In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, the frog [...]]]> Ask a friend to name an animal commonly depicted in literature, myth and culture, and the answer isn’t likely to be “frog.” But from the ancient Egyptian goddess Heket to The Frog Prince to Michigan J. Frog, the croaking amphibians have populated the cultural imagination for thousands of years.

In ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, the frog was associated with fertility, probably in part because the animals appeared in droves following the annual flooding of the Nile, whose silt deposits fertilized the Egyptian soil. In Asia, frogs are harbingers of fortune and luck, as they are in Scotland: “Households often keep stone frogs in their gardens and they are often given as house warming presents.” (Source) And in the Celtic Druidic tradition:

[The frog] unites the elements of water and earth, bringing joy, delight and healing in its singing and hopping … The frog possesses an extremely sensitive skin, considered magical by shamans. A companion of the rain spirits, the frog can help you develop sensitivity to others, to healing and to sound through your skin and your whole body and aura. (Source)

This symbolic sensitivity actually shows up on a scientific level as frogs are a documented sentinel, or indicator, species. In recent years, deformities in frogs have been noted as an early indicator of chemical farm pollution impacting local ecosystems. (Source) As well, in nature, frogs occupy the space between water and land, much as Heket represents the final stages of childbirth, when the baby emerges from the amniotic fluid to come live on the drier earth.

The composition of the photo above (wittingly? unwittingly?) reveals this sensitive in-the-margins space that frogs occupy both in the scientific research and in the cultural imagination: The stone sculpture of the frog sits at the shoreline between foliage and bark, and its skin is painted both red and blue, as if it could flux back and forth between two innate ways of being. (In Huber astrology, different colors represent different energies: red squares and oppositions are active; blue sextiles and trines are restful.)

The astrological archetype that first jumps to mind when I think about these characteristics of the frog is Mercury: it is light, flexible, sensitive, magical; it traverses the margins between defined worlds. But Mercury is a bit “drier” than a frog, airier and more detached than water and earth would suggest. So I want to say the frog, perhaps, is Mercury in a water sign (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) or, under the right conditions, in an earth sign (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn). Or perhaps it is Mercury coupled with Virgo or the Moon or maybe even Jupiter: a planet that brings it a waterier, earthier sensibility, that deepens its sensitivity in an intuitive and sensual way.

There is one more element in the photo above that deserves comment: the paint is peeling. The frog is obviously old and may be neglected or forgotten (or, on the other hand, intentionally left to the weather). Whatever the case, there is a whisper of Saturn here, of the slow decay that comes with time. In our culture, we tend to turn away from such things.

But the photo instead shows how, over time, the bravely sensitive — and patient — person exposes what is underneath, makes raw and available what is inside, perhaps to help others, perhaps to move closer authenticity, perhaps to become more fertile with the deepening of each passing year.

Photo: lisa_eglinton

Astrology is the convergence and interpretation of time and space. Space contains four basic elements that, because of their very essence, seep into the way we speak. Without even knowing how to calculate a horoscope chart or read its criss-cross of symbols and lines, you can intuit [...]]]> You already speak astrologically, whether you know it or not.

Astrology is the convergence and interpretation of time and space. Space contains four basic elements that, because of their very essence, seep into the way we speak. Without even knowing how to calculate a horoscope chart or read its criss-cross of symbols and lines, you can intuit the meaning of fire, earth, air and water — which astrologers use as metaphors for human temperament — just by considering the colloquialisms you use every day.

We evoke Fire energy when we say “Fire away!” or “rapid fire” or “He really lit a fire under me.” A fireball is someone with lots of energy, about whom people say things like, “She’s on fire!” and we create fireworks when we argue heatedly with someone. Heat is also evoked — literally and figuratively — in the presence of sexual chemistry as well as in the friction between two people, two hands or two sticks.

Our language tells us what someone with lots of fire in his horoscope chart is like: quick, energetic, motivated, active, bright, magnetic, idealistic, creative and — yes — crackling, sometimes, with tension and impatience. Albert Einstein, Che Guevara, Leonard Bernstein and Jim Morrison all had considerable amounts of native fire in their horoscope charts, as does Sir Elton John.*

Earth is the antidote to fire — the solid container that gives form to restless or runaway energy. When someone is “earthy,” she’s in touch with the physical qualities of the world around her. The best of these people are grounded and down to earth. But if her mind wanders airily (see below!), or she gets a little airy-fairy, we might knock on her forehead and say, “Earth to Kathy!” She’s the one inclined to do the groundwork, so she and her cohorts can hit the ground running (though she’s really more likely to walk) and produce tangible, physical, productive results. But you’re not likely to find her at the center of the party. More fiery people might even call her a stick-in-the-mud.

We know intuitively what people with earth-heavy horoscope charts are like: slower, more plodding than fire, quiet and contained. Their creativity is fertile (especially when watered), steady-going, patient, deliberate, solid and genuinely productive. Their efforts are logically connected to physical and sensory evidence. It’s true that quicker-moving people can see earthy ones as boring or dry, but you have to admit these folks deliver the goods. Sean Connery has lots of native earth in his chart, as did Walt Disney, John F. Kennedy and — I hesitate to say it — Adolf Hitler.*

When we talk about what’s “in the Air,” we’re talking about Zeitgeist: the ideas, ideals and attitudes that circulate through a society. We talk about airheads as though that’s a bad thing, but maybe those folks are so lost in thought that they need a little grounding. Airtight rooms, airtight theories and airtight alibis are ones that can’t be penetrated — that are sealed so tightly that no new ideas or information can enter. In those rooms, breaking wind with an air biscuit can be especially embarrassing! (Though laughing it off with a breezy attitude can help put everyone at ease.) “Letting the air out of our tires” means we’re going nowhere, which is a terrible thing for a person strong in air.

From the language we use, we already know about people with lots of air in their horoscope charts. They’re the social butterflies of the zodiac and, as such, need to circulate. They thrive on taking things in (inhale!) and communicating things back (exhale!). To these folks, there is beauty in the exchange of information, ideas and ideals. As the dealer of data, people with lots of air like to analyze, but because air is dry it can be relatively objective and democratic, especially in Gemini form. Yet there is excitement, interest and movement here: The winds of change are blowing!

Gene Hackman, Henry Kissinger and Vladimir Putin have lots of native air in their horoscope charts. So did Sophia Loren and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.*

You know you’re in deep Water when the dam breaks and it’s all you can do to tread water and keep your head above it. Diving in to uncharted waters can be both exciting and frightening because of the element of the unknown. If there are no sympathetic parties around, you might have to turn on the waterworks to get some help — or just bail yourself out before the whole ship sinks.

Our language informs us that people with lots of water in their horoscope chart bubble with emotional depth and, because of this, they can empathize easily and protect you (and themselves) instinctively. But many of us like to stuff our negative emotions, so the watery person — who very well may not — can be mysterious and even scary to the uninitiated. That they’re comfortable with discomfort means they’re also able to look at life’s shadows: sex, death, drugs, taxes and such. People with lots of native water in their horoscope charts include Drew Barrymore, Kurt Cobain, Hugh Hefner, Charles Manson and Edgar Allen Poe.*

Do you know instinctively what element is prominent in your chart? Do you want to know? E-mail us for a chart reading today.

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* Every chart is a unique combination of all four elements; not everyone is strictly one or the other. That means that, though we tend toward one or two elements more than the others, we can all draw on all these qualities at different times in our lives. That’s why you’ll see an earthy man like JFK giving a fiery speech or a moody musician like Mozart work in the intricate details and data of composing classical music.

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