Medusa: Through Our Mental Mirror, Darkly

We all know Medusa - that female gorgon of salacious tongue and twining snake hair...She who evokes such fright that human life turns to stone the moment one lays eyes on the utter perfection of her terrifying flesh.

Or at least we think we know Medusa. But neither the myth nor astrological Medusa are as simple as all that. In the general sense Medusa is about fear. But this point refers to no simple fear on our part.

No, Medusa is...more slithery than that, more frightening and less understood by that Self which in some way or form will learn to fear fearing fear.

In particular, fear of something you don't want to know...that you fear knowing about your Self or life itself. 

Which means Medusa isn't about 'that' or 'them.' Snakes and all, the Medusa in your chart says something about you.

Something intrinsic about you.

Classed as a 'common' main belt asteroid (number 149, should you need to know), we may take solace...(such as it is)...in knowing  asteroid Medusa is one of literally thousands of asteroids out there. Given how Medusa is about the sort of fear which disquiets us to the point that we will not or cannot do something (that being the 'turned to stone' quality) as humans we are going to have an intrinsic avoidance with regards to anything Medusa.

So that Medusa is merely one of thousands of life factors...that may help us feel comfortable with the 'odds' of reaching our goal(s) without facing something which will stop us in our tracks.

On the other hand, doing that very sort of 'odds weighing' as a means of getting ourselves to do what we need to do in life...isn't that also one of the ways we face the very Medusa we fear?

Ah yes, 'there is nothing to fear but fear itself,' as one American president put it.

Asteroids metaphysically represent all the many factors we face on our way from 'I'll give (this) a try...' to '...I understand now,' and in  Medusa’s case, the “cycle” period within which 'fear' or 'fearful' issues resolve whatever internal issue has been raised.

In other words, Medusa is not the solution to "the problem." The inception of Medusa cycles (which would be the conjunction in your natal chart) will refer to periods or situations which in evoking your response raises something about the difference between being driven by instinct and the honoring of that we know to be not merely true, but that which at some very deep and real level we are sworn to by our own choosing to believe...understand...stand for.
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Why all this is and would be...? That comes from the myth about Medusa, a myth which starts with three sisters.

Two of those sisters are immortal. Medusa isn't. Medusa is born mortal - just as we are - and is thus defined as "vulnerable" to things her sisters would never be affected by.

Human traits will differ. When they do, is that what makes us vulnerable to our fears? And in mythic terms, if we are reading the myth of Medusa, should we be wary if we are told that this mortal vulnerability is also described as extremely beautiful?

For Medusa is beautiful. In fact, all three of the sisters are beautiful.

But Medusa is extraordinary. Not only that, but she just loves to show off her long, gloriously beautiful hair.

As for her family, Medusa came from Titans - entities embodying the eternal, sometimes infernal and certainly uncontrollable ('titanic') forces which shape our life and world.

This being the philosophic if highly organized world of Greek mythology, it isn't surprising that such uncontrollable forces were embodied as unruly characters like the Titans. Never represented as particularly personable, wise or witty, they weren't held in high regard by the (somewhat more contained) higher ups of the Olympian pantheon.

But they were Medusa's parents. There is one version of the myth which speaks of Medusa as the child of Ixion's narcissistic lack of gratitude. Yet most name sea Titans as her parents with several names being volunteered as the parents of Medusa and her two somewhat less horrifying sisters, which because water is the metaphysical element of emotions might make it seem like sea Titans are the correct choice as the nominees for gorgon parenthood.

But if so, how is it that Medusa is born mortal and her sisters were born immortal?

That would seem to make the answer Ixion...which in turn (if true) would say Medusa began her own story as the child of Greek myth's original murderer.

And considering how the Greeks had no problem with that all-too-human habit of embodying guilt bequeathed to and embedded in our psyches less by the intent of others than by the triggering of our own internal fears...that explains a deal about the power of a myth which spells a bad end for Medusa from the moment of her beginning.

