Dear readers,
First of all, Happy Mother’s Day to all moms for whom this day is important!
Some time between 1477 and 1482 Sandro Botticelli sat down with a large plank of poplar wood and tempera paints to create an enigmatic masterpiece entitled La Primavera or, The Allegory of Spring for his mother for Mother’s Day.
Actually, in all likelihood, it was for a wedding of one of the Medici clan in May of 1482, but hey, one can imagine receiving such a gift from one’s Renaissance master child, no?
In Italian, primavera means Spring and the painting seems to specifically evoke the month of May. Some have seen this work as a simple meditation on beauty. Others have described it as an invocation of all that is beautiful, bountiful and full of love. Regardless, it’s one of the most well-loved and appreciated works of the Italian Renaissance, and to me, it portrays a celebration of love, growth, and fertility as we experience them in the sign of Taurus and season of Spring. Even Botticelli’s other famous masterpiece featuring Venus, La Nascita di Venere, or The Birth of Venus, presumed to be the companion piece to this one doesn’t come close to evoking the Venusian and Taurean values and attributes held within the La Primavera.
The words, “La Primavera” have been hovering around the edges of my awareness lately. The sun will remain in Taurus for another week, so let’s start there. Taurus is ruled by Venus. It’s the sign of fixed earth – the fullness of Spring. It speaks to many of the same themes described by this painting. Taurus words include earthy, sensual, luxury, beauty, love, fecundity, and groundedness.
In the painting, we find Venus, goddess of love, beauty, pleasure and desire at the center. Here, she’s reminiscent of a Madonna with the semi-circle of light blue sky resembling a halo or a niche in a cathedral – a place where we find statues or paintings of the Virgin Mary. Her right hand is raised in a gesture akin to one of blessing and she stands separate and back from the rest of the scene, as if presiding over it. In this work however, we find ourselves not in a cathedral, but in a sacred orange grove with mythical figures from pre-Christian times. Mercury is on the right-hand side of the painting in his winged hat and sandals, wielding his caduceus, seeming to hold back the clouds.
The three Graces are next to him: Aglaïa, “shining one”, Euphrosyne, “joy”, and Thalia, “flourishing”, representing ideals of beauty, fertility, and charm. Botticelli imagines them dancing together while Cupid, son of Venus, is poised above his mother, blindfolded yet somehow aiming his arrow at one of them.
On Venus’ left, we see the goddess Flora throwing flowers she’s gathered into her dress, further suggesting the abundance and fecundity of the season. To Flora’s left we find the nymph Chloris apparently being abducted by the god Zephyrus, the west wind. In the myths, when Chloris married Zephyrus, she was transformed into Flora, the goddess of flowers and Spring. The painting apparently shows this transformation and invites us to celebrate with Flora.
Absent from the painting, but recalled by the season is Maia, mother of Mercury. Maia was one of the Seven Sisters that Zeus ostensibly protected from Orion the Hunter by placing them in the sky as the Pleiades – an open star cluster at the end of the constellation Taurus. Some say that due to his parentage, Mercury is the god of the month of May.
The chart I’m looking at on this beautiful May afternoon shows Mercury at 5° Taurus, just finishing up his retrograde. The shenanigans this time have been as abundant as the signs of spring. Soon he will retrace his steps back through Taurus, making one more pass through the retrograde terrain. This is sometimes referred to as the “retroshade” – the shadow area of the chart, and a time when things can still be a little wonky and off-kilter.
Jupiter is at the final degree of Aries, ready to step into Taurus Tuesday morning May 16. There, he will join Mercury, the Sun, Uranus, Vesta, and the North Node. The Moon will join the party on May 17, and we will have a New Moon in Taurus on May 19. As the planet of growth, expansion and abundance, we can expect Jupiter to further enhance our primavera. But Jupiter isn’t just here for this spring. He will remain in Taurus for a little over a year, smoothing over the rough terrain where Mercury’s been messing with us over the last few weeks, and where Uranus has been upsetting one apple cart after another for the last five years. Let’s not forget that Jupiter is Zeus in Greek mythology – Mercury’s father – the guy who “protected” Maia and her sisters from Orion. The sisters all had children by various gods.
