2023 – Of Gods, Solar Heroes and Magic

Happy New Year!

Jupiter is back in Aries, until May 16. This masculine, fiery combo embodies the mythology of the solar hero (Aries) on a mission from God (Jupiter) or the ‘superhero’. The Sun’s exaltation is in Aries and the Sun is also the ‘son’.

John Singer Sargent, Hercules, 1921

Weapon-wielding, demi-god sons who saved humanity by wiping the floor with fabulous creatures were abundant in the ancient world (or at least abundantly immortalized), as they are, today – but one in particular stands out from all the others, for he wears the solar lion’s skin and performs twelve labours, just as the Sun and Jupiter themselves stay a day and a year, consecutively, in each zodiacal house. Sing along if you are old enough…

“Hercules, hero of song and story!
Hercules, winner of ancient glory!
Fighting for the right, fighting with his might;
With the strength of ten, ordinary men!
Hercules, people are safe when near him!
Hercules, only the evil fear him!
Softness in his eyes, iron in his thighs;
Virtue in his heart, fire in every part of
The Mighty Hercules!”

‘The Mighty Hercules’ TV series  1960s

I was dismayed to learn that the ‘real’ Hercules never had a magic ring, ripped abs and a quiff, or a centaur sidekick who’s favourite expression was  “Suffering Psyche!” But my childhood TV cartoon got one thing right, ‘Herc’ was the modern, macho superhero prototype:

“Heracles – or Hercules as he has been more popularly known ever since the Roman times – was the greatest of all Greek heroes, “one who surpassed all men of whom memory from the beginning of time has brought down an account.” A half-god of superhuman strength and violent passions, Heracles was the epitome of bravery and masculinity in the ancient world and the most notable champion of the Olympian order, which he staunchly protected from various chthonic monsters and earthly villains. Even though his short temper and lack of composure did cause both him and quite a few innocent mortals undeserved trouble, the magnitude of his labors was of such an order that it earned him the prize of immortality… Heracles is undoubtedly one of the most iconic figures in all of Greek mythology.”  [source]

Drunk Heracles “urinating” (in fact trying to get it up, for erroneous intent).

In the myth, Goddess Queen/evil stepmother Hera, angry that Zeus had sired him with another, who had the gall to name him ‘glory of Hera’, hated her step son and had marked him since birth. She sent two poisonous snakes (of course) to kill him in his cradle, but he strangled them with his bare, chubby little superbaby hands. Years later, grudge firm as ever, Hera served Heracles a potion to drive him temporarily insane and murder his own family. When the drugs wore off and he realized what he had done, remorseful Heracles sought spiritual advice from Apollo, who divined the gruelling tasks for his atonement. (Note that Apollo was a Sun god, who killed and usurped the Python). “In my defence, I was drunk and drugged!”

Delphic oracle with her tripod, Hellenist bell krater detail (British Museum)

The myth of Herc’s 10 labours was likely extended to 12 – which became the official number – because the day and the solar year were also divided into 12 sections (Roman year had formerly been 10 months, also), each through which the Sun himself was ‘guided’ by a lady of the hora, as he traversed the sky in his chariot. Every man of importance in the ancient world, political or religious, was depicted wearing a halo of the Sun’s rays – essentially what a golden crown is, made with the Sun’s metal. Alexander the Great, who self-identified with various mythic/solar heroes, including Heracles, was frequently depicted as Helios. Our image of the haloed Buddha (‘enlightened one’) also comes courtesy of the imported, Greco-Roman Sun God. Of course it wasn’t only reserved for men, they just tended to have a bit more power and a bit less humility.
[Side note: Though I’m not of the ‘there are really 13 signs!’ camp, it’s interesting that, in order to make things solar and mathematically ‘even’, the 13th constellation touching the ecliptic, associated with the serpent (and 13 being lunar) had to be left out. We now know our Sun is itself serpentine in nature, it ‘sheds’ its skin via coronial mass ejections (CMEs).]

Gilt roundel with Alexander as Helios, 4th c BC


“All the seven planets have

opened their gates.” – Goethe

Whilst reading up on Heracles and the horae, I took a rabbit hole into horary astrology. Turns out that on the first day of the first month of 2023, the first  hour belongs to the Sun, as does the day (Sunday), meaning the entire year is going to be under solar influence. The Sun card comes up (19 reduces to 1), as does the Chariot, being that it’s a universal 7 year ( 2+0+2+3). The actual picture of the solar demi-god in his vehicle!

