Astrological symbols

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Short description: Symbols denoting astrological concepts

Historically, astrological and astronomical symbols have overlapped. Frequently used symbols include signs of the zodiac and classical planets. These originate from medieval Byzantine codices. Their current form is a product of the European Renaissance. Other symbols for astrological aspects are used in various astrological traditions.

History and origin

Symbols for the classical planets, zodiac signs, aspects, lots, and the lunar nodes appear in the medieval Byzantine codices in which many ancient horoscopes were preserved.[1] In the original papyri of these Greek horoscopes, there was a circle with the glyph representing shine (old sun symbol) for the Sun; and a crescent for the Moon.[2]

Classical planets

The written symbols for Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn have been traced to forms found in late Classical Greek papyri.[3] The symbols for Jupiter and Saturn are monograms of the initial letters of the corresponding Greek names, and the symbol for Mercury is a stylized caduceus.[3] A.S.D. Maunder finds antecedents of the planetary symbols in earlier sources, used to represent the gods associated with the classical planets. Bianchini's planisphere, produced in the 2nd century,[4] shows Greek personifications of planetary gods charged with early versions of the planetary symbols: Mercury has a caduceus; Venus has, attached to her necklace, a cord connected to another necklace; Mars, a spear; Jupiter, a staff; Saturn, a scythe; the Sun, a circlet with rays radiating from it; and the Moon, a headdress with a crescent attached.[5] A diagram in Johannes Kamateros' 12th-century Compendium of Astrology shows the Sun represented by the circle with a 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, without the cross-mark seen in modern versions of the symbols.[5]

The modern sun symbol, pictured as a circle with a dot (U+2609 SUN), first appeared in the Renaissance.[2] (The conventional symbols for the signs of the zodiac also develop in the Renaissance period as simplifications of the classical pictorial representations of the signs.)[citation needed] The modern sun symbol resembles the Egyptian hieroglyph for "sun" – a circle that sometimes had a dot in the center, (U+131F3 𓇳 EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH N005). Similar in appearance were several variants of the ancestral form of the modern Chinese logograph for "sun", which in the oracle bone script and bronze script were 日-bronze.svg. It is not known if the Egyptian and Chinese logographs have any connection to the European astrological symbol.

Major planets discovered in the modern era

Symbols for Uranus and Neptune were created shortly after their discovery. For Uranus, two variant symbols are seen. One symbol, Uranus, invented by J. G. Köhler and refined by Bode, was intended to represent the newly discovered metal platinum; since platinum, sometimes described as white gold[lower-alpha 1] was found by chemists mixed with iron, the symbol for platinum combines the alchemical symbols for iron, ♂, and gold, ☉.[6][7] An inverted version of that same symbol, Uranus symbol (inverted).svg was in use in the early 20th century.[8] Another symbol, Uranus, was suggested by Lalande in 1784. In a letter to Herschel, Lalande described it as "un globe surmonté par la première lettre de votre nom" ("a globe surmounted by the first letter of your name").[9] After Neptune was discovered, the Bureau des Longitudes proposed the name Neptune and the familiar trident for the planet's symbol, though at bottom may be either a cross Neptune or an orb Neptune.[10]

Asteroids

The astrological symbols for the first four objects discovered at the beginning of the 19th century — Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta — were created shortly after their discoveries. They were initially listed as planets, and half a century later came to be called asteroids, though such "minor planets" continued to be considered planets for perhaps another century. Shortly after Giuseppe Piazzi's discovery of Ceres, a group of astronomers ratified the name, proposed by the discoverer, and chose the sickle as a symbol of the planet.[11] The symbol for Pallas, the spear of Pallas Athena, was invented by Baron Franz Xaver von Zach, and introduced in his Monatliche Correspondenz zur Beförderung der Erd- und Himmels-Kunde.[12] Karl Ludwig Harding, who discovered and named Juno, assigned to it the symbol of a scepter topped with a star.[13]

