What Are Sabian Symbols & What Each Means For Your Zodiac Sign
The Sabian Symbols open the matrix of the ancient mind.
ANON MUENPROM / shutterstock While most of us are aware of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, there are lesser known degrees of each sign, known as the Sabian Symbols, which give greater magic and meaning to life’s events.
What are the Sabian Symbols?
The Sabian alchemists of ancient Mesopotamia divided up the sky into 360 degrees and twelve zodiac signs, with each sign itself made up of 30 degrees.
The 30 degrees of each zodiac sign — beginning with 1 degree Aries (Aries-1) and ending with 30 degrees Pisces (Pisces-30), the first and last sign — each holds their own unique story and energetic meaning.
It's these 30-degree phases of each zodiac sign that are called the Sabian Symbols, which are also considered the doorway to the matrix of the ancient mind.
The Origin Story and History of the Sabian Symbols
The Sabian Symbols were created by astrologer Marc Edmund Jones and clairvoyant Elsie Wheeler in 1925.
Together, the two sat in a car near her home in Balboa Park, an idyllic neighborhood of San Diego, and spent one day recording the symbols Wheeler saw for each of the degrees Jones told her.
Jones, a member of the Sabian Society, felt the call to investigate the deeper meaning of each of the 360 degrees of the Zodiac, enlisting the assistance of Wheeler whose gifts were so extraordinary, she was said to see images, messages and symbols when asked questions.
These images were translated into either a few words or a full sentence, depending on the vision of Wheeler, and became what is now known as the Sabian Symbols. For example, 9 degrees Aries is a crystal gazer, while 1 degree Capricorn is an Indian Chief demanding recognition.
Jones had chosen Wheeler for this work because he believed she was able to access what he originally called the ancient mind matrix of the Sabian alchemists of Mesopotamia, allowing her to tune into the original beliefs and mysticism that fueled the discovery of the sky and the secrets it held.
Another important figure in the practice of the Sabian Symbols was a man named Dane Rudhyar, who had received permission to use Jones’s work to do his own research.
In his alchemist quest, he combined the Sabian Symbols alongside his research into the writings of Psychologist Carl Jung and Hindu Philosophy; it’s this new combination that many astrologers use today.
In this work, the term "Sabian" refers to the people of an ancient sect from the Middle East region, who worship and connect with angels and the divine presence that flows through them during their talismanic practices.
It is said that astrology originally began there with this group of people, often called the Chaldeans, meaning Moon Worshipers.
Sabian Symbols are often used in conjunction with astrology, although they can be used as a separate oracle as well.
For instance, if there is a Full Moon, we look up the Sabian Symbol associated with the degree of the zodiac sign that the Moon is occurring within. This brings greater meaning to the astrological event itself, because it invites us to go past the obvious and through the doorway of the alchemist mind.
The Meaning and Significance of the Sabian Symbols as an Oracle
The Sabian Oracle can be used one of two ways: either asking a question like we would in Tarot, or to bring greater meaning to an astrological event.
Because the Oracle is made up of symbols and not logical, fact-based information as astrology is, it’s said to harness more of the feminine energy rather than the masculine.
This means that to use the Sabian Symbols as an Oracle, we have to detach from the right brain (knowing) and let the left brain (intuitive) take over.
It’s believed that the symbolism of the Oracle serves as a doorway to harnessing our inner wisdom and divine consciousness. So, to use it — whether by asking questions or associating it with an event like a Full Moon — it’s best to communicate with the ancient Sabians by images and symbols, the same way the messages are delivered.
To open the Sabian Symbol Oracle is to step into our inner feelings and validate what we already know but often doubt.
This practice also opens the doorway to the higher self. We are all capable of connecting with this spiritual knowing, but to do so, we have to bypass our consciousness.
By simply stating questions in picture form and then sitting with the Oracle answer we are given — for instance, five degrees of Taurus, whose symbol is a widow at an open grave — we will understand the message that we are meant to receive, instead of the message we just want to hear.
It’s also part of the process that, depending on situation and person, we might read the symbol differently. This isn’t wrong, but reflective of each of us having a different intuitive side.
Even this aspect is part of sinking further down in our feminine self, recognizing that there may not be a right or a wrong, only what we feel.
