Part III: Saturn and the Games of [G]Old

Games of Gold

In the beginning was the Golden Age, when men of their own accord, without threat of punishment, without laws, maintained good faith and did what was right. . . . The earth itself, without compulsion, untouched by the hoe, unfurrowed by any share, produced all things spontaneously. . . . It was a season of everlasting spring.    ~ Ovid, 6th Book of Metamorphasis

Standing more than 40 feet tall and constructed of ivory and gold, the statue of Zeus within the Temple at Olympia on the west coast of Greece was constructed around the year 435 B.C. and sat overlooking the grounds of the ancient Olympics. Re-creation by Marten Jacobszoon Heemskerk van Veen.

As I have been discussing in my last two posts, there is an emerging collective awareness -- whether deliberately imprinted by the media, or bubbling up from unconscious or stellar realms -- that we may be on the brink of the return of the Golden Age.  And whether you believe that the Golden Age heralds a positive shift in consciousness or a negative imprisonment in Eden, it always arrives with a tumultuous bang.  For the past decade the year 2012 has been the focal point of end time prophesies in part due to Terrence McKenna's theory of singularity and many misinterpretations of the significance of the Mayan Calendar's end date.   Our collective fear of an apocalypse is now being projected onto the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London where unprecedented pre-emptive measures have enlisted 20,000 personnel – more than a tenth of the entire Armed Forces of Britain.

The media's use of provocative language, such as associating a "global spectacle" with the "holy grail" of terrorists is disturbing, especially in light of all the Arthurian symbolism emerging around the event.   No wonder conspiracy theorists are predicting that sex magic and blood sacrifices may be orchestrated during the Olympics, all part of a global ritual to enhance the hidden powers that be.  Moreover, the arrests of 14 people in the last week on suspicion of terrorism in Britain has only served to heighten jitters among police and security officials as the upcoming Olympics fixes the gaze of the world — including potential aggressors — on London.

And the internet is full of heightened conspiracy chatter.  Blogs and alternative media are uncovering all sorts of symbolic meaning embedded in the architecture, medals, music, land, ceremonies and media coverage of not only the Olympics, but also the concurrent Queen's Jubilee.  As they say, it’s all hidden in plain view for those who know how to see.  And of course I have contributed to the discussion with my own astrological interpretation of the emerging archetypes.  While I am not so sure that a false flag terrorist event is on the horizon as some in the alternative media propose, or that all this hoopla is a form of "reverse predictive programming" like Operation Blackjack, there is still symbolic evidence that, whether or not bombs go off in London, or aliens land on top of Big Ben/(Elizabeth's Tower), a ritualistic sacrifice of some sort may be brewing.  

Saturn and the Golden Age

The XXX Olympiad commences on July 27, 2012 with the Opening Ceremony whose worldwide broadcast starts at 9 pm under a sky ruled by Saturn, the planet most associated with the Golden Age.  Whether in the distant past, or in another dimension where there is no time, Saturn rules a kingdom where no one grows old and all points of time exist simultaneously in what Terrence McKenna might have described as singularity.

Claude Lorrain, Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helion (Parnassus)1680

 
Ancient Greek mythology describes the Golden Age as a time when Gods walked on Earth, and Saturn/Kronos maintained peaceful anarchy.  But as Tracy Twyman writes:  

. . . we know that in order to maintain this form of rule, he killed his own children to prevent them from growing up to overtake him. The only reason the Golden Age was so golden was because Saturn’s children were paying the price of the sacrifice.   

The Golden Age came to an end when Saturn's son, Zeus, over threw him, repeating the patricidal sacrifice of Saturn's own father, Uranus.  So, just what would it take to return to a Golden Age?  Is it even possible?  Does it require a violent rebellion against the father or male dominated systems?

Vasari, Kronos castrating his father Uranus 1560

Zeus overthrowing Kronos/Titanomachy  by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1588

According to the Vedas, there are four world ages: Satya (Golden) Yuga, Treta (Silver) Yuga, Dvapara (Bronze) Yuga, and Kali (Iron) Yuga. The Satya (Golden) Yuga is one quarter longer than the Treta (Silver) Yuga, and the Treta Yuga is one quarter longer than the Dvapara (Bronze) Yuga, and finally the Dvapara one quarter longer than the Kali (Iron) Yuga.  Thus each successive age is incrementally shorter and less bright than the previous one. These cycles are said to measure great cycles of revolution around the a universal or galactic center, or more locally around a companion sun that many mystics believe is Sirius. Some modern Hindu seers, such as Sri Yukteswar, divide the Great Year into two sets of ascending/descending Yuga cycles, each consisting of 12,000 years.  During the ascending cycle consciousness expands, and during the descending cycle consciousness declines. We are currently at the beginning of the Dvapara Yuga on an upward trend.

