The Astrology Alphabet
If Astrology is a symbolic language, then the planets, the Signs, and the “houses” of the astrology chart make up the astrology alphabet.
Most of us learned this simple rule of thumb when putting together the astrology alphabet to inform the story of our lives –
The planets are the “What”;
The signs are the “How”; and
The houses are the “Where”.
You can also think of it like this –
The planets represent your drive to accomplish certain things (like your drive to relate, learn, express or change);
The signs represent the style with which you fulfill these drives, which in turn gives us clues to the types of challenges, strengths, and opportunities you experience;
And the Houses represent the areas of your life that all of this plays out in.
For example – if you have the Sun in Cancer in the Sixth House – you seek “to shine” (the Sun) like “the Mother” (Cancer), especially in the areas of your life that pertain to “work and service” (the Sixth House”). This may manifest as someone who seeks to “mother” her coworkers, foster familial snd intimate bonds in the workplace, nurture herself and others through health and wellness, etc…
The awesome thing about Astrology is that it is a creative practice in engaging with, and understanding the puzzle pieces of your life. Once you have an intuitive understanding of the symbols, you have a systematic framework with which to peel back the layers and get to the heart of your motivations and life purpose. The different astrology charts that we study are like a map of your life terrain. But – you can always choose how you will use the map and where you will go.
We’ll dive into each piece of the alphabet a little deeper in later sections, but for now, here’s a cheat sheet to get you started. If you have an astrology chart to work with, take a look at it and play with putting a few sentences together.
The Planets
| THE SUN | Your drive to shine |
| THE MOON | Your drive to meet your internal needs |
| MERCURY | Your drive to communicate and your drive to learn |
| VENUS | Your drive to relate, to connect with others and to invest in what you love |
| MARS | Your drive to assert, to act, to conquer, and to go after what you want |
| JUPITER | Your drive to expand and to understand |
| SATURN | Your drive to build, to structure, and to accomplish |
| URANUS | Your drive to reform and to rebel |
| NEPTUNE | Your drive to escape; Your drive to merge with your God/Goddess/the Universe/All That Is |
| PLUTO | Your drive to transform; Your drive to control |
| CHIRON | Your drive to heal and be healed |
The Signs
| ARIES | The Warrior |
| TAURUS | The Bull |
| GEMINI | The Curious Child |
| CANCER | The Mother |
| LEO | The Performer |
| VIRGO | The Earth Priestess |
| LIBRA | The Diplomat |
| SCORPIO | The Detective |
| SAGITTARIUS | The Gypsy |
| CAPRICORN | The Executive |
| AQUARIUS | The Rebel |
| PISCES | The Mystic |
The Houses
| THE FIRST HOUSE | your identity; your body; your initial impression on others; your appearance |
| THE SECOND HOUSE | your possessions; your money,; your values; your sense of self-worth |
| THE THIRD HOUSE | your immediate environment; short trips; your siblings; early learning environments such as elementary school and high school |
| THE FOURTH HOUSE | your home; your family; your ancestry; your roots |
| THE FIFTH HOUSE | your children (whether of your body or your mind); your recreational pleasures; casual dating; casual sex; your creativity |
| THE SIXTH HOUSE | your work; your job; your coworkers; your health; your day-to-day routine |
| THE SEVENTH HOUSE | your relationships; your marriage; your primary partnerships; your one-to-one contacts; your clients |
| THE EIGHTH HOUSE | your shared possessions; tax; debt; birth; death; intimate bonds; committed sex |
| THE NINTH HOUSE | higher learning such as college; any study or experience that expands your horizons; long-distance travel; religion |
| THE TENTH HOUSE | your career; your worldly achievements; your long-term goals; what you’re striving for |
| THE ELEVENTH HOUSE | your community; your friends; your wider social sphere; anything that connects you to humanity at large |
| THE TWELFTH HOUSE | your sanctuary; your sacred space; where you hide; where you isolate; where you connect with your Source; spirituality |
Rulerships and Affinities
You’ll notice that certain signs planets and houses seem to naturally fit together and have similar themes. For this reason, each planet is said to “rule” certain signs and feel naturally comfortable in certain houses. When planets are in the sign of their rulerships, they tend to manifest with greater ease and strength.
Here’s a list of the Rulerships and Affinities.
| THE FIRST HOUSE | ARIES | MARS |
| THE SECOND HOUSE | TAURUS | VENUS |
| THE THIRD HOUSE | GEMINI | MERCURY |
| THE FOURTH HOUSE | CANCER | THE MOON |
| THE FIFTH HOUSE | LEO | THE SUN |
| THE SIXTH HOUSE | VIRGO | MERCURY |
| THE SEVENTH HOUSE | LIBRA | VENUS |
| THE EIGHTH HOUSE | SCORPIO | MARS and PLUTO |
| THE NINTH HOUSE | SAGITTARIUS | JUPITER |
| THE TENTH HOUSE | CAPRICORN | SATURN |
| THE ELEVENTH HOUSE | AQUARIUS | SATURN and URANUS |
| THE TWELFTH HOUSE | PISCES | JUPITER and NEPTUNE |