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Astrology Basics: The Planets

Astrology Basics: The Planets

Planets

There are many planets used in astrology. Each astrologer may choose to use all or only some of the planets in their work.

 

The Seven Visible Planets

The seven visible planets are those that can be seen with a naked eye. They are the Sun, The Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. They are known as the traditional or Hellenistic planets.

 

The Outer Planets

The three outer planets are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They are the modern planets.

 

Read more >>> Astrology ABCs

 


The Meaning of the Planets

The Sun

The Sun is your identity, your heart and your character. It shows where you are honest and true to yourself. It is where you can shine in life. It represents your father.

Read more >>> the Sun

 

The Moon

The Moon shows your feelings, reactions, gut instincts and your behavior. It rules food, how you care and who you nurture. It represents your mother, mother figures and caregivers.

Read more >>> the Moon.

 

Mercury

Mercury shows your thinking, talking and communication style. It has to do with all buying and selling. It represents your schoolteacher and neighborhood people.

Read more >>> Mercury.

 

Venus

Venus shows beauty, art, style, love and money. It has to do with your values and what you invest in both things like jewelry and people. It represents young women and sisters.

Read more >>> Venus.

 

Mars

Mars is about sex, energy, drive, challenges and where you compete in life. It shows when you will get off the couch and do something. It represents young men and brothers.

Read more >>> Mars.

 

Jupiter

Jupiter is about growth, expansion, reaching and even overdoing things. It shows your vision and potential. It represents uncles, teachers and preachers.

Read more >>> Jupiter.

 

Saturn

Saturn is the planet of achievement, honors, control, limitations and fears. It represents your father, older men and authority figures.

Read more >>> Saturn.

 

Uranus

Uranus is the planet for the future it rules trends, technology, computers and the space age. It represents adolescents, immigrants, those on the fringes of society and rebels.

Read more >>> Uranus.

 

Neptune

Neptune is the planet of illusion, intuition, mysticism, art, magic and the unknown. It represents the psychic, the invisible, the underdog and the homeless.

Read more >>> Neptune.

 

Pluto

Pluto is the planet of power, influence and sex. It represents people who have power over you through your use of their resources or those whom you have the drop on. It represents the loan shark, surgeon, psychiatrist, undertaker, criminal and therapist.

Read more >>> Pluto.

 

Chiron

Chiron is the planet of wounds and healing. It suggests where you are weak and wanting. It represents people who help you like nurses, teachers, gurus and charity workers.

Read more >>> Chiron.

 

Eris

Eris is the planet of the female warrior. It represents the fight instinct in women. It suggests those who will fight for you simply because they are on your team, group or crew. It represents sisters-in-arms.

Read more >>> Eris.

 


Astrology Basics for Beginner’s

This is part of the special Starzology Astrology Basics series for you all. Many of you ask where to start and here are the planet’s meanings.

You can check out the rest of the series:

 

10 Job Seeking Tips when Mercury is Retrograde

10 Job Seeking Tips when Mercury is Retrograde

10 Job Seeking Tips When Mercury is Retrograde

You may have heard something about Mercury retrograde and wondered what it is and what is does, and what to do and what not to do, or you may have even thought, “So what?”

If you are interested in finding a job or growing your career, see what to do when Mercury is retrograde, so you can make the most of every moment.

 

Planetary Energy

To make the best use of planetary energy it is all about going with the flow and that means taking the meaning of the planet and noticing if it is holding up a “stop” or “go” sign.

One example of planetary energy that you can see is the Moon and the tides. The Moon pulls the waters of the Earth and creates two high tides and two low tides each day. As each day moves on the times for the tides constantly changes. But every day there will be two incoming tides and two outgoing tides.

It is at the incoming tide that you can yell “Surf’s up!” and trot down to the beach to practice your surfing. Well if you live on the coast and have a surf culture perhaps like in Hawaii, but you get the picture. You can only surf when the tide is coming in. There is no point in paddling out to hope to surf in if the tide is going out. Right?

