Cult of Tarot Forum

For those who don't know or forgot what a decan is, I'll add here a simple basic explanation. You will understand it more easily if you put your minor cards (from 2 to 10 from each suit, no aces and no court cards or trumps) before you and lay them before you.

It all sounds horribly complicated in written words but it's actually really easy to understand.

You know that in the course of a year, the Sun travels through 12 distinct constellations on the sky, the so-called zodiac. Your birth sign is the sign that hosted the sun when you were born. It takes about a month for the sun to travel through a sign, that's ca. 30 days.

You can take this chunk of 30 days per zodiac sign and divide it into three parts, each of them 10 days long. That's a decan. Each zodiac sign consists of three such decans.

According to tradition, these decans are ruled by the seven planets that are visible to the naked eye and have been known to humanity since its beginnings: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. This is the so-called Chaldean order because the ancient Chaldeans already recognized that Saturn must be the most distant planet of all - since he moves so slooowly. And the Moon is the closest because it moves so quickly.

Following the Chaldean order, each decan is ruled by a planet.

That's the reason why you have on each minor Thoth card two astrological sigils: the planet that rules the decan associated with the card, and the zodiac sign associated with the card. But how do we know which planet rules with decan/minor card?

Here's where the elements come into play.

Each element is associated with three zodiac signs and one tarot suit:

Fire: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius - Wands

Earth: Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn - Disks

Air: Gemini, Libra, Aquarius - Swords

Water: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces - Cups

There are three zodiac signs for each elements and nine minor tarot cards (2 to 10) of each suit, and accordingly, there are always three tarot minors associated with each zodiac sign.

The 2,3 and 4 of each tarot suit goes with the cardinal sign of each element. (If you don't remember what the cardinal signs are: they're the first signs of each season, bringing in a strong sense of initiative and purpose, lots of fresh energy.) The cardinal signs are Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn (for spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively). That's very logical: the first cards of each suit also bring a strong element of new fresh energy. (Although there is a tiny problem here imo with the stability of the 4...)

The 5,6 and 7 of each suit goes with the fixed sign of each element/season. (Fixed signs rule the season at its height, undiluted by energies from the season before or afterwards). The fixed signs are Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. They're also the symbols that appear in the traditional World cards. These minors and signs have a strong conservative energy.

The 8,9 and 10 of each tarot suit goes with the mutable sign of each element/season. (Mutable signs are the last sign of each season when the smell of the next is already in the air, showing flexibility and openness for change.) The mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces.

Now we have all our ducks in a row and we can start going by Chaldean order through the minors.

The sequence starts with the first sign of the year - and astrologically, the year starts with the Spring equinox, i.e., with Aries. And it starts with the planet Mars in the 1st decan of the 1st zodiac sign: Mars in the 1st decan of Aries. A burst of energy! After Mars comes the Sun, so the Sun rules the 2nd decan of Aries, and Venus rules the 3rd. That covered our cardinal spring sign. Mars, Sun and Venus rule the 2,3 and 4 of Wands, the beginning of Spring.

Now spring is at its height, and we're in the fixed sign of spring, i.e., Taurus. Taurus rules the 5,6 and 7 of Disks, and we continue our Chaldean order with Mercury. Do you follow? 5 of Disks is a Taurus card, ruled by Mercury. What comes next? Moon in Taurus for the 6 Disks. And then we start the Chaldean order again, with Saturn in Taurus for the 7 Disks.

I always feel that the Saturn cards are difficult not only because Saturn is such a difficult sign, so slow and heavy, but also because it's such a difficult jump from the closeness and intimacy of the Moon to the cold, distant majesty of Saturn.

So there we went through Tarurus. What comes next? The mutable sign of Spring, Gemini, with the Swords suit. Gemini is mutable because while it's still Spring, you can feel Summer knocking on the door. There's change in the air.

