Tag Archives: astrology

11 March 2010: Mini-Evolution

10 Wednesday Mar 2010

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, Grand Trine

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , ,

2 AM PST on the 11th that tart of an Aquarian Moon (no disrespect meant, native Lunar Aquarians, it’s just that the Aquarius Moon favors the smart, the fashionable, the forward thinking, and that’s a recipe for cheeky!) trines Saturn in Libra, which gently but firmly puts the brakes on Aquarius’ party; it’s a great time, actually, to re-consider the emotional landscape, as it slows things (especially the mind) down just enough to allow pondering, without robbing us of any clarity of sight or acuity of thought.

The Moon moves on to sextile Arian Venus, exact just after 8 AM PST, and for West Coasters starts the day off swimmingly, at least if we are able to make a little effort to get the love out (or to let it in). For everyone else, it marks a pleasant point; time something meaningful for this aspect’s duration to get the most from its ability to deliver what we value.

By 4 PM PST the sassy Moon squares Juno in Taurus, and may run into trouble; emotions conflict with those interested in exerting power over us. We resist, and tantrums or intellectually-rooted arguments are possible, and this may be over possessions or assets (Taurus). At this point there’s a Grand Trine involving Pallas, the Sun/ Uranus, and the South Node, and this suggests wisdom gleaned from the past may serve us well in choosing which parts of the individuality to assert at this time.

We get a long spell to sort out our feelings, and by noon of the 12th the Moon forms a quincunx to the South Node; this indicates that, between the 4 PM aspect to Juno the previous day and noon of the next we are still dealing with personal power and empowerment issues, and the noon quincunx calls us to a final adjustment of attitudes driven by feeling. We may not deal with this actively, but we’ll notice the difference in our perceptions once the quincunx is over, the end result a mini-evolution in both mental and emotional viewpoint.

Today’s Link: Perceptive Self-analysis on Chiron shared http://astrofix.net/post/439606108/chiron-sensitivity-and-timing

Next: New Moon pile-up in Pisces!

8 March 2010: The Chance for Change

08 Monday Mar 2010

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky

≈ Comments Off on 8 March 2010: The Chance for Change

Tags

, , ,

10 AM and the Moon freshly minted in Capricorn quincunxes Mars retro at 00; we find ourselves assessing the material realities and looking for the best move to improve them, but with the action principle still reluctant to express we may do more mulling and planning than anything else–and that’s not so bad, as Cap makes us able to focus on reality to a strong degree, useful when we hope to make situations more suitable to our needs.

Thanks to http://karenswhimsy.com {{PD}}

11 AM PST and any suppression of the Venus functions we’ve been experiencing (and this can be anything from love or relationship issues, to financial or asset ones, to health matters involving lack of function, calcification, or blockages of the kidneys or blood sugar difficulties) is freed up (in a sense) by the Moon’s square to the opposition of Venus to Saturn. Emotions may react to the difficulties, and the results can run the spectrum from ineffective tantrum all the way to emotional revelation that brings us the reason for the upset; there is also the possibility of intuitive response without emotional trauma that offers either a material answer to what we’re experiencing or a purely intuitive understanding of the whys and wherefores of the situation. In any case, a chance for, at the least, release, and at the most, significant enlightenment.

6:30 PM PST brings the Moon into contact with Pluto, and plummets the emotions to the depths; this can be a massive downer, where suddenly our life circumstances seem heavy, as if they’re disintegrating, or oppressive to the point of death–but let’s not be dramatic (though certainly the Moon/ Pluto combo inclines us to be). This can also be the spur to real change to the life, and a real overhaul of the emotions, paving the way to clearing out emotional dross. This conjunction could also bring emotional light, reflecting and illuminating our darker side, or the secrets or machinations of others–and this is good, allowing us to contact reality and informing us in a way that is similar to arming us–once we know what we face, we can handle it.

There’s another Plutonian possibility here, one where this contact may allow us to change or reform the emotional outlook to our benefit, and empowerment can be ours if we’re willing to deal with Pluto first (Moon trine Juno in Taurus, 11 PM PST). By 7 AM PST on the 9th, the Moon sextiles Jupiter, and all that we learned and experienced on the 8th can be used/ presented, either to the social sphere or broadcast or taught in our particular arena.

‘ECLIPSE’ is still available–only $2.95 supports in-depth astrology for the 21st century! http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com/eclipse-in-depth-astrology-for-the-21st-century/ or try my books, on chiron and relationships http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com Thanks!

Today’s Link: Another view of weekly hi-jinks http://distractedastrologer.wordpress.com/

What You’re Asking: Dream On, Time Travel, and, Bare-Naked etc.

