Dignity Scoring Systems

Definition

Dignity scoring systems put a number on a planet's overall essential-dignity strength at a given degree, by adding up credits for each kind of dignity and subtracting debits for each kind of debility. Lilly's scoring in Christian Astrology I gives +5 for domicile, +4 for exaltation, +3 for triplicity, +2 for bound (term), and +1 for face (decan), with matching negatives for detriment, fall, and being peregrine. Other versions — Bonatti, Ibn Ezra, Al-Biruni — rank the dignities much the same way but differ in the numbers. The total measures how much a planet can actually do.

In Tradition

Across the Hellenistic, Arabic-Persian, and medieval Latin traditions, the five essential dignities are ranked the same way: domicile, then exaltation, triplicity, bound, and face. Lilly's +5/+4/+3/+2/+1 scoring (Christian Astrology I, 1647) is the canonical English version, and Bonatti's Liber Astronomiae keeps the same order with its dignity-determination method (Tractate II, Part II, Chapters V-X). The almuten or mubtazz calculation (Sahl, Masha'allah, Al-Biruni) sums these points across candidate planets to find the overall lord of any point.

In Practice

To score a planet, you check each of the five essential dignities at its exact degree, add up the point values, and subtract any debility points — minus 5 for detriment, minus 4 for fall, and being peregrine counted as 0 or as a small penalty depending on the version you use. You use the total to rank competing planets, to find the almuten of a point (the planet with the highest summed score over a given degree), or to judge whether a planet can really deliver what it stands for. Lilly's tabular method underpins the almuten figuris calculation, the five-point lord scheme that uses the Ascendant, Midheaven, Sun, Moon, and prenatal syzygy as its test points. Modern dignity calculators (Lehman, and dignity-table software) use Lilly's scoring by default, with the option of switching to Bonatti's or Ibn Ezra's weightings for comparison. A negative total means net debility; a large positive total marks a planet as a strong candidate for ruling-planet status.

Historical Origin

The five-fold dignity order appears in Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos I.20 (2nd century CE, Greek, public domain) without explicit point values; the +5/+4/+3/+2/+1 numbers are medieval. Bonatti's Liber Astronomiae Vol III-V (13th century, Latin, public domain) systematizes the order. Lilly's Christian Astrology I (1647, public domain) gives the canonical English table with debility points. Al-Biruni's Kitab al-Tafhim (c. 1029) preserves the Arabic-Persian form of the mubtazz calculation.

Further Reading