Tag: death

Posted on

Jupiter in Pisces pt 2 – Trust in Mystery

Another important theme of Jupiter in Pisces is keeping faith as we navigate waters that are not always perfectly clear. Jupiter has everything to do with faith, but we should also remember that he is the greater prophet as well as a  triad (with his other expressions being ‘brothers,’ Neptune and Pluto). Zeus-Jupiter’s psychopomp/messenger son Hermes-Mercury  is really just a chip off the old block. Indeed, Jupiter is often overlooked  as having anything to do with death in a chart, but will often indicate whether a person had a ‘good’ death, in the spiritual sense.

Again, this quote:

For the supreme maker first creates things, then seizes upon them and thirdly perfects them…
…Thus they first flow from that perennial fountain as they are born, then they flow back to it as they seek to revert to their origin, and finally they are perfected after they have returned to their beginning. This was divined by Orpheus when he called Jupiter the beginning, the middle and the end of the universe…

~ from Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, by Edgar Wind

As if to reiterate, the Cerberus, who guards the gates of Hades, has three dog heads, said to represent past, present and future (from an excellent blog, linked below):

One head of the dog represents the past, one the present, and the third is the future. Cerberus characterizes all of the negative aspects of each of these time frames. He aims to freeze forward movement and lock us into negative, repetitive patterns. Obsessing about the past, overwhelm in the present, and fear of the future are his methods.

We all have a three-headed dog in the dark regions of our psyche. If we are to live the life we envision, and not the one we fear, we must overcome Cerberus. The past, present and future can be sources of comfort, inspiration and encouragement. Or, they can be a nightmare. The choice is ours to make.

~ Patrick O’Neill, Extraordinary Conversations

It’s worth mentioning that Scylla, the legendary sea-monster of Greek mythology (ie, yet another demonized Goddess) that haunted the rocks of a narrow straight, opposite the whirlpool Charybdis, also had dog extensions growing from her flanks. This is likely the origin of the expression, ‘caught between a rock and a hard place.’ When we can see no way through a situation and must ultimately turn to faith, have patience and wait for an answer to our request from the universe for help or guidance.

Sunk waist-deep in the cave’s recesses, she still darts out her head from that frightening hollow, and there, groping greedily round the rock, she fishes for dolphins (delphines) and for sharks (kynes) and whatever beast (ketos) more huge than these she can seize upon from all the thousands that have their pasture from loud-moaning Amphitrite. No seaman ever, in any vessel, has boasted of sailing that way unharmed, for with every single head of hers she snatches and carries off a man from the dark-prowed ship. You will see that the other cliff lies lower, no more than an arrow’s flight away. On this there grows a great leafy fig-tree; under it, awesome Kharybdis (Charybdis) sucks the dark water down . . . No, keep closer to Skylla’s cliff, and row past that as quickly as may be; far better to lose six men and keep your ship than to lose your men one and all.’
So she spoke, and I answered her: ‘Yes, goddess, but tell me truly–could I somehow escape this dire Kharybdis and yet make a stand against the other when she sought to make my men her prey?’
So I spoke, and at once the queenly goddess answered : ‘Self-willed man , is your mind then set on further perils, fresh feats of war? Will you not bow to the deathless gods themselves?

~ Scylla and the Voyage of Odysseus, Theoi.com

People often come for readings because of fear and want to believe they have some control over the future by finding out what it might be. This is not really possible – at least not without a grasp on the past and more importantly, the present. For like Jupiter and his brothers, or the heads of Cerberus, the three are all one being. And would it actually even help to see into the future? This is also why Jupiter, ruler of Sagittarius, is the god of speculation and gambling.

Yesterday, on my low tide beach walk, I came upon a small, dead fish. I noticed the water was very murky. Perhaps it had lost it’s way or  its gills became clogged. More likely it was a bait fish that didn’t get eaten. Each day, the tides bring in something different; reams of ivy cuttings, a dead sea lion, limes, agates, plant bulbs, bits of china and glass, fossil wood, a yacht, rose petals, star fish, bones…manifestations of the cluttered 12th house. From whence did these things come? How did they end up here? And where do they go when they disappear again? Life on earth came from this body of salt water and it’s all still a great mystery to us. This is why Jupiter, traditional ruler of Pisces is the god of religion and spiritual matters.

