Hanzi Design
Cosmology Seven Luminaries

Seven Luminaries

七曜
Definition

The Seven Luminaries represent the Sun, Moon, and the five visible planets, governing the days of the week.

The Seven Luminaries are the seven moving lights of the sky — Sun, Moon, and the five visible planets — which in East Asia were each tied to one of the Five Phases and, through them, to the days of the week (the Japanese and Korean weekday names still carry them).

What it unlocks

They unlock the recognition that the sky was humanity's first clock and calendar, and that our seven-day week is an astronomical fossil. Mapping planets onto elements, the Luminaries also bind the heavens to the earthly cycle of Wu Xing — sky and substance counted on the same seven-fold beat.

stars time planets
Sun yang · sunday
Moon yin · monday
Mars fire star · tuesday
Mercury water star · wednesday
Jupiter wood star · thursday
Venus metal star · friday
Saturn earth star · saturday