Sun in Gemini, Moon in Cancer, and . . . ?

The Sun and Moon cards of the Tarot de Marseille feature very clear references to the zodiac signs of Gemini and Cancer, respectively. I think these identifications are indisputable.

16th-century German woodcut and the Pierre Madenié Tarot of 1709

We think of Cancer as a crab, but throughout the Middle Ages (as also in ancient Babylon) it was depicted as a crayfish, like the one seen on the Moon card. This identification is strengthened by the presence of two dogs on the card -- Canis Major and Canis Minor, both of which are located within the sign of Cancer.

(A "sign," being one-twelfth of the sky, always contains several constellations -- usually not including the one for which it is named. The zodiac must have been created at a time -- the "Age of Aries" -- when each of the 12 zodiacal constellations occupied the sign named for it, but due to the precession of the equinoxes, this is no longer the case. The sign of Aries is now occupied by the constellation Pisces, so this is the Age of Pisces, to be followed by the much-anticipated dawning of the Age of Aquarius. The placement of the two Dogs in Cancer shows that the Tarot de Marseille is a product of the Age of Pisces, much younger than the zodiac. But we already knew that.)

It is equally indisputable that the two figures on the Sun card are specifically the Gemini twins. As in the woodcut, they are clad only in loincloths -- presumably the "heroic nudity" of classical depictions of Castor and Pollux, modified slightly as a concession to Christian modesty. In both the woodcut and the card, each twin is reaching out an touching the other with one hand, but there is still some distance between their two torsos; this reflects the actual layout of the constellation Gemini.

Gemini

Cancer is traditionally said to be ruled by the Moon, so illustrating the Moon card with Cancer and its canine attendants seems logical enough. Gemini, on the other hand is ruled by Mercury, while the Sun rules Leo -- so why does the Sun card so prominently feature Gemini?

The only explanation I've ever come across is that Gemini is a summer sign, covering May 20 to June 20, which is a time when it is hot and sunny. But Leo -- July 22 to August 22 -- actually covers the hottest part of the year in Europe and is ruled by the Sun. Was Gemini a third choice, resorted to only because Leo and Cancer were already claimed by Strength and the Moon?

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It occurred to me that perhaps the Tarot de Marseille as a whole might be pointing to a particular date, one on which the Sun was in Gemini and the Moon was in Cancer. That's not specific enough by itself, though. Since (from the geocentric perspective of astrology) the Moon moves through the zodiac about 13 times as fast as the Sun does, every single Sun/Moon sign combination occurs every single year. For example, in 2020 the Sun was in Gemini and the Moon was in Cancer from May 25 to 27, and every single year will have a few days like that in May or June. To pinpoint a specific year, or at least narrow it down, we need the signs of a few more planets.

The only other card I can think of that may indicate a planet-sign combination is the Star.

This card is together with the Moon and the Sun in the deck, and it has the same format: a heavenly body overhead and a terrestrial scene below suggesting one of the signs of the zodiac -- in this case, Aquarius. This match is not as perfect as the others; Aquarius is typically shown as a man pouring out one jug of water, not a woman pouring out two. However, just as the two dogs that accompany the crayfish on the Moon card cement its identity as Cancer, the bird that appears on the Star card may represent Aquila, the Eagle; this constellation is partly in Aquarius and partly in Capricorn, but its two brightest stars are both in Aquarius, and more of it would have been in Aquarius in the past.

What planet does this card put in the sign of Aquarius? Well, there is broad agreement that "the" Star is the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, the morning and the evening star -- the planet Venus -- and the presence of a naked woman with flowing golden hair (cf. the Homeric "golden Aphrodite") reinforces that identification.

Unfortunately, it is physically impossible for Venus to be in Aquarius when the Sun is in Gemini. There are three signs between Aquarius and Gemini, and each sign is 30 degrees of arc, so the angular distance between a body in Aquarius and one in Gemini is always greater than 90 degrees. The diagram below shows why Venus can never be 90 degrees from the Sun.

The circle represents the Earth's orbit around the Sun. (Yes, I know it's really an ellipse; that doesn't change anything.) Inferior planets (Mercury and Venus) are always inside that circle, and superior planets (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the rest) are always outside it. Anything along the red line would appear from Earth to be 90 degrees' angular distance from the Sun. The orbit of Venus, being inside the circle, can never touch that red line. In fact, looking it up now, I see that Venus's maximum elongation is 47 degrees -- so if the Sun is in Gemini, Venus can only be in Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, or Leo.

Could the Strength card indicate Venus in Leo? That seems forced. The only reason for connecting it with Venus is that it features a woman. (Venus is, apart from the Moon, the only feminine "planet.") But the Star also features a woman, and a much more Venus-like one, and in an explicitly astrological context.

I think the idea that the cards point to a specific date has to be abandoned — and the mystery of the Sun in Gemini card remains unsolved.