A Quick And Easy Explanation Of Decans or Decantes & What They Mean

If you've ventured into astrology before, then you may have come across the word 'decan' or 'decante'. So, what exactly is a decan/decante? What does it mean? Does it relate to the tarot? 

Decan and decante essentially mean the same thing, thus can be interchangeably used. Decans are used to further divide astrological signs without the loss of each sign's basic characteristics and traits. Each sign of the zodiac has 3 different decans. So while someone born under the sign of Virgo will always retain their Virgo traits, their decante can help them understand more about their individual tendencies and characteristics. 

The Egyptians divided their years into 12 months, or 360 days. Each one of the 12 months was 30 days long and further divided into 3 sections; the decantes. As a result of the 12 calendar months all being 30 days long with 3 subdivisions, each decan is 10 days in length. Later down the line, the Greeks created their word 'decanoi', which was taken from the Egyptians and means '10 days apart'. 

To this day, astrology uses decans to help identify the potential, strengths, and weaknesses of a person, depending on which part of the decante of their sign that they were born under. As a result, a Leo born under the first decan (July 23rd - August 1st, with the Sun as ruler and subruler) might display traits of a very colorful and expressive personality, whereas, a Leo born under the third decan (August 13th - August 22nd, with the Sun as ruler and Mars as subruler) might gravitate more towards being temperamental and goal-oriented. 

 

Check out this decanter wheel from https://thothblogs.blogspot.com/2018/12/decan-wheel.html  

 The decanted can be linked to the tarot as well, with the illustration above giving you a brief overview. The cups correspond to the suit of cups, which correspond to water signs. The swords connect to the suit of swords, which are correlated to air signs. The wands are connected to the suit of wands, which correlate to fire signs. The pentacles are related to the suit of pentacles which represent earth signs. 

Hopefully this was helpful in explaining what a decan is and which decan you belong to. Keep in mind that your Sun sign remains the same, even when investigating your decanter, as your decante simply helps your further distinguish your chart and potentially uncover some hidden truths about you. 

 

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