Tag Archives: Cardinal Grand Cross

Good Day To . . . 31 August 2020 Challenges of the Cross

30 Sunday Aug 2020

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Not the kind of cross we’re talking about, but still–Shillito Cross in Shillito Woods, Ramsley Moor, Derbyshire, probably erected by monks from Beauchief Abbey during the 13th Century as a navigation aid for travellers to outlying fields. Photo By Martinvl CC BY-SA 4.0

The 31st Is A Good Day To . . . focus on a Cardinal Grand Cross that lasts through the 2nd and then on the 3rd adds Mars to the arm with Black Moon Lilith; the other factors are Venus, Juno and Saturn. This is the cross that all of our challenges, anxieties, and upsets get hung on today, with our own sense of empowerment, our relationships and/ or finances, and the physical and solid perceptual reality picture all supplying components that in some degree we’ll each need to deal with. Here are the things everyone will deal with: hidden or denied matters either make themselves known or must be acknowledged or dealt with directly; our own position (the one that says, ‘I am in charge of me and my issues’) stands in conflict with our relationships, our finances, or both; reality presents some walls, some non-negotiable terms, or some endings. Know that what we are stopped from doing, however this obstacle presents itself, is to our benefit; it would’ve cost us (money or love), or would’ve created its own barriers to or curtailing of our empowerment, if we’d gotten our way. Don’t forget: the Universe really is looking out for us, if we’ll just accept/ listen.

The Cardinal nature of this configuration means we may already be in motion when confronted by one or more of these matters, or that we have seen these things developing. Though the need to deal with things may have a sudden urgency, or may seem to come out of the blue, it doesn’t really take us by surprise; Saturn retro tells us we’ve known about at least some of this for a long time, and now Saturn ‘delivers’ it to us in a way we can’t avoid. The addition of Mars on the 3rd says the individual will be required to make choices or take action on what’s before them at that point–or may signal that we are forced to do so by someone else, or that our own anger or aggression brings things to a head.

There is a simple-but-not-easy-to-implement way of handling all this: we ‘shine a light’ on those matters that normally fall into our ‘blind spot’ (which calls for a high degree of Self-awareness)–or, we listen without mental or emotional intrusion to our instincts. If we can do that, access what we ‘know but don’t know’, we can do well, taking the natural impetus to confront and complete issues or advance an agenda of a Cardinal Cross and using it to our benefit (Sun parallel Sedna).

A Good Day To . . . is based on the aspects perfecting on each day, Pacific time.

Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn 4 July 2020 A Volatile Choice

02 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by in astrology, Cardinal Activity, current events in the sky, forecast, Full Moon, Grand Cross/Grand Square, Lunar Aspects, Lunar Eclipse, Sabian Symbols

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See the forecast for the 3rd here–

The Full Moon perfects at 9:43 PM PDT of the 4th at 13 Capricorn 37–and just so happens to be a Lunar eclipse, the third and final eclipse of the recent set. We see an enormous concentration of energies in Capricorn right now, which contains the Moon, Earth, Pallas, Pluto, Jupiter, and Saturn, the latter at 29 tense degrees (with the Saturn situation suggesting real-world pressures from which we can’t escape). The thing about this is that the Sun, arbiter of where our attention goes, of what’s in the spotlight, is in Cancer, emphasizing our emotions, our connections to others, and matters of care and nurture; add to this that the Sun is only two minutes from perfection conjoining Vesta at the time of the eclipse, and we see that what occurs with this Full Moon will occur in the real-world (Capricorn, Saturn) even as our attention is on intangibles, feelings, and the ‘comfort and care’ picture (Cancer). We have emotion, then, on both ends of the eclipse axis, with the involvement of Cancer and of course the Moon. It also suggests that we will be striving to operate at the level of our highest values and commitments (Vesta)–and that may offer an added layer of stress as we try to meet our own high standards.

