Astrology & the Endocrine System

A cursory look at the available literature in published books and on-line contradicts each other about most glands though there are threads of agreement here running through it all. But the more we trie to match it up with myth, philosophy, ayurveda, the chakras, the elements, medical science, planetary rulerships and even western astrology, the more convoluted it seems to get. There is agreement in some areas, and experience and research shows that some theories are working in practice, but even then one has to ask why?

Take the thyroid gland for example. Most literature and Astrologers seem to agrees that the thyroid is ruled by Mercury and the third house. If these areas are too hot or too wet or too windy it can show a thyroid problem. Moon, Venus and 2^nd house are also likely to be involved.

Diabetes is typically seen thru Jupiter and Venus. When we consider that the pancreas metabolizes sugars with insulin and fat with glucagon then is seem reasonable that these two sweet lovers would be involved with diabetes. Venus rules over sugar (especially white sugar) and Jupiter rules over the fat on the body. The second house will tell us about a persons basic diet and flavour preferences.  

Jupiter also rules over the liver which is also affected by poor diet: saturated fats and too much heat and toxin like alcohol, coffee, natural and pharmaceutical drugs and tobacco. Poor sign placement and heavy afflictions to Jupiter in the 5th, 6th, 8th 12th has the potential to harm the liver. Jupiter in the 5th brings an excess to the fifth that can be good for intelligence, creativity and productivity, but not good for children (especially in a woman’s chart), or the liver; even if there is slight affliction. 

Venus rules over male fertility from the testes and Mars rules over female fertility, the ovaries and menstrual cycle. Venus’ popular name in Hindi is Shurkr, which literally means male sperm. It’s common to look to Venus for any erectile dysfunction, inopportune ejaculation, or sperm count issues. Saturn in the 5th and well ad his effect in Venus is to reduce the sperm count. Jupiter aspects to 5th house, Venus and Moon will increase fertility and make children more likely. 

Due to his rulership of blood and bed boiled cells Mars is said to rule over the menstrual cycle. Afflictions to Mars affect the way we bleed. Saturn’s effect on Mars usually brings about some heavy metals or toxins in the blood which may cause delays, dryness, blood clotting. The angle between mars and moon can also be important. Moon rules over the plasma or liquid in the blood, and the hormonal tides and cycles of the body. When the Moon is conjunct Mars the period may may run hot and fast, they whole cycle sped up. If they are also affecting the 5th house there is likely to be difficulty in conception.

The adrenal glands seem to be mostly ruled by Mars: adrenaline and our ‘fight or flight’ response. Mars certainly rules cortisol and relates with the stress hormones in general. But natural opioids, motivation enhancers like dopamine that lead to and enforce addictive behaviour, are fully the domain of Venus. When we mix Mars with Venus we increase the risk of addiction but also typically get more active enjoyment in life, there is a strong tendency to engage with the opposite sex, and take other pleasure risks. The relationship  between the adrenal glands & the reproductive glands (ovaries & testes) can be suggested by the angular relationship betweenVenus & Mars. The adrenal glands also sit on top of the kidneys which are ruled by Venus (Kidneys, bladder, urinary tract).

The thymus, most notable for immunity must be ruled by the Sun. But in some ways, the Sun, along with Moon, rules over the whole immune system as well. The Sun rules over calcification, the minerals of the body and the bones. Glandular problems are quite often caused by a build up of calcification on top of which a tumour growths (growths and tumours are rules by Jupiter) which disrupts the function of the gland and thus the entire endocrine system. 

The thyroid, as I mentioned earlier is ruled by Mercury and the 3rd house. Rahu usually relates with “hyper-“ conditions, while Ketu usually has some relation with “hypo-“ conditions. Mars speeds things up while Saturn slows things down. It should be noted that thyroid problems are just as likely to be causes by problems that start with the pituitary. 

The Parathyroid is the farmer of the endocrine system. It mostly deals with blood clotting using calcium which is stored in the bones. Sun & Saturn rule over the bones of the body. The sun rules over the minerals while Saturn rules over bone density. Osteoporosis is a kicks this gland into hyperdrive causing reduced bone density and inappropriate blood clotting. 

This leaves us with the glands in the head: the pineal, pituitary, hypothalamus. These three are a little more complex since they essentially control the entire endocrine system plus most of the major functions of the body. This is where the Sun and Moon certainly play a stronger role, but we must also begin looking in tat the fictions played by the individual hormones secretes by these glands.

