ASTRO-MUSIC COMPOSITION (CHART TO MUSIC)
FOREWORD
In response to many questions I received via e-mail and Facebook about my article “The Astrological Zodiac & Music Tonality – Tone Zodiac” about the implementation of the Tone-Zodiac I have decided to write this article to present several ideas on this subject.
I am not an astrologer or astronomer (I am but a musician-composer and sound engineer with a keen interest in this subject). This article is in the first place written for musicians that – like myself – are intriqued by this topic and perhaps for some astrologers it might turn out to be an interesting read as well.
I do welcome additional info, suggestions and corrections (in case of mistakes made in this article). Thank you!
If you are familiar with both astrology and music theory you may skip the introduction with background information about astrology and music theory if you wish and jump to:
↧ SKIP THE INTRODUCTION AND GO TO THE CONCEPT EXPLANATION
INTRODUCTION (BACKGROUND INFORMATION)
ASTROLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND THE NUMBER OF PLANETS
The planets of our Solar system are key to most astrological systems, but the number of planets “used” differs between Astrological systems.
In “classic” western astrology 7 “classic planets” (or “Ptolemaic planets”) are used: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. These planets also represent the 7 days of the week.
In “modern” western astrology 10 or more planets are used: the 7 “classic planets” + Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and by some astrologers Ceres, Chiron, Eris, Haumea, and/or Makemake.
Some other astrological systems use different number of planets (in this article we will not go deeper into those systems though):
Chinese astrology works with 5 planets representing the elements: Mercury (water), Venus (metal), Mars (fire), Jupiter (wood) and Saturn (earth).
Hindu astrology works with the 7 “classic planets”: Sun (Surya), Moon (Soma), Mars (Mangala), Mercury (Budha), Jupiter (Brihaspati), Venus (Shukra) and Saturn (Shani) + Rahu and Ketu, a total of 9 planets.
PLANETS AND MUSICAL INTERVAL SYSTEMS
In modern western music a Musical Interval Systems that contains 12 tones is used, the 12-Tone Equal Temperament. For the explanation of this concept I will use 12 signs, 12 planets and 12 tones, but will provide more information for those who want to use less planets (5, 7, 9). Below a small table with some scales, temperaments and geometric shapes that contain the same number of tones as possible planets used.
| SYSTEM | PLANETS | SCALE | TEMP. | POLYGON | <POLYGRAM |
Modern Western | 12 | 12 TET | |||
Classic Western | 7 | 7 TET | |||
Chinese | 5 | 5 TET | |||
Hindu | 9 | Melodic Minor** / 9-Tone Aug.* | 9 TET |
*These scales with 5, 7 or 9 tones per octave could either use tones from the 12-tone Equal Temperament or be used as a microtonal tuning system.
**The Melodic Minor has when ascending raised 6th and 7th tones but descending these tones are no longer raised. You could say that the scale contains two 6ths and 7ths, raising the total from 7 to 9 different tones.
***Scriabin created two 9-tone scales for his composition Opus-67 (semitone steps: 121211112 and 121121121).
| DOCECA (12) | HEPTA (7) | PENTA (5) | NONA / ENNEA (9) |
.png "Dodecagon")  |   |   |   |
If you like to know more about the relationship between music and geometric shapes, then read the article “Music & Geometry“.
SYMBOLS
Not all visitors of this blog have experience with astrology, therefore, here first the symbols of the Zodiac signs used in this article:
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| Aries | Taurus | Gemini | Cancer | Leo | Virgo | Libra | Scorpio | Sagittarius | Capricorn | Aquarius | Pisces |
… as well as all the planets used in this article:
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| Sun | Moon | Mercury | Venus | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Pluto | Ceres | Chiron |
If you’re not an astrologer or astronomer and not very familiar with astrology might not recorgnize “Ceres” and “Chiron”. Ceres is a “dwarf-planet” within in the asteroid belt that lies between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Chiron (not to be mistaken for Pluto’s moon Charon) is orbiting the Sun between Saturn and Uranus.
