The Idsted or Flensburg Lions in astrogeography. Astrology, History & Art: astrological analyses regarding the positions of the lion sculptures.
Compare: Lion statues in astrogeographical field study, The Waterloo Lion as a Guardian, The Merlion in Singapur as a guardian, Astrogeographical position of Copenhagen,
The Idsted or Flensburg Lions in astrogeography
The Idsted Lion is a sculpture created by danish sculptor Herman Albrecht Bissen. Bissen created a highly naturalistic and intensely vivid and authentical sculpture which he created after travelling to Paris to make studies of a living lion at the Jardin des Plantes. The idea of rhe lion motif is derived from the arms of Denmark and Schleswig which contain three and two blue lions.
The National Coat of Arms of Denmark consists of 3 blue lions and 9 red hearts.
The statue was unveiled at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Flensburg, Schleswig`s largest cityto commemorate the Danish victory over Schleswig-Holstein in the battle of Idstedt in 1850 on July 25, 1862. Read more about the history of Schleswig here. Since the 1920 plebiscites held after the Versailles Treaty Schleswig was divided into two halfs between Denmark and Germany with Flensburg lying just on the border between the two.
After the end of the danish possession of Schleswig in 1864 german nationalists tried to destroy the monument which caused authorities to bring the statue to Berlin where it remained until 1945. A zinc copy was made in 1874 and later erected at Berlin Wannsee in 1938 overlooking Wannsee lake.
In 1945 the Flensburg Lion was given back to Denmark by US forces and was placed near the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum right on the divide between magnetic fire sign Leo and self-protective earth sign Virgo at 0° Virgo. The 2nd coordinate lies at 15° of the dynamic, expansive, mental fire sign Sagittarius indicator for decoration, ornamentation, victory and triumph.
The position at 0°Virgo/30° Leo could at least to a certain degree be expected as being a natural part of Leo, the sign of emotionality, pleasure and sexuality. But the more intensely emotional astrological topics of Leo are apparently not the main focus and resonance of the lion statue at the Royal Arsenal Museum. Despite the potentially highly euphorical constellation of two fire signs the statue appears as being stored in the surroundings of the military museum. The reference to Leo in the sense of intensity of self-expression, sexuality and having fun is not natural and not convincing at this position. Therefore the 30th and last degree of Leo rather turns out to resemble the first degree of Virgo here in its aspect as the sign of storing harvests (and goods) than it would display the traits of a self-centered, majestic Leo. The contrast to the location of the zinc copy at Wannsee lake delivers an intense and truly archetypal astrogeographic documentation of the difference between the topics at 0° Leo the start of the sign as the process of the high season in summer and those at 30° Leo the quite abrupt end of the topics of emotional expansion in Leo through the reflexes of Virgo as the sign indicating the urge for mental control over emotionality.
In regard to the astrogeographic positions of monuments a location in Sagittarius is typical in the first place for the purpose of decoration, design, style, composition and ornamentation. Sagittarius suggests thinking about what we see and enjoy, mental reflection, insights, knowledge and comparison of objects and topics with each other. Furthermore Sagittarius as the sign of victory and triumph is also an indicator for a monument`s function to celebrate victory and success.
An archetypal example for this topic of memorials in Sagittarius is the Arc de Triomph in Paris (pinterest post) which was built in in Sagittarius with Gemini the same constellation as the Idstedt/Flensburg Lion and also above a tomb of the Unknown Soldier to commemorate those who fought for the French Revolution and during the Napoleonic wars.
In 2010 the Danish side decided to want to bring back the statue to its former location in Flensburg to commemorate the Danish victory in 1850 and the German side decided to accept the proposal in order to set a monument for German responsibility for war crimes in World War 2 and for the will for good relations with the danish neighbors.
The picture above shows the Flensburg Lion in 2011 after it was brought back to St. Mary`s Cemetery in Flensburg. The site here is located in the combination of air sign Gemini the sign of signposts and roads with fire sign Sagittarius the sign of decoration, victory and triumph. The astrogeographic constellation combines two opposition signs. This can be taken for a clear indication of the statue`s problematic history and the confrontation which such monuments provoke when placed in a conquered territory. To some extent the position of the sculpture indicated that it was chosen to document the danish territorial claim for Schleswig. But realistically on the other hand it has to be understood that a position in Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Aries or Capricorn would have been a much more enforced documentation of a territorial claim than one in the relatively unstable constellation of these two mutable signs. Particularly Gemini as the sign of roads and bridges can hardly be called a definte indicator for territorial claims. This is also expressed in the fact the majestic lion wasn`t erected on a market place or in front of the town hall but on a cemetery.
I want to mention 2 more astrogeographical thoughts here: firstly it can be speculated whether or not the position in Sagittarius as the sign of caricature with Gemini the sign of pubercy which is particularly known for its playfullness is a hint at the intention to play with the idea of building a signpost for territorial claims without the realistic long-term option.
And secondly: as both signs Gemini the sign of roads as well as Sagittarius the sign of travelling represent the orientation away from or beyond the limits of one`s own territory it could be examined in which way the punctuation of the morphogenetic field through the erection of the sculpture reflects the attempt to measure out new horizons and pratical options.
The Wannsee site where the zinc copy of the Idstedt Lion was erected in 1938 is located right on the divide between emotional water sign Cancer and fire sign Leo at 0° Leo and the second coordinate in water sign Scorpio the sign of sculpting. The position at the beginning (start) of Leo the sign of self-expression, emotional self-centeredness and being in one`s own energy apparently indicates that the lion sculpture has been placed here “for the lion`s sake”. On the one hand this means to lift up the place itself, make it attractive and increase it`s value through the image of majesty. And secondly to support the natural stimulation of emotional self-centeredness and the right to enjoy and for self-expression effected by all morphogenetic fields in Leo.
The Scorpio coordinate in addition to Leo would indicate the motif of appreciating the fine work of art in regard to its intensity of expression. This function of the statue is obvious and clearly visible here as it is placed at a popular weekend destination and in the most beautiful prominent position overlooking Berlins “Wannsee Riviera” and facing Strandbad Wannsee on the opposite side of Wannsee lake. Above all the site lies at the entrance to the 6 km long forest path along the nicest south-end beaches at Wannsee lake. This gives the statue the function of a guardian in between the exclusive residential area on the Leo side and the shady sand beaches on the Cancer side of the zodiac-sign-divide here.