Of of my favorite hermetic authors, Jay Weidner, has applied the concept of the diminishing succession of the yuga cycles to a modern understanding of the hypersphere -- a toroidal shape representing the four dimensions of space, including time. As you can see from this illustration, he theorizes that the spin of the four dimensions of space expand and contract in a torus with the dense Iron Age spinning and condensing to a point of singularity that suddenly shifts in an instant into the glorious Golden Age.

In his fascinating article, 2012 The Topology of Time: Hyperdimensional Space and the Unfolding of the Four Ages, Weidner writes:

The borderline between the Iron Age and the Golden Age is the most distinct border in this topographical illustration of hyperdimensional time.  It is jarring and is instantaneous.

 

According to the Brahma-vaivarta Purana, Krishna says that a Golden Age will start 5,000 years after the beginning of the Kali Yuga ,which fits Weidner's hyperspace model, McKenna's Novelty Theory, and Mayan Calendar observations.  Could all the media hype surrounding the 2012 Summer Olympic Games be a sign that this singularity is about to occur?  However, other modern mystics, such as Sri Yukteswar teach that the Kali Yuga ended -- and the Dvapara Yuga began -- over three hundred years ago.  During the 18th century the shift in consciousness during the Age of Enlightenment does seem to coincide with the dawn of the Dvarpara Yuga.  Isn't it fascinating that Uranus, the father of Saturn/Kronos was discovered as a result of the emerging technology and inventions.  Western astrologers describe Uranus as the great Awakener, a planet of sudden change and rebellion. During this time revolutions threatened the monarchies of Europe and inspired the birth of more egalitarian governments than those based on the ashes of the ancient Roman empire of Jupiter/Zeus.  It was as though Uranus was ruling the Age once again.  Now with the recurring Saturn-Moon conjunctions evident in many global events and rituals, might it be a sign that Saturn/Kronos is poised to rise up again to castrate the Uranian political experiments and technological chaos in order to restore the peaceful life of the Golden Age? Let's take a closer look.

Duty and Sacrifice

Because astrology is my strongest divination tool, I often turn to it to get a sense of the big cosmic picture using Prasna, or Event charts.  Based on the belief that the microcosm is a reflection of the macrocosm, astrology can be used to look at planetary and star patterns that may be nested through out many levels of reality.  In my last post I examined the event chart for the Opening Ceremony and noticed that Saturn, the Lord of the Rings, presides over this moment in time the from the 9th house of law, ceremonies, and official sanctions with the planet of energy, war, competition and athletics, Mars.  The 9th house is an auspicious dharma house that represents our highest principles as expressed in domains like law, religion and philosophy. Because of its connection with the father, it is also a house of sacrifice.  In a natal chart it signifies the father, his sacrifices for the family and spiritual life, and his influence over his children's spiritual practices, personal philosophy of life, perception of reality, and reaction to new ideas; but in an event chart it may signify the influence of the collective father over his country and world views or his own sacrifice to ensure his collective family survives.  In this case, the 9th house of the father is ruled by the constellation of the Mother Goddess, Virgo, a sign of perfection, harvest, and completion of the planting cycle, not to mention another face of the Mother Goddess as personified by England, or rather Britain, itself.  Might Saturn in Virgo lay the foundation for the return of the goddess and divine feminine?  Or does its conjunction with Mars indicate a sudden and swift sacrifice reaped with Saturn's sharp scythe and will it return him to the golden throne?

 There is an intriguing synchronicity of the Saturn-Mars conjunction of the Opening Ceremony chart with the natal chart of Prince William, who also has a similar Saturn-Mars conjunction in his 10th house of public service.  Mars is the planet that rules Williams natal 5th house of kingship and it is conjunct Saturn, which is his atmakaraka planet -- indicator of highest purpose in life.  The Saturn-Mars conjunction infers that he is an authority figure (Saturn) in his nation's military (Mars), and potential ruler of a Virgoan society -- Britain.   As I mentioned in a post about his engagement, William's Saturn dasha began simultaneously with his Saturn return in 2010. At that time he seemed to come of age and accept the responsibility of his potential future role as future father and King of England.  Both the announcement of his engagement and Royal Wedding date were cosmically significant with Saturn lording over his public persona via its 10th house transit.  Even his engagement photo reveals his reserved Saturnine nature along with his wife's Saturnine-blue Issa (Isis) dress.  Furthermore the blue sapphire and diamond engagement ring that belonged to his deceased mother was, in his words, my way to make sure my mother did not miss out on today and the excitement that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together -- in Saturn's elusive netherworld?  Saturn also cast a strong influence in the chart of the Royal Wedding  which took place on an ancient Celtic cross-quarter holiday, Beltane, that literally fired up a global and galactic Hieros gamos, or Chemical Wedding.  Although Saturn is very strong in his natal chart, it does rule the second and third houses making it a first rate maraka, or death inflicting planet for the young Prince.  In order for William to become King both the Queen and his father will have to die, or to abdicate. Thus his future as King depends on death, or the fall, of his father.  Sound familiar to any ancient Greek families?

