☿

A planet symbol (or ''planetary symbol'') is a graphical symbol used in astrology and astronomy to represent a classical planet (including the Sun and the Moon) or one of the modern planets. The symbols were also used in alchemy to represent the metals associated with the planets, and in calendars for their associated days. The use of these symbols derives from Classical Greco-Roman astronomy, though their current shapes are a development of the 16th century.

The classical planets, their symbols, days and most commonly associated planetary metals are:

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) discourages the use of these symbols in modern journal articles, and their style manual proposes one- and two-letter abbreviations for the names of the planets for cases where planetary symbols might be used, such as in the headings of tables.
The modern planets with their traditional symbols and IAU abbreviations are:

The symbols of Venus and Mars are also used to represent female and male in biology following a convention introduced by Carl Linnaeus in the 1750s.

History

Classical planets

Antecedents of the planetary symbols are attested in the attributes given to classical deities. The Roman planisphere of Bianchini (2nd century, currently in the Louvre, inv. Ma 540) shows the seven planets represented by portraits of the seven corresponding gods, each a bust with a halo and an iconic object or dress, as follows: Mercury has a caduceus and a winged cap; Venus has a necklace and a shining mirror; Mars has a war-helmet and a spear; Jupiter has a laurel crown and a staff; Saturn has a conical headdress and a scythe; the Sun has rays emanating from his head; and the Moon has a crescent atop her head.

Bianchini planisphere - Luna.png, Luna with a crescent
Bianchini planisphere - Mercury.png, Mercury with a caduceus
Bianchini planisphere - Venus.png, Venus with a shining mirror
Bianchini planisphere - Sol.png, Sol emanating rays
Bianchini planisphere - Mars.png, Mars with a spear
Bianchini planisphere - Jupiter.png, Jupiter with a staff
Bianchini planisphere - Saturn.png, Saturn with a scythe

The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Greek papyri. Early forms are also found in medieval Byzantine codices which preserve horoscopes.

Moon symbol (medieval ms).png, The symbol for the Moon in a medieval Byzantine (11th c.) ms. The appearance in late Classical times was similar.
Mercury symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png, The symbol for Mercury in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss
Venus symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png, The symbol for Venus in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss
Sun symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png, The disk with a ray as a symbol for the Sun in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss
Mars symbol (late classical and medieval ms).png, The symbol for Mars in late Classical (6th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss.
Jupiter symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png, The symbol for Jupiter in late Classical (4th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss
Saturn symbol (late classical and medieval mss).png, The symbol for Saturn in late Classical (4th & 5th c.) and medieval Byzantine (11th c.) mss. Cf. kappa-rho, .

A diagram in the astronomical compendium by Johannes Kamateros (12th century) closely resemble the 11th-century forms shown above, with the Sun represented by a circle with a single ray, Jupiter by the letter ''zeta'' (the initial of Zeus, Jupiter's counterpart in Greek mythology), Mars by a shield crossed by a spear, and the remaining classical planets by symbols resembling the modern ones, though without the cross-marks seen in modern versions of Mercury, Venus, Jupiter and Saturn. These cross-marks first appear in the late 15th or early 16th century. According to Maunder, the addition of crosses appears to be "an attempt to give a savour of Christianity to the symbols of the old pagan gods."Maunder (1934)
The modern forms of the classical planetary symbols are found in a woodcut of the seven planets in a Latin translation of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi's ''De Magnis Coniunctionibus'' printed at Venice in 1506, represented as the corresponding gods riding chariots.Maunder (1934:239)

File:Fotothek df tg 0007129 Theosophie ^ Alchemie.jpg, Early modern depiction of the planet symbols in an alchemical context (''Musaeum Hermeticum'', 1678)
File:Translation of Albumasar Venice 1515 De Magnis Coniunctionibus.jpg, Page spread (with the signs for Mars and Venus) from a 1515 illustrated edition of Abu Ma'shar al-Balkhi's ''De Magnis Coniunctionibus'' (in the by translation by Herman of Carinthia, c. 1140, ''editio princeps'' by Erhard Ratdolt of Augsburg, 1489).
Abu Ma'shar(Ibn Balkhi)-850AD.png, Depiction of the planets in a 15th-century Arabic manuscript of Abu Ma'shar's "Book of nativities"
File:F4.v. zodiac circle with planets - NLW MS 735C.png, Medieval planisphere showing the zodiac and the classical planets. The planets are represented by seven faces.
File:Center of shield, Robert Boyle Prize for Analytical Science, Royal Society of Chemistry.jpg, Planetary-metal symbols at the center of the coat of arms of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Earth symbol

