"Of the philosophical constitution of man, the King's represent the Spirit; the Queen's the Mind; the BIshop's the Emotions; the kNIGHTs the Vitality; the Castles, or Rooks, the Physical Body. The pieces upon the kings’ side are positive; those upon the queens’ side, negative...
"The pawns are the sensory impulses and perceptive faculties–the eight parts of the soul. The white king and his suite symbolize the Self and its vehicles; the black king and his retinue, the not-self–the false Ego and its legion. The game of chess thus sets forth the eternal..."
".. The game of Chess thus sets forth the ETERNAL struggle of each part of man’s compound nature against the SHADOW of itself. The nature of each of the chessmen is revealed by the way in which it moves; GEOMETRY is the KEY to their interpretation..."
"..For example: The castle (the body) moves on the square; the bishop (the emotions) moves on the slant; the king, being the spirit, cannot be captured, but loses the battle when so surrounded that it cannot escape.”
- Manly P. Hall
In the Astrological Sense, the King represents the Sun & the Queen represents the Moon. The Bishop represents the Feminine character and the Guru, Jupiter. The Rook moves “on the square”. The Rook or Castle is taken to represent the Masculine character and therefore Saturn.
The Knight or 'Horse' is the ONLY piece that can 'leap' over other pieces. It can move two squares up & one square over, or one square up & two over. In the Shape of an 'L'. In a Masonic Sense, the Knight’s movements resemble the Masonic Square & represents the planet Mars.
Pawns, the Foot Soldiers, move straight forward one square at a time, except on the first move they may move two squares. Pawns are unique, they may move forward diagonally when capturing an opposing piece. They represent spiritual advancement, reward & PLANets Venus & Mercury.
The Chess Pieces are also attributed to symbolically represent the four Cardinal Directions and the Four Classical Elements (Fire, Air, Water and Earth).
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