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Category Archives: Aspect Delineation

Appetite for Life: Zeus in Aspect

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Posted by in Aspect Delineation, aspects and placements, Asteroids, astrology, Zeus

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God, by Vasnetsov c1890 {{PD-Art}}

In thinking about our unicorns, I also started to think about where in the chart we might look for a truly direct line to our most characteristic desires, because it’s in recognizing and acknowledging our real wants that we begin to align our life so that dream becomes reality–and Zeus seemed the obvious choice. As the god who reigned over all the other gods on Olympus, Zeus is a mythic embodiment of male privilege and authority who clearly placed himself above considerations of the wants, needs, and even rights of others. He took what he wanted, made no apologies (not even to his long-suffering goddess sister/ wife, Hera/ Juno), and answered to no one–which strikes me as the ‘rugged individualism’ Western society has granted as a right to males (especially white males)–to everyone’s detriment. I think we’d all agree that the unfettered appetites of Zeus, his crass and uncaring behavior, and his obliviousness to the hurt and suffering he caused are undesirable–but the way in which he was able to not just pinpoint his appetites, but to act on them, is very desirable, with the proviso that we are able to identify ways in which these can be fulfilled that do not violate our highest values (Vesta), our relationships (Venus), or our Soul’s intents (the Sun), and certainly, that do not violate the rights of others. Easy natal aspects of Zeus to other bodies or points (some conjunctions, sextiles, trines) may show us the way toward our desires (or, point to what impulses we can trust in discovering and fulfilling these desires):

·         Zeus to the Sun: ambitions and desires serve the Soul’s intents and so the Life Purpose. This is no doubt a sweet aspect to have, as it makes for smooth alignment among impulses, desires, and goals; they all mesh successfully with identity and expression. In hard aspect can indicate conflicts between the appetites and the goals.

·         Zeus to the Moon: here the intuition and emotional perceptions aid (or hinder) fulfillment of the desires. The sign in which the Moon sits will profoundly affect the meaning of this Zeus–and may dictate the forms and/ or style used to express ambitions and desires. Nurture and/ or pronounced sensitivity will definitely be involved, and ‘receptivity’ may be a keyword in ambition manifestation; it may be a matter of attraction, as much as anything else.

·         Zeus to Mercury: communication is vital to ambition attainment, so much so that some form of communication may actually be the ambition itself. No matter what the desire, this individual will be saying something with every choice–it’s just in the nature.

·          Zeus to Venus: this brings relationships front and center with the desire nature, and with worldly and material ambition. This is not necessarily as $$ or thing-oriented as it sounds; this can apply Love (with a big ‘L’) to ambitions and desire expression, making for goals that are beauty or caring-infused. Again, a very attractive quality to the ambitions, so that fulfillment seems to come to the individual with little effort (or is denied inexplicably, with hard aspects), often through relationships.

·         Zeus to Mars: contact between these two can set up a scenario where the individual only discovers (or achieves) her or his ambitions because she or he must fight for them (or in struggling for autonomy of expression they find their desire/ ambition), or where they find desires stimulated by the need to best rivals, or to state the ‘I am’ loud and clear. Choice and action are extra important with this contact, having an impact on reaching goals even when one would think the choice or action is irrelevant to achievement.

·         Zeus to Jupiter: the individual may find opportunity in or through the social sphere, or must bow to educational needs or a religious hierarchy in order to meet ambitions. Or, the whole world is their oyster, and the life an oyster banquet! This person’s desires seem to get broadcast whether she or he wants it or not, and others may see them as excessively ambitious, competitive, worldly, or grasping, even when they are not.

·         Zeus to Saturn: opportunities are met through established structures and organizations; mentors and authorities may need to ‘grant’ one’s desires or goals. May have achievement delayed until he or she thoroughly embraces Self-discipline. Can get stuck in a loop of ‘poor me’ and lack of achievement until he or she completely accepts responsibility for the life; then others come out of the woodwork to offer support.

·         Zeus to Uranus: again, opportunities through the group–or one must be highly original in order to fulfill goals. Erratic behavior or ever-changing desires could de-rail achievement. Spontaneity must either be central to or completely eschewed in the life, dependent on which is missing from behavior, in order to meet and fulfill ambitions and goals. Uniqueness may make one a standout–though that’s not always good.

·         Zeus to Neptune: staying on track can be a problem, as this contact can indicate shifting ambition targets and a propensity to follow delusion and accept unreality as legitimate. Imagination and creativity can take one straight to the top, as long as one is careful not to be solely Self-focused along the way.

·         Zeus to Pluto: Opportunity may consistently come into the life via endings or the destruction of systems  or entities–which the individual then resurrects in a new, improved form. Must watch the Self in interaction–showing one’s power may come too easily, and can come across as overbearing.

Interestingly, contact of Zeus to other asteroids seems to emphasize pitfalls found within the ambitions. For instance, with Vesta one may see oneself as having an aggressive prerogative to force others to do what one wants (the Will as sacred), while to Juno and Ceres we see power struggles featured, to Chiron says we may use wounds as an excuse not to achieve (or as fuel to achieve, making the most of the Chirotic wound or skills) & with Pallas a need to learn to follow the inner wisdom or wise counsel, and avoid the impractical, tempting as it may be.

This article previously appeared in ECLIPSE Astrological Journal.

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What’s Your Unicorn? Finding Energy Wasters in the Chart and the Life

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Posted by in Aspect Delineation, astrology, Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Consciousness Explored, Dreams

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Moretto da Brescia – ‘St. Justina, Venerated by a Patron’ c1530 {{PD}}

This is an ECLIPSE re-print, slightly modified and edited.

Everybody has one: a vision, idea, or image that we hold as a shining ideal–but that’s not a unicorn. We may have goals or desires that are treated as a holy grail, perfect, revered, and not immediately (or possibly ever) attainable, but those aren’t unicorns, either. Unicorn status isn’t for those things we can work toward and achieve; we reserve this fantastical designation for those things that we are more invested in idealizing and identifying through than actually attaining. What’s distinctive about a unicorn is the way in which we don’t, in any significant sense, try to make this ideal a reality, and yet we may spend a great deal of time talking and thinking about it, fantasizing about it, and letting others know that we have a personal connection to it, and so using it as a personal identifier. We may tell everyone that we hope to catch our unicorn one day–but what makes it a unicorn is the way we make sure we will never make significant steps to capture it and ‘make it real’.

