Autumnal Equinox

So here we are at the beginning of Fall, 5:05 AM EDT on Friday the 23rd, to be exact, when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator from north to south, the length of day and night are equal. According to the Farmers Almanac, the Equinox also brings the time when  the Sun's apparent position on the horizon changes at sunrise and sunset.  This shift can be noticed from one day to the next if one is observant at those times.  There is a noticeable change in our physical world too, as this decrease in light causes the leaves to change color. So we are in a change of season when our physical world alters its appearance.

After the Equinox happens on Friday, we have a Super New Moon on the 27th.  A  New Moon occurs once a month when the Sun and Moon are together (we never see them).  A Super New Moon occurs when the Moon is at its closest approach  to the earth strengthening the gravitational pulls on the physical earth and on our psyches.   This extra pulling might pull us in a new direction.  Change is in the air and seen in the world around us.

A New Moon begins a new cycle, we get to reset ourselves in the sign Libra, which will affect each of us differently according to what area of our life is ruled by Libra. Libra is the sign of the scales. It is the call for balance.  As day and night are equal now, so should we be in our personal lives.  In the coming month, we strive that everybody gets treated fairly. We learn to cooperate with one another.  Remember the symbol for justice was blindfolded so ideally we detach ourselves from the situation to make unbias decisions.

The fireworks that will be evident starting tomorrow on the Equinox, come from the Sun at the beginning of a cardinal sign  connecting with the two outer planets Uranus and Pluto, also in the beginning of  two other cardinal signs.  We have talked about this before, the approaching 1st quarter square between these 2 outer planets that have much to do with the collective.  The approaching 90 degree angle  has been felt all year and is partly responsible for the "Arab Spring", when Uranus, the call for freedom and dignity of the individual meets Pluto the transformer of large groups of people. 

These 2 planets were last together 1964-65.  Next June they will make the 1st of 7 exact 90 degree squares to each other through March 2015, as this year they only came to within a degree of one another,  but are still close enough to each that after the Sun enters Libra , it meets Uranus on the 25th, then Pluto and Mercury on the 28th.  The Sun acts like a translator of the 2 outer planets and we feel the synchronicity.  These are opening squares so that the vast cultural changes we saw begun in the sixties,  have an increased intensity (the square) to further those new beginnings in more of an "evolutionary imperative" as Stephanie Justin calls it in The Mountain Astrologer magazine.

Just as we see the change in where the sun is rising and setting, the trees changing from green to red, yellow, orange, so too our psyches will be altering this autumn, some more than others.  The Sun's apparent movement into Libra and this New Moon connected to the planets of evolutionary progress will push us to think differently and take action.  Just as planets moving into cardinal signs make changes in the natural world, so too in our inner world and personal lives, some more profoundly than others.    The some include any person with planets in 5-15 degrees of the cardinal signs.  This group also happens to include:  the USA, France, Germany, China, the UN, EEC, the UK and USSR.  All these countries will be affected in the years to come by the Uranus/Pluto square, the synchronistic effects of which we are getting an inkling of this year especially now at the change of seasons.

On New York City

I have been thinking about New York City  and how often it has been in the news lately; an earthquake, hurricane and the events around the commemoration of September 11th is alot of activity for less than 3 weeks.  I looked at the birth chart for NYC Jan 1 1898 12:01 AM.  The City has 9 degrees of Libra rising with the planet of growth, expansion and success, Jupiter rising within minutes.  This is a very good augury for the successful launch of any person or place.  On the Midheaven is the sign Cancer at 11 degrees.  There was a solar eclipse this summer at 9 degrees of Cancer on July 1st, a point on the zodiac close to both the ascendant and midheaven of New York City. This puts emphasis on the most sensitive points in NYC's (or anybody's) natal chart triggering events and notice for the year.

