astrology-lens-rulership-chains

Astrology Lens — Rulership Chains (Alex Method)

A lens, not a full reading. The compose layer calls this with a chart and gets back structured findings. Prose synthesis is the compose layer's job, not this skill's.

Lens contract

Input: chart JSON from astral-chart-api (placements + houses + aspects).

Output (structured, append-only to a lens_outputs[] array in the compose pipeline):

{
  "lens": "rulership-chains",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "claims": [
    {"kind": "chain", "of": "Sun", "path": ["Sun in Libra", "Venus in Scorpio", "Mars in Leo", "Sun in Libra"], "note": "Sun-Venus-Mars loop"},
    {"kind": "loop", "members": ["Sun", "Venus", "Mars"], "weight": "main-engine"},
    {"kind": "gateway", "planet": "Mars", "feeds": ["Moon", "Ascendant"]},
    {"kind": "terminal-domicile", "planet": null},
    {"kind": "mutual-reception", "pair": null},
    {"kind": "condition", "planet": "Sun", "state": "fall (in Libra)"},
    {"kind": "aspect-on-topology", "aspect": "Mars square Pluto 1.2°", "effect": "conditions gateway planet"}
  ],
  "citations": [],
  "graph_classification": "Type 1 — single dominant loop with Ascendant extension"
}

Do not emit prose. The compose layer will pick which claims to surface.

Method

(Identical to the prior Alex method — content unchanged, just scoped to lens output.)

Hard rules

• Traditional rulers only by default. Mars/Venus/Mercury double rule. Saturn rules Aquarius. Jupiter rules Pisces. Sun rules Leo, Moon rules Cancer.
• Outer planets (Uranus/Neptune/Pluto) participate as aspect bodies only, never as sign rulers, unless the user explicitly requests modern rulerships.
• Tropical zodiac unless explicitly told sidereal.

Traditional sign rulers

Aries→Mars · Taurus→Venus · Gemini→Mercury · Cancer→Moon · Leo→Sun · Virgo→Mercury · Libra→Venus · Scorpio→Mars · Sagittarius→Jupiter · Capricorn→Saturn · Aquarius→Saturn · Pisces→Jupiter

Dignities

• Domicile: as above
• Detriment: opposite sign
• Exaltations: Sun-Aries, Moon-Taurus, Mercury-Virgo, Venus-Pisces, Mars-Capricorn, Jupiter-Cancer, Saturn-Libra
• Falls: opposite the exaltation

Algorithm

For each priority point (Sun, Moon, Ascendant, MC, chart ruler, stellium rulers, planets in domicile, angular planets):

1. Note placement.
2. Find ruler of placement sign.
3. Follow that ruler's placement.
4. Repeat until: terminal domicile, mutual reception, closed loop, or merge into existing identified loop.
5. Record as kind: chain.

Then classify the chart into one of:

• Type 1 — single dominant loop
• Type 2 — single terminal domicile planet
• Type 3 — multiple independent loops
• Type 4 — loop with extensions through gateway planets
• Type 5 — multiple chains, no loop
• Type 6 — complete/near-complete circuit

Aspect integration

Sort all major aspects (conj/opp/sq/tri/sex) by orb. Promote aspects within 3° and any aspect involving Sun/Moon/Asc/MC/chart-ruler/loop-member/gateway/terminal. For each promoted aspect emit a claim of kind: aspect-on-topology describing whether it sits inside a loop, bridges loops, hits a gateway, modifies a terminal, or is an outer-planet aspect to a loop member.

Condition

For every planet inside an identified loop/terminal/gateway, emit a kind: condition claim with dignity state + house + angularity + retrograde/combust flags if relevant.

Priority order for the claims list

1. main loops (largest weight first)
2. terminal domicile planets
3. mutual receptions
4. gateway planets and what they feed
5. Sun/Moon/Asc/MC chains
6. aspects on topology
7. conditions of key planets

Pitfalls

• Using modern rulerships by default.
• Stopping after one dispositor instead of following to a loop/terminus.
• Treating outer-planet presence in a sign as rulership.
• Ignoring extensions: a planet outside the loop is still governed by it through a gateway.
• Confusing centrality with strength: a debilitated planet can still be structurally central.
• Forgetting to surface very-close aspects (<1°) even when they're outside the major topology — they still color the chart.

Verification before returning

• [ ] Sun, Moon, Asc, MC chains traced to termination
• [ ] At least one chain claim per priority point
• [ ] Graph classification set
• [ ] All <3° aspects to priority points emitted as aspect-on-topology claims
• [ ] Conditions emitted for every planet appearing in any chain/loop/gateway
• [ ] Zero prose in the output object