The Sun is an enormous ball of very hot gas that is radiating energy in the form of heat and light. This energy is conveniently absorbed by plants and then distributed throughout the food chain. The next time you are eating a hamburger from your favorite local Burgers 'R Us franchise you should realize that you are getting energy from a cow who removed that energy from the plants that it ate which received this same energy directly from the Sun. The main point here is that without the Sun there would be no energy and no life. This makes the Sun the most important celestial body in the horoscope and it is for these reasons that it is associated with your life force, vitality and spirit. When you see The Sun in a horoscope, you should realize that it represents your truest and most basic nature, your essential being and your primary motivation. The Sun is also the boss of the Solar System because all the planets revolve around him and as such he represents bosses and other authority figures. He also concerns himself with ego, will, pride, and males. Your life force, spirit and vitality, your truest and most basic self, your essential being, bosses, authority figures, ego, will, pride and males are all represented by The Sun and his aspects. When you have learned these few key concepts you will have grasped the essential meaning of your first celestial body. Not particularly difficult was it?

The Sun's natural partner is the Moon. They have been involved in a love affair on a cosmic scale for more than four billion years. In astrology the Moon represents change. This is easy to remember if you keep in mind the phases of the Moon. Just as the Moon is always changing her shape as she goes through her phases, the Moon will also represent change along with the ability to adapt to that change in a horoscope. Additionally, the Moon represents your feelings and emotions, subconscious needs, habits and instincts. The Moon also rules your home and family, domestic skills and all forms of land and real estate. She also rules woman. The Moon is intimately connected with the Sun and between them they represent day and night, male and female, conscious and subconscious, being and feeling. The Sun and Moon are so important in every horoscope that if you knew only their sign and house positions and absolutely nothing else, you would have a very good understanding of that individuals basic personality.  

That is my students very first look at the meaning of the Sun and Moon in a horoscope. From there we slowly add additional information until they understand the concept of the planets. Then we begin learning how to modify that information by placing the planets in the signs of the zodiac which is the next link you can examine.  Below you will find a brief, generic outline of the most basic nature of the planets to give you a beginners understanding of what they represent in a horoscope.

There is nothing mysterious or God like about the planets. They have no powers. Nor do they have the ability to cause anything to happen. In essence the planets are just very large rocks that are orbiting the Sun. What is significant about the planets is how we react to them. When our ancestors observed the night sky they noticed some of the stars were moving. They called these wandering stars the planets. They are, in order from the Sun - Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto is now considered a planetoid. In addition to the planets, astrologers deal with the Sun and Moon in their horoscopes. We refer to them as The Lights. The lights are by far the two most powerful celestial bodies in any horoscope. If you wish to learn astrology you