The easiest way to describe what the planets signify in astrological terms, is
an ACTION. The planets are the action you take, the houses where you take
those actions, and the signs color those places and those actions. The planets are
the most important thing to learn first, because an understanding of what
actions these planets represent will help you understand the signs more easily. If
astrology were a sentence, the planets would be the verb in the sentence. Each
planet is represented in the chart, just as your popular sun sign is, and just as
important.
THE SUN: The Sun represents our ego. The Sun Sign is very popular in
mundane astrology as the ego corresponds to our conscious sense of self, but it
is not "ALL IMPORTANT". The Sun also corresponds to how we experience our
father or masculine parent, and the masculine tendencies in both men and women. The Sun will say something about our will, and what traits by sign, house, and aspect that we can aspire to be.
THE MOON: The Moon is pure emotion, essentially feminine counterpart to
the Sun’s ego. The Moon is you first reaction to any given situation, and often the
part of yourself you do not always like. The Moon can show how you experienced
your mother or feminine parent, and shows the feminine tendencies in both men
and women.
MERCURY: Mercury is how we process information, and how we communicate.
Wherever Mercury is in your chart, it shows your basic intellect, how you learn,
how you think. Mercury is very close to the sun. Because of this, it often spends time
in the same sign as the sun. In the greater amount of charts, this
means the ego and intellect work together. In a smaller percentage of people,
Mercury is just behind or ahead of the sun near the change of sign. Someone
born with Mercury out of sign from the sun has a tougher time with
communicating what their needs are, and often feel they are "taken wrong" No
matter what they say. The good part of this is that once you find the problem, it
is easier to work with. Mercury is the first planet that has a "retrograde"
pattern. In a chart, the effect of Mercury Retrograde will sometimes show up as a
problem with communicating sometimes a learning disability or a stutter.
Depending on all the things related to Mercury in any given chat, these things can
be slight to very exaggerated. This is usually an indication of having to learn and relearn how to communicate in this life.
Folks with Natal Mercury Retrograde tend to unconsciously internalize their thoughts and ability to communicate.
VENUS: Venus is often called the planet of love, but the truth is Venus
doesn’t hold the depth for emotion the way that the Moon does. Venus is more
the planet of self indulgence…what you love to do to make you feel good. This
may sound a little tacky, but it is actually very healthy. If you did not have Venus
tendencies, you’d never want for ice cream or sensuality. You would never be
pleased at buying something new; you’d probably never shop for anything at all.
You’d be a martyr. All things considered, Venus, though SEEMINGLY superficial,
has a place in your life, and an important one. Venus also works with the moon in
the way that it is the feminine side of you. In some cases, women act out their
Venus with no problems. Men tend to not identify as much with Venus, and pick a
partner that lives their Venus placement for them. Done in a healthy way, this
works out for all involved. Done in an unhealthy way, this can set up "bad
relationship patterns" that the man keeps finding the same type of person and
having the same problems over and over again. We see the Venus trap a lot.
MARS: Mars shows our assertion, our aggression, and our willingness to take
action. This is like Venus’ male counterpart. Mars gets a bad rep for being the
god of war, and where we can be violent. Mars, like Venus, however, has its place,
and if used in a healthy way, is a greatly important part of our makeup. If you
didn’t have Mars, you would never get out of bed. You wouldn’t have a job,
because you’d need to assert yourself to get one. It also shows the sex drive as
well. All "drives", in fact, are inherently Martian. Men will often tend to live out their Mars
just fine. Women tend to project Mars, to find a man to live out her Mars for
her, again, it can work out, but imagine the patterns that can take place when a
woman sub consciously lets men live out her aggressive side for her again,
unhealthy relationship patters find their beginning here.
JUPITER: Jupiter has been called the planet of luck in the past, yet I have
honestly never seen it bring luck to everyone it touches. This is simple to see,
sometimes we have no luck at all *L* but Jupiter is still there. So, it is rather
the planet of EXPANSION. Jupiter helps us along for the better OR the worse.
