The planets each have their own “natural” significations - Venus is relationship and Mars is separation. Mercury is communication and Jupiter is friendship. However there is a second set of additional meanings each planet has that will be unique to your rising sign! This second set of meanings are sometimes called the accidental significations of the planets, compared to the planets’ “natural” significations which most are already familiar with. Demetra George outlines these ideas in Ancient Astrology Volume II, p841 - 844, 855-858. Table 56 on p 857 has the same information for each rising sign below, but in a table format.
For example, Leo or Cancer rising will have Saturn managing their committed partnerships, not just Venus! Perhaps Mercury manages the portion of your chart that describes friendship, even though we know that symbolism belongs to Jupiter generally speaking.
These additional planetary assignments are determined by the specific time you were born. A birth day alone is not sufficient to provide this second layer of more specific detail, which is why Sun sign horoscopes aren’t going to be as specific as Rising Sign horoscopes.
How does it work?
Each zodiac signs has a planetary steward, a planet that is manages and cares for the house topics in that sign. With a planet ruling over each of the 12 signs of your chart, we can then assign a planet to manage 12 different areas of life. This managing planet is often called the “lord” or “ruler” of the sign and house, however using “steward”, “care for,” and “manage”, better illustrate the dynamics of guest-host relationship that the planets have with their signs/houses. If we know which planets are managing which parts of our life, we can start watching the transits of that planet in real time to predict how specific areas of life will go.
Listed below is a key you can use to walk through this exercise with me using your own birth chart! Scroll on further for each rising sign, if you know yours.
Key: Signs and their traditional Planetary Rulers/Stewards
(listed so you can see the symmetry described in the Thema Mundi)
Aquarius - Saturn
Pisces - Jupiter
Aries - Mars
Taurus - Venus
Gemini - Mercury
Cancer - Moon
Leo - Sun
Virgo - Mercury
Libra - Venus
Scorpio - Mars
Sagittarius - Jupiter
Capricorn - Saturn
RISING SIGNS
Each of the 12th zodiac signs is managed by a planet. Each sign will contain a house, which will determine the life topics managed by that planet ruling that sign/house.
At the bottom of this horoscope there is a key of house topics. Find your rising sign, match the planet and the set of house topics they manage: For a Taurus rising, their home (4th house/Leo) will be described by the Sun and its condition in the birth chart. Their committed or marriage partners (7th house/Scorpio) will be described by Mars and Mars’ condition in the birth chart. Their money and children will be described by Mercury, and so on.
Find your rising sign to see which planets help manage which areas of your life! If you get lost or stuck at any point, email me at aligninglightastro@gmail.com!
Aries Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 4th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 3rd and 6th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 2nd and 7th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 5th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 1st and 8th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 9th and 12th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 10th and 11th houses
Taurus Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 3rd house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 2nd and 5th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 1st and 6th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 4th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 12th and 7th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 8th and 11th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 9th and 10th houses
Gemini Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 2nd house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 1st and 4th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 12th and 5th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 3rd house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 11th and 6th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 10th and 7th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 8th and 9th houses
Cancer Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 1st house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 12th and 3rd houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 11th and 4th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 2nd house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 10th and 5th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 9th and 6th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 7th and 8th houses
Leo Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 12th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 11th and 2nd houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 10th and 3rd houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 1st house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 9th and 4th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 8th and 5th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 6th and 7th houses
Virgo Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 11th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 10th and 1st houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 9th and 2nd houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 12th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 8th and 3rd houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 7th and 4th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 5th and 6th houses
