Your Milky Way Horoscope Aug. 7-13, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Venus in Leo sextiles Saturn at 12 degrees Libra at 10:19 pm Sunday. You may receive a few words of kind advice, possibly from an older person or mentor. Venus softens your ambitions, putting the velvet glove on your iron fist. It always pays to be polite, send the thank-you note for the interview, etc.
Mercury (retrograde now) enters Leo again at 5:46 am Monday. Mercury also opposes Neptune in Aquarius at 10:27 am the same day. Mercury-Neptune can be confused thinking or wishful thinking, BUT it can also be magic words. Try to cook up a neat affirmation for your particular situation. Caution: do not sign anything under such a transit.
Mars in Cancer squares Uranus at 4 degrees Aries at 12:33 pm Tuesday. This would be a volatile, even explosive aspect but I think that watery Cancer dampens the volatile elements. People with a lot of natal planets in cardinal signs are going to be pretty stressed this week. If that applies to you, try to pamper yourself with a massage or exercise or whatever you like to do to combat stress. And if you work with someone affected by this aspect, be kind, give them the benefit of the doubt, let them take a little time off work if possible.
Mars in Cancer then opposes Pluto at 5 degrees Capricorn at 1:14 am Thursday, forming a tough T-square of all malefic planets. There’s no give with Pluto present here. You may just lose it, tell someone to take a hike. Well, if you are better off without that person, then OK. Some people just bring out the worst in each other. But think carefully before speaking.

PS – I am listing a few used astrology books for sale on Amazon Books; Part Two was posted July 1! Look for reviews in my column with a link to the listing. Even more titles to come soon. Thanks for your support (and patience). Note that the Intuition book, listed in Part One, has sold.
ALSO – see my popular article on late degrees of all the signs. Link: https://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/planets-in-late-degrees-what-do-they-mean/
ALSO – check out Astrology.com — free lessons online

The Goddess Archetypes: The Vesta Myth

by Milky Way Maid

Recently I posted some brief entries on the asteroid goddesses; one was on a historical note regarding responsibilities held by the Vestal Virgins. Today I want to go back to the original myths and try to tease out some themes pertaining to each of these goddesses. (For this series of articles I am using the excellent Goddesses in Every Woman, by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.)
Next up: Vesta, aka Hestia. Let’s go up close and personal with Vesta, as we trace her life from birth onwards.
Vesta was the oldest Olympian, just as Mercury was the youngest. She was the first to be swallowed up by her father, and the last to be disgorged when Zeus rescued them all (Bolen, p. 118). Therefore she spent the most time sequestered away from the world, and this became her preferred milieu you might say.
PEDIGREE: First child of Rhea and Cronos. Was oldest sister to first-generation Olympians, and maiden aunt to the second-generation (including Mercury). She had a claim to a home on Mount Olympus yet was never found there; her spot was eventually claimed by the upstart Dionysus, but she did not protest.
HABITAT: At home, always at home. Never shopping in the agora, I mean mall. Quite happy puttering around the house doing chores, or focusing on her own spiritual development. Lets the world go away, far away. As the spirit of the home, she represents home and family as a sanctuary from the cares and stresses of the world.
FASHION STATEMENT: Never depicted in in human form, at least, by painters or sculptors, so we have no portraits per se; she is more a spirit than a living goddess. Young girls’ heads were clipped when they first entered the temple, and all of them were dressed in the same simple robes. Sorry, no fashion plate here, no jewelry, no nothing. We could call it ashram chic, I suppose.
SYMBOLOGY: Her symbols are often found together with those for Mercury aka Hermes. Often her symbol, a circle, hearth or ring, became a symbol for the feminine principle itself, while the pillar (adorned with male genitalia, the pillar was called a herm) became the paired symbol for the masculine principle. (Hearths and her first temples were round.) A Hindu counterpart that expresses this yin-yang pairing is the yoni (ring) and lingam. Hestia is the soul, and Mercurius was the alchemical spirit envisioned as elemental fire; together the represent spirit setting the soul on fire. This mystical fire “was considered the source of mystical knowledge, symbolically located at the center of the earth” (Bolen, p. 115).
She might be thought of as a candle in the wind, lighting her little fire one at a time to bring warmth, order and light to every household. She is a spirit yet grounded in the reality of earth-bound life, grounded by her rituals that make what would be drudgery, into sacred duties.
Another symbol besides the circle is the mandala, an aid in meditation to take one further into one’s real, inner self.
RULERSHIPS: Hestia-Vesta is the goddess of the hearth, or more specifically the sacred fire itself in the hearth. A house or temple was not consecrated until the sacred fire (Vesta) entered. A bride’s mother lit a torch from her hearth, which was carried to the bride’s new home to consecrate it as it lit the home’s first fires. Another ritual was conducted when infants were five days old, followed by a huge banquet.
In my earlier brief post, I related how the Vestal Virgins also had the duty of guarding the wills of citizens. Final testaments were stored all over their temple, with different sections for Romans, Italians, and those further afield. Furthermore, the VV’s guarded the absolute privacy of the contents of these documents; no one could get a sneak peak at who was getting what from rich old Uncle Ned. So rather than security being under the domain of Vesta, I prefer to think that privacy itself was held inviolate by her maidens.
What other duties did she have? Geez, you can only do so much sweeping; but then again she finds a Zen-like harmony in putting a house in order. She also meditated; she focused on the “inner subjective experience” to use the words of Dr. Bolen. Like nuns, she performs all her work in the service of God. But we need to be able to get in touch with our real, inner selves to keep from being swept away in the onslaught of stimuli, phone calls, emails, advertising, and everything else that assaults our senses and judgment. Tranquility and solitude are preferable to the hustle-bustle of our cities. As the spirit of the home, she represents home and family as a sanctuary from the cares and stresses of the world.

