Little help needed from trad astrologers

[Inconjunct]

As my signature says, I'm getting into classical astrology. Plenty of reading to be done. I'm looking at my natal chart and trying to work out the Lord of the Geniture. The almuten is Mercury, I think but he's in a cadent house and retrograde, not so good. Saturn is next down in essential dignity, but as he's situated in the 12th, is his power to act diminished or is it unaffected because he joys in this house? The candidate I've chosen is Jupiter as he's next down the list in terms of essential dignity, he's direct and in an angular house. Am I on the right tracks?

All help gratefully received. I'm on an iPad and can't see a way to attach my chart to this post, but it's in my profile, in the album marked "my chart"

[Kaiousei no Senshi]

This depends on what definition you're using for Lord of Geniture. In medieval astrology, it's typically the planet that has the most essential and accidental dignities. So, it might not matter where that planet actually is in the chart.

There are others who suggest that the lord of geniture is the planet with the most essential and accidental dignities in the chart "that can act", and this is where you'd get to choose between a cadent planet and perhaps a slightly less dignified planet that happens to be in a more powerful house. I would be careful with this one, especially if there are several points difference between the two candidates.

There's even another opinion that the Lord of Geniture is the planet who rules the sign that follows one's Moon sign. So, if you have Moon in Taurus, Mercury would be the Lord of Geniture since it rules Gemini.

You mention that Mercury is the almuten, I'm assuming you mean almuten of the figure? That's not the same as the Lord of Geniture. The Almuten of the Figure is the planet with the most essential dignites, but the Lord of Geniture takes into consideration both essential and accidental dignity, so Mercury's cadency and retrograde motion would count against him.

[Inconjunct]

Thank you - yes, Mercury is the Altumen of the Figure. At the moment, I'm veering more towards Jupiter. He's in the first, he has less essential dignity than Saturn, but Saturn's in the 12th AND he meets the criteria of ruling the sign after my Moon sign!

Thanks again for your help.

[Kaiousei no Senshi]

It's likely that Saturn in the 12th isn't that badly debilitated since the 12th is his joy, but if we're looking at it from the perspective of "planets that can act" we know the 12th is a house that doesn't act since it's cadent.

As for the Lord of Geniture being the domicile lord of the sign following the Moon sign, that was only mentioned by Firmicus Maternus, so who knows what he was on when he wrote that down.

[tsmall]

Inconjunct, when I put your info into Mornius (your chart is on your profile) it scores Mercury as both the Almuten of the Figure and the Lord of the Geniture.

Which brings up a question I have had myself--do they have to be two separate planets?

In the case of your Saturn in 12, it is similar to my own Venus (my Almuten) in that with whole sign she is in twelve, but in determining angularity she is in 11th--meaning more able to act. I believe (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that while charts were "read" in whole sign, angularity depended on distance from the angles, and is how strength/accidental dignity was calculated.

So, you would say the Saturn has the ability to act of being in the 11th, but operates and is read as being in the 12th.

[Kaiousei no Senshi]

Which brings up a question I have had myself--do they have to be two separate planets?

No, they don't. The Almuten of the Figure already has the most essential dignity in the chart, so it's only if the Almuten has a few accidental debilities that take it out of the running that the Almuten and Geniture Lord are different.