posted November 18, 2014 06:15 PM
quote:
Originally posted by PlutoSurvivor:
Thanks for contributing.With this research are you talking about Asteroid Mentor in the Natal Chart?
Can you give an example of how it indicates where we seek mentorship in the Natal Chart? I will rethink the examples I gave and do some further work. I guess in synastry the Mentor person would be the one seeking mentorship???? That sure changes everything. Thanks again for your insights.
Gladly. It really surprised me, too. I naturally assumed that MENTOR would be where we are the mentor, rather than mentored.
I think the confusion lies in its operation. In many cases, you can see how it could operate both ways -- and might even do so. Natally, it's no surprise why we often find that we have knowledge and skill in this area. We have to start somewhere.
I have personal experience, but one of the greatest has to come from two of the best mentors we know in the field of sexuality: William Masters and Virginia Johnson. (Yep. I went there.)
Masters has MENTOR conjunct EROS exact in his chart. No doubt you're thinking, 'well, that's obvious. He was known for mentoring the masses in terms of sexuality.' Undeniably. However, he GOT there because of Johnson. Hands down.
At the get-go, let's just say that Masters was ... lacking in the erotic department. Severely. (Johnson's got a 2º conjunction to her DSC, too. Ohhh, boy does that apply.)
Most telling, their MENTORs are parallel each other. That's a clear resonance, and I think indicative of how much they taught one another.
While they both went on to teach us quite a lot, I think that her contributions to the emotional and psychological side (her PSYCHE conjunct his LUST, 0º, with a 0º trine to his MENTOR-EROS) is what took him from being a 'doctor' to a genuine healer.
But first Masters himself needed to be healed. Taught.
To me, MENTOR is the principle of, 'if we are to teach, first we must learn.' In simpler terms, the master was once the apprentice. Indeed, there is no better success for a teacher than to have their students go on to attain mastery and become mentors to a new generation.
I see MENTOR this way. Rather than, 'this is where we teach,' or 'this is where we learn,' it's best to take into consideration the rest of the chart, personal level of maturity and experience, and how our natals grow and change, too (progressions and directions).
A friend of mine has MENTOR in natal conjunction to the asteroid of the man who was his mentor. When his pCHIRON aligned with nMENTOR, his mentor passed. Once his pSUN-CHIRON conjunction completes, and the pSUN moves off of pCHIRON, his chart reflects how the next major hits to his MENTOR will show how he is becoming a mentor in his own right.
To wrap up, a personal example.
I have my MENTOR exactly conjunct SCHRODINGER. I must admit, I'm still in the learning phase of it all, though I can hold my own in the layperson crowd, and have intelligent and thoughtful discussion with physicists.
I think rather than looking at MENTOR as a place where we need mentorship, it's where we SEEK it. These would be areas in which we are so engrossed, or have such a passion, that we MUST do what we're able to attain expertise. Of course, even Andretti first started out in a go-kart. And so did I first begin puzzling over Schrodinger's equation, learning to solve both the time-dependent and independent versions.
I also have NYMPHE here, 1º, respectively. I devoured my sex education in any way I could. I was lucky to have a sex positive mother start me off early, but I was hooked by everything having to do with how and why we have sex, and what prevent us from attaining true intimacy. Fitting, as NYMPHE is liberated, unbridled sexuality. Positive, enthusiastic, and natural.
So a damned funny thing happened when I began a new relationship with a man whose MERCURY falls exactly on my MENTOR. Outside of being the dramatic writing professor I never had, (I studied narrative form in depth, but had only one course in actual screenwriting; nothing else was offered) I couldn't deny that it hits that NYMPHE, too. Hmmm. MERCURY-NYMPHE. Well, his MERC is in his 8H, and his 7R.
That means my 11H MENTOR-NYMPHE is now overlaying into his 8H with his MERCURY -- and square his 5H MOON, by the way, which is his 8R. Yeah.
I relate quite a lot to the trials and experiences underwent by Masters and Johnson to obtain their knowledge. Our sexual relationship started off with a sort of bright-eyed quality in which we were mutually conducting research together. Likely, because we're both asexual, and approach physical sex in a more intellectual and curious fashion.
But it turned out that a man knowledgeable in the physical anatomy and basic generalities of sex was exactly what I needed in order to feel able to let my hair down and tap into what I couldn't access prior. As a sex therapist, I get to handle my clients' distresses, dilemmas, and disorders. But my greatest obstacle to personal fulfillment has been the fact that I don't approach it in the same manner as an individual that is oriented sexually does. I'm very theoretical, and intellectual, and curious. As you'd expect, most men are not that into evaluating the likelihood of a dopamine spike and oxytocin presence following a non-orgasmic session of intercourse.
In a weird way, I wasn't actively seeking a mentor as I was a partner. That would've been perfect. In fact, it felt like it was! But there's one more conjunction I have to my MENTOR, which is 2º.
NESSUS.
Are you familiar? I mean really, really familiar with ol' Nessus? He's a fascinating mess. Turns out that when we're emotionally mature and spiritually evolved, the more traditional element of NESSUS, the fact that he ferries those across the river, is what supersedes. He helps to transcend. Specifically, as a therapist, I help my clients heal from abuse and trauma. Most often, it's sexual in some form, or has to do with gender identity, orientation, and attaining intimacy.
But sometimes even the doctor needs a doctor. 'Physician, heal thyself.'
A year into our relationship, I started having posttraumatic stress episodes, following a few difficult events which led to surfacing old, not-quite-healed wounds. I felt shellshocked. Paralysed. I was shutting down and unable to approach anything with the openness and previous enthusiasm of before. I felt horrible. I was letting us both down, and there wasn't anything I could do. I was ... stuck.
He'd come a long way in a year, actually. We'd both reached a point of comfort and intimacy in our relationship that showed a real connexion; we'd learnt each other in deep and profound ways. Simply put, I now needed to be handled with extreme care. And he's not only inclined, but feels capable of doing so. 'Don't worry,' he told me. 'We're going to get you through this.'
It's not going to be an easy road, but it's a necessary one. I neglected to do the real healing I should have beforehand, and the cracks in my armour are readily visible now. I'm a wounded healer. Suddenly, the mentor discovers they've come to the end of the extent of their knowledge. Lo and behold, the 'student' was learning. More than I ever imagined!
So, here we are.
If we're to use MENTOR as a marker for mentorship, it seems to be where we seek mentorship; those things which we feel will be beneficial to us and we want to attain a level of expertise. We want to be so adept that we can further the knowledge; improve the field.
His MENTOR is sextile mine, 2º. Ultimately, we've learnt from and taught each other. I think in most cases, we will. We'll take turns. At the start of the journey, we'll learn. At the end of it, we'll teach.
It's a neverending journey with many beginnings and just as many endings. A powerful cycle of knowledge.
That's my take, at least.
Lindaland
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posted November 17, 2014 09:50 PM
posted November 18, 2014 04:32 PM
