This is not a cult recruitment newsletter, I promise.
What if there was a way to tell which planets are most positive and, conversely, which ones are the most negative in a given astrological chart? Good news — there is! It’s called sect, an ancient astrological technique that was lost over the centuries and recently rediscovered.
What is Sect?
The ancient Greek word hairesis, translated into English as “sect,” is used in an astrological context to denote a group or team with which a person is affiliated. The premise of sect is simple — the charts of people born durning the day operate differently than those of people born at night.
Each person, according to their birth time, belongs to one of two sects, either Team Day or Team Night. Team Day is led by the sun, while Team Night is led by the moon. Each team is assigned one of the benefic planets (Jupiter to Team Day and Venus to Team Night) and one of the malefics (Saturn to Team Day and Mars to Team Night). Mercury, the switch hitter of the planets, can join either team, depending on several factors in the chart, but is not that influential in terms of sect.
Some images might help. Since we’re talking sects, and definitely not recruiting for a cult, we need some uniforms (by which I mean, togas, duh). Let’s imagine Team Day wearing white and blue linen togas edged with gold, while Team Night has purple velvet togas trimmed with silver. Got that? Okay, moving on…
If a person is on Team Day, meaning that they were born in the daytime hours between sunrise and sunset, Jupiter becomes the most positive planet in the chart, while Venus, while still positive, is less beneficial. Likewise, Saturn becomes the more constructive of the malefic planets, while Mars becomes the most challenging planet in the chart.
Conversely, if a person is on Team Night, born in the nighttime hours between sunset and sunrise, Venus becomes the most beneficial planet in the chart, while Jupiter takes a backseat in terms of helpfulness. Likewise, Mars becomes the more constructive malefic planet in the chart, while Saturn is the most difficult planet in the chart.
Sect is very useful as a starting point in terms of ranking the condition of each of the planets in a birth chart. Its general principals will hold true, even if the particular condition of a planet would lead one to think that it might be more or less well placed because of rulership or exaltation, or exile or depression.
For example, someone might have Saturn in Libra, which is its sign of exaltation, where it does very well, in its home away from home. This would normally be interpreted very positively. However, if this person was born at night, Saturn would also be their most difficult planet. The interpretation would then be tempered, the indications mixed. If this placement occurred in a day chart, the indications would be much more positive and constructive. (This exact example, in relation to Meghan Markle, of an exalted Saturn in Libra in a night chart, as the ruler of her seventh house of marriage, is discussed in this video from last year by The Water Trio, a podcast by three Australian astrologers, unfortunately no longer active.)
Conversely, a planet in a sign of its exile or depression, where it normally doesn’t do well, will function much more constructively if the planet is favored by the sect of the chart, meaning Jupiter and Saturn in day charts and Venus and Mars in night charts. For example, Mars in Taurus is in the sign of its exile, where the warlike planet struggles in Venus’ home sign. However, in a night chart, this placement would be helped immensely and made much more constructive than if it were located in a day chart, where the frustrations of Mars in exile could lead to acting out through anger or violence. Indeed, this is the case with Muhammad Ali, a night chart with Mars in Taurus, near the Midheaven, the highest point of the chart representing career. He was literally a fighter (Mars), but this was expressed constructively in the sign ruled by the other planet favored by the sect (Venus), through a career in boxing.
How Do I Tell Which Team I’m On?
It’s generally pretty easy to tell whether a person has a day chart or a night chart simply by looking at their birth chart. If the sun is anywhere in the top half of the chart, above the axis of the Ascendant and corresponding Descendant, then it is a day chart. For example, Vincent van Gogh was born at 11:00 am, putting his sun (the circle with the dot in the middle) in Aires in the tenth whole sign house:
This example is very clear cut, since he was born in the middle of the day, well after sunrise and well before sunset. Since the sun is above the Ascendant (abbreviated as As) at 21 degrees of Cancer, as well as the Descendant (Ds), denoting the points where the sun would have risen and set on that day, he is on Team Day. Jupiter, in Sagittarius in the sixth house, is the most positive planet in the chart, with Venus, in Pisces in the ninth house, less positive but still helpful. Saturn, in Taurus in the eleventh house, would be the more constructive of the malefic planets, while Mars, in Pisces in the ninth house, would be the most difficult planet in the chart.
Van Gogh has become famous for his visionary and inspiring paintings, though this didn’t happen in his lifetime. And his chart shows a number of mixed indications. Jupiter, his most positive planet, in well-placed in its home sign of Sagittarius conjunct his chart ruler, the moon, and strengthened by Venus exalted in Pisces and aspecting Jupiter. But Mars, the most difficult planet in the chart, is conjunct Venus, weakening her helpfulness and also forming an exact square to Jupiter in a configuration known as overcoming, dimming Jupiter’s light. Furthermore, although Jupiter is most positive planet in the chart and in its own domicile, its location in the sixth house, one of the most difficult house placements, points to potential physical and mental health struggles. Saturn, the more constructive of the malefics, in Taurus, is not aspecting the Pisces-Sagittarius configuration, so is not able to be helpful.
