A Celebration of Myth & Astrology for MISPA’s 5th Birthday.

MISPA celebrated its 5th birthday in 2020 with a day of online talks from their astrology tutors exploring some of their favourite myths and stories and how they relate to astrology.

1: Darby Costello - Hermes: Trickster / Guardian
The Greek god Hermes is the ancestor of our astrological Mercury. Exploring aspects of his nature can aid us in understanding the depths and heights of Mercury in our own charts and those with whom we engage every day.

2: Helen Sewell - Snow White
In choosing the story of Snow White, with its central theme of narcissistic wounding, I’m hoping to explore the universal tension between immature self-interest on the one hand and the capacity for relationship on the other. This is essentially the story of personal development and can also be expressed as the conflict between power and love. Astrologically this can be symbolised by the contradictory natures of the planets Mars and Venus and the houses which they rule, particularly the ascendant and descendant. The story of Snow White outlines how these seemingly irreconcilable opposites can, through suffering, be fruitfully resolved.

3: Juliet Sharman-Burke - The Myth of Pandora, the First Woman
Prometheus, a Titan, created man out of clay and his own tears. He loved his creation so dearly he was prepared to risk anything to ensure their survival. This involved him stealing fire from the gods which incurred a horrific punishment. In retaliation, Zeus commanded Hephaestus, god of the forge, to create a woman in the likeness of the Olympian goddesses. We shall see in this myth how man and womankind have within them the remnants of the gods in the shape of planets and we shall see how this plays out in our examination of the horoscope. Perhaps myth can describe more powerfully than anything else the force of planetary expressions as they fight or befriend each other in the natal chart.

4: Clare Martin - Tristan and Isolde
The myth of Tristan and Isolde reveals the archetypal nature of triangular relationships, the psychological roots of which can be traced back to the Oedipus complex. The theme of competition in love is hard to break, and usually involves much distress and unhappiness for all parties involved.

This myth adds further insight and a deeper understanding of the polarity between passion and morality described by the Aries/Libra axis. We will explore the charts of people who have been caught in its dilemmas.

5: Shawn Nygaard - Orpheus & Eurydice in the Underworld - Bringing the World Back into Tune
The music of Orpheus enchants the world, bringing it to life and captivating all who listen: animals, humans, and nature alike. The tragic death of his love, Eurydice, draws Orpheus into the Underworld and into a confrontation with Hades and Persephone, the realm's king and queen. A tale of love, loss, heartbreak, and doubt, in which we can find a surprising number of astrological correlations. This webinar looks at how an open heart and a descent into the Underworld restore an order to the world vital for our times.

6: Lynn Bell - Hephaestus: Rejection, Envy and Creativity
Hephaestus, the crippled smith, is conceived by his mother without a father, then rejected for his deformity. His myth illuminates the shadow issues around Jupiter, about not being good enough, in a parent's eyes. Hephaestus, the devalued masculine, is courted for his ingenuity and skill , mocked for his wife's infidelity We will look at mothers and sons, and how creativity may bring healing to envy.

7: John Green - Odin and the Runes
When we seek wisdom, we are following an ancient path of initiation. That may be magic, astrology or any occult knowledge. The Norse god Odin was such a seeker of wisdom but the path is never a simple one. We will look at the myths of Odin and the huge sacrifices he made in order to understand more about the path we are on and what it means astrologically and for our psychological development.

8: Safron Rossi - Waves Become Wings – Neptune, Betrayal and the Myth of Ariadne
“I do not know what to do/two states of mind in me,” sings the ancient Greek poet Sappho. These lines could as well be about Neptune, whose themes belong to a watery realm where contradictions undulate. Inspiration, compassion and faith exist right alongside sacrifice, illusions, confusion.

The grace and suffering that Neptune brings, seen in our birth charts and transits, is breathtaking, time and again exhibiting this two-faced behaviour. How do we wrap our minds around these conflicting meanings and experiences of Neptune?

Myth helps us deepen our understanding of this planet’s archetypal pattern, and shed light on the pain of Neptunian betrayal, the other face of trust, to a beautiful development of consciousness.

9: Bonus Content - The Animals and the Plague
A short fable from Aesop read by John Green.