8 Swords: Jupiter in Gemini

9 Swords: Mars in Gemini

10 Swords: Sun in Gemini

Can you see? The Chaldean order marches on through the decans and the seasons. Three cardinal decans of each season (2,3,4) - three fixed decans (5,6,7) - and three mutable decans (8,9,10).

If you go through the whole deck, you'll see that the last decan (3rd decan of the mutable Water sign Pisces, the last zodiac sign of the year when Winter is getting ready for Spring) is again ruled by Mars. Meaning that Mars helps us making the move into the new year - he pushes us, so to say, from Pisces to Aries.

Now what is the result of this ticking Chaldean clock through the four seasons - each of them consisting of three zodiac signs - each of these consisting of three deans - for the planets? Each planet rules a number of decans. It turns out that these decans are distributed nicely over the different seasons, elements/tarot suits and numbers.

Each planet rules decans/minors from all four elements and all four seasons, and no number more often than one. It really works out so beautifully.

I recommend strongly that you pick out the cards that go with each planet to get a better feeling for their character and energy. They're in a way a family. I scanned them in groups some time ago. Each group is headed by the major associated with the planet. Have a look.

Here we have Saturn, represented by Universe, with his decan cards:


And Jupiter, Wheel of Fortune:



Next is Mars, the Tower: (with six minors, it was a bit difficult to scan)



And the Sun:


Venus, the Empress:



Mercury, the Magician:




and the Moon, High Priestess:



I don't want to get into details now but you can see for yourself how the planet's shapes and colours influence the feeling of each card.

I hope you can also see why people who love Thoth do so - once you understand the underlying esoteric principles, these cards are very logical and connect us to the eternal astronomical cycles - the zodiac (who is passing above your head all the time, visibly at night and invisibly in the daytime), the seasons.

You don't have the narrative hints of the RWS scenic pips but I don't believe that makes it more difficult to read with Thoth - just the opposite. Just think of the many associations a minor card has - check your birthday and in which decan you were born, and when it appears in a reading, it means something to you! Knowing that Jupiter rules Libra in the third decan evokes the Wheel of Fortune and Adjustment/Justice - they're present in this card, though hidden.

If you have a lot of Venus-ruled cards, the reading will have a totally different character from a Saturn-heavy reading.

Thoth-based decks work with the underlying principles, and the better you know them, the easier it is to find the information each card gives relating to a specific question.

I can't guarantee that I will always find the time to write when a new decan begins - but it might be a nice idea. I want to introduce every ten days the minor associated with the decan. That might be interesting if you happen to be born in that decan, but also if the card in question appears in your readings.


I'm too tired to start now and will write more tomorrow, but let's just remember that we're in the 1st decan of Sagittarius, the mutable Fire sign that closes Autumn and gives us a whiff or winter.




This is the Tabula Mundi Art/Temperance card, and here is the same card from the Tarot of the Sephiroth:


Both are Thoth-ish decks.

Art/Temperance is associated with Sagittarius. Like all mutable signs, Sagittarius is associated with the three last minors of its elemental suit - in the case of the Fire sign Sagittarius, that's the Wands - to be precise, the Eight, Nine and Ten of Wands.

Art/Temperance sits beautifully on the Tree of Life - it's the path between solar Tif'eret and lunar Yesod, right on the middle pillar. If you see us as falling from the Tree downwards like Alice in Wonderland through the rabbit hole - well, we haven't landed in the harsh reality of Malkuth yet


This first decan of Sagittarius is ruled by Mercury, and the card associated with this decan is the Eight of Wands. Like with every Eight, we're in the sephira Hod, the sephira ruled by Mercury - so there's a double Mercury that makes this decan ideal for all kind of transations and interactions. Talk, move, make contact.


Here is my Sagittarius scan with Art/Temperance on top, its three minors (8,9 and 10 of Wands) and their three decan rulers: Mercury, Moon and Saturn.


Mercury is represented by the Magician, the Moon by the High Priestess and Saturn by the World.