At this moment, the Moon is at 0 Virgo, directly opposite Jupiter. Virgo is one of Mercury’s houses, and has a tendency toward sorting practical details and analyzing.  Mercury is in Gemini, his other house, and is ‘slowing down’ in preparation for retrograde, beginning on the 29th. Though we will try, we will be unable to see what’s ahead during this time and must now let Jupiter faith and trust in the greater mystery to guide us. Pay attention to dreams, serendipity and omens (such as finding a dead fish).

Remember that symbolic phenomena doesn’t necessary ‘mean’ anything other than what it IS in its mysterious power. Our Virgo/Mercurial analyzer wants to know what it  literally means, so we heed the warnings of priests, superstitions and dream analysis books, not to mention astrologers, rather than just trusting what we felt and that we can’t ultimately know the reason.
(However, an astrologer, like the meteorologist, can tell you what conditions will be like, so that you can better prepare).

As an example, once, when I was not well and had very little ‘qi’, a friend was driving me to a doctor’s appointment, when a crow,  scuffling with another crow, hit the window on my side, like a bolt. It gave me a great shock, as you can imagine. The next day, another bird hit my studio window, which rarely happens, especially not right after another such incident! I could have groped in the dark for meaning and seen this as a ‘bad omen’ (certainly not good for the birds), but instead took it for what it was…life energy literally being hurled at me in physical form. I thanked the bird messengers for their vehicular sacrifice.
Similarly, when things happen or don’t happen due to timing, which is so often the case during Mercury Rx, we get upset and ‘blame the messenger’, when maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

Perhaps you’ve heard this fable?

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“Maybe,” the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. “Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. “Maybe,” said the farmer.


All  written content except where quoted in bold is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reproduced without my permission, plus credit and link to the site. You may share the article via link.
All photographs copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and must include credit and link to the site, if shared.  Thanks!
(I don’t like having to repeat this every time, but unfortunately it’s necessary).

 

Posted on

Election Vivisection Redux

And when he came to the place where the wild things are
they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth
and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws
till Max said “BE STILL!”
and tamed them with a magic trick
of staring into their yellow eyes without blinking once
and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all
and made him king of all wild things
“And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!”

~ from ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak

Below are excerpts from two articles from my old blog archives. I was not going to include them – or any political posts – in this new site, but under the circumstances, it’s kind of interesting now, to see the writing on the wall. The summation for me was Patti Smith singing ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ at the Nobels, after the dictator won the election in 2016. The sinking feeling we’d all had foreshadowed so much that has befallen us since, but the song is hopeful at the end.
(Photos of the subject have been removed, as well as his full name,   because we’ve seen quite enough).

Monday, March 14, 2016 – Triumph of the Donald

Triumph of Mars

Why do I get the feeling, when I witness DT, that he is a man in great pain, begging to be put out of his misery ?

Geminis often make great actors, because of their channeling abilities, as long as they can consciously take the persona off at the end of the day. Gemini Marilyn Monroe was an example of one who could not. Having ‘no there, there’ can be scary, feel empty.
One of the more serious conditions a non-conscious or un-grounded Gemini can suffer from is demon or spirit possession, because, being mutable air they are often not quite in their bodies, and being Mercurial, even the less shadowy twins can sometimes attract invisible friends, conjuring unawares. Demons eat negativity and when they find a host, they encourage more and more of it in them, to feast on, as was the case with Gemini Rob Ford, former mayor of Toronto.

Similarly, DT is getting more bloated and insane and less in control of his words and actions. He is not on crack, though I am not sure about pharmaceuticals. At the same time, because of the path he’s taken, he has no choice but to see it through, high stakes, winner take all. Speculative Sagittarius Moon opposite his Gemini Sun. DT has Uranus (higher octave of Mercury) conjunct Sun and opposite Moon. Uranus here bestows an obstinate self-centeredness, extreme unpredictability and the courage of one’s own convictions, no matter how crazy. Monotony is anathema, therefore the pot must always be stirred. With Moon opp Uranus, the soul is never at rest and the person cannot be happy living in the present. The need for intensity eventually can wear them out. I think he is worn out, but his demons are keeping him hopped up and he likes the mojo. And Mercury square Neptune can be delusional.

Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Satan, 16th c

America loves Uranus, because it’s the planet of Aquarius, society at large, freedom, revolution, the rebel without a cause, wild at heart, as well as science and technology, discovery. But it’s unpredictability has a dark side, too – energetic forces that we don’t know how to control, nukes, big pharma, genetic engineering, and internet disinformation that flows like spilled water. Any planets close to the Sun want their place in the Sun, they’re ‘hot’, so I think his Uranus (insert Uranus joke here) is what people notice first and foremost…certainly that ‘shock’ of hair. His followers feel oppressed by ‘political correctness’ and see him as their liberator.

It’s funny, because mythological Uranus was no liberator. And we now know Uranus, like Saturn, has rings, so even though it marches to a different drummer, it is not entirely unconstrained by limitations. In any case, DT’s North Node lies right smack between his Sun and Uranus, so there’s a destiny to fulfill, for better or worse, and it’s tied in with his aggressive, lonely, Leo Mars ego in the 12th house of karmic debt and self-undoing. The 12th house is where one seeks to dissolve ‘me’ and devote to higher ideals, to transcend ego and free oneself from residue of past deeds. Pluto is also in Leo, there (if his birth time is correct), at 10 degrees. The Pluto-Leo generation have issues and past guilt around things like privilege and wealth, lording it over others. It’s the rock star/super star Baby Boomer bunch. Many of them worked through their karma on stage, through performance. Well, America has had  an actor for president before…

Giansar is the fixed star conjunct DT’s Pluto, in the tail of Draco. It indicates having many friends and an analytical mind, but also the name means ‘the punished enemy’ as well as ‘the poison place’, because it is similar in nature to the south node (Dragon’s tail). He may very well be re-living a past life of being a punished dictator. Royal star Regulus, Heart of the Lion aka ‘Little King’, is right smack on his ascendant, conjunct Mars by a few degrees, meaning he sees himself – and others may see him – as a ruthless king. Well, he certainly does live like royalty.
The fixed stars around his Sun have to do with high position, quick mind, quick temper, luck, brief fame, scandal, quarrels, weapons of war, point of attack and the Death card in Tarot. (I think of stars as being indicative of the past, because their light has come from there, reaching us in the present and lighting particular points of the chart).

Mussolini was Leo Sun w Gemini Pluto, in mutual reception to DT’s Gemini Sun and Leo Pluto.


Thursday, October 27, 2016
Election Vivisection

Watching parts of the last presidential debate made me physically nauseous for about three days. Both candidates are frightening, but I think DT is actually, literally toxic, a product of all the psychological hazardous waste in the US, having taken on a life form.


It’s hard to say who was doing exactly what last time around, but 1938  keeps coming up again and again. The players have changed, but the cycle has come back to the same spot. Fun fact – H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds was first broadcast Oct 30, 1938, causing widespread panic, because  Orson Welles made it sound so realistic. The first large scale example, perhaps, of how collective fear could be manipulated by media. (Aptly, it was a Mercury Theatre production). We are seeing that every day now, but nobody is coming on air after the fact to tell us that it’s not real !

I’m not the only one who thinks there will be a plot twist to this election. Some think there will be an assassination or attempt on either candidate, most predict some kind of voting fraud or mishap. I think it will come after the election, whether it be assassination, health-related or some criminal allegation. Not sure, just know that the actual election is not going to be the end of this madness, just a point of release.

Looking to 1938 again,  there were a few very false starts, like when Hitler was named TIME Magazine’s Man of the Year. That’s right, Hitler, Man of the Year. Meanwhile, concentration camps were opening up in Germany, the passports of Jews were being confiscated and their businesses being looted, the Holocaust had begun. The Munich Agreement saw Germany, Italy, France and Britain agree to the annexation of the Sudetenland/Czechoslovakia by Germany, without any say from the Czechs, thinking this would avert war. Neville Chamberlain arrived home, waving the signed papers, proclaiming, “Peace in our time !”  Yeah, that didn’t happen. Instead, Mussolini began demanding France cede various ‘colonies’ to Italy, the Middle east was also being carved up, and the atomic age officially started when nuclear fission, using Uranium was first discovered that year.
Seeing any parallels yet ? Now we have refugee camps, passports being confiscated, new dictators, Ukraine, Syria, use of depleted uranium, the threat of nukes and world war for real, rearing it’s ugly head… Not making predictions, just noting that unfinished business has returned to collect and the tension is thick as black, Russian rye.

