Monthly Archives: October 2010

Into the underworld, and Venus ascending

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Halloween truly is a pagan practice, and most people now recognize that this so-called holiday is actually rooted in the old Celtic festival of Samhain. Although Halloween is commonly celebrated on October 31, the festival of Samhain is a cross-quarter holiday that occurs at the midpoint between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice on November 7.

Astrologically, Samhain (along with the other cross-quarter days of Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasad) is celebrated at the midpoint of the fixed signs of Taurus, Scorpio, Aquarius and Leo. Fixed signs are the signs of power – like the square, their stability and fixed nature leads to a buildup of energy that opens up a doorway to an explosion of raw power. In Scorpio, that power is directed within, fearlessly exploring the invisible dimensions of life and reaching across dimensions to discover what awaits there.

Samhain was celebrated as the New Year in pre-Christian Celtic lands, and it was thought that during this time the veil between the worlds was at its thinnest. Communication with the dead was widely practiced during Samhain rituals, not surprising because of the association with Scorpio and the underworld of darkness that it rules.

When Christianity attempted to subsume the pagan Celtic festivals into Christian holidays, All Saints or All Hallows Day was established on November 2 with the night before being the Eve of All Hallows which has come down to us as Halloween. Participants still celebrate the souls of the dead during Hallows Eve, but now the creatures from the other side were reviled as evil. Wise women became the evil witches; offerings of food and drink were left out for the dead souls to placate their evil spirits.

Sig Lonegren from Glastonbury writes about Samhain and Scorpio:

So as this Samhain approaches, what is ending in you? What do you have inside that it is time to let go of? No healing is complete until you get beyond recovery. Use Samhain to take the thirteenth step: Transformation. In the Tarot, the thirteenth card of the Major Arcana is Death, and it is ruled by Scorpio. Samhain occurs in Scorpio. The card of Death doesn’t necessarily mean physical death (though it can mean that), but more productively, it can be seen as an inevitable heavy change or transformation. Something old must be gotten rid of to make room for something new to be able to come in. Use the magic of this time to say good-bye to an old habit or addiction, an old relationship, or anything else it is time to leave behind.

Scorpio is the sign of death and the underworld, and in the face of death we must let go of any artifice and emerge exposed and living in Truth.  However, the rising of Venus as the morning star this week suggests the potentiality now for re-emerging into the world of light and grace.

Venus as the morning star is also called Lucifer, the light bringer.  Venus is in Scorpio now, where she forces us to face the Truth about our relationships to others and to ourselves as well.  In order to advance in our personal and spiritual evolution, we must face all Truths about ourselves, even if these Truths force us into darkness, and re-emerge into the light where the darkness is transmuted into awakening.

This is a powerful time of discovery and unfolding in which we are simultaneously descending into the darkness of raw power and ascending into light and Truth.  This can be excruciatingly difficult if we hold on to any false protections, and ecstasy if we let go into the bliss of awakening.

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Taylor Swift is angry

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Taylor Swift astrologyTaylor Swift, the beautiful young songstress who has achieved great success at a young age, has been in the news over the past week for her new album.  A recent article in the Times says:

FOR pure star-on-star revenge, “Dear John,” from the new Taylor Swift album, “Speak Now,” will be tough to beat. Six and a half minutes long and flagrantly provocative, it’s a deeply uncomfortable song, its protagonist anguished and violated. “Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with?” she asks. “The girl in the dress/Cried the whole way home.”

The object of derision in the “Dear John” song is thought to be John Mayer, with whom she had a rumored affair earlier this year.

Ms. Swift (born December 13, 1989, Reading PA, time unknown)  has a Sagittarian Sun which is hopeful, optimistic, and never holds a grudge.  But her Moon is in emotional Cancer, revealing a very sensitive heart, and Mars in her chart, the planet that shows how we defend ourselves and express anger, is in barbed Scorpio.  Mars in Scorpio is usually extremely charismatic and deeply sexual, will hold a grudge until the end of time, and tends to prefer to remain hidden so that it can shoot its zingers without being seen.

Ms. Swift told the Times,

““I feel like in my music I can be a rebel,” Ms. Swift said at a quiet restaurant not far from her new Nashville apartment. “I can say things I wouldn’t say in real life. I couldn’t put the sentence together the way I could put the song together.” In interviews she’s like her songs, almost revealing.

This perfectly mirrors the dynamic of her chart, and makes for an extremely interesting person to watch.

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Punkie night!

