Typhon

The Mythology of Typhon

If you’ve read my book Asteroids in Human Design – Awakening the Feminine Archetype, you’ll know how often the Greek and Roman myths demonised perfectly wonderful feminine deities. And you also won’t be surprised to know that even though the minor planet Typhon was named after a monster, there are roots back into the Mother Goddess archetypes.

Typhon walks us through the liminal space of creating a new culture that starts with recognising the wrongs done to the Mother and the recovery of her (and our) creative power.

The most common description of Typhon is that he is a monster who represents a kind of personal hell, bringing disasters like earthquakes, volcanoes and typhoons. And while this is possible, given all the disharmony in our world right now, there is so much more to Typhon and how we can apply it’s energy in our own lives.

Uncovering the real Typhon

The wonderful Kirsti Melto dug a little deeper than most, discovering a female deity in ancient Egyptian mythology called Typhon and associated with the crocodile, bringing blessings, life and inspiration. The crocodile is the Egyptian Dragon, a dual symbol of Heaven and Earth, sacred to Osiris and Isis. This ancient Dragon ruled chaos and the abyss, things the ancient patriarchal Greeks and Romans were not really keen on. The name Typhon comes from the Egyptian Tep, Teb, Tept, the abyss that is the beginning, the source, the void, the uterus that preceded personification.

In her 1927 book, Celestial Ship of the North, E. Valentia Straiton explains that in ancient Egypt the Abyss is the name of the North, and the original mother of this Abyss was called Typhon, the mother of beginnings, the Mother Revolutions (time cycles). From one Mother the Universe was born, this was Mother Typhon, a primordial figure of Power.

Going back to the Greek mythology, we find two versions of Typhon. In the first he is the son of Gaia (Earth) and Tartarus (Hell). Gaia bore Typhon in anger at the gods for their destruction of her offspring the Giants.

More on the Giants and minor planet Albion here.

In the second version, Hera was angry at Zeus and prayed to have a son who was stronger than him. She gave birth to Typhon alone and he grew up to be a great bane to mortals.

The common theme in both birth stories is the anger of the mother at the way in which the gods are using their power. They call out for a son with the strength to support their desire for justice against the wrongs done to them.

Let’s see what the discovery chart might tell us about the meaning of Typhon in your Design.

The Discovery of Typhon

The discovery position of a new planet can tell us a lot about it’s meaning, You can view the discovery chart in Taraka.io – here

Typhon is a minor planet (42355), a Scattered Disc Object and binary centaur with an orbit of 230 years.

More about minor planets – Beyond Pluto

Typhon was discovered in February 2002, when it was in Gate 31.4. It was making a channel with the Earth in 7.4, which is so lovely, since Gaia – Earth was his mother, and it’s also a confirmation of the Egyptian Mother archetype (mother-matter-mater).

Gate 31 is called Influence, what touches, stirs and attracts us, draws us into relationship. This is a vision for a new direction, with leadership that comes from popular support. Line 4 is about the pathways between what you’re leaving behind and what is to come; following what influences you, releasing the past, moving on in your chosen direction with purpose and decisiveness.

The Earth in Gate 7.4 moves us towards a single and central objective, taking responsibility for where you want to be. Line 4 is about taking time to consider where you are going, rather than rushing ahead without enough consideration. We have to check in with the subtle influences, the whispers in our heart.

In the Discovery chart, Neptune, Uranus and Venus are all in the Channel of Synthesis (Gates 19 and 49). The Great Spirit speaks to us via this channel, with a repeat of the idea that we must take responsibility for acting on what influences us. A great, growing energy comes from the source and asks for our full participation to be realised. We connect with the power of the whole unfolding creative process, from the subtle whispering of source, through to its realisation.

Typhon’s energy is most active when we are close to great change, when the rules of society are no longer useful and we have to reach deep within ourselves to find our way. This is how we change the world.

The Meaning of Typhon in your Human Design

The Typhon discovery chart isn’t giving off strong monster vibes! It definitely indicates a connection with the Earth, and with the chaotic power of creation. But rather than being evil or devilish, it carries instructions for how we can best engage with the subtle creative energies that seem to come to fruition through us.

We shouldn’t ignore the conditioning that has us believing that Typhon represents our own personal hell. There is a sense of going into the void, facing our own demons. His mother, Gaia, wanted Typhon to free the Titans – powerful primal and instinctual energies. We have been taught to avoid these aspects of ourselves, to fear the chaos or hell they will create if let lose upon our world.

It’s good to remember the systemic demonisation of the feminine – the dark, the voidal, the germinating – that was part of the Greek and Roman cultures. We have all taken these influences in, allowing them to shape our sense of what it means to be a so-called civilised human. And yet all the evidence points to what we might call ‘pre-civilised humans’ as being more peaceful and creative than we are today!

At worst, Typhon threatens to strip off our societal veneer. At best, it walks us through the liminal space of creating a new culture that starts with recognising the wrongs done to the Mother and the recovery of her creative power.

With an orbit of 236 years, Typhon moves slowly and can spend many years in each of the Human Design gates, so it will be most active in the Designs of people who have another planet in the same gate or channel.

Where is your Typhon? You can find it when you create your own Human Design chart at taraka.io.