Illustration by John D Batten for “Indian Fairy Tales” edited by Joseph Jacobs, 1892 {{PD}}

We’ll set our orbs to ‘generous’, as that gives us a dynamic picture of eclipse events. There’s a sextile to Ceres, a trine to Uranus, and a sesquiquadrate to Sedna, which implies easy personal expression of authority or a ‘mothering’ attitude (which may include overstepping those personal bounds), an urge to spontaneity, originality, and inventiveness, and difficulty ‘hearing’ the instincts or in seeing our own blind spot. So, a great deal of progressive, get-to-it energy focused on those we care about or have dominion over, coupled with an inability to adequately hear our own inner dialogue.

And what sets all this off? A Cardinal Grand Cross formed by the eclipse Earth-Moon opposition to the Sun-Vesta, crossed by a very close opposition of Chiron to Juno, which, though it sits ‘behind’ the eclipse by degree, implies that a recent (and possibly ongoing) wound to the autonomy or empowerment situation ‘blossoms’ with the eclipse contact. This suggests the trigger to authority expression, boundary leaping, spontaneity, and lack of touch with instinct and our own weaknesses is seated in this recent hurt, and that it creates an unsolvable emotional dilemma: do we honor our feelings about the situation (especially its material aspects–Moon-Earth; that is, do we honor the wound?), or do we honor the call to be our ‘best Self’ via elevation of those highest and most refined facets of our identity and commitments (Sun-Vesta)?

‘Bergziegen (Mountain Goat)’ By Franz Marc 1913 {{PD}}

That’s the choice, and it won’t be an easy one in the moment, in spite of how it may appear an easy choice when laid out like this, pre-eclipse. The Sabian for the eclipse is, ‘An Ancient Bas-Relief Carved In Granite Remains A Witness To A Long-Forgotten Culture’. This may best be illuminated in light of the Sun and Vesta’s Sabian at this time as it ‘fills in’ the axis and provides the literal illumination of the eclipse scenario itself, ‘A Very Old Man Facing A Vast Dark Space To The Northeast’. In both images we are presented with ‘witnesses to history’, to what may have disappeared or been forgotten, lost in the darkness, and this may relate to the triggering wound set off by the eclipse, a hurt that we, or those who inflicted it, may have tried to consign to the shadows. Our blind spot also resides in our internal darkness, out of our sight, and may as well figure in to what occurs.

There’s an interesting aside in the way that a chart drawn for the Northern Hemisphere assigns the direction of northeast to the 3rd House (this is something we need to know in horary, for instance, when trying to locate an object using a chart). This House describes all kinds of communication, local interactions, our neighbors and siblings (and the oldest sibling, in particular), and the act of writing. This may hint that the eclipse involves one or more of these elements, and certainly suggests that our experience will be as much lived in interaction with the world as it is an internal event, seen only by us. Some situation that has caused us pain may be resolved–or may act to blow things up–but in either case, brings a kind of ending or denouement to an emotionally volatile scenario.

 

 

New Moon in Aries 24 March 2020 ‘It’s All About The One’

23 Monday Mar 2020

Posted by in astrology, current events in the sky, New Moon, Sabian Symbols

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‘King David: “Oh, that I had wings like a Dove, for then would I fly away, and be at rest.” Psalm 55-6 By Frederic Leighton 1865 {{PD}}

By ‘The One’, I don’t mean that magical someone who, we are taught (especially when we are little girls) will change our lives–or am I? I’m talking about each one of us–and in that sense, we are indeed ‘The One’ who can bring about change, hopefully for the better. Required isolation is putting the emphasis back on Self-responsibility, on taking the needed initiative individually–and this New Moon reflects that.

Moon and Sun meet at 4 Aries 12, at 2:28 AM PDT of the 24th, just before conjoining Chiron and the Black Moon Lilith point. This suggests a strong new course for healing by paying attention to all those things we’d rather ignore–or, in a less likely scenario, a deep, primal wounding via those factors we’ve insisted on ignoring–but in Aries, we are each, as a single entity, allowed to take our pick, to make our choices (or to garner the results of those choices already made).

