Place Your Bets, Please

This is the twenty-second part of my essay series “Inner Work with the Planets”. If you haven’t read the earlier parts yet, I suggest you start with part 1 to get the most out of this essay.

The last essay was a pretty wild ride, wasn’t it? Between the content of one of the core Hermetic treatises, ideas for your spiritual work, and thoughts on keeping Hermeticism alive as a living (and lived) tradition, we’ve been busy little bees.

And I can happily say things are definitely not going to get more boring towards the end of the series! 😀

Before we dive into today’s essay, though, I have to announce a slight change of plans.

Last time, I told you there were only two more essays to come, making today the second-to-last. And I meant that – it wasn’t a marketing ploy to get you to read on!

(“Thank goodness, only two more and then we’re done. I guess I can just about stand reading two more novels of this length…” 😉 )

But fleshing out today’s content, I realized some of it was worth expounding on somewhat more in-depth, and not just in a few sentences.

Thus I decided to split things up into two essays, making today the third-to-last. (Sorry about that!)

Incidentally, this new schedule also fits in surprisingly well with the available Sundays before my winter break, which might or might not be a sign from above… 😀

Consequently, we’ll expand our horizon beyond Hermeticism and onto another intriguing spiritual concept which ties in surprisingly well with the planets… next time. Today, I first owe you one last close look at something (or rather: at two things) we’ve relied on heavily throughout this essay series, but have never really poked and prodded at in depth.

I am, of course, talking about the two things which we have pondered over and over, in general and in relation to your life, and in particular in relation to each of the planets: I’m talking about vices and virtues.

Vices and virtues have been mentioned a lot throughout this essay series, haven’t they? But mostly, it was bits here and pieces there, some practical considerations and loads of examples. What we haven’t done, so far, is to have a systematic look at them – starting with the question what I even mean by “vices” and “virtues” in the context of this essay series…

But since we’re that close to the end of the series, I suppose we can’t push this off any further, can we? 😉 Thus today, we’re (finally!) going to do a deep dive into the vices and virtues, in order to round up the series and your understanding of the planetary coins.

So what are they? What are vices – and what are virtues?

Intuitively, we all know what these terms mean. For example, lying is a vice, and honesty is a virtue. Right?

Well, as you might have guessed already, things aren’t quite as simple as that. 😉

Before we continue, I would like to stress that this isn’t a course in virtue ethics or anything the like, and going into these topics in any depth would be outside the scope of this series.

If you want to learn more about this branch of philosophy, about its practical applications, and about how various smart people have defined and used the terms “virtues” and “vices” throughout the ages, there is a ton of material out there for you to explore. One concise starting point with an eye towards the practical can be found here, for example.

What I’m going to cover here, instead, is the concept of vices and virtues as far as it is relevant for this course on inner work with the Hermetic planets. Or rather, my own idiosyncratic take thereon, just as the whole essay series is based on my own idiosyncratic take on the Hermetic idea of the planets.

Having gotten this potential misunderstanding out of the way, let’s head right into the jungle of vices and virtues…

Throughout this series, I have consistently used these two terms together. I.e. where there was a vice, there was also a virtue, and vice versa. Or, in other words, I’ve treated vices and virtues as two sides of the same coin, inextricably linked together. Heads a vice, tails a virtue. Well, sort of. 😉

So, vices and virtues – two sides of the same coin. But are they?

In a simplistic way of thinking, each coin has a “dark” side and a “light” side.

(This sounds a bit like something from Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, I know… Sorry about that! 😉 )

In this way of thinking, a virtue would be the good, desirable, productive character trait. And its opposing vice would be the bad, undesirable, destructive character trait.

Now, I’m fairly sure that there are certain traits which humans generally consider as more desirable or “better” than their opposite (something like loving and caring for the people close to you, for example). But this is by far not set in stone, and depends heavily on cultural and other influences.

But even assuming we could all agree on what the “good” traits are and what the “bad” (or, in other words, agree on what are vices and what are virtues), there is still the teeny-tiny issue that life is just a tad more complex than this.

