Dear Friend and Reader,
Jupiter features in another aspect for this week, this time with the astral body Varuna. Ceres is locked in a square with Hylonome today as well. The aspects for today seem to be about Truth (the big truth, not just that you really like mushrooms in your sauce), nourishment and grief. Perhaps that little image I spun about the mushroom sauce is more apropos than I first realized three seconds ago when I wrote that… we’ll see.
Astronomically speaking, Varuna is possibly a dwarf planet located in the Kuiper Belt. It is considered a Trans-Neptunian Object, meaning, unlike this week’s previous discussion about TNOs, you could fly a rocket ship to it, and put your foot on it. It’s real, but based on some weird properties heat and light take as they travel through space, scientists are not sure what size Varuna is, or how fast it rotates. For more scientifically eloquent information about Varuna, click here to be taken to Wikipedia.
In myth, Varuna finds his origin in the Vedic tradition where he was given domain over the celestial oceans, the seas of Earth, the underworld and law. One particular myth, which does not fit the delineation of the cosmic Varuna, yet which highlights his role as Lord of the Ocean, is features in a tale from the Ramayana.
Rama, an avatar of Vishnu, comes to the edge of the ocean in search of his kidnapped wife. Knowing she is on the other side and that he cannot cross it without aid, Rama begins a long meditation and prayer for Varuna. This lasts a few days, and when Varuna does not respond to Rama’s petition, Rama rises up in a rage and begins to attack the ocean with divine weaponry.