October 20 2017: Return of the Orionid Meteors

Friday October 20, 2017: Yes, this weekend it's time for the Orionid Meteor Shower again! Or rather, it's time for the Earth to pass through the dusty debris of Halley's Comet.

As previously noted, constellation Orion sits upon the Midheaven of my natal horoscope so in honor of its symbolic spiritual meanings, here's a reprint from another of my blogs, Stars Over Washington, with a little ancient Egyptian poetry included for the benefit of all:

You sleep that you may wake

You die that you may live.

-Egyptian pyramid text

Do you know that there are those who believe that Christ's Second Coming will be from the direction of the Belt of Orion? (edit: Orion's Belt is a Star Gate, says Adrian Gilbert in his fascinating book Signs in the Sky).

This easy-to-spot constellation contains Betelgeuse (Alpha Orion--mentioned in Scripture; keywords: success which is unhindered.)

Constellation Orion also contains Rigel (Beta Orion), keywords: to bring knowledge to others; the educator; the ruler; ambition.

Rigel is the brightest star in Orion, while Betelgeuse (Orion's armpit, or right hand; keywords: charisma and success) is second brightest, and Bellatrix (the left shoulder) is third.

Keywords for Bellatrix, his left shoulder: success through the shadow.

Other stars in Orion: Mintaka = the belt; Alnilam = the middle star in the belt; Alnitak = the third star in the belt; Saiph = the right thigh; Thabit = the sword.

So there we have Orion, the hunter, the immortal god, the giant. He is linked with everlasting fame, success, martial honor, changeability, and sometimes rashness. In a natal chart, much depends on which planets and angles a star is links with (parans) and their expressions in the life may be either positive or negative. Conjoining eclipses can trigger their potentials into activation as can planets or conjunctions by transit.

Greek stories about Orion echo Egyptian Mythology for their tales of him have the common flavor of Orion going blind or dying and then being reborn through association of some kind with the life-giving Sun.

Here's another snippet from an Egyptian pyramid text, gleaned from Brady's Book of Fixed Stars:

I fly from you, oh men,

I am not for the earth

I am for the sky.

I have soared to the sky as a heaven.

I have kissed the sky as a falcon.

I am the essence of a god,

the son of a god.

Behold the faithful and loving Osiris

has come as the stars of Orion, the Beautiful One.

I have come that I may glorify Orion.

My soul is a star of gold

and with him

I will traverse the sky forever.

So the figure of Orion (Osiris) is an archetype of God and of the Hero's Journey we each are responsible for taking upon this Earth. Hope yours is going well...watch where you step...but don't forget to look up!

You may also wish to see The Age of Aquarius: Opening the Star Gate.