The planets we are concerned with are those in our own Solar System. In any Solar System, including ours, all the planets revolve around the Sun, the life-giving force. With a Personal Horoscope, it is erected from the standpoint of the Earth, because we live on the Earth. This is the dimension from where we have our experiences.
All the planets have cycles and these cycles are of varying lengths. With Astrology, the cycles of all the other planets in our Solar System, being The Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are observed from the Earth (where we live). The length of time of the planet cycles is in relation to them moving around the Earth.
Each planet has a nature of its own and a certain type of effect. This is modified by the nature of the Zodiac Sign the planet is travelling through at any particular time.
The planets fall into 2 categories. The Personal Planets and the Generation Planets.
The Personal Planets are: The Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. These are the planets closest to the earth. They have the faster and more quickly changing cycles. This establishes a lot of variety, hence character differences, which creates individuality with people.
The Generation Planets are: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. These planets are further away from the earth and have much slower cycles. Except for Jupiter, they all spend more than 1 year travelling through a Zodiac Sign. This focuses attention on one particular area of life for quite some time. This is why they are called Generation Planets because they influence the changing attitudes of different generations.
Each planet has rulership over a particular Zodiac Sign. You will notice when you read the characteristics of a planet and the sign it rules that there are many similarities. If a person was born when a planet was in the Zodiac Sign it rules, this means that planet has a strong position, it is very at home. It is comfortable. In the following explanations of the nature of the planets, the Zodiac Sign of which they have rulership, will also be mentioned.
Sun | Jupiter | ||
Moon | Saturn | ||
Mercury | Uranus | ||
Venus | Neptune | ||
Mars | Pluto |