Eclipses are powerful Full or New Moons that have resonance not just for the month they occur.  The points where they occur are sensitive for years. Even though this partial eclipse of the Sun on the 1st of July is over, the effects of an eclipse on one's Midheaven or destiny, or how you are seen in the world continues on especially when a planet like Mars passes over that point.  Every 2 1/2 years Mars comes to conjunct that one point in the zodiac and he was within 2 degrees, at 13 Cancer on August 23rd, when  the strongest earthquake in the East for 100 years, was felt in NYC. 

Also that day we had Mars making a 90 degree angle to Saturn in Libra, crossing NYC's ascendant and also the natal placement of Saturn in the USA's natal horoscope.  Saturn in the sky has returned for the 8th time since July 4th 1776 to the degree it was when we were founded.  This is interesting in that this Saturn return and earthquake happening in the East affected 11 out of the original 13 colonies, as ASTROTABLETALK blog points out.  We talked about the contraction that occurs when Saturn comes around as it is now for the USA.  NYC and the USA share similar areas of the zodiac and so when something happens to one, it affects the other too.

Mars the planet of activity, energy, assertion, and Saturn, the planet of physical reality, the end or stoppage, were the planets, when they came in contact, that signaled the worst of happenings, accidents, falls, deaths, fires etc. for astrologers before the modern era. In other words an astrologer in London in the 1700's would see those 2 planets in relationship connected with the city's natal angles (Ascendant and Midheaven) and predict dire things. 

Then 5 days later we had hurricane Irene affecting the same eastern states.  Although the shoreline were saved, the inland areas were devastated.  Who ever heard of a hurricane (or tropical storm) in Vermont?
This was the day of the New Moon in Virgo connected to the planet Neptune who rules the seas and earthquakes as well, in that they come from under the land.

New York City was also commemorating the 10th anniversary of September 11th.  This occurred on the weekend of the Full Moon.  The Moon was in Pisces and as it was predicted with the New Moon and Neptune and Hurricane Irene bringing lots of water so to at this full Moon are we in grief and mourning with tears as we remembered how all our lives changed that day. 

If we go back to September 11th, we can see from looking at the natal, progressed and transiting charts the effects on the city that day.  It is more than I can go into here but 2 things stand out.  One is Mars on that day was within 6 minutes of exactness to the progressed ascendant to NYC's chart (note the planet Mars again going over angle of a chart and how that stirs things up;  and secondly that summer the solar eclipse was at 0 degrees Cancer on June 21st, on the world axis (EVERYBODY notices what happens when something occurs at 0 degrees of any sugn that starts a season) followed by the Lunar Eclipse, at yes you guessed it, at 13 degrees of Capricorn.  This time that degree is opposite NYS's Midheaven and conjunct its natal Sun at 11 Capricorn.

The moral for would be astrologers-watch what happens when the planet Mars goes over a sensitive point, like an Ascendant or Midheaven that has been recently eclipsed.  That person or city or country will be in the news. 

Labor Day Musings

I read alot of the Sunday paper yesterday and was taken by how much our President is being taken over the coals.  It seems he cannot do anything right, even trying to pick an evening for a major speech became another newsworthy event where Obama is seen as "ineffective", "a mother-may I" president, "the nation's  deferrer in chief" (Frank Bruni in Pass, Fail and Politics in the NYT) and having "a deficit of smarts""(same source)  not to have forseen what the Republicans would do with his aquiescing to Boehner's refusual to give him the date he suggested for his jobs speech (first time in history).

I also read David Remnick in "The Talk of the Town" in the September 5th New Yorker.  Remnick writes citing a previous article in that magazine by Ryan Lizza about how the Obama administration "maybe moving toward something resembling a doctrine".  Furthermore Lizza wrote that one of his (Obama's) advisors described the President's actions in Libya as "leading from behind".  The presidential candidates and conservative pundits have taken up the banner "leading from behind" as a sure fire way to pillor the President. 

