Second Decan of Taurus (10°–20°)

The Moon at home in the middle of Taurus

The second decan of Taurus runs from 10° to 20° of the sign. In the Chaldean order the Moon follows Mercury, so it takes this face. In the triplicity scheme the second face of an earth sign goes to the second earth sign, Virgo, and therefore to Mercury. The Moon is exalted in Taurus and rules the earth triplicity by night, so in this face it collects a third connection to the sign: it holds the face as well.

The Moon's concerns are nourishment, the body, the daily rhythm and the people who depend on us. Taurus adds patience, the senses and the wish to keep what has been gathered. Mercury, through Virgo, adds the habit of sorting, counting and judging what goes where. Planets in this face lean toward stewardship: growing resources, feeding people, deciding who receives what. The first face of Taurus ploughed and worried. This one has a crop, and its task is to manage plenty without being ruled by it.

The naked man with the key

Agrippa, using the Arabic image lists that the Picatrix brought into Latin, pictures the second face of Taurus as a naked man holding a key. The image, he writes, gives power, nobility and rule over people. It is a short description, and its whole meaning sits in the object.

A key opens the storehouse and locks it again. Whoever holds it decides when the grain comes out and to whom it goes, and that is a quieter kind of power than a sword. The nakedness of the figure, shared with the farmer of the first face, suggests that the authority comes from the store, not from rank or armour. The Moon as ruler links the key to the household and the larder, the daily feeding of people. The Golden Dawn title for the face's card, Lord of Material Success, names the full storehouse; the key reminds you that success also means choosing how to open it.

When each decan received a body

The Egyptian decans began as names in columns on coffin lids of about 2100 BCE, thirty-six stars that each marked the night hours for about ten days. Only in the Late Period and under the Ptolemies did they gain individual figures on temple ceilings at Dendera, Esna and Edfu: snake-headed, lion-headed or falcon-headed gods standing in boats, many crowned with a star or disk.

Once every decan had a figure, it could be painted, engraved on a stone or described in a spell, and that habit carried on through Greek, Arabic and Renaissance magic. The key-bearer of this face is a distant descendant of that practice, although the Egyptian figure that stood for this stretch of sky cannot be named with any confidence. The page on the Egyptian decan gods shows how the decans were pictured.

The Six of Pentacles, Lord of Material Success

The Golden Dawn gave the Six of Pentacles to the Moon in Taurus, the second decan of the fixed earth sign, under the title Lord of Material Success. Behind it stand The High Priestess for the Moon and The Hierophant for Taurus.

The Rider-Waite card shows a well-dressed merchant holding a pair of scales in one hand and dropping coins into the hands of two kneeling beggars with the other. It is the key-bearer at work. The store is full, and the holder weighs out what each person receives. Read through this decan, the card joins the Moon's care with Mercury's measuring: generosity that is real and also calculated. Its question is the balance on the scales. Giving can feed people, and it can also keep them kneeling. The merchant's success is real, and so is the gap between him and the people he helps.

A Sun or several planets in the second decan of Taurus

A Sun here belongs to people born in roughly the first ten days of May. You tend to be steady, warm and practical in your care, the person who notices that the cupboard is empty and fills it. You like to see things grow, money and gardens and people. Comfort matters to you, and your mood often follows how secure your home and finances feel.

Several planets in this face give a chart a nurturing, resource-minded character. Such charts often belong to people who end up holding the keys for a family or team, the budget or the supplies. The common gift is reliable generosity. The common difficulty is giving with strings attached, or tying your self-worth to being the one who provides. Look at the Moon and Mercury in your chart, since they rule this decan.

Working with the second face of Taurus

Cook for others regularly, and once in a while let someone else cook for you. When you give money or help, decide in advance what you expect back, even if the answer is nothing, and keep to it. Tend something that grows slowly, a garden bed, a savings account, a long friendship. Notice when food or shopping is standing in for rest. Share one key you hold, a password, a skill, a responsibility, with someone you trust.