Comparing their charts, Putin trumps DT, and his crafty, Gemini Moon must give a sense of security or recognition to DT’s ‘no there there’ Sun. I’d have to agree that Trump makes a very excellent, Putinesque puppet. It’s a mutual, buddy-buddy relationship, sure, except that one of the buddies is not playing with a full deck, the other is a major, world player. A narcissist like DT with Mars and Pluto in the 12th is attracted to power like a fly to excrement and is therefore malleable. At the same time, he has a lot of power residue, left over from the past, and is an excellent manipulator himself, but he does not use it responsibly, he throws it about, inciting people to be their worst and attracting entities. The man is akin to a walking ear worm of your most hated song.

Well, less than 3 weeks to go…

Btw, Nov 9 in 1938 was ‘Kristallnacht’, the ‘night of broken glass’, in Germany, when Nazi activists and sympathizers spent the night on a rampage, burning and looting Jewish businesses and synagogues. We can likely expect some violence around this election – if he loses, there will be anger, rioting by those believing the results fixed… if he wins, there will be idiots who see it as permission to go on a racist rampage.

And now, back to the present…

Attack on US Congress, Jan 6, 2021 – either that upholstery goes or we do.

This just in…
A friend posted to FB this morning. Old footage of a Nazi rally at Madison Square Gardens, 1939, pieced together and cleaned up by director Marshall Curry. It seems hard to believe (although I’d heard of this event, before), but then, considering Hitler was TIME’s Man of the Year, just the year before, and the world had not yet seen the concentration camps, maybe not so hard. Please watch this 6 minutes of horror.

All written content except quotations herein is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be reposted or reprinted without permission plus a credit and a link to this page. Thank you.

 

Posted on

High Priestess – Tapping in to the Divine Feminine

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

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

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

Grimaud TdM

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


All written content herein, except the Nag Hammadi excerpts, is copyright ©Roxanna Bikadoroff 2016 and may not be reproduced without permission. Ok to share the article via link, however.

 

Posted on

Rethinking Black Moon Lilith


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

Digitally ‘restored’ Burney Relief, depicting Lilith or Ereshkigal

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

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

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

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

*enlightened being, aka deity.

 

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

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

 

Posted on

The Sacred Rites of Scorpio Season


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Plutonians harnessing Venusian power in Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut

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

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

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


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

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

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

Thoth Tarot Death card,  devouring Mother Kali

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

Two versions of Goddess Lakshmi

All written content herein is ©copyright Roxanna Bikadoroff.  It may not be copied/re-used without permission. Ok to share via link.

Posted on

Eleven Power and Twin Towers

Today, Americans are marking the 10th anniversary of September 11. Nobody will ever be able to forget where they were that morning, nor the striking footage – somehow shot so clearly from every angle possible – of the world’s tallest skyscraper disintegrating into smoke before our very eyes.

At this time every year, I am compelled to zoom out and view the extensive symbolism surrounding the the Twin Towers, which stood for three decades as the financial matrix of the world. Two images stand out and contrast in my mind; one of Philippe Petit playfully defying death, atop a tightrope, (the beginning), and one of people falling to theirs from the burning buildings (the end). Both are of mythic proportion, completely surreal and defy explanation within the scope of our ordinary reality.

