Blain Bovee - Sabian Symbol Specialist

Leo 10: Early morning dew

Like the constellated stars spread upon a grassy field...

The Leo series 6-10 contains three symbols with direct links to the idea of sparkling. Leo 7 "Constellations in the star"... the sparkling stars above.

Leo 9 "Glass blowers"... sparkling glass ware that can twinkle when shattered, gleam when smooth, shine, and filter light.

Leo 10 "Early morning dew" sparkles when the morning sun shines on it. It is very much like the stars in the heavens coming to blanket the earth. As above, so below.

Dew is not known for its longevity. It dissipates quickly under the warmth of the sun. Individuals with placements here may notice that success is fleeting, but also that it can return as the dew returns on another morning.

There is a lightness here in leo 10, perhaps defying the usual take of Leonine dramatic boldness. I find people to carry a quiet confidence through this degree. No need to shout or continually be in the headlines. The quiet confidence will, in the long haul bring fame or fortune in its own measure, in its own time, again and again.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 9: Glass blowers

The deft and the quick...

Glass blowers must be highly skilled to take molten glass and fashion it into something useful and/or beautiful before the glass cools.

Imagine blowing too hard down the cylinder that delivers the breath into the molten glass. One could easily blow everything out of proportion, overdo it.

Temperature dynamics are important in Leo 9. When glass is cool, it is solid... relatively speaking... and very susceptible to breaking and shattering. Everyone has received a splinter or two of broken glass in their day. Not fun.

When hot, glass becomes a malleable substance receptive to shape and fashioning. Clearly there are degrees of artistry at all junctures of glass work.

The key theme in Leo 9 lies in the out-breath. One breathes life into something. Sounds much like artificial respiration doesn't it? 

And while the challenge and artistry of it is to breathe just right, it is also a project that can be scrapped and started again in the same way broken glass can be reheated and shaped anew.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 8: A Bolshevik propagandist

Shaping the message...

Leo 8 is another specific cultural/political/historical reference. But once again the universal meaning is clear.

Imagine you are the President of a large powerful nation. You hire press secretaries and advisors to shape the message you want your citizens to hear. You say, "The Boogie-man rides horses and speaks a language based in the belief that our country must be destroyed". Now all your citizens are out-raged and ready to fight the boogie-man.

Of course, what has been left out is that the Boogie-man is a father with a wife who is the mother of children that they are trying to raise... to feed and clothe and school... to care for the same way any father and mother would. Oh... sorry... left that out.

Shaping the message is not always manipulation or deceit. A well-shaped message can be creative, beautiful, effective, constructive and so on. The point is that here in Leo 8... as throughout Leo 6-10, shaping the message is a highlighted theme. It reaches into all facets of communication and understanding. it can be not only about 'what' you say, but how you say it.

So, just because the word 'Bolshevik' is in the original Sabian symbol, it does not mean we all have to grab a gun or a rake and go fight for some grand social/political principle. It means we are ever involved with the shaping of our message to the people (bolshevik: drawing power by virtue of belonging to the majority) for the maximal effect. And, 'propagandist' means having to be somewhat selective in doing so.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 7: The constellations in the sky

Connecting the dots...

Leo 7 is the 2nd symbol in the five fold pattern Leo 6-10. As a 2nd symbol, it brings an awareness of something that had not ben considered in the initial series symbol.

Leo 6 "An old-fashioned woman and a flapper" suggest a striking breach between old convention and cutting edge style and manner. 

By the way, Marc Edmund Jones changed the original symbol to read "An old-fashioned woman and an up-to-date girl" We can appreciate the point... a 'flapper' is a specific cultural and historical reference, perhaps one with which not everyone is familiar. But the play on the word 'flap' are worth it and the kind of style change represented by the flapper are also worth keeping.

Once again, i suggest staying with the original wording.

Here in leo 7, we might imagine a young flapper starting to realize that she is not that different from the old-fashioned woman. Perhaps the flapper is aging and therefore coming to appreciate things more conservative. perhaps she realizes that her grand mother also defied the prevailing style codes when she was young. Perhaps she appreciates an ancient story re-enacted over and over again throughout human history... one projected, and/or gleaned from the patterns seen in the constellated stars above.

Every time you try to start a whole new philosophy of life, it turns out some recluse back in the fourth century AD writing by oil lamp in a run-down mountain shack, beat you to it.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 6: An old fashioned woman and a flapper

Cutting edge style...

