On July 7, 2025, the planet Uranus will enter Gemini for approximately 7 years. Since Gemini is an air sign, this will be a noticeably different Uranian energy than has been expressed in Taurus. Although Uranus, the ‘higher octave’ of Mercury is said to be the planet of change, rebellion, discovery and so on, in Taurus, this was often felt more as rumbling urges and irritation. (We did see a significant amount of volcanic activity and earthquakes). Think of how mutable earth sign Virgo experiences ruler Mercury’s flighty, buzzing frequency in her earth body as stress. Now imagine Mercury on steroids (Uranus) stuck in in fixed earth (Taurus). So it’s going to be quite a release for Uranus in the Mercury-ruled, intellect-driven, mutable air sign of Gemini.
Traditionally, Saturn – who, like Mercury is a god of alchemy – rules the signs of Capricorn and Aquarius*, and sits in opposition to Cancer (Moon/Silver) and Leo (Sun/gold). The most dense and toxic on one side, the most pure and luminous on the other.
In medieval medical manuscripts, Capricorn was sometimes depicted as a unicorn. The unicorn’s horn was thought to purify any body of water it touched. Powdered, it was a supposed cure-all. Vikings would sell narwhal horns to Europeans, who valued them more than gold for their mythical properties.
A spiralling, calcified growth emerging from the third eye – what a very Saturnine embodiment of awareness, spiritual awakening …. or upgrade/refinement of the caduceus. Commerce and fast talking Vikings.
“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.”
The unicorn is a beloved mythical beast, but it’s also a monster, in the literal sense. And Uranus can, with its touch, create monsters – bombs, deformities, disasters, etc. Astrologers have been pointing out that the US, with its Uranus and Mars in Gemini, was involved in major wars (WW2 and Civil) during the last two Uranus returns. (Mind you, when has it not been at war, directly or by proxy?). ’47’ has Uranus in Gemini conjunct his Sun and North Node, conjunct the US’s Mars. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Uranus and Mars in Gemini were conjunct the midheaven (MC).
Uranus can be the ‘terror of the scientific sun’ but it can also be freaks, weirdoes, and, in Gemini, a very odd twin. Alice Cooper has Uranus in Gemini sextile Pluto/Saturn and opposite Jupiter/Moon (47 also Uranus opp Moon). He was able to profit from his goth, nightmarish ‘other self’, but like Jekyll and Hyde, he said it began to destroy him, requiring drugs and booze to keep the stage persona alive.
In a radio interview, Alice Cooper told of how, at the premier performance of “Welcome To My Nightmare”, he was greeted backstage by Groucho Marx, who shook his hand and congratulated him for bringing back Vaudeville. “He got it. He knew what we were up to,” said Cooper.
Mercury and Gemini have a special relationship with theatre and acting (taking on personas/fakery/camp, etc). So with higher-tech Uranus here, the whole issue of AI in the film industry will likely be amped up. Aquarius and Gemini have to do with ‘friends’ and already we see there’s a whole new trend of inventing chatbot AI friends and other relationships. But we could be talking something more along the lines of alternate/mirror universe, with Gemini being doubles. Or a hidden universe that is like a ‘vanishing twin‘ to ours.
Twin flames? Aurora consurgens, St. Gallen 15th century
Uranus in Gemini will make a trine to Pluto in Aquarius and sextile to Neptune and Saturn in Aries. So two air and two fire planets all in cahoots. This is a completely new, volatile, un-formed energy which these planets will now be giving form to or being formed by (or de-formed by, as the case may be). Major ‘upping of frequencies’ going on. Some will find it difficult to handle the new air/fire vibration, and we are already seeing evidence of this, with things like plane crashes (Pluto in Aquarius, but also a metaphor for how our brains are having to cope with increased ‘air traffic’), and this disturbing new trend of cars being driven into crowds of people. Yes, the transit hadn’t officially started, but the apprehension felt at the last critical degrees of the previous sign is enough. There will be adaption, eventually.
Another already visible manifestation of Pluto in Aquarius and Uranus in Gemini is of course crypt-o currency. Pluto is god of the dead and of riches beneath the earth. The amount of minerals/mining required for bitcoin is monstrous and it is why 47 is so keen to have Greenland and Canada. 47’s pimply-faced bazillionare crypto-bromancing dinner (yes, the Banana Duct Tape kid was there) was a prelude. His Gemini stellium slid right into the crypto like well-fitting shoes. Leo is polarity of Aquarius, though, so I don’t imagine gold will lose its value, no matter how many kitschy objets were made from melted down Fort Knox bull-lion. [Look to Ancient Egypt, in the Age of Taurus, as an example of how strongly the polarity sign comes into play (Scorpio). Now we’re at the beginning of the Aquarian Age, which squares Taurus-Scorpio, the two signs governing ‘resources.’]
The Uranus/Gemini combination is very intellect-driven and can even be ‘out-of-body’. In fact, we can expect angels and aliens, ‘friends’ from other realms. There is already much more opening of awareness and communication to the spirit realm, judging by all the YouTube videos. Mediums abound. Gemini, when not grounded (and Uranus is anything but grounded, rotating on its side like a wheel), can also attract unwelcome entities.
So look to where Gemini is in your own chart, this area is going to become lit up and Uranus will demand you up the frequency, upgrade the equipment, open your mind, think different, sky’s the limit. ~rb
Mortal and immortal Gemini twins.
