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Interdependence Day

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“From opaque rock
springs clear water.
The skull’s hard cup
holds clarity.
Drink, traveller.
Be mindful. Drink.”

The new Moon on July 4th opens the lunation at 12°54′ of tropical Cancer and brings a much needed sense of caution and caring to the ongoing momentum of the times. The events generated through the previous lunation have shown us much, about the power of consequence and responsibility towards aforethought, as well as the need to hold the highest of aspirations before us, shared as a collective, and this lunation brings these qualites home amidst a time of turbulence and radical restructuring.

If the turbulence of the times is proving too much for you, this lunation says step off the gas a while and regroup – nurture and care for what is close to hand; even though there may be a battle raging outside, tending home and hearth and keeping the sacred fire burning is equally vital, giving to all our doings in the world their core meaning.

If on the other hand you are feeling fired up and ready to go, have donned your sacred war paint and can feel the adrenalin pumping, the lunation says, first check that your personal house is in order before rejoining the battle – that means knowing where you stand and what you are fighting for, ie. the true value of what you are leaving behind, as well as what you are taking beyond the threshold.

It is going to be a tender month, highly sensitive around current boundary issues, protective of vulnerabilities and prone to further bruising where the punches have already landed. But, embedded within the Cancerian field are sensitive points that indicate a much more far-reaching necessity for our times. Their triggering casts a much needed longer term view on where our current conflicts of interest could lead us. It comes down to remembering what the most important things in life are, before everything else.

With both Venus and Mercury in Cancer at new Moon this is perhaps a reminder that it is the women and children, the feminine and our future, who must come first in all our considerations. But, it is also a sign of the times that communications and money, awareness and values, are colouring the bigger picture.

gold_goosefeathers

As Michael Meade said in a recent video, we are experiencing ‘a world gone wrong’, and this is no time for narrow mindedness. That could well be the defining issue that not only decided the UK’s vote to leave the EU, but, puts the quality of this lunation into its sharpest, if not global perspective. Perhaps nowhere has the sucker punch been more fully felt during the last lunation than in the world of politics, economics and personal freedoms, as personified for example by the UK’s referendum on June 23rd 2016.

The foxes have been in the hen house – and, not just for the Brits, it is time to count our chickens. With the Moon in Cancer we should be under no illusions about the more far reaching relevance of this outcome either, regardless our nationality, but especially in view of our own domicile status, where-ever we are.

With the election of new European ‘Heads’ pending, stalling and shuddering in the aftermath of Brexit, and the US elections poised on a knife edge of legal investigations, also reflecting tensions between political tribalism, economic truths and social conscience, the Cancer Moon puts us in mind of why we are facing such tough choices at home. It also illustrates why the globalist economic agenda is falling apart.

Boundary issues and the domestic value of foreign currency are bound to be highlighted with this new Moon, and this builds upon tensions within the international flow of trade and commerce that have been defining the new partnerships now being formed between East and West. The NM quincunxes Saturn in Sagittarius and trines Neptune in Pisces putting international relations into the front-line, an influence that favours restructuring agreements and the dissolution of obstacles to ‘free trade’, where they exist. There is in this a movement away from not only the old hegemonies of ideological power, but, from old politics itself as the defining characteristic of their realisation, a point further indicated in Venus strong aspects to Uranus, Mars, Pluto and Jupiter at new Moon.

The British referendum delivered what may be the coup-de-gras in globalist ideologies around foreign investment, at least amongst European States, but the ripples of the vote reach much further – the TTIP was already all but over for Europe, with a unanimous vote ‘in favour’ necessary within the EU for its ratification, and five European nations now showing significant dissent. The dollar and the TPP will be coming under more pressure over the coming months as the USA’s 7th, 8th and 9th house planets, Uranus, Venus, Jupiter, the Sun,  Mercury and Neptune are activated. The USA’s north node in Leo is also going to be directly triggered by the next new Moon on August 2nd.

Pluto already opposes the Independence Day Sun that this new Moon falls upon, and, in the Brexit day chart Uranus, Eris and Ceres in Aries squared the USA’s 8th house Mercury in Cancer, exactly where Venus is now applying pressure. The talk will all be about following the money as the old ‘western alliance’ picks up the pieces.

The shift in power at the heart of the financial markets that was already underway is now being stimulated to firm up new alliances. Watch this space, especially in respect of new trading agreements between Europe and the East; there’s a new Silk Road being built and much of the turmoil in the Middle East is around trying to disrupt the flow of traffic along it. Who is funding who and to what ends, we may ask. But, that EU vote has an astrological signature that illustrates all to clearly where the real power lies.

In the last post, without directly referencing Brexit, I tried to indicate that the astrology favoured an ‘out’ vote win, but, with a certain inevitability, the planets have now pushed the issue of sovereignty even further to the front, and in so doing reveal something of the longer term focus that this historic vote brings to us all.