28 Sunday Feb 2010

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, Dark of the Moon, Dreams, Earth, Juno, Mercury retrograde

≈ Comments Off on What You’re Asking: Dream On, Time Travel, and, Bare-Naked etc.

Tags

, , , , ,

Jean Lecomte du Nouy 1842-1923 A Eunuch’s Dream {{PD-Art}} Wikimedia Commons

I’m back with another set of search terms found in my stats; sometimes illuminating, sometimes creepy, puzzling, or weird, and sometimes confusing. I bring you the best of them.

dream interpretation of marrying yourself

Shorthand for this would be, perhaps, Oneness, a unity of spirit, the resolution of some internal schism, or making a commitment to honor and care for yourself–all excellent, so the dream is likely an indicator of superior internal (mental, emotional, and spiritual) health. In the natal chart we might see dreams like this when either we have been facing an internal divide, typically between ideals and values (Vesta, Neptune, Venus) v. what our external world, the group, or our role, calls for (Sun, Jupiter, Uranus), with one in one set making hard contact (conjunction, square, quincunx, opposition) to one in the other set, though there are a number of other players that, under the right circumstances (sign or House placement, or natal relationship to a stellium or other complex) would fit the bill; or we may see this kind of dream when one’s attitude toward oneself changes significantly for the better (potentially shown in the chart by Solar Arc contact to the Sun or chart ruler, or contact from a transiting body such as Pluto), and likely triggered as the Moon transits the 12th House, or contacts Neptune.

dream symbol Solar eclipse

This seems a warning, and a call for questions: are you being eclipsed in some sense, with someone or something ‘blocking your light’ symbolically? Is someone coming between you and your material needs or goals, your prosperity, your sense of groundedness and reality, and secondarily, might they be using emotional manipulation to do it (the scenario of Moon coming between Earth and Sun)? Are your own emotions blocking the connection of Soul and Material Purposes (represented in the chart by the Sun/ Earth axis)? Are you being kept from enjoying your chance to shine? There is the chance that you may be observing someone or something else in the life being eclipsed, but this is likely only if there are other aspects of the dream (perhaps you are riding as a passenger on a bus when you witness the event, or are gathered with others in a crowd, and all are pointing and commenting). Certainly this is a dream image that calls for Self-questioning, and the courage to see what you may not, to this point, have acknowledged or admitted.

when the eye is very badle blood shot

Not astrologically oriented, really, but I loved the spelling, which made me think someone had Googled from the Middle Ages. All I can say is, maybe something very Arian, or Neptunian, happened the night before.

mercury retrograde + people don’t mean what they say

Putting it this way is really wishful thinking, because there’s no reason someone wouldn’t mean what they say during Merc retro; what you’re thinking about, though, may be the tendency people have to later regret or otherwise wish they could take back what’s pronounced when the Trickster’s at work. So, it’s really something the speaker must conclude after the retrograde is over, not something we as listeners should count on to negate something we’d rather not hear spoken during Mercury’s backward motion.

his Juno on my Ascendant

If you’re looking to partner with a guy whose Juno falls on your Ascendant, then this is pretty good news: the way you present yourself is just what he’s looking for. Trouble comes if the way you present yourself is considerably at odds with your most characteristic energies, for example, if your Ascendant is in Capricorn but your Sun is in Cancer, the essence of who you are may vary wildly from who you seem to be on first meeting. Whether this works out well in the end is a question of many other chart interactions, but with his Juno on your Ascendant you’re off to a good start.

Aries Moon in child’s natal chart

Though it’s a time honored tradition in many cultures to draw a horoscope at a child’s birth, I no longer work with children’s charts except in very special cases. My feeling is (and I’ve observed this often) that when we introduce the chart to the parent (and the parent likely has some astrological knowledge or they wouldn’t have sought out a chart in the first place) there is too strong a tendency to read the chart and then read those traits they think they see into the child. I feel it puts a filter on a parent’s perceptions that shouldn’t be there, not if they want to meet their child with an openness to who they are, and a fresh perspective that doesn’t search for or attempt to squash what they feel is negative, or superimpose something they see as positive that may be astrologically recessive, or take a form other than the one the parent visualizes. But, by about the time the child turns fifteen, I would urge every parent to have a look at that chart, especially with the guidance of a competent astrologer who is versed in child development–it can answer a lot of questions, and explain some mysteries, right at the time when the parent needs a little more perspective, and the child needs a little more understanding, in order to collaborate successfully.

location of starry mirror

I have no idea, but when you find it, please let me know.

young boys sleeping nude/ ‘dark of the moon’ nudity

These two searches came up within days of each other, and I found it unsettling that anyone was looking for anything on young boys etc. I don’t have any idea how the first search came to my site, but the second is obviously connected to the Dark of the Moon, those three days preceding the New Moon (conjunction of Sun and Moon) that begins a new lunar month. The Dark period is one for retreat, contemplation, meditation, and a pull-back from action–but associated with nudity? Maybe, if we see the turning inward called for by the period as one of spiritual nakedness, wherein we put aside our social trappings in favor of personal, bare-souled introspection. But, are we more prone to take our clothes off? I have no idea!

