Cancer Eclipse

My daughter Canary and I watched the crying game again a couple of nights ago – one of my favourite movies – a great movie for this eclipse season. Emotions; if you’ve been feeling more emotional than usual, thank the eclipse season we have entered.

A very tight 1 degree total solar eclipse is coming up on July 21 / 22. This is the eclipse of the century, at 29:26 Cancer, a karmic degree in the sense of linear time, coming to completion and consequences of our actions. Heroes will emerge. Many will leave. This is decision time and our individual choices and actions affect the collective future. The Cancer / Capricorn axis has to do with family, home, contribution to society, profession and how these ideas integrate with each other. When we incarnate into this dimensional reality, we go deep into the unique realm of emotions. As we mature in this area we are able to take on more effective responsibility within the world. We enter incarnation through Cancer and after much personal work, we walk through the gates of initiation in Capricorn. Our effectiveness in the world reflects our emotional state.

Think about how ancient peoples may have experienced an eclipse, possibly under less polluted skies without electronic distractions and the time and space to reflect upon such a grand phenomenon. The darkening of the Sun or reddening of the Moon as a reflection of our human consciousness would have auspicious portents of some sort, and these were often interpreted as ominous – understandably so and both good and bad events do follow. Change over the next six months will occur.

With Cancer many people could be moving, not just across town like I just did but across states. Families may take separate paths. We may take time to connect to our lineages. Many are changing their role in society in one form or another. Deep emotions from the past feel too strong to hold within the protective shell of Cancer and we have the chance to gently bring them forward to move to a more mature level or releasing all together.

Mastering our emotions is key to our initiations. Mastering does not mean denying or ignoring anything on the range of our human emotional experience but learning how to channel and work with all emotions constructively and in balance as a support for our creative human expression. This is at the core of our experience and can be both exhilarating and scary, but if we look at emotions as guardian angels that each have their role, we can choose how we let them flow. For example, the Guardian Angel of Anger (Mars) can be seen as a signal that one’s boundaries have been violated so that victimization does not occur and the energy can be used to makes changes that one may not normally have the energy for. All emotions teach us as transmutation happens and the bittersweet undercurrents of life on Earth can still flow down the rivers with Joy.

The unrest and high emotions that will be part of this summer are the movements of adjustments needed and may also be correlated with earth movements increasing. Heavy rains are the tears. Earthquakes can be sighs and volcanoes anger. And of course those beautiful moments when love streams in through the clouds.

Look to the later degrees of Cancer and early degrees of Leo in tropical charts to see where this powerful eclipse will be affecting your life. Also notice what lies in square or opposition to this area and any other planets or points in your chart that also connect to this eclipse point. Together these tell the story of where a new path of creative self expression may be taken. The balance between individual expression and duty to family and the world may need some adjustment. Which path will you take?

Last weekend’s very strong Cancer New Moon set the stage for an interesting and undoubtedly emotionally charged Summer, which will include three eclipses, two in July on the Capricorn / Cancer axis and one in early August in Aquarius. My next blog and podcast will cover these in more detail. Right now I have a time sensitive special to offer.

Today I got a comment on a blog I had written a little over two years ago and realized when I reread the blog that I had just found out I had to move because the owner had decided to sell the house. Now, I’m moving again, because of a serious black mold problem that was discovered when my kitchen ceiling began leaking on the eve of the last Cancer New Moon.

I had promised everyone that I would follow up my podcast of a few days before with new moon information since I predicted it was going to be a potent one. I had no idea how potent, not just for me of course, but I spent last Saturday packing and moving everything out of my house into storage, moved into a motel that my sister Linda got me and spent this last week house hunting. Unfortunately there are no ordinances protecting tenants from black mold issues and the person who owns the house was not going to clean it in a way that would make it safe to continue living there, especially with Damian’s respiratory issues. I had a mold and restoration expert assess the exposure and he said we should leave immediately, so we did.

Today I did find a suitable new home and tomorrow we move in, so all in all, things have gone gracefully. However, because this was not planned and I didn’t have the funds for any of the moving costs, I need to raise about $800 before July 1st.

I'm having a moving special!

All full readings will be discounted $40 if ordered before July 1st.

This is just $80 for 1.5 hour readings and can be:
Gift Certificates, Full Natal Readings, Relationship Readings or Transit Updates. More info on my readings here.

I will set reading times up for after July 2 when I have both internet and phone service again. If you can’t afford the $80 but would like to contribute to the cause don’t forget my $30 Quick Insight readings.

Thanks for all your support. I am planning on being fully operational again by July 2 and I know my family, especially Damian who has been having a very rough time with this transition, will be happy at our new place.

Astroweather

I was reminded of what is truly important yesterday when a speeding car ran a red light and nearly crashed into the side of my car had I not slammed on the brakes. It would have killed my son and was one of those situations where I felt my higher self take complete control to save the day. These situations are a reminder of how nothing really matters but what does matter. For me, this is my children and the love and joy they bring to my life. This synchronistically ties into the transit theme for the next couple of weeks, highlighting a Venus Mars conjunction, which culminates next weekend with a trine to Ceres and Saturn in Virgo.
A 15 minute podcast of these transits can be heard at Astroweather.

