DECAN WALK – PISCES 1, EIGHT OF CUPS – Part I

Telos Tarot of 777 original line art for Pisces 1 decan card

Ascendant Decan of Pisces: A man with two bodies, but joining their hands.

Lord of Indolence (Abandoned Success) – Telos Tarot of 777 Eight of Cups

Decan Walk: Pisces 1

In the tarot Pisces’ first decan corresponds to the Eight of Cups, Indolence or Lord of Abandoned Success.

  • Pisces is ruled by Jupiter
  • the Chaldean decan ruler is Saturn
  • Eights have a Mercury influence through Hod, the eighth sephira.

The description is a strange one: A man with two bodies, but joining their hands. It seems rather Mercurial, like the Gemini twins. The Picatrix version says it “looks as though he is giving a gesture of greeting with his hands.” Agrippa says he is carrying burdens, and Bruno that he is carrying his possessions as he looks for a new dwelling place. But the 777 image description is simple, so I kept it as such.

Tabula Mundi Tarot Eight of Cups

The Pisces card in tarot is The Moon, which accounts for the lunar imagery in the Telos Tarot of 777 Eight of Cups: the dark side or “earth shine” of the Moon in the sky shows a sleeping face and the waves are like the brain waves of sleep. The figures are between two towering formations, like the Moon card’s towers. The Eight cups in the foreground are gold (Jupiter) and black (Saturn) and show the eight major phases of the Moon. The cups all have their eyes closed – except for one, the last phase of the waning crescent, which is also in the sky. Some of the cups are turned upside down. They have been used to make the ultimate symbol of “Abandoned Success,” a sandcastle whose grains of matter will soon be dissolved by the encroaching sea. Sand itself corresponds to both Pisces, and to decan ruler Saturn, according to astrological rulership.

The cups were inspired by this ancient two-faced golden cup, whose story is told in Scions of 777. It languished under a bed for years, as the owner thought it was worthless and not a solid gold precious artifact!

Hellenistic god per 36 Airs of the Zodiac:

Okeanos, the primordial Titan who encircled the Earth and was father to the thousands of Potamoi, river gods, and Oceanids, water nymphs. He has some possible connection to the serpent Ophion who was cast into the ocean by Kronos (Saturn, ruler of the decan).

Ptolemaic Egyptian god per 777:

Rephan, is the Greco-Egyptian god listed in 777, and is probably Remphan, the Babylonian name for the star-god Saturn, also known as or Moloch. In the New Testament the martyr Stephen who refers to the worship of idols and the golden calf, also references “the star of your god Rephan.”

The Picatrix talismanic applications mention the use of this face for successful and safe journeys by sea, and for fishing in the sea.

I suggest using this image for exploration of Piscean themes such as: dream work the arts, divination, and psychological insights.

This first decan of Pisces signifies myriad thoughts, journeys, and seeking after substance, yet with a tendency toward stagnation.

Therefore, one might also use this image for renunciation of worldly things, as success abandoned.

Austin Coppock calls this face “The Labyrinth,” and as such it can be something to become lost in, or something traveled to find your center. The “sleep” references in the Telos card are appropriate, for sleep “knits up the raveled sleave of care,/ The death of each day’s life, sore labor’s bath,/ Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,/ Chief nourisher in life’s feast.” (Macbeth)

In sleep we abandon worldly things, and travel the labyrinths of the soul (Pisces) mind (Mercury). But sleep can also be a form of escapism. The Eight of Cups indicates success abandoned due to decline of interest and spiritual self-undoing, when one lacks commitment for things of this world, preferring to enter the liminal space of the dream world. Decan ruler Saturn wants limits and structure, but Pisces wants to transcend all limits and dissolve structure, like the sea erodes a sandcastle.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 3, SEVEN OF SWORDS – Part II

Here we are, at the end of the last decan of Aquarius, for the Part II observations. Today there was a new moon, and eclipse at the penultimate Aquarius degree. The Tabula Mundi card for this decan references an eclipse, but a lunar eclipse instead of like today’s new moon eclipse, which is actually a solar eclipse, when the Sun in Aquarius is eclipsed by the Moon in Aquarius. The Moon rules Aquarius decan 3, so is especially relevant here.