The modern astrological form of the symbol for Vesta, ⚶, was created by Eleanor Bach,[14] who is credited with pioneering the use of the big four asteroids with the publication of her Ephemerides of the Asteroids in the early 1970s.[15] The original form of the symbol for Vesta, Vesta, was created by German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. Olbers, having previously discovered and named one new planet (as the asteroids were then classified), gave Gauss the honor of naming his newest discovery. Gauss decided to name the planet for the goddess Vesta, and also specified that the symbol should be the altar of the goddess with the sacred fire burning on it.[16][17] Bach's variant was a simplification of 19th-century elaborations of Gauss's altar symbol.[14]

Centaurs

The symbol for the centaur Chiron, ⚷, is both a key and a monogram of the letters O and K (for 'Object Kowal', a provisional name of the object, for discoverer Charles T. Kowal) was proposed by astrologer Al Morrison, who presented the symbol as "an inspiration shared amongst Al H. Morrison, Joelle K.D. Mahoney, and Marlene Bassoff."[18]

A widely used convention for other centaurs, proposed by Robert von Heeren in the 1990s, is to replace the K of the Chiron key glyph with the initial letter of the object: e.g. P or φ for Pholus and N for Nessus (U+2BDB PHOLUS, U+2BDC NESSUS).

Trans-Neptunian objects

Pluto, like Uranus, has multiple symbols in use. One symbol, ♇, is a monogram of the letters PL (which can be interpreted to stand for Pluto or for astronomer Percival Lowell), was announced with the name of the new planet by the discoverers on May 1, 1930.[19] Another symbol, which was popularized in Paul Clancy's astrological publications, is based on Pluto's bident:[citation needed] ⯓. This symbol is described by Dane Rudhyar as "suggest[ing] the planetary character of the Pluto mind by the circle, floating above the open cup." Although, this meaning is readily debatable due to Blavatskian origins, rather than a properly traditional understanding, such as may be found in Hermeticism.[20]

Symbols for other large trans-Neptunian objects have mostly been proposed on the Internet;[21] some created by Denis Moskowitz have been used by NASA[22] and are used by the popular open-source astrological software Astrolog, as well as being used less consistently by commercial programs.

Miscellaneous orbital stations

The symbol for retrograde motion is ℞, a capital 'R' with a tail stroke.[23][24][25] An 'R' with a tail stroke was used to abbreviate many words beginning with the letter 'R'; in medical prescriptions, it abbreviated the word recipe[26] (from the Latin imperative of recipere "to take"[27]), and in missals, an R with a tail stroke marked the responses.[26]

Meanings of the symbols

A late-15th-century manuscript with the twelve zodiac symbols. Note the flat Cancer, upright Sagittarius and cursive Capricorn.
A mid-18th-century manuscript with symbols for the signs and planets. Note the distinctive shapes of Virgo (6), Scorpio (8), Capricorn (10) and Aquarius (11).
A wheel chart produced by Astrolog, showing symbols for the signs of the zodiac (outer ring), classical planets, dwarf planets and asteroids (inner ring). In the inner ring, clockwise from Gemini, are the Moon, Ceres, ascending node, Sedna, Uranus, Eris, Chiron, Neptune, Pallas, Gonggong, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, Quaoar, Juno, descending node, Venus, Vesta, Haumea, Mercury, Mars, Makemake, Hygiea and Orcus.

Signs of the zodiac

Name Meaning Image Text[28] Emoji[29] Unicode Symbol represents
Aries Ram Aries symbol (fixed width).svg ♈︎ ♈️ U+2648 Face and horns of a ram
Taurus Bull Taurus symbol (fixed width).svg ♉︎ ♉️ U+2649 Face and horns of a bull
Gemini Twinned Gemini symbol (fixed width).svg ♊︎ ♊️ U+264A Twins
Cancer Crab Cancer symbol (fixed width).svg ♋︎ ♋️ U+264B Two arms/pincers of a crab[citation needed]
Leo Lion Leo symbol (fixed width).svg ♌︎ ♌️ U+264C A lion's head and tail[citation needed]
Virgo Maiden Virgo symbol (fixed width).svg ♍︎ ♍️ U+264D Derived from the Greek letters ΠΑΡ, an abbreviation of parthenos "virgin"[citation needed]
Libra Scales Libra symbol (fixed width).svg ♎︎ ♎️ U+264E Scales[citation needed]
The claws of Scorpio[citation needed]
Scorpio Scorpion Scorpius symbol (fixed width).svg ♏︎ ♏️ U+264F Scorpion with stinging tail
Sagittarius Archer Sagittarius symbol (fixed width).svg ♐︎ ♐️ U+2650 Bow and arrow of a centaur
Capricorn Goat-horned Capricornus symbol (fixed width).svg ♑︎ ♑️ U+2651 Body and head of a goat with the tail of a fish[30]
Capricorn symbol (European, fixed width).svg
Aquarius Water-carrier Aquarius symbol (fixed width).svg ♒︎ ♒️ U+2652 Ripples of water
Pisces Fishes Pisces symbol (fixed width).svg ♓︎ ♓️ U+2653 Two fish[citation needed]

