The Signs, the Planets, and Astrology Charts

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 SUNYour drive to shine
THE MOONYour drive to meet your internal needs
MERCURYYour drive to communicate and your drive to learn
VENUSYour drive to relate, to connect with others and to invest in what you love
MARSYour drive to assert, to act, to conquer, and to go after what you want
JUPITERYour drive to expand and to understand
SATURNYour drive to build, to structure, and to accomplish
URANUSYour drive to reform and to rebel
NEPTUNEYour drive to escape; Your drive to merge with your God/Goddess/the Universe/All That Is
PLUTOYour drive to transform; Your drive to control
CHIRONYour drive to heal and be healed

The Signs

ARIESThe Warrior
TAURUSThe Bull
GEMINIThe Curious Child
CANCERThe Mother
LEOThe Performer
VIRGOThe Earth Priestess
LIBRAThe Diplomat
SCORPIOThe Detective
SAGITTARIUSThe Gypsy
CAPRICORNThe Executive
AQUARIUSThe Rebel
PISCESThe Mystic

The Houses

THE FIRST HOUSEyour identity; your body; your initial impression on others; your appearance
THE SECOND HOUSEyour possessions; your money,; your values; your sense of self-worth
THE THIRD HOUSEyour immediate environment; short trips; your siblings; early learning environments such as elementary school and high school
THE FOURTH HOUSEyour home; your family; your ancestry; your roots
THE FIFTH HOUSEyour children (whether of your body or your mind); your recreational pleasures; casual dating; casual sex; your creativity
THE SIXTH HOUSEyour work; your job; your coworkers; your health; your day-to-day routine
THE SEVENTH HOUSEyour relationships; your marriage; your primary partnerships; your one-to-one contacts; your clients
THE EIGHTH HOUSEyour shared possessions; tax; debt; birth; death; intimate bonds; committed sex
THE NINTH HOUSEhigher learning such as college; any study or experience that expands your horizons; long-distance travel; religion
THE TENTH HOUSEyour career; your worldly achievements; your long-term goals; what you’re striving for
THE ELEVENTH HOUSEyour community; your friends; your wider social sphere; anything that connects you to humanity at large
THE TWELFTH HOUSEyour 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 HOUSEARIESMARS
THE SECOND HOUSETAURUSVENUS
THE THIRD HOUSEGEMINIMERCURY
THE FOURTH HOUSECANCERTHE MOON
THE FIFTH HOUSELEOTHE SUN
THE SIXTH HOUSEVIRGOMERCURY
THE SEVENTH HOUSELIBRAVENUS
THE EIGHTH HOUSESCORPIOMARS and PLUTO
THE NINTH HOUSESAGITTARIUSJUPITER
THE TENTH HOUSECAPRICORNSATURN
THE ELEVENTH HOUSEAQUARIUSSATURN and URANUS
THE TWELFTH HOUSEPISCESJUPITER and NEPTUNE

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