Astrology Planets

The Sun is the source of life for the solar system. It represents the conscious mind, will, ego, vitality, leadership, power, and authority. It rules important people, royalty, nobility, the head of state, the government and the father. It signifies expressions of confidence such as sports, the theater, and romance. It stands for our genuine, authentic self, and our ability to radiate and shine. It rules the fifth sign, Leo, and the fifth house. Its cycle is equivalent to the Earth’s year.

The Moon is the complement of the Sun, reflecting its light onto the Earth and governing its tides and cycles. Seen from Earth, the Sun and Moon are equal in size. The moon symbolizes our subconscious mind, habits, feelings, moods, instincts, reflections, and aspirations. It nurtures growth and protects life and represents fluctuation, the feminine and the common people and their needs. It rules the fourth sign, Cancer and the Fourth House. It orbits and Earth and the zodiac every twenty-eight days, and it completes one cycle between new moons every twenty-nine and one-half days.

Mercury is the fastest planet and one of the smallest. It is closest to the Sun. Named for the messenger of the gods, Mercury is inventive, restless and curious. It stands for communication, media, thought, mobility, writing, and education. It is the symbol of youth, students, worker and civil servants. It rules the third sign, Gemini, the sixth sign, Virgo, and the Third and Sixth Houses. It orbits the Sun every eighty-eight days, over four times a year.

Venus is known as the loveliest and brightest planet. It is the Earth’s closest neighbor toward the Sun, and represents our impulse to reflect, balance and evaluate. It brings love, peace, and harmony, and rules diplomacy, cooperation and strategy. It stands for beauty, nature, the arts, affection, social life, pleasure and happiness. It rules the second sign, Taurus, and the seventh sign, Libra, and the Second and Seventh Houses. It orbits the Sun every two hundred and twenty-five days.

Mars is the red planet. It is the first leading us outward toward the stars, representing our desire to venture outward. Mars is energetic, impulsive, and active. It stands for enterprise, adventure, enthusiasm, zeal, courage athletic and mechanical skill, and sexual desire. It brings war, violence, quarrels and accidents. It signifies machismo, the armed forces, pioneers and agitators. It rules the first sign, Aries, the eighth sign, Scorpio, and the First and Eighth Houses. Its period of revolution around the Sun lasts almost two years.

Jupiter is the largest planet and turns on its axis the fastest. As the first of the huge, gaseous planets outward from the Sun, it presents expanding opportunities and widening horizons. It stands for wisdom, the higher mind, prophecy, organized religions, universities, law, ceremonies, and rituals. It establishes far-ranging connections between people and ideas. It is the planet of abundance, prosperity, generosity, joviality, fortune, optimism, finance, and world commerce, but it tends to excess, over-confidence, self-righteousness, and complaisance. It rules the ninth sign, Sagittarius, the twelfth sign, Pisces, and the Ninth and Twelfth Houses. It orbits the Sun in just under twelve years.

Saturn is the ringed planet that encloses and encircles what is within its realm. It defines limits, form and structure. It represents caution, conservatism, realism, pessimism, orthodoxy and old age. It brings depression, poverty, stagnation, restriction and misfortune. It elicits depth of thought, ambition, perseverance, and the desire for status. It represent the State, the Establishment, politics, organization and civil authority. It institutes discipline and repression, imposes order, and establishes justice. It signifies miners, land owner, officials, and administrators. It represents the world and all its laws. It rules the tenth sign, Capricorn, the eleventh sign, Aquarius, and the Tenth and Eleventh Houses. Its orbit lasts twenty-nine and a half years.

Uranus is one of the three “modern planets.” Its role is to free us from all conventional authorities and to drastically reform society along lines of truth and justice. It stands for our new awareness of individual freedom and liberty. It can bring quick, beneficial reforms or violent, disruptive, destructive events. It is associated with science and enlightenment, and seeks to base authority on knowledge which we discover for ourselves. Uranus is the planet of genius and constantly challenges us to look at things in a new way. It is sudden revelations and awakenings–the ruling planet of magicians, alchemists and astrologers. It rules capitalism, progress and the utopian expectations, and is one of the symbols of the “New Age.” It is linked to Aquarius and the Eleventh House. Uranus revolves around the Sun once every eighty-four years.

Neptune is known as the planet of illusion. It stands for equality and the interests of collective society. It represents utopian social movements whose goal is to fairly distribute the world’s resources. It symbolizes compassion, kindness, and the humanitarian concern. It rules hospitals, prisons, and bureaucracies. More than any other planet, its movements represent the destiny and consciousness of humanity as a whole. It is the symbol of everything intangible, mystical, imaginative, delicate and subtle. It is life unrestricted by ordinary limits and boundaries. Neptune also leads us into confusion, delusion and deception. It is the desire to escape from responsibility and to cleverly avoid facing reality. When fully expressed, Neptune is the beatific vision of universal, divine love and compassion for all beings. It is connected to the sign of Pisces and to the Twelfth House. Neptune revolves around the Sun once every one hundred and sixty-five years.

Pluto symbolizes the capacity to change totally and forever a person’s lifestyle, thought and behavior. Pluto rules all the powerful forces of creation and destruction. Pluto is transcendental courage and guts. It gives us new life by forcing us to face death. It destroys to rebuild, and it kills the old self that we may be born anew. It charts the rise and fall of all civilizations and power structures. It rules groups, syndicates and all who pool their resources to boost their power. It can release wealth and opportunity never before dreamed of. It is sexuality and fertility, and represents the secrets of biology and the mysteries of creation. Pluto is linked to the sign of Scorpio and the Eighth House. Pluto revolves around the sun once every two hundred and forty-eight years.