The Goddess is the custodian of life's mysteries and the primal world of archetypal forces. As representative of the world soul she engages us in the sacred rites of nature and reanimates life though the cycles of birth and death. Goddess culture flourished in the prehistoric period when magical consciousness prevailed, supernatural forces were deified and natural forces were revered. As consciousness developed through its phases the wisdom of the goddess was buried beneath the rational constructs of a scientific knowledge that erased the mysteries from life and excluded the magical processes.

With the advent of the asteroids the wisdom of the goddess is once again available to consciousness. Goddess wisdom revels in the ancient wisdom of cycles, the intelligence of the inner life, the sanctity of divination, the mystery of healing and the necessity for sacrifice and ritual. The ancient feminine wisdom of the goddesses embraced all phases of life, celebrated its mysteries, ritualized its passages and knew the power of the natural world. The Solar Writer - Goddess report celebrates twelve goddesses and heroines and seeks their wisdom and guidance.

The maxim 'as above, so below' underpins the philosophy of astrology. Inner and outer lives are woven together through investing the celestial sphere with meaning. Therefore when astronomical discoveries are made astrologers find new meaning and revelation in them. Astrological tradition suggests that with the major discovery of a planet the collective is confronted with the conscious awakening of an archetypal force that may have previously lain dormant or been repressed. As the 19th century dawned a discovery of a small planet would be made, heralding the reawakening of feminine power and the wisdom of the Goddess.

Late in the 16th century Johannes Kepler first suggested that there might be a planet between the orbit of Mars and Jupiter. Nearly two centuries later the publication of Bodes Law reiterated this possibility. Based on the theory that all the planets were in a harmonic distance from the Sun the law suggested there should be a planet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter. When Uranus was discovered in 1781 its distance from the Sun conformed to the law giving greater weight to the theory of the missing planet. Finally on New Years Eve 1800 a Sicilian astronomer spotted a new body in the region and named it Ceres after the patron goddess of his homeland. To the Sicilians Ceres favored their island and it was here they claimed Hades abducted her daughter.

One year later its orbit was confirmed and although small in comparison to the other planets the missing planet had become visible. But early in 1802 another body was sighted between Mars and Jupiter and named Pallas Athena. Astronomers wondered if a planet had exploded in this region and therefore more would be discovered. And they were. More than four hundred of these small planets had been named as the 19th Century drew to a close.

It was not until the early 1970's as the woman's movement began to accelerate that astrologers began to take note of the significance of these new bodies, which were named asteroids. In 1973 an ephemeris of the first four discoveries was printed and the astrological community began to experiment with these new archetypes. The first four asteroids were named after the Olympian goddesses who had been previously unnamed in the astrological planetary pantheon: Ceres, Juno and Vesta were the three sisters of Jupiter while Pallas Athena was his daughter. All four were prominent in Greek myth and their cults predated their male counterparts. Previously in the astrological pantheon only the Moon and Venus were available to represent the lineage of the feminine traditions. Renewed images of the feminine had now appeared in the astrological tapestry. As astrologers began using these potent images of the asteroids the cults of the ancient goddesses were rediscovered, paralleling the cultural reclamation of feminine power. With the discovery of the asteroids and their use in astrology the ancient feminine wisdom of the goddess was brought to consciousness.

Each goddess in your personal Solar Writer - Goddess report has a specific function, being emblematic of an important sphere of your life. Every one embodies a different aspect of the Goddess herself. However, all twelve are involved in the handiwork of the Goddess. Therefore underlying each individual goddess is the sanctity of being, the awareness of the seasonal cycles of our life cycle and the acceptance of inner intelligence, signs, symbols and dreams. All twelve honor the instinctual wisdom of nature and follow her guidance.

These twelve goddesses preside over the three spheres of Heaven, the Earth and the Underworld. Being Olympians the goddess Ceres, Pallas Athena, Juno and Vesta are the goddesses of heaven who oversee the important initiations and transitions of the life cycle. These four goddesses were also the first named asteroids and the ones most frequently referred to in contemporary astrological literature. They personify four potent feminine functions or orientations to life. The goddesses of the underworld are powerfully insightful and understand the deep waters of the unconscious, the complexity of feelings, the power of mystery and magic and the uncertainty of life. These goddesses may reveal themselves through a healing crisis, the psychic senses, loss, betrayal or a myriad of other mysteries that arise in our lives. Hygieia, Cassandra, Hecate and Medea are the four goddesses who plunge the depths of the unconscious realm. Finally the goddesses who rule the Earth symbolize our worldly concerns and attitudes. Ariadne, Europa, Pandora and Mnemosyne are the influential representatives in the world who watch over our loves and labors, as well as our trials and triumphs.

The Solar Writer - Goddess report is a celebration of twelve of the numerous asteroids. Below the asteroid goddesses and heroines have been listed by their order of discovery. Each asteroid has its unique cycle and position in the horoscope. Keywords are listed below to introduce you to the meaning of each goddess as well as other astrological correlations that have a similar essence to the asteroid archetype. Each goddess will be explored through her myth and cult to appreciate her ancient role and contemporary meaning. The oracular meaning of the asteroid goddesses and heroines is based on the individual cult of the goddess. Once familiar with the presence of each goddess or heroine we will petition them for an oracle based on their position by sign and house in your horoscope.

Ceres, Asteroid No 1, was discovered in 1801. Ceres is closely aligned with the archetypes of Pluto and the Moon and especially strong when the Moon aspects Pluto. Her process may enter our lives when Pluto transits the Moon or the 4th house.

Pallas Athena, Asteroid No. 2, was discovered in 1802. Athena is sympathetic to the air signs especially the justice and strategy of Libra and the intelligence and objectivity of Aquarius. She is aligned with the masculine archetypes of Mars and Uranus and close to Jupiter, her father's realm.

Juno, Asteroid No. 3, was discovered in 1804. Juno is the goddess of marriage and social customs. She reverberates with Libra and the 7th house. Her passionate side is reflected through the 8th principle of Scorpio and interchanges between these two astrological principles reflect the goddess.

Vesta, Asteroid No. 4, was discovered in 1807. Vesta is the spirit of the 6th house, the domain of the sacred in the everyday, the rituals of work and well being. Planets in Virgo respond to the archetype as do inner planets aspecting Saturn, the need for authenticity.

Hygieia, Asteroid No. 10, was discovered in 1849. The axis of health in the horoscope is the 6th-12th polarity. The Sun symbolizes the vitality and the ascendant suggests how we conduct that vital life force. Chiron is the archetype of healing. Hygieia is very much concerned with these principles.

Ariadne, Asteroid No. 43, was discovered in 1857. Ariadne's story plumbs the depths of the water houses. She leaves the familial terrain of the 4th house to be abandoned by her lover in the labyrinth of the 8th but awakens to her divine connection in the 12th. Neptune aspects to Venus or Mars may highlight these themes. Ariadne's process is revealed with transits to planets in the 8th house or Pluto transiting Venus or Mars.

Europa, Asteroid No. 52, was discovered in 1858. Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn and their rulers Venus, Mercury and Saturn represent the earth instinct. Of all three signs Taurus is the sign most closely aligned with Europa's passions and power. Planets in Taurus or the second house constellate the mythic pattern while transits through the second house or to Venus may evoke issues concerning values and resources

Pandora, Asteroid No. 55, was discovered in 1858. Pandora is a change agent and therefore may be sudden and unexpected like Uranus. Her curious nature and marking of threshold change is Mercurial, linking Mercury and Uranus. As an agent of transformation she has a Plutonic essence as well. Planets in Gemini or Mercury aspects to Uranus or Pluto highlight the nature of Pandora.

Mnemosyne, Asteroid No. 57, was discovered in 1860. The Moon records, reflects and reveals every heartbeat, breath and nuance of primitive life. Therefore the progressed Moon evokes memory as it progresses through the horoscope. Aspects between the Moon and Mercury as well as other planets aspecting these planetary archetypes reveal the process of feeling and rational memory.

Hecate, Asteroid No. 100, was discovered in 1868. Aspects to Mercury may signal how we might manage crossroads, our facility for change and adaptability. Crossroads in the life cycle are mapped out by the cycle of the slower moving planets while personal crossroads are reflected in the transits of the transpersonal planets to the personal ones. Note the South Node of the Moon.

Cassandra, Asteroid No. 114, was discovered in 1871. Cassandra revels in the world of Neptune - the archetype of the medial woman. Aspects between Mercury and Neptune, or Mercury in Pisces reflect Cassandra. Interconnections between Jupiter and Pluto may also ignite a similar pattern.

Medea, Asteroid No. 212, was discovered in 1880. Medea is similar to the archetypes of Pluto and Scorpio, as she understands the process of metamorphosis. Planets in the Eighth House or in aspect to Pluto may conjure up the potent magic of Medea.

Mythology serves as a psychological record of human development recording the imagination and symbols of the culture. Mythic stories speak to the inner life as they deal with universal themes and truths illustrating the archetypal forces that influence the course of the human drama. In archaic societies myths offered an explanation of the world and its creation, the cycle of birth, growth and death, how things came into existence as well as how they disappeared. In contemporary times we have scientific explanations for many of the ancient mysteries, but myth is just as valuable to help us to imagine our own origins and invest our lives with meaning. Mythic themes stir the imagination and broaden the horizon of the individual's story placing it in a context of a larger story.

Mythology is the link between the magical phase of being when consciousness participates in nature and the rational phase when we are separated from the natural world. The magical phase embraces the culture of the Great Goddess when life is full of mystery and wonder and we are one with the natural order, not separated or expelled from it. In this phase all nature is sacred as all life is invested with the divine. The asteroids are surrogates of the Great Goddess and reconnect us to her culture. As emissaries the asteroid goddesses and heroines invest life with the sacred, value imagination and mystery and inspire ritual and sacrifice in order to reconnect to the wellsprings of her magical forces.

Following is a summary of their genealogy and mythic tradition. Let the myths resonate with your imagination and speak to you in their own way.

The Roman goddess Ceres is also known as Olympian goddess, Demeter. She is the daughter of the Titan Cronus and Rhea and mother of Persephone. She is the Corn Goddess who personifies the agricultural cycle of fertility and harvest, as well as loss and renewal through her daughter Persephone.

The Olympian goddess Pallas Athena was a daughter of Zeus, born from her father's head after he had swallowed Metis. The Romans referred to her as Minerva. She is revered as representing the wisdom of reflection and strategy.

The Roman goddess Juno is also known as the Olympian goddess, Hera. She is the daughter of the Titan Cronus and Rhea and mother to Ares, Hephaestus and Hebe. She is the goddess of Marriage and Social Customs who oversees the seasons of a woman's life.

The Roman goddess Vesta is also known as the Olympian Goddess Hestia. She is the daughter of the Titan Cronus and Rhea and is the goddess of the Hearth who embodies sacred space.

Hygieia was the daughter of the Greek god of healing, Asclepius and the beloved goddess of Health. She is the sister of other minor healing deities and heroes including Panacea, Machaon and Podalirius. As the goddess of Health, Hygieia is the giver and preserver of well being whose function is to maintain a healthy relationship between body and soul.

The Cretan goddess Ariadne was from the Minoan dynasty. She is the daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphae, granddaughter of Helios and Zeus. She is sister of Phaedra and half-sister to the Minotaur. As the wife of Dionysus, Ariadne embodies the sacred marriage having endured the trials of betrayal and abandonment.

Europa was a Phoenician princess, sister to Cadmus and matriarch of the Minoan dynasty, mother to King Minos and grandmother of Ariadne and Phaedra. She represents the creative and earthy process that supports and guides worldly success.

Pandora was the first woman, shaped by Hephaestus, to be the harbinger of a new age. She was married to Epimetheus and was the mother of Pyrrha. As a representative of the ancient ways of the goddess, Pandora brings the gift of hope.

Mnemosyne was a Titaness, a daughter of Gaia and Uranus, known as the goddess who personified the faculty of memory. As the mother to the Nine Muses she represents enchantment, inspiration and the power of remembering.

The goddess Hecate was the daughter of Perses and Asteria, the granddaughter of Phoebe, and a powerful goddess revered by all the gods. Later she became an attendant to Persephone. As an underworld goddess she was represented in her three-fold nature and was worshipped at the crossroads and as the guardian of transitions.

Cassandra was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, the regents of the powerful dynasty of Troy. She was the twin sister to Helenus and sister to seventeen other siblings including Paris and Hector. From an early age she had oracular ability, yet no one believed her. Cassandra carries the feminine mysteries of divination even in a contemporary world that devalues the sacred tradition.

Medea was the Princess of Colchis, granddaughter of the Sun god, Helios and niece of the sorceress, Circe. Medea is the great witch of the Greek myths, knowledgeable in herbs, healing and the art of metamorphosis.

Ceres is the Roman agricultural goddess whose gift of grain, 'cereal', was distributed to mankind as thanksgiving for the release of her beloved daughter from the underworld and also as an eternal symbol of the continuity of life. Ceres is the goddess of agriculture who instinctually knows the cycle of loss, death and rebirth through her attachment to her beloved daughter.

The Roman goddess was modeled on her Greek counterpart Demeter whose central myth focused on the loss of her daughter, Persephone. It was this myth, which inspired the greatest initiation rites in the ancient world - the Eleusinian Mysteries. These mysteries re-enacted the terrifying journey of Persephone into the underworld and through these rituals both male and female participants faced their terror of death and became thankful for the gift of life.

