Wormwood...

When Italian astronomer Andrea Boattini announced his discovery of a new comet (C/2007W-Boattini) from Arizona's Mount Lemmon Observatory, it was the 146^th comet to be discovered this year.    While certainly not the most comets ever discovered in a year, as has been widely reported, the discovery is significant for other reasons...

To start, the Boattini comet will rank as the 2nd closest comet to approach Earth in the past century when it makes its closest approach on June 8th of 2008.  Also the discovery comes on the heels of two other obscure and typically very faint comets blazing to an unexplainable brilliance. And that the comet made its appearance in the constellation Virgo, the Virgin, has led some to turn to the Book of Revelations and the woman wearing the crown of twelve stars (Virgo).  In Revelations this woman is about to give birth and is, indeed, the Virgin Mother who in antiquity rose above the Eastern horizon on the 24th of December, heralding the yearly rebirth of the Sun.  Some now suggest that the appearance of the Boattini comet in the sign of Virgo, and in correlation with the other aforementioned elements, as a harbinger of "the end".  However my inclination is that the Boattini comet is a messenger... and not just any messenger but one bearing a message of extreme significance in our evolutionary progression...

I started my exploration of the topic by looking at the historic date that Virgo gives birth, December 24th.  The day is noteworthy this year because it holds the Full Moon which culminates a powerful month of significant Astrological events, including the alignment of the three comets and a once-in-thirteen-year-event between Jupiter and Pluto.  The Full Moon also occurs within 24 hours of several noteworthy events including the naked-eye appearance of Comet 8P/Tuttle, the annual conjunction between the Sun and Jupiter, the passage of the Moon less than 1 degree North of Mars which is in its Opposition (an event which occurs approximately every 26 months), and the alignment of the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, and Pluto along the axis of the Milky Way after each has taken its turn forming a powerful relationship with the Galactic Center at 28-Degrees Sagittarius!   In fact, it was just as Pluto crossed the Galactic Center on the Full Moon October 23rd that perhaps the most important of the three comets - Comet Holmes - erupted out of obscurity to one-million times its typical appearance to become the largest object in our Solar System...

Comet Holmes is seen from Earth as crossing the constellation Perseus, the Great Initiator who pursues Mastery through a series of successful, Heroic tasks.  The ancients called Perseus "Soldier with a Sword", seeing him as the warrior who slew Medusa (with seven serpents in place of hair) to traverse the celestial sphere with her head in one hand and his sword in the other.  From the blood of Medusa sprang his winged horse, Pegasus, who helped him to rescue his Virgin beloved from the terrible sea monster and set his sights on union with her...

His story is Humanity's story.  Perseus rises above his mundane life to fulfill his destiny, gathering the tools necessary to overcome the Adversary, that serpent (or Dragon) force of which no mere mortal can lift the veil.  Yet it is the head of this serpent force which becomes the very thing needed to outwit the primeval beast that keeps the people bonded to their fear (and thus inaction) and demands sacrifice of the trapped "star-maiden" (or Divine Essence)...

You may be surprised to learn that this is also the story played out in the Book of Revelations where the star-maiden Virgo - the Virgin crowned in stars - prepares to give birth before a devouring adversary, the seven-headed dragon, and a beast with 10 horns of a lamb!  Perhaps the Comet Boattini was helping to punctuate this correlation by arriving in Virgo just as the Comet Holmes passed Mirfak, the Star which is thought to signal Perseus starting down the road toward his Higher Destiny, armed with the tools needed to get his job done.

How the Book of Revelations and the tale of Perseus connect is better understood when it is realized that in both cases we are dealing with Astro-Mythology.  While the story of Perseus details the cosmic drama of Archetypes, the story of the woman crowned in stars denotes a specific period in time, or Astrological scenario playing out across the cosmic sphere above.  In that scenario the symbol tongue is telling us that the Sign of Virgo rises above the adversarial dragon, Draco, (which looks as though it will devour her, or whatever it is she gives birth to), which is vanquished (i.e. sets) as Cetus rises (thus the many instances of confusion or combination of the two).   Cetus is called "the whale" in our modern day, but was historically the Sea Monster, which rises on the horns of Lamb (Aries), signifying the usurping of inertia with swift action.  This is exactly the drama playing out in backdrop to the comets!

Interestingly, the Arab's of antiquity actually  referred to Virgo's infant as Coma, which of course gives us the word comet today.  Coma literally means "hair", said to symbolize the comet's tail.  However, in symbol tongues hair represents the strength or potency of higher spiritual forces.  We can see this in the story of Samson.  We can see it in the concept of comets helping to seed life on Earth.

Later this month the Comet Holmes will begin to transit what may very well be the most dreaded Star in the sky, Algol.  The Arabs name for Algol gives us the modern word "Ghoul" and to the Hebrew Tradition, the star is "The Adversary's Head".  In the mythology of Perseus Algol symbolizes Medusa's head, or more specifically, her evil eye.  Some have even suggested that it is a comet's transit of Algol that gives it a reputation as a malefactor in the first place...

However for that to be the case we'd have to perceive Algol in the negative.  And as we see from the Perseus drama, the head is exactly what's needed to overcome stagnation and free the bonds of primitive patterns which enslave us to the chaos of unconscious activity... even if it takes the fulfillment of a Hero's Quest.

In several Western Mystery Traditions, Algol is simply synonymous with a decapitated head - only occasionally specified as the head of the Apostle Paul, John the Baptist, or even Jesus and the Rex Deus/Holy Family secret.  The decapitated head is always synonymous with Knowledge.  Which brings us back to Medusa.  That she has living serpents (i.e. energy) for hair is a clear indicator that she represents a high spiritual force, indeed.  And, in fact, a bit of research reveals that the head of Medusa is powerfully connected to themes of the Serpent Force of Wisdom and Strength, the Magick of sexuality, and regenerative potential of both.  These things all remind of Gnosis, or the living experience of Knowledge itself...

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There's all manner of theories circulating the web as to what Comet Holmes might be.  While it is certainly not uncommon for people to become fascinated - if not altogether enthralled - with mysterious cosmic events (especially comets!), I also must concede that Holmes is indisputably unique.  Pair it with the other unique events playing out across the celestial sphere of late and I have to believe we are bearing witness to a Key moment in time...

Whether it's as some proponents of Earth Changes feel, that Holmes is the Blue Star Kachina coming in herald of the 5^th world, or as Bible Code researchers suggest that this is the "bitter star" associated to 2007, I believe what Boatinni heralds and Tuttle helps to punctuate is indeed likened to Wormwood...  Holmes is the Grand Opening to a rebirth of the sacred fires of sexual passion, a new understanding of our descent into matter (and thus our potential for ascent beyond matter), and a renewed ability to unify with the Magick and Beauty of our own Divine Essence.  That some will find this new upsurge of the waters of life distasteful if not altogether poisonous is no far stretch.  Such has always been the reaction to the rising of the Serpent Force...