For the 12-Tone scale example in this article I chose to use Ceres and Chiron, but feel free to select: Eris, Haumea, and/or Makemake instead for your personal musical scale.
If you are “in to” microtonal music and do not intend to perform your composition with traditional 12-Tone instruments, you could for example also include Eris, Haumea, and Makemake and create a 15-tone instead of a 12-tone scale and temperament.
ASTROLOGICAL ASPECTS, SIGN-GROUPS, AND MODES
Astrological aspects do not represent the tones themselves, but the “distances” between tones, in music we use the term intervals for that. Intervals in music have a function and a meaning, (kind of) like aspects have with Astrology. The meaning of the aspects and those of the musical intervals are not all “one-on-one” interchangeable, but could add an extra “layer” to their interpretation.
Read Roel’s World article “The Function Of The Intervals” to get a broader understanding about the function and meaning of the intervals.
“Opposition“, “Trine” and “Square” are commonly used terms by astrologers to define important relative positions of planets. Every aspect relates to a particular number of degrees. Opposition = 180°, the Trine = 120° and the Square = 90°.
Kepler is said to have been impressed – as Ptolemy before him – by the fact that these three most powerful aspects are expressed by the same ratios as the three perfect consonances in music.
| ASPECT | DEGREES | RATIO CIRCLE | RATIO INTERVAL |
| 180° | 360:180 = whole circle to half | 2:1 = Octave |
| 120° | 360:240 = whole to greater part | 3:2 = Perfect Fifth |
| 90° | 360:270 = whole to greater part | 4:3 = Perfect Fourth |
You can read more about Ptolemy, Kepler and others and their view on the tone-zodiac relationship in the article “The Astrological Zodiac & Musical Tonality“.
| POLARITIES | TRIPLICITIES | QUADRUPLICITIES | ||||
| LINE | TRIGON | QUADRAGON | HEXAGON | DODECAGON | DODECAGRAM | SUPERIMPOSED |
| Opposition | Trine | Square | Sextile | Semi-Sextile | Quincunx | |
 180° 6{2} |  120° 4{3} |  90° 3{4} |  60° 2{6} |  30° t{6} |  150° t{6/5}={12/5} | |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
| TRITONES | MAJOR THIRDS & MINOR SIXTHS | MINOR THIRDS & MAJOR SIXTHS | MAJOR SECOND & MINOR SEVENTH | PERFECT FIFTHS & PERFECT FOURTHS | MINOR SECOND & MAJOR SEVENTH | ALL ELEVEN INTERVALS IN GEOMETRIC SHAPES TOGETHER. |
OTHER ASPECTS
The “Decile” (36°), “Semisquare” (45°), “Quintile” (72°), “Tridecile” (108°), “Sesquiquartile” (135°) and Biquintile (144°) are aspects that can not be used in the “Zodiac Sign Based” concept (due to the 12-Tone Equal Temperamental restrictions), but are possible intervals to be used in the “Planet Degree Based” (microtonal) concept.
THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
The tone + zodiac-sign relationship as a result of layering the Zodiac circle and the Circle of Fifths is (in my opinion) the perfect combination.
The Tone / Tonality and Sign combination I use is as follows (Steiner, Von Gleich Tone Zodiac):
| RUDOLF STEINER | SIGISMUND VON GLEICH |
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| MAJOR | C | G | D | A | E | B | F♯ | C♯ | G♯ | D♯ | A♯ | F |
| MINOR | Am | Em | Bm | F♯m | C♯m | G♯m | D♯m | A♯m | Fm | Cm | Gm | Dm |
Above the Major and minor tonalities that “belong” to each Zodiac sign have been listed. Of every chord the root or “tonic” (first degree) is the most important.
By example: Taurus represents the tone of G (tonic) and tonalities of G Major and E minor.
! NOTE: Musicians are used to reading the Circle of Fifths clockwise, but because astrological charts are read counterclockwise, I have turned the direction of the tone-circle (next to the birth charts) around for this article. The Circle of Fifths is there for counterclockwise, thus clockwise the Circle of Fourths (the inverse interval of the Fifth).
