The third decan of Aquarius: the Seven of Swords.
Theft is the usual name and the wrong one. This is an attempt that cannot be kept up: too much taken, held wrong, at a pace the grip will not allow. Whatever you are carrying quietly, the card's only claim is that you cannot carry it far.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scan in the public domain.
- 78cards
- 24spreads
- 36decans
- The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
Five swords in his arms, held by the blades, and a camp of striped tents behind him. Two more stand in the sand. His feet go one way and his head is turned the other. Nobody in the camp is looking.
The Golden Dawn gave the Seven of Swords the third ten degrees of Aquarius, 20° to 30°, ruled by the Moon in the Chaldean order, and Book T (1888) calls it the Lord of Unstable Effort. The Sun crosses it every year, about 9 to 18 February; next from 9 to 18 February 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 Swords 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 Aquarius III
Birthdays from about 9 to 18 February 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. The Moon in Aquarius. The old reading is a nature that goes its own way quietly, and does not always say so first.
In the Golden Dawn's scheme a birth here carries four cards: the Seven of Swords for the ten degrees themselves, the Lord of Unstable Effort; the Star for Aquarius; the High Priestess for the Moon; and the King of Cups, whose thirty degrees take this decan in.
Questions about Aquarius III
- Which tarot card is the Moon in Aquarius?
- The Seven of Swords, which Book T calls the Lord of Unstable Effort. The Golden Dawn gave it the third ten degrees of Aquarius, 20° to 30°, in 1888, which is the whole reason a numbered card can carry a date.
- What are the dates of Aquarius III?
- The Sun is in it about 9 to 18 February every year, and next from 9 to 18 February 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 Aquarius?
- The Moon, in the Chaldean order Book T uses. The triplicity order, which most horoscope columns use, gives it Venus instead. Both are right in their own system; here are both orders for all thirty-six.
What is drawn on the Seven of Swords, 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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