Influential Planets
Medieval natal astrology is initially very concerned with identifying key planets for each natal chart. The spirit of this practice is carried on today by contemporary astrologers who seek to identify the "ruler of the chart" and will utilize it in their work or otherwise pay special attention to it.1
Modern astrology usually gives this role to the planet who rules the sign on the Ascendant. Classically, this planet will signify the native themselves; their appearance, character, personality, and focus are all derived from this placement in a way that is similar to contemporary Sun sign analysis. The Ruler of the Ascendant is no more or less inherently special than the ruler of any of the other houses, but its signification of the native makes it much more personable to them in a way that falls within the scope of natal topic significators. This does not, however, give it a de facto authority over the entirety of the chart as it only represents one specific part of it.
The medieval tradition, by contrast, places special consideration on planets that represent important aspects of the native. These usually relate to influences on the native's soul or personality that are otherwise differentiated from effects a planet has on particular objective areas of an individual's life.
The Hellenistic Period: Prorogator, Oikodespotes, and the Kurios
The Hellenistic period introduced several important positions for planets to fill; Prorogator, Domicile Master, and the Kurios. The Prorogator would eventually become the hyleg of medieval astrology and is found using very similar methods. The Domicile Master and Kurios also play very important roles. The Domicile Master (oikodespotes) is responsible for the life path of the native while the Kurios (lord) indicates how well the life path is carried out or otherwise made manifest.
Porphyry utilized a fairly simple calculation method for these points, the Prorogator was identified and the Domicile Master was the planet who ruled the sign the Prorogator occupied.2 The Kurios becomes more difficult to identify, this is the planet who rules over some important place in the nativity and is more fit to do so based on its placement. This means that planets who are cadent or combust are not likely to fill this role.
Ptolemy's methodology is quite different.3 He identifies the Prorogator as either the Sun or Moon provided they are in the first, eleventh, tenth, ninth, or seventh houses. If neither of them are so situated, he explains that the Prorogator ought to be the planet who has the most authority in the position of the Sun, Moon, ascendant, and Lot of Fortune.4 Ptolemy makes no explicit mention of a ruler of a nativity.
Finally, for the Hellenistic Period, Julius Firmicus Maternus writes about some of the different calculation methods for the ruler of the nativity in his work The Mathesis.
"Some have said that the ruler of the chart is the planet which is located in favorable houses of the chart, in his own house or his own terms. But others have figured from the Sun and Moon, arguing that the ruler of the chart is the one in whose terms the Sun and Moon are found, that is, the Sun in the daytime and the Moon at night. There is some point to this theory. Others say that the ruler of the chart is the ruler of the exaltation of the Moon. Still others maintain that the ruler is the one whose sign the Moon enters after she has left the one in which she is found at the birth."
-Firmicus Maternus, Mathesis, Book 4, Chapter 19
Maternus does not explicitly cite the sources he is drawing this calculations from, but we can see that some of his examples could pass for loose interpretations of the methods identified by Ptolemy and Porphyry above. Ultimately, Maternus settles on the final method he gives, claiming it is universally accepted.5
The Medieval Period and the Almuten of the Figure
The medieval period saw the rise of a planet called the Almuten of the Figure. The Almuten of the Figure is, as the name suggests, an almuten which is a planet who has the most dignity in any specific degree of the zodiac. Specifically, the Almuten of the Figure is a compound almuten or a planet that holds the most dignity in several specific degrees of the zodiac.
The Almuten of the Figure is roughly the medieval equivalent to the Hellenistic Domicile Master, but there is no planet that fulfills a role similar to the Kurios.
About the Almuten, Abraham ibn Ezra states:
"We know that there are five places of life, namely, the two places of the luminaries by day and by night, and the third is the place of the conjunction or opposition of the luminaries (whichever occurs first prior to the birth of the native), and the fourth is the ascending degree, and the fifth is the lot of fortune..."
Ezra quickly makes clear that these places are of a particular significance as they are directly tied into the concept of life. In the Hellenistic and Medieval tradition, one needed a planet to serve as hyleg (hilaj in Arabic, "releaser") to suggest the native lived for any length of time. Not all planets were capable and the only ones deemed fit enough to fulfill this role were the Sun, Moon,6 Lot of Fortune,7 the syzygy8 (New or Full Moon prior to the birth), and the Ascendant.9
Ezra cites both Ptolemy and Dorotheus as his sources, utilizing their identifications of the places of life for his calculation of the alumten of the figure. Ezra states to utilize a weighted point system. Upon identifying the degrees of the Sun, Moon, Lot of Fortune, Ascendant, and prenatal syzygy10 one determines who rules the domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term, and face of each degree and awards them the appropriate amount of points in an additive fashion. Domicile rulers get 5, exaltation rulers get 4, triplicity rulers get 3,11 term rulers get 2,12 and face rulers get 1.