If you like to use the Chromatic Circle instead, then keep in mind that several of the tone-sign combinations will be different, they swap places. The implementation as described in this article for music composition will still be the same but the data as provided in this article will not match.
For more information about the history of Tone-Zodiacs and additional information read the article “The Astrological Zodiac & Musical Tonality – Tone Zodiac“
ABOUT THE CHARTS USED IN THIS ARTICLE:
The Zodiac charts used as examples for this article are the charts of myself (Roel). The tones, scales, chords, et cetera you see in this article only apply for my Natal Chart and – unless you were “born under the same stars” – are not “useful” to you musically, except to explain my concept with.
To keep the picture “clean” the Zodiac circles will only display the symbols and degrees of the planets (no nodes, Lilith, et cetera).
The concept will nonetheless work for you too, you just have to do “the math” yourself, on your own chart.
The original chart images were created with the free online service 3horoscopes.com (their ‘design’ is a reasonable match with the design of this blog). That site does not have the option to add additional objects to the horoscope (such as Celes and Chiron), if you like to have their positions calculated then visit astro.com and select Celes and Chiron (or any other “object” under “Additional Objects” when you calculate the free chart.
THE CONCEPT (ASTRO-MUSIC COMPOSITION)
The idea behind the (musical philosophical) concept explained in this article is to create an “audible fingerprint” based on a horoscope chart. This “fingerprint” can then be used for music composition and production. The chart could be a natal chart, or perhaps if you like to write a special composition for a particular date (like a wedding ceremony).
Key “components” for this concept are: the Zodiac signs, the planets of our Solar system and a musical interval system (+Temperament).
AUDIBLE NATAL “FINGERPRINT”
| THIS CONCEPT INCLUDES TWO “ZONES”: The COSMIC EXPANSE that encompasses the ZODIAC SIGNS. The SOLAR SECTOR that embodies the planets of the SOLAR SYSTEM. “As Above, So Below” |
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| COSMIC SCALE Every Zodiac constellation represents to a tone. | SOLAR SCALE Every planet represents to a tone. |
SCALE | |
| COSMIC CHORD | SOLAR CHORD |
HARMONY Some tones of these scales occur in more chords then others. With the most occurring tones a chord can be created that “harmonizes” with all. | |
| COSMIC TONE | SOLAR TONE |
TONAL CENTER The most dominant (most often occurring) tone is the tonal center of the chart. | |
MOTION OF PLANETS: PROGRADE (DIRECT) & RETROGRADE
When a planet is retrograde, its energies are turned inward and becomes more subjective.
In music Major tonalities are considered more “extrovert” while minor tonalities are considered more “introvert“.
It seems logical that the apparent retrograde motion of a planet is represented by the minor relative tonality of the Major tonality that represent it’s prograde (direct) motion.
By Example: Aries is represented by C Major = Prograde (direct) & A minor = Retrograde.
CREATING YOUR SCALE / TEMPERAMENT
To create your scale / temperament you need to look at the position of the planets. In what Zodiac sign section of the chart we find them? And how do you ‘convert’ position to tone frequency?
THE COSMIC EXPANSE
The most ideal setup is to use the number 12 for all key aspects of this concept: 12 Tones, 12 Signs and 12 Planets.
I am aware that using 12 Planets is a less common practice among astrologers. Many astrologers do on the other hand look at charts to aspects between planets and the Lilith, lunar nodes, zenith & nadir or stars, asteroids, et cetera. Personally I like using planets and dwarf planets rotating the Sun only, with the Moon as only exception on this concept of course. You will also find info in this article about only using 7 or 10 planets.
It’s up to you how many and which “heavenly bodies” you wish to implement in your personal execution of this concept.
METHOD 1: ZODIAC SIGN BASED – EQUAL TEMPERAMENT
The most common temperament used in western music is the 12-Tone Equal Temperament (12-TET), a division of the octave in equal sized tone spaces, similar to the Tropical Zodiac that divides the Zodiac circle in 12 equal sized sections of 30 degrees.
