Fixing the Fallen
A Planetary Remediation Journey: Part 1
Before we begin, you might be asking…
What even is planetary remediation, Izzy?
Mars and Venus, from a Pompeii fresco.
These two planets are the ones I personally work on the most, as well as the ones most clients seek to remediate.
Planetary remediation is the intentional attempt to strengthen or ease challenging placements in a natal chart.
To remediate a person’s birth chart, an astrologer takes into consideration the condition of each planet and how that manifests in their real life. (Planets operate more smoothly in certain signs; in others, not so much.)
There are a variety of methods that can be applied in order to strengthen or ease challenging placements so that any negative manifestations are more easily managed.
This is a 3-part series meant to air some insights as I ramble along the winding path of remediating two planets in my natal chart, both in the signs of their fall: Venus and Mars.
But First: The Looming Dooming
There is a personal backstory here, and it’s called generalized astrological anxiety.
Astrology itself is a very mathematical, precise, think-y practice, with absolutely wild predictive accuracy if you know how to use it.
However, any astrologer worth their salt will eventually encounter an enormous problem: untangling the thorny cross-section of astrology and free will.
Are you real?
Literally no clue at this point.
This is a lifelong process, and I seriously doubt there’s one true answer, but the ability to systematically predict using learned information, without necessarily tapping into one’s intuition or spirituality, is terrifying. It’s much easier to shrug off trepidation when doing client readings — it’s just how it is. An appropriate amount of emotional distance from the outcome is essential for maintaining clarity during a client reading.
But that vague yet permeating sense of doom can become an extremely unhealthy mental space for many astrologers. Especially if you’re fully aware of your own challenging placements; they grow into shadows, you can only see the darkness they promise.
Those thoughts are always simmering in the back of my mind, and eventually I harnessed my extreme innate stubbornness and disinclination to heed any master (dramatic but true) and set out looking for relief in the form of chart remediation.
I was called to chart remediation because I was called to astrological magic as a way to exert control over circumstance and fate, and while the basic concepts of remediation form the foundation of astrological magic, it ended up being much more than that. More important, more powerful, more joyful.
Astrological remediation, chart remediation, planetary remediation — they all mean the same thing: strengthening or alleviating challenging placements in one’s birth chart in order to control how they manifest in your life: positively, or negatively.
The ancient symbol of the ouroboros.
The goal is balance.
Why? Because their energies will manifest, no matter what. Why not have a hand in what that looks like in your own life?
Planetary Dignity
Planets perform their essential functions through the lens of the sign they’re in.
The sign describes the environment in which a planet has to operate. The planetary dignity scheme ascribes certain characteristics of “strength” or “weakness” to specific planet/sign combinations.
The quality and tone of a planet is greatly affected by it operating through the lens of one of these relationships.
I’m about to delve deeper, but you can quickly check out which signs each planet experiences these relationships in via the table below.
In the dignity scheme, the working relationship a planet forms with certain signs is referred to as that planet being in domicile, detriment, exaltation, or fall.
The traditional signs in which each planet is in domicile, detriment, exaltation, or fall.
These signs provide an environment that is either beneficial or detrimental to that planet’s essential functions.
Domicile & Detriment
Domicile: a sign a planet is said to “rule” and be at home in, affording it the support and comfort to function at its full strength and power.
Each planet has one or two signs it calls home: these are its domiciles. The sign of a planet’s domicile provides an extremely sympathetic environment for the specific nature of that planet, affording it unfettered freedom to do what it does best. A planet in domicile is at home. It has access to ideal resources, it’s comfortable, it can do what it wants and doesn’t have to answer to anyone.
Detriment: a sign a planet feels alienated and weak in, as it’s the sign furthest away from its domicile or home.
Each planet also has one or two signs — and they are always the signs opposite to its domicile — in which it feels alienated from its own topics and doesn’t perform them in an archetypically ideal manner: these are the signs of a planet’s detriment. Detriment is also called “anti-domicile” or even “exile,” since they’re always the signs furthest from a planet’s home.
Exaltation & Fall
Exaltation: a sign that elevates a planet, bringing out its highest expression.