No, I don't have time to write about each new decan, but when a new zodiac sign starts, maybe I'll manage to welcome it. I'll illustrate it with some pictures from my tarot calendar which I've been keeping for nearly two years now.


We're in Capricorn. It's the cardinal sign of Winter, meaning that it starts this season seriously. Capricorn begins with the winter solstice - the shortest day and longest night, cold weather. (Northern hemisphere speaking).

Capricorn is opposite the cardinal sign of Summer, Cancer. It's an Earth sign like Taurus (fixed Spring) and Virgo (mutable Autumn). That means: there's more flexibility in Capricorn than in super-stable-and-stubborn Taurus, but much less than in rational Virgo. You can convince a Virgo with good arguments - you can't convince a Taurus of anything (I'm Taurus so don't tell me otherwise!) (I know, I know, we're all mixed and I exaggerate for more clarity). Capricorn can change his/her ways or opinions but only after Capricorn decides.



Thoth Capricorn major (Death) and court cards (Queen of Pentacles for Decan I and II, Knight of Swords for Decan III



Capricorn is a climber like the mountain goat. Just like the Sun is already climbing though we don't feel it yet, the mountain goat climbs when non one sees it.

The trump associated with Capricorn is the Devil, and that's a difficult match. Of course, the goat legs make it an easy association, but isn't the Devil a harsh trump?



Tabula Mundi Tarot, Devil


The Queen of Pentacles (whom we saw already in the last decan of Sagittarius) rules the first two decans of Capricorn, and if you look at her and the Devil together, you see two possible faces of Capricorn: naked desire and ambition, vs patient, industrious, watchful strength of character.



Queen of Pentacles and Capricorn decan card from the Tabula Mundi Tarot on the Wheel of the Year. Above them: the Tree of Life. Next to them: Arcana of Astrology and Hermetic Kabbalah cards for the Devil (left) and the Two of Pentacles (right)


Saturn is associated with Capricorn, the father of time, and that's why the Tabula Mundi Queen of Pentacles as well as the Devil have an hourglass.


The Tabula Mundi 2 of Pentacles/Disks, the first minor associated with Capricorn, has the hourglass motif, too.


And here is the Thoth Tarot's view on Capricorn: the Devil as ruling major - the three first elementary cards (Two, Three and Four of Disks) beneath it - and in the bottom row, the three cards associated with the planets that rule the decans (thirds) of the zodiac sign Capricorn:

the Wheel for Jupiter,

the Tower for Mars, and

the Sun for the Sun.

If you want to study the esoteric correspondences of each zodiac sign, now is the time to study Capricorn. Take a deck you like, take out the cards mentioned here, and understand how they're all connected to the time immediately after Winter Solstice, when the Sun begins to climb and Winter asserts its power.

I love this post and this idea! I'll definitely be journaling about it later.

Personally, I've always struggled with how Crowley justifies his (the Golden Dawn's? My tarot history here is fuzzy) take on the courts. The Princesses as elemental (or whatever the right term is) rather than signs always seemed like a way to shoehorn the Zodiac on to the courts and reconcile 16 cards with just 12 signs, and all of the Kabbalistic reasoning just post hoc rationalization. And then the whole "court cards rule the last decan of the previous sign" thing also lacks solid reasoning for me: "oh people are never purely one sign, they're a mix!"... but people are never just two signs, either, or even mixes of neighboring signs. The elemental pairings (eg Princess of Cups as the earthy part of water) is the only framework that makes any intuitive sense to me. But maybe I'm missing something? Because the rest of the Thoth astrological system is otherwise consistent and logical (IMO).

Oh, certainly, there's quite a lot of shoe horning going on here. I'm actually glad it doesn't all fit too perfectly, all those number games. It's only tarot after all and it's possible to do it otherwise.

