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Circe by John Waterhouse

Astro-LOA Flash: Asteroid 34 Circe trine Uranus brings the zany genius weirdo out in EVERYONE! There is electricity in the air, magical energy at our fingertips, available for anyone to use, or confuse. Turn this into a power generator of fabulous, creative ventures. Let the spells fly! One caveat. Undirected projections of the unconscious are rampant. Awareness. Awareness. Practice more awareness!

Are you brewing something fabulous, or is the energy going out into unconscious projections? Let’s revisit Circe to help focus!

Circe, pronounce “KIR-kee, is one of our early images of feminine magic, a precursor to many Supernatural Underground heroines. In appreciation of our roots, I thought it would be fun to explore this ‘original witch’ who sparked the imagination of the ancient world.

In Greek mythology, Circe was an enchantress, a witch of great power. The daughter of Helios (the sun which represents consciousness) and Perse (an Oceanid who represents the unconscious), she is celebrated for her knowledge of magic and the use of herbs to heal and to transform.

Circe lived on the beautiful island of Aiaia where she waited for lost sailors to wash up on shore. Sometimes she helped them and sometimes she turned them into animals and served them for dinner! She was a bit unstable. She fell for Glaucus, a merman, but when he came asking for a love potion for his beloved Scylla, Circe lost it. In rage she poisoned the pool where Scylla bathed and turned her into a hideous monster. Jealousy can do that to a person. Circe was not immune.

Years later, Odysseus cast anchor in the bay of Aiaia. When his crew searched for food and water they found Circe instead. She transformed them into swine and kept them in pens. Of course Odysseus set out to find his crew and along the way he met Hermes, messenger of the gods, disguised as a young man. Hermes gave Odysseus a plant called ‘moly’ saying that it would protect him from the Circe’s magic. (This is where we get the saying ‘holy moly!’).

Circe welcomed Odysseys and cast her spell on him, but the moly did its trick. When Circe thought the magic was working, she struck Odysseus with her wand. Odysseus drew his sword and sprang at her and Circe surrendered. She released the twenty two pig-men and restored them to their original forms but they were taller and more handsome than before they had been enswined’. That night she invited Odysseus to her bed ‘ . . . so that in love and sleep we may learn to trust one another.’

And trust they did. With his freewill intact, Odysseus stayed on the island of Aiaia enjoying the sweet and sensual embraces of Circe. They were lovers for years, long enough for them to have at least two children, Agrios and Latinos. (In mythology whenever children are born of a union it means something creative is happening!) Eventually Circe agreed to help Odysseus return home to Ithica (and his wife Penelope). She tells him how to sail to Hades and bespeak the blind seer, Tiresias. In this act she is the psychopomp, the guide to the underworld, using her magic to connect Odysseus to the depths of his own unconscious.

Circe has a rather strange relationship to love. She certainly likes to be in ‘control’ with her potions and her vanquishing of rivals, but when she surrenders, she finds something creative and beautiful (and not compelled) in Odyseus. In a way Circe represents awakening consciousness, awareness of the unseen real and a connection to intuitive powers not unlike us deliberate creators, setting intentions and following rituals to accomplish our will. With the trine of Circe to Uranus, doors open! Revelations flood in. We get to choose between being consciously aware of of our feelings, or stay blind, projecting chaos and drama onto others. Which road will you take?

And, what magic are you brewing right now? Check where Circe is in your chart and use that energy in all your deliberate creation spells!

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