Of all the days that David Cameron could have chosen to hold the referendum on he chose this one! On June 23rd at midday GMT Ceres and Uranus met at 23° Aries and gave us the signature aspect of the moment – as mentioned Eris, an indicator of discord and disruption, was involved in their meeting, but, just hours later the deed was done and the UK voted to leave the European Union by a majority of just 4%. The tar-brushing that has followed has been a revelation to us all, and it ain’t over yet.

Uranus meeting with Ceres,  or Demeter as the ancient Greeks called her, only happens once in every 89 years – the parallels between 2016 and 1927 give much food for thought. Catastrophic floods and earthquakes took hundreds of thousands of lives during 1927, typhoons and hurricanes wrought havoc in the USA; both US and British troops were involved in conflicts on foreign soil, the Chinese regime became formally militarised and Stalin took control of the Soviet Union, the Irish Free State gained independence; diplomatic relations, not least of all between the West and the communist block, were stretched to breaking point, many civilians in both Europe and the USA were shot by police while protesting their social rights; this was also the year that saw international radio, television and flights become established, Heisenberg formulated his famous ‘uncertainty principle’ and Fritz Lang’s iconic film Metropolis premiered. The list goes on…..

The conflicts of the time seem all too familiar; we have not moved on so much as come back around to the same old story with the same old players vying for the same old ‘power’, and the future we might have perceived through the smoke and first flickering images of new technologies has turned out to be dangerously unacknowledged for its warnings and prescience. In some ways our technology, like our symptomatic hypocritical obsession with political correctness, has made us both more sensitive to and less resilient around the threats we share with that time. Interestingly a wave of influenza swept the UK in 1927 killing up to a thousand people a week as Uranus quincunxed Neptune, then on the Leo Virgo cusp; Uranus hovered over the Aries Pisces border, was transited by Jupiter in the process and, just as they are in this time, both Saturn and Mars were transiting the first two decans of Sagittarius in 1927.

But, here’s a curious thing – as the UK’s 1801 national chart reveals, Ceres was discovered in the same year and on the same day as the United Kingdom ratified the Acts of Union. The two are intimately tied together. Pluto’s transformative influence is still in orb of the UK’s Sun and will oppose the UK’s 10th house Cancer Moon in 2018-19. Ultimately, Pluto will trine the UK’s natal Ceres in 23° Taurus, by which time Jupiter’s exact quincunx to natal Ceres and the Moon, and semi-sextile to transiting Pluto will almost certainly see all former ties severed between the UK and EU. The intervening time is all about negotiating a viable path to the future, a path that must be forward looking enough to carry the wishes of the people, as the Moons North node will cross the UK’s natal Moon at the exact moment when Mars opposes Jupiter from Gemini, semi-sextile Ceres. Its all about the timing, not so much ‘whether’ as ‘when’. This was a result already written in the stars – Cameron should have consulted an astrologer! Maybe he did…..too many condemning fingerprints have been left on what transpired.

In fact, as the myth shows, Ceres knows how to drive a hard bargain, but, she does also has something to say about power sharing – while she gives the best of the plutocrats a run for their money, she ultimately makes them an offer they can’t refuse and, in the process, brings a new template to the table that rewrites the rules of power. She does so in accordance with natural law. Equal distribution of power through a balance between Pluto’s (Hades) entropic and her own negentropic forces was the bargain Ceres drove in the myth.

In this is a multi-layered reflection of the times, on the face of it a recognition of the natural wisdom of the goddess as embodied in the seasonal cycle on the one hand and of the power of the Mother, Demeter, on the other as fierce and fearless protector of children, her own somewhat wayward and impressionable daughter Persephone not withstanding. But, more than anything else this conjunction between Uranus, Ceres and Eris gave us an indication that a radical new direction must be undertaken, both in respect of power, the environment, the politics of choice, as outlined in Eris own story, and the fundamental balance between destructive and creative forces, all of which are being played out globally on a very human scale.

Interestingly, Pluto ties the new Moon chart into the natal chart of the UK’s queen as well, although this in no way intends to draw any parallels between Ceres and ER2! If anything it points up her own plutocratic role in the world. The July new Moon falls exactly on Elizabeth Regina’s natal 6th house Pluto, and Venus is exactly conjunct the royal north node and DC. But, foreign money was always the means to an end in filling the coffers of the so called House of Windsor. Perhaps the plug will be pulled once Uranus introduces a whole new set of values and rules into international trading when he enters Taurus in 2018 and makes three transits over her maj’s Sun at 0° Taurus – will she survive until her nodal return on his third pass, three years from now? Given the signs I somehow doubt it, and her passing, whether from power or life, will be another global history making event. The world will undoubtedly have already undergone many changes by then, as it is, but the Uranium industry will never be the same….

Its an odd Moon to begin a lunation with as sovereignty is very much at the heart of it all and Cancer harkens back to a time of tribal affiliations in which the Mother ruled the traditions that carried the common wealth of the people forward. This image and its focus is not arbitrary here either. Conjunct with Mercury in the July NM chart is the asteroid Kronos.