Luca Longhi {{PD}}

It’s one thing, too, if we are pursuing our unicorn, even if we have no intention of catching it; at least we are in motion, in real life, putting out energy that may bring us all kind of surprising results, and even rewards–but just the fact that we would pursue it brings it too much into the practical world to continue its classification as the mythical creature. A true personal unicorn is an idea or goal or ideal we feel almost breathlessly close to, that we feel speaks of who we are at the deepest level–and yet, we have no intention of testing this notion of fit, no intention at all of doing anything that would draw us one whit closer to its presence or achievement in real life. Our Unicorn typically gives us a big chunk of a potential identity, a chunk that reflects what we would or could be, under other circumstances, even in another life–but we are still presenting ourselves, speaking of, and claiming the unicorn goal as if it were a current, living one that is just out of reach.

The problem with this isn’t that we have a dream, but that we may be dishonest in the way we are trying to live within it without actualizing it. That means that we are fooling ourselves into devoting a great deal of mental time, energy, and even spiritual energy (like hope) to something we never intend to have as a part of our lives; and what’s more, much of the energy is spent in trying to ‘sell’ this image to others–and so we waste a goodly amount of time and development potential in the process.

Typically the dream denied that spurs the unicorn is one we cannot accept into our life, for one reason or another. If we believe our own press, we may be priming ourselves to be not just disappointed, but to perhaps regard ourselves as unworthy of true happiness, through failing to rope and ride the single-horned beast of our imagination. I call a unicorn an “energy waster” but it’s really more of a spirit destroyer: when the spirit is engaged in the Kabuki theater of presenting illusion (for that’s what a unicorn is) as a strived-for reality, what we have is a show, not a life.

Signals That Our Unicorn Is Present

St. Margaret of Antioch {{PD}}

We experience myriad daydreams unconnected to our real-life goals (unconnected to the ones we are actively working toward, and specifically those daydreams where we ‘star’ in a way, and featuring a personality often very much different than our everyday persona–the personality of the daydream emphasizes some element of our make-up that is usually muted or even hidden); we fill our conversation with talk of what ‘will be’, even as we are unable to connect the dots from here to there;  we may feel intense jealousy, envy, or anger when we witness someone else living our ‘unicorn life’; we may turn down opportunities with the idea we must stay available for our unicorn; we may buy the ‘trappings’ of our unicorn (but do nothing else toward realization); and we may take up hobbies that have some relation to our unicorn (but that can’t possibly lead to it), that effectively persuade us we are on this track after all.

Possible Chart Clues to Our Unicorn

I don’t mean to demonize Neptune in regard to the concept of unicorns, but it is the most logical starting place, and it is often involved, as Saturn can be, through the mechanism of suppression (in Neptune’s case, it’s a kind of anti-suppression that appears to deal with things, but which in reality is lost in illusion or subterfuge). It’s not unreasonable to see unicorns as a response to denial of a dream–but typically the dream denied that spurs the unicorn is one we cannot allow in our lives–its arrival would disrupt other factors, or call upon us in ways we don’t want to be tested.

Linen warp showing two scenes from Der Busant, a Medieval poem {{PD}}

What we should be looking at, then, are the ways our Neptune has been denied, and our Saturn (which can be internal or external–in the form of authority–or sometimes Uranus or Jupiter–society–when the group overwhelms the individuality urge) has participated in a kind of suppression that leaves the only acceptable outlet an intangible one (at least as far as we are concerned). Ceres may also be involved in suppression, again through an external authority or the real-life maternal figure(s) or in the guise of the ‘internalized mother’. Even Pluto may figure in, as a destructive force or Other that has managed to convince us by its own, powerful assertion that our dream is unattainable, at least for little ol’ us.

We may have hit the aspect jackpot if we find a third body touched by both Neptune and Saturn (or with some combination of these and/ or Pisces or Capricorn, Ceres, or Jupiter, as ancient ruler of Pisces). This will designate the contacted energy as the locus of our unicorn–and so give us a place to start in defining and implementing our denied desires related to that energy. And of course, keep in mind, not all contacts to these energies imply there’s a unicorn trotting behind them.

And if Black Moon Lilith is involved in any way in our dream or goal recipe, we may be dealing either with a goal born of rage (in which case, we can’t attain the dream because we must then let go of our anger, which if this intense likely forms a big chunk of the identity), or with a dream certain aspects of which we are in denial about, with BML’s presence signaling we’ll likely avoid progress at all costs.

Good Hunting, Readers!

We shouldn’t be down on ourselves if we discover a unicorn frolicking on our life’s horizon; instead we should be happy to have located such a distinct and telling signpost of needs denied and desires unexplored. Unicorns can point us toward more realistic elements we can, should, and completely want to incorporate into our lives–and in that way, I guess unicorns really are magical.

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Southern Hemisphere {{PD}}

The Squares Have It 7-8 May 2018

07 Monday May 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, astrology, current events in the sky, forecast, Horoscope, The Daily Word Image

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Franz Marc – ‘The Bewitched Mill’ 1912 {{PD}}

With Venus square Neptune, and Mercury square Pluto, we may be hard pressed not just to see where all this is going, but to form a complete thought; every time we think we have a concept firmly in mind, or an idea with a discernible shape, we find on its heels an immediate, ‘No! That’s not the way it is!’ that tears down the thought and starts fresh. Values may contradict visions, relationship demands may jam up creativity, and finances may put the brakes on what we are imagining–meanwhile, communications may be inadvertently destructive, or could transform us in the hearing/ receiving–and so leave us seeing things much differently than the viewpoint we started with.

Luckily we have two helpful aspects, a trine from Mars to Sedna, and a sextile of Mercury to Pallas. These make us able to trust ‘muscle memory’, to act and choose based on instinct and what we ‘know but don’t know’, and to find steady ground by thinking about and utilizing the practical option. So, there is a way through the fog, if we keep our wits about us.

The 8th sees these circumstances continue, with a couple of twists. We have an issue with our own empowerment and our values and commitments (Vesta sq Juno), with today’s influences even more rooted in what to trust, what not to trust. Today the mind is clear of deceptive or illusory input, but that also means we have a hard time seeing the potentials of things or visualizing how we want it all to turn out–which means heading successfully toward a goal may be tricky (Mercury contra-parallel Neptune)–and optimism or a realistically based effort could be in short supply (Sun opp Jupiter). Again, it may come down to the ability to sort areas where we’d best not move from those where we can rely on input and influences–not easy at all!