Excerpt from Book M: Liber Mundi, for the Seven of Swords and Aquarius 3 decan:

“From the Priestess card, for the Moon, we see the Moon itself in the background, at the dark and sometimes blood red stage of the totality of a lunar eclipse.  In a blood moon eclipse, people sometimes experience negative effects. At the physical level there can be lethargy and at the psychological level, negative thoughts especially about spiritual motifs. The moon’s action of “flux and reflux” leads to vacillation and instability, and people are more prone to make poor decisions as the intellect is compromised.”

While this has been a fairly uneventful decan personally, I have noticed the lunar effects of “flux and reflux,” or the waxing and waning of both the energy of the physical body, and the mental realm (Aquarius). I’m sort of an honorary Aquarian, in that I have it rising natally, plus two important personal planets there. So I definitely do the usual Aquarian thing of detachment very well. I can live in my head and “suppress and deny” the physical. But lately I’ve been tuning into that. And I have definitely noticed the waxing and waning of these energies. Ignore the body for too long and your energy, both physical and mental, will definitely flag. I’m learning to be more strategic about that – strategy is a theme of this card.

But for the record, I see today’s solar eclipse as a positive event – at least as much as an eclipse can be seen as positive. For they aren’t exactly auspicious, especially in Vedic astrology. But eclipses come in pairs, so today’s new moon solar eclipse will be followed by a lunar eclipse at the next full Moon. The time in between these two events is potent and portal-like. One can and should consider today: What do I want to release through this portal? As in, something you want to no longer be with you. I’d suggest releasing what you realize is futile. And at the same time, what instead do I want to enter through this portal in its place? As in, a recomposing or transformation of your state of existence.

The Sabian symbol for this eclipse is about transformation: Aquarius 29, “A butterfly emerging from a chrysalis.”

Today is also the Lunar New Year, which feels like a potent time for an eclipse. We release the year of the Wood Snake, and usher in the year of the Fire Horse. From Earth to Fire, or Yin to Yang, which echoes the transition of both Saturn and Neptune from Pisces into Aries. They meet at the fiery start of the Zodiac, at the Zero Point, or zero degrees of Aries.

But there are still lots of planets in Pisces. The Moon already entered Pisces after the Aquarian eclipse, to join Mercury and Venus. And sometime tomorrow, the Sun is also moving on to the next decan, the first decan of Pisces. We are almost to the end of the decan walk.

Yet it always begins again; after Pisces the Sun continues on into Aries, to a new decan walk.

Welcome to the year of the Fire Horse.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 3, SEVEN OF SWORDS – Part I

Decan Walk: Aquarius decan 3

Aquarius, ruled by Saturn (classical) and Uranus (modern), meets up with the ever-changing Moon, ruler of the decan in the Chaldean system. The Sevens have a correspondence to Venus, through Netzach on the Tree of Life. The triplicity ruler is also Venus, another planet that like the Moon, has phases.

Magical image of the decan per 777: A small-headed man dressed like a woman, and with him an old man.

The following is excerpted from Scions of 777, Volume I, Six-and-thirty decans, for the Seven of Swords:

“This is an instance where the 777’s decan description deviates from the rest somewhat, with the image of “A small-headed man dressed like a woman, and with him an old man.” Various of the descriptions describe the man as angry, envious, or deceitful; the Picatrix has the man with a mutilated head, accompanied by an old woman.

The “small-headed” bit rather reminds me of a quote from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. “I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams. Which dreams, indeed, are ambition; for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.” Hamlet’s frustration as he grapples with the human condition, and his vacillation, resonate here.

