How to Analyze a Stellium

Not everyone has a stellium in their chart, but for those who do, analyzing them can be the key to understanding your entire chart, and frankly, the majority of your life as well. A stellium is a collection of planets within a single sign or house in the chart. There are varying ideas among astrologers as to the specific components of a stellium, but the most general requirement is that you have more than 2 planets in a single sign or house. Some other rules I have heard from astrologers include:

• Must contain 3 planets in the same sign or house
• Must contain 4 planets in the same sign or house
• Planets must conjunct
• Must include personal planets(like the sun and moon)
• Must include outer planets (like Neptune and Pluto)

However, as I use astrology as a tool for self understanding, I try to avoid such rigid definitions. Instead, I tell my clients that if they feel like they have a stellium, if they identify with the usual stellium traits, then they have a stellium. Some of the more traditional indicators of a stellium at work on your personality and life include:

• You relate more to the sign your stellium is in than your sun sign (if your sun is in a different sign)
• You go through extended periods of complete upheaval or chaos--whether internally or externally--and afterwards, for a long while, everything is fine and normal.
• Regularly focusing intensely on one area of your life --like sports, a career, or religion
• Being extremely passionate, but continuously facing challenges, often feeling as though fate has other things in mind despite your passion and talent.
• Identifying strongly with a very specific or short list of traits (i.e. if you think of a specific singular adjective like "confidence" as your defining trait).

Analyzing stellia is far from simple. First, you have to understand the types of planets that are in a stellium. You’ll need to analyze:

1. The Alpha Planet. The Alpha planet is what will “dominate” your stellium. In the case of conflicting energies, which is nearly inherent in a stellium, the Alpha is most likely to come out on top. You may find that in a stellium with Mercury, Venus, and Mars, that you manifest your Mercurian habits more often and more obviously.

Your Alpha is most easily found by calculating your dominants through a site like Astro.com or astro-seek.com. (Here’s a tutorial on how to find your dominant planets/signs on astro.com, although multiple astrologers have informed me that astro-seek.com is now more accurate). Whichever planet has the strongest related energy (for example, your Mercury is in Virgo, and your sun and moon are in the 6th house) tends to be the Alpha. It helps to take note of the strength of all of the planets in your stellium, so you can more easily tell what energies are most likely to get drowned out.

2. The Lead Planet is simply the first planet in the stellium if you start from your ascendant and go clockwise. In a sign stellium, it is the planet in the earliest degree of the sign. For example, if all your planets are in Capricorn, then the planet at the earliest degree of Virgo is the Lead, but if all your planets are contained within multiple signs in a house stellium, then the earliest degree of the earliest sign becomes the Lead--i.e. the planet at 28 degrees Sagittarius would be the Lead in a stellium, not the planet at 2 degrees Capricorn, but this is only provided they are both within the same house.

The Lead is significant because it will be the first to be affected by transits. Transits affect people with stellia significantly because all of the energy is focused in one part of the chart, so when a current planet transits your natal positions, it can often feel as though your whole life has been uprooted.

The Lead is also acting as the ascendant of your stellium and affects how the rest of your stellium is presented. It is often the Alpha as well.

3. The Last Planet is the planet in the latest degree of the latest sign. This planet is usually one of the weaker ones in a stellium, but it is still significant because it represents how you come out of situations--it is, after all, the last planet a current transit will affect. You may find that your most common resolutions to serious issues in your life are somewhat based on your Last Planet’s energy. For example, if the sun is the Last in your stellium, you may come out of most serious transits specifically with a stronger sense of self, while if Pluto is your Last, you may find that complete transformations are your go-to resolutions.

4. The Middle Man is the planet nearest the middle of your stellium. You may even have multiple Middle Men if your stellium is quite large. This planet, in my experience, is often the weakest because it can be overwhelmed by the planets on either side of it, especially if those planets are closely conjunct the Middle Man. It is important to try and bring out the Middle Man’s energy if you feel it is diluted.

5. The Lone Wolf is a planet that, while still being part of the stellium (and therefore within the sign or house of the stellium), sits farther away from the rest of the planets and is not conjunct any of them (or is very loosely conjunct, depending on how large your orbs are). For example, you could have the Moon, Venus, Mars, and Neptune all tightly conjuncted, but Saturn is 7 degrees away in the same sign. Not every stellium has a Lone Wolf. The Lone Wolf, when present, behaves as a rogue, and is often left out or underappreciated, much in the same way that the Middle Man is. However, instead of its energy being diluted, it has a tendency to contradict the rest of the stellium and try to match the energy of the other planets that are conjunct. The Lone Wolf and the Alpha Planet are the most likely culprits of trouble within a stellium.

6. In everyone’s chart, one planet aspects the most other planets, and another will aspect the least. These are simply called the Most Aspected Planet (MAP) and Least Aspected Planet (LAP). Your stellium has its own MAP and LAP. The MAP is most likely to be your Alpha Planet, and if it is not, you likely have a very conflict ridden Stellium. Your LAP may be your most obvious placement within the stellium, because even though it is not supported by other planets, it is also not diluted, so an unaspected Uranus is going to be a very strong placement on its own, while a heavily aspected Uranus is likely to color many parts of your life with a Uranian filter.

However, the sheer number of aspects isn’t always the most notable--what are the aspects between the planets within your stellium? Are they all conjunct? Are they all just out of range of conjunction? Are the planets conjunct across multiple signs? Are they tightly conjunct and all squaring a planet in another part of your chart? A planet outside the stellium can often have a very strong impact if it aspects multiple planets within the stellium.

After you have identified all the planets in your stellium (and you may not have all types!) You can piece together how your stellium is affecting your life. This is where the hard work comes in. I highly suggest writing everything down. Piece by piece, make sense of the mess that is a stellium. Write adjectives relating to each placement, try to combine them, consider the dominant energies, do whatever works for you and put on paper and you will be much closer to understanding your stellium. But do keep in mind that it is a long road.

One last note: The importance of keeping an eye on progressions and transits if you have a stellium in your chart cannot be understated. Every significant date in my personal life had a transit or progression strongly influencing my stellium. If you take note of what’s to come, you may be better prepared.

I highly recommend that everyone read The Stellium Handbook pdf online (Part 1–Part 2) as it may clarify the process further. Though I’ll admit I do disagree with a few things in this book, I think the guidelines for analysis are incredibly helpful.

Good luck with your Stellia!