Transcript from Richard Fidler’s ‘Advanced Astrology… for beginners’.
First, there was the king (Sun ☉) and queen (Moon ☽) that reigned from the constellations of Leo ♌︎ and Cancer ♋︎ (respectively).
One day, Mercury ☿, the great negotiator, approached the Sun, and asked if there was any land in the zodiac for them. The Sun, being naturally generous and righteous said, sure. You can have Virgo ♍︎, next to me. But Mercury ☿ is a dual planet, always speaking with a forked tongue. So he waited until night and asked the Moon: “the Sun has given me land in the zodiac. Surely you’re not going to be outdone!” The Moon, always trying to reflect the processes of the Sun, said “when you put it that way, okay.” She gave them Gemini ♊︎, next to her.
Venus ♀ thought it’d be really sweet to get some land in the zodiac for her too. She batted her eyelids at the king, who gave her Libra ♎︎. She saw that Mercury had managed to get land from the Moon, and convinced her to yield Taurus ♉︎.
Mars ♂ heard that he’d been left out of this real estate party, and threatened the Sun with dire consequences if he wasn’t given his dues. The Sun yielded Scorpio ♏︎. He then approached the Moon who, quivering, offered up Aries ♈︎.
Jupiter ♃ felt it would only be just to get his share of the abundance, and convincingly presented his case to the Sun, and was given Sagittarius ♐︎. The caring Moon felt that Jupiter deserved something from her too, and he got Pisces ♓︎.
Saturn ♄, being quite slow, got what was left—Capricorn ♑︎ from the Sun, and Aquarius ♒︎ from the Moon.
- SATURN always rules signs opposite the likes of the SUN and MOON.
- SATURN represents what is dark and cold.
- MERCURY and JUPITER always rule each others signs, Mercury being a small planet associated with detailed analysis; Jupiter a big planet associated with broader understanding.
- MARS and VENUS (Love and War, Boy and Girl), are always ruling each others signs.
- These are the 7 ancient planets; the sun and moon rule one side each.
- Every planet rules one masculine and one feminine sign.
Although there are other, newly discovered planets (Neptune, Uranus), many astrologers have turned back to these core planets when it comes to individual focus.