Ceres, corn goddess, patron of farm life and vegetation is both an agricultural and underworld deity. She is an earth mother who presides over the cycle of fertility, birth, harvest, decay, death and rebirth. From the archaic period the goddess protected and insured the fertility and propagation of the crops and livestock. Her sanctuaries were placed near arable land, outside cities, where pilgrims would come to petition the goddess for a fertile crop and feast on the abundant gifts of food that the goddess provided.

Her myth was more ancient than her male contemporaries and reached back to the epoch when deities of the underworld (death) and the earth (life) were one. Ceres represents both loss and harvest and her classical story embraces each aspect in the myth of her daughter who becomes the Queen of the Underworld.

The myth of Ceres/Demeter and her daughter is a heartbreaking narrative of closeness, separation, grief and reunion, the motivation behind the establishment of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The brutal breaking of their attachment is the impetus that allows each woman to develop independently of one another into sovereignty over their own sphere. Since antiquity this poignant portrait of the mother-daughter bond has probably been the most cherished of all the Greek myths. The classical myth is also remarkable as it places the feminine characters at the heart of the narrative with the male gods on the periphery honoring a sacred and profound feminine story. The Ceres myth was first told in a hymn to the great goddess Demeter.

Kore, the innocent maiden Persephone, was playing in a meadow gathering flowers when the earth rumbled beneath her and broke open. Suddenly from the chasm in the earth a chariot drawn by four black horses appeared. In the chariot was Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, who seized her. As she struggled to break free the chariot carrying them disappeared into the black hole. Demeter wandered aimlessly in search of her daughter. No mortal or god could help her with information about her daughter's disappearance. Finally after nine days she met Hecate, the goddess of the crossroads. Hecate heard Persephone screams, the only clue to the abduction.

Demeter raged and withdrew the gift of fertility from the earth causing a great famine. She also withdrew herself from the company of the gods and in disguise wandered amongst mortals unnoticed. Grief-stricken, depleted and withered, Demeter wandered to Eleusis where she met the daughters of the local king who pitied her and brought her home. Their mother gave Demeter the task of caring for her infant son. Demeter nursed him on ambrosia and nectar and every night she would baptize the infant in fire in order to render him immortal and safeguard him from the fate of the eternal cycle of life, death and rebirth. However, one evening the Queen interrupted Demeter in the middle of her ritual and screamed in fear for the boy's safety. At that moment the cycle of mourning was broken. Demeter cast off her old age, changing her size and appearance to reveal herself as the great goddess and commanded the king to build her a great temple and introduce her worship to the people of Eleusis.

However, Demeter was still furious at the abduction of her daughter and withheld the new crop's seed so the earth continued to be barren. Zeus intervened and demanded Demeter return to Olympus and fulfill her duties. Demeter refused. Finally Zeus in his anguish agreed to release Persephone from the underworld so the crops would grow again. Persephone was eager to be reunited with her mother. But before she left the underworld Hades gave her a pomegranate seed to ingest. Innocently Persephone took the seed and swallowed it now binding her eternally to this place. Having eaten in the underworld meant Persephone now belonged there.

Demeter and Persephone's reunion was ecstatic and both rejoiced at the sight of one another even though they knew they would not be together as in the past. As the mother, Ceres indicates the necessity to nurture a creative project even though that means letting it go. By relinquishing an attachment a phase of the cycle ends and prepares us for a new beginning.

Astrologically the goddess Ceres represents the feminine wisdom that acknowledges loss. Loss is intricately woven into the tapestry of life; attachment, separation and loss are part of life's greatest mystery. Feminine wisdom knows that grief is only one phase of the great wheel and mourning allows the process to be complete so that life may be renewed. Following is a portrayal of the goddess Ceres in your natal horoscope.

Ceres is in Sagittarius

You have an independent spirit. When the going gets tough you like to escape into the realm of ideas. Sometimes you also like to escape to faraway places. Practicality may demand that you get away for a walk to the nearest beach or park; or perhaps to a nearby holiday. On the other hand you may also need to explore foreign lands in order to satisfy your craving for adventure. You may discover that a visit to the local library, an afternoon with an inspirational book, involvement in a religious organization or a course of study also satisfies your need to 'think outside the square'. Of course, you are apt to take on too much so you may find that you combine all of the above - a trip to a foreign land to study a beloved subject or live in a religious community. Moderation is not one of your virtues. You push yourself, and those around you, to extremes. Anyone close to you needs to support your ideas and activities. Otherwise you are likely to move on, leaving a trail of broken hearts.

You are a great salesperson but your challenge is to combine your desire for intellectual stimulation with sensitivity to other people's needs. Teaching, lecturing, public speaking may be avenues of expression that provide some personal satisfaction while requiring an understanding to your audience. Your sales ability will also increase once you have tuned into to the wishes of your consumers rather than your own ideas.

Your relationship with your mother is likely to be slightly strained as your beliefs, values and principles may clash. You love your mother, but you may also feel that she doesn't nurture your independent spirit. Depending on other aspects of your birth chart it is possible that you have had to fight for your right to follow your own path. Your mother may want to keep you close to her side, but you are keen to explore the world. You may compromise by living close to your mother and pursuing your own dreams in a nearby neighborhood. However, it is also possible that you move far away from your mother's home.

If you become a parent you are likely to understand the need for your children to have their own independent interests. You encourage them to pursue their dreams. You need to also ensure that you pursue your own because you have the ability and talent to be an inspirational teacher, writer, salesperson, traveller, actor, public speaker, singer, dancer or astrologer. In fact any field that enables your spirit to soar provides an outlet for your talents.

Ceres is in the Twelfth House

You are wise and perceptive. Others can benefit from these traits if they listen, but sometimes your astute nature can alienate those who are not ready to see the truth. Therefore they are not comfortable seeing the conviction in your face and may react adversely to your words, or even your silence. Fortunately you are able to protect yourself from the insincere intent of your hidden enemies. You have a sixth sense that serves you well in most situations. Your caring nature attracts loyal and protective friends, colleagues and loved ones. So although you may attract a few people from the fringe of society you are likely to be sheltered from any harm unless you allow yourself to be seduced by the powers of corruption.

You may nurse those who are confined in hospitals, prisons, and aged or disabled care homes. However, you need to make sure that you also take care of yourself. There is a real tendency for you to take better care of other people than you take of yourself. You may become engulfed by the needs of other people. Hence you could really benefit from establishing some firm rules including recognizing your need for periods of solitude. Solitude is likely to soothe you at a deep level, helping you regain your vitality and ability to relate to loved ones.

You may also develop a keen interest in alchemy or other metaphysical matters. Once again the ability to stay tuned into solitude, prayer and meditation rather than the murky area of black magic is vital to your lasting well being. You have inherited a great gift of creative imagination and are able to inspire others through sharing your fantasies, storytelling and music. It is the marriage of your creativity and compassion that fashions a welcoming atmosphere where everyone feels safe and secure.

The architectural masterpiece, the Parthenon, was dedicated to the goddess whom the classical Athenians cherished. Pallas Athena was their advocate for law and order, the teacher of household arts like spinning, weaving, and cooking, as well as their protector and defender.

As their goddess of war she helped the Greeks defeat Troy, the Athenians repel the Persians; as their goddess of useful and decorative arts she inspired them to build exceptional monuments and temples. The goddess of merciful justice transformed the law courts and at the dawn of the fifth century she inspired the democratic shift in Athenian politics. Athena was the revered goddess of the Athenians who celebrated her birthday each year with a great festival and procession through the Agora up to the Acropolis.

As a multi-tasked goddess many images are associated with Pallas Athena but it is the owl that reminds us of her wisdom. Her intelligence is 'bright-eyed' and sharp, focused on the immediate, located in the present, aligned with the head and not the instinct. Pallas Athena embodies the rational and encourages left-brain thinking. Her wisdom controls the instincts, learning to direct them into heroic pursuits to eradicate what is dark and primitive. She is civilizing and organizing, bringing culture and cultivation to mankind. Justice and law are part of her new order replacing retaliation and revenge.

Strategic, reflective and controlled her craft and skill is mirrored in the multiplicity of devices she offered man, the fertility of her ideas and the usefulness of her inventions and techniques. As Pronoai she is 'before knowing' embracing forethought and strategic thinking. As a warrior queen she was born from the forehead of her father Zeus, fully armored and mature, suggesting that the wisdom of goddess had been reborn into a new order. As father's special daughter Pallas Athena mirrored the rational intelligence and counsel of Zeus. Metis, the mother of Athena, was an ancient goddess of wisdom known as Wise Counsel or Cunning Intelligence. She knew the feminine mysteries, the intelligence articulated by the heart and the inner world of instinct and intuition. From her Pallas Athena inherited another kind of wisdom: the wisdom of intuitive knowing often experienced in the belly as a 'gut instinct'. It is a knowing that may speak through symptoms or disease, through creativity or craft, or radiate through stillness and tranquility or even erupt in anger or hostility. It is a wisdom born out of an intimate connection between mind and matter, a fluid way of being that the ancient Greeks knew as Sophia.

Athena is a proud daughter born from a power struggle between her powerfully dominant father and her intuitively wise mother. Consciously Athena only knows her father's way and the new order. Born of man, like Eve, this myth is often cited when tracing the emergence of 'father-right' from the long held tradition of 'mother-right'. The daughter is now aligned with the sky father who colludes in rejecting the earth mother. The tables have turned in the familial pattern and now it is father and daughter colluding against mother, no longer mother conspiring with her youngest son against the father. When Athena emerges she reflects the need for logic and rationality rather than feeling and instinct. Her path follows the reason of the head, aligned with her father, not the impulse of the heart, the vulnerable feminine side that she has not been nurtured by.

Like Eve, Athena's feminine legacy is not so easily erased. Both their myths contain the image of the snake, a sacred symbol of their legacy of feminine wisdom, healing and regeneration. By the classical period Athena's wisdom became subjugated to Zeus. Shaped by the masculine wisdom becomes linear, logical and rational. Metis is no longer acknowledged as her other parent. The internal wisdom of cycles, intuitive knowing and the complexity of intrapsychic understanding becomes concealed under Athena's armor.

Athena is also associated with the arts of healing, health and regeneration. As Athena Nike she was the goddess of Victory, first victorious in war and later a victor on the sports field. Athena signaled victory and as a patron of heroes she was also known as the goddess of the near, as she was always close to the hero and a staunch supporter of the heroic. As the goddess of war and defender of her father's realm Athena became aligned with the hero as his guide and protector. In mythic portrayals of the hero, Athena stands behind or beside him as his staunch ally against the monstrous and dark forces. When Pallas Athena appears prominently in a birth chart she encourages us to be heroic and battle the regressive forces of our instinctual nature. It is necessary to reflect on the situation and not react emotionally, detaching enough to formulate a decisive plan of action.

In astrology the goddess Pallas Athena represents the reflection and meditation that develops out of the turmoil of chaos and uncertainty, helping us to become more strategic and deliberate in our actions. Metis is the valued intelligence that guides our instincts and plans strategically and arises into consciousness at exactly the right moment. Pallas Athena discerns and through reflecting on emotionally entangled situations allows consciousness to develop. Following are the house and sign descriptions of the goddess Pallas Athena in your horoscope.

Pallas is in Scorpio

You are a fighter. You have to be. At a young age you may have learnt the need to fight to defend yourself and protect younger siblings or friends. This may have been caused through a change of circumstances, a stern and overpowering father figure, or the need to defend your individuality in a large family. Whatever your personal reasons, the outcome is the same - you learnt how to recognize the undercurrents of the adult world and survive. You developed an ability to stand back and assess your options using reason rather than emotion to make decisions. You are like the Eagle soaring high in the skies, ready to swoop on its prey as a means to eat and live. Like the Eagle you are regal and resourceful. You don't suffer fools gladly, although you can be genuinely compassionate towards those who suffer.

Your main objective is to seek and acknowledge the truth. This results in passionate feelings flowing through your life. Your co-workers, friends and perhaps even family members feel strongly about you. You evoke intense feelings, although you don't necessarily share them. You are able to detach from emotions, investigate the truth of the matter and use your penetrating mind to solve problems, even if this means discarding objects, plans or people along the way. You don't necessarily choose the popular path and you leave no stone unturned. The ancient author Aristophanes may have said it best when he wrote, 'men of sense often learn from their enemies. It is from their foes, not their friends, that cities learn the lesson of building high walls and ships of war...' You make a better friend than foe. You know how to keep a confidence and you are a good ally to have in any fight, particularly legal or advocacy battles.

Nature and metaphysical matters can be a soothing factor in your life. You have a strong affinity to the cycles of the natural world, and are likely to be passionate about protecting nature from any unnecessary destruction by humans. You may align yourself closely to an environmental cause or study weather patterns or astronomy. You are not afraid of the dark, but rather find the night sky and the stars to be soothing.

On a lighter note you may enjoy detective novels, courtroom sagas and psychological thrillers. Any profession that demands research, resourceful ideas and applications, or psychological insights would benefit from your probing and insightful mind.