Not that the myth begins in Medusa's childhood. Far from it - the myth begins as Medusa has been sworn to serve as a priestess to the goddess of all knowledge ethical, logical and unemotional: Pallas Athena.
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Athena in Vulcan's Forge
Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

It was an honor to do such service in the day. So when the opportunity came to Medusa, she of course took the job of serving Athena on with pleasure.

Thus did Medusa, the vulnerable offspring of titanic emotionalism, enter into the Pallas Athena, she who in springing from Jupiter/Zeus' brow expresses the conviction that an ultimate sort of 'heady' power (wisdom) is to be found in the clarity of perspective and dispassionate comprehension.

And that's where Medusa was and what she was doing when into Athena's temple came Neptune (Poseidon). As ruler of not just oceans but all water physical and metaphysical, Neptune  embodies the 'fluid dynamic' of emotionalism - and considering how life on Earth is water based, it's not surprising that Medusa was drawn by Neptune's presence.

She could hardly help herself. After all, Neptune was Jupiter's brother - which in itself is an interesting foreshadowing of modern science considering the relative roles of planets Neptune and Jupiter in our solar system. Both planets control objects through sheer power of magnetism - which is not unlike what the Greeks postulated in their descriptions of both gods.

This is exactly how metaphysics works.

And yes, the implications can be frightening, particularly as we consider how in most versions of this myth Medusa abandons her vow in willingly succumbing to unfathomable Neptunian passions, thus defiling the sanctity of Wisdom.

That was an exceptionally bad thing to do, for while the knowing of Jupiter and truth of Athena is the basis of that we call 'Free Will,' so Neptune takes us through the full breadth of emotional arc to where all dissipates into that unconscious surrender mortals tend to call 'Fate.'
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Neptune
by Angelo Bronzino

As for the 'alternate' versions of this story, they aren't any more pleasant as they have Neptune raping Medusa. Either way, Medusa is overcome.

And because Medusa is so prone to being overcome by her emotions even when surrounded by the facts of all she has sworn to serve, Athena metes out the famous punishment by transforming Medusa from a beauty into a gorgon - something so shockingly awful as to arrest us where we stand.

In most versions of the tale Athena not only transforms Medusa but her sisters as well. Is that a curious reference to how the feelings of people who otherwise like, love or admire us are affected ("punished") by what we do? Or is the reference to punishing Medusa's sisters an allusion to how often a person shamed in one area of life tends to crumple in others?

The effects of our feelings aren't isolated, after all.

In any case, three young beauties become an ugly trio, though only Medusa achieves the landmark ability to turn mortals into stone.

It's an attribute guaranteed to make it hard to make friends and influence people in any enjoyable (never mind survivable) way and soon Medusa, frightened by her own power, did what many do: she went into isolation, turning punishment into the retreat of self-condemnation.

From that comes an important note on asteroid Medusa: where we find Medusa in the chart we find something which will cause us to hide - either literally, mentally or emotionally. That we hide from created our problems to begin with and it's always emotional.

Too bad we feel too scared of our truth to face it. But we do. There is a place in each heart, mind or soul where we lose the ability to serve in our best interest. The idea of that is scary - and the reality that we can consciously or unconsciously become the instrument of our own downfall simply because of how we are made, who we are, where we come from...that's even scarier.

And yet we know we dare not abandon ourselves to our fears, whatever they may be. 

So what do we do?

How is Medusa - our Medusa - to be defeated? 
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The call here being for a 'heroic effort' in our individual cause, the story now shifts to a Perseus, a hero in the making.

Unfortunately Perseus isn't happy. And the reasons for his unhappiness are very much understandable. Not only has Perseus just been given the task of doing away with Medusa, he's been ordered to do it for not the most altruistic of reasons.

And what would that reason be?

That reason starts with King Polydectes, a rather unsubtle fellow seriously intent on marrying Perseus’ mother, Danae.

Polydectes wants Danae in the very worst way and Danae wants nothing to do with Polydectes.

Besides being king (meaning he made all the rules) Polydectes must have also had some smarts as he didn't simply order Danae to become his wife - the common solution of the time for kingly types.

