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In the indigenous Australian use of English the word "dreaming" is

used to describe the dominant, over-arching power of a place or idea.
By Bernadette Brady: I was reminded of this on my first visit to the landscape of the
Uffington horse near Oxford. To my Australian eyes I saw a place of
horse-dreaming, a place where the spirit of the horse has emerged in
the landscape. But it is not only ancient chalk figures that can indicate
a space of dreaming. A location like the British library can be
considered to be a place of book-dreaming and Stonehenge, to me, is
a place of stone-dreaming. In this fashion, for many years my
astrology has been what I would call star-dreaming, as I have
wrapped the night sky around my astrology like a cloak and,
marvelling at the night skies of both the southern and the northern
hemispheres, allowed the stars to run through my charts like a river of
myth.

With the stars in my focus I therefore notice that for the first time in
4,500 years we have a bright and visible pole star, Polaris. The last
time was Thuban in 2,700 - 2500 bce which was the 4th Dynasty in
Egypt and the period of the pyramid builders. So before last night (if
your local sky was clear and you are in the northern hemisphere) the
last time we humans could look up at the night sky and see the
moving celestial sphere paying court to a star-of-stillness was in the
time of the building of the pyramids. Now if you really are star-
dreaming then you would have also noted that the winter solstice, the
position of the sun for the winter solstice sunrise or sunset[1], has
now precessed to the centre of the Milky Way[2] - the ancient and
sacred place of Egyptian sky goddess Nut. So now in this 100 year
period the Sun is annually reborn from the body of Nut - an event
which only repeats once every 12,900 years.[3]

But talk of galactic centres can make many astrologers glaze over, so
if you want something a little more local, a little more in your own
backyard and you are in the northern hemisphere, then start watching
the great bear, Ursa Major. The ancient she-bear walks upon the earth
at the time of the annual terrestrial biosphere greening. Every year
planet Earth greens in the north and the south at the same time. This
of course is the summer for the north and the winter for the south.
This, according to biologists, gives the biosphere a type of breath. The
earth breathes in CO2 and gives us more oxygen at this time, but in
the winter (summer for the south) the greening stops and the earth's
breath goes the other way. Since the beginning of our recorded history
and human myth, indeed from the period from Thuban to Polaris as
our pole stars, the great bear is seen to walk along the local horizon at
the time of the greening. Her slow steady plod is provided by the
diurnal movement of the night sky. When the winter comes and the
growth stops, she is only seen high in the night sky, asleep with her
legs in the air. Thus in this period which embraces the dawn of
recorded history up to modern times the bear annually awakes as the
earth awakes and sleeps as the earth sleeps, indeed in this simple fact
could lie the reason for the nature of the naming of that part of the
sky.

Usra Major is seen to walk along the horizon (set for the evening at 45 North in
current times) in the greening-time of the biosphere. The horizon is the light grey
area and the diurnal movement of the earth causes the bear to move from left to
right over the course of the night.

What does it mean? I truly have no idea except to think that there are
star voices out there that we can no longer hear. Yet we would all
agree that at its heart astrology is about the relationship we have with
the sky. The horoscope is our attempt to map this symbolic but also
practical relationship that exists in the space between earth and the
firmament. In fact the horoscope is a map of the sacred place that
exists between two worlds; the place where life exists in the thin
membrane maybe only a few miles wide between the planet and the
universe. Your chart is your personal map of the edge of these two
worlds, the sacred place of meeting where life hovers between the
rock of the earth and the boundless universe of space.[4]

The Greeks tidied this map as indeed they tidied this sacred
relationship. Just as they domesticated our minds and laid down
methods for human thought, they also domesticated the sky,
removing from it all that could not be tabulated, organised, made
logical or tamed. They applied reductionist thinking to the sky and in
their pursuit of logic they gave us the ecliptic[5] (defined as the
pathway of the annual movement of the sun) and then, by measuring
all other celestial objects against their newly made ruler, the
astronomers/astrologers placed the rest of the visible universe within
the sun's domain. This reductionism of the sky removed its spherical
dimensions, removed the "roundness" and replaced it with a single
line. This removed from the astrologer's process the need to observe
or look at the sky. Any object in the visible universe which was to be
placed onto the astrologer's maps was now only considered as a point
located on the new sun-sky ruler.

Sean Kane in his book Wisdom of the Mythtellers[6] talks of the

tendency of humanity only to read myths and literature in relation to
ourselves. He calls this attitude anthropocentric (human centred). He
suggests that this approach of human-centred literature blinds us to
the greater meanings of some mythologies which he indicates may
well be written with humans only as secondary characters.
Transposing this argument into astrology one can suggest that the
practice of astrologers to only consider a celestial object if it is
measured on the ecliptic is an ecliptocentric attitude.

This ecliptocentric astrology only permits a celestial object a voice in

humanity's dialogue with the heavens if through mathematics it is
made to walk the single line of the sun. Or another way of seeing this
is to realise that we have adjusted our sacred and personal
relationship between earth and sky to encompass only the sun's point
of view.

