The Celestial Mirror
天體 Planetary Gods
Eleven celestial bodies express the eight powers plus the central and parental principles. Each planet carries a mythology, a disposition, and a personification that this system reads as the same trigrams and powers appearing in another cultural form.
中 The Luminaries — Center and Parents
Moon ☾ — The Primordial Mother
☵/☴ Kan-Xun · Soft Earth · Cancer · Spleen
The Moon embodies vegetation, nature, tides, change, fruitfulness, fertility, wishes, feelings, warmth and security of the nest. As the Divine Mother, she protects mothers, children, maidens, and youths. As nourisher of all life, she cares for the welfare and growth of living forms.
In the cosmology: the pre-Houtian unity of feeling and vision, the nurturing Yin root before Xing and Ming separate.
Sun ☉ — The Yuanshen (元神)
Pericardium · Leo · The Original Spirit
The principle of 我 (Wo, “I AM”): identity, selfhood, illumination, consciousness, will, purpose, radiance, life-force. The Xiantian spirit before the split. The original fire from which the Shishen (識神, acquired mind) is a pale reflection.
Saturn ♄ — The Primordial Father
☶/☷ Gen-Kun · Hard Earth · Capricorn · Stomach
Constancy, gravity, concentration, density, weight, consequence, limitation, restriction, reality, earnestness. The strict god of time who devours his own offspring. In the cosmology: the post-birth condition, incarnation’s weight, the Houtian expenditure without direction.
Uranus ♅ — The Shishen (識神)
Triple Burner · Aquarius · The Acquired Mind
Acceleration, progress, eruption, revolution, reformation, overthrow, discovery, society, Zeitgeist. The personification of the sky, the primal disruptor. In the cosmology: the discriminating spirit that takes command after birth and allies with survival.
動 The Assertive Powers (Yang)
Jupiter ♃ — ☰ Qian · The Creative Free Spirit
Native-Projective · Sagittarius · Liver · Wood
Greatness, expansiveness, boundlessness, growth, fulfilment, synthesis, transcendence, wisdom, ideals, truth, glory, visions, honesty, eternity. The highest lord of heaven. Jovial, understanding, wise, full of unlimited goodness and kindness. The increaser, sustainer, and savior in time of need.
Mercury ☿ — ☲ Li · The Determined General
Directive-Projective · Gemini · Gallbladder · Wood
Information, networking, exchange, strategy, intellect, dialectics, interpretation, orientation, reason, decision, judgment. The shrewd, crafty god of trade and commerce. Messenger of the gods who connects worlds. The Egyptians worshipped him as Thoth, inventor of language and writing.
Venus ♀ — ☱ Dui · The Compassionate Sovereign
Native-Connective · Libra · Heart · Fire
Harmony, poise, balance, consonance, sympathy, relaxation, taste, loving relationships, glamour, attractiveness. The goddess of happiness, beauty, and good fortune. The supreme ideal of gentleness and kindness. Her companions are Eros and the Graces.
Mars ♂ — ☳ Zhen · The Arousing Warrior
Directive-Connective · Aries · Small Intestine · Fire
Self-assertion, dynamics, energy, power, force, performance, intensity, action, instinct, strength, conquest, domination, competition. The cruel, merciless god of war. Phobos (fear), Deimos (horror), and Eris (dissension) are his companions.
靜 The Receptive Powers (Yin)
Neptune ♆ — ☴ Xun · Inner Authority
Native-Projective · Pisces · Lungs · Metal
Meditation, formlessness, awareness, wholeness, dissolution, paradoxes, intuition, imagination, insight, visions, perception, mysteries. The god of the oceans: the crystal palace in the deeps. The “Earth-shaker.” Also a physician and a god of fertility.
Iustitia ☿ — ☶ Gen · The Immovable Judge
Directive-Projective · Virgo · Large Intestine · Metal
Standards, regulations, precision, orderliness, examination, discernment, analysis, classification, service, loyalty. The blindfolded goddess of justice with sword and scales. Her sacred animal is the owl.
Faunus ♀ — ☵ Kan · The Fulfillment of Potential
Native-Connective · Taurus · Kidneys · Water
Reserves, preservation, regeneration, sustaining energy, possessions, fortune, enjoyment, fertility, fullness, satisfaction, nourishment, peacefulness. The god of fertility and open Nature. Pan, the shepherd with the flute. The Garden of Eden, Arcadia, Elysium.
Pluto ♇ — ☷ Kun · The Transforming Earth
Directive-Connective · Scorpio · Bladder · Water
Self-defense, resistance, passion, control, crisis, death, transformation, sacrifice, compulsion, force of nature, metamorphosis. The grim lord of the underworld. The Invisible. The Inexorable. The Phoenix that rises from its own ashes.