Since sharing When Transits Bring Suffering by Dana Gerhardt on my Facebook Page a few days ago, I have been reflecting yet again on the reality that the Cosmos’ unfolding energy patterns – from which astrology helps us to extract meaning – offer us darkness as well as light as the Wheel of Fortune turns… I ruminated on this topic recently in my column for Dell Horoscope Magazine, offering a striking example from my own life by means of illustration…
“…The Titan Prometheus was a pretty arrogant fellow, in my view. According to Greek myth he stole the fire of knowledge from the gods, hidden in a fennel stalk, to give to humanity for our enlightenment. Did he consult any humans beforehand, to see if we wanted such a double-edged gift?
To the best of my knowledge, he did not. He thought he knew best. For this blatant act of hubris, ie thinking you are as smart as the gods, he was savagely punished by Zeus, their king.
You probably know the story, but it bears repeating, just to remind us that hubris is not a good idea. Chained to a rock, Prometheus had his liver pecked out by an eagle on a daily basis; it regrew overnight – the punishment never ended.
In astrology the planet Jupiter, named for the king of the gods in Roman myth, rules the liver. In the Prometheus myth, the liver was chosen as the focus of torture because the ancient Greeks regarded the liver as the seat of life, soul, and intelligence.
So – wherever Jupiter is in your horoscope, that’s where you are compelled to seek to broaden your experience, widen your horizons, deepen your knowledge. However, the myth would appear to suggest that you need to be careful with the results of your quest and its impact on both yourself and others.
Jupiter has very recently moved into the sign of Scorpio, ruled by the Lord of the Underworld, Pluto. Wherever Scorpio is in your birth chart, that’s where the soul-enhancing benefits of deepening your understanding and experience within that dark terrain can be gained over the next year.
Jupiter in Scorpio crops up often in the horoscopes of astrologers, as do Jupiter/Pluto aspects, or Jupiter in the Eighth House. This should not be a surprise, either to astrologers themselves or those who know them. Astrological knowledge is powerful – as such, it is potently attractive to those of us prepared to do the in-depth work required in order to become fluent enough to practice as astrologers and/or astrology teachers.
However, with such deep knowledge comes a warning, which Prometheus should have heeded; one which astrologers should note, if they have the wisdom and humility to do so: fire burns. By acquiring such powerful knowledge, hidden from most people, we are procuring the gods’ fire. That fire can burn us as it did Prometheus. It can burn our clients and students too, if we are not careful.
Consider this example from my life last year: late in May 2017 I was preparing to attend the Student Astrology Conference in London on 2-3 June. There had recently been two major terrorist attacks on the UK: one in March in London, the second in Manchester just over a week before we were due to set off. One of the key transit patterns common to those attacks was the long square between Saturn in late Sagittarius and Chiron in late Pisces.
I have a Uranus/Mars conjunction in late Gemini/early Cancer in the tenth house. Observing the ephemeris with increasing disquiet, wondering what unpleasant collective events might be triggered by transiting Mars moving through Gemini and once again setting off the Saturn/Chiron square, I suddenly realised that I was ‘plugged in’ to this pattern.
Mars would be exactly triggering my Uranus/Mars midpoint, opposing Saturn transiting the fourth house and squaring transiting seventh house Chiron. On the London Conference weekend.
Given the overall picture, I was worried to say the least. What should I do? Should I tell my husband, thereby alarming him? (Fortunately he is an Aquarian, and not easily intimidated!) Should we cancel our trip? It certainly looked as though some unpleasant surprises were coming our way. In the end, having decided that all this difficult symbolism was contained within an overall protective grand kite pattern involving my horoscope and transiting planets, I concluded that things would be difficult, but not directly involving me or us.
So it proved. One hour before we departed on 1st June, a close relative called me to say his wife was going to have surgery soon for breast cancer. At Euston railway station in London, tired from travelling, we got into a black cab with a driver who blasted us with the full force of his rage against the world for the full half hour it took to get to our hotel. And on the night of 2nd June, less than a mile away from our hotel and the conference venue, there was a devastating terror attack on London Bridge.