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Punkie NightBeth Owl’s Daughter reminds us that tonight is “Punkie Night,” an ancient celebration from Somerset England which is celebrated by the carving of pumpkin-like mangolds.   Beth writes, “Throughout Somerset, locals use the term “spunky” to refer to Will-o-the-Wisps — a ball of light seen at night rising up from a marsh or bog.”  In Christianized England these “spunkies” were thought to be the souls of unbaptized children who wandered eternally through the night, but the pagans saw spunkies as being trickster sprites; the carved and lit pumpkins were meant to turn the tables and trick the spunkies.

I don’t know what it is about Somerset and adjacent Wiltshire: these magical places are the sites not only of Avebury and Stonehenge, but also of most of the world’s crop circles. In any case, modern day “spunkies,” called “orbs,” are frequently found in new crop circles and there is much speculation about the nature of these balls of light.  Are they UFOs?  Are they conscious beings?

I’ll be writing more about Samhain which is celebrated by contemporary pagans in lieu of Hallowe’en on October 31st; the actual astrological date of Samhain is when the Sun reaches 15 degrees Scorpio which this year will be on November 7th.

Watch the video below to see orbs at work.

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In the news: Zecharia Sitchin and Charlie Sheen

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Zecharia Sitchin has died

Zecharia SitchinI just discovered that Zecharia Sitchin died on October 9th.  Sitchin was the author of many books translating ancient Sumerian texts which appeared to describe the settlement of Earth by ancient astronauts.  Though ridiculed by many, Sitchin’s work has been extremely influential.  Sitchin, aged 90, would have experienced his “Pluto opposition” this year, a time when Pluto in the sky opposes Pluto in the chart.

Sitchin, with the Sun in Cancer (born July 11, 1920, time unknown, Azerbaijan), had a triple conjunction of Mercury, Neptune and Jupiter, all in Leo.  Mercury in Leo can be forceful with one’s opinions and doesn’t back down easily when crossed, although his Cancerian Sun and Venus would have been more sensitive to the huge amount of criticism he received.  The combination of Mercury and Neptune is extremely imaginative and has a facility with languages, and the addition of Jupiter helps to expand the imagination and encourage “out of the box” thinking.

Sitchin was an important influence for those of us who seek to understand our world on a more complex level than the superficial, and he will be missed.

Charlie Sheen found “frothing” at the Plaza

Actor Charlie Sheen is a frequent favorite of tabloid journalism.  Accused of beating up ex-wife Denise Richards, accused of threatening soon-to-be ex-wife Brooke Sheen with a knife, and yesterday reports emerged that Sheen was rushed to the hospital in the early hours of the morning after Plaza hotel staff in New York  found him drunk and disorderly, yelling and damaging $7,000 worth of hotel furnishings.

Sheen is a great example of why we should never look at just Sun Signs in astrology.  Sheen is a Virgo, the sign of modesty and order – qualities which appear to be lacking in his public persona.  However, his Sun is part of a triple conjunction that includes Uranus (rebellion) and Pluto (destruction), and that triple conjunction is opposite Chiron (emotional wounds) and Saturn (tests and challenge).  This is a huge planetary system that is difficult to manage for anyone because of the amount of emotional pain (Chiron/Saturn/Pluto) that must be managed in order for the individual to attain the level of growth for which they are intended.  This is an aspect of pure transformation but it requires hard work and self-analysis, something that isn’t easy to achieve in superficial Hollywood.

Transiting Jupiter and Uranus have been in a challenging square formation to Sheen’s Moon, irritating (Uranus) the natural buoyancy of his Sagittarian Moon which opposes Jupiter in his chart, an astrological “double whammy” that combines expansiveness and confidence (Jupiter/Sagittarius) with his emotions (Moon).  Sheen is a peculiar combination of arrogance and emotional distress; a combination that is not easy to resolve.

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The United States Saturn Return

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US Saturn ReturnEvery thirty years, Saturn returns to its place in the birthchart and that is no less true for national charts than it is for the charts of individuals.  The “Saturn Return” is a time that requires the celebration of Saturnian characteristics: solitude, hard work, facing up to the hard cold realities of life.

Saturn in the US chart is at 14 degrees Libra (see this earlier article for more details about the US chart and why I use the Sibley chart with Sagittarius rising), so the Saturn return cycle will begin in late November/December of 2010.  The second phase will occur in March and April 2011, with the conclusion in August.

Saturn falls in the 10th house of the Sibley chart – the house that in a mundane chart represents the government and the standing of the nation in the world.  The standing of the US has already been beaten up over the past few years, first by a transit of Pluto (death and transformation) squaring the Midheaven of the US chart, and then by Saturn transiting that same point.