The Celestial starts counting the minors with the Aces - Ace, Two and Three for cardinal signs etc (I hope I remember that correctly!). That leaves us with the Tens. The Holy Light follows another system, too.

The thing with the court cards and decans - I confess it has grown on me and I like the idea. It's another aspect of elemental mixtures, and if I go along with the three decans as cardinal, fixed and mutable as well, then the change in the mutable one makes sense. But then, how can we explain that the super-stable Fours are in the mutable decans...?

There are many ways of doing it and I tend to follow the system of the deck I'm working with and accept the inconsistencies along with it

I mean, at the end of the day there's going to be shoehorning somewhere -- Tarot sprung up in a different time and place than the GD and that's just how it is! I just want minimal shoehorning

We've started the last decan of Capricorn.

Capricorn is the sign that opens winter - it starts with the winter solstice. Winter is now well underway, and the cardinal energies of a new start are settling into the fixed mood. Our next sign is the fixed winter sign, Aquarius, and the court card ruler changes already to Air - the Prince of Swords will accompany us into Aquarius.

The third decan is ruled by the Sun, and the minor card of the decan is the Four of Pentacles/Disks.

Lots of steady, stubborn, Earth energy. Holding on to something, cherishing it (positive) or hoarding it (negative).

The fourth sephira is Chessed, the benevolent, benefic sephira of Jupiter. Chessed means mercy but is also used in the phrase "to the highest degree", and from the same root come the words chassid (a righteous, loving person) and chassida (stork - a faithful bird). It's a blue sephira, lovely and powerful. It's the first sephira after the abyss where the three supernal sephirot are.

So we have Devil energy - fertile, stubborn, long-headed, ambitious self-sufficient. We have Four energy - stable, balanced, with the danger of stagnation. We have cardinal energy about to become fixed, and the power of the Sun shining above.

A graet mix.

I hope you all have a lovely 3rd decan of Capricorn.


Some Devils:

Anna K. Tarot


Alchemical Tarot



and Four of Pentacles:


Constellation Tarot

These posts are so beautiful Nemia. I need to take some time and really get into this.
I think what would help me is to sit down and make a chart or a wheel or some sort of visual aid to hep me get a handle on these concepts. I'm going to set a day for it and post my result here.

There is nothing more helpful in esoteric study imho than 1. making your own Wheel of the Year and 2. your own Tree of Life. Not as finished artworks but as ongoing learning tool.


My own wheel.


I have a big one and a little one. The big one is on my tarot calendar board as central element, and the little one fixed to an old standing calendar and in front of my eyes on my desk.


Making these wheels taught me about rhythms and repetitions, and looking at them daily gives my life in time spiritual depth.


This wheel that I found online was my inspiration:




If you think it's a good idea, I can explain how to make it. It's really easy and fun!

Aquarius starts today! The trump/major card associated with Aquarius the Star.


The Star from the Cult of Weimar Tarot, created by our very own Joan Marie


Aquarius is the fixed sign of Winter (meaning the most wintery winter imagineable, no more traces of Autumn and not a whiff of Spring!), a fixed Air sign - how can Air be fixed? Think of far-away stars whose light is transported to us through the cosmos and then our atmosphere - no winds, storms or breezes irritate the star light.


The Star from the Ancient Italian Tarot, Lo Scarabeo



The first decan (ten days) are under the rule of Venus - the Empress - but also related to the fifth sephira on the Tree of Life, Gvura, ruled by Mars. So we have a little tension here. Sometimes this tension is good, at other times, Venus and Mars cancel each other out. That seems to be happneing here.

The Prince of Swords is the ruling court card. He came in already in the last decan of Capricorn to usher his Air sign in. He feels happy now surrounded only by Air cards.

The Ace and Princess of Swords rule Winter, and they're happy, too - now Air really rules.


Here we have the Thoth Aquarius cards:


On top - the Star whose unearthly purple and crystal clarity influence the three minor cards associated with Aquarius: the Five, Six and Seven of Swords.

