Hades in Astrology. The planet of the underworld.
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Hades. The planet of the underworld. https://youtu.be/u15lw9uCd2Y
In Greek mythology Hades rules the underworld of the dead. It's that dark dank place where people wander around aimlessly in grey shade living uninteresting lives. The Greeks kept Hades at arm’s length because to know Hades not only meant that you were dead, but it meant getting close to things that you really didn’t want to engage with. This is where Hades seems to occupy a definitive place in our lives.
Hades operates in primal ways. It often operates in situations or circumstances that have originated very early in our lives, often within the first two years, and can be seen within karmic threads of past lives as well. Either way, we somehow carry on into adulthood with particular deep fears, anxieties, depressions, losses and sadness. We are not even sure where all of this even rooted, but its shade in our lives forces a look-see if we are to transmute and integrate this richly dark and beautiful energy into ourselves. And so Hades requires resolution, where some part of us on the emotional, spiritual, physical level must break down so that a new awareness and growth can take place. There is sometimes a manifestation on the physical level, as Hades deals with the gut, or ignoring the gut as the case may be which can cause physical encumbrances.
Some of the traditional Hades keywords are matters of decay, unpleasantries, sinister, the criminal, deeply buried things, dirt and garbage. And in its positive, antiques, antiquities, the occult and the esoteric, excavations, and certainly all of the helping professions. It’s very common to see a strong Hades in the chart of doctors and therapists because they are working with people who need their help in some way.
In the spiritual emotional realm Hades is that kind of darkness that we all may feel from time to time where there’s a hopelessness or a despair, where there seems to be no way out, no options, where the power of Hades over us feels absolute. But again, it’s also in the resolution of these issues that drive some of the most beautiful and powerful healing expressions of Hades. Let’s take a look at a couple of different charts to see Hades in manifestation.
Frida Kahlo - Artist
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter best known for her self-portraits. She painted in a style combining realism, symbolism and surrealism. This is a great example of Hades manifested and channeled into the creative artistic realm.
If we look at her chart (below) you can see that Hades is front and center as it sits on a major axis with her Meridian (the soul, the point of individuality) as well as her Ascendant. So right off the bat you can see that the Hades energy will inform who this person is on deep level.
Kahlo suffered lifelong health problems, many of which were the result of a traffic accident at the age of 18. And in the recovering from her injuries she was isolated for long periods of time, and it was through this isolation that much of her painting was influenced. She was also known for her volatile relationships (Hades influencing her Ascendant), in particular to the artist Diego Rivera. And so her painting expressed much of her physical pain and emotional suffering through their symbolism. This is a beautiful channeling and expression of the Hades energy.
Frida Kahlo - July 6, 1907 - 8:30 am - coyoacan, mexico
Charles Manson ~ American criminal
Charles manson
“When I stand on the mountain and say “do it” it gets done, if it don’t get done then I’ll move on it, and that’s the last thing in the world you want me to do”
Charles Manson
Charles Manson was an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in California in the late sixties. Manson was found guilty of the conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people but perhaps what he is best known for is the pop culture that arose around him in which he became an emblem of insanity, an emblem of violence and the macabre. Manson believed in what he called Helter Skelter, a term he took from a song by The Beatles in which he believed there to be an apocalyptic impending race war, and he believed his murders would help precipitate that war.
So when we go to Manson's Meridian (see chart below), and remember the Meridian is a snapshot of the soul and the point of individuality, right away you see this strong Uranus/Hades midpoint structure. In a chart where there is nothing softening a Uranus/Hades midpoint, such as other midpoint structures around it like a Moon/Venus, or Venus/Poseidon, or Venus/Jupiter, then what you often see is the Uranus/Hades manifesting as a classic anger aspect, because the Hades can be anxious, fearful, and the Uranus rebellious and disruptive. Also, Uranus/Hades prominent in a chart is often an indicator off something “off” in the character. What strengthens this presupposition even more is the Mars, Vulcanus, and Neptune completing a 3-point picture. And with that Neptunian energy in there is also there, there is an enigmatic element that can be highly deceptive or highly charismatic, and often both.
Charles manson - November 12, 1934 @ 4:40 pm Cincinnati, Ohio
The other midpoint structure that is plays in is the Jupiter/Poseidon midpoint on his Meridian axis (below) which really expands the prophetic nature. Positively manifested a Jupiter/Poseidon would be someone with a lot of wisdom or instinct, but that’s not how it’s operating here. The Jupiter/Poseidon instead expands on the obscured vision and the primal anger issues with prophecy.
Charles manson - the prophetic/visionary Jupiter/Poseidon midpoint.
And now onto the Moon, where Hades makes a strong appearance again (see below). Remember the Moon is not only the emotional unconscious and the emotional nature, but it also represents the mother in the early life and perhaps what she may have been dealing with. Here you are getting that powerful cross-aspect, the 22.5 degree picture of which Hades is a part. There were many heavy primal issues around the mother, she was an alcoholic as well as a prostitute and had Charles when she was very young. So you start to get this picture of the early primal issues, the deep feelings of being unloved, the not great character, the anger and the proselytizing-mythologizing nature. Great example of Hades in negative manifestation.
Charles Manson - hades involved with the moon in this 22.5 degree cross aspect
Oprah Winfrey
oprah - january 29, 1954 @ 4:30 am Kosciusko, mississippi
Finally, we’re going to take a look at the chart of Oprah Winfrey. Let's go to the Sun/Meridian midpoint.
In Uranian astrology the Sun/Meridian is one of the most important midpoint structures in terms of career because it is a blending of the Sun, our divinity, that which we would like to radiate, and the Meridian which is our soul’s essence and the point of individuality. Now around this important midpoint structure we have a Neptune/Hades midpoint. Neptune/Hades can mean many things depending on the sensitive points or structures it touches. Here, around the Sun/Meridian midpoint, a career structure, the blending of Neptune and Hades can work wonders in terms of humanitarian work or work in any of the helping professions. Neptune, with its ability to see potential, with its needs to abandon self and connect and merge with something greater, find its directive from Hades realm and those who need help, because that is what one is "attuned" to.
But we can also find Neptune/Hades around the Sun/Meridian midpoint operative in charts where Neptune herself has been dragged into the underworld, where she is not manifesting in a creative state or in an individuated state of awareness, but in the lack of feelings of self esteem, or a depressive situation around wanting to do something more self expressive but not feeling able to. In this situation, the soul path is illuminating the need to work through some of the anxieties and stresses around doing something more self expressive and the opposing feelings of "let's leave well enough alone, don't bother, everything is fine," which involves recognizing that it is a self esteem issue. In Oprah's situation, we know she is involved in a helping profession, in humanitarian work, but we'd have to get into her chart a bit deeper to see how that Neptune/Hades structure is operating. She has openly spoken in her life about issues surrounding her self worth and self esteem, and at the same time she has clearly worked hard on her individuation and continual refinement of her self expression because it actively manifests in positive ways. This is really the beauty and power of the potential in all midpoint structures....the continual refinement and potential for change and development in the life.
