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DANCING THROUGH THE END OF TIME

Ophiuchus - The Thirteenth Constellation

by Raymond Mardyks

Do you ever get the feeling that there is a missing piece to the puzzle? Our Earth orbit around our
Sun in a year's time. This is ordinarily measured by the twelve months of the year or the twelve signs
of the zodiac. Neither of these two measurement systems use the actual stars that we see in the
night sky. When we do use the stars or the constellations to measure the yearly cycle, we can
recognize that the Sun appears to move through thirteen constellations of stars every year; not
twelve. Also when working with the stars, we find that our Moon orbits around the Earth thirteen
times in one year; as the Moon moves thirteen times faster than the Earth. Who is the mysterious
thirteenth constellation, and why is there so little information available about him?

This intriguing constellation is called Ophiuchus, which simply means Serpent Holder. the image that
represents him in the sky is most often seen as a naked man with a large serpent or snake coiled
between his legs. He holds the body of the Serpent in his two hands. His eyes are directed toward
the head of the Serpent, which is reaching for the stars of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.
Ophiuchus' forehead and third eye are in close proximity to the forehead and third eye of Hercules,
the constellation just above Ophiuchus. Their relationship is analogous to that of teacher-student,
guru-disciple or shaman-apprentice. One of Ophiuchus' feet is on the back of Scorpius, the Scorpion,
just above Antares, the star in the Scorpion's heart. His other foot is dangerously close to the
stinger in the Scorpion's tail. Near this foot and the stinger, along with the tip of Sagittarius, the
Archer's arrow, is the position of the center of our Galaxy.

Ophiuchus is named by his relationship to the archetypal being called the Serpent. This is the same

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Serpent that appears in the Garden of Eden story in the bible and also the same Serpent as
Quetzalcoatle and Rukulcan, as he is called in Middle America by the Aztecs and the Mayans. Our
culture has tended to negate the archetypal energies of the Serpent and associate it with "evil." The
Mayan, Hindu and other indigenous cultures have honored the Serpent and its energy. It is
interesting that much of the alternative teachings, since the 1960s, either came from India or
Native cultures. Where would the New Age be without chakras, karma, meditation, drumming and
respecting the Earth Mother? Those of us who have journeyed on a spiritual path toward healing,
wholeness or enlightenment have encountered the Serpent, possibly as healing energy or the
awakening Kundalini. the stars of Ophiuchus invite us to awaken to our individual relationship to the
Serpent. Are we struggling with the Serpent, in denial or trying to manipulate its energy; or are we
dancing with it, in a state of unconditional love and surrender?

Every year between November 22, and December 25, the Sun passes through the constellation of
Ophiuchus, from our perspective here on the Earth. Many of us recognize this as the "holiday
Season". The Christmas holiday is, on one level, the celebration of the birth of Christ or Christ
consciousness. This state of consciousness, also sometimes called galactic consciousness, is
represented by the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Dancer, when achieved within a human
body. Remember that there are twelve disciples with the Christ, as there are twelve signs of the
zodiac with Ophiuchus. What is also unique about Ophiuchus is that it is the only constellation in
human form that resides in the direction of the center of our Milky Way Galaxy! In galactic astrology,
the center of the Galaxy is analogous to the Higher Self or the Jungian Self. It is only by
transcending the "wheel of twelve" and allowing energy to spiral, resonant with the number thirteen,
that we as humans, access and maintain a conscious connection to our Higher Self.

Another important connection to Ophiuchus lies in the fact that the Winter Solstices, since 1937,
have been in his area of the sky. Due to a 26,000 year cycle called the precession of the equinox, the
spring equinox appears to move from one constellation to another. At this time, it is shifting from
Pisces, the Fish to Aquarius, the Water Bearer. Applying this astrological technique to the movement
of the two solstices, Summer and Winter, they also indicate archetypal shifts. When an equinox or
solstice enters a new constellation in this way, it signals a "new age". It is being suggested here that
Ophiuchus, the Serpent Carrier, is the archetype of what we commonly call the New Age and that
the time of Aquarius is still yet to come. The last Age of Ophiuchus was from about 4500 BC to 2500
BC. Now that the Serpent Holder has returned, we have the opportunity to "remember" and once
again access ancient wisdom from that time and specifically wisdom related to "serpent energy".

Since the late 1930s, all the planets have astrologically passed through Ophiuchus' area of the sky.
All but one that is. The planet Pluto began its journey through Ophiuchus and the Serpent around
the start of the 1990s. This is when the World Wide Web came into existence. Notice how
Ophiuchus is encountering the Serpent through his two hands. Consider how an electric musician,
an energy healer and a Web surfer all work with "the energy" through their two hands. Pluto will
complete its journey through Ophiuchus around 2012, the date many of us recognize as the end of

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an over 5000-year long Mayan calendar cycle. The Mayan calendar is based on galactic astrology
cycles. These are cycles involving the stars, such as the Pleiades. The Mayan calendar cycles are not
limited to the planets of our solar system.

What may very well be the most significant astrological event in the history of humanity is about to
occur. The equinoxes and the solstices form a cross in the sky that appears to rotate in a total
period of 26,000 years. Every 6500 years, either the equinoxes or the solstices are aligned with the
equator of our Galaxy. The equator of our Galaxy is what we are looking at when we see the stars of
the Milky Way on a dark, clear night. the Winter Solstice in December 1998, will have the center of
the Sun precisely aligned with the center of the galactic equator. This marks the time of the major
influx of galactic and star energy into the Earth and the beginning of a galactic initiation which will be
complete in the thirteen or so years till 2012.

To get a picture of what galactic means for us as human beings, think about the people in Star Trek.
They have the capacity to travel among the stars of our Galaxy, they are interacting with other
galactic citizens and are a part of a intragalactic Federation that includes civilizations from other star
systems. The time of Star Trek, 200-300 years in the future, is astrologically marked by the Winter
Solstice reaching an exact alignment with the center of our Galaxy. This is also the time of the
completion of the 6000-year long Jewish/Biblical calendar cycle. What is to occur within the next few
years is that humanity will begin to become a galactic race of beings (the full potential of
Ophiuchus). By the way, according to the sidereal, star-based zodiac, the Age of Aquarius will begin
in this future time about 200-300 years from now. How can we have "true brotherhood" and
understanding when we have not yet made peace with our own "inner Alien" or awakened to our
heritage as descendants of extraterrestrials?

Working consciously with the energy of the Serpent enables us to take back any shadow projections
that we unconsciously offer to the "other." After this is done and we have integrated our own
tendency toward duality, fragmentation and separation, then we are invited to truly wake-up and be
with the other beings who share our world with us. What we are about to co- create here on the
Earth is beyond anything that we can possibly imagine at this time. You are invited to be present in
each and every moment and enjoy the dance through the end of time.

Raymond Mardyks is recognized as a leading researcher in the fields of galactic, stellar and
archetypal astrology. He is the director of the Sedona Star School and author of Sedona Starseed: A
Galactic Initiation. He is the co-author of the Star Book: An Astrological Approach to Enlightenment
and co-creator of Daykeepers Out of Time: Mayan Stone Oracle. Recently returned with his wife and
four children to live in Sedona, he is available to all who genuinely want to awaken to galactic
consciousness and study the art and science of conscious star travel. he may be contacted at:

The Star School, P.O. Box 2841, Sedona, AZ 86339 (520) 282-1344.
or starsedona@aol.com.

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(Reprint, Four Corners, December/January 1998 edition)

Copyright © 1996. The Light Party.

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