In Astrology, we call planets to all the celestial bodies that are on the sky, as it was done in ancient times. Planet means “wanderer” in greek. And, although this word was intended for people who wandered, it was later used for the wanderers of the sky. It was much later in history that science called today’s planets “planets.” And this is the reason why in astrology we call the Sun and the Moon planets … Ancient poetry.

These celestial wanderers move through the Zodiac at different speed. Some of them move quickly, like the Moon, Mercury or Venus. Some of them, very slowly, like Pluto.

In the following table, we see the time that each planet remains in a sign.

The Sun stays 30 days in a sign while the Moon stays 2 ½ days. This means that, within a month, we will have at least twelve versions of natives of the same sign. If we add the other planets, their movement through the zodiac and their aspects to each other, the numbers increase notably. We could call astrology as the map of our unique being. The map helps us to find our place in the world, at the same time that it indicates the inclusion of our being in a world larger than the personal one. And the latter, we discover it through how long the planets remain in each sign.

Retrograde Planets

We call “retrograde planet” when planets appear to physically move backward in the sky when looking at them from Earth.  This happens due to an optical illusion caused by differences in orbit.

Personal, Social and Transpersonal Planets

The planets that stay within a sign for longer, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, describe collective, generational processes. These are the so-called transpersonal planets. The social planets (Jupiter and Saturn), refer to smaller groups (either events or individuals) and describe the formation of a belief (Jupiter) and its implementation (Saturn). The personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars) describe how we develop individually within the scenario described by both social and transpersonal planets.

When we read a natal chart beginning with the transpersonal planets, we can understand the collective forces we are dealing with. In this way we create the “context” of our personal history. This context describes us individually and also as part of a generation. As such, each of us has access to an energy that has been nurtured by many. This, in addition to giving us a sense of belonging, gives us the possibility to align with something bigger than ourselves. In this way, we become both catalysts and recipients of generational trends. Isn’t that cool?

More on the meaning of planets in Astrology.