03 Jul Mnemosyne Mater Musarem ~ July 4th -10th, 2016

This week, there will be a New Moon in Cancer, offering a profound orientation towards seeing eternity in the ebb and flow of past, present, and future. By this week in July, the season of Cancer has fully ripened and your most cherished dreams are as low hanging fruits, warmed and kissed by the sun. There is softness in every sigh and there is sweetness even in your sadness.

Cancer season is notably sentimental and reminiscent. Caught in the vapors of scent and music, the blessing and the curse of this time is that you are compelled to journey into memories. Cancer plays with consciousness like clay, making soft impressions and nimble sculptures from every joy and every sorrow.

Cancer is associated with the archetype of the Great Mother, who is represented in every maternal spirit whom you have ever encountered. But mythologically speaking, the Mother that Cancer communes with best is Mnemosyne Mater Musarem.(Memory, Mother of the Muses)

 

Mnemosyne’s name derives from Mene, Moon, and mosune, ‘wooden house’, so literally translated her name means ‘the House of the Moon.’

The House of the Moon is where human consciousness is raised up and nourished by maternal divinity. It is here where we all take our most enduring impressions and learn our most essential lessons.

As Plato once said, “the Moon can teach even the very slowest creature to count, and gain ‘a general insight into the relations of number with number, watching the waxing and waning, and counting from Moon to Moon, giving us past, present and a predictable future” (Epinomis, 978b-979a).

 

 

In Ancient Greece, Orphic priests were said to drink from the “pool of Memory” in order to experience perfect wisdom. Thus, Cancer season parts the waters, offering a path to wisdom. Though the Moon is a great teacher of time, according to the ancient mysteries, Memory is a realm where linear time is irrelevant. In the circular rhythms of the Moon, both the past and the future can equally be “remembered”.

 

The Orphic Hymn to Mnemosyne, written between 300 BC to 300 AD, best describes the tradition of devotion to her.

Mnemosyne I call, the Queen, consort of Zeus, Mother of the sacred, holy and sweet-voiced Muses. Ever alien to her is evil oblivion that harms the mind, she holds all things together in the same dwelling place, in the mind and soul of mortals, she strengthens the powerful ability of humans to think.

 

Most sweet, vigilant, she reminds us of all the thoughts that each one of us is for ever storing in our hearts, overlooking nothing, rousing everyone to consciousness. But, blessed goddess, awaken for the initiates the memory of the sacred rite, and ward off forgetfulness from them.

 

In light of this hymn’s declarations, it is clear that without a well tended and nurtured memory, all meaning in life is lost. Without a rich and sensorial memory, there would be no inspiration, no muses, and no powerful thoughts. Through memory we keep the cherished past alive in our hearts and open ourselves to initiation into higher consciousness.

 

In full communion with Mnemosyne, let this week of the New Moon in Cancer unfold like an epic poem, for in the poetic act time is suspended. Thus, you may experience a remembrance of the past simultaneously with remembrance of the future. With the lightest touch of effort, the spiraling swirl of creative forces will be on your side.

 

Monday/Tuesday: Mother of the Sacred, Holy and Sweet-Voiced Muses

Monday is the New Moon in Cancer, a day that will be sensitive, emotional and revelatory. There will no doubt be a lot of sensations and connections made, as this New Moon will be conjunct Mercury and Venus whilst opposing Pluto in Capricorn and trining Neptune in Pisces as well as Mars in Scorpio.

The conjunction with Mercury and Venus, will bring a pleasurable lucidity and capacity for articulating your feelings about the past, transforming tangled up facts into a soothing story that unfolds like blooming flower petals. With such an ability to sculpt your feelings into language, the potential for a flowering of catharsis is greatly heightened.

On Tuesday, Mercury in Cancer will trine Neptune in Pisces, a wide-open day for your imagination and dreams to reign supreme. This is a day to discover what your connection to poetry, music and primal myth is really all about!

 

Poetic myth, such as the Orphic tradition, is a magical language bound in devotion to the Moon-Goddess and the Muse. Thus, the language of true poetry is the worship of Mnemosyne. Even in the modern world, this magical language is still in use. Seek to discover where it hides in your own experience. It may be something you are called to compose yourself or you may find it hidden in the lyrics of someone else’s work. Either way, there is a magical message for you waiting to be discovered!

Wednesday/Thursday:  In the Mind and Soul of Mortals

On Wednesday, Venus in Cancer will be trined to Mars in Scorpio, increasing your desire for intercourse, discourse, and concourse.

This should be a day ignited by visions of delight and pleasure, images of beauty which inspire you to evolve into more than the mundane story you tell about yourself. The creative spirit of art and love at this time will feel divinely gifted and archetypally infused.

Also on Wednesday, the Sun in Cancer will be conjunct Mercury, a planetary phenomenon also known as being combust.

 

 

On Thursday, Mercury combust the Sun will oppose Pluto in Capricorn, creating a smoldering internal tension that will beg to find release. You may feel bruised by your passions, by the suffering and the elation of intense emotion. However, in order to give birth to new virtues and in order to be initiated into sacred knowledge, you must endure these episodes of crisis.

Remember that there is no great art that excludes the depths of suffering and darkness. All legitimate initiation and rites of passage require sacrifice and endurance.

Friday/Saturday/Sunday: Rousing Everyone to Consciousness

On Friday, Venus in Cancer will square Uranus in Aries. This tense aspect will threaten any relationships or artistic endeavors which debilitate your freedoms and autonomy. Consider any instability that arises to be an opportunity to discover your blindspots, vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Those relationships and projects which are strong and deeply loving will remain unchallenged.

Both Friday and Saturday will be characterized by Mercury in Cancer’s sextile to Jupiter in Virgo. Despite some of the tremors caused by Uranus, this aspect will enable you to remember the future, intuiting the next best move for you to make in life.

 

 

Jupiter’s beneficent influence will inspire you to imagine a golden path before you, one that remains untarnished by misfortune and obstruction. The more you can allow these visions, the closer they will be to your manifest experience.

On Sunday, the Sun in Cancer will sextile Jupiter in Virgo, bringing a shining light of optimism to your worldview. This influence will also enable you to reflect on your painful past with less trembling and resistance.

This is a day to feel joy at the realization of how much you have grown from experience, both good and bad. Even if you don’t normally believe in luck or fortune, play with these ideas today and see what benevolence is bestowed upon you!

 

Another burst of confidence and motivation will arise from a very beneficial trine between Mercury in Cancer and Mars in Scorpio. Your thoughts and your will merge under this influence, making your actions and words a unified force!

Meditate upon the value of your word today and consider carefully how you will invest it. This may be the moment where you finally perceive your language as magical. So, on Sunday, use the power of your words to ritualize your optimism, enhance your faith, and unite your love, will, and desire.