Each astrological sign has a planetary ruler. The ruler of the sign is the planet that has the strongest influence on the sign, meaning that the symbolic characteristics of the planet are most clearly expressed in that sign. This is otherwise known as the domicile position of a planet, e.g. the Sun has its domicile in Leo. Whenever a planet is in its own sign, it is in a strengthened position which allows it to express its positive qualities.
In traditional astrology, there were seven rulers. Each planet ruled two signs except for the Sun and the Moon, which only ruled one sign each.
Saturn – Aquarius and Capricorn
Jupiter – Pisces and Sagittarius
Mars – Aries and Scorpio
Venus – Taurus and Libra
Mercury – Gemini and Virgo
Moon – Cancer
Sun – Leo
The rulers are determined by the seasons as they happen in the northern hemisphere. Both luminaries, the Sun and the Moon, were assigned to Leo and Cancer because the days during which the Sun passes these two signs are the brightest.
Mercury is never more than one sign away from the Sun, so it was assigned to the signs next to Cancer and Leo, i.e. Gemini and Virgo.
Venus is never more than two signs away from the Sun, so it has been assigned to the next two signs, Taurus and Libra.
Mars was assigned to the next two neighboring signs, Aries and Scorpio.
Jupiter, the second furthest planet from the Sun, has been assigned to the next two signs, Pisces and Sagittarius.
Saturn is considered to be the coldest planet (out of traditional planets), as it is positioned furthest from the Sun. Therefore, it was assigned as the ruler of the signs opposite Leo and Cancer, i.e. Aquarius and Capricorn.
After the discovery of modern planets, three signs (Aquarius, Pisces, and Scorpio) were assigned modern rulers, and the traditional rulers became their co-rulers. Some astrologers only use the traditional rulers for these signs, others only use the modern ones, and some like to work with both rulers. In this case, they usually take into consideration the idea that the modern ruler has an influence on a psychological level, while the influence of the traditional ruler is expressed in a more concrete manner.
Uranus – Aquarius
Neptune – Pisces
Pluto – Scorpio
Mercury and Venus still rule two signs each. Some astrologers already have suggestions for the modern rulers of Taurus and Virgo, so that each sign would have its own ruler. They suggest the dwarf planet Ceres as the ruler of Taurus, and the asteroid Chiron as the ruler of Virgo.
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