Get a gander at my books here http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com

 

What’s Holding You Back? Trends in the New Year

10 Wednesday Feb 2010

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky

≈ Comments Off on What’s Holding You Back? Trends in the New Year

Tags

,

What an odd time the New Year has been! It seems like ever since 2010 came to town, currents through the Collective have been running with a vicious undertow (Uranus in Pisces), structures are crumbling (Pluto in Capricorn), it’s difficult to sort true from illusion (Neptune in Aquarius), and injury to the intellect or the automatic use of the most facile elements of the mind, without reference to whether this is positive or not (Chiron in Aquarius), have plagued us all in one form or another. But you may rightly protest, haven’t these placements been in effect for what seems like forever? Yes, yes they have, and yet it seems we’re only now getting a glimpse at their most recent influence. A few developments in December and January have cleared the way for us to get a gander at what’s up right now, a peek below the covers that could inform us as to what responses may benefit us most (these are just a few main points that led into the current period; for full forecast and current conditions, please see the Winter issue of ECLIPSE http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com/eclipse-in-depth-astrology-for-the-21st-century/).

Mars’ retrograde brought us up short, if not outright stopping action at least forcing our choices to take an indirect route, making them less effective than they typically would be; then the Sun entered Capricorn and the circumstances illuminated were those of hard reality, while upon the Sun’s entry into Aquarius our attention was drawn to thinking about what we’d just observed–a contemplation that felt ineffective, simply because the action energy is still withdrawn. Saturn retrograded and suddenly barriers were down; the rules can be bent, regular ways of accumulating, building, impacting are not working and, combined with Mars’ situation, means we are in an especially tough position, one that says we are strongly desiring productive action, but are not terribly likely to be able to make it a reality.

To add to this, mid-December saw Pallas enter Scorpio; this wise lady moved from a stance of concern with relationship to others, of partnership and co-operation, to a viewpoint that urges her to dig for the truth, to perhaps express destructive anger when she finds it, to destroy or transform what she touches, and to keep secrets, out of fear, security, or power needs. Pallas is, then, in a mode that can be as injurious to the exercise of wisdom as it can be supportive of it, and may not come to our aid in quite the way we expect, we’d like, or that seems the most beneficial to our interests from our point of view.

Late December moved Ceres from Scorpio, where she was a wee bit overbearing (angrily, at times), to Sagittarius, crowning our feeling of authority (for what is the maternal force but ‘the one who knows best’?) with the need/ desire to let our authority be known, and with this, Ceres will often be the one who dictates what should be–and then along comes Jupiter; he enters Pisces and our impulse to reach out to the Collective becomes a major force. And with that we are back at our effectiveness, or lack thereof, with the retrograde energies of Mars and Saturn.

What do we get from all this? Don’t worry if you feel things don’t seem to be moving as they should, and don’t be hard on yourself in terms of accomplishment–though things aren’t proceeding with the kind of feedback we expect or are used to from our efforts, they are making a mark–it will just be some time before we see it.

And in gratitude to all who’ve been so supportive in purchasing the inaugural issue of ECLIPSE, I’d like to offer the opportunity to ask a single, brief question. Email me at juliedemboski@hotmail.com with your query; include your birth info (write out the month, place name not co-ordinates) and I will determine if your question requires a look at the natal chart, at transits, or a horary chart. Vague, open-ended questions bring vague answers; specifics bring focused info. All answers will, of necessity, be very brief; be patient, I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible, and I’m sure you can understand that I won’t have the time for any follow-up exchanges, though of course I look forward to any comments you may have. This offer is valid only for purchasers of the magazine, and cannot be reassigned to anyone else, and the email used must be the email from which you purchased the magazine–no exceptions. No questions will be answered before magazine purchase. And, in case you’re wondering, it’s not too late–purchase your own copy of ECLIPSE–only $2.95!–and get in on the deal! http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com/eclipse-in-depth-astrology-for-the-21st-century/

And see a brief, NEW excerpt from my forthcoming book JUNO IN THE NATAL CHART here http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com Scroll to bottom of the page