Instead, he concentrates on Danae’s god-like teen son - the product of a truly immortal affair Danae had with Jupiter. If Polydectes was going to have any chance of bullying mom to the altar, Perseus would need to be dealt with. 

So Polydectes cooks up a plan any lustful monarch would be proud of. Feigning a somewhat offended shrug, he lets everyone know that if Danae isn't interested in being his queen...well, that's her problem.

Polydectes will just be moving on.
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Danae, Mother of Perseus
by Gustav Klimt

And move on Polydectes does, soon announcing that he's chosen a different woman to be his privileged wife...at which point, with his new claim duly claimed, Polydectes stares young Perseus down. What, no wedding present?

Perseus tries pleading financial ineptitude, but that doesn't get him very far as Polydectes accuses Perseus of sitting around on his heroically lazy butt - an accusation which angers Perseus. He's been trying. He just hasn't found the right right job yet...and while he's doing his best, Perseus would take it kindly if the local king would just stop flacking him. After all, what kind of gift was Polydectes expecting from Perseus? What could a young Perseus give the king which would be any sort of suitable wedding present?

Thus the trap is sprung. Having lured young Perseus into volunteering himself, the entirely prepared Polydectes probably waits not a moment before replying.

He actually has something in mind...something Perseus could be a good lad and go fetch for his king.

That thing?

Medusa’s head.
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The Head of Medusa
(unknown Flemish artist, 16th c, oil on panel, Uffizi Gallery)

Hearing this, Danae realizes her headstrong son is in over his headstrong head. So she appeals to Zeus (Jupiter) in the key of plaintive, and Jupiter responds by sending his go-to god (Mercury) out as chief procurement organizer.

In truly Olympian fashion this soon results in Mercury and Athena (yes, that Athena) equipping Perseus not merely thoroughly, but in the manner befitting a bastard son of Jupiter (of which there were more than several).

First Mercury hands over a cap of invisibility (on loan from Pluto/Hades). Then the god helps strap his own famously winged sandals onto Perseus' demi-mortal feet before handing the teen an unbreakable, sickle-shaped sword.

But with all this, not surprisingly it's Athena's token which will count most when dealing with Medusa. That which is provided by Athena is Wisdom's own immortal shield. Brightly polished on both its outer and inner faces, Athena's shield literally images how we come to know truth (Athena) in reflection and how that reflection is meant to clarify our perspective on our Self (our truth) as we go up against our conflicts in this world, this life, this existence. 
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 The Arming of Perseus
 by Edward Burne-Jones (1885)
 

So Perseus seeks Medusa out...(apparently her cave is in Africa). And when he gets to that cave he kills the gorgon of emotionality not on sight or by looking at her, but instead by thinking through what to do and how to do it in reflection.

Perseus was out to decapitate and do away with his problem. And as anyone who has ever tried to do something based on processing directions given to them in a mirror's reflection, it takes a peculiarly intense concentration to overcome our instincts.

But it can be done - and that's the point and solution to the Medusa question: to not be driven by instinct. Where Medusa appears in a natal chart or by transit isn't our 'doom' - it's an instruction: this is where you must not operate instinctively. Understanding the issue may be frightening to you, but the cost of not facing such a fear is likely to be far, far greater in the long run.

In essence Medusa asks us to respect ourselves enough to brave our fears, whether they be simple or complex. The image of Perseus wielding the sword of Mercury while protected by Athena is nothing more or less than the metaphysical statement about how in the most dire or difficult of situations it is through the clarity of dispassionate reflection that our mortality is protected - most off all from that instinct which otherwise will prove our undoing. 

As Medusa’s head is severed, blood is spilled. And as that blood flows out into reality, from it comes Medusa's offspring, creatures sometimes considered hers alone and sometimes seen as the product of Medusa surrendering to Neptune.

Whatever that may be, whether taken separately or together, these two creatures do seem to represent Medusa's extremes of spirit: she who serves against she who without thought takes what she wants, regardless of word or promise.

