ARTICLES
The following are articles, which have appeared in recent editions of astrological magazines. Please note all articles are copyrighted. If you wish to use any information published in any of these articles, please contact Astro*Synthesis for permission.
The Dragon's Tale by Brian Clark
Dragon symbolism and mythology enriches our understanding of the nodes, providing metaphors and images to help unravel nodal complexities. While the head and tail of the dragon has come to represent the North and South Nodes, the dragon-serpent is visible in many other ways, such as the serpentine movement of the True Node through the zodiac, the ouroboros created as the Saros eclipse patterns encircle the globe and the ‘snakes and ladders’ affect of the nodal experience. This article was published in the Mountain Astrologer www.mountainastrologer.com
The Brother-Sister Marriage by Brian Clark
The nature and patterns of adult relationships are impacted by the sibling relationship. Astrologically this is shown by the third house, the house of the sibling and the first in the trinity of the houses of relationship. In this article the powerful archetype of the brother-sister marriage is explored. For a more detailed version of this theme see Apollon, Issue No. 2 or The Sibling Constellation by Brian Clark (Penguin 1999). Back journals are available for Midheaven Books, http://www.midheavenbooks.com
The Houses of Relationship: Siblings, Partners, Friends: Our Other Halves by Brian Clark
Astrological intelligence always knew of the link between our other halves, the sibling, the partner and the friend. In the territory of the houses of relationship we experience the patterns of relating that shape our adult quest for the soul mate. In this article Brian Clark explores the houses of relationship, the third hose of the sibling, the seventh house of the partner and the eleventh house of the friend. This article was published in the FAA Journal.
Federation of Australian Astrologers Inc.Web site: www.faainc.org.au
Gemini: The Search for the Missing Twin by Brian Clark
The third sign of the zodiac is so often misunderstood and trivialised. In this article Brian Clark talks about the potent feelings of loss and disconnection that often underlay the nervous and agile temperament of Gemini. A longer version of this article appeared in The Mountain Astrologer. Visit their website at: http://www.mountainastrologer.com
A Question of Vocation by Brian Clark
One of the most important issues clients bring to the astrological consultation is a question of vocation. However vocation is not just a career or a profession but a path of life. In this article Brian Clark explores the question of vocation as a calling, part of the individuation process. This article originally appeared in The Mountain Astrologer. Mountain Astrologer Web site: www.mountainastrologer.com
Hades as Place: The Landscape During a Transit of Pluto
by Brian Clark
Amplifying the underworld opens up our understanding of the process of Pluto as it transits the horoscope. This article originally appeared in The Mountain Astrologer special 100th edition.
The Cycle of Chiron: Accepting the Process of Individuation
by Brian Clark
As Chiron completes its cycle in our horoscope we are able to gather the loose threads of our life together – the aspects of self that feel marginalised and wounded are re-experienced for healing. Chiron represents the process of individuation in an individual life and the key points in its cycle are initiations into its process. This article originally appeared in The Wholistic Astrologer.
Heroic Healers: Chiron and the Thessalian Doctors by Brian Clark
In 2006 I completed my Masters in Classics and Archaeology. My final thesis was titled Disease and the Deity; medicine and the divine in early Greek literature and myth.
My primary argument underlying the thesis was that the amalgam of the divine with disease was fixed in the Greek mindset. Because the religious and moral focus on disease was so well cultivated the consequence was that temple medicine was able to flourish amidst a culture developing a high degree of rational and intellectual complexity. As part of my argument I examined the locality of Thessaly and the personage of Chiron, as the seminal mythic figure in Greek medicine, to establish the existence and transmission of a developed body of medical knowledge. Thessaly claims a leading role in Greek myth as the first location of medical training and for its celebrated healers including Chiron, Jason, Medea, Asclepius, Machaon, Podalirius, Philoctetes and Achilles. Thessaly locates the prehistoric attitudes and beliefs in healing and represents a primal and archaic layer that underpins the development of Greek medicine. Focusing mainly on the Iliad, the second chapter of my thesis drew on the myths of Thessaly and Chiron in order to make a case that practical medical skills were co-extant with the supernatural belief in disease since the Bronze Age.
I was honored when Melanie Reinhart (www.melaniereinhart.com), a colleague and witness to the profound importance of the archetype of Chiron in the human experience, asked me to make the second chapter available on her website. Therefore I have followed suit and made this available on ours.
Forward into the Fifties by Brian Clark
What happens after mid-life? After 50? After the Chiron return? Quite a lot really! This article was originally published in the Astrological Association of Great Britain’s special Millennium Edition of their journal. Visit the Astrological Association’s website at: http:///www.astrologicalassociation.com
The Aging of the Pluto in Leo Generation by Brian Clark
The Pluto in Leo generation, the Baby Boomers, are just beginning to turn 60. The planetary cycles that come around when we are in our fifties shed light on how we cope with the inevitable aging process and - better than coping - how we can uncover our true essence as we increasingly come to terms with our own mortality. This article appeared in the Mountain Astrologer. Visit their website at: http://www.mountainastrologer.com
Leaving Home by Glennys Lawton
Leaving home is often a traumatic experience for everyone involved in this stage of separation. The incomplete feelings left from the ‘leaving home’ resurface at other important transitional points in our lives. In this article Glennys Lawton explores the astrological and psychological statements around leaving home. This article originally appeared in Apollon.
