New Moon in Leo, July 30 2011

July 29, 2011 By
Sun Gaian Tarot

from the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert

The New Moon marks the beginning of a new lunar cycle – the time when the Sun and the Moon are aligned at the exact degree.  It would be more accurately called the “Dark Moon,” since this alignment occurs before the Moon shows the first glimpse of herself in the early crescent phase, but in any case the New Moon marks the letting go of one area of life and the beginning of a new cycle.

As we move into the realm of Leo, we become more naturally oriented towards an awareness of our true Self and how we want it to be expressed in the outer world.  Leo is the sign of nobility, and it represents the Noble Self as well as the Divine Child.  Under the influence of Leo, we seek to become the best specimen of humanity that we can possibly be.

This Leo Moon is conjoined by Venus, which makes it the perfect time to begin new alliances in which we honor the Divine Child both in ourselves and in our friends, lovers, or business colleagues.  The kingly planet Jupiter forms a strong aspect, a square, to the lunation (lunar event), offering an expansive means to stretch beyond any limitations that keep us from exploring our pure potential.  Because this Jupiter/Moon aspect is a square, there is some danger here that we might take this natural abundance of positive ego to an extreme and cross that delicate line between a healthy ego and self-centered egotism.

Mercury in the New Moon chart is in humble Virgo which will likely apply the brakes if the ego becomes too expansive.  In Virgo the mind becomes focused on the details of life and serving others rather than ourselves.  Virgo and Leo are not natural allies so balance will be required in order for the Divine Child to be allowed its full expression.  Chiron (wounding and healing) and Neptune (imagination and spiritual experience) both oppose Mercury in the chart, setting the stage for us to be able to work through old wounds that have kept us from affording ourselves with a healthy degree of respect and self-love.

Mercury is stationing now in preparation for its retrograde turn on August 2nd, at which time it will retrograde back into Leo and help us to form ideas (Mercury) to achieve the generosity and bigheartedness of Leo in our lives.

While the square of Uranus and Pluto reaches its peak at this time, generating plenty of revolutionary (Uranus) fervor against the power structures (Pluto), Pluto is dancing in a sextile with Chiron which helps to facilitate the healing process and create a safety net within which we can continue to release the wounds of the past, especially those which have damaged the Divine Child within.

The sign of Leo naturally looks for joy in every aspect of life.  This joy can only come about when we are no longer blocked by emotional damage.  So you can utilize the Leo New Moon to have a party… it can also serve as an opportunity to find true joy by moving more deeply into the Self within.

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The “real” astrology chart for the USA

July 29, 2011 By

Sibly astrology chartI’ve been spending a lot of time this week researching the various charts for the USA which is one reason for my lack of posting.  I have used the Sibley chart with great results, but every time I post an article on the US chart I receive quite a few emails arguing with my choice of chart.

There are three major charts used by astrologers and many more minor charts.  One is the Sibley chart which uses the date of July 4 1776 (signing of the Declaration of Independence) and a time of 5:10 pm, with Sagittarius rising.  There are also Gemini rising charts and a few adherents to a Scorpio ascendant that some say is based on the fact that the clocktower on the back of a $100 bill was set to 2:22 pm.  But if you look carefully at the image you’ll see that it could also be read as 4:10 pm and in fact Wikipedia says that the Department of Bureau and Engraving says that the time is 4:10 pm (although I could find no corroborating evidence for this).

Still, the relevance of the time on the clock tower is difficult to gauge in terms of establishing a proper horoscope for the United States.  Benton Bobrick’s masterwork The Fated Sky includes a scholarly discussion of the time when the signing of the Declaration of Independence was completed:

According to the Philadelphia Historical Society, ‘the Declaration was graced with its first signature (Hancock’s) at approximately five o’clock in the afternoon after which the members all went off to dine.’

This biography of John Hancock corroborates this (see page 13), using an approximation of “late in the afternoon” as the time when the Declaration was approved and Hancock affixed his signature.

Astrologers argue about many things: which system of dividing the house cusps, whether to use the tropical or sidereal zodiac, so it’s not surprising that such an important piece of information as the chart for the United States is also subject to argument.

Tomorrow I will write about the decline of the American empire as evidenced by the Sibley chart, so this is an introduction to the inevitable discussion about which is the accurate discussion that is sure to follow.

