UtilibyWritten by the Utiliby editorial team · Last updated October 15, 2026 · Rules and formulas reviewed October 2026
What this free online bounds and terms calculator does
If you have ever read a traditional chart reading and met a line such as "Mercury is in its own bound", you have already run into the bounds. The bounds, also called terms, are one of the oldest layers of astrological rulership. This free online bounds and terms calculator tells you in a second which planet rules the bound of any degree of the zodiac, using the Egyptian table that Hellenistic and later astrologers used most.
Type a sign, a degree and a minute from your chart. The tool names the bound lord, shows the degrees that bound covers, the face (decan) lord and the ruler of the sign, and highlights the bound in a full table of all twelve signs. A wheel colours all sixty bounds so you can see the pattern at a glance, and a second view shows where each planet rules. Nothing is uploaded and nothing needs an account.
How to use the calculator
- Choose the zodiac sign of the point you are studying, such as a planet, the Ascendant or a lot.
- Type the degree and minute. If your chart gives a longitude from 0° to 360°, type it into the longitude box instead and the sign and degree will fill in.
- Read the result tiles: the bound lord, the range it covers, how many degrees remain before the next bound, the face lord, the sign ruler and the next bound lord.
- Look at the strip and the wheel. The strip splits the sign into its five bounds, and the marker shows where your degree sits.
- Use Where does a planet rule? to see every bound a planet holds, with the total number of degrees.
- Copy the result, download the table as a CSV file or print only the result section.
What are bounds (terms) in astrology?
Every zodiac sign spans 30 degrees. Traditional astrology divides each sign into five unequal parts and gives each part to one of the five visible planets other than the luminaries: Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. The parts are called bounds, terms or, in Greek, horia. Because there are five bounds in each of twelve signs, there are sixty in all, and together they cover the whole circle.
Bounds are one of five kinds of essential dignity, the way a planet gains strength from where it sits. The others are domicile, exaltation, triplicity and face. Domicile is strongest and the face is weakest. A planet that sits in its own bound has a modest but real dignity: it is described as being "at home in a small room" of the sign. Bounds also matter in other techniques. Many traditional authors looked at the bound lord of the Ascendant, the Moon or a lot, and in the technique of primary directions the bound lord of the directed point gives a time lord, called the distributor.
The Egyptian bounds table
This is the table the calculator uses. Each entry is the planet followed by the degree at which its bound ends, so Aries, Jupiter 6 means Jupiter rules from 0° to 6°. The table has been checked against two independent published reproductions.
| Sign | 1st bound | 2nd bound | 3rd bound | 4th bound | 5th bound |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Jupiter 6 | Venus 12 | Mercury 20 | Mars 25 | Saturn 30 |
| Taurus | Venus 8 | Mercury 14 | Jupiter 22 | Saturn 27 | Mars 30 |
| Gemini | Mercury 6 | Jupiter 12 | Venus 17 | Mars 24 | Saturn 30 |
| Cancer | Mars 7 | Venus 13 | Mercury 19 | Jupiter 26 | Saturn 30 |
| Leo | Jupiter 6 | Venus 11 | Saturn 18 | Mercury 24 | Mars 30 |
| Virgo | Mercury 7 | Venus 17 | Jupiter 21 | Mars 28 | Saturn 30 |
| Libra | Saturn 6 | Mercury 14 | Jupiter 21 | Venus 28 | Mars 30 |
| Scorpio | Mars 7 | Venus 11 | Mercury 19 | Jupiter 24 | Saturn 30 |
| Sagittarius | Jupiter 12 | Venus 17 | Mercury 21 | Saturn 26 | Mars 30 |
| Capricorn | Mercury 7 | Jupiter 14 | Venus 22 | Saturn 26 | Mars 30 |
| Aquarius | Mercury 7 | Venus 13 | Jupiter 20 | Mars 25 | Saturn 30 |
| Pisces | Venus 12 | Jupiter 16 | Mercury 19 | Mars 28 | Saturn 30 |
Two details to notice. First, the bounds are of unequal length, from two degrees to twelve. Second, the benefics Jupiter and Venus together hold 161 of the 360 degrees and Saturn, the smallest holder, only 57.