Photo is in the public domain, thanks to the very generous Ondrejk, via WikiMedia Commons

Solar Eclipse Jan 14 2010: Expect the Unexpected

12 Tuesday Jan 2010

Posted by in current events in the sky, eclipse

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

,

We see a Solar (New Moon) Eclipse on January 14, 2010 at 11:11 PM PST at 25 Capricorn 01, and what we can expect is the unexpected, symbolized by the sextile of Uranus to the eclipse (and for eclipse aspects, sticking to our usual strict 2 degree orb). Part of the surprise is that Venus joins the pairing of Sun and Moon at the degree and only 49 minutes from exact, traveling ahead of the combo (the exact conjunction is past). This places Venus combust the Sun, and though we must consider that Venus in such a state is weakened as a distinct entity, it’s also melded with the Sun, and so becomes one with it. The ultimate effect is such that the Sun seems to absorb Venus-ness into itself, and in my view, in this instance this is only good. It promises that the eclipse sparks a pure and luminious love effect whereever it falls in the natal chart; by love I mean that this force will take whatever shape is needed for the individual (but remember, what we think we need may not be what we actually need!) and this can be reward or recognition, actual love, money, assets, discovery of talents, expression that is one with the senses, an artistic revelation, fulfilling relationship, illumination of where one’s treasure lies–in short, a payoff for being who we are. Semi-sextiles to Neptune and Chiron suggest that ideals and/ or delusions come into play–dreams can come true–and in the case of delusions they may come true only to show us that our real assets or goals lie elsewhere. There is also the potential for hurt or the discovery/ exploitation of innate and unique skills (Chiron); you can see that, though no matter what happens it will be of benefit to the individual, it may involve the discovery that what we previously valued isn’t truly in our own best interests. The gift of the eclipse is the chance for illumination of the Venus principle in a way very particular to each individual. Take what comes with a response of gratitude, as even the end of a pleasant illusion is something to celebrate; it allows us to put our attention and energy into what will affect our reality, and so change our lives for the better.

A semi-square to Ceres by the eclipse rounds out the direct Sun/Moon involvement with other bodies, signalling that nature and/ or authorities may place a vital role in realizing our eclipse potential; for many this will involve the recognition that one must assume authority for oneself and one’s choices, at this point.The Sabian for the eclipse and Venus degree is ‘A Nature Spirit Dancing in the Iridescent Mist of a Waterfall’ This suggests that the wholistic and organic will be venues for expression of the unseen, again emphasizing the materializtion/ expression of ‘what is,’ which is just another name for love.

Also active at the time of the eclipse is stationary Mercury in Capricorn, which trines Vesta, sesquiquadrates Sedna, and forms a T-square with Juno and Saturn (here we note that Merc will not meet Pluto before direction–its proximity is a red herring). This implies Mercury is attempting to ‘do the right thing’ but is pretty confused right now–if we’re trying to make a statement about reality or the concrete (Capricorn) based on our very best intentions that honor the sacred (Vesta) and that define our own sphere of empowerment (Juno) as well as ‘the rules’ (Saturn) we will be unable to do so with any veracity–not because we’re trying to deceive, but because we’re unable to see the situation at all (Sedna). These statements of ‘this is what I am, this is the situation I’m in control of’ must wait until Mercury is direct and out of contact with Vesta–then we’ll have a much clearer and more accurate idea whereof we speak!

Also of interest is that Uranus is making only easy aspects: sextiles to Moon, Sun, and Venus, a trine to Earth and South Node. This is why the surprises will be largely happy ones, and 100% positive, even if they’re a bummer in the moment; ultimately they will be all for the good. And Mars retro is just within reach of a Grand Trine with Juno and Ceres, making issues of empowerment, authority, and stymied, delayed, or misdirected action the biggest, hairiest fly in our ointment–but considering the sheer positive candlepower of what’s coming with the eclipse, we won’t have much to complain about (unless we’re going in completely the wrong direction–but those people don’t read this blog, do they?)

For more dimension on the eclipse, please see http://www.starsoverwashington.com/2010/01/solar-ecl-jan-15-2010-and-mercurys.html by the esteemed Jude Cowell!

11 Jan 2010: The Receptive Dark

11 Monday Jan 2010

Posted by in current events in the sky, Dark of the Moon

≈ Comments Off on 11 Jan 2010: The Receptive Dark

Tags

, ,

We’re in the dark now, figuratively, on approach to the New Moon and a Solar eclipse. Effects remain much as they have been–and this will definitely be frustrating for some, as the Dark of the Moon calls for receptivity and a meditative approach that may contrast with natural inclinations. If possible, stay low key and make no commitments–Merc retro isn’t done with us yet, and this is a great time to sit back and let events and those more insistent determine things for a short while–what we miss out on will likely be mistakes, wrong turns, and choices that aren’t fully informed.

