SPRINGING ARIES RAM

 On the Full Moon of Libra, we muse that this is the time of year that we have passed the Equinox point, that point of equal day and night and our sun is seen to enter the tropical zodiac sign of Aries. This time marks the beginning of a new circuit for the Hero or spiritual warrior, as he/she travels around the twelve signs conquering his or her trials along the way in an endeavour to become a better expression of themselves. Each turn on the spiral adding to the benefits and accomplishments of the previous journey.

 

The sun entering Aries on the 20^th of March, reminds us of the first energies of spring in the northern hemisphere and that powerful force propelling the bud out of the winter frozen earth. Aries people are driven by a similar first explosion of unstoppable, joyful and expectant energy, and this seems to be so no matter which side of the world you were born in and whether that time was passing into spring or autumn.

ARIES the RAM

This joyful, fiery energy is the case whether an Aries person is born in the northern or the southern hemisphere, for we are referring here to deep space constellation influence rather than only planetary energies of the solar system represented in the tropical zodiac signs. Thus the sun and the Ecliptic sign of Aries might be said to be focusing towards earth, the greater energies of the constellation Aries. At the same time there being an over-lay of the energies of the constellation Aquarius. This is because the Vernal Point, in its great 2,000 year shift is moving into that constellation. Complicated? Confused? Look back at the Equinox blog and do some research on ‘Precession’ for a clearer understanding.

 

Whatever!! Aries people are full of ‘spring’, energy and enthusiasm, wanting to get things done even before the rest of us have worked out just what has to be done! But watch out for their fire, it can be used like a Promethean gift to progress onwards and blaze a trail for others to follow, OR the fire will singe your toes and elbows so that the burns sting and make you uncomfortable. There is a transforming application of this element of fire, one way or another.

Salamander being transformed by fire, 

from the ‘Book of Lambspring’

On a planetary level, another ‘springing’ time is early morning, when a daily sunrise quickens life energies for the coming 24-hour cycle. As the Vedic hymn to the dawn says:-

 

Listen to the exhortation of the Dawn!

Look to this Day, for it is life, the very life of life.

In its brief course, lie all the verities and realities of your existence;

The glory of action, the bliss of growth, the splendour of beauty.

For yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow is only a vision.

But today well-lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,

And every tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this Day.

Rising Sun of Maat

The ancient Egyptian rebel Pharaoh Akhenaten [c.1380 BCE] took a different tack on sun worship and wrote his own poem, part of which goes like this:-

 

‘Splendid you rise in heaven’s lightland,

O living Aten, creator of life!

When you have dawned in eastern lightland,

You fill every land with your beauty.

You are beauteous, great, radiant,

High over every land;…

 

All beasts browse on herbs;

Trees, herbs are sprouting,

Birds fly from their nests….

And if that sounds familiar, it is. From the Hebrew Bible, Psalm 104 reads:- 

 

Lord…thou are very great;

thou art clothed with honour and majesty.

Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;

Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain:

Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters….

 

[that] give drink to every beast of the field…

the fowls of the heavens have their habitation…

….grass to grow for the cattle….

 

A good read on the rebel king of Egypt is Cyril Aldred ‘Akhenaten’.

Like the little lamb, young Arians frolic and gamble around the place, oblivious to the toes they step on. The older Ram has a different take on life and stands firm ready to ‘butt’ the opponent out of the way. Some will ‘butt’ even when there is no enemy, in their bid to be free to create something new.

AAL’S LABYRINTH HISTORY An Alternative Viewpoint…..contd. #57

 

City of Persepolis

c650 BCE    ACHAEMENES establishes a royal line of the clan Pasargadae, the most noble tribe of the Persians (from Persis or Persia). His country of Elam was over-taken by Ashurbanipal (Assyrian King) in 7^th century BCE. Achaemenes took part of Elam, called Anshan, and made its capital Susa. Susa is the Biblical Shushan which had been founded c4000 BCE at the head of the Persian Gulf. Elam then disappears as an independent state at this point.

