Switzerland is a hub for commodity trading. Did you know that this activity represents 4% of Swiss GDP, and even 22% of tax revenue for the canton of Geneva. This week we will discuss the topic of money. We will discover the symbolism of the metals in the planets. Then, we will be able to admire silver objects from the Elblag Museum, in Poland.
Silver is a mysterious and evocative metal of myths and legends. Since the dawn of time, this metal has always fascinated.
The symbolism of metals in the planets
Let’s get into the symbolism of metals and planets.
In Greek mythology, the seven metals are the metals recognized as such, and this, from Antiquity until the Renaissance: gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, tin and mercury. Ancient astrologers associated them with the seven planets: the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets observable with the naked eye, which themselves were associated with the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon.
Silver is related to the Moon, while gold is associated with the Sun.
What regarding other metals?
The copper evokes Aphrodite, who is the goddess of love and beauty. It is the equivalent of Venus in Roman mythology. The earrings she wore were copper. This metal has a shiny, red appearance. It was also used for making mirrors, and was linked to the island of Cyprus.
Lead is associated with Saturn, tin with Jupiter, iron with Mars, mercury with Mercury.
Correspondence between the seven planets and the seven metals (L’astronomie, 1887, Camille Flammarion, 1842-1925
Planets associated with colors
The planets have also been associated with colors: silver is white like the moon.
Objects from the Elblag Museum
The opportunity is given to us to admire objects (image above) in silver from the Elblag Museum, in Poland. Most of the collection are objects from Elbląg, Pomerania, as well as from northern European countries.
For more money trivia:
Commodities, from a different angle – 16. Money
In the same series, “Raw materials and art”:
- Cereals and Van Gogh
- Coffee and culture
- Cotton and Edgar Degas
- Cocoa and Luis Meléndez
- Sugar and Sartre
- Copper and Chardin
- Steel and Gayle Hermick
- Corn and Jean Mortel
- Biogas and Victor Hugo
- Hydrogen and the aerostatic globe
- The wind, Da Vinci and Monnet
- The Sun and Firedrich
- L’or et Klimt
- Barley and antiquity
- Le soja et Seikei Zusetsu
- L’aluminium et Jule Verne
- Le riz and Morimura Gitō
Sources :
Seven Metals – Wikipedia (wikipedia.org)
The symbolism of metals and planets in alchemy (jepense.org)
Photo credit : Flammarion, Camille (1842-1925), Astronomy, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons ; Qkiel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons