Traditional Rulerships Overview

Traditional Rulerships. The traditional system of rulership uses only the seven visible planets, the ones that can be seen with the naked eye, to govern all twelve signs. Since there are seven planets and twelve signs, the Sun and Moon each rule a single sign while the other five planets rule two apiece, one on each side of the zodiac. The Sun rules Leo and the Moon rules Cancer, the two signs of high summer when light is strongest. From there the remaining planets rule in pairs moving outward in order. Mercury rules Gemini and Virgo, Venus rules Taurus and Libra, Mars rules Aries and Scorpio, Jupiter rules Sagittarius and Pisces, and Saturn rules Capricorn and Aquarius. This arrangement is neat and symmetrical, with each planet's two signs sitting an equal distance from the Sun and Moon. It was the standard scheme for most of astrology's history and is still preferred by traditional astrologers, who find the pairings full of meaning. The modern system keeps these rulers but reassigns three of the signs to the outer planets, which is covered in the Modern Rulerships subsection.