From Gods to Planetary Archetypes

In the last twenty five years a new type of astrology has emerged which recognizes a coherence between its language and that of depth psychology. Tester describes this new group of psychologically-inclined astrologers as one of four among the astrology-consuming public "who like a generous portion of religion, mythology, and philosophy combined with a small amount of astrology" (1996). Drawing largely upon Jungian concepts of symbol, archetypal astrology is founded on a perceived sympathy between the planets and Zodiac signs, their corresponding mythological representatives, and the psychological traits which they embody. "At the heart of the astrological perspective is the claim that the planets are fundamentally associated with specific archetypes, and that the planetary patterns in the heavens are reflected in corresponding archetypal patterns in human affairs" (Tarnas: 1997, 71).

The planets, gods, and psychology trinity aspect of this astrology has led to the conclusion that these factors are all linked at the starting point of its history through the notion of archetype and that the planetary meanings that we recognize today carry a continuity based upon an understanding of this concept that was there from the beginning. In Powell we read that "in the astrological tradition a conception of the planets and signs of the zodiac as bearers of higher principles of consciousness has been handed down right to the present time" (1985, 13). He repeatedly makes reference to the "levels of cognition other than the purely rational" that is possessed by both the Greeks and the Babylonians who were the originators of this discipline. Likewise, Tarnas states:

"It has long been an essential pillar of the astrological tradition that when astrology was still united with astronomy, the ancients named the visible planets --

Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn -- according to their ruling mythic deity. All of the ancient planets were thus associated with archetypal principles having the essential character of their mythological namesakes, and modern astrological theory and practice has continued to endorse this basic correspondence" (1997, 71-72).

The assumption that there is a connection based upon a conscious perception of archetypal principles between the gods, the planets and their significance is what will be examined below specifically with regards to Jupiter and Venus. A comparative analysis involving both the Mesopotamian and Greek mythologies, as well as their adaptation to astrology is more clearly outlined with these two planetary gods who figure so strongly in and between the two cultures. To this end it will be necessary to define what is meant by archetype, to determine our criteria for establishing an awareness of the concept of archetype by the architects of astrology, and lastly to examine the astrological, mythological and philosophical evidence in the historical records for the time frame that we are considering. (1)

Archetypes Defined

What are archetypes? Although Jung did not coin the term (2), he did develop the concept within a psychological framework, taking Plato's metaphysical Ideas or Forms (divine and perfect principles, such as beauty and justice) and making them an integral part of the individual psyche. Jung saw archetypes as both representations of unconscious ideas (the symbols) and those ideas themselves manifested through consciousness (the principles). He defines them thus:

" 'Archetype' is an explanatory paraphrase of the Platonic єìδος. For our purposes this term is apposite and helpful, because it tells us that so far as the collective unconscious contents are concerned we are dealing with archaic or -- I would say -- primordial types, that is, with universal images that have existed since the remotest times…The archetype is essentially an unconscious content that is altered by becoming conscious and by being perceived, and it takes its colour from the individual consciousness in which it happens to appear" (1969, 4 -5).

What is to be emphasized in this definition is the idea that the "colour" of the archetype is shaped by the perception of an individual's consciousness. Jung made it clear that not only do these primordial universal images interject themselves consistently into myth, religion, dreams and other symbolic systems such as astrology, but also that their apprehension is dependent upon an evolving subjective psyche, one which we might add, reflects social and historical tradition. This is a point that is significant to our discussion because it implies an inherent subjectivity in the Jungian concept of archetype which is often overlooked when we apply it to the study of astrology. In other words, because today the planets are regarded as symbols of principles that exist in and of themselves (much like Plato's divine Ideas) and quite independently of any historical assimilation of meaning which they have undergone and which makes up the content of the collective psyche (or Jung's collective unconscious), it is often assumed by archetypal astrologers that this has been how the planets have always been looked upon. This view implies an immutable degree of human consciousness for 4000 years which Jung himself would argue against.

The question of human consciousness is addressed by Barz with reference to the archetypes inherent in the Greek myths. She says:

" Reflective consciousness is necessary for recognizing and interpreting constellations and experiences of the external world as projections and experiences of intrapsychic powers. At first, there is always the spontaneous projection to a screen lying outside ourselves. Only later do we suspect and ultimately perceive the projection as such: and then -- as far as consciousness is capable -- we withdraw the projection, i.e., we recognize that what we experienced outside arises from the play of forces within us, and that inside and outside coincide, that we are perceiving both simultaneously" (1988, 5).

From the above, we can glean that the similarity of archetypes in symbolic systems such as myth or astrology does not require that one be conscious of the process in the same way that gravity is operative whether we understand it or not. It is possible therefore that the planets were given the gods' names as representatives without a complete understanding of the intrapsychic principles that they have come to embody over time. Jung himself tells us that:

"The primitive mentality does not invent myths, it experiences them. Myths are original revelations of the preconscious psyche, involuntary statements about unconscious psychic happenings, and anything but allegories of physical processes. Such allegories would be an idle amusement for an unscientific intellect. Myths, on the contrary, have a vital meaning. Not merely do they represent, they are the psychic life of the primitive tribe, which immediately falls to pieces and decays when it loses its mythological heritage, like a man who has list his soul" (1969, 154).

