The Pleiades Stars

Fixed star Alcyone is the major star in the famous Pleiades Star Cluster. The Pleiades are found in the shoulder of Taurus the bull, positioned at 00°00′ Gemini*. Different cultures throughout the ages have mythology around it because this cluster is so striking in the sky. The Pleiades stars are also known as the seven sisters. In Greek myth the sisters became stars because Zeus took pity on their mourning the death of their family. In the medieval times the fixed star Alcyone (representing the entire Pleiades) was known as a magical Behenien star and in talismans is said to give magical power and knowledge.

In Esoteric Astrology the seven solar systems are said to revolve around the Pleiades star cluster, and of course there are many websites all over the net claiming to have channelled information from them. “The Pleiades’ role, then, is to help seekers become consciously aware of Divine Knowledge and Wisdom, which is why their etheric, astral and mental bodies must be purified before being able to integrate with that spiritual realm. The Pleiades represent a spiritual “station” where the Perfect Model within seekers is energized and comes alive on earth.”Plotinus.

Pleiades 2012 Astrology

So it’s really no wonder that the Pleiades feature so strongly in 2012 astrology. The Pleiades are revered up to the present day by Ufologists and they are also featured in the Cherokee Rattlesnake Prophecy which Jamie has already talked about. We are all expecting mass awakening but what is it about this constellation in particular that inspires such great expectation? It is strange because when you study Alcyone’s actual meaning, it really is a mixed bag and although it confers wisdom, there is also a bunch of really negative associations also. This maybe due to the Christian suspicion of any thing magical, but if you look at some of the subjects there is some truth to Robson’s grim interpretations.

Pleiades the Gay Stars?

Another association with Alcyone is homosexuality. Both Robson’s and Ebertin’s books were published around 1930 when gay sex was still illegal. Just like any fixed star associated with wild female sexuality was demonized, so it is the case with Alcyone. I would read Robson’s interpretations bearing this in mind, which why I have set them beside Bernadette Brady’s evaluations for comparison.

So the Pleiades are generally seen as exceedingly Venusian, which seems to be a “bad thing” within old school fixed stars astrology. Stars having Mars and Jupiter qualities are deemed brave and honorable, probably because they were so useful in war. Whereas Venus? Useless in a fight it seems…. Here’s what Manilus says about the Pleiades star cluster: “they will smooth their hairy limbs with the porous pumice, loathing their manhood and craving for sleekness of arm. They adopt feminine dress, footwear donned not for wear but for show, and an affected effeminate gait. They are ashamed of their sex; “ 1.

Ok, there actually are few great homosexual examples in the list. The best example is the beautiful and supremely talented Rufus Wainwright, who has Alcyone rising by 42’. He is the perfect Venusian gentleman and is certainly not ashamed of his sex. He dresses occasionally very flamboyantly, but mostly tastefully and romantically, like an 18th century poet. Rufus has also had his brush with death when he was raped and nearly strangled aged 14 in a park. Later he suffered also suffered with Alcyone’s threat of blindness. At the height of Rufus’s crystal meth addiction in 2002 he temporarily lost his vision. He is no longer an addict and his musical direction has matured to include his passion for opera. I note David Beckham is also in the rising list. Despite being a manly football idol, he is certainly not in the slightest bit bothered about wearing feminine garments! He has been known to sport a sarong and nail paint,which is  refreshing in the macho field of sport.

“The Pleiades gives ambition and endeavor, which gives preferment, honor and glory. Not a good omen with regard to relationships to the opposite sex”. 2.  I do see some evidence of “disgrace” in some of the celebrities below, usually stemming from scandalous love affairs that threatened their public profile. The effect of Venusian indulgences in the form of alcohol or drug abuse, are also observed to have a detrimental effect on some of these peoples careers and performances.

“The Pleiades causes bereavement, mourning, sorrows and tragedies.” 3.  Alcyone is a cluster, so it is also said  to give blindness or accidents to the face, but the modern interpretation of eyesight problems is inner vision. There are a fair few fatal car accidents and drug-related premature deaths on the celebrity list, so the proximity to death is clearly there. This star is also associated with judgement of the dead and fate. Because this cluster rose at sunset around November, in many countries a day was set aside around this time to mourn those who died in battle. So this star has connections with passing over to other dimensions, this is where the mystical side of it comes into it and the attainment of occult wisdom. The judgemental side of this star can be quite harsh though, because it dishes out karma with no mercy or compassion.

Gruesomely, in common with Robson’s more negative findings, Alcyone with the Sun gives us one subject who truly did possess an “Evil disposition”. Serial Killer Jeffery Dahmer took the lives of 17 men and boys. His murders involved rape, mutilation, necrophilia and even cannibalism.

