In Iamblichus’s famous De Mysteriis, the Platonist warns that the idea that an individual’s guardian daemon could be found using the astrological ruler of their natal chart was less effective than theurgy.1 The text highlights the mystic’s opposing view on a concept that could be found in later extant astrological doctrine, the linking of the natal chart ruler, the oikodespotes (or in later times the almuten figuris), and the individual soul’s personal daemon, the spirit assigned to a soul upon birth. The almuten figuris is the victor or ruler of the chart. It is the strongest planet in a natal chart by essential and accidental dignities, which were calculated in various manners by different authorities. The almuten was linked to the personal daemon or guardian angel by some later medieval astrologers, though it was obviously being discussed in the time of Porphyry and Iamblichus at the end of the third century CE. There are some excellent articles on both of these concepts that can be found online. The website Renaissance Astrology has this article, and Medieval Astrology Guide has an article that explores the linking of the concepts as well.2 There are differing opinions on how to find the almuten in a person’s natal chart. For those that are inquisitive, these systems and their calculations can be found in the translations of source material from ancient Greek and medieval Arabic. Another option would be to read either of the above websites’ materials on the topic. It should be noted that the almuten that is referred to here is calculated based on the Ibn Ezra method. When it comes to the concept of the personal daemon, it was thought that the almuten planet was the place the soul came from and the source of the guardian(personal) daemon. The medieval astrology pioneer Robert Zoller famously wrote descriptions of each of the planetary almutens and what they indicated for the individual. Zoller was using the Picatrix as a source.3 This material can be found in a number of places online. It is included at the beginning of this article, for reference. In addition to Zoller’s explanation of the various planetary almutens, I wanted to add some more insights to how the ruling planet of the chart can shape and impact a person. I’ve had my own findings, based on the almutens of family and friends. Periodically, there would be differences in the behavior, drive, and goals of these people. And in most cases, each of these aspects could be understood in relation to the almuten planet of the individual. Of the almutens I’ve knowingly encountered, people with the luminaries as almuten have been rare. So I can’t offer much information regarding them. For the others, the patterns are pretty clear and sometimes quite separate from the rest of the natal chart. Following Zoller’s descriptions, I’ve written short paragraphs about my personal observations upon contact with people after knowing their ruling planets. Additionally, my views on two of the more eccentric almutens are discussed in a few paragraphs after the general explanation of the seven almutens. I especially wanted to focus on how the unorthodox path is most highlighted by natives with either a Mars or Venus almuten, and this perspective is explored as well as its implications for the other almutens at the end of the post.

Zoller, using the Picatrix, on the Almuten:

“If the Almuten figuris is the Sun, the native will want to lead, express his creative power and be recognized. If the Moon, she or he will want to care for, be cared for, eat and make love, dream, etc. If it is Mercury, she or he will be diligent in the sciences, business and communications. If it is Venus she or he will be a lover of beauty, of music, of men and women etc. If it is Mars, she or he will fight in order to dominate. If it is Jupiter, she or he will philosophize and teach. If it is Saturn, she or he will retire from society, investigate hidden things and suffer adversity.”

When Venus is the almuten, it translates as the way one engages beauty, sexuality, arts, and sociability.

People with a Venus almuten have a higher calling to be around people, create beautiful things to share with others, or do anything for the spirit of true love. They also embody sociability and want to bring people together, act as a social butterfly, have children, explore sexuality, become artists, and focus on creating new things. Creativity and the sharing of beauty, especially as it relates to the arts, are some of the key focuses of natives with a Venus almuten.

When Mars is the almuten, one embraces the healing arts, therapy, competition, and independence.聽

People with a Mars almuten usually seek careers in the healing arts or have higher life purposes related to healing others. Natives might seek to become therapists or doctors, if not healers in all types of modalities. Sometimes, they counsel and teach others how to be self-reliant and independent. In other cases, they engage in competition and seek to best others, regardless of their life calling. Taking on tasks in a spirit of independence, daring, and competition, natives with Mars almutens are often focused on fixing the damage and harm that has occurred to people.

When Saturn is the almuten, one engages in mastery based on experience, solitude, and prudence.

People with a Saturn almuten are often interested in lessons learned from all aspects of human experience. They are ever conscious of the school of hard knocks. Many are weary of the long-term effects of personal achievements.聽People with a Saturn almuten don鈥檛 always have noticeable surface changes as they go about their lives, as opposed to people with other almutens. They seem to go on conventional religious or occult paths, but at a deep level, they embody the Saturn archetypes of self-reliance, rejection of norms, and mastery of all forms of knowledge. Some of them become more isolated and hermit-like, but even those that don鈥檛 do so, do it in on a personal and intellectual level.

聽

When Jupiter is the almuten, the accumulation and increase of the good things in life becomes essential.

People with the Jupiter almuten usually are concerned with the big picture. They are philosophically inclined, and some make spiritual work, charitable endeavors, employment in the justice system, or careers in academia their life missions. Jupiter almuten natives have grand designs and high expectations as they go about their lives, and need access to an abundance of resources, people, and ideas. They seem to exercise patience, discernment, and steadiness as they seek their goals in the world. Jupiter almutens play the smart hand, in the hope they will gain big things through their business, associations, career, family, and interests. By placing themselves in a position to have access to travel, knowledge, spirituality, philosophy, friendships, and gifts, Jupiter almutens hope to become better people.聽

When Mercury is the almuten, obtaining information and analyzing it becomes primary.