The one outstanding new influence will be the Moon’s trine to retro Mars evening PST. This brings our Martian ‘stuff’ out–aggression, anger, and energy to accomplish and to put forward the personal Will is abundant and should be taken advantage of. The emotions will carry the charge and it’s our job to give expression a positive form. Those who don’t embrace (and especially those who don’t acknowledge) Mars may find fits of temper surfacing out of nowhere and flashes of aggression and even violence that momentarily take the emotional upper hand. Acceptance (rather than a safer-feeling denial) of all tendencies possible means we’ll be able to see and handle the urges as they appear.

Let the Sag Moon have its way–be open to adventure, new horizons, and gaining knowledge we can use later. Next, what to expect with the eclipse! Have a great one–

Today’s Link: astrology and weather http://collaboratingwithfate.blogspot.com/2010/01/correlation-between-severe-weather-and.html

A Few Thoughts on the Eclipse, Sarah Palin, the Magic Number 50, and Sweeney Todd

06 Monday Jul 2009

Posted by in current events in the sky, eclipse

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , , , ,

One thing it would be good to keep in mind about the eclipse is that it’s just a Full Moon, the alignment of which creates an extraordinary view of the line up from here on Earth–so it’s the same event we get on a monthly basis, it’s only our perspective that makes it special. Full Moons are traditionally periods of culmination, so I think it’s only natural, maybe found in our DNA, or our Collective memory, or perhaps a result of the Moon’s pull on the sea elements of the bloodstream, that causes us to be alert, to be looking for, if not danger, then unanticipated change and effect. It’s a primal call we’re feeling right now, on the eve of the event; we must honor the need to be attentive, to be ready to respond, while still remembering that we’ve lived through a lot of eclipses, and chances are we’ll live through quite a few more. eclipse

When on Friday Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced she was stepping down from the post later this month, I had to take a look at her chart, because with someone who likes (and abuses, see ‘Troopergate’) power as much as this woman does, resigning an influential and visible position doesn’t make sense. I used data from Astrodatabank, which rates her info as ‘DD’ dirty data, unreliable for one or more reasons, in this case conflicting possible times (11 February 1964  9:43 PM  Sandpoint Idaho USA). I’ll make just a few notes here: first thing that jumped out is that she’s been long-term experiencing transiting Chiron/ Neptune/ Jupiter on her natal gathering of the Sun, Mars, and Saturn in Aquarius, certainly suggesting the possibility of painful times, and circumstances that make it very difficult to know who she is with any certainty (irony alert: and yet, one of her major talking points both during the campaign and now is that she does know precisely who she is–perhaps the lady doth protest too much). Transiting Saturn is quincunx Jupiter, transiting Pluto is square Venus–both offer scenarios of the need to change, one through modification of public image/ contact to suit reality or goals, the other through change (perhaps drastic) to what she values, to relationships, to finances.

You didn't really want to see another picture of Sarah Palin, did you?

You didn't really want to see another picture of Sarah Palin, did you?

All well and good, certainly supporting the move; but then I looked to Solar Arcs, and a different picture emerged. She’s 45 years old, and that puts everything in the natal chart by Solar Arc (with some variation dependent on time of year of birth) semi-square its natal position, and in the process filled in some interesting blanks, a few of which I’ll note here. The admittedly unreliable Ascendant comes to conjunction with the natal Pallas/ Juno conjunction–this suggests a personal need to connect with circumstances of Self-empowerment and that allow the exercise of the Self’s wisdom and skills. How does this mesh with the idea of giving up a governorship? It doesn’t, unless one sees empowerment in going back to school, perhaps, or if one sees the potential for greater empowerment elsewhere–ah-ha, perhaps we’re on to something!

Solar Arc movement also brings natal Venus from sesquiquadrate with natal Neptune to a full opposition; I don’t think there’s a transit that exists that’s more likely than hard contact between Venus and Neptune to lead the individual down the primrose path (for you youngsters, we’ll call it ‘fantasy lane’!) And we should note that natally Ms. Palin has a Mystic Rectangle involving the Nodes, Chiron, and her Pluto/ Uranus conjunction, suggesting, perhaps, a compulsion to act from hurt, to see one’s Chirotic endowments and individuality as having a ‘destined’ quality, and giving a remarkable ability to rise Phoenix-like from the ashes. Clearly, we haven’t seen the last of her.

