“Dominant planet” is not a single astronomical measurement. A calculator must choose and disclose a method. Our ranking is an original, reproducible worksheet, not a claim that one planet objectively rules a life.
First: count signs without weights
For each of the ten listed planets, take its tropical sign. Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius are Fire; Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn Earth; Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius Air; Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces Water. Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn are Cardinal; Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius Fixed; Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces Mutable. The four element counts and three mode counts each sum to ten. This is a distribution, not a score.
Then: inspect the scoring model
| Component | Rule | Points |
|---|---|---|
| Near an angle | Within 5° of Ascendant, Descendant, MC, or IC in ecliptic longitude; otherwise within 10° | 3; otherwise 1 |
| Angular house | In Whole Sign house 1, 4, 7, or 10 | 2 |
| Traditional domicile | Classical planet in a sign it traditionally rules | 2 |
| Traditional exaltation | Classical planet in its traditional exaltation, when not already credited with domicile | 1 |
| Close major aspect | Each other listed planet within 4° of conjunction, sextile, square, trine, or opposition | 1 per contact |
| Chart ruler | Traditional ruler of the Ascendant sign | 2 |
The angular distance is measured on the ecliptic, not as a three-dimensional sky separation. “Within” includes the boundary. Whole Sign houses are used throughout; choosing another house system could change angular-house points. The chart ruler uses traditional Scorpio–Mars, Aquarius–Saturn, and Pisces–Jupiter rulerships. Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto can gain points for angles, angular houses, and aspects, but receive no classical dignity or chart-ruler points.
A small worked example
Suppose an imaginary Mars is 4° from the Ascendant, occupies Whole Sign house 1, is in Aries, makes two close major aspects, and rules an Aries Ascendant. It scores 3 near-angle + 2 angular-house + 2 domicile + 2 aspect + 2 ruler = 11. If the birth time moves the Ascendant beyond 10° from Mars and into Taurus, both the angle and chart-ruler components change. The planet's longitude did not need to change much: the time-dependent frame did.
What this cannot settle
A different orb, aspect set, dignity tradition, house system, or weighting gives a different ranking. A tie is kept as a tie. An unknown or rounded birth hour can alter the Ascendant, MC, house assignment, and score; noon entered as a placeholder does not create a reliable result. The birth-chart calculator shows the underlying placements, and the reading sequence puts any one factor back into the whole chart.