The Goddess Archetypes: The Pallas Athena Myth

by Milky Way Maid
Recently I posted some brief entries on the asteroid goddesses; one was on a historical note regarding responsibilities held by the Vestal Virgins. Today I want to go back to the original myths and try to tease out some themes pertaining to each of these goddesses. (For this series of articles I refer to the excellent Goddesses in Every Woman, by Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D.) First up, Pallas Athena. Let’s go up close and personal with Pallas Athena, as we trace her life from birth onwards.

PEDIGREE: Most of us know that Athena sprang full-grown from her father’s (Zeus’s) head. Most of us do NOT know that she did indeed have a mother, Metis, who had been swallowed by her father. So while Athena had a nonexistent relationship with mom, I am going to posit that her father incorporated some feminine or nurturing qualities in order to be a complete parent to his daughter. He carried her to term, he suffered labor pains, presumably he felt a parental bond. One might say that Zeus gave her life twice, once in impregnating her mother, and second when birthing her. That’s a powerful bond.

Her mother, Metis, was the first consort to Zeus. She was known for her wisdom, a trait passed on to her famous daughter. By swallowing Metis, Zeus not only took on the role of mother to his daughter, he also made wisdom part of his own personality.

HABITAT: Definitely a city girl, Athena is not found wandering the wilderness or forests like Artemis, nor tending the hearth (and home) like Vesta, nor playing with the wild animals, nor the cultivated fields like Ceres. Her special city is Athens, the most civilized and democratic city of its time.
SYMBOLOGY: Often shown carrying an owl, a symbol of wisdom.
FASHION STATEMENT: The only goddess portrayed wearing armor, she was charged with protecting her city, Athens. Only the visor of her helmet is pushed up to show her classically beautiful face. Therefore I feel that security matters are under the rulership of Pallas, in addition to military strategy. Does armor represent emotional invulnerability? Keeping her personal problems under wraps? I suppose it is akin to the general professionalism expected of most people in the workplace, ie no temper tantrums, no yelling or other outbursts, no talking about stuff outside the job, and all that.

