Ascendant Decan of Leo: A man in sordid raiment, with him a nobleman on horseback. accompanied by bears and dogs.

Welcome to the first decan of Leo! Leo decan 1 might be my favorite time of year. As of today (Tuesday the 22nd) we now have the Sun in Leo and the Moon in Cancer, so both luminaries are in their home signs, at least until the new moon in Leo on Thursday. And we are having an absolutely gorgeous streak of weather here – sunny warm days, but not hot and humid, and cool nights for sleeping.

Days are still long, weather is sunny, lots of good swimming weather, so many flowers blooming, and vegetables and herbs are at their peak time in the garden. Birds singing constantly. It is just a happy time of year. In my next life, I would like to be a Leo: sunny, confident, generous, charismatic – and most of them have great hair! Plus, a summertime birthday!

Leo decan 1: Leo ruled by the Sun, decan is ruled by Saturn, triplicity decan ruler is also the Sun, Fives are of Mars.

The Golden Dawn considered this first decan of Leo to be the start of the astrological year. This is due to its association with the Sun and with the royal star Regulus, Cor Leonis, or “heart of the lion” in constellation Leo.

Understandably, an organization called the Golden Dawn, named for the rising Sun, gives great importance to Leo, the only sign ruled by the all important Sun. They used Regulus as the starting point as opposed to the 0° Aries point derived from the Equinox divisions of the Tropical zodiac, which due to precession no longer aligns with the Sidereal or constellations. This had the effect of making the signs and constellations coincide when projecting the Tree of Life (and thus the tarot) in a solid sphere. So, this decan can also be used as a starting point, like the Two of Wands. In this case, the card gets fiery spark from the Sun and Mars, and structure from Saturn.

It is called the Lord of Strife. There is a sense of pressure, as the Sun and Saturn are opposites: one warm and bright, one dark and cold. The sun at the center of the system, and Saturn at the furthest edge (considering the classical planets.)

Add in fiery Mars and this clash gives rise to pressure, as in magma from a volcano seeking release, as seen in the background of the Telos Tarot and Tabula Mundi Tarot images, with the sky in the blazing orange color of Geburah (Fives/Mars) in Atziluth (Wands).

Regarding volcanic activity, watch for the possibility for underground eruptions this week as the Leo Sun in this decan makes its annual opposition to Pluto, lord of the underworld, this Friday. Funny coincidence: when I was in the middle of writing the chapter for this card in my upcoming book, we had a minor earthquake here, rare for where I live.

The Telos Tarot image based on the magical description of the decan is of a man “in sordid raiment.” This is Saturn, as Saturn is associated with dirty, black, or tattered clothing. With him is “a nobleman on horseback,” this is a solar influence as royalty and nobility, as well as horsemanship, are all things that are associated with the Sun.

Like Saturn being far from the Sun, there is a gulf of distance, a disparity between the two figures in terms of affluence. They are accompanied by bears and dogs, which seems to suggest a hunt. The bears are under much strife, being harried and blocked by torches, poles, and spears (stand ins for the five “wands”).

A man in sordid raiment, with him a nobleman on horseback. accompanied by bears and dogs.

Also showing the Sun/Saturn contrast and the stress of restriction is the symbol of a lion, enclosed in an inverted pentagon, surrounded by flames and trapped in a net. This lion is actually a lion-serpent, and his head is haloed by solar rays. The decan images of Liber Hermetis and the Sacred Book of Hermes images mention this figure. This is the Chnoubis, an Egyptian Gnostic solar symbol associated with Abraxas, often inscribed on amulets. The combination of the solar lion, with the lowly earth-crawling serpent, is also a contrast like the concept of Sun and Saturn.

The Ptolemaic Egyptian deity per 777 is the cruel, fire-breathing, serpentine Typhon, who seems related to the Chnoubis and Agathodaemon, and to Abraxas.

The Greeks (c. 500 BC) associated Typhon with the Egyptian god Set. Set was the god of storms and disorder, and the enemy of solar god Horus.

In Hesiod’s Theogony, Typhon was a child of Gaia (Earth) and Tartarus (the Abyss, a place of suffering). In other myths, Typhon was born of Cronus (Saturn), or in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Typhon was born of Hera alone, like Hephaestus. In most accounts Typhon is a terror with one hundred fire-breathing heads attached, usually snakes but also of a myriad of wild beasts. Typhon battled Zeus for control of the cosmos and power over mortals, but defeated, was banished, and imprisoned in Tartarus.

Talismanic use of the image:

The Picatrix says it may be used to have a ruler (Sun) raise one’s rank (Saturn, authority), which seems fitting. It also says it is for causing predators (Mars) to gather, which one might choose to take as metaphor.

It can also be used for things like:

• courage when confronted with conflict
• bravery when faced with being the center of attention
• increasing charisma
• rising to the top of the heap in competition
• endurance through great labors

Strife is related to striving, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. This decan/card provides the energy (Sun and Mars) and the endurance (Saturn) needed to accomplish much, or to excel in things of a competitive nature.

I’m going to be striving to finish my book editing process in this decan. Finally almost through that part. Editing is a pain, so I’m going to be needing both solar energy and saturnine endurance with some extra martial spark of initiative. I’m really looking forward to being done with editing and moving on to the more fun part like formatting and design. The only problem is that the weather here is so nice right now that it is hard to be inside working on a manuscript when one could be out in nature.