posted February 25, 2006 12:48 AM              

"...If you are not familiar with Pholus, you should know that it is a minor planet that was discovered in 1992. We do not know a great deal about it yet, but we can speculate on its meaning, based on its orbit and mythology. Pholus moves between the orbits of Saturn and Neptune, so it links those bodies the way Chiron links Saturn and Uranus. Saturn is the traditional perspective, Neptune the dreams and fantasies outside of the tradition. Saturn represents those laws that appear immutable, Neptune the dissolution of illusions that hold us to a limited view of existence. So Pholus bridges the gap between a subjective perception of reality and an understanding of more universal laws; between the accepted view of physical laws and the unlimited explorations possible via the imagination. If Chiron represents the bridge linking past and future, Pholus is the shadowland uniting the tangible, material, structured world (Saturn) with the limitless world of dreams, universal truths and the cosmos (Neptune).

In mythology, Pholus was a rarity like Chiron: a centaur who was kind and gentle. He died from one of Hercules' arrows during the same ruckus that caused Chiron to receive the wound that would not heal. While there are several versions of this story, they all make the point that Pholus was quite mortal, and his death was accidental, the result of poison that had been meant for one of the other centaurs. Perhaps another aspect of Pholus, then, is an awareness of mortality and how death can come at any time.

With Jupiter conjunct Pholus, Einstein's desire to learn, expand his understanding and interpret his findings was united with this ability to see the connections between apparent reality and universal truths. He would be able to comprehend concepts that boggle the minds of ordinary humans and, in turn, restate them in terms that are much easier to understand. His philosophy of life (Jupiter) was in part shaped by a deep awareness of his mortality (Pholus), and an awe of the universe. He needed to search for universal laws which would give him inner peace, not only about this life, but also about the next one. He once summed up the very essence of his beliefs by saying, "The cosmic religious experience is the strongest and the noblest force behind scientific research."

Even though there is no aspect between Neptune and the Jupiter/Pholus conjunction, Neptune's essence was very much a part of Einstein's philosophies. When the watery planet was discovered in 1846, it was located in the 27th degree of Aquarius. Since Einstein's Jupiter/Pholus is right there, it would forever influence his higher mind.

With Chiron and Pholus both so strong in his chart, it is not surprising that Einstein was a staunch pacifist for most of his life. After all, both Chiron and Pholus died as a result of wounds inflicted by weapons. They must have given him a basic hatred of warfare..."

(Source: www.angelfire.com/wizard/regulus_antares/einstein_chiros.htm

posted February 26, 2006 07:33 PM              

My MC is also Trine my Sun ...

However, Pholus & my MC are both Squared my Neptune, and wondering if this contributes to any creative frustrations I may encounter since Pholus is very closely linked to Neptune, and is about energy we need to understand and ACTIVELY mutate into a positive.

For this reason, it's so very interesting to me that Pholus is trying to cooperate with my Sun (goals realized and activated), and my MC (carrying it through to completion).

Any thoughts?

I'm still reading more on Pholus at this moment, and want to post some of the best of what I've read. It's got my interest!

posted February 26, 2006 07:40 PM              

Robert von Heeren seems to have a good handle on the subject of Pholus, and I wanted to start with him first. So I'm quoting some things he has written or contributed to Pholus :::

"Experiences with natal positions of Pholus

A person with a prominent natal Pholus is in his actions guided by impulses whose motivation he is not really aware of. Actually, he is confronted with energies or parts of his nature that are not incarnated, i.e. that hang over or about him like a cloud (Neptune, the aphelion of Pholus) and urge towards incarnation (Saturn, Pholus´ perihelion) within the material world. In other words: Pholus stands for parts of our nature from which we are still cut off and with which we try to get into contact. The parts in question may be those which cannot be soundly unfolded, or on the other hand a domain where the person intently strives for and with time even reaches great progresses. A combination of Pholus and Mercury, for example, can indicate highest precision and almost magic power of a person´s mercurial abilities, or on the contrary legastheny and dyscalculia.

Pholic impulses are blind in a sense. They press on being realized even if they do not "know", what could be their appropriate place in the actual order of life. On the contrary, they are in conflict with the established conditions. The person in question may feel impelled to actions, motions or gestures that give rise to disastrous life situations. So, Pholus finds himself in a strain between self-destruction and enlargement of his own character by additional energies or horizons of experience. The pholic person walks on the narrow path of great and seemingly easy success, with the risk of catastrophic slips. Whatever happens, afterwarts the person is altered. He has broken with his past, has stripped off an old skin (Greek pholis means "squama" or "skin"), has got over a rocky edge and unexpectedly attained a wonderful tableland, or else is stumbled over it into a precipice.

Instead of blindness, Pholus sometimes gives visionary power. In the myth he is a haruspex, i.e. he reads from the entrails of offered animals. People with Pholus at the IC are often very inspired, sometimes spiritual channels or fortune-tellers or work with the pendulum. But in the myths, the seer is often blind. It is not easy to dream the future and, at the same time, actually realize the present circumstances. More details on the interpretation of Pholus can be found - for those who read German - in our book on Pholus. (s. Bibliography)"

(Source: www.centaurs.info/menu/index.htm?page=/newphol.htm

posted February 26, 2006 07:49 PM              

"...To our surprise, the most transits of Pholus in the lifes of our informants had been accompanied by subjectively important and impressing events and developments. The only exception seemed to be the transits of Pholus over the lunar nodes: people were seldom able to report something. But apart from that, in almost all cases, especially at conjunctions, the participants used to mention distinctly noticeable changes and developments, be it during a house passage or a planetary transit, though they did not know at all what transit was in question. Of course, we investigated whether there were other transits involved, but this turned out to be true only seldom...

...After all we found that almost all Pholus transits mark more or less important turning-points in life. People often leave behind old things relatively fast and spontaneously, open themselves to unknown new things and therewith grow out of their old self. The way in which this happens with Pholus transits distinctly differs from those of the known planets, as sketched above. So, Pholus is indeed clearly perceptible in transits, and according to our experiences his astrological power is by all means equal to other main planets´ transits. For instance, we recommend to look at the transition of Pholus over the rising or setting points. At those times there was an important turning-point in the lifes of most of the participants of our transit research, though nothing of such kind had been indicated by transits of other main planets. Experiences of similar importance were undergone at passage times of Pholus over MC and IC...."

(Source: www.centaurs.info/menu/index.htm?page=/newphol.htm

posted February 26, 2006 07:56 PM              

"All Centaur planets are associated with transitions, with intense situations that seem to push psychological and spiritual material to the surface, where we have the option to heal it, with special talents that concentrate around struggles and are often inspired by them -- and, in essence, with reclaiming our souls...

Chiron:

Transition through awareness. Bringing shadow to the light. Standing out, not fitting any known category, doing things one's own way, and solving the problem oneself. The gift of responding to life's challenges, injuries, difficulties and moments of change through gradually focusing awareness, growth and learning.

Pholus:

Small cause, big effect. Pholus has the property of release from situations, opening to 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, minor though it may seem.

Nessus:

The buck stops here. The return of karma; situations that travel circular paths, or extend with unforeseen consequences. Conspiracy with a point of origin. The healing of abuse, including insidious kind that doesn't seem like much, until one looks closely; and the kind that was obviously so, but potentially overlooked.

Asbolus:

Survival and the recognition of having survived. Deep contact with something organic and essential -- the ability to endure and even thrive despite it all. Protection from victimhood. The blessing of protection even when it seems like none is there, such as in the story, "Footsteps."

(Source: www.astrologyweekly.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3924