Homers Odyssey Through the Zodiac

Jonathan Pearl
May 30, 2006
Tell me, muse, was the poet of the greatest homecoming tale ever told inspired by
the skies?
First the essentials: after a ten-year siege of Troy, all the Greek warriors still alive
had returned home except one Odysseus. Goddess Athena reminds Zeus that
Odysseus is miserably trapped on Calypsos isle, stalled on his journey due to the
anger of Poseidon. Zeus agrees its time for Odysseus to see his wife and the land
he loves. Hermes dashes off with the plans, and Athena in disguise visits not the
great warrior but his young son Telemachus at home in Ithaca.
Prince Telemachus is the first to see the stranger and invites him in. They chat
unhappy Telemachus grumbles about the many suitors who are pursuing his mother
Penelope and eating up his estate in the process. He longs for his father whom he
has never seen. Athena in disguise says shes a close friend of Odysseus and came
to Ithaca after hearing the warrior was finally back home. If not yet, Athena
prophecies, then soon it will come to pass.
In the meantime, Athena urges Telemachus to drive the insolent suitors away. She
inspires him with a plan: order the suitors out and call an assembly of the nobles of
the island. Then seek news of Odysseus on Pylos, a nearby island. If he hears that
Odysseus is alive, then hold out one more year; if he hears news of his father death,
hold a funeral and give Penelope to another husband.
As the stranger suddenly disappears Telemachus is filled with nerve and courage. 1
A bard sings a song of Odysseus and sets his mother to crying, but Telemachus tells
her to hush. Then he stands up to all the suitors: You must leave my palace!
They all bit their lips, amazed he could speak with so much daring.
Chapter 2 begins at the assembly. Telemachus, looking more splendid that ever
thanks to Athenas shine, proclaims to all the nobles: All these suitors infest our
palace day and night and squander all our livestock! Hold on, one replies. Its not
our fault, but your scheming mother! We all want her, and she promised to marry
one of us after completing a shroud for her father-in-law Laertes. For three years
she wove by day and untied by night. If your mother would marry, the rest of the
suitors would disperse. Telemachus keeps his cool and says he cannot force his
mother to marry against her will, then tells the assembly of his plan to seek news on
a nearby island. Afterwards Telemachus gathers supplies for his trip as Athena
arranges for a ship and crew. In this chapter Telemachus is warmer towards his
mother he instructs the maids not to tell Penelope of his plans so she wont stain
her lovely face with tears.
Telemachus and Athena pull up to Pylos at the beginning of Chapter 3. Athena urges
Telemachus to speak up to Nestor, lord of the land. We sailed the seas for this, for
news of your father press him yourself to tell the whole truth. Nestor asks the
guests who they are and Telemachus replies with his story. I am on the trail of my

fathers widespread fame, you see, searching the earth to catch some news.
Nestor tells a roundabout story of the Trojan War and how he made off without
knowing what happened to the others. But wealthy Menelaus, his comrade-in-arms
at Troy and neighbor across the island, might know more. After spending the night,
Telemachus sets off with Nestors son to visit Menelaus.
A young man inspired to brave action in chapter 1; protection of wealth, suitors
longing for a beauty, a woman loyal to her husband all in chapter 2; a journey in
search of news and friends made in chapter 3 perhaps a familiar pattern? I think
the zodiac speaks in this tale. If you arent yet convinced, thats all right; the best is
coming up.
At the beginning of chapter 4, Telemachus and his companion find king Menelaus
celebrating a double wedding feast for his son and daughter. When asked by an aide
what to do with the guests, Menelaus is irked by the question. Just think of all the
hospitality we enjoyed Quick, unhitch their team, bring them in. Menelaus gives
Telemachus a choice portion of meat which the king himself was about to eat.
