Succedent (Dignity)

Definition

Succedent dignity is the situational strength a planet gains by sitting in one of the four succedent houses — the 2nd, 5th, 8th, or 11th — which come right after the angular houses in the order the signs move. The Greek term for a succedent place is epanaphora ("rising after"). In the three-step ranking of houses by strength, succedent houses sit in the middle: below angular and above cadent.

In Tradition

For Hellenistic and traditional Western astrologers, a succedent placement is a moderate situational strength. A planet in a succedent house has a steadier, less openly visible influence than one on an angle, but what it stands for still gets done. Three of the four succedent houses — the 2nd, 5th, and 11th — form a sextile or trine to the Ascendant; only the 8th is in aversion to it, which adds a note of ineffectiveness within an otherwise moderate group.

In Practice

Astrologers use the succedent label when adding up a planet’s overall accidental-dignity score. In Lilly’s table the succedent score falls between the angular bonus of +5 and the cadent penalty of -5, usually given as +1 to +4 depending on the house and the authority. A succedent house tends to hold the gathering-up and the consequences that flow from the angular topic before it — the 2nd holds the resources of the 1st, the 5th the joys flowing from the 4th home, the 8th the partner’s estate flowing from the 7th, and the 11th the friends and benefactors flowing from the 10th career. The 8th’s aversion to the Ascendant tempers its succedent rating, and some traditional authors score it lower.

Historical Origin

The three-step house ranking is attested in Hellenistic sources. Crane reports that succedent (epanaphora) places were classed as following the angular places and less powerful than them, while still stronger than the cadent. The doctrine passed through the Arabic tradition into Lilly’s *Christian Astrology* (1647), where succedent placement enters the accidental-dignity tally as a moderate bonus. The late-20th-century traditional revival brought the three-step ranking back into common use through Lehman, Hand, and Brennan.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Further Reading