Planets.

The 10 planets in Astrology all have a unique vital part to play.
They each represent a basic function and drive. 

Their energies cover all areas of the human experience; psychologically, physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

The planet asks the question.......what? What primary function or drive are we addressing when we interpret its energy? 

THE LUMINARIES

SUN and MOON 

We realise the Sun and Moon are not planets yet we use this term figuratively in Astrology.
The Sun and the Moon are the two ‘planets’ that take precedence in any Astrological chart. They represent essential functions in the human experience. 

The Sun

The function of the Sun is the expression of the life force. It is the core energy of ‘who we are’. 

The Sun is a ‘star’ both literally and figuratively. The Sun expresses its energy, giving life to the earth. Without the Suns energy the earth and everything on it would die. It is the giver and creator of life. The energy of the Sun in the birth chart is the same. 

It is the motor that drives and expresses the life force in us. 

When the Sun is shining brightly in the sky it lifts our spirits and makes us happy. The Sun in the birth chart has the same effect; it is our joy and our appreciation of just being alive. The Sun is also the centre of our Solar System. Everything rotates around it; therefore, the Sun is also the central core of us, our identity and our ego. The Sun is very attached to our creative energy and ‘the personality’ in the here and now. 

When we live fully into our Sun we experience the fullness and richness of who we are. Our spirit feels vitalized and we feel impelled to seek our true individual and conscious potential. When we neglect our Sun we can feel depressed and deflated. We can feel like we have lost our direction or purpose in life. 

  • Vitality, sense of individuality, creative centre, life force, the heroic journey, the conscious sense of self, yang expression, ego, spirit, essence, father

    -urge to be, to give life and to create

    -need to be recognized and to express our special self, to shine.

The Moon

The function of the Moon is the development of feeling. It is the ability to experience deep emotional security and open up to the ‘soul.’ 

The Moon produces no light of its own. It’s only source of light as we know, comes from the Sun, therefore it is totally reflective and responsive, yet its gravitational pull is immense, shifting huge oceans from one side to the other. 

The Moons energy in Astrology is the same. Its pull in our lives manifests as an instinctive urge. We call this urge emotion and it receives before it responds. The moon is driven by our need for emotional security. Its energy is beyond logic and reason, relying primarily on habit, gut feeling, instinct and mood. 

The Moon is feminine; its archetypal figure is that of the mother. Its energy is protective and nurturing and dictates all cycles of fertility. 

The Moon is the only ‘planet’ that circles the earth. This makes its energy highly internal subjective and personalised. Not having the Sun as its rotational centre, it tends to separate itself from action and ego. The Moon identifies itself at a much deeper level, and carries the soul’s memories of our purpose of being. 

The Moon’s energy is not overly concerned with the ‘here and now’ often drawing its focus back to the past and beyond with a ‘memory’ of infinite proportion. 

When we nurture our Moon we feel safe and comforted as if we are ‘home’ When we neglect our Moon we feel threatened, defensive and scared. 

The Sun (life) and the Moon (soul) must ultimately find a way in which outer and inner self can harmoniously be synthesized. 

  • Nurturing style, emotional needs and responses, instinctual self, mother, intuitive, unconscious level of self, safety, soul memory, family, habits.

    - urge to nurture and be nurtured, urge for domestic and emotional security

    - need to belong, need for clan

THE PERSONAL PLANETS 

The personal planets, Mercury, Venus and Mars are like our daily voices which we use to communicate (Mercury), relate (Venus) secure, and (Mars) activate. Like the luminaries, these 3 planets move quite quickly so they can also dramatically change the birth charts of individuals born within the same year for example. 

Mercury

The function of Mercury is the transmission of information. 

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun, therefore making its rotation the fastest. It is called a ‘personal planet’ as it is related closely to the personality and ego. Mercury is a messenger both in mythology and energy. Its sole function is to transport information both to and from the brain. 

Mercury is totally cerebral. ‘Thinking’ is its mechanism and concerns itself only with what it can see, dealing in facts, logic and reason. The main avenue for Mercury’s work is through communication. Taking data in and then sending it out again, much like an antennae or satellite. 

Teaching, writing, talking and listening are all forms that Mercury can take. 

