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Astrology for Aquarius Sharing our knowledge Hermetic Astrology The Decanates User-Guide The Hermetic System of Astrology Using measurement to give the astro-data a more valid and reliable interpretation DW Sutton The Decanates User-Guide The Hermetic System of Astrology Us ing measurement to give the astro-data a more valid and reliable interpretation DW Sutton Astrology for Aquarius Sym bols in ast rology Decanat e dat e and keyw ord reference Cont e nt s I nt roduct ion A few w ords about your birt h chart The decanat es Each decanat e has a keyw ord descript ion Your decanat e profile The out st anding decanat es in your birt h chart Your dom inant planet Your Sun- sign decanat e Your Moon- sign decanat e Your ascendant - sign decanat e Your Mercury- sign decanat e Decanat e st udy sessions Creat e a basic decanat e profile Fine- t une your decanat e dat a w it h num bers Working w it h your decanat e dat a Decanat es and progressed aspect s Decanat es and harm ony or discord How t he decanat e syst em w orks Sym bols in a st rology The planets and zodiac signs displayed in your birth chart and the aspects formed by the planets recorded on your chart ’s aspect grid are identified by symbols. The zodiac signs The planets À Sun Ì Aries Á Moon Í Taurus  Mercury Î Gemini à Venus Ï Cancer Ä Ð Leo Mars Ñ Virgo Å Jupiter Ò Libra Æ Saturn Ó Scorpio Ç Uranus Ô Sagittarius È Neptune Õ Capricorn É Ö Aquarius Pluto × Pisces The aspects Ø Ù Ú Û Ü Conjunction Ý Semisextile Semisquare Þ ß Trine Sesquisquare Inconjunct Sextile à Opposition Square á Parallel D e ca na t e da t e a nd k e yw or d refe re nce ( dat es are approxim at e) Sun is in Ar ie s fr om M a r ch 2 0 t o Apr il 1 9 First decanat e: March 20 – Mar ch 30 - act ivit y Second decanat e: Mar ch 31 – April 9 - exalt at ion Third decanat e: April 10 – April 19 - propaganda Sun is in Ta ur u s fr om Apr il 2 0 t o M a y 2 0 First decanat e: April 20 – April 30 - det erm inat ion Second decanat e: May 1 – May 10 - st ruggle Third decanat e: May 11 – May 20 - m ast ership Sun is in Ge m ini fr om M a y 2 1 t o June 2 1 First decanat e: May 21 – May 31 - int uit ion Second decanat e: June 1 – June 10 - fidelit y Third decanat e: June 11 – June 21 - reason Sun is in Ca nce r fr om June 2 2 t o July 2 2 First decanat e: June 22 – July 1 - m oods Second decanat e: July 2 – July 12 - revelat ion Third decanat e: July 13 – July 22 - research Sun is in Le o fr om July 2 3 t o August 2 2 First decanat e: July 23 – August 2 - rulership Second decanat e: August 3 – August 12 - reform at ion Third decanat e: August 13 – August 22 - am bit ion Sun is in V ir go fr om August 2 3 t o Se pt e m be r 2 2 First decanat e: August 23 – Sept em ber 3 - achievem ent Second decanat e: Sept em ber 4 – Sept em ber 13 - experience Third decanat e: Sept em ber 14 – Sept em ber 22 - renunciat ion Sun is in Libr a fr om Se pt e m be r 2 3 t o Oct obe r 2 2 First decanat e: Sept em ber 23 – Oct ober 2 - policy Second decanat e: Oct ober 3 – Oct ober 12 - independence Third decanat e: Oct ober 13 – Oct ober 22 - expiat ion Sun is in Scor pio fr om Oct obe r 2 3 t o N ove m be r 2 1 First decanat e: Oct ober 23 – Novem ber 2 - resourcefulness Second decanat e: Novem ber 3 – Novem ber 12 - responsibilit y Third decanat e: Novem ber 13 – Novem ber 21 - at t ainm ent Sun is in Sa git t a r ius fr om N ove m be r 2 2 t o D e ce m be r 2 1 First decanat e: Novem ber 22 – Decem ber 1 - devot ion Second decanat e: Decem ber 2 – Decem ber 11 - explorat ion Third decanat e: Decem ber 12 – Decem ber 21 - illum inat ion Sun is in Ca pr icor n fr om D e ce m be r 2 2 t o Ja nua r y 1 9 First decanat e: Decem ber 22 – Decem ber 31 - organizat ion Second decanat e: January 1 – January 10 - m art yrdom Third decanat e: Januar y 11 – Januar y 19 - idealism Sun is in Aqua r ius fr om Ja nua r y 2 0 t o Fe br ua r y 1 8 First decanat e: January 20 – January 29 - originalit y Second decanat e: January 30 – February 8 - inspirat ion Third decanat e: February 9 – February 18 - repression Sun is in Pisce s fr om Fe br ua r y 1 9 t o M a r ch 2 0 First decanat e: Februar y 19 – February 28 - verit y Second decanat e: Mar ch 1 – Mar ch 10 - self- sacrifice Third decanat e: Mar ch 11 – Mar ch 20 - vicissit udes Introduction H erm etic astrology is grou n ded in eviden ce-based scientific data. Thirty years of statistical an d observation al research elim in ated th e m ystical beliefs an d m isinform ation th at cu rrently defin es popular astrology. The scien ce pertain s to th e birth chart. It’s a referen ce m ap that’s calculated for a specified tim e, date and place. It displays an im age of the planets and zodiac signs. H erm etic astrology m easures the chart’s data. Th e plan ets an d zodiac sign s are birth ch art m arkers and a chart’s astrodyne report m easures their stren gth an d fun ctionality. Th e ch art’s assessm en t com m en ces with the plan ets. They’re located by sign an d hou se an d th e sign s are divided into three subsection s called decan ates. The science of astrology em braces inform ation pertaining to the zodiac signs and decanates and the application of the science to your own chart allows you to learn about yourself. Som e ch art data is easy to u n derstan d an d m uch of the data sim ply confirm s what you already know; but getting a han dle on som e of the m ore abstruse data can be a challen ge. So, if you ’re seriou s abou t havin g a worthwhile, productive life then th e astro-data con tain ed in you r birth chart is the key to getting it right. But in the excitem en t of the astrological m om ent don ’t forget the decan ates. They give your practical living a spiritual dim ension. Th is Decan ates User-Guide explains (1) how to identify and study the outstanding decan ates in your ch art; an d (2) why applyin g the data in your daily life en su res big rewards. You can fast-track your m en tal, em otion al an d spiritual developm en t. A few words about your birth chart You r birth ch art showcases you . It’s a m ap of you r n ot-con scious soul-m in d. Your ch art records, in astro-text, past-life data that’s saved in m em ory. It’s a textbook about you that’s written in the author’s origin al words. H erm etic astrology provides a tran slation. Each plan et, aspect, sign an d house in the chart is sen ding you a text m essage. An d wh en you apply the scien ce of astrology to your birth chart you can discover wh y you are who you are. Chan ces are you ’re curiou s about yourself. Self-un derstan din g m ay be an im portant person al issue, but your search is easily u n derm in ed by u n su bstantiated beliefs an d false inform ation . Th e m in ute you start to thin k about yourself seriously you will question your level of self-u n derstan din g. An d after gatherin g all the popular self-in form ation th at’s curren tly available th e hon est answer to the question ‘how well do I kn ow m yself?’ is ‘n ot very well’. An d th at’s wh y you birth ch art is such a valuable person al resource. It describes you r ch aracter at the tim e of your hum an birth an d you’re n ow actively en gaged in the business of living your life. Cha r t da t a - che ck The houses in y our birt h char t define your local env ir onm ent – t he life- m at t ers, act iv it ies, people and places t hat grab your at t ent ion and occupy your t im e. Cert ain life ex per iences, specified by t he act iv e houses in your chart , w ill play a cent ral r ole in your life st ory. 1 Th e plan ets in you r chart are the dyn am ic factors; an d the m ost im portant sin gle factor wh en it com es to discovering your natural bias is your dom in a n t p la n e t . It’s th e plan et with the highest astrodyn e score. Ch a r t d a t a - ch e ck Each planet in your birt h char t is a m arker for a dynam ic urge in your not- conscious soul- m ind and your life and behav ior is all about sat isfy ing t heir incessant cravings. You sat isfy t he desir es m apped by t he planet s t hr ough t he life- m at t er s and act iv it ies m ade possible by your local envir onm ent . You r not-consciousness soul-m ind is a world of thoughts, feelings and im pulses an d th e aspects form ed by th e plan ets in dicate if the dyn am ic urges m apped by the plan ets are em bedded with pleasant feelings of feel-good pleasure or un pleasan t feelin gs of feel-bad pain. Ch a r t d a t a - ch e ck The planet s in your birt h char t form angular r elat ionships called aspect s. Each aspect has a m ode of expr ession t hat is defined as neut ral, harm onious or discordant . The discordant aspect s m ark for charact er defect s – t he r oot cause of all your pr oblem s. Th e zodiac sign s express attitudes, m otivation s, likes an d dislikes. They’re subdivided into th ree ten -degree sections called decanates. A sign’s decanates specialize its fu n dam en tal m ode of expression . Cha r t da t a - che ck The dynam ic not-conscious urges m apped by the planets in your birth chart have an attitude-m otivation that’s defined by their sign and decanate locations. Past-life data, saved in m em ory as a psychological footprin t, is the foun dation of your fu ture self. 2 The decanates The decanates are m ore astrological wisdom from an unknown ancient world. Th e first astrologers discovered that the twelve signs of the zodiac could be divided into three sections, and that each section, which they called a decanate, h ad a distin ct in flu en ce of its own that was on ly less pron oun ced than th at of th e sign itself. They th en pictu red the influence indicated by each decanate by its correspondin g u ltra-zodiacal con stellation . Em bedded in th e con stellated pictures in the sky are coded m essages that provide practical an d spiritu al data pertain in g to their astrological correlates in th e zodiac. Th e con stellation s explain in the language of universal sym bolism the practical an d spiritu al teach ings of their correspon din g zodiac sign s an d decan ates. A decan ate is a 10 º sub-section of a zodiac sign . The first decanate of a sign occupies 00º to 9º 59΄59" The second decanate occupies 10º to 19º 59΄59" and Th e th ird decan ate occupies 20º to 29º 59΄59" Th e basic tapestry of life is defined by the 12 zodiac signs. Each sign expresses a basic m otivatin g force that defin es a way of livin g an d a sign ’s th ree decan ate subdivisions give its cen tral m ode of expression a un ique an d special tren d th at h as a practical an d spiritual application . The con stellation s in th e sky depict in their pictographs ethical teachin gs that provide a n arrative for th e developm ent of spiritual attributes. They con vey powerfu l m essages that spiritualize the intelligen ce an d ability that’s developed through practical living. 3 Each decanate has a keyword description The cou rse you r life jou rn ey takes is m apped by your dom inant planet and the decan ates occupied by th e Sun , Moon , ascendan t an d Mercury in your birth chart. These decan ates define you r reason for being. They describe a special set of distingu ish in g featu res th at only you possess. Th e outstan din g decan ates in your ch art provide big data that you should tag as very im por t a n t . The special kn owledge pertain in g to a particular decan ate can relate to an u n u su al power, high attain m ent, a n atural in terest, talen t or ability that’s awaitin g developm en t, a destructive tendency or danger that has to be avoided, a barrier th at h in ders progress an d h as to be overcom e or a general life trend. Whatever…th is influ en ce is sum m arized by a keyword that best describes its in fluen ce in hu m an life an d its various affairs. This keyword provides an easy to rem em ber on e word sum m ary description of the decan ate’s in fluen ce. You can liken it to a ch apter headin g an d the allegorical story th at describes the decan ate provides a detailed account of the ch apter’s contents. So while it’s im portan t to kn ow an d un derstan d the keyword description s of your outstan din g decan ates som e un derstandin g of the allegorical story it sum m arizes is also h elpfu l. So you n eed to know your outstanding decanates and understand (1) their special m essage and (2) th e m ean in g of their keyword descriptions. Each decan ate provides stan d alon e inform ation so you won’t consider the sign an d hou se position s of their plan etary ruler or rulers. 