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The Libra Myth
There are lots of myths and fairy tales about marriage and its problems, and all these have some bearing on Libra. But there is a Greek myth which can help us get some insight into what Libra's real life journey is about. The Greek myth of Tiresias, the blind prophet, also has some relation to Libra. It's a curious myth, and we'll deal here with only part of it, the part that really pertains to our curious subject.
Tiresias, because he has the favour of the goddess Hera, is given the chance to observe a miracle: two serpents coupling in the goddess' sacred grove. He asks the goddess which of them experiences the greater pleasure; and because she cannot answer, she grants him the boon of spending part of his life as a woman, so that he can experience both. At the end of this ritual of transsexual initiation, he returns to his male form and is called before Zeus and Hera and asked which experiences the greatest pleasure - male or female. At first he tries diplomacy, because whichever answer he gives he knows he is bound to offend somebody. But eventually he tells the truth - that the female experiences the greater pleasure - whereupon Zeus, furious at this insult to masculine vanity, strikes him blind.
Now, blindness in Greek myth is often a symbol for inner sight. All the great prophets and bards are generally represented as blind, either in one eye or both. Oedipus, when he makes his great discovery about his origins, strikes himself blind - that is, he sees inwardly at last. So, for Tiresias, the result of his experiences is that he now has inner sight, and becomes a prophet.
What has this got to do with Libra? Well, it's the polarity. Male and female are as enigmatic a pair for Libra as good and evil, or perfect and imperfect. It's a curious thing, but many Libran men have a great appreciation of the feminine side of life - beauty and culture, the arts, harmony, relationship. Not that they're effeminate. In fact, this touch of the artist often makes them devilishly attractive to women. But it's as though the need for balance means, among other things, that they're trying to balance the sexes as well, within themselves. That's where Tiresias comes in - he tries out both. Some Librans, of course, do this literally. More often it's in a psychological way - an interest in women and in the feminine things of life. And many Libran women possess an unusual share of masculine gifts - a fine intellect, the gift of strategy, of statesmanship, of organization. Margaret Thatcher, with the sun in Libra, is an excellent example. Her manner is completely feminine; she's always diplomatic and soft-spoken and subtle. But her mind can function with as much strength and clarity as society has traditionally thought only men's minds could. Whether she's hated or loved, whatever one's political persuasions, this aspect of Libra is evident in her character. Many Libran women have this gift of clear sight and logic and intellect, and need some sphere of life where they can put their gifts to use beyond the sphere of home and family. And there's Tiresias again - playing both sides of the fence.
We should remember that this isn't a sexual issue in the physical sense. It has to do with qualities of mind - for with Libra we're
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