Regulus moves into Virgo and the British law of succession changes

October 31, 2011 By

regulus in virgoWhat we call the “fixed stars” (as opposed to planets, known in antiquity as the “wanderers” because they moved across the sky from the vantage point of ancient humans) are actually not so fixed.  Although they appear in the same position in the sky, their apparent motion does shift by about 50 seconds of arc per year.

Regulus, the star associated with royalty, is also called “The heart of the Lion” because of its placement in the center of the Leo star system.  But Regulus is moving into Virgo for the first time since around 200 bce, creating a major shift of star energy.

The exact time of this shift is in dispute.  Solar Fire, an astrology software program used by many professional astrologers (including me) lists the entry of Regulus into Virgo in early 2011 – others say that this shift will occur in 2012, conveniently linking the transition of Regulus to the 2012 hysteria.  In any case, a shift of this magnitude typically doesn’t happen overnight but occurs slowly over time.

Leo is a “masculine” sign – yang and full of energy and enthusiasm, it tends to be concerned with issues of power and dominance and much more forceful than Virgo.  Virgo is much more reticent and desirous of order and safety, so the movement of Regulus into Virgo could change the way in which the Earth has been ruled for the past 2000 years.  Virgo is said to be a “feminine” sign, yin and receptive, so it was interesting to see that in Britain the law of succession may be changed so that women who are the first born can inherit the crown, even if there are male heirs.

All of this occurs under the larger umbrella of the shift into the Aquarian Age, but it does add an interesting layer of changing focus to be studied.

Share
Filed Under: Astronomy Tagged With: , ,

Samhain – a day of remembrance

October 30, 2011 By

Samhain (an ancient Gaelic word pronounced Sow’-en) is the ancient Celtic holiday that has come down to us as Hallowe’en (derivation of “All Hallows Eve”).  Although it is associated today with witchcraft and doings of the devil, in pre-Christian times Samhain was simply the time when the veils between the worlds were at their thinnest.  It was a time of reverence for the process of death and the mysteries of life. The astrological Samhain actually occurs at the midpoint of Scorpio which is the “cross quarter” between the Autumnal Equinox and the Winter Solstice and falls on November 8th this year rather than October 31st.

The women that some now call “witches” were the wise women – the ones who understood the mysteries of the stars, the ones with an affinity to the healing powers of plants…the ones who helped to heal the sick and comfort the wounded.  The ones whose power came directly from nature and bypassed the power structures of the Church and were therefore dangerous.

“History is written by the winners,” and therefore most of us were never told these tales of the brave and wise women and men that were healers of souls and teachers of the spirit. Instead, we were fed stories of evil witches and devil-worshipping pagans that were meant to frighten the masses into toeing the line of the political and religious establishment.

Samhain is a time to remember the dead, and I can’t think of a better way to remember our ancestors on the path of spiritual growth and wisdom than to watch the Burning Times Documentary.  This is a beautiful film that depicts the struggle of women and men to survive the long period of the Inquisition that lasted several hundred years, and is an inspiration to continue to fight for the right to worship and honor the divine in all of Its many forms.  If you can’t view the flash movie, visit the direct link here.

 

Share
Filed Under: Holidays, Life Tagged With: , , ,

New Moon in Scorpio, October 26 2011

October 26, 2011 By

Scorpio New Moon October 2011The New Moon occurs when the Moon conjoins the Sun, beginning a new lunar cycle.  Scorpio is the sign of emotional fearlessness and demands that we find pure and complete acceptance of ourselves at the deepest core of our being, so the Scorpio New Moon denotes a time of inner renewal and self-honesty.

The Scorpio New Moon on October 26th takes us even deeper into the Underworld of the psyche and emotional realms. By this time there are four planets and luminaries in Scorpio: The Sun and Moon, and Mercury and Venus. There is no escaping the necessity of reaching into the abyss of our own interior world, but the rewards are great as we discover the treasures that lie buried underneath the veneer of our own consciousness.

This New Moon has a number of harmonious aspects that will facilitate the shedding process that is a hallmark of the Scorpio experience, including a trine of the Sun to healing Chiron that helps to remove any obstacles which prevent us from achieving that lofty goal.

A square from Venus to Mars in Leo suggests potential stress in our relationships, but also enhances sexuality and the excitement of Scorpio that Mars (traditional Scorpio ruler) brings to the table. Mars is in a harmonious sextile to Saturn at the New Moon which helps to provide stability and an environment where new plans under the New Moon may be devised.