*Personally I’m not completely convinced we should be handing off Uranus, Neptune and Pluto [‘the alchemists’] to individual signs, since they have such long transits and powerful, generational effects. Astrological Uranus is by definition less like the sky god and more like Prometheus, who stole fire and gave it to humans, causing Jupiter to chain him to a rock with an eagle pecking out his (continually regrown) liver every day. Stealing fire to give to humans sounds like something Aries would do! So I do acknowledge the ‘modern’ rulership, but am still informed by the ‘traditional’. (There’s my Uranus/Saturn opposition talking, heh).
In Greek mythology, while transformation into a rock is usually a barren fate, a pattern emerges in which the heroines who were transformed into islands are lovers of the gods; just as islands, like cities, were usually personified as minor goddesses or heroes. [Wikipedia]
This is precisely what happened to Asteria, Titan Goddess of falling stars, oneiromancy (divination by dreams) and astrology (by stars), and mother of Hecate. She transforms herself into the Island of Delos, where her sister Leto at last gave birth to the lunar Artemis and solar Apollo, after an exhaustive search for refuge. The usual suspects were to blame; Zeus for making Leto pregnant, then pursuing Asteria, and jealous Hera’s subsequent curse, that Leto not be able to find solid ground on which to give birth, forbidding all places on earth to accept her. Hera also kidnapped the goddess of childbirth to ensure that Leto’s labour would be ultra painful. Asteria (‘star’) defied Hera’s orders, but as she had not succumb to Zeus’ advances, Hera, though angry, did not punish her.
Artemis was an easy delivery, but Apollo took 9 days and nights to come out (luckily, Artemis was able to assist). There are a few variations on the myth, as is typical. Delos means ‘to manifest or reveal’. It had been a floating island, ’emerged’ for Leto by helpful Zeus (the least he could do since he can’t seem to keep his Tower in his robe). Either it was uninhabited or it was and the people didn’t want her giving birth there, so Leto gifted the island with 4 anchors to keep it stable, which pleased them. Are these ‘anchors’ the 4 Royal Stars (Aldebaran, Regulus, Antares, Fomalhaut)?
‘Cary Sheet’ Star, ca 1500
“Hail. O heaven-built isle [Delos], most lovely scion of the children of bright-haired Leto, O daughter of the sea, thou unmoved marvel of the spacious earth, by mortal men called Delos, but by the blessed gods of Olympos (Olympus) known as the far-seen star (astra) of the dark-blue earth . . . For aforetime, that isle was tossed on the waves by all manner of whirling winds; but, when Leto, the daughter of Koios (Coeus), in the frenzy of her imminent pangs of travail, set foot on her, then it was that four lofty pillars rose from the roots of earth, and on their capitals held up the rock with their adamantine bases. There it was that she gave birth to, and beheld, her blessed offspring.” ~ Pindar, Processional Song on Delos (Greek lyric ca 5th B.C.) [Theoi.com]
Ancient Greek coin (date?)
Both Delos and Delphi, site of Apollo’s famous oracle and omphalos (navel), share the root word ‘del’ with ‘delphini,’ which means dolphin in Greek. Dolphins are sacred to Apollo, Dionysus and Poseidon. The Cary sheet hints at location with a fish-tail shape in the shoreline. Dolphins were considered by mariners to be a very good omen indeed, guiding and protective. They are also known to protect whales giving birth. So saviour-like are dolphins, that in the 14th century, French heirs began calling themselves ‘dauphin.’ It is beyond shameful and utterly reprehensible how modern humans have abused these sacred beings (the marine mammals, not the French kings).
Louise of Savoy instructing her son, Dauphin Francis I, ca 1505
Apollo wore his golden hair long and his sacred number is 7, associated with the traditional planets, stringed lyre and the Pleaides (starry rain-makers).
The cards do not give us absolutes, but evoke in a mnemonic, riddling fashion, so don’t be too confused by the lack of breasts on the Cary water-bearer.
After her transformation into Delos, several stars, deeply moved by her tale, aligned themselves in her honor. This formation, known as an asterism, served as a protective shield and a tribute to the goddess. For sailors navigating the vast seas and stargazers looking up in wonder, this celestial pattern became a symbol of Asteria’s indomitable spirit. [Olympioi.com]
Greek jug (both sides), 3rd-2nd c BC
It’s obvious that the birthing waters have broken, which explains why the card is somewhat incorrectly interpreted as illustrating the zodiac sign of Aquarius. Aquarius signifies a similar idea (and the constellation once included the Southern Fish, with Royal Star Fomalhaut in its mouth) – albeit in the dead of Winter we are talking more about inward, spiritual rebirth, ultimately necessary for a more evolved, physical return (Saturn).
The androgynous figure pours one jug onto the earth and one into the water, as she will do in the classic Tarot de Marseille card. We get the sense of purification by libation – libation of feminine fluids – as well as the cyclical nature of water, aka life, connecting with her arms in a continuum. In alchemy the liquid purification of spirit is considered Lunar and feminine, inner.
A sea of blood and milk…
Now it’s also possible that her two pitchers contain waters of Mnemosyne and Lethe – some Orphic lamellae (gold tablets) instruct the deceased to only drink from Mnemosyne’s streams, not Lethe’s, in order to avoid another, terrestrial birth or an eternity in gloomy Hades:
“You will find a spring on the left of the halls of Hades, and beside it a white cypress growing. Do not even go near this spring. And you will find another, from the Lake of Memory, flowing forth with cold water. In front of it are guards. You must say, ‘I am the child of Ge and starry Ouranos; this you yourselves also know. I am dry with thirst and am perishing. Come, give me at once cold water flowing forth from the Lake of Memory.’ And they themselves will give you to drink from the divine spring, and then thereafter you will reign with the other heroes.” ~ from Petelia, 4-3 BC
Other sources seem to indicate we’re to drink a bit of each. Hmm.