We know that by the time of Paracelsus (1493-1541), there is already a conscious comprehension that the planets represent principles that are a fundamental projection of the human psyche, as evidenced from his statement "that the sun, moon, Saturn, Mars, Mercury, Venus and the signs of the zodiac are in man" (cited in Barz 1988, 5). The question that needs answering is whether this level of consciousness was present when the mythological gods became associated with their planetary correlates and their astrological meanings. Before examining the historical evidence, it becomes necessary to define the criteria that will be considered as indicative of an awareness by early astrologers of the concept of planets as universal principles and whether these principles are understood to be integral parts of the human psyche.

Criteria for Evidence

We know that the fundamental premise of astrology as a system that attempted to divine earthly events by interpreting celestial phenomena was probably first developed in Mesopotamia and was transmitted to Greece via Hellenistic Alexandria (Tester 1987, Holden 1996, Cumont 1912, Campion 2000). In Mesopotamia, religion and astrology were interdependent and the planets were perceived as the abodes of the pantheon gods and therefore intrinsically linked with them. The five then known planets and both luminaries bore the names of seven of the Babylonian gods in the following order in which they appear in the inscriptions at Nineveh : Sin (moon), Shamash (sun), Marduk (Jupiter), Ishtar (Venus), Ninib (Saturn), Nabu (Mercury), and Nergal (Mars) (Cumont, 10). In this astral religion, it was believed that the planetary positions (in the sky) reflected and conveyed their will in a type of celestial language spoken via the planetary movements along the Zodiac band.

Holden believes that the planetary meanings in astrology originated with the Greeks who assigned the characteristics and names of their own pantheon gods to the Babylonian planets (1996: 13). In Cumont (p.46) we read that these Greek deities, whose names were assigned to the planets, "bore some resemblance" to their Babylonian counterparts. Holden's statement implies that the Babylonian planetary meanings were different from those used by the Greeks but he does not delineate what each planet specifically signified for either culture. It is not clear whether he perceives any parallels between their pantheon; but Cumont seems to be indicating that there was some overlap at least between their mythologies. It is often this mythological overlap that is assumed to have been carried over into Greek astrology and to account for the reason why the Greeks named their planets after their corresponding gods. The possibility of contact and influence between the two cultures requires an examination of both to establish continuity of planetary meaning between both astrologies.

It should be noted that it is not necessary -- according to Jung's definition of archetypes -- to ascertain whether or not either culture possessed some consciousness of the planets or gods as embodiments of principles in order to establish continuity of planetary meaning between the cultures. According to Jung, archetypes "are not disseminated only by tradition, language, and migration, but ...they can rearise spontaneously, at any time, at any place, and without any outside influence" (1969: 79). However, the planets and gods are regarded by certain archetypal astrologers as allegorical inventions that underlie astrological theory, thus serving as the basis for interpretation and implying therefore an understanding from the onset and within the system that these principles are inherent in man. For this reason, it becomes necessary to ascertain whether either of these ancient cultures had made this leap in consciousness with regard to their planetary symbolism. It is not Jung's archetypes that make this necessary, but rather the historical interpretation of astrological theory that makes it so.

If astrology is to be seen as a system that attempts to codify and formulate archetypes through planetary attributes and rulerships, a consistent adherence to principle should be present. That is, in principle each planetary significance should be able to fit under an "invariable nucleus of meaning" (Jung 1969: 80). Although Jung cautions that an archetype cannot be known in its essence, it can in theory be identified through metaphor:

"An archetypal content expresses itself, first and foremost, in metaphors. If such a content should speak of the sun and identify with it the lion, the king, the hoard of gold guarded by the dragon, or the power that makes for the life and health of man, it is neither the one thing not the other, but the unknown third thing that finds more or less adequate expression in all these similes, yet -- to the perpetual vexation of the intellect -- remains unknown and not to be fitted into a formula" (1969: 157)

While archetypes are "organic" and do arise spontaneously across systems and cultures, a preponderance of these manifestations within a cohesive system would probably indicate a consciousness of the process when devising the system. Therefore the attributes and epithets associated with a planet should all be linked through an "as if" subtext. Obviously, since we are looking at the archetypal awareness of ancient astrologers, only those planetary associations in the Mesopotamian, Greek and Roman (3) historical records will be relevant, since these are generally accepted as the primary cultures that appear to be behind the original development of astrological study. In addition, because of the mythological basis for the astral religion of the Mesopotamians and their probable influence of Greek planetary astrology, there needs to be established a continuity of themes between the pantheon gods and the planets that they embody. Accordingly, if Marduk the god, were seen to rule over agriculture, then one would expect the planet to rule over the same life area if the Mesopotamians are abiding by archetypal principles.

The Evidence

In an examination of the parallels between Near Eastern myths and the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod's works, Charles Penglase admits that while not all Greek deities originate in Mesopotamia, all the stories in Hesiod are based upon Mesopotamian ideas and motifs.

