As the Sun has just finished its passage through Scorpio it is appropriate to reflect back on what this month has been about. The visual transformations that the Sun's passage in Scorpio brings are seasonal. This time of year the Sun appears lower in the sky, light and heat lessen, the leaves turn and the animal, plant, tree and flower life around us begin to hibernate. There is consolidation happening below the ground as the earth takes in energy even from the solar system, to replenish itself so that there will be a renewal next Spring. This is the regular process of death and rebirth that all life forms process through.
This is Scorpio in its essence, something dies so that something else can be born again. "Deaths" in the natural world become "crises" in our personal lives which can manifest on many levels, physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual or psychological. In each event there is a separation from what was previously there. Between the end of something and the beginning of the new, the crisis occurs and a decision has to be made.
Each of us "dies" daily when we fall asleep (even that demands a decision). A crisis in our lives, especially when it happens suddenly is accompanied by a "little death". Crisis comes from the Greek meaning to separate or decide. In medicine "crisis" is used to signify the turning point in an illness when there will either be recovery or death. Scorpio is the sign that rules over the "deaths" and "crises" of our lives. We are having an unusual amount of Scorpio energy around us since Saturn moved into Scorpio on October 5th.
Saturn only passes through Scorpio every 30 years; last time being December 1982 to May 1983 and then late August 1983-mid November 1985. Those of us who can remember what happened then, can predict what area of life will experience some kind of crisis ( financial, health, emotional, psychological etc.); or the death of an old way of life or a transformation so that life is never the same again, that will occur this time. We all have Scorpio someplace in our charts, ruling some department of life, even if we are not Sun Scorpios or Moon Scorpios or Ascending sign Scorpios, or who were born with Saturn in Scorpio. Those people who do are the ones who will be most deeply affected during the next 2 1/2 years.
More energy in the same area creates more developmental pressure. Adding to Saturn's passage through Scorpio, we had a Solar Eclipse on the 13th of November at the New Moon at 22 degrees of Scorpio. No other astrological/astronomical event changes our lives more completely than Solar or Lunar Eclipses if they are affecting our charts. (The next Full Moon on the 28th is a Lunar Eclipse.)
The last time there were eclipses in Scorpio were 1993, 94 and 95. The last time we had an eclipse in this same spot in Scorpio was November 1993. A solar eclipse is like a light switch, something turns on or something turns off. New Moons are new beginnings that are in effect a month until the next New Moon. Eclipses effect us years into the future. Anything begun now will take time to unwind and fulfill. Being in the same sign as Saturn, the gods are pounding the same note in our lives. Saturn was not in Scorpio in those previous years when the eclipses were in Scorpio.
This eclipse is interesting for another reason. Bernadette Brady in her book The Eagle and The Lark explores the meaning of each eclipse based on the beginning moment of the series which it is a part. The current eclipse brings with it the joy that comes from a commitment. Some new undertaking or responsibility we take on with this eclipse brings a sense of joy with it. We can use this Solar Eclipse New Moon to identify who, where and what we will commit to, knowing that this commitment will transform our lives. It would be in keeping with the sign Scorpio that this commitment arises out of the dark, out of nowhere obvious.
There is still more Scorpio activity this month. The planet Mercury entered Scorpio the same day as Saturn, October 5th. Mercury has and will again pass over the degree of the eclipse igniting it. Other planets passing over trigger the eclipse even if the passage occurs up to 3 months previously. (Mars passed over the eclipse degree back on September 27th-so your commitment could have been ignited back then too.) Mercury first hit the degree of the eclipse October 22nd and will move back to forward motion on the afternoon of the 26th and pass over 22 Scorpio December 5th. With each pass of each planet over the eclipse degree there will be some news, message, purchase, communication, mental activity or travel connected with what you are committing to.
Still further, Venus moved into Scorpio the evening of the 21st (and the Sun moved into Sagittarius). Our desires, values and what we are attracted to are now more keenly felt. Our "darker emotions" can arise. Love is less platonic and diplomatic and more assertive and passionate.
Scorpio time of year is the middle of the Fall, when we are really experiencing the depth of its message. It is not transitioning into or out of the season but firmly in. Scorpio, like Taurus, Leo and Aquarius, each in the middle of their respective seasons, have a stubbornness and resistance to change quality to them. The fixed signs all have a streak of dig your heels in and "I will not budge". That characteristic is fine if you are building the pyramids (Age of Taurus) but not helpful when cultural changes are necessary and flexibility is needed. The transformations that occur in Scorpio often have dramatic quality about them as there has been a determination to keep things the way they are. We might have had hints of some changes that were needed in our lives but were good at not taking action on them, until a crisis happens and we have no choice.
I wrote this blog because I was struck by how many people's lives have been temporarily or permanently altered this past month here on the East Coast from Hurricane Sandy and the second storm. Adding to that are all the people across the country who have finished their activities around the Presidential election. Crises and transformations of this magnitude are what Scorpio is all about.
Is there a purpose? What are we supposed to think when our home and all our earthly possessions have floated away? What new decisions and commitments have to be made as a result? Will we succumb to the unbearable burden or pull ourselves together and build a new life? This is all Scorpio stuff. Crises are events that force us to look at things differently, to make a decision. We are forced to be present to the moment, and to grasp our reality (Saturn ) in a new way, the past is gone, the future not clear. Our new in Scorpio fashion commitment can be to that- to be fully present to what is arising right in front of us and to each and everyone we meet-especially those who are in dire need- and thus to feel the joy associated with the giving.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Another View After the Storm
For me writing these blogs can be a little upsetting as things are never as perfect as I'd like them to be. I can always think about something else I should have said or explained differently. And then there's the fact that I think of something I'd like to say and I procrastinate long enough that another idea comes in my head and then I lose the excitement with the initial observation.
Adding to that is the chaos that happens when an event like post-tropical cyclone Sandy occurs at my back door. I am sure that it has not been lost on any one of you that the tri-state area of the USA has been spared any consequences of climate change until now. (I bow to those who have experienced the pain and suffering caused by the droughts, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and floods that the rest of the country and world have experienced.) Even Hurricane Irene last year did not have such an impact as Sandy. Sea levels are gradually rising and will likely do so at a faster rate now and into the future. This Sandy is a game changer and is causing a "massive reordering of priorities."
In reading the NY Times last weekend I was struck with how much of the paper was focusing on the ideas for infrastructure changes in and around NYC to protect the City "before next time". New mossy wetlands strapped like a beard across lower Manhattan's chin would help to mitigate storm surge; oyster beds in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, not only to clean the waters but to protect the shoreline, and a huge storm-surge barrier across the Arthur Kill channel between Staten Island and NJ are some of the ideas proposed.