Planets

The symbols of the planets are usually (but not always) broken down into four common elements by astrologers: A circle denoting spirit, a crescent denoting the mind, a cross denoting practical/physical matter and an arrow denoting action or direction.[31] This is not the historical origin of the symbols. (The cross, for example, was an attempt to Christianize pagan symbols.)

Name[32] Image Text Unicode Symbol represents
Sun Sol U+2609 Circle with a dot as a solar symbol from Apollo's round shield with a boss
Moon Crescent moon U+263D A crescent moon
Decrescent moon U+263E
Mercury Mercury U+263F Mercury's caduceus; cross added in 16th century CE.
Venus Venus U+2640 Perhaps a copper hand mirror with handle or necklace with pendant; cross added in 16th c. (see Venus symbol)
Mars Mars U+2642 Mars' shield and spear
Jupiter Jupiter U+2643 Monogram Ζ for Zeus with a cross-bar indicating an abbreviation (perhaps later seen as a cross)
Saturn Saturn U+2644 κρ for Cronus with a cross-bar indicating an abbreviation; cross added in 16th c.
Uranus Uranus U+2645 An orb with a monogram H for the discoverer's last name, Herschel
Uranus U+26E2 Derived from the alchemical symbols of the planetary metals gold (Sun) and iron (Mars) to create a symbol for platinum, then applied to the planet
Neptune NeptuneNeptune U+2646 Neptune's trident
Pluto Pluto (bident symbol) Pluto (bident symbol) U+2BD3 Pluto's orb and a bident
Pluto (PL monogram) U+2647 PL monogram for Pluto and Percival Lowell
PlutoPluto U+2BD4 Symbol used mainly in France, Spain, Italy and Germany.[33]
Pluto U+2BD5 Symbol invented by German astrologer Hermann Lefeldt in 1946. Used by some followers of the Hamburg School of Astrology.[33] Also proposed for Pluto's moon Charon.[21]
PlutoPluto U+2BD6 Pluto's orbit crossing that of Neptune. Symbol mostly used in German-speaking countries and Denmark .[33]

Asteroids and other celestial bodies

Since the 1970s, some astrologers have used asteroids and other celestial bodies in their horoscopes. The symbol for the first-recognised centaur, 2060 Chiron, was devised by Al H. Morrison soon after it had been discovered by Charles Kowal, and has become standard amongst astrologers.[34] In the late 1990s, German astrologer Robert von Heeren created symbols for other centaurs based on the Chiron model, though only those for 5145 Pholus and 7066 Nessus are included in Unicode, and only that for Pholus in Astrolog.[35] The following list is by no means exhaustive, but for bodies outside this list, there is often very little to no independent usage beyond the symbols' creators.[36]

