The Planets

In astrology, the larger life of our solar system as a whole tells us something about our own personal Earth life. The interplay and relationship of the planets with one another as they circle the Sun is carefully studied.

Of particular interest to astrologers are the Sun, the Moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. These are the celestial bodies used most often by modern astrologers for natal interpretation. Each of these planets represents or refers to a part of our life and self. Here are some of the concepts and key words associated with each planet.

Planets - The Lights: Sun & Moon

At the time of our birth, the planets (through their configurations and relationships) tell us something about how things were when we were born. Each planet points to special qualities within us.

Yet, of all the planets, the two most important planets to astrologers are the "lights," the Sun and the Moon. From where we stand here on Earth, the great shining Sun by day and the reflecting Moon at night are our constant companions. They have much to tell us as to where we have been and where we are headed.

The Lights

The Sun and Moon (or lights, as they are called) are the two most important bodies. It is sometimes easier to understand what they represent in astrology if we consider how they interrelate with the Earth.

A good analogy is the following. Each of us is on Earth. The bright and shining Sun represents someone older, someone we look up to -- whether that be a teacher or guru.

The Moon represents someone younger, especially the groups that we used to belong to. That is the analogy. Here is how we might think about it:

We can't live either on the Sun or Moon. We have grown out of and beyond the younger generation (Moon). Out of it we once came or were born. This is why the Moon is said to be a mystery. It is both our parent and our child.

Regardless, we no longer are alive to what moves the younger generation. The same kind of reasoning is true of those older than us, who have taken more degrees of experience. We are still too young... not yet ready to live in the solar environment.

We receive light from the Sun, and it makes life grow. We each have both a Sun and a Moon. In the course of a month, these two bodies take up various positions in relation to where we are on Earth. At the Full Moon, the Moon is beyond the orbit of the Earth (farther out) and reflecting sunlight back on us.

At the New Moon, the Moon is within the Earth's orbit and lost in the Sun. Tradition suggests that we start (or may receive) an impulse at the New Moon, build and develop it for two weeks until the Full Moon, and then gradually understand or draw some conclusions from the experience during the two weeks after the moon is full.

SUN

The heart and center of it all. The father, guru, teacher or figure of authority. Anyone older or living in an experience more disciplined than our own. That which we look up to and receive light from. That which we may become.

Esoteric Interpretation:

From the Sun comes light, that which draws us into life. The Sun represents all the changes we have not yet taken, that part of us that we have not yet experienced but are headed toward.

The Sun represents our identity, or self, in that it is toward these that we are moving and developing. Thus, it also represents that which we will become: older people, authorities -- those we look toward, or up to. Our essence, or future.

Teachers, gurus, and older (more experienced) people are represented by the Sun. The Sun is "hot stuff," those further up the road of life experience.

MOON

Our surroundings, the environment out of which we came. Our past and childhood. Our formative years and self. The background. That out of which we emerged. The Moon signifies the mother, wife and female children, or any woman in question. It rules crowds, the masses and public opinion.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Here is information about the kind of environment we create around us, our support system. It is not only the surroundings that we set up today, but the Moon also represents our past, the particular history and social background out of which we grew.

Aside from our social background, the Moon governs all of the old habits that we have grown beyond. We tend to look down on, or back on, our Moon. It represents those experiences out of which we have come, all those younger souls who are unconscious, or "sub" conscious to our own level.

This is why it is said that the Moon is a mystery planet, for it is both our parent and our child: our parent in that out of it we were born, our child in that we can't but respond to others who are now living as we once did.

MERCURY

Communication at light speed. Linkage. Thought. Ideas. The light of the mind. Logos, direct voice.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Mercury is the light in our eyes, the ever-changing consciousness within us that moves from idea to idea. Thus Mercury has always represented thoughts, ideas and the mental process in general. It governs not only ideas but the communications too.

Communications -- by phone, letter, spoken, or however -- are ruled by Mercury. Also thoughts, connections, phone wires and everything that connects and conveys. Conversations, too.

VENUS

How we respond, appreciate, cherish or value something. The way we love. Love, but not attraction. Compassion.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Venus rules our values and sense of appreciation. When we appraise or appreciate something, whether that be another person or a new car, this is Venus -- the sense of love and compassion we may feel. By the same token this planet rules enjoyment too.

