MEDIEVAL ASTROLOGY FOUNDATION COURSE
LESSON ONE: SIGN SUBDIVISIONS & RULERSHIPS
(Transcript of audio lecture files: rz-fc-1a.mp3 and rz-fc-1b.mp3)
Welcome to to Lesson One One of the Robert Robert Zoller’s Zoller’s Foundation Foundation Course Course on Medieval Astrology Astrology This lesson is called Sign Subdivisions and Rulerships. Rulerships. In this this lesson you will be getting to grips with with the basic principles principles of the Signs of the Zodiac, the Sign Subdivisions and Rulerships. Some of what you will learn you may be hearing for the first time. This Lesson lays a foundation on which you will build in Lesson Three on Delineation. Here it will be necessary to inform you of concepts and practices the practical application of which you will see more fully set forth in the later lessons. lessons. So don’t be surprised surprised that this Lesson Lesson has a theoretical quality to it. We are establishing the conceptual language of Medieval Astrology. We have several tables and lists for this lesson and I think it best for us to begin by going over these first. The information contained in these is an important part of the language of Medieval Astrology. It is necessary that you become fluent in it. So do spend a bit of time making yourself familiar with these tables and lists. You may find it helpful to print them for easy reference . Please start with Figure 1
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Figure 1
Signs of the Zodiac
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer
Fire Earth Air Water
Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio
Fire Earth Air Water
Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
Fire Earth Air Water
As you can see this is a list of the Signs of the Zodiac. It shows the symbols of the Zodiac Signs starting with the first one, Aries and moving vertically down finishing at the bottom with the last Sign, Pisces. You will also see that the element to which each Sign belongs is noted to the right of its name e.g. Aries (fire), Taurus (earth) etc.
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Figure 1
Signs of the Zodiac
Aries Taurus Gemini Cancer
Fire Earth Air Water
Leo Virgo Libra Scorpio
Fire Earth Air Water
Sagittarius Capricorn Aquarius Pisces
Fire Earth Air Water
As you can see this is a list of the Signs of the Zodiac. It shows the symbols of the Zodiac Signs starting with the first one, Aries and moving vertically down finishing at the bottom with the last Sign, Pisces. You will also see that the element to which each Sign belongs is noted to the right of its name e.g. Aries (fire), Taurus (earth) etc.
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Next is Figure 2 The Planets
Sun Moon Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Masculine Planets (either)
Feminine Planets Diurnal Planets Nocturnal Planets
(either)
Benefic Planets
(depending on circumstance) (waxing) Malefic Planets (depending on circumstance) (waning)
This lists the names and the symbols {or glyphs} of the seven planets used in Medieval Medieval Astrology. You may notice that the more “modern planets” Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are omitted. These last three are often used by Modern astrologers but are not used in Medieval Astrology. 3
Below the list you will see that the planets have been categorised. The masculine planets are the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars. The Feminine planets are the Moon and Venus. While Mercury can be either masculine or feminine depending on particular circumstances. circumstances. The diurnal {or day} planets are the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn. The nocturnal {or night) planets are the Moon, Venus and Mars. Again, Mercury can be either depending on the circumstances. The benefic {“works good effect”} planets are Jupiter, Venus and the Sun. The malefic {“works bad effect”} planets are Saturn and Mars. But you will have noticed that the Moon is listed in both. When the Moon is waxing {increasing in light, as it appears to grow daily larger until it becomes a Full Moon} it is considered benefic. However, when the Moon is waning {decreasing in light, as it appears to grow daily smaller until it becomes a New Moon – which is when it cannot be seen at all} all} then it is considered considered malefic. malefic. Mercury can be either a benefic or a malefic planet depending on the circumstances circumstances of each case. When dealing with with malefic and benefic planets the question is “ good for what and bad for what” and this we will explore later. But for now it is important that you understand basics. It is important you know these categories, as they will be explained later. Now is perhaps the time to say that the astrological diagram the astrologer reads in Medieval Astrology is termed the horoscope, natal figure, chart, or natal chart. They are all interchangeable and mean the same thing. Medieval Astrologers had additional names for it but I will attempt to restrict myself to these usages.
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Figure 3 is a diagram of the Decan Rulerships
This shows the Signs of the Zodiac arranged in a circle surrounded by 36 decans. A decan is a 10-degree arc of the Zodiac. You will notice that there are 3 decans to every one Sign of the Zodiac. Each decan is signified by its planetary attribution beginning with Mars in the first decan of Aries. We will learn more about these later in this lecture.
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Figure 4 is a table of the Triplicity Rulers
Diurnal
Nocturnal Participating
Fire Air Water Earth
Now, these triplicity rulers are worth a bit of attention at the very beginning. They are much used in Medieval Astrology. Some of you may already be familiar with the triplicity rulers used by Modern and Renaissance astrologers {namely a planet that has honour of triplicity in a Sign of the same elemental nature as the one it rules}. But, in this table for the medieval triplicity rulers you will notice significant differences. For instance, you have Saturn as being one of the triplicity rulers of the fire Signs and Jupiter as being one of the triplicity rulers for air Signs. Exactly why this is so is not entirely clear, at present, although there is some indication that (at least in the case of Jupiter) the elemental or the primitive qualities {Jupiter being moist and hot} agree with the element air {also moist and hot}. You will also notice that the triplicity rulers are divided up by diurnal, nocturnal and participating rulers. You will recall from above that Diurnal means by day and Nocturnal means by night . Participating means operative at all times. 6
This Triplicity Rulers table tells us that when you have a horoscope of a native born during the day, you have a diurnal figure and you use the diurnal sequence of triplicity rulers. So, again referring to the table we see that the Sun is the 1st ruler of the fiery triplicity, the planet Jupiter is in effect 2nd or is subordinate to the Sun while Saturn rules at all times but is still considered last. So, we can see that the diurnal sequence is diurnal ruler, nocturnal ruler, and participating ruler. If the native {remember that is merely the name we give the person who’s horoscope we are looking at} was born at night you have a nocturnal figure {horoscope} and the sequence is nocturnal ruler, diurnal ruler, participating ruler. Later we will see that in delineation {the reading of the natal chart, the learning of the portrait of the native and his world revealed by the horoscope} the diurnal and nocturnal sequences will be of some importance and in prediction they will be very important. We will examine these in depth later but for now make yourself familiar with these triplicity rulers. In fact, all the material in Figures 1-4 above must be committed to memory. You might like to stop here and do that.
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Now let us turn to Figure 5 Rulerships and Exaltations.
Key
Inner Circle: Signs Middle Circle: Rulerships Outer Circle: Exaltations
Cardinal Signs: Fixed Signs: Mutable Signs:
This shows the rulers of the Signs {of the Zodiac} and the rulers of the Signs by exaltation. In the inner central circle of the disk you will see the 12 Signs of the Zodiac; in the middle circle are the planets that rule these Signs and you will notice that there is a certain symmetry. Again we are dealing with the Medieval rulerships which are different to the modern rulerships. 8
You will see that the line that divides Capricorn and Aquarius also divides Leo and Cancer and on the right side of that line you have the Sun's half of the circle and on the left half of that line you have the Moon's half of the circle. So the Sun rules Leo and the Moon rules Cancer. But apart from that the planets are passed out to the Signs in exactly the same order. So, after the Sun you have Mercury, after the Moon you have Mercury, after Mercury you have Venus in both cases, after Venus you have Mars in both cases, after Mars you have Jupiter in both cases and after Jupiter you have Saturn in both cases. These rulers of the Signs are extremely important. Actually, all of these subdivisions and rulerships are important, but the rulers of the Signs are perhaps most important. We will be using them quite a bit. In the 3rd outer circle you will find the planets that rule the Signs by exaltation and I would have you notice that you have five Signs that do not have any exalted rulers. Those Signs are Gemini, Leo, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Aquarius they have no exalted rulers. The planets that rule the Signs by exaltation should also be committed to memory. Figure 6 shows the Essential Dignities.
