The Tarot and the Decans
Following is a comparison of the decan descriptions from Henry Cornelius Agrippa's Three Books of Occult Philosophy (2nd volume) and the
divinatory meanings of the minor arcana cards to which they are attributed in Book T.
Decan Agrippa's Description of the Decan
A black man, standing and cloathed in a white
garment, girdled about, of a great body, with reddish
Aries I eyes, and great strength, and like one that is angry;
and this image signifieth and causeth boldness,
fortitude, loftiness and shamelesness;
A woman, outwardly cloathed with a red garment,
and under it a white, spreading abroad over her feet,
Aries II
and this image causeth nobleness, height of a
Kingdom, and greatness of dominion:
Figure of a white man, pale, with reddish hair, and
cloathed with a red garment, who carrying on the one
hand a golden Bracelet, and holding forth a wooden 4 of Wands
Aries III
staff, is restless, and like one in wrath, because he Perfected Work
cannot perform that good he would. This image
bestoweth wit, meekness, joy and beauty:
A naked man, an Archer, Harvester or Husbandman,
Taurus I and goeth forth to sow, plough, build, people, and
divide the earth, according to the rules of Geometry;
Card Book T Meaning of the Card
Strength, domination, harmony of rule and of justice.
Boldness, courage, fierceness, shamelessness, revenge,
2 of Wands
resolution, generous, proud, sensitive, ambitious,
Dominion
refined, restless, turbulent, sagacious withal, yet
unforgiving and obstinate.
Established force, strength, realization of hope.
3 of Wands
Completion of labour. Success after struggle. Pride,
Established
nobility, wealth, power, conceit. Rude self-assumption
Strength
and insolence. Generosity, obstinacy, etc.
Perfection or completion of a thing built up with
trouble and labour. Rest after labour, subtlety,
cleverness, beauty, mirth, success in completion.
Reasoning faculty, conclusions drawn from previous
knowledge. Unreadiness, unreliable and unsteady
through over-anxiety and hurriedness of action.
Graceful in manner, at times insincere, etc.
Loss of money or position. Trouble about material
things. Labour, toil, land cultivation; building,
5 of Pentacles
knowledge and acuteness of earthly things, poverty,
Material
carefulness, kindness; sometimes money regained after
Trouble
severe toil and labour. Unimaginative, harsh, stern,
determined, obstinate.

A naked man, holding in his hand a key; it giveth
Taurus II
power, nobility, and dominion over people:
A man in whose hand is a Serpent, and a dart, and is
Taurus III the image of necessity and profit, and also of misery
& slavery.
A man in whose hand is a rod, and he is, as it were,
serving another; it granteth wisdom, and the
Gemini I
knowledge of numbers and arts in which there is no
profit:
A man in whose hand is a Pipe, and another being
bowed down, digging the earth: and they signifie
Gemini II infamous and dishonest agility, as that of Jesters and Despair and
Juglers [jugglers]; it also signifies labours and painful Cruelty
searchings:
A man seeking for Arms, and a fool holding in the
right hand a Bird, and in his left a pipe, and they are
Gemini III
the significations of forgetfulness, wrath, boldness,
jeasts [jests], scurrilities, and unprofitable words:
Success and gain in material undertakings. Power,
6 of Pentacles
influence, rank, nobility, rule over the people.
Material
Fortunate, successful, liberal and just. If ill dignified,
Success
may be purse-proud, insolent from excess, or prodigal.
Promises of success unfulfilled. Loss of apparently
promising fortune. Hopes deceived and crushed.
7 of Pentacles Disappointment, misery, slavery, necessity and
Success baseness. A cultivator of land, and yet a loser thereby.
unfulfilled Sometimes it denotes slight and isolated gains with no
fruits resulting therefrom, and of no further account,
though seeming to promise well.
Too much force applied to small things: too much
attention to detail at the expense of the principal and
more important points. When ill dignified, these
qualities produce malice, pettiness, and domineering
8 of Swords
characteristics. Patience in detail of study; great care in
Shortened
some things, counterbalanced by equal disorder in
Force
others. Impulsive; equally fond of giving or receiving
money or presents; generous, clever, acute, selfish and
without strong feeling of affection. Admires wisdom,
yet applies it to small and unworthy objects.
Despair, cruelty, pitilessness, malice, suffering, want,
9 of Swords loss, misery. Burden, oppression, labour, subtlety and
craft, dishonesty, lying and slander. Yet also obedience,
faithfulness, patience, unselfishness, etc. According to
dignity.
