Astrology: The Planets
Updated: Oct 5
Planet Glyphs
Luminaries
In astrology, the term “planets” includes the bodies of the solar system as well as the Moon and Sun.
This is an astrological convention. Astronomically, of course, the Sun is a star, the Moon is Earth’s satellite, and Pluto is a dwarf planet.
✦ Planet Symbols
We will now explore the symbols, or glyphs, of the ten planets.
✦ Sun and Moon
They are called LUMINARIES. They are personal planets. Study their glyphs carefully and memorize them.
Which symbol is the Moon?
Which symbol is the Sun
Do you remember?
Did you know?
Personal Planets
✦ Mercury — Venus — Mars
They are called personal planets because they are the first functional attributes of the solar Being that you are: how you think—Mercury, how you act—Mars, and how you love—Venus. For now, memorize each glyph carefully.
Transition Planets
✦ Jupiter — Saturn
They are called transition planets because their role straddles the conscious and unconscious. Jupiter connects our personal lives to the collective, inspires us, and helps us grow. Saturn symbolizes rules, limits, and the individual’s responsibility within the group.
Why are Jupiter and Saturn called “transition planets?”
They move fastest through the zodiac
They only describe private feelings
Because they symbolize the individual in the world and bridge the conscious and unconscious.
Transpersonal Planets
✦ Uranus — Neptune — Pluto
They are mostly the most distant of the 10 bodies covered here, so they move much more slowly through the zodiac. They have a collective (transpersonal), unconscious, and generational function.
You may see Pluto represented by three different glyphs...
Planet Sprint
✦ Practice the 10 planets
Chart Planets
✦ Another little exercise...
...from location of glyphs directly on a map. For example, look inside this chart, and identify the different Planets highlighted.
✦ The Fox
has often been associated with Mercury — and therefore with intelligence and consciousness — in the West since the 16th century.
Yes, our mascot is a Mercurian figure who searches for knowledge and mysteries, travels between planes, and works toward the evolution of consciousness.
✦ In other Traditions
...particularly in Asia, the fox is a symbol of the space between worlds.
In China, the fox is said to stand between human and animal, the dead and the living, the earthly and the transcendent—like the astrologer who acts as an intermediary between Heaven and humanity. In Japan, the foc may guide a divine power and convey its messages through mediumship. That's quite a role!
Reflect
The Planets, a flagship tool
As we have seen, planets are one of the three main keys to reading a chart.
To start in Astrology: Always start from the Planet: it is like the “subject” of your “astrological sentence”. The sign will qualify it (like an adjective) and the House will give it a "circumstantial component”.
Did you know?
You can consider the planets on your natal chart as representation of your inner functions. Each planet is a fractal of your inner functions. Each planet is a fractal of you because it emanates from the Whole–that is, the Sun, Being that you are.
"Man is a solar system"
A quote by Charles Vouga
Imagine a human being as a system in which they are the Sun; a Sun refracted into several Planets (inner personal and collective fractals). Through time, space…and beyond! Astrology allows us to read the system.
Do you remember?
When you begin an interpretation, what should you keep in mind?
Rather start from the Houses, because the evoke the experience.
Always start from the Planet (as subject of the "astrological phrase")
Always start from the sign, because it qualifies.
If an astrologer tells you that a human being is like a solar system, what do you understand?
That humans are the center of the universe
That human are a system made of a center (Sun) with different fractals (the Planets).
That this person should see a doctor
What would you say that astrology allows us to…?
To determine what will become of a Being with certainty.
To understand Humans as a fairly basic being.
Understand the human system from a physical, psychological, and spiritual point of view
To meditate…
“Your birth chart is the contract you have with life (...) it is the program of your existence, it is the portrait of everything you do not know about yourself. It is an X-ray of the soul.” C. Vouga
Planetary Cycles
Fast Cycles
✦ Fast-Moving Planets
Some chart bodies move quickly through the xodiac close to Earth.
The moon is the fastest, but Mercury, Venus, the Sun, and Mars also move quickly.
✦ Summary Table of Cycles
Here are the planets’ different cycles and the time they take to travel around the Zodiac (transits).
(Note: this is not exactly the same as the time they take to orbit the Sun.)
✦ Fast Cycles (Transits)
Moon about 1 month
Sun about 1 year
Mars about 2 years
*to travel through all zodiac signs.
Planetary Transit Speed
Which body circles the zodiac in about 1 month?
Sun
Saturn
Moon
How long does the Sun take to go around all 12 signs?
About 1 year
About 1 month
About 12 years
How long does Mars take to go around all 12 signs?
About 29 years
About 2 years
About 1 year
✦ Mercury and Venus
Mercury takes about three months to orbit the Sun, and Venus about seven to eight months.
