Rose's Astro Academy | An Astrology Podcast

E17 *Topic* Exploring the Sabian Symbols: An Image for Each Zodiacal Degree

• Rose Potts • Episode 17

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In this episode of Rose's Astro Academy, we delve into the fascinating astrological technique of Sabian Symbols. The Sabian Symbols offer a unique image and reflection for each degree of the zodiac. I’ll share the intriguing history of these symbols, and discuss how I incorporate them into my practice.

We’ll look at five specific examples of how I've used the Symbols to tap into deeper insights when reading charts. We'll look at how we can use them as a daily meditation and how we can use them to examine our own natal placements, or those of others. We'll look at the Sabian Symbol for today, and I'll give you an example from my own chart, a client chart, and two celebrity charts.

By the end of this episode, you’ll be able to start incorporating this practice into your own astrological toolkit. 



Sabian Symbol Reference Site:

jamesburgess.com


Free Birth Chart Calculator:

horoscopes.astro-seek.com


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Podcast Transcripts: rosesastroacademy.buzzsprout.com

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Rose Potts:

Hello and welcome to episode 17 of Rose's Astro Academy, where we demystify the system of astrology piece by piece. For our topic talk this week, I thought we would take a look at a more modern astrological technique, which is the Sabian symbols. The Sabian symbols are a really fascinating tool to have in your astrological toolkit. I only discovered them this year, actually, and when I did, I must say I went down a bit of a rabbit hole with them. And what's really great about the Sabian symbols is that they're also very beginner friendly. There are 360 degrees in the zodiac and there is a unique Sabian symbol for each of these degrees. There is a really great resource website, jamesburgess. com, which I will link for you in the show notes, and on that site they go into detail about each symbol, so you don't at all have to worry about trying to memorize these symbols. I really love drawing on the symbols to help shed light on what a particular planet is speaking to in a reading. It's also really cool to look at the Sabian symbol for the degree that a transit is happening in, and we can even do a daily Sabian symbol meditation where we reflect on the meaning of the Sabian symbol that the sun is moving through each day. In our talk today, I'll share with you the history of Sabian symbols, how to reflect on them in your own birth chart, and we'll look at some concrete examples as well. As I said, they're very beginner-friendly. So when you're looking at your chart and I'll link a free birth chart calculator for you in the show notes you'll see that each planet occupies a degree. This will be shown by a little number that happens right beside the planet, and then you can go and find the Sabian symbol for that degree. I will caution you, though, that it can be really easy to lean on a technique like the Sabian symbols as a crutch and then miss the things that the planet is actually trying to say. Through normal astrological considerations like rulerships, house placement, dignity and aspects, sabian symbols should always be much lower on our list of priorities than these other things, but I also find that Sabine symbols can bring really amazing context to what a planet is trying to speak to.

Rose Potts:

Before we get into our whole talk on Sabine symbols, I wanted to give a personal note on how I practice. To say briefly, I do consider myself primarily a Hellenistic astrologer, which is why some people might be a little confused that I'm all of a sudden bringing in a very modern astrological technique, so I just wanted to touch on that a little bit. I'm primarily grounded in Hellenistic astrology, and Hellenistic astrology is a system that was developed over 2,000 years ago in the region of ancient Greece. I do primarily focus on the system and I don't override the system with modern techniques. I keep it highest on my list of priorities. And then I like to bring in psychological and archetypal perspectives as well. When I read for people, I do have a degree in psychology, so bringing in the psychological element for me is very second nature and feels very important. And then I incorporate some modern techniques, such as I use the outer planets, but I'm very choosy with how I use them. Same with the asteroids, chiron and Lil readings, where Lilith is very prominent and what she's saying is very important to the reading. I find Lilith so fascinating in the chart and I'll do a whole talk on Lilith at some point in the future. Future. And then, in terms of modern techniques, I also recently started incorporating Sabian symbols though not in every reading kind of more as it spoke to me and as it feels important to bring them in, I will incorporate them from time to time. So I just wanted to start off with that little note on how I bring Sabian symbols into my practice and how I individually practice.

