Decan: 0°- 9° Aquarius

Dates: 20-30 January 2025

Ruling planet/luminary: Venus

Zodiac sign: Aquarius ~ Mutable Air 🜁

Tarot card: 5 of Swords

Golden Dawn Title: Lord of Defeat

Associated Major Arcana:

The Empress (Venus) & The Star (Aquarius)

Trespassers will be prosecuted

The Empress seems like the gatekeeper in this scenario. She is placed between us and the water behind – perhaps the very pool where The Star, pours her water. This fits with the idea of The Empress as mother and protector. And if The Star may represent the nurturing of our dreams, then these two together carry a strong message of creativity and hope.

Hopes and dreams, our creations, our art, new life even, require protection, space and time to grow. I like to think that The Empress, in her abundant generosity, offers safe, fertile ground for The Star’s seeds of inspiration – though some of them may be quite brave and ‘out there’ – to take root and flourish.

So far, so lovely but what has all this got to do with the rather more brutal and confronting 5 of Swords and Venus in Aquarius? Traditional readings for this card speak of victims, villains, loss, failure and blame. Of brutal acts and harsh, cutting words, and hints of cruelty. And of the violation of boundaries and the following consequences for all parties.

Life is full of challenges and does not always work out how we want it to. Hopes and dreams can falter and fail and our ideas and new creations may be cut down. Perhaps the 5 of Swords asks us to look back on our losses and defeats with some Aquarian detachment and intellectual curiosity. What have we learned? How has it shaped us? And how can we respond with love rather than pain? How do we move forward with the intention not to cause more damage when we feel that we have sustained damage? How do we break the cycle?

As with previous Decans, I have found it useful to look at some keywords to see what ideas they may spark about the current Decan of Aquarius I.

Victim & villain… flip the narrative

I’ve written about it before, wanting to flip the villain-victim dynamic in the 5 of Swords. This mainly comes from a desire to see the underdog in any situation rise up and turn the tables on their oppressors. It has become my “don’t f*** with me card” when reading for myself and others.

But, when coming from the Venus in Aquarius angle, I am realising that there is more to it than that. It’s not just about defending yourself against attack and oppression but also finding a way to detach and simply move on, without perpetuating the cycle of conflict.

Dispatching your enemies with love!

Prompts for 5 of Swords ~ Venus in Aquarius

When you find yourself on one side or another of a conflict…

Ask yourself:

• Can you identify the areas of conflict and confrontation in your life?
• What is your part in them?
• What are you fighting for?
• Are you standing up for yourself and what you believe in or are you fighting to win for winning’s sake?
• Is there a cycle of conflict that needs to be broken?

Observations and synchronicities ~ Aquarius I

I’m making space here to return to over the coming days of Aquarius I to add any thoughts, ideas and synchronicities as they arise…

Capricorn season was hard on me. I went underground somewhat which perhaps matches the heavy earthy energy of the season when we experience the darkest nights of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Despite the fact we have some of the most challenging cards in the deck ahead of us to explore, I am feeling more space and light in the first Decan on Aquarius. I feel more creative movement and ideas are flowing more freely. Let’s see where it takes us.

Notes on the Decan Walk 2024/25

For more information on Decans, Astrology and Tarot and how they all synchronise please read this Substack article by Rebeka Kulcsar-Kurdi and T. Susan Chang’s 36 Secrets: A Decanic Journey through the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.

And, if you care to join me for this continuing solar return, you’ll find me on Facebook and Instagram hanging out on the corner of #decanwalk2024 and #decanastrology And I will be following @astroco_op and @tsusanchang

Here’s to another trip around the Sun!