This is the third of seven posts teaching you how to interpret your birth chart. Check out the previous post here.
OK, now that we’ve accessed your birth chart and identified the signs that planets were in on the day you were born, now it’s time to actually define the meaning behind each planet.
In my experience, this is where things get complicated. Memorizing stereotypes and archetypes about zodiac signs is easy! Applying this knowledge to planets is a lot more nuanced.
Think of planets as the “verbs” of astrology. Planets describe the action that’s taking place in your chart.
Signs, on the other hand, function more like “adjectives” that describe, you, the “noun”.
In this way, we can think of planets as the outlet for the ways in which we choose to express ourselves, and signs as the way we describe our actions.
This post seeks to help you identify the various roles planets play in your life, and help you understand the relationship planets have with the zodiac signs.
Defining the Planets
In the last post, we identified the signs in the blue column and took some time to analyze them both individually, and as a group. Now, we’re going to break down the meaning behind the first seven planets in the black column.
For now, you can ignore Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, True Node, and Chiron.
Starting with the sun and moon <3
The sun and moon are your chart’s luminaries. They represent the most expressive parts of our personalities. Of all the planets, the sun and moon are the most important and the truest reflection of who you are.
Sun - Your life purpose. The sun also represents how you choose to express individuality and identity.
Moon - How you react to emotional stimuli, and connection with your body. The moon also represents how you process and express your emotions.
Mercury, Mars, and Venus
These planets, along with the sun and moon, show up most within your daily life to color the way you assert yourself and build relationships with others
Mercury - Represents how you process information, your communication style, how you learn.
Venus - Represents what you seek from your interpersonal relationships. Venus also represents our relationship with money, and what we need in order to have a harmonious environment.
Mars - Represents how we assert ourselves and act based on our personal desires. It also represents the drive we have when it comes to manifesting our life purpose.
Jupiter and Saturn
These planets aren’t always part of our daily life. Rather they help us understand how we can make meaning of our life over time.
Jupiter - Represents where we search for meaning in our lives and broaden our understanding of our reality.
Saturn - Represents the areas in our lives that need more structure and discipline. Saturn is concerned with the long-term over the short-term.
Generational Planets: Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto
The discovery of these planets is rather recent, so they haven’t always been considered in astrological interpretations. In modern astrology, these planets represent larger trends that help people relate to each other within society. Since these planets take so long to orbit, most people born within specific generations share these placements.
For the purposes of this series, and in an effort to keep things simple, we’ll come back to these planets when we big to interpret our chart as a whole.
Applying Signs to the Planets
Now that we’ve gone over the definition of each sign, you can use the prompts below to apply these definitions to the sign each planet is in.
For example, if you’re a Libra Sun, your sentence would read as: My life purpose is to (sun) initiate relationships between people to express myself and to build social and intellectual connections with other people (Libra).
Use the zodiac signs below to complete the planetary prompts.
Planetary Prompts
Sun: My life purpose is to….
Moon: I process my emotions by…
Mercury: I communicate by…
Venus: I seek relationships that foster my need to…
Mars: I act upon my desires by…
Jupiter: I seek meaning in my life by…
Saturn: I create structure in my life by…
The Zodiac Signs
Aries: asserting myself in ways that allow me to make meaning of my identity.
Taurus: focusing on practicality in order to cultivate a sustainable lifestyle.
Gemini: externalizing my thoughts through giving and receiving information to understand myself and others.
Cancer: relying on my emotions to connect with my soul and intuition before I express my emotions.
Leo: defining my individuality, and sharing my pride with others.
Virgo: utilizing my resources to accommodate others and cultivate security.
Libra: initiating relationships between people to express myself and to build social and intellectual connections with other people.
Scorpio: focusing on the complexity of my emotions and experiences to unpack my feelings.
Sagittarius: sharing my experiences with others to make meaning of my life purpose.
Capricorn: creating structures that give me discipline and security so I can make better use of my resources.
Aquarius: being authentic to myself and those around me
Pisces: seeking meaning from my emotions and embracing growth.
CHECKPOINT: What role do the planets play in your life? How do the signs influence the way the planets in your chart behave?
In the next post, we’ll dive into the setting in which all this takes place <3.
Questions?
Leave a comment and I’ll do my best to help <3.