posted September 21, 2011 12:00 PM            

"In the mythology Pholus was the keeper of the jar of wine that belonged to all the Centaurs. He was given the instruction that the jar must not be opened. Hercules visited and insisted he should open it as it had been put there four generations ago, awaiting his arrival. Pholus opened the jar of wine, the strong smell reached the Centaurs who all became intoxicated and stormed Pholus’ cave. Hercules fired his poisoned arrows at the Centaurs, trying to drive them away, killing and wounding many of them in the process. When the battle was over, Pholus picked up one of the arrows that had caused so much damage, it slipped out of his hand and fell on his foot. He died immediately.

Pholus was discovered in 1992 by Rabinowitz and Scotti, who wanted to name it “Chaos” because of its very eccentric orbit. However, a group of astronomers proposed the name “Pholus” to continue with the Centaur names, which was accepted. Pholus crosses the orbit of Saturn and out past Neptune,crossing the path of Uranus as it does so and takes 92 years to complete its cycle.

In astrological terms this means that Pholus is the mediator between Saturn and Neptune but with a Uranian touch to it. Like Chiron, Pholus was also very knowledgeable but his was a more inspirational kind of knowledge. Pholus in the natal chart is indicative of issues relating to both Saturn and Neptune, i.e. feelings, emotions, sacrifice, dreams, chaos, all Neptunian stuff and the Saturnine influence of order, duty, restriction and control. In aspect to a natal planet Pholus could indicate something we’re not yet fully aware of, something that is waiting to manifest. Perhaps something from our past is restraining us, is keeping it under control. It may become a pressing issue that we blindly and impulsively act upon only to find it has disastrous results. On the other hand, it may lead us to achieve great things. Pholus also has a mediumistic quality, a connection to ‘the other world’ and the ability to get in touch with it.

During a transit from Pholus we may experience chaos due to immense inner pressure, which may lead us to act in unusual ways and may have a destructive element attached to it. However, the additional experiences will strengthen our character. It offers an opportunity to let go of old structures and beliefs, to own up to our past mistakes, to forgive our selves and those who have inflicted our pain and to gain new insight and awareness. As the fog lifts, we should have gained a new perspective on what we are about and where we are going. There will be some sort of order again in our life. We have been transformed and are now able to move on to another stage.

An Example of how a Pholus transit might affect the natal chart concerns a time in my life when absolutely everything was up in the air. Chaos was all around me, no stability anywhere. My natal Pholus is 23 degrees Capricorn, Mercury 23 degrees Cancer, Ascendant 23 degrees Aquarius, Venus 22 degrees Taurus, Jupiter 21 degrees Virgo.

Transiting Pholus was at 23 degrees Cancer opposing its position in the natal chart. At the same time it was making a conjunction with natal Mercury, inconjuncting my Ascendant and making a sextile aspect to both Venus and Jupiter. I had recently made some pretty big life-changing decisions that would be beneficial to all those involved, or so I thought. Instead, there was one crisis after another and I was at a loss what to do next. If ever there was a time to go ‘within’ -.this was it! Many solitary hours were spent going over my life looking for answers to some very searching questions and trying to make some sense of all that was going on. It seemed as though my life’s philosophy and everything that had previously been of value to me was now in the process of being dissolved. All those painful episodes from the past came back again, only this time they would not go away, they demanded to be dealt with once and for all. I began to see my part in the proceedings much more clearly and instead of looking for excuses, took responsibility for the situations I was being confronted with. Gradually the fog lifted and as I slowly became aware of my ‘new’ path, I felt a sense of purpose returning to my life.

posted September 22, 2011 04:33 PM            

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posted September 23, 2011 05:09 AM            

It's in Aries, trines my Mercury; opposes my Jupiter-Saturn conjunction; trines my North Node and sextiles my ascendant.

posted September 23, 2011 07:44 AM            

"In a sense, Pholus offered a "vague precognition" to the discovery of these realms, other keywords given by von Heeren. Yet when Pholus is involved, such vague perception often leads to concrete and tangible results. Something starts like a wispy notion (Neptune-styled) and then rapidly takes on form (Saturn-styled) in an innovative, rapid or revolutionary way (Uranus-styled) and can have penetrating effects (like Pluto). "

"Pholus has a quality of opening the door to the infinite. Depending on the door, that may or may not be helpful, or seem helpful, but it is what it is and when Pholus has become active, it's necessary to get out of denial and work with the energy consciously.

Pholus has the property of release from situations, thus opening to new possibilities, and emerging into new states of existence. It is the Centaur of fast-moving changes, or rapid transformations, typically initiated by one's own action. Something as simple as curiosity or a chance encounter may start the chain of events. "

"Another quality of Pholus is anything involving three generations, which relates to its mythology. Pholus was the keeper of a cask of wine given to him by Dionysus, which he had kept three generations, and which was the collective property of all the Centaurs. Wherever there is a question within an astrology counseling situation that may be multigenerational, no matter what the subject, the position of Pholus in the natal chart or transits at the time can offer insight and assistance.

Look for the influence of ancestors, issues and gripes to be taken up with ancestors, and one's relationship to predecessors of any kind. Pholus, in this respect, addresses issues that belong to the entire tribe, collective psychological property, and group responses to situations"

"Pholus points to multigenerational issues. It tells us what we have taken on from our grandparents and great grandparents, including matters involving addiction and, once again, sacrifice. Important keywords for Pholus are "three generations." Read that into your aspects where Pholus makes contact with any planet. Pholus has a way of making fast or even instantaneous transitions and healing processes whereas Chiron makes slow ones. It's as if Pholus says: three generations? That's enough! You figured it out! Now you're free! "

"Most often I've seen Pholus appear prominently where a person is taking on the role of the one in the generational line who wants to get it right, who wants to heal all this stuff they've inherited from all those weird people who came before. "

"intensity of Saturn (the container) and then Uranus and Neptune (that which is contained). Pholus opens the container and lets something out, a bit like Pandora. Whereas Chiron can represent long and slow transformations (though not always), Pholus tends to make things happen more suddenly: level shifts, changes of mind, healing processes. "

posted September 23, 2011 09:51 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by Taineberry:
Hi Ceri. Have you any ideas of how to interpret Saturn conjunct Pholus? I have it, and for the life of me I can't figure out a way to blend the 2 meanings. It is in Aquarius, 10th house.

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I can guess I am a Pholus groupie, now

You take your Saturn and run with it, like throwing it all over the place to try to heal it and deal with it.

Does that fit

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posted May 08, 2016 02:27 PM            

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posted May 08, 2016 05:59 PM              

Pholus is 23 degrees Capricorn you say.
You do realize that is the Heliocentric Node of Saturn,right.
So a nice anchor,perhaps.

LATELY MOVING QUITE SLOWLY, the TNP Cupido
and Pholus ARE conjunct upon the galactic center, asteroid 120 Lachesis is rx at 3cp40/
I think June 18 they all get real close.

posted May 08, 2016 06:21 PM              

quote:

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Originally posted by Poupoupidou:
I contend that Pholus is about learning to deal with others' addictions. It is also about our dare devil attitudes and learning when we are responsible and when we are not. It is about being a diplomat, but not too much.

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Yes, Pholus caused a Ruckus chain of events by failing to be diplomatic in one version of the story anyway// so YES, I like your synthesis.
I think the opposition with the Sun may tell us more. Jun 18