After this step, Ezra does something different and considers the accidental dignity of all of the planets in the chart based on what house they are placed in. Each house is assigned a point value from 12-1, in descending order they are: first, tenth, seventh, fourth, eleventh, fifth, second, ninth, eighth, third, twelfth, sixth. Planets in the first house will receive 12 points, those in the tenth receive 11, in the seventh 10 and so on down the list with those in the sixth house receiving only 1 point.
Furthermore, Ezra gives special powers to the superior planets Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn by giving them an extra consideration that can provide them more points. This consideration is based on their relationship to the Sun. If the Sun is separating from a superior planet and that planet is between 15° and 60° away from the Sun it receives 3 points. If the Sun is separating from the superior planet and the planet is between the sextile (60°) and square (90°) of the Sun, it receives 2 points. Finally, if the Sun is separating from a superior planet and the planet is between the square (90°) and first station (when the planet stations retrograde, typically occurs around the Trine with the Sun) it receives 1 point.
The planet who has the most points after all of these considerations (dignities in the degrees of the life-giving places, house placement, and solar relationship) is determined to be the almuten of the figure.
The Renaissance and the Lord of the Geniture
By the time we come to the Renaissance, the title given to the Almuten of the Figure had changed. The reasoning behind this is uncertain, perhaps it was to remove the seemingly Arabic influence from the name ("almuten" being a Latin transliteration of the Arabic word "al mutazz" meaning "the victor") or perhaps it was just to make the title more natural to the English speaking world.
In his encyclopedic work Christian Astrology, William Lilly writes about the Lord of the Geniture and how it is identified.
"I am clearly of the opinion, viz. That planet who has most essential and accidental dignities in the Figure as is posited best and elevated most in the scheme, that he ought to be Lord of the Geniture."
-Christian Astrology, Book 3, Chapter 105
Due to how widespread and popular Lilly's work has become, his endorsement of this method of finding the Lord of the Geniture has bred the popular belief that the Lord of the Geniture and the Almuten of the Figure are two separate techniques and concepts. The reality is that Lilly simply endorses an alternative method of finding the Almuten, as earlier in that same chapter he states:
"Others will have that planet Lord of the Geniture who has most essential dignities in the Ascendant, midheaven, place of the Sun, Moon, and Lot of Fortune and that he shall be partaker in judgment who has most dignities next to the said planet, and this is rational."
-Christian Astrology Book 3, Chapter 105
This is a clear reference to Ezra-type methods of identifying the Almuten, even though Lilly misidentifies the Midheaven as one of the life-giving places. Furthermore, in Chapter 6 of Book 1 Lilly specifically defines the Almuten of the Figure as "that Planet who in Essential and Accidental dignities is most powerful in the whole scheme of heaven." These references make it clear that Lilly is simply advocated an alternative calculation method to the Almuten of the Figure, rather than attempting to supplant it or offer up the Lord of Geniture as an additional tool.
Use of the Almuten
Many astrologers utilize the almuten of the figure/lord of the geniture as having a profound psychological effect on the native. This was the approach of astrologers such as William Lilly and Firmicus Maternus. Maternus spends the vast majority of the 19th chapter in this 4th book describing the effects the ruling planet will have on the native both physically and psychologically.
Lilly concurs with many of Maternus's thoughts, summed up briefly in his statement on the matter:
"...the whole actions of the native will more or less partake of the nature of that planet and so his conditions, complexion, temperament, and manners shall be much regulated to the properties assigned that planet."
-Book 3, Chapter 105
Ptolemy utilizes this planet as a potential Prorogator (his version of a hyleg), with malefic directions to this planet being indicative of difficult health periods.13 It isn't until we investigate sources from the magical tradition that we begin to see a more specialized and more interesting use for this ruling planet.
The Neo-Platonic authors Porphyry and Iamblichus discuss the idea of the ruler of the nativity as imparting upon each individual their own personal daemon.14 Iamblichus states that the daemon is responsible for our thoughts and actions in a statement strikingly similar to the techniques of Maternus and Lilly.
"He [the Daemon] likewise himself directs the private life of the soul, and whatever the conclusions we may arrive at by inference and reasoning, he himself imparts to us the principles. We think and do just such things as he brings to us by way of thought. He guides human beings thus continually till through the sacred theurgic discipline we shall obtain a god to be guardian and leader of the soul."
Porphyry argues that a native's guardian spirit can be ascertained through the ruler of the nativity. It is not only descriptive of the psychological or physical characteristics of an individual, but can also tell us which planetary chain a person's spirit belongs to.15 This has strong implications elsewhere, particularly within a magical or religious context.
The Picatrix would also discuss the almuten as being an important consideration in the spiritual path of the native and in magical techniques.16 Initially it lists the effects the almuten has on what the native seeks by associating a planetary pair with a part of the Socratic/Platonic tripartite soul.17 Moon and Venus are attributed to the appetite, the Sun and Mars are attributed to the heart, and Jupiter and Mercury belong to the mind.
