Category Archives: The Word Image

Total Lunar Eclipse 8 November 2022 No Mercy

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It won’t be this dramatic. ‘The Execution of Lady Jane Grey’ By Paul Delaroche 1834 {{PD}}

The total Lunar eclipse begins just after 3:02 AM PST as Moon aligns with Earth and Sun at precisely 16 degrees of Taurus. The dynamic is very much one of oppositional energies, as Moon-Earth conjoins Uranus and the Sun is poised for Superior Conjunction with Mercury (as you know, that’s when Mercury and the Sun meet with Merc in direct apparent motion), this latter bringing to fruition something planted around the Inferior Conjunction of 23rd-24th of September, though there are three additions to the picture that add their own twists to the sense of denouement that may arise: a trine of the eclipse to Ceres in Virgo, a novile to just-retrograded Mars in Gemini, and a square to Saturn in Aquarius.

Being Total we should expect no mercy with this eclipse. Falling in Taurus, we’ll experience the wipe-out of circumstances related to some aspect of our own comfort, security, resources, assets, or even talents, or to matters of the House in the natal chart where Taurus falls, and this will bring certain emotions and conclusions about our own feelings to consciousness. The Sun in Scorpio is the light-giver, but in this situation it’s temporarily and completely blocked, implying that our view must change: the Scorpionic light currently cast on things (a light that looks to illuminate the need for change, to ferret out the Truth, to destroy what’s unnecessary or detrimental, to x-ray what surrounds us and reveal what’s hidden) is suddenly removed, with the suddenness of the alteration only emphasized by the eclipse’s conjunction to Uranus. What we see when that critical light of dissection and Truth-delving is gone will not be what we expect. It may in fact be something so new, so unanticipated, that we are shocked, by what happens, or by our own reaction to it, or by the message/ information contained in events (Sun conj Mercury).

Did I say no mercy? That’s not quite right; we find extenuating influences in those other aspects the eclipse makes. The change wrought by the eclipse may easily come about through Mother Nature (trine to Ceres in Virgo) in her critical response to current conditions–and those may be global, like climate change, or personal, like diet or responses to Nature via allergens or disease–so that we may quite abruptly be facing a situation that is the perfect storm of what’s natural combined with our own choices. This could also imply we’ll be faced with the results of our own exercise of personal authority, or our nurture (or failure to nurture) those for whom we’re responsible. Nature will try to re-direct us, and in most cases this won’t be traumatic; it’s up to us to take the hint.

There’s also that novile to retro Mars.You may have wondered why I haven’t made any specific comment on Mars going retro–and I don’t know why, either. Maybe it’s that it’s happening in Gemini, giving me the impression that so much that is aggressive, threatened, imposed, or potentially violent will actually turn out to be ‘all talk, no action’. Maybe it’s the way Chiron and Eris are the only bodies in Aries at the moment, suggesting we could all use a little relief, possibly offered via retro ruler status, from our wounds and from those major sources of aggravation I like to call sh*t-stirrers. But, in terms of the eclipse, Mars’ novile implies a little bit of genius implicit in eclipse events, the kind that may see our hesitation, reluctance, or changed choice or action as a good thing, keeping us from stepping in it.

If you’re concerned this is all too nebulous, don’t be: the eclipse square to Saturn in Aquarius promises real-life effects, solidly grounded, but that must be viewed through the lens of Higher Mind. Is, say, the loss of an asset at this time really about the circumstances surrounding that loss, or is it more about what that loss says, about what we find reward or profit in, about how we spend our energy, about the role of possessions (or possibly the impermanence of these)? If it is about the circumstances of the loss, then it may be that we need to look at our own vulnerabilities, or to the ways our ideas do (or don’t) transfer to reality. For some it may be a bit of the opposite, a question of whether we are playing an intellectual game with reality that keeps us from connecting the dots; in this case, we may be so mired in our own reasoning or tortuous mental justifications that we don’t register how these are seriously at odds with the real-world picture. The ancient ruler of Aquarius traveling through the sign and squared by an eclipse definitely says the brakes will be put on somewhere, that we’re going to come slamming up against something of the real world–the good news is, we can use the mind to de-code what happens.

