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| Afrodite and Hefestos |
Classical astrology gives the rulership of the signs Aquarius and Capricorn to Saturn. Aquarius is the day house of Saturn, where he finds his joy and Capricorn his night house, where he is truly at home. Saturn is considered by Bonatti and William Lilly to be diurnal, cold and dry. Lily comments further that he is ‘earthy’ and ‘the author of solitariness’. By reference to the same two masters of the starry lore we find that Saturn exalts in Libra, a sign ruled by Venus. The renaissance mage Marsilio Ficino comments several places in his master piece De Vita Libri Tres that this is a mystery he denies comment. This shrouds Saturn, the genii of the mandrake and the nightshades in a most curious and interesting light if perceived from the perspective of a traditionalist.
Capricorn is a sign vital and stubborn; it is the fertility of the earth that seeks to dominate its place and space and whatever is on its place and space. Upon and within earth stars fell and their shine and sparks are still there giving life to plants, trees and ideas. The joy of Saturn is when he can be inspired from these sparks of stellar light found scattered everywhere on and within earth. It is the inspiration born from these sparks we find in the sign of Aquarius. This inspiration is luciferian in the sense of being the power of immediate experience of something direct and pure, ‘the enlightening observation of nature’ if we were to follow the thoughts of Francis Bacon. He referred to this form of experience as ‘lucifera’, something that ignited a spark to be investigated with greater scrutiny. This is joyous Saturn, when sparks are flowing from the earth like snakes of lightening, phosphorus. This is Aquarius mature and this is the essence of the potency so misapprehended in the virtues of Lucifer.
When Saturn enters Libra he merges with Venus in her house of joy. And curiously, phosphorus is a name given to Venus as the first and last star to appear on the heavens, the absolute boundary and a time in itself between night and day and day and night. This is not Venus at all, but Saturn in his exaltation, or as William Lilly says: ‘the learned Lucifer’. The connection Venus has with Saturn is also demonstrated in her governing the Earthly triplicity by day, which counts Capricorn and her own sign, Taurus. Yet again, a point of meeting is revealed, namely in earth. Venus being the maid of Orion’s belt yet again reveals herself as the power of male support.
When cold and dry Saturn merges with nocturnal and moist Venus they merge in the coldness and from this double negative fire is generated. The fire behind the saturnalia, when roles are reversed and law turns into un-law. Its possibility is facilitated by the luciferian sparks resulting from earth meeting with the celestial air reuniting with the divine sparks resting within the soil.
I believe with this the first step towards the caverns of secrets that holds the essence of Lucifer has been trod…and I will say paraphrasing Ficino, ‘not more shall we say’…