The pineal gland uses serotonin to make melatonin. The primary function is to control our circadian rhythms and sleep cycles. It connects us to the daily and seasonal rhythms of light and dark. This is the gland they also call the seat of the soul giving us much psychedelic experience by connecting us to our ancient reptilian ancestry: Rahu & Ketu, through perhaps most specifically: Ketu. The functions of the pineal are perhaps the most mysterious of all the glands. Sun, Ketu and Mars along with 1^st house and Aries must be checked

The pituitary does not get much easier to understand. It can quite logically be divided in between a masculine and feminine expression by the different functions of the anterior and posterior sides of this gland.

The posterior pituitary only stores hormones without producing any of its own. It does secrete anti-diuretic hormone controlling he water balance on the body, and oxytocin which influences uterine contraction and lactation. Moon is obviously influential here. Oxytocin is also the hormone of affection, love and belonging; it’s sometimes called the bonding hormone; all functions of the moon. It’s a natural inflammatory, cooling the system, lowering blood pressure, decreasing blood pressure and cortisol levels in the body; all of which bring about a sense of security and deep relaxation. Moon, moon, moon….

The anterior pituitary is the masculine, productive side of the pituitary. The anterior pituitary produces hormones that regulate the entire endocrine system. Human growth hormone is one of the main hormones coming from here to regulate all areas of growth in the body, including hair, skin, nails, muscles mass, and the size of our body as we grow from foetus to adult. The depletion of this hormone in old age tilts the balance in the opposite direction. Other hormones regulate the thyroid (TSH), growth and health of the hair on the body (FSH), stress (ACTH), fat reserves (lipotropin), hair/eyes/skin pigmentation (melanocyte), the reproductive organs and the libido (luteinzing regulates testosterone, oestrogen, progesterone, ovulation) as well as bone density, memory, loco-motor activity and slow wave sleep (all of which are partly regulated by osteocalcin and cortistatin)).

From this list we get a strong sense of Jupiter energy ruling growth, fat on the body, intelligence as well as contributing to reproduction. Mars certainly plays a role in libido, stress and motor activity. Sun and the Moon seem to both be at work here. Many of these hormones must passes thru a kind of incubation period in the posterior pituitary before moving on to their destination gland.

This leaves on the hypothalamus, known as the adviser of the pituitary; these two glands rule over the entire endocrine system. They also call this gland “the seat of prana” as it controls the breathing and the bodily movements that affect breath. It is also considered the seat of emotions as it gives emotional response to sense stimulus (taste, smell, touch, laughter, smiling, frowning, thoughts). I once heard this gland described as a shiva lingam (Jupiter and Cancer). Jupiter is known as the lord of the vital airs; the five pranas, and moon and cancer relate with our emotions. This might also be why Gaj Keshari yoga (Jupiter in 4^th, 7^th or 10^th from moon (some include Jupiter moon conjunction) might be considered to be so beneficial since it brings some emotional balance into ones life.

We must also take into account the location of the gland in our body. This suggests that the first eight houses (and signs) rule over all of our glands. It also highlights the importance of first house (and Aries) and those most influential glands that reside in the head (in the brain). The thyroid, located at the level of the adams apple resides on the boundary of Taurus and Gemini. The thymus in the heart centre which open up the debate between 4^th and 5^th house for so many health conditions related to the chest and heart. The pancreas fits reasonably well with 6^th house (Virgo) which is known to have a strong influence on the stomach and metabolism, but one is tempted to apply the 6^th & 7^th house to the pancreas and the adrenals. Which leaves the 7^th & 8^th houses (Libra and Scorpio) with control over the testes and ovaries.

Chart 1 summaries my findings for house and planetary rulerships of the endocrine system. Chart 2 provides a summary of the available astrological literature on the glands, and Chart 3 assumes a link between the glands and the chakras (though it should be noted that Tantric scholars suggest that any similarity of function between the chakras and the glands in merely incidental; they are actually working on different kloshas of the body offering different truths for different realms of reality.)

Chart 1: Summary of Planetary Rulers of the Glands

Chart 2: Summary of the available literature. 

Chart 3: Shows some of the conflict we come to when we try to equate chakras and glandular function.