Today’s word image is a dream where you have no socks or shoes. Symbolically, what does that suggest? (Asking for a friend–seriously, it’s not my dream, but I have a few ideas)

Looking for more? Stuff here and here are possibilities–and have a great week!

Uranus Into Taurus

25 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, aspects and placements, astrology, Uranus

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The bull relief fresco – original – in the archaeological museum of Heraklion. From Knossos palace (West bastion of the North Entrance Passage where one can see a copy nowadays, Neopalatial period (1600 – 1450 BCE) Photo By the wonderful Jebulon, who releases all his excellent photos of antiquities under CC0. Thanks, Jebulon!

Uranus enters Taurus in the AM on 15 May 2018 Pacific time, and it may feel like the world slips, just a little; we had our footing with Uranus in Aries, we’d even managed to grit our teeth and show off a little: ‘Look at me! I’m not afraid of going it alone, doing it all myself (no choice)!’ We came to feel that the only way to deal with the presence of Uranus in Aries overall (when it wasn’t bouncing off another transiting body or surprising one of our natal ones) was to exhibit the tenacity of a bighorn ram, persisting even when the climb was dizzying or the cliff falling away beneath us. It was a lonely period, no matter how much support we enjoyed from the group, and no matter how sound our theories and reasoning, with every ‘earthquake’ Uranus presented a challenge: hold on! And we did, even as the Universe seemed to split and split again into infinite and uniquely individual forms of aggression, ‘accident’ (though we know there are none, right?) and Self-promotion (because if we didn’t innovate, invent, and then promote our unique contribution, who would?)

Just a day after Uranus moves into Taurus, Mars enters Aquarius and squares the planet of anarchy, shocks, and the intellect–and we may find that our actions, choices, and sense of autonomy through individual rights may act to stabilize the Uranian influence, in spite of the way Uranus in Taurus has the upper hand (through its rulership of Aquarius). Things steady as the ancient ruler of Aquarius, Saturn, funnels those choices and actions into real-world, or at least blatantly apparent, manifestations, likely initially presented as conflict, a ‘problem’, or a delay or denial. Once we get over the shock of what comes, we see how to think of it in the most effective way; it’s a true case of changing our way of thinking, and so changing what lies before us, and eliminating, or at least seeing in a new light, the problem.

By agracier – NO VIEWS, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57157533

Though this square of Mars to Uranus usually creates a bit of mayhem, this time because of sign placements it offers a new way of acting and reacting, via the intellect, to material ‘surprises’ that, when we think about them, aren’t really surprises at all; once they show themselves, we can easily draw the line from what occurs to the unique circumstances under which it originated–and that means our reactions can be grounded in (Taurean) reality, rather than forcing Self-reliance and a ‘fight it with your mind’ Arian stance.

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Next up: Your Ascendant Zodiapedia: Sagittarius, and then the Scorpio Full Moon.

Aspect Expectations Part 2 + What You’re Asking

23 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in 11th House, Aspect Delineation, aspects and placements, astrology, Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Eros, Grand Cross/Grand Square, What You're Asking

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Józef Chełmoński – ‘Noc gwiaździsta’ {{PD}}

In our ‘you can’t tell all you need to know from just one aspect’ article, we discussed how an aspect that might seem straightforward when presented alone morphs and changes meaning, gaining shadow and perspective, when seen in relation to other chart placements. To review: we talked about a natal T-square with Moon-North Node in Aquarius as the arm and an opposition of Jupiter-Mercury to Ascendant-Pallas (you can review the aspect discussion here). We also noted that Merc, Jupiter, Sun, and Venus are all in Scorpio, suggesting a focus on, valuing of, and identification with the energies of regeneration, re-birth, destruction, and transformation, and that the Sun is conjoined Venus (suggesting a ‘beautiful person’ in some context) and that Mars and Neptune are conjoined in Virgo in the 5th, implying ideals and imagination acted upon in creative or risk-taking ways, or one who can appear to act in such ways–or whose actions imply criticism or assessment through spiritual or creative acts–and with Pisces on the 11th and Aries on the 12th, we may be talking about the individual as group leader, driven by the unconscious. There also may be identification with the Arts or the spiritual, through both the individual ‘I Am’ and through the fact that this chart belongs to a male.

Did your ideas of what kind of person this might be change as you learned more? Did you make a guess as to what this person is known for, what their accomplishments might be, or how this individual may interact with others? Let’s add one more placement, turning that T-square (and the dynamic of that aspect is still valid, in case you’re wondering) into a Fixed Grand Cross with South Node-Ceres in Leo at the bottom of the chart. I’ll let a small excerpt from my forthcoming Moon book take it from here:

Mr. X, as we know, has “a 10th House Aquarius Moon that is only 7 minutes off exact conjunction to his North Node, part of a Grand Cross involving Ceres-South Node, Mercury-Jupiter, and Pallas-Ascendant. Emotions certainly have driven his life direction—as has a deep need to prove his power and authority (Ceres—he loved to present himself to followers as a force of Nature, even as Love itself, easy to persuade susceptible others of this with the Sun-Venus conjunction in the 7th); too, his communications had a ‘larger than life’ quality (Merc-Jupiter—certainly, he claimed more than once he was the Messiah, speaking as Jupiter, that is, as a god), with a persona that persuaded others he was intelligent and skilled (Pallas-ASC)—presenting someone wise, to be listened to, served, even worshiped.”

There we see something of the life reflected in the chart. And we go on: “The problem with a Grand Cross, as we know, is that when one arm is activated, the whole thing ‘lights up’—in this case, emotion and the desire to dictate the future (Moon-NN) prompted conflicts within, ones that likely pointed out to Mr. X just how powerless he’d been in the past (as a neglected and mistreated child—Ceres conj SN), and how his desire to communicate within the social order (Merc-Jup) was denied; with this latter, as an aspiring musician Mr. X had met (famous musician) who introduced Mr. X to his producer—who turned down the potential for future projects with the soon-to-be cult leader (Mars-Neptune conjunct in the 5th, suggesting the ego/ ‘I Am’ expression through both music and the creative imagination—and what’s more creatively ego-filled than starting your own cult?)