Many astrologers associate Kronos with the highest station of things, their own sovereignty, as well as their highest and most meaningful values, and it is through the search for those values in both our words, thoughts and children that Kronos gives Mercury his role in Cancer now. We are becoming aware of their future as the question in our own hands perhaps more now than ever. However, these are innate values, all too well known to our ancestors that are given a new reminder through this lunation.

In Cancer, Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn all have their own north nodes. This shows us a future, a commonality to all people alive now, and a key indicator of how our future could take shape in our own lives, and must in those that follow us. The power of life is nurtured in Cancer, our own ability to care for the Earth, for our human family and the protection of Earth’s children. The nodes indicate a way in which we can limit the use of our power according to a more deeply rooted, far-sighted and wise understanding, giving it a quality more at home on this planet than our current anthropocentric hedonism allows. There is a shared Cancerian quality of service as well as instinctive and empathic protection inherent in these planetary nodes, a promise that could be fulfilled, of new life under the Sun and Moon. But, we must honour our commitment to see it through and not succumb to the Capricornian temptations of the past, or suffer their wounds again.

The Sun and Moon meet at  NM with the asteroid Eurydike, the inter-planetary body astrology associates with ‘dependence’. In leading Eurydice back from Hades, Orpheus, for all his magic and boundary crossing skills, was unable to resist the temptation to look back and, consequently, the ‘plutocratic’ rule he had been asked to observe was broken.

It is a poigniant reminder that even while, in the form of Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn’s south nodes, Capricorn holds our ancestral memories of a past that saw the destruction of the Mother goddess civilisations, our focus must remain on the present and how this relates to where we are headed. This is how it is with the nodal axis. We cannot go back, not without great or even unthinkable risk, but, can however carry the gifts as well as the most important lessons of the past forward with us, in creating our path towards a future built upon common ground. In fact, our future and the Earth it is built upon depend upon it.

“From their houses, from their town
rainbow people come walking
the dark paths between the stars,
the bright tracks on water
of the moon, of the sun.
Tall and long legged,
lithe and long armed,
they follow the fog pumas
beside the wind coyotes,
passing the rain bears
under the still air hawks
on the paths of sunlight,
on the tracks of moonlight,
on the ways of starlight,
on the dark roads.
They climb the ladders of the wind,
the stairways of cloud.
They descend the ladders of air,
the steps of rain falling.
The closed eye sees them.
The deaf ear hears them.
The still mouth speaks to them.
The still hand touches them.
Going to sleep we awaken to them,
walking the ways of their town.
Dying we live them,
entering their beautiful houses.”

Poems by Ursula Le Guin from ‘Always Coming Home’ :
~ Bone Poem VI
~ The Madrone Lodge Song of Mica of Sinshan

Images, with thanks to the artists :
Stone Arch ~ artist unknown
Goose Feathers ~ Andy Goldsworthy
Inuksuk ~ traditional Inuit
Nest ~ Nils Udo
Balancing ~ Adrian Gray

Root Medicine of the Stars

Venus In Furs

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venus in furs

Venus in Capricorn brings us face to face with the empowered woman. What is the image that is conjured in those two powerful words? We might imagine a ‘successful’ individual, one who has reached personal pinnacles and challenges our notions of power itself, against the prevailing odds. In Capricorn Venus is emphasising the role of the empowered woman and, if we must ask ‘what are her symbols’, we must go beyond the image of the CEO or stateswoman, as, is this not simply a projection of male values. However, Venus in cardinal earth does not ask, or wait, for an answer; She Knows. And that is Her fundamental Truth. No wonder the corporatocracy is rife with glass ceilings.

In a world and time such as ours the planetary Goddess resonates with much deeper truths, manifests first, asks questions after, if at all ~ She is the living memory of earth, untamed within its crystalised forms, as much present in the wild wind and waters, as the volcanic plumes and rivers of molten rock. If we do encounter her in the mundane, on the hustings and frontlines facing the violators of Nature, whether with megaphone in hand, giving it her all, or feather and drum, holding the memory intact, chances are she is fired up with that ‘knowing’, pushing for change in the face of violation and usury. There is great passion coursing through her veins, pushing the boundaries of the world to grow out of its complacence and apathy. If invoked, She calls up the roots of change itself in her being. And Her faces are many, have endured time and tide.

She can be present in spirit and in body as the Wild Woman, the Huntress, whose powers are timeless, even when distorted, as she has become in the dominatrix and louche seductress. Pluto, who is centred in Capricorn in this time, has much to answer for here, but, he is himself transformed in her presence and, as Ceres, whose asteroid is presently close on the Sun, She drives the hard bargain that draws upon her own pragmatic nature, demanding equality where, otherwise, no deal may be struck. She looks after her own, her children as well as those who look after her, give to her their fealty.

She is, for all her political nous,  a fierce lover in Capricorn. Her power is deep, sensual, charged with earthiness, and demands parity in her lover. She is also the creatrix, ruling over the most fundamental natural laws of manifestation within the Life/ Death/Life cycle. In her most fecund state She can be seen in the most ancient art, caught in an ambiguous embrace with the Bull headed man in Chauvet caves, brought out of the living rock and clay of her own body in countless ‘Venus’ carvings and figures. The shaman knows the deal.

