The planets can be thought of as the actors within a person. As with all actors in real life, these actors develop over time in the use of their energies. Some of the development seems to come easily and other development takes a lifetime. Below is a brief description of the energies associated with each planet. Note that the energies described below are colored by the zodiac sign associated with the planet. These zodiac sign characteristics are described in the next section.
SUN :
The Sun actor represents who you are and where your core energies want to flow. As it evolves, it learns to have a balance of who it is and how it projects into the world. When less evolved, this Sun’s energy can range from appearing to have a big ego to having a poor self image. As the Sun evolves, it displays a healthy balance between its ego and self image.
MOON :
The Moon actor represents what you need to nurture yourself and others. Its language is feelings and emotions – and not thoughts. As this actor develops, it learns to have a healthy balance in satisfying its needs and the needs of others. An imbalanced Moon can display a range of behaviors from being needy to being so focused on nurturing others that it is not taking care of its own needs. A well developed Moon finds that healthy balance between taking care of itself and others.
MARS :
Mars represents the actor that goes out and gets what it wants. The development of this actor involves getting what it wants in a respectful way and with appropriate boundaries. An imbalanced Mars may show up in behaviors ranging from aggression without respect for the boundaries of others at one extreme to unwarranted submission without appropriate self boundaries.
MERCURY :
Mercury is the actor which represents the process of thinking and communicating. As this actor develops, it learns to convert its thoughts to communication and behaviors in a way that accurately conveys its intent.
JUPITER :
Jupiter is the actor that is optimistic and expansive. It wants to look outside the normal bounds toward larger endeavors over longer distances. The development of this actor involves learning to balance optimism with realism and to also balance expansiveness with excessiveness.
VENUS :
Venus is the actor which represents the joy and love of beauty in relationships, art, music and the finer things in life, including wealth and possessions. The development of this actor involves learning to be conscious of the signals it sends in attracting what it wants and the willingness and judgment to open up personal relationship barriers as appropriate.
SATURN :
Saturn is the actor that keeps things limited and under control. The development of this actor involves learning to understand what it needs to feel in control, how much control it actually needs, and how to foster control in a way that respects itself and others. Control becomes an art form when it is done in a way that allows significant flexibility and creativity while still obtaining the desired result. As this actor explores its self limiting boundaries, its self confidence increases. Attaining artful control then becomes much easier.
URANUS :
Uranus represents the actor that wants a better life for itself and for others – and is willing to break free from constraints that hold it back. The development of this actor involves learning to create acceptance and support from others in altering existing structures and patterns in order to create freedom and liberation.
NEPTUNE :
Neptune is the actor that lives beyond the ego – who we really are – our connection with all that exists and beyond – our spirituality – the highest form of love. The development of Neptune involves discerning the difference between true spiritual inner growth with what is false and misleading. Becoming aware of and letting go of illusions is an important part of the growth of Neptune. Because this is often a difficult thing to do, Neptune is sometimes associated with deception, illusion and confusion.
PLUTO :
Pluto represents the actor that seeks profound growth and transformation. This actor often shows up in situations caused either by oneself or by external circumstances which feel overwhelming and tumultuous. When this actor is less developed, it will abuse its power in order to save itself or others. The evolved actor uses the art of surrender, acceptance of circumstances, deep exploration and learning from experience in order to make way for new profound growth and transformation. An evolved Pluto is aware of its needs for profound change and is proactive in transforming itself gracefully.