Lizza goes on to say that in forming this administration's foreign policy two unspoken and comparatively new tenets must be taken into account.  One is that the relative power of the US is in decline and the second is that the US is hated in many parts of the world.  In joining the action in Libya, and not leading it as the Republicans would have us do, Obama is displaying a new kind of leadership, the kind that builds consensus among allies first before going into interfere into another country's affairs.  This kind of leadership does not go around "trumpeting" wins. 

The astrology supports  the conclusions in the New Yorker.  America's power is in decline.  Look at our chart.  Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Neptune and Saturn are in retrograde motion, that is 5 out of the possible 8 planets (the Sun and Moon never go retrograde) are changing orientation to the Sun, which is our purpose.  As a nation we have moved away from our center and must in time be brought back. We are no longer going forward, but have to back track, to relearn pieces we didn't get right the first time.

The leadership that Obama is displaying is in his chart, as the country follows along with its leader's natal horoscope.  We have to live with and through the President's karma.  Obama's natal Jupiter, the planet of expansion and opportunity is at 0 degrees of Aquarius. Aquarius is an air sign and feels more comfortable in a group.  The Sun, ability to lead, is strong in August, in Leo, when it is high in the sky. (Obama is a Leo but his Sun is weakened by a square to the planet of illusion and egolessness Neptune.)  Aquarius is opposite Leo, the Sun is low in the sky in February, the Sun is weak there.  Obama is not looking for glory.  He has a sense that America has made huge mistakes since 9/11 and our reputation as a trustworthy leader is tarnished. 

We are moving into the Aquarian Age when the sign Aquarius will be stronger for good or ill (Sarah Palin. Dick Cheney, Glenn Beck are Aquarians).  The next Jupiter/ Saturn conjunction will be in December 2020 at 0 degrees of Aquarius.  These every 20 year conjunctions mark new stages in our cultural, political, social development.  More of a one world concept will be in evidence and Obama can be seen as a herald.

As to his troubles right now, his progressed Moon is at the end of Pisces.  In a month and 1/2 his Moon will move into the next sign Aries, run into Uranus and his progressed Sun.  He will get fired up again and do something surprising.  It will be a time of illumination as he will be entering the progressed full moon stage of his life when one gets to see the bigger picture.  Pisces is not the sign to do any combat, you feel and just want to include everybody in your heart.  Aries is a whole different ball game, you get back on your horse.  The President's progressed Moon moving into Aries starts a new personal cycle around the wheel of life.

Mercury Retrograde's Halfway Point

We ended last time with a mention of Mercury.  As of last evening at 9:04 PM EDT Mercury made its inferior conjunction to the Sun.  This is the time we have been waiting for. At the halfway point in the retrograde cycle with the inferior connection to the Sun, the information that was needed, that Mercury left its throne on Olympus to find, has made its connection to the source of life, our goals, and purpose, the Sun.  If you woke up the last few days with a new thought consider that Mercury has brought you a message that is useful for your future.

Another point to be made is Mercury's larger cycle that includes the time frame from July 15th to September 9th.  Although we all know that Mercury is in apparent retrograde for only about 3 weeks, there are shoulder or shadows time periods when issues first arose that will be addressed in the cycle and will finally get resolved. 

If you go back to July 15th you will find that whatever was on your mind at that time, in whatever department of life (or house in your natal chart) the sign Leo governs, the issues you would be grappling with first came to the surface.  These issues should see resolution around the time of Mercury's direct station on the 26th of August at 6: 05 PM EDT, as Mercury again passes 18 degrees of Leo. 

The final solution of the Mercury retrograde cycle however will not be until September 9th when Mercury again passes 1 degree of Virgo (the sign after Leo).  This is important to consider because when Mercury went retrograde August 2nd he did so facing the planet Neptune.  Therefore this whole retrograde cycle when we are seeking new information has been clouded by the spirtual or illusionary planet Neptune.