The 7th house cusp of the zodiac, opposite to the natal horizon or ascendant, is where the Sun-self begins its descent and marks the beginning of knowing thyself through others (Libra), which is a different kind of awakening.

Vieville Tarot Sun and Charioteer, looking rather Alexander-ish

Unlike Heracles, the Charioteer, previously initiated as a Lover (6, which some do see as ‘Hercules at the crossroads’, choosing between Vice and Virtue),  is now tasked with keeping the solar and lunar sides of his own nature in Balance (8).

The fiery energy of Jupiter/Aries is boundless, until Saturn enters Pisces, March 7 and tempers the flame. Saturn specializes in labours and (karmic) atonement, and it’s entering the 12th sign, traditionally ruled by Jupiter. At best, Saturn/Pisces directs Jupiterian inspiration, so as to give form to visions and dreams, testing their weight and our faith, every step of the way. Are we just being given our tasks or is this the final push? Maybe both? (I have Saturn and Jupiter returns coming up this year, will let you know…).

There are 7 cycles of 3 (plus the Fool) in the Major Arcana, so each 4th card is also a new 1. So the Chariot, as the first card of the third triad,  is also a 1 placement. All ‘1‘ placement cards have to do with the theme of change/transition/death/rebirth: 1Magician, 4-Emperor, 7-Chariot, 10-Wheel, 13-Unnamed, 16-Tower, 19-Sun.

Being the number of traditional planets/planetary spheres, 7 has long held sacred significance as a microcosm, by which the weeks and solar years are divided.

Amulets found in Turkish excavation, dated from 7th-4th c BC

Horary astrology is also tied in with magic (using the energy of the planet at the appropriate time and/or creating talismans for positive outcome or amulets for protection). Before Solstice, I made some planet-themed bracelets. I hadn’t checked the planet hours at their creation, but when the Mars one proved conductive, I wondered whether I’d made it during a Mars hour or on a Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether Sun-ruled hours/days this year will have extra potency, but I intend to find out!  In astrology, the Sun is generally seen as a bringer of happiness, unless terribly aspected. Similarly, we feel hope when the Sun shines, except during a drought or heat dome.

“Symbols are to the mind what tools are to the hand–
an extended application of its powers.”
  – Dion Fortune

To me, the Chariot card is emblematic of Tarot itself and of magic; forces within and without in accordance, the meeting of above and below, the completion of the first 7 steps.

painted icon of seated blue sphinx on gold background
Blue Saharan Sphinx wood icon by Roxanna Bikadoroff

Sphinxes, such as those who ‘pull’ the triumphal Chariot in some decks, were guardians of mysteries and the dead. As human-lion anthropomorphs, they are also symbolic of Aquarius/Leo (or, previously, Leo/Aquarius). We might view the pelt-clad Heracles as an initiate, a man not yet integrated with the solar lion in the spiritual sense. (He did actually become an initiate of the mysteries, but only in order to capture Cerberus). He is still an accursed bête, wearing the old skin but not yet the golden crown of the solar lion (the Nemean lion he flayed represents the constellation of Leo).

Of the Aquarius Age, astrologer Alan Oken, in the 1970s wrote,

“In spite of the utopian visions which this writer shared with millions of his peers in the 1960s, the Age of Aquarius will not be dominated by a suddenly transcended, spiritually oriented, love-sharing world population. Mankind has yet to work out the natural animal aggression which is so much a part of his nature…”

He goes on to say that (as we are seeing) the Aquarian Age will be dominated by ideological conflicts and, because of the energies available and potential for evolutionary advancement, self-awareness is a priority for people of the Aquarian Age if we are to properly channel these energies – physical and metaphysical – for the benefit of all.

Heracles, in burning agony, throws himself on the fire

In the end, after a kind of alchemical trial by pyre, brought about by a toxic balm his second wife inadvertently procured from a centaur (Sagittarius, the centaur sign ruled by Jupiter, is the transforming fire of the zodiacal triplicity), Hera and Zeus both agreed he’d suffered enough, and Herc was placed in the sky, as the constellation formerly identified with Gilgamesh. “Victory is here, raise a mighty cheer!”