We also know that an Aquarius Moon can confuse emotions with thoughts, and vice versa; add that inclination to a loose Finger of God with base of Sun-Venus and Mars-Neptune, apex Sedna in the 12th, and we get a description of someone who is at once totally aware of the nonsense he proclaims (he knows he’s not God, nor Love Incarnate), as well as at the same time being significantly deluded about who he is and what he does, particularly about what his actions mean—and it all feeds out into the Cosmos, through his ‘blind spot’ behaviors (Sedna in 12th).”

I imagine by now you’ve got a much more dimensional picture of someone than you had on reading that first, single aspect description. There’s a brief quiz at the end of the post; that’s where the answer to our example is–or have you already figured it out?

‘Julie Demboski’s ASTROLOGY’ has almost reached 1.5 million views–thanks, everyone!

And now, a little ‘What You’re Asking’

NN and MC synastry

Contact between the North Node of one individual’s natal chart and the Midheaven of another’s can exert quite a pull, and this is so whether there are other compelling contacts cross-chart or not. The MC person may feel the life direction of the NN person is instrumental in his own achievement in career or within public view, or that the NN person will give him, one way or another, status. The NN person may feel the MC person’s image, role, or status will make or break her future or the trajectory the life will take. There’s a caveat here, though, in the form of this: the compulsive feeling this contact generates may or may not be accurate. And there’s a problem: each person may feel irrationally that the other person needs to provide something to them–the perceptions, then, are not about the real-life other–all the individual’s attention is trained on themselves, leaving the other person to some extent unseen. It could be a case of believing the other person is important completely out of proportion to the actual relationship and independent of what one can do for the other–and that’s the most important thing, to determine if these are just wacky connections that feel vital but in the end lead nowhere, or if they’re an impetus to playing truly pivotal roles in each other’s lives (so once again, we can’t really tell from just one aspect!)

‘What natal sign is friendship?’

This is one of those questions that reveals a lack of clarity (or perhaps a lack of knowledge) on the part of the questioner. There’s no one astrological sign that stands for friendship; the subjects and areas of life are divided up among the Houses, not the signs, and friendship resides in the 11th of the natal chart. It’s important when looking for answers to our questions using astrology that we understand where and how those answers are available–because if you think the answer to your question will be found one way (by locating a sign) rather than the ‘right’ way (by knowing that life subjects are indicated by Houses) then you’ll waste your time and never find out what you really want to know. It’s not just a matter of looking in the wrong place; it’s as if you’ve misplaced your keys and then try to use a sandwich to open the door. No, just no.

Aphrodite, Pan, Eros Photo By Jebulon {{PD}}

Transits of Eros

. . . can stir temporary erotic feelings toward matters ruled by or people symbolized by the contacted natal energy. What we need to remember is, Eros is, first and foremost, an energy of projection. A sense of desire, sexual energy, and a mesmerizing attraction don’t emanate from any individual or object, but exist within our own minds–which means that we are the instruments of erotic perception, rather than that anything is erotic within its own nature.

So what can we expect from a transit? First, relax–nothing suddenly becomes erotically stimulating out of the blue! During a transit of Eros we may find something more acceptable or understand its attractiveness to others, if it’s something outside our normal appetites–it doesn’t automatically become of sexual interest, but may only allow us to see its appeal. Say we see Eros conjoin our Mars. The Warrior already carries sexual energy and describes something of our sexual ‘style’, as well as what we find appealing in a man (and that’s aside from our sexual orientation–it applies to anyone). Our Mars is in Virgo, and Eros comes along to make those individuals who reflect our tastes suddenly very appealing. Maybe we like outdoor-sy men, those who farm, who like to work with their hands, or do our Mars in Virgo tastes run more toward sexy accountants or writers? You get the picture.

Next up, Uranus into Taurus and Chiron into Aries. Enjoy your week!

Aspect Expectations, What You’re Asking, and Chiron Bites Back

20 Friday Apr 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, aspects and placements, astrology, Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Chiron, T-Square, What You're Asking

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‘Pythagoreans Celebrate Sunrise’ Presumably, they’ve already done the math. By Fyodor Bronnikov {{PD}}

We have a print in our house by the artist Julie Dillon. It’s called ‘Sleeping Giant’, and depicts an enormous ‘robot’, long ‘dead’, being worshiped as if it were a god, robed supplicants in attendance, votives and offerings placed before it. I love the way the picture tells a story, all at once: stripped of its original beingness, its purpose and point, the human mind sees this incomprehensible entity and fills in a scenario of what it must’ve been. The reverence is supplied by the observer; the thing itself is just what it is, and holds no sense of the sacred beyond what it’s given.

When we stop knowing what something is, we inevitably forget what it’s for; that seems obvious, but really isn’t. It’s easy to overlay our ability to perceive with expectations, judgments, assumptions, and beliefs, to the point where we not only don’t see what’s before us, we forget the original intent or purpose behind both the thing we’re observing and our decision to observe.

In astrology we transgress in this way when we see an aspect and think we know its meaning, devoid of context or other contacts; it’s why I’m so loathe to talk about aspects outside the landscape of a chart. Without House placement, rulerships, and other bodies or points aspected as part of the picture, what we see may be highly skewed, our own judgments and suppositions superimposed on the aspect; in reality, that aspect is a framework that gains full and nuanced meaning only when seen as part of a whole.

A brief example: if I say to you, assuming this is found in a natal chart, “Moon conjoined North Node in Aquarius”, and the conjunction is close, with only a seven minute differential, what characteristics spring to mind? Someone forward-thinking, intuitively inventive or innovative, a ‘free feeler’ with an emotional nature that embraces the intellect, and intellectual methods–and so may be a tad disconnected from the feeling nature–but we can’t be sure how this presents itself with so little info. To draw many conclusions about someone from this alone could be highly misleading–so what if we add more info?

“Ascendant conjoined Pallas in Taurus, only seven minutes past perfection, with this combo square that Moon-NN in Aquarius”. Now what might you think? Pallas rising suggests the individual meets the world in a practical or smart way, and that that’s what others see, someone wise beyond their years, especially when it comes to material matters, worldly things, survival and comfort. The square introduces the idea of conflict, and describes a smart personality at odds with an intellectual approach to feeling–which definitely doesn’t mesh with the Taurean predisposition to soothe through the senses. So, we have someone who presents much differently than they feel.

