36 Faces: The History, Astrology and Magic of the Decans

by Austin Coppock

There is a thread that runs through over four millennia of astrological and magical history, a cord that binds ancient Egypt with the Hellenistic world, the Arabian empire, India, the European Renaissance and even touches the present. That thread is the Decans, a division of the earth’s sky into 36 sections. These 36 ‘Faces of Heaven’ are more than just a curious footnote in the history of archaeo-astronomy. First emerging in ancient Egypt, they have moved with the corpus of Hermetic material, reincarnating in the starry wisdom of culture after culture.

Ostensibly a gear in astrology’s encompassing clockworks, the Decans have also long been a key to accessing legions of spirits. For several millennia and in multiple cultures, magicians have looked at these 36 faces and seen gods, choirs of angels, hordes of demons, and a host of daimones staring back at them, each with its own unique powers. Far from going undocumented, this gallery of faces has been painted and drawn by a host of astrologers, sorcerers and artists, and they can be found on walls of Italian villas as well as in the pages of grimoires.

Weaving together astrology and magic, divination and sorcery, time and sky, this thread of esoteric history deserves more than the footnotes it has so far received. In this work, Austin Coppock follows the Decans through history, charting their trajectory through time and culture. Using the ring of keys which history provides, the 36 doors are flung open, revealing their mysteries to magician and astrologer alike. Each decan, its image, and its specific powers are examined in detail, as well as its permutations in the planetary aspects. Featuring original images specially created for each Decan by Bob Eames, 36 Faces is an invaluable resource for magicians, astrologers, and historians of magical semiotics.

Genres: Astrology, Magic, Witchcraft, Spirituality, Occult, Nonfiction, Divination

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Austin Coppock synthesizes and eloquently interprets the major classic authorities on the symbolism, significations, and influences of the astrological decans, including sources from the Hellenistic, Medieval, and Vedic traditions as well as the prior synthesis of the 19th-century esoteric renaissance. Construed for the sensibilities of a modern audience, and systematically codified in terms of each planet's disposition and activity within each of the zodiac's 36 'faces', this mass of lore has been set forth here in the form of a useful reference for practical astrological work.

[Kelly Miess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Austin Coppock is my favorite writer on the topic of astrology. His writing is poetic, deep-seeing, truth-telling and alive with images that burn into my psyche. I read this book over a year (plus), following the decans as the year progressed. I am early into my study of astrology and this book perhaps a bit beyond all that I can comprehend of it. But if anything, it spurs me on in my studies, knowing that there is a lifetime of learning ahead that is worthy of my time and effort.

[daemyra, the realm's delight]

So far Coppock has a hard deadline for Q1 2024. I’ve been able to see a copy of the first edition floating around but I want the second edition in my hands 🥲

[Gaze Santos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Austin Coppock has created some scholarly sleight of hand in writing a book about an obscure and often overlooked facet of astrology, and making it interesting and easy to follow. The first couple of chapters deal with the historic origins of the 36 decans and its permutations throughout history. The rest of the book (and the bulk) looks at each decan in detail, charting the overall characteristic of the decan along with the effect of the 7 classical planets in that particular decan. Its an easy to understand format, and written in an engaging way mixing astrological technical information with myths and legends. The back of the book contains appendices which provide a summary of all the information in the book in chart form, along with tips on casting astrological decanic spells. All in all, this was a very good textbook on the astroglogical decans and a great place to start if you want to work with this aspect of astrology. Consice and engaging, it was a pleasure to read.

[lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a novice at astrology and my interest usually starts and stops at my natal chart placements and what it entails—so yes most of what I read had to do with my chart. Keyword is MOSTLY because Coppock punched the hell out of the part of me that loves anything esoteric (and historical) so now due to the intro of this book (and how often I had to google a word or thing or place or person 😭) I now have a very large list of books on my TBR! So yay!!

Review:
Love the connections he was making between the decans and the minor arcana cards in tarot. I have Jupiter (and LoF) in Leo II in a day chart so it’s my most benefic planet. Coppock describes this decan as “A Crown of Laurels”: a place where victory is assured to the non-ideal man, and how authenticity shines in this face. He makes the connection to the Six of Wands, which describes victory and cautions the person with a very well fed ego to not let it eat too much. The comparison is pretty striking and it felt like I was learning another layer to the cards! It’s so cool. Anyways I’m excited to see how this placement plays out since I think it’s currently inactive in my chart but Jupiter is my next time lord in profections so only time will time!

One thing I was surprised by is that he didn’t make the connection between the 3rd face of Leo, “The Banner”, to the 7 of Wands. Coppock describes a victor having to “defend against hostile forces both within and without” and “When allies have fled, the enemy looms and the body itself betrays you, there you will find the unconquerable heart. It is the solar-martial fire that moves broken limbs. Though the body can be broken, what resides within the heart is untouchable, invincible.” which sounds very 7 of Wandsy to me! My keywords for this card is “do not give up”, “keep fighting even if no one else will, or help” and probably most importantly, “underdog”.

And if you got to the end of this review, here’s a treat: you can find the free pdf version of this book on Anna’s Archive! I was interested in buying a physical copy but the resellers are on a good one bc WHAT are those prices!!! But beware that there some pages missing in the Libra decan l section *cries in libra sun and mercury* but otherwise it’s a solid copy!

[Cameron M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Austin - love this book!

[Zemaemidjehuty · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative look into the decans across multiple cultures. Coppock makes these mysterious powers easily approachable by explaining them simply and thoroughly.