DECAN DELINEATIONS
The Sun Through the 3rd Decan of Scorpio
From November 13th through the 22nd, the sun will move through the third decan of Scorpio—a decan associated with the 7 of cups in the tarot.
The 7 of cups is a card that refers to uncertainty.
Tarot reader/writer Theresa Reed writes of this card, that it “symbolizes decisions, choices, and the uncertainty about which one to make… this card marks a time when you must choose wisely—that begins by examining each opportunity with great care, look[ing] beneath the surface…”
Reed adds, however, that this can be a card indicating daydreaming, or wishful thinking…
Tarot writer T Susan Chang writes of this card, “sometimes dreamy, sometimes squalid, always enigmatic…” and arranges this card in between the likes of The Empress and the Death card—which is absolutely telling of its innate essence—Chang asks of this sequencing, “what transpires in the encounter between Eros and Thanatos, dove and serpent?” Chang continues, that from where the 6 of cups left off, “that which we consider beautiful is beautiful not despite its mortality but because of it.”
Continued, Chang asks: How does one pursue beauty in its dying hour?; Do you seek to transform it into something new?; Do you try to preserve it as it was?… and so “how you react in the face of that terrible, mortal beauty is the subject of this card.”
It is no wonder, then, with such immense beauty, through both life and in death, that this decan is governed by Venus.
Chang writes that she refers to this card as the ‘card of the artist’, as it is through this card that the ultimate Muse—through both imagination and illusion—emerges… thus, then, able to be manifested into reality as something of beauty, something of value, something sacred. Chang quotes tarot deck artist Patrick Valenza, that for the artist “the duality of subconscious and conscious minds… act together to conceive an altered version of reality—the artist depicts not what he sees, but what he ‘sees’…”
This is a card of magic, then, of possibility… of the ultimate dream.
And with any ideal or illusion—wherever the light shines its brightest—always has its shadow side.
The underlying origins of this card also speak of debauchery, in that one’s successes are either temporary or illusory… this decan is governed by Venus, after all—Chang describes Venus, in this light, through this card and decan, as possessing “powers to charm and beguile [which] may fail, or project an air of desperation, or take on a self-destructive cast… if you’ve ever seen how the office Christmas party ends—drunken stumbling, smeared mascara, regrettable hookups—you’ve seen that side of the 7 of cups.”
“A misguided effort to cling to a glamor whose moment has passed; addiction’s endless seeking—the trap of fetishizing the sensation of the high, rather than its rise and fall through time…” all lingering and looming through the underbelly of this decan/card dynamic.
As the last decan of Scorpio, and perhaps thereby one most deeply associated to the endings of all things—this decan symbolizes the two-faced coin of life and death, of light and darkness… Chang uses the alchemical term putrefaction, which is to say fertilization, in that the essence of Scorpio is one of both extremes—and “these transactions between worlds, deals brokered between decay and fruition, illusions that nourish and destroy.”
Astrologer Austin Coppock titles this decan ‘A Crow’… though the reasoning for this is never explained, other than through what one can only imagine is an association with its symbolisms—which largely regard symbolisms and notions of death, transformations, rebirth and re-beginnings… the extremes between the most foundational transitions of light and darkness, of night and day, of life and death.
Of this decan, Coppock writes “on the surface, what occurs in this decan appears as a loss; love is revealed as an illusion, a mere matter of selfish projection… yet it is not a loss, for the desire, and the capacity for its satisfaction, never truly depended on anyone or anything else—yet to transform disillusionment into satisfaction, a potent operation is necessary.”
Through the third decan, Coppock explains, “it is a place of separation and transformation—fulfillment comes, but not in the manner first desired.”
Continued, “This phase can thus be used to return unfulfilled attachments and desires to their beginning. We bury the corpse of past loves and wait for the flowers to grow from their graves. But such dissolutions take time, and the ghosts of desire which haunt this face are real. They are projections of our energy, split off into quasi-autonomous phantoms. These projections have the capacity to obsess like that of a succubi or incubi… when desire’s hungry ghosts have finally been laid to rest, the compost is complete, and a rich loam results. In the grave of yesterday’s love, anything can grow. This face is thus a formula of liberation, for if we were not capable of laying our desires to rest, returning them to pure energy, we would be enchained forever…”
This is quite a powerful description, and describes much more than what so simply appears upon the surface—beyond description, this is something of an instruction.