Because of its size and speed Mercury’s energy is young, nimble and highly strung. Mercury’s function also handles perception. It deals with the processing of information from the eyes to the brain and back out again. 

  • Communication, conscious mind (logical or rational mind), information, thoughts, perception, movement, ideas, versatility, quickness

    - urge to express one’s perceptions and intelligence through skill or speech

    - need to establish connections with others, need to learn and communicate.

Venus

The function of Venus is equilibrium, security and harmony. 

Venus is peace, security comfort and relating. It achieves this through harmonizing, and it manifests on three very distinct levels, personally, creatively and materially. 

On a personal level Venus’ harmony is acquired through the balancing of minds as in relationship. On a creative level blending thought to form, particularly with art and beauty and on a material level finding comfort through the tangible and what it believes to be valuable both internally, as in self worth and externally as in money and possessions. 

Venus is synonymous with ‘love’ yet being a ‘personal planet’ this love is very attached to the needs of the ego. Venus is how you blend in partnership as well as the qualities you look for in a partner and what you expect in return. 

The ‘peace’ Venus represents is a feeling, mainly concerned with what it can observe and touch. Style, grace, diplomacy, luxury, wealth and beauty are all characteristic of Venus. They symbolize Venus’ function to keep things secure and harmonious. 

  • The feminine principle, values, love, attraction, harmony, co- operation, balance, self worth, style, co-dependence, beauty, relationships, sharing.

    - urge to attract people and possessions to you, urge for pleasure, the social and love urge

    - a need for calming aesthetics, art and beauty

    - a need for union and blending, need for comfort and harmony

    - a need for security in self worth and self value.

Mars

The function of Mars is self will and courage. 

Mars is action. It is the energy of overcoming adversity and standing firm in the face of danger. Mars’ function is to express and satisfy ‘the will’. ‘I want therefore I get’ is a very Mars statement. 

Mars wants to triumph and is synonymous with ‘war’ but not war for the sake of fighting. Mars is fighting for its ‘bravery’. 

Mars realizes that to attain this it may need to confront some obstacles, maybe climbing mountains or fighting battles. Mars must face this kind of adversity to overcome fear and this is where its courage comes into play. 

Mars’ energy is totally external, active, assertive and warrior-like. It is fueled by its primal desires and a daring need to win. It is synonymous with the sex drive. Mars is also the archetype of the leader and values its independence and individuality. Its energy is entirely self motivated and self propelled. 

  • The masculine principle, action, drive, desire, physical energy, initiative, assertiveness, anger, conflict, sexuality, personal will, impulsiveness, pioneering.

    - urge to survive, sexual urge, to act decisively, self assertive and aggressive urge

    - need to achieve desires, to express bravery, courage

    - need for physical and overt excitement.

THE GREAT TEACHERS 

Jupiter

Jupiter is the expansion of the mind and the experience of ‘faith.’ 

Jupiter is expansion. Its basic function is to broaden our horizons, searching for truth and a sense of meaning in our lives. To accomplish this, Jupiter allows plenty of room to move, this is why Jupiter has the reputation of being abundant. 

To expand the mind Jupiter must learn, but Jupiter’s learning is on a grander scale, one more based on concepts, theories and ideals. Jupiter’s learning is mainly experiential and is taught often through travel, exploration, religions, higher education and any areas that heighten our consciousness and knowledge. 

More than anything Jupiter seeks faith, something to believe in, this gives Jupiter’s energy a flavour of confidence and optimism, often seeing the glass half full. 

Jupiter’s energy works as a teacher. What Jupiter has learned must now be disseminated, spreading its ‘higher truths’ out into the world, giving it a preacher or guru-like quality 

Jupiter relies on firm principals and ethics on which many of its ‘truths’ and laws are based. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and if it can’t be king (like the Sun) then it will be the judge. 

  • Expansion, growth, adventure, optimism, opportunities, luck, justice, ethics, philosophies, religion, morality, law, seeking meaning, truth, beliefs, excess, faith, judgment, wisdom, .

    - urge towards a larger order to connect the self with some greater form of knowledge.

    - need for faith, trust, and confidence in life and self, need to expand and grow, to make meaning of happenings.

