Planetary Dignities

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Over the past 30 years, Denis Labouré has been a leading figure in France promoting traditional and Indian astrology.
He has just released a new book 'Interpreter avec les puissances planetaires' (Reading with planetary dignities)
https://spiritualite-occidentale.com/161-livres
In 'Astrologie traditionnelle' No 4 Fabienne Proz gives a preview of this book on the site of Catherine Ollier
https://www.etincelles-astro.fr/lastrol ... 851642.543
**Note: Using Chrome and Google Translate, you can translate the document.

His book is a view on Planetary Dignities based on the Indian 'Bala' system (power, activity, efficiency) from Varahamihira who lived in the 6th century.
In the first place, each planet has by nature a fixed value, in relation to its luminosity (naisargika).
To this fixed value, six types of acquired values ​​are added, which represent six possible power sources. And it can be understood in relationship with Lilly's Table of Essential Dignities for Natal or Horary.

1. The power acquired by the spatial position: dignities and debility, zodiacal divisions, etc. (sthana bala).
The talent that makes the planet efficient in everyday life.
It takes into account the dignity or weakness of the evaluated planets, their location in relation to angles, their friendships or enmities between them. Space force is a mercurial gaze that provides information on the efficiency of planets in their respective fields on a daily basis. If Saturn is powerful the native does things slowly, with perseverance, commitments are kept. If it is weak, we enter resignation or depression.

2. The power acquired by the affinity of the planets with the angles of the chart (dig bala).
The power is acquired by the affinity with the 4 angles of the theme. Thus the Sun and Mars have an affinity with the Midheaven while the Moon and Venus with the IC. Jupiter and Mercury will be found powerful on the Ascendant and Saturn on the Descendant. The more planets occupy these spaces, the more they gain in force.
Directional power is a Venusian gaze on the planets. It informs their ability to guide the native towards his well-being in relation to the areas they govern. If the Sun is powerful in directional force, the native is moved to take the right direction in adequacy with its deep identity. If Mercury is weak, the native may not go to the right path of study or learning.

3. The power acquired by the temporal position (from birth or horary): diurnal or nocturnal, master of the hour, day, month, year, position of the star in the diurnal movement (kala bala)
Here the power is evaluated in relation to the situation in time. We take into account the diurnal or nocturnal power of the planets, their increasing or decreasing phase, the power of the masters of the year, the month, etc. knowing that the more fleeting the moment, the more it will characterize the native.
The temporal force is a Saturnian gaze on the planets. It provides information on the impact of what is happening and shows what is important to the person. With a powerful Mars, it is essential to overcome obstacles while with Venus, comfort, pleasures and beauty take precedence.

4. The equinoctial force, in relation to the declination (ayana bala) .
The power is acquired by the declination
. Thus Venus, Mars, Sun and Jupiter are powerful in the North declination. The Moon and Saturn are in southern declination. Mercury is strong in both cases. A balance of power is expressed in this power. Therefore, the power that a planet acquires by declining is a force martial, it is the Martian gaze on the planets. It provides information on the ability to manage conflicts and each planet will do so according to its attributes. It is interesting to compare the power of Mars and Venus, because two ways of managing conflicts are at work: to fight or to negotiate. Most often, the planets are interpreted by group: the Moon and Venus for example. If one is weak, the other may come to the rescue: a weak Moon has little empathy and openness to the other to overcome conflict but powerful Venus intervenes by giving reasons to find accommodations. If Mars is weak and Saturn strong, the person can deal with the situation by taking the time to reflect in order to to develop a strategy.

5. The power acquired by the movement of the planets (chesta bala).
Power is acquired through movement. In other words, a planet acts more powerfully when it is close to the Earth, it is also more luminous (a retrograde planet increases in power, since it is at this time closest to the Earth). For luminaires, the power is considered to be zero at peak and maximum at apogee, while for planets, it is the opposite.
Chesta Bala is a solar gaze on the planets. It provides information on the confidence that the native has when he acts according to the planet concerned. If the Sun, Mercury and Jupiter, being part of the same group, are weak in motive force, the native experiences a great lack of confidence in self. The Moon and Venus allow you to feel confident in relationships and in society.

6. The power acquired by the aspects received (drig bala).
The power is acquired by the received aspects. It is the receiving force of the Moon which is at play here, showing how the external contributions make the planet aspected effective or not. It is a lunar gaze on the planets. A positive score shows the circumstances (environment, people and events, etc.) which allow effective recourse to the star. while a negative score shows the circumstances that hinder it. The higher the positive score, the more the planet can manifest its attributes, the higher the negative score, the greater the frustration.
Thus, a person can have a powerful Mercury in positional force (Sthana Bala) giving him an ability to use the Mercurial attributes, but if the receiving force is weak, whenever he wants to express it, he will encounter obstacles.

