Bear Crossing ~ May 18, 2005


My Sagittarian father carried an arsenal of silly one liners. Two of them had to do with bears. The poorer of the two had to do with a fisherman who stopped to do duty in the woods only to be disturbed by a Grizzly and who then ran through the woods with a bear behind. The other, “Everyone has their bear to cross.” Probably the British Army and specifically the stoical, humorless Buckingham Palace Guards are certainly not laughing at this one. Animal rights activists have called for a ban on the bear helmets worn by the guard. While the helmets last twenty to forty years even in England’s dripping weather, bears just do not frolic as they used to do.


Why do we care? For those not environmentally oriented, or those believing that a bear can walk farther into the woods than center, an astrological image surfaces around this issue. The strong centaur, Thereus (just so you know, I submitted this name to the astronomers and it was accepted) had a reputation for carrying live bears who kicked and screamed back to his cave. What he did with them there was not written. Judging from some mythological tales that may be way too much information, anyway.


As this controversy mounted, the Nodes of the Moon, which balance Karma and Dharma, aligned with the position of Thereus in Aries. More specifically the forward thinking, consider every consequence, Northern Node made the direct connection to Thereus, allowing the South Node the opposition position. This is interesting. The North Node of Thereus lingers in late Libra (25 Li 17 helio) and his closest contact to the Sun plowed about seventy percent through Capricorn (21 Cp 47 helio). Both these points got a big push from ecological conservative Saturn. Funny how environmentalists sought to save bears about the same time one of the remaining virgin homesteads of the bear was released for oil drilling. Synchronicity or symbolically succinct?


Since the news reflects mundane manifestations of celestial contacts, what could this mean to average person who has never seen a bear in the woods (which is quite a thrill), or to those who have never tried to make the guards at Buckingham Palace laugh. One clear image coming to mind is that of shouldering one’s raw, primal power and retreating with it into the place of hibernation. Nothing of great quality comes from fatigued bodies regardless how brilliantly the spirit underneath may shine. Retrieving the deep, healing state of sleep remains hugely important. Most people in urban areas cannot accomplish this just because of noise. Also, rest factors into coping skills. How much can one bear, literally, under the circumstances, does depend of sleep. The sign axis involved runs Aries/Libra. Perhaps part of the remedy suggested by the Thereus-Node connection is that of sharing burdens with those willful ones of similar destinations. Certainly willful sharing does imply imposition, weakness or incompetence.


Willful sharing stands out as the proverbial “operative” phrase above. Jupiter nearing it’s June 5th station to direct motion now chases the centaur Chariklo, probably energetically encroaching upon her. She stands at 8 Libra 49, virtually at a standstill, as Jupiter stretches to reach her from his foothold of 9 Libra 23. Naturally, the issues of Chariklo submit to the stretching mechanisms of Jupiter. What counts is what she perceives and then how she choses to react to what she perceives.


Chariklo’s node and perihelion fall in the early degrees of Aquarius and Libra, respectfully. From this, she takes on the role as the boundary centaur. Can a person be intimate and preserve a sense of her/his spirit? Chariklo, in mythological travels, pointed out to the immortals that perhaps they jumped to conclusions about the motives of mortals. Forgiving and understanding, Chariklo rendered the benefit of the doubt first.


Jupiter, referring to justice and judgment in general, finds this a bit hard to take. Jupiter quickly notes justification systems and has a perfected radar for things falling into the extreme rationalization category. How do he and Chariklo manage to get on the same page?


The issue of boundaries as declared by Chariklo has nothing to do with physical space. Nor are boundaries emotional issues. She brilliantly and accurately notes that boundaries refer to energy and how energy is perceived to affect one’s spirit. If a person stands ten feet from another, they should be out of flirtation range by speech and even if not facing each other, energy can be perceived to be passing back and forth. Sometimes even energy leads to sense of being encroached upon by another.


Chariklo possesses a knowledge of healing abilities lost as civilization presumably progressed. It’s been said that some have forgotten more healing that humanity now knows. The first step, she points out, is to heal beliefs, assumptions and snap judgments based upon stereotypes. She asks that each person purge bias, bigotry and beliefs based in fear, fatigue and failure to feel formidable. Find healers that match your beliefs, she suggests. Go with them to the places of healing - symbolically caves as the centaurs Chiron, Pholus and Thereus indicate.


It would be nice if a person allowed themselves to be carried to such places without kicking and screaming. Going to the healing places of choice, conscious or otherwise, really is not intended to demonstrate that one has a bear to cross.


As for the Royal Guards, I think can they achieve a similar effect to what they now have by using ostrich feathers died black and attached to an upside down cone on the top of their heads. Let’s see if they remain smirkless while well feathered.