What if you could find a trump card to get you through troubled times? Or discover a planet you can turn to when your world is falling apart, or when you are spinning around the proverbial revolving door, unsure of which exit to take? Described as the “pilot of the soul”, the Lord of the Geniture or LOG is a planet you can turn to when all else fails. The LOG is like the agony aunt in every chart, offering advice you should listen to but often don’t. If ignored, this planet eventually ends up saying “I told you so”.

When you feel like you’re walking in the dark, astrology is like a torch that helps you navigate the terrain. Your best planet, the Lord of the Geniture, is the torch, the compass, the map, the ace up your sleeve. Finding your trump planet can brighten your path forward.

Your chart ruler

It’s commonplace for astrologers to enlist the ruling planet of the sign on the ascendant as the chart ruler. This widely used method has flaws as traditionally the ruler of the ascendant is linked to ego. Ego can be a destructive force and it’s not recommended to use the chart ruler alone for guidance. The LOG better demonstrates where your best qualities lie. Focusing on getting that planet to work will lead to fulfilment and happiness.

William Lilly, one of the fathers of traditional astrology, describes the LOG as the “planet with the most essential and accidental dignity that can act”. What you are looking for is a planet that is well placed by sign (essential dignity) and actively positioned by house (accidental dignity).

The ruler of the ascendant is considered ego. The ascendant describes the physical self. Your Moon symbolises emotion or sentiment. The Sun is your core, but it’s the Lord of the Geniture that is your best card.

For example, consider a chart with a Libra ascendant. A modern take on the chart ruler would focus on Venus. What if Venus was conjunct Saturn in Scorpio in the third house? This would not be a desirable placement for a chart ruler, as Venus is in detriment, a condition of weakness, in Scorpio. As the term itself suggests, there is little about Venus being “happy” in Scorpio, as she is in the opposite sign to one of her home signs, Taurus. Also, Scorpio is ruled by Mars, which is the opposite archetype to Venus. In modern psychological astrology, Venus in Scorpio has its place; however, for the purpose of finding the LOG, Venus in Scorpio is not ideal.

Described as the “pilot of the soul”, the Lord of the Geniture or LOG is a planet you can turn to when all else fails.

In this example, Venus is also placed in the third house, a cadent house. A cadent house (3, 6, 9 and 12) is not a house where your Lord can do anything to assist you. Planets in cadent houses are like having a brilliant talent at a musical instrument but not having access to a support network to develop or hone the skill.

You are ultimately looking for a combination of strength by sign (essential dignity) and strength by house (accidental dignity). The sign placement shows the motivation of a planet, while the house placement shows its ability to act.

You may have a chart with a very happy, positively motivated Moon in Taurus (the Moon is exalted there), but if this is in the cadent 6th House, it has little to no ability to act favourably. It would be like having a world champion boxer in your corner with his hands tied behind his back! Skip it and move on to a planet that is better placed accidentally (by house).

Houses and accidental strength

House placement is vital when selecting a LOG. Ideally, you would choose a planet in an angular house; first, fourth, seventh or tenth. Your next best option is the succedent houses, followed by the cadent, which are not ideal.

Cadent houses, 3, 6, 9 and 12, are considered weak or less active, so there’s generally no point in considering even the strongest of planets by sign if it’s placed in a cadent house. Typically, a LOG in a cadent house is nearly impossible to make work unless there are other supporting chart factors. Usually, a cadent LOG requires bringing in that energy in some form, such as through a significant relationship or other outside influence.

Succedent houses, 2, 5, 8 and 11, have neutral strength. A fair amount of work is required to activate the power of a LOG placed here. This is where an astrologer can give helpful advice based on other chart factors on how to ignite this power planet.

Your ideal placement for the Lord of the Geniture is in an angular house — 1, 4, 7 or 10. In these houses, the power of a planet is easily accessed. The nature of the planet in question shows how the energy may manifest.

It isn’t necessarily automatic to harness the power of the Lord of the Geniture. You may have other planets that dominate but don’t necessarily do a great deal to help you grow and mature. Embracing the energy of your LOG makes life easier when you assimilate it. Wallowing in weak planets makes life hard. It is human nature to find paths of least resistance and for some, the LOG is the planet that requires the most work to bring into power. This is especially true when the choice of the LOG is really the best out of an average selection.

 

Signs and essential strength

In order to select a chart ruler or LOG, you must follow a few rules on how comfortable or not planets are in different signs, as outlined by Ptolemy’s Table of Essential Dignities. This table ranks the strength, or positive motivation, of each planet according to its placement in different signs, as well as in different divisions within the signs.

