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Planetary Rulers of the Days of the Week



"Monday's Child is fair of face,
Tuesday's Child is full of grace,
Wednesday's Child is full of woe,
Thursday's Child has far to go,
Friday's Child is loving and giving,
Saturday's Child works hard for a living,
But the child born on the Sabbath Day,
Is fair and wise and good and gay."

The ancient Babylonians chose to organize their calendar around 7 days of the week, and each day corresponds to one of the seven "planets" visible to the naked eye. [Planets is in quotations because two--the Sun and the Moon--are technically not planets (they're luminaries).]

Monday (lundi in French) is ruled by the Moon. "Monday's child is fair of face" might refer to the sensitivity and youthfulness associated with the Moon.

Tuesday (mardi in French)  is ruled by Mars. "Tuesday's child is full of grace" might be more aptly interpreted as full of energy and movement.

Wednesday (mercredi in French) is ruled by Mercury. "Wednesday's child is full of woe" might be interpreted as a person who worries or thinks too much.

Thursday (jeudi in French) is ruled by Jupiter. "Thursday's child has far to go" might thus be interpreted as a person who will travel and learn.

Friday (vendredi in French) is ruled by Venus. "Friday's child is loving and giving" might refer to the Venus nature, that is, a person who is loving and receptive to love.

Saturday (samedi in French) is ruled by Saturn. "Saturday's child works hard for a living" thus might refer to the Saturnine nature which is rather serious and responsible.

Sunday (dimanche in French) is ruled by the Sun. "But the child born on the Sabbath Day is fair and wise and good and gay" might refer to the magnanimous Sun nature.

Astrologers generally pay more attention to the ruling planets in a natal chart. That is, the planet that rules the sign on your Ascendant and the planet that rules the sign of your Sun. For example, if your Ascendant is Aries, Mars is the ruling planet of your Ascendant since Mars is the natural ruler of Aries. If your Sun is in Taurus, then Venus is your Sun's ruling planet since Venus is the natural ruler of Taurus.

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Comments

Madalina said…
So I'm a child of the Moon then. I had no idea that youthfulness and sensitivity are associated with the Moon.
5:38 AM
penni d said…
Never knew Jupiter ruled in my sign. I have traveled, often and far, but where in the world did the learning go,lol?
8:27 AM
Unknown said…
wow very interesting ilabeti
10:42 AM
Unknown said…
This is very interesting! I was born on Monday. My sign is Aries, which is ruled by Mars, and my rising sign is in Leo, which is ruled my the Sun. There might me too much fire in my natal chart...
3:17 PM
Unknown said…
Ah ha! Ruled by the Sun with all the good stuff! I love this post!
6:00 PM
Nico said…
Is it funny that the Babylonians named each day of the week after a planet whilst in ancient Germanic and Scandinavian time the days of the week were named after gods and each of those gods relates to the same planets.
9:44 AM
Unknown said…
This was an interesting article. I had no idea that each day of the week was ruled by a planet.
9:32 PM
Unknown said…
This is a very educational and enlightening article. I had no clue the days of the week were ruled by a planet.
1:28 AM
Unknown said…
I have to say that astrology is a very interesting subject.
3:34 AM
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