Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

I am a bit of a grinch about St. Patrick’s day because of the symbolism of the chasing of the snakes and serpents (natural wisdom) out of Ireland. But I do love Ireland and today I will be at a pub playing Irish music, wearing green.

So I thought I would share something about ancient Irish astrology as it might have been practiced by the Druids. Unfortunately very little of their wisdom and practice comes down to us in any kind of authenticated form, but this article sheds a light on ancient Irish astronomy and astrology:

Greek and Latin writers show clearly that the Celts were not only advanced in astronomy but that they were respected, especially by the Greeks, for their ‘speculations from the stars’. Even the Romans, from Caesar to Pliny, paid tribute to their astronomy. One of the first to note that the ancient Celts believed the world to be round (not flat) was Martial (c. AD 40-103/4) who, himself, claimed Celtic ancestry.

The famous 1st Century BC Coligny Calendar, once thought to be the most extensive document in a Celtic language but now surpassed by other fascinating discoveries, has been dated to its original computation, by its astronomical observations and calculations. This highly sophisticated lunar and solar predictor was, according to the leading Celtic scholar, Dr Garrett Olmsted, first constructed in 1100 BC. [2] It is important to note that the concepts of the calendar find parallels in Vedic cosmology. We will return to this later.

It was the Greek Hippolytus (AD 170-236), using an earlier source, who stated that the ancient Celts foretold the future from the stars by ciphers and numbers after the manner of the Pythagoreans. Space precludes a discussion on the argument which took place among the Alexandrian School of Greek writers as to whether the Celts borrowed their ideas from Pythagoras or whether Pythagoras borrowed his ideas from the Celts. This fascinating argument among Greek scholars began in the 2nd Century BC and continued for some centuries. The concept that the Greeks borrowed from the Celts, found a leading advocate in the Athenian-born scholar Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 150 – AD 211/216).

Wouldn’t it be a fascinating story if our Greek astrology actually originated in ancient Ireland!

The Great Grand Trine

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

Note to my readers: This post contains a lot of geeky astrological lingo. If you find it overwhelming skip to the bottom where I’ve translated this into English for you.

Throughout the month of March a Grand Trine is in effect between Jupiter in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, and Mars in Virgo. Normally Mars moves quickly through the zodiac but because it has been retrograde and is moving slowly now before it changes direction, it is at a virtual standstill as part of this Grand Trine.

A Grand Trine is a triangular formation that consists of three separate trines. You may have noticed that Jupiter and Venus have been getting closer and closer to a conjunction in the sky and that formation peaked last night, and these two are conjunct the point in the sky known as the Black Moon Lilith. The Black Moon Lilith is not an actual body but is more like a void out of which comes the darkness of our deepest and most fearful emotions.

The trine aspect promotes ease and harmony, which you would think would be a good thing and it can be, but it also can create laziness and complacency. This Grand Trine is in the element of Earth which desires stability at all costs, yet we also have an opposition (stressful aspect) between the assertive energy of Mars and the raw emotional sensitivity of Chiron which forms what we call a Kite to the Grand Trine.

Kites add a layer of unresolved tension to a Grand Trine and yet the circular energy of the Trine makes it difficult to move through the tension towards resolution but also adds a dynamic quality to the stasis of the Grand Trine. This suggests that even though under the Grand Trine we seek comfort and security from the Earth element, there is enough underlying anxiety from the Mars/Chiron configuration to push us into greater inner activation.

The major players in the Grand Trine, Jupiter, Pluto and Mars, come together beautifully themselves to facilitate personal growth and empowerment. Jupiter brings confidence to the table, Mars provides the energy, and Pluto reveals the raw power that is required to create real transformation once our personal issues (Mars/Chiron) are resolved.

In this powerful alignment of the planet of ideology and good fortune (Jupiter) and the planet of focused strength (Pluto) there is the potential for powerful work towards the betterment of yourself and those around you. On a personal level this aspect can help us to transform our lives and the community around us; on a global level it can facilitate understanding and an acceptance of other viewpoints.

English translation

Throughout the month of March a Grand Trine is in effect between Jupiter in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn, and Mars in Virgo.

The trine aspect promotes ease and harmony, which you would think would be a good thing and it can be, but it also can create laziness and complacency. This Grand Trine is in the element of Earth which desires stability at all costs, yet we also have some conflict between our instinct to assert ourselves and our raw emotional sensitivity.

Even though under the Grand Trine we seek comfort and security from the Earth element, there is enough underlying anxiety to push us into greater inner activation.

