Roxanna Bikadoroff, Author at ROXANNA BIKADOROFF

August 19, 2016March 16, 2026

High Priestess – Tapping in to the Divine Feminine

An old, close friend was here, today, visiting, for the full Moon in Aquarius. She uses the Thoth deck and had recently pulled the High Priestess, depicted with outspread arms, so different from the traditional image of her, sitting on a throne, holding a book. We got talking about what that signified. What is the Goddess or Deity, exactly?

Look upon me, you who reflect upon me,
and you hearers, hear me…

In Tarot and numerology, 2 is considered receptive. The Arabic numeral is in the shape of an ear, because it has to do with hearing, listening. 1 embodies vision, literally a first ray or bolt of lightening. [As a side note, Taurus rules the second zodiac house. Though Aries rules the head in general, ear, nose and throat are more Taurus’ jurisdiction.]

If one puts the Marseille Juggler (Magician) beside the Priestess, one could imagine him as listening to her. The wand he holds is parallel to the strap across her front, directed to the book she’s holding. That he is ‘merely’ a performer means he himself is not the source of this magic, but a trickster who, by listening and creating space, can ‘bring it.’ Interestingly, by casting cards, you yourself become the Magician, with four types of tools, while the vehicle of space, as personified in the Papess revealing sacred wisdom, is Tarot.

Hear me, you hearers
and learn of my words, you who know me.
I am the hearing that is attainable to everything;
I am the speech that cannot be grasped.
I am the name of the sound
and the sound of the name.

In ancient times – as with any rock concert or belly dance performance or Baptist sermon, today – the performer or priest had to connect with and exchange energy with the audience. The uplifted audience then became as one, through synergy. The Deity was the collective spiritual experience, larger than the individual, but felt inside, by each. The sacred space being accessed (or summoned) for the spirit to flow through and become alive in – one could say that was the feminine principal, regardless of whether people considered the Deity to be male or female. She was/is present in connectivity itself. Sometimes psychogenic substances were used to enhance the experience (or maybe a forbidden fruit?), just as they are today, although now people use substances solely because they have lost the ability to open.
This ever-present, but invisible space was concretized as the temple or church, but nature was the original temple, and birds her priests.

We spoke of singing to both people and animals – my friend, to a Tibetan lama, me, to a crow – and how the subject inspires the song. For this giving, receiving and returning to occur naturally, a space needs to open, sesame. That is the threefold way of Goddess. Every time you open space to listen to and understand another living thing, or to receive inspiration with which to playfully create something (as opposed to having to do it for work, noble as that may be), you bring the Divine Feminine into being. The resulting creation then embodies spiritual aliveness, and can be a catalyst in opening space for others.

The modern world seems to be set on eliminating space and imposing will, in one form or another. Rather than listen to a tree, we think of it in terms of how it can be useful to us. We keep other living beings in cages or kill them for sport and raise our children in institutions, where the same lessons are imposed on everyone of a certain age. Few of us have any energy exchange with what we consume in the way of food – energy just means caloric intake. We want things how they ‘should’ be, not as they are. Silence is feared, space is the blackness ‘out there.’

I am the one whom they call Life,
and you have called Death.

Merely replacing the male godhead with a female is a superficial and symbolic step, but unless we begin to re-open the space that is the living Goddess, through which the spirit flows between every living thing, we will continue on the path of death; eating dead food, wasting knowledge, being ignorant to the root of illnesses, plundering nature/each other, and so on. Then and only then will we finally experience space, for she is also the space between lifetimes and lifeforms, through which both karmic and genetic information is passed. And if we die without listening, we are in for more of the same. That is probably why the first words in the Tibetan Book of the Dead are ‘Oh nobly born, listen undistractedly.’ Passages are recited to the dead person’s soul, to which they must be receptive, instructing them on navigation of the in-between realms.

To the attached person (and we all have some attachments), space feels like a void, equated with Death, and must therefor be a-voided. Silence, stillness and aloneness must be filled with sound, motion and other people. Their experience of the Goddess space is finite – an empty vessel, from which one might hear an echo, but little else. Patriarchal religion sees the Divine Feminine only as a vessel for the male God, imposing will on that which has no form, but silently provides, sustains and returns life to all creation.

This is not to deny the importance of masculine energy in creation. Going back to Tarot, we see that the Juggler/Magician is the Mercurial spirit that exists in everything. He has all his tools set before him, and will use the appropriate one, based on what he hears and where the energy wants or needs to be directed. When spirit and the space are combined, we get the threefold return, a directed movement that is a reverberation and microcosm of the original.

In Tarot, cups are indeed feminine vessels, but the Ace is usually depicted as a threefold fountain, rather than just an empty cup, wherein the waters of life are flowing. It’s the natural space, depicted as a church or censer in the Marseille Ace of Cups (not to be taken literally).

And yes, of course the Goddess takes many forms – the Earth, the Moon, and everything in between – but ultimately this initial space is her ‘formless form,’ via which she gives birth to the infinite manifestations of herself. ~rb

I am the knowledge of my inquiry,
and the finding of those who seek after me,
and the command of those who ask of me,
and the power of the powers in my knowledge
of the angels, who have been sent at my word,
and of gods in their seasons by my counsel,
and of spirits of every man who exists with me,
and of women who dwell within me.

