Copper – The Metal of Venus
In the next few blogs, I am going to explore the fascinating relationship between planets and metals in ancient astrological lore and the effect this correspondence has on us today. Each planet has a metal assigned to it: Sun – gold, Moon – silver, Mercury – mercury, Venus – copper, Mars – iron, Jupiter – tin, Saturn – lead. The metals were considered to have an inherent affinity with their parent planets, and represented a material expression of living cosmic energies. A few of of my favorite books that explore and offer experimental proof of these correspondences are “The Secrets of Metal” by William Pelikan, “The Nature of Substance’ by Rudolph Hauschka, and “The Metal-Planet Relationship: a Study of celestial Influence” by Nick Kollestrom (over $100.00 now!). He, however, has two kindle versions of two of his out of print books – “Metal–Planet Affinities” and “the Secrets of the Seven Metals.”
I think the copper and Venus relationship is one of the most fascinating! Copper runs in the veins of the earth just like it flows through the veins of the human body. The strong Venusian relationship of women to copper is apparent in our blood. Women have approximately 20% more copper in their blood than men, while men have a higher level of iron. The red arteries are related to iron (Mars) and the blue veins to copper (Venus.) Even today the Mars glyph is used as a symbol of the male and Venus glyph as a symbol of the female. As the famous book – “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus!” by John Gray says!
The amount of copper in a women’s blood corresponds to her menstrual cycle. During pregnancy, copper levels almost double in the mother’s blood to support the placenta and nourish the fetus, while iron levels increase in the fetus as the birth time approaches. A woman taking the Pill blocks her monthly rhythm of serum copper and stays at a level corresponding to the ninth month of pregnancy.
Copper is also abundant in the female sex organs and is used up during sexual intercourse, and needs to be replaced through diet. Some foods that contain high levels of copper are lettuce, apricots, apples, tomatoes, nuts, shell fish, grains, peas, beans, corn, garlic, sunflower seeds and walnuts.
There is also a direct connection between copper and the thyroid gland. Hypo-function of the thyroid gland lowers the body’s available copper, as does the excision of the gland. Since nuclear radiation directly affects the thyroid gland, many around Chernobyl had their thyroid glands removed. I wonder if they are testing the copper levels of previous Fukushima residents!!
Copper is essential to good health. We don’t need a lot of copper, but certain healthy amounts are vital and essential to our health and wellbeing. It’s all about balance! Copper is required for the formation of about 50 enzymes and it’s needed for our transporters, which shuttle hormones and neurotransmitters all over your body. Copper protects the lining of blood vessels and myelin. It also supports energy production. Too much copper in your blood serum however can produce schizophrenia, manic depression, other mental illnesses, and insomnia especially in women. Rudolph Steiner wrote on this.
The symbol of Venus – a circle over a cross- came originally from the ankh in Egypt. The symbol is called “the mirror of Venus.” Our ancestors used polished copper mirrors because they reflected one’s image in the colors of radiant health. A piece of copper is warm, and friendly unlike the cold, brittle mirrors we use today which are glass coated by silver on the back. The silver grabs our energy, while the beautiful copper reflects back a healthy, positive glowing image. This seems like a metaphor for our current age!
One of the symbols sacred to Venus is the peacock. It reflects all of the beautiful colors of copper, especially the green. Birds that have beautiful blues and greens have an abundance of copper in their feathers. In the alchemical operation, ‘the colors of the peacock’s tail’ appear, during the conjunction or fourth stage.
Manley P. Hall said that the green flag of Islam shows the crescent of Venus, not the moon (because of the green color and the day of the week they have chosen as their Holy Day.) Each of the major religions has a specific day designated as its Holy Day. The Muslim’s Holy Day is Friday which is ruled by Venus (also known as Astarte, Aphrodite, Ishtar, or Freya, depending on your culture.) Likewise, Judaism celebrates its Holy Day on Saturday (Saturn) and Christianity on Sunday (Sun.) The other days of the week (back to the seven stages of consciousness again!) are Monday (the moon), Tuesday, (Mars or Tiu), Wed. (Mercury or Woden) and Thursday (Jupiter or Thor.) If you translate the days into Spanish or French, the planetary relationships are much clearer.
