On July 15 at 3:30 in the afternoon appeared Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, philosophers, and scientist to Anne-Cecile and Cornelius in Rome. She has deep blue eyes and dark hair like her mother, and weighed over 3 kg. The mother is happy and very well taken care of in a private hospital. The father is ecstatic, and we all rejoice.

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The Origin of Calliope's Name

So many people have asked me about the origin of Calliope's name that I will collect what I found about her.

Calliope is the oldest of the 9 Greek Muses. Her Greek name is Καλλιόπη, (Kalleiope). Originally, at the time of Homer, there were only three Muses, the children of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory. Calliope was not yet among them. They were born before Zeus married Hera and, therefore, belonged to the oldest Greek pantheon. They were the protectresses of and inspiration to song and dance. They sang at the feasts of the Gods and occasionally at weddings and funeral of the mortals. During the 3rd century BC they seemed to have turned into 9 Muses. The myths about this change are very confusing, but the Roman poets Cicero and Virgil assigned each of the nine a name and a special domain, by which we know them today.

The Nine Muses

The advent of patriarchy did not fare well for the Muses. They lost power when their numerous functions were divided and compartmentalized into nine realms. Rather than goddesses in their own right, they were more frequently portrayed as ladies-in-waiting to Apollo.

Yet, according to Robert Graves, "Apollo, though the God of Poetry did not claim to inspire poems: the inspiration was held to come to the poet from the Muses." Greek mythology still attests to the awe-inspiring power the Muses had upon the gods, as well as humankind. When they sang, everything stood still, transfixed by their melodious voices. At such times, their winged horse Pegasus struck the mountain with his hooves, fountains sprang forth, and Mt. Parnassus rose even higher toward heaven.

Although the Muses are most often remembered for inspiring poets and musicians, they are also known for sparking the genius and inventiveness of scientists, and for guiding politicians. They accompanied kings and queens, inspiring them with eloquence and imparting to them the gift of gentleness, which enabled them to settle quarrels and maintain peace.

Here are some pictures of the Muses: .

This painting of the singing and dancing Muses and Athena is by Hans Rottenhammer, a German Renaissance painter (1600). Calliope sits just below Athena who wears a helmet and transparent armor..

An unidentified print from the early 20th century shows an exalted Calliope on the left reciting Homer's Odyssey.

The names and callings of the nine are: Calliope (epic poetry, philosophy, and science), Clio (history), Erato (lyric poetry and love), Euterpe (flute-playing), Malete (practical arts), Melpomene (tragedy), Mneme (memory), Polymnia (choral music), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy and astrology).

It is difficult to find old Greek pictures of the Muses, they belonged to the minor, less powerful people on Olymp, in fact, they roamed in the wild mountains of Mount Parnassus near Delphi, because they were companions of Apollo and the old Mother Goddess who resided there. However, I found some Greek pottery paintings, and in Pompei.

Calliope in Greek Pottery

The painting of Calliope comes from a lekythos, a grave vase by the Achilles painter from 450 BC. These were used as grave vases. White was the color of mourning. Later pictures of her are more serious and romantic.

In all of these paintings she carries her usual attributes, a stylus and a wax tablet on which she recorded Homer's epics. 

Calliope, "she of the beautiful voice," is considered to be the head of the Muses, associated with the full Moon! (See below!). She is known for heroic poetry and literature, as well as eloquence in writing and speech.

The Muses were not virgin goddesses; the presence of Erato, and her association with ecstasy attest to their sensuality. Calliope was loved by Apollo, and bore him a son Linus (the same name as in Peanuts!) - the inventor of melody and rhythm. When Linus unwisely challenged his father to a singing contest, Apollo killed him. Calliope later married Oeagrus, with whom she bore Orpheus. When the Maenads dismembered Orpheus, the Muses collected his limbs and buried them at the foot of Olympus, where nightingales would forever sing.