Isle of Wonder

In my last post, I examined how the Opening Ceremony program -- the Isle of Wonder -- was designed by director Danny Boyle to celebrate everything that was unique and special to the British Isles.  It begins with a green and pleasant tableau that alludes to myths of the Golden Age; its Christian counterpart, Revelation's New Jerusalem; the return of the Once and Future King of Arthurian legend; and even Atlantis. Occult writers are quick to point out that the concentric rings of the stadium and water mote surrounding the Isle of Wonder may also be an allusion the lost city of Atlantis.  So is it any wonder that on July 2, 2012 researchers from Prince William's alma mater, St. Andrews University, announced that they have found Britain's Atlantis in traces of ancient land swallowed by waves 8,500 years ago.

According to the article, Britain's Atlantis, or "Doggerland" once stretched from Scotland to Denmark before the great deluge. 

The research suggests that the populations of these drowned lands could have been tens of thousands, living in an area that stretched far from Northern Scotland across to Denmark and down the English Channle as far as the Channel Islands. The area was once the 'real heartland' of Europe and was hit by 'a devastaing tsunami.'

The timing of this press release occurred while the brightest star in the sky, the blue star Sirius, also called the "dog star" as it is located in Canis Major, disappeared into the effulgence of the Sun's summer rays.  Since ancient times Sirius has been associated with the legendary lost city of Atlantis and their descendants, the Egyptian Pharaohs beginning with Osiris and Isis.  Many ancient cultures and mystics pointed to Sirius as the home of our ancestral fathers, creator gods, and spiritual teachers. In the Sirius Mystery, Robert Temple claimed that the ancient African tribe known as the Dogons knew details about the faint white dwarf star (Sirius B) circling in a binary orbit around Sirius that would be impossible to be know without the use of telescopes. According to their mythology, humans are descended from a race of amphibians called the Nommo, who were inhabitants of the Sirius star system.  They are said to have descended from the sky and transformed humans with their advanced knowledge.  In occult traditions they are the teachers of the people of the lost Golden Age city of Atlantis, which now appears to be revealing some of its sunken mysteries off the shores of Great Britain -- or at least that seems to be the message.

Fish Gods with the Tree of life, or thistle? Assyria, 700 BC

  

The motto is Nemo me impune lacessit (No one harms me with impunity).

 
Ancient Mystery Schools consider Sirius to be the secret “sun behind the sun,” or our Sun's companion star, and the true source of our sun’s potency -- and the potency of Sun Kings.  Its annual disappearance from the night sky, and helical return 60 days later, heralded the annual flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt, where Sirius was associated with the Goddess Isis.  It was believed that her tears brought the flood as she mourned and wept for her husband Osiris, the first divine King of Egypt.  And, like the transition of Venus from evening star to morning star, the disappearance and reappearance cycles of Sirius are considered shamanic processes of death and rebirth imbuing those deities and rulers associated with it with immortality and royal divinity.  Five thousand years ago in ancient Egypt, the heliacal rise of Sirius occurred on the Summer Solstice and linked the royal throne to Isis and her descendants: the royal bloodlines of Europe.

As I have mentioned before, Prince William was born on the Summer Solstice with his natal Sun and Moon in particular receiving the hidden light of Isis.  While the media was reporting on the discovery of Britain's Atlantis, Prince William was becoming supernumerary Knight of the Order of the Thistle in Edin(Eden)burg, Scotland.  Membership in the Order is limited to sixteen knights and the Sovereign (Queen Elizabeth) for a total of 17 (the Star card in Tarot and number associated with Osiris) members.  Prince William is a supernumerary Knight and 21st member of the Order, whose blazing star may be symbolic of the hidden companion sun, Sirius.  Also notice how the thistle resembles the Tree of Life in the Assyrian/Sirian relief above, like the one on top of  the Maypole representing Scotland situated at the base of the replica of Glastonbury Tor in the Opening Ceremony tableau.

