What planet rules your chart?

Who’s in the driver’s seat?

Those who know me well, know that I’m a proud Saturn-ruled person. I know things take time, what goes around generally always comes around (that’s karma baby!), and most of the time, you have to put in the work and get your hands dirty to see the result you want. You would’ve also noticed when reading the last edition of this newsletter, that I’m a big fan of daddy Saturn, and what he brings to the table.

The planet that rules your birth chart is good to know, not just because it’s great information, but because it’ll tell you the overall themes of your chart, and what you may experience more often than not in your day-to-day life.

As a Saturn-ruled person, I generally find I come across a few challenges and don’t like being told what to do (Saturn and authority have a love/hate relationship). I’m also usually the rational one amongst my friendship group and have to burst a bubble or two every once in a while with a bit of realism when the people around me start to get a little too delulu for their own good. Saturn is always there, making sure I’m being responsible for myself and my own journey – it’s tiring at times, but worth it.

Now, you may be asking yourself, how did she know she’s Saturn-ruled? Is it just because she’s a Capricorn?

The answer is yes, and no – let me explain.

Planetary rulership

To understand what planet rules your birth chart, and therefore rules your little astrological blueprint, you first need to understand what planets rule each sign. I’ve mentioned this in previous editions of the newsletter (I’ve written a lot of these now, so we’re going to be jumping back every now and again), but if you need a refresher here’s what planet rules each sign of the zodiac:

Aries – Mars

Taurus – Venus

Gemini – Mercury

Cancer – Moon

Leo – Sun

Virgo – Mercury

Libra – Venus

Scorpio – Mars (or in modern astrology, Pluto)

Sagittarius – Jupiter

Capricorn – Saturn

Aquarius – Saturn (or in modern astrology, Uranus)

Pisces – Jupiter (or in modern astrology, Neptune)

Now, this list is the key to understanding which planet rules your chart. I prefer to use traditional astrology when talking about planetary rulership, but if you prefer modern astrology, then that’s fine too. I’d just urge you to take the traditional ruler into account as well, because you may find they still hold a lot of meaning within your chart, and how it influences your day-to-day.

Finding your planetary ruler

There are two ways to find out which planet rules your birth chart and acts as your astrological chauffeur. Not everyone’s chart is the same, and not everyone’s planetary ruler will show itself in the same way, so here are a few ways you can discover yours.

Your Rising Sign

The planetary ruler of your Rising Sign is the best place to start when we’re talking about rulership. If you don’t have any planets living within your Rising Sign, that’s okay. Your Rising Sign still plays a major part in how your birth chart does it’s thing.

If you’re a Gemini Rising, then Mercury will rule your birth chart. If you’re a Sagittarius Rising, Jupiter will be helping you out while you’re out there living your best life. If you’re a Taurus Rising, then Venus will rule your birth chart. You see where I’m going with this, so if you know your Rising Sign, then just pop back up to the list above to find the planet that rules over your birth chart.

Your stellium

Now, if you have a stellium in your birth chart, this means you’ll have two planets helping you navigate your way through life.

A stellium is a name given to a space within someone’s birth chart that houses four or more planets. Basically, if you have four planets living in the same sign and house, you’ll have a stellium in that sign and house. For example, I read someone’s birth chart not too long ago and they had five planets living in the sign of Scorpio, and in their 11^th house. So, they had an 11^th house stellium in Scorpio.

Stelliums amplify the traits of the sign and house they’re in, to the point where it can sometimes overtake a person’s Rising Sign traits. So even though the person I was referring to earlier was a Capricorn Rising, and therefore had Saturn as their chart ruler, their stellium in Scorpio may outshine their Capricorn-ness every now and again, putting Mars (or Pluto) in the drivers seat.

So, if you check out your birth chart and see four or more planets huddled together within the same zodiac sign and house, you’ll have a stellium and I recommend popping back up to the all-important planetary ruler list to find out which planets rules your stellium.

Now, the reason why I say I’m Saturn-ruled is because I have a stellium in Capricorn, which is a sign ruled by Saturn. However, my Rising Sign is ruled by Mercury, so in reality, if my birth chart was a car, Mercury would be in the driver’s seat, but when he’s getting a bit too tired (or mentally overwhelmed, as Mercury generally does), Saturn takes over to give little Mercury a break.

So, if you also have a stellium in your chart, you may have two (or three, if you’re taking modern astrology into account) planetary rulers. Once you’ve figured out who’s driving you on your astrological journey, be sure to take note of how they help you through things, and whether you notice any stellium energy seeping through every now and again.