DECAN DELINEATIONS
The Sun Through the 2nd Decan of Aries
From today—March 30th—through April 10th the sun will move through the second decan of Aries, which is to say through the innermost degrees of Aries: degrees ten through twenty.
This decan of Aries is governed by the sun, and the sun is indeed exalted in Aries—and so much more so as the second decan hosts the sun’s exalted degree…
Before this, however, the sun will make a connection to Chiron, by conjunction, on April 5th and thereafter begin applying its annual conjunction to Jupiter—exact within the third decan of Aries on April 11th.
For now, though, this single conjunction may not feel like much, still, it will very well be more than enough as the month of April will offer various challenges—nearly by the week—including Pluto beginning to apply a square to the Nodes, a total eclipse, and Mercury stationing retrograde… just to name the obvious.
The sun’s conjunction to Chiron this year exudes the acknowledgement and ‘doing’ of being within the midst of something—something already occurring—something within that sweet spot between endings and beginnings… which is to say being within the midst of something invigorating, something that hurts, something bittersweet, something you would rather not confront, something mighty frustrating—and highlighting it.
This decan is associated with a crowning…
And the tarot card associated with the second decan of Aries is the 3 of wands—a card very much acknowledging the looking ahead toward something… in expectation.
But of what?
Let’s delineate the expectations of these eleven days.
“Can’t stop, addicted to the shindig… Chop Top, he says I’m gonna win big…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
Tarot writer Theresa Reed writes of the 3 of wands that ‘new adventures are on the horizon…’
Most emphasized through this card is the openness to expansion.
Reed writes that “there’s more out there for you… you have much to look forward to.”
Whereas the first decan of Aries was about acknowledging, and possibly revisiting and revising, re-appropriating, and reimagining identity, and inspirations thereby—the second decan of Aries advances to acknowledging matters of innovation and activation.
In other words, you’re no longer planning—now, you’re doing.
But before we get ahead of ourselves—this is the decan that transmutes what we’ve learned through the first decan: the acknowledgement of our true identity, which is to refer to our personal values, and our virtues… astrologer Austin Coppock writes of this decan that “here the individual struggles with their potential—what is truly royal inside them.”
Continued, Coppock writes, “all virtues and vices are habits—neither are generated in a day, or left behind in a moment—they come to define not only character, but the interaction of the character with the world around it… given time, one’s virtues and vices come to define their lives—indeed, the world remembers one for little else but these two—the practice of virtue and vice therefore define a character.”
“The world I love, the tears I drop—to be part of the wave, can’t stop
Even wonder if it’s all for you…?
The world I love, the trains I hop—to be part of the wave, can’t stop
Come and tell me when it’s time to…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
Perhaps the ‘doing’ here within this second decan of Aries isn’t so much the illusion against the horizon of some faraway fantasy within your dreams—but the adventure of opening to becoming so much more than you already are… through ‘doing’ you.
Doing you—in an expanded consciousness type of way.
Doing you—in all the ways you were meant for.
Reed writes of this card in regard to a reading describing travel… but it’s so much more than that.
Continued, Coppock writes, “though this face reveals profound truths about the process by which a personal world is generated, it does not speak to a particular type, for all realms proceed from the sovereign self, which radiates a complete mandala of heavens, hells, and human realms… though it is the self which generates these worlds, one does not abide in them alone—the world-field generated draws those of like vibration, characters able to live out the stories written on the state provided—those who intentionally generate their own world always find it stocked… thus those seen in this face are leaders—for they are followed, their actions and decisions are imitated, their vices and virtues copied.”
Finally, Coppock conclude, “applied magically, this decan has tremendous power… it is the power to generate the world of your choosing, and to be its sovereign—it is the key to creating pocket realities which do not obey the laws of the collective reality filed in which they exist.”
Especially as the sun is exalted through this decan—honestly and thoroughly knowing who you are and knowing what you’re capable of… and being open to learning what more you could experience—this decan is indeed quite powerful, should you take it up.
Still. This decan and its associated powers must abide by the laws of energy… and so this is not a card/decan combination associated to anything magically presenting itself to you—you must actually do the work, you must actually take direct and personal action within the doing.
