What the degree of a planet tells you
The degree of a planet is its position within its sign, from 0 to 30 degrees. It is shown with minutes in the birth chart.
What it is
Degrees matter for boundaries: a planet at 29 degrees is close to the next sign and nakshatra, and a small error in the birth time can move it across. The degree also matters for combustion and for some dignity rules.
How it is worked out or read
The site shows the degree and minutes of each graha, computed from the ephemeris. Degrees are not scored for strength by the tools.
Where it appears on this site
See the birth chart and rounding and precision.
Degrees as a measure of closeness
A degree is not a measure of strength, but of position. Reading it well means noticing how far a graha is from the next sign, since a planet near a boundary is more sensitive to small changes in time and in the ayanamsa.
Degrees and the sign
A degree in the chart tells the reader where a graha lies within its sign, from 0 to 30 degrees. A graha at 3 degrees of a sign is at its beginning, and one at 27 degrees is near its end. The degree is shown in degrees and minutes in the birth chart, and it is the most precise part of the sidereal position.
The degree does not change the sign, but it tells the reader how close the graha is to the neighbouring sign, which matters when the boundary is near.
Degrees and boundaries
A graha near a boundary is sensitive to small changes in the birth time, the ayanamsa and the calculation method. A degree of 29 in one sign and 1 in the next differs by only two degrees of longitude, but it can place the graha in another sign and another house. The reader should note the degree whenever a graha is within a few degrees of a boundary.
Degrees and nakshatra
The nakshatra of a graha also depends on its degree, since the nakshatras each span 13 degrees 20 minutes. A graha's degree tells the reader its nakshatra as well, and the boundary between nakshatras can fall in the same sign. The two boundaries should be checked separately.
Using degrees with proportion
Degrees are a measure of position, not of strength. A graha at 0 degrees is not weaker than one at 15, and a graha near the middle of its sign is not automatically more stable. The degree is most useful for locating a graha within the sign and for judging how sensitive its placement is to small errors.
Degrees in the birth chart table
In the birth chart table, the degree is shown in degrees and minutes beside each graha's sign. A reader who wants to compare two charts should look at these columns carefully, because a difference of a few minutes can decide whether a graha falls in one sign or the next.