Some scientists have been working behind the scenes. According to the Times, there was a conference in March 2009 at NYU's Polytechnic Institute called "Against the Deluge: Storm Surge Barriers to Protect NYC". There was one journalist and one paying exhibitor. In the reporters words: "It had the sad air of what was then an entirely lost cause". But no longer...
From an astrological perspective we must go back to Pluto and Uranus. Those two planets symbolically represent innovative changes (Uranus) in our lives that affect lots of people (Pluto); transformational experiences which suddenly (Uranus) affect us so that our perspective shifts, we think of new solutions and take different actions. Events that cause sudden changes in perspective are the "new normal" now. There has been something brewing below the surface for a long time (Pluto) and then a sudden event (Uranus) occurs that ignites the unstable condition. This can happen in our personal lives obviously as well.
We can go back two years, December 17th to the desperate fruit peddlar, Mohamed Bouazizi, in Tunisia who lite himself on fire because he could no longer stand the injustice of the system. The act of one man spread to Egypt, the whole Middle East and eventually across the globe, starting the Occupy Movement, because the time is right. These events are outer manifestations of the geometric pattern Uranus and Pluto are making. NYC's birth chart is strongly affected by these two planets. But you do not need an astrologer to tell you that. You can look at the news (if you have power) and see it. We are in these shifting times through March 2015. And they can make one quite nervous.
Adding to that we have planet Mercury apparently turning retrograde. Actually we are passing by Mercury in our orbit around the Sun. (Just as when you are in a faster train and a slower one passes next to you it appears that that train is moving backwards). The key is our perspective!!! Earth never goes retrograde.
Mercury rules communication and travel, writing, speaking, moving from place to place, contracting, negotiating, buying and selling, our thoughts, what we fill our head with and what we speak. During this time as Mercury is changing its orientation to the Sun, or going into the underworld to get new information from a mythological perspective, we can expect to feel stuck, that things have come to a standstill. We get caught in a mouse-in-the merry-go round internal dialogue which gets no where. Watch for it. Also be careful with what you sign and agree to. It might come back to haunt you.
This Mercury retrograde periods, as all others, affect some more than others depending on whether the position it is when it starts (6:04 PM tonight) apparently moving backwards, hits your natal chart significantly or not. There are easier Mercury retrograde times and harder more confusing ones. This is a confusing one. Mercury hates going at slow speed so that is why there are more problems.
There are good things to do now too. Everything with the words" re" at the start are recommended. It is not a bad time and not a time to be feared. It is a time to get caught up, to catch your breathe, to re think things. Everyone's life out here has slowed down at this Mercury station, power outages and now a gas shortage. The longer "shadow period" of this time began the 19th of October. If you need a change in perspective you will know it as NYC knows it.
This is the first time this has happened on Election Day. Mercury was making a station but turning direct, that is leaving the backward time on Election Day in 2000. It did take 3 weeks or so to get the results of that election. Mercury was also in the middle of its retrograde period in the election of 1960 with Kennedy and Nixon which was very close and we did not have the results right away.
Most astrologers are saying that this Mercury retrograde could affect the election today by not having a clear winner after the polls close. But one can also say that Sandy and all the chaos it has caused, with the threat of another coastal Northeaster tomorrow, has already manifested the predicted chaos, confusion, stalling and delaying inherent with the combination of Election Day and a Mercury station retrograde day. But it has never happened before so we have nothing to go by. So much of life is like that these days.
In any event Saturday the 17th brings Mercury and the Sun together and the hardest part of this period is over. The new information that we needed that was hidden from view has surfaced.
Stay tuned for next time when we talk about the Scorpio Solar Eclipse New Moon on the 13th.....
Adding to that is the chaos that happens when an event like post-tropical cyclone Sandy occurs at my back door. I am sure that it has not been lost on any one of you that the tri-state area of the USA has been spared any consequences of climate change until now. (I bow to those who have experienced the pain and suffering caused by the droughts, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and floods that the rest of the country and world have experienced.) Even Hurricane Irene last year did not have such an impact as Sandy. Sea levels are gradually rising and will likely do so at a faster rate now and into the future. This Sandy is a game changer and is causing a "massive reordering of priorities."
In reading the NY Times last weekend I was struck with how much of the paper was focusing on the ideas for infrastructure changes in and around NYC to protect the City "before next time". New mossy wetlands strapped like a beard across lower Manhattan's chin would help to mitigate storm surge; oyster beds in the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, not only to clean the waters but to protect the shoreline, and a huge storm-surge barrier across the Arthur Kill channel between Staten Island and NJ are some of the ideas proposed.
Some scientists have been working behind the scenes. According to the Times, there was a conference in March 2009 at NYU's Polytechnic Institute called "Against the Deluge: Storm Surge Barriers to Protect NYC". There was one journalist and one paying exhibitor. In the reporters words: "It had the sad air of what was then an entirely lost cause". But no longer...
From an astrological perspective we must go back to Pluto and Uranus. Those two planets symbolically represent innovative changes (Uranus) in our lives that affect lots of people (Pluto); transformational experiences which suddenly (Uranus) affect us so that our perspective shifts, we think of new solutions and take different actions. Events that cause sudden changes in perspective are the "new normal" now. There has been something brewing below the surface for a long time (Pluto) and then a sudden event (Uranus) occurs that ignites the unstable condition. This can happen in our personal lives obviously as well.
We can go back two years, December 17th to the desperate fruit peddlar, Mohamed Bouazizi, in Tunisia who lite himself on fire because he could no longer stand the injustice of the system. The act of one man spread to Egypt, the whole Middle East and eventually across the globe, starting the Occupy Movement, because the time is right. These events are outer manifestations of the geometric pattern Uranus and Pluto are making. NYC's birth chart is strongly affected by these two planets. But you do not need an astrologer to tell you that. You can look at the news (if you have power) and see it. We are in these shifting times through March 2015. And they can make one quite nervous.
Adding to that we have planet Mercury apparently turning retrograde. Actually we are passing by Mercury in our orbit around the Sun. (Just as when you are in a faster train and a slower one passes next to you it appears that that train is moving backwards). The key is our perspective!!! Earth never goes retrograde.
Mercury rules communication and travel, writing, speaking, moving from place to place, contracting, negotiating, buying and selling, our thoughts, what we fill our head with and what we speak. During this time as Mercury is changing its orientation to the Sun, or going into the underworld to get new information from a mythological perspective, we can expect to feel stuck, that things have come to a standstill. We get caught in a mouse-in-the merry-go round internal dialogue which gets no where. Watch for it. Also be careful with what you sign and agree to. It might come back to haunt you.
This Mercury retrograde periods, as all others, affect some more than others depending on whether the position it is when it starts (6:04 PM tonight) apparently moving backwards, hits your natal chart significantly or not. There are easier Mercury retrograde times and harder more confusing ones. This is a confusing one. Mercury hates going at slow speed so that is why there are more problems.