The number of planets used for this method does not effect the temperament and thus tone frequencies connected to the Zodiac Signs. Just the number of tones “activated” by a planet’s presence in the signs might be less. After all, 7 planets could generate 7 different tones, with 10 planets you could potentially generate 10 different tones and a 12-Planet based astrology system could potentially generate all 12 tones of the 12-Tone Equal Tempered system.
Using more then 12 planets would not per definition generate more unique tones though when 12-TET is used, that would only be the case if microtuning is used! (see Method 2 below).
The “Zodiac Sign Based” method is tone-frequency-wise not as exact as the “Planet Degree Based” method. This method though can be used with all western instruments and most common music genres and is therefor a concept that pretty much anyone with basic astrological and musical knowledge can implement.
IMPLEMENTATION: METHOD 1 – SIGN BASED
| TROPICAL ZODIAC | CIRCLE OF FOURTHS |
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| (planets displayed only) | (major tonalities displayed only) |
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL + 2 ADDITIONAL PLANETS
| PLANET | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
| SIGN | | | | | | | | | | | | |
TONE | G | F♯ G♭ | Bm | G | A | G | A | G♯m A♭m | Fm | D♯m E♭m | A | G |
If we create a scale with the root or “tonic” (first degree) of each represented tonality and start with the tone of the sign that contains the Sun, then we get the following “Natal Cosmic Scales“:
7 CLASSIC PLANETS
| TONICS | G | A | B | F♯/G♭ | G | ||||
| HZ | 383.5 | 430.5 | 483.3 | 362.0 | 767 | ||||
| INTERVAL | ½ | 1 | 1½ | ½ | | ||||
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL (=10) PLANETS
| TON. | G | G♯/A♭ | A | B | D♯/E♭ | F | F♯/G♭ | G | |||||||
| HZ | 383.5 | 406.3 | 430.5 | 483.3 | 304.4 | 341.7 | 362.0 | 767 | |||||||
| INT. | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 1 | ½ | ½ |
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL + 2 ADDITIONAL (=12) PLANETS
| TON. | G | G | G♯/A♭ | A | A | B | D♯/E♭ | F | F♯/G♭ | G | |||||
| HZ | 383.5 | 406.3 | 430.5 | 483.3 | 304.4 | 341.7 | 362.0 | 767 | |||||||
| INT. | ½ | ½ | 1 | 1½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ||||||||
If the planets would have been “spread out” over more Signs then with Roel’s chart above, then the number of tones of the scale could increase. And consequently, when the planets are more clustered then as in Roel’s chart, then the number of tones of the scale will decrease.
In Roel’s case we end up with a 4-tone (7 planets) or 7-tone (10 and 12 planets) scale.
METHOD 2: PLANET DEGREE BASED – MICROTONAL
When you are looking for a more precise “Natal Scale” (like an unique “acoustic fingerprint”), then using the exact degrees of the planets would be your method of choice.
This means though that we are stepping outside the confined 12-TET system and are going to use micro-tuning. In this case we are going use a system where every degree becomes a tone. Instead of 12 tones per octave, we will now divide the octave into 360 pitch-classes (tones), the so called 360 EDO (Equally Divided Octave) system. EDO is an abbreviation for TET. 360 EDO/TET divides the octave into steps of 3 1/3 (3,333∞) cents.
You have to use micro-tonal instruments to work with the “Planet Degree Based” concept. Many (“traditional” Western) instruments will not be able to use this musical interval system / temperament. To implement it with modern software and hardware requires a deeper understanding and experience in working with and composing for micro-tonal instruments. Read the article Instruments & Tuning for more information about the tunability of instruments.
