Rulership describes an affinity between a planet and a sign. Every planet has a sign which seems to match it. The energy of Aries, for example, is very similar to the planet Mars. While Mars is in Aries, he is “at home” and able to more comfortably express his basic nature.

Committing rulerships to memory makes the task of reading charts much easier!

Table of Planetary Rulerships

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

*Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are relatively new on the planetary “scene,” having been discovered only after the development of telescopes. Therefore, Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio also have traditional rulers among the seven visible planets.

Some astrologers, such as Rob Hand, believe that Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are impersonal energies, and as such, they rule no signs. They exclusively use traditional rulerships.

I encourage you to learn both modern and traditional rulerships, and use the system with which you are more comfortable.