There are good things to do now too. Everything with the words" re" at the start are recommended. It is not a bad time and not a time to be feared. It is a time to get caught up, to catch your breathe, to re think things. Everyone's life out here has slowed down at this Mercury station, power outages and now a gas shortage. The longer "shadow period" of this time began the 19th of October. If you need a change in perspective you will know it as NYC knows it.
This is the first time this has happened on Election Day. Mercury was making a station but turning direct, that is leaving the backward time on Election Day in 2000. It did take 3 weeks or so to get the results of that election. Mercury was also in the middle of its retrograde period in the election of 1960 with Kennedy and Nixon which was very close and we did not have the results right away.
Most astrologers are saying that this Mercury retrograde could affect the election today by not having a clear winner after the polls close. But one can also say that Sandy and all the chaos it has caused, with the threat of another coastal Northeaster tomorrow, has already manifested the predicted chaos, confusion, stalling and delaying inherent with the combination of Election Day and a Mercury station retrograde day. But it has never happened before so we have nothing to go by. So much of life is like that these days.
In any event Saturday the 17th brings Mercury and the Sun together and the hardest part of this period is over. The new information that we needed that was hidden from view has surfaced.
Stay tuned for next time when we talk about the Scorpio Solar Eclipse New Moon on the 13th.....
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
View After the Storm
Life looks differently today than it did last Friday when I was sitting in the audience at Lincoln Center listening to the NY Philharmonic and Mahler's First Symphony. I was struck then by the awesome level of mastery that that composer and those musicians had achieved in order to play that complicated music with so much emotion that it brought me to my feet with tears in my eyes. Listening to their level of achievement, gained through hard effort and discipline over a long period of time, is where Saturn comes in.
Taking the time and patience to become a master at something is under planet Saturn's dominion. The area of our expertise depends on what sign our Saturn is in at birth. This hard sought expertise is pointed out to us in the beginning of our lives by a complete sense of anxiety, insecurity, fear, dread and procrastination about those very same things that in the second part of our lives we gain proficiency in, as Saturn rules time. Whatever it is we are afraid of doing is most probably the doorway that we must walk through, if we are to feel towards the end of our lives, that we lived a successful life.
Saturn, in its orbit around the Sun, moved in front of zodiacal sign Scorpio October 5th. The planet will be there for 2 1/2 years. All those born the first 5 months of 1983 and September 1983 through November 1985 are having a return of Saturn to its natal place as it takes Saturn around 29 1/2 years to orbit around the Sun. Those persons born in the previous cycle with Saturn in Scorpio have birthdays between October 1953 through January 1956 and May 1956 through mid October 1956 when the planet went into Sagittarius. There will be a repetition of events now in the next 2 1/2 years for all those persons born in the above mentioned time zones. (There will also be rebounding affects at the cross quarters, those born 7, 14 and 21 years inside this larger 29 1/2 year cycle-another topic for another time.)
The next 2 1/2 years is the time period to get crystal clear about our expertise which will: be discovered for the first time, will experience growing pains in, will have to make a deeper commitment to, will have to overcome our fear of, and end our procrastination with in order to feel a sense of achievement. Why? Because when one person makes the effort through hard work and is noticed by another it stirs that one to do the same. Achieving inner satisfaction with a sense of self worth is very satisfying, which then allows you to give back to others from a place of wholeness and completion.
So what will those with Saturn in Scorpio become proficient in? Because astrological symbolism is as complex as human nature is, the mastery will/can be on many different levels: emotional self control, or lack of it, emotional independence or dependence; crisis management; penetrating investigation; transformational experiences, whether in the mind, body, or spirit; business acumen and management; money matters, especially monies that come from everyplace else other that what we have earned, that is inheritances, insurance, investments, wills, monies that we have together with a spouse; affairs of the dead, as in psychics and mediums; mysticism and the occult; detective work on any level whether it be a researcher, scientist, inspector or doctor. Scorpio loves secrets and getting to the bottom of things. Once set on a path they have an amazing level of endurance and forbearance, overcoming obstacles that would foil others.
I am also thinking about NYC at this time as having Libra rising, Scorpio is on the cusp of the 2nd house of money, possessions, tangible objects owned, resources. (5 boroughs incorporated January 1, 1898 12:01 AM.) The city in experiencing this level of devastation is having a Scorpionic experience and will over the course of these next years become masters at moving from total destruction and annihilation to resurgence and renewal. Money will have to be spent on infrastructure and with Saturn in the house of money it feels like there is none to do it. But with Pluto moving across their Capricorn Sun at the same time there is no limit to the possibilities.
Taking the time and patience to become a master at something is under planet Saturn's dominion. The area of our expertise depends on what sign our Saturn is in at birth. This hard sought expertise is pointed out to us in the beginning of our lives by a complete sense of anxiety, insecurity, fear, dread and procrastination about those very same things that in the second part of our lives we gain proficiency in, as Saturn rules time. Whatever it is we are afraid of doing is most probably the doorway that we must walk through, if we are to feel towards the end of our lives, that we lived a successful life.
Saturn, in its orbit around the Sun, moved in front of zodiacal sign Scorpio October 5th. The planet will be there for 2 1/2 years. All those born the first 5 months of 1983 and September 1983 through November 1985 are having a return of Saturn to its natal place as it takes Saturn around 29 1/2 years to orbit around the Sun. Those persons born in the previous cycle with Saturn in Scorpio have birthdays between October 1953 through January 1956 and May 1956 through mid October 1956 when the planet went into Sagittarius. There will be a repetition of events now in the next 2 1/2 years for all those persons born in the above mentioned time zones. (There will also be rebounding affects at the cross quarters, those born 7, 14 and 21 years inside this larger 29 1/2 year cycle-another topic for another time.)
The next 2 1/2 years is the time period to get crystal clear about our expertise which will: be discovered for the first time, will experience growing pains in, will have to make a deeper commitment to, will have to overcome our fear of, and end our procrastination with in order to feel a sense of achievement. Why? Because when one person makes the effort through hard work and is noticed by another it stirs that one to do the same. Achieving inner satisfaction with a sense of self worth is very satisfying, which then allows you to give back to others from a place of wholeness and completion.
So what will those with Saturn in Scorpio become proficient in? Because astrological symbolism is as complex as human nature is, the mastery will/can be on many different levels: emotional self control, or lack of it, emotional independence or dependence; crisis management; penetrating investigation; transformational experiences, whether in the mind, body, or spirit; business acumen and management; money matters, especially monies that come from everyplace else other that what we have earned, that is inheritances, insurance, investments, wills, monies that we have together with a spouse; affairs of the dead, as in psychics and mediums; mysticism and the occult; detective work on any level whether it be a researcher, scientist, inspector or doctor. Scorpio loves secrets and getting to the bottom of things. Once set on a path they have an amazing level of endurance and forbearance, overcoming obstacles that would foil others.
