The planets represent energy sources. The Sun is our source of creativity, the Moon is our emotional warehouse, and Venus describes who and what we love and are attracted to—not to mention why and how we go about getting it and keeping it.
Sun
The Sun is the head honcho in your chart. It represents your life’s mission—what will give you joy, keep you young, and never fail to arouse your curiosity. Oddly enough, you weren’t born knowing the qualities of the sign the Sun was in when you were born. You’re here to learn the traits, talents, and characteristics of the sign you chose—and rest assured, each of the twelve is its own marvelous adventure! Since the Sun is the Big Boss, all of the other planets, including the Moon, are the Sun’s staff, all there to help the boss by helping you master your particular area of expertise. Back in the day, the words from a song in a recruitment commercial struck me as a perfect way to describe our Sun’s quest: “Be all that you can be. Keep on reaching. Keep on growing. Find your future.” The accompanying music was energizing, robust, and exciting, full of anticipation and eagerness. When you feel enthused, motivated, and stimulated, that’s your Sun letting you know you’re on the right path.
Moon
If you want to understand this lovely silver orb, go outside when the Moon is nice and full, find yourself a comfy perch, sit still, and have a nice long look at her. The Moon inspires us to dream, wish, and sigh, 12to reminisce, ruminate, and remember. She’s the Queen of Emotions, the astrological purveyor of feelings and reactions. In your natal chart, the condition of the Moon—that is, the sign and house she’s in and the connections she makes with your other planets—shows how you’ll deal with whatever life tosses your way—how you’ll respond, how you’ll cope, and how you’ll pull it all together to move on after a crisis. She’s where your instincts and hunches come from, and the source of every gut feeling and premonition. The Moon describes your childhood home, your relationship with your mother, your attitude toward childbearing and children in general, and what you’re looking for in a home. She shows what makes you feel safe, warm, comfy, and loved. On a daily basis, the Moon describes the collective mood.
Mercury
Next time you pass by a flower shop, take a look at the FTD logo by the door. That fellow with the wings on his head and his feet is Mercury, the ancient Messenger of the Gods. He’s always been a very busy guy. Back in the day, his job was to shuttle messages back and forth between the gods and goddesses and we mere mortals—obviously, no easy feat. Nowadays, however, Mercury is even busier. With computers, cell phones, social media, and perhaps even the occasional human-to-human interaction to keep track of—well, he must be just exhausted. In a nutshell, he’s the astrological energy in charge of communication, navigation, and travel, so he’s still nicely represented by that winged image. He’s also the guy in charge of the five senses, so no matter what you’re aware of right now, be it taste, touch, sound, smell, or sight—well, that’s because Mercury is bringing it to you, live. At any rate, you’ll hear about him most when someone mentions that Mercury is retrograde, but even though these periods have come to be blamed for all sorts of problems, there’s really no cause for alarm. Mercury turns retrograde (or, basically, appears to move backwards from our perspective here on Earth) every three months for three weeks, giving us all a chance for a do-over—and who among us has never needed one of those?
Venus
So, if it’s Mercury that makes you aware of your environment, who allows you to experience all kinds of sensory sensations via the five senses? Who’s in charge of your preferences in each department? That 13delightful task falls under the jurisdiction of the lovely lady Venus, who describes the physical experiences that are the absolute best—in your book, anyway. That goes for the music and art you find most pleasing, the food and beverages you can’t get enough of, and the scents you consider the sweetest of all—including the collar of the shirt your loved one recently wore. Touch, of course, is also a sense that can be quite delightful to experience. Think of how happy your fingers are when you’re stroking your animal companion’s fur, or the delicious feel of cool bed sheets when you slip between them after an especially tough day. Venus brings all those sensations together in one wonderful package, working her magic through love of the romantic kind, most memorably experienced through intimate physical interaction with an “other.” Still, your preferences in any relationship also fall under Venus’s job description.
Mars
Mars turns up the heat, amps up the energy, and gets your show on the road. Whenever you hear yourself grunt, growl, or grumble—or just make any old “rrrrr” sound in general—your natal Mars has just made an appearance. Adrenaline is his business and passion is his specialty. He’s the ancient God of War—a hot-headed guy who’s famous for having at it with his sword first and asking questions later. In the extreme, Mars is often in the neighborhood when violent events occur, and accidents, too. He’s in charge of self-assertion, aggression, and pursuit, and one glance at his heavenly appearance explains why. He’s the Red Planet, after all—and just think of all the expressions about anger and passion that include references to the color red or the element of fire: “Grrr!” “Seeing red.” “Hot under the collar.” “All fired up.” “Hot and heavy.” You get the idea. Mars is your own personal warrior. He describes how you’ll react when you’re threatened, excited, or angry.