The number of prominent deaths recently has been nearly overwhelming, but one thing that drew my attention was that both Michael Jackson and pitchman Billy Mays were 50 years old. It would’ve just seemed an oddity if not for astrology, as death at or near the 50 year mark suggests Chiron involvement, with its cycle around the individual chart of approximately 51.5 years (but this varies quite a bit depending on placement). Barabara Hand Clow puts forward in her seminal book on Chiron that the hard contacts of Chiron to itself are potential exit points in the life, and the more I see the more I agree that these points are indeed times when we may choose to move on. Something to ponder on: “What dreams may come, when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause.” William Shakespeare’s HAMLET

I saw Tim Burton’s ‘Sweeney Todd’ again recently, the first and only time previous having been in the theatre when it Sweeney Toddwas released. I remembered the movie more clearly and vividly than is typical for me, except for the ending, which took me completely by surprise. I was stunned, depressed, and moved, and though the tragic nature of the circumstances of vengeance, unrequited love, and the murder of what one was seeking all along is on it’s own sad, I think it had an effect on me because it was, really, a lot like life; nobody got out of that pie shoppe unscathed, and nobody gets out of here alive! A morbid note to end on, I know, but I recall the first time the idea that ‘nobody gets out of here alive’ clicked for me with life itself; it made me laugh, and also pointed up our tendency to behave as if, indeed, it’s a desperate situation–and it led me to, every day, re-dedicating my energy to behaving as if it’s not.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

See my books here http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com

Grand Cross v. Grand Square

21 Thursday May 2009

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, current events in the sky, Grand Cross/Grand Square

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

,

Sometimes it’s hard to see a difference–they seem to be one and the same, four planets or points square, and two pairs of oppositions–everything contacts everything else. But today we have a configuration that perfectly illustrates why there is a difference: with a Grand Cross, we have the oppositions, while with the Grand Square, we have the squares with either a single opposition or none at all.

Today we have the Sun at 00 Gemini 45 square Jupiter/ Neptune/ Chiron at 26 Aquarius–so far so good–square the Earth at 00 Sagittarius 45, which (like the Sun) is square Ceres at 5 Virgo 11, but Ceres is not opposed Jupiter/ Neptune/ Chiron, creating a Grand Square, but not a Grand Cross.

Both configurations are dynamic, but the Grand Square offers a partial disconnect among the energies that will make them manifest in less than obvious ways. It’s a clue to us that, even though the various events seem to be unrelated, they are really touched off by or driven by each other–and this should alert us to any underlying context or possible repercussions arising from the more subtle contacts.

With this particular set of energies, we see the Sun/ Earth pouring attention on both Mother Nature (Ceres) and the Jupiter/ Neptune/ Chiron combo of heightened perceptions of the unseen, imagined, and the gifts and wounds unique to the individual–but grappling with illusions, ideals, and hurt is not connected in any obvious way to Ceres’ various attributes, including a proprietary attitude toward others, negotiations, and cyclic or seasonal occurrences. But, as noted, they are connected, we just have difficulty seeing how, for example, our mother’s comments on our private life (very Ceres!) have anything to do with the way we’re (unrealistically) approaching our current relationship–and yet if we look closer we may see that our desire to have the relationship just so may reflect a deep desire to be in control of our own lives–and despite the reality that we are, we still receive Mom’s comments as having a controlling effect that determines (if we don’t resist openly) our choices. So we’re in this example dealing with the exaggerated (Jupiter)illusion (Neptune) that Mom (Ceres) determines our inner and outer life (Sun and Earth), and this stimulates the wound (Chiron) from which we act.

You can see both the oblique effect of the contacts and the way that seeing the connection can help us steer clear of the debilitating effects of our own reactions and assumptions–a good way to go through life, I think!

Is Your Love Conditional?

14 Tuesday Apr 2009

Posted by in aspects and placements, astrology, Consciousness Explored, relationship astrology, Venus

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Unconditional love is the love we’re all seeking, all the time, whether we’re aware of it or not, and in our ideal life, we’d be surrounded by it in every circumstance. But how often do we inspect the quality of the love we offer others? Often, we give it with expectations, assumptions, and qualifiers; and we may then ask, is it still really love? Yes, it is, it’s just that we may without realizing it hook needs of our own to loving someone else; ideally, we will in the course of a lifetime (or many!) learn to love purely, without those requirements or pre-conditions–but how?

