Planets	Signs	Houses	Aspects

Planets
The Sun rules Leo, our self expression, how we radiate out into the world The Moon rules Cancer, our innermost sense of ourselves, our past, our emotions Mercury rules Gemini and VIrgo as well as communication, speech, learning and travel Venus rules Taurus and Libra as well as relating, the affections and money Mars rules Aries and Scorpio as well as raw energy, instinct and self assertion Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces as well as expansion, optimism, good fortune and metaphysics		A basic understanding of astrology begins with the inner or visible planets given to us from antiquity, beginning with the five personal planets, the Sun through Mars, the social planets Jupiter and Saturn, and the more recent outer or invisible planets, Chiron through Pluto The inner planets represent the personal, known, familiar reality and the outer planets represent transpersonal, unknown energies. Each planet has its own psychological and mythological themes and is said to rule certain signs of the Zodiac. I am using traditional sign rulers and not modern planets. Notice that with the traditional arrangements Mercury rules Gemini air and VIrgo earth, Venus rules Taurus earth and Libran air, Mars rules Aries fire and Scorpio water, Jupiter rules Sagittarius fire and Pisces water and Saturn rules Capricorn earth and Aquarius air. In traditional astrology, the outer planets do not have rulership of signs as is asserted by modern astrology. The outer planets are agencies of forces beyond the visible solar system. Their presence in the chart is through aspects or relationships expecially to personal planets and/or power points in the horoscope.		Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius as well as pessimism, discipline, separation and limitation Chiron is the planet of transsubstantiation, of shape shifting the wounded healer, vision questing and shamanism, of the sacred. Uranus is the planet of radical transformation, the quickening of the light body. the collective consciousness and multi-dimensional reality Neptune is the planet of transcendence of form, oneness of Reality, the collective unconscious Pluto is the planet of transmutation, death and rebirth, soul consciousness, of shedding the old for the new

Signs
Aries: the Ram Cardinal Fire/Masculine Taurus: the Bull Fixed Earth/Feminine Gemini: the Twins Mutable Air/Masculine Cancer: the Crab Cardinal Water/Feminine Leo: the Lion Fixed Fire/Masculine VIrgo: the Maiden Mutable Earth/Feminine		The tropical zodiac is based on the sun's yearly revolution through the zodiac with Aries, the spring equinox; Cancer, the summer solstice; Libra, the fall equinox; Capricorn, the winter solstice marking the seasonal changes. These form the cardinal signs as they initiate the seasons; Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius are fixed signs as the seasons are firmly established; Gemini, VIrgo, Sagittarius and Pisces are mutable signs due to the changing of the seasons. Ideally there should be a balance between the three modes of behavior. The elements of fire (activity) and air (intellect) along with earth (receptivity) and water (emotions) in the chart help to determine a person's basic sense of character. The lack of an element as well as having too much of it tells us a great deal about the person's behavior. Ideally there should be a balance amongst the elements. The qualities of masculine and feminine also repeat though in every other sign. Fire and air are masculine and water (emotions) and earth are feminine giving rise to the cyclical progression of elements and qualities. A planet located in a sign will express the qualities of each sign much like an actress will express the qualities of each part that she is playing. If a planet is placed in a sign over which it has rulership eg Mars in Scorpio, than it is able to function at a high level according to its own nature. This is considered a dignity. If a planet is placed in a sign where it has trouble expressing its true nature (Mars in Taurus) then it is considered to be in debility.		Libra: the Scales Cardinal Air/Masculine Scorpio: the Scorpion Fixed Water/Feminine Sagittarius: the Archer Mutable Fire/Masculine Capricorn: the Goat Cardinal Earth/Feminine Aquarius: the Water Bearer Fixed Water/Masculine Pisces: the Fish Mutable Water/Feminine

