Eros Return

[ariesmoon]

I thought I'd start up this thread again having just had my Eros return, and an Eros report from Kim which was a revelation and answered a great many questions for me. And posed some new ones!

Natal Eros is tightly conjunct my Gemini Ascendant, square Pluto and Chiron, and hasn't been let out much - a few painful experiences and I kept it shut away, a bit of poetry here and there, a lot of attaching to unavailable love objects, but nothing tangible. But the time is obviously right to start working with the Eros energy and finding out what it really means for me.

First thoughts on the return - a Scorpio Ascendant (falling in my natal 6th) with a tight Psyche conjunction seems like a calling to investigate things more deeply and get in touch with my creativity - the Sabian symbol for this degree is "A Woman, Fecundated with Her Own Spirit, is Great with Child"! As if to say "yes, you have this power and passion and energy inside you, give birth to something" (natal 5th house Pluto is calling!) The symbol for Psyche at 17 Scorpio is "A Path Through the Woods Brilliant with Multicoloured Splendour". Which tells me that going deep into myself will reveal riches I can't see from the outside, and again seems a metaphor for creativity. Out come the oil paints today!

Other observations - the return has hardly any water, apart from the Scorpio AC/Psyche, only Uranus transiting through Pisces (natal 11th). That feels strange having a natal grand trine in Water. There is lots more Earth - natally I have only 12th house Mars in Taurus and Pluto/Virgo, so this return period is clearly about more secure foundations and creating something of worth that lasts. And also experiencing Eros in the realm of the body, not all in the mind as it has been! It isn't just about sexual expression, I've been wanting to learn to dance, and to express creative energy through the body but haven't been nearly fit enough. Now's the time, clearly! With the Sun and Venus in the 7th in Taurus, I'm also looking at relationships, something which, after years convincing myself I didn't need anyone, is becoming very important to me. Something warm, earthy, faithful, and lasting. Just to emphasise this with an astrological firework display, the return Sun at 26.16 Taurus is conjunct my natal Sun/Moon midpoint - at 26.17 Taurus, and the return Vertex is the antiscia of my 4 Cancer natal Sun.

Return Venus (ruling 7th, and the return Moon) is conjunct natal Taurus Mars by 43' , which is great to see in an Eros return - and there's a lovely grand trine with return Adonis at 20 Virgo and Jupiter at 22 Capricorn for good measure. I get the message Something might happen this year!

I'm also fascinated by the return Moon - at 19 Libra it's opposite my natal Moon at 18.35 Aries. I have no natal planets in Libra (although Vertex is at 29 Libra) so this return period seems to be about getting in touch with my need to find inner balance and peace. And in Libra, about relationships. In trine to an 8th house Mercury and the Neptune/Chiron/North Node stellium in the 3rd this seems to indicate exploring Eros energy through writing and research (Scorpio Ascendant and Mercury in 8th) and through poetry, which I've already been doing for some months. I've never shown them to anyone, perhaps it's now the time to bring them into the light.

Kim's wonderful Eros report has been the impetus for looking at this, so thanks again Kim - I'm just beginning to look at natal Saturn/Eros and the "beauty and the beast" myth which has extraordinary resonance for me at the moment.

[Kim Falconer]

Hello Aries Moon,

Thank you for posting your Eros Return chart. I'm glad the report resonated, and sparked even more contemplation.

I think there is something significant here with the emphasis in Earth. The theme is about taking an abstract idea (Air) a passion (Fire) and a vision (Water) and manifesting it in your day to day reality (Earth and 6th house!)

In your natal (which is helpful to view with any return as the reference is always back to the natal) Scorpio isn't just your natal 6th, it's intercepted there. This means something in the activities and experiences in the next 1.76 years is going to bring that 'locked up' energy to the foreground. The intensity, and the intimacy as well as creative spark, that you imagine could be in your life on a daily basis IS!

From my Eros Notes

Eros to Eros contacts heighten the passions encouraging us to feel life more profoundly and experience relationships on a deeper level. According to the house and sign positions involved, this transit will awaken the natural inclinations of Eros, be they subtle or conspicuous.

Vitalized and charged with desire, a stimulated Eros can manifest as the appearance of an individual that, on some level, embodies our erotic fancy. The encounter may be brief and may not necessarily lead to an intimate union, but it will have impact. We may course with a particular vibrancy, taking the feeling into artistic endeavors, work projects or even long term relationships. The trigger may not even be a real person, as this transit can manifest as a captivating actor or famous personality. Although we may never met them, still they have a tantalizing and erotic effect.

Eros transits can plunge the recipient into any of the myriad levels of erotic experience. They may include the exquisitely treacherous pinnacles of enraptured love or creativity, the plummeting fall out of control to the razor sharp depths below, or even the floating sensation of a nether land of cosmic union and sensual ecstasy. Wherever this transit strikes, it is generally guaranteed the beneficiary will be somewhere different when it is through. The key stamp of this event, like Eros himself, is transformation.