“This chapter’s going to be a close one—smoke rings, I know you’re going to blow one
All on a spaceship, persevering—use my hands for everything but steering
Can’t stop the spirits when they need you…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
As however within the midst or middle of something as you may feel—something new is emerging… or wanting to emerge—something is crowning—something is possible.
There’s a very real and tangible feeling of personal responsibility illuminated here.
These two very obvious themes throughout these eleven days can also signal something of a personal patience—within yourself, with these very personally directed learning curves and inner explorations—which will be aggravating, I understand!, as an Aries patience is typically only as strong as the value of its reward…
Tarot writer TS Chang writes of this card, that she has noticed that this card frequently indicates waiting… “but a wait for ripening rather than, say… frustration.”
Ripening is a way of doing.
Expectations are tricky… to expect by definition, is ‘to look forward; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of; to suppose or surmise; guess…’ and none of these are very secure—which is to say, by definition, you likely wouldn’t put money on it, as they say. Not to mention, these all imply something occurring without much effort on the part of the reader—other than the ‘doing’ of expecting…
I’ve toyed with the definition of expectations for nearly two decades now, and indeed—to expect is a rather magically loaded term…
When utilized appropriately.
Much of the tarot content I researched in writing this post for this decan included very magically-loaded analysis, which, in the sleeping mind, is neither helpful nor even regarded; toward the waking mind, however, it may become a bit misleading…
After all, our language defines pregnancy as ‘expecting’, which is to say: the ‘work’, or the ‘doing’ has been done—and now it’s left to the expectation of something magical.
Here again—the waiting. A woman simply houses the magic occurring within…
Yet, ‘simply’ isn’t exactly so simple, is it.
“Kick-start the golden generator—sweet talk, but don’t intimidate her
Can’t stop the gods from engineering—feel no need for any interfering
Your image, in the dictionary—this life is more than ordinary…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
Through Aries energies, regardless of decan, we are, essentially, energetically-speaking, creating something from nothing… much as the little big bang is reverberated and recreated when the spermatozoa meets the egg in perfect union, in active doing—the magic is not done, finished, or complete within that moment, but rather, the magic is only beginning… the magic, then, begins to live on from there.
And so it comes back again to: how do you want to live your life?
What do you want your life and experiences to represent?
Is your character resembled within the way you are ‘doing’ your life?
Are there ways in which you could ripen your experience of/in living?
Do you expect to open to your life—to learn to ‘do’ the magic within, to emerge?
This waiting, this patience, this personal responsibility theretofore—perhaps this is all in an effort to frustrate… intentionally.
To frustrate, by definition, is ‘to make (plans, efforts, etc) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify; to disappoint or thwart; to hinder or prevent; to upset, agitate, or tire…’
Curiously, the Latin derivative of ‘frustrate’ is ‘in vain’… the Latin equivalent of ‘vain’ is to refer to emptiness—to ‘no avail; fruitlessness; worthlessness…’
How often do we, then, actively and even subconsciously frustrate our own doing?—so much so it’s precisely why astrologers, priests, and counselors exist.
Sometimes we even expect to be frustrated.
When we expect to be defeated or disappointed, we are actively ‘doing’ something empty of vitality… whereas, when we agitate or upset that which has grown fruitless—we offer it a renewed vitality of worth and possibility.
There’s always an upside to frustration—consider the sperm frustrating the egg… life itself would be rendered obsolete without frustration, wouldn’t you say?
“Can’t stop the spirits when they need you—this life is more than just a read-through…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
Although the ‘doing’ of the sperm frustrating the egg is an absolutely magical event, the ‘doing’ of everything thereafter ought to be held upon the highest responsibilities, as well—as it’s never over, energy is constantly moving and changing and doing—it is also an absolutely mysterious magic that each event of union creates entirely different energies therethrough. What Joseph Campbell regards as the ‘uninterpreted life’ evolves into the ‘dark forest… of original experience’, as tarot writer Jessica Dore supports, “where you must do your own transcribing and arranging, and where, as Campbell said, ‘you’ve got to work out your life for yourself.’”
