One more level of division was cleverly devised by those ancient Astrologer/Astronomers. By using their existing systems, but applying them in a new way, deeper layers of refined definition became possible.

Even as it was established, each sign of the Zodiac was sub-divided:  first into thirds (called Decans) and finally, into 12 parts, creating spaces with 2½° durations, called Duads (sometimes spelled "Dwads").

Duads share characteristics of the 360° Zodiac circle. When the Sun travels clear around that circle, we call the required time-span a year; for our years are based on the solar seasonal-clock. When the Moon travels clear around it, we call the required time-span a month. Via Duads, even signs of the Zodiac can also travel through the entire Zodiac wheel!

This is because all Duads, like Decans, are ruled by the same 12 star-signs as the Zodiac itself. Since there are 12 Duads per sign, the entire spectrum of the Zodiac can be individually utilized, illuminating small fragments of each sign via their rulerships! This method generously provides a separate ruling sign for each one of those 12 Duads quietly residing at the heart of every Zodiac constellation.

So, all 12 signs are present within every Zodiac sign, appearing there as duad-rulers. Adding Duads was a brilliant coup d'etat for those early Astrologers! We are fortunate to be their inheritors, because Duads offer an additional 144 Zodiacal reference points for unraveling the mysteries sealed within the horoscope. As an added bonus, they are also easily definable in a very straightforward manner; for the principles of Rulership are an integral part of the very fabric of Astrology itself....

Other Interrelationships

The duration of a Duad is 2½° of the 360° Zodiac circle. In our solar-based calendar this distance is 2½ days. Curiously, this Zodiac interval (2½°) closely matches (in days) the length of time the Moon spends in each sign! In 30 days, the amount of time it takes for the Sun to go through one sign, the Moon travels through the full Zodiac circle....

Another interesting interplay of the Lights, and the Duads, lives within this same time-interval of 2½ days. As the Moon races through one complete sign (2½ days), the Sun simultaneously travels through a single Duad (2½°)! Is this by chance, or is it but another mirror of the microcosm within the macrocosm? Quite likely the ancients observed these phenomenon, and included them in their design, but either way, they lend considerable relevance to the entire system of Duads!

Certainly, involving the two great Lights, long-regarded as the two most important planets in Astrology, also symbolizes the illumination possible when using Duads. Thus, Duads may be, as it were, a collision of flint-on-steel, kindling that all-essential spark of understanding, as we ponder the mysteries written in the skies.

...are Duads a Duet?

Princeton University's dictionary defines 'Duad' as "Two items of the same kind". 'Duet' is defined in the same way, adding the elements of people, music and dance.

When examined in light of a waltzing interplay of relationship between Sol (the Sun), Luna (the Moon), and the 2½° intervals (as described above), the cycle begins by recording the newly appearing, crescent Moon in any sign. Like the perfection of the Aries-wheel*, the Duads seem to describe the month-long Solar-Lunar cycle from an idealized state. In other words, the cycle always starts exactly at the perceived beginning, and proceeds from there.

·   The Light Cycle   ·

The old cycle was begun at an earlier conjunction; and, the new ones will always begin with the astronomical conjunction of Sun and Moon. As the time approaches for a celestial conjunction between them (the onset of the cycle), the Moon, ambassador of feeling and emotion, is readying herself for the start of the new Lunation cycle.

As the old cycle winds down, the Moon rapidly wanes her light past the fourth quarter. That's a period of reflection and assimilation, a review of what has transpired during the earlier active, building, culminating, and harvest phases of the still-current cycle (it's also typical of planetary cycles that are similarly based). Finishing up with an inner meditative and reflective process, ingesting and absorbing the subject matter that has gone before, this is the real nourishment phase of the Lunation cycle.

When the two lights finally conjoin at the same celestial longitude, the merging is complete; though brief, for the Moon quickly sweeps ahead. She is changed, however, for in the process, she was released from the meditations of the old cycle, and reborn into the earliest phases of the new one. (Charts can be drawn for such celestial events, and thematic analyses pursued...)

So, the two Lights meet and pass one another, and the new cycle is entered. From there, Luna breezes forward, leaving poor Sol plodding behind her. In 2½ days, she has cleared the first sign, and enters the second one. No doubt her eye is on the third as she races forward.... Meanwhile, old Sol, has only covered 2½° in that same time interval. However, he can enter a new Duad at precisely the same time that she enters the new sign!

