The eye blinks. The lid slides down and light dims. A shuttered moment passes then the orb appears again. Caput Algol, Al Ghûl, the Ghoul Star. The Pile of Corpses. So dark and dangerous, a star that winks! Tears and angry souls flow from the wounded eye.
Around midnight on Sunday, May 17 [9:13 pm PDT, 12:13 am EDT] the Moon joins the Sun under the spooky starlight of Caput Algol. Yes, it’s a difficult star. In mundane casts, there can be damage, defacement, and many deaths from some disaster or disease.
But not everyone taps into the doom and gloom of this star. Caput Algol is also called the Head of Medusa. Different stages of her legend play out for different individuals.
Medusa was a young maiden with lovely hair. Poseidon lusted and went in pursuit. The God trapped and ravished her in the temple of Pallas Athena. The Goddess was furious that her sacred space had been desecrated. She cast her wrath upon Medusa! The girl was transformed into a Gorgon, a hideous monster woman with snakes for hair and a body covered with metal.
Medusa was cast upon an island with two other Gorgons. A glance from a Gorgon turned men to stone. The island was filled with stone statues. Perseus swore an oath to destroy Medusa. The son of Zeus received help and equipment from Hermes and Pallas Athena. The Goddess guided his sword strike while he used his shield as a mirror to watch the creature.
Medusa’s head fell off and her body parted in two. The winged horse Pegasus and the golden warrior Chrysaor, sons of Poseidon, sprung from her fully formed. Perseus wrapped the head and took it with him on more adventures. As Perseus fly away on Pegasus, drops of blood from the severed head splattered on Africa and turned into great lizards.
Eventually Medusa’s head was mounted on the aegis of Pallas Athena. It gave her the power to immobilize enemies in battle.
The New Moon signals the end of one cycle and a renewal. The troubles of the old cycle break down and are recycled. When the structures of the past collapse the opened cracks allow the Winged Horse to take flight. The Golden Warrior may stride forth. For some, the New Moon may bring a point of eldritch stillness as the individual wanders through the statues of stone. If the Gorgon’s glance strikes, progress may be halted. This seems quite likely as Mercury retrogrades 20 hours after the lunation!
This may be a time when metal is important. Jewelry, weapons, things of beauty and destruction will be forged or exchanged. Legends of dragons, snakes and monsters (or movies with these) may appear.
Greater invisible forces could be at work as well. The antagonism between Poseidon and Pallas Athena drives the events of the Medusa legend. Poseidon is violent, unpredictable, and wields the full force of his oceanic realm. He is called the Earth Shaker and was associated with earthquakes. Pallas Athena, the mind of Zeus, rides the air on the back of a great grey owl. She triumphs with keen intelligence and foresight. Athena holds the spear and the spindle, and possesses the power of changing a person’s destiny.
It is puzzling that the Goddess punished Medusa for Poseidon’s foul deed! She had the sheer bad fortune of getting trapped in the wrath of two divine beings or clashing forces. The wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The second observation is that if Pallas Athena punished Medusa, she did it for the end game. She is a strategic Goddess, the active mind that sees a puzzle and plays it to its conclusion with intuitive speed. All the threads of life and patterns that they make are within her purvey.
Two great creatures were born from all this ugliness and sorrow. Pegasus is a beloved symbol of human hope and the driving spirit to rise toward the divine. Chrysaor is the lesser-known twin. He is not a subject of any myths, but his description is evocative. The Golden Warrior: brave and bright, invincible, relentless, charged to fight for the light and utterly vanquish the darkness. You might recognize him from his later career as a super-hero.
Sacrifices and losses are necessary so these bright creatures can spring forth at the moment of utter destruction. The impossible trial is to be guided by that single glance in the mirror and strike just the right blow. The Goddess can inspire the proper action at the proper time. She can guide your hand. The eye blinks and the horror is gone.
Think about the present moment in your life. Are you the maiden? The Gorgon? The stalking pursuer? The vengeful one? The creature wrapped in metal? The youth who dared the impossible? The Winged Horse or the Golden Warrior? Or do any of these characters occupy a part of your life? Close your eyes and be a stone statue. See the shapes in your world in the present, and consider if there is an over-arching, shadowy plotline that’s being carried out around you that’s due to be resolved. Be alert to intentions – yours and others. Look for the tools and inspiration you need to carry out your task. Look for your part of the story and remain open to inspiration that will guide to the right action at the right moment.
It may change your destiny.