Similarly, with a night chart, we look for where the sun is located. If it is below the horizon (the Ascendant-Descendant axis), it is a night chart, like for Elizabeth Taylor:
Born at 2:30 am, Taylor’s sun is in Pisces in the fourth whole sign house, well below the horizon, making her chart a clear example of Team Night. In her chart, Venus, in Aires in the fifth house, becomes the most positive planet, followed by a still positive but less helpful Jupiter, in Leo in the ninth house. Mars, also in Pisces in the fourth house, becomes the more constructive of the malefics, while Saturn, in Aquarius in the third house, becomes the most challenging planet in the chart.
Taylor was famous as a beautiful and charismatic actor, a poster girl for the charms of Venus in Aires in the fifth house in a night chart. Though Venus is in exile in Aires, this combination, particularly in night charts or when Venus is bonified, points to a gifted performing artist (fifth house) with a signature sex appeal. Venus trining Jupiter (her chart ruler) in Leo literally expands her romantic partners—she was married eight times. Her most constructive malefic planet, Mars, is conjunct her sun in Pisces in the fourth house, ruled by that expansive Jupiter, lending stability and drive to her identity as an artist, and indeed she had a long and successful career. However, Saturn, her most difficult planet, in the third house in its home sign of Aquarius, suggests long term difficulties with the media, as the third house can signify periodical-type media (newspapers, the daily news, etc.). Indeed, she struggled with the media, which was obsessed with her every move, in a pernicious way that we still see today (#freebritney).
Sunrise/Sunset Births
It can be a bit tricky to determine which sect a chart belongs to if the person was born right at sunrise or sunset, when the sun would have been very close to the Ascendant (sunrise) or Descendant (sunset). Just as the sky looks ambiguous and in between dark and light as the sun rises and sets, sunrise and sunset birth charts can require some extra legwork to determine the right sect.
People born around sunrise have the same Ascendant (rising sign) as their sun sign, as the sun is rising at that time, while people born around sunset have the opposite rising sign as their sun sign, as the sun sets opposite its point of rising on that day. On any given day, the sunrise will happen in the same sign as the sun is currently located, shifting throughout the year. For example, today, with the sun in Taurus, at sunrise every morning Taurus is rising for the first couple hours of the day. At sunset, the sun passes through Scorpio, the sign opposite Taurus, as it dips below the horizon.
If you have a birth chart with the sun located within a few degrees of the Ascendant or Descendant, you may want to experiment to confirm the sect, even if it looks like the sun is slightly above or below one of those points. An exact birth time is helpful in this situation, as even a few minutes can make a difference, shifting a chart from a night chart to a day chart or vice versa.
If you’re not sure about the sect, another strategy is to look at the the locations of Jupiter and Venus in the birth chart and determine which one, and which area of life as represented by the whole sign house the planet is located in, has been more beneficial in the person’s life. However, oftentimes people don’t notice when things go well in their lives, just like we don’t notice when the plumbing or electricity is working, only noticing when it stops humming along.
Because of this tendency to overlook the blessings in our lives, it’s necessary to also look at the malefics and try to identify both the more constructive and more difficult planet. A difficult Saturn (which would point to a night chart) would manifest as restrictions and limitations that are difficult to overcome, a sense of depression or alienation, or even chronic ailments (which are more typically Saturnian). Meanwhile, a difficult Mars (likely in a day chart) would manifest in more obviously Mars-like ways, with angry or violent outbursts, or accidents or injuries befalling the person. In day charts, the area of life represented by the whole sign house in which Mars is located is often experienced as having regular flare ups or problematic issues, while in night charts, the ill effects of Saturn are often experienced as more long-term and ongoing.
Working With Sect Day-to-Day
Sect is super helpful in sorting through what can often feel like an overwhelming amount of astrological information, particularly if you are just getting into astrology. If you know your sect, you automatically know which transits which will be more difficult (Mars transits for Team Day, Saturn transits for Team Night) and which ones will be more beneficial (Jupiter transits for Team Day, Venus transits for Team Night).
Likewise, you can look at lunations and eclipses and, looking at the signs in which they are happening and the planets ruling those signs, you can determine more about their effects on your life and how they might manifest. For example, the recent full moon in Scorpio, ruled by Mars, would have been experienced as more difficult for people with day charts, in the whole sign house where Scorpio is located, while people with night charts would have experienced it in a more constructive way.
Try it! Sect will change your life! (Totally NOT recruiting for a cult!)
And in case you need more togas in your life (who doesn’t?), here are togas for days, as Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleopatra makes her entrance into Rome (that wink at the end is pure fifth house Venus in Aires in a night chart!):