As a result, the astrology we have developed is what can more aptly

be called planetology or solarsystemology, as it is really about the
relationship we have with the planets and the seasons on earth and
very little to do with the dome of the starry sky. Indeed the only star
that is represented in the map is Helios our sun and the planets in a
horoscope are measured in one dimension in relationship to Helios'
journey. Therefore, the prefix of astro which means "of the stars"
should not really be used. However, do not misunderstand my
sentiments here. I regard planetology as a very powerful technique;
nothing is more revealing than a horoscope with its circle of the
ecliptic and the sun and planets located on this band, falling into
houses, zodiac signs and geometrical relationships with each other.

But in any chart there are planetary aspects that will have a range of
expressions, a spectrum of potentials. Indeed when we combine
planets in a horoscope we relate these to large collective patterns and
suggest, via the art of astrology, how the individual will find a way to
reveal these patterns in their life. Hence a Mercury-Pluto combination,
to use just one example, is a pattern of mental intensity, a pattern of
idiosyncratic behaviour or neurotic tendency that exists within the
human condition. To see it in a person's horoscope indicates to the
astrologer that this person has the potential for this particular motif to
unfold in their life.

But to delineate a chart one must first develop the art of identifying
these collective archetypes or issues and then (and most certainly the
hardest part of the process) to synthesise the unique blend as
represented in the chart into a meaningful life story or life-expression.
Consequently, the question that plays around the edge of the
astrologer's mind as one stirs the soup of aspects, planets and houses
is that, although one can see the basic qualities and issues in the
chart, just how strong will be its flavour and what will be the final
nature of the mix? There are never certain answers to these
questions, but we may be able to see more if we can raise our eyes
away from our ecliptocentric view.

As we can see from the great bear, planets are not the only celestial
lights to walk upon our earth and although the Greek approach
effectively ignores the star's own language and position in the sky and
thus removes this voice from astrology's sacred maps, the myths and
deep symbolic meanings with which humanity has empowered the
stars - here I mean the stars, not the planets - are still walking
amongst us. The stellar myths and stories are still involved in
humanity's relationship with the sky and the earth. In Sean Kane's
(1998) opinion old gods do not die but have found refuge in the trees
and rivers. In the case of astrology where our trees and rivers are the
stars and the constellations, they have not died; it is just that we have
stopped listening to their stories.

So how do we move away from our ecliptocentric view? How can we

return the sacred spherical dimension to our maps? It is the rotation
of the earth itself on its axis that provides us with the answer. As the
earth rotates it divides the celestial sphere into four quarters, indeed it
actually squares the circle. These four quarters are made up of the
contact that the earth has with the boundary of the sky (the horizon)
which gives us the Ascendant and the Descendant, and the turning
point in the sky where an object, rising above the earth, then turns to
come tumbling back down which provides the MC and the nadir or IC.
These four points are how the earth "touches" the sky. If a planet rises
with a star, then that star walks with that planet as they both touch
the horizon line together. If a planet culminates, sets or is on the nadir
at the same time that a star occupies one of the sacred earth-
generated angles, then that star walks with that planet. Both star and
planet are interacting with the earth in the same instance. This
relationship is called a paran. Put more poetically, if a planet and a
star are both touching the earth-generated angles simultaneously, the
meanings of the two celestial lights are merged. The human
archetypal issues of the planet are blended with the Palaeolithic and
Neolithic myths of the stars. The old gods speak but now they are not
being forced to speak only the sun's language.

The outcome of this interaction is that the nature of the planet is not
altered but rather it is directed, focused, calibrated by the nature of
the star. The result of this blending, for the astrologer, is to gain
information about the level of intensity and focus of a planetary
combination.

This is the starry river that can flow through a chart.

Let us take an example of two people both with Mercury ruling their
Ascendant, both with Mercury in their 2nd house and both with
Mercury lightly aspected. The first is Agatha Christie, the famous
crime writer, whose Mercury is unaspected and in Libra and the second
is Alan Turing, the genius of WW2 who broke the Germany codes and
built the first computer.[7] Turing has Mercury in Cancer only forming
a quincunx to Jupiter and a wide conjunction to the sun.
Now it is clear that both people have quite different charts which of
course would have an impact on the astrologer's delineation of their
natal Mercurys. Nevertheless we can gain considerable insight into the
nature of their interest and their approach and attitude to their mental
endeavours by looking at the stars that are in paran with their
Mercurys.