Calliope's Natal Horoscope

Born 15 July 2006 at 15:30. in Rome, Italy

Cornelius is strongly against horoscopes. I use them to understand people who are very different from me, like her mother and now Calliope. She has much in common with Anne-Cecile. She will not be as active as AC, quiet, observant, gentle, and secretive, like her Greek god-mother. I find this good to know, it will help avoid many misunderstandings. Besides what follows is not a simple horoscope, but one of the unique astro-psychological profiles, which have taught me so much. Despite many searches and experiments I cannot explain their stunning accuracy. I had to put this one together myself, astro.com will not prepare horoscopes for children under 6 years of age.

Don't read it, if you are dead-set against astrology.

Note: The graph and the interpretations (abbreviated) are by Robert Hand from http://www.astro.com (Astro-Click). The powers of influence, not given by astro.com, were obtained with ASTROLOG. Calliope's horoscpe with all inluences is found here.

The Planets

Ascendant in Scorpio, Sun in the Ninth House - Cancer

You are rather quiet and reserved, but others see clearly that you have deep emotions and feelings, even though you may not say very much. But you do find it difficult to make yourself understood to people. You are an emotional person who is sensitive to the subtle ways that people communicate with each other.

You are quite stubborn, and if necessary you will fight very hard for your position against anyone who opposes you. Your anger is not easily aroused, but when it is, it can't be calmed down easily.

You like to experience life with your total being. Thus you may display a kind of courage that others find frightening, although you are not usually reckless.

You have a strong sense of curiosity, and you want all your questions answered as soon as possible. You are interested in studies that reveal the most about the world around you on a broad scale.

You are fascinated by anything concerning foreign and distant places; you want to travel and see the world.

You very much need to have emotional support and to know that your loved ones love you, especially your mother. When these needs are fulfilled, you are a very generous and giving person. However, if your own basic needs are not provided for, you will withdraw into yourself and act very insecure. An insecure Cancer can be very selfish, just as a secure one can be very generous.

You probably have a secret, quiet place that is all your own, where you can go and be alone with your thoughts. Wherever you go in life, one of your first objectives in new surroundings will be to find such a place for yourself.

Your home and family will always be important to you.

Moon in the Fourth House, Pisces, The Moon is the most powerful influence in your horoscope!

To be at your best, you need to have a peaceful home life, for this means emotional security to you. When you feel strong and secure, you are very kind and sensitive to other people's feelings. But if you feel depressed or insecure, you tend to withdraw into your own private world. Your mother is very important to you, and you need to be close to her.

You have a rich and lively imagination, which can make you very creative. As you get older, you may develop an interest in the occult and supernatural

Jupiter in the Twelfth House, Scorpio

Even while young you will be very kind and generous toward less fortunate people. You see that your own growth and advancement in life depend on the advancement of everyone as a group, and you would like to help in that process.

You should be a very gentle person who cannot stand to see others hurt and who always takes the side of the underdog.

You probably do not enjoy being in the limelight very much. You prefer to remain humble and quiet, feeling that if you make a big issue of yourself, it will work against you. And when you are alone, you find comfort in the peace and quiet of your own inner world, a world that should sustain you even in difficulty.

An important element of your life will be thinking beyond the surface appearance of a situation to understand what is really happening. You love mysteries, and by solving the mysteries, you will develop a great understanding of life.

Sometimes this placement indicates an interest in the supernatural. You are not satisfied with appearances at any level, which means you should be a good researcher, if your mind is at all scientific. You have a great interest in people's psychological makeup, which you express now as intuitive insights.

The only problem here is that you may sometimes be reluctant to share your insights with others, for two reasons. First of all, you have trouble communicating what you know. Later on you may be reluctant to discuss these matters because you know how difficult it is for others to understand them, even when expressed clearly.

Pluto in the Second House

When you want something, you want it very much, and you will work very hard to get it, whether it is a possession or an important goal. As you grow older you will discover that money is very important to you, because it allows you to get what you want. You are likely to accumulate a great number of possessions.

Venus in the Eighth House, Gemini

You enjoy your senses, and you want to experience the world as vividly and totally as possible. You seem to be looking for a hidden dimension of the world that will transform your life completely. Often you will seek this dimension through relationships with others, which will be very intense and full of feeling.

Be careful not to be too possessive of your friends. Also, you shouldn't choose your friends according to the advantages you will gain from their friendship.

This position of Venus means that you will be interested in art and poetry when you are older.

Mercury in Cancer

You often let your emotions tell you how to think, and you find it difficult to look at things objectively. But your mind is retentive, so that once you have learned something, you aren't likely to forget it. In fact you prefer ideas that you have known and understood a long time because they have become familiar. Certainly you can learn new things, but it isn't easy if they seem threatening or challenging.

When you are emotionally upset, your whole view of the world changes. At such times, don't take your outlook too seriously, because it will change again when you calm down.

Influence of the Aspects in order of their importance
Sun Trine Moon

You have the feeling that you can approach any difficulty in life with complete strength and unity of purpose. Your habits and unconscious feelings will work for your intentions rather than against them. You have an easy approach to life, making it unnecessary to strain yourself in anything you do. You have an ability to flow with events without offering much resistance.

Mars Conjunct Midheaven

Very early in life, you will develop a firm determination to do everything your own way. You decide upon a course of action quite quickly, and you usually know just what you want to accomplish. If someone questions your moves, you take it very personally

This aspect indicates that when you are older you should choose a career in which you can have a great deal of independence and expend a lot of physical energy.

Moon Square Pluto

This aspect means that your emotions are often so intense that you seem to be at their mercy. When you are with people you like a lot, you easily become jealous and you may try to control those you love for fear of losing them. Of course, that is the fastest way to lose them, so you should try to trust the people you love and let them be.

You will go through several critical times when you very much need understanding and support from your family and friends. These emotional crises may seem to pull you apart, but they are stages in your inner growth that will help you become better, wiser and more mature.

Moon Square Venus

You need affection very much, and you will go out of your way to get it. By being very friendly and charming, you make others like you, but if you do this too much, you will not develop a very strong character. You must learn that your merits and flaws exist independently of what others see in you. You are not the product of what other people see, but of your own inner energies.

On the other hand, part of you is really very loving, affectionate and kind. You can make the people around you feel very good. If you take the trouble to develop your inner character, people will like you for what you really are. You will also have to develop some self-discipline about giving in to all your desires for pleasure. You could damage your health by drinking and eating for pleasure without considering good nutrition.

Sun Conjunct Mercury

You have a good mind, and you enjoy talking with people. A good conversation means more to you than many other things, but you may have one problem. This aspect indicates that you like to take the active role in any discussion; that is, you are a better talker than a listener.

Your mind may or may not be fast, but it is working constantly. You have a great need to express your opinions, and you can't stand it when people don't take your ideas seriously.

Sometimes this aspect means that you have a lot of ability to work with your hands. Certainly such activities as building things or working with gadgets are good for you as a way to release nervous energy that would otherwise build up.

Uranus Trine Ascendant

Even at a very early age, you insist on your right to be yourself. You may or may not be particularly rebellious, but as you grow up you do need a lot of room, without restrictions. You like to find things out for yourself instead of being told about them or reading about them in books. The reason for this preference is that you see and experience everything you encounter quite differently from others, which gives you a great creative inventive drive. The old ways never seem satisfactory to you.

Venus Opposition Pluto

Your close emotional relationships with others may be difficult at times unless you make an effort to do the following. First of all, make sure that you don't try to hold on to your friends too tightly. Let them do what they want when you are together and allow them to have other friends as well.

You should be careful about the kind of people whom you are attracted to, because sometimes this aspect means that you are attracted to difficult and demanding people. If you have a friend who is very difficult to contend with, do not be afraid to end the friendship and look for another. Be particularly careful to avoid controlling your friends or being controlled by them.

On the plus side, if you learn to avoid these problems and have mostly healthy relationships, you will eventually find that you can attract the kind of people you want to meet like a magnet.

Saturn Square Ascendant

You may have quite a bit of difficulty learning to relate to other people as friends or loved ones, even within your immediate family. This problem usually stems from the fact that you feel somehow unworthy of being loved or attended to.

Do not accept criticism as the main part of a relationship, for it is not. Mutual love, respect and reinforcement should be the main components of any relationship.

Rolf Gross, Pacific Palisades, CA, July 23, 2006