Planetary Qualities

an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel

INTRODUCTION

Rudolf Steiner – who founded anthroposophy in the beginning of this century – mentioned the planetary qualities throughout many of his books and lectures. Since then many people have developed these ideas to experience them as a living force in their lives. The following is meant to be a short introduction to the qualities with the wish that it will make you curious enough to start your own research into this subject which has fascinated so many.

Planetary qualities influence our astral body. The astral body is the whole field of our thinking, feeling and doing in the world. But our higher Self (or I), when we get to know it, can control this astral body and purify it.

In the anthroposophical way of working with the planetary qualities you do not look at the astrological chart of any individual. By describing the planetary energies and qualities you try to inspire the listener to look into himself and find the planetary influences.

The goal of working with these qualities is to harmonize them, balance them within yourself. In learning to harmonize the qualities you first have to learn to locate them, then to see that the world cannot function without them and finally to love the qualities, not only those you have, but also those you still have to develop. Recognizing these qualities gives us a handle for better understanding of our fellow man.

This presentation is not a finished product; it is not complete. It is intended as a starting point. In this presentation I have started by giving short sketches of the psychological planetary aspects you can find in yourself. Naturally no one has only Venus or only Mars qualities. It is always a combination. Usually you will find that if you have many of the qualities of one planet the qualities of the opposite planet will be less developed. To harmonize the planetary qualities within yourself you then can try to consciously develop those opposite qualities. Suggestions for this can be found under the heading schooling task.

I have also tried to indicate how you can find the planetary qualities in the world that surrounds us, in the plants and metals. This is done by trying to find analogues for certain aspects of the planetary qualities. This is meant to be a starting point for further research, not an end product. By trying to find these analogies we can learn much about the planets and ourselves.

In the last article I have tried to make a bridge from the planetary qualities we can find in ourselves to a way of working with the Eight-fold Path of Buddha, which Steiner advises to practice to develop the Vishuddha (or fifth) chakra.

The use of pronouns in connection with the planets is according to the Western way. This does not mean that qualities attributed to these planets are limited to one sex. Both men and women have these qualities.

More information about Rudolf Steiner and anthroposophy can be found at:

The Anthroposophical Society
Anthroposophische Gesellschaft in Dornbach (Switzerland): http://www.goetheanum.ch

Rudolf Steiner Archive and e.Lib
We offer summaries of his books translated from the original German to English, a catalogue of holdings, a chronological listing of his lectures (over 6000), and a few of his books and lectures for interested readers to contemplate: http://www.rsarchive.org

FORUM
Zeitschrift für Erziehung, Umwelt und Gesundheit. Die erste anthroposophische Zeitschrift im Internet : http://www.anthroposophy.com

• Planetary Qualities
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel INTRODUCTION Rudolf Steiner – who founded anthroposophy in the beginning of this century – mentioned the planetary qualities throughout many of his books and lectures. Since then many… Read more: Planetary Qualities
• VENUS
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The planet itself Venus keeps her secrets very well for one who is our closest neighbor. From the days of old she is surrounded by mystery. As the… Read more: VENUS
• MARS
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The planet itself Mars has a thinner atmosphere than Earth and has two small moons (Deimos, panic and Phobos, fear) which are the darkest objects in the solar… Read more: MARS
• JUPITER
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel  The planet itself Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and is a huge planet and the first from the Sun without solid ground. It is made… Read more: JUPITER
• MERCURY
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The planet itself Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. Till not so long ago astronomers thought that Mercury always showed the same ‘face’ to the Sun… Read more: MERCURY
• SATURN
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The planet itself Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest planet, but can hardly be seen with the naked eye. It is… Read more: SATURN
• MOON
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The planet itself The Moon has an elliptical orbit around the Earth with as consequence that we sometimes see a bit of the back of the Moon. Because… Read more: MOON
• SUN
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel The ‘planet’ itself The Sun consists mostly of hydrogen (92.1 %) and 7.8 % helium. These chemicals hardly exist on Earth in their free form. (H is mostly… Read more: SUN
• PLANETS AND AGE GROUPS
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel We can divide our lives into 7-year periods, each with their own characteristics. These periods have the qualities of the planets. In general, we start off with three… Read more: PLANETS AND AGE GROUPS
• PLANETS AND TREES
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel Saturn – Fir, Beech, Cypress Aphorism by Dr. Hemleben: Through the trees of dark woods speaks thus the leaden Saturn, through firs, beech and cypress: Oh Man, feel… Read more: PLANETS AND TREES
• PLANETS AND GRAINS
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel In the chart you will find that every planet rules one of the species of grains. To clarify this excerpts from the following book are given: ‘HET NIEUWE… Read more: PLANETS AND GRAINS
• PLANETS AND MINERALS
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel (from the book: ‘Levende Metalen’ [= Living Metals] by L.F.C. Mees) One can look at minerals to find and compare the following qualities: 1. Shine2. Conductivity of heat3. Heaviness4. Malleability,… Read more: PLANETS AND MINERALS
• PLANETS AND SLEEP
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel (from ‘Macrocosm and Microcosm’ by R. Steiner) Generally speaking the astral body and I emerge from the physical and etheric bodies during sleep. Man’s I and astral body are in… Read more: PLANETS AND SLEEP
• PLANETARY QUALITIES AND THE EIGHT-FOLD PATH
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel To develop the 16-leaved lotus flower, or Vishuddha (throat) chakra R. Steiner advises exercising the eight-fold Path of Buddha. And to do this in such a way that… Read more: PLANETARY QUALITIES AND THE EIGHT-FOLD PATH
• Summary PLANETARY QUALITIES
  an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel                        PLANETARY QUALITIES SATURN SUN MOON MARS MERCURY JUPITER VENUS DAY OF THE WEEK Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday COLOR Indigo Blue White Violet Red… Read more: Summary PLANETARY QUALITIES
• REFERENCES
  PLANETARY QUALITIES – an anthroposophical view by Bibi van Bussel ‘Mens op de Drempel’ Vrij Geestesleven, Zeist 1983 ‘Levende Metalen’ Lemniscaat, Rotterdam 1969 ‘Het nieuwe granenboek’ Vrij Geestesleven, Zeist 1983 ‘Occult Science – an Outline’ (‘Geheimwissenschaft… Read more: REFERENCES