Terms (Bounds) Overview

Terms, also called bounds, divide every zodiacal sign into five unequal stretches. Each stretch belongs to one of the five traditional planets other than the Sun and Moon: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn. The ruler of the stretch containing a degree is that degree's bound lord.

This is a degree-level distinction. A planet at 5° Aries and one at 18° Aries share the same sign ruler, but they may occupy the bounds of different planets. Traditional astrologers use that difference to refine a judgment that would otherwise stop at the sign.

How to find the bound lord

You need three pieces of information:

1. the exact zodiacal degree;
2. the term system being used;
3. a table for that system.

Suppose a table assigns the opening 6° of Aries to Jupiter and the next 6° to Venus. A position at 5° Aries is in Jupiter's bound; a position at 8° Aries is in Venus's. The boundary convention matters: “0°–6°” normally means from 0°00′ up to, but not including, 6°00′. At exactly 6°00′, the next bound begins.

The ranges are not regular five-degree slices, and they are not the same as decans, which divide a sign into three equal sections of 10°. Bound lengths and rulers also change when the astrologer switches from the Egyptian table to Ptolemy's table. A calculation should therefore name its source rather than saying only “the traditional terms.”

What term dignity means

In the dignity schemes used by Ptolemy and later authors such as William Lilly, a planet gains a modest amount of essential dignity when it occupies its own bound. This is narrower than domicile or exaltation: the planet has authority in a small territory, not over the whole sign.

That distinction is useful, but it does not settle a chart judgment. A planet in its own bound may still be cadent, retrograde, under the Sun's beams, or poorly connected to the planets it needs. Conversely, a planet in another planet's bound is not automatically damaged. The bound lord is one testimony among sign rulership, triplicity, face, sect, house position, motion, aspects, and reception.

Traditional authors do not all weight these factors identically. Lilly's familiar point tables are one practical synthesis, not a timeless score mandated by every Hellenistic source.

Where bounds are used

Planetary condition. The bound can distinguish two planets in the same sign and supply a limited dignity when stronger dignities are absent.

Reception and authority. In some medieval and early modern methods, occupation of another planet's bound contributes to reception or to calculations of which planet has the strongest claim over a degree. The method and weighting should be stated.

Timing. Valens and other traditional authors use sequences of bound lords in directing procedures. As a directed point crosses a boundary, a new planet becomes the distributor or period ruler. This application depends on a specific directing method; a boundary crossing by itself is not a general prediction.

Horary and electional work. A bound can add supporting or contrary testimony when judging a significator or selecting a degree. Stronger considerations still take priority.

Choosing a table

The Egyptian terms have the broadest record of practical transmission and are a common default in contemporary traditional astrology. Ptolemy's alternative is appropriate when working consistently within his framework. The “Chaldean” label is historically important but less stable as a single working table, so a modern table carrying that name needs an explicit edition or source.

For the differences among those families, see Traditional Term Systems. For a ready reference, Term Tables presents the Egyptian arrangement preserved by Valens and explains its endpoints.