express them through powerful communications. This person also has a
mind that can easily understand mechanical skills, or any other subject
associated with Mars.
House:The second house is the house of earned income and personal
possessions. Mercury here shows someone who can earn money with her
or his communication skills. She or he also acquires possessions related
to Mercury, such as books and other forms of communication media.
The planets have a special relationship with the signs of the zodiac whereby
each planet is said to “rule” a certain sign (or signs). The relationship between the
planets and the signs is one of kinship in their basic traits and associations. Prior to
the discovery of Uranus, a general consensus about these relationships had endured
since the time of Ptolemy. The traditional system held that the Sun ruled Leo, the
Moon ruled Cancer, Mercury ruled Virgo and Gemini, Venus ruled Taurus and Libra,
Mars ruled Aries and Scorpio, Jupiter ruled Sagittarius and Pisces, and Saturn ruled
Capricorn and Aquarius. This is still the primary rulership system used in Hindu
astrology. After the more recently discovered planets were studied, astrologers gradual-
ly came to assign Uranus to Aquarius, Neptune to Pisces, and Pluto to Scorpio, leav-
ing Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars as the rulers of Capricorn, Sagittarius, and Aries. Only
Mercury and Venus are still viewed as ruling two signs each.
The planets are classified in various ways, such as according to whether they
are inferior (circle the Sun within Earth’s orbit) or superior (circle outside the terres-
THEASTROLOGYBOOK [537]
PlanetsThe seven planets and their corresponding days of the week. The zodiac signs over which
they rule appear in black circles. From an English shepherd’s calendar, c. 1510. Reproduced
by permission of Fortean Picture Library.