My article on the Moon and its relation to the Nodes (The Hungry Moon: the Nodes Part One) prompted some questions about dispositors. There was confusion about the way they operate and how they are different from aspects to planets, and rulers of houses. Part of the problem is in the language; we tend to forget and call the dispositors of a planet the ‘ruler’ of that planet, which is just sloppy terminology, and one I’ve often been guilty of. A dispositor doesn’t rule. A dispositor receives.
First of all, let me say that the first thing anyone needs in learning astrology 
is a thorough understanding of the houses, on all their levels of manifestation. I’ve said this before and I will keep on saying it. This is particularly important in understanding the relationship between planets and their dispositors.
Aspects to a planet describe the kind and type of activities that will cause that planet to develop. If our ultimate goal is to better ourselves, to raise our consciousness to a higher form of expression, then the aspects will show us how to do that. (The lights behave differently in aspect from the planets, but we will get to that another day.) They put pressure on the planet to evolve. The aspects are continually ‘teaching’ the planet, whether drumming in lessons or offering information. The types of aspect will show the ease or difficulty in processing the new expression. Our inclination (via the Moon) is to cling to the old, the familiar. Our aspects push us, gently or forcefully, to new and often uncomfortable places. This is how we learn, how we change.
So how does the dispositor of a planet or light fit in?
All of this activity, all of this new energy, has to have a focus, a pulling point. If the aspects are ‘squeezing’ the planet, the energy of that developing planet has to go somewhere. It has to spill out, play out someplace. This is where the dispositor of a planet kicks in. The dispositor of a planet will receive that planet’s newly forming energy and test it out, use it within the house it finds itself in. The planet has an indirect, but important, influence on the dispositor’s house.
Say you have the Moon conjunct Uranus in Leo in the 11th house. The Moon/Uranus conjunction will cause incidents of enforced change and sudden removal that will alter the Moon’s comfort zones, both mentally and physically. Moon/Uranus has to learn to get comfortable with change. The dispositor of both of these planets will be the Sun. If the Sun is in the seventh house, the change that the Moon has had to endure and learn from will directly affect the 7th house Sun–a change in the way we relate to others on a one to one basis and the experiences that the Sun creates in that house. The 11th house conjunction will describe the general area of the changes the Moon will experience (changes of friends, isolation from groups or societies, being alienated from group creativity) but the dispositor will reflect the results of those changes. As a result of the 11th house experiences, there is an effect in the 7th. (This gets interesting when there are two different dispositors for an out of sign conjunction. If these dispositors are in aspect, you have a key to the nature of the conjunction and the relative ease or difficulty with which it will manifest itself. It becomes highlighted. Note the Moon/Mars conjunction in Tony Perkins’ chart, in which Mars is dominant in it’s own sign and inconjunct a prominent Neptune, which disposits the Moon and the North Node; possibly the most important single aspect in the chart, indicating a major life theme.)
When considering dispositors, it’s best to first focus on each planet separately, all of the aspects to that planet, and ask how that planet is developing; the dispositor will show you were the developing energy of the planet will spill. If a number of planets have the same dispositor, or the dispositors of a number of planets fall into one house, the emphasis should be noted. It will give more information to the meanings of the planets in those houses.
This isn’t to be confused with house rulership. House rulers are like the landlords –it doesn’t matter where they are in the chart, they still own the house. Anything that effects them will have an echo in the house that they rule. This is particularly true with transits and progressions. The immediate impact is in the house the planet finds itself in, but the secondary influence will effect the house it rules. If I have transiting Pluto in the 10th opposite natal Venus in the 4th, this transformative experience may effect both my home life and my career, but will also reflect strongly in whatever houses Venus and Pluto rule. If we understand this, transiting and progressed aspects will start to make sense, and feel less random. Likewise, if we understand dispositors, we will know better what changes are required of us.
Very helpful! Thanks!
This is a very clear-sighted explanation; I appreciate it. I’ve understood this intuitively but never seen it spelled out so well.
The way I’ve always apprehended the difference between rulers and dispositors is through cause and effect, I guess they’re kind of interchangeable, but this certainly articulates the subtlety of application.
Thank you both for your kind words. I’m especially glad that you find it clear. One of my motives in writing this piece was to encourage people to look at dispositors more–I get the sense from my students that this area of interpretation is falling out of favour, which would be a crime.
can depositors be used to get a sense of integration within a chart ? for example – i have a female friend – Gemini rising with a 12 th house Taurus Moon and a 4 th house Leo Sun Pluto conjunction. all of the other planets except for the Sun and Pluto are linked thru a loop of depositors to a 5 th house Virgo mercury. most of the time she is very creative, grounded, connected and civil – but sometimes that Leo Sun Pluto can “go off ” on its own in an explosive way …….
also what about a single planet that deposits all of the other planets in the chart – a final depositor – does it have a special significance ?