My foreknowledge of the broad picture, but not the detail, undoubtedly caused me distress. I could give many other examples as I am sure could my astrologer colleagues, of being burned by this wonderful knowledge we have – which can also be so constructively helpful and illuminating both to us and to our clients.
What would you have said to an astrology client with the planetary line-up described, if they had asked you “Should I go to London next weekend?” I am still thinking about that one. But in the end we have to trust the sacred space of the consultation, our link to the Divine, be humble – and strive to do no harm…”
Endnotes:
This post first appeared in my bi-monthly column for Dell Horoscope Magazine ‘The astro-view from Scotland’ in the November 2017 Issue.
Zodiac
900 words copyright Anne Whitaker/Dell Horoscope Magazine 2018
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page of Writing from the Twelfth House
Astrology: Questions and Answers 
This is a brilliant post Anne, so true, this is such an important issue in the astrological world. How many times I have caught myself feeling uneasy while looking future transits in my ephemeris as well. I feel that you are right, the answer does come down to surrendering and trusting the divine intelligence within and without. Much love to you x
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Many thanks for your warmth, honesty and affirmation, Fernanda. No matter how experienced, well-read and professional we are, practising astrology _ no matter for how long – is never going to immunise us from the cost implicit in the challenge involved in seeking foreknowedge. There is always a price. The important thing is that we pay it, not our clients…
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A very interesting Pandoras Box question to ponder Anne. Fire (knowledge) does burn and we burn to know… for me knowledge is King so I’m happy to be a bit singed but in the know, well Mars/Mercury/Jupiter square Pluto would be I guess (I don’t fancy the liver pecking though so I shall remain humble in my quest for knowledge) 🙏🏻
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Thanks for this, Carole. As I’ve just said to Fernanda…the important thing is that we are the ones who get singed…🙏🏻
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17.1.18:
Judy Lenzner:
Amazing insights, thank you!
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Thanks, Judy. Whatever insights I have to offer come far more from being repeatedly slung against Life’s wall, than any book I have read, or lecture I have attended…although those have been important too…
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17.1.18:
Judy Lenzner:
I shared your online page at another Astrology closed FB group, and without asking, I apologize. We’re discussing some of our personal placements that this influences. Your words do wake up many folks with wisdom. Just a few months ago, Jupiter in Scorpio transit was opposing my natal Jupiter in 12th House, Taurus. And T-Jupiter is on my DC now. Between this and Pluto coming onto my Mercury in Capricorn, 9th, lol. I have an insatiable desire to know and understand everything. It’s almost scary how compulsive this gets. But, I am handling it ok so far. I just need to remember to eat. And with humor, laugh at myself at times. Thank you again!
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That’s fine, Judy – but thanks for letting me know. When I had a similar line-up in the 1990s, I started getting up at 5 am ( I hate getting up early!!) and catching the 7.10 am red-eye shuttle to London from Glasgow where I live, to study with Liz Greene and the late, great mundane astrologer Charles Harvey. This went on for years, earning me the nickname of The Flying Scot and my Diploma in Psychological Astrology. Looking back, I think I was quite mad/possessed for a few years. Scarily compusive – Yess!!! Just keep eating now and then…
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17.1.18:
Mara Owens:
This from your link to Dana : “between the sextiles and trines there are the inevitable oppositions and squares, as well as those times when there are no aspects at all.”
I’ve backed away from friends that harshly judge me for the many challenges my life has held, almost as if afraid such is contagious, and those astrologers that after one look at my chart predict only doom and gloom declaring I’m f**ked!
Some of our lives may provide the opposition or square that provide the spin of the wheel, the opportunity for others to grow in wisdom and strength.
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Yes, we always are presented with choices, no matter how difficult things may be. And there are always opportunities to grow even through the most painful challenges. Thanks for your honesty, Mara.