Final thoughts…

As we ‘permanently’ enter the rational, masculine, high-tech age of the Titans (fixed air Aquarius, that is), with Pluto making its first ingress into this sign March 23,  it’s important to  keep sight of our higher Aquarius/Leo nature. The Sun is just one star in the heavens, but it represents the creative here and now, the full potential and expression (Leo) of our present lifetime. Meanwhile, Aquarius, sign of the starry heavens (hence astrology/astronomy), can open our minds to the distant past and future. Imagination is our personal conjuring tool. Through our art, wonder and creativity we are connected to the cosmos and the gods of our higher consciousness. In sync with these, there is no need for domination or force.

TdM Ace of Wands, a cudgel transform’d


All written material except that which appears in quotations herein  is ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be copied/reused without first obtaining my permission.  You may share the LINK TO THE POST , with a short, introductory excerpt only.
Any artwork of mine you share must include a credit/link [©Roxanna Bikadoroff]  Thank you for being respectful.

 

Uranus in Taurus – The Great Work or Seven Years on the Funny Farm?

Electric Bull by Balux

Man’s heart, away from Nature becomes cold.  ~ Standing Bear

Uranus entered Taurus on May 15, 2018, for a 7 year stint. With Taurus being the sign of our planet, Uranus being the ruler of the Aquarian Age and the creation myth of Ouranos (sky) and Gaia (earth) being symbolically reenacted, the stage is set for a highly significant transit.
There are many possible interpretations, but I see the combination of fixed earth and Mercury’s higher octave as nothing less than ‘the Great Work’ of our collective alchemy, wherein we are able to rediscover (and perhaps quantify) the living spirit in matter.

Francisco de Holanda,  ‘De aetatibus mundi’ (c. 1545)

The Mythology and the Mechanics

In astrology, Uranus is said to have a ‘Promethean’ quality. This was especially true during it’s Aries transit, when we saw individual, young hero-rebels at the forefront, stealing fire and giving it to mankind (think Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden). By the time Uranus had come to the late degrees of Aries, it was not just one or two brave truth tellers, sticking their necks out, but large numbers of ‘underdogs’ marching in the streets – a virtual children’s crusade against the gun lobby and a #metoo movement against sexual harassment. True to “I Am” Aries, these were initiatory expressions of anger, the demand to be seen and heard. Mercurius in his volatile, firey form.

Erté, Fire

Often, in myth and legend, a Hero must obtain or is given a ring, key, password or other such symbolic, magically imbued accessory, with which to unlock secrets or treasures, hidden within the Earth or some forbidden place (ie, the feminine). The individual must be pure of heart, of course. Only a ‘true sovereign’ like Arthur could obtain the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Only the compassionate, simple brother who shares his loaf with a stranger will win the princess. Musical keys also unlock certain mysteries, in that they open different channels to our emotions and memories. Uranus’ symbol, like Chiron’s, resembles a key.


Because Aquarius’ natural ruler is Saturn, who’s metal is lead, and it’s polar opposite, Leo’s ruler is the Sun, whose metal is gold, we can see how the addition of the ‘key’ of Uranus – the higher octave of Mercury (who indeed heralded the transition into Taurus, by conjunction) – is essential to the alchemical process of turning lead to gold. In the realm of fairy tales, frogs are transformed into princes, pumpkins into coaches, and so on – all metaphors for the transmutation of the self. In evolutionary astrology, Uranus is also said to represent long term memory, that of past lives. Remember sitting on a lily pad, catching flies ?

The Frog Prince illustrated by P.J. Lynch

So, collectively, we could see it as the first ‘task’ (1st house/Aries) now being complete, and the next one (2nd house/Taurus) beginning. Uranus is future-oriented, unattached and changing, while Taurus is ancient, material and constant. Our mission now is to unlock something hidden (Scorpio) and sacred in us that is our birthright, but that we will have to be pure-hearted enough to do. Uranus is mental intellect, so in our collective myth, the hero must now be initiated into heart (Leo) wisdom, via Venus/Eros (Taurus). The 0 degree of each fixed sign is being activated or awoken by Uranus as it unlocks the gate to Taurus, waking the Phoenix (Scorpio) from it’s ashes.

The Lover: Spock’s initiation into heart wisdom.

True, not everyone will have successfully completed the 1st task, and the ‘children’s crusade’ continues with Chiron’s move into Aries (tragically, there have been two more high school shootings, as I edit this). But only a certain percentage of the population need obtain the fire or key required for the evolution of the collective consciousness, ’tis said.