Mercury retrograde March 13th: Two steps forward, one step back

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

Get ready folks, Mercury is preparing to turn retrograde on March 13th and its motion has been slowing down for a week or so now as it prepares to make that U-turn. You may be thinking: “I thought it already WAS retrograde????” Communication and plans have been thrown awry since December when Mars turned retrograde, and Mars continues to appear to move backwards across the sky from our perspective on earth. Read more about retrograde Mars here.

Mercury is in Aries now, and if you know an Aries you will recognize that this is one sign that does NOT like to move in any direction other than forwards. ”Shoot first, aim later” my Aries friend tells me, and that is the motto for these fiery types. Mercury in Aries needs to get the point across and to come up with ideas and plans that are immediately put into action.

This has been exacerbated by the transit of Mercury past a conjunction to Uranus last week, and because of the retrograde turn of Mercury this conjunction will remain in effect for the next couple of weeks. Uranus is the “awakener,” waking us up from a sleep of denial and complacency as our awareness and understanding shifts and new ways of visioning the world make themselves known.

Uranus also tends to bring surprise, and when tied to Mercury, the messenger god of communication, there could be actual messages in the form of letters or emails that shock or disturb us in some ways, or which open doors of perception so that our awakening can truly take place.

The second conjunction of Mercury to Uranus occurs on March 18 just before the Spring Equinox. The chart for the Equinox contains a triple conjunction with the Sun, Mercury and Uranus in early Aries suggesting a very exciting spring full of surprises! Mercury slips back into Pisces on the 24th, but for the next two weeks the mental realm expands and blossoms.

This is a beautiful time for writers and anyone with an imagination, since new ideas are flooding the Universal Consciousness. I suggest carrying a notebook to write down any intuitive flashes of wisdom that make themselves known, because the veils between dimensional thought are thinner right now than usual.

The retrograde periods of Mars and Mercury do not promote ease and comfort, but they serve a valuable role in human life. We can’t always be moving forwards, hastening through our life. At times we must rest – we must re-examine the beliefs that we hold true, we must re-design aspects of our lives which are stale. We often need to re-negotiate our agreements in relationships, and re-assess their importance. Mercury retrograde serves a valuable role by encouraging us to look backwards and re-do that in our life which may need re-doing.

So no complaining!! Let’s embrace the gift of Mercury Retrograde instead.

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The power of 1962

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

This image is an actual gift basket that can be purchased here. Everywhere I look these days I am reminded of 1962. This year marks the 50th anniversary of 1962, so it is an important anniversary and coincides with the Chiron Return.

First I wrote a blog post about Demi Moore, born in 1962. A commenter wrote that actress Janine Turner was also born in 1962, and I followed up with a comment of other major stars born in 1962: Tom Cruise, Jim Carrey, Matthew Broderick, Ralph Fiennes, Steve Carell, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, John Hannah (in the UK), Cary Elwes, Joan Cusack, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Paula Abdul, Eddie Izzard (Izzard is one of the AquaStell people born in February that year with seven planets and luminaries in Aquarius), Jon Bon Jovi, Rosie O’Donnell, John Stewart, Andrew Braugher.

This is the 50th anniversary of some of the major iconic bands from the 1960s, including the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys, two very different bands that had a powerful impact on pop culture.

Then yesterday I did a reading for an Aquastell client, a relatively rare event in my practice.

And today I find that it’s the 50th anniversary of my favorite book as a child: A Wrinkle in Time. (I wrote about that book here.)

In early 1962 there was a lineup of Aquarius planets that at one point featured seven planets within 16 degrees of Aquarius including the Aquarius New Moon on February 5th. Aquarius is the sign of innovation and urges a departure from that which has been known before. There was likely an explosion of creative intelligence that erupted during this “Grand Conjunction and although Uranus and Pluto were not yet within range of their conjunction (that didn’t occur until Uranus entered Virgo later in 1962) I believe that the stellium may have stimulated that breakthrough that opened the door for the changes that occurred over the next five years as Uranus and Pluto aligned in Virgo.

These Aquastell people (and others born in 1961-1963) are in their Chiron return now. Because Chiron works on the emotional body and Aquarian types tend to be less comfortable in the emotional realm, the Chiron return can have a variety of manifestations. Generally, though, a clearing of emotional debris is required in order to achieve the energetic liberation that Aquarius promotes, and the Chiron Return is the perfect time for this to occur.

There has been just one other lineup of seven planets since then: in January 1994 seven planets lined up in Capricorn. This stellium does not seem to have generated many stars, other than Justin Bieber the number of stars born in that year is fairly low.

