Planetary Joys

Meaning

The joys are a scheme that pairs each of the seven traditional planets with one house in which it is said to "rejoice" (Greek chairein, "to rejoice, be glad"). A planet in its joy is at ease and able to express its nature well, even when the house is otherwise a weak one.

The scheme has a clear logic. The Sun and Moon rejoice in opposite houses, the 9th and 3rd, called God and Goddess. The benefics Jupiter and Venus rejoice in the two "good" houses, the 11th and 5th. The malefics Saturn and Mars rejoice in the two "bad" houses, the 12th and 6th, where their harshness suits the house. Mercury, the planet of speech and mind, rejoices in the 1st, the house of the self [1][2].

There is also a sect pattern. The three day planets (Sun, Jupiter, Saturn) have their joys above the horizon, in the 9th, 11th and 12th; the three night planets (Moon, Venus, Mars) have theirs below it, in the 3rd, 5th and 6th. Mercury, which can belong to either sect, has its joy in the 1st, which straddles the horizon [2].

Origin and history

The joys are among the oldest doctrines of Hellenistic astrology. Chris Brennan argues that they underlie the traditional names of the houses (God, Goddess, Good Spirit and so on), and that because these names are already cited by Thrasyllus (died 36 CE) from an earlier text attributed to Hermes, the scheme probably dates to the first century BCE [2].

The main ancient witnesses are Paulus Alexandrinus, who describes each place in turn and names the planet that rejoices there [1]; Firmicus Maternus, who explains the names of some houses by the planet that rejoices in them [4]; and Dorotheus, who twice calls the 3rd the place of the Moon's joy [3]. The Greek word is chara, "joy" (verb chairein).

One ancient author differs. The Roman poet Manilius (early first century CE) gives Venus her joy in the 10th rather than the 5th and Saturn in the 4th rather than the 12th [2]. Scholars disagree about whether this is a genuine variant tradition, a corruption of the text, or Manilius's own invention: Deborah Houlding has argued for taking it seriously because of its early date [5], while Robert Schmidt and others have treated it as aberrant [2].

The doctrine passed into Arabic astrology. Al-Bīrūnī lists being in one's house of joy as one of the conditions in which a planet is "joyful", and calls it the best-known of them [6]. Lilly names each planet's joy in his descriptions of the houses [7], though he does not give it a separate line in his table of fortitudes [7]. Houlding notes that some Renaissance authors, such as Johannes Schoener, did give points for it [8].

The joys are distinct from the similar-sounding idea that a planet "rejoices" in a sign (usually one of its own domiciles) or in its own sect condition; both uses of the word are found in the sources [1][6].

How it is used

Points on this site. A planet in its house of joy scores +3. This value is the site's own choice; Lilly's table has no line for the joys [7], and Houlding reports that Schoener gave two points, the same as a planet in its own term [8]. None of the traditional sources consulted for this article gives the joys +3.

Offsetting cadency. Four of the seven joys are in cadent houses (3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th), so the joy score often offsets the cadent score. On this site Saturn in the 12th scores cadent −2 and joy +3. This reflects the traditional view that a planet in its joy is comfortable even in a house that weakens other planets.

Reading the houses. Many modern Hellenistic practitioners use the joys to explain what the houses mean: the 9th is religious and philosophical partly because it is the Sun's (God's) place, the 6th is illness and hardship partly because it is Mars's [2]. In interpretation, a planet in its joy is read as working in a setting that suits it.

House system. Because the scheme was developed with whole-sign houses, some practitioners apply it by sign-house only [2]. The site applies it to the house in which the planet falls in the chart's chosen house system.

Examples

• Mercury in the 1st house: angular +4 and joy +3 on this site. A talkative, quick-witted native is a common reading.
• The Moon in the 3rd house: cadent −2 but joy +3, net +1. The Goddess in her own place.
• Mars in the 6th house: cadent −2 and joy +3. Mars is strong here, but the 6th is still the house of illness and toil, so its strength shows in those matters.
• Jupiter in the 10th house is angular but not in its joy; Jupiter in the 11th is succedent and in its joy. Both are good placements, for different reasons.

See also

For the day and night division that underlies the pattern, see sect, halb and hayz.