龟 | guī

In Mandarin Chinese, 龟 (Pinyin: guī 🔊) means “turtle” or “tortoise”.

The turtle did not make it to the Chinese zodiac. However, it appears in similar Asian zodiac systems:

The Cham zodiac uses the same animals and order as the Chinese zodiac, but replaces the Monkey with the turtle (known locally as kra). Similarly the Malay zodiac is identical to the Chinese but replaces two of the animals with the turtle (kura-kura) and mousedeer (kancil). One of the replaced animals is always the Rabbit, the other being either the Pig or Monkey.

龟 is a simplified form of the traditional character 龜 which is a pictogram of a tortoise.

Juan Eduardo Cirlot wrote in his Dictionary of Symbols:

The turtle has a variety of meanings, all of which are organically related. In the Far East its significance is cosmic in implication. As Chochod has observed: ‘The primordial turtle has a shell that is rounded on the top to represent heaven, and square underneath to represent the earth’. To the Negroes of Nigeria it suggests the female sex organ and it is in fact taken as an emblem of lubricity. In alchemy it was symbolic of the ‘massa confusa’. These disparate senses have, nevertheless, one thing in common: in every case, the turtle is a symbol of material existence and not of any aspect of transcendence, for even where it is a combination of square and circle it alludes to the forms of the manifest world and not to the creative forces, nor to the Origin, still less to the irradiating Centre. In view of its slowness, it might be said to symbolize natural evolution as opposed to spiritual evolution which is rapid or discontinuous to a degree. The turtle is also an emblem of longevity. An engraving in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili depicts a woman holding a pair of outspread wings in one hand and a turtle in the other. The counterbalancing of one with the other would suggest that the turtle is the inversion of the wings; that is, that since the wings signify elevation of the spirit, the turtle would denote the fixed element of alchemy although only in its negative aspect. In short, then, it would stand for turgidity, involution, obscurity, slowness, stagnation and highly concentrated materialism, etc. Perhaps this is the explanation of the turtles in Moreau’s painting of Orpheus with their disquieting negativeness.

More photos related to tortoises and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

♁ | Earth

⊕ and ♁ are the astronomical symbols representing the planet Earth.

Earth was not one of the seven classical planets. You’d think it would be natural for astrologers to put Earth in the centre. But no. Juan Eduardo Cirlot writes in his Dictionary of Symbols:

But astrology and traditional symbolism owe their inspiration not to the Copernican system but to that which had been accepted by the Ancients. <...> At the same time, the fact of there being seven planets responds to the idea of the seven planetary heavens, which in turn tallies with that of the seven Directions or areas in space (which in turn, when transposed into terms of time, becomes the origin of the seven days of the week). The relationship of the planets to the seven points in space is as follows: Sun — the zenith, Moon — the nadir, Mercury — the centre, Venus — the West, Mars — the South, Jupiter — the East, and Saturn — the North.

One of symbols for Earth is a cross in a circle ⊕ which could be thought of as a globe with equator and one meridian.

Another symbol is a stylised globus cruciger, ♁, which looks like the upside-down “mirror of Venus” ♀, or maybe it is just ⊕ where the cross went off-centre. Note its (unintentional) similarity with Chinese character 土 “earth”. ♁ is also an alchemical symbol for antimony.

Earth deities include goddesses Cel, Cybele, Demeter, Gaia, Jörð, Ki, Māra, Mat Zemlya (Мать-Сыра Земля), Mokoš (Мокошь), Pachamama, Papahānaumoku, Sif, Terra (Tellus), Urash and Žemyna as well as gods Geb, Tudigong and Veles.

More photos of earth and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

♄ | Saturn

♄ is an astrological and astronomical symbol representing the planet Saturn.

This planet was named after Saturnus, the Roman god of agriculture, whose Greek counterpart was Cronus. In alchemical tradition, Saturn was associated with lead. The English word Saturday and Dutch zaterdag are derived from Latin Saturni dies, i.e. “day of Saturnus”.

But what about the symbol ♄? According to Wikipedia,

Saturn is usually depicted with a scythe or sickle, and the planetary symbol has apparently evolved from a picture of this attribute, in Kamateros (12^th century) shown in a shape similar to the letter eta η, with the horizontal stroke added along with the “Christianization” of the other symbols <as we’ve already seen in the cases of Mercury and Venus> in the early 16^th century.

More photos of sea glass @ Shutterstock.

♀ | Venus

“The mirror of Venus” ♀ is an astrological and astronomical symbol representing the planet Venus.

The planet was named after Venus, the Roman goddess of sex, love, beauty, fertility and prosperity. Her Greek counterpart was Aphrodite. In alchemical tradition, Venus was associated with copper.

In many Romance languages, the word for Friday originates from Latin Veneris dies, i.e. “day of Venus” (divendres, vendredi, venerdì, viernes, vineri); Venus even found her way to Breton and Welsh (Gwener). In Germanic laguages, this day (fredag, Freitag, Friday, vrijdag) became connected with Freyja and/or Frigg, even it is not clear whether they were the same or two different goddesses.

According to Wikipedia, the mediaeval symbol for Venus did not have a horizontal stroke, which was added later to form a Christian cross, while “the idea that the symbol represents the goddess’ hand mirror dates to the 19^th century”. In biology, medicine and genealogy, ♀ symbolises the female sex; in sociology and gender politics, the female gender.

More photos related to mirrors, copper and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

♃ | Jupiter

♃ is an astrological and astronomical symbol representing the planet Jupiter.

The Romans identified this planet with Jupiter aka Jove, the god of sky and thunder. His Greek counterpart was Zeus. In alchemical tradition, Jupiter was associated with tin.

In Romance languages, the word for Thursday originates from Latin Iovis dies, i.e. “day of Jove” (dijous, giovedì, jeudi, joi, jueves, xoves). In Germanic laguages, this day is connected with god Thor or Donar (donderdag, Donnerstag, Thursday, torsdag).

According to Wikipedia, the “less-than-intuitive symbol” ♃ has been variously interpreted as the letter ζ (for Ζεύς, “Zeus”), lightning bolt, or even “Egyptian hieroglyph for the eagle”. For me it is easier to remember as a symbol for Thursday, the fourth day of the week. I write the number “four” like 4, which also happen to be similar to Ч, the first letter of the Russian word четверг (Thursday).

More photos of sea glass @ Shutterstock.

☿ | Mercury

☿ is an astrological and astronomical symbol representing the planet Mercury.

The planet was named after the Roman messenger god, Mercury, whom the Romans identified with the Greek god Hermes. The symbol ☿ is a simplified version of caduceus (a staff entwined by two serpents) carried by Mercury/Hermes. In alchemical tradition, Mercury was associated with quicksilver (mercury).

In Romance languages, the word for Wednesday originates from Latin dies Mercurii, i.e. “day of Mercury” (mercredi, mercoledì, miércoles, miercuri). In Germanic laguages, this day became connected with god Odin or Wōden (onsdag, Wednesday, woensdag).

More photos of sea glass @ Shutterstock.

♂ | Mars

The spear of Mars ♂ is an astrological and astronomical symbol representing the planet Mars.

In Mesopotamia, the planet Mars was associated with the god of war and pestilence Nergal. The ancient Greeks connected the planet with their god of war, Ares, and Romans identified it with Mars, their god of war and masculinity (as well as guardian of soldiers and farmers). In alchemical tradition, Mars was associated with iron. In Romance languages, the word for Tuesday originates from Latin Martis dies, i.e. “day of Mars” (mardi, martedì, martes, marți). In Germanic laguages, this day became connected with god Týr or Tiwaz (Dienstag, dinsdag, tirsdag, tisdag and so on).

The arrow and a circle in the current symbol ♂ represent spear and shield, respectively. In biology, medicine and genealogy, ♂ symbolises the male sex; in sociology and gender politics, the male gender.

More photos of sea glass @ Shutterstock.

☽ | Moon

The crescent ☽ is a symbol representing the Moon. Note the similarity between ☽ and archaic forms of Chinese character 月 (yuè).

In alchemical tradition, the Moon was associated with silver. In many European languages, the word for Monday originates from Latin Lunae dies, i.e. “moon day”, after Roman goddess Luna (lundi, lunedì, lunes, luni) or Germanic god Máni (maanantai, maandag, måndag, Montag, etc.). Other lunar deities include goddesses Anumati, Artemis, Chang’e, Hecate, Hina, Isis, Kuu, Mama Killa, Phoebe, Selene and Yemaya, as well as gods Ay Ata, Bahloo, Jarilo, Sin, Thoth and Tsukuyomi.

The crescent, typically in decrescent orientation ☾, is associated with Islam. Its combination with a five-pointed star, the star and crescent ☪, is used in a number of national flags. The flag of the Comoros shows the crescent and four stars; the Flag of Singapore has the crescent and five stars. The flag of the Maldives features a crescent without any stars.

More photos of moon and sea glass @ Shutterstock.

☉ | Sun

The circled dot ☉ is an ancient symbol representing the Sun. Note the similarity between ☉ and Chinese 日 (rì).

In alchemical tradition, seven metals were associated with the seven classical planets, which included the Sun and the Moon (but not Earth). The Sun’s metal was gold. In Hellenistic astrology, each classical planet had its own day of the week. Sól or Sunna was the name of the Sun goddess in Germanic mythology. English and other Germanic languages keep the association of Sun and Sunday. Other solar deities include goddesses Amaterasu, Grian, Marici, Saulė, Sulis and Xihe as well as gods Amun, Apollo, Helios, Ra, Shamash, Surya, Tonatiuh and Utu; the gender of the Guanche solar deity Magec is unknown.

More photos of sun and sea glass @ Shutterstock.