5 Rulership 4 Exaltation 3 Triplicity 2 Term 1 Face (or Decan)
Now these are very important to know and we will talk about them at length. What I want you to see at the moment is that 9
you have five levels of Essential Dignities: Rulership, Exaltation, Triplicity, Term and Face. The rulerships, the exaltations and the triplicities you will already have learnt. Face is synonymous with decan so you know that as well. Term we will talk about a little later. A number is to the left of each of the Dignities. The numbers 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, represent a pointing system that enables you to judge a planet’s strength in the place it is in or its power in some other place . If a planet is in its own Sign for instance, it has honour of rulership there. It is considered to have 5 dignities or “virtues.” When it is in exaltation it has 4. In triplicity 3, in term 2, in face {or decan} 1. We will be using this pointing system later on but I'm including it here right now just to let you know it exists and that it enables us to get an idea of the relative strength of the planets. Here it is necessary to say that you will be frequently hearing the phrase “a planet having honour” in this Lesson (and very often in Medieval Astrological Texts). This phrase can mean that the planet referred to is in its own Sign (honour of rulership – e.g. Jupiter in Sagittarius), in the Sign it is exalted in (honour of exaltation – e.g. Jupiter in Cancer), in a Sign where it has triplicity (honour of triplicity – e.g. Jupiter in Libra), in one of its terms (honour of term – e.g. Jupiter in 5 degrees of Leo), in a decan it rules (honour of decan – e.g. Jupiter in 25 Libra). In such cases the planet “has honour” and is “dignified.” Honour and dignity are synonymous. The term “honour” is also used in another way: In Medieval Astrology we analyse zodiacal positions (house cusps, planetary positions, the positions of Arabic Parts, etc) by reference to the planets which have “honour” or “dignity” in that position. Thus, for 11 Pisces, Pisces is the Sign ruled by Jupiter and Jupiter has honour of rulership therein. Pisces is the exaltation of Venus & Venus has honour of exaltation therein. Pisces is water Sign and Venus, Mars and Moon have honour of triplicity therein. 11 of Pisces falls in Venus’ terms (See below Figure 8), so Venus has honour of term therein. Finally, 11 degrees of Pisces is in Jupiter’s decan, so Jupiter has honour of decan therein. °
°
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When you hear or read “if the planet has honour in…” such and such a place understand any of the five Dignities mentioned: rulership, exaltation, triplicity, term and decan. In practice, always consider the planet which rules the Sign as the most important ruler of the zodiacal place being examined. Medieval Astrologers examined all the rulers, but if the beginner in this field relies only upon the ruler of the Sign in applying the rules of judgement you will learn in this foundation course, you will find that your astrological judgement becomes more accurate and profound. Figure 7 shows the Essential Debilities.
Peregrine - Planet has neither Dignity nor Debility Detriment - Planet in Sign Opposite to one it rules Fall - Planet in a sign opposite to the one it is exalted in.
The Debilities are Detriment, Fall and Peregrine. A planet is in Detriment when it is in a Sign opposite to the Sign it rules e.g. Venus is in Detriment in both Aries and Scorpio because these Signs are opposite the Signs that it rules {Taurus and Libra}. A planet is in Fall when it is in a Sign opposite to the Sign in which it is exalted e.g. Venus is in Fall in Virgo because Virgo is opposite Pisces. A planet in Peregrine is actually a kind of watershed between Dignity and Debility. A Peregrine is a planet that is in a Sign in which it has no Dignity. That means it does not rule that Sign, nor is it exalted in that Sign, nor does it rule the triplicity {or element} of that Sign, nor the decan {or face}. If you are unsure of these look back at the earlier figures again. And finally, it does not rule the term {which we will get onto shortly}. As 11
well as this the planet is not in detriment or fall – two of the other debilities. Because Medieval Astrology has five levels of Essential Dignity, you will find Peregrine Planets less frequently than in Modern Astrology which recognises only 2 or 3 Essential Dignities. In interpreting the effect of a Peregrine planet an awful lot depends upon the ruler of the Sign in which the Peregrine planet is found. For instance, the Moon in Aries is Peregrine and it is in the Sign of a malefic {Mars ruler of Aries}. Peregrine position is quite different when the Peregrine planet is in a Sign ruled by a benefic: for instance in Pisces where it is in the Sign of the benefic planet Jupiter. Where a planet has both dignity and debility e.g. Saturn in Leo - where it has both debility of detriment and dignity of triplicity {by being in a fire Sign}, the higher dignity or debility wins. The debility of detriment is the negative correlate of rulership by Sign, and rulership by Sign is higher in the hierarchy of dignities than honour of triplicity, therefore we take Saturn as more debilitated than dignified. Figure 8 (next page) shows the table for the Egyptian Terms . The Terms are uneven subdivisions of the 30-degree zodiacal Signs allotted to five visible planets in an asymmetrical manner. You will notice that the terms are not applied to the Sun or Moon. The 6 next to Jupiter to the right of the Aries glyph tell us that Jupiter rules the first 6° {0 - 5°59' 59"} of Aries. The 6 that is next to Venus means that the next 6° of Aries is ruled by Venus, the next division is 8° and is ruled by Mercury, the next division is 5° long and is ruled by Mars and the next division is 5° which is ruled by Saturn. If you add all the numbers in any horizontal row across, left to right, you should find that all rows add to 30, the number of degrees in a Sign. That is how you should read this table. °
There are 3 different sets of Terms reported in ancient and medieval texts. The Egyptian Terms are slightly different from the Chaldean Terms and slightly different from both the Egyptian and Chaldean, are the Ptolemaic Terms. Various 12
Figure 8 Egyptian Terms
Key: eg:-
6 =
6
8
rules first 6˚ rules next 6˚ rules next 8˚ rules next 5˚ rules next 5˚
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5
5
astrologers down through history have favoured either Ptolemy's Terms or the Egyptian Terms. I don't know any who have actually used the Chaldean Terms. If you want to find out what the difference is between the Egyptian Terms, the Ptolemaic Terms and the Chaldean Terms look in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos an important work, where you will find all three Tables laid out. Ptolemy, of course, favours his own. Ibn Ezra, Masha’allah and a number of the European Christian astrologers who favoured the Egyptian origin of astrology and the Hermetic tradition, favoured the Egyptian Terms. So, for the sake of simplicity in this foundation course I am going to use the Egyptian Terms only. The decans {Figure 3 above} are considered a weak essential dignity but they are important nonetheless. They factor into the calculation of the strengths of the planets and the Egyptians used them in connection with the delineation of the native’s appearance. This is more fully covered in the full course. Astrological judgement rests upon understanding how the natures of the planets are modified by the Signs they are in and the aspects they receive (both together define the Zodiacal State of the planet) as well as how these influences become determined towards specific effects by the houses (Local Determination). The planetary powers manifest a great array of nuances and the key to understanding these nuances is the Dignities and Debilities. Now, we can commence the actual lesson. The Zodiac itself represents a twelvefold division {the twelve Signs} of the universal force that we can call the “I Am” which is represented by the Sun. This twelvefold division provides a kind of energy field which is modulated by the planetary influences. The result is Creation {according to the medieval and ancient esoteric teachings}, the coming into being and the passing away of all embodied things. The inner spiritual force, the soul or spirit of that which dwells in the physical form is not created nor destroyed by the planetary motions. 14
Only the body {or the embodiment} is created and destroyed by the planetary motions operating within a context of the zodiacal Signs. Jean-Baptiste Morin, in his Astrologia Gallica (1661) states that the entire path of the Sun, that is, the entire ecliptic, is creative. The question for us is creative of what? For us to answer that, we have to understand first of all the Signs of the Zodiac and how they differentiate the Divine Will. To achieve this we must firstly look at the natures of the Signs themselves, which alternate as masculine then feminine throughout the Zodiac. The odd numbered Signs {Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, etc} are masculine and the even numbered Signs are feminine {Taurus, Cancer, Virgo, etc}. So, you have an active and a reactive pulsing influence coming from the Signs of the Zodiac themselves. And they can also be analysed in terms of their Cardinal, Fixed and Mutability natures. It is clear that somewhere along the line {probably with the Greeks in the ancient period} the idea was expressed that the Cardinal, Fixed and Mutable Signs represent modes of activity of matter. There is an analogous concept in the Hindu tradition with the Gunas. The Gunas are qualities in matter and there are said to be three qualities in matter. The Sattvica which conducts consciousness. The Rajasica which reflects consciousness and the Tamasica which absorbs consciousness. There seems to be something quite analogous going on with the Western astrology, particularly in the Arabic and Jewish philosophical underpinnings of Medieval Astrology. This theme goes back to the Neo-Pythagoreans and the NeoPlatonists in the Hellenistic period. They characterise each of the Signs of the Zodiac as cardinal, fixed or mutable. The cardinal Signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. The fixed Signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius and the mutable Signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. So, apart from the masculine/feminine, active/reactive modulation that goes on through the Zodiac there is also a modal difference between the cardinal, fixed and mutable. The implication is that this is in some way how matter itself 15