My daughter Hawk, a senior at the University of Colorado, is creating her first full length film after several shorts and a bit of commercial work. She writes, produces and directs at this point. Her current project stars friends and my younger daughter Canary as Sheila, misplaced in time when she is apparently shot dead at a 60’s demonstration only to wake up in our time to deal with all of the related issues. In typical Pluto in Scorpio fashion Hawk enjoys exploring gender identity issues along with the underbelly of our social predicaments. It will feature young music talent also from Boulder and entered into film festivals.

Hawk is fundraising for some much needed sound equipment and if you would like to contribute a buck or two towards the art, please visit her blog site at Sheila in the Modern World

Astroweather

Free weekly podcasts covering current transits now available at Astroweather. This week: The Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune conjunction and Mind over Matter.

2009

2009 is going to be one of those years that go down in the history books as seminal. I can feel it and the transits reflect the seeds of possibility. The primary long-term transits for this year are:

A Jupiter, Chiron, Neptune conjunction off and on throughout the year, at 26 degrees from May 21 – June 10 and almost exact on May 27.

Pluto is retrograde in the early degrees of Capricorn April 5 - September 10.

Pluto at the Aries point of 0 Capricorn August 5 – October 17.

Lunar Nodes move from Leo/Aquarius to Cancer/Capricorn August 22.

Saturn square Pluto November 8 – 19 at 1 degree Libra / Capricorn, at 2 degrees November 24 – December 1, and 4 degrees January 20 – February 2010.

Third pass of Saturn at 24 Virgo opposite Uranus at 24 Pisces September 10 – 17.

Saturn is square the Nodes at 25 - 27 degrees September 25 – October 11, 2010.

Pluto conjunct the North Node at 3 degrees Capricorn November 5 – 21.

We have two different themes at work. The first is the Jupiter, Chiron. Neptune conjunction in Aquarius which will generally have to do with both the wounds and the healing that will come with both higher spiritual awareness for some and paradigm shifts that will be more or less shocking to many. This will not be separate from the second theme which is Capricorn / Saturn death of the old as we bring in the new. This is an intense time of maturation and karmic clearing as well as new karma coming in that plants the seeds of tomorrow’s growth.

When we go through personal transits involving the transpersonal (Pluto, Neptune Uranus and Chiron) “planets”, major developments and changes can be expected that transition us to another cycle and hopefully to a higher way of operating. As we have all experienced, this usually involves difficult periods, but the end result is also usually a new awareness and understanding which when fully integrated over the period of a few years makes us more mature and wise.

Theme One: Capricorn and the Underworld

Collectively we are in a very intense transition time that will have very difficult times but will also bring us new understandings and maturity. 2012 is already here and the next two years are likely to be much more memorable than 2012 itself. The theme of this time is Capricorn. Pluto is in Capricorn, The North Node will move in Capricorn and conjunct Pluto, Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn is square Pluto, opposite Uranus and square the Nodes.

The archetype of Capricorn correlates to maturation, time and space and how humans organize themselves with cultures societies, man made laws, customs and social taboos. It is very much about our lives in third dimensional reality as we deal with the ideas of group consciousness, psychological and emotional maturity, aging, death, and ideas that get crystallized which then need to “grow up and move forward”. This is a sobering time where our “karma” may be undeniable. Saturn rules karma as our actions create the consequences.

Saturn is called Father Time…here shown in front of the cave, a gateway, where all son gods are born, and rays break through the darker firmament. The light brings new life (children coming out of the rocks) and to the right is Apollo crushing the snake Apep, an Egyptian symbol of darkness. As Jim Morrison said, "No one here gets out alive."

Both Saturn and Pluto transits bring endings and therefore new beginnings. Both are often associated with death, both metaphoric and real. Death ends a cycle and birth begins a new one. To say that we will not get through this year without major and transformational changes that reflect in systems, ideas and visions dying, birthing or just taken to the next level is an understatement. We are just beginning.

Theme two: Aquarian Enlightenment or Insanity

Jupiter / Chiron / Neptune conjunction in Aquarius will be felt throughout the year, but we have all three essentially at 26 degrees from May 21 – June 21 and almost exact on May 27 (my birthday!) These three are also conjunct again at 25 degrees Aquarius July 12 – 20. They will also be within a degree of each other during the first week of August as Pluto moves retrograde to 0 degree Capricorn and Saturn moves in to its opposition with Uranus. August may well be climactic of events between now and then. We may also see the beginnings of another flu outbreak which may be the second wave of the Spring Swine Flu pandemic. An interesting correlation to the 1918 pandemic beyond the similar virus components is that when the first 1918 Spring (and less severe) outbreak happened, Pluto was at 3 degrees Cancer retrograde, nearly exactly opposite to the position of the first Spring outbreak in 2009. This is a very significant correlation. Earthquakes and/or Tsunamis are also very possible.