For people with a Mercury almuten, it is important to engage with various sources of information and methods of analysis to understand all of the situations a person encounters. Mercury people are constantly changing and shifting, as their views and understandings of everything differ based on the information and type of analysis they employ. Often, they are concerned with the conventional data on any given thing, idea, or matter, and pay great attention to the consensus views of the scientific community and academia. For those at higher levels of spiritual and intellectual development, they are careful not to follow any paradigm, skeptical of any pattern, and highly inquisitive about the nature of all things. As seekers of knowledge, they are ready to use logic and reason at any time to reassess and discard ideologies, inaccurate information, or various behavioral patterns. Pattern recognition is very important for them, as Mercury is all about the categorization and organization of raw data. At the same time, they are often obsessed with the universality of all things. The obsession can lead to an understanding of all reality as a dialogue between the many and the one. Natives with a Mercury almuten are focused on knowledge and perception as the keys to their mission, at many levels, forms, and iterations.

When the Sun is the almuten, self-aggrandizement, achievement, and honors are paramount. 聽

People with a Sun almuten place personal centrality first. Their activities hinge around the concept of “self.” They are often into self-enlargement, and attempt to put forth efforts to master all parts of life in order to fulfill this drive. Natives display strength, ability, confidence, and courage in their endeavors. They are focused on achievements and the recognition they get for them. As a result, they might often choose to pursue athletics, extreme sports, leadership roles, visible spheres of public life like media and the arts, and politics. They choose areas that are prominent, public, or competitive, because receiving special distinction and honors can be highly important to them. Natives with a Sun almuten are often doing things for the sake of achievement and to say they did it.

When the Moon is the almuten, being harmonious with surroundings and aiding in the growth of local things like one’s own family, household, community, nationality, and so on is most important.聽

People with a Moon almuten聽seek to propagate their local surroundings and units they are a part of. Having children, families, homemaking, and doing things for their existing familial and local ties come first. While they are prone to doing careers that entail care taking, or the guiding, teaching, and nurturing of others. They move at their own speed, always mindful of being harmonious and mindful of other people. When the Moon is the almuten,

Mars, the Truly Unique Path

Mars is likely the most unique almuten. Amongst the seven planets, the Mars archetype stands out as being eccentric, potentially destructive, and opposed to harmony. Although a malefic planet, Mars has positive and moderate qualities. It manifests in a complex variety of forms. The planet has characteristics associated with it such as courage, daring, assertiveness, energy, conflict, anger, masculinity, violence, competition, and independence. Mars can influence people and human society in innumerable ways. Sometimes, a person with a strong Mars signature in their natal chart can be anti-social, chaotic, violent, and solitary. The same can be said about societies that are Mars influenced. There are some historical examples of ancient cultures that had very strong Mars characteristics. One such culture is that of the Scythians of the central Asian steppes. Scythian culture, with its worship of swords, major sacrifices to a large iron sword, warrior culture, human sacrifices, its martial deity Scythian Ares being one of its seven principal gods, and its unique overall culture, is an obvious example of a Mars culture. To a number of people, Scythian culture is shocking and alien. To the ancient Greeks, as much as it is to moderns, the warrior culture of the Scythians was bizarre to known cultural and civilizational norms. The example of the Scythians truly highlights how certain archetypes are more acceptable than others. The planets Jupiter, Saturn, the Sun, and Venus have heavily influenced ancient and modern cultures in the West and Near East, if we are to believe the identifications of these planets with the modern day religions of Christianity(Jupiter, Sun), Judaism(Saturn), and Islam(Venus). In China and other parts of Asia, Buddhism(the Moon) and Taoism(the Sun) were heavily influential. The identifications of the Western religions are mentioned in the Picatrix, and ancient sources also identified the two Eastern religions. In my opinion, some of these planets have had a greater influence than others on people in history. In my view, the planets Jupiter, the Sun, and Saturn, usually prevail and go on to dominate the majority of cultures, traditions, religions, and forms of conventional thought. But this doesn’t mean the other planetary archetypes are invalid. For people who are prone to other planetary characteristics, it is important to keep in mind that the paths of the prevailing planets are not always relevant. Especially in the areas of religion and cultural views, the influence of certain planetary archetypes predominates, and judgement is passed on forms of behavior and thought that don’t conform or fit certain standards. A native with a Mars or Venus almuten shouldn’t heed the judgments of a native with a Saturn or Jupiter almuten, as the drives, modes of behavior, and end goals differ greatly.聽

Also, it should be mentioned that the Mars archetype has manifold iterations, and it can be used in ways that don’t disturb social harmony, rules, or sensibilities. In fact, the eccentricity and independence that comes with the Mars archetype can lead to very unique life paths and forms of behavior. It is for this reason, and not merely the negative, destabilizing, and destructive aspects of Mars that I call the planet the most unique of the seven planets.聽Further, the martial energies can even be used to engage in wisdom. In the same way that Saturn’s malefic energies can be a form of higher wisdom and development, the Mars archetype, though rarely seen, has a similar ability to lead to spiritual development, and not merely in moderation, tame, or less extreme forms. Ultimately, everyone is on their own path, and there are many paths.聽

The Venus almuten is another unique one, and comes in just behind Mars. Venus is unique because some individuals with this almuten can go to extreme lengths. While engaging in the arts has largely been acceptable and normal, other forms of the Venus almuten, especially those focused on friendship for friendship’s sake, sex, and personal fixation’s on manifestations of beauty can come off as strange or imbalanced in societies that are heavily influenced by the more prevailing almutens.聽

A companion article, that addresses some elements that are missing from this post, can be found here at Further Thoughts on the Almuten and the Personal Daemon.

Notes

Bibliography

Photo Credits

David has studied traditional astrology since 2014. The Bay Area native completed Chris Brennan’s Introduction to Hellenistic Astrology course in 2015, and attended courses taught by Austin Coppock, Nina Gryphon, and Ryhan Butler. He is interested in exploring the less well known aspects of astrology, divination, and spirituality.