Pisces Full Moon – The Temple of Erectheum: Integrating Pisces & Virgo

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Poseidon and Athena battle for control of Athens, by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo, 1512.
Poseidon and Athena battle for control of Athens, by Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo, 1512.

Wednesday 18th September, Full Moon, partial lunar eclipse at 25 Pisces, Sun at 25 Virgo.

Recently I have been working with the Myth of Medusa as a story about liberating the soul from the bonds of trauma, and a pathway to freedom from psychological complexes.

Today as we approach the full moon, I am thinking about the myth in relation to the Pisces/Virgo axis and recognise that the myth itself can be read in the context of this polarity.

Poseidon, or Neptune, the one who peruses a sexual union with Medusa, is the ruler of Pisces, and Athena, the ruling goddess of the temple in which Medusa is a priestess, is the Virgin goddess and can therefore be considered a Virgo-like archetype.

Rivalry between Athena and Poseidon extends beyond the Medusa myth; In ancient Greece, a growing and prosperous city which was becoming very powerful caught the attention of the two gods. Each of them wanted to be the patron ruler of the city, and so the King of the city, Cecrops, judged a competition between the two that took place on the most sacred hill of the city, the  Acropolis.

Both Athena and Poseidon attempted to win the hearts and minds of the population by demonstrating what they could offer. Poseidon went first: With a tap of his trident, he caused a spring to gush forth. “I” he said, “can give you the gift of water”. When the people tasted the water, they were disappointed to discover that it was not fresh spiring water but salt water. They were further unimpressed because the location of the city was already close to the Mediterranean Sea, and was established as a major sea faring port on the trade route.

Next up was Athena, the people held their breath as the goddess crouched down close to earth, tapping her spear on the earth she caused a small plant to sprout forth. “I” said Athena will give you the gift of this precious plant, the olive tree, from which you will have wood, oil, and food. The people were impressed, and King Cecrops immediately declared Athena the patron of the city, which thereafter was known as Athens.

While Athena was recognised as the official patron of Athens, the most sacred temple in the city, the Erectheum, was shared between Athena and Poseidon.

It could also be said that the fair maiden Medusa was also shared between these gods, serving as the priestess to one and lover to the other.

What can the stories about the rivalry between the goddess of wisdom and the god of the sea offer us in our understanding of the Pisces/Virgo axis?

Perhaps the necessity to integrate both polarities.

If we are entirely taken by Poseidon (Neptune) we lose ourselves in the amniotic fluids of life and are dissolved in the waters of the unconscious. If we give ourselves entirely over to the goddess of wisdom (all things Virgo and 6th house), we become overly critical, too concerned with the rational mind, and too focused on the things of the material world.

To take the gifts of both however offers a state of being in which we can approach the great subterranean depths of feeling and the longing to merge into unity consciousness, with a dose of discernment and attention to the detail and needs of the material world, including the needs of our body. With this attitude, like the mystic, we can venture into the depths of oceanic consciousness without being drowned. Joseph Campbell tells us,

“The psychotic drowns in the same waters in which the mystic swims with delight.” 

In the void there is the potential for all creation but so is there the potential for total dissolution.

A merging of Pisces and Virgo is to know the ways of the deep water, and the ways of the earth simultaneously. It is to know boundaries, containment, discernment, and physical health while journeying in the great unknown. I feel the integration of this polarity is essentially shamanic in nature as we learn how to ascend and descend with volition, and intention, returning the world of mundane of occupation and task, with ourselves intact.

If you have ever had a psychedelic or other experience of altered consciousness in which you felt as though you had entirely lost all sense of yourself, perhaps even fearing that you would never coalesce as an integrated being ever again, you will know how truly awesome, terrible, and frightening this can be.

There is a reason that within the ancient mystery traditions – which often centred around disintegration of the self and a confrontation with death – there was in all cases strict protocol to be adhered to. The containers were tight, the structures were strong, and the guidance was based on solid tradition led by seasoned elders, and holy men and women.

Meeting the archetypal world today is a great deal looser and we have lost much of our ancient wisdom in this regard.

A blending of the Pisces/Virgo polarity is also important in deterring archetypal possession or inflation. History has shown the often dire consequences of an individual, a whole community, or an entire country who is under the spell of archetypal possession, or collective inflation.

We must approach the archetypal realm with a code of conduct: reverence, respect, and humility. Meeting the gods without due respect is considered hubris by the ancient Greeks, the penalty of which was severe. In modern psychological terms, the dangers are no less real and those who become lost in archetypal inflation are still susceptible to the laws of the physical world and the human/mortal realm… something the gods need not concern themselves with.

All of that said, meetings with the muse, with the archetypes, the gods, or, as Jung might say, the daimon, are incredibly rich, often resulting in transcendent experiences in which the gifts of the gods, may be brought back to the everyday world. This gift may be for an individual or for the collective. Many artists have produced their greatest work whilst in the grip of the daimon, and many helpful and beneficial discoveries that aid humanity have come through what appears to be some kind of divine revelation.

To get lost for a while, and to be at the mercy of the gods, to be a channel through which the numinous flows, can be intoxicating. It is no wonder that the artist can dive into a painting for days, weeks, and months on end without considering her physical or emotional needs.

Yes, people can go mad under an archetypal possession, and remember, there is also much delusion within the Neptune archetype. If our daily lives lack magic or else are just too hard to deal with, a Neptunian seduction or escape, however it presents itself, may look good enough to surrender to without due consideration.

The goddess Athena, or Virgo, the Virgin goddess, can provide an essential toolkit for the journey. As with the hero Perseus, when we ask the correct questions imbued with an unfailing respect for the power of the archetypal and instinctual worlds, we may win the gifts of the gods and live to tell the story.

When the head of Medusa is slain, from her bloody neck springs forth Pegasus and Chrysaor, reminding us that it is the soul, the bridge between spirit and matter, that we must cross. Too much matter, or too much spirit will eliminate the vital spark, or sacred flame within.

With this full moon also being a partial lunar eclipse, it could be a good time to bring the light of consciousness to any preconceptions, thoughts, beliefs, or conditioning we may have around creativity, soul, spirit, rationalism, discernment, and the containers we have, or need, to move safely in the archetypal, and imaginal worlds.

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