TNO Watch- Typhon

fire snake by mammalfingers, CCL

Oh man, I have been WAITING to do this one! I love all the TNO's and most of the asteroids/minor planets (meh on the Centaurs, Artemis loves those guys), but Typhon fascinates me to no end.

The Astronomy: 42355 Typhon is a scattered disc object that was discovered on February 5, 2002, by the NEAT program. It measures 162±7 km in diameter, and is named after Typhon, a monster in Greek mythology. A large moon was identified in 2006. It is named Echidna—formal designation (42355) Typhon I Echidna, after Echidna, the monstrous mate of Typhon. It orbits Typhon at ~1300 km, completing one orbit in about 11 days. Its diameter is estimated to be 89±6 km. Typhon is the first known binary centaur, using an extended definition of a centaur as an object on a non-resonant (unstable) orbit with the perihelion inside the orbit of Neptune.

The Myth: Typhon, also Typhoeus, Typhaon or Typhos, was a monstrous giant and the most deadly being of Greek mythology. Typhon and his mate Echidna were the progenitors of many famous monsters. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus: "when Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, huge Earth bore her youngest child Typhoeus of the love of Tartarus, by the aid of golden Aphrodite (H: Reminding y’all ONCE AGAIN that Aphrodite is NOT a goddess, she is her own primal force that doesn’t give two shits about the Olympians, Titans, or whomever)". The mythographer Apollodorus adds that Gaia bore Typhon in anger at the gods for their destruction of her offspring the Giants (H: ...It was her anger at the destruction of the Titans which led to her creation of the Gigantes, and before that it was the imprisonment of the Hekatonkheires which inspired the betrayal and castration of Uranus. Gaea, you're kind of predictable). Numerous other sources mention Typhon as being the offspring of Gaia, or simply "earth-born", with no mention of Tartarus. However, according to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, Typhon was the child of Hera alone. Hera, angry at Zeus for having given birth to Athena by himself, prayed to Gaia to give her a son as strong as Zeus, then slapped the ground and became pregnant (H: The mental image of this story alone makes it my personal favorite, as it is just SO Hera). Hera gave the infant Typhon to the serpent Python to raise, and Typhon grew up to become a great bane to mortals. The b scholia to Iliad 2.783, preserving a possible Orphic tradition, has Typhon born in Cilicia, as the offspring of Cronus. Gaia, angry at the destruction of the Giants, slanders Zeus to Hera. So Hera goes to Zeus' father Cronus (whom Zeus had overthrown) and Cronus gives Hera two eggs smeared with his own semen, telling her to bury them, and that from them would be born one who would overthrow Zeus. Hera, angry at Zeus, buries the eggs in Cilicia "under Arimon", but when Typhon is born, Hera, now reconciled with Zeus, informs him. According to Hesiod, Typhon was "terrible, outrageous and lawless", and on his shoulders were one hundred snake heads, that emitted fire and every kind of noise: "Strength was with his hands in all that he did and the feet of the strong god were untiring. From his shoulders grew a hundred heads of a  snake, a fearful dragon, with dark, flickering tongues, and from under the brows of his eyes in his marvellous heads flashed fire, and fire burned from his heads as he glared. And there were voices in all his dreadful heads which uttered every kind of sound unspeakable; for at one time they made sounds such that the gods understood, but at another, the noise of a bull bellowing aloud in proud ungovernable fury; and at another, the sound of a lion, relentless of heart; and at another, sounds like whelps, wonderful to hear; and again, at another, he would hiss, so that the high mountains re-echoed." The Homeric Hymn to Apollo describes Typhon as "fell" and "cruel", and neither like gods nor men. Three of Pindar's poems have Typhon as hundred-headed (as in Hesiod), while apparently a fourth gives him only fifty heads, but a hundred heads for Typhon became standard. A Chalcidian hydria, depicts Typhon as a winged humanoid from the waist up, with two snake tails below. Aeschylus calls Typhon "fire-breathing". For Nicander, Typhon was a monster of enormous strength, and strange appearance, with many heads, hands, and wings, and with huge snake coils coming from his thighs. Apollodorus describes Typhon as a huge winged monster, whose head "brushed the stars", human in form above the waist, with snake coils below, and fire flashing from his eyes: "In size and strength he surpassed all the offspring of Earth. As far as the thighs he was of human shape and of such prodigious bulk that he out-topped all the mountains, and his head often brushed the stars. One of his hands reached out to the west and the other to the east, and from them projected a hundred dragons' heads. From the thighs downward he had huge coils of vipers, which when drawn out, reached to his very head and emitted a loud hissing. His body was all winged: unkempt hair streamed on the wind from his head and cheeks; and fire flashed from his eyes." The most elaborate description of Typhon is found in Nonnus's Dionysiaca. Nonnus makes numerous references to Typhon's sepentine nature, giving him a "tangled army of snakes", snaky feet, and hair. According to Nonnus, Typhon was a "poison-spitting