Astrology, Gender, and Pronouns
Oh My!
Since Gender and Pronouns are hot topics currently, I wanted to share the he/she/they perspective of Astrology.
There is a long history, dating from the Greeks, of designating zodiac signs and the planets as connected to specific gods and goddesses. Today we use the gods’ Roman names rather than the Greek: Mercury rather than Hermes, Venus rather than Aphrodite. But the essences, the energy of both the planets and signs, no matter what the name, has remained the same for 3,000 plus years.
Planets and signs were considered Masculine or Feminine and in some cases Androgynous. Why? One partial reason concerns using astrological knowledge for medical purposes. Most ancient astrologers were also physicians. Doctors categorized the planets as either dry and cold or warm and moist. These descriptions pertained to the intrinsic qualities of all the planets and signs in a person’s chart and helped the physician prescribe treatments and herbs to heal the patient.
In English, we have limited vocabulary for describing the masculine/feminine polarity. In Chinese, the words are Yang and Yin. The fire and air signs are masculine: Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and Aquarius. The earth and water signs are feminine: Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces. The Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto are masculine, and the Moon, Venus, and Neptune are feminine.
OMG! Does this mean that Astrology promotes male chauvinism? No, not at all, because the terms “masculine” and “feminine” have nothing to do with gender nor sexuality. The long tradition of designating planets as either masculine or feminine describes the way energy is expressed. Masculine, the fire and air signs, are outward, quick and hot. Feminine, the earth and water signs, are reflective and inward, slow and cold.
None of these descriptions is judgmental. And there could be many different combinations in a person’s chart. For example: Taurus is a feminine sign ruled by a feminine planet Venus, but in a client’s chart, Venus is in Aries, a masculine, fire sign. This informs the Astrologer that there is an active masculine energy in the way the client expresses Venus energy. Astrology is a fabulously intricate system and cannot be diminished by current PC ideas or modern fads about pronouns.
The exception to the Masculine/Feminine polarity is Gemini. We use the pronoun “he” for Gemini because Mercury/Hermes, the god of communication throughout ancient times, was depicted as male. However, energetically, Gemini is a sign of duality and therefore androgynous.
When you read in a horoscope column “he” or “she” for a sign or planet, think of it as describing a long history of astrological thought. Look at the current line up of planets and signs for today, February 9, 2023.
Sun in Aquarius:
Masculine planet; Masculine sign
Moon in Libra:
Feminine planet; Masculine sign
Mercury in Capricorn:
Androgynous/Masculine planet; Feminine sign
Venus in Pisces:
Feminine planet; Feminine sign
Mars in Gemini:
Masculine planet; Androgynous sign
Jupiter in Aries:
Masculine planet; Masculine sign
Saturn in Aquarius:
Masculine planet; Masculine sign
Uranus in Taurus:
Masculine planet; Feminine sign
Neptune in Pisces:
Feminine planet; Feminine sign
Pluto in Capricorn:
Masculine planet; Feminine sign
Today we are equally balanced between masculine and feminine placements. But in two and a half days, when the Moon moves to Scorpio, the feminine signs will be slightly more dominant.
You can keep track of the infinite variety of outward and inward signs day by day. See if the day’s “tally” corresponds with your mood or feelings. You can also use Astrology for self-knowledge, or to plan a specific event based on the presence of masculine or feminine energy. Try it, and don’t be a captive to artificial pronouns… the gods and goddesses might get angry!