The next planet pileup won’t occur until June 2032 when seven planets will conjoin in Gemini.

Book review: The Essential Guide to Practical Astrology

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

It’s not because April Elliot Kent is a friend of mine that I start this review by saying this is the best book for beginners that I have ever read. Until my own book comes out this is the most comprehensive yet easy to understand astrology book that you will find.

Astrology is an incredibly complex subject. It’s very difficult to talk about without using technical language and using your readers, which is probably why simplistic horoscope columns garner many more readers than articles about serious astrology.

But as anyone who has ever had a competent astrology reading knows, astrology is pure magic. April has written a wonderful book that simplifies astrological concepts without dumbing it down to a point where it is unrecognizable.

You can read more about the book here on April’s site, and purchasing it through this link will help her stats.

Planetary Illuminations for February 2012

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

The Planetary Illuminations report for February is up on my website and you can read the article in its entirety here. My newsletter subscribers receive a translation of this report into easy to understand English, so if you’re not already on my list please sign up in the sidebar to the right of this article.

Meanwhile, here is the introduction which reports on the major planetary cycles this month (for the details of February planetary alignments please visit the article:

Mars turned retrograde on January 23rd, and when February begins it is still moving very slowly through the sky so its influence is felt on a more deeply personal level. The energy of Mars is important for our motivation and our ability to move forward in our lives, and Mars is in Virgo where it is bringing our attention to the details of life – the mundane everyday world in which most of our lives transpire.

Any planet in retrograde motion asks us to look within a little more carefully, and Mars retrograde periods urge us to carefully consider areas of life in which we react to stimuli without thinking. Where do we respond in anger? Where are we blocked from expressing ourselves when our boundaries are violated? What do we really want and how can we put our dreams into action? These are all Mars Retrograde questions and because Mars will be inching along very slowly for the first two weeks of February we will continue to feel its effects. This could include sleeplessness and agitation if Mars is hitting a sensitive area in our chart and we are allowing that energy to implode without giving it an outlet, through physical activity perhaps, or by expressing ourselves more clearly and assertively.

Saturn is preparing to turn retrograde too – that retrograde turn occurs on February 7th so Saturn’s motion is also slowing down to a standstill in preparation for that retrograde turn. Saturn is at the 29th degree of Libra, not quite ready to move into Scorpio but instead going back one more time to complete the work of helping us to re-establish our sense of values and aesthetics (Libra).

Saturn turns retrograde every year, so this is not such an unusual event. Saturn is the planet that teaches us to build and create strong structures that will sustain our lives and grant us success in the material world, but in order to accomplish this it often calls our attention to areas in which our performance has not been adequate. This can lead to feelings of self-doubt and anxiety. Saturn retrograde periods offer opportunities for us to use this awareness of where our efforts have fallen short so that we can improve them and ultimately achieve lasting success.

We also have Neptune re-entering Pisces after a brief sojourn back into Aquarius. You can read more about that here.

And finally, Pluto is moving into position to form a square aspect to Ceres. Ceres represents our ability to nurture ourselves and others, and Pluto presents a challenge to that ability. There are often issues of food disorders under this aspect, or at the very least a difficulty in balancing our emotional needs with the physical ones.

for daily planetary cycles visit my Facebook and Twitter pages.

Year of the Dragon

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

This is the Year of the Water Dragon, which evidently is a very big deal in Chinese culture. I confess that my knowledge of Chinese astrologer doesn’t extend far beyond what’s printed on the placemats in Chinese restaurants, but I do know that I am a Dragon which made no sense when I was younger. It’s only now that I am aging that I see the Dragon within me. But that’s another story…

Evidently the Dragon year is a very popular year during which to have children because it is thought that Dragons will be successful financially. Dragon years are periods of growth and change, and evidently attract events that are larger than life. It’s interesting to me that mainstream publications that don’t traffic in Western astrology will often make a big deal out of Chinese astrology, such as this one:

According to CLSA, Asia-Pacific Markets, the word for “Dragon,” in Chinese is spelled “Lóng.” Automatically that is a good sign for markets, as we are always hopeful for long markets and lots of profit. The Chinese Zodiac takes into consideration all five elements of metal, fire, water, earth, and wood, and in the Year of the Dragon, the zodiac predicts that markets will steadily drop until about mid-August when a huge surge will take place and a “Lóng” market takes us well into the next Chinese New Year. Predominant elements this year are water, which could douse any fire in the markets, and is expected to be a powerful force in February and March, and so the Dragon says to liquidate (yes, liquidate) any funds you have during that period (CSLA).