responds to consciousness {the Divine Will} represented by the Sun's influence, the Sun's light and the “I Am” influence that descends from the supernal, even supra heaven, supra celestial worlds down to the physical world. And, as a result of this kind of activity existing in Heaven, it also exists on Earth and the material things of this Earth. What the Zodiac is doing and what the astrological system is doing is modulating matter. It is creating bodies and then breaking down bodies and it is going to do this in a large measure through the dual influences of the masculine/feminine, active/reactive polarities and also the influence of the cardinal/fixed/mutable Signs. Now, these cardinal/fixed/mutable Signs, these twelve Signs of the Zodiac, are also allotted to the elements. The four elements, being Fire, Earth, Air and Water giving three Signs in each element. You get Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius in the Fire triplicity. Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn are in the earthy triplicity. Gemini, Libra and Aquarius are in the airy triplicity and Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are in the watery triplicity. The four elements were thought of as being near basic but not absolutely basic building blocks of matter. They are actually four states of matter. The radiant energy corresponds to the fire Signs. What we would call gas corresponds to the air Signs. The ancients didn't have the word gas, it was invented by the alchemist Van Helmont in the seventeenth century. The water Signs are liquid state and the earth signs are solid state. If you look at any of the Figures above showing the twelve Signs you will notice that each of the Signs is allotted to an element and is also allotted to one of the modes {cardinal, fixed or mutable}. So, you have Aries which is Cardinal/Fire, Leo which is Fixed/Fire and Sagittarius which is Mutable/Fire and this happens with each of Signs, elements and modes. The important point to grasp here is that you always have to think in terms of combined influence when examining the horoscope e.g. the Sign of Aries embodies the influence of fire and the masculine {or active} and the quality {or mode} of being cardinal. Taurus on the other hand embodies the 16
influence of earth and is feminine {or reactive} and holds the quality {or mode} of being fixed. When you want to know how a Sign operates, the mode is very important. It is either centripetal which is the fixed influence. It is centrifugal which is the cardinal influence or it alternates between both of those which is the mutable influence. Notice also that you have two elements, which are totally masculine, and two elements which are totally feminine. That is the fiery and airy elements which are both masculine elements and the feminine elements which are water and earth. I should also point out that the four elements were originally articulated by the Greek philosopher Empedocles in the fifth century BC, and became a fixture of Greek philosophy. As such, these four elements found their way into medieval philosophy as defining the characteristics of matter and ultimately as being very important also in connection with the temperaments and with the constitution of man and ultimately in medical considerations. Aristotle modified Empedocles’ doctrine. Aristotle held that these elements were not simple bodies, but that they were themselves composed of four primitive qualities {hot, cold, wet and dry}. By the time we get to the Medieval Astrology there is very little doubt that the medieval astrologers in the west and among the Arabs as well, have identified the four elements of the Zodiac {Fire, Earth, Air and Water} with the four elements of Empedocles, and agree with Aristotle that the four elements of Empedocles are comprised of four primitive qualities - so that Fire is hot and dry, Air is moist and warm, Water is cold and wet and Earth is cold and dry. Ptolemy, in fact, makes a great deal about this division, and in the first chapter of his Tetrabiblos asserts that this is the key to understanding human temperament, human health, events that occur and so on and so forth, as the basis for prediction. This is because, according to Ptolemy, the time of the year in which you were born and the nature of the Signs dominant at that time and the planetary influences dominant at that time {because even the planets are 17
characterised according to these four primitive qualities} gives the individual born at a particular time a predominant disposition. And, this predominant disposition is characterised by hot, cold, wet and dry which inclines them towards producing certain kinds of illnesses and certain kinds of behaviour or characteristics as well. This leads to quite an in-depth discussion of the medical end of things and the physiognomy which is more fully explored in the full course but for now it is important that you have this basic understanding. Apart from this the Signs of the Zodiac are also ruled by planets and the planetary rulerships {see Figure 5}, as I said before are very important. A Sign's activity is in very large measure determined by the planet which rules that Sign, or is at least understood in the terms of the planet that rules that Sign. And, there is a very intimate relationship between a planet and the Sign it rules, as we will see later on when we get into the actual delineation. The point to keep in mind is that the planet that rules the Sign is a kind of extension of the Sign itself. In practice its position in another Sign and its position in another house {houses are more fully explained in a following lesson} is going to link the affairs of that Sign and the affairs of that house to the affairs of the Sign in question. So, for example if you have Aries rising {i.e. it is the Ascendant being the cusp of the 1st House} and you have its ruler Mars in the 10 th House, in Capricorn, then the primary motivation signified by Aries is going to be expressed through your actions in a very forthright, aggressive, goal-oriented sort of manner and your professional life is going to be the theatre of expression of your primary motivation which is essentially going to be for power; which brings me to something that must not be overlooked. The four elements Fire, Earth, Air and Water represent four behavioural characteristics and four modal expressions that are absolutely imperative to commit to memory. That is that the Fire Signs go for freedom of action and power. The Air Signs go for freedom of expression and movement. The Water Signs need emotional security. The Earth Signs need 18
physical security. By physical security we mean money, property and wealth. By emotional security we mean love, knowing that everything is going to be okay and whatever it takes to produce the subjective experience that everything is going to be okay. The feminine elements need and the masculine elements go for. There are two kinds of people in the world, those that have masculine signs dominant and those who have feminine signs dominant. Those who have masculine signs dominant live in a world full of opportunities. Those who have feminine signs dominant live in a world full of needs and this shows up in the language that the client uses when s/he comes to the astrologer. The client with the feminine sign rising {Ascendant} and the feminine signs dominant says 'I need to do this, I have to do that, I must do this, I want to do that'. They use the language of need and they use a passive language, 'this happened to me'. Whereas people who have the masculine signs dominant and a masculine sign rising will say 'I can do this or I can do that' and they come to the astrologer for entirely different reasons. A Sign becomes dominant in the sense that I am using it here when it contains three {or more} planets or holds the angles or both of these. People with masculine signs dominant consults the astrologer because there are a number of opportunities being presented to them at a particular time and they want to hear somebody else's opinion as a way of making their own decision as to what to do. They want to be advised so they can make a “good” decision. Those with the feminine signs dominant want to be told what to do, they want to enlist and to pay for somebody else's judgement so they know the right thing to do because they themselves doubt that they have the capability or the insight necessary to come to the right conclusion. This insight into astrology is going to be of considerable importance to you in a very practical sense once you get into the business of interpreting horoscopes. It is the sort of thing that has to be said now because it is so terribly important and because it could otherwise be 19
very easily overlooked or forgotten.
