Astro-Genealogy Can Reveal Ancestral Trauma

Hercules Shooting Nessus; Hans Sebald Beham, via Wikimedia Commons

April 14, 2022

Astrological Nessus and Pholus: Ancestral Trauma and Forms of Abuse

by Jude Cowell

One of the celestial bodies that provides information concerning abuse, intensity, strong impacts, and dangerous or borderline situations in a natal chart, psyche, and in one's family is Pholus, a centaur discovered January 9, 1992 at 9:01 UT (about 2:00 am) at Kitt Peak Observatory, Pima County, Arizona by David Rabinowitz. When Pholus was discovered @00Leo36 Rx, galaxy CENTAURUS A was rising at Kitt Peak, and a 12 North Solar Eclipse had manifested only 5 days earlier @14Capricorn on January 4, 1992 with Themes of 'sudden new opportunities to accept greater responsibilities and commitments appear due to another person's inability to carry on; events are difficult but self-esteem and harmony can bring positive results' (paraphrasing B. Brady).

To me this suggests that 12 North eclipse themes are cosmically attached to centaur Pholus and the current and past events the centaur reveals can have positive results in the here-and-now because the advantage of having such self-knowledge is that we are given information with which to deal more successfully with difficult events that may have occurred recently or distantly in our families (paternal and/or maternal lineages). "Positive results" may provide the seeker with chances to 'clear the air' in a manner of speaking, or 'lift the karmic debt' in relation to issues of abuse and to me it seems that entertaining a wider perspective concerning difficult events while being distant from the problem is always helpful for those who are willing to 'do the work' which can be facilitated by the use of Astrology.

Now while it's true that contacts from natal Pholus to our natal planets signify prominent issues and events within the present lifetime, let's also focus on traumatic events and actions that have been passed down through the generations of families like yours and mine and are signified by another centaur, Nessus. Are you aware of such traumatic events suffered (or committed!) by an ancestor or two, perhaps passed down via oral histories? Obviously, events such as wars and their aftermath are possible time frames for research, plus, other large societal events within the Collective may need investigating since few folk want to shoulder burdens that actually belong to Grandpa Abner, Great-Great-Grandma Mabel, or 5th-Great Uncle Fussenpaw. However, it's highly possible that a 'culprit' event may have occurred much further back in the family line, say within famous battles of olde, or, for example, perhaps bwo executions at the Tower of London, so obviously, genealogical research may be needed in order to discover and consider them. I love how History tends to come along with Genealogy, don't you?

Furthermore, a recent event in a current family circle may actually represent a re-enactment or an echoing of a past event of abuse and trauma revealed by similar conditions between them. Examples that involve archetypal figures such as 9th-Great-Grandpa vs Daddy, or a royal ancestor vs a holier-than-thou tormentor may yield positive results if realized and considered.

Now naturally the premiere centaur Chiron (the wounded healer) is closely involved in the mythologies of both Pholus and Nessus and other centaurs so for more information, you may wish to check out the link at the end of this post. Also see a previous post Astro-Notes on the Discovery of Chiron for more details.

Now for a Full Disclosure: One of my paternal family lines reveals an abusive event following abusive event going back to 1627 and the Jamestown Colony which made it into various Genealogy records and books (because it's Jamestown and because various Genealogy researchers have studied the family through the years). Lucky me! For I can study the horoscope of the tragic event without knowing the exact hour it occurred since the day's planets are informative especially when compared with my natal planets. Of course, the Virgo-Pisces victim-savior polarity is involved, and the Nodal Axis's South Node, relates to the past, neurotic tendencies that no longer suffice, and to genetic inheritance. Additionally, in an accurately timed natal horoscope (as is mine), the Ascendant/Midheaven midpoint is significant. Here's what Reinhold Ebertin writes about the Biological Correspondence of this midpoint:

"The phenotype in contrast to the Sun-Moon, Moon-Midheaven, and North-Node-Midheaven expressing relationships to the genotype (heredity factors)" (The Combination of Stellar Influences #ad).

