The Ascendant and Morphology
In the study of House I, the decan in which the degree of the Ascendant falls provides crucial details to describe the physical appearance and the intimate morphology of the native.
Astrological Precision
The 36 Decans: Hidden Nuances of the Zodiac
Discover the astrological use of the 36 decans. Dive into the planetary sub-influences of each sign to refine the interpretation of the natal chart.
Definition
A decan in astrology is a subdivision of each zodiac sign into three parts of 10°, making 36 decans in total. Each decan is ruled by a planet that nuances the expression of the sign.
Astrological decans bring a precision often ignored in classic horoscopes. Why can two natives of the same sign have such different personalities? The answer lies in the decans. Discover here the 36 decans of the zodiac, their ruling planets and their concrete influence on your chart.
Where do the decans come from in astrology?
The origin of the decans (sometimes called faces or decanates) is extremely ancient. As early as 2100 BC, Egyptian priests and astronomers were already using 36 groups of stars to measure time. Each decan rose at dawn on the side of the ascendant for a period of about ten days.
The year then counted 36 decans totalling 360 days, to which five epagomenal days were added. At that time, these stars were not mere markers: they were linked to protective deities and to powerful practices of magic and healing.
Around the 2nd century BC, this Egyptian system was absorbed by Hellenistic astrology. The zodiac of 12 signs was mathematically divided into three equal parts of 10 degrees each. This gives us our perfect matrix: 3 decans per sign, that is 36 decans for the whole zodiacal wheel.
The Mathematical Matrix
Today, the decans are mainly used to bring nuance within a single sign. A planet in Aries will not express itself in the same way at 2° (1st decan) as at 25° (3rd decan).
Each decan is associated with a secondary ruling planet. The most reliable and oldest system is based on the Chaldean Order of the planets, from the slowest to the fastest: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon.
In the complex calculation of essential dignities (to find the Almuten of a chart), a planet located in its own decan (or 'face') gains a minor dignity, granting it 1 point of strength.
The Technical Use of the Decans
The decans are not only used in psychology; they are high-level technical tools in traditional and medical astrology.
Medical Astrology (Decumbitures)
Although no strict part of the body is assigned to the decans, the medical astrologer uses them to fine-tune their diagnosis when studying the chart of the illness (the decumbiture).
Calculating Lifespan (Alcocoden)
In medieval predictive techniques, the position of the giver of years (Alcocoden) in a decan helps to refine life expectancy and long-term vitality.
Annual Profections
In this leading predictive technique, you observe the exact position of the lord of the year within its decan to colour the events of the 12 months ahead.
The Encyclopedia of the 36 Decans
Here is the analysis of the 36 decans based on the Chaldean system, enriched by the work of Manilius and the hermetic syntheses of C.C. Zain.
Aries
The visceral urge to begin, to undertake and to conquer.
0° à 10°Mars
The PioneerActivity
Raw energy. The impulse is forthright; this is the scout-warrior, the one who clears the path without asking permission. Enthusiasm, ardour, sometimes vengeance.
Strengths
A phenomenal capacity to get started. Ideal for launching projects or breaking taboos.
Challenges
Learning patience and channelling irritability. Without a target, it is pure agitation.
10° à 20°Sun
The LeaderExaltation
The solar influence brings a social and noble dimension. It is no longer only about acting, but about embodying action. Love of power, magnanimity, command.
Strengths
Natural charisma and great loyalty. Able to inspire crowds.
Challenges
Pride. The visceral need for recognition.
20° à 30°Venus
The Passionate ArtistPropaganda
The impulse is softened by a search for beauty. The energies are directed toward an ideal, a philosophy or passionate love.
Strengths
Great creativity and idealism. Burning for a cause with elegance.
Challenges
Emotional instability. The conflict between Martian action and Venusian gentleness.
Taurus
Acts calmly, consolidates, and anchors matter with endurance.
0° à 10°Mercury
The Practical MindDetermination
Intelligence applied to matter. The builder who thinks before acting. A concern for wealth, sometimes to the point of being shy or secretive about it.
