The Third Decan of Libra

This is the third ten-degree segment of Libra, the cardinal air sign, spanning 20 to 30 degrees. Its ruler in the Chaldean order of faces is Jupiter, reached by continuing the planetary sequence around the thirty-six decans. The decan is the oldest layer of astrology, the thirty-six having begun as Egyptian stars used to divide the year into ten-day weeks and the night into hours, absorbed into the Greek zodiac as ten-degree arcs only in the last centuries BCE.

The Golden Dawn of 1888 assigned the thirty-six minor arcana to the decans in zodiacal order; this segment bears the Four of Swords, titled Truce or Rest from Strife, its Jupiter-in-Libra planet taken from the face ruler, benevolent Jupiter in the balanced sign matching the card's image of repose and recovery. The tarot correspondence is a modern overlay on the older decan scheme rather than anything descending from the Egyptian or Hellenistic tradition.