The Zodiac Signs and Their Ruling Planets

Every zodiac sign has a planet that looks after it: here is which planet rules each sign, the difference between the traditional and modern rulers, and how to find the planet that rules your own birth chart

If the twelve houses tell you where life happens in a birth chart, the signs and planets tell you who is acting and how. Every sign has a ruling planet, a kind of guardian whose nature colours the whole sign. Once you know these pairings, astrology starts to make a lot more sense. Here is a gentle guide to all twelve, with the old rulers and the new, and a crystal for each planet as tradition keeps it. If you have not read it yet, our guide to the 12 houses in astrology is a good companion to this one.

Zodiac Rulers at a Glance

• What a ruler is: the planet most at home in a sign, whose nature shapes how that sign behaves
• The seven traditional planets: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn
• The modern additions: Uranus for Aquarius, Neptune for Pisces and Pluto for Scorpio
• Signs with one ruler: Leo (the Sun) and Cancer (the Moon)
• Planets that rule two signs: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in the traditional system
• Your chart ruler: the planet that rules your rising sign
• Everyday link: each of the seven traditional planets also rules a day of the week

What Is a Ruling Planet?

In astrology, each of the twelve signs is paired with a planet that is said to rule it. The idea is simple: a planet feels most at home in the sign it rules, a little like a person in their own house. The sign takes on the character of its ruler, and the ruler expresses itself most freely in that sign.

So Aries, ruled by Mars, is bold and quick to act, because Mars is the planet of drive and courage. Taurus, ruled by Venus, loves comfort, beauty and good food, because Venus is the planet of pleasure and love. When you understand the planet, you understand a great deal about the sign.

Astrologers sometimes call a ruling planet the sign’s “dignity” or “domicile”. You do not need those words to use the idea. All you need to remember is that the sign shows the style, and the ruler shows the energy behind it.

The Seven Traditional Planets

For most of its long history, astrology worked with seven moving lights in the sky that could be seen without a telescope: the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Astrologers called all seven “planets”, including the Sun and Moon, and that habit is still kept today.

These seven were shared out among the twelve signs in a neat and rather beautiful pattern. The Sun was given Leo and the Moon was given Cancer, the two signs of high summer, when the days are longest. Then, moving outwards from those two signs in both directions, each planet took one sign on either side in order of its speed:

• Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo
• Venus rules Taurus and Libra
• Mars rules Aries and Scorpio
• Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces
• Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius

This gives Saturn, the slowest and furthest planet the ancients could see, the two signs of deep winter, opposite the Sun and Moon. It is a lovely piece of sky logic, and it is still taught in exactly this form.

The same seven planets also gave us the days of the week, a tradition many keep in candle and herb work. Sunday belongs to the Sun, Monday to the Moon, Tuesday to Mars, Wednesday to Mercury, Thursday to Jupiter, Friday to Venus and Saturday to Saturn. You can still hear some of the planets in the names, and the French words for the weekdays keep even more of them.

Traditional and Modern Rulers

Three more planets have been found since the telescope was invented: Uranus in 1781, Neptune in 1846 and Pluto in 1930. As each one was discovered, astrologers began to look for the sign it seemed to suit, and over time three new pairings became popular:

• Uranus, the planet of sudden change and new ideas, with Aquarius
• Neptune, the planet of dreams and the sea, with Pisces
• Pluto, the planet of depth and rebirth, with Scorpio

It is worth being honest about this. These are modern additions, made within the last two centuries or so. They are not ancient, and the older system does not need them to work. Traditional astrologers still use only the seven visible planets, while many modern astrologers use the newer rulers alongside the old ones, calling the older planet a “co ruler”.

Neither approach is wrong. If you read horoscopes in magazines or apps, you will usually see the modern rulers. If you study older astrology, you will see the traditional ones. Many people simply keep both in mind: Scorpio as a sign of Mars and Pluto, Aquarius as a sign of Saturn and Uranus, and Pisces as a sign of Jupiter and Neptune.

The Twelve Signs and Their Rulers

Here is each sign in turn, with its rough dates, element, modality and ruler. The dates shift by a day or so from year to year, because the Sun does not cross into each sign at exactly the same moment every year. If you were born near the change of a sign, a birth chart will tell you for certain.