                      Achaemenes’ son Teispes will be followed to the throne by his son Cyrus I, then by his grandson Cambyses I, followed by Cyrus II or Cyrus the Great, who will be known in history as the ‘Empire Builder’. (73)

Sappho the Poet

c630 BCE      SAPPHO of Eressos on Lesbos Island, near Turkey/Greece. A female poet she produced 9 books, of which only fragments remain, some based on more ancient Egyptian papyri. Some poems invoke Greek Aphrodite, some give passionate depictions of flowers, moon, sea and night. Sappho was regarded as the 10^th muse and looked upon as a goddess. She had a literary circle of female disciples of strong emotional attachment and they conducted and took part in the ‘Thesmophoria’ fertility rituals at the sanctuary of Demeta/Kore at Mitaleni on the island of Lesbos.  Sappho’s work was subsequently suppressed by the Christian religion and it was eventually lost in the destruction of the Alexandrian library. (102. 345)

Aphrodite goddess of the Sea and Love

                   Under the force of the Medes coming from the north and the Persians coming from the east, the fall of the Assyrian Empire is brought about, whilst in the south there is a resurgence of Chaldean thought in the Neo-Babylonian Empire.

Jeremiah the weeping Prophet [Bottecelli]

c626 BCE     JEREMIAH second of the major Hebrew Prophets. ‘The Book of Jeremiah’ of the Old Testament is a collection of prophesies named after him. Jeremiah lived in Anathoth on the outskirts of Jerusalem, the seat of orthodox Yahweh worship. He condemned the Baal worship of Canaan which had degenerated into licentiousness. In the face of political and religious crisis, Jeremiah called for moral reform and repentance so that the turning to God might lead to a new creation. Jeremiah thus prefigured the New Testament in prophesizing the notion of the “new covenant.” Jeremiah felt called to bring a new social and religious understanding to the people and carried the message of a universal God. He considered it to be an act of God when the Babylonians captured his people. Jeremiah’s prophetic career ranged from about 626 BCE, during the reign of Josiah, at least to the fall of Jerusalem (586 BCE) and the deportation of its population. At this time, Jeremiah was taken by the remaining Jewish community to Egypt, where he died. The career of Jeremiah thus embraced the period of Josiah’s Reformation (626-622 BCE); the years of resurgent Judaic nationalism (608-597 BCE); the period leading to the final demise of Judah (597-586 BCE); and his time spent in Egypt. The Monastery of Saint Jeremiah, located at the Serapeum northwest of Saqqara, Egypt, will be founded by the Copts in the 5^thcentury CE. It will include two churches, a refectory, and various workshops. (102. 99) The monastery will be located not far from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh Unas. It was at this period of history that the Great Mother Goddess met her final demise.

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DREAMY NEPTUNE

 The planet Neptune is closely associated with the sign Pisces who has a dual rulership like the previous two signs of Scorpio and Aquarius. Poseidon is the other name for Neptune and he is the brother of Jupiter the original and traditional ruler of Pisces.

Roman Floor Mosaic of Neptune with his Trident

Neptune rules the sea; the deep dark depths of silence that only the fishes understand, and perhaps those humans who are nearly fishes anyway. Because of the silence and hidden qualities of the god and his watery medium, it is very hard to know much about him or his world. We do know that his energy causes chaos on earth and works best in the spiritual world or in the intangible energy aura that surrounds us. The warning here is that one should get to know Jupiter first, and then the Neptune energies will follow in their own good time. In the everyday world it is easier to relate to the energies symbolised by the planetary god Jupiter.

Zeus/Jupiter [Larousse]

The great god Zeus or Jupiter rules the world from his heavenly abode. The stars are his hair and the rocks of Earth his feet; in between is the belly of the world that produces everything. So the Orphic Hymn tells us. This probably means that Pisceans, and Sagittarians too for that matter, need to expand their world, but this should be done in a controlled way. Thus, these people can know more than anyone else, but the hubris is an over-full belly or a mental indigestion – depending on whether the concentration is on the world of senses and food, or the world of the mind and knowledge.

 

Jupiter always brings a spirit of generosity and benevolence. However, under this influence a person must be willing to give way in the end to the dissolving powers of his brother Neptune so that the material world becomes less dominant and one is allowed to see beyond into the world of spirit. Those who let Neptune in too soon, in the belief that dreaming and psychic powers are all that is, are also bound to let muddle and even chaos rule their lives.  If one is not sufficiently grounded in the ways and necessities of life on Earth; are not sufficiently grounded in this world and the arena for our physical living then life can run out of control. On the other hand, those who deny Neptune, deny the magic of the world. Once the practical foundations of living and projects have been established, then Neptune should be allowed to bring inspiration for those conceived art forms and for solving complications. Neptune is not as a solution to life’s difficulties through fantasy escape roots; but he may be the avatar of the Pisces Age which is coming to a close and to be replaced by a new dispensation of the Aquarian Age.

Salvador Mundi by Titian.