Pleiades Star Celebrities

PLEIADES (Alcyone) RISING “The rising Pleiades are indicative of those who are homosexual, like to be flattered, and (with a poorly positioned Mercury) impudent in speech.” 4. “To have artistic or intuitive vision, but recognizing that such vision has the shadow side of giving and receiving harsh judgement” 5.
• Rufus Wainwright, Jessica Savitch, Dionne Warwick, David Beckham, Jacky Chan, Anna Freud.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) MIDHEAVEN “Disgrace, ruin, violent death. If with the luminaries it makes its natives military captains, commanders, colonels of horse and emperors.” 6. Bernadette Brady says if this star is on a pivotal point at birth (the angles) that it gives “A strong sense of knowing, a strong vision of destiny, a desire to walk the correct, if not the popular pathway”  5. In the past I think not following the “popular” pathway could well result in “disgrace” or even “ruin” (if homosexual). These days we can be more true to ourselves.
• Edwin Hubble, Montgomery Clift, Pebbles Santiago, Patty Hearst, Erik Menendez, Donna Summer, Eddie Fisher.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) SUN “sickness, disgrace, evil disposition (used to be a term in astrology for homosexuality), murderer or murdered, imprisonment, death by blows, stabs, shooting, beheading or shipwreck..” 6. “The ruthless visionary, a passionate but potentially arrogant person.” 5.
• Cher, Harvey Milk, Jeffrey L Dahmer, Dale Winton, Morrissey, Malcolm X, Laurence Olivier, Bertrand Russell.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) MOON “ Injuries to the face, sickness, misfortune, wounds, stabs, disgrace, imprisonment, blindness,” 6. “Insightful to the darker side of life.“ 5. A fascination with societies underworld may indeed put you at risk of “stabs” I guess.
• River Phoenix, Frida Khalo, Katherine Hepburn, Ian McShane, Edith Paif, Dionne Warwick, Juan Manuel Fango.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) MERCURY “Many disappointments, loss of possessions, much loss from legal affairs, business failure, trouble through children”.6.“To be insightful and brilliant, but struggling with the darker side of human nature” 5.
• Anna Freud, Tammy Wynette, Cilla Black, Bjorn Borg, Audrey Hepburn, Natasha Richardson, Mary Wollstonecraft.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) VENUS “Immoral, strong passions, disgrace through women, sickness, loss of fortune.” 6. “A love of theatre, art or rituals; The poetic soul” 5.
• Dame Nellie Melba, Kylie Minogue, Marlon Brando, Karl Marx, Gregory Peck, Nancy Reagan, Giuseppe Pelosi, Amy Dumas.

PLEIADES (Alcyone) MARS “Many accidents to the head, loss and suffering through fires” 6. “To be aware and sensitive to difficult social issues. The critic” 5.
• Andy Warhol, Lord Louis Mountbatten, Tammy Faye Bakker, Helena Bonham Carter, Glenda Jackson, Eddie Fisher,  Griffith/Banderas Davison,

Pleiades Star Keywords

Wise, magical, scandalous, rocky relationships, disgraced, immoral, visionary, insightful, intuitive, ruthless, fated, judgemental, critical, criticized, insightful, fascinated by the occult, fascinated with the deep soul, gothic, homosexuality, gay icon, idolised, passionate, in touch with the anima, being true to yourself, vain, venerated, indulgent, spoilt, easily flattered, flirty, beautiful, romantic, tragic, mournful, artistic, melancholic, melodramatic, poetic, ritualistic, ambitious, talented, theatrical, ravishing, handsome, well dressed, aesthetically aware, designer, dandy, destined.

The Pleiades in Your Chart

If you don’t have a chart, yet get a free one here: astro.com. To work out the exact position of Altair, stars move forward through the zodiac at one degree every 72 years. You can find all the star positions here: The Fixed Stars in Longitude Order. *Alcyone positions:

1900 – 28° 48′ Taurus
1950 – 29°18′  Taurus
2000 – 00°00′ Gemini

References:
1. Astronomica, Manilius, 1st century AD, book 5, p.310-313.
2. Fixed Stars and Their Interpretation, Elsbeth Ebertin, 1928, p.26.
3. The Living Stars, Dr. Eric Morse, p.39.
4. Fixed Stars and Judicial Astrology, George Noonan, 1990, p.28.
5. Star & Planets Combinations. Bernadette Brady. p 88-90.
6. Fixed Stars and Constellations in Astrology, Vivian E. Robson, 1923. p 193.

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