Exploring the soul of the middle 10° of Gemini.
Welcome to the second decan of Gemini! Before we jump in, if you want/need a refresher about the decans themselves, check out the introductory post in this series 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:
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 all 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 their interpretation. If you're solid on the concept of decans, then let's get started with the planetary ruler.
Planetary Ruler
The second decan of Gemini is ruled by Mars, which means we’ve completed one full rotation through the Chaldean order. From here the planetary rulers will continue the same pattern we’ve seen thus far and will resume that pattern until we’ve reached the end of the decans. Moving from Jupiter being the decan ruler to Mars is quite the shift in energy. We’re going from footloose and carefree mercurial energy to pointed and deliberate mercurial energy. Gemini makes use of this decan by creating a 10° space that uses intellect as a weapon. These are the crafty Geminis, the stereotypical intellectual Geminis that will run you in circles with their logic and wordplay. Planets that reside in these degrees will tend to take on the archetype of the scholar, the trickster, or the criminal, depending on what planet it is. Let’s say the Moon is passing through these degrees of Gemini. This would create an emotional landscape that is both intellectual and fast-paced. The Moon would be zipping from one thing to the next, never stopping to really digest all that it’s taking in. People with the Moon in this decan can be fickle, changeable in mood, and often hold varying sentiments in the same sentence.
The nature of mutable Air and Mars are subject to varying results. As you’ll see in the decan descriptions, there’s a ton of duality being held in these 10°. If the native has planets in these degrees, they’ll be masters of a craft, but how they use that craft is shaped by the morality of the chart. They can become agile in movement and be an athlete or be agile in movement and become a thief. These degrees could produce a wordsmith, but will those words be of a heretic or a poet? The middle decan of Gemini is not evil or “bad” by nature, but it is malefic ruled. Keeping that in mind, malefic energy in itself isn’t “bad” or evil, it’ simply how we apply it to the human experience that determines the outcome. These 10° of Gemini truly show the duality of the sign. The ability to keep a secret vs. having many secrets is contained with this decan. Having placements in these 10° isn’t enough to make someone a thief or scholar, so the rest of the chart must be applied to how someone would wield the power of Mars within the realm of Gemini.