Pallas is in the Eleventh House

You have a good understanding of group dynamics in social organizations, sporting clubs, political and religious groups and all affiliations. Despite this understanding, or perhaps because of it, you are unlikely to become totally involved with small group endeavors unless you stand to gain something personally. Whereas others may selflessly volunteer for executive positions or active roles, you are more likely to stand to one side and observe what you would gain personally. This may be a boost to your material resources, business network, professional reputation or spiritual knowledge. Nevertheless you make a rational, not an emotional, decision. On the whole you would prefer to use your executive abilities in other ways. You may hesitate to sacrifice your personal goals unless you truly are committed to the policies and programs of the organization. Perhaps you are concerned about the politics of groups or you believe that committees are time-wasters? Whatever the reason you prefer independence. On a more positive note perhaps you feel that you have more to contribute to society when you work independently. Perhaps you recognize your own limitations? You are a person of integrity. If you are co-opted to work within a group then two things are likely. Firstly you are likely to negotiate the perimeters of your responsibilities and secondly you are likely to share the group's vision. As long as the group remains committed to its original purpose then you remain loyal, although you may take on the role as the maverick.

Your clarity regarding your role in groups also extends to personal associations - your own group of friends. In this case you are totally committed to helping your friends, particularly when they are the victims of injustice. You are a strong ally and advocate. You earnestly want your friends to make the most of their talents, rise above their emotional challenges and become fulfilled. Fulfillment is important. You are well aware of the necessity of achieving your own hopes and wishes and would like others to share your vision. This is one of your most potent gifts, empowering others to serve society to the best of their ability. In may ways you are a coach and able to champion the champions.

Juno Regina shares the honor of the highest deity in the Roman pantheon as queen next to her husband-brother Jupiter, king of the gods. Each woman had their own guardian spirit named Juno, who guided their transitions into the stages of motherhood and marriage. As a light bringer she was also invoked for protection during childbirth. As the goddess of marriage her Roman name Juno was the derivative of June, the season of the bride. Women celebrated her annually in the festival of Matronalia. By the Roman period Juno had become emblematic of the woman as wife and citizen presiding over social customs and duties. In earlier Greek myths Juno was a powerful goddess in her own right known as Hera, the adored feminine deity of many powerful city-states.

The derivation of Hera's name may be related to Hora or season, as she is custodian of the seasons of a woman's life. On the Olympian pantheon she was the goddess of marriage and embodied social ritual and custom. At her cult in Argos young girls ran races to prepare for their marriage and the rituals of womanhood. In the Greek myths Hera was a wife and unlike her husband Hera does not have affairs. However, in Greek myth Hera also seeks revenge upon her husbands' liaisons with others. By the classical period the tales of Zeus and Hera rival contemporary soap operas where the cycle of betrayal, outrage and revenge is the central plot. Hera consistently plots revenge against Zeus' lovers and children from these affairs. However, there was an earlier time when the Olympian couple was not always locked in power struggles or scheming and bullying each other. This was when they first fell in love in the palace of their aunt and uncle where they were being hidden, protected by their mother Rhea from the familial wars that were raging with their father. Here in the great palace beneath the sea, they consummated their relationship, a relationship that was to remain secret for nearly 300 years. Underpinning the later myths are fragments, which reveal Hera was an ancient goddess before she became aligned with her brother in a sacred marriage.

Epithets of Hera such as 'cow-eyed' refer to her earlier association with the earth and agriculture, while her epithet 'of the white arms' may link her to an association with the Moon. She is often depicted in three phases as the maiden, the fulfilled and the solitary, a trinity of aspects represented by Hebe, Hera and Hecate. Hebe was the daughter of Hera and the cupbearer to the Gods who became married to Heracles after his ascension to Olympus. In this aspect Hera is the maiden, the youth and the aspect of the feminine that retains her virginity, even in relationship. The central phase was motherhood, wifehood and a woman of power. Local folklore suggested she bathed in the streams of Argos where she was able to regain her virginity lost in the marriage with Zeus. Hecate was associated with the final phase embracing Hera's aloneness and need for solace. At times Hera would leave Zeus to go off on her own to pursue her needs for privacy, renewal and worship.

Hera was indigenous to Greece long before Zeus was triumphant. The cult of Hera may have been so powerful that unlike the other goddesses Zeus was unable to be dominant, settling instead for an equal relationship. Her cults on Samos and in Argos are linked to the prehistorical period. On Samos one of the first mammoth stone temples of the archaic period was built in honor of Hera. Similarly her temple at Olympus predates the magnificent one built for Zeus. No doubt Hera is an older goddess like Demeter and Hestia, her sisters who were born to Cronus and Rhea before their brothers. However, to incorporate Hera into the politics on Olympus she became the wife of Zeus and mother to his children.

Another mythic fragment, which suggests Hera is a powerful ancient goddess, is her link to Heracles. Even though their relationship is estranged Heracles is named for the great goddess. His name literally translates into the glory of Hera. Hera whose name closely resembles hero is aligned with the greatest of all heroes, Heracles and plays a potent role in many heroic sagas. Their antagonistic relationship ironically spurred him on to become the greatest hero and ironically myth depicts Hera as his mother-in-law. No longer the object of her scorn Hera has challenged Heracles to become the hero. As mother-in-law she models a strong and uncompromising woman who demands the hero be the best man for her daughter.

Juno and Hera are the composite that portray the seasons of a woman's life as well as the evolution of woman's roles. The spirit of Juno in contemporary woman has new power and possibilities and the placement of the goddess in our horoscope is an invitation to challenge the constructs of the social roles that are inhibiting for us. As a partner and equal Juno is supportive, enterprising, challenging and confronting helping shape potentiality into reality.

In astrology the goddess Juno represents the status and achievement in the world that are intricately aligned with social customs and tradition. Equality in relationship is necessary at all stages of the life cycle to insure both inner and outer fulfillment. Juno's ancient legacy is equal relationship and through her archetypal experience you can become aligned with your heroic self. Descriptions of the goddess in your astrological chart follow:

Juno is in Libra

It may come as no surprise to you to know that the goddess Juno in the sign of Libra indicates that relationships play a key role in shaping your life. You are likely to spend much of your early life seeking a meaningful marriage. Other aspects of your astrology chart will show how much of your energy you use in seeking fulfillment through a relationship. However, the goddess Juno is asking that you become an emancipated person who is seeking a relationship on your own terms. Beware of becoming eclipsed by someone else or serving your partner's needs rather than you own.

This is a prominent placement of the goddess Juno and therefore you stand a good chance of succeeding in your search for a lifelong union, as long as you also value your independence and do not subjugate your own values to someone else's. You are not interested in short-term affairs, but rather in marriage. Like the swans, you seek one true partner. Equality in your relationship is necessary at all stages of your life to insure both inner and outer fulfillment. You are truly fulfilled when married to your chosen mate.

You may be attracted to someone who is artistic, a charming person with good social skills. You enjoy intimate romantic outings with your spouse, as well as sharing busy social functions. Romance is important. However, you do need to be careful of holding too many romantic illusions. You are a romantic, and yet you are also seeking your true mate, an equal partner to share your life. You have a tendency to believe the best of people and therefore may be disappointed when they fail to share your commitment to personal relationships. If you are disillusioned or hurt early in life then you may give up your search for a mate, preferring to remain alone rather than settle for someone less than your ideal. You may instead work for the betterment of other people's relationships or humanity as a whole. You seek justice, beauty, harmony, and balance in your own personal associations, as well as for society.

Juno is in the Ninth House

Throughout your life you seek a like-minded lover suitable for marriage. If you are fortunate then you may meet your soul mate early in life, but it is more likely that your search for a mate becomes more like a quest. You may travel to distant shores, or socialize with different cultures before finding someone to marry. It doesn't matter if your potential partner is from a different country, religion or culture; in fact this may be preferable. You would enjoy taking part in a foreign wedding ceremony (even if it weren't your own).

What you seek is a companion who will help you expand your horizons. You may share an interest in long-distance travel, the arts, academic life, legal matters, religious or spiritual practices, or world sports or politics. Whatever your common goal your spouse enables you to expand your horizons. You seek enlightenment through marriage, someone to guide you through the transitions in your life. As a partner and equal your spouse is supportive, enterprising, challenging and confronting helping shape your potentiality into reality.

If you compromise and choose a marriage partner with conflicting ideologies then your marriage could be in serious trouble. Your levels of tolerance may be sorely tested. You need a partner who respects your intellect, opinions, philosophies and beliefs. You enjoy a lively exchange of opinions, but you do not easily tolerate anyone who acts in a superior manner. You enjoy the company of people from all walks of life, and expect your spouse to share your easy-going, inclusive attitude. At the same time you may hold passionate philosophical or political beliefs, recognizing that these beliefs are so deeply-felt that you need your spouse to share these convictions. Your lifestyle may preclude a union with someone of conflicting ideals. You are better served living according to your own ideologies rather than succumbing to the imposition of adhering to a lifestyle that is not truly part of your own heroic journey. You have a real opportunity to marry a benefactor who helps you achieve your true calling.

The cult of the Roman goddess Vesta was connected to the Greek Hestia. However, the Roman archetype had considerably altered from her Hellenic counterpart. By the Roman period the sacrament of virginity was liberalized, no longer conceptualized as a psychic state but now institutionalized as a spiritual way of being. Priestesses of Vesta, known as Vestal Virgins, served the goddess for a period of thirty years. While the position was privileged it also was one of great piety, devotion and responsibility. Vestal Virgins tended the sacred flame and guarded the Palladium, the secret objects brought from Troy to preserve the memory of the ancient city and protect the new satellite city of Rome. However, in ancient Greece Hestia was the embodiment of an internal and sacred space not a religious institution. Vesta's heritage reaches back to the traditions of honoring the authenticity of the inner life as symbolized by the spirit of the sacred flame, not a system of regulations.

In ancient Greece the goddess received the highest respect. Acknowledged as the deity mankind must first honor when feasting and drinking the goddess embodied grace and virtue. Veiled and virginal her sanctuaries were places of refuge, asylum and political peace. Constant, focused and disliking change Vesta is the hearth, a symbol for both the center and the focus of the home as well as the metaphor for family life and the family circle. As custodian of the hearth she is central to psychic life representing the sacral center, the goddess who honors sacred space and protects holy images. She embodies spatiality, conferring safe places to congregate, mediating soul by giving it a hallowed place to be acknowledged. As a virgin (unto herself) goddess Vesta is the custodian of soulful space personifying the stillness at the center of our busy everyday lives. As goddess of hospitality she also welcomes travelers across the threshold offering sanctuary and hospice. Vesta is the continuity of family life and the coherence it brings to our everyday experiences. Vesta was the first-born child, the first devoured by Saturn and the last one to be disgorged from his belly. Therefore she represents the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, the eternal cycle. Vesta is not a part of the outer rim of the cycle but situated at its center, personifying stillness, discretion, centering and immobility, aspects of her Greek counterpart, Hestia.

Few Greek myths remain of Hestia; she is rarely personified, no statues or temples remain, yet at times in the archaic period she was the most honored goddess, worshipped at the center of the city and the center of the Greek household. By the classical period Hestia was not included as one of the twelve Olympians having been replaced by Dionysus. Hestia and her brother Hades are the only two siblings who remain detached from the Olympian family dramas and feuds. Unlike their brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, or their sisters, Hera and Demeter, they are not identified with their family of origin or their siblings. Their places are internal, interior and introverted. Few images or alters survive as reminders of their worship or importance in cult. There were virtually no temples erected to them and they were seldom represented in art, sculpture or vase painting. Neither were they parents to heroes like their siblings. As gods of place both Hestia and Hades have been re-placed and dis-placed which are potent clues as to what we culturally and psychologically have done with these archetypal energies. In a modern context this place of Hestia, as a metaphor for the hearth of inner life, has become dis-placed, re-placed by the rush and busyness of the outer world. When the inner life is sidelined and banished to the fringes of society, anxiety, terror and panic can no longer be constrained in the community. Hestia reflects the need for solace, quiet and retreat into the inner sanctuary of the Self.

As an image of center, Hestia is not personified or remembered by statues or temples but manifests through the sense of peace. She is the central point; the meeting place the fires of the home, the hearth, the Omphalos as the symbol for the center of the Earth. In antiquity her sanctuaries were non-warring zones, places of political peace. Plato remarked, 'when the Gods warred, only Hestia did not take part' that characterized the goddess' propensity to non-involvement. In the earlier myths of Hestia she resisted the advances of both her brother Poseidon and her nephew Apollo and was honored with remaining eternally virginal, symbolic of her attachment to the inner life. She is the aspect of self, which can never be violated or abused and always able to access the soul. Hestia is central to psychic life and expressions like 'can't settle down', 'off center', being off base' remind us of being out of touch with Hestia. As the hearth she is a guide to the inner life and the central image around which soulful images can constellate. She represents sacred space, the meditative moment the soul of place and the feeling of home.

