Peregrine Planets
Think of a traveller in a foreign country with no address, no contacts and no local language. They are free, and they are on their own. Where they end up depends on who they meet. That is a peregrine planet: a wanderer with no dignity in the sign it occupies.
The word comes from the Latin for a foreigner or pilgrim.
Mars in Leo: no major dignity
- Home at home, fully itself
- Exalted an honoured guest, at its best
- Detriment opposite home, working against the grain
- Fall opposite exaltation, least at ease
- No major dignity none of the four here; peregrine if it also lacks triplicity, term and face
More than the four major dignities
Here is what most horoscope pages never explain. Domicile, exaltation, detriment and fall are only the major dignities. Traditional astrology also has three minor ones:
- Triplicity: each element has its own rulers, by day and by night. A planet ruling the element of its sign has a little dignity there.
- Term: each sign is divided into five unequal sections, each ruled by a planet.
- Face: each sign is divided into three ten-degree sections, each ruled by a planet.
A planet is truly peregrine only if it has none of these. So Mars in Leo, which has no major dignity, can still have some dignity at certain degrees of Leo, by term or face. Peregrine is a precise traditional term, more exact than "no major dignity".
Venus in Cancer: no major dignity
- Home at home, fully itself
- Exalted an honoured guest, at its best
- Detriment opposite home, working against the grain
- Fall opposite exaltation, least at ease
- No major dignity none of the four here; peregrine if it also lacks triplicity, term and face
Which of your planets are strong?
See where your planets are at home, exalted, or working against the grain.
