Planetary Meaning in the Birth Chart

In my last two Birth Chart Basics blog posts, I covered how to identify The North / South Nodes in your Birth Chart and provided a Basic Overview of the 12 Houses in the Birth Chart. If you haven’t already, I suggest going back to those posts to begin your Birth Chart journey.

For this installment of the Birth Chart Basics, we’ll be looking at the inner Planets of the chart and their basic functions in the cosmos. In my own beginnings of learning Astrology, I’ve found that studying the foundational elements of the chart (Planets, Signs, Houses) and their characteristics + functions is crucial for being able to understand the Birth Chart as a whole. By understanding the moving parts of the bigger picture, we can begin to make connections between archetypes + functions and dig deeper into our own chart meanings.

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating, that Birth Charts and Astrology as a discipline are very layered, and beginning to learn takes patience, diligence, repetition, and tons of passion for the subject. Luckily I’ve got astro-passion out the ass and I’m itching to share what I’m learning with you all. So let’s get into it!

Including the Sun and the Moon, there are 10 Planets hanging out in the Birth Chart. If you ever had to make a styrofoam model of our solar system, you’re probably familiar with this cosmic squad, but here’s a refresh: we have the Sun (Identity), the Moon (Emotions), Mercury (Communication), Venus (Relationship), Mars (Action), Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

In this Birth Chart Basic, we’ll be focusing solely on the inner Planets: The Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. This group earns the “inner” Planet title because they orbit faster in the solar system, meaning they have more of a day-to-day impact on our lives. The outer Planets—Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—orbit slower, which means they govern long-term changes + responsibilities in our lives.

The quicker a planet moves through the 12 Signs in the cosmos, the more prevalent / frequent its influence becomes. For example, the Moon (x) is the quickest moving Planet in the chart, so she spends around 2.5 days in each Sign, and transits all 12 Signs in just 28 days. You can learn more about the Moon in my Blue Moon Halloween 2020 post, where I outlined some of the key behaviors of the Moon and how she so easily influences our emotions.

Beyond this summary, I encourage you to look back at your Birth Chart and make note of which Zodiac Sign each of your inner Planets were in when you made your big baby debut into existence. We won’t get ahead of ourselves, as we have plenty of time to learn the basics of Astrology, but here’s a quick explanation of how the Signs / Planets / Houses are connected in the Birth Chart from Vanessa Montgomery’s book Star Power—a beginner Astrologer must read, in my opinion:

The Planets are the WHAT

What is being expressed.

The Signs are the HOW

How the Planet’s function is being expressed.

The Houses are the WHERE

In what area of your life, from love to career, the expression is taking place.

Now back to the basics + the inner Planets! Here’s a quickie on each heavenly body and how they function in the chart:

The Sun—Identity

Zodiac Sign(s): Leo

House(s): 5th

Orbital Pace: 1 year—roughly 1 month in each Zodiac Sign

Like rays of light, the Sun radiates your identity, your ego, your personal power. An overcharged ego blazes + burns that which it comes in contact with, while a dull glow (covered in fear of expression, dense clouds of protection) can feel cold, abandoned of self, and diminishes your ability to radiate your purpose (in self, in career, in relationship, etc.)

The dense dot at the center of the Sun glyph is the ego, while the circle surrounding it is potential (infinite) for expansion. Authenticity to your born identity / self expression = balance of the ego and your potential.

The Sign your Sun shines in the chart tells you how you project your identity / sense of self into the world. The goal is to harness that given identity (the Zodiac Sign) and stand firmly in your worth.

The Moon—Emotions

Zodiac Sign(s): Cancer

House(s): 4th

Orbital Pace: 28 days—roughly 2.5 days in each Zodiac Sign

While the Sun illuminates our identifiable external nature, the Moon dictates that which is internal and hidden: our emotional landscape. The Moon is the quickest moving Planet in the Zodiac—which explains our ever-changing emotional state on a day-to-day basis.

The placement of the Moon in our chart reveals our emotional needs, our instincts + emotional nature, what gives us our sense of security and comfort.

Our instincts + our need to be nurtured is primal and working authentically with our Moon helps to build our emotional intelligence as well as our ability to emotionally engage + empathize with others.

Lack of healthy introspection and or emotional intelligence can result in deep insecurities around intimacy and emotional connection. The Moon encourages us to foster our emotions, greet our shadow, and stay true to what serves our authentic inner needs.

