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2nd decan of Libra: dates and rulers

Libra’s middle third is said to be the most attached to principles, fairness, and commitments kept.

  • sense of justice
  • loyalty to commitments
  • rigor
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2nd decan of Libra: Saturn (faces), Aquarius (triplicity)
The essentials

The 2nd decan of Libra at a glance

For you

Balance turned into principle: justice, the common rule, contracts honored, under Saturn alone.

A strength

Arbitrating a conflict impartially and getting a fair rule respected.

Something to watch

Judging other people’s departures too harshly, or freezing into respect for form.

The sign
♎︎ Libra
Decan planet
♄︎ Saturn
Read more
Calculate my decan

By Thomas Guilhot · updated

The 2nd decan of Libra: the meaning

With the Moon behind, the Chaldean series reaches Saturn, which takes the middle of Libra.

The triplicities point to it as well, since this decan goes to Aquarius, the second air sign, whose traditional master is Saturn, Uranus being the modern master. This agreement gives Libra a clear color: harmony would here be no longer merely a matter of charm, but of justice.

One would picture a person who sits on the co-op board and makes sure everyone pays their share, who rereads a contract for a friend, who cannot stand a colleague being treated differently from the others. Careers in law, mediation, arbitration, and public administration would suit them, as would volunteer roles where bylaws must be upheld. Their word once given counts as a commitment.

The downside would be severity. The taste for rules can turn into rigidity, and the demand for fairness into intolerance toward those who depart from it. Relationships might cool if everything is measured in rights and duties, even in the division of household chores. Leaving room for exceptions, flexibility, and forgiveness would keep this sense of justice its share of humanity. A fair rule remains a tool in the service of people, never the other way around.

Sign
LibraAir, cardinal; ruler: Venus
Degrees
10° to 20°Longitude 190° to 200°
Faces (Chaldean)
SaturnPlanet 1 of the Chaldean order
Triplicity
Aquarius (Saturn (modern: Uranus))2nd air sign

The 2nd decan of Libra: tradition

What tradition says

Ptolemy places the exaltation of Saturn in Libra, and later tradition specifies the degree as the twenty-first, in the next decan.

How is it calculated?

The faces give Saturn; the triplicities give Aquarius and its ruler, Saturn.

Frequently asked questions about the 2nd decan of Libra

Why does Saturn rule the 2nd decan of Libra?

Two lines of reasoning lead there. In the Chaldean order, Saturn follows the Moon, ruler of the first decan. In the triplicity system, this third goes to Aquarius, the second air sign, ruled by Saturn. The two methods converge, which, together with Saturn’s exaltation in Libra, gives this decan a particularly Saturnian reading.

Is the 2nd decan of Libra the fairest?

Tradition credits it with the keenest sense of fairness, Saturn bringing to Libra respect for the rule and for commitments. This is a symbolic indication, not a guaranteed moral quality. The position of Saturn and Jupiter in the chart says more about a person’s relationship to justice.

Why is Libra the only sign that is not a living being?

Because originally its stars belonged to the Scorpion, whose claws they formed. The Greeks still called them Chelai. The Romans eventually made them a constellation of their own, the Libra, the scales, symbol of the balance of the hours at the September equinox, and of justice.

Neighboring decans

The three decans of Libra

The decans of Saturn (faces)