For Alan Turing, with his Cancer Mercury and Gemini rising, we would
read a love of ideas, a natural curiosity but an emotional nature to his
thinking. He would go on his instincts more than follow the rules. The
following stars are also in paran to his Mercury :[8]

Stars in paran to Mercury

(Related to Education, business skills, intellect)
Star Orb Contact Meaning
On Nadir as Mercury Receiving recognition for noble ideas,
Regulus 0" 11'
rises provided one avoids intrigue
Rising as Mercury
Alkes 0" 01' To undertake detailed and precise work
culminates
On Nadir as Mercury A pessimistic attitude, or one who is
Facies 0" 07'
culminates judged, or speaks, harshly
The translator, a person who builds
Mirach 0" 29' Rising as Mercury sets
rapport between ideas or languages
On Nadir as Mercury
Menkar 0" 48' To speak for the collective
sets
Culminating as A visionary with a very persuasive voice,
Vega 0" 40'
Mercury is on Nadir or charismatic ideas - Circumpolar

Turing was not given any recognition for his work because it was of a
secret nature. Even after the war the British government did not want
the world to know that they had broken the code of the Enigma
machines, since they had issued them to commonwealth countries and
wanted to be able to spy on those nations. The warning of intrigue
with his Regulus paran is blatant. Turing, after being the genius to
decipher codes, create new ways of thinking, and build the first
problem solving machines, eventually committed suicide because of
bias and the medical treatment he received in an endeavour to cure
his homosexuality. The stars really do speak for themselves in their
combination with his Mercury for they show us his genius but also his
difficulties.

In contrast to this we have the other Mercury-strong chart of Agatha

Christie.

Christie's Mercury is in Libra with Virgo rising. Such a Mercury will also
love detail but in a more artistic than mathematical context. Christie's
parans are quite different to Turing's and are as follows:

Stars in paran to Mercury

(Related to Education, business skills, intellect)
Star Orb Contact Meaning
Setting as Mercury The innovator, gifted with ideas, words or
Scheat 0" 49'
rises rhythm; far-sighted
Rising as Mercury Mental obsession with a subject or a
Antares 0" 42'
culminates person

So Christie is obsessive, but gifted, with her Libra Mercury, and she
uses this to become a prolific crime writer as the Antares paran would
be too intense to allow her to tolerate the idea of the romantic novel.

This is quite a simple example. I have not even explored the

constellational meanings of these stars. But the key point is that the
star parans have not overpowered the meaning of the planetary
combination but rather they have simply, effectively and easily
focused it, allowing the astrologer to give a far more detailed
delineation of the chart. By unambiguously using the star's basic
meanings when combined with Mercury, as shown in this computer
printout, I hope the reader can see that by moving away from the
biases of ecliptocentric astrology and allowing the stars to have their
own voice, an enriching field of information awaits the astrologer's
eye.

Maybe I am star-dreaming but with a pole star back in the centre of

the visible world it may just be possible that astrologers will start once
again to reach out for the stars. We need to remember that
astrologers are the traditional guardians of this sacred relationship
between the earth and the sky and by stretching our awareness
beyond ecliptocentric thinking and including the whole dome of the
sky, we can open our minds once more to the other voices of the sky,
the old myths and stories placed by our ancestors onto our "trees and
rivers".

Notes & References:

1] For the southern hemisphere this will be the

summer solstice sunrise or sunset
  Back to text
 

2] The galactic centre at 26° Sagittarius.

  Back to text  

3] The actual cycle length is 25,800 years but twice in

this cycle the solstice will be in the Milky Way.
  Back to text
 

4] Complexity theory, if it considered the total

biosphere, would call this the phase transition
  between total order and chaos.  
Back to text

5] By the early fourth century bce Eudoxis of Knidos

moved cosmology from its earlier mythical or
theological models to mathematical and/or
  mechanical models.
 

Back to text

6] Kane, Sean. (1998) Wisdom of the Mythtellers.

Ontario, Canada: Broadview Press.
  Back to text
 

7] Chart data source: Blackwell's database.

  Back to text  

8] The following star paran excerpts are taken directly

from Starlight. Readers can have their own parans
  sent to them by visiting www.zyntara.com  
Back to text

Bernadette Brady is a professional consulting astrologer, co-principal of Astro

Logos, a post graduate speciality school for astrologers, and a faculty member of the
Astrological Guild of Educators Int. (A.G.E Int.). She is a Fellow of the Federation of
Australian Astrologers and holds an FAA Diploma.
 Her publications include : the astrological software package Starlight
(co-authored with Barnswood Ltd and published through Heliacal
Rising), and Jigsaw (Astrolabe, USA, and Esoteric Technologies,
Australia) which she co-authored with Esoteric Technologies; and
her books: The Eagle and the Lark: a Textbook of Predictive
Astrology (Weisers USA, 1992, 1999) which has been translated into
Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, and Bulgarian ; and Brady’s Book of Fixed Stars
(Weisers, USA 1998) translated into Russian.

Her first book was reprinted in 1999 as Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark
by Weisers, USA, and was the winner of the UK's Spica Award for the Best
Astrological Book of the Year.

Australian by nationality, Bernadette now lives in Bristol, UK, and is undertaking her
Masters degree in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology at Bath Spa University.

© Bernadette Brady, 2004.

http://www.skyscript.co.uk

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