I realized today that the April Moon in Sagittarius square to Neptune in Pisces enacts the myth of Artemis and Orion. I have a couple versions of the astro-limerick for you, one that expresses the myth, and one that’s more mundane.
See select Lunchtime Astro-Limericks here or all of them on my Instagram.
Saturday, April 11, 2020 Lunchtime Astro-Limerick
Bright-eyed and bushy tailed, wide-awake Moon
Tries to rouse Neptune who’s lost in a swoon
Neptune flies in his dreams
While Moon seeks the extremes
Jet-skiing over the placid lagoon
Moon in Sagittarius Loves Extreme Sports
Whereas a couple of days ago, the Moon in Scorpio plumbed the depths with the expansive trine to Neptune, today’s Moon in Sagittarius is square to Neptune. The impatient Moon in Sagittarius wants to explore up and outward, not drift aimlessly like Piscean Neptune. In the above limerick I contrast the extreme sports loving Sagittarius with the placid water of Pisces.
Moon in Sagittarius Square Neptune in Pisces Mythology
The Moon is in Sagittarius, the archer. It’s square, which is a difficult or challenging aspect, to Neptune in Pisces. Neptune is the Roman name for Poseidon, the god of the ocean, and Pisces correlates to the ocean. Neptune is associated with meditation, escapism, and sleep, and you could describe it as underwater, slow, drifty, deep, internal, and subconscious. For Sagittarius the archer, think of arrows flying through the air. It’s shooting around in your head. It’s fast and doesn’t want to spread out, it must move forward all the time. The Moon in Sagittarius is quite different from Neptune in Pisces. Neptune wants to spread out and emote and feel and navel gaze but the Moon in Sag yells, “Forward ho, don’t wait, don’t slow down. Let’s speed through this.”
Artemis and Orion
Neptune, the tarot’s Hanged Man, is the drowned giant from mythology. One example is Orion, a giant, the son of Poseidon. Orion loved to hunt and became friends with Artemis, goddess of the moon, a huntress herself and expert archer. Artemis and Orion fell in love. One day Orion was out swimming in the ocean. Artemis’ brother Apollo, who was jealous that she was spending a lot of time with Orion, pointed to a dark, bobbing object in the sea.
He said, “See that out there in the waves?”
She did.
“I’ll bet you can’t hit that with your arrow.”
“Oh yes I can!”
And she shot Orion right in the head. And the man she loved floated down into the depths of the ocean, sinking into the arms of his father, Poseidon. Mourning his death with many tears, Artemis placed him among the stars to live eternally.
Today’s Transit and the Stars Above
Every year in the spring, Orion the constellation sinks below the horizon into the sea. So, in April, when the Moon in the sign of the Archer makes that conflicted square to Neptune in Pisces, the skies above play out the myth of Artemis the huntress shooting Orion as he swims in the ocean. Here’s a bit of verse that tries to express that story in limerick form:
When the Moon is an archer, it’s Diana we hail
Orion the giant can swim like a whale
Taunted by her brother
Unknowing, shot her lover
He sinks to Poseidon, his death we bewail
Hi Joy,
I did not know the Orion, Artemis, Apollo mini-story. That really just wove everything in the blog together like a dna strand shifting focus and redirecting scales as it brought the fabric to life. Excellent article here!
Best to you and yours being healthy and in good spirits.
Hi Jordan! It’s great to hear from you. I sometimes find the myth as a result of exploring the astrology. “This feels like this kind of story. I wonder what some examples of that might be.” Did you see the one on Atalanta and Hippomenes? That story fits the mythology so clearly its weird. We’re doing great here! I hope things are well with you.