The Story of Juno
In Roman mythology, Juno was the wife of Jupiter. To the Greeks, Juno was
Hera and Jupiter was Zeus. In both mythologies, this goddess was the legal
wife of a philandering husband.
It is believed that Hera's cult is far older than that of Zeus and the other gods and goddesses. Her
stories have been traced to Mycenaean temples built in her honor as far back as 800 BC,
where she was honored and revered in all rites of marrage and childbirth.
There is more than one story relating to how she came to marriy Zeus.
One story has it that when invaders from the north descended upon the Greek
island of Samos, they had to find a way to deal with the beliefs surrounding
Hera. Their answer was to force Hera to marry their own partiarchal god,
Zeus.
Another version has it that Hera was the sister of Zeus and that one day, as
Hera was wandering alone on Mount Thronax, Zeus took a romantic interest in her.
First, he disguised himself as a cuckoo bird, which was thought to announce the
rains that brought fertility to the land. Then he conjured up a fierce
rainstorm and landed wet and forelorn on her lap. As soon as she took pity
and reached to comfort him he turned back into his normal shape and had his way
with her. Ashamed and devestated, she was forced to marry him to restore
her honor.
Either way, the events leading up to the marriage were not happy ones. In
spite of that, Hera believed in being faithful to her husband and there
was peace in the marriage for a while. But eventually, Hera became
extremely jealous over Zeus' wandering eye and she came to be known for
humiliating Zeus however she could. Usually, this took the form of killing
his paramours and their offspring.
There would be periods when Hera wasn't in a jealous rage. She would
sometimes leave Mt Olympus for long periods to be alone and restore herself,
returning to Zeus when she felt renewed.
In may ways, these stories tell us of the conditions that women typcally found
themselves in, not only in days gone by, but still today. The difficulty
of merging your identity with that of another remains one of the major
challenges we face as humans.
Juno in Astrology
For most of us, the relationship with our significant other takes up a major portion of our life.
As the goddess of married women, Juno defines every aspect of the life of a married woman, both negative and positive.
It's position in the horoscope and the aspects to it describe how well the individual functions as a marriage partner.
Astrologically, Juno describes the need to merge, both physically and spiritually, with a partner
AND that the partner of the marriage bed be acknowledged as legitimate by society.
I am quite sure that the single most important accomplishment
anyone can hope to achieve is to thoroughly love your spouse and to know
that your spouse truly loves you in return. That, however, is no easy feat,
as demonstrated so amply by the many stories of Hera and Zeus, the Greek equivalents of
Juno and Jupiter.
First of all, she was taken, against her will, into the arms of Zeus.
Throughout history, women have been treated as possessions and subjected to the will of more powerful men.
One facet of Juno represents the shame and resentment that many women still feel about being placed in a subservient role. It
also represents the sense of possession the we come to feel toward our partner.
Second, after marrying Zeus, her far more ancient
cult was taken over and absorbed by Zeus, thereby greatly reducing her power and effectiveness.
Many women have issues about giving up their desire for authority and independence.
Some become submissive and manipulative, while others remain defiant.
And third, Juno had to put up with a husband who was prone to pouncing
on whatever beautiful woman happened to catch his eye while she remained faithful.
Certainly, many women suffer the jealousy, anger, humiliation, and
sense of betrayal resulting from infidelity. And many stay in unhealthy
relationships because of a deep-seated fear of abandonment. It isn't any wonder that Juno turned into a possessive,
jealous, resentful bitch hell-bent on revenge.
But yet, there is another side to all this. Juno is about transcending
humiliation, rising above resentment, and asserting your own power.
Its function is to build the inner strength needed to stand against inequality and injustice
so that you are able to experience the beauty, harmony, and pleasure of completeness
that can come from becoming one with your mate.
How to Get There?
While Juno primarliy addresses these feelings from the standpoint of a woman, her function in a man's chart
may be even more complex.
There are many men who experience these exact same feelings themselves
and many others who are on the receiving end of these intense emotions.
And there are still others
whose attitude toward women inflame these negative reactions.
A fulfilling relationship involves a sense of commitment and devotion to each other. There is mutual respect and a
desire to protect and take care of one another. There is no need for involvement with others for friendship or lovemaking.
There is only a sense of belonging to each other. The union itself rises to the level of spiritual bliss. These are things that
grow and intensify over the years.
But finding wedded bliss begins with being happy and confident in yourself. But even in the best relationships,
there are times when you need to be alone to revitalize yourself so as not to lose track of who you are. Take a hot bath,
read a book, go camping...whatever. Just get away for a little while. You'll be come back refreshed and amazed!
Understanding the placement of Juno in your chart can open up a whole new world of seeing who you are. The sign it is in
describes your basic style of handling your most important relationship. The house it occupies points to the most essential need
you are searching to fulfill through relationship. And the aspects to it describe your capacity to give of yourself and to share in
receiving your partner into your life.
The Squares to other planets and asteroids show the areas of great difficulty for you in relationships.
Conjunctions intensify the effects of the two bodies involved. Whether the effect is harmonious or
discordant depends on the other planet/asteroid involved. For example, conjunctions with combative Mars or Pallas Athene
would indicate significant unresolved anger issues revolving around relationships.
Oppositions show areas that represent a dilema for you, wanting the best of
both worlds, unwilling to let one go but not being able to do both.
The Trines and Sextiles show areas that flow freely and easily for you. A trine to Venus
or the Moon, for example, would show confidence and comfort with the feminine role in relationships.
Juno in the Sky
Image Courtesy of NASA
Juno spends between
1.3 and 3.5 months in each sign
Juno, the third asteroid to be discovered, was first seen
on September 1, 1804, by German astronomer Karl L. Harding.
Harding had been educated in theology, but became interested in astronomy when he was hired
as a tutor for the son of Johann Schroter, governor of the city of Lilienthal.
Schroter had been inspired to pursue astronomy by the discovery of Uranus in 1781
and had purchased several large telescopes with which to observe the night sky.
Harding became equally fascinated and was soon involved in the nightly observations. It was there
that he made his discovery of Juno.
Juno is one of the larger main-belt asteroids, approximately tenth in size.
It takes 4.36 years to complete a journey around the Sun in an elliptical orbit,
spending a little over one month in Aquarius and over three months in Sagittarius.
Juno turns retrograde at 14-17 month intervals, for a period lasting 2.5 to 4 months.