, if Mars is Fire, why is Mars ruling over the sign of Scorpio, which is Water? Pluto co-rules, yes, and Mars still rules as well! 

The qualities of a sign are considered to be most closely related to those of its ruling planet.. Mars can be very much like Aries, but Mars can be very much like Scorpio as well. As a Feminine, Water sign, Scorpio is receptive. It feels.

Warriors certainly get opportunities to feel a lot on the battlefield. They need endurance, they can be scared - they may die! Sometimes rushing into action is not a good strategy, warriors have to become invisible and wait in ambush for the right moment instead. How much strength do they need to keep calm and ready to risk their lives ?The warrior is not fighting in the outside world only. He is fighting against himself, within himself. 

The warrior is an archetypal character. It's easier to explain with images of warriors on the battlefield, but all this applies to everyday life. We all grapple with our own demons within. Instead of going to war, we may prepare for a job interview, muster the courage to ask a goddess on a date, or just get up in the morning in spite of everything. My point is that there is a Feminine side to Mars, a Water side. 

Also, I should also mention these desires for sexuality or power that we feel inside, but can't express just as they are without restraint because it would be called abuse and we would get into trouble with the rest of the tribe! It's all felt within and bubbles up as fantasies, dreams, in the water element! 

 

So if I come across a chart with no Water placements at all, no planet, not the Ascendant, not the South Node.... but there is a dominant Mars... I will wonder: which side of Mars is the most likely to express, the Fire side, in Aries style, or the Water side, in Scorpio style? 

I don't have a definitive answer to that. I would assume that if Mars is in an Earth sign, which is also a Feminine element, we may get more of the Scorpio side of Mars, and if it's in Air, more of the Aries side.  We need to consider the aspects as well, a Mars aspected by Saturn is likely to turn more inwards, in  Scorpio style, than a Mars aspected by stimulating Jupiter... 

And of course, the signs of the Sun, Moon and Ascendant, of the Nodes along with the signs associated with difficulties (for instance the sign where Saturn is) provide a general context. 

Mars is exalted in Capricorn, so we can see Mars as Fire/Water, with a streak of Earth... 

Jupiter is also ruling over a Fire sign - Sagittarius - and a Water sign - Pisces. Jupiter likes to grow, expand, explore... and this can also happen in the world of within, in this ocean that we call the universal soul, or collective psyche. Suppose you have no Water placements in your chart, but a Moon Jupiter conjunction on the Ascendant. Even if it's in a Fire sign, you can safely assume that you'll get a relatively wet outcome! And of course, there will be a strong Fire as well, so expect a good deal of caring warmth. 

Similarly, Mercury, Venus and Saturn all rule over an Air and an Earth sign. Thinking of Mercury as Air, because it's all mental, speech and communication, is forgetting that Mercury is also very good at making things with his hands. Toolboxes belong to Mercury.

 

As for Venus, relationships happen between people - that is, in the Air, but when we become attached and when the mouths shut up and the bodies speak instead, it's Earth. Saturn in Capricorn confronts concrete realities, in Aquarius it's fantastic at structuring our thoughts with method and logic. 

We will become more specifically attuned to one or the other side of each planet, and this will have an impact on the global balance of elements and elementary qualities. 

 It won't be as simple as counting the number of planets in the elements to get an idea of the overall result. We may have more questions to ask than answers to provide, but what matters is to ask the right questions don’t you think so?

Jean-Marc Pierson

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https://www.jeanmarcpierson.com/