Scorpio Full Moon: May 5, 2012

May 4, 2012 By

Full Moon ScorpioIn the Full Moon is in Scorpio nothing is superficial – this Full Moon is all about delving deep into the Mysteries where the Truth lies unexposed in its raw and most real form.  The astrological Moon represents our emotions and feelings – it shows where we retreat to when we are under stress and our instinctive reactions that are unencumbered by any sense of what others expect.

Scorpio is a water sign and therefore involved with the emotional realm.  But Scorpio’s traditional ruler is Mars – a fire planet.  The emotion of Scorpio is nothing like the “go with the flow” emotional adaptability of Pisces, or the deeply sensitive and easily wounded nature of Cancer.  Scorpio is passionate and intense and can be aggressive in its need to defend and protect.  Scorpio’s modern ruler is Pluto, the planet of transformation and the ultimate Truth of Life and Death, which drives that need for intensity into a powerhouse of release and reconstruction.

In the Scorpio Full Moon the lunar instinct turns towards the fire of emotion in order to find our inner passions and face our emotions with courage and awareness. However, the Sun is opposite the Moon in Taurus, seeking peace and serenity in the midst of that Scorpionic emotional fire.  The Full Moon, like any opposition, requires balance.  The Scorpio Moon is in its ascendancy and is the stronger of the two during this lunar event, but the Taurus Sun is whispering to us, encouraging us to stay rooted into the Earth while we allow the fire of our passions and enthusiasm to engulf us in the flames of transcendence.

Scorpio as a rule demands our complete attention, and that will be emphasized as an opposition from Mercury to Saturn (discipline and material reality) culminates at the Full Moon and forces us to confront any areas of our psyche in which we carry a delusion that holds us back.

Meanwhile an awkward aspect  between Uranus (radical behavior) and Mars (aggressive instinct) suggests an inner restlessness and urge to flee the confrontation of this Full Moon and planning for some sort of outlet for this energy is advised. Mars is also exactly square (a conflicting aspect) to the lunar nodes which represent a sense of fate and inner direction, so this Full Moon marks a sort of turning point. Perhaps a decision will be necessary, or an event will occur that will affect our lives permanently.

Those of us with an emphasis in Scorpio, or with strong Mars and Pluto aspects, will find this Full Moon exhilarating in its power.  Those of us who are somewhat fearful of these influences may feel rather overwhelmed, but remember that this Full Moon is a beautiful opportunity to allow your own drive and motivation and deepest desires be known.

This Full Moon is a time of courage and raw power.  Let go of the superficial – let go of any illusions of who you think you are.  Be not afraid:  allow your delusions and confusions to be burned away in the fire of emotion, and allow yourself to emerge from the ashes renewed and with a new understanding of who you really are.  THAT is the lesson of this Scorpio Full Moon.

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Astrology and schizophrenia

February 4, 2011 By

astrology and schizophreniaHere is an interesting African study from 1997 that correlated astrological data to schizophrenia.  The findings are particularly interesting in light of the recent shootings in Arizona by Jared Loughner who is now widely believed to be schizophrenic.

Some astrological hypotheses related to predisposition to severe mental illness were tested by analysing the zodiacal signs, the interactions between planetary qualities (aspects), and the occurrence of full and new moon dates, on the dates of birth of 221 schizophrenics, compared with 112 normal subjects. The sun signs of the schizophrenics were significantly more likely to be in the signs associated with introversion, while those of the control population were significantly more likely to be in the outgoing signs. A significantly higher proportion of schizophrenics had their Mars (i.e., symbol of aggressiveness) in the outgoing signs than the normal population. A significantly higher proportion of control subjects fulfilled operational criteria for adequacy of number of aspects between the sun and the other planets.