Mercury—Communication

Zodiac Sign(s): Gemini + Virgo

House(s): 3rd + 6th

Orbital Pace: Approx. 1 year—approx. 1 month in each Zodiac Sign

This Roman Messenger of the Gods governs our ideas, thoughts, and beliefs in all areas of the mind—conscious as well as subconscious. When we understand our Mercury placement in our chart, we can easily identify our required style of communication and learning, as well as what interests us or catches our attention.

Clear communication and absorption of information can be practiced + developed via mindfulness, for attention to the present moment is essential for utilizing our Mercurial power.

Chaotic inner dialogue or scattered thoughts can result in poor communication or spacing out when absorption of information is required. Ideally, we can use our Mercury to remain present, to be free in thought, to be curious, to learn, and to evolve.

A mind stuck in the past or too focused on the future can undermine our Mercurial nature. Cultivating presence and utilizing the aspects of our Mercury placement fosters our ability to connect, to retain information, and to expand our mind.

Venus—Relationship

Zodiac Sign(s): Taurus + Libra

House(s): 2nd + 7th

Orbital Pace: Approx. 1 year—approx. 1 month in each Zodiac Sign

Venusian energy rules all of our desires, abilities, and values surrounding relationships—with the added layer of beauty, income, and material worth as well. The Zodiac Sign Venus is in tells us what motivates us to cultivate our relationships and the type of relationships we invest energy into.

At the root of our relationship drivers is our own self worth—what we value. When we are clear on our values and stand true in our worth, we can manifest rewarding + loving connections. When we are too self-absorbed, or alternatively, too detached from others, we will have difficulty keeping relationships which are in alignment with our Venusian values.

Our value in Venus also governs how we spend money, and how we consume that which we deem beautiful—decorating, expression of our creative + artistic style, our indulgence + upkeep of self-care.

If Venus is positioned ahead of the Sun in our chart, it operates as a dynamic + fervent Morning Star. If after the Sun, Venus will be a matured + pliable Evening Star nature.

Mars—Action

Zodiac Sign(s): Aries

House(s): 1st

Orbital Pace: 2 years—approx. 2 months in each Zodiac Sign

Mars says GO! FOR! IT!

Our Mars placement governs our actions and our assertive nature. When our Mars is active, we follow intuitive impulses to get the job done: needs, wants, dreams, emotions, ideas, you name it. Our calls to action have Mars written all over them.

When we doubt ourselves, when we hesitate, hold ourselves back, or give away our power to others (damsel in distress behavior), we are acting in opposition to our Mars. Acting against Mars leaves us frustrated, fatigued—literally, as Mars governs our adrenals, and unsatisfied.

Regret? Inaction? Ruts? All work against our Mars.

When we can map out our impulse (Mercury) and invest energy into our desires (Venus), we will honor our primal need to act.

Mars produces archetypal masculine energy—not as in gender, as in animation—and female-identifying persons will often be programmed to suppress that innate power. Authenticity, self-worth (Venus), and a healthy relationship with our emotions (the Moon), can enhance the power of our Mars energy. Pedal to the metal, baby!

Now we can see why these Planets have such a massive influence on our daily lives—our sense of self, our communication, our emotions, our actions, our relationship to love + partnership. Soon, this basic understanding will help us track the personal transits / aspects these Planets make in our lifetime...but let’s not get too stressed about that now. Because the inner Planets rule so many personal functions, it’s useful to gain clarity + insight on these in your Birth Chart and use that knowledge to better understand these intimate areas of your daily life.

For the next Birth Chart Basic, we’ll cover the more glacial—but still impactful—outer Planets. Then we can look at the 12 Zodiac Signs, and eventually we’ll land on transits / aspects in the chart.

These Birth Chart Basics are really meant to be a spark which hopefully ignites a larger fire of research, which you can carry out from a plethora of online resources. Be sure to drop me a DM on Insta about what you find!

For me, it’s been engaging + empowering to have a subject that I love to keep me company in quarantine part 2. It’s going to be a long winter, fam!

The cosmic fires do not cease, so here’s a list I compiled of resources to keep ya warm and informed and hopefully ward off some of that cabin fever likely to creep up in the colder months ahead:

Jessica Lanyadoo

Star Power

Vanessa Montgomery