"….the works of Hesiod, the Theogeny and Works and Days, which are central in the corpus of early archaic Greek literature and dependent on earlier material, also display numerous parallels. In effect, the stories are all based on Mesopotamian ideas. It seems as though many central concepts were taken over and assimilated. This no doubt changed the understanding which the Greeks had of their religion and of their deities, at least as they are presented in the religious mythological world….So while the gods may be for the most part traditional, the ideas about them appear to have been altered or added to significantly" (1994: 242-243).

A comparison between the Mesopotamian and Greek myths involving Zeus, as Jupiter and Aphrodite as Venus will be followed by an examination of their translation into an astronomical and astrological context:

Marduk - Zeus - Jupiter

The most well-preserved introduction to the Mesopotamian pantheon that we have today is the Creation Myth from the Akkadian-Babylonian period (circa 2330 BCE - 2218 BCE) known as the Enuma Elish (from the first two words meaning "when above"). Although this is not an astrological text, it is a religious cosmology and introduces us to Marduk, the primary Sumerian source depicting one of the planetary gods. The story (4) begins with "when above" there was no sky and no firm ground below, there was only water and the first pair of deities Apsu (father of all things) and Tiamat (mother of all). These two commingled and formed another pair of gods Lahmu and Lahamu who are understood as the silt that forms in the water. These two give form to the horizon, represented by the pair Anshar and Kishar. Anshar's son is Anu, the lord of the sky who is equal and rival to his fathers and his son is Ea, the lord of earth, who is considered superior to his father because of his wisdom and strength. In a dispute between the older generation and the younger, Ea kills Apsu and builds a temple upon his water where he gives birth to Marduk who surpasses all the other gods before him in terms of power and wisdom. Enraged by the death of her husband, Tiamat begins to plot revenge against the younger gods by creating monsters and marrying Kingu whom she makes captain of her army. When the other gods fail to stop her, Ea is urged to send Marduk into battle against the great mother.

Marduk goes into battle against Tiamat but requires that all the other gods make him supreme authority over the Council and grant him the royal insignia, the throne and scepter and the authority to "exalt, abase & punish". Marduk then goes into battle armed with a bow, lightning, and a net held by the four winds. He splits Tiamat in two and captures Kingu's army in his net, taking from him his insignia of power, "the tablets of destinies" which he fastens to his breast. He then proceeds to organize the cosmos: Out of Tiamat's halves he creates the sky as an abode for the gods and the earth below it. "In the sky he establishes the constellations, the 'astral likeness' of the high gods to regulate the yearly calendar, also the gates where the sun rises and sets and the procession of the moon's phases to regulate the months". He then creates man who is to toil so that the gods can live at ease. Ea fashions man according to Marduk's plans out of Kingu's blood. Marduk then organizes the pantheon stationing guards at the entrance to heaven and earth. A temple is built for Marduk by the other gods who confirm him as creator and king of the universe, savior of the universe from destruction, dispenser of justice, guardian of food supplies, mighty warrior and magician (Brown 1953: 39-40).

In the Babylonian pantheon Marduk is considered the supreme god and in charge of the Council of gods, a democratic type body that deliberates over the fate of humanity. His Greek counterpart in both mythology and astrology is Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter. There are several elements of this story alone that have also found their way into the earliest extant theological texts of the Archaic Greek period: Hesiod whose works include Theogeny and Works and Days; and Homer author of Iliad, and Odyssey. There is no clear agreement as to their exact dates. Frazer places Hesiod at around 750 BCE (p.47) and argues that his works were influenced by "first, the literature of Homeric poetry; secondly the unwritten local and tribal traditions of the Greeks; and thirdly, (though this is questioned by some authorities), the mythological literature of the Ancient Near East" (p. 36). Athanassakis places Hesiod somewhere between 750 BCE and 625 BCE and argues that "there is no compelling reason for the assumption that Hesiod either preceded Homer or even that he was his contemporary" (1983: 1).

It is Herodotus who puts these two poets into a frame of reference that is pertinent for this study of the gods whose names and characters are to be an integral part of planetary astrology:

"How each of the gods came into being, whether they always existed, and what are their forms, the Greeks did not know until yesterday or the day before, so to speak; for Hesiod and Homer, I believe, lived four hundred years before my time (5) and no more, and they are the ones who made a theogony for the Greeks and gave them their honors and functions and showed how they looked" (lines 2.53, cited in Frazer, p.12).

It is uncertain who, if anyone influenced Hesiod, but there is no doubt from his work -- which postdates the Babylonian myth by 1400 years -- that there are parallels between the Marduk of the Enuma Elish and Zeus of Hesiod's work. Foremost among these is the theme of justice and wisdom that is associated with Marduk and which finds echoes in a passage entitled "An Exhortation to Justice" (lines 213 - 285) as well as several other passages in Works and Days:

Easily he strengthens the faltering, easily shatters the strong,
easily makes the flourishing fade, the faded flourish,
easily straightens the crooked and withers the haughty in spirit,
Zeus the Thunderer on High, who dwells in the uppermost palace.
Hearken, O witnessing, listening Zeus, and straighten our judgments ,
hold us to justice. …(lines 5-10)