Category Name Image Text Unicode Symbol represents
Asteroids Ceres Ceres U+26B3 A scythe (handle down), emblematic of Ceres as goddess of the harvest
Pallas Pallas U+26B4 A spear, emblematic of Athena
Juno Juno U+26B5 A scepter, emblematic of Juno as queen of the gods, topped with a star
Vesta Vesta U+26B6 The fire-altar of Vesta's temple
Astraea[35] Astraea symbol (astrology).svg %, U+0025, U+2BD9 The % sign (shift-5 on the keyboard for asteroid 5)[37]
Hygiea Hygiea U+2BDA A caduceus (an apparent error for the rod of Asclepius, itself an error for the snake as a symbol of Hygieia)[35]
Centaurs Chiron Chiron U+26B7 Stylized key; simultaneously the letters OK for "Object Kowal", as the object was known when announced as a new planet. The top is half of a "perfect X", with the staff rising above so that they're radii of a circle centered where they meet. The width and height of the oval are the golden ratio.[38]
Pholus Pholus symbol.svg U+2BDB Symbols devised by German astrologer Robert von Heeren in the late 1990s, based on Chiron's[35][38]
Pholus symbol (Greek).svg
Nessus Nessus symbol.svg U+2BDC
Chariklo Chariklo symbol.svg
Hylonome Hylonome symbol.svg
Cyllarus Cyllarus symbol.svg
Large trans-Neptunian planetoids, incl. dwarf planets Eris Eris U+2BF0 The Hand of Eris; also used non-astrologically by Discordians[39]
Eris U+2BF1 Based on the symbols for Pluto, Mars, and Venus; proposed by Henry Seltzer and used in Time Passages[clarification needed][39]
Haumea Haumea 🝻 U+1F77B Conflation of Hawaiian petroglyphs for woman and birth, as Haumea was the goddess of both[36]
Makemake Makemake 🝼 U+1F77C Engraved face of the Rapa Nui god Makemake, also resembling an M[36]
Gonggong Gonggong 🝽 U+1F77D Chinese character 共 gòng (the first character in Gonggong's name), combined with a snake's tail[36]
Sedna Sedna U+2BF2 Monogram of the Inuktitut syllabics for 'sa' and 'n', as Sedna's Inuit name is 'Sanna' (ᓴᓐᓇ)[36]
Quaoar Quaoar 🝾 U+1F77E A Q for Quaoar combined with a canoe, stylised to resemble the angular rock art of the Tongva[36]
Orcus Orcus 🝿 U+1F77F An O-R monogram for Orcus, stylised to resemble a skull and an orca's grin[36]
Orcus Anti-Pluto Inverted Pluto, from Orcus being styled the 'anti-Pluto'[36]
Salacia Salacia A stylized hippocamp[36]
Salacia
Varda Varda U+2748 A gleaming star, as Varda was creator of the stars[36]
Ixion

Ixion

The solar wheel that Zeus bound Ixion to in Tartarus, with the spokes stylized as an I-X for 'Ixion'[36]
Ixion Based on the preceding, but with the Greek letters Ι Ξ for Ιξιων in place of Latin I and X.[36]
Varuna Varuna Devanagari व va and Varuna's snake-lasso.[36]
Gǃkunǁʼhomdima Typhon An aardvark, representing the beautiful aardvark girl Gǃkunǁʼhomdima[36]
Chaos Chaos Arrows pointing in all directions; the symbol of Chaos[36]
Rhadamanthus Rhadamanthus Unknown[36]
Fictitious planets Proserpina Astrological planet Proserpina.svg U+2BD8 Object and symbol are unrelated to the asteroid 26 Proserpina.[35]
Proserpina U+2641 Symbol used for Proserpina and apparent synonym Kora by astrologers in Poland, and the astrology software Urania, who identify Proserpina with the dwarf planet Eris.[36]
Transpluto[35] Astrological planet Transpluto.svg U+2BD7 Fictitious planet beyond Pluto (arrow pointing beyond Pluto's orbit)

The Hamburg School of Astrology, also called Uranian Astrology, is a sub-variety of western astrology.[40] It adds eight fictitious trans-Neptunian planets to the normal ones used by western astrologers:[40]

Name Image Text Unicode
Cupido Cupido U+2BE0
Hades Hades U+2BE1
Zeus Zeus U+2BE2
Kronos Kronos U+2BE3
Apollon Apollon U+2BE4
Admetos Admetos U+2BE5
Vulcanus Vulcanus U+2BE6
Poseidon Poseidon U+2BE7

Aspects

In astrology, an aspect is an angle the planets make to each other in the horoscope, also to the ascendant, midheaven, descendant, lower midheaven, and other points of astrological interest. The following symbols are used to note aspect:[41]

