Summer Fun Part 2: Dark & Twisty July 15 & July 20th
A Tangled Web of Emotions, Ancient Demons, and A Battle for Supremacy
The Players:
The god of war, Mars, will collide with the fixed star Algol, also known as the Head of the Ogre, and our galaxy’s rabble-rouser, Uranus all at 26’30 degrees of Taurus!
Mars is the planet that helps us defend and protect ourselves. Its placement in your natal chart reveals how you approach fulfilling your needs. Mars is how you initiate activity, pursue expressing sexuality, and defend yourself against threats. It’s important to know what sign Mars is transiting because challenging Mars aspects can make us prone to accidents, or cause us to overreact.
Algol ~ The Demon Star
According to Astrologer Vivian E Robson’s book “The Fixed Stars & Constellations in Astrology”, the fixed star, Algol is the “most evil star in the heavens.” Yes, that does sound bad. But, as the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy suggests; Don’t Panic..
Algol is one of the best-known variable stars in the sky and the second-brightest star in Perseus’s constellation. It is located at a distance of 90 light-years from Earth. Algol represents the head of Medusa, the only mortal daughter of primordial sea gods Phorcus and Ceto. According to myth, Medusa drew the wrath of the Olympian goddess Athena, who transformed her beautiful hair into hissing snakes making her appearance so frightful that anyone who gazed upon her would turn to stone. The Greek hero Perseus beheaded Medusa with the help of several gods and goddesses.
Uranus, the rebel of our solar system, is associated with independence, unpredictability, unconventionality, and extremism. A significant part of Uranus’ mythology involves his participation in multi-generational succession struggles, in which the younger generation challenges and displaces the established power held by their elders.
Mars, Uranus, and the fixed star Algol meet
Mars and Uranus align every two years, and this combination is known for its erratic and accident-provoking energy. The pairing can act as a catalyst, unleashing or intensifying conflicts. This aspect is more significant when contacting planets in your Natal, Solar, or Progressed charts or when placed on an angle in your chart. Check your chart, or ask your astrologer if the Mars, Uranus, and Algol conjunction is significant for you. During this meeting of Mars and Uranus, you might experience increased impulsivity and spontaneity, which can lead to creative breakthroughs or disruptive challenges. Mars and Uranus will converge on the morning of July 15 for those in the Pacific time zone, and later that same day Mars will join with the fixed star Algol. This alignment is said to cause accidents encourage violent extremes and result in unforeseen consequences.
Uranus’ conjunction with Algol is a rare event. The last time they met was on February 21, 1942, when the world was at war against fascism. The two will meet again on July 20th. The conjunction is said to cause extreme, unpredictable, and shocking events.
Medusa’s Story
In Greek mythology, Medusa was a beautiful mortal woman who caught the attention of the Olympian sea god Poseidon. Poseidon rapes Medusa in a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Enraged that her temple had been defiled, Athena punished Medusa by turning her hair into snakes, making her appearance frightening and grotesque, whoever looks at her is turned to stone.
It is significant to note that Poseidon is Athena’s much more powerful uncle and she doesn’t take revenge on him for his conduct. Only Medusa suffers the consequences of Athena’s wrath.
The Greek hero, Perseus, one of Zesus’ many sons, successfully beheads Medusa with the help of several gods and goddesses.
A little help from the gods~ divine tools
Hades, the god of the underworld, gives Perseus the hat of invisibility, the god Hermes gives him winged sandals so he can fly, Athena provides a reflective shield so he can behead Medusa without having to look at her, and the Olympian god of the forge, Hephaestus gives him a sword.
At the time of her murder, Medusa was pregnant. When beheaded by Perseus, her children, the winged horse Pegasus, and the giant Chrysaor spring from her decapitated body. Medusa’s Gorgon sisters try to catch Perseus, but they can’t see him because he is wearing the “hat of invisibility”, and they cannot catch him because he can fly while wearing the gifted winged sandals.
The Greek poet Pindar wrote that Athena created the aulos, a musical instrument to mimic the Gorgons’ lamentations for their murdered sister Medusa.
Even in death, Medusa is still powerful. Perseus must carry her head in a special sack to prevent the head from killing people. He uses Medusa’s severed head as a weapon to kill his enemies, a sea monster, and turns the Titan, Atlas into a mountain range. He eventually gives Medusa’s head to Athena. She places the head on her shield. Athena also shares Medusa’s magical blood with the god of medicine, Asclepius, and her adopted son, the serpent king of ancient Athens, Erichthonius. Supposedly, the blood from Medusa’s left side was poisonous, and the blood from her right side could raise people from the dead.
In ancient Greece, the story of Medusa symbolizes the patriarchal hero Perseus confronting the deadly primordial menace, capturing her power and vanquishing her matriarchal wildness. Ancient Greek poets such as Homer, Hesiod, and Pindar wrote about Perseus’ heroic journey to slay the monster. Over time, Medusa’s depiction in ancient art changes from a grotesque bearded, sharp-toothed creature to a more human and feminine image with wild hair and an unflinching gaze. Ancient Greeks began to view Medusa and her snake dreadlocks as a protective talisman with the power to defend, kill, and redeem. Soldiers decorated their helmets, and shields, with images of Medusa to protect themselves against their enemies.
The Modern Medusa: Representing patriarchal victim blaming and female rage against the patriarchy.
The mythology of Medusa is complex. She is a victim of the patriarchy, as it blames women for being raped. The modern view of Medusa is often seen as a symbol of female strength, rage, and retribution. The goddess Athena born from the head of Zeus/ Jupiter is the handmaid of patriarchy supporting patriarchal oppression against mortal women who find themselves at the mercy of her immortal father, uncles, and brothers. Greek/Roman mythology is filled with stories of women being violated, and the ancient authors downplay and soften the exchange by describing the women as being “seduced” instead of raped. Mortal women have no power or agency to defend themselves from the advances of men with omnipotent powers.
