When you read about exaltations, some of the language can seem a little medieval. Exaltations are said to be honored and when planets are in signs that they exalt in, they’re said to behave like honored guests. When a planet finds its fall, which always happens at the sign opposed to its place of exaltation, it’s said to be humiliated. A lot of this language looks like it’s describing Game of Thrones characters, with kings and lords visiting each other and stuff, rather than life in 2020.
We talked before, in my article about dignities, that dignity happens when a planet behaves like a citizen. A dignified planet is able to take up a lot of space because, like a citizen, it sees itself represented in its environment.
Exaltations are about honor. When looking at what honor means, it’s important to take the political conditions under which you live into account. We live in a representational republic where visibility is power, whether that visibility is achieved through political or commercial representation. In other words, exaltations and falls have to do with visibility.
The Sun exalts in the sign it’s in during the spring equinox. This is a sign where the Sun increases in visibility. The Moon exalts in the sign next to the Sun’s exaltation, where the light is still increasing. The nocturnal planets, Mars and Venus, exalt in signs that sextile their rulerships (Venus exalts in Pisces, which sextiles Taurus, and Mars exalts in Capricorn, which sextiles Scorpio). The diurnal planets, Jupiter and Saturn, exalt in signs that trine their rulerships (Jupiter exalts in Cancer, which trines Pisces, and Saturn exalts in Libra, which trines Aquarius).
The thema mundi is a theoretical chart used for learning astrological principles. This chart is also called the “birth of the universe.” It’s not really the birth of the universe because the planets are in impossible configurations but, in the thema mundi, the ascendant is in Cancer. The second, eighth, sixth, and twelfth houses of the thema mundi are in Leo, Aquarius, Sagittarius, and Gemini. Nothing exalts in these four signs because exaltations are about visibility and these four signs are hidden in the thema mundi.
Exalted planets are visible planets. They’re not about planets having an easier time or being given all that they need. The Sun happens to exalt where it is ruled by its out of sect malefic, meaning that the Sun desires visibility when it’s working against something. Exalted planets are planets that want to be seen for the things that planet represents. The exalted Moon in Taurus wants to be seen as resourceful and abundant. The exalted Sun in Aries wants to be seen as successful.
Both the exalted Sun and Moon can get a lot of pressure from home, since Sun and Moon represent the family. Sun in Aries and Moon in Taurus people might feel like they have big shoes to fill or a lot of family expectations. Taurus Moon people might feel like they have to live up to an image of wealth or class ascension and Sun in Aries people might feel like they have to fulfill an image of confidence or popularity.
Planets in fall, on the other hand, are planets that don’t want to be seen. While exalted planets can perform better when under pressure, planets in fall can flounder when they perceive eyes on them. Mars in Cancer might be able to get a lot done but not when there are goals to be met. Saturn in Aries doesn’t care about what you think—they’re not going to work with anyone who they don’t see eye to eye with because they don’t care about seeming cooperative.
Fallen planets can also actively resist the image of whatever the planet represents. The Sun represents cultural capital. Sun in Libra people might actively resist the images of what they think it looks like for someone to have cultural capital, calling them basic or gaudy. Virgo Venus people might actively resist ideas about what it looks like to be nice, critiquing social systems instead.
The reason why planets in fall want to hide themselves is because they actually expect the worst from their environment. Exalted planets, in contrast, can expect too much from the environment. A Moon in Scorpio person expects the worst from people and reacts as if other people will not show up for them. Scorpio Moons might even expect other people to have it out for them. A Jupiter in Capricorn person expects nothing from the political institutions in which they live. They might believe that all institutions and everyone associated with them are innately evil. Both these placements have low expectations. Exalted planets have high expectations. Moon in Taurus has high expectations of people and Jupiter in Cancer has high expectations of institutions.
What’s really funny is that, sometimes, exalted planets and fallen planets can end up behaving in very similar ways. Both exalted and fallen planets can become disillusioned, the exalted planets because nothing lives up to their expectations and the fallen planets because they expect nothing good anyways. Both Venus in Pisces and Venus in Virgo can get disillusioned about relationships. Both Sun in Aries and Sun in Libra can become disillusioned about whether people see them authentically for who they really are. Both Jupiter in Cancer and Jupiter in Capricorn can distrust institutions, knowledge, or people who seem like they know it all.
Planets in either exaltation or fall are planets that require a lot of work and a lot of attention. In a chart, they’re like little whirlwinds that pull everything they’re in relationship with towards them. They sap up a lot of juice. Venus in either Virgo or Pisces will mean that there’s a lot of work and attention going into relationships. Both Cancer and Capricorn Mars might have a lot of horny energy. Both Taurus and Scorpio Moons might be paying a lot of attention to issues around cultural belonging and security.