viper", whose "every hair belched viper-poison", and Typhon "spat out showers of poison from his throat; the mountain torrents were swollen, as the monster showered fountains from the viperish bristles of his high head", and "the water-snakes of the monster's viperish feet crawl into the caverns underground, spitting poison!". Following Hesiod and others, Nonnus gives Typhon many heads (though untotaled), but in addition to snake heads, Nonnus also gives Typhon many other animal heads, including leopards, lions, bulls, boars, bears, cattle, wolves, and dogs, which combine to make 'the cries of all wild beasts together', and a "babel of screaming sounds". Nonnus also gives Typhon "legions of arms innumerable", and where Nicander had only said that Typhon had "many" hands, and Ovid had given Typhon a hundred hands, Nonnus gives Typhon two hundred. Typhon challenged Zeus for rule of the cosmos. The earliest mention of Typhon, and his only occurrence in Homer, is a passing reference in the Iliad to Zeus striking the ground around where Typhon lies defeated. Hesiod's Theogony gives us the first account of their battle. According to Hesiod, without the quick action of Zeus, Typhon would have "come to reign over mortals and immortals". In the Theogony Zeus and Typhon meet in cataclysmic conflict: "[Zeus] thundered hard and mightily: and the earth around resounded terribly and the wide heaven above, and the sea and Ocean's streams and the nether parts of the earth. Great Olympus reeled beneath the divine feet of the king as he arose and earth groaned thereat. And through the two of them heat took hold on the dark-blue sea, through the thunder and lightning, and through the fire from the monster, and the scorching winds and blazing thunderbolt. The whole earth seethed, and sky and sea: and the long waves raged along the beaches round and about at the rush of the deathless gods: and there arose an endless shaking. Hades trembled where he rules over the dead below, and the Titans under Tartarus who live with Cronos, because of the unending clamor and the fearful strife." Zeus with his thunderbolt easily overcomes Typhon, who is thrown down to earth in a fiery crash: "So when Zeus had raised up his might and seized his arms, thunder and lightning and lurid thunderbolt, he leaped from Olympus and struck him, and burned all the marvellous heads of the monster about him. But when Zeus had conquered him and lashed him with strokes, Typhoeus was hurled down, a maimed wreck, so that the huge earth groaned. And flame shot forth from the thunderstricken lord in the dim rugged glens of the mount, when he was smitten. A great part of huge earth was scorched by the terrible vapor and melted as tin melts when heated by men's art in channelled crucibles; or as iron, which is hardest of all things, is shortened by glowing fire in mountain glens and melts in the divine earth through the strength of Hephaestus. Even so, then, the earth melted in the glow of the blazing fire." Defeated, Typhon is cast into Tartarus by an angry Zeus. Epimenides seemingly knew a different version of the story, in which Typhon enters Zeus' palace while Zeus is asleep, but Zeus awakes and kills Typhon with a thunderbolt. Pindar calls Typhon the "enemy of the gods", apparently knew of a tradition which had the gods transform into animals and flee to Egypt, says that Typhon was defeated by Zeus' thunderbolt, has Typhon being held prisoner by Zeus under Etna, and in Tartarus stretched out under ground between Mount Etna and Cumae. Like Pindar, Nicander has all the gods but Zeus and Athena, transform into animal forms and flee to Egypt: Apollo became a hawk (Horus), Hermes an ibis (Thoth), Ares a fish (Se..Set?) ,Artemis a cat (Bastet?) , Dionysus a goat(...), Heracles a fawn (Nope), Hephaestus an ox (Done), and Leto a mouse (WHY WAS LETO EVEN THERE). No early source gives any reason for the conflict, but Apollodorus' account seemingly implies that Typhon had been produced by Gaia to avenge the destruction, by Zeus and the other gods, of the Giants, a previous generation of offspring of Gaia. According to Apollodorus "Zeus pelted Typhon at a distance with thunderbolts, and at close quarters struck him down with an adamantine sickle (Cronus' weapon)" Wounded, Typhon fled to the Syrian Mount Kasios, where Zeus "grappled" with him. But Typhon, twining his snaky coils around Zeus, was able to wrest away the sickle and cut the sinews from Zeus' hands and feet. Typhon carried the disabled Zeus across the sea to the Corycian cave in Cilicia where he set the she-serpent Delphyne to guard over Zeus and his severed sinews, which Typhon had hidden in a bear skin. But Hermes and Aegipan (possibly another name for Pan) stole the sinews and gave them back to Zeus. His strength restored, Zeus chased Typhon to mount Nysa, where the Moirai tricked Typhon into eating "ephemeral fruits" which weakened him. Typhon then fled to Thrace, where he threw mountains at Zeus, which were turned back on him by Zeus' thunderbolts, and the mountain where Typhon stood, being drenched with Typhon's blood, became known as Mount Haemus (Bloody Mountain). Typhon then fled to Sicily, where Zeus threw Mount Etna on top of Typhon burying him, and so finally defeated him. Oppian says that Pan helped Zeus in the battle by tricking Typhon to come out from his lair, and into the open, by the "promise of a banquet of fish", thus enabling Zeus to defeat Typhon with his thunderbolts.

