Skip to content

1st decan of Taurus: dates and rulers

The first third of Taurus would pair its taste for the concrete with a talent for exchange and negotiation.

  • practical sense
  • negotiation
  • taste for beauty
♈︎♂︎☉︎♀︎♉︎☿︎☽︎♄︎♊︎♃︎♂︎☉︎♋︎♀︎☿︎☽︎♌︎♄︎♃︎♂︎♍︎☉︎♀︎☿︎♎︎☽︎♄︎♃︎♏︎♂︎☉︎♀︎♐︎☿︎☽︎♄︎♑︎♃︎♂︎☉︎♒︎♀︎☿︎☽︎♓︎♄︎♃︎♂︎36decans
1st decan of Taurus: Mercury (faces), Taurus (triplicity)
The essentials

The 1st decan of Taurus at a glance

For you

The Taurus who compares and chooses: what will last, at the right price, under Mercury or Venus depending on the school.

A strength

Judging accurately what things are worth, and reaching a fair agreement.

Something to watch

Comparing for so long that the opportunity passes, or growing attached to an object more than to its use.

Decan planet
☿︎ Mercury
Associated sign
♉︎ Taurus (Venus)
Read more
Calculate my decan

By Thomas Guilhot · updated

The 1st decan of Taurus: the meaning

In the series of faces, Mercury follows Venus, who closed Aries: it therefore opens Taurus.

The triplicity system keeps this first slice for Taurus itself and its ruler, Venus. Two readings come out of this, one mercantile and calculating, the other sensual and aesthetic, with a shared foundation: the search for what is worth acquiring and keeping.

This decan would be recognized by a steady way of approaching decisions. Before buying a sofa, a person of this third visits three stores, touches the fabrics, compares the warranties, then negotiates the delivery. Before accepting a job, they read the contract to the last line and ask about health coverage. In the Venusian reading, they would choose first what is beautiful and pleasant, even at a slightly higher price, and keep the object for twenty years.

The downside would be a caution that borders on immobility. By weighing the pros and cons for too long, the opportunity slips away; by clinging to one’s belongings, one ends up cluttered by them. Astrologers would urge this third of the sign to set a deadline on its comparisons, and to remember that an object is worth the pleasure it gives, not its mere possession. An annual yard sale would be an excellent exercise for it.

Sign
TaurusEarth, fixed; ruler: Venus
Degrees
0° to 10°Longitude 30° to 40°
Faces (Chaldean)
MercuryPlanet 6 of the Chaldean order
Triplicity
Taurus (Venus)The sign itself

The 1st decan of Taurus: tradition

What tradition says

Mercury has no dignity of its own in Taurus apart from this face.

How is it calculated?

The faces give Mercury; the triplicities give Taurus itself and its ruler, Venus.

Frequently asked questions about the 1st decan of Taurus

Which planet rules the 1st decan of Taurus?

Mercury by the Chaldean faces, Venus by the triplicities. The first school follows the order of the planets regardless of the sign, simply chaining the seven bodies together; the second returns the first slice to the ruler of the sign. The divergence is common: the two systems agree on only a few decans of the zodiac.

What does the 1st decan change for a Taurus?

According to tradition, it would nuance the sign without transforming it. With Mercury, Taurus would become more skilled in business and chattier than the sign is said to be; with Venus, more of an aesthete and more attached to comfort. In both cases, the core of the sign (patience, constancy, a sense of the concrete) stays the same: only the emphasis shifts.

Where do the decans come from?

From Egypt, according to historians of astronomy. Priests there followed thirty-six star markers whose rising, every ten days, served as a night clock. In the Hellenistic era, these divisions were lodged in the signs, three per sign, then assigned to the planets. The dates of this decan, recalculated for each year, appear on this page.

Neighboring decans

The three decans of Taurus

The decans of Mercury (faces)