The third decan of Taurus: the Seven of Pentacles.
Everything he did, he did months ago, and the rest is not his to do. Not a failure, a yield that is coming and will not be hurried. Whatever you have been growing, it is not ready, and the part of you that has to wait for it is not ready either.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scan in the public domain.
- 78cards
- 24spreads
- 36decans
- The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
Six coins are growing on a bush like fruit, and a seventh lies on the ground by his foot. The man leans on his hoe with both hands and looks down at the plant. He does not look pleased.
The Golden Dawn gave the Seven of Pentacles the third ten degrees of Taurus, 20° to 30°, ruled by Saturn in the Chaldean order, and Book T (1888) calls it the Lord of Success Unfulfilled. The Sun crosses it every year, about 10 to 21 May; next from 10 to 21 May 2027.
Why this card can carry a date
A decan is a third of a sign, ten degrees of the zodiac, and there are thirty-six of them around the year. The Golden Dawn gave one to each numbered card, so every numbered card is also a place on the calendar, and when the Sun, the Moon or a planet is inside those ten degrees the card is, in an old and literal sense, in season. All thirty-six are listed here, and where the Sun is today is computed on the server so anyone can check it.
The Sun spends about ten days in each decan every year. The Moon passes through each one for under a day, roughly once a month. Mercury and Venus run close to the Sun; Mars, Jupiter and Saturn move slowly, and can sit on one card for weeks or months. What this site prints about the Seven of Pentacles is computed at the minute you read, so it can be checked against any ephemeris, and it stops being printed the hour it stops being true.
Born with the Sun in Taurus III
Birthdays from about 10 to 21 May fall in this decan. The boundary moves by a day or so from year to year, which is why the birth card page works from an ephemeris and not a table. Saturn in Taurus. The old reading is patience that plants and waits, and is hard on itself when the harvest is late.
In the Golden Dawn's scheme a birth here carries four cards: the Seven of Pentacles for the ten degrees themselves, the Lord of Success Unfulfilled; the Hierophant for Taurus; the World for Saturn; and the King of Swords, whose thirty degrees take this decan in.
Questions about Taurus III
- Which tarot card is Saturn in Taurus?
- The Seven of Pentacles, which Book T calls the Lord of Success Unfulfilled. The Golden Dawn gave it the third ten degrees of Taurus, 20° to 30°, in 1888, which is the whole reason a numbered card can carry a date.
- What are the dates of Taurus III?
- The Sun is in it about 10 to 21 May every year, and next from 10 to 21 May 2027. The boundary moves by a day or so from year to year, so a birthday on the edge can fall either side; the birth card page settles it from an ephemeris rather than a table.
- Who rules the third decan of Taurus?
- Saturn, in the Chaldean order Book T uses. The triplicity order, which most horoscope columns use, gives it Saturn instead. Both are right in their own system; here are both orders for all thirty-six.
What is drawn on the Seven of Pentacles, and the four things people go to on it. Draw a card and if this is the one that turns, the reading will say which body is on it. The sky, and why a card here can carry a date.
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