The Astrology: Where do we even begin with this one? He is a monster, plain and simple, conjured up to destroy us for the mistakes we have made. Where have we heard that one before, hmmm? Every day we see this in our own minds, especially lately. So we find that he works in a lot of the same ways that Ceto does, but Typhon doesn’t hide- He doesn’t need to. He is overt, he wants his presence to be known. Fear is his weapon. Many astrologers also equate Typhon to natural (or man-made) disasters, where damage is caused to the earth itself. Gaea’s last child is out of even her control. Typhon tends to show up strongly around the time that empires crumble. However it is never all bad news- Even amidst the destruction people will come together to rebuild and ensure the survival- Look at post 9/11 (pre-iraq war II), the Fukushima disaster, Gulf Oil Spill,  the various Tsunamis and hurricanes that have plagued us as our climate changes . People come together after disaster. Sure, some will capitalize on the opportunity but when faced with catastrophe, we try to rebuild. Typhon also has strong connections to renewable energy, and the oil crisis. Typhon is definitely a TNO for the modern age, and will only grow in importance.

To find out where he shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom, there will be a menu of additional objects. Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 42355, for Typhon. Once you have it entered, generate the chart! Where does Typhon affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Pallas in Pisces- Bend

Beautiful Ballerina by Grace Trivino, CCL

Effective dates: 4/25-8/12/16, 12/30/16-4/3/17

Helios Says:
You know, I'm frankly getting tired of starting these off with a reminder of how bad things are right now. It's not like you guys don't know, you're living it just as much as I am. So why do I bother writing anything at all, you might be inclined to ask- Valid question, and one I ask myself often. While there are many reasons that I do what I do (and we do not have time to go into the deeper questions of purpose and meaning of life type of discussions in this particular post, that would give me an excuse to be even more rambling than usual), one of the main ones is to try and figure out the best way to move forward, regardless of how shit the conditions may be- for both my readers and myself. Luckily, that is where this particular gem of an asteroid comes into play....

Pallas Athene was the goddess of wisdom, crafts, and battle strategy. Keen-eyed readers will remember her from our recent post on Arachne. When she is not tormenting prideful humans (something she likes to do [Also revealing her fatal flaw, if you know what you are looking for]) she is the one you look to while everything is falling apart, even her father Zeus, chief of the Greek gods, trusted her counsel above all others. In short, she IS the way forward.