Telemachus is dazzled by the magnificent palace. Menelaus admits he is wealthy,
but also sad he longs for his dead brother, for his companions who died at Troy,
and for his friend Odysseus most of all. At this the king starts crying, and
Telemachus (before revealing who he is) cries too. Menelaus wife Helen notices the
resemblance between the young prince and Odysseus, then Telemachus traveling
companion speaks up: Right you are here is the son of the great hero. But the
man is modest, he would be ashamed to make a show of himself. Finding out that
the son of Odysseus is now his guest, Menelaus cries again, and Helen, and
Telemachus. After getting it all out, the Cancer king declares: Well so much for the
tears that caught us just now; lets think again of supper. The next day Menelaus
tells Telemachus what he knows of Odysseus in his own tale of his return from Troy,
and Telemachus tells the king the situation on the island. Meanwhile the suitors
were plotting to kill Telemachus on the seas as he returns. His mother Penelope
catches news of this and is so sick with worry she can barely speak. Oh herald, why
has my child gone and left me? Athena comes to her aid and says not to worry.
In chapter 5, we at last meet the hero Odysseus. But not quite yet first Hermes
delivers the message to Calypso that Odysseus has to go. Hermes is amazed by the
luxurious woods, birds, grapes, flowers and herbs of Calypsos domain. Why even a
deathless god who came upon that place would gaze in wonder, heart entranced
with pleasure. Not so for Odysseus though he spends the nights with the goddess
Calypso, during the days he cries on the beach, wrenching his heart with sobs and
groans and anguish, longing for the home and wife he loves. When Calypso says
that he could try the journey in a raft, Odysseus suspects a plot. The oceans
dangerous enough for deep-sea ships, how am I to cross in a raft? She assures him
of her compassionate heart. Though Calypso knows it is Zeus command that
Odysseus return home, she still inquires of Penelope: Does she rival me in build, in
beauty? Perhaps Calypsos goddess pride was wounded after all the years of
Odysseus pining for his mortal wife. Odysseus spends the next 4 days building a
raft. Calypso provides supplies, then he sets off on his great journey home. After 17
days at sea, Poseidon still angry because Odysseus had blinded his son wrecks
the raft in a storm. Odysseus drifts at sea for 2 days and 2 nights, again and again
facing death, yet on the morning of the 3 rd day he sees land. Thanks to the aid of an

ocean goddess and her gift of a protective scarf, he makes it past the breakers and
rocks to shore. Odysseus covers himself in leaves and goes to sleep.
While Odysseus rests, chapter 6 begins with Athena appearing in disguise in a
dream to the daughter of the king of the land. She inspires her not to sound the
alarm, not to go looking for a handsome old warrior but to do the laundry.
Nausicaa, look at your fine clothes, lying here neglected with your marriage not
far off, the day you should be decked in all your glory lets go wash these clothes
at the break of day. Ill help you you wont stay unwed long! When she awakes
she talks to her father about going to wash the clothes, but is too shy to touch on
her hopes for marriage, young warm hopes. If Nausicaa isnt married, as Homer
makes abundantly clear (5 times in 5 pages), she is probably a virgin. Just a hunch.
After washing all the clothes, Nausicaa and her maids play and sing. The noise
wakes Odysseus, who after 20 days at sea and a night covered in leaves, was a
terrible sight. He pleads for help. Nausicaa holds steady and hears him out, and
thanks to his wits and smooth delivery she gives him clothing and food after he
cleans up. She then directs him to the palace of her king father and queen mother,
but asks him to wait a while before following behind, concerned about maintaining
her pure reputation.
Perhaps the first three chapters seemed like mere coincidence, but lets review
whats happened in chapters 4, 5 and 6. In the 4 th chapter where we are starting to
expect Cancer themes, we meet a wealthy and hospitable king whose sentiment
gets everyone crying, then they find relief in supper and sleep. In the 5 th Leo
chapter we first get a description of divine luxury yet also of Odysseus misery, then
hear of his courageous crossing of the ocean in a raft; he nearly dies, but thanks to
divine aid makes it to shore. In the 6th Virgo chapter, a fine young virgin who is
yearning for marriage and has a thing for washing clothes rescues Odysseus. So far
the story twists and turns, yet the zodiac is right on course.
