Monthly Archives: May 2011

Waxing outer planet cycles

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For some time now I have wanted to do an analysis of the outer planet cycles to see how they affect global periods of transformation so I was glad to see this article by Dharmaruci in which he discusses the fact that the current cycle of Uranus in Aries in a square to Pluto in Capricorn is part of a larger cycle in which all three outer planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) are in the waxing phase of their relationships to one another.

Like the Sun and Moon, planetary cycles have phases which begin with the conjunction (corresponding to the New Moon), the opening square (corresponding to the first quarter Moon), the opposition (corresponding to the Full Moon), the waning square.  The waxing phase of all cycles is an expansive period in which new ideas are created and change occurs.  DR calls it the “creative, constructive” phase and reports that the last two times all three outer planets were in the waxing phase were 1479-1538 CE and 965-1029 CE.

The outer planets represent transformational forces – their influence goes beyond the personal limits of our individual lives, so it makes sense that the interactions between the outer planets create forces that often feel as though they are beyond our control.  But they also serve the purpose of pushing us beyond our comfort zones so that we are forced to develop and progress – as individuals, as collectives, and as nations.

The period between 965 and 1029 CE witnessed the flowering of Arabic civilization, and the next period of waxing phases, from 1479-1538, was marked by a push for exploration beyond Europe into new lands.  DR notes that our current waxing phase began in 1993 and will continue until 2046 – a long period during which we will undergo many changes and transformative pressures.

The West has dominated world culture and finance for centuries, and in the mid-1990s, as this waxing phase began, the balance of power began to shift.  Some of this was due astrologically to Pluto entering Sagittarius in 1995, inspiring an expansive view of globalization (both Sagittarius keywords) that resulted in the transporting of American jobs overseas.  This period also began a tremendous period of immigration across the globe which is forever altering the identity of individual nations.

DR shares my view that the end result of this has been a growing middle class in Asia as the middle class in the US and Britain have dwindled.  Just as in these other waxing phases, the base of power in the world has shifted and this is likely to ultimately create greater expansion of knowledge and economic balance in the long run, even though it’s painful for Western countries at the moment.

 

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Sunday inspiration from Oprah

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Oprah inspirational quotesArtwork by Jerrod Maruyama.

I’m not embarrassed to say that over the last 20 years I have derived some of my greatest inspiration from Oprah, and have learned a great deal from the guests on her show.  It would be impossible to overstate the effect that this one woman has had on millions of people around the world in their efforts to achieve personal transformation.

In honor of her final network television show, here are some of my favorite quotes from Oprah Winfrey:

  • “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough”
  • “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.”
  • “When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are”
  • “Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire.”
  • “Your calling isn’t something that somebody can tell you about. It’s what you feel. It is the thing that gives you juice. The thing that you are supposed to do. And nobody can tell you what that is. You know it inside yourself.”
  • “Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different, it’s excepting the past for what it was, and using this moment and this time to help yourself move forward”

find more great quotes from Oprah here… and my astrological profile of Oprah here.

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The War on Drugs = War on Consciousness?

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So says Graham Hancock, author of many popular books on the search for ancient civilizations, most of which reside in my own bookshelves.

War on Drugs

Hancock writes:

We are told that the “war on drugs” is being waged, on our behalf, by our governments and their armed bureaucracies and police forces, to save us from ourselves. “Potential for abuse and harm” are supposed to be the criteria by which the use of drugs is suppressed – the greater a drug’s potential for abuse and harm, the greater and more vigorous the degree of suppression, and the more draconian the penalties applied against its users. …

The notable exceptions to this system of ranking according to perceived “harms” are, of course, alcohol and tobacco, both highly addictive and harmful drugs – far more so than cannabis or psilocybin for example – but yet socially accepted on the grounds of long customary use and thus not placed in any schedule at all.

Hancock’s recent book Supernatural is an accounting of otherworldly experiences in indigenous cultures throughout the world that he attributes to the ingestion of psychedelic drugs in order to expand consciousness.

Having grown up in the 1960s and indulged in the expansion of consciousness through chemical means myself, I have mixed feelings about the use of these drugs to facilitate the experience of higher states.  There’s no doubt that psychotropic drugs offer experiences that are outside the realm of ordinary reality (thereby taking us into the realm of Neptune), but there is no guarantee that the psyche will be prepared for what is experienced there.

In addition, there is no guarantee that having once visited those Elysian fields through psychotropic substances we will be able to return with any kind of regularity or consistency as is possible if consciousness expansion is achieved through more natural, spiritual methods such as meditation or ecstatic dance.

