List of Planets, Planet Meanings, and Planet Symbols in Astrology
Below is a list of the planets used in astrology, along with their meanings and symbols. You can use this list to help you understand planet meanings in your birth chart.
You will notice that the Sun and the Moon are included in this list. Even though they aren't planets, astrology places them in the “planets” group for convenience. They are considered planets for interpreting birth charts.
Each planet represents a different part of life, a different energy. In psychology terms, they are considered your “needs” or “drives”.
In astrology, the planets are divided into three categories: personal planets, social planets, and collective planets.
The personal planets are the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. They are called fast-moving planets because they travel through the entire zodiac quickly. The fastest is the Moon at 28 days. The slowest is Mars at 1 year, 220 days.
The social planets are Jupiter and Saturn. They are seen as a transition between the personal planets and the collective planets.
The collective planets are Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. They are called slow-moving planets because they travel slowly through the zodiac, taking 12 to 49 years.
Planet Name: Sun
Planet Symbol: ☉
Rules: Leo
Psychology: “I am”
Planet Meaning and Description: The Sun is the most important planet in your chart. It is your ego, your motivation, your interests, your basic likes and dislikes, your vitality, and how you express and identify yourself. The Sun is connected to the Masculine and your father.
Planet Name: Moon
Planet Symbol: ☽
Rules: Cancer
Psychology: “I feel”
Planet Meaning and Description: The Moon governs your emotional attachments. It represents your intuition, your instincts, your habits, your conscious mind, and what makes you feel comfortable and secure. It oversees how you express your emotions and share yourself with others, especially when you react without taking time to think things over first. The Moon is associated with your mother, your home and family, your childhood, and how you like to decorate your home.
The Moon governs the emotions you try to keep hidden, such as jealousy, anger and fear. It's also the sensual side of you that shows great joy and pleasure. Because the Moon rules things you tend to keep hidden, your Moon sign is usually only visible to those who are closest to you.
If you've ever wondered why some people need a lot of assurance while others are quite confident, look to their Moon sign.
Planet Name: Mercury
Planet Symbol: ☿
Rules: Gemini and Virgo
Psychology: “I think”
Planet Meanings and Description: Mercury is about your communication style, how you think, how you solve problems, how you learn, what you're curious about, and some of your general interests.
In your natal chart, Mercury is either the same as your Sign sign, or the sign immediately before or after your Sun sign.
If you were born when Mercury was retrograde, you are intuitive and introspective. You're a thinker, someone who tends to think things through before speaking.
If you were born when Mercury was stationary, you're very communicative and are constantly thinking.
Planet Name: Venus
Planet Symbol: ♀
Rules: Taurus and Libra
Psychology: “I love”
Planet Meanings and Description: Venus governs your romantic relationships, who you attract, how you attract them, your social skills, how affectionate you are, what you consider beautiful, what you want in a partner, and how you interact with others. It also oversees money – both spending and receiving (earning).
Venus is a planet of luck and good fortune, but not as much as Jupiter. It is always found in the same sign as your Sun, or the two signs directly before or after.
If you were born when Venus was retrograde, you're most comfortable around the people you know. Your finances might be limited when you're younger, but will increase as you age. The same rules apply to your love life as to your finances.
If you were born when Venus was stationary, you have a very active social life, finding love is very important, and you have the potential for financial success.
Planet Name: Mars
Planet Symbol: ♂
Rules: Aries
Psychology: “I act”
Planet Meanings and Description: Mars is about your motivation, your initiative, your aggression, your confidence, your inner drive, your physical strength and stamina, what you want to achieve, where you put your energy, and how much of a risk-taker you are. Mars is what gets you up and going every day. It is how you express your anger. It's also your sex drive, and what you desire for and give in a sexual relationship.
If Mars was retrograde when you were born, you direct your energy internally, and probably avoid confrontation.
If Mars was stationary when you were born, you're all about action. Going after what you want is your priority.
Planet Name: Jupiter
Planet Symbol: ♃
Rules: Sagittarius
Psychology: “I grow”
Planet Meanings and Description: Jupiter governs your ethics, your philosophy about life, where you're lucky, where you're abundant, where you're cautious, and where you want to learn and how you can benefit from that knowledge. Jupiter is a lucky charm that expands whatever it touches, thus showing what it is that you do on a large scale. It shows where you receive financial benefit and how generous you are with others.
Jupiter is about the search for truth, making it the perfect planet to govern law, religion, philosophy, and education.
If Jupiter was retrograde when you were born, you're quite philosophical, but tend to keep your beliefs to yourself.
If Jupiter was stationary when you were born, you have strong points of view and principles.
Planet Name: Saturn
Planet Symbol: ♄
Rules: Capricorn
Psychology: “I achieve”
Planet Meanings and Description: Saturn describes your ambition in life, your major life lessons, and your feelings of inadequacy. Saturn is about restrictions, limitations, boundaries, safety, and practicality. It's about hard work and getting what you deserve.
Saturn is the planet overseeing your career, business, and wealth. Even if its placement in your chart doesn't directly affect your career, it will still show what you want to be known for and what you want to achieve.
If Saturn was retrograde when you were born, you are responsible for your own success and failures.
If Saturn was stationary when you were born, you are more goal-oriented, disciplined, and determined to succeed.
Planet Name: Uranus
Planet Symbol: ♅
Rules: Aquarius
Psychology: “I evolve”
Planet Meanings and Description: Uranus governs where you seek freedom, where you're unconventional, where you stand out, what makes you rebel, where you do the unexpected, and where you'll find change.
Uranus is about sudden change, such as an unexpected opportunity appearing out of the blue. It also involves events that happen in an instant, such as accidents or love at first sight.
Uranus also involves intuition in the form of those times when you just know something or have an “aha” moment.
Planet Name: Neptune
Planet Symbol: ♆
Rules: Pisces
Psychology: “I dream”
Planet Meanings and Description: Neptune governs what inspires you and where you're easily deceived. It's about illusion, confusion, imagination, and creativity.
Neptune can be illusive and hard to tie down. It's the areas where you see what you thought was real isn't, and what you thought wasn't real is. It's like a blind spot where you don't see something until later, but you probably needed to see it from the very beginning.
Neptune governs addictions – drugs, alcohol, food, etc.
If Neptune was retrograde when you were born, you may have a tendency to escape from reality.
If Neptune was stationary when you were born, you may be quite artistic, but not very realistic.
Planet Name: Pluto
Planet Symbol: ♇
Rules: Scorpio
Psychology: “I empower”
Planet Meanings and Description: Pluto represents where you feel powerless, where you want to take charge and feel more powerful, and where you experience great change. It's about the big events in your life, and getting rid of the old to make way for the new.
If Pluto was retrograde when you were born, your inner beliefs may change over time.
If Pluto was direct when you were born, you have a lot of power that you can choose to use positively or negatively in your life.
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