Death (Scorpio), Temperance (Sagittarius) and The Devil (Capricorn): An Analysis
The fifth ternary of the Major Arcana in Tarot is composed of XIII Death, XIV Temperance, and XV The Devil. In Papus’ ternary system, any triad expresses the dynamic of י (Yod), ה (He), and ו (Vau): impulse, receptivity, and synthesis. Not only that, but it sequentially reproduces the zodiacal sequence of Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, from the eighth to the tenth houses.
In this specific case, Death represents the י (Yod), the initiating impulse of dissolution, transmutation, and the symbolic death of the ego. It is aligned with the sign of Scorpio, the fixed and subterranean Water where all forms decay to release their essence. This is a destructive current governed by Mars, the nocturnal malefic, who feels at home when the Sun has set and shadow begins its reign. The somber eighth house of the Zodiac, a succedent house, is its natural dwelling.
Appropriately, the martial force of Scorpio appears in geomancy as Rubeus, the most violent and brutal of all the sixteen figures, embodying the energy of decomposition itself, where the only active element of the four is Water and where its element is Water itself. In the Tree of Life, Death corresponds to the Path of נ (Nun), the Fish of those putrid waters, ascending from Netzach to Tifereth, the passage through which the egoic desire perishes so that the Higher Will may arise. More at The Mirror of Sienna.
Kύριε ελέησον
