The Meaning of the Planets in Astrology

The meaning of the Sun, Moon, and planets, the four cardinal points, the aspects between them, and the fixed stars are the fundamentals of astrology.

Other points worth investigating include the pre-natal moon phases, the lunar nodes, Chiron, Lilith, minor planets and asteroids, and calculated points such as the Part of Fortune and Vertex Point.

Please stop using Signs and Houses, and the rules that accompany them. They are inaccurate and misleading and have significantly damaged the reputation of astrology and astrologers.

The horoscope was invented around the 7th century BC as a convenient celestial measuring device. It’s degrees and signs that recorded astronomical data, not astrological activity.

Observation of the effects of the planets for astrological purposes continued to be related to the visible constellations. [Heavenly Imprints, Deborah Houlding

The meaning of the Signs was taken from the Constellations, but they are a very rough fit. Constellation Virgo is 46 degrees long, while the constellation Cancer is only 4 degrees long across the ecliptic. Plus, the Constellations have moved nearly 30° out of alignment with the Signs because of the precession of the equinoxes.

The following list of planet meanings in astrology is a work in progress. Please use the comments section to suggest additions.

The Luminaries

The Sun and Moon are the luminaries or lights. They are more significant than the planets and are linked to the conscious, Yang (represented by the Sun), and the subconscious, Yin (represented by the Moon). Along with the Ascendant, they form the basic personality or the core of the horoscope.

The Sun and Moon

The Sun

The Sun is the life-giving force and is your dominant character, ego, the will to live, sense of purpose, self-expression, personal power, pride, authority, self-esteem, self-respect, leadership qualities, the father, men, yellow, and the metal gold. The Sun is hot, bright, active and assertive.
In medical astrology, the Sun rules general health, the pituitary gland, the heart, the spine, and vitality. The Sun, new moons, and solar eclipses can cause heart and spinal complaints.
In mundane astrology, the Sun rules administrators and rulers (president or Prime Minister, monarch), aristocracy, magistrates, judges and all persons in authority and of distinction, cabinet ministers, senators, and the like. Military commanders, imperialism, public morals, power and prestige, commands and commanders, empires, glory in battle. It also represents fame, famous persons, public heroes and national champions.

The Moon

The Moon represents your receptive nature, emotions, memories, unconscious habits, moods, reactions, nurturing, maternal instincts, rhythms, home, need for security, the past, the mother, women, white, and the metal silver. It is soft, submissive, tender and shy.
In medical astrology, the Moon rules the hypothalamus, stomach, digestive system, body fluids, female organs, and the lymphatic system. The Moon, full moons, and lunar eclipses can cause menstruation problems and fluid retention.
In mundane astrology, the Moon rules the common people, women generally, crowds and mobs, and all matters of a common or public nature. Boats and ships, food and restaurants, child labor and employment in relation to children, birth control, the environment, family law, families in general, farms and farming, hotels, longshoremen, real estate, seaports, water in general. The position of the Moon in a mundane chart will show where the public’s attention falls.

The Traditional Planets

The five traditional or visible planets are grouped into personal planets: Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The Sun and Moon can also be called personal planets. Jupiter and Saturn are social or transpersonal planets.

The Traditional Planets

Mercury

Mercury rules communication, speech, hearing, writing, thinking patterns, rationality, wit, reasoning, primary and secondary education, neighborhood, siblings, cousins, short-distance transport, commerce, trade, news, messages, information, brown, and the metal Mercury. It is fast, lively, clever, adaptable, variable, unemotional and curious.
In medical astrology, Mercury rules the brain, the central nervous system, the lungs, the body’s tubes, the five senses, and the hands. Mercury can cause nervous, speech, or respiratory disorders.
In mundane astrology, Mercury rules the literary world, the media, writers and writing, newspapers, journalists and journalism, publishers, publications, ambassadors, trade and commerce, and the intellectual world. The nation’s communication and telecoms industry. Transport infrastructure and local transport issues. Public education, women officials, public illnesses, secretaries and the Secretary of State, young people, tremors and earthquakes.

