©1998 by Diana K. Rosenberg

Editors' Note: In olden times, astrologers were the only astronomers. Lacking telescopes, they believed there were two types of stars--the "fixed" stars, which made up the constellations, and the "moving" stars (our planets) which traveled through the constellations in the belt around the earth known as the zodiac. Observing humanity, the astrologers came to associate certain personality traits and events with the Fixed Stars. Astrologer Diana K. Rosenberg, one of the foremost experts on Fixed Stars, shares an interesting tie between the flower remedies and one of the constellations.

Some time ago I was asked if I knew of any connection between fixed stars and the Bach Flower Remedies, and I had no answer. Now, however, I'm seeing one between the remedies and the stars in the constellation called Corona Borealis, which runs through most of the sign Scorpio. My clients with planets in Scorpio seem to bear out this observation.

The ancients liked to associate myths with the constellations, and the story of the Corona Borealis (star chart at left - click image to see entire area) has a distinct association with flowers. Theseus, a famous hero of ancient Athens, was said to have slain the Minotaur, a half-human, half-bull monster of Crete, with the aid of the Cretan princess Ariadne. Some versions say Theseus deserted Ariadne, and that the god Dionysus, seeing the devastated maiden, was entranced by her beauty and asked her to become his wife. Ariadne told him she was disillusioned with mortal men and wished to be left alone; he assured her he was a god, and when asked to prove it, he tossed his crown of gold into the sky. "There's is your wedding gift," he said, pulling it down and placing it on her head.

This circlet of stars, now called Corona Borealis, has many names in many nations, but to the Greeks it was Ariadne's Crown. According to Robert Graves (Greek Myths, Penguin Books, Middlesex, England, 1972), Ariadne was a Cretan Moon-goddess; her name may come from the Sumerian Ar-ri-an-de "High Fruitful Mother of Barley." In ancient Greece, a garland was specifically her attribute. Even in the earliest Greek records this circle of stars high above the Scales of Libra was a Wreath of Flowers. Most depictions of the constellations have it as a standard crown of gold set with precious gems, but even here, there is a connection with flowers, for in another version of the story Dionysus had Vulcan fashion the wedding crown for Ariadne out of gold and rubies from India arranged in the shape of roses.

Aware of this mythical connection between the Corona Borealis and flowers, I began, tentatively, to ask clients with placements in the span of that constellation (about 4-28 Scorpio) whether they liked gardening and flowers, and was astonished at their very enthusiastic responses, for I had not associated Scorpio with flowers. (I would have imagined the Venus-ruled signs Libra and Taurus.)

I was further astonished to find that those who used Bach Flower Remedies usually had chart placements aligned with Ariadne's Crown! (If you are a flower remedy practitioner and have Scorpio prominent in your chart, please e-mail me your birth information--date, time, place, and the source of that information.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Considered the leading authority on fixed stars, New York astrologer Diana K. Rosenberg has contributed a stellar set of learning tools about these ancient myths and their impact on personal and mundane charts. To read more about the fixed stars and find out about her correspondence course and other materials, visit Diana's web site. If you are curious about the fixed stars in your own birth chart, Diana is also available for private consultations at fixed.stars@verizon.net.

DESIGN CREDITS: The background for this article came from Deneika's Hot Spot.

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