Blain Bovee - Sabian Symbol Specialist

Scorpio 22: Hunters starting out for ducks

Hiding the lines...

A 'line' motif runs through many of the associated symbols in the area of Scorpio 22. Scorpio 21, "A soldier derelict in duty" suggests a refusal, or an failure to step up to the line. Scorpio 23 "Hunters starting out for ducks" introduces the theme of camouflage and hunting blinds. 

The idea is to disguise where the line is drawn. The ducks, not seeing the hunters hiding, think their pond a safe place to land. The hunters deliberately obscure the line that leaves them sight unseen while their quarry draws near.

You can imagine that if a soldier has refused orders, he might want to hide for a while in the hopes of not being found. Perhaps one would attempt to blend in with the crowd in order to escape detection.

All of these themes are alive and well in Scorpio 22. The key is to recognize an awareness of line issues, those that divide sensibilities and values, then to assess which side of the line you are in.

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 21: A soldier derelict in duty

The Exception...

When first attempting to understand and apply the Sabian symbols, you may find that your first impression is disquieting. 

Scorpio 21 "A soldier derelict in duty" could set your mind off in thinking of individuals who fall short of completing their obligations. And, this may be true to a certain extent. Imagine a soldier who, having been given orders, failed to complete the task... perhaps did not even attempt to follow the orders.

Looking at the fixed sign symbols in Leo/Aquarius 21 "Chickens intoxicated" and "A woman disappointed and disillusioned" respectively, we are led further into a symbol sense that appears to bear disappointment. 

Chickens are not known for flight, yet when drunk on sour mash, they may perceive themselves as eagles soaring high.

A woman disappointed and disillusioned does not sound too happy. A let-down of some sort is suggested... perhaps like the chicken who when sober realizes that flying is not foremost in its aptitude set.

However, A soldier derelict in duty may also refer to an individual who does not measure his/her moral worth and character by following the line of duty. Conscience may dictate when a duty or order is to be disobeyed.

This has ever been a problem in ethics and moral questions: obligations set by duty often conflict with moral sensibilities. The Indian classic, Bhagavad Gita, for example, remains one of the world's most extraordinary books on spiritual and philosophic wisdom. Yet it is based on a human situation where a man must choose between his duty as a warrior and general in battle and his conscience regarding killing his family who are in the enemy camp. 

The question is still alive today. When is there an exception to the rule? On what basis do exceptions supersede the rule? Where does your true duty lie?

The opposing symbol Taurus 21 "A finger pointing in an open book', does interject the issue of finger-pointing, but is this because of censure from the outside, or because one finds the precedent in an authoritative text that allows the exception?

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 20: A woman drawing two dark curtains aside

Fast... really fast...

All the 20th degree Sabian symbols in some way harken to speed. The Taurus/Scorpio pair especially seem to about a 'quickening'. 

Scorpio 20, "A woman drawing two dark curtains aside" seems to suggest something of the occult or supernatural dimensions suddenly disclosed. 'Disclosure' is a very apt word here. 'Dis'-'closed' means literally something that is opened such as a door unlocked, a cover removed, curtains drawn back. Disclosure is an action taken that opens that which was once closed or hidden.

The energy that tends to go with this symbol is quick in nature... really something beyond ordinary expectation.

Therefore, be on your toes when these curtains are drawn open. Things happen fast.

Blain Bovee

What are the Sabian Symbols?

In 1925, Marc Edmund Jones, one of the great Astrologers of the 20th century, undertook a project to derive symbols for each degree of the zodiac. Together with Elsie Wheeler, an extremely gifted psychic, he wrote down on blank cards the words describing Elsie's visions and what would become known as the Sabian symbols.

There were three components to the process. Elsie Wheeler's psychic visions, Marc Edmund Jones' wordsmith notations, and a third, the source of the wisdom that was known to Jones as a connection with a ancestral council from ancient Mesopotamia. 

The source of wisdom was described as a mind-matrix, a disembodied source made up of several 'entities', each with their own voice and role in transmitting the symbol information.

The Sabian symbols work as an extra dimension for regular Astrological analysis. It is as if they reveal a sense dynamic that neither supplants, nor is supplanted by what we would approach as, for example, the Sun in Scorpio 20. So if you are a Scorpio, we can make jokes about your intensity, the energy to be deep, profound, to be in control yet ever oriented towards deeper truths.

The Sabian symbol for Scorpio 20 "A woman drawing two dark curtains aside" tells us that you have a natural genius for entering a realm of energy that can be described as a 'quickening': things just seem to take on a special energy revealing other dimensions, perhaps of a supernatural sort.

This can be an extremely psychic degree placement. When things move, it is as if curtains have been drawn apart and a whole other realm of power is revealed. Without the Sabian symbol, you would not know this about the Scorpio 20 individual. 

It has been great sport for Astrologers to change the Sabian symbols. Even Marc Edmund Jones changed a few. But it is very important to at least be aware of the original symbols just as they were written down in 1925.

In this blog.... Blain Bovee: Sabian Symbol Specialist... only the original Sabian symbols are used as in BoveeAstrology.com  the Sabian Sage daily sabiansage.html newsletter.

Insights into Sabian symbol meanings, tips on how to work with the symbols, how to apply them in Astrological analysis, internal symbols connections... all this and more can be found in this blog... plus it is all archived so you can research and advance your own feel for these fabulous symbols.

