Math can't be avoided if you're learning astrology, and whilst you don't need to be all that bright to get your head around the basics, you can’t pull the 'I read charts from intuition' card. Whether we like it or not, astrology is a system, and that system has its rules. It's also got its own language.

I first came across the idea of decanates in a book by Isabel Hickey. It's the method of splitting each sign into three sections of 10 degrees each and assigning each section a planet which then becomes a sub-ruler. This will modify or colour the sign involved. If the planet is in the first 10 degrees,