What Do Degrees Mean in Astrology? A Beginner's Explanation

Degrees tell you exactly where a planet is positioned within a zodiac sign.

Each of the twelve zodiac signs covers 30 degrees. Aries begins at 0° Aries and runs through to 29° Aries. Taurus then begins at 0° Taurus, followed by Gemini and the rest of the zodiac.

So if your birth chart shows Venus at 18° Taurus, Venus was eighteen degrees into Taurus when you were born.

The sign tells you how the planet behaves. The degree tells you its exact position.

Why Does Astrology Use Degrees?

The zodiac is a complete circle containing 360 degrees.

Astrologers divide that circle into twelve equal zodiac signs. Each sign contains 30 degrees, giving us 12 × 30° = 360°.

The degrees run from 0° to 29° within each sign. Once a planet reaches the end of 29°, it moves into 0° of the next sign.

This gives astrologers a precise way to record planetary positions.

Instead of simply saying Mars is in Leo, an ephemeris can show Mars at 7° Leo. That exact position becomes important when you start looking at aspects between planets.

What Does 0 Degrees Mean?

0° marks the beginning of a zodiac sign.

A planet at 0° Virgo has only just entered Virgo. It is no longer in Leo, even if it crossed into Virgo only a short time earlier.

This is important for people born close to the date when the Sun changes signs.

If the Sun is at 29°59' Cancer, it is still in Cancer. Once it reaches 0°00' Leo, it is in Leo.

There is no point where the Sun is partly Cancer and partly Leo. It crosses from one sign into the next.

What Does 29 Degrees Mean?

29° is the final degree of a zodiac sign.

A planet at 29° Scorpio is still in Scorpio. It does not enter Sagittarius until it crosses 0° Sagittarius.

You will sometimes see 29° called the anaretic degree. Some astrologers give this final degree extra importance because the planet is at the very end of a sign.

That is a specific astrological interpretation rather than a different way of calculating the planet's position. Whether or not you use the anaretic degree in interpretation, 29° simply tells you that the planet is near the end of that sign.

What Do Minutes Mean in Astrology?

Degrees can be divided into smaller measurements.

Each degree contains 60 minutes, shown with the symbol ′.

You might therefore see a planetary position written as:

Mars 14°27′ Aries

This means Mars is at 14 degrees and 27 minutes of Aries.

Minutes give a more exact position than degrees alone. They become useful when checking close aspects or finding the exact point at which a planet changes signs.

Some calculations go further and include seconds, but beginners do not usually need that level of detail.

Why Are Degrees Important for Aspects?

Degrees become especially important when looking at planetary aspects.

Aspects are based on the angular distance between planets. A conjunction is around 0°, a sextile is 60°, a square is 90°, a trine is 120° and an opposition is 180°.

Suppose the Sun is at 10° Aries and Mars is at 10° Cancer.

Aries and Cancer are 90 degrees apart, so the Sun and Mars form an exact square.

If Mars is at 13° Cancer instead, the square is no longer exact. The planets are three degrees away from the exact angle.

That difference is called an orb.

Without degrees, you can see that two planets are in particular signs. With degrees, you can see how closely they actually aspect each other.

The Same Sign Does Not Mean the Same Degree

Two planets can be in the same zodiac sign without being close together.

Mercury at 2° Gemini and Venus at 27° Gemini are both in Gemini, but they are 25 degrees apart.

Compare that with Mercury at 12° Gemini and Venus at 14° Gemini. These planets are only two degrees apart and form a close conjunction.

This is why simply knowing the zodiac signs is not enough for a detailed birth chart reading.

Degrees show how the planets are positioned in relation to each other.

Degrees Help You Follow Planetary Movement

Degrees also show you how planets move through the zodiac.

If Mars is at 5° Leo today and 6° Leo later, you can see that it has moved forward through Leo.

If a planet is retrograde, the degrees move in the opposite direction. A retrograde planet can move from 18° of a sign back to 17°, 16° and lower degrees before eventually turning direct.

When a planet reaches 29° of one sign and then 0° of the next, it has changed zodiac signs. Astrologers call this an ingress.

Watching the degrees therefore tells you much more than simply knowing which sign a planet is currently in.

Degrees in Your Birth Chart

Every planet in your birth chart has an exact degree.

You could have the Sun at 16° Libra, the Moon at 4° Pisces and Mars at 22° Leo. These positions show exactly where the planets were in the zodiac when you were born.

The degrees then allow an astrologer to work out the aspects between them.

They can also be compared with the current positions of the planets. If transiting Saturn reaches the same degree as your natal Sun, for example, Saturn forms a conjunction with your Sun.

The closer the degrees, the more exact the aspect.

How Can You Find Planetary Degrees?

An ephemeris lists the positions of the planets by date.

Look at a particular date and you can see the zodiac sign and degree occupied by the Sun, Moon and planets. This lets you follow their movement through the zodiac from one day to the next.

You can also use an ephemeris to check planetary positions on your date of birth.

This is especially useful if you were born close to a sign change. Instead of relying on a general zodiac date range, you can look at the actual position of the Sun for that date.

What Degrees Mean in Astrology

Degrees are simply a way of showing where something is positioned within the 360-degree zodiac.

Each zodiac sign contains 30 degrees. A planet at 5° of a sign is near the beginning, while a planet at 28° is near the end.

Once you understand degrees, other parts of astrology become much easier to follow. You can see exactly where planets are, how close their aspects are and when they move from one zodiac sign into another.