Influences of Planets transiting the Zodiac Influences of Planets Influences of Planets

From the point of view of the Earth, as the Sun "appears" to move around the sky in an anti-clockwise circular motion, so do the other planets of the Solar System. Since the 360-degree Zodiac represents the sky, the planets transit or revolve around the Zodiac, in an anti-clockwise circular motion.
 
The 10 classical planets are introduced in the table below:

	Sun:
	Period of revolution: 365.25 Days
	The Sun represents the core of an individual, the "inner self" and the "conscious mind". It sets the shades of an individual, which colours everything else.
	Moon:
	Period of revolution: 27.32 Days
	The Moon represents the feelings and emotions of an individual. It also influences one's mobility, versatility and adaptability to change.
	Mercury:
	Period of revolution: 88 Days
	Mercury represents the sense of reasoning and common-sense of an individual. It influences one's spoken and written words, putting in order and evaluating, and the process of learning and skills.
	Venus:
	Period of revolution: 225 Days
	Venus represents the sense of beauty and enjoyment of pleasures of an individual. It influences one's aesthetic awareness, love of harmony, and taking pleasure in relationships and eroticism.
	Mars:
	Period of revolution: 1 Year, 9 Months
	Mars represents courage, determination and the energy to drive an individual. It influences one's aggression, readiness for action, and freedom of spontaneous impulse.
	Jupiter:
	Period of revolution: 11 Years, 9 Months
	Jupiter represents optimism, hope and the sense of justice of an individual. It influences one's meaning and purpose, faith, and basic philosophy of life.
	Saturn:
	Period of revolution: 29 Years, 5 Months
	Saturn represents conscience, moral conviction and the rules (principles) of an individual. It influences one's experience of "reality", and lends qualities like earnestness, caution and limitations.
	Uranus:
	Period of revolution: 84 Years
	Uranus represents intuition, sudden inspiration and lightening insights of an individual. It influences one's openness for all that is new, unknown and unusual.
	Neptune:
	Period of revolution: 165 Years
	Neptune represents the super-sensory, mystical experiences and the transcendental of an individual. It influences one's perception, illusion and all kinds of pseudo-realities.
	Pluto:
	Period of revolution: 248 Years
	Pluto represents the regenerative powers, and capacity of radical change of an individual. It influences one's dealing with power, both personal and non-personal.

 
Each of these planets influences us in a unique manner, based on its mass and its distance from Earth. This includes the Sun and the Moon - considered planets in astrology, and sometimes referred as "luminaries" to avoid technical problems. In fact, when astrology evolved, astronomers had little knowledge of the Universe, and it was not known that the Sun is a star, or that Moon is a satellite. Furthermore, the planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto were yet to be discovered, and are erroneously not considered in traditional astrology - including Vedic Astrology.
 
Apart from these 10 classical planets, other celestial influences exist from asteroids (like Chiron, Eros) and points (like Part of Fortune).  Also note herein, that the recently discovered planet, Sedna, is smaller than Pluto and located at 3 times the distance of Pluto from Sun. It is not considered in astrology because it is too small and too far to influence terrestrial life.
 
The planets revolve around the Zodiac in accordance to their "Period of Revolution", and roughly spends one twelfth of the time in each Zodiac Sign. Mercury, Venus, and Mars are considered "Minor Planets" because they revolve faster and spend lesser amount of time in each Zodiac Sign. On the other hand, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are considered as "Major Planets" because they revolve slower and spend considerable amount of time in each Zodiac Sign - sometimes influencing life-changing impacts.
 
This movement of each planet is known as "transit". The transits have their individual interpretations, depending upon the planet considered, the Zodiac Sign being transited, and the House that is being impacted.
 
It is important to discuss "retrograde motions" in the context of transits. Remind yourself that when two cars move beside each, the slower moving car "appears" to move backwards relative to the faster moving car. This happens for the celestial bodies also, when faster moving objects make a planet appear to be moving backwards. This backward-moving motion is known as Retrograde, and happens for all planets - excluding the Sun and the Moon.
 
Retrograde motions usually have disharmonious influences - when commitments, agreements, and decisions that are avoidable and not emergent, should be postponed - depending upon the planet in retrograde, the Zodiac Sign involved, and the House that is being impacted. This is advised because after the Retrograde, when the planet moves backward through the Zodiac, the planet re-traces the same positions in a Direct Motion. During this time of re-tracing, we usually re-think and tend to change our decisions, based on similar influences under similar situations. In between, the "Retrograde Motion" and the "Direct Motion", there is a timeframe when the planet appears to stand still, and not moving at all - this timeframe is known as "Station" or "Retrograde Station".