Identifying Places of Strength in Your Birth Chart

Let's take your birth chart interpretations to the next level!

The other day I was talking to my friend about her overall life purpose, because she’s currently confused about what she needs to be doing with work. She has Saturn on her Midheaven, which is often an indicator that you don’t find what you’re truly passionate about in your career until a bit later in life, after your first Saturn Return. Frustrated by this, she was asking me where her strengths lie in her birth chart and what areas she should focus on leaning into more. 

I took a look at her chart, and pointed out some key houses and planets, and a few themes that she should try to blend together. For her, it was the 9th, 6th, and 1st houses. She is currently training to become a Pilates instructor (6th house), but she also enjoys writing plays (9th). I mentioned that she may want to consider taking teaching more seriously, and possibly trying to incorporate themes of health and wellness into the knowledge that she shares.

I want to explain why I chose those specific houses for her, so that you can identify the same in your own chart. The steps I give below show how you might interpret what planets and houses are stronger for you and why you might want to consider leaning into the themes associated with them. As a fun exercise, you may want to have your chart handy so you can check off what applies to you while you go down the list. Whatever planet has the most checks next to it at the end would definitely be a planet you will want to watch. It takes on greater importance in the scheme of your entire chart. 

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#1: Check to see if you have any planets placed in signs that they rule. 

Planets that fall into their “home” signs can function to their full potential, and they can help bring about productive results in the house in which they fall. It’s like having extra support in that part of your chart, and it may be easier to tap into the qualities of that specific planet and house in order to use them to your advantage. The topics of that planet and house in which it falls (and also rules) work together harmoniously. The themes associated with both may already be natural interests of yours too. 

Below is a list of planets and the signs that they rule. Check your own birth chart to see if you any have matchups with this list. Note that I don’t use Neptune, Uranus and Pluto here. While their placements in your birth chart are important, I don’t find it particularly helpful to have them as ruling planets of the signs. Instead, I work solely with the seven, traditional planets.  

Moon - Cancer

Sun - Leo

Mercury - Virgo & Gemini

Venus - Libra & Taurus

Mars - Aries & Scorpio

Jupiter - Sagittarius & Pisces

Saturn - Capricorn & Aquarius

For example, the friend I was talking to has two planets in her chart that are in signs they rule. She has the Moon in Cancer in her 1st house and Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 6th house. That’s why I immediately pointed out those parts of her chart to her. She has natural skills and an interest in dealing with 6th house themes like wellness and helping other people through her work. She’s also someone who is comfortable being seen by people, and she finds inspiration in her own life experiences (1st house themes) that she can later bring into the areas of acting or writing. 

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#2: Do you have any planets in mutual reception?

You can take the above exercise a step further to see if you have two planets in your chart where one occupies the sign of the other, and vice versa. An example of this would be if you had the Sun in Scorpio (the sign Mars rules) with Mars in Leo (the sign the Sun rules). Another example would be if you have Jupiter in Cancer (the sign the Moon rules) and the Moon in either Sagittarius or Pisces (the signs Jupiter rules) Even though these planets are not located in their home signs, because they have essentially traded places with another planet, it’s still more helpful than being in a foreign sign on their own. The topics of the two houses and planets involved may work in harmony with each other, and leaning into the themes of one planet and house may bring about positive results in the other. Because this concept is a bit more complex, let’s look at the below chart to show you what I mean. 

Venus and Jupiter are in a mutual reception in this chart. Venus is in Jupiter’s sign (Pisces), and Jupiter is in Venus’s sign (Libra). Therefore the 8th house themes of Venus’s placement and the 3rd house themes of Jupiter’s placement can work together easily. Writing, speaking, or social media content (3rd house) may be where they can make the most money (8th house). Or they may find enjoyment in writing or speaking about (3rd house) topics that relate to death, mental health, healing, or psychology (8th house).

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#3: Take note if you have any planets in the sign of their exaltation. Then look at what house(s) in your chart that exalted planet rules. 

Outside of the signs that they rule, the planets also have signs in which they are said to be “exalted.” So even if a planet isn’t in their natural, home sign, if it is placed in the sign of its exaltation, it still has the potential to bring about positive results in that part of your chart. Greater strength is brought to that planet, and the planet is easily able to receive recognition, honor and praise throughout the course of your life, especially when it is activated by transits. Check the list below to see if you have any planets that fall in their exaltation signs. 

Moon - Taurus

Sun - Aries

Mercury - Virgo

Venus - Pisces

Mars - Capricorn

Jupiter - Cancer

Saturn - Libra 

Taking this exercise one step further, you could then look at what house or houses that exalted planet rules. That house will also receive greater recognition and praise even if there are no planets in it. Let’s look at an example of this below. 

Above is Mike White’s chart. He is the creator of the hit tv show, White Lotus. He has a Cancer Midheaven, and the ruling planet of his Cancer MC is the Moon, which is in the sign of its exaltation, Taurus, in the 8th house of his chart. That points to his career success (MC theme) and the money he has made (8th house theme) off of working in film and television. It also shows that being able to analyze and understand other people’s behavior and motives (8th house theme) and put these observations into his work (MC/10th house theme) is something that comes easily to him. Career is definitely where his strengths lie in this lifetime. 