Why Five, Six and Seven?

We started counting with the cardinal sign of Winter, Capricorn, which had Two, Three and Four of Disks/Coins/Pentacles. Now we continue to count but we move over to the suit associated with the same element - Air, Swords.

Beneath the three Swords minors, the trumps that represent the ruling planets of the decan:

Empress/Venus for the 1st decan - Magician/Magus/Mercury for the 2nd decan - and the High Priestess/Moon for the 3rd decan.



Here we have the court cards: the Prince of Swords rules the first two decans, and in the 3rd decan, the Knight of Cups reminds us that the next sign to come, Pisces, is a Water sign.

Hurrah for Aquarius season! We're had enough Capricorn lately, with the stellium in the sign. I always feel reborn right around the end of the first decan of Aqua when the Sun enters my first house.
I love the scans of the Thoth cards grouped by sign that you post. You really get a picture of the color scale relationships that way. And the color scales for the Star are particularly lovely, all blues, violets, and the "white faintly tinged purple" of starlight.

HRU's Muse! If I had a ship, you'd get full honours with sideboys, bosun's pipe and flag!

I still haven't put the lovely sticker and patch on anything, can't decide what to do with them... too precious... HRU is my Muse!

Request permission to come aboard! *salutes*

Your deck has inspired my most rewarding spiritual practice - my tarot calendar, based on the decan cards of your Tabula Mundi Tarot. https://ibb.co/album/cOwBFa For nearly two years, I follow the passing of time with tarot cards - zodiac, decan, moon phase, day of the week, from different decks. The core decks that never change: Tabula Mundi and Thoth .

Both the Tabula Mundi and the Rosetta are also fantastic reading decks. And your Liber Mundi book is among the best books about tarot in general, and the best book-with-a-deck. Not to mention the most luxurious, generous and mind-blowing additional items that come with your deck. They're works of art. I hope people have a look at your website - there is so much to learn. You are unbelievably generous in the knowledge and wisdom you share with others.


If I could stand on a box and shout the name of ONE deck, it would be the Tabula Mundi.

Nemia wrote: ↑24 Jan 2019, 07:19 And your Liber Mundi book is among the best books about tarot in general, and the best book-with-a-deck

The book is pretty great. I've found it plays really well with the Tinker's Damn as long as you keep in mind that the TD isn't really a Thoth deck.

I don't know the Tinker's Damn but for people who want to work with the Thoth and are intimidated by much of the Thothy literature, I can recommend the Liber Mundi.

Nemia wrote: ↑24 Jan 2019, 08:47 I don't know the Tinker's Damn but for people who want to work with the Thoth and are intimidated by much of the Thothy literature, I can recommend the Liber Mundi.

I'm going to take that recommendation.

The Book of Thoth is really tough going for me. (and ironically, due to a shipping error, I have TWO copies of it.) Parsifal's Wheel (the former Barleywine) did a recent post in his blog about the importance of buckling down and "gritting your teeth" as he put it, and getting through Crowley's book. I replied that for some of us, it's just not possible. (It's a good article. You can see it HERE)

The Book of Thoth makes it difficult on purpose. Start with Meleen's book or one of the more reader-friendly Thoth books, Milo DuQuette or Snuffin. I think they're both good.

Once you know thanks to them the basics, Crowley's prosa won't look so opaque to you.

The essay on Parsifal's Wheel is good, and I love the term "narrative triggers". That really decribes well what goodness the correspondences provide. It isn't just rote learning, it actually provides a structure for intuition to flow around and shape itself on. At least for me.

I would advise not giving up on Book of Thoth. It really is a treasure house of a work, though it yields its treasures over time. I can still pick it up and find something new and revelatory, that I somehow missed even after reading it so many times cover to cover. When that happens I feel this profound sense of awe.