….Let immediately settle our differences, using straight verdicts of justice, those that are Zeus-sent and best. (lines 35-37)

This passage also depicts Zeus as the bearer of lightning and thunder, the weapons used by Marduk in the Creation Myth. Frazer actually sees a Near Eastern origin in the parallels between Anu, Ea and Marduk with Ouranus, Kronos and Zeus, specifically comparing Marduk's single combat defeat of Tiamat, the sea monster, with Zeus' single combat with Typhoeus (Theogeny, lines 820 - 880) Compare the Enuma Elish with the following passages of this struggle and its aftermath:

On that day an incurable disaster would have ocurred and now
Typhoeus would rule as king of immortals and mortals,
if the Father of Gods and of Men had not been attentive.
Thunder came from him, pure thunder and mighty, and everywhere earth
horribly echoed in answer, as did the broad sky above and
Pontos, the sea, the streams of Okeanos, and Tartaros below. (lines 836-841)

So when Zeus had collected his strength and caught up his weapons,
which are the roaring thunder and lightning and smoldering firebolt,
then did he, swooping down from Olympos, strike him and burn off
all the marvelous heads of that very frightening monster. (lines 853-856)

But when the blessed gods had finished the struggle of the fighting,
when they had won in the war with the Titans the contest for honors,
then they, following the advice of Gaia, urged the Olympian
far-seeing Zeus to rule as their lord and take up the kingship
over immortals; and so he apportioned their honors. (lines 881-885)

Clearly in both stories, Marduk or Zeus are depicted as the organizers of the cosmos after a destructive battle between them and one of the primordial gods. In addition, both gods are placed as the head of a body of gods which governs over human fate -- the Sumerian Council of Gods and the Greek Mt. Olympus. While Brown argues that "Zeus does not represent the principle of creativity in the way that Marduk does (1953: 41) because he does not create the cosmos out of a "conflict between the forces of creativity and the forces of inertia" but rather produces the entire cosmos from "natural proliferation", one can argue that Zeus' creative capacity is indeed depicted by his constant desire to physically proliferate and in the creative ways in which he is forced to do this in order to avoid the condemnations of Hera in later myths.

In the translation from myth to planetary significance, the matter becomes far more complex. One of the reasons for this, as Campion points out, is that "one god was not necessarily entirely separate from another" and their roles often merged. "Thus, Enlil, the originator of earthly kingship played a role which tended to merge with that of Marduk, the supreme king, who was himself venerated as the "Enlil of the gods" (Cosmos, Kepler web-site p. 1). Secondly, as Campion points out, the "consensus amongst Assyriologists is generally that the planets were not themselves divine, but were manipulated by the gods" according to the divine council's will, but there was not a one-to-one correspondence between a particular planet and a god, the way that there was in Greek astrology (p.1).

An example of this can be seen quite clearly when he quotes Jacobsen's description of the powers assigned to Utu or Shamash (the Sun) which sound very much like those of Marduk, the:

'power in light, the foe of darkness and deeds of darkness. On the social place he therefore becomes a power for justice and equality…He is therefore the judge of god and men, presiding in the morning in courts such as the one we know from the Bathhouse Ritual, where demons and other evil doers are sued by their human victims. At night he judges disputes among the dead of the netherworld. He is the last appeal of the wronged who can obtain no justice from their fellow men, and their cry of despair to him, "I-Utu!" was feared as possessing supernatural power'(cited in Campion 2000: 2).

Thirdly, the Mesopotamian astrological omen literature (with the exception of the personal communications from scholar to king) all follows a standard pattern that consists of "If (protasis)…then (apodosis)…, e.g. 'If Jupiter stands in Pisces: the Tigris and the Euphrates will be filled with silt' "(Swerdlow, 1998:2), which makes it difficult to sort out which influences are being used in making the prognostication. Swerdlow outlines the criteria that the Babylonians appear to be using for determining their omens as:

"…the character of the planet; or rather of the deity represented by the planet; the character of the phenomenon; the appearance of the planet; the lunar calendar month and day on which the phenomenon occurs, each of which has an ominous character; the time of day, morning or evening, meaning before sunrise or after sunset; and the location of the phenomenon, either with respect to constellations or stars, which have their own character and can also substitute for other planets, or by direction on the horizon, east or west, since heliacal phenomena have characteristic directions as well as times" (p.5-6).

In the midst of all these simultaneously operative factors, it becomes very difficult to isolate the character of the planet -- as is represented by the mythological deity -- from the examples that proliferate the texts. At the same time there are no known theoretical texts outlining the Mesopotamian foundations and rationale for their practice. Some typical Jupiter omens from the Enuma Anu Enlil (cir.1000 BCE) read:

"When the Moon occults Jupiter (Sagmigar), that year a king will die (or) an eclipse of the Moon and Sun will take place. A great king will die. When Jupiter enters the midst of the Moon, there will be want in Aharru. The king of Elam will be slain with the sword: in Subarti…(?) will revolt. When Jupiter enters the midst of the Moon, the market of the land will be low. When Jupiter goes out from behind the Moon, there will be hostility on the land" (cited in Tester 1987: 13)

The references to the king in these prognostications could be associated with Marduk's position as king of the Gods, but because most of the omen literature pertains to the affairs of the state and the king often figures in the communications, this argument is rather weak. In addition, other planets figure into the omens referring to the king, as in this omen which appears in a letter from the chief scribe to the Akkadian king Esarhaddon (680 - 650 BCE): "If Mars [shines brightly]:the king will gain in strength [and prosperity]" (cited in Swerdlow 1998:12). The principle of justice associated with Marduk also does not seem to figure in these forecasts. It seems that there is an underlying motif of death and suffering in this passage, but it is not clear whether this theme is associated with the Moon, Marduk or the conjunction between them.

