Rulerships, Debilitations, Exaltations, and Falls
There are some systems that make interpreting each planet in each sign a little easier. These rulerships originated as navigation tools. When the New Moon occurs in a sign, the handle of the big dipper will point to a different direction in relation to where the Sun is that day. Then, the visible planets were abstracted into five processes. When we learn rulerships, debilitations, exaltations, and falls, we’re learning about our internal compass.
There are good things and bad things about having a planet in each of its conditions. Just because a planet rules a sign, doesn’t necessarily mean an easy life - and just because a planet is in fall doesn’t mean it’s not a good placement. Rather, rulerships and exaltation usually show behaviors that are socially more acceptable than debilitations and falls. They show behaviors that are more self justified than self conscious. Neither of these condition are good or bad - it’s all about how we use them.
Rulerships
| The Sun and Moon (the Luminaries) rule over Leo and Cancer, respectively |
| Mercury, the planet closest to the Sun in our solar system, rules the signs closest to the signs ruled by the Luminaries on either side (Gemini and Virgo) |
| Venus, the next planet in our solar system, rules the next signs on either side (Taurus and Libra) |
| Next, skipping Earth, Mars will rule the next two signs (Aries and Scorpio). Notice how they oppose the signs that Venus rules. |
| Jupiter comes next and rules Sagittarius and Pisces, opposing Mercury’s signs. |
| Lastly, Saturn finishes off by opposing Capricorn and Aquarius and opposing both Luminaries. |
When a planet is in its own sign, it feels like it's at home. When it's at home, it feels like it's right and that the way it behaves is natural. The Moon in Cancer, for example, is when biological needs are met at home. When someone has a planet in its own sign of rulership, that planet will do things in a way that believes its the only way to do them and, sometimes, feel unmotivated to do things at all.
Debilitations
Debilitations are easy to remember once you have memorized the rulerships. They're simply every planet in the sign opposite of its place of rulership.
When a planet is debilitated, it is the farthest it will be from its home. Think of when you're away from home - you'd be uncomfortable and self conscious. When the Moon is in Capricorn, for example, biological needs are looking to be met through the state. When someone has a planet in its sign of debilitation, that planet will be willing to take risks and will frequently scrutinize it's own behavior.
Exaltations
Exaltations show where a planet wants to be. Imagine that you're a scientist in a laboratory or a kid in a playground. An exalted planet is allowed to get carried away. When the Moon is in Taurus, for example, biological needs are met through substance and touch. When someone has a planet in its sign of exaltation, that planet is going to be so busy doing what it’s doing, totally into its own flow, that it won’t have time for second thoughts.
Exaltations
To see where a planet is in fall, simply reverse the positions of exaltation. Put everything in the sign opposite to its place of exaltation. Notice that Mercury is also in fall where it is debilitated and that Leo and Aquarius are the only signs where planets are not exalted or fall.
Falls show where a planet doesn't want to be. If you're a quiet person at a loud party, you'd feel like it's hard to express yourself - same with being a woman at an all male event or a person of color in an all white institution. A planet in fall is often dealing with oppression. When the Moon is in Scorpio, for example, biological needs are looking to be met through symbolic images, like brands or fetishes. When someone has a planet in its sign of fall, that planet will feel like it has to fight against itself and the world in order to express itself.
Now that we understand these four conditions of the signs, let's look at some patterns.
| Because the Luminaries and Saturn oppose each other, they characterize hero’s journeys or coming of age stories. These stories often talk about family, individuality, state, and control. This relationship is characterized by both cardinal signs and fixed signs. |
| Since Venus and Mars oppose each other, they characterize love stories. These stories often talk about the self and the other, societal issues, and forces of power and attraction. This relationship is also characterized by both cardinal and fixed signs. |
| Finally, Mercury and Jupiter are also oppositional. They characterize non-fictional narratives, like essays or poems. These stories criticize, ponder, inform, or instruct. This relationship is only characterized by mutable signs. |
Techniques
A technique for interpreting your natal chart is to find the planet that rules over what sign a planet is in. For example, you could interpret Moon in Aquarius by looking for Saturn and looking at what house it is in and what aspects it makes. This technique will become clearer once you learn house systems and aspects.
Another technique is to find the final dispositor of a chart. Not everyone has one - if you have more than one sign in its place of rulership or no planets in its rulership, then you won't have one. If you do have one, it means that you only have one planet in its rulership and that all your other planets depends on that planet.
Even if you don't have a final dispositor, you might have a few dispositors. Follow the chain of rulerships, or rulership tree, of a few planets to see if they end up in a sign that's in its own sign. If you have more than one planet in its rulership, then you might have more than one dispositor. The last planet in your rulership tree will be the planet the other planets depend on. For example, if your Moon is in Libra, Venus is in Scorpio, Mars is in Aquarius, and Saturn is in Aquarius, then Saturn is the dispositor and all the above planets will rely on it. Your biological needs, relationships, and identity would all rely on how mature you are - Saturn would be an important planet for you.
The last technique is to look for any mutual reception in your chart - sometimes, rulership trees will end in mutual reception. If two planets are in each other's sign of rulership, then they will depend on each other. For example, if your Mars is in Cancer and your Moon is in Aries, then your biological needs and identity is always talking to each other.