THE MYTH AND MYSTICISM OF THE PLEIADES
The fixed star Alcyone is the principal star in the celebrated Pleiades star cluster. The Pleiades lie in the shoulder of Taurus, at 00° Gemini. Over the centuries, many cultures have woven myths around this cluster, whose stars shine so brightly in the sky. The Pleiades are also known as the Seven Sisters. In Greek mythology, when their half-sisters, the Hyades, died of grief for their dead brother Hyas, the Pleiades took their own lives in sorrow, and Zeus transformed them all into stars. There were seven of them: Maia, Merope, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno and Sterope.
According to some myths, the Pleiades brought ambrosia to the gods from lands in the west, which accords with their Greek name, “Peleiades”, or doves. Other interpretations derive their name from “pleo”, meaning to sail, because their rising in the heavens marked a favourable season for seafaring.
Our people have known the Pleiades since ancient times, but call them by their own name: Vlašići, or, less commonly, Vlaščići. This may derive from an Old Slavonic name for these stars, Vlasezelisti (with variants such as Vlasozelisti, Vlasozilisti and others). In Russia, they are called Volosozhary (and also the Old Woman’s Constellation), a name derived from the ancient Slavic god Veles. In that case, Vlašići, or Volosići, would be the sons of this god. The Vlašići appear in several folk tales and songs. In one story, they are the souls of an emperor’s seven dead children. In another, they are five dragons, a slave and an emperor’s daughter. The best-known tale, however, concerns a group of Vlachs who abducted a beautiful girl named Mizulinka. Moved by her mother’s inconsolable weeping, God pinned them to the sky “so that the world should remember them for as long as the world endures”. In this story, the stars of the Vlašići are called Mile, Mileta, Vule, Vuleta, Skor-Bora and Bariša, with Mizulinka as the seventh. The appearance of the Vlašići in the sky around St Peter’s Day heralded the dawn, and people would set out at that hour of the night to mow the hay. Around Christmas, the Vlašići set before dawn, signalling the time to rise. Folk tradition holds that they are invisible between St George’s Day and St Peter’s Day, and thus “open the summer and close the winter”. Another saying has it that “St George’s dawn closes the Vlašići, and St Vitus’s dawn opens them”, since these stars are first seen in the year on the eve of St Vitus’s Day.
In the Middle Ages, the fixed star Alcyone, representing the Pleiades as a whole, was recognised as one of the magical Behenian stars. These were considered especially useful in magical practice, both in medieval European astrology and in the Arab world. Talismans made during this period were said to confer magical power and knowledge.
Alcyone holds the most prominent place within the constellation of the Pleiades. Many cultures regarded it as the centre around which our Sun revolves. A complete revolution was thought to take 26,000 years, roughly equivalent to the precessional cycle. Alcyone was also exceptionally important to the Maya, whose entire calendar was formulated through Venus’s contact with this star. One such contact marked the celebrated “birth of Venus” on 11 August 3115 BC, which signalled the beginning of the Mayan calendar. Here, as in other traditions, the Pleiades served as a kind of cosmic womb from which a great cycle of time was born. Every eight years, for a few hours after dusk in April, Venus can be seen very close to the stars of the Pleiades. Each time it reaches this region of the sky, it appears, as seen from Earth, to draw closer to the central star. In 1972, Venus came within one degree of Alcyone. The approach continued in subsequent years. By 2004, Venus was already very close, and in the much-discussed year of 2012, the two came into exact alignment. This was supposed to mark a new birth of Venus and the beginning of a different course of history.
Certain modern theories undoubtedly add to the mystique of this cluster. Adherents of various conspiracy theories and ufologists regard the Pleiadians as friends of humanity. According to them, Pleiadian culture is immensely ancient, having developed from a “seed” that arrived from another universe before Earth even existed. The Pleiadians initiated a project to contact human beings in order to restore their powers of creating a better reality. They are a kind of ambassador from another universe, helping planet Earth make the transition from the third to the fourth dimension.