Name Image Text Unicode Angle Ratio Explanation
Conjunction Conjunction-symbol.svg U+260C - Two or more planets in the same house (zodiacal sign).
A circle with a line implying two objects are aligned (or, the starting point of an angle)
Vigintile V V U+0056 18° 20 Also known as semidecile.
SD SD U+0053 U+0044
Semisextile Semisextile-symbol.svg U+26BA 30° 12 One sign apart
The intersecting lines from the inner angles of the upper half of a hexagon (see Sextile). Also known as dodecile.
Undecile U U U+0055 32.73° 11
Decile D D U+0044 36° 10
Up tack.svg U+22A5
Novile N N U+004E 40° 9 Also known as nonile.
Semi-square Semisquare symbol.svg U+2220 45° 8 Half the angle of Square. Also known as semiquartile and octile. The symbol was originally an 'L' shape (half a square), now commonly an acute angle, though not actually drawn as a 45° angle.
Septile S S U+0053 51.43° 7
Sextile Sextile-symbol.svg U+26B9 60° 6 Two signs apart
The intersecting lines from the inner angles of a hexagon
Quintile Q Q U+0051 72° 5
Pentagon symbol.svg U+2B20
Binovile N2 N2 U+004E U+00B2 80° 9/2 Also known as binonile.
Square Square-symbol.svg U+25A1 90° 4 Three signs apart / Same modality
A regular quadrilateral that represents the right angle. Also known as quartile.
Biseptile S2 S2 U+0053 U+00B2 102.86° 7/2
Tredecile D3 D3 U+0044 U+00B3 108° 10/3 Also known as tridecile.
Minus-or-plus sign.svg U+2213
Trine Trine-symbol.svg U+25B3 120° 3 Four signs apart / Same elemental triplicity
An equilateral triangle. Also known as trinovile.
Sesquiquadrate Sesquisquare-symbol.svg U+26BC 135° 8/3 The glyph of the Semi-Square under the glyph of the Square, implying the sum of them both. Also known as the sesquisquare, square-and-a-half, and trioctile.
Biquintile Q2 Q2 U+0051 U+00B2 144° 5/2
bQ bQ U+0062 U+0051
Plus or minus symbol.svg ± U+00B1
Quincunx Quincunx symbol.svg U+26BB 150° 12/5 Five signs apart
The intersecting lines from the inner angles of the lower half of a hexagon (see Sextile). Also known as the inconjunct.
Triseptile S3 S3 U+0053 U+00B3 154.29° 7/3 Also known as tridecile.
Quadranovile N4 N4 U+004E U+2074 160° 9/4 Also known as quadnovile and quadranonile.
Opposition Opposition-symbol.svg U+260D 180° 2 Six signs apart

The glyph of the Conjunction plus a circle on top of its line, implying two objects are opposed.

Occultation 32px 🝵 U+1F775 Conjunction with eclipse. Solar eclipse when the Sun and Moon are in conjunction. Less commonly used for the Moon eclipsing any of the planets, as opposed to a mere conjunction, or for any of the planets and their moons eclipsing each other.
Lunar eclipse 32px 🝶 U+1F776 180° Opposition with eclipse, or (rarely) any body in the shadow of the other. Lunar eclipse when the Sun and Moon are in opposition.
Russian aspects

In addition to the aspect symbols above, some Russian astrologers use additional or unique aspect symbols:[42][41]

Name Image Text Unicode Angle
Vigintile Russian astrological symbol vigintile.svg U+2BF3 18°
Novile Russian astrological symbol novile.svg U+2BF4 40°
Quintile Russian astrological symbol quintile.svg U+2BF5 72°
Binovile Russian astrological symbol binovile.svg U+2BF6 80°
Centile (Sentagon) Russian astrological symbol sentagon.svg U+2BF7 100°
Tredecile Russian astrological symbol tredecile.svg U+2BF8 108°