An advanced factor you could consider is to analyse the LOG via temperament. The temperament sets out parameters within which the planets function. It further shows how the Lord of the Geniture will behave. For example, Saturn as the LOG has a very different motive if it acts through the funnel of a sanguine temperament rather than a choleric one.

For the purposes of this article, let’s focus on the first step: how to select the LOG.

An extract of Ptolemy’s Table of Essential Dignities

Sign	Ruler	Exaltation	Detriment	Fall
Aries	Mars	Sun	Venus	Saturn
Taurus	Venus	Moon	Mars
Gemini	Mercury		Jupiter
Cancer	Moon	Jupiter	Saturn	Mars
Leo	Sun		Saturn
Virgo	Mercury	Mercury	Jupiter	Venus
Libra	Venus	Saturn	Mars	Sun
Scorpio	Mars		Venus	Moon
Sagittarius	Jupiter		Mercury
Capricorn	Saturn	Mars	Moon	Jupiter
Aquarius	Saturn		Sun
Pisces	Jupiter	Venus	mercury	Mercury

 

Ideally, you want to find the planet that has the most essential dignity according to its sign placement. This rules out planets that are in detriment or fall. Planets in detriment or fall are not happy in their motivation to act. Mars in Libra conjunct the ascendant may seem like a great candidate because of its position in the angular 1st House. However, with Mars in detriment it is recommended to move to the next best planet.

The most important aspects to consider in essential dignities are rulership, exaltation and then triplicity. If that fails, consider the minor strengths of term and face.

 

The different qualities of strength by sign, according to Ptolemy’s Table of Essential Dignities, is as follows:

Sign rulership
As astrologer John Frawley states, “A planet loves the planet that rules the sign it is in”. It sees it for what it is without judgment. Like a mother to a newborn, like bread and butter. For example, Venus in Taurus or Mars in Scorpio.

Exaltation
To exalt or raise is exactly what exaltation does! Its goodness is exaggerated, similar to that of a new lover, where you cannot find fault and only see the good in the other person. What goes up, though, must come down. Not as good as rulership, but very favourable.

Triplicity
Triplicity is like friendship. It is comfortable but not much more than that.

Term and face
Merely an absence of negative or neutral rulership.

Detriment
Opposite to rulership, this is a very bad place for a planet, which is why a planet in detriment is ruled out for being the LOG.

Fall
Being the opposite of exaltation, a planet in this condition can only find fault and is not a good candidate as the LOG.

Another factor to consider is retrograde. A planet in a retrograde position cannot be the Lord of the Geniture.

Not everyone is going to be lucky to find a LOG with both essential and accidental dignity. According to Frawley, you are better off having an average planet (by sign) with ability to help you out (by house) than a great planet that can do little. By analysing some celebrity birth charts, we can see how the LOG plays out, at least within the public sphere.

With celebrity charts, it’s easy to assume an LOG will be easy to find, but this is not always the case.

 

Lady Gaga

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Lady Gaga is an exceptionally strong woman and has an exceptionally strong chart. It’s not surprising that in choosing a LOG there are two strong contenders: Jupiter and Mars. The Sun is also strong, exalted in Aries, but it doesn’t have as much accidental or house strength, being in the succedent 11th House.

Lady Gaga’s two possible LOG planets are both in angular houses. One, Jupiter, is in its own sign, in rulership. The other, Mars, is exalted. Which is the better option to choose? Rulership always trumps exaltation — rulership is the strongest essential dignity, enabled to manifest its own “essential goodness”.

For Lady Gaga, Jupiter in Pisces is the LOG. Mars in Capricorn is exalted and in the 7th House, so is strongly placed both accidently and essentially, but rulership is always stronger than exaltation.

According to Frawley, you are better off having an average planet (by sign) with ability to help you out (by house) than a great planet that can do little.

Lady Gaga lives out her Jupiter in Pisces through her creative approach to style — she is her own work of art. Stretching the boundaries of what is considered “normal”, her flamboyant style has solidified her fame in the music industry, where she merges music, visual art and performance video. “Merging” being the operative — and very Pisces — word.

Lady Gaga appeared to burst into the public arena in a larger-than-life Jupiter manner. She is also known for her humanitarian work and fighting for equal rights for gay, lesbian and transgender individuals — very Piscean qualities.