Currently, on several fronts, the patriarchy is surging across the world. Feminicide is a worldwide problem; an estimated 89,000 women and girls were murdered for being female in 2021. Closer to home, Christofascist groups like the New Apostolic Reformation, Evangelicalism, and MAGA Trump Republicans are pushing their Project 2025 agenda which seeks a Federal ban on abortions, birth control, and IVF, reversing no-fault divorce, and talking about reversing the 19th amendment to the Constitution that gave women the right to vote. Everyone who supports women’s rights should understand that the radicalized right wing’s Project 2025 not only seeks to reverse women’s and LGBT rights but plans to eliminate regulatory agencies and oversight, including the Department of Education and much much more. Project 2025 is a misogynist wish list, but it is also making xenophobes happy with plans to round up all immigrants, place them in camps, and deport them. If this sounds frightening, it is. If you don’t think it can’t happen here, read the true account of the theocratic takeover of Iran by the author of “Reading Lolita in Tehran” Azar Nafisi.
You might be wondering what all this has to do with the upcoming Algol conjunction of Mars and Uranus. Algol represents Medusa, and she is a symbol of a rebellious woman taking revenge for her mistreatment by the patriarchy. The Mars in Taurus, a conservative fixed sign, represents the energy, ambitions, and endurance of the traditional fixtures of patriarchy, and the Uranus, also in the conservative fixed sign Taurus, represents the battleground of the old guard seeking to enforce their values on others by gaining power and control of traditional institutions. Remember that in Uranus’ mythology, he becomes entangled in a succession struggle. The rise of fascist authoritarianism is attractive to people who fear societal changes that challenge their supremacy, reject their values, and expose patriarchy’s cruelties and flaws. (Keep in mind, that conjunctions are fused energy, and meanings can overlap.)
Who’s Who in the Algol, Mars, and Uranus drama
The Angry Feminist ~ Algol
Medusa is a beautiful desirable woman who is raped, demonized, and then murdered. She embodies female rage.
Radical Feminist, Hélenè Cixous in her 1975 manifesto, “The Laugh of Medusa” challenges her readers to look at Medusa and see that “ she is deadly, she is beautiful, and she is laughing”. Cixous believed that the mythical Medusa was created because men fear female desires.
Patriarchal media have published Medusa-like images of powerful women such as Angela Markel, Hillary Clinton, and Theresa May with their features superimposed on bloody severed heads to demonize and mock female leadership.
Women are still being denied basic fundamental human rights as recently as 2021 the UNFAPA reported nearly half of the world’s women are denied their bodily autonomy, placing them in danger of gender-based violence. In America, women are dying because of abortion bans and are on the verge of losing all their hard-won rights. Will female anger be enough to prevent Perseus from beheading the progressive human rights that women have gained and fought for?
The Bad Seed ~ Mars
Currently, a scandal-ridden felon, alleged pedophile and credibly accused of rapist, convicted of paying hush money to silence a prostitute, impeached twice, and the leader of a violent insurrection to overturn election results is running for president, and an astounding number of people are willing to vote for him. He admits to wanting to be a dictator, admires dictators, and is said to sleep with a copy of Hitler’s tome, Mein Kampf, by his bedside.
The Struggle to keep the throne ~ Uranus
The other contestant is an elderly stalwart of traditional politics, somewhat doddering but generally boring and predictable. The media, pundits, and members of his party are asking him to step down.
Interestingly, the felon rapist has not been asked to step down.
Remember that the Greek hero, Perseus, needed help from the gods to kill Medusa, and they provided magical tools to help him achieve his goal?
Well, these are the Current Magical Tools:
- Six Supreme Court Justices ~ Who doesn’t wish to have the hat of invisibility?
- Project 2025, backed by the Heritage Foundation and an assortment of billionaires ~ Winged Sandals to spread your message
- Christian Nationalism, White Supremacists, QAnon ~ Christian Swordplay
- The media ~ disinformation ~ The Reflective shield of endless projection
As if on cue, the Mars Square Algol will happen as the RNC has its convention in Wisconsin and their candidate will announce his pick for running mate. Whoever he chooses will reflect the Mars /Algol square.
*** If your chart has the late degrees of the fixed signs, Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius the upcoming squares on July 15 and July 20 require caution and sensibility. I would lay low and limit activity until the storm passes.
Sources:
Algol:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algol
Robson, Vivian E, The Fixed Stars and Constellation in Astrology, NY Samuel Weiser Inc., 1923,
Greek Mythology:
https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Creatures/Medusa/medusa.html
https://mythopedia.com/topics/medusa
P.Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses Brookes More, ED.
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028:book=4:card=706
Hesiod, Theogony http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+270&fromdoc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0130
Project 2025 and Christofascism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c977njnvq2do
https://www.npr.org/2011/10/03/140946482/apostolic-leader-weighs-religions-role-in-politics
https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/ideology/christian-identity
Feminism
The Laugh of the Medusa Hélène Cixous; Keith Cohen; Paula Cohen Signs, Vol. 1, No. 4.(Summer, 1976),
Nafisi, Azar. Reading Lolita in Tehran: a Memoir in Books. New York : Random House, 2003
https://eeca.unfpa.org/en/news/nearly-half-all-women-worldwide-are-denied-their-bodily-autonomy-says-new-unfpa-report-my-body
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/11/five-essential-facts-to-know-about-femicide