, with the seven planetary-metal symbols The seven
metals known since Classical times in Europe were associated with the seven
classical planets; this figured heavily in alchemical symbolism. The exact correlation varied over time, and in early centuries bronze or
electrum were sometimes found instead of mercury, or copper for Mars instead of iron; however, gold, silver, and lead had always been associated with the Sun, Moon, and Saturn. The associations below are attested from the 7th century and had stabilized by the 15th. They started breaking down with the discovery of antimony, bismuth, and zinc in the 16th century. Alchemists would typically call the metals by their planetary names, e.g. "Saturn" for lead, "Mars" for iron; compounds of tin, iron, and silver continued to be called "jovial", "martial", and "lunar"; or "of Jupiter", "of Mars", and "of the moon", through the 17th century. The tradition remains today with the name of the element mercury, where chemists decided the planetary name was preferable to common names like "quicksilver", and in a few archaic terms such as
lunar caustic (silver nitrate) and
saturnism (
lead poisoning). •
Silver, corresponding with the
Moon ☽ or ☾ ( or ) [also 🜛 in Newton] •
Gold, corresponding with the
Sun ☉ 🜚 ☼ ( ) •
Quicksilver, corresponding with
Mercury ☿ () •
Copper, corresponding with
Venus ♀ () •
Iron, corresponding with
Mars ♂ () •
Tin, corresponding with
Jupiter ♃ () •
Lead, corresponding with
Saturn ♄ () ==Mundane elements and later metals==