Undisciplined, warring force, complete disruption and
failure. Ruin of all plans and projects. Disdain,
10 of Swords
insolence and impertinence, yet mirth and jollity
Ruin
therewith. A marplot, loving to overthrow the
happiness of others; a repeater of things; given to much

A young Virgin, adorned with fine cloathes [clothes],
2 of Cups
Cancer I and having a Crown on her head; it giveth acuteness
Love
of senses, subtilty of wit, and the love of men:
A man cloathed in comely apparrel, or a man and
3 of Cups
Cancer II woman sitting at the table and playing; it bestoweth
Abundance
riches, mirth, gladness, and the love of women:
A man a Hunter with his lance and horne, bringing
out dogs for to hunt; the signification of this is the 4 of Cups
Cancer III contention of men, the pursuing of those who fly, the Blended
hunting and possessing of things by arms and Pleasure
brawlings.
A man riding on a Lion; it signifieth boldness,
5 of Wands
Leo I violence, cruelty, wickedness, lust and labours to be
Strife
sustained.
With hands lifted up, and a man on whose head is a
Crown; he hath the appearance of an angry man, and
one that threatneth, having in his right hand a Sword
6 of Wands
Leo II drawn out of the scabbard, & in his left a buckler; it
Victory
hath signification upon hidden contentions, and
unknown victories, & upon base men, and upon the
occasions of quarrels and battels [battles]:
A young man in whose hand is a Whip, and a man
7 of Wands
Leo III very sad, and of an ill aspect; they signifie love and
Valour
society, and the loss of ones right for avoiding strife.
unprofitable speech, and of many words. Yet clever,
eloquent, etc., according to dignity.
Harmony of masculine and feminine united. Harmony,
pleasure, mirth, subtlety: but if ill dignified --- folly,
dissipation, waste, silly actions.
Abundance, plenty, success, pleasure, sensuality,
passive success, good luck and fortune; love, gladness,
kindness, liberality.
Success or pleasure approaching their end. A stationary
period in happiness, which may, or may not, continue.
It does not mean love and marriage so much as the
previous symbol. It is too passive a symbol to represent
perfectly complete happiness. Swiftness, hunting and
pursuing. Acquisition by contention: injustice
sometimes; some drawbacks to pleasure implied.
Violent strife and boldness, rashness, cruelty, violence,
lust, desire, prodigality and generosity; depending on
whether the card is well or ill dignified.
Victory after strife: Love: pleasure gained by labour:
carefulness, sociability and avoiding of strife, yet
victory therein: also insolence, and pride of riches and
success, etc. The whole dependent on the dignity.
Possible victory, depending on the energy and courage
exercised; valour; opposition, obstacles and difficulties,
yet courage to meet them; quarrelling, ignorance,
pretence, and wrangling, and threatening; also victory

A good maide, and a man casting seeds; it signifieth
8 of Pentacles
Virgo I getting of wealth, ordering of diet, plowing, sowing,
Prudence
and peopling;
A black man cloathed with a skin, and a man having a
9 of Pentacles
Virgo II bush of hair, holding a bag; they signifie gain,
Material Gain
scraping together of wealth and covetousness.
A white woman and deaf, or an old man leaning on a
staff; the signification of this is to shew weakness, 10 of Pentacles
Virgo III
infirmity, loss of members, destruction of trees, and Wealth
depopulation of lands.
An angry man, in whose hand is a Pipe, and the form
of a man reading in a book; the operation of this is in 2 of Swords
Libra I
justifying and helping the miserable and weak against Peace restored
the powerful and wicked:
Two men furious and wrathful and a man in a comely
garment, sitting in a chair; and the signification of
3 of Swords
Libra II these is to shew indignation against the evil, and
Sorrow
quietness and security of life with plenty of good
things.
in small and unimportant things: and influence upon
subordinates.
Over-careful in small things at the expense of great:
"Penny wise and pound foolish": gain of ready money
in small sums; mean; avaricious; industrious;
cultivation of land; hoarding, lacking in enterprise.
Complete realization of material gain, good, riches;
inheritance; covetous; treasuring of goods; and
sometimes theft and knavery.
Completion of material gain and fortune; but nothing
beyond: as it were, at the very pinnacle of success. Old
age, slothfulness; great wealth, yet sometimes loss in
part; heaviness; dullness of mind, yet clever and
prosperous in money transactions.
Contradictory characters in the same nature, strength
through suffering; pleasure after pain. Sacrifice and
trouble, yet strength arising therefrom, ... as though the
pain itself had brought forth beauty. Arrangement,
peace restored; truce; truth and untruth; sorrow and
sympathy. Aid to the weak; arrangement; justice,
unselfishness; also a tendency to repetition of affronts
on being pardoned; injury when meaning well; given to
petitions; also a want of tact, and asking question of
little moment; talkative.
