Mary Jo Wevers

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The Asteroids

The asteroids are minor planets of the inner Solar System. The large majority of known asteroids orbit the Sun in a diffuse belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The asteroid belt consists of what some astronomers believe to be innumerable pieces of a planet which broke apart and fragmented. Symbolically these fragments represent different parts of ourselves that have become fractionated, disconnected, compartmentalized, and are wounded and hurt. 

While the traditional ruler of Virgo is Mercury, many modern astrologers feel the more appropriate rulers are the asteroids and the centaur Chiron. Rulership of Virgo by the asteroids is more congruent with her description and aligns more closely with the character of this feminine earth sign than placing her under the rulership of masculine Mercury, who more appropriately rules the intellectual air sign of Gemini. 

Although there are thousands of asteroids, the four largest are the ones most commonly used by modern astrologers in chart interpretations. These asteroids are named after goddesses in Greek and Roman mythology, which represent female archetypes. Each archetype symbolizes a different facet or fragment of feminine earth energy found in the human psyche. Through Virgo, the broken fragments, represented by the asteroids, can be recovered and reclaimed. Using the Virgo powers of analysis, discrimination, categorizing, and healing we can recover, mend and integrate these disconnected parts of ourselves, assimilate them and become whole.

Ceres

Ceres was the largest of the asteroids, before its reclassification and promotion to ‘dwarf planet’ in 2006. In mythology Ceres is the Roman version of the earlier Greek goddess Demeter. Da mater means “earth mother.” Ceres/Demeter is the goddess of the abundance of the land, agriculture, and the harvest. She is known as the Goddess of Grain. Pagan farmers saw her as the source of all food crops. Ceres’ daughter Persephone learned to tend the crops and nurture living things at the side of her mother. 

In the astrological chart Ceres represents the need for nurturing as well as the capacity for nurturing others. Ceres shows what we need from ourselves and others to feel unconditional love. The sign of Ceres in your astrological chart shows how you need to be nurtured and nourished, as well as how you express your propensity to nurture and nourish others.

While the Moon rules the protection, caring and feeding of babies and very young children, Ceres rules the nurturing of older children and the caring for adults. She rules mentoring and apprenticeships, relationships where the Ceres archetype instructs and guides the protege how to grow and flourish.

Ceres rules the growth of crops and animals and their major life cycles including life and death. As the goddess who has control over nature’s resources and natural life cycles, Ceres is associated with environmental and ecological causes in our modern world. Here the care-taking function of Ceres is broadened from interpersonal relationships to instinctive nurturing of the environment and the global community dependent upon it.

Ceres governs mother-child relationships, attachment and dependency. In our culture women tend to express Ceres’ energy more easily than men. A woman with a strongly place Ceres in her astrological chart yearns to be a nurturing caretaker. Men and women with a strong Ceres make good parents.

The dark shadow side of Ceres, expressed problematically, include withholding of nurturance, or over-controlling others for the sake of nurturing. Modern topics that fall under Ceres realm include nourishment, eating disorders, women’s reproductive rights, custody struggles, empty-nest syndrome, environmental issues and work stoppages.

Pallas

The asteroid Pallas was discovered shortly after Ceres, and is the second largest asteroid. In Greek mythology Pallas Athena is a Warrior Goddess. She was born fully grown and armed from the head of her father Zeus, after Zeus swallowed her mother. She is one of the first goddesses of the new patrilineal and patriarchal culture, where power and inheritance from the mother line was subjugated to the sole power and authority of men. She is the archetype of the daughter who learns to identify with her father and live in a man’s world.

Pallas is a somewhat androgynous goddess who refused to marry. She was known for her absolute chastity. She channeled her efforts into achieving success by aligning herself with the patriarchy, its goals and measures of success. She is willing and able to do the things that will please those in power, even if it means denying her feminine self. The armor she wears walls off her emotional vulnerabilities, and protects her from patriarchal judgments against feelings. 

Pallas represents feminine wisdom and intelligence that is holistic and inventive. As a great warrior and political strategist, she has a unique ability to recognize patterns, see a situation in its entirety, and devise a plan of action to achieve a goal. As a warrior goddess Pallas is a protector of those in battle. She uses compassionate wisdom to teach merciful justice and peaceful resolution of disputes. She supports the political and corporate state through her keen and perceptive intelligence and strategic efforts. 

