Monthly Archives: November 2009

Gemini Full Moon, December 1-2, 2009

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The Moon is becoming gloriously full, and will reach her pinnacle at 2:30 am on Wednesday the 2nd Eastern time (7:30 am UTC, and 11:30 pm on December 1st if you’re in the Pacific time zone).  There is a lot of energy packed into this Full Moon in Gemini!
When the Moon is full, the Sun and Moon are opposite each other from our perspective on earth, and the lunar light is allowed to shine without being hidden from the Sun’s light which is usually more powerful.  Because the Moon represents the dark and the unknown- the mysterious emotional depths that are often hidden even from ourselves – the time of the Full Moon illuminates our inner hearts in a way that is not otherwise often experienced.
This Full Moon is in Gemini, the sign of communication, changeability, short trips, and anything of a mercurial nature, and Mercury, the planet of communication and the mind that is the ruler of Gemini, is very active in the chart of this Full Moon.  Mercury is in a challenging square to Uranus, the planet of radical thinking and change, so there is a tendency towards impulsive thinking and hasty speech as well as a heightened sensitivity of the nervous system.  Don’t be surprised by emotional outbursts of all kinds, and those of us with anxious natures may find ourselves with a case of the jitters.
Uranus has just changed direction, so it’s influence is stronger than usual.  Uranus inspires innovation and change, and can bring about sudden and surprising events that turn our world around.  There is also the danger of accidents and equipment failures under this influence.
At the Gemini Full Moon, the Sun is in the opposite sign of Sagittarius and there is a necessity to balance the search for the one Truth (Sagittarius) with an embrace of many ideas (Gemini).  During this period we have a unique opportunity to create change and become more adaptable to new ideas and new ways of living our life; to learn the inner strength that an increase in flexibility can offer us.
Because Gemini is so oriented towards communication and the sharing of experiences, this is a wonderful time to bring people together to share new ideas and to learn more about each other.
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Hadron Collider Sets New Record

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Nothing says “Uranus changing direction” than the “shattering of an energy record” by a gigantic piece of technology that shoots protons.  (Uranus rules electromagnetic energy AND technology, and when it changes direction like it does this week it demands our attention.)
“The world’s largest particle accelerator has set a new record in matter-smashing.”

The LHC is designed to smash proton beams into one another at 7 TeV to help simulate the sort of conditions present just after the Big Bang. In doing this, scientists hope to answer some of the most fundamental questions in physics.

Scientists hope that the success of the Hadron Collider will lead to greater understanding of the nature of our physical Universe, likely blowing our minds in the process.

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Top Planetary Events of the Week: Nov. 30-Dec. 6

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Dates and times are Eastern time zone; please adjust for your locality.  SIgn up for Lynn’s Skywatch: Planetary Illuminations and receive the December report on Tuesday.  You can also get daily planetary updates on Twitter or on the Astrodynamics fan page on Facebook.

  1. Moon starts out the week in Taurus and our mood is serene and sensual.
  2. Mercury (mind) squares Uranus (innovation and intuition) on November 30, flooding our minds with new information.  Some of it will be valuable and will provide clear guidance.
  3. Moon enters talkative Gemini early on the 1st.  Communication rules the next few days.
  4. Mercury forms a harmonious sextile to Neptune the morning of the 1st, opening the mind to the soul’s messages and enhancing creativity and inspiration.
  5. Uranus turns direct on the 1st, potentially bringing surprising reversals and unexpected events.
  6. Venus enters Sagittarius late in the day on the 1st and brings us good luck and good fortune for the next few weeks, despite the square from Saturn to Pluto.
  7. Full Moon at 2:30 am Eastern on the 2nd is in Gemini, focusing on communication and learning.
  8. Uranus is in a harmonious trine to Ceres on the 3rd, inspiring a new understanding of what it means to be in a body on Planet Earth.  However, Neptune forms a square to Ceres early on the 6th so throughout the week there is some confusion (Neptune) over what it is that we want in our life to
  9. Moon enters Cancer on the 3rd, and nurturing and deepening the connection to the heart.
  10. On the 4th, Venus is sextile Saturn and our obligations to others become a joy.
  11. Mercury enters Capricorn on the 5th, sharpening our minds and facilitating business planning and life organization of all kinds.
  12. The Moon enters Leo on the 5th, encouraging a brighter social life and a pursuit of fun and enjoyment.
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Astrological Musings Radio: Sunday Morning 11am EST

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Tune in Sunday morning at 11 am Eastern when we’ll be talking about Uranus and Mars.  Mars is the planet that governs our drive and desires, and it will be turning retrograde soon, demanding our attention and energizing us for change.  Uranus, planet of revolution and change, turns direct on Tuesday and will be re-energized itself.

We’ll be talking about the kinds of experiences we are likely to encounter as Mars travels back and forth through Leo over the next six months or so.