But it's true the saying that when one is ready the teacher appears, with that book.So if it isn't speaking to you, set it aside for a time. But don't get rid of it! If it makes you feel better, many many years ago a friend was moving and gave me tons of books on magick and qabalah. A few years later I had to purge books and got rid of most of them. I looked thru them and decided they were dense and full of nonsense I'd never use. I kick myself now, as guess what I've since purchased a lot of them, and now I understand them and wish I'd kept the lot. The more I learn, the more the Book of Thoth has to teach me. It really is magickal in that sense. It seems never ending.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Truth is I do very much like parts of Crowley's book.
I just should have taken the advice I got (was it from you Nemia?) to kind of ease into the Thoth tarot study. Maybe start with something a bit friendlier and develop an approach.
I do like your description, "..a structure for intuition to flow around and shape itself on."

I think I can get to that.

We have entered the 2nd decan of Aquarius. This is the high point of the season - the middle (2nd) decan of the 2nd (fixed) winter sign. We have reached the time where winter is at its winteriest (just had pictures my mother sent me - snow, ice, clear sunshine).


Ancient Tarot of Liguria and Piedmont, the Star



All the middle decans of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are associated with the minor card Six. Six Coins/Pentacles - Six Wands - Six Cups and now Six Swords. This means they're also associated with the 6th sephira - Tif'eret, the beautiful sephira in the middle of the Tree of Life, radiant like the Sun.


Tarot of the Sephiroth, the Star



The 2nd decan of each fixed sign is a special time in each season. We climbed to the top of the season - now we're on top - and soon, we'll move slowly towards the next season.


Botticelli Tarot, Six of Swords



Look at your tarot decks now to get a better feeling for this decan - this sign - this season.



William Blake Tarot, Six of Science



The Star shines brightly - and the Six of Swords brings clarity and truth.



Byzantine Tarot, Six of Swords



Go out at night and look at the Polar Star (if you're in the Northern hemisphere of course), at Sirius sparkling in the Eastern sky when the sun goes down.


Dame Fortune's Wheel, Six of Swords



Tabula Mundi Tarot, Six of Swords




And here are some pictures from my tarot calendar, a magnetic board where I keep the cards of each decan before my eyes for nearly two years now:



The complete board for the 2nd decan of Aquarius





The left side of the board with the major card for Aquarius: the Star





The right side of the board with the minor card for this decan: Six of Swords





And the Tabula Mundi and Thoth cards - Star and Six of Swords

This might be my favorite of the 36 decans. Well, except for the weather here, still too cold for my liking. But I love the combination of Mercury and Aquarius, the Magus and Star, science, Groundhog Day, Imbolc, the feast of Nuit. Halfway between winter and spring!

Yes, it's a beautiful decan, a moment when the skies seem to open, like you showed in your card for the Six of Swords - we can have a glimpse into the secret workings of the universe. And oh yes, I forgot it's the Feast of Nuit and Imbolc and one of the most special days of the year.

You wrote it perfectly: http://www.tabulamundi.com/the-feast-of ... ly-harlot/

Boy that feels like a long time ago! And a long bit of writing, for me anyway. But it really is one of my favorite holidays in spite of the weather. In honor of it I put up a new Star card yesterday but haven't sent out the February newsletter or anything yet so I don't think anyone has seen her. Kind of appropriate for the dark of the moon phase we are in, things seem hidden even if they are there in plain sight. Not sure if I should put up Moon or Priestess next for the new moon. Will see how it feels in a few days I guess. The "feels" will be the decider for the lunar cards I guess.

Nemia wrote: ↑15 Jan 2019, 17:27 There is nothing more helpful in esoteric study imho than 1. making your own Wheel of the Year and 2. your own Tree of Life.

I finally did it. I made Wheel of the Year. I messed it up a little bit, it's my practice one. Right away though, things started to click for me. This really is a good way to learn. I'm looking forward now to making a nicer one.

It's a beautiful relaxing exercise. I highly recommend it.