Planets
The ten planets of astrology, from the Sun to Pluto. Strictly speaking, the Sun is a star and the Moon is a satellite, but the astrological tradition calls them planets because what matters is movement across the sky, not physical classification.
Table of planets
| Planet | Governs | Domicile | Cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun | will, core of the personality | Leo | 1 year |
| Moon | emotions, habits | Cancer | 28 days |
| Mercury | thinking, speech | Gemini, Virgo | 1 year |
| Venus | love, taste, values | Taurus, Libra | 1 year |
| Mars | action, conflict | Aries, Scorpio | 2 years |
| Jupiter | expansion, faith | Sagittarius, Pisces | 12 years |
| Saturn | limitation, discipline | Capricorn, Aquarius | 29.5 years |
| Uranus | change, freedom | Aquarius | 84 years |
| Neptune | imagination, illusions | Pisces | 165 years |
| Pluto | transformation, power | Scorpio | 248 years |
Personal, social and outer planets
Personal planets: the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars. They move quickly, and their positions are individual: two people born on different days have them in different places.
Social planets: Jupiter and Saturn. They change sign once a year and once every two and a half years, respectively, and describe a person's relationship with society.
Outer planets: Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. They stay in a sign for years, so their sign is the same for an entire generation; only the house and aspects are individual.
The practical takeaway: a phrase like "I have Pluto in Scorpio" describes not you but everyone born between 1983 and 1995.
Three planets the classical tradition didn't know
Uranus, Neptune and Pluto entered astrology after their astronomical discovery in 1781, 1846 and 1930. Before that, the system got along perfectly well with the seven luminaries visible to the naked eye.
This is worth keeping in mind: the rules of sign rulership were rewritten as discoveries were made, and after 2006, when Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet, astrology kept it. In other words, the set of planets in astrology is determined by interpretive tradition, not by astronomy.