Rose Potts:

Now to get into the history of Sabian symbols. The Sabian symbols were developed by astrologer Mark Edmund Jones in collaboration with Elsie Wheeler in 1925. Wheeler was severely crippled by arthritis and bound to a wheelchair, but was also a powerful psychic. In the span of a single day, while sitting in San Diego's park, wheeler channeled a symbol for each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac, offering a unique image for each degree. Jones sat beside her and meticulously recorded what she described. They did this in a double-blind way, where Jones had written out each degree on an index card and then shuffled them and then, keeping them face down, handed each one to Wheeler, who then described the image that she saw as she held that index card.

Rose Potts:

Jones then spent many years building a framework of understanding for the symbols. He realized that, even though neither he nor Wheeler had ever known which degree they were working on at any given time, the symbols fit together in a cohesive way through the zodiac. He wrote a thorough interpretation of the meaning of each symbol and he taught on the symbols for many years and published his seminal work on them, which is called the Sabian Symbols. In Astrology, jones named the symbols after the Sabians, who were an ancient religious group in the Middle East who were said to be connected to mystical and esoteric traditions. Jones believed that Wheeler had channeled the symbols directly from the ancient esoteric wisdom of these Sabian people.

Rose Potts:

Now I get that this may sound a bit out there, and I'll be the first to admit that this is probably the most unconventional tool in my astrological toolkit. The way that the symbols came around might seem a little wishy-washy or like it leaves a lot of room for doubt, since we're placing a lot of trust in this psychic, elsie Wheeler. However, I can say that in using the Sabian symbols both in my own chart and in clients charts and for celebrity charts, things like that I've been genuinely amazed by the resonance that they strike. They have this way of cutting through surface level interpretations and tapping into something that is deeply personal. So I encourage you to try them out and see how they feel for you. They may not be one of your preferred tools, and that's totally okay.

Rose Potts:

It is important to note as well that the Sabian symbols are not meant to be used to connote, but rather to evoke. So what I mean by this is that they are not meant to determine the way that we read a planet in a degree, or the way that we read a transit or anything like that, but it's more about reflecting on the image that the symbol presents, to see what it evokes for us. How does that symbol, when combined with the rest of what the planet or the transit is saying, suggest things for further reflection for us? And the same symbol can mean something very, very different based on the other contextual factors that we're getting. It's kind of like how the same tarot card will evoke different things for us at different times.

Rose Potts:

So I'm going to spend the rest of the time in this episode going over concrete examples. We'll start off by looking at the Sabian symbol for today and then I'll share with you an example from my birth chart, from a client reading, and then two examples from celebrity charts. The Sabian symbols as a daily meditation to help you move through your day more reflectively is a great way that we can start to incorporate the Sabian symbols into our lives and into our practice. So today the sun moves through 17 degrees of Libra and with these Sabian symbols you will always go ahead by one degree, because we don't have a symbol for the zero degree. So, for example, if the sun is at zero degrees of Libra, then we would take the saving symbol for one Libra, and so on. So when the sun is at 17 Libra, we actually look at the symbol for 18 Libra, which is two men placed under house arrest. Now, our saving symbol for today isn't necessarily the most optimistic one, but what wisdom can we gain from reflecting on the nature of this symbol?

Rose Potts:

As I said, my go-to resource for the symbols is jamesburgess. com, which I will link in the show notes for you. He has done such an amazing and thorough job of exploring each symbol. So, reading from his site here on 18 Libra, he said accepting the consequences of our misdemeanors, the result of going beyond acceptable limits, we must come to terms with the fact that society dispenses punishments. He then adds facing the consequences of our own action or inaction lies at the heart of personal responsibility and personal power. We do whatever we can if we can, but we get away with nothing Somewhere or someone. We pay for it all. The carrot is the calmness, the stick is the price we must pay if we do not conform to the necessary constraints. He goes on to say much more about this symbol, but this paragraph basically does get at the heart of the symbol for me, and it's talking about the law of karma. We may think that we're getting away with something in the moment, but karmically we never really get away with things. It's always going to come back to us.