At this point in time, Pallas has just moved into Pisces. As everything falls apart around your ears and the very ground beneath your feet turns to shifting sand, our old approach no longer works, not at maximum efficacy anyways. Carrying yourself through this with nothing but affirmations, sheer force of will, and pure grit will not work- Keeping calm and carrying on is not the way. No, to get past this round you will need to get creative. You will need to *shudder* allow yourself to be vulnerable. With all of the retrogrades, and the torture the cosmos has decided to dole out, we are already exposed; we are cautious and afraid- And for good reason. Your first reaction is to turtle up, withdraw further within yourself to hide your soft spots. This could get you through, I won't lie- but it will only mean that you are fighting to hold your ground, and at best you will not lose any; at worst, you will lose everything. The only thing that is sure however, is that you will not go any farther than where you are at now.

What you must do is shed that armor, like a skin that you have outgrown and has become patchy and is already starting to flake off. It clearly doesn't suit you anymore (plus it's out of season anyway) so why do you keep lugging it around? Sure, it helped to shield you from a few hits back in the day, but you can't hide behind it forever! More importantly, it is holding you back from what you really want. With your masks and armor up, you cannot be seen by those who are looking for you and could be potential allies. In this time of uncertainty, authenticity is more valuable than gold. Removing your armor to show your true, authentic self will be frightening, but now is the time to unmask yourself. The time for charades is past. The challenge will be to actually do it.

Artemis Says:
“Everything in the universe has a purpose.  Indeed, the invisible intelligence that flows through everything in a purposeful fashion is also flowing through you.” – Wayne Dyer

Cards:  8 of Swords, Knight of Cups, 3 of Pentacles

 Pallas Athena sprung into life from the forehead of her father, Zeus, fully clothed in battle gear and ready to fuck some shit up.  She is the goddess of Wisdom, Victory and Strategy.  Warriors prayed to her for success in battle, and academics paid her homage so she could bring them illumination.  Through her, we learn how to connect information and use it to our advantage.  Athena teaches us how the pieces fit to form the whole.  Unfortunately for Athena, her fellow deities pretty much ignored her as a sexual object.  Because of this, Athena’s babies are the babies of the mind.  She shows us where our greatest ideas may take place, but she can also be obsessive.  What part of your life do you ceaselessly investigate in?  Where are you gifted with the ability to make swift connections?

So, what does it mean now that she is drifting into Piscean waters?  Pallas in Pisces is actually my natal placement for this asteroid, so I may be able to intuit a thing or two about this energy.  The combination of 8 of Swords, Knight of Cups, and 3 of Pentacles, tells me that this energy is the ability to see the spiritual building blocks of the world.  Pallas in Pisces tells me that we will be able to have confidence in our creative and spiritual connections.  The world political climate will become increasingly more idealistic (Pisces rules religion and spirituality, so expect more of that to be brought up as well).  The fantastic part about this energy is that Athena is forced to FEEL, not THINK in Pisces.  We go from over rationalizing our strategy to feeling out intuitively how we should move toward our victories.  This surge of creative intelligence will be amazing for unraveling old patterns that have us blindfolded in regards to our next move.  Pallas in Pisces coupled with the Knight of Cups tell us that your ability to charm your way out of a situation will dramatically increase.  This is great fuel for those who are already swimming in the waters of creative intelligence.

Pallas in Pisces will give us the opportunity to explore the architecture of our spiritual world.  I bet that we will be seeing a lot more synchronicities, more spiritual groups coming together due to realizing connections, and an overall merging of people’s spiritualties.  The fish make Pallas a lot softer than she usually is, giving her the ability to have insight on healing and creative interpretation.  This is the position of the mystic and psychic and the ability to see spirit where others do not.  This is where Pallas shows us how the spirit world connects to the bigger picture, and how fantasy and creativity play a role in bridging the causal and acausal worlds.

Full Moon in Sagittarius- Worst Enemy

Monster by *Nicole C, CCL

Effective Date: 5/21/16

Helios Says:  “The Edge... There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.”- Hunter S. Thompson

Don't push me, because I'm close to the edge... that is very much the feel of this Full Moon. With the pressure of the multiple retrogrades, the mutable meltdown, and the looming specter of Uranus meeting up with Eris, who could blame you for being just done? Not a damn one of us, because we are all there. These times aren't just hard, they're ruthless.