So look to this midpoint in your natal chart (if you don't know its position consult your astrologer!) for it relates to hereditary and cellular factors. If nothing else, you have its sign and the body part/s ruled by that sign for clues. Mine is @00Leo54 which, as it happens, conjoins the discovery degree of Pholus (and here I am writing about it!). So with Leo ruling the heart and spine, then yes, I've had heart surgery, and my paternal grandfather suffered from a heart condition. As an infant I'm told that I was taken to the hospital where he held me one time, then he passed away one year later (no, not by my tiny little hand! Babies are often born around the time a family experiences a death). Now not much is known about my Grand Dad's personal habits in rural Georgia but I shall assume that abuse, as in overindulgence or overstrain (possibly due to work - he was a farmer), probably played a part in his heart condition although genetic inheritance cannot be ruled out - not at all. Plus, we sometimes hear of inherited conditions that remain unknown until a crisis event occurs so perhaps this was the case, and physical overstrain could have caused aggravation of a hidden condition. Plus, cardiology was not an advanced field back in his day.

And so I must wonder: did the abusive Jamestown Colony event in my family pass down generational-genetic influences all the way to my grandfather and me, and perhaps to others in between? Well, I can assure you that the event was horrific enough to cause heart problems in its victims, a mother-daughter pair. Of course, all family members would have been negatively affected along with witnesses to the event. And significantly, Pholus in my natal chart conjuncts my natal Mercury, the planet of young children, in Saturn-ruled Capricorn, sign of authority figures. Even natal Mars, planet of desire and action, is nearby, all in my 5th house of Children.

Meanwhile, Pholus, which orbits between Saturn and Neptune (the 'illness/weakness' pair) has connections to the medical industry, gene research, aging, strokes, the alcohol-drinking habit especially when abusive (via Silenus, Pan, and Dionysus). And basically, poisoning and toxins are connected to both Pholus and Nessus which can affect health, identify malevolent intentions to cause harm, and thus may interfere with the self-actualization process as small actions may lead to shockingly large outcomes and/or unintended consequences.

Nessus the Evil Man: Obsession, Violence, Rape, Suicide, Revenge, Deceit

For this post, a friend has shared with me her birth data and details of childhood trauma in her family circle and it turns out that she was born with Nessus in 1st house (of Self and Physical Body), trined by her 10th house Saturn which represents the earthly father in natal charts (plus, Saturn is in Capricorn). Among several other things, poisonous Nessus relates to dangerous or extreme situations and I'm sad to say that her Nessus-Saturn combination suggests a picture of a lack of safety from adult to child, with the trine providing Saturn with opportunities to commit abuse. This was an outrageous victimization similar to the Jamestown event noted, above. Feeling unable to cope with events is a typical reaction, thus the trauma, and a sense of fate or dread is attached, made more intense for my friend because Nessus conjuncts unprepared Phaethon. In such cases, one must think of children who are forced to grow up too soon, before they're ready, and this happens too often in too many cases. Notably, centaur Nessus orbits between Saturn and Pluto, the planetary pair of cruelty, brutality, violence, destruction, and hardship.

Paging Doctor Pholus?

As for her natal Pholus, my friend works in the medical industry which is significant for her since Pholus is often prominent in the natal horoscopes of healthcare professionals and hers is posited in the technologically advanced sign of Aquarius.

Meanwhile, DNA and gene research are also within the cellular-level realms in which Pholus is active and this in turn relates to Ebertin's Biological Correspondences listed, above. Having one's DNA tested for the purpose of family genealogical research and/or for inherited health information is suggested by Pholus - and surprises, even shocks may be in store if a seeker should find out that a family member isn't who they always said they were.

And naturally Astronomy made advances the year Pholus was discovered (1992) so there's a link between the centaur and the Cosmic Sciences, plus, a storyteller vibe may be prominent based on the Mythology of Pholus, so if you haven't, check out the intriguing Mythology of the poisonous/poisoned centaur if you have the opportunity, and here's a brief video presentation concerning Nessus, cosmic 'poster-boy' for ancestral trauma.

Related: Chiron, Pholus, and Company.