Decan Virgo 3
This is the Part II update for the third decan of Virgo, just a recollection of observances during the decan. For the introduction to the correspondences, see Virgo decan 3 Part I for the Ten of Disks, known as the Lord of Wealth.
But first – a check-in and info about the Decan Walk process.
I’d like to point out that with the completion of this decan, and the approaching September equinox and Libra decan 1, we are now at the exact halfway point of this Decan Walk process, that began on the March equinox in Aries decan 1. It is a good time to check in, and reflect on the process itself. How is it going for you?
Are you still committed, enjoying the process? If not, it is not too late to switch things up. The next decan is after all about balance.
A decan walk is simply a conscious observance of the 36 astrological decans over the period of a continuous year. But it is a commitment to make an agreement with yourself that you will show up somehow for each and every decan, to observe it consciously. You decide how. It could be just reading these posts, but ideally, it also involves some reflection and thought, noticing how it applies to you in your world, or to your understanding of the astrology factors of the decan, or to your understanding of the meanings of the related tarot card. It is meant to, and will, deepen your comprehension of these things. It can provide a Wealth of information.
I have also heard, somewhere, though I cannot remember the source, that doing the decan walk provides a layer of protection from planetary influences, somewhat inuring the decan-walker to their harmful effects. It seems to be so, after having done this in one form or another for many years. I do wonder if the sort of “sunscreen” it provides also blunts the benefic effects, much like actual sunscreen blocks the harmful rays but also the good vitamin D production. Just an observation. Obviously no way to know.
As the Sun moves through each decan, one notes the flavors of the decan and how it changes their experience of time and space.
The possible activities one might perform during the period to deepen the connection are innumerable and personal to the aspirant.
They can include (but certainly are not limited to):
- invocations and evocations, or other acts of related magic
- the creation of art
- writing poetry, or journaling
- meditations on the card of the decan, doing pathworking and interacting with the figures
- creation of an altar displaying the decan card and related cards, with appropriate offerings to planetary or other deities
- lectio divina, or devotional reading
- educational reading: the astrology, the deities, and their stories
It is also a serious commitment, to show up for something continuously over an entire year. It can be done as a discipline, or as a devotion, or ideally, it can be both. It is a way of placing yourself on a continuum, orienting yourself as a soul in the fabric of space-time, here as a human being between heaven and earth.
I’ve done this year-long process many times now, in different ways. This particular time around , it means showing up to write the post for each decan Part I, and then observing in my own world what relates to it, and then showing up again to write about that for each decan in Part II. So that involves writing 6 posts per month. That is a lot! For me anyway, who is not a wordsmith type of person. Also while writing a book! Which actually it has turned into several books! About the decans, and the other cards, making it all a sort of holistic writers retreat of sorts. Though it is by no means a retreat, because I do have self-employment and other work to do every day, seven days a week. Life goes on, stuff happens. But the commitment to the decan walk means still showing up.
For the last few years (2020 through 2024 and up until vernal equinox 2025) my decan walk process was mostly taken up by the making of Telos Tarot of 777. One decan walk year it involved making the drawings for the 36 minors during their related decan, and then inking them in a sort of ritual process. Another year it involved painting those inked drawings in color during their respective decan. The other years referenced were about doing the Majors, Aces, and Courts, also tied to the timing of the decans. All that was a huge multi-year, year after year, continuous commitment. I was determined that every single drawing and inking would get done in that 10 day decan period. That every single one would get painted in that subsequeent 10 day decan period. Etc.
10 days is NOT a lot of time to conceive of, and execute a piece of art. Making art, especially art with deeply embedded meanings and correct to a description and correspondences, is a challenge. To do so on such a short timeline is HARD. Life happens! And sometimes life is in the way because it is good, or because it is bad. The fact that I did this for four continuous years, without even once failing to get the art for the related card done in the specific astrologically correct timeline, in spite of life, is to me nothing short of miraculous.