The tendency for a higher proportion of schizophrenics to have “difficult” aspects just failed to reach significance. A significantly higher proportion of control subjects had aspects between the sun and mars; and also a significantly higher proportion of control subjects had “soft” (helpful) aspects between the sun and mars. These findings are in keeping with the well-known oddity of schizophrenia (schiz = split; phren = mind); such that, a group which collectively is characterised by an “introverted” self (i.e. sun sign), has a coexisting aggressive tendency (i.e. strong mars) and poor integration between the elements of the psyche and the self (i.e. inadequacy of aspects between Sun and other planets). However, the findings give only partial support to key astrological postulates because there was a non-significant trend for more schizophrenics to be born in “water” signs and on full moon dates.

Mars is one of the most important factors in the birthchart in my opinion.  The instinct of desire and aggression plays a powerful role in nearly every aspect of our life, and what I found so interesting in this study is that the control (non-schizophrenic) subjects had a better integration of the Sun (Self) to Mars than the schizophrenic population.

In this study, the schizophrenics had a predominance of introverted Suns (likely the water and earth signs) and outgoing Mars signs (likely air and fire).  The astrological Mars represents the will to individuate – to separate oneself from the clan or the expectation of others.  There is also a quality of aggression and competition with Mars, particularly in the “outgoing” signs.  So this study showed a correlation between those individuals whose basic nature (Sun sign) tended to be quiet and turned inward, and whose aggressive instincts (Mars) were perhaps driven underground because of the conflict with the Sun.

There would need to be an examination of other factors in the chart, and that is why this kind of “scientific” study doesn’t work so well for astrology.  There are a nearly infinite number of permutations in the chart to consider.  How many planets were retrograde? What support did the Sun get from other planets? How was Mars positioned in the chart?  What information did the angles (ascendant and midheaven) add to the picture?

Most of us have some kind of conflict in our birthcharts between two personality dynamics that don’t get along, and until we can integrate them consciously they may  cause us problems.  Obviously, very few people split to the point where they become schizophrenic, but this is exactly the dynamic that we see in the chart of Jared Loughner, the young man in Arizona who shot 17 people, six of whom were killed.  (Follow the link for more details about his chart.)

Loughner had both the Sun and Moon in Virgo, which is one of the “introverted” signs, and his Mars was in its own sign of Aries, which is about as “outgoing” as Mars could get.  So Loughner fits the profile of this scientific study.  But the astrology fills out the story – Neptune and Chiron both are in a challenging aspect to Mars, creating confusion and weakening his will (Neptune) and wounding his ability to assert himself (Chiron).  So his Mars was intense and powerful in Aries, but it was thwarted by a number of different astrological factors.

There is no way to look at a chart and predict that someone will end up a schizophrenic or a serial killer.  Perhaps it is truly just biology – I prefer to think that there is an overarching spiritual evolution that governs all of our experiences.  But in any case, astrology does help us to understand the underlying motivations that create our behavior.

If Jared Loughner’s parents had come to me for a reading, I would have explained to them that their son had a tremendous amount of energy with that Aries Mars that needed an outlet of some kind.  News reports indicate that Loughner’s father was an extremely angry man and likely squashed (Chiron and Neptune) Loughner’s will (Mars).  If Loughners’ Mars had had an appropriate outlet such as Taekwondo or soccer, would his delusions have taken over?  We will never know, and thus is the mystery of human behavior.

For more on schizophrenia you may find this earlier article interesting.

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The planet of transformation is always transforming

February 5, 2010 By

Fans of the planet Pluto will find this pretty interesting:

Pluto is not simply a ball of ice and rock but a dynamic world that undergoes dramatic atmospheric changes. While they believe the changes are driven by the seasons, it may mostly come from how quickly things can change on Pluto. The seasons are propelled as much by the planet’s 248-year elliptical orbit as its axial tilt — unlike Earth where the tilt alone drives seasons. On Pluto spring transitions to polar summer quickly in the northern hemisphere because Pluto is moving faster along its orbit when it is closer to the Sun.

“If Earth had such an extreme orbit, and we were experiencing a nice springtime day with 60-70 degree F temperatures, as the orbit changed it could suddenly drop to -90 degrees F,” said [Mike] Brown.

Here’s a NASA video of Pluto taken from the Hubble images.

