Almuten — Astrology glossary

The almuten is the planet with the greatest total dignity over a particular point or the chart as a whole, drawn from traditional and medieval astrology. It is found by scoring each planet's claims of rulership, exaltation, triplicity, term, and face at the degree in question and adding the points; the planet with the highest total is the almuten of that point. Astrologers calculate it for sensitive places such as the ascendant degree to identify a single planet that best signifies the person, sometimes called the almuten of the chart. It matters because it offers a weighted, rule-based way to name the chart's ruler rather than relying on the sign ruler alone. For example, the almuten of the ascendant may turn out to be a different planet from the one that simply rules the rising sign.