I am also thinking about NYC at this time as having Libra rising, Scorpio is on the cusp of the 2nd house of money, possessions, tangible objects owned, resources. (5 boroughs incorporated January 1, 1898 12:01 AM.) The city in experiencing this level of devastation is having a Scorpionic experience and will over the course of these next years become masters at moving from total destruction and annihilation to resurgence and renewal. Money will have to be spent on infrastructure and with Saturn in the house of money it feels like there is none to do it. But with Pluto moving across their Capricorn Sun at the same time there is no limit to the possibilities.
Monday, October 15, 2012
As Promised Saturn in Scorpio
A promise given while Saturn is in Scorpio must be kept or there will be retribution to pay. Saturn symbolizes our commitments, responsibilities, duties, necessities, burdens, right and wrong, boundaries, the law, the workings of fate, our capacity for discipline and duty, consequences of past action, and what we manifest. Scorpio the fixed water sign (think deep intense emotion) coincides with Autumn and the Fall-when the natural world around us dies. Do things really die or do they just transform? Leaves turn from green to yellow, red and gold and fall off the tree, get ground down into the soil to feed the tree silently from underneath so that there can be a renewal in the Spring. Life is a continuing process of birth and death, waking and sleeping, no thing or no one of us escapes.
Scorpio rules serpents and scorpions, all that crawls along the ground and hides in dark places. A scorpion is the only animal that can kill itself with its own tail. Our common human creation story has the serpent tempting Eve with an apple and the subsequent "fall" of humankind. Yet the eagle is also the totem for Scorpio-the eagle that flies so high and has such keen vision but is also capable of taking its prey quickly and fatally. Scorpios are represented by the two extremes of the scorpion and the eagle. They often do battle with different sides of themselves as their ruler is Mars, who wants passionate movement and action, and in Scorpio, control and power.
No preparation can be more helpful for the next 2 1/2 years than a re-reading of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The book is about a journey and when Saturn enters a sign a new journey starts for each of us; we have to walk through a threshold when Saturn enters a new sign. The trilogy begins at Bilbo and Frodo's shared birthday party September 22nd, as the Sun moves into Libra the sign of relationships and companionship. As the Hobbits meet the rest of their traveling companions in the first book, one of the themes is what it means to be part of an inclusive fellowship, with its compromises. A common goal binds them together. This is all very Libran.
But with the death of Boromir, the fellowship breaks up and 4 separate factions trudge on, each meeting intense trials and dangers, facing their greatest fears, having to endure beyond what can seem to be humanely (or Hobbitly) possible to achieve the goal of destroying the ring. No character is the same at the end of the story as they were in the beginning, or where they came in. This most certainly was their and is our Scorpio time, when intense focused effort, whether for good or ill, is in our control. We, like the fellowship, must draw on the hidden depths of reserve energy to endure and press on-never giving up no matter where it takes us. It is the passionate commitment to a goal that counts, with countless life and death struggles along the way.
As Scorpio rules the mysteries of life, death, sex, goods of the dead, taxes, inheritances, wills, monies owed, debt, loans, business monies, insurances, the procreative act, passions, things hidden either in our minds or bodies, spiritual and psychological release, jealousy, revenge, undercover work and Saturn becomes a "reality check", we will see the effects of what we have done (or not done) in all the above affairs. Saturn demands accountability and in Scorpio this is not a superficial glance, but a deeply probing intense look at any area of your life that perhaps you wanted to keep a secret. Scorpio loves secrets and if you are hiding something that needs to be brought out to the light, the next 2 1/2 years will bring it to the surface. Or if you are controlling someone or something that does not belong to you the consequences of that fixation will be manifest. It is in the letting go of the obsession that the redemption is found.
Because Scorpio has the most range of any sign (remember the serpent and the eagle) they have the capacity to dwell in a dark, depressing solitary place for a time but when the pain expiates, they can recover, come above ground, heal the wound by exposing it and soar above the earth gaining a wider perspective. There is embodied in Scorpio the need to journey down into the underworld, to uncover a buried burden or secret that is waiting to get exposed to the light, purified, transformed and released. This could bring an intense relationship into your life if it is passing into your 7th house, or a thorough cleaning out of the basement or project to uncover your family genealogy if it is going into your 4th house of the home and family. We all have Scorpio governing some area of our life. The thorough house cleaning will be true for you in the area of your life where you have Scorpio on the cusp.
The last time Saturn was in Scorpio was December 1982-May 1983, then again August 1983 until mid November 1985. The time we are in now corresponds to December 1982 and August/ September 1983, just at the beginning of the transit. Looking back on that time and reflecting what your outer world looked like, will give you a hint of where Saturn will be focusing this time. If something significant started for you in your life, then you know that Scorpio is on an angle in your chart and Saturn crossing an angle means home affairs, partnership concerns, career endings or beginnings, or to a new round of personal growth is in store for you the next few years (and sometimes all 4 areas at the same time).
Planets cycle around the Sun; every 29 1/2 years Saturn makes a complete cycle. If there were lessons from 1982-85 that we did not completely catch, personal growth that we did not complete we now get another chance to finish. Living until 90 gives us only 3 times Saturn will be in Scorpio in our lives. Saturn rules old age, time and the harvest. Saturn is hard on youth because often we do not take ourselves seriously,or act responsibly. For a successful life, as we age, we grow into accepting who we are; Saturn brings a sense of security.
Hopefully the gains you have made as Saturn was in Libra, the sign previously, can be solidified into personal financial gains now, maybe starting a new business, or at least a reckoning that allows the truth of your financial situation to come to light. These past few years Saturn was in Venus sign, we learned what we did and did not like in relationships, we learned balance and fairness, what we loved to do, we beautified our lives. Now that Saturn is in Mars' sign our actions will be the focus. Is our work truly and deeply meaningful to us? What do we really desire? Can we let go of any obstacles that are getting in the way of the realization of our dream? Can we cut out of our life that which has finished its useful life?
Fearlessly acknowledging the facts is what Saturn wants. He ruled the "Golden Age"in Greek mythology when all was right with the world. Peace, prosperity, harmony and stability prevailed. No one worked and all was provided by the abundance of the earth. No sickness, suffering or aging occurred. Everybody was responsible and acted in accord with the common good, not their own selfish interests. We could do with a bit more of that these days.
Scorpio rules serpents and scorpions, all that crawls along the ground and hides in dark places. A scorpion is the only animal that can kill itself with its own tail. Our common human creation story has the serpent tempting Eve with an apple and the subsequent "fall" of humankind. Yet the eagle is also the totem for Scorpio-the eagle that flies so high and has such keen vision but is also capable of taking its prey quickly and fatally. Scorpios are represented by the two extremes of the scorpion and the eagle. They often do battle with different sides of themselves as their ruler is Mars, who wants passionate movement and action, and in Scorpio, control and power.