Egyptian, Ptolemaic and Chaldean terms: which table?
Not every astrologer uses the same table. The Egyptian bounds are the most widely used set and are the default in most traditional software. In his Tetrabiblos, Ptolemy reports this table, remarks that he cannot find a convincing rationale for it and then sets out a different table that he says follows a clearer logic. William Lilly, writing in the seventeenth century, worked with Ptolemy's version. The two tables agree in places and differ in others, so a planet can be in its own bound in one and not in the other.
The label Chaldean terms is used inconsistently. Some websites use it as another name for the Egyptian table, while some ancient authors describe other schemes under that name. If you meet the phrase, compare the table itself with the one above rather than trusting the label.
This calculator publishes only the Egyptian table, because that is the one that could be verified against more than one independent reproduction. It does not yet include Ptolemy's alternative table. If your teacher or book uses Ptolemaic terms, expect differences in several signs and use this result as a cross-check, not a replacement.
Worked examples
Example 1: 15°30′ Aries. The Aries row reads Jupiter 6, Venus 12, Mercury 20, Mars 25, Saturn 30. Fifteen and a half degrees falls between 12 and 20, so Mercury rules the bound. It covers 12° to 20°, and 4°30′ remain before Mars takes over at 20°.
Example 2: 28°10′ Libra. The Libra row reads Saturn 6, Mercury 14, Jupiter 21, Venus 28, Mars 30. Degree 28°10′ is past the 28° mark, so Mars rules the bound, which covers 28° to 30°.
Example 3: the edge of a bound. At exactly 6°00′ Aries the bound belongs to Venus, not Jupiter. Each bound includes its starting degree and runs up to, but not including, the next one. A planet at 5°59′ Aries is still in Jupiter's bound.
Reading the numbers. Remember that "the 12th degree" means a planet that has completed 11 degrees and is somewhere between 11°00′ and 11°59′. Charts list completed degrees, so a planet at 11°45′ is in the twelfth degree. The calculator always works from the completed degrees and minutes you type, so type exactly what your chart says.
How astrologers use the bounds
In essential dignity scoring a planet in its own bound earns two points. A planet that has no domicile, exaltation, triplicity, bound or face in its place is called peregrine and is thought of as a wanderer with little support. In practice the bound lord is also read as a secondary host of the planet that sits in its bound: if Mars is in the bound of Mercury, then Mercury's condition says something about how Mars can act. Traditional delineations of the Ascendant often name the bound lord alongside the sign ruler.
Bounds also appear in timing techniques. In primary directions, as the directed point passes through a bound, the lord of that bound is the distributor for the period. Some astrologers use a similar idea for the Ascendant when judging character and fortune. Whatever the method, the bound lord is the starting point, and the way this tool is built makes that lookup immediate and error-free.
Common mistakes when reading bounds
- Mixing zodiacs. The tables were made for the tropical zodiac. A sidereal chart read against them will give wrong results.
- Mixing tables. A result from the Egyptian table cannot be compared with a book that uses Ptolemy's terms.
- Off-by-one degrees. Charts give completed degrees. The degree number is one less than the ordinal you might say aloud.
- Rounding. A planet at 5°59′ is not in the next bound. Use minutes where your chart gives them.
- Treating the bound as a verdict. A planet in its own bound is slightly strengthened, not guaranteed to do well. Context such as aspects, sect and houses matters more.
Privacy, limits and responsible use
The calculator runs entirely in your browser. The sign and degree you type are kept in local storage on your device so the page can reopen where you left it, and are never sent to a server. Clear your browser data to remove them. The tool performs a table lookup. It does not compute planetary positions, so it cannot tell you where a planet is on a given date. It is meant for study and entertainment. Astrology is a cultural and interpretive tradition, not a validated predictive science, and nothing here replaces advice from a doctor, lawyer, financial adviser or mental-health professional.
Frequently asked questions
What is a bound or term in astrology?
A bound, also called a term, is one of five unequal segments into which each zodiac sign is divided. Each segment is ruled by one of the five visible planets other than the Sun and Moon. A planet placed in its own bound has a small degree of essential dignity.
