Astrology Tutorial: Zodiac Signs & Rulers, 1

The phrase zodiac signs and their rulers sounds a little like astrology's hosting the royal families of Europe. Actually, the phrase refers to a list of the 12 astrology signs, each one paired with one or more of the planets, the sun or the moon. The pairing depends on how much affinity the sign and the celestial body happen to have with each other. A sign's "ruler" is the planet, planets, or light with which it's most compatible. Here's the list, as it stood between 1930 and 2003:

Sign Ruler

Aries Mars
Taurus Venus
Gemini Mercury
Cancer the Moon
Leo the Sun
Virgo Mercury
Libra Venus
Scorpio Mars (Pluto)
Sagittarius Jupiter
Capricorn Saturn
Aquarius Saturn (Uranus)
Pisces Jupiter (Neptune)

Personally, I prefer to amend the old-style list of rulerships. That's the list of zodiac signs with their traditional rulers from the time before the discovery of the telescope. And that's the subject of tomorrow's post.