Aquarian Age III : The Myth of Ganymede

Antonio_Allegri (called Correggio) The Abduction of Ganymede

Antonio_Allegri (called Correggio) The Abduction of Ganymede

This is the third part of a series on the Age of Aquarius I began about a year ago. It is advisable to read parts I & II before reading this one. My main purpose is to bring about a questioning of the assumptions and expectations of the Age of Aquarius. This is a discussion the astrological community needs to have. Almost all I see on the subject could be mostly summed up the song by The Fifth Dimension. I’m not sure if it’s fear, laziness or a complete lack of interest that has cause this rather poignant dearth of discourse.

Aquarius is represented by Ganymedes, the Phrygian boy who was carried off by an eagle to Mount Olympus to become the cup-bearer of Zeus. The contents of the cup are not for common humanity, but for the gods. The myth was a model for the Greek social custom of paiderastía, the socially acceptable erotic relationship between a man and a youth. The Latin form of the name was Catamitus (and also “Ganymedes”), from which the English word “catamite” derives. See AMHER (2000), catamite, p. 291 Granted, Greek Mythology is not for the squeamish, but we are after all referring to a rape.

The pre – eminence of the aerial predator is also of interest, although the symbol is closely associated with Rome, the Eagle was a prominent symbol of the Nazis. The number of peaks and valleys of the Aquarian glyph has not been entirely consistent. There is generally two or three peaks and valleys. The SS officer lapel insignia invites comparison.

In a recent conversation, my friend Al Mackenzie mentioned that it had “occurred to [him] once that if you were to uncross the arms of a swastika and lay them parallel you would have the glyph for Aquarius..” The association of the Aquarian Age with what I have called “velvet fascism” has come up numerous times and is in that respect in agreement with Robert Zoller on the subject

Calligraphic glyph for Aquarius by Stefan Stenudd

Calligraphic glyph for Aquarius by Stefan Stenudd @ http://www.stenudd.com/

In the story of Ganymede the Water Bearer is a beautiful youth, abducted by Zeus in the form of an eagle for his own carnal pleasure. We can say that Ganymede was taken against his will to be the servant of the gods and of Zeus in particular. He serves as water bearers, but he also becomes the catomite of Zeus. The most salient of these facts are that Aquarius / Ganymede’ is by no means his own boss, Yet “New Age” sources will insist the ascent was to a higher state of consciousness ! I find this to be remarkably perverse.

The insistence that the Age of Aquarius must be an age of sweetness and light with technology in the best possible service of humanity is a position which is completely untenable, whether we examine the deeper meanings of the sign or simply observe how the last hundred years or so has manifested itself.  Again, I do not mention these things to dash all hopes 0r deride those who have sincere motives to seek justice and wisdom in an age where corporations increasingly affect the foreign and domestic policies of most of the world.  We should not be lulled into thinking that a new age will be the answer to all ills. It will depend on whose interests are addressed

Manilus relates that the “youthful Waterman, who from upturned pot pours forth his stream, likewise bestows skills which have affinity with himself: how to divine springs under the ground and conduct them above, to transform the flow of water so as to spray the very stars, to mock the sea with man-made shores at the bidding of luxury, to construct different types of artificial lakes and rivers,” and to support aloft for domestic use streams that come from afar. Beneath this sign there dwell a thousand crafts regulated by water. Why, water will even set in motion the face of heaven and the starry habitations, and will cause the skies to move in a novel rotation. ” (Astronomica, book 4, p.243.)

The nuances of mocking the “sea with man-made shores at the bidding of luxury” and ensuing lines could scarcely have been realized by Manilus. “Artificial” lakes and rivers already existed as reservoirs, aqueducts and irrigation during his time’ There is however the implication of technology gone awry or being used for very unnatural ends such as causing “the skies to move in a novel motion” I find an echo or Robert Zoller’s comments on the uses of technology in the Aquarian Age as being largely at the service of military interests and weapons that might very well include the manipulation of weather and even seismic events.  Environmental warfare is very much on the table in our New Age.

Returning to the emblematic Eagle, we are reminded of the ancient association of the Eagle with Scorpio. In Zoller’s schema, Scorpio has the nature of the overlords in the Aquarian Age. Aquarius is the servant or, as told in the mythology, a slave .Considering that the setting of Aquarius coincided with the inundation of the Nile in Leo seems like a mixed message to me. The necessary water arrives in abundance just, as it were, Aquarius retreats. The dryness of Saturn and the rigidity of Fixed Air, in opposition to the house of the Sun is an often puzzling mix.

