A basic understanding of traditional astrology is helpful
in order to understand DETRIMENT
Hi JUPITERASC,
I know we look at it, but I'm not so sure it's real.
If you want a basic understanding of traditional astrology, then we should start with why the celestial bodies are given their signs.
You have 12 signs and 7 celestial bodies. Two of the bodies are luminaries.
The 5 planets are each given 2 signs, a masculine sign for the day, and a feminine sign for the night.
Day/night for the luminaries doesn't make much sense, so Sun is given masculine Leo and Moon feminine Cancer.
But it doesn't end there, because the planets are paired in opposites.
The signs of Mercury oppose the signs of Jupiter, because their natures are contrary. Mercury is logic, and Jupiter philosophy at basic cores. The signs of Venus and Mars oppose because pleasure opposes pain.
Who do Sun and Moon oppose? Saturn. Saturn is the lord of the planets, the big boss planet, so it makes sense that Sun and Moon would have opposing signs.
If you read Teucer of Babylon, he and the astrologers before him never considered detriment.
A body could be dignified in its own sign, and dignified more in its sign of exaltation. It could be harmed by being in the sign opposite its exaltation, but wasn't harmed being opposite its sign of dignity.
I guarantee you the Greeks buggered it up with their buggered up logic. Greek logic, the same logic that gave you "the Earth is flat" and ruined everyone's lives for nearly 2,000 years, is what gave you detriment.
For the Greeks, if the sign opposite exaltation is the fall, then the sign opposite dignity must be detrimental.
It would appear to be logical, but it really isn't. A lot of astronauts have an Aquarian Sun and there are 1,000s and 1,000s of famous people with Aquarian Suns.
If an Aquarian Sun is negative, it's because Sun is in a bad place or Saturn is in a bad place, or because of bad aspects, not because Sun is in Aquarius.