When you think about all that has occured in these past few weeks, you realize that we were under a cloud and could not see clearly.  This would be true for each of us in some area of our lives, not everything.  When Mercury again passes 1 degree of Virgo on Friday September 9th-the cloud or confusion that Neptune brings to our thinking will dispearse.  Neptune also connects us to the divine, to the egoless state we are in during meditation. This month should have been a terrific time for those affairs, but not so great for financial matters, where Neptune can augur loss or dissillusion. 

So What IS Going on in Our Country???

Alot it seems for a Mercury retrograde period.  Why is that? The next two big planetary pairs to coincide with a change in consciousness, Uranus and Pluto, have entered the theater.  They were last in conjunction (together in the sky) 1960-72 when all the social reforms, the Social Security Act with Medicare and Medicaid, the sexual revolution with "the pill', the women's movement (NOW), immigration reform, civil rights and the war on poverty, were enacted.     Uranus and Pluto were in a closing 90 degree square late 1920's-mid 1930's, when gold was confiscated by the US government, several years of financial panic followed and the dollar devalued, among other worldwide social changes.  Uranus and Pluto have been coming closer to exactness since January and the "Arab Spring".  They are as close as they will get to each other this year, these weeks, late July to mid August.  Next June 2012 they will begin a series of 7 exact  passes through 2015, we had only 4 passes in the 30's. What we are seeing now is only the beginning of a universal human awakening of our instinct  to survive -that same call that the young Egyptians responded to.   Uranus the reformer who wants freedom, brings a sudden uprising or awakening and meets Pluto, who symbolizes the struggle for survival, who over turns the staus quo so that things are never the same after.  (Think Egypt those young people had no idea that their protests last January would result in their leader in jail, on trial 7 months later-much less the movement spreading throughout their region).  These 2 planets in early cardinal signs are affecting the USA's natal Venus (finances and values) and Jupiter (lots of).  And then in a few years our natal Sun (our identity).   Uranus the awakener and Pluto the reformer have been triggered by the planet Mars (action, energy and sometimes violence) these past few days as that planet entered Cancer (feelings and domestic security) so the the nastiness of the long drawn out debt ceiling debate, the market crashing, the USA's credit rating getting downgraded because we are seen as not being able to govern ourselves, the single worst days for American casualities in Afghanistan -are all events that fit the symbolism of the planetary movements. This turbulence should continue through mid August as Mars moves through Cancer triggering the planetary setup in our natal chart. This is of course in conjunction with the USA having her Saturn return when the belt must tighten as we have gotten too fat (our natural tendency with a Venus and Jupiter conjunction). Saturn returns happen every 29 1/2 years, even in our own lives and mark a time period of constriction and downsizing, when we are called upon to mature, to take responsibility, to live according to who we are.    Our natal Saturn is in the 10th house of reputation, how we are seen and Saturn is there again. The last time Saturn came around the Sun to this place was in 1981-82 with Ronald Regan as president. The conservative Federalist Society was formed at that time with the express mandate to get more conservative lawyers on the Supreme Court. (They did it!!) On the previous exact Saturn return, October 22 1981, we were informed that the national debt topped 1 trillion dollars-sound familiar? Saturn  makes a 90 square to our natal Sun (our identity) in our natal chart,  indicating we are fearful (Saturn) of change and must be forced into it (a square).  So we see that it is timely that the conservative forces are so strong, people want to talk about debt  and we are experiencing a down grade to our reputation and status in the world.    And then there is Mercury.....

Still Here....

Sorry I haven't written in a few weeks.  I miss corresponding in this manner.  No excuses.  But onward....I would be remiss as an astrologer not to be reminding you about the planet Mercury's present apparent slowing down motion leading to "its" (unlike other planets, Mercury is androgonous) retrograde station on August 2nd at the very beginning of Virgo.  I began this blog in a Mercury retrograde phase, when it is changing its orientation to the Sun, setting after to rising before, or eastern elongation to western elongation and so must bow to my intention in starting a blog, as Mercury during the retrograde phase bows to the Sun.