4 Your decanate profile You r birth ch art pictures an astrological im age. It gives you a view of you rself an d your life from above. It conn ects you to the un iverse. It provides you with a blu eprin t for livin g an d a plan of your futu re self. The plan ets in th e chart m ark for thoughts, feelings and im pulses that express in you r daily life. Th ey iden tify characteristics an d traits that are easily discern ed by you – your soul’s objective observer. You have som e awaren ess of your thought an d feeling world. You kn ow about your aggressive ten den cies (Mars) an d your im pulse to com pete, have sex an d attack oppon en ts an d obstacles. You kn ow about you r religiosity (J upiter) an d you r im pulse to worship, pray, revere, m ake m on ey an d sh ow goodwill, toleran ce an d ben evolence. An d you kn ow about your secu rity urge (Satu rn ) an d your im pulse to feel safe by protecting yourself from poverty, h ardsh ip an d disease. But th e decan ates provide data that is not im m ediately obvious. It’s souldeep data that gives you distin guishing features, a special identity an d a u n iqu e role to play in God’s great evolutionary plan . The outstanding decanates in your birth chart play a lead role in your life story. So even th ough your decanate-data m ay seem a little abstruse, even m ysterious, you sh ould view it as som eth in g you’ve got. It’s defin ite an d profou n d. It gives you r life a special, u n ique focus. It in dividualizes you an d defin es a special life journ ey that is a developm ental certainty. Your decan ate-data sets you apart. It separates you from the bun ch an d en sures you r developm en t in to a on e-of-a-kind creation . It defin es a defin ite shapin g influen ce that en sures you becom e the person n ature in ten ds – a special creation with special features that con tribute to th e practical an d spiritu al tapestry of life. 5 Ch a r t da t a - ch e ck Your k ey decan at e pr ofile em br aces t h e decanat es occupied by y our dom inan t plan et and t he Sun, Moon, ascendant and Mercury. These decan ates detail an orderly arrangem ent of developm ental experien ces that m erge to produ ce a life story that has a special purpose. Your decan ate profile is a defin ite astrological influen ce that will play a key role in sh apin g you r life. It’s a dyn am ic in ner-world astral force that acts on your extern al environ m en t to produce events an d con ditions which becom e th e m ean s by wh ich your practical an d spiritual intelligen ce develops. Your life m ight seem to be a h aphazard happen in g but your character is bein g form ed an d sh aped by intern al an d extern al forces; an d the outstan din g decan ates in your birth ch art are positive in tern al shapin g forces. They’re not ifs, buts or m aybes. They’re giving your life a special developm en tal tren d an d this m ean s they’re h avin g a dyn am ic im pact on who you are now an d the person you’re in the process of becom in g. You’re on a developm en tal journ ey to acquire an d express intelligen ce an d ability an d by bein g you an d living your life you contribute to the tapestry of life. But th ere’s m ore to life than work, fun, fam ily an d the struggle to survive a difficult an d som etim es harsh environ m en t. An d the decan ate data in your birth ch art defines som eth ing about you that is unique and special. It adds a spiritu al dim en sion to your life and livin g. It defines special qualities an d attributes that allow you to contribute to the spiritu al tapestry of life. 6 The outstanding decanates in your birth chart Th e decan ates occu pied by th e plan ets, ascen dan t an d Midh eaven in your birth ch art provide valu able astro-data pertain in g to you an d your life; but th ose occu pied by your dom in an t plan et an d the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercu ry m ust receive special consideration. They’re the outstanding decan ates in you r ch art. They provide crucial inform ation pertain ing to your existen ce, life experien ce an d reason for bein g. Of prim ary im portan ce is th e decan ate occupied by your dom in ant plan et. It gives th e lead player in your life story a special bias that greatly influen ces wh at you do an d how you live your life. Next in im portan ce is th e decan ate occupied by the Sun. It gives your Sun sign ’s fun dam en tal expression a special drift. It defin es a deep seated attitude-m otivation that you n aturally adopt as you strive to express your in dividu ality an d satisfy your desire for power, con trol, self-esteem an d social respect. Th ird in im portan ce is th e decan ate occupied by the Moon . Your Moon -sign iden tifies an attitu de-m otivation that defin es (1) your approach to daily life an d (2) you r m en tal life in term s of feelings, hun ches an d im pression s. An d the Moon ’s decan ate location gives the sign’s com m on m ode of expression a un ique an d special tren d. Fourth in im portan ce is th e decan ate occupied by the ascen dant. Your ascen dan t-sign iden tifies an attitude-m otivation that defin es (1) your person ality an d (2) you r person al life in term s of person al interests, likes an d dislikes. An d th e ascen dan t’s decan ate location gives the sign’s basic expression a singular and special quality. An d fifth in im portan ce is the decanate occupied by Mercury. Your Mercurysign iden tifies an attitu de-m otivation that defin es your in tellectual life in term s of objective th in king, reason ed judgm en ts an d the expression of your thoughts in speech or writin g. An d Mercury’s decan ate location gives the sign ’s elem en tal m ode of expression a special focus. 