With this method we need to temper (pitch) the 12-TET tone frequencies with the planet degrees. First we decide what Concert Pitch to use. A4=440Hz is the present musical standard, but since we’re micro-tuning and standard 440Hz 12-TET based instruments can no longer be used, we can chose any Concert Pitch we like. For this example I will use C4=256Hz, the “Scientific or Philosophycal Pitch“. The tone frequencies listed below are rounded up at one digit behind the dot for convenience.
| TONE | C | C♯ D♭ | D | D♯ E♭ | E | F | F♯ E♭ | G | G♯ A♭ | A | A♯ B♭ | B |
| HZ 12-TET | 256 | 271.2 | 287.4 | 304.4 | 322.5 | 341.7 | 362.0 | 383.5 | 406.3 | 430.5 | 456.1 | 483.3 |
As mentioned above, 360 EDO divides the octave into steps of 3 1/3 (3.333∞) cents. 1 degree = + 3.333∞ cents. To round the cents off till 3 digits behind the dot is sufficient, the difference between 1 digit and 3 digits behind the dot is but approx. 0.01Hz, a difference that even the best musicians, composers and sound engineers will not notice. Calculation example: The Sun is in Taurus at 19°, Taurus represents G=383.5Hz, thus:
19 x 3.333 = 63.327 cents.
383.5Hz + 63.3 cents = 397.78160939995274Hz
IMPLEMENTATION: METHOD 2 – DEGREE BASED (MICROTONAL)
| TROPICAL ZODIAC | CIRCLE OF FOURTHS |
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| (planets displayed only) | (major tonalities displayed only) |
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL + 2 ADDITIONAL PLANETS
| PLANET | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SIGN | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DEG. | 19° | 3° | 3° | 10° | 26° | 10° | 27° | 4° | 13° | 20° | 0° | 1° |
| TONIC | G | F♯ G♭ | B | G | A | G | A | G♯ A♭ | F | D♯ E♭ | A | G |
| 12-TET | 383.5 | 362.0 | 483.3 | 383.5 | 430.5 | 383.5 | 430.5 | 406.3 | 341.7 | 304.4 | 430.5 | 383.5 |
| +CENT | 63.3 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 33.3 | 86.7 | 33.3 | 89.9 | 13.3 | 43.3 | 66.6 | 0 | 3.3 |
| NEW HZ | 397.8 | 364.1 | 486.1 | 390.9 | 452.6 | 390.9 | 453.4 | 409.4 | 350.4 | 316.3 | 430.5 | 384.2 |
The following microtonal “Cosmic Scales” are formed:
7 CLASSIC PLANETS
| TONE | G | G | A | A | B | F♯ G♭ |
| HZ | 390.9 | 397.8 | 452.6 | 453.4 | 486.1 | 724 |
You might have noticed that the scale above only contains 6 Tones. This is because 2 planets (Venus and Jupiter) were in the same sign at the same degree, thus generate the same tone. In musical scales it is though not logical to display the exact same tone twice, thus 6 tones instead of 7. Many listeners might not even hear the difference of 0.8Hz between A=452.6Hz and A=453.4Hz unless played simultaneously and even then some people might not be able to differentiate between those two tones. So, in this case we might even end up using a 5-tone scale, using only one of the A’s.
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL PLANETS
| TONE | G | G♯ A♭ | A | A | B | D♯ E♭ | F | F♯ G♭ | G | G |
| HZ | 397.8 | 409.4 | 452.6 | 453.4 | 486.1 | 632.6 | 700.8 | 724 | 781.8 | 795.6 |
Many listeners might not even hear the difference of 0.8Hz between A=452.6Hz and A=453.4Hz unless played simultaneously and even then some people might not be able to differentiate between those two tones. Another thing you might have seen is that the frequencies for D♯/E♭, F and F♯/G♭ have are doubled in frequency. This was done to make sure all tones fall in between the tonic of this scale G=397.8Hz and it’s octave G=795.6.4Hz.