Pallas’ intelligence is not only strategic, but also creative. In mythology she is revered for teaching the practical arts and crafts that enabled humankind to develop culture and civilization. As a patroness of the arts, her wisdom inspires artistic vision in artisans and craftspeople.  Pallas is also associated with healing and holistic therapies that integrate mind, body and spirit. 

Pallas is associated with the father-daughter relationship. She carries wounds from her relationship with her father, her lack of a mother connection, and from her allegiance to male authority. Because she identifies with men more than women, she loses a part of herself, her ability to be feminine. The dark shadow side of Pallas can be seen in selling out to the powers-that-be, or conversely, fear of success. Modern topics that fall under Pallas’ rulership include incestuous and abusive relationships with a father figure, and conversely, women who abuse men. 

Pallas helps us devise strategies that allow us to have healthy, productive relationships with those in authority, and an energetic drive to have a career. She is a promoter of professional excellence. The dilemma of professional women who sacrifice relationships or children for career falls under Pallas’ domain. Pallas at her best represents the ability to balance the male and female parts of ourselves in order to live our life fully and creatively while interacting with others effectively.

Juno

Juno is one of the two largest stony asteroids. Juno is named after the highest goddess in the Roman pantheon, the long-suffering wife of Zeus/Jupiter. She was one of only two legally married goddesses on Mount Olympus, Venus being the other. Unlike Venus, Juno honored her marriage vows, despite numerous obstacles and her husband’s legendary infidelities.  

Juno represents committed partnership. Of the four asteroid goddesses, Juno alone represents steadfast loyalty to a relationship for the sake of the relationship. In her highest and best expression, Juno represents transcendence of the personal ego that committed partnership can offer. Through partnership we can move beyond the separateness of our self by joining forces with another at the deepest levels: physically, emotionally and spiritually. 

Juno represents the wife-husband relationship. She symbolizes attitudes towards marriage and other committed, long-term, stable partnerships. If a partnership does not contain mutual respect and support, the shadow side of Juno appears revealing co-dependency and power struggles. In many of the Roman myths Juno acted out her fears of abandonment and infidelity. She experienced the “double standard” and had power struggles with Jupiter in her marriage. She experienced jealousy and indulged in score-keeping and cruelty for retaliation.  

Juno represents what we are looking for in any committed personal or professional partnership. Modern partnerships, including long-term commitments without a legal ceremony, and same-sex unions fall under Juno’s jurisdiction. Marriage contracts, separation and divorce are ruled by Juno. Other issues include co-dependence in partnerships, financial dependence, spousal abuse and powerless wives.

The Juno principle is expressed at its highest and best when rather than relinquishing total control of yourself and the relationship, or losing your identity in it, you are able to harmonize and find complete and transcendence with and through the other, your “soul mate.”

Vesta

Vesta is the brightest of the asteroids and can at times be seen by the naked eye. Vesta in Roman mythology is the goddess of the hearth known as the “keeper of the flame.” The altar of Vesta was placed in the spiritual and secular center of a community, usually in the central town square. The “vestal virgins” were priestesses of the Goddess who tended the perpetual fire in the public hearth. The vestal virgins served their community by keeping the divine flame lit not only in the town center, but also in the hearts of those they were dedicated to serving. Vesta represents the ability to keep the “home fires burning” and to sustain our connection to the sacred source of life within us.

In pre-patriarchal times vestal virgins practiced sexual rites in the temples to initiate disciples and pilgrims into the sacred mysteries. Through the sexual act they channeled the spiritual power of the Divine Feminine and provided the means through which the common man could experience Her. They were not “virgins” in the modern sense of the word, but in the original sense of belonging to no one, of being independent and in sacred service to the Goddess. 

In modern patriarchal times accessing the Divine Feminine and sharing Her powers with others through the act of sex is taboo. The collective memory we have of this aspect of ourselves is repressed and distorted. Fully connecting with our Vesta principle is not honored and respected in a culture where God is viewed as a male principle. Rather, female sexuality that is not other-centered is debased and judged as evil. When our Vesta principle is repressed we can experience sexual repressiveness, fear, alienation, frigidity and impotence, or conversely, promiscuity. In our modern times we need to learn how to re-integrate our spiritual and sexual energies.