Aquarius can provide a common goal, humanitarian ideals, improved and advanced perceptions and understandings, the need for change while also being fairly fixed and rooted in the ideals one may “fight” for. Neptune in Aquarius is a 12 year transit which can bring humanity together on even yet higher levels of idealism. The last time that Neptune was in Aquarius was during the 1800’s when the Manifest Destiny principle was adopted in America, for example. Freedom, and even the willingness to die for (Neptune martyrdom) the ideals is strong. This is going to be exaggerated even more with Jupiter in Aquarius. Revolutionary thinking compounds the humanitarian ideas. But again, fixed ideas are also exaggerated with Jupitarian dogmatism and religious / righteous indignation. Great harm and damage can come as the beliefs and ideals provoke bombing and killing with the idea that the end goal is all important. Deep and core wounds are reflected by Chiron in Aquarius.

The higher potential of this transit is the ability to have leaps in consciousness, new awareness and paradigm shifts that heal core wounds. As Uranus is contacting Mercury during the end of May, great and unexpected insights are possible.

At the same time, new information that also brings paradigm shifts will not be easily absorbed or integrated by everyone and it can be a period of feeling very scattered, confused and some will feel like they are literally going insane, especially as the summer progresses.

Big shifts in consciousness or realizing that things are very different than what one has been conditioned to believe is not going to be easy for many. Neptune also brings the element of deception and illusion. We don’t know what to believe, what is true, what is not true, and are easily deceived.

A wise teacher once told me that those who wish to deceive or manipulate do so by telling mostly the truth and then slipping in the small lie that makes a huge difference. This transit has that feel. So while it will bring new levels of spiritual awareness to many, The highest manifestation may be the ability to wisely, compassionately and with a certain detached unconditionality, be ready to hold the space of faith for more enlightened times to come as we unravel to rebuild.

2009 and The New World Order

Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction?

The answer to the question is; probably more fiction than fact, The good news is that with the internet it is easy to track the real time progress and have an action plan. At the moment, it doesn’t appear that there is much to worry about. Thousands die of the regular flu every year. The one thing that may make this one different is that like the Spanish Flu, H5N1 instigates pathological immune responses in the host via cytokine storm…see “Do you have an action plan?” below for more.

Critical Alert: The Swine Flu Pandemic – Fact or Fiction? is the title of an excellent article written by Dr. Mercola.

With the current astrological weather it is indeed difficult to tell what, if anything may develop through the rest of the year as Jupiter, Neptune and Chiron continue to do their dance. An astrological signature related to epidemics and/or pandemic scares is Jupiter in aspect to Neptune. Neptune has to do with infectious diseases and immunity in general, and Jupiter expands whatever is going on, sometimes to a point of disproportion. So, around the time of the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic we did have a Jupiter Neptune conjunction just as we do now. During the SARS outbreak in 2002/2003 we had Jupiter in opposition to Neptune.

Neptune is also very hard to pin down and can bring illusion to a situation as well as the archetype of the individual and collective fears gurgling up from the unconscious, stemming from fears and traumas originating in another era or lifetime. Jupiter would exaggerate those fears. Neptune could create a situation that just fizzles out. This happened with the 1976 Swine Flu scare when Jupiter was trine Neptune. On February 5, 1976 a soldier was feeling weak and tired one day and dead the next with swine flu. This retriggered trauma and worry, especially after the millions that died during the Spanish Flu, and somewhat understandably the US wanted everyone inoculated.

We could say that the disproportionate fears created the push for massive inoculation, which was up for vote in congress. This was Ron Paul’s first year in congress and he was one of two people (also another doctor) who voted against mass inoculations. But it was up for vote, and a nationwide campaign did get launched with millions vaccinated.



Not only did the pandemic fail to appear but the vaccines were suspended after numerous reports and 25 deaths due to Guillian-Barre syndrome, a paralyzing neurological illness correlated with the vaccines. Much has been written about the safety of vaccines and it is a delicate and controversial subject. Kat over at The Astrology of Conspiracy has elaborately written about the question of vaccine safety and motivations for wanting mass inoculations. For me, the bottom line is the question of personal sovereignty and independent choice. There are alternatives to the question of public safety relative to this vaccination issue.

The current Jupiter / Neptune conjunction is in Aquarius, which brings in the potential for man-made or scientifically engineered components. This conjunction includes Chiron in Aquarius, which could indicate a collective wounding due to these types of influences. The perspective of possible forced vaccinations as well as even some planned manipulation is also in the wind, even though some would call this clear and extreme paranoia. Dr. Leonard Horowitz points out in his recent video that apparently the CDC among others helped Novavax Inc in Bethesda, Maryland to not only genetically engineer a flu essentially identical to the current outbreak but that the outbreak is perfectly timed to promote the company's new research and huge vaccine stockpiling contracts. So this also fits into the picture of holographic possibilities.

In the end, it is a reminder of the bigger cycles that come and go and what we are collectively learning as we continue moving through eons of cycles and developments. Pandemics have been with us for a very long time and it’s unlikely we are totally free of them yet. As connected as we all are to the collective predicament, we also have as a universal right the power of free will and free choice, which only goes if we give it away. With this, we can and do have the ability to more control of our individual lives and outcomes than we think. In my opinion, part of the process is getting wise to what the variables in the environment are. With Pluto in Capricorn we will see more of the underbelly of corporate and government greed, control and manipulation. The idea is not to despair but to adjust one’s thinking and understanding towards a better future. The current Jupiter Chiron Neptune transit may indeed bring a pandemic, but it is also the opportunity for a revolution. Not the violent kind, but a revolution of mind and consciousness. For those who dare to look at the shadow.

