Decan Tarot
A sign · Cancer · 90° to 120°

The three decans of Cancer.

The Sun is in Cancer about 21 June to 23 July each year, ten days in each of its three decans. The Golden Dawn gave each decan a numbered card, so a Cancer birth is one of three: the Two, Three and Four of Cups, depending on the day. Which one is yours is below, with the planet that rules it and what the tradition reads into a birth there.

  • 78cards
  • 24spreads
  • 36decans
  • The Sun, now☉ 1.8° Libra, Two of Swords
The Chariot from the 1909 Waite-Smith tarot, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith
The Chariotthe card of Cancer

Which decan of Cancer am I?

Two of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909Two of CupsCancer I · Venus · 0° to 10° · Lord of LoveBorn about 21 June to 2 July

Venus in Cancer. The old reading is a nature that is only half itself alone, and knows it.

Three of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909Three of CupsCancer II · Mercury · 10° to 20° · Lord of AbundanceBorn about 2 to 12 July

Mercury in Cancer. The old reading is a memory for people, and a talent for the table where they gather.

Four of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909Four of CupsCancer III · Moon · 20° to 30° · Lord of Blended PleasureBorn about 12 to 23 July

The Moon at home in Cancer. The old reading is deep feeling with a tide in it: full, then withdrawn, then full again.

The boundary between decans 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.

Which tarot cards are Cancer?

The Chariot, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
The Chariotthe sign itself
Two of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
Two of CupsCancer I
Three of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
Three of CupsCancer II
Four of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
Four of CupsCancer III
Queen of Cups, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
Queen of CupsCancer I and II
Knight of Wands, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909
Knight of WandsCancer III, and into Leo

Six, in the Golden Dawn's scheme. The Chariot is the card of the sign itself. The Two, Three and Four of Cups are its three decans. And two court cards hold thirty degrees each across it: the Queen of Cups over Cancer I and II, and the Knight of Wands over Cancer III and the first two decans of Leo. A reading here that turns any of them says so.

Why a sign has three cards and not one

A decan is ten degrees of the zodiac, a third of a sign, and there are thirty-six of them around the year. Book T (1888) gave one to each numbered card of the minor arcana, which is the whole reason a card can carry a date. All thirty-six · where the Sun is today · who rules each decan, in both orders.

Aries · Taurus · Gemini · Cancer · Leo · Virgo · Libra · Scorpio · Sagittarius · Capricorn · Aquarius · Pisces