Jupiter is usually seen as a benevolent planet, but I say that no planet symbol is
good or bad, it is all how you deal with it. If there is a tendency in the chart to
be a sweet person, for example, and Jupiter touches it, it can make the person
amazingly wonderful to be around, or so sweet you can’t stand them, you see? If
a person uses Mars in a aggressive way, and Jupiter’s influence is near, this can
be a volatile person, how ever, if the same person used Mars to be healthily
assertive, Jupiter would make him unstoppable in getting things done. Jupiter standing alone could
indicate benevolence, a joyous, spiritual side of a person. However, anything can
be taken overboard where Jupiter is concerned, and eventually an expanding
balloon pops!
SATURN: Saturn is the planet of maturity. This is like the Daddy of
Astrology. If you are good and learn your lesson, Daddy releases you to go on to
the next. If you don’t, Daddy holds you back, limits you, and makes you learn all
over again. This is the essence of Saturn. Many people who know a little about
astrology fear Saturn. This is because Saturn was personified by Christianity’s
Devil as its symbol for many many years. Saturn was seen as personal sorrow and
ruin by the by gone astrologers. The Saturn symbol IS the pain, fear, and limitations in
one’s life. However, this is the pain we face to grow and learn. Saturn says, "No
Pain, No Gain". Yet, even this has its purpose, because without Saturn’s lessons,
we would never grow, never evolve through the door that leads to the higher
mysteries of life. Saturn keeps your feet on the ground so you don’t lose your
head in the abstract. Though there comes a time when we WANT to search for
the abstract, Saturn is necessary for us to function in this physical world, and to
learn the lessons the Higher Self set out to learn in this life. This planet is
incredibly important, and we could do several weeks (at least) worth of
information on Saturn alone. I will have more specific Saturn articles and information for you up soon!
URANUS: The first of the outer planets whose symbolism reflect entire
generation is Uranus. Uranus is the planet that breaks free of the Saturn
restraints. Uranus is what Saturn’s lesson prepared us for, in essence. Uranus is
symbolized best as a non-conformist. Uranus is the planet of upheaval and
change. Uranus is the planet of the humanitarian ideals. The problem with this is
that Uranus lacks any focus. The symbolism portrayed is of one who doesn’t see
the forest for the trees. It just wants to jump in and change things, never
thinking of the outcome, and tends to be impersonal. To use a Star Trek analogy,
(Gotta love Spock!) "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or
the one". Uranus "thinks" this way. Establishment is fought wherever Uranus is.
NEPTUNE: Another generation planet, it is far away, it moves very slowly,
and it stays where it is for a long time. Neptune is where you lose yourself, your
ego, to All That Is, whether for you it is a God or gods or spirits, drugs or
alcohol, anything you use to escape the physical is Neptune symbolism. Neptune is
basically the psychic you as well. Just from that simple explanation, I am sure
that the pros and cons of this planet are apparent.
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PLUTO:
The smallest planet with the biggest attitude. Pluto is slow. It takes
over 200 years to go around the sun. It’s effects are not only generational, but
long lasting. Most people will never live to see it move more than four or five signs
from where it was at their birth. Pluto’s symbol is that which is the area of your
life you are always working on. Pluto symbolizes death, though not necessarily in
the physical sense. This is where things are constantly broken down to start a
new. Pluto’s gift to us, however, is that it is evolution personified. If we, in our
lifetimes learn to master the Pluto symbol, then we can truly lift above the
conflicts of life and really learn of ourselves. Pluto is seen best in your mind like
a Phoenix rising from the ashes, death and rebirth into something incredible. In
the meantime, its lessons are a real pain. Things in the chart associated with
Pluto never seem to work, plans in this area often fall apart, and it is hard to
keep focused. This is not something that cannot be overcome, as the Higher Self
didn’t decide on this life so that we could give up, there is a solution, and every
solution is as different as there are people.
Sub-Map of Beginner Pages
© 1998 Nancy Leigh Jobes, O.M. All Rights Reserved. Do Not Copy Without Permission.