This is an on-going project. You will be reading my own current insights to eye-opening revelations about each symbol and closely related symbols. Because if you think you know what a symbol means once and for all, you have got it wrong: a symbol ever yields more sense.

Blain Bovee

Scorpio 19: A parrot listening then speaking

"But the thing I remember most is..."

The young are awful at recalling the important details of a communication. Adults are notoriously inept at being able able to listen, then recount what was heard. In old age , things just get worse. 

So when your pet parrot squawks out loud, repeatedly, what you muttered as your neighbor walked up to your door "Here comes the bitch,", it may be a learning point.

In marketing, this human trait is exploited at every turn. One catchy word or gesture an ad campaign makes. No one remembers the whole story. If you can get most to remember one thing, you are a marketing success.

Scorpio 19 also points to the importance of listening carefully. It is, to make a reference to another Fixed sign symbol, Aquarius 19 "A forest fire quenched", the way to put out the fires of misunderstanding.

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 18: A woods rich in autumn coloring

A glow before the end...

Autumn leaves touch on a theme in life having to do with exterior appearances and inner realities.

The natural inner chemistry of the woods rich in autumn coloring is one that provides a big warm show of color and beauty... just before death. It may seem a rather somber reference, but many have seen critically ill loved ones rebound in a radiant show of life and health, only to pass away the next day.

In everyday life, when no life threatening situation is of immediate concern, the Scorpio 18 individual may tend toward a show of colorful and warm display just before something comes to an end. It is as if the signal for an end of some kind is announced by the autumn coloring... beautiful to the eye, and strangely sweet to the smell.

Hence, you could say, "I can smell it coming".

Indeed the sense of smell is highly accentuated in Scorpio 18. Sensitivities to molds, to perfumes, to floral fragrances are quite common through this degree symbol.

Remember, in nature the impending death announced by autumn woods is but part of a cycle because in nature, finality heralds the return.

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 17: A woman the father of her own child

No one else to blame...

It is possible that Scorpio 17 individuals can become caught up in blame and self-recrimination. Or, become tense while anticipating blame and recrimination from some other quarter.

On a more cheerful note, Scorpio 17 points to the self-made individual... someone who has forged their own way to mastery or competency in some area of talent. 

Watch for motif concerning credentials. A self made man may have no social or professional credentials, and may have to work in the shadow of those who do. Also, one can be self-appointed as the official critic and guardian of an area of expertise. As a social manner, this latter characteristic tends not to come off too well.

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 16: A girl's face breaking into a smile

Grumpy and Happy...

: > )   & ) < :

Or "LOL" HeLLoLLoH...

Influence on the general shared space is a constant factor. If you are happy and you show it, it uplifts the general mood and energy for everyone. If you are grumpy, that too tends to color the air.

Scorpio 16, "A girl's face breaks into a smile" tends to suggest a cheerful direction regarding this dynamic. If one is too too serious, moody and in a dark funk generally, a girl's smile can cut right through that down disposition. Very often, Scorpio 16 will have the ability to see the humor in overly serious profundity. Therefore, cheerfulness seems the character quality of the day.

Looking at all the fixed sign symbols for the 16th degree, you will find a motif concerning influence and curved disc shapes. It is like taking the concave or convex view of things. (Leo 16 "Sunshine just after a storm", Aquarius "A big-businessman at his desk"; Taurus 16 "An old man attempting vainly to reveal the Mysteries".)

Or think of smily faces seen so frequently in email and internet communications. You send a text message and have come to learn that, if you do not end it with a :>) the recipient could take offense at your written words. 

And then, of course, there is the LOL hell. It is not really funny, nor an expression of funny, but it is funny because my grumpy take on it...LOL... is in itself funny. And, I feel better just because I become aware of being in a snit about the silly LOL  like a grumpy old man. See?!? I'm smiling now. : >)

See how convex and or concave that is?

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 15: Children playing around five mounds of sand.

Other realms emerge...

Scorpio 15 addresses a process  making creative connections.

In some therapeutic techniques, a box of sand is used. You are to just play in the sand creating shapes, designs... basically allowing yourself to doodle with no specific intent. The results may reveal something that the unconscious mind allows to emerge.

In ancient times, this day is associated with a 'thinning of the veils between the worlds. 'Worlds' in this case means Faerie realms, spirit realms... those intangible and normally imperceptible realms which sometimes seem to emerge in ordinary day to day experience.

As the 5th degree in this series of five Scorpio symbols, there is a quality of things just emerging creatively... perhaps even magically. Ordinary practical expectations, plans or worries do not rule the day. Something just seems to work out, especially if there is an element of communing or communication involved.

Blain Bovee

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Scorpio 14: Telephone linemen at work

Making connections...

Scorpio 14 points to a need to make connections with other places, other realms. The idea is to latch onto another point as linemen would latch a telephone line pole by pole until it reached another area. The 'line' represents a connection, something that ties peoples together. 

In Canada, the CBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation served that function beginning in the 1930's. The radio broadcasts served to let Canadians everywhere in the vast land to know and learn about other Canadians... perhaps living 3000 miles away. 

Today, the internet is amazing. I speak to people from around the world on a daily basis. Information is transmitted in a flash to the far reaches of the world. New tribes are constantly forming as common interests and sensibilities are put in contact with each other. Seen from this perspective, the global changes are moving at lightning speed.

But another theme carried through Scorpio 14, and the other fixed sign 14 degree symbols, is that of a break-through... coming into a whole new realm because of the drive to make a connection.

Blain Bovee

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