Minor Arcana and decans tarot quiz
Thirty-six decans, thirty-six number cards: test how the Golden Dawn handed Twos, Fives and Eights to the signs, and find the decan card of your birthday.
- 5 questions
- ≈ 2 min
- +5 bronze keys for a flawless run
What are the decans in tarot?
This quiz tests how the number cards of the Minor Arcana link to the decans of the zodiac in the Golden Dawn system. A decan is a third of a sign: about ten degrees of the circle and roughly ten days of the calendar. Twelve signs make thirty-six decans. There are also exactly thirty-six number cards from Two to Ten across the four suits, and the order matched them one to one.
The idea of decans is very old. It goes back to the Egyptian star calendar, where thirty-six groups of stars rose in turn at dawn and marked the ten-day weeks of the year. Hellenistic astrology carried the decans into the European tradition, and in the nineteenth century the Golden Dawn gave each one a card.
How can you remember which cards go with which sign?
The suit always matches the sign's element: Wands for fire signs, Pentacles for earth, Swords for air and Cups for water. The number depends on where the sign sits in its season. Cardinal signs, which open a season, take the Two, Three and Four. Fixed signs in mid-season take the Five, Six and Seven. Mutable signs, where seasons change, take the Eight, Nine and Ten.
The count begins with the Two of Wands in the first decan of Aries. Aces and court cards stay out of the decans: in the Golden Dawn the Aces stand for the root of each element, and different schools assign signs to the courts in different ways. Once you know a sign's dates, finding the card of your birthday is easy, as long as you treat the decan borders as approximate.
How the quiz works
Each round draws five of twelve questions: date puzzles, card picks and true-or-myth claims. Tayna keys go to a flawless round, with unlimited replays.
A decan card is an image to compare with your character, not a sentence passed on you. Drawing the Ten of Swords or the Five of Cups as your decan does not mean a hard life; it means your story includes the skill of walking through endings and losses and coming out stronger.
All questions and answers
Open after you play: the full question set with right answers and explanations.
1. How many decans are there in the whole zodiac?
Right answer: Thirty-six
Each of the 12 signs splits into three, giving 36 decans: exactly as many as the cards from Two to Ten.
2. Which card opens the wheel of decans, the first decan of Aries?
Right answer: Two of Wands
The wheel starts with the Two of Wands: a figure on a balcony choosing where to aim. Aces are not decans.
3. The Aces are decans too, one for each sign.
Right answer: Myth
Only the cards from Two to Ten are decans. In the Golden Dawn the Aces are the roots of the elements.
4. A birthday falls on August 15. Which decan card belongs to that day?
Right answer: Seven of Wands
August 15 is in Leo's third decan, roughly August 12 to 22, which goes to the Seven of Wands.
5. Which cards go to the cardinal signs: Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn?
Right answer: Twos, Threes, Fours
Signs that open a season take the opening numbers. Fixed signs get 5 to 7, and mutable signs 8 to 10.
6. A birthday falls on November 5. Which decan card belongs to that day?
Right answer: Six of Cups
November 5 is in Scorpio's second decan, roughly November 2 to 11, which goes to the Six of Cups.
7. The Seven of Pentacles is a decan of which sign?
Right answer: Taurus
Pentacles mean an earth sign, and a Seven ends a fixed one. That makes it the third decan of Taurus.
8. A decan card describes the fate of everyone born on those days.
Right answer: Myth
A decan is an image worth comparing with your character. It suggests a theme but decides nothing.
9. Where did the idea of decans come from in the first place?
Right answer: The Egyptian calendar
In Egypt, 36 star groups rose at dawn in turn and marked the ten-day weeks of the year.
10. Roughly how many days does one decan last?
Right answer: About ten
A decan is ten degrees, and the Sun moves about a degree a day. Hence the name, from the Greek for ten.
11. Why do the mutable signs get the Eights, Nines and Tens as decans?
Right answer: They close their season
Mutable signs sit where seasons change, so they get the closing numbers, like the Ten at the end of a suit.
12. Which card is the second decan of Libra?
Right answer: Three of Swords
Libra is a cardinal air sign: the Two, Three and Four of Swords. The second decan is the Three.