Yes, Medusa does sound a bit like Ixion.

- link to - 

Ixion: Our Conflict of Self

Medusa's first child is the winged horse called Pegasus, a the embodiment of fear as flight, replete with the kind of brute-or-graceful animalistic strength which in the human terms may well suggest that aspects to and the placement of asteroid Medusa may be an important part of astrologically understanding our individual fight-or-flight imperatives whether they be active or unneeded in an otherwise happy life.

Known as “the giant Chrysaor,” Medusa's other 'blood child' grows to become a hero armed with a golden sword upon whom Medusa's curse falls through family - echoing many a human whose family experiences alternation of generational allegiances and trials. Recalling Medusa's reptilian side, one of the Chrysaor children is Echidna, a deadly she-dragon whose upper half is all beautiful female and whose lower half is that of a serpent.

The other child is known as the Geryon - or sometimes in plural form as the Geryones. This isn't a problem of counting, but rather one of distinction - a quality which recalls the 'fuzzy' or more indecisive aspects of Neptune.

In brief, this single-plural problem stems from this entity's description as “a three-bodied giant” - a quality which is somehow supposed to come out as less threatening than Echidna.

Assigned to guarding sacred cattle at the western end of the world, Geryon has come to be associated with constellation Orion the Hunter while Pegasus has its own constellation - one marked by including fixed star Scheat, a problematic star which often speaks to ideas, matters and personalities which are 'before their time' and thus subject to rejected by ourselves or others, either as a 'flight of (Pegasus) fancy' or something which is objected to instinctively.

And yes, thus often enough, incorrectly.

Using the power of reflection, after slaying Medusa Perseus covers her head with a leather sack and carries it away. Still wearing Mercury's winged sandals, he flies north with blood dribbling from the gorgon's neck.

And as those drops fall to the sands below, they give rise to all the poisonous snakes in Africa. Yet lest we think that which is poisonous is always bad, when several drops of Medusa's blood are given to someone with the highly polysyllabic name Erichthonius along with instructions how how to use it as poison, with that also comes instructions on how to use gorgon blood in reanimating the dead.

No, not literally. Perhaps in myth, yes. But for astrological purposes this is a reference to that image we most often associate with the Phoenix - the rising from the ashes, the bringing back to life that which our disproportionate passions may have theoretically destroyed.

To finish here, ultimately Polydectes receives the quintessential lesson in why we should be careful what we ask for, lest we get it when (as most versions of the story have it) Perseus returns home to learn Polydectes has raped his mother Danae.

The young hero heads for the palace where (not shockingly), Polydectes is surprised to see him.

But for good or ill, Polydectes is still Polydectes. Whipping out his most illustrious and kingly sneer, Polydectes informs Perseus that he'd 'known' Perseus couldn't kill Medusa.
 
But Perseus did kill Medusa. And to prove it, as all the king's sycophant courtiers sneer on Perseus pulls Medusa's head out of the sack, holding it up where all can see it...and be promptly turned to stone.

Some questions shouldn't be asked and some truths are impossible to live with.

But that's just life.

With the king and court duly dealt with, Perseus returns the immortal garb and weaponry to the proper Olympian immortals.

And what about Medusa's head? That Perseus gives to Athena, who then embeds it on the front of her shield - the same shield she gave Perseus to carry.

Is it a warning? Perhaps. Often we try so hard to learn and then are sorry we know. It's the essential lesson of knowledge - that with knowledge comes power, and with power comes the responsibility to use that power properly - which means sometimes in a manner which requires us to silence the voice of instinct in thinking things through.

So sometimes knowledge is indeed a frightening responsibility. But to not know and instead act solely on instinct?

That plainly can ruin a life which could otherwise have been just...beautiful.

Oh how scary...but truth nonetheless.
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Perseus (Andromeda's son) doing battle to save his mother - the mortal

spirit of innocence before that which has given Perseus life can be

overwhelmed by Neptune (emotionality) arising in 'mostrous' form from

'oceanic depths' - the psychic sea which is humankind.

