Name the holder and the occupant
Reception is directional: first identify a planet occupying a dignity, then name the planet that holds that dignity under the selected table. In a domicile-only example, if an invented planet A is in a sign ruled by planet B, B receives A by domicile. Reverse the positions only if the reverse dignity relation also exists; that second relation is what makes reception mutual.
A placement can therefore supply a hosting relation without supplying an aspect. A method may require an aspect for a particular judgment, or use one to discuss whether a matter perfects, but those are further requirements. Do not turn the positional label alone into a claim of agreement, contact, or completed action.
State which dignities count
A reception statement should say whether it is limited to domicile and exaltation or includes triplicity, bounds, and faces. The answer can change with that choice, and triplicity also requires the stated day/night convention. ‘Receives’ without the underlying dignity leaves the claim impossible to reproduce.
Use a compact audit trail: occupant; exact zodiacal position; dignity holder; dignity type; table; and any aspect rule. It lets a reader distinguish a direct computational classification from the additional interpretive steps of a chosen horary school.
William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647), original printed p104 ↗William Lilly: Christian Astrology (1647), original text, pp. 101–112 ↗
Word origin · etymology
Latin through French.
From receptio, a receiving. Astrology applies the receiving or hosting metaphor to a planet in another planet's dignity.
How we know · epistemology
Directional traditional relationship
The dignity holder receives the occupying planet under the selected rule. Mutual reception requires both directions; whether an aspect is additionally required, and how it contributes to perfection of a matter, are separate method questions. A positional hosting label alone cannot establish cooperation, contact, or completion.
Explore it in your atlas
Connected concepts
Read alongside this entry
Terms used in this explanation
Mentioned in 2 other entries
These links connect subjects and terminology. They do not establish a shared historical origin.
Sources & provenance
Use the citations beside each section to distinguish a calculation convention, a historical teaching and an editorial example.