No preparation can be more helpful for the next 2 1/2 years than a re-reading of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The book is about a journey and when Saturn enters a sign a new journey starts for each of us; we have to walk through a threshold when Saturn enters a new sign. The trilogy begins at Bilbo and Frodo's shared birthday party September 22nd, as the Sun moves into Libra the sign of relationships and companionship. As the Hobbits meet the rest of their traveling companions in the first book, one of the themes is what it means to be part of an inclusive fellowship, with its compromises. A common goal binds them together. This is all very Libran.
But with the death of Boromir, the fellowship breaks up and 4 separate factions trudge on, each meeting intense trials and dangers, facing their greatest fears, having to endure beyond what can seem to be humanely (or Hobbitly) possible to achieve the goal of destroying the ring. No character is the same at the end of the story as they were in the beginning, or where they came in. This most certainly was their and is our Scorpio time, when intense focused effort, whether for good or ill, is in our control. We, like the fellowship, must draw on the hidden depths of reserve energy to endure and press on-never giving up no matter where it takes us. It is the passionate commitment to a goal that counts, with countless life and death struggles along the way.
As Scorpio rules the mysteries of life, death, sex, goods of the dead, taxes, inheritances, wills, monies owed, debt, loans, business monies, insurances, the procreative act, passions, things hidden either in our minds or bodies, spiritual and psychological release, jealousy, revenge, undercover work and Saturn becomes a "reality check", we will see the effects of what we have done (or not done) in all the above affairs. Saturn demands accountability and in Scorpio this is not a superficial glance, but a deeply probing intense look at any area of your life that perhaps you wanted to keep a secret. Scorpio loves secrets and if you are hiding something that needs to be brought out to the light, the next 2 1/2 years will bring it to the surface. Or if you are controlling someone or something that does not belong to you the consequences of that fixation will be manifest. It is in the letting go of the obsession that the redemption is found.
Because Scorpio has the most range of any sign (remember the serpent and the eagle) they have the capacity to dwell in a dark, depressing solitary place for a time but when the pain expiates, they can recover, come above ground, heal the wound by exposing it and soar above the earth gaining a wider perspective. There is embodied in Scorpio the need to journey down into the underworld, to uncover a buried burden or secret that is waiting to get exposed to the light, purified, transformed and released. This could bring an intense relationship into your life if it is passing into your 7th house, or a thorough cleaning out of the basement or project to uncover your family genealogy if it is going into your 4th house of the home and family. We all have Scorpio governing some area of our life. The thorough house cleaning will be true for you in the area of your life where you have Scorpio on the cusp.
The last time Saturn was in Scorpio was December 1982-May 1983, then again August 1983 until mid November 1985. The time we are in now corresponds to December 1982 and August/ September 1983, just at the beginning of the transit. Looking back on that time and reflecting what your outer world looked like, will give you a hint of where Saturn will be focusing this time. If something significant started for you in your life, then you know that Scorpio is on an angle in your chart and Saturn crossing an angle means home affairs, partnership concerns, career endings or beginnings, or to a new round of personal growth is in store for you the next few years (and sometimes all 4 areas at the same time).
Planets cycle around the Sun; every 29 1/2 years Saturn makes a complete cycle. If there were lessons from 1982-85 that we did not completely catch, personal growth that we did not complete we now get another chance to finish. Living until 90 gives us only 3 times Saturn will be in Scorpio in our lives. Saturn rules old age, time and the harvest. Saturn is hard on youth because often we do not take ourselves seriously,or act responsibly. For a successful life, as we age, we grow into accepting who we are; Saturn brings a sense of security.
Hopefully the gains you have made as Saturn was in Libra, the sign previously, can be solidified into personal financial gains now, maybe starting a new business, or at least a reckoning that allows the truth of your financial situation to come to light. These past few years Saturn was in Venus sign, we learned what we did and did not like in relationships, we learned balance and fairness, what we loved to do, we beautified our lives. Now that Saturn is in Mars' sign our actions will be the focus. Is our work truly and deeply meaningful to us? What do we really desire? Can we let go of any obstacles that are getting in the way of the realization of our dream? Can we cut out of our life that which has finished its useful life?
Fearlessly acknowledging the facts is what Saturn wants. He ruled the "Golden Age"in Greek mythology when all was right with the world. Peace, prosperity, harmony and stability prevailed. No one worked and all was provided by the abundance of the earth. No sickness, suffering or aging occurred. Everybody was responsible and acted in accord with the common good, not their own selfish interests. We could do with a bit more of that these days.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
About a Jittery Equinox
Since the Equinox Saturday September 22nd, I don't know about you, but I have been very nervous. The Sun changed signs at 10:49 AM EDT into Libra as we officially moved into Autumn. This was just 3 days after the 2nd of 7 Uranus /Pluto squares that all astrologers are talking about. Uranus is sudden and Pluto is power-so shifts are occurring everywhere. Someone sent me photos of rebellions and demonstrations happening that week in: Egypt, Syria, Barcelona and Madrid Spain, England, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, Italy, the US, Athens Greece, Canada, Moscow, Palestine, Porto Portugal and Israel. That is quite a line up.
But no worries it has happened before. Between 1845-56, as Uranus and Pluto were also in aspect there were upheavals in almost every capital in Europe (specifically 1848-9): Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Baden, Rome, and Milan. Literature was revolutionary as well. Marx and Engels wrote "The Communist Manifesto"; David Thoreau wrote "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience". Social justice issues arose with Frederick Douglas and Harriet Taubman leading anti-slavery efforts and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony with the beginnings of the women's movement. (read Richard Tarnas' "Cosmos and Psyche" for more details.)
We are not living through the most important or most significant of revolutionary upheavals as we sometimes think. (Or if we are who can call it?) An argument can be made, however, that with the ending of the Mayan calendar and the threat of our extinction due to environmental factors there is an overlay on top of the periodic rearrangement of the social order, which makes it appear and feel like we are in uniquely desperate circumstances. There is much that seems out of order and out of balance, almost everywhere you look. It is more important than ever to find and maintain an inner personal calm and tranquility.
It came to me this week that being an astrologer and knowing where the planets are is both a boon and a curse. Astrologers are aware that as planets change signs they change houses or areas in our life that get affected with the transition. My nervousness comes in part as a result of this heightened expectancy; then too I can assign a reason for my jittery nerves, which duty tells me I need to share.
My nervousness these past few weeks as we have passed through the time of the Harvest Full Moon last Saturday as the Sun and Moon connected with those 2 outer planets that shake things up (especially for those of us that have planets at 7-8 degrees of the cardinal signs -those signs that initiate the seasons), is palatable. Now we arrive to this week and a long lineup of planetary changes.
