Blessings and curses in astrology

This post will be a rundown of planetary behavior at its most comfortable and uncomfortable.  Planets will behave the best when they’re at home.  By home, I mean the domicile, which is a planet’s natural sign and/or house of rulership.  When a planet is in its domicile, the planet is at its strongest, most powerful, and most comfortable.  Planets will be at its most uncomfortable when they’re in detriment, and this is when the planet is in the house and/or sign opposite to the domicile.  Planets in detriment may be interpreted as being cursed to some folks.  Almost as beneficial as a planet in its domicile is a planet in exaltation.  The opposite to an exaltation is a debility or fall, and when a planet is debilitated, it will kind of feel like it is handicapped.  Another blessed position is when a planet is in its sign or house of planetary joy, which is slightly less beneficial than an exaltation, but nevertheless pleasant.  If a planet is in a sign or house that isn’t any of the aforementioned, it is considered to be peregrine, meaning it is nether beneficial nor disadvantageous.  Below, I provide a list of planets by domicile, detriment, exaltation, fall/debility, and planetary joy.  The houses are described with the number of the house followed by an H.  These positions only apply to mundane reality, meaning it is relevant to your carnal nature, only.

 

SUN  (Will, pride, core beliefs, values, and motivation)

• Domicile: 5H and/or Leo  ||  Detriment: 11H and/or Aquarius
• Exaltation: 1H and/or Aries  ||  Fall: 7H and/or Libra
• Planetary Joy: 9H and/or Sagittarius

 

MOON  (Moods, intuition, nurture, and emotional nature)

• Domicile: 4H and/or Cancer  ||  Detriment: 10H and/or Capricorn
• Exaltation: 2H and/or Taurus  ||  Fall: 8H and/or Scorpio
• Planetary Joy: 12H, 7H, Pisces, and/or Libra

The following five planets (Mercury, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn) share dual domiciles.  A masculine house/sign of rulership and a feminine house/sign of rulership.  Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter are mainly credited with the masculine house/sign of rulership over the feminine house/sign or rulership.  Saturn, on the other hand, is mainly associated with its feminine house/sign of rulership (10th house/Capricorn) than its masculine house/sign of rulership (11th house/Aquarius).


MERCURY  (Thought process, communication, and brain wiring)

• (Masculine) Domicile: 3H and/or Gemini  ||  (Masculine) Detriment: 9H and/or Sagittarius
• (Feminine) Domicile: 6H and/or Virgo  ||  (Feminine) Detriment: 12H and/or Pisces
• Exaltation: 6H, 11H, Virgo, and/or Aquarius  ||  Fall: 12H, 5H, Pisces, and/or Leo
• Planetary Joy: 11H, 4H, Aquarius, and/or Cancer

VENUS  (Socializing, love, pleasure, romance, friendship, business partnerships, financial affairs, art, fashion, beauty, and harmony)

• (Masculine) Domicile: 7H and/or Libra  ||  (Masculine) Detriment: 1H and/or Aries
• (Feminine) Domicile: 2H and/or Taurus  ||  (Feminine) Detriment: 8H and/or Scorpio
• Exaltation: 12H and/or Pisces  ||  Fall: 6H and/or Virgo
• Planetary Joy:  3H and/or Gemini

MARS  (Passion, sex, lust, war, aggression, strength, ambition, physical actions and behavior)

• (Masculine) Domicile: 1H and/or Aries  ||  (Masculine) Detriment: 7H and/or Libra
• (Feminine) Domicile: 8H and/or Scorpio  ||  (Feminine) Detriment: 2H and/or Taurus
• Exaltation: 10H and/or Capricorn  ||  Fall: 4H and/or Cancer
• Planetary Joy:  10H, 5H, Capricorn, and/or Leo

JUPITER  (Travels, learning, growth, expansion, prosperity, luck, and interests)

• (Masculine) Domicile: 9H and/or Sagittarius  ||  (Masculine) Detriment: 3H and/or Gemini
• (Feminine) Domicile: 12H and/or Pisces  ||  (Feminine) Detriment: 6H and/or Virgo
• Exaltation: 4H and/or Cancer  ||  Fall: 10H and/or Capricorn
• Planetary Joy:  1H, 2H, Aries, and/or Taurus