7 Your dominant planet For a plan et to have an ou tstan din g influence in your life, whether fortun ate an d ben eficial or un fortun ate an d detrim ental, it m ust possess above average astrodyn e power. Th e psych ological correlate of a plan et with above average power has an in cessan t desire. It’s sure to accom plish som ethin g. Your ch art’s plan et power su m m ary lists the 10 plan ets, ascen dan t an d Midheaven in descen din g power order. So, the on e with the highest astrodyn e score is listed first. It’s th e h ub of your life experien ce. Your dom in an t plan et tells a powerful story. More of its particular type of astral en ergy is stored in your astral constitution and m ore of its astral en ergy flows th rough th e stellar stru ctures of your astral body. The desires correspon din g to this plan et are active throughout th e life. They dom in an t your not-con sciou s thought world an d stream in to your brain to dom in ate your con sciou s field of m ental activity. Your dom in an t plan et m arks for a n ot-con scious urge that’s propelled by a m assive volu m e of desire en ergy so it dom inan ts your not-con scious thinking an d drives you r life. More than any other birth chart factor it defin es the type of person you are an d th e type of life you’re destin ed to live – just because you’re you . It m arks for a well developed aptitude profile that you can tran sform in to ability th rou gh edu cation an d practice. Th e decan ate occu pied by your dom in ant plan et gives a viewpoin t an d special life tren d or set of circum stances or unique skill-set that will play the lead role in your life story. It greatly in fluences what you do and how you live your life. Your dom in an t plan et is th e on e with the highest astrodyn e score. More than an y oth er birth ch art m arker it defines your natural bias an d the decanate it occupies gives a special trend to its field of expression. Its decanate data requires your carefu l atten tion an d con sideration . And your dom in ant planet could be the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t or Mercury. 8 Your Sun-sign decanate Your Su n sign m aps deep seated traits an d behaviors that defin e your attitude-m otivation wh en expressing your desire for power, control, selfesteem an d social respect. It’s a core ten den cy allied to your in dividu ality an d sen se of self-im portan ce. Th e decan ate occu pied by th e Sun gives the fun dam ental expression of your Su n -sign a u n iqu e an d special tren d. It’s the region of your astral body wh ere you r ego con tacts your soul an d your soul, durin g its hum an in carn ation , m u st con stan tly receive en ergy from its spiritual ego. So this decan ate becom es of prim e im portan ce as in dicatin g the interior viewpoin t an d m otive-power beh in d your life as a whole. The decan ate occu pied by th e Sun in your birth chart polarizes your in dividu ality. It con trols an d restricts the direction an d expression of your core self. It m aps a special type of experien ce that directly relates to the satisfaction of your desire for pride, self-esteem an d social sign ifican ce. You r Su n -sign decan ate defin es your in dividu ality an d gives your desire for power an d sign ifican ce a special m otivation . It gives your m ost deep-seated character traits a n atural bias. It in dicates the section of your astral body where those experien ces in volving power and sign ifican ce have been organ ized in to a dyn am ic stellar structure. Th e decan ate occu pied by th e Sun in your birth ch art sets you apart as a distin ct an d rem arkable in dividual. It in dicates a key developm ental experien ce that in m an y respects u n locks the m ystery that is you. It distinguishes you, gives you distin ct attributes and defines a natural bias for a type of experien ce that represen ts you r reason for being. It plays a core role in the developm ent of your special type of in telligen ce an d ability. You r Su n -sign decan ate provides powerful in form ation regardin g the special attributes th at defin e you as an in dividual. It’s a sign ifican t player in your search for m ean in g an d self-un derstan ding. 9 Your Moon-sign decanate You r m en tality is a set of feelings that defin e you r everyday self an d your Moon -sign m aps you r attitu de-m otivation to daily life. As your everyday con sciou sn ess it’s a world of thoughts, feelin gs an d im pulses. Your m ental attitude represen ts you r way of adaptin g to an ever-chan gin g daily life en viron m en t. As an ever shifting circum stan ce it requires flexible adjustm en t. Feelings direct your action s. There’s n o tim e to en gage in critical an alysis. You r everyday thoughts are just your feelin gs turn ed into words an d judgm en ts. You rock an d roll with the pun ches. You can say with certain ty that how you feel is just your soul respon ding to what’s happen in g right now an d you th in k, say an d do wh at your feelin gs dictate. Th e decan ate occu pied by th e Moon shifts the fun dam en tal expression of your Moon -sign in a un iqu e direction. By con trollin g an d restrictin g the direction an d expression of your m in d it polarizes your m entality. It gives your m in d a n atu ral bias for receiving an d assim ilating a special type of experien ce. Your Moon -sign decan ate provides valuable astro-data pertain in g to your m in d. It govern s th e gen eral quality of your m ental processes. It gives your m in d distin ctive attributes. It m aps deep-seated m ental traits an d a special type of experien ce that m ore than an y other sustain s the developm en t of your m en tality. It defin es a spon taneous attraction for a special type of experien ce; a n atu ral bias to attract, receive and assim ilate a particular type of inform ation; an d a n atural capacity to learn , grasp an d un derstan d a particular kin d of in form ation . You r birth ch art is a m ap of your soul’s thought structure an d while every plan et an d aspect represen t n ot-con scious m en tal factors your m en tal attitu de an d capacity are specified by the decan ate occupied by the Moon . In the n atu ral order of th ings it represents an experien ce that is secon d only to th e Su n in its person al relevan ce an d im portan ce, but the Moon could be your dom in an t plan et. 10 Your ascendant-sign decanate Your tim e, date an d place of birth person alize the astro-im age displayed in your birth ch art. Th e degree an d m in ute of the zodiac on the eastern horizon iden tifies you r ascen dan t. It acts very m uch like a plan et. In reality it m aps a h eavy astral-electrom agn etic lin e of en ergy th at groun ds your astral body or soul to the earth en viron m ent aroun d you. Your ascen dan t sign defin es your person ality. It’s the data-poin t for in form ation pertain in g to you r ph ysical appearan ce, person al attributes, person al likes an d dislikes an d person al interests. Your person ality expresses an attitude-m otivation that defin es your person al viewpoin t or way