Planetary Rulers: Like a Two-Year-Old with a Ferrari

It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.
Confucius

For those with signs in their planetary ruler, such as the the Sun being Leo or Neptune being in Pisces, there is an enhanced power to that particular planet because it is so "at home" in that energy. You get the purest expression of that planet's energy. Mars loves being in Aries as the Moon loves being in Cancer; switch those two around and the expression may be a bit more contentious. It may help to look at your chart and see what planets are in rulership; astrological wisdom says that those planets will perform optimally.

For all the capability of Mars in Aries, an astrologer friend likened such combinations as giving a two-year old a Ferrari. There is definitely a lot of power and potential when signs and their planetary ruler(s) link up, but it can take practice and maturity to manage all that strength. It may come in fits and starts at first, like testing out the gas pedal on a performance car but when you learn how the throttle works, there is not stopping what that planet can accomplish. Additionally, planets "like" being in their corresponding element, i.e. Moon in water signs and Mars in fire signs. Again, the the function of the planets will express themselves more readily when there is this sort of similarity of motivation.

Planets are also particularly strong when they are in their corresponding houses - such as Venus being in the 7th or Mercury being in the 3rd. The planetary energies are linked up to the areas of life in which they excel. The 7th-house-Venus person may instinctively know how to navigate this area of life since Venus excels at all things relationship and the 7th house will hone the expression of the planet to that particular area of life experience. Venus majored in 7th house themes and will find her bearings a little easier than say if Venus was in the 12th.

We can't all be so lucky as to have all our planets in their corresponding signs and houses, nor would want to be so astrologically streamlined. Having your Mercury in Pisces or your Moon in Sagittarius adds flavor and depth to the expression of that planet. It might take a little more effort and awareness to work out how planet/sign combination that are a little less linear can effectively operate but those "challenges" are exactly what invoke our personal growth and probably leads us to astrology in the first place!