Power and the Tower

In a previous post I mentioned how Tarot expresses ‘universal laws.’ It’s as if all the scripts were written (by us) long ago and we just keep re-enacting and revising them…and that is really what myths are – a record of dream-time stories from the collective unconscious, unlike history, which is a record of stories as events, as they occur in the outer world.
Sometimes the fabric between the two realms is lifted or torn and the effect is momentous, impossible to explain. It usually happens when the rational mind (masculine) has become too dominant, threatening the balance of life by depleting us of mystery, magic and awe (feminine). A grand act of surrealism, for better or worse, throws our rational minds into chaos, challenging our set notion of which realm, exactly, we are in. It’s a form of death, when everything familiar suddenly isn’t. And at this opening between the veils (in Greek, the word apocalypse means ‘lifting of the veil’), there is a moment of truth or grace, when time just stops and feels infinite at once. This is the expression of the ‘mute’ number, 11.  In  Marseille Tarot arcanum 11,  La Force, the Goddess’ hat is shaped like a lemniscate or number 8, signifying her infinite dominion over balance, truth, paradox, law and order in the natural world.

Grimaud TdM

11 is the master number of illumination and inspiration. If it shows up, that’s usually a sign. World players know of the number’s power and have tried to invoke it – Armistice was signed on 11/11 at the 11th hour and Prince William and Kate Middleton were married on the 29th (reduces to 11) day of the month at the 11th hour in 2011.  The towers themselves formed a colossal 11, as if standing in constant invocation to the heavens. And they were twins. In  both alchemy and cross-cultural myth, twins embody the duality (and paradox) that each of us must work with, overcome and unify, a theme that reappears over and over in Tarot. Another duality we create and reckon with is between ourselves and what we imagine as God. Any act of balance or karma takes the form of Judgement in our minds, as if we are being rewarded or punished by events we have no control over.
A tower is, of course, an overtly masculine symbol. It’s  La Maison Dieu, ‘God’s House.’ Putting aside Babel for a moment, in Tarot duality terms, that means the opposing and uniting force that knocks down the ego, blows it’s mind or brings it to climax is feminine – ‘La Force’ of arcanum 11.

The Supreme Mother Goddess, Durga, whose name means ‘Fortress’,  rides a lion or tiger. (Bengal, late 19th/early 20th c)


Enter the Solar Hero

Not surprisingly, the young man who heard the Towers calling him  to give them life is a double fire sign, Leo (the Lion) with Aries Moon.  He is an agile performer, the fearless star of his own show – an artist who creates from the heart and performs dramatically daring feats. Aries is also the Fool, the ‘wise child’ and the hero who lives for the next mission. Sun conjunct Pluto indicates a person who was born with a very strong feeling of destiny, of having something to show to the world that will transform consciousness. His Jupiter, Lord of the Sky is in Capricorn (mastery, the corporate world). Not everyone with this combination would use their faith and skill to literally ascend to the summit of the world’s tallest banking institution, yet, for him, it was the only way. Fire is known for it’s ego size and you’d have to have one as tall as the Towers themselves to want to perform a feat like this, or indeed to have built such monoliths in the first place. The difference is that Philippe, wise Fool, always maintained his connection with the universe and was keenly aware of his place in it:

Grimaud TdM

“At some point in one of the crossings, I lay down on the wire and looked at the sky, and I saw a bird above me. And again, because… my senses were [decoupled]. I could see that bird pretty high up, and I saw the eyes were red. And I thought of the myth of Prometheus there. But the bird was circling and looking at me as if I was invading his territory, as if I was trespassing, which I was. So at some point I thought the gods – the god of the wind, the gods of the towers, the god of the wire – all those invisible forces that we persist in thinking don’t exist, but actually rule our lives – might become impatient, might become annoyed at my persistent vagabondage there. So my intuition told me it was time for me to close the curtain on this very intimate performance…”

Zero Ground 

The archetype of the Fool in Tarot is one who has left the realm of perceived reality, of wealth, possessions, pain and attachments. It sounds a bit like dying, but it’s actually freedom from death. Transcendent, he wafts between forms like a breeze and has no fear of reaching the end. He knows there isn’t one, so is free to live life “1000%.”  Most of us find it hard to get past the more finite idea of death. It’s terrifying, like the Grim Reaper in arcanum 13 and to be avoided at all costs. The two figures strike a very similar pose (this feature is unique to Tarot Marseille), plus, one is unnumbered, while the other is unnamed –  it would seem they illustrate the dual experiences of facing imminent death, as depicted in the two photographs at the opening of the post.

We are eternal.   Peace.

 

All written content herein, except quotation, is © Roxanna Bikadoroff and may not be re-used without my permission. Kindly share via link only. Thanks for respecting.