This is a poem in this series of 144 poems that I’m writing based on the dodeks, or twelfth parts, of the Zodiac signs. As far as I know, everybody else calls them dodekatemoria, but that’s a very complicated word to say, so I just call them dodeks.
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Libra of Leo: The Community Rites
5° Leo 00′ to 7° Leo 29′
It's time to sit with strangers at the feast,
and ask open questions — and answer in kind.
Libations have been poured; the earnest priest
has spoken to gods — has heard in their mind
how the assembly should answer their call
for now — make potluck questions your passion:
Ask your new seat-mate what makes them stand tall;
Get their opinions on food and fashion,
their hobbies, their children, their earnest creeds,
their brushes with fame or with history;
or how to help them by meeting their needs.
Nor let your own self be a mystery,
but briefly reveal what may be aligned —
and plan to meet again, if you're inclined.
Image: A circle of people celebrate summer with music, speeches and feasting.
Important Relationships
- Part of the Egyptian Term of Venus in Leo
- Part of Decan I of Leo (administrated by Saturn): The Spotlight
Colophon
This is a part of a series of poems based on the dodekatemoria, or twelfth parts, of the Zodiac signs. The dodekatemoria are sub-segments of the Zodiac, each representing two degrees thirty minutes (2° 30′) of arc; there are 144 dodeks (as I call them) in the full Zodiac, or twelve in each sign. Each dodek is supposed to be a recapitulation or miniature repetition or summary of its parent zodiac sign, as though it were filtered through the lens of the main sign.
The Sun crosses this distance of 2° 30′ in about two and a half days, making these dodeks cognate with the Moon, which crosses one sign of the Zodiac, or thirty degrees (30°) in about two and a half days. The Sun’s passage through a dodek thus mirrors the Moon’s passage through a sign, and squeezes a “mini-year” of passage through twelve signs into a single month.
Each series of dodeks begins at 0° 00′ of its parent sign with the same sign, and there are four dodeks in each sequence of 10° degrees. Each poem in this series will give a (my) name of the dodek, its relevant degrees, a sonnet describing it, a 1-2 sentence description of the dodek, and some other information.
