DECAN DELINEATIONS
The Sun Through the 1st Decan of Sagittarius
From November 22nd through December 1st the sun will move through the first ten degrees of Sagittarius—thus, the first decan of Sagittarius—a decan ruled Mercury, and the 8 of wands in the tarot, both of which represent acceleration…
The 8 of wands imagery features no human forms or contemplative scenes, which is striking—rather, this card presents eight separate wands appearing to be thrown through the sky, as the bottom of the card displays a landscape scene… these wands are headed downward, as if for landing, as through they were aimed and thrown, though there is not enough detail to have any indication as to where these wands will land… all that is obvious—is that there is movement.
So, movement.
But let’s dwell, here, for a moment, upon the only obvious detail—that this card has an absolute lack of human figures.
The only other card in the tarot without a human figure is the 3 of swords—a card that represents harsh realizations and conflicts with disappointments, ruling the second decan of Libra—a zodiacal sign that represents an object: the scales of Justice.
In astrology, the signs with human figures—Gemini, Virgo, (Sagittarius, if a centaur counts) and Aquarius—represent a heightened level of consciousness, which is to say more of a moral compass… as well as an ability for more critically intellectual pursuits. The remaining zodiacal energies—the ones represents by the menagerie of beasts and reptiles—animate a more primitively instinctive motivation…
As for Libra, I would consider this worthy of an entirely separate post!
I have no answers here—as I am still navigating myself through the depths of the tarot, as well as the fringes of astrology—I merely realize that this is a detail to note.
So, movement.
Mercury.
And Mercury will be moving through Sagittarius…
It is typical, then, that through these ten days navigating through the first ten degrees of Sagittarius, and thusly, through the energies and motivations of the 8 of wands, one would likely achieve much, or move impressively quickly through something, or cover much ground, without much presenting itself within your path—however, I mention this somewhat cautiously, as this year, through these first ten degrees of Sagittarius, Mercury will be applying, exacting, and separating from an opposition to retrograde Mars through these ten days… which could promote obstacle or delay, or haphazardly pursuits.
Not to mention—Mercury is in detriment in Sagittarius, meaning: Mercury is unable to be its best and do its most when moving within the boundaries of Sagittarius, which lies opposite its zodiacal domicile, Gemini.
And when Mercury and Mars are in connection, regardless of what connection—it is easily understood as a need for patience… which directly, and quite obviously, goes against the 8 of wands, needing presence—though, typically, with matters shared by the likes of Mercury and Mars, patience seems to be the one thing that cannot be practiced… for better or worse.
Astrologer Austin Coppock refers to this decan as the ‘Poisoned Arrow’, and writes that “here the spirit encounters and eliminates resistance at varied levels of reality—the product of this process is the subordination of all layers of being to the will itself… the spirit commands and all parts obey.”
Again. For better or worse.
Of the lack of human figures, Coppock writes “there is thus a level of abstraction to the speed pictured here—it is the speed an idea or vision, the velocity of imagination…”
It is through this decan that the will is of mighty significance—as well as a goal, and the realization toward one.
Further, “the symbols of this decan: the arrow, the chariot, and the virus are all defined by their capability for movement, but also their potential for violence…”
Continued, Coppock writes “ when one does not direct their own vehicle, one’s vehicle can be commandeered by another spirit—the daimones of plague, now called viruses, are hijackers, who utilize bodies as vectors for the propagation of their own simple, primal will… without a driving will, all of one’s vehicles are likely to be hijacked—just as the body is vulnerable, so to are the emotions and the mind… those who walk this decan will be the vehicle of various plagues to the degree that they have not attained and accepted a vision of their own true will.”
Specifically so for those born within this decan.
The swiftness of this card, then, refers to the speed at which an idea comes into one’s peripheral, into one’s consciousness—much like the exact moment of conception—the idea is imprinted upon one’s personal will to accommodate.
Another perspective of this card, from tarot writer T Susan Chang, sequences it in between The Magician and the Temperance cards, as the connecting of the dots of an idea into a goal, into something that is actually accomplished and not merely idealized—this is the stuff of true alchemy…
Apparently, historical tarot decks appointed the Temperance card as ‘art’, “because alchemy has long been known, among its practitioners, as ‘the Art’ or ‘the Great Work’.
The Temperance card, not incidentally, is the card that represents Sagittarius as a whole, as it is a card describing ‘moderation’… which Sagittarian energies are notoriously in need of. Chang writes that “finding the middle way is an integral part of Temperance—the Great Work is… the work of traveling to one’s own heights and depths, exploring the light and shadow, expanding the self to its own extremes—to be tempered is to be ‘tried and tested’, pushed to one’s limits and brought back.”
Further, upon the rulership of this card being Mercury, in detriment—Chang expresses that in her experience, this card has been the most literal… and forewarns that “we should not forget that Mercury is a god of deception… and [as his translations within the Agrippa and the Picatrix speak of ‘boldness, liberty, and militancy’] this is a warrior who is definitely trying to get away with something—or maybe, a provocative loudmouth who will say just about anything just to see what will happen.”
Chang also mentions the ‘shrinking of distances and shortening of times’ with this card, but most powerfully, that “the virtues here are amoral: they are viral…”
Particularly with social media: for better or worse, it can be used as a gift, or a weapon.
