Chart concepts
Planets in the natal chart
A natal chart has ten bodies that are customarily called planets: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Each is responsible for its own theme; the sign shows the manner, and the house the area of life where the theme is more noticeable.
What planets in a chart are
Strictly speaking, the Sun is a star and the Moon is a satellite of the Earth. In astrology both are called planets for brevity, and we do the same. The positions of the bodies are calculated for the moment and place of birth, from the point of view of an observer on Earth. Astrology nevertheless remains an interpretive tradition, not an exact science: planets in it serve as a language for describing tendencies, not as causes of events.
A planet in a chart is a theme, not a character. The same planet can show itself differently in different people, because its tone is changed by the sign, the house and its links with other planets. The general order of reading is described in the article how to read a natal chart.
Ten bodies and their themes
Below is the brief role of each body and the chapters of the full reading where its theme sounds most often. This is a guide, not a rigid allocation: every statement in the reading rests on a specific factor of the chart and may appear in several chapters.
- Body
- Sun
- What it speaks of
- Will, direction, a sense of meaning
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapter 1 “Personality and self-expression”
- Body
- Moon
- What it speaks of
- Feelings, needs, inner support
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapters 2 “Emotions and inner support” and 6 “Home, family and belonging”
- Body
- Mercury
- What it speaks of
- Thinking, speech, exchange of information
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapters 3 “Thinking and decision-making” and 4 “Communication and interaction”
- Body
- Venus
- What it speaks of
- Attachment, taste, values
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapter 5 “Close relationships”
- Body
- Mars
- What it speaks of
- Action, drive, initiative
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapter 8 “Initiative and your own projects”
- Body
- Jupiter
- What it speaks of
- Growth, meaning, widening of opportunities
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapter 7 “Abilities, work and learning”
- Body
- Saturn
- What it speaks of
- Structure, boundaries, responsibility
- Where it shows in the reading
- Chapter 9 “Daily rhythm and recovery”
- Body
- Uranus
- What it speaks of
- Change, independence, unconventionality
- Where it shows in the reading
- In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets
- Body
- Neptune
- What it speaks of
- Imagination, sensitivity, blurred boundaries
- Where it shows in the reading
- In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets
- Body
- Pluto
- What it speaks of
- Deep transformation, intensity
- Where it shows in the reading
- In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets
| Body | What it speaks of | Where it shows in the reading |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | Will, direction, a sense of meaning | Chapter 1 “Personality and self-expression” |
| Moon | Feelings, needs, inner support | Chapters 2 “Emotions and inner support” and 6 “Home, family and belonging” |
| Mercury | Thinking, speech, exchange of information | Chapters 3 “Thinking and decision-making” and 4 “Communication and interaction” |
| Venus | Attachment, taste, values | Chapter 5 “Close relationships” |
| Mars | Action, drive, initiative | Chapter 8 “Initiative and your own projects” |
| Jupiter | Growth, meaning, widening of opportunities | Chapter 7 “Abilities, work and learning” |
| Saturn | Structure, boundaries, responsibility | Chapter 9 “Daily rhythm and recovery” |
| Uranus | Change, independence, unconventionality | In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets |
| Neptune | Imagination, sensitivity, blurred boundaries | In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets |
| Pluto | Deep transformation, intensity | In the chapter of the house where the planet stands, and through aspects to the personal planets |
Personal, social and distant planets
Planets are usually divided into three groups by speed of movement. The slower the body, the longer it stays in one sign and the less it says about a particular person.
- Personal: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. They are fast and describe the everyday “I”: will, feelings, thoughts, attachments and actions.
- Social: Jupiter and Saturn. They link the individual with society: opportunities, rules, boundaries, maturity.
- Distant: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They move over years and decades, so their sign is shared by a whole generation.
For this reason we do not interpret the signs of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as a personal trait. We do read their houses — there a distant planet really does become personal — and their links with the personal planets. Aspects between the distant planets themselves are not interpreted for the same reason: they last for years and are shared by a generation. The signs of the seven visible bodies, from the Sun to Saturn, are read.
How sign and house change a planet
The planet answers the question “what”. The sign answers the question “how”: the same Mars in Aries acts directly and quickly, and in Taurus slowly and doggedly. The house answers the question “where”: Mars in the house of work shows in professional matters, and in the house of relationships in close ties.
Signs are covered in more detail in the article signs, elements and modalities, and houses in the article houses in the natal chart. Houses depend on the exact birth time, so when the time is unknown nothing is claimed about them.
An example: one planet, three dimensions
The example is fictional: the positions were invented for explanation and are not calculated from anyone’s data.
Suppose that in a hypothetical chart Venus is in Libra, in the seventh house, and in a trine with Jupiter.
- Planet: Venus — attachment, taste, what a person values.
- Sign: Libra gives the theme softness, a striving for balance and attention to a partner.
- House: the seventh house is linked with close partnerships, so the theme shows precisely there.
- Link: the trine with Jupiter eases the development of this theme — it is easier to widen it and to take pleasure from it.
Together this is a hypothesis for self-observation: relationships may be an important area where it is easier for the person to show warmth. It is not a guarantee of happy relationships and not a forecast; for more on the links between planets, see the article aspects in the natal chart.
What we do not read
The reading uses only the ten listed bodies, plus the Ascendant and the Midheaven. We do not interpret the lunar nodes, Lilith, Chiron or other extra points: many traditions have them, but for our reading we chose a strictly defined set so that every statement can be checked against the chart. More on the method adopted in the section how we calculate.
What next
The easiest way to see the positions of all ten bodies in your own chart is to build a chart: the full reading includes the planets in the signs and their interpretation. What the extended version looks like can be seen in the open sample reading. If you want to start with the essentials, read about the three key points in the article the Sun, Moon and Ascendant.
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