Vesta represents devoting oneself to being of service to others and a commitment to finding meaningful work. This work is a high calling, not merely a job to earn a livelihood. In our modern society Vesta transmutes her sexual energy and channels it through her creative abilities to do meaningful work. She is dedicated and shows devotion to an altruistic cause that is sacred to her. 

Working side by side with her sister vestal virgins, Vesta represents the sister relationship. She demonstrates denial and self-sacrifice for a greater good. She keeps her emotions at arms length in order to meet the demands of her work and achieve her goals. Vesta’s shadow side is using work as compensation for other interests. She sublimates her personal interests for her vocation or career. It can also manifest as sacrifice or denial of the self for a “greater goal.”

Vesta describes our inner center, or focus, where we feel safe and whole. She represents the way we connect with our inner center, which houses our divine flame, and how we maintain it with spiritual purpose. She defines the way we use our inspiration and creativity in the world to be of greater service to our community.

“Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it.”
– Tori Amos

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Virgo: Sign of Healing and Integration

The negative polarity of the feminine earth sign of Virgo gives her a receptive, internal nature. She is a humble, practical archetype, striving to serve through self-improvement, healing, and mentoring. The word “humble” comes from the Latin word for “ground” or “earth.” Virgo is the embodiment of humility, grounded in the material world, keenly aware of the physical needs of humanity, and our interdependence and interconnectedness with the earth’s ecology. Virgo “tends the seed” with dedication and dependability. She wants the earth and its inhabitants to function more efficiently and healthily. She mentors others by passing along her guidance, skills and practical wisdom.

The key phrase for Virgo is “I Analyze.” Virgo studies the objects of her attention carefully and precisely. Her focus is on the details, symbolized by the individual grains of wheat on a stalk. Virgo analyzes and categorizes in logical, methodical ways, assimilating essential facts. Virgo can efficiently divide a task into manageable parts. She is a careful planner, capable of integrating diverse aspects of her projects. She is discriminating and discerning, scientific, conscientious and thorough in her efforts to create order and perfection.

Although Virgo appears to be concerned with the constituent parts and details of the whole, her goal is unification through refinement, realignment, and integration of parts into wholeness. In this manner she represents the holistic healing disciplines. The Divine Feminine energy of Virgo is devoted to the integration of body, mind and spirit.

Virgo rules areas of our life which prepare us for being of service in the world, including our work related skills, habits and competency. Virgo is represented by people in the service industries, social services, law enforcement, and organized labor and unions. Virgo strives to improve and perfect herself so that she can serve in higher and better ways. She learns new skills and works diligently to perfect and apply them.

Virgo also rules our physical well being and health-related habits such as diet and exercise. Virgo serves others with her healing skills, and is represented in the health profession by doctors, nurses, midwives, nutritionists, and holistic practitioners. Parts of the body ruled by Virgo are the organs of digestion and assimilation, including the intestines and gall bladder. With Mercury as her traditional ruling planet, Virgo also governs the nervous system.

The ecological sciences are ruled by Virgo. Through studying the components of ecosystems, the plants, animals and environments they are dependent upon, ecologists come to understand the interconnectedness and interdependency among the parts of a whole system. They analyze, categorize and explain energy flow, food webs, and relationships between species, populations and their physical environments. They provide understanding of the workings of the unified whole.

The domestic sciences are in Virgo’s domain. Housekeeping and household chores including cleaning, laundry, preserving and putting away food for the winter are Virgo activities. Virgo creates useful items through her crafts, sewing and weaving. She tends domestic animals and pets, and through animal husbandry produces food and useful products.

We cultivate our Virgo energy when we tend to our pets and domestic animals. By feeding, exercising and caring for their needs, we contribute to their health and well being. We learn the meaning of dedication and duty. We come to understand the importance of methodical, efficient habits and routines. Our animals become our teachers and healers in life.

Archetypal representations of Virgo include the Divine Feminine, the Earth Mother, Goddess of Fertility, and the Virgin. Isis and Mother Mary embody the energy and healing power of Virgo. Colors for Virgo are navy blue, gray and orange. Navy blue and gray are the colors of the uniforms worn by workers in the service industry. Orange is a color from the late summer harvest. Gems for Virgo are sapphires, agates and jasper. Quicksilver and nickel are its metals. Pansies and nut-bearing trees are Virgo plants. Small domestic animals and pets are Virgo animals. Parts of a house that are ruled by Virgo include bathing rooms and showers, laundry rooms, closets, cabinets with cleaning supplies, pantries and shelves.

