Essential dignity

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Essential dignity, in astrology, refers to the relative strength or weakness of a planet or point's zodiac position by sign and degree, or its essence—what the 17th-century astrologer William Lilly called "the strength, fortitude or debility of the Planets [or] significators."^[1] In other words, essential dignity seeks to view the strengths of a planet or point as though it were isolated from other factors in the sky of the natal chart.

By comparison, accidental dignity indicates how much strength a planet or point derives from its position in a natal chart, such as its relation to the other factors in the chart: for example, its proximity to other planets, or to the four angles of the chart, or to stars, as well as the aspects (or symmetrical angular connections) it forms with other planets or points in the chart.

For example, the essential dignity of Mars, if located at 27 degrees of Capricorn would take into account the fact that Mars is exalted in Capricorn, and also that it is the "bounds" ruler of the 27th degree of Capricorn and also the face ruler of the 27th degree of Capricorn. This is a considerably dignified Mars.

If that Mars were located in the twelfth house of a natal chart Mars's accidental dignity would be poor, since it would be located in a weak or malevolent cadent house. Were Mars to also be squared to a malevolent planet, such as Saturn, and would be receiving a dexter square aspect from malefic Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, this would further hinder Mars's strength and ability to operate benevolently. These accidental dignity factors would tend to weaken a Mars which is otherwise strong in essential dignity.

Traditionally the five essential dignities are:

• Domicile (rulership or house) + detriment
• Exaltation + fall
• Triplicity
• Terms (or "bounds")
• Face (or "decan")

For post-Classical astrologers, such as Bonatti or Lilly, the dignities had a hierarchy. The most important dignity was domicile rulership; slightly less important was exaltation. Triplicity rulerships were still fairly important in medieval astrology, but nowhere near as vital as they were for Hellenistic astrologers such as Ptolemy. Terms or bounds rulerships became very much diminished in importance, and face rulers were almost entirely ignored. (Lilly said that the only function face rulers served was to keep a planet from being entirely peregrine—that is, without any essential dignity whatever—which was considered a malefic condition.)

However, Hellenistic astrologers had a very different view of the dignities. To earlier astrologers, such as Ptolemy and Vettius Valens, domicile rulership, exaltation, triplicity rulership and bounds rulership were all of equal strength in influence.

Many modern astrologers take little heed of essential dignities, with the exception of domicile rulerships (see article on ruling planets.) This is most likely the result of the simplification of astrological technique that occurred when astrology lost popularity beginning in the eighteenth century (see History of astrology.)

Table of the most commonly used of the traditional essential dignities^[2][a][]

Modern dignities[]

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Many modern astrologers, eschewing the use of the other essential dignities, use the three outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as the modern rulers of Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio, respectively. The practice derives from the similarity between the nature of the planets with the nature of these signs. This as illustrated by the differences in the two "decans" tables above. It has also included more recently the dwarf planets Ceres and Eris relating them to Virgo and Libra, the same as the signs Scorpio, Aquarius and Pisces.

Decanate dignities[]

See also[]

• Dwadasama

Notes[]

Citations[]

Works cited[]

• Lilly, William (1999a) [1647]. Houlding, D. (ed.). Christian Astrology, Book 1: An Introduction to Astrology; Book 2: The Resolution of All Manner of Questions. London: Ascella Publications.
• Lilly, William (1999b) [1647]. Houlding, D. (ed.). Christian Astrology, Book 3: An Easie And Plaine Method Teaching How to Judge upon Nativities. London: Ascella Publications.

Further reading[]

This article includes a list of general references, but it remains largely unverified because it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

• Crane, Joseph (2007). Astrological Roots: The Hellenistic Legacy. The Wessex Astrologer, Ltd. ISBN 1-902405-24-2.
• Hand, Robert (1987). Horoscope Symbols. Easton, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-914918-16-8.
• March, Marion D.; McEvers, Joan (1982). The Only Way to Learn Astrology (6 volumes). San Diego: ACS Publications.
• Ptolemy (1822). Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos or Quadripartite: Four Books of the Influence of the Stars. Translated by J. Ashmand. London: Davis and Dickson.
• Schoener, Johannes (2001). Late Classical Astrology: Paulus Alexandrinus and Olympiodorus (with the Scholia of later Latin Commentators). Translated by Dorian Gieseler Greenbaum. Archive for the Retrieval of Historical Astrological Texts (ARHAT). Archived from the original on 2007-10-02.
• Valens, Vettius (1994). Hand, Robert (ed.). The Anthology (Book III). Project Hindsight, Greek Track. Volume VIII. Translated by Robert Schmidt. Berkeley Springs, WV: The Golden Hind Press. |volume= has extra text (help)