Psyche Opening the Door into Cupid's Garden
by John William Waterhouse (1904)
Psyche is a very large asteroid. As such, metaphysically it represents something which ‘looms large’ in our life.
And what would that be? Our mind. Knowing our mind, being mindful of the fact we have a mind (and therefore should use it!)…from minding our mind (physiologically) to being aware of our level of mindfulness of not just our concerns but those of others (and/or how what we do affects others), even realizing that whether we mind or not others might and that what we have in mind may not be what others have in mind and that’s okay so long as they deal with us with respect and we reciprocate in kind…
These are all Psyche issues. Every once in a while the Psyche in all our lives jumps up to confront us. Did you think before you opened your mouth? Did you know what you were getting involved in before you did the deed or signed on some bottom line, real or emotionally implied?
The concept that we can think and therefore we should think, that we can become informed and therefore we should be well informed…knowing the difference between how our mind handles facts and handles emotions – that’s all Psyche stuff.
And this last – the difference between facts and feelings – that’s is particularly important now…why? Because as of 6:43 in the morning (UT/+0) on April 25th, Psyche enters Cancer. And it will be in Cancer until July 15th…which is after both of 2011’s mid-year solar eclipses, one of which is in Cancer.
In the weeks ahead you’re going to start hearing of a lot of celestial objects – popular asteroids and such – moving into Gemini and Cancer. This is important as the summer solar eclipses are going to be in Gemini and Cancer. Now optimally, eclipses ‘open the way’ to great and purposeful achievement. But along the way there has to be a lot of tearing down and clearing out – witness what happened in the weeks (and now months) since January’s Capricorn Solar Eclipse (conjunct fixed star Vega) set off so much strife, struggle and violence, all of which has challenged and ‘exploded’ through what we might call ‘Capricorn portals.’
Considering June and July’s solar eclipses will be atop other fixed stars (with July’s also opposing a fixed star – not to mention Pluto!) we probably should be keeping track of asteroids and such moving into these signs. Like Psyche.
Psyche in Cancer is a metaphysical picture of our mind turning to or being confronted by all things Cancer. So family may loom large now – your family of today, or your family (or lack of same) as a child. Home, home life, real estate and homeland are other more or less ‘blantant’ Cancer ‘portals’ – as are subjects like homeland, national populations, culture, traditions and by implication, cultural or political movements.
This last would seem particularly apt now as Psyche is hitting 0 Cancer with Neptune at 0 Pisces. The niggle in the equation comes from Neptune being conjunct three other figures.
The first is Chiron, the symbol of that we need to do which we claim we don’t know how to do which in the end we can only actually learn by tackling the problem and learning as we go. Chiron also has one other little annoying quality in that generally what we need to do ourselves we’re not so good at getting to but really excellent at pointing out the lack of in others.
If there’s some area of your life that you tend to walk around in circles whining ‘but I don’t know HOW to!!’ that’s probably a Chirotic issue. Why you have it we’d read through the chart and there is one good piece of news here in that conquering your Chiron reluctance (fear? avoidance? projection?) doesn’t need to be necessarily done all by your lonely.
Also hanging around with Neptune: asteroid Hel.
Need I say more?
Actually, I’ve decided it’s good this asteroid has only one ‘l’ and not two as it’s not the classical ‘place’ (hell) but the flustered angst, the struggle we go through inside ourselves when we have to deal with something which is Hel’ish. (Not Hellish, Hel’ish.)
So what’s the difference? One is theoretically eternal – the other, situational. And that, at least in my opinion, is a substantial difference!
Chiron and Hel actually go pretty well together – if you like your scotch bonnet peppers mixed with a little freshly ground horseradish, that is. And we’d say this was just a good old fashioned bad time except for two things – the Neptune part (which we’ll get to in a moment) and Fomalhaut which at 4 Pisces is the Grand Affecter of everything between 29 Aquarius and 9 Pisces.
And if you remember how much destruction broke lose when Neptune was at 29 Aquarius… (just sayin’…!)
The standard recitation of the Fomalhaut ‘rule’ is that this is a fixed star which promises success where our dreams aren’t tainted by corruption.