Miscellaneous symbols

Category Name Image Text Unicode Explanation
Angle Ascendant Asc Asc The ascendant (also known as the "ascensum coeli") is the rising intersection of the ecliptic with the celestial horizon at a particular moment in time; it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart
Midheaven Mc Mc The midheaven (also known as the "medium coeli") is the point where the ecliptic crosses the local meridian; it is used in the construction of a horoscope/natal chart
Vertex Vx or Vertex symbol.svg Vx or 🜊 U+1F70A The vertex and anti-vertex are the points where the prime vertical intersects the ecliptic. A crucible symbol, 🜊, is used by Astrolog and the HamburgSymbols font
Apparent retrograde motion Retrograde motion U+211E Symbol represents the apparent retrograde motion of a planet in an astrological chart
Lunar node Ascending Node Ascending node (fixed width).svg U+260A Not all astrologers use the lunar nodes; however, their usage is very important in Vedic astrology. They are alternately known as the "Dragon's Head" (Rahu, Caput Draconis, or Anabibazon) and the "Dragon's Tail" (Ketu, Cauda Draconis, or Catabibazon). The two nodes together are most commonly referred to simply as the nodal axis, the lunar nodes, or the Moon's nodes.
Descending Node Descending node (fixed width).svg U+260B
Lunar apogee Black Moon, or Lilith Astrological symbol for Black Moon.svg U+26B8 The original Black Moon was a fictitious second, very dark moon of Earth. It is now often re-interpreted as the position of the mean lunar apogee as measured from the geocenter; variants of the Black Moon include replacing the mean orbit with a "true" osculating orbit or with an interpolated orbit; charting the empty focus of the Moon's orbit instead of the apogee; and measuring the desired point's barycentric or topocentric position instead of its geocentric position.[43]
True Black Moon Astrological symbol for True Black Moon.svg U+2BDE The lunar apogee calculated from its current position (disregarding solar perturbation), as opposed to its mean position.[35]
symbols related to Lilith White Moon, or Selena Astrological symbol for White Moon.svg U+2BDD Russian astrologer Pavel Globa invented this to serve as the symbolic opposite of the Black Moon in the 1980s.[35]
True White Moon, or Arta Astrological symbol for True White Moon.svg U+2BDF Similar to White Moon, but calculated from the "true" Black Moon rather than the mean Black Moon.[35]
Solar apogee Astrological symbol for solar apogee.svg -- -- Assumes an Earth-centered universe; the heliocentric equivalent would be terrestrial aphelion. Used to derive the (true) White Moon from the (true) Black Moon: ⯟ = ☊ + 7⁄4(⯞ − Solar apogee + 180°)
Alchemical 'Three primes' Zodiacal modalities:
cardinal
Sulphur symbol (fixed width).svg 🜍 U+1F70D Western astrological symbolism has common early origin with alchemical shorthand glyphs, and planetary divination has long been held in association with alchemy's symbols; the three primes of Paracelsus have been associated with the zodiac sign modalities, and tendencies of their nature in an elementary way to be construed as being mutable (Quick-Silver or Mercury), fixed (Salt) or be cardinal (Sulfur).
fixed Salt symbol (alchemical).svg 🜔 U+1F714
mutable Mercury symbol (fixed width).svg U+263F
Ophiuchus Serpent-holder Ophiuchus symbol (fixed width).svg ⛎︎ U+26CE Ophiuchus has been proposed as a thirteenth sign of the zodiac by astrologer Walter Berg in 1995, who gave it a symbol which gained some popularity in Japan.
Earth Earth Earth symbol.svg 🜨︎ U+1F728 Four quadrants of the Earth
Lot Lot of fortune Part of Fortune symbol.svg 🝴 U+1F774 Glyph for planet Earth rotated 45 degrees. In some fonts the tensor product, U+2297 ⊗, can be used as a substitute for the symbol.