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL + 2 ADDITIONAL (=12) PLANETS
| TONE | G | G♯ A♭ | A | A | A | B | D♯ E♭ | F | F♯ G♭ | G | G | G |
| HZ | 397.8 | 409.4 | 430.5 | 452.6 | 453.4 | 486.1 | 632.6 | 700.8 | 724 | 768.4 | 781.8 | 795.6 |
You might have noticed that the scale above only contains 11 Tones. This is because 2 planets (Venus and Jupiter) were in the same sign at the same degree, thus generate the same tone. In musical scales it is though not logical to display the exact same tone twice, thus 11 tones instead of 12. Many listeners might not even hear the difference of 0.8Hz between A=452.6Hz and A=453.4Hz unless played simultaneously and even then some people might not be able to differentiate between those two tones. Another thing you might have seen is that the frequencies for D♯/E♭, F and F♯/G♭ have are doubled in frequency. This was done to make sure all tones fall in between the tonic of this scale G=397.8Hz and it’s octave G=795.6Hz.
CHORDS (12-TET & MICROTONAL)
Every planetary position represents a tone as well as a chord. As mentioned earlier in this article the prograde (direct) planets represent Major tonalities and chords, the retrograde planets represent minor tonalities and chords. Below an example based on Roel’s Chart:
| PLANET | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SIGN | | | | | | | | | | | | |
ROOT | 397.8 | 364.1 | 486.1 | 390.9 | 452.6 | 390.9 | 453.4 | 409.4 | 350.4 | 316.3 | 430.5 | 384.2 |
KEY | G | F♯ G♭ | Bm | G | A | G | A | G♯m A♭m | Fm | D♯m E♭m | A | G |
The chords as listed above do contain tones though that do not “belong” to Roel’s “Natal Cosmic Scale” that were made through the interpretation of the natal chart.
Take for example the chord of G Major that belongs to Taurus, it contains the following tones: G – B – D. The tones G and B are both “native” to Roel’s “Natal Cosmic Scale” but the tone D is not.
“NATIVE” TONES
If you wish to “build” chords strictly from “native” tones of Roel’s “Natal Cosmic Scale“, then you could combine the root (“tonic”) tones used in the 12-TET or Microtonal “Natal Cosmic Scale”, as found through the position of the planets in the Zodiac sign sections.
The root tones of the sign section can be 12-TET or micro-tonal, depending on the method you work with.
| CHORD | ROOT TONES OF | SIGN SECTIONS | “ACTIVATED” BY PLANETS |
| GAug | G+B+E♭ | + + |   |
| G7♯5 | G+B+D♯ + F | + + + |  |
| G9♯5 | G+B+D♯ + F+A | + + + + | |
| G♯m | G♯ + B + D♯ | + + | |
| G♯m6 | G♯ + B + D♯+F | + + + | |
| G♯m(M7) | G♯ + B + D♯+G | + + + | |
| G♯m13 | G♯ + B + D♯ + G♭ + F | + + + + | |
| A♭m | A♭+B + E♭ | + + | |
| A♭m6 | A♭ + B + E♭ + F | + + + | |
| A♭m7 | A♭ + B + E♭ + G♭ | + + + | |
| A♭m(M7) | A♭ + B + E♭ + G | + + + | |
| A♭m13 | A♭ + B + E♭ + G♭+F | + + + + | |
| BAug | B+E♭ + G | + + | |
| B | B + D♯ + F♯ | + + | |
| B6 | B + D♯ + G♭ + A♭ | + + + | |
| B7♭5 | B + D♯ + F + A | + + + | |
| B7 | B + D♯ + G♭ + A | + + + | |
| B7♯5 | B + D♯ + G + A | + + + | |
| B7/13 | B+E♭ + G♭ + A+A♭ | + + + + | |
| E♭Aug | E♭+G+B | + + | |
| F7♭5 | F+A+B+E♭ | + + + | |
| F9♭5 | F+A+B+E♭ + G | + + + + | |
Explanation of the chord names (for the non-musicians/composer among the readers).
When looking at the table above, you might have noticed that all formed chords contain one or more tones related to planet positions in Gemini and Libra.
- F♯ / G♭ – tone of Libra – presented by a (prograde) Moon.
- D♯m / E♭m – (parallel minor) tone of Libra – presented by a (retrograde) Pluto.
- Bm – (parallel minor) tone of Gemini – presented by a (retrograde) Mercury.
