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.