In astrology Vesta is the inner instinct that honors soul by giving it a sacred place, an altar, a quiet moment. She represents hospice and offers hospitality to the aspects of self that feel displaced and dislocated. As the hearth light she offers stillness, quietude, meditation and solitude in the midst of the everyday. The inner life is the container for anxiety and despair as well as a refuge from the pollution of daily life. Below are descriptions of where Vesta is to be found in your horoscope, the spheres where she seeks to be honored in your life.
In the ancient Greek sanctuaries of healing statues of Hygieia, the goddess of health, reminded the pilgrim of the archetypal quest for wholeness and well being. Adorned with a simple garment Hygieia was often represented as youthful, radiant and smiling, attributes that are companions of health. Either she is holding or feeding a snake. Carrying a bowl of food or water Hygieia is generally represented tending the sacred snakes that were housed in the temples on the sanctuaries of healing. Sometimes she is presented holding a wreath of laurel, combining victory with health, or other plants known for their medicinal properties, a motif that links her to an ancient tradition of woman healers, herbalists and midwives.

Vesta is in Sagittarius

You have strong principles by which you live your own life. You also seek to teach other people the benefits of having positive values. Depending on other aspects of your chart you are likely to do this by becoming a living embodiment of your own set of values. In other words you 'walk your talk'. At times you can be a bit self-righteous, perhaps even judgmental. Your challenge is to ensure that your beliefs and values are guidelines rather than rigid tools of behavior. Try not to be too critical of yourself, or others, for failing to live up to these expectations. In truth you would be lost without your principles, which you use as a guiding light. If you remain flexible then you can develop a real sense of joy that comes from wisdom rather than knowledge. You also have the ability to inspire others - teach rather than preach.

You may also enjoy spending time dreaming. Perhaps you could ponder specific concepts such as 'joy' and 'purpose' and 'love'? On the other hand you may simply enjoy switching your busy mind off. Meditation and prayer could be useful, but just as inspirational can be sitting in front of a fiery sunset or settling down and pondering the flames of a hearth or campfire. A sense of peace and acceptance can flow as you watch the flames flicker and glow. You may also benefit from meandering through an inspirational garden, taking delight in how each flower and insect plays its part in the bigger picture.

Discipline is something that you need to develop once you have discovered your creative passion. You need to focus on ways in which to express this talent in your life. As author Michele Shea said: 'Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God.'

Vesta is in the Twelfth House

There is a real temptation for you to spend much of your time on your own, withdrawn from society. This is fine if you are able to live in a religious community dedicated to prayer and meditation; however, this is not likely. The ability to live like a hermit in the hills is a rare one. It is more likely that you are required to deal with the challenges of living in an active and productive society. You are likely to be passionate about a solitary pursuit - reading, meditating, prayer, communing with nature to name a few. A limited amount of time relaxing in front of a television may also help recharge your batteries. Friends may misunderstand your needs, amiably joking about your need to "navel gaze" but contemplation inspires you. As mentioned previously there are limits. Your gifts need to be shared with others. Perhaps working in an institution such as a hospital, prison, the armed forces, could provide the discipline that you need to be an active member of society. On the other hand you may enjoy a role as a spiritual teacher.

Ideally other aspects of your birth chart will balance this placement of the goddess Vesta. If this is the case then perhaps you will have a good balance between pursuing solitary pursuits and then sharing them through various mediums with others. For instance you may spend much time on a creative project that you can then publish, sell or teach when it is completed. You are in touch with a wellspring of creative possibilities.

Another indication of this placement of Vesta in the 12th house of your birth chart is a fascination with the rites of initiation in various religious traditions, as well as possible involvement in secret societies. On the negative side you need to apply discipline and restraint to any involvement in such matters, otherwise you could attract forces that work against you. In ancient astrological times this would have meant secret enemies and the possibility of incarceration. On the positive side this can lead to a deeper understanding of the spiritual and hidden elements of society. You may also build positive links with other people through your involvement.

Hygieia's intimate relationship with the serpent recalls her link to the ancient goddesses of healing and nature. Earth and Mother goddesses were accompanied by serpents and the ancient belief was that they transmitted the power of healing and prophecy. As a symbol of both regeneration and divination serpents were sacred to the goddess who gave them sanctuary in the bosom of the earth. Later the cult of sacred snake was adapted and serpents were included in the rituals at the sanctuaries that offered healing and spiritual guidance. The ancients also saw the sacred serpent dwelling in the body and when awakened it could offer illumination, vitality and the radiance of well being. As nature became less mysterious snakes became demonized, no longer transmitting the ancient wisdom of healing but transporting demonic and darker forces.

Hygieia nurtures and tends the snake revering its sacred power to rejuvenate and shed its old ways. She celebrates its dark, earthy force and recognizes the divine mystery of illness and health. Like her ancient ancestors, Hygieia honored the union between the natural and supernatural worlds knowing that health and well being depended on bringing them both into a cohesive whole. Goddess wisdom also knew that all of nature was animated by spirits that could be petitioned through magical and religious ritual in an attempt to restore equilibrium and well being. Hygieia is the modern surrogate of the ancient goddesses who honor the great mystery of healing.

To the Greeks Hygieia personified health, that mysterious amalgam of well being, wholeness and happiness. She emerged in the classical period when the cult of Asclepius became widespread and flourished throughout the Graeco-Roman world. Hygieia was mainly represented as the daughter of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, although sometimes known as his wife. Her numerous statues equal those of Asclepius and in the cult of healing she was revered and equal to the god himself. Interestingly the popularity of temple medicine practiced at the sanctuaries of Asclepius paralleled the growth of rational medicine that had emerged through the teachings of Hippocrates. Hygieia stands at the crossroads of magico-religious healing rituals and contemporary medical practice, holding the tension between the two but allowing each to co-exist. She embraces wholistic healing in every manifestation as she is dedicated to the pursuit of health.

In the ancient community disease was portrayed as a possession by a demon, the intrusion of a spirit or the curse of a god. In the cult of Asclepius illness was seen to be more the call of the divine, the voice that echoed the split between body and spirit. It was the illness that called the pilgrim to the temple to restore equilibrium and well being. At the temple the patient would prepare for an encounter with the god often by fasting, bathing or meditating. Then the patient was escorted into the temple where they would lie down and fall into a deep sleep wherein the god would appear to them in a dream. Once contact with the god had been made through the inner process of the dream the patient would be restored to health. In the healing sanctuaries of Hygieia health was evoked through contact with the divine in the inner sanctuary of the soul. Yet synchronous with these practices were medical doctors who suggested that disease was a natural occurrence and not of the god's making. Hence Hygieia eventually became associated with mental health and well being as rational medical doctors gained a stronghold on the health of the physical body.

When Hygieia is strong in a birth chart we are reminded that health is the alignment of body and soul, heart and mind, outer success and inner peace. One at the expense of the other constellates dis-ease in the temperament that may manifest as a physical symptom, mental anguish or emotional pain. Hygieia is the personification of Health who calls us into the inner sanctuary of the soul to restore health and regain equilibrium. On a divinatory level Hygieia will be chosen when the healing of a situation is imperative. Rational healing is not the only answer. It must be accompanied by attending to the root cause, which ultimately is the illness in the soul. In a psychological sense Hygieia is soul of health, the urge to attend to psyche and its needs by nurturing our deeper urges and impulses. Feeding the snakes is a metaphor for nurturing the dark and mysterious aspects of the soul and attending to the unconscious.

In astrology Hygieia represents health that is forged through the alliance of the natural with the supernatural, the right brain with the left, the inner world with the outer, the serpent with the soul. Hygieia reminds us that health is an archetypal image embedded in the psyche. When the soul is not nourished or attended it speaks through illness and disease. The placement of Hygieia by house and sign that follow are where the goddess seeks her expression in your life.

Hygieia is in Aquarius

As an archetype Hygieia symbolizes our innate urge for health and well being and in your horoscope finds her conscious expression through the qualities of Aquarius. This is a precarious placement as your urge to reconcile the ills of the group is intimately connected with your own need to be separate and distanced. The irony of this suggests that your ability to feel well and whole is reflected in your conscious ability to remain an individual, be independent and supportive of your own principles. Being firmly grounded in your own uniqueness allows you to be available to others, having exorcised the fear of losing your self in the group.

An aspect of your healing journey may lead you into associations or groups that act as healing agents for your sense of displacement or marginalisation. Aquarius is the sphere where worldly relationships are equal, whether they are colleagues, friends or associates. Brotherhood and Sisterhood is recreated through our partners, equals and kin in our worldly family. Therefore in a group, a classroom, a gathering or meeting we have the opportunity to redeem a conflicted sibling relationship, heal the loss of a dear friend or grieve for the separation from a partner. A loving friend, an encouraging colleague or supportive groups are healing agents for wounds inflicted through earlier relationships. Whether it is group therapy, a night out with the girls, or kicking the footy you will find healing grace in communal activities. Your friends come from the same spiritual tribe, share the same direction in life and carry the same hopes and wishes for the future.

Part of your journey is to gain enough autonomy to be able to feel concern and equality in all your adult relationships. No longer is equality having what the others have, but being valued as an equal individual within the group. Feeling well and happy is being independent and individualistic. You need to be part of a group of like-minded individuals but do not need to be part of a pack. Your journey towards wholeness has taken the road less traveled and ironically you feel well living on the margins and not at the center of the herd.

Hygieia is in the Second House

Feeling healthy, vigorous and strong are important in supporting your sense of personal worth and self-esteem. Not only does your attempt to maintain well being make you more secure, but you feel personally more valued and appreciated by others when you are robust and healthy. With Hygieia in the 2nd House there is a bonus and pay off for maintaining a healthy attitude towards well being. This shines through in your sense of self-esteem and personal worthiness.

It is important to recognize that there is a direct response between your sense of well being and feeling productive and worthwhile. Like others in your environment you may get stuck in a routine or caught in an unhealthy cycle of self-care; however, you will notice that every time you mobilize yourself towards a healthier lifestyle you feel more attractive and worthy. Therefore it is important you recognize that health is one of your greatest resources and each time you invest your time and energy into promoting a sense of well being the results are always productive. Health has high rewards and any investment in it pays off. The Latin poet Virgil remarked that 'The greatest wealth is health', an appropriate affirmation for this placement of Hygieia.

Hygieia in your birth chart also reflects the great resource of health and the need to invest in it for the long term. It is important to reflect on your unhealthy attitudes and habits that are draining both your resources and sense of self-esteem and consciously attempt to combat these. Some of these unhealthy habits may have developed early in life as a compensation for not feeling appreciated or valued. A concerted effort is needed to support a sense of your own value and worth through the discipline of a health regimen. Time spent in this pursuit is rewarded as you discover that well being opens you up to a greater appreciation of the world and its sensual pleasures. With improved health you will notice your five senses are much more alert and that sensual experiences are much more pleasurable.

Daughter of the great dynasty of Knossos, Ariadne's fate was overshadowed by the curse that plagued her family. In the guise of a great white bull, Zeus had abducted her grandmother Europa from Phoenicia and brought her to Crete. Her mother Pasiphae had also become enamored by a great bull. Ariadne participated in the family fate: as Pasiphae's daughter her lifeblood was impassioned and as Europa's granddaughter her destiny was to abandon her ancestral home.

Poseidon cursed Ariadne's family when her father Minos refused to sacrifice his most magnificent bull to the god. Spurned, the god aroused Pasiphae's shameful lust for the impressive bull that became embodied in her bull-son, the Minotaur, human from the shoulders down. Banished into the labyrinthine blackness below the palace Ariadne's half-brother, the Minotaur, fed on sacrificial children sent from Athens every nine years. Heroic Theseus was one of fourteen youths sent to Crete to face death at the hands of the Minotaur.

When Theseus arrived to participate in the bull games Ariadne's passions were ignited when she saw him for the first time. Beguiled by the handsome hero, Ariadne devised a plan for Theseus to slay the Minotaur and return safely through the dark tunnels of the labyrinth. For her complicity Theseus promised he would marry her and take her away to Athens. Unconscious that her fate was enmeshed with the god Dionysus and not Theseus Ariadne set upon her course to help her lover and in turn betray her family.

Through the dark labyrinthine tunnels Theseus crawled, quietly, mindful not to make sounds that would waken the sleeping Minotaur. Wrapped around his wrist was a ball of yarn, tied to the pillar at the entrance of the maze, which unravelled as he made his way through the dangerous tunnels. Ariadne's thread was the umbilical cord that connected him to the outer world and guaranteed his return after he killed the Minotaur. That evening Ariadne escaped with Theseus. In the dark Mediterranean night they set sail for a victorious return to Athens. Leaving behind her father and sacrificing her brother she surrendered to the passion that burned inside, the rapture only Aphrodite could inspire, a similar fervor that had inflamed her mother and grandmother. The next night Ariadne and her lover reached the island Naxos. Exhausted by traveling and fatigued from the emotional turmoil that had preceded their escape they collapsed into a deep sleep. But as the rays of the morning sun lit her face Ariadne awoke to discover her lover had vanished. At the edge of the shore she saw the sails of his ship in the distance. Athena had carefully woken Theseus before dawn, setting him on his course home without Ariadne. Abandoned, betrayed and used, Ariadne descended into her own complex world on the shores of Naxos.

Blinded by her passions Ariadne had been complicit in her abandonment. In betraying her family to follow her hero she had set the cycle of betrayal in motion. Projecting her heroic self onto Theseus had left her separated from her own center. Alone Ariadne was forced to connect with her internal world. At this threshold Ariadne experienced an epiphany of Aphrodite the goddess who ignited the passionate fires that led to her suffering. Appearing to Ariadne the goddess revealed her true fate: she would wed her real soul mate, the divine Dionysus. Dionysus celebrated their sacred marriage by offering Ariadne the crown as the symbol of their intimacy and eternal union.