After allowing time for Nausicaa to get home, Odysseus sets off to the palace of the
Phaeacians at the beginning of chapter 7. Athena appears as a young girl to guide
the way and conceals him in mist. She tells him the queen of the land is worshipped
by all for her honor and judgment, and is renowned for settling disputes. She can
dissolve quarrels, even among men, whoever wins her sympathies. Odysseus begs
for mercy at the feet of the queen. The king is the one to respond and promises safe
passage home. The queen, however, spots clothes that she herself made and so
investigates Odysseus. He tells his story: he wound up on Calypsos isle after all his
other shipmates perished, languished there 7 long years, then in the 8 th he sailed
the ocean on a raft, washed up on the shores of this land and was discovered by
Nausicaa who provided the clothes. The king inquires: My daughter did not bring
you straight here? Odysseus tactfully replies: It was my idea to follow behind, since
people are prone to talk about a young girl walking with a strange man. Odysseus is
actually bending the truth to protect Nausicaa it was her plan for him to lag
behind. In this chapter we read of Odysseus pleading at the feet of the peacemaker
queen and the skillful bending of truth so no one gets hurt all Libra.
After a night of sleep, chapter 8 describes a day of songs and contests. Athena
mingles among the people and rouses their curiosity. Come see the old warrior! At

the meeting grounds there is a fair bards sing, young men sport and all dance and
feast. The blind herald sings a song of Troy, and the warrior who had not yet
revealed himself lifts his cape to hide his tears. Only the king notices as the games
begin racing, wrestling, jumping and discus. A young man taunts Odysseus to join
in the contests. No, he replies, Im just thinking of home. The man mocks him, and
at that Odysseus trades insult for insult, then grabs the largest discus and throws it
further than everyone else. Next a dance, and in the dance a song, and in the song
a tale of Ares and Aphrodite - famous lovers, caught in their adulterous act by
crippled Hephaestus. The king asks the nobles of the land to give gifts to Odysseus
as he sets off for home. Before the journey Odysseus relishes a hot bath: What a
welcome sight to Odysseus eyes! The bard signs again, and Odysseus again
weeps. This prompts the king to ask Odysseus of his story, to share his secrets. No
less dear than a brother, the brother-in-arms who shares our inmost thoughts. In
the Scorpio chapter we read of curiosity, emotion, contests, sexual intrigue, sharing
secrets, even a hot bath.
The second sentence of chapter 9 sums up Sagittarius: Theres nothing better than
when deep joy holds sway throughout the realm and banqueters up and down the
palace sit in ranks, enthralled to hear the bard, and before them all, the tables
heaped with bread and meats, and drawing wine from a mixing-bowl the steward
makes his rounds and keeps the wine-cups flowing. This, to my mind, is the best life
can offer. Odysseus tells his tale to the Phaeacians. After getting out of Troy with
his shipmates, Odysseus describes the lotus-eaters with their addictive food, then
encountering the Cyclops. Harboring their ships, they explore the island and make
their way to a cave. A giant returns, they ask for help, he chomps down two of his
men for dinner in return. Trapped in the cave, Odysseus gets the giant drunk and
then they put out his eye with a sharpened olive trunk (this was why Poseidon was
so angry at Odysseus). Making their escape hidden under sheep and then sailing
away, Odysseus taunts the monster giant. The shipmates plead please shut up,
we almost died! The Cyclops heaves a rock, just missing the boat. Odysseus still
cannot keep his mouth shut. Seems like a modern day stereotype of Sagittarius.
Apparently Homer thought highly of Virgo, where a beautiful goddess rescues
Odysseus; and rather less of Sagittarius, where a monster chomps down men for
breakfast and dinner, and though Odysseus saves the day with his wits he still risks
everyones life with his prattle.
In complex chapter 10 Odysseus continues his story. They come to the Aeolian
island, protected by ramparts of bronze and sheer rock cliffs. The king there gives
Odysseus a gift of the winds so they sail off and make good progress for 9 days and
nights. The grumbling men wonder what is in the sack and open it as the captain
slept. The winds escape and they are blown all the way back to where they started.
No help this time, says the king, you are cursed! And so the men row, backbreaking
work. They stop at the land of the giants, men are eaten, they promptly sail away.