Jupiter
Santa Claus. Luciano Pavarotti with a great big smile on his face as he belts out an amazing aria. Your favorite uncle who drinks too much, eats too much, and laughs far too loud—yet never fails to go well above and beyond the call of duty for you when you need him. They’re all perfect examples of Jupiter, the King of the Gods, the giver of all things good, and the source of extravagance, generosity, excess, and benevolence in our little corner of the Universe. He and Venus are the heavens’ two 14most popular planets—for obvious reasons. Venus makes us feel good. Jupiter makes us feel absolutely over-the-top excellent. In Jupiter’s book, if one is good, it only stands to reason that two would be better, and following that logic, ten would be just outstanding. His favorite words are “too,” “many,” and “much.” Expansions, increases, and enlargements—or basically, just the whole concept of growth—are all his doing. Now, unbeknownst to this merry old fellow, there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing—but let’s not pop his goodhearted bubble. Wherever Jupiter is in your chart, you’ll be prone to go overboard, take it to the limit, and push the envelope as far as you possibly can. Sure, you might get a bit out of control every now and then, but if envelopes weren’t ever pushed, we’d never know the joys of optimism, generosity, or sudden, contagious bursts of laughter.
Saturn
Jupiter expands. Saturn contracts. Jupiter encourages growth. Saturn, on the other hand, uses those rings he’s so famous for to restrict growth. His favorite word is “no,” but he’s also very fond of “wait,” “stop,” and “don’t even think about it.” He’s ultra-realistic and quite pessimistic, a cautious, careful curmudgeon who guards and protects you by not allowing you to move too quickly or act too recklessly. He insists on preparation and doesn’t take kindly when we blow off responsibilities and duties. As you can imagine, Saturn is not nearly as popular as Venus and Jupiter, mainly because none of us like to be told we can’t do what we want to do when we want to do it. Still, without someone who acted out his part when you were too young to know better, you might have dashed across the street without stopping to check for traffic first, and—well, you get the point. Saturn encourages frugality, moderation, thoughtfulness, and self-restraint, all necessary habits to learn if you want to play nice with the other grown-ups. He’s also quite fond of building things, which necessarily starts with solid foundations and structures that are built to last.
Uranus
Say hello to Mr. Unpredictable himself, the heavens’ wild card—to say the very least. He’s the kind of guy who claims responsibility for lightning strikes, be they literal or symbolic. Winning the lottery, love at first sight, accidents, and anything seemingly coincidental that strikes you as oddly well-timed are all examples of Uranus’s handiwork. He’s a rebellious, headstrong energy, so wherever he is in your chart, you’ll be defiant, 15headstrong, and quite unwilling to play by the rules, which he thinks of as merely annoying suggestions that far too many humans adhere to. Uranus is here to inspire you to be yourself—exactly as you are, with no explanations and no apologies whatsoever. He motivates you to develop qualities such as independence, ingenuity, and individuality—and with this guy in the neighborhood, if anyone or anything gets in the way, you’ll 86 them. Period. Buh-bye now. The good news is that when you allow this freedom-loving energy to guide you, you discover something new and exciting about yourself on a daily basis—at least. The tough but entirely doable part is keeping him reined in tightly enough to earn your daily bread and form lasting relationships with like-minded others.
Neptune
Neptune is the uncontested Mistress of Disguise and Illusion in the solar system, beautifully evidenced by the fact that this ultra-feminine energy has been masquerading as a male god for as long as gods and goddesses have been around. Just take a look at the qualities she bestows: compassion, spirituality, intuition, wistfulness, and nostalgia. Basically, whenever your subconscious whispers, it’s in Neptune’s voice. She activates your antennae and sends you subtle, invisible, and yet highly powerful messages about everyone you cross paths with, no matter how fleeting the encounter. I often picture her as Glinda the Good Witch from The Wizard of Oz, who rode around in a pink bubble, singing happy little songs and casting wonderful, helpful spells. Think “enchantment”—oh, and “glamour,” too, which, by the way, was the old-time term for a magical spell cast upon someone to change their appearance. Nowadays, glamour is often thought of as a rather idealized and often artificial type of beauty brought about by cosmetics and airbrushing, but Neptune is still in charge, and her magic still works. When this energy is wrongfully used, deceptions, delusions and fraud can result—and since she’s so fond of ditching reality, it’s easy to become a bit too fond of escape hatches like drugs and alcohol. Still, Neptune inspires romance, nostalgia, and sentimentality, and she’s quite fond of dreams and fantasies, too—and what would life be like without all of that?
Pluto
Picture all the gods and goddesses in the heavens above us living happily in a huge mansion in the clouds. Then imagine that Pluto’s place is at the bottom of the cellar stairs, and on the cellar door (which is in 16the kitchen, of course) a sign reads “Keep out. Working on Darwin Awards.” That’s where Pluto would live—and that’s the attitude he’d have. He’s in charge of unseen cycles—life, death, and rebirth. Obviously, he’s not an emotional kind of guy. Whatever Pluto initiates really has to happen. He’s dark, deep, and mysterious—and inevitable. So yes, Darth Vader does come to mind, if for no other reason than because of James Earl Jones’s amazing, compelling voice. Still, this intense, penetrating, and oh-so-thorough energy has a lot more to offer. Pluto’s in charge of all those categories we humans aren’t fond of—like death and decay, for example—but on the less drastic side, he also inspires recycling, repurposing, and reusing. In your chart, Pluto represents a place where you’ll be ready to go big or go home, where investing all or nothing is a given. When a crisis comes up—when you need to be totally committed and totally authentic to who you really are to get through it—that’s when you’ll meet your Pluto. Power struggles and mind games, however—well, you can also expect those pesky types of things wherever Pluto is located.