decans Archives - ROXANNA BIKADOROFF

Today is my Mars return at 24 Aries. I’d been expecting the usual – namely, irritation (I did have an eczema outbreak, but that was immediately after listening to five minutes I’ll never get back of DT’s vitriol, last night) and a sudden surge of willpower to get things done. Check! But I hadn’t expected feeling ‘lighter’, even goofily so.

Aries is of course one of the signs ruled by red planet (the other being Scorpio, traditionally), God of War/Death, so Mars is well-placed here, where he can express himself absolutely. Mars in Aries is direct, to the point, impatient, quick to rile and often fearless, sometimes stupidly so, head-butting in first. But what about when he begins to mellow with age?

Mars is a lone wolf, shunned by the other Greco-Roman gods (together with his sister, Eris/’discord’, currently conjunct at 25 Aries), except Venus, who finds him a turn-on, and Pluto, always glad to expand the underworld population. No stranger to pain, tragedy and suffering, Mars has waded through blood and acquired many a battle scar, thus is also a knowledgeable healer. Military men had to know how to stop the bleeding, remove an arrow, cauterize an amputation, prevent infection, use herbs, and possibly recite prayers for the dying. Bodies belong to Mars, and they are impermanent.

Fool/Comedy and Death/Tragedy, flip sides, Grimaud Tarot de Marseille

But Aries also happens to be the sign of the Fool – the wise Fool or ‘wise child.’ April Fool’s Day is in Aries season, after all, and this is the first sign of the zodiac, the infant. Aries never seem to grow up, yet they see with a clarity (clear vision = clairvoyance) that can be unsettling. Like all fire signs, they like attention and rarely hold a grudge. Perhaps Aries the warrior secretly knows laughter (+good bedside manner) is the best medicine, that humour, like Venus’ love, disarms, and the lone wolf sits beside the Fool on the hill to watch the Sun go down and howl at the Moon.

Ancestor of the big, bad wolf (photo ©RBikadoroff)

So this other side of Mars in Aries becomes apparent. Take a look at the opening image of the Sola Busca Fool/MATO card. I tend to avoid this deck precisely because it is so gory and feels heavily Martian/Saturnian. But how interesting that he has a crow (death) on his shoulder and walks through a barren wasteland, much like a battlefield. He wears red (Mars/blood) and plays a bagpipe, an instrument of war even before the Romans brought it to the British Isles. Hmm.

Sketch of a Roman phallic tintinnabulum, 1746

Mars is currently in the third/last decan of Aries. Depending on which decan system you use, the third is either ruled by Jupiter (most common), Venus or Gemini. Based on how it feels (trine my Sagi Moon), I have to go with the jovial one. A planet in late degrees exhibits an accumulative effect, similar to life experience, or lifetimes of experience. Perhaps this is the real meaning of the dog (or cat) who bites our Fool from behind, a past of aggression he is walking away from, un-attachment to old anger, pain and fear, as he heads into the great beyond. ~rb

You might also enjoy this recent post about the Fool.

Sola Busca and Soprafino card images are from Tarotwheel.net, highly recommended site for Tarot history.

We are in Mercury retrograde at the moment, so what better time for a blogpost about everybody’s favourite psychopomp and magic number?

Early on, Hermes’ sacred number was 4, being god of the crossroads, which was where his herma were placed. These were originally piles of stones, to indicate the border of someone’s tribal land. Gradually they became erect stones, often with a cross shape (probably for hanging garlands), and a head and apotropaic phallus was added. No matter who travelled there, friend or foe, offerings were made to ensure safe passage of the foreign turf. Perhaps it is related to the practice of marking graves with stones, too, since the dead were buried outside the boundary, for safety reasons. “And stay out!”
Herma for other gods existed, but the name of course relates to Hermes himself. Bust sculptures are probably a continuation of this tradition.

But when we are speaking of Hermes-Mercury as a planetary/astrological god, 3 is the number by which he operates. Think of retrogradation – common to all planets, but ultimately under his jurisdiction. It’s a triple, illusory move (forward-backward-forward) and, in Mercury’s case, occurs 3 times per year, for about 3 weeks, 3 times in the same element. Even in the most astrologically uninformed circles and media, the ‘Mercury Retrograde’ is reknown, if for all the wrong reasons.

How most people view Mercury retrogrades

Since Mercury can never be more than 28 degrees from the Sun, there are but three Mercury placements a Sun sign can have; in the preceding sign, in the same sign, or in one the proceeding it. For example, Taurus can only have Mercury in Aries, Taurus or Gemini. The Mercury placement will inform the Sun native’s expression and how they process information. Is it possible Mercury in these 3, consecutive signs might have a resonance with the phases of retrogradation? Might Mercury preside over midpoints, as well (particularly, one would assume, the Sun-Moon midpoint)? Questions to ponder during retrograde.

When it comes to uniting solar and lunar opposite natures, the realms of living and dead, awakeness and dreaming, the above and below, the within and without, Mercury is the cosmic connector. We see this in traditional Tarot de Marseille, a ‘Hermetic’ Tarot wherein duality and the balance of opposites is a running theme, as is triplicity and quadruplicity.
In alchemy there are three forms of Mercury; vulgar, volatile and philosophical.

Doubles in Noblet Tarot Pape, Pendu, Soleil ca 1650

Mercury’s sigil also has three parts: the cross of matter (or crossroads) surmounted by a solar circle and lunar crescent. And of course, he rules Gemini, sign of the Twins. Perhaps the Virgo rulership might be better understood if we remember the dual nature of the Goddess – those two serpents originally belonged to her, after all. Where Gemini is happy to be two people, Virgo works tirelessly to create wholeness. She is very much like the angel of Temperance, is she not? This card from the Vieville deck could be Virgo with the Mercurial caduceus.

Might we also find a connection between the 6th house (Virgo’s traditional lodgings) and TdM 6th arcanum, wherein a young man stands between two women? It’s interpreted as having to decide between vice and virtue, like Hercules at the crossroads, but I think ‘crossroads’ might be the key word here. That 7th house cusp is the dividing line, after all. Some other blogpost!

Osiris attended by sisters Nephthys (death) and Isis (life), Conver TdM Lover, 18th c

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Tag: decans

Another Side of Mars in Aries – Who Knew?

Mercury – I Come in Three!