From an astronomical perspective, a degree is the division of the zodiacal circle into 360 parts. However, if we contemplate the nature of a degree, its essence ceases to be merely an astronomical component.
A degree combines two types of Earth’s motion – rotation around its axis and revolution around the Sun. The latter is a collective factor – the annual cycle concerns all of humanity as a single whole. The Earth’s rotation around its axis, associated with the alternation of day and night, is an individual factor that imparts unique characteristics to the incarnated person.
If we reflect further, the day, approximately equal to one degree, is a fundamental cycle of existence. Symbolically, it encompasses birth (morning), life (day), death (evening), and non-existence (night). Thus, a degree is a microcosm within the macrocosm, a self-contained universe with its own qualities and potentials.
It should be noted that today the topic of zodiacal degrees remains insufficiently explored in astrological literature. Mostly, one encounters interpretations of degree symbolism. In 1960, Reinhold Ebertin published the book “The Combination of Stellar Influences,” describing and interpreting degree symbols known as the “Sabian symbols.” There is also the Avestan tradition of degree symbolism, presented by P. Globa, the interpretation by J. Kefer usually referred to as “Classical,” the degree systems of Vronskiy, Israel, the Teboian calendar, and others.
In all these interpretations, many common elements can be found, yet differences exist both in interpretation and in the identification of “royal” and “destructive,” or critical, degrees.
Generally, most astrologers adhere to the following scheme for identifying degrees:
“Royal degrees”
- 18 degrees Aries
- 9 degrees Gemini
- 7 degrees Leo
- 25 degrees Virgo
- 13 degrees Scorpio
- 11 degrees Capricorn
- 30 degrees Aquarius
“Critical degrees”
- 23 degrees Aries
- 13 degrees Gemini
- 10 degrees Leo
- 1 degree Libra
- 19 degrees Scorpio
- 19 degrees Capricorn
- 4 degrees Pisces
According to general interpretation, royal degrees greatly enhance the expression of positive, favorable influences, while destructive degrees greatly amplify all negative, unfavorable manifestations. However, we believe that the more appropriate term would be not “destructive,” but “critical” degrees. Based on our observations, as well as the views of some other astrologers (including T.Yu. Sharova), critical degrees represent points where a person must undergo certain tests or trials. T. Sharova refers to these degrees as karmic points, intensifications of Divine energy, a kind of purgatory. Royal degrees, on the other hand, are places of concentration of Divine Love. Not by chance, if we move clockwise from Aries, royal degrees come first, followed by destructive ones. That is, first a person is shown how things should be, then offered a trial or test. In other words, when positioned at a critical degree, a person finds themselves in a situation where divine support may be minimal. Here, one must personally demonstrate maximum wisdom, love, and patience, bringing Divine Light to others. If a person still encounters extremely unpleasant, destructive events, or even self-destruction, this indicates insufficient purity and receiving consequences according to the degree of one’s impurity. T. Sharova calls these degrees those of “elevated purification from sin, from everything ungodly.” Those who have these degrees in their horoscope should rejoice – they possess unique opportunities, with the help of Holy Guardians, to radically transform the expression of the degree and accelerate the resolution of their New Testament karma, ultimately achieving spiritual advancement. If destructive degrees are interpreted unambiguously as degrees of evil, the principle of free will and choice is lost. Enter a destructive degree – and self-destruct?!
In addition to the above-mentioned “critical” degrees, in astrology it is customary to also designate the first 3 and the last 3 degrees of a zodiacal sign, especially 1 and 30, as critical.
A planet’s passage through a sign can be viewed as a mini-cycle within the full zodiacal cycle. Here, the “planet-sign” system operates. In the first half of the cycle, active, kinetic energy dominates.
Figuratively speaking, the planet learns to express its principle through the qualities of the sign. Since practice is needed for learning, at the beginning of the path the planet relies on action, operating primarily on the external plane.
However, in the first 3 degrees, especially at 1, the planet’s external activity is so intense that consciousness cannot keep up with controlling actions. Moreover, upon entering a sign, the planet encounters a new, unassimilated, and unfamiliar quality. Lacking experience in expressing its principle through these new energies, it feels very uncomfortable. A planet at the beginning of a sign resembles a child fascinated by the external world, highly active, whose movements are somewhat clumsy, frequently stumbling and falling even on level ground.
In the following degrees, the planet’s activity gradually decreases, transforming into conscious expression.
Particular attention should also be given to the 15th degree of a sign. It can be compared to the Full Moon, when the Moon’s instinctive nature is fully illuminated by solar consciousness. Having a planet at this position, a person can fully understand the mistakes of the first half of the cycle. The midpoint is a point of choice for the further life path. This choice will determine whether the outcome of the entire developmental cycle is evolutionary or involutionary.
Then, the planet begins consolidating the acquired experience, transforming active energy into passive potential. The planet’s action smoothly shifts from the external to the internal plane; the experience gained becomes embedded in the unconscious as habit. Consciousness takes an ever-diminishing part in the planet’s manifestations, while automatism and instinctiveness, inherent in mastered experience, increase.
The last three degrees, especially 30 degrees, are associated with the completion of the cycle. Energy has almost entirely shifted into potential; there is insufficient energy for external activity. The planet’s external activity is minimal; it lives an intense inner life. In ancient times, the final degree was called the degree of Anaretic, the degree of Fate, the Destroyer, and the degree of summing up. Understandably so, because before entering a new sign and acquiring new experience – a “new birth” – the planet must seemingly “clear the path,” freeing itself from no longer necessary external circumstances, carrying forward only the essence and meaning of the path traversed.
Not by chance, a person with a planet in the final degrees, regarding the functions of that planet, is considered mature, well-formed, and stable. Such a person’s karmic task will be related to summing up results according to the quality of the planet and the sign in which it is placed. In life, such a person will frequently encounter situations requiring completion, wisdom, reflection, and the revelation of inner meanings of existence. For this reason, the Anaretic degree is also a degree of rebirth, a degree of transition from one spiritual level to another. This is especially true when the considered planet is activated by Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto, or when the planet itself is one of these.
In the final degree, a planet always relates to the completion of a certain life cycle.
Particularly noteworthy are the first degrees of Aries and the last degrees of Pisces. They are also often called the gray zone of the horoscope. They gain special significance because they are not merely the first and last degrees of another minor cycle. They initiate and conclude the entire zodiacal cycle of experience.
The first degrees of Aries represent a new beginning, accompanied by a special zest for life and optimism. Here, the first degree manifests with doubled strength. For a planet positioned at these degrees, it means constantly encountering entirely new experiences throughout life, with the task of learning how to integrate and express them.
A planet located at the final degree of Pisces signifies that it has not only completed a full zodiacal cycle, but is also finalizing the process of assimilating the accumulated experience. A planet in this position possesses maximum experience not only in terms of the qualities of one sign, but across the entire zodiac, indicating readiness to transition into a new, global cycle.
Astrologer Natalia Perestoronina ©