Libra Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 10th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 9th and 12th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 8th and 1st houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 11th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 7th and 2nd houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 6th and 3rd houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 4th and 5th houses
Scorpio Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 9th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 8th and 11th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 7th and 12th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 10th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 6th and 1st houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 5th and 2nd houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 3rd and 4th houses
Sagittarius Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 8th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 10th and 7th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 6th and 11th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 9th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 5th and 12th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 4th and 1st houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 2nd and 3rd houses
Capricorn Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 7th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 6th and 9th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 5th and 10th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 8th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 4th and 11th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 3rd and 12th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 1st and 2nd houses
Aquarius Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 6th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 5th and 8th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 4th and 9th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 7th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 3rd and 10th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 2nd and 11th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 12th and 1st houses
Pisces Rising
Moon - Manages and cares for your 5th house
Mercury - Manages and cares for your 4th and 7th houses
Venus - Manages and cares for your 3rd and 8th houses
Sun - Manages and cares for your 6th house
Mars - Manages and cares for your 2nd and 9th houses
Jupiter - Manages and cares for your 1st and 10th houses
Saturn - Manages and cares for your 11th and 12th houses
———————
House topics
(Hellenistically inspired, whole sign houses used)
1st
Mind, Spirit
Identities, roles, concept of self
Body, appearance, health matters
General circumstances
2nd
Your money, resources, time, and energy
Your skills and talents,
Your needs and how you meet them
“The provisions for life”
3rd
short distance travel, mobility
communication, writing, regular mode of communication/mind
learning or teaching new or foundational things,
siblings, extended relatives, in-laws
familiar people, neighbors, familiar places/spaces, communities, neighborhoods
regular rituals, practice of beliefs, dream divination
If your IC is here by whole sign houses, this place may also include the following:
Home, dwelling, real estate
Land, relationship with the land, what is under the ground
Family, Parents, Ancestors and ancestry, intergenerational themes
Private life
4th
Home, dwelling, real estate
Land, relationship with the land, what is under the ground
Family, Parents, Ancestors and ancestry, intergenerational themes
Private life
5th
creativity, creative process
self expression,
children
rest, rejuvenation, pleasure, fun
sex, sexuality, romantic life,
relationship with vices
If your IC is here by whole sign houses, this place may also include the following:
Home, dwelling, real estate
Land, relationship with the land, what is under the ground
Family, Parents, Ancestors and ancestry, intergenerational themes
Private life
6th
health, taking care of yourself and others (eating, chores, etc),
illness, injury, disease, and recovery from those things
regular duty and obligations,
pets or small or domesticated animals
labor, laborers, exploitative labor, service work, or activism
conflicts (including healthy conflict with loved ones), conscription, war
7th
partners (romantic, best friends, or important 1:1 others),
open adversaries,
business partners, contractual relationships, clients
8th
Reciprocity in relationships/collaborations
Shared assets, partners’ resources
Exchange of resources (money, time, effort, skills, emotional labor, etc)
Investments, stocks, insurance, 401K/retirement stuff
Debt and taxes
Inheritance matters, advanced directives; estate planning and administration
The occult or esoteric studies
Existential awareness/crises, awareness of mortality,
Death or end of life topics
“The provisions for death”
9th
long distance travel/visas, passports
belief, religion, philosophy, general views
continuing education, advanced learning, post-secondary education
publishing, mass communications
Institutions and bureaucracy, politics
Astrology and divination
If your MC is here by whole sign houses, this place may also include the following:
Career, Life paths, public life, legacy
10th
Career, Life paths, public life, legacy
11th
Friends, groups, networks of people you know
Aspirations, hopes
If your MC is here by whole sign houses, this place may also include the following:
Career, Life paths, public life, legacy
12th
Solitude and alone time, retreating, loneliness, exile, rejection
Mental health, emotional, spiritual health; related practices; Inner “shadow” work
Chronic health challenges or other long-standing challenges
Suffering (our own or others), experiencing, witnessing it, and its management
Behind the scenes work; hidden things, and secrets
Frenemies, hidden enemies, people who drag one downward
False stories about the self the drag one downward
Disenfranchisement, marginalization, confinement, loss of agency
Immigration, travel under duress, very remote locations
Wild, large, or deadly animals