Degree Astrology: An Introduction
John Sandbach March 28, 2024
The wheel of the zodiac breaks down into twelve signs; within each of those signs, there are thirty degrees. Degree astrology ascribes a verbal picture to each one of those degrees as a means of characterising the hidden essence of the forces that affect us. When we move in harmony with these evolutionary forces, we are more likely to achieve success.
The verbal pictures are received and interpreted by an individual astrologer; therefore, every set of degree symbols is highly subjective. Some sets feel weak or murky to me, or not quite on the mark. Others are clear, vivid depictions of the energy that each degree carries.
When I began practicing astrology in the 1960s, there were two available sets of degree symbols that had been channeled in the 19th century: the Sepharial and the Charubel Symbols. To me, neither set is helpful for astrological interpretation. I know of no astrologers who use them. These sets lack charisma; they don’t speak to me. They aren’t vivid, so they don’t spark my imagination, and imagination is essential to the highly subjective work of degree symbol interpretation.
In the 1920s, a set of degree symbols was channeled by the psychic Elsie Wheeler under the direction of the illustrious astrologer Marc Jones. This set became known as the Sabian Symbols and is the most widely used set to this day. There are several books you can buy which interpret these symbols, the most famous being Dane Rudhyar’s An Astrological Mandala.
On April 4th, 1984, at 8:04 AM, in Kansas City, Missouri, I channeled a set of degree symbols now known as The Chandra Symbols, with my friend, the astrologer Lisa Leopold. We began by labeling 360 index cards with the numbers one to thirty for each sign, then mixed them up and placed them face down on a table. Lisa would then pick up a card, and I would tell her what I saw; she would write that on the card then select the next. The process had an intense psychedelic momentum, and each image passed through my mind with great vividness.
Channeling the symbols felt like tuning a radio, and when I found the wavelength where reception was clear, I stayed there, listening to the information that came to me, and repeating it to Lisa.
One image I saw was a bull stung by a scorpion. This is the image for the 20th degree of Gemini. I had seen a sculpture at the Vatican Museum, depicting this very thing, and felt suspicious that I was simply recalling a memory (as opposed to finding the correct image for this degree). Then I heard a voice that squashed my suspicions: a consortium of spirits had been showing me, for many years, a catalogue of images that I could draw upon, that would eventually become these degree symbols.
I channeled the Chandra Symbols to achieve new insights into the degrees of the Zodiac. When astrologers compare different symbols from different sets, it can reveal new layers of information to us. The pictures from different sets often amplify, extend, and explain one another.
An example: The Chandra symbol for the 6th degree of Taurus is “a pink diamond”. When I read this symbol, I think of the hardness and brightness of the diamond as signifying power and potency, and the color pink as a sign of spiritual love. Together, the diamond and its pinkness can mean the power to repel discord and negativity, and to imbue people, or situations, with gentleness and love.
The Sabian symbol for the 6th degree of Taurus is “a bridge being built across a gorge”. As I see it, the bridge connects land that is kept apart. Love—signified by the pink in the Chandra symbol for this same degree—also has great power to connect. A good bridge needs strength and durability, inherent qualities of the Chandra diamond.
My reading of the symbols together is that although the building of a bridge may be difficult, by approaching the task with diamond-like strength and willpower, one can accomplish the great work of bringing harmony into the world—with the power of love. This, of course, is not the only possible reading. The verbal pictures found in degree astrology are meant to stimulate an astrologer’s intuition, so their meaning is not necessarily the same in all contexts. “Diamond” and “pink” could be interpreted in many other ways—like images in poetry, they can have a host of different layers of meaning and implication.
“I think of the use of degree symbols in reading a chart as astrological poetry.”
This is the very reason that a group of astrologers oppose degree astrology: for having no limits or clear definitions. Some consider it a kind of astrological free-for-all in which astrologers might read anything and everything into any symbol anyone can come up with. The manner in which some astrologers approach degree astrology can indeed be confusing or misleading, but when degree interpretation is done by an astrologer with clear intuition (ample experience helps), new forces that might otherwise remain hidden within a chart can be brought to light. Degree astrology is an immensely powerful tool; it can be wielded with adeptness and creativity, but it can also be misused.
I have great respect for an organized, logical approach to astrology. I have spent many years learning this approach to chart analysis and use it still when I read for people. It’s a more masculine approach, while Degree astrology feels more feminine to me; together, the two have the power to potently enrich and inform each other.
I think of the use of degree symbols in reading a chart as astrological poetry. I have found that when individuals are told of the degree symbols in their chart, they are touched in inexplicable ways. Often, they feel a deep relationship to the images, and over time these images can work on them therapeutically, bringing a clearer understanding of who they are.
Years after channeling the Chandra Symbols, I channeled three other sets of degree symbols. When we look through a telescope at the degrees, we see that each one is filled with billions of galaxies, and that each one of these galaxies is filled with many millions of stars. With each set of symbols channeled, I am reminded that we have not even begun to scratch the surface of what is here: both in the sky and in ourselves.
John Sandbach is an astrology and Tarot researcher who has been working professionally in these fields for more than 50 years. He is the visionary behind the Chandra Symbols of the 360 degrees of the zodiac system, and he offers private astrology and Tarot readings online. The author of several books, including The Circular Temple and Astrology, Alchemy, and the Tarot, he lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
