The First Decan of Taurus
Updated: Jul 6
Exploring the soul of the first 10° of Taurus.
Welcome to the first decan of Taurus! Before we jump in, if you want/need a refresher about the decans themselves, check out "Understanding the Decans" and then meet me back here so we can dive head first into this post together. Here's a quick overview of everything we'll be covering about the first decan of Taurus:
Planetary ruler of the decan
Descriptions from Ibn Ezra, the Picatrix, and Agrippa
The tarot card associated with the decan
An exploration of the decan's soul via Sun placement
Again, if you want to know the meaning of the decans themselves, what they are, and how they can be of use to us, then definitely read the first post in this series before continuing on. You babes know I like to teach from a solid foundation, so knowing exactly what the decans are and the rationale behind them will be important in interpreting them. If you're solid on the concept of decans, then let's get started with the planetary ruler.
Planetary Ruler
We made it to the next zodiac sign! Just because we've moved into a new sign doens't mean the Chaldean order skips or changes. Since we left off with Venus, the next planet in the Chaldean order is Mercury. This is our first Mercury decan and in a lot of ways it feels right and in a lot of ways it feels wrong. But that's exactly how I would expect anything having to do with Mercury to be, ambiguous and embodying all facets. Mercury is a psychopomp that can go above and below. I actually find it quite hard to make Mercury uncomfortable because of its elasticity and fondness for duality. The same goes the other way, as Mercury rarely offends any of the other planets or placements. It gives off a very neutral energy and will conform to what's around. Even mythologically speaking, Mercury was never really known to offend the gods. He was a messenger and we all know the phrase "don't shoot the messenger." Mercury ruling the first 10° of fixed Earth indicates that we'll see an anchored body, but an active mind. The overarching energy of Taurus shows concern for the material world, and Mercury will lend its merchant skills to aid those concerns.
This decan feels hard to pin down, which makes sense for Mercury. It's a merchant, a trickster, a messenger, and ruler of thieves. The ways in which this decan can express feel endless, but let's break it down with an example to try and catch a glimpse of Mercury. We all know the kingdom of Taurus, Venusian fixed Earth, is concerned with a harmonious material world. The land of Mercury feels like the younger sibling that comes into your room and messes around with your things, steals your clothes, and reads your diary. Harmless enough, but still a fly in your eye and definitely not the harmony a placement in this sign would hope for. Let's say Mars was passing the first 10° of Taurus. Initially you'd think, okay this planet is in detriment and it's going to create blockages and a slow moving person. If we take the decan into consideration though, we might see someone who moves deliberately, stealthily, and even floats like butterfly and stings like a bee. Yup, Muhammad Ali has Mars in the first decan of Taurus. The Taurus influence slowed his Mars down physically, but the Mercurial influence allowed him to be extremely deliberate and execute with the utmost precision. The mind/body connection is extremely strong in this decan due to fixed Earth being wielded by a psychopomp.
When trying to understand how this decan interacts with any natal planets you have placed under it, refer back to the kingdom/land model. How does the planet feel about being in Taurus in general? Is there any sort of domicile/exaltation or detriment/fall? How does the natal planet feel about Mercury and the way it executes its agenda? How would the natal planet have to act in order to execute its own agenda under the eye of Mercury? Use the answers to those questions to feel out how any planet or placement would be influenced by this decan.
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