Importance of the most elevated planet

Someone recently looked at my chart and mentioned that my moon is very strong because it's the most elevated planet. Since I'm just a beginner in astrology, I've not heard of the importance of the most elevated planet.

My Moon is not conjunct the MC, but in whole houses it's in the 10th house (Placidus puts it in the 11th.) I know the conjunction to the MC would make it stronger but I'm wondering if just the elevation of it is important. Or that it's in an angular house (in whole signs)

I feel that the placement of my Moon could be one of the things that softens the Gemini influence. I feel my moon in Pisces so strongly that I always do a double take when I see all the Gemini (and wonder why I feel so influenced by my Moon and Neptune influences as well). I have Gemini rising and looking at my chart, would you consider the Moon as either the chart ruler or dominant planet - or the ruler of my rising, Mercury, as the chart ruler?

I know some of you consider a chart ruler/dominant planet to be the ruler of the rising sign, while others place importance on the most elevated planet. I'd love your opinions.

Some comments

Cactus, I wouldn't worry about whether you are emotionally or mentally prone, you are both. Restless mind, restless feelings.

Moon can be considered as being in the 11th, picking up on the hopes and wishes of friends and associates and the lessons that they adopt from their lives and careers.

There are several important patterns in the chart, particularly the Moon square Mercury and opposite Uranus/Pluto. This can be expressed in many different ways depending upon how you have shaped your life and who/how you interact with. At its worst, Moon-Mercury-Pluto patterns can suggest nervous energy that is poorly controlled, nervous breakdowns and emotional uncertainty. At its best, this pattern permits one to use a combination of mental-emotional tools to be highly creative, to manage perceptions of others, to excel in one's work even though their life seems stressful and overly busy. If I remember rightly, the American country singer Faith Hill has this same Uranus-Pluto conjunction --- she manages her career, is creative, expresses great energy, is very popular, and is probably every man's vision of the perfect woman.

The Venus-Neptune opposition lends its support to your imagination and ability to visualize situations. Of course, on a personal level you can visualize situations that may not come about for you, or which bring dismay and disappointment due to the actions of others. Yet, you can use this creative pattern to bring style, hope and joy to others. Due to its closeness to the horizontal angle, I would see this as a very strong minute-by-minute influence while the Moon-Mercury-Uranus/Pluto pattern is one that can kick into play from time to time.

Saturn trines Jupiter, while it squares the MC. Saturn-Jupiter is the business of life pairing and the trine suggests a degree of ambivalence about how you chase and seek opportunities. Saturn-square-MC needs to nail down a structure or change the rules without Jupiter going off half-cocked. Does careless approaches sometimes ruin opportunities for you?

Just some thoughts. Dave

I'll try to answer your question as best I can.
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Firstly, 'the most elevated planet' is clearly a relative position, the one that is highest in the sky at the moment of the chart. That means that it does not have to be very near the MC or even in the tenth. In your chart four of the traditional seven are above the horizon, of these the Sun is conjunct the Ascendant, Venus is not far away in the twelfth and Saturn is just inside the twelfth cusp. So anything in the eleventh, tenth or ninth would be more elevated - in your case the Moon is in the ninth.

We need to be careful here, most elevated does not equal strongest. Elevation is one factor we could consider but it does not have to be the most important or even of equal importance in every chart. A series of other factors need to be considered as well, including essential and accidental dignities and also sect.

The Moon is the traditional ruler of the night - your chart is just diurnal (Sun just above the horizon) and in a day chart the Moon is best below the horizon. So if you'd been born half an hour earlier, the Moon would actually have been stronger.

There are a fair number of approaches to trying to identify the 'strongest planet' and none of them are really definitive. One approach, as Dave above, is to look at patterns and relationships and ignore the issue entirely. There are good arguments in your case that Mars, Mercury, Sun (if we treat it as first House) or even Jupiter in the fourth have more strength. The 'Arab' Astrologer, Ibn Ezra would choose Mars as his Almuten of the Chart.

As I've said elsewhere it's planets that matter not so much the signs (which qualify the planets) when it comes to reading charts. Also in temperament (personality) you should never treat Sun and Mars in Gemini as being simply two equal additions to a Gemini 'influence' Sun and Mars (and Mercury) in the First is a better start. In modern elements, count more than signs.

Yes you have a very strong Sanguine (Air) component in your chart. Mars warms that up somewhat. The Moon provides the cooling, not just because it's in Water but also because it's in it's last quarter which is phlegmatic (Water) . Strangely the Sun is very rarely treated according to it's sign but much more often according to it's relationship to Earth. In Spring it's Sanguine, Summer it's Choleric, Autumn it's Melancholic and Winter it's Phlegmatic. The time of year you were born is an important component of who you are. Again in your case you are a Spring birth, so the Sun contributes sanguinity (Air, rather than 'Gemini' if you like).

Sun, Mars and Mercury will all have a role to play in your 'manners' - the way in which you express yourself both through rationale thought and through your non-rational or intuitive side.

Wow, you both have given me such good information. Dave, everything you said about my Moon/Merc - Ura/Plu holds true, as does the Venus opp Nep. And you were right on with the Sat/Jup/MC connection. To answer your question, YES, careless approaches have ruined many, many opportunities for me! But I am learning and changing which means I am much better with what I decide to go after and how I do it. Partly because of a better understanding of my chart & self-development and partly because of my 42 years of wisdom.

And Minderwiz, you are so right about it being not so much the signs but the planets. And Sun, Mars, & Mercury, I agree, do play a big part in my chart.