Although Stonehenge, Avebury, and Newgrange were built during the Golden Age of the British Isles, none of these architectural icons are depicted in the Olympic pastoral setting. Instead Boyle selected Glastonbury Tor, the legendary location of Avalon and mythical resting place of the Holy Grail, as a focal point for this pastoral setting.  So it is clear that Boyle is alluding to this specific Golden Age myth and the idyllic kingdom of Camelot because it supports the royal bloodline mythology of British kingship that has given legitimacy to the monarchy.  He has also created a time wave of singularity by linking the past, present and future in his imaginary and anachronistic mosaic.

According to Boyle, the aim of the ceremony is to create "a picture of ourselves as a nation".  At one end of the rolling British countryside is a replica of Glastonbury Tor, and unlike the real tor this one "has an oak tree on it," which may be a subtle reference to the pagan Oak King who rules over of the summer months -- perhaps like Prince William who was born on the Summer Solstice and is thought to be breathing new life into the outworn and dusty monarchy.  And at either end of the giant stage are two Mosh pits which Boyle hopes will "do battle."  The one beneath the Tor represents the Glastonbury Music Festival, which has gone "fallow" this year due to the Olympics significantly reaping no harvest.  The other mosh pit is dedicated to the Last Night of Proms (Proms = Promenades, or Prometheus), which is a yearly concert that celebrates British tradition with patriotic music on the second Saturday (Saturn's day) of September -- a British Saturnalia?  This year the Last Night of the Proms falls on September 8, 2012 and features some very intriguing pieces including Mark Simpson's Spark, C2; Suk's Towards a New Life; Delius' Songs of Farewell; John Williams' Olympic Fanfare; and of course Parry's Jerusalem to name a few.

In addition to the Mosh Pits, there are scenes of farm life, with live animals, a cricket match, a horse and plough, and four Maypoles, each with a flower representing the lands of England (rose), Scotland (thistle), Wales (daffodil) and Northern Ireland (flax).  Remember that Saturn also rules land and real estate. This elaborate narrative traces the continuity between Britain's past, present, and future by combining seemingly disparate images into a kind of anachronistic mosaic in which there is no sense of time.  In effect he is creating an in potentia otherworld of Saturn's unrule -- British style.  Remember  Tracy Twyman's  description of Saturn's golden age primordial worlds:

What these myths of the Golden Age, Garden of Eden, and other primordial paradises really point to is the concept of a cosmic center: a kingdom that doesn’t really exist, except in the Otherworld, in potentia. But it is said to be at the heart of our own existence, and its essence can be felt everywhere. It is a place where there is no time as we know it. Rather, all points of time exist simultaneously, and all space as well. This is why the people who live there are said to never grow old.

Games of Lugh

Although Boyle's Maypoles may depict four regions of Britain, they also evoke the ancient ritual of dancing around the Maypole associated with spring fertility rites of Beltane, the high pagan holiday that was selected for the Royal Alchemical Wedding date.  But in the case of the Olympics, why would there be four Maypoles at the Opening Ceremony?  Notice how they are placed perpendicular to each other -- like the four cross-quarters celebrated by the ancient Celts throughout the British Isles and Europe: Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Imbolc and depicted in the Wheel of the Year.

But instead of taking the shape of the Christian cross, the cross-quarters form an X, like the chi of the chi ro.

ChiRho page from the Lindisfarne Gospels

Or the X of Scotland's patron saint, St. Andrew, who is prominently displayed on the Order of the Thistle that Prince William just received.

But this X belies a much older connection to the ancient cross-quarter days of the Celtic Wheel of the Year.  These cross-quarter days occur in the middle of each season and ancient people celebrated these solar holidays with fire ceremonies.  One of these holidays, Lughnasadh, was also an ancient Irish sporting festival. Is it a coincidence that timing of the modern Olympic Games coincides with another sporting tradition of lost Golden Age?  The Assembly of Tailti  was an ancient Irish sports and games festival that occurred during the last fortnight of July and culminates in a fire sacrifice on August 1st, the cross-quarter holiday Lughnasadh.  It originated far in the Neolithic past to commemorate the last queen of the first people of Ireland, the Fir Bolg.  

After clearing the land, Tailtu gave birth to fields of grain and then died from her efforts. Like many primitive earth goddesses, Tailtu came from and returned, like wheat chaff, to the land.  ~ C. Austin

But as the neolithic age shifted to the Bronze age, Tailtu was gradually replaced by the masculine sky god, Lugh.  And the narrative changed.

