It is important to remember that astrology is a human construction. Even if you believe that the universe is alive and astrology is a method for hearing the voice of the cosmos, the language of astrology is a translation of the language of the cosmos that was created by people.

Every translation contains the biases and value judgements of the translators. Some biases come from the unique mind of the individual. Seeing and accounting for individual biases is one of the reasons why communities of practice are important. Fellow practitioners can help us to see around our blindspots. Other biases come from the culture of the translator and the time in which they live. These biases aren't as easy to see for communities of practice when everyone in the community lives in the same culture at the same time. If these societal biases go unexamined by future generations, we run the risk of baking the biases of past generations into our systems of knowledge and mistaking them for universal truths.

It has been two thousand years since the system of essential dignity was codified, and I think it's time that we gave it a closer look.

The Origins of Essential Dignity

Astrologers first started making value judgements about planetary condition in ancient Mesopotamia. In those days, astrologers were employees of the king. They saw the stars as the kingdom's mailbox from the gods, and their job was to read these divine messages for the king.

Naturally, whether a message was good or bad was entirely relative. A message that one kingdom would overthrow another was excellent news for the winners and terrible news for the losers.

Over time, the Mesopotamians noticed patterns in which planetary arrangements tended to be good news and which tended to be bad.

Eventually, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians, who fired the court astrologers, and astrologers expanded their sphere of concern to the people in kingdom who were able to pay them for advice. After the conquest of Alexander the Great, the astrologers of the Hellenistic period build on the observations of the Babylonian astrologers, added their own insights, and codified the system of dignity and debility into the one we use today.

Inherent Biases in the System

We are fortunate that Hellenistic astrology was a blend of Greek, Babylonian, Egyptian and Indian influences. These different cultures worked together to create a system that is not overly ensnared in the idiosyncratic biases of one culture.

In all of these cultures, however, astrologers were employed by the rich and powerful. This similarity means that it is only natural to assume that planets in detriment or fall might be expressing themselves in ways that the rich and powerful don't like. In practice, that assumption plays out.

For example, in the patriarchal ancient world, power was held by men. As such, it was a virtue for women to be submissive and agreeable. Venus in Aries is Inanna, the Mesopotamian goddess of love and war, in full battle gear. In a patriarchal society, powerful, fighting women are less than ideal. There is a reason why Joan of Arc was set on fire (even if she was eventually sainted), and there are statues of the Virgin Mary everywhere. It's the same reason Venus/Inanna is exalted in Pisces, the sign of peace and universal love and compassion.

The people who are in power, naturally, want to stay in power. That means creating social structures that are orderly and have longevity. This can be problematic when you're dealing with a god of war. Mars is the god of war. Mars' gender gives it rulership over the sign Aries where Venus is in detriment, but Mars is in detriment in Venus's sign Libra. Libra is the sign of diplomacy and peacemaking. Its specialty is dealing with situations that can be resolved in an orderly way with dialog and compromise. If you are committed to preserving the social order, the last thing you want at your peace summit is somebody with an army agitating for a fight. You want your military to be highly disciplined and under control, the way Mars is when it is in Saturn-ruled Capricorn.

Mercury is the planet of the mind. To the rich and powerful, the mind can be a dangerous thing. People with strong mental abilities are necessary to keep the trains running on time, but a smart person who asks too many questions may start asking why some people have wealth and power when others are poor. The danger of the mind tuned toward justice may explain why the planet of the mind is curiously considered to be debilitated in the sign of the philosopher. When that questioning mind is gifted with metaphors, like Mercury is in Pisces, it becomes a real threat to power because it becomes capable of writing protest songs. “If a man were permitted to make all the ballads,” 18th century Scottish politician Andrew Fletcher said, “He need not care who should make the laws of a nation.”

Working Around the Biases in the Essential Dignity System

Despite the biases embedded in the planetary condition system, I don't think simply throwing the system away is the answer. Despite its flaws, the system is useful. I have written previously about how incorporating planetary condition into my astrology practice has helped me give more nuanced readings that recognize influences on life that are outside my clients' control.

At the same time, it would be foolish to use the system blindly, perpetuating its biases.

The best solution I have found to work with this system is to be aware of context. A blind assessment of a chart as "good or bad" based on essential dignity isn't enough. The circumstances of a person's life are important to consider. A poet is unlikely to consider Mercury to be in detriment in Pisces, while a person struggling with depression may feel insulted if they are told they have a strong and good moon in Cancer.

Ultimately, the owner of the chart is the final judge of whether their experience of life is good or bad, and it is not the responsibility (or right) of the astrologer to make value judgements about their lives.