Strengths
Concrete analysis, commercial skill and material intuition.
Challenges
Over-intellectualising one's needs or giving in to the fear of lack.
10° à 20°Moon
The ProtectorThe Struggle
The peak of the bond with nature and family. A need for a secure home. Fixity in goals and great artistic potential.
Strengths
Great empathy, a talent for creating peace and potential political success.
Challenges
Excessive attachment to the past and an obsession with material comfort.
20° à 30°Saturn
The BuilderMastery
Structure and absolute endurance. This is the relentless worker. It grants remarkable initiatory aptitudes if it overcomes physical limits.
Strengths
Natural authority, very long-term projects, immense ambition.
Challenges
The loneliness brought on by too high a demand on oneself.
Gemini
Perpetual movement, the circulation of information and ideas.
0° à 10°Jupiter
The ExplorerIntuition
A thirst for vast knowledge. Easy assimilation; this is the decan of intellectual giants who seek the 'why' of everything.
Strengths
Social ease, optimism, the ability to see opportunities everywhere.
Challenges
A tendency to exaggerate and to scatter oneself.
10° à 20°Mars
The JousterLoyalty
Fire meets air. A dynamic personality, quick with repartee. Communication is a weapon, but guided by a strong conscience and fidelity to the ideal.
Strengths
A combative spirit, fast execution, a talent for persuasion.
Challenges
Verbal impatience and wounding irony.
20° à 30°Sun
The LuminaryReason
The Sun illuminates the mind. This decan seeks to shine through its ideas and its network. Sharp intelligence and great conceptual clarity.
Strengths
Clarity of expression, intellectual radiance, a sense of organisation.
Challenges
A need to shine too much through the mind to satisfy an insecure ego.
Cancer
Pure emotion, karmic memory and the visceral need for protection.
0° à 10°Venus
The Sensitive SoulWhims
Venus softens the lunar nature. A deep love of the home, great dramatic and poetic sensitivity. Frequent romantic intrigues.
Strengths
A gift for comforting hospitality, absolute devotion to one's loved ones.
Challenges
Marked emotional dependence and a chronic difficulty saying 'no'.
10° à 20°Mercury
The StorytellerRevelation
A liveliness of mind that analyses emotions. This is the decan of writers and mediums. Unsuspected energy and resources.
Strengths
A remarkable ability to put words to deep feelings.
Challenges
Inner nervousness. The need to separate the mind from emotional turmoil.
20° à 30°Moon
The DreamerThe Quest
The Moon in its absolute home. Mystery, overflowing imagination, a love of nature and its buried secrets.
Strengths
Intuition bordering on clairvoyance, an extraordinary emotional memory.
Challenges
Extremely changeable moods (moody) and a latent dissatisfaction.
Leo
The energy of radiance, the pride of being and creative force.
0° à 10°Saturn
The SovereignCommand
The warmth of Leo structured by Saturn. Serious ambition, a sense of responsibility. This is the empire-builder who commands with fervour.
Strengths
Unshakeable will and above-average perseverance.
Challenges
Apparent austerity, a fear of failure hidden beneath the need for admiration.
10° à 20°Jupiter
The MagnanimousReform
Leo at its social peak. Enthusiasm, honours. The courage of one's opinions and the ability to persuade in order to reform society.
Strengths
Irresistible charisma, generosity, a capacity for massive influence.
Challenges
Overconfidence, pride and excessive theatricality.
20° à 30°Mars
The ChampionAmbition
Solar fire unites with the fire of the warrior. He does not wait for the crown, he conquers it. Love of power combined with a talent for leading people.
Strengths
Inexhaustible energy to defend his loved ones or his ideals.
Challenges
Extreme touchiness. Tolerates no form of resistance.
Virgo
Methodical analysis, purification and absolute devotion to service.
0° à 10°Sun
The PerfectionistCompletion
A will to perfect one's environment. The Virgo who seeks to shine through the impeccable quality of their work. A mind in perpetual activity.