The idea of being “small-headed” may also reflect the need to think outside the box and use your wits, to overcome a limitation or weakness. Or to outsmart someone who is trying to undermine you. It can represent needing to use your head to get out of a jam, and perhaps not always feeling up to the task or making appropriate effort. He is “dressed like a woman,” for both Venus and the Moon influence the card. The old man is of course for Saturn, ruler of Aquarius.

This small-headed man travels with an old man, under the influence of a waning moon, as six sabers threaten them. The cross-dressing man carries the seventh sword, but is hardly dressed for fighting in his long gown and wrap. The old man probably will not be much help either, bent and leaning on his cane. Yet he may be able to lend wisdom on this journey.

The figures taken alone are also purposefully ambiguous. The small-headed one is behind the old man with a sword. Is he ready to stand with him against the encroaching six dueling swords, or will he double-cross him?

The combination of a man dressed as a woman and an old man also reminds me of Achilles. In some accounts, his mother Thetis dressed him as a girl to hide him and keep him safe from war. But wily Odysseus (perhaps the old man figure) disguised himself as a peddler of women’s clothes and tricked Achilles into revealing himself. These themes of Achilles, by being in disguise, and Odysseus, being crafty and somewhat deceptive, fit with the reputation of the card for sometimes representing conniving. For while the Greeks admired Odysseus’ cunning and cleverness, the Romans considered his deceits as dishonorable.

Aquarius has a body correspondence to the ankles. Achilles is also known for his one spot of vulnerability, where the term “Achilles’ heel” originates. Thetis had dunked him in the Styx when he was an infant, to make him invulnerable to weapons, but had to hold him by the heel (or really, the tendon on the ankle near the heel). So, she missed a spot in the dunking, which was his undoing. This contributes to the idea of some weakness in play: futility or unstable effort.

The changeability of the moon as decan ruler adds instability here, along with the incompatible combination of Venus and Saturn. Aloof and cool Saturn-ruled Aquarius is not exactly the best place for warm Venus or the emotional Moon. In the sky, a seven-pointed figure combines the emblems of a star (Aquarius) and a rose (Venus), and contains a sliver of the moon. It picks up seven points along a ring of 56 “holes”, like the Aubrey holes at the monument of Stonehenge that mark out the lunar cycles, for the changes of the Moon influencing the decan.

Seven-pointed stars are also known as Faery Stars, associated with the notoriously tricky Fae. Where a pentagram is associated with the earthly magic of the elements, the seven-pointed septagram star is more celestial. The pentagram represents the four elements plus spirit, or the four directions plus the above. The seven-pointed star expands that to include the points below and within, places normally hidden from view. One should be careful when dealing with the hidden realms, as they are the “between” places of the Fae, who are known for tricking mortals.” (end of excerpt)

The Seven of Swords and the Aquarius decan 3 are both associated with deceit, betrayal, thievery, envy, and the detection of it, as seen in the Raphael image and significations:

Raphael image and significationsA man having an envious look, holding his hand on his sides. Detection and affronts.

The deity per the “36 Airs of the Zodiac” fragmentary text is Osiris, who was cruelly betrayed and dismembered by his bother Set – and cleverly re-assembled by his sister(s) and sister-spouse, Isis and Nephthys. The only part missing was the phallus, so in a sense, he was like a woman, like the man of the decan description.

The Ptolemaic god is Proteus, the shape-shifting and wily “Old Man of the Sea” – more of an Odysseus figure like the old man in the image.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 2, SIX OF SWORDS – Part II

This is the Part II update for Aquarius decan 2, which just is me rambling about any observations of the decan period. The previous Part I posts give all the correspondences.

Aquarius decan 2 contains my spouse’s birthday, and is also the decan of my Moon sign. Yes, Sun/Moon conjunctions between partners are great synastry! I think especially in Aquarius 2, it can mean your partner is also your best friend.

