⚖ Essential Dignity and Almuten Calculator: Domicile, Exaltation, Triplicity, Term, Face
Put in a birth date, and a time, time zone and place if you have them, and this free calculator shows how much standing each of the seven classical planets has in its sign: domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term and face, with the traditional score and every step of the sum. It also finds the almuten, the planet with the strongest claim, of the Ascendant, Midheaven, Sun, Moon and Parts, and the almuten figuris of the whole chart.
Runs in your browser.
TRADITIONALA medieval and Renaissance technique. The tables and the weights are conventions, and this page says which it uses.
- Date onlyEach planet's sign and degree, and its domicile, exaltation, bound, face, detriment and fall.
- Date and time zoneA better Moon: it moves about 13° a day, so its bound and face change within hours.
- Time and placeDay or night (so triplicity and peregrine), the Ascendant, Midheaven, Part of Fortune, Part of Spirit and their almutens.
- Moment onlyThe prenatal syzygy, the last New or Full Moon before birth.
- All five placesThe almuten figuris needs the Ascendant too, so time and place.
The score, in one table
Every degree of the zodiac has five rulers, one for each office. A planet scores for each office it holds there.
| Dignity | When | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Domicile (sign ruler) | The planet owns the sign. | +5 |
| Exaltation | The planet is the honoured guest of the sign. | +4 |
| Triplicity | The planet rules the sign's element for the chart's sect, day or night. | +3 |
| Bound (term) | The planet holds this stretch of the sign. | +2 |
| Face (decan) | The planet holds this ten degrees of the sign. | +1 |
| Detriment | The planet is in the sign opposite one it owns. | −5 |
| Fall | The planet is in the sign opposite its exaltation. | −4 |
| Peregrine | The planet holds none of the five dignities. Named and scored 0 here; Lilly subtracts 5, and the form has a box for that. | 0 |
The tables this calculator uses
The tradition is chosen once, here, and it is the one the Umbriel lessons and the Distributions calculator already use: the seven-planet rulerships, the exaltation degrees of Ptolemy, Dorothean triplicities, Egyptian bounds and faces in the Chaldean order. Ptolemy's own bounds and triplicities are different tables. The lunar nodes and the outer planets are given no dignities.
Show the four tables
| Planet | Domicile | Exaltation | Detriment | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ☉ Sun | Leo | Aries 19° | Aquarius | Libra |
| ☽ Moon | Cancer | Taurus 3° | Capricorn | Scorpio |
| ☿ Mercury | Gemini, Virgo | Virgo 15° | Sagittarius, Pisces | Pisces |
| ♀ Venus | Taurus, Libra | Pisces 27° | Scorpio, Aries | Virgo |
| ♂ Mars | Aries, Scorpio | Capricorn 28° | Libra, Taurus | Cancer |
| ♃ Jupiter | Sagittarius, Pisces | Cancer 15° | Gemini, Virgo | Capricorn |
| ♄ Saturn | Capricorn, Aquarius | Libra 21° | Cancer, Leo | Aries |
| Element | Signs | Day | Night | Participating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fire | Aries, Leo, Sagittarius | ☉ Sun | ♃ Jupiter | ♄ Saturn |
| Earth | Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn | ♀ Venus | ☽ Moon | ♂ Mars |
| Air | Gemini, Libra, Aquarius | ♄ Saturn | ☿ Mercury | ♃ Jupiter |
| Water | Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces | ♀ Venus | ♂ Mars | ☽ Moon |
| Sign | Planet and degrees it holds | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | ♃ 0–6° | ♀ 6–12° | ☿ 12–20° | ♂ 20–25° | ♄ 25–30° |
| Taurus | ♀ 0–8° | ☿ 8–14° | ♃ 14–22° | ♄ 22–27° | ♂ 27–30° |
| Gemini | ☿ 0–6° | ♃ 6–12° | ♀ 12–17° | ♂ 17–24° | ♄ 24–30° |
| Cancer | ♂ 0–7° | ♀ 7–13° | ☿ 13–19° | ♃ 19–26° | ♄ 26–30° |
| Leo | ♃ 0–6° | ♀ 6–11° | ♄ 11–18° | ☿ 18–24° | ♂ 24–30° |
| Virgo | ☿ 0–7° | ♀ 7–17° | ♃ 17–21° | ♂ 21–28° | ♄ 28–30° |
| Libra | ♄ 0–6° | ☿ 6–14° | ♃ 14–21° | ♀ 21–28° | ♂ 28–30° |
| Scorpio | ♂ 0–7° | ♀ 7–11° | ☿ 11–19° | ♃ 19–24° | ♄ 24–30° |
| Sagittarius | ♃ 0–12° | ♀ 12–17° | ☿ 17–21° | ♄ 21–26° | ♂ 26–30° |
| Capricorn | ☿ 0–7° | ♃ 7–14° | ♀ 14–22° | ♄ 22–26° | ♂ 26–30° |
| Aquarius | ☿ 0–7° | ♀ 7–13° | ♃ 13–20° | ♂ 20–25° | ♄ 25–30° |
| Pisces | ♀ 0–12° | ♃ 12–16° | ☿ 16–19° | ♂ 19–28° | ♄ 28–30° |
| Sign | 0–10° | 10–20° | 20–30° |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | ♂ Mars | ☉ Sun | ♀ Venus |
| Taurus | ☿ Mercury | ☽ Moon | ♄ Saturn |
| Gemini | ♃ Jupiter | ♂ Mars | ☉ Sun |
| Cancer | ♀ Venus | ☿ Mercury | ☽ Moon |
| Leo | ♄ Saturn | ♃ Jupiter | ♂ Mars |
| Virgo | ☉ Sun | ♀ Venus | ☿ Mercury |
| Libra | ☽ Moon | ♄ Saturn | ♃ Jupiter |
| Scorpio | ♂ Mars | ☉ Sun | ♀ Venus |
| Sagittarius | ☿ Mercury | ☽ Moon | ♄ Saturn |
| Capricorn | ♃ Jupiter | ♂ Mars | ☉ Sun |
| Aquarius | ♀ Venus | ☿ Mercury | ☽ Moon |
| Pisces | ♄ Saturn | ♃ Jupiter | ♂ Mars |
Two worked examples
The Sun at 20° Aries in a day chart. Aries belongs to Mars, so no domicile. The Sun is exalted in Aries: +4. Aries is a fire sign and the day ruler of fire is the Sun: +3. The bound at 20° Aries is Mars's and the face is Venus's, so nothing more. The sum is 4 + 3 = +7.