Let's get back to the rulerships for the moment. You have on your page of rulerships {Figure 5} a diagram that shows you what planet rules which Sign. Leo is ruled by the Sun, Mercury rules Virgo, Venus rules Libra, Mars rules Scorpio and so on and so forth, around the circle. The nature of the Sign is, to a very large degree conditioned not only by the element, not only by the masculine/feminine consideration, not only by the cardinal/fixed/mutable consideration, but also by the nature of the planet which rules that Sign. So the fiery, impetuous nature of Mars characterises and rules the Sign Aries and the Sign Scorpio but in two entirely different ways, because one is a fixed, water, feminine Sign and the other is a cardinal, fire, masculine Sign. In Aries, Mars' influence is going to be very forthright, outward, aimed, extroverted. In the fixed, feminine Scorpio it's going to be very defensive, introspective, very protective and very reactive. Scorpios don't generally initiate trouble but once you get them going, embroiled in a conflict, they cannot let go. Now this means that at this point we should say something about the natures of the planets themselves.
The Sun is the giver of life, the author of light and heat. It is hot and dry and it is associated with winning, with success, with recognition, with power, with the expression of the “I Am”, with creativity, with spontaneity, with beauty, it's a very sexual planet as well. When you find the Sun prominent in a horoscope all of these characteristics are going to be very powerfully noted and depending upon the condition and dignity or debility of the Sun, they are going to be expressed in a very remarkable manner. The Sun is also associated with prophecy, Dionysius and Apollo are both solar figures. The Sun is very clearly associated with the experience of enlightenment, the experience of the individual consciousness having been 20
joined to the supernal “I Am” which is beyond the Zodiac. And the experience of enlightenment of being filled with light, love, life and creativity. In fact, becoming one with the Sun and with the creative power. The keyword for the Sun is Life or “I am”
Mercury is the messenger of the Gods. It is also the analytical faculty in the soul. It is the ruler of scribes, merchants, thieves, bankers and scientists and it is associated with all of these things as well as with the tongue in the physiognomy and physiology and with the assimilative faculty both mentally and physically. The Sun is a diurnal planet and it is a masculine planet as well. Mercury can be either masculine or feminine, it can be either diurnal or nocturnal depending on what it is connected with. It can be either benefic or malefic. The Sun is a benefic planet generally speaking. Mercury is so mutable as to take its benefic/malefic, diurnal/nocturnal qualities from the planets that it is associated with, by aspect and by disposition, that is when it is in somebody else's sign. Mercury has to do with the giving of explanations and interpretations. It is the “go-between.” The keyword for Mercury is cunning.
Venus is the Goddess of Love but the keyword for Venus is really Lust. A lot of people like to make Venus Love, and Venus can be Love, but they overlook the lust and Venus is a very lusty planet. It is often said by modern astrologers, and I think wrongly, that lust is associated with Mars. This is largely because Modern astrology has emphasised the exalted Love of Venus as though it is the natural state in which Venus is found in the horoscope. But in fact the contrary is true. Venus is seldom found in good zodiacal state and thus it is more inclined toward lust that spiritual or exalted love. Again, this is a complex subject and one which will have to addressed in later study. Venus is a benefic planet and is called a lesser benefic because the things that she does are very pleasant, but they have to do with the individual. They don't have a very wide spread scope to them such as Jupiter's does. 21
Mars is more associated with aggression and with zeal and conquest and things of this sort which can be (and often is) done in connection with lust but Mars is not lust. Mars is strife, wrath, contention, initiative, courage, daring. Mars is a malefic planet. Mars is the lesser malefic, so called because the scope of Mars vision is limited in time and space whereas Saturn’s effects are more far reaching.
Jupiter is the greater benefic and Jupiter's influences are much greater in scope than Venus. They free us from many limitations that Venus cannot free us from. Jupiter can be called wealth, freedom, and abundance.
Saturn is limitations and obstacles, hindrances and things of this sort. It rules graveyards. It also rules science. It rules mathematics, as does Mercury. Saturn rules things that are done alone, solitary pursuits. As a result it is the planet par excellence of what is called 'the more secret philosophy' the esoteric philosophy, both Mercury and Saturn are associated with magic. Saturn and Mercury are also associated with astrology. Saturn's influence extends over the endings of all things, over all ruins and old things generally.
