Term Modifications
The degree table tells you which planet rules a bound. It does not tell you whether that ruler is capable of helping, obstructing, or even participating strongly in the matter at hand. That second judgment comes from the chart.
This distinction prevents a common mistake: changing the term assignment because another planet appears more prominent. The bound lord remains fixed for the chosen table. Sect, angularity, motion, visibility, and reception modify its testimony, not its ownership of the degree.
Begin with two planets
Keep the occupant and the bound lord separate on the page. If Mercury occupies a term of Jupiter, assess Mercury as the actor and Jupiter as the local ruler. Then ask:
- What essential condition does Mercury already have by sign?
- Where is Jupiter, and what houses does it rule?
- Can Mercury and Jupiter see one another by a traditional aspect?
- Does either planet receive the other through a recognized dignity?
The answer may be mixed. Mercury can be strong while Jupiter is poorly placed, or the reverse. A mixed result is more faithful than compressing both planets into a single adjective.
Modifiers that change the emphasis
Sect
Sect distinguishes day and night charts and gives context to planetary behavior. In Hellenistic practice, a planet of the sect in favor is generally better situated to act according to its nature than the same planet contrary to sect. This does not turn every in-sect bound lord into help or every out-of-sect ruler into harm; it changes the conditions under which its testimony is read.
House position
An angular bound lord is more able to become conspicuous than a cadent one. This is accidental, not essential, dignity: the degree assignment has not become stronger, but its ruler has more opportunity to act. The distinction between inherent status and situational capacity is central to house strength.
Visibility and motion
Combustion, proximity to the Sun, retrogradation, and unusual speed can limit or complicate a ruler's expression in traditional judgment. They should be described precisely. “Retrograde” is an astronomical condition; “reconsideration” is one possible interpretation. “Combust” names a defined solar relationship; “powerless” is too broad to follow automatically.
Aspect and reception
A bound relationship exists whether or not the two planets aspect. An aspect can make their exchange more active or observable. Reception adds another layer, but authors and schools differ over which dignities and configurations qualify for formal reception. State the rule being used rather than assuming that occupation of a bound alone settles the question.
Other dignities
Terms sit inside a stack of essential dignities. Domicile and exaltation normally carry more weight in medieval and Renaissance scoring systems; triplicity and face may reinforce or complicate the picture. A planet in its own bound gains limited competence, not immunity from detriment, fall, combustion, or weak house placement.
An example without a verdict
Consider Mars in a Venus bound. Venus does not erase Mars, and the placement does not guarantee either cooperation or conflict. A useful reading checks whether Venus is angular, in sect, and configured with Mars. If Venus rules the house topic under investigation, its importance rises. If Venus is cadent, combust, and disconnected from Mars, the bound testimony may remain present but offer little practical support.
That approach leaves room for contradictory evidence. Traditional delineation often works by weighing testimonies rather than forcing them into a uniform story, as Lilly's use of dignity and accidental-strength tables makes clear.
Keep the method reproducible
Record the term table, the exact degree, the bound lord, and the modifiers you actually used. Avoid adding modern psychological meanings as though they were definitions preserved by Valens or Lilly. A contemporary interpretation can be useful, but it should be labelled as an interpretation and kept distinct from the historical rule.
Term modifications are therefore a discipline of qualification: the table establishes jurisdiction; the chart establishes capacity. Term Strength explains how that limited dignity is weighed, while Term Relationships focuses on the connection between ruler and occupant.