Lady Gaga is known to be a workaholic, which is an expression of her Mars in Capricorn. As the exaltation of this configuration suggests, it’s the hard work that assisted Lady Gaga to get to where she is, but it is the rulership of Jupiter in Pisces on the midheaven that made her famous and gives her the unique style she is known for publicly.

 

Toni Collette

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Australian actress Toni Collette’s chart has no real obvious LOG. As with many charts, picking the best out of an average selection of essentially and accidentally placed planets is the only option.

In Toni’s case, the best options are either Mars, in detriment in Libra, but in a strong house; or Venus, in rulership in Libra but in a weak house. Her Moon has no rulership in Virgo but is better placed accidentally in a succedent house. Mercury is in detriment in Sagittarius and Jupiter is in poor form in both essential (sign) and accidental (house) placement.

Planets in detriment cannot be the LOG, no matter how much you might see it working for the individual. A planet in detriment is not what you look for in a “pilot of the soul”. For Toni’s chart, the best option is Venus. It’s the only planet with any real strength and no planets offer anything accidently to trump it.

Toni’s career has been varied, as befits having one’s career planet in the 9th House. Rather than specialising in one field, she’s taken a broad approach to her career and found success in film, television and on stage, as well as fronting a band.

Toni’s greatest success has come while honouring the free-spirited nature of her cadent Venus, rather than by trying to play the conventional Beauty or classic leading lady roles. Venus’ placement in the overseas-focused 9th House also demonstrates her career ruler, leading her to find her greatest success through international connections. While this Venus is not as energetically strong as it could be, by honouring its broad desires and giving it free reign to roam globally, Toni has been able to turn Venus to her advantage.

Once you have worked out your Lord of the Geniture, embracing that planet is your key to success, happiness and fulfilment. Considering your LOG by sign and house placement as well as aspects will further refine how your personal power planet can manifest its goodness for you. When analysing planetary aspects to the LOG, you can include the outer planets of Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. In that case you’d apply their modern psychological interpretations to enhance the richness of the LOG.

Once you’ve determined the Lord of the Geniture for your chart, here is a brief outline on how to incorporate that planetary energy into your life.

Sun
As the LOG, the Sun’s energy is manifested through self-expression, creativity and leadership. The Sun symbolises the natural radiance of your inner spirit. This is influenced by the element of the Sun: earth, air, fire and water. By embracing leadership roles or creative outlets, you honour the Sun’s energy. Negatively, the Sun can create an excessive pride or a desire to be special.

 

Moon
The Moon represents your internal world. If the Moon is your best planet, you can manifest her energy through nurturing pursuits. These may vary in nature depending on the Moon’s sign and element. Relating to others on an emotional plane can be a gift, as empathy comes naturally to the Moon. A tendency to be over-sensitive or reactive can occur.

Mercury
Mercury symbolises the need to express intelligence and perception, especially through speech or writing. If your best planet is Mercury, you need to establish connections with others and form networks. Mercury is the eternal and willing student, highlighting study, teaching and writing. Opinionated or one-sided communication can occur with Mercury as the Lord of the Geniture.

Venus
As your best planet, Venus symbolises comfort and the desire for harmony. The need for love and affection is strong. Venus is happy when giving of herself as well as receiving affection from others, as she loves to relate. The downside of Venus is that she can be self-indulgent and emotionally demanding.

Mars
Mars has a desire for action, so assertiveness is an important quality to cultivate if Mars is your best planet. As long as there is an element of courage and initiation, Mars is happy as the LOG. Mars is bold and somewhat aggressive. If Mars is the Lord of your Geniture, lay bashfulness aside! The desire for physical and sexual pleasure is strong.

Jupiter
Jupiter loves self-improvement and represents the need to believe there is something more to life. Expansion is Jupiter’s buzz word, especially regarding travel, adventure and pursuits of the mind. If Jupiter is your best planet, dare to dream and have faith in your visions. Keep yourself in positive spheres and avoid negativity and naysayers. Avoid over-extending yourself or making promises you can’t keep.

Saturn
Where Jupiter expands, Saturn contracts. If Saturn is your best planet, embrace your exceptional gifts regarding responsibility. Your innate strength makes you reliable. Set goals and see them through to the end. As Lord of the Geniture, Saturn finds security through tangible success. Saturn can tend towards a pessimistic outlook or negativity, so focus on practical reality.

By incorporating the concept of the Lord of the Geniture into astrology, you’ll find that you’re able to embrace your own personal power planet. No matter what else is going on in the chart, or in your life, you can harness the qualities of your power planet to help you navigate life.