I looks like the “vibratory nature” of these tones play a major role in the audible “fingerprint” of this natal horoscope.
NATAL CHORD
When you sound these tones B – D♯ – F♯ together you hear the B Major chord. B Major is the Major tonality of Virgo, that “happens to be” the ascendant sign in Roel’s birth chart.
NATAL TONE(S)
In this natal chart 2 tones are equally often present in the chords: the tones B and D♯ (E♭). They are present in all 22 chords that can be created with Roel’s “Natal Solar Scale”.
IMPLEMENTATION: THE SOLAR SECTOR
“As Above, So Below” ~ Hermes Trismegistus
(The Zodiac Signs are “above” the Planets “below”.)
With modern western music and astrology the 12 Planets + 12 Tones combination can be implemented to create a “Solar Scale“. The idea behind this is that every planet can be represented by a tone. We could give “tone” to the planets based on their rulership, the tone of their domicile.
RULERSHIP
A planet posited in the sign it rules is said to be in its rulership, domicile, or home.
Example: The Sun is the ruler of Leo. Leo is presented by the tone of E (and tonality of E Major), thus the Sun is represented by the tone of E (and tonality of E Major) as well.
DETRIMENT
On the contrary, when a planet is in the sign opposite the sign it rules, it is said to be in detriment. The Detriment of planets (being located opposite to the Domicile) in musical theory would represent the Tritone above or below the Tonic (root).
7 CLASSIC PLANETS
According to Wikipedia the bulk of the tradition assigns planetary rulerships according to the ancient Chaldean astronomical order of the planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon; the former order of the planets in distance from Earth geocentrically):
| PLANET | | | | | | | |
| DOM. SIGN | | | | | | | |
| DOM. TONE | C/D♭(C♯) | G/A♭(G♯) | D/E♭(D♯) | A/B♭(A♯) | E/F | B | G♭(F♯) |
- First signs (starting at Aries): C-G-D-A-E-B
- Second signs (starting at Libra): Gb-Db-Ab-Eb-Bb-F
I do think though that the Thema Mundi (used in Hellenistic astrology that shows the supposed positions of the seven visible planets – including the Sun and Moon – at the beginning of the universe) might “match” better with modern astrological systems.
| PLANET | | | | | | | |
| DOM. SIGN | | | | | | | |
| DOM. TONE | C D♭ (C♯) | G ♭ (F♯) | D B | A | E | A♭ (G♯) F | E♭ (D♯) B♭ |
With the Classical and Traditional rulership it becomes a bit “complicated” to assign tones to the planets. Some planets rule 1 sign, others rule 2 and that would thus mean that some planets are represented by more then one tone. Musically that does not make much sense at all. Nonetheless, if you only use the “Classic” planets, then you have to make some decisions about when you are going to use what tone for each planet that represents 2 tones.
7 CLASSIC + 3 TRADITIONAL PLANETS
2 planets (Venus and Mercury) rule each 2 houses (signs) and thus represent 2 tones, while the other 8 planets only rule one house (sign) and thus represent only 1 tone with this concept version. And because the planets “inherit” the tone of the houses they rule in this concept version, we end up with a problem, what tone represents Venus and Mercury?
- Are we going to use only 10 tones of the 12-Tone Temperament? If so, are 2 of the 4 tones represented by Venus and Mercury permanently going to be “ruled-out”?
- Or are we going to use all 12 tones of the 12-Tone Temperament, but are the 4 tones (represented by Venus and Mercury) going to be selected based on other conditions?
From a musical point of view “ruling-out” 2 tones would limit the options you have melodically and harmonically. It would thus be better if all tones could be used and certain conditions determine how. In a later stage I will try to “work out” the solutions for this “problem” … suggestions are welcome!
With 10 planets the following rulership is usually used:| PLANET |
| | | | | | | | | |
| DOM. SIGN | | | | | | | | | | |
| DOM. TONE | E | A | D B | F♯(G♭) G | C | G♯(A♭) | D♯(E♭) | A♯(B♭) | F | C♯(D♭) |
| DET. SIGN |
| | | | | | | | | |
| DET. TONE | A♯(B♭) | D♯(E♭) | G♯(A♭) F | C C♯(D♭) | F♯(G♭) | D B | A | E | B | G |
So, using 10 planets isn’t the optimal method when using 12-TET as standard for your composition.
