Persephone
(Astrology Explored) Daughter of immortal deities, called the Goddess of Spring, Persephone’s story is Scorpionic in nature. Her birth, her life and her eventual role as Queen of the Underworld speaks to us about unrelenting forces that transform our existence.
The French say, “Mama, yes; Papa, maybe” and certainly this is true in Persephone’s case. Some accounts have Neptune as her father, others, Zeus. As with all things Scorpionic, there is more than a little mystery involved here.
The daughter of Demeter was given more than one praise of her beauty in Greek literature. She was called “white armed” and “slimmed ankled”. As Persephone came into puberty, all the male gods vied for her hand in marriage a situation that was said to be sparked by Aphrodite (Venus) herself. Aphrodite became concerned that Persephone would turn out to live life as a virgin just as her cousins Artemis and Athena. She, in a moment of Plutonian overkill instructed her son Eros to let loose his arrows on every god in Olympus. Even Zeus was so struck by Persephone’s beauty that:
The ruler of the universe, the charioteer of heaven, bowed his neck to desire–for all his greatness no thunderbolts, no lightnings helped him against Aphrodite in arms: he left the house of Hera, he refused the bed of Dione, he threw away the love of Deo, he fled from Themis, he deserted Leto – no charm was left for him but only union with Persephoneia.
Demeter was so alarmed by all this attention towards her daughter, that she sought the advice of an astrologer, which I include here in its entirety because of the fascinating detail of the astrologer’s process.
She hastened with quick foot to the house of Astraios the god of prophecy [or more specifically astrology] . . . She laid her left hand on the knees of the kindly ancient, and with her right touched his deepflowing beard in supplication. She recounted all her daughter’s wooers and craved a comfortable oracle; for divinations can steal away anxieties by means of hopes to come. Nor did old Astraios refuse. He learnt the details of the day when her only child was new born, and the exact time and veritable course of the season which gave her birth; then he bent the turning fingers of his hands and measured the moving circle of the ever-recurring number counting from hand to hand in double exchange [reckoning the number of days in the years of her life on his fingers]. He called to a servant, and Asterion lifted a round revolving sphere, the shape of the sky, the image of the universe, and laid it upon the lid of a chest. Here the ancient got to work. He turned it upon its pivot, and directed this gaze round the circle of the Zodiac, scanning in this place and that the planets and fixt stars . . . When he had noticed everything and reckoned the circuit of the stars, he put away the ever-revolving sphere in its roomy box, the sphere with its curious surface; and in answer to the goddess he mouthed out a triple oracle of prophetic sound : `Fond mother Demeter, when the rays of the Moon are stolen under a shady cone and her light is gone, guard against a robber-bridegroom for Perephoneia, a secret ravisher of your unsmirched girl, if the threads of the Moirai can be persuaded. You will see before marriage a false and secret bedfellow come unforeseen, a half-monster cunning-minded: since I perceive the western point Ares the wife-stealer [the planet Mars] walking with the Paphian [the planet Venus], and I notice the Drakon is rising beside them both . . . ’
Concerned and alarmed by this prophecy she bore her daughter away in a chariot drawn by dragons to a secret cave. The dragons were then given the task of protecting Persephone. All seeing Zeus however, found the hiding place, and transforming himself into a dragon, seducing Persephone with cunning. He lured the girl into a sleep by surrounding her with his soft coils and sweet kisses. Their union produced Zagreus, who by virtue of his father’s deception, was born In the snake like shape of a dragon. Zeus took this child to Olympus, intending to set him on the throne of heaven, but the Titans rebelled against Zeus decision and tore the child into pieces. Grief stricken Zeus put the pieces of Zagreus’ heart in a drink and gave it to Semele, the moon goddess to drink. She became pregnant with this genetic material and bore to Zeus, the god Dionysis, known to the Romans as Bacchus, another god whose mystery religion was revolved around transformation through the consumption of wine. Thus Persephone was associated with two mystery religions, that of the Eleusian Mysteries and the rites of Dionysis.
