Novenaria

Definition

Novenaria are a minor essential dignity: the nine equal segments, each of 3°20', into which Avelar and Ribeiro divide a zodiacal sign. The very first of them — Aries 0°00' to 3°20', where the circle opens — is ruled by Mars, the ruler of Aries. The novenaria that follow take their rulers in the order of the domiciles, and the full domicile-rulership sequence repeats nine times across the zodiac.

In Tradition

Avelar and Ribeiro present novenaria as a sign's ninth-parts: divide the thirty degrees of a sign into nine equal segments of 3°20' and you have them. They anchor the sequence at Mars, which rules the first novenaria as ruler of Aries, then run the rest by domicile order, the pattern repeating nine times around the circle. They note the kinship with the Vedic navamsa, which divides the sign nine ways by the same arithmetic. But they keep the two apart: novenaria follow the Hellenistic-Latin domicile-order attribution, where navamsa assigns its rulers by a different method.

In Practice

To find a planet's novenaria, split its sign into nine parts of 3°20' each and see which part the planet falls in. Read the ruler of that part as a minor dignity layered over the bounds, faces, and exaltations. Start the rulership count from Mars at the head of Aries and proceed by domicile order, letting the sequence wrap nine times across the zodiac. Treat this as a Hellenistic-Latin scheme, distinct from the Vedic navamsa even though both cut the sign into nine. The slicing matches, but the rulership method does not, so keep the two traditions' attributions separate when you read the part.

Historical Origin

The dignity is set out by Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro in On the Heavenly Spheres (2010, Appendix 3, p. 253). There novenaria are defined as the 3°20' ninth-parts of a sign, the first (Aries 0°00'-3°20') ruled by Mars, and the rest attributed to the planets in domicile order. The sequence repeats nine times across the zodiac.

Etymology

Origin: Latin. Meaning: ninth-parts.

Further Reading

• Helena Avelar and Luís Ribeiro, On the Heavenly Spheres
• Chris Brennan, Hellenistic Astrology