She reminds us here of that which endures like no other, in memory and presence, and holds fast the root of humanity in her being. But, She also holds the protectorship of the animal world as Mother of the Animals, active as the central figure in indigenous knowledge, as She who must be petitioned by the hunter for a good hunt, and, as the bestower of blessings, health and nourishment upon the tribe and community, must be herself respected, fed and shown due care, before She will reciprocate.

Sedna’s story pulls into hard focus the egotism and disrespect shown by the paternal line; her fingers, severed as she fights for her life, become the creatures of the oceanic realms into which she has sunk, over which she subsequently rules. When, on the 5th of December, planetary Venus aspected Neptune by quintile, shortly before entering Capricorn, Sedna’s asteroid was quincunx Venus from Taurus, her sign by rulership. A report emerged on that date that echoes with the tragedy of this story, revealing that Pacific Killer Whales have suffered a 100% mortality rate amongst their off-spring this year on the West Coast of the Americas. This brings a devastating reflection, through the fertility giving apsect of the quintile to Neptune’s oceanic lens and the hard reality checking quincunx to asteroid Sedna, that reveals the underlying story at work in our times. She is speaking directly to us here, of ecocide and its inherent dangers. She will protect her own, her children, but, it is ‘we’ who will pay the price if we do not listen.

This is far from being the first indication of the story behind the disease and disturbance at the heart of the global ‘eco-system’, as it is reflected within the Pacific Ocean. Alongside Starfish ‘dissolving’ in their thousands, mass beachings of Whales, Dolphins and Seals, many dead on arrival at the shore, showing chronic skin wounds and sores, are pointing back towards pollution and irradiation of the oceans. The reality of this is being heavily censored in the mass media channels, but, is not escaping the awareness of independant reportage and monitoring. It is time to stop the carnage, even if it looks too late…..not least as the power of the planetary Goddess will prevail, regardless the disregard She has been shown, and, whether we are here to witness her resurgence, or not.

In contemporary life under the dominant culture Her role has become forgotten, overlooked and distorted. For the most part, amidst the decadence of western hegemonies, where the Capricornian Venus is present, she is demeaned, hoisted upon a pedestal and made an object of masculine fantasy. Amidst the ruinous distortions and photoshopping of western patriarchal ideology Her root power is suppressed, its source exploited as matter, glamourised and manipulated out of meaning and devoid of respectful understanding.

The millenia of the Piscean age have seen war waged upon Her and her lovers, but, she is an archetypal Spirit, and her essense, pushed into subterranean realms of both consciousness and emotional energy, if disconnected from the pursuit and embodiment of power as the misogynists have framed it, is all the more dangerous, unbound beneath the surface. Her power cannot be repressed without consequence. The glass ceilings of the power-broker’s world are a false prison, in constant need of re-assertion in the face of her own irrepressible nature ~ and, in the heart of the city, the citadels of plutocratic rule, even in the most arid of places, She inhabits the understrata of the land, the culture, its human root, holding its memory in seed form, waiting to push open the cracks in concretions of power with her wild and indestructible beauty.

She taps Capricorn’s catalysing motivation for manifestation with a subtle power that can and will absorb all in Her path ~ she is the transmuting power of the earth, rich, fecund and ancient. But, she can wear many faces here too ~ even in the most tender of flowers she is present, ineluctable, fresh and filled with deceptively subversive potential, to grow and spread. She grounds us, stimulates our own roots, smudges our subtle body with odours of Vetiver and Sage-brush, imbued with the stings of Thorn and Rose beneath her white and red robes.

When Venus entered Capricorn, on December 10th, the cracks began to show and she mirrored back to us the erronious nature of her detractors – witness…..

Ice

……on December 10th, just hours after the release of the CIA’s ‘torture report’, Japan introduced a new Secrecy Law making investigative journalism, leakage and whistleblowing of facts surrounding the Fukushima disaster a criminal act carrying heavy penalties of up to10 years incarceration. Simultaneously, reports of lobbying of the US government by the UK company Oxitec for the release of GM mosquitos into the environment began to surface in the alternative media, and, on the same day Spain announced gagging laws which threaten to make public protest illegal and severely limit freedom of speech.

In the USA, Congressional staff staged a walkout on this day in protest of the Garner and Brown cases, highlighting the unaccountability of fatal police actions against unarmed civilians, racial discrimination and the widening gulf between the People and the agencies of State and Law.

Since then we have seen the US Senate move to legislate stripping the Apache nation, the largest landholder amongst Native American tribes, of their ancestral landrights in favour of giving Resolution Copper, an anglo-australian subsidiary of Rio Tinto, access for mining to 2,400 acres of the Tonto National Forest, as well as ceremonial and burial grounds within the Apache reservation. Rio Tinto is responsible for Uranium mining operations in Africa, amongst other global actions which threaten land, people and environment alike, and which also involve foreign investment from countries such as Iran and China.