How To Find Your Sabian Symbol
To use the degree symbols, first look up your birth chart. Then, find the corresponding symbol associated with the degree the planet is in using a calculator.
For example, if your Sun Sign is in 23 degree Virgo, you will look at the symbol associated with 23 Virgo to gain more knowledge about what the ancients have to say regarding your life path.
For a lunar event like a Full Moon, you can look up what degree of a zodiac sign the lunation is occurring within, and look it up in the symbols to discover what secrets that event may hold.
If you want to use it similar to Tarot, you can purchase a deck of Sabian Symbol cards, or you can write down on index cards the number and sign abbreviation — for example, A1 (1 degree of Aries), like Jones did in his original experiment.
Then, ask the question. With your eyes closed, let your intuition draw you towards which one to select, and that will be your answer.
List Of All 360 Sabian Symbols
Aries Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A woman rises out of the water; a seal rises and embraces her
2 degrees: A comedian entertaining a group
3 degrees: A cameo profile of a man, in the outline of his country
4 degrees: Two lovers strolling through a secluded walk
5 degrees: A triangle with wings
6 degrees: A square brightly lighted on one side
7 degrees: A man successfully expressing himself in two realms at once
8 degrees: A large hat with streamers flying, facing East
9 degrees: A crystal gazer
10 degrees: A man teaching new forms for old symbols
11 degrees: The president of the country
12 degrees A flock of wild geese
13 degrees: An unsuccessful bomb explosion
14 degrees: A serpent coiling near a man and a woman
15 degrees: An Indian weaving a blanket
16 degrees: Brownies dancing in the setting sun
17 degrees: Two prim spinsters
18 degrees: An empty hammock
19 degrees: The magic carpet
20 degrees: A young girl feeding birds in winter
21 degrees: A boxer entering the ring
22 degrees: The gate to the garden of desire
23 degrees: A woman in pastel colors carrying a heavy and valuable but veiled load
24 degrees: An open window and a net curtain blowing into a cornucopia
25 degrees: A double promise
26 degrees: A man possessed of more gifts than he can hold
27 degrees: A lost opportunity is regained in the imagination
28 degrees: A large disappointed audience
29 degrees: A celestial choir singing
30 degrees: A duck pond and its brood
Taurus Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A clear mountain stream
2 degrees: An electrical storm
3 degrees: Steps up to a lawn blooming with clover
4 degrees: The rainbow's pot of gold
5 degrees: A widow at an open grave
6 degrees: A bridge being built across a gorge
7 degrees: A woman of Samaria
8 degrees: A sleigh without snow
9 degrees: A Christmas tree decorated
10 degrees: A Red Cross nurse
11 degrees: A woman sprinkling flowers
12 degrees: Window shoppers
13 degrees: A man handling baggage
14 degrees: Children playing at the beach
15 degrees: A man muffled up with a rakish silk hat
16 degrees: An old man attempting vainly to reveal the mysteries
17 degrees: A battle between the swords and the torches
18 degrees: A woman holding a bag out of a window
19 degrees: A newly formed continent
20 degrees: Wind, clouds and haste
21 degrees: A finger pointing in an open book
22 degrees: White dove over troubled waters
23 degrees: A jewelry shop
24 degrees: A mounted Indian with scalp locks
25 degrees: A large well-kept public park
26 degrees: A man serenading his love
27 degrees: An old native woman selling beads
28 degrees: A woman pursued by mature romance
29 degrees: Two cobblers working at a table
30 degrees: A peacock parading on an ancient lawn
Gemini Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A glass-bottomed boat in still water
2 degrees: Santa Claus filling stockings furtively
3 degrees: The garden of the Tuileries
4 degrees: Holly and mistletoe
5 degrees: A radical magazine
6 degrees: Drilling for oil
7 degrees: An old-fashioned well
8 degrees: An industrial strike
9 degrees: A quiver filled with arrows
10 degrees: An airplane falling
11 degrees: A new path of realism in experience
12 degrees: A woman asserting herself
