Subject: Re: "If Jupiter and Saturn meet..." quote is from Yeats From: alternat@watserv1.waterloo.edu (Ann Hodgins) Date: 1991-05-02, 09:44 Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks In article muffy@remarque.berkeley.edu (Muffy Barkocy) writes: > >In article <52299@apple.Apple.COM> larryy@Apple.COM (Larry Yaeger) writes: > > > > "The sword's a cross; thereon He died: > > On breast of Mars the Goddess sighed." > > > >I believe there was one myth, the details of which I forget, in which > >Venus, who was married to Vulcan, was having an affair with Mars. All I > >remember is something about how Vulcan thought of some trick for > >catching them. > > Muffy I flashed on that myth, too. Modern astrologers (perhaps not as deep as Yates) see the conjunction of Mars and Venus as simply a symbol of sexual intercourse. But this is disturbing and worrisome because Mars is also a symbol of war. The myth implies that masculinity and warlike behaviour are synonymous and that Venus is in collusion with Mars to promote war. I worry about the strength of this myth when I see picture of Marilyn Monroe entertaining the troops in WW2. The belief that women love a man in uniform is deep and pernicious. Anyway, the story is that Venus was married to Mercury/Hepheastus, the lame smith. However, she was carrying on with Mars behind his back. So to catch and humiliate her, Hephaestus, who was very crafty with his hands, fashioned a net to fall upon Mars and Venus when they were in bed together. The trick worked and the adulterous god and goddess were were bare-assed front of all the other Olympians. Mars was enraged and Venus just went home to sulk and console herself with a lot of new clothes and make up. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Ann Hodgins E Uassiuian is the will to continue alternat@watdcs.uwaterloo.ca To laugh, to have fun and to be amazed.