Lord of Pleasure, from Telos Tarot of 777
Succedent Decan of Scorpio: A man riding a camel, with a scorpion in his hand.
Hellenistic deity: Leto
Ptolemaic deity: Merota
The middle decan of Scorpio is a pleasant place, where the Sun, ruler of the decan and of the Sixes, warms the waters of Scorpio. Here the man on the camel is at a desert oasis. The desert is a solar place, and the oasis a safe haven with plentiful water.
He holds a Scorpion in his hand, seemingly without fear. The scorpion is clearly a symbol of Scorpio, but also an emblem of the Egyptian goddess Serket, Lady of Heaven, Mistress of the Sacred Land. Though normally the scorpion is considered destructive, Serket was a protective goddess of fertility, magic, and healing.
This card has a sensual quality, similar to its opposite decan in Taurus, but more focused on pleasure rather than resources.
The man in the image was inspired by one of the two statues on a beach on the coast of Japan, that were modelled after a nursery rhyme and folk song called The Desert of the Moon, written by poet Maseo Kato. I do not know though who the artist is who created these beautiful statues. In the song, a prince and princess take an intimate ride, side by side upon treasure-laden camels, carrying gold and silver across a desert landscape with a dreamlike quality. Of course, I had to modify him to hold the scorpion.
“Across the desert under the moon
Two camels were traveling
With gold and silver saddles on their backs
The two walked side by side.
A prince on the saddle ahead
A princess on the saddle behind
They wore matching white clothes.
Across the wide desert
No one knows where they were going.”
Death, the card for Scorpio, and The Sun, card for (obviously) the Sun, ruler of the decan. Together they provide pleasant, sensual, and fertile Sun-warmed waters.
The decan usually contains the cross-quarter holiday Samhain, and All Saints or Dia de los Muertos, around November 1st, when the doorways to the underworld open and the veils are thin. Offerings are made to nature spirits and faery beings, as well as the souls of the dead, seeking the grateful blessings of kin beyond.
In the cycle of the waters of Scorpio, this is the Elysian fields, the Isles of the Blessed, where heroes and gods lived a happy afterlife, indulging in their most enjoyed pleasures. Here they live a life free from toil and tears, where ocean breezes caress them and flowers of gold blaze. It is a pleasant change from the underworld flaming river of the Scorpio 1 decan.
I think of this as the Goldilocks card of the Scorpio decans, the Five, Six, and Seven of Cups. Where the Five has not enough, and the Seven has too much, the Six is just right.
My birthday is November 1. My mother used to say she “crossed her legs so as not to have a pumpkin”! At Catholic elementary there was always a day off for my birthday – very nice! I would much rater be associated with the six of cups than that emo five, but most guidelines start the six on the 2nd. It makes sense for me that the cross quarter days are at the center of each fixed sign, and you seem to affirm that here. Any advice on where the boundaries fall?
. . . well I guess it’s 10 degree divisions, so Sun passing 240, 250 and 260 degrees for the three decans of Scorpio?
A very happy birthday to you! Yes, 10 degree divisions of the Tropical zodiac. As far as the cross quarter holidays go, there are the common dates which for this one, fall right around the cusp between Scorpio 1 and 2. But astrologically speaking, some use 15 degrees of the fixed signs, as you mentioned, the center.