Sect is an ancient

astrological Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions of celesti ...

concept in which the seven traditional "planets" (including the

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

, the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

and the five starry planets) are assigned to two different categories: diurnal or nocturnal sect. As can be seen by the example of Mercury, which is more obscured by being occidental, sect is a form of astrological

polarity Polarity may refer to: Science *Electrical polarity, direction of electrical current *Polarity (mutual inductance), the relationship between components such as transformer windings *Polarity (projective geometry), in mathematics, a duality of orde ...

, much as the distinction between

masculine Masculinity (also called manhood or manliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some beh ...

and

feminine Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...

planets. Since some planets were seen to be stronger in a positive or masculine environment, and others were seen to be more effective in a negative or feminine environment, whether a planet is in sect in any given chart was of particular importance to

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

astrologers, who gave sect greater weight than any other astrological factor. The luminary of sect is the luminary which is said to rule each sect. The Sun is the luminary of sect in a day chart (where the Sun is above the horizon) and the Moon is the luminary of sect in a night chart (when the Sun is below the horizon.) This distinction was crucial in determining the location of the astrological

Lots Lot, LOT, The Lot or similar may refer to: Common meanings Areas *Land lot, an area of land *Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *A Quantity, great many of something, as in, "There are a lot of beetles," or "T ...

– especially in Hellenistic astrology.{{cn, date=August 2013

The planets

''Diurnal'' planets are more comfortable and powerful when they appear in charts in which the Sun is ''above'' the horizon. They include: *

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a Jupiter mass, mass more than 2.5 times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined a ...

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

''Nocturnal'' planets are more comfortable and powerful when they appear in charts in which the Sun is ''below'' the horizon, or at night. They are: *

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

Mercury, a hermaphroditic and very adaptable planet, possesses no inherent sect. Mercury changes its sect orientation depending upon whether it is

oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

of the Sun (that is, positioned so that it rises before the Sun rises and sets before the Sun sets), in which case it is ''diurnal'' in sect; or

occidental Occidental may refer to: * Occident (of or pertaining to) * Western world (of or pertaining to) Places *Occidental, California, a town in Sonoma County, California, US * Occidental Park, Seattle, Washington, US Other uses * Interlingue, a const ...

(that is, rising after the Sun rises and setting after the Sun sets), in which case it is of ''nocturnal'' sect.

Historical usage

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

astrology became even more complex in its treatment of sect – although the factor itself became considerably less important. The Arab astrologers of the Middle Ages defined three forms of sect: *a planet is in sect when it is in a chart where the Sun's position corresponds to its sect (such as Jupiter in a day chart, or when the Sun is above the horizon; or Mars in a night chart, when the Sun is below the horizon); *a planet can still be in some sect if its sign polarity corresponds with its inherent sect (the idea being that

Aries Aries may refer to: *Aries (astrology), an astrological sign *Aries (constellation), a constellation in the zodiac Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aries'' (album), by Luis Miguel, 1993 * ''Aries'' (EP), by Alice Chater, 2020 * "Aries" (song), ...

Gemini Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

Leo Leo is the Latin word for lion. It most often refers to: * Leo (constellation), a constellation of stars in the night sky * Leo (astrology), an astrological sign of the zodiac * Leo (given name), a given name in several languages, usually mas ...

Libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

Sagittarius Sagittarius ( ) may refer to: *Sagittarius (constellation) *Sagittarius (astrology), a sign of the Zodiac * Sagittarius of Gap, a 6th century bishop *Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy Ships *'' S ...

, and Aquarius were masculine or ''diurnal'' signs, whereas

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign ** Vṛṣabha, in vedic astrology * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological ch ...

Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

Virgo Virgo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Virgo (film), a 1970 Egyptian film * Virgo (character), several Marvel Comics characters * Virgo Asmita, a character in the manga ''Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas'' * ''Virgo'' (album), by Virgo Four, ...

, Scorpio, Capricorn and

Pisces Pisces may refer to: *Pisces (astrology), an astrological sign Astronomy *Pisces (constellation), a constellation ** Pisces Overdensity, an overdensity of stars in the Milky Way's halo that is situated in the Pisces constellation ** Pisces II, a ...

were feminine or ''nocturnal'' signs.) Therefore, Venus in Virgo is in sect by sign because Virgo is a negative, or feminine, or nocturnal sign; *a planet might yet have some shred of sect dignity if it is in the hemisphere of the chart corresponding to its inherent sect – for example, if Jupiter is in the same hemisphere as the Sun, whether or not the Sun is above the horizon, or if Venus is in the hemisphere opposite the Sun, whether or not the Sun is below the horizon. Planets satisfying all three of these sect conditions were said to be ''Hayz'', but it is not clear how Hayz strength compares to strength from

essential dignities Essential dignity, in the context of an astrological horoscope or natal chart, refers to the relative “strength” or “weakness” of a planet based on its zodiac sign and specific degree. This strength or weakness is referred to as the plane ...

The planets

Historical usage

Further reading