Since we both have winter birthdays, it sometimes feels like kind of a bummer as the weather is often a limiting factor for fun things to do and getting out in nature. So we often decide to spend a day around birthday time visiting a local greenhouse and botanical garden. This one we go to is old, it was started in the 1800s. Which means it has a lot of really cool old plant specimens, that have attained massive size.

Like this cactus. The picture is deceiving as this thing is HUGE. They also have mature cacao trees, banana trees, the biggest pony tail palm I’ve ever seen. The cactus room is amazing, the water plant room is too, with some cute frogs hanging out in there as a bonus. They have tropical rooms, hot steamy rooms, cool temperature rooms, collections of everything from ferns to fruit trees to air plants, all in a very old greenhouse of many rooms. The orchid room is awesome!

We also went to a butterfly conservatory. Which sort of fits as butterflies are associated with the Air signs. You see them in the Star cards (Aquarius) and Fool cards (Air element).

The butterfly conservatory was very cool – the colors alone were stunning. A beautiful red and black and yellow one (I think maybe a “Mormon” butterfly?) landed on me and laid an egg! I deposited it onto a leaf in there, as I didn’t think it would fair so well otherwise! They also had birds and reptiles.

Anyway, I suppose these trips could definitely qualify as “Science” as both sites offered a lot of opportunities for learning (Mercury rules the decan Aquarius 2) about plants and and animals in the environments.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 2, SIX OF SWORDS – Part I

Aquarius decan 2. line art from Telos Tarot of 777 © 2020-2026 M.M.Meleen

Lord of Science (Earned Success)

Succedent decan of Aquarius: A man arrayed like a king, looking with pride and conceit on all around him.

Telos Tarot of 777 Six of Swords
Aquarius 2 completed image Telos Tarot of 777 © 2020-2026 M.M.Meleen
  • The sign Aquarius, ruled by Saturn
  • The decan ruled by Mercury (both Chaldean and Triplicity)
  • The sephira ruled by the Sun

With Mercury as the decan ruler in both the Chaldean and Triplicity order systems, inventive intellect comes to the forefront. Mercury is high-functioning in the rational and brilliant far-seeing sign of Aquarius – Uranus, modern ruler of Aquarius, is said to be the “higher octave” of Mercury.

Crowley’s rename of the card is “Science” which is fitting. The original Golden Dawn Hermetic title of “Earned Success” is also fitting. Aquarius/Saturn, Mercury, Sun: The success is earned through the strength of your will and the power of your mind, which shows the way forward.

777 lists the magical image of the decan as “A man arrayed like a king, looking with pride and conceit on all around him.” Proud kings seem to emphasize the solar nature of Tiphareth. It also underscores the hubris that is a pitfall when intellectuals decide their knowledge is superior and infallible. But Tiphareth is balanced, and perhaps here his pride is justified, for it has resulted in admirable progress and achievement.

The Hellenistic deity in the 36 Airs fragment is Phobos – which surely seems a mistake that should be Phoebus Apollo, god of reason and rational ordered thinking. But assuming it is correct, Phobos is associated with fear, and perhaps fear of the unknown drives discovery.

The Ptolemaic deity is an unfamiliar entity called Vucula, who is also seemingly associated with Apollo. I speculate on the meaning of this name’s etymology as the “microscopic view” in Scion’s of 777 (Volume 1, Six-and-thirty Decans).

You can see how the Tabula Mundi Tarot image combines the far-seeing and aspirational brilliance of The Star/Aquarius with the knowledge and intellect of The Magus/Mercury: the orrery and the sextant , tools of celestial navigation. Likewise in the Telos image is an “armillary sphere” or spherical astrolabe, marking out the latitudes and longitudes. The decan, and the card, describes getting where you want to go via the means of intelligence.

Lady Harris’ brilliant design for the Thoth card includes a different form of navigation: the geometric lines map out a fencing diagram, showing the fencer how to place his or her footsteps for success.