Hancock’s point that the so-called “War on Drugs” has certainly failed to achieve its stated goal and in fact, has resulted in social harms that would not have otherwise existed.  He writes:  ”In the United States for example there have been more than 20 million arrests for the possession of the Schedule I drug marijuana since 1965 and 11 million since 1990. The pace of arrests is increasing year on year bringing us to the astonishing situation where, today, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 38 seconds.”

Being blessed with a naturally skeptic and suspicious mind with Mercury (the mind) in Scorpio (needing to venture into dark places to find Truth), I, like Hancock, am suspicious of the reasons behind the so-called “War on Drugs” which has put billions of dollars into the hands of people in all levels of society, from police to judges to the drug dealers on the street.

I’ve noticed since Uranus (planet of liberation) moved into Aries (planet of individuality) last year, talk of liberty and personal freedom has reached an all-time high.  A key in this discussion of personal liberty is the legalization of mind-expanding drugs.

Neptune in Pisces has the potential to cloud our judgment as it enhances the desire to transcend ordinary reality through any  means necessary.  But as long as Uranus is in Aries for the next six years, the quest for personal liberty has made the field for legalization of drugs a fertile one indeed.

Hancock’s closing quote is a clear expression of the upcoming square of the urge for personal freedom of Uranus in Aries to Pluto in Capricorn, representing the concentration of power:

Meanwhile it’s no accident that the war on drugs has been accompanied by an unprecedented expansion of governmental power into the previously inviolable inner sanctum of individual consciousness. On the contrary it seems to me that the state’s urge to power has all along been the real reason for this “war” – not an honest desire on the part of the authorities to rescue society and the individual from the harms caused by drugs, but as a means to legitimise increasing bureaucratic control and intervention in almost every other area of our lives as well.

This is the way freedom is hijacked – not all at once, out in the open, but stealthily, little by little, behind closed doors, and with our own agreement. How will we be able to resist when so many of us have already willingly handed over the keys to our own consciousness to the state and accepted without protest that it is okay to be told what we may and may not do, what we may and may not explore, even what we may and may notexperience, with this most precious, sapient, unique and individual part of ourselves?

If we are willing to accept that then we can be persuaded to accept anything.

 

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New lyme disease research study

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lyme disease astrologyYesterday I did a quickie reading for a new client who has lyme disease. Many of you know that I have an interest in the astrology of health and healing. My interest is not so much the traditional study of medical astrology, although that plays an interesting role, but I am fascinated by the way our emotional makeup affects the energy system in the body, creating changes in our physical health.

I can’t remember ever working with a client with lyme disease, but this is a disease that targets the central nervous system and the joints.  This particular client had issues surrounding an opposition from Chiron to Uranus, which tends to show a highly sensitized energetic system.

In Chatham County North Carolina where I live, ticks are a severe problem, yet not everyone who is bitten by an infected tick will develop lyme disease.  My theory is that certain people are susceptible to infections that affect the nervous system, and I’d like to see if there are astrological correlations that could shed more light on why this occurs.

So if you have been diagnosed by a physician to have lyme disease and are interested in participating in the study, please email me with your name, date, time and place of birth, and the date of onset or any major periods of inflammation.  Analyzing the planetary cycles during significant periods of the disease will help me to understand the innate factors that create the predisposition to the disease, and perhaps provide a clue to healing.

 

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Summer eclipse season is coming

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Solar eclipse 2011, lunar eclipse 2011

Image from NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day, 2003. Solar and lunar eclipses occur when the Moon is either full (opposite the Sun) or “new” (conjunct the Sun), and one of the lunar nodes is located within 15 degrees of a conjunction to the Moon.  As you’ve probably heard me say before, the astrological impact of an eclipse comes from the presence of the lunar nodes.

The nodes of the Moon are points in the sky where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun as it is observed from Earth.  They are not actual astronomical bodies, but instead serve as signposts to show us where we have come from and what we need to leave behind (South, or descending Node) and the direction in which our soul is taking us (North, or ascending Node).  The Nodes represent the crossroads between the Soul (Moon) and the Spirit (Sun) with the physical incarnation (Earth).  Powerful stuff!

Typically there are two pairs of eclipses in a year, with two eclipses in each pair.  This summer brings three separate eclipses:

  • Solar eclipse June 1st at 11 Gemini
  • Lunar eclipse June 15th at 24 Sagittarius
  • Solar eclipse July 1st at 9 Cancer

The last time there were three eclipses in the summer was 2009 and you can read more about that here.