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#4: What houses do the ruler of the ascendant and ruler of the Midheaven fall into? 

Identifying the ruling planets of the ascendant and midheaven is something I brought up in a past newsletter on career astrology. I want to mention it here again, because locating the ruling planets of these two angles is very important in understanding overall life purpose. First locate the planet that rules your ascendant. The sign and house in which it is placed will show what activities are important in shaping a greater sense of identity for yourself.

Then look to the ruling planet of your Midheaven angle. The sign and house in which that ruling planet is placed will show what your career interests or life calling may be. This is not just a job we’re talking about, but more of a vocation. In the chart example below, you can see that the ruler of the Scorpio ascendant, Mars, is placed in the 12th. So 12th house themes of exploring mental health matters or finding a greater sense of spirituality or being of service to people may be of interest to this person. In addition, the ruler of their Virgo Midheaven, Mercury, is placed in the 7th house. So partnering up with people, or having client relations or close one-on-one interactions with people at work may be something they enjoy.

There are a couple of rising signs where you may have the same ruling planet for both the ascendant and Midheaven. For Virgo risings who have a Gemini Midheaven, Mercury will be the sole planet to watch. For Pisces risings who have a Sagittarius Midheaven, Jupiter will be the sole planet to watch. 

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#5: Look to where the benefic of sect is located. 

The final step I want to mention for this exercise is to locate the benefic of sect in your chart. The two benefic planets are Venus and Jupiter. If you were born during the day, meaning the Sun is above the degrees of the ascendant and descendant angles in your chart, you look to where Jupiter is. If you were born at night, meaning the Sun is below the degrees of the ascendant and descendant, you look to where Venus is. Refer to the diagrams below for a visual of this. Looking at the sign and house in which your benefic of sect falls will be telling of where natural gifts and talents may shine through. Again, positive opportunities might come easily through this part of your chart. In some cases, the benefic of sect may even be the ruling planet of your ascendant or Midheaven, or it could fall in a sign in which it rules or is exalted. Bonus points if you have that too. 

Above, the Sun is located in the 9th house, above the ascendant/descendant axis. Therefore, Jupiter, which is also placed in the 9th house, is where this person would look.

Above, the Sun is located in 7th house, but it is below the ascendant/descendant axis. Therefore, Venus, which is placed in the 9th house, is where this person would look.

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If you have a planet in your chart where several of these steps apply, then that planet will take on extra importance and will be important to watch. For example, Venus in my chart is a big planet for me, because it checks off a lot of these points from above. Venus is the ruler of my Taurus Midheaven, it falls in Pisces, the sign of its exaltation, it is my benefic of sect, because I’m born at night, and it's in a mutual reception with Jupiter in my chart, because Venus is in Jupiter’s sign (Pisces) and Jupiter is in Venus’s sign (Libra). Therefore, I put a lot of emphasis on my 8th house, where Venus is located. Topics associated with the 8th house are where I find a greater sense of purpose and meaning in my life. Transits to the 8th are also huge for me, and having such a positive planet there helps to counteract the difficult themes of that house. 

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Let’s do a celebrity chart example now to further highlight what we’ve just gone over. I’m currently obsessed with rewatching The Summer I Turned Pretty, so I want to look at the chart of the show’s writer, Jenny Han. She is known for writing young adult fiction books, several of which have been adapted into movies and tv shows. I gave her a reading for her birthday back in 2020, and her chart perfectly demonstrates the success she’s found as an author. 

Going down our checklist, first look at how she has several planets placed in the signs they rule. Mars is in Scorpio, her 1st house. Mercury is in Virgo, her 11th house. And the moon is in Cancer, her 9th house. Therefore, those houses of her chart will show where a lot of her strengths lie. The topics of the 9th house, like writing and publishing, are an area where she thrives. Also, the 11th house theme of building a community and a fan base is also very evident for her. She has a loyal audience, obsessed with the characters she creates. Then to briefly touch upon her Mars placement, which also happens to be the ruler of her ascendant, she is someone who is in the spotlight a lot for her career. She also is comfortable putting herself out there and incorporating some of her own childhood experiences and emotions into her books, which is very much a 1st house theme. 

Note that Mercury is also in the sign of its exaltation, Virgo, and the big Mercurial theme of writing is an area in which she excels. And then the ruler of her Midheaven is the Sun, which is also located in her 11th. So that 11th house theme of fandom and community is huge for her! 

She doesn’t have any planets in mutual reception, so we’ll skip that point here. 

She is born during the day, because the Sun is above the ascendant/descendant axis in the 11th house. So Jupiter is her benefic of sect. Jupiter is placed in the 11th house, and is exactly conjunct Mercury. This brings even more power to Mercury, which makes sense because Mercury is the planet that has to do with communication and writing. As a side note, it’s also interesting that Jupiter rules her 5th house, and a common 5th house theme is children. So having the 5th house ruler, Jupiter, aligned with Mercury - it makes sense that she’s found the most success writing books for a younger audience. She’s able to tap into what teenagers might be going through. Jupiter also rules her 2nd house of finances, and she’s made a ton of money off of writing and having her work be adapted to the big screen. 

I hope this has helped you in further interpreting your own chart! If you have any stories about how some of your own chart placements have manifested literally in your own life, feel free to comment below, I always love reading what you guys write in.