Almost through the middle decan of Aries 2 now, and today the Sun is at 19 degrees of Aries, which is the exact degree of its exaltation.

This has been a very busy period here. I grow several big gardens each year, and this decan is around six weeks out from the last frost date here. It’s still cold out, but the garlic patch has sprouted. In The Book of Rulerships (Lehman), garlic is listed as corresponding to both the Sun and Mars. The Rulership Book (Bills) gives it to Aries and Mars. Either way, it always comes up in this decan, which is all three.

Which means it is time to start by seed, indoors, quite a few crops; not all yet, but the ones that have a 6-8 week germination and growth period before they can be transplanted out. So like Persephone in the crop from the Telos card above, I’m looking at a lot of little sprouting seedlings, and many more dormant in their trays. Lacking a heated greenhouse, I’ve got trays and grow lights all over the house.

I’m waiting for the nasturtium seeds to sprout. While the nasturtium plant is sometimes associated with Venus simply because it has profuse flowers, I consider it a plant for this decan as it is peppery in flavor (Aries/Mars) and comes in all the Sun’s colors of orange, yellow, and red.

Some people know that plants respond to loving intentions, attentions, and sounds. When these little seeds wake up, I’m going to experiment with them by “seeding” them with intention.

Three-fold seed spell:

Choose to ritually plant a seed, infusing it with your magical intention. You might say that you are “seeding” the seed with your magical wish. Have the intention in mind while planting the seed.

Recite an evocation of one of the deities of this decan, such as Persephone, to it three times: when the plant sprouts as the seedling stage shown in the image, when it begins to get true leaves, and a third time as the plant reaches maturity, approaching it formally with your request as if it were the deity. The resulting plant itself can be dried and used as future materia, as it will be imbued with the qualities of this decan and your intention.

It will be even more effective if the seed is of a corresponding plant of the Sun or Aries, and the intention is for a virtuous endeavor like increasing a healthy habit.

For the evocation, you could easily use the Aries II invocation given earlier in the blog (from when the card was first created). But change it to an evocation as follows:

Aries II evocation of Persephone:

A maiden you once were, but now a Queen.

Good governance your gift to lands beneath.

Each Spring you rise again and growth is green.

Obedience to you all souls bequeath.

You warm Earth, and crack seeds embryonic.

Crowned with the Sun you cause the primal surge.

You bear Earth-fire rising from the chthonic.

You wear the vernal bright as sprouts emerge.

Your virtue drew the virile nether lord.

You, Kora, gathered blooms of the flowers.

With horses dark he took you as his ward,

enthroned and crowned with underworld powers.

He fed you pomegranate seeds of six,

and you became the Queen of Spring and Styx.

Other than that, a less fun but I suppose inevitable thing I’ve been having to deal with is bookkeeping for tax filing; the US deadline for this is approaching in the next decan. No one likes it! But I suppose it is “virtuous” though that is debatable. These deities Persephone and Anubis have connections with death. It reminds me of what Benjamin Franklin said: “Our new Constitution is now established, and has an appearance that promises permanency; but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

I suppose taxes are a sort of Emperor-Sun thing in a way; The Man (Emperor) and his rules getting to shine a light on and see (Sun) all you have been up to for the last year, at least financially. Last filing date is actually in the next decan though – Aries III, Completion, which at least will get it over with for another year.

Once that task gets wrapped, I’m putting nose back to grindstone on the book project! It’s coming along really well, or it was until I had to drop everything for gardening and tax chores. Gardens and Taxes: quite the life-death juxtaposition there, just like the Aries II decan.