We’ve seen many brilliant, scientific and technological breakthroughs at the onset of the Aquarian Age, as well as the dangers, like the risk of becoming too clinical and detached, toxic pollutants and the capability for total annihilation. At the same time, many are becoming highly sensitized to the suffering of others, of animals especially, as we realize we are not separate from anything else in the universe, that spirit isn’t just something personal, but lives in and connects all things.

Fiat Firmamentum, by Francisco de Holanda, from’ De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines’, circa 1545

Fun Fact: Uranus, ruler of the Aquarian Age, is also the planet of astrology. Viewed from space, everything on Earth would appear to be happening simultaneously, which is kind of how we view the snapshot of a moment in time, drawn as a chart.

Aquarius can be a telepathic sign, and with the key of Uranus, we are being presented with a golden opportunity to communicate telepathically with all lifeforms, via spirit, once again. As mentioned, Uranus rules long-term memory, which includes traumatic resonance. Our collective, Uranus in Taurus trauma must have something to do with our separation from nature, both within and without.

The field has eyes,
the wood has ears;
I will look, be silent
and listen.
~ Heironymus Bosch

Buddhist meditation instruction illustration, Rubin Museum

Buddha was also said to have been a Taurus. He ‘unlocked’ the mysteries of the nature of mind by simply sitting under a Banyen tree and observing his. He saw that all suffering comes from attachment to that which is impermanent. One of the key teachings of Uranus in Taurus is freedom from attachment – to old ways, traditions, things…anything that is overdue for renewal. Freedom in any way necessary. Un-attachment to outcome and transient forms is not the same thing as emotional detachment, which kills compassion and creates sociopaths.

So, how does a Uranus transit differ from a Pluto transit ? Uranus feels more like a rumbling or irritation that one can’t ignore, shackles that must be thrown off. There is an urgent, awakened quality to it. It may bring sudden clarity or quantum leaps. The Pluto transit is more like a death (albeit with the promise of rebirth), as the transformation goes on at a deep, subconscious level. It can manifest in outward projections, like scary situations/people and obsessions. Both planets are powerful, impersonal, and can be destructive if we try to cling to the old. Best to come quietly.

Where did we come from, what are we, where are we going ? 
~ Paul Gauguin

Taurus is one of the – if not the – oldest constellations in the zodiac.
This is thought to be a depiction of it at Lascaux.

Aquarius has an affinity for archeology as well as astronomy and astrology, because in the ‘Age of Man’, what does it actually mean to be human ? The more we discover about the past and the future, we begin to realize that we are the so-called ‘missing link’, not only do we embody the living potential of spirit, but we are the living potential. We were given the blueprints, in the form of teachings we didn’t fully understand at the time (another magic key), and our consciousness has since been evolving, but we are not yet there. The sense that it’s all our own responsibility is existentially terrifying to us, so we amass information as fast as we can, providing our rational minds with some sense of security. But this only provides partial understanding, because information, being windy-Mercurial, is ever changing.

How do we know what way is the right one ? How does the hero know which path to choose ? What is constant and real, not bullshit ? Taurus is accused of fixity, but the lesson of this sign, and for those born under it, is to instinctively understand the transmutation of elements (Scorpio), at a base level and know that in nature, nothing remains the same – though it is constant. Perhaps Taurean melancholy comes from gut feeling this impermanence, just like Scorpio power comes from knowing nature’s consistency (Taurus).

Hildegarde Von Bingen, The Egg of the Universe

Out of this World

When Venus (Taurus) and Uranus come together, it can create the environment for creative genius. Of course there have to be other contributing factors in the chart for any of these manifestations to occur, but the number of mystics, occultists, astrologers, philosophical thinkers or spiritual and social scientists with Uranus in Taurus is staggering. Among them are Hildegard of Bingen, Marcilio Ficino (humanist philosopher who translated Plato’s works), Nicola Tesla, Mademoiselle Lenormand, Sigmund Freud, Max Planck (founder of quantum theory), Fritjof Capra, Stephen Hawking and Valentina Tereshkova (first woman in space).