SATURN  (Discipline, duty, responsibility, patience, workmanship, and insecurities)

• (Feminine) Domicile: 10H and/or Capricorn  ||  (Feminine) Detriment: 4H and/or Cancer
• (Masculine) Domicile: 11H and/or Aquarius  ||  (Masculine) Detriment: 5H and/or Leo
• Exaltation: 7H and/or Libra  ||  Fall: 1H and/or Aries
• Planetary Joy:  6H, 8H, Virgo, and Scorpio

 

The following three planets (Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto) have only one sign of rulership each.  The placements for planetary joy are still in dispute among astrologers, considering the fact that these three planets have been incorporated into astrology for not even two and a half centuries.

 

URANUS  (Freedom, independence, rebellion, disobedience, sense of originality, groups, and communities)

• Domicile: 11H and/or Aquarius  ||  Detriment: 5H and/or Leo
• Exaltation: 8H and/or Scorpio  ||  Fall: 2H and/or Taurus
  

NEPTUNE  (Self-undoing, dreams, illusion, confusion, deception, creativity, idealism, and compassion)

• Domicile: 12H and/or Pisces  ||  Detriment: 6H and/or Virgo
• Exaltation: 5H and/or Leo  ||  Fall: 11H and/or Aquarius

PLUTO  (Power, control, desires, transformation, transmutation, intensity, and manifestation)

• Domicile: 8H and/or Scorpio  ||  Detriment: 2H and/or Taurus
• Exaltation:  6H and/or Virgo  ||  Fall: 12H and/or Pisces

Others:

CHIRON  (Generosity, healing, wounds, self-worth, and feelings of inadequacy)

• Domicile: 6H and/or Virgo  ||  Detriment: 12H and/or Pisces
  

CERES  (Motherhood ideals, fertility, protection, relationships, and family)

• Domicile:  2H and/or Taurus  ||  Detriment: 8H and/or Scorpio

EARTH  (i.e., your ascendant/rising sign; the planet Earth rules the veneer you present to acquaintances, co-workers, and strangers)

• Domicile:  Taurus  ||  Detriment:  Scorpio
  

 

There are also the nodes of the moon.  The nodes of the moon behave most comfortably and reliably when the north node is in the third degree (i.e., 2°00′ – 2°59′) of Gemini and the south node in the 3rd degree of Sagittarius.  The north node represents one’s fate and destiny, whereas the south node represents one’s past karma.

An unfortunate aspect worth mentioning, as well, is being born under a new or full moon.  Someone born under a new moon will almost always have their sun and moon in the same sign.  When the moon is new, it will be conjunct the sun with an orb of up to 10°48′, at the most.  A full moon is categorized by the moon being in opposition to the sun, with an orb of up to 10 degrees, at the most.  New mooners and full mooners are known for exhibiting highly irrational and sporadic behavior.  The only exception to this usually unfortunate aspect, is the full moon in Taurus, which operates comfortably.

Also, any planet that was in retrograde during your birth is undoubtedly going to operate more erratically and less reliably than it would if it was direct.

So far, I’ve mentioned blessings and curses in the natal chart as it applies to mundane astrology.  Mundane or exoteric astrology is the practice of astrology that focuses on the physical plane and material reality.  It is also the most mainstream practice of astrology in the Western world.  The antonym of exoteric (mundane) is esoteric (occult).  Esoteric astrology applies to the spiritual base and soul’s purpose.  In esoteric astrology, each sign and house has an esoteric ruler that is different from its mundane ruler.  When a planet is in its sign or house of esoteric rulership, the person with that placement will have the least challenging time raising their vibrational frequencies and accessing their Higher Self, if they wish to do so.  Having a planet in its esoteric sign or house of rulership also allows one to access to other dimensions, planes, realities, and Akashic records with more ease.  Mastering meditation, clairvoyance, lucid dreaming, astral projection, etheric projection, and mediumship will be much less challenging when a planet is in its sign or house of esoteric rulership.  People with planets in signs of esoteric rulership, also have a gift for deciphering symbols and cryptic messages that go commonly unnoticed by most people.  Now, when a planet is in esoteric detriment, the person will be consumed by the planet’s mundane cravings to the point that their spiritual health is neglected and fragile.  A planet in esoteric detriment also makes it harder to learn how to end one’s own insidious cycle of reincarnation.  Below are a list of planets in esoteric domicile and detriment:

SUN

• Domicile: Leo and/or 5H  ||  Detriment: Aquarius and/or 11H

MOON

• Domicile: Virgo and/or 6H  ||  Detriment: Pisces and/or 12H

MERCURY

• Domicile: Aries and/or 1H  ||  Detriment: Libra and/or 7H

VENUS

• Domicile: Gemini and/or 3H  ||  Detriment: Sagittarius and/or 9H

MARS

• Domicile: Scorpio and/or 8H  ||  Detriment: Taurus and/or 2H

JUPITER

• Domicile: Aquarius and/or 11H  ||  Detriment: Leo and/or 5H

SATURN

• Domicile: Capricorn and/or 10H  ||  Detriment: Cancer and/or 4H

URANUS

• Domicile: Libra and/or 7H  ||  Detriment: Aries and/or 1H

NEPTUNE

• Domicile: Cancer and/or 4H  ||  Detriment: Capricorn and/or 10H

PLUTO

• Domicile: Pisces and/or 12H  ||  Detriment: Virgo and/or 6H

VULCAN

• Domicile: Taurus and/or 2H  ||  Detriment: Scorpio and/or 8H

EARTH

• Domicile: Sagittarius  ||  Detriment: Gemini

Recognizing your twin flame

Ever wonder how some couples with incompatible suns and/or moons have more fruitful, longer-lasting unions than some couples who share luminaries in the same element?  It could very well be explained through one partner’s descendant making complementary contacts with the other partner’s luminaries, planets, and/or houses.  My own maternal grandparents are a testament to this.  They have been married for almost sixty years and have barely ever engaged in altercations.  My maternal grandmother has a sun in Leo and moon in Aries whereas my maternal grandfather has a sun in Taurus and moon in Cancer.  Basic luminary compatibility analysis would suggest they’re an unfit match, but they couldn’t be more in love and devoted to one another.  Unfortunately, I’m unaware of their birth times, so I don’t have any information on their angles or house placements.  However, I speculate that they must have hard aspects in synastry to explain their harmonious union.

If you thought interaction between both couples’ sun signs was the main significator of love, compatibility, and/or attraction, then you might be surprised to learn that it’s not even as relevant as you may have presumed.  When you look at your natal chart, your descendant will be in direct opposition to your ascendant.  The descendant signifies who you unconsciously attract and what you unconsciously crave in a partner.  In synastry, when one person’s luminary (sun and/or moon) makes a strong aspect to another person’s descendant, mutual indifference will not be a possibility.  The descendant, and the planets on or near the descendant (if you have any), will be the main signicator(s) of unconscious attraction.  Ever wonder how one person can leave the powerful effect of making the hairs on your arm stand straight up upon first impression?  Well, it’s very likely that someone’s luminary is making contact with the other person’s descendant, Vertex, Node, or Sun/Moon midpoint.

Below, I’ve attached an excerpt from a seminar on the book Mapping the Psyche, Volume 2: The Planetary Aspects and the Houses of the Horoscope.  The book is authored by Clare Martin, a Zimbabwean-born British astrologer who is known among many astrology enthusiasts:

Audience: What about someone born with Pisces on the Ascendant and Virgo on the Descendant? Are they likely to attract Virgoans?

Clare: Yes, Virgo-type people. That could be someone who has their Sun in Virgo or Gemini, or someone who is Mercury-ruled or with a strongly tenanted 3rd or 6th house. With Pisces on the Ascendant, we tend to instinctively absorb and merge with our surroundings. This is a very chameleon-like Ascendant, and people with Pisces rising are normally so well camouflaged that they tend to attract partners who take on the role analysing and defining and structuring all this fluidity. This can easily feel like criticism, if you have Virgo on the Descendant, but it is of course one’s own projected ability to develop the analytical skills which give shape to, and complement, the Piscean sensitivity and imagination.

