Astrology
I had a question on my discussion group asking whether one should round off to the nearest degree, when considering the degrees of the Zodiac.
Let's talk a bit about the the Zodiac. The Zodiac is a circle, composed, as circles are, of 360 degrees. It is divided into 12 signs, corresponding to the 12 constellations that lie in the ecliptic, the path of the Sun. Each sign, therefore, is composed of 30 degrees. Each degree is subdivided into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds.
Degrees are like your birthday, you don't round them off. No matter how close you are to be 25 years old, even on 24 years and 360 days you still refer to yourself as 24 years old!
In traditional texts, they typically refer to the degrees as the first degree, second degree, etc. Now, keep in mind that the sign begins at 0 degrees and 0 minutes. That means that the very first degree of the sign extends from 0 degrees 0 minutes to 0 degrees and 59 minutes. So if you are at 1 degree 37 minutes, for example, you are in the second degree of the sign.
Normally nowadays, if we are at 1 degree 37 minutes, we tend to call that "1 degree". Be careful not to confuse this with the "first degree"
Just like the numbering of centuries. It is 2009, but we are in the 21st century
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Astrology
Numbering the Degrees of the Zodiac
I had a question on my discussion group asking whether one should round off to the nearest degree, when considering the degrees of the Zodiac.
Let's talk a bit about the the Zodiac. The Zodiac is a circle, composed, as circles are, of 360 degrees. It is divided into 12 signs, corresponding to the 12 constellations that lie in the ecliptic, the path of the Sun. Each sign, therefore, is composed of 30 degrees. Each degree is subdivided into 60 minutes and each minute into 60 seconds.
Degrees are like your birthday, you don't round them off. No matter how close you are to be 25 years old, even on 24 years and 360 days you still refer to yourself as 24 years old!
In traditional texts, they typically refer to the degrees as the first degree, second degree, etc. Now, keep in mind that the sign begins at 0 degrees and 0 minutes. That means that the very first degree of the sign extends from 0 degrees 0 minutes to 0 degrees and 59 minutes. So if you are at 1 degree 37 minutes, for example, you are in the second degree of the sign.
Normally nowadays, if we are at 1 degree 37 minutes, we tend to call that "1 degree". Be careful not to confuse this with the "first degree"
Just like the numbering of centuries. It is 2009, but we are in the 21st century
- Fixed Stars Aren't Actually Fixed!!
This is something that may confuse you and I just want to explain to clarify. I do look at fixed stars a lot on Solaris Astrology and I think they are just as vital and important as the planets, indeed the constellations we know get their reputations...
- Partile, Platic Aspects And Fossilized Technique
I had a good question recently from a student who asked me what the significance of partile versus platic (or platick) aspects. First, what are they? Here's Lilly's explanation from Christian Astrology at pages 106-7: "There is also a Partill...
- Final Degree Of Sign
I just had a question about a planet being in the final degree of a sign, ie the 30th degree or 29 degrees 0 minutes and higher. The medieval astrologer Guido Bonatti says, "The 30th Consideration is, To observe when a planet that is Significator, or...
- Why Do You Use The Tropical Zodiac?
Not a week doesn't go by that I don't get asked, "Why don't you use a Zodiac based on the REAL STARS?" usually along with some sort of breathless comment about those idiot ancient astrologers who along with not having plasma screen TVs or...
- Mars Attacks London, And It Is Not Yet Over For The World.
It really does not take a genius to find the correlations. Look at an aspectarian, and you will see that Mars is very close to North Node at 17 degrees to Aries. Then you have Saturn at 28 degrees Cancer, so Mars is getting close to that awkward 90 degree...