Astrology 101: The Planets & Their Symbols
If you’re new to astrology, it can often seem overwhelming because there is SO much to learn and consider like the zodiac signs, planets, houses, aspects, etc. Looking at a natal chart can often look like a foreign language! As many more people start learning about Astrocartography or locational astrology, they quickly jump into their free astrocartography chart and then get overwhelmed when they see all the lines and symbols, so I figured I’d help decode this. I’m starting a series on the basics of astrology, called Astrology 101, and to kick things off, we’ll start with the planets since their symbols are the first things you’ll need to understand on an Astrocartography map.
Psst: if you want a no-fluff PDF quick reference guide to ALL the basics of Astrology, check out my Astro 101 guide here!
Most people are aware of their sun sign, however there are actually up to 10 signs that play a major role in your birth chart, so if you’ve struggled to identify with your sun sign description, keep reading!
The planets used in tropical astrology are based on the main planetary and luminary bodies in our solar system and represent different aspects of self. If you go back to elementary science, you’ll recall Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The luminaries are represented by the Sun and the Moon. In modern astrology, each planet and luminary are associated with a Zodiac sign, though traditional rulers stopped at Saturn and are noted below.
Summary of the planets, their symbols, what they represent, and the ruling Zodiac sign(s). The * signs represent the traditional rulership, however modern astrology has expanded its use of rulership for outer planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It’s important to note that the planets will not always be in its ruling sign in your birth chart.
The symbols shown in column 2 are what will be seen in an astrocartography map and can help decipher what each line represents.
The luminaries, the Sun and Moon, are the most prominent as they closely represent your outer and inner worlds. The Sun is a major part of your identity and in some ways makes your feel the most alive. If you think about it, it is the star that all the planets in our solar system revolve around, so it is the focal point! It can also be a sign of natural gifts and talents that you grow into through your life. So for example, I am a Gemini sun and I definitely have that curiosity and thirst for knowledge associated with Gemini. I can be a talker when I want, but I have always preferred written forms of communication.
The Moon represents your inner world, your emotions, and instinctual habits. It is often seen that people born in the evening identify more with their moon signs than their sun sign. I have a Scorpio moon - my emotions like to stay hidden and I tend to be a pretty private person, which is a stark contrast to my Gemini sun.
Moving onto the personal planets - Mercury, Venus, and Mars. These are considered personal planets because of their spheres of influence. They tend to be much more personality focused, whereas the remaining planets, Jupiter and Saturn, are considered Social Planets because they tend to influence how we relate to society, structure our lives within the broader community, and participate in collective experiences. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are considered Transpersonal or Outer planets since they move slower through signs and contribute toward similar beliefs in a generation.
In addition to the planets there are Angles in your chart that play a significant role as well. I touched on this briefly in my What is Astrocartography post but I’ll follow up with a separate post on this.
When looking at what each planet represents, it helps to reference mythology for deeper meanings. Most of the planets are named after Roman gods/goddesses, with the exception of Uranus, which is a Greek god. In any case, each civilization had their own version of the same deity. Below is a summary of the ties each planet has to the deities.
While these are just very brief summaries of the Gods/Goddesses, you could study each one at length to find deeper themes. Perhaps that’s something I’ll dive into another time, but for now, this information should help inform how to interpret the planetary lines seen on an Astrocartography map or in a natal chart.
Stay tuned for part 2 of the Astrology 101 series - the Zodiac Signs!
