Planets
Ten planets, ten functions: what each one says in the signs and houses, from the Sun to Pluto.
In astrology, the planets are the actors of the chart. Each one stands for a basic function of the psyche: wanting, thinking, loving, acting, growing, limiting. The signs and houses only tell you how and where that function shows up. This is why planets are the best place to start learning, and why every other meaning in this library refers back to them.
- SunLeo · ~1°/dayCore identity, will, joy of life.
- MoonCancer · ~13°/dayEmotion, needs, habit, mother.
- MercuryGemini and Virgo · ~1.4°/dayThinking, speaking, learning.
- VenusTaurus and Libra · ~1.2°/dayLove, value, pleasure, money.
- MarsAries · ~0.5°/dayAction, desire, anger, courage.
- JupiterSagittarius · 12-year orbitGrowth, faith, luck, meaning.
- SaturnCapricorn · 29.5-year orbitLimits, responsibility, time, mastery.
- UranusAquarius · 84-year orbitFreedom, sudden change, originality.
- NeptunePisces · 165-year orbitImagination, intuition, dissolving, illusion.
- PlutoScorpio · 248-year orbitTransformation, power, what is hidden.
Four groups of planets
The luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, are the two lights. The Sun describes your conscious will and the way you want to shine; the Moon describes needs, moods and habits, the things you do without thinking.
The personal planets are Mercury, Venus and Mars. They move fast, so they vary a lot between people born only weeks apart. Mercury is how you think and speak, Venus is what you value and how you attract, Mars is how you go after what you want.
The social planets are Jupiter and Saturn. They connect the individual with society: Jupiter through growth, faith and opportunity, Saturn through structure, duty and time. A Saturn placement often marks the area where you mature late but solidly.
The outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, move so slowly that they stay in one sign for years. Their sign describes a generation more than a person. Their house and their aspects to personal planets are what make them individual.
What changes a planet’s voice
- Sign. Venus in Taurus is in its own sign: steady, sensual, loyal. The same Venus in Aries is quicker and more direct.
- House. Mars in the 10th house puts drive and competition into career and public life.
- Aspects. A planet in tight aspect to another never acts alone; see the aspect section of all meanings.
- Dignity. Each planet is strongest in the signs it rules or is exalted in, and works harder in the opposite signs.
- Retrograde motion. A planet that was retrograde at birth tends to work inward first and express itself later.
Speed and timing
How fast a planet moves also tells you how long its themes last in transits. The Moon changes sign every two to three days, while Saturn needs about 29 years to circle the zodiac. That is why the Saturn return around ages 29 and 58 is such a clear milestone, and why a Jupiter return comes round roughly every twelve years.
To see where your ten planets sit, calculate your birth chart, then come back and open each planet in the signs and houses guides. The blog covers related techniques, such as retrograde planets, in more depth.