Just as the Sun is the heart and the center
of our Solar System, in Astrology, the Sun symbolizes the
heart and the center of the birth chart. The Sun is the energy
that fuels the rest of the chart. The Sun represents our ego,
our will, our conscious nature, and our desire, our need to
express ourselves. The Sun is our power, our will, our strength
and our sense of purpose. Where the Sun is in the birth chart
is where we want to be a Hero. The Sun wants to be and to
create, and needs to be recognized and to express the self.
The Sun is masculine, and relates to fatherhood, and our attitudes
towards father figures. Even though we may not always appear
to embody our Sun sign, our Sun sign represents our motivation
to be who we are. The Sun rules the sign of Leo.
The Moon receives, collects, sustains and disperses
the energy of the Sun. The Moon represents our unconscious,
our emotions, our feelings. The Moon is the container for
experience, and it provides form and location for the Sun's
expression. The Moon is the ultimate symbol of the feminine
in all of its aspects. The Moon represents our memory, our
past, our heredity and our subconscious. The Moon is responsible
for our day to day actions that do not require conscious thought.
The Moon wants to feel inner support and nurturing, and to
be comforted. Where the Moon falls in the birth chart is where
past experiences are highlighted. The sign that the Moon is
in shows how our Soul wishes to be known. The Moon rules the
sign of Cancer.
Mercury was the Messenger of the Gods, renound
for his speed and dexterity. The planet Mercury has the same
function in Astrology. Mercury represents our intellectual
and communicative processes. Mercury governs how we think,
speak, write, perceive and learn. Mercury wants to express
perception and intelligence through skill. Mercury represents
transportation, movement, dexterity, thought, movement, language
and ambiguity (Mercury is the only truly androgynous planet
- it is neither Masculine nor Feminine). Mercury's sign placement
shows our style and motivation in communication and connection,
and where Mercury falls in the chart is where we will express
our thoughts and our intellect. Mercury rules the signs of
Gemini and
Virgo.
Venus, the Goddess of Love and Beauty rules
the force that brings and keeps things together through natural
affinity. Like attracts like, and we call this force love
or for the less romantically inclined, cohesion. Venus wants
to form relationships of harmony, beauty, love, balance, and
value. Venus also represents our ability to love, and how
we want to be loved. As far as Venus is concerned, the whole
is always greater than the sum of its parts. The sign that
Venus is placed in shows our motivation to form relationships,
and what we want from them. The house placement of Venus shows
where we will experience good relationships and strive to
express beauty. Venus rules the signs of Taurus
and Libra.
Mars was the Roman God of War, and the planet
Mars is the warrior in the horoscope. Mars represents our
ability to act based on our desires. Mars is our ability to
defend who we are in the face of pressures to change. Mars
is our will to survive. Where Venus emphasizes what things
have in common, Mars emphasizes individuality and differences.
Mars rules our instinctive survival emotions: fear, panic,
anger, and the "fight or flight" instinct. Mars
wants to act on its desires and to assert itself as an individual.
Mars needs to survive and to challenge. Mars' sign shows our
motivation to express our desires, and the house placement
shows were we will express ourselves because of our desires.
Mars rules the signs of Aries
and Scorpio.
Jupiter represents our needs and desires to
grow, to expand, and to feel a part of something larger than
ourselves. This need stems from the memory of the feeling
of wholeness that we experienced before birth, and the loss
of this connection when we took on human form. Jupiter seeks
to expand and to incorporate things and experiences into the
self. In this way, Jupiter relates to higher education, cross
cultural experiences, religion, spirituality and travel. Jupiter
needs faith, trust and confidence. The sign placement of Jupiter
reveals our motivation for growth, and the house placement
shows where we want to grow and become a part of society.
Jupiter rules the signs of Sagittarius
and Pisces.
Saturn represents limitations, restrictions,
contraction, authority and the illusion of structure. Saturn
represents the teacher, and is considered the "Lord of
Karma." Saturn also has got the second biggest PR problem
in the whole of Astrology. Most often, we think of the negative
experiences of Saturn, when we are told "No" and
when we are punished for breaking the rules. But Saturn also
provides the structure and limitations that help us to define
ourselves and our consensus of reality. Yes, Saturn restricts
growth; Saturn stops Jupiter from jumping too high. But Saturn
also provides the foundation that allows Jupiter to jump in
the first place. Saturn defines the world by exclusion; things
are defined meaningfully as much by what they are not as by
what they are. Where Saturn is placed in a chart is where
we need to work, where we must take responsibility, and where
we find what we need and fear the most. Saturn is Karma, the
laws of cause and effect. Saturn teaches us that we must work
for what we want, and also that we will get only and exactly
what we deserve. Saturn rules the signs of Capricorn
and Aquarius.
