It is no secret that myths from different cultures contain archetypal patterns of human thoughts, feelings, behavior in human relations and reactions to fate events. One can feel that they are a kind of matrix that imprints its seal on our psyche, making us copy the same patterns for thousands of years.
Those who have had any contact with astrology have certainly noticed a convergence between the names of planets and the names of Roman gods. This coincidence is an indication that the specific situations in which the gods found themselves are a metaphorical description of the interaction between the energies of planets bearing the same name. Each heavenly body has its own consciousness and a certain energetic quality. By moving and positioning themselves at specific angles to each other, these bodies create harmonious or non-harmonious systems (called, among others, conjunctions, trigons, quincunxes, sextiles, quadratures), thus producing a powerful energy, of a strictly defined quality, which “discharges” itself in the dramas taking place on Earth. The actors of these dramas are all beings inhabiting our planet- humans, animals and plants, and even minerals.
The arrangement of planets at the moment of birth of a human being leaves a mark on his or her subtle bodies, programming them accordingly. Therefore, an experienced astrologer, while examining the mandala, onto which the picture of the birth configuration of one’s planets is placed, is able to precisely describe a person’s character, strengths and weaknesses, the way he or she reacts in specific situations, etc. What’s more, by checking the configurations that the planets constantly moving in the sky will create with a personal birth chart, the astrologer will determine what a given person will have to go through at a given time, what challenges he will have to face, what will be easy for him and what will be difficult.
Thus, after a visit to a good astrologer, the question may arise in man as to whether his fate has been established in advance. Doesn’t he, moving on his life path, resemble a metal ball rolling on the ready-made track of a toy maze? And if so, then who has gouged out the tracks? And who programmed his character, personality type, virtues and vices? The automatic answer that comes to this last question is that he was largely shaped by the environment in which he grew up, his living conditions and guardians. But who, then, had an influence on this environment? And it is worth noting that a person is not always completely similar to the members of his family. It can happen that his character hardly resembles their character. So, where did his individuality come from?
The answer to this question may seem obvious for people interested in esoteric sciences. All this was influenced by karmic conditions, which are the legacy of previous incarnations. Man’s present fate is another link in a long chain of incarnations. These links are multi-colored, but in a way similar to each other. Each link is a closed circuit, a circle in which the human being has imprisoned himself, as taught by the universal wisdom:
Watch your thoughts, they become your words;
watch your words, they become your actions;
watch your actions, they become your habits;
watch your habits, they become your character;
watch your character, it becomes your destiny.
And here, the question arises: what relationship does all this have to the birth planets?
How did it happen that man found himself in the world in which he became a prisoner of his destiny?
The answer to these questions can be found in the mythological stories of native, ancient cultures scattered all over the earth. It turns out that the archetypal stories that fertilize our psyche and influence our behaviors can also be understood at a much deeper level and at the same time more universal level.
Egyptian myths, for example, whose protagonists are Nun, Ra, Nut, Geb, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth, Nephthys, and others, as well as such primitive themes as fratricidal struggle, jealousy, death of a beloved, marital treason, seduction, the birth of a child from an unrighteous bed, the fight against the beast all refer, not only to the dramas taking place in the human psyche, but above all, to spiritual reality. They describe, in a metaphorical way, the powerful process of the fall of human consciousness, which was connected with the creation of a new, undivine universe.
They also describe how we can return to our heavenly homeland.
In an ancient Egyptian text, coming from the tombs of the Pharaohs Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramesses II, Ramesses III and Ramesses VI, entitled “Book of the Heavenly Cow”, we find a description of mankind’s rebellion against the god Ra who, it believes, has become too old to deal with the affairs of the world. Ra, having learned about this, called a council of gods to advise him what to do. After the council, he sends his “Eye” (goddess Hathor) to punish the rebellious people. Hathor does the will of Ra and murders thousands of rebels. From a human-friendly, feeding mother, she turns into Sekhmet, a bloodthirsty demon. Then Ra begins to regret his decision, takes pity on humanity and asks Sekhmet to stop bloodthirsty activities. She refuses, however, because she has tasted human blood. Then Ra uses a trick and pours into the fields seven thousand jars of beer mixed with red ochre similar to blood. Confused, Sekhmet drinks hectoliters of this drink, faints, and then wakes up changed. She becomes friendly Hathor again.
The rebellion is contained, but Ra, tired of human ingratitude, asks Nut to move him to higher areas of heaven. And this is what happens. Ra, on the back of Nut turned into a cow, retreats into the higher regions of heaven. Osiris and Thot replace him in governing the world. Before leaving, Ra creates reed fields for people – the afterlife, the place where they will go after death. From now on, mankind becomes mortal and has to take care of the maat itself – maintaining harmony and order. Since the withdrawal of the god Ra, heaven and heavenly bodies are governed by lower gods. The planetary forces controlled by Re have degenerated and mixed with the principles of evil, chaos and ignorance.
The Greek equivalents of the goddess Hathor and the god Ra were Athena and Zeus. In the Greek myth about the Gorgon, we find another thread that refers to the fall of humanity.
The Gorgon, who can be considered as human consciousness, was initially a beautiful girl. She was enchanted by Poseidon – the ruler of the seas (in this context Poseidon is the same as the Egyptian god Seth/Typhon, considered to be, among others, the lord of the sea) and seduced her in the temple of Athena. The latter, as punishment, turned Gorgon into a monster that had venomous snakes instead of hair.
Gorgon, our initially beautiful consciousness, was connected with the principle of evil, chaos, anarchy, whose symbol is Poseidon/Seth, and lost connection with divine wisdom. That’s why the original temple of wisdom, which used to be our head, is now a temple inhabited by the swarming, disordered thoughts that cause our suffering. Snakes are an allusion to the snake fire flowing in our spinal cord, which is the most important carrier of our consciousness. It is worth adding here that the planet Neptune, named after the Roman equivalent of Poseidon, manages the human pineal gland. We can relate this to the degeneration of this organ, as a result of the merger with the fallen principle of Neptune.
Therefore, our minds are all the time “set in motion.” But this is not a sacred, rational movement, symbolized by Isis. It is an uninterrupted mental noise that accompanies us everywhere and at all times. We are surrounded by it. Most of us take our thoughts for reality or the truth about the world around us. It is very difficult for us to observe what is happening in our heads. In general, thoughts rule us, evoke certain moods in us, and provoke impulsive, imprudent action.
We do not see things as they are. We see them through the filters of our thoughts and beliefs, which have often developed through fearful, traumatic experiences.
