A sign · Leo · 120° to 150°

The three decans of Leo.

The Sun is in Leo about 23 July to 23 August each year, ten days in each of its three decans. The Golden Dawn gave each decan a numbered card, so a Leo birth is one of three: the Five, Six and Seven of Wands, 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

Strength from the 1909 Waite-Smith tarot, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith — Strengththe card of Leo

Which decan of Leo am I?

Five of Wands, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909

Five of WandsLeo I · Saturn · 0° to 10° · Lord of StrifeBorn about 23 July to 2 August

Saturn in Leo, in its detriment. The old reading is pride that has to be earned in a contest, and a birth that keeps picking one.

Six of Wands, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909

Six of WandsLeo II · Jupiter · 10° to 20° · Lord of VictoryBorn about 2 to 12 August

Jupiter in Leo. The old reading is confidence that expects to be met with applause, and often is.

Seven of Wands, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909

Seven of WandsLeo III · Mars · 20° to 30° · Lord of ValourBorn about 12 to 23 August

Mars in Leo. The old reading is a fighter who holds the high ground alone rather than share it.

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 Leo?

Strength, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909 — **Strength**the sign itself

Knight of Wands, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909 — **Knight of Wands**Leo I and II

King of Pentacles, drawn by Pamela Colman Smith, 1909 — **King of Pentacles**Leo III, and into Virgo

Six, in the Golden Dawn's scheme. Strength is the card of the sign itself. The Five, Six and Seven of Wands are its three decans. And two court cards hold thirty degrees each across it: the Knight of Wands over Leo I and II, and the King of Pentacles over Leo III and the first two decans of Virgo. 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.

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