So, a little thought experiment with the Sabians: I’d been taught that a placement at, as our eclipse is, 16 degrees, no minutes, of a sign meant it actually was part of the preceding degree picture; it hadn’t yet proceeded into the 16th degree because there are no minutes. That’s the way I’ve always read them, but today I questioned that interpretation, so I’ve decided to take a look at both possibilities. I’m not beyond learning a better (more correct?) way, so here goes:

The eclipse Sabian is, ‘An Old Teacher Fails To Interest His Pupils In Traditional Knowledge’–or is it, ‘A Symbolical Battle Between “Swords” And “Torches”’? The old teacher could be Aquarian Saturn in hard aspect to the event indicators, suggesting we won’t learn from what’s come before–that argues for the way I was taught to read them, as this is the preceding symbol. The ‘battle’ is of course between a Water placement (the Scorpio Sun) and an Earth placement (Moon-Earth)–not exactly symbolic of swords or torches, but we could see it as torches being the fire of feeling (Scorpio Water) and swords being something physically effecting (Taurus Earth), though a bit contradictory to the retro Mars aspect–but let’s look at the possibilities for the Sun–maybe that will sort it out. The Sun is, ‘A Girl’s Face Breaking Into A Smile’, and ‘A Woman, Fecundated By Her Own Spirit, Is “Great With Child”’. Hmmm. No help there, in my view. This may be my signal to step back from the Sabians for a while–just not feeling them–I’ll return to them when I do.

But I can offer you this unusual dream Word Image: at an open air market there are steps down which water begins to flow. Someone has placed several small children, no bigger than the palm of your hand, along the steps, and the water is knocking them over, sometimes face down, and the person responsible for them is nowhere in sight. I go and lift each one out of the water, make sure they are breathing, and as I work anticipate that whoever is in charge of them will be rushing up any second, angry that I am handling these delicate creatures. What ‘other person’s baby’ are you in a position to in some way ‘rescue’? If you step in somewhere to help, who will be angry, and why? Or maybe that’s the point: we need to show mercy, in the face of dangerous times, no matter the personal cost. Just a little something to think about–have a great weekend (don’t forget to take that hour back), and an enlightening eclipse!

The Return of the Goddess

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Goddess Bhadrakali Worshipped by the Gods from a tantric Devi series, Artist Unkinown, 12th century {{PD}}

This is a reprint from ECLIPSE, slightly modified, and has already appeared here at the blog under a different title–but I do think the ideas bear repeating. Looking for the Full Moon report? See it here.

There’s been lots of talk these days about the return of the goddess–but I don’t think the goddess was ever gone. Seeing it as a disappearance/ re-appearance is seeing it through patriarchal eyes: women have always been, so goddess has always been. A patriarchal society is a Doing-oriented society, one that recognizes and values action, while (typically) disparaging its opposite, the essence of female energy: the receptive, the accepting, the open, the Being-oriented. Goddess energy is female energy, and functions by filling space and time with its very existence; it is vital simply by being, whereas male energy only exists when it is in motion, closed, targeted, inflicting itself on others or the environment. It’s a disparity that many have difficulty grasping, and this is chiefly because we have been indoctrinated with a bias for movement, action, ‘results’, and a sense of accomplishment that relies on seeing change, rather than feeling it. The goddess can sit perfectly still and sense the inevitable processes of growth and decay all around her–she is in fact aware that she is part of this cycle–while those invested in the god-like animus credit only the effects the hands or mind have on the landscape.

In modern Western society we’ve been conditioned to see worth and even virtue in emulating male doing energy, no matter one’s role. We applaud activity, even when it’s purpose or value is questionable, and we see this ‘busy’ attitude reflected in phrases like ‘Protestant work ethic’, ‘Yankee ingenuity’, ‘make hay while the sun shines’, and so on. This is not to say that effort is not important, but that it is only one side of an equation; to celebrate doing and accomplishing without also celebrating the contemplation, depth, communion, feeling, sensitivity, and intuition that can not only shape and guide effort but make sure efforts are effective, is to make action a god, and to cast being as a meaningless state that offers nothing to our advancement–and of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

We tend to have disdain (or at least, less regard) for the kind of contemplative or menial or repetitive tasks that act as a meditation and are much more a being state than a doing one; we may label these ‘women’s work’ (oh, the derogatory tone with which this is spoken!) and see them as beneath us, since they don’t include the slap-dash of going from A to B–but that would miss the point. No one thought to ask the grasshopper why he fiddled while the ants worked–but no grasshopper lives through the winter; it would’ve been a waste of his time to put away food for days he wouldn’t see. (And if we want to get technical about it, the ants would awaken from a torpor to begin their work and replenish their colony before much had grown or bloomed out in the world, so they did need a storehouse). In nature there is balance and reason, room for both god and goddess energy, a different set of rhymes and rhythms that apply to each creature–and we should keep that in mind when judging what’s appropriate or ‘right’, useful and useless.



