PLANETS: the different URGES within us

by Jan Spiller

There are ten primary planets in Astrology:

the SUN, the MOON, MERCURY, VENUS, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE and PLUTO. In addition to the planets, there are three very important placements that most astrologers use: the North Node of the Moon, the South Node of the Moon and Chiron.

In astrology, the Sun and Moon are called planets and the Earth is not mentioned, because the heavenly bodies are viewed from the position of the Earth. Astrology studies how the heavenly bodies affect the Earth, and how they influence living beings.


THE PERSONAL PLANETS:
THE SUN, THE MOON, MERCURY, VENUS and MARS

The PERSONAL PLANETS show those universal human urges within us that demand activation, experience and personal satisfaction. In spite of varying levels of financial, cultural, educational or spiritual sophistication, we all share these same five basic psychological yearnings.

Regardless of how big one’s world is - focused solely on oneself, revolving around a single family group, involved in local activities, or a public figure having much influence in the world - each of us is prompted by the desire to experience and satisfy these same five longings. Just as we all need to breathe, eat and sleep, we also share these basic mortal urges in common with all of humankind.

The SUN
The urge to create, to express ourselves, to shine, to be the leader. Masculine (the Creator).

The MOON
The urge to feel secure, to be vulnerable, to care and be cared about in a safe environment. Moods. Feminine (the Mother).

MERCURY
The urge to think, to communicate, to connect with others consciously/
mentally. Androgenous (Male in the desire to connect, Female in the desire to receive information).

VENUS
The urge to love and be loved in return. Feminine (the Lover/Concubine).

MARS
The urge to initiate, activity, sex. Masculine (the Warrior).


THE SOCIAL PLANETS:
JUPITER AND SATURN

JUPITER and SATURN represent those connecting points between the Personal Planets and the Transpersonal Planets. They embody our desire to venture beyond the boundaries of a solely subjective, personal experience and seek to join with a greater whole.

It is usually when there has been a disruption or lack of satisfaction in the fulfillment of the personal urges that these social urges become activated. This is what motivates us to take the first step and learn to participate constructively with people and groups beyond our own immediate family. Pursuing these social urges and coming to view our lives in a larger context is what allows us to stabilize the personal urges and to gracefully experience the disappointments that are inevitable within the personal sphere.

Some of us experience these urges more strongly than others, and so feel more attracted to culture, art, public service and high ideals. If embraced on the highest level, fulfilling these urges gives us the dual satisfaction of making a contribution to others and growing more powerful and confident in our own lives.

If resisted, these urges can fuel the feeling that we have no control over our lives, “good luck” coming to us one day and “bad luck” the next. Constructively encompassing these urges in our lives gives us a certain equanimity in dealing with the daily ups and downs because it places our lives within the context of a larger framework than just that of the personal urges.

JUPITER
The urge for expansion, trust in positive outcomes. Feminine (the Gatherer).

SATURN
The urge for certainty, to build - through conscious understanding - a reliable structure. Masculine (the Achiever).


THE TRANSPERSONAL PLANETS:
URANUS, NEPTUNE and PLUTO

The Transpersonal Planets depict the route to evolutionary expansion in our charts. They represent those urges that can permanently fulfill that which we all ultimately seek: total knowledge (URANUS), unending bliss (NEPTUNE), and full awareness of our personal power (PLUTO).

When experience has taught us that we cannot count on others to satisfy our Personal Urges, or rely on our position or social participation to bring us lasting satisfaction and peace of mind, we begin to look for a higher answer that will enable us to fully enjoy life without feeling victimized by emotional trauma and unexpected upsets. The Transpersonal Planets prod us to grow even beyond the boundaries of social awareness to participation with humankind as a whole as part of the Universal plan.

These urges from the Transpersonal Planets are always activated whether we are consciously exploring them or not. When operating unconsciously, URANUS becomes destructive, erratic reactions, NEPTUNE becomes deception, and PLUTO becomes the abuse of power.

Not everyone deliberately embraces the transpersonal urges, yet their attraction is universal. Many seek to alter consciousness through the use of drugs and alcohol, or engage in other addictive behaviors to gain these states, even temporarily and on a partial level.

On a permanent basis, these states of consciousness are under the guardianship of the Transpersonal Planets, and can be permanently integrated only by our willingness to pass the tests required by each planet and earn the resulting privilege that it yields.

These tests require our conscious intention to grow beyond our personal limits, inhibitions and separative egos. If we choose to explore these urges we can gain a permanent footing in the eye of the hurricane; chaos can be happening all around us and we will stay centered in the calm peacefulness of our own hearts and minds, and our awareness of our connection to the Universe.

If we resist the challenge to claim these parts of ourselves, when the unexamined energies of these planets are activated by external circumstances, we feel totally out of control and are often forced to change and grow through the stimulation supplied by seemingly negative events.

URANUS
The urge for increased aliveness, excitement, change, freedom from predictability. Masculine (the Rebel).

NEPTUNE
The urge to merge, to experience on-going bliss and well being, euphoria, unconditional love and Oneness. Feminine (the Chameleon, the Dissolver).

PLUTO
The urge for transformation, to release oppression and fear, to change for the sake of gaining personal empowerment, out with the old/ in with the new, caterpillar to butterfly. Life changing. Androgenous (Male in initiating a death-taking risk, Female in the willingness to accept total surrender).


YOUR ASCENDANT (OR“RISING SIGN”)

Although the Ascendant is not a “planet”it is a vitally important point to consider when interpreting the birth chart. The Ascendant (or Rising Sign) shows the gateway between all that you are inside and all that is occurring outside of you.

It’s your physical body- your connection point with the world. Everything that you are inside - your hopes and dreams, your social style, your needs, are communicated to the world outside of you through the filter of the sign on your Ascendant. Its your personality and way of presenting yourself to the world.

Conversely, the world is reflected and interpreted back to you through the filter of your Ascendant. For example, if your Ascendant is in the sign of Leo, you will EXPRESS your needs and ideas in a Leo style: with enthusiasm, self-confidence and strength. You will INTERPRET the world through Leo needs: is the outer world giving you the feedback that they like you, they will be loyal to you, they approve of you?

The Rising Sign is the filter through which we interact with the world outside of our own body. Whatever sign rules your Ascendant is the style of the natural filter between you and the ever changing environment.

© Jan Spiller