Mask • Persona • Archetype
There’s something good about running around your house on a Saturday afternoon, pulling your Hallowe’en costume together. That’s what we did this weekend, prepping for Saturday night’s Astro Extravaganza at Design Driven Studio in Black Mountain. We were invited to dress in costumes representing our planetary influences.
Astrological signs are archetypal: each sign represents a common aspect of human experience, which finds expression in myriad ways. Indeed, every individual’s astrological chart contains all the signs of the zodiac, though some signs will be emphasized over others, and the signs holding sun and moon at the time of one’s birth are found especially significant for that individual.
When I was born, the moon was in Taurus on the mid-heaven, meaning that it was directly overhead in the sky. Symbolically, the mid-heaven in your chart maps to career and reputation, because it’s what’s highest in the sky, or what can be seen, even from a distance. Here I am, wearing my Taurean headdress, or, as I like to call it, the Horns of Hathor :)
Being seen with Andy, and other illuminati…
Hathor, Egyptian sky goddess of fertility and joy, is often depicted with the horns of a cow cradling a solar disk. A stylized version of her headdress is quite similar to the glyph for Taurus, and they share many symbolic correspondences.
It’s comforting to be able to relate to these ancient symbols in a time when change can feel overwhelming. And we can relate to them, because:
• they express something timeless and consistent in the human experience
AND ALSO BECAUSE
• they are always open to new interpretation
As a matter of fact, placing deep value on underlying stability while taking joy in creative expression is characteristic of Taurus. My moon in Taurus suggests that I have an emotional need for this; its placement on my mid-heaven suggests that this need will find expression through my work. And so it does.
So now you know something about me and my Taurus moon. When we don the symbolic garb of our celestial patrons, we celebrate our relationship with cosmic order, and we let others know something about where, or how, we stand.
By the pearly horns of Hathor!
Any costume is a persona: a mask we wear to face the world–-–a necessary interface that protects our vulnerabilities and our privacy, while giving others a sense of the role we are playing, what we stand for, and what to expect from us. Perhaps you can’t judge a book by its cover, but you have to start somewhere. A cosmic costume party is a great way to go!
Many thanks to Corinne and José!
Everybody have fun tonight.
Everybody have fun!
