The four conditions
- Home, or domicile. The sign a planet is said to rule. It can act as itself there, with few obstacles. Mars in Aries doesn’t have to ask anyone’s permission.
- Exaltation. A sign where a planet is treated like an honored guest, working well and with some extra shine. Mars in Capricorn is often given as the example: drive with a plan behind it.
- Detriment. The sign opposite home. Here a planet has to work in a style that isn’t its own. Mars in Libra wants to take action and also wants everyone to be okay with it.
- Fall. The sign opposite exaltation, where a planet’s usual approach tends to get the least support. Mars in Cancer goes after things indirectly, by way of feelings.
Traditional astrology adds further layers, such as triplicity, which sorts dignity by element. Those aren’t needed for most purposes.
The tables, as the app uses them
Planets in home signs:
- Sun: Leo. Moon: Cancer. Mercury: Gemini, Virgo. Venus: Taurus, Libra. Mars: Aries, Scorpio.
- Jupiter: Sagittarius, Pisces. Saturn: Capricorn, Aquarius. Uranus: Aquarius. Neptune: Pisces. Pluto: Scorpio.
Planets in exaltation:
- Sun: Aries. Moon: Taurus. Mercury: Aquarius. Venus: Pisces. Mars: Capricorn.
- Jupiter: Cancer. Saturn: Libra. Uranus: Gemini. Neptune: Sagittarius. Pluto: Leo.
To find detriment or fall, take the sign directly opposite: Sun in Aquarius is detriment, Sun in Libra is fall, and so on.
Astrologers don’t all agree on this. Mercury is the best-known dispute: many traditional sources exalt it in Virgo where this table uses Aquarius. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto were discovered long after the system was built, so their places are modern additions and they vary from one school to another. If another source gives you different answers, neither is necessarily wrong. These are the tables our calculations run on.
What it does and doesn’t mean
Please don’t read “fall” and panic. A planet in fall isn’t damaged and you aren’t doomed in that area of life. It’s a little like being left-handed in a right-handed kitchen: things take more thought, and you may become unusually skilled. Venus in Aries, which is in detriment, can be some of the most honest and exciting love around. Moon in Capricorn, also in detriment, can be the person you call in a crisis because they stay calm. Dignity tells you about ease and says nothing about worth.
In the app, these tables feed your own chart’s harmony: a planet at home or exalted adds to it, and a planet in detriment or fall counts against it a little. It’s one input among many, and it doesn’t change how loud a planet is. That’s a separate question, covered in your dominant planet.
Mutual reception
Dignity also explains one of the nicer ideas in astrology. Mutual reception is when two planets each sit in the other’s home sign, like a house swap. Venus in Aries and Mars in Taurus is the classic case: Venus is in Mars’s sign and Mars is in Venus’s, so each looks after the other’s interests.
It also works between two people. If your Venus is in Aries and their Mars is in Taurus, you each hold something of the other’s. MatchMachine counts this when it compares charts, and each one adds to your harmony. It’s one small reason a pairing can feel friendly even with few obvious aspects. There’s more in what synastry is.