Mercury is the fastest moving planet in its orbit closest to the Sun.  And as anyone knows these days information is circling around the globe at lightening speed.  Mercury rules travel, information, and communication, what we hear, what we think about what we hear and what we choose to relate back to others.  We honor these time periods as Mercury slows down in speed to move and think more slowly, to re think or change our minds, to move about more consciously.  No one can sustain a life at ultra high speed, whether that speed is between your ears or between 2 continents. 

Mercury will contact, or bow to the Sun, as I said earlier, on August 17th.  That is when our minds (Mercury) will align with our life's purpose, goals, direction (the Sun).  The brunt of the retrograde phase is over, we make peace with our extraneous ideas and tune into the ones more to the point.  We can assume that at times our thoughts have gotten ahead of ourselves (now) and a pause is welcome.

Of course when you are trying to negotiate a rise in the debt ceiling to avoid a nation's default and the planet that rules negotiation is slowing down and apparently moving backwards, you might not see it that way. You can be sure that any agreement they do come to will have to be renegotiated at a later date.  And maybe that is what needs to happen.  Mercury will start its apparent forward motion on the 27th, when if you get up really early you can see the messenger of the gods before sunrise.

In mythology, Mercury was the only god who could move form Olympus to Hades and come back.  You might say the god went down to get some new information-something that was previously hidden from sight, some piece that will change the negotiation.  That is why there is such an admonition to signing contracts during this phase as what you sign might not be as it appears to be, or there is a change of heart.  

The Inner Life of Democracy

This morning on Krista Tippett's on Being radio program she featured an interview with Jacob Needleman, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at San Francisco University.  The interview took place in August of 2003, but is so appropriate to be reheard on our nation's birthday, and furthermore expands what we were speaking about in our last blog, the evidence of our moving out of the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius.

One of the hallmarks of coming into the Aquarian Age is that everyone is allowed to become free and independent, to become who we are meant to be, not in an selfish, individualistic way where the me me's mean acquiring things for myself, but in the manner of discovering, and then contributing back to society what is the essence of each individual.  Our country was founded on these moral ideas of self improvement.  Jefferson's ideals about the democratic process;  how important it is to really listen to pne another, to compromise, how humans have rights and duties, that religious dogmas should not be tyrannical, that each person needs his/her freedom to express his/herself, come to his/her own truth and allow others the same dignity, are still in process today. 

All these ideas are what our founding fathers envisioned for this country and what the Aquarian Age will be about. Everyone is equal in the mind of God; all humans are composed of the same "stuff".  Democracy is not just outward rules but necessitates that we work inwardly as well to free ourselves from egoistic concerns that do not allow us to really hear what someone else is saying.  Freedom of speech, for example, implies that I do not have to agree with you, but I am obliged to listen to you and let your thoughts come into my mind, which is hard to do. 

Professor Needleman asks: what is our freedom for?  Our freedom is not only about being able to physically move about (which is important) but there is another inner dimension of freedom where we free ourselves from selfish cravings and prejudices that cause so much chaos.  Our government protects us and provides the space to become fully human ourselves, to search for conscience. Conscience is the power within the human psyche to discern true values and morals. A real democracy depends on each of us developing a conscience.   Unalienable rights "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" does not mean feeling good about all your desires being fulfilled.  Happiness for Jefferson means having virtue.  Happiness or well being is being what you are meant to be as a human being, a relationship to your true self brings happiness, nothing else will do.

These ideas of Needleman's are so right for the times now when we seem to have lost the true sense of what we should be striving for - it is not to acquire more things but to become a whole human being; and that takes inner work.  Our work is to look inside and create the inner space to be free and give others the same space.  America embodies this ideal.  This is where we are heading as we move into the Aquarian Age.  Happy Birthday America.