Astrology Quick Guide: Planets

The Planets represent our fundamental human need: the WHAT in the language of astrology.

The Inner Planets (Personal)

The inner planets represent your personality and individuality. These are connected to your physical existence.

Sun: “Identity” Your soul's radiant essence. How you shine. It is the unchanging part of you- the calm, steady, deep, and lasting force within you. It is the directive force that propels you to seek fulfillment in our identities by using our creative potential in its highest possible development.

Moon: “Body” Your soul's identity embodied. Your emotional nature. The moon is your emotional responses based on past experiences (childhood, early nurturing, etc.) It is how you internalize, reflect, and fluctuate in moods. It is your subconscious memory and shows you how you function as a result of your past experiences.

Mercury: “Mind” It is your capacity to collect, sort, classify, and communicate the knowledge you gain through your experiences.

Venus: “Values” Your capacity to attract and appreciate the things of the physical world, whether they are tangible objects, emotions, mental, or spiritual things. It defines the type of people you draw to yourself, based on your values.

Mars: “Desires” How we will ourselves in life. Your desires and aspirations, what excites you and gets you going. It is also the armor we wear to shield ourselves.

Jupiter: “Expansion” The urge for self-improvement through participation in the larger experience of life. It urges us to go forth and explore.

Saturn: “Structures” Your ability to find your place in society and function at a practical level. It is the laws, boundaries, and limits set by society and Karma.

The Outer Planets (Transpersonal)

The outer planets represent your place in the world. Your ever-evolving journey through life. These are connected to your spiritual existence.

Uranus: “Awakener” The unconscious urge to become aware of your true inner individuality (the sun). It is your intuition awakening you to a world beyond our social structure.

Neptune: “Dissolver” The unconscious urge to dissolve the boundaries of your ego-centeredness in order to “lose yourself” in deep knowing and healing. It dissolves life’s patterns in order to teach new meanings in the quest for universal truth.

Pluto: Your soul purpose. Why you are here. It is your desire for transformation and evolution. Self-exploration of the soul. Pluto is “Rebirth” it shows us we why we are here. It represents self-exploration of the soul. Unconscious urge to transform repressed ego-desire energies into group-desire energies in order to live out your role in society’s evolution, as well as your own.

The Karmic Axis

The combined elements of the Karmic Axis tell the story of your past history and current life intentions for healing and evolution.

South Node: Where you have been in previous lives. What gifts, talents, affinities, emotions, struggles, etc. that you have carried over into this lifetime in order to evolve.

North Node: Where you are going in this life. It describes your destiny point and evolutionary potential. It represents your soul’s path and desires.

Astroid

Chiron: Chiron is located between Saturn and Uranus and is considered a "centaur" asteroid or comet. It is known as the Wounded Healer, as it represents our deepest wounds and the effort we take to heal ourselves.

To dive deeper into the planets, check out my Fundamentals of Astrology: Planets, Signs, & Houses course.