·   Exemplary   ·

As mentioned above, "the Duads seem to describe the month-long Solar-Lunar cycle from an idealized state." In that idealized state, the beginning is at the Beginning, or 0° of the sign. Lets look at an example...

Suppose 0° of the sign is exactly where the celestial conjunction of Sol and Luna occurs. Say they start this idealized cycle in the sign Cancer. They hit 0° Cancer at the New Moon (the conjunction of Sol & Luna). They both move forward for 2½ days. Luna enters the next Zodiac sign, which is Leo. Meanwhile, Sol enters the 2nd duad of Cancer, which is... Leo!

In a certain respect, they are still together. Luna is immersed in the sign Leo, basking in it, absorbing its essence. Sol, remembering the recent conjunction (New Moon), remains in the sign of that conjunction, (Cancer) memorializing it, in a sense; while via the Duads, he's moving right ahead with Luna into the next sign, which is Leo!! 2½ days later, they both shift into Virgo, she's in the actual sign, he's in the 3rd duad of Cancer, ruled by Virgo! The leisurely month-long solar visit to a given sign is thus sub-divided into 2½° periods, commemorative of that daring Lunar sprint, sign by sign.**

So, as the intervals change, they reveal the 2½ day steps of the dual Lights traveling together, simultaneously shifting signs together, one by one in quick succession. One changes from one Duad to the next, while the other changes from one Zodiac sign to the next. In the idealized state, the rhythm is precise, and they keep exactly in step. In Nature, they keep a little less closely in step. The many variables of multiple whirling globes of iron, stone, dust and gas simultaneously orbiting an unremarkable star in a small galaxy somewhere in the vast recesses of Space are less idealized, but provide the firm matrix upon which the principles of Duads were born.

·   Tapping Meaning from the Muse   ·

As the Duads first adopt, then shed their Zodiac signs, leaping from one Duad to the next, they unveil the 2½ day strides of the Moon traveling through the signs, one by one in quick succession. Her cycle lasts until the next New Moon, a month later, where she tirelessly begins the onrush again, taking it up once more with the next sign in the lineup. Sol faithfully escorts her, touching signs in perfect step with her. He is her anchor, her center. She is his delight, her whirlwind dance the energetic highlight of his days, his nights. The Duads trace their movements well, reflecting rapid whistle-stops, sign-by-sign, as their choreography sweeps eternally across the skies.

The tracing appears to inlay Luna's steps across the sky within each sign, for Sol to touch upon as he journeys with her through countless seasons. From such interactive symbolism, one must extract both a solar element, and a lunar one. Yet, it's the lunar fast-track that's being followed so closely by the Sun. Hence, lunar elements appear as the stronger of the two, here. As solar, the individual, the consciousness, the essence of self, is touched. As lunar, the shadowy inner world of intuition, instinct, and intellect emerges; bringing with it the sense of knowing what is normalcy, of feeling what is familial, and introducing undercurrents of a territory that is neither, and rarely touched. The lunar theme seems resolute; the solar essence enables:  it individualizes, makes pertinent, and carries the understanding home.

Primarily, then, the Duads would symbolically convey that side of the human experience that is so very Lunar, instinctive, yet find it buried deep within the Solar logos! Here is the emotion, profoundly hidden within the self, maybe even lodged within the zones of the sub-conscious; so often completely invisible for a lifetime, yet so illuminating when known! Astrology stands ever-ready to help humanity in their quest for inner understanding of such fare. Hence, with perseverance, it may be possible to excavate some of these subtleties of personal motivation using the humble Duads....

________________

*Aries-wheel - where the signs appear equally distributed around the horoscope wheel, and begin with 0° Aries in the position of the Ascendant. It corresponds with the dawning of the first day of Spring.

**If this quite-probable scenario is indeed the case, the Duads could well be one of the earliest records of the Lunation Cycle.

Birth of an Idea

Event Chart for the fine Moment of Clarity when extensions of the Solar-Lunar-duad interrelationship concepts, presented above, first coalesced into conscious thought, and descended into my awareness...