The placement of Mars in the chart is important in assessing various health issues and I’ll be talking some about this as well.

We also have a Full Moon coming up this week so we’ll talk about the energies that this Full Moon will bring.
I’ll be taking your calls (new callers only please!) about halfway through the show, and the call-in number is 646-478-5731.  To listen, use the player in the sidebar or visit the Radio page on my website here.  You can also listen to the show later, download it to your mp3 player, or subscribe to the podcast of the show (details and instructions on my website page).
I’ve scheduled December’s shows:
December 6:  Jupiter and Chiron, revisited.  When the planet of expansion (Jupiter) meets the planet of wounding and healing (Chiron), expect an opportunity for emotional transformation!
December 13: The importance of Uranus (no scatological jokes please!!).  Uranus turns direct this week and we’ll talk about the important role this planet plays in our evolution as individuals.
December 20:  The Christmas Show.   This will be a concept-busting show.  We’ll be talking about Astrotheology and the connections between the Christmas Story and the story of the Winter Solstice Sun, as well as the astronomical Star of Bethlehem.  We’ll also talk briefly about Mercury turning retrograde on the 26th and the Super Moon eclipse on the 31st.  It will be a packed show so I’ve extended it to 90 minutes.
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Thoughts on Home, Family and the Fourth House

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At the holidays there is a focus on family which often necessitates an examination of what family means to us as individuals.  Many of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s remember the paintings which turned Norman Rockwell into an adjective as well as a painter “the Norman Rockwell family, the Norman Rockwell holiday.”  For those of us in a family experience which was less than idyllic, which I would guess is most of us, these images evoked a fantasy of comfort and security and safety in the bosom of a group of people who loved us unconditionally.
This is the ideal that lives in the fourth house in the astrological chart.  In the fourth house we look for a sense of home and family that nourishes and nurtures us and which offers a sanctum from the outer world.  In the fourth house we discover the essence of who we are by becoming deeply integrated with our inner selves and the core essence of who we are.
In the fourth house we also discover the ancestral roots that have fed our genetic history, and our psychological history from those roots also play a large part in forming the inner selves that are deeply protected within us.  From the core Self within we build a home and network of family relationships, and these are also found in the fourth house.  Sometimes we are rejected by our family of origin, or we detach from them and create our own family; however, it is the actual family lineage that lives in the fourth house rather than an adoptive family.
The sign on the cusp of the fourth house (which we also call the “nadir”) and planets in the fourth house describe our relationship to this family lineage, our home and real estate that we own, as well as the way we create a sense of home within us.  In my view, too much importance is often placed on the fourth house as being the actual house in which we live.  That is certainly a part of what we find in the fourth house, but there are many deeper layers of meaning there and at the core of the fourth house we have our inner world and the place in which we find our Self.   The family environment provides the nest in which we develop as an individual, for better or for worse.
The fourth house is often associated with the father or mother, and there is some debate as to which parent is represented by the fourth and which by the tenth.  If you consider that we find the style of nurturing and home life in the fourth and development of a public persona in the tenth, you can see why the mother has traditionally been assigned to the fourth house and the father to the tenth.  However, family dynamics have changed and we rarely find this traditional balance any more.  I generally find the more nurturing parent in the fourth and the parent who was perhaps more distant or more of a role model in the tenth.
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The Real Thanksgiving: The Power of Gratitude

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Not too many of us in the United States are left with the illusion that the first Thanksgiving was a romantic feast where native Americans and white folks forged a beautiful friendship that lasted hundreds of years.  Most of us know the tragedy and devastation that European settlement of the US brought.  And lots of people don’t celebrate Thanksgiving as a result.
But if we forget about the Pilgrims and gorging on the traditional 10-course meal from which it takes weeks to recover, we end up with a day to give thanks which is a valuable part of the spiritual path.
Finding something to be grateful for, even in the midst of a miserable time in our lives, is one of the most healing things we can do.  Back in 1910 metaphysician Wallace Wattles wrote, “Gratitude brings your whole mind into closer harmony with the creative energies of the universe,” and since then this idea has really taken hold and become a part of daily rituals for many of us.
I’ll leave you by quoting myself from my Visioncrafting book, and send you my warmest wishes for a full heart and a desire to look forward to a brighter tomorrow.

When we experience gratitude we open our hearts and minds and counteract the contraction of fear and doubt.  A gratitude practice is a very useful tool.  It is human nature not to pay attention to the good things in our life and to take them for granted; a daily review of the things for which we are grateful can help to refocus our attention and help us to build the positive attitude that is the foundation of transmuting the base metal of our life into the gold of transformation and actualization.

Marcus Tulius Cicero said, back in ancient Rome, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.”  Gratitude for what we are given is the single key that turns prosperity and wealth into a true experience of abundance.

