The Astrology of Arthur Part 3

Arthur’s Round Table

’The Round Table was constructed, not without great significance, upon the advice of Merlin. By its name the Round Table is meant to signify the round world and the round canopy of the planets and the elements in the firmament, where are to be seen the stars and many other things.’ –La Quest del Saint Graal

 

 

King Arthur’s Round Table, created by Merlin was a gift from Uther Pendragon, Arthur’s father to Guenevere’s father King Leodegrance. He in turn gave it as a wedding present to Arthur. As an example of how astrology has been integrated into the Arthurian mythology, there is a legend, which suggests the Round Table was designed as a circle of the zodiac with twelve of his knights, a representative of one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. This becomes tricky because there are so many variations and names of the Round Table fellowship. One of the names associated with the Zodiac is Caer Sidhe. Since Sidhe refers to the Faerie realm, this adds another dimension to the stories, and we could look at the faerie women of the Arthurian stories as members of a Round Table, which operates on another plane.

The circle of the Zodiac is reflected on the land in several areas in Britain. The most famous is the Glastonbury Zodiac, described by Katherine Maltwood in 1935. She called this the Temple of the Stars. Laid out on the landscape which surrounds Glastonbury are the figures of the zodiac, which she traces to Sumerian colonists. Reflected upon the land in this way, the cosmos gives great legitimacy to twelve landed families who might claim to be at the root of history and mythological origins of Britain.   She makes a thorough correspondence between the zodiacal signs and characters in the Arthurian legends, which vary, for the most part from my connections. The Round Table symbolizes the equality of each of Arthur’s knights, just as the Zodiac contains twelve archetypes of equal power, although not of equal size in the sky. Arthur is the still center, the pole star around which Caer Sidhe—The Zodiac rotates.

Gawain, Arthur’s nephew is the first to be knighted for the Round Table, and so might stand in for Aries, the first sign of the Zodiac. When the sun is rising, Gawain gains in power. After the Sun reaches its height at noon, Gawain’s strength diminishes. This would suggest his role as a solar hero. The Sun is in exaltation in this sign which Mars rules.  He is famous for his impatience and temper as well as his courage and loyalty.  He is most fully described in his bargain with ‘the Green Knight,’ a retelling of the ancient battle between the dark and light of the year.

King Pellinore’s illegitimate son, Tor is my choice for the second seat at the table. Tor (Taurus) has been raised by his step-father Aries, who is a cowherd. He was raised in a family of earthy peasants who lived with cows, very Taurean, yet, perhaps with the help of Venus, the ruler of Taurus, he immediately feels at home in Arthur’s court. Despite his noble blood, he is an illustration of the equality of the Round Table.

Gemini is the constellation of twins, and Balin and Balan, seem like good candidates for this position. They are the tragic brothers destined to kill each other in error. Balin takes a sword from a damsel and becomes known as The Knight with Two Swords. He is warned that if he keeps both swords, he will kill the man he loves most in the world and bring about his own destruction. Ignoring this prophecy, he battles his brother who is in disguise and both die. The polarity of Gemini seems fatal in their case.

The Lady of the Lake must be honored, perhaps in the position of Cancer, as her role is as Lunar force is as important at the Solar power of Arthur. She and the other Faerie women are a parallel to the Knights of the Round Table. The Moon rules Cancer, a watery cardinal sign. Like the Moon, the Lady appears and disappears, but is central to the story of Arthur. She gives Arthur his magical sword, Excalibur and the scabbard, which prevents fatal injury. When Arthur is mortally wounded she and other magical women take him to the Island of Avalon, memorialized in the sky as Caer Arianrhod. She rules an alternative kingdom with its own strategies and priorities a watery reflection of Camelot.

Leo seems most likely to belong to Lancelot du Lac. Leo is fiery and fixed, ruled by the Sun and connected to the heart, to courage, and to love affairs, all very synonymous with this very important character in the later tales of Arthur. His courage and faithful heart seem to be the embodiment of Leo. Like Leo, Lancelot struggles with the transformation of ego into heart. His love of Guenevere, and his loyalty to Arthur create the theater for this process.

Shall we try Galahad as the embodiment of Virgo? Virgo is a mutable earth sign ruled by Mercury and known for the ability to discern and analyze to a point of perfection. Galahad is the pure and perfect knight who successfully obtains the Grail. He is the son of Lancelot and Elaine, conceived through the trickery of Elaine’s father the Fisher King. In his birth to the virgin Elaine, his purity and solitary wanderings, he personifies the Virgo archetype. Galahad (or in other stories, Percival) is given the seat at the Round Table called the ‘Siege Perilous,’ which has been awaiting his arrival as prophesied by Merlin.

