Anareta, Our Destructive Force
ANARETA, OUR DESTRUCTIVE FORCE
One of the most common astrological terms used in medieval Astrology is the term Anareta planet. It derives from the Greek and translates to “destroyer”, standing for any planet that has deeply maleficent effects on one’s life. In some interpretations, anareta is a harbinger or doom and the destroyer of life itself, and in others it kills form and makes changes in our lives, by force or consent, this doesn’t really matter. Depending on our point of view, if we have such a “bad planet” on our hands the question is – what do we do with it? To face an anareta in our natal chart, we have to understand ways in which we can overcome or embrace its influences, and this won’t be easily done with such a strong resistance that has been built through generations and generations.
ANARETA PLANET
An anareta planet is a significantly damaged planet that shows destructive behavior. Still, its definitions have varied through time, leading us to believe that any planet can become an anareta, no matter how beneficent or light it might be in its primal role.
To be specific, this is a term that was mostly used for any planet set in the eighth house of a natal horoscope, being the one to help us determine the cause of death. This means that Venus or Jupiter set in your eighth house stand for your personal anaretas, no matter their beneficent nature, and even speaking of the most negative sides to their positivity through delusion, narcotics, or toxins of any kind. On the other hand, we can say that our planet is anareta whenever it is in specific locations such as the last degree of the sign, ruling the eighth house, positioned in its fall, detriment, on maleficent star clusters, in challenging aspects with Mars, Saturn or Pluto, etc. This definition has been extended to the point in which we don’t have a person without an anareta in their chart, and the only thing you should really pay attention to is where yours is and what you can do to use its influence for good.
THE DUALITY BEHIND THE ROLE
A person can have many planets set in their eighth house, but this doesn’t mean their life is about to be destroyed just because of this setting. Just like you may stumble upon people with little challenges in their charts who are sick, lonely, or lost, there will be those you can’t seem to wrap your brain around, unsure how they have managed to live their lives so far, with all of the negative circumstances that can be anticipated from their chart.
If we stop to think about it, we will see that the role of each anareta planet can be identified with the role of the Devil in the religious sense, being the dark side of the zodiacal circle and our personal horoscope. The world is divided into good and evil, heaven and hell, black and white, for we all suffer from opposites being unable to see the other side, finding it difficult to clearly see the person standing in front of us. Duality in the world is the source of all uncomfortable problems that our anaretas bring, starting from the smallest of fairytales that depict the good maiden and the evil witch, all the way through religions, sexuality, and finally not being able to accept death as a natural part of life.
It is in our primal nature to dismiss the possibility of death, instinctively rushing away from it and fighting to avoid it. But being human is much more than that, putting each of us in the spotlight, only to ask ourselves if we can overcome our instincts, our basics, to make our nature work for us instead of giving in so we would finally set free from fears. This would lead us to the acceptance of death as a truly natural consequence of life.
OVERCOMING INFLUENCES OF THIS "BAD PLANET"
The eight house and dangerous entities in our chart always speak of our deepest, darkest fears. To overcome negative influences of an anareta planet, we have to find a way to stop being scared. If we let fear lead our way, effects will slowly eat us up, leading from negative emotions to negative thoughts, and finally negative circumstances. Whichever your Anareta might be, approach it through change, shape it, find meaning and purpose to its role in your life, and ask yourself if you would jump into any challenges it brings your way. No matter if it is Venus, Jupiter, or Saturn, we have its negative role to deal with in this scenario, and have to adapt to the necessities it brings. All of these positive and negative roles rush to be mended into Unity so we can become one with our shadows and improve ourselves to finally be able to reach for our dreams.
