How an astrologer weights a strong or weak Saturn, etc. Strong sign, weak sign, for example

[panfluteman]

36. According to Traditional Greek or Hellenistic Astrology,

Saturn, the Major Malefic, having a cold, dry Melancholic nature and temperament, is best placed in Air signs, which have an opposite yet complementary hot and wet / warm and moist Sanguine temperament. Both the Malefics, Mars and Saturn, are like that; they are not just "bad", but they have inherently extreme natures that do best when they're balanced and tempered. And so, hot, dry, Choleric Mars fares better in the cold, wet water sign of Scorpio than it does in the hot, dry Choleric Fire sign of Aries, although both signs are domicile or rulership signs for that planet. Similarly, Saturn rules two signs in traditional astrology - Capricorn and Aquarius, with the cold, dry Melancholic earth sign of Capricorn being in total consonance with Saturn's inherent Melancholic nature, but less desirable than the Sanguine Air sign of Aquarius. And Saturn is most powerful, or exalted, in another Air sign, Libra. Libra, being the sign of the mediator or diplomat, lends some social graces to an otherwise dour and misanthropic Saturn.

Also, according to traditional forms of astrology, such as Hellenistic Astrology and Indian Vedic Astrology, each of the seven classical planets has their own preferred angle of maximum strength, even though its power is enhanced when conjunct any angle. And so, the Sun is most powerful when conjunct the Midheaven (10th house cusp) - in other words, at high noon - no mystery there. And Mars, the other fiery Choleric planet, is also most powerful when conjunct the Midheaven. Conversely, the Moon, and the other feminine planet, Venus, are the most powerful when conjunct the Nadir or Immum Coeli, which is opposite the Midheaven at the fourth house cusp - the house of home and family - and the Moon rules domestic affairs. The fourth house corresponds to the Cardinal Water sign of Cancer, which is the Moon's single domicile sign. Like the Moon, Venus also has a moist, watery nature. And so, in their mundane directional strengths, the two masculine planets, the Sun and Mars, directly oppose the two feminine planets, the Moon and Venus. The directional strength of Saturn is conjunct the Descendant, or 7th house cusp, since the 7th house corresponds to Libra, the sign of Saturn's exaltation. The two Mutable natured planets, since they rule the Mutable signs, Mercury and Jupiter, have their directional strengths being conjunct the Ascendant, or first house cusp. The Ascendant is associated with sunrise and the change from night into day, and the Mutable nature is associated with change.

A planet at a station - transitioning from direct to retrograde motion or vice versa - is also powerful. When analyzing your natal chart, or the natal chart of anyone else, for that matter, it is always a good idea to look in the ephemeris to see if a planet was at a station, or in that transitional phase between direct and retrograde, or retrograde and direct, motion. A planet that was at a station at the time of birth is very powerful, and becomes a major player in the natal chart.

Planetary stations also work by transit too. For example, Uranus, the planet of liberation and freedom that shakes things up, is coming to a station, and will be at a station right on Christmas day, and so the Uranian energy of change and liberation is especially strong right now. And it just so happens that stationary Uranus is directly opposing the US' natal Saturn in Libra (exalted) in the 10th house, representing the economic and political establishment powers that be, and squaring the US natal Sun when one subtracts three degrees from the current position of Saturn to account or correct for equinoctial precession in the 200 plus years since the Declaration of Independence was signed (the vernal equinox point that begins the tropical zodiac moves backwards or precesses by about one degree every 72 years). In the Uranian spirit of this important transit, we are now witnessing the scandal of Bernie (Uranus) versus (opposition aspect) the DNC powers that be (10th house Saturn exalted in Libra). Below is a link to the Sibley Chart:

http://planetwaves.net/news/daily-astrology/the-sibley-chart-astrology/