Chosson TdM, 1736, feat. one of many misspellings
The little black bird, which could represent the soul or ‘Ba bird‘, in the background is also a mytho-alchemical clue, for the crow in alchemy is symbolic of Saturn and the blackening (the first stage of the work, now fading in the distance, but not entirely forgotten). In another, Apollo myth, he sends his originally white bird to keep watch (spy) on his lover, Coronis (‘crow’). Unfortunately for everyone involved, the bird reports she’s been cheating with a mortal. Seething, Apollo scorches the messenger for his efforts, then shoots his woman down. Naturally, he regrets it, tries to revive her, but it’s too late, because Greek tragedy. In the opener image kylix detail, we see the blackened crow or raven as Apollo’s bird of prophecy. Are bird and lover one and the same? Only the shadow knows.
Apollo kills Coronis, 1590 engraving by Hendrick Goltzius
During the alchemical opus, there is something called the ‘impregnation stage’ wherein:
The star rises to the surface and thus connects both the upper spiritual part of the vessel and the lower substance. The bird flies upwards, the soul of the process also seeks union with the spirit. The Impregnation is the turning point of this phase, and indeed it marks the point in the whole process where we are no longer dealing with mere material substances, but the seed of the spiritualization of substance has here been sown, and from now on we will see, through the many following stages, just how this seed grows, metamorphoses, and develops. ~ Adam McLean, The Alchemy Website
The blackening of Apollo’s bird and the rising of the 7-pointed star
It’s been pointed out that in the Cary, there is an emphasis on 4 stars surrounding the main one, creating a starry quintessence, but problematic is the 5th ‘extra’ star in the figure’s right shoulder. In keeping with with the theme, however, this evokes the constellation of Orion, aka Osiris, with red star Betelgeuse placed thusly. Osiris was the god of death and regeneration par excellence, whose reappearance signified the annual rising of the Nile and the land becoming fertile again with birthing waters. (Hapi, who was male but had breasts, was the god of the actual flooding of the Nile, that became Aquarius).
Interestingly, one of the reasons Pythagoreans were superstitious about the number 17 was that Osiris was killed on the 17th day of the month of Athyr.
Eridanus, the cosmic River of Night, has a bright, fixed star at either end; in the north, Rigel, situated in the foot of Orion/Osiris, and in the south, Achernar, the ‘end of the river.’ The god-king has one foot in the water at the serpentine river’s mouth, as if being born out of it. (Article with more on this here).
Eridanus, John Bayer
If we count the number of little plants sprouting from the earth in the Cary card, they equal the number of small stars. As above, so below. Inner quintessence = outer/cosmic. This unification can only happen after the Tower – the structures we build around our minds from the outer, ego, etc – has been transformed. The star not only depicts ‘outer space’ but ‘inner space.’
Marriage stela of Tjanetiset feat. red and white Nut, ca. 825–712 BC (MET)
The ancient Egyptians saw earth as the mirror of the heavens. The sky goddess Nut is depicted, like Hapi of the Nile, holding two jugs that flow with the waters of creation/fertility.
Nut was the goddess of the sky and all heavenly bodies, a symbol of protecting the dead when they enter the afterlife. According to the Egyptians, during the day, theEgyptian decans would make their way across her body. Then, at dusk, they would be swallowed, pass through her belly during the night, and be reborn at dawn. She was often painted on the inside lid of the sarcophagus, protecting the deceased. The vaults of tombs were often painted dark blue with many stars as a representation of Nut.[Wikipedia]
Rosenwald sheet 15th c (National Gallery of Art)
In astrology the ‘big three’ of a natal (birth) chart are our Sun, Moon and Ascendant. The Sun indicates the time of year we’re born, energizing the present lifetime and our natural, outward expression of what we aspire to be this time around. The Moon shows time of the month (phase, day) and is indicative of the past and of our inner or nighttime realms – memory, dreams, soul lineage – what we bring with us, unconsciously. The Ascendant completes the picture with our precise moment of arrival/first breath. There is something very fated and acutely personal about this moment.
To the ancients, it was not so much the moment itself or even the rising sign, necessarily, but the star heralding or accompanying the Sun, as it rose on the day of birth (they didn’t have clocks) that was of prime importance. Stars on any angle or conjunct a luminary or planet are also significant, coming into play at different times during the course of a life. We could muse that this first star on the horizon is our navigational star, guiding us back to the ‘berth’.
Compass rose, France 1543 and sounding lead (for measuring depths), Marseille, 1st c
The TdM Star card is also interpreted as Venus, since she is symbolized with 8 points, but of course she can also have 5 (evening and morning star symbols). In the Tarocchi of ‘Mantegna’ print below, we find Venus in her river toilette (note the anagram, there), with her entourage of Eros and the Graces, looking suspiciously like the Star card figure. Meanwhile, in the unique, Leber-Rouen card, a witchy ‘Stella Maris’ looks like the wild twin of Botticelli’s serene goddess. (Might the cross/ankh around her neck have been an add-on?).