13 degrees: A great musician at his piano
14 degrees: A conversation by telepathy
15 degrees: Two children talking
16 degrees: A woman suffragist haranguing
17 degrees: The head of health dissolved into the head of mentality
18 degrees: Two men talking in a foreign language
19 degrees: A large archaic volume
20 degrees: A cafeteria
21 degrees: A labor demonstration
22 degrees: A barn dance
23 degrees: Three fledglings in a nest, high in a tree
24 degrees: Children skating on ice
25 degrees: A man trimming palms
26 degrees: Winter frost in the woods
27 degrees: A gypsy coming out of the forest
28 degrees: A man declared bankrupt
29 degrees: The first mockingbird in spring
30 degrees: Bathing beauties
Cancer Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A furled and unfurled flag displayed from a vessel
2 degrees: A man suspended over a vast level place
3 degrees: A man all bundled up in fur, leading a shaggy deer
4 degrees: A cat arguing with a mouse
5 degrees: An automobile is wrecked by a train
6 degrees: Game birds feathering their nests
7 degrees: Two fairies on a moonlit night
8 degrees: Rabbits dressed in clothes and on parade
9 degrees: A tiny, nude woman reaching in the water for a fish
10 degrees: A large diamond, not completely cut
11 degrees: A clown making grimaces
12 degrees: A woman nursing a baby
13 degrees: One hand slightly flexed with a very prominent thumb
14 degrees: A very old man facing a vast dark space to the northeast
15 degrees: A group of people who have overeaten and enjoyed it
16 degrees: A man before a square with a manuscript roll before him
17 degrees: The germ grows into knowledge and life
18 degrees: A hen scratching for her chicks
19 degrees: A priest performing a marriage ceremony
20 degrees: Gondoliers in a serenade
21 degrees: A Prima Donna singing
22 degrees: A woman awaiting a sailboat
23 degrees: The meeting of a literary society
24 degrees: A woman and two men on a bit of sunlit land facing South
25 degrees: Dark shadow or mantle thrown suddenly over the right shoulder
26 degrees: Contentment and happiness in luxury, people reading on davenports
27 degrees: A storm in a canyon
28 degrees: A modern Pocahontas
29 degrees: A muse weighing twins
30 degrees: A Daughter of the American Revolution
Leo Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A case of apoplexy
2 degrees: An epidemic of mumps
3 degrees: A woman having her hair bobbed
4 degrees: Man formally dressed and a deer with its horns folded
5 degrees: Rock formations at the edge of a precipice
6 degrees: An old-fashioned woman and an up-to-date girl
7 degrees: The constellations in the sky
8 degrees: A Bolshevik propagandist
9 degrees: Glass blowers
10 degrees: Early morning dew
11 degrees: Children on a swing in a huge oak tree
12 degrees: An evening lawn party
13 degrees: An old sea captain
14 degrees: The human soul awaiting opportunity for expression
15 degrees: A pageant
16 degrees: Sunshine just after a storm
17 degrees: A non-vested church choir
18 degrees: A teacher of chemistry
19 degrees: A houseboat party
20 degrees: The Zuni Sun worshippers
21 degrees: Chickens lost and stumbling
22 degrees: A carrier pigeon
23 degrees: A bareback rider
24 degrees: An untidy unkempt man
25 degrees: A large camel crossing the desert
26 degrees: A rainbow
27 degrees: Daybreak
28 degrees: Many little birds on the limb of a large tree
29 degrees: A mermaid
30 degrees: An unsealed letter
Virgo Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A man's head
2 degrees: A large cross upright
3 degrees: Two angels bringing protection
4 degrees: Three children playing together
5 degrees: A Man dreaming of fairies
6 degrees: A merry-go-round
7 degrees: A harem
8 degrees: First dancing instruction
9 degrees: A man makes a futuristic drawing
10 degrees: Two heads looking out and beyond the shadows
11 degrees: A boy molded in his mother's aspirations for him
12 degrees: A bride with her veil snatched away
13 degrees: A strong hand supplanting political hysteria
14 degrees: A family tree
15 degrees: An ornamental handkerchief
16 degrees: An orangutan
17 degrees: A volcanic in eruption
18 degrees: A Ouija board
19 degrees: A swimming race
20 degrees: An automobile caravan