The last US Saturn Return occurred in 1981-1982.  Ronald Reagan was president, and his hardline posturing (Saturn) in the world (tenth house) created new alliances (Libra) with the new Russian leader Gorbachev.  Although he had signed the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, reality (Saturn) set in under the US Saturn return in 1982 and he was forced to admit that the nation was in a recession, and that balancing the budget was “not possible.”  As transiting Saturn made an exactly conjunction to the US Saturn, unemployment reached a six-year high and Reagan’s promises of a balanced budget were deemed by his own Budget Director to be a “rosy scenario.”

The current Saturn Return cycle occurs at a time when Americans are already looking at their economic situation with a great deal of negativity.  A Saturn Return cycle is not always difficult: sometimes our best work can come during Saturn cycles.  Unfortunately, it is human nature to resist knuckling down to the kind of reality-testing that Saturn enjoys, and that’s when our butt gets kicked.

The release by Wikileaks of hundreds of thousands of documents that are extremely damaging to the US image in the world (also represented by the Tenth House) caused me to start thinking about the US Saturn Return.  As of this writing Saturn is about four degrees away from the official return – well within the range of influence.

If we look at Saturn as the teacher, then our job during the return is to learn the lesson.   Let’s see whether that will actually happen this year.

This Saturn Return cycle begins just after Election Day and takes us through next summer.

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The Plutocracy of Pluto in Capricorn 2010

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Thursday said the United States would be ceded to plutocrats and oligarchs if Republicans win next month’s election, referring to the flood of pro-GOP corporate election spending.

Peasants for Plutocracy by Michael Dal Cerro

The word “plutocracy” is being heard more and more these days, as in this article quoting Nancy Pelosi.   It’s an interesting word as it contains the word “Pluto” which is all about power and control.  Merriam-Webster defines “plutocracy” as government by the wealthy, which reminds us that in Roman mythology Pluto represented an amalgam of the Greek gods Hades (the Underworld) and Plouton (wealth) for whom he was named.  In ancient times wealth had nothing to do with paper currency or funds held in online institutions: the wealthy collected pots of gold and silver and precious metals, all valuable items that were found under the earth, Pluto’s realm.

When Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign of structures such as government and banking institutions, many astrologers predicted the consolidation of power in some of those institutions, and the destruction and regeneration of others.  Pluto rules the process of destroying that which no longer serves us and regenerating something new in its place.  The United States is particularly prone to confuse wealth with power due to the presence of Pluto in the US chart second house of money and finance.

Oligarchy is defined as the consolidation of power into a small group that exercises this power through tyranny and servitude.  Certainly the growing influence of corporations (ruled by Capricorn) in the American political system lends credence to the idea that we are fast becoming a plutocracy.  However, the planetary alignments of 2010 have brought a new influence into play: the political rebel is in its ascendancy.  The revolution of the Uranus/Pluto conjunction of the 1960s occurred on the left; the Uranus/Pluto square of the 2010s is occurring on the right.  We saw the very beginnings of this revolution this year when Jupiter and Uranus tiptoed into Aries and faced off against Saturn and Pluto, and by next year the rebellion against the status quo will be in full force.

I would argue that the United States has been heading into a Plutocracy since Ronald Reagan was in office; since the early 1980s the concentration of wealth in the higher echelons has continued to grow to the point where today the top one percent of Americans own 40% of the nation’s wealth.

When Uranus returns to Aries next spring, the revolutionary fervor that we saw this year will continue to make waves, and while it’s clear that most of the dissatisfied Americans aren’t really sure what it is that they want or who can give it to them, the dissatisfaction will continue.  So I say, bring on the Plutocracy – once it is firmly in place as the Establishment, Uranus in Aries will have a very clear target for the next three years as it battles in a square against Capricorn Pluto.

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The rebellion of Juan Williams

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Juan Williams is a well-respected journalist who has been a commentator for NPR news since 1999 and on Fox News for the past several years.  Last week Williams was fired by NPR for saying that he was afraid of travelers in Muslim garb, a comment that has generated a great deal of subsequent controversy.

In early 2009 NPR executives requested that Fox News stop referring to Williams as an NPR correspondent after Williams made some unflattering remarks about Michelle Obama, and Williams now says that NPR has been looking for a reason since then to fire him.

