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When
the Greeks came to weave their magical mythic tales around the
constellations which they inherited from Babylon and Egypt, they wove
about the image of the Ram the story of the supernatural ram, sent by
Zeus, which saved Phrixus and Helle from their wicked stepmother and
carried them on its back toward Colchis. Helle fell off and drowned
in the sea which was named Hellesport after her, but Phrixus managed to
arrive intact at Colchis and came under the protection of King Aeetes,
himself a magician and a son of the solar god Helios. Phrixus
sacrificed the ram and hung up its fleece in a sacred grove guarded by a
dragon, where it turned to gold; and it was this same golden fleece which
Jason and his crew of Argonauts sought through many dangers. The
fleece was sacred to Zeus, and once again we are presented with this
unlooked-for connection between Aries and the fiery king of the
gods. This golden fleece, and Jason's quest for it, seem to portray
the theme of the slaying of the Old Father, and the quest for individual
spiritual identity, which is at the core of the drama of Aries the Ram. For
Aries there is and can never be any other than one deity, "the hidden one" which manifests as his own phallic
power. Because his battle is with God the Father, Aries must be
fully conscious of what he is doing, and needs to reverence the deity
against which he strives. He must be devout rather than merely
angry. The father-son
drama will appear again later in the zodiac - in particular in the signs
of Leo and Capricorn.
 
Three different mythic bulls claim
the honor of being associated with Taurus. One is the white bull
that carried Europa from her home in Tyre to Crete: this bull was Zeus
himself, transformed into animal form for the usual purpose of abducting
or seducing the woman of his choice. The second is a cow rather than
a bull, the animal form of Lo, another of Zeus' paramours, whom Hera in
her jealousy turned into bovine shape. The third and most famous is
the Cretan bull with which Pasiphae, the wife of King Minos of Crete, fell
in love, and which fathered the monstrous Minotaur that the hero Theseus
had to kill. The
tyrant-monster is the challenge of Taurus, its dark face which must at
some point be met in life. The earthy power which allows the tyrant
to accrue his wealth, as Minos gathered wealth and power over the
seas, is the gift of Taurus; but the dilemma lies in his relationship with
the god, and which god it is he serves, the deity or himself. But
what is the bull, the symbol of power which must be dedicated to the
god? The bull is not evil, but if it is allowed to run the man, then
it may lead him to destruction, for he is at the mercy of his
desires. It symbolizes the problem of the relationship between the ego
and the instincts.
 
The myth of Gemini deals upon one of the fundamental
conflicts of the sign - its inherent oppositeness. It is traditionally
given that Gemini is a moody sign, inclined to swing from elation
to depression. This is not surprising when we consider this myth,
which portrays vividly the conflicting experiences of bondage to a mortal
body with its sense of loss and death, and exaltation to the realm of
spirit and eternal life. Twins
have always been regarded as something special and, if not related
directly to divinity, yet as possessing some unusual power or mana which
works in opposition, rather like the positive or negative poles of a
magnet. There is, thus, in the concept of the twin a certain balance
or equilibrium implied, a closeness and similarity without a complete
identity; and ultimately, at least in mythology, a certain opposition is
indicated which may lead through increasing hostility to any attempt by
one twin to destroy the other. One twin personifies the light and
the other the dark. The danger is that if
Gemini cannot face his own
oppositeness and contrariness, the shadow (or the light) will inevitably
land on siblings, friends, partners, or, most difficult of all, on a child
of the same sex, who may then be doomed to act out the "bad"
side of the parent because this badness must exist somewhere outside if
the parent is to retain his/her complacency. Often,
one twin is the "extrovert" and confident and the other
the "inhibited" and "neurotic one".
 
The
glyph for Cancer is the male and female seeds. The archetype
of Cancer is the Cosmic Womb in which the seeds of creativity grow and
burst forth in diverse ways - biological, artistic or intuitive
creativity, imaginative creativity, even business creativity. There
is also, at the esoteric level, mystical creativity - giving birth to the
child within. The Magna Mater is the most ancient personal
manifestation of divinity found around the world. The
Moon is the ruler of Cancer. It represents feelings and emotions and
your biological mother. In "The Dual Mother" C.G. Jung
discusses the light and the darkness of the Great Mother Goddess.
The light and dark phases of the moon are connected to the individual's
experience with the mother, which in turn are at the root of his positive
or negative mother complex. Cancer begins
with a karmic bond to Mother, than usually develops one with
children, and at the end of life, concludes karma with the
spouse.
 
Leo
is a dramatic, dynamic sign. Like Aries, Leo opts for a quest
that involves fighting a giant and fearful odds against his success.
Sometimes the giant is not a father but a father figure, with a giant
reputation. His or her own emotions appear to be the major test for
Leo. As with the other Fixed signs, betrayal by personal
friends or family members hits him hardest, and s/he will fight for
principle. His inner quest for wholeness
is of particular fascination to him. To be all we can be, "to
strip away the layers of the onion and go to the core of who you
are," is a quest worthy of a Leo. He is a becomer - a
personality in the process of becoming him or herself. Ego
inflation is, in some cases, a tendency to identify with the persona,
"I am the Messiah." Because the natal Sun sign is
connected to ego consciousness and power, the strong (not the timid Lion)
must often look at himself in terms of inflation.
 
