The Planets

Rabbi Philip S. Berg describes the influence of the planets in Kabbalistic Astrology Made Easy:

"Since each planet has its own speed and orbit pattern, the influence manifested by the combination of the various magnetic fields is unique at any given point in time.  Human beings react to these magnetic fields; even a fetus in the womb receives signals from the planets and constellations...These magnetic signals are none other than the physical expressions of the inner energy-intelligence of heavenly bodies. The necessary spiritual dispositions and character traits of the child are revealed by the position and dynamic interaction of the heavenly bodies at the moment of birth."

The Sun

The Sun is the largest body in our Solar System and therefore defines the dominant traits of your personality according to the zodiac sign it falls in. Newspaper horoscopes focus on the Sun sign, but it is only one of ten planets that influence your astrology chart. The sun and moon are called planets in order to make conversations easier.

The Sun is your basic life force, vigor, and vitality. It defines why you get out of bed in the morning. The Sun drives you to express your heart’s desire in this life. While an Aquarius may want to revolutionize the ideals of the world, a Taurus may want to have a tangible and long-lasting impact upon the world. Aquarius opens you to innovative possibilities; Taurus wants to build a house make those ideas workable in the world.

The Sun represents leadership traits, how you express your power, pride in your accomplishments, and self-confidence. As you might imagine, negative traits of an afflicted Sun are excessive pride, undue need for recognition, and misuse of power. Used positively, you are a dynamo who brings forth your unique Divine Essence in service to planet earth.

The Sun is associated with your heart, spine and upper back. It is associated with both the color and metal gold. The house placement of the Sun indicates an area of life where you can let your light shine. The Sun is the ruling planet of Leo in the fifth house.

Side Note: Many people wonder what it means when they were born close to the day when the sun changes signs. Astrologers suggest that births that occur approximately between the 19th-22nd of any month are born on the cusp of a sign. The only way to know the exact sign is to cast a natal chart for the time and place of birth. Although there are differing opinions on the subject, the general consensus of opinion is that you are a blending of both signs. This is especially true if you were born at the end of a zodiac sign rather than the beginning. (Ex. Leos born on Sept 20th are near the end of the sign, so they may have some efficient and shy Virgo flavoring added to the dynamic Leo energy.)

The Moon

The Moon embodies your feelings and emotions. Just as the moon cycles in phases around the earth, so too are your emotions likely to go through phases. If you know the house that your natal moon falls in, you will know what area of your life is likely to go through phases. The moon is associated with the mother, nurturing, family, and your ability to tap into the feelings of others. The moon rules the public as well. This is because the intuitive nature of the moon helps you to sense what the world around you is feeling. The sign the moon was in at your birth will help you know how you express your feelings. In an intellectual air sign like Gemini, Libra, or Aquarius, you may have difficulty tuning into your own emotions. However, it can make you quite good at counseling others because you have the ability to detach emotionally. In water signs like Cancer, Scorpio, or Pisces, you may be highly in tune with the emotional undercurrents of life. However, you may need to go off in private to separate your feelings from the emotions of those around you. Physically, the moon is associated with your digestive system, the disease cancer, and breasts. If you read your daily horoscope, it would be useful to read your moon sign as an indicator of how your emotions are operating for the day. The Moon is the ruling planet of the sign Cancer in the fourth house.

Mercury

Mercury is the Ruling Planet of the third house of Gemini and the sixth house of Virgo. It is named after the Roman god Mercury, the god of commerce, travel and thievery. The planet probably received this name because it moves so quickly across the sky.

Mercury is associated with travel, intellect, logic and communication skills. Mercury represents quick trips, short classes, siblings, and transportation.

Mercury, in a natal chart, is very important for understanding how you communicate with others. Mercury in Pisces may speak in visionary, poetic, and even flowing musical terms. In Libra, Mercury may be expressed indecisively or through balanced diplomatic words.

The house placement of Mercury will give you hints as to where you are likely to communicate. A second house Mercury may earn her or his income through speaking. A ninth house Mercury could communicate as a teacher or publisher.

Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, is incrediby hot, and its atmosphere is constantly replenished by solar winds (unlike the Earth, which maintains its atmosphere).

And most fascinating is that a day on Mercury is twice as long as its year! Mercury rotates extremely slowly but revolves around the Sun in slightly less than 88 days.

Approximately 3 times a year, Mercury goes into retrograde, a 3-week period when Mercury looks like it's going backwards across the sky. When this happens, expect your equipment to break, you'll have misunderstandings, and travel will be exasperating.

Venus

Venus is the ruling planet of Taurus and Libra. Venus was the Greek goddess of love and beauty, also representing the feminine and fertility.

Because it's the brightest object in the sky except for the Sun and Moon, Venus was known even in prehistoric times.

Venus' rotation is somewhat unusual in that it is both very slow (243 Earth days = 1 Venus day) and retrograde. In addition, the periods of Venus' rotation and of its orbit are synchronized such that it always presents the same face toward Earth when the two planets are at their closest approach. Whether this is a resonance effect or merely a coincidence is not known.