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More about Norway and the Mars/South Node

July 26, 2011 By

Photo credit: Our Surprising World

In my recent post about the horrific attacks in Oslo last Friday, I described the transit of Mars and the South Node over Pluto in the chart of Norway, and the transit of Chiron in a square to the South Node in the Norway chart.  Planetary cycles involving the nodes of the Moon tend to bring up issues from the past that need to be addressed in order to move forward.

Terrorist acts are the last thing most of us would connect with the idyllic country of Norway.  Pluto in the Norway chart represents the power structure, particularly since Pluto lives in the tenth house of governmental entities in that chart.  But it also represents secrets, especially secrets having to do with abuse and misuse of power, and any area of political life in which those secrets can be the undoing of the nation.

So it was interesting to see this story emerge at the same time as news erupted about the bombings and murders in Oslo

Norway’s powerful Justice Committee has ordered the government to compensate thousands of people, many of whom were locked up in lunatic asylums because they were the children of Norwegian mothers and German soldiers.

A statement from the committee said the government should quickly draw up a compensation scheme for an estimated 10,000 claimants. …

After German troops withdrew from Norway at the end of the Second World War, an official programme of weeding out occupation liaisons began that resulted in the arrest of some 14,000 young women and the detention in military camps of 5,000 girls who were known to have had children with German soldiers.

“There are still hundreds of 80-year-old women in Norway wondering where their kids went in 1945 – they never saw them again,” said Mr Brandacher. “Their children were put in 200 institutions as well as being sent round for adoption in so-called good Christian homes.

“But the Christianity in these homes did not exist – at least not what we call Christianity. The stories are brutal and grotesque. Every possible crime the human race can do was done to innocent kids after 1945 in Norway,” he added. Many of the Lebensborn children claim that they were sexually abused, beaten, mass raped, urinated on and washed in chemicals.

Reports this month suggested the children had been subjected to experiments with LSD in which at least five died.

The one tragedy has nothing to do with the other, except that both serve to call our attention to a country that was seemingly an idyllic bastion of democracy being torn apart by history and a mad distaste for outsiders.

 

 

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Sunday inspiration: Desiderata

July 24, 2011 By

Desiderata

You are a child of the universe

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Max Ehrmann, Desiderata, Copyright 1952.

 

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Amy Winehouse, dead at 27

July 23, 2011 By

Amy Winehouse dead The number of musicians who have died at age 27 (putting her in the sadly named “27 Club”) has just increased by one.  Amy Winehouse died Saturday July 23 of a drug overdose at her home in London.

I profiled Amy Winehouse back in 2007:

Amy Winehouse is a Virgo (see chart), the sign known for its reticent and modest behavior which just shows how little validity Sun Sign astrology has. There is another brand of Virgo which some call the “Radical Virgo” in which the famous Virgo powers of analysis and perfectionism are combined with other elements in the chart to create a more reactionary personality. Amy’s chart shows six planets in fire signs which keep her locked forever in a battle between the conservative side of her Virgo nature and the urge that the fire element evokes for a freer life.

Her Sun is squared by Neptune, the planet that dissolves the boundaries of ordinary reality. While this combination stimulates tremendous creativity, there can also be difficulty establishing boundaries and confusion over one’s own identity as defined by the Sun. Neptune conjoins her Moon which is another significator for creative brilliance as well as musical ability, but again there is a struggle to keep one’s feet on the ground. This strong Neptunian signature often suggests an individual who is either a saint or a drunk as the desire to transcend reality can go in either direction. …

This conjunction of Jupiter and Uranus is opposed by Chiron, a small planet in the Kuyper belt that signifies the Wounded Healer. When in a difficult aspect to other planets, Chiron indicates a deep psycho-emotional wound that doesn’t heal, but which ultimately serves as the guide to the individual’s ability to heal themselves. In Amy’s chart, Chiron is in Gemini which shows that this deep wound for her is in her ability to express herself to others. We see another indicator of that in the fact that Mercury is retrograde in her chart (meaning it appeared to move backwards at the time she was born). Chiron is also retrograde, suggesting that this wound runs deep. The opposition of Chiron to Uranus, which is not uncommon in individuals born between 1955 and 1985, has a well-documented tendency to evoke addictive behaviors because of its intense effect on the nervous system.

This is a dramatic combination of diverse planetary influences that can be difficult to reconcile, and Amy’s strong Neptunian influence facilitates her amazing creative expression but also creates delusion and illusion in her life. read the whole article here.

The 27 Club

Other musicians who died at the age of 27 include Jimi Hendrix, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain.  See this article for more information about the astrology of the 27 Club.