Rose Potts:

So if someone had a planet at 17 degrees of Libra, on top of what that planet is saying in their charts, through normal astrological techniques, I might also bring up a discussion with the client about personal responsibility for their actions or inaction in this area of their lives. Also, perhaps this person has felt unfairly judged or punished in this area of their lives. There is also a point here about conformity and what happens when we don't conform. So all of these types of conversations could be really striking for the client and really resonate with them on a deep level. What I find really interesting here, too, is that Libra is the sign of the scales, which is the balance. Libra comes at the time of the fall equinox and talks about the harvest and reaping our karmic fruits. What I find interesting is that at 18 Libra, we've just passed that balance point in the middle of the sign. So it's almost like we've crossed that threshold where the judgment for our actions is now coming back to us. So even if we think purely about the astrological symbolism of this degree, we can see how this degree would be speaking to the laws of karmic justice and what comes back to us as a result of our actions. But we would be getting to it in a much more roundabout way, whereas the Savian symbol evokes that image much more strongly for us and makes it much easier for us to get to that place. Strongly for us and makes it much easier for us to get to that place.

Rose Potts:

Okay, next I'll share with you an example from my own chart. I was born with Venus at 28 degrees of Taurus. Remember for the symbols that we add one. So we look at the symbol for 29 Taurus, which is two cobblers working at a table. This symbol represents two skilled craftsmen working side by side on their projects. And what I find really striking about this for me is Venus speaks to our relationships. There's more she speaks to in a chart, but in everyone's chart, venus in some way speaks to our relationship and how we like to be in relationship.

Rose Potts:

And what I find really interesting about this symbol, for the specific degree that my Venus is in, is that my partner and I, since the start of our relationship, have gone to the cafe together to work side by side on our projects. I'm working on astrology and writing and he does a lot of high level technology and design stuff. So we really are the picture of these two cobblers, two people working on our crafts, sitting side by side. It's such a literal manifestation of this symbol. But what does this evoke for me at a deeper level? Well, it got me to think about what I desire in a relationship and I realized that I really desire that power couple dynamic where we're both working on our own crafts but working alongside one another and helping lift one another up. And if we read James Burgess's description about the symbol, the symbol becomes a launching pad for actually speaking about a working relationship. He says each has their own talents and preferences that blends with the other so that a harmony is achieved and the whole becomes more than the sum of its parts. Individually they would be far less impactful than they are together. So that speaks a lot to my Venus and my desire for a relationship where we are working alongside one another and lifting each other up and blending our skills and talents while pursuing our own projects. Anyways, it struck such a deep resonance for me and it's so funny to see the literal manifestation in my life of literally almost all the time going to the cafe together and working beside each other.

Rose Potts:

Next, I'll give you an example from a client reading that I did. The client was going through the ending of a long-term relationship and we spoke mostly about this topic. She had just had her birthday recently, so I cast a solar return chart, which is a chart for when the sun returns to its exact position in the sky. As when you were born. It's kind of like a birthday chart that speaks to how the next year is going to play out for you.

Rose Potts:

I was drawn to look at the Sabian symbol of the ascending degree of this chart, something that might typically be glossed over if we didn't have this system of reading a symbolic importance from each specific degree. The Sabian symbol for this degree was 1 Pisces a public market, and here is the write-up from James Burgess on this degree. We can do nothing without cooperative interaction of some kind. We breathe, eat and feel safe from many dangers, all because we are part of a complex, interactive involvement with other living beings. On a simple level, we are all able to trade our surpluses with someone else's so that both parties are enriched. When commerce is properly managed, then abundance and trust can grow and thereby reduce fear and the risk of conflict.

