The planets and their aspects are the most important part of mundane astrology – and indeed, in all other forms of astrology too.
The planets are the actors who make things happen by forming aspects with each other; the houses are the areas in which they act; and the signs are how these events are expressed.
This is part two of a series on mundane astrology. Here are the other posts:
Learning the Basics of Mundane Astrology
The Meaning of the Houses in Mundane Astrology
The Meaning of the Signs in Mundane Astrology
Below, you’ll find a list of the meaning of the planets in mundane astrology. The planets typically represent particular types and groups of people, while the houses represent the topics and areas in which these people are working.
I have compiled these meanings from a few different sources, notably the work of Deborah Houlding, Richard Tarnas’ Cosmos and Psyche, H.S. Green’s Mundane or National Astrology, Raphael’s Mundane Astrology, and numerous other articles and blog posts that I’ve read over the years.
The meanings of the seven classical planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn) date back to antiquity. The outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are modern discoveries and therefore their meanings in mundane astrology are also modern.
I’ve included more detailed notes on the outer planets because there’s still some difference of opinion in how these should be interpreted. Regardless, astrologers are mostly in agreement about the meaning of the outer planets, and the influence of the outers is often most clearly seen at the macro level in broad mundane, geopolitical cycles, as opposed to at the individual natal level.
Sun
King, leader, ruler.
Vital force, illumination, achievement, fame.
The Sun represents the overall ruler of the particular location being examined. At the country level, this would be the prime minister, president or monarch. At the city level, this would be the mayor.
The Sun is also associated with vital force and “shining” – people and things that are illuminated, famous and/or have achieved great things.
These associations are why solar eclipses are associated with the death of kings, the fall of other leaders ad governments, and various other falls from grace and fame. They are also associated with illness, as the vital force is blocked, and corruption, as the light is diminished and things are hidden in the dark.
Moon
People, public attention, women and children.
Nurturing and nourishment, fertility, reaction and response, manifestation.
The Moon’s meaning is opposite that of the Sun. The Sun is the leader, so the Moon is the people: common folk, crowds, the hoi polloi. The Moon can also represent women and children.
The Moon’s position shows what the public’s attention is focused on. She can show how and where the people will react and respond to stimuli.
The Moon is also associated with things related to nourishment, especially how the people are fed and nurtured; national birth rates and the state of the nation’s children.
Mercury
Media, intellectuals, children.
Telecommunications, publishing, trade, commerce, transportation.
Mercury represents everything to do with communication so it shows anyone working within these fields, as well as within the fields of trade and commerce, and the transportation industry. Mercury can also represent children.
Mercury is also everything related to trade and commerce, transportation, telecommunications and publishing – newspapers, books, TV, film, the internet.
Venus
Women, artists, athletes, diplomats.
Arts, entertainment, sports, beauty, aesthetics, fashion, harmony.
Venus represents women and everything to do with women’s issues and rights. Because of this, certain types of children’s issues can be shown by Venus, though only those directly associated with women’s rights as well – custody or abortion rights, for example.
Venus is peace and diplomacy: envoys, government representatives and diplomats. Venus loves all forms of entertainment, arts and leisure, and so symbolizes artists of all kinds, sports players, and other people working in these areas.
Mars
Men, soldiers, firemen, blacksmiths, criminals.
Fires, explosions, conflict, competition, violence, anger, natural disasters.
Many of the meanings of Mars are the opposite of Venus’ meanings. Venus is women, so Mars is men; Venus is peace, so Mars is war.
One of Mars’ oldest associations is with fire and anyone who works with it: firemen, chefs, blacksmiths (they forge weapons and items from fire). This is why Mars symbolizes soldiers and the military, as they wield fire-forged weaponry: swords and blades in the past; guns in modern times.
Mars is also associated with fires and explosions in general, natural disasters, and anything involving competition, conflict and violence.
Mars is boldness, impulsiveness, separation, antagonism, and declarations and acts of war – the opposite of Venus’ peace of diplomacy. When you combine these impulses with (fire-forged) weaponry, you get soldiers and police officers, as well as criminals and terrorists.
Jupiter
Judges, lawyers, priests, lawmakers, bankers, academics.