I couldn’t have articulated it more eloquently.  Though, I should add that planets on or near the descendant will also influence unconscious attraction, as well.  For example, if you have Saturn on or near your descendant, you will attract mates who have Saturn as a dominant planet.  You may also attract people who have a heavily tenanted 10th and/or 11th house, since Saturn rules the 10th house and co-rules the 11th house with Uranus.  Since Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn and co-ruler of Aquarius, you may also attract partners with at least one luminary in Capricorn and/or Aquarius, specifically if the person’s luminary conjuncts your descendant or vice versa.

Having compatible planets is great, but it doesn’t necessarily suggest sparks or relationship longevity.  Over time, the flame may weaken or burn out if there are no complementary hard interaspects.  Grand aspects to look out for in synastry are contacts between one partner’s luminaries and another partner’s descendant, Vertex, Nodes, and/or Sun/Moon midpoint.  Mutually complementary grand aspects will make the partners in the relationship feel like they complete one another.  Though, for the sake of compartmentalization, I will be mainly focusing on synastry aspects that involve the descendant and 7th house planets, in this entry.

In synastry, when one partner’s sun conjuncts the other partner’s descendant, the descendant partner will feel invigorated by the sun partner’s energy and conscious personality.  The sun partner will be driving force of the relationship and thereby assume the active role in the partnership.  The sun partner will also enjoy the admiration s/he receives from the descendant partner.  The sun person will also experience this affinity with a person who has a descendant in a different sign but same element as the sun person’s sun sign.  This is called a trine, which is slightly less powerful than a sun-descendant conjunction.  It is imperative to emphasize that the sun and descendant must be in the same degree, or separated by an orb of few degrees, in order to be a conjunction or trine.  The tighter the orb, the more success the results will yield.

When a partner’s moon conjuncts the other partner’s descendant, the descendant person feels nurtured by the moon person’s emotional responses and effortlessly understanding nature.  The moon person will appreciate the feeling of being needed and having the ability to comfort the descendant partner’s psyche.  In this instance, the moon person takes on the receptive role in the relationship.  Trines between person A’s moon and person B’s descendant yield this effect, as well, but to a slightly lesser extent, like mentioned in the previous paragraph.

I will now provide Emma Watson as an example, and determine her top matches by examining her luminaries and descendant.

As shown above on Watson’s natal chart, her ascendant is in 27°Virgo00′, which means her descendant is in 27°Pisces00′.  Her moon is less than a mere 0°21′ away from her nadir, in 25°Sagittarius53′.  The conjunction of Watson’s moon and nadir indicates a very sensitive point in her natal chart, since the moon represents emotional nature and the nadir symbolizes the base of one’s life force.  Watson’s sun is in 25°Aries25′ and tenanted in her 8th house, bestowing her with Plutonian/Scorpian personality traits.  Since Watson’s descendant is in 27°Pisces00′, she will attract men with a luminary in or very near 27°Pisces00′.  Pisces is ruled by Neptune and co-ruled by Jupiter, so Watson will also gravitate towards men who possess Neptune and/or Jupiter as their dominant planet(s).  Jupiter, co-ruler of Pisces, is also the ruler of Sagittarius, which means Watson also feels a powerful connection with men who possess a luminary in or very near 27°Sagittarius00′.  Neptune rules the 12th house and Jupiter rules the 9th house, so potential partners with a heavily occupied 12th and/or 9th house will also share a deep connection with Watson.  Watson will also feel attracted to men with a luminary in or very near the 27th degree of Scorpio or Cancer, since it will be trining her descendant, but the magnitude of this attraction is slightly less pronounced than a conjunction.  With Watson’s moon in 25°Sagittarius53′, she will feel especially attracted to men with a descendant in or very near 25°Sagittarius53′ or 25°Pisces53′.  She will also feel a deep attraction for men who have Jupiter on or very close to the descendant.  With her sun in 25°Aries25′, she will be attracting men with a descendant in or very near 25°Aries25′ or 25°Scorpio25′, since Scorpio is co-ruled by Mars, which is the planet that rules Aries.  Men with Mars on or very close to the descendant will also be enchanted by Watson’s Arian sun.

Now, let’s divert our attention to celebrity BFFs, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King.