So...do we really know who Medusa is? Or is Medusa that thing in our life which keeps us from being willing to know the 'frightening reality' of who we are, or what we are capable of doing to our Self or others?

Is that... the knowledge, the possible fear of 'doing' a greater share of why humans seem so drawn to preferring a dream that we can never build on in reality to a factual reality in which we could possibly build our dream but which we cannot access without facing our inner fears?

Probably.
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The head of Medusa as it ended up, mounted at the center of Pallas Athena's

shield, facing all who would approach - a lasting mythic comment on the

connection between fear, perspective and conscious wisdom...and

probably the need for just that.

Beyond whatever else, the frightening face in Wisdom's shield is a directive telling us that our greatest truths lie beyond facing our greatest fears. Only through knowing what our fears are can we choose to learn differently and dispell them.

Yet since there will always be more to learn and be, in the end the only knowledge which will ever really set us free of instinct's rampages is that truth which allows us to accept the beauty of that fear which allows us to know everything about our Self, that being the path to a life as a human being unafraid to face anything.
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Full Moon of September 23rd

Full Moon (2009) by Plismo
 

Note: occurring only a little over two hours after the Libra ingress, a Full Moon deserves its own blog post - it's a whole other astrological thing!

  

There's hardly anything which sounds any more of an astrological note about "beginnings" than 0 Aries, as 0 Aries is the first degree of the zodiac. And were this a New Moon instead of a Full Moon, we'd say 'drop everything, start again.'

But this isn't a New Moon - it's a Full Moon. So the symbolism isn't about 'starting.' It's about seeing things in full emotional or reflective light. 

Given that 0 Aries is the first degree of the first sign, it carries a whole aura of the newborn baby: the ego need plus the totally innocent perspective. So how do we reflect on that?

Well, maybe we need to reflect on how inviting that quality really is. Maybe we need to be a bit more like the newborn?

Then again, maybe we're acting too much like the newborn!

And again, this is a Full Moon we're talking about. Often things come to be 'highlighted' at the time of the Full Moon. So maybe in this moment things start anew, allowing us to see life as if we were starting all over again?

Maybe.

Given that we are talking about this Full Moon thing, there's also that the figure is the Moon on one side of the zodiac with the Sun on the other. So as the Moon is at 0 Aries, the Sun is sitting over yandrow at 0 Libra, recalling to the experienced the fact that super giant honking massive black hole M87 sits just inside the cusp of Libra...

 Hubble's view of jet ejection coming from Black Hole M87

...which is actually apt.

And how's that? Well, the first six signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo and Virgo) are all about our Self. They're about learning who we are. And how to operate in basic human terms. The second six signs of the zodiac (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces) are about how we take that Self out into the world. About how we affect that world. How we interact with that world.

This is a very basic difference - think of someone you know whose birthday is in the "other" half of the zodiac. Doesn't one of you come from a worldly precept while the other is all about personal life? It's a simple but useful thing to remember. And when you're dealing with someone from that 'other half,' do yourself a favor and don't try to change them! They are who they are. Yes it's sometimes annoying, but that's who they are just as you are who you are!

Anyway...back to the Sun and Libra. Given that black hole represent an 'alternate reality,' to have one positioned at the entrance to Libra is very fitting; think of it as the cosmos helping us make the shift from the personal to the worldly. Starting with Libra, we need to remember not to think just in terms of ourselves but also about the effect we have on others. And how the style or  manner in which we present ourselves (or what we do) to others pretty much determines how they respond. And thus how loved we are, appreciated we are - and what opportunities tend to come our way.

So here we have the Sun 0 Libra: life bringing us to the point where we need to see alternatives. Or where we are able to see alternatives. And since the figure is a Full Moon, the whole issue is 'highlighted' and probably evoking an emotional response.

But the Sun is not alone. Oh no...things are hardly ever that simple - haven't you noticed?