I actually feel like I don't have one ruling planet. I have a LOT going on in my chart and I have a lot of planets giving strong expression. I am always saying how much I feel my Moon, or my Mercury; lately I've realized how my Venus in Taurus is huge for me. Maybe in a week I might feel a Saturnian influence.

Minderwiz, one question. You said my moon is in the ninth. No matter what house system I've fooled with, none has ever put my Moon in the ninth. Did you mean the tenth?

Anyway, I have one more thing to throw at you. I read somewhere about "mutual reception by exaltation" and was wondering if this fits:

Moon in Pisces & Venus in Taurus

I guess it depends on the chart & aspects as to whether a mutual reception gives strength to those planets. I have not researched the effect of mutual receptions, much less those by exaltation. It was only during this past week that someone pointed out that in my chart.

Maybe it's a good thing, because my Moon sextiles Venus.

Oops!!!!!!!!!!! I meant eleventh (I use Regiomontanus) - I was doing a lot of edits on the post and missed that one completely

Yes you do have a mutual reception through exaltation between the Moon and Venus. Mutual receptions are where one planet is in an essential dignity of another and that second planet is also in an essential dignity of the first. Modern Astrologers tend only to recognise (and not widely use) mutual receptions through rulership but traditionally rulership, exaltation and triplicity were widely used and also occasionally terms. In your chart you also have a mutual reception between Saturn and Mars (Mars is placed in the Air triplicity in a Day chart and Saturn is the Day triplicity ruler. Saturn is placed in Aries, ruled by Mars).

Mutual receptions indicate co-operation - the two planets will work together. How strong this co-operation is depends on the other essential dignity of the planets - Venus in Taurus is in it's own sign, so it has strong essential dignity and a willingness to help the Moon. The Moon has no other essential dignity, so Venus is the driving force.

The 'higher' the essential dignity the stronger the willingness to co-operate, so this is a strong one. In your chart Venus rules the sixth and has secondary rulership in the twelfth, where Taurus is intercepted. The Moon rules the third, the House of the goddess. Without Venus' support the Moon's position would suggest third House issues might be difficult to resolve.

Planets that rule the sixth or twelfth find it difficult to easily express themselves, even if they are strong (because of lack of opportunities) so Venus probably enjoys the opportunity to help out the Moon, so to speak, as the third is a stronger house than the other two.

Basically, where Venus is involved the Moon will help and vice versa.

Thanks

Catus, thanks for the feedback. As you can see, I approach astrology very directly using primarily the planets and the angles. Planets in aspect and by phase angle provide the dynamic interpretation of how we tend to shape our lives around their core meanings -- those meanings being most or many of the possible expressions of that pair of planets. The angles of the chart are some kind of framework that orients our attitude and actions towards 1) Personal views and actions (the Asc.), 2) Public image and stated goals (MC), 3) how we project ourselves toward others and how successful we are in establishing relationships (Desc.), and 4) where our personal values and resources come from in terms of family, upbringing, and the ability to change (IC). I have found the use of signs to not be necessary in my approach, and I often do not use houses.

It is interesting that just this morning I reviewed an article written some 35 years ago by a deep astrological thinker that houses really only apply to the outside world as we see it and that they don't apply to us personally. Only the angles and planets drive us. There is so much that has been discovered and lost in the mass of words and opinions that it truly is important to both keep an open mind on how we and others practice astrology, as well as what we choose to use as tools -- not enough discrimination and thought is given to what we put into our charts and how we use and why we use it. Dave

Dadsnook2000 said:

It is interesting that just this morning I reviewed an article written some 35 years ago by a deep astrological thinker that houses really only apply to the outside world as we see it and that they don't apply to us personally

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In what sense? Are they arguing that a person is totally unaffected and independent of the 'outside world' and that environment, and conditioning, have no role at all? Does the outside world reflect 'reality' or does your deep thinker take the approach that the 'outside world as we see it' is more akin to Plato's cave and is therefore illusory?

Or do they mean houses are only relevant in Mundane Astrology?

dadsnook2000 said:

Only the angles and planets drive us.

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I'd actually say that only the planets drive us, even the angles are passive. However they do present the maximum opportunity for action by the planets and that makes them the most important positions in a chart.

dadsnook2000 said:

There is so much that has been discovered and lost in the mass of words and opinions that it truly is important to both keep an open mind on how we and others practice astrology, as well as what we choose to use as tools -- not enough discrimination and thought is given to what we put into our charts and how we use and why we use it. Dave

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Yes very true but should we keep an open mind about those who don't use discrimination and thought about what they put into their charts?

Sarcasm

I guess sarcasm just doesn't come off well sometimes. Since I didn't name the "deep thinker" that was the first clue. How houses can apply to other people and not apply to the chart-owner is where the sarcasm comes into play. It is like a one-way mirror -- there can be windows that function like a mirror when viewed from one side, but there really can't be a one way mirror as such.

As for the "deep thinker" -- this person writes and writes and couches thoughts in jargon and numerous concepts with great detail. When all is done, you are not sure what was said. Too many writers like that. Dave

Chalk it up to the internet Dave. It's never easy detecting nuances without smilies or other clues.

I can guess at who 'Deep Thinker' is but the lack of even a rudimentary philosophical underpinning is breathtaking. Indeed so breathtaking that I was sure I had misunderstood that first bit.

dadsnook2000 said:

How houses can apply to other people and not apply to the chart-owner is where the sarcasm comes into play.

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For me, the Houses, along with the Planets in them, and the aspects they all make, always represent the other folk in one's life unless the Angles are triggered... then, the Houses, et al involved, apply to one personally whether thru conjunction, square from the 4th & 10th, or opposition from the 7th to the Ascendant.