Venus rules love, relationships, cultural activities, art, luxury items, and beauty. Jewelry generally falls under her rulership. The importance of material possessions is associated with Venus.

The house placement of Venus in your chart indicates where you express beauty and peace. In the fourth house, you may decorate your house in a beautiful way. In the twelfth house, you may value the peace and harmony of your privacy, keeping your desires a secret. In the seventh house, marriage partnerships may be a high priority.

The natal placement of Venus provides hints as to what you value and how you go about manifesting your desires. In the sign Taurus, you may own items that are high in value yet sensible. In Leo, you may prefer highly passionate relationships, or clothing that is royally luxurious.

Physically, Venus governs the throat, kidneys, and diabetes.

Mars

Mars is the "ruling planet" of Aries. The month of March is named after Mars. Its red color is the result of high iron content, causing it to be interpreted by the ancient Babylonians as firey and warlike.

Mars was the Roman god of war, and Ares the god of agriculture.

As a result, the Red Planet has always been a favorite in science fiction, with scores of books written about violent martian attacks, as well as our colonizing of the planet.

Mars indicates your power, aggressions, and initiative. The warrior planet helps you to achieve your ambitions in the world. On the positive level, you assert yourself to manifest core level goals. Negatively, it can be repressed anger, the need to win at any cost, or excessive reliance on the physical (like sex without love).

Mars gets you moving towards your goals. The natal house placement of Mars in your chart tells you where you direct your ambition. A second house Mars in Taurus may like to remodel houses in order to sell them for a substantial profit. A sixth house Mars in Taurus may become a massage therapist in order to earn a living healing others.

Mars is associated with headaches, cuts, gunshot wounds, burns, rashes, and red blood cells..

Jupiter

Jupiter is the ruling planet of Sagittarius in the Ninth house. Jupiter represents optimism, generosity, philanthropy, luck, philosophy, and foreign cultures.

People with a strong Jupiter may be large in size, loud in voice, or simply command attention when they walk into a room.

Jupiter orbits around the sun almost every 12 years, so you can look at each 12-year segment in your life as a new way of expressing your philosophy in the world.

Jupiter coaches and encourages people to overcome obstacles to achieve their greatest desires. Jupiter is a loyal friend. Used negatively, Jupiter can be boastful and tends towards overdoing (overeat, overspend, etc.)

The location of Jupiter in your natal chart indicates the area of life where you can express expansive philosophy. In the ninth house, you may love to travel or pursue higher spiritual or educational goals. Jupiter governs the liver and diseases caused by excess.

Saturn

Saturn is Capricorn's Ruling Planet, which means it is at its greatest strength when it falls in Capricorn or in the 10th House.

Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and is the second largest in the solar system. Much of what is known about the planet is due to the Voyager explorations in 1980-81.

The atmosphere is primarily composed of hydrogen with small amounts of helium and methane. Saturn is the only planet less dense than water. In the unlikely event that a large enough ocean could be found, Saturn would float in it!

Saturn's ring system makes the planet one of the most beautiful objects in the solar system. The rings may have been formed from larger moons that were shattered by impacts of comets and meteoroids. The ring composition is not known for certain, but the rings show a significant amount of water. They may be composed of icebergs and/or snowballs from a few centimeters to a few meters in size.

Saturn's day is 10 hours, 39 minutes long, and it takes 29.5 Earth years to revolve about the Sun. This 29-year orbit is called your "Saturn Return" by astrologers, and is almost always a pivotal moment in your life.

In astrology, Saturn teaches us some of the hardest lessons in life. According to Mooncatsastrology.com, in order to survive we need to conform to some kind of social order and structure. While that may seem to stifle our creativity, in order to make lasting contributions to society, we must first show proper respect for it.

Saturn is father time. He limits us, and in so doing gives form and structure to our lives. Saturn represents your higher voice, anyone older or wiser than you, those in authority, and any established social order. He is your father, police officer, boss, sergeant, rulebook, school system, judge and government. Saturn keeps you on track, or holds you back, depending on your point of view!

Saturn represents patience, boundaries, restrictions, and life karma. Many astrologers discuss Saturn with a “you poor thing” look in their eyes. However, Saturn is a great helper. Saturn helps you separate what is real and appropriate in your life from that which is not.

If you have been holding tightly to a relationship that has long lost its reason for being, Saturn will come along to help you release. If you want to start a new business, Saturn will help you do the work necessary for it to succeed.

The trouble comes when you say you want something but are not willing to bring forth the energy necessary for it to manifest. Saturn will help you, but you must do your part. Saturn also requires you to be patient and approach your goals over the long term. If you impatiently “want what you want, and want it now,” Saturn is likely to teach you some lessons in hard work and perseverance.

Want to know more? Visit solarviews.com and nineplanets.org!

Uranus

Since this planet is the butt of many jokes, please pronounce it as YOORanis, with the accent on the first syllable.

The seventh planet in our solar system, Uranus's unique claim to fame is that its axis runs from side-to-side and so it rotates horizontally! It also has rings, though fainter than Saturn's. Many of its 21 moons are named after Shakespeare characters.

Uranus is Aquarius's Ruling Planet, which means it is at its greatest strength when it falls in Aquarius or in the 11th House.