Do you have an action plan? The good news is that with the internet it is easy to track the real time progress and have an action plan. At the moment, it doesn’t appear that there is much to worry about. Thousands die of the regular flu every year. The one thing that may make this one different is that like the Spanish Flu, H5N1 instigates pathological immune responses in the host via cytokine storm, so as a precautionary measure it would be wise not to shore up your immunity with anything that triggers that same cytokine storm as a natural immune defense mechanism. This includes apparently Echinacea, elderberry, honey, chocolate and spiralina (all among my favorites!) Preventative measures include Vitamin E and selenium as well as eating kelp and adding curry to your meals for a source of tumeric. Obviously, do your own research and realize that this is not medical advice.

Eating lots of garlic if you can tolerate it, clean water, rest, stress management and exercise are still going to be the best preventative measure for whatever comes our way. It may not be swine flu but possibly other health issues and infectious diseases.

With Pluto in Capricorn, we also have the exposure of the dark side of governmental control and pharmecutical corruption, which could bring a certain healing as we wise up and just say no to what we feel violates our personal rights. You can see that there are many possibilities and it is going to as a result of our personal and collective choices.

More on Pluto in Capricorn:
Break On Through
London Bridge is Falling Down
Initiations
We Are Growing Up
Capricorn Theme
Capricorn

New Moon in Taurus Square the Nodes

Our emotions come and go, change from day to day, even moment-to-moment, just like the Moon that waxes and wanes. New Moons can be particularly emotional times when the dark night brings depth to our inner speculations. This gives us some quiet time to carefully tend to our new intentions. It can also bring low feelings or depression as the darkness temporarily envelops us. We may feel lonely during a Taurus New Moon as we realize that in the end we are alone and realizing that our needs are ultimately met from within. Taurus is also the beauty and sensuality of earth, so any good Taurus New Moon reflection goes along well with whatever makes your senses happy – a good massage, wine and a fireplace, dinner out.

Many of our learnings on planet Earth seem to be with our needs and emotions – our Moon energy. The Moon is also our sense of roots, ancestors, home, mother and what we we need to feel safe and secure. In some systems of astrology the Moon is symbolic of the ego. This makes sense from the perspective our crystallized point of consciousness in this lifetime. New physics is recognizing that this is probably within the vastness of many possible concurrent and parallel realities. Reincarnation would put this point in the linear progression of our soul’s journey through lifetimes. At the very least this time around, the Moon represents our ties to our early beginnings in the womb, early childhood and connection with our mother.

We inherit some mind – emotion patterns from our ancestral lineage as we continue to perfect the work, and some patterns are instilled firmly during our first few years of life. This is why the Lunar Nodes in our natal chart are important representations of our deeper soul lessons and journeys. The South Node correlates to what we enter this life with. Most parents will agree that that their baby is not a blank slate just waiting to be written on! The South Node represents our innate strengths and challenges, our inherited characteristics and our early childhood. It is also our karmic predicament and living with the consequence of prior actions. The North Node represents what we want to integrate into our emotional mind-body system to bring a balance and richer life experience to our South Node orientation. We will all feel very pulled to learn the characteristics that the North Node represents, and it is life long learning.

http://azurylipfe.deviantart.com/art/Taurus-V2-63008639

The New Moon square it’s own nodes collectively brings our sense of basic security and worth into focus from the perspective of both the past, where we have been, and the future, where we are going. Around the world, the crisis and traumas of this period are challenging our sense of security on fundamental survival levels and this affects our individual creativity and self-expression. Survival fears and emotional attachments to the comforts of the status quo may get in the way of both personal creative expression and the advancement of the human species.

For example, in the US, the more narcissistic orientation of not looking past one personal needs on both a material and creative level may be challenged by an emotional crescendo and ricocheting effects that has on others in both local communities and globally. Of course, this has been an issue brewing but this new moon may herald a turning point or new beginning relative to changes and adjustments we will have to make.

Another perspective would be to continue developing a sense of emotional strength and self-sufficiency as unique and creative individuals, shining within the context of our place in humanity and what we can contribute to the whole. Or we could realize more clearly how our survival fears and needs get in the way of our full creative potential and learning a sense of detachment as we grow into a higher and wise way of understanding our reality. Deep healing comes as we learn to take care of ourselves on all levels regardless of what is happening around us, and how that then creates a dynamic flow of energy that both enhances our creativity and our contribution to humanity in some way.

Where the early degrees (0-10) of the fixed signs of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus and Scorpio fall in your natal chart is where you will feel these new emotional beginnings. If you have a personal planet(s) or angle in these degrees, the effects will be felt very strongly. There can be deep healings and new beginnings but with the challenge of integrating the old with the new, what you have experienced and learned with where you are heading.

Venus Retrograde

Stockholm, Sweden. Photographer: Ramzees666

Venus is slowing down and at 29 degrees Pisces until Thursday, April 23. Although she turns direct on Friday the 17th, this is a still period when we can sit with and digest the events of this month so far. We are all wanting new beginnings or to try something new, particularly with the Aries emphasis. This will be felt most directly in the early degrees of the Cardinal signs in your chart. Of course if you have personal planets or angles in these degrees there is major activity happening!

