Ruling Planet?

[rachelcat]

Hi from the astrological village idiot! I have an easy question for you learned ones.

I remember reading something about in traditional (Rennaissance/Classical) astrology, people identified with their rising sign and especially with their ruling planet. They were known as a "child of Jupiter" or whatever planet.

So how is the ruling planet determined? Is it the planet that rules the rising sign? A planet that happens to be in the first house? Or the planet that rules the sun sign?

I picked up the (massive!) book entitled "Ruling Planets" at a used book store over the weekend. It doesn't say so, but its charts show that a person's ruling planet is the ruling planet of her sun sign. But i don't think that is right (according to traditional astrology).

I couldn't find it with a quick internet search, so I'm turning to you to fill one little part of my huge gap in astro knowledge!

Thanks!

 

[Maggiemay]

Hi,

I would say that the planet that rules the Ascendant is the dispositor of the chart and that its co-ruler is the planet that rules the sun sign.

Wonder how far in the left field I am on this one!

Regards,

Maggie

Hi from the astrological village idiot! I have an easy question for you learned ones.

LOL! Well then, that makes two of us!!!

 

[Minderwiz]

Well actually there is no easy answer, as there's several approaches, as you might expect over a period of a thousand years or so.

The first and perhaps most obvious, is to take the ruler of the Ascendant, no matter how badly placed or essentially weak it is. So if your Ascendant is Piseces, then Jupiter is the ruling planet, even it it's conjunct Saturn, in Gemini, in the twelfth house.

A second approach is to take the planet that is conjunct the Ascendant, and if there isn't one there, take the most exalted planet (nearest the MC) and if there's no obvious contender there, then fall back on the Ascendant ruler

A better approach is to take the planet with the most essential dignity or even better the planet with the best combined accidental and essential dignity. The problem with that is that there are different scoring systems and different lists of accidental dignity (some more 'complete' than others).

However, the phrase 'child of...' might alsor refer to the planetary day ruler and even the planetary hour ruler.

So, for example in my chart the Ascendant Ruler is the Sun, in detriment in Libra.

Conjunct the Ascendant I have Saturn in detriment in Leo in the twelfth

So not much luck in either of those two, as such.

However Saturn is on the only two degrees and 20 minutes from the Ascendant, so many would count that as First house - suddenly Saturn's accidental dignity shoots up. It's also direct and swift in motion Ibn Ezra would count Saturn as the most dignified planet in my chart.

I was born just after midnight on a Friday. But planetary days run from Sunrise to Sunrise, so I was born on a Thursday, as far as the universe is concened. As such I am 'Jupiter's child' LOL

I was also born in the hour of Mercury.

So I have four contenders, the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury.

Which one I take depends on how I decide to define 'ruling planet' I'd love to say it's Jupiter, but I have a nasty feeling that it's really Saturn, with a bit of help from Mercury.

 

[cardlady22]

So I have four contenders, the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter and Mercury.

This is why I love the idea of designing your own personal glyph or talisman using the various symbols.

 

[ravenest]

So how is the ruling planet determined? Is it the planet that rules the rising sign? A planet that happens to be in the first house? Or the planet that rules the sun sign?

We used this system ; the ruling planet is the one on the horizon at 0 deg, at time of birth, if non, a planet within 30 deg above horizon, if no planet, the ruling planet of the ascendant sign.

In other words we used the ruling planet of the' rising sign' UNLESS there was another actuall planet in that part of sky at birth.

'Contenders' come about using a different process and any personal glyph or talisman comes from combination of stella forces (unless of course one has more than one planet natally in the rising section) around the stella 'backdrop' of the natal sun.

 

[Minderwiz]

We used this system ; the ruling planet is the one on the horizon at 0 deg, at time of birth, if non, a planet within 30 deg above horizon, if no planet, the ruling planet of the ascendant sign.

In other words we used the ruling planet of the' rising sign' UNLESS there was another actuall planet in that part of sky at birth.

A variant of the planet in the Ascendant approach and a good way to resolve the issue of no planet in the Ascendant.


Again for me that would leave Saturn as the chart ruler.

 

[rachelcat]

Thanks so much for all of the info.

So for using a planet near the ascendent, could it be within 30 degrees above OR below the horizon? Or just above?

Looks like I'm going to have to brush up on my planetary hours. I have my Agrippa (shades of the Princess Bride!), so I should be able to figure that out.

Thanks again. I should have known it would be more complicated than I thought. But you made it make sense for me!

 

[triplewaterastro]

ruling planets

I think most people go by Sun signs, so if your Sun is in Sagittarius, your ruling planet is Jupiter.

I look at the three most influential planets/angles in a person's chart as Sun, Moon, and ascendant. depending on other factors, I would give a lot of weight in a natal reading to the three. Using myself as an example, my three ruling planets are the Moon (Cancer Sun), Neptune (Pisces Moon), and Pluto (Scorpio ascendant).

That is pretty cut and dried...I have seen influential planets anywhere in a person's chart. I have Mars in Aries with aspects to several other planets, so my Mars is pretty powerful too.

Hope that helps...