Venus

Venus rules love, self-love and how you value yourself, money, harmony, beauty, refinement, affection, equality, the desire for pleasure, comfort, ease, romance, marriage, business partnerships, sex, children, cosmetics, decorating, the arts, fashion, social life, green and the metal copper.
In medical astrology, Venus rules the thymus gland, testes and ovaries, fertility, hormones in general, the throat, kidneys, and sense of touch. Venus can cause urinary disease and sugar imbalance.
In mundane astrology, Venus rules women’s issues, national birth rate, and social factors connected to marriage and children. Entertainers, artists, actors, musicians and the arts. Facilities for sport and entertainment. Peace and diplomatic resolutions. The national aesthetic, feminism, insurance brokers, pacifists, recreation, sociology and sociologists, and celebrations.

Mars

Mars represents energy (particularly goal-directed energy), strength, confidence, self-assertion, passion, sexuality, charisma, ambition, anger, aggression, and impulsiveness. It rules sports, competitions, physical activities, martial arts, war, weapons, soldiers, police, metal workers, the color red, and the metal iron.
In medical astrology, Mars rules the adrenal glands, iron in the blood, muscles, gall bladder, bile, head, and senses of smell and taste. Mars can cause injuries, cuts, blows, bruises, burns, inflammation, fever, and acute diseases.
In mundane astrology, Mars rules the military, soldiers and noted military and naval men. War, terrorist attacks, industrial disputes, strikes and conflicts. Opposition forces. Fire, fire services, arson and incendiarism. The national defense, violence and crimes of violence, molestation, accidents, aggressors, boldness, battles, discord, hawkish people, males in general, iron and things made of iron, glory in battle and battles in general, crime and criminals, national ambition, the steel industry.

Jupiter

Jupiter rules growth, expansion, prosperity, luck, long-distance and foreign travel, big business, wealth, teaching, higher education, beliefs, philosophy, religion, the church, devotion, prayer, priests, law, judges, the urge for freedom and exploration, gambling, merrymaking, orange and the metal tin.
In medical astrology, Jupiter rules the thyroid gland, liver, pancreas (traditional), thighs, feet, growth, and cancer (traditional). Jupiter can cause liver disorders and obesity.
In mundane astrology, Jupiter rules the religious and judicial world; the national or state religion, priests, and divines. The justice system and prominent judges, barristers. National inquests. The nation’s wealth, banks and bankers. Religious leaders, philosophers, academics, philosophic and academic institutions, managers, ambassadors, capitalists, barons and baronesses, the gentry, dignitaries, missionaries, senators, publishers, national generosity, philanthropists.

Saturn

Saturn represents duty, discipline, responsibility, career, loyalty, dedication, honor, restrictions, limitations, delay, boundaries, patience, wisdom, endurance, practicality, reality, tradition, time, authority, order, systems, structures, hierarchy, stability, lessons, tests, karma, consequences, punishment, pessimism, hardships, fatalism, grey and the metal lead. It is slow, cold and dry.
In medical astrology, Saturn rules the parathyroid glands, skin, hair, teeth, bones, the body’s defenses, and the spleen. Saturn can cause restriction of vessels and nerves, lethargy, narcolepsy, and chronic diseases, and can slow the growth of cancer.
In mundane astrology, Saturn rules elderly people and the national death rate. Life-threatening epidemics. Landowners, farmers, mines, coal and industries connected to metals and minerals. State funerals, public sorrow and disappointment. Wealth and its accumulation (with miserliness), suspicion, slavery and slaves, the police (or Mars?), obstructions and obstructionism, the penal system, mortgages, national fears, disasters, ambition (calculated), bankruptcy, austerity, public buildings, conservatives and conservative movements.

The Modern Planets

The modern or outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) cannot be seen without the technology developed over the last 250 years. These spiritual planets are generational, impersonal, nonmaterial and intangible. They rule mass consciousness, the collective, societies, cultures, processes and cycles.

Uranus and Neptune

Uranus

Uranus rules sudden and unexpected change, heightened awareness, excitement, individuality, freedom, originality, ingenuity, genius, psychic awareness, flashes of insight, discoveries, invention, explosions, electricity, astrology, the color blue, and the metal zinc. It’s unique, unorthodox, and futuristic, but also crazy, unreliable, eccentric, impulsive, erratic, and unsettling.
In medical astrology, Uranus is associated with the amygdala, neural activity, and aura. Uranus is related to ADHD, Asperger’s, and similar syndromes. Uranus can cause spasms, seizures, accidents, nervous disorders, sudden illnesses, and electrocution.
In mundane astrology, Uranus rules rioting and outbreaks of political tension. Right-wing political ideas, free-market enterprise, fascism, and the urge towards individualism. It rules separation, scientific breakthroughs and discoveries, explosions, bombings, anarchy and nihilism, technology and the technology sector, air travel and air vehicles, ordnances, anarchists, accidents, pioneers and explorers, electricity in all its manifestations, engineers, estrangements, the national genius and geniuses in general, independence, humanitarians, upsets and overturnings, and violations.

