Astrology Basics: the Planets
Because birth chart readings are expensive. Today we talk about the planets and some other things you may see in your chart.
You have survived some of the harder topics and concepts to tackle so now lets talk planets! I saved the planets for next to last as I feel they make the most sense with context of the sign they rule and the house themes of those signs. The planets in the houses are the energies you will constantly be working with. Consider it your baseline. Your birth chart is your STARTING point so never feel discouraged for any placements you have. It’s all there to help you learn and grow! Also don’t let anyone scare you about empty houses. There aren’t enough planetary bodies for all the houses! To keep things consistent I will only be using traditional rulership planets. I will be covering the outer body planets of modern ruleship in another post. Each planets core meaning will not change regardless of what sign it’s in within your chart. The sign it falls into in your chart is just how you naturally access or work with that energy. Yes even if it's in retrograde, domicile, detriment, exalted, or at fall. Retrograde planets get a lot of negative connotation so I’d like to just quickly say if you have planets retrograde in your chart you aren’t doomed. A lot of times it just means you may require more introspection regarding the themes of the planet. Mercury is very common to have retrograde in a chart as it is the planet that goes retrograde most often. Astrology is meant to work with us! I say it all the time but your birth chart is just your starting point and your home base. You can always learn and grow!
As always here is everything condensed in a nice little list!
Sun
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Leo
Detriment: Aquarius
Exalted: sign
Fall: sign
Signs Associated: Leo
Themes of Sign Houses: self expression, creativity, romance
Planet Rejoices in: 9th house (Sagittarius) due to themes of expanding your views and growing from the experiences you have.
Themes of Planets: Individuality
Working with it: this is your core self once you fully accept all the things that make you you! Without that radical acceptance cycles of losing yourself will repeat.
Moon
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Cancer
Detriment: Capricorn
Exalted: Taurus
Fall: Scorpio
Signs Associated: Cancer
Themes of Sign Houses: home, core dynamics, emotional awareness foundation
Planet Rejoices in: 3rd house (Gemini) communication with those closest to us in the most authentic form.
Themes of Planets: emotional foundations and sense of comfort
Working with it: the moon is the fastest moving body and so you have to be ready and willing to move shift and change to keep up and grow.
Mercury
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Gemini/Virgo
Detriment: Pisces
Exalted: Gemini/Virgo
Fall: Pisces
Signs Associated: Gemini/Virgo
Themes of Sign Houses: housetheme
Planet Rejoices in: 1st house aligning with self expression themes
Themes of Planets: communication, commerce/trade, adapting, connecting, growth
Working with it: Words
Mars
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Aries/Scorpio
Detriment: Libra/Taurus
Exalted: Capricorn
Fall: Cancer
Signs Associated: Aries/Scorpio
Themes of Sign Houses: self image and transformation
Planet Rejoices in: 6th House (Virgo) as it aligns with the perpetual action oriented energy of the planet.
Themes of Planets: energy, action, desire
Working with it: Impulse control is key. It’s important to note that doesn’t mean you are always doing things immediately. Impulse is our first nature taking over and in some cases that means waiting too long then trying to chase something that isn’t there anymore.
Venus
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Taurus/Libra
Detriment: Scorpio/Aries
Exalted: Pisces
Fall: Virgo
Signs Associated: Taurus/Libra
Themes of Sign Houses: value, self worth, partnerships, contracts, finances
Planet Rejoices in: 5th house (Leo) creativity/creation and matters of the heart which align with core planetary themes.
Themes of Planets: aesthetics, harmony, tangible and perceived comforts
Working with it: this is all about preferences and personal values. It's what influences we allow in. Finding balance from what you take in from the world to make yours is very important when working with Venus in a chart.
Jupiter
Dignities:
Domicile: Sagittarius/Pisces
Detriment: Gemini/Virgo
Exalted: Cancer
Fall: Capricorn
Signs Associated: Sagittarius/Pisces
Themes of Sign Houses: exploration of outside world, spirituality to varying degrees, transcendence
Planet Rejoices in: 11th House (Aquarius) aligns with themes of connection with others and concern for humanitarian topics
Themes of Planets: Expansion, growth, wisdom
Working with it: this planet is all about taking things as they come and rolling with it. I feel this is best explained by the fact that it exalts in Cancer and rejoices in the 11th house typically associated with Aquarius. You have to be ready for the constant change in energy like the moon that rules Cancer and you have to feel it first but not hold it to close to know what’s right for you and what to pass on like our Water bearer Aquarius.
Saturn
Planetary Dignities:
Domicile: Capricorn/Aquarius
Detriment: Cancer/Leo
Exalted: Libra
Fall: Aries
Signs Associated: Capricorn/Aquarius
Themes of Sign Houses: Legacy, public image, public connections.
Planet Rejoices in: 12th House it’s ties with self undoing align with the responsibility of actionable changes and accountability.
Themes of Planets: structures (enforcing and undoing), limitations and boundaries, stability
Working with it: This planet demands diligence and follow through but it has to be balanced. I feel it often gets too connected with harder aspects of Capricorn overworking and that narritve neglects to mention a big part of Capricorn life path lessons is learning to balance things.
I would like to also discuss some other things you may see noted in a natal chart. The lot of fortune and lot of spirit are the most commonly noted arabic lots. In simplest terms the lot of fortune is more like fated events or things out of our control. The lot of spirit is things we may gravitate towards that we can control. Chiron is some kind of deep wounding we come to know in this life and something it would greatly benefit us to heal from. This isn’t always a deeply traumatic event it’s just something that impacts us deeply. Lilith is often referred to as the shadow self but in my opinion its just something we have to learn to control of our own free will. Unlike with Saturn where the lessons will keep coming until we learn, Lilith is like a wound that keeps festering and never heals or goes away. We just learn to live and work with it but first we have to stop fighting it. Lastly we have the nodes of the moon. Usually only the north node is noted in a chart. The north node is considered to be our highest life calling or lesson to learn. This works better when you work with it in the axis (ie. Aries/Libra). We will discuss this more when reading a chart but I wanted you to have a basic understanding.
Thank you for reading!
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