Our expectations are often quite reasonable; for instance, we should expect to be treated well within an intimate relationship, as healthy Self-respect and Self-regard demand it. We run into a problem, though, when we say through our behavior, “I love him; he’s rude, arrogant, thoughtless, and cheats on me, but because I love him I must stay engaged in the relationship and try to change his behavior.”  This is based on the belief that everything would be fine if he would just conform to the mate’s expectations of treatment.We feel justified in demanding this because, well, we say we love him. But what we fail to realize is that love is beside the point; love can exist no matter the behaviors of any of the parties, it’s intimate relationship that’s where we must choose to be with those who treat us well–and we must do this by recognizing and accepting another’s behavior as it is, not as we think it should be.

Too often we are attracted to someone, draw closer, and then immediately begin to judge their attitudes and behavior. We feel that we can criticize and demand changes because we claim to love the individual–but what do we love if we don’t accept them as they are?

What we must learn not to do is tie our own willingness to love another to how they treat us, how they behave, or what they are out in the world; and we can only love another by seeing and accepting who they are. What I’m saying is this: we must learn to love without condition, even as we love ourselves enough not to continue in relationship with those who don’t love and respect us. It’s very simple: at the bottom of every successful and loving intimate relationship is a love for Oneself that says, “I love you no matter what; but to stay in intimate connection to me, you must continue to behave in a loving and respectful manner.” If the partner doesn’t treat us kindly, we can continue to love them, but we don’t need to remain in an intimate relationship with them–in fact, we cannot stay in intimate relationship with them if we love ourselves. Part of our weakness in loving both ourselves and others is to confuse the two, to believe that a love relationship exists even when our partner is behaving in an unloving way. It’s true that love may exist, but a loving relationship does not–and that is the heart of how we must choose our companions. It’s noble to continue to love someone who mistreats you–it isn’t noble in the least to remain open to, vulnerable to, and in intimate contact with someone who mistreats you. A truly loving attitude toward others is not based in how they treat us, but a relationship is.

One of the most mature and loving things we can do for ourselves is to recognize when we are in a close relationship where love and respect are not shown to us and to say, as Buddha is reported to have done when confronted on the path by an angry man, “I respectfully decline your gift of anger, and ask that you keep it for yourself.” You see, we may love someone, but just because they offer us something ugly or destructive doesn’t mean we must accept it. To subject ourselves to the unloving denigration of others is to treat ourselves in an unloving way–and if we don’t love ourselves, we don’t have love to give others–because we simply can’t give away what we don’t have, and if we don’t have a resource for ourselves, tangible or intangible, we are unable to share that resource with others. So, to remain in a relationship where we are treated badly is to be unable to love, since to continue involvement says we do not love ourselves, and so cannot truly love another.

Where do we find the conditions we might place on our love? In the state of Venus in the natal chart, of course, but also in the situation of the Sun, as this represents the Soul, the essence of the pure love known as life energy, and in the condition of Neptune, as representative of our ideals. The Moon, too, might give us useful clues, as significator of the feeling nature and the intuition, and the Moon, Venus, and Neptune elaborate on how we relate to others in intangible ways.

With these ideas in mind, let’s look at the chart of Clara Petacci, 29 years younger cousin and mistress of dictator Benito Mussolini, born 28 February 1912 at 10:15 AM Rome, Italy. Clara’s Venus sits on the Midheaven just minutes inside the 10th in Aquarius and conjunct ruler Uranus which sits in the 9th, making the love nature the most visible part of the Self, seen publicly and emblematic of the reputation, making it almost, unfortunately, Clara’s career. Being placed in Aquarius likely only confused the matter for her, as Aquarian Venus may mistake ideas for love, and values having modern attitudes toward relationship–and what could be more modern in tradition bound, early 20th century Catholic Italy than ‘free love’ (very Aquarian!) and status as an openly acknowledged mistress? clara-petacci

Her Venus rules the 1st and 6th, making it integral to the persona and to everyday interaction and activity. It trines Mars, ruler of the 12th, and here we have a suggestion that co-operation with the male energies in the life might be not only easy and comfortable, but an expression of love with origins in the subconscious (12th connection). The only other aspect for Venus is a semi-square to Juno, automatically linking Venusian subjects to personal empowerment as a woman. With so few contacts it may have been inevitable that Venus was able to express in only the handful of ways she knew how.

Her Moon is in Cancer in the 2nd, making for a sensitive and nurture-seeking and giving nature, the success of which likely was reflected in how she felt about and saw herself, a Moon expression more vulnerable than most to the emotional appeal of a mistress’ situation of caretaking and ‘special’ status. Her Sun is in Pisces conjunct Chiron in the 11th; this may have only reinforced the idea that she and her nature were the commodities she had to share with the world. It’s a hyper-sensitive combination and placement, to some extent dependent for identity security on feedback from friends and other allies, and likely imparting the feeling that she was very much synchronous with the Collective.