Marc Edmund Jones choose to change the word 'flapper' to 'an up-to-date girl'.

As I have written elsewhere, there is no need to make this change. In fact, meaning is lost if the change is made.

Of course, a 'flapper' is a historic and cultural reference to a daring style change in the Roaring Twenties of America... especially New York. But the flapper fun and flippancy spread to many parts of the world. Symbolically, a flapper represents a stylish and daring shift in dress, manner and attitude.

In contrast to the "old fashioned woman", a flapper has fun, can cause a flap, is nimble rather than stiff, and will explore the unknown with panache and abandon.

This may emerge from a personality that needs to be in the spotlight... one view of fashion is that the more outrageous the clothes/style, the more attention is focussed on who is wearing them... and it may lead to a place of disappointment. But the journey is colorful and fun... the greater the flap created, the greater the fun.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 5: Rock formations at the edge of a precipice

Vertigo or Geronimo...

Ever feel like you have been backed into a corner or have your back pressed up against a wall. With nowhere to back up, the only way available is forward. 

Through Leo 5, the way forward isn't just a simple matter of walking as if on a solid path. The way forward seems a leap into a deep dark abyss. 

Naturally, when stepping off a cliff into a bottomless pit is your only option, a little anxiety may arise.... vertigo.

And, when you say "Jump!" and leap off into the unknown you might shout "Geronimo!".

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 4: A man formally dressed and a deer with its horns folded

Twisted situations...

Easily one of the more obscure and awkward symbols, Leo 4 contains many things that are... well, just not quite right.

Its a long and hairy story... read my book entry for the horn/hair/antler entanglement... but it comes down to the challenge to get something accomplished, for example.

I like to question about a sense of pride through this symbol, and just how that pride is brought to bear. 

Marc Edmund Jones elaborated on the symbol for Leo 4 in terms of a retired military officer standing in his trophy room where a moose-head hangs on the wall. The idea is a 'trophy' sense of pride. But I believe the inner themes of this symbol to be a little more twisted.

It has to do with antlers being bone except in some instances when its hair  much like horns which are keratin/hair formed with some exceptions... sigh.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 3: A woman having her hair bobbed

Neat and carefree...

Well, that's what a sensible cut will do for you... or even drawing long hair back into a ponytail or bob. It gets some hairy matter out of the way in order to roll your sleeves up and get to work... or play... such as bobbing for apples.

A theme I have never been able to verify through Leo 3 concerns potential issues with knees, or having to get on one's knees to work. I believe it is there, but few occasions have arisen to glean adequate corroboration.

And consider the phrase... "brought to one's knees". Makes sense after an illness and the drive to get up and on with it afterwards.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 2: An epidemic of mumps

Spreading it around...

The 'sneeze' factor is a trait with a knack for spreading things around such as an idea, enthusiasm, happiness and so on.

Call individuals with important placements here 'infectious personalities'.

There is no particular concern here in Leo 2 about a propensity towards disease process... no more than any other degree. However, the sudden onset or unforeseen factors can certainly appear or arise quickly. 

Think of enjoying a new food in a foreign land. It tastes good. There is a pleasure, enthusiasm and delight in its eating. But then, sometimes, there is an explosive turmoil that suddenly develops in the tummy.

Suddenness and speed are two common marks of Leo 2.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html

Leo 1: A case of apoplexy

Red-faced enthusiasm...

Deep in thought yesterday, wondering about the effects of the Solar eclipse. Now I know... at least in my own experience... I missed an entire day.

It is as if a black hole emerged through the apparent objects and tasks of everyday reality and swallowed the very thing I was so focussed upon.

I wonder if anyone else experienced this?

Leo 1 is very much a degree that starts things. It may be, in its own Leonine way, the first of the first degree positions. 

The Sabian symbol "A case of apoplexy" may seem obscure to some. 'Apoplexy' is a term formerly used for a stroke, but really is an image of a sudden rush of energy to the head and face.

Individuals with placements here often easily flush with embarrassment, for example, or burn easily in sunlight. 

The metaphor is one os enthusiasm, excitement... a heady beginning of a new mission. It brings the energy of a child to the project of a king... the boy-King; the girl-Queen.

Blain Bovee

sabiansage.html