Today Wednesday, planet Venus moved into Virgo-all you Libras and Taurus take note-no more free time- time now to put nose to the grindstone; tomorrow planet Jupiter makes a station in Gemini going retrograde until the end of January-expansion now comes from the inner work on your thinking; Friday the 5th is a biggie both Mercury and Saturn move into Scorpio. Mercury routinely stays in a sign for a month-but Father Saturn for 2 1/2 years. So the pressure of the last 2 1/2 years is off all you Libras-having done the relationship work and taken on more responsibility you get a break; now Scorpios are in for the wringer-Sun sign Scorpios or rising sign people-get a grip and come out with integrity. ( I will write about that very significant change in the next blog.)
The week is not over either as Mars moves into Sagittarius at 11:21 PM EDT Saturday the 6th. If you have Sagittarius rising you need to be careful of getting into arguments or exerting yourself too much. This might well be the week that "was". As a planet enters a new sign and new residency in your natal chart for their particular cycle, be it a month or 2 1/2 years, there is often an event that puts you on alert that affairs of that house are going to be shaken up. Hence my nervousness-with so many planetary sign changes in so many different areas of life it feels like everything in our lives is breaking open/up. More to follow...
But no worries it has happened before. Between 1845-56, as Uranus and Pluto were also in aspect there were upheavals in almost every capital in Europe (specifically 1848-9): Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Baden, Rome, and Milan. Literature was revolutionary as well. Marx and Engels wrote "The Communist Manifesto"; David Thoreau wrote "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience". Social justice issues arose with Frederick Douglas and Harriet Taubman leading anti-slavery efforts and Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony with the beginnings of the women's movement. (read Richard Tarnas' "Cosmos and Psyche" for more details.)
We are not living through the most important or most significant of revolutionary upheavals as we sometimes think. (Or if we are who can call it?) An argument can be made, however, that with the ending of the Mayan calendar and the threat of our extinction due to environmental factors there is an overlay on top of the periodic rearrangement of the social order, which makes it appear and feel like we are in uniquely desperate circumstances. There is much that seems out of order and out of balance, almost everywhere you look. It is more important than ever to find and maintain an inner personal calm and tranquility.
It came to me this week that being an astrologer and knowing where the planets are is both a boon and a curse. Astrologers are aware that as planets change signs they change houses or areas in our life that get affected with the transition. My nervousness comes in part as a result of this heightened expectancy; then too I can assign a reason for my jittery nerves, which duty tells me I need to share.
My nervousness these past few weeks as we have passed through the time of the Harvest Full Moon last Saturday as the Sun and Moon connected with those 2 outer planets that shake things up (especially for those of us that have planets at 7-8 degrees of the cardinal signs -those signs that initiate the seasons), is palatable. Now we arrive to this week and a long lineup of planetary changes.
Today Wednesday, planet Venus moved into Virgo-all you Libras and Taurus take note-no more free time- time now to put nose to the grindstone; tomorrow planet Jupiter makes a station in Gemini going retrograde until the end of January-expansion now comes from the inner work on your thinking; Friday the 5th is a biggie both Mercury and Saturn move into Scorpio. Mercury routinely stays in a sign for a month-but Father Saturn for 2 1/2 years. So the pressure of the last 2 1/2 years is off all you Libras-having done the relationship work and taken on more responsibility you get a break; now Scorpios are in for the wringer-Sun sign Scorpios or rising sign people-get a grip and come out with integrity. ( I will write about that very significant change in the next blog.)
The week is not over either as Mars moves into Sagittarius at 11:21 PM EDT Saturday the 6th. If you have Sagittarius rising you need to be careful of getting into arguments or exerting yourself too much. This might well be the week that "was". As a planet enters a new sign and new residency in your natal chart for their particular cycle, be it a month or 2 1/2 years, there is often an event that puts you on alert that affairs of that house are going to be shaken up. Hence my nervousness-with so many planetary sign changes in so many different areas of life it feels like everything in our lives is breaking open/up. More to follow...
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Suffering, Surrender and Sacrifice
I was looking at Romney and Ryan's charts the other day and noticing that they both are under Neptune's spell. A few pieces of literature contributed to my deepening understanding of what that could mean. I was listening in the car to a recording of J.R.R, Tolkien's Return of the King and was struck by the phrase "suffer himself to be led". Here is Gandalf's 's horse Shadowfax, this great and noble stallion who allows no bit, bridle or saddle and few riders, who'd just taken the wizard at lightening speed to the Citadel at Minas Tirith; "suffered himself to be led away at the soft word of his master." This supreme act of sacrifice is met with the humility of being led away.
In the beginning of Portrait of a Lady, Henry James writes of his heroine, Isabel Archer and her cousin speaking about suffering. She says; "It's not absolutely necessary to suffer; we were not made for that". And later: "Only if you do not suffer they call you hard." What is it about suffering that softens us? Does compassion arise from suffering? Is that what is wrong with Romney and Ryan? They do not appear to have suffered much?
And in Mark's gospel Chapter 8 verses 27-38, Jesus asks the apostles and then Peter, "Who do you say I am?' Peter answers "The Messiah". Jesus cautions them not to tell anybody. Then Jesus begins to teach them quite directly that He will suffer, be rejected by the elders, be killed and rise from the dead 3 days later. 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?' What does it mean to gain your life by losing it? Does losing life imply surrendering the ego?
Suffering, surrender and sacrifice are in Neptune's realm. Romney and Ryan both are, at present, having planet Neptune transiting over their ascendants. The ascendant sign is about who we are, our approach to life, the personality we show others, how we see our place in the world, how other people see us, the mask we wear. It is the window through which we see the world and dictates how we go about fulfilling the rest of the planets in the chart. With Neptune sitting there neither man can be seeing very clearly, nor can they be seen very clearly.
Paul Ryan has Neptune rising on his natal ascendant at 0 degrees of Sagittarius. He is getting a double dose of the dissolver of boundaries as Neptune is sometimes called. Romney has one degree of Gemini rising, with ruler Mercury in Pisces, Neptune's sign. Both men are heavily influenced by the current transit of Neptune coloring the way they see the world, and will be for many more months. Their words and actions speak to its influence. Neptune is not only where we suffer or surrender or sacrifice, but also where we are in denial, are ambiguous, deceitful, where our imaginations have gotten away from us, where and what we are addicted to, where we sacrifice and for what. What are they surrendering too? Is it their egos? Or is it to a higher calling-one of service to a Higher Power where the ego gratification of the personal self dissolves into acting for the greater good and being able to see the whole picture.
If there has been one major theme in the Republican party's attempt to win in November, it is that they are vague on their platform, what they would do if elected to office to solve America's problems. This theme has carried on since the convention with the "weird" scene with Eastwood talking to an invisible Obama, the gaff when the Syrian Ambassador was tragically killed and just recently with the secretly obtained talk Romney gave at a high-end fund raiser where he clearly states he wants to be President of the "haves" not the "have-nots". Romney's position that 47% of the people do not pay taxes because they want to be taken care of and like their role as victims seems to say that some people are "better" than others.