Although eclipses have been feared for thousands of years, unless you follow Vedic principles there is no need to fear an eclipse period.  Eclipses tend to reveal and expose aspects of our lives which are hidden and which need to be brought into the conscious realm in order for us to develop and progress.  This isn’t always fun, but the end result is worth any momentary discomfort we may experience.

The solar eclipse on June 1st is a partial eclipse (with the nodes 12 degrees from the Moon), and not very powerful.  In addition, the Moon makes no direct aspect to any other planet other than a nice trine to Saturn.

The lunar eclipse on June 15th is another story.  This is a total eclipse, and the T-square with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto is lining up and will form a Grand Cross with the Summer Solstice Sun at 0 degrees Cancer.  (Geeky astrological detail: Uranus will be at 4 Aries, Pluto at 6 Cap, Saturn at 10 Libra.) The planetary energy is intensifying at this time and we may encounter some energy shifts that will affect us personally as well.

The chart for the Solstices and Equinoxes often reflects weather patterns for that season, and no wonder we’ve been having such severe weather over the past year: Each Solstice and Equinox, at 0 degrees of a cardinal sign, has been in a stressful alignment with Saturn, Uranus or Pluto.  The trend will continue over the summer and into the fall of 2011.

The final eclipse of the season will occur July 1st at the New Moon.  With the Sun and Moon at 9 degrees Cancer, this eclipse is firmly locked into the Cardinal Grand Cross.  If you have planets in your own chart between 3 and 12 degrees of one of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) this eclipse could have a dramatic effect on your emotions, your psyche, your relationships with others (which is usually the domain through which our emotions are expressed).

Planetary cycles only wreak havoc with our lives where change is needed.  In an ideal world, learning about astrology will help us to embrace change with trust and an open heart, providing us with a greater understanding that the patterns of the Universe unfold with meaning and compassion.

For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Neptune in Pisces: The Magic of Illusion, the Illlusion of Magic

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Neptune in PiscesThe mass delusion that occurred this weekend when preacher Harold Camping predicted the Rapture would occur to presage the end of the world smacks of Neptune in its own sign of Pisces.  The word “rapture” is defined as “an expression or manifestation of ecstasy or passion; a state or experience of being carried away by overwhelming emotion.”   The planet Neptune instills in us a desire for this ecstasy; any planet in the sign of Pisces longs to be overcome by feelings that are greater than one’s individual self.

Each of us has Neptune in our chart somewhere, and even the most pragmatic of us possesses a  yearning for magic and to lose ourselves in an experience of something.  Depending on the makeup of our charts and our choices, this may be an obsession with a television program, or to lose ourselves in a good book.  It may be the high we feel when we’re running or participating in an extreme sport.  It could be the high we feel when we take a big risk or make a deal happen in our job.  Or it could be the transcendence and bliss that we experience in a long meditation when we achieve an experience that goes beyond the body.   There is a sense of magic with these experiences – a feeling that there is more to life than the material reality that we see with our physical eyes.  And there’s no doubt that this magical feeling opens the door into a reality that lies beyond the reality of our everyday existence.

Sometimes, though, the lines blur between magic and illusion.  We know when we become lost in a book that when the book is over we will return to our everyday lives.  We are clear that after the most blissful meditation we will open our eyes and regain the incarnated state.  The blurring of boundaries between transcendence and material reality is the purpose of Neptune, and in Pisces that obfuscation becomes more powerful.  This can bring an incredible expansion and shift in consciousness.  But it can also bring illusion, delusion and confusion as we saw over the weekend and during the preceding months as thousands of Harold Camping’s followers gave up their worldly goods in anticipation of being taken to heaven.

This isn’t the first time such a mass delusion has occurred, and it certainly won’t be the last.  It’s important to cherish the presence of magic in our lives while maintaining an intelligence of the difference between magic and illusion.

Skywatch is coming next week!  If you’re not already on my mailing list sign up in the sidebar.

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May 21st is a bad day for the Rapture

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The Rapture May 21 2011WARNING:  tongue-in-cheek sarcasm ahead!

As you may know, the Rapture is scheduled for 6 pm tonight with a bang and a big earthquake, according to Harold Camping, leader of Family Radio Worldwide.

“Because the year 2011 AD is exactly 7,000 years after 4990 BC when the flood began, the Bible has given us absolute proof that the year 2011 is the end of the world during the Day of Judgment,” the website of Family Radio says.