Ariadne's myth portrays the heart's painful journey when connection to the inner self is severed and sacrificed to the lover. Ariadne followed her lover's course rather than her own internal labyrinthine journey, losing her genuine direction. Using the thread, the symbolic connection to her inner core, to serve the hero Ariadne lost contact with her own inner wisdom. Abandoned she was no longer able to define herself exclusively through a partner; therefore a more authentic sense of self could emerge. The painful process of confronting her naïve trust and blind faith in Theseus enabled her renewal and redemption. In psychological terms a more divine sense of union is possible when projections onto the other are consciously relinquished. Dionysus embodies a woman's masculine spirit enabling her to define herself in terms of her own needs and not through someone else.

When Ariadne is prominent in the birth chart she reveals the course of the heart encouraging the individual to acknowledge that the threads to their inner self are tenuous and must be honored in relationship. Ariadne celebrates a more intimate connection with the heart, whether that is through a personal relationship, a new creative endeavor or a new course of life.

In astrology Ariadne represents abandonment as an archetypal process that strips away the mind's illusions in order to hear the calling of the true self. Confronted by the painful reality of being left the individual is forced to relinquish their hopes and fantasies in order to awaken to the authentic path of the heart. Ariadne embodies the soul in relationship that must first experience the painful course of the labyrinth before a divine connection can be realized. Following is the astrological thread that Ariadne weaves through her house and sign in your horoscope.

Ariadne is in Sagittarius

You are a seeker of truth. On a mundane level you are a natural born detective, understanding the plots of stories, the motivations of most people and the trends of history. On a deeper level you are seeking spiritual truth, perhaps studying ancient and modern religions in order to assimilate your own set of beliefs. On the positive side you are likely to gain a profound understanding of world religions and philosophies.

Equality for all races may be close to your heart. Perhaps you are affected personally by racism, but you are not racist yourself. You have too much respect for the human soul. Your focus is on the bigger picture rather than color of skin or individual creeds. However, the goddess Ariadne does present a challenge. Yours is to make sure that you do not lose your own soul in your quest for spiritual wisdom. You may be tempted to give up your own beliefs in order to follow an orthodox religious life or an unorthodox guru. Alternatively you may discover profound love that takes you to a distant land, losing your connection to all that you hold dear. You run the risk of losing yourself in a labyrinth of other people's truths, of sacrificing the threads of your own life for another.

You must remain true to your own journey, or face the painstaking task of regaining your own path through life. Slowly you discover that external 'gods' are not the answer. Your truth lies within. Alone Ariadne was forced to connect with her internal world. So too, do you. Seek the silence of your own soul and thereby find your own truth. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, 'in the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.' Ariadne's truth is remaining loyal to her heart's values and ideals.

Ariadne is in the Eleventh House

Friendships are an important facet of your life, providing you with the social interaction that you eagerly seek. Business associates, work colleagues, old school friends, social clubs and special interest groups all play a role in your life. You enjoy socializing and networking, exchanging ideas with friends and associates, even taking part in a little gossip. You have a keen understanding of human nature, particularly group dynamics. You may work in a field that requires skills such as strategizing and diplomacy. For this reason the labyrinthine halls of politics may spark your interest, whether this means joining a local special interest group committee, advising a political member or running for a government position yourself.

The challenge of this placement of the goddess Ariadne is to overcome the tendency to lose you in a maze of commitments to friends and colleagues. Perhaps you are too keen to get involved in your friend's lives. Sometimes there is a fine line between caring and meddling. Your interest in other people may be hampering your ability to self-regulate your own life. On the other hand perhaps a friend or colleague has betrayed you, leaving you with the sense that you have wasted your time on others. Perhaps this also prompts you to realize that you have put far too much effort into your social life. You then decide that you need to spend some time on your own, isolated from the demands of associates. You begin the process required to discover your own dreams and wishes, rather than spending your time supporting the aspirations of other people.

Ironically once you have discovered your own callings you are likely to again work with groups; however, now you are well aware that the threads to your inner self are tenuous and must be honored in all friendships. Your interactions with others bring a sense of peace and fulfillment. In your worldly associations you once again rekindle the earlier bonds you had with a brother or sister which help in the healing of past wounds.

Underneath the Cretan palace of Knossos hidden in a labyrinthine chamber lived a bull-man, the Minotaur, the shameful shadow of the Minoan clan. Two generations earlier the story began when Zeus shape-shifted into a beautiful white bull to seduce a young Phoenician princess named Europa. Like the gods of the old religion Zeus took the shape of a virile and magnificent bull to mesmerize the innocent girl who was unaware that her destiny would instigate the founding of two great dynasties as well as the continent named for the virgin Zeus had abducted.

Europa had been playing in a field gathering spring flowers to make garlands when she became enthralled by a large charismatic bull that meandered into the meadow. Possessed with desire to know the bull, she moved closer. Zeus, the bull-god, knelt before her gently beckoning Europa onto his back. She dared to climb upon him, and then slowly he took her step-by-step across the meadow towards the sea. With the power of a great god, the bull strode the waves across the sea to Crete. Europa clung tightly to the powerful bull, as she rode farther and farther away from her homeland. Zeus had made his conquest. He took Europa as his lover, fathering three children by her; one was Minos the founder of the Cretan dynasty.

Europa's father summoned his sons and instructed them to search for their sister and not to return home until the task had been accomplished. Cadmus set out on the quest, eventually journeying to Delphi to ask the oracle where he could find his sister. The oracle advised Cadmus to relinquish the quest for his sister, as his fate was to found the city of Thebes, not find his sister. In order to find the location of Thebes, he must follow a cow until it came to a place where it would lay down due to exhaustion. Europa had been abducted by a god disguised as a bull; her brother Cadmus is led by a cow to his destiny. Both siblings' destiny is to found a great dynasty guided by the commanding and enterprising bovine instinct. Like the zodiacal sign of Taurus the bull symbolizes inherent resource and power and the ability to either cultivate land or build structures that create wealth.

Europa's son Minos claimed the throne of Crete with the blessing of the god Poseidon, his great grandfather who offered him a gift from the sea. A sacred white bull majestically arose out of the ocean and Minos promised to return it to the god in sacrifice. However, the bull was so regal and powerful, Minos decided not to sacrifice the majestic bull but substitute it for a prized white bull from his own herd. Outraged at the deceit, the earth-shaker Poseidon cursed the Minoan dynasty provoking Pasiphae, Minos' wife, to be sexually obsessed with the beautiful god-like bull. Her craving led to her becoming pregnant with her monstrous son, the Minotaur. Minos' greed and failure to respect the laws of the gods produced a monster that had to be buried beneath the surface of the family in the labyrinthine dungeons of the palace. Buried shame or repression lurking under the atmosphere of the family home eventually surfaces through the next generations. This became evident through the fate of Europa's granddaughters daughters Ariadne and Phaedra. The myth the Greeks retold was a variant of a much earlier motif when the bull was consort of the earth goddess. Europa is the ancient goddess whose earthy instinct is powerful and resourceful. Europa heralds contact with the ancient feminine instincts that generate the power to create abundance.

Throughout the myth of Europa the bull image reoccurs. It is a multi-dimensional symbol of earthy passions, desires, magnetism, wealth and potency whose shadow is greed and lust. The Great Bull of Heaven was an image of archaic power, fertility and enterprise. The appearance of the heavenly bull of Taurus heralded spring when the bountiful Earth became carpeted with wildflowers and the cycle of courtship began. The great bull is engaging and charismatic constellating the generative power of the feminine. Aphrodite who symbolizes the beauty, sensuality and attractiveness of this archetype is the persuasive erotic power that draws Europa, Pasiphae, Ariadne and Phaedra into her domain. Europa embodies the wealth and majesty of the bull, its earthy passions and its worldly triumphs.

Europa, as the bull-goddess, reclaims the power to construct and direct the course of her own life. When she is prominent in a birth chart it suggests the individual's present course is to construct a solid foundation that will secure the rapid growth of resources.

In astrology Europa embodies the ability to ride the bull, harness its power and give birth to its resourceful creativity. Innately she is the image of feminine power, guidance and direction. Embodying earthy instincts she knows how to cultivate the earth and create abundance through her passionate, attractive and commanding nature. How she finds expression in your life is explored through the goddess Europa's placement in your horoscope, as follows.

Europa is in Libra

There is a part of you that longs for divine experiences - through love, the arts, spiritual pursuits, the intellect or anything that provides an escape from the daily grind of life. As a result it is very easy for you to be swept away by your passion for another person. You fall in love and give your heart to your lover. You immerse yourself in every word and deed of your loved one. Only the most sublime poetry can capture your feelings of devotion. This is both wonderful and alarming at the same time. . The experience of losing yourself in love is exhilarating while the romance lasts. However, as author and poet T S Elliott says, once the romance has faded you then need to come down to earth and assess your relationship. It is possible that you can then form a loving and lasting bond. If this is the case then you are one of the lucky ones finding true love with a supportive mate. However, in some cases you suffer rejection and you find that you have lost an important component of yourself. Your self-esteem is adversely affected. It feels as though your loved one has walked away, taking a vital part of you with them. Then you are faced with the task of re-establishing your relationship with yourself.

Like Europa the partner who seduces you away from your secure surrounds may also introduce you to a new world of wonder and possibilities. It might be through the auspices of someone else that you are called to where you need to be. For you some relationships need to be transitional to set in motion your destiny. In fact this process of annihilation and rebuilding through love is a significant process of growth. At times you may feel lost without the love that sustains you, but you are forced to expand your self-knowledge and your horizons each time. Once you have established a strong and loving partnership, then you are likely to seek this growth through a passion for the arts, beauty, counseling, diplomacy, fashion or anything that sparks your aesthetic interest. You may pursue an academic career, publish a work that inspires others or travel to foreign lands.

Europa is in the Tenth House

Europa, as the bull-goddess, claims the power to construct and direct the course of her own life. You claim the same power. This power may have first been evident in your family system where success and influence were important. This prominent placement of the goddess Europa indicates that you are determined to construct a solid professional foundation. Your career and your status in the community are of utmost importance. This includes your marital status and your role as a parent. All of these things are paramount.

You are a solid citizen of the world, likely to have conservative values, although this will depend on other facets of your birth chart. You may be distracted from your professional goals once in your lifetime, but you quickly reclaim your own independence. Your decisions are likely to be made with careful consideration of the long-term consequences and benefits. You do not live for the "quick fix" but rather enjoy the process of planning, working and achieving.

You are likely to seek a marriage partner who supports and enhances your career choices. Your friends are also likely to be important social contacts, associates who add to your status. You do not suffer fools gladly when it comes to your career and your lifelong goals. You do need to be wary of becoming too ambitious, working at the expense of your private life. You need to also seek spiritual values, as well as material ones. Otherwise you could run out of energy and breakdown, forcing a reassessment of your life goals.

Learn to see the beauty in your work, listen to your heart as well as your mind and kindle the creative fires. Ask yourself questions such as, 'how can I be of service to others through my work?' As US President John F Kennedy once said, 'Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.' Then you really experience the joy that comes from a higher sense of purpose.

Pandora's story was written eight centuries before Christ in the epoch when gender roles were rigidly defined. Yet the mythic plot echoes timeless motifs, even ones used in contemporary science fiction. In Greek myth Pandora is the first woman, mother of all mortal women, created by the gods to assert their superiority over mankind. Cast as a femme fatale, a 'beautiful evil', she possesses a jar filled with toxins designed to pollute the race of mankind. Alluring, yet dangerous, Pandora represents a vestige of the ancient goddess culture threatening the emergent patriarch. Yet she also transports an indelible gift from the goddess embedded at the bottom of the urn.

Three centuries later her myth was carved on the marble base underpinning the spectacular cult statue of Athena. When designing the Parthenon and its decorations the Athenians chose the myth of Pandora to be the motif at Athena's feet. On the pedestal of the colossal statue suppliants to Athena were reminded of the creation of the first woman and the plagues she brought to bear on humanity, a striking contrast to Athena who brought victory and pride to the Greeks. Like Athena Pandora's birth was unusual. Fashioned out of the earth at the command of Zeus, Pandora was the instrument designed to punish mankind for the unsanctioned possession of fire stolen by Prometheus.

Zeus was furious when Prometheus stole fire from heaven, smuggling it in a fennel stalk and distributing it to mankind. With the theft the distance between man and god narrowed, as fire was the alchemical agent that would refine raw materials and promote the development of mankind. As the human race developed there would be less need for the gods. Zeus' revenge was to send a 'gift' to man that would counterbalance the profit mankind gained from using fire. To date men had lived without evil in a golden age, which now would come to an end through the guile of a beautiful woman.

Zeus instructed the smith-god Hephaestus to fashion a beautiful maiden resembling a goddess out of clay and water. Athena was to teach the phantom how to weave a web, Aphrodite was instructed to make her seductive and Hermes, the trickster-god, was to teach her how to be deceitful. Adorned with beautiful garments from the Charities, Zeus breathed life into Pandora, who was given as a gift to Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus. In her hands she carried an intricately designed urn, the dowry Zeus had given her. Shut inside it was all the evils, storms and plagues that bring misfortune to mankind. Instructed not to accept any gifts from Zeus, Epimetheus became enchanted by the beautiful Pandora and forgot his brother's warning. Pandora opened the jar and before she could close the lid disease, old age, pain, toil, death and all the other ills that plague humanity spilled out. When she was finally able to seal the jar nothing remained except Hope, trapped at the bottom. In their benevolence the gods had insured an antidote for suffering. Pandora offers hope when all else has failed.