Persephone herself was forever transformed by her foray into the Underworld. On the surface, Persephone can be viewed as a voiceless victim. Her fate is decided by Zeus, her husband and her mother. But Pluto is seductive for sure. Unlike Zeus, Pluto is intent on making her a permanent fixture in his life. He makes solemn pledges to her:
“… I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore.” (Hades to Persephone, Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.363).
Was it the power that Pluto offered that ultimately seduced her, or was it the dark charm of lord of the Underworld? Those among us who have experience of love that can not be denied know the addictive nature of such relationships. Whether by one or both, Persephone is initiated in to the sexual world as a wife.
There is evidence that Persephone’s own nature may have had an manipulative element to it. Persephone blamed Hades for the consumption of the pomegranate seeds, telling her mother that he secretly forced the seeds in her mouth. Yet how he “secretly forced the seeds” in to her mouth is yet another story. She would have needed to take the food willingly for the doom of Hades to fall upon her.
There are other stories of Persephone’s Scorpionic nature. When Venus gave Persephone the youth Adonis to care for, the dark goddess was just as enthralled as Venus with his beauty and refused to give him back.
Hades had one affair, with the nymph Menthe, who jealous Persephone trampled and transformed in the mint plant. (Crushed mint was added to a drink made of grain that was said to be drunk by her mother Demeter, and possibly was served during the enactment of the Eleusian Mysteries). Clearly, Persephone was not about to share her dark husband with anyone. Hades was not known to step out on her again.
And despite her initial (and probably faint) protests over her marriage, Persephone fulfilled her role as Goddess of the Underworld, sometimes even displaying more power than Hades himself.
Here is the influence of the Pluto we know, secretive, controlling, manipulative. The story of Persephone is illustrative of the lies, obsessions and jealousy as any one subject to Venusian, Scorpionic and Plutonic forces, the epitome of Venus in Scorpio.
As with all those under the influence of a Pluto influenced Venus, Persephone epitomizes the archetype of transformation. From innocent goddess of the spring to the queen of the underworld, Persephone held the promise of life and ultimately the promise of the life to come.
(Astrology Explored) The recent controversy over the 
The Mother’s Story: Ceres/Demeter
Venus turns back onto her orbit, we are driven to look at events in our past. Venus in Scorpio is a darker Venus than most, delving into our deepest selves. We suspect or perceive the manipulations of others. Relationships with old lovers or significant women are examined with aching compulsion. We are driven to explore relationships that are magnetic in their draw, obsessive in their nature. If we are open enough, we find our own fatal flaw, and if not, find the fatal flaw in others. The story that best illustrates Venus in Scorpio is the tale of the Rape of Persephone, a tale that lay at the heart of the Eleusian Mysteries, a religion of the Greek culture that featured a risen god, established at least 1,500 years before the birth of Christ. 
Astrology for the Week of October 1 to October 7
—The burdens of the world are on your strong shoulders, Ram. However, you do not like this one bit. Forced to spend more time than you like away from significant others because of certain responsibilities, you are feeling more than a little sorry for yourself. You are also questioning whether certain relationships are worth it. Certainly you are feeling that you aren’t getting what you deserve. Well, throw a pity party, Aries, but the only attending is you. Consider this just one more battle you have to wage before you rejoin the ones you love.
—The motives of the other people are obscured to you right now. You wonder what they are hiding. It’s not like you to be so paranoid, dear Bull. So what’s gotten into you? Is it because it seems like other people are trying to manipulate you. This is a month where are feeling particularly alone in the world, but this is only because the Universe is calling you to explore your inner self. Ironically, the sex you have has never been hotter.