‘Mantegna’ Venus and Leber-Roen Venusian, mid 15th c
Lodovico Lazzarelli, in his De Gentilium Deorum Imaginibus (trans. William O’Neal) described the first one:
Nude Venus swims forth from the midst of the natal wave of the sea, and the fair one holds a sea-shell in her right hand. For she divests lovers from extraordinary cares and affairs. Nude Venus calls nude bodies to herself Indeed the sea shell engages itself in sexual union within its own body. Passionate love is ship-wrecked by a sea of troubles.
The victor stands with his quiver of arrows, and he is swift on his wings. The nude boy Cupid stands with eyes covered. At one time he hurls down golden arrowheads from his bow and at another time lead ones, and each strikes the hearts of men with a different wound. The lead-tipped arrows drive love away but the golden-tipped bring it about. As hatred is strong so also love is dear. The nude boy loves the defenseless. Love with eyes covered does not know at whom he aims. He drags his prisoners through hard places. And those ignorant of every road wander off through lonely places The boy calls young men to his camp. Love marks out their unstable souls for his swift wings. He causes wounds hastened along by his quivers.
The Idalian nymphs, the fair and pleasing crowd of three, stand together with their bodies unclothed. They hold their arms together bound by interchanging bonds as often interchanging Love ties the bonds. The first holds the light of her countenance and her eyes toward us. The rest of her group sees us in her gentle eyes. First, Pasithea enraptures us in her gentle fires. Aglaia revives those taken in with her flattery. Euphrosyne entangles them in fetters and strong chains, and she does not permit her captives to go back. Then, Venus, pitying those mangled in such sorrows encourages them with her sweet enticements and flattery. Poets have treated these many things from the star of Venus which lovingly presides over the triple place of heaven. This constellation stands in the highest part of heaven with a triple name. Of course, it has always been said to be Venus.
Sounds a bit like alchemy-speak, no? Lead and gold-tipped arrows? I’m still pondering the arrangement of her four doves. Anyone?
In the Leber-Rouen card, our Stella Maris is of course Venus-Fortuna, for she holds in one hand a large arrow-cum-spindle, its quiver wound (with hair?). In the other, she grasps a lock of her windswept tresses. It bears a similarity to Lazzarelli’s description – she lures or navigates ships through shifting weather in the same, fated manner as Cupid sends forth his arrows.
Dame Fortune wielding a large arrow, French, 1403
Sailors were a superstitious lot. They believed women, being ‘wetter’ (ie, more lunar) than men had a special power over the sea. Medical writers like Pliny the Elder, in his Natural History (77 AD) declared, “For, in the first place, hailstorms, they say, whirlwinds, and lightening even, will be scared away by a woman uncovering her body while her monthly courses are upon her. The same, too, with all kinds of tempestuous weather; and out at sea, a storm may be lulled by a woman uncovering her body.” Hence ancient goddesses, Isis in particular, but also the Stella Maris (‘Star of the Sea’, which could be Venus or any navigational star) became protector of ships at sea, and female figureheads were often bare-breasted.
The power of the jugs
Now, obviously I’ve focused only on the more cryptic Star cards, as mystery is what I find interesting, but there are just a few more worth an honourable mention, before wrapping up this essay. Their imagery, at first, may not seem to relate to our running theme, but let’s take a closer look…
Tarot of Paris early 1600s, Jacques Vieville 1650, ‘Mantegna Tarocchi’ Geometria 1460s
The third image is not a Star card but depicts one of the Liberal Arts inspiring these learned men: Geometry (‘to measure the earth’). Of all the Liberal Arts personified in the ‘Mantegna’, she is the only one floating in the sky above.
In the first card, the man sits at a drafting or reading table with books on it and holds the compass to his head, in thought. It’s hard to say whether he’s aware of the Star or whether it’s symbolic only, but divine, mathematical inspiration is being transmitted. I like to think of him as either an astrologer or an explorer creating maps.
Checkered floor of the alchemy lab
In the second card, the central Star and four little stars form a ‘quintessential’ arrangement. An astronomer/astrologer or mason (or alchemist) sits in contemplation or meditation before a cathedral-like building that has a clock or rose window in its bell tower. The division of the cosmos has now become a precision science, thanks to the sacred gadget. He appears to be measuring the heavens, but as in the Paris card, the compass almost seems to be a conduit and, held this way, it resembles the numeral V (5). The ground has a checkered pattern typical of masonry tiles and alchemists’ labs, but also resembling meridian lines of the earthly plain. Vieville or whoever created the the images for this deck was likely of the Rosicrucian Brotherhood. It’s just barely possible find a rose hidden under that red circle behind the figure’s head.
Like the Cary, in Vieville we find a 5th small star, this time in the clock/window face, connecting the above and the below. The Vieville Star card with its theme of enlightenment is in contrast to his Moon card, wherein an old woman sits spinning yard (and fate) under a tree, in the realm of night.
Geometry’s sacred tool.
The compass (actually called a divider) was specifically created in order to measure the heavens (hence time), while the much older square was used for earthly structures. These were the two essential tools of the stone masons and still form the well-known, Freemason logo. Because it allowed for the concept of eternity/divinity (the monad) to be perfectly drawn, the compass became a symbol of man’s spirituality and higher nature.
“It is said that the compasses’ two points represent spirit and matter, life and form; from these all the complexities of the fleeting, ever-changing mantle of the one-life are produced within the circle, self-imposed by the Being who has decreed the bounds of His Universe or His System.” ~ Harold Bayley, The Lost Language of Symbolism
Thus in these two variations, another aspect of the Star is emphasized: human intellect (Mercury/Aquarius) or indeed wisdom as the vehicle for uniting Heaven and Earth.