The Greek astrological texts are more informative in terms of the theoretical basis upon which the various judgments are made. In Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, unarguably one of the most influential astrological works of antiquity, there is not one mention of the mythological gods. Long summarizes the work: "This symmetrical theory of elementary powers and combinations (based upon unargued inferences from the planets' relative positions) enables Ptolemy to demythologise astrology and to relate diurnal and seasonal changes to the elemental effects of the sun, moon, and planets" (1982: 179-180). Drawing upon the philosophical influences of Aristotle and Pythagoras, Ptolemy reinterprets the old Babylonian astral religion into a natural science.

Although their chart significance depends on various other technical factors, his explanation of the planetary meanings rests on their relative positions in the various cosmological spheres, their movements, their elemental natures, their sex, and the effects that they produce on the "Ambient". With regard to Jupiter, Ptolemy tells us that

"Jupiter revolves in an intermediate sphere between the extreme cold of Saturn and the burning heat of Mars, and has consequently a temperate influence: he therefore at once promotes both warmth and moisture. But, owing to the spheres of Mars and the Sun, which lie beneath him, his warmth is predominant: and hence he produces fertilizing breezes" (Aschmand trans. 1822: 11).

In chapter V, Ptolemy also mentions that "two of the planets on account of their temperate quality, and because heat and moisture are predominant in them, are considered by the ancients as benefic, or causers of good: these are Jupiter and Venus" (Aschmand, p.12). There appears to be an entirely separate set of techniques for judging a chart involving house rulerships, which were practiced by Dorotheus of Sidon -- writing about a century before Ptolemy -- but whose methods are quite different. On the question of judging whether a man will marry, he states that "If the lord of that place (the relevant house) is Jupiter, he will attain this because of kings or wealthy men or because of the decree of his city" (cited in Holden 1996: 36). Dorotheus' reference to "wealthy men" and "kings" is typical of the modern associations for astrological Jupiter and may indeed relate to his dignified mythological status; but Ptolemy's instructions bear little resemblance to any mythical correspondences.

Ishtar (Inanna) - Aphrodite - Venus

With regard to Aphrodite, Penglase here sees enough independent evidence for establishing her Eastern origins (6). The Greek Aphrodite appears to be a version of the Sumerian Ishtar or the Akkadian Inanna, whom the Romans called Venus, and who gives her name to the third planet from the sun because she became associated with the morning and evening stars. The story of the descent and return of Inanna from the underworld begins with the goddess deciding to travel to the netherworld. We are told that she decides to do this to acquire the "me" of the netherworld, which Penglase translates as the acquisition of power. Dressed in her "seven me, her clothes, representing her powers, she set off, giving instructions to her minister Ninshubur on what to do if she had not returned after three days" (p. 17). Upon arriving at the gates of the underworld, Inanna meets the doorman Neti, who after consulting with Ereshkigal -- queen of the underworld and sister to Inanna -- carries out her instructions and leads Inanna through the seven doors one by one, removing pieces of her clothing as she passes through each door. Inanna arrives in the netherworld naked, whereupon Ereshkigal rises from her thrown in anger and Inanna sits upon it. The Anunna gods condemn her insolence, kill her and hang her from a hook.

When her mistress has not returned after three days, Ninshubur sets out to enlist the help of the other gods to rescue her. Enlil and Nanna both refuse to help because they condemn Inanna for outstepping her boundaries in seeking the power of the underworld. Only Enki, the god of wisdom is willing to help rescue Inanna from death. He creates two figures who are given the life-giving plant and water and instructs them on how to revive Inanna. When these creatures arrive in the underworld they are empathetic with Ereshkigal who is naked and in labor, crying out in pain. She is pleased to see them and offers them gifts, which they decline in favor of Inanna's body. They feed Inanna the plant and sprinkle the water, upon which she rises. But when she is about to leave, they prevent her, declaring that no one has ever left the underworld and that if she wishes to leave, she must supply a substitute. A crowd of inhuman demons accompany Inanna's ascent in order to retrieve her substitute. Inanna refuses to give up her faithful servant, whom she meets first and who grovels for her life, as well as Shara, Umma, Lulal and Badtibira. But when Inanna encounters her husband Dummuzi sitting upon her thrown 'clothed in a magnificent garment' she becomes enraged and gives him to the demons. Dummuzi pleads with Utu, his brother-in-law to change him into a snake so he may escape, but he is eventually caught by the demons. Inanna and Ereshkigal ordain that he must spend half the year in the netherworld, alternating with his sister Geshtinanna. In the Sumerian version of this story, with Ishtar in the underworld and perhaps dead, " there was no fertility, animal or human, on earth" (p.27).