Rose Potts:

So, when looking at the ascendant line of the solar return chart, the question that we are asking is what is the big theme or lesson that the person is facing this year? And really, because she just left this relationship, her year was going to be about processing this ending, and in this reading she was really seeking understanding in regards to that. So through this symbol, we were able to have a big conversation about the lack of equivalent exchange that was occurring towards the end of her relationship. The exchange in the relationship wasn't being reciprocated in a way that served her, and so the symbol really served to reinforce that for her, that this was a lesson that she was meant to be integrating this year. So, again, a very literal, resonant manifestation of a symbol when applied to a chart. Looking at the Sabian symbol for an ascending degree is a really useful tool, and we can do this for birth charts as well. For someone's birth chart, the ascending degree is the exact degree of the zodiac that was rising at the moment that they were born, so it really speaks to their individual identity in the world. So let's look at the ascending degree for a couple of celebrity charts.

Rose Potts:

I was curious about JK Rowling, so I looked at her chart and her ascendant degree is 15. Aquarius the Sabian symbol, is a big businessman at his desk. Okay, at first I was a little confused, but in the write-up Burgess writes at the very top organizational ability, self-organization and staying on top of things. And one thing that I absolutely love about the Harry Potter series and that JK Rowling was perhaps able to do better than any other author with such a long book series, is that she was able to expertly weave together this world and all these different characters and storylines. Her organizational ability to plot out the series was, in my opinion, absolutely top-notch, and you don't really notice it until you've read the series a few times. But once you do, you start to notice all these little threads of connected things, like things that become really, really important in books six and seven are first very subtly introduced in books two and three. Or, for example, sirius Black becomes a big character in book three, and we think that he comes out of nowhere, but he's actually mentioned within the first five pages of the first book. So that really is Rowling's genius is her ability to really organize this complex plot. In fact, she knew how her seven book series was going to end before the first book was even published. She had already plotted out the entire series. So in her individual identity, rowling does really embody this incredible skill of organizational ability that is shown by the Sabian symbol of her ascending degree.

Rose Potts:

Finally, let's look at Oprah Winfrey's chart. Her ascendant is a 29 Sagittarius and the symbol is the Pope. The write-up from Burgess says these are people, and yet they are asked to embody transpersonal ideals and qualities. Sometimes we too are placed in central positions as spokespersons whose task is to speak for the group within which, for a while, we have found ourselves to be the most influential factor. Oprah Winfrey was and remains one of the most influential people in the world. In fact, she has consistently been on the 100 most influential people list since this list's inception. She is a central spokesperson in our culture and her work has always embodied high-minded ideals of personal empowerment, resilience, generosity, social justice and spiritual growth. In fact, she is a rare figure on TV who speaks to these types of values. So again, a very literal manifestation of this symbol for her specific ascending degree. So this has been a bit on the Sabian symbols.

Rose Potts:

I hope that I've helped open your mind to a wonderful new technique here for personal reflection. This technique is very beginner-friendly as well, which is great. I've linked James Burgess's website in the show notes, as well as my favorite free burst chart calculator so you can start to play around with the symbols for your own planets if you wish. If you go to the website, there's also a lovely painting for each symbol, which I really like. And no, this is not at all sponsored. I just found this website and have found it to be an incredible resource for the symbols.

Rose Potts:

If you had any questions come up when listening to this episode, feel free to send those to rosesastroacademy at gmailcom. New episodes air every Monday and Wednesday. If you want to book a reading with me, you can do that on my website, rosesastroacademycom, and you can follow along on my Instagram at roses astroacademy. Finally, if you enjoyed this episode and you want to see this little seedling grow, you can help out by leaving a review of the podcast and sharing it with some friends. Well, that's all I have for you. See you soon for a new episode.