Planets
The planets in your birth chart: a full guide to each one
The planets read in a birth chart are the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, with Chiron and the lunar North Node read alongside them. Each has its own guide below: what it means, every sign and every house, its aspects, and the dates it changes sign, taken from our chart engine.
Planet by planet: the guides
There is one guide per planet or point, listed here in the usual order from the Sun outward.
- Sun: your core identity and purpose, and what gives you energy; with sign dates, cusp birthdays, equinoxes and solstices, and solar eclipses.
- Moon: your emotional needs, instincts and habits; with the Moon phase you were born in, and eclipses.
- Mercury: how you think, learn, speak and trade information; with Mercury retrograde, combust and cazimi.
- Venus: what you find beautiful, how you attract and choose, and what you value; with Venus retrograde and your Venus return.
- Mars: how you act, assert yourself and go after what you want; with Mars retrograde and your Mars return.
- Jupiter: where you grow by saying yes, and where you are tempted to overdo it; with your Jupiter return and Jupiter retrograde.
- Saturn: where you are asked to become your own authority through patient effort; with your Saturn return and Saturn retrograde.
- Uranus: where you need freedom and where life brings sudden change; with its generational sign and your Uranus cycle.
- Neptune: imagination, spirituality and compassion, along with illusion and escape; with its generational sign and your Neptune cycle.
- Pluto: power, transformation and what lies beneath the surface; with its generational sign and your Pluto cycle.
- Chiron: the wounded healer: an early hurt that, lived with, teaches you to help others; with your Chiron cycle and return.
- North Node: your direction of growth, read together with the South Node; with your nodal return, eclipses, and Rahu and Ketu in Vedic astrology.
What each planet guide covers
Every guide follows the same order, so once you know one you can find your way around all of them.
- At a glance: what the planet means in your chart before any sign or house is added.
- In the signs: the planet's style in each zodiac sign.
- In the houses: the area of life where the planet acts in your chart.
- Aspects: how the planet combines with the others, with a short section for each aspect.
- Timing: sign changes, retrograde periods, returns and longer cycles, with dates from our chart engine.
- Relationships: what the planet shows when two charts are compared, in most guides.
- Vedic note: how the planet is read in sidereal, Vedic astrology.
- FAQ and sources: short answers to common questions, then the sources and method behind the guide.
Planets in signs, houses and aspects
Signs, houses and aspects are covered inside each planet's guide rather than on separate pages, so these links take you straight to the right section.
In the signs: Sun · Moon · Mercury · Venus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune · Pluto · Chiron · North Node
In the houses: Sun · Moon · Mercury · Venus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune · Pluto · Chiron · North Node
Aspects: Sun · Moon · Mercury · Venus · Mars · Jupiter · Saturn · Uranus · Neptune · Pluto · Chiron · North Node
The aspects covered are the conjunction, opposition, square, trine, sextile and quincunx.
How to use the planet guides
Find each planet's sign and house in your own chart, read those two sections of its guide, then read its aspects.
- Get your chart from your exact birth date, time and place. Our free birth chart lists every placement.
- Start with the Sun and the Moon: together they describe your core self and your emotional life.
- For each planet, read its sign section first, then its house section.
- Then read the aspects your planets make to each other; the closest ones carry the most weight.
- Use the timing sections to see when a planet changes sign or returns to its place in your chart.
New to charts? How to read a natal chart explains the basics step by step.
More astrology reference guides
Houses, zodiac signs and fixed stars have their own reference guides.
Planets FAQ
Why are Chiron and the North Node included with the planets?
They are not planets, but astrologers read them alongside the planets in every birth chart, so each has its own guide in the same format.
Where do the dates in the planet guides come from?
From our chart engine, Astrology-API.io. Each guide's Sources and method section explains how its dates were calculated.