Venus at 10° Taurus in a day chart. Venus owns Taurus: +5. Taurus is earth and the day ruler of earth is Venus: +3. The bound at 10° Taurus is Mercury's (8–14°) and the face is the Moon's (10–20°). The sum is 5 + 3 = +8. In a night chart the triplicity goes to the Moon and Venus has +5 alone.
What this calculator answers
How much essential dignity each classical planet has at its degree, who holds each office there, and which planet has the strongest claim on the key points.
How it calculates
Umbriel casts Sun to Saturn for your moment, looks each degree up in the tables below, and adds 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1, less 5 and 4 for detriment and fall. Day or night is whether the Sun is above the horizon. The place changes only the Ascendant and day or night.
When the result is uncertain
With no time, zone or place, every possible hour is checked, day and night both, and each result is marked always or sometimes. The Ascendant, Parts and almuten figuris are then not given, never guessed.
Common questions
What is essential dignity?
Essential dignity is the traditional measure of how much standing a planet has in the sign and degree it occupies. A planet can rule the sign (domicile, +5), be exalted in it (+4), rule its element by day or by night (triplicity, +3), hold the bound (+2) or hold the face (+1). It loses points in the sign opposite its domicile (detriment, −5) and the sign opposite its exaltation (fall, −4). A planet with none of the five dignities is peregrine.
What is an almuten?
The almuten is the planet with the strongest claim on a degree: each planet scores 5 for ruling the sign, 4 for exaltation, 3 for triplicity, 2 for the bound and 1 for the face, and the highest total wins. The almuten figuris adds those claims over five places in the chart, the Ascendant, Sun, Moon, Part of Fortune and prenatal syzygy, and names the planet with the greatest total. Authors differ on the places; this page states the five it uses and shows every total.
Do I need my birth time and place?
Not for the planets' signs, domiciles, exaltations, bounds and faces, which need only the date, though the Moon moves about 13 degrees a day so its bound and face want a time. Day or night, which decides triplicity, needs the time and the place, because it asks whether the Sun was above the horizon. The Ascendant, Midheaven and the Parts also need both. With something missing the calculator checks every possible hour and says what holds in all of them.
Which bounds and triplicities does it use?
Egyptian bounds and Dorothean triplicities, the same tables as the Umbriel lessons on dignities and the Distributions calculator, so the site says one thing. Ptolemy's bounds and Ptolemy's triplicities are different tables, and a few readings change if you swap them. Only the triplicity ruler of the chart's sect scores; the participating ruler is named and not scored.
Does a high score mean a strong or lucky planet?
No. The score is a convention from the medieval tradition, not a measurement. It says what a planet starts with, not what is made of it, and equal totals can come from very different dignities. Essential dignity is also separate from accidental condition, such as the house a planet is in, its speed and its aspects.
Why are Uranus, Neptune and Pluto missing?
The dignity tables were written for the seven planets visible to the eye, and each of those owns two signs. The outer planets have no place in the bound, face or triplicity tables, so giving them a score would mean inventing one.
Does it send my details anywhere?
No. The calculation runs in your browser, nothing you type is stored or sent, and the birth place is only a latitude and longitude you type or pick.
Go deeper
Each of these is a page in its own right.
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Prints in the head of this page, all public domain except where stated: Blagrave, Astrological Practice of Physick, Wellcome Collection; Astrology: an almanac for Utrecht for 1655. Letterpress with woodcuts, 1654., Wellcome Collection; Stefano della Bella, the radiant sun in a laurel wreath, tailpiece for the Poemata of Urban VIII, Petit Palais, Paris.
Umbriel offers every system here as a set of prompts to think with, never as a statement of fact about who you are. Take what's useful, leave the rest.