There’s an interesting corollary between the Chinese Year of the Water Dragon which combines the element of water with the natural fire of the Dragon, with the combination of Uranus in fiery Aries and the entry of Neptune into watery Pisces. I suppose it’s possible that Neptune in Pisces, with its penchant for delusion, could indeed douse the over-the-top enthusiasm of Uranus in Aries.

While there are twelve animal years, each animal year has an element year and since there are five elements in Chinese philosophy this makes for a 60-year cycle. So this next year, my 60th year, is actually my Dragon Return, the first time the Water Dragon has returned since the year of my birth. (Which I guess is now no longer a secret!)

So I have been wondering, what does it mean that this is my Dragon Return year? I asked the proprietor of the local establishment of Chinese cuisine that I frequent, and he shook his head. ”Not usually a good year,” he said. ”Sometimes it brings out the worst in you.” That was not very encouraging but I can see where that would be the case. Just as with any astrological cycle, much of what occurs depends upon how far we have grown during the preceding period. And since in this case the preceding period is my entire life, I suppose the question will be how far along I’ve come in my mastery of Water Dragon-ness.

In any case, Happy New Year to all! And blessings for taming the Dragon.

Film review: Five Star Day and the Solar Return

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

Our friend John Townley has posted a review of the film Five Star Day which was released in 2011 but comes out on DVD next month:

The premise is simple: protagonist Jake Gibson (Cam Gigandet, Christina Aguilera’s love interest in Burlesque) reads his newspaper Sun-sign horoscope which tells him he’s going to have a wonderful birthday – love, money, career outlooks all superb – and then proceeds to have the most disastrous day of his young life on all three fronts. Confusing destiny and predetermination, and infuriated that he has been somehow deceived by the ancient art itself, he sets out to debunk astrology utilizing a project for his college ethics class. His method: to find several other people born at exactly the same time and place as he (February 6, 1982, at 10:32 PM in Chicago), who presumably would have had totally different birthday experiences than he, thus somehow disproving astrology. Not exactly an airtight experiment, but perhaps enough speculative fodder for an ethics class.

But his presumptions are soon dashed asunder, for as he travels cross-country to meet three others whose identical birthdays he wants to hear about, he discovers that two also had life-alteringly dreadful days, and later finds the third’s was even worse. He is treated to it in-depth with his first contact and subsequent love interest Sarah (Jena Malone, of Pride and Prejudice, Sucker Punch, lots more), and the rest follow suit. It’s an unexpected conundrum. Does this mean astrology is for real? Is there no free will in this world? Well, of course there is, as he discovers from getting creatively entangled with the troubled lives of all three. With a little help from Jake, everyone manages to make lemonade out of their birthday lemons, with engagingly suitable episodes of drama, love, and comedy along the way. Ill begun may be half-done, but the other half is up to you, as they all discover, ultimately earning Jake a good grade (we hope) in his ethics report.

The idea that the protagonist had a bad day on his birthday caught my attention, because my birthdays are typically not so great either, something I attribute to the fact that my Sun is flanked by Saturn and Neptune and squared by Uranus, a pretty stressful planetary combination. On (or near) your birthday the Sun returns to its place in the chart and illuminates your natal solar position. If your native solar position is challenging, your Solar Return will call your attention to ways in which your solar experience needs to be improved.

The chart given in the film, February 6, 1982 at 10:32 pm in Chicago, shows a nearly exact Sun/Chiron square so the solar return chart would illuminate the painful wounds of that planetary position. Chris Brennan’s interview posts the chart of director Danny Buday which curiously does not have a solar aspect. In fact, Buday’s chart shows a singleton Sun – it makes no aspects to any other planets. I’m not sure there is any relevance of that to the discussion of the film, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

In any case, it sounds like this film is one of the first to treat the subject of astrology with any respect and will probably be worth seeing.

The astrology of SOPA

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

SOPA is the Stop Online Piracy Act currently under discussion in the US House of Representatives. At first glance, stopping online piracy sounds like a good idea. I know that I myself have found plenty of my articles circulating on the Net under someone else’s byline. But when you dig a little deeper into the language of the 75 page bill you find requirements that internet provides monitor the usage of its customers to ensure that rogue sites are not visited, and gives the Justice Department the authority to shut down websites that do not comply.

From an astrological perspective, the Internet is ruled by the planet Uranus, the giver of technology and innovation. Uranus entered the sign of Aries last year, bringing the energy of aggressive force and self-orientation (Aries) into Uranian realms and intensifying the natural rebellious tendencies of Uranus.