So it can be done. Just commit to showing up for one year, in whatever way you choose, and then stick to it for at least ONE entire CONTINUOUS year. You don’t have to start at the March equinox. You can start anytime, perhaps your solar return, perhaps at this next decan for the September equinox. It is like committing to doing a 40 day mantra practice. With that, the idea is that by doing the mantra daily, without missing a day, for a committed amount of time, the benefits are accrued and then deposited.
If life gets in the way, just begin again until you get that unbroken chain.
THE BOOK! An update
I’d also like to update you on the progress of my new book, or in this case, books. Just some final decisions to make and final tweaking to the formatting! Because of the length, I’m deciding whether to make it one volume or two. Leaning towards one, for convenience and cost issues. Plus an optional workbook…more to say about that below.
At 6×9, the text of the two combined is around 700 pages, which might be unwieldy as one volume, and I don’t want to make it larger than 6×9 for shipping reasons. It is NOT because of a large font or large spacing either. I tried to balance a readable nicely sized font and readable but not excessive spacing for all text. The voluminous tables though, if included, would be a smaller font.
Anyway, still deciding if the two volumes (part 1 and part 2) should be printed together as one fat book or two separate books. It may come down to printing costs as doing two separately would likely cost more. Maybe I can cut some of the text, and do one big book that combines the two volumes.
About the workbook: The tables I made for the decans, will be offered in a separate workbook, that can lay flat, and would be useful that way. It would have the line drawings of the art in a large format, and other useful things for the making of talismans, and for any decan walk experience. The tables contain:
general correspondences:
| Approximate dates |
| Astrology |
| Modality and Element |
| Decan degrees Decan ruler |
| Triplicity ruler |
| Nakshatras/Manazil(lunar mansions) per 777 |
| Sephira/world |
| Associated majors |
| Associated minors |
| Color(s) |
| Colors of the associated Majors |
| Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius (SBHA) stone |
| SBHA plant |
| SBHA dietary taboo |
| Body correspondences |
| Perfume suffumigation |
| Some materia suggestions |
Deity names:
| Liber Hermetis name |
| Egyptian name 777 [Scaliger] |
| Ancient Egyptian name (Budge) |
| Greco-Egyptian name (Brugsch, per Gundel) |
| Aristobulos name (per Gundel) |
| Testament of Solomon name [Gundel] |
| Apotelesmatics Greek name (Hephaistio) |
| Mathêsis Latin name (Firmicus) |
| Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius (Ruelle) name [Gundel] |
| Angel of the decanate per 777 |
| Goetic demons Day/Night |
| “36 Airs of the Zodiac” fragment; Kosmas |
| Ptolemaic Egyptian deity (Kircher; 777) |
Decan image descriptions from various traditions, plus some significations and applications:
| Magical image of the decan in 777 |
| Picatrix image and significations |
| Henry Cornelius Agrippa image and significations (Three Books of Occult Philosophy) |
| Giordano Bruno image (De Umbris Idearum) |
| Varahamihira Vedic image (Brihat Jataka) |
| Raphael image and significations |
| Ibn Ezra image (The Beginning of Wisdom) |
| Liber Hermetis image |
| Sacred Book of Hermes to Asclepius (Ruelle) image |
| 36 Faces (Coppock) image |
| Talismanic applications Arabic Picatrix |
| Talismanic applications Latin Picatrix |
In addition to the pages of tables, the workbook would have things useful for a decan walk process, and for the making of talismans. And it will include the black and white ink drawings from Telos Tarot in a large size, to study, to color, or to use for your own talisman making process.
The workbook, if it happens, will be optional, so if that does not interest you, no need to get it as the book purchase will be separate. Still trying to factor options about the book as in, one two-part book with all tables, or separate volumes, or excluding the tables, and it may come down to what people are interested in, as well as practicalities.
