Days of the Week Symbolic Meanings

We’ve all heard of the Monday’s Child nursery rhyme:

Monday’s child is fair of face
Tuesday’s child is full of grace
Wednesday’s child is full of woe
Thursday’s child has far to go
Friday’s child is one of giving
Saturday’s child works for a living
And the child born on the Sabbath day (Sunday)
is bonny, blithe, good & gay

Where do these days of the week symbolic meanings come from?

The following are a few correspondences to the days of the week that may lend more clarity to the week-day symbolism.

Planetary correspondece with the days of week:

Monday = Moon
Tuesday = Mars
Wednesday = Mercury
Thursday = Jupiter
Friday = Venus
Saturday = Saturn
Sunday = Sun

Each planet has a character to it. These planetary characteristics are shown below (and see how they compare to the age-old nursery rhyme!).

Monday/Moon = Moods & Emotion
Tuesday/Mars = Aggression & Achievement
Wednesday/Mercury = Strategy & Purpose
Thursday/Jupiter = Power & Expansion
Friday/Venus = Love & Beauty
Saturday/Saturn = Suspension & Prevention
Sunday/Sun = Expression & Confidence

Symbolic numbers assigned to the days (planetary correspondences):

Monday = 7
Tuesday = 9
Wednesday = 5
Thursday = 3
Friday = 6
Saturday = 8
Sunday = 4

Got a hot date? Click here for number meanings for each day of the week – great tool for determining premium days for your plans.

Alchemical elements corresponding to the days of the week:

Monday = Silver
Tuesday = Iron
Wednesday = Mercury
Thursday = Tin
Friday = Copper
Saturday = Lead
Sunday = Gold

Astrologically, we can use the Myanmar-Burmese Zodiac animal signs to bring color and character to our weekdays:

Monday = Tiger
Tuesday = Lion
Wednesday = Elephant
Thursday = Rat
Friday = Guinea Pig
Saturday = Dragon
Sunday = Garuda the Bird King

Click here for more on Burmese Astrology and find out which animal sign you are according to the day you were born.

The old Monday’s Child nursery rhyme was instrumental in teaching youngsters the days of the week, but when we delve deeper into the week day meanings & origins, we can incorporate these meanings in our every day life.

If we follow the belief that each day is ruled by a specific planet, we understand that each day holds a specific vibrational frequency. To take this a step further, we may be able to enhance our days by taking specific actions on appropriately aligned days.

To demonstrate, here are a few things we can do on certain days of the week to enhance our everyday living.

Monday’s: Get in touch with your feelings, be mindful of your moods, purify your surroundings, show compassion
Tuesday’s: Express your passion, get some exercise, release pent up frustration/energy
Wednesday’s: Study, travel, research, meditate
Thursday’s: Donate to a charity or worthy cause, make an investment, show your appreciation
Friday’s: Appreciate the people in your life, go on a date, show your love, recognize beauty, make new friends
Saturday’s: Clean your house, take a break, finish a project, meet a deadline
Sunday’s: Take time for you, take a nature walk, get in touch with your spirit, meditate