Chiron is a planetoid (sometimes called an asteroid,
sometimes thought of as a captured comet) discovered in 1977
which has a very elongated orbit that takes it between the
orbits of Saturn and Uranus. Chiron has become the symbol
for the bridge between the illusion of three-dimensional reality
that is represented by Saturn, and the infinite possibilities
represented by the outer planets. Chiron is the wounded healer.
Chiron shows where we will encounter and have the opportunity
to accept spirituality, and this often comes through our weakest
area, through our wound. Through our efforts to heal this
wound that seems unhealable, we encounter the unknown, and
discover how we can heal others. Chiron's urge is to heal
and to make the self whole, integrating the self to fulfill
the path of destiny. Chiron's need is to heal the self and
others, including the planet.
Uranus is the crack in the cosmic egg. Uranus
is the antidote of Saturn, making sure that there is never
too much order in the world. Uranus is unexpected, sudden
and completely disruptive, and can be either accidents or
miracles. The function of Uranus is to disrupt our view of
reality, to make a crack in the structure and limits of Saturn
and give us a glimpse of understanding that there is something
beyond the known and the visible. Uranus provides sudden flashes
of insight and creative genius as well as sudden disaster
and disruption. In order for us to be comfortable with the
energy of Uranus, we have to be comfortable with Saturn. Uranus
represents the first step in the process of spiritual awakening.
Uranus is the way our higher self wants to be known to us
in this lifetime. Uranus wants to change structure without
regard to individual experiences or emotions. Modern Astrologers
assign Uranus as the ruler of Aquarius.
Saturn represents the illusion that there is
a reality that is truth; Neptune represents the truth that
there is not. Neptune represents the infinite, the unseen
ocean of energy that fills the universe. Neptune is the antithesis
of Saturn, dissolving all forms and structures and transcending
all limitations. Neptune teaches us that we can't be attached
to the ego because it isn't real. Neptune represents spirituality,
mysticism, illusion, glamor, imagination and fantasy. Neptune
dissolves boundaries and structures and brings out the connection
of all things to the universe. Neptune is a difficult planet
to work with. On the one hand, Neptune can represent highly
artistic creativity, and a pure spiritual connection. On the
other hand, if we are not very comfortable with Saturn, for
example, Neptune can represent an escape from reality into
fantasy, and therefore is related to drug and alcohol abuse.
Neptune represents how our soul wants to be expressed. Neptune's
sign shows our motivation for expressing our soul in this
life, and Neptune's house shows where our soul can and will
be expressed. Modern Astrologers assign Neptune as a co-ruler
of Pisces.
Pluto was the God of the Underworld. The planet
Pluto is closely associated with the cycles of death and rebirth;
also with power and control. Pluto breaks down whatever is
old, worn out, and no longer useful, and recycles them, building
new entities from the component parts. Pluto governs the cycles
where we have to die in order to continue to grow. Pluto represents
absolute power and the feeling or illusion of control. Where
Pluto is in our chart is where we feel a need to control because
it is where we will never have control. Pluto's need is to
let go, to let something die, and to work to hasten the birth
of the new. Pluto's urge is to fulfill cosmic or soul purpose
and to change and evolve. Modern Astrologers assign Pluto
as co-ruler of either Aries
or Scorpio.
This may help to better understand the outer planets:
Saturn
represents our "normal reality." Uranus disrupts and interrupts normal reality. Neptune confuses ordinary reality by introducing
alternate realities. Pluto destroys normal reality and forces
us to deal with an alternate reality and build a new sense
of how it works. Chiron acts as a messenger for the energy of the
outer planets, timing their initiations and lessons, and
preparing us to receive their light.
The North and South Node of the Moon are
the points in the chart where the path of the Moon around
the Earth crosses the apparent path of the Sun around the
Earth. The Nodal Axis is the key to the spiritual purpose
of the chart. Traditional Astrology has been very vague as
to the function of the Nodes. The North Node is usually considered
a point of great fortune in the chart, and the South Node
is considered a point to stay away from at all costs. (The
South Node has the worst PR problem in all of Astrology, with
Saturn a close second.)
For a comprehensive and supportive look
at the moon's nodes, check out my book on the Nodes: The
Complete Node Book.
