Dignities for U.S. Presidents
Posted: Mon May 08, 2017 8:49 pm
Cyril Fagan remarked several times - especially in his first decade or so of digging into Sidereal astrology - that people of high rank and dignity had more dignified planets in their charts. He specifically mentioned royalty, Popes, and presidents.
It has always seemed that there is a tendency for this to be true, though of course there are examples that go the other way. And it is easier to justify this in the case of known dignitaries than to confirm it in ordinary people. That is, more dignified planets don't make more dignified people. (Hey, look at me with both Jupiter and Saturn exalted.)
So, I decided to test this against U.S. presidents last night. The results of this small but focused list gives a different kind of result. That is, it doesn't speak to dignities equal dignity itself. If I were to go only on this set of data, I would conclude that dignities give planets strength and debilities weaken them; but I don't actually think that's true either. The bottom line is that, for U.S. presidents to date, the benefics tend to be dignified (home or exalted) and the malefics tend to be the opposite (more detriment or fall).
A lot of this has to do with the extreme preference of Mars for Cancer and Libra. This is actually consistent with what I've seen for years in terms of executive ability, but it does stack the deck for what is called detrimental placement.
Anyway, it's an interesting set to examine. I don't think final conclusions should be drawn from it, but it's interesting. Here is the breakdown, based on the 43 U.S. presidents to date:
VENUS
Venus very much tends to be exalted: She is in Pisces 7 times, twice the average. Add three in Libra and three in Taurus (quite average), and we get 13 dignities. She was debilited 10 times, primarily in Virgo (5) and Scorpio (4), with only a single occurrence in Aries. Net = +3.
JUPITER[/b[
Jupiter was in Cancer (4), Sagittarius (5), and Pisces (2) a total of 11 times, and in Gemini (1), Virgo (5), and Capricorn (5) a matching 11, for Net = 0. Notice that if we exclude Pisces from this (on the theory that it isn't really a Jupiter sign), the balance is Net = +3.
Overall, the benefics have a slight tendency to be dignified more than debilited.
MARS
As mentioned above, Mars has a fierce preference for Cancer and Libra, which have earned reputations for executive effectiveness. Mars is in Aries (3), Scorpio (3), and Capricorn (1) 7 times, vs. Taurus (1), Cancer (10), and Libra (6) 17 times, for a score of Net = -10.
SATURN
Saturn is in Libra (4), Capricorn (2), and Aquarius (1) a total of 7 times (quite small), and in Aries (4), Cancer (7), and Leo (4) a total of 15 times, for a score of Net = -8.
The malefics, in summary, have a strong tendency to be debilited more than detrimented.
SUN
Aries and Virgo are the two most common Sun-signs for U.S. presidents, so we can expect to find a larger than average number of exalted Suns. Sun is in Aries (5) and Leo (3) a total of 8 times, and in Libra (4) and Aquarius (2) only 6 times, for Net = +2.
MOON
Moon is in Taurus (4) and Cancer (4) 8 times, which is barely above average, and in Scorpio (3) and Capricorn (4) 7 times, for Net = +1. This is all pretty average and doesn't seem to be adding anything.
MERCURY
Mercury manages to avoid the signs of its dignity a fair bit. It is never in Gemini, and is in Virgo only twice. Against this, it is in Sagittarius (5) and Pisces (3) a total of 8 times for Net = -6.
It has always seemed that there is a tendency for this to be true, though of course there are examples that go the other way. And it is easier to justify this in the case of known dignitaries than to confirm it in ordinary people. That is, more dignified planets don't make more dignified people. (Hey, look at me with both Jupiter and Saturn exalted.)
So, I decided to test this against U.S. presidents last night. The results of this small but focused list gives a different kind of result. That is, it doesn't speak to dignities equal dignity itself. If I were to go only on this set of data, I would conclude that dignities give planets strength and debilities weaken them; but I don't actually think that's true either. The bottom line is that, for U.S. presidents to date, the benefics tend to be dignified (home or exalted) and the malefics tend to be the opposite (more detriment or fall).
A lot of this has to do with the extreme preference of Mars for Cancer and Libra. This is actually consistent with what I've seen for years in terms of executive ability, but it does stack the deck for what is called detrimental placement.
Anyway, it's an interesting set to examine. I don't think final conclusions should be drawn from it, but it's interesting. Here is the breakdown, based on the 43 U.S. presidents to date:
VENUS
Venus very much tends to be exalted: She is in Pisces 7 times, twice the average. Add three in Libra and three in Taurus (quite average), and we get 13 dignities. She was debilited 10 times, primarily in Virgo (5) and Scorpio (4), with only a single occurrence in Aries. Net = +3.
JUPITER[/b[
Jupiter was in Cancer (4), Sagittarius (5), and Pisces (2) a total of 11 times, and in Gemini (1), Virgo (5), and Capricorn (5) a matching 11, for Net = 0. Notice that if we exclude Pisces from this (on the theory that it isn't really a Jupiter sign), the balance is Net = +3.
Overall, the benefics have a slight tendency to be dignified more than debilited.
MARS
As mentioned above, Mars has a fierce preference for Cancer and Libra, which have earned reputations for executive effectiveness. Mars is in Aries (3), Scorpio (3), and Capricorn (1) 7 times, vs. Taurus (1), Cancer (10), and Libra (6) 17 times, for a score of Net = -10.
SATURN
Saturn is in Libra (4), Capricorn (2), and Aquarius (1) a total of 7 times (quite small), and in Aries (4), Cancer (7), and Leo (4) a total of 15 times, for a score of Net = -8.
The malefics, in summary, have a strong tendency to be debilited more than detrimented.
SUN
Aries and Virgo are the two most common Sun-signs for U.S. presidents, so we can expect to find a larger than average number of exalted Suns. Sun is in Aries (5) and Leo (3) a total of 8 times, and in Libra (4) and Aquarius (2) only 6 times, for Net = +2.
MOON
Moon is in Taurus (4) and Cancer (4) 8 times, which is barely above average, and in Scorpio (3) and Capricorn (4) 7 times, for Net = +1. This is all pretty average and doesn't seem to be adding anything.
MERCURY
Mercury manages to avoid the signs of its dignity a fair bit. It is never in Gemini, and is in Virgo only twice. Against this, it is in Sagittarius (5) and Pisces (3) a total of 8 times for Net = -6.