—All is sane and happy in your corner of the Universe. Relationships are going well and you are happy in your work. Consider this a welcome respite from the trials you’ve been undergoing of late. Things are going so well that other people are willing to offer up their resources for your use. If you are looking for a loan or refinancing, this is the time to do it. Sssh, you can also ask for a raise, but don’t tell your friends. 
—Personal relationships present such a challenge to you this month, dear Crab, that you find yourself reminiscing about the one that got away. Spicy daydreams may make for interesting internal drama. However, the upshot is you still have a way to go in transforming how you approach relationships in the first place. In your case, hindsight is not 20-20 but clouded by a haze of what might have been. The reality is that you must do the work to get what you need from your significant other.
—There are many ways for you to get into trouble this month noble lion. Love and money are fraught with difficulties as you find that other people involved are withholding important information. You have several bright spots however, which are relationships with your father or grandfather, and your children if you have them. Hang out with these folks to get a fresh perspective on who is meaningful in your life.
—Dark and mysterious people enter your life, providing plenty of temptations for sensuous Virgo. But, you know, sometimes temptations are more delicious in the anticipation. Once sampled, the dark side comes out. Maybe he or she are moody loners, or they have a shady secret that makes them unsuitable for a long-term relationship. Virgo likes things ship shape and that includes the people in your life. Before you consider yet another human reclamation project, consider whether or not you can afford to spend your precious external and internal resources on people who might not be worthy of you.
—Your innate sense of fairness is stretched to the limit as those in authority insist on rigid methods to accomplish results. Though you and your friends are in agreement, banding together only serves to entrench those in charge into their positions. What you are not seeing is that “they” have information that they are not allowed to share with the body politic. The issue then is trust, since it comes in short supply both for you and your buddies and those whose charge is to monitor your activities. Here resistance is not only futile, but dangerous. Look out for yourself but promoting the interests of those who are responsible for you.
—Your song for this month is “All By Yourself”. Not that you are physically alone, but mentally you are feeling rather isolated. This is not unusual for Scorpio, but not particularly healthy. Sometimes you are so pre-occupied with protecting your sensitive inner self from others that you seal yourself away from the rest of the world. On top of that, you find yourself reflecting rather fondly on relationships from the past, which is rather counterproductive, since you know these things are long past over. Your future lies in radically transforming your ideas about relationships. This is a good time to start the process, but you have to take the first steps yourself.
—Got to love you, Archer. While the rest of world is falling apart, you are planning a party. Friends and significant others are particularly lucky for you, even if you have to use a little bit more than the usual charm to get them motivated. Certainly your natural leadership skills get others to do the work. People are inspired by your enthusiasm and are drawn to you.
—You face significant challenges with persuading others to your point of view. While you only have their own best interests at heart, you appear to be rather rigid and unfeeling in your approach to interpersonal problems. Coupled with a reticence to share critical information, your actions appear quite contrary, even draconian to others. While you don’t want to scare other people with all you know, maybe it might be worthwhile to share a bit with others to show what it is at stake. Keep your ear to the ground. Women have critical information to share. 
—You are very aware that there is more to the story than what appears on the surface. You revisit issues that have to do with women and you find you do not like what you see. Fortunately, you now have the support of authority figures to put your plans in place, even if you distrust their motives. If you find yourself being pushed too hard too fast slow things down a bit, but make like you are working furiously. No one dares to interrupt an Aquarian in a flurry of activity so use this tactic as camouflage to pace the work in the most comfortable direction for you. Keep clear of men who seem like trouble. They are.
—You aren’t quite sure where you stand with others. Consequently you find yourself either withdrawing from social situations or inserting yourself awkwardly into social situation in which you have no place. There is something to be said for a period of solitary reflection and for you, dear Pisces, this might be the time. Where or not you realize it, the Universe is offering a brief respite from the stresses of the world. Take your vacation time now, because you’ll be much too busy later to take even scheduled time off.
(Astrology Explored) Astrology for the Week of September 24 to September 30
Christine O'Donnell