The Moon is the principle of change, growth and decay, nurture and nourishment and it modulates matter through its constantly changing phases. Through its waxing and waning, by which the light of the Sun is modulated and regulated upon sublunary matter, more or less, at various times at various phases of the Moon's motion. The Moon also links the aspects of the planets and transmits them to the Earth in a very powerful sort of manner. (1b) So it is one of the major links between Heaven and Earth. The other two links being Mercury and Venus which also translate light in a manner very similar to the way the Moon, but not quite as importantly as the Moon does. Whereas the Sun is hot and dry, Mercury tends to be dry but it can vary quite a bit depending on what it is associated with. Venus is warm and moist. Jupiter is warm and moist. Mars is hot and dry. Saturn is cold and dry. Moon is warm & moist when waxing and cold and moist in its waning phase. 22
Now, each of these planets rules a Sign of the Zodiac and this is when we get into the importance of dignity and debility. When it is in its own Sign or when it has any of the dignities, it effects what it promises. Therefore, Venus for instance, in Libra or Taurus usually produces lust. When it is in its own Sign in good zodiacal state {in dignity and well aspected} it will also produce whatever is promised by the house(s) it rules. The dignity and debility is primarily to do with quality. We will talk about a five-fold level of quality in concrete detail when we talk about the five levels of rulership {Essential Dignities} in connection with the delineation of a house in the horoscope. Right now we are laying the foundation. Of the Dignities rulership is the best. Exaltation is not quite as good but is very powerful, very dramatic in its action. Triplicity is very good. Term is OK, and decan is all right but it is fairly weak. What you have got here is a hierarchy of effectiveness, a hierarchy of efficacy in the planet's ability to produce its own nature. It helps to use the metaphors that the ancients and the medieval astrologers used in understanding how these planets work in rulerships and exaltations. A planet in its own Sign, i.e. which has honour of rulership in its Sign, is like a king on his throne. A planet in exaltation is like a conqueror. A planet in triplicity is among friends. A planet in term is honoured. A planet in decan is not frequently spoken about because it is such a minor affair. A planet in its own sign is like a king and anything that planet wants to do, it can effect because it is in its own kingdom. Anything it wants to do is simply done, not only is it done, it is law. It is long lasting. It stands forever. It is not challenged. It is said that you cannot fight a person whose ruler is in honour because they win. My teacher, Zoltan Mason, taught this. The planet that is exalted will effect very dramatic results and can rocket somebody into very high levels of success, but it doesn't last. Reversals will come along and this is why 23
exaltation is not considered to be as beneficial as rulership. A planet in triplicity is among friends, means that quite literally when the ruler of the Ascendant is in honour of triplicity, the native has a lot of associations. This is even more the case when the Moon is connected with many planets and the ruler of the Ascendant is swift, direct and also connected with many planets. Then the native has many associations and many friends. Rulership is best, exaltation is not quite so good, triplicity is good, but not quite so powerful as either rulership or exaltation, but it can still effect what it promises. Decan is fairly weak, it is almost neither here nor there. What does this mean with regards to, let's say, Venus? Venus in rulership can produce what it promises because it is in its own Sign. Her quality is going to be very good. Therefore, we are not going to talk about lust so much as we're going to talk about love. But we are still talking about the intense physical bonding that is associated with Venus. Venus is emotional and physical and binds people together. When Venus is in good zodiacal state (i.e. in dignity and well aspected) we can speak about love. When Venus is in poor zodiacal state (i.e. in debility and poorly aspected) we have to speak about lust and sometimes we have to speak about depravity. When it is in poor zodiacal state it cannot purely effect what its nature is, that is to say it cannot successfully produce the bonding. It cannot produce a true union, the tying of people together in love. It cannot do that because its nature is adulterated with the Sign in which it finds itself. Therefore, when we find Venus, for instance, in Aries or in Scorpio, Venus wants to love and the person represented by the Venus wants to love and they want to be bound together with somebody else and they want to bind somebody to them as well. But they don't have time because Venus in a Martian Sign doesn't have time to love. She is too hasty, too driven. Zodiacal State has much to do with the qualitative modulation of the planetary influences. The debilities are such because of the adulteration of the planetary influence 24
with a contrary planetary influence, i.e. that of the ruler of the Sign a debilitated planet is in. But an important difference between Modern Astrology and Medieval Astrology is the emphasis given to aspects. Modern Astrology looks at aspects very early in its delineation process. Medieval Astrology looks first at the positions of the planets in the houses keeping in mind their natures and Zodiacal State, then their rulerships and local determination. Aspects are viewed primarily from the point of view of judging whether the planets linked by the aspects {the Ptolemaic aspects conjunction, opposition, sextile, square and trine} collaborate with each other or compete with each other. This is dealt with at length in the full course. Back to Zodiacal State - The Moon in Capricorn wants to “take care of”, but it has to do that through the Sign in which it is placed. The Moon in Capricorn is in its detriment {I will explain detriments more fully below} and so its nature, which is to care for, to nurture and to regulate the physical world, is forced to operate in an excessively cold and dry environment. Therefore it turns to the regulation of affairs according to duty, the regulation of affairs of a very concrete manner. So it loses its elasticity. It loses its responsiveness and it becomes very cold, concrete, goal-oriented. All of the Moon's motivations are for caring, but the Moon cannot really effect those motivations because it is forced to operate through the Capricornian coldness and as a result becomes domineering and very much concerned about controlling the future. The Moon in Capricorn is scared to death of the future as the earth Signs generally are. The Sun in Aquarius wants to rule because the Sun in Leo would have perfect rule because its nature coincides so perfectly with the Sign in which it is placed. But in the sign opposite, i.e. in its detriment, its quality has been interfered with. It can no longer selflessly give as the Sun in Leo can give. Even though the Sun in Leo is in a fixed Sign and, therefore, centripetal, extraordinarily egocentric and arrogant in its own fashion. Nevertheless it is at the same time extraordinarily generous because its nature is to give and there is nothing interfering with its nature. 25
This is not the case in Aquarius. The Sun in Aquarius is in a centripetal, air Sign not in a fire Sign. It is not as warm as the Sun in Leo. It is operating under denial, restrictions, obstacles, hindrances, all these saturnine qualities that are associated with the Sign Aquarius and the ruler of the Sign, Saturn. It is alienated, it feels itself cut-off from the source of its power. According to Ibn Ezra it is the Sign of Satan because it is opposed to the sign of authority which is the Sun - Leo. In many ways the Aquarian operates towards the Leo in a very satanic fashion, always accusing the Leos of being arrogant and self-centred and things of this sort and always seeking to be a Leo themselves though never quite getting there because they're an Aquarian. The Aquarians have certain abilities that the Leos don't have. They have all the abilities of Air that Leos don't have. They have the acquisition of learning, great shows of knowledge and things of this sort, but the bottom line is that the Sun in Aquarius is in detriment and cannot be as brilliant, generous, selflessly giving of self as the Leo and as a result there are certain ramifications in this. On the level of physiology, for instance, the circulatory system, there are difficulties because the Sun is restricted in Aquarius, Saturn's Sign, and when the Sun (heart) is restricted, circulation is restricted and the state of mind becomes restricted, full of doubts, morbid, morose, depressed, melancholy and so on. If you want to improve the state of mind improve the circulation. This is one of the things the Aquarians have to watch and take care of, the circulation, particularly in the lower extremities like the ankles, which are ruled by Aquarius. So the point is here, what does dignity mean? Dignity means that the planet which is in dignity, especially in rulership by Sign (though even in triplicity and exaltation) can effect what it promises and it always promises its own nature, this is very important to keep in mind. We have to get a very clear understanding of the planetary natures to begin with. The planets that are in Essential Dignity effect what they promise, they can do and do what they promise, unless they 26
are interfered with by aspect or some other cause which we will talk about (to some degree in Lesson Three and more in the full course). But the bottom line is when they are in their own signs they effect what they promise, when they are in dignity they effect what they promise. When they are in debility they cannot effect fully what they promise.
