You would have known since your school days that the planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. However, in Vedic Astrology when we say “Planet” in English, we actually mean the Sanskrit word “Graha” which means anything that has the capacity to get a grip on your life and destiny. And so we add Sun and Moon while subtracting Uranus and Neptune which are not visible form Earth.
Even then, you would assume that the order becomes Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn; however that is not true.
We have a particular order for planets and the way they are mentioned in any text. The order is the same as the weekday, or you can say that the weekdays are in the order in which the planets are set. This order is:
1. Sun (Sunday): Sun is the father, so from there comes the seed. It is the karaka of Soul and first in the order.
2. Moon (Monday): Moon is the mother, which develops the seed in her womb. It is the nourisher and so second in order.
3. Mars (Tuesday): Mars helps in the development of muscle, energy and the body that takes shape in the womb. Its importance is the next in cycle of life and so third in order.
4. Mercury (Wednesday): Mercury gives bodha (cognition) and helps with communication. So, the fourth in order.
5. Jupiter (Thursday): Jupiter imparts knowledge, helps in developing socializing skills and learning about the norms of the society. These are things you do after having bodha or awareness because of mercury. So, Jupiter is the fifth.
6. Venus (Friday): Venus gives sensuous feelings of love, beauty, sophistication, desire and lust. So, is the sixth in order.
7. Saturn (Saturday): Saturn makes you aware of your responsibilities and helps realize the actual meaning of life. So, it takes priority in the last part of life and is seventh in order.
The planets and their significance in our lives is the reason why the days of the week are in this order. Also as you see, the order of the planets is the same as their order of dominance in our lives. This is the order in which planets should be given importance through life. Sun and Moon should be considered primary driver in childhood, while Saturn should be considered the primary driver in old age.
