← Encyclopedia of Astrology · lesson 131/235
Mutual reception
What it means
Every planet standing in a sign is, in the old language, received by that sign's ruler, as a visitor is received by a host. When two planets are each in a sign ruled by the other, the hospitality runs both ways: each is the other's host. This is mutual reception.
Lilly's own example is the Sun in Aries and Mars in Leo. The Sun is in Mars's sign, Mars is in the Sun's, and each holds a key to the other's house. "Here is reception of these two Planets by Houses," he wrote, "and certainly this is the strongest and best of all receptions."
Kinds of reception
Reception can run through any of the essential dignities, and the strength follows the dignity used:
- By domicile (sign rulership) — the strongest. Venus in Aries with Mars in Taurus; Mercury in Sagittarius with Jupiter in Gemini.
- By exaltation — strong. DeVore's example: Jupiter in Aries, the Sun's exaltation, with the Sun in Cancer, Jupiter's exaltation.
- Mixed — one planet in the other's domicile, the other in the first one's exaltation. The Moon in Aries with Mars in Taurus, the Moon's exaltation, is an example.
- By triplicity, term or face — Lilly allowed these too, but they are much weaker and are mostly used in horary work.
A reception is felt most strongly when the two planets are also in aspect to each other. Many traditional astrologers insist on it for horary judgement; modern astrologers usually count the reception whether or not they aspect.
A pair of planets in each other's detriment or fall is sometimes called a mutual detriment or mutual fall; it is not a reception, since neither planet is welcomed.
How it is read
In the tradition, mutual reception lifts both planets. Each can draw on the other's dignity, so a planet that would otherwise be peregrine or debilitated is treated as supported. In a horary chart, two significators in mutual reception describe parties well disposed to each other, and a reception can help a matter come about even when the planets' aspect is a difficult one.
In a birth chart, modern astrologers often read it as two planets that cooperate: their themes are linked, each part of the life feeds the other, and either can be called on to help the other out. Some suggest reading the pair as if they had swapped places, each working with the comfort it would have in its own sign. Venus in Aries with Mars in Taurus, for instance, may combine directness in love with steadiness in effort, each planet tempering the other.
Mutual reception matters for the chart ruler too: if the ruler of the Ascendant is in reception with another planet, that planet becomes an important ally in the life.