Sabian Symbols · Libra · Degree 17 of 30
Libra 17°
The traditional symbol for this degree, one of the 360 Sabian symbols first recorded in 1925: “A retired sea captain stands on shore, watching ships arrive at and leave the harbor.”
THE SYMBOL
“A retired sea captain stands on shore, watching ships arrive at and leave the harbor.”
Libra 17° · Sabian symbols, devised 1925 (Marc Edmund Jones, clairvoyant Elsie Wheeler)
Remember to round up: a planet or point at 9°30′ takes the 10° symbol, not the 9° one.
What this degree describes
Someone who spent a whole working life at sea now stands on shore and watches other vessels come and go, done with the voyage but not with the water. This degree honors expertise that does not disappear just because the active career ended, a trained eye that still reads wind and tide correctly from dry land. Libra respects this kind of earned perspective, judgment that gets sharper with distance rather than duller.
When a planet or point falls here
A planet at this degree often shows real authority built from direct experience, wisdom that keeps being useful long after the active role has ended. Saturn or Jupiter here can favor a mentor or advisor whose read on a situation is trusted precisely because they've actually lived it, not just studied it. On the tenth house, it can describe a second-act career built entirely on hard-earned first-act knowledge.
What harbor are you now watching over with earned expertise, instead of actively sailing through it yourself?
Find your own Sabian symbols
Your Sun, Moon, Ascendant, and every planet each sit at their own exact degree. Cast a free natal chart to find yours, or let a full reading trace what they mean together.
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