DOMINANT PLANETS

DOMINANT PLANETS

Saturn is one of the most important planets to examine by transit. It represents the teacher, discipline, responsibilities, delays, limitations, obstacles. The planets it aspects by transit are being challenged and behavior patterns must be re-examined. If a Saturn transit is experienced positively, from within, the best results can be expected. If we resist, it can be very unpleasant.

As for all slow-moving planets, the sign in which Saturn transits is less important than the planet it activates or the house it crosses. So, if you have planets in Pisces, what they represent in your chart is being challenged and changes should be made in these areas of your life.

A planet is dominant in your chart when it conjuncts the cusp of the Ist, IVth, VIIth and Xth houses, when it is conjunct the Sun or the Moon, when it is conjunct the ruler of the Ascendant, and when it rules a Stellium (a group of three or more planets in the same sign).

Dominant planets are the most important planets in a chart, because they imprint their nature in the personality more than any other element. As an example, Neptune, the planet ruling Pisces has the same attributes as the sign, and its dominance in a chart produces the same results as the sign itself. For instance, a conjunction Sun/Neptune in any sign  has a similar meaning as Sun in Pisces.  The individual who has a Sun/Neptune conjunction is called a “Neptunian” and his or her personality is strongly tinted by the nature of this planet. Furthermore, the “cycles” of these dominant planets are to be taken into consideration in predictive astrology. In the case of Neptune, this planet stays 14 years in a sign and each time it changes sign it starts a new cycle of life for the Neptunian person.

It is possible for an individual to have more than one dominant planet. This produces individuals with very strong personality traits which are sometimes in contradiction with one another. One can be Plutonian as well as Venusian, Uranian and Saturnian. In this case, the Sun sign has very little to do with the character. This confirms what we were saying before under the topic “What is my sign?”. Generalization is misleading and can only hurt astrology.  The best way to know your dominant planets is to have your chart calculated for the time of your birth.