~ Excerpts from The Thunder: Perfect Mind, Nag Hammadi Texts

September 6, 2015December 27, 2025

MAGIC GARDENS – Corrine Heline and Stellar Florotica

I stumbled upon author and mystic Corrine Heline (1882-1975) quite by accident, during one of my rabbit-hole, image searches. Heline’s philosophy is basically the same as my own, that what we experience on Earth as flowers are phenomena, the manifestation of a much greater, energetic force. ‘As above, so below.’ Knowing the true significance of the floral Queendom, one can see why bees – Her natural priestesses and priests – were so revered by the ancients. Let us return to the petaled temple…
The following excerpts from Corrine Heline’s book, “Magic Gardens” are from The Way of Love blog. (Thank you very much for providing this source).

Every flower bears a starry imprint,’ declared the illumined seer, Paracelsus. From the zodiac come the veritable secrets of God. The Star Angels are transmitters, and flowers become symbols of their communications. The closer our communion with the angels, the deeper will be our understanding of the mysteries of the plant kingdom and the greater our realization of the spiritual ministry of the world of flowers.

Each of the zodiacal Hierarchies creates its own cosmic flower patterns in the celestial realms. These patterns conform in shape, size, color and tone–every flower sings–with the vibratory keynote of its sign. These cosmic prototypes are perfect in every detail. In the highest heavens, they live and bloom in such wondrous beauty as to have inspired many legends which serve in a humble way to bring to earth some slight conception of their transcendent glory in the higher worlds and also the significance they hold for the peoples of earth. Imbued with eternal life, they never fade, but live and flourish with an ever-increasing splendor through the ages.

It is from these perfect patterns in the heaven worlds that the angels build the reflections which we who live upon the earth, know as flowers, and which, when so understood, become among the most sublime of earth’s teachers. Each flower is given its own special work to perform. Each plant bears deeply within its heart a message to the human family….

Each flower family was fashioned by the angels to represent some specific quality or attribute to be awakened within man. As the angelic hosts impress this ideal upon a floral archetype, its physical embodiment becomes a radiant herald of this celestial message. Flowers are thus literally a medium of contact between the Shining Ones and those who live upon the earth, their fragrance developing and increasing as a beautiful testimony to their work as mediators.
As man becomes increasingly sensitive he will begin to interpret this flower language, and to the degree that he does this, and lives in accordance with its high idealism in his daily contacts with his fellowman, the perfume of our flower friends will be intensified, the colorings will grown more exquisite, and the delicate petals will have greater endurance.

Each plant bears in its life forces the signature of its stellar creation. This creative impress takes form within the heart of the seed, and one who possesses the ‘blessed sight’ can observe within it the complete picture of the plant that is later to come into physical expression upon the earth. So, too, may those possessing the ‘inner wisdom’ discern the message which flowers bring concerning the realities of heaven, and which are awaiting manifestation on the physical plane.

As a man learns to respond to the ideals instilled by the angelic beings into the hearts of flowers, he, too, will develop a quality of soul that will radiate in fragrance, rare and beautiful. He will walk in an aura of radiant light and know the glory of an immortal life that shall never fade.

AMEN!

Thank you for viewing and please help keep the bees alive – don’t buy/use chemical pesticides or neonicotinoids!

All photos herein ©Roxanna Bikadoroff except for the two ancient Melissae

December 27, 2013March 16, 2026

Rethinking Black Moon Lilith

We still use the given Greco-Roman names of Gods and Goddesses to describe the planets, but this can sometimes be limiting. Mesopotamians, for example, didn’t deny Ishtar-Inanna her dualism as morning and evening Star, nor her aspects as both love/sex and war/death Goddess. Venus, the same planet, is pretty much restricted to Goddess of beauty and love. Not that Love isn’t the highest power, but she’s left being a bit one-dimensional. Her shadow is repressed and, according to the mythology, comes out in underhanded ways due to jealousy or vanity. How are we supposed to consciously evolve if we are still stuck on these incarnations of the archetypes?

Digitally ‘restored’ Burney Relief, depicting Lilith or Ereshkigal

Case in point – Black Moon Lilith. This is not actually a physical object but a ‘void space’ that acts as a shadow Moon, in modern astrology. Being the Moon’s dark twin, it’s been named after the screech owl of the Hebrew Bible who is, essentially, menstruating Eve, with a clinical case of hysteria-induced vampirism. Based on this archetype, Black Moon’s natal position shows where we sabotage our own happiness, especially in relationships. But modelling our un-lived self on this jilted first lady, who chose to cavort with creatures of the night, rather than submit to her husband’s dominance leaves us without the means to consciously break the cycle of hurt. Personally I don’t mind that she was a ‘demoness’, but that word has some heavy associations I’d rather not have to carry.

In Buddhism and Hinduism, deities that are black are referred to as ‘wrathful’. But they are actually more like the embodiment of relentless mercy or fierce compassion, that cuts straight through fear, anger or whatever state of distraction our minds might be in. Kali or Mahakala are extreme examples, but the Black Tara – who is most often depicted as dark green/blue – might be a more subtle yidam* for our shadowy, lady Lilith.