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17.1.18:
Mara Owens:
the tendency towards polarized thinking: Good in opposition to Bad is itself a fallacy that only erodes and undermines. Shakespeare: “There is no good or bad but thinking makes it so.” Rumi: “ Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about. “
…
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Thanks, Mara. I know the Shakespeare quote, but I’m glad to add the Rumi one to my collection of his work – which I simply love…
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17.1.18:
Rena Hdesign:
Very much appreciate the depth of consideration you give to these matters Anne – and yes, it is so vital to see both sides – a very good read!
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Everything turns on the spectrum of positive through to negative responses in relation to what Life chooses to throw at us, Rena, which you know as well as I do. Thanks for your support of my writing, which I always appreciate…
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I suppose this is the double-edged sword of Scorpio generally. When excavating the darkest depths of the Underneath, one must be prepared for the locked trunk whispering warnings of eldritch terrors as well as the valuable ore one seeks to transform for gain.
I abide by the “forewarned is forearmed” line of thinking, even if I have a very colorful imagination to torment myself with.
I would rather reach for my umbrella with sighed resignation than curse the skies and myself as I get caught out, drenched and unawares.
But Scorpio is one of my stelliums, so perhaps this is a case of petite hubris, a little like Prometheus for humanity.
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Thank, A-M ! I loved this pithy, trenchant riff on a theme which can be extemporised upon from many an angle…as a person with several Pluto conjunctions, I resonate with that Scorpio stellium…
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18.1.18:
Linda Haggarty:
I don’t know anything about astrology but I found it interesting that the gods punished Prometheus through his liver. In the Chinese five elements the lover represents the wood element. When the liver is ‘out of balance ‘ we can become bitter, angry, spitting bile, arrogant. We can become caught in a never ending cycle of depression, addiction and despair with intermittent periods of relief. I think there’s a correlation here.
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Thanks for this highly relevant food for thought, Linda. I’ve realised for a long time, and I am not by any means alone in this, that our differing cultures’ symbol systems are all asking questions and seeking answers from the same underlying Ground. Thank you very much for sharing this useful information with us.
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Anne,
what a relief to realise that I’m not the only one that feels “burned by the knowledge” – thank you.
I’ve found for me personally the “salve” is to become less deterministic & focus on the inner process the transits etc may be describing rather than allowing my “inner voice of doom” to invent all sorts of horrific external situations that could potentially (but unlikely to) arise. I’ve also learnt the hard way, that pouring over reams of “cook book” transit interpretations only compounds the “voice of doom.”
So maybe we need to get singed a little first so that we can learn ways of protecting ourselves from getting totally burnt.
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Thanks, Luminaireastrology!
Yes, I follow much the same track as you do and agree – the cookbooks do tend to collude with the voices of doom, with a few notable exceptions eg Howard Sasportas’ The Gods of Change: I’m leaving the link here for astrologers/students/interested members of the public who may not yet have come across this wise and humane book on outer planet transits. Thanks for dropping by!
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Anne,
Thanks so much, will get a copy and have a read.
This is timely as I feel a personal shift in the way I wish to interpret & convey Astrology, so any books/information that inspire positive but realistic introspection & interest rather than the anxious trepidation I was at times initiated with (& I mean this with the greatest of respect to some of our most popular modern astrologers) are much appreciated.
Thanks again
Lianne
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Lianne, you are most welcome! Astrology, Karma and Transformation by Stephen Arroyo, and Cycles of Becoming by Alexander Ruperti are also wonderfully honest but uplifting books at the same level of quality…
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Such is the burden of horoscopic astrologers! An analogy about white-water rafters going down rapids may be appropriate. A very large rock submerged slightly will be avoided by many of the rafters simply by chance and the rafters will never know of their near encounter, but there will be an occasional, deleterious collision with that rock. Probably best if everyone were advised of the potential hidden in that part of the rapids, in my opinion. To answer your question, the client is posing an electional astrological question, so yes, I would provide the exact information you assessed for yourself, including the umbrella of protection you further interpreted from the aspects.
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Thanks, Mike. I like the way you have put this…
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