Disruption, interruption, separation, quarrelling; sowing
of discord and strife, mischief-making, sorrow and
tears; yet mirth in Platonic pleasures; singing,
faithfulness in promises, honesty in money
transactions, selfish and dissipated, yet sometimes
 generous: deceitful in words and repetitions; ...
(Unhappiness, sorrow, and tears).
A violent man holding a bow, and before him a naked Rest from sorrow; yet after and through it. Peace from
man, and also another man holding bread in one 4 of Swords and after war. Relaxation of anxiety. Quietness, rest,
Libra III hand, and a cup of wine in the other; the signification Rest from ease and plenty, yet after struggle. Goods of this life;
of these is to shew wicked lusts, singings, sports and Strife abundance; ... (Convalescence, recovery from sickness;
gluttony. change for the better).
Death, or end of pleasure: disappointment, sorrow and
loss in those things from which pleasure is expected.
A woman of good face and habit, and two men
5 of Cups Sadness, treachery, deceit; ill-will, detraction; charity
striking her; the operations of these are for comliness,
Scorpio I Loss in and kindness ill requited; all kinds of anxieties and
beauty, and for strifes, treacheries, deceits,
Pleasure troubles from unsuspected and unexpected sources. ...
detractations, and perditions;
(Disappointment in love, marriage broken off,
unkindness of a friend; loss of friendship).
Commencement of steady increase, gain and pleasure;
A man naked, and a woman naked, and a man sitting but commencement only. Also affront, detection,
on the earth, and before him two dogs biting one knowledge, and in some instances contention and strife
6 of Cups
Scorpio II another; and their operation is for impudence, deceit, arising from unwarranted self-assertion and vanity.
Pleasure
and false dealing, and for to lend mischief and strife Sometimes thankless and presumptuous; sometimes
amongst men; amiable and patient. ... (Beginning of wish, happiness,
success, or enjoyment)
Possible victory, but neutralized by the supineness of
the person: illusionary success, deception in the
moment of apparent victory. Lying, error, promises
A man bowed downward upon his knees, and a
7 of Cups unfulfilled. Drunkenness, wrath, vanity. Lust,
woman striking him with a staff, and it is the
Scorpio III Illusionary fornication, violence against women, selfish
signification of drunkenness, fornication, wrath,
Success dissipation, deception in love and friendship. Often
violence, and strife.
success gained, but not followed up. ... (Lying,
promises unfulfilled; illusion, deception, error; slight
success at outset, not retained).

A man armed with a coat of male [mail], and holding
8 of Wands
Sagittarius I a naked sword in his hand; the operation of this is for
Swiftness
boldness, malice, and liberty:
A woman weeping, and covered with cloathes; the
Sagittarius II operation of this is for sadness and fear of his own
body.
A man like in colour to gold, or an idle man playing
with a staff; and the signification of this is in
10 of Wands
Sagittarius III following our own wills, and obstinacy in them, and
Oppresion
in activeness for evil things, contentions, and horrible
matters.
A woman, and a man carrying full bags; and the
signification of these is for to go forth and to rejoyce
Capricorn I
[rejoice], to gain and to lose with weakness and
baseness:
Too much force applied too suddenly. Very rapid rush,
but quickly passed and expended. Violent, but not
lasting. Swiftness, rapidity, courage, boldness,
confidence, freedom, warfare, violence; love of open
air, field-sports, gardens and meadows. Generous,
subtle, eloquent, yet somewhat untrustworthy;
rapacious, insolent, oppressive. Theft and robbery. ...
(Hasty communications and messages; swiftness).
Tremendous and steady force that cannot be shaken.
Herculean strength, yet sometimes scientifically
applied. Great success, but with strife and energy.
9 of Wands Victory, preceded by apprehension and fear. Health
Great Strength good, and recovery not in doubt. Generous, questioning
and curious; fond of external appearances: intractable,
obstinate. ... (Strength, power, health, recovery from
sickness).
Cruel and overbearing force and energy, but applied
only to material and selfish ends. Sometimes shows
failure in a matter, and the opposition too strong to be
controlled; arising from the person's too great
selfishness at the beginning. Ill-will, levity, lying,
malice, slander, envy, obstinacy; swiftness in evil and
deceit, if ill dignified. Also generosity,
disinterestedness and self-sacrifice, when well
dignified. ... (Cruelty, malice, revenge, injustice).