Unlike the radiant energy of White Tara, Black/Wrathful Tara is associated with power, but embodies the freedom and potentiality of non-form and infinite wisdom. A Buddhist friend was describing it to me as the feeling of infinite space one gets in a pitch blackness. More un-structive than de-structive. Wrathful yidams are also protectors, which is ideally what BM Lilith must become for women who are past child-bearing years.

Tibetan Bluish-Black ‘Wrathful’ Tara (Looks like the actual ‘black’ manifestation is in the top left corner, while the main one is a more of a wrathful, Green Tara)

Black Moon Lilith’s retrogrades are frequent, her next being Jan 23 to Feb 7, with a Sun opposition on Jan 27. It’s two-week opportunity for contemplating what drives our self-sabotage (for women especially, but also for men who project their shadow feminine onto the ladies) and work on integrating Tara and Lilith. During her retrograde, make time to sit in a pitch black room, where you feel safe, or if you are out in the country, with no lights, sit outside during the New Moon at the end of the month. “Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void.” If you should feel or see a negative emotion or its embodiment, observe it, note it, let it dissolve naturally into the blackness. Feel the protection and constance of this void space, the true, feminine nature behind the demoness mask of Black Moon Lilith. ~rb

*enlightened being, aka deity.

Note: There are, in fact, three Liliths – Black Moon, Dark Moon and asteroid. Some astrologers combine all three. I find BM to be enough by itself, not least because she’s exactly conjunct my Moon.

All written content herein is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reposted or reprinted without permission plus a credit and link to this page. Feel free to share the article via link. Thank you for being respectful.

April 13, 2012October 5, 2024

Zero in the Tarot by M J Stone

A little retrospective, now that we are officially in the Age of Aquarius. This piece was originally published in Parabola, Fall 2001 issue. It illustrates the Fool’s 2000 year journey through the Piscean Age of western civilization, via Tarot imagery. (Appreciation to the author for providing me with an English version and for giving me permission to post). Enjoy!

. . . . . .

ZERO IN THE TAROT
Whirling through the Major Arcana
by MJ Stone

Here I go again, spinning round and round, eyes closed, a quantum leap just waiting to happen. Flirting on the brink, whirling like a dervish, I am the primordial force, the Nijinsky of the cosmos. To most I am a fool, but to friends I am fondly nicknamed, a zero. Descending, inexperienced into the world, I am air, the breath of life, pure oxygen.

Some call me an eccentric and a know-it-all. But like the Latin, Follis, meaning a bag of wind, I am the conscious impulse that breathes life into the Tarot and my 21 Arcana companions. Beyond comprehension, I am a trickster, a sly fox and a vigilante rabbit, the roadrunner who defies Wiley’s scientific grasp.

Lucky are the mortals who catch a glimpse of me. I am the burning bush of Moses, jump starting life’s evolutionary process. Manifesting in archetypes, in fleeting glimpses, in your dreaming: I begin my dance with the Major Arcana’s Magician, and continue to spin and bedazzle throughout the Piscean Age. By card 21 I complete the circle drawing you into the Age of Aquarius by handing you the World.

Two thousand years ago, I was the essence of the fish and manifest in the man who walks on water, in the shaman who cures the sick and draws Lazarus back from the grave. I am the spirit of that first-century’s quantum leap. I am the message that lives in the heart of the Son of Man; I am card number 1, the Magician.

I represent the spirit of the people where the Christian leap of faith is about to occur. I live in the hearts and minds of Pagan Rome and amongst Northern Europe’s nature-worshipping Druids. I am an incarnation of Morgain, the archetypal goddess and Western, second-century, animistic state of mind. I embody the essence Gaea; I am card number 2, the Druid light, the High Priestess.

I celebrate the union of opposites, where the archetypal Christ marries the Lady of the Lake. I am fertility, the birth of the new faith that catches fire in the third century. I manifest as the pagan projection of Venus transferred onto Mary’s Immaculate Conception. I am card number 3, the Empress.

The quintessence of the Age of Aries is embodied in the Roman Empire. But by century four, the folly of the fish has usurped the pioneering spirit of the ram. From 392 to 395 Theodosius the Great reigns as the last Emperor of a United Rome. Representing the advancements of a previous age, I embody the spirit of the Tarot’s King Arthur. I am card number 4, the Emperor.

The spark that ignites the fire and seizes hold of your imagination is the fifth-century form that I take. I am the inspiration that fires the mystic hearts of Saint Augustine and Saint Patrick. Saint Augustine wrote City of God in 411 and Saint Patrick returned to Ireland in 432. I am the Rumi of devotion manifest in card number 5, the Dalai Lama of the 22, the Hierophant.

My dance turns transcendental when century six gets under way. I am the love affair that develops between Byzantium and Rome when they are reconciled in 519. I am a united Christian Empire, Venus and Mars in love. I am the harmony and peace projected by card number 6, the Lovers.

I am a seventh-century noble and heavy-metal warrior for the Christian world, inspiration for the Silver Tower, the first order of knighthood that was established by the High King Balmord the Red in 653. I emerge in the legend of the Holy Grail. I am the archetypal Lancelot, card number 7, the Charioteer.

Out of knighthood springs the flower of chivalry. I am the eighth-century dance that occurs when Charlemagne becomes king of the Franks in 771 and is crowned the first Holy Roman Emperor. Grace, courtesy and devotion form the trilogy his reign inspires, attributes best exemplified by the chaste and fair lady of the Tarot, card number 8, Justice.

