Our decan walk enters Gemini decan 2, with the Sun’s passage through ten to twenty degrees of Gemini.

The tarot card shown above is from Telos Tarot of 777, for the second decan of Gemini, known as the Lord of Cruelty. Crowley’s 777 gives the decan image description as “An eagle headed man, with a bow and arrow. Wears crowned steel helmet.” The crowned steel helmet is a reference to Mars, the decan ruler, as a military headgear made of an alloy of Mars’ metal iron. Likewise, the arrow can be martial, with its purpose of piercing. It is usually associated with Sagittarius, the opposite sign to Gemini. Yet in Gemini, opposites and pairs are a relevant theme.

Gemini the sign is ruled by Mercury, who is said to be gender neutral, or mixed. The decan is ruled by masculine Mars. (In the triplicity system, the decan ruler is Venus, consort of Mars.)

For the Telos Nine of Swords image, I have paired the eagle-headed man with a lion-headed woman, showing them as twinned beings. The eagle-man is shown as hunting with the bow described in the 777 and Picatrix decan descriptions. The lion-woman is stabbing herself with a sword. The sword is both the suit of the card, and the letter Zayin, meaning sword, that corresponds to the Lovers and Gemini.

The full Golden Dawn title of the Nine of Swords is the Lord of Despair and Cruelty which is often more fitting than Cruelty alone. Here the woman takes the form of Despair, while the eagle-headed man is Cruelty.

Cruelty can be directed outward or inward as self-cruelty, which often stems from Despair. The eagle-headed man directs the Cruelty outward with his bow, aiming to wound with a cruelly barbed arrow. The lion-headed woman here directs the abuse inward, impaling herself upon her own sword. The figures stand back-to-back on a raised peak, yet still cannot see their way out of the dark forest. The forest is a forest of pines referring to Attis, who in Ovid’s Metamorphoses transformed himself into a pine tree. Attis represents death and rebirth. In Cybele’s cult ritual, a pine tree was wrapped as a corpse and wreathed in violets to symbolize the body of Attis. The pine is also a symbol of the high view, a reminder to see things clearly, rather than through any haze of self-loathing or hatred.

The Lovers: letter Zayin meaning “sword” and The Tower, letter Peh, meaning “mouth”: divisiveness, and cruel and wounding thoughts and words.

• The Rider Waite Smith card: a woman awake in the night, as if from a nightmare or grief
• Thoth card: Swords dripping with poison and blood, chaotic background
• Tabula Mundi card: the boar’s head from the Tower card (Mars) pierced by a lion-hilted sword, surrounded by the sword-in-stone motif from the Lovers (Gemini)

• The Rosetta Tarot card: the swords, with hilts of the Gemini and Mars glyphs, form the sharp teeth of a gaping mouth (Gemini/Mars)

Deities for Gemini decan 2: Cybele and Cyclops

The god form listed in the fragmentary text 36 Airs of the Zodiac is the goddess Cybele, who is often shown accompanied by lions. The word Despair is fitting for Cybele. The word itself begins with “des,” a form of “Dis,” for splitting apart, asunder, and ends with “pair.” Originally a hermaphrodite, Cybele was cruelly split into two by other gods jealous of her power. Her male half died and was reborn as the god Attis. It is a tale of despair as he ultimately had to marry another, and either castrated himself, or had it done at the hands of Cybele, despairing, and become cruel due to his betrayal.

The Cyclops were a race of one-eyed giants. The most famous of the Cyclops is Polyphemus. In one tale Polyphemus loves the sea nymph Galatea, but is rejected due to his ugliness. Lovesick, he longs to reconcile that which divides them, her realm of the sea and his of the earth. Galatea loved another, and Polyphemus crushes him.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus encounters Polyphemus, who eats some of his men. Crafty Odysseus of course tricks him, plying him with strong wine and ultimately blinding him with a sharp stick.

It is a difficult decan, considering all this. I’ve already found myself saying cruel things when feeling anxiety and despair over the greed, stupidity, and selfishness in the world. I’ve also already had a few bouts with self-hatred, and being overly self-critical, and the decan has just begun! I’m going to try to be kinder to myself and to others, if I can.

But how else could it be used positively? With the associations of Gemini, Swords, and Mars, it would be good for debate and for writing sharp and cutting things, like political commentary or satire. It could definitely be used to spin a situation to your favor by skillful and precise application of words. It would also be good for meditation upon contradictions in order to reconcile them, both within and without.

I’m almost done with the text of the new book on Telos Tarot, which is also a book on magickal applications for the decans. One chapter to go! So during this decan I’ll be heading into the phase of editing the book. Editing often involves the difficult task of cutting out words, which I think is a perfect use of Gemini and Mars.