Gratitude is an emotion that is felt primarily in the heart center.  On a mundane level a practice of gratitude helps us to maintain perspective about our lives.  On a more esoteric level, gratitude opens the heart center which helps us to ascend from the ego into an experience of divine love and consciousness.  This openness helps to unlock the blocks of fear which opens the door to transformation.

Gratitude also helps us to expand beyond judgment and restriction.  When we approach the experiences of our life with a sense of gratitude, it becomes much easier for us to see every experience as an opportunity for growth and transformation rather than a burden.  It is impossible to be a victim when we are grateful for what we have been given.

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Saturn in Libra: Testing Our Standards of Beauty

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Libra, under the rulership of Venus, is connected with the domain of beauty and all things aesthetic so it’s not surprised that our traditional rules of what is aesthetically pleasing is being challenged now that Saturn (challenges and testing) has entered the sign of Libra.
The Brits are in the forefront of this trend, first of all with the success of James Partridge, the Channel Five newsreader who was disfigured in a fire when he was 18.  Partridge was given a one-week trial to read the news on British TV,  and the response to his presence in the newsroom was overwhelmingly positive. Partridge was given the job, one usually given to traditionally attractive individuals.
Now the Brits have struck again with a reality show about the six disabled people left on an island, produced by disabled and starring disabled characters.  The show is called “Cast Offs,” a takeoff from “Castaways.”
BBC’s first attempt to mainstream the disabled was with the TV show Missing Top Model that  ran for one season and was not renewed.  But now that Saturn has moved into Libra, perhaps the public is ready for a change in aesthetics – one that delves below the superficial and exposes the real human beauty beneath.
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Will Steven Tyler Leave Aerosmith?

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Steven Tyler has beensteven tyler.jpg having a difficult time lately.  In 2006 he was plagued by health problems including throat surgery and the revelation of Hepatitis C, and in 2008 he revealed that he was back in rehab for his addiction problems.  This past summer he fell off the stage in South Dakota as his band Aerosmith toured the country, forcing the cancellation of several tour dates and leading to speculation that Tyler still has a drug problem.  Since the fall in August of 2009 Tyler has been quoted as saying he will be leaving the band to pursue “Brand Tyler,” but he has also been quoted as saying he will not be leaving the band.  

Tyler astrological chart shows that he has the Sun in Aries, the sign of leadership with a very strong will.  Aries people are driven by a need to assert themselves and their own individuality, and Tyler is no exception.  However, that Sun is opposed by Neptune, planet of mystery and transcendence.  Neptune urges us to seek an experience that transcends material reality, and this can mean a life of spiritual pursuit, or a life that is addicted to escapism.  Tyler also has Mercury, the planet of communication and the mind, in the sign of Pisces which is ruled by Neptune, so this broadens the influence of the Neptunian escapism.  The same influence that encourages us to transcend reality also brings tremendous creativity, and there is no dispute that Tyler has been one of the most creative (and flamboyant) forces in the rock world for many years.
Tyler has a stressful combination of Mars (drive and desire), Saturn (restriction and limitation) and Pluto (death and transformation) in his chart.  Mars in his chart is in Leo, showing that he has a strong urge to express himself and develop his ego (Leo),  This is a powerful combination of planets that can show a tremendous force of personality and an ability to manifest ones desires, but it can also lead to frustration and rage as the will (signified by Mars) is blocked by Saturn and overcome by Pluto.
Tyler’s rebellion is illustrated in the chart by a stressful opposition between Jupiter (confidence and beliefs) with Uranus (revolutionary behavior).  Under this aspect, he has a brilliant mind and a revolutionary view on life that keeps him on the cutting edge of popular culture.  But it also shows the potential for erratic behavior and the tendency to be restlessless and irritable.  This planetary combination was affected back in 2006 under a transit of  Pluto (death and rebirth) to these points that continued into the summer of 2008 when his mother died.  Transits of Pluto often force issues to the surface that may have been simmering for years, and often the death of someone significant to us, which sometimes occurs under Pluto transits, can help to facilitate that eruption process.
Tyler’s Pluto period was followed immediately by the closing square of Uranus to Uranus in his chart..  The square of Uranus, planet of revolution and innovation, in the sky to Uranus in the chart at age 60-62 generally inspires a revolution in the way we look at our lives, a second “midlife crisis,” and a restless rebellious need to change anything in our life that’s not working.  This rebellious phase coincided with a painful transit of Chiron (wounding and healing) to Mars, Saturn and Pluto in his chart, bringing up old fears and old emotions that perhaps Tyler was not prepared to deal with, landing him back in rehab.
This is a powerful cocktail of planetary cycles that are designed to promote healing and growth.  But in a person who is not introspective by nature they can simply create problems in life.  Tyler’s impulse to take a couple of years off from the band would probably be an excellent idea if he is to preserve his physical and mental health.

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