Decans Let You Dive Deep Into Your Astrology Personality
As those of us absorbed by astrology are well aware, your sun sign can only tell you so much about yourself. There are innumerable ways to deep-dive further into your astrological personality, however, at varying levels of complexity. Beginners might look to their moon or rising sign for more information, for example, while those who are more advanced in their zodiac journey might want to dig into more intricate concepts—like decans (also called “decantes”). “If you’ve ever wondered why people born in the same sign seem different, decans can help answer this puzzle,” says astrologist and intuitive healer Rachel Lang.
To understand decans, you must first understand that each astrological sign occupies 30 degrees of the Zodiac, Lang explains, for a total of 360 degrees (12 signs are each comprised of 30 degrees). Decans are then created by dividing those 30 degrees in each sign into 10-degree increments.
Your decan depends on where your birthday falls within that 30-degree spread. Approximately the first ten days of your sign is the first decan, approximately the second ten days of your sign is the second decan, and approximately the third ten days is the third decan.
Each decan has a unique footprint, so to speak. “Within these decans, we assign planetary sub-rulers to the sign, and those sub-rulers give us additional layers of symbolism to apply to your birth date within your sign,” Lang explains. “If you are born within the first decan, or the first ten degrees (approximately ten days) of a sign, you embody your sign to the fullest. Your planetary sub-ruler is going to be your sign’s ruler.”
If you’re not the first decan, your sub-ruler gets a bit trickier to discern. Basically, Lang says that you need to look at the triplicity of your sign—whether it’s an air, water, fire, or earth sign—in order to figure it out. While the first decan is assigned the same ruler of their sun sign, the second decan is assigned the secondary ruler of the next sign within that same element, and the third decan is assigned the secondary ruler of the next sign after that (within the same element). Got it?
I’m guessing not, but fortunately, Lang helps us out with an Aries example. She says that if you’re an Aries born between March 21 and 30 (with the caveat that this could vary depending on the day the sun enters that sign), you were born in the first decan, so your sub-ruler is the same as the ruler for your entire sign: Mars. “Mars is courageous, independent, and driven,” she says. “It’s the warrior planet. You are a pioneer and ready to take a risk.”
An Aries born between approximately March 31 and April 9, meanwhile, is the second decan. Since the next fire sign in the Zodiac is Leo, and Leo is ruled by the Sun, Aries’ second decan’s sub-ruler is the Sun. “Your main ruling planet is still Mars, but we add the Sun as a planetary sub-ruler,” Lang explains. “The Sun’s influence gives you a strong desire to lead and make a difference. You can be strong-willed and appear confident to others, but at times, others might perceive you as selfish.”
Finally, an Aries born between April 10 and 20 is in the…
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