A Beginner's Guide to Astrology: Part 2

Read part 1 of our guide here!

Right now, we are in a universe filled with billions of galaxies. There is one galaxy in the universe, called the Milky Way galaxy, that contains millions of stars.  There is one star in the Milky Way galaxy that has its own solar system that revolves around it, called the Sun.  

There are 8 planets that revolve around the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. While our solar system consists of large planets, it also consists of LOTS of stars. Like billions. These stars are broken down into groups known as constellations. There are 88 known constellations in our solar system, and the Zodiac focuses on the 12 major ones that we commonly talk about!

If you were to take a snapshot of the solar system from above on the exact second you were born, you would be able to see the alignments of all the planets at the time you were born. You can look this up online and you’ll be able to find the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of all the planets at your time of birth. There are endless combinations of birth charts out there, and yours is entirely personal and unique to you!

Houses 

Houses in astrology can be a little confusing.  I’ll try to make it as easy to understand as possible: There are 12 houses in astrology, as well as 12 Zodiac signs (which we knew already). The 12 houses represent different values and aspects in our lives, similar to our Sun signs.  Think of the Zodiac as a flat map that does not rotate, and think of the houses as a map that sits directly on top of the Zodiac map and does rotate.   You can think of the houses as a wheel that rotates above the Zodiac map.

The main difference between the 12 Sun signs and the 12 houses is that the houses move with the Earth, while the Sun signs do not. As the earth rotates on its axis, it changes the position of the houses in relation to the Zodiac signs. So, the position of the Zodiacs don’t shift, but Houses do.  This means that while I am a Pisces and I was born in house 8, other Pisces may not be born into house 8, because it all depends on the date and time of your birth, as well as the alignment of the houses at the specific time you were born. 

You can download a full report of your Natal chart here. Here’s a broad overview of what each of the houses represent:

Planets

In astrology, we have the 8 main planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) as well as the luminaries (Sun and the Moon).  Each of the planets represent a different set of qualities and characteristics that rule over different parts of our lives.

The Sun, the Moon, and Mercury, Venus, and Mars are known as the “inner planets.” Inner planets move relatively quickly from sign to sign, which make them more influential over our day-to-day decisions. Jupiter and Saturn are known as the “social” or “transpersonal” planets, because they govern areas of our lives that deal with interpersonal issues.  Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are the “outer planets” which influence larger, grand-scheme-of-things parts of our lives, because they move very slowly through the Zodiac.

Everyone has the same 10 planets in their unique birth charts, but they express themselves in entirely different ways based on the Zodiac signs they are located in. 

Ruling Planets

For each Sun sign, there is a planet with similar qualities and energies.  Think of a ruling planet as the boss of each sign. A sign’s ruling planet calls all the shots and influences the characteristics of each sign. Most signs have clear cut planets that rule over them, but there are a few Signs where there is some debate over which planet rules them.  Here is a list of each sun sign’s ruling planet:

Leo: Sun

Cancer: Moon

Virgo: Mercury

Gemini: Mercury

Taurus: Venus

Libra: Venus

Aries: Mars 

Scorpio: Pluto (although originally, it was Mars)

Sagittarius: Jupiter

Pisces: Neptune (and to a lesser extent, Jupiter)

Capricorn: Saturn

Aquarius: Uranus (and to a lesser extent, Saturn)

Find out more about the characteristics of your sun sign’s ruling planet here.

In addition to your Ruling planet, each Sun sign corresponds to the alignment of all the other planets at your time of birth.  For example, my Zodiac sign is Pisces. I was born at 4:41pm on March 3, 2000.  So, at my exact time of birth on March 3, 2000, the Moon was in Aquarius, Mars was in Aries, Jupiter was in Taurus, and so on.  The alignment of all of the planets for your Sun sign will be completely personalized to you based on your exact time of birth! Pretty cool, right?

Written By: Jordan Peterkofsky