The third decan of Sagittarius: the Ten of Wands.
Ten separate things, carried as one. They are not one. Each staff went into his arms on its own day, for its own reason, and none of them is tied to the others. You have been calling ten things one thing so that you do not have to put any of them down.
Pamela Colman Smith, 1909. Scan in the public domain.
- 78cards
- 24spreads
- 36decans
- The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
A man bent nearly double under ten staves, all held in one armful in front of him. His face is behind them. He is walking towards a town with red roofs that is close enough to see, and he cannot see it.
The Golden Dawn gave the Ten of Wands the third ten degrees of Sagittarius, 20° to 30°, ruled by Saturn in the Chaldean order, and Book T (1888) calls it the Lord of Oppression. The Sun crosses it every year, about 12 to 21 December; next from 12 to 21 December 2026.
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 Ten of Wands 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 Sagittarius III
Birthdays from about 12 to 21 December 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 Sagittarius. The old reading is someone who takes on more than their share and carries it to the door without complaint.
In the Golden Dawn's scheme a birth here carries four cards: the Ten of Wands for the ten degrees themselves, the Lord of Oppression; Temperance for Sagittarius; the World for Saturn; and the Queen of Pentacles, whose thirty degrees take this decan in.
Questions about Sagittarius III
- Which tarot card is Saturn in Sagittarius?
- The Ten of Wands, which Book T calls the Lord of Oppression. The Golden Dawn gave it the third ten degrees of Sagittarius, 20° to 30°, in 1888, which is the whole reason a numbered card can carry a date.
- What are the dates of Sagittarius III?
- The Sun is in it about 12 to 21 December every year, and next from 12 to 21 December 2026. 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 Sagittarius?
- Saturn, in the Chaldean order Book T uses. The triplicity order, which most horoscope columns use, gives it the Sun instead. Both are right in their own system; here are both orders for all thirty-six.
What is drawn on the Ten of Wands, 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.
← Nine of Wands · Sagittarius: Eight of Wands · Nine of Wands · Ten of Wands · Two of Pentacles →