Fall

Meaning

A planet is in its fall when it occupies the sign opposite its exaltation. Where exaltation raises a planet up and gives it honour, fall lowers it and takes honour away. A planet in fall is often compared to a person who has lost status: still capable, but disregarded, constrained, or unable to command respect for what it does.

Each planet has one sign of fall, with a traditional degree opposite its degree of exaltation.

The Greek term is tapeinōma, "lowering" or "humbling"; Robbins's translation of Ptolemy renders it "depression" [1]. Dorotheus, in Pingree's translation, speaks of the planet's "descent", the opposite of its "ascent" or exaltation [2]. The Arabic is hubūṭ, "descent" [3], and the Latin casus, "fall". Dejection is another older English word for the same condition.

Origin and history

Fall is as old as exaltation and always paired with it. Dorotheus, after listing the exaltations with their degrees, adds simply that the descent of each planet is opposite its ascent [2]. Ptolemy gives each planet's exaltation and depression together, with a seasonal reason for both: the Sun is exalted in Aries where its heat and the length of day begin to grow, and depressed in Libra where they begin to fail; cold Saturn has the reverse [1].

Al-Biruni states that the signs and degrees opposite the exaltations are the planets' places of dejection, and that a planet there is said to be in its fall, confined and in a worsened condition [3]. He counts fall, with detriment, as adding misfortune to a planet that already lacks dignity [3]. Lilly scores fall −4 in his table, the reverse of the +4 for exaltation [4].

How it is used

Falls of the seven classical planets, with the traditional degrees

The degrees are those opposite the exaltation degrees given by Dorotheus and al-Biruni [2][3]. Where the Moon's Nodes are given exaltations (the North Node in Gemini, the South Node in Sagittarius), each has its fall in the other's exaltation [3].

Points. Lilly scores fall −4 [4]; this site does the same, applying it to the whole sign as with exaltation.

Fall and detriment compared. Detriment is usually described as a planet being out of its element or acting against its nature; fall as a planet being out of favour, unable to get the recognition or support its actions deserve. The distinction is useful in interpretation but depends on the author; many simply treat both as weakness of different degree.

Double debility. Mercury is exalted in Virgo, one of its own signs, so its fall, Pisces, is also a sign of its detriment. Mercury in Pisces is therefore in both detriment and fall (−9 in this scheme). No other classical planet has this overlap.

Fall with dignity. A planet in fall can still hold minor dignities. In the Dorotheus triplicity scheme, Mars in Cancer rules water by night; Venus in Virgo rules earth by day; the Moon in Scorpio takes part in the water triplicity (as participating ruler). The site lists these alongside the fall and adds their points.

Outer planets. Since there is no agreement on exaltations for Uranus, Neptune or Pluto, there is none on their falls either, and this site does not score them.

Examples

• The Sun in Libra: fall (−4). The Sun has no domicile, triplicity (air belongs to Saturn and Mercury) or terms in Libra. It is not in any Libra face either (the faces are the Moon, Saturn and Jupiter), so it has no dignity to offset the fall.
• The Moon at 3° Scorpio: at the exact degree of her fall. In a night chart she participates in the water triplicity but is not the active ruler, so under this site's default she scores −4.
• Mars in Cancer, night chart: fall (−4) but night ruler of water (+3): net −1.
• Saturn at 27° Aries: fall (−4), but 25°–30° Aries is Saturn's Egyptian term (+2).
• Jupiter at 8° Capricorn: fall (−4), but 7°–14° Capricorn is Jupiter's Egyptian term (+2) and 0°–10° its face (+1): net −1.