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to the Eagle's Nest and Scorpio
The
Eagle and Scorpio
Hopi
Eagle Kachina, carver Rousseau Roy
One of several traditional symbolic associations surrounding
the Zodiac sign of Scorpio is that of the majestic and powerful
eagle. Why Scorpio is the only Zodiac sign traditionally
associated with more than one symbol, I'm clueless.
A
Symbolic Look at the Eagle
(some of the following is based on information gleened from
descriptions on by the Native American "Medicine
Cards Deck")
For
many Native American Indians, the majestic eagle reflects
the power of their all powerful Great Spirit and that of
humanity's connection to the Divine. She reflects the unique
ability to live within the realm of the spirit, and yet
remain connected and balanced within realm of the earth.
The
Native American Indian concept of balancing spirit with
matter (holding the tension of the opposites) is an archetypal
(universal) theme that has repeatedly reverberated throughout
the vast halls of human history.
Experiencing The Fullness Of Life
Among virtually all of the many Native American Indian tribes,
the feathers of the eagle are considered to be among the
most sacred of all healing tools. It's said that the eagle
represents a state of wholeness achieved through hard work,
understanding, and a completion of the tests of initiation.
Applying
this to Scorpio, it's only through the trial of experiencing
the extreme lows in life, as well as the extreme highs,
and through the trial of trusting one's connection to the
Great Spirit, that the right to use the essence of Eagle
medicine is earned.
The eagle is able to soar high above the earth and, thereby,
sees the broader tapestry of life.
As
a living and powerful archetypal symbol of Scorpio, the
eagle is a vivid reminder for Scorpio to take heart and
gather courage in their fierce battle of personal fears.
The image of the eagle teaches Scorpio to broaden their
personal sense of self, and the eagle encourages Scorpio
to go beyond the limited horizon of what is visible from
the ground.
What
Are the Odds
Need I say - that not all (or many) Sun Sign Scorpios are
able to fully, faithfully, and consistently access this
noble and healing energy of the archetypal eagle?
In
fact, having my own Sun in the sign of Scorpio, I suppose
I have to grudgingly admit that if you've ever been on the
receiving end of a typically Eagle type Scorpio during a
brief and/or momentary "lapse"... then it's probably
easy to feel that the archetypal concept of a healing Eagle
Scorpio is little more than wishful thinking...
It's
not...
Interjecting
a Short Mind Numbing History Lesson
Yep! Regarding Scorpio's historical associations with the
symbolism of the eagle, it's virtually impossible to authoritatively
say how far back in time this connection between Scorpio
and the eagle goes... those writing about the association
tend to glibly state that it goes back to "antiquity"
and then quickly move on to greener pastures...
For
example, Rabbi
Joel C Dobin, DD in his otherwise fascinating, scintillating,
and wonderful book, Kabblistic Astrology, simply
informs the reader that in ancient times, Scorpios were
(personality-wise) depicted as being either eagles or serpents.
If
I had any good sense at all, I'd simply quote the esteemed
Rabbi and then quickly move on.
Chances
are that you'd happily "buy it" and be more than
satisfied.
Ezekiel's
Wheel Within the Middle of the Wheel (circa 593
BC)
Granted, this is just my best (wild) guess... but Rabbi
Dobin was likely in part referring to the well known vision
of 6th century BC Old Testament prophet Ezekiel - the "wheel
within the wheel":
"As
I looked, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great
cloud with brightness around it and fire flashing forth
continually, and in the middle of the fire, something
like gleaming amber. In the middle of it was something
like four living creatures. This was their appearance:
they were of human form. Each had four faces, and each
of them had four wings... As for the appearance of their
faces: the four had the face of a human being,
the face of a lion on the right side, the face
of an ox on the left side, and the face of an
eagle...
As
I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel
on the earth beside the living creatures, one for each
of the four of them. As for the appearance of the wheels
and their construction: their appearance was like the
gleaming of beryl; and the four had the same form, their
construction being something like a wheel within a
wheel. When they moved, they moved in any of the
four directions without veering as they moved.