In traditional astrology, Venus in Aries is in its detriment. The planet of relationship and attraction is not an obvious fit for the lone ranger qualities of Aries, the sign that wants to initiate action usually resulting in two steps forward one step back. If something doesn’t work, try it another way without too much thought. However, the qualities of the female (Venus) warrior (Aries) are needed today. Bringing the Venus (another aspect of the feminine) qualities to the new beginnings we are feeling in so many areas of our lives, if done consciously, keeps the balance between oneself and the other.

Venus is the planet of love. By day it rules Libra, our relationships with others, and by night it rules Taurus, our relationship to ourself. Venus in Aries is about our personal needs and having the freedom to move forward in life without restraint towards those things we desire and find valuable. We do this while maintaining the balance of the other’s needs.

The general archetypes we are working with during this period with Venus in Aries include new developments and initiating new cycles in the areas of relationships, values including one’s sense of self worth, our orientation towards finances and resources relative to both security and simply what one finds beautiful in ones life.

What has made this month interesting is that the relatively fast moving planet of Venus is hanging out in this Aries field much longer than usual as we experience the relatively rare retrograde motion. The collective consciousness is experiencing this as a time to slow down and review, rethink, reevaluate and any other “re” word you want to put in there, our Venus values. The other intense factor peculiar to this cycle is that Venus is also square Pluto, which is retrograde in the sign of Capricorn.

Generally speaking, the work of Pluto is to deeply transform, usually involving a death of something, metaphorically speaking, so that the new can be reborn. Again, the more common retrograde for Pluto (half the time) is a time for review of our lives, and Capricorn very loosely is the archetype of the structure of our lives – that which holds things together in a way that helps to make things work. It includes our social structure, government, social rules and expectations, our conditionings that keep us cued into the system to one degree or another. It is the archetype of the “elder of the village” and the “father”. But with astrology we always consider the opposite sign, in order to integrate and to keep a balance between the “two sides of the same coin”. In this case, Cancer includes the ideas of the family and home. We rely on the social system to keep our family and home safe. We live in groups that need to cooperate for our collective sense of security and order, and rely on our elders and leaders to provide direction. Our deepest sense of individual self is always tied into the group collective in some manner. We are not islands unto ourselves.

With Pluto in Capricorn our social systems and structures are breaking down and we are facing, to varying degrees, the slow realization that what we thought would support us is falling apart. This is a typical Plutonian preface to metaphoric change, and we can be sure that our social systems, governments and the way we look to our family and culture for support will be in a very different place at the end of Pluto’s 16 year journey through Capricorn. For example, the G20 Summit during Venus retrograde early this month was a perfect time for leaders to gather to review the economic situation of the world and to restructure and initiate new programs. Which is exactly what they did with the beginnings of a world bank and currency. This financial “crisis” is also going to lead to a year or two of typical Plutonian loss as the new comes into being, and we may be forced to relook at our how we can rely on and support each other through our family and community groups. These days, family is less tied into blood relations and more into ones kin family based on other factors and ties that bind.

On more personal levels there may be many new developments as either finances and/or relationships are reevaluated. Some relationships will end. There may be discussions within relationship about how to work with finances in a new way that is either more equal or an adjustment to new situations. Some of us are reexamining what we want or need in relationship and that may lead to new orientations either within the existing or completely new paths. Perhaps our ideas of what relationships are for and how we work with our “kin” groups to better reflect our individual and collective values are up for major revamping.

We may individually be relooking at what is important in our lives, how we spend our money and time (resources) and making adjustments accordingly. This will bring new regimes and new ways of relating to ourselves and others.

Regardless, for the next 10 days or so we sit under the energy of 29 degrees Pisces. The Sabian symbol for 30 degrees Pisces (we always round up a degree) is:

A majestic rock formation resembling a face is idealized by a boy who takes it as his ideal of greatness, and as he grows up, begins to look like it.

This correlates nicely with the dynamic energy associated with Pluto in Capricorn, which at the core, is about “growing up” or dying to what is in our way of moving to a more mature level of living individually and with others in the world.

The keynote for this symbol is:

The power of clearly visualized ideas to mold the life of the visualizer.

Again, a facet of Pluto in Capricorn is the breakdown of what we thought we knew or believed, and this square gives us the perfect "weather pattern" to rethink our truest and highest cosmic values and take on if needed new ways of thinking about these things.

As the month progresses, this more frustrating period of feeling the need to change and bring in new things but being challenged by the restrictions of life, is going to clear as the freedom to move forward begins. We will begin to feel things shift as Venus goes direct on the 17th. On April 22, Mars moves into Aries, followed by Venus moving into Aries on the 24th. Then, Mars is square Pluto on April 26 and 27 and Venus is square Pluto again on May 2. This dynamic energy will push forward the changes that must be made but have been challenged until now.

The Aftershocks of Venus Retrograde Square Pluto Retrograde

Ahh, those interesting moments during a Venus retrograde cycle when old friends/ lovers or other relationships from the past come back into your life. The intensity of Pluto has these issues magnified in some way, and for me it has been like the gasp of breath one might take when jumping into an ice cold pool.