Expansion, growth, optimism, success, abundance, excess, fortune.
Jupiter represents all the officials who works in the realm of law and lawmaking: judges, lawyers and other arbiters of the judicial system; religious leaders like priests and clergymen; financial officials and those at the lead of commerce and trade; philosophers, professors and anyone working in academia. Jupiter is particularly concerned with justice and truth, or the lack thereof.
Jupiter also represents the principles of expansion, growth and abundance. He’s optimistic, jovial and magnanimous. Jupiter brings abundance to the point of excess, and success as the risk of arrogance.
Saturn
Structures, boundaries, restriction, constraint, materiality.
Landlords and land owners; the physical land and natural resources, and the people who work in these fields.
Elderly people, the infirm, disease, death.
Endurance, time, the past, weightiness, division and definition.
Saturn represents the material world in its most literal forms: the physical land and everything associated with it, including the people who own it and work it. Saturn is natural resources and all the people who work in these fields – farmers, foresters, miners, oil workers.
Saturn is also death, illnesses, disease and epidemics, as well as the infirm and the elderly (who are often beset by disease and illness).
Uranus
Anarchists, activists, political dissidents, individualists, scientists, inventors.
Rebellion, revolution, riots, liberation, disruption, chaos, natural disasters, innovation.
I’ve read a number of sources suggesting that Uranus represents right-leaning politics and politicians; however, I think Uranus’ influence is better described as being individualist or libertarian as opposed to assigning it to the political right. It’s true that many right-leaning politics tend to favour the individual instead of the collective, but even right-leaning societies are not truly anarchist or libertarian. This is why Uranus represents dissidents, anarchists and all those who want to break from the status quo.
Uranus also represents chaos and disruption of all kinds, whether natural (earthquakes, volcanoes) or man-made (riots, coups, rebellions, revolutions).
On a more positive side, Uranus is associated with innovations and inspiration, especially scientific and technological breakthroughs and discoveries.
Neptune
The imaginal, transcendent, immaterial realm.
Dreams, visions, illusion, delusion.
Spiritual groups and cults, mobs, gangs, fraudsters, thieves, collectivists.
Neptune is the imaginal realm that transcends the physical world. It brings dreams and visions, illusions and delusions. While Saturn represents the material, Neptune is the immaterial.
Neptune represents the collective, collectivism, and the collective unconscious. Compare this to Uranus, which represents the individual and the spirit of individualism. I’ve found sources stating that Neptune is left-leaning politics, similar to how Uranus is supposed to represent the right-wing. I modify this slightly by clarifying that just as Uranus is individualism, Neptune is collectivism.
Left-wing politics tends to focus on the collective, but it is more precise to identify Neptune as signifying the spirit of collectivism itself, as opposite to simply aligning it with the political left. Note that fascism – and its demand for the people to fall into lockstep obedience to mandated rules dictated by an authoritarian leader – is signified by Neptune and not Uranus, because Neptune is collectivism in all its forms: both benign socialism and malignant authoritarianism.
As Neptune also represents illusions and delusions, on the mundane level it is aligned with those who create or operate under illusions and/or delusions, or otherwise hide their motivations and actions: thieves and others who commit fraud, as well as those take drugs and participate in other escapist pursuits.
Finally, Neptune is aligned with spiritual groups and cults. I am a little uncomfortable with this as it also lumps in various spiritual groups with cults and implies that they are all deluded. For those of us operating in these esoteric fields – like astrology! – it feels a little offensive to be lumped in with gangsters, drug-takers and collectivists. Nonetheless, there are some similarities here.
Pluto
Destruction, resurrection, transformation, exploitation, power struggles, violence, corruption.
Detectives, spies, investigative journalists, whistleblowers, gangsters.
Everyone who works in the hidden realms is signified by Pluto, particularly when these realms involve crime, violence and exploitation. It is also those engaged in struggles of power and wealth.
Pluto can also signify death and destruction, though usually of a more transformative nature: Pluto destroys so that something else can be resurrected in its place. This is different than the death that Saturn represents, which is a finality, an end point, and all the physical effects and associations with the act of dying (disease, infirmity).