Throughout his career Williams has resisted being pigeonholed in any particular ideology and he has been accused of taking a liberal slant on NPR and a more conservative one on Fox News.  This is a facet of his rebellious nature that we can clearly see in his astrological chart.  With the Sun in Aries (born April 10, 1954, time unknown) in an exact square to Uranus, the planet of rebellion and innovation, he is an independent and individualistic (Aries) fighter for the rights of others and true rebel (Uranus).  He can be evasive and difficult to pin down (Sun opposing Neptune) which makes it easy for him to slip in and out of philosophical arguments.

Mars (aggression) squares Mercury (communication) in his chart, and this planetary combination has been affected by the transit of Jupiter (confidence) and Uranus (rebellion) over the past two months.  This is a planetary cycle that inspires us to be more outspoken than usual and speak without thinking.

The whole question of whether Williams should have been fired by NPR is outside of the scope of this article.  Personally I think it was an impulsive move on the part of NPR that was not entirely necessary.  But as I look at Williams’ chart I can’t help but think that he is an individual who must give voice to his ideas and opinions, whether or not they fit the expectations of those he works for.  He is better suited to the role of a roving commentator – a political expert called on for opinions rather than an unbiased presentation of news.

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Predicting the future with astrology

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The title of this post is misleading.  As my readers know, I do not believe that we can predict the future with astrology.  We can predict stormy weather; we can predict good fortune of some kind.  We cannot predict with any degree of accuracy when specific things will happen, the effort of many astrologers to do so notwithstanding.

An example of this is the question “when will I meet my soulmate.”  This is probably the Number One question asked of astrologers, and second is “when will I be successful.”  Both of these questions depend not on astrology, but on our own ability to resolve the inner issues of our personality that are keeping us from landing the job or the mate of our dreams.

I did what I like to call a  ”repair reading” not too long ago after a woman was told by an astrologer that at a certain time she would meet a man in a once in a lifetime planetary cycle, and that this was her last chance to find love.  I can’t remember the exact planetary event but it had something to do with Jupiter and perhaps progressed Venus.  She was recently divorced and not really ready for a new relationship, so when she met a man at the prescribed time she was unable to make it work.  She was in extreme distress, worried that she had indeed ruined her last opportunity for happiness.

I recently did a yearly consult with a client, and in our previous reading I had told her that a period was coming up that would be very fertile for relationships of all kinds and which could bring an important relationship her way.  As it turned out, during that period she developed some very close friendships with women who are now important in her life.

In both of these examples, the planetary cycle revealed the type of energy that was available, but we cannot predict exactly what will happen during these periods.  Nor can we use a kind of “planetary alchemy” to avoid the stresses of challenging cycles, although knowing in advance that we are going through a Saturn cycle can help us from feel that our world is collapsing when the troubles begin.

This is one reason skeptics don’t consider astrology a science: like all aspects of human behavior it can’t be measured and duplicated.  Many skeptics believe that psychology, considered by most to be a science, is at best a pseudoscience for this reason.   However, there are other accepted sciences that are as fallible or more than astrology.

Meteorology is the perfect example.  Weather forecasts are accurate at approximately the same level as random chance, and yet meteorology is considered a science.  Meteorologists are able to predict trends and possibilities, and yet those possibilities can be completely wrong.  Except for our friend Ken’s Weather Alternative of course!

The fact is, even established science is not an exact science.  Studies on health contradict each other day.  Soy is good for you and will keep you healthy.  Soy will give you breast cancer.  Soy will prevent breast cancer.  Calcium keeps bones healthy.  Calcium promotes osteoporosis.

Human beings are mysterious creatures, and each one is completely unique.  One person can smoke three packs a day and live to be 100 years old; another can get lung cancer without ever inhaling a cigarette.  One person can come out of a devastating personal situation and achieve great success; another will become a mass murderer.  We see this in the birthcharts of famous criminals – there is nothing in these charts that would say “This person will be Adolf Hitler.”

There are a gazillion variables in a human life that alters our fate.  The family you grew up in.  Your genetic makeup.  Your evolutionary patterns.  The choices that you make.  All of these things make accurate predictions of specific events impossible.  You might have the most fanastic trine of Jupiter to your Midheaven, but if you are afraid that success will mean the loss of your loved ones, you may not take advantage of the opportunities presented to you at that time.  But on the other hand, you may have a horrific chart with Saturn and Pluto squaring everything, but you may make a choice that you will work hard and heal your patterns and achieve success and accomplish all of your goals.

An article I read this morning in the Chirotic Journal got me thinking along these lines.  Jeremy writes:

One day, the world will wake up and realise that astrology is the only unifying theory of any value. It explains everything. Astrology only falls down through the inelegancy of those that explain it, but it’s not their fault. It’s the lazy theoreticians who demand that you justify your ‘belief’. I don’t believe in astrology, I understand it. That’s very different.

