by Agni Jnana Yannanda, The One Who Speaks With The Stars
featured image: AstroCreatrix AI by AstroCreatrix, 2023
Focus on the power of loving kindness—grounded, clear, and embodying the attributes of Virgo. Virgo symbolizes life-giving and sustaining forces. Use your breath to anchor yourself in the present moment, flowing with each inhale and exhale, deeply connected to the unifying source of Universal Love. This lunar eclipse invites us to explore life’s deeper mysteries and to release anything that no longer serves our focus or inner peace.
The archetype of Virgo brings us back to the origins of civilization and astrology as the cosmic religion. In ancient Sumer, astrology followed the movement of celestial objects, much like Jyotish/Hindu astrology still does today. The most important life-giving deity was Inanna, the Goddess of Love, representing the most powerful force in the Universe.
In Greek mythology, the origins of the Virgo constellation are linked to the Golden Age of humanity. After this era, all the gods abandoned the Earth, except for Astraea, whose name means “star-maiden” or “celestial virgin.” Astraea was the last of the immortals to live among humans during the Golden Age, one of the five deteriorating Ages of Man in ancient Greek religion.
The “Golden Age” was a period of perfect peace, harmony, and abundance, when humans lived blissfully without toil or strife. It was followed by the Silver, Bronze, Heroic, and Iron Ages, each representing progressively flawed states of human existence. In the chaotic Iron Age, people became driven by greed, distrusting even family and friends.
Astraea, daughter of Astraeus (the Titan-god of dusk) and Eos (goddess of dawn), remained with humanity until the end of the Silver Age. As the Bronze Age began, appalled by human rage and greed, she fled to the stars, becoming the constellation Virgo. She is depicted holding the scales of Justice, symbolizing the constellation of Libra. According to legend, Astraea will one day return to Earth, bringing with her the utopian Golden Age once again.
Agni Jnana Yannanda
The One Who Speaks With The Stars
With Astraea’s Sound Gode, a ritual object from Astraea’s Second Coming, wood, yarn, reclaimed wood, photo by Andrew Forbes, taken on the Full Moon, May 23rd 2024, Rosekill, fire pyre in the background awaiting the night.
Agni Jnana Yannanda, which translates from Sanskrit as Mystic Fire, is an astrologer and an artist originally from Masuria Lake District and currently living in the Shawangunk Mountains.
