The Beautiful Math Behind the

Zodiac Divisions
Posted on March 25, 2010 by Vic DiCara / Vraja Kishor

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You have the sky itself, which is a

complete circle. We measure it to have 360. From there we divide it in
different ways to get astrologically meaningful sections.
You are most familiar with how the sky is divided into 12 sections the 12
signs of the zodiac. This division is based on the movement of the Sun
over the course of a complete Moon cycle (how far the Sun moves in the sky
during the course of the Moon going from full to new and back again).
There are other divisions that are almost equally important. The next is
the 27 lunar mansions a division of the circle of the sky into 27 parts,
based on the movement of the Moon over the course of a complete Sun
cycle (how far the Moon moves in the ky during the course of the Sun rising,
setting and coming back again).
Those two divisions, the Suns and the Moons are unified by a third division
called the Navamsha which literally means Ninth Part (and which I
abbreviate as D9) If you divide a single solar zodiac sign into 9 equal parts,
you will link it to the lunar zodiac because those divisions will cause exactly
four parts in each lunar sign. This is one reason why the navamsha is the
most significant of all the subdivisions of the main solar and lunar zodiacs.
A sort of confirmation of the importance of the navamsha is that it results
in 108divisions total in the sky. (9 in each sign, 12 signs 912 = 108) and
108 is a pinnacle number in occult numerology. It also represents the 9
planets in the 12 signs (108).
There are many more divisions of lesser, but still significant importance.
These articles describe them in more detail:

Variations in a Single Sign

Differences Within a Single Sign (Part II)
- Vic DiCara

Differences Within a Single

Sign (Part II)
Posted on December 22, 2009 by Vic DiCara / Vraja Kishor

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This is a continuation from a previous post: Variations in a Single Sign. Ill

start by summarizing that previous article.
 Primary Divisions of the Signs

There are 12 signs in the sky (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, etc.) because the moon
cycles from one full moon to the next 12 times during the course of one solar
year. The complete year has roughly 360 days, so each month originally had
a 12th of that many: 30 days. Therefore there are 360 in the entire zodiac,
and each sign has a 30 slice of that zodiac.
The next most important division of the sky is into 27 signs, each one
covering the amount of space that the Moon traverses in the course of a
single day: 12 1/3. These 27 signs are called Lunar Mansions, or Nakshatra.
They overlay the 12 solar signs in an important pattern building blending-
bridges between signs but creating dramatic chasms between every water
and fire sign. These fire-water chasms split the zodiac into 3 supersections.
Each lunar mansion has its own characteristics. Thus being in one lunar
mansion in a sign is very different than being in another lunar mansion in the
same sign.
The solar signs and lunar mansions are united by the harmonic thread of
thenavamsha a division of each sign into 9 harmonic slices, which
correlates to each lunar mansion being divided into 4 slices and reinforces
the depth of the 3 zodiacal chasms, since these navamsha slices always end
with the final sign, Pisces on the water side of the chasm, and begin with
Aries on the fire side of the chasm. Each slice is 3 1/3 in length. Even being
in the same lunar mansion in a sign, it will be quite a different place
depending on which navamasha slice one finds oneself in, within that lunar
mansion because the characteristics of the sign of that navamsha slice will
affect those 3 1/3 of the sign in an underlying manner.
In this way we can see that the signs themselves are just rough estimations
of the zodiac effect on a planet. A finer estimation, about twice as detailed,
comes from also considering the lunar mansion. And a still finer estimation,
about 4 times more detailed than the lunar mansion, comes by also
considering the navamsha which changes every 3 and 1/3.

Still More Detail

There is a lot more detail beyond even this! But before going there let me
first explain what I consider to be the next most practically important
consideration after the Sign, Lunar Mansion, and Navamsha: the age of the
planet.