21 degrees: A girls’ basketball team
22 degrees: A royal coat of arms
23 degrees: An animal trainer
24 degrees: Mary and her white lamb
25 degrees: A flag at half-mast
26 degrees: A boy with a censor
27 degrees: High society women at tea
28 degrees: A bald-headed man
29 degrees: A man gaining secret knowledge from a paper he's reading
30 degrees: A false call unheard in attention to immediate service
Libra Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A butterfly made perfect by a dart through it
2 degrees: The light of the sixth race transmuted to the seventh (ascension)
3 degrees: The dawn of a new day, everything changed
4 degrees: A group around a campfire
5 degrees: A man teaching the true inner knowledge
6 degrees: The ideals of a man abundantly crystallized
7 degrees: A woman feeding chickens and protecting them from the hawks
8 degrees: A blazing fireplace in a deserted home
9 degrees: Three old masters hanging in an art gallery
10 degrees: A canoe approaching safety through dangerous waters
11 degrees: A professor peering over his glasses
12 degrees: Miners are emerging from a mine
13 degrees: Children blowing soap bubbles
14 degrees: A noon nap
15 degrees: Circular paths
16 degrees: A boat landing washed away
17 degrees: A retired sea captain
18 degrees: Two men placed under arrest
19 degrees: A gang of robbers in hiding
20 degrees: A Jewish rabbi
21 degrees: A crowd upon the beach
22 degrees: A child giving birds a drink at a fountain
23 degrees: Chanticleer rooster
24 degrees: A third wing on the left side of a butterfly
25 degrees: Information in the symbol of an autumn leaf
26 degrees: An eagle and a large white dove turning one into the other
27 degrees: An airplane hovering overhead
28 degrees: A man in the midst of brightening influences
29 degrees: Humanity seeking to bridge the span of knowledge
30 degrees: Three mounds of knowledge on a philosopher's head
Scorpio Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A sight-seeing bus
2 degrees: A broken bottle and spilled perfume
3 degrees: A house raising
4 degrees: A youth holding a lighted candle
5 degrees: A massive, rocky shore
6 degrees: A gold rush
7 degrees: Deep-sea divers
8 degrees: The moon shining across a lake
9 degrees: Dental work
10 degrees: A fellowship supper
11 degrees: A drowning man rescued
12 degrees: An embassy ball
13 degrees: An inventor experimenting
14 degrees: Telephone linemen at work
15 degrees: Children playing around five mounds of sand
16 degrees: A girl's face breaking into a smile
17 degrees: A woman, the father of her own child
18 degrees: A woods rich in autumn coloring
19 degrees: A parrot listening and then talking
20 degrees: Woman drawing two dark curtains aside
21 degrees: A soldier derelict in his duty
22 degrees: Hunters starting out for ducks
23 degrees: A rabbit metamorphosed into a fairy
24 degrees: Crowds coming down the mountain to listen to one man
25 degrees: An X-ray
26 degrees: Indians making camp
27 degrees: A military band on the march
28 degrees: The king of the fairies approaching his domain
29 degrees: An Indian woman pleading to her chief for the lives of her children
30 degrees: The Halloween jester
Sagittarius Sabian Symbols
1 degree: An army and campfire
2 degrees: The ocean covered with whitecaps
3 degrees: Two men playing chess
4 degrees: A little child learning to walk
5 degrees: An old owl up in a tree
6 degrees: A game of cricket
7 degrees: Cupid knocking at the door
8 degrees: Rocks and things forming a blockade
9 degrees: A mother with her children on the stairs
10 degrees: A golden haired 'goddess of opportunity'
11 degrees: The lamp of physical enlightenment at the left temple
12 degrees: A flag that turns into an eagle that crows
13 degrees: A widow's past is brought to light
14 degrees: The Pyramids and the Sphinx
15 degrees: The groundhog looking for its shadow
16 degrees: Sea gulls watching a ship
17 degrees: A spiritual sunrise ceremony
18 degrees: Tiny children in sun hats
19 degrees: Pelicans moving their habitat
20 degrees: Men cutting through ice
21 degrees: A child and a dog with borrowed eyeglasses
22 degrees: A laundromat
23 degrees: Immigrants entering
24 degrees: A bluebird standing at the door of the house