of seein g the world. You m ove about an d con duct yourself in your own distin ct way an d your person ality is wh at other people observe as you en gage in th e busin ess of livin g – your way. Your person ality is not your character. It’s the m ean s by which your in dividu ality (Sun ) an d m en tality (Moon) are transm itted into action . Through physical, person al con tact th ese key com pon ents of your character fin d expression in th e outside world. An d if your ascen dant has the highest astrodyn e score the influ en ce of you r ascen dan t sign an d decan ate is very pronounced. Th e decan ate occu pied by th e ascen dant in your birth ch art polarizes your person ality. It con trols an d restricts the direction an d expression of your person al con du ct an d in terests. It gives your physical body an d person al in clin ation s a n atu ral bias. H ere on Earth your physical form in fluen ces wh at you can an d can ’t do. Your ascen dant-sign decan ate provides astro-data pertain in g to the special focu s that defin es the expression and developm en t of your person al attributes. It govern s th e qu ality of you r person al m agn etism . It gives your person ality distin ctive traits an d characteristics that single you out as a special and unique in dividu al. So you’re n ot ju st a com m on person ality type iden tified by a letter of the alph abet! 11 Your Mercury-sign decanate Your m in d is a world of m en tal activity. You can’t stop thinkin g an d Mercury in your birth ch art is th e astro-m arker for a dyn am ic group of thought-cells in you r n ot-con sciou s soul-m in d that express your desire to reason carefully an d com m u n icate your th ou ghts in speech or writin g. When you were born this thought-cell group represen ted the psychological footprint of your soul’s previous experiences with perception, rem em berin g an d com m u n icatin g. Mercury in your birth chart is the data-point for inform ation pertaining to your cerebral activity. It iden tifies your intellectual urge. It defin es your in tellectual life. You have intellectu al/ academ ic interests. It identifies your desire to relate your life story to your listen ing audien ce. Mercury defin es your habitual way of objective th inkin g. It represents your way of solvin g problem s usin g reason ed thought. You ’ve got your thinking cap on (Mercury) when you’re solving a perplexity, m aking a com parative judgm ent, or carefully form ulatin g words an d sen ten ces. Th e decan ate occu pied by Mercury polarizes your in tellect. It gives you r in tellect distin ctive attributes an d a special attitude-m otivation . It con trols an d restricts th e direction an d expression of your objective un derstan ding. It provides powerful in form ation pertaining to your intellectual ability an d gives your poten tial to develop reason in g skills a special developm en tal focu s. Your Mercury-sign decan ate defin es your way of perceivin g an d com parin g sen sory in puts. It gives you r cerebral processes – your habitual m ethod of objective th in kin g or m en tal word processin g – a special m ode of expression . It gives your desire for self-expression a un ique attitude-m otivation . Th e decan ate occu pied by Mercury gives your way of m akin g kn own your thoughts an d feelin gs to others a n atural bias. It defin es your special way of verbalizin g or docu m en tin g your thoughts, ideas an d opin ion s. It in dicates the m otive power drivin g your desire to talk an d com m un icate. An d Mercury in your birth ch art could be your dom in ant plan et. 12 Decanate study sessions Decan ate stu dy session s h ave a defin ite purpose. They’re self-learn in g opportu n ities. The key issu e for you is self-discovery. You wan t to kn ow: Wh o am I an d what am I doing here? Reach in g your full poten tial m ay have crossed your m in d. An d H erm etic astrology offers you a self-discovery opportun ity. You r birth ch art pictures you r character; and the events an d con dition s that en sure th e con tin u ed developm ent of your in telligen ce an d ability. Your intelligen ce an d ability expresses talent. It’s what you’ve got to give the world; an d the decan ates occu pied by your dom inant planet and the Sun, Moon , ascendan t and Mercury give you special features an d qualities that set you apart as a u n iqu e, on e-of-a-kin d creation . These decan ates provide big data pertainin g to you an d you r life an d each bit of data requ ires a sen sible, in -depth assessm en t. There is n o room for error or m isu n derstan din g as you con duct an honest self-in quiry. So, du rin g a decan ate stu dy session you’re focused on learn in g som ething im portan t about yourself. You’re drilling down in to th e data to learn about the special features th at defin e you r life an d spiritu al poten tial. A heartbeat pow ered by a w orthw hile pu rpose has a high poten tial for spiritual achiev em en t. But it’s n ot a m atter of takin g the two, three or four outstan ding decan ates in your ch art an d givin g each on e a separate interpretation . You n eed to m erge their data in to your character as special distin guishin g features. 13 The special tren d given by a decan ate will be supported by other m arkers in th e ch art an d you’re diggin g into the data to un derstan d what it m ean s an d how it relates to you. The m ean ing of a decan ate is captured in its keyword description so it’s im portan t to u n derstan d wh at th ese keywords sign ify an d m ean . An d you can devote som e stu dy session s to learn in g about a decan ate’s pictograph an d the allegorical story it tells. Durin g each stu dy session you should focus on developin g a person al decan ate profile an d gettin g a clear un derstan ding of its role in your life. At the start som e data m ay relate to a quality th at you haven ’t yet observed so you don ’t even kn ow you’ve got it. But it shouldn’t be dism issed just because you don ’t have an im m ediate con n ection with it. Data th at isn ’t im m ediately obvious or person ally verifiable should n ot be con sidered flim sy or un certain . Over tim e it will be revealed to you through self-reflection . As you r con sciou sn ess con tinues to grow and develop, through experien ce, you’ll com e to see yourself in