Astrologically this age is defined by the progressed lunar return – the time when the progressed Moon returns to the same degree as the natal chart.  (There is a second Return at around age 56-57 before the second Saturn Return, and if we’re lucky a third one as well.)  During the progressed lunar return there is an emotional opening that prepares us for the work of the Saturn Return.  During this time we are opened up in a way that can be painful for some since it necessitates a frank and honest awareness of who we are at the emotional level.

All of this would have been more difficult than usual for Amy Winehouse since transiting Chiron was (wounding and healing) making a challenging square to her natal Chiron and likely bringing up many past wounds in order to open her heart.  Because alcohol and drug addiction was her coping mechanism, it probably took more of those substances than usual to numb the pain.

Sadly, I suspect that this was an accidental overdose rather than intentional.

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The astrology of the Oslo bombing

July 23, 2011 By

Oslo bombing astrologyOn Friday July 22nd at 3:26 pm local time, a bomb ripped through government building in Oslo.  This attack was followed by the murder of 87 people at a Labor Party youth camp not far away.

The chart for Norway originates in its independence from Sweden on June 7, 1905 at 11:00 am local time in Oslo.  The astrology for the day of the bombings is rather startling.  Mars was sitting on the South Node last week and astrologer Martin Davis wrote on his Facebook page:

Astrologers: Note that Mars [anger] is coming to conjoin the South Node [past issues] now. This is a difficult combination – often in disaster charts. This conjunction in airy Gemini correlates with angry budget discussions, angry American football contract discussions and the uncovering of newspaper [Gemini] wrong doings. It’s on the natal Mars of any July 4th US chart. Buckle up when driving.

As we now know the US chart wasn’t affected (except by the angry budget discussions part) but the bombing in Oslo occurred when the conjunction of transiting Mars and the South Node was exactly conjunct Pluto in the Norway national chart.  At the same time, transiting Chiron was exactly conjunct the South Node in the Norway chart.

The young man who committed this horrific crime, Anders Breivik, was born February 13, 1979 (time unknown).  His Sun is conjunct Mars and Mercury in the idealistic sign of Aquarius.  Aquarius is often concerned with ideas of Utopia.  Uranus is square to those Aquarius planets, giving him a big does of Aquarian/Uranian Utopia and the need for revolutionary activity.  His Virgo Moon conjoins Saturn suggesting that he is accustomed to working alone.

Supporting this theme of the “Loner” is the singleton Venus in the pragmatic sign of Capricorn.  I suspect we will find that he has been an individualist and someone who does not easily connect with others.  Perhaps a desperate loneliness (Moon/Saturn) drove him to seek a way to live outside the norm of Norwegian society.  A friend reported to a Norwegian newspaper that Breivik turned to right-wing extremism in his 20s, perhaps during his Saturn Return when this isolation would have been emphasized.  All reports suggest that he was horrified by the multiculturalism that is spreading over Norway and the rest of Europe.

I have written several times of my feeling that while the Uranus/Pluto conjunction of the 1960s occurred on the left, the Uranus/Pluto square of the next few years will occur on the right end of the political spectrum.  It appears that I was, sadly, correct.

 

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Pluto has a new moon!

July 22, 2011 By

Uranus rules surprising events, so it’s an interesting synchronicity that a new Moon around Pluto is discovered just as the square between Uranus and Pluto reaches its closest point until next year.  Temporarily named P-4, the new moon may ultimately be called Cerberus after the dog that guards the gates of Hades.

The New Horizons mission is expected to reach Pluto in 2015, just as the square of Uranus to Pluto reaches its completion.

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The astrology of Michele Bachmann, Part I

July 20, 2011 By

Michele Bachmann astrologyNow that the news is out that Michele Bachmann, a Republican presidential contender for the 2012 election, suffers from migraines I am eager to profile her.  I found this great article from Patrick Watson in which Bachmann reports on the time of her birth, but not whether it was morning or afternoon:

Q. We went to the Black Hawk County courthouse and asked for a genealogical copy of your birth certificate, not an official, certified copy, just a genealogical copy, but they declined to release it. Would you be willing to give us a copy?

A. “Of course, you can have my birth certificate! As a matter of fact I brought it with me the last time I went to Iowa in case anyone asked. I was born at Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, and I was born at 12:08 on April 6. My dad was actually in college at the time at what was called the state teachers’ college which is of course now UNI, and that’s where I was born.”