In Astrology, Uranus represents independence, freedom, invention, innovation, friends, and revolution.

When Uranus transits your chart, you simply need to find a new way to do things. Learn to choose change for something better, rather than changing just for the sake of change.

Uranus takes seven years to move through a zodiac sign, so the sign Uranus was in at birth effects a large number of people. This makes the natal house placement of Uranus very important for understanding how it is used in your life. If it's located in the Tenth House of Career, you may prefer to be self-employed, or to at least have a supervisor who doesn’t hover over you. In the Seventh House of Relationships, you may need a marriage partner who gives you plenty of space in the relationship.

Uranus is associated with astrologers, aviators, inventors, and revolutionaries. On a spiritual level, Uranus helps you to break free of self-imposed limitations so you can experience the miracles of the Universe.

Want to know more? Visit nineplanets.org!

Neptune

Neptune governs your illusions and your spirituality. To be enlightened, you must first burst through your illusions. Neptune rules intuitive development, filmmaking, musical creativity, and oceanic professions. You must go beyond worldly boundaries to merge with the cosmos with Neptune. Escapist activities like alcoholism, drug addiction, excessive fantasies (like winning the lottery to fix all your problems), and romanticizing all of those bad relationships are Neptune-ruled. You must go beyond yourself in order to understand Neptune. With Neptune placed in the second house, a person must find true prosperity consciousness rather than prosperity based solely on material possessions. In the fifth house, you could help children to open to their creativity or get lost in romantic illusions. A fifth house Neptune might be under the fantasy that they will win the lottery and that will fix all or their problems. Neptune helps you to step into a larger part of yourself, a part that is totally connected to your Divine Essence. Initially, Neptune may be confusing. Ultimately, you gain a cosmic perspective. Neptune rules Pisces in the twelfth house.

Pluto

Pluto is the Ruling Planet of Scorpio, meaning that its energy reflects the same type of energy as the Zodiac sign. Pluto is one of the planets that make astrologers shudder because it represents our deepest darkest subconsious, and is considered somewhat malefic.

Dark red in color and consisting mostly of ice, Pluto exasperates astronomers as well. Its orbit is eccentric; instead of traveling in a circle like the other planets, its orbit is oval, and is sometimes closer to the sun than Neptune. And is it a planet or not? While we've been taught for decades that Pluto is our planet farthest from the Sun, it was recently declassified and is now considered an asteroid instead!

Astrologers continue to consider it a planet when doing interpretation.

According to mooncatsastrology.com, Pluto is "raw energy... cataclysm, disaster and annihilation, as well as ecstasy, monetary windfalls, revolution, rebirth and renewal. He represents what we both fear and desire - the cycle of life, death and rebirth, the secrets of the universe, the occult mysteries, the explosive interplays between men and women, the miracles of life."

Pluto is a higher octave of the aggressive planet Mars. When Pluto transits a planet in your chart, you may experience a cataclysmic transformation, a death to life as you knew it!

Just keep in mind that you are always growing and changing. No matter how stressful, Pluto's influence remains one of transformation.

What does it mean when a planet is Retrograde?

When an astrologer announces that a planet is turning retrograde, the next sound is usually a loud groan from the audience. In astrology, retrogrades are considered troublesome, similar to an upside-down card in a tarot reading.

A planet turning retrograde is an optical illusion that the planet is moving backwards. Because all the planets orbit at different rates, when they pass each other, it looks as though the planet is moving backwards across the sky. If you've ever been on a train when a faster train passes you going in the same direction, and you momentarily feel like you are moving backwards, you've experienced retrograde. This dizzying effect can happen for anywhere from a few weeks to a few decades!

About four times a year, Mercury, the planet associated with communication, electronics, and travel, goes into retrograde for about three weeks!

The effect of retrograde planets either natally or transiting through your chart can be explained using words that begin with the letters "RE." REassess, REview, REvise, REvamp! A retrograde planet is actually an opportunity to enhance an aspect of your life based upon the nature of the planet and zodiac sign involved.

When a planet is retrograde in your natal chart, you need to put extra attention on that planet. When it is retrograde by transit (the current annual movements of the planets), everyone is looking at that area in their life.

One of the easiest ways to prove that astrology works is to follow Mercury retrograde cycles during the current calendar year. This three-week period of time occurs about three times each year (check an astrology calendar for dates). Mercury represents ideas, logic, transportation, and communications. Mental clarity and improved communications is often required during Mercury retrograde. Tend to car repairs, back up your computer, or do behind-the-scenes planning during Mercury retrograde. People who take life too seriously tend to go into high-anxiety during this cycle. Mercury retrograde periods are a great time to go inside, since nothing outside will be working.

The main thing to remember about retrograde planets is that they are helping you to express their energy in a better way. When you try to exert heavy-handed control of their energy, they often challenge you what can lovingly be called a "growth opportunity." Relax and practice allowing the energy of natal or transiting retrograde planets to flow in a natural way. Retrograde planets help you to go within to introspectively get in tune with the natural flow of the Universe.

MaryJean Kidd has many articles about the planets in retrograde at http://www.maryjeankidd.com.