Pisces 20°-30° — the Ten of Cups
The third decan of Pisces runs Mar 11 - Mar 20, is ruled by Mars under the Chaldean order, and carries the Ten of Cups — titled Lord of Perfected Success by the Golden Dawn.
Ten of Cups
Lord of Perfected Success
Upright: Divine love, blissful relationships, harmony, alignment
Reversed: Disconnection, misaligned values, struggling relationships
Full Ten of Cups meaning →Mars in Pisces
Mars in Pisces closes the zodiac, and the Ten of Cups, Lord of Perfected Success, closes the suit: a couple with arms raised beneath a rainbow of ten cups, two children dancing beside them, a house in the distance. It is the most unambiguously happy image in the deck. Mars in Pisces is the odd note - the final decan of the final sign, force dissolving into water, effort arriving at a place where there is nothing left to push against. Read it as completion that will, in time, start over at Aries 1.
Using this decan for timing
As a timing marker the Ten of Cups closes both suit and zodiac, and answers 'when' with completion rather than a date. Falling at the end of Pisces, it also marks the point where the wheel returns to Aries - in timing work, the end of one cycle and the start of the next.
Where it sits in Pisces
Pisces spans thirty degrees and divides into three decans, each with its own ruler and its own card from the Suit of Cups. This one is the closing ten degrees.
| Decan | Dates | Ruler | Card | 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 |
The sign as a whole is attributed to The Moon in the Major Arcana — see why Pisces carries that card.