The story of Sir Geraint and Enid is a tale of marriage reflective of Libra, the sign of partnership. The scales represents the equality necessary for a successful partnershiop . Geraint misunderstands his wife and believes her love has moved away from him. He takes her on a long journey in silent rage and battles innumerable enemies. Finally after many tests of his valor and her fidelity and love, he drops his fury and understands her faithfulness as an expression of her character, not his physical superiority.   She meanwhile has found her own strength and voice through this ordeal.

Scorpio belongs to Mordred who brought death and destruction to the fellowship of the Round Table. A fixed water sign ruled by Mars, Scorpio has connection to death and sexuality, the underworld and transformation, and the necessity for truth to surface. Modred’s hatred for Arthur is not without reason. Because of a prophecy that a May baby will destroy him, the king orders all babies born that month to be put into an old ship which sinks. Only Mordred is rescued and returned to Arthur’s sister Morgause and her husband Lot. Mordered is a Scorpionic survivor of infanticide, a vengeful shadow of Arthur and a reminder of the Slaughter of the Innocents in the Christ story. He is both Arthur’s incestuous son and his nephew, an unavoidable nemesis.

Merlin takes his place in Sagittarius, for this is the sign of the priest and the shaman. Merlin, as Druid is the repository of ancient wisdom and knowledge. Like the centaur who represents the sign, Merlin is half and half, with a human mother and a spirit father. Sagittarius, a mutable fire sign ruled by Jupiter, is known to have heavenly knowledge for divination and healing powers.   Merlin is the prime mover behind much of the Arthurian action. He arranges Arthur’s conception, gives him over to his foster family, and his prophetic wisdom indicates his connection to the divine pattern behind the unfolding of the stories.

Capricorn is an earthy, cardinal, sign, ruled by Saturn. King Pellinore fits that description. He is most famous for his endless search for the Questing Beast, an earth dragon creature, but he is pivotal from the very first in Arthur’s rise to power. Hi role is Saturnic: first he breaks Arthur’s sword, drawn from the stone, and opposes his reign. But soon he comes to be a most faithful knight and supporter of the young king. Saturn, the rule of Capricorn is associated with ancestors. Pellinore has an important blood line, tracing his family to Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Jesus who brought the holy grail from the last supper to Britain. Dindraine, his daughter is the Grail maiden. His son Percival is the first to see the Grail, and Galahad, his grand nephew is finally successful as Grail Knight. He is the father of at least five of the Round Table knights.

Aquarius, also ruled by Saturn, is a fixed air sign with a very different expression of Saturn. This sign embodies new forms and expressions, like Perceval who is the first to set off on the grail quest. Raised by his mother without any contact with other men or weapons, his manhood and knighthood are very original as might be expected of the Aquarian knight. His father is usually said to be Pellinore, the very traditional version of Saturn, while Perceval is the unique and novel expression of new forms and societal impulses associated with Aquarius, the water bearer. Since the Water Bearer is often shown with a vessel for water, it seems only appropriate that he who is successful in the search for the Grail represents Aquarius.

 

Lord Pelles, the Fisher King resides in the Grail Castle in the role of Pisces. He has an incurable wound in his thigh, and his kingdom has become a wasteland because of this injury.   Percivale visits his castle, but does not ask the important question, which would free Pelles from his injury and would repair the land. Pelles is called the Fisher King because, despite his injury, he can fish, a fitting connection to the sign of Pisces. Pisces is the dissolution of all form, in preparation for the beginning of the new cycle in Aries. It is a watery and mutable sign ruled by Jupiter and with a connection to spirituality, to illusion and to permeability. He is a keeper of the Grail because he too is a relative of Joseph of Arimathea.   Despite his invalid status, he arranges for the birth of Galahad, by tricking Lancelot into the illusion that his daughter, Elaine is Guenevere. She conceives the child who will be the Grail Knight. The power of water and illusion are central to this story and to the sign of Pisces.

 

 

The stories of Arthur, of Guenevere and Lancelot and the knights and ladies of the Round Table exist on many levels of consciousness, and like the stars, they are there to be pondered. Their fascination is eternal. They come out of the land, but they belong to no one time or place or nation. Like the stars, who accompany us through the seasons, we must not lose sight of them or permit them to be forgotten, or buried by too much light, or we shall impoverish our children

Sarah Fuhro

Keeping our Ancient Wisdom Alive

The Wisdom Tradition evolved over the centuries to address our deepest human needs. Sarah Fuhro is a practitioner of its many forms; including Astrology, Tarot, Flower Essences and Druidry. In addition to personal consultations, Sarah teaches workshops and private classes, offering both clients and students knowledge powerfully rooted in the past, presented in the language of the present.  To learn more, please visit www.sarahfuhro.com.