Lord of Science (Earned Success)

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

• 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.

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