Jupiter retrograde, August 30 2011

August 30, 2011 By

“Sometimes we stare so long at a door that is closing that we see too late the one that is open.”

–Alexander Graham Bell

This morning as I was walking my dog I listened to a podcast of This American Life called “Million Dollar Idea.”  One of the stories was about Michael Larson, a perpetual seeker of “The Big Opportunity” who ended up beating a game show’s formula in 1984.  The game show was ironically titled “Press Your Luck.”

According to the program, Larson was always in search of that big opportunity that would bring him the big winnings.  Sadly, after he had his record-breaking game show win he subsequently squandered the money in a real estate Ponzi scheme and went on to lose the remainder of his savings and his wife after he was robbed of over $40,000 in $1 bills which he had saved in an attempt to win a radio contest.  He ended up an assistant manager at Walmart according to Snopes.com.

This story reminded me very much of Jupiter.  Jupiter inspires us to think big and to achieve greatness.  Jupiter, remember, was the king of the gods and I like to say that Jupiter in the chart shows where we would like to be king and how we can accomplish our goals and dreams.  Nothing in astrological symbolism is black or white, good or bad, and that is true for Jupiter too.

Jupiter’s domain also includes our belief systems and the philosophies that we develop to give our life meaning.  These theologies and ideologies become a part of our world view and are also associated with Jupiter.

I had a boyfriend once who refused to work a regular job, he thought that was beneath him.  Instead he had a vision of building a giant retreat center and spent most of his time and energy attempting to solicit multi-million dollar investments from investors.  (Unsuccessfully, I might add.)  Jupiter was in a square to Pluto (compulsion and power) in his chart and opposite his Sun. so the struggle to achieve something that was bigger than life was a major theme  that became a major flaw.

This concept of achieving something bigger than life can be a very positive one.  The ability to create a vision for a fantastic life is powerful and can be used to help others as well as ourselves.  But when that vision is driven strictly from ego it begins to take on a dark quality and the Universe seems to then refuse to cooperate in the achievement of our dreams.

Jupiter has been stationary for the past few days as it prepares to turn retrograde.  Jupiter turns retrograde every year or so and when it does it encourages us to look back over our dreams and wishes for success and abundance in our lives and re-evaluate whether they are really in harmony with our soul’s purpose.  As with any retrograde period, sometimes it feels as though we aren’t able to move forward as quickly as we would like.  But these periods of looking back are a crucial part of our personal growth and help us to fine tune our goals and our vision for how we want our life to become.

Those of us with Jupiter retrograde in our charts will recognize the quote I opened this post with.  That sense of looking backwards at missed opportunities can keep us from recognizing new opportunities when they arrive.  This danger is present for everyone when Jupiter in the sky is retrograde from our perspective on earth, so it is important to maintain a balance between looking back over the past and looking forward to the future.

Jupiter will remain retrograde until December 25th of this year. Jupiter is currently traveling through the sign of Taurus where it seeks meaning and gifts through comfort and the pleasures of the senses, as well as an improved relationship with the qualities of Earth.  The bounty of Nature can help us to become better attuned to our true selves during this period, a great gift that aids in giving clarity to the inner voice.

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Sunday inspiration: Take what you are and use it

August 28, 2011 By

At a ritual recently I learned of a wonderful book called Remedios: Stories of Earth and Iron.  Each us of selected one of the remedios, and mine was Milk Thistle.  The story of Milk Thistle is very appropriate for the Virgo New Moon so I’d like to share it with you for this Sunday’s inspiration. (Image is Ancestor Spirits by Willow Arlenea.)

Willow Arlenea

Milk Thistle works with what is here: the yellow layers of toxins, the charcoal grit, the green bile slow as crude oil pooling in the liver’s reservoirs, waiting to learn to flow.  Milk Thistle says take what you are and use it.

She’s a junkyard artist, crafting beauty out of the broken. She’s a magician, melting scar tissue into silk. She’s a miner, fingering greasy lumps of river clay for emeralds. She can enter the damaged cells of your life and recreate your liver from a memory of health. She can pass her hands over this torn and stained tapestry of memory and show us beauty, make the threads gleam with the promise of something precious gained.

She will not flinch from anything you have done to keep yourself alive. Give it to me, she will say, I will make it into something new. She will show you your courage, hammered to a dappled sheen by use.  She will remind you that you took yourself over and over to the edge of what you knew. She will remind you that the world placed limits on your powers. That you were not omnipotent. That some of the choices you made were not choices.