I was not happy during my high school years. I wouldn’t say I hated them, but the angst of feeling completely misunderstood as an extremely shy person who needed a lot of time alone had me begging my dad at my first Saturn opposition to leave home and go to a boarding school in the highland jungles of Malaysia. This sounds extreme to me at this point, but at the time I didn’t know how I would survive staying at my home and going to school at the International School of Kuala Lumpur where I had been for the last three years.

This last week there has been a ricocheting of reconnections, thanks to facebook, with that time in my past. Many were friends of my sister a year younger and my brother two years younger who did seem to be at the hub of activity and the focus of my Mom’s attention with social activities and events. I would go along for the ride, always just a step outside the circle, only a year older but feeling 10 years older. But these reconnections are bringing up feelings and memories I thought were gone. During my Saturn opposition, Saturn was travelling through my 3rd house and connecting with my Venus in Taurus, which is opposite my natal Saturn in Scorpio. So, in addition to the background scene being school, my everyday life and my siblings, my karmic issues of extremely low self worth were at a peak. At the time my sister who is seven years younger than I am was also, unknown to the rest of us, being molested. I have no memory of knowing about this as it was going on, however, I wonder if there is still buried information given the situation and that my Saturn opposition involved the Taurus/Scorpio axis. Regardless, going away to Dalat for a year helped tremendously and so I’m grateful that my parents were willing to give me that experience.
The Hostel
I stayed at a hostel run by a family who had a daughter, Jan, who was my age and a son Daniel, a few years younger. The hostel “parents” were quiet and didn’t demand much, except that I stop scraping my fork against my teeth when I ate the delicious rhubarb pie she would make late at night. I shared a room with Jan and two other girls, Donna and Sondra, both a little older but all made me feel at home and loved. I remember it as a peaceful time when I could do as I pleased in a quiet and respectful environment.

We were high in the jungle mountains of Malaysia in a tiny town with one street and the nearest medical facility four hours away. Dalat School was established as a private boarding school for C&MA missionaries in Indo-China, but due to war conditions had moved from it’s original location in Dalat Vietnam to the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. Things have changed since I was there. I understand this area is a vacation spot and even has a Starbucks. The school has since moved to another coastal city. But at the time it was in the middle of nowhere. They killed a tiger who had wandered into the village the year I was there. On the drives up the very windy mountains which would always make me sick, I also on a couple of occasions saw aborigines, or Orang Asli who lived in the area, run across the road with blow guns and very little on. These days they have sport watches and jean shorts, but they still carry blowguns.

                                                                Me and Jan
I remember one afternoon the hostel parents walking slowly down the road, talking earnestly, their heads bowed. She was tall and thin, he a few inches shorter and more stout. I remember thinking how sweet and intimate their relationship seemed to be. Sometime after I left, their daughter Jan wrote me that she had a new baby brother and that he had Down syndrome. I was deeply struck with that information. Just a year earlier I had seen a young boy with Down syndrome on a beach and had a “feeling” which could have been translated into some connection with my own destiny. I tucked the information in the back of my mind along with the other and felt that Jan’s brother had chosen a good family for himself.

                                                 Hostel Parents

I now realize that my year at Dalat, very close to nature with it’s simple schedule and peaceful living had grounded my soul so that when I returned to ISKL the next year, although I still felt a step outside that reality, it was OK.

Essential Needs

Many people I know are starting anew with boldness and courage. Today and tomorrow are potent times to reflect on these new beginnings.

Cycles and geometry in astrology are the all important external reflections of the developments, phases and growth of our individual and collective consciousness. The planets and their orbits don't cause the events in our lives, but are reflections of our independent and collective connection to universal mind. We cycle around to return to the same points but with a new round of understanding that expands our awareness and brings our life to a new level of consciousness.

Today and tomorrow are such times of returning to important points from which to begin our next cycle from a higher and wiser place. Today, we have a New Moon in Aries at 11:05 am at 6 degrees of Aries. This is a strong time for new beginnings, but has also been a time of loss as part of the current Venus retrograde transit.

Venus is Retrograde approximately 40-43 days every 18 months. Every 8 years she is retrograde in the same sign at the same time of year, and so one way to understand what this period means to you personally would be to think back to what was happening in your life 8 years ago. This would be in March / April of 2001. Before that it was 1993, and before that 1985. This is a time to build on previous cycles as new ideas and shifts of consciousness come.

Along with the new Moon, Venus retrograde is conjunct the Sun at 7 degrees Aries on Friday, at 2:27 pm EST. This is like a new moon Venus, and a chance to discover new things about ourselves as we look at our essential needs and how they balance with the essential needs of others. It is also a time of reflecting on our values, especially related to money and security.

As with all retrograde times, we shift gears and possibly with some slower and more reflective thought, find ourselves on new and different tracks. As I mentioned, sometimes this happens through loss, which there has been a lot of during this period. Many have lost loved ones unexpectedly. Others their jobs, income, or home. It is these intense experiences which pull us back as we look inside to what we still have, what is of true value in our lives, and how we survive with just ourselves to move forward. These ideas must be balanced with where others in our lives fit into the picture. With Venus retrograde it is a time generally to look within to what we truly need internally. The idea of reflecting on our essential needs is amplified with Venus in Aries. New patterns of relationships, values, especially to money and ones sense of worth, are emerging. We may be put to the test on many levels, including the arena of "right human relations" and leadership without compromising one's values.