your decan ate profile. It provides sou l-deep in form ation that enlighten s you abou t you r soul; an d these sou l-deep person al insights will chan ge the way you see yourself. So your objective is to walk away from each decan ate stu dy session with a slightly better u n derstan din g of your special attributes, reason for bein g an d spiritu al poten tial. An d after each stu dy session you should evaluate the learn ing outcom e by asking you rself: ‘Wh at did I learn about m yself from m y decan ates?’ 14 Create a basic decanate profile Th e outstan din g decan ates in your birth chart give you special features, qualities, attribu tes an d developm ental experien ces an d you’re th e best person to create a basic decan ate profile. This is easy. It’s a just a m atter of system atically sequen cin g the data provided by the decan ates occu pied by th e dom in ant plan et an d the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercu ry in you r ch art. It’s a basic assessm en t th at doesn ’t con sider their astrodyn e scores. H ow you go about recordin g an d sequen cing your decan ate data is your call, but a written (typed) report that can be easily referen ced an d studied seem s best. At the very least you need to kn ow the keywords for each of the outstan ding decan ates in you r ch art. An d som e kn owledge of their pictograph im ages an d allegorical stories will h elp you to develop a deeper un derstandin g of wh at th e data m ean s. A basic decan ate profile can also consider an y decanate, not occupied by the dom inant planet or the Sun, Moon, ascendan t an d Mercury, where 2 or 3 plan ets are located. Your objective is to assess an d m easure the volum e of astrological en ergy expressin g throu gh each section of the zodiac at the tim e you were born . Whatever…th e decan ates occupied by your dom in ant plan et an d the Sun, Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercu ry provide you with a basic decan ate profile that gives you an d you r life story un ique features an d a special focus. Your basic decan ate data profile is a hierarchy of self-inform ation pertain in g to your reason for bein g an d life story both n ow an d in the etern al fu ture. 15 Fine-tune your decanate data with numbers Th e decan ates occu pied by th e dom in ant plan et an d the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercury in your birth chart provide you with a basic decan ate profile; an d som e quick an d easy birth chart sleuthin g allows you to fin e-tun e the im portan ce an d relevan ce of the data. Th e astrodyn e scores of the planets in your chart m easure their relative power an d th is m easu res th e volu m e of en ergy expressin g through the decan ates they occupy. So the astrodyn e scores of your dom in ant plan et an d the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercury allow you to fin e-tun e the assessm ent of your decan ate data u sin g n um bers. You r objective is to build an authentic decan ate profile using their astrodyne power scores an d con jun ction aspects to m easure the strength and influence of their decan ate data. You r ch art’s plan et power su m m ary, by listin g the plan ets in descen din g power order, allows you to see which planet, whether the Sun, Moon, ascendan t or Mercu ry, h as the stron gest influen ce in your chart. Your dom inant planet has the dom inant place in your life story. Your chart will reveal if the planets are closely bundled or scattered and it’s easy to observe the conjunction aspects. A conjunction aspect is form ed when two planets are near to each other in approxim ately the sam e degree of the zodiac. It brings their influence into prom inence. And if the two planets form ing a conjunction aspect are in the sam e decanate the influence of this decanate is accentuated. Th e two plan ets could be in adjacent decan ates, which accen tuates the in flu en ce of both decan ates, bu t the plan et with the highest astrodyn e score will determ in e wh ich of th e decan ates has the stronger in fluen ce. 16 There m ay be four, five or six active decan ates in your birth chart but the m ost reliable decan ate profile con siders the decan ates occupied by your dom in ant plan et an d th e Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercury an d factors in th eir astrodyn e scores an d con jun ction aspects. An d there’s a good chan ce that th e Su n , Moon , ascen dan t or Mercury is your dom in ant planet. If this is the case and the Sun, Moon, ascendant or Mercury is con jun ction an oth er plan et in th e sam e decan ate you can call th is decan ate your dom in an t decan ate. Its data will defin e your life story. Whatever…if the Sun, Moon, ascendant or Mercury is conjunction another planet in the sam e decanate it will be a data hot-spot. Mercu ry is often con ju n ction the Sun , it’s the m ost com m on recurrin g birth chart aspect, an d if they’re con jun ction in the sam e decan ate its in fluen ce is accen tu ated. If the Su n , Moon , ascen dan t or Mercury has a low astrodyn e score an d stan ds alon e in th e decan ate it occu pies the decan ate’s influen ce is correspon din gly redu ced. If your ascen dan t has a h igh er astrodyn e score than the Sun , Moon or Mercury an d is con jun ction another plan et in the decan ate it occupies the decan ate’s in flu en ce is pron oun ced. In the n atu ral order of th ings the decan ates occupied by the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t, Mercury an d dom in ant plan et give your life special features, but you can ’t ign ore th e astrological m essage bein g sent by a decan ate – n ot occu pied by th e Su n , Moon , ascen dan t or Mercury – where two or m ore plan ets are located. Th is decan ate’s in fluence will be accen tuated. The fin e-tun in g of your decan ate profile allows you to create a reliable hierarchy of decan ate data an d a crystal clear im age of your life story, reason for bein g an d spiritu al poten tial. 17 Working with your decanate data The decan ates occu pied by your dom in ant plan et an d the Sun , Moon , ascen dan t an d Mercury provide you with inform ation that you can learn an d turn in to kn owledge. It’s th ere to be learn ed, understood an d applied. It’s m ean t to be used in your daily life to guide your m