She carries both spear and shield, with the other hand holding a spindle in the other (denoting her rulership of weaving and other domestic arts). This is an odd combination: martial and domestic arts, but she took civilization to a new level.

RULERSHIPS: Athena is the goddess of weavers, goldsmiths, potters, dressmakers. She invented the bridle to tame the horse and the yoke for oxen, plus taught the human race how to plow, build ships, and drive the chariot. She is also the goddess of hygiene, safeguarding public health. She is one smart cookie. And on top of that, she gave Athenians the olive tree.

SMARTY JONES: Athena took on her parents smarts, and became a sort of military advisor, counselor, campaign strategist, and personal cheering section. She helped Perseus, Bellerophon, and Jason to become the heroes that they are. She was involved in the strategy for fighting the Trojan War— and she was not above planting a bit of misinformation to the other side.

WOMEN FRIENDS: Now, since she is completely her father’s daughter, she rarely has close friendships with other women — not with her mom Metis, not with any mother figure like Persephone with her mother Ceres, not with sisterly women like Artemis does. There was only one exception: Pallas. Pallas was a sisterly companion who was the victim of an unfortunate accident. They were playing a competitive game, and Athena’s spear accidentally hit and killed her friend Pallas. After that, Athena took her friend’s name as part of her own. Dr. Bolen feels that Athena’s competitive drive can be fatal to her female friendships; she needs to find another gear, you might say, when hanging out with her women pals.

MARRIAGE: Athena types may or may not get married. Career women flock under her banner, whether they have their own business, work for a corporation, work in the political realm, or are in the halls of academia. But they do often get married to an up-an-comer type in business or politics, in which case they sublimate personal ambitions to provide key support in their husband’s career. Jacqueline Kennedy was an example of the behind-the-throne type.

SISTERHOOD?: Dr. Bolen is quite clear that despite Athena’s career ambitions, she is frankly NOT a women’s libber type nor does she feel any sense of sisterhood with other women. That is the province of Artemis. Moreover, Dr. Bolen feels Athena is very much a supporter of the social/political status quo, as evidenced by her vote to acquit Orestes in the murder of his mother Clytemnestra. Back to that in a moment. She also condemned Arachne to life as a spider after she submitted her weaving in a contest with the goddess. This punishment was not meted out because of Arachne’s temerity to challenge Athena in a contest of skill; it was because of the controversial subject matter of her tapestry. It depicted Zeus’ peccadilloes in seducing Danae and Leda and Europa. How dare she point out the feet of clay of her personal hero, Zeus! So not only does Athena worship her father, she also has no sympathy whatsoever for whistle-blowers in general.

CRAFTY N SAVVY: Athena was the go-to person if you had a riddle or problem that your poor, feeble human brain could not figure out the solution to. She told Perseus how to master the fearsome Gorgon (look at it only via a mirror). She gave the equestrian and general, Bellerophon, a golden bridle to tame Pegasus with. She helped Jason and his crew build the famed ship Argo (no, not nailing boards together; with technical advice). She whispered tips and encouragement to Achilles. Like I said, she is one smart cookie. Athena might be compared to the frontier women who not only helped plow the fields but also wove the fabric for their clothing, as they and their mates wrested the land from the wilderness into a homestead.

LEGAL EAGLE: Now, back to that trial of Orestes. This is a very muddled issue in my mind because unfortunately Athena did not write a legal opinion on the case explaining her reasoning. Did she vote to acquit because this was a revenge killing? (Orestes’ mother had killed his father) Did she sympathize with anyone who was faced with the death of a father? Did she think that perhaps Orestes was crippled by temporary insanity, and let him off on that plea? Or did she think that women should never strike out against their own husbands, no matter what the provocation?

