In the same way that man has his experience in many different "houses," so he has many ways of acting, or different "skills," with which to meet the needs of experience. These are indicated in a horoscope by the planets.

The planets are the bodies that move against the background of fixed stars in the heavens. They form the patterns, by their position in the houses and signs, through which the horoscope has its correspondence to human affairs. Ten are commonly used by astrologers. Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto have paths of motion in the sky farther from the sun than the earth’s own orbit, and in that order. Venus and Mercury have their paths between the earth and sun. The moon, which circles the earth directly and closely, is an important "planet" astrologically. The sun, which has an apparent motion, due to the fact that all these heavenly movements are observed or measured from the earth, is the tenth and most vital "planet" of all.

The ten bodies are placed in the horoscope exactly as they lie in the heavens, and as they are seen from the earth-center point of view, but they are indicated by symbols which the beginner now must learn. Except in the case of the recently discovered Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, these symbols are combinations of three basic elements. First is the circle, which represents spirit or the limitless "source" of life. Second is the cross, which by contrast stands for simple matter or lifeless substance. Third is the crescent or half circle which is the linking of spirit to life through experience, and is the development of a personal sensitiveness or "feeling" which in astrology becomes a representation of "soul."