Organization

In any event, these new divisions, once developed and given the rather intriguing name 'Duads' (or Dwads), were ripe for further symbolic insemination. As we have already seen, the manner chosen by those astute astrologer-astronomers was singular.

Yet, as hinted-at above, their systematic arrangement of the signs within the signs, carried a certain repetitious form:  all twelve signs are used as the final sub-rulers of each sign. ( 12 x 12 = 144 subdivisions in all! )

All signs follow the format of the chronicle above, with Luna starting out her meteoric trek around the Zodiac arm-in-arm with Sol. She then employs her strategy of running-on ahead, winding-up her circuit just as Sol reaches his own finale, the last degrees of the sign he's transiting that month. Together once again, the Celestial Consorts begin the next month arm-in-arm; just before she runs off somewhere, up-ahead, again, circling around to meet him at the end. Each month they begin the same way, just as they did last month, just as they will next month, and the next, bravely repeating their cycles endlessly across the heavens.

As indicated earlier, the record of this stately minuet seems carved into the Duads. So, while the system is uniquely laid out, the repetitions are such that one can readily learn to figure them in one's head. Once located, the principles of rulership will serve as guides into inspired interpretations of the Duads:

• The system remains completely sequential, and once again uses the signs in Zodiacal order.
• The starting point is exactly the same for each sign:  0° of that sign.
• Each sign starts out its own first 2½° segment with a different sign from all of it's neighbors!
• From there, the Duads all follow, in order, through the Zodiac.
• Like first segments of the sign itself, the first duad of each decan is the same sign as that decan. (See graphic, drawn with rainbow-colors-for-signs & lodged at end of this article; browser's 'Back' arrow returns you here...)

Examples

So, for example, Aries starts out its sequence of 12 duads with Aries.

• The sign Aries is the first sub-sub-ruler of this smallest division and extends from 0°-2½° of the sign Aries.
• The next duad's ruler is Taurus and runs from 2½° - 5° of Aries.
• It's followed by Gemini from 5° - 7½° of Aries.
• The pattern continues like this through all the signs.
• The final 2½° duad segment of Aries ends with Pisces as its sub-sub-ruler (27½° to 30° of Aries).
• Thus all twelve signs are represented as sub-sub-rulers of the sign Aries via the duads.

Likewise, Taurus starts with Taurus as the first duad.

• This Taurus-ruled duad runs from 0° - 2½° of the sign Taurus.
• The next duad is ruled by Gemini, and runs from 2½° - 5° of Taurus.
• It's followed by a duad ruled by Cancer, from 5° - 7½° of Taurus.
• The next duad will be Leo, etc.
• Taurus' final duad is ruled by Aries.

Gemini's 1^st duad will be Gemini, followed by Cancer, followed by Leo, then Virgo. It's last duad will be Taurus.

Cancer's first duad will start with Cancer, then Leo, Virgo, Libra, etc. Cancer's last duad will be Gemini.

All the signs will continue in the manner of their fellows. Sol and Luna will weave their dance across the sky, through all the signs of the Zodiac, over the course of a year's time. Thus the rulerships of all the signs will follow the same underlying pattern, described above....

Other Components

A couple of other structural characteristics of Duads are repetitive, and are worthy of note. They involve the constant patterns interwoven with the original three 10° Decans in each sign, providing supplemental enhancements of identification and Astrological meanings:

• Each Decan of every sign contains four Duads ( 2½° x 4 = 10° ).
• The first duad of each decan is always exactly the same sign as that of the individual decan itself. (See graphic, done in rainbow-colors-by-sign at end of article; browser's 'Back' button returns you here...)
• Notice the inner and outer color-rings of the image below. They are color-coded by Element ( fire · earth · air · water · ). This is the natural order of the duads, by Element. No matter which one is the beginning of the sequence, the others will follow from there in this order, and then repeat.
• Each sign's 1^st duad is the same color as the sign's color. The next three colors follow, completing a span of 10°, the length of a decan, 1/3 of a sign. Then, the color series begins anew with the same color as the main element of the sign, and the next three colors follow:   the span of another decan.
• Like the steady dance of Sol and Luna, the pattern is the same all the way around the wheel.

