Dodecatemoria
Manilius Astronomica Book II – Verse 693 ff. – for the Subdodecatemoria Verse 740 ff in Book II
In Hellenistic astrology there are two distinct fine‑division systems that must not be confused:
- Dodekatemoria (twelfth‑parts of the signs).
- Subdodekatemoria (sub‑divisions inside each twelfth‑part).
Dodecatemoria
- Each zodiac sign of 30° is divided into 12 equal parts of 2.5°, forming a “mini‑zodiac” inside the sign.
- These 12 parts are assigned to the zodiac signs in natural order starting from the sign itself: Aries → Taurus → Gemini … → Pisces.
- The ruler of each dodekatemorion is simply the ruler of the corresponding zodiac sign (for an Aries twelfth‑part, Mars; for a Taurus twelfth‑part, Venus, etc.). This scheme is fixed and purely sign‑based.
- Dodecatemoria; the subdivision of each zodiac sign into 12 parts of 2.5° each, assigned to signs or planets) has Babylonian origins (ca. 5th century BCE, e.g., cuneiform tablets from Babylon under the Achaemenid Empire), which were adopted and standardized in Hellenistic astrology (Greece, 2nd–3rd centuries BCE). – Lis Brack‑Bernsen: The Babylonian Dodecatemoria and Calendar Texts: Inverse Schemes for Determining Position and Times for the Schematic Sun and Moon (2021). In this article she argues that certain Babylonian cuneiform calendar texts (notably tablets listed as LBAT 1586+1587) encode what can be interpreted as a micro‑zodiac (“dodecatemoria”‑scheme), showing a computational method to map lunar (and solar) motion onto a 12‑part subdivision of the zodiacal circle. jps.library.utoronto.ca+2Epub Uni Regensburg+2
- Otto E. Neugebauer & Abraham J. Sachs: The “Dodekatemoria” in Babylonian Astrology (Archiv für Orientforschung, vol. 16, 1952/53, pp. 65‑66) — one of the classic foundational papers to argue for a Babylonian origin of the dodecatemoria concept.
https://cdli.earth/publications/1699923?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Subdodecatemoria
- Each 2.5° dodekatemorion can then be subdivided again into five smaller segments (0.5° each).
- These five micro‑sections are not assigned by zodiac signs but by the classical Chaldean order of the planets, which ranks them by “weight” and apparent speed: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury.
- The “subdodekatemoria rulers” are therefore planets, not sign rulers; they refine the tone inside a single twelfth‑part, adding a very subtle planetary coloration according to this order.
Construct sub-dodecatemorions
To construct sub-dodecatemorions within the traditional 2.5° dodecatemorions of the zodiac, we draw on the chaldean planetary order—Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury. Each zodiac sign is divided into twelve dodecatemorions, sequentially assigned to the signs starting from the sign itself, with the planetary ruler of that assigned sign serving as the anchor.
For subdividing, for five sub-segments per dodecatemoria —with 0.5° each for five parts. Begin by assigning the first sub-dodecatemoria to the ruler of the dodecatemoria’s assigned sign, then proceed through the chaldean sequence
Example: Ascendent at 3°42′ Sagittarius, which falls within the second dodecatemoria of Sagittarius (spanning 2.5° to 5°), assigned to Capricorn and thus ruled by Saturn. Dividing it into five equal 0.5° sub-dodecatemorions, the first with the ruling planet Saturn – from 2.5° to 3°. The second sub-dodecatemorion has as ruling planet Jupiter, in chaldean order from 3° to 3.5°. Mars follows in the third, from 3.5° to 4°, Venus the fourth, 4° to 4.5°, and then Mercury from 4.5° to 5°.
3°42′ Sagittarius) = 3,5°–4° – 3rd. Sub-Dodecatemoria with Mars ruling.
Short contrast
- Dodekatemoria: ordered by zodiac signs; the ruler is the sign ruler; shows a hidden or secondary sign quality behind the planet’s position.
- Subdodekatemoria: ordered by the Chaldean planetary sequence; the ruler is a planet from that sequence.
ENCOUNTERS WITH ALCABITIUS: READING ARABIC ASTROLOGY IN
PREMODERN EUROPE – https://shareok.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/b3ecad19-4bb7-471c-99f6-984c653114dd/content – https://talk.vonabisw.de/Astrotalk3/Alcabitius.pdf
Spearbearers in Astrology – https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCKPz4q3EX-vMoXNPNZphtIn4zYVQK4S6