Reims tricephalic god identified as Lugus

Lugh is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past.  Like Kronos and Zeus, there was a prophecy that the Femorian giant Balor would be murdered by a grandson, so he imprisoned his only daughter in a cave.  However, one of his enemies of the magical Tuatha de Danaan clan seduced her and she became pregnant, later giving birth to triplets.  When Balor found out about his grandchildren, threw the infants into a whirlpool to drown, but Lugh survived and was raised in foster care by a smith, much like Kartikeya and Skanda in Hindu mythology.  Later Lugh lead the Tuatha de Danaan in battle and killed Balor.  Lughnasad marks the halfway point between the summer solstice and autumnal equinox and it marks the waning days of the Oak King, who like Tailtu loses his vitality after bringing in the harvest and dies. This fire ceremony is a time of sacrifice – making sacred – when the Goddess gives up the Old King in preparation for the new one; and when the Old King, Lugh, offers himself for sacrifice to renew the contract with the Land. Although few modern scholars agree that the root of Lug, or Lugh, may be derived from the Proto-Indo-European word leuk or lewk meaning  "white, bright, light, or to shine," most researchers would agree that it is derived from leug meaning to "swear an oath."  An ancient tradition of Lughnasadh is the formation of oaths.  Because they had to wait for the crops to be harvested, business transactions and marriaged were formed and renewed at this time of year and even became part of the Lughnasadh festivities. On August 1st, Lughnassadh culminates in a fire ceremony in which an effigy of Lugh, or the Greenman, is burned as the so-called Wickerman.  The God's death is necessary for the rebirth of the next season of crops, with his rebirth at Yule, and coming of age at Beltane.

From the 1973 movie The Wickerman

The setting of the Sun as the Wickerman burns

There are many ancient Irish mythologies associated with this Wheel of the Year that describe the duality of the God and Goddess or the battle of Two Kings (here we go again).

The triumvirate goddess: Banba, Fotla and Eriu,
According to ancient Irish legend, Ireland was first called the island of Banba of the women.

In the first group, the Goddess represents the Earth and the God, the Sun.  As the Goddess ages (triumvirate) and rejuvenates endlessly with the seasons, she is courted by the God in various forms.   For example, the God is born from the Goddess at Yule (winter solstice), grows in power with the Goddess in her maiden form at Ostara (spring equinox), impregnates the Goddess at Beltane, wanes in power at Lughnassadh, passes to the underworld at Samhain, and then is reborn again at Yule.  In this tradition, the divine feminine is the source of life, power, and rejuvenation and is an aspect of the neolithic Goddess represented by the constellation of Virgo who held sway over the poles during the Golden Age.  But as the neolithic age shifted to the copper or Bronze age she was gradually replaced by the masculine sky god, Lugh.  And the narrative changed.

In the subsequent tradition, two male forces battle over the turning points of the seasons: the Holly King and the Oak King. These figures are dual aspects of a single entity who symbolizes land, fertility, and growth -- much like the Greek god Pan. During Midsummer (the summer solstice) the Oak King is at the height of his strength, while the Holly King is at his weakest.  The Holly King begins to regain power at Mabon (the autumnal equinox)  until he finally vanquishes the Oak King at Yule.  In the spring and summer months the Oak King is young and virile, but towards the end of the seasons he begins to age and weaken. In order to preserve his spirit, he must be killed at the precise moment that he begins to decay (the harvest). He is later killed by the Holly King who will rein over the fall and winter months. After the Holly King ages, the Oak King beheads him and steals his place black on throne. The cycle continues infinitely.  In addition to representing the cycles of the year, this battle is very reminiscent of the ascending and descending cycles of the shift of World Age, or representative of the war between the gods, as their "coronation" aligns on the Sagittarius-Gemini(sidereal)/Capricorn-Cancer (tropical) axis of the Milky Way transitioning as the Sun crosses the galactic center and anti-galactic center at the solstices.  Could the Holly King, who rules over Yule and Saturnalia, represent the Saturn archetype, and the Oak King, who rules over summer, represent the Jupiter archetype of deities like Zeus/Jupiter and Thor, whose sacred tree is also the oak? 

In the Druidic tradition, the holly tree, or cuilieann, is considered the most sacred and magical of their pantheon of trees. Its  mildly poisonous berries are hallucinogenic and may have been a powerful source for magical dreams and deep spiritual insight.  Is it any wonder that the wood of the holly tree is used for making magic wands?  Or that Hollywood is ground zero for the magical world of illusion and film.  Furthermore, these early shaman, the first druids of Ireland, became the first priest kings and the name cuilieann is associated with the oldest bloodline of the world whose descendants are the O'Cuilleain (O'Collins) of West Cork. The Holly Kingship may have been appropriated by British kings and now is associated with Queen Elizabeth and her children.  During her Diamond Jubilee celebrations she planted a holly tree at the Holly Lodge in Richmond.