Perhaps the greatest musical genius of all time, Ludwig Van Beethoven

The musical list is a blog post in itself, but Beethoven, JS Bach, Handel, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, Nico, Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Tina Turner, Roy Orbison, Brian Epstein (Beatles discoverer and mgr) and Phil Spector are just a small handful. The list seems disproportionately male, which is partly due to the nature of the biz, but also because the men seek their lost muse or ‘anima’. Think of Bob Dylan’s ‘Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands’, Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus in Furs’ or pick any Leonard Cohen song – they are not really about an individual woman, but rather a hymn to the Goddess, in some form or other. (Many of the 60s bunch are also Neptune/Virgo natives = Music + Goddess).
“It don’t matter how you worship, as long as you’re down on your knees,” sang poet-prophet Cohen, adhering to ancient tradition.

Western women with Uranus in the feminine house of Venus, discovered and owned their body politic, en masse for the first time. This generation gave us ‘ground-breaking’ feminist writers like Germaine Greer, Erica Jong and Margaret Atwood, actor-activists like Vanessa Redgrave and Glenda Jackson and the screen Goddesses had a formidable, self-possessed sexuality – Sophia Loren, Tura Satana, Anita Pallenberg, Ann-Margret, Raquel Welch, Brigitte Bardot, Karen Black, Elke Somer, Diana Rigg, just off the top.

Tura Satana and Diana Rigg

The polarity of Taurus/Venus and Scorpio/Mars/Pluto is intense, can be obsessive, perverted or sexually deviant, if unbalanced and there do seem to be a lot of sexual-serial killers born with Uranus Taurus. It has to do with not just sexual but also creative repression, which rejects the Goddess and kills the soul. On the other hand, writers with Uranus Taurus like Dante Alighieri and Joseph Conrad stared into the mouth of Hell and revealed to us what damnation was like for tortured souls. Vincent van Gogh was the quintessential, tortured artist and misunderstood genius. True to Uranus, his artistic vision would be appreciated in the future, not in his own time. True to Venus, his paintings – bursting with the living, volatile spirit – are now some of the most valued and sought-after on Earth. Were the MOMA to sell ‘Starry Night’ it would cost about a billion dollars. So keep in mind that what whatever we create now will be long-lasting and may not come to fruition within our own lifetime.

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

The previous Uranus/Taurus transit also overlapped Pluto/Leo, so many came into the world with their personal, creative expression fully-honed. We aren’t likely to see the same plethora of ‘super-stars’ with Pluto in Capricorn, but it will be in Aquarius, near the end of the Uranus-Taurus transit, which will again bring the Leo polarity into play. Uranus-Taurus is ushering in the first ‘official’ Pluto-Aquarius cycle of the Aquarian Age !

A note about Capricorn…

Capricorn rules class systems, money/power structures and other orders of society. But we often forget that Capricorn is not just a Scrooge-y, social climbing mountain goat. It’s also a fantastical mer-goat, as well as Unicorn, which it was depicted as, once, in old, medical astrology texts. The pure, white, “calcified” unicorn horn was thought to be a cure for anything, since the Unicorn is incorruptible and equated with the Christ or the incorruptible part of ourselves. Pluto in Capricorn is helping us get there, by any means necessary.

15th and 14th c zodiacs with Capricorn as Unicorn

The magical, Mercurial (or Uranian) unicorn horn is essential for transformation. And doesn’t Scrooge himself undergo a transformation after a series of dreams (aka visions), at Winter solstice? Capricorn rules the skeletal system and teeth, and it’s ruler, Saturn, old age and death – the bleached bones being all that remains long after the spirit and the flesh have left. Saturn is also the traditional ruler of Aquarius.

“We caught the beast called the Unicorn
That knows and loves a maiden best
And falls asleep upon her breast:
We took from underneath it’s horn
The splendid male carbuncle stone
Sparkling against the white skull bone.”

It’s no wonder Unicorns seem to be popping up everywhere, lately. The horn also symbolizes the opening of the third eye, it’s vision transcending the mundane. (Indeed, many Capis are visionaries). It’s important not to lose our sense of wonder, as we try to rationalize what we can’t control or foresee. Uranus is all about tricksterism and expecting the unexpected.

David Bowie: Capricorn Unicorn, Mercurial poster child

Meanwhile, in the lower realms…

Environmentally, Uranus is a hot, explosive, planet of surprises and it’s moving into fixed earth. We are already seeing increased volcanic activity, but things are likely just getting warmed up. Environmental changes (and possible, other natural catastrophes) under this transit will be a factor in the coming economic changes. We will again be reminded, in no uncertain terms, that we must get back in tune with nature, as our imposed, false grid is no longer secure or sustainable. Remember, Uranus is Mercury on steroids, and Mercury can be ‘an infernal fire, the spirit of truth hidden in the earth’, sulphur.

