One Part Animal
…On the Chiron/Pallas connection
Marsilio Ficino, the Dumbledore of the Italian Renaissance, felt the human soul was part human, part animal. No matter how civilized we might feel, a hungry tiger stalks the dark forest of our unconscious, feathers are often found on our tongues, and our better instincts are often overrun by something truly primal. Conflict coaxes this animal out. War sets it free.
In this painting by Botticeli entitled ‘Pallas and the Centaur’ we glimpse a potential moment of soul growth. The centaur has been caught by Pallas. His bow drawn, perhaps ready to shoot, and the Goddess of Good Reason and Timeless Wisdom strokes his hair and whispers advice into his ear. Whether his arrow was pointed at an enemy or some forbidden animal, the shame and guilt are clear on his face. This centaur is not Chiron, yet today Pallas Athene and Chiron converge at 11º23' Aries (on this day in 1482 the two were also together, but in Pisces instead; That’s the year Sandro finished the painting. Not sure about the month, just interesting to note).
The Chandra Symbol for the conjunction brings us more female wisdom:
AN OLD WOMAN HEARS THE STARS TALKING TO HER AT NIGHT
…an image I’m sure many of you can relate to. Such nocturnal stirrings are common amongst my readers. It’s a practice more geared to our human part. That’s not to say the animal in us can’t ‘hear the stars’, it’s just that the human side is the one doing the interpreting and communicating of what it’s hearing.
One interpretation of the painting is that it’s an allegory on the peace after the Pazzi wars, assuming that once the blood has poured into the earth and the destruction complete, it’s the animal part of our soul that needs some stroking from Athene. As the war continues in Ukraine, we watch the animal in us ravage our good sense of reason. Anyone who calls for an escalation of the conflict has succumbed to the animal and has stopped hearing the stars. War backward is raw; it’s the territorial pissings and pencil neck hunger we have for constant progress. This illusion driven by greed is the same energy in truck nuts and nuclear weapons. It’s animal-driven signaling we must push through. If we don’t, the humanity found in the soul will be destroyed.
I often wonder if our health care was run by Chiron, instead of corrupt institutions, how much different the world would be. I also wonder what it may be like to live in a theocracy where the Goddess of Wisdom was our lead, not Janus-faced politicians. When we wonder, when we imagine alternatives, we are connecting to the human part of the soul. We re-constellate the situation and become less reactive like the pack of wolves we may find ourselves in.
A conjunction between Chiron and Athene is a traditional tea ceremony where the conversation changes both parties. It’s an opportunity for us to locate the fuse and stomp it out. It’s an epiphany we see in Botticelli’s painting. There’s no shame in laying down our bow. We must save our strength. It will be needed.
* Find them in Aries inside your chart. Think about them often. Hear them out. Both sides!
Eudaimonia,
Adam
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