This is Part II of the post for the Cancer 2 decan that corresponds to the Three of Cups, also known as Abundance.

Those who have been following along on this Decan Walk series of posts will not be surprised that it has manifested in terms of the garden, as I make no secret of having a big garden and getting into it. Through a combination of effort (all the garden preparations and seedling care) and luck (good weather and abundant rain) we are awash in beautiful vegetables. Effort = Saturn, the Threes, and Weather is a function of Mercury, ruler of the decan, while the Moon, ruler of Cancer, is associated with the growth of plants. So prepare for some pretty veggie shots. All the seedlings from Aries 2 decan are now producing, and all the planning of Taurus 1 decan has come to fruition.

All the brassicas like broccoli, cauliflower, collards, kale, and cabbage are getting mature all at once. Every couple of days there is a harvest like the above and more coming in. Plus the cucumbers and squashes have started, and anyone who knows anything about vegetable gardening knows what that means. If you don’t keep up with it, you can find yourself heading into Four of Cups territory, with too much squash!

Plenty to eat and plenty to freeze and plenty to share. I’ve been on a mini “staycation” this decan, so keeping up with the garden has been a pleasure. Plus “staycation” seems like a Cancer decan 2 or Three of Cups thing – a celebration/vacation at home (Cancer). Cancer is known for loving being at home. The crab in its shell. Did some swimming too, and will end the decan with a birthday celebration for my mom – celebrations with females is one classic theme of the Three of Cups, and Cancer is associated with mothers (I just happen to have one who is one too.)

It is not all veggies though, the flowers and herbs are also going gangbusters. I’ve been harvesting and drying flowers for medicinal and culinary use. Chamomile, calendula, marigold, cornflower, beebalm, rose petals. Plus the elders are flowering too so we started a batch of elderflower hydromel, which is like an ale strength mead. What you see above is just some flowers steeped in wine; the elderflower hydromel is brewed with the flowers, water, and honey, and is still in process.

I also am getting some stunning poppies. The seeds were planted outside in the last water sign, Pisces, just before starting this decan walk. These plants like to be direct seeded outdoors in late winter, in Pisces season here. You can even seed them into snow. I associate poppies with Pisces, as you can see in these Moon and Pisces cards:

So they get planted in Pisces, but flower in the next water sign, Cancer, in this second decan of Abundance.

These are not the ornamental California poppies; these are the true poppies grown for breadseeds and medicine. This variety is called Giant Rattle, as it makes big seedpods full of seeds, for food production. I may make an actual rattle too, for ceremonial purposes.

Most of the flowers of this variety are white or pale purple but with some that are hot pink and purple mixed in. The flowers are prolific and beautiful, but ephemeral – they only last a day so their beauty is fleeting. Much like the message of the Ten of Cups, Satiety (Pisces decan 3 when they were planted), and the Three of Cups, Abundance (Cancer decan 2, when they flower). The Two decans have some similarities. Tens are all the source of the Universe path, the Saturn card, while the sephira of the Threes corresponds to Saturn. Pisces and Cancer are both water signs, and both associated with the Moon: Pisces through the Moon card, Cancer through the Moon ruling Cancer. And both decans are about having a lot to appreciate, but with a sense that it is transitory.

Saturn and the Moon are both about time, in a sense. They both mark cycles of time, one slow and large, and one fast. Saturn has a 29 year orbit, while the Moon has a 29 day orbit. Food for thought.