Hybris Direct

 A moment of double reflection...as dawn reflects in the lake, that image

is reflected again in the water on a kayaker's paddle.

("Dawn Paddle" by Thomas and Dianne Jones, November 2007,

Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma)

Asteroid Hybris is going direct in Taurus on January 4th at 2:32 a.m., UT/+0 time. That’s bad enough. After all, Hybris…aka hubris…aka that pain-in-the-very-low-back sort of self-righteous arrogance which nobody wants to deal with (and everybody seems capable of dishing out)…Hybris going direct on the 4th suggests that just as soon as 2013 gets going, we’re all going to be dealing with uppity so-and-so’s.

Even worse, we may be directed by our own feelings of hubris-Hybris-arrogance. Or convictions we may feel just dandy about which other people may think are rather Hybris.

The station rule being two-days-prior, two-days-after, the Hybris station starts on January 2nd and ends on January 6th. And that gives us a hint about how the ‘waning of the Moon’ part of the month is likely to play out.

Once past the Full Moon we get into a ‘reflection’ phase…and a ‘playing out’ phase of what has been done or set into motion. It’s a sort of “ebbing” of the tide…a slow but sure finishing up or letting go of various things.

In this case, this particular lunar cycle began back on December 13th with a New Moon in Sagittarius. And this cycle ‘crested’ at with the Cancer Full Moon on the December 28th.

LINK TO CANCER FULL MOON POST

Very much in sync with all the other signals going on (Uranus going direct, Pluto conjuncting Facies, etc. etc.) this has been a time of dealing with a lot of inner feelings, values, and priorities. Merrily or not-so-merrily, we set off around December 13th to make things happen or deal with looming situations…and by the 28th we got the Cancerian ‘report card’ which brought home our feelings about everything which has occurred.
Since then, we have been dealing with those feelings.

Into which comes all the Hybris qualities.

Hybris typically shows up as a self assertive quality which makes you want to be right…or the conviction that you need to at least act like you’re right - or maybe even that know what you’re doing. Hybris could be all about feelings of entitlement. Or feelings about those who act entitled. Or feeling that you need to adopt the attitude of the entitled.

In this, Hybris can also indicate where we don't feel involved. Or where we feel that we don't have to deal with something, care about something or pay attention to something. 

And...considering how the astrological door swings both ways, we may now be on the receiving end of something which "feels very Hybris." Or which in happening causes us to adopt our Hybris perspective or attitude.

Then again, there are some people who are perennially overinvolved. People who care too much - about everything or one particular thing or belief. Such folks may now be realizing that they need to back off. Or maybe they need to be more hands on.

As with all things, it depends on where we’re starting from. If you're someone who always 'gets their hands dirty' at this point you may turn away from something. Or get turned away. There's nothing about this station which tells us on an innate basis whether this is a pro or con in anybody's life - whether this Hybris station is about some attitude you hold or that which you encounter. 

There are also a few 'associated factors.' As this post goes up, Phaethon has just gone direct. You may remember this diagram from last week…

 
Mercury and the Sun are now in the cardinal (action oriented) sign of Capricorn. Phaethon is turning to  direct motion. Who among us doesn’t think that especially as we add in a pinch of Hybris (or get in a Hybris pinch!) this might make for a bit of hastiness? Or brashness? Or impatience?

With Hybris sitting at 27 Taurus really from January 1st through 7th, questions of reaction, over-reacting and sorting fact from fiction would seem to be in the greater mix. Especially with the South Node here, the easy way out is tempting, but probably isn’t the thing to jump at. With Sedna (in retrograde) at 22 Taurus, right at the far edge of standard (5-degree) orb to Hybris, there’s good cause to reflect about our own willingness to stand on our own, which is probably made all the more confusing by 27 Taurus being one of those degrees which blurs many a concept or conviction.

Of course there’s also the Algol influence to contend with. Algol is just “behind” Hybris as it goes direct, and given that Algol symbolizes how definitely easy it is to go with the emotion rather than the insight, the self-control…a lot of people are likely to grandstand now or fly off the handle or resort to tactics which amount to bullying to get their way.

And yet…that Algol instinct to react (or maybe overreact) positioned at the degree Hybris doesn’t quite back into? That may give us the greatest key of all to the opportunity of this moment, and these days. Where we can tell the difference, where we can go that extra mental hair or so to see past whatever emotional response or tie we have to the truth?

That’s worth standing up for and getting all Hybris about. So good luck to all of us – may we find each and every notion which fills that bill!

Oh...before I go...if you're reading this post, you're hooked up to the Internet. Hopefully you use a good anti-virus program of some sort. I'm bringing this up because there is an email worm named Hybris...and metaphysics being what it is, I wouldn't be the astro-reporter I try to be if I didn't mention this might be a moment when someone might send around another variation on that theme. We sure can hope not, but the best offense - in this case - is a good defense. So keep those programs updated! That is, after all, the best way to 'opt out' of trouble while continuing to go about your business.

Might we say...it would be very Hybris to think something challenging couldn't happen to you? Probably yes. But can you get past it and come out okay? That's the positive side of Hybris - the very conviction which some dislike is what others will also cheer. And reward.

It's all in how you use it. With Hybris going direct in Taurus there's a 'security' quality involved here. You may feel threatened...or be diligently working towards some aim which will bolster your security. It's a fallacy to think we can ever be 'totally safe' in the world, but we can learn to be secure with who we are. And in that, learning how to deal with the 'Hybris Factor' is not just par for the course, it's also an important lesson in realizing the positives and negatives of life.
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