 

About Mercury

Each year Mercury will be retrograde three times at around four-month intervals and for about three weeks each time. Each year the dates are different.

You can find the exact dates when Mercury will be retrograde for the next few years below. You can mark these dates in your calendar now and lock out this special time.

 

About Retrogrades

Apparent retrograde is the optical illusion of something going backward and in this case, it is the planet, Mercury. Imagine you are on a train and moving along at a fair pace then suddenly you come upon another train on the next track.

The other train is going slower than you are so your train overtakes it but the other train seems to be going backward. Both trains are driving forward but one seems to be going in reverse. That is the illusion of retrogradation.

That a planet is retrograde can be interpreted as a time to change the pace and adjust your approach to things. When a planet is not retrograde it is direct.

 

Mercury’s Upcoming Retrograde Periods

2024

During April 1st to 25th from 27° Aries to 15° Aries.

During August 5th to August 28th from 4° Virgo to 21° Leo.

During November 26th to December 15th from 22° Sagittarius to 6° Sagittarius.

Mercury Retrograde Element Focus

Mercury’s current retrograde signs are mainly the Fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries and Leo) for 2024.

Mercury Rules

Communication

Every planet rules different things in life. Mercury rules communication, writing, signing, meetings, learning, schools, trading, auctions, merchants, agents and middlemen.

 

Trade

In everyday life, this means all your shopping, buying and selling, texts, phone calls, emails and general chatting, as well as gossip, comes under Mercury’s influence.

 

Workplace

In the workplace, Mercury covers resumes, recruiters, interviews (by phone and in person). Mercury can influence your LinkedIn profile although Saturn has a lot to say about that as well.

 

Paperwork

Mercury also is concerned with paperwork and anything you sign, like a job offer. It is also concerned with the fine print which during a retrograde period is more of a focus and you should read it all.

 

Mercury Retrograde Sequence

There is a sequence in each retrograde cycle and five main parts:

 

  1. Mercury enters the pre-shadow period of about ten days before the actual retrograde starts.
  2. Mercury stations retrograde.
  3. The retrograde period itself, usually 3 weeks.
  4. Mercury stations direct.
  5. The after-shadow time of about a week and a half after Mercury has been retrograde.

 

Phew.

 

Before Mercury goes Retrograde

Before Mercury goes retrograde and is direct do the following:

  • Write your resume crafted for each specific job.
  • Compose targeted cover letters.
  • Apply for jobs via email and snail mail.
  • Call companies on the phone.
  • Reach out to your contact list and tell them you are looking for work.
  • Take the initiative to let your family, friends, and others know you are searching for a new job.
  • Start a short course on something you need in your job to build your marketable skills.
  • Join professional societies and attend Meetups in your field.
  • Create and develop your LinkedIn profile.
  • Accept initial interviews.
  • Sign job offers.

 

All of the above should be done when Mercury is not retrograde and preferably not in its shadow period.

job-seeking-tips-when-mercury-is-retrograde-diagram

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Mercury Retrograde

When Mercury is retrograde do the following:

  • Revise your resume.
  • Refresh any cover letters.
  • Get your filing up to date of jobs for which you have already applied.
  • Write a list of companies and people with whom to follow up and contact them again.
  • Research current thinking in your industry.
  • Set up alerts for leads.
  • Schedule second interviews (phone and in person).
  • Review job offers.
  • Prepare your paperwork for jobs you plan to apply for after Mercury is retrograde as you wait for it to go direct.

 

Revisit projects

During Mercury retrograde periods you can follow up and work on things that you have already done when Mercury was direct.

 

Don’t start new things when Mercury is retrograde because if you do, they will most likely be reversed when Mercury goes direct.

Sometimes you have no choice because a job advert or interview comes up when Mercury is retrograde and you need a job so you have to go. In these instances be aware that the terms will change.

As Mercury goes direct after the retrograde period, and if you did apply for a job or had an interview during the retrograde time, you can expect to return again and again for further interviews, or the job itself is shelved, or the job is morphed into something else altogether.

 

When Mercury is retrograde, avoid starting new things because if you do, you will have to review them later as Mercury goes direct.