How do I use this free online bounds and terms calculator?
Pick the sign, type the degree and minute (or the longitude from 0 to 360), and the tool shows the bound ruler, the degrees the bound covers, the face ruler and the sign ruler. The full table and a wheel update at the same time.
How do I find the Egyptian bounds ruler of a planet?
Look up the planet's sign and degree, then find the segment of that sign that contains the degree. In Aries, for example, 0° to 6° belongs to Jupiter, 6° to 12° to Venus, 12° to 20° to Mercury, 20° to 25° to Mars and 25° to 30° to Saturn. This calculator does that lookup for you.
Which planets rule the bounds?
Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, Mars and Saturn. The Sun and Moon do not rule bounds in any of the traditional tables.
How many bounds are there in the zodiac?
Sixty: five in each of the twelve signs. Together they cover all 360 degrees.
What is the difference between Egyptian and Ptolemaic bounds?
They are two different tables. The Egyptian table is the most widely used. Ptolemy described it in the Tetrabiblos, questioned how it was made and proposed an alternative based on his own reasoning. The two agree in some signs and differ in others. This tool uses the Egyptian table.
Does this tool include Ptolemaic terms?
Not yet. The sign-by-sign Ptolemaic table is reproduced inconsistently online, and this tool only publishes tables that could be cross-checked against more than one source. The Egyptian table could, so that is what it uses.
Are Chaldean terms the same as Egyptian bounds?
The name is used loosely. Some websites call the Egyptian table Chaldean, and some ancient authors describe other schemes under that name. If a source says Chaldean terms, check the table itself against the one shown here.
What is the bound ruler of 0 degrees of a sign?
It is the first planet in that sign's row, for example Jupiter in Aries and Venus in Taurus. Each bound starts at its lower degree, so exactly 6°00′ Aries already falls in Venus's bound.
Is the bound lord the same as the sign ruler?
No. The sign ruler (domicile lord) rules the whole sign, such as Mars for Aries. The bound lord rules only a slice of it, and it can be a different planet.
What is a face or decan?
A face, or decan, is a ten-degree third of a sign. Faces are ruled by the planets in Chaldean order starting with Mars at 0° Aries. The calculator shows the face lord next to the bound lord.
How many points is a planet in its own bound worth?
In the traditional dignity scoring popularised by William Lilly, a planet in its own bound scores +2, below domicile (+5), exaltation (+4) and triplicity (+3), and above face (+1). The Essential Dignity Calculator on this site adds these up for a whole chart.
Should I use tropical or sidereal positions?
The bounds tables come from the Hellenistic tradition, which used the tropical zodiac. If your chart is sidereal, convert it to tropical first or the results will be shifted.
Do I need exact birth data?
No. You only need a sign and degree, which you can read off any chart. The tool does not calculate planetary positions itself.
Can I download or print the table?
Yes. Download gives a CSV of the full table. Print or save outputs only the result, the wheel and the table for your sign, not the whole page.
Is my data stored or uploaded?
No. Everything runs in your browser. The last position you entered is kept in local storage on your device so the page opens where you left off, and you can clear it any time.
Is this astrology tool free and accurate?
It is free, needs no sign-up and looks up the table exactly as published. Whether astrology predicts anything is a separate question the tool does not claim to answer, and it should be used for education and enjoyment.
Sources and further reading
- Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, Book I chapter 21 ("Of the terms"), translated by F. E. Robbins (Loeb Classical Library, 1940), and by J. M. Ashmand (1822).
- Vettius Valens, Anthology, translated by Mark Riley (2010), on the use of the bounds.
- William Lilly, Christian Astrology (1647), table of essential dignities and scoring.
- Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune (Amor Fati Publications, 2017), chapter on the bounds.
- Kerykeion, Terms and Bounds: Planetary Divisions (kerykeion.net, learn-astrology section), used to cross-check the Egyptian table.
- Augurine, Planetary Bounds (augurine.com), used to cross-check the Egyptian table.
Sources were consulted in October 2026. Standards and rules can change, so always check the official page for your situation.