Astrology Degrees and Meaning

Did you know that the astrological position of the planets at a given age can be used to foretell big changes in one’s life? According to astrological thought, major shifts in your destiny can be predicted based on the degrees to which the planets are positioned relating to that specific age. Some individuals claim to have experienced profound events during these periods, while others remain skeptically curious. However, the allure of using astrology to decipher the lives of others at these ages is overshadowed by one undeniable truth: all the pivotal moments in your entire existence will have unfolded before you even reach the age of 30. Picture the expansive zodiac chart, spanning 360 degrees, yet only 30 degrees allocated to each of the 12 signs.

Solar Degree: A Defining Moment in Your Life

One of the most significant indicators of the age of a big life event in the horoscope is the Sun’s degree. In the book The 7 Secrets of Synchronicity: Your Guide to Finding Meaning in Signs Big and Small, the author gives an example of this:

If your Sun is positioned at, say, 25 degrees of your sign, you might meet your spouse at age twenty-five or your first child may be born. A Sun at 8 degrees could mean your parents divorced when you were eight years old, or you were admitted to a gifted program in third grade that influenced the rest of your education. In Reya’s birth chart, the Sun is at 24 degrees and 58 minutes of Aquarius (two minutes short of 25 degrees). When Trish first looked at her chart, she asked Reya what life sculpting event happened to her between the ages of twenty-five and twenty-six. Just twelve days before her twenty-sixth birthday, Reya “was hit by a train and was unconscious for four days. That event took me out of a very destructive lifestyle into my first foray with alternative medicine,” she wrote. “Could that be it?” You bet. …If you were born on October 14, 1950, for example, your Sun would be in 20 degrees of Libra. This means there may have been a defining moment in your life when you were around twenty years old. Give it six months or so on either side. If you’re not yet at that age that corresponds with the degree of your natal Sun, keep in mind that some defining event may happen when you reach that age.

In The Art of Predictive Astrology, there is another idea:

Many times the degrees will indicate exact time frames. It can be very literal and accurate. For example, natally I have Pluto in the seventh house at 24 degrees Cancer square Uranus. Guess how long I was married the first time? Twenty-four-years. Degrees can indicate age, too, but more commonly, they indicate time. I have a client for whom the degrees indicated age. Twenty-two degrees of Aries is on her seventh house cusp, and that was her age when she got married the first time. When she turned fifty, she married for a second time. This is something I make a note of. I have also seen this type of thing present with divorce. 

Other Degree Meanings

Carol Rushman’s astrological readings shed light on the significance of specific degrees in your life, unveiling your inclination towards engaging in risky behavior. According to Rushman, individuals with a strong presence of the 7th degree in Virgo or Pisces may exhibit tendencies towards promiscuity. Furthermore, when a planet stations precisely with this degree in either of these signs, they begin clandestine love affairs. The author identifies these critical degrees as triggers for crises. In the cardinal signs, these degrees are 0, 13, and 26. In the fixed signs, they are 8-9 and 21-22, while in the mutable signs, they are 4 and 17. Additionally, degrees 0 and 29 across all modalities carry a heightened intensity, intensifying circumstances in crucial areas.

Furthermore:

When I’m doing a chart and I see planets at 27, 28, and 29 degrees, I make a note because this person has the potential to achieve something special. I have had many clients who have planets at these degrees who are very rich. I have a lot of millionaire clients who have enormous real estate holding, with their Sun at 29 Cancer. One year I had two students in one of my classes who both had their Sun at 29 Cancer (family) who were blessed with inherited wealth. One had a family farm, and the land was developed into a commercial project that catapulted her into the millionaire category. The other student inherited family real estate and the family business. I have another client who is a multimillionaire with Saturn at 29 Capricorn (Capricorn needs to build and rules construction). He started a small construction company that grew to be a large internal business. I have seen 29 Taurus and Scorpio also indicate bankruptcy. These two signs can either go to extreme wealth or financial disaster.

Weak or Powerful Degrees?

In the realm of astrology, Pat Geisler delves into the waning impact of a planet situated at the 29th degree in the renowned book “Plain Vanilla Astrologer.” According to Geisler’s analysis, this pivotal degree holds the potential to signify various challenges, including potential health concerns, financial obstacles, fluctuations in mental stability, a likelihood of remaining unmarried (for the Sun), struggles with effective parenting, impeded emotional growth, difficulties with fertility and childbirth (in relation to the Moon), a waning interest in sexual matters, and even a notable aversion to music (associated with Venus), among other possible manifestations.