One of the more fascinating things about astrology is the synchronicity between the physical characteristics of the planets, the names assigned to them by astronomers, and the astrological correlations.  Mars, the planet named for the God of War, appears reddish in color and as we now know, shows signs of ancient devastation.  The astrological Mars rules aggression and warfare.  Uranus, the planet with the most eccentric orbit (it orbits laterally rather than vertically) is associated with eccentric behavior.  Now we discover that Pluto, the planet that rules endings and new beginnings, is itself always transforming itself.

What an amazing Universe we live in!

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Musings on Anger and Mars

November 8, 2009 By

I am on vacation until November 12th and will try to post as internet access permits.  Meanwhile I am reposting some interesting articles from the past and since Mars will soon be turning retrograde it’s worth a re-examination.

july2004_anger.jpg

[this post originally appeared in July of 2008.] Yesterday marked the peak of phase II of the conjunction of Pluto to my Mars, and what fun it was! I feel like a volcano is erupting in my soul. It’s pretty exciting, really, because when these planets pass through our energy fields they create permanent change within us. I can feel Pluto working to deepen my own inner ability to control my own destiny and access the true seat of my power.

Yesterday in a reading the subject of Mars came up. This particular client has Mars in Sagittarius, which does not care for anger at all. Mars in Sagittarius wants to leave the scene of the angry situation and head off for a more entertaining adventure. But what really is anger, and how does it come about?

When we think about anger as being rooted in Mars energy, we see that anger is just one way for this energy to be expressed. Anger usually comes about when the other potentialities of Mars are hindered in some way. Mars seeks to set boundaries and establish good defenses, and it is usually when those defenses are violated that we find ourselves feeling angry. When we submerge or mute that angry response in some way, the energy of Mars lingers and is transmuted into rage, which can lead to a host of physical ailments such as headaches, intestinal disorders, etc.

The best way to tackle the issue of anger and its sister rage is at its root in the primordial nature of Mars. Establishing good boundaries, saying “no” where necessary, standing up for yourself (even if you convince yourself it’s not important) – all of these things are important to nourish a healthy Mars. Take a look at your own chart and see what sign Mars is in, and what aspects Mars makes to other planets. Then follow these tips:

Mars in Aries – The purest form of Mars needs to be expressed assertively and independently. If Chiron, Saturn or Pluto aspect an Aries Mars this may be more difficult but then it is even more important!

Mars in Taurus – Slow burning and dislikes conflict, but when pushed to the limit will erupt in great power. Mars in Taurus often requires a physical expression of Mars (such as physical exercise or martial arts), especially when afflicted by a stressful aspect to another planet.

Mars in Gemini – Very important to permit verbal expression of one’s needs. If disempowered, this can degenerate into argument rather than expression of needs. ——–

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The Astrology of the Alabama Gunman

March 17, 2009 By

Alabama shootingOn March 10, 2009, Michael McLendon (4/11/1982, time unknown) went on a rampage in his home town of Kinston, Alabama, resulting in the death of eleven people including his grandmother, aunts and uncles.  He killed his mother and her three dogs and then set the sofa on fire, an act of extreme rage.  Although he left a “grudge list” of people that he felt had harmed him, none of those individuals were killed.

As in so many cases like this, people that knew McLendon have said he was a “quiet, very reserved individual.”  But another report quoted a neighbor as saying that McLendon was always firing off guns and scaring his cows.  Astrology can provide a clue into the underlying psychology behind these events now that we have a birth date for the shooter..

Michael McLendon was born when the Sun was in Aries, the first sign of the zodiac.  Aries is the sign of initiation, of inspiration, and of warfare.  Ruled by Mars, Aries individuals need to express themselves through acts of courage and independence and you can see in the little that is known about McLendon’s  history that he tried to do just that.  Graduating from high school he enlisted in the Marines, only to be discharged a month later for “fraudulent enlistment” (no details available).