    - need to seek a conceptual or philosophical framework to believe in

Saturn

The function of Saturn is mastery, responsibility and integrity. 

Saturn is the planet of maturity, self control, mastery and achievement. It is about taking charge and becoming the authority in your life. This can only be accomplished through hard work, discipline and a keen sense of responsibility. This is the opposite to the expansive nature of Jupiter and now we feel contraction within our lives as Saturn is bound more to matter and the earth. 

Saturn’s energy is that of rules and parameters. Saturn understands limitations and reality. 

Like Jupiter, Saturn also seeks ‘truth’ but its way of attaining it couldn’t be more opposite. Saturn functions at a foundational level. This is where the structure originates. At this base level Saturn’s movement can feel rather limiting giving it the reputation of being restrictive. 

Saturn is integrity. It begins at the skeleton, constructing a composition from there. It cuts down to the bare bone, working with the building blocks of the self to build solid character. 

Saturn is concerned with form; if the foundation is firm then the structure will be steady. 

Saturn’s energy is goal oriented and its way is hard work. To build a concrete base discipline, responsibility, accountability and patience are the main ingredients. Time is also a major factor for Saturn. It understands wisdom with age and the slow process of maturity and development. 

Saturn has a strong need for solitude. Its steadfast need to work alone strengthens the planets resolve, giving Saturn the image of ‘the rock’. 

  • Structures, boundaries, restrictions, focus, mastery, responsibility, obligations, fear, contraction, effort, accountability, commitment, lessons, limitations, duty, solitude, ambition, karma, goals, a firm foundation, laws

    - urge to defend the self’s structure and integrity, urge toward safety and security through tangible achievement

    - need for mastery in the world of form, need for authority, need to rely on one’s own resources and work by taking responsibility and being accountable.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the expansion of the mind and the experience of ‘faith.’ 

Jupiter is expansion. Its basic function is to broaden our horizons, searching for truth and a sense of meaning in our lives. To accomplish this, Jupiter allows plenty of room to move, this is why Jupiter has the reputation of being abundant. 

To expand the mind Jupiter must learn, but Jupiter’s learning is on a grander scale, one more based on concepts, theories and ideals. Jupiter’s learning is mainly experiential and is taught often through travel, exploration, religions, higher education and any areas that heighten our consciousness and knowledge. 

More than anything Jupiter seeks faith, something to believe in, this gives Jupiter’s energy a flavour of confidence and optimism, often seeing the glass half full. 

Jupiter’s energy works as a teacher. What Jupiter has learned must now be disseminated, spreading its ‘higher truths’ out into the world, giving it a preacher or guru-like quality 

Jupiter relies on firm principals and ethics on which many of its ‘truths’ and laws are based. Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system and if it can’t be king (like the Sun) then it will be the judge. 

  • Expansion, growth, adventure, optimism, opportunities, luck, justice, ethics, philosophies, religion, morality, law, seeking meaning, truth, beliefs, excess, faith, judgment, wisdom

    - urge towards a larger order to connect the self with some greater form of knowledge.

    - need for faith, trust, and confidence in life and self, need to expand and grow, to make meaning of happenings.

    - need to seek a conceptual or philosophical framework to believe in

THE GIANTS

Uranus

The function of Uranus is freedom, individuality and evolution. 

The world is always changing, constantly pushing the barriers and growing toward the future. This need for change and evolution is the energy of Uranus 

Uranus dares to be different. It is the archetype of the revolutionary and the rebel. Always seeking ways to shake things up, to reject the status quo and go beyond the norm. 

Uranus is unique. Even as it rotates the sun it is doing its own thing by rolling rather than spinning. It natural planetary energy is going against the grain. 

Uranus’ function is freedom, the freedom to be the uncompromising expression of who we truly are, even to the point of breaking the rules if need be. Uranus is inventive, innovative and radical with a strong need to protest against the out dated. 

Uranus is the energy of the future, highly electrical and technological in flavour. It is a ‘transpersonal planet’ working on a higher vibration, taking the ability to ‘think’ to further levels. 

