Dustoria (Persian: دستوریه, transliterated dustūriyya or dastūriyya) is a technical term in traditional judicial astrology for a favorable and strengthening planetary condition, determined primarily by the relationship of a planet to the Sun or Moon, and, in some definitions, by its position in the houses of a horoscope and its conformity with its hayz. The precise definition of dustoria is not uniform in the works of medieval Islamic astrologers. In the simplest definition, given by Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi in the Mafatih al-'Ulum, dustoria occurs when a planet is "separate from the Sun". In more elaborate definitions, dustoria is associated with a planet's being eastern or western in relation to one of the two luminaries, with the planet being in its own hayz, and with its placement in an angle. In the tradition associated with Al-Qabisi, a diurnal planet in the appropriate condition should be eastern of the Sun, while a nocturnal planet should be western of the Moon. Some versions of the definition also require the planet and its corresponding luminary to occupy angular positions and to bear an appropriate relationship to one another.
Definition in medieval Islamic sources Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi, in the section on astrological terminology in his Mafatih al-'Ulum, defines dustoria after discussing terms such as hayz, superiority, besiegement, easternness, and westernness:
«الدستورية: أن يكون الكوكب مبايناً للشمس.» That is, "Dustoria is when the planet is separate from the Sun." This brief definition later entered Persian lexicography. The Dehkhoda Dictionary, citing the Mafatih al-'Ulum, defines dastūriyya as "the state of a planet being separate from the Sun (in judicial astrology)." Other works, however, indicate that dustoria also had a more specialized meaning. In al-Madkhal ilā ṣināʿat aḥkām al-nujūm ("Introduction to the Craft of the Judgments of the Stars") by Al-Qabisi, an important 10th-century introductory work on astrology, dustoria is considered in relation to the position of a planet with respect to the luminary appropriate to its diurnal or nocturnal sect. In the Latin transmission of this tradition, being eastern of the Sun and situated in a strong position was counted among the conditions of dustoria for some planets, while for others a western relationship to the Moon was required. Some medieval commentaries even mention a separation of approximately 60 degrees between a planet and the Sun as one form of dustoria. This definition, however, is not found in all sources and illustrates the diversity of medieval interpretations of the term. Three kinds of dustoria were traditionally recognized, but that these were sometimes mixed together or simplified in medieval texts. This may help explain some of the differences between the definitions found in various sources.
Dustoria and hayz In a number of later Islamic and Latin sources, dustoria is closely associated with the concept of hayz. Hayz refers to a planet's conformity with its diurnal or nocturnal nature, its position relative to the horizon, and, in some definitions, the gender of the sign it occupies. In this tradition, dustoria was regarded as a stronger and more complex condition than merely being in hayz. According to one definition attributed to al-Qabisi, a planet is in dustoria when:
it is in hayz, or in a condition analogous to hayz; it occupies one of the angular houses; in a diurnal chart, it has an appropriate eastern relationship to the Sun; in a nocturnal chart, it has an appropriate western relationship to the Moon; an appropriate relationship exists between the planet and the luminary corresponding to its sect. Some modern reconstructions of traditional astrology interpret this relationship as a square between the planet and the luminary of the time: in a diurnal horoscope, the planet is placed in the tenth sign from the Sun, and in a nocturnal horoscope in the fourth sign from the Moon. This formulation is largely the result of comparing and reconstructing medieval texts and should not be treated as the sole historical definition of dustoria.
Use in natal astrology Dustoria was particularly important in natal astrology in judgments concerning the rank, fame, and power of the native. In medieval texts, strong planets placed in dustoria, particularly when also angular or otherwise fortified, could indicate high status, rulership, or renown. In Latin commentaries on works attributed to Ptolemy, dustoria appears in discussions of the "rank of the native" alongside eastern planets and angular positions and is treated as a favorable condition that strengthens a planet's significations. In one medieval tradition transmitted into Spanish, dustoria was likewise explained as a condition in which diurnal planets are eastern of the Sun and nocturnal planets western of the Moon. This usage indicates that dustoria was not simply a matter of "distance from the Sun", but in some schools formed part of a broader system for assessing planetary strength and status.
