Come forth, o children, under the stars, & take your fill of love! (AL I, 12)

Signs of the Zodiac

The following table gives the signs of the Zodiac and their principal correspondences:

Points to note:

• The signs are alternately allocated to the elements fire, earth, air and water, in that order;
• The signs are alternately allocated a modality of cardinal, fixed and mutable, in that order. One implication of this is that there is a cardinal, a fixed and a mutable sign for each of the four elements. A further implication of this is that the seasons, as reckoned in the modern calendar, always begin with the entry into a cardinal sign (Aries for spring, Cancer for summer, Libra for autumn and Capricorn for winter);
• The allocation of planetary rulers is symmetrical around Cancer and Leo, in the order Mercury-Venus-Mars-Jupiter-Saturn which corresponds to their actual order in the Solar System (if we leave out the earth). Mercury, Saturn and Venus together rule the Air and Earth signs, whilst Mars, The Sun, Jupiter and The Moon rule the Fire and Water signs.

(Note: start dates given for the signs of the zodiac are average dates, and can vary by a day or two either side depending on the year.)

Each sign can also be subdivided into three decans. With thirty-six decans, each represents ten degrees of sky, hence the name:

Points to note:

• The three decans of each sign are called the ascendant, the succedent and the cadent, in that order;
• There are two main methods of assigned planetary rulers to the decans. The first — in the Ruler¹ column — was used by Aleister Crowley. Rulers are assigned to the decans in the order Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, The Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon, in that order, beginning with Mars for the first decan of Aries. This is the natural order of the planets in the Solar System, if we exchange the Sun with the Earth (the Solar System was originally believed to be Earth-centric) and put the Moon after Mercury, as the Moon is closest to the Earth. Since there are thirty-six decans, and seven planets, each planet rules five decans, with the exception of Mars which rules six;
• The second method of assigning planetary rulers — in the Ruler² column — arises from the practice of assigning the other signs of the same element to the decans. The first decan is influenced by the sign itself. The second decan is influenced by the next sign of that element in the cardinal-fixed-mutable order, and the third decan is influenced by the remaining sign in that element. Under this system, each decan is ruled by the planet that rules the sign having the influence. An advantage of this method is that the first decan of each sign is ruled by the planet which rules the sign itself, which is what we might intuitively expect;
• The small cards of the tarot are assigned to the decans, with the exception of the Aces. Three cards each are assigned to the cardinal, fixed and mutable signs of the respective element, in that order. The titles of the cards in the table above are taken from Crowley's Thoth deck.

© Copyright 2006–2024 Erwin Hessle

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