There is one sign each planet performs exceptionally well in, even though it’s not a domicile: this is the sign of its exaltation. A planet in domicile can be likened to it being at home, but exaltation is like being an honored guest in someone else’s house. It doesn’t have quite the same amount of freedom, but think about it: when you’re a guest at a close friend’s house, you feel comfortable enough to relax and be yourself, but not necessarily comfortable enough to be at your, let’s just say, grossest self. You’re probably gonna put on some pants and be mindful of not making a mess.
Fall: a sign in which a planet functions especially poorly in, as it’s the sign furthest away from its exaltation.
There is also one sign, always the one opposite its exaltation, in which a planet feels exceptionally uncomfortable in: this is the sign of its fall. A planet in fall is significantly weakened due to the unsympathetic nature of that sign to its functions and desires.
That’s not to say they operate like a sleazy political regime; it’s more that there’s something in the nature of the sign of a planet’s fall that corrupts its ideal expression, rendering it impotent.
For the purposes of this essay, I will be focusing on fallen planets, which are said to be “corrupted” in many ancient astrological texts.
Saving Fallen Soldiers
What happens when we have fallen planets in our chart? How do they behave?
Fallen Angel (El Ángel Caído), Alexandre Cabanel, 1868
Since planetary condition is best described with an example, let’s talk about Mars.
Mars in his war helmet.
Mars (Ares in Greek) is almost always depicted in armor & ready for battle.
Mars is in domicile in the signs of Aries and Scorpio.
In those signs, in their own different way, Mars is free to be as fucking Martial and powerful as he wants. There’s nothing holding him back. In Aries, its Fire domicile, Mars is the archetype of the warrior on the battlefield, exulting in the thrill of victory. In Scorpio, its water domicile, Mars is stealthier, more like a silent assassin (and more prone to emotional warfare), but still just as comfortable with the idea of fighting and winning and getting what it wants.
Mars is in detriment in the signs of Libra and Taurus.
Libra is very focused on relationships, beauty, and balance, loathing messy conformations and ugliness of any kind. Taurus loves beauty too, but also values and craves stability, and keeping an even emotional keel. Taurus simply does not want to fuck up its vibe. In those two signs, Mars is stifled, forced to think about other people and not rocking the goddamn boat. Mars does not want to be penned in like that, he wants to rage.
Mars is exalted in the sign of Capricorn.
In Capricorn, the raw volatility of Mars is given structure and limits. Cool-headed, detached Capricorn understands patience and doesn’t usually act rashly, but has enough personal authority and attachment to achieving a goal that it transforms Mars into a powerful tool. Capricorn is completely okay with applying the Martial principles of competition and ensuring personal success — but it knows there are better tactics to getting what it wants than having a temper tantrum (Mars in Aries) or becoming obsessed with revenge (Mars in Scorpio).
Mars is in fall in the sign of Cancer.
Cancer is the opposite sign to Capricorn. Ruled by the Moon, and thus subject to swiftly changing emotional states, the vital source of Cancer’s power — the ability to deeply emotionally connect — is the biggest reason Mars doesn’t do well in that sign. Cancer is so in tune with both its own emotions as well as those of others, that it seriously trips up the Martial principle. Mars is out here ready to go, it doesn’t have time to cry; it doesn’t have time to be affected by subtle, nuanced emotional currents; and it really doesn’t have time to give a shit about what other people want. Cancer is the crab: vulnerable without its shell, side-stepping towards its destination, when all Mars wants to do is stride right into the fire. Cancer is psychologically impacted by negative emotions and confrontation. It wants everyone to be happy and get what they want for two big reasons: because it’s everybody’s mom, and because it feels other people’s feelings.
The sign of Cancer is a corrupt environment for Mars because there is so little access to the resources it needs. It wants Red Bull and is given milk. To succeed, Mars needs to sever the emotional ties that bind — but all Cancer wants to do is enforce them.
So now what? Are fallen planets doomed?
No! I mean, sometimes it really sucks having fallen planets in your natal chart (a topic I will get into in the next 2 parts), but a) you learn to live with them; they’ve been a part of you your entire life, and b) they can be remediated!
However, if you’re trying to remediate a planet in fall or detriment, it’s absolutely crucial to deeply understand why that planet is not at its strongest in those signs.
Especially since your birth chart is a lived experience; my experience of having a natal Cancer Mars is not the same as yours — but there is an archetypal common denominator that can be tapped into when you know what you’re doing.
Continued: Part 2