The Sun in this chart was opposed by both Saturn and Pluto, the two planets of challenge, death and transformation.  When Saturn is in a challenging aspect to the Sun there is a sense of isolation and loneliness, and Pluto in that position tends to create an intensity and a thirst for power that needs expression in some way.  The combination of Saturn and Pluto in that position can be quite challenging.  People with this placement can become incredibly strong and powerful, or they can be eaten up from within by their own fears and frustrations.

As the ruler of McLendon’s Sun, Mars is an important planet in his birthchart.  McLendon’s Mars was in Libra, said to be the sign of its detriment because Mars is unable to find its fullest expression in the sign of peace and harmony.  Individuals with Mars in Libra are often driven (Mars) to please others which makes them very likeable, but this drive often comes at the expense of meeting their own needs.

McLendon’s Mars was also retrograde, meaning it was even more difficult for him to assert himself.  In fact, six of the planets in his chart were retrograde which is a very unusual occurrence.  Retrograde planets in the birthchart are more difficult to express and a predominance of retrograde planet usually describes an individual who is deeply introverted and often unable to experience the world with any real sense of objectivity.

We don’t know exactly where McLendon’s Moon was because we don’t have a birth time, but we know that it was in a stressed situation in the chart.  The Moon represents our emotional security and describes our sense of safety, and in this chart it was both opposed by Chiron, representing Healing and Wounding, and conjunct Uranus, planet of sudden change and shock which can signify an early trauma.  The Moon also represents the Mother and the way we are nurtured, and this is an extremely painful combination that clearly identifies McLendon as a guy that had some intense emotional issues.

McLendon was undergoing a challenging transit of Chiron to Chiron in his chart over the past year which likely had caused a great deal of emotional strain for someone who already had such a fragile grasp on emotional stability.  At the time of the shootings he was undergoing a series of harmonious transits of Jupiter and Mars to sensitive points in his chart which would have energized (Mars) him and given him the confidence (Jupiter) to finally act on his fantasies, to this horrific end.

Our charts do not doom us to become mass murderers; someone with a difficult chart like this who had the will to work and the means to work on himself and confront his psychological issues could have worked through the challenges of the chart and become a strong individual with a sensitivity to others who could do some real good in the world.  It would have required an outlet for his rage and his anger, and the will to face his fear and live independently, creating a real life for himself.

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My Mars Pluto Story

May 5, 2008 By

I hesitate to write this, because the transit of Pluto to my Mars is only at its midpoint now, but many of you have written and are curious to know my experiences so I’ll tell you what I’ve learned so far.

First let’s look at the players. Mars in the birthchart shows the way we express our desire nature. What we want, how we set boundaries to defend what we have, how our basic drives are expressed and what those drives desire. Pluto is often called the “higher octave” of Mars, because where Mars acts as the Will of the individual self, Pluto acts as the Will of the higher self. The outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, each is a higher octave of a personal planet and assists in the soul’s evolution of that personal planet. For example, Uranus is the higher octave of Mercury, and takes the concept of learning and communication to a higher level.

When Mars and Pluto interact, either in the birthchart or by transit, on a transformational level we have the Will of the personal self colliding in some way with the Will of the higher self. Our individual desires are subsumed by the process of the soul’s evolution to take us on a path of growth rather than personal satisfaction. This can result in tremendous frustration and dissatisfaction, especially if Mars and Pluto are in stressful aspect in the birthchart, or if the individual is successful at aligning the individual Will with the higher self, there is a tremendous focusing of individual power.

Someone asked me yesterday, “how do we know that we have worked through our issues so that we get to the higher manifestation of the planets?” Our personal issues and personality quirks create resistance within us to the unfolding progress of soul growth. As long as we identify with these issues and quirks and hold onto them instead of relaxing into the process of change, the difficult planetary transits create lessons and challenges for us in order to facilitate that process. Once we have stopped resisting and feel enough trust in the process so that we surrender each moment to the energies of the planetary gods as they work to deepen our evolutionary story.