As with any New Moon, this is a fertile time to plant seeds of a new venture that will flower when the Moon is full.  But because we’re talking about Scorpio here, the new venture is about letting go rather than taking on something new.  In what areas could you use more direction in your life?  Where is your quest for superficial comfort keeping you from becoming the person you know you are meant to be?  These are questions for the Scorpio New Moon.

There is magic and mystery during this time of Scorpio.  It’s no accident that the Scorpio Full Moon occurs around the time of All Hallows Eve and Samhain when the veils are thin.  Enjoy the mystery, and celebrate the magic!

For daily planetary updates, please visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Share
Filed Under: Moon Tagged With: , , ,

When does the Mayan calendar really end?

October 25, 2011 By

(click image to enlarge) The Mayan calendar is usually said to end on December 21, 2012, but that date seems to have little relevance to the actual Mayan calendar, although it has come to bear great mythological significance for the current age.  According to that great source of modern wisdom Wikipedia:

In 1975, the ending of b’ak’tun 13 became the subject of speculation by several New Age authors, who asserted it would correspond with a global “transformation of consciousness”. In Mexico Mystique: The Coming Sixth Age of Consciousness, Frank Waters tied Coe’s original date of December 24, 2011,[d] to astrology and the prophecies of the Hopi,[42] while both José Argüelles (in The Transformative Vision)[43] and Terence McKenna (in The Invisible Landscape)[44][45] discussed the significance of the year 2012, but not a specific day. It was only in 1983, with the publication of Robert J. Sharer‘s revised table of date correlations in the 4th edition of Morley’s The Ancient Maya,[d] that each became convinced that December 21, 2012, had significant meaning. By 1987, the year in which he organized the Harmonic Convergence event, Arguelles was using the date December 21, 2012 in The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology.[46][47] He claimed that on August 13, 3113 BC the Earth began a passage through a “galactic synchronization beam” that emanated from the center of our galaxy, that it would pass through this beam during a period of 5200 tuns (Maya cycles of 360-days each), and that this beam would result in “total synchronization” and “galactic entrainment” of individuals “plugged into the Earth’s electromagnetic battery” by 13.0.0.0.0 (December 21, 2012). He believed that the Maya aligned their calendar to correspond to this phenomenon.[48] Aveni has dismissed all of these ideas.[49]

There’s something romantic and thrilling about the end of the world occurring on the Winter Solstice, but some scholars debate the date of December 21, 2012 as the true end of the Mayan calendar.  For example, Alejandro Cirilo Perez Oxlaj, the 13th generation Quiche Mayan High Priest, and a Grand Elder of the Continental Council of Elders and Spiritual Guides of the Americas, said last year:

We don’t know exactly if it is going to be 2012 or if it is going to be later on. Because 2012 is a Gregorian date, sometimes it does not coincide with the Mayan calendar. There are many reasons why we don’t know exactly the timing. It has to do [with] when the invasion came, a little over 500 years ago [Spanish Conquistador invasion], the [Mayan] men and women of wisdom were the first ones to be assassinated. Then Bishop Diego de Landa, during the invasion, gathered all the books where all the information was, and they set them on fire. So they burned all the information. … The calendar that was at that time in effect, they have gone through so many modifications. . . Like in this Mayan council, they left out days; they didn’t count just to catch up with time. Then with the Gregorian Calendar, all the months are so irregular in length, like the months of 28 days, 30 days, 29 days, 31 days. So this is why it doesn’t [align]. But one thing is for sure, it is certain that you all will know when this happens, because it is going to be a long period of darkness. It is a change of sun; it is another sun that is coming. So, like now, we see the north, and in the other time, it will [be] a different direction.

Writer Johann Calleman claims to have the facts – that the actual date of the end of the Mayan calendar is October 28, 2011.  As I write this, October 28th is just a few days away which makes this a particularly interesting date.  Calleman claims that he successfully predicted the economic collapse in 2008 based on the fact that the Fifth Night of the current cycle began in November 2007, coinciding with the global crash of the world economy.  (He does not seem to take into account the fact that Pluto entered Capricorn in January of 2008 which is when the actual crash began.)

In any case, the LibraRising website has a wonderful depiction of the Mayan calendar (shown above)  that is clearer than any other I have seen, outlining all of the larger cycles and the breakdown into smaller cycles.  This article is a bit on the New Agey side, but one interesting aspect to this depiction of the cycles is the fact that the first cycles are extremely long in duration, and as humanity evolves the cycles of evolution become shorter and shorter, reflecting what we have actually seen in the progression of human consciousness and civilization.

