Moon The
crescent shape has been used to represent the Moon since antiquity. In classical antiquity, it is worn by lunar deities (
Selene/Luna,
Artemis/Diana,
Men, etc.) either on the head or behind the shoulders, with its horns pointing upward. The representation of the moon as a simple crescent with the horns pointing to the side (as a heraldic
crescent increscent or
crescent decrescent) is attested from late Classical times. The same symbol can be used in a different context not for the Moon itself but for a
lunar phase, as part of a sequence of four symbols for "new moon" (U+1F311 🌑︎), "waxing" (U+263D ☽︎), "full moon" (U+1F315 🌕︎) and "waning" (U+263E ☾︎). Sala_vapen.svg| The Moon symbol, representing
silver mining, in the municipal arms of
Sala in Sweden Silvberg vapen.svg|The Moon symbol in the municipal arms of
Silvberg ('Silver Mountain') in Sweden Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 74-80.jpg|Stylized Moon symbol Silver at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|The Moon for silver
Mercury The symbol for
Mercury is a
caduceus (a staff entwined with two serpents), a symbol associated with
Mercury / Hermes throughout antiquity. Some time after the 11th century, a cross was added to the bottom of the staff to Christianize the symbol. A related usage is for the 'worker' or 'neuter' sex among
social insects that is neither male nor (due to its lack of reproductive capacity) fully female, such as
worker bees. More recently, it has been used to indicate
intersex,
transgender, or
non-binary gender. The Unicode
codepoint is .
Venus The
Venus symbol, ♀, consists of a circle with a small
cross below it. It is conjectured to be a depiction of the hand-mirror of the goddess, which may also explain Venus's association with the
planetary metal copper, as mirrors in antiquity were made of polished copper, though this is not certain. In
botany and
biology, the symbol for Venus is used to
represent the female sex, alongside the symbol for
Mars representing the
male sex, following a convention introduced by
Linnaeus in the 1750s.
Unicode encodes the symbol as , in the
Miscellaneous Symbols block. Bronze mirror MET DP254654.jpg|A bronze mirror, of the type associated with Venus File:Ostia antica-19.jpg|Cupid holding up a similar mirror to Venus Falun vapen.svg|The Venus symbol, representing copper mining, in the municipal coat of arms of
Falun Municipality in Sweden (1932) Feminism symbol.svg|
Raised fist within Venus symbol, used as a symbol of
second-wave feminism (1960s) Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 58-64.jpg|Stylized Venus symbol Copper at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|Venus for copper
Sun The modern astronomical symbol for the Sun, the
circumpunct (), was first used in the
Renaissance. It possibly represents Apollo's golden shield with a
boss. ''Bianchini's
planisphere'', produced in the 2nd century, shows a
circlet with rays radiating from it. This older symbol is encoded by
Unicode as in the
Alchemical Symbols block. Both symbols have been used alchemically for gold, as have more elaborate symbols showing a disk with multiple rays or even a face. Outlines from the figures and compositions upon the Greek, Roman, and Etruscan vases of the late Sir William Hamilton; with engraved borders (1804) (14779549222).jpg|A buckler with a sun symbol and dot at center Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Arubalaan 10-16.jpg|Stylized circumpunct symbol for the Sun Gold at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|The Sun for gold Sun symbol (medieval).svg|🜚, the medieval astronomical symbol for the Sun
Mars The
Mars symbol, ♂, is a depiction of a shield and a spear, indicating the god of war. It is also the old and
obsolete symbol for
iron in alchemy. In zoology and botany, it is used to
represent the male sex (alongside the astrological symbol for Venus representing the female sex), following a convention introduced by
Linnaeus in the 1750s. The symbol dates from at latest the 11th century, at which time it was an arrow across or through a circle, thought to represent the shield and spear of the god Mars; in the medieval form, for example in the 12th-century
Compendium of Astrology by Johannes Kamateros, the spear is drawn across the shield. The Greek
Oxyrhynchus Papyri show a different symbol, perhaps simply a spear. File:ALEXANDER SEVERUS-RIC IV 246-737118 MARS.jpg|3rd-century coin with Mars on the reverse, with lance and shield. The same symbols were used for Athena (Pallas). File:Fresco of a statue of Mars in the House of Venus, Pompeii (3824215212).jpg|Mars with spear and shield, Pompeii. File:Karlskoga vapen.svg|The Mars symbol, representing
iron mining, in the municipal coat of arms of
Karlskoga in Sweden File:Loppi vaakuna.svg|The Mars symbol in the municipal coat of arms of
Loppi in Finland File:Project Viking Logo - Patch Style 1974-L-01916.jpg|Mars symbol in the patch for NASA's
Viking mission File:Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van De Genestetlaan 20-28.jpg|Stylized Mars symbol. The spear partly crosses the shield. File:Iron at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|The Mars symbol was used as the symbol for iron Its Unicode
codepoint is .
Jupiter The symbol for
Jupiter, ♃, was originally a Greek zeta,
Ζ, with a stroke indicating that it is an abbreviation (for
Zeus, the Greek equivalent of Roman Jupiter). Its Unicode
codepoint is . Mariner Jupiter-Saturn logo.jpg|Jupiter and Saturn symbols in patch for NASA's
Mariner Jupiter-Saturn mission Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 76-82.jpg|Stylized Jupiter symbol Tin at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|Jupiter for tin Jupiter monogram (serif).svg|A modern form of the monogram reflects its origin in the letter 'Z'
Saturn Salmasius and earlier attestations show that the symbol for Saturn, ♄, derives from the initial letters (
Kappa,
rho) of its ancient Greek name (), with a
stroke to indicate an abbreviation. By the time of Kamateros (12th century), the symbol had been reduced to a shape similar to a lower-case letter
eta η, with the abbreviation stroke surviving (if at all) in the curl on the bottom-right end. Its Unicode
codepoint is . FraternitasSaturniSiegel.svg|Emblem of the
Fraternitas Saturni, a German
magical order founded in 1926 DEU Bleiwäsche COA.png|The Saturn symbol representing
lead in the municipal coat of arms of
Bleiwäsche, since 1975 part of
Bad Wünnenberg,
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Amersfoort - Reliëf op de wand van Surinamelaan 60-66.jpg|Stylized Saturn symbol Lead at Sterling Chemistry Laboratory of Yale.jpg|Saturn for lead (
Pb) Saturn monogram (serif).svg|A ligature of kappa and rho for
Kronos, the ancestor of the symbol for Saturn ==Modern discoveries==