ental, em otional and spiritu al developm en t. It gives the life you’re livin g, as defin ed by your birth chart an d local en viron m en t, a practical and spiritual dim en sion . Th e outstan din g decan ates in your birth chart provide valuable person al data which, wh en properly un derstood and applied, en sures a higher level of social u sefu ln ess an d satisfaction . Wh at’s in dicated m igh t be som ethin g to attain , an obstacle that you h ave to overcom e, a n atural talen t you can develop, som e advice on what to do, or a warn ing abou t a h arm fu l activity that you n eed to avoid. You r life jou rn ey in volves events and situations that cause states of con sciousn ess to develop. Th ese experien ces – som e pleasant an d fortun ate an d som e un pleasan t an d un fortu n ate – provide you with a person al curriculum in the sch ool of life. You ’re developing intelligen ce an d ability by learn in g to deal with an ever ch an gin g en viron m en t an d your capacity to keep on adaptin g by overcom in g problem s determ in es how well you survive. Now, at the hu m an stage of your journ ey, your birth chart puts you in the pictu re. But workin g with your decan ate data to guide your life is a whole n ew ball gam e. It’s a n ew idea – a n ew way of dealing with your existen ce – an d som ethin g you h ave probably n ever thought about before. No doubt you will experien ce life events that are com m on to m ost hu m an bein gs. You will receive an education, develop skills an d pursue a career. You’ll m arry, set u p hou se, raise children , experien ce sickn ess, go in to debt, travel an d have social fu n . 18 H ow well you do is en tirely u p to you, but you n eed to know that every experien ce provides an opportun ity to develop love an d wisdom – an d that’s why you’re here. Effective ch aracter developm ent spells worthwhile person al progress an d the decan ates in you r birth ch art provide spectacu lar in side in form ation that will allow you to stay focused on what you’re here for. You’re here to develop knowhow. It’s th e resu lt of experien ce an d its effectiven ess is n ot static. You can always do better. There’s always room for im provem en t an d usually lots of it. Elbert Ben jam in e wrote: ‘Spiritual astrology explains in the lan guage of sym bolical pictograph that the universe is an organic whole perm eated with the con sciou sn ess of God, an d is not, as the m aterialists would have us believe, just an aim less collection of m aterial particles obeying blin d physical laws.’ H e explain ed th at, as a h u m an soul, you have an im portan t role to play in th e realization of God’s Great Evolution ary Plan . You have a person al obligation to develop an d u se th e natural aptitudes displayed in your birth chart and that you will on ly reach you r highest level of social usefulness when your strongest n atu ral aptitu des are directed into proper chan n els. H e claim ed th at to be com plete ‘society m ust have statesm en, poets, artists, m usician s, writers, engin eers, architects, healers, n aturalists, astron om ers, m ath em atician s, leaders an d a variety of other person s each skilled along certain lin es.’ An d you ’re on e of these, or on e of the other person s. You also have a spiritu al potential that’s awaitin g developm ent. As your life u n folds the decan ates occupied by your birth ch art an d progressed plan ets will play a key role in what even tuates, but you will have to be astrology savvy an d very alert to detect what’s going on. But when you work with your decanate data you’ll keep your m ental, em otional an d spiritu al poten tial m ovin g forward. 19 Decanates and progressed aspects Your progressed ch art provides powerful in form ation. It brin gs your life u p to date an d allows you to m on itor an d m an age n ew events an d situ ation s as th ey arise. You can see wh at’s goin g on in your person al astrological en viron m en t an d the im pact it’s h avin g on your n ot-con scious m en tal world. The progressed aspects in your progressed chart are dyn am ic astrological even ts that let you kn ow wh at’s goin g on in your life right n ow. They provide you with powerfu l in form ation that, when heeded, allows you to get it right even wh en th e sign s poin t to m ishap an d m isfortun e. You n eed to kn ow about your progressed aspects. Progressed aspects turn on n ot-con scious desire an d you go where you r desires take you . An d wh en you kn ow the desire that’s gettin g stim ulated an d wh eth er th e stim ulation is harm on ious or discordant you can use this in side inform ation to m an age the situation m uch m ore effectively. The progressed plan ets are located by sign an d house an d when a progressed plan et form s a progressed aspect with a birth ch art or an other progressed plan et th e stage is set for a n ew developm ental experien ce. The com m on practice wh en assessin g a progressed aspect is to judge its n ature an d th e h ou se or hou ses it directly or in directly influen ces, but you should also consider the decanates occupied by the birth chart and progressed plan ets. Th e decan ates detail special developm ental experiences an d what they indicate can only occu r at astrologically opportun e tim es an d the progressed aspects in you r ch art tim e when birth ch art potential can becom e a person al reality. 