Melusine #318 - Our Otherwordly Nature
The Discovery of Melusine
Melusine asteroid was discovered by Auguste Charlois, who also discovered Mary Magdalena #318, in Nice on the 15th September 1893. He was quite prolific discovering and naming some 99 asteroids after human women or priestess archetypes.
Melusine lies in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter and has an orbit of 5 years and rotation of 12.97 hours.
The Myth of Melusine
The myth of Melusine first appears in writing through Jean du Arras (1393) in France and later through Caudrett in France in the 15th Century. The myth may derive from older stories as the Gaulish root for ‘fair being’ refers to mermaids, water sprites and forest nymphs. France and Scotland share much in their ancient culture through culture and spirituality and have been natural allies through the centuries.
Melusine is the daughter of a Scottish King Elinas and a Fairy woman Pressine. Elinas recently lost his wife and falls in love with Pressine. Impressed by his devotion to his first wife Pressine agrees to the marriage on the condition he will not enter the bedroom chamber while she is giving birth.
Pressine gives birth to triplets Melusine, Melior and Palatine and Elinas in his joy forgets the oath and enters the chamber. Pressine is outraged and takes her daughters to Avalon , both her and Elinas seemingly heart broken. When the girls are older Pressine shares the story of what happened with them and Melusine in anger traps her Father for eternity in a mountain which breaks her Mother’s heart even further. The Mother curses Melusine to turn into a serpent every Saturday and she will only ever have a happy marriage if her husband agrees not to see her on a Saturday (Saturn day)
Melusine is bathing by a sacred spring when Raymondin a poor but noble man comes across her and falls in love with her beauty. She agrees to marry him on the understanding he cannot see her on a Saturday and he agrees to this.
However of course over time his curiosity is aroused, and a family member keeps poking him not to trust his wife, so he spies on her revealing her Serpentine nature. Despite the curse at this point they can still stay together, but he is not to tell anyone else. Unfortunately though Raymond does let it slip in the court that his wife is half serpent and Melusine turns into a dragon and flies away. It is said that she cries mournfully around wind swept chimneys at night at the loss of her husband and children.
Melusine lives on in the Starbucks's coffee logo and she is also said to have inspired the film The Little Mermaid still loved by people the world over.
Psychological complexes of Melusine
Being an Other-world child living in 3D reality
Anger towards the Father
Being cursed by the Mother, having a life long affliction through the mother’s anger
The creation of wealth and fertility for the people
Respect for the privacy of your partner
Having a deep and shameful secret to hide especially from a male partner or husband
Being beautiful but having a dark side you feel can’t be revealed for fear of rejection. During the weeks Melusine came to me an ‘incest’ issue came to light for a second time in my family. I realised although I had known about it for many months I had not spoken to anybody about it to anyone, and even though it was not mine to hold I felt shame about how messed up my family are. When I shared it with my male partner I felt an intense weirdness and fear that he was now going to reject me. This was not the case, but it felt to be a very powerful example of a secret that you don’t want to reveal to your loved ones for fear it may disgust them and they may push you away.
Self banishment
Extraordinary powers to re-create herself through the aeons – an archetype that never dies
You can check out where Melusine is at www.astro.com and add her number to the extended chart section.
References
Jeremy Jenkins, Curator Emerging Media, Contemporary British Collection https://blogs.bl.uk/european/2015/10/the-tale-of-m%C3%A9lusine.html