Whether it be self-appreciation or just plain old decadent self-enjoyment or having a good time, this is Venus. When we go shopping or are on a spending spree, it is Venus that allows us to appreciate and value all the good things of lif

MARS

Energy. What drives or moves us. Our emotions. Urge to unify or become one, therefore yoga, union, or marriage.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Mars is the planet of emotion and inner motivation or drive. When we search for the meaning of something, life or whatever, it is Mars that urges us on, keeps us searching. Mars also drives us against things, too, that send us into war and combat.

The urgency of Mars, the search for meaning, is identical to the need for union, yoga, and marriage. Mars is the planet of union, and marriage is the most common form of yoga. When we have questions of the opposite sex, we are looking at the planet Mars.

JUPITER

The way through or on. Continuing, continuity, succession, success. The pathfinder or lamp through the trials of time. Luck.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Jupiter is the planet of success as in succession or simple survival and continuing. Jupiter is the guru or way we go through life, our life path or vocation.

Jupiter is the method each of us has for dealing with the laws of life, our Saturn or limitations. The Hindu word for Jupiter is Guru and this planet indicates our particular Dharma, the way we can solve the problems that confront us.

Thus Jupiter has to do with our vocation, the way in which we can be successful. Jupiter is the light or path.

SATURN

The giver of laws or rules. The prince of time and the material world. Satan. Laws. Sometimes obstacles, authority

Esoteric Interpretation:

Saturn rules the laws and limitations of this material world we all live in. Saturn indicates where we are bound to learn, the narrowness that makes our way felt -- the walls that make homes possible. Saturn holds us together as much as apart.

Saturn is said to be the great teacher, the planet that keeps us from getting carried away in one direction or another. It will always seek to limit and determine any thought, word or action. Saturn or Satan is called the prince of the material world.

URANUS

Insight, invention, breakthrough. Good uses for Saturn. "To see eternity in a grain of sand."

Esoteric Interpretation:

Uranus is the planet of discovery, invention and breakthroughs of all kinds. It is the way we discover or come to know and understand ourselves. It has to do with finding new uses for old things, and it rules inventions and sudden insights into our life.

Uranus has to do with everything that is unusual, eccentric, and out-of-the-ordinary. It is the reverse of the status-quo and is always unconventional and heretical. Uranus is, in many ways, the opposite or un-doing of Saturn. Novelties. Discovery.

NEPTUNE

Cherish, solve, compassion. "The dewdrop slips into the shining sea". Unity, solution, one.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Neptune is the planet of universal love and union. "The dewdrop slips into the shining sea." Everything transcendent, otherworldly and unity-oriented comes under this planet. Neptune rules the sea, dissolution, non-separateness, and all communion.

Neptune, in its negative form, can contribute to a lack of clarity and foggy-minded-ness in general. Things slip or dissolve. Neptune rules movies, film, and all things having to do with ideals and image, thus imagination, dreams, mysticism, etc.

PLUTO

Transformation. Sensitivity to the impermanence of life. Intimations of mortality.

Esoteric Interpretation:

Pluto is the planet of deep inner change and transformation -- inner alchemy. Identification and experiencing that life is our own creation and that, in fact, you are I and I am you is what Pluto is all about. This experience breaks us down and humbles.

When we touch upon a Pluto experience, we cannot but die to what we have been thinking and doing up to now. It reduces us to our most sensitive because -- in a flash -- we see or remember that it all is us, our life. Extreme sensitivity and rebirth.

North Lunar Node

The Lunar Node (representing the intersection of the solar and lunar orbits) is the living thread that weaves together the energies of the Sun and Moon -- the key to the Lights. The solar and lunar energies and their combination represents perhaps the single most important factor in an astrological chart. The lunar node represents the essence of that solunar relationship.

The north node shows where and how (by house and sign) an individual will achieve the best interworking of the Sun and Moon energies. It is here that we can concentrate our energies to best achieve the maximum effect for the entire chart.

Therefore, the lunar node is often used as a vocational indicator of great potency. Any effort made in this direction will always be well paid. In a sense, the node can be viewed as the Key to unlocking the vital energies of the natal chart.

The North Lunar Node is also called the Dragon's Head and the (opposite) South Lunar Node is known as the Dragon's Tail. Eclipses are some of the most important known astrological events. The position of the nodes determine whether a particular New or Full Moon is also going to an eclipse, again showing the importance of the node.