A closer look at the story of Orestes: The house of Atreus was one of those supremely dysfunctional families. Orestes’ mother, Clytemnestra, was cheating on her husband, King Agamemnon. Agamemnon returns from the Trojan War with his booty, the girl Cassandra. King and Queen go into the palace and the queen comes out all bloody after killing the king, saying it was revenge for his killing one of their children. Son Orestes is in the same boat as Hamlet, wondering if avenging his father extends to even the crime of killing a mother. So he goes to the oracles of Delphi, where Apollo himself tells him to kill both mom and her lover. Orestes does so, then wanders for some time in the wilderness before he goes to Athena to explain himself. Apollo is beside him to vouch for the fact that he ordered this vengeance killing. Athena, establishing a new order of mercy, acquitted Orestes, and the curse on the Atreus family was lifted.

So by looking closer at the story of Orestes, I believe we can say that Athena’s brand of justice was tempered by MERCY, and that she realized the only way to end a cycle of murder was to stop the shedding of blood, both illicit and licit. She realized that even legally sanctioned murder must stop. Oh, it just occurred to me that Athena would be against the death penalty for that reason.

So there you have an overview of the legendary goddess Pallas Athena: smart n savvy, a skillful weaver and crafter and shipbuilder, a tamer of large animals (animal husbandry), a merciful judge, a military strategist, a political analyst, an ombudsman or consultant, city girl, ambitious career woman, competitive athlete and business-woman. Not a warm, fuzzy type with a dozen cats, and not a fashion plate who lives for the New York fashion shows. But a smart, wise woman of the world.

So many modern women who eschew marriage or just do not set a priority on getting married and having kids are accused of trying to be men. That is NOT TRUE. They follow another drummer, a female drummer who loves the challenges of trying to uphold civilization with laws, industry, education and high-quality craftwork. Oh, and olive trees.

Dave at AstroAmerica stated in a recent newsletter that Pallas Athena represents how we gained the father’s approval. I might add that clues to HOW we were rewarded with that approval may be gleaned from the sign and house position of the asteroid. For example, my Pallas is in Aries; I feel that part of the meaning of this placement is that I was rewarded for taking the initiative in some things, in my childhood. For getting on that bike and learning to ride, for venturing down to the corner park alone, for upholstering that old chair, etc.

How might Pallas, the asteroid, operate in the various houses? First House: you feel rewarded for speaking up for yourself, for putting yourself out there and introducing yourself. Sometimes spread self too thin over too many projects. Second House: Pallas is not interested in wealth per se is good at saving and conserving. Will never sell out their reputations for personal gain. Third House: Pallas here might prompt you to go into education but probably not in the primary grades. Third House also rules the city, her favorite place, so you may be quite involved in local politics.
Fourth House: Pallas is not very domestic but she does run an organized household, like a military operation. She may be the pioneer type who not only weaves the fabric for clothing but also puts up food and helps with the plowing. Also rules security systems. May start a home-based business. Fifth House: Geez, Pallas is not much into fun n games nor into romance, so that leaves the arts. Particularly textile arts, but any work that is equal parts skill and craft like shipbuilding. Enjoys strategy games like chess and bridge rather than golf, etc. Sixth House: OK, now you’re talking. Pallas is very much at home with any career where one wears a uniform: the military, nurses and doctors (especially public health personnel), and police. Also working in civil service may be the sort of Confucian duty that appeals to her.
Seventh House: You may be a very public person, someone who perhaps investigates consumer problems brought to your attention. You may be more known for the person you marry, and prefer to be the “power behind the throne.” In one case the placement of Pallas in the seventh showed the husband’s occupation (Scorpio: he was a police detective). Eighth House: Management of pooled funds such as insurance, state lotteries, joint accounts. Also good for surgeons. Ninth House: Another one of Pallas’ fave houses, where she can exercise her Legal Eagle savvy, get involved in academia, national or world politics, or heck, rule the world. She could do that.
Tenth House: Pallas here can easily handle being high in the executive boardrooms of major corporations. Eleventh House: here is a difficult place for Pallas because she is just not really chummy, doesn’t hang out at the mall with friends, doesn’t care too much for pure socializing. But she does excel at heading, organizing and fund-raising for charitable or non-profit groups. Twelfth House: Hmmm, not likely to be a fave place for Pallas although her rulership of hygiene may help her to run large hospitals or other medical facilities.
Next up: Vesta, aka Hestia.