God/Christ the Geometer creating the world soul, 13th c
The sacred tool bears a notable resemblance to a stork or crane, birds associated with birth/immortality (like crow and raven, they are interchangeable, symbolically). We all know the greeting card baby delivery propaganda, but it was once the belief in Ancient Greece that they actually stole infants, like Harpies. [Fun fact: vultures evolved from storks.] Hera’s wrath again – this time at some haughty Pygmy queen who’d just given birth to a son:
The other Pygmies brought many gifts for the newborn infant, but Hera, enraged that Gerana would not worship her, elongated her neck and turned her into a crane. Wishing to keep close to her child, Gerana as a crane would fly from roof to roof, but the people armed themselves and chased her away, and thus arose the rivalry between the Pygmies and cranes. [Wikipedia]
“I’m crushing your head!”
Nevertheless, the nesting of cranes/storks on one’s rooftop is generally considered auspicious. People sometimes placed old cartwheels on the roof, to help initiate nesting. (Interesting we have named the mechanical monsters of construction after them, due to the resemblance).
Indeed, if we zoom in on the ‘Mantegna’ Geometria print, we find one of these very birds hunting in the river below….and it has caught a snake!
Master of the e-series, Ferrara, 1460s (MET)
From compass to compass, star to star, this concludes our sojourn of the 17th Triumph. Thank you for reading. To explore more articles on the Tarot de Marseille, simply type ‘TdM’ into the search, or scroll the Home page, where I list recent articles. ~rb
Concept for Disney’s Snow White by Gustaf Tenggren – alchemy much?
With chthonic ‘dwarf planet’ Pluto at 29 Capricorn and opposite Black Moon Lilith at 29 Cancer, I was reminded of the ‘alchemist mining the earth’. In fact , this theme, I *believe* was central to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. ‘Hair black as ebony, skin as white as snow, lips red as blood’ happen to be the three ‘distinct’ phases of the Magnum Opus; nigredo, albedo, rubedo (sometimes there was a 4th, citrinitas, between the albedo and rubedo). These were also enumerated to seven stages, corresponding with the seven planetary spheres…or dwarfs. Not to mention that glass ‘coffin’.
Here is the clip I was rereading from my files, and apologies, I don’t remember where I originally clipped it from, but it is a quote (must be old, as it uses ‘man’, maybe from Jung?):
“The alchemist mining the earth. Mining or going inside the earth is the first step in the alchemical process. The earth is the body or oneself. Going inside the earth is equal to going into your inner self. Thus we are invited to descend into the earth, into the underworld, or the unconscious. The earth is the symbol of physical man. Man needs to become conscious of his inner world, who he is, what he is doing, what his motives are, and so on. Once attention is directed inwards, a whole new world opens: the underworld of Hades, the dark realm of shadows and monsters.“
And this is from another source, regarding the black phase or ‘nigredo’:
“Here, we are being asked to let go of all within us and outside of us that is false, inauthentic, and not in full alignment with the truth of who we are. This is a truth as it exists on a soul level, far beyond the ego and its limited ideas or illusions about who we “should” be.”
Is it possible that we’re now collectively getting ready to ‘birth’ out of the ‘nigredo’ stage? We began descent into fermentation blackness when Pluto entered Capricorn (feminine earth sign) back in 2008. About a year and a half prior, Pluto had been “demoted” to ‘dwarf planet’ by a handful of young astronomers who thought they were clever by disempowering the planet-god. Clearly, Pluto was in fact operating through them from that unconscious, Hadean realm over which he presides. [Side note: I bet Pluto will take its former status back once it is securely in Aquarius.] As it is, too, with Black Moon Lilith, who loves the freedom of darkness and invisibility of night. In Cancer, the sign of the Moon and mother, she represents the ‘uterine’ blackness itself, the void people desperately try to to a-void but that must be traversed. Our fear of death likely has much to do with our memories of that messy and shocking business of rebirth.
When Ishtar descended into the underworld, she had to leave a veil or some such trapping at each of the seven gates she went through (i.e, stages/planetary spheres). Even then, she had the hubris to want to sit on her sister Ereshkigal’s throne, and for this, she was hung up on a meat hook until she learned her lesson. We can also think of the Hanged Man in Tarot, Odin, and the Freemasons’ weird hanging upside down ritual, meant to instill that same sense of emptying out the false self so as to receive true knowledge that is the ultimate unification of self with world knowledge. The mystery ‘cults’ of Ancient Greece and Rome likely had similar purpose (though originally based on fertility/seasons).
These types of healing and initiation rituals are as old as we are, and are related to vision quests. I am sure paleolithic humans/shamans weren’t so much concerned with ‘self and non-self’ but nevertheless, soul-loss or theft was considered a cause of sickness and their work involved traversing into other realms, perhaps through a pitch black, uterine cave passage, to set things right or be instructed by other beings, ancestors, animal spirits, etc. We exist in more than just this one, as we know simply from dreaming.
