lottery

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In The Republic (350 BC), Plato relates the myth of the " Spindle of

Necessity. " Astrologer Anthony Peña gives this summary:

 

According to Plato's account in The Republic, in preparation for

reincarnation, each person chooses a daemon or deity that will guide

him or her through life. According to ancient Greek thought, this

guiding daemon accompanies most people through life as an unconscious

guiding force. It was generally thought that only a select few

advanced souls, such as the philosopher Socrates, were capable of

conversing and/or interacting with their guiding daemon. Upon

choosing a daemon or deity, each person is then led to the spinning

wheel or spindle of the Greek goddess, Necessity. The spinning wheel

is sitting in the lap of Necessity.

This is where it gets really interesting for astrology buffs.

According to Plato, the spinning wheel or spindle of Necessity is

comprised of one outer wheel (the Zodiac) and then seven inner wheels

(the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets). In Greek mythology and

tradition, the goddess Necessity had three daughters: Lachesis,

Clotho, and Atropos. The three sisters were together known as the

Fates. Lachesis (meaning she who allots) was the measurer of the

thread, Clotho (meaning weaver) was the spinner of the thread of

fate, and Atropos (meaning implacable, unbending, unyielding) was the

cutter of the thread.

In Plato's cosmological description, he identifies Lachesis as having

her hands busy with both the zodiacal signs and the planets, Clotho

with the zodiacal signs and Atropos with the planets. Also, of

interest, Lachesis is singing of the past, Clotho is singing of the

present, and Atropos is singing of the future. Each soul approaches

Lachesis first, then Clotho, and then finally Atropos.

At this point, I think I'll let Plato speak for himself:

" When the souls had all finished choosing their lives, they

approached Lachesis in the order the lottery had assigned them. She

gave each of them the personal deity they had selected to accompany

them throughout their lives, as their guardians and to fulfill the

choices they had made. Each deity first led its soul to Clotho

(zodiacal signs), to pass under her hand and under the revolving

orbit of the spindle, and so to ratify the destiny the soul had

chosen in the lottery. Then, once a connection has been made with

her, the deity led the soul to Atropos (planets) and her spinning, to

make the web woven by Clotho fixed and unalterable. Afterwards, the

soul set a fixed course for Lady Necessity's throne and passed under

it... "

http://astrology.about.com/library/weekly/2001/aa020101b.htm

 

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