Second Decan of Cancer (10°–20°)

Mercury and Mars in the heart of Cancer

The second decan of Cancer runs from 10° to 20° of the sign. In the Chaldean order Mercury follows Venus and takes this face. The triplicity scheme gives the second face of a water sign to Scorpio, the second water sign, so to Mars, with Pluto added by modern astrologers. Jupiter's exaltation degree, 15° Cancer, sits in the middle of the face. Mars also rules the water triplicity by night, which gives it a second link here despite being in its fall in Cancer.

The Moon, as ruler of Cancer, stands for home, family, food and belonging. Mercury adds memory, talk and the practical running of a household: who needs what, who said what, where everyone will sit. Mars through Scorpio adds intensity and loyalty, a readiness to defend the circle. Jupiter's exaltation adds generosity and plenty. Planets in this face are drawn to gatherings, kinship and community, and they often become the person who keeps a family or group connected. The water here moves faster than in the first face.

The couple at the table

Agrippa, following the Arabic image lists that the Picatrix brought into Latin, gives the second face of Cancer two versions: a man in handsome clothes, or a man and a woman sitting at a table and playing. The image brings wealth, mirth, gladness and the love of women. It is one of the most cheerful pictures in the whole series of thirty-six.

The table is the centre of Cancer's world, the place where a household eats, talks and plays together. The game suggests Mercury, quick wits and friendly competition, the sort of contest that brings people closer. The fine clothes and the wealth echo Jupiter's exaltation in these degrees. There is no weapon in the picture, but the triplicity ruler is Mars, and the cheer of this table depends on its being protected. The Golden Dawn title for its card, Lord of Abundance, names the full table, where there is enough to share and a reason to share it.

Five days outside the decans

Egypt's decans were thirty-six stars that marked the night hours, each for about ten days, listed on coffin lids from about 2100 BCE. Thirty-six ten-day periods make 360 days, so five days at the end of the year fell outside the decans' care. Egyptians celebrated them as the birthdays of five divine siblings: Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis and Nephthys. They were also feared as the most dangerous days of the year, when protective spells were most needed.

A divine family gathered at the turning of the year, with celebration and danger side by side, matches this face's themes of kinship guarded by Mars. The Hellenistic astrologers who set the decans in the zodiac gave this stretch to Mercury. The particular Egyptian star behind it cannot be named with confidence. The page on the Egyptian decan gods describes the five days.

The Three of Cups, Lord of Abundance

The Golden Dawn assigned the Three of Cups to Mercury in Cancer, the middle decan of the cardinal water sign, under the title Lord of Abundance. Behind it stand The Magician for Mercury and The Chariot for Cancer.

The Rider-Waite card shows three young women dancing in a circle with their cups raised, garlands in their hair and the harvest of fruit and gourds at their feet. It is a scene of friendship and plenty. Read through the decan, it shows Cancer's care moving outward from the couple of the Two of Cups to a wider circle. Mercury keeps the circle talking and connected; Jupiter's exaltation fills the cups. The card's weaker side is the closed circle, where celebration becomes a way of shutting others out or of avoiding a hard conversation.

A Sun or several planets in the second decan of Cancer

A Sun here belongs to people born in roughly the first ten days of July. You tend to be warm and social, attached to family and old friends, and good at organising people. You remember stories, birthdays and who is not speaking to whom. Under the warmth there is a fierce side: threaten someone you love and you can be as tough as any Scorpio.

Several planets in this face give a chart a strong sense of community and loyalty. Such charts often belong to people who host reunions, run family businesses or keep a group chat alive. The common gift is building belonging. The common difficulty is clannishness, or carrying the group's grudges as your own. Look at Mercury and Mars in your chart, the rulers of this face, and at Jupiter, which is exalted in these degrees.

Working with the second face of Cancer

Gather people regularly, and include at least one newcomer each time. Write down family stories while the people who remember them are alive. When a conflict arises in your circle, talk to the person directly before you talk about them. Enjoy plenty without letting the table become the only comfort. Let someone else organise once in a while, and notice how that feels.