Penglase establishes parallels of motif and theme between these two stories and the Greek myths involving Aphrodite's birth and her affair with Anchises. The principal motif associated with this goddess centers consistently around her connection with the fertility of the natural world, both as sexual human procreation and in the fertility of the earth itself. When she descends to the underworld in the Sumerian myth, her absence results in the infertility of the earth which is only restored upon her return. Similarly, in the Greek myth of her birth, Aphrodite is blown from the foams -- which are produced after Kronos casts his father Ouranus' genitals into the sea -- to the shores of Cyprus where grass is seen to grow beneath the goddesses feet (p. 166). It may be added that in the Greek tradition, the theme of Aphrodite's birth from the procreative organs of her father may be seen echoed in her varied amorous and sexual liaisons, allowing for her identification as goddess of love and sexuality.

Penglase points especially to the parallels between the myth of Aphrodite's union with the herdsman Anchises and the Mesopotamian tale of Inanna and her consort the shepherd and vegetation god Dummuzi (or Damu). In both stories, involvement with the goddess results in death or suffering of the male, especially if he tells of the affair as Anchises is warned not to do (Penglase, p. 171). In particular the Sumerian tale constitutes the first version of the universal "dying-and-rising" theme (Jordan 1993: 70) which is strewn throughout the world's mythological literature. The idea of physical adornment and preparation both before Inanna journeys to the underworld and before she goes to meet with Anchises in the Greek story also seems to be connected with this goddess. Hesiod enumerates Aphrodite's powers as: "flirtatious conversations of maidens, smiles, and deceits, sweet delight and passion of love and gentle enticements" (Frazer, lines 205-206).

The connection between Aphrodite and the underworld is not present in Hesiod, neither is the Mesopotamian association of this goddess with war. Aphrodite's power lies rather in her sexuality and her deceit is always connected with her lustfulness. While her sexual passion often leaves behind her a trail of suffering and conflict -- as in her affair with Ares, and Anchises and her vain involvement in Homer's story of the Trojan downfall -- her motivation is not a conscious desire for power as much as a bi-product of her power over attraction. The physical depictions of both goddesses also bear this difference, for while Inanna is often depicted with weapon cases at her shoulders (Jordan 1993:114), Aphrodite is always clothed in fine feminine garments and jewels or nude (p.20). There is no agreement on this aspect of the goddess; while Jordan mentions her as a goddess of war and victory, he does not list those as her attributes, nor does he elaborate on the mythological Greek references. Powell makes it a clear distinction stating: " Ishtar was 'Sin's valiant daughter' to whom the Babylonians turned in the cause of righteous war, whereas the Greeks invoked the goddess Athena in going to battle for a just cause rather than Aphrodite, who was looked upon as the embodiment of everything feminine and was decidedly unwarlike in nature" (1985: 23). Penglase lists "Aphrodite may be armed and bestow victory, while Ishtar is the Mesopotamian warrior goddess" as one of their common features but does not indicate the mythological references (1994:163). Therefore, the functions that agreeably underlie both civilizations' myths of this goddess are her abilities to attract, inspire love and fertility in the natural world -- in all its varying degrees.

The goddess' translation into early astrology appears to draw on both her love-related qualities as well as her connections to the underworld and death, as she was recognized as having a dual aspect as both evening and morning star. According to Aveni, the Sumerian myths are derived from the physical movements of the planets that priest/astrologers witnessed in the skies. "These deities began as the actual attributes or properties of the material elements to which they gave their names"(1992:46). More specifically,

"Of the five planets, the first three -- Saturn (Ninib), Jupiter (Merodach), and Mars (Nergal) -- were generally placed under the parentage of the sun god Shamash. The all-seeing, constant, and dependable guardian of justice. But the other two planets -- Mercury (Nebo..), and our Ishtar-Inanna-Venus -- were said to have descended long ago to the earth, where they were paid homage…they alone have always roamed the region of the sky closest to the ground. If not hidden below the earth, each is visible lying low in the west after sunset or hovering over the position of sunrise in the eastern predawn sky. Whereas neither of these ever strays far from the boundary between land and sky, the other three naked-eye planets have always been free to wander all the way across the celestial vault, even the midnight sky" (p. 57-58).

Moreover, Aveni makes an attempt at explaining the 3 day absence of Ishtar while in the underworld and her re-ascent after being sprinkled with magic water, astronomically when the planet makes its reappearance from behind the horizon after an average of three days around the rainy season in the Euphrates valley (p.58).

While this particular explanation is speculative, the idea that the ancient myths are based on physical planetary movements and characteristics persists into the Greek astrological tradition as is seen in Ptolemy's description of Venus:

"To Venus also the same temperate quality belongs, although it exists conversely; since the heat she produces by her vicinity to the Sun is not so great as the moisture which she generates by the magnitude of her light, and by approapriating to herself the moist vapours of the earth, in the same manner that the Moon does" (Aschmand trans. p.11).

