The world was shocked… is the calling card of Uranus. Uranus rolls in upside down and backwards and immediately the world goes topsy turvy. When Napa Valley wines defeated the best French wines, the French judges were shocked and appalled. They were the best sommeliers, wine reviewers, leading authorities and officials in wine quality. There world, that of French wine dominance, lay in ashes in their own hands. Trauma ensued. They had insultingly sniffed “back to California” as they marked down French wine in the blind test. It was worse than finding something better, it was them insulting their own patois. As is often the result of a wild ride with Uranus, the French judges ended up dyspeptic.
Dionysus, Greek god of wine, represented by the asteroid Dionysus is conjunct Ceres and together they oppose asteroid Bacchus, the Greek name that the Romans later adopted for Dionysus. This alignment describes the match up. French vinticulture has its origins in Rome’s dominance of Gaul. The French had great pride in their Gaulish Roman wine represented by the asteroid Bacchus. The contest with America seems on the face to be ancient Rome against the upstart but the USA is the SPQR’s reincarnation. The Cancer Dionysus and Ceres, the god and goddess of wine and harvest, are the powerhouse duo with a long mythology of marriage or relationship between them. Their love affair is ruled by the Aries Moon in the 9th. Aries, the upstart vintners from a foreign land (9th house). American wine.
The French wine authorities are the Cancer Saturn also ruled by the Aries Moon. Saturn is the planet of authority and it rules Capricorn the zodiac sign of public reputation. Their native wine, represented by the retrograde Capricorn Bacchus, has to retrace its steps to restore France’s reputation. The Cancer Dionysus isn’t so worried about reputation than the ecstasy and madness caused by the wine. Consumption is driven by taste. The Cancer zodiac sign is about the mother and mother’s milk. The first delicious beverage. Wine has to be Dionysus’ true mother’s milk and Ceres rules all the senses. The conjunction of the asteroids Dionysus and Ceres has to be the perfect astrological alignment for a wine tasting and even better for wine drinking.
In Greek myth, Dionysus himself is a god who arrives from a foreign place. He is foreign, travels abroad, and is the god of epiphany, festivities and religious ecstasy. This tasting in Paris, France was inspired by the American bicentennial. At this bicentennial festival of the USA’s birth, America reclaimed Rome’s mantle as the premiere winemaker. Dionysus the liberator was marshal of all of the festivities. The bicentennial itself, coming one year after withdrawal from Vietnam, was hailed by President Ford as a very Dionysian rebirth of American liberty with festivities that continued throughout the year and came with the sounding of a new liberty bell. Let freedom ring and let the wine flow.