Their
rims were tall and awesome, for the rims of all four were
full of eyes all round. When the living creatures moved,
the wheels moved beside them; and when the living creatures
rose from the earth, the wheels rose. Wherever the spirit
would go, they went, and the wheels rose along
with them; for the spirit of the living creatures was
in the wheels. When they moved, the others moved;
when they stopped, the others stopped; and when they rose
from the earth, the wheels rose along with them;
for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.
(Ezekiel 1:4-10, 15-21)
Jewish
rabbinical scholars have historically tended to interpret
Ezekiel's wheels in a grand cosmological sense, with certain
rabbinical traditions teaching that Ezekiel was referring
to the wheel of the Zodiac.
The
four astrological elements of the Zodiac form a cross represented
by the four creatures: Lion (Leo - fire), Eagle
(Scorpio - water), Man (Aquarius - air), and Ox (Taurus
- earth).
Several
modern Old Testament scholars having a Christian orientation
however believe that the referrals to the Ezekiel wheels
were much
later insertion into the text. This (mistaken) conjecture
is in part because the wheels appeared to smack of the much
later cosmology of the Greeks.
However,
what these modern Old Testament Christian scholars didn't
appear to take into consideration was that Ezekiel had his
vision while living in Babylonian exile. The Babylonians
(and the Hebrews' cosmology influenced by the Babylonians)
already, by the time of Ezekiel, had a fairly well developed
Zodiacal cosmology. It was in no way necessary that the
writer be influenced by later Greek thought.
I
should note that many UFO fans believe that Ezekiel's
"wheel within a wheel" vision was actually a
UFO sighting. I'm not a pro-UFOer for explaining way supernatural
events and/or experiences... but even if it were a UFO
sighting, then Ezekiel would have been using images to
describe it with which he was familiar.
You
say you can't buy into that 6th century BC connection?
St.
Irenaeus
If you can't buy into that version, then the connection
of Scorpio with the eagle at least has roots going back
to the late 2nd century AD when St. Irenaeus (circa 120-202
AD) first associated the four living creatures found in
Ezekiel (see above) and the Book of Revelation — a
man, a lion, an ox and an eagle — to the fourfold
Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
"Around
the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living
creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first
living creature like a lion, the second living
creature like an ox, the third living creature
with a face like a human face, and the fourth
living creature like a flying eagle.
And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings,
are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night
without ceasing they sing, 'Holy, holy, holy, the Lord
God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.'"
(Revelation 4:6-8)
As
pointed out at Sacred
Destinations (great catch on their part): Other early
Christian theologians making this early association included
St Jerome (circa 347-420 AD) and St Augustine of Hippo (circa
354-430 AD). However, all three writers applied
the symbols to different evangelists, based on their various
interpretations and rationales.
St
Jerome's version, however, was the version to finally stick:
Matthew (man), Mark (lion), Luke (ox), and John (eagle).
Very
early Christian art (9th century AD depicted here) shows
this continuing association of St John and his unique Gospel
with the eagle, symbolizing the spiritual heights to which
St John rises in his Gospel. St Matthew (man - top left),
St Mark (lion - top right), St Luke (ox - bottom left),
and St John (eagle - bottom right).
A
man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle... do you perhaps perceive
a potential pattern appearing at this point?
Best
Educated Guess
This is just my best educated guess... but it's likely that,
at some point in time, astrologers (many of which throughout
the past 2,000 years have themselves been Christian and
Christian priests) naturally appropriated the rich symbolism
of Ezekiel, John's Book of Revelation, and early New Testament
teachings.
Notice
here in this traditional Renaissance Tarot of Marseilles
Trump card of "The World" that the four astrological
elements are depicted. They are represented by the four
fixed Zodiac signs: Leo - fire (bottom right), Scorpio -
water (top right), Aquarius - air (top left), and Taurus
- earth (bottom left).
All
of my talk about Ezekiel, subsequent rabbinical traditions
within Judaism, and the early New Testament writers makes
more than a few folks a wee bit nervous.
I
suppose it's in part because so much of modern day fundamentalist
evangelical Christianity's stance is (putting it mildly)
deeply critical of astrology.
Frankly,
as a lifelong Christian... I refuse to give Jesus and Christianity
over to the inbred ignorant beliefs of modern day "johnny-come-lately"
fundamentalist evangelical Christian adherents. (Did I just
come out sounding a wee bit bitter and angry?)
End
of the boring history lesson...