In this case, with the Sun and black hole we have  asteroid Atropos. Atropos is one of the three Greek Fates. One spins the thread of life, one measures it out, and Atropos cuts it off at the appointed spot.

But don't get all scared - this isn't about 'life' as in your life. Though obviously people will pass from this Earth at this Full Moon, astrologically there would have to be a whole group of other indicators on someone's individual personal chart to predict death. (And no, astrologers generally don't predict death. There are formulas for it, yes, but those of us who sign professional Ethics Oaths actually promise not to ever, ever use them with clients!)

To the point here: what Atropos tends to say is that 'something is over.' And it could be anything - writing that report for school, cleaning out your closets, looking for a job (because you found one) - anything.

As for that term "fate"? Fate is what happens. Free Will is how we respond to what happens.

So to have Sun/Atropos at 0 Libra could be just the end of a private/Self period and the beginning of a public/worldly time. It could be your needing to stop (Atropos) thinking only in terms of yourself in some way because you're thinking more in terms of a group - your family, your company, whatever.

The Greek Fates by Alfred Agache (c. 1885)

This 'ending' theme also applies to the Full Moon as the end of the waxing Moon and the beginning of the waning Moon phases. So maybe you're beginning to 'let go' of something you've felt strongly about. Or which you've poured your heart and soul into.

Full Moons are also traditionally the end of a phase in a project which from there goes on into some other format. And considering that this one is at 0 Aries (with the Sun at 0 Libra), it may well be that if you've been working alone you now have to work with others. Or if you've been working with others, now maybe you have to go on by yourself.

Now...we've talked about Jupiter and Uranus a whole lot of late (planetary blog hogs, those two!). So we'll simply say yes, they're involved at the Moon end of this figure, and if you want to read more about Jupiter and Uranus, check the blog archives or use the word cloud to find blogs which chat on those subjects.

But if you read the ingress blog you also know that this Full Moon is also in a double t-square formation. And it's to remember that the Moon-Jupiter-Uranus end of this double t-square is the object of our aims.

What do we have to get past? Ourselves. Our desire to do it our way, to not have to change anything and to have things be comfortable. We want to be done for when Ceres conjunct the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius tells us that it is those who contribute and participate who are going to walk away the winners.

With Pluto conjunct the 'I play it my way and lose all' Orpheus in early Capricorn, the key would seem to be playing on our talents but not looking back. Where Orpheus is concerned, you look back, you lose.

Full Moon of September 23, 2010

And this would be the Full Moon which starts the entire season? Maybe the whole three months is to reflect on. 

Moon at 0 Aries is about a beginning. It's about the essence of humanity and our essential humanity. Maybe it means we should all stop acting like babies and allow ourselves to be innocent infants, ready to love being our least pretentious, most accepting selves?

Maybe so.

A last note. It being so very often helpful to see how astrological events work in 'real time,' we're lucky to have one plainly scheduled for this Full Moon event. With Aries being the sign of the physical being, it's apropos that in the United States, September 23rd is the date when a series of provisions signed into law as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 go into effect.

Since this law is all about 'shining a light' on 'physicality problems' and fixing problems people have had with getting health care so that they can take care of their physical bodies (and thus preserve life) it's totally Aries. With this law having been signed on March 23, 2010 with Sun and Uranus just having moved into Aries, that some of this law's core provisions now take effect is the  metaphysical fulfillment of the bill having been signed into law.

Does this mean the USA's health care debate or it's problems with providing health care to its citizens are over? No. But they are now entering a new phase which is based on these provisions now being in effect.

That's so very Full Moon. Something comes to a peak. A 'high point' in a given tide is reached.

But life continues on. Life, like a tide, is a cycle. This is the crest of a wave - one wave in an ocean of time.

Hokusai - Ocean Waves

Fate vs. Free Will in the Kitchen Dynamics of Life

One of my long-time and very dear friends is an astrologer with whom I have a near-daily correspondence. Over the years we have traded joys and problems, cats having their way with him in his household and cattiness doing a number on mine.

