Sect
Sect is a distinction in Hellenistic astrology between day charts and night charts, based on whether the Sun sits above or below the horizon at birth. In a day chart the Sun, Jupiter and Saturn are in sect; in a night chart the Moon, Venus and Mars are. A planet in sect expresses its nature more serenely, a nuance that shades the reading of any chart.
Day or night
Simply look at where the Sun was when you were born: above the horizon and your chart is diurnal, below it and your chart is nocturnal. This belonging sorts the planets into two teams, one solar and one lunar. It is one of the oldest keys for understanding why two very close charts can vibrate so differently.
A planet in its place
Mars in sect, in a night chart, acts with more measure than Mars out of sect, like a guest welcomed at the right hour. Sect erases nothing, it tempers. If you meet this notion in your chart, it helps you tell apart the energies that flow naturally from those that need a little more care to find their right tone.
Sources
- , Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune (2017)
- , Night and Day: Planetary Sect in Astrology (1995)