Dali Tarot Hanged Man
What happens much of the time is, people start going through this ‘inward’ process unconsciously and are either unaware or resistant. All one knows is the depression, self-loathing or other emotional unpleasantness that arises. This is a calling from deep in the soul, but thinking that it is abnormal and needs to be ‘cured’, one fights it, is taken over by substances used to quell it, or fears losing control, which is akin to death. Because how can one function in this world, with all its glaring eyes, while descending into another? But there is no choice. If we ignore this call, Pluto will then bring about an outer event that will force us inward. That is what has been happening, collectively. The three outer planets are ‘the three alchemists’; Uranus shocks, burns and blows up, Neptune dissolves and dissipates, and Pluto pressure-cooks us into change that is permanent. Their transits are long, affecting entire generations.
Artists, poets and musicians of each generation are modern shaman-alchemists of sorts, who traverse the deepest chasms to bring back healing for the rest of society (you’re welcome). But it’s not exclusive, by any means.
Pluto will be leaving earth and entering air starting March 23 (with two retrogrades back to Cap), followed by Uranus leaving earth and entering air and Neptune leaving water and entering fire, both in 2025. Use the next couple of years, with Saturn in Pisces and the alchemists still submerged or partly submerged, to do your spelunking. If you are hearing the soul’s call, don’t be afraid to descend, to enter the labyrinth (you can leave a golden thread to guide you back out). Perhaps you are already in one of the stages or nearing completion, as many of my Saturn Pisces brethren must be.
Point is, you are full of hidden mysteries and treasures to be mined!
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 creatureswere 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!”
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 a1placement. All ‘1‘ placement cards have to do with the theme of change/transition/death/rebirth: 1–Magician, 4-Emperor, 7-Chariot, 10-Wheel, 13-Unnamed, 16-Tower, 19-Sun.
Being the number of traditional planets/planetary spheres, 7has 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.
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.
It’s a Full Moon in Virgo, trining Uranus in Taurus. The Moon holds memories and Uranus can bring up very distant ones, from past lifetimes, but also future or parallel lives, since Uranus is not bound by Saturn timelines. Taurus is romantic, loves ancestry and Virgo loves to record and categorize. So let’s gaze into the crystal, Full Moon ball for clues to each sign’s lunar history…
Moon in Aries
Winged Athena holding a Helmet
Moon of mythic heroes and epic, battle sagas.
Yours is an ancient soul lineage of indigenous warriors or Amazons, thus combat is in your blood and likely your mother’s.
Patrick Henry’s immortal slogan, “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death” was first uttered on March 23, 1775, Aries season.
In Valhalla (Old Norse: Valhöll – “hall of the slain”), the Moon is always in Aries. Valkyries are your guardian angels.
You are nurtured by taking initiative, protecting life and being honored for your deeds.
Moon in Taurus
Crescent Moon, crescent horns of an Egyptian Bull
The Hathor Moon of milk and honey, that which the sacred cow jumped over. When people say ‘as old as the Moon’ they are talking about the Taurus Moon.
When the sensual, hoofed beauties of the first lunar calendars were painted in caves, to when the first Goddess temples were built, to the Golden Age of Egypt, you were there, worshiping and being worshiped. But your one, constant temple is nature itself.
You are nurtured by gentle breezes carrying the scent of Spring green, good food and sound sleeps.
Moon in Gemini
Medieval kinkiness
The Bardic Moon, the inconstant Moon of Romeo and Juliet and Courtly Love. By listening intently to the chattering of birds, you developed language, and later, writing, in order to describe the complexities of human emotion.
Like Cyrano, your words were often commissioned by enamored knights, to whom you generously offered delivery service. Your (in)famous dexterity was honed picking chastity belt locks by candlelight.
You are nurtured by your other half and by imagining things into being.
Moon in Cancer
Porcelain Crab
The Moon of the Great Mother Ocean, conductor of tidal movements and the cycles of rebirth.
Also the keeper of memories, hence Mnemosyne, mother of the 9 Muses.
Yours is a matriarchal cult that precedes temples, when Lucy walked the shores of Africa, nursing Monkey Jesus. You’ve never forgotten a single one of your infinite children (or loves) and hug them all to your breast, when full.
You are nurtured when cooking soul food for your tribe and by being in sync with the colour of your moods.
Moon in Leo
Roman Cybele
The Dramatic Moon, Cybele’s Moon.
In the Mountain Lion Mother’s temple, you took part in orgiastic rituals, as her half-wild attendants beat drums and danced, while ecstatic devotees offered their self-severed testicles.
You have never forgotten such scenes of devotion, and, while you don’t expect blood offerings these days, you’d still appreciate the occasional drum roll, upon entering a room, thank you very much.
You are nurtured by the self-confidence you feel when giving and receiving creative encouragement.
Moon in Virgo
Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Isis or Holy Mother Moon, Moon of witches, healers and midwives.
In the distant past, some of you were responsible for keeping records, including the cycles, names and many uses of plants, others, for libations and purification rituals. Later, in the age of ‘enlightenment’, the first group went on to study medicine, while the others chose a life of the cloth, continuing to serve the Holy Mother, under a different guise.
You still like pure food and being on both first and Latin name terms with the plants in your garden, where you are nurtured and grounded by making improvements…so your cats say.
The Manna Moon, and Moon of Temperance.
Your lineage introduced the concept of ‘fairness’ as well as the legalities around trade, marriage and other civilities, based on what was later understood as karma, or, in olde Egypt, the Weighing of Hearts.
Ever since your Greek days, you have been dividing the Gods and Goddesses of your psyche, assigning to each a chord or rhythm and trying different combinations, listening carefully for harmony and discord. You are nurtured by finding the harmonic ones, in all areas of life.
Moon in Scorpio
Hekate, by William Blake
Hekate’s Moon, Moon of sorcery and shamanic healing.
