The soul of the last 10° of Aries.
Welcome to the third decan of Aries! 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 third decan of Aries:
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 of the third decan of Aries.
Planetary Ruler
We know from our previous discussions of the decans that they follow the Chaldean order. This means that the third decan of Aries is going to be ruled by Venus. It would seem strange that Venus would have any sway over what a Mars ruled sign would be like, but the third decan of Aries proves that notion wrong. Venus brings all of her queenly decadence to this decan. She imbues these 10° with a softness that we don't see in the other two decans. Placements here will be concerned with unification through harmony, rather than brute force. There's still drive and ambition seen here, but it's tempered with the awareness that you catch more flies with honey. Don't let all this Venusian softness fool you though, as hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. This placement can still bring out the brash side of Aries, but it will do so in a more cunning, subtle way. There's a sense of finesse to the strategies that this decan will use to carry out its agenda.