There is no evidence here of any mythological residue involving the principles of beauty, lust or fertility. However, in Vettius Valens' chapter on "The Nature of the Stars", his description of Mars consists of a list of epithets (key words) associated with the planet:

"Mars signifies violence, , battles, robbery, screaming, assault, adultery, carrying off of goods, banishment, exile, estrangement from the planets, captivity, abortions, embryotomy, living together, marriage, carrying off of wealth, lies, those unacquainted with hope, violent theft, priracy, plundering, lover's quarrels, anger, fighting, cursing, hatred…." (cited in Holden 1996:52).

The list continues for 16 more lines with a list of seemingly unrelated key words including its rulership over the color red, which is probably connected with the planet's physical appearance. Holden makes a note that the "adultery" significance derives from the widespread Greek familiarity of the gods' adulterous affair with Aphrodite, who was known to be married to Hephaestus (p.52 n132). This dichotomy between symbolism and physical observation is especially noticeable when speaking of the Zodiac sign meanings; a point which prompts Sextus Empiricus to argue that

"either the man born is brave because the Sign is called the Lion, or because, when the air under the celestial Lion is changed, dispositions of that sort are brought about in the man who is being born. But it is not credible that he should be brave because the Sign of his horoscope is called the Lion…" (Bury trans. p.366).

Conclusion

It is very difficult on the basis of the astrological and mythological evidence presented here to adhere to the modern assumption that archetypal concepts or principles were the basis of the planetary meanings because nowhere in these examples do we find a reference to a conscious awareness of the traits and characteristics associated with the gods and their planets as "higher principles". The consciousness that these principles are recognized as human traits being projected onto allegorical figures is an even harder case to make on the basis of this evidence. In Tarnas' footnote, he mentions that one can see "this assumption of an a priori association between the planets and specific deities as early as the pivotal Platonist dialogue the Epinomis " (p.76). This is not quite so, for although Plato agues for the divinity of the planets, he does not make any correspondences between the celestial bodies and their pantheon namesakes, nor does he speak of either as embodiments of principles. Instead, Plato is quite indifferent to the mythological gods, insisting only that those who consider the gods, do so according to his conception of matter being formed by soul. What the Epinomis attempts to persuade, is that the planets should be revered as visible deities because their obedience to numerical regularity attests to their divine nature.

"As for such gods as Zeus, Hera, and the rest, a man may give them any rank he pleases, so long as he conforms to this law of ours and holds fast to our principle. But, 'tis, of course, the stars and the bodies we can perceive existing along with them that must be named first as the visible gods, and the greatest, most worshipful, and clear-sighted of them all…" (Taylor trans. 1956: 238).

In his treatment of the history of planetary meaning, Powell points to the doctrines of an ancient esoteric theology called The Chaldean Oracles for an explanation of the "basic doctrine of genethlialogy" (p. 30). The Oracles are generally thought to have been authored by Julian the theurgist who lived under the reign of Marcus Aurelius (121 -180 AD) and to have been taken up by the Neoplatonists, especially Iamblichus and Proclus, thanks to whom they have been partially preserved. Quoting Hans Lewy's synthetic work --which integrates and analyzes the various original fragments of the Oracles as well as the numerous Neoplatonic commentaries by Proclus, Damascius, Psellus, among others -- Powell highlights this section as indicating the process by which the planets endow the human soul with certain characteristics:

'According to Chaldean doctrine (7), the fiery spark of the human soul, during its descent from its supercelestial place of origin into the earthly body, acquires a vesture formed out of the substances of the spheres which it traverses' (p.31).

While Neoplatonic theurgy lends itself nicely to the Jungian concept of archetype and is therefore frequently invoked in explaining modern concepts of astrology, there are a few problems with Powell's reliance on the Oracles as a link between modern astrological thought and the Babylonian influence on planetary meanings. The first problem is suggested by designating the complete collection of original doctrines as well as the Neoplatonic commentaries as "Chaldean". While the name referred primarily to the "members of the priestly caste of Babylon and to their Hellenistic disciples…It now designated rather the possessor of age old divine wisdom, to whom the greatest Greek philosophers of early time, Pythagoras, Plato etc., had gone seeking enlightenment" (Lewy: 1978: 427). Lewy adds in his footnote (n.97) that there was a legend fabricated and accepted in the 2nd century that Pythagoras, Plato and other philosophers were disciples of the Chaldeans (8). It has to then be remembered that the Chaldean Oracles, as examined by Lewy, are an interpretation of a Neoplatonic re-interpretation of a revelatory (9) doctrine composed by what could have been Babylonian living in Rome. Dodds' commentary on Lewy's work makes note of the difficulty in putting "together the smallest scraps of information that we possess, and to extract from them something which has at least the semblance of a coherent system…so vague and imprecise is the flowery verbiage in which the 'system' is clothed that as Nock once put it, 'it is very hard to be sure of the meaning of anything in the Oracles' " (Lewy p. 697).