See also

Notes

  1. Today, white gold means a silvery alloy of gold mixed with another metal, usually nickel, silver, or both.

References

  1. Neugebauer, Otto (1975). A history of ancient mathematical astronomy. pp. 788–789. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Neugebauer, Otto; Van Hoesen, H. B. (1987). Greek Horoscopes. American Philosophical Society. pp. 1, 159, 163. ISBN 9780871690487. https://archive.org/details/greekhoroscopesm00neug_004. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 Jones, Alexander (1999). Astronomical papyri from Oxyrhynchus. American Philosophical Society. pp. 62–63. ISBN 9780871692337. https://books.google.com/books?id=8MokzymQ43IC. "It is now possible to trace the medieval symbols for at least four of the five planets to forms that occur in some of the latest papyrus horoscopes (P.Oxy. 4272, 4274, 4275 ...). That for Jupiter is an obvious monogram derived from the initial letter of the Greek name. Saturn's has a similar derivation ... but underwent simplification. The ideal form of Mars' symbol is uncertain, and perhaps not related to the later circle with an arrow through it. Mercury's is a stylized caduceus." 
  4. "Bianchini's planisphere". Florence, Italy: Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza (Institute and Museum of the History of Science). http://brunelleschi.imss.fi.it/galileopalazzostrozzi/object/BianchinisPlanisphere.html. 
  5. 5.0 5.1 Maunder, A.S.D. (1934). "The origin of the symbols of the planets". The Observatory 57: 238–247. Bibcode1934Obs....57..238M. 
  6. Bode, J.E. (1784). Von dem neu entdeckten Planeten. Beim Verfaszer. pp. 95–96. Bibcode1784vdne.book.....B. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_ZqA5AAAAcAAJ. 
  7. Gould, B. A. (1850). Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune. Smithsonian Institution. p. 5. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uyANAQAAIAAJ. 
  8. "Appendix: Signs and symbols". Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language (2nd, unabridged ed.). Springfield, MA: G. & C. Merriam Webster. 1950. Astronomical symbols: Uranus. ISBN 9110494065.  ISBN:9789110494060.
  9. Herschel, Francisca (1917). "The meaning of the symbol "H+o" for the planet Uranus". The Observatory 40: 306. Bibcode1917Obs....40..306H. 
  10. Gould, B.A. (1850). Report on the history of the discovery of Neptune. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. p. 22. https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_uyANAQAAIAAJ. 
  11. Bode, J.E., ed (1801) (in DE). Berliner astronomisches Jahrbuch führ das Jahr 1804. 1804. pp. 97–98. https://books.google.com/books?id=6GElAQAAIAAJ&pg=RA1-PA98. 
  12. von Zach, Franz Xaver (1802). "[no title cited"] (in DE). Monatliche Correspondenz zur Beförderung der Erd- und Himmels-Kunde [Monthly Correspondence on the Advancement of the Terrestrial and Celestial Sciences] 6: 95–96. https://books.google.com/books?id=nR04AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA95. 
  13. von Zach, Franz Xaver (1804). "[no title cited"] (in DE). Monatliche Correspondenz zur Beförderung der Erd- und Himmels-Kunde [Monthly Correspondence on the Advancement of the Terrestrial and Celestial Sciences] 10: 471. https://books.google.com/books?id=vnIEAAAAQAAJ&pg=RA1-PA471. 
  14. 14.0 14.1 "Asteroid symbols". http://www.suberic.net/~dmm/graphics/astro/asteroids.html. 
  15. "Eleanor Bach". http://www.solsticepoint.com/astrologersmemorial/bach.html. 
  16. von Zach, Franz Xaver (1807) (in DE). Monatliche Correspondenz zur Beförderung der Erd- und Himmels-Kunde. 15. p. 507. https://books.google.com/books?id=_Rw4AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA507. 
  17. Carlini, Francesco (1808). Effemeridi astronomiche di Milano per l'anno 1809. https://books.google.com/books?id=LPMNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA100. 
  18. Morrison, Al H. (1977). "Chiron". CAO Times 3: 57. 
  19. Rudhyar, Dane (1966). "PART FIVE: Mercury and Pluto". The Planets and their Symbols. http://www.khaldea.com/rudhyar/astroarticles/planetssymbols_5.shtml. 
  20. 21.0 21.1 "Symbols for large trans-Neptunian objects". Suberic.net. 2013-07-03. http://www.suberic.net/~dmm/astro/tno.html. 
  21. JPL/NASA (April 22, 2015). "What is a Dwarf Planet?". https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/what-is-a-dwarf-planet. 