Some hysterical internet riders posted this date as PROOF that the world would end because the Comet Elenin would be closest to earth around this same time.  We recently saw that there Elenin was nothing to be feared, but the penchant for dramatic endings to the world continue. Even preacher Harold Camping, who has three times unsuccessfully predicted the end of the world, finally admitted that no one can know when that day will come.  (Just as Jesus said so many years ago. I suspect that Jesus said that just to keep people from going crazy about the end of the world, but as with so many things he said, no one really listens.)

In any case – if the world does end on October 28th the November Skywatch article may be delayed.  Just in case, sign up now so that you can receive November’s planetary news in your inbox!

Share
Filed Under: Astrology Tagged With: , , , ,

Richard Nolle predicted the earthquake in Turkey

October 24, 2011 By

If you don’t already subscribe to Richard’s planetary forecast, I strongly recommend it. In his October forecast he notes that the Scorpio New Moon on October 26th is a SuperMoon with potential for significant geocosmic effects:

The likelihood of destructive storms, seismic events (including magnitude 5+ earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) as well as extreme tidal surges associated with the October 23-30 SuperMoon shock window is planet-wide in potential. If there are signs of particular target zones, they may be suggested by the astro-locality map for this alignment. This includes a longitudinal zone running from Iran up through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia; and along the middle Pacific coast of North America (including Alaska, British Columbia, and the Pacific Northwest as well as California in the US). There’s also a horizon arc sweeping northeasterly through Australia and across Papua New Guinea, on through the Pacific to Kamchatka, crossing the Bering Strait and running along northern Canada before turning southward to pass through the Atlantic just off the eastern tip of Brazil. When the headlines of the day are written, they’re bound to include some extreme storm, tide and seismic activity along one or more of these zones. (Note that some of the same target zones are emphasized in both the full and new moon astro-locality maps.)

Read the entire October forecast here. Richard Nolle is the originator of the term Supermoon to describe a moon that is closest to the Earth and therefore has a more powerful geocosmic effect.

Richard also suggests that this Supermoon period will bring about some economic improvement, saying “ it should be good for bonds, stocks and good strong currencies. Increased production and hiring look like part of this SuperMoon.” European markets are up today so we’ll see over the next few weeks whether Richard’s economic projections hold water.  The Sun is moving towards an opposition to Jupiter (expansion and confidence) that will peak right at the end of Richard’s Supermoon window on October 30th, so I suspect that this period will indeed be a strong one as consumer confidence expands along with the Sun and Jupiter.

Richard is also talking more about the Mars Max period, and I’ll be covering that more over the next couple of weeks.

 

Share
Filed Under: Business, Ecology Tagged With: , ,

Sunday inspiration: Answering the question “Who am I”

October 23, 2011 By

Examining “Who am I” is like beginning to go to the movies just to see how the movie is made.

As we first sit down in the dark theater we find that we are relating to the objects of the melodrama, the motion on the screen.  We pay attention to the story line, which we notice is like the contents of the mind, allowing it to unfold as it will without judgment or the least interference.

As we focus our attention on the process, we begin to see that frames that constitute film are like separate thoughts; then we begin to recognize the process buy which the images are produced, and it breaks our enthrallment with the story line.  We notice that ll the activity is just a projection on a blank screen.  That all these figures dancing before us are an illusion produced by light passing through various densities onthe film.

We see the film is like our conditioning, a repetitious imprint of images gone by.  We see that the whole melodrama is a passing show of motion and change … We discover that all we imagined ourselves to be — all our becoming, our memory, all the contents of mind — is just old film running off.  The projectionist has died.

“Who am I?” can’t be answered.  We cannot know the truth.  We can only be it.  Constantly living life in the past tense, rummaging through consciousness to decide who and what we are, the truth is obscured. The truth cannot be discovered in the contents of the mind.  Only the untruth of false identification can be uncovered.

Going beyond the false, the truth is revealed.

–Stephen Levine

Share
Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: ,

The world has still not ended, but the renewal is at hand

October 22, 2011 By

rapture Uranus PlutoDespite lots of hysteria in some circles over Comet Elenin as a harbinger of doom, and more predictions by evangelical preacher Harold Camping that the world would erupt in flames on October 21st – we are still here.  Comet Elenin broke down into small pieces as it zipped by Earth, and with the disintegration of the comet the theory that Elenin was actually Niburu, the lost planet disintegrated as well.  And Mr. Camping’s prediction that the apocalypse would occur yesterday appears to have been incorrect – for the third time.  Now that is persistence!!