Some astrologers have noted cyclic returns and conjunctions to the last time(s) Kilauea blew, and are predicting another big one, based on this. Volcanic explosions of the big, sudden kind can affect earth’s atmosphere and weather for years. They can actually cool the planet, but also darken it, as the ash blocks the sun. Or, if the particulates are large, the opposite effect happens, wherein there is an acceleration of global warming. They say that active volcanoes have actually prevented us from getting as warm as predicted. (Considering the latest policy of the US admin under Trump, it might be best for the planet if Pele blows her top). Interestingly, Hawaii is the highest place (above bottom sea level) on earth – literally where the earth meets the sky. Expect comets and other phenomena.

Athanasius Kircher, The Interior of the Earth, 1665

In 1815, the Indonesian volcano Tambora propelled more ash and volcanic gases into the atmosphere than any other eruption in history and resulted in significant atmospheric cooling on a global scale, much like Krakatau a few decades later. New England and Europe were particularly hard hit, with snowfalls as late as August and massive crop failures. The cold, wet, and unpleasant climatic effects of the eruption led 1816 to be known as “the year without a summer,” and inspired Lord Byron to write:

“The bright Sun was extinguishd, and the stars 

Did wander darkling in the eternal space 

Rayless and pathless, and the icy earth 

Swung blind and blackening in the moonless air; 

Morn came and went and came, 

And brought no day”

–Lord Byron, “Darkness”

There is a story that Byron invited some of his friends to his home in Switzerland that summer to relax by the shores of Lake Geneva. The lack of sun and warm summer weather led the group to hold a competition writing ghost stories to keep themselves entertained. One of the guests, Mary Shelley, wrote the famous novel Frankenstein for this contest, revealing that in addition to major climatic effects, volcanic eruptions can have some unexpectedly far-reaching results. (from Scientific American)

Read more about it here

Shelly’s book was first published in 1818 – exactly 200 years ago this year, and was originally titled Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. It has been called the ‘birth of science fiction’. (Frankenstein was the doctor’s name, the monster was not referred to by name). Here we have an example of the Leo-Aquarius polarity in action, a classic work of artistic genius, about the madness of a scientist playing God and mucking about with the natural order without taking spirit into account. Sound familiar ? Though some insist it was written by her husband, one look at Mary Shelley’s chart shows otherwise, but I won’t digress here (perhaps another article). In any case, a good book to re-read, about now. There will be more goth days to come…

Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster

Speaking of man-made monsters, there will be a temptation to invest in Uranium mining during this transit. While we bitch about bitumen in Canada, uranium mining here is a much more lucrative and shady business. It is used solely for nuclear energy and its bi-product, depleted uranium, for weapons. Depleted uranium has a half life of 4.5 billion years, and once it enters the body (via inhalation of dust, ingestion, through soil, etc), it mutates the chromosomes and causes all manner of cancers and birth defects, literally creating monsters. (The higher octave of Mercury poisoning). Since Iraq has an old affinity with Taurus and surviving babies exposed to depleted uranium during the Gulf war are now teenagers (Chiron in Aries matter), we might see them coming up in the news. If so, I hope you all have strong stomachs. Google ‘Iraq depleted uranium’, if you don’t believe me, but you have been warned.

The possibility of nukes of some kind going off in Mesopotamia (Iran is a Taurus affiliated land – could be a matter of underground testing), the ‘cradle of civilization’, is also very real, and the Capricorn Pluto power players are invested up to their goat horns in the arms trade. Guess they didn’t read Dante.

The famed poet, Dante Alighieri

Findings of plastic, and other toxins in milk (human and animal) are sure to increase, and if we don’t find a natural way to transform plastic and start putting to use the existing ones, we may literally start turning into Barbie and Ken, as our DNA changes to absorb the new information. Well, maybe we have become too attached to all the beautiful forms of the  present ‘maya’ (illusion) we are in. Taurus finds the destruction of the garden very hard to take, but there is nothing here that didn’t always exist in our cozy, alembic vessel. What does the spirit in plastic have to teach us ?

The wave of discoveries regarding how information is recorded in and changes our DNA is going to get tidal. Minds will be blown. The fact that our destiny is in our own hands will become ever more apparent, some will see this as a precious thing, others will go power-mad.

