Welcome to happy-go-lucky, optimistic, always-ready-for-a-party Sagittarius! Lover Venus entered this sign last Friday, and you may have already noticed that desires are now more wide ranging. "That ___ looks good, and this too, and how about that one over there?" The Sun enters Sag this Wednesday and even bigger, Jupiter enters his home sign on Thursday too. Jupiter spends about a year in each sign, so this is truly a 'cosmic shift.' It will be a Thanksgiving week of epic proportions.

The movement from the tail end of the Scorpion (where the stinger is) to the first part of Sag (that bow aims up) is often very positive. Sag has the reputation of being an easy sign after the complicated and deep Scorpio. And yet things are not so simple. What does Homer have to say?

We last left Odysseus at a feast on the island of Phaeacia where he has been promised safe passage home by the king. That same king has asked Odysseus for his story. And so chapter 9 begins: "Odysseus, the great teller of tales, launched out on his story." Sag has a rep for talking, and Homer has given his astro-aware audience an immediate first hint.

Odysseus then exclaims to King Alcinous: "There's nothing better than when deep joy holds sway throughout the realm, and banqueters up and down the palace sit in ranks, enthralled to hear the bard, and before them all, the tables heaped with bread and meats, and drawing wine from a mixing-bowl the steward makes his rounds and keeps the winecups flowing. This, to my mind, is the best that life can offer."

Does this sound like Thanksgiving or what? That sentence could be the Sag credo - be happy, eat, drink!

Odysseus then tells his name, where he's from and how he wound up on the island of Calypso. After the siege of Troy, his crew tried for plunder but this cost some of them their lives. "I urged them to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those mutinous fools; there was too much wine to swill, too many sheep to slaughter." Then they suffered an attack and many died. An interesting contrast after the introduction - feasting is good, but don't get greedy.

Then after a storm, Odysseus and what's left of his ships and crew reaches the land of the Lotus-eaters. Anyone who ate the lotus lost all desire to do anything else. This is one of two scenes of addiction in the Odyssey (the other is the song of the Sirens in Pisces chapter 12). If we replace 'lotus' with 'sugar loaded holiday cake' it makes more sense - in any case, another warning of excessive consumption.

After forcing his men back to the ship, they set sail and reach the island of the Cyclops, the real meat of the chapter. After hunting for game they go exploring for the inhabitants and spot a cave of a giant. Odysseus tells most of the crew to wait as he picks out a dozen of his best men. He brings along a skin of the finest wine. "Such a bouquet, a drink fit for the gods! .... Describing the vintner: "Twenty cups of water he'd stir in one of wine, and what an aroma wafted from the bowl - what magic, what a godsend." Today I read this and think: it's time for the good stuff.

Odysseus and his dozen men go to the giant's cave. The giant returns at the end of the day and asks the men who they are. After exchanging words the giant snatches up two of the men, knocks them together dead and bolts them down raw. Odysseus wants to fight back but realizes he is trapped inside the cave by a stone placed in the entryway by the giant.

After an introduction extolling the goodness of wine and feasting, we get three different images of gluttony. I find this so apropos. It's Sagittarius and time to enjoy, and yet so easy to overdo it. When you hear stories of people starting their shopping at 5:00 am on Friday after Thanksgiving or see people with bags and bags of stuff, just think of the 1 eyed giant and laugh.

*

I'm a full time astrologer dedicated towards passing on the wisdom of this venerable tradition to help you live your life. For information on a life or update reading, please visit the Services page. Contact me for an appointment.

There is more commentary written on Homer than even Shakespeare, but to my knowledge no one else has identified the astrological structure of the Odyssey. If you want to catch up with my comments, I've marked all Homer columns here. 

Like what you are reading? Get it free delivered to your email on Monday by signing up here.

Please help share the wisdom of the Moon - forward Star Pearls to your friends! Also posted to the website on Tuesdays here.

*