‘Jupiter in the Guise of Diana Seducing Callisto’ By Gerrit van Honthorst {{PD}}

The picture above is a testament to recognition within the patriarchal structure of Western society that sometimes receptivity is needed in order to gain what is wanted. There’s irony in a doing-dominant entity choosing to enact the anima in order to get something, which getting is in itself a highly animus thing, the kind of goal the doing energy is consistently targeting and pursuing. In the painting Zeus (Jupiter) has apparently learned that abduction and rape don’t win him any friends; instead he transforms into the goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, Diana, and lures Callisto with the Moon’s sensitivity, responsiveness, and ability to reflect back to others what they ‘shine’ with–and yet, in choosing Diana’s form, he’s choosing the most animus-like of the goddesses, in terms of her Self-expression through hunting and pursuit. Empathy requires the surrender of boundaries to the point that one Being can feel the other Being, complete, which the male-oriented cannot do without putting aside the continual, outward thrust of energy that is the normal modus operandi for them.

Even in Zeus’ choice, though, the usefulness of the receptive, Being stance is denigrated, as it’s seen as a tactic with which to accomplish  a goal, rather than as a state of Being just as valid and as dynamic in its own way as any action. With Zeus it’s a means to an end, and so falls in a long line of actions meant to fulfill the animus aim; if it were a true goddess energy, the communion would be without boundaries, and no specific outcome would be on the agenda–being would be enough. If quantum mechanics are correct and the butterfly’s movement is enough to topple a civilization as the shift ripples through matter and time, then the even more subtle shifts in consciousness, attitude, belief, and the effects of both prayer and love are felt as strongly as anything built, accomplished, or acquired. So next time you see a woman sitting with eyes closed, or standing quietly out in the grass, or strolling along with no destination in mind, or rocking a child, you’ll know just how busy, how important what she’s doing, really is.

Your word image is a pair of things: the mention of Karma addressed in or in the name of works of Art, and a key that suddenly appears on the floor at your feet. As they’ve come up at the same time, I can’t help but think they’re linked, each describing a part of what needs our attention. The key came first. Of course, there’s the key, the ‘at your feet’ part telling me it’s laid out before me, presented even, no searching required. The image seems to say: Here’s what you need, that vital thing that will open it all up, let you in to where you want to go. I kept seeing references to Karma related to Art that made me wonder what was in the Collective air that was influencing Artists. Too often I feel that Karma is mis-represented as something outside ourselves, when in my view it’s really just the accumulated energy of our own choices and actions, bouncing off the energy of everything else in existence–that is, it’s not something weighing and judging you, out to get you, to ‘balance’ the Universe, it’s just you, meeting your own energy in another form. So, that would suggest that the key we need to acknowledge, pick up, and use, the use of which will be entirely to our benefit, presents in a situation that’s nothing more than our own accumulated efforts and attitudes, bringing about particular results and circumstances. My thought is: you’ll know this ‘Karmic’ thing, and what it means, when you see it–and you’ll also know, it’s the key you’ve been looking for.

Friedrich Haag

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Mars and Jupiter, Together Again

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Though not exactly on point for the topic, I thought the rendering of this painting made it worth sharing. We can imagine Jupiter descending from the cloud, commanding Venus out of the way, and demanding Mars buddy-up with him–with an array of possible results. And who knows what Vulcan is doing in there. ‘Mars and Venus Surprised by Vulcan’ By Alexandre Charles Guillemot 1827 {{PD}}

The meeting of Mars and Jupiter perfects in the wee hours of the 29th AM PDT. Do we need to be so precise? Yes and no; this meeting isn’t that rare, occurring every couple of years+, give or take, depending on retro sequences, and these are major energies–it’s not like they slip from awareness day-to-day. On the other hand, the melding of energies related to ego, action, aggression, and Self-focus (in both positive and negative senses), and those related to the social order, knowledge, and the exaggeration of all that’s touched promise lively times–and this happening in Mars’ sign of Aries only adds, get ready for it, fuel to the fire.