Now we add this to the picture: “Fixed T-square, NN-Moon as the arm (placing this combo at the top of the chart, in the individual’s 10th) to an opposition of ASC-Pallas to Jupiter and a stationary Mercury in Scorpio, roughly four degrees apart”. A T-square alerts us to the fact that all those seeming positives (wise presentation, progressive attitudes, keeping an eye on the future, strong connection among emotions, intuition, and intellect) might be part of a tense dynamic, one that could bring out their less positive sides. Jupiter-Merc in Scorpio suggests a deep, intense, almost cutting mental emphasis on knowledge, but whether that’s based in belief or actual facts we can’t determine outright, and exaggeration may be both a communication style and a way of thinking/ perceiving. But we do know that Mercury is stationary in a Fixed Water sign, which implies, just like the Moon in Aquarius, a mixing of feeling and thought, and possibly the emotions and mentality stubbornly ‘stuck’ at a particular phase, outlook, or level of development, and we get a glimpse of this through that ASC-Pallas picture: this individual is keyed to comfort and survival in whatever way the childhood environment dictated as practical or smart.

So what do we think now? Since our first aspect description, we may have decided this individual is much more emotional than we first suspected, and that they may be prone to use the mentality to justify what they feel–and that may be accompanied by the danger of presenting as very wise to others, which can be persuasive to those who may accept hyperbole as facts (as may the individual). We might think that spiritual or religious beliefs could permeate the mental faculties (and that beliefs, feelings, what’s smart, and the mental faculties could be in constant conflict or under tension), and that part of what this individual may do is bring these beliefs to others through the effectiveness of the personality. There’s also that cutting edge to Merc, Jupiter, Sun, and Venus all in Scorpio, that urge to destroy as much as to re-make, and the tension presented by the personal emotional make-up, that could clash and cry out for expression.

Two more factoids: Sun and Venus are closely conjoined in Scorpio (but not conj Jup-Merc), and Mars and Neptune are only 35 minutes apart in Virgo. How do these bolster either positive or negative impressions for you? What profession would you imagine this individual would choose–and what do you think life might choose, for them? Check back in a day or three, when I’ll present the chart these aspects come from, and you can decide how much or how little you really can glean from the one-aspect-at-a-time game.

Just to let you know: there’s a Russian language (scratch that, I think it’s actually Ukrainian) page offering Eclipse subscriptions–when Eclipse is no longer being published! So don’t give them your money, okay?

People are wondering . . .

. . . why so many astrologers got the US election ‘wrong’:

I think this is due to faulty assumptions underlying their interpretations. It seems to me they saw more positive/ ‘easier’ aspects in Hillary Clinton’s chart, and more challenging ones in Trump’s, and so assumed that meant a Hillary win; the problem with that is the belief that positive aspects imply winning a contest–but what they really imply is that what occurs is positive for the individual, from the individual’s point of view.

Centaur of Lefkandi, 1050 – 900 BCE, identified as Chiron, found in two pieces in two different tombs at the site of Toumba. It’s the first 3-D sculpture of a centaur ever. Archaeological Museum of Eretria. Photo By Jebulon CC0

. . . about an unaspected Chiron

Like any chart energy, an unaspected Chiron will generally function in one of two ways: either the wounded nature takes over the chart (and so the individual) becoming the most prominent thing within the psyche, or it floats around, disconnected from the individual psyche, so that when that wound is ‘touched’ the person reacts and doesn’t know they’re reacting. In both cases, the Chirotic nature has not been integrated with the other energies, impulses, and traits, and so either consumes the processing and perceptive functions or is completely denied by them–that is, the individual claims to carry no wound at all, or to have processed and dealt with wounds so completely that no psychic injuries remain–and that’s just not possible, for a human. It’s like an unaspected energy takes a bite out of our ability to comprehend the world and our place in it–Chiron (along with Mars and Pluto, and possibly others) is the kind that, as we try to reclaim it by consciously incorporating its energy and intents, just may bite us back, discouraging our efforts and making acceptance and absorption that much more difficult.

Check back in a bit for a new post that will give the answers to our aspect-reading example, along with more ‘What You’re Asking’, and have a lovely weekend!

Willful Words, Willful Wants: Mercury and Venus in Aries

11 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, astrology, Media, Mercury retrograde

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Oh, the lives of the gods! Jean-Honoré Fragonard ‘The Fountain of Love’ c1785 {{PD}}

Looking ahead a bit, there are two days coming up I wanted to discuss; I would describe them as ‘potent’, and so important to be aware of, if only for the potentials they might bring, and the assists they might offer. This first is March 18th: Mercury will still be direct in Aries, but moving very slowly, with less than a single degree to travel before turnaround. It’s also still within orb of a conjunction to Venus, and both are conjoined that day by the transiting Moon, just coming off the New Moon conjunction to the Sun in Pisces. We also see Merc and Venus (and briefly, the Moon) making semi-sextile to Neptune, a square to Black Moon Lilith, and a trine to the North Node point. What strikes me about this is not just the unusual length of time Mercury and Venus have been together (this happens, once in a while, so isn’t that extraordinary), but that they are at this point together in aspect to two energy ‘points’ and the most nebulous influence we find in the chart. That suggests, very generally, that we won’t have a handle on what Mercury and Venus together in Aries means to us. Willful words and willful wants, the ‘I Am’ controls communications and relationships–and if we consider how uncomfortable Venus is in Aries, almost making for a ‘Me vs. My relationship’ scenario–then we can see any number of ways that we may express out of irritation or discomfort or the need to be heard that could greatly affect our connections and even our income. Add to this that what has been ignored or denied or that enrages is causing friction (Black Moon Lilith by square), and we see how easily this will impact life direction (NN by trine)–and yet it may take some time before we’re completely aware of the way what happens in this window changes our relationships, and our personal trajectory. The 18th does offer a glimpse of what has been impacted, through the emotions or the intuition, but that glimpse is withdrawn almost as quickly as it appears–so pay attention when it comes.