Started Job on Void of Course Moon, Oh My!

By Milky Way Maid

In the course of discussing the Royal Wedding earlier this year (please see https://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/that-big-fat-royal-wedding-and-whether-william-will-ever-be-king/) I mentioned that I once started a job on a void-of-course (hereinafter referred to as VOC moon) and that it worked out all right.

I finally managed to dig up the start time for that position and here are the pertinent details:

Start of Job, May 15, 2000, 2:30 pm CDT, Milwaukee, WI.

Curiously enough, the Moon was in Libra, not a sign where a VOC moon is favored for some events. Traditionally, the Moon functions OK if the VOC occurs in the signs of the Moon or Jupiter: Cancer, Taurus, Sagittarius, and Pisces.

One major factor in this chart, folks, is that the ascendant happens to be on my natal Jupiter, 21 degrees Virgo. I had forgotten that.

Moon, as I said, is in Libra at 26 degrees and in the second house. Pluto and Chiron are in the third house at 11 and 16 degrees, respectively, of Sagittarius; Pluto is on my natal Saturn. The fifth house is pretty crowded with the South Node (26 degrees Capricorn), Vesta (29 Capricorn), Neptune (6 Aquarius), Uranus (20 Aquarius), Part of Fortune (22 Aquarius) and Juno (22 Aquarius).

The ninth house is also supercharged with Venus at 18 Taurus (very close to my Sun), Jupiter at 19 Taurus (conjunct my Sun), Saturn at 21 Taurus, Sun at 25 Taurus, Mercury strong in Gemini (3 degrees), and Mars at 8 Gemini.

North Node is alone at 26 Cancer in the eleventh house, along with Pallas Athena at 14 Leo. Transpluto, for those who use those points, is at 24 Leo in the twelfth house.

Aspects to natal planets: Venus, Jupiter, and Saturn clustered on my natal Sun, as I mentioned above. Sun near my natal Venus. The Moon is inconjunct the Sun, and therefore also inconjunct my natal Venus.

Critical degrees: North Node at 26 degrees of Cancer is on a critical degree; I think this was an example of my being in the right place at the right time when applying for this job. I had just completed a couple classes in introductory computer and in medical terminology, intending to go on for a diploma in allied health science. However, I had to wait a terribly long time for a practicum to be scheduled, about three months, and there was just no way that I could see how to survive that long without an income. So I applied for a couple jobs and this one opened up.

The Node is at the midpoint of the Ascendant in Virgo, and the Sun-Saturn conjunction in Taurus. It also opposes Vesta, and is sesquiquadrate Pluto in the third house. Pluto in the third is I think reflective of our actual work handling ‘paperwork’ for an insurance company.

It was extremely helpful to have Mercury in Gemini for this job, which required one to be able to ramp up your production to keep up with paper submissions. I have found thru experience that three degrees of most signs is very positive for me, due to a key natal planet and ascendant at that degree.

Needless to say the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in Taurus defined a new era for many people, and with several natal planets in Taurus, it really gave me a jump-start to a materially successful period like nothing I had ever had before. The conjunction squared Uranus, where virtually ALL the work was done on computer and the submissions had been imaged into the system.