As far as the book goes, Volume 1 is all about the 36 decans, and the 36 related minor cards. It goes into image magic, magical viewing, the making of talismans, invocations, materia, and obscure or original magical practices that I relate to the decans. It has a lot of introductory material introducing the topics, and explains the process of making Telos and the “secrets” embedded in the card back design of Telos. It gives some info on tarot magic, deck consecration, loading a talisman, astrology, decan walks, some unique tarot spreads, proactive magic, etc. For each decan and tarot card, there is a section about the decan image, the correspondences and an explanation of the symbolism in the decan image description, and in the card. It more than likely covers things you may not have even noticed were in the card, or did and did not realize.
That is followed by a section called “Artist Notes” which explains the inspirations and technicalities for each image. Then there is an introduction to several deities related to each decan and how they relate to the decan, and some are definitely obscure ones you probably have never heard of! It also includes unique ancient “predictions” for the life of natives born under the auspices of each decan, from two different sources. That is followed by talismanic applications for each, what they were once used for and might be used for in modern times. There is a section for each on the making of “permanent” or astrologically elected talismans made in permanent materials like metal or stone. Then suggestions for temporary talismans on paper, with ideas. Then a section for eclectic magical practices that I relate to the correspondences of the decan. That is a very diverse and interesting wide-ranging selection of magical, creative/artistic, meditative, or other practices that somehow relate to the energies of the decan. Then if course, how the card shows up in a divination during card readings. The Appendices follow with a bunch of random related stuff, from info on the important fixed stars, divination by the rising decans of the horoscope, an ancient divinatory lottery, and a PGM rite.
Volume 2 is about the Majors, Aces, and Courts, with an additional focus on how they relate and are used in magic, and the timings of their creation. It describes the images themselves, and delineates the reasons for the long and involved Golden Dawn descriptions behind each card that they are based on, and WHY I think the GD included every element of those descriptions. It offers my own unique method for elementally consecrating a deck, separate and more powerful than the one in Volume 1. It introduces the cards as planets, as elements, and as signs, and the differences. It describes the differences between how the elemental majors, zodiacal majors, and planetary majors are used magically.
For each it covers all sorts of correspondences and includes my own Alchemical assignments, beyond the more commonly known ones. It includes magical weapons, planetary epithets known and obscure, the Seven Hermetic Principles, Hermetic titles, zodiacal mottos and purviews of the planet or sign, planetary magical effects, “Artist Notes” on each as described above, and meanings in a reading.
It offers some of my own unique spreads, including one using just the Majors and some very interesting ones with the whole deck. Also how the Aces are used magically, and in a reading. It has a huge and extensive introduction to the court cards, everything from their faces and shadows, rank, elemental considerations, modalities, gunas, etc.
For each court it explains the symbolism of the image, includes the Artist Notes and inspirations, talks about their face decans and shadow decans, and provides an explanation of how they appear “as a person” versus how they appear “as a situation” in a reading. It also has two large chapters on Princesses in esoteric tarot, and their uniqueness and power.
This is followed by a chapter on the various ways of how to choose a significator. Last is a very unique spread of my own containing, well, just about everything in life. Actually, last is the 8 page bibliography, of all the sources referenced, and suggested related reading.
Whew. You can see why it is going to be either one fat two-part book, or two separate volumes, plus a workbook. It is a Wealth of information, on all sorts of things.
Speaking of Wealth, back to the Part II update for the Virgo 3 decan.
Virgo 3 decan Part II update
This decan has been very full, but in a good way. The only hard part is keeping up! With both work and commitments, and keeping up in terms of energy expenditure overall. Out of town friends are visiting, so there has been lots more socializing than usual, fun day trips, good meals, good conversations, time spent together in work and play, etc. Plus a few family members with birthdays approaching, so plans being made for Libra 1 decan. The Virgo 3 decan into is culminating on the actual Equinox as the decan transits to Libra 1, with a party for an extended group of good friends. All in all, I feel great gratitude for having great friends and good health, for self and loved ones. Friends, family, and health for all, plus good times. True Wealth!
Thank you for being here through the decan walk, here at the half-way mark.