However both take about one year to travel through all the 12 signs of the Zodiac.
Planetary Transit Speed
How long does Mercury take to travel around the zodiac?
About 7-8 months
About 3 months
About 1 year
How long does Venus take to travel around the zodiac?
About 7-8 months
About 3 months
About 1 year
Which fast-cycle body has the shortest cycle?
Venus
Moon
Mercury
Order of the Fast Cycles
Which order goes from the shortest cycle to the longest
Mercury → Moon → Sun → Venus → Mars
Moon → Mercury → Venus → Sun → Mars
Mars → Sun → Venus → Mercury → Moon
Intermediate Cycles
✦ Cycles of the Transition Planets
Jupiter and Saturn move much more slowly than Mars.
They are rather farther out, so their trips around the zodiac take many years.
✦ Cycles of Jupiter and Saturn
Jupiter about 12 years
Saturn about 29 years
Those numbers mean one full trip around all 12 signs of the zodiac
Planetary Transit Speed
How long does Jupiter take to travel around the 12 signs?
About 12 years
About 2 years
About 84 years
How long does Saturn take to travel around the 12 signs?
About 1 year
About 29 years
About 12 years
Which planetary cycle is the slowest?
Saturn
Jupiter
Mars
Which Planets move more slowly than Mars?
Jupiter
Saturn
Venus
Transpersonal Cycles
✦ Cycles of the Transpersonal Planets
Uranus, Neptune, and pluto move very slowly through the zodiac.
This is why their cycles can be used to identify astrological “generations”
✦ Transits of the Transpersonal Planets
Uranus about 84 years
Neptune about 164 years
Pluto about 245 years
Planetary Transit Speed
How long does Uranus take to travel around the 12 signs?
About 29 years
About 1 month
About 84 years
How long does Neptune take to travel around the 12 signs?
About 84 years
About 12 years
About 164 years
Which one takes 245 years to travel around the Zodiac?
Jupiter
Moon
Pluto
Which transpersonal planet is the slowest?
Uranus
Pluto
Neptune
Choose the panel showing the transpersonal planets from fastest to slowest
Pluto, Uranus, Neptune
Neptune, Pluto, Uranus
Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
Planet Meanings
Luminary Symbolism
✦ Three Groups of the Planetary Functions
As you may have noticed, the planets can be divided into three groups:
personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars),
intermediate planets (Jupiter and Saturn), and
transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto).
Let’s begin exploring the symbolism of the personal planets, starting from the luminaries
✦ The Luminaries
The luminaries are the Sun and Moon.
Because of their functions, they are also considered personal planets:
The SUN symbolizes the whole Being, the Self, with its vitality, radiance, and unique Life Purpose. The MOON symbolizes emotions, imagination, sensitivity, and the environment.
Planet meanings
Which luminary symbolizes the Self and its radiance?
Sun
Moon
Venus
Which luminary symbolizes sensitivity and emotions?
Mars
Moon
Sun
Symbolism of the Personal Planets
✦ Symbolism of the Personal Planets
Mercury, Venus, and Mars express the personal energy of the Solar Self:
MERCURY is the mental functions, intelligence, and consciousness. VENUS is your function of love, alliance, and integrations. MARS represents your actions, courage, and desire.
Do you remember?
Which planet represents your intellect?
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Which planet represents your heart and how you form bonds?
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Which planet describes how you take action?
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Which pair best matches Venus and Mars?
Mood and memory
Rules and responsibility
Love and acting
Jupiter / Saturn Symbolism
✦ Symbolism of the Transition Planets
They represent the function of growth and evolution (Jupiter) and the function of structuring, fixity, grounding, and limitation (Saturn).
JUPITER elevates us through faith and enthusiasm; its function is transcendence. SATURN gives form to life though limits, discipline, and responsibility.
Do you remember?
Which planet helps us grow and surpass ourselves?
Neptune
Jupiter
Saturn
Which planet represents responsibility and helps us shape things?
Uranus
Saturn
Jupiter
Transpersonal Symbolism
✦ Transpersonal planet symbolism
They represent collective unconscious forces that live within us.
They define our generational purpose.
URANUS keeps us connected to our group soul; it brings crises of consciousness and contains our genius. NEPTUNE represents our sense of the absolute, our ideals, and our greatest dreams.
PLUTO represents our karmic challenge as well as our generational potential.
Do you remember?
Which planet represents our genius and deepest resources?
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Which planet represents our ideal?
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Which planet represents our greatest challenge, but also the potential we can unlock by resolving it?
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
Planet Typology
✦
Glyphes Symbolism
✦
Cosmic Clock
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