Characteristics of the planets

The 3 Basic Groups Used in Astrology

The Planets are the energy sources with specific meanings and rule over certain things and events in the physical world.
The Signs are the personality and strength of the planets. Each planet is in a sign.
The Houses are the divisions of the time and space of a chart. Each house will govern over a certain area of life.

Today we’ll look at the Planets The planets are the cosmic energy force in a chart. The nine planets (seven planets and the lunar nodes: Rahu and Ketu) have specific meanings and significations. Each planet rules a different arena of life experience. The planetary rays manifest in various ways. They are the key indicators of people and of different attributes or qualities we have. Understanding the true significations of the planets in our lives brings a higher consciousness, releasing us from their grasp or hold on us. See where the planets are placed in your chart on the align27 app

Sun

The Sun is the life force of our planet. It is the soul and spirit of a chart. However it can be an overpowering influence. If it is too close to other planets it can burn up their capability to function properly.

The Sun works best in the tenth house where it gives a sense of power and career opportunity. In other houses its forceful presence can be excessive and cause problems. For example, in the seventh house it can indicate a dominating partner and cause marital discord. In the fifth house it can limit children, although having a male child may dominate. It can burn the head in the first house causing baldness. The Sun in the third can give courage but trouble with siblings. The Sun in the sixth house will give the capacity to win over any adversaries.

It is the indicator for the father, and rules, physical body, ego, self-confidence, males, life force, energy, giving out energy, boss, and leader. The Sun has the ability to burn up or outshine other planets, this phenomenon is called combustion. Because Mercury is always close to the Sun it is not combust. It is a powerful force and can sometimes represent too much energy and causes problems in certain houses it occupies.

Keywords: Self, masculine, day, future, soul, physical body and health, heart, life force, courage, pride, ego, vitality, will power, stamina, sense of self, power, fame, glory, inspiration, creativity, leadership, Father, teachers, authority, law and order, bosses, political leaders, kings or presidents.

Moon

Moon is the indicator for the mother, and rules, the mind and intelligence, emotions, females, receiving energy, refection, public or masses, and the past.

The Moon is the reflective influence. The Sun sends out its radiance and the Moon reflects it back. It is receptive, and therefore represents the reflective mind giving consciousness.

The Moon is the nurturing, protecting influence that a mother provides. It is the Yin or female influence while the Sun is Yang or male. In a chart, the Moon likes the support of other planets and does better when surrounded by other planets. The exception to this is the Sun and Saturn. If the Moon is too close to the Sun, the Moon is dark, and the perception can be darkened. If the Moon is too close to Saturn there could be sadness.

Also, when Mercury is too close to the Moon, the mind can be overly active. However the Moon with Jupiter brings happiness and spiritual knowledge, and Jupiter/Moon contacts are the best.

Both the Moon and the Sun are troubled when near the Nodes of the Moon (Rahu/Ketu) as the lunar nodes cause eclipses. The shadow cast on them brings out fears and obsessions. Rahu with the Moon can cause obsessive, addictive behavior. Ketu with the Moon can cause fear, or an odd mother. Ketu with the Sun gives insecurities.

Keywords: The mind, reflection, feminine, night, emotions, sensitivity, nurturing, security, past, past-lives, patterns of behavior, receptivity, caring for others, heredity, Mother, the public or masses, popularity, inner contentment, home, water, habits, subconscious mind.

Mercury

Generally Mercury has to do with all forms of communication: speech, writing, and publications. It is the indicator of young people and intelligence, as in the thinking process of the mind, wit and sense of humor, youth, learning, education, talking and any form of communication, sales, and travels.

Mercury’s attributes include dexterity and creative ability with the hands. Mercury is fast and relates to short quick travels. He rules youthfulness and agelessness and is the perpetual Peter Pan, androgynous like a child before puberty.

The planet Mercury is very impressionable and will take on the qualities of planets aspecting (near) it. Mercury with Saturn will give a serious, disciplined mind, while Mercury with Jupiter will give an optimistic, expansive outlook. Mercury with Ketu can give profound perception but with Rahu can cause obsessive thoughts.

The Moon is not friendly to Mercury and can produce an overactive mind. As the Moon rules memory, Mercury with the Moon can give a great memory, but one that dwells on the past. The difference in Mercury from the Moon is; Mercury is how we use our mind and talents while the Moon is our mind.

Keywords: Communications, speech, writing, commerce, sales, education, ideas, thoughts, school, analytical mind, rational mind, cognitive intelligence, sense of humor, youth, trickster, truth, telephones, television, computers, short distance travel, adaptability, childhood, aunts and uncles, neighbors, twins.

