Correspondence of the Planets to the Liberal Arts
A chart of the seven heavens and the liberal art that Dante pairs with each in the Convivio.
| Heaven | Planet | Liberal Art | Dante’s Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Moon | Grammar (disciplines the mind) | Like grammar, the moon shows two properties: the Moon’s alternating brightness and shadow mirror the beginner’s struggle with clarity and confusion in language |
| 2 | Mercury | Dialectic/Logic (removes ambiguities) | Mercury’s rapid, subtle motion corresponds to the quick, incisive nature of dialectical reasoning. |
| 3 | Venus | Rhetoric (adorns discourse and persuades through sweetness, shaping the soul’s emotional response to truth) | Venus, the planet of beauty and persuasion, aligns with Rhetoric, which moves the affections through ornamented speech |
| 4 | The Sun | Arithmetic (gives the intellect clarity, proportion, and the foundation of all order) | The Sun, source of illumination, corresponds to Arithmetic, the science that “illuminates” all others through number. |
| 5 | Mars | Music (captivates the spirit, causing hearers to nearly cease all activity) | Mars, associated with harmony-in-conflict and martial rhythm, corresponds to Music, the science of proportion in sound. |
| 6 | Jupiter | Geometry (gives the mind stable proportion and rectitude, training the mind to perceive harmonious spatial order) | Jupiter’s temperate and orderly nature mirrors Geometry, the science of spatial proportion and harmonious measure. |
| 7 | Saturn | Astronomy/Astrology (teaches the motions of the heavens and perfects intellectual vision) | Saturn, highest of the planetary spheres, corresponds to Astronomy—the study of the heavens themselves. |