Astrology basics

Sect (day and night charts)

Also known as: sectastrological secthairesisday chartnight chartdiurnal chartnocturnal chartday or night birthdiurnal and nocturnal planetssect in astrologyplanet of the sectbenefic of the sectmalefic of the sectout of sectin sectam i a day or night chartsect calculatorhellenistic sect

Sect (Greek hairesis) is the traditional division of every chart into a day chart, with the Sun above the horizon at birth, and a night chart, with the Sun below it. The tradition assigns the planets to the day or the night party and, from that, picks the luminary, the benefic and the malefic of the sect.

Sect is one of the first things a Hellenistic astrologer looks at in a chart. The Greek word is hairesis, a party or school, and it means that every chart belongs to one of two parties, day or night. A chart is a day chart when the Sun is above the horizon at the moment of birth, and a night chart when the Sun is below it. In other words, the person was born by day or by night, as the chart itself shows, and a birth shortly after sunrise or shortly before sunset can fall on either side depending on the exact time.

The tradition divides the planets between the two parties. The Sun, Jupiter and Saturn are diurnal, which means they belong to the day. The Moon, Venus and Mars are nocturnal and belong to the night. Mercury is the neutral one: it counts as diurnal when it rises before the Sun, as a morning star, and as nocturnal when it rises after the Sun, as an evening star. A planet that fits the sect of the chart is said to be in sect, and one that does not is out of sect.

From this follows a small cast of characters. The luminary of the sect is the Sun in a day chart and the Moon in a night chart. The benefic of the sect is Jupiter by day and Venus by night. The malefic of the sect is Saturn by day and Mars by night. In the tradition the benefic of the sect is regarded as the most helpful planet of the chart, the benefic out of sect as helpful but with less ease, and the malefic of the sect as the less harsh of the two difficult planets, while the malefic out of sect is the one that Valens and other authors treat as the more troubling.

Sect also decides how other techniques are set up. In a night chart the formulas of the lots are reversed, so that the Lot of Fortune and the Lot of Spirit swap their roles. The firdaria, the Persian periods of the planets, begin with the Sun in a day chart and with the Moon in a night chart. This is why a traditional chart cannot be read correctly without first settling the question of sect.

Sect is a tradition, not a science. It describes how ancient astrologers sorted the planets and does not show that a day or a night birth shapes anyone's character or life. It is not advice and not a forecast.

AstroSensus decides the sect from the ecliptic position of the Sun relative to the Ascendant. If the Sun lies on the half of the zodiac that holds houses 7 to 12 of the whole-sign chart, counted by degree and not only by sign, it is above the horizon and the chart is a day chart. Otherwise it is a night chart. The free traditional chart shows the result and uses it for the lots and the firdaria. A birth time is needed, because the Ascendant moves about one degree every four minutes.