Ophelia 171
Ophelia is named for a character from Shakespeare’s epic tragedy “Hamlet.” She is daughter to Hamlet’s chief counsellor Polonius, sister to his friend Laertes, and a potential bride for the Prince of Denmark himself. Hamlet’s intentions toward Ophelia are never clear, but he is so given to his grief and revenge for his father’s death that he never considers her seriously in a romantic sense. Ophelia, devastated by Hamlet’s rejection and further stricken by her brother’s absence and her father’s death, goes insane, eventually falls from a willow branch into a brook, and drowns.
Astrologically, Ophelia represents insanity and death by drowning, which can be rendered metaphysically as a feeling of being “inundated” or overwhelmed by circumstance. It can also indicate high drama or hysterics, over-reaction, and feelings of doubt, insecurity, or lack of self-worth.