Break on through to the other side

The Thoth 5 of Wands, Sirius rising, and the Sign of Leo

Nowadays the Astrological year begins with the Vernal Equinox around March 20^th/21^st and the sign of Aries, progressing through Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, and so on through Pisces which brings us to the following March 20th. But this wasn’t always the case. The Babylonians, from whom we inherit our system of Astrology, marked the beginning of the year at the end of July. Both choices are based on the movement of the stars, but for the Babylonians, there was something very special about the first decan of Leo.

The Decan Wheel showing the heliacal rising of Sirius at 0 degrees Leo

The first decan of Leo is when the Mesopotamians could – and we can – expect to see the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, i.e. when Sirius once again becomes visible in the morning after a period of being outshone by the Sun. Sirius was precious to the Babylonians because it was associated with the goddess central to their spiritual belief system, Ishtar. It would be a moment of great celebration to welcome her back to their skies, and to feel her presence there again, watching from above.

Not only has the Babylonians’ marking of the year been changed, but we now also count the planets differently. The Babylonians counted seven planets starting with Saturn and moving inward: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, The Sun, Venus, Mercury, and The Moon. Now we start with Mercury and work our way outward to Saturn … and, thanks to telescopes, we can see beyond Saturn to Uranus, Neptune, and (in Astrology, yes) Pluto. And we don’t count the Sun and Moon as planets, but ‘luminary bodies’.

The Thoth Leo Minors: 5 of Wands (Saturn in Leo), 6 of Wands (Jupiter in Leo), and 7 of Wands (Mars in Leo) — look at the top and bottom of the cards for the planetary and zodiac signs

For their esoteric studies, the Order of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley followed the Babylonian, or Chaldean Order of planets, and they also worked with this Order for the planetary rulers of each of the decans – which they then applied to the Tarot Minors. You can follow them on the Decan Wheel above.

Look for the Leo section. It’s bright yellow, and at the bottom-right of the wheel. You’ll see that the three Minor Arcana for Leo are the 5, 6, and 7 of Wands. If you follow the Leo ‘piece of pie’ in toward the centre, you see the glyphs for Saturn, then Jupiter, then Mars – following the Chaldean Order.

Doesn’t it make sense, if Saturn is your ‘first’ planet, to start the year with it? And its all-encompassing structure and form? In fact, Saturn’s skills makes this decan absolutely perfect for new beginnings, so let’s see what kind of energy is around in this first decan of the year, through the lens of the Minor associated with it – the 5 of Wands.

Tree of Life showing Binah, Geburah, and Chesed circled, on the background of a photograph of the star Sirius with a star of Ishtar on top of it

On the Tree of Life, the 5 of Wands (and all the fives) is plotted to Geburah, the fifth Sephira, which is ruled by Mars. As we might expect from the god of war, Geburah is characterised by restriction and destruction. A balance to the generosity of Chesed (Sephira 4 ruled by Jupiter[i]), Geburah’s nature is to protect us from overdoing things, and to support us on our paths of spiritual progress. Chesed says “Yes, have more!” from love and Geburah says “No, that’s enough” from love. Mars cuts back what has overgrown in Chesed; or we could see it as a dam built to protect us from a nourishing Jupiterian flow on the verge of becoming a damaging flood. Geburah frees us from the paradoxical restrictions that come with too much of a good thing, and also ensures that we don’t stay so comfortable that we start to rot around the roots. But being pulled up by our collar doesn’t usually feel good, which is why Geburah has a reputation for unpleasant challenges.

The esoteric titles of the fives are Strife, Disappointment, Defeat, and Worry. For such a dynamically physical energy, it’s interesting to note that Mars deals with powerful mind-states – our perception of and response to these situations, rather than the situations themselves. How do you deal with Strife? With Disappointment? That is what’s at issue when we’re working in Geburah. We’ll avoid these lessons if we can, which is why they often feel forced upon us. But we have to learn how to deal with experiences we don’t want to have, or we remain stuck in the middle of them – roasting slowly, basted in anger and frustration.

Thoth The Universe and Lust cards (Crowley’s reimagining of the Rider Waite Smith The World and Strength cards)

In the 5 of Wands, we have the energy of Mars from Geburah, and we also have the astrological relationship assigned to the 5 of Wands: Saturn in Leo. Like Mars, Saturn is a sign of boundaries and restriction, but in this case, we are talking about boundaries that support something – an idea, for example. Saturn gives form, which lets concepts become real. Saturn is associated with The Tarot Universe/World, i.e. our physical Earth. And this is a good example of how Saturn works. It’s a great idea to have an Earth! But it would remain only a twinkle in Divinity’s eye if it didn’t have its physical structure, and to have structure requires edges. ‘The Earth’ stops *here*.