“Amazingly, May 21, 2011 is the 17th day of the second month of the Biblical calendar of our day.

“Remember, the flood waters also began on the 17th day of the 2nd month, in the year 4990 BC,” it adds.

Camping claims that come 6pm, a powerful earthquake will be felt before all the noble spirits are transported off the earth.

Everyone left behind will then suffer until October 21, when God will pull the plug on entire planet.

I wonder if Camping has been reading Johan Calleman, whose research suggests that the end of the Mayan calendar is not December 21 2012,  but instead October 28, 2011.  I wonder what transpires between October 21st, when God pulls the plug on the planet, and October 28 when the world ends.

It’s also an interesting synchronicity that Comet Elenin will be at its closest to earth in mid-October, and some websites hypothesize that as the earth passes through the tail of the comet we will encounter some doomsday scenarios.  (NASA, of course, disagrees.)

In any case, Christian leaders are up in arms against Camping since Jesus made it very clear in the Bible (and everyone knows the Bible is nothing if not consistent) that no one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return.

Beth Turnage gives us a well-researched piece on the history of the Rapture here.    She makes an excellent astrological point:

Since we are talking about death, destruction and transformation ultimately we are talking about a Pluto process. That certain leaders are willing to exploit fear talks about a Saturn process. If we take a look at Saturday, May 21, 2011 we see Pluto at the apex of a T-Square, challenging Saturn, and also Uranus which represents sudden and unusual events. But as an aspect configuration it is not especially ominous. We’ve seen over the past few years the Saturn/Uranus opposition, the movement of Pluto in Capricorn and the Cardinal Grand Cross. The best we’ve seen is the meltdown of the world wide financial system and a nuclear reactor meltdown in Japan. Serious, but hardly world ending.

I would also like to point out that today we have a triple conjunction in Taurus that includes Mercury, Mars and Venus, and these three planets trine Pluto.  This is a very stable planetary configuration that suggests grounding and preservation.  Not the best day to raise the dead out of their comfortable in-ground homes.  The Sun has just entered Gemini, so there is an openness to ideas and a willingness to explore a variety of concepts and experiences, which could be of use in the Great Ascension.

At 6 pm tonight, when the Rapture is supposed to occur, the Moon has just completed a closing square to Jupiter.  In itself this could mean a release of some kind, but since the Moon has passed the point of the exact square (at 5:04 pm EDT)  it will be “void of course” which is not the best time to plan a big event like the Rapture.

So if the Rapture does not occur as planned, you can blame it on the void moon!

For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Sex and scandals at the Scorpio Full Moon

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"Scorpio" by Boris Vallejo

The Shriver/Schwarzenegger breakup isn’t the only scandal to hit the newswire just as the Scorpio Moon reached its fullness. IMF Fund Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn was arrested on Saturday, May 14th for sexual assault on a hotel maid, although the major news outlets didn’t pick up the story until Monday the 16th, just as the Scorpio Moon reached its fullness.

There is no equating the Schwarzenegger matter with the alleged sexual assault by Strauss-Kahn.  One scandal is an affair between two consenting adults, and one is potentially an abuse of power.  Strauss-Kahn has left a long trail of sex scandals throughout his career and fancies himself a womanizer which is likely why he thinks his claims that the sex was consensual will provide him with an adequate defense.

In other sex scandal news, a teacher in Texas was arrested on Monday, just as the Scorpio Full Moon was culminating, for having sex with five of her students.

I’m certainly not saying that the Full Moon caused these incidents, but the timing eruption of these events into the media and the collective consciousness is certainly interesting in light of the Scorpionic effect which tends to bring a fascination with sexuality and power.  In Scorpio, sex and power are linked and each is a tool to achieve the other, and the Full Moon will often illuminate aspects of the sign that it falls in.

For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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Maria Shriver finds her way

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Maria ShriverAs the world now knows, Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child with a long-time domestic worker in the Shriver-Schwarzenegger household. In my post the other day on the breakup between Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger I wrote:

Shriver’s progressed Midheaven is preparing to move into Aries – the beginning of a new 30-year cycle that will inspire a powerful motivation to find her own way in the world and develop a career in which she can play a leading role.  Last year’s Chiron/Neptune conjunction transited her ascendant between May of 2009 and November of 2010 – a cycle which likely caused her to re-examine who she is and how she wanted to express her life.

