Archive for December, 2009

Full Moon in Gemini — Dec. 02, 2009, 07:30 UT

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Venus, the indicator of our values, has changed signs and ingressed to freedom-loving Sagittarius just before the Gemini Full Moon. Uranus, the planet associated with change, unpredictability, and liberation, has stationed direct in Pisces, and now wants to toss us to new paths.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon degree Gemini 11 is A new path of realism in experience. According to Dr. Marc Edmund Jones, “This is a symbol of the enlarged understanding which comes from a personal and immediate participation in the affairs of an everyday world, and of the continuing rewards which result from trying one and another way of doing things.�

The Full Moon occurs when the Luminaries are opposing each other. Now the Sun and the Moon are lighting two distant minor planets, Hylonome and Chaos, respectively. The Hylonome-Chaos opposition is a long-term aspect which covers the years from 2009 to 2011.

When we speak of chaos, we are usually referring to a state of confusion. In Greek mythology, however, Chaos was the primeval state of existence, a dark, formless void from which the first gods appeared.

Mathematically, chaos means deterministic behaviour which is very sensitive to its initial conditions; slight perturbations of initial conditions can lead to large variations in behaviour. Chaos theory is said to have much in common with the creative process. Fractals are geometric patterns related to chaos theory. Fractals are not just mathematical models, but they exist also in nature, for example in snowflakes.

The phrase “edge of chaos” has come to refer to a metaphor that some physical, biological, economic and social systems operate in a region between order and either complete randomness or chaos, where the complexity is maximal. It is this area slightly off the familiar ground, where new energy takes form and fresh solutions emerge.

In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap, a huge abyss of emptiness, was the world corresponding to the Greek Chaos. In the northern part of Ginnungagap lied Niflheim, the realm of ice, and in the southern part was the fire of Muspelheim. Creation proceeded out of the dynamic interaction between the two.

Edred Thorsson writes in Runelore:

“Ginnungagap is a space charged with a field of proto-energy. Niflheimr and Muspellsheimr constitute that energy in a highly polarized and intensified state, which then interacts with itself in the center, where a new formation modelled on innate multiversal patterning is manifested. This is symbolized by ::, which is the pattern of the World-Tree as an ultimate crystallization of this seed pattern. It is also the snowflake pattern, which demonstrates the nature of these unmanifested images to become visible once they are fed with the proper energies and substances.�

Rune Hagalaz (meaning hail) is a rune of disruption. It suggests a potentially frustrating time, when our plans may be hit by unforeseen difficulties. We need to stop and wait until conditions improve. Without challenges in our path, growth would never occur though. Ultimately the hardship resolves into a fruitful result.

Hagalaz is sometimes called the Mother Rune because it has the geometric form from which all the other runes may be generated; it has the structural pattern of all things. It is the shape of the snowflake. It is the sign of the primal reunion of fire and ice: the cosmic hailstone. The hard, damaging hailstone transforms into life-supporting water when it hits the ground.

Eric Francis has described the planet Chaos astrologically like this:

“Chaos is a personal access point to the fertile void within — what you could call the space-out-of-mind that is the richest creative well available. Artists, musicians, poets and other creative writers, those who study the cosmos… are all no doubt familiar with this realm of consciousness. People who see the awesome creative majesty of their dreams, or feel the presence of the wild unconscious, are also intimate with this source. But the planet Chaos is like the nib of the visionary pen; it is the action point, the moment or focus of expression of that wild storm of creativity in the living, waking world. And from the world, it’s a keyhole or periscope where we can glance at the cosmos within.â€?

Eric’s keywords for Centaur planet Hylonome are self-inflicted. In mythology Hylonome was the fairest of all the female centaurs. She was in love with the handsome Cyllarus, who was accidentally killed by a javelin. On witnessing this, Hylonome threw herself on the javelin and died.

Hylonome conjunct the Sun is reminding us that it is not just impulsive behaviour that may harm us; a life with too little input will fall into a static state and lose energy. In Astrology, A Place in Chaos, Bernadette Brady points out that our lives unfold in a fractal like manner. We need to find “the edge of chaos� located somewhere outside our comfort zone, and find the balance between the routine and the spontaneous.

Hávamál, the ethical code of conduct of the Vikings, says: “A fool thinks he’s full of wisdom when he’s safe and sound.�

References:

Dr. Marc Edmund Jones, The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, Aurora Press, 1993
Bernadette Brady, Astrology, A Place in Chaos, The Wessex Astrologer, 2006
Edred Thorsson, Runelore, Weiser Books, 1987
Paul Rhys Mountfort, Nordic Runes, Destiny Books, 2003
Nigel Pennick, Runic Astrology, Capall Bann Publishing, 1995
Eric Francis, The Delicate Touch of Chaos, Planet Waves, 2004
Hávamál, The Sayings of the Vikings, Gudrun publishing, 1992
Wikipedia