And this is not the day where I tell you that it is all smooth sailing from here. No, we have miles and miles to go before we rest.

Artemis says:
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.” 
― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass

Adventure.  What could be more holy than the very pilgrimage one embarks on to find the “light”, the “answer”, the “whatever the fuck it is we are looking for?”  There is always that insatiable itch inside of us that screams, “GO OUT THERE AND FIND IT!”  (Whatever “it” is.)  The world is so big and vast; of course the answer must be out there!  Well, let me let you in on a little secret.  God is like an onion.  Stay with me here.  God is like an onion.  You keep peeling back layers and layers, hoping to reveal something, but all you're really revealing is more and more of the same - all the way to the core.  As above so below.  We are the very fabric of what makes up this universe.  Explore yourself by exploring everything around you.  Your exterior reality is like a mirror.  Don’t be afraid to peer deeply.

H:The Sun, Moon, and Mars- Okay, so let's start with the good news. You finally have energy! You feel like you can take on the world and can do whatever you set your mind to! The bad news? You are being blocked at every turn, leaving you to pace back and forth like a caged animal. All that energy just gets dissipated and squandered, leaving you annoyed, and feeling like a failure for not achieving as much as you wanted, further adding to your annoyance and frustration. This can lead you to lash out at those around you, especially those who offer to help you or talk. Since you don't think there is anything they can do to help, you lash out in anger and frustration, driving away your allies and support network when you need it most. All you want is just to fly above the problems that assault you, but you are shackled by your obligations. 

A:Sun (The Fool), Moon (Ace of Wands), Mars (2 of Wands):  For the full moon in Sagittarius, I pulled the Ace of Wands.  What we imagine, we become.  We tend to build an image of ourselves and stick with that image like it is the one true god.  Guess what?  You can become whoever you want to be whenever you want to be.  Your imagination is even more powerful than you could ever imagine (ooo paradox).  We build the reality around us, which means you build your own prison by choosing to allow others to dictate your reality.  This card is reminding us that we are lit as fuck and there is nothing that can smolder our divine fire.  Don’t fear doing your work or finding your way.  Everyone is honestly just terrified – like, all the fucking time.  Everyone claims that they are looking for truth, but few are brave enough to look at it.  When you stoke your fires, so to speak, there will be people around you who will try and smolder your light so they aren’t forced to see.  Fuck these people.  For the Sun, I pulled The Fool.  Reset.  It’s time for you to do something you’ve been afraid to do.  It’s time for you to take that leap of faith and possibly tumble off a cliff to your doom.  BUT, if you do survive, and your instincts were right, you could stumble into some form of great personal enlightenment during this full moon.  With the 2 of Wands representing Mars in this reading, I would go on to say that a major decision needs to be made.  I know the Mars in retrograde energy has everyone aggressive and unmotivated, but if you can actually make a clear decision about your future actions – if you can develop a vision – you will be surprised by the surge of energy you receive to spearhead this vision.

H:Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Pluto- This section deserves its own post, quite frankly. This is the source of the shitty astro of the moment- Mercury is about to go direct, but before he does he has one last, assholish trick to pull, and he has the Super Saiyan energy to pull it off. Mercury is going to throw up every nightmare and fear you have, and blow them way out of proportion: With Neptune and Jupiter they will be insidious and able to get under your skin like nothing else, while being exaggerated and overwhelming. Saturn makes sure that you are reminded every minute that you are insignificant, worthless, and no one wants anything to do with you, while Pluto makes sure that you are too terrified of your own shadow to do anything about it. You will not get rest, and you will not get respite. You will be a prisoner of your own mind, and these phantoms will be relentless. You will have a very hard time telling what is real and what is fake. What you really need to watch though, is your self-talk; now I was new to this concept until I heard @LordMoonstone talk about it in a video detailing his mental issues and suicide attempt-  You must be very careful of how you deal with your self, and how you treat yourself with all this chaos swirling around inside your own head. Just because something shitty is happening to you doesn't mean that you are in fact, shit. These guys do not need ANY help tearing up your mind and your ego, least of all you cheering them on. You are going to want to find an outlet, a way for you to cope with all that noise- And you don't want to turn to drugs or booze, because they will only exacerbate the problem, trust me.