The next island is the home of Circe who turns most of the men into pigs a
comment on Capricorn? Odysseus gets a special medicine from Hermes, confronts
Circe, she drugs him as she did the men but thanks to the herb her charms have no
effect. She then relents, they get on and she returns the men to human form. Circe
then assigns Odysseus his great task: he must journey to the realm of the dead to
visit the blind prophet Tiresias who will tell Odysseus the way to peace. One last
thing a man who had drunk too much falls off a roof and dies. In the Capricorn

chapter we learn that greed creates more work, sometimes men can seem like pigs,
Odysseus must make an unheard of journey to find his way home, and oh yes, dont
drink so much on New Years that you fall off a roof and die.
Odysseus rather quickly gets to the realm of the dead in Aquarius chapter 11. After
meeting with the prophet and getting information on how to get home and have
peace at last, the rest of the chapter isnt about Odysseus at all. Instead we hear of
various women - first his mother, then others: Tyro who fell in love with the river
god, Antiope who spent a night with Zeus, Alcmena who was the mother of
Heracles, Epicaste the mother of Oedipus, Chloris wife of Neleus, Leda mother of
Caster and Polydeuces, Iphimedeia wife of Aloeus, and more. They break, then the
next day we hear tales of men: Agamemnon, Achilles, Patroclus and more trade
stories. We meet the ghosts of Minos and Orion, then Tityus, Tantalus, Sisyphus,
these last three famous images of punishment. Vultures eat the liver of Tityus;
Tantalus who is parched by thirst stands in a pool that evaporates when he tries to
drink, and is tempted by fruits that blow away when he tries to eat; and Sisyphus
pushes a boulder uphill all the way. Seems like Aquarius involves some effort to say
the least, and likely suffering as well, yet it is this chapter in which Odysseus gains
wisdom. We notice history, tales of others, and if we are paying attention we see
women are separate from men. Odysseus makes his way back to the ship and they
row off.
In chapter 12, still telling his story to the Phaeacians, Odysseus goes back to Circes
island to provide a burial for the poor drunk who fell off the roof. Circe again gives
him guidance of what lies ahead: first he will come to the bewitching Sirens, then he
must pass through the twin sea monsters of Sylla and Charbydis, then they will
arrive at the island of the Sun god where you and your men are not to eat the
cattle! The Sirens are the second addictive experience Odysseus comes across (the
first is the lotus eaters in the Sagittarius chapter). While the ears of the crew are
sealed with beeswax, Odysseus listens to their sweet sound. This is not because
hes so great that he withstand the temptation, but because his friends tie him up
and promise to bind him more tightly the more he cries to be let go. Can we see a
model for Alcoholics Anonymous in this Pisces chapter of the Odyssey? After the
Sirens, the next challenge is the twin sea monsters. Some men die, but Odysseus,
his ships and most of the men make it through. The last temptation of not eating
the cattle proves the hardest. Though Odysseus wants to bypass the island entirely,
his men are tired and demand a rest. He relents but makes the men promise not to
touch the cows. They swear an oath, but after a month of no wind, dwindling
supplies, and hungry bellies, they slaughter some for a feast. They dont know they
have just doomed themselves to death. They sail on but Zeus complies with Helios
request to take revenge and sends a lightening bolt to destroy all the ships.
Odysseus washes up on Calypsos island but the rest of the men die, and from there
we know the story. So in this Pisces chapter Odysseus has faced an addictive
temptation, journeyed through the midst of two sea monsters, and experiences ruin
because his crew desecrated the sacred.
We have traveled round the zodiac, but there are 12 chapters to go. What happens
next? If we are at Aries again, will Odysseus come out braver than ever, the
mightiest warrior of them all? Not quite. He sleeps on the way home and lets the
Phaeacians do all the work as they see him home to Ithaca. What is going on? What

has befuddled our zodiac tale? Homer gives us a clue at the beginning of the
chapter: time and again Odysseus turned towards the radiant sun, anxious for it to
set, yearning now to be gone and home once more As a man aches for his
evening meal when all day long his brace of wine-dark oxen have dragged the
bolted plowshare down a fallow field how welcome the setting sun to him. It isnt
too much a stretch to think that perhaps Homer is telling us to imagine the Sun
setting in signs. Instead of a young man striking out for battle, Odysseus sleeps his
way home. Then Athena disguises him as an old man, the very opposite of the
themes of the first chapter.