What I think it means is that such people have major shifts that happen in their lifetimes in the areas ruled by those planets in those last degrees. I think the 29th degree always points to an element of difficulty. The 29th degree is a degree of being “worn out” or sometimes shows a planet there lacking in ability to manifest smoothly. It can show difficulties in functioning in the normal way. There can be dramatic climbs to the top and sudden falls. It’s as if the 29th degree is the straw of the old and the individual looks forward to the new sign and planets which often express something new from the oncoming sign far more openly than the previous one. Let’s start with the Sun. In a man’s chart it is his identity, his career and his health. The 29th degree shows at some point there will be a major decision which will alter his career path. It will not be merely a new job but a whole new direction and an actual change of career. It may also imply poor decision making. Or poor timing. It’s a good idea to think of the beginning of the sign as the strongest area of it – or the place where its qualities manifest the most purely. Any planet at the 29th degree in my opinion acts weakly in terms of the sign’s qualities and presents the chart with a fuzzy image of that area of life or the people it represents. Example: Women with Suns in 29 degrees plus minutes often marry men who mean well but who are – in some way – somewhat ineffectual. They may have trouble keeping a good job, or their parenting skills are non existent, or they are born followers, or too passive, or have emotional problems or something. Maybe they just can’t manage money and screw up the budget until you take it away from them, but they lack something noticeably. I mentioned that women with the Sun in the 29th degree may have passive or ineffectual husbands. I used those terms as examples of possible problems – not the only ones. I would not have wanted the man Rose Kennedy married no matter how rich and powerful he was – he was apparently not a very nice man and made her life miserable, according to stories written about him. Her Sun was in 29 degrees…There are a surprising number of famous people with 29 degree Suns. Actress Goldie Hawn’s “husband” isn’t legit. She and Kurt Russel have yet to formalize a life situation of many years that leaves all their grown children technically bastards. And yes, I know – it’s fashionable nowadays to have children out of wedlock, but who doesn’t love who enough in these deals?”

Astrology Degrees

C.E.O Carter’s An Encyclopedia of Psychological Astrology is based on some degree work. Carter lists degrees for those associated with astrology as being around 27 Leo-Aquarius.

11 degrees Virgo-Pisces are also important.

Saturn is rising in Virgo at 10 degrees and 42 minutes in my own chart.

Liz Greene, one of the most popular psychology astrologers, has the Sun in Virgo at 11 degrees.

Carol Rushman says that 24 degrees of Cancer is regarded as an astrologer’s degree.

Cardinal Signs:

5-degree planets in Aries-Libra may show cruelty and homicidal tendency.

If you are going to get murdered (you’re awake now!) nativities generally show afflictions in one or more of the cardinals, about 17 degrees of the cardinals, and the end of the fixed signs (less common).

7 degrees Capricorn gives great speaking ability.

Immoral souls (like most of us) have 8 degrees Aries-Libra.

8 degrees Cancer-Capricorn is for paralysis.

11 degrees Cancer for Alcoholism.

15 degrees cardinals are the suicides.

22 degrees Libra for artistic ability.

24 degrees of the cardinals for music ability.

Fixed Signs:

Planets at the beginning of Aquarius for obesity.

6 degrees Scorpio for a love of the sea.

9 degrees fixed signs for alcoholism.

16 degrees Taurus for homicidal tendency.

20-25 degrees of the fixed signs for homicidal tendencies.

25 degrees of the fixed for alcoholism or suicide.

Mutable Signs:

6-degrees Gemini-Sagittarius for morbid fears.

9 degrees mutable for homicidal tendency.

22 mutable for insanity (I have the Moon in my natal chart on an insane degree! Maybe I took a wrong turn at 22 and ended up in Crazytown, or maybe I’m just committed to being a nut for the next 22 years. Who knows? 

26 degrees mutable for suicide.

Charles Carter also says this about the degrees in the natal chart:

No attempt is given for reasons for the connection between these areas and certain effects, nor can you always understand why the same area should produce apparently quite unrelated results. Our knowledge of the influences is still empirical and is only in the earliest stage from even that point of view. Future research may explain the basis of these facts.