Consider a simple example (somewhat over the top, but hey – we can as well drive the point home, can’t we? 😉 ). Let’s assume, for sake of the argument, we had all agreed that being honest is good (a virtue), and lying is bad (a vice).

Now let’s pretend, in addition, that we’d be living in 1940’s Germany. Because you’re a good, virtuous person, you’ve hid some Jews in your attic to help them escape prosecution and death by the Nazis. And now, one day, your doorbell rings. You open the front door, and it’s the Gestapo outside, demanding to know whether you’ve hid any Jews in your house.

Of course, since you’re a virtuous person, you’re going to do the right thing – and tell them the truth.

I’m just kidding, of course. (Chances are very high you’d lie, if only for self-protection!)

But let’s take a step back and consider this from a standpoint of vices and virtues, shall we? A little further above, we’ve settled on “lying” being the vice, and “being honest” the virtue.

But in practical life, things are never simply black and white. In each situation, there is always the full shades of greys, and usually some of the myriad of colours thrown into the mix as well.

And in this particular example, a sizeable chunk of people would probably agree that lying would be the virtuous thing to do.

Thus what we usually consider to be a vice or a virtue doesn’t just depend on our cultural and societal background, personal beliefs and experiences, etc. It also depends, quite heavily, on the actual situation in which this character trait will be employed.

(And yep, I know this was a rather blatant example. But I wanted to drive this point home, and it certainly did achieve this, didn’t it? 😉 In real life, situations are rarely as clear-cut – and thus what might seem to be a virtue to one person in any given situation, might seem like a vice to the next person.)

So the case isn’t quite as simple as we initially assumed. Vices aren’t just the bad opposite of virtues, and virtues not just the good opposite of vices.

Still, vices and virtues are clearly connected. But how, then?

There have been other approaches to vices and virtues, for example the idea that the two extremes on either end are both vices, and the actual virtue lies in the middle (I suppose this means the coin would be the actual virtue, with heads and tails being vices… 😀 ).

But then again, while each of these approaches has their merits, this isn’t an overview of virtue ethics, and I’ll leave it to you to explore this field further on your own if you’re so inclined.

For the purpose of our approach to inner work here, though, I propose a different point of view:

In particular, I’d like to invite you to consider vices and virtues, and their respective coins, from a different angle – from the viewpoint of the planets…

Let’s assume, just for the argument’s sake, that vices and virtues were indeed the light and the dark side of a coin, as we (simplistically) assumed above. In this way of thinking, two opposites would form a coin.

Let’s pick an example which isn’t as morally charged as lying and honesty. Slowness and speed, for example are two opposites, and would thus constitue two respective sides of one coin – a vice and a virtue.

But… [scratches head in confusion] which one of these is the vice, and which one is the virtue?

Maybe it would help to put this example into planetary terms:

Slowness is clearly a trait of Saturn, and speed of Mercury. Thus, in our example, we’d pit Saturn and Mercury against each other, as two opposite sides of one coin.

This would be possible, of course – but to me it doesn’t make much sense. Pitting the planets against each other, in an ever-raging battle about who comes out on top…

(Will fast-as-lightning Mercury win this race? Or will wily Saturn triumph at the end? Place your bets NOW!!!)

… nah, this doesn’t feel right. To me, the planets aren’t in competition (well, apart from Mars. Mars enjoys some solid trial of strength now and then… 😉 ). Instead, they complement each other, and, together, form a whole.

The best way to illustrate this is by looking at their number. There aren’t two planets, or four, or six – or any other even number which would be easy to team up in contesting pairs.

Instead, there are seven planets. However you pair them (and I hope you did try pairing them a bit in some of the crafting exercises!), there is always one left. No matter the opposite traits you focus on, there is always a balancing force outside of your chosen opposites.

Thus, to me, the planets can certainly be used in illustrative pairs or opposites, and in fact we’ve done so quite liberally in some of the shapes we created in earlier essays.

But overall, as a whole system, they don’t support this kind of thinking in black and white. Instead, they stress balance, outside factors, and taking on yet another perspective.

