The personal planets

The Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars move quickly, so their sign and house placements are highly individual. They describe the core personality and daily life. (Traditionally the Sun and Moon are called luminaries, not planets, but the word "planet" is used for all of them here.)

☉︎ The Sun: The Self, The Hero, The King

In the deck: The Sun, The Sun and its cards

Rules: Leo; Exalted: Aries; Detriment: Aquarius; Fall: Libra; Cycle: ~1 year through the zodiac, ~30 days per sign; Day: Sunday; Metal: gold

Mythology: Helios, who drives the chariot of the sun across the sky each day and sees everything; Apollo, god of light, prophecy, music, healing and reason (Delphi's "Know thyself"); in Egypt, Ra sailing the solar barque by day and battling the serpent Apep through the underworld by night, and Horus, the falcon-king; Osiris as the dying-and-reborn sun. The Sun is always the sovereign, the one who gives light and whose presence makes things visible.

Archetype: The Hero, the King, the Father, the conscious Ego, the Self in Jung's sense of the centre of the psyche. It's the story of individuation: becoming who you actually are.

Keywords: identity, vitality, purpose, will, creativity, pride, recognition, authority, the father / male figures, the heart and spine, life force.

In a reading: the Sun's sign shows the style of your core identity and what you're here to become; its house shows the life area where you need to shine and be recognised.

Light: confidence, generosity, leadership, warmth, integrity. Shadow: egotism, need for validation, tyranny, burnout, a fragile ego hiding behind performance.

☽︎ The Moon: The Soul, The Mother, The Inner Child

In the deck: The Priestess, The Moon and its cards

Rules: Cancer; Exalted: Taurus; Detriment: Capricorn; Fall: Scorpio; Cycle: ~28 days, ~2.5 days per sign; Day: Monday; Metal: silver

Mythology: the triple goddess, Artemis (the waxing, virgin huntress), Selene (the full moon, who loved the sleeping Endymion), Hecate (the dark moon, goddess of crossroads, witchcraft and the underworld). In Egypt, Thoth (as lunar god and measurer of time), Khonsu, and Isis, the mother who reassembles Osiris. The Moon reflects light rather than producing it, it is the receptive, responsive principle.

Archetype: The Mother, the Inner Child, the anima (the feminine soul-image), the unconscious, the body's instincts. It's how you feel safe.

Keywords: emotions, needs, instincts, habits, memory, the past, home, nourishment, mother / caregivers, the body's rhythms, the public (traditionally), dreams, moods, the stomach and breasts.

In a reading: the Moon's sign shows what you need to feel emotionally safe and how you react instinctively; its house shows where you seek comfort and where your emotional life is most active.

Light: nurturing, empathy, intuition, emotional intelligence, belonging. Shadow: moodiness, clinging to the past, emotional reactivity, dependency, smothering.

☿︎ Mercury: The Messenger, The Trickster, The Magician

In the deck: The Magus, Mercury and its cards

Rules: Gemini & Virgo; Exalted: Virgo; Detriment: Sagittarius & Pisces; Fall: Pisces; Cycle: ~88 days; never more than 28° from the Sun; retrograde about 3× a year; Day: Wednesday; Metal: quicksilver (mercury)

Mythology: Hermes, messenger of the gods, born in a cave and stealing Apollo's cattle on his first day (then charming his way out with the lyre he invented); god of travellers, merchants, thieves, boundaries and language; psychopomp, who guides souls to the underworld and is the only Olympian who moves freely between all three worlds. In Egypt, Thoth, ibis-headed scribe of the gods, inventor of writing and magic. The two merge into Hermes Trismegistus, the legendary founder of Hermeticism and alchemy.

Archetype: The Trickster, the Messenger, the Magician (Tarot I), the eternal youth (puer), the mind that connects and translates. Mercury is neutral: it takes on the colour of whatever it touches.

Keywords: mind, thinking, communication, speech, writing, learning, commerce, trade, siblings, short journeys, the nervous system, hands, lungs, youth, cleverness, deception.

In a reading: sign shows how you think and communicate; house shows what you think and talk about most.

Light: wit, eloquence, adaptability, curiosity, skill. Shadow: manipulation, lying, anxiety, superficiality, nervous overthinking.

♀︎ Venus: The Lover, The Beloved, Beauty

In the deck: The Empress, Venus and its cards

Rules: Taurus & Libra; Exalted: Pisces; Detriment: Scorpio & Aries; Fall: Virgo; Cycle: ~225 days; never more than 47° from the Sun; Day: Friday; Metal: copper

Mythology: Aphrodite, born from the sea foam after Kronos castrated Ouranos, beauty born out of violence. Married to the lame smith Hephaestus, lover of the war god Ares; the golden apple of Paris that starts the Trojan War. Earlier: Inanna / Ishtar of Mesopotamia, who descends into the underworld, and whose planet as morning star and evening star was both warrior and lover. In Egypt, Hathor, goddess of love, music and joy. Venus's 8-year cycle traces a five-petalled rose (pentagram) in the sky.

Archetype: The Lover, the Anima, the Muse, the Beloved; the principle of attraction, value and harmony. Venus shows what you value and what you find beautiful.

Keywords: love, relationships, attraction, beauty, art, pleasure, taste, values, money and possessions, harmony, diplomacy, sensuality, the throat, kidneys, skin.

In a reading: sign shows how you love and what you find attractive; house shows where you seek pleasure, harmony and value.

Light: grace, charm, artistry, loyalty, peace-making. Shadow: vanity, laziness, people-pleasing, jealousy, indulgence, love used as a bargaining chip.

♂︎ Mars: The Warrior, Desire, The Will to Act

In the deck: The Tower, Mars and its cards

Rules: Aries & Scorpio (traditional); Exalted: Capricorn; Detriment: Libra & Taurus; Fall: Cancer; Cycle: ~2 years; retrograde every ~26 months; Day: Tuesday; Metal: iron

Mythology: Ares, the violent, disliked Greek war god, raw aggression and bloodlust. The Roman Mars was far more honoured: father of Romulus and Remus, guardian of agriculture and of Rome's army. Earlier: Nergal, Mesopotamian god of war, plague and the underworld. In Egypt, Horus the Red and the fierce lioness Sekhmet. Mars shows the difference between destructive rage and disciplined, protective strength.

Archetype: The Warrior, the masculine animus, the drive to separate, assert and survive. Mars is how you go after what you want and how you fight.

Keywords: action, desire, sexuality, courage, anger, competition, energy, conflict, cutting, surgery, sport, blood, muscles, fever, accidents, the head (with Aries).

In a reading: sign shows how you assert yourself, pursue desire and handle anger; house shows where you fight and where your drive is strongest.

Light: courage, decisiveness, protective strength, passion, independence. Shadow: violence, impulsiveness, cruelty, rage, or, when repressed, passive aggression and burnt-out apathy.