A quick word on the terms. The element is fire, earth, air or water. The modality describes how the sign moves: cardinal signs start things, fixed signs hold steady, and mutable signs adapt.

Aries: 21 March to 19 April

Fire, cardinal, ruled by Mars. Mars gives Aries its courage, energy and quickness to begin. This is the first spark of the zodiac, the sign that acts first and thinks later.

Taurus: 20 April to 20 May

Earth, fixed, ruled by Venus. Here Venus shows its earthy side: comfort, patience, good food, soft fabrics and a love of nature. Taurus builds slowly and makes things last.

Gemini: 21 May to 20 June

Air, mutable, ruled by Mercury. Mercury makes Gemini curious, chatty, quick witted and endlessly interested in ideas, words and people. It is the sign of the question and the conversation.

Cancer: 21 June to 22 July

Water, cardinal, ruled by the Moon. The Moon gives Cancer deep feelings, a strong memory and a love of home and family. Like the tides, Cancer moods ebb and flow.

Leo: 23 July to 22 August

Fire, fixed, ruled by the Sun. The Sun brings warmth, generosity, pride and a wish to shine. Leo has a big heart and likes to light up a room.

Virgo: 23 August to 22 September

Earth, mutable, ruled by Mercury. In Virgo, Mercury turns practical: careful, observant, skilled with detail and happiest when being useful. It is the sign of craft and quiet service.

Libra: 23 September to 22 October

Air, cardinal, ruled by Venus. Here Venus shows its social side: fairness, harmony, beauty and partnership. Libra weighs both sides and looks for balance.

Scorpio: 23 October to 21 November

Water, fixed, ruled by Mars traditionally and Pluto in modern astrology. Mars gives Scorpio its strength and determination, and Pluto adds depth, intensity and the power to begin again. Scorpio feels everything and forgets little.

Sagittarius: 22 November to 21 December

Fire, mutable, ruled by Jupiter. Jupiter, the great planet of growth, brings optimism, adventure, generosity and a hunger for meaning. Sagittarius is the traveller and the seeker.

Capricorn: 22 December to 19 January

Earth, cardinal, ruled by Saturn. Saturn gives Capricorn patience, ambition, structure and a long view. This is the sign that climbs the mountain one steady step at a time.

Aquarius: 20 January to 18 February

Air, fixed, ruled by Saturn traditionally and Uranus in modern astrology. Saturn brings principle and loyalty to a cause, and Uranus adds originality and a wish to do things differently. Aquarius thinks about the group and the future.

Pisces: 19 February to 20 March

Water, mutable, ruled by Jupiter traditionally and Neptune in modern astrology. Jupiter brings kindness and faith, and Neptune adds imagination, compassion and a dreamy, artistic nature. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac and holds a little of all the others.

What Each Planet Brings

Once you know the planets, you can read any sign by its ruler. Here is a short reminder of what each one is said to bring.

• The Sun: identity, vitality, confidence and purpose
• The Moon: feelings, instinct, comfort, memory and home
• Mercury: thinking, speaking, learning, travel and trade
• Venus: love, beauty, pleasure, art and harmony
• Mars: energy, courage, drive and protection
• Jupiter: growth, luck, wisdom, generosity and faith
• Saturn: structure, discipline, time, patience and lasting results
• Uranus: change, freedom, invention and surprise
• Neptune: dreams, intuition, imagination and spirit
• Pluto: depth, transformation, endings and new beginnings

How to Find Your Own Chart and Chart Ruler

Your Sun sign is the one most people know, the sign the Sun was in on your birthday. But a full birth chart shows where every planet was at the moment you were born, and it can tell you something many people have never heard of: your chart ruler.

Step one: gather your birth details

You will need your date of birth, the place you were born and, as closely as possible, the time. The time matters, because the rising sign changes roughly every two hours. Some birth certificates record it, or a family member may remember.

Step two: draw up your chart

Put your details into any free birth chart calculator online. It will show a wheel of the twelve houses with the planets placed around it. Look for the Ascendant, often marked “Asc” or “AC” on the left hand side of the wheel. The sign it falls in is your rising sign.