Quite beautifully, and entirely unintentionally, Dore’s take on the 3 of wands presents a very smooth connection onto the sun/Chiron conjunction…
Dore writes that “in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the… pyramid of human necessities starts with the most basic physiological requirements like air, food, and shelter, and at the very top are belonging and, ultimately, self-actualization—that means that if the biggest concerns in your life are about feeling dissatisfied, unfulfilled, or creatively stuck, you are actually extremely fortunate… that’s not to shame you for your privileges but to remind you that you are safe—because when we are safe, we are more free to take risks and to be brave with our lives…”
Continued, “if you do find yourself standing between worlds, wanting to leap but feeling scared to, if your basic needs are met and then some, if you’re asking questions about how to willingly break your own heart, or to be a beginner in a way that feels scary, or abandon a thing that would compromise the lifestyle you’ve come to depend on, well, you are a lucky one… and I think knowing that gives you a good rock to jump from—and again, I don’t say this to invalidate how hard it is… in reality you are the one holding the cards and calling the shots—you are the one deciding that you even want to leave the comfort of the village to venture into the dark forest in the first place.”
These frustrations that we either conjure and perpetuate, or the ones through which we navigate because they present themselves—these frustrations embolden who we are, and motivate who we can become… these frustrations inspire us toward expansion.
This year’s annual sun/Chiron conjunction, as it always does, may sting a bit…
But it may also embolden, motivate, and inspire.
The degree through which the sun and Chiron meet in conjunction regards invigoration…
The root of the word invigorate is ‘vigor’, meaning ‘active strength and force; healthy physical or mental energy or power, vitality; energy, intensity; force of healthy growth in any living matter or organism…’ and its Latin derivative is ‘to be vigorous; to thrive’.
And the sperm enters/frustrates/invigorates the egg…
“Can’t stop—addicted to the shindig…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
This year’s bittersweet highlight speaks to ‘getting back to the raw, unrefined and natural source of things for clarification, understanding, and self-renewal… in a very real sense, [this degree] depicts a celebration of life or the end of a cycle and an honoring of whatever this cycle signifies/d—but it also depicts an eagerness to move into the next cycle, and so it alludes to transitions or that point where the old gives way to the new and the end and beginning are one… it illustrates the indestructible link or bond between any source and its progeny—and at its highest, it represents a rich and rewarding life as a result of appreciating and accepting new opportunities for growth.’
Sometimes to live our lives courageously and fully is bittersweet and rough…
Depending upon the reality you’re wanting to live within and experience.
Sometimes thriving hurts. Sometimes it’s hard. And harsh. And really scary…
Either way, it’s yours—and it’s your personal responsibility to live it fully.
Through all the various changes, frustrations, invigorations, and all the endless doing and waiting, these are absolutely the magical meat of it all—it is all yours to embrace and navigate, or deny and refuse, as you choose.
And as it is here one ‘struggles with one’s potential…’ what a very hefty understatement indeed.
It is here one struggles and simultaneously chooses much…
Such as the genetic-energetic impact and magical-cosmic imprint of the sperm penetrates within the egg—the moment that changes everything…
It is ‘here a bittersweet blending of regret and eagerness occurs—time stands still in this moment of celebration where today meets tomorrow and the past and the future are one.’
“Knocked out, but boy, you better come to—don’t die, you know, the truth is some do
Go write your message on the pavement—burn so bright—
I wonder what the wave meant…”
—Red Hot Chili Peppers; lyrics to ‘Can’t Stop’
image credit—@forms_most_beautiful on instagram
lyrics credit—Red Hot Chili Peppers; Moebetoblame Music/2002.
Chang, T. ‘36 Secrets.’ Anima Mundi Press; 2021.
Coppock, A. ‘36 Faces.’ 3Hands Press; 2014.
Dore, J. ‘Tarot for Change.’ VIKING; 2021.
Reed, T. ‘Tarot.’ Desire Books; 2020.
Roche, D. ‘Sabian Symbols.’ Astrology Books; 2010.