Also notable on that day is the Sun-Earth axis at 28 degrees across Pisces-Virgo, with the Sun closely conjoined Chiron. This suggests the obscuring of our wounds, in spite of the attention we may give them–and leads us into the second day of interest, the 19th. The Sun-Earth axis will have moved into the ‘stress’ degree of 29, and the Moon will make final contact to Uranus in Aries and then move into Void status at around 11:30 AM Pacific time. This promises a period of distress, accompanied by a feeling of ineffectiveness should we try to address our upset–and we may not know what to do until the 22nd-23rd, when the Sun-Earth perfects a T-square to Mars, and we finally see where the problem is (or perhaps, what about our actions has caused the problems we face)–strange, considering this is the day when Mercury finally goes retrograde, perhaps withdrawing the ego’s mental barriers that kept us from understanding, allowing us to review, ‘What should I do?’ (Merc retro in Fire). With Mars having entered Capricorn on the 17th, we’ll likely be oriented toward practical, real-world, modest solutions, ones that will take care of problems once and for all, and this period shows us, if we’re willing to see, just how we’ve contributed to issues, and just what we can do to fix them.

And if you haven’t seen it, I recommend Darren Aronovsky’s ‘Mother!’, a story of the eternal cycle helmed by a Zeusian-Plutonic figure and Ceres-Gaia, with man’s religious follies and god-worship and the destructive consequences of these. It suggests an endless interaction between Nature and her tranquility and fecundity, on one side, and man’s insatiable need for god, and god’s insatiable need to be worshiped, and the destructiveness of these needs, on the other. Approach it all as symbolic, with an acceptance of the characters as fluid in terms of identity and labels, and you’ll have fun picking out their roles from myth, religion, and the Collective psyche.

A Question of History: Was England’s Richard III a Victim of Ceres?

05 Monday Mar 2018

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, Asteroids, astrology, Astrology and Health, Astrology and History, Ceres, Finger of God, Transit Effects Explored

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This is another ECLIPSE re-print, this one with updating and a significant amount of historical and astrological information added.

Periodically I like to inspect historical personages and events taking an astrological perspective, so when I ran across an article (no longer available, but see a similar one here) on England’s Richard III and a potential allergy, I had to check it out. Considering the way Ceres has shown herself to be a prominent factor in instances of allergy, sensitivity, and in autoimmune diseases of all kinds, I wanted to see if Richard’s famous change of demeanor after excusing himself for a strawberry feast  during a council meeting of 13 June 1483 was possibly related to just such a reaction. If so, it may have had history-altering consequences, as Richard’s fear that he may have been poisoned or the victim of witchcraft (there is even a suggestion that ingesting a massive number of strawberries may have caused the withering effect to one arm that we heretofore had believed through eyewitness description was a birth defect) led him to lash out against those who might take the crown—including his nephews, better known as ‘The Princes in the Tower’, Edward V of England, for whom Richard was acting as Protector, and his younger brother, Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York. (At the time the Tower of London was not yet used exclusively as a prison; the boys were lodged there, under guard and for their protection, so the story goes). After the strawberry incident, Richard announced he was taking the crown for himself and the boys ‘disappeared’; his suspicion of even his closest allies planted the seeds for his difficult reign and the horrible reputation that follows him to this day.

Richard III is believed to have been born 2 October 1452 Julian Calendar 9:02 AM LMT (time is certain) Northhamptonshire England. Times of 9 AM and 7 AM have also been put forward, but the time of 9:02 was deduced by astrologer Martin Harvey in the British Astrological Journal Spring 1967, “Time deduced from a 1452 account in Latin, October 2, 1452 OS, 9:15 AM LAT ” as per Astrodatabank.

Could these have been the culprit? ‘Wild Strawberries on a Ledge’ 1703 By Adriaen Coorte {{PD}}

Right away we notice the Scorpio Ascendant sextile Juno (which body I’ve conjectured before may in a man signal a sense of Self-completion, as in not feeling the need for complementary energies, which means the psyche has no room for another–he’s a partner to himself—it’s a placement, then, of total Self-empowerment that claims the right to do as he pleases—because no one, and so no other viewpoint, figures in). The apex to the Finger created is the Earth-retro Mars conjunction in Aries—certainly easy to associate this vanity/ ego uncertainty/ identity as a man as it manifested through the personality resulting in the death Richard suffered, as a Warrior at the Battle of Bosworth Field, with blows to the head (Aries) so hard that his crown was driven into his skull (and we know this as his remains, verified by mitochondrial testing of two of his sister’s descendants compared to the DNA found, identified the skeleton discovered under a UK parking lot in 2012 as definitively his). This also, of course, catches the Sun at the sextile midpoint, implying the Soul itself might have felt ‘caught’ by the dynamics of the Finger.

The Ascendant is also square Black Moon Lilith and Sedna, and with a sextile to Mars-Earth BML-Sedna forms the base to another Finger of God with apex Juno. The Will, the ego, and the way they are so closely related to the material environment gets played out through the empowerment situation and the sense of personal completeness–and yet much of what drives the ego and material situation is hidden, ignored, denied, or enraging and then buried, in the instincts or in the ‘blind spot’–a terrible connection for a leader to have.

But was he susceptible to Mother Nature? Wow, was he ever! Ceres sits at 29 Libra 11, under stress and hidden just at the end of the 12th and a hair above the start of the 1st House (Whole Sign); it’s the T-arm of a wide Vesta-Uranus opposition, suggesting that stress from Nature shows up in erratic and sudden behaviors that are contrary to the highest values, and yet those rebellious or erratic choices may be justified in Richard’s own mind as sacred (the Vesta effect–see my book for much greater detail). Ceres is the body of latest degree; it implies that all matters end in some sort of ‘reaction’, in relation to his sense of authority, his boundaries, his negotiating power, or his interaction with Nature.

Ceres is quincunx the natal Taurus Moon in the 7th; the Moon is another indicator of sensitivity, in Taurus implying a sensitivity to the environment and particularly to food and atmosphere (and of course the meeting where the impressive change to his demeanor occurred was in mid-June, a high point for strawberries and every other blooming thing!) Placement of the Moon in the 7th suggests that Richard may have had a very reactive personality, emotionally and intuitively hypersensitive to others, and this is reiterated by the Moon’s opposition to Venus–relationships–in the 1st.

The Moon is part of yet another Finger, this one with base of Moon-Uranus, apex the North Node, and one apex Moon, base of Ceres-North Node, which latter also catches Venus in Scorpio in the 1st at its midpoint, with this little detail opening a whole other avenue for health affects–kidneys, blood sugar, venereal diseases–that could’ve weakened the constitution quietly, without anyone necessarily being aware of it.