Furthermore and always—the 7 of cups is, essentially, a card of choice.
You have choices. Always. Though, specifically through the next ten day, these choices may matter a bit more to you, or be/feel that much more severe in nature.
And, even further, most essentially within these choices abound—this decan is graced with Venusian beauty and blessings, and imaginings as magical as one could muster. Always, always—there is a line… between not going far enough, and going too far—just as there is a line between vitality and death, between night and day, between healthy and diseased—between good and ill-willed.
Every day you are given a choice to utilize your imagination—to beguile your inner Muse, and be, yourself, beguiled… how you choose to further immerse yourself into these illusory comforts or manifest these outwardly from therein—is up to you.
Tarot writer Jessica Dore writes of this card, “that’s the amazing thing about the mind—you have the ability to summon, through your imagination, whatever you want… and if you’re able to direct that capacity with intention, it can radically change your physical reality—because that same psychological muscle that imagines worst-case scenarios and stimulates a whole heap of feelings about it can imagine best possible outcomes and stimulate sweet feelings, too… which can in turn stimulate the best and sweetest behaviors.”
Chang’s overall takeaway regarding the 7 of cups is to “take a deep breath and prepare yourself for powerful warnings and promises… you may find yourself in an emotionally ungrounded state, in which good judgement seems to have absented itself and imagination has taken the reins… enjoy the fairy gold—but don’t mistake it for the real thing!… the ultimate power of the 7 of cups is to transform what is broken, spent, and corrupted into something new and beautiful.”
The Muse/Magic is within you… take these ten days to practice working with this power.
Through the third decan of Scorpio, the sun will connect to Neptune by trine on the 14th at 22*45’, and connect to Pluto by sextile on the 18th at 26*31’, and connect to Jupiter stationing by trine on the 20th at 28*49’… let’s delineate these transits further.
November 14th—the sun/Neptune trine at 22*45’ illuminates the power and depths of the imagination referred to throughout this decan delineation… these energies will be quite potent toward topics touting transformation, enchantments, and magic… ‘implicit in this degree is the ability of every individual to enhance his enjoyment of life by changing the way he views the world in which he lives…’ the day may very well offer an opportunity for you to transform something potentially disappointing or misunderstood into something more personally meaningful, beautiful, or effective.
November 18th—the sun/Pluto sextile at 26*31’ may more likely offer opportunities to assert yourself, highlighting then, the ways in which you do so… today’s emphasis regards largely being able to make meaningful order and clarification from chaos and disenchantments… but also, to more personally understand and respect the differences between all dynamics—particularly those extremes between life and death, or with and without—as when we pick a flower, either to be given and enjoyed, smelled and put on display… or immediately thrown out. Either way, as soon as the flower is plucked, it begins to expire—how do you use your time with things when expirations are looming?
November 20th—the sun/Jupiter by trine at 28*49’, as Jupiter is stationing in preparation to once more move directly at the end of the month, may center more around personal powers in contrast to/with collective needs or disempowerments… and these energies may highlight, perhaps within the larger collective, matters of ‘supplication, begging, intercession, petition, prayer, plea, advocacy, appeal, invocation, or requests…’ and in much more realistic regards—today may highlight for you a circumstance or potential toward your (in)ability to inspire, assist, support, or nurture an/Other; navigating the ability, ambitions, and actuality toward the self-regard of the Other is essential, though its surfacing may indicate that which finds itself somehow within that line between That Which Will and That Which Will Not.
Chang, T. ‘36 Secrets.’ Anima Mundi Press; 2021.
Coppock, A. ‘36 Faces.’ Three Hands Press; 2014.
Dore, J. ‘Tarot for Change.’ VIKING; 2021.
Hill, L. ‘360 Degrees of Wisdom.’ A Plume Book; 2004.
Reed, T. ‘Tarot: No Questions Asked.’ Desire Books; 2020.
Roche, D. ‘Sabian Symbols.’ Astrology Classics; 1998, 2010.