Libra New Moon, September 2022: The Wasteland & the Fisher King

Image: Venus setting fire to the castle where the Rose is imprisoned in the medieval French romance ‘Roman de la Rose’

New Moon in Libra Sunday 25 September at 22.54 BST

During the past two weeks while much attention has been on the Royal House of Windsor and the British Monarchy, I have been looking at the astrology charts of some key royals and royal events.

The archetype of the King and Queen, their symbolic and literal meaning and how it connects with modern Britain has fired some interesting questions. Astrology offers clues about the inner life of the Royal family- a powerful institution that operates far beyond either the individuals or the structures that form it.

The question of whether Charles III may be a Fisher King has breathed new life into the Grail myth. Intimately bound with Britain and the Arthurian legends, the magical quest for the ‘Sangreal’ (blood royal) flows through time with the promise of renewal.

Healing comes when a young knight asks the sick king the correct question, “what ails thee?”

In astrology the Centaur Chiron, half human, half horse has attributes that have been paralleled with the Fisher King… a wound that does not heal, an element of sacrifice, acceptance of one’s destiny, and finally redemption.

Chiron, who is also known as the wounded healer suffers but holds the key to renewal. In the chart of the now king, Chiron is strong at 28 Scorpio inconjunct the Moon at 0 Taurus (with the lunar North node at 3 Taurus). Chiron is also inconjunct Uranus at 29 Gemini creating an aspect pattern known as Yod- the finger of God-or the finger of fate.

Charles’ Sun is conjunct Chiron strengthening the ‘chirotic’ signature and hallmark of a possible Fisher King.

The motif of the Fisher King, expressed through Chiron, is even more pronounced in the chart of Prince William, the now Prince of Wales. With a Yod pointing to Chiron, William also bears the signature of a Fisher King… particularly interesting is his Chiron exactly conjunct Venus at 25 Taurus.

In the Grail myth, inappropriate or disrespectful treatment of the feminine festers at the core of the disease that pervades the land; this is expressed in the brutal treatment of the Maidens of the Wells in ‘The Elucidation’.

While in Charles’ chart Chiron conjunct the Sun points to a wound of the self and to the masculine, in William’s chart the close Chiron Venus conjunction highlights the wounded feminine or loss of the feminine. This theme is painfully highlighted in Prince William’s life through the death of his mother, Diana on 31st August 1997.

As the current King (and his heir) prepare to shape the future of Britain and the third Carolean era, the woman who connects them, Princess Diana of Wales, dead for 25 years does not rest easy.

The events of her death are chilling and mysterious and raises questions that many do not care to ask, and others do not care to answer.

Beneath the surface, in the subtleties of the collective psyche this mystery creates deep-seated unease causing a cognitive dissonance. Something is not right …

While the questions remain unasked and unanswered there is a disturbance in the field and the possibility for true restoration and renewal remains out of reach.

As we move into Venus ruled Libra season there is an opportunity to evaluate the information and facts however this cannot be done within the spheres of the exterior world; inner vision is needed. After all, the operations of the British Royal family are complex and not always as they appear.

In this new moon chart, there is a strong kite aspect pattern with Venus at the apex or release point. With a grand trine in earth the top of the kite is Neptune at 23 ° Pisces (which is conjunct asteroid Diana at 20 ° Pisces).

Pisces – the fish- theme has been integral to recent events in the royal mythopoesis not least because Charles became king around the time of the Pisces full moon.

Neptune ruler of Pisces in opposition to Venus in a kite configuration at the seed moment of the new lunar cycle feels important and timely especially as it coincides with the Sun’s ingress into Libra where the scales of justice weigh the heart of the matter.

I feel this is a turning point.

The kite pattern is also present in Diana’s chart with a grand trine in water with Chiron as the release point and Pluto the transformer as the active opposing agent in earth (Virgo).

Chiron runs through the charts of the royals like a (potential) sacred stream watering the Wasteland where the earth has become too dry and arid from generations of patriarchal tradition. It shows the wound and the antidote. While the Maidens of the Well are captive in the castle of the shadow kings, the soul of the land and its people suffer.

Diana’s Chiron at 6 ° Pisces on the release point of the kite, transformed by Pluto- death- is a story of sacrifice on many levels but was not in vain. Who could help but think of Diana at the passing of the old Queen? Her spirit lives on stubbornly refusing to be silenced in death just as in life.

In her chart asteroid Diana- the Moon goddess- is conjunct Neptune which shows up prominently repeatedly in the royal mythos.