1 PLANET, 1 RULERSHIP
Perhaps I am “breaking” the astrological rules with the idea of “1 planet, 1 rulership”.
The more “conservative” astrologers reading this might feel a bit confused or perhaps even a tiny bit agitated …
“There you go, another weirdo with his fancy ideas, who does he think he is, Austin Powers?“
No worries! You can just “skip by” this part of this article and pretend you never read it. *wink*
If every planet has one rulership, then everything aligns:
12 planets = 12 rulerships = 12 tones = 12 Major tonalities, 12 minor tonalites …
| PLANET | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SIGN | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| DOM. | E | A | D | F♯ G♭ | C | G♯ A♭ | D♯ E♭ | A♯ B♭ | F | C♯ D♭ | G | B |
LINKING THE COSMIC EXPANSE & SOLAR SECTOR
INTERVALS
To “connect” both “zones” (Cosmic and Solar) one could use the musical intervals that are between a planet’s domicile (the zodiac sign over which it has rulership) and it’s location at the Natal chart. When the planet is in it’s domicile the Major tonality is represented.
In the table below the data of the Natal Chart:| PLANET | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| SIGN | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| TON. | G | F♯ G♭ | Bm | G | A | G | A | G♯m A♭m | Fm | D♯m E♭m | A | G |
When calculating this interval only the planet’s domicile is used (it’s primary tonality).
Domicile = root of Major tonality | Prograde = root of Major tonality | Retrograde = root of Minor tonality.
| THE SOLAR SECTOR | THE COSMIC EXPANSE | MUSIC | ASTROLOGY | GEOMETRY | ||||
| PLANET | DOM. | ROOT | IN SIGN | MOTION | ROOT | INTERVAL | ASPECT | SHAPE |
| | E | | G | Min. 3rd | | Square | |
| | A | | F♯ / G♭ | Maj. 6th | | Square | |
| | D | | | B | Maj. 6th | | Square |
| | F♯ / G♭ | | G | Min. 2nd | | Dodecagr. | |
| | C | | A | Maj. 6th | | Square | |
| | G♯ / A♭ | | G | Maj. 7th | | Dodecagr. | |
| | D♯ / E♭ | | A | Tritone | | Line | |
| | A♯ / B♭ | | | G♯ / A♭ | Min. 7th | | Hexagon |
| | F | | | F | Uni/Octa | ||
| | C♯ / D♭ | | | D♯ / E♭ | Maj. 2nd | | Hexagon |
| | G | | A | Maj. 2nd | | Hexagon | |
| | B | | G | Maj. 6th | | Square | |
For the tone frequencies of the tones listed above both methods (12-TET and Microtonal) could be used.
MAKING YOUR OWN COMPOSITIONS
Now that the Sign and Planet relationships with the tones have been explained, you could start building your own “tone-collection” / tuning system based on your own chart / chart of your choice.
How many planets (7, 10, 12, 12+) and what system you are going to use (12-TET or Microtonal) is up to you. If you are not familiar at all with microtonal music, or if you want to write music that can be preformed with modern Western instruments, then using the 12-TET system would be the best option, specially in combination with 12 Planets.
OTHER RELATED BLOG ARTICLES:
THE FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERVALS
Another article I wrote for my blog named “The Functions Of The Intervals” (referred to in this article) describes might be an interesting read as well?
MUSIC & GEOMETRY
If you are interested in more information about the geometry in music then read the article “Music & Geometry“.
THE ASTRONOMICAL ZODIAC SCALE
If you like my article about the Astrological Zodiac & Tonality and you are interested in Micro-tonal music, then you might also like the article “The Astronomical Zodiac Scale (Temperament)“.
SOURCES / REFERENCES:
This is an original concept by Roel Hollander and falls under the following license:
