Mercury is said to be the ruler of Virgo, but did you know that Mercury is only Virgo’s foster ruling planet? Let me tell you the story about Vulcan…

I first read about Vulcan in Linda Goodman’s Sun Signs when I read the chapter about my Sun Sign, Virgo. In here she mentions the true ruler of Virgo, the hypothetical planet, Vulcan. As a Virgo, I was very intrigued by this as I would like to know what my true ruling planet is.

Vulcan was first theorized in the mid 19th century when astronomers stated there might be a small planet within Mercury’s orbit that could be responsible for the peculiar and unique orbit of Mercury. Vulcan was named by Astronomer, Urbain Le Verrier in 1859.

Vulcan has never been officially found. There was an amateur astronomer in 1860 named Edmond Modeste who claimed he observed Vulcan before, however, whether he was being truthful will forever remain a mystery.

It is challenging to discover a planet inside the orbit of Mercury, as the telescope needs to be pointed close to the Sun. In this position, the Sun is always illuminated, and an error in pointing the telescope can lead to damage to the eyes of the observer. The light reflections from the Sun through the telescope pointing in this direction can also fool a person into seeing things that do not exist.

Some say that Vulcan is purely a theory and that if Mercury’s orbit did contain an additional planet then its orbit would be completely different than what it is now. According to Albert Einstein’s Theory of general relativity, there should be no planet with a significant mass in Mercury’s orbit, apart from a few large asteroids. Others say that Vulcan is an ethereal planet and that it does exist, however not on our plane and dimension, and can only be seen through other dimensions that are not visible to the human eye.

In Roman mythology, Vulcan was the God of volcanoes. He was also the blacksmith of the Gods, and he is said to forge new tools and expressions of consciousness. In astrology, Vulcan is the planet that represents the awareness of past patterns and behaviors and how we will improve from it. Vulcan also rules our attachment to our desires and compulsions, and with a well-aspected Vulcan, the native can learn to free themselves from the physical desires that plague them. Our attachment to life and our physical form causes us much pain. Vulcan is the teacher of how the physical force and the spiritual side of us are separate, and how we can learn to separate it. Vulcan is our ability to detach ourselves from the identification of our life form. An evolved Vulcan native will be able to ultimately detach themselves from the desires and compulsion of their physical form.

Vulcan’s Element is Earth. Trying to obtain a balance between the soul’s essence, and the physical form is what it represents. It is said that Vulcan only has one major purpose, and that is to bring a balance between the spirit, and matter. Once that balance is reached in the native, then Vulcan becomes a dead planet, as it does not have any more symbolism or effect other than that. Reorientation of the consciousness from the physical to the spiritual is the main objective and purpose for this planet. Vulcan serves as a transformer, destroying the physical, mental and emotional forms that no longer serve your soul purpose.

Vulcan ruled natives will have an ability to utilize the physical world and matter to make something that can bring the spiritual dimension into this world. This is why Virgo, Vulcan's sign, has the ability to identify things that are unseen or unspoken of and to implement it and create something in this physical world of what was observed. Virgo’s are not fully aware of their capabilities to do this yet, although they already do possess the ability. Until Virgo learns to develop these traits they possess, and until Vulcan gets found, Virgo will be fostered by the dark side of Mercury. While Virgo is ruled by the dark side, they get to see the soul force, however, externalizing it into matter may be a challenge.

The following paragraph regarding Vulcan was written by the famous Astrologer, Linda Goodman, in her book Sun Signs: “It's important to mention here the still unseen planet Vulcan, the true ruler of Virgo since its discovery is said to be imminent. The discovery of the true ruler of a sign changes the characteristics of those born under it. To give only one example, during the period when both Aquarius and Capricorn were ruled by Saturn, the February born, such as Abraham Lincoln, clearly showed the melancholy traits of that planet. But when Uranus (the symbol of electronics and space, and the true ruler of Aquarius) was Discovered-in its proper time in the universal plan- Aquarians began to reflect qualities of restless discovery, and a more electric, unpredictable, progressive personality such as that of Uranus-ruled Aquarian Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many astrologers feel that Vulcan, the planet of thunder, will become visible through telescopes within a few years. Shortly before or after Vulcan moves close enough to the earth to be seen, Virgos now living, as well as those born in the future, will lose much of the Mercurial pressure that causes the present nervous strain. Mercury is more compatible with the airy sign of Gemini than with the earthy Virgo. The thunderous Vulcan will also give to Virgos their astrological inheritance of courage and confidence and will release many of the typical Virgo inhibitions. After Vulcan is discovered, the last remaining planet to be identified, according to ancient predictions, is 'Apollo, the true ruler of Taurus. Then each Sun sign will answer to the vibrations of its rightful ruler-twelve signs and twelve heavenly bodies. It's interesting to note that Vulcan, in Greek mythology, is the lame god with the brilliant mind. Many Virgos have a slight limp, or else some peculiar and unusual quality to the walk or posture.“ - Linda Goodman, Sun Signs

When Vulcan has served its purpose in the native, they will become a disciple, where they possess inner enlightenment and are able to solve problems with the highest possible level of consciousness. This will be a very wise person, a “soul” centered person. This person will use their higher understanding to be at the service of humanity, as opposed to self-gain.

Once Vulcan has completed its purpose, the energies of Uranus will become very prominent in the native, that of higher understanding and humanitarianism. In Esoteric Astrology, Vulcan is the ruler of Taurus, as esoterically Taurus is associated with opening your third eye. In traditional astrology, it remains the true ruler of Virgo. Nowadays, Vulcan is only used in esoteric and soul-centered astrology, due to its “unofficial” status.

In a strong position in a chart, Vulcan can help shape a person who does not get driven by their egoistic desires, and they align themselves with their primal energy and spiritual purpose.  In Astrology, it is noted that the position of Vulcan will always be right next to the Sun, and in the space between Mercury and the Sun. It is said that Vulcan is located within 8 degrees of the Sun.

Some speculate that the UB13 (Eris) planet that was discovered in 2005 could be Vulcan, however, this is unlikely as its position is not between Mercury and this Sun, however, it is possible.  Eris is the 9th biggest mass orbiting our Sun, and the 16th biggest overall taking into consideration the size of the moons of the other planets. Very little information exists on this planet as there hasn't been any voyagers or spacecraft send to its location.