Of the Houses of the Several Planets [According to Egyptian Ptolemy]
last updated: 22/Nov/2021
Considerations
Ptolemy now goes all planetary and want you to know that Zodiac Signs are not all there by themselves in the void, but they have rulers and serve as Houses/Home for Planets, and all of them are classically ruled by a single planet but the planets can rule over two signs [except the Sun and Moon]. Bear in mind that, when the ancients say “house of the planet”, they mean(t) the Zodiac sign they rule, or, they Domicile.
To learn about the Abü Ma’shar version on the subject click here.
Of the Houses [Domiciles] of the Several Planets
In this part of the Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy boiled down the Planetary Rulership and the reasons why the Zodiac Signs have the Planets ruling them by order, beginning from the when the Sun moves to the part of the skies which most “produces” warm & heat, feminine Cancer & masculine Leo, the reasoning behind they were “given” the two most powerful astrological planets [Sun & Moon] – then if you rest an infinite line between the Cancer-Leo, the most Northely Zodiac signs, you will divide the wheel into Solar & Lunar Halves once they are ruled by the planets just cited.
Doing this, from Cancer to Aquarius is naturally created the Nocturnal semi-circle, and from Leo to Capricorn the Diurnal semi-circle.
Zodiac Sign [Sun Halve] | Planet Rulership | Zodiac Sign [Moon Halve] |
Leo [private] | Sun & Moon | Cancer [private] |
Virgo | Mercury | Gemini |
Libra | Venus | Taurus |
Scorpio | Mars | Aries |
Sagittarius | Jupiter | Pisces |
Capricorn | Saturn | Aquarius |
“The planets also have familiarity with the parts of the Zodiac, through what are called their houses, triangles, exaltations, terms, and the like. The system of houses is of the following nature. Since of the twelve signs the most northern, which are closer than the others to our zenith and therefore most productive of heat and of warmth are Cancer and Leo, they assigned these to the greatest and most powerful heavenly bodies, that is, to the luminaries, as houses, Leo, which is masculine, to the Sun and Cancer, feminine, to the Moon. In keeping with this they assumed the semicircle from Leo to Capricorn to be solar [halve] and that from Aquarius to Cancer to be lunar [halve], so that in each of the semicircles One sign might be assigned to each of the five planets as its own, One bearing aspect to the Sun and the other to the Moon, consistently with the spheres of their motion and the peculiarities of their natures.“
We could simulate the idea that if Aquarius and Capricorn are the signs furthest from such regions (opposite Leo and Cancer), let them be ruled by the “coldest” classical planet: ‘inimical’ to heat Saturn, which is the furthest from the Sun of all the remaining classical planets and so forth.
Planets & Their Houses In Relation to the Houses of the Sun-Moon |
Saturn: Ptolemy reminds as well that Saturn fits well the malefic nature of these Zodiac Signs because its “houses” are opposite to those of the Luminaries (Sun-Moon), the good things in life. What Aquarius is to Leo (Opposition), Capricorn is to Cancer (Opposition).
Jupiter: Jupiter is beneath the sphere of Saturn, counting from Saturn – yet, it is favorable once the Zodiac signs are Sagittarius-Pisces, or that the Houses of Jupiter share a Trine to the “Houses” of the Luminaries (Cancer-Leo). What Sagittarius is to Leo, Pisces is to Cancer.
Mars: Beneath Jupiter’s real, is situated the sphere of Mars, which houses (Aries-Scorpio) are in discord (Square), what Aries is to the Cancer, Scorpio is to Leo.
Venus: Next is Venus, which houses (Taurus-Libra) look harmoniously and with grace (Sextile) to the houses of the Sun and the Moon. What Taurus is to Cancer, Libra is to Leo.
Mercury: Finally Mercury which is under all the spheres, also which is never more than about 28° degrees from the Sun, it is Sun’s neighborhood, its messenger, ruling the Houses of Gemini and Virgo, the signs close to Cancer and Leo. While Gemini borders Cancer, Virgo borders Leo. |
It is from this point, where one could solve or discover the triplicities, exaltations, terms etc. which Ptolemy writes on the next chapters ahead until the end of Book I.
Planet | Rulership of: | Ptolemy: |
Saturn | Capricorn Aquarius | “For to Saturn, in whose nature cold prevails, as opposed to heat, and which occupies the orbit highest and farthest from the luminaries, were assigned the signs opposite Cancer and Leo, namely Capricorn and Aquarius, with the additional reason that these signs are cold and wintry, and further that their diametrical aspect is not consistent with beneficence.” |
Jupiter | Sagittarius Pisces | “To Jupiter, which is moderate and below Saturn’s sphere, were assigned the two signs next to the foregoing, windy and fecund, Sagittarius and Pisces, in triangular aspect to the luminaries, which is a harmonious and beneficent configuration.” |
Mars | Aries Scorpio | “Next, to Mars, which is dry in nature and occupies a sphere under that of Jupiter, there were assigned again the two signs, contiguous to the former, Scorpio and Aries, having a similar nature, and, agreeably to Mars’ destructive and inharmonious quality, in quartile aspect to the luminaries.” |
Venus | Taurus Libra | “To Venus, which is temperate and beneath Mars, were given the next two signs, which are extremely fertile, Libra and Taurus. These preserve the harmony of the sextile aspect; another reason is that this planet at most is never more than two signs removed from the Sun in either direction.” |
Mercury | Gemini Virgo | “Finally, there were given to Mercury, which never is farther removed from the Sun than One sign in either direction and is beneath the others and closer in a way to both of the luminaries, the remaining signs, Gemini and Virgo, which are next to the houses of the luminaries.” |
Ptolemy not only exemplified the logic/rationale behind the planetary rulership, but also let us know exactly the signs that are “extremely” fertile [Libra & Taurus] and fecund/fruitful [Sagittarius & Pisces]. Then, we learn that not only the signs ruled by Jupiter (Sagittarius-Pisces) are abundant and copious but also Libra and Taurus share similar qualities which are ruled by Venus. Everything just falls into place neatly.
There is also another way to “divide” the Planetary Homes which ancient Astrologers made it clear that the planets also function better at day in one domicile and the other sign at night.
Somehow, this inormation is omitted Ptolemy’s treatise:
Diurnal + Nocturnal Planetary Homes |
Saturn during the Day rules Aquarius Saturn during the Night rules Capricorn – Jupiter during the Day rules Sagittarius Jupiter during the Night rules Pisces – Mars during the Day rules Aries Mars during the Night rules Scorpio – Venus during the Day rules Taurus Venus during the Night rules Libra – Mercury during the Day rules Gemini Mercury during the Night rules Capricorn |
Conclusion
While both the Sun and Moon rule over a single Zodiac sign each (making them private signs), the rest of the classical planets align thoroughly by dual rulership over the remaining signs in the wheel when resting an eternal line between the end of Cancer [Moon] and beginning of Leo [Sun] signs.
The Solar System is the reason for astrology to be what it is and Ptolemy wrote Tetrabiblos to make sure we don’t forget that.
The Domiciles, or, Houses of the Planets are the “directions” that the houses/signs are taking in the chart.
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References
Go back to Ptolemy’s Way and read the references