Venus

Venus is the indicator of the wife in a male’s chart, and rules female energy, relationships, the power of attraction in love, creativity and arts of all kinds, luxuries, beauty, grace and charm.

Venus is the principle of attraction and therefore rules relationships. Relationships result in procreation and Venus is creative energy and passion. This not only relates to children but to all forms of the creative arts.

It rules the senses and the pleasures of the physical body, which also include taste, music, touch, luxuries and aesthetic beauty.

Venus refers to a person’s wealth and to their comforts in life. Jupiter brings wealth but Venus as a wealth-producing planet brings opulent wealth. It is the planet that rules peace and balance.

Venus is physical attraction, so if it is with Mars it creates a strong sexual attraction. Venus with Rahu can magnify creativity and attraction, but with Ketu it will be more of an ascetic. Venus with Saturn gives a non-supportive relationship. Venus and Jupiter are arch enemies as they are the leaders of opposing planetary camps. If they share a house together there will be contradictions due to their opposing forces.

Keywords: The feminine spirit, beauty, grace, charm, refinement, luxuries, wealth, sensuality, vanity, charisma, glamour, good taste, sexual attraction, elegance, comforts, conveyances, arts, music, theater, love, affections, pleasure of the senses, sugar, flowers, the wife in a male’s chart.

Mars

Mars is the indicator for all siblings, but since it rules male energy it may indicate a brother over a sister. It rules energy, courage, competition, and ambition. As the planet of war and anger it can stir up arguments and passion. A strong Mars is essential for success in business.

Mars is the commander in chief. He is the planet of war. Mars rules the blood and the circulation of life force in the body. Mars’ nature is fiery and if provoked, he will fight.

Mars deals with issues of anger but is also the planet of ambition and zest for life. It brings out suppressed energies or inner turmoil. Mars is very impulsive, aggressive and impatient; it represents accidents, surgery, wars, and volcanic eruptions, with courage and fearlessness as its positive side.

Mars is the indicator for brothers. Saturn near Mars is a very stressful combination, as Mars is action and Saturn restriction, so frustration is created in the house they are placed. Mars with the Sun is very courageous and competitive. Mars with the Moon gives business success. Mars with Mercury will give power in debate, and thus skill as a lawyer.

Keywords: Energy, action, passions, fire, blood, sexual vitality, male influence, muscles, athletics, courage, strength, determination, motivation, self-righteousness, selfishness, anger, violence, aggression, injury, accidents, enemies, war, can inflict death, conflict, military, police, criminals, science, machines, weapons, guns, knives, property and real-estate, brothers.

Jupiter

Jupiter is the indicator for the husband in a female’s chart and it is an indicator of children. It rules wisdom, teachers, grace and long distance travels. Jupiter expands and can indicate growth, but sometimes excess. Jupiter brings opportunities, wealth and freedom. It is the planet of optimism and fun.

Jupiter is the preceptor and teacher of the gods. He was to teach the path of righteousness and spiritual wisdom and represents God’s grace. Jupiter is expansion and growth. Whatever Jupiter aspects will grow large. This can indicate overweight conditions or a tall stature. Even an expanded organ such as the liver can cause health difficulties.

Jupiter deals with the external rituals associated with religion. It is also about judgment and laws pertaining to legal advice and it rules lawyers. Mercury is about lower education, whereas Jupiter is about higher education such as college. Mercury indicates short quick travels, while Jupiter rules long distant travels like overseas trips.

Jupiter always brings opportunity for growth and abundance. It is the indicator of wealth, happiness and good luck. Rahu can destroy the spiritual integrity of Jupiter, but when Jupiter is with Ketu profound spiritual lessons will be realized. Jupiter with Mars brings spiritual teachings and a zeal for life. Jupiter with the Sun (when they are not too close to one another) gives optimism and happiness. Jupiter is always prominent in death, for death is the release of physical bondage.

Keywords: Spiritual teacher, guide, truth, faith, religion, philosophy, spirituality, grace, law, the great benefic (favourable influence), fortune, wealth, expansion, higher education like colleges, optimism, generosity, joy, luck, self-indulgence, excess, money, long distance travel, children, the husband in a female’s chart.

Saturn

Saturn is the indicator of the elderly and death. It rules old and historical things. Saturn will cause delays, setbacks but can indicate longevity. Saturn causes contraction while Jupiter is expansion. It rules structure, discipline, responsibility and endurance. Saturn is the great teacher through the wisdom of experience. The lessons learned are life lessons which are usually through hard work and hard knock of life.

Saturn is the furthest planet visible to the naked eye. It is therefore the slowest and darkest from our perception (outer planets excluded here) and perceived as giving darkness, delaying or slowing things down.