These pairs can be further divided in their specific foci. While Venus and the Moon are both influencing the appetite, Venus seeks love and sexual pleasures while the Moon seeks food and comforts. Similarly, those whose almuten is Mars seek contention and confrontation, while those with the Sun as ruler of the chart will seek authority and command. Jupiter as ruler leads the native to philosophy and religion, while Mercury will pull an individual to sciences and mathematics. Saturn is isolated in this scheme and is not naturally associated with an aspect of the tripartite soul, however those with Saturn as lord will be drawn to isolation and contemplation as well as more occult studies.
Once the ruler and its focus has been ascertained, a native would then seek to rebalance their spiritual life by participating in activities more proper to the mind.18
Obviously, some people are born with a planet ruling their chart that gives them an advantage in this endeavor, but it is not out of anyone's reach. Iamblichus would suggest theurgic rites using the appropriate sunthemata to get in touch with this spirit who could then lead them to a form of salvation that detaches them somewhat from fate.19
Conclusion
Though called many different things by many different people and reportedly being calculated several different ways, the almuten of the figure or ruler of the nativity is a concept that has existed since the earliest astrological literature. Finding its origins in Hellenistic texts where it was anchored to the life-giving places, it maintained this vital connection for hundreds of years before casually being connected to the ruler of the ascendant in all cases.
Though under-utilized in contemporary astrological practice, the claims of the ancient texts regarding the powers of and insights gained from this one planet are astounding. The ability to peer into the soul of an individual and perhaps offer some insight into the ever-elusive but much contemplated question "why am I here?"
Notes
1. Often awarded to the ruler of the Ascendant.
2. In some cases there was also a co-ruler. The planet who ruled the term or bound of the Prorogator would serve in this capacity.
3. Tetrabiblos, Book 3, Chapter 13
4. This is likely the earliest reference to a compound almuten, albeit not calculated in a weighted fashion like the medieval tradition typically employed. For Ptolemy each ruler of a degree would only be given one point for its participation regardless of the level of dignity it enjoyed there.
5. Maternus does not seem to allow either Porphyry or Ptolemy into his universe.
6. As both luminaries signify life and the vital spirit.
7. The Lot of Fortune derives much of its symbolism from the Moon and is deeply connected to the material world in the form of the body and its health. Hellenistic timing techniques such as Zodiacal Releasing will mark activation of the Lot of Fortune as times of activity regarding health matters.
8. In Medieval mundane techniques, each particular cause arrives from a general cause as a type of cycle-within-a-cycle. This links births to the lunation that preceded them by emphasizing the significance of the union of the luminaries.
9. The Ascendant representing the body and physical constitution of the native.
10. For a prenatal New Moon (called a "conjunctional" chart), take the degree of the conjunction. A prenatal Full Moon (referred to as a "preventional" chart) should take the degree of the Moon (Ptolemy, Dorotheus, possibly al-Kindi), but Ezra suggests to take the degree of the luminary that is above the horizon at the time of the opposition.
11. There is some contention surrounding whether or not out of sect and participating triplicity rulers are awarded points. Bonatti does not award them these strengths in his example in Treatise 2: Chapter 14, copying an exact example given in Abu Ma'shar's work.
12. There are two different point assignment schemes found in early Medieval texts. The second, probably younger one is the one listed here. The first and likely older or original one inverts the position of triplicity and term, awarding term 3 points and triplicity 2 points. This likely relates back to the significance of the term lord over the body of the native or physical expression of various natal promises that was prevalent in Hellenistic techniques. By the time of al-Qabisi (early to mid 10th century), triplicity being awarded more points was in practice.
13. Ptolemy would utilize a different system for discerning qualities of the soul. His method involves investigating the positions and relationships between the Moon (for the animal spirit) and Mercury (for the rational spirit).
14. Iamblichus is firmly against the idea, claiming that the personal daemon is something the soul elects prior to incarnation. This is something that occurs above the sphere of the planets.
15. You can find out more about the planetary chains of Marsilio Ficino and the sunthemata of Iamblichus in the article Theurgy: Sunthemata and Divine Will
16. Picatrix states that petitions from planets will be more effective for individuals who have that planet well-placed or otherwise prominent in their nativity. One of the obvious candidates (and perhaps the only meaningful one) is the ruler of the nativity. Being blessed by or in some similitude of a planet makes it more likely to answer the mage's requests.
17. In The Republic, Plato asserts that humans have three types of souls, one based in the stomach (epithymetikon), one in the heart (thymoeides), and one in the mind (logistikon). This system would then help determine which soul this individual was more naturally inclined to follow, allowing the astrologer to assist getting control in the hands of the mind.
18. Perhaps it is best to think of it is as a spiritual temperament balance adjustment.
19. This, of course, is Iamblichus's main goal in accordance with his Neoplatonic ideology.