I didn’t know what to expect during this Pluto transit, which began for me at the end of January. Mars in my chart is in Capricorn, which makes me a very big DO-er as some of you know, and it conjuncts Chiron which shows that the necessity of doing under Mars in Capricorn is both a wound and the key to healing for me. I have always been a person who says “Just Do It” ; Capricorn doesn’t really care about personal excuses and the desire (Mars) for achievement (Capricorn) is a powerful drive that has been a great motivator for a somewhat consistent exercise program. However, when Pluto was exactly on my Mars I found I couldn’t move. I felt like I wanted 2000 pounds and it was difficult to even walk from my house to the car. I remembered what I had counseled so many clients with Mars/Pluto in their charts, and forced myself to walk and get to the gym occasionally and did find that the action helped to create more energy. Great job, I told myself.

I had been working on beginning online astrology classes and had nearly 100 people express an interest in the classes, and I was fired up. However, in the midst of the first hit of Pluto when I began to schedule the classes there weren’t enough people to participate. I surrendered beautifully to that and congratulated myself on my brilliant navigation of Pluto.

Pluto was less than a degree from Mars in my chart when it changed direction and started heading for Mars again, and I began to feel a simmering rage begin to burn in my intestines (solar plexus). This started causing some real physical distress and I looked back in my ephemeris to see when Pluto last aspected Mars in my chart, which was a square formation back in 1972. That was the time I ended up in the health center at the university I was attending, suffering from severe intestinal cramping. The natal Chiron conjunction to Mars suggests not only a fear that my needs will never be met, but it also provides a link to the physical body through Chiron for health problems to arise when this issue is confronted.

A situation with a neighbor began to exacerbate this burning rage and caused a confrontation in which I attempted to exert every bit of my power and need to control. A casual breakfast with my mother turned into a disaster as old wounds (Chiron) erupted to the surface and could not be held back. At the same time, it became clear that my 18-year old cat was nearing the end of her run. It is not uncommon to face death in one form or another during a Pluto transit, because we are never more aware of the power of life in a physical form than when we are exposed to death. My relationship with this cat has been extremely complicated, but knowing she would soon be gone made me realize how attached I had grown to her over so many years.

All through this, I could feel Pluto pressing in on me from all directions and my physical energy was completely sapped. It was as though Pluto was saying to my DO-er Capricorn Mars, STOP EVERYTHING!! So I took four days to retreat into my home. For the first two days I literally did nothing other than watch movies on TV. By the third day I was starting to feel reasonably human, and by the end I was, while not back to normal, at least functional. Some of the draining of physical energy is due to holding back the flood of rage that is stored in the body, and while I have released much of my inner rage over the years there was evidently still some left!

When we go through a big planetary transit like this the energy of the transiting planet needs to be assimilated so that we can absorb what it has to teach us. The first phase of the cycle is like a drive-by shooting – it wakes us up, but then we usually go back to sleep. By the second phase we recognize the need to pay attention and we begin making adjustments and alterations to our behavior and our mindset so that we can incorporate the lessons of the planetary god we’re dealing with. Pluto demands that we let go of anything that no longer serves us and face up to the responsibilities of real power – the kind of power that flows within us that goes beyond the ego. Pluto requires the death of ego so that a more transcendent power can be born – a power that aligns us with our own higher self and Universal Consciousness as well.

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Pluto and Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

April 28, 2008 By

Posted by Dharmaruci

From the New York Times:

“The Justice Department has told Congress that American intelligence operatives attempting to thwart terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation methods that might otherwise be prohibited under international law…

Determining the legal boundaries for interrogating terrorism suspects has been a struggle for the Bush administration.”

This is Pluto in Capricorn: setting the boundaries (Capricorn) around torture (Pluto). I think it’s also a measure of how hideous the present US administration is, that you end up with this sort of debate. It’s like something from a horror spoof.

But it’s no surprise given that the 2005 Presidential Inauguration chart has a Mars-Pluto in Sag conjunction in the 8th House: secret (8th House) torture (Pluto) in a war of ideologies (Mars in Sagittarius). The 8th House suggests that while practices like waterboarding are being publicly debated, the CIA under Bush may well be getting up to much worse stuff that the legal system never gets to hear about.