I think your new attention to the energy of Eros is going to open you up to transformation, particularly in your day to day life. The key is 5th house--That's were Aries is in this return chart and that is where NEW things begin! We jump into being on the 0 degree Aries point and here we have it linked to Pluto the chart ruler!

Psyche rising, along with your Natal Neptune, suggests it is your intuition that will guide you the most, not social norms or other people's expectations and assumptions (the spotlight effect we were talking about comes in here!). Keep moving towards the things that feel good, with appreciation and gratitude, and your world changes right before your eyes!

Yes, now is the time to bring more of yourself to light, poetry, love, risk, adventure and all!

Blessings,
Kim

[ariesmoon]

Kim - am rushing to pack, so just a quick post before I go away for a few days to say thank you so much for this, I'll post more when I get back. Wow!

[ariesmoon]

Your comments have really resonated, Kim, particularly those on Eros contacts - I've had exactly the experience you describe, encountering someone who absolutely embodied the fantasy. It's happened twice in the last six months, with the same guy - both times were very brief - two seconds at most. We didn't speak on either occasion but I'm not sure what I could have said anyway, I was so mesmerised. It was pure, electrical energy.

The second time it happened, transiting Eros was just about to cross over into Aries where I have draconic Venus (at 0 Aries 57). Transiting Venus was also trining my tropical Eros from Aquarius, so there was a double Eros/Venus hit there. I experienced everything you describe during the next few days - a frightening (to me) loss of control, I lost all my usual logic and organisational skills to the extent that I missed my transport connection home and had to buy a new ticket and rebook into my hotel! I could see it all happening and it cost me a fortune, but it was like I was watching myself, and just didn't care. I also had visceral crying sessions followed by a kind of dizzying lightness (the razor-sharp depths and the pinnacles!) and a reiki self-healing treatment which was without doubt the most powerful I'd ever experienced, with waves of energy washing up and down the body. I was almost floating.

Nothing like those few days has ever happened to me before. I haven't forgotten it, nor him, and nor am I ever likely to. It makes sense to me reading your post, and the Eros report, that these encounters were so brief because they were meant to be, and that as well as being enthralling, they were painful. I fell in love and it seems unlikely I'll see him again.

What's happened since is that I'm discovering my real, true love nature - how fierce, fixed and loyal it is (Venus in Leo opposite Saturn in Aquarius). It's all very different from the rather flirty, detached Gemini energy which I thought was me, it's as if I'm seeing myself with much more clarity now.

Incidentally I've been looking at my three Mercury (ruling planet) returns, Mercury's gone retro so will be back on my birth position on 23 June. The AC for the last of the 3 returns is 13 Scorpio, with Psyche rising .. a few degrees away from the Eros one above, so there is definitely a common theme running through them!

[Kim Falconer]

Thank you for sharing your experience with Eros. It can feel as if we are stepping into another dimension, another reality!

In the Eros return, Aries rules the 5th house and where Aries is we jump into manifestation. New things begin, adventures we have never experienced before. You may not see that particular man again, but I suspect there will indeed be new experiences in both romance and creativity.

I've got the same thing with my Mercury returns this year--three, the Rx one tomorrow and final on the 2nd of July. You're right, when you see the recurring ascendant in a year's returns (Eros and Mercury) you know you are lined up to amplify not only that sign in your life but the natal house it brings to the foreground.

What do you think has been locked away in your intercepted Scorpio that would like to live out? It's supportive to start scheduling fun activities that have that vibe. Think particularly about the level of intimacy and intensity in your day-to-day life. The question is, are you getting what you want there?

Thanks again for posting.

Warmly,
Kim

[ariesmoon]

Thanks Kim, I'm glad I shared it - I'm used to being able to explain everything logically and it was a profound shock to find that I couldn't in this case! A shock I needed!

It's fascinating that I have this Scorpio energy locked away, which is now coming to the foreground in both the Eros and Mercury returns - Pluto is beginning a transit of my 8th so it's "at home" for a good few years, which amplifies the Scorpio energy. Scorpio has felt alien to me in the past, which just shows how locked away it has been. I'm sure it's no coincidence my having five close friends, a former lover, and my sister all with Scorpio moons - it's an energy I'm clearly meant to be aware of! One friend who used to live next door to me has a Scorpio Sun, Moon, Venus all conjunct a Scorpio Ascendant and I used to feel very intimidated by her - I simply couldn't handle the intensity. I've known her for 15 years and sometimes I didn't think I knew her at all. Now there's some distance, it's much easier.

I'm finding particularly with two of my Scorpio Moon friends that our conversations are getting more intense. I'm very used to chattering about trivia and skating round anything deeply emotional, so it's been a challenge, but I'm beginning to relish it!

[Kim Falconer]

This is fantastic--I love the way we attract into our lives more of who we are. I have a wonderful short piece written by a friend of mine on people as 'mirrors'.

I'll see if I can find the link!

Thank you for this strong example of how an intercepted energy comes to the foreground. It's only just begun!

Kim