Following on the heels of infinite hope comes infinite despair in the ninth century. Louis the Pious succeeds Charlemagne in 814. He is a conscientious Frank who demonstrates that he is an able general and administrator. But on the throne the kindly Emperor is easy prey to schemers, the worst being his own children. Having divided his Empire amongst his sons, he finds, to his grief, that not only do they war among themselves, but they turn on their royal benefactor, forcing Louis to abdicate and seek refuge in a monastery. Such is the dance of a lonely monarch, the King Lear of the Tarot, I am the spirit of card number 9, The Hermit.

When the tenth century rolls round, the Christian world is a ship of fools sailing for an unknown disaster.. Wild musings and millennial fears motivate the hearts and minds of the medieval collective. But by wheel of time proves kind and the thousand-year anniversary of Christ’s life passes without cataclysmic consequence. I am benevolent and kind, the embodiment of fate as represented in card number 10, the Wheel of Fortune.

The first quantum leap of the new millennium is inspired by social activism. I am the spirit that catches fire in the wife of Leofork, earl of Mercia, when Lady Godiva makes her stand. She persuades her husband not only to found monasteries at Coventry and Stow, but also obtains a reduction in the excessive taxes levied by her husband by consenting to ride naked through the town on a white horse. Only one person disobeyed her orders to remain behind closed shutters; that old fool of a tailor, Peeping Tom, peeks through his window and is immediately blinded by Godiva’s radiant projection. In the Tarot, I am fair and beautiful. I am seen holding open the jaws of that proud lion, Leo(fork); I am card number 11, Strength.

I manifest in the profound convictions of a man who is hung out to dry for what he believes in. A sword’s crushing blow extinguishes the life of Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, on a cold December evening as he ascends the steps of his altar. The brutal event sends tremors through 12th-century Europe. Blame for the murder lays at the feet of Becket’s former close personal friend, King Henry II, who can’t bear that Becket would challenge his authority. I am the indestructible spirit that lives in the heart of martyrs. In the Tarot, I am the archetype of thwarted potential, card number 12, the Hanged Man.

The dance of the infinite is a single-minded and hostile interpretation in the 13th century. A low point in religious orthodoxy occurs when the words of prophets are manipulated to inspire fear. So begins the age of Crusades and repression. The dark hostility reaches a crescendo in 1231 when the Inquisition begins. Pope Gregory IX makes the Dominicans responsible for ferreting out heresy. Thus bloomed an age of torture and intolerance. Historically, I manifest as card number 13, a demon angel arriving on horseback who exposes heretics and burns them at the stake. I am Death.

In the 14th century, hope is rekindled when the Renaissance begins in Italy and balance is regained as a consequence of the middle path. So emerges a new age of illumination, spurred on by the likes of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and Giotto. I am an invigorated spirituality that rises above the black plague. You find me in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. I am the archetypal, open-minded alchemist and an angel of rational intelligence, card number 14, Temperance.

The reactionary forces of an allied state and church obscure the light again. I am the pure heart of Jeanne D’Arc, burned at the stake, by the British, as a witch after her ecclesiastical trial. I am the essence of the Aboriginal people of the New World that 15th-century Europe discovers, demonizes and brutally conquers. I am card number 15, the face of European power, the Devil.

Against a backdrop of Martin Luther’s proclamation, the start of the Reformation and the publication of Machiavelli’s The Prince, I live in the spirit of the 16th-century humanist, Sir Thomas More, author of Utopia. He is locked up in “the tower” and beheaded as a traitor for refusal to acknowledge the authority of the excommunicated king, that fool Henry the VIII. I am the archetype of righteousness and the ghost that inhabits the murdering place. Struck by a lightening bolt, the inspiration for card number 16, I am the Tower.

By century 17 religious authority is determined to keep science in check. Astronomers challenge the church on the mechanics of the universe. After constructing a telescope, Galileo enlarges humanity’s vision and conception of the universe. In 1610 he sees the moons of Jupiter through his lens. Eight years later Johannes Kepler proposes the last of three laws of planetary motion. But in 1633 the Inquisition forces Galileo to recant his belief in Copernican theory. I manifest in the Night Watch painted by Rembrandt in 1653; I am the intellect that yearns for an ever-widening comprehension of the origins of the universe. In the Tarot, I am card number 17, the Star.

My rebel yell is a call that awakens democracy in the 18th century. In 1775 the American Revolution begins and on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence is adopted. In 1789 the French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille. In 1793 Louis the XVI and Marie-Antoinette are executed. The door is opened for the ultimate rebel, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the Major Arcana, I am a wolf howling at midnight, an iconoclast who eclipses the sun’s bright light and undermines its authority. I inhabit the spirit of card number 18, I am the Moon.

Free of the limitations that church and state once imposed, the new world democracy throws open the doors of science. I am the spirit of invention inspired by the likes of Joseph-Nicephore Niepce, who takes the world’s first photograph in 1826. I shine in the brilliance of F. B. Morse, who patents the telegraph in 1844. I’m present in 1866 when Alfred Nobel invents dynamite, when Alexander Bell patents the phone in 1876, and, three years later, when Edison perfects the electric light. In 1892 I provide the impetus that led to the Diesel engine being patented and I’m present when Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium and polonium in 1898. The philosopher of the century is Nietzsche, who set forth some of the existential ideas that made him famous, namely, the proclamation that “God is dead.” Nietzsche’s atheism — his account of “God’s murder” — was voiced in reaction to the conception of a single, ultimate, judgmental authority who is privy to everyone’s hidden, and personally embarrassing, secrets. In the Tarot I am the bright light of reason, I am the spirit of the collective, I am an ego that imagines itself all radiant; I am card number 19, the Sun.

