(Astrology Explored) A meteor shower and the Full Hunter’s moon combine on Thursday October 21 and Friday the 22nd. to provide a celestial light show.
The annual meteor show is thought to originate from the leftovers of Halley’s comet, and “appear to shoot from the second-brightest star in the Orion constellation, or from the hunter’s elbow.”
Because of their apparent position, these meteors are called Orionids.
Comets and meteors share a checkered past when it comes to astrological prediction. Jim R. Lewis writes in his book “The Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences”:
“As extraordinary heavenly phenomena that did not appear to follow the same regular patterns as the stars or planets, comets were traditionally regarded as signs of unusually important events. In Western countries, in particular, they were regarded as omens of disaster—such as plagues, famines, and war. In China, they wee also traditionally regarded as omens—either good or evil.”
Orion was a mythic hero in Greek literature, though his story comes to us in pieces and those pieces do not always agree. Wikepedia tells us:
Orion was the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Euryale,[7] daughter of Minos, King of Crete. Orion could walk on the waves because of his father; he walked to the island of Chios where he got drunk and attacked Merope,[8] daughter of Oenopion, the ruler there. In vengeance, Oenopion blinded Orion and drove him away. Orion stumbled to Lemnos where Hephaestus — the lame smith-god — had his forge. Hephaestus told his servant, Cedalion, to guide Orion to the uttermost East where Helios, the Sun, healed him; Orion carried Cedalion around on his shoulders. Orion returned to Chios to punish Oenopion, but the king hid away underground and escaped Orion’s wrath. Orion’s next journey took him to Crete where he hunted with the goddess Artemis and her mother Leto, and in the course of the hunt, threatened to kill every beast on Earth. Mother Earth objected and sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion. The creature succeeded, and after his death, the goddesses asked Zeus to place Orion among the constellations. Zeus consented and, as a memorial to the hero’s death, added the Scorpion to the heavens as well.
Like his uncle Chiron, Orion was half divine, half mortal. Unlike Chiron, for all his courage Orion seemed to lack wisdom.
From the Encyclopedia of Heavenly Influences by James. R. Lewis
“As extraordinary heavenly phenomena that did not appear to follow the same regular patterns as the stars or planets, comets were traditionally regarded as signs of unusually important events. In Western countries, in particular, they were regarded as omens of disaster—such as plagues, famines, and war. In China, they wee also traditionally regarded as omens—either good or evil.”
This full moon is in the zodiac sign of Aries, the god of war, and is in direct opposition not only to the Sun but the planet of duty and restrictions, Saturn in the relationship sign of Libra. The moon is trine to the planet of transformation, Pluto, which is not always a good thing. It is all too easy for this Aries moon to go overboard, to try to control people and events much too tightly. Like our buddy Orion, there is a tendency to a little too far, to try to take rather than negotiate. Unlike Orion we should be circumspect in our actions, negotiate rather than take by force, consider the consequences of our actions rather than leave our actions in the hands of the intoxications of the moment. After all, Mars and Venus are in the sign of the Scorpion, the foe of Orion. As with all things Scorpio, the message is that rather than to try to control other people, we need to learn to control ourselves.
Orion was transformed by his death and rather than suffer the usual fate of going to Hades and being judged for his life, was set in the heavens as a constellation. But he is not alone. The Scorpion is set in the heavens as a companion and a reminder of the consequences of intemperate and ill-advised actions.
And for those that watch the skies and who don’t want to contemplate the meaning of the synchronistic event of the Orionids streaking across the Hunter’s moon, at least they can enjoy the celestial light show.
