Subdivisions of the Zodiac Signs

Most modern astrologers emphasize the positions of the planets in the 12 zodiac signs. However, all 30 degrees of Aries do not have the same Aries quality! All 30 degrees of Taurus do not have the same Taurus quality! For example, according to the the system of decanates used by William Lilly, the first 10 degrees of Aries has more of an Aries quality than the last 10 degrees because the first 10 degrees of Aries has a Mars quality and the last 10 degrees of Aries has a Venus quality. FIgure 1 shows the 36 decanates according to William Liilly.

Figure 1. The Decanates according to WIlliam Lilly

Another term for “decanate” is “decan”.

Decanates have been used for at least 4,000 years. “Decans first appeared in the 10th Dynasty (2100 BCE) on coffin lids.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decans

Subdivisions of the zodiac are also mentioned in the Rig Veda, which was written between 1500 and 1200. BC. Here is an example of a statement in the Rig Veda:

“The wheel of law with twelve spokes does not decay as it revolves around heaven. Oh Fire, here your 720 sons abide.”

Vedic astrologer David Frawley’s commentary on this text in the Rig Videa is: “The circle of the zodiac has twelve signs. It has 720 half degrees or twins, making 360 total.” https://vedanet.com/2012/06/13/vedic-origins-of-the-zodiac-the-hymns-of-dirghatamas-in-the-rig-veda/

Thus we know that decanates were used in Egypt around 2100 BC and there almost certainly were half-degree areas used in Asia around 1350 BC.

Some historians state that the zodiac of 12 equal sized divisions of 30 degrees was developed around 500 BC (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac#Early_history). Therefore, from the earliest beginning of zodiac signs, it was understood that not all 30 degrees of a zodiac sign have the same quality.

Navamsa Signs

There are many divisions of the zodiac: dwadasamsa signs, navamsa signs, saptamsa signs, Hellenistic bounds, nakshatras, lunar mansions, and others.

Perhaps the most beautiful of these divisions of the zodiac are the navamsa signs! Navamsa signs are the Queen of zodiac subdivisions.

In Vedic astrology there are many “divisional charts”. Another term for dvisional chart is “varga”. The navamsa chart is the most important divisional chart in Vedic astrology.

Figure 2. The 9 navamsa zodiacs and 108 navamsa signs

There are 9 navamsa zodiacs in the zodiac.
There are 9 navamsa signs in each zodiac sign.
There are 40 degrees in each navamsa zodiac.

9 and 40 often appear in mythology. Here are 5 interesting examples of the numbers 9 and 40 in mythology and biology:

1. 9 and 40 are similar in mythology.

2. 9 is the number of the Great Mother, and of preparation and protection. 40 also has some of these qualities.

3. There are 9 months of pregnancy, which equals 40 weeks.

4. Catholics pray to Mary for 9 days in a ritual known as a novena.

5. Jesus was in the desert for 40 days preparing for his trials.

Interpreting Navamsa Signs

In Vedic astrology the navamsa chart is used to get information about marriage, your spiritual path, and to ease your way through life.

My view is that the navamsa chart helps us feel connected, integrated, and an important member of our village, family, social organizations and clubs. The navamsa chart inclines us to have friends and colleagues, and it brings healing, wholeness, and a sense of fulfillment. The navamsa chart is gentle and peaceful.

One simple way to use the navamsa chart is this: A person with a lot of planets conjunct in the navamsa chart with small orbs has strong navamsa chart qualities. This inclines the person to be involved in teaching, counseling, or some other helping profession or in some other way to provide community service.

In the United States the leading politicians of the Democratic party have strong navamsa charts.

Negative possibilities: I believe that everything in astrology has positive and negative potentials. The negative tendency of the navamsa chart is that the interest in being a participating member of one's community is so strong that there is a tendency to not confront bad behavior. There is a tendcy to indulge people who are lazy or are taking advantage of others.

The Beauty and Magic of the Navamsa Chart

the navamsa signs weave a tapestry with the 12 zodiac signs. This tapestry brings a sweetness and help to us when face challenges and difficulties.

As we all know, life can be difficult. There is disease, poverty, greed, death, frustration, and unsatisfied desires.

Figure 3. Beautiful patterns in the navamsa chart

But fortunately we also experience mercy, kindness, the beauty of nature, a mother's love, and glorious music and art. In our darkest hours we often find help and doors open. The way that the navamsa signs are woven together with the 12 zodiac signs portrays the God's blessings and mercy as a story written in the heavens.

