Ophiuchus: The Grip, Our Grasp, the Zodiac

 Constellation Ophiuchus, as imaged in an old English compendium on the sky

Little did I know when I turned on my television come January 13th that the great Ophiuchus debate was going to have reared its head yet again.

But it had. There was a perfectly sensible news anchor, a woman whose staff usually does a crack job of digging into things, looking for the source and the truth...and there she was, chatting about a 13th zodiac sign and how we all were going change signs and how this had to do with the Moon and...and...and

Trust me - I sighed heavily, realizing that I was going to be fielding a lot of emails.

Here at the blog, all was quiet, so I took that as a good sign that y'all were going to wait and see what I had to say about it. So here's what I have to say.

In short: WRONG.

And the short order moral is...: when you want to know about astrology, ask an ASTROLOGER, not an ASTRONOMER. Astronomers, while I love them, are just not astrologers. To ask an astronomer about astrology is - in many (maybe even most) cases rather like asking a vegetarian for a really good rib recipe.

Okay. So to the facts of the zodiac as we know it, have known it and will continue to know it. The Earth travels around the Sun. That path, known as the ecliptic, creates a 'plane' - think of it as a big pizza with the Sun at the middle with the Earth running along the edge like some mad pizza maker sprinkling on cheese.

If that pizza was big enough to extend out into the stars...waaaaayyyyy out there....that would be the greater plane of the ecliptic - the celestial "latitude" of Earth as oriented to the Sun. Which face it folks, is all we care about - Earth is where we live, astrology is about life on Earth and life on Earth wouldn't exist without the Sun.

Put simply, there are twelve (count 'em - twelve)  constellations accepted in current western astronomy (yes, western astronomy) which lie along that celestial ecliptic. Those are the signs of the zodiac. And yes, they really line up. Example....

  From left to right: Part of Pisces, most of Aquarius and

Capricorn - or Capricornus, as it gets called in the land of constellations

 

See how these constellations are right there in a nice neat line?

Now let's get to the area of the sky where we find the aforementioned Ophiuchus...

 Sky shot of the 3rd zodiacal quadrant showing (left to right)

Sagittarius, Scorpio and Libra along the plane of the ecliptic 

(the green dotted line) with Ophiuchus above and to the

right - and not on the plane of the ecliptic.

This is a sufficiently big piece of sky that given the limitations of blog software it's a little hard to see; to give the best view I've tilted the image somewhat. But the result is pretty clear. Left to right we see Sagittarius, Scorpio and Libra all lying at, along or across the plane of the ecliptic. Ophiucus? Not so much. Not within a interstellar country mile, as a matter of fact.

Near may count in the world of hand grenades and nuclear bombs, but not so much in astrology. It is or it isn't...which rather reminds me of that highly irritating 'I'm on the cusp' thing one hears from time to time. Astrology is math. The light is on or it's off. The wife is pregnant or she's not pregnant - there are no 'sorta's in this game of where something is in space. It's there or its not there, pure and simple, we use mathematical principles to measure it and voila - we are done.

Now this isn't to say that degrees of the zodiac may not bear attributes of other signs. That's why we talk about the quality of individual degrees. But where something is, that's where it is. And plainly Ophiuchus is not on the ecliptic, therefore it's not a zodiac sign.

Period. End. Done.

Oh - and let us note here: in the whole of this discussion we have not talked about the Moon at all. Moon's orbit around Earth would have nothing to do with the zodiac unless the Moon's orbit somehow altered Earth's orbit around the Sun.

And if that was true...the whole zodiac would change - not just one sign!

I think we will do well to touch on Ophiuchus as a symbol too - which we'll do in a moment. But first let's finish with what we've started. (You know...eat your veggies or you get no dessert!) This whole 'the sign before' thing does exist in astrology - Vedic (Hindu) astrology. It's not that everyone changes signs, though - Vedic (also known as Sidereal Astrology) changes calcuations by about 23 degrees. So yes, most of us would change signs.

But to go with that, Vedic has worked through it's own point of view and come up with pretty much the same answers. It's just the precept is different - as is the perspective. Sidereal astrology basically looks down upon the Earth as if from above where western (Tropical) astrology is 'positioned' as being on Earth looking up at the sky. Vedic arose in a culture which in being rife with a caste system belongs more (not totally, but more) in the 'fate' category where western astrology has come to be greatly psychology and free-will based.

This is not to say that everyone who works with a western astrology (or in/with western astrology) will undertake the work required to change their lives. Most astrologers will tell you that they have seen many a chart which looks all nice and sweet and pretty...but which amounts to the native being unmotivated. We all have seen charts which look really tough, hard and gnarly, too. And some of those belong to some of the most respected and accomplished people in the world.

Evidently humans do thrive when given challenges, so long as they accept the challenge as part of some good process which teaches them about life and thus further empowers them to do whatever it is they aim to do. Or discover they can do. Or discover needs doing.

Okay...now on to Ophiuchus. Here's a picture of the constellation all by its lonely as it appears in the sky...

 Constellation Ophiuchus

There are actually two labels to this constellation - one being Ophiuchus, the other 'Serpens' - a reference to the serpent Ophiuchus is supposed to be wrestling with.

