The second decan of Aquarius: the Six of Swords.
A crossing rather than an arrival. Passage away from difficulty, and the swords came too. You are going somewhere better and you have brought the thing with you, and the boat is still floating, which is the whole of the good news.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scan in the public domain.
- 78cards
- 24spreads
- 36decans
- The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
A ferryman poles a shallow boat across the water. A hooded passenger and a child sit in front of him, neither looking up. Six swords stand upright in the hull. Behind the boat the water is choppy; ahead of it, smooth.
The Golden Dawn gave the Six of Swords the second ten degrees of Aquarius, 10° to 20°, ruled by Mercury in the Chaldean order, and Book T (1888) calls it the Lord of Earned Success. The Sun crosses it every year, about 30 January to 9 February; next from 30 January to 9 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 Six 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 II
Birthdays from about 30 January to 9 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. Mercury in Aquarius. The old reading is a clear, cool mind that finds the way across, and takes others with it.
In the Golden Dawn's scheme a birth here carries four cards: the Six of Swords for the ten degrees themselves, the Lord of Earned Success; the Star for Aquarius; the Magician for Mercury; and the Knight of Swords, whose thirty degrees take this decan in.
Questions about Aquarius II
- Which tarot card is Mercury in Aquarius?
- The Six of Swords, which Book T calls the Lord of Earned Success. The Golden Dawn gave it the second ten degrees of Aquarius, 10° to 20°, in 1888, which is the whole reason a numbered card can carry a date.
- What are the dates of Aquarius II?
- The Sun is in it about 30 January to 9 February every year, and next from 30 January to 9 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 second decan of Aquarius?
- Mercury, 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 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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