The Nature of the Planets
Where do the planets get their meanings?
Moon:
Primarily moist due to the oscillating motion of liquids associated with her shifts and cold because it complements the heat of the Sun as a result of her being far from its sphere. She is also considered hotter when waxing and colder when waning due to her changes in luminosity.
Moist and Cold; primarily moist
Benefic or Malefic depending on lunar phase
Feminine principle due to its softening humidity
Mercury:
Of vague nature given it is close to the Moon’s sphere and within the planets below the Sun (also known as the inferior planets) which lends them moisture but is also never far from the Sun’s position rendering it dry sometimes. Considered cold and dry but given its adaptability I find it moist as well — mutable.
Mutable; Cold and Dry
Benefic or Malefic depending on condition; ambivalent
Neutral in gender
Venus:
Hot at first glance because she is close to the solar sphere and moist because she is among the inferior planets relative to the Moon thus her heat is considered warmer, moderate and fruitful to life. She is often rendered primarily warm and although she’s also been considered cold, I find her moisture to describe her conductivity better. Also bright in luminosity.
Moist and Warm; primarily warm
Benefic due to being moderate and conductive to life
Feminine due to its softening humidity
Sun:
Hot and dry given its heat and radiance but considered central to life and its maintenance therefore both vitalizing and drying. Its luminosity depends on the season and thus circumstantial in temperament. Heats up and dries planets too close to it which is also referred to as “combustion” in practice.
Hot and Dry
Benefic or Malefic depending on proximity of other planets
Masculine principle due to its heat and dryness
Mars:
Hot due to being in close proximity to the solar sphere but primarily dry due to the lack of moisture and also being among the superior planets. Considered unfruitful to life due to its heat and excessive dryness thus threatening. Also dim in luminosity.
Dry and Hot; primarily dry
Malefic due to being excessive and non-conductive to life
Masculine due to its drying heat
Jupiter:
Moderately hot because it is next to the heat from the sphere of Mars and moist due to also being close to the cold from the sphere of Saturn. Considered primarily temperate in nature given its position between the two spheres that are excessive and threatening to life. Also bright in luminosity.
Warm and Moist; primarily temperate
Benefic due to being moderate and conductive to life
Masculine due to its temperate heat
Saturn:
The most visibly distant planet, far from the luminary spheres and thus excessively cold but also dry due to being among the superior planets. Considered the most non-conductive for life and thus of unfruitful in nature. Also dim in luminosity.
Cold and Dry; primarily cold
Malefic due to being excessive and non-conductive to life
Masculine due to its drying coldness
The Lunar Nodes:
In traditional astrology the North Node (also called Rahu) and South Node (also called Ketu) are not physical planets but rather mathematical points where the Moon's orbit intersects the ecliptic. Since they do not emit light or have physical mass, they do not have inherent elemental qualities in the same way planets do. However, through their astrological function and historical associations they are often assigned primary qualities based on their effects.
North Node: It is hot because it intensifies, stimulates, and magnifies. It is moist because it seeks connection and new experiences but with an unstable, unregulated quality. In general, it magnifies whatever it touches creating a sense of craving, obsession, and desire for more.
Hot and Moist
Disruptive with benefic qualities
Expansive, restless, hungry, amplifying and destabilizing
South Node: It is cold because it reduces, withdraws, and internalizes. It is dry because it separates and isolates but with an unpredictable, transcendental nature. In general, it depletes what it touches creating disillusionment or spiritual awakening through loss or detachment.
Cold and Dry
Disruptive with malefic qualities
Contracting, purging, weakening, mystical and dissolving
The nature of the planets is determined by various observable characteristics such as their movement, appearance, luminosity, and placement within the Chaldean order of the celestial system. This order classifies planets into superior and inferior groups based on their relative speeds; planets above the solar sphere move more slowly, signifying prolonged and sustained influence, while those below the solar sphere move more quickly, resulting in more momentary and dynamic effects.
Theoretically, each planet is associated with two primary qualities that justify its position within the order and define its essential character. These qualities align with the fundamental principles that shape the four elements of the astrological cosmos: Heat, Cold, Dryness, and Moisture. Accordingly, Fire embodies the hot and dry qualities, Air the hot and moist, Water the cold and moist, and Earth the cold and dry.
Each of the four primary qualities (hot, cold, dry, moist) also has an implicit gendered association:
Hot → Masculine (Active, energizing, expressive)
Cold → Feminine (Receptive, passive, internalizing)
Dry → Masculine (Separating, defining, rigid)
Moist → Feminine (Unifying, flexible, connective)
These associations are not about literal male or female traits but rather describe how different energies behave in philosophical and natural terms. Although each planet can exert either polarity, I will abide by the genders most commonly associated with them. Below are the 7 traditional planets and their fundamental qualities.
