At a Glance
- Symbol
- “An inventor performs a laboratory experiment.”
- Degree
- 13° Scorpio (223rd of the zodiac)
- Jones Keyword
- Cleverness
- Element
- Water
- Modality
- Fixed
- Ruler
- Pluto
- Decanate
- 2nd, sub-ruled by Neptune
- Phase
- Security
The Image
The Sabian Symbol for 13° Scorpio gives a single, vivid scene. “An inventor performs a laboratory experiment.”
Sabian Symbols are received images, not invented metaphors — so the reading begins with the scene itself, not an abstract trait. Here is the method for reading any Sabian Symbol, step by step.
What 13° Scorpio Means
This degree falls in Scorpio, a water sign ruled by Pluto, which gives the image a current of feeling and absorption — energy that wants to merge, sense, and remember. As a fixed degree it sustains — it holds a position and deepens it rather than starting over.
Its place in the larger cycle is the phase of Security — The deep base that lets one risk the descent. That phase is the current running underneath the image.
The Gift and the Shadow
Every Sabian degree has a bright reading and a difficult one — the same image shows both. At its best, 13° Scorpio expresses cleverness as a clear, healthy version of its energy, neither overplayed nor avoided.
Its shadow is the same energy out of season: the gesture made compulsively, or at the wrong time, so that what should restore or build instead drains. Holding both at once is how the degree is read honestly — most people live somewhere between the two.
The Keyword: Cleverness
Marc Edmund Jones assigned every degree a single keyword as a compression of its meaning. For 13° Scorpio that word is Cleverness. A keyword is a handle, not the whole reading — but it points at the register the degree works in and confirms a reading you reach from the image itself. More on how Jones keywords work →
13° Scorpio in a Birth Chart
The same degree reads differently depending on which placement sits there. If 13° Scorpio is your Sun, the image describes how you express and act. On your Moon, it describes your inner life and what you need to feel safe. On your Ascendant, it describes how you arrive — the version of you that walks into rooms. How Sun, Moon and Ascendant symbols differ →
Where This Degree Sits
13° Scorpio occupies the 2nd decanate of Scorpio, sub-ruled by Neptune. On the wider wheel it belongs to the Collectivization hemicycle and the act of Group Integration: Formation of meaningful social and spiritual bonds. Its polarity is yin.
Is 13° Scorpio your Sun? See the image at your degree free — then go deeper. No account.
Start free →- Sun, Moon & Ascendant — three images, not one
- The pattern that runs across all three placements
- A written action plan, mapped to your chart
- Saved as a link for 7 days · download as PDF
- A 12-month forecast from your real transits
- ~25 key moments, each mapped to its Sabian image
- Organized by quarter, with one throughline
Common Questions
What is the Sabian Symbol for 13° Scorpio?
The Sabian Symbol for 13° Scorpio is: “An inventor performs a laboratory experiment.” Its Jones keyword is Cleverness.
What does 13° Scorpio mean?
13° Scorpio is a water, fixed degree ruled by Pluto, in the phase of Security: The deep base that lets one risk the descent. Its keyword, Cleverness, points to its core energy.
Is 13° Scorpio a good degree?
Like every Sabian degree it has a gift and a shadow — the same image shows both. At its best it expresses cleverness consciously; its shadow is that same energy out of season. It is read as a working tendency, not a verdict.
What is the keyword for 13° Scorpio?
Marc Edmund Jones's keyword for 13° Scorpio is Cleverness.