Richard’s Ceres is also conjunct a 00 Scorpio Mercury (lungs, nerves, highly sensitive to what’s communicated, and at 00 he’s just learning to deal with this in a Scorpionic fashion–that is, one that may retaliate lethally). The asteroid also trines Jupiter, ruler of the 2nd (the Ceres nature affects his relationship with the social sphere, his knowledge—indicating potential for the mind and reasoning to be affected by any reaction—and his grasp of the ‘Big Picture’, and suggesting the potential for exaggerated effects from Ceres instruments), and is widely conjunct Saturn, again emphasizing the impact of Ceres and health on the reality picture, and in stoking fear, another Saturnian element.

As previously noted, we see his Mars in Aries conjoined Earth, both in the 6th of health, yet again showing the importance of the environment and his own choices and actions on the health picture. This is not to mention the Grand Trine of Ceres, Jupiter, and the South Node, which does suggest that knowledge from the past, lessons learned, would guide ‘reaching out’ efforts and attempts to widen his authority and influence—and this is something that probably initially went very right for him, getting him to the position he enjoyed in June of 1483.

A look at the transits on the day of Richard’s strawberry feast include the Sun fresh in sensitive Cancer trine his Ceres-Mercury, and Saturn at 00 Scorpio conjoined his Mercury, highlighting nervous sensitivity to the material world; transiting Zeus is exact conjunct his Pluto (destructive desires!), transiting Ceres trines his Saturn (again, the influence of Nature made manifest), and there were not one but three transiting bodies at 29 degrees during the day, if we include the Virgo Moon (so perfect for an allergic reaction, conjoined transiting Jupiter, opening up potential for both massive consumption of the allergen, and a massive reaction to it), as well as Pallas in Cancer (implying that what was sought as nurturing or soothing was questionable), all impacting natal Ceres and natal Moon, expanding the potential for sensitivity and reaction, and this in turn having an impact on the common sense and wisdom of the individual—and with Jupiter in the mix, we might consider the reaction could’ve been a fatal one.

There is one other thing: a natal aspect of the 24th Harmonic of 105 degrees (popularly termed the Squine, as it’s halfway between a square and a trine!) between Richard’s Zeus and his Ceres and Mercury. Though some feel there’s no reliable interpretation to be applied to this aspect, I believe that’s generally so because enough astrologers haven’t observed it in action for a long enough time to find consistent characteristics. We must keep in mind, too, that Ceres is not just about one’s interaction with Nature; it’s also about one’s sense of authority and interaction with those who hold authority, concerns boundaries and the propensity to overstep them, and applies to one’s negotiative abilities.

And we should add that natal Chiron in Cancer is also in the picture, trine Merc-Ceres and suggesting a primal wound possibly both figurative (to the thinking and communications) and literal (through allergies and sensitivities) that may involve an emotional reaction (Cancer). On the day of the incident, transiting Chiron was square natal Chiron (a moment of reckoning concerning wounds) and created a T-square by opposing natal Neptune, the ultimate obscurer of facts and sources, and the kind of response that can occur with the mental state (t Chiron quincunx n Mercury) in an allergic reaction: one can become ‘foggy’, losing orientation and even time, feeling physically irritated and uncomfortable–short of actual respiratory distress or anaphylactic shock, thinking unclearly, and perhaps prompting the imagination to set off on its own.

If Richard’s Ceres was ‘triggered’ by strawberry consumption, and this affected the thinking (Mercury), then too it could’ve affected the ambitions and desires (Zeus)—and as we know, when the ambitions are touched by fear such as may have occurred with a biological reaction interpreted as poisoning or an occult attack, then it wouldn’t be surprising for the ‘victim’ to have grabbed as much power and control for himself as possible, leading to the ominous and still unanswered disappearance of two little boys, and changing the course of a kingdom “

As to the Princes in the Tower, though we still can’t be sure what was the fate of the two princes, the story is that the bones of two children were discovered in the Tower in 1674; these were re-buried in Westminster Abbey. Some examinations have been done, but with questionable results according to modern forensic scientists, and the Church of England and its head, the Queen, continue to refuse to allow exhumation of the remains. And so the mystery continues.

Inner ring is Richard’s birth data; outer ring is the day of the strawberry incident, set at noon.

22 April 2016 We All Cry

21 Thursday Apr 2016

Posted by in Art, Aspect Delineation, astrology, Astrology of Careers Vocations and Callings, Current Events, current events in the sky, health, Natal Delineation, Spiritual Considerations, The Daily Word Image

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'White Doves at the Blue Mosque' by Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

‘White Doves at the Blue Mosque’ by
Peretz Partensky from San Francisco, USA Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Aspects Friday the 22nd look like a tribute to musical artist Prince, who died early on the 21st in his Minnesota studio at the age of 57 (and we may note, the 21st was also the date of death of one of the founders of the band Negativland, Richard Lyons, who was also 57; and, Prince’s protege and collaborator Vanity, died 15 February this year, also aged 57–I’m starting to wonder if 57 is the new 27 in the music world, the age when we lost Hendrix, Morrison, Joplin, Cobain, Winehouse, et al). Venus (beauty, Art) conjoins Uranus (the original, the unusual, style) and both novile Neptune (the creative, music), framing the way forward (Venus-Uranus quincunx the North Node), putting our attention on our wounds and clever ways to heal them (Sun novile Chiron).

This combination hands us an awareness of the need for the creative, for Art, for Beauty, for the unique, the original, strange, and fantastical, as we move forward; we see there is no future without an intensely inventive spirit, without a love of both beauty and others (the relationship function of Venus), and both the desire to create (which really drives all life) and the desire to express that creativity in terms that are very particularly our own (Uranus). To me that sounds exactly like Prince’s life mission, one that in the eyes of many he fulfilled exceptionally well.

If we look at Prince’s chart (7 June 1958 6:19 PM Minneapolis MN USA) we see both the natal strains that were lifelong (for instance, a Whole Sign 8th House Gemini Sun, the position emphasizing the individual commitment to others, as well as the inevitable toll that commitment can take, and a 29 degree Pluto conjoined the Midheaven and ruling the 1st of the Self, suggesting serious strain through the career and public image to the personality and so too to the body itself).