And because of this, I propose an understanding of the vices and virtues which reflects these lessons, and which does the planets justice.

(There are certainly other, equally valid ways to look at these terms, and it might make sense for you to apply them in other contexts, too! What I’m proposing here is simply a point of view which works great in the context of this essay series, and in the context of inner work with the Hermetic planets in general.)

So what does this mean in practice?

Let’s take the example from a few paragraphs up: speed and slowness. In the context of inner work with the Hermetic planets, what I suggest is that you don’t mint these two supposed opposites into one coin. Instead, be Jovially generous and grant each of them their own coin.

For example, on your way down the planetary spheres before this incarnation, you might have picked up the coin “Speed” in Mercury’s sphere.

Now, I presume some of you might be a bit puzzled at this point. After all, I’ve kept stressing over and over that each of these planetary coins has two sides, a vice and a virtue. So is speed a virtue now, or is it a vice?

The answer, of course, is that it’s both. In some situations, being speedy is the best thing you can do. And in other situations, going too fast will break things or cause trouble.

Thus the coin you picked up during your descent gives you the choice. Depending on how you apply it, when, where, in which intensity and which ways, it can turn into a vice, or into a virtue.

Now, in reality, most of us will apply their coins in both ways, although we’re all likely to have some preferences. I.e. for some of our coins, it might be easier for us to see (and apply) their virtue side, and for some it might be easier to see (and apply) their vice side.

(And since us humans are complex critters, for some coins we’ll be prone to only noticing one of their sides, while constantly employing the other… And yep, this would be an awesome topic to contemplate and to meditate upon!)

But how about the other side of our simplistic equation above, namely Saturnian slowness?

Well, if you happened to pick up this coin on your way down, then you’re in the same position: It, too, has two sides to it. For example, in some situation, going slow is what saves the day. And in some others, going slow makes you miss out on the best opportunities.

Thus, again, slowness is both a vice and a virtue – and like all planetary coins, it can even be both at the same time. (Life sure is complex, isn’t it?)

So for the purpose of your inner work with the planets, I’d like to invite you to try this viewpoint on for size:

Whenever you identify or come across any of your planetary coins, whether you encounter them as vice or as virtue, consider that this trait is the coin – it’s both good and bad, helpful and hindering, productive and destructive.

Of course, the next logical step in your contemplations should then be the question “How do I usually employ this coin? And how do I perceive it?”, directly followed by “How could I employ it more productively?” and “How can I more often turn this from a vice into a virtue?”… 😉

Whatever your personal planetary coins are, the goal is to live them (and thus your astrological birth chart) to the fullest and to the best, in the most productive way you can manage.

That’s it – not more, but also not less. And if you take even just a few small steps on the long path towards this goal, sooner or later you will notice some fruitful changes in your life.

(Incidentally, the term “virtue” stems from the Latin word “virtus”, which means things like power, courage, strength, and, not surprisingly, virtue. One of its more oddball meanings, though, is “miraculous power” or “miraculous action”. A vice in turn, from Latin “vitium”, meant a mistake, negative character trait, or literally vice – but also an obstacle.

It seems the old Romans were onto something there with their understanding of virtues and vices! 😉 )

As far as vices and virtues are concerned, we’ll leave it at that. But I hope this explanation has furthered your understanding of the planetary coins, and will also be of practical use for your inner work! [cough, contemplation and meditation, cough]

Next time, we’re going to look past Hermeticism, and even past Western occultism in general, towards the East and towards one of the other great spiritual concepts of humanity.

(Spoiler alert: We’re going to find some some thought-provoking correlations between said other spiritual concept and the Hermetic idea of the planetary ladder.)

Which spiritual concept am I talking about? Alas, you’ll have to wait for the next essay to find out. 😉 I’ll give you a hint, though: It also has seven elements, just like the number of the planets…

I’ll see you again in two weeks, on Sunday November 30th – and I’m very much looking forward to your thoughts, ideas, questions, … in the comment section!

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Image: Leo_Visions on Unsplah