Balancing mind and body, or mind and matter, is
central to the Virgo journey. Virgo prefers to focus
on one thing at a time, to compartmentalize life. They will neglect
the body in favor of the mind and then flip over. Health and their
body are strong concerns, but they also need new facts, new skills,
new challenges. When Virgo feels that his/her work is not
useful, or meaningful, that s/he is no longer learning or growing in some
way, his/her body begins to exhibit symptoms as a warning that a change is
needed. The body is a barometer of the satisfaction or lack of
it. Virgo's search is to find
meaningful service. But if s/he becomes too rigid about routine
schedules, and takes its service too seriously, too rigidly, then the
service profession may become a dictator. It may eventually come to
close off Virgo's opportunities for mental and soul
growth.
  The
Balance or the Scales, the glyph for Libra, represents equilibrium.
Spiritually, we associate Libra with even-mindness as well as
serenity, calm, and equanimity - something that takes a lifetime to
accomplish. Many Librans are cheerful in adversity, cool and
collected in time of crisis. This inner balance is to be admired and
imitated.
Life's major issue for Libra
is his/her relationships. He/she seeks to find their soul mate
and live happy ever after. Many Libras will stay for years in
what he or she perceives to be a disappointing love relationship rather
than divorce the partner. Sometimes it is because of material
comfort or their standard of living. Other times, they will stay
because of the belief in the marriage commitment. Often, it is
because of their fear of being alone.
  The
planet Pluto, Lord of the Greek Underworld, rules the sign of Scorpio.
Pluto rules the unconscious depths of the psyche where lies a residual of
instinctual drives, emotional attachments, and compulsive-obsessive
tendencies carried forward from past lives to the present.
The
symbols of Scorpio are threefold: Serpent, Eagle, and Phoenix.
The serpent symbol can mean devious or cunning as well as something
rarified, or elusive, like the kundalini current in the astral
spine. The Eagle is said to be a higher symbol for Scorpio than the
Serpent and to represent the more highly evolved souls born at that time
of year. The Phoenix stage symbolizes the accomplishment of obtaining true
wisdom where one has become truly transformed.
 
Traditionally,
Sagittarius is associated with Spirit, expansion of awareness,
aspiring to greatness, and the ability to motivate, inspire, or "fire
up" others. The glyph, or symbol , for this archetype is the
arrow. Archery is both a spiritual science and an art
form. It is both mental and active and the archer's goal must be
seen as distant or far off. With its confident belief in future
greatness and the larger goal, Sagittarius sets a good example of vision
and inspiration. At what does the higher
Sagittarian shoot his/her arrow? What is the highest target at which
he could aim? The answer is . . . truth.
 
A
Capricorn Sun sign person, a Capricorn rising, or and
Angular Saturn person may have difficulty restraining himself from
organizing the life out of projects, organizing the spouse's schedule
within an inch of his or her life, or so thoroughly organizing the
children's routines that they have little time left over to lay back and
stare at cloud formations or to stop and smell the roses. Capricorn almost always seems to find the personal father a
disappointment, for the Father he seeks is nothing less than
divine. But the wrath of the Father is a deeply significant issue for Capricorn. Saturn (ruler of
Capricorn) is the Terrible
Earth-father, and his devouring and destroying face (old age), the ogre
aspect of the father, is a reflex of the person's own ego - derived from
the sensational nursery scene that has been left behind. The
father-son polarity, the avenging Lawgiver whose strict and structured
rules of life collide with the lusty, libidinous goat-like desires of the
son, exists within the one individual.  
Symbolically,
Aquarius is the ideal man, often artistically depicted as an
angel, an immortal messenger to mankind from the gods, a perfected being
who has liberated himself from the limitations of time and space so that
he can fly between Heaven and Earth with his lofty concepts. Angels
inspire, guide, instruct, guard, protect, and sometimes struggle with us
to convince us to do the right thing. They can appear suddenly with
a momentous message, as Gabriel appeared to Mary; they can guard the gates
of Paradise as they did for Adam and Eve; they can manifest with swords
and trumpets on Judgment Day or dispute with each other as did Lucifer
and Michael. They are definitely superior beings, intermediaries
between God and man.
  Though
our modern zodiac represents Pisces as two fish swimming in
opposite directions, through the ages many cultures chose the dolphin to
symbolize Pisces. Known for its kindness, its mercy, and even
for its healing qualities, it seems an appropriate choice for Pisces.
Astrologically, Pisces is the sign of the actor or the chameleon
who can play any role in any stage setting or environment of life. We
perceive Pisces as quite adaptable and without boundaries, as
constantly merging its own ego into the ocean of people and circumstances
around it, Pisces can and does draw lines based on its own intuitive grasp
of black and white, right and wrong.
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