Earth is not one of the classical planets, as "planets" by definition were "wandering stars" as seen from Earth's surface.
Earth's status as planet is a consequence of heliocentrism in the 16th century.
Nonetheless, there is a pre-heliocentric symbol for the world, now used as a planetary symbol for the Earth. This is a circle crossed by a horizontal and vertical line, representing the world divided by four rivers into the four quarters of the world (often translated as the four "corners" of the world): . A variant, now obsolete, had only the horizontal line: 16px, 🜔."Solar System", in ''The English Cyclopaedia of Arts and Sciences'', vol. VII-VIII, 1861

A medieval European symbol for the world – the globus cruciger, (the globe surmounted by a Christian cross) – is also used as a planetary symbol; it resembles an inverted symbol for Venus.

The planetary symbols for Earth are encoded in Unicode at and .

Marriage of Cupid and Psyche.jpg, The Olympian gods, atop a -shaped world
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 42-48.jpg, Stylized Earth symbol


Wappen Oberwallmenach.png, A simple ''globus cruciger''
File:Maschwanden-blazon.svg, Three ''globi crucigeri'' in the coat of arms of Maschwanden in Switzerland
Uppsala län vapenflagga.svg, In the flag of Uppsala, the globe of the ''globus cruciger'' is stylized as a T-and-O map, 16px
Mosaic in the Tunis Cathedral.jpg, In this ''globus cruciger'', the cross is surmounted on a celestial orb with stars

Classical planets

Moon

The crescent shape has been used to represent the Moon since earliest times. In classical antiquity, it is worn by lunar deities ( Selene/Luna, Artemis/Diana, Men, etc.) either on the head or behind the shoulders, with its horns pointing upward.
The representation of the moon as a simple crescent with the horns pointing to the side (as a heraldic ''crescent increscent'' or ''crescent decrescent'') is attested from late Classical times.

The same symbol can be used in a different context not for the Moon itself but for a lunar phase, as part of a sequence of four symbols
for "new moon" (U+1F311 🌑︎), "waxing" (U+263D ☽︎), "full moon" (U+1F315 🌕︎) and "waning" (U+263E ☾︎).

Sala_vapen.svg, The Moon symbol, representing silver mining, in the municipal coat of arms of Sala in Sweden
Silvberg vapen.svg, The Moon symbol in the municipal coat of arms of Silvbergs ('Silver Mountain') in Sweden
20120801-016 Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 74-80.jpg, Stylized Moon symbol

Mercury

The symbol ☿ for Mercury is a caduceus (a staff intertwined with two serpents), a symbol associated with Mercury/Hermes throughout antiquity. Some time after the 11th century, a cross was added to the bottom of the staff to make it seem more Christian.
Its Unicode codepoint is .

Early classical white ground lekythos ARV extra Hermes Psychopompos leading deceased woman to Charon (02).jpg, The god Hermes (Mercury) with his caduceus
DEU Stahlberg COA.svg, Mercury symbol, representing quicksilver mining, in the municipal coat of arms of Stahlberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 52-58.jpg, Stylized Mercury symbol

Venus

The Venus symbol, ♀, consists of a circle with a small cross below it.
It has been interpreted as a depiction of the hand-mirror of the goddess, which may also explain Venus's association with the planetary metal copper, as mirrors in antiquity were made of polished copper (alloy), though this is not certain. In the Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri 235, the symbols for Venus and Mercury didn't have the cross on the bottom stroke, and Venus still appears without the cross (⚲) in Johannes Kamateros (12th century).

In botany and biology, the symbol for Venus is used to represent the female sex, alongside the symbol for Mars representing the male sex, following a convention introduced by Linnaeus in the 1750s. Arising from the biological convention, the symbol also came to be used in sociological contexts to represent women or femininity.

Unicode encodes the symbol as , in the Miscellaneous Symbols block.

Bronze mirror MET DP254654.jpg, A bronze mirror, of the type associated with Venus
Falun vapen.svg, The Venus symbol, representing copper mining, in the municipal coat of arms of Falun Municipality in Sweden (1932).
Woman-power emblem.svg , Raised fist within Venus symbol, used as a symbol of second-wave feminism (1960s)
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 58-64.jpg, Stylized Venus symbol

Venus has also been identified as the star in a range of star and crescent depictilns and symbols.