It's an excellent friendship. And one which has grown to be as solid as any could be despite the fact we've never met each other face-to-face. I think we've talked on the phone once or twice, but the fact that I can't remember when that might have been tells me it was a long, long time ago if it even ever happened.

A hundred years ago this might not sound so astonishing. Back in the day, pen pal relationship were considered a norm. But then, back then, the ability to write was considered a sign of class and potential - how well you did that one thing often was the key to doors we now think of as being unlocked by degrees, money and connections.

Anyway...this dear friend of mine and I, we come back again and again to questions of whether the natal chart is dynamic or static. He feels that since he brings the same "him" (the natal chart) to any moment, that nothing ever changes. He is always who he will be - that's what's written in his chart.

To some extent, that's obviously true - I was (for instance) born with a Scorpio Moon (conjunct Saturn and trine Sun and Venus, if you must know)...and I will always have that Scorpio Moon and its buddy, my illustrious Scorpio Saturn.

Yes...for all you Saturn haters out there, I do love my Saturn. It gives me endurance and has provided stability in an at-times raucously unstable life.

Does this Saturn+Moon+Scorpio combination also speak to some difficulties? You betcha! And I've had them...and expect [sigh...] that periodically my life will be a bit like a traipse through a sewer system wearing a white frock and 4" heels.

But that's just the point. My life started out rough. Very rough - which I'm beginning to talk about on the sister blog to this one - the Pinocchio Girl blog. The term 'used and abused' seems the genteel way to put it, so for now we'll leave it there - if you want to read more about surviving trauma I hope you'll join me on the other side of the digital wall. But to say that I can't size up what the possibilities are - that I can't say abuse and fear and poverty and sorrow are classical Scorpio Saturn/Moon symbolisms but only one pole thereof - THAT's the point.

And that's one of the great gifts of astrology - in particular, western (tropical) astrology, as opposed to Vedic, Chinese and heliocentric astrology, to name a few of the other formats out there to be explored. I'm not saying they do have their merits - they do. But 'standard' western astrology has come to be a body of thought built on free will, employing a psychological point of view. In other words, every symbol, every sign, every position and aspect and whatnot in a chart - it represents a polarity of potentials with (typically), one being a negative attribute and one being a positive pole.

But even that's not entirely true. I may have been gifted with a childhood which instilled in me fear and sadness and struggle, but those very attributes are what allow me to feel the pain of others, to relate to their problems and to know HOW to struggle. Thus have I found my way to growth.

I still fall down. I still cry. But I have learned how to fall down. I have learned how to cry, and when I compare that to people so fragile that they can't bear to see or feel pain, I think myself incredibly, terribly lucky.

Natal attributes are...to recall a lovely set of lines from the original 'Pirates' movie... they're rather more like a guideline. Yes, they are true and they stay with us for the whole of our life. But they are also ours to expand upon.

Hopefully we do. Hopefully we put forth the effort to challenge ourselves and to here and there, occasionally move out of our comfort zones. We don't have to do it daily. We just have to do it often enough to in time learn that we can do it. The very rhythm of planetary motion - that everything except the Sun and Moon has retrograde patterns, that suggests in fact that we aren't supposed to simply bulldog through each and every day, throwing ourselves against the unknown, bruising ourselves in the attempt to push back the boundaries and broaden our horizons. Retrogrades, planets moving into this sign and that - the whole symphony of astrology suggests that as said in scriptural writings, to everything there is a season. So we venture. We build. Then we take what we have gleaned and gained and we consolidate that within ourselves.

The timing of when these periods of growth - and what kind of growth it's going to be - that's what transits are all about. The transits which occur on your chart individually are the most potent of all - and of course, impossible for us to talk about in general. But we wouldn't want to. You are an individual. And the individuality of your life is your uniqueness, your special assembly of gifts. So if this means anything to you, if you want to know more...then you need to consult an astrologer such as myself. Or you need to learn how to do astrology yourself.