TOTAL SCORE: Represents the total score of all points acquired by each planet. (Shad Bala) It is a Jupiterian gaze on the stars. Therefore, the most powerful planet is the one that occupies the greatest place in the life of the native. With Saturn, the native relies only on himself and slowly advances in his ascent. Reliability, rigor, sense of management, etc. characterize it.
If it is Venus, the person thrives in activities that embellish existence such as art, decoration, food trades or even activities where we pay attention to others to allow them to feel better, etc. Peace is preferred over ambition.
As Jupiter, a beneficial planet, is a factor of luck, its power allows it to be noted in the chart by examining on which houses and planets it exerts its action. If Jupiter is the weakest star, the luck factor is absent.

A patch completes this assessment. It applies when two planets are united in mundo (in domitude): it is "planetary war" (Yuddha).

First and foremost, this system measures the power of general significators. It is therefore primarily interpreted in subjective terms. Any high power source shows "ability to" and any low power source shows "inability to"

Blessings
Ouranos
Blessings!

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hi ouranos

thanks for sharing this! it sounds like a strong overview on the use of shadbala! i wonder if he will get his books translated into english as some of andre barbaults books have?

i am not completely on board with the dogma of shadbala... it would be good to understand the basis for some of it, especially the parts that are harder to immediately intuit or understand...

there is another influencial french astrologer - alexandre volguine.. he has had some of his books translated into english.. the 2 books i read are lunar astrology and ruler of the nativity... he must have influenced a number of french astrologers of today and he was very much into shadbala as well, if you read his books..

https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/en ... -1903-1976

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Volguine

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Yes James, Denis Labouré would be an interesting voice to discover.
I have a couple of his books
- Manuel d'Astrologie Divinatoire (published in 1988 about Indian Horary Astrology based on the Prasna Tantra written by Neelakanta in 1567)
- He also have one specific on Horary Astrology and another one on Traditional Astrology with a lot of chart examples.
Alexandre Volguine was born in Ukraine and spent his life in France. His book on Solar Returns is still a reference. He is mostly known for being the founder of 'Les Cahiers Astrologiques' published between 1938 and 1983 containing 2104 articles written by 357 astrologers. A golden mine of articles and they have now a paying version on
https://www.astrointernational.com/Astr ... Infos.aspx
George Antares, Henri J. Gouchon and Hadès (His book on Mundane Astrology) are also key references. And of course, Andre Barbault

By reading French astrologers at first, I learned the 'philosophy of the stars' but I learned to speak with English astrologers.
There is so much to learn from other cultures and roots. More recently I enjoy Italian astrology websites and try to discover what German have to say.

Cheers!
Ouranos
Blessings!

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Ouranos wrote:- Manuel d'Astrologie Divinatoire (published in 1988 about Indian Horary Astrology based on the Prasna Tantra written by Neelakanta in 1567)
Just as a marginal note, Nīlakaṇṭha wasn't the actual author of the Praśnatantra, the bulk of which is a condensed Sanskrit rendering (apparently by Samarasiṃha in the 13th century) of Sahl ibn Bishr's work on horary astrology. A paper of mine on that topic, now somewhat dated, can be found here.
https://astrology.martingansten.com/

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Thank you Martin for this precision.
In his 1988 version of the presentation of the work of Nīlakaṇṭha, he hand-drawn all the charts. The copy I have is the 2019 edition and he now uses his software 'Astro Inde'.
He does mention in it that he was inspired by the research of Richard Ambelain 'in Traité des Interrogations Célestes', (Indian Horary book) published in 1964. They have a copy at my local library.
Always interesting to have your scholar look on the filiation of published works.
Last edited by Ouranos on Sat Apr 10, 2021 5:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Blessings!

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Yes I am French Canadian!
Which can also be detected in my writing errors in English.
My interest for English comes from Agatha Christie. I was lying in bed in a private clinic in Madras, India and I thought my last days were coming. And there was a collection of Christie's books on a shelf. I thought 'Why not kill someone before I die!" ... to feel less lonely!

"Everything must be taken into account. If the fact will not fit the theory – let the theory go." (The mysterious affair at Styles)
Blessings!

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thanks ouranos!

that explains that! you could have been quebecois or a french canuck - one or the other!

i have never been to madras, but i was in other interesting places in india...