We seem to be in the midst of more “end of the world” hysteria than at any time since the Millenium.  Perhaps this is because as word spreads of the end of the Mayan calendar on the Winter Solstice 2012 it becomes tempting to frame the concept of “the end of the world” in our own reality.  For Christians perhaps it’s the Rapture; for conspiracy theorists it is the return of our brethren from space.  For followers of New Age spirituality it’s Ascension into other dimensions.

There’s no doubt that there is an acceleration of energy as we hurtle more completely into the Age of Aquarius.  The shift of Uranus, ruling electromagnetic energy, into Aries which is so dynamic and initiatory has intensified the experience of human life.  It’s impossible to deny that Something Important is happening on the planet, but the experience is larger than anything we can hold in our human brains.  But still we try.

I could be wrong, but I don’t believe that the world will end on the Winter Solstice next year.  But I do believe that life as we know it, and civilization as we have understood it, is undergoing a major transformation.  For many people, having lost their jobs and their homes, the world as they know it has already ended.  And now something new must take its place.

The next three years are an important time for humans on planet Earth under the influence of the square formation of Uranus and Pluto, just as the 1960s were during the conjunction of those two transformational forces.  Not one of us will be left unchanged.  But is that the end of the world?  For some perhaps – but it is also a new beginning.

Share
Filed Under: Future Shock, Life Tagged With: , , , ,

Life can be hard

October 18, 2011 By

personal transformationMy own life wasn’t a picnic until after my Uranus opposition at the age of 42, but every time I talk with a client who has had a challenging period of time or traumatic experiences I am filled with wonder at the ingenious ways in which we manage to keep ourselves alive despite dramatic and sometimes horrific experiences.

I have come to avoid seeing experiences as “good” or “bad.”  When we have a number of loved ones die in a short period of time we are usually under the favor of Pluto who is calling on us to go deeper into the Underworld – to face the jaws of Cerberus at the gates of hell and face the adventure of death and life as purely naked as it is possible to be, free of artifice and casual banter.

When our lives are going well and we blithely zip from here to there without a thought to our inner world or the life of the soul that continues beneath the superficial, some may call this an ideal experience.  I’m sure it’s Saturn who sits always on my Sun, but I am suspicious of that which comes too easily and have come to cherish those life experiences that force me out of my comfort zone, pushing me through spaces that feel much too small into a new and brilliant world.  Birth, anyone?

Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy getting my bliss on as much as the next person.  Life is given to us so that we can find the joy, despite all of our sad stories and self-destructive tendencies, and then share it with others.  But the way to joy is sometimes through darkness, and when we encounter that darkness the only way is to go through it.  There are no short cuts, not that I can find anyway.

So I honor all of the valiant souls whom I am blessed to consult with – those who continue to seek the magic of self-knowledge and personal transformation and never give in to the darkness. The human journey is truly a remarkable thing.

Share
Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With:

Sunday inspiration: The world is your lover

October 16, 2011 By

It is my experience that the world itself has a role to play in our liberation. Its very pressures, pains, and risks can wake us up – release us from the bonds of ego and guide us home to our vast, true nature. For some of us, our love for the world is so passionate that we cannot ask it to wait until we are enlightened. …

For when you see the world as lover, every being, every phenomenon, can become – if you have a clever, appreciative eye – an expression of that ongoing, erotic impulse. It takes form right now in each one of us and in everyone and everything we encounter – the bus driver, the clerk at the checkout counter, the leaping squirrel.

As we seek to discover the lover in each lifeform, you can find yourself in the dance of rasa-lila, sweet play, where each of the milkmaids who yearned for Krishna finds him magically at her side, her very own partner in the dance. The one beloved has become many, and the world itself her lover.

–Joanna Macy

 

 

Share
Filed Under: Inspiration

The astrology of Ashton Kutcher

October 14, 2011 By

Ashton Kutcher Demi Moore divorceMuch has been said lately about Ashton Kutcher’s alleged adultery, and the possible demise of the May/December relationship is being blamed on their age difference.  But I suspect it has more to do with the fact that Ashton’s chart reveals a psychological conflict between a serious and sensible nature and a yearning to be free.

Ashton’s chart (source: Astrotheme) shows that he is a New Moon personality, with the Sun and Moon conjoined in Aquarius.  New Moon people are somewhat impulsive and can have a tendency towards rash behavior – they are on the path of a new beginning and carry a great deal of excitement with them.  The fact that the New Moon is in Aquarius adds an even greater touch of eccentricity and a desire to be authentic and true to one’s own self.  The New Moon configuration (and Mercury, the planet of the mind) fall in the Ninth House of travel and adventure, revealing Ashton’s need for experiences that continue to broaden his horizons and deepen his understanding.

