THE ASTROLOGICAL HOROSCOPE:
& HESTIA’S INNER DIVINITY
About a year ago, I noticed some activity within my own horoscope involving Hestia, that mythic, spiritual, virginal, asteroid goddess of the hearth. Curious, about what this might mean, I researched Hestia’s mythical story, while observing her astrological movement and activity within my own horoscope. By way of explanation, asteroids, are those astronomical, allegedly less significant points or mythical figures within a horoscope. Don’t be fooled! Their symbolic existence and activity pulls some heavy weight and mighty punches! What I conjectured after careful research, thought and reflection, about Hestia’s place in the hidden spotlight of my own life, was that some emergent, spiritual, inner and/or outer deeply psychological activity, perhaps referencing religious, and/or mythic figures was about to assume center stage.
Hestia did not disappoint. Before too long, a book, entitled Images of Soul-Reimaging Astrology, coauthored by myself and Evolutionary astrologer and Marriage, Family Therapist, Hadley Fitzgerald, began taking shape, and is now available for online purchase through Amazon books.
In our book, Hadley and I, both astrological/psychotherapists, set forth the notion, that each horoscope is driven by a mysterious inner time piece, curiously cloistered within the image of an acorn. The significance of at least half of this metaphorical configuration, that of the acorn’s symbolic value and purpose, is closely akin to central ideas postulated by the late James Hillman, in his groundbreaking best-seller, The Soul’s Code. 1
Our book conjectures, that within each horoscope, there lives the metaphorical image of an acorn, inside which, is a mysterious time piece mechanism that contains and drives our soul’s code – our particular path -- and acts as guide, to each person’s life calling. We hypothesized, that if one were to embrace this notion, one might be afforded a real life, depth understanding of psyche, and the opportunity to consciously embrace their fate and life direction. We further speculated, that exploring one’s “Soul’s Code,” while guided by a metaphorical acorn, that contains and is driven by the rhythmic pulse of a mysterious, inner time keeper, who is at the ultimate direction of an, angel, or daimon, carried implications for the understanding of both psyche and horoscope. We postulated that horoscope, acorn, timekeeper, and daimon, were reliable, poetic, viable pathways to calling, inspiration and soul.
Although Hadley and I each brought our own divergent biases and methods, to our co-authoring experience, we discovered that rather than clashing, our positions were in fact quite complimentary. Despite our contrasting methods, we were, each in our own way, inclined to draw upon image as metaphor when working with clients.
Now, in this, blog for Depth Psychology Alliance, as I eagerly explore and bring my own biases to the discussion, I find I am also captured by another factor in this quaternity consisting of horoscope, acorn, timekeeper and daimon. And she is, the oh so numinous Hestia, designated by the late James Hillman , as “guardian of our images.”2 I see Hestia’s inner divinity, expertise, and imaginal guardianship, as the prime mover behind the ways in which I imagine the astrological interview and consultation. I find as I’ve engaged in that imaginal process that for me, it is, Hestia, who actually is the mythic impetus behind both the acorn and that mysterious, inner astrological timepiece, portrayed on our book’s cover. Hestia’s rhythms, impact, and drive our psycho-mytho-astrological, explorations, and … if one is so inclined, perhaps even our past and present life explorations and unfolding.
In short, Hestia navigates, oversees, drives and is the goddess behind the patterns and processes inherent within that map and container of our soul’s codes: the astrological horoscope. This mystical, spiritual, eternally maiden goddess, is the driver of our daimon’s trajectory. Her signals inform our exquisite inner time pieces, as to when it is just the right time for the next twist, turn and/or resting place in or on, our life’s circuitous journey. I join with my daimon here when I ask: How could I/we not, take our cues from Hestia, this exquisitely silent, wonderfully wise, spiritual goddess of our hearths?
The late James Hillman looked to Hestia as the silent, mythic, archetypal presence, behind psychotherapy and Jungian Analysis.3
Given the premise within my original doctoral thesis that image=psyche=horoscope, it made perfect sense to me, that if Hestia governs “the inner psychic structure,”4 and if, as I’ve just premised that image = psyche = horoscope, then isn’t it reasonable to assume that Hestia is also the mythic, presence behind and within the astrological horoscope? Who better than this silent goddess, who Hillman has referred to as “governing the inner” depths, to act as both prompter and guide, in our own discovery of psyche’s mysterious calling and trajectory? And who, besides Hestia, could sit watch ever so silently over one’s horoscope, acorn and that curious timepiece, whose locus is the exploratory land of a depth archetypal astrology?
As it turns out my suspicions that certain types of Hestian activity, might occur with the activation of this asteroid goddesses’ enlivened activity in my own horoscope’s forward movement or progression, were correct.
During this Hestian, surge, I completed two sculptures with archetypal, spiritual and/or visual religious meanings! One piece, entitled Padre di mi Alma, or Father of My Soul, is of a priest and personal friend, and is my first bronze portrait. The other, entitled, Offering, is of an androgynous looking figure, and was already featured in a prior DPA publication. My personal blog with Word Press, now in the works, will soon feature these and other sculptures in their entirety under the Sculpture heading.
In keeping with this theme of offering, I invite readers to leave any and all of your written offerings and reflections, at what I now think of as Hestia’s door, imaginal hearth and/or altar. These are my way of gathering others to honor Hestia’s eternal, spiritual flame, in this, and following blogs. I will make every effort to respond to each and every of your posts.
9/3/14
1 The Soul’s Code
James Hillman Random House, Inc.
New York, NY 10022
2,3,4 In: Hestia’s Preposition
Mythic. Figures/ James Hillman
Spring Publications , Inc.
Putnam, Connecticut
