Saturn Holds Court in Venus’ Temple

Taurus III: 10 May - 20 May 20°00’ - 29°59’ Taurus

I was helping my sister sell her plants at a local herb sale and speaking with a woman about growing basil. She was brand new to growing plants and she was worried about failing. She said that if she failed her basil plant, she would be discouraged to grow anything else. I told her “FAIL! It’s the best thing you can do. Fail over and over again. You learn so much more that way than simply reading about gardening” I watched her head lift and tilt to the side “…yeah…that’s great advice! I get to FAIL!”

Taurus III is called “Failure” and this is the heaviness of Saturn providing the inevitable reality in a practical, earthy sign of Taurus. Failure is destiny. This is not a bad thing. Failing does not curse you or limit you. Failure allows you to get back on the ride again, with some experience in your back pocket.

Saturn, the malefic of lore, arrives as the decan lord in Taurus. This is the first appearance of a malefic since we began the decan walk at Aries I. We are at the end of the Taurean temple of Venus in this triplicate story. We began with Mercury and then the Moon. In Chaldean order of the planets, the apparent speed of the planets is what determines the order that they parade: in reflecting on the Chaldean order backwards (from quickest to slowest), we see that The Moon moves the fastest, followed by Mercury, then Venus, Mars, then the Sun, Jupiter and finally Saturn.

Saturn is the slowest of these planets and feels the coldest out of them all because of its distance away from the Earth. Saturn is cold, represents separation and the limitations we experience. Saturn is represented by The World card in Tarot, which is the final (or furthest) card in the Major Arcana.

Now that we are in a Saturn ruled decan, we can watch the order of the planets from Saturn to the Moon: Taurus III (Saturn)>Gemini I (Jupiter) > Gemini II (Mars) > Gemini III (Sun) > Cancer I (Venus) > Cancer II (Mercury) > Cancer III (Moon).

This complete story from Taurus III-Cancer III is its own micro-myth. It is the bright summer, the complexity of pleasure vs work, the dynamics of family & friends, travel & discovery. We crash at the end of it when we return to Saturn in Leo I.

Saturn looks at the longevity of myths, the survival of stories and in Taurus III shows what work can be done on Earth but also that any work ultimately never lasts. We simply tend to it for a while.

I love what Austin Coppock writes about this decan in “36 Faces”

“Acts, both magical and mundane, to ward off the visits from evil are potent in this face…this face teaches us how to preserve our works, both from our own folly and from that of the titans’ rages.”

Taurus III:

Tarot card: Seven of Coins

Taurus III

Planetary Ruler: Venus

Decan Ruler: Saturn

Remember: Decans are a 10 day “week” and at some point during that decan/week if you take the time to honor the things you’re noticing, that is all that is asked of you. Stay calm and keep walking.

Taurus III is patient, weary, thoughtful, considerate, creative, thrifty

Austin Coppock names it “A String of Prayer Beads”

The Golden Dawn titled it “Failure”

Teucer of Babylon writes “…soldiers, well provided, steadfast, consistent, long lived.”

The World (Saturn) & The Heirophant (Taurus)

Decan Transit:

Saturn will travel one degree during this decan, this reiterates how slow Saturn moves compared to all other planets. Last decan, I wrote that the Moon will make aspects to nearly everything else in the sky as it transited 5 different signs. That is quite the foil to Saturn as it will be at 10°12’ - 11°15’ Aries. While the Sun transits this Saturnian decan in Taurus, Saturn itself will only make direct contact with the Moon. Saturn will conjoin the Aries Moon on May 13, sextile the Gemini Moon on May 17 & square the Cancer Moon on May 19.

It is worth to remember that while slow moving Saturn isn’t making a lot of direct aspects to the rest of the sky, it is copresent a number of other planets still in Aries. Chiron, Mars & Neptune are all still in Aries during this decan, flavoring Saturn’s experience.

Natal Chart Consideration:

In your own chart, look to see if you have any planets or points in 20°00' - 29°59’ Taurus. The Sun will be traveling through & activating these degrees. Also consider if you have your natal Saturn in aspect to 20°00’ - 29°59’ Taurus: Saturn in Scorpio will oppose the Sun; Saturn in Virgo & Capricorn will trine the Sun; Saturn in Leo & Aquarius will square the Sun; Saturn in Cancer & Pisces will sextile the Sun.

Personal Work:

If you’re writing during this decan, here are some journal prompts for this generous moment in the decan story:

• Look down at the work of your Taurus garden, your Taurus house. What weeds have you been removing? What bugs have been infesting your crops? How can you create good edges to keep those infestations & unwelcomed guests out?

• What are the things you want most to grow? Is there something seeding that you might be willing to commit to, nurture, feed & grow? Are you willing to try, even though you may fail? Can you see this effort teaching you for future trials?

• Survey the land behind you. Catalog your past work to see what plot lines you’ve been digging in. Is this something you’d like to continue or is it time to turn over the field, let it rest and dream of something new? Pause during these days, admire your work, recognize the time/effort/energy already spent and decide if it is singing to you to continue.

For further connection to Saturn, as the decan ruler, you can focus your practice on the Saturn’s Day (Saturday) & Saturn’s Hour. One Saturday, May 16th is the only Saturnian day during this decan but you can work within Saturn’s hours on any day. Find the planetary hours for your location with this link: Planetary Hours Calculator Link

Bonus points for choosing Saturn’s hour ON their day for a special honor. They like limits, elements of time, bones, poppies

Resources: Juliette of the Herbs

As a part of this project, I’ve invited new writers to share their voice on a decan. To close out this post, I hope that you will check out Shawna’s wisdom on Taurus III

Shawna/Unfolding Astrology | Taurus III

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Thank you for constellating with me

End Credits:

Taurus III Natives

10 May Maybelle Carter (country singer) 11 May Salvador Dali (surrealist artist) 12 May Florence Nightingale (nurse) & Practical Astros (astrologer) 13 May Joe Louis (boxer) 14 May George Lucas (film director) 15 May L. Frank Baum (Wizard of Oz author) 16 May Olga Korbut (gymnast) 17 May Bartholomew Roberts (pirate) 18 May Omar Khayyám (mathematician/philosopher) 19 May Nellie Melba (operatic soprano) 20 May Toussaint Louverture (revolutionary)