The benefic planets {Sun, Jupiter, Venus and the Moon, when it is increasing in light} when they are in poor Zodiacal State cannot effect all the good that they would by their nature. The same thing can be said for the malefic planets {Mars, Saturn and the Moon, when it is decreasing in light}. Malefic planets cannot effect all the malefic qualities which they would effect if they were in good Zodiacal State. What Mercury does will depend on with whom it is configured. Now this is a curious thing because a malefic planet such as Saturn in Leo in poor zodiacal state is a nasty planet. Saturn in Leo is a troublemaker and is trying to stir up difficulties. It would like to cause greater harm but it cannot effect its full nature because it is in a solar Sign and therefore it is, as it were, very upset and waxed wrath so to speak, but it cannot really effect as much danger and difficulty as it would like to. The same thing can be said for Mars in Libra. Mars in Libra is in its detriment {in the Sign opposite the one it rules} and it cannot effect its nature, which is to cut off heads, because it is always being forced to consider the other side of the issue. It is always being forced to operate in a Libran sort of manner which is to say in a very harmonious, polite, considerate, just fashion. Mars in Aries doesn't bother with being just, it does the job and it does it as quickly and effectively as possible. As a matter of fact, when you want a head cut off, you want just the right person’s head cut off. You don't want everybody's head cut off. You don't want a postal office scene where somebody walks into the room with an automatic weapon and shoots everybody in the room. You want one guy in the room shot. When Mars is in its own Sign {Aries or Scorpio} or in its exaltation {Capricorn} it just gets the one person that it is supposed to get. But when Mars is 27
forced into another Sign where it has no honour of any kind then you are likely to have the shotgun approach which causes more problems than it actually solves. And this is the problem with planets which are in poor Zodiacal State, they cause more problems than they solve, they do not effect what they promise as effectively as they ought to and they cause problems as a result of it because they are sloppy in their action. It is very important to understand the different effects the dignities and debilities have on a planet. For instance, Saturn in Aquarius is in honour of rulership. The effect of this dignity is that Saturn will effect the acquisition of learning and plumbing the depths of secret knowledge very well. When it's in Leo, it is in debility {detriment} and it cannot do the job as effectively because it leaves things undone. It doesn't attend to detail, as it ought to, thus it is not entirely effective. A planet is in its fall {debility} when it is opposite its exaltation. So Saturn is exalted in Libra and it is in its fall when it is in Aries. Aries, a Martian Sign is a Sign which is almost, if not entirely, hostile to the nature of Saturn. A hot and dry Sign as opposed to a cold and dry planet and this interferes greatly with Saturn's ability to produce what it promises. Now, all of this is modified considerably by the subdivision of the Sign in which the planet finds itself. The more dignities a planet has, the stronger it is. If the planet is in its own Sign, let's say Mercury is in 6 degrees of Virgo, it would have honour of rulership (by Sign), be exalted and in its own term. It would therefore be stronger than in another part of Virgo, say anywhere from 7 degrees to 29 59’59” Virgo where it would be only dignified by Sign and exaltation. Look for those positions in which a planet gets as many dignities as possible. Then under those circumstances, it is like a slot machine with all the cherries lining up and you hit the jackpot. This of course, is very rare. °
What happens more frequently is that it's in some degree of honour and some degree of dishonour {e.g. Saturn in Leo has both the debility of detriment and honour of triplicity} The 28
most important is the honour by Sign and the honour by exaltation or triplicity. The minor divisions {term and decan} of the Signs are more useful for fine-tuning. In the full course further divisions are employed such as the Novenaria and Duodecimae. The terms, it should be pointed out, played a pretty big role in books such as the Liber Hermetis which makes delineations on the relative social status of the native and his/her family. This is done on the basis of the planet that rules the term that the Sun finds itself in, or the planet that rules the term that the Moon finds itself in. When the Sun finds itself in the term of a benefic, then it is said that the native preserves the father's patrimony. The father was of noble birth and of a good family and so on and the native will continue these traits and everybody will live happily ever after. But if the Sun finds itself in a term ruled by a malefic planet, then the father's family was base, they were slaves, the son is a slave of slaves, he loses whatever little money the family had collected and lives a mean and base life. Of course, this kind of delineation is dependent to a very large degree upon the nature of the society that existed in Hellenistic Egypt, but it looks from all appearances as though we are moving in pretty much the same direction ourselves right now. So that's not something that I would have you throw out, just now. A good deal of what we're talking about is going to become much clearer when we actually start using examples, and we're not going to be doing much of that in this lesson because there is a lot of new material to go over first. I want to emphasise certain ideas that I think that you need to know, such as the dignities which should all be committed to memory. I also want to emphasise the idea that the dignity of rulership by sign is extraordinarily important and that the relationship between a planet and its Sign is going to be one of the major keys by which we elicit concrete, practical information from the horoscope. The application of much of what we have been discussing is going to become much clearer when we discuss house 29
delineation in Lesson 3. For now you need to know that the planets act in the signs and their combined influence is specified towards particular areas of life by the astrological houses of which there are 12. Their Primary Meanings are given below. They also have derived meanings which we will touch on in the third lesson of this foundation course and discuss more fully in the full course. The first house signifies Life, Body and that inner power or virtue which we recognise as the native’s skill, talent or wit. The second house is money. The third house is siblings. The fourth house is family. The fifth house is children. The sixth house is servants. The seventh house is other people; partners, especially the spouse. The eighth house is death. The ninth house is God. The tenth house is profession. The eleventh house is friends. The twelfth house is illness. One of the key slogans or sayings in Medieval Astrology is that "the good or bad signified by a house emanates from the ruler of the house". When we talk about the delineation of the houses, we'll be using some examples to show exactly what we mean by this. But here, I want to get the idea clearly expressed that most of the time you are going to find a situation where the planet rules a given Sign but is not in that Sign. It is in some other Sign. As a result it is going to fall in another house of the horoscope. For instance, you could have Aries on the 10th House {i.e. rules the cusp of the house} and you could have the Mars {the ruler of the 10th} in the 7th House which is ruled by Capricorn in which case we apply the rule: “ The good or bad signified by a house emanates from the ruler of the house” . The 10th House affects the native's profession. The 7th House affects partnership {in the wider sense including all contractual relationships like a marriage partner or a business partner}. Because the ruler {Mars} of the Sign {Aries} in which the 10th House falls, is in the 7th House that means that these two houses are connected. Partnership {7th House} and Profession {10th House} will be very dramatically 30
and very effectively tied together because they are connected by Mars. That is the base from which we start. Now we apply the rule “The good or bad signified by a house emanates from the ruler of the house”. The houses will be characterised as “good” or “bad” in Lesson three. For now you should know that the 10th House is a good house and has to do with profession. Thus applying the first part of the rule “The good or bad signified by the house…” we see that it is a good thing that is signified by the 10th House. Now, the second part of the rule is applied “… emanates from the ruler of the house”. What is the ruler of the Sign that the house is in? Mars. Yes, but not just Mars but where is Mars? In the 7th House, so it is Mars in the 7 th. The 7th House being the house of partnerships. So applying the whole rule to this context. The profession will emanate from Mars or put a little more clearly Mars will produce the profession. Or clearer still a partnership will produce the profession. The partnership will secure the profession. Of-course, we have to now take into account all of what you have learnt previous to this. This leads immediately to the consideration of Mars. The first thing that should strike you is that Mars is exalted in Capricorn. The second Essential Dignity. Does this mean that Mars bodes well for the partnership and thus the profession? If you said NO, then you are correct. Recall the nature of Mars – aggression, zeal, conquest. In the context of a partnership this could spell much strife and contention which will sap the productive harmony that a partnership needs to prosper. The conclusion you should be drawing is that Mars isn’t too good for partnerships. But what of its exaltation? How does this affect the overall picture?