Use what you are, she says again and again, insistent. You are every step of your journey; you are everything that has touched you.  You are organic and unexpected.  Use what you are.

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New Moon in Virgo, August 28 2011

August 27, 2011 By

Virgo new moon August 2011New Moons are the beginning of a new lunar cycle and a time to wash away the past and begin anew. What we call the astrological New Moon, the exact moment in which the Sun and Moon are aligned in a new zodiacal sign, is actually the dark of the Moon.  Not a sliver of the Moon is visible at this time: it is absolute potentiality.  The previous cycle is complete, and something new is beginning.

In Virgo the New Moon brings greater attention to health, diet, personal hygiene, and other details that are necessary in order to live in a body.  There is a purity about Virgo that is unique to this sign – the ability to discriminate between that which is helpful and that which is not.  It is this discrimination that gives Virgo the reputation for being a perfectionist and which creates a sensitivity to the environment that can be somewhat anxiety-producing.

The Sun and Moon in the New Moon chart are linked to Venus, a beneficial aspect that softens the potentially anxious quality of Virgo and enhances our ability to connect with others.  The Sun, Moon and Venus are all in a harmonious trine to Pluto, describing a powerful transformation that is possible at this time.  In harmonious aspects Pluto becomes an ally in deepening our experience and intensifying our awareness, giving us a big boost at this time of new beginning.

This New Moon also includes a tight trine from Venus to Jupiter: the lesser benefic (Venus) in harmony with the greater benefic (Jupiter).  This is an expansive time in which great gifts are available to us, especially with Jupiter in a stationary position as it prepares to turn retrograde on the 31st.  When planets are at their stationary point in preparation for a change of direction they are quite powerful in their influence, and Jupiter bestows a confidence and an openness that will help to propel our goals and dreams forward at this time.

That’s good news, because the soul work of the previous few days is not quite done as the New Moon forms an opposition to Chiron.  Surgery of the soul isn’t easy and it’s not always fun, but it does create enormous opportunities for us to grow and find happiness at a far deeper level than is usually experienced. If we allow this soul surgery to take place, the abundant opportunities of this New Moon will help to open up new doorways in our lives that we cannot currently imagine.

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Soul surgery: Planetary news this week

August 26, 2011 By

Art by Gaelyn Garrick

Those of us on a spiritual path seek transformation and spiritual evolution but then resist it when the experience is upon us.  This is human nature since the ego seeks to control the experience of the life – to surrender that control can be frightening to many of us, especially if we have planets in fixed signs (like I do!!) which tend to be more inflexible and lack adaptability.

But life is about change and adaptation, and understanding the astrological cycles can help us to find peace within the storm of change.  When we recognize the dynamics of change that are at work in the form of planetary energies it becomes easier to work with them – they become trusted teachers and we know more about what we can expect in times of change.

A few days ago Venus opposed Chiron, the Soul Healer, and today the Sun is opposite Chiron. Relationships may be more painful than usual now as Chiron goes about his job as Soul Surgeon, exposing any sensitive places in the heart so that they can become healed. This kind of emotional sensitivity is quickly healed if we permit ourselves to consciously move through these experiences and allow these old thoughts, feelings or memories to emerge and then be released.

Venus made a trine to Pluto last night, helping to soften the rough edges and help us to be real and genuine in our relationships with others for the next 12 hours or so.  The Moon is moving away from Mars and it’s easier to express our vulnerability under the Cancerian influence. Meanwhile the Sun/Chiron opposition helps to crack open the protection that we keep over our wounds so that we can blossom and open from the heart.

By the 28th when the Sun trines Pluto at the New Moon in Virgo you will feel renewed.

Here on the East coast we are preparing for the onslaught of Hurricane Irene.  I’ve lived in North Carolina for over 30 years so I am very accustomed to hurricane preparation, and I have come to think of personal transformation as being very much like a hurricane.  It can be frightening when the eye of the storm passes over your house, as it did in 1994 when Hurricane Fran stormed through the state.  But after every hurricane the air is clean and refreshed, and though there may be damage to clean up and restore there is a sense of renewal and a new beginning.

As we head more deeply into the square of Uranus and Pluto we will become more familiar with the cycle of intense personal storm activity that is followed by a personal renewal.  This is an important aspect of the process of our personal evolution and like a hurricane, it is inevitable.  The more we can cultivate a personal relationship with our own inner voice and guidance, the easier the process of transformation becomes.

Understanding the planetary cycles that guide you personally can be a great aid and comfort as well as help us to prepare for the shifts that are required for the planet to adjust to the energy of this new age.