Strengths
An unparalleled eye for detail, total loyalty, perfect assimilation.
Challenges
Paralysing self-criticism. The need to be indispensable wears out those around them.
10° à 20°Venus
The ArtisanExperience
Charm and diplomacy ally with method. A taste for beauty and for care. Aptitudes for undertaking gigantic experimental work.
Strengths
Natural diplomacy, a talent for harmonising daily life.
Challenges
Excessive modesty, difficulty expressing one's vulnerabilities.
20° à 30°Mercury
The ExpertRenunciation
Mercury in exaltation and domicile. An absolute intellectual radar. This decan predisposes to relentless work for others, sometimes to the point of sacrifice.
Strengths
Mathematical logic, lightning analysis, technical expertise.
Challenges
Chronic anxiety, nervousness and a hypochondriac tendency.
Libra
The quest for balance, social harmony and the aesthetics of relationship.
0° à 10°Moon
The ConciliatorPolitics
An immense receptivity to atmospheres. A visceral need for peace. Creative energy in human association. Cannot bear solitude.
Strengths
Disarming charm, gentleness, great social intelligence.
Challenges
Fluctuating moods, an inability to decide out of fear of displeasing.
10° à 20°Saturn
The ArbiterIndependence
Saturn (exalted here) brings an iron integrity. This is the Libra who defends the Law. Revolt against constraint and activism.
Strengths
The wisdom of arbitration, responsibility, fidelity to principles.
Challenges
Emotional coldness and a level of demand unliveable in a couple.
20° à 30°Jupiter
The GathererAtonement
An extroverted, worldly and optimistic decan. A taste for pleasures. The astrological neighbourhood of Scorpio sometimes demands heavy sacrifices.
Strengths
Generosity, a talent for organising, literary or social success.
Challenges
Snobbery, luxurious spending, relational superficiality.
Scorpio
Raw inner energy, transformation, death and regeneration.
0° à 10°Mars
The SurvivorAbundance
Mars in its nocturnal domicile. Raw, instinctive energy. Strong sexual impulses and a vital magnetism offering gifts of healing.
Strengths
An incredible capacity to overcome traumas. A formidable striking force.
Challenges
Defensive aggression, paranoia and tenacious resentment.
10° à 20°Sun
The StrategistResponsibility
The Sun lights up the abyss. An intimidating presence, a great need for control. Called to sacrifice the animal part in order to rise.
Strengths
Silent charisma, absolute loyalty, a mafioso power of attraction.
Challenges
Occult pride, a devouring and manipulative thirst for power.
20° à 30°Venus
The AlchemistTalent
Dark romanticism and devastating passion. Extreme emotions. If the drive is sublimated, it leads to the heights of artistic and spiritual talent.
Strengths
An immense capacity to love, profound aesthetics, sublimation.
Challenges
Morbid jealousy, self-destruction out of fear of abandonment.
Sagittarius
Spatial and spiritual expansion, the quest for meaning and enthusiasm.
0° à 10°Mercury
The SeekerPiety
The eternal student. Curiosity, languages, transmission. It leads to cosmic consciousness and an unconditional love of life.
Strengths
Intellectual agility, a talent for oratory and open-mindedness.
Challenges
Chronic scattering, speech faster than thought.
10° à 20°Moon
The NomadExploration
An instinctive dimension. A migratory and pioneering instinct. Travels ceaselessly (physically or mentally) to find its cosmic home.
Strengths
Philosophical intuition, total cultural adaptability.
Challenges
A flight forward as soon as daily life becomes heavy or routine.
20° à 30°Saturn
The SageIllumination
Saturn stabilises the flame. Wisdom, law, dogma. The highest state of consciousness if it transmutes its animal energy into lasting truth.
Strengths
Rare perseverance, moral authority, a superior teaching talent.
Challenges
Severity, dogmatism and a complex of spiritual superiority.
Capricorn
Vertical ambition, the structure of time and social achievement.