Mars in Capricorn puts off some of its evil because it's extraordinarily well placed being exalted. Of course, being 31
exalted, it is very efficient in accomplishing whatever evil it is determined towards, so it becomes important to see just what such a planet is doing. Recalling what you have already learnt you will see that Mars in exaltation enhances its nature. So we must bear that in mind as we build up the picture according to the rules you now know. Mars is in Capricorn. Capricorn is an earth Sign, it is also feminine. What affect will that have on the masculine nocturnal malefic Mars? Capricorn is also a cardinal Sign so this must be gauged in this picture we are building. If you cannot build up this picture yourself just yet, you should go over the first part of this lecture again. The effect of the cardinal influence will be centrifugal. An outward flow of energy. Exterior action which will reflect in Mars as ambition and self-confidence. In themselves not too bad for a partnership upon which a profession is based except Mars being in exalted form may go a little further. There will probably be an eagerness to command, to take control, at times the centrifugal tendency manifesting in a love for independence and initiative that may have Mars streaking ahead of the partner and causing serious strain on the partnership. How serious this stress is will depend on other factors to be found in the chart. Add to this the earthy perseverance of the feminine earth and Mars finds itself having to cope with a tense inertia. There will be restraint imposed on Mars which will cause some frustration. Keep in mind here, it is Mars we are judging, not the native. We are seeking to know what the native’s profession will be like. The “frustration” alluded to is a subjective characterisation of the Mars in Capricorn - our attempt to understand the power shaping the native’s objective life. The frustration mentioned need not be the subjective experience of the native. As Mars in the example is in the 7 th house, it might characterise the partner’s state. In any case, such frustration will not last long because the Mars/Capricorn partner, signified by the impatient Mars and the Cardinal Capricorn will act quickly, successfully and decisively to realise his/her goal. 32
In a nutshell Mars will impose itself and attempt to subjugate others e.g. running roughshod over the opposition. The implication of having Mars in the 7th House is that the native's partner is a very Martian individual. We might be talking about a professional partnership here, which would be easier to handle than a personal partnership, like a marriage, with such a Mars in Capricorn in the 7th house. Also implied is that the native has a very successful career as a result of his association with this very Martian person. Conceivably, one would go into business with someone who has a high position in the military or something along those lines. So, the good or bad signified by a house emanates from the ruler of the house. Let's do it one more time. Let's say we have Taurus on the 2nd House cusp and we have Venus in the 4th House. Then the financial strength of the native is tied to inheritance, so the family money comes into the picture in some manner. So he gets his money from inheritance or he gets his money from the family or from the profession/actions of the partner, but this last reading depends upon what are called “derived houses.” We will talk about derived houses in the full Medieval Astrology Course There is another important relationship between the planet and the Sign that it rules. This is called the Temporal Relationship. It operates at the same time as the Emanation Relationship which we have just examined. Just as the Emanation Relationship applies to all signs (and through the signs to the houses) and their rulers, so the Temporal Relationship applies to all signs/houses and their rulers. The Temporal Relationship is when a Sign determines how the affair in question will start or the beginning and the planet which rules that Sign determines the outcome of the affair. As an illustration, taking the example we viewed above where the cusp of the 10th House is in Aries and the ruler of Aries {Mars} is in Capricorn in the 7th House. We are looking at the 10th House so the affair in question is the profession or general activity of the native. Aries is on the 33
cusp of the 10th so it is the Sign which determines how the profession or general activity will begin. Mars rules the Sign so Mars is the planet which will determine how affairs concerning the profession etc will turn out. To discover this the effect of the feminine earth cardinal Sign of Capricorn on Mars must be explored to see how they are able to manifest. So, the Sign Aries imbues the profession with a good amount of energy and vigour. Cardinal fire expressing itself in professional affairs with untrammelled confidence. Enthusiastic drive, perhaps (depending on other factors in the chart which are more fully explored in the full course) the profession may be pioneering in some manner or even idealistic. But how it progresses and where it ultimately leads is very much in the hands of Mars in the 7 th house. The one thing that you can be sure of is that there will be an amount of friction in the partnership. The Temporal Relationship between a planet and the Sign that it rules which is temporal {i.e. that the Sign represents the beginning of the affair and the planet rules what comes out of it in time, how the affair evolves, the outcome or the outlet as it were. So, in the case where you've got Aries on the 10th House cusp and the ruler of the 10th {Mars} is in the 7th House, one could say that the profession or the native's actions (which are 10th House) leads to Mars in Capricorn in a very 7th house kind of experience. So it leads to friction and because Mars is in a feminine sign, in Capricorn, this friction comes to the native. This friction is something that comes to the native because of Mars being in a feminine sign. If Mars were in a masculine sign the native would initiate contentious behaviour with others. Now this is an important point that I don't want to miss with regards to masculine and feminine signs. The general reading of masculine and feminine signs is that a planet in a masculine sign represents something that the native does to somebody else or to himself, but the native actively does the act. A planet in a feminine sign represents something that somebody else does to the native. Therefore, let's say we have Saturn in Leo in the 7 th House. 34
The native rejects other people. Saturn is a very negative influence, very restrictive. In a masculine Sign it is rejecting. It's rejecting whom? It's rejecting other people because its action is corresponding to the house in which it is placed and as it is in the 7 th House, it rejects other people. Saturn in Cancer in the 7th House is afraid. Saturn in a feminine Sign in the 7th House is fear of rejection by others and in fact, there's a reason for it being afraid of being rejected by others. This is because the native has at some point been rejected and will be rejected frequently by other people (to some degree). People learn to deal with these things in various ways, some of them well, some of them not. But the basic fact is that a malefic planet in the 7 th House produces problems of some sort always according to its nature and according to what its connected to through rulership. This always raises the question, “Is the native acting or acted upon?” and a central part of the key to answering that question is the polarity of the Sign in which the planet finds itself, whether it's a masculine Sign or a feminine Sign.