 

 

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An interesting astrological history

August 23, 2011 By
Simon Forman

Image from the Royal College of Physicians

I confess I have never heard of Simon Forman, so I found this article about him very informative (it was posted on Facebook by Stephanie Gailling of Planetary Apothecary).  He was an astrologer in the late 16th century, predating William Lilly who is one of the more famous medieval astrologers and evidently inherited a wealth of Forman’s knowledge via Elias Ashmole who collected Forman’s papers after death.

Forman may have been one of the first medical astrologers.  Though he “fancied himself a magus [magician],” he also obtained a degree in “physic” and a license to practice medicine after he had been fined for practicing medicine without a license.  Like today, the practice of healing was steeped in political controversy:

The College of Physicians of London was founded in 1514 (it received a Royal Charter in 1674). Its powers waxed and waned over the coming centuries, depending on support from the Crown and courts. It issued licences to practise physic, inspected the wares of apothecaries and heard cases of malpractice. Physic was defined as medicine that concerns the internal workings of the body. It was rooted in the teachings of Galen, adapted and augmented as it was transmitted through the Arab world and into the universities of medieval and Renaissance Europe. The four humours – blood, phlegm, yellow bile, black bile – had elemental properties (hot, cold, moist, dry) and an imbalance resulted in illness. Physicians advised their clients about how to maintain health through attention to diet, sleep and exercise and prescribed remedies to maintain the correct balance or to moderate a disruption. As directed, barber-surgeons performed blood-letting and apothecaries filled prescriptions for substances to evacuate the body through vomits, purges or sweats. Physicians and a minority of surgeons learned their art at the universities. Apothecaries and most surgeons trained through apprenticeships. These occupations were regulated through urban guilds.

This was a hierarchy of knowledge and status. Physicians were the medical elite, though they represent only a fraction of the medical practitioners in early modern London. Between 1580 and 1600 there were 50 licensed physicians in London. During this period the college identified 150 people practising physic in the city without due authority, some of whom were licensed but most of whom represent a larger body of irregular practitioners, many holding multiple occupations. These people ranged from highly educated men with medical degrees from foreign universities to people (mostly men, the occasional woman) who were schooled through experience alone. These practitioners came to the attention of the college through informants, during disputes over contracts or in cases of malpractice. From the perspective of the college, Forman was a quack. They examined him and found that he had little Latin learning and his knowledge of astrology was risible. Other practitioners defied the college’s authority but Forman alone professed the supremacy of his astrological methods and attracted such an extensive clientele.

Forman actively challenged the established hierarchy in the name of astrology, promoting a model of medicine in which a single practitioner managed his patients’ health by reading the stars to judge the cause of the disease, advising on regimen, performing blood-letting and minor surgery as necessary and prescribing his own distillations and drugs. Not only did the astrologer provide a complete service in tune with the cosmos, he alone could judge whether a disease was natural, demonic or divine. He alone could fashion amulets and potions charged with occult forces. …

read more here…

Of course today we generally don’t consider disease as being either demonic or divine, but the dispute between the medical establishment and alternative healing practitioners is still very much with us.

Forman had his enemies and his critics as one would expect, but he was evidently an important link in the chain of astrological knowledge in a time where darkness kept such knowledge hidden.

 

 

 

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Sunday inspiration: A blessing

August 21, 2011 By
John O'Donohoe

Art by Michael Green

May the light of your soul guide you.
May the light of your soul bless the work
You do with the secret love and warmth of your heart.
May you see in what you do the beauty of your own soul.
May the sacredness of your work bring healing, light and renewal to those
Who work with you and to those who see and receive your work.
May your work never weary you.
May it release within you wellsprings of refreshment, inspiration and excitement.
May you be present in what you do.
May you never become lost in the bland absences.
May the day never burden you.
May dawn find you awake and alert, approaching your new day with dreams,
Possibilities and promises.
May evening find you gracious and fulfilled.
May you go into the night blessed, sheltered and protected.
May your soul calm, console and renew you.

May the light of your soul guide you
From the works of John O’Donohoe, an Irish poet and mystic

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The late Sathya Sai Baba on the 2012 bandwagon

August 20, 2011 By

2012 end of Mayan calendarWith all due respect to the late Sathya Sai Baba, who was a controversial guru beloved by many before he died this spring, this recent interview with him shows an exceptional ignorance about the cycles (and lack of them) that are tied into the 2012 phenomenon.  (For more details about 2012 please see this article.)