The New Moon in Aries just after Spring Equinox is new beginnings. Aries pushes forward with raw enthusiasm and like the dandelion pushing through the cracks in a sidewalk, nothing is impossible. Dandelions seem to survive and adapt to practically anything. New life is born. Things are fresh, hopeful and the joy of being alive is all one needs to move forward. The inspiration is life itself. Where the early degrees of Aries falls in your chart is the focus of these new beginnings.

Obama and Old fashioned Change A Saturn / Uranus Story

Humankind’s evolutionary journey is in part reflected by the current Saturn / Uranus opposition. This is another turn around the spiral of learning how to integrate new paradigms within the social structure and traditions of the past, with an increased awareness of self responsibility and “growing up” a little as the bigger cycle of Pluto in Capricorn breaks down an older part of the system that is no longer working.

As an archetype, Obama reflects these ideas with his natal Saturn in Capricorn retrograde in the 12th house inconjunct Uranus and the North node in Leo in the 7th house. This almost exact natal Saturn / Uranus signature is closely aspected by the current transit. Later this year with the September 15 pass, the Saturn / Uranus opposition at 24 degrees and only 1 degree from Obama’s natal aspect.

We have no idea what Obama’s inner processing is because he is a politician and seems to play the politician game very well. That said, we do know that one dynamic which this signature reflects would be a deep and focused need to reflect upon the conditionings (that we all have to one degree or another) relative to one’s ideas about the role and structure of government and systems. I agree with Jeffrey Wolf Green who said once that all politicians are in a consensus reality, primarily defined as a person who is identified as an extension of societal norms, beliefs and customs. Probably at least 75% of the world’s population falls in this group. This is in contrast to those who have moved into an individuated state, characterized by those who question the beliefs and customs and who seek to discover their own individuality as distinct from society. Someone who advocates change with a Uranian vibration, as Obama has, can still do so from within the consensus framework, which we can observe him doing. For example, he essentially wants to continue the same system of lending, credit, education, health and so on, but to upgrade these systems to a better way of working. Saturn wants to keep the old structure and Uranus wants to bring in something new. In Obama’s chart we have an inconjunct between these two planetary energies which indicates a sense of tension on a crisis level, something that must be resolved for him, underscored by the idea that the planet of new and radically different is conjunct Obama’s North Node in Leo.

This tension is seen by others in an iconoclastic way that is primarily focused on the past (Saturn in Capricorn in the 12th) as he has been regularly compared to Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt, as well as wanting his speech last night to take on the positive reform feelings that came with administrations such as Roosevelt’s. There is the potential with this signature to be on the edge of society, but one does not get the backing of the old guard for presidency in that mode. So, although there are hints that Obama has a revolutionary streak, such as with his close association with the radical Reverend Jeremiah Wright until it compromised his political career track, he probably must remain ambivalent with his inner processes. The result is a “go with the flow” mentality and conforming to peer pressure, another function of Uranus on a conservative end. The peer pressure that Obama is conforming to is the very old guard and status quo political structure, and the “change” is fixing the problems in the same way they were created, which even if this strategy works is certainly not a radical or outside the box solution.

The impetus to eventually break his conditioning is strong, and could range from breaking out of the pack into a greater sense of individuality but still within “his group” to potentially stepping completely outside the current system with a radically different orientation. This would be show up very differently than what we are seeing with actions still seem well defined by the past.

New Moon / New Blog

I'm very excited to announce that Kat Starwolf and I have teamed up with a new blog called The Astrology of Conspiracy - launching today. Kat and I met over cyberspace a while back and have much in common. We were both born in 1955, the year of The Goat, we are both professional astrologers, and we both research conspiracy theories. Another common bond is our care for loved ones who have Down syndrome. As most of you know, my son Damian has Down Syndrome, and Kat cared for her sister with Down syndrome before her passing.

We look forward to your ideas and comments!

9 degrees of Aquarius Musings

On Monday, February 16, the North Node, Mars and Jupiter conjunction at 9 degrees Aquarius is exact. On Tuesday and Wednesday (when Obama signs the Stimulus Package in our fair city of Denver), Mars and Jupiter are conjunct at 10 degrees. That’s interesting as the Sabian symbol is about the need to rely upon inner inspiration and guidance at the start of new developments, and of course this Aquarian stellium is in Obama’s 12th house. Next Sunday, Mercury and the North Node are at 9 degrees Aquarius.

The Sabian symbol for 10 degrees Aquarius is “A Man who had for a time become the embodiment of a popular idea is made to realize that as a person he is not this ideal.”

Hmmm….I wonder if they mean Obama :)

Rudhyar’s keynote: The need to deal with human beings as persons rather than screens upon which one projects one’s dream and ideal.

Well, that appropriate.

Rudhyar goes on to say: “Here we have a final statement on the relationship between the mental-spiritual vision and living reality, between persons and the ideal they appear to incarnate, between the “great lover image” and one’s need for love – a love his presence stimulated and aroused. The “star” on the movie screen is not the actual person. The star’s popularity fades away, the person remains. What has this episode of popularity actually done for the person? This is a question that can be applied to a great variety of circumstances.
The fifth symbol in the sixty-second sequence brings to our attention an issue that is basic and may confront us in its various forms. Person versus archetype. This can mean a critical need for self-evaluation.

