Uranus "exalted" in Scorpio

1
Hi all,

I have just been criticized by someone on my blog for not "knowing" that Uranus is exalted in Scorpio. The Google reveals that there are lots of astrologers calling Uranus exalted in Scorpio. I am not a traditional astrologer, but I'm pretty sure that Ptolemy's table of dignities did not include Uranus.

Your thoughts?

Lynn Hayes

2
I have just been criticized by someone on my blog for not "knowing" that Uranus is exalted in Scorpio. The Google reveals that there are lots of astrologers calling Uranus exalted in Scorpio. I am not a traditional astrologer, but I'm pretty sure that Ptolemy's table of dignities did not include Uranus.

Your thoughts?

Lynn Hayes

Hi Lynn,

From a traditional perspective the idea that any planet exalts at all in Scorpio is an oxymoron. :D In the traditional dignity system no planet is exalted in Scorpio.

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/essential_dignities.html

The exaltations are Mesopotamian in origin and only concerned the two luminaries and 5 planets.

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/exaltations.html

With the discovery of the outer planets though many 19th century astrologers proposed alternative dignity systems which incoporated the outer planets for the first time. I believe it was the last Raphael , Robert Cross, who first incorporated Uranus into a modern dignity system with his books Horary Astrology 1883 and Key to Astrology 1891. Cross suggested that Aquarius is the "house of Uranus" and he gives Uranus' exaltation in Scorpio and joys as Libra and Scorpio and an accidental dignity in the 9th. Aleister Crowley gave enthusiastic support to these revisionist ideas and helped to disseminate such notions to the wider astrological community.

I dont have a problem incorporating Uranus into astrology. I just dont recommend imposing it and the other outer planets into the traditional dignities and rulerships. In my opinion this leads to confusion in delineation and unsatisfactory results.

Mark
As thou conversest with the heavens, so instruct and inform thy minde according to the image of Divinity William Lilly

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I think Uranus works fine as the modern ruler of Aquarius, while retaining Saturn as the traditional ruler.

But if you work with Uranus at all, you may be into the "modern" camp, which doesn't much bother with exaltations and falls, let alone joys, terms, faces, and whatnot.

In modern astrology, generally either astrologers either don't work with the question of which planet is stronger or weaker (unless one is dignified), or else they use a quick-and-dirty rule of thumb that the further away a planet is from the sun, the more powerful it will be in a planetary pair. This is one reason why many modern astrologers find Pluto so compelling.

Theoretically, at least, there is some rational reason for affiliating a given planet with a given sign. To me, Scorpio and Uranus are not a good mix. Scorpio seems preoccupied with control and domination issues, whereas Uranus is supposedly disruptive if negative, and liberating if constructive.

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Well, I am a modern astrologer, but I do understand the dignities and had never heard this so I was really surprised to find so many astrology articles online claiming that Uranus is exalted in Scorpio.

Just for fun I looked up "Pluto exalted" and discovered that Pluto is exalted not only in Leo, but also in Pisces and Virgo.

I think this topic deserves a post on its own and would be glad to quote y'all to set the record straight.

thanks so much for your input!
Lynn

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Hello fellow Know-It-Alls!

In Cordelia Mansall's textbook 'The Astrology Workbook' (first published in 1985) she describes a scheme where Uranus is exalted in Taurus.

So Uranus is exalted in Taurus and fallen in Taurus.

Typical Uranian contradiction, so it must be true :)

I didn't need to tell anyone this though, because all of us already knew it, didn't we :D

Yours knowingly,

H.

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with ref to what Mark wrote...

http://www.skyscript.co.uk/ur_aq.html
He gives Uranus' exaltation as Scorpio and joys as Libra and Scorpio and an accidental dignity in the 9th.
PS Deb really does know everything written on her website, including things she didn't write, she just pretends not to know so we don't feel bad about ourselves... thanks Deb!

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Thanks for the link to that article, I had actually tried to find something like this on the site before posting on the forum.

I'm surprised this Raphael would assign "joys" to Uranus in Libra and Scorpio, since Uranus by its very nature gives challenge to human connections and emotions.

I'm not really comfortable with the whole idea of assigning dignities to the outer planets, which I see as transformational forces rather than elements of the personality.

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I think I just forget what's not worth knowing. I remember nearly all of the historical info from that article, but the idea of giving Uranus a sign of exaltation seems pointless. Apart from it having no consistency of logic that ties it into the traditional rulership scheme, what practical use can it have?

But speaking as a modern astrologer, I think we can make good use of the outer planets. They only make the astrology 'mushy' when we assume they are of the same influence and importance as the seven traditional planets, and so try to make them fit into schemes they don't belong in (like this). It's even wrong to think that the 7 traditional planets are on the same footing as each other, when clearly the luminaries are the tops, etc.

This could start a big rant ... luckily I don't have time today :)

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Earlier I had a look in Margaret Hone's 'Modern Text-book of Astrology' since it held a position of influence and claimed to be modern, and its reprints spanned several decades.

It lists the exaltations of Sun to Saturn, then says...
Many suggestions have been made as to the signs in which the three extra-Saturnian planets may be considered to be exalted, but no generally agreed conclusions have been reached.
Under 'Detriment - Fall' it briefly explains them, then concludes by saying....
The modern tendency is to give less importance to this idea.
I wasn't aware that Uranus is supposedly exalted in Scorpio. I was aware that there were various proposals for those types of things but with no settlement of the matter. I thought the general consensus, such as it is, is that the outermost planets don't have exaltations, terms, detriments, etc.

If anyone criticizes you for not 'knowing' it (anyway, knowing what? the bald 'fact', or the nuanced reality and the history of the idea? the reasons why Uranus doesn't fit? it seems like a silly and mean-spirited criticism) my thoughts are this: I'd give them a Blue Peter badge, a polite round of applause, then send them kindly on their way.

Regards

H.

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Deb wrote:Hi Lynn

This came as news to me. So is it supposed to be in its fall in Taurus?

Deb
Which would at least make a lot more psychological sense than its being exalted in Scorpio.