Also coming to light during this time, the World Health Organisation’s dissemination of an ongoing and historical programme of fertility reducing vaccination throughout Africa, the development of nano-robotic vaccines, proceedures for renouncing citizenship appearing in social networks, figures showing child poverty to be at its highest recorded level in the USA, have been revealed.

All this, and much more, within the space of a week has signalled an intensification in diametrically opposed interests between, on the one hand, the People and, on the other, the ruling powers of government, the legal system and their corporate cohorts…..if it isn’t apparent yet, if the dots have not yet been joined between all these events, we are in the midst of an assualt that, while appearing so diverse as to create an incoherent kaleidoscope of effects, reflects a far from disparate attempt upon the personal and collective freedoms, as well as the very well-being, of us all. Venus in Capricorn tests our values, and the judgements we base upon them.

Venus brings our attention to values that we experience in the arena of the everyday world. Capricorn throws us into the midst of the arena and asks us to fight for what we ‘know’ is right, that reflects those values. We can see the pressure rising within the zone of earthly power and its already manifest forms of initiation within the material world. The connections between such value systems and Nature, the environmental concerns this brings up, as well as imbalances of power inherent within this arena is obvious, the more so with Venus now approaching Pluto in mid-Capricorn. Venus will conjunct Pluto just as Uranus, squaring Pluto, turns direct, right on the solstice. With Mercury, the Sun and Moon joining Venus and Pluto in Capricorn at the turning point in the solar cycle we can expect an uptick in these issues, but, keep your eyes peeled as the season’s festivities get underway – there is a fine line between reality and illusion, and we need to have the eyes of the seer.

shamanVenus has just passed exact sextile with Neptune in Pisces as this goes to press and, if we care to see it, we can see the more sinister effect of this focus coming to light.

The illusion is failing that Fukushima, the ultimate symbol of the payback that reckless disrespect for Life brings, is in any way benign in relation to these events and, with senior scientists from the Japanese nuclear industry now admitting that the situation at and arising from Fukushima is exponentialy worse than Chernobyl, the attempts of the Japanese government to quash the truth is brought into full perspective. But, this effect is not confined to Japan. A greater part of the illusion, outside of criminalising ‘truth’, which the PTB are attempting  to deliver in full swing, is to marginalise such information, reduce it to the level of ‘conspiracy theories’, for example. 100% fatalities amongst creatures directly affected by thousands of tons of irradiated water being released everyday into the Pacific says otherwise. The water cycle alone tells us Fukushima is a global event that cannot be avoided, but, how much of a counter to this reality can we raise? Venus in Capricorn challenges us to ask ourselves, and to re-evaluate and work from our most heart held notions before we answer.

Neptune as a planetary influence is directly associated with widespread dissemination, as well as the propagation of illusion. The negative influence shows through unboundaried viral and epidemic effects. The Ebola illusion is that it is a virus, and, all this while the truth has been plastered, in plain sight, all over the media where the chosen image of Ebola is of a worm-like creature ~ the truth is that Ebola is a parasitic organism, against which vaccines are useless. In the light of the current vaccine programmes you can draw your own conclusions from this.

But Neptunes influence here has a positive counterpart as well, through connection with the worlds of imagination and non-physical realities, bringing energy to the unexpergated Venusian realms of creativity that we can tap into in our art and dreaming. Neptune’s positive corrollary in the mundane world is also visible in fashions and trending, but, with Uranus direct, in a world of global connectivity through Uranian technology,  this can become the field through which the counter-punch is delivered. Censorship of the internet or not, the energy is unleashed.

Under such conditions, perhaps the Orcas have a deeper message to deliver in this respect……if are we party to their infanticide, we are also a party to our own, as a species. Sedna has spoken and the message pulls us into the dreaming powers we are so much in danger of forgetting.

The Whales carry and connect us with something unique in the animal realms, a far reaching and ranging role that reflects a deeper truth native to our planet and beyond, a gift inherited by all Her children. We are all here for a very special reason, which imagination, connection in spirit and creativity make conscious and visible. In the animal medicines the Whales are here to connect us with that positive Neptunian attribute ~ they connect us to the cosmic source, the Dreaming. In this they are the essential part of Earth-Life that is ever-present in the Wild Woman’s kenning, as keepers of inherent knowledge of this connection, as it manifests within both natural and Natural law. It is said that piebald and spotted animals embody a link with the stellar realms ~ and, in the medicines, the Orcas are the fierce protectors of this cosmological connection. They work through the balance of life and death within Life as our planetary connection with the Dreaming.

