Stargram
Week of August 2
So speaks the cosmic Word,
Which I, through senses’ doors,
Might guide into my inmost soul:
‘Inspire your spirit-depths
With all my cosmic breadth,
And find in time Myself in you.’
[From Calendar of the Soul, July 28–August 3]
Dear Friends,
As our week begins, Venus enters the zodiacal realm of the Virgin: May the soul fathom worlds.
From Awakening to the Spiritual Archetypes in the Birth Chart:
When in Virgo, Venus puts before our imagination the cosmic archetype of a daughter embraced by her mother. And just as there is no limit to what a mother will do to protect her child, so does the cosmic Mother embrace the whole of humanity within her robes. She loves us as we are. Venus in Virgo upholds the ideal of purity of heart, whereby—having achieved consciousness of the full distance of humanity’s fall from the “image” of God—we have the “eyes” to see the divine archetype within humankind. The Virgin loves us without reserve. The stars of Virgo bear the formative forces for the development of the womb, the symbol of the nourishment and protection of all that is innocent and powerless. We can thus intuit within this placement an innate sense of readiness, or ripeness, in both the human being and in nature. [p. 79]
Venus was in the first degree of Virgo on 4/Sep/30, when Jesus healed an adulteress named Mara, who was possessed of five devils. She was desperate to see Jesus. From Anne Catherine:
The Pharisees stopped her with the words, “Woman, go home! What do you want here? The prophet will not speak to you. How can he forgive you your sins? He will not busy himself with you, for you are an adulteress.” [Visions, vol. 2, pp. 42–43]
But later in the day, Jesus did ‘busy himself’ with the unfortunate woman.
As Jesus approached, I saw the fearful torture and affliction of the woman inside [the house]. The devil, who had possession of her, drove her from one corner to another. She was like a timorous animal that would hide itself. As Jesus was traversing the court and drawing near to where she was, she fled through a corridor and into a cellar. . . Meanwhile, Jesus halted and cried: “Mara of Suphan . . . I commend thee in the name of God to come to me!” Then the woman . . . came creeping to Jesus’s feet on all fours, like a dog awaiting the whip. But Jesus said to her: “Stand up!” She obeyed, but drew her veil tightly over her face and around her neck as if she wanted to strangle herself. Then said the Lord to her: “Uncover thy face!” . . . Jesus, bringing his head close to hers, said: “Look at me!” [She] obeyed. As he breathed upon her, a black vapor went out of her on all sides, and she fell unconscious before him. [Ibid., p. 43]
On Tuesday, Mars enters Gemini: Toward life’s mighty weaving. Gemini was Mars’s home throughout the Passion of Christ. Faint traces of the sacrificial deed (Mars) known as ‘the turning point of time’ can be discerned in the ancient Pollux myth (Gemini)—for it was through the sacrifice of Pollux that Castor’s immortality was achieved.
Alternatively, this planetary placement might also arouse antagonism toward the notion of true, spiritual brotherhood by clinging to the familiar bonds of the bloodline and clan. Indeed, Mars was in the first degree of Gemini on 19/Mar/33, when the scribes and Pharisees held a meeting at Caiaphas’s house, and issued a prohibition against anyone’s harboring Jesus and his disciples. Although they set spies at the gates to watch for him, he remained concealed in Bethany with Lazarus. [Visions, vol. 3, p. 5]
August’s Last Quarter Moon (18° Aries) will rise around midnight on Thursday the 6th. The Sun (18° Cancer) is thus aligned with Acubens, the star that marks the claw of the Crab. The celestial claw symbolizes the tenacity for which the Crab is known: a trait that can serve our evolution, or hinder it. For example, much goodness can flow from our refusal to let go of a dearly held ideal—but we could easily be ‘held back’ by an unwillingness to let go of an attachment to a concept, to a feeling, or to an unchecked impulse of the will.
Today’s Moon phase graces the same degree as the Last Quarter Moon that occurred on 11/Jul/30. From The Visions of Anne Catherine Emmerich:
At daybreak, the disciples crossed the lake to Seleucia, a fortified town inhabited by Roman soldiers and a few oppressed Jews. The disciples invited the people to attend a discourse of Jesus. The people assembled at a teaching place on a hill, at some distance from the town. When Jesus arrived, he spoke concerning nourishment of the body and the soul. Afterward, he went to Seleucia, where he was served a meal as a guest of the most distinguished people of the town. Here he taught: “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a person—but what comes out!” (Matthew 15:11) [Vol. 1, p. 471]
Later on Thursday, as Mercury leaves Gemini (not to return until June of next year), it returns to the domain of the Crab: Warm soul life. Our cosmic messenger graced the first degree of Cancer at the birth of John the Baptist—who exemplified selfless (Cancer) thinking.
It’s essential, however, to recognize the role that Ego-strength plays in serving others. Without it, our reservoir of compassion will soon run dry!
A blessed week to all!
~ Julie H.
Image: Caravaggio’s Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, 1607