Views

Triplicity

From AstrologyNotes

AstrologyNotes Astrological Knowledge Base

Astrology	History	Glossary
Branches	Charts	Tools
Traditions	Methods	Resources

In astrology, a triplicity is a group of three signs belonging to the same element. Signs of the same triplicity tend to have many of the same qualities in common.

Each triplicity is governed by a planetary ruler, which varies according to the sect of the chart. Triplicity rulerships are one of the most important essential dignities of each planet.

1 Signs within each element's triplicity
2 Triplicity Rulerships
3 Triplicities by season
4 Reference

Signs within each element's triplicity

In traditional Western astrology there are four triplicities, being:

Fire - Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius
Earth - Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn
Air - Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Water - Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces

In Western astrology each sign of the same triplicity is 120 degrees apart, forming angles to one another called trines, which are each equivalent to the 360 degrees of the circle divided by three. Trines are considered to be very powerful and yet very comfortable, free-flowing connections. This suggests that the signs in each element are very comfortable and compatible with one another.

Triplicity Rulerships

In traditional astrology, each triplicity has several planetary rulers, which change with conditions of sect--that is, whether the chart is a day chart or a night chart.

Triplicity rulerships are a very important essential dignity--one of the several factors used by traditional astrologers to weigh the strength, effectiveness and integrity of each planet in a chart. Many Hellenistic astrologers (for example, Dorotheus of Sidon) considered triplicity rulership the most powerful and demonstrable of the several essential dignities of a planet.

Triplicty rulerships (using the "Dorothean system") are as follows:

**Triplicity Rulerships**
Triplicity	Day Ruler	Night Ruler	Participating Ruler
Fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius):	Sun	Jupiter	Saturn
Air (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius):	Saturn	Mercury	Jupiter
Earth (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn):	Venus	Moon	Mars
Water * (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces):	Venus *	Mars	Moon

'* (Ptolemy later modified the rulerships of Water triplicity: he considered Mars the ruler of the water triplicity for both day and night charts--and William Lilly concurred.)

"Participating" rulers were not used after the Hellenistic period.

One way in which triplicty rulerships were used by earlier astrologers was to divide a person's life into three periods: early, middle, and late. The condition of the triplicity ruler that is in sect in the chart is evaluated when considering the tenor of the early part of life; the ruler out of sect is examined for the middle of life; and the last third of life is evaluated by looking at the condition of the participating triplicity ruler.

In medieval systems of astrology, each essential dignity was given a different weight. domicile rulers were given 5 points of weight; exaltation rulers were given 4 points; and triplicity rulers were assigned 3 points of weight. This gives some idea of how much power medieval astrologers accorded to each essential dignity.

Triplicities by season

In ancient astrology, however, triplicities were more of a seasonal nature, so a season was given the qualities of an element, which means the signs associated with that season would be allocated to that element. The seasonal elements of ancient astrology are as follows: