So there is an element of shifting and mirroring in Proteus. He helped Menelaus find his way home by telling him what he already knew that he must go home. Oracles were held in great reverence in the ancient world. When Proteus finally relented and told Menelaus what to do, he fulfilled his function as an oracle. What shape you choose can make you victim or predator in a nano-second and the fact that it is portrayed as a battle is real, but also needs to be brought back into greater balance by resuming your natural shape when it is appropriate to be more authentic. We do it to escape being dis-empowered by others. By adapting too well to circumstances that can harm us, we change shape and become distorted. It is fun to watch, but what has it to do with our own lives? What we learn from Proteus is to be flexible and resilient, but take that too far and we may loose our souls, often without realising. Merlin and Madame Mim have a battle of equals and Disney spins is as one of wit and ingenuity more than physical or magical prowess. Merlin outwits her finally by turning into a microbe and giving her a disease. Madame Mim changes from a crocodile, to a fox, a hen, an elephant, a tiger, a rattlesnake a rhinocerous and then a purple fire-breathing dragon. What tickles me is that one of the best ways to see how shapeshifting works in action is the scene from Disney’s ‘ The Sword in the Stone‘ (1963) where the marvellous, mad Madame Mim and Merlin the magician do battle. But Menelaus managed to hang on until Proteus gave up and was himself again whereupon Menelaus asked him the one great question: How do I get home? And Proteus told him: You had better go back to Egypt and sacrifice to the gods some more” (). And when Menelaus crept up close, disguised as a seal, and grabbed him, Proteus turned into a lion, a dragon, a leopard, a boar, a film of water, and a high-branched tree. He was herding seals, and the seals stank even through the ambrosia Eidothea had provided. But Menelaus was determined: Menelaus catching Proteus Proteus was not easy to consult. According to the story, Menelaus came to find him with a question about what he should do next? But Proteus didn’t like being asked questions so it took some ingenuity. Proteus was the herder of seals which are graceful and flexible in water but awkward on land.
Proteus (Πρωτεύς- in Greek means ‘of the first’) fell under the rulership of Neptune, the Roman version of the Greek god Poseidon. This fascinates me as it matches the mythology the story of Proteus was that he was a shifty character who had divinatory and prophetic powers. Proteus has an unusual shape, not like an ellipsoid, but more like a polyhedron, a multi-sided object. Though Hippocamp orbits Neptune, it could have broken off from Proteus -and this is the link- it could be a kind of son or daughter to Proteus which is one of 14 moons of Neptune. Others are seekers and may understand what this means. Some keep that inner door to the soul firmly shut. But it would be churlish to assume that everyone is excited about this quest as it demands effort too. That’s why astrology is a never-ending subject and is also endlessly fascinating. It is a universal mirror including the totality of existence. Proteus is about using astrology as a mirror to learn about time, the self, choices, dealing with others, using cycles effectively, travel, love, money, wisdom, challenges and decisions. So Proteus is a double edged sword, or in this case a mirror that reflects the visible and invisible. You can change to avoid detection of being pinned down, or you can change to provide a helpful answer to others who are lost and just need you to reflect the truth back to them. He is a shapeshifter and there are good and bad aspects of that.
More than ten years ago, I thought of Proteus as an image of transformation for reflection and self development. Assuming this was a reason Hippocamp was given its name, it triggered a memory. The hippocampus, a tiny part of the brain shaped like a sea-horse, has long been considered as where memories are stored, yet new evidence suggests it is more wide ranging from multiple areas of the cortex. How planets, planetoids and asteroids are named is not random. It is a break off from the much bigger moon Proteus, and it reminded me to explain what was the reason I chose the name Proteus for my Face Book page and my approach to astrology.
A story appeared in the news the other day a tiny moon of Neptune called Hippocamp was discovered.