0° à 10°Jupiter
The CEOOrganisation
A broad vision coupled with pragmatism. A precursor of systems. He knows how to seize his chance to climb the social mountain.
Strengths
A sharp business sense, political or corporate organisation.
Challenges
Cold opportunism, dissatisfaction despite material victories.
10° à 20°Mars
The ConvictMartyrdom
Mars in exaltation. A tireless workaholic. Makes the most of any atmosphere and can sacrifice himself for the evolution of a work.
Strengths
Literally superhuman physical endurance and mental resilience.
Challenges
Extreme harshness toward himself, a major risk of burn-out.
20° à 30°Saturn
The HermitIdealism
Saturn in double dignity. Sobriety, integrity, absolute patience. The ability to make the ideal concrete through intense solitary labour.
Strengths
Unfailing reliability, a wisdom that grows more beautiful with age.
Challenges
Pessimism, coldness and isolation from the world of pleasures.
Aquarius
Radical innovation, human brotherhood and intellectual freedom.
0° à 10°Venus
The ReformerOriginality
A need to please while remaining independent. Romantic friendships. A wild inventiveness to make society more beautiful and free.
Strengths
Total tolerance, extraordinary charm, an avant-garde aesthetic vision.
Challenges
A permanent tearing between the need for attachment and a thirst for freedom.
10° à 20°Mercury
The InventorInspiration
Tenfold mental agility. The intellectual ahead of their time. Inexhaustible resources and information 'downloaded' from the invisible.
Strengths
Technological genius, lightning solutions in the face of dead ends.
Challenges
Cynical coldness, cerebral nervousness, disconnection from the body.
20° à 30°Moon
The HumanistRepression
Emotion injected into rebellion. Invests body and soul in the collective. The repression of carnal desires for the benefit of the 'cause'.
Strengths
Sincere ecological or social devotion, a utopian imagination.
Challenges
Erratic moods, instability and a refusal of individual happiness.
Pisces
The dissolution of the ego, the mystical ocean and universal empathy.
0° à 10°Saturn
The InitiateTruth
Silent wisdom. Saturn structures the haze of Pisces. Mysticism, latent clairvoyance, and an esoteric understanding of phenomena.
Strengths
Deep meditative concentration, spiritual integrity.
Challenges
Melancholy, phobias, an autistic withdrawal to protect oneself from the world.
10° à 20°Jupiter
The HealerSacrifice
Jupiter in domicile. Infinite benevolence, unshakeable faith. A mission to relieve the physical and moral ills of others.
Strengths
Saving optimism, gifts of care, spiritual channelling.
Challenges
No psychic boundaries: an exhausting saviour/martyr syndrome.
20° à 30°Mars
The CommittedVicissitudes
Mars activates the dreamer. He embodies his visions with passion. A multiplicity of careers, a miraculous adaptability to all vicissitudes.
Strengths
Active creativity, an unsuspected strength beneath the apparent gentleness.
Challenges
Emotional storms, existential chaos and self-sabotage.
Frequently asked questions about the decans
How do you find your decan in astrology?+
To find your decan, locate your birth date within the degrees of your solar sign. The 1st decan covers the first 10 degrees (0-10°), the 2nd decan degrees 10-20°, and the 3rd decan degrees 20-30°. Each decan is associated with a ruling planet that nuances your profile.
How many decans are there in the zodiac?+
There are 36 decans in total in the zodiac: 3 decans per sign, for the 12 signs. This system goes back to ancient Egypt and was integrated into Western astrology to refine the interpretation of each sign.
Do the decans change the interpretation of a sign?+
Yes. Two people of the same sign but of different decans will have distinct nuances. The ruling planet of the decan colours the expression of the sign: an Aries of the 1st decan (Mars) will be more impulsive than an Aries of the 3rd decan (Jupiter), who will be more expansive and philosophical.
Are the decans used in horoscopes?+
Some horoscopes use the decans to refine forecasts and differentiate natives of the same sign. In professional astrology, the decans are mainly used in the natal chart to specify the degrees of the planets and in the study of exact aspects.