The myth of Pandora was included in Greek literature synchronous with the time that the myth of Eve appeared in Jewish writings. In both myths Pandora and Eve become the patriarchal scapegoat for all of humanity's troubles aligning feminine power with evil. This mythic misogyny defines the time when masculine values were dominant and feminine values were denigrated, even demonised. Pandora and Eve became the composite projection of evil, blamed for their lack of foresight, chaos and feelings. Underlying the mythic stratagem was a motif from an earlier period when goddess culture was dominant.

In Greek Pandora translates into 'all gifts' and her entry into Greek myth suggested this name because the gods of Olympus each gave her a gift. However, this mythic thread is probably an inversion from earlier goddess culture when Pandora may have referred to the goddess giving gifts. Gift giving became an essential component of Greek culture and this inverted fragment reminds us of the abundant side of the goddess who offers us the cornucopia of plenty. Pandora is born of the earth like Gaia, supplying the gifts of life. And the gift of life she brings that cannot be destroyed is Hope. On a psychological level hope is the mechanism that breathes life into the soul after it has been bruised and deflated.

Pandora emerges at a critical time historically and psychologically. She enters Greek myth when the goddess culture has waned and been rejected and man is no longer in favor with the gods. Psychologically Pandora appears to offer hope in devastating times. She brings a powerful gift that cannot be destroyed by life's ills. Hope is the life force that survives the disaster evoking images of healing and improvement. When Pandora is prominent in a birth chart she confronts us to delve into the deepest part of ourselves to tap the reservoir of faith. Having survived the projections and denigration of the other, Pandora resurrects life once again through the auspices of hope.

In astrology Pandora reminds us that embedded in every disaster is the gift of renewal through the auspices of faith and hope. Illness, destruction, old age and pain are part of feminine wisdom and this knowledge stands in direct contrast to masculine fantasies of a Golden Age and Garden of Eden. How she enters our life is reflected in the placement of the goddess. Descriptions of the goddess by house and sign in your horoscope are next.

Pandora is in Pisces

You are on a mission to serve humanity, or save the world. How you try to do this depends on other aspects of your birth chart, but you are determined to do good deeds throughout your life. The only problem is that your efforts seem to backfire. In your innocence you seem to unwittingly stir up trouble in the most unlikely places. The goddess Pandora was expressly forbidden to open the box and yet she did. Her innocent curiosity led to disaster.

In the same way you have good intentions, but they are not enough. You give to charity, take part in humanitarian causes, care for small animals and children and work in a carefully chosen career. Nevertheless the feeling that your efforts are at best leading to nothing, and at worst are causing more problems than they solve overwhelms you. You are an agent of change who affects those around her. Whether you are aware of it or not you have a strong impact on the environment around you.

Perhaps everyday politics is threatening your effectiveness or maybe you are not being honest about your true feelings. Mother Theresa did not care for the sick purely from a sense of duty, or by ignoring the politics. She had a sense of joy and duty. She embraced the harsh realities of her work as offering a greater expression of her love of God. In doing so she offered hope of a better world to the people under her care and the rest of the world. Your challenge is to embrace your heartfelt passion and trust that your efforts are also offering hope. You may feel pitiful and hopeless, but in fact you are able to offer hope to others. In particular you may be an excellent healer, teacher, preacher, counselor, child caregiver and animal rights campaigner. Charitable institutions may also offer an outlet for your compassionate nature. Prayer and meditation may uplift you in times of trouble.

Pandora is in the Third House

From the moment you were born you were curious about the world around you. You may have been advanced in your childhood development. If you ask your parents and mentors about yourself as a youngster they are likely to regale you with stories of your early learning abilities, your responsiveness and your ability to chatter non-stop. Your ability to ask questions has never changed. You are quite determined to learn and understand a wide range of subjects. In fact you are a living example of the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'. Your inquisitive nature has always led you into troubled waters. You just can't seem to help asking questions and making certain choices that lead you into unknown territories. As a child you may have provided many memorable adventures for you and your siblings. Your colleagues, friends and relatives may warn you but that doesn't stop you. You make up your own mind and then follow through ever hopeful of a positive outcome.

You enjoy a challenge, particularly one that stretches your intellectual ability. Mazes, puzzles and mystery books all appeal. On a larger scale psychology, psychiatry, choreography, education, policy and language may be attractive. Your intellectual responses are sharpened through lively conversation, thought-provoking discussion and stimulating debates.

The positive side of your insatiable curiosity and determination is that as an adult, you are a born advocate, speaking up on behalf of yourself, your siblings and your neighbors. You ask the difficult questions and demand the answers no matter how much trouble this may cause. You know that the short-term consequences are likely to be difficult but you are seeking the long-term benefits. Results are what count even if the path to achieving your goals is a little bumpy. This means that you can be an inspirational advocate and public speaker, representing the less powerful members of your community. You also have the ability to be a sympathetic and wise counselor, unafraid of facing the truth no matter how traumatic other people's stories turn out to be. You are ever hopeful of overcoming intellectual hurdles and healing matters of the heart through empathy, sharing stories and offering compassionate understanding. As a result you offer hope to many people in your vicinity.

The faculty of memory was so important to the ancients that it was personified as a goddess. In Greek cosmogony Mnemosyne was the daughter of Uranus and Gaia, a pre-Olympian goddess who characterized Memory. Being one of the original deities Mnemosyne is the custodian of memory before the advent of writing, literacy, books, recordings and computers. She embodies the voice of an oral culture that communicates from the soul through stories, pictures, metaphors and body language. Mnemosyne finds her voice through the poetry of images revealing her memoirs through a dream, a feeling, a response, a longing or a sudden thought that darts into consciousness. Embedded in the fragments of a song, a myth, or a fairy tale linger ancient truths that awaken the goddess. Dwelling in the soul Mnemosyne unexpectedly arouses memory through our senses and bodily reactions.

To the ancient Greeks memory was a goddess residing in the heart. Memory was soulful, an aspect of psyche that was creative and evocative and the ancients also saw the goddess as mother of the Muses. Goddess culture honored her form through three phases and originally Mnemosyne was celebrated through the Muses of meditation, memory and song. In early myth the Muses were the triune aspect of memory who inspired poetry and song. As rational science and beliefs began to emerge the seat of memory began to shift to the brain, aligning memory with a more logical and calculating experience rendering Mnemosyne a passive goddess who collected and stored life's impressions. Later myth suggested there were nine muses. Zeus visited Mnemosyne for nine nights and was the father of her nine daughters, the Muses, the inspiration and manifestation of the soul of memory. As mistresses of healing and prophecy the Muses inspired and taught others to contact a deeper knowing through their imagination and creativity which guarded the wellspring of memory. As custodians of the arts each had a sphere of influence which they inspired and animated with ancient images and recollections. History, Music, Comedy, Tragedy, Choral Dance and Song, Lyric Poetry, Religious Dance, Astronomy and Epic Poetry were the personifications of the ancient goddess of memory. Apollo, lord of the rational sphere, became their guardian and leader.

Memory's daughters are the muses, the ones who inspire and enchant the soul. Through her and her daughters we are able to engage in weaving the fragments of memory together to evoke meaning. Mnemosyne reminds us to remember the ancient ways. The goddess of Memory is not just a passive recorder of experience and events but a poetic and heart-rending process that inspires the imagination. Mnemosyne re-collects the emotional experiences, feelings and impressions of our life. She is the archive of all that we have tasted, touched, wanted, smelt and felt. Her memories are stored in the psyche as images, symbols, feelings, impressions and instincts or become imprinted in the body, in the adrenal or olfactory glands, the tension in the muscles, allergies and illnesses. Mnemosyne is rhythmic and reflective, not linear, evoking dreams, images, songs that give continuity to our life's narrative. Memory and imagination are woven together when Mnemosyne and her daughters are aroused.

To the ancients the sacred sanctuary of Mnemosyne and the Muses was the museum. These ancient shrines dedicated to the goddess ceded to the structures we know today as museums where we house the great works of the imagination. On an inner level the museum is the sphere of Mnemosyne where impressions and feelings from the past are evoked in the present situation.

In astrology Mnemosyne, the goddess, helps us remember images and impressions from previous phases of our life in order to give meaning, context and insight into these experiences. She acts as a loosening agent, allowing buried complexes, taboo feelings, repressed memories to breathe again to find some place in the sunlight of consciousness. She connects passages of time together. Links can be made back to times in the previous cycle allowing space for the process of reflection and musing. Following is a report of how Mnemosyne brings the muse into your life experience.

Mnemosyne is in Virgo

Sometimes the world is a troubling place. You see disease, pestilence, natural disasters and wars and realize that humanity has learnt little from history. You wonder why people have failed to remember the consequences of past misdeeds. As such you can find that the troubles of the world get you down unless you create diversions. You need to talk to others, share your thoughts and opinions in order to resolve inner conflict. Good mental health depends on your ability to communicate with others, create artistic diversions and find some meaning in your own life, as well as world affairs. Music can also play a key role in healing your troubled soul. The harmonies and lyrics of favorite songs can instantly uplift you from depressing thoughts and feelings. You have a love of words, but more so you have a love of the way in which these words are communicated. Poetry, choreography, and creative design are just a few of the activities that inspire the best in you. You are more likely to be the choreographer or stage manager rather than the artiste. You may work in the office of an artistic organization rather than stand in the spotlight.

Nevertheless you are inspired by the arts. You may also be interested in patterns. This interest can range from something as simple as a knitting pattern to solving a more complicated mathematical problem. Reading detective novels and solving murder mysteries may also appeal. You are sensitive to your immediate environment, to the extent that your immune system may sometimes be challenged. Dwelling in the soul Mnemosyne unexpectedly arouses memory through our senses and bodily reactions. Therefore you are likely to enjoy massage, aromatherapy and other healing modalities. You may also be interested in conventional medicine, but it is more likely to be connected to a fascination for rare diseases, x-rays or anything that presents or solves a health dilemma. You are interested in configurations, synchronicity, mysteries and collating evidence.

You recognize that there is a grand design, a destiny for humanity and yet you need to concentrate on your own gifts. You tend to get caught up in details, remembering all of the little things that need doing, rather than seeing how you can contribute to the big picture. Hence you feel overwhelmed by the world at large. You are also very critical, recalling all of the things that have been done wrong rather than concentrating on the connections. Criticism has its place, but you need to be wary of being too harsh on yourself and others. Learn to relax, remember the good times and focus on your artistic goals. You have a real gift for creating connections, either in arts and crafts or in linking people with common interests. You may also have an excellent memory for figures. The goddess Mnemosyne asks you to lighten up and share the good times, use your gifts as a service to others in your personal life, and humanity as a whole.

Mnemosyne is in the Ninth House

History, Music, Comedy, Tragedy, Choral Dance and Song, Lyric Poetry, Religious Dance, Astronomy and Epic Poetry were the personifications of the ancient goddess of memory. These lofty subjects are likely to be significant during the course of your life. You may study or teach these subjects or others such as philosophy, the arts and religion. As a poet or writer you may inspire others. The goddess Mnemosyne is sometimes credited with being the first philosopher, her gift the power of reason. Even if you are considered an emotional person, you do possess the power of reason, the power to rise above your problems through philosophy, religion or travel.

You may travel to another country during your lifetime, either for an extended holiday or to live. Either way the travel provides valuable experiences and memories, which you draw on for creative and spiritual sustenance. You have a real flare for understanding world events from different perspectives. Therefore you may be less patriotic than some of your colleagues, preferring to see humanity as a global community rather than adhering to one country's stand. If you are not in a position to travel to foreign lands then you enjoy friends from varying backgrounds. Culture is important to you and you enjoy hearing stories from other backgrounds, particularly those passed down through the ages. The culture of your own country, or an adopted one, plays a prominent role in shaping your personal, philosophical and political beliefs.

Academically speaking, archaeology, anthropology, classics, fine arts, history and astronomy may hold a special appeal. On a more mundane level you may simply enjoy collecting postcards, stamps or books on foreign cultures and religions. Music and dance are also likely to provide you with the ability to escape from any drudgery in your life. Music is the language of the universe, and you believe in its power to provoke meaning and substance. Dance is a way to express yourself in a carefree and imaginative way. Imagination is an important component of understanding yourself and the world at large. The goddess Mnemosyne is inspiring you to expand your world constantly through the study and teaching of the truths that connect all humans, no matter where or how they live.

Hecate became associated with the dark phase of triple goddess who embraced the spheres of heaven (Selene), earth (Artemis) and underworld (Persephone). Her initial association with the underworld was as an attendant to Persephone. It was Hecate who heard Persephone's screams when Hades dragged her down into the netherworld. Hecate was also present when Hermes escorted Persephone out of the underworld. As a guardian of the threshold Hecate witnessed Persephone's descent and release. Her cave is located between the earth and the underworld confirming Hecate's role as an intermediary, bound to neither world but in between both.