Sun

The modern astronomical symbol for the Sun, the circumpunct (), was first used in the Renaissance. It possibly represents Apollo's golden shield with a boss; it is unknown if it traces descent from the nearly identical Egyptian hieroglyph for the Sun.

''Bianchini's planisphere'', produced in the 2nd century, shows a circlet with rays radiating from it.
In late Classical times, the Sun is attested as a circle with a single ray. A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th century ''Compendium of Astrology'' shows the same symbol. This older symbol is encoded by Unicode as in the Alchemical Symbols block. Both symbols have been used alchemically for gold, as have more elaborate symbols showing a disk with multiple rays or even a face.

Outlines from the figures and compositions upon the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan vases of the late Sir William Hamilton; with engraved borders (1804) (14779549222).jpg, A buckler with a sun symbol and dot at center
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 10-16.jpg, Stylized circumpunct symbol for the Sun

Mars

The Mars symbol, ♂, is a depiction of a circle with an arrow emerging from it, pointing at an angle to the upper right in Europe and to the upper left in India. As astrological symbol it represents the planet Mars. It is also the old and obsolete symbol for iron in alchemy. In zoology and botany, it is used to represent the male sex (alongside the astrological symbol for Venus representing the female sex), following a convention introduced by Linnaeus in the 1750s.

The symbol dates from at latest the 11th century, at which time it was an arrow across or through a circle, thought to represent the shield and spear of the god Mars; in the medieval form, for example in the 12th-century ''Compendium of Astrology'' by Johannes Kamateros, the spear is drawn across the shield. The Greek Oxyrhynchus Papyri show a different symbol, perhaps simply a spear.

ALEXANDER SEVERUS-RIC IV 246-737118 MARS.jpg, 3rd-century coin with Mars on the reverse, with lance and shield. The same symbols were used for Athena (Pallas).
Karlskoga vapen.svg, The Mars symbol, representing iron mining, in the municipal coat of arms of Karlskoga in Sweden
Loppi vaakuna.svg, The Mars symbol in the municipal coat of arms of Loppi in Finland
Project Viking Logo - Patch Style 1974-L-01916.jpg, Mars symbol in the patch for NASA's ''Viking'' mission
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van De Genestetlaan 20-28.jpg, Stylized Mars symbol. The spear partly crosses the shield.

Its Unicode codepoint is .

Jupiter

The symbol for Jupiter, ♃, is originally a Greek zeta, Ζ, with a stroke indicating that it is an abbreviation (for Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Roman Jupiter).

Its Unicode codepoint is .

Mariner Jupiter-Saturn logo.jpg, Jupiter and Saturn symbols in patch for NASA's Mariner Jupiter-Saturn mission
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 76-82.jpg, Stylized Jupiter symbol

Saturn

Salmasius and earlier attestations show that the symbol for Saturn, ♄, derives from the initial letters ( Kappa, rho) of its ancient Greek name (), with a stroke to indicate an abbreviation. By the time of Kamateros (12th century), the symbol had been reduced to a shape similar to a lower-case letter ''eta'' η, with the abbreviation stroke surviving (if at all) in the curl on the bottom-right end. The horizontal stroke was added along with the "Christianization" of other symbols in the early 16th century.

Its Unicode codepoint is .

FraternitasSaturniSiegel.svg, Emblem of the ''Fraternitas Saturni'', a German magical order founded in 1926
Wappen der Ortschaft Bleiwäsche.png, The Saturn symbol representing lead in the municipal coat of arms of ''Bleiwäsche'', since 1975 part of Bad Wünnenberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 60-66.jpg, Stylized Saturn symbol

Modern discoveries

Uranus

The symbols for Uranus were created shortly after its discovery in 1781. One symbol, ⛢, invented by J. G. Köhler and refined by Bode, was intended to represent the newly discovered metal platinum; since platinum, commonly called white gold, was found by chemists mixed with iron, the symbol for platinum combines the alchemical symbols for iron, ♂, and gold, ☉.

Gold and iron are the planetary metals for the Sun and Mars, and so share their symbols. Several orientations were suggested, but an upright arrow is now universal.

Another symbol, ♅, was suggested by Lalande in 1784. In a letter to Herschel, Lalande described it as "" ("a globe surmounted by the first letter of your name"). The platinum symbol tends to be used by astronomers and the monogram by astrologers.

For use in computer systems, the symbols are encoded and .