Neptune has been at 1 degree Pisces from mid-August and will apparently move back to 0 degrees September 23rd, stationing there on November 11th. Neptune remains at the 0-1 degree mark through January 2013. That means that on election day, November 6th, Neptune will be the major influence in their lives. I doubt whether any clarity will come forth from either candidate now or then unless they get clear within themselves who they are representing-all the factions of American society, for not just those like themselves. Neptune will form a cloud over both men and either they cannot tell that they are lying or we are fooled by them or they are sacrificing themselves. Maybe they really do not want to win. If they have no solutions to offer, why would anyone want those jobs? They are in Neptune's dream.
If there is one lesson to note here it is that it is easy to kid yourself and delude others if you are not able to transcend the physical and look at things from a divine perspective. That is Neptune's kingdom. Neptune asks us to dissolve our egos by letting go of attitudes, habits, belief systems and words that separate us from one another. Neptune demands inclusiveness, it abhors boundaries. The boundaries we have put up to separate us from each other either by race, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, walls, gates, faiths, language, social class, income status, must be broken down. Unless Romney and Ryan can understand that we are all in this together, they have not risen to their Neptune's higher calling and will be mired in the confusion that comes from not seeing the community of man in its entirety.
In the beginning of Portrait of a Lady, Henry James writes of his heroine, Isabel Archer and her cousin speaking about suffering. She says; "It's not absolutely necessary to suffer; we were not made for that". And later: "Only if you do not suffer they call you hard." What is it about suffering that softens us? Does compassion arise from suffering? Is that what is wrong with Romney and Ryan? They do not appear to have suffered much?
And in Mark's gospel Chapter 8 verses 27-38, Jesus asks the apostles and then Peter, "Who do you say I am?' Peter answers "The Messiah". Jesus cautions them not to tell anybody. Then Jesus begins to teach them quite directly that He will suffer, be rejected by the elders, be killed and rise from the dead 3 days later. 'If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?' What does it mean to gain your life by losing it? Does losing life imply surrendering the ego?
Suffering, surrender and sacrifice are in Neptune's realm. Romney and Ryan both are, at present, having planet Neptune transiting over their ascendants. The ascendant sign is about who we are, our approach to life, the personality we show others, how we see our place in the world, how other people see us, the mask we wear. It is the window through which we see the world and dictates how we go about fulfilling the rest of the planets in the chart. With Neptune sitting there neither man can be seeing very clearly, nor can they be seen very clearly.
Paul Ryan has Neptune rising on his natal ascendant at 0 degrees of Sagittarius. He is getting a double dose of the dissolver of boundaries as Neptune is sometimes called. Romney has one degree of Gemini rising, with ruler Mercury in Pisces, Neptune's sign. Both men are heavily influenced by the current transit of Neptune coloring the way they see the world, and will be for many more months. Their words and actions speak to its influence. Neptune is not only where we suffer or surrender or sacrifice, but also where we are in denial, are ambiguous, deceitful, where our imaginations have gotten away from us, where and what we are addicted to, where we sacrifice and for what. What are they surrendering too? Is it their egos? Or is it to a higher calling-one of service to a Higher Power where the ego gratification of the personal self dissolves into acting for the greater good and being able to see the whole picture.
If there has been one major theme in the Republican party's attempt to win in November, it is that they are vague on their platform, what they would do if elected to office to solve America's problems. This theme has carried on since the convention with the "weird" scene with Eastwood talking to an invisible Obama, the gaff when the Syrian Ambassador was tragically killed and just recently with the secretly obtained talk Romney gave at a high-end fund raiser where he clearly states he wants to be President of the "haves" not the "have-nots". Romney's position that 47% of the people do not pay taxes because they want to be taken care of and like their role as victims seems to say that some people are "better" than others.
Neptune has been at 1 degree Pisces from mid-August and will apparently move back to 0 degrees September 23rd, stationing there on November 11th. Neptune remains at the 0-1 degree mark through January 2013. That means that on election day, November 6th, Neptune will be the major influence in their lives. I doubt whether any clarity will come forth from either candidate now or then unless they get clear within themselves who they are representing-all the factions of American society, for not just those like themselves. Neptune will form a cloud over both men and either they cannot tell that they are lying or we are fooled by them or they are sacrificing themselves. Maybe they really do not want to win. If they have no solutions to offer, why would anyone want those jobs? They are in Neptune's dream.
If there is one lesson to note here it is that it is easy to kid yourself and delude others if you are not able to transcend the physical and look at things from a divine perspective. That is Neptune's kingdom. Neptune asks us to dissolve our egos by letting go of attitudes, habits, belief systems and words that separate us from one another. Neptune demands inclusiveness, it abhors boundaries. The boundaries we have put up to separate us from each other either by race, gender, age, sexual preference, religion, walls, gates, faiths, language, social class, income status, must be broken down. Unless Romney and Ryan can understand that we are all in this together, they have not risen to their Neptune's higher calling and will be mired in the confusion that comes from not seeing the community of man in its entirety.
Monday, September 10, 2012
Epochs of Revolution
I took the title of this blog from Richard Tarnas' book Psyche and Cosmos. Each chapter is devoted to a pair of outer planets that periodically form geometric patterns in the sky. Tarnas writes about what synchronistically unfolded in the social, political, cultural, literary and scientific affairs in the western world at the same time. Uranus and Pluto is the pair we are focusing on with these days. Uranus coincides with sudden awakenings and Pluto with revolutionary uprisings and shifts in power that affect large numbers of people.This current alignment of these 2 has been in orb of influence since 2007 and will be until 2020.
Epochs of revolution have beginnings at the conjunction or apparent merging of the two bodies (think monthly New Moons when the Sun and Moon are together). At that time a new concept of what counts as truth is formed. The last time Uranus and Pluto were together was 1960-1972, most intensely exact between 1965-6. Approximately 40 years later the opening 90 degree square forms between the same 2 planets. That is when the seeds formed in 1965 have to be modified or redefined. One example of this is Medicare, enacted in 1965 and now by the agreement of all parties needs modification.
Certainly the polarity of the platforms held by the democrats and republicans in the current election is an example of this country (and many others) at a crisis point. Are going to go backwards from the progressive movement started in the 60's and undo those reforms in social policy made then, or are we going to strengthen and expand those initiatives? We are at a crossroads; voting for one side or the other will have a decided effect on our lives. The crossroads coincide with the opening square of Uranus and Pluto. Our change in perspective as to who we are, our place in and responsibility for the world we live in has to take a more defined form. There is a great deal of tension surrounding these shifts as there are many who are incapable of seeing the world differently than they have known it to be and hang on for dear life.