Judging success in astrology is one of the things that an astrologer has to do. Very frequently, people come to astrologers wanting to know about their marriages, the possibility of marriage, and their relationships generally. They want to know whether their marriage, profession, finances, etc will succeed. What to do? The various houses of the horoscope represent the different areas of life that we are called upon to judge. We have to understand the entire horoscope, of course, in order to properly judge any particular area of life. But, assuming that we know what the horoscope as a whole has to say, if we find malefics in the 7th house, what does this mean with regard to partnership. Generally speaking, it means problems with regards to relationship. The question is problems for whom (the native or the partner?) and how bad are the problems, can they be worked with or are they such that they preclude the successful outcome of the affairs of the house? There are circumstances where things vary quite a bit. If the 35
malefic planet, for instance, is Saturn and it is in the 7th house and it is in a Sign where it has dignity, it will not preclude the affairs of the 7th house, it will produce the affairs of the 7th house. Remember that planets can do one of three things; they can either produce something, they can deny it or they can destroy it once it's been produced. A malefic planet in honour, especially in its own Sign, in the 7th house, will produce the affairs of the 7th house, i.e. it will produce a partnership, but they will produce it with hindrances, obstacles, delays, loss and the like. Saturn will hold it together through duty. An example might be, where a woman marries a man with a serious disease . She will feel that it's her duty to take care of him and she stays with him for years and years, even though she can't enjoy the full effects of a satisfactory and normal marriage because of the limitations upon the partner. Much better is it to have Benefics in the 7 th House, in good Zodiacal State in which case the naturally good nature of the 7th House and the inter-relationship between the partners is assured. So you have to consider that success depends upon two things, it depends upon quality and quantity. The quality is the Zodiacal State of the planets involved. If that Saturn were in Leo, in the 7th House, you could effectively predict difficulties in an existing relationship, if one existed and the ultimate destruction of the relationship, because the bad condition of Saturn in the 7th House. However, Saturn in the 7th House, in Leo, is not so bad as to outright deny a relationship, because it's in poor Zodiacal State. It's more likely, that it'll destroy it once it has been produced. If it were in Leo and adversely aspected by Mars it could prohibit a marriage altogether. If it were in Capricorn with Capricorn on the cusp of the 7th, then Saturn would be ruler of the 7th in the 7th and could be expected to produce a Saturnian partnership. Quantity has to do with the power of the planet and the house in which you find the planet itself determines that. Angular planets {planets positioned in the 1st, 4th, 7th & 10th houses} always produce what they promise to some degree. 36
But remember when we speak of Promise we are not simply talking about what is promised by their nature {eg Jupiter promises freedom or wealth by its nature} but also by their zodiacal state. You will recall that the Zodiacal State is determined by the Essential Dignities and also the debilities, which we have investigated. In addition to this the planetary aspects have a baring on the Zodiacal State and these are explored in greater detail in the full course. In this foundation course you are learning the basics which will go some way toward allowing you to address those big questions in astrology which of-course to most of us are the big questions of our everyday lives. What will happen? You should be able to gauge the quality of this. When will it happen? How long will it last for?
So, what I hope you’ve taken from this lesson is that the rulership of the Signs by the planets happens in five ways. These we call the Essential Dignities: rulership by sign, exaltation, triplicity, term and face {or decan}. You should also have learnt to see when a planet is peregrine or in fall or in detriment. If you are unsure of any of these then you must go back through this lecture until you are because these are the basic building blocks that you will need to be a successful astrologer. You should also be aware that there are other subdivisions of the Signs which we do not have the time to investigate in this foundation course but which you will need to learn if you are to master this subject. Two of those more fully explained in the full course are the Novenaria Signorum and the Duodecimae Signorum. Rulership by Sign is the most important thing that you should take away from this lecture. It is used to see the connections existing in the chart. It is also used for delineating success or failure and the methods used. Dignity versus debility is also important as it relates to success or failure and tells us how and in what quality a planet is working. Remember, these matters constitute the language of Medieval Astrology and you will come to use them constantly in judging a chart. As we finish let us now consolidate what we have learnt by 37
applying it to your personal horoscope. If you have a copy of your horoscope then examine it starting with the Essential Dignities and list those planets that are in their own Sign, any that are in exaltation, rulers of the triplicity {here don’t forget to get the order correct – if you were born during daylight then it is the diurnal order, if at night then the nocturnal order}, any rulers of the terms and finally the rulers of the decans {or face}. Then apply the rest of the rules – decide which planets are in debility. Also make sure you look at both the Ascendant (cusp of the 1st House) and the Midheaven (MC). So, first of all you will have noted if your horoscope is diurnal or nocturnal, i.e. if the Sun is in the 12th, 11th, 10th, 9th, 8th or 7th houses, then it is diurnal. If it is in the houses 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, it is nocturnal. You want to then make a list of the triplicity rulers of the Ascendant and the Midheaven, and that will be depending on the elemental nature of the Signs in each case. If you have a diurnal figure with a Fire Sign rising, the triplicity rulers are going to be the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn. In a nocturnal figure the order is Jupiter, Sun, Saturn. If you have an air Sign on the Midheaven, the triplicity rulers of the Midheaven are going to be Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter in diurnal figures. In nocturnal figures: Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter. Likewise for the Water and Earth signs. Count up the planets you have in masculine Signs and how many planets you have in feminine Signs. Notice the Ascendant in particular, the Ascendant's Sign, masculine or feminine, the element that it's in, the decan the degree of the Ascendant is in. Make up a complete list and analyse your horoscope thoroughly as a way of becoming familiar with the tables and charts of the Figures. Note the house in which the ruler of the Ascendant is placed. This is going to relate to the following lessons very closely. Also note the house in which the ruler of the 10th house is placed. Pay careful attention to the Sign, term, decan and house they are in. Note any degrees of dignity and debility they are in. Pay very close attention to all these 38
things because this is the kind of stuff upon which the practical, concrete delineation of the horoscope depends. This brings us to the end of this lesson. Please revise any points that you are unsure of and then proceed to the Test. Good luck.
39
MEDIEVAL ASTROLOGY FOUNDATION COURSE
LESSON ONE TEST: SIGN SUBDIVISIONS & RULERSHIPS
Please answer the following questions. When doing so you should not refer to the above text nor the diagrams, tables or lists accompanying it. Before attempting the test you should at least, be able to accurately recall from memory all the information contained in the diagrams, tables and charts and be able to summarise the essential points from the text.
Questions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
13.
What are the 5 levels of Dignity in Medieval Astrology? What planet rules Aries? What planet is exalted in Aries? What Sign is the Moon exalted in? What planet rules Sagittarius? What planet is exalted in Sagittarius? Name the triplicity rulers of Fire for a diurnal horoscope. Name the triplicity rulers of Earth in a nocturnal horoscope. Name the Water Signs. What are the Terms? Describe. Name the cardinal Signs? The Ascendant of a diurnal natal horoscope is 16 degrees of Gemini. What planet rules the Sign of Gemini? What planet is exalted in the Sign Gemini? Name the triplicity rulers of the Ascendant? Name the ruler of the Egyptian term for the Ascendant? Name the ruler of the decan of the Ascendant? Complete the following sentence, “The good or bad signified by a house…” 40
ANSWERS 1.
The 5 levels of Dignity, known as the Essential Dignities are: rulership, exaltation, triplicity, term and face. If you answered decan instead of face that is acceptable.
2.
Mars
3.
The Sun
4.
Taurus
5.
Jupiter
6.
No planet is exalted in Sagittarius
7.
Sun, Jupiter and Saturn.
8.
Moon, Venus and Mars. [Special note: for a nocturnal horoscope (the native was born a night) the first triplicity ruler of earth starts with the nocturnal ruler, then the diurnal ruler, then the participating ruler. In a diurnal horoscope (native born during the day) you start with Venus, then the Moon and Mars].
9.
Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces.
10.
The Egyptian terms are subdivisions of the 30 degrees of each zodiacal Sign, allotted to the 5 visible planets.
11.
Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn.
12.
Mercury rules the Sign. No planet is exalted in Gemini. The triplicity rulers are: Saturn, Mercury and Jupiter. 16 Gemini falls within the term ruled by Venus. Mars is the decan (or face) ruler. °
13.
“….emanates from the ruler of the house.” 41