A:Mercury (The Star), Jupiter (7 of Cups), Saturn (Page of Swords), Neptune (King of Wands), Pluto (The Moon):  We're about to drop off a very nasty cliff the next couple of weeks, so you better start learning to fly.  You also need to stop fighting the retrogrades.  Sorry, you can’t run from the forced introspection.  The planets have put a magnifying glass to your soul for a reason.  You can’t fucking hide from your own mind.  So you better get your adventure party together and quest to the center to face your own great beast.  With the card combinations present, it looks like the outer planets are gearing for some reality rattling.  For Pluto, I pulled The Moon, which means he is going to continue digging at you until you realize what subconscious forces have been pulling you toward the horrible chaos in your life.  You are choosing to march in these directions.  But why?  What inside of you keeps you circling back around to the trash piles of reality?  For Neptune I pulled the King of Wands and for Jupiter I pulled the 7 of Cups.  We are brimming with ideas right now.  Our heads are swimming with so many things we could be doing and experiencing, and our very urge to go and explore every nook and cranny is going to inflame our imagination.  This comes with a bit of a warning, though – check yourself at every step to see that the pieces are fitting together correctly.  Saturn being the Page of Swords suggests that insecurity is not over yet.  Saturn knows that we know how to assume our power in this world, but he also knows we need a big push to do so.  This is tough love, guys.  He fucks our shit up so that we can become stronger and wiser.  Don’t fear your knowledge.  Trust it.  Trust yourself and do what you need to do.

H:Venus and Uranus- Okay, so where do we go from all of that nonsense? Well, strangely enough these two might be the best antidote to the chaos I just talked about. All of those phantoms, spooks and nightmares have one fatal flaw- They only have any power if you take them seriously. Venus and Uranus right now have this great, heretical trickster energy, and it can cut straight through the dark, dank fears you have. The shadows fear laughter more than anything. If you refuse to give them any sort of respect, and just mercilessly ridicule them, they have no power over you. For instance- I saw an amazing tumblr post where a user was saying that from now on, their coping skill to deal with the anxiety, depression and negative self-talk was to imagine that it was coming from Donald Trump. Now as the Donald is a natural buffoon, and its impossible to take anything that comes out of his idiot mouth seriously, this is absolute genius. Make your fears afraid of you by refusing to take them seriously. Its just crazy enough to work, aye?

A:Venus (Queen of Pentacles) and Uranus (6 of Swords):  Venus is trying to tell us that in order to find pleasure right now, we must soak ourselves back into the earth.  Get outside.  Go climb trees and roll around in the grass and have a hike.  The crazy thing about nature is that it teaches us everything we need to know about pleasure and beauty.  It teaches us about the severity that is also necessary from time to time.  But, regardless of how horrible the severity is in any natural climate, there is still an awesome beauty to it all that cannot be denied.  Venus is telling us to find the beauty in the pain.  There are no mistakes.  Everything is a part of the greater echo system.  Take a different perspective.  And that is exactly what the 6 of Swords for Uranus is telling me.  It is time to move on from our old ways.  It’s time to come up with new methods.  Your habits of the past aren’t going to cut it for the next level.  The quest is long, we have no idea what is at the core, but I’m going to bet the infinite things we experience on the journey paint a mirror image of the destination.

TNO Watch- Arachne

Girl on Web by Toni, CCL

I wasn't going to do one of these this week, but I have been sitting on this one for a while and she was screaming at me to use her- and I never keep a woman waiting! Not this one at least...

The Astronomy- 407 Arachne is a large Main belt asteroid. It is classified as a C-type asteroid and is probably composed of carbonaceous material. It was discovered by Max Wolf on October 13, 1895 in Heidelberg.