Houses
Modern Houses 1st house: Aries/Mars/Angular 2nd house: Taurus/Venus/Succedent 3rd house: Gemini/Mercury/Cadent 4th house: Cancer/Moon/Angular 5th house: Leo/Sun/Succedent 6th house: Virgo/Mercury/Cadent 7th house: Libra/Venus/Angular 8th house: Scorpio/Mars/Succedent 9th house: Sagittarius/Jupiter//Cadent 10th house: Capricorn/Saturn/Angular 11th house: Aquarius/Saturn/Succedent 12th house: Pisces/Jupiter/Cadent		The horoscope is set upon a wheel that reflects where the sun crosses the hemisheres froming the angles and quadrants of the horoscope. Within these quadrants the cycle of life revolves. Conception occurs at the IC, birth with Asc. The quadrant from the Asc to the MC relates to the period of youth, that from the MC to the Dsc relates to middle-age, and that from the Dsc to the IC represents old age. East/Sunrise/Ascendent(Asc)/1st house South/Noon/Midheaven(MC)/10th house West/Sunset/Descendent(Dsc)/7th house North/Midnight/Imun Coeli(IC)/4th house The strength of the houses in modern astrology is determined by its relationship to the angles. The angular are the most powerful; the succedent, neutral; and cadent, weakened. Planets placed in angular signs are more potent and in cadent signs less effective. In modern astrology, the houses, signs and planets share the same meanings. Aries=Mars=1st house; Taurus=Venus=2nd house is the equation applied throughout the chart. Quadant house systems divided the sky into time/space vectors, originally to measure planetary strength but have now are used to determine planetary location in the houses as well. In quadrant house systems, the MC is always in the 10th and the IC in the 4th and the houses are of different sizes. The whole sign system has the full thirty degrees of every sign in every house. This alone determines planetary location.In the whole sign ancient system the MC can appear in either the 9th, 10th or 11th houses altering the way these houses and those of the IC, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th are interpreted. The strength of the houses is determined by their relationship (aspects) to the Asc. The 1st and 10th are the strongest with the 4th, 7th and 11th close behind. The 3rd, 5th and 9th are of moderate strength while the 2nd, 8th and 12th are isolated and debilitated due to not having any traditional aspect to the Asc. Ancient astrology uses a system called house joys wherein a planet thrives in that house thus presenting us with an entirely different arrangement.		Ancient Houses 1st House: The Horoscope/Mercury 2nd house: Gate of Hades 3rd house: Moon Goddess/Moon 4th house: Subterraneous 5th house: Good Fortune/Venus 6th house: Bad Fortune/Mars 7th house: Setting Place/Marriage 8th house: Idle/Death 9th house: Sun God/Sun 10th house: Midheaven 11th house: Good Spirit/Jupiter 12th house: Bad Spirit/Saturn

Aspects Aspects define the relationships between the planets, determining their ease (sextile or trine) or difficulty of expression (square or opposition) or if there is a relationship at all (no aspect). Traditional aspects (left column) are formed from the relationship between the signs with Leo and Cancer as the beginning place. The nature of the aspect is associated with the planet. Thus a square has a Mars quality to it while a trine a Jupiter one.
Traditional Aspects Conjunction: 0º A blending of planetary energies Sextile: 60º an easy going relationship Square: 90º conflicts and challenges Trine: 120º a powerful, harmonious flow Opposition: 180º a tug of war		Leo & Cancer / Sun & Moon Virgo & Gemini / Mercury / 30º Libra & Taurus / Venus / 60º Scorpio & Aries / Mars / 90º Sagittarius & Pisces / Jupiter / 120º Capricorn and Aquarius / Saturn / 180º Modern aspects are formed from the relationship of the planets on the circle regardless of the signs. Modern astrology uses both ancient aspects as well as newer ones (right column) that are not recognized as valid in traditional astrology. The major difference is that traditional aspects signify the workings of fate while the modern approach is more psychologically oriented Aspects where faster inner planets are applying to slower outer planets are more powerful than separating aspects. In aspects between two planets the stronger planet and the affairs of the sign/house it rules will prevail. For more on this please see Dignities Home | Resources | Horoscopes | Consultations		Modern Aspects Semisextile: 30º a weak flow Semisquare: 45º moderate difficulty Sesquisquare: 135º moderate difficulty Quincunx: 150º Out of focus