When you hear the word ‘planets,’ you probably think of the Solar System -- as in, My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas. Ever heard that one? It’s a mnemonic device used to memorize the order of the planets; Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
But in astrology, the planets in our birth chart include more than just those nine -- including celestial bodies that we don’t normally think of as planets, such as the Sun and the Moon.
The planets were in a certain, distinctive pattern in the sky at the exact moment that you were born, and a map of their configuration is called your natal chart, or birth chart. Each planet represents something in itself -- your personality (Sun), the way you think (Mercury), the way you love (Venus) and so on -- but together, the angles and connections among all of them also paint a highly specific and accurate portrait of who you are as an individual.
Some people like to claim that astrology doesn’t work -- that it provides only generic information that could be applied to anyone. But take a look at a reading of your birth chart, and you’ll find out just how specific the information gets! You’ll be amazed by the picture of you that astrology paints, including in-depth analysis of your emotional life, your dreams and motivations and your subconscious drives.