  • Awakener, chaos, the higher mind, individuality, revolutionary, electrical impulses, sudden change, technology, inventive, seed planter, excitement, unpredictability, nervous, unique, freedom, independence, humanistic.

    - urge towards differentiation, originality, independence from tradition, urge to reform

    - need for change, excitement and expression without restraint

Neptune

The function of Neptune is spirit as separate from ego. 

Neptune is beyond boundary, logic and earthly interpretation. Neptune works against everything that is understood by the five senses, transcending the realm of the mental and tangible. Neptune is spirit. 

This is where intuition and inspiration originate, where dreams, fantasies, psychic feelings and great works of art derive. 

Neptune’s function deals with what we call the ‘unreal’ yet to Neptune it is as real as anything we can touch. It understands the profound connection to the universe and deals with all earthly matters totally from that realm. 

Neptune’s way is by releasing and letting go of what it deems as meaningless, and of ego dominated earthly matters, creating a state of non attachment to the world of form. 

Neptune’s function recognises spiritual development over the egos demands. It is the blissful ‘oneness’ of all things. 

  • Dissolve, transcendence, imagination, dreams, delusion, illusion, mystical, spirituality, unification, intangible, fantasy, collective unconscious, sensitive, creative, artistic, religious, psychic, compassionate, neurotic, helpless, martyrdom, victim.

    - urge to escape from the limitations of one’s self, and the material world

    - need to experience a oneness with life, a complete merger with the whole, a need to free one’s self of ego

Pluto

The function of Pluto is power from transformation 

Pluto is power, but this is not the power that comes from ego control. Pluto’s power comes from our inner depths, a place where our fears and secrets lie, a place where we feel if we lay exposed we may ‘die’. Pluto power derives from penetrating this place and then to be liberated from it. Pluto is the power of resurrection. 

To attain this power Pluto requires death, not in the literal sense as such but for Pluto something must terminate before it gets reborn. 

For Pluto ‘the death’ is just a means to an end, it’s about rebirth and the catharsis that is attained from overcoming the deepest fears. Pluto understands the dark, but for Pluto this is home and a place of transformation. Pluto’s function is to face the demons and disempower them. Pluto is about taking back the power you have given to your fears. The ‘phoenix rising from the ashes’ is a popular Pluto image. Pluto is the power that comes from profound regeneration when returning to life. 

  • Transformation, regeneration, elimination, destroyer, death, birth, resurrection, obsession, psychology, power, control, money, sex, intimacy, protection, secrecy, healing, alchemy, magic, occult, charismatic, intensity, compulsion.

    - urge toward total rebirth, urge to penetrate to the core of experience

    - need to dig deep and bring to consciousness the hidden self, need to let go of old patterns of behaviour even if painful, and to experience the power of resurrection.

RULERSHIPS

Every SIGN has a RULING PLANET. Rulership simply means that the energies of both the Planet and the Sign are parallel. For example; the principal energy of the function of Mars is action and assertion. The principle energy of the Aries objective is the development of the action and assertion. Therefore Mars rules Aries. 

Here is the list of RULERSHIPS. Note some planets rule two signs expressing the energy through a different mode and element. Also some signs have both a traditional and modern ruler. It is important to consider both planets in certain charts of individuals consciousness. 

SUN

LE0

MOON

CANCER

MERCURY

GEMINI / VIRGO

VENUS

TAURUS / LIBRA

MARS

ARIES / SCORPIO (TRADITIONAL)

JUPITER

SAGITTARIUS /
PISCES (TRADITIONAL)

URANUS

AQUARIUS

NEPTUNE

PISCES

PLUTO

SCORPIO

CAPRICORN / AQUARIUS (TRADITIONAL)

SATURN

In traditional Astrology, when a planet falls in the sign that rules that planet, it is said to be in its DIGNITY. When it falls in the sign which is opposite its rulership, it is said to be in its DETRIMENT. eg. Sun in Leo is in its Dignity, in Aquarius, it is in its Detriment. 

Being in detriment is NOT as bad a placement as the title may suggest, this only means that the energies are contrasting and will need an adjustment within their expression. eg. JUPITER in GEMINI will need to bring Jupiter’s ‘bigger picture’ expansion down to more communicative levels (Gemini)