Ganymede rolling a hoop and bearing aloft a cockerel - a love gift from Zeus (in pursuit, on obverse of vase). Attic red-figure crater, 500-490 BC; Louvre, Paris)

Ganymede rolling a hoop and bearing aloft a cockerel – a love gift from Zeus (in pursuit, on obverse of vase). Attic red-figure crater, 500-490 BC; Louvre, Paris)

Ancient Astronomy & Cosmology : Sun Temple of Konark

From the Cult of  Apollo to Plato’s Phaedran Charioteer to the Egyptians and Hindus the Solar Chariot drawn by seven horses  has been a central metaphor not just of the passage of the Sun, but of Cosmic harmony itself. This entire temple is layered with cosmic symbolism .

The temples is oriented on the East – West Axis overlooking the Bay of Bengal.

Gemini: Sign, Myth & Meaning


castor_and_pollux_by_zerolexa-d55ja88

We are fortunate to have such access to many Classical texts on astrology In the  The Anthology of Vettius Valens of Antioch, Book I. Concerning the Nature of the Stars  (Schmidt & Robert Hand p. 3). Valens introduces Mercury with these words:

“The star of Hermes (Mercury) is significant for the education of children, letters, disputation, speech, having brothers, interpretation, the herald’s office, number, counters, geometry, commerce, youth, playthings, theft, community, announcement, service, profit, discoveries, following, contest, wrestling, declamation, sealing, sending messages, setting up, being suspended, scrutinizing, hearing, versatility.”

L0068353 Monas hieroglyphica

John Dee – Modified Mercury Glyph from Monas Hieroglyphia . The Crescent of Soul is being drawn down to the centre of the Sun His glyph for the Monad adds the Horns of Aries at the Base and a Dot in the Circle of Spirit, signifying consciousness..

Hermes has two domiciles viz. Gemini and Virgo. Hermes is the most protean of all planets and is only masculine or feminine according to placement, that is to say Oriental or Occidental of the Sun. As the messenger of the gods you will find his glyph to be Solar and Lunar over the Cross of Matter; Mercury contains all three symbols, signifying the potential integration of spirit, soul and matter.

Hermes is the Primordial Hermaphrodite, adept at communicating with lightning speed. The price of speed however is lack of depth. This comes when he co joins other planets either by Aspect of Reception. It is important to note that Apollo is an ancient Greek name for Mercury as a morning star

Valens writes of the Sign Gemini:

“Gemini is male, bicorporeal, articulate, the house of Mercury, upward-trending, celestial, feminizing, a freedman, sterile, public. Under it are born scholars, those working in education and letters, poets, music-lovers, declaimers, stewards, those who receive trusts; also translators, merchants, judges of good and evil, sensible people, practicioners of the curious arts, and seekers after mystic lore.

Flora And Zephyr by William Bouguereau, 1875

Flora And Zephyr by William Bouguereau, 1875

In general, whatever the house ruler usually produces according to its own nature, whether good or bad, greater or lesser, this it produces in each of the signs according to the operative or inoperative configuration of the houseruler.”

I find this less satisfying than the description of Mercury itself.  It’s not that any of what he writes is false; but it has little meaning until the last sentence brings it all into focus. I dare say this is more true of Gemini than other signs, including Virgo.

Let’s turn now to the Gemini Myth. The tale of Castor and Polydeuces is complex. Other than the fact that they are called the twins (Gemini) it takes a bit of effort to find other elements of the myth that point to the sign.

They were the Dioscuri, twin sons of Zeus and Leda or Tydareus and Leda. When Tyndareus is called the father, Castor and Polydeuces — or Pollux, as he is known in Latin, are known as the Tyndaridae. Sometimes Castor is considered the son of Tyndareus and Polydeuces the son of Zeus, just as the Dioscuri’s sister Clytemnestra is the daughter of Tyndareus, while their sister Helen of Troy is the daughter of Zeus. Only Polydeuces  was divine.

Gemini finds its place in the Air triplicity, as the mutable (or common) expression of that element. The Air triplicity is concerned with the Intellectual faculties and the world of Mind. The sign is hot and moist, masculine, human and barren.

Mercury2

Hermes stirring up the Ether – Botticelli’s Primavera.

Like the element Mercury, Gemini likes to run over the surface of things, without ever penetrating the surface. This can manifest as the joy of intellectual play. Gemini is a dual sign and needs focus in order to resolve the apparent dual natures of their being, as illustrated in the myth of Castor and Pollux. It is only apparent: this is not like the situation with Pisces where the two fish are bound together and swimming in different directions. Although one is an equestrian and the other a pugilist, the Gemini twins are inseparable and move as one .