This structure continues for the rest of the book. In chapter 14 (Taurus setting
following this logic), Odysseus visits the loyal swineherd and hears that his estate
has been ruined by the suitors. In chapter 15 (Gemini setting), Athena calls
Telemachus home from his journey; instead of news, they seek wisdom from omens.
In Cancer chapter 16, instead of weeping over a lost father, Odysseus and
Telemachus are re-united. In Leo chapter 17, Odysseus disguises himself as a
beggar. In Virgo chapter 18, mature Penelope inflames the desires of all the suitors;
we also find out the maids of the house are spending nights with the suitors too.
Instead of peace in Libra chapter 19, Odysseus and Telemachus prepare for battle.
In Scorpio chapter 20, again we have sexual intrigue but more importantly
Odysseus is repeatedly attacked instead of protected as he was earlier. In the
revealing Sagittarius chapter 21 we read of the great contest of the old bow Sagittarius setting! In the first Capricorn chapter Odysseus saves his men from
being pigs; in this one he slaughters all the suitors. In the first Aquarius chapter we
hear of the tales of others; in the second Odysseus and Penelope share secrets. And
instead of losing everything as he did in chapter 12, in the second Pisces chapter
Odysseus gains all peace at last.
Balance is best in all things, Homer reminds us throughout the book. The
interesting twist in chapters 13-24 has meaning. From the beginning of chapter 13
Homer describes Odysseus differently. Though he has been great in the previous
chapters, he also has been suffering quite a bit. Starting with chapter 13, Odysseus
is on home turf and a cool tactician, the royal son of Laertes, and old
campaigner, shrewd a man of intrigue, and most importantly, King. Perhaps
Homer is reminding us that if we are suffering in Aries because we are talking and
acting too much, then it is time to rest. If we are suffering in Taurus due to material
pursuits, then maybe let them go. If the search for facts is coming up fruitless, turn
to omens. And so on.
We now have a valid question: was Homer writing about the signs? Probably not
he is writing about the sky. We can now understand the Odyssey of a poetic tale of a
sign rising in chapters 1 12, and a focus on that same sign setting in chapters 1324. As profound as this is, there is much, much more. I have presented just the bare
bones of the story read with the zodiac in mind, line after line will jump out. The
structure gets even more sophisticated if Aries is rising then Libra is setting,
Capricorn culminating and Cancer underneath. A keen eye will spot motifs that
repeat as the signs rise, set, culminate and are not seen.
Im also convinced Homer weaves nakshatras into the story. One telling example is
in chapter 12 where we read of the island where the crew is given the command not

to eat the cattle. Since this is the end of the Pisces chapter, if Homer were telling us
about nakshatras this is where wed expect to find the last one, called Revati in
Indian astrology. According to Indian tradition the deity of this nakshatra is Pushan,
the lord of the fields and herds, keeper of sacred cows of the gods. 2 While not all
line up this precisely, there are many such similarities.
Homer even weaves in many other astronomical events. Mercury and his
retrogrades are described throughout, particularly when Odysseus tells a tale. His
duel with Cyclops (in the first Sagittarius chapter, so Gemini is setting) can be
understood as the fall of Orion, the constellation that once marked the spring
equinox. The story of this constellation is told in many other myths. And all the
numbers have meaning one example is the duration of homecoming itself. People
generally say Odysseus takes 20 years to get home, but this isnt quite right its
19 years and several months, the declination cycle of the Moon. Speaking of which
could Athena, who appears in various guises throughout, shrouds people in mist and
gives special help in the last 12 Sun-setting chapters, be the Moon?
There is more work to do, but this much we now know: Homer was not only one of
the worlds finest poets, but also one of the greatest astrologers. Only practitioners
of the craft read authors like Ptolemy, Bonatti and Lilly yet among those educated in
the West who has not read Homer? Perhaps the greatest Trojan Horse (described in
the earlier Iliad) is this: Homer has taught everyone about astrology and they didnt
even know it. And this in a story 2700 years old! He had a keen sense of the signs
many of the themes and details still come alive today. The Odyssey is not just a
story of the sky or gods, but the lived experience of the zodiac as we go from
suffering to peace.

All Odyssey quotes from The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Robert Fagles, Penguin Books,
1996.
2
The Nakshatras by Dennis Harness, Lotus Press, 1999.