Planetary symbols (1784).png, The planetary symbols as rendered in 1784, including the newly discovered Uranus (left)
William Herschel heraldry cropped.jpg, The Uranus platinum symbol on William Herschel's heraldry
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 26-32.jpg, Stylized Uranus monogram

Neptune

Several symbols were proposed for Neptune to accompany the suggested names for the planet. Claiming the right to name his discovery, Urbain Le Verrier originally proposed to name the planet for the Roman God '' Neptune''
and the symbol of a trident, while falsely stating that this had been officially approved by the French Bureau des Longitudes. In October, he sought to name the planet ''Leverrier'', after himself, and he had loyal support in this from the observatory director, François Arago,
who in turn proposed a new symbol for the planet, ⯉ (). However, this suggestion met with resistance outside France, and French almanacs quickly reintroduced the name ''Herschel'' for ''Uranus'', after that planet's discoverer Sir William Herschel, and ''Leverrier'' for the new planet, though it was used by anglophone institutions.
Professor James Pillans of the University of Edinburgh defended the name '' Janus'' for the new planet, and proposed a key for its symbol. Meanwhile, Struve presented the name ''Neptune'' on December 29, 1846, to the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In August 1847, the Bureau des Longitudes announced its decision to follow prevailing astronomical practice and adopt the choice of ''Neptune'', with Arago refraining from participating in this decision.
The planetary symbol was Neptune's trident, with the handle stylized either as a cross , following Mercury, Venus and the asteroids, or as an orb , following the symbols for Uranus and Earth. The cross variant is the more common today.

For use in computer systems, the symbols are encoded as and .

Athena Poseidon Cdm Paris DeRidder222.jpg, Athena (Pallas) with her lance and Poseidon (Neptune) with his trident. These weapons became the symbols of the planets Pallas and Neptune, respectively.
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 68-74.jpg, Stylized Neptune symbol (orb base)
Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 84-90.jpg, Stylized Neptune symbol (cross base)

Pluto

Pluto was almost universally considered a planet from its discovery in 1930 until its re-classification as a dwarf planet (planetoid) by the IAU in 2006. Planetary geologists and astrologers continue to treat it as a planet. The original planetary symbol for Pluto was a monogram of the letters P and L. Astrologers generally use a bident with an orb. NASA has used the bident symbol since Pluto's reclassification. These symbols are encoded as and .

Plate 7- Pluto in a niche, holding a bident, with Cerberus next to him, from a series of mythological gods and goddesses MET DP830883.jpg, Pluto holding a bident
20120801-017 Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 90-96.jpg, Pluto symbol stylized as an inverted Mercury
Pluto symbol (northern Europe, variant).svg, ⯖, an astrological symbol used for Pluto in Germany and Denmark, representing Pluto's orbit crossing Neptune's
Pluto_symbol_(southern_Europe).svg, ⯔, an astrological symbol used in the Mediterranean and Germany. The globe at bottom may be larger or omitted altogether.

Minor planets

In the 19th century, planetary symbols for the major asteroids were also in use, including 1 Ceres (a reaper's sickle, encoded ), 2 Pallas (a lance, ) and 3 Juno (a sceptre, encoded ).
Encke (1850) used symbols for 5 Astraea, 6 Hebe, 7 Iris, 8 Flora and 9 Metis in the ''Berliner Astronomisches Jahrbuch''.

In the late 20th century, astrologers abbreviated the symbol for 4 Vesta (the sacred fire of Vesta, encoded ), and introduced new symbols for 5 Astraea (, a stylised % sign, shift-5 on the keyboard for asteroid 5), 10 Hygiea (a caduceus – a common error in the USA for a staff of Asclepius, itself an error for the snake symbol of Hygiea – encoded ) and for 2060 Chiron, discovered in 1977 (a key, ). Chiron's symbol was adapted as additional centaurs were discovered; symbols for 5145 Pholus and 7066 Nessus have been encoded in Unicode. The abbreviation of the Vesta symbol is now universal, and the astrological symbol for Pluto has been used astronomically for Pluto as a dwarf planet.

In the early 21st century, symbols for the trans-Neptunian dwarf planets have come into use, particularly Eris (the hand of Eris, ⯰, but also ⯱), Sedna, Haumea, Makemake, , and which are in Unicode. All (except Eris, for which the hand of Eris is a traditional Discordian symbol) were devised by Denis Moskowitz, a software engineer in Massachusetts.