Avastha Age of the Planet

Avasthas
Depending on its position in a sign, a planet will feel itself to be either
1. Newborn
2. Youtful
3. Adult
4. Elderly
5. Near death
As you might deduce, since a sign has 30 and there are 5 different ages
within a sign, each age spans 6. A planet in first 6 of Aries (for example)
feels itself to be newly born. In the second 6, feels itself to be youthful, etc.

Its almost that simple except there is a gradual rise and fall of the age
experience of a planet. In other words, lets say the Sun goes into the final 6
of Aries (24 30), feels himself drained of energy, and feels dead. Now
what happens when he passes 30 of Aries and suddenly enters 0 of the
next sign, Taurus. Does he suddenly feel like a newborn? No. He still feels
drained and dead, but starts to recover and gradually becomes more
youthful, until he gets to the final 6 of Taurus where he feels once again
newborn.
So, remember that all the odd numbered signs are male, and all the even
numbered signs are female (Aries is 1, Taurus is 2, etc.). In any male sign,
the 1st section of 6 makes planets feel like they are newborns. And in each
section of 6 thereafter, the planet feels older and older. In any female sign,
the 1st section of 6 makes planets feel like they are dead, but in each
section thereafter they feel younger and younger.

Ive represented this on the graphic above by showing various shades of grey
along the outer compass layer of the wheel. The lightest gray is the newborn
section of the sign, progressing to the darkest section which is the dead
section.

Now, here is how the various ages affect the planets:

 1. A planet in a newborn degree of the sign indicates an area in life in which a
person can and likely will make significant progress and improvement and
growth, but their starting point in that area is relatively week and vulnerable
and naive.
2. A planet who is youthful has lots of energy and enthusiasm, but still lacks
some experience. In general though, this is a strong degree placement and
lets the planet be a more positive contributing factor in the persons life
3. A planet who is adult is at her very best. She still has strength and energy
similar to youth, but now has experience and wisdom similar to being old. So
planets in these degrees grant the person a lot of power and strength in life.
4. A planet who is elderly has wisdom, but not health. These planets can be
sources of wisdom, but tend to cause health problems and need help from
other factors in the chart to be highly effective for the person.
5. A planet who is near death is almost unable to do anything for the person. It
presents challenges to a persons life, and will be involved in actually bringing
about the death of the person.
You should note the basic principle is that the closer a planet is towards
approaching the middle of its adulthood (i.e. the middle of the sign) the
better off the planet is. While the further the planet has progressed past the
middle of its adulthood, the worse of it it. These effects can be referenced
by an astrologer in the course of developing his or her basic interpretations
of the planets in a persons chart, and they are particularly important when
ascertaining the effects that a planet will cause during its dasha
(chronological cycle).

Now, if you ask me, that is fantastically useful info! =)

More Harmonic Divisions
We already mentioned one of the many harmonic divisions, the 9th division
ornavamsha. That division deserves special mention because it is by far the
most significant. But there are many other divisions of a sign which I will
describe now.
 Hora

2 Parts Hora
If you split each of the 12 signs into two parts you wind up with 24 parts. 24
Horas. Thats why we have 24 hours in a day.

The first half of male signs belongs to the Sun, while the first half of female
signs belongs to the Moon. You can see this mapped out in the graphic at
left.

This division is not very clearly understood by many who work with Vedic
astrology, but in Phaladeepika the author, Mantreshwara, gives a clear guid
how to use it.

Malefics (see: What the Planets Represent in Astrology) produce the most
desirable results when they are in the Suns half of male signs (not just the
Suns half of any sign). In this case they will make a person hard to defeat,
and therefore strong and wealthy.
 Benefics should be in the Moons half of female signs to produce their best
possible results. They would them promote humility, grace, and fortune in the
individual.
Other combinations do not produce particularly noteworthy results.
You should combine this, of course, with everything else youve learned
about the divisions of a sign. For example, you know that towards the middle
of a sign is where a planet is youthful and strong. So for malefics in the first
hora/half of a male sign, if they are towards the end of that half, near the
middle of the sign, they will be exceedingly powerful. But if they are in the
early portion of that half in a newborn condition, they will require some
nurturing. Etc.

