The Apprentice Pillar,  Rosslyn Chapel taken by the author ©.

Rosslyn Chapel is a place that seems to whisper the secrets of renewal; a strange wind rises from the crypt forming lilies, roses, aloe vera, oak leaves, maize, and corn intricately carved in stone. Green Men and Green Women stare from all directions in chronological order from youth to decay reminding us of the importance of the natural world with its processes and cycles. We know the story of why the pillar is called the Apprentice Pillar (if you don’t look it up), but maybe there is another meaning of “Apprentice” in this context- we are still learning how to co- create with the Laws of Nature.

The vaulted ceiling is a starry cosmos; the 8-pointed star of Ishtar hangs resplendently between the Apprentice Pillar with its 8 dragons coiled around the base and the Mason’s Pillar which does not have foliage growing around it but is instead carved of rigid vertical lines… it all points to the mystery.

8 Pointed Star- Rosslyn Chapel, taken by the author ©.

Whenever I visit the Chapel, I learn something new: Today I learned that the carving of the Danse Macabre in the Northeast corner of the Chapel, was among the first depictions in Europe (not shown here). It may seem counterintuitive to think about death today when all around the Earth is stirring and seeds are beginning ever so slowly to rise in the Imbolc energies however in the cycle of things there can be no renewal without a preceding death, and no death without a preceding life.

Disciplini Oratory(triumph of death), Giacome Borlone, 1458

Adding to the mystery of the secret of Rosslyn is Dolly the Sheep cloned a few miles up the road at the Roslin Institute on July 5^th, 1996. Pluto had just ingressed into Sagittarius, and Uranus -even more recently- had ingressed into Aquarius- both planets were retrograde. Asteroid Prometheus was conjunct Mars at 14° Gemini (Mars was at 16°). The cloning of Dolly was indeed a Promethean act- stealing the secrets of life and death from the gods… or more probably the goddess. The wisdom of the Dark Goddess had been harnessed by the Sun, symbolically mirrored by His exact conjunction with Lilith in her wild and true oscillating state.

Dolly was the first mammal to be cloned from an adult cell proving the seemingly impossible… specialized cells could be used to produce an exact copy of the mammal, animal, (human) they came from. This opened a whole new chapter in genetic modification  allowing the possibility of personal stem cells known as iPS cells.

Astrology Chart for Dolly the Sheep.

The expanded vision gleaned from Pluto’s journey through Sagittarius followed by the breaking down of old systems and tradition values (Pluto in Capricorn) to now- Pluto in Aquarius has paved the way for a brave new world. Hanging precariously in the balance between human and machine, aided by the intricacies and sophistication of biotechnology, science, and space exploration we are given more power and with that increased responsibility.

The message as we cross this threshold is: Proceed With Caution.

The gods though dead and buried in the labyrinths of the human psyche, fallen from their Olympian thrones, continue to warn us of the dangers of hubris. These days we may not be chained to rocks to have our liver pecked endlessly by an eagle or perish in flames caused by a thunderbolt fired by Zeus. These days the cost, no less symbolic, is seen in escalating human illness and earthy devastation. Greed, lack of wisdom, and the misuse of power, not to mention the rejection of the Dark Goddess and her sacred Laws of Renewal will be brought to trial before the Lords and Ladies of the Underworld over the next 2 decades.

Like Orpheus who tries to bring Eurydice back from the dead, or Inanna who is repeatedly told “Quiet, Inanna, the ways of the underworld are perfect, They may not be questioned”   we may find that there are are secrets we are not ready to learn.

Orpheus before Pluto and Persephone, by François Perrier, 1645

Mythologically, Pluto ruled the deep earth that contained the seeds necessary for a bountiful harvest. In the Eleusinian Mysteries which are involved with the deepest processes of renewal in accordance with Nature, Pluto is seen as an embodiment of Nature.

Pluto the Chthonic god of the underworld meets Uranus the Sky god in the sign of Aquarius.

There are certain natural laws that will need to be honoured for the waters of life to flow.

The test of this time is the necessary harmonising of technology and nature. The intermediate is human consciousness.

Aquarius by Johfra Bosschart