The Latin word for Holly is ilex (1= one and lex = law), which under the Emperor Constantine became the official motto of Roman Empire: Ilex Novum Romanum Imperium (INRI) or Holly New Roman Empire that we now simply call the Holy Roman Empire.  Thus the Holy Family is actually referring to the Holly Family, and Christ is the Holly King born at the Winter Solstice when the Sun is aligned with the Galactic Center.  The solstice Sun receives shakti from the "root" of the galaxy, the nakshatra Mula, which is ruled by the spiritualizing force of the dragon's tale, Ketu. 

Acorns growing on an Oak Tree

In other Western mythologies the Oak tree is sacred to Zeus and other thunder gods, such as Thor and Lugh, because of its tendency to be struck by lightning.  My ancestral fathers hail from county Mayo, where they still describe thunderstorms as a battle between Lugh and Balor.   The oak, or duir, is part of the proto-Celtic word for druid: derwo-weyd or druwid.  My own family name, Durkin (often spelled Durkan), may mean "archaic druid" or "kin of the oaks."   The Old Irish duir for "oak" also means "door" in many European languages, and is similar to dvara and dur in Sanskrit, suggesting that the Druids were keepers of the doors or portals to other realms.  It is said that as a method of divination the druids would listen to the rustling of the oak leaves for messages and whispers of things to come.  And, as Tracy Twyman reveals, acorns were the food of the Golden Age:

Moreover, acorns were, according to legend, the primary food of the people of the Golden Age, ruled over by Saturn, the ‘Lord of the Earth’ and the ‘Lord of Misrule,’ the primordial archetype for all kingship. Acorns seem to have been the ur-currency, the measure of wealth and plenitude at a time when there was plenty for all, and therefore no need for governments to protect property, or monetary systems to regulate its exchange.

Furthermore oaks and acorns are symbols of the King and Queen of May Day, the Green Man and Diana, and William and Kate.
 

Prince William and Kate Middleton seem to have crafted their entire wedding to esoterically reenact the pagan Beltane fertility ritual of the Green Man, or the King of the Wood, to Diana, the Virgin Queen of Heaven. . . Historically this ritual was performed by the real king and queen, acting out the roles of the god and goddess, to ensure plenitude in the land. In pre-Christian times (and long afterward), monarchs were thought to be both literally blood descendants of the gods as well as symbolic embodiments of them and host or channels of these ancestral spirits. There was believed to be a sympathetic connection between the fertility of the Queen’s womb and the fertility of the land.

Do you remember how Kate was given a new coat of arms: three acorns with a gold chevron.

And her jeweler created a special set of gift for her wedding: a diamond oak leaf and acorn earring.

It seems like royal iconographers are designing motifs that associate the next generation of monarchs with the Oak King, who reigns over the summer months, and who could reign over the eternal summer of a new Golden Age. During the Summer Solstice the Sun aligns with the anti-Galactic Center which is located the constellation of Gemini. It is no coincidence that Prince William was born on the Summer Solstice, the height of the Oak King's power when the Sun receives shakti from the anti-Galactic Center.  Perhaps Tracy Twyman is right: Prince William is the anti-Christ:

Born on the Summer Solstice during a solar eclipse, Prince William is a living embodiment of the dying and reborn solar king of the ancient world. This is the primordial archetype of kingship, the “Lord of the Earth,” upon which all monarchs throughout history have modeled themselves. Through his descent from the Spencer family, William carries a more illustrious predigree than any other monarch to sit on the throne of England.

Personally, I do not see him as the dreaded figure associated with Revelation, but rather an anti-Galactic center "anointed one" connected with the both the Holly King/Saturn and Oak King and Zeus/Jupiter archetypes because his ascendant aligns with the Galactic Center and his descendant, Sun, and Moon align with the anti-Galactic center.