Saturn is also associated with Binah, Sephira 3 on the Tree of Life, the Great Mother and the head of the Pillar of Form (which you can see also includes Geburah). The right-hand Pillar of Force initiates the spark and this left-hand Pillar presses that spark into a shape.

AI image of Saturn and Mars made by me

And remember that in the process of becoming, when limits are being established and lines drawn in the sand, our Divine Will responds. In fact, it has to, in order to grow. If you accept the limitations put upon you by others, for example, you will stop growing and become only a reflection of others’ Will. To follow your own Will, you must learn to stand up for yourself, against the world. Resistance is worthwhile.

So many times, it happens too fast
You trade your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight
Risin' up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Life is a series of births and deaths and rebirths, and the 5 of Wands is one of the flashpoints of the great cycle of life. Just before we get to the 5 of Wands, we’ve been resting happily in the luxurious 4 of Cups. It is plotted to Chesed, a situation of stability and comfort and a closed system of providing and being provided for, where we have the space to process our lessons so far and grow in confidence and understanding. It’s a pause in the cycle. But a certain point something shifts – maybe it’s us, grown too big for our comfortable Watery world – and the vision cracks. The next cycle starts.

AI image of lion cracking an egg with his paw, echoing the energy of the Thoth 5 of Wands

Here we have what makes the first decan of Leo so perfect for the start of the Astrological year. It’s a birth. Think of a chick – in order to break out of its eggshell, a chick has to crack it from the inside and then push through. The act of freeing itself, fighting against what contains it, builds the Strength that it needs to survive once it’s born. The resistance is important because otherwise we wouldn’t build up that strength. Our emergence from what has nurtured us – which has become too small, too confining – is a great opportunity for rebirth.

Rider Waite Smith 5 of Wands, The World, and Strength cards

The 5 of Wands is like this. It is often interpreted as ‘healthy competition’, as we see in the Rider Waite Smith 5 of Wands, where five people are engaging in what looks like a game. An edgy game, but one that will probably only result in some banged-up fingers. We can read the other RWS fives as the result of the outcome of this game: Disappointment (someone is going to lose); Defeat (there’s always one bad sport, isn’t there?); Worry (what does that loss mean for me?). How do you deal with these outcomes?

In the world, we might be striving against a situation that is frustrating, a system that is restricting us, or a person who says “No”, when “No” is keeping you from your Divine Will. And you know when that is the case because you feel it in your gut. Leo and the suit of Wands is about your very essence – the Sun in you. The 5 of Wands is a challenge for growth that you really can’t ignore.

The Elemental Triplicites are the three zodiac signs associated with each Element

And there’s more. When we consider the Elemental Triplicity for Fire (since we are in Leo, a Fire sign), we have an additional boost from Leo. This gives us Mars from Geburah, Saturn from the 5 of Wands, Leo from the 5 of Wands, and Leo from the Elemental Triplicity. Saturn perhaps brings in a refreshing drink of Water from Aquarius and a cooling breath of Air from Aquarius, but the rest is all Fire. There is an intensity here, a building up of energy that will have a release, no matter what.

You know the day destroys the night
Night divides the day
Tried to run, tried to hide
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side
Break on through to the other side, yeah

This is what I think of as the secret message of the 5 of Wands. Often our focus is on the Strife and conflict, but if we think about the reason for it all, we see that we are struggling against something that we have outgrown. Even if we don’t know it yet. It can well be one of those situations that we resist until it’s done, maybe even becuase we don’t know what’s going on and our tendency is just to resist … but then we blink and look around and think, Oh. Actually yeah, that is better.

The process of adaptation to the change happens as we leave Geburah for Tiphareth, the most beautiful spot on the Tree of Life. To get there, we travel the path of Adjustment – this is the real lesson. To experience Strife, Disappointment, Defeat, and Worry, and learn how to deal with them. They are tough lessons, but refusing to learn them means staying in Geburah until we do, and that’s worse. If you find that you’re walking through hell, keep going. You’ll get there. Break on through.

Quotes: ‘Eye of the Tiger’, Survivor; ‘Break on Through (to the other side)’, The Doors

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[i] We can’t get very far in understanding any of the Sephiroth if we look at them in isolation. Especially with the pairs on the outer pillars – Chockmah and Binah, Chesed and Geburah, Netzach and Hod – we have to consider both to get a sense for what happens in either.