Pluto is the planet of death, power and transformation, and it governs experiences that take us to the limit of endurance and then push us a little further. In 2008 Pluto entered Capricorn, the sign of social and economic structures. Pluto seeks to consolidate power, while at the same time breaking down existing structures that are weak or corrupt so that they can be rebuilt, and the mission Pluto in Capricorn is clear: force the rebuilding of the very fabric of society.

Over the next few years the revolutionary fervor that we have seen over the past year with Uranus in Aries will continue as Uranus and Pluto face off in a challenging square (90 degree) aspect. As the power structure (Pluto) finds it more difficult to control the freedom (Uranus) of the masses it will seek more egregious measures to do so (Pluto) , which will be followed by more resistance and rebellion (Uranus).

You’ll notice during this period that the power brokers appear to work from both sides, such as in the case of Rupert Murdoch who is one of the more vocal supporters of internet censorship through SOPA in the US while simultaneously fighting for freedom of speech in the UK wiretapping scandal.

The Internet began its existence as a wild and untamed forum for free expression, but power brokers have long sought to harness and control it for financial gain. This dynamic is perfectly symbolized by Uranus in Aries (individual freedom) vs. Pluto in Capricorn (business and power). I suspect that this issue, in a variety of forms, will be one of the major factors in the Uranus/Pluto square over the next few years.

For one of the most cogent articles about SOPA, see this article on the Huffington Post by 16-year old Aaron Wang in which he clarifies:

The bill itself even reflects the inability of Congress and the entertainment industry to grasp a correct understanding of the Internet. The bill allows for the blocking of a domain name but not the numeric IP address. Users can still access the blocked website if they know this IP address. This completely contradicts what the bill stands for — it blocks websites most popular to Internet amateurs like Facebook and YouTube, while tech-savvy users can easily search the IP address of their favorite illegal movie streaming website and access it. What we get as a result, is the censorship of the Internet similar to that of China, Iran, and Syria.

Over the next few years it will no longer be possible to remain complacent. Just as in the 1960s when Uranus and Pluto conjoined and social upheaval and transformation was inevitable, each of us must determine which principles are important to us, and be prepared to fight for them.

Astrology software for the Iphone

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Lynn Hayes

As a professional astrologer I’m always asked for recommendations of astrology software programs. Until now there has been a huge gap between the so-called “horoscope” apps that provide fun but useless “horoscopes” based on sun sign only, especially for the Iphone. (I use the word “horoscope” in quotes here because a horoscope is actually the actual natal chart rather than the predictions it has come to signify.)

I use the Solar Fire professional software program in my day-to-day astrology practice, so when their Iphone version came out I purchased it right away. At $29.99 the app is not cheap, but it is certainly handy to be able to whip out the phone and immediately calculate the position of your progressed Moon.

The folks at Astrograph sent me an offer to review their Iphone app so of course I took them up on it. They also have a free app which I highly recommend.

The Time Passages free app provides everything you need to cast your own birthchart, and even gives you a real “horoscope” showing the effect of the current planetary positions on your own birthchart. This is a great way to learn about astrology and the effect of the planets on our personal lives. If you want the option to show a transit wheel or progressed chart, you can purchase this and other options for a very modest fee ($.99).

The paid Time Passages app naturally has more features. You can view biwheels with the natal and progressed charts, or natal and transit charts. (I suppose it would be difficult to view a triwheel on an Iphone, but that would be a great feature at some point in the future.) The app does include a “compatibility meter” which I am not crazy about, anything that we do to “dumb down” astrology in this way rankles me, especially in a professional application like this. But I’m sure it will be very popular.

I’m frankly not sure if the differences between the paid app and the free app are worth the $29.99. Unless I’m missing something you can purchase the additional features you would use on a daily basis (transits, progressions) for only $.99 each.

AstroGold is the Iphone app from the folks that brought us the Solar Fire family of software programs. Because it’s geared towards professionals it does offer a wider range of options such as the type of Black Moon and over 25 house systems. I confess that although I have been an astrologer for about 30 years I use only a fraction of the features of my Solar Fire package, and most of these extra options will certainly be lost on the average user.

Most of my readers will be quite pleased with the free Time Passages app and pay for the upgrades for the transits and progressions, and Henry Selzer’s excellent interpretations are a great learning tool as well.

Astrological Musings by Lynn Hayes

Thoughts on planetary influences that affect our inner and outer worlds

Category Archives: Astrology