The planetary forces are present in everything that has been created around us. According to Hermes Trimegistus this includes our individual personalities, which the ancient Alchemists referred to as "salt" or manifested things that are subject to both decay and transformation. In our journey for enlightenment we need to conquer, understand, and control the archetype energies that are represented by each planet. These energies are expressed on earth and in the heavens, and correspondingly with our own personalities and bodies. You may be familiar with the planetary influences; however a brief review that covers the everyday experiences will help us understand the practical aspects of these alchemical principals.

The planetary archetypes can be expressed in human temperaments. In the emotional preverbal pot of the planets, the sun wants pure spiritual energy and a new more perfect identity. The higher moon wants to engage and gain experience. Mercury wants to experience higher love and inspiration. These first three planets represent energy, primordial desires, and project the heavenly signals of the noble metals Gold, Silver, and Quicksilver, as well as the Tria Prima, Sulphur, Salt and Mercury respectively.

The lower quadrant of planets is unperfected and unbalanced. Venus has an abundance of water and needs focus and intention. Mars suffers from too much fire and needs compassion and understanding. Jupiter suffers from too much spirit and needs grounding and contraction. Saturn suffers from too much soul and needs growth and expansion. The other way to understand these archetypes is to personify them. Thus, the Sun is the creator, the Moon is the Nurturer, Mercury is the thinker, Venus is the lover, Mars is the warrior, Jupiter is the philosopher, and Saturn is the teacher. We can go even further and get an even more universal or primordial perspective. There are only two fundamental forces in the universe from which all things have arisen. These are spirit and soul, which are also known as Yang and Yin by Taoist.

Alchemy in the words of The Emerald Tablet; "the one mind is the original spirit of creation and of transformation". The external masculine or the dominant Yang presence in the whole universe is the" one thing" that is the original matrix of creation. The eternal feminine soul or the passive Yin presence in the universe as the Tablet says, "as above as is below" and these two archetypal patterns are the essences within every created thing.

In the same aspect, every person has a dominant self of spirit and a subordinate self of soul. Within the astral body which is formed from cosmic energy at birth, the self takes on the "local" planetary signatures. The subordinate self stems from the moon, and the dominant self comes from the sun. Just as the sun is the center of the solar system, the inner sun is the vital presence that is at the center of the person. The moon, like a reflective, fast moving satellite, is a self of changing moods and the way others react to the dominant self. The archetypes, Sun and Moon, come first and give the soul the opportunity to define the characteristic expression of the spirit's outer-self and of the soul's inner-self. Because the solar lifetime comes first, the lunar lifetime is a reaction to it. The lunar self subconsciously tries to become its own independent entity, to express its true potential. Physically, the dominant brain hemisphere is where the sun or spirit would correspond. This is the left side of your brain. The soul or moon corresponds to the right side of the brain. This is the King and Queen of Alchemy.