Management of Measurement Constructs
Rulership over Tenancy
A planet’s substantive significance in astrological analysis rests strongly in the main on the significances of the House it rules, so much more than the House in which it finds itself.
A planet assessed predominantly for the House of its tenancy (where it is located in the natal horoscope) establishes an inert description that rarely goes anywhere. On the other hand, when the planet’s reference to the House(s) it rules is assessed, we have a dynamic situation indeed.
This is a very telling situation especially with the innermost planets, Mercury and Venus, each ruling two Signs, and possibly involving four Houses!
For example: If we have Mercury in the 2nd and we acknowledge “communications and money” or “thinking about money”, we can miss so much in comparison with reference to Mercury’s possible rulership of the 7th House and the 9th House: communications to the public, internationally, even possibly through publications.” –This is the Mercury situation for Tom Brokaw, the NBC news-anchor and author [February 6, 1940 at 3:40 AM CST in Webster SD].
In CBS news-anchor and author Dan Rather’s horoscope [October 31, 1931 at 6:13 PM CST in Wharton TX], Venus in Scorpio in the 7th says one thing, but through the fact that Venus rules the Ascendant and the 6th, we feel his socially (publicly) orientated need to be thought profound and significant and right (Scorpio), to establish his identity (Ascendant) as such, through public service (the 6th and 7th).
There can be the case that a planet is located in the House it rules, by ruling the cusp Sign or the Sign intercepted. Most usually, this planet is in its own Sign and is thus the final dispositor. We know that being in its own Sign increases the symbolic focus on the planet throughout the horoscope.
For example, Rather has the Moon in Cancer; it is the final dispositor of the horoscope, of course. The Moon is also on the cusp of the 3rd House, which it rules. This increases enormously the accent upon communications.
The Houses are extremely telling. They are extremely important in focusing the arena in which vocational fulfillment can focus itself for an individual. Learning, understanding, being able to articulate House Significances through the Moon’s focusing of the House profile(s) is a key to vocational profiling accuracy. It is within the Houses and what they suggest that the art of fitting symbols into a developmental scenario begins.
Another example that illustrates strongly that rulership goes well beyond tenancy in guiding analytical synthesis is the horoscope of the great actor Robert de Niro [August 17, 1943 at 3:00 AM EWT in Brooklyn NY, (Kings Country)].
First of all, we see four quintiles in the horoscope: there is every indication that a creative outlet is mandatory for him, especially since this creativity is reinforced by Neptune’s rulership of the Midheaven, quindecile with the Moon in Pisces, Neptune opposing the Midheaven and being on the Aries Point!
And there’s more: Neptune is disposited by Venus also opposed the Midheaven, which in turn is disposited by Mercury, which is a co-final dispositor of the horoscope. Creative communications galore!
–But now, let’s look at it this way as well: Neptune in the 4th means little in comparison with its rulership reference to the Midheaven! Then, clearly, the Sun in Leo, co-final dispositor of the horoscope, leads us further into the sense of theatrical creativity … but its position in the 2nd means little in comparison with its rulership reference to the 3rd House of communications!
Yes, Mercury means much in Virgo IN the 3rd House. It’s supposed to!: it is co-final dispositor!
A final example is most interesting: world singing performer Julio Iglesias [September 23, 1943 at 11:00 AM EET in Madrid SPAIN] has a horoscope that is residually summarized by the mutual reception between Mercury and Venus. Here are the internal routings that in part deal with rulership over tenancy:
Saturn is very strong here, being square to the Sun and Mercury and Neptune. Saturn is in Gemini and in the 8th House. I suggest that this Saturn position in the 8th House is far less significant than Saturn’s rulership of the communications 3rd House!
The Sun is in Virgo in the 11th conjunct Neptune. I suggest that this position is much less important than the Sun’s carrying the Neptune conjunction to the Leo Midheaven, which the Sun rules!
Then, we can see the Moon in Cancer, the final dispositor of the horoscope, ruling the 9th and being IN the 9th. It’s supposed to be there. It suggests the tremendous international focus of Iglesias’ career and life experience (an echo of Pluto on the Midheaven), but it also suggests considerations of the Law, etc. Iglesias was studying to be a lawyer, when he suffered a severely incapacitating motorcycle accident that interrupted his Law studies and turned him to music.
And finally, from all the publicity stories over the years, it is clearly tenable that Iglesias’ Mercury in the 11th conjunct Neptune in the 11th have much less significance in the 11th House than seeing Mercury ruling the 8th conjoined by Neptune ruling the 5th!
**Think about this please. Following rulership routings from the planets –especially Mercury and Venus—brings your astrological synthesis sophistication up several notches almost immediately. [For further study, please see “Rulership Networks” in Synthesis & Counseling in Astrology, pages 225-268.]