The second decan of Taurus: the Six of Pentacles.
Charity, weighed. Somebody decided how much, and a choice is being made between them while you watch. Whichever of the three you are in your own arrangement, the scales are in one hand only, and it is worth being exact about whose.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scan in the public domain.
- 78cards
- 24spreads
- 36decans
- The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
The merchant is standing and the other two are kneeling. He holds a pair of scales level in one hand and drops coins into the palm of one kneeling man with the other, while the second kneels beside him with his hands out and gets nothing.
The Golden Dawn gave the Six of Pentacles the second ten degrees of Taurus, 10° to 20°, ruled by the Moon in the Chaldean order, and Book T (1888) calls it the Lord of Material Success. The Sun crosses it every year, about 30 April to 10 May; next from 30 April to 10 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 Six 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 II
Birthdays from about 30 April to 10 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. The Moon exalted in Taurus. The old reading is a temperament that steadies other people, and gives from a full table.
In the Golden Dawn's scheme a birth here carries four cards: the Six of Pentacles for the ten degrees themselves, the Lord of Material Success; the Hierophant for Taurus; the High Priestess for the Moon; and the Knight of Pentacles, whose thirty degrees take this decan in.
Questions about Taurus II
- Which tarot card is the Moon in Taurus?
- The Six of Pentacles, which Book T calls the Lord of Material Success. The Golden Dawn gave it the second ten degrees of Taurus, 10° to 20°, in 1888, which is the whole reason a numbered card can carry a date.
- What are the dates of Taurus II?
- The Sun is in it about 30 April to 10 May every year, and next from 30 April to 10 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 second decan of Taurus?
- The Moon, in the Chaldean order Book T uses. The triplicity order, which most horoscope columns use, gives it Mercury instead. Both are right in their own system; here are both orders for all thirty-six.
What is drawn on the Six 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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