THE ASTROLOGY OF THE PLEIADES
In Esoteric Astrology, seven solar systems are said to revolve around the Pleiades star cluster. “The role of the Pleiades, then, is to help seekers become conscious of Divine knowledge and wisdom. Their etheric, astral and mental bodies must therefore be purified before they can integrate with that spiritual realm. The Pleiades represent a spiritual ‘station’ where the Perfect model of the seeker is energised and brought to life on earth.” Plotinus
We are all expecting a mass awakening, but what is it about this constellation that inspires such great expectations? It is curious, because when you examine Alcyone’s actual meaning, the picture is decidedly mixed: although wisdom is mentioned, there are also a great many deeply negative associations. This may reflect Christian suspicion of anything magical in origin, yet some of the themes suggest that there is a measure of truth in Robson’s gloomy interpretations.
Another association of Alcyone is with homosexuality. The books by Robson and Ebertin were both published around 1930, when sex between men was still illegal. Just as any fixed star associated with unrestrained female sexuality was demonised, so too was Alcyone. I would therefore read Robson’s interpretations with this in mind, and have placed them alongside those of Bernadette Brady for comparison.
The Pleiades, then, are generally regarded as intensely Venusian, which seems to count as a “bad thing” in the old school of fixed-star astrology. Stars with the qualities of Mars and Jupiter are considered brave and honourable, presumably because they were so useful in war. But Venus? Apparently rather useless in battle… Here is what Manilius says of the Pleiades star cluster: “They will polish their hairy limbs with porous pumice, loathing their manhood in their desire for smoothness. They adopt women’s dress, and footwear chosen not for use but for show, affecting an effeminate gait. They are ashamed of their sex;”
Admittedly, there are several prominent gay examples on the list. The finest is the handsome and supremely talented Rufus Wainwright, who has Alcyone on his Ascendant. He is the perfect Venusian gentleman, and certainly not ashamed of his sexuality. He sometimes dresses very flamboyantly, though generally with taste and romantic flair, like an eighteenth-century poet. Rufus also had an encounter with death when he was raped and almost strangled in a park at the age of fourteen. Later, he experienced Alcyone’s threat of blindness as well. At the height of his crystal meth addiction in 2002, he temporarily lost his sight. He is no longer addicted, and his musical direction has matured to accommodate his passion for opera. I would also point out that David Beckham appears on the list with Alcyone on the Ascendant. Despite being a footballing icon of masculinity, he is not remotely troubled by the prospect of wearing women’s clothing! He is known for wearing sarongs and even painting his nails.
“The Pleiades give ambition and enterprise, bringing distinction, honour and glory. They are not a favourable indication in relations with the opposite sex.” (2) Personally, I see some evidence of “disgrace” among the celebrities below, usually through a scandalous love affair that threatens their public image. Venusian indulgence in alcohol or drugs has also had a noticeably damaging effect on these people’s careers and performances.
“The Pleiades bring loss, bereavement, sorrow and tragedy.” (3) Alcyone is a cluster, and is therefore also said to cause blindness or injuries to the face, though a modern interpretation of difficulties with sight might point to inner vision. The celebrity list includes several fatal car accidents and premature drug-related deaths, so the proximity of death is clearly present. This star is also associated with the judgement of death and fate. The cluster rises at dusk during November, and in many countries this time of day during that period is set aside to mourn those killed in battle. The star therefore also has a connection with passage into other dimensions: this is where its mystical side comes into play, allowing access to occult wisdom. Its judgemental side can nevertheless be very harsh, bringing karma to bear without mercy or pity.
Horrifyingly, and in keeping with Robson’s more negative findings, Alcyone with the Sun gives us one example of someone who truly possessed an “evil disposition”. The serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer took the lives of seventeen men and boys. His murders involved rape, mutilation, necrophilia and even cannibalism.
Notable People and Descriptions of the Pleiades’ Influence
The Pleiades are generally assigned the nature of the Moon and Jupiter, although, as already noted, they acquired a negative reputation over the course of history. There is also, of course, their traditional association with blindness and eye injuries, a quality shared by all nebulae and nebulous clusters. Firmicus Maternus, the fourth-century Roman astrologer, states that when the Pleiades are setting and afflicted, they portend death by shipwreck; alternatively, death may result from sexual diseases or excessive indulgence in feasting and drinking. In this way, the cluster acquired its association with immorality. William Lilly, the leading seventeenth-century astrologer, accordingly says of their influence when connected with the significator of manners: “The Pleiades at 24 Taurus incline the native to be wanton, ambitious, turbulent.” He describes the direction of the Ascendant to this cluster as follows:
“These stars afflict the native’s body with red choler and choleric humours, wounds in his face, or injury to the sight of his left eye. His liberty shall be restrained, or he shall be banished, or conceal himself for a time; he shall have wounds or hurts in his arms. I have observed this direction to afflict the native’s eyes with choleric humours or sharp distillations; the native is passionately addicted to women, gets them with child, and is inclined to promiscuity and unclean desires, whereby he shall lose his**reputation. He shall suddenly be drawn into quarrels, and compelled to confess his follies before a court. Usually, if the nativity admits of it, and at the same time the Ascendant or Sun comes to the opposition of the ruler of the tenth house or Mars, the native shall die by sentence of the judge.”