With the loss of a generation comes serious reflection – augeries can be found in all things, but, if we were to look to the Orcas we would find a clear indication that the link is now seriously endangered. This not only applies as an animal mirror of the medicines within the wheel of Life, but, as a true reflection of what the gagging orders, limits on our movements and freedom of speech seek to prevent coming to light. The mass protests are also an expression of the unrest that rises when the stories held in the Dreaming are themselves censored. We are in the midst of chaos out of which arises their resurgence and re-telling. This has been an ongoing theme over the months on this site, but, the truth is in plain sight as organisations and official bodies responsible for clandestine programmes of eugenics, genocide, ecocide etc etc, clearly no longer consider it a responsibility to be accountable to the People, let alone the truth that our emerging mythos is seeking to enshrine for future generations. But, let us not forget, Orcas are also the Hunters of the Whale nation.

If Sagittarian influences, the realm of the Archer, are expanding consciousness through the Sun and Mercury in this time, Venus journey through Capricorn energises those issues that have already been disclosed that are most crucial for earthly life to continue, and, with the planetary Goddess meeting Pluto, the underworld deity, these issues will undoubtedly manifest their radical nature, equally demanding a deeper appreciation and commitment.

The combined energies of Pluto and Venus bring us face to face with the wild Animal Mother, She who unleashes the fearless energy of the Huntress and governs the creative principles of Life and Death through Nature. These are times for us to bring her energy into our hearts and feel Her own deep truths speaking to and through us.

The need to bring this fierce and unbounded love for Life into our own lives, where death to one world means birth into another, needs no mirror and is inherent within all of us who have been born through her body, but, nevertheless, mirrors we have in abundance when Venus and Pluto meet, and the flip-side of this combination is equally provocative and revealing.

Old woman

When Venus conjoins with Pluto she also sextiles Chiron. Here She can disclose subconscious inner feelings, neurotic wounding and experiences of inadequacy, of the unnatural desire for sado-masocistic interactions as an expression of relationship. In many ways Chiron amplifies the dark side of both Pluto and Venus played out through exploitation and the creation of victim/violator roles in which subjugation reaches damaging and critical levels. These are levels in which psychoses manifest their dynamic, and we might well be seeing this at work in the disfunctional and destructive examples cited above. But, it is precisely in their positive counterpart that they find their nemesis. The Chironic embodiment of animal and human frame in one being is also the realm of the Wild Woman and her pack.

She can be Venus in Furs in both senses, but, regardless the scenario, the choice is ours ~ do we roll over and suffer the degradation, allowing the dominators free rein, or do we let the blood rise and burn with a deep and fierce energy in our hearts. As dramatic as it may sound, in reality the choice, like Orca’s markings, is becoming very black and white for us now, clearly polarised. But, the onus now, in anticipation of the coming season of powerful Moons and the final Pluto Uranus square, is to realise the values represented by both sides of the equation, to hunt down meaning and understanding within their midst, in order to find a path of realism, one that promises a better future. The question is are you moved to take up the Orca’s call, the call of the Wild Woman and Hunter, and, in entering their circle, invoke and bring their medicines into your own life and circle……

It is a choice between being the hunter and the hunted ~ one thing is certain, either way; She is the ancient heart of the world who sees all…..

Top image : Susan Seddon Boulet

Root Medicine of the Stars

Dancing with the Sword Unsheathed

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swordw

Before getting into the meat of this astrological bulletin, a word about the practice itself. Don’t be put off by this as it has a direct bearing on the current transits and aspects at work in the planetary matrix. This is a longish post so I’ll try and keep this intro brief…..

For a long time astrology has been associated with prediction, in fact, a whole media based popularised industry has been built upon it, a fact that does not necessarily further its purpose. There is no doubt that it can be used to this end, but, to think that that is the main purpose of astrology per se has, through its media generated image, become a distraction that also serves its detractors. In many ways prediction is, according to the spin, also astrology’s ‘Achilles heal’. If you look into the history of astrology it also becomes clear that it can, without a doubt, be used as much as a platform for raising consciousness as it can be capitalised upon as a soap-box, as well as a vehicle for the dissemination of propaganda and misinformation. It was always going to be that way – cf. the historical role of the astrologer as ‘priest’ and advisor to the powerful. This is something that is also, strangely, fed by its apparent ‘Achilles heal’, in fact, in our times, the boundaries are extremely blurred between consciousness raising and manipulation, which is the point of this pre-amble. That weakness is also a strength and this is well understood by those who utilise it to this end. This continues to include the hyper rich and powerful btw. Why else would ‘the policy makers’ be seeking to impose limitations upon access to esoteric sites, amongst which is astrology, on the www? This is an indicative and emergent issue now. The spin doctors would have us believe their ‘opt-in’ constraints are all about porn…..is that so? When it comes to truth and governance, invariably, it pays to invert what we are being told and sold. And, I’m not even going to mention the NSA etc…..(ooops, too late)

This raises the issue of personal awareness and discernment and ties directly into the current lunation, this full Moon and what comes after. As to my own use of the practice…..I will say more on that towards the end of this post, but, coming to the planetary matrix in hand, this is going out on the full Moon itself with good reason. I wanted to ground this post with the benefit of real time observation – I will invariably bring my own bias to the reading, but, this too is an intrinsic factor in what is now unfolding, and, to that end, I would say it is now important for each of us to own our personal bias – without a realistic degree of self honesty around where we each stand, we run the risk of remaining blinkered by the same!

