Table of Essential Dignities

Table of Essential Dignities using Egyptian bounds and Hindu decans

The signs act as homes or residences for the planets. Based on the sign and degree it occupies, a planet is bestowed with or denied certain gifts, powers, or resources. This is essential dignity, a measure of the strength or weakness of a planet. Essential dignity is one of the most important techniques in traditional……

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Leonardo da Vinci’s Moon Firdaria: A Benevolent Birth

infant Jesus in The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne painting by Leonardo da Vinci

Conjunct the greater benefic Jupiter in rulership, in mutual reception with the lesser benefic Venus and free from malefic rays, Leonardo’s Piscean moon promises a benevolent childhood. Placed in the fourth whole sign house in the exalted bound of Venus/Pisces and applying to the Sun in Taurus shapes Leonardo’s childhood experiences, his connection to nature and country life and the nurturing of his scientific mind.

Virgo: The Maiden

The constellation of Virgo by Sidney Hall

A mutable earth sign serving as both the exaltation and domicile of Mercury, the Maiden extols the virtues of practicality, fastidiousness, and support, lending her considerable analytical talents to whatever job is at hand

A Matter of Degree: Worldview in Elizabethan England

Elizabeth I in her coronation robes, patterned with Tudor roses and trimmed with ermine

Shaped by elements of Christian and ancient Greek thought, the Elizabethan worldview envisioned the universe as a balance between heavenly order and sinful chaos, with man the pivotal link in the chain of being.

Abu Ma’shar: Persian Prince of Astrology

Introduction to Astronomy, Containing the Eight Divided Books of Abu Ma'shar Abalachus - 1140 translation into Latin by Hermann of Carinthia

Initially a student of the sayings of the Prophet Muhammed, Abu Ma’shar went from prominent skeptic to one of Islam’s greatest Medieval astrologers and was responsible for preserving and synthesizing both Persian and Hellenistic techniques and philosophies.

Leo: The Lion

Sidney Hall’s (1831) astronomical chart illustration of the Leo Major and the Leo Minor.

Endowed with the heat of the summer Sun, the fixed fire sign of Leo shines through leadership and unique self-expression, although the regal Lion may succumb to vanity and dogma.

Cancer: The Crab

Sidney Hall’s (1831) astronomical chart illustration of the zodiac Cancer.

A hard shell, grasping claws and cautious approach protect the gentle, receptive interior of Cancer, the cardinal water sign. But it is the Moon-ruled sign’s symbolic relationship to the Sun and the nourishing role of emotional care that reveal its essential nature.

The Sun: The Diurnal Luminary

Apollo riding the chariot of the Sun across the heavens.

Sitting on its throne in the heavens, the Sun’s movement designates day and night, light and dark, winter and summer, truth and lies, carving the ecliptic, the basis of the zodiac and the art of astrology, across the sky.

Gemini: The Twins

Sidney Hall’s (1831) astronomical chart illustration of the zodiac Gemini.

Mentally agile and curious, the mutable, Mercury-ruled air sign of Gemini gathers information, synthesizes, and reports. But at its mythological roots, this sign’s capacity to be two things at once reveals the unifying power of companionship.

2022 June – Gemini season and Saturn retrograde

Sunrise on June 1, 2022. Saturn leads the morning procession followed by Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Mercury. (Chart created via astro.com)

Saturn turns retrograde early this month and Mercury turns direct. Both Mercury and Venus transiting Gemini and in a sextile aspect to the greater benefic Jupiter make this a very social month.