The New Moon combo is moving toward perfection of a semi-sextile with Uranus in Taurus–something we don’t always need to take note of, but in this case, we do, because it’s approaching, rather than separating–and again we see the importance of the individual, this time as playing a role within a group (the dual symbolisms of Uranus), and all of this figuring in to the welfare of the environment (Taurus) as the group and individual are both part of it, and as they affect it.

The New Moon also forms a semi-square to Venus in Taurus, which in this chart is in its own sign and rules Earth, Juno, Zeus, Sedna, and Uranus, as well as a semi-square to Ceres, which places the New Moon at their midpoint. We could call this ‘The Worth of the Earth’; the bodies under Venus’ rulership suggest that we come to a new assessment of the value of human autonomy (Juno), the costs of ambition on a larger scale than that of the individual (Zeus), and of the price of paying no attention to our instincts and what we ‘know but don’t know’ (Sedna). The NM at the midpoint says that a new path must be found, a new balance, between Ceres in Aquarius (the demands of ‘the modern’ on Mother Nature, a new, progressive view of our relationship to and obligations to Nature and the natural order) and Venus in Taurus, which in a least one expression tells of the human need for material comfort and sustenance, which are gleaned from the environment and its products and assets.

In fact, the square between Venus and Ceres forms the base of a Fist, with the apex the Earth in Libra: it’s only by cooperation, by caring for others as much as we care for ourselves, that the New Moon tension can be resolved and reach some sort of accommodation between Nature and Humankind, a resolution that supports the health of the Earth, as well as the health of her inhabitants.

There is also the way the Sun-Earth axis, joined by the Moon, continues a Cardinal Grand Cross/ Square, for those who accept the Nodes as valid configuration points (long-time readers know I do). The need for action is both clear and fundamental to the way forward; we must deal with what we’ve wrought, in a way that handles both material and spiritual realities, and that recognizes the  rate of the passage of time is a crucial factor to success.

Though it’s a wee bit wide for a New Moon sextile, we can include Vesta in Gemini, if only because the symbolism is so striking: our ultimate values, what we find sacred and dedicate our energies to, are renewed, re-dedicated at this New Moon, as each individual takes action, makes our choices, takes on a new way of thinking (Gemini) that defines both our priorities and the way we will live day-to-day (around the Vestal hearth).

‘Wing of a Roller’ By Albrecht Dürer 1512 {{PD}}

The Sabian symbol for this New Moon may confound us, at first: ‘A Triangle With Wings’. A flying inanimate object–I can’t help but picture a cold geometric shape with the feathered wings of a dove–makes an absurd image, until we think of the way a triangle is balanced, each leg in equal proportion to, and supporting, the other two. It’s this state of true balance that the New Moon is sparking in each of us, via the mechanism of individual choice, responsibility, and commitment. The wings are the symbolic equivalent of the spiritual component of all endeavors, reminding us that a kind of flight of the spirit is what we are always seeking, always aiming for, working to lift ourselves ever ‘higher’–and this image tells us that lift is achieved by attaining that balance. Usually we see this as an inner function, a personal goal, but the Aries New Moon tells us that spiritual ascension is possible only with the correct measure given each of the three legs of the triangle: the individual, the Collective, and Mother Nature Herself.

 

 

 

15 May 2019 We Do It Because We Care

14 Tuesday May 2019

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, Cardinal Activity, current events in the sky, forecast, Grand Cross/Grand Square

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‘Depicting the artist’s daughter Nana and husband Christian Krohg’ By Oda Krohg 1891 {{PD}}

We do and we choose because we care. We’re sensitive to a startling degree and find ourselves taking into consideration things we’d normally not notice, especially as they concern others. This could put the ‘I Am’ in an uncomfortable spot: alert to others’ needs, and feeling a bit alone. What is it that you care enough about that you’re willing to take action? That’s where your attention should go today.