  22. Randall, Sidney (2006). The ABC of the Old Science of Astrology. Cosimo. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-59605-920-7. https://books.google.com/books?id=m1antzbw_DcC&pg=PA14. "...the with the stroke across the tail stands for Retrograde." 
  23. Lilly, William (1659). Christian Astrology. pp. 35, 37. http://www.skyscript.co.uk/texts.html. "A chart with "℞" by a retrograde Jupiter appears on p. 35; on p. 37, describing the construction of the chart, Lilly says: "And because [Jupiter] is noted Retrograde I place the letter 'R', the better to informe my judgement."" 
  24. Booth, Janet (2005). "Mercury Retrograde". JanetsPlan-Its.com. http://janetsplan-its.com/info/MercRetro.shtml. "The symbol for retrograde looks like an "R" with an "X" going through it, the same as the symbol for a prescription." 
  25. 26.0 26.1 E.B.G. (1852). Smith, Frances Gurney. ed. "(Review) The Prescriber's Complete Handbook". The Medical Examiner, and Record of Medical Science 8: 804. https://books.google.com/books?id=1hYCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA804. 
  26. "Recipe definition". M-w.com. 2007-04-25. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=recipe. 
  27. Text format can be forced by appending the character U+FE0E to the sign
  28. Emoji format can be forced by appending the character U+FE0F to the sign
  29. Behari, Bepin (2003). Myths & Symbols of Vedic Astrology. p. 155. "Of the two emblems related to [Capricorn], one is a horizontal line terminating with a downward moving arc ending with a loop having an extended arc Capricorn symbol (European, fixed width).svg, and the other has a V-shaped beginning whose downward arc convexing to the right Capricornus symbol (fixed width).svg." 
  30. "Glyphs of the general astrological and Uranian planets". Uranian-institute.org. 2001-10-22. http://www.uranian-institute.org/bfglyphs.htm. 
  31. Hand, Robert (1981). Horoscope symbols. Para Research. ISBN 0-914918-16-8. 
  32. 33.0 33.1 33.2 Faulks, David (2016-08-12). "L2/16-067R: Astrological Plutos". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16067r-astrological-plutos.pdf. 
  33. Faulks, David (May 9, 2006). "Proposal to add some Western Astrology Symbols to the UCS". p. 4. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2006/06171-astroprop.pdf. "In general, only the signs for Vesta have enough variance to be regarded as different designs. However, all of these Vesta symbols ... are differing designs for 'the hearth and flame of the temple of the Goddess Vesta' in Rome, and can thus be regarded as extreme variants of a single symbol." 
  34. 35.0 35.1 35.2 35.3 35.4 35.5 35.6 35.7 35.8 Faulks, David (2016-05-28). "Additional Symbols for Astrology". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16080r-add-astrology.pdf. 
  35. 36.00 36.01 36.02 36.03 36.04 36.05 36.06 36.07 36.08 36.09 36.10 36.11 36.12 36.13 36.14 36.15 36.16 Miller, Kirk (26 October 2021). "Unicode request for dwarf-planet symbols". Unicode Consortium. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21224-dwarf-planet-syms.pdf. 
  36. Bala, Gavin Jared; Miller, Kirk (18 September 2023). "Unicode request for historical asteroid symbols". Unicode Consortium. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2023/23207-historical-asteroids.pdf. 
  37. 38.0 38.1 Miller, Kirk; Stein, Zane (26 August 2021). "Comment on U+26B7 CHIRON". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2021/21225-chiron-comment.pdf. 
  38. 39.0 39.1 Faulks, David (June 12, 2016). "Eris and Sedna Symbols". Unicode Consortium. https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16173-eris-sedna.pdf. 
  39. 40.0 40.1 Faulks, David (2016-03-06). "L2/16-064: Extra Symbols from Uranian Astrology". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16064-uranian-planets.pdf. 
  40. 41.0 41.1 Suignard, Michel (2017-01-24). "L2/17-020R2: Feedback on Extra Aspect Symbols for Astrology". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17020r2-fdbk-extra-aspect-sym.pdf. 
  41. Faulks, David (2016-06-09). "L2/16-174R: Extra Aspect Symbols for Astrology". https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2016/16174r-astrology-aspects.pdf. 
  42. Revilla, Juan Antonio. "The Black Moon Apogee and its Variants". http://www.expreso.co.cr/centaurs/blackmoon/barycentric.html. 

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