The casting and removal of hexes is in your soul lineage.
In your own illness, you flew to the land of the dead and back, thus were selected to preside over this transition – be it by returning there, entranced, to retrieve lost souls, preparing the dead, or guiding the deceased towards rebirth.
The elite of your tribe wrote the manuals (The Tibetan and Egyptian Books, for example), while those on the ground practiced midwifery or donned the anonymous, black hood. Residual, last words of the condemned still echo, occasionally, so these days you try to focus on the rebirth part.
Nocturnal animals are your familiars and deep, healing love, your nurturing tonic.
Moon in Sagittarius
Centaur Reading, by Odilon Redon
The Artemis-Diana Moon, former gypsy, nomad, traveler, with lifetimes of stories to draw from.
You are a semi-retired Sindbad who continues armchair time-traveling to communicate with yourself, in long ago and far away places.
Like Chiron, you are nurtured by nature, freedom and independence, as well as learning and seeking. “Don’t fence me in” is your motto, yet you ultimately seek that place to call home.
You forgive but you don’t forget, because why would you leave out any part your life’s novel ?
[My own lineage, Moon of my mother, both maternal grandparents, aunt and some of my cousins on her side, as well as my paternal grandfather and aunt!]
The Druid Moon or Pan Moon, the old, wise one, behind the scenes power mover, shaker, money maker, who knows the inner workings of the outer world and how to keep persona and personal separate.
Like your Stonehenge ancestors, you rarely, if ever, divulge your secrets, and distrust all sycophants or anyone offering a free lunch, for that matter.
Somewhere in your past, you were the scapegoat, and that fear still haunts your memory.
You are nurtured by the finer things in life and may have a dark or gallows sense of humour.
Moon in Aquarius
[artist?]The cosmic crystal (frozen fire) Moon, holding all the resonance codes of creation.
In your telepathic lineage, communication is equal between all lifeforms. You may be/have been one of the extra-terrestrials advancing our technology in preparation for the Aquarian Age.
You have emotions, it’s just that you find them too heavy for communicating through time and space and one can’t bend spoons with them. Also, because electricity travels faster and is more deadly in water, you are wary of electrocuting others should your emotions get the better of you.
You are nurtured by freeing minds.
The Mystic Moon, where imposed, grid time and other boundaries seem like drag nets.
Long ago, when the water dried up and left you in the middle of a desert, you began walking (or dancing) the mystical path, in bare feet and have never stopped.
Nurtured by that which glimmers, you understand we are living in an illusion, but most people don’t know how to and you can’t bear to watch them suffer. You are frequently late, since your clock is melting and crawling with ants, but the love you give more than makes up for it.
Descartes denied that animals had reason or intelligence. He argued that animals did not lack sensations or perceptions, but these could be explained mechanistically. Whereas humans had a soul, or mind, and were able to feel pain and anxiety, animals by virtue of not having a soul could not feel pain or anxiety. If animals showed signs of distress then this was to protect the body from damage, but the innate state needed for them to suffer was absent. Although Descartes’ views were not universally accepted they became prominent in Europe and North America, allowing humans to treat animals with impunity. The view that animals were quite separate from humanity and merely machines allowed for the maltreatment of animals, and was sanctioned in law and societal norms. [Wikipedia]
Such cold, clinical mindset (which ignores the fact that we are animals and we feel) still pervades today, because progress depends on it, not because there is any truth to it.
Uranus was discovered in the 18th c, and along with the many scientific breakthroughs and discoveries, the shadow side was this overly-clinical, detached way of relating to other living ‘things’. Nature was no longer sacred, only the human soul was. Everything else was formula, which could be measured, dissected, categorized. Astrology was kicked of of astronomy, alchemy out of chemistry, and myth would become synonymous with ‘lie’. Doctors took over from midwives, magic became a sideshow act, as did people with physical deformities.
It’s no wonder there was a huge, spiritualist movement at the end of the 19th century. Perhaps this was indicative of another side of Uranus coming into play – the free thinker, telepath, prophet or astrologer who seeks to unify everything and who can ‘see the world in a grain of sand.’ The fin-de-ciecle of the 19th c also gave us Frankenstein and Dracula, metaphors for mad science/creation envy and inherent, human cannibalism (according to Guillermo del Toro).
The overwhelmingly positive response to the Queen’s simple and predictable address today, as Black Moon Lilith conjuncts the Sun, shows that many people are starved for the slightest bit of the sacred in their lives. Popular religion is often too abstracted, no longer bearing any resemblance to the natural cycles and phenomena it was originally inspired by.
I’m reminded of when Diana died in a car crash. People were weeping in part for the princess, but more deeply, I think, for the Goddess. Lilith’s destructiveness stems from the lunar Goddess’ rejection and the stripping of her ‘corona’ – the severing of her head/mental power source. This is more obvious in the myth of Medusa, whose head writhes with primordial serpent wisdom.
Looking at this corona virus (even the name) as a symbolic phenomenon, it is a symptom of our dislocation from the sacred, within and without. The lungs are where grief manifests, around the heart (Aquarius/Leo). Viruses are now thought to play role in our evolution, in changing our DNA. So this is also part of our birthing process.
Restoration of the sacred is something we can all take part in. We simply need to listen, become humble in the presence of nature, life, death and learn to live with reverence again – easy! – we are all indigenous to planet earth and this infinite universe.