Pamela Coleman Smith’s RWS card also shows a journey, from turbulent waters to somewhere beyond.

This decan contains the cross-quarter holiday Imbolc, around Feb 1st or 2nd, a time of seeds awakening though still underground. It is a Gaelic and pagan celebration of the goddess Brigid. It is associated with both milk and cleansing, which does make me think of the “milk of the stars” that the Aquarius maiden of the Star card bathes in. The Star card is called the “daughter of the firmament‘ and the “dweller between the waters” – celestial and terrestrial. The Thelemic festival called the Feast of Stars coincides. Christians appropriated Imbolc as Candlemas, associated with light, purification, and the Virgin.

The Star from Pharos Tarot

As seen in the Six of Swords, Aquarius decan 2, the central decan of Aquarius, shows the way.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 1, FIVE OF SWORDS – Part II

Aquarius Decan 1: This is the Part II update with personal observations on the decan. For the general info and correspondences, see Aquarius decan 1 Part I. To summarize, it is Aquarius ruled by Saturn, with the decan ruler as Venus, in a sephira ruled by Mars.

This has been quite the decan. In terms of the theme of “Defeat,” I certainly feel that way in relation to the increasingly Orwellian tone of the mundane world. Some (of many) things of note:

  • The murder of peaceful (Venus) protesters, attacked by “enforcers” (Mars/Saturn)
  • The constant barrage of “verify your identity” or else (Saturn/Aquarius)
  • Of course, supposedly this is because of so many scammers, just trying all the time to get something out of the undefended (Venus). But it is simultaneously more than that; this identity badgering is an attack too.

It’s all similar in that it is relentless, outmatched battle, outright surprise attacks, and increasingly unfair. It is easy to feel defeated by it all.

This reminds me of the deities involved with this decan, which I forgot to post in the Part I summary. The Hellenistic deity is Dike, “moral justice,” who was placed on Earth by her father Zeus for the purpose of keeping mankind just: an impossible task.

But we have to remain vigilant and defend ourselves. Giving up isn’t an option. Think outside the box (Aquarius) because the box is a panopticon.

On a personal level, its also easy to feel defeated by the relentless march of Time (Saturn). Venus sure doesn’t want to face those harsh (Mars) realities (Saturn). You can’t win that battle, but you can put up a good fight.

On a lighter note, there have been some good things happening in my personal life too. It sounds trivial, but hey, I actually got a decent haircut (Venus hair/Mars cut) for the first time in a long time (Saturn). I hadn’t cut it in over a year, and it was really long and overdue (Saturn).

It’s trivial but it is a big deal to me because I’m never usually too happy with haircuts in general and I really dislike getting haircuts, in a similar but less visceral way than things like going to the doctor or dentist so I avoid it. Too invasive of my personal space, or something. But this time I knew exactly what I wanted and told the stylist (an Aquarian decan 2 native, whose Sun is close in orb to my Moon). She instantly understood the mission and did a fantastic job. I had a secret weapon though – my ascendant is in this decan 1 and at the time of the cut, Venus who has face dignity here, was approaching it closely by conjunction.

Keep fighting the good fight, and here comes Aquarius 2 right around the corner.

DECAN WALK – AQUARIUS 1, FIVE OF SWORDS – Part I

Aquarius decan 1

DECAN WALK: AQUARIUS DECAN 1

Lord of Defeat

Ascendant decan of Aquarius: A man with bowed head and a bag in his hand.

Aquarius: ruled by Saturn. The decan ruler is Venus. Fives (Geburah) ruled by Mars.

Many don’t like this card, for who wants to see a card titled “Defeat?” Decan ruler Venus just isn’t very comfortable in the cool and impartial, unemotional, Saturn-ruled sign Aquarius. It doesn’t help that it is a Five card, so the Mars-ruled realm of Geburah lends a destructive element. Venus is a pacifist for the most part, and seeks connection rather than solitude. But here it is not to be.

from Scions of 777:

“777 lists the magical image of the decan as “A man with bowed head and a bag in his hand”. The bowed head can be an admission of defeat, or a head bowed in prayer. Perhaps he is a monkish fellow, pacific to a fault.