Recruiters

Companies usually act in good faith when they place an advert for an opening in their business. The effect of Mercury retrograde changes the terms or the agreement and thus they may no longer need the person that they were originally looking for when Mercury was retrograde.

This cuts both ways for people looking for work and recruiters. Companies and career consultants are better off only placing vacancy adverts when Mercury is direct and communications are clear.

If a recruiter seeks a candidate during the retrograde period they will have to spend three times as long emailing back and forth and interviewing people who cancel and can’t make it to the interview for whatever reason.

All of this time-consuming effort is due to the Mercury retrograde effect which impacts communications, trade and agency.

 

Author Bio

Alison Price: Astrology Coach

Alison wants to help you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor.

Learn more about Alison’s journey.

If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.

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Lammas

Lammas

Learn a little about the pagan festival of Lammas which occurs as the Sun reaches 15 degrees of the fixed sign Leo.

Saturn the Real Karma Chameleon

Saturn the Real Karma Chameleon

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The Mercury Retrograde Cycle

The Mercury Retrograde Cycle

The Mercury Retrograde Cycle

Mercury has more retrograde cycles than the other planets. Mercury goes retrograde three times each year. This occurs roughly at four month intervals and usually coincides with the same element for three consecutive retrograde periods.

Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It moves the fastest of all the planets. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo.

All the planets except the Sun and Moon have retrograde periods every year. The exception is Mars which turns retrograde every two years. you can see that it affects many planets and that there is almost always one planet retrograde at any given time.

Mercury’s Upcoming Retrograde Periods

2023

During December 13th, 2023 to January 2nd, 2024 from 8° Capricorn to 22° Sagittarius.

2024

During April 1st to 25th from 27° Aries to 15° Aries.

During August 5th to August 28th from 4° Virgo to 21° Leo.

During November 26th to December 15th from 22° Sagittarius to 6° Sagittarius.

Mercury Retrograde Element Focus

Mercury’s current retrograde signs are mainly the Fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries and Leo) for 2024.

 

The Mercury Retrograde War Cry!

“Go back, go back, go back to the woods.

You haven’t, you haven’t, you haven’t the goods. 

You haven’t the spirit, you haven’t the jazz… 

You haven’t the moves that Mercury has!”

Pop Culture and Mercury Retrograde

As the details of Mercury retrograde permeate through to the general public the words, “Mercury retrograde” become a catch phrase and is diluted down into basic, and often most inflammatory words. You will hear things like, “don’t buy computers, cars or phones when Mercury is retrograde.”

Well yes, certainly those things can be said, but astrologers know there is a more subtle effect to the apparent reversal of direction for the innermost planet.

Your Natal Mercury Condition

As with all astrology good forecasting and interpretation for yourself hinges on your own chart. If you have a well-placed and robust Mercury you will withstand the influence of Mercury retrograde (or any retrograde depending on the planet) and still be standing as other folds under their weaker Mercury placements.

A broad generality is like saying, “All cars reverse (or back-up) badly” when really it is more that, “some drivers can’t reverse very well.”

You know yourself that you are better at some things than others and certainly you will do some things way better than anyone else. So saying we all suffer the same way when Mercury is retrograde is simplistic.

If you have Mercury retrograde in your birth chart you will withstand the negative effects of any Mercury retrograde period now and in the future.

How Retrogrades Affect Your Chart

Whichever house in your natal chart this retrograde occurs will be the area of life that is affected.

For example, if this Mercury retrograde period occurs in your fourth house then you will revisit family and home issues and you will need to go back and attend to them as drains, leaks and plumbing come to mind.

If Mercury retrogrades in your seventh house, your marriage will need further discussions and conversations and yes it will be about dragging up past issues (like affairs) to be once aired again as these things just won’t stay buried.

 

The Illusion of Aparrent Retrograde Motion

Retrograde motion is the apparent backwards movement of a planet.

The analogy I use when I’m teaching a class is that when you are on a train moving forwards then another train pulls alongside going at the same speed, if the second train slows down it appears to be going backwards, although it is still moving forwards albeit slower than your train.