So, what can we expect? A lot of that depends on 1) what House in the natal chart this combo falls in–that offers a prime stage for Mars-Jupiter assertion, 2) what Houses these two rule in the natal chart–look for combined elements to figure in, most likely presented through the House where the meeting occurs, and 3) how well we as individuals get along with our own Martian impulses and Jupiterian urges. It’s also worth noting if your natal Mars or Jupiter are receiving any transits–and if they’re hard (semi-square, square, quincunx, opposition) then you need to take into account that this energy is already under stress. That’s a lot to synthesize–which is exactly why astrology isn’t one-size-fits-all.

A few hints I can offer: if this conjunction falls above the horizon in your natal chart (in the 7th through 12th Houses, and for Whole Sign from Descendant to Ascendant, counter clock-wise) then you’re probably going to perceive these energies coming at you from the outside, from the social sphere, from religious or higher education sources, from individuals in your life who consider themselves leaders, from having to face ‘the facts’, from aggressors looking for an excuse to impose their Will, the effects trickling down for the most part from larger entities or groups to the individual–and perhaps pitting the individual against the larger group or organization.

If the combo falls below the horizon/ Ascendant to Descendant, you’re likely to be in the middle of it–generating assertive efforts (especially to gain knowledge or just to gain, to get more), possibly in response to vulnerabilities that, at the moment, are perceived out-of-proportion to their likely impact. Or you find yourself face-to-face with information or a social environment that requires you to assert yourself. Or you aggressively go after opportunity–or create opportunity, with your efforts. Or, it seems vital to sort out ideas around your own role, leadership/ leadership potential, enactment of your Will, or your Self-image. Will you have to go to war? You might not have to, but you might want to–the thing is, being aware of the distorted, objects-are-closer-than-they-appear nature of what’s going on right now may help you avoid unnecessary battles and overreaction.

If Mars-Jupiter hits a natal point or placement by hard aspect, expect a challenge to or a need to act on those natal energies, and if the contact is soft, see it as an opportunity to take action that is more likely than not to be successful. I’d say this aspect has been in range for a day or two, and will move quickly, waning by June 3rd–and that means that, though it may influence the susceptible for about a week and a half, it’s likely to precipitate one-off events, rather than initiate a long arc–so awareness and a minimum of Self-control mitigates any fly-off-the-handle influence during this rather brief period of vulnerability.

Though I appreciate your interest in what I might say, I have to ask that you refrain from asking about your personal placements in the comments or by writing to me directly. I love your comments and I hate to disappoint, but when they put me to work, it cuts into book time. The Moon book is by far the largest astrology manuscript I’ve ever produced (I’m wearing ALL the hats!) and everything that draws me away from that just prolongs the wait.

We also have a Word Image for which I’ll offer absolutely no interpretation: you are in a fight with someone, a person you want to leave your house/ territory/ area, and heavy glass vases are the weapon of choice–and it’s frustrating, because despite good aim, none of the projectiles hit your opponent–and you are hit, but it causes no pain.

‘Moss Roses in a Vase’ By Edouard Manet 1882 {{PD}}

Solar Eclipse April 2022 The Shock of It All

22 Friday Apr 2022

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Fahd Hasis December 2019

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The Sun and Moon meet in partial Solar eclipse on April 30th at 1:28:04 PM PDT at 10 Taurus 28 and don’t form many aspects, the closest being a sextile to Mars in Pisces. The idea may be that what old is wiped away, and what new born, may be overshadowed by other meetings that grab the attention and let the Solar event seed a new energetic flow without our really being aware of it.

In Taurus a Solar eclipse speaks to the material condition, matters of nurture and comfort, to the artisanal and earthy–and don’t forget, to whatever matters are represented by the natal House in which this event occurs. Location in the natal chart is what gives any event like this its personal meaning; all we can do here is study the general nature of the energies, see what change they might carry. And, a Solar eclipse (without specific alignment otherwise known as a New Moon), gives a fresh start–a really fresh one, with an eclipse’s ability to obliterate circumstances related to the sign and involved bodies and Houses that existed before.

The Union of Sun and Moon occurs just as the two approach contact to Uranus, suggesting an almost explosive potential for surprise, the unanticipated, and possibly for a flash of Higher Mind guidance in the wake of the eclipse. The Moon will, upon separating from the Sun, contact Uranus first, implying an emotional impact that arrives before we can really see (the light of the Sun) what’s happening.

