Planets

The seven classical planets (the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn), are the visible wandering lights of the sky, and they form the backbone of Western astrology, magic and alchemy. Each carries a wide web of correspondences: a metal, a day of the week, a set of deities, a temperament, a range of affairs it governs, and, in magic, a spirit, an intelligence and a magic square.

To the ancient and medieval mind these seven were the planets; the Sun and Moon were counted among them as "lights", and the outer planets Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, discovered from 1781 onward, are modern additions that later astrology incorporates but the classical scheme does not include.

More than any other set, the seven planets organise the Western correspondence traditions: the days of the week are named for them, the seven metals are paired with them, and colours, plants, stones, angels and demons are all sorted under them. In astrology each planet rules signs and governs areas of life; in alchemy the planet-metal pairing is fundamental; in ceremonial magic the planetary hours and spirits time and direct the work.

The atlas gives each planet its rulerships, correspondences and mythic associations across these fields. The metals, days, spirits and squares attached to the planets are treated in their own categories, and the planetary magic in the ceremonial section.