Exaltation (astrology)

[3] Al-Biruni also points out that, in contradiction to the Greeks and Persians, the Hindu astrologers of his period disagreed upon the degree positions of the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn, and did not recognize the exaltations of the nodes - a principle he described himself as being "quite proper".

Francesca Rochberg has pointed out that since the system is found in the tradition of Enuma anu enlil, its roots may extend into the second millennium BCE.

[5] Joanne Conman believes that certain decan stars the ancient Egyptians venerated in Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts appear to be the source of the "places of secret" of the later Babylonian astrological texts referenced by Rochberg and of the corresponding planetary exaltations or hypsomata of Hellenistic astrology.

Although many speculations concerning the reasoning behind it have been put forth over the centuries, there are, as Robert Hand[7] has said, still anomalies that are almost impossible to explain with any consistency, such as the exaltation of vigorous Mars in cold Capricorn.

The ancient system was complex and symmetrical, making no allowance for additional, unseen planets, and it is difficult to include them in traditional techniques.

Notwithstanding, modern astrologers have attributed exaltation references by signs, with Uranus in Scorpio, Neptune in Aquarius, and Pluto in Leo.

Traditional Hindu Astrology, based the notion of exaltation primarily on the stellar constellations, also called Nakshatras, in which the planet fell.

The four pāda denote the four goals of life according to the Vedic tradition, namely, Dharma, Artha, Kāma, and Mokṣa.