“The purpose of life is to contribute in some way to making things better.” -Robert F. Kennedy

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The Ego and the Soul

The Sun is the center of our solar system. The innermost planets absorb and reflect its light and energy. The Sun supplies cohesive force among the planets and provides the gravitational pull that keeps them in orbit around itself, creating a unified whole.

In astrology the Sun represents the ego, which provides the cohesive force in our psyche. The other planets in our horoscope represent various urges and drives to meet specific human needs. The Sun is our conscious center, our self-image, our individuality. It holds together all the other pieces of our multifaceted self, represented by the constellation of planets in our horoscope.

As spiritual beings having a human experience, the Sun in our horoscope represents our unique frequency or vibration of Divine Spirit within us. Our Sun sign and placement in the chart define how we radiate the energy of our divine spark of life through our individuated ego-self out into the world. Our Sun is the vehicle through which our Soul can radiate its divine light and love here on Earth in our own one-of-a-kind way.

Our Soul is not intended to serve our ego purposes. When we implore Spirit to fix our worldly problems, to relieve our pain and suffering in life, we are missing the point. Our Soul does not wish us to suffer. That is our choice. Our Soul provides opportunities for us to experience life in this world as an individual so we can learn and grow. Our ego is our personal instrument which enables us to do that. 

Our ego is meant to serve our Soul’s purpose for us. Not the other way around. Instead of feeling as if we are victims struggling against life circumstances, we can reframe our thinking by asking why our Soul would wish us to have our earthly experiences. How do they expand our understanding of who we are? What can we learn from them in order to facilitate our growth? How do they serve our spiritual evolution? What opportunities do they provide for us to shine light and love into the world? 

Aligning our ego-self with our Soul’s purpose in this life time is what I call Soul-Personality Integration. Utilizing the various facets of our ego-personality in the highest and best ways in service to our Soul allows for their harmonious integration. This contributes to our spiritual growth and provides productive opportunities to radiate our divine light.

“When a personality is in full balance you cannot see where it ends and the soul begins. That is a whole human being.”     – Gary Zukav, The Seat of the Soul

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Mercury: Messenger of the Gods

In our solar system Mercury is the planet closest to the Sun. It moves quite swiftly in its elliptical orbit around the Sun, passing the Earth three times during our calendar year. 

In astrology Mercury represents the mind, the intermediary link between spirit (the Sun) and matter (the Earth). As an envoy for our spiritual life force, it is a communication channel informing our human experience. Mercury and the sign it rules, Gemini, symbolize the rational mind that is often referred to as the “lower mind” or “lower vibrational octave” of the mind. They define our everyday awareness of the physical world. This is the part of our intellect that keeps us focused on every day details in our immediate environment and processes information we take in from it. It determines how we move about in our local environment and interact with others in our side-by-side relationships.

In Roman mythology Mercury is the fleet-footed messenger of the Olympian gods, carrying information and delivering communications on their behalf. As an emissary between gods and mortals, he travels freely between the two worlds. For these reasons Mercury is associated with movement and interactions, travel and communication, commerce and trade.

In the astrological chart Mercury describes our information filter to the world: how we take in information from our environment, how we process it, and what we do with it. It determines our learning style. It defines our innate skills and intelligence, logic and reasoning ability, adaptability and dexterity. It rules how we think, our mental process, and our intellectual approach to life.

As well as determining our learning style, Mercury rules our communication style: how we express ourselves, sharing our information, thoughts and ideas with others. It determines the manner we employ to communicate. It rules our speech and verbal abilities. Interacting with our peers, writing, and public speaking all come under Mercury‘s domain.

Mercury rules movement, including short trips and all modes of transportation. It therefore indicates the style and manner we use as we move about and interact with our  immediate environment. Paying attention to our surroundings and to others is important, whether we are walking, talking, riding a bicycle or driving a car. In order for us to adapt to our local environment and interact successfully with others, we need to be responsive and develop proficiency, agility, dexterity, and street smarts.

As we learn to move about and interact within our environment, taking in information and sharing it with others, we acquire skills that are expected of us in order to function in the world. Mercury rules these “expected skills”, most of which we learn in elementary or K-12 schools. Primary education, therefore, falls under Mercury’s domain.

