Exaltation (uchcha) and debilitation (neecha) explained
Exaltation (uchcha) and debilitation (neecha) are classical dignities: a planet is said to be strong in its exalted sign and weak in the opposite sign.
What it is
The standard exaltation signs are Sun in Mesha (10 degrees), Moon in Vrishabha (3 degrees), Mars in Makara (28 degrees), Mercury in Kanya (15 degrees), Jupiter in Karka (5 degrees), Venus in Meena (27 degrees) and Saturn in Tula (20 degrees). Debilitation is the sign opposite each.
How it is worked out or read
Exaltation is a fixed rule for the seven grahas. The school-dependent points for Rahu and Ketu are not given here, because standard texts disagree about them.
Where it appears on this site
Dignity is not yet scored on this site. The rules are explained in the rashi index; the tools show the sign and house only.
Exact degrees
Each planet has a sign of exaltation and, within it, a degree of deepest exaltation. In the commonly cited values: the Sun at 10 degrees Mesha, the Moon at 3 degrees Vrishabha, Mars at 28 degrees Makara, Mercury at 15 degrees Kanya, Jupiter at 5 degrees Karka, Venus at 27 degrees Meena and Saturn at 20 degrees Tula. The debilitation point is exactly opposite, 180 degrees away, in the seventh sign: the Sun at 10 degrees Tula, for example.
Strength along the way
In detailed strength calculations, a planet's exaltation strength, uchcha bala, is greatest at the exact exaltation degree and falls steadily to zero at the debilitation degree. So a planet in its exaltation sign but far from the exact degree has somewhat less of this strength than one at the degree itself. For everyday reading, the sign is what matters most; the degree adds refinement.
Debilitation is not doom
A debilitated planet is traditionally weak in expressing its significations, but the texts themselves provide cancellations, neecha bhanga, that are met in many charts, and some describe a cancelled debilitation as giving strong results after early difficulty. A debilitated planet should therefore be read with care, checking the cancellation conditions and the rest of the chart, rather than taken as a sign of misfortune in its own right.
What exaltation is not
Exaltation is often misunderstood as a guarantee of good results. The classical texts describe exaltation as a degree of strength in which a planet expresses its nature with ease, but they also say that an exalted planet can be afflicted, placed in a difficult house or opposed by other factors. Exaltation is one dignity among several, and it is weighed with the house, the aspects and the lord's own position.
Exaltation and debilitation as pairs
Each exaltation sign is opposite its debilitation sign, and the pairs are easy to remember: Sun in Mesha and Tula, Moon in Vrishabha and Vrishchika, Mars in Makara and Karka, Mercury in Kanya and Meena, Jupiter in Karka and Makara, Venus in Meena and Kanya, Saturn in Tula and Mesha. The pairing shows that exaltation and debilitation are two ends of the same axis for each planet.