20 So when assessin g you r progressed aspects don ’t ign ore the decanates an d their allegorical stories. You can use this inform ation to person al advantage. Life’s n ot a m atter of bein g a helpless puppet but of taking positive action an d m akin g th e m ost of wh at’s curren tly on offer. Th e decan ate occu pied by your progressed Sun defin es a special tren d that is curren tly in flu en cin g th e developm en t of your desire for power an d social sign ifican ce. An d wh en you r progressed Sun form s a progressed aspect you can u se the in form ation to gu ide your en deavors. Th e decan ate occu pied by your progressed ascen dan t reveals the special tren d th at is cu rren tly in flu en cing the developm ent of you r person ality. An d when you r progressed ascen dan t form s a progressed aspect you can use this decan ate data to gu ide you r person al developm ent. The progressed Moon ’s ten -m onth stay in each decan ate provides your m en tality with a brief – but im portant – special developm ental tren d. An d wh en the Moon form s a progressed aspect you can use the decan ate data to pilot your m en tal developm en t an d daily life. The decan ate in which progressed Mercury is located reveals the special tren d that is cu rren tly in flu en cin g the developm ent of your perception skills an d in telligen ce. An d wh en Mercury form s a progressed aspect you can use this data to gu ide you r intellectu al developm ent. The progressed plan ets provide en ergy that stim ulates n ot-con scious desire in to activity. Desire is th e drivin g force th at propels your life an d the decan ates occupied by the birth ch art an d progressed plan ets provide a rich detail of data that puts you in th e kn ow. This data is m ean t to be used – so use it. 21 Decanates and harmony and discord Elbert Ben jam in e explain ed that fam e (not celebrity) is reserved for those who perform som e n eeded work exception ally well an d that ‘every degree an d decan ate in th e zodiac offers equal opportunity for nobility an d greatn ess.’ But...‘the greatn ess that m ore easily m ay be attain ed by a person born in on e decan ate is n ot th e kin d of greatn ess that m ay be grasped readily by on e born in an oth er.’ H arm on y an d discord play a vital role in God’s school where souls develop in telligen ce an d ability through experien ce. Discord expresses as m isfortun e, m ishap and m istake an d you develop ability by overcom ing your m isfortu n es an d chan gin g or m odifyin g your m istake pron e thinking an d behavior. Th e h arm on y or discord pertain ing to som e decan ates, which can ’t be m easu red or com pared, con tribu tes to the developm ent of the special type of intelligen ce an d ability th ey defin e. Wh o’s to say if th e ten den cy towards violen ce in dicated by the first decan ate of Aries is worse th an th e greed in dicated by the secon d decan ate of Taurus, or the self-cen teredn ess indicated by the third decanate of Gem ini, or the dom estic intrigu e in dicated by th e first decan ate of Can cer, or the un scrupulous crim in al ten den cies indicated by the third decan ate of Libra, or the sportivegam blin g ten den cies in dicated by the third decan ate of Sagittarius. You n eed to kn ow that som e behaviors have attained social respectability when all the eviden ce in dicates that they’re a road to m isery an d m isfortun e. You r progressed ch art m aps the road you’ll travel an d the decan ates occupied by the progressed Sun, Moon, ascendant an d Mercury will give your life special tren ds in volvin g harm on y or discord that will play an im portant role in your in telligen ce an d ability developm ent. Tim es of discord are opportu n ities for developin g intelligen ce an d ability an d tim es of h arm on y are wh en you can m ove forward by puttin g th e kn ow-how you’ve developed in to practice. 22 How the decanate system works The sign s of th e zodiac are grouped into triplicities. The The The Th e sign s sign s sign s sign s of th e of th e of th e of th e fire triplicity are Aries, Leo an d Sagittarius earth triplicity are Taurus, Virgo an d Capricorn air triplicity are Gem in i, Libra an d Aquarius an d water triplicity are Can cer, Scorpio an d Pisces The first decan ate of each sign vibrates to the sign an d its rulin g plan et or plan ets. It expresses th e sign ’s full in fluen ce. The secon d decan ate of each sign vibrates to the n ext sign of the sam e triplicity an d its rulin g plan et or plan ets. An d th e th ird decan ate of each sign vibrates to the n ext sign of the sam e triplicity an d its rulin g plan et or plan ets. So… The first decan ate of Ar ie s is the Aries decan ate ruled by Mars Th e secon d decan ate is th e Leo decan ate ruler by the Sun an d The th ird decan ate the Sagittarius decan ate ruled by J u piter The first decan ate of Ta u r u s is the Taurus decan ate ruled by Ven us Th e secon d decan ate is th e Virgo decan ate ruled by Mercury an d Th e th ird decan ate is th e Capricorn decan ate ruled by Saturn The first decan ate of Ge m in i is the Gem in i decan ate ruled by Mercury Th e secon d decan ate th e Libra decan ate ruled by Ven us an d Th e th ird decan ate is th e Aqu arius decan ate ruled by Saturn an d Uranus The first decan ate of Ca n ce r is the Can cer decan ate ruled by th e Moon Th e secon d decan ate is th e Scorpio decan ate ruled by Mars an d Pluto an d The th ird decan ate is th e Pisces decan ate ruled by J upiter an d Neptun e 23 The first decan ate of Le o is the Leo decan ate ruled by the Sun Th e secon d decan ate is th e Sagittarius decan ate ruled by J upiter an d The th ird decan ate is th e Aries decan ate ruled by Mars The first decan ate of V ir g o is the Virgo decan ate ruled by Mercury Th e secon d decan ate is th e Capricorn decan ate ruled by Saturn an d The th ird decan ate is th e Taurus decan ate ruled by Venus The first decan ate of Libr a is the Libra decan ate ruled by Venus The secon d decanate is the Aquarius decanate ruled by Saturn and Uranus and The th ird decan ate is th e Gem ini decan ate ruled by Mercury The first decan ate of Scor p io is the Scorpio decanate ruled by Mars and Pluto Th e secon d decan ate is th e Pisces decan ate ruled by J upiter an d Neptun e an d Th e Th ird decan ate is th e Can cer decan ate ruled by the Moon The first decan ate of Sa g it t a r iu s is the Sagittarius decanate ruled by J upiter Th e secon d decan ate is th e Aries decan ate ruled by Mars an d Th e th ird decan ate is th e Leo decan ate ruled by the Sun The first decan ate of Ca p r icor n is the Capricorn decan ate ruled by Saturn Th e secon d decan ate is th e Taurus decan ate ruled by Ven us an d The th ird decan ate is th e Virgo decan ate ruled by Mercury The first decanate of Aqu a r iu s is the Aquarius decanate ruled by Saturn and Uranus Th e secon d decan ate is th e Gem in i decan ate ruled by Mercury an d The th ird decan ate is th e Libra decan ate ruled by Ven us an d The first decan ate of Pisce s is th e Pisces decan ate r uled by J upiter an d Neptun e Th e secon d decan ate is th e Can cer decan ate ruled by the Moon an d Th e th ird decan ate is th e Scorpio decan ate ruled by Mars an d Pluto 24