It has always struck me that the armed forces were ruled by the sign of Virgo. One associates this mutable-earth sign with the molding of clay and thus the potter god Hephaestus (Roman: Vulcan) and indeed the sign begins on August 23 which is the Festival of Vulcanalia, sacred to that diabled tinker god. In mythology, Hephaestus did indeed create all the god’s special tools and magical weaponry. And so we see the sign of Virgo’s motto’s I work and I serve as relating to putting ones skills and talents to work in service of a greater cause or devotion, despite any disability we might have suffered—Hephaestus was lame—or indeed fueled by it. Well we do refer to being in the armed forces as being in the service, do we not? And so we can see the connection, in a twelve-fold sequence of the sign of Virgo to today’s fairly gruesome image at Taurus 24°: An Indian Warrior Riding Fiercely, Human Scalps Hanging From His Belt.

Now, if yesterday was ruled by Leo, the natural monarch of the zodiac which sets up its station and declares their divine right and rulership, adorning their crowns with natural gems to symoblize their superiority, then today is about defending that natural estate. The so-called Indian is a so-called savage, that is to say man in a more natural state, no match for the tide of so-called civilized men from whom the warrior has managed to swipe of few scalps. We know how this story ends. And yet the warrior rides forth. He is a brave.

I know I’m a narcissist, but I hope I’m a benign one. Still I must bring this back to me (and you should do the same) in thinking where am I the warrior bent on protecting the natural state of things from the destructive tide of civilization. Maybe you’re an environmentalist. Perhaps you are seeking to preserve native cultures.We do not have to reach back to find examples of actual genocide happening in the world. And metaphorically, there are those of us who fight to save forgotten, institutionalized children, or fight for civil rights, or senior citizens or for the disabled or for LGBTQ causes or for women’s rights or maybe for education or against disease or any form of discrimination. I am humbled by those who do. Yet my cause is native in effect. As a warrior brave from the Provincetown tribe of thespians I’m trying to save my village from pillage of a different sort: the destruction of its historical theatrical heritage. And so the concept of what is native is that which is germane to my own being, culture and history.

Dane Rudhyar takes this symbol too litereally I feel. He would benefit from my notion of a twelve-fold sequence and the gentle-giant energy that the sign of Virgo might convey. In the Hindu pantheon, Hephaestus’ equivalent would be Ganesh whose own festival is celebrated at the start of Virgo. Ganesh is the remover of obstacles. And that is exactly what the Indian brave is doing. He didn’t start this fight. He is trying to remove the obstacles, the human ones, to his own divine right to freedom, happiness and way of life. We know he is fighting a losing battle but that is neither here nor there. He must fight. This is a spiritual war, a holy war. This day reminds us that we are always engaged in spiritual warfare, seeking to remove the obstacles, those people and situations, that seem so bent on our spiritual death. If Provincetown loses its theatrical heritage to greed and gentrification, that is a spiritual death. It might not be one you will mourn, but I would. Modern American theater was born in Provincetown, just as America was (those crazy pilgrims landed their first not at Plymouth). Weird that the seeds of the Indian’s destruction can be linked so readily to my own cause of Provincetown’s theatrical birthright and legacy but there you have it. Oh right, I was talking about Dane Rudhyar, who labels the theme of today as Violence for Survival. I don’t quite subscribe to that. I don’t think our defenses need be violent, just as our attitude needn’t be victimization.

I think the scalping is metaphoric. That we are trying to remove the mindset of people who oppose us. This is the true obstacle: Ideology. Of course I know scalping was real, but did you know the European cultures did it too? As late as the 17th century the British would scalp the Irish in their violent land grab as trophies to their subjugation of those, my people. Anyway, back to fundraising for the Afterglow Festival in Provincetown.

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