Data via Astrodatabank

Data via Astrodatabank

When we look at the transits for the 21st, we note the transiting Sun just past contact to the natal South Node (bringing the individual attention to the past, perhaps to that point of what we are before birth–so, returning to one’s origins), and the way the current Sun-Earth axis is aligned his natal 1st House Neptune to the degree (conjoined by Earth, opposed by the Sun). According to The Atlantic, in a 1985 interview Prince stated, “There’s not a person around who can stay awake as long as I can. Music is what keeps me awake,” which is an interesting statement coming from one whose North Node and Neptune were fused in the 1st, a symbol of the creative, forward-looking consciousness he lived.

Transiting Saturn was just beginning to move off (in retrograde) Prince’s natal 2nd House Earth, and with the symbol of both time and ‘The End’ opposing his Sun, he was probably experiencing excessive debilitation; the weakness and exhaustion we feel when the transiting Sun-Earth is flipped from our natal one was likely mimicked and exaggerated a thousand times by Saturn’s contact to the material (Earth) and ‘draining’ of the opposing Sun.

Transiting Jupiter, showing his credentials as the harbinger of life’s longest journey, had already squared Prince’s Sun twice and is scheduled to square it again; once more, the sense is one of strain, and t Jupiter is opposed t Neptune, placing Prince’s natal Sun and Vesta as the arm of a T-square. What’s most vital to him (the Sun) and sacred to him (Vesta) is being strained and pressured by a temporary situation that pits the creative, music, against the social order, the need to reach out and share the creation. It’s no secret Prince fought long battles with record companies, a situation that lasted for years and made for the most frustrating environment imaginable for an artist.

And, the transiting Moon hours before Prince’s death passed over his 12th House Jupiter, possibly triggering that longest journey, in one form leaving the Collective but joining it in another.

Wybrand de Geest {{PD}}

Wybrand de Geest {{PD}}

The word image is a bright yellow canary, sitting on one’s hand, that flutters out through an open window. The music’s not lost, it just went somewhere else.

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New Moon 7 April 2016 Re-Writing the ‘I Am’

06 Wednesday Apr 2016

Posted by in Aspect Delineation, astrology, current events in the sky, Grand Cross/Grand Square, Grand Trine, Moon, New Moon, T-Square, The Daily Word Image, Uranus-Pluto Square

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Eva Gonzalès - 'An actress with a mask' {{PD}}

Eva Gonzalès – ‘An actress with a mask’ {{PD}}

The New Moon in Aries is conjoined Uranus–does that mean what begins at this time is a spark, a surprise, an explosion, a riot, chaos of the highest order? Perhaps, though it could also be a new start, a modern approach, or a radical solution, and could portend group involvement or, conversely, suddenly having to ‘go it alone’. Look for the effect in the matters of the House of the natal chart where the NM falls–and then look to see if it fills in a pattern with your natal energies.

New Moon in Aries April 2016

The NM square to Pluto says that placements at 16-20 of Cancer or Libra draw you into a tense NM situation where the arm of the figure (the part not involved in an opposition) provides the answer to resolving the tension, particularly through the matters of the House this body rules (if any). If one has a natal square at those degrees of Cancer and Libra, the New Moon and transiting Pluto fill in a Cardinal Grand Cross, and likely present you with a crisis in action–one that either rises from the New Moon beginning (or is itself the New Moon beginning), or one that takes the usual way of dealing with the square, then destroys and transforms it into a new way to use the natal energies (and since Pluto has been nearby a while, the destructive process could’ve occurred some time ago, with the solution only now arriving).

Natal placements at 14-20 of Leo receive membership in a New Moon Grand Trine utilizing transiting Saturn. Here a NM event brings balance, stability, or materializes concretely the energy of the contacted natal body; peace may be found, a restlessness removed, or something intangible finally finds expression through the material, and there’s the potential for ending a destructive or power-oriented ambition or desire.

The New Moon-Uranus is also opposed Zeus. On the one hand this can bring ambitions and their fulfillment or lack thereof into that difficult T-square or Grand Cross described above; it can also show as a rejection of previous ambitions or desires, as a new personal (Aries) viewpoint emerges.

This is a New Moon, and that means any or all of these effects could be temporary, a stop gap or destined to evolve over time; especially for those with no contact to natal bodies, who experience it in ‘purest’ form, the New Moon may bring a surprising energy, a sudden burst of Willpower or the need to assert the ‘I Am’ in matters of the House where it falls, making a statement about Self-assertion and identity, ‘out loud’ if above the horizon, a whisper to the Self if below. Other influences for the 7th are the availability of healing messages (Mercury nov Chiron) and a sense of ‘being lucky’, seeing opportunities right away, and confidently asking the Universe for ‘more’ (Sun parallel Jupiter).

Vasnetsov_samoletThe Sabian for the New Moon is, ‘The “Magic Carpet” Of Oriental Imagery’. A flying carpet has always been about transport, a physical mechanism that takes us on a journey that shows us the world from a new perspective. That’s one of the more practical functions of imagination, so we might expect to see Neptune in the New Moon equation–but only if we look very carefully will we find it.

The New Moon falls equidistant from Sedna and Neptune, at their midpoint but outside the normal Ptolemaic measurements, and even outside the minor connectors. The aspect is both relative and relational, a connection that would normally go unnoticed, and maybe that’s the point: the New Moon brings a new perspective, one that stirs the creative and that draws on knowledge related to the primitive and the instinctual carried deep within consciousness (Sedna); we may believe the influence shaping the new viewpoint is entirely Self-conscious (Aries), but what occurs may be more subtle, and more hidden, than we know. This new viewpoint may be born from larger events (those created by contacts to the natal picture) or may arrive by refuting or defining particular desires or ambitions, by changing the current landscape through material expression, or may bring something significant (and possibly destructive) to a halt, with the discovery of this new way of being who we are, this new ‘I Am’.

I love the take on the New Moon at Robin’s Window

The word image for the New Moon is a glamorous, heavily beaded dress that loses a bead now and then as it’s worn. We might be very upset at the idea that what is essentially a work of Art isn’t remaining intact, but if we realize it’s a kind of ‘living Art’ in that the damage comes through normal wear, we might accept this as the evolution of the piece, its expression coming at the cost of perfection–and understand that the scars and losses and changes that come from living carry a perfection and beauty of their own.

See some examples of beaded gowns here–