Neptune

Neptune rules spirituality, religion, the collective consciousness, peace, idealism, universal truths, dreams, empathy, sensitivity, sentimentality, intuition, compassion, universal love, sacrifice, deception, delusion, dissolution, weakness, confusion, vagueness, uncertainty, intrigue, illusion, mysteries, scandal, self-undoing, escapism, fantasy, celebrity, entertainment, glamour, transsexuality, visions, the third eye, inspiration, premonitions, mysticism, divinity, transcendence, revelation, psychic ability, magic, enchantment, mirrors, film, the ocean, liquid, fog, mist, gasses, altered states of consciousness, medicine, poison, drugs, alcohol, addiction, hallucinations, hypnotism, paranormal, ghosts, telepathy, symbols, socialism, welfare, communism, entertainment, purple and the metal cobalt. Neptune is strange, elusive, insidious, subtle and intangible.
In medical astrology, Neptune rules the pineal gland, the endocrine system, psychic healing, infections, sedatives and anesthetics. Neptune can cause weakness and disease in general, and especially contagious infections, addictions, poisoning, hypochondria, sensitivity, immune diseases, chronic illness, misdiagnosis and hard-to-diagnose disease.
In mundane astrology, Neptune rules socialism, communism, and left-wing political ideas (its urge is towards collectivism), mobs and mob psychology, secret plots, sedition, fraud and swindling, all illicit undertakings, bogus companies, loss, and vice. The navy and sailors, the national obsession, oil, scandals, chemists, covert operatives, disappearances, democracy, fantasy and escapes, exports, hydroelectric power, drugs in general, instability, prisons, secret societies and agents, higher spiritual powers, psychics, treachery, surveillance (covert) and invasion of privacy.

Pluto

Pluto represents transformation and regeneration, destruction and renewal, death and rebirth, power, intensity, crisis, transcendence, obsessions, compulsions, absolutes, the masses, mass movements, evolution, genetic memory, race, personal mastery, wealth, big business, global organizations, oligarchs, dictators, surgery, psychoanalysis, detective work, taboos, the underworld, mines, caves, nuclear energy and weapons, slavery, murder and genocide, black and the metal bismuth. It is extreme and ruthless, exposing the dark, hidden, and sinister.
In medical astrology, Pluto rules the pancreas (modern), metabolism, elimination, cell death, comas, cancer (modern) and genetics. Pluto can cause compulsions, genetic disorders, and amputations.
In mundane astrology, Pluto rules the principle of metamorphosis and regeneration. Various modern authors include the following in their mundane signification: Waste and excrement, sewers. All aspects of life that are carried on in the dark or hidden from public view – political undergrounds, espionage and the intelligence community, organized crime, gangs and gang leaders. Great wealth and power. Violence, rape. All activities that are transformative (like death and rebirth) or that bring hidden information to light (such as detective work). National planning for the public good, atomic energy in all its forms, abductions, atrocities, assassinations, the public subconscious, corruption, demolition, epidemics, insurance and insurance agents, lawlessness, massacres, the sex industry, revolutionary upheavals, terrorist activities, volcanoes, global wars.

The Cardinal Points

The Ascendant (AC) or 1st house cusp is the physical manifestation of your soul. It rules your physical appearance, overall health, how you present yourself to the world, and how others first see you. But it can also be a shield or a mask that guards your authentic nature. The Ascendant ranks in importance with the Sun and Moon. Along with the Descendant, it makes up the relationship axis.
In mundane astrology, the AC rules the country and its inhabitants as a whole; its general condition of prosperity and health or the reverse, general public, the public mood, the body politic, the partners and associates of public enemies, public health, internal affairs, national traits and habits, the target group, company morale, and the personnel of organizations (including stockholders).

The Imun Coeli (IC), Nadir, or 4th house cusp represents your roots, history, home, family, one parent (usually the mother), and ancestors.
In mundane astrology, the IC rules land, its owners, and its workers. Agriculture: The crops and produce of the land. Mines, buildings. The people, as contrasted with the monarch, the democracy, as contrasted with the aristocracy, and the opposition in Parliament. Cities, agriculture, anarchists and people opposed to authority, domestic affairs, infrastructure, public housing, land and land disputes, outcomes, patriotism and nationalism, weather, and base of operations. A planet close to the cusp of this house may influence the weather according to its nature. A malefic in this house may afflict the government through its opposition to the 10th House.