Elizabeth Hazel
May 16, 2015
Please take a look at my new project. I'm one of sixty artists participating in Tarot Pink for Cancer. Funds will be donated to the Cancer Research Foundation. Pre-order your copy of the tarot deck! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tarot-pink-benefitting-breast-cancer-research
Around midnight on Sunday, May 17 [9:13 pm PDT, 12:13 am EDT] the Moon joins the Sun under the spooky starlight of Caput Algol. Yes, it’s a difficult star. In mundane casts, there can be damage, defacement, and many deaths from some disaster or disease.
But not everyone taps into the doom and gloom of this star. Caput Algol is also called the Head of Medusa. Different stages of her legend play out for different individuals.
Medusa was a young maiden with lovely hair. Poseidon lusted and went in pursuit. The God trapped and ravished her in the temple of Pallas Athena. The Goddess was furious that her sacred space had been desecrated. She cast her wrath upon Medusa! The girl was transformed into a Gorgon, a hideous monster woman with snakes for hair and a body covered with metal.
Medusa was cast upon an island with two other Gorgons. A glance from a Gorgon turned men to stone. The island was filled with stone statues. Perseus swore an oath to destroy Medusa. The son of Zeus received help and equipment from Hermes and Pallas Athena. The Goddess guided his sword strike while he used his shield as a mirror to watch the creature.
Medusa’s head fell off and her body parted in two. The winged horse Pegasus and the golden warrior Chrysaor, sons of Poseidon, sprung from her fully formed. Perseus wrapped the head and took it with him on more adventures. As Perseus fly away on Pegasus, drops of blood from the severed head splattered on Africa and turned into great lizards.
Eventually Medusa’s head was mounted on the aegis of Pallas Athena. It gave her the power to immobilize enemies in battle.
The New Moon signals the end of one cycle and a renewal. The troubles of the old cycle break down and are recycled. When the structures of the past collapse the opened cracks allow the Winged Horse to take flight. The Golden Warrior may stride forth. For some, the New Moon may bring a point of eldritch stillness as the individual wanders through the statues of stone. If the Gorgon’s glance strikes, progress may be halted. This seems quite likely as Mercury retrogrades 20 hours after the lunation!
This may be a time when metal is important. Jewelry, weapons, things of beauty and destruction will be forged or exchanged. Legends of dragons, snakes and monsters (or movies with these) may appear.
Greater invisible forces could be at work as well. The antagonism between Poseidon and Pallas Athena drives the events of the Medusa legend. Poseidon is violent, unpredictable, and wields the full force of his oceanic realm. He is called the Earth Shaker and was associated with earthquakes. Pallas Athena, the mind of Zeus, rides the air on the back of a great grey owl. She triumphs with keen intelligence and foresight. Athena holds the spear and the spindle, and possesses the power of changing a person’s destiny.
It is puzzling that the Goddess punished Medusa for Poseidon’s foul deed! She had the sheer bad fortune of getting trapped in the wrath of two divine beings or clashing forces. The wrong person at the wrong place at the wrong time.
The second observation is that if Pallas Athena punished Medusa, she did it for the end game. She is a strategic Goddess, the active mind that sees a puzzle and plays it to its conclusion with intuitive speed. All the threads of life and patterns that they make are within her purvey.
Two great creatures were born from all this ugliness and sorrow. Pegasus is a beloved symbol of human hope and the driving spirit to rise toward the divine. Chrysaor is the lesser-known twin. He is not a subject of any myths, but his description is evocative. The Golden Warrior: brave and bright, invincible, relentless, charged to fight for the light and utterly vanquish the darkness. You might recognize him from his later career as a super-hero.
Sacrifices and losses are necessary so these bright creatures can spring forth at the moment of utter destruction. The impossible trial is to be guided by that single glance in the mirror and strike just the right blow. The Goddess can inspire the proper action at the proper time. She can guide your hand. The eye blinks and the horror is gone.
Think about the present moment in your life. Are you the maiden? The Gorgon? The stalking pursuer? The vengeful one? The creature wrapped in metal? The youth who dared the impossible? The Winged Horse or the Golden Warrior? Or do any of these characters occupy a part of your life? Close your eyes and be a stone statue. See the shapes in your world in the present, and consider if there is an over-arching, shadowy plotline that’s being carried out around you that’s due to be resolved. Be alert to intentions – yours and others. Look for the tools and inspiration you need to carry out your task. Look for your part of the story and remain open to inspiration that will guide to the right action at the right moment.
It may change your destiny.
Elizabeth Hazel
May 16, 2015
Please take a look at my new project. I'm one of sixty artists participating in Tarot Pink for Cancer. Funds will be donated to the Cancer Research Foundation. Pre-order your copy of the tarot deck! https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tarot-pink-benefitting-breast-cancer-research