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Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Nessus: The General Problem and the Problematic Specifics




  The Abduction of Deianeira by Centaur Nessus
by Jean Francois Lagrenee (1755)




Nessus is about to go on station. The date of that station is October 28th - the same as when Mars moves into Sagittarius. Thus, given the 2-day leeway we give to stations (before and after), that means Nessus station effects begin today....and continue through October 30th.

And about that combination of Mars, Sagittarius and Nessus? To anyone who knows Nessus, that should sound a big gong. Or at least be a hint that things could get...um...challenging.

For those who don't know Nessus, though I'd like to say 'lucky you' the truth is that every point is in every chart. So there's a Nessus quality operative somewhere in your life. It may be active, it may be passive. You may be the recipient of sad Nessus effects or the one delving them out. Or even sometimes both.

There is a long form of the story here, which if you'd like to read, I invite you to: here's the link.

In short however, the Nessus issue boils down to  'poisonous jealousy' (and maybe 'boils down' may be the wrong term to use - ouch!)

Before we go on, a couple of interesting notes on Nessus, which was discovered by David Rabinowitz (in conjunction with Spacewatch) at the observatory on Kitt Peak on April 26, 1993.

In an interesting break with tradition, as the subject of what to name this new object was being considered, three astrologers (Zane Stein, Dieter Koch and Robert Von Heeren) weighed in on the subject. Having studied 1993 HA2 (as Nessus was called until formally named)... they had all considered this new asteroid's workings in various charts. And after doing so, all three wrote (independently) to the international body which names celestial objects. All three astrologers suggested calling this new object Nessus...which among other things, suggests the myth really counts. 

Currently in Aquarius (sign of society, social systems, income and acceptance) Nessus' 'poisonous lust' and craven jealousy has been showing up for quite some time in the greed of some in society without regard for those being hurt and standards of behavior being tossed aside along the way. Nessus entered Aquarius back in November of 2005 after a rather quick 6-year romp-and-ravage of Things Capricorn which began back in 1999.

'Quick' here, by the by, refers to a mean average; with an orbital period of 122.4 years, the mean average time we would expect from Nessus in a sign would be 10.2 years. This means Nessus has a highly elliptical (egg-shaped as opposed to circular) orbit.









As you can see from the above, we're sort of in the 'short end' of the Nessus process right now - it's effects are swift and intense. But is longer and more languid any better? That's a good question - one we will all get to try on for size once Nessus enters Pisces in 2014.

And that Nessus is going to be in Pisces for close to twenty years - that also should give us a clue. Pisces being a sign all about feeling and dealing with our own feelings, that a trouble-maker marker like Nessus is going to be there for so long suggests we all have a lot of emotional growing up to do.

As always, maybe there's something to be learned from the last go-round in such circumstances...which in this case would be the late 1800's, a time which saw a rise in hypnotherapy as well as the advent of pharmaceutical painkillers - a boon as well as a threat. Society went through the Victorian Era, the boon, benefit and indiscriminate abuse of power associated with colonization was in full swing - and questions concerning slavery, the rights of women, child labor and such were just coming to the fore.

Oh yes...Nessus in Pisces is something we all can so look forward to!

Meanwhile however, Nessus is still in late Aquarius, giving us the experience of ourselves - our own better and lesser qualities - as mirrored in greater society and our attitudes towards same. Depending on where Nessus is in your chart natally and now by transit (and the rulers thereof) that will say a lot about the nature of 'Nessus  situations' which teach us about these qualities in our life.

During the past several months, Nessus has been in retrograde. And while retrograde, it's likely we've all been in a reflective mode. Are our priorities in correct order? Why do we - and others - behave as we/they do? We've dealt with our selfishness and wrestled with longings and lusts close up.

But now Nessus is going direct. As it does, some will strike or strike out, depending on situations and how people handle their own internalized sense of poisonous entitlement. That this is happening in a degree noted for its Uranian qualities suggests where energies and people have been 'repressed' or 'repressive' there will now be a 'breaking through' which may not be pleasant. Lore suggests illness possible but...interestingly... stresses that interaction and communication (not hostility) is the answer. This in itself is a big support of a lot of theories put forth by holistic medicine and  psychology both.

Yet let's face it - there are those who would rather not deal with any idea or system of thought which suggests that any 'cure' can simply be about them. Why not? Because that implies there was something wrong with what they were doing to begin with - and that's a whole giant difficulty in the land of the astrological Nessus.

Like I said...you may want to read the whole story.

Between now and October 30th (when station effects subside) hidden desires may surface in yourself or others around you. That this station occurs as Mars moves into Sagittarius suggests some of this is about shifts in ongoing issues - particularly those which are either about containment or which have for whatever reason gotten into a situational stalemate.

Whatever goes on remember - Nessus feels like it's about someone else, but it never is. Nessus is about us and how well we are able to recognize, work with, take responsibility for and deal with our own urges, lusts and oh-so mortal desires!











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