Saturn rules old age. It is the final boundary, suggesting death and doom. As one becomes disillusioned with life, there is misery and frustration. It is the function of Saturn to strip away everything of this existence to rid one of all desires and attachments. This eventually leads to higher consciousness and final liberation from the karmic chains of the world. Saturn’s primary function is to lead the soul back to its source, to God.

Characteristics of Saturn are delays, depression, restrictions, set backs, destruction, disease and death. But Saturn also exhibits discipline, stability, and gives long lasting results.

Restrictive Saturn with expansive Jupiter will bring frustration, for Jupiter will expand and give whereas Saturn will contract and take things away. These planets are opposite in their meaning and the result is confusion and frustration. Saturn with the Sun will inhibit and lower a person’s self-confidence.

Keywords: Discipline, order, structure, dependability, stability, concentration, endurance, longevity, separation, solitude, limitation, bondage, obstruction, delay, poverty, death, disease, oppression, pessimism, worry, doubt, fear, phobias, bad luck, old age, depression, stunted development, deprivation, bones, skin, degenerative diseases, arthritis, fixed assets, land, property, darkness, sorrow, detachment, decay.

Rahu

Rahu rules our intense desires that bring us into this life. It can rule addictions for it gives but with a price. It rules the extremes of life and problems, consequences and attachments to the materialistic world. It rules obsessions and compulsions. Rahu is the future while Ketu is the past.

Rahu has the nature of a serpent. It poisons you to the illusions of this world. It is our desires that keep us incarnating here. Under Rahu, things happen. Rahu gives: but with a price.

When our most intense desires are granted under Rahu we discover that too much of a good thing ends up causing our most intense suffering. We may for example gain fame and fortune, only to realize we have no freedom, or place to go without being mauled by fans. Family and friends disown us out of jealousy. The fame and fortune we desired only brought us separation and sorrow.

Ultimately the disillusionment leads to the enlightenment of Ketu, who detaches and renounces the world for spiritual enlightenment. The nodes are the most powerful of all the planets for they cause the eclipses of the luminaries, the Sun and Moon.

The nodes block out the light or consciousness. Rahu is the material world and all the desires it creates. It gives material things which will never bring lasting happiness. This is the illusion of Rahu. When these things start to fall away, we become obsessed with trying to hold on to them.

Rahu deals with fear, obsessive and compulsive behavior. It is about addictions, poisons, alcohol, and drugs. Any planet with Rahu will be magnified greatly in the chart as Rahu will take on the quality of the planet it is next to (in the same sign). This can be good or bad depending on the planet. Rahu with Venus or Jupiter can bring wealth, but Rahu with Saturn can cause suffering to the house they are in.

Keywords: Fame, status, prestige, power, worldly success, fulfillment of worldly desires, outer success with inner turmoil, extremes, obsessive behavior, addictions, psychic disturbances, collective trends, foreigners and foreign lands, epidemics, disease, poisons that destroy and heal, medicine, drugs and alcohol.

Ketu

Ketu is the indicator for the outcast in society, and is the spiritual side of life ruling over other worldliness. It is also the indicator of loss and indicates death. Rahu is what takes us into this material world through our desires and Ketu takes us out of this world. The house that Ketu occupies indicates where there is a sense of something always missing as a feeling of an emptiness or void. Trying to fill the empty void may become an obsession and a focus throughout life.

Ketu’s function is to cause inner turmoil so that the soul will seek the true essence of the individual. Where as Rahu is the material world, Ketu is the spiritual world. It is the headless serpent, implying the perception and wisdom that is a gut level knowing and that can give psychic or clairvoyant abilities.

But, Ketu can give a feeling of helplessness, self-doubt and lack of confidence. Through humiliating experiences one becomes humble. Ketu is a wanderer without roots. It is a fiery force that can cause accidents and injury. Above all, it is the indicator of loss that directs our attention back to the eternal reality, the self-realization of our essence with God.

Rahu works on the outer material world and Ketu works on the inner spiritual world. Ketu with a planet will have a spiritualizing effect on it, directing the planetary energy to look within its essence. If Ketu is with Mars, the person will actively seek the spiritual side of life, Martian qualities will be withdrawn, anger suppressed and channeled inwardly.

Ketu with the Moon can give psychic abilities. Like Rahu, Ketu can cause mental instabilities, mass hysteria, diseases and plagues, and represent poisons like drugs and alcohol. However both Rahu and Ketu can also be drugs or poisons that heal.

Keywords: Loss, negation, lack of confidence, self doubt, fantasies, confusion, indecision, illusions, drug addiction and alcoholism, psychic influences, fire, injury, death, spiritual insight, liberation, perception, wisdom.

See where the planets are placed in your chart on the align27app