Again—I bring to your attention: Mercury opposing Mars retrograde in Gemini.
Oi.
Also—Amazon. What could go wrong there?!
Tarot writer Jessica Dore writes of this card, this card representing such swiftness seemingly since the beginning of time… that it leaves her more puzzled with questions, and few answers… “what does raw energy of swiftness mean when there’s nothing else attached to it?”
Dore writes that the “wands symbolize the subtle stuff of life… and the eight of wands ask questions about what falls within our personal field of energy and what falls beyond it—this might mean determining what is inside your sphere of influence, and what is not… there are secrets in this card about willpower and allowing.”
Specifically, the differences between willingness, and willfulness.
Continued, Dore writes “what often makes the allowing part of life so challenging is that when reality doesn’t line up within what we want, it’s sometimes too painful or uncomfortable to bear—and so we exert will into the world, often on other people, as a way to avoid allowing the truth of What Is and how we feel about it.”
Finally, “finding the balance between willpower and allowing is much like the image of this card—there is no ground here, not much to hook into that you can take as an absolute reality or guideline—it will require a dogged presence… but if we make it a guideline to work on our allowing first—what’s inside of us and what’s inside the world around us—when we do exert our will, we can do it with a stance of being grounded in What Is.”
Still. Mercury, in Sagittarius, lacks grounding and retrograde Mars, in Gemini, absolutely lacks any grounded foundations. We truly are working within the realms of imagination and mindfulness, within the mental and synaptic, within the illusory and the ideal… within the seemingly real and unreal.
The sun, however, moving through Sagittarius—which is what this post is about—has a healthier potential… maybe not to walk the grounds, exactly, but definitely to hoof it.
(See what I did there?!)
The sun is not powerful in Sagittarius, nor is it debilitated—is simply is, which is sometimes what Sagittarian energies struggle with, particularly the first decan.
The sun in Sagittarius highlights and glorifies the very dynamic extremes within ourselves after being so deeply plunged down into the depths and darknesses of the Underworlds of Scorpio—in Sagittarius, we emerge again upon the Upper World, into the sunshine, in front of the wide and hopeful blue-violet horizons… and all the silver linings within the universe, as if on cue, grow sharply bright and accentuated—like a neon ‘vacancy’ sign flashing, flashing, flashing...
In Sagittarius, our motivations turn to the mercy of our will, to begin striving—wherever Sagittarius is within your nativity is where, within your reality, you want, are motivated by/toward, and somewhat expect: More.
Perhaps this is why Sagittarius governs both religion and world travel—neither of these practices is enjoyed or thoroughly understood simply upon the surface… there’s so much more. Any -ology—seriously—so much more than what anyone can presume.
And with Sagittarius—wherever it is within your nativity, or however it is reflected by governance—whatever it is it is ultimately unknowable… one can only ‘know’ so much—and I say this because many -ologists the world over, including the likes of physicians and physicists, are merely ‘practicing’… guessing, estimating—and then it becomes so endless that it’s virtually impossible to know it all, much less any of it.
Through Sagittarius—we experience. Because we can’t actually know anything for certain—it’s the experience that counts… when traveling the ‘ole dusty back roads of Sagittarius, all we can testify to is that “it’s been my experience…” and that is all.
Much as we’re currently experiencing Mars in Gemini—retrograde or directly—and I presume as much that Mercury opposing this impatient instability and provokable unknowability will only exacerbate the ultimate unknowingness of factual exactitude… and inspire our personal experience of it—imagined or otherwise.
The moon will meet up with the sun on November 23rd at 1*38’ for the new moon—and you can read about this on the 22nd via Moon Moods.
And then, again, the sun will connect to the moon through the last quarter moon (in Pisces) on the 30th, which you can also read about upon the 29th.
Though the sun isn’t really the swiftly actionable planet through this decan this year—it is likely our best bet in grounded-ness… our best practice in experiencing What Is.
And, just so you know—Mercury will oppose Mars Rx on November 29th at 19*18’, a degree which describes ‘looking ahead to future needs’.
There may also be a need to remove barriers—either in conversation, or in actuality.
As this Mercury/Mars opposition already hinges heavily upon—there will likely be an extreme potential for really ‘nailing’ something… as there is for totally disgracing it.
This degree symbolizes ‘men cutting through ice…’
Try not to fall through… and try not to cut yourself; though, something tells me that Mercury moving through Sagittarius will want to experience either—or both—willingly or willfully…
I wonder, though, if the days within these ten days when Mercury isn’t directly opposing Mars—the 22nd through the 28th, and then on December 1st, suggesting that the potentially hazardous days are November 29th and 30th—if there will be a more optimistic transference of 8 of wands energies… such as the swiftness of insight, ideals, and inspiration alike, the suddenness of velocities in imagination, and the ever expanding of extremes in an effort to equilibrate a happy grounding within the Great Work that is each uniquely our very own individual-ology.
Either way—presence required.
Chang, T. ‘36 Secrets.’ Anima Mundi Press; 2021.
Coppock, A. ‘36 Faces.’ Three Hands Press; 2014.
Dore, J. ‘Tarot for Change.’ VIKING; 2021.
Reed, T. ‘Tarot: No Questions Asked.’ Desire Books; 2020.
Roche, D. ‘Sabian Symbols.’ Astrology Classics; 1998, 2010.