The planets in astrology
A birth chart is a map of the sky at the moment you were born. It places the Sun, the Moon and eight planets, Mercury to Pluto, in the twelve zodiac signs. Each one stands for a part of you, and the sign it was in shapes how that part shows up.
Your free birth chart shows where each of yours is, and your Rising sign when you add a birth time. Below is what each one means and about how long it stays in a sign, with a reading for every sign. The Rising sign comes last: it is not a planet, but it is read alongside them.
The Sun
The Sun is your core identity and what you shine at.
The Sun spends about a month in each sign, on nearly the same dates every year.
The Moon
The Moon is your emotional nature and what makes you feel safe.
The Moon spends two to two and a half days in each sign, so a birth time makes your Moon sign certain.
Mercury
Mercury is how you think, learn and communicate.
Mercury spends about three weeks in a sign, and longer when a retrograde keeps it there.
Venus
Venus is how you love and what you value.
Venus spends about four weeks in a sign, and up to about four months when a retrograde keeps it there.
Mars
Mars is your drive, your desire and how you go after things.
Mars spends about six weeks in a sign, and up to nearly eight months when a retrograde keeps it there.
Jupiter
Jupiter is where you grow and what you believe in.
Jupiter spends about a year in each sign.
Saturn
Saturn is where you build discipline and hard-won mastery.
Saturn spends about two and a half years in each sign.
Uranus
Uranus is where you break convention. It spends about seven years in a sign, so everyone born in those years shares it.
Neptune
Neptune is where you dream and dissolve boundaries. It spends about fourteen years in a sign, so a whole generation shares it.
Pluto
Pluto is where you meet power and transformation. It spends twelve to thirty years in a sign, so a whole generation shares it.
Rising sign (Ascendant)
Your Rising sign, also called the Ascendant, is the zodiac sign that was rising on the eastern horizon at the moment and place you were born. It shapes how you come across and the first impression you make.
The Rising sign changes about every two hours, which is why it needs a birth time.
Ready to find yours? Draw your free birth chart to see the sign of every planet, or meet the twelve signs first.