Our relationships and our finances trend in the direction of comfort and security, and somehow that frees our minds–but do we use that freedom to create, to dream, or do we lead ourselves into fantasy or paranoia? Dealing with this may illustrate our biggest issue with Mars in Water: slogging through emotional considerations could slow or even stop action, and we may end up treading water just to keep from being overwhelmed. Here are some remedies: give the mind solid creative outlets, give the ego or action urge a caring cause to support that allows you to be in motion (and prevents subversion of the energy into passive-aggression), and use highest values as a guide to the appropriateness of ambitions–if they clash, then that goal probably isn’t for you.

(Mars enters Cancer, Vesta opp Zeus, Venus enters Taurus, Mercury sxt Neptune. the Nodes and the Zeus-Vesta opposition–along with the Moon for a few hours–forms a Cardinal Cross, making the whole question of life direction, ambition fulfillment, and values a dynamic one being acted out in our lives right now)

Setting the table for your year ahead. Art by Peter Ilsted {{PD}}

For those born with the Sun at 25 Taurus. Check your natal chart for the correct Sun degree (you may want to read both the degree number and the one that follows, if you have minutes on your Sun position–together these offer a more complete picture of your year ahead). Dear Taurus, the emotions light up exactly what you want this solar year, and show you just how to go about getting it–and that means if you’re confused, you’re not seeing or acknowledging what it is that truly excites and attracts you. Honesty is the goal here, with your ability to tell yourself the unvarnished truth that sets the agenda and shapes your fate for some time to come.What’s working for you? Your sense of commitment, your willingness to give all to a cause, your openness to cooperation and collaboration, and your adherence to high standards. What’s working against you? FOMO if you give your all to only one person, area, or thing, an unhealthy relationship either to those in authority or with the idea of power itself, and your adherence to high standards. The reality is, pretty much everything is a two-edged sword–decide which ‘edge’ is the one you want to use. Good luck!

12 January 2017 Come Together

11 Wednesday Jan 2017

Posted by in astrology, Born Today, Cardinal Activity, current events in the sky, forecast, Full Moon, Grand Cross/Grand Square, Grand Trine, Horoscope, Moon

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John William Waterhouse - 'The Decameron' c1915 {{PD}}

One thing I’m not crazy about with this picture is the way the women all seemed to be enthralled with the lone man–a discarded instrument even sits next to one, suggesting they’re all taking a passive approach to things, putting aside their interests–let’s not let this be the reality, ladies! John William Waterhouse – ‘The Decameron’ c1915 {{PD}}

The AstroEssence: We have the resources to make dreams and ideals a reality–the question is, are we really willing to ‘spend’ them on our supposed dreams? This may bring a reality check of the kind that forces us to vet what we have been proclaiming we want–a ‘put our money where our mouth is’ moment–and should we discover we are unwilling to part with assets to back up our words or announced goals, we should celebrate it as a moment of true clarity, a chance to course-correct, to align our internal image with our actual manifestation of identity. We are likely to see that some of our priorities and commitments are actually unhealthy, and we begin thinking in concrete, practical, even hard-headed terms. It may be a rough ride for those who want to keep pretending they will become something they have no intention of actually investing in, but the rest of us can be free of old labels, and of the internal distortions created when we fool ourselves in an attempt to fool others. PS Chances of being fooled as to the actual state of relationships or finances is high, but so is the chance to profit from the creative or to spin an image of ourselves as Love or Money manifest (whether this is accurate or not) (Vesta sesq Hygeia, Venus conj Neptune, Mercury enters Capricorn)