Mercury expressed through each of the 12 signs of the zodiac represent 12 different languages, or 12 different intellectual styles and approaches to life. The 12 signs are classified by the four elements, which correspond to Carl Jung’s personality types. The fire signs are action-oriented, willful, inspirational and spontaneous. Earth signs are concrete, practical, material and sensation oriented. Air signs are intellectual, communicative and relational. Water signs are emotional, sensitive and creative in nature. Learning about the different intellectual styles represented by Mercury in the 12 signs helps us understand and appreciate differences in human perception, thinking processes, and communication styles.

“That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you’ve understood all your life, but in a new way.” – Doris Lessing

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Symbology of Venus

The planet Venus is named after the Roman goddess of beauty and love. To the Greeks she was known as Aphrodite. She is perhaps the most ancient and primal of all the goddesses around the world, and has had many names over the millennia. She is often referred to as the Goddess of Love, and the Goddess of Generation due to her creative powers of attraction, abundance and prosperity. She is associated with the lush fertile greenness on our planet, and the life giving force it provides to animals and humankind.

Venus expresses love in the world by drawing to her the prima materia to bring Spirit into physical form. She provides warmth and substance. She holds, cares and preserves the seed: the embryo form of beauty gestating in our earthly world. As an archetypal figure Venus embodies the power of spirit to attract and animate matter. Venus represents our ability, as spiritual beings having a human experience, to manifest the beauty of spirit through our corporeal selves and by working with material resources in the world to create tangible objects of practical beauty.

The glyph for Venus, sometimes called the “Mirror of Venus,” is the circle of spirit over the cross of matter. It represents the infusion of spirit into the material world through cosmic love. Martin Schulman in his book Venus, The Gift of Love explains with spirit presiding above matter, the law of what is above pouring into what is below can manifest. Spiritual essence is always elevated above physical existence. When the two are connected and integrated in our life we experience beauty. If we identify too much with the cross of matter, we distance our self from our own spiritual nature. If we identify too much with spirit, we have difficulty grounding our self and finding outlets for spirit to express itself through our physicality.

Venus is the ruling planet of the sign of Taurus. Through Venus we connect to the world around us via our physical body and its senses. Glenn Perry in The Zodiac as a Developmental Stage Model correlates Taurus with the very early stage of life when we develop an awareness of our body and its functions. We begin to develop some level of control over it while experiencing pleasure through its senses. We become aware that the world external to our self can be unpredictable, changeable, frustrating, and even unsafe. In response, we develop an urge or need to feel secure, safe, and to seek stability and constancy. We develop an appreciation of and attachment to objects that provide us with a feeling of security. We want to acquire and possess them as our own, so we can feel permanence and stability, peace and serenity.

Venus determines our natural instinctual physical needs and desires. She defines our ability to experience comfort and contentment in the physical world. She reveals our natural talent for experiencing pleasure. She indicates the tangible possessions and material goods we are attracted to for the abundance and security they represent to us. She defines what we find valuable. She represents what we appreciate and love for the beauty and physical connections they provide in our life.

Venus rules prosperity and our capacity for enjoyment. She gives us the power to draw towards us what we desire. She encourages us to validate and fulfill our personal needs and desires for sensual and sexual gratification. She wants us to receive pleasure, to delight in the good things of life, and feel good about it. If we do not feel prosperous we may become jealous, possessive and greedy. If we are too attached to the material world we can become vain, self-indulgent and lazy. If our Venus urge is denied or unfulfilled we can become covetous, lustful and even vindictive.

Venus rules the early stages of sexual attraction and union. She determines our personal desires and receptivity to a potential sexual partner. In a woman Venus represents what is important to feel feminine, sensual and attractive. Venus is often projected in a man’s chart. It represents what he needs in a woman to feel attracted to her and help him understand his anima, his own Venus energy. The first stage of sexual attraction involves personal magnetism, pheromones and hormones. The unconscious biochemical attraction or repulsion we feel towards others is the initial “Venus phase” of a relationship. When we experience the right “chemistry” and are attracted to another, we experience an urge to gratify our Venusian needs and experience pleasure. The Venus phase of a relationship usually lasts 6 months to a year, one cycle of the planet Venus through the zodiac. Once this early stage of relationship is over, other forces and drives must come into play for a relationship to continue and blossom.