That New Moon also conjoins Venus (attraction and relationships) at the Midheaven of the chart, the point of highest aspiration, with both Venus and the Midheaven also in Aquarius and all three planets are in a harmonious trine to Jupiter, the planet of good fortune.  This is a very positive aspect for career success, but it also alludes to the importance of relationships in advancing his career.  This is a powerful Aquarian influence that can be brilliant and innovative, but also detached and isolated.  Aquarius has two rulers: Saturn (the detached and isolated influence) and Uranus (the brilliant innovator).  Yet both of these planets have something in common – neither of them is very comfortable with the emotional realm (especially with the Moon, representing the emotions, in Aquarius).  The fact that Uranus is locked in a challenging square to the New Moon/Venus configuration provides extra fuel for that particular fire and strengthens the Uranian yearning for liberation.

Gemini is rising in his chart, and Jupiter, the planet of expansion, is also in Gemini in the First House of personal identity bestowing confidence and a desire for a world that continually expands.  The Gemini ascendant signifies a need for a constantly changing world in which a multitude of experiences combine to inform the path of the individual’s evolution.

These are not planetary configurations that suggest a tremendously disciplined personality, or one that seeks commitment and family ties.  However, we also see Saturn in the chart opposing the that New Moon/Venus, and Saturn is retrograde which intensitifes  the Saturnian influence that seeks structure and a disciplined approach to life.  In addition, his Mars is in Cancer so he has a strong drive (Mars) towards nurturing and caring for others (Cancer), although Mars makes no major aspects to any other planet in his chart and therefore has a difficult time finding a way to find expression.

Saturn opposite the Moon can signify depression and loneliness and Ashton has admitted to contemplating suicide at the age of thirteen.  At the time transiting Saturn was passing over his Aquarian planets and over the next few years under the Saturnian influence his home life worsened and his parents divorced.

Ashton and Demi met at a party in March 2003.  Ashton’s progressed Moon had been in Capricorn for the previous 18 months and he was likely feeling the need (Moon) for a more structured and committed life (Capricorn is ruled by Saturn and shares its connection to success, achievement and responsibility). When they met, his progressed Moon was nearing a conjunction to Juno (asteroid of marriage) and they began dating right away.

Ashton and Demi married on September 24, 2005.  At the time Ashton’s progressed Moon was transiting the New Moon/Venus configuration in his chart and passing over the Midheaven.  He likely felt that this was the culmination of his life’s experiences – more than just a relationship, he was moving into a public persona of marriage and family life, Saturnian structures of responsibility and commitment.  Yet the conflict between Saturn’s pressure for structure and the need for autonomy of Uranus is an ongoing battle in Ashton’s psyche.

The Saturn Return is a significant planetary cycle that affects people in different ways.  Some people find this the most productive time of their life as Saturn inspires them to work hard and achieve long-lasting goals.  But some people are kicked to the curb if Saturn’s School of Hard Knocks teaches their lessons the hard way.  To some extent we have some influence over how planetary cycles will affect us if we are aware and understand what is required, but that is not universally true.  Because Saturn is in a planetary system in Ashton’s chart that includes the New Moon and Venus and his Midheaven, his Saturn Return in 2007 was particularly potent and his career floundered during that period.  The 70′s Show, which had made him a star, had ended its run and Ashton struggled to find himself.

Rumors of Ashton cheating on Demi began in September of 2010.  During that year, Ashton’s Venus had progressed to the early degrees of Aries where it has been beat up by the Cardinal Drama, a major planetary configuration which created a great deal of tension both in the world and in the personal lives of individuals over the past three years.  The rumors soon died down until this summer when rumors began circulating that Ashton and Demi were living apart, a story that coincides with his great television success as the new cast member of “Two and a Half Men.”   When photos of Ashton cavorting in a hot tub with a blonde on the day of his wedding anniversary splashed across tabloid covers last week, the rumors became news.

It appears inevitable that Ashton and Demi will end their marriage if it’s not already over, but it won’t be because of the age difference.  It will be because Ashton has not yet grown up enough to balance the urges within his chart and his personality which are in conflict with each other.  This is not an uncommon problem and it takes a certain amount of self-knowledge and understanding to find that balance.

 

Share
Filed Under: Celebrities, Relationships Tagged With: ,
« Older Posts