Neptune has an illusionary, smoke and mirrors quality where things are not as they appear, and the fairy-tale belies a darker truth. Diana known as the ‘Fairy-tale Princess’ was unable or unwilling to sustain the illusion. Also known as ‘England’s Rose’, Diana once radiant and fresh withered and died in the foul air that surrounded her.

The rose is a symbol of the sacred feminine which is different to the sovereign feminine within patriarchal institutions. While the rose is withered, and the wells are dry the Grail is not found, and the land lies in waste.

Chiron goes retrograde- “What ails thee?”

The Fisher King by Leonora Carrington, 1961

The Fisher King by Leonora Carrington.

Yesterday I wrote about the Grail, about connecting with our uniqueness on our journey toward individuation or soul making. Our uniqueness is a blend of our gifts, talents, wounds, and woes…

Chiron teaches us to recognise that our wounds may also be our greatest gifts.

When Chiron goes retrograde- as it does from today until mid-December- our core wounds may be felt more acutely however the opportunity is to discover new ways to transform them.

Archetypally Chiron can be explored through the myth of the Fisher King from the Grail legends- while the king is wounded the land lays in waste; redemption comes when Parzival, the young knight finally has the nous to ask the question, “what ails thee”. Failing to ask this question prevents healing of the wounded King and the wasteland. Asking the question requires nothing less than absolute willingness to face the truth.

In terms of psychology asking ourselves that same question “what ails thee” is the key to our healing. Chiron asks us to face our deepest pain so that we might know it. Knowing it is not necessarily the same as healing it, rather Chiron encourages us to transmute the wound so that we are no longer disabled by it… and then claim it as a power.

Chiron teaches us to not only bear our cross but in doing so to help others to overcome their own afflictions by being a living light in the face of adversity. In this way Chiron as the Shaman archetype is often equated with Christ.

In the gospel of St. Luke, Jesus says,

“Whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

In the Chiron journey of reclamation, we become our own hero or heroine. Once we have reclaimed ourselves, we let go of the people, situations, circumstances, limitations, and voices of contempt that rejected, disrespected, or tried to change us, and stand firm in the truth of who we are. Or we develop a new relationship with them.

I am available for astrology consultations to explore how Chiron operates in your chart/life.

The Royal Road & the Holy Grail… a post inspired by dreams.

Dante_Gabriel_Rossetti_-_The_Damsel_of_the_Sanct_Grael_(1874)

Dante Gabriel Rossetti – The Damsel of the Sanct Grael (1874)

Dreams said Freud are the royal road to the unconscious, while for Jung dreams- perhaps above all else- are the psyche’s way of communicating valuable information.

Our dreams are the bridge between the conscious and unconscious mind; our bridge is not the same as anyone else’s, it is the path to our very own Grail castle and offers the possibility of the elixir that will nourish our soul.

The way we can share this gift is by becoming the unique individual that we are meant to be.

Therapies, modalities, templates, theories, religions, and teachings that do not consider the individual soul can lead us only so far… at a certain point we are on our own.

Jung says “…anyone who attempts to do both, to adjust to his group and at the same time pursue his individual goal, becomes neurotic.”

It’s a fine balance. It has never been an easy path to be true to oneself and find a way of living in the world with integrity however now more than ever the world needs individuals who live by their unique soul’s code.

The journey of soul making is a subtle interplay of inner and outer conditions encompassing the irrational and the daimonic while appreciating the interconnectedness, or synchronicity, of seemingly unrelated events.

For Jung this is the process of individuation and for Mythologist Joseph Campbell it is the Hero’s Journey.

According to Russian mystic and spiritual teacher Gurdjieff, we are born only with the potential for a soul, it is not a guarantee that we will attain a soul- a fully articulated vehicle of consciousness connecting the body directly with the sources of its creation.

For Gurdjieff, developing a soul is very difficult and can only be brought to fruition directly within the conditions of our own life.

This is the Way of the Grail.

Consider that your uniqueness is a subtle tapestry woven from all your life circumstances, your inner disposition and sensitivities, the place you were born, the era and the family you were born into, as well as all of the encounters you have experienced …everything in fact that makes you you.

This is the prima materia of your soul.

When we accept that everything we have experienced up to this point has been necessary to create the individual soul that we are we can no longer be a victim.

Trusting and surrendering to this requires Faith.

Jung says the key is this: we must be able to let things happen in the psyche.

Paying attention to dreams is an excellent way of soul making.