Her Neptune is, like the Moon, in Cancer, but in the 3rd, perhaps showing vulnerabilities in communication, and an idea that she may have felt connected to the Collective through thought and ideas–but it can also suggest she may have believed she knew what the Collective was thinking, and this is something she badly misjudged. At war’s end Clara Petacci suffered the same fate as her lover, shot, then the next day dragged through the streets, hung upside down, and mutliated by an angry mob, and I can’t help but wonder how shocked she must have been at the Collective she probably felt so much a part of, and which she was sure she understood, turning on her as all the things she valued through Venus came crashing down.

Clara Petacci clearly attached love to the world of concepts and ideas, to the subconscious, to animus energies in herpetacci-portrait life (and it appears she probably ceded her own animus to Mussolini, as well), and had a deep need to be loved and nurtured on both an individual and a larger, public level. Like all of us, she was looking for unconditional love and acceptance in the only ways she knew how. It’s rumored that in the last hours of her life she was offered the chance to go free, but she declined; and what kind of life would it have been for her if she had, having lost her Venusian status, the man who carried her animus, and her illusions about the nature of love and her role within the Collective? Clara confused her relationship with love itself, and in not sorting out the difference, would have suffered at the end of the war whether she’d gone on to live or ended her life as she did, at the hands of those for whom she was a symbol of the worst of Venus.

Please note, this article uses a Placidus chart for analysis. See my book on the astrology of intimate relationships at Dog and Sunflower Press http://dogandsunflower.wordpress.com

States of Being: Moon v. Neptune

12 Thursday Mar 2009

Posted by in astrology, Consciousness Explored, Moon, Neptune

≈ Comments Off on States of Being: Moon v. Neptune

Tags

, , ,

Sometimes we tend to lump all states ‘not conscious’ into one category; after all, if we’re not aware of them, what’s the difference? True, to some extent, and in some situations the concepts are interchangeable, though when we look closely, we notice some potentially big variations between the unconscious (Moon) and subconscious (Neptune).

I like to sort it out by thinking of the subconscious as containing material that’s close to retrieval, that in fact may have been gained consciously, or at least during a conscious state, and then stored, ignored, or ‘forgotten.’ These are things that motivate us, often with the (subconscious) intent of bringing the information or connection to the surface of the mind. Neptune represents this form of information storage; think of a wall shrouded by fog–that wall is plenty real when we run into it! And no less solid just because we can’t see it. If we ‘feel around’ we may find and identify the wall before it becomes a problem. We access it in dreams, reveries, creative and imaginative activities, and in the Collective emotional atmosphere; with the latter element we feel it in the air all around us. It’s the tenor of the times, showing us things about ourselves via a mechanism where our attention is drawn to those external items and incidents that are also part of our own internal state. This is the way we use the idea that ‘We are the Collective, and the Collective is Us.’ clem_earth_moon

With what’s unconscious, we are, for all practical purposes, disassociated from the material. It’s a ‘What, me?’ mindset, one that can be the source of very strong (and basic) motivations, but which carries no obvious connection to the thoughts or the life, at least for the individual; onlookers may see the patterns that spring from unconscious material quite clearly, however. It seems that what we cannot, for whatever reason, cradle consciously within the emotional reality, we must place in that portion of the Moon that contains the unconscious, a psychic version of the physics axiom that energy is never lost, it just changes form. In this case it disappears, but it’s influence is felt, though camouflaged in such a way that we do not recognize ourselves as the source. This information is difficult to access, only because there are usually reasons of Self-protection and need for a sense of psychic or mental/ emotional safety that caused us to place these perceptions where we did in the first place.

We can gain insight into the Moon’s unconscious aspects through the energies it aspects in the natal chart and its placement, through those who perform a Lunar function for us, or for whom we serve this function, in the matters of the House with Cancer on the cusp, and in some functions of the planets and points associated with Cancer in the chart. We might also, in a very subtle way, get a glimpse of this material just by looking below the horizon of the horoscope; this shows us what energies we may be more identified with, or that we may keep as assumptions about ourselves, and in this way they can link to either the subconscious of Neptune or the unconscious of the Moon.

See my new site on relationships and ask your questions at ‘Been There, Done That,’ buy my books in hard copy or as a pdf (with much lower price!) at Dog and Sunflower Press, links for both at right, and join me on Twitter (user name jdem759). Thanks!

And catch my 5 part guest blog on Sasstrology on asteroid Juno, beginning this Friday, the 13th–   http://sasstrology.com