The First Decan of Virgo

This is the first ten-degree segment of Virgo, the mutable earth sign, spanning 0 to 10 degrees. Its ruler in the Chaldean order of faces is the Sun, reached by continuing the planetary sequence around the thirty-six decans. The decans are the oldest stratum of the tradition, beginning as thirty-six Egyptian star groups whose successive risings served as a calendar and a night-clock, absorbed into the Greek zodiac as ten-degree subdivisions of the signs only later.

The Golden Dawn, from 1888, mapped the numbered minor cards onto the decans in order; this segment carries the Eight of Coins, to which they gave the title Prudence, its Sun-in-Virgo attribution taken from the face ruler, the eights of the earthy suit and the diligent Virgin sign matching the card's theme of careful craftsmanship. That tarot layer is a modern Western overlay on the ancient decan scheme, not a feature of the Egyptian or Hellenistic material it was laid upon.