Step three: find the ruler of your rising sign

The planet that rules your rising sign is your chart ruler. If you have Virgo rising, your chart ruler is Mercury. If you have Capricorn rising, it is Saturn. Many astrologers see the chart ruler as the planet that steers the whole chart, so it is well worth getting to know.

Step four: see where your chart ruler sits

Now find that planet in your chart and note which sign and house it is in. That placement shows where you tend to put your energy in life. A chart ruler in the tenth house often points towards career and public life, while a chart ruler in the fourth often points towards home and family. Our post on rising sign crystals and the twelve houses walks through this in more detail.

If your rising sign is Scorpio, Aquarius or Pisces, you have a choice of chart ruler. Many people read both the traditional and the modern one, and notice which feels more true.

A Crystal for Each Planet

Crystals have long been paired with the planets, and these pairings are a tradition many keep rather than fixed rules. Choose the stone for your chart ruler, your Sun sign’s ruler or the planet of the day you are working on, and keep it close as a reminder of that planet’s qualities.

• The Sun: citrine or sunstone, golden stones for warmth, confidence and joy
• The Moon: moonstone or selenite, pale stones for intuition, calm and the rhythm of the tides
• Mercury: fluorite or sodalite, for clear thinking, study and honest words
• Venus: rose quartz, the gentle pink stone of love and kindness
• Mars: carnelian or garnet, warm red stones for courage and motivation
• Jupiter: amethyst or lapis lazuli, for wisdom, faith and growth
• Saturn: obsidian or Whitby jet, dark stones for grounding, patience and protection

For the modern planets, many people simply use the stone of the traditional co ruler: obsidian or jet for Aquarius, amethyst or lapis lazuli for Pisces, and carnelian or garnet for Scorpio.

A simple way to work with your ruling planet

1. Find your chart ruler, or the ruler of your Sun sign if you do not know your birth time.
2. Choose the day of the week that belongs to that planet, such as Friday for Venus or Saturday for Saturn.
3. Light a candle on that day. A white candle can stand in for any colour.
4. Hold the planet’s crystal in your hand, take a few slow breaths, and speak aloud one quality of that planet you would like more of, such as patience, courage or calm.
5. Write the words in your journal, and keep the crystal on your desk or by your bed for the week ahead.
6. When you are finished, snuff the candle rather than blowing it out.

If you would like to take this further, the seven planets also make a beautiful framework for a crystal grid, with one stone for each planet set in a circle. Our guide to planetary rulers and crystal grid circuits shows how.

Questions People Ask

Which planet rules my zodiac sign?

Aries and Scorpio are ruled by Mars, Taurus and Libra by Venus, Gemini and Virgo by Mercury, Cancer by the Moon, Leo by the Sun, Sagittarius and Pisces by Jupiter, and Capricorn and Aquarius by Saturn. In modern astrology Scorpio also has Pluto, Aquarius has Uranus and Pisces has Neptune.

What is the difference between traditional and modern rulers?

Traditional rulers use only the seven planets visible to the naked eye, the system used for most of astrology’s history. Modern rulers add Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, which were discovered between 1781 and 1930, giving them to Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio.

What is a chart ruler?

Your chart ruler is the planet that rules your rising sign. It is seen as the planet that steers your whole birth chart, and its sign and house show where you tend to put your energy. You need your birth time to find it.

Do the Sun and Moon count as planets in astrology?

Yes. Astronomers do not call them planets, but in astrology the Sun and Moon have always been counted among the seven traditional planets, because they move through the zodiac just as the planets do.

Which signs have two ruling planets?

In modern astrology, Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces each have two rulers: one traditional and one modern. Scorpio has Mars and Pluto, Aquarius has Saturn and Uranus, and Pisces has Jupiter and Neptune.

How do houses and ruling planets work together?

Each house in your chart begins in a sign, and the ruler of that sign is said to rule the house too. So if your seventh house of partnership begins in Libra, Venus has a say in your relationships. The houses show where, and the ruler shows how.

Keep reading: The 12 Houses in Astrology · Rising Sign Crystals and the Twelve Houses · Planetary Rulers and Crystal Grid Circuits