The first navamsa sign of each zodiac sign is the cardinal sign of that element.

The cadinal navamsa sign at the beginning of each zodiac sign gives each zodiac sign a good start. Mythologically and symbolically you can think of this as God's mercy, and the blessing of the Divine Mother.

The Blessing of the Navamsa Chart: The navamsa chart is the ointment that soothes, and it is the feeling of being connected to a community and to being a part of all that surrounds you. It brings the feeling that you are NOT a foreigner or unappreciated or alienated . . . you are a part of something bigger than yourself.

You play a part in the community and your participation brings brings well-being to others. Without you, something important is missing. Every person in the community is important. Thus, the navamsa chart is a chart of marriage and the spiritual path because it brings you to a place of wholeness and healing by being connected and being an important part of all that surrounds you.

Vargottoma is considered a special blessing in the birth chart. Vargottoma occurs where the navamsa sign and the regular zodiac sign are the same. This results in an alignment of your life with the help and support of the Divine Mother.

Figure 4. Vargottama occurs at the 4 cardinal points and the middle of fixed signs

Vargottoma occurs at the 4 cardinal points (3°20' before and after 0-Aries, 0-Cancer, 0-Libra, and 0-Capricorn) and at the fixed cross (1°40' before and after the middle of the 4 fixed signs Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius)! The Divine Mother helps us at these critical transition points!

It is a kind of divine grace that each zodiac sign begins with the cardinal navamsa sign of that element. It is an indication that God loves us and we can experience kindness and good will rather than conflict and war. Each of the 12 zodiac signs, which are also the 12 stations of the cross and the 12 labors of Hercules, is blessed by an alignment with the cardinal navamsa sign of that element to help initiate that station of the cross with the blessing of the Divine Mother's love.

The Christian emphasis on God's goodness did not begin 2,000 years ago. Christianity gave clear expression to the idea of God's mercy and grace, which is in a sense a mythic idea that transcends specific religions and cultures, but is also highlighted and expressed clearly in some theological philosophies.

To summarize: each of the 12 zodiac signs begins with the healing (9) action (cardinal sign) of the cardinal navamsa sign.

Summarizing the importance of vargottama:

In Vedic astrology it is wonderful and very beneficial when the navamsa sign of a planet is the same as the regular (rasi) sign. This extremely auspicious placement is known as Vargottama. It is a kind of blessing in the astrology chart.

Vargottoma makes the transition points at the cardinal cross and fixed cross more tolerable and easier to bear. These 8 transition points also echo the concept of the 8-fold path of Buddhism. These are holidays (Holy Days) when the seasons change and they are celebrated in some pagan religions. At these critical times of change we are blessed by having the longing of our souls (navamsa zodiac sign) aligned with our lives (rasi zodiac sign). The healing ointment of Vargottama soothes us at these critical times of transition

108: The Holiest of Numbers

The ancient sages decided that there should be 108 prayer beads and 108 steps in temples so that our prayers reach the Divine. These 108 repititions synchronize our thoughts with the fabric of the Universe. The number 108 enables our prayers and meditations to reflect the Word of God and to resonate in Holy Perfection.

Why 108? Because there are 108 navamsa signs! The navamsa chart is the chart of the soul and the Way to fulfillment.

The 108 navamsa signs are also known as padas in Vedic astrology. “Pada” means step, and the navamsa signs are the 108 steps to enlightenment! The ancient wisdom is not kept so secret that we are unable to decipher the code. The key is made explicit by the language used: the navamsa signs are the steps on our spiritual path. The navamsa signs are the 108 steps in the temple and they are the 108 prayer beads!

In the same kind of metaphorical stories and parables that Jesus told, and in the symbolic stories that our dreams often use, the 108 navamsa signs are not just a symbol of our spiritual path. They are a manifestation or expression of it in the fractal reality in which we live. The 108 navamsa signs ARE our spiritual path!

The 27 Nakshatras

There are rhythms and pulses in the navamsa chart:

1. After every 40 degrees, a new navamsa zodiac begins.

2. After every 30 degrees, the navamsa sign aligns with the rasi sign to help initiate each of our 12 stations of the cross to begin with a blessing.