In this interview Sai Baba is quoted:

Well, in one way there are several prophecies that signal this date like a term or important conclusion in the history of humanity, but the most significant is the end of the Mayan calendar, which prophecy has been interpreted in different ways. The most negative ones think that during this year the world will end, but it will not be like that, it is known that during that year a new era will start, the Age of Aquarius.

This has to do with the rotation of the whole solar system (solar cycle) that goes passing through the different eras each one of them lasts 5125 years. The era in which we now are, called the Age of Pisces, started on the year 3113 B.C. and ends on 2012.

This is all kinds of incorrect.  The Great Ages last approximately 2160 years each (with Great Wheel of Ages taking approximately 25,920 years to complete.  We do not know exactly when the Aquarian Age begins but none of the theories use 2012 as the transition point.

The 5125 year cycle is the Mayan Long Count cycle, but that cycle is completely unrelated to the transition into the Age of Aquarius after 2160 years in the Piscean Age.

I report this not to be critical, but to continue to try to clear up so much of the confusion and illusion (Neptune in Pisces anyone?) over the whole 2012 phenomenon.  I personally believe that we are in the transition from the Piscean to the Aquarian Age – if you figure a 5% orb of influence for the Great Ages just as we use for planetary transits, that gives us a buffer zone of 108 years as we move into the Aquarian Age.  So I feel that we are beginning to experience the mutation and personal changes to help facilitate that evolution, especially in the children that are coming into the world now.

Still, maybe it’s just my Sun/Saturn conjunction but I feel it’s important to try to separate fact from fiction where 2012 is concerned.

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Wild swings in financial markets and a look ahead

August 19, 2011 By

stock market astrologyThe US stock market has been manic-depressive lately, swinging from wild highs to abysmal lows.

Mercury began to station (its apparent motion slowed down to a crawl) on August 2nd and it turned retrograde on August 4th.  On August 2nd the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 266 points, and the next day it recovered some ground.

All retrogrades seem to bring about some kind of reversal in the stock market – sometimes the market will  swing higher rather than lower. But this retrograde occurred as  Uranus (sudden change) and Pluto (destruction/regeneration) came within one degree of a challenging square formation and the sense of instability and potential for crisis was universal.

Then aggressive Mars entered the emotional sign of Cancer on August 3rd and emotions took over the reactions of investors.  The Dow went up on the 3rd, and then with the retrograde turn of Mercury on the 4th plunged over 500 points.  This has been a market of reactivity which is not surprising when you consider that when Mars entered Cancer it began to face off in challenging aspects to Uranus and Pluto, setting off the fears of instability and change.  And let’s not forget the Full Moon on August 13th which evidently heightened those fears and resulted in a drop of 630 points.

After Mars passed through the window of the aspect to Uranus and Pluto there were a few days of calm, but yesterday, with Mars within three degrees of a challenging aspect to Saturn (the voice of anxiety) the market fell another 400 points.

Using astrology to predict stock market movement is a science that involves more than just an examination of planetary formations.  Each company has its own chart, and the leadership of each company has their own chart, and all of this has to be set against the backdrop of the overall emotional climate in each country.  I am certainly not qualified to give financial advice based on the astrological indicators, but with Mars approaching that square to Saturn over the next few days I think it’s unlikely that we will hit any kind of bottom until after that aspect culminates on the 25th.

Over the next week or so Venus and the Sun leave optimistic Leo for Virgo, a sign that is more conservative in nature.  But before leaving Leo Venus and the Sun oppose mysterious and confusing Neptune on the 21st-22nd which could lead to a lack of clarity in Monday’s opening markets, especially since the shift in signs will occur immediately after the Neptune aspect.

Then on the 24th and 25th the Moon, in emotional Cancer, conflicts with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto which does not bode well for any kind of optimism in the markets which is the force that tends to push prices higher.   The Moon conjoins Mars on the 25th as it forms that exact square to Saturn (reality check) , but a number of positive aspects late in the day on the 25th and 26th suggest that the mood will begin to lighten.

By the time the markets open on the 29th the mood should be more favorable.  But this is NOT, I repeat NOT, to be taken as financial advice.  This is merely an astrological weather forecast and you never know when an unforeseen storm could arise!

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The astrology of Michelle Bachmann

August 17, 2011 By

Michelle Bachmann astrologyMichelle Bachmann was the winner of the Iowa Straw Poll this week, putting her in the forefront of the pack for the 2012 elections.  It would be a mistake to laugh off her candidacy as a joke.