What is this about? This is about our wrestling not with women, but with our own yin/feminine - the ability to be receptive.

And what are we when we're not receptive? How about pig headed, egotistical, stubborn and unwilling to see what may just be a fact or truth?

Going back as far as the tales of the Garden of Eden, snakes have always been the image of 'temptation.' But if the whole of existence and the metaphorical allegories of biblical stories are about us, what is that really? Maybe it's about our wanting to be 'right' about what we know? Maybe its us being 'tempted' not to want to hear anything new or some truth about ourselves or our lifestyle or our assertions which isn't true?

This is the image of Ophiuchus. Ophiuchus is 'the man' (i.e., mankind) "wrestling" with his own ability to be receptive. The idea of this is backed up by the brightest star in this constellation - Ras Alhague, which some of you may recognize as a name 'borrowed' for a recent Batman movie.

There the character's name was Ra's Al Ghul - but plainly it's a reference to the star. And that the character is a villain - that holds too, but only if you look at it metaphysically. Batman can certainly be just a story. But as a mythos it can be taken to be a whole world of the Self. That being true - as it probably is in many a fantasy or science fiction mythos - then Ra's Al Ghul is a faction of the Self set against another faction of the Self (Batman) who is as a character already plagued by his own internal conflict, one which is reflected in the conflict of the world around him, drawn to him, created by his being Batman...and so on.

In other words, the standard exotica of metaphysics.

And yes, I am a fan of the Batman mythos - can you tell?  Beyond that, it's interesting to note that the Batman movie in question - the one which introduced us to the modern Ra's Al Ghul was a movie named Batman Begins, which according to the IMDb (the Internet Movie Database), was a 2005 release. And 2005 was, if memory serves me well, about the time when in many a quarter, people really did stop listening and started ranting, railing and holding those who didn't think or believe the way they did as only worthy of dispatch. Destruction. Dismissal. Denouncement.

And lest you think I'm talking through my cape and cowl, at the time this movie was released, Pluto the Transformer, symbol of how we are changed through  emotions which result from something we choose to do or not do....guess where Pluto was?

Ras Alhague the star is located at 22 Sagittarius. And yes, that's where Pluto was. Traditionally  seen as 'evil' - just like the character of similar name in Batman Begins, Ras Alhague is easy to shy away from. Yet considering how all stars, as all images in any horoscope are in the end about us, what this becomes is more of a picture about the 'evil time' we have with ourselves than anything else.

Besides, there's a whole other side to this fixed star's lore, one all about Ras Alhague as a connective with with healing. We don't like to think about it, but often enough we gimp along...some of us grousing, some of us determined to hold the good thought...until recent events confront us with the 'ill' which is really going on. From recent events in the US and around the world, we see a need for healing and the ills, figurative and literal which become evils when we aren't receptive and reactive (responsive) to the greater needs of life.

That's the astrological 'feminine.' It's not girly. It's not female. It's not about gender at all. It's about the ability to see, to contain, to react and respond to need, to build on experience.

Sagittarius itself, as a sign, is not innately yin. It's in the 'responsive' half of the natural zodiac, but the sign by nature is yang and assertive. So in arenas Sagittarian we assert ourselves and 'test' things out - ideas, means, methods, convictions, products...what have you. And from the results of that testing, we learn. Sometimes we learn what our mistakes really are and learn to do better (or do things better)...and through this active-responsive 'testing' we in time expand our horizons, abilities, confidence and reputation...all of which in time lead to Capricorn achievements.

 The receptive, yin, responsive side of the natural zodiac includes

six signs which each have their own yin or yang orientation.

Cancer, Virgo and Scorpio are yin, Leo, Libra and Sagittarius are

yang. Yet all of these signs operate in a responsive manner,

reacting to life - as opposed to signs which fall in the natural

zodiac's (left) yang hemisphere, half of which are yang by nature

and half of which are yin...but all of which are at some level, pro-active.

Or maybe we should say they're exploration/discovery-oriented,

as opposed to right hemisphere signs, which develop that which

exists...improving on things, preserving things, finding new

uses for things and so on.

At 22 Sagittarius, Ras Alhague (also known as Alpha Ophiuchus) is a third decanate star which means the source of our promptings to 'learn better' will come from without. From life. From the world.

The United States has just experienced a shooting in Arizona, raising not just discussions of levels of rhetoric, but also matters of guns, mental health and by implication, budgets and the rest of it.

In Australia, floods are devastating whole sections of cities.

Other things are happening in other places. The lessons we have not learned, whether they are about guns or rhetoric or where we build or budgets spent on luxuries instead of decency to all...all those commentaries are coming home to us through external means. That's a third decanate Sagittarian dynamic.

Through these events, hopefully we will learn, learn better and thus begin to heal ourselves, our societies and our world - for ourselves, for our posterity, for the other creatures which inhabit this planet and which may in the thousands and millions of years to come, come to inhabit this planet. 

So never mind the fluffle about another zodiac sign. That isn't happening. But that this question arose now - that's poignant. We are wrestling with ourselves. With our ability to be receptive. And thus Ophiuchus, the wrestler with the snake,got a wrestling hold on our attention.

Do you think maybe the lesson is that we need to get a grip? Maybe yes. But if so, it's probably most of all on ourselves.

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!