![]() ![]() The authors quote writer Robert Bly, who points out how “few America leaders…have embodied a truly solar or kingly archetype that we can relate to on a national level. Contemporary Americans have found less noble deities to inspire us. The sun is the focus of the world’s “first monotheistic religion,” an Egyptian “solar cult.” Later, Greeks worshipped Helios, each day driving his chariot of horses across the sky. Thursday is Donnerstag, which translates into “thunder’s day”- related to the Norse god Thor and the force of his hammer, and the equivalent of Jupiter. We’re reminded that the days of the week are named for the planets, something I’d forgotten about until recently, when I started studying German. Fittingly, given the theatrical metaphors, each entry is introduced by a quote by Shakespeare (a Taurus), such as this excerpt from Act IV, Scene II of King John: “Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels, / And fly like thought from them to me again.” Planets are named for Roman gods and goddesses (borrowed from the Greek it’s their worldview we consider when studying the planets’ meanings). The book first explores stories related to the planets, then to the signs (and houses) they rule. ![]() A planet is thought of as an actor, a sign as the costume, and the houses as the sets and backdrops. Its information is represented by three means: planets, signs, and houses. To help him on his journey, the seeker is given this map: a horoscope. ![]() The four major turning points of the year are the equinoxes and solstices.” Because of the symbolism it carries, the authors view the horoscope as a mandala, a Sanskrit word referring to a circular picture used as a meditation tool, aiding the seeker in his search for wholeness. for which it’s cast, a horoscope is also representative of the sun’s journey through the year, setting off a cycle of “birth (spring), activity (summer), death (autumn), and resurrection (winter). Frequently evoking the work of psychologist Carl Jung (who argued that “symbolic realities” had just as much an influence on us as anything we experience in the everyday world), the authors see astrology as “an intuitive journey” in which “the dominant planets or signs in your birth chart will indicate the myths and archetypes to which you respond most strongly.” In western astrology, the horoscope is usually cast as a wheel, divided into the “four cardinal angles of the birth chart: the Ascendant (sunrise), Midheaven (noon), Descendant (sunset), and Nadir (midnight).” While unique to each person, relationship, event, etc. The authors argue that an understanding of these myths will help the practicing astrologer deepen his understanding of the information a horoscope conveys. ![]() While not a straightforward account of mythology, it offers a rich, discursive study of the stories behind the symbols used in astrological practice. So for help, I turned to Mythic Astrology: Archetypal Powers in the Horoscope by Ariel Guttman and Kenneth Johnson. As a lifelong student of astrology, I recognized the need to better understand them. Yet I understand that these stories are full of rich, symbolic meanings that illuminate even contemporary lives. I can’t keep the names straight, and find myself arguing against the plot twists. I’ve always had trouble with the Greek and Roman myths. ![]()
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