Cauda Draconis in geomancy: the dragon's tail, exit and closure

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Cauda Draconis, the dragon's tail, is a geomantic figure linked to the Moon's south node: exit, ending, letting go. Form, traditional meanings, divergences and reading.

Key points

Latin name	Cauda Draconis, "the dragon's tail"
Form	One line of one dot and three lines of two dots (at the top in the usual presentation)
Total dots	7 (odd number)
Associated celestial point	The Moon's south node
Keywords	Exit, end, closure, departure
Nature	Often judged unfavourable, good for completing things
Sign	Sagittarius (Agrippa); varies between authors

The figure

Cauda Draconis, the "dragon's tail", is one of the sixteen figures of geomancy. It has four lines: three of two dots and one of a single dot. In the usual presentation (lines read from top to bottom: fire, air, water, earth), the lone dot is at the top; this is the upside-down form of Caput Draconis. Here too, graphic convention is not unanimous.

With seven dots, it is odd and therefore cannot be the Judge, which is always even. It can, however, appear as a Mother, a Daughter, a Niece or a Witness.

The dragon of eclipses

The name comes from ancient astronomy: the tail of the dragon is the south node of the Moon, the point where the lunar orbit crosses the ecliptic heading south. Ancient astronomers saw in it the part of the dragon that releases the luminary it has just swallowed during an eclipse. In India it is called Ketu, facing Rahu, the head.

The astrological tradition sees in it a point of "withdrawal": what has been lived, what we leave behind. Geomancy took up this idea and made the figure a symbol of exit. The nodes are calculation points rather than heavenly bodies, which move backwards along the zodiac; see lunar and solar eclipses.

Traditional meanings

In most ancient treatises, Cauda Draconis is an unfavourable figure, sometimes judged the darkest of the set. Some texts specify that if it appears as the first Mother, it is better to stop the reading and start again later; this rule is not universal. On the other hand, it is said to be good for bringing things to an end: concluding a contract, closing a chapter, breaking a habit, or giving up a project that no longer moves forward.

Domain	Possible traditional reading
Project	A time to finish or abandon, rather than to launch
Relationship	A separation, a step aside, the end of a cycle
Work	Departure, closing a file, end of an assignment
Warning	Its severity also depends on the era: today we read "letting go" where people once read "misfortune"

Planets, signs and divergences

According to Agrippa and the texts linked to Gerard of Cremona, Cauda Draconis corresponds to Sagittarius and to a blend of Saturn and Mars, planets judged malefic. Other tables, including some modern encyclopaedic pages, reverse or change the sign assignments (Virgo, for example); still others differ on the element. Secondary sources do not all agree, and the primary source is not always accessible: read these tables as conventions.

A word of caution: ancient traditions linked "malefic" figures to misfortunes. No study has validated this reading, and a responsible reader will avoid any alarmist talk.

In a reading

In a given house, Cauda Draconis highlights what needs to come to an end. In the first house, it may question your way of leaving a situation; in the seventh, the end of a relationship or a partnership; in the tenth, a professional transition. Placed next to a joyful figure such as Laetitia, it becomes a "good departure"; next to Carcer, it rather points to a blockage.

An exercise: write down what you would like to close in the coming weeks (a file, a habit, a grudge), then the first gesture that would mark the ending. The figure decides nothing: it gives you a vocabulary for naming what is coming to an end.