Almuten
Almuten (Arabic: al-mu'tann, the victor) names the planet that holds the most weight when every essential dignity over a degree is summed. Where Lilly's grid lists five rulers for each degree, the almuten collapses them into one. This is the strongest planet at that degree — the planet whose voice is loudest when the degree must speak.
How it is computed
Lilly's point-table assigns 5 to the domicile lord, 4 to the exaltation lord, 3 to the triplicity lord (sect-conditional), 2 to the term lord, and 1 to the face lord. A planet receives points wherever it appears in the table for the degree in question. The planet with the highest total is the almuten of that degree. Ties are broken by sect — the in-sect candidate wins.
What you compute it for
Three almutens are particularly important. The almuten of the Ascendant is the strongest planet over the chart's first degree — a synthesis of the body that animates the whole nativity. The almuten of the Moon, when the chart is nocturnal, indicates the chief light's sponsor. And the almuten of any specific degree of interest (a lot, a midpoint, an angle) tells you which planet's voice overrides every other on that degree.
What the almuten is not
The almuten is a synthesis, not a replacement. The five individual dignity rulers still each have something to say — the domicile lord still owns the sign, the term lord still rules a few degrees within it. The almuten merely answers the question 'who carries the most weight here, all things considered?' Read alongside the full grid, not in isolation.
How Netra uses it
The Almuten panel computes the per-degree winner across every body's longitude in a chart and surfaces the almuten of the Ascendant prominently. The Hyleg-Alcocoden tool consults the same point-table when locating the longevity-bestowing pair.
Illustrative natal chart — the technique above applies to any chart you compute in Netra.
Sources
- William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647), Book I
- Guido Bonatti, Liber Astronomiae
- Al-Biruni, The Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology (R. Ramsay Wright translation, 1934 — used only for terminology in the public domain)
See Sources for the full corpus and the public-domain policy.
Related
- Essential dignities — The five-fold table of planetary strength by zodiacal placement — domicile, exaltation, triplicity, term, and face.
- Sect — The diurnal–nocturnal split that determines which planets are in their preferred environment.
- Hyleg and alcocoden — The classical pair indicating life force and its allotted span — Ptolemy's longevity technique.
- Mutual reception — Two planets each hosting the other in a dignity — a structural exchange of authority.