Athough William's Sagittarius ascendant is located in the sharp and sometimes destructive nakshatra of Mula,  it has a sattwic orientation.  It is ruled by the goddess Nritti who breaks things apart (barhana shakti) in order to end materialism and initiate the spiritualization process.  The ruler of this lunar mansion is Ketu, the tail of the dragon, perhaps a reference to the white dragon of Arthurian legend.  In his chart it rises on the Eastern horizon in the nakshatra Purva Ashada, meaning the "invincible star."  Although often considered unpredictable, Ketu can bring sudden rise to power, and Ketu in this nakshatra certainly gives fame, wealth, fertility, and much wisdom.  In fact, the great benefic and significator of philosopher kings, Jupiter, rules his birth chart and deposits Ketu from the upachaya 11th house -- the house of good fortune, strong alliances, and humanitarian efforts which get better with time.  In addition, as the second house from the tenth house of the King, the 11th house rules gifts from the King and Public.  Moreover, in the Chaldean order of planets, the Sun is ruler of the 11th as Dana Gerhardt reveals:

The Chaldean order of planets makes the Sun ruler of the 11th. “As is only fitting,” writes Frawley, “for as the eleventh shows the good things that descend to us from Heaven, so the Sun is the image of this endless, inexhaustible bounty permeating and sustaining the cosmos.
 

The most fascinating astrological line up in William's chart is the alignment of the Sun, Moon and dragon's head, the famous red dragon of Arthurian legend, Rahu, on the anti-Galactic center that occurred during a new moon, solar eclipse.  The royal Sun is placed in Mrigashira, the nakshatra associated with Soma, the elixir of immortality and treasured nectar of the gods.  It is a soft and sensitive nakshatra, even though it is ruled by Mars.  The Sun is chemically married to a just-past new Moon in Ardra, which also conjoin his mother Diana's natal Sun and fixed star Sirius, imprinting a close mother-son bond and Isis-Horus archetype that they embody for the collective -- as depicted in the photo of William's first steps with Diana, in her Queen of Heaven dress.  On the right, William's affectionate embrace of his new puppy, Lupo, Italian for wolf, another name for Sirius, reflects a similar affection. Ardra is a very intense moon, especially early in life as one starts out in Rahu's maha dasha which is known for being quite a difficult ride. The dragon's head itself casts a lifelong shadow over the Moon and William's consciousness; and reveals the unfortunate Pendragon embrace of his royal family. 


Saturn Dasha and the Return of the Mother

On August 31, 1997 Princess Diana died as a result of injuries sustained in a symbolically rich car accident that crashed into the 13th pillar of a underpass along the Pont d'Alma (bridge of spirit) in Paris.  The Flame of Liberty sits above the exit to the tunnel and has become an unofficial memorial for the Princess.

At the time young Prince William was running Jupiter-Saturn maha dasha whilst Jupiter was in mutual reception with Saturn in Pisces opposite its natal position in Virgo and squaring his Sun-Moon conjunction in Gemini.  Very intense indeed with Saturn again playing a key role.  While I won't go into the rabbit hole of conspiracy theories still circulating fifteen years later, I will point out that the sacrifice of  Prince William's mother is the first of many tearful moments imprinted by the Ardra moon.  According to internet legend, just before her death, Diana spoke of Prince William Arthur's future role as king:  

I believe Wills (William) can rebuild Camelot and I will be his Merlin. Together we will return to the chivalry, pageantry, and the glory that was King Arthur's Court. William will remake the Monarchy by showing love, leadership and compassion.

A giant helps Merlin build Stonehenge. 

Merlin predicted the Red Dragon would win.

Although I have never been able to find the source of this statement, it seems strange and mysterious that Diana would associate herself with Merlin, the legendary magician and counselor to King Arthur.  The name Merlin derives from the Welsh Myrddin, the name of the 6th century historical figure who was the prototype for the composite image of wizard that we have today.  According to some accounts, Merlin was the last druid, a seer, a shaman and keeper of knowledge, particularly of the arcane secrets.
 
But there is another deeper meaning encoded in the name Merlin: a small species of falcon, Falco columbarius, is commonly know a a Merlin. 

The falcon is the symbol most associated with the son of Isis; and Columba is the Latin word for "dove" which became a "modern" constellation in 1592 that incorporated some of the stars of Canis Major, the home of Sirius and the goddess Isis, who is often symbolized by the dove.  After Diana's death, her memorials have included a dove, and other Egyptian symbols like the pyramid and all-seeing eye, alluding to her symbolic role as Isis, Queen of Heaven and mother of the boy-king Horus.  The dove is associated with many ancient mother goddesses including Astarte, Britannia, the Babylonian Ishtar, and her most famous high priestess Mary Magdalene, who as many believe is the Sangreal (meaning royal blood), the Holy Grail itself: the esoteric wife of Jesus, mother of his children, and thus secret keeper of the anointed bloodline of British Royalty. 

Horus was usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing the pschent, the red crown of lower Egypt and the white crown of upper Egypt that represent their unification, like the red and white dragons of Britain.   And the winged disc was another form of Horus, representing his dominion over the air and sky, that is still used today in air force insignia.

