⊹ Free Distributions & Bounds Calculator
Umbriel follows your ascending degree through the traditional bounds and names the planet distributing each stretch of life — a timing technique that depends on your own latitude, so two people born the same day get different dates. Free, no account.
- What you'll needBirth date, time and place
- What you getYour distribution periods with their bound lords and dates, and the ingresses between them
- CostFree — no account required
Runs in your browser. Nothing to install, nothing to set up.
What it actually is
Distribution advances the ascending degree through the bounds — the unequal subdivisions of each sign, each ruled by one of the five non-luminary planets. The planet ruling the bound the degree currently occupies is the distributor, and it is read as governing that stretch of life.
The bounds are not equal, and that is the point. They run from about two degrees to about eight, so a distribution period can last a few years or well over a decade depending on where in a sign you happen to be.
⚠️ The rate depends on your birth latitude, because the rate at which degrees ascend does. Two people born on the same day in different places genuinely get different distribution dates — not a rounding difference but a real one, and it is a common source of confusion when comparing results between tools.
There is more than one set of bounds — the Egyptian and the Ptolemaic differ — and the choice changes both the rulers and the boundaries. Umbriel states which set it is using rather than leaving it implicit.
How Umbriel computes it
Distribution follows the ascending degree through the bounds — the unequal traditional subdivisions of each sign — at the rate of ascension for your own birth latitude, not a nominal rate. Because the bounds are unequal and ascension varies with latitude, two people born the same day in different places get different distribution dates, which is the technique behaving correctly rather than a discrepancy.
What's in your result
- Your distribution periodsWith the bound lord for each and its dates.
- The bound set, namedEgyptian or Ptolemaic, stated rather than assumed.
- Ingresses between boundsThe transitions, which are the dates the technique points at.
- Computed for your latitudeSince ascension rate varies with where you were born.
- The distributor's natal conditionWhere that planet sits in your chart, which is what makes the period readable.
Common questions
What are the bounds in astrology?
Unequal subdivisions of each sign — usually five per sign — each ruled by one of the non-luminary planets. They are a traditional layer of dignity, older than most of what modern astrology uses.
What is distribution?
Advancing the ascending degree through those bounds over a lifetime. The planet ruling the current bound is the distributor and is read as governing that period.
Why do my distribution dates differ from another site's?
Two likely reasons: a different bound set (Egyptian versus Ptolemaic), or a tool using a nominal ascension rate rather than your birth latitude. Umbriel uses your latitude and names its bound set.
How long does a distribution period last?
It varies with the width of the bound, which runs from about two to about eight degrees — so anywhere from a few years to well over a decade.
What is the difference between the Egyptian and Ptolemaic bounds?
They are two different sets of subdivisions, with different boundaries and in places different rulers. The Egyptian set is older and more widely used in Hellenistic work; the Ptolemaic comes from the Tetrabiblos. Which you pick changes your distribution dates, so Umbriel names the one it used.
Is the distributions calculator free?
Yes — the periods, the bound lords and the ingresses, with no account.
Go deeper
Each of these is a free tool in its own right.
Umbriel offers every system here as a set of prompts to think with, never as a statement of fact about who you are. Take what's useful, leave the rest.