← Encyclopedia of Embodied Energy · lesson 10/164
Definition
Definition describes how a chart's defined centres hang together. Defined centres that are joined to one another by complete channels form a connected island; a chart may have one island or several. The number of separate islands is the chart's definition. The tradition reads it as the shape of a person's inner wiring: whether their consistent energies all talk to each other directly, or sit in separate groups that need something to link them.
The five possibilities
| Definition | What it means here |
|---|---|
| None | No centre is defined. Only the Reflector has this. |
| Single | All the defined centres are connected in one island. |
| Split | Two islands, not joined to each other. |
| Triple split | Three separate islands. |
| Quadruple split | Four separate islands. |
Four is the most there can be. Each island needs at least two defined centres, since a channel always defines the two at its ends, and there are only nine centres to go round. A quadruple split is rare; single and split definitions are by far the most common.
How we work it out
We take the defined centres as points and the complete channels as links between them, then count how many separate connected groups the picture falls into. Two channels that share a centre join their islands; a centre with channels to two others connects all three. It is a simple count, with no weighting: a long chain of four centres is one island, exactly like a pair.
How it is read
Single definition is read as self-contained. Everything consistent in the person is linked to everything else, so they can process an experience or a decision through their own wiring without needing anyone to complete it. The tradition describes people with single definition as often processing quickly on their own terms.
Split definition is read as two parts that do not directly connect. The tradition describes people with a split as often feeling drawn to whoever bridges it: the person who carries the missing gate, so that in their company the two islands join and things feel whole. That can be a real comfort, and also a reason to depend on particular company without noticing. It also describes split charts as tending to take a little longer to reach clarity, because the two parts have to be brought together.
Triple and quadruple splits are read as needing more variety still: several different people or settings, each joining up a different part of the chart, and more time for anything to settle. The tradition often suggests such people do well with time among many others, not because they need a particular person, but because no single person bridges all their gaps.
None of these is better than another. Definition describes how a chart processes, not how well.
Bridges
In a split chart, a bridging gate is a single gate that would join two islands if it were lit. These are the gates a split chart tends to feel the pull of in other people, and in the sky: when a transiting planet sits in one, the islands join for as long as it stays. A reading of two people together also says whether being together bridges a split that either carries alone.
Some teachers further divide splits into "simple" splits, which one gate would bridge, and "wide" splits, which need two. We compute only the single-gate bridges, because they are the ones a person can most readily notice.
In your chart
The islands are visible on the drawing as groups of filled centres linked by channels. A reading names the definition and lists each island's centres, and for a split chart it lists any bridging gates and the channel each would complete.