Reflections on Traditional Dignities & Debilities

There has been much discussion online recently about an article by astrologer Ray Grasse about traditional dignities and debilities of planets in which, if I understand him correctly, the author argues that traditional categories are often “black-or-white,” and a concept, such as Venus in fall in Virgo, must be understood “in context.” To quote directly from the article: “in some contexts the qualities of Venus might well be hindered by being in Virgo, but in other contexts those inherent virtues might actually be enhanced. That’s because it all depends on what one is trying to do. … Simply making a blanket statement about how ‘planet x is weakened in this sign and strengthened in that sign’ strikes me as an overly simplistic way to approach dignities, since it doesn’t sufficiently take into account the many nuances of those placements, or the subtleties of context.” 

Grasse focused on Venus in Virgo, the sign of its fall, because he had noticed that many famous musicians had this placement, for example, his list includes John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Sting, Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Leonard Cohen, John Mellencamp, Eminem, PJ Harvey, Chrissie Hynde, Roger Waters, and Jack White. I thought it would be interesting to look at the chart of someone on his list, especially one rated AA, with a time of birth from an official record. Leonard Cohen falls in this category. Here is his chart with Placidus houses.

We are interested in Venus, which happens to be in fall in Virgo in this chart. Venus lies at 12 Virgo 44′ in the Placidus 12th house. Her antiscion lies at 17 Aries 15′, and contra-antiscion at 17 Libra 15′, exactly conjunct natal Mercury, which lies at 17 Libra 14′. In addition, Mercury and Venus are in mutual reception. Modern astrologers will notice that Venus in partile conjunction with Neptune may be a strong indicator of musical or poetic talent. Traditional astrologers will notice that Leonard Cohen was born on a Venus day during a Venus hour.

Mercury rules the Asc and MC of this chart and occupies the 1st house. Mercury is also the chart almuten but, being in Libra, 1st-ruler Mercury must work in concert with Venus, its dispositor by domicile. In calculating the chart almuten, Venus comes in as a very close second to Mercury. Clearly, Mercury and Venus each play a dominant role in this chart of a poet, novelist and musician.

While Venus is in fall in Virgo, she is simultaneously in her own Triplicity, Term and Face, and is also in mutual reception with her dispositor Mercury, the almuten of the chart. There is also a tight contra-antiscion bond between Mercury and Venus. Abu Ma’Shar regarded adjacent signs agreeing in ascensions, such as Virgo and Libra, to be harmonious.

With regard to exaltation and fall, Morinus found that in his experience a planet in the sign of its exaltation acts quantitatively in more intense and effective manner, but that exaltation does not affect the quality of that action. Conversely, a planet in fall acts quantitatively less intensely or effectively, but being in fall does not affect the quality of that action. In addition, being outside the sign of its own domicile, a planet in exaltation or fall must act in cooperation with the sign it occupies and the ruler of that sign, and in accord with the celestial state of its dispositor. In the chart of Leonard Cohen, Venus in fall in Virgo acts cooperatively with Virgo but potentially less intensely or effectively than if she were in another sign, say Taurus or Libra or Pisces, but Venus must also act in accord with her dispositor, who is Mercury, the almuten of the entire chart, which give Venus a prominent role if the life of this native.

In fact, Cohen grew up in a musical family and showed a strong interest in music as a child, which gave way to an interest in poetry and literature in his teens. This interplay between Venus in fall and her dispositor, Mercury, is perhaps reflected in this comment from Cohen’s biography at astro.com: “As a student at McGill, he gravitated toward poetry and prose, eventually gaining acclaim in Canada for his poems and two novels. The books did not sell well, so for income, Cohen returned to songwriting.”

In conclusion, a single factor, such as Venus in fall in Virgo, cannot be understood in isolation but must take into account the entire birth chart and all the interconnections of Venus with all other factors in the chart.