Another problem in making Powell's case with the Oracles, is that they actually appear to argue against the practice of astrology. It is true that the doctrine makes a connection between the virtues of the gods and the planets which bear their names (p.50), and regards these planetary gods as "noetic (perceivable) entities" (p.158-159). But according to Lewy, "The true rank of these entities (the planets), however, is defined in Apollo's statement, which is clearly directed against the doctrines of star-worship: they are mere satellites of God and, as such, debarred from active participation in the governance of the world" (p. 162). It is not that the Oracles reject the influence of the stars, but rather that they perceive it as a fact of divine necessity carrying out the "Will of the Supreme Father". Psellus thus comments:

"…measure not the course of the sun by joining rods, for that he moves in accordance with the will eternal of the Father, not for the sake of thee. Let go the moon's sound; she ever runs by operation of necessity. The stars' procession was not brought forth for the sake of thee…" (Lewy, p.255).

It is apparent then, that because we can extract a cohesive meaning from ancient projections does not mean that the understanding of that cohesion was there from the onset. There is every indication that the planetary meanings evolved to take on a semblance of archetypal integrity over the years and especially after the fall of the pagan world when it became necessary to fit astrological philosophy within a Christian context (10). But to argue that this integrity was there during the Mesopotamian origins of the astral religions is an especially difficult case to make. Campion paraphrases Max Muller, who

"argued that the development of religion outstripped the ability of language to express theological ideas, and that this result was the articulation of abstract concepts in concrete forms -- in other words (continues Campion) in the construction of a pantheon of named deities who represented natural forces. If we follow this line of reasoning then the development of astrology and hence of astronomy becomes a response to the supposed evolution of religion in the third millennium BCE. Thus we find no trace in the Mesopotamian literature of words to indicate 'principles', 'laws', or 'concepts'… (Campion, "Babylonian Astrology" , Copy from Kepler course web site, p.8).

In the end, the history of planetary names and their attributes was most accurately summarized by Michel Gauquelin as 'a remarkable alliance between human imagination and the world of appearances' (cited in Aveni, p.53).

Notes

1. We are concerned here with the origins of the planetary meanings and whether these meanings reflect an awareness of the universal principles which form the basis of archetypal astrology. We therefore have to circumscribe our time frame between the earliest Babylonian evidence of astrology (circa 1700 BCE) and the evidence up until the end of the Roman Empire from which we inherited the present planetary names we use today (476 CE).
2. In The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, Jung tells us "the term 'archetype' occurs as early as Philo Judaeus, with reference to the Imago Dei ( God-image)in man. It can also be found in Irenaeus, who says: 'The creator of the world did not fashion these things directly from himself but copied them from archetypes outside himself.' In the Corpus Hermeticum, God is called archetypal light. The term occurs several times in Dionysius the Areopagite, as for instance in De caelesti hierarchia, II, 4: 'immaterial Archetypes,' and in De divinis nominibus, I, 6: 'Archetypal stone.' The term 'archetype' is not found in St. Augustine, but the idea of it is. Thus in De diversis quaestionibus LXXXIII he speaks of 'ideae principales, 'which are themselves not formed…but are contained in the divine understanding' " (1969, p. 4).
3. Roman astrology is entirely borrowed from Hellenistic and Mesopotamian concepts. Holden (1996: 96) establishes Roman astrology as largely a Greek science. Campion (Extracts from An introduction to the history of Astrology: Kepler College web site chapter 7, p.1-5), describes Roman astrology as a fusion of differing strands of religious and philosophical strands from Greece and Mesopotamia, disseminated in large part by the teachings of Posidonius the Stoic between (135 - 51 BCE). Because most of the Greek records come to us via the latter surviving Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin sources are critical.
4. This account of the Enuma Elish is contained in Norman O. Brown's translation of Hesiod's Theogeny for comparative purposes. He refers to V. B. Pritchard's translation, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts (Princeton, 1950), 60-72; and to an interpretation of the text by H. and H. A. Frankfort, J. A. Wilson and T. Jacobsen, The Intellectual Adventure of Ancient Man (Copyright 1946 by the University of Chicago).
5. Perry dates Herodotus at c. 484 BCE to c. 424 BCE. This dating places Hesiod at about 880 BCE, which Frazer considers to be 100 years to early (p.12).

 

6. Penglase's analysis of parallels to Aphrodite concerns particularly the following myths: 1) Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld (Sumerian); 2) Ishtar's Descent to the Netherworld (Akkadian); 3) Dummuzi and Innana (Sumerian); 4) Aphrodite's birth (Theogeny lines 154 - 206) and 5) Aphrodite's affair with Anchises (Homeric Hymns, Iliad 2.819 - 21,and Theogeny 1008-1010)
7. The original quote by Lewy actually reads: "According to a kindred Chaldean doctrine, …"
8. For a treatment of this topic Lewy refers to Hopfner, Orient und griechische Philosophie (Leipzig, 1925, 1-5).
9. E. R. Dodds in a commentary essay published in the 1978 edition of Lewy's work, indicates (p.693) that the authors of the original Oracles "were believed to be gods (speaking through the lips of entranced mediums?), but it was given to the world, as Lobeck guessed and Bidez finally proved, by one 'Julianus the theurgist'…"
10. This is touched upon in Aveni's "Conversing with the Planets", especially with regards to the planet Venus in chapter 5.

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