The bag in hand makes me think of the Fool, trump of Air. Aquarius is an air sign after all, despite all its association with pouring waters. The bag is ridiculously unsuited to the task he has put it to, gathering up five swords, perhaps from the wreckage of a battlefield. The rose of Venus lies tattered, scarlet red upon the snow, like blood. The Aquarius raven, ruled by Saturn, pierces (a function of Mars) the egg of the dove (Venus), while the freezing rains of late January pour down from a windswept sky.”

In the Telos image, under a wintry sky with freezing rain and wind, the raven (Aquarius, Saturn) attacks (Mars) the egg (Venus), while the man tries to carry away five swords in a bag utterly unsuited for the task. Before him is the rose (Venus), utterly destroyed (Mars).

Indeed, the robed figure holding the bag as seen in the Telos Tarot of 777 card was inspired by the image of a monk. You can see a monkish figure in the Rosetta card above too. In Telos, it is a monk of the Carthusian order. These monks are hermits who live a contemplative life in seclusion, cloistered away from the outside world, meditating and praying. They are surely pacifists. Even their hooded robes hide them away from the world and its distractions.

Austin Coppock in 36 Faces considers this “a face of exclusion and intentional exile.” This face is definitely that. But while exclusion could be wounding, intentional exile is not always a bad thing. Aquarius is the sign of genius, and it is often the “outsider,” untainted by the opinions of others or the dogmas of authoritative ideas, who achieves unique breakthroughs.

Yet there is danger in being an exile, or even in one’s own mental world, however brilliant. For there are always those ready to attack someone who is perceived to be weak or gentle, or just not paying attention. As seen in Tabula Mundi’s card (upper right), even the gentle dove of Venus would be well-advised to be on guard against the rapacious and ravenous raptors.

DECAN WALK: CAPRICORN 3, FOUR OF DISKS – Part II

Part II observations of the decan: The days have been strangely quiet, but it is winter here.

While there are all too many examples of the wealth, power, and avarice associated with the Four of Disks in the media, especially as applied to rulers and CEOs, in daily life not so much. Well, not so much wealth and power anyway, though I’m well aware it is all relative. There is a fair share of avarice occasionally though.

The Devil, Telos Tarot of 777 ©2020-2026 M.M. Meleen

I have been aware of my own craving for material things – though mostly it is just noticing things that I wish I had but cannot afford, or for some reason will likely never have. Things that would increase my quality of life, or so I think in the moment of craving.

I associate the Devil, major arcana of Capricorn, with craving, and life force.

Excerpt from Scions of 777:

“The Devil’s groin area is covered by the face of a horned Green Man, whose overlong protruding tongue suggests the erect male member. Many medieval depictions show gastrocephalic devils and demons with a leering or voracious face over the belly or groin area, or the phallus replaced by a serpent. The face over the belly or groin was said to represent the intelligence descending to the lower half of the body, or surrendering to base instincts. The open mouths of the faces show craving for things of this world; the cycle of Saṃsāra that leads to physical rebirth.

The mouth is also a reference to the Tower (letter Peh, mouth), called the “House of God,” which is also the “House of the Devil.” The Tower is Mars, the planet exalted in the Devil’s sign of Capricorn.

The entire gateway behind him, bordered by Dionysian vines, looks a bit like a fanged mouth. But it is also a reference to one of the Devil’s Hermetic titles: Lord of the Gates of Matter, the controller of desires causing birth into the material world. It is also not the “gate” of matter, it is the gates of matter, which are myriad. A small duplicate of the large gate is mirrored below, showing the spiral of DNA, incarnation’s building blocks.”