The Descendant (DC) or 7th house cusp represents your one-to-one relationships. It is your partner, your intimate, your professional, and your business enemies. It can also define your inner partner or what you most want in a partner.
In mundane astrology, the DC rules foreign affairs, relations with other countries (friendly or hostile, political or commercial). National marriage/divorce rate. International (including foreign trade) agreements, alliances, aggressors against the state, public enemies, public support of foreign policies, international disputes and relations, sentencing to penal systems, lawsuits and legal affairs, and the general status of women in a nation.

The Midheaven (MC) or 10th house cusp rules your career or calling, ambitions, what you are motivated to achieve, reputation, authority, recognition, social status, public profile, traditional breadwinner, father (sometimes a mother or single parent).
In mundane astrology, the MC rules the monarch or president, the executive branch of government, and people in authority. Royalty, aristocracy, eminent and famous persons, national celebrities. National trade. The national reputation, credit, and power. Public employment rate, national credit, national reputation, politics, chief executives, bosses, affairs of the nation, public appearances, national trade (income from foreign governments), and national integrity.

The Lunar Nodes

The lunar nodes represent karma, family relationships, genetic links, karmic relationships, and previous incarnations.

The North Node represents your karmic objectives, soul growth, evolution, the future, and lessons you came here to learn.
In mundane astrology, the North Node rules diplomatic moves, manipulations and deceit. It also governs wine-making and intoxicants. It concerns poison dealers, drug pushers, wine merchants, salesmen, panic, conmen, cheats, pleasure seekers, and insincere and immoral acts.

The South Node represents the challenges and gifts from previous lifetimes, innate unconscious tendencies, karmic patterns that are generally separative and destructive, and past-life hangovers.
In mundane astrology, the South Node rules natural calamities, violent actions or events, fears and accidents. It also rules the poor and isolated. It gives rise to spiritual/religious services and institutions.

Asteroids, Chiron and Lilith

Asteroids can be very informative, and you can find plenty of information about asteroids and minor planet meanings in astrology online. Ceres (now classed as a minor planet), along with Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, are the four main asteroid goddesses. Asteroid Hygeia is useful in medical astrology. Use the links at the end of this page to learn more about asteroids in your chart.

Chiron represents wounding and healing. It is the deepest wound in your soul and your ability to heal yourself and others through traditional medicine and other alternative healing methods. In Greek mythology, Chiron was the wisest of the Centaurs, depicted as Centaurus Constellation. He taught astrology and herbal medicine and was known for his wisdom and proficiency in botany, music, astronomy, divination, and medicine. In Christian Astrology, Chiron represents Christ.

Lilith, technically known as Black Moon Lilith, is a powerful feminine energy. Mythologically, Lilith was a strong, independent woman. She sought equality but not control, and rebelled against subservience. The patriarchy labeled her a demon, but in reality, she is a priestess and counterpart to Chiron. In Christian Astrology, Lilith is often associated with Mary Magdalene. She represents feminine wounding and healing, primal and instinctual feminine energy, marginalization, and your shadow side or subconscious personality and darker desires you keep hidden to avoid criticism and rejection.
Lilith rules forbidden fruit, seduction, kundalini, tantric sex, prostitution, pornography, nudist colonies, disobedience, non-conformism, persecution, disempowerment, bullying, alienation, banishment, exile, menstruation, gender issues and LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, the other woman, triangular relationships, shadows, cross-roads, abandoned buildings, bats, suppressed anger, untapped power and the acceptance of pain, sacrifice, grief and suffering. Ignoring Lilith can be unhealthy and destructive. Acknowledging her can bring liberation, healing, and spiritual growth. Exploring and unleashing your Lilith often requires periods of isolation.

Other Points

The Part of Fortune is the happiness of your soul, good fortune, and material success.

The Vertex Point represents destiny encounters and mystical experiences. The Vertex axis is a ‘doorway’ that gives access to other realities. It can open to many different worlds. It can describe that which delights, which gives a touch of magic to life, but can bring terror and horror. The Vertex axis tends to intensify anything with which it has contact. Visit Alice Partman for more information.