The Myth- In Greco-Roman mythology, Arachne  is a talented mortal weaver who challenged (or was challenged by) Athena, goddess of wisdom and crafts, into a weaving contest; this hubris resulted in her being transformed into a spider. There are many versions of the story's weaving contest, with each saying that one or the other won. One version appears in the Metamorphoses of the Roman poet Ovid: In this version, Arachne was a shepherd's daughter who began weaving at an early age. She became a great weaver, boasted that her skill was greater than that of Athena, and refused to acknowledge that her skill came, in part at least, from the goddess. Athena took offense and set up a contest between them. Presenting herself as an old lady, she approached the boasting girl and warned: "You can never compare to any of the gods. Plead for forgiveness and Athena might spare your soul."
"Ha! I only speak the truth and if Athena thinks otherwise then let her come down and challenge me herself," Arachne replied. Athena removed her disguise and appeared in shimmering glory, clad in a sparkling white chiton. The two began weaving straight away. Athena's weaving represented four separate contests between mortals and the gods in which the gods punished mortals for setting themselves as equals of the gods. Arachne's weaving depicted ways that the gods had misled and abused mortals, particularly Zeus, tricking and seducing many women. When Athena saw that Arachne had not only insulted the gods, but done so with a work far more beautiful than Athena's own, she was enraged. She ripped Arachne's work into shreds, and sprinkled her with Hecate's potion, turning her into a spider and cursing her and her descendants to weave for all time. This showed how goddesses punished those who were mortal.

The Astrology- In the chart, Arachne represents a point of great talent, something that is completely YOURS. This is something that you view as integral to your identity, and is wrapped up tightly with your ego. This talent is part of you. It can cause you great distress when it is challenged, whether by merit, or in competition. With that, it is easy to see how the Arachne story plays out- if the talent is nurtured, the ego is nurtured as well, and the superstar complex starts taking over. The other main thing with this one is the lesson that you will attract haters when you start working her, and using your talent. Sure, you will have fans and admirers too, but they never clamor as loudly or sting as badly as the haters; They will hurt more. You will need to develop a thick skin for that, if you want to progress with your talent- I imagine there were quite a few people who talked behind Arachne's back, saying that she thought she was too good for a shepherd's life, or that she was wasting her time weaving, and those comments will get to you. The trouble is that only serves to further isolate you, leaving you with just your talent and your ego, becoming a feedback loop. While these dangers are real, the real gem in this story is that if you nurture your talent, you can overcome heaven itself, and any pinche god who tries to stand in your way- And that is worth any amount of haters!
To find out where she shows up in your chart, go to astro.com, put in your birth details and in the extended options, all the way at the bottom, there will be a menu of additional objects.  Under that is a blank space where you can enter the number 407, for Arachne.  Once you have it entered, generate the chart!  Where does Arachne affect your life? Let us know in the comments below!

Jupiter Direct- Confession

2 by andy188uk

Helios says:
“Man approaches God most nearly when he is in one sense least like God. For what can be more unlike than fullness and need, sovereignty and humility, righteousness and penitence, limitless power and a cry for help?” -C.S. Lewis

Okay, so I know this transit is going to be overhyped and touted by other astrologers, and they will trumpet this as the breaking of the dawn after a long night, but I am in the opinion that our long night isn't quite over just yet. Full disclosure- I do not work well with Jupiter OR Virgo, so that should be kept in mind with everything I say from this point on. This will not devolve into a shit-post though (at least, I will endeavor not to let it become that) at least, not on the transit- The factors that led up to it though...

Okay, so this barrage of eclipses, retrograde on top of retrograde, trips to the underworld, and a looming specter of doom on the horizon have all brought up some serious issues. They have exposed our weaknesses, bared our souls and forced our greatest fears in our face. Issues that have been compounding for years have been brought up, and you see where you have compromised your ideals and your core beliefs along your path.

To make the most of this transit you will need to face the issues of where you have compromised- You have made some sketchy decisions to get this far, and those will need to be faced. Now I am the last person to EVER suggest taking any pages from Christianity, but in this ONE case, there is merit to do so- Please don't immediately close out of this because I am saying that (like I would). During this time, you seek purification: You want to admit your mistakes and unburden your soul. This is what you need to proceed. Note- You do not need to go the full monty and seek forgiveness for any of these things, but it doesn't exactly hurt (at this stage in the game) but this transit will hound you like the nun from last season of Game of Thrones, walking behind you with her bell, saying "Shaaaaaaaaame" for hours.

