Celtic Moon Signs: How the Mystical Power of the Druid Zodiac Can Transform Your Life. Helena Paterson
associated with polarities that has always been used in ancient magical rituals for reconciling opposite forces or elements. The ancient Greek symbol of the mercurial caduceus – two snakes entwined around a wand – represents two opposing forces now in harmony and balance, and is associated with the Geminian sign of the Twins – a fundamental duality found in every aspect of life that needs to be reunited in order to form the sacred ‘One’ or whole, which means being healthy and complete.
Your Celtic Moon sign polarity is the Holly, symbolized by the fabulous Unicorn and ruled by the planet Earth. The astronomical position of Earth is always directly opposite the Sun and, in the Celtic lunar zodiac, this highly significant polarity has been restored. Sun and Earth gods have always been associated with fertility and, according to the druids, the rebirth of their Sun gods was a time of celebration because the changing light in the sky now meant new growth and life. Your ruling planet under their system was the Sun, having escaped the hand of Saturn, the ‘Keeper of Time’. This is a very different concept to that of the Greeks or Romans who believed that Saturn, ruler of Capricorn, controlled and limited personal potential.
In Celtic astrology the polarity signs of the White Stag and the Unicorn both represent a beautiful soul that lights the way for others to follow. In this ancient tradition you are said to be a spiritually enlightened individual who can win hearts and minds and lead a very fulfilling life. So where do your true ambitions lie? Are you a proud White Stag who follows a different path to that of the Capricorn Goat who climbs rocky mountains, only to find a place of solitude? If your Celtic polarity signs are well integrated it can become an inspiration that will enable you to use and develop all your personal potential. Sun signs alone only show one side of the coin and, as a Sun Capricorn, you will appreciate this as your sign is often dubbed ‘the gloom and doom merchant’ in Sun sign astrology. The observation of light and darkness by the druids provides a more balanced and integrated approach that reveals the ‘missing parts’ that shape your whole psyche.
The druids also believed that people born around the time of the solstices had inherited a pole position in life that still needs to be maintained because it symbolizes stability in the universe as well as human morality. So when you reach out to your polarity sign, you are discovering a part of your nature that must be more fully developed and expressed. Holly signs can also learn from you as it should be a two-way process of mutual benefit and you will find that they will cross your path at frequent intervals in your life. They may be family members, and here you are both learning some of the hardest lessons in this life because the Celts believed in reincarnation. In other words, if you do not sort out these disagreements, you will have to begin again in another lifetime.
SUMMARY
During the first lunar month of the year the Celts used Birch rods for the beating of the bounds, which formed two important rituals in re-establishing tribal boundaries and the order of the seasons. Birch signs and Capricorns are said to have some deeply rooted habits, but they also have many enterprising qualities that provide enough flexibility to achieve their objectives in life. So, though you are inclined to hold on to traditional values, this should be seen as a great strength because it is a stabilizing energy that forms a sound basis for self-growth. While you may appear to be a rather inhibitive character you are actually learning a great deal about life and your personal potential, albeit in your own time.
Though you may inherit the heavy burdens of family obligations, if seen in a different light, it shows an inbuilt respect for your ancestors and the older generation. Their accumulated knowledge and wisdom may therefore become a valued source of your own personal integrity.
Archetypal Gods
Archetypal gods are said to represent ideal human characteristics, but they can also reveal vices or flaws in our character. As a psychological profile, however, they can provide a great insight into our basic natures and behavioural patterns. Archetypal gods primarily represent a record of human fears, frustrations, loves, strengths and weaknesses over thousands of years since human history began. They were the hierarchy of chief gods who were said to give life and structure to our very existence and for the rest of humanity.
SUN GODS
Greek
Apollo was a Greek Sun god whose original name was Helios, meaning ‘the Sun’ and he was worshipped as the radiant personification of light. His other names were Phoebus, Cynthius and Pytheus, and he was the son of Zeus and Leto. He was also the god of music, poetry and medicine. He was usually shown dressed in a pure white tunic with golden embroidery, and playing the Greek lyre. Though regarded as a very benevolent god, like all Greek gods, he had his down side. He could become very jealous and did not hesitate in killing his first love, Coronis, with an arrow through the heart because he thought she had been unfaithful. The moral of this story is that love can turn to hate through jealousy, but an arrow through the heart could rebound.
Egyptian
The Egyptian obelisk known as ‘Cleopatra’s Needle’ is located on the Thames Embankment in London. It was originally erected at Heliopolis in Egypt as a natural habitat for one of the spirits of their Sun gods. Heliopolis was built many centuries before Cleopatra’s reign and her connection with it is uncertain, but Heliopolis was known as ‘the city of the Sun’ and called ‘On’ in the Bible. Moses was educated there and it was the Oxford of Egypt where distinguished scholars attended from all over the ancient world. One of their earliest Sun gods was Ra, but Moon worship preceded Sun worship in ancient Egypt, and Osiris was originally a Moon and corn god who evolved into their supreme Sun god and god of the Underworld. He shared the throne with Isis, a great enchantress also associated with the Moon, who eventually became their supreme Mother goddess.
The Sun god Ra represented their Father gods when the early Egyptians were trying to establish the order of creation and the universe. Ra was said to have spoken the first words of creation and bade the Earth and heavens rise out of the deep waters. He then created all things that moved in the waters and upon dry land. He also created all the sky gods, and as the creator he was king of all the gods. He then created mankind who were born from one of his eyes and when he went among them he took their form. Ra had many names that were not known to the gods or to mankind, but he had one secret name which gave him his divine power.
The goddess Isis lived in the world at that time, but she greatly desired to have equal power with Ra, as he was growing old and she was eternally young due to her ability to transform and renew herself with the changing cycles of the Moon. This myth relates to the decreasing light of the Sun during the long winters, when the light of the Moon is brighter and its monthly cycle of increasing light was always visible.
Isis created an invisible serpent that stung Ra, who was stricken with great pain as the venom spread, but the other gods could not help him. When Isis appeared she uttered powerful incantations to subdue the pain, but she asked Ra for his secret name so she could make him live. This he did and Ra vanished from the eyes of the other gods, and the Sun boat was empty in the sky. Isis waited, and as the secret name left the heart of Ra and passed into her own, she spoke to Horus her son and told him to compel the ruling god to also yield up his eyes – the Sun and Moon. Ra was then made whole, but he became angry thinking he had been betrayed by another god, so he decided to destroy everything he had created with a great flood. He then gave his divine kingdom to Osiris and Horus, and to his son Nu, the god of primeval waters, saying, ‘Hear me now, O my son, thou who art mightier than me, although I gave thee life. Steadfast is thy throne; great is the fear of thee among men.’
Isis is portrayed in this myth as the usurper because she is a female goddess. But the Osiris and Isis myth comes from the earliest mists of time in the land of Egypt, where Osiris was originally an ancient king who taught his people how to rear crops and cultivate fruit trees. He was regarded as a human incarnation of the Moon spirit, and as a living ruler he displayed his lunar qualities by establishing laws for regulating the affairs of the living as well as the affairs of departed souls in heaven. Though Osiris manifested as many different gods, including a Sun god, he never lost his association