There will be change in this transitional year whether Obama is leading it as many hope or just another variation of the same old structure. Our human journey and collective karma may be in some ways tied into this man’s leadership as an archetypal symbol, but that is all he is, and I personally don’t think it matter’s who is in office at this time. Our collective momentum is strong and we continue to play out our karmic predicament together.

I can’t help but feeling that our collective pride and ego, especially in the U.S. is getting a balancing out during this process and it will be important to stay detached and objective as we discover that our ideas about things, our paradigms, beliefs and securities are going to be upgraded to higher voltage. Some may not be able to handle this process. As Stuart Wilde wrote recently, “…soon the world will be swamped by a collective global karma you have to avoid that to survive. That Global Alignment— its karma—looks vertical to me in the Aluna, you need to go sideways to get out of it. And buying guns and stocking food is not the way to go. Calm, peace, serenity and a higher perception is the chosen way, the way of the Warrior-Sage, the safe alternative. It is worth investing in that. Vital really, I reckon.”

The Full Moon, Mystic Rectangle and Yod

This month’s Full Moon at 21 degrees of Cancer on Saturday, January 10 at 10:26 pm EST, is part of a mystic rectangle aspect made more potent with a yod as an integral part.

A mystic rectangle is two oppositions connected by two sextiles and two trines and will always contain the same polarity of elemental energies; Air and Fire or Earth and Water. This Full moon has the feminine elements of earth and water.

General characteristic of earth are practical, realistic, cautious, wise, patient, solid, grounded, sensuous, industrious, reliable, and productive. This elemental energy can also be rigid, stubborn, materialistic, overly conservative and afraid to take risks. With the water element we have the qualities of nurturing, sustaining, protecting, feeling, sensitive, healing, bonding, receptive, unifying, compassionate, emotional and retiring, as well as clingy, shy, insecure, smothering, secretive, fearful, needy and undefined.

Think of the rectangle with its harmonious flow and balanced flow of energy going from one element to another, creating a container or vortex for creativity. The water and earth elements are a reminder of the metaphysical importance that emotions play in the practical grounding of manifestation, and how action must be combined with feeling for our creations to take form. However, the oppositions add complexity to the magic and can jam the gears of the vortex if there is an imbalance of integration with the polarities.

If one is stuck in a corner of the rectangle the centering and harmony is disrupted. It is here that patterns of behavior, conditionings and habituated feelings need to be recognized so that the flow returns. Energetically, one is trying to either get the flow going again or perhaps even turn the direction of the vortex the opposite way. How are your feelings and emotions affecting your ability to do the work?

As with all advancements, work is required, mostly mental effort with watching one's thoughts and visualiziations, which can then create what you want in your personal life. Our personal work is the most powerful way to assist with the collective trauma, which is an interpretation of this particular yod.

With a yod there are two inconjuncts, each connecting two signs with very little in common. The energy is tense and demands resolution. When the time is right, usually in connection to a transit to one of the points, a higher level of cosmic understanding comes. With two of these connected by a common apex point a yod is formed, Hebrew for “Finger of God” with a feel of a “fated” aspect. The finger points to a necessary area of understanding and adjustment in order to continue on one’s path of destiny. Our personal path is integrally tied into the collective path and every single human life is very important to the progress of the whole.

This yod points to the Neptune / Chiron conjunction in Aquarius. Firstly, Aquarius brings in the element of air to the water and earth. Air qualities manifest as mental, abstract, rational, social, friendly, communicative, alert, tolerant, versatile, curious, impersonal and objective as well as spacey, ungrounded, detached, unfeeling, meddlesome, aloof and over intellectual. Chiron in Aquarius is notoriously ungrounded energy and can come from a traumatic wound that with Neptune could be ancient and buried in our collective unconscious. We see this played out with the ongoing human dysfunctions, which turn from borderline in our more personal lives to outright insanity on the larger levels of world insanity. Whatever caused this deep wound in mankind in eons past is at this point irrelevant to our taking control of our feelings and doing what we need to do to heal. Individually and thus collectively.

Clearly this is a powerful Full Moon. It is likely to be very emotional and also feel a bit unstable. But it also has the potential to be very creative and innovative. The full moon is always a time to quietly allow the realizations to surface.

London Bridge is Falling Down...

I talk a lot about how the Capricorn Cancer axis is an archetype of maturation, birth and death, cycles of time, gates of initiation. With our societal structure inevitably being deconstructed during the next few years, what can we do to help?

The following audio interview with John Lennon says it all:



Those who become leaders of the upcoming new paradigms I think will have matured to a level of self-reliance and inner authority, which is much less externally referenced, if at all. Pluto in Capricorn: We can continue to give our power away to whomever and whatever is representing those in control or we can take back our power through a rebirth (Cancer) by walking through the gates of initiation (Capricorn) and refuse to go along with anything on all levels that doesn't sit right. Gates of initiation are always associated with death and you can die from the fear of facing your own shadow of dependency, which is why many are content to continue just letting things roll along as they always have.