Ceres, Bacchus and Amor Dutch School Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed B618.jpg, Ceres with her sickle
Athena Poseidon Cdm Paris DeRidder222.jpg, Athena (Pallas) with her lance (left)
Abraham Bloemaert, Juno, c.1610, NGA 152769.jpg, Juno with her scepter
D'Antoine - Consécration d'une jeune vestale en présence des déesses Minerve et Vesta.jpg, Vesta's sacred fire
Hygeia-Hermitage.jpg, Hygiea with her snake (old astr. symbol )
Makemake.jpg, Petroglyph of Makemake
Bomarzo parco mostri orco.jpg, Orcus's gape
File:Shan hai jing Zhuyin.jpg, A human-headed serpent similar to depictions of Gonggong
Hand of Eris.svg, The Hand of Eris from the ''Principia Discordia''

Additional symbols

From 1845 to 1855, many symbols were created for newly discovered asteroids. But by 1851, the spate of discoveries had led to a general abandonment of these symbols in favour of numbering all asteroids instead.

AstraeaVSH.JPG, Astraea with her scales (astronomical symbol
Canova-Hebe 30 degree view.jpg, Hebe bearing a cup (astr. symbol )
Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien 2016 Kunstkammer Gaetano Matteo Monti Iris als Regenbogengöttin KK 5503 b.jpg, Iris as the rainbow (astr. symbol )
Flora dispensing Her Favours on the Earth.jpg, Flora dispensing flowers (astr. symbol )
NAMA Sirène.jpg, Parthenope with her lyre (astr. symbol )
Victory Column or Siegessäule in Berlin Tiergarten 0962.jpg, Victory with a laurel wreath (astr. symbol or )
Alegorie míru, náměstí Míru, Vinohrady, Praha.jpg, Peace (Irene) as a freed dove (astr. symbol )
Germania frieden.jpg, Peace with wings and an olive branch
Psyche on a camel.jpg, Psyche with butterfly wings (astr. symbol )
Hermes-Psyche-Palais-Garnier (cropped).jpg, Psyche accompanied by a butterfly, and Hermes with a multiply twisted caduceus
Library of the world's best literature, ancient and modern (1902) (14759296956).jpg, Psyche with butterfly wings, and Charon standing in his lunate boat
Museo Arqueológico Nacional - 2001-89-2 - Dinos de Tetis y Peleo 03.jpg, Thetis with a dolphin (astro. symbol file:Thetis symbol (fixed width).svg)
Melpomene Pio-Clementino Inv299.jpg, Melpomene with a dagger (astr. symbol file:Melpomene symbol (fixed width).svg)
Fortune et sa roue détail.png, Fortuna with her wheel (astro. symbol file:Fortuna symbol (fixed width).svg)
Hymen is kneeling before Fortune, who is balancing blindfold Wellcome V0047969.jpg, blindfolded Fortuna balanced on a wheel
Dante Gabriel Rossetti - Proserpine - Google Art Project.jpg, Proserpina with a pomegranate (astr. symbol file:Proserpina symbol (fixed width).svg)
Jan Muller after Bartholomaeus Spranger, Bellona Leading the Imperial Armies Against the Turks, 1600, NGA 153994.jpg, Bellona with a lance and flail (astro. symbol file:Bellona symbol (fixed width).svg)
Amphitrite LACMA M.88.91.381b.jpg, Amphitrite on a shell (astr. symbol file:Amphitrite symbol (fixed width).svg)

Moskowitz, who designed symbols for the trans-Neptunian dwarf planets, also designed symbols for the smaller trans-Neptunian objects Varuna, Ixion, and Salacia. Others have proposed symbols for even more trans-Neptunian objects, e.g. Zane Stein for Varda. Although mentioned in the Unicode proposal for the other dwarf planets, they lack broader adoption.

File:Amphitrite Terme di Nettuno Ostia Antica 2006-09-08.jpg, Salacia riding her hippocamp (symbol )
File:Ixion in sky campanian amphora.jpg, Ixion bound to his wheel (symbol or )
File:Varuna makara.jpg, Varuna with his snake-lasso (symbol )
File:Varda Elentári.jpg, Varda kindling the stars (symbol )
File:Star of Chaos Warhammer.svg, The Symbol of Chaos () in ''Warhammer 40,000''

See also

*Astrological symbol
*Astronomical symbol
*Gender symbol
*Classical planets in Western alchemy

References

Sources

*

{{Portal bar, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System

Alchemical symbols
Astronomical symbols
History of astrology