Patrick has posted both charts so now I have to decide which one to use.  I have to say I prefer the 12:08 pm chart because her Aries Sun sits right on the Midheaven, where she would feel a need to live out her life  in the public arena rather than in the fourth house in the 12:08 am chart where she would have a very deep inner world.

The AM chart also shows Libra on the Midheaven rather than Aries which would suggest an individual who is a bridge builder rather than someone who says exactly what they think.  I’m not so sure I see the Neptune in the tenth house either – generally these people have a strong desire to surrender to the needs of collective in the work that they do.

On the other hand, she seems more like Sagittarius rising than Leo, since Leo rising people (such as Sarah Palin) tend to come across as more powerful than I see here, she generally seems pretty relaxed to me.  But I could be wrong.

While I ponder this question and do more research I welcome your comments!  Stay tuned for more details.

 

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A video game about chakras

July 20, 2011 By

Now I KNOW we’re in the Aquarian Age!

Deepak Chopra video game

Deepak Chopra, the Ayurvedic physician who has done a great deal to bring holistic healing and Eastern mysticism to the West over the past many years (and fellow Beliefnet blogger)  is working on the creation of a video game to explain how the chakra system works.

Since the game is launching in November of this year it must have been conceived over the past few years when Chiron (which actually rules the energy system that runs through the chakras) and Neptune (spirituality and the arts) were conjunct in Aquarius (technology and innovation).

“Deepak Chopra’s Leela” from THQ Inc. will use the Xbox 360 console’s controller-free, camera-based Kinect system to detect users’ bodies, then guide them through meditation exercises. (An edition for Nintendo’s Wii requires players to hold a controller.) “Leela,” which translates to “play” in Sanskrit, is less of a game and more of an experience, though there are a few gameplay elements.

Seven different interactive exercises based on the seven “chakras,” the points along the body that Chopra says serve as energy centers, task players with moving their bodies to control graphics onscreen set to a soothing soundtrack. The mini-games increase in difficulty, but “Leela” places no importance on a final score or even finishing the exercises.

The root chakra exercise, for example, directs players to tilt their hips to seed a virtual planet, while the heart chakra exercise uses players’ hands to harness fireballs that release gems imbedded in descending rocks.

read more here…

Now that Chiron and Neptune have moved into Pisces, the sign where boundaries are dissolved and all becomes one, the urge for the spiritual experience of transcendence and oneness will become stronger and more powerful.  Along with this will come greater addiction and escapism, also Neptune/Pisces archetypes.

Using technology to teach about the chakras is an exciting new innovation, but just as with any form of technology the danger is that we become dependent upon the technology rather than the actual experience.  We talk with our friends on Facebook instead of spending time with them.  We listen to our music on compressed mp3s instead of hearing the richness of a live concert.

It’s all doable now,” said Chopra. “We just have to bring it all together. If we can measure what’s happening in your body, your heart, your emotions, your breath and your mind, then there’s no reason why we can’t create a new generation of video games that can help accelerate the personal, psychological, emotional and spiritual development of human beings.”

All well and good, as long as that development goes deeper than the superficial and doesn’t preclude real personal growth.

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A quiet period in planet town

July 19, 2011 By
July planetary cycles

Photo from NASA

My readers will be relieved to know that over the next week or two the planetary energy is much more mellow than what we have been experiencing over the past few months, especially in July.  The outer planets which have created so much pressure and power are beginning to move away from each other and will not make any major aspects for the rest of the year.

Even Mars will be relatively quiet and not give us too much trouble by not playing nicely with the other planets until it enters Cancer on August 4th.

Mercury will be turning retrograde on August 2nd at the first degree of Virgo so it will dip its toes into the organization of ideas that Virgo inspires and then retrograde back into Leo where the focus is on ways to enhance the sense of Self.  I’ll be writing more about this process as we get closer, but we can utilize this retrograde period to assimilate the shifts and changes that have occurred in our lives and be better prepared for next year’s planetary realignments.

Clarification: Dharmaruci made the point in the comments that the actual square of Uranus and Pluto is still tightening and won’t actually begin to separate until early August.  That is certainly true, but their interaction has been intensified by the energy of the eclipses and with that intensity lessening we will begin to resolve some of the conflict of Uranus/Pluto.

DR also points out that Mars will be entering Cancer on August 4th, at which time it will begin to set off Uranus and Pluto, and then Saturn but these will be more like the kind of aftershocks we experience after an earthquake rather than another tsunami.

Meanwhile, to keep up with the daily movements of the Moon and faster moving planetary cycles, visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

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