So, to the planetary matters in hand. There is no time like the present, literally, as the human population, both in numbers, inner orientation as a species and through planet wide impact, is entering unknown territory. The main thing to bear in mind with the August full Moon is that what really matters is what we do with the energy it raises, after the event – we have to find a way of applying it, the more so as it is embedded within a much larger picture and the coming weeks are going to see this energy playing out through that expanded context. There are many so interconnected events and issues playing out in the world that this can be applied to, but, no-one will have to look far for evidence.

Just think for a moment – Pluto in Capricorn, ineluctable pressure and force, transforming at deeply grounded levels; opposite Jupiter in Cancer, thunderous expansion within the mother Waters, pushing on the boundaries from within; both square Uranus in Aries, the spark that ignites the burn off, and fuels the rebellious revolution – there are no coincidences here, and Fracking, for example, is not simply an issue that is firing up social unrest, or bringing more than just the local concerns of residents affected by pollution, drill heads and burn off stacks into the front-line – it is representative of how these, like so many other pressing issues affecting community near and far, are connecting outwards. This is a time when more and more people are beginning to connect up the dots and the picture being revealed in the process is likely to unite those who can see it most clearly.

In line with Cancer, and the Jupiterian facility for multiplicity, this is both all too close to home, as thousands are now experiencing in every country where draconian fuel policy is an imposition, but, is also a facet of a wider debate, in which ‘fossil fuels and the alternatives’ is but one facet, and that too just keeps opening out further into the whole political face-off between the minority who benefit and the majority who suffer the consequences while being told it is for their own benefit, regardless their views and never mind the environmental impact. That too is typical to the moment – a much respected astrologer described Jupiter as two-faced, able to look both ways, and Janus faced politics is very much reflected in the Jupiter Pluto face off. Activism and reaction in the face of forceful oppression and policy implimentation, tactical surprise and unorthodox vision in the face of expanding control and defence of the status quo, Uranus in Aries at the mid-point has the wild-card, the z-pinch that manifests the truth, and that says it all. The more extreme it becomes the more the picture becomes clear. But, is it simply a picture of increasingly opposing sides?

And then, speaking of extremes, there’s Fukushima…..while radio-active fallout spills into the water system and contaminates the Pacific, and in doing so affects the entire planet’s water cycle and supply, the fuel rods are burning into the earth, and the available ‘aid’ simply does not come, even while the Japanese government itself falls into chaos…..you’d think it was all planned, an intended strategy, ‘the worse the better’, so to speak…..and, in the midst of it all, there’s the full Moon in Aquarius.

There is some hope in the full Moon on August 20th through 22nd, and, just like the traditional british confection Brighton Rock, it has a message written right through it, and you need to know what you are biting down on. ‘Look Up’. Not just the cry of the Chemtrail campaigner, this is about raising the game. Listen Up, Wise Up and Rise Up. Get informed, beyond your bias, and raise your awareness. Of course, if you are plugged in to the cultural milking machine its going to be the usual flow of ‘interesting’ news speak, between the commercials and mass hypnosis, and you may not even notice anything unusual, or anything at all for that matter, save a few noisy ‘trouble makers’ letting off steam beneath the criss-cross patterning in the skies. And, rest assured, the government won’t allow anything to get out of hand, will they…

…if, however, you are unplugged, free-range and awake it is going to be essential to tune in inwardly, follow the juice that’s rising, find an outlet for it, and while in the midst of taking action, keep your wits about you…..

Yes, the noise and interference levels are pushing the emotional climate, especially around those important key issues of Home, Self-authority, Environmental Integrity, Earth Rights and Civil Liberties, but, be of good heart as, by the same token, this is the pressure wave that releases the adrenal rush.

The ‘big picture’ is also a part of this full Moon in as much as it keeps the informed empowered to speak with wider authority. With Mercury conjuncting the Sun through this time this matters. Late Aquarius and late Leo emphasise strong mental awareness and a developed, and preferably, matured ego. That’s indicating ‘the mind of a leader’, and it is the prerogative of this Moon that each individual claim that role and learn to dance with it. The shadow side of this aspect of the Moon is the forked tongue, the slippery lie and the embarrasing gaff. But, the full Moon is also conjunct asteroid Nessus whose tag line is ‘the buck stops here’! And that means you and I. True allegiances covered up by tall tales won’t wash any more…..we are seeing the world becoming increasingly polarised in this and the cracks are beginning to show. However, Sun is also conjunct Ceres, which brings a powerful injection of grounded realism into the world – much food for thought.

Just take a moment to survey the field of action right now and you’ll get the gist of one half of the equation : invasive surveillance, identity farming, environmental violation, atmospheric manipulation, eugenic control implementation, land-grabbing, suppression of dissent and social uprising, corruption of foods, poisoning of the waters and skies, the falsification and propagandisation of economies, continuous disinformation through ‘establishment’ media and ‘official’ bodies, to name just a few of the umbrella facets covering the debacle we are in the midst of. You will no doubt be able to put the detail on at least one of these elements from your own personal experiences unfolding now.