Analogous to Venus in the painting, the Goddess in our sky is overseeing all that’s happening in her sign around Mother’s Day from her current vantage point in Cancer, the sign of the mother.
Oh, but wait… before Jupiter can bring his blessings to the land of Taurus, he must first contend with Pluto and Mars. We might recall that Pluto moved into Aquarius back in March, and that he turned retrograde a couple weeks ago, but he hasn’t moved past 0° in all that time, so when Jupiter lands at 0° Taurus, he will be squaring Pluto. Within a few days, Mars will move into Leo and oppose Pluto. Add in the North and South Node and we have a tense and powerful fixed Grand Cross beginning to establish itself. The opposition between Mars and Pluto will be exact on May 20, but we’ll be feeling the grand cross from now until about May 27.
When planets or points align in the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius to form a grand cross, it intensifies the fixed energies of stability, determination, and resistance to change, creating stressful situations characterized by rigidity and relentlessness. It tends to feel like being pulled in multiple directions, making it extra challenging to find a sense of resolution or balance. Think about conflicting values, desires or callings and how difficult it can be to find a sense of peace even once one decides how to move forward.
The South Node is in Scorpio until July, continuing to ask us to release our fears, suspicions, jealousies, conspiracies and need to control – to respond to our longings, desires and aspirations in relationship with trust and surrender rather than through control and manipulation.
Across the sky in Taurus, we will find Jupiter and Mercury flanking the North Node. Taurus is concerned with love and beauty as we see in La Primavera, but essentially, it’s about what we value in life, and this includes food, shelter, money and possessions. It would be unsurprising to encounter issues around food shortages, housing, finance and the economy during this time. (Debt ceiling and bank troubles anyone?)
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Mars in Leo is courageous – the hero, leading the charge into battle. And who is his primary foe? In this case, it’s Pluto, holding ground at 0° Aquarius. This is a powerful and combustible combination – the god of war opposing the lord of the underworld, but within this maelstrom lies significant potential for transformation. In one of my favorite astrology books, the author describes the combination of Mars, Jupiter and Pluto in these terms:
“Powerful surges of enthusiasm and effectiveness, gifts of synergy and resourcefulness on a vast scale, the achievement of beneficial plans, driving evolutionary forces. An intense and self-righteous anger, driving urges to conquer and dominate others, ruthless feelings that the ends justify the means, tendencies to push too hard and burn oneself out.” (p. 180 The Archetypal Universe by Renn Butler)
Yes, we are likely to feel triggered, but it’s what we do when triggered that matters. Can we locate, lean in, and breathe into wherever it hurts rather than react and escalate the suffering?
The New Moon in Taurus occurs the day before Mars perfects its opposition to Pluto. This is likely to be a challenging time. In creating New Moon intentions for the upcoming lunar cycle, remember that Venus rules this lunation and aligning our intentions with our values seems doubly important.
La Primavera may be a dream image, but why not invite the gifts of Taurus into our lives. With Jupiter there for the next year, we can sign up for a master class in Taurean values from the great teacher himself.
If you find yourself at a turning point, you’re trying to better understand yourself and your journey, if all the tumult and worldwide drama feel overwhelming, or you’d like to understand how anything I write about is part of your personal story, I love reading charts for my clients. If interested, please email me: camelliablossoms@gmail.com
Thank you for reading,
Cami
Art references:
Analysis of the Art of Renaissance Italy: Botticelli’s Primavera http://www.italianrenaissance.org/a-closer-look-botticellis-primavera/
Art in Context: “La Primavera” by Sandro Botticelli – A “Primavera” Painting Analysis https://artincontext.org/la-primavera-by-sandro-botticelli/