full-moon-in-cancer-january-2017The Full Moon occurs at 3:34 AM of the 12th Pacific time at 22 Cancer 27, where it fills in as the arm of a Cardinal Grand Cross, with Jupiter-Zeus on one end and Uranus-Ceres on the other, with the opposition of the Sun filling in and inviting Pluto (despite the fact that the lord of the Underworld sees the Sun separating from contact). In other aspects we’ll keep our orbs crisp, with a quincunx to Saturn-Juno and a trine to Chiron. The config is dynamic, tense, but fueled by spontaneity, optimism, desire, an awareness of the fulsome presence of Nature (and Her unpredictability), and a consciousness that sees the need for change, destruction, and in some cases, transformation, in the name of renewal, and especially in terms of those who hold the Power. The Full Moon event should bring a culmination of energies that most likely sees a conclusion reached, spurred by changes in the reality picture and our awareness of it, and all of it based in what we care about, what we’re sensitive to (Moon in Cancer) and how this can mesh with real-world conditions and circumstances (Sun in Capricorn).

This brings healing (the Chiron trine) and forces us to adjust to the real-world state of our empowerment (quincunx Saturn-Juno)–fantasies will no longer do, echoing the other aspects for the day unrelated to the Full Moon. The Cross itself brings opportunity for ambition fulfillment and the need to balance this with our own unique needs within the power structure/ Nature, with what we care about, and with the conscious knowledge that certain facets of the reality picture (and possibly the emotional one) must change, in some stark and significant way.

Just maybe we may also want to consider a loose Water Grand Trine involving the Moon-Earth meeting reaching out to Chiron in Pisces and Black Moon Lilith in Scorpio. This hints at healing through balance that allows emotional acknowledgment of matters previously hidden, denied, or that enraged. The essence of many of the aspects for today and for the Full moon seems to hinge on successfully allowing two at least somewhat contradictory or unalike forces to meet, and from that meeting finding equilibrium; just something to keep in mind going forward.

The Sabian for the Full Moon is, ‘The Meeting Of A Literary Society’. This symbol speaks of the coming together of minds, to consider ideas expressed in a concrete form, in this case, in writing–and in a twist, this could specifically apply to contracts, as a meeting of the minds is the primary condition for the formation of such agreements. This suggests the Full Moon events express a material or manifest form of one or more ideas, allowing them to be vetted in the real world. Though the environment for inspection is a civilized one, what results may not be quite so, as the inclusion of Pluto, Zeus, and Uranus in the Full Moon picture suggests some extreme passions and unpredictable alternatives may suddenly be on the table, pushing the feeling nature (Moon in Cancer) to extremes and/ or draw conclusions.

Edgar Degas - 'Achille De Gas in the Uniform of a Cadet' c1856 {{PD}}

Edgar Degas – ‘Achille De Gas in the Uniform of a Cadet’ c1856 {{PD}}

The Sabian for the Sun, instigator of the Full Moon phenomenon, is, ‘A Soldier Receiving Two Awards For Bravery In Combat’. The figure of ‘a soldier’ suggests one of many, who is responsible for and in control of only him or herself–but all awards a soldier can receive on the battlefield are tied directly to her or his actions that specifically benefit both his cause and his fellow soldiers. So, this could imply that what culminates at the Full Moon started with actions that went ‘above and beyond’–and this is the result.

Bonus: those with natal placements at 20-23 of Leo may be in for major emotional healing or wounding, likely as Full Moon events reveal something about their origins that was previously unrealized.

Bonus bonus: Full Moon work with Auntie Moon

For those born with the Sun at 22 Capricorn: You’re at or very near the summit, right about now, and you reach the crest of your goal only to find–another big climb ahead of you. Don’t despair; you can rest for a brief while and gather in the benefits of the level you’ve already achieved–and if you look around you’ll see that you’ve got the resources, the support, and the personal authority to begin the journey up that next mountain–and it’s more than likely that you’ll reach the summit for this Solar year’s goal much sooner than you expect–so get ready to celebrate–after that climb, of course. Good luck, Cappy, and Happy Birthday!

Donate! Read! And have a wonderful Full Moon!