We are speaking of it today for two reasons. One is that becoming conscious of the second of seven exact 90 degree opening squares between Uranus and Pluto (through March 2015), occurring on the 18th of this month, will help us navigate our way ahead; and secondly I was inspired to write about a prime mover of another epoch of revolution as I heard Dava Sobel at Ross School speak about her latest book and play centered on Copernicus (1473-1543).
Copernicus was one of those highly educated persons whose intuitive and reasoned insights changed the way we thought of ourselves and our place in the universe. As Tarnas says: "The nature of the Copernican revolution was so fundamental that what had to be rethought was not only all the conventional scientific theories but the entire hierarchy of humanity's place in the universal scheme of things: its relation to the rest of nature and to the cosmos, its relation to the divine, the basis for its morality, its capacity for certain knowledge, its historical self-understanding."
The beginning of what was to become know as the Copernican revolution was at the conjunction of Pluto and Uranus that occurred during the years 1450-1461. Uranus and Pluto conjunctions form once approximately every 100-150 years and usher in periods of cultural and political upheaval. Guttenberg developed the movable-type printing press during the conjunction years, which was the necessary prerequisite for the Reformation, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment as new ideas could spread through printed materials. Copernicus was at Krakow University 1491-95 studying, among other things cosmology (not called that then of course) during the same opening square of Uranus and Pluto that we are experiencing now.
The publication of Copernicus' book did not occur until 1543 when Uranus and Pluto had come 180 degrees to each other and the fulfillment of the promise inherent in the coupling of the same 2 planets 100 years before. Copernicus knew that what he was proposing: that the earth moved around the Sun and also on its axis was revolutionary, upsetting thousand of years of unquestionable belief that the earth stood still. It was not until 50 years later when Kepler and Galileo made their mathematical calculations and planetary observations with the telescope that confirmed the heliocentric theory and the Scientific Revolution was advanced forward.
The next few years we will live through are the 1/2 way point between the conjunction of Uranus and Pluto 1960-72 and their coming 180 away from each other in the 2040's. We now need another Copernican Revolution as upsetting to the status quo as his theory was then. A revolution in rethinking humanity's place in the universal scheme of things, the consequences of our actions on our planet and towards each other, our morality and self understanding.
I heard Tim Bishop speak yesterday, incumbent in Congress running a race with a right-wing opponent whose policies, speak to holding on for dear life to the life they have made for themselves with those like themselves. Bishop said this election was a confirming or defining one. We voted "hope and change" with Obama in in 2008 but we need another election cycle, this one, to confirm we are set on the path chosen then, or do we want to regress backwards? We are at a turning point and the second square of Uranus and Pluto (with Pluto stationing direct-extra powerful) exact again on the 18th and close to the equinox on the 22nd will not go unnoticed. Are we able to move forward and free ourselves from old ways of seeing things or are we in denial of the realities in front of us?
Epochs of revolution have beginnings at the conjunction or apparent merging of the two bodies (think monthly New Moons when the Sun and Moon are together). At that time a new concept of what counts as truth is formed. The last time Uranus and Pluto were together was 1960-1972, most intensely exact between 1965-6. Approximately 40 years later the opening 90 degree square forms between the same 2 planets. That is when the seeds formed in 1965 have to be modified or redefined. One example of this is Medicare, enacted in 1965 and now by the agreement of all parties needs modification.
Certainly the polarity of the platforms held by the democrats and republicans in the current election is an example of this country (and many others) at a crisis point. Are going to go backwards from the progressive movement started in the 60's and undo those reforms in social policy made then, or are we going to strengthen and expand those initiatives? We are at a crossroads; voting for one side or the other will have a decided effect on our lives. The crossroads coincide with the opening square of Uranus and Pluto. Our change in perspective as to who we are, our place in and responsibility for the world we live in has to take a more defined form. There is a great deal of tension surrounding these shifts as there are many who are incapable of seeing the world differently than they have known it to be and hang on for dear life.
We are speaking of it today for two reasons. One is that becoming conscious of the second of seven exact 90 degree opening squares between Uranus and Pluto (through March 2015), occurring on the 18th of this month, will help us navigate our way ahead; and secondly I was inspired to write about a prime mover of another epoch of revolution as I heard Dava Sobel at Ross School speak about her latest book and play centered on Copernicus (1473-1543).
Copernicus was one of those highly educated persons whose intuitive and reasoned insights changed the way we thought of ourselves and our place in the universe. As Tarnas says: "The nature of the Copernican revolution was so fundamental that what had to be rethought was not only all the conventional scientific theories but the entire hierarchy of humanity's place in the universal scheme of things: its relation to the rest of nature and to the cosmos, its relation to the divine, the basis for its morality, its capacity for certain knowledge, its historical self-understanding."
The beginning of what was to become know as the Copernican revolution was at the conjunction of Pluto and Uranus that occurred during the years 1450-1461. Uranus and Pluto conjunctions form once approximately every 100-150 years and usher in periods of cultural and political upheaval. Guttenberg developed the movable-type printing press during the conjunction years, which was the necessary prerequisite for the Reformation, Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment as new ideas could spread through printed materials. Copernicus was at Krakow University 1491-95 studying, among other things cosmology (not called that then of course) during the same opening square of Uranus and Pluto that we are experiencing now.
The publication of Copernicus' book did not occur until 1543 when Uranus and Pluto had come 180 degrees to each other and the fulfillment of the promise inherent in the coupling of the same 2 planets 100 years before. Copernicus knew that what he was proposing: that the earth moved around the Sun and also on its axis was revolutionary, upsetting thousand of years of unquestionable belief that the earth stood still. It was not until 50 years later when Kepler and Galileo made their mathematical calculations and planetary observations with the telescope that confirmed the heliocentric theory and the Scientific Revolution was advanced forward.
The next few years we will live through are the 1/2 way point between the conjunction of Uranus and Pluto 1960-72 and their coming 180 away from each other in the 2040's. We now need another Copernican Revolution as upsetting to the status quo as his theory was then. A revolution in rethinking humanity's place in the universal scheme of things, the consequences of our actions on our planet and towards each other, our morality and self understanding.
I heard Tim Bishop speak yesterday, incumbent in Congress running a race with a right-wing opponent whose policies, speak to holding on for dear life to the life they have made for themselves with those like themselves. Bishop said this election was a confirming or defining one. We voted "hope and change" with Obama in in 2008 but we need another election cycle, this one, to confirm we are set on the path chosen then, or do we want to regress backwards? We are at a turning point and the second square of Uranus and Pluto (with Pluto stationing direct-extra powerful) exact again on the 18th and close to the equinox on the 22nd will not go unnoticed. Are we able to move forward and free ourselves from old ways of seeing things or are we in denial of the realities in front of us?
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