Although, not necessarily a couple in the romantic sense, Winfrey and King have a friendship that most people idealize.  Winfrey has a sun in 9°Aquarius00′, moon in 4°Sagittarius32′, and descendant in 29°Gemini41′.  King has a sun in 6°Capricorn19′, moon in 13°Aquarius45′, and descendant in 23°Cancer58′.  King’s Uranus is in the seventh house conjunct her descendant, separated by an orb of only 2½ degrees.  King’s Jupiter is less than one degree away from her Uranus, making it a conjunction right near her descendant.  Winfrey’s Uranus is also in her seventh house, but it’s a little over twenty degrees away from her descendant, deeming its role less significant, but albeit still relevant.  King’s second and third most dominant planets are Uranus and Jupiter, which attracts Winfrey’s 7th house Uranus and Sagittarian descendant.  Winfrey’s second most dominant planet is Jupiter, which is complementary for their friendship, since King has Jupiter less than 3½ degrees above the descendant.  As a lunar Sagittarian, Winfrey is able to nurture King’s 7th house Jupiter.  King’s 7th house Uranus also feels completed and invigorated by Winfrey’s Aquarian sun, since Aquarius is ruled by Uranus.  Winfrey’s 7th house Uranus is nurtured and complemented by King’s Aquarian moon.  In conclusion, Winfrey and King’s synastry tell us that they are attuned to each others’ emotions and have an excellent, mutual understanding.  With King’s 7th house Uranus nourishing Winfrey’s Aquarian sun, we can assume Winfrey takes on the star role, making her the more dynamic force in the friendship.

Lastly, we have Brangelina.

There is an admiration to be said for same-mode couples making it work.  Both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are exactly 48.4% cardinal, 43.6% mutable, and 8.0% fixed.  Cosmic, right?  I mean, what are the odds that you meet a person whose modes are dissected in the exact same percentages as you?  Both of them have moon, Mars, and Venus in cardinal signs.  They also both share suns in mutable signs, that happen to be opposite, as well.  Pitt has a sun in 25°Sagittarius52′, moon in 22°Capricorn50′, and descendant in 11°Gemini55′.  Jolie has a sun in 13°Gemini25′, moon in 13°Aries05′, and descendant in 28°Capricorn54′.  With Jolie’s descendant in 28°Capricorn54′, she is attracted to men with a luminary in or close to 28°Capricorn54′, as well as 28°Aquarius54′, since Capricorn’s ruler, Saturn, co-rules Aquarius with Uranus.  With Saturn being the ruler of Capricorn, Jolie will also be attracted to men who have Saturn as a dominant planet.  Since, Saturn rules the 10th house and co-rules 11th house, men who have these houses highly tenanted will also be attracted to Jolie.  Pitt’s moon in 22°Capricorn50′ loosely conjuncts Jolie’s descendant, separated by an orb of 6°04′.  This suggests that Pitt plays the role of the nurturer in the relationship.  Pitt also has Capricorn as his most dominant sign, which attracts Jolie’s craving for structure and discipline, since her descendant is also in Capricorn.  Pitt’s descendant in 11°Gemini55′ suggests an attraction to women who possess a luminary in or near 11°Gemini55′.  Gemini is ruled by Mercury, and since Mercury co-rules Virgo with Chiron, Pitt will also feel an affinity with women who have a luminary in 11°Virgo55′.  Pitt will also feel attraction towards women who have Mercury as a dominant planet, as well as women with heavily occupied 3rd and/or 6th houses.  Jolie has Mercury as her second most dominant planet.  Pitt’s descendant in 11°Gemini55′ conjuncts Jolie’s sun in 13°Gemini25′, separated by an orb of 1.5°.  This reinforces that Pitt plays the receptive role in the relationship, not only as the nurturer, but in general, whereas Jolie takes on the alpha role and acts as the driving force of the pair.

Some other couples with luminary-descendant interaspects include Kimye, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, and Oprah Winfrey and Stedman Graham.

