Exaltation (astrology)
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In astrology, exaltation is one of the five essential dignities of a planet. Each of the seven traditional planets has its exaltation in one zodiac sign. The exaltations are:
- Sun in Aries, particularly in the 19th degree.
- Moon in Taurus, particularly in the 3rd degree.
- Mercury in Virgo, particularly in the 15th degree.
- Venus in Pisces, particularly in the 27th degree.
- Mars in Capricorn, particularly in the 28th degree.
- Jupiter in Cancer, particularly in the 15th degree.
- Saturn in Libra, particularly in the 20th degree.
The exaltations are one of the most ancient astrological factors still in use. They are found in Mesopotamian sky omens, before the appearance of Horoscopic astrology. Why the Babylonians considered these placements to be dignified is not known (though, it is argued that an astrological planet, such as the Sun which embodies 'the self,' has compatible characteristics with a sign, such as Aries which is considered to be proud, and is therefore powerful in it). The Western sidereal astrologer, Cyril Fagan, has speculated that the planets all happened to be in these signs at the time of the erection of an important Babylonian temple in the year 786 BC, when they were dedicating a temple to their god, Nabu; and most, if not all sidereal ephemerides of that year point to this conclusion; but the more common theory today is that the Babylonians considered the exaltations to be the rulers of these signs. Although the Ancient Greeks later adopted the more familiar domicile rulerships, they also incorporated the Babylonian rulerships, including both as different essential dignities in horoscopic astrology. Another theory is that the exaltations, since they have specific degrees are (with the exceptions of the Sun & Moon respectively) the positions of the planets when they were discovered.
The exact degree of exaltation of each of the luminaries (the Sun and Moon) was used in the formula for the Hellenistic Lot of Exaltation, which used the distance between each luminary and its degree of exaltation, projected from the Ascendant, for the Lot. It was a position of great strength in the natal chart.
In later Medieval astrology, influenced by the Arab and Byzantine writers active after the end of the Classical era, a hierarchy of all five essential dignities was favored, in which the most important dignity was that of the domicile ruler, followed by dignity by exaltation. These weighted valuations are still in use today by astrologers, although in a simplified form.
After the discovery of the three outer planets--Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto--modern astrologers sometimes speculated on possible domicile and exaltation rulerships for these planets. It was suggested, for example, that Neptune was the "true" domicile ruler of Pisces (usurping one of Jupiter's two domicile rulerships) and that Neptune was exalted in Cancer, or possibly in Scorpio (which had no traditional exaltation.) But the ancient system was complex and symmetrical, making no allowance for additional, unseen planets, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to include them in traditional techniques. For that reason, most modern astrologers have abandoned attempts to assign exaltations to these newer planets, although many still assign them domicile rulerships.
According to the Dictionary of Astrology by Fred Gettings (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985), Abu Rayhan Biruni gave the third degree of Gemini as the exaltation of the north lunar node and the third degree of Sagittarius as the exaltation of the south lunar node.
The sign position directly opposite a planet's sign of exaltation is considered to be its fall. As the exaltation is a place of great strength and integrity for the planet, the fall is a position of weakness and distortion.
