The Elegance of Astronomical Symbols

A Brief History and Origin of Astronomical Symbols

I have always been fascinated by symbols and the messages they communicate. As a graphic designer, my favorite projects were creating logos. I love the elegance and slickness of silhouette logos that tell a story with just a glance.

Their symbols communicated a species outside of time. This is how I’ve seen astronomical symbols. They represent objects that have been around millions of years before us and more than likely millions of years after us. They are simple yet elegant and are a reflection of the mythology that helped ancient people interpret what they saw in the heavens.

The experience was spiritual in the sense that I’m observing the same stars and planets the ancients observed. It’s a reminder that we are a part of something greater that exists outside of our present problems, quarrels, and complaints.

Astronomical symbols for the classical planets appear in many medieval Byzantine codices that contained many Greek papyrus texts of classical antiquity. Naturally, medieval and ancient cultures only recorded the planetary bodies that they observed at that time. Since then, we have added many more symbols to the list.

The classical planets were the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter Saturn. Of course, we know today that the Sun and Moon are not planets as we know it. The word “planet” was derived from Greek words that translate into “wandering stars.” To the ancient Greeks, these seven celestial objects appeared to “wander” across the backdrop of fixed stars. Along with planetary symbols, some symbols describe other celestial bodies, astronomical events, and the zodiac constellations.

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