All duads follow these same patterns, and this what the color-wheels were designed to convey! The color-wheel above symbolizes both the Decans, the Duads and their interplay with the Signs. The colorations show the areas covered by a given set of rulers (sign), sub-rulers (decan), and sub-sub-rulers (duad). Please notice that:

• Three of the colored rings have larger sections which display only the 12 Signs:
  • the outermost - showing Element by color-code
  • the next outermost - showing the sign glyphs, color-coded by Element
  • the next, or middle ring - presenting Mode (also called Quality) by color-code (see Legend), and the numerical sequence (1-12) of the signs.
• The 36 Decans are color-coded by Mode/Quality:
  
  ( cardinal · fixed · mutable · )
  • the one-third ( 10° ) divisions are displayed by their color
  • the same Mode is shown for the 1^st Decan as for the sign itself.
• The 144 Duads are color-coded by Element:
  
  ( fire · earth · air · water · )
  • note the element shown for the 1^st Decan
  • at the beginning of each sign, the inner ring shows the same color as that sign's element!
  • all the subsequent color sequences then pick up from that initial point, and follow by matching the entire outer ring in order.
    • for example, let's start with Gemini, the 1^st air sign, and also the 3^rd sign of the Zodiac:  the first duad would be air, followed by water, then by fire, then earth, air, water, fire, earth, air, water, fire, earth.
    • the Elements will cycle in exactly this manner through each sign's sequence of 12 duads; the order does not vary, only the starting point...
    • in the example, the signs of Gemini's duads would run with its own sign at the beginning, so it would have Gemini first, followed by Cancer, followed by Leo, then Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, & Taurus.
    • again, it will continue on in this same way and, in this order, through each sign's series of 12 duads, varying only by starting point (and, hence, the ending point)....
• As with Decans, planets ruling the signs that rule each Duad also co-rule the Duad
  • thus, if we pick from the example above, say the 3^rd duad of Gemini, it's ruled by the sign Gemini, the decan Gemini, and the duad Leo.
  • Mercury rules Gemini, and the Sun rules Leo.
  • While that duad would have a strongly Mercurial feel, there would also be an element of the Sun's warmth, regal power and supreme confidence.

Rulers Define and Clarify!

By including the Duads as well as the Decanates, three rulers are isolated for every 2½° segment of the Zodiac:   the Sign, the Decan, and the Duad. Each one will lend a depth and quality to your understanding that will be more elucidating and thus, more satisfying. As we have seen, via the ritual dance of Sol and Luna, the Duads can legitimately be understood to foster an emotional element in any behind-the-scenes basis of planetary activities. They may help solve the persistent riddles that begin with the single word, "Why...?".

Rulership is the basis of reading Astrological charts! Once the planetary placements are seen (domicile), their interactions with their neighbors known (aspects), the chart begins to speak. Signs and planets rule houses, even unoccupied ones. The conditions (by sign, house, aspect, etc.) of the unoccupied house's planetary rulers will crystalize understanding of that still-vital area of a person's life. Again, the Duads will help to shed much light, here. Using Duads*** to illuminate and understand the degrees on the angles, or the ones that initiate houses can give insight into specific areas of life, as appropriate to the type of chart at hand (natal of an individual, a country, or an enterprise; an horary chart; a personal or mundane event; etc.).

Using Duads and Decanates, as well as Signs, and blending the three ruling signs in a descending crescendo of weightedness allows for a fuller description of the energies at work at any given place in any horoscope. It doesn't require learning a lot more arcane data. When put to the test and actually utilized:  the system works, it rings true, the descriptive terms it provides fit remarkably well!

Give it a try! Using this simple, yet profound system will undoubtedly bring enhanced clarity to your understanding of any charts you care to contemplate, delineate, or interpret.

________________

***Consideration given to the conditions of the ruler/s of both Decans & Duads, for any point in the horoscope, will add clarity to the strengths and issues in the chart under review...

Here is another view of the Duads, but this time
they are color coded according to their signs,
which are displayed as a rainbow color-wheel.

Articles on Using Astrology's Starlit Path:

[Table of Contents]  [Decans]  [Duads]  [Eclipse]  [Declination]
 [Horoscope]  [Ascendant]  [the Angles]  [Combust!]  [Zodiac]
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