As I said in last week’s Cosmic Compass post the planets are a clock representing what happens to us. Over the next series of posts I’ll be explaining how the planets represent our path of personal development.
Firstly, I need to clarify what I mean when I use the term ‘planet’. This term originally meant ‘wanderers’.
When we look at the sky we see a backdrop of star patterns which are effectively static. (They’re not really and that gives rise to the idea of the Ages – the Age of Pisces, Age of Aquarius and so on. However, we’re not getting into that discussion here.)
Against this static background a number of heavenly bodies move. Because of this, astrologers call them planets. Astronomers, on the other hand, have different criteria which is why Pluto used to be a planet but was recently downgraded to a planetoid. Also, astronomers wouldn’t consider the Sun and our Moon planets, but for our purposes they are included under that heading.
So, for the purpose of this discussion, the ‘planets’ are; Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron.
When a person is born they are a soul incarnating. That soul has come to Earth to achieve particular goals or objectives. These could be related to its personal requirements like addressing karmic issues or assisting in the ongoing development of the planet and all its inhabitants. Often it’s both.
The planets symbolise the process the soul goes through and by understanding the journey we gain greater insights into the underlying purpose.
The Sun
The Sun is the central body of the Solar System and in many ways it defines the Solar System. It’s the Sun’s gravity which holds all the planets in their orbits and stops them flying off into space. The solar wind (particles flying off the Sun) creates a bubble-like effect. Somewhere, way out there, these particles become so spread out that they can no longer be considered a ‘wind’. At that point we’re at the edge of the Solar System.
The Sun provides most of the energy for all life. (There are some microbes which exist at the bottom of the oceans or inside volcanoes which feed off other forms of energy, so perhaps they could exist without the Sun, but life, as we know it, can’t.)
In the same way as the Sun is the core of the Solar System, gives it definition and feeds it, so too the soul defines the person.
When we talk about a person’s birth sign we’re referring to the sign of the Zodiac through which the Sun was traveling when the person was born. It takes the Sun a year to travel through the entire Zodiac and that’s the definition of a year.
(Another point of difference between Astrology and Astronomy is that Western or Tropical Astrology uses an imaginary section of sky to define each sign – Aries, Taurus etc – while Astronomy and Indian or Vedic Astrology uses the star patterns we identify by those names to define the signs of the Zodiac. That’s why, if your birth sign is normally Taurus then to an Vedic astrologer your sign may be Aries. Another discussion not to have here.)
Just as the Sun pushes matter and energy out into the Universe, the Sun in a person’s birth chart is the major masculine force in that person’s life, it’s how they project themselves into the world around them, it’s the characteristics that other people see of them.
If you’ve ever read basic Astrology texts (eg Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs) you’ll often find that the characteristics of each sign seems to fit very closely when you look at other people. However, while some of it will resonate there’s often a feeling that it doesn’t quite work for you. This is because the characteristics we see of others are what is being projected very strongly while for ourselves we relate more to the other planets because we’re experiencing them from an internal perspective. If you read the same books but, instead of reading about your Sun sign, read the characteristics of your Moon sign you’ll find a greater resonance to that than the Sun sign.
Thus, the Sun represents the spark of the soul which has incarnated and one of the main indicators of your purpose in this world is the position of the Sun in your chart – the Sign and the house.
In the next Cosmic Compass post we’ll look at how the soul incarnates via the Moon principle.
If you want to find out how the planets are configured in your chart and what that means for a life of meaning and purpose contact me at laurence@aviel.com.au or download my ebooklet/workbork, “7 Steps To Aligning With Your Soul Purpose”, at GetYourSoulPurpose.com.