Drekkan

3 Parts Drekkan
Next, divide each sign into 3 sections. Each would be 10 in length. The sign
of each division starts with the sign it is a division of. The next division is the
5th sign from it, and the final division is the 9th sign from it. So for example,
in Aries, the first drekkan is Aries, the middle drekkan is Leo, and the final
drekkan is Sagittarius.
You can note that each sign in a drekkan is the same element as the sign it is
a division of. This division of a sign is particularly relevant to the Ascendant.
In a future post I will mention more about the effects of the various
drekkanas on the Ascendant.

Trimshamsa

5 Parts Trimsha
This is a fascinating division of the sign into 5 unequal parts. It goes hand in
hand with the hora division in the sense that only the Sun and Moon rule the
hora, and in the Trimsha only the other 5 planets, not the sun and moon,
rule. If you click to enlarge the graphic at right and contemplate the
trimshamsa ring on the wheel you will perhaps notice that a male sign is
divided only into other male signs, while female signs are divided only into
female signs. The order of the rulers of the signs is Mars, Saturn, Jupiter,
Mercury, Venus. But in female signs the order goes in reverse. So the males
signs of these planets manifest in the divisions within the males signs, and
visa versa. Look at the graphic enlarged and it may make more sense!
These divisions are usually taken out of context of the larger wheel and
drawn as their own individual charts. In that context, the Trimshamsha
divisions represent the misfortunes a person faces. Perhaps that is why it is
the only crooked and uneven division system?

In the larger context, the Trimshamsha is relevant primarily to differentiating

the degrees within a single sign, as will all the others. To explain how to
utilize this info is my main intention for describing all these divisions, but will
have to wait to be described in a soon forthcoming article!

All Divisionals

All Divisionals
There are a few more divisions of the horoscope that also mainly contribute
to dividing a sign into different areas. After the trimshamsa there is the 7-
part divisional (saptamsha). This splits every sign into 7 subsigns. In male
signs, the subsigns start with the sign itself, in female signs they start with
the opposite sign. See the graphic (enlarged) to make more sense of this
description.
Then there is the dashamsha which is relatively weak as a divisional on its
own, but which contributes like all the others to a planets experience of the
exact degree it occupies in a sign. This is the 10-part division. In male signs,
the subsigns of these divisions start with the sign itself. In female signs they
start with the 9th sign from it. Again, see the illustration.
Then there is the 12-part divisional (dvadashamsha). In each sign the
subsigns for each of these slices start with the sign itself.
There are two more important divisional slices of a sign that become to small
to easily illustrate. These are the 16-part division (11652 each division)
and the 60-part division (half a degree for each slice!!!).

Astrologers use these divisions of a sign in different groups or packages.

Using all 10 (1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, and 60 part divisions) is called the 10-
part package (dasha-varga). This 10-part package is extremely important for
calculating exactly how a planet feels in a given birth chart, which I will
explain in my next article.
When reading the divisional slices as separate sub-charts unto themselves we
commonly use 6 of them (the 1,2,3,5,9, and 12 slice divisionals). This is
called the 6-part package, shada-varga.
Sometimes the 7th divisional chart is also included, in which case the
package is called 7-part, sapta-varga
When you look at the graphic I created be aware that

The innermost ring is the 1-divisional = the 12 signs themselves.

Outside that is the 2-divisional = the hora
Outside that is the 3-divisional = the drekkan
Outside that is the 5-divisional = the trimsha-amsha
Outside that is the 7-divisional = the sapta-amsha
Outside that is the 10-divisional = the dasha-amsha
Outside that is the 12-divisional = the dvadasha amsha
Outside that are the lunar mansions
Outside that is the 9-divisional, the most important one besides the main sign
= the nava-amsha
 Outside that, outtermost, are the 360 degrees of the zodiac, grayscale coded
for the various ages of the sign.
Look for my next article to really put all this information to fantastic use!!!!
Thank you,

Vic DiCara

www.vicdicara.com