This is an optical illusion and clearly demonstrates planetary apparent retrograde motion.

 

 

Read more >>>  Mercury retrograde and Job seeking.

Author Bio

Alison Price: Astrology Coach

Alison wants to help you uncover your individual creativity and lead a fulfilling life using your own astrology. She shares her wisdom from the heart with a touch of humor.

Learn more about Alison’s journey.

If you’d like to get in touch with Alison, you can reach out to her via email at starzology@gmail.com.

More Articles

If you enjoyed this post, you may like some more astrology related articles from our blog.

 

Lammas

Lammas

Learn a little about the pagan festival of Lammas which occurs as the Sun reaches 15 degrees of the fixed sign Leo.

Saturn the Real Karma Chameleon

Saturn the Real Karma Chameleon

Guest Post This is a guest post by Maria Hayes and Astrologer and Tarot Reader from Trusted Astrology.Is Saturn the Real Karma Chameleon or Your Next Cosmic Life Coach? You know that feeling when life suddenly gets really serious? When the universe seems to be asking...

Astrology Coaching

Astrology Coaching

Coaching with Alison can help you avoid common pitfalls and mistakes that beginners often make, saving you time and frustration.

Astrology Crossword Challenge

Astrology Crossword Challenge

Astrology Crossword Challenge

Here is a fun Astrology Crossword for those strong Mercury types.

What to do

Print this page, complete the crossword, scan to a file, attach to an email and send to info@starzology.com to have your name posted here as one of the few to complete this crossword.

 


Our correct completed crossword congrats go to…

Julia Cann from Plymouth, England.

Arwynne O’Neill from Vancouver, Canada.

Maria Michaelidis from Skorpios, Greece.

Hennie Potgieter from Phalaborwa, South Africa.

Jan Weiss from Coventry, England.

Ali Khan from Toronto, Canada

 

 

 

 

Clues Across

1. A positive element (3).

2. His laws on planetary motion (6).

4. Part of the Great Year (3).

5.  Greenwich Mean Time abbr. (3).

10.  An astrologer’s reference book (5, 2, 6).

12.  Mars’ colour (3).

14. Exalted in Aries (3).

15.  Largest of the big four asteroids (5).

16.  Ptolemy’s famous work (11).

19.  The house of your children’s career (6).

21.  An asteroid award (4).

24.  Finger of God aspect pattern (3).

25.  Local Mean Time abbr. (3).

26.  Easy aspect (5).

28.  The metal of Mars (4).

29.  Sagittarius’ element (4).

30.  Right Ascension abbr. (2).

31.  Falls in Virgo (5).

34.  Junction of the plane of the ecliptic and a planet’s path (4).

35.  A chart used in synastry (9, 5).

36.  Aspect tolerances (4).

37.  The point of the celestial sphere directly above the observer (6).

38.  Castor and Pollux are the Gemini pair (5).

Clues Down

1.  Saturn is the traditional ruler (8).

3.  The sign of the monarchy (3).

6.  Quadruplicities (5).

7.  Age of Aries symbolic animal (3).

8.  Planet of reflection (4).

9.  Toronto’s vibrant astrology group (9, 7).

11.  A planetary condition (7).

13.  The planet that rules the Phoenix (5).

14.  The State Of The Art astrology conference (4).

15.  A planetary key (6).

17.  Hemisphere from 4th to 9th (7).

18.  Immum Coeli abbr. (2).

20.  Below the Asc/Dec axis (5).

22.  Planet of rebellion (6).

23.  The 29th degree (8).

27.  The rulers of the signs (7).

32.  These can be fixed (5).

33.  The 6th house pertains to animals smaller than this one (4).

 

 

Author Bio

Alison encourages you to explore your unique creativity and live a satisfying life through your personal astrology. She offers her insights from the heart and with a sense of humor.

Go here to read more about Alison’s story.

If you want to send Alison a quick message go here.

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If you enjoyed this crossword check out some more information we have on astrology on our blog.

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