Understanding decans, duodenaries, and cusps

Decans and duodenaries are the co-rulers and sub-rulers for each sign.  Each sign is divided into three decans and twelve duodenaries, meaning there are a total of 36 decans and 144 duodenaries in the zodiac.  The decan represents the co-ruler, and the duodenary the sub-ruler.  It is necessary to highlight that the three decans of every sign are always of the same element as the sign it’s in.  The sign a placement is in will account for the most diffuse influence of that placement.  The decan denotes the specific co-influence in a placement.  The duodenary, or duad for short, represents a more precise, sharper sub-influence.  For the sake of simplification, the general guideline among most astrologers is that a placement receives 60% of its influence from the sign it’s in, 30% from the decan, and 10% from the duad.

Up until a week ago, I had only casually noticed the word decan in astrology, but didn’t bother looking into it, until recently.  As for duads, I only learned about them just earlier today.  Decans are popularly discussed among most modern astrologers, however, duodenaries are often dismissed by some modern tropical Western astrologers.  The most probable reason some modern tropical Western astrologers neglect duads are likely because they add further complexity, thereby making astrology a dozen times more difficult to assess.  Although, it’s critical to recognize that the system of duodenaries in astrology was regarded as a fundamental component by many ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia, India, Kemet (Egypt), China, and Greece.  All of the aforementioned ancient civilizations placed vital importance on the 144 duodenaries.  So, why should we ignore them now?

My initial interest in decans and duads was prompted by a conversation I had with my lovely Piscean friend, Asia.  We were discussing dominant signs in astrology.  My most dominant signs according to the simple delineation chart by Walter Pullen are Capricorn, Scorpio, Pisces, and Aquarius (in that precise order).  I brought up the fact that I feel like I am an atypical Scorpio, due to my soft, gentle nature.  Unlike the archetypal Scorpio, I exhibit docile behavior and a pleasant demeanor.  Asia suggested that this may be due to Capricornian influences in my natal chart, which is what prompted my curiosity that eventually lead down to reading up on decans and duads.  Although, despite being a cardinal sign, Capricorn in astrology is described as a sign possessing a stern or cool exterior, which does not explain my warm aura and friendliness.  My Capricornian influences are evident in the workplace and in my mature approach to social matters, but it ends there.  After educating myself on decans and duads, I found out that my sun and Mercury are both in the second decan and seventh duad of Scorpio.  The second decan of Scorpio is ruled by Jupiter and Neptune, rulers of Pisces.  The seventh duad of Scorpio is ruled by Venus, ruler of Taurus.  I’ve come to the realization that my fuzziness is coming from the Piscean influences of having a sun in the second decan of Scorpio, which is doubly magnified by my sun’s conjunction with Mercury.  I also see the subtle Taurean influences of my seventh duad in Scorpio manifesting in my attachment to personal possessions as well as in my habits of gently touching friends and family members.

It is imperative to note that understanding decans and duodenaries aid in a more detailed interpretation of cusps.  Now, the perception of cusps by modern astrologers vary greatly.  Some modern astrologers believe that a cusp starts at 20° and ends at 9° 59′ 59′.  Others will claim that a cusp starts at 26° 40′ and ends at 3° 19′ 59′.  Many astrologers also discredit cusps altogether.  Personally, my take on cusps is that they are legitimate.  Though, I also have a more discriminating view on what qualifies as a cusp.  I resonate mostly with the claim that a cusp is when a placement is at 29° to 1° of a sign, or in other words, <1° away from another sign (or house).  In modern astrology, it is popularly said that a cusp will take on the positive and shadow traits of the sign, decan, and duad plus the positive traits of the sign and decan that the placement is bordering near, but not the shadow traits.

It is helpful if know your exact time and place of birth in order to calculate your decan and duad.  Type birth chart calculator or natal chart calculator in your preferred web search engine and go from there.  I personally recommend signing up for a free account on Astrodienst, my #1 favorite astrology website.  Another excellent website is Astrotheme.  You are able to calculate and save multiple birth profiles on both of the aforementioned sites.

Once you have calculated your natal chart with the exact place and time of birth, feel free to take a gander at the charts below to help you find your decan and duad.  The first table lists the decans for each sign and the second table lists the duads for each sign.

Feel free to comment with the sign, decan, and duad of any placements you have, whether it’s planet(s), asteroid(s), midheaven, and/or ascendant.  Also, have you noticed how your decans and/or duads affect any of your placement(s)?  Let me know in the comment section below!  🙂