La Volasfera: The Sepharial Degree Symbols #
La Volasfera (“The Turning Sphere”) is the earliest systematic degree symbol set to be widely published in the English-speaking astrological world. Attributed to the Italian astrologer Antonio Borelli and published in English by Walter Gorn Old, better known as Sepharial, in 1898, La Volasfera provides detailed character descriptions for each of the 360 zodiacal degrees. It predates the Sabian Symbols by nearly three decades and represents a fundamentally different approach to degree symbolism.
Character and Style #
La Volasfera’s descriptions are notably more detailed, narrative, and character-oriented than either the Charubel or Sabian systems. Each entry typically includes a symbolic image, a character description (the type of person born under this degree), and sometimes a prediction about likely life outcomes. The style is literary and Victorian, reflecting the era of its publication:
Entries often begin with a symbolic image (“A man climbing a steep mountain path”), continue with a character analysis (“This denotes a person of determined ambition and persistent effort”), and may conclude with a prognostic statement (“Such a one will achieve eminence through sheer perseverance”).
The predictive element is the most distinctive — and most controversial — feature of La Volasfera. Unlike the Sabian Symbols, which provide evocative images without explicit predictions, La Volasfera sometimes makes quite specific statements about the likely trajectory of a life. These predictions should be approached with the same skepticism appropriate to any predictive astrology claim, and their Victorian moral assumptions (about class, gender roles, and the relationship between character and fate) should be read in historical context.
Origins and Attribution #
The attribution to Antonio Borelli is uncertain. Sepharial published the work as a translation from an Italian manuscript, but the original Italian source has not been independently verified. Some scholars have suggested that Sepharial himself composed the descriptions based on traditional astrological correspondences, using the Italian attribution as a literary device.
Regardless of authorship, La Volasfera represents a significant document in the history of degree symbolism. It was the standard reference for degree interpretation in English-speaking astrology for several decades before the Sabian Symbols superseded it, and its influence persists in the degree symbolism work of later practitioners.
Working With La Volasfera #
La Volasfera’s detailed character descriptions make it a richer — but more potentially misleading — tool than simpler systems. The specificity of its descriptions can feel uncannily accurate for some degrees and wildly inappropriate for others. As with all degree symbol systems, the most productive approach is selective and contemplative: use the descriptions as starting points for reflection rather than as definitive character assessments.
The predictive elements should be treated with particular caution. Victorian-era assumptions about fate, character, and social mobility do not translate directly to contemporary contexts, and the prognostic statements may be more informative as cultural artifacts than as astrological guidance.
Guiding Questions #
- Have you compared a La Volasfera description for a significant degree in your chart with the Sabian Symbol for the same degree? What similarities and differences emerge?
- How do you respond to the predictive elements in La Volasfera’s descriptions? Do you find them useful, uncomfortable, or simply dated?
- Does the more detailed, narrative style of La Volasfera provide more interpretive material than simpler systems, or does the additional detail introduce more noise than signal?
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