The beauty of astrology is that it gives shape and meaning to our experiences.  Can’t make a commitment?  You need to honor your Venus/Uranus square and be sure you have enough freedom in your relationships.  Having trouble managing your weight?  Mars in Pisces needs to learn to be more assertive rather than stuff your feelings and anger.  Having a rough year?  Saturn is creating tests to help you to get stronger.  Feeling out of control?  Pluto is rearranging your life to better suit you destiny.  Feeling lucky?  Take advantage of those Jupiter cycles and do something useful with them.

And I can’t think of one other science that is more helpful to the human experience than this.

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Full Moon in Aries: October 22, 2010

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Art by Steven Miller

The Full Moon on Friday, October 22nd, is at the very last degree of Aries.  Aries is the sign of initiation and courage; the sign that inspires us to forge ahead despite our fears and anxieties and make things happen.  The 29th degree is a symbol of completion, and the Full Moon is the symbol of fulfillment and readiness for gestation.  There is a sense here of a readiness for personal growth and evolution that can come to fruition if our conscious intention reflects the purity of the Will.

In this Full Moon we have the Sun at 29 degrees Libra opposite the Moon at 29 degree Aries.  The balance between Me and Others is the focal point of the Libra/Aries polarity, and with Venus, Libra’s ruling planet, currently unaspected and in her invisible phase of her retrograde journey, our connections with others can be obscured and confusing.  This gives the Aries Full Moon an opportunity to spring into action in a way that is more self-oriented than the Aries/Libra polarity would normally permit.

For a few days around the Full Moon we can feel more completely exactly who we are; less concerned with what others think and what others need from us.  This could create difficulties in our interpersonal relationships, especially with Mars in a challenging square to both Chiron and Neptune.

The Sun and the Moon are harmoniously aspected by Chiron (the soul healer) and Neptune (the spirit dancer), which suggests that as we orient ourselves deeply with the Truth within healing can occur gently and gradually as long as we let go and let the beauty of the lunar energy unfold.

However, a square of Mars to Neptune and Chiron may erode our confidence and fog the mind for a day or two, increasing our emotional sensitivity and the potential for hurt feelings and personal dramas.  Still, a harmonious sextile of Mercury to Pluto that is embedded in the Full Moon chart helps the mind (Mercury) to penetrate below the surface (Pluto) and reveal the essential Truth that lies underneath the drama or discussions.

Full Moon times are full of emotional and spiritual power; the Moon represents the heart of our being as well as our emotional heart, and during the Full Moon we have an opportunity to easily strip away the layers or protection that the personality builds to shield the Moon from danger, but which also separates us from our own hearts.

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Saturn in Libra and musings on Mad Men and beauty

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Libra is ruled by Venus, and Venus is the goddess of love and beauty.  Venus bestows the power of attraction, and this includes physical attractiveness as well as personal magnetism.  With Saturn in Libra, our ideas of beauty and our ability to relate to others are tested, and those of us with Saturn in Libra are tested in our individual lives.

I was disturbed by the Mad Men finale the other night in which Don Draper threw aside his carefully crafted veneer of intelligent pragmatism and fell hook line and sinker for what Jungians call a projection, an experience of “limerence” in which one meets a person in whom they see their idealized fantasy rather than a real person.   Megan, Draper’s secretary, is not only a stunningly beautiful woman – she’s smart, loving, great with his children, and most of all, seems to have no needs of her own.  The perfect fantasy woman.

Peggy Olsen, on the other hand, is smart, perky and cute.  She has had a crush on Draper since the beginning, but he is completely out of his league.  And when Draper tells Peggy of his engagement to his fantasy woman, he has the nerve to say to her: “She reminds me ofyou.”   But even though Draper admires Peggy, she lacks the fantasy component that inspires his projection of illusion and anima.

The concept of beauty carries a huge emotional charge.   My latest issue of More Magazine carried an article about Beauty Anger.  Women in particular are susceptible to resentment of other women that they perceive as having more beauty because superficial beauty is prized in our culture over other more substantial attributes.

Now there’s an Iphone app that can reinforce our anxieties about the way we look.  The “Ugly Meter” will rate your photograph and photographs of your friends and tell you how ugly you are.  This product seems to fit right into Saturn in Libra’s criticism and anxiety over beauty.

One of the things I love about getting older is the blurring of the distinctions between the smart women and the pretty women.  We are all seen for the people that we are, rather than the way we look and that is really liberating.

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