God is dead and the 20th century turns quantum. We are flying high, airplanes in sky, the dance is an automated, nuclear fandango. I am present in the advances of Einstein, The Wright Brothers and Henry Ford. But I am also twisted out of shape by two world wars, Hiroshima, the Cambodian Killing Fields, the Holocaust and the ongoing wars in the Balkans. I am a small step for a man and a giant leap for mankind. But I am, also, hubris, egotism and greed. I am the glory of intellect and its despair when it functions disconnected from the heart. That’s when I manifest in the extinction of species, in global warming, overpopulation. I am the volatile environmental legacy that children are inheriting. I am the edge on which the collective dangerously waltzes. You recognize me as millennial fear. In the Major Arcana, I am the angel who trumpets the dead from their resting place, card number 20, Judgement.

And into the 21st century, arms extended, the cosmos whirling around, I give you the Aquarian age. I embody the new century. I dance the dance of the mystical mother, the provider of life and all your immediate metaphysical frontiers. I am the intellect and heart of the living, breathing earth. I am your goddess, your scientific, subjective point of view, as object of faith. I am your garden and worthy of worship. I am the third planet in the solar system, a mystic top, whirling on axis, perfectly illuminated in the sun of infinite Buddha light. I am the deity of the new millennium. The goddess lives. I am hope and promise, card number 21. I manifest in nature, I am the World.

Featured Tarot de Marseille cards: Dodal (Fool) and Conver (World)

December 21, 2011March 15, 2026

Fish Have Left the Building, Woman Bearing Jugs at the Gate

Oh reason, reason, abstract phantom
of the waking state, I had already
expelled you from my dreams,
now I have reached a point where those
dreams are about to become fused with
apparent realities: now there is only
room here for myself.

— Louis Aragon

Welcome to the Age of Aquarius…!

Congratulations ! Actually that may be premature, some say it doesn’t officially begin for another 300 years. But we are certainly in the dawning phase, at least. By being present here at this moment, we have elected to become…the first human beings?? Yes, we are the missing link, ‘the ones we’ve been waiting for.’ Are we honoured ? Will we be able to live up to the responsibility we undertook ? Or even remember undertaking it…did you drink from Mnemosyne or Lethe while you were out ?

“Where did we come from ? Who Are We ? Where are we going ?”
— Paul Gauguin, D’ou venons nous (painting)

We don’t know where or when life began on this planet, but our earthly life cycles always seem to begin with an emergence from water, which is why water ritual plays an important role in so many world religions. Out of the sea and onto land, out of the womb and into the world, out of the sea of dreams and into consciousness… each birth renews the sense of infinite possibility.
In Chinese mythology, the carp (Pisces) must swim against the current (Aquarius) and try to leap over the waterfall to the Dragon’s Gate. If successful, it is transformed into a powerful dragon. 2012 is, of course, the Year of the Dragon.

The Pisces Age began roughly 2160 years ago. Under it’s influence organized religion spread like a tsunami (often just as destructively) within and beyond the so-called ‘civilized’ world. Like the magi who came bearing gifts for the new ‘king’, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammed came out of the east, bearing teachings for the infant us, but instead, cults formed around the teachers themselves and, well, you know the rest. The same old, tribal wars continued raging, but in the name of “God.”

Pisces Feet: soles of Jesus, Buddha and Muhammed

To understand myth and ritual, we must look first to the natural world, where our memories and stories began. The salt water that makes up 70% of our bodies, originated in the sea. Fire may reclaim the spirit, but the soul seeks refuge in and returns to the great pool of tears, presided over by the Moon, where age-old memories remain. And water’s memories go back further still, brought here by asteroids from who-knows-where. Nothing reminds us of how old, sacred and interconnected life is like water, wherein dreams and reality are one, shapes shift, appear, disappear, reflect, eat each other… but life doesn’t end, it just morphs into something else.

Virtually every great civilization arose near a sea or a river, where nutrients were deposited on the land as the water rose and fell and fish were plentiful. Hence, the majority of creation myths were based on floods, fish, whales, or sea monsters, all synonymous with the great Mother’s womb.

In ancient Babylon and Egypt, annual flooding of the rivers was predicted by royal priests, using mathematics and astrology, which must have seemed like magic to the uninitiated masses. So, the heavens were interconnected with the waters, as was science with religion and art. ‘Myth’ (our term for ancient religion) was a metaphor for natural occurrences and the priests were – and still are, to some extent – keepers of the stories, rituals and rites linking heaven and earth.

Fish Heads: Creator God Enki, Babylonian and Persian priestly classes

The image of the Sun sinking into and rising again from the water provided a natural metaphor for the concept of eternal life and was likely the visual inspiration for the ankh symbol (the word ‘ankh’ or ‘nkh’ itself being the active, magic component). The son/Sun fish is well-acquainted with the maternal mysteries and is therefor willing to sacrifice himself repeatedly. He will instruct the people in rituals by which to restore his life, and theirs. To the Celts, he was Tuan, to the Haida, Salmon Boy, to Christians, Jesus, but the myths are essentially the same.