3. After every 3°20', we take another step in our 108 steps to enlightenment. Each navamsa sign is a stepping stone in our journey.

4. Each of these 4 stepping stones completes a larger task. Four padas (navamsa signs) are grouped together to make a nakshatra sign. 27 x 4 = 108 so there are 27 nakshatra signs.

Figure 5. Nakshatras and padas

In the chart wheel in Figure 5 there are these four rings:

1. The 360 degrees
2. The 12 zodiac signs
3. The 27 nakshatras
4. The 108 navamsa signs

There are 4 navamsa signs in each nakshatra.

The 108 navamsa signs are the 108 steps to enlightenment.

After 4 padas (steps or navamsa signs), we enter a new nakshatra. After 9 padas, we enter a new zodiac sign. After 12 padas, we enter a new navamsa zodiac. Conclusion: there is a beautiful cosmic tapestry that is woven by the interaction of these 4 rings.

Saturn and 108

As if by some kind of magic, the number 108 appears as vitally important in other ways unrelated to the 108 navamsa signs. For example, Saturn stations when it is within 108° and 109°15' degrees from the Sun. In other words, Saturn appears to stop in the sky when it is within 1°15' of being 108 degrees from the Sun. Saturn, the outermost visible planet, the planet that sets the boundaries of our lives and is the time keeper, comes to a stop and for a moment it is as if time stops. It is the moment between inhaling and exhaling; it is a moment of silence. For a moment we step outside the flow of time and we see more clearly, and we can reflect on teh nature of our lives. This reflection and suspending of time occurs at the most hold of times in Saturn's journey, ath the 108th degree from the Sun.

Saturn turns stations (turns Rx or Direct) when the Sun-Saturn angle = 108° to 109°15'. Saturn turns Rx 12 to 30 hours after the waxing 108° aspecdt, and turns Direct 12 to 30 hours before the waning 108° aspect.

The table shown below gives the date and time of when Saturn stations and is 108 degrees from the Sun every 10 years from 1941 to 2021. Saturn stations twice a year. This table shows that the time when Saturn stations is within 30 hours (acdtually within 26 hours in the data shown below) of when Saturn is exactly 108 degrees from the Sun. In this table the 108 degree aspect is either “3/10X” or “3/10N”. The 3/10X aspect is the waxing 108 degree aspect, and the 3/10N is the waning 108 degree aspect. This table is provided for people who wish to see how this information has been verified, and most readers may prefer to skip the data in this table and continue with the concluding comments section after this table.

Concluding Comments

The beautiful patterns formed by the nakshatras and the navamsa chart are fascinating, and the way that mythology and astrological ideas are interwoven with the beautiful cosmic tapestry created by these subdivsions of the zodiac is extraordinary.

We may also wonder if this beautiful cosmic geometry actually tells us something about human personality and behavior. In other words, does astrology really work? Or perhaps astrology is only a language of symbols and myths that does not provide tangible and practical information that would be helpful, for example, for medical diagnosis and for predicting likely times when an accident may occur?

The great psychologist Carl Jung used astrology and he believed that physics and psychology must ultimately be different views into one reality. Towards the end of his life Jung worked with physicist Wolfgang Pauli to discover the ways in which psychology an physics are linked. Jung died when this work was still in its early stages.

I believe that Carl Jung was on the correct path. With the recent advances in science and the Information Age tools avaialble now, we are making progress in fulfilling Jung's dream. This is our challenge.

The number 108 does have power and the navamsa chart is important. The results of research that I and others have conducted in recent years suggests that astrology has real measurable effects on the behavior of people. Astrology also reveals deep insights into mythology, religion, and belief systems. All of us today have the great opportunity and the great honor to advance the work of the greatest psychologists and physicists and to make progress in fulfilling Carl Jung's dream.

Other Resources

Listed below are additional resources and tools for further study. I have also provided my email address.

1. Youtube videos: youtube.com/c/DavidCochrane100

2. Kepler and Sirius software is available at www.AstroSoftware.com

3. Articles at www.AstroSoftware.com

4. Online classes at the Avalon School of Astrology in Vibrational Astrology. www.AvalonAstrology.com

5. Online astrology reports: www.StarGuidance.com

6. Other websites: www.AstrologySoftware.com and www.AstrologyLand.com

7. Books (available at www.AstroSoftware.com).

8. You can email me at davidc@AstroSoftware.com