Monthly Archives: June 2010

The astrology of the Summer Solstice 2010

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Summer Solstice 2010The Sun entered Cancer this morning (EDT), marking the beginning of the Summer Solstice in the northern latitudes, and the Winter Solstice in the southern latitudes.  Regardless of which hemisphere you live in, the Solstices and Equinoxes occur when the Sun enters one of what we call the “cardinal” signs, which are Cancer, Capricorn, Aries and Libra.

Geeky astrology lesson: the Sun only enters the cardinal signs at these periods in what we call the “tropical” zodiac.  Due to the precession of the equinoxes, the Sun is no longer aligned to the tropical zodiac.  The “sidereal” zodiac corresponds to the true location of the current position of the Sun as it travels through the twelve signs.  For example, today in the sidereal system the Sun is actually at 6 degrees Gemini and not zero degrees Cancer.  The sidereal system is used by most Vedic or Jyotish astrologers, but I have not found it to be accurate for me in my work with clients.

The chart for the Solstices and Equinoxes, which mark the turning of the seasons, are often used to predict weather and other events for the coming three solar months, so it’s useful to take a look at the chart for the Summer Solstice to see what secrets might be revealed.

The Sun at zero degrees Cancer in the Solstice chart is in an exact square to the conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus in the sign of Aries (see previous articles in this series), so this Jupiter/Uranus influence of sudden change, explosive energy, explosions, lightning, and brilliant new awakenings are likely to be highlighted throughout the season.

The opposition from Saturn to Uranus is tightening and these two planets will face off for the fifth and final time in August before the season’s turning has completed, resulting in more dissension and conflict between the old way (Saturn) and the new (Uranus).   The presence of Pluto in the Solstice chart in opposition to the Sun suggests an intensification of all experiences (including severe weather in many parts of the world) and a likely eruption of power struggles, especially since Pluto is also locked in a challenging square to Jupiter and Uranus.  Jupiter and Uranus both represent freedom and liberation, although they come to these goals from different perspectives.  The square from Pluto suggests that the stirrings of revolutionary behavior from Jupiter and Uranus will be met with a show of powerful force (Pluto).

We also have some very positive harmonious aspects here – a trine from Neptune in Aquarius to the Moon in Libra aids in the assimilation of conflict and an ability to find the truth that underlies all illusion, and Chiron at zero degrees Pisces trines the Solstice Sun at zero degrees Cancer.  Healing and wisdom (Chiron) is always available throughout any conflict that arises in this summer of intense planetary energies.

I’ll be talking more about this in tonight’s radio show on Blog Talk Radio, but here is a look at the energies in the Solstice chart for a few places around the world:

In Washington DC, seat of the United States government, the Solstice Sun falls in the twelfth house of the subconscious.  The twelfth house shows where we can be the source of our own undoing, so this placement suggests that the next few months will be a real test for the US government to wake up from any illusions under which it is currently operating.   Cancer is rising in the Solstice chart for DC, The Jupiter/Uranus conjunction sits high in the chart conjunct the Midheaven, indicating a great deal of energy for change and trying new things, although the pesky square from Pluto is likely to put the kibosh on new ideas.

In Baghdad, the Solstice Sun sits right on the Midheaven of the chart demanding to be seen.  The conflict in Iraq has been relegated to the background recently, but with this placement in the Solstice chart I suspect that Iraq will soon take center stage again.  Pluto in the chart conjoins the Nadir (cusp of the fourth house of home and ancestors) and the rifts in the fragile governmental alliance between rivalrous tribes are likely to deepen.

The Solstice chart in Kabul Afghanistan lacks the powerful alignments of the DC and Baghdad charts, suggesting that the energy in this part of the world will be somewhat subdued over the next few months.  However, Neptune sits right on the Nadir of the chart which suggests to me that the corruption and illusion of the alliances within that country and between Afghanistan and other nations will continue to grow beneath the surface and erode any efforts for peace from within.

In London, where a coalition government has just been seated, restrictive Saturn sits in the first house very near the ascendant in thrifty Virgo.  With this placement, the cost-cutting that has already begun in that nation will likely absorb much of the country’s attention over the summer.  The Jupiter/Uranus conjunction sits in the seventh house of partnership, boding well for the ability coalition government to adapt and compromise.  The Solstice Sun sits in the tenth house of career (or governmental image in a mundane chart of a nation), which is a fortunate placement for the UK this summer.

In Sydney, Neptune sits right on the ascendant of the Solstice chart.  This speaks to me of potential floods and other water events, but it could also signify confusion or delusion in some area of national affairs.

In New Orleans, the Sun/Pluto opposition falls along the ascendant/descendant axis which suggests continued stress and a growing conflict over who is in charge (Pluto) in that region.  With Saturn’s challenges falling in the fourth house of home these problems will not soon be solved, but Jupiter and Uranus sit in the tenth house of public life which suggests to me an influx of innovation and new ideas to help bring a fresh new energy into the problems of the Gulf.

The Solstice chart for Pyongyang in North Korea shows Pluto (power)  right on the ascendant of the chart.  North Korea has been flexing its muscles again, and this will continue throughout the summer.  Saturn sits exactly on the Midheaven, so a great test of the government is possible, or perhaps even a change in leader.

In Tehran, the Solstice chart has Scorpio on the ascendant, signifying a continuation of that nation’s appearance of power and secrecy, and the Solstice Sun is in the eighth house of mystery.  This sense of building power where no one can find out what’s happening is strong in the chart, but Venus sits on the Midheaven of the chart, suggesting that Iran’s focus in its public dealings will be on working out agreements and compromise.

Finally, the Solstice chart for Gaza includes a ninth house Solstice Sun, so perhaps Israel and Palestinians will begin to embrace new ideas and a new acceptance of each other.  This is hard to imagine, but this is the story told in the chart especially since Libra, the sign of diplomacy, is rising.  Pluto, opposing the Sun at the Solstice, falls in the third house of the chart which suggests that a powerful transformation can take place – either towards peace, or if those peace efforts don’t work then violent (Pluto) rhetoric (third house) could result.

The Solstice chart is only the beginning of the planetary tale for the summer.  The Cardinal Drama, as I’m calling it, will continue to intensify throughout the summer, creating change and movement wherever a shift is needed.

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Summer Solstice radio show postponed until Monday night

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I’m out of town this weekend, but I was planning to do the show from the hotel.  However, my plans have gone awry so I am postponing the show until Monday  evening at 8 pm EDT.

In this show I’ll be discussing the gobal implications of the chart for the Summer Solstice in light of the cardinal alignments, and I’ll also be talking about the upcoming eclipse on the 26th.  To allow time for all of this and still answer questions, since many people have questions about this time period, I’ve extended the show to 90 minutes.  Here’s the link to the show page.

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Astrology in my world: Handling Jupiter/Uranus energy

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Art by Alex Grey

Much has been written about the positive aspects of the combination of Jupiter and Uranus in the chart, and there is no doubt that when these planets come together it is a rockin’ opportunity to open doorways, both in our life and in our own being, that have been stuck closed.  Jupiter is the planet of expansion and good fortune – it can bring pinnacle experiences and a sense of unlimited opportunity.  Uranus is known as the planet of change and sudden surprise, but it is also the instigator of experiences that serve to liberate us from anything that is holding us back – even if it is a prison of our own making.

The first conjunction (joining) of Jupiter and Uranus occured last week  in Aries, and the rest of the cycle takes place in Pisces.   Typically the first phase of a planetary cycle is most intense, because we encounter a new energy which has not yet become assimilated into our experience.  The initial conjunction took place at zero degree Aries, in an exact square to Mars in my own chart.

Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while may remember that my Mars has been hit repeatedly over the past couple of years.  It all began when Pluto entered Capricorn and hit my Mars at zero degrees Cap.  Then last fall, when Saturn entered Libra, it began a series of squares to my Mars.  Now, with Jupiter and Uranus both at zero degrees Aries, they are having a field day with my Mars!

From the comments on the Astrodynamics Facebook page it appears that I’m not the only one having some trouble with the energy of this conjunction.  Planetary cycles affect us all differently, and this one is no exception.  People who have a lot of fire and air in their charts – who embrace change and relish excitement – they will likely have an exhilarating process of release and enthusiasm under this planetary combination.  But for those of us for whom change is difficult, and whose charts contain lots of earth and water and are more security-oriented, this wild energy can be overwhelming and even frightening.

My own chart contains lots of fire and air, so I should really be in the first camp, but my chart is made up entirely of cardinal and fixed signs.  I am all action and stubbornness and have a lot of trouble relinquishing control.  This gives me a great deal of focus and an ability to work hard and accomplish a lot of things, but it also makes me somewhat inflexible (you wouldn’t know it to look at me though, because Gemini, the sign of adaptability, is rising in my chart).

I first noticed Jupiter approaching the square to my Mars because I became much more outspoken than I usually am.  In fact, I said just about everything that was on my mind, and it was fantastic.  With three planets in Libra and Saturn on the Sun, I am usually not that free and it felt very liberating.  Then one night, as the square culminated, I became terribly sick for about three hours in a huge release of energy that came through my body.  Afterwards I was fine – it was a purely energetic event that was really uncomfortable, but in the weeks since then I realize that something shifted within me that night and broke through my normal resistance.

However, the shift was evidently not complete because about two weeks later, when Uranus aligned in the exact square to my Mars, I experienced severe heart flutters when a huge force of energy became blocked at my solar plexus.  Mars is associated with the solar plexus, and astrologer Alan Oken says “The solar plexus is linked to self-preservation and the survival of the ego, the lower self. It is also the seat of the astral or desire energy field.”  Although this was a frightening event I wasn’t really afraid, because I knew that this was the very day that Uranus was aspecting my Mars and I was ready for something intense to happen.  Fortunately I work with a wonderful healer who helped to open up these blocks and release  some of the remnants of the difficult energies that still linger in my body and spirit.

For those of us on a healing journey, every challenging experience like this is an opportunity to clear some of the psychic and emotional debris of the past and emerge as a more whole and joyful human person.

If I can quote myself from the previous article on my Pluto story:

Someone asked me yesterday, “how do we know that we have worked through our issues so that we get to the higher manifestation of the planets?” Our personal issues and personality quirks create resistance within us to the unfolding progress of soul growth. As long as we identify with these issues and quirks and hold onto them instead of relaxing into the process of change, the difficult planetary transits create lessons and challenges for us in order to facilitate that process. Once we have stopped resisting and feel enough trust in the process so that we surrender each moment to the energies of the planetary gods as they work to deepen our evolutionary story.

I do have some tips for anyone going through intense energetic changes as a result of the current Jupiter/Uranus conjunction:

  • Yoga is one of the best ways to balance your energy system and release stuck emotions.  We often hold these blockages in our body, and by releasing them through a hatha yoga practice we can realign our energy fields and improve our experience.
  • Practicing mindful meditation.  Not a meditation that seeks to block thoughts and emotions, mindfulness is an awareness and a sense of being present in your experience.  Through a practice of mindful presence we awaken to the stirrings within the heart, and open the doors for blocked emotions and feelings to emerge and be welcomed and released with love.
  • Seek the help of healing professionals.  Sometimes we need talk therapy to work through situational difficulties.  Sometimes we need astrologers to help to give shape and explain the underlying nature of what we are experiencing.  Sometimes we need practitioners in the energy fields to help restore balance to the psycho-energetic systems.

As we delve more deeply into the more subtle realms, our need for healing and guidance becomes more subtle as well.  But if we approach these experiences with the awe and wonder they deserve, instead of being challenging they become an exciting adventure that will bring greater liberation and joy.

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Astrology doesn’t work for French football coach

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Raymond Domenech astrologyThe coach of the French soccer team, Raymond Domenech, fancies himself an astrologer and has decided to avoid Scorpios when picking his team.

When Domenech took over from Jacques Santini in 2004 it looked to have ended the international career of Robert Pires.

It was then reported, before the World Cup in Germany, that Domenech had problems with the former Arsenal player because of his Scorpio star sign.

The former Arsenal player said at the time: “I must be annoying him. It’s like being at school. It’s like I’m 20 years old and playing football for the first time.” Pires has not played since, despite his continued for Spanish side Villarreal.

The France coach once admitted that a player’s international career could be at threat thanks to astrogy and it seems that Scorpios are not the only sign under the spotlight.

“When I have got a Leo in defence, I’ve always got my gun ready, as I know he’s going to want to show off at one moment or another and cost us,” he confessed.

It seems that it is not just down to players’ form, as Domenech states that “all parameters have to be considered and I have added one by saying there is astrology involved”.

Domenech has William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Julien Escude and Sebastien Squillaci in his squad, but all four have Leo as their star sign.

read more here…

First of all, the term “star sign” is erroneous, Leo would be the SUN sign, not the STAR sign.  In any case, as my intelligent readers know, the Sun sign is only one part of the entirety that makes up the birthchart and Domenech’s strategy failed to give him a win in the World Cup tournament.  Ironically, despite Domenech’s choice of Leos, a fire sign, for his team this reviewer wrote that the French team lacked the firepower to beat any team.

If I were a football coach I would want players with Scorpio energy because they have to win!  They have tremendous drive and do not like to lose, with Pluto ruling their chart, power is all-important for them.  So why does Domenech dislike them?

Raymond Domenech (1/24/52, Lyon France, time unknown) has the Sun in Aquarius forming a challenging square to Mars in Scorpio.  His conflict with Scorpios originates in his own chart!   The detachment and idealism of Aquarius has no patience for the emotional entanglements and power struggles of Scorpio, and that Scorpio Mars is the only personal planet in his chart in a water sign.  I suspect that when he encounters that Scorpio energy he is put immediately on the defensive because it brings out that inner conflict within him and creates an immediate imbalance of power.

Domenech has the reputation of being quirky, as is typical of those with Aquarius influences in their chart.  And astrology itself is associated with the sign of Aquarius, which melds scientific reasoning with innovative new concepts and understanding.  But looking at sun signs alone does not an astrologer make, and Domenech does the field of astrology a disservice by attempting to use astrology without giving it some serious study.

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Wisdom for the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction

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I love this from Dharmaruci:

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” OK, we all know the quote that isn’t by Goethe*. But the astrology for it right now is quite extraordinary: a Uranus-Jupiter conjunction at the beginning of Aries. You won’t see the like of it again in your lifetime. Aries is the sign of fiery new beginnings, particularly the start of the sign. Aries is the ‘begin it’ and ‘boldness’. Uranus is the ‘genius’. And Jupiter is the ‘power and magic.’

In about 3 weeks Uranus starts to go retrograde, a period of putting together the nuts and bolts of the new venture, the new idea. He will reverse back into late Pisces and then re-enter Aries next March, when the new idea will be firmly established, and new developments coming out of the original idea can arise. But Uranus will be 9 degrees from Jupiter by that time, and the firework display will be drawing to its end.

So the next few weeks are crucial for these bold new beginnings.

read more here…

In Aries there is a bold move to action, and then when Jupiter and Uranus move back into Pisces there is a bit of retreat back into potentiality and making the internal adjustments that are needed for these bold new beginnings DR talks about to unfold.  In my view that is an invaluable time to ensure that we are prepared for the changes that are coming up when Uranus/Pluto follows Jupiter/Uranus.

*explanation added, because evidently I am not as well-educated as Dharmaruci’s readers!

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Some astonishing lightning strikes: Zeus and Ouranos at work

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lightning strikesPerhaps it’s purely coincidence that there have been three big lightning strikes over the past few days as Jupiter and Uranus conjoin at zero degrees Aries, the most fiery of fire signs.

It began last week when a man’s fiancee was struck by lightning as he was proposing to her in the mountains of North Carolina.

Then a bolt of lightning struck a tank at a gas tank farm in Greensboro, resulting in a huge fire that closed two North Carolina interstates.

Then lightning struck a ship in the Gulf of Mexico that was involved in the attempt to clean up the disaster, slowing down relief efforts there.

Last night a 62-foot tall statue of Jesus outside a church in Monroe Ohio was struck by lightning and erupted in flames.  The pastor said that Jesus took the hit to protect the home for at-risk women next door.

There have been lots of more minor stories about lightning as well: a letter carrier was struck by lightning in St. Louis during a storm; a motorcyclist was struck in the head by lightning in Colorado, lightning has been setting houses on fire in Atlanta and North Carolina.

Lightning is associated with Jupiter (Zeus).  He was called the Lightning Maker and he is commonly depicted holding lightning bolts in his hands.  But lightning is more Uranian in nature: it comes quickly, with no warning; it produces electricity which is ruled by Uranus; it occurs in the sky, the realm of Uranus, the Sky God.  People who are struck by lightning are forever changed by the experience, and Uranus rules sudden events that change our lives in radical ways.

With Jupiter and Uranus both in Aries – cardinal (initiatory) fire – the symbology of these lightning strikes is unmistakeable.  A big alteration of the planet is afoot, and this conjunction is the harbinger.

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This really is President Obama’s Katrina

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Obama - Gulf oilPresident Obama will address the nation tonight in a speech about the oil disaster in the Gulf Coast.  We can argue all day, and probably will, over whether Obama has done enough to stem the tide of this horrific event, but in a politically divided world such as the one we are currently in his options are limited.  There are some in Congress for whom it is more important to see Obama fail than to solve the problem in the Gulf, so Obama is left with little he can do other than wring his hands and express emotion over the devastation, something he is ill equipped to do.

Obama isn’t President Clinton, who with a Leo Sun and Libra rising was a born politician, making everyone feel that they were the most important person in the universe (Libra) and basking in the glory of his success (Leo).  In a disaster Clinton is the first responder, shedding tears with the people and being one with everyone.

Obama has Aquarius rising – a transpersonal sign that chooses reason over emotion.  Obama’s solution to problems is to avoid getting involved in the emotion of the situation so that reason can create a solution.  The US chart has an Aquarian Moon, so normally that would not be such a problem for Americans to deal with, but at the moment the US chart shows a “double whammy” Neptune/Moon contact with the progressed Moon conjoining Neptune in the chart,  and transiting Neptune conjoining the Moon in the chart.

Neptune/Moon contacts blur the obvious and can distort reality – they create a desire for the ideal and a longing for something other than what we have.  The Neptunian longing is for ascension and transmutation of the ordinary world into something more magic – it’s a longing to be saved and to be delivered from tragedy.

President Obama is an excellent orator and organizer – he’s practical and effective at building consensus and coming up with solutions.  But despite the fervor over his election, he’s not the savior that many hoped he would be.  It’s interesting that most of the criticism of Obama’s handling of the disaster has been directed to his emotional response rather than to his actual actions – this shows the Moon/Neptune influence that is permeating the emotional fabric of the country right now.

When the Horizon oil rig first exploded I wrote of the conjunction of Pluto to Ceres and the environmental effects.  This event also occurred just as Chiron entered Pisces, wounding (Chiron) the ocean (Pisces) and adding to the environmental (Ceres) destruction (Pluto).  This destruction and devastation can offer a positive legacy if we take the lessons of this event to heart and recognize that we cannot continue damaging the earth in order to satisfy our unending appetite for oil.

I just about dropped my teeth this morning when I heard Joe Scarborough, noted conservative, say on his morning program that the devastating events (Osama bin Laden, September 11, the Iraq war), of the past ten years were all the result of our addiction to cheap oil.  If certain other conservatives would put as much energy into helping to create a solution as they put into trying to ensure that Obama fails at everything he tries, we might be able to succeed as a nation.  We might have to wait for the conclusion of the Saturn/Uranus opposition in September for that to happen.

Update:  Daily Kos has images of Obama’s trip to the Gulf disputing this image of Obama as the “cold president”.

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Jupiter/Uranus fuels baseless optimism

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As I predicted would happen when Jupiter (confidence and optimism) combined with Uranus (sudden changes and abrupt shifts), financial markets suddenly decided that things aren’t so bad in Europe after all and global markets are soaring today.

This sudden (Uranus) optimism (Jupiter) has nothing to do with reality and is all perception.  Perception drives the markets anyway, but today experts are saying things like

“It looks to me like stocks are passing the fear phase here over Europe and China,” said Jerry Harris, president of asset management at Sterne Agee. “China does not need to mount a big campaign to re-accelerate their economy. All they’ve got to do is take their foot off the brake and I strongly suspect they’re in the process of doing that.”

read more here…

Markets can go up as quickly as down, and this is likely to be the final ride before Saturn squares Pluto one final time in August and drags the optimism level down again.


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The Sun is waking up

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solar flare

Recent solar flare

Solar scientists met last week to discuss the higher levels of solar activity that are likely as we move out of the Solar Minimum of the past few years.  The head of NASA’s Heliophysics Division says “our technological society has developed an unprecedented sensitivity to solar storms.”

Spaceweather reports an M2-class flare on June 12th that hurled a billion-ton coronal mass ejection into space, and a new sunspot has emerged with a series of its own eruptions.   Solar flares have been connected with weather extremes, and there have been some powerful lightning storms over the past few days.

There are proven connections between Jupiter and sunspots, so the fact that the Sun is erupting into flares at the time that Jupiter conjoins Uranus in the fiery sign of Aries is an interesting coincidence.

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On the radio this morning: The astrological meaning of the mind

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Yesterday’s Gemini New Moon offers an opportunity to talk about the mind and the realm of communication that is associated with Gemini.  We’ll be talking about what the birthchart reveals about how our own mind works, and the general overall purpose of the mind in our ordinary and spiritual life.

I’ll be taking calls on this topic or any other question, and you’ll have a chance to call in with questions about your own chart.  I like to start with first time callers to be sure everyone has a chance!  The call-in number is 646-478-5731.

If you register at Blog Talk Radio (it’s free!) you can participate in the chatroom and ask questions before the show begins.

To listen live, just click on the player below at 11 am Eastern today (Sunday), or use the call-in number to listen on your phone if you’re not near a computer.  When the show is over it will be archived and you can listen later using either the player below or this link.   For more information about the show, and archives of post shows, visit my website.

Listen to internet radio with Astrological Musings on Blog Talk Radio
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