Now, turning it over to any one (or more) of the myriad of gods/goddesses or universal forces is not a bad idea as well, as the whole thing of Jupiter is that he is God, he is THE Guy, the chief force, the one who is (supposedly) bigger than you, and the one to turn your troubles over to- In Virgo, God walks among his people, he takes on that meat suit in order to better appreciate his creation. It makes sense to surrender (Pisces) what is more than you can handle so that you can move forward without the extra weight of your burdens. If that is too much for you to do (with the Christian connotations and all) hell, you can just go into the woods at night and whisper your confession to the wind- But you will want to actually do this, turn it into ritual if you have to. Seek purification to pursue wholeness. Subdue the monsters within you, because we have a long way to go from here.

Artemis says:
"Why are you so afraid?
I can see you waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting
Withering away 
I can see you dying, dying, dead, dying, dying
Why?  Why?
Baby see
Try" - Banks

Cards:  The Star, King of Wands, 8 of Cups

HOLY FUCK YES YES YES YES YES, JUPITER HAS GONE DIRECT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (H: See, what did I tell you?)

Can you tell I'm excited?  Jupiter, the god of Prosperity and luck.  Jupiter, the god of expansion and adventure and philosophy.  Jupiter, the storm king of JOY!

Jupiter has been retrograde for 4 months now, and we have been downtrodden and out of luck.  When he moves backwards, he takes our joy and our luck with him.  Shit is just more difficult than it needs to be when we don't have him giving us his good graces.  The Storm King has officially given us back the light at the end of our tunnels.  Since January, we have been forced to turn inwards.  Unfortunately, this took a shot at our self esteem and manifested a series of unfortunate events (that got worse and worse as more and more planets joined in with the retrograde), but things are about to CHANGE.

For Jupiter going direct, I pulled The Star, The King of Wands, and the 8 of Cups.  The Star is a clear indication that hope has returned in our lives.  When you are lost in the woods your mind, forced to go so far into your own psychology by the fucking retrograding Jupiter, Mars, Pluto, Mercury, Saturn death squad, Jupiter finally going direct is a speck of hope.  Once you find the north star, you can find your way out of any dark forest.  Once you latch on to something that is unmoving and solid in your life, that fills you with an eternal knowing of yourself, that you can't deny or destroy, you learn to re-orient yourself.

Jupiter is all about going out and exploring the world.  You have all played Oregon Trail, yeah?  This few month retrograde period has been like watching your whole wagon crew get mauled by bears.  Every adventurer knows the dangers of their pursuit, but their eternal optimism and curiosity is what keeps them whacking their way through the thick underbrush.  They keep their mind on the trail, on the goal, and on the fascinating things they find along the way.  Don't let the setbacks of the past couple of months crush your spirit.  Jupiter going direct is having our spirit re-ignited.  The King of Wands showing up is a clear indication of this for me.  Jupiter going direct in Virgo also tells me that we will be gaining a lot of good luck if we peruse Virgoan ideas (like self improvement, service to others, intellectual pursuits).  Don't sit still.  It's time to get up and EXPLORE your world and try things you would have never tried before.  Do things that scare you.  Don't hold back.  The positive outbursts of energy and the enthusiasm that you throw back into the world is now going to bounce right back at you.  It's time to manifest your destiny - manifest change -be a pioneer (remember, Sagittarius, the cowboy of the zodiac, is associated with Jupiter).

The last card I pulled is the 8 of cups.  This is GOOD.  The waters are starting to move, and our baptism is almost complete.  In the deck that I am using, 8 of Cups is called "rebirth."  It is time to let all of the shit we have been internally contemplating die.  It is time to let all of the shit that is shackling us to our sad lives die.  Jupiter doesn't sit around and restricting himself and punishing himself like Saturn.  He wants to see things, experience things, laugh, and participate in higher thinking with others.  He is prosperity and expansion in all parts of our life.  He is like the waters, seeping into every crack effortlessly and with immense curiosity.  It is time for us to start doing the same and see all the crazy connections that come to us because of this.  If you don't leave your normal routine, how will you ever find adventure and prosperity?

Get out of your comfort zone.  Luck is back on our side.  Stick your nose in something that has been poking at your curiosity and inspiring you.  Don't be afraid!  You see your North Star, now run to it!  And don't forget to laugh.