When Castor was slain in battle, and Polydeuces, inconsolable for the loss of his brother, besought Zeus to be permitted to give his own life as a ransom for him. Zeus so far consented as to allow the two brothers to enjoy life alternately, passing one day under the earth and the next in the heavenly abodes. According to another form of the story, Zeus rewarded the brothers by placing them among the stars as Gemini the Twins. They received divine honours under the name of  Dioscuri. The key here is knowing what it is to be human and divine at the same time.  Hermes weds Earth to Heaven.

Roman ruins – Temple of Castor & Pollox

Using Alchemical language, Paracelsus tells us that “The world is as God created it. In the beginning, He made it into a body, which consists of four elements. He founded this primordial body on the trinity of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt. These are the three substances of which the complete body consists.” (Paracelsus Ed. Jacobi . Trans Guterman p. 14) Salt is Base Matter, Sulphur is omnipresent Spirit of life and Mercury brings about the divine fusion of opposites.

Hermes is given many attributes in Classical sources. One of the better known is the association with the West Wind or Zephyr, the subject of much artwork, including Botticelli’s  Birth of Venus.

Heart & Sol

Devotee at Sun God Surya Festival

Devotee at Sun God Surya Festival

We are stardust.

We are golden.

And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden

.- Joni Mitchell

SOL.] The Sun is placed in the middle of all Planets, and is called amongst the Ancients, both Poets and Historians, Sol, Titan, Ilioa, Phebus, Apollo, Pean, Osyris, Diespiter: It’s needlesse to mention his Colour, being so continuallly visible to all mortal men: He passeth through all the twelve Signs of the Zodiack in one yeer, or 365 dayes and certain hours. The Sun governeth the fiery Triplicity, viz. Aries, Leo, Sagittarius by day (W.Lilly CA I).

Vettius Valens begins his anthology in praise of the Sun :”  In a nativity the all-seeing sun, nature’s fire and intellectual light, the organ of mental perception, indicates kingship, rule, intellect, intelligence, beauty & …”).

Eye of Horus- Courtesy National Geographic 1

Eye of Horus- Courtesy National Geographic 1

We are literally made of star-dust.  The Sun is the primary giver of life on Earth. It’s not hard to understand why the circle with the dot in the middle is among the most ancient of symbols. Also know as the circumpunct, it’s is the glyph of the astrological Sun. It signifies Divine spirit (circle) surrounding the seed of potential – the Solar Essence.

Astronomers tells us that all the elements heavier than hydrogen originated inside stars: “The carbon in the ink on a page, and the silicon in glass and microchips, were created in the heart of a star, long ago, as that star shined by fusing hydrogen. The iron that carries the oxygen in your blood as you read this, was created when a star, in its dying phase, exploded. ”  (Gerald Grow 1997) Science is finally catching up to Ancient wisdom.2263318_f260

Worship of the Sun and Sun Gods is ubiquitous. In Egypt it was the beginning of monotheism. The All-Seeing eye of Horus is a variation of the Solar symbol.

The Babylonians usesd the Solar Disk, often with wings, but they also had a number system for the luminaries and planets. The Sun was represented as a four pointed star with rays between each one.

Just as the physical Sun is the centre of the Solar System, the Sun is at the heart of our own being., ruling both visi0n and heart. Both may be taken physically or spiritually.. When we say someone is warm or cold hearted, we are really saying they have abundance or lack of Spirit. Likewise, when we say there is lack of vision, we also mean lack of light – again, physically or spiritualy. As above, so below.

Solar Disk - Church of the sacred tomb in-Jerusalem

Solar Disk – Church of the sacred tomb in-Jerusalem

I’m reminded of a mantra that translates as ‘all evil vanishes for he who keeps the Sun in his heart.’

This is of course the reason for ancient fear and awe during eclipses. It’s as if the source of life is being consumed, meanng not just loss of human life but of all that exists. That is in fact the language used to describe the event in many cultures.

So, when ill dignified. Lilly tells us that “Solar man is Arrogant and Proud, disdaining all men, cracking of his Pedegree, he is Pur-blind in Sight and Judgment, restlesse, troublesome, domineerning; a meer vapour, expensive, foolish, endued with no gravity in words, or Eye_of_Horussobernesse in Actions, a Spend—thrift, wasting his Patrimony, and hanging after an other mens charity, yet thinks all men are bound to him, because a Gentleman born. (CA I).

In short, he is everything that is not noble –  his selfishness and ego eclipse his solar nature.

These are just a few passing thoughts you may wish to consider when interpreting the Sun in a horoscope