The Sun rules the decan, and is also associated with life force. I’ve been being pretty good during this time to foster health-giving habits of fresh air, activity, and proper rest. Health is wealth, and all that. It really is true and something you don’t always appreciate until you or someone you love isn’t healthy. Then all those material things no longer seem so important, and one is ready to give it all up, if only health was restored. Something one learns over time and with age (Capricorn); it takes many trips around the Sun (in other words, birthdays) for that lesson to sink in. Wealth and power can help with quality of life, until they can’t.

The Sun in this decan is in my 12th house, so it is all behind the scenes. Next decan the Sun moves into my first house, and usually that feels a lot different.

DECAN WALK: CAPRICORN 3, FOUR OF DISKS – Part I

Decan Walk: Capricorn decan 3

Lord of Power (Earthly Power). The image above is from Telos Tarot of 777.

Cadent decan of Capricorn: A man holding a book, which he opens and shuts.

Color(s)Deep Azure, flecked yellow; plus the colors of the associated Majors
Colors of the associated MajorsThe Devil: Indigo – Black – Blue Black – Cold very dark Grey The Sun: Orange – Gold Yellow – Rich Amber – Amber, rayed Red

Capricorn decan 3 is where the ambitions of Capricorn meet their peak, and can go no further. As mentioned in the book Scions of 777: “All the powerful planets of the patriarchy are in play (in the Four of Disks): Jupiter/Zeus, king of the Olympians and planet of excess, is present as ruler of the Fours. A symbol of Chesed, sephira of the Fours, is “an enthroned king.”

Saturn/Cronos, Jupiter’s father and previous king of the gods, is here as the binding ruler of Capricorn. The almighty regal Sun, center of the solar system and ruler of the planets, appears as ruler of the decan: Soli Invictus, the unconquered sun favored by Roman emperors. Kingly influences all! He opens and closes his book while seated on a throne. His vest is seemingly made of coins, covering his heart and his stomach, for material wealth and power is his passion and his hunger.”

Yes, he is hungry for coin – though he likely already has stockpiled much of it. The book he obsessively opens and shuts is probably his accounts ledger or stock portfolio. He is chained to his throne, showing how he clings to power and position and is yet bound by it.

It is a cadent decan though, which means that the Capricorn energy is preparing to transmute to the next sign, Aquarius. In fact, it must, as otherwise, things just stagnate, which is a bug of the Four cards. I suppose it is a little bit of a moral message, for those overly fixated on power and coin to turn towards the Aquarian ideals, more altruistic and humane

“The card combines the Devil and the Sun; Lucifer whose ambition led him high also falls to earth. This is the CEO, the chief commander, and King Midas – all ambitious to a fault.”

Note all the clenched fists surrounding him, as a solar aura. They clench golden coins, showing his avarice and a certain lack overall of generosity. The closed fist can be a Jupiter/Fours reference, for the associated Hebrew letter Kaph can mean hand, which can manifest as either the open palm or the closed fist. A full solar array would have 36 of them, the number of the Sun as 6×6, yet only 30 are visible, referencing the path of the Sun on the Tree of Life.

The fragmentary text 36 Airs of the Zodiac gives the Hellenistic deity as Tolma. The word has some associations with boldness, but also endurance through challenges. It does remind me of investors in that sense.

Monuphta, the deity listed as a Ptolemaic Egyptian god per 777, is another of those seemingly only easily found in Kircher’s Bembine tablet translation. The suffix “phta” suggests a possible connection to Ptah, whose name means means “Opener” and is usually applied to the Sun as “opener” of the day.

From left to right: the RWS Four of Pentacles, with the man stepping on coins, clutching a coin, and crowned by one: coin on the brain! The Thoth card at the center shows a four-walled and moated fortress, with elemental towers at the corners. Note how the crown in the RWS figure and the towers of the Thoth card have crenellations. These are those patterns of multiple, regularly spaced rectangular formations; gaps or ramparts for firing projective defensive missiles. This figure defends what is his! Third is the Tabula Mundi image, which shows the combination of Devil (Capricorn) with the Sun, decan ruler of Capricorn’s last decan.

