feminine Archives - ROXANNA BIKADOROFF

Uranus enters Gemini tomorrow! This will be our prelude, until it stations retrograde Sept 6/25 – Feb 4/26, during which, it will re-enter Taurus. When an outer planet retrogrades back into a sign it is leaving, it’s a bit like a Janus-face review, since so much can happen over the period of years it takes to make a sign transit. In Uranus’ case, 7-8 years, which is significant. Ringed Uranus – as mentioned in the previous article, Uranus in Gemini – Trickster from another Dimension – rotates on its ‘side’ (from our perspective), like a wheel. In Tarot de Marseille the 21 triumphs (major arcana) are divided into 3 x 7 = 21. Or 7 x 3, which I like to think of as the waltz step of the heavenly Muses.

Franchises Gaffurius (friend of Leonardo), Practica Musicae frontspiece, 1496

Speaking of Heavenly Muses…I would now like to introduce the good fairy of this transit, Urania, muse of Astronomy and Astrology. Venus is in Gemini right now (my own Venus sign) and is prodding me to write on something a little more inspirational for the occasion than bitcoin and freaks. I apologize if anyone was left uninspired previously. Hopefully this will make up for it.

In the woodcut above, created long before the discovery of Uranus, we see Apollo conducting the ‘music of the spheres’ (Pythagoras’ idea). At the bottom, Thalia, Muse of Comedy and Idyllic Poetry relates to Earth. Ha ha. At the top is Urania, relating to the starry realm. Astrologer Christopher Renstrom points out that while Jupiter was the sky god, it was more the day-to-day sky, not the starry night sky. Jupiter was a fertility god – he made rain and threw thunderbolts, affecting human life directly, thus myths of his decent to dabble in disguise with humans/human ladies abound. But Ouranos, the greater sky god and father of creation (Gaia/Earth being Mother), was not depicted in human form. Mostly we know him from the myth of his castration by titan son, Kronos-Saturn, whereby his testicles are thrown into the sea and Venus, in all her glory, is born out of the foam.

Urania’s Mirror, (London 1825), a boxed set of 32 cards [click image for more detail]

So…Urania is the feminine aspect of Uranus; the suffix ‘us’ being masculine, ‘ia’ being feminine. The planet Uranus has come to represent ‘the heavenly realm of the stars’, but since Uranus will be entering the sign of the twins, while conjoined with Venus herself, perhaps we need to incorporate and equalize the genders for this planet. There has certainly in modern years been a marriage of inspiration (muse) and technology. We’ve wanted to understand the universe, travel beyond the Jupiterian sky and Saturnian limitations, and so we have continually re-invented the means to do so. Once upon a time, to be an astrologer, you would have had to be versed in astronomy, but now technology provides us with the calculations without ever having to look up. We need to look up, now. Waaaaay up. The muse of the starry heavens invites astrologers and others to look beyond the traditional planets. But not simply as an escape.

By-passing Jupiter’s eagle. John Singer Sargent, Chiron and Achilles, 1921

The opposite sign to Gemini is Sagittarius, ruled by Jupiter. The centaur was thought to represent Chiron, who is not a true centaur, but a ‘monster’ hybrid of horse and human parents (Saturn in the form of a horse raped his mother). Sagittarius, the eternal optimist, is ever aiming beyond that which binds us to the earth, and the heaviness of bodies controlled by unbridled passions and physical pain. I call it the ‘unbearable lightness of being Sagittarius.’ Uranus in Sagittarius’ polarity sign will encourage us to take it higher. With our faith in what is possible, may we evolve.

Sirius Star, channeled painting, 2013 (darkened version)

There is a currently a lot going on down here that makes it feel like we are devolving into bog creatures, or that we have entered the Hell realm. Indeed, as mentioned, some of the possible implications of Uranus in Gemini are frightening – technology running amok, US involved in a major war (its president a walking example of Uranus Gemini unhinged), bit coin hunger trashing the environment – BUT, these are fear and greed driven desires and precisely why we need to try harder than ever to envision a brighter future, even if that ultimately means becoming a real star some day (a privilege once reserved for pharaohs).
It’s worth noting that Uranus was also in Gemini during the height of the Renaissance. Arts and exploration flourished as skies and minds opened.

Da Vinci’s iconic Vitruvian Man, created in 1490, while Uranus in Gemini.

Uranus-Urania is not just about the sky ‘out there’ but the higher mind, that of the eternal spirit. There is always a period of darkness before the light. There is always a dark night of the soul (Pluto in Aquarius related), this is where inner light must gestate. The universe is a very dark place, but it is full of beaming stars, our distant ancestors. Listen to the music of the spheres! ~rb

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

Digitally ‘restored’ Burney Relief, depicting Lilith or Ereshkigal

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

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

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

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

Black Moon Lilith’s retrogrades are frequent [note: this is only the case when using her true position rather than mean], and can be opportune times for contemplating what drives our self-sabotage (for women especially, but also for men who project their shadow feminine onto the ladies) and work on integrating Tara and Lilith. During her retrograde, make time to sit in a pitch black room, where you feel safe, or if you are out in the country, with no lights, sit outside during the New Moon at the end of the month. “Lay down all thoughts, surrender to the void.” If you should feel or see a negative emotion or its embodiment, observe it, note it, let it dissolve naturally into the blackness. Feel the protection and constance of this void space, the true, feminine nature behind the demoness mask of Black Moon Lilith. ~rb

*enlightened being, aka deity.

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

With many thanks to Stephanie Johnston for her instruction. 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.

Tag: feminine

Uranus into Gemini – part 2 – Urania

Rethinking Black Moon Lilith