And, what of the other side…..?

There is little need to go into the detail of the whole chart for this FM, mostly as it is dominated by that T square between Jupiter, Pluto and Uranus…..all pushing the cardinal signs energetic template to establish and firm up an emergent new world. In the tradition of conspiracy theory that new world is synonymous with the NWO. But, that’s also a dead ringer for more and more of the same….simultaneously, however, the planets are coming into a rare configuration manifesting change of a different order, one arising through the lens of impulse driven decentralisation of power with an expanding common purpose. Mmmm…..that sounds tasty enough but, look out for the nano-fibres as you bite down.

Yes, as the Moon in Aquarius suggests, its time to step into your cool shoes and observe, become informed, assess and make the appropriate moves in preparation for what’s coming. This is a moment in which spreading awareness gained is utterly vital, and, as the Sun in late Leo says, the ability to change is only as good as our willingness to embody and carry real change forward. For every individual this means decision time, and those not aware of this will have their decisions made for them – sound familiar? Its a question of either letting yourself be led, or, choosing to opt out, in order to opt in.

Ok….’opt in’ to what? I hear you ask……so, here’s where this Moon gets useful. To get a feel for the answer lets consult the Sabian oracle…..here is the juice on the degree at which the Sun opposes the Moon on the 21st Aug :

“Leo 29
A MERMAID EMERGES FROM THE OCEAN WAVES READY FOR REBIRTH IN HUMAN FORM.
KEYNOTE: ……..intense feeling-intuition rising from the unconscious is about to take form as a conscious thought.

The mermaid personifies a stage of awareness still partially enveloped by the ever-moving and ever-elusive ocean of the collective Unconscious, yet already half formulated by the conscious mind. Any creative thinker or artist knows well the peculiar mixture of elation and anxiety characterizing such a stage. Will the intuitive feeling fade away reabsorbed into the unconscious, or will the inexpressible realization acquire the concreteness and expressible form of a concept or a definite motif in an art form?

…….the fire of desire for concrete and steady form burns at the root of all techniques of self-expression. An unconscious energy archetype is reaching toward consciousness through the creator, as cosmic Love seeks tangible manifestation through human lovers. The whole pre-human universe reaches eagerly to the human stage of clear and steady consciousness. It is this great evolutionary urge, this elan vital, which is implied in this symbol of the mermaid seeking human incarnation — the YEARNING FOR CONSCIOUS FORM AND SOLIDITY.”

This is obviously a time to listen clearly to what is emerging from our deepest levels, the inner realms of home truths, that hold survival codes, instinctive knowing, an evolutionary impulse, and apply them with a will to live beyond current limitations. What mirrors this is the instant connection with and within ‘the mind of Nature’, a quality of being that is Uranian and Aquarian by nature. This is a strong hidden element seeded within this moment of the lunation, with the Moon so close to the Piscean cusp – the sentient energy sourced in the unconscious that flows through us if we allow ‘the muse of our dreaming self’ to enter the living world. For the ‘brainwashed’, this is simply no longer a reality – a pathology of disconnection has intervened and we can see those cracks widening further now as the pressure forces through the bedrock of society. However, if anything, this push towards connectivity is the quality of consciousness at work on this Moon, the nature of solar awareness that is illuminating our inner lunar mirror. It is both pristine in its primal nature and endowed with creative potential that can be given form to.

It is also, in the Sabian symbol, a developed, mature and feminine part of ourselves, ready to emerge into manifestation (just as the Sun readily enters Virgo) and, here it reflects the paradigmatic shift from patriarchal dominance and ‘power-over’ into matriarchal values of creative relationship and ‘power-to’. You can clearly see this in the quality of ‘protest and rebellion’ manifesting now. The Lioness is beginning to roar.

The Sabian symbol also shows a trade off of the singular fluid and deep ranging power of the fish’s tail, what has powered us unconsciously, for the grounded and far ranging articulate independance of the binary power, self-reflection and bicameral sentience, symbolised in human form. Theres a lot to consider in this image, but, the main thrust is in wilfully uniting evolved form and function, intuition and instinct, to reach a higher state of being, one indigenous to humanity. Apply that to the outside world and the world transforms, and we entrain with it. And now, lets look at the opposing degree in which the full Moon is manifesting….the Sabian symbol really brings it home.

“Aquarius 29
A BUTTERFLY EMERGING FROM A CHRYSALIS.
KEYNOTE: The capacity to utterly transform the character of one’s consciousness by radically altering the structural patterns of everyday living and the types of relationships one enters upon.

“This is the second time within a very short span of the cycle that the butterfly symbol appears. Here what is emphasized is the process of metamorphosis itself……it stresses the essential character of the activity required; i.e. nothing short of a complete renewal of all the implications of being alive as a human individual will do. A radical change is needed. At this stage, this change is individual and mental, and it should be seen against the background of