Neptune
photo credit: Manfred Bruckels (2005)
This being Pisces, that corruption is emotional. So it’s about the lengths or the heights or the level of fantasy at which we dream. This gets back to Neptune, the great symbol of fantasy and despair, charity and isolation, imagination and inspiration against abject abandonment, faithlessness and addictions. Neptune symbolizes the addict, the martyr, the guru, the savior.
And as Psyche enters Cancer, we should suspect that we could start ‘imagining the worst’…or at least that it’s likely there’s going to be a rash of blowing things out of proportion going around.
Indeed, with Medea already positioned at 0 Cancer as Psyche moseys on in, it is going to be very easy – in some cases even ‘popular’ (i.e. “the popular thing to do”) to be protective of our own.
And yet, considering this is Medea, and how the story of Medea has love being the very force which undermines everything….considering that the real lesson of Neptune in Pisces is not feeling the feelings but being rational in spite of emotionalism and knowing the difference between fact and fiction…
….well, this could be a trying time. Medea’s tragic (and yes, frightening) story of what we are each and all of us capable – at some level – of doing because we are so devoted to something we think so good or necessary…it’s to think about, especially now with Neptune in Pisces.
One more idea for the mental hopper here…beyond reminding you to watch for other celestial objects moving into Gemini and Cancer in the weeks ahead, as all those attributes will be ‘eclipsed’ come June and July…
This idea is about where Psyche the asteroid roams. I put together a little ‘visual aid’ (as they say in school) which I want to say going in is NOT drawn to scale!
(I may be many things…a rendering agent of all things solar systemic is not among them!)
So here’s the diagram…
The lines represent asteroids going about their asteroid business in the big giant main belt of same which orbits between Jupiter (top) and Mars (fifth from the bottom).
If you will notice, Psyche’s aphelion (its farthest point from the Sun) is at 3.328 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun, just beyond the aphelion of Eos, the symbolic ‘dawning of instinct’ (LINK to BLOG on Eos).
On its way around the Sun, Psyche – our mind – crosses over, coming closer to us than instinct (Eos), representing our ability and (most likely) how necessary it is for us to be realistic, and to not simply be driven by instinct. In fact, since at it’s perihelion (closest point to the Sun), Psyche comes to 2.5 AU – which is actually inside Eos’ perihelion point (2.7 AU), that pretty much tells us that our mind fully encompasses and therefore is fully able to experience and move beyond instinct in searching for knowledge and understanding (Jupiter).
Orbiting ‘inside’ this realm we have Lilith – asteroid Lilith: those things we would like to deny about ourselves or in our lives…which probably create a huge proportion of our everyday problems. Very annoying, yes? But unfortunately, still very true. By sign, house and aspect, you should be able to theoretically understand where your asteroid Lilith problems lie….though let’s face it, really dealing with these issues is a whole lot harder, considering this is a celestial image all about that thing we really don’t want to have to admit, deal with, own, be responsible for (etc. etc. etc.).
But because it’s an asteroid and therefore has mass? Dealing with it IS possible. Because asteroid Lilith orbits between Mars and Jupiter? It IS something we will meet up with on a cyclic basis.
In other words, continue to deny at your own risk.
The point here is that Psyche’s near point (2.5 AU) lies within Lilith’s 2.14-to-3.18 AU orbital realm. That means that denial is in some senses even more native to us than our mentality. (Ouch! That hurts!) But it also says that as denial starts to ‘act out’ or ‘become functional’ in our lives, it enters a realm where we have the ability (i.e., choice) to deal with it.
So there you go...It seems we’re all moving into a period where our choices mean more and where what we may feel we need to do first may not be what we need to do most.
One suspects it’s not what you know…it’s what you’re willing to know or learn which will make a deal of difference now – and going forward.
So here’s to personal courage and determination! Here’s to the willingness to be and do not just what comes easily, but what will accomplish that which is actually necessary so that we all can have dignified and productive lives.
Looking forward, this would seem to mean a lot of changes. A lot of giving up living in dreamland and on some hope that ‘someone else’ will see the light. Much as we like to decry it, human beings are famous for liking to live in ignorance….it’s ‘bliss’ says the saying.
Except it’s not. It may be popular, but in the end, ignorance is the very compromise of existence.
And who wants that?
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