User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
luminaries- Plural of luminary
Extensive Definition
The luminaries were what traditional astrologers called the two
astrological "planets"
which were the brightest and most important objects in the heavens,
that is,
The Sun and Moon were well-established rulers of
the other planets, in accordance with the ancient doctrine of
astrology
of sect, which made the Sun the ruler of charts of
events and individuals born in the daytime, when the Sun was over
the horizon; and the Moon the ruler of night charts, when the Sun
was below the horizon.
Ancient astrologers divided all astrological
factors into day and night groups: essential
dignities, Arabian
Parts (or "Lots") and all planetary characteristics. Even each
of the Starry
planets themselves "belonged" to one luminary or the other. The
luminary "in charge" of any given chart was called the luminary of
sect. (See sect.)
- ''And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: He made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.'' (Genesis 1:16-18, King James Version)
In modern Western astrology, the importance of
the Moon and the Sun has even come to outweigh all the other
celestial factors in the interpretation of chart data. In Hindu astrology,
the Moon (and the Ascendant) have
that distinction.