by nagasiva yronwode

Every practitioner of Western esotericism knows two planetary orderings: the Chaldean (or "ancient") sequence, derived from the apparent speed of celestial motion — Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn — and the Weekday sequence that maps to the days of the week — Sun (Sunday), Moon (Monday), Mars (Tuesday), Mercury (Wednesday), Jupiter (Thursday), Venus (Friday), Saturn (Saturday). What was not widely recognized until Usenet practitioner nagasiva yronwode pointed it out in 2003 is that these two sequences are derived from a heptagram — a seven-pointed star — and that the same geometric figure implies a third sequence. The third sequence, which he named the Nigris Sequence, had apparently never been named or used in any school of esoteric teaching.

The argument is elegant: a heptagram has two drawing conventions. You can skip one point per turn (producing what nagasiva associates with the Weekday sequence) or skip two points per turn (producing the Chaldean). The circular, clock-face reading of the heptagram's seven points, and the two skip-patterns, yield three distinct orderings. The mathematics demands all three. Two were named, used, and theorized for centuries. The third sat implicit in the geometry, unnoticed.

This post is extracted from a threaded discussion in alt.pagan.magick in October 2003. Nagasiva's contributions are presented here as a coherent essay. The analysis of the Nigris Sequence — how it moves from benefic masculine planets through the feminine Moon to the malefics — is his own.

The Three Sequences

There are three planetary sequences latent in the geometry of the heptagram or septagram (the seven-pointed star). Two have been named and used for centuries in Western esotericism. One has not.

Planetary Key (astronomical, geocentric):

The Weekday Sequence

1-M-5-2-6-3-7 (and its reverse 7-3-6-2-5-M-1)

This is the sequence of the days of the week:

The Chaldean ("Ancient") Sequence

M-2-3-1-5-6-7 (mean terracentric motion) / 7-6-5-1-3-2-M (by spheres, inward)

This is the order of the planets by their apparent mean motion as seen from Earth — the Moon moves fastest, Saturn slowest. It is the sequence used for harmonic coding in Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy and in most Hermetic and Kabbalistic systems.

The Nigris Sequence (Named Here)

2-1-6-M-3-5-7 (and its reverse 7-5-3-M-6-1-2)

This is the third sequence — the one implied by the heptagram but apparently never named or used in any esoteric school. I name it the Nigris Sequence.

Analysis (A) — beginning with Mercury:

(i) Mercury
                            (vii) Saturn
(ii) Sun
                            (vi) Mars
(iii) Jupiter
              (iv) Moon  (v) Venus

The commencement with Mercury is partly my choice (because it implies magic, communication, and Tahutian flavours) and partly because Mercury is the only planet of the fourteen possible seven-planet series obtained via the other two sequences that does not also begin either of the others.

The sequence that follows is significant: it proceeds with the more benefic masculine planets — Mercury, Sun, Jupiter — and thence to the feminine Moon and Venus, before returning to the malefics Mars and Saturn. The spectrum thus runs:

benefic masculine → feminine → malefic

The three M-Planets (Mercury, Mars, and Moon) straddle the largest of their compatriots (Sun, Jupiter). The Weekday sequence is easily seen skipping from Sun (ii) to Moon (iv) and onward through the week. The Chaldean order reconstructs by skipping from Moon (iv) to Mercury (i) and onward, ending at Saturn (vii).

Extending the system to include the outer planets yields: 2-1-6-8-10-M-3-5-7-9 for the Nigris Sequence oriented to spheres and septiciphered.

On the Geometry

Two septagram figures may be used to derive all three sequences. A heptagram can be drawn skipping one point per turn, or skipping two points per turn. Usually in either figure the circular sequence — like numbers on a clock face — gives one of the two "main" sequences, and the sequence connected by the lines of the star gives the other. The third sequence (usually the Nigris) is left to the unconnected remaining septagram.

The figure in my signature file is the Sigil of Aemeth by Dr. John Dee — also known as the Star of Babalon and attributed to Venus — which skips one point per turn and yields the Weekday and Chaldean sequences from its two readings.

Principles of associative magical symbolism benefit from natural resonances with mystical devices constructed with a broad sweep of comprehension and philosophic acuity. Presentation of occult data figures prominently in its general content, running as a thematic and characteristic harmonic through the entirety of some arcane resources — Agrippa's Three Books being but one example, which uses the Chaldean Sequence for its harmonic code.

Colophon

Written by nagasiva yronwode (lorax666, yronwode.com@nagasiva), posted to alt.magick.tyagi, alt.astrology, alt.tarot, alt.pagan.magick, alt.magick, and alt.pagan on 22 October 2003. Reconstructed from a threaded discussion; nagasiva's contributions are arranged here as a standalone essay. The tables are his own; the editorial structure is archival.

The Nigris Sequence — 2-1-6-M-3-5-7, Mercury-Sun-Jupiter-Moon-Venus-Mars-Saturn — was, to nagasiva's knowledge, the first naming and analysis of this previously implicit but unrecognized planetary ordering.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Original Message-ID: Fnrlb.34179$[email protected].

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