But at the same time, does the US do anything that other countries do not do? At least it is more out in the open and subject to public scrutiny, which I think is a good thing. Of course, it also means that some practices become formally legitimised and therefore more widespread. It’ll be the local police force wanting to use waterboarding next.

It was the Gestapo, incidentally, who came up with the term ‘Refined Interrogation Techniques’ as a euphemism for torture. The Bush administration also has ‘Special Methods of Questioning’, ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ (for kidnapping), ‘Sleep Management’ and ‘Stress Position’. The themes of political misuse of language and government control are central to George Orwell’s 1984, a book whose time may have come under Pluto in Capricorn. I’m not suggesting that society will end up fully like Orwell suggests it could, rather that these themes are likely to be strongly present and strongly debated.

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Mars Back into Cancer Tomorrow

March 4, 2008 By

Mars, which had retrograded back into Gemini where warfare tends to be more verbal than physical, moves back into Cancer tomorrow. Mars has been in Cancer, where it is typically more hypersensitive and touchy, on and off since last November. Mars will make the final opposition to Pluto on March 6 and then move on to greener pastures.

While Mars is in Cancer, emotions are heightened and there is much more sensitivity evident in the world around us. Mars is said to be in its fall in Cancer and has difficulty expressing its warlike nature directly. Often anger and irritations tend to be suppressed and burst out inappropriately or with frustration.

Mars in Cancer also increases our drive to nurture, often through food, and to protect those less fortunate than ourselves, so we are likely to see a big push toward philanthropy over the next few months and perhaps an increased desire to feed the hungry. Sometimes our own frustration can masquerade as our frustration with the fates of others around us, and as with all water signs it can be somewhat difficult to know whose emotions are whose under this influence. Cancer’s main concern is with emotional security, and Mars in Cancer wants to erect solid boundaries with which to secure the heart.

Mars will not be interacting much with other planets until it opposes Jupiter in late April, so it will be acting pretty independently where it will stay out of trouble for the most part.

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Mars Opposes Jupiter Tonight

December 5, 2005 By

When aggressive Mars confronts the king of the gods, watch for blowhards to blow even harder. Mars is retrograde in Taurus, the sign of economic and material security. During the retrograde portion of Mars’ journey, it is gathering together material goods and creating an increased focus on security. Mars retrograding in Taurus is typically beneficial for the stock market. However, Jupiter can represent opportunities and possibilities, and can create a state of overconfidence where we may become reckless. For the next two weeks we will benefit from paying attention to how we are investing our money.

Jupiter also represents our longing to find meaning in life and therefore our theology. The volume is increasing on the so-called “War against Christmas,” and rhetoric in general becomes amplified during Mars/Jupiter periods. Watch for conflicts to escalate in Iraq and other places as Saturn brings in its efforts to restrict (Saturn) dissent (Mars/Jupiter), creating situations where violent reactions are the result. This will be a difficult but productive time, since conflict and tension motivate us to change and evolve.

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Planetary Conflicts Reflect the News

November 20, 2005 By

The movement of the planets and the angles that they form to each other produces an energetic effect that influences humans and nations. At the moment there are some challenging formations that are creating pressure for change both in our personal worlds and the global arena.

The planet Uranus is concerned with breaking up old patterns and creating new dynamics. In retrograde motion since June (appearing to travel backwards from earth’s perspective), there has been a slow building of tension as structures that are no longer working begin to fracture. Uranus turned direct on November 18, and suddenly issues of smoldering concern have erupted into the public view.

Mars is the god of war, ruling aggression and the setting of boundaries, and it has just made a square (challenging aspect) to Saturn, which rules social structure and stabilities. Monday 11/21, Mercury (communication), which is retrograde (internalized) will square Uranus (radical change) and the fires of conflict are likely to be stoked. Examples of this in recent news include the chaos that took place in the House on Friday over an incendiary vote over withdrawal from Iraq, and the violent protests on Friday outside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Busan.

In times like this, discomfort in our personal lives may come from holding fast to the status quo when clearly change is needed. Learning to let go and see things in a different light will be very useful for the next week!

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