On Domicile/Adversity Exaltation/Depression. - Discussions, questions

leorising You came back !

ancient_astrology So in the first post, I spoke about planets being in their domicile. However the opposite of that is when planets are in "adversity". A planet is in adversity when it is in the sign OPPOSITE of its domicile.

So the Sun is in adversity in Aquarius. That is sign exactly opposite its domicile.


The Moon is in adversity in Capricorn, the sign opposite its domicile.

Mercury is in adversity in Sagittarius and Pisces, the two signs opposite to Mercury´s domiciles.

Venus is in adversity in Scorpio and Aries, the signs opposite its domiciles.

Mars is in adversity in Taurus and Libra.

Jupiter is in adversity in Gemini and Virgo.

Saturn is in adversity in Leo and Cancer.

ancient_astrology So what are the implications of a planet being in its own domicile, the sign that it rules? What are the implications of a planet being in adversity, the sign opposite to its domicile?

Well, domicile is, as the word suggest, home. When a planet is in its own domicile it is able to get the support it needs to do what that planet does best. It´s in its comfort zone. Under such conditions, it is likely to feel good and do well. When a planet is in adversity, it is far from home, it is in foreign territory, it does not get the support it needs and its expression is muted by the influences of the ruler of the sign it finds itself in.

To understand this, let´s look at a scenario that might be familiar to readers.

You are interested in astrology. You come to a website like Astro-seek, or maybe you even have an astrology club in your hometown. You get support for your interest in astrology in these places. People teach you new things and encourage you. You are likely to learn and certainly you can communicate about astrology in these places. We can liken this to being "in domicile".

Now imagine, you go to a fundamentalist church and you decide to start talking about astrology. You are likely to not get support. In fact, people might criticize you and even say you are talking nonsense or maybe even a mouthpiece of the devil. You don´t get support for your astrology interest. You are unlikely to learn about astrology there. You can´t express yourself very well there. We can like this to being "in adversity"

Iceblu333 Wow, so the opposites of the lights/luminaries (sun, moon) is Saturn... Hmmm.

Never thought about that.

MarvinReal I am curious about Exaltation/Depression scenario. How would you describe it?

ancient_astrology » MarvinReal After I discuss Domicile/Adversity, I will go into Exaltation/Depression

ancient_astrology So let´s look at this more specifically. I am using hyperbole about different planets and signs, so don´t be insulted, if I cite a seemingly negative example of a planet or sign you cherish.

Now the Sun and Moon are luminaries. They are all about light. The Sun like to be in places filled with light, like Leo, his domicile. There he can do Sun stuff and get supported. So the Sun is expansive and one of the things he likes to do is public affairs. Get out there and shake hands and meet people. Imagine the Sun gets invited to Capricorn. He goes there and there is little light. People like to keep to themselves and speak in muted tones, when they talk around. The Sun goes around the room, telling jokes, trying to shake hands, slapping people on the back. He gets a cold reception and the people there are annoyed by him. He doesn´t get any support there. So he has to try to fit in, but this is definitely against his nature. He is in a places opposite his home in Leo. He is in adversity.

The same is true of Saturn if you put him into Leo. Saturn is contraction. He may just want to hang out at home and sit in a quiet, lightly lit room and read. That´s Saturn in Capricorn. He likes to chill here. This is his domicile. However, if you put him in Leo, he is definitely not at home. It´s too much light, and people talk too loud. He has to fit in but he doesn´t like it. He gets no support to be himself.

ancient_astrology » leorising Hi leorising!

ancient_astrology Mercury is the lord of words and logic. His domicile is in Gemini and Virgo. If he is in one of those domiciles, he can do Mercury stuff. Maybe he works or belongs to a club where he can do computer programming.

Jupiter is the ruler of wealth and abundance. He is at home in Sagittarius and Pisces.

Now what if Mercury finds himself at a party thrown by Jupiter? In other words, he finds himself in Sagittarius or Pisces. Everybody there is talking about their new home or new car. Mercury wants to talk about neutrinos. He doesn´t fit in here. He finds the conversation trite, yet that is all he finds here. He mentions the latest technological break through and finally gets the conversation going, only to discover that the other people at the party are just interested in it because they might invest in it and make money.

What if Jupiter finds himself at a party thrown by Mercury, in Gemini or Virgo. He now finds himself out of place. He wants to go there and eat some good food and talk about the lavish restaurant he recently discovered. Instead he finds himself amongst a bunch of nerds, talking about all the cool stuff they have been doing with Arduino. He can´t find anybody to talk about the stuff he wants to or to do the stuff he wants to do. These people are no fun for him. He wants out but has to try to fit in the best he can, which is not very well.

ancient_astrology Mars is the planet of fear, war, anger, aggression. He domiciles are Aries and Scorpio. There, he can do the things he likes. Maybe he likes to play football and watch boxing matches.

Venus is the planet of desire, art, beauty. Her domicile is in Libra and Taurus.
There she can do things, like go to art museums or take part in a beautiful love affair.

So Mars is out and he finds himself in a party at Libra or Taurus. He´s hoping he can watch the big Mixed Martial Arts match on TV there, but instead people are standing around talking about the Blue Period of Picasso. He tries to talk about how much he can deadlift, but nodbody is interested. He´s out of his element here.

Likewise, Venus goes out and finds herself in Scorpio or Aries. She wants to tell everybody about her wonderful new boyfriend and how they are soul mates. When she brings this up to somebody here, the response is sharp. "Look lady, I don´t want to hear this sentimental bullshit. Venus cannot express herself here. The aesthetics just aren´t there. It seems crude. She´s in adversity here.