Anubis prepares Osiris to be sent down the River

“The truth that I have brought forth is the Sun” — Isis

During Pisces’ reign, the fish cults of Mesopotamia/Babylon and Egypt were imported to Europe and the ‘Holy See’ of Rome, via conquests, migrations and later, the crusades. The desert – a vast, dried up sea, or ‘wasteland’ – was seen as a warning sign of what would happen in the west, if Goddess worship was also eradicated there. Thus, the peoples’ beloved Lady was not removed from the temples, but instead cleaned of her fish scent and made into the Virgin Mother or ‘Holy Spirit’ (Venus’ dove).
The Catholic practice of eating fish on Friday goes back to when Romans honoured the water-born, love Goddess Venus-Aphrodite on her day (Vendredi, or Freya’s Day) by eating fish, considered an aphrodisiac. It has simply been edited of any sexual content. Pisces was under Venus’ rulership in ancient times and is still considered the her sign of exaltation.

As the Piscean age began showing signs of waning and Pluto entered Capricorn (early 2009), it seemed as if each day, another long-standing institution was having it’s dirty laundry exposed. Questioned about child abuse scandals, Pope Benedict explained that pedophilia was ‘normal’ in his day…hmm, must be all that fish eating. It is true that in ancient Rome, man/boy relationships were acceptable. Guess he’s pretty old.

Victimization, martyrdom and slavery are Pisces trends that must now be phased out – this includes slaving at anything all day just to pay the bank (if you love and chose your own work, that’s different). Then there’s slavery to one’s beliefs…are you tired of being hooked on the same, old, fish story ? Are you ready to inherit the secret of your own creation and make some new mythology ?

“For a moment my soul was elevated from its debasing and miserable fears to which these sights were the monuments and the remembrances. For an instant I dared to shake off my chains, and look around me with a free and lofty spirit; but the iron had eaten into my flesh, and I sank again, trembling and hopeless, into my miserable self.” — Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

God baits the Devil with Jesus (The Ransom Theory of salvation), Tigris Salmon (actually a carp).

Apparently, according to Maritime Law, people are legal merchandise, a commodity, i.e. slaves. Birth and death certificates are nothing but receipts. The recent Occupy movement is just a start; during Aquarius, the time will come to rip up this contract, nullify the imposed time grid, the fake money and (re)claim our inherent status as human beings. It won’t be a smooth transition.
In the coming millennia, wars may no longer be fought in the name of religion, but it’s unlikely that all wars will end (although… you never know). What will happen is that there will be more and more opportune moments for individuals to experience Uranian quantum leaps and begin thinking for themselves, but not before the entire fabric of collective reality is shredded. Polar opposite Leo will see to that. (Perhaps we’ll get some help, too, since extra-terrestrials and angels come under Aquarius’ rulership). Have you ever had a lucid moment in a dream, where you suddenly realized you could make a conscious choice to direct the outcome ? In a sacred manner, we are now beginning to wake within our collective dream.

Sistiutl articulated salmon transformation mask by BC artist, Wayne Alfred

The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream.
The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in an egg, and
in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs.
Dreams are the seedlings of realities. — James Allen

Meanwhile, natural disasters will continue to remind us of the fact that we were all created equal (Aquarius) and open our hearts to full capacity (Leo).

Since Uranus (rebellion, explosion, sudden events, social movements, uranium) moved into Aries (Mars, fire, youth, hero, warrior) in March 2011, we’ve seen it’s energies channeled as anarchy by many, but also constructively – and indeed bravely – by consciously awake individuals. Uranus, the Trickster and modern ruler of Aquarius, is equated with Prometheus, the sacrificial hero who stole Zeus’ fire and gave it to mankind. It’s exactly why governments are so afraid of the people right now. It seems like they are becoming more powerful, with all their policing and cracking down, but in fact, it is exactly the opposite. The people have been given the fire. Uranus into Aries, the individual, was the first marker of the transition.

Top row: Ace of Swords (victory of truth), Joan d’Arc’s coat of Arms. Bottom: Brigitte DePape, the page who roared in the House of Commons and Ta’Kaiya Blaney, ten year old environmental activist/singer, speaking out against the proposed BC oil pipeline.

The death of Fisher King, Steve Jobs was another sign of a torch being passed. A double Pisces, he changed the world forever, initiating us into the Aquarian age via the personal computer. Interestingly, on the day he died, Martin Scorsese’s documentary, ‘George Harrison – Living in a Material World’ made its TV/internet debut. George shared a birthday with Jobs and had also worked his magic under an Apple logo. There was also the 11-11-11 portal last November. Aquarius is the 11th house of the zodiac. We have made our first attempt to leap over the waterfall, again accompanied by firey Mars (as Scorpio this time), Venus’ lover. Note the triple number here. As the hypnotist said, “as I count to three you will begin to awaken from your trance.”