The number 20 illustrates an ear and open orifice. Yes it is the Judgement calling card, but it is also through the ear (sound, vibration, frequency) that the holy spirit – the shape-making essence – is conceived.
Medical Definition of conception 1a : the process of becoming pregnant involving fertilization or implantation or both. b : embryo, fetus. 2a : the capacity, function, or process of forming or understanding ideas or abstractions or their symbols. b : a general idea. [Merriam Webster]
The world hasn’t experienced a fixed sign age since the Age of Taurus (fixed earth). Usually there is one civilization that seems to embody the spirit of an age, and Egypt of the Old and Middle Kingdoms, was definitely ‘it’ during Taurus. Land cultivation, artistic and musical harmonics and architecture were perfected and created to last an eternity. This was due not only to Taurus’ stamina and love of beauty, but also to the power-nature of its polarity sign, Scorpio (fixed water), concerning magic, medicine, death ritual and the afterlife.
Cat mummy coffin
Today we are at the beginning of the fixed sign Age of Aquarius, with the polarity of Leo. Many of us have speculated what the Age of Aquarius will bring, but let’s look at the Leo side of things – seeing as it’s a Leo full Moon this weekend – as well as how various features from the Taurus Age, particularly from Egypt, are resurfacing in our consciousness. Aquarius forms a square to Taurus, meaning this will be the time when difficult challenges to what we started back then are presented to us.
Cat Worship
Cats were revered in Ancient Egypt for protecting the grain supply, their immunity to scorpion stings and for their absolute maternal nature. Leo is of course a cat, and it’s amusing to see how cats have already taken over the social network, Aquarian territory. They’ll play an important role in our awareness, as they are natural spiritual gurus (I’m even seeing a religion here). Aquarius loves aliens and angels, and cats are both, are they not?
Sun God Ra as a Cat, slaying Apep (chaos/darkness)
Leo rules the heart, while Aquarius rules the mind
In ancient Egyptian medicine, everything started with the heart – no matter what dis-ease a person had, there was ultimately a heart/soul problem at its roots. The heart is the Sun of the body and Sun is Leo’s ruler. Weighed after death against the feather of Ma’at (‘truth’), a heart heavy with sin or untruthfulness would be eaten by Ammut, or so the Egyptians believed.
Weighing of the Heart ceremony
There are widespread depression and mental health problems today and though science and drugs are the Aquarian, rational approach to making us all feel the same way, how can any individual be happy when we know so many of our sisters and brothers, of all species, are suffering needlessly? We share and feel each other’s pain, mistakenly thinking it is just our own. Aquarius mind balanced with Leo heart is the light of the world.
Eye of Horus and Pineal gland – the ‘third’ Eye
Leo is also the performer/artist and art is the best therapy, whether making your own or being healed by a wonderful film, play, book or visit to the gallery. Each must become creative now in some way, it’s our birthright. We’re already witnessing this happening, as unknown individuals become overnight, internet sensations (Aquarius). Ultimately an artist isn’t just one who can paint or act, but who is able to transform their great work – their life – and thereby inspire others to do the same. The arts just happen to be the best vehicle/medicine for doing this.
Alchemy comes from Egypt, the ‘black art’ of turning dung or lead into gold, in other words, the art of personal transformation from base to enlightened self. The Sun’s metal never loses it’s value.
Farming in the Age of Taurus vs Frankenfarming in the Age of Aquarius
The places that were fertile so many thousands of years ago are now deserts, in part because of unsustainable practices. Leo is a hunter, a nomad, it goes where the food goes – food normally being hoofed herbivores. Short of turning all Mad Max, we could at least quit over-working the same soil and grow things according to where and when they’ll grow best, instead of demanding tasteless strawberries 365 days a year. The Taurus square aspect is being felt by farmers who now struggle to meet demands, as well as health-conscious consumers, when we see how good land and food are being contaminated or wasted. Increasingly, we’ll be challenged to replace ownership with stewardship. ‘Bull market’ needs a redefinition. Like the Egyptians who carefully observed and utilized the flooding of the Nile as well as all animal behaviour, we must re-learn to live in accordance with nature or die out as a species. Egyptians worshipped the Sun God, Ra and we’d be wise to befriend him, in the form of solar power, lest our future pyramids be the ruins of toxic, Uranian, nuclear reactors.
Apis Bull transporting the dead
Speaking of nomads, the numbers of homeless and slum-dwellers have been steadily growing. Also, people move around and travel probably more today than at any other time in history. In general, we seem to be carrying a lot more stuff, too – if the growth in handbag size, cars and baby strollers over the last several decades is any indication. To have-not and travel light is another hard lesson for the Taurus-bred mentality… the Egyptian nobles even ‘took it all with them’ into the next world. But having an over-abundance of things hampers one’s freedom to live and to die. (Having too much stuff in your head or too much information is the Aquarian equivalent). Part of the lesson from all the recent Aquarian floods and Leonine fires is about un-attachment and ingenuity.
Mummified bull (Smithsonian)
In the spirit of afterlife and rebirth, it’s interesting that the Egyptian revolution started right at the onset of the Age of Aquarius last year… their struggle has been a very long one. Perhaps souls have now returned from the distant past, to overthrow the Pharaohs.
Riddle of the Sphinx:
What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon and three legs in the evening ? Answer:
Man – he crawls on all fours as a baby, walks on two legs as an adult and then with a cane in old age.
The Sphinx is a lion (Leo) with a human head (Aquarius). A Good mascot for the Aquarian Age !
