Dignity, retrograde motion and combustion
Three different kinds of information in the planetary table.
A planet’s sign is only one field in its record. Dignity describes a traditional relationship between a planet and a sign. Retrograde describes apparent motion. Combustion applies a traditional proximity rule relative to the Sun. These fields should not be collapsed into a single good-or-bad score.
Dignity is contextual
Own sign, exaltation and debilitation are traditional classifications. They are not measurements of a person’s worth, ability or future. A neutral label means the engine has not assigned one of its special sign classifications; it does not mean a planet has no influence within a reading.
Retrograde is apparent motion
A retrograde planet appears to move backward in zodiacal longitude from Earth. It has not reversed its physical orbit. The chart records motion at the stated instant. Any association with revision, repetition or inward attention is interpretation, and should be considered alongside the rest of the placement.
Combustion is a proximity rule
A combust flag means the planet meets the engine’s angular-distance rule relative to the Sun. It is separate from dignity and house placement. Read the recorded position first; the flag alone cannot justify a claim that communication, relationships or another area of life will fail.
Use the table as a checklist
Select a planet and compare its sign, house, dignity, motion and combustion. Then read its associated house topics and sign ruler. A planet can satisfy several conditions at once; explain their relationship rather than counting favorable and unfavorable labels.
The dignity pairs used by this chart
The traditional exaltation and debilitation signs are opposite pairs: Sun—Aries and Libra; Moon—Taurus and Scorpio; Mars—Capricorn and Cancer; Mercury—Virgo and Pisces; Jupiter—Cancer and Capricorn; Venus—Pisces and Virgo; Saturn—Libra and Aries.
Own signs are Leo for the Sun, Cancer for the Moon, Aries and Scorpio for Mars, Gemini and Virgo for Mercury, Sagittarius and Pisces for Jupiter, Taurus and Libra for Venus, and Capricorn and Aquarius for Saturn. Moolatrikona is a more specific dignity within defined degree ranges. Rahu and Ketu remain neutral in this engine because their special dignity assignments vary between schools.
How two conditions can coexist
Mercury can occupy Virgo and also lie close to the Sun. Its sign dignity and combustion flag can therefore appear together. This is not a contradiction: one describes the planet–sign relationship, while the other describes angular proximity to the Sun.
Likewise, a retrograde planet retains its sign and house. Read each field for the question it answers, then connect the results. Collapsing all conditions into a tally of good and bad loses the distinction between context, motion and proximity.