The 36 decans

Each sign divides into three decans of ten degrees. Each decan has its own planetary ruler under the Chaldean order and carries one numbered Minor Arcana card — thirty-six decans, thirty-six pips, mapping one to one.

How the mapping works

The decan rulers cycle through the seven classical planets in Chaldean order — Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter — starting from the first decan of Aries and running continuously round the wheel. Because thirty-six is not divisible by seven, the cycle never repeats against the signs, which is why each sign gets a different combination of rulers.

The cards run in parallel: three pips per sign, drawn from the suit of that sign's element, in numerical order. Aries takes the Two, Three and Four of Wands; Taurus takes the Five, Six and Seven of Pentacles, and so on. Each pairing is what gives a pip its Golden Dawn title, and it is also what lets a Minor Arcana card be placed against a ten-day window in the calendar.

The outer planets — Uranus, Neptune and Pluto — rule none of the decans. The system predates their discovery and has never been retrofitted.

Aries

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Mar 21 - Mar 30 Mars Two of Wands Lord of Dominion
10°-20° Mar 31 - Apr 9 Sun Three of Wands Lord of Established Strength
20°-30° Apr 10 - Apr 19 Venus Four of Wands Lord of Perfected Work

Taurus

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Apr 20 - Apr 30 Mercury Two of Pentacles Lord of Harmonious Change
10°-20° May 1 - May 10 Moon Three of Pentacles Lord of Material Works
20°-30° May 11 - May 20 Saturn Four of Pentacles Lord of Earthly Power

Gemini

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° May 21 - May 31 Jupiter Two of Swords Lord of Peace Restored
10°-20° Jun 1 - Jun 10 Mars Three of Swords Lord of Sorrow
20°-30° Jun 11 - Jun 20 Sun Four of Swords Lord of Rest from Strife

Cancer

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Jun 21 - Jul 1 Venus Two of Cups Lord of Love
10°-20° Jul 2 - Jul 11 Mercury Three of Cups Lord of Abundance
20°-30° Jul 12 - Jul 22 Moon Four of Cups Lord of Blended Pleasure

Leo

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Jul 23 - Aug 1 Saturn Five of Wands Lord of Strife
10°-20° Aug 2 - Aug 11 Jupiter Six of Wands Lord of Victory
20°-30° Aug 12 - Aug 22 Mars Seven of Wands Lord of Valour

Virgo

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Aug 23 - Sep 1 Sun Five of Pentacles Lord of Material Trouble
10°-20° Sep 2 - Sep 11 Venus Six of Pentacles Lord of Material Success
20°-30° Sep 12 - Sep 22 Mercury Seven of Pentacles Lord of Success Unfulfilled

Libra

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Sep 23 - Oct 2 Moon Five of Swords Lord of Defeat
10°-20° Oct 3 - Oct 12 Saturn Six of Swords Lord of Earned Success
20°-30° Oct 13 - Oct 22 Jupiter Seven of Swords Lord of Unstable Effort

Scorpio

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Oct 23 - Nov 1 Mars Five of Cups Lord of Loss in Pleasure
10°-20° Nov 2 - Nov 11 Sun Six of Cups Lord of Pleasure
20°-30° Nov 12 - Nov 21 Venus Seven of Cups Lord of Illusionary Success

Sagittarius

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Nov 22 - Dec 1 Mercury Eight of Wands Lord of Swiftness
10°-20° Dec 2 - Dec 11 Moon Nine of Wands Lord of Great Strength
20°-30° Dec 12 - Dec 21 Saturn Ten of Wands Lord of Oppression

Capricorn

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Dec 22 - Dec 30 Jupiter Eight of Pentacles Lord of Prudence
10°-20° Dec 31 - Jan 9 Mars Nine of Pentacles Lord of Material Gain
20°-30° Jan 10 - Jan 19 Sun Ten of Pentacles Lord of Wealth

Aquarius

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Jan 20 - Jan 29 Venus Eight of Swords Lord of Shortened Force
10°-20° Jan 30 - Feb 8 Mercury Nine of Swords Lord of Despair and Cruelty
20°-30° Feb 9 - Feb 18 Moon Ten of Swords Lord of Ruin

Pisces

DecanDatesRulerCardGolden Dawn title
0°-10° Feb 19 - Feb 28 Saturn Eight of Cups Lord of Abandoned Success
10°-20° Mar 1 - Mar 10 Jupiter Nine of Cups Lord of Material Happiness
20°-30° Mar 11 - Mar 20 Mars Ten of Cups Lord of Perfected Success