Your Milky Way Horoscope July 31-Aug. 6, 2011

By Milky Way Maid

Venus in Leo trines Uranus at 4 degrees Aries at 12:09 am Monday. What a witching hour, indeed! Possible interpretations include: Pleasant surprises re money; We declare our independence; Expect the unexpected. You may meet quite unusual people or foreigners and really hit it off with them.
Maybe you might back off from making any decisions Monday— the Moon opposes Neptune (at zero degrees Pisces) about 5 am Monday and is conjunct Mercury hardly an hour and a half later. And Mercury is so close to stationing (exact late Tuesday). The facts that seem so solid are form the foundation for your decision can easily turn out to be nothing but wishful thinking (another Neptune thing). We cannot see the truth until the transit is over; we just don’t believe all those true friends who are trying to stop us from jumping off a high cliff…
The Sun in Leo squares Jupiter at 8 degrees Taurus (a critical degree) at 10:41 am Monday. A Sun-Jupiter square usually means the hangover after a period of Jupiter excesses. It could mean facing the stack of bills after making the grand gesture that Leos are so prone to do, where they pick up the check for the whole party of 20 or whatever at the lovely French restaurant with the white tablecloths. Puh-leeze set a realistic budget and hold everyone to it.
Mercury goes retrograde at 1 degree, 12 minutes Virgo at 11:50 pm Tuesday. It will re-enter Leo on the morning of August 8. It’s that time of year again. You can always take your vacation at this time, since you are (almost) certain to come back home! Be sure to try on clothes etc before buying and check them over carefully; insist on a trial period for contractual services.
Mars enters the sign Cancer at 5:22 am Wednesday, an awkward placement; it will be there till late September. On the one hand, Cancer is a cardinal sign, and Mars definitely wants to be in a cardinal sign where it can DO SOMETHING. On the other hand Mars is exalted in Capricorn, so Cancer as the opposite sign is held to be a weak placement (ie in its Fall). Mars in Cancer can be competitive about getting its emotional needs met; try to see the situation as not a zero-sum type of thing. On the other hand this Mars can be acutely sensitive to others’ needs and able to spread comfort and caring. Joan Quigley says Mars in Cancer is capable of working for the universal good, without a personal axe to grind.
Mars trines Neptune at zero degrees Pisces at 6:53 am Wednesday. Intuition (and spiritual feeling) can be very active, so listen to your gut no matter how silly it seems. Events may rouse you to fight for the underdog.
Mercury in Virgo sextiles Mars at 1 degree Cancer at 7:19 pm Thursday. Good for multi-tasking especially if you are under time pressures. Are you trying to get on a game show? This aspect is good for keeping your wits about you. Good for debating and making sales presentations because you can come up with replies to objections posed by client.
Neptune retrogrades back into Aquarius at 10:54 pm Thursday. Try not to join groups or clubs while Neptune is back in Aquarius because the club’s character may change drastically when Neptune re-enters Pisces, and then you will wonder what you are doing hanging around these people. Now, if you have natal planets in late Aquarius, you have another chance to tie up loose ends and do it right.
Venus in Leo squares Jupiter at 9 degrees Taurus at 12:34 am Friday. (This is still very close to the critical degree of 8.) Well let me confess I actually got sick on candy one time under this aspect, and I am not gonna let that happen again. Since Venus also rules cash, be very careful about leaving money out or letting someone borrow your credit card— and double-check due dates on your bills so you don’t get socked with late fees.
Sun in Leo sextiles Saturn at 12 degrees Libra at 6:47 am Friday. (Venus will follow in the Sun’s footsteps and sextile Saturn on Sunday, August 7.) Assuming you have been working very hard and behaving yourself, you may just get some form of recognition for your work. Saturn brings personal and professional rewards; sometimes it comes not from others but from somewhere deep inside where the inner self feels so good about having done this job/task/duty. We feel a well-deserved sense of pride in what we have done. So go ahead, pat yourself on the back, have a cookie break, dare to put a flavor shot in your coffee, etc…

PS – I am listing a few used astrology books for sale on Amazon Books; Part Two was posted July 1! Look for reviews in my column with a link to the listing. Even more titles to come soon. Thanks for your support (and patience). Note that the Intuition book, listed in Part One, has sold.
ALSO – See my popular article on late degrees of all the signs. Link: https://milkywayastrology.wordpress.com/2008/08/15/planets-in-late-degrees-what-do-they-mean/
ALSO – check out Astrology.com — free lessons online