A Little Something More on the Cardinal Grand Cross of April 2014

22 Tuesday Apr 2014

Posted by in Cardinal Grand Cross April 2014, current events in the sky, future events in the sky

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Partial view of the Americas from a low orbit satellite by NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring {{PD}}

Partial view of the Americas from a low orbit satellite by NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring {{PD}}

The Grand Cross is in evidence—we’ll treat it as a part of the other energies in play, and in doing so perhaps draw it into a broader context. Actions or choices that trigger it all may originate in being contrary to our highest aims, to the demands of the home, or in reaction to the mate. We may seek ready empowerment in scenarios of the past (or that mirror it) and we may feel that blending into the crowd is actually the way to garner reward, preserve relationship, and stay safe—and we might be right, at least in the moment. Communications and our own thoughts both could feel like we’ve heard them before, and our reactions to them/ choices spurred by them may come at least in part from fear of being hurt in some past way we still feel vulnerable to. Erratic behavior, aggression, and destructive inclinations are all signs that we are allowing an out-of-control temperament to run the show—whether it’s you or someone else, take a step back and re-consider the direction you want to take. Rightly harnessed, this is a good time to change, guess who? Ourselves! We have the ability and energy to re-make our inner workings—we just need to take an intellectual stance that accesses compassion and common sense while staying true to values in order to do it successfully. (At the closest point to perfection, on the 23rd, Mars perfects the T with Uranus and Pluto—this is essentially the tightest the Grand Cross gets–with Jupiter the other arm, and Mars is also contra-parallel Vesta, Juno conjuncts the South Node, Venus is contra-parallel Uranus, Mercury moves into Taurus, is parallel the South Node and semi-square Chiron)

Here’s what I said in the first article on the Cardinal Grand Cross

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Just a Little on the Cardinal Grand Cross of April 2014

23 Sunday Mar 2014

Posted by in Cardinal Activity, Cardinal Grand Cross April 2014, ECLIPSE magazine, future events in the sky, Grand Cross/Grand Square

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'The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun' William Blake {{PD}}

‘The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed With the Sun’ William Blake {{PD}}

This is an excerpt from the Grand Cross article in the current ECLIPSE:

The aspects don’t actually perfect all at once; in fact, I don’t think that’s possible, with Mars traveling in the opposite direction to the other three, and with Pluto-Uranus being exact on the 21st and Jupiter closest to them on the 20th. Mars is the hold out; every other body has to wait for him to create the Cross (a very Martian, ‘the world revolves around me!’ attitude!) though by the time he arrives, Jupiter is already poised to flee and Uranus and Pluto are parting So, the T-square is actually stronger prior to hooking up with Mars, and that implies that, depending on where in the personal chart each arm falls, we may already be in the midst of developments when the Martian energy arrives—and that suggests that things that have occurred have accumulated so that, with Mars in the picture, we are prompted to choose or act definitively on the concerned circumstances.

Something to consider in the personal chart is that two of the Cross factors will be below the horizon, and two above; this means that the above horizon elements are much more likely to involve others directly, to be ‘visible’ to onlookers, to involve contact with the world, institutions, businesses, or to involve one’s own job or vocation. The below horizon elements are much more likely to be processed at an internal level and to drive one’s own impulses and choices but not necessarily be obvious to others.

We can speak in general of what one of the energies above or below the horizon might mean, always keeping in mind that the particular House it rules in the natal chart, as well as its natal situation and any aspects it’s currently making to natal factors, can all figure in to meaning. For instance, Jupiter in Cancer above the horizon in the Whole Sign 10th=the broadcast or public ‘reveal’ of sensitivities, knowledge, beliefs, or the Jupiterian facet of the Cross/ T experience comes from others or is ‘out in the open’ in some way, definitely affecting the reputation or career; Pluto is then below the horizon in the 4th, suggesting that the change, upset, destruction, rage, or transformative facet happens on the inside or ‘close to home’ in some way, and may be a factor in what’s revealed, in this case coming either from the deepest Self or through the family relationship or actual living situation.

 For the whole story, plus much more, order here!