In the situation you’ve described, the Leo conjunction will always be off on its own–that’s one of the reasons we look at dispositors, to see what’s integrated and what isn’t. This is one of the reasons that planets in their own sign are so strong. The ‘flow’ of energy stops with them. Sun/Pluto has its own rather ruthless agenda of change, so looking at the fourth house in general for means of constructively containing the change would be the best bet. You have to look at the ruler of the fourth and the houses that the Sun and Pluto rule to find a constructive avenue.
Final dispositors, traditionally, are considered to be very important. I usually note if there is one, but actually, in practice, I’m not sure they’re as important as they’re cracked up to be. It depends on the chart. I like to think of the chart having waves of energy running through it (via transits and progressions) and the final dispositor is kind of like the beach that the wave hits. It’s the final receiver of the energy wave.
A Fantastic Article! Keep them coming!!
Veer
Ah, just read it again. Nice piece.
Thanks for clarifying the dispositor issue. What if there is no final dispositor but 4 mutuals?
Hello, ayla. I take dispositors as single entities, with something specific to say about an aspect or a house position. You can have too much information in astrology, which leads to a kind of paralysis. I stick to the basics and use the dispositor of a planet to get more information on that planet.
I have Leo intercepted n cancer 8th house. The Moon being final depositor. Except I have not found anything about intercepted houseand depositors. I have Uranus and Pluto in Leo intercepted by cancer 8 house. Is the Moon ruling this house the depositor or is the Sun ruling the sign the depositor?
My pattern is exactly as the one described above with Moon 28 degree cancer conjunct Uranus 3 degree Leo in cancer 8th house with Sun 21 degree Pisces in third conjunct Mercury and venus 14 degrees in Pisces. Currently Uranus transit entered fouth house. What does all this mean?
Hi Greg. I’m afraid I would need to look at the entire chart to determine what’s going on here. Intercepted houses are a different subject entirely. The planet or light ruling the intercepted house or sign would need the permission of the house on the cusp to ‘speak’, as it were. Unless that planet was important in other ways (angle ruler, dispositor of the Sun, etc.) In your chart, from what I can tell, the Moon would be dominant in the house it rules, making it strong. If you want more information about your Sun, look at Neptune and Jupiter. With a Moon/Uranus conjunction and Uranus entering into the fourth, there may be upheavals in the home or your immediate environment, among other things. But you would have to check the progressed chart as well to see what’s really going on. This is what progressions are best at–telling us what’s important at any given time. That transit of yours may be insignificant, unless the Moon or Uranus is doing something interesting via progression.
my data 1957/12th of March Elsa Texas, approximately 130 or 1:39 am approximate ascendant Sag 22-24 degrees as different websites do not adjust one hour so sometimes I have to put 00:30 for birth time. I appreciate your answers and any advice or whatever you see in my chart I will deeply appreciate. I am going through the roughest transitions of my life and sometimes I do not know how I will pull through. In highest confidence to you and our fellows. Again thank-you Dawn.
How to desribe when two rulers of the chart going to be in progressed conjuction. In this case moon virgo 11/ mercury cancer 9 both rulers of personal planets ( venus , mars , soon ).
Mercury will be in few months exact on moon. They are plus in reception. How to look into this?
Thanks. 😉
Not quite sure what you mean here. Do you mean the ruler of the natal and the ruler of the progressed chart? By progression, the Moon moves at about 1 degree per month, so its influence may be strong, but fleeting. It serves as a triggering energy for other issues in the chart.
Hi Dawn, thanks for responding..progressed mercury conjuct natal moon , in natal mercury is dispo of the moon and moon of all personal planets. Soon progressed mercury will be exact on natal moon ( two very important planets in the chart will be in conjuction, dispositor to each other)
Aww, I’ve had the opposite view of dispositors this whole time…I’ve been under the impression that the dispostor of a planet is where the motivation of the planet is coming from, not that the dispositor is where the energy of the planet is going. Thank you 🙂
I am curious about a 1st house dispositor that falls in the 12th. I’ve known several people with that, and all were self-destructive in some way. What’s your take on this, and how can I help someone who has this?
You’re talking about the chart ruler. When the chart ruler falls in the 12th, the entire life is a challenge of spirit vs ego. The ego loses at every turn, and this loss can often break a person. The 12th house is a test of the strength of our alliance with the divine. If we have no divine inclinations, life can seem hopeless and meaningless. We become sarastic and bitter, or we look for escape. Squares to the chart ruler are particularly hard, and will tell you what the desires and challenges are. On the other hand, if all goes well, the rewards are magical. If you’re not talking about the chart ruler, but of the ruler of a sign within the 1st house, the effects are lessened.
I know someone who has Venus in Aquarius, but it’s in the 12th house, which is ruled by Capricorn. Does that make the dispositor where Venus will apply it’s energy where Saturn is, or Uranus?
Thank you, and thank you for this great article.