The Matrix of Identity by Glennys Lawton
In the Northern Winter 2007/8, NCGR released a journal dedicated to Psychological Astrology (www.geocosmic.org). Both Glennys Lawton and Brian Clark were invited to submit an article. Glennys’ article on an astrological view of attachment and separation is contained is this download.
The Progressed Moon by Brian Clark
Astrological textbooks delineate the movement of the progressed Moon through the horoscope and throughout the life cycle. This article commemorates her three phases and muses on their meaning.
This article appeared in the Federation of Australian Astrologer’s Journal. Visit their website at http://www.faainc.org.au
Retrograde Remedies by Brian Clark
At a predictable point in its orbit around the Sun every planet appears to slow down, turn around and move backwards against the backdrop of the zodiacal belt. What could this portend? Well it is a time to reflect over the past cycle and challenge the assumptions you have accepted without question. In the following article we look at some remedies for retro-periods, especially when the inner planets Mercury, Venus and Mars decide to backtrack it for a while. This article appeared in the Wellspring AstroLog- www.astrolog.com.au
Astrological Supervison by Brian Clark
Psyche is not exclusive to psychological astrology. When any astrologer engages with the symbols of the horoscope another dynamic is created which has the features of a psychological situation. To the writer even the most pragmatic or technical astrologer will find the complexity of astrological symbols defy linear constructs. In this short article the author is an advocate for astrological supervision to help bring psychological awareness into the astrological consulting room. It is not a matter of being psychologically fluent, but reflecting on the in-depth encounter that occurs between an astrologer and their client.
A Very Good Year: Turning the Pages on a New Decade by Brian Clark
Milestones mark the path of life. Even the most introverted of us need to celebrate the milestones which mark a new decade of our life. In this article Brian Clark sketches a very brief synopsis of each decade based on the major planetary cycles. This article was published under the title of Welcoming a New Decade in the Wellspring Astrolog.
Astrolog Web site: www.astrolog.com.au
Pelion: The Land Apollo Loved by Brian Clark
The Pelion region is known as the home of the Centaurs and the summer playground of the Olympian gods. But the region is also important in antiquity and in the following article Brian Clark meanders through some of the myths of the region. This article originally appeared in The Wholistic Astrologer. Visit their website at http://www.aplaceinspace.net
Southern Signs by Brian Clark
Southern Hemisphere astrology projects its own psychology onto the zodiac. While the roots of our Western astrology are Northern the essence of the signs remain true to those who experience them then south of the Equator. Originally written for the newsletter Partile.
AN ASTEROID ORACLE: The Ancient Feminine Wisdom of Asteroid Goddesses and Heroines
The 2006 Wellspring AstroLog (www.astrolog.com.au) released a special addition of goddess oracle cards, based on twelve potent asteroid goddesses. In this article Brian Clark explores the mythology and meaning of twelve of the asteroid goddesses including Ceres, Juno, Pallas Athena, Vesta, Hygeia, Ariadne, Europa, Pandora, Mnemosyne, Hecate, Cassandra, and Medea. Esoteric Technologies (www.esotech.com.au) released a goddess report written by Brian Clark and Stephanie Johnson which details each of these goddesses in signs and houses. For details on how to purchase this report or the report writer, contact Astro*Synthesis at the Chiron Centre. In 2008 US Games, Inc. (www.usgamesinc.com) will release the Ancient Feminine Wisdom of Goddesses and Heroines, an oracular deck of 52 goddesses designed by Kay Steventon with the text written by Brian Clark
THE CELESTIAL TAROT: cards designed by Kay Steventon, text by Brian Clark
Celestial Tarot was released in 2005 and the comprehensive book and book/deck set were released in 2007. In the FAA journal (www.faainc.org.au) Brian Clark introduced some of the Tarot cards from the minor arcana of Celestial Tarot. For astrologers the minor arcana of this deck are particularly important as they utilise the extra zodiacal constellations recorded by Ptolemy.
The Fool with a Thousand Faces by Brian Clark
The Major Arcana of the Tarot includes 22 cards, the number of paths on the Tree of Life, the number of zodiacal signs and contemporary planets, as well as the number of stages described by Lord Raglan in the archetypal quest of the hero. The Major Arcana describes this heroic archetypal journey through the trials and tribulation of the Fool. In this article Brian Clark explores the sequence of the 22 cards in terms of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth. This article appeared in the electronic newsletter of the Tarot Association of the British Isles www.tabi.org.uk
SACRED LANDSCAPES: The Placement of the Sanctuaries of Asclepius by Brian Clark
By the 8th Century BCE land was being set aside for the development of communal sanctuaries, which also demarcated the boundaries of the polis, separating the secular space of the citizens from the sacred sphere of the gods. Influencing the placement of a sanctuary was a variety of factors, including the temperament and spirit of the divinity as well as the function of the deity’s cult. This especially was so for the sacred sanctuaries dedicate to Asclepius.