There’s a sextile to Mars, telling us that the event will spur action, or force choices, in Taurean realms, and the eclipse forms as both bodies separate from opposition to Hygeia–not a big deal, but a notable one, as changes or challenges to the material situation (Earth, Taurus) may affect the health and well-being.

This aspect picture leaves us with a surprisingly subdued event, with a ‘kick’ only coming later with the revelation of Uranian contact–as I said, our attention will probably be on other things, such as the conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, only two minutes before perfection and falling at the midpoint of the Sedna-Pluto Earth trine, or the Mercury-Pallas semi-sextile, or the Neptune-Ceres square, or the Saturn-Ceres Air trine that catches Eris at the midpoint. All these will be loud, not offering us much choice: look at us, otherwise you’ll miss ‘it’! For most of us, though, what the eclipse eliminates and replaces will in the end be much more important, have a bigger impact on our survival and Self-image, than any of these other flashes-in-the-pan.

Venus-Jupiter, late in Pisces, may make for a kind of existential angst around Love, Money, or Relationship. It may feel like in the Cosmic order of things we’ll never have enough, never feel completely secure in Venusian areas. Our needs may seem greater than usual, but shift your perspective, and what you’ll have is an awareness of rewards greater than you anticipated–they just might not be in the form or quantity you expected. This falling at the Sedna-Pluto midpoint says anxiety may arise from instinctual feeling and/ or awareness of the power situation, with the reminder that upset is likely seated in those blind spot areas where we have given away our power. So, it’s not the power landscape itself that causes upset, but the way we’ve abdicated our own agency, prompting something within ourselves that’s struggling to be heard and known.

Mercury-Pallas says wisdom is available, as long as we don’t insist it be comfortable for us to know! Neptune square Ceres challenges us, as do many of these other aspects, to embrace Self-responsibility rather than delusion or pipe dreams (it also says, watch out for hidden environmental or dietary factors that could blindside you). The Saturn-Ceres-Eris formula suggests discipline and following ‘the rules’ pays off in authority points and the ability to Self-determine, but may also draw ire from others who benefit when you are confused or fail to stand up for yourself. If somebody is upset with your assertive nature, you’re probably doing something right.

One last, small aspect of note: the Solar eclipse is septile ( officially 51 degrees, 26 minutes) the Black Moon Lilith point in Cancer–which of course is ruled by the Moon. The septile is an influence that the rational mind doesn’t grasp easily; ‘inspiration’, or ‘in spirit’, might be good descriptors of the triggered energy. In this case the emotions will be deeply stirred by the eclipse event, but again, not reach awareness until later. Something denied, ignored, or that enrages, that we are sensitive to or care about, will begin to emerge, as we are inspired to deal with it. Give it time to reach complete consciousness, before reacting/ responding.

The eclipse/ New Moon Sabian is, ‘A Woman Watering Flowers In Her Garden’. A garden is the essence of Taurus, right? The admonition is to care for what’s already underway, rather than to put attention on something new–that comes shortly, with that Uranus contact I talked about.

I have a Word Image for the week, drawn straight from real life, and I’m thinking it applies to the Solar eclipse: you are in a public place, you look down, and there at your feet is a large blue pill. Via ‘The Matrix’, a blue pill has come to be a symbol for keeping things as they are, for refusing to recognize reality in all its horrifying detail–but I don’t think that’s what it means here. The assumption that we’re not focused in reality can be a pernicious power game, with someone always claiming to have red-pill insight beyond anything available to us. Though it’s important to acknowledge there’s always more to learn, that doesn’t automatically mean we aren’t seeing what’s before us. The Solar eclipse, with its low-key ‘planting’ energy, may tell us that what we’re seeing/ perceiving is accurate–so believe what you and others are gestating–a matter of believing what we see, real world efforts, rather than being distracted by stories, ‘what ifs’, and intimations that others with power (or who want power) know more than you do.

We might also imagine that the blue pill being left on the floor implies that it was the red pill that was taken–so perhaps pointing us to our own solid connection to reality, which speaks to a vivid awareness, alive and well, seeing warts and all. Or, there’s that other blue pill, Viagra (though the pill I saw was a capsule identical to the one offered by Morpheus). Does it suggest we need to up our potency, possibly to reinvigorate the life force? Since symbology is an individual matter, we can pick the idea we resonate to, and go from there.

Have a wonderful eclipse!