The Tabula Mundi Tarot image combines the hungry green man face from the belly of the Devil, with images from the Sun card and Soli Invictus on the coins, before another type of fortress. These are the Egyptian pylons, between which the Sun rises and sets.

The Rosetta card above shows the Four of Disks as a bank vault adorned with four solar disks marked with the glyph of the Sun, a division by six (the number of the Sun), a division by four (making it a Sun Wheel, and the number of the card), and the glyph for Capricorn.

This is a card of status and structure, and the responsibility that comes with power. It is the CEO, the fortress, the bank vault, and the billionaires bunker. This is material or earthly power and nothing beyond, which often means financial stability, yet avarice for more.

DECAN WALK: CAPRICORN 2, THREE OF DISKS – Part II

We are about 80-85% through this Capricorn 2 decan as I write this. This is just the Part II update, on observations of the decan, and how the correspondences seemed to manifest. For more details of the decan, see the prior post for Part I. The Three of Disks combines Capricorn, the Devil, with Mars, the Tower. While it sounds ominous, in reality it is quite potent in a good way.

The image here combines the images from the cards of the decans of Capricorn from Tabula Mundi Tarot: the Two, Three, and Four of Disks. This is the “Decans of Capricorn” card from the optional expansion pack.

It’s a good reminder that ambitious Capricorn begins or ascends with the impulse for Harmonious Change (Two of Disks), continues or succeeds in the fixed or middle decan via Work or Works (Three of Disks), and concludes with Material Power in the cadent decan (Four of Disks).

Decan rulers of the three decans of Capricorn: Jupiter, Mars, Sun. Expansion, effort, achievement.

Decans of Capricorn

It all seems fairly congruent with people’s desire to turn a new leaf in the New Year. At the Solstice, the Two of Disks/decan 1 begins the sequence, with a new solar year and knowledge that the calendar year is coming to a close. We look back, and forward, and consider what we want to leave behind and what we want to bring in, for Harmonious (Jupiter) Change. At the Three of Disks/decan 2 we have the start of the calendar New Year, and we start taking action (Mars) towards these new Works. I guess it is all in service of wanting to achieve (Sun) a new stability (Power), when the Four of Disks/decan 3 rolls around.

Capricorn decan 2 is when people do things like begin their New Year’s resolutions, start a sober “dry January,” drop sugar or start restrictive diets to combat holiday bloat, and launch into exercise programs. None of which sounds like much fun – its all Work. It can be fun work, like resolving to take up a new hobby, a sport or a new craft, learn a language or to play an instrument. It can also be a resolve to start a new business, or a new phase of a business, or somehow take charge of some area of life. But Decan ruler Mars plus sign ruler Saturn, all points to applied energy and effort (Mars) and discipline (Saturn). Without that, obviously most resolutions fail. One needs to really desire it (Mars) and have the endurance to stick to it (Saturn).

Mars/Saturn combinations in astrology are considered difficult, bordering on cruel. So in pursuit of goals, that is something to look out for, whether it is ruthlessness or self-directed. But here in this decan of Capricorn it really doesn’t present that way, probably because Mars is exalted in Capricorn. Though the precise exaltation degree of Mars is in the last decan of Capricorn (28 degrees), it is exalted throughout the sign. Since this decan is actually ruled by Mars, it really shows here. And because Threes are above the Abyss on the Tree of Life, an area of purity, the realms of the three facets of Deity.

That’s my Part II observation. I have a few “irons in the fire” which is a very Mars/Saturn phrase if you ask me. Various things I’ve begun to work on, or am beginning to work on, or aware that I need to work on this year.

In 36 Faces Austin Coppock calls this decan “the pyramid,” and it sure seems to be aspirational, with many bricks needed, and many steps to take to evolve to the next levels and rise towards the pinnacle.