Pleiades on the Ascendant : “The Pleiades on the Ascendant are indicative of homosexuals, who enjoy flattery and who, with Mercury poorly placed, are insolent in speech.” (4) “Possessing artistic or intuitive vision, while recognising that such vision has a hidden side: both passing and receiving harsh judgement.” (5). • Rufus Wainwright, Jessica Savitch, Dionne Warwick, David Beckham, Jackie Chan, Anna Freud.
Pleiades on the MC: “Disgrace, ruin, violent death. If with the luminaries here, they make military captains, commanders, colonels of horse and emperors.” (6). Bernadette Brady says that when this star occupies an important point at birth, namely an angle, it gives “a strong sense of knowing, a powerful vision of destiny, and a desire to do what is right, even if it is not the popular course”. (5).
• Edwin Hubble, Montgomery Clift, Pebbles Santiago, Patty Hearst, Erik Menendez, Donna Summer, Eddie Fisher.
Pleiades with the Sun: “Illness, disgrace, evil disposition, murderer or murdered, imprisonment, death by blows, stabbing, shooting, cutting or shipwreck.” (6) “A ruthless visionary; a passionate but potentially arrogant person.” (5).
• Cher, Harvey Milk, Jeffrey Dahmer, Dale Winton, Morrissey, Malcolm X, Laurence Olivier, Bertrand Russell.
Pleiades with the Moon: “Injuries to the face, illness, misfortune, wounds, stabbing, disgrace, imprisonment, blindness.” (6) “Perceptive concerning the darker side of life.” (5). A fascination with underworld societies really can put you at risk of being “stabbed in the back”, I suppose.
• River Phoenix, Frida Kahlo, Katharine Hepburn, Ian McShane, Édith Piaf, Dionne Warwick, Juan Manuel Fangio.
Pleiades with Mercury: “Many disappointments, loss of possessions, heavy losses through legal affairs, failure in business, trouble through children.” (6) “Being perceptive and brilliant, but struggling with the darker side of human nature.” (5). • Anna Freud, Tammy Wynette, Cilla Black, Björn Borg, Audrey Hepburn, Natasha Richardson, Mary Wollstonecraft.
Pleiades with Venus “Immorality, strong passions, disgrace through women, illness, loss of fortune.” (6) “A love of theatre, art or ritual; a poetic soul.” (5).
• Dame Nellie Melba, Kylie Minogue, Marlon Brando, Karl Marx, Gregory Peck, Nancy Reagan, Giuseppe Pelosi, Amy Dumas.
Pleiades with Mars: “Many accidents to the head, loss and suffering through fires.” (6). “Being aware of and sensitive to difficult social issues. A critic.” (5).
Pleiades with Jupiter: Deception, hypocrisy, legal and ecclesiastical troubles, loss through relatives, banishment or imprisonment. (6)
Pleiades with Saturn: Caution, many illnesses, tumours, chronic disease, bereavements in the family. (6)
• Andy Warhol, Louis Mountbatten, Tammy Faye Bakker, Helena Bonham Carter, Glenda Jackson, Eddie Fisher, Griffith / Banderas Davison chart.
Sources:
1. Astronomica, Manilius, first century AD, Book 5, pp. 310–313. 2. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p. 26. 3. The Living Stars, Dr Eric Morse, p. 39. 4. Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p. 28. 5. Star & Planet Combinations, Bernadette Brady, pp. 88–90. 6. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923, p. 193. 7. The Mystical Swarm of the Pleiades, Igor Ognjanović 8. Firmicus Maternus, Matheseos Libri VIII, fourth century, VIII.VII 9. William Lilly, Christian Astrology, Volume 3, 1647 (translation by Bojan Šojić, 2016)