Prince William is a pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF), so and isn't it fascinating that he received his wings from his father, who flew aircraft in the Royal Navy (Osiris and the underworld) with Kate Middleton, the new Isis looking on.

He even wore his wings during his Beltane Wedding ceremony.  On the right is a photograph of Prince William wearing the red military coat of the Irish guard.  His decision to wear the Irish Guards Mounted Officer’s uniform was officially suppose to be a tribute to a battalion that had returned from an arduous tour in Afghanistan (or a media ploy by the monarch to strengthen ties between London and Dublin -- yeah right); and apparently this fashion choice "disappointed" his fellow RAF service men.  But I suspect there are two other reasons for this garish coat.  First, red is the color of sacrifice, and the Royal Wedding chart was full of stellar configurations indicating death; and second, the white shamrocks/three-leafed clover on his collar are emblems of both Druids and Osiris symbolizing the three-in-one mystery (father-mother-son, father, son, and holy ghost/Virgin).  Furthermore, in the case of Osiris, the trefoil adorned his head and is said to have fallen off  at the moment of his death.  Thus Prince William's Wedding suit prominently displayed the insignia of both Osiris and Horus, Father and Son who will marry the stand-in for Isis in the Royal Hieros Gamos.

So now as we approach another global event concurrent with an ancient Celtic holiday of sacrifice, I can't help but wonder who might be the Wickerman: the Green Man (Osiris, Charles) or the Oak King/Lugh (William)?  Or someone else, like the aging Holly King (Queen Elizabeth).  Could this the Assembly of Tailti , which has been linked to the Queen's Jubilee, be foreshadowing that she is last queen of this lineage?

Perhaps we will get a few more clues when Saturn conjoins the Moon in Virgo one last time on July 24th and 25th.  After that Saturn enters its sign of exaltation, Libra, where it will remain from August 4, 2012 until October 2014.   The scales of Libra are associated with balance, law, fairness and civility and give Saturn an opportunity to balance and reap karma.  Although Saturn is considered a first-rate malefic, it is a highly spiritual planet that assists us understand our past samskaras, the accumulated negative karmas that chain us to the life and death cycle, in order to free us from these bonds.

Perhaps Prince William, who is running Saturn's maha dasha, with Saturn about to enter and transit not only the 11th house of kingship, but also his chart lord Jupiter (which is also the indicator of his paternal grandmother and her chart lord) may experience Saturn's sickle and free himself from his seemingly unwanted bonds to the monarchy.  I do see him as an anti-Christ to the false Christ kings, perhaps restoring the Golden Age by becoming the Lord of Unrule and sacrificing the bondage of his subjects/children to freedom.  I would love to see Prince William grant the British Republican movement their resolution for the abolition of the British monarchy.  But only time will tell how this narrative will change.

The golden age is before us, not behind us.  ~ William Shakespeare


Namaste!

Addendum

Sometimes strange coincidences happen as I'm in the middle of researching the subjects that indicate to me that I am on the right track (or at least that's what I like to believe).  This post was exceptional in personal syncs:


On Friday July 13 the great Awakener stationed at 2:49 am pdt, during which time my cat Lulu was more restless than usual.  She woke me and my "giant" 6'6" partner me up many times throughout the dawn, until finally my bleary one-eyed giant leaped up out of bed, yelled at her, and let her out the back door -- like Balor battling Lugh.  All the activity was too much for my consciousness to float back to sleep so I decided to use this quiet time to work on this blog post.  I was in the middle of writing about the Oak and its connection to Thunder gods -- being the tallest tree it attracts a lot of lightning strikes.  By 8 am I thought I heard the rumblings of thunder, but thought it was my imagination.  I even asked my partner Joseph who thought it was a plane.  An hour later a massive thunder and lightning storm lit up the Seattle skies and dropped heavy sheets of rain.  Though normal in most regions of the US, this display of the battle between Lugh and Balor is extremely rare in the Pacific Northwest.  I can't help but think I must have had a hand in conjuring up these long lost friends.

That night Joseph finally agreed to watch one of my favorite movies Phenomenon.  I told him it was one of John Travolta's better films.   I was extremely humbled when the opening began in an Oak Forest.  Ah, here comes the Oak King again!  After being hit by a beam of light on his birthday, which appears to be the middle of summer, John Travolta's character George Malley transformed into a genius with magic telekinetic powers. I started tingling and giggling to myself when I heard Peter Gabriel sing I have the Touch. He is in love with a woman who makes wicker (yes, as in wickerman) chairs.  And indeed, he was sacrificed in the end.