As a threshold goddess Hecate is encountered when the paths of our lives converge and we are uncertain which fork in the road to follow. Throughout antiquity she was worshipped at the intersection of roads and by Roman times she was known as Hecate Trivia, the goddess of the three ways. On the night of the New Moon pots of food were left at the crossroads as votive offerings to the goddess. 'Hecate's suppers' honored the transition of one lunar cycle to the next on the night that the old month ended. Statues with three bodies and three heads were erected at crossroads for travelers to leave offerings and say prayers to Hecate for guidance across an important threshold.

At transitional spaces where paths converged travelers would pass from one world into another, therefore crossroads became associated with spirits and shades. Hecate became aligned with ghosts and hallucinations as the ancient Greeks attributed the power to conjure up the dead and the phantoms of the imagination with her. Known as the leader of souls she was associated with magic, divination and contact with the shades of the dead. By the classical period Hecate had become affiliated with witchcraft and magic, known as the goddess of ghosts and night terrors. Her companions were dogs. As guardians of thresholds and instinctually able to trace a scent hounds represented Hecate's instinctual wisdom. By later antiquity Hecate had become the patroness of witchcraft.

Hecate's triple aspect was also reflected in the phases of the Moon. As 'Mistress of the Moon' Hecate governed its dark phase. Sappho called her the 'Queen of the Night' and as a light bearer she often carried two torches. Knowing the wisdom of cycles and their triune phases of birth, death and rebirth the lunar goddess also represented the menstrual crossroads in a woman's life cycle. As a birth goddess she was an intermediary figure not only for souls departing their body but also for souls entering a new one. Hecate appears at the threshold of change in women's lives as she enters a new phase of the life cycle. As a lunar goddess associated with fertility rites she is aware of the richness of the dark and hidden treasures. In her dual role as guardian of the threshold and Queen of the Night she knows that every decision taken at the crossroads must come from a deeper level of soul.

Since her early depiction in epic Hecate has become denigrated, often portrayed as a negative and a dangerous demon of the dark. Disassociated from the totality of the lunar cycle she has become identified only with its dark phase. Fear of the dark, death and the underworld were projected onto Hecate who represented the dismembered connection to the feminine wisdom of cycles. Her ancient myth reminds us of her perpetual role as an intermediary and attendant at the crossroads. We meet her on the precipice of change, at crossroads, on doorways, in transition. During these times of initiation Hecate helps us to accept our disorientation between two ways of being.

When the goddess Hecate is prominent in a birth chart she depicts the area in which we are at crossroads in our lives. Time can sometimes seem suspended while we reorient ourselves to a new way of being. Confusion, loss and disconnection are natural moods during this phase as we let go of what has been in order to greet what may be. By house position Hecate would suggest where you will encounter her in your life; by sign she colors your life with magic and mystery. Following are the astrological descriptions where Hecate enters your experience.

Hecate is in Taurus

The power of the goddess Hecate and the sign of Taurus combine to give you a heightened appreciation of sensuality and beauty. You could be a priest or priestess reminding the rest of humanity of the importance of the great mother earth, as well the beauty of the universe. You love to gaze at the night sky, noticing the brightness of the stars and mapping out the phases of the Moon. You also delight in the blue hue of the daytime sky, as well as the varying weather patterns. When you reach a crossroads in your life you are easily soothed by nature.

However, you mostly reach out to those less fortunate than yourself. You are compassionate, noticing when someone is in pain. In fact you may have difficulty communicating on a superficial level because of your heightened sensitivity to the spirit world. You may see and feel things that other people seem not to notice. You are a healer, who can see what is out of order and knows how to mend tribulations. You can inspire those who have broken down under the weight of physical, emotional, mental or spiritual ailments. Being well versed in the feminine arts you are likely to enjoy cooking and nurturing those around you with medicinal recipes. Your ability to be in contact with nature is a healing balm for yourself and others.

Like the goddess Hecate you can call on the spirit world to assist those in trouble. The Angelic realms are nearby. On a spiritual level you know the healing power of prayer and meditation. On the physical plane you understand the curative potential of touch. It is an automatic response for you to touch others, particularly animals and people when you sense that they are in pain. You connect through the sense of touch. You are also very sensitive to the other senses, including the sixth sense - the psychic realm. You are practical and yet spiritual and this is a potent combination. You need to be wary of taking your gifts for granted, and also need to avoid the dark arts. Witchcraft can be white or black. You may deal with at least one crossroads in your life when you need to choose between good and evil or your head and your heart. Make sure that you respect other people's artistic deeds, needs for healing and autonomy. Otherwise your desire to control situations could backfire. The goddess Hecate is urging you to focus on your gifts and what you can give, not what you are likely to gain. You need to continually overcome any personal hurts and slights, and to use your gift to improve the quality of life.

Hecate is in the Fourth House

There is likely to be at least one strong woman who has had authority during your childhood, a woman whose experiences have shaped your life. Perhaps your mother underwent a crisis during your childhood, and you learnt at a young age how to cope with family crises. It is also possible that your father initiated the crisis and that your early childhood home constantly changed, shape shifting to accommodate the needs of your father. Your mother played a central part in the drama of the family. She is either a powerful figure in her own right, or somewhat resentful of the authority influenced by your father. Power is a parental issue that echoes the ancient time when masculine standards began to dominate the values held by the goddess. You are aware of this conflict and work hard to uphold the values of the goddess. The details of this early childhood scenario are influenced by other factors in your birth chart. Nevertheless your family plays a prominent role in shaping your early life.

You are likely to have strong values attached to your family members, perhaps even a sense of responsibility for looking after individual members, or the family as a whole. You are the linchpin in your immediate family. You share your knowledge, help others through crises and perhaps even tend to the sick with herbs and medicine. You are concerned for the well being of your relatives, whether close or extended family. You may also be the one who visits the graveyards of deceased family members. For you these graveyards may be comforting as they allow you to be in touch with those you loved.

Your friends also become part of your family. You open your home to friends in need, and provide shelter those who are at a crossroads in their lives. Your home becomes a safe haven for those who are outcast, troubled or at a turning point. You need to marry someone who shares your family values. Otherwise you are likely to experience conflict, rather than harmony, in your own home. Your family values come from a place deep within. You are driven by a spiritual need to connect with your family. This is not a superficial matter. The goddess Hecate is a powerful influence in this sphere of your birth chart. Your roots can be traced far back into your family, and you feel a powerful urge to protect those who come into this sphere.

Cassandra stood on the walls of Troy and watched Paris' ship enter the harbor. Her brother had returned from Sparta having seduced Helen away from her homeland to bring her to live in Troy as his wife. With the blessings of Aphrodite Paris and his lover Helen had snuck away from her palace undetected and sailed across the Aegean to Asia Minor. A dark cloud shrouded the ship as it anchored. When Cassandra watched her brother and Helen disembark and approach the city gates she was flooded with images of Troy's destruction, filling her with an ominous and terrible feeling. Possessed by this eerie perception she uttered a warning to the crowd that was gathered at the gates to welcome the couple. From deep inside she divined the future: Helen's entrance into the city would lead to its destruction. Ignoring Cassandra and her prophecy the crowds turned away to welcome the new royal couple into their city. Time and time again her message was rejected and ridiculed. Ten years later a similar scenario would unfold. Cassandra would warn the Trojans not to accept the wooden horse into their city. Once again no one would heed her accurate predictions. The Greeks, angry at Helen's abduction, sacked Troy and left the city in ashes.

Cassandra was one of the daughters of the royal family of Troy, a sister to both Paris and Hector and twinned to her brother, Helenus. When the twins were infants they accompanied their parents to the temple of Apollo to celebrate a festival in honor of the oracular god. During the ritual the twins fell into a deep sleep. Two temple snakes slithered into their basket as they slept and bit them on their ears injecting the gift (or poison) of prophecy into them. From that day both Cassandra and Helenus were known for their prophetic nature.

Having the gift of sight Cassandra entered the temple to serve Apollo being called to her vocation as his Pythia, the voice of the oracular god. However, Apollo fell in love with her and demanded she reciprocate his desire. But Cassandra refused to consummate the relationship preferring to worship the god in spirit, not body. Enraged Apollo found a way to avenge her rejection. Knowing he could not retract the gift of prophecy that he had given her when she was so young he cursed her so no one would ever believe her prophecies. The god begged her for one kiss and Cassandra consented. As she opened her mouth to kiss the god Apollo breathed his curse into her insuring others would no longer value her prophetic vision. He turned his back on her, condemning Cassandra to see the perilous future yet never able to be understood or believed. Cassandra, cursed by the narcissistic god for rejecting him, was later violently assaulted by Ajax upon the altar of Athena when the Greeks were ransacking Troy. After the sack of Troy the leader of the Greek fleet Agamemnon took her as his slave back to his palace of Mycenae. As she approached the mammoth walled city her images of destruction became more and more intense. Racked by the violent visions she screamed a warning for Agamemnon to not enter the palace foreseeing his brutal murder at the hands of his wife. In her heart she also knew that entering the city with him would result in her own death.

Cassandra personifies the medial woman whose intuitive faculties and understanding of the unconscious patterns are not welcomed in an ordered rational society. She sees what others are too fearful to see and exposes the inevitable patterns that underpin the situation. In an atmosphere of control and denial Cassandra is marginalized and demeaned becoming the projective reflection of the fear of chaos and uncertainty. Disbelief and ignorance render her wisdom impotent. When dark feelings, dread or grief are repressed in the atmosphere Cassandra is the medium of their expression. Her curse is that she is not identified with her feelings leaving her misunderstood and marginalized. Her feelings, identified by others as autonomous ravings, isolate her. Cassandra is able to sense what is taboo and unlived but unable to remain separate from it.

Cassandra represents the archetype of medial knowledge. Unlike the ancient world there are no longer sanctuaries or sacred places to honor her way of knowing. She reflects the need to be aware of our medial skills and intuitive knowledge and seek training to help strengthen the ability to use this skill and not be overwhelmed by it. When Cassandra appears prominently she encourages the individual to find a voice for the medium through understanding the symbols, images, signs and omens of unconscious language. She embodies the ancient ways of knowing in a culture that no longer values prophecy and divination. Her knowledge is not objective but oracular. To embrace Cassandra we must abandon logic, separateness and rationality and enter into the irrational world where meaning is revealed through feeling and connectedness. However, Cassandra reminds us that in a scientific and ordered society our knowing may be rejected. Cassandra encourages us to have the strength of our convictions and a strong and healthy identity about our beliefs.

Oracular knowing springs out of the collective through an unconscious and unbound participation with everything in the environment. When boundaries are blurred and the veil between the worlds is lifted we enter into a participation mystique with the spirits of the world beyond us and may be called to act as a vessel for their message. Cassandra in your horoscope reveals where you are sensitive to the pattern of the goddess. Following are the placements of Cassandra in your horoscope by house and sign.

Cassandra is in Capricorn

Former US President Abraham Lincoln once asked: 'Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?" This is the wisdom of a stable and powerful leader. You have the ability to follow in this man's footsteps if you don't get too caught up in vying with your peers for authority. From a young age, you understand the need for hierarchies in society, but you may try to talk your way to the top of ladder before the time is right. Your urge for supremacy needs to make way for equality. If you can maintain an egalitarian attitude then you are able to be a wise leader in your field and in your immediate circle of friends and family. You may enter politics or business, but it is likely that becoming a leader in the arts or metaphysics also attracts you.

As a youngster other people may have misunderstood your mannerisms and ways of thinking. Hence you may withdraw into a world of your own or learn to disguise your true thoughts. As you mature, you learn to choose your words wisely and develop a strong sense of right and wrong. You understand the nature of cause and effect. In other words you understand that actions have consequences. You develop strength of character. Another, more contemporary politician J C Watts said: 'Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught.'

The goddess Cassandra in the sign of Capricorn in a woman's chart can indicate that you prefer to rely on your own powers of discernment rejecting patriarchy. Depending on other aspects of your birth chart you may be a real rebel against authority, speaking out for women's rights through the arts or politics. On the other hand you may be a conservative and yet powerful leader. Whichever way this destiny leans your voice is a public cry for respect and equality. Women like Oprah Winfrey or Amelia Earhart who have this placement have used the voice of the goddess in their unique way.

In a man's chart this placement of the goddess Cassandra can indicate that you form a strong bond with a powerful woman, one who enables you to achieve a prominent position in society as long as you respect her wise counsel. The voice of the collective feminine reverberates through your professional life.

Cassandra is in the First House

This is a prominent placement of Cassandra. On the positive side Cassandra in the first house of your birth chart means that you are insightful and visionary. As a young child you have a love of knowledge which continues to blossom as you grow older. This is more likely to be in arts subjects rather than in logical or scientific fields. The classics, the origins of language, history, the dramatic arts and other such topics are all likely to appeal. You are a good student because you have an enquiring mind, and you can become an expert once you have gained an understanding of a subject. This can be disconcerting to others when you are young. As you grow older your authority is more likely to be accepted.

Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy and yet was hindered by a curse that meant that others didn't listen to her insights. As such you may sometimes feel misunderstood. You enjoy talking. Some would even say that you enjoy talking a little too much. However, you believe in sharing your insights with your colleagues, friends and family. Others may not always listen and take note. This may or may not concern you. However, you do need to learn the art of choosing your words and your audience carefully if you truly want to be a force to be reckoned with in your personal or professional life. Once you have learned to discern what to say and to whom then you are likely to become a powerful orator. Your gifts can also be used to speak on behalf of those less able to speak up for themselves. You can become an advocate, teacher, public speaker or peacemaker. You may also be an actor, someone who truly delights in the use of words on stage.
In a woman's birth chart this placement of the goddess Cassandra can sometimes depict a strong attachment to a man with different values, a man who does not recognize your true gifts. You would be wise to search within for your own values, to listen to your own "voice" rather than adopt the truths of another. Otherwise you are likely to lose your way. As long as you follow your own counsel then you are likely to be a powerful spokesperson for those less fortunate, perhaps an advocate for women's rights.

In a man's chart this placement of the goddess Cassandra can indicate that you form a strong bond with powerful woman. You have the good judgment to listen to this woman and follow her advice, which brings great rewards for your life journey.

Medea, a princess of Colchis, was known as the 'wise one' for her skill of healing and proficiency at using drugs and herbs. Colchis, which gives its name to Colchicum, the meadow saffron, was a kingdom on the Eastern shores of the Black Sea, considered a foreign, barbaric land through the eyes of a civilized Greece. Medea's ancestors were linked to both the sun and healing long before Apollo became the god associated with these realms. Helios, Medea's grandfather, was the Sun god of the old order, born a Titan's son. Her aunt Circe was a sorceress, a magician, herbalist and healer who knew the ancient ways of plants and spices and how to cast spells. Circe had trained Medea as a young woman in the arts of sorcery, magic and herbalism, teaching her how to mix potions, direct spells and rearrange matter. Medea was also a priestess in the temple of Hecate, honoring the goddess of the dark night and magic. Hecate guided her instincts. As a medical intuitive she knew the magical properties of herbs, the appropriate plants for healing, homeopathic tinctures and the process of preparing and administering these remedies in her caldron. As the surrogate of Hecate Medea knew the timing of the lunar cycle and how to draw down the moon when ritual and ceremony was needed.

However, Medea was unable to withstand the unholy alliance of the goddesses Hera and Athena who petitioned Aphrodite to conspire with them and cause the princess to fall in love with Jason. Medea became enchanted by Eros and fell in love with the Greek hero, who had come to Colchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Medea helped Jason achieve this impossible task with the help of special ointments, incantations and timing. Medea enabled Jason, her heroic/lover, to succeed at the trials set before him but in helping Jason be successful Medea had to betray her family and flee her homeland.

On their flight from Colchis Medea visited her aunt Circe who absolved her of her betrayal and eventually Medea arrived at Jason's birthplace, at the foot of Mount Pelion in Thessaly. When she arrived in her new homeland Medea used her great skill at the arts of magic and herbs to rejuvenate Jason's father but also used her sorcery to trick the king's daughters into unintentionally killing their father. To prepare for this procedure Medea disappeared for nine days collecting the special drugs and herbs that she needed. As the Moon swelled she gave sacrifices to her goddess Hecate, then used drugs to help Aeson, Jason's father, fall into a deep sleep. She then cut his throat to let the old blood run out, dismembered him, putting the pieces in a caldron with the liquid herbs she had prepared. Jason's father emerged from the caldron rejuvenated, forty years younger. Medea's spell captured the daughters of Pelias, the wicked uncle of Jason who had usurped his rightful claim to the throne. The daughters also wished to rejuvenate their father and Medea said she would perform the task again. The daughters prepared their father by dismembering him; however, this time Medea did not put the herbs in the caldron and their father never emerged.

Having been responsible for the murder of the king Medea and Jason once again were forced to escape. While fleeing Medea's herbal bag broke open, spilling her drugs seeding the plains of Thessaly with an abundance of healing and magical herbs. As the first sorceress to perform rituals in Thessaly Medea is the seminal figure behind the region being known as 'the land of the witches'. Her myth intimates that she introduced woman's herbal knowledge from Asia Minor into Greece.

In later myth Medea is usually remembered, not as the skilled healer, but as a revengeful and spurned partner, a woman caught in the grip of jealousy for which she had no antidote. By the classical period the playwrights depict Medea consumed with rage, murdering her own children to avenge Jason's infidelity. However, Medea is more a reminder of the great respect and knowledge of healing, herbs and magic that was brought to the West and then subtly ignored and eventually demonized. Underpinning the myth are fragments of an older tradition. Jason's name means 'healer' and his partnership with Medea complements the old ways of healing before the emergence of rational medicine and the demonization of magic.

As botany evolved away from gathering herbs and digging roots of the pastoral communities to empirical and detailed research, purification ceremonies and the use of herbs became replaced by manmade drugs and prescriptions. The connections to the more instinctual, earthy and natural ways of healing were left behind. Traces of magic, ritual healing and evoking the spirit of the disease began to disappear in the Western medical tradition. Left to carry the ancient process of magic was Medea, the embodiment of the archetypal witch. As a heroine Medea champions the feminine wisdom that knows intuitively knows how to cooperate with nature and her cycles. She instinctually knows the right time to perform rituals and ceremonies to evoke the healing spirits or exorcize the demons.

When Medea is prominent in a birth chart she reveals the need to explore the ancient feminine traditions of herbalism, witchcraft and magic ritual. Intuitively we know the natural cycle of the body and what it needs to be well. Medea reminds us to honor the ancient custom of relating to the plant world, the wisdom of nature and the powerful healing and transforming properties embedded in the natural world. Instinctually the witch is the impulse that draws us to remedies and potions at the right time and is the urge to create ritual and ceremony to evoke the powers of the goddess. Following are astrological account of how the force of the goddess may be revealed through your horoscope.

Medea is in Virgo

In your horoscope the goddess Medea is in the sign of Virgo, the sign most commonly associated with many different faces of the goddess through a succession of cultures. As the largest zodiacal constellation the harvest maiden has taken the shape of the Babylonian Ishtar, the Syrian Atargatis, the Egyptian Isis and the Greek Demeter as well as many other potent goddesses, even Hestia, the goddess of the inner hearth. The powerful wisdom that the goddesses protect in this sector of the sky is the feminine knowing of sanctity, containment, productivity and cycles. In your horoscope Medea in this sign draws on this wisdom, enriching your own understanding of what is sacred and what is secular.

In a literal sense you have a natural instinct to know when it is time to harvest in order to benefit from your productivity and hard work. Your psychological intelligence knows when it is time to let go. This suggests that you are good at gathering and creating, contributing to you becoming a creative artisan or craftsperson, which might be expressed in a myriad of ways. Whatever you craft will be useful. Your earthy sensibilities are adept at so many productive rituals whether that is gathering herbs, making clothes, assembling furniture or managing the household. But on a deeper level you are profoundly aware of timing and know when to let go, having analyzed and digested the situation. Virgo's task is to digest and synthesize. In the body digestion is important to consider and Medea's herbs like dill aid the digestion, while flax seed supports the intestines. Remember next time you visit the health food shop to be aware of the foods you buy and how they have been harvested. You have an innate wisdom about the right foods. Chiron, the mentor to Jason and the great medical mentor of the Greek heroes, lends him name to the Bach flower remedy Centaury that supports the sense of self-containment and combats the urge to overdo and overwork. The kitchen pot or wok is a supernatural surrogate for Medea's caldron and therefore a good place to cook up your own magical ingredients! When cooking next time remember Medea as you chop the basil or throw the bay laurel into the stew. Grow some basil in your herb garden and have an endless supply of pesto or just a beautiful smell outside your door. You are able to find the goddess in the simplest of everyday tasks and need to be involved in the domestic rituals no matter how repetitive. It is in the attention to the moment when we honor the goddess. Therefore next time you iron a shirt, feed the cat, dust the coffee table or clean a cupboard be aware that this is a votive for Medea.

In Virgo the goddess earths her powerful abilities in functional and helpful labors. You too will be passionately engaged in what you do, strongly focused on the task and willing to be of service. Therefore you may feel called to serving others through various form of alternate healing or social work. Whatever form this takes you bring your transformational energies in practical ways to the position. No matter what the circumstances, you will need to set aside your own time during the day to find stillness and refuge from the busyness and chaos of an everyday life.

Medea is in the Eighth House

When Medea brings her magic to the 8th house she unleashes your commanding ability to make powerful things happen to other people. When you're engaged and connected to someone else you have that ability to emotionally empower them to make the right decisions, move through difficult times or reconcile themselves with uncomfortable situations. On a more pragmatic level you may have the ability to help others become more financially resourceful, change a static business situation into a dynamic one, or support a transforming process that allows an individual to move forward. You have a potent and therapeutic gift to exchange with others.

However, you must feel valued in the process or a volcano of feelings may erupt. If it is an emotional exchange you need to feel respected and honored; if it is a commercial venture you need to be remunerated. Without this equal exchange or feeling met by the other, you will feel betrayed. Therefore it would be important to nurture and shelter your powerful insights and instinctual knowledge, as they are transformational and intense. Like Medea you may be able to help others with their heroic labors but you need to be aware of the cost to yourself in the process.

Part of what informs your uncanny sense of knowing is being in touch with forceful feelings that must be valued. You need to feel a sense of exchange with another in order that your deep-seated capacity for intimacy and containment can be directed towards an honest outcome. You have the instinct that makes a trusted confidant, a profound therapist, a transformational coach and a powerful partner. However, these gifts are not presented to you without your own heroic journey. Coming to understand your own depths and ability to create dynamic shifts in others has arisen out of your own journey through betrayal and loss. Even though these may not be experiences you may relate to, they are feeling states you're intimate with. It is this ability to delve deeply into the darker side of the feeling life where you have discovered your own healing and transformational qualities. Your inheritance is the uncanny ability to penetrate into the territory of deep knowledge and be able to utilize it for your and others growth.

When using this report, please bear in mind that, inevitably, every chart will contain some contradictory influences. Usually it is the responsibility of an astrologer to synthesize these apparent contradictions in order to present a cohesive and meaningful interpretation of the dilemmas of the chart.

Please also be aware of the fact that each person has positive and negative influences in the chart, and therefore in their lives. The challenge is to accept and overcome the negative influences, so that we can successfully focus on the positive traits. This report outlines both influences, and therefore parts may be difficult to accept. Any advice given is meant to be an aid to people taking responsibility for their own lives. The ultimate decision rests with each individual. The authors and publisher accept no liability for any adverse effects of this report.

This report is meant more of an introduction to the wonders of the asteroid goddesses rather than a complete course in its intricacies. Further studies, or a consultation with a professional astrologer, are encouraged to explore this most ancient scientific and philosophic tool. We hope that you will discover a common thread that gently winds its way through the 12 Goddess placements in your chart, a thread that inspires you to continue to follow your dreams and discover the Goddess or God within.

The text in this report has been written by Australian astrologers Brian Clark and Stephanie Johnson.

Brian Clark is one of the main tutors of a four-year program in applied astrology for Astro*Synthesis. He has been active in astrology since 1972, having served as National President for both The Fraternity for Canadian Astrologers and The Federation of Australian Astrologers FAA. He has twice received awards from the Canadian astrological society, received the Education Award from the FAA and been nominated three times for the International Regulus Award. Brian also lectures on myth and conducts tours to sacred sites in Greece through Odyssey. Brian has a BA from Sir George Williams University in Montreal, Canada and a Post Graduate Diploma in Classics and Archaeology from Melbourne University. He is the author of The Sibling Constellation(Penguin, 1999) and a contributing author to Intimate Relationships (Llewellyn, 1991), books that have also been translated into French and Japanese. A new book called Celestial Tarot is soon to be published by US Games Systems, Inc.

Stephanie Johnson is co-director of Esoteric Technologies Pty Ltd., the company behind astrology software Solar Fire, Solar Maps, Solar Writer, Solar Spark and JigSaw. In 1994 Stephanie, and her partner, were awarded the Federation of Australian Astrologers' Southern Cross Award for Research and Development, and in 1998 they were awarded the Southern Cross award for Community Service and Research. Stephanie holds a Federation of Australian Astrologers' (FAA) Practitioner's Certificate and was awarded an FAA Diploma for her share in designing and developing the Solar Fire suite of programs. She is a student of Medieval Astrology and the Ancient Wisdom teachings, holding a Masters of Science degree in Esotericism from the University of the Seven Rays, New Jersey, USA, as well as the Robert Zoller Certificate of Medieval Astrology. She is a practising astrology with her own business, Seeing With Stars Astrology. Before commencing her professional astrology career Stephanie was a journalist for 15 years in Australia, England and the USA.

Kay Steventon is a Melbourne based artist/astrologer. After graduating from R.M.I.T. in 1980 with a Diploma Fine Art, Kay gained the F.A.A. Professional Astrologer qualification, and 'Living The Tarot' Diploma. Since 1966 Kay has had many solo and mixed exhibitions in Melbourne and overseas, specialising in symbolic art in 1992. Her first Tarot deck and book, 'The Spiral Tarot', was published in 1998. Kay 's second Deck, 'Celestial Tarot', was published in 2003 with the Celestial book written by Brian Clark. A 52 card deck, 'Goddesses and Heroines' is due to be published 2005, again a joint effort by Kay and Brian Clark.

If you would like further information please contact Esoteric Technologies Pty Ltd PO Box 578 Magill SA 5072 Australia. Phone/Fax (08) 8331 3057. Email: sales@esotech.com.au Website : www.esotech.com.au