The harmony of change, alternation of gain and loss;
weakness and strength; everchanging occupation;
2 of Pentacles
wandering, discontented with any fixed condition of
Harmonious
things; now elated, then melancholy; industrious, yet
Change
unreliable; fortunate through prudence of management,
yet sometimes unaccountably foolish; alternatively

Two women, and a man looking towards a Bird
flying in the Air; and the signification of these is for
3 of Pentacles
Capricorn II the requiring those things which cannot be done, and
Material Works
for the searching after those things which cannot be
known:
A woman chast [chaste] in body, and wise in her
work, and a banker gathering his mony [money]
4 of Pentacles
Capricorn III together on the table; the signification of this is to
Earthly Power
govern in prudence, in covetousness of money, and in
avarice.
A prudent man, and a woman spinning; and the
5 of Swords
Aquarius I signification of these is in the thought and labour for
Defeat
gain, in poverty and baseness:
A man with a long beard; and the signification of this
6 of Swords
Aquarius II belongeth to the understanding, meeknes, modesty,
Earned Success patience, labour, etc. ... (Labour, work, journey by
liberty and good maners:
talkative and suspicious. Kind, yet wavering and
inconsistent. Fortunate in journeying. Argumentative.
... (Pleasant change, visit to friends).
Working and constructive force, building up, creation,
erection; realization and increase of material things;
gain in commercial transactions, rank; increase of
substance, influence, cleverness in business,
selfishness. Commencement of matters to be
established later. Narrow and prejudiced. Keen in
matters of gain; sometimes given to seeking after
impossibilities. ... (Business, paid employment,
commercial transaction).
Assured material gain: success, rank, dominion, earthy
power, completed but leading to nothing beyond.
Prejudicial, covetous, suspicious, careful and orderly,
but discontented. Little enterprise or originality. ...
(Gain of money or influence: a present).
Contest finished and decided against the person;
failure, defeat, anxiety, trouble, poverty, avarice,
grieving after gain, laborious, unresting; loss and
vileness of nature; malicious, slanderous, lying, spiteful
and tale-bearing. A busybody and separator of friends,
hating to see peace and love between others. Cruel, yet
cowardly, thankless and unreliable. Clever and quick in
thought and speech. Feelings of pity easily roused, but
unenduring. ... (Defeat, loss, malice, spite, slander, evil-
speaking).
Success after anxiety and trouble; self-esteem, beauty,
conceit, but sometimes modesty therewith; dominance,
water).

A black and angry man; and the signification of this
Aquarius III
is in expressing insolence; and impudence.
A man carrying burthens [burdens] on his shoulder,
and well cloathed; it hath his significion in journeys,
Pisces I
change of place, and in carefulness of getting wealth
and cloaths:
A woman of a good countenance, and well adorned;
Pisces II and the signification is to desire and put ones self on
about high and great matters:
A man naked, or a youth, and nigh him a beautiful
maide, whose head is adorned with flowers, and it
Pisces III
hath his signification for rest, idleness, delight,
fornication, and for imbracings of women.
Partial success. Yielding when victory is within grasp,
as if the last reserves of strength were used up.
Inclination to lose when on the point of gaining,
through not continuing the effort. Love of abundance,
7 of Swords
fascinated by display, given to compliments, affronts
Unstable Effort
and insolences, and to spy upon others. Inclined to
betray confidences, not always intentionally. Rather
vacillatory and unreliable. ... (Journey by land: in
character untrustworthy).
Temporary success, but without further results. Thing
thrown aside as soon as gained. Not lasting, even in the
8 of Cups
matter in hand. Indolence in success. Journeying from
Abandoned
place to place. Misery and repining without cause.
Success
Seeking after riches. Instability. ... (Success abandoned;
decline of interest).
Complete and perfect realization of pleasure and
happiness, almost perfect; self-praise, vanity, conceit,
much talking of self, yet kind and lovable, and may be
9 of Cups self-denying therewith. High-minded, not easily
Material satisfied with small and limited ideas. Apt to be
Happiness maligned through too much self-assumption. A good
and generous, but sometimes foolish nature. ...
(Complete success, pleasure and happiness, wishes
fulfilled).
Permanent and lasting success and happiness, because
inspired from above. Not so sensual as "Lord of
10 of Cups
Material Happiness," yet almost more truly happy.
Perfected
Pleasure, dissipation, debauchery, quietness,
Success
peacemaking. Kindness, pity, generosity, wantonness,
waste, etc. ... (Matter settled: complete good fortune).