As the second light of the solar system, the moon has always been associated with the sun in the minds of men. The moon and sun are the primordial cosmic couple. This satellite of the earth, which mysteriously waxes and wanes, has been compared to the eternal masculine principle, the father. Psychologically, the moon is thus symbolic of the father and the father image. This figure is a primordial element in the psyche of each individual. Depending on your nature, the father figure may correspond to your biological father, a grandfather, or a man who cared for you in infancy and childhood. When you reach adulthood, this father-figure and all the emotions and bonds associated with you may be transferred to something else: a spouse, a companion, an institution, a church, corporation, or political movement, a cult, etc. In short, any individual or structure likely to take on the father’s duty of providing for and protecting the vulnerable aspects of an individual. To be more down-to-earth, the father figure corresponds to the habits which were learned and then definitively incorporated into the individual’s identity as you gradually became acculturated and progressed toward social independence. As a result, a strongly “solar” personality often finds it difficult to adapt and is uncomfortable outside the secure setting of familiar routines. Closely tied to your past, you may be unwilling to detach yourself from it and embark on your life as an individual in the here and now. You still identify somewhat with your inner child and may display a child’s impulsive behavior, indulging in impulsiveness and decision-making without due consideration. Your aggressiveness may make you easily influenced, your impulsiveness makes you reckless, and you hesitate to open up and lay your soul bare. In your daily life, action will rule. Your imagination, memory, reasoning, and thinking nearly overwhelm your psyche.

As the heart of the solar system and the gravitational center of the travels of the earth and the other planets, the sun is the primordial light, the source of all warmth and life. From the dawn of humanity, it has been worshipped. It has symbolized the absolute power kings and despots yearn for and emulate. The sun king, the nucleus of society, embodied a principle of cohesion and harmony. Various subordinates—aka planets—revolved around it. In terms of psychological symbolism, the sun corresponds to the center of an individual, the factor that rules your psyche. Its luminous aspects are usually associated with knowledge and consciousness. As a creator of life, it is related to the image of the mother and the influence of motherhood on an individual’s consciousness and ideals. As a result, the sun’s position in a birth chart always indicates the way in which an individual will relate to your goals and ideals, what your ambitions and aspirations might involve. A person whose chart is strongly “solar” usually identifies very positively with motherhood. You have a warm, friendly personality with high ideals and a determination to accomplish them. You take your own superiority and authority over others for granted, and you have a natural ability to command the attention and admiration of an audience. You are a born leader who enjoys being in the limelight and may behave somewhat theatrically or with dramatic exaggeration. You have definite artistic leanings. The sense of your ideals is evident to you and may lead you to be somewhat self-focused. If ill-directed, your deep aspirations may lead to such faults as egotism, selfishness, or greediness for power.

Venus, the planet of love, governs two houses in the zodiac: Taurus, representing the awakening to bodily lust, and Libra, the bond of marriage. As a result, Venus may take on very different aspects depending on the individual’s degree of awareness. Likewise, this ambiguity explains Aphrodite’s equivocal conduct in Greek myth and her innumerable couplings and motherhood. Depending on the legend, she may embody brutal, passionate love (with Anteros), the wisdom of the heart which rescues from passion (Harmonia); she also becomes tenderness and purity (with Adonis), pure sexuality (with Eros), a transforming energy (with Vulcan), etc. Mistress of the Arts, she represents beauty, understanding, and peace. Psychologically, individuals under the influence of Venus are struggling with their love instincts.

Andy Messersmith, you will find that the ninth house is an area of the sky which is especially important in your theme, because it contains several planets, including the one which rules your rising sign.