The name for copper comes from “Cuprum” meaning Cyprus and it was one of the main copper mining areas in the ancient world. Venus, in ancient mythology texts, was said to be “churned forth from the frothy seas around Cyprus.” The famous painting, “Birth of Venus” by Botticelli depicts Venus standing on a scallop arriving at the shores of Cyprus. The blue green waves in the painting show copper’s great affinity for water and all copper salts are sea-colored, blue and green. Scallops and other hard-shelled sea creatures breathe by the means of a blood pigment rich in copper (not iron.) Venus has copper colored hair indicating the alchemical relationship between the planet Venus and copper. In ancient times, there was the annual practice of the queen and king copulating in the fields to reseed the land – they were actually re-fertilizing the earth with copper to ensure better crops. Venus is the planet of love!
Botticelli, who was a major occult initiate and a member of the “Prieure de Scion” along with Newton, Da Vinci, Cocteau and many others, purposely painted many alchemical secrets into this painting.
In our environment, copper metal kills germs, fungi and algae! With all of the toxic antibacterial soaps and lotions surrounding us, it is important to look for natural, alternative solutions. Copper surfaces kill 99% of all bacteria including the super-bugs found in hospitals today. This is the reason many hospitals are installing copper doorknobs and doorplates. Copper is also increasingly being installed in commercial and residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning units to inactivate air-born pathogens.
Thousands of years ago the Egyptians were aware of these antibacterial effects of copper and used it in their plumbing systems. Humanity is finally reclaiming this knowledge and is increasingly installing copper piping in both their homes and businesses. An average home in America today has 469 pounds of copper in it
Researchers at the University of South Hampton found that on a dry copper surface, ecoli bacteria are eliminated within 10 minutes and on a wet copper surface, within 45 minutes. This antimicrobial property is inherent to the metal, and shared with alloys such as brass and bronze. (Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, and bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.) This research shows that using copper based containers to store food and water is very important to protect our health.
Also, using copper pans and utensils to cook our food reduces the risk of germs in our food. Chefs around the world know that copper pans distribute heat evenly, and cook foods faster and more thoroughly than any other material and copper vases keep flowers fresher for longer.
Another ancient practice to safely introduce copper into our bodies is to wear copper bracelets. It is believed that they alleviate the pain of both rheumatism and arthritis and wearing them also strengthens the blood and cleans the arteries. Copper, coming in contact with human skin, forms chelates with the human sweat and this is absorbed into the skin. When our sweat becomes acidic through stress, green appears on the skin because the extra acid dissolves more copper than we can absorb. It is an excellent stress indicator. This practice, long thought a placebo, has been found to have validity by many modern medical doctors and researchers. Time to get out the copper bracelets again!
Our ancestors knew that copper deficiency appears to contribute to premature graying of the hair. It is interesting to note that wheat grown in copper deficient soil also turns grey! Hmm…
Copper has been used as currency around the world and coins were often rubbed on the forehead to reduce headaches, flu and to sterilize wounds and burns. Also, your aquarium can benefit from a couple of copper coins. Remember to use pennies minted before 1982. Our current pennies are made of copper plated zinc!!
Today, we see the copper/Venus – iron/Mars affinity played out in the creation of electricity. Iron creates the magnetic field and copper wires carry the current generated. The pulsating energy created by their interaction creates our alternating energy. Copper is used in a range of technology from computer microchips to solar power cells – even a mobile phone has several grams of copper in it.
In the field of agriculture, Victor Schauberger discovered that using iron or steel tools to work the soil was detrimental. He knew that everything in Nature is in movement, moving towards either growth or decay. If iron is exposed to the weather, it will rust and decay in a relatively short time leaving this toxic residue in the soil. Copper, on the other hand, is much more stable and is not in a process of decay. He also found that through friction, the iron plows heat up, thus destroying the integrity of the soil, while copper tools stay cool as they move through the soil.
Copper is truly a miraculous metal! Our ancestors knew this and we are slowly coming around to acknowledging and utilizing their wisdom.
