Peregrine

Meaning

A planet is peregrine when it has none of the five essential dignities in the place where it stands: it is not in its domicile, exaltation or triplicity, and it does not rule the term or the face of its degree. It is a stranger in a foreign land, without property or rank of its own, and therefore depends on the planet whose sign it is in and on the other planets it meets.

The word comes from Latin peregrinus, "foreigner" or "one who travels abroad", the root of pilgrim. Al-Biruni's Arabic term is gharīb, "stranger" or "alien" [1].

Being peregrine is not the same as being debilitated. A peregrine planet lacks support; a planet in detriment or fall is actively out of place. The two can occur together, and whether a planet in detriment or fall should also be called peregrine is one of the points on which authors differ (see below).

Origin and history

The concept belongs to the medieval tradition, where dignity is treated as a kind of testimony that a planet either has or lacks. Al-Biruni explains that dignity means a planet's favourable situation, as when it is lord of the house or in its exaltation; a planet without any such situation is called a stranger, and if it is also in its detriment or fall, misfortune is added to its being alien [1].

Lilly defines a peregrine planet in the part of his book that explains the technical terms of the art. A planet is peregrine when it is in degrees of a sign where it has no essential dignity at all: not the house, exaltation or triplicity, and neither term nor face. His example is Saturn at 10° of Aries: not in its house, exaltation or triplicity, and holding neither term nor face there, it is peregrine; at 27°, 28° or 29° of Aries it would not be, because it would then be in its own term [2]. Since Aries is Saturn's fall, Lilly's own example is a planet in fall that is also called peregrine. In his chapter on the dignities he adds that a planet in its own term or face cannot be called peregrine [2].

Lilly also gives peregrine a practical role: in horary questions of theft, the thief is almost always shown by a peregrine planet in an angle or in the second house [2].

How it is used

Checking for peregrine. Go through the five dignities for the planet's exact position:

1. Is the sign its domicile?
2. Is the sign its exaltation?
3. Is it the triplicity ruler of the sign's element for this chart (day or night)?
4. Does it rule the term at this degree?
5. Does it rule the face at this degree?

If every answer is no, the planet is peregrine.

Points. On this site a peregrine planet scores 0: it simply receives no essential points. This is a simplification of Lilly. In his table of fortitudes and debilities Lilly lists peregrine among the debilities and deducts 5 points for it, the same as detriment [2]. The site treats peregrine as the absence of dignity rather than an additional penalty; one consequence is that a planet in detriment or fall that is also peregrine is not penalised twice.

Points of disagreement.

• All five dignities, or only the major ones? The usual definition, and Lilly's, requires the planet to lack all five [2]. Some astrologers use the word more loosely for a planet with no domicile or exaltation, ignoring the minor dignities; that usage is not supported by Lilly.
• Can a planet in detriment or fall be peregrine? Al-Biruni's wording treats detriment and fall as misfortune added to being a stranger, which implies they can coincide [1]. Lilly's own example calls a planet in fall (Saturn in Aries) peregrine [2]. Others prefer to reserve "peregrine" for a planet that has neither dignity nor debility, a planet that is simply neutral. This site follows the first view: a planet in detriment or fall with no dignity is also marked peregrine.
• Which triplicity rulers and which terms? Because the tables differ between authorities (Egyptian or Ptolemaic terms; Dorotheus or Ptolemy for triplicity), the same planet can be peregrine in one scheme and not in another. This site uses the Egyptian terms and Dorotheus's day and night triplicity rulers.
• Mutual reception. Many authors hold that a peregrine planet in mutual reception with another planet is substantially rescued, since the host takes it in. See mutual reception.

Interpretation. A peregrine planet acts without clear direction of its own and takes its colour from its dispositor and aspects. Well supported by reception or a strong dispositor, it can do well; unsupported, it may wander, be unreliable, or serve other people's purposes.

Examples

• Jupiter at 5° Aquarius, day chart. Aquarius is not Jupiter's domicile or exaltation; Saturn rules air by day; 0°–7° Aquarius is Mercury's term; and 0°–10° is Venus's face. Jupiter is peregrine, and depends on Saturn, the lord of Aquarius.
• The same Jupiter at 15° Aquarius. Now it is in its own Egyptian term (13°–20°), so it is not peregrine.
• The Sun in Libra at 5°. In fall, and with no dignity (Libra's first face belongs to the Moon): the site marks it both in fall and peregrine.
• Mars at 15° Gemini, day chart. Gemini gives Mars no domicile, exaltation or triplicity, and 12°–17° Gemini is Venus's term, but 10°–20° is Mars's face. One point is enough: Mars is not peregrine.