The planet Uranus is at work here as well, forming a trine to Uranus in her chart.  Because Uranus is the planet of personal innovation and authenticity, under this influence we strive to bring new experiences into our lives that will help us to feel truly free.

I suspect that after years of dealing with suspected infidelities and then discovering the huge secret that had been brewing under her nose for at least 11 years and possibly 15 (the age that the “love child” is said to be) there is a huge relief in coming out of that prison of lies.  And luckily for Maria Shriver, Oprah was there to help her to emerge unscathed on the stage of Oprah’s final star-studded show:

Half a day after her husband stunningly confessed to fathering an illegitimate child over a decade a ago with a female staffmember, Shriver took the stage at Chicago’s United Center alongside Gayle King(Winfrey’s other best girlfriend) around 10 p.m.

Radiant in a sexy teal gown, Shriver paid tribute to her close friend. “For more than 30 years you have bestowed upon me the most amazing friendship,” said Shriver, who has four kids with Schwarzenegger, 63.

She even made a slight dig at her cheating spouse, noting to Winfrey: “You have shown love, support, wisdom, and most of all,” she said, with a big, meaningful pause, “the truth.”

Winfrey tightly squeezed her hand as the crowd erupted in applause.

Schwarzenegger may now be investigated for fraud in the coverup that took place while he was Governator of California.  I’ll be posting more about his planetary influences in the next few days.

 

For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

 

 

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Scorpio Full Moon, May 17 2011: Becoming whole

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Scorpio Full Moon May 17The Moon is full in Scorpio on May 17th at 7:09 am EDT, 11:09 am GMT, meaning that the Scorpio Moon will be exactly opposite the Sun in Taurus at that time.  The Full Moon is the peak of the lunar cycle: the point at which the Moon reaches its fullness and prepares for the waning phase of the cycle.  That point of fullness shows the Moon at the peak of her power.

The astrological Moon represents our emotions and describes the way we feel about things, but it is so much more complex than this.  The Moon is the inner child; it describes our fear of the unknown and tells where we retreat to safety.  The Moon is feminine in nature: changeable, powerful in its mystery, and comforting in its brilliance.  The waxing Moon represents the maiden in the first flush of beauty; the waning Moon represents the aging crone in her wisdom and power.  The Full Moon represents the comfort of the mother, and when we observe the Full Moon in the sky we often feel more connected to the essence of the Moon than at other times of the cycle.  We call her “Luna” – we acknowledge her power.

Scorpio is a fixed water sign – it is emotional but it is also powerful.  The fixed signs stand firm and unyielding, persistent and often stubborn and resistant to change.  Scorpio’s traditional ruler is Mars, so it is a fiery water sign which requires the courage (Mars) to face the demons of the darkness below.  Scorpio’s modern ruler is Pluto, Lord of the Underworld.  You can see how in Scorpio we must take the courage of Mars so that we can follow the Lord of the Underworld into his domain of the Ultimate Truth, leaving our fear at the door.

When the Moon is full in Scorpio, the Moon opposes the Sun in Taurus.  Taurus is the opposite of Scorpio: where Scorpio demands intensity, Taurus seeks peace and serenity.  Where Scorpio seeks to eliminate anything that no longer works for us, Taurus wants to hold onto the security of possessions.  The Scorpio Full Moon is probably the most intense of all of the lunations because Scorpio’s very nature is to confront and reveal.

However, during this Full Moon we have a triple conjunction of Venus, Mercury and Mars all in Taurus to assist in the stabilizing influence.  The traditional ruler of the Moon’s sign (Mars) is in the Sun’s sign of Taurus, which helps to link the Sun and the Moon and help us to create balance.  Any opposition, in which two planets reside in opposite signs, require balance and integration between the two and here we have assistance to do so.  It also helps that the three Taurus planets are in a harmonious sextile to both Chiron and Neptune, which help to facilitate the flow of energy so that we can find our footing more easily.

This Scorpio Full Moon is all about opening the heart and allowing the dark emotions to rise to the light of day and find the security and serenity offered by the Taurus Sun and other planets in that sign.  Chiron and Neptune provide a healing balm to assist in that process if we allow the emotional unwinding to take place.

If we close the doors to the heart during this Full Moon and try to lock our hidden feelings away in the basement of the psyche, they will almost certainly rattle the doors and the windows in their attempt to seek the light of day.  But if we open up those doors and windows and welcome the messages from the heart to emerge in whatever form they choose to take, a powerful healing and transformation is the gift of the Scorpio Full Moon.

For daily planetary news, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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