Ms. Bachmann has given us a birth time, sort of: in this earlier article I wrote about the confusion over whether she was born in the morning or afternoon.  Since we don’t have a confirmation at this point I’m using the 12:08 pm chart which is close to noon and gives us a good approximation of the Moon (middle of the day) if that time isn’t accurate.

Michelle Bachman was born when the Sun was in Aries, the sign of leadership and courage.  The Sun conjoins Mercury, the planet of communication and the mental function.  Many astrologers (especially traditional ones) call this “combust” and believe that the Sun overpowers the other planet, in this case Mercury. I have not seen that to be the case – typically a Sun/Mercury conjunction denotes individuals who are exceptionally intelligent.

There’s no doubt that she has made some big gaffes in recent months.  She confused serial killer John Wayne Gacy with actor John Wayne.  She said it was the founding father’s mission to abolish slavery.  She thought Lexington and Concord, where the shot that began the Revolutionary War was fired, was in New Hampshire where she was speaking.  The list goes on and on.

These errors appear to me more based in intellectual laziness than lack of intelligence.  A Sun/Mercury conjunction in Aries can be impulsive and rash and spit out ideas before thinking them through.  A harmonious trine from expansive and confident Jupiter to the Sun/Mercury conjunction can exacerbate that.

She is a hard worker, with Mars (representing our drive and inspiration) in practical Capricorn, but Mars is opposite Uranus in the chart which generally denotes a rebellious streak.  We can see this in her biography: after leaving high school she spent a summer working on a kibbutz, not the most orthodox thing for a nice Lutheran girl to do.

Bachmann was born into a family of Lutheran Democrats, and evidently changed party affiliations while Jimmy Carter was president.  While in college, she and her new husband Marcus converted to evangelical Christianity and supported Jimmy Carter but like other conservative Christians, became a Republican in 1980 after becoming disillusioned with Carter’s liberal social “agenda.”

Jupiter is conjunct Pluto in her chart, an aspect that often denotes extreme self-righteousness and rigid (Pluto) beliefs and dogma (Jupiter).  Both planets are retrograde, so she truly believes, at the deepest level, that she is right.  About everything.  And it is this intensity (Pluto) of belief (Jupiter) that drives Michelle Bachman to want to re-inject God, or at least her vision of him, into the nation in order to save it from imminent collapse.

Jupiter and Pluto both oppose her Aquarian Moon, an aspect that denotes a complex relationship with the mother and a childhood fraught with insecurity (both represented by the Moon).  The Moon represents our emotions and shows how our feelings are expressed, and because Aquarius is a supremely rational sign, emotions are difficult to access and feelings become more remote.  Bachmann has no water in any of the personal planets in her chart, revealing her inability to access her emotions easily and with Pluto opposite the Moon there are intense emotions flowing through her system that have no easy expression.

I became very interested in Bachmann after reading of her migraines, because it is not uncommon for Aquarian Moon people to suffer from migraines.  In Aquarius the emotions are filtered through the reason of the mind.  It appears to me that emotions, having no conduit for expression, build up to a point where the pressure in the mind becomes so intense that a migraine results.

Venus (relationships) in Bachmann’s chart is in the air sign of communicative Gemini, explaining why the idea of marriage is a favorite topic of conversation for her.  Saturn opposes her Venus, which is helpful for establishing commitments but can also result in relationships that are challenging.  It is rumored that Marcus, Bachmann’s husband of 33 years, who is himself in the business of converting gays through prayer, is gay.

You might enjoy this comprehensive biography of Michelle Bachmann at the New Yorker site.

Michelle Bachman has no shortage of positive planetary cycles until the end of November, so she is likely to get quite a bit of traction from her Iowa win.  Personally I think it’s unlikely that she will be taken seriously enough by the Republican party leaders to be nominated, but she is driven enough to go the distance, and smart enough to know how to appeal to her market.

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Decoding the Galactic Center

August 16, 2011 By

The Galactic Center, at 26 degrees Sagittarius, was a big topic a few years ago when Pluto transited  through that point for the first time in 244 years, but it’s not a subject that receives a great deal of astrological discussion otherwise.

Astrologically, the Galactic Center is the heart of the Universe – the soul of wisdom for our solar system and our species of humanity.

Now there is a beautiful photo that maps the Galactic Center, showing where the black hole and surrounding galaxies reside.

If like me this is still ultra-confusing, try this cute map of the Milky Way Transit Authority which imagines the Galactic Center as Grand Central Station.

Milky Way

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