Decan: 20°- 29° Sagittarius

Dates: 12-21 December 2024

Ruling planet/luminary: Saturn

Zodiac sign: Sagittarius ~ Mutable Fire 🜂

Tarot card: 10 of Wands

Golden Dawn Title: Lord of Oppression

Associated Major Arcana:

The World (Saturn) & Temperance (Sagittarius)

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of our decanic journey through the Wands.

Sometimes it feels like the whole World is watching

Doesn’t it though? The World is watching and waiting for you to ‘drop your basket’. Or in this case your bundle of sticks.

Except that is not really what the World is about. Not really. The World, powered by task-mastering Saturn, doesn’t want you to fail… she (if you are ok with that) wants you to succeed – in all the ways, on all the levels.

But you’re gonna havta do the work to get there. And that may take time, and that’s what Saturn has in spades: time.

The number 10 suggests that you are close to getting there, but you are going to have to try and fail. Mix and match. Wait and watch. Muster some f**king Temperance in the Tarot sense of the word.

Motherhood – an act of temperance (judged by the world)

The 10 of Wands is often associated with strength but also oppression and tyranny.

Hmm.

So anyone who has ever ‘mothered’ can attest to the strength it takes. Not just the physical act, though that, of course, is IMMENSE and MIRACULOUS, but also the emotional act of mothering.

And, alongside the joy, there are also elements of oppression and tyranny in motherhood. Freedom lost. Responsibilities. Sacrifices. Loss of self. The weight of expectations. The tyranny of new routines and the constant demands on your body, that has already given so much. The oppression of judgement… imposed by others and, worse, yourself. Sometimes the judgement and expectation come from those closest to you (including your children) which hurts. All this may be real or imagined.

(And let’s leave aside the appalling judgement reserved for women who exercise their right to choose not to mother in one way or another).

So, at some point, you have to put all that down and be ok with being less than perfect. Let people think what they are going to think – if they are thinking anything at all. Do what you can. And let that be good enough. Let the rest go. Put down your bundle. Free yourself from the weight of it all.

Motherhood is an act of Temperance – a long game of love and patience. Finding the balance between setting boundaries and allowing your kids the freedom to stretch the cord. Hoping they will always find their way home.

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 Sagittarius III.

Can’t see the wood for the trees? Delegate.

It’s almost impossible to look at this card without wondering at how uncomfortable this person in the RWS 10 of Wands looks carrying their burden. It looks back-breaking and the way ahead is obscured. Maybe they should lose some of those sticks or work out a less awkward way of transporting them… ask for help even.

Ach. Delegation.

Sometimes you have to pass shit off to someone else. But often, when you feel under the cosh, you can’t see the wood for the trees. Delegation takes time and effort, more time and effort than you might feel you have in you (can you see Saturn hoving into view as we speak?) and so you continue to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. Getting in your own way.

Prompts for 10 of Wands ~ Saturn in Sagittarius

When you are feeling burdened, or judged, like you have the weight of the World on your shoulders…

Ask yourself:

• What is weighing you down?
• Why? Is it really your responsibility?
• Is it someone else’s judgement?
• Or your own?
• Can you put down some of what you are carrying? Let someone else…
• And how would that feel?
• Or, if this really is the thing that only you can carry, how can you bear it?
• Who can you ask for help?

Observations and synchronicities ~ Sagittarius III

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

Looking back over the entries for this Decan Walk in 2024 to find the other cards under the rulership of Saturn, they all seem to hold a challenge or a lesson: 3 of Swords, 5 of Wands, 7 of Pentacles. There is a requirement for understanding, patience, and perseverance in all of these. Saturn appears like the parent who will always be there for you when you fall and get back up again, but not bail you out. Not to bubble-wrap you. Saturn will let you make your own mistakes, and find your own way so the lessons are truly learned.

The next and final time we meet Saturn on this trip through the Zodiac will be the 8 of Cups where we see someone step on a new path and away from those things, people, or patterns that no longer serve them. Lessons learned, finally?

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!