However, all is not lost when Venus finds herself in Aries or Scorpio, or when Mars finds himself in Libra or Taurus. For a while they can have torrid sex :)

venushouse » ancient_astrology Good to see you! I love this...

ancient_astrology » venushouse Thank you. I will probably start writing on Exaltation v. Depression (or Fall) tomorrow. It seems like this is a subject of confusion for a lot of people.

venushouse » ancient_astrology It is an interesting topic. I look forward to reading more.

nani nanook Welcome Back Ancient...I too am looking forward to more on the subject

ancient_astrology Now let´s turn our attention to the subject of the signs and the planets that find their Exaltation and Fall (depression) in those signs. Let´s note that not all signs have planets that are in Exaltation or Fall there. Here´s a table of Exaltations and Falls (it has other stuff, including Domicile but now we are interested in the exaltation and fall.

ancient_astrology » ancient_astrology So you can see from the above that the Sun is exalted in Aries but that Saturn is in its Fall in Aries.

The Moon is Exalted in Taurus.

No planet is exalted or in fall in Gemini.

Jupiter is exalted in Cancer, but Mars is in fall there, etc. etc.

ancient_astrology » venushouse What are the implications of having a planet in Exaltation in a sign? There where you have an exaltation you can expect to get respect, recognition and honors associated with that planet and related to the house it is in.

For example, let\´s say that you have Venus in Pisces, where it is exalted and it is in the fourth house. One of the signifiers of Venus is beauty. It\´s in the 4th house of home, so you may get some acclaim as an interior decorator or maybe it´s just your friends who admire and respect your ability to create a beautiful home.

Of course, this is just one of the possibilities for this placement.

The key point is that this is a place where you have ability but not only that, you get some kind of recognition or respect for it.

ancient_astrology » MarvinReal Now what about a planet in its fall? Matters associated with that planet would bring you worry, distress, lack of appreciation or respect.


So, Saturn is in its Fall in Aries. Let´s say that Aries falls in the 4th house.
So you´ve got Saturn (the father) who verbally abuses you and makes you feel distressed all the time, makes you feel worthless and probably provokes a state of depression in you.

This is one interpretation and, of course, it could be something different depending on a number of other factors.

ancient_astrology » Iceblu333 So I hope the above discussion made clear the different between "in domicile" and "exaltation" on the one hand, and "adversity" and "fall" on the other hand.

To briefly summarize, if a planet is in its own domicile (the sign it rules), it will be able to express itself. It will have the tools and support it needs to express its nature. Here, in Leo the Sun can be fully itself and do Sun things.
In Taurus, Venus can be herself and will have the support she needs to do it.
HOWEVER, that does not mean they will get fame, recognition or extraordinary respect for their activities (though they might, depending on other configurations).
When a planet is in EXALTATION in a sign we can expect it to get recognition and respect for the activities that planet does in that configuration.

Do you see the difference?

Likewise when the planet is in adversity, opposite to its domicile, it cannot express itself fully. It sort of has to fit in to the rules of what the ruler of that sign dictate. It cannot just do its own thing. It´s not a good situation, but it´s not the same as when it is in Fall. In fall, the planet is in a great deal of distress, anxiety and gets no respect.

Do you see the difference?

Iceblu333 » ancient_astrology If I´m not hyper focused on applying this information to a particular event or person... I will just gloss over it...


But in my tiny brain... Exaltation is good... But I´ve also heard otherwise...


And debilitated is bad....


I´ve watched a video where someone was looking to find a partner with an exalted venus... And they hated it because that venus person wasn´t a freak in bed....


Someone said a debilitated Venus will give you a monster freak in bed...

So it really just depends...

Iceblu333 » ancient_astrology I will have to read this about 3 times to grasp the information... If I even can... Because there´s nothing that to apply the information specifically to for me.... Right now...


Or did you have a point for this post?

Mr Professor

ancient_astrology » leorising But here´s something to remember. Having a planet in Exaltation has its potential downsides. Having a planet in fall could have its upside. Here´s why.

Planets in exaltation get their talent naturally. They get immediate applause from their environment. What´s wrong with that? Nothing. However it could lead to no novelty, sticking with the status quo. Let´s imagine two scenarios.

One artist has Venus in Pisces (in exaltation) in the 5th house. She gets lots of praise from everyone. She learns from her art teacher....she´s never an outsider though and her art is really good and she wins award but because she´s an insider, she never makes any real breakthroughs.

Another artist has Venus in Virgo (fall) in the 5th house. She doesn´t get praise. Her critics call her work weird and awful. Now, one possibility is that she just gives up art because she´s been shamed so many times. However, her outsider status means that she might come up with something new and revolutionary that may be eventually recognized later on as a breakthrough.

Iceblu333 » ancient_astrology I think I beat ya too it

Iceblu333 I do have a Question however...

Are Exaltations and Ect applicable when looking at Secondary Progressions?

ancient_astrology » Iceblu333 Iceblue, I believe that you have Jupiter in Exaltation in your 10th house. Now that might come as a shock, since I know a little bit about your history. You have a couple of problems that are inhibiting that. You have Saturn opposite your Jupiter. A lot of family, and father issues have held you back. There is some other stuff, but that´s the big one.

Very often Saturn issues get resolved as you get older, so don´t give up.