Meet the Planets

When most people thing of Astrology, they think of the Signs of the Zodiac. Popular Astrology is all about Sun Signs—“I’m a Scorpio,” and “She’s a Gemini.” It may come as a surprise, then that the Signs are not, in fact, the most important elements of Astrology. In fact, you can use Astrology to improve and enhance your life without knowing any of the qualities associated with any of the Signs. What matters in Astrology are the planets.

And to make things even easier, you don’t even have to learn about all of the planets. Once you understand your relationship with the seven visible or “Personal” planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) you will be able to use Astrology for personal growth and guidance.

Are the Signs and the Outer Planets important? Of course they are. But they only have meaning when applied to the fundamental understanding of the seven Personal Planets.

Think of the seven planets as Archetypes. They are energetic patterns that exist inside of each of us, and each Archetype governs a different aspect of our experiences. The objective of this “human game” that we are playing is to get into right relationship with each of the Astrological Archetypes. The better our relationships with each of the Archetypes, the more enjoyable, exciting and fun our experience of life.

Down the road, we’ll explore the nature of reality, and the ups and downs of having a human experience. But for now, let me introduce you to the planets.

The Sun: The Hero

The Sun is the Archetype of the Hero. The Sun represents who we truly are—the “Big S” Self. We are each, ultimately, the Hero of our own Story. However, we must make a conscious choice to take that journey. The Sun represents our potential, but it’s our life’s journey to begin to fulfill that potential. Think of it this way: when Arthur pulled the sword from the stone, he was technically the rightful King of England; however, he had to embark on the Hero’s Journey in order to manifest that destiny.

The Sun relates to our personal standards of integrity. As we progress on our journeys, we discover the things that define us. While we are always at choice, and have absolute free will, certain options become less open because choosing those paths would deny the truth of who we are.

Saturn: The Judge

Saturn is the Archetype of the Judge. Saturn rules the world of form. Inherent in form are boundaries, restrictions and limitations. When we first encounter Saturn, it is an unfamiliar and unpleasant experience. Saturn is our first experience of the illusion of separation: there are things outside of us that limit and restrict us. We encounter Saturn as external authority figures who impose and enforce the Law: first as our parents and teachers, and later as our bosses, and the elected officials that support and maintain the integrity of society.

Stepping into right relationship with Saturn is critical, because so long as we are out of alignment with Saturn and perceive authority as being outside of ourselves, we give away our power. Saturn’s purpose is to help us to reclaim our power, and to guide us to discover our personal standards of integrity. When we reclaim our power by accepting accountability for our actions and our choices, our experience of authority and of Saturn shifts dramatically. And from this place of power (and only from this place of personal accountability and right relationship with the rules and laws as they currently exist), we discover that as we were the ones who created the rules in the first place, we also have the power to change them.

The Moon: The Reflection

The Moon is the Archetype of the Reflection. The Moon reflects the light of the Sun, and like all reflections, it distorts and filters the essence of the Source, depicting a facet, a shadow, some single element of the original for deeper reflection. In a very real sense, our lives are a journey through an endless hall of mirrors. Everyone and everything we encounter is simply a reflection of our True Self. And yet, we wander, endlessly, looking for the one that is real.

The Moon is our emotional guidance system. All we need do in order to master this game and reach Enlightenment is to avoid experiences and thoughts that feel unpleasant and choose experiences and thoughts that feel good. If we simply choose the best-feeling thought available to us at any given time, we will easily navigate the hall of mirrors and return to the Source.

The challenge for most of us, however, is that rather than recognizing uncomfortable and unpleasant feelings as indications that we’re facing the wrong direction, we begin to believe that they are real, and that we must take action to protect ourselves from these experiences. All the Moon can do is reflect; she is powerless to stop Mars from getting involved.

Mars: The Warrior

Mars is the Archetype of the Warrior—the part of ourselves that fights, defends, and goes after the things that we want. But we’re probably more familiar with Mars by another name: the ego. Mars is the “little s” self. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Mars is who you think you are. Mars (and the ego) lives and operates from the third Chakra, which is the energy center located at the Solar Plexus. It is essential that we learn how to get into right relationship with Mars, because only then can we begin to experience the Truth that we are infinitely more than our egos. While our egos support us while we have this human experience, we must remember that while the ego is limited, we are not.

Mars and the ego develop in response to the painful and unpleasant emotions we encounter through the Moon. Mars wants to protect and defend against pain, and is incapable of realizing that by focusing on the pain and “defending” against it, we spend far more time in that unpleasant experience than is necessary.

Venus: The Beloved

Venus is the Archetype of the Beloved. The real objective of the Hero’s Journey is to encounter and embrace The Beloved. Venus is what provides the sweetness and the satisfaction to life. On a practical level, Venus is how we give and receive love and appreciation, and this is how most of us know Venus. But Venus is far more than that. Venus represents our Core Values—the eternal qualities of the Divine that we are inspired to pursue, encounter, embody and express. These Values include Abundance, Balance, Beauty, Freedom, Harmony, Joy, Love, Order, Peace, Power, Wisdom and Unity. Because these qualities are aspects of All That Is, they can never be found outside of ourselves. The true Hero’s Journey is an inner quest, that leads us to the realization of the Truth that we are the Beloved, and that which we seek is the essence of who we are.

Mercury: The Storyteller

Mercury is the Archetype of the Storyteller. We frequently take Mercury for granted, dismissing Mercury as how we communicate, but we do so at our own peril. Mercury is far more important than that. Mercury is the Storyteller, and everything we experience—the entirety of this “little r” reality—is a story. Mercury is in charge of our experience of realty. Things are real because we tell ourselves they are—or more specifically, because Mercury tells us that they are.

The story we experience is so powerful that we get lost in it and forget that there is a Storyteller. We would do well to remember that Mercury is also the Liar. Nothing we experience in this “little r” reality is Real. It’s all story. When we step into right relationship with Mercury, we are able to choose what story we tell. We can shift from the “little s” story that keeps us small and separate, to the “Big S” Story that is the Hero’s Journey that calls us to our Greatness.

Jupiter: The Dreamer

Finally, we have Jupiter. Jupiter is the Archetype of the Dreamer. Our Dreams are how we grow and expand, and these are the areas of influence of Jupiter. Jupiter is in charge of our dreams, our imagination, and our faith. Faith is a critical element. Imagination is creative because we have faith that the things we hold in our imagination will manifest. Without faith, imagination becomes fantasy, which has no power and comes from Victim Consciousness. Imagination feels empowering; fantasy, although often a temporary distraction from pain, leaves us feeling worse because our lack of faith tells us that our fantasies will never become a part of our reality.

Jupiter is also the Context to Mercury’s Content. When we expand the context, the meaning of the content changes. Jupiter is how we develop the perspective on our stories so that we can begin to influence them consciously.

Stay Tuned!

In the coming weeks, we’ll take a closer look at each of the Astrological Archetypes and explore how to begin to step into right relationship with them.