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3rd decan of Scorpio: dates and rulers

Scorpio’s final third is said to be the most affectionate: deep attachments, guarded behind great reserve.

  • attachment
  • reserve
  • fidelity
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3rd decan of Scorpio: Venus (faces), Cancer (triplicity)
The essentials

The 3rd decan of Scorpio at a glance

For you

Scorpio’s intensity in the service of bonds: loving deeply, protecting your own, keeping your emotions to yourself.

A strength

Staying faithful to loved ones over the long run, through crises and joys alike.

Something to watch

Mistaking loyalty for possession, or holding on to a hurt for years.

Decan planet
♀︎ Venus
Associated sign
♋︎ Cancer (Moon)
Read more
Calculate my decan

By Thomas Guilhot · updated

The 3rd decan of Scorpio: the meaning

After the Sun, the Chaldean order places Venus, which thus inherits the end of Scorpio.

The other school gives this decan to Cancer, the next water sign, and to its ruler, the Moon. The two rulers, traditionally associated with affection, would steer the sign’s intensity toward intimate bonds rather than conquest.

One would describe a person who loves few people, but loves them totally, without calculation or half-measures. They keep secrets, remember important dates, and show up in the middle of the night when someone close calls. With Venus, romantic passion would take a central place; with the Moon and Cancer, it would rather be family, the clan, shared memory. In both cases, loyalty would be their signature, and trust once given, a lifelong commitment.

The downside would be possessiveness and resentment. Intense attachment can turn into jealousy, and a hurt, kept in silence, into cold distance. Reserve would keep them from saying what hurts at the right time. Astrologers would invite this decan to express its needs in simple words, and to give loved ones a freedom that, in the end, brings them closer. A solid bond withstands absences and disagreements without breaking.

Sign
ScorpioWater, fixed; ruler: Mars (modern: Pluto)
Degrees
20° to 30°Longitude 230° to 240°
Faces (Chaldean)
VenusPlanet 5 of the Chaldean order
Triplicity
Cancer (Moon)3rd water sign

The 3rd decan of Scorpio: tradition

What tradition says

Venus is in detriment in Scorpio, the sign opposite her Taurus; the Moon, ruler by triplicity, is in fall there, according to Ptolemy.

How is it calculated?

The faces give Venus; the triplicities give Cancer and its ruler, Moon.

Frequently asked questions about the 3rd decan of Scorpio

Venus or the Moon: which ruler for the 3rd decan of Scorpio?

Venus by the Chaldean faces, the Moon by the triplicities, through Cancer, the third water sign. These two rulers steer the reading toward the affective, the first toward passion, the second toward family and memory. The site presents them together, without deciding between the two schools.

Why are Venus and the Moon ill at ease in Scorpio?

For Ptolemy, Venus is in detriment there, since Scorpio faces Taurus, her domicile; the Moon is in fall there, opposite Taurus, where it is exalted. Tradition sees in this a tenderness forced to go through intensity rather than gentleness. These are symbolic notions, not judgments.

Is a birth in late November Scorpio or Sagittarius?

It all depends on the day and, on the day of the change, on the time. The third decan of Scorpio ends when the Sun enters Sagittarius, around the end of November. The site’s engine calculates that instant to the minute for each year; the “what is my sign” tool applies it to your date and place.

Neighboring decans

The three decans of Scorpio

The decans of Venus (faces)