Human-robot hybrids are also coming, which is what this new, robot sex-craze is leading up to.  (Made you laugh, good).

‘Henry’ – Get up, get on up/like a ‘Sex Machine’      [photo Wired Magazine]
In Conclusion

Uranus in Taurus, in Greek myth, is the union of Titan Gods Ouranus (sky God) and Gaia (earth Goddess), but take your pick of Sky + Earth creation myths. Since we are all children of this union, the duality of spirit and matter exists within each of us, but man and woman are not true opposites. Rather we are of one ‘gender’, with various levels of the same hormones. We all start out, in utero, as a Mercurial, ‘feminine’ androgyne. (Men have nipples, and the penis is just a little clitoris that grew). The battle of the sexes becomes ridiculous when you understand the biology. But biology alone is alchemy minus the philosopher’s stone; a study of material building blocks, of product, which does not take it’s inherent, living spirit into account. Dr. Frankenstein stuff. Maybe the fact we are drowning in ‘product’ is a testament to this.

‘Pink Optimism’   [photo Roxanna Bikadoroff]
In alchemy (the ‘below’ in ‘as above, so below’), Mercury is ‘the working force in the Great Work’, ‘the spirit of truth hidden in earth.’ S/he is the volatility and fluidity in every form, embodying every duality. In astrology (the ‘above’), Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury. In the Aquarian Age, the Mercurial becomes Uranian, the inherent spirit in matter goes up an octave in frequency. This acceleration can make fixed Taurus/matter extremely volatile, which is why we are seeing more volcanic activity. Taurus is about manifestation, show me the goods.

I doubt we will all awaken to the inherent, transmuting power of our Mercurial/Uranian spirit-nature en masse (unless aliens land and set off millions of visionary gas bombs – it could happen), but I do believe it has something to do with secret we are supposed to unlock, and that we are going to see some very interesting meta-physical developments, over the next 7 years, which will bear exotic fruits for years to come.

Philosophical Mercury, c 1400

When you make the two into one,
and when you make the inner like the outer
and the outer like the inner,
and the upper like the lower,
and when you make male and female into a single one,
so that the male will not be male nor the female be female,
when you make eyes in place of an eye,
a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot,
an image in place of an image,
then you will enter the Kingdom.

~ from the Gospel of Thomas

Read more about the spiritual nature of Alchemy here

Uranus in Taurus meta-physical types:

William Lilly (infamous 17th c astrologer and occultist)
Fomalhaut (19th c French astrologer, Sun exact conjunct Uranus)
Thomas Burgoyne (American occultist, mystic, astrologer, clairvoyant)
Mademoiselle Lenormand (sybil of Napoleon’s court)
Noel Tyl (famous contemporary astrologer)
Anne Toth (Canadian astrologer)
Hildegarde of Bingen (abbess, doctor, composer, artist, mystic)
Marsilio Ficino (humanist philosopher, astrologer, reviver of Neoplatonism and translator of Plato’s works)
Charles Fourier (French utopian socialist/philosopher, credited with originating the word ‘Féminisme’)
Thomas Moore (spiritual writer and Jungian therapist)
Emile Durkheim (helped establish sociology as an accepted science)
Emanuel Swedenborg (inventor, scientist, mystic)
Nicola Tesla
George Eastman (founder of Eastman Kodak company, invented roll film)
André-Marie Ampere (one of the discoverers of electro-magnetism)
Daniel Gabriel Farenheit (self explanatory)
Charles Kowal (discovered Chiron)
Catherine Kraft (French volcanologist who died with her husband in pyroclastic flow on Mt. Unzen)
Sigmund Freud (father of modern psychoanalysis)
Kenneth Ring (co-founder of Intl Association for Near-death Studies)
Max Planck (founder of quantum theory)
Fritjof Capra (The Tao of Physics, quantum physicist and ecologist)
Stephen Hawking
Valentina Tereshkova (first woman in space)



All written content herein (except for quotations) is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reposted or reprinted without my permission, plus a credit and a link to this page. Sharing the article via link (and small intro excerpt) is fine. Thank you for being respectful.

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.

Copyright ©MJ Stone 2001, reprinted here with permission.
Please share via link only. Thank you.

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

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.

‘Bawdy Badge’ from the Crusades

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 it’s 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.

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.)

 

Paul Gauguin, D’ou venons-nous


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]



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. OK to share via link. Thank you for being respectful.