Just never underestimate your specialness. And don't underestimate the potentials thereof. Your makeup - as written in your chart - that may challenge you. Like me, you may have a chart loaded with graces over which you stumble like a goofy-footed drunk dropped into an obstacle course. But that doesn't mean you can't change, grow and make good on many of your potentials. It just takes time, effort and the willingness to confront not just who we aren't (the glass half empty) but who we are - the glass half full which we see we have room to yet pour something into...the life which yet can be fulfilling.

In all this, transits - the other thing my friend remarked on to me this morning in his latest email (yes, we did move to email after years of writing letters) - transits mark a period of opportunity. They are typified by the nature of harmonics: conjunctions are unities - we either have the thing close at hand or we can't see the forest for the trees. Squares are challenges - we can use them to build, as architects use the 90 degree square to set a ceiling atop a wall, or we can run smack dab into our lesser nature as when two cars collide at an intersection.

And make no mistake - though the things we encounter come to us from outside, from others, since its our life the energy of the experience is ours. That other person...they're going to walk away. As I've told many a client, just remember, I can't fix anything. My job is to be a mirror so you can see yourself and make better, more informed choices. But when you leave this room, your chart goes with you. Sorry, but I have enough troubles with my own.

That's the truth of it. We all want someone to 'fix' us. We all want a 'magic pill.' But there is none. The only pill we can really swallow is the somewhat bitter pill that we are our own person and that reality - the facts - are what we have. Dreams are nice, prayers and lovely and optimism is a fine thing to be sure. But in the end, the facts and the effort we make to deal with fact is all which really counts. The rest of it...sorry to say...most of the rest of it is snake oil, though prayer has been shown to work when it's for someone else.

Ah yes...the non-egocentric universe. Another element to [sigh] at. Apparently life is not all about us, even if our experience is. And that such a thing is true would seem to be all about what we have, what our ego is useful for is the harnessing of our capabilities, the recognizing what we can do about something.

But whether we actually DO it? That's up to us.

Transits marking the period of our opportunities in life, what of them? says my friend. I am always the same person and my life is what it is. (I'm paraphrasing, not quoting here.)

The point really is that our life is all about what we make of it. If your natal position is flour, then with that flour you can make bread, pie, cookies...you can thicken a stew, team up with butter and make a roux...you can do many a thing. No, you cannot be the seafood. But you might contribute to a seafood dish of your own in a very crusty, toasty, floury way.

I don't want you to think that my friend isn't a good astrologer. He is. What he does with a simple cup of astrological flour sometimes simply floors me (after which, I have to sweep up).

I learn from him as you perhaps learn from me. But when it comes to learning, like with anything else, the real issue is why such an idea or means or inspiration appealed to you. That's the you of it, and you are your own kitchen larder. Your ingredients remain static.

But what you make of you? That's uniquely you and up to you to choose. As planets move through signs, the world is 'attuned' to certain flavors...this week, month or year the most apt combination may be of the Cajun sort. Next month (or whenever), the combination of tones might be more apt for those who cook Middle Eastern, or Russian, or Chinese.

Whatever it is, sometimes we fit in, sometimes we don't. Easy transits to your birth chart tell you when your 'natural' blend - the spiciness which is you - is in vogue, making it easier for you to open doors.

But you still have to reach out there, take hold of the knob and turn. You have to want to open that door. And once its open, you still have to walk in and do your thing.

Life is not room service.

But it is a full spectrum menu. You may not want to order off every page, but that doesn't mean those pages don't exist. You have free will - and that free will includes the right and ability to say 'uh, no thanks, not for me!' And yes, some things you have to work for. Sometimes you have to be very, very inventive in life. Sometimes the vogues are all not your thing and you have to learn how to adapt without that nourishment which feels so native and comforting to you.

Again, that's just life. In this 'instant-oatmeal' age we have come to think everything is easy - or should be easy. Unfortunately on that one, the head Universal Chef votes no. We either cook from scratch or the plate goes out empty and comes back just as empty and (yes,) unfulfilling.

And with that said, I'm going to dessert you for the day (couldn't resist)...wishing you good cookery and bon appetit!