Etymology Dustoria is a term of Persian origin that entered the scientific vocabulary of Arabic in the form al-dustūriyya (الدستورية). Historians of astronomy have recorded the Arabic form as dastūriyya or dustūriyya and associated it with the Persian word dastur ("authority", "minister", "rule", or "instruction"). Benjamin N. Dykes describes dustūriyya as the Arabic form of a Pahlavi term referring to the Greek concept of doryphory, literally "spear-bearing" or "bodyguarding". He records the medieval Latin forms adusturia and dustoria. Dykes also associates the semantic field of the term with notions of rank, authority, skill, command, and standing in a position of prestige, comparing its underlying imagery to bodyguards standing in front of the person whom they protect. The occurrence of the term in al-Khwarizmi's Mafatih al-'Ulum shows that dustoria had become established in the technical vocabulary of Arabic astrology by at least the 10th century. Studies of Iranian astrological vocabulary in the Islamic period have also classified dustoria among terms of Persian origin that entered Arabic scientific usage. The word was subsequently transmitted to Europe through Latin translations of Arabic astrological works. Medieval Latin forms included dustoria, dostoria, adusturia, and occasionally ductoria or duxtoria. The 12th-century Latin translation of al-Qabisi's work was one of the principal channels through which the term entered Western European astrology. Al-Qabisi's al-Madkhal ilā ṣināʿat aḥkām al-nujūm survives in at least 25 Arabic manuscripts, while its Latin translation is known from more than 200 manuscripts.
Relationship to doryphory Some historians of astrology have associated dustoria with the Greek concept of doryphory, literally "spear-bearing" or the attendance of bodyguards. In Hellenistic astrology, doryphory referred to a configuration in which one or more planets, by occupying particular positions relative to the Sun or Moon, acted figuratively as "spear-bearers" or bodyguards of the luminary. Such configurations were especially important in judgments concerning the native's rank, power, and fame. In his discussion of medieval astrological terminology, Benjamin N. Dykes describes dustūriyya as the Arabic designation for a Pahlavi term corresponding to Greek doryphory. He glosses doryphory as "spear-bearing, bodyguarding" and states that three kinds of dustoria were traditionally recognized, although these were sometimes mixed together or simplified in medieval texts. According to this interpretation, just as planets in the Hellenistic tradition could function symbolically as spear-bearers attending a luminary, dustoria in medieval Islamic astrology came to be associated with protection, strength, and prominence. Dustoria in Islamic astrological texts, however, cannot in every case be treated as an exact equivalent of doryphory. Medieval astrologers differed in their definitions of the conditions required for dustoria. In the tradition associated with Al-Qabisi, for example, dustoria is connected with a planet being in its own hayz, occupying an angle, and having an appropriate relationship to the luminary governing the diurnal or nocturnal sect of the horoscope. Doryphory may therefore be regarded as one of the historical backgrounds to the development of the medieval concept of dustoria, but the two terms should not necessarily be treated as completely identical. Al-Biruni, in his Book of Instruction in the Elements of the Art of Astrology, also reports that the Persians used the term dustūriyya for a particular condition of a planet in relation to the Sun and applied the name to a specified position on the right-hand side of the Sun. This testimony indicates an independent Iranian usage of the term and suggests that dustoria acquired distinctive characteristics in the Islamic astrological tradition.
Differences in definition One of the principal difficulties in studying dustoria is the substantial variation in its definition among historical sources. At least three broad levels of definition can be distinguished: Al-Khwarizmi's simple definition: the planet is separate or distant from the Sun. Sect-based definition: diurnal planets are eastern of the Sun and nocturnal planets western of the Moon. Composite definition: in addition to its position relative to the Sun or Moon, the planet is in hayz and occupies an angular house, while an appropriate geometrical relationship exists between it and the corresponding luminary. These differences probably reflect the transmission and reinterpretation of an older concept in different schools of medieval astrology. The meaning of dustoria in a historical text should therefore be determined according to the definition employed by the relevant author and period rather than by assuming a single fixed definition.
See also Sect (astrology) Heliacal rising Combustion Cazimi Angular house Natal astrology Al-Qabisi Doryphory
References
al-Khwarizmi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad. Mafatih al-'Ulum (in Arabic). Burnett, Charles; Yamamoto, Keiji; Yano, Michio (2004). Al-Qabīṣī (Alcabitius): The Introduction to Astrology. The Warburg Institute. ISBN 0-85481-132-X. Oliver, Dolores. "Los arabismos del Libro Conplido y otras obras alfonsíes". Anuario de Lingüística (in Spanish).