25 degrees: A young boy on a hobbyhorse
26 degrees: A flag-bearer
27 degrees: A sculptor
28 degrees: An old bridge over a beautiful stream
29 degrees: A young man mowing the lawn
30 degrees: The Pope
Capricorn Sabian Symbols
1 degree: An Indian chief demanding recognition
2 degrees: Three stained-glass windows, one damaged by bombardment
3 degrees: The human soul receptive to growth and understanding
4 degrees: A party entering a large canoe
5 degrees: Indians rowing a canoe and dancing a war dance
6 degrees: A dark archway and ten logs at the bottom
7 degrees: A veiled prophet of power
8 degrees: Birds in the house singing happily
9 degrees: An angel carrying a harp
10 degrees: An albatross feeding from the hand
11 degrees: A large group of pheasants
12 degrees: A student of nature lecturing
13 degrees: A fire worshipper
14 degrees: Ancient bas-relief carved in granite
15 degrees: Many toys in the children's ward of a hospital
16 degrees: Boys and girls at gym
17 degrees: A girl surreptitiously bathing in the nude
18 degrees: The Union Jack
19 degrees: A child of about five carrying a huge shopping bag
20 degrees: A hidden choir singing
21 degrees: A relay race
22 degrees: A general accepting defeat gracefully
23 degrees: Two awards for bravery in war
24 degrees: A woman entering a convent
25 degrees: An oriental rug dealer
26 degrees: A water sprite
27 degrees: A mountain pilgrimage
28 degrees: A large aviary
29 degrees: A woman reading tea leaves
30 degrees: A secret business conference
Aquarius Sabian Symbols
1 degree: An old adobe mission
2 degrees: An unexpected thunderstorm
3 degrees: A deserter from the navy
4 degrees: A Hindu healer
5 degrees: A council of ancestors
6 degrees: A performer of a mystery play
7 degrees: A child born out of an eggshell
8 degrees: Beautifully gowned wax figures
9 degrees: A flag turned into an eagle
10 degrees: A popularity that proves ephemeral
11 degrees: Man tête-à-tête with his inspiration
12 degrees: People on stairs graduated upwards
13 degrees: A barometer
14 degrees: A train entering a tunnel
15 degrees: Two lovebirds sitting on a fence
16 degrees: A big-businessman at his desk
17 degrees: A watchdog standing guard
18 degrees: A man unmasked
19 degrees: A forest fire quenched
20 degrees: A big white dove, a message bearer
21 degrees: Woman disappointed, disillusioned
22 degrees: A rug placed on a floor for children to play
23 degrees: big bear sitting down and waving all its paws
24 degrees: Man turning his back on his passions teaches from his experience
25 degrees: A butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed
26 degrees: A hydrometer
27 degrees: An ancient pottery bowl filled with fresh violets
28 degrees: A tree felled and sawed
29 degrees: Butterfly emerging from a chrysalis
30 degrees: A beautiful field in bloom
Pisces Sabian Symbols
1 degree: A public market
2 degrees: A squirrel hiding from hunters
3 degrees: A petrified forest
4 degrees: Heavy car traffic on a narrow isthmus
5 degrees: A church bazaar
6 degrees: Officers on dress parade
7 degrees: A cross lying on the rocks
8 degrees: A girl blowing a bugle
9 degrees: A jockey
10 degrees: An aviator in the clouds
11 degrees: Men seeking illumination
12 degrees: An examination of initiates
13 degrees: A sword in a museum
14 degrees: A lady in fox fur
15 degrees: An officer preparing to drill his men
16 degrees: The flow of inspiration
17 degrees: A parade
18 degrees: A gigantic tent
19 degrees: A master instructing his pupil
20 degrees: A table set for an evening meal
21 degrees: A little white lamb, a child and a servant
22 degrees: A man bringing down the new law from Sinai
23 degrees: Spiritual phenomena
24 degrees: An inhabited island
25 degrees: The purging of the priesthood
26 degrees: A new moon that divides its influences
27 degrees: A harvest moon
28 degrees: A fertile garden under the full moon
29 degrees: A prism
30 degrees: The Great Stone Face
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Kate Rose is an artist, writer, passionate yogi, spiritual astrologist, relationship and life coach, and motivational speaker. As a spiritual intuitive, she practices the religion of astrology and love. For more of her work, visit her website.