Pisces and Aquarius, though separate constellations, are not really separate entities. Actually the constellation of the Southern Fish (singular) makes up part of Aquarius (fixed star Fomalhaut is the fish’s mouth). If fishes represent copulation and the co-mingling of fluids – just like the male Tigris and female Euphrates of the Fertile Crescent – the ‘water-bearer’ is like the water breaking before birth. Aquarius, a fixed air sign, is mind-oriented and it’s polar opposite, Leo, rules the heart. If you’ve ever made love with another and felt complete cosmic, dissolving, timeless union, then you’ll understand how and why we have evolved to our present form – so that body, heart and consciousness can be unified in experience.

On another, related note, get ready for some (more) of the weirdest science yet. I am sure that by the time we get to Capricorn and Sagittarius ages, mergoats, centaurs and other fabulous beasts will be no longer be confined to ancient mythology.

Before and after? Octopus Shunga and Octomom

The Aquarius/Leo polarity, at its best, embodies this entity of divine unification, that extreme left-brainers seek in the form of ‘The God particle’. Love is the one, true religion – it’s eternal, and you don’t need to go to a church or be descended from a particular bloodline to practice it. The driving force behind our evolution in the Aquarian age will be the freedom to love – to love oneself without shame, another being without fear and the world without discrimination. This may sound overly idealistic, but I do feel that circumstances will continue to make it increasingly difficult for people to deny the truth – that we are already free. Low self-esteem is at the root of all our troubles. ~rb

To Mnemosyne (Memory), Fumigation from Frankincense.
The consort I invoke of Zeus divine;
source of the holy, sweetly speaking Mousai nine;
free from the oblivion of the fallen mind,
by whom the soul with intellect is joined.
Reason’s increase and thought to thee belong,
all-powerful, pleasant, vigilant, and strong. ‘
‘Tis thine to waken from lethargic rest
all thoughts deposited within the breast;
and nought neglecting, vigorous to excite
the mental eye from dark oblivion’s night.
Come, blessed power, thy mystics’ memory wake
to holy rites, and Lethe’s (Forgetfulness) fetters break.”

— Orphic Hymn 77 to Mnemosyne (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.)

Remember:
– I am a natural Human Being
– Karma is the Law
– Love is my Religion

“I looked at your blog and some posts and comments you made in the past and was amazed that you answered my deepest Question. You posted the article “Roxanna’s AstroTarology: Fish Have Left the Building, Woman Bearing Jugs at the Gate” talking about the Pisces age and organized religion. It was a breakthrough for me. Thanks so much!” [comment saved from old blogspot]

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October 28, 2011March 15, 2026

The Sacred Rites of Scorpio Season

Ah, Sex and War, Love and Death – the essential elements of any lasting narrative. In the western hemisphere, the sacred co-mingling of Mars, all sweaty from battle, and Venus, full of oysters, injects red life force into earthly vegetation each Spring (Aries and Taurus, but also planet Venus in Aries). In Autumn (Libra and Scorpio, but also planet Venus in Scorpio), they unite again in death, Venus committing sati on the bonfire and lonely Mars turning into a wolf that will eat the sick and weak who can’t survive the winter. Adieu, until next time around. The cycle begins, ends and begins again with this union of opposites. Or, as the tantric, Indian Goddess, Lalita says, “Like the Sun and Moon coming together in an eclipse, consciousness comes into being via orgasm.” (Funny how the first and last letters of that word spell OM).

Two versions of Indian Goddess Lalita, Babylonian ‘Queen of the Night’

Lalita means ‘she who plays.’ Her many incarnations include Lilith, Lilitu, Lili, Layla, Lola, Lulu, Lolita, etc, all having nocturnal, sexual or demonic connotations. As Hebrew Lilith, she is Adam’s first wife, the serpent in the Tree of Life who teaches him (or Eve, depending which version) “carnal” self-knowledge, i.e. the mysteries of sex, life and death. She is not made from his rib, either, but from earthly muck. When God expels her for her independent spirit (refusing to lie beneath her husband in missionary position), she flies away to where the wild things are, and, finding it preferable to subservience, becomes the prototype for sexual demoness, vamp and devil-humping witch, eating babies and seducing holy men in their sleep. Independent yes, but also deranged. Her name means ‘screech owl’ or ‘ghost.’

The cycle of existence is hard-wired by desire, Scorpio’s raison d’etre. During the Sun’s passage through Scorpio/the 8th house (sex, death, regeneration, energy, healing, shared resources, financial obligations and the occult), from Oct. 23 – Nov. 22, we honour the Sacred Dead and all taboos associated with them. During the few days of Samhain, All Soul’s Eve, Hallowe’en and Dia de Los Muertos, the veil between worlds is as thin as a spider’s web, allowing spirits to attend graveyard picnics and inhabit jack-o-lanterns. On Armistice/Remembrance Day, Nov. 11, we pause to honour those who, in the spirit of Mars (traditional ruler of Scorpio), sacrificed their lives in battle. This year, it will fall on 11-11-11, a date many are getting excited or apprehensive about, considering the power of master numbers 11 and 33.

The word ‘taboo’ originally meant sacred, and indeed, sacred things were kept under veils (where we get the word secret). It later came to mean something forbidden by society. Incest, cannibalism, bestiality and patricide are examples of common taboos. Then there are cultural variants, like the untouchability of the bereaved or of menstruating women, both considered ‘unclean.’ Even today, a woman may refer to her period as ‘the curse’ and drugs are routinely prescribed for blocking messy menstruation altogether. The very essence of sex and death, menstrual blood is even more powerful than blood spilled in battle, therefor extremely taboo.

Teenage menstruation fears gone haywire in Carrie, Bleeding Goddess at Kamakhya Temple, Assam

While the mysteries of womb and grave may be a secret, they are not the property of anyone. They are universally inherent in our DNA and as individually expressed as the infinite forms of nature. Yet, those who govern societies do not want people to be in charge of their own sex, death and regeneration. Whoever owns the rights/rites to these forces has all the power. Therefor, strict rules and guidelines for birth, sexual practices, soul redemption and corpse management are imposed on the populace (while those at the top often practice the complete opposite). Some of these are necessary for health reasons, or simply to protect people – it’s not a great idea to eat the deceased, for example, and forced sex with anyone is a violation of natural law – but mostly it’s an 8th house issue of controlling other peoples’ resources. It’s all energy, just like money or food.

Plutonians harnessing Venusian power in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut

Another attribute of Scorpio is that of the collective nemesis or shadow. Since Scorpio is a feminine sign, this usually means feminine shadow – the harlot, devouring mother or hag – witches who channel the untamed forces of nature. And so we are divided, according to what’s deemed permissible. It is not just women who are affected by the censorship of essential parts of our being, either, since we are all composed of both masculine and feminine (the souls is generally considered to be feminine). Dreams, theatre and film portray our disconnected parts as characters in conflict and resolution. Ancient Greek drama was, essentially, group therapy. In the theatrical tradition of Hallowe’en, it’s socially acceptable (and fun) to dress up as our shadows or alter-egos and parade them proudly, witches being by far the most common. In recent years, Zombie Walks have become hugely popular, with thousands of participants of all ages. (I guess eating braaaaiiins must be therapeutic for a populace so dependent on artificial intelligence).

Beauty’s compassion breaks the Beast’s spell of duality, and Scorpio Winona feels Dracula’s pathos.

In the Jungian sense, the Devil is shadow or dark twin to our solar self, banished to the underworld of our unconscious. Our repressed impulses live there, like creatures of the night, creating disquieting thoughts, illusions and dreams. Traditionally the shadowy, lunar feminine presides over these, but with Pluto and Neptune now on the scene, we can’t be blaming the Moon for everything. (Plus we’ve now an astrological, Dark Moon Lilith).
The chained doppelgangers in arcanum 15 represent our dual nature, which must ultimately be reconciled. This is really the theme of Tarot’s visual narrative, with the climax – a complete breakdown of the ego, followed by a period of grace, darkness and rebirth or ‘dark night of the soul’ – occurring between these two cards, mirroring conception. In ancient astrology, the sign of Gemini was ruled by the Sun.

In extreme cases, the doppelganger can take on a life of its own and prey on the energies of its other. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, which came to Robert Lewis Stevenson in a dream, is one such cautionary tale. Another is, of course, Dracula, the promiscuous, cannibalistic, murdering necrophile and most beloved Hallowe’en persona. Babylonian lilitu and medieval succubi were early inspiration for vampire lore, but it was Phillip Burne-Jones’ painting of a female vampire, inspired by Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, that started the whole ‘vamp’ thing in popular culture. After viewing the painting, Burne-Jones’ cousin, Rudyard Kipling wrote his poem, The Vampire, which later became the script for A Fool There Was, the silent film that gave Hollywood’s myth-making industry it’s own Lilith, Theda Bara. Even her name – an anagram for Arab Death – relates back to the Babylonian demoness. (Venus in Scorpio until November 1 is the Vamp).

Man-made vamps: Burne-Jones’ gothic and Fox’s lady, Theda Bara

Some Scorpios have been accused of vampirish tendencies, thriving on the life energy of others. Though Scorpio expresses the urge to dominate/have power over life, it’s higher resonance is redemption through love, so it has multiple symbols:
Scorpion – basic instincts are fear and desire. It amasses power for it’s own gain and stings itself when cornered.
Eagle – sees from the heavens, rather than the ground and amasses power in order to redistribute to the whole.
Phoenix – rises from it’s own ashes, symbol of self-regeneration par excellence.
Dove – redeemer or Christ figure of eternal, pure love/light.
Most Scorpios are a mix of scorpion and eagle, some are phoenixes, few are doves, but all are redeemers in one way or another, for better or worse.

Thoth Tarot Death card, devouring Mother Kali

Indian Vedic astrology has not rushed to adopt Uranus, Neptune and Pluto as the new rulers of Aquarius, Pisces and Scorpio. It also still uses the sidereal system (tropical is commonly used in the west, relying on seasonal equinoxes rather than constellations) and the traditional calendar combines both solar and lunar cycles. Between mid-October and mid-November, it’s Libra season there and Hindus world-wide celebrate Diwali, a five day ‘festival of lights’ celebrating the triumph of good over evil, during which moral order or karma is restored. There are more variations than I’m qualified to write about, but the worship of Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth, wisdom and happiness is the main event. Lakshmi’s four arms represent the four principals of Hinduism: Dharma (duties/philosophy), Samsara (cycle of rebirth), Karma (right action/cause and effect) and Moksha (liberation from Samsara). She also wears red and sometimes rides an owl. ~rb

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