Planetary Humors
Planetary humors are the assignment of qualitative and temperamental tendencies to the seven traditional planets. This is one of the clearest points of overlap between astrology and the older medical model. Ptolemy gives the planetary qualities in systematic form, and Morris adapts them into a medical-astrological framework that ties each planet to constitutional style and bodily emphasis. (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I, chs. 4-8; Morris, Cycles in Medical Astrology)
Ptolemy's core set
Ptolemy's description is the best local starting point:
- Sun: heating and somewhat drying
- Moon: chiefly moistening, with some heat
- Saturn: chiefly cooling and moderately drying
- Mars: chiefly drying and burning
- Jupiter: heating and moistening
- Venus: moistening and gently warming
- Mercury: variable, sometimes drying and sometimes moistening
He then adds another important distinction: Jupiter, Venus, and the Moon tend toward benefic mixture because they abound in heat and moisture, while Saturn and Mars are destructive through excessive cold or dryness. Mercury and the Sun can join either side depending on context. (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I, chs. 4-5)
Morris's medical adaptation
Morris turns that theory into a medical charting language. His humoral table and planetary summaries describe Jupiter as sanguine and warming, Mars as choleric and drying, Venus as sanguine-phlegmatic, Saturn as melancholic and cooling, and Mercury as a planet that takes on the qualities of its company. He also adds concrete bodily emphasis:
- Sun with vitality and the heart
- Moon with stomach and linings
- Mercury with brain, nerves, and breath
- Venus with kidneys, veins, skin, and hair
- Mars with muscles, blood, inflammation, and acute force
- Jupiter with blood, accumulation, and excess
- Saturn with bones, joints, ligaments, teeth, and restriction
That is a much more usable local account than unsupported generic tables because it links planetary quality to constitutional reading. (Morris, Cycles in Medical Astrology, planetary summaries)
How planetary humors are used
Planetary humors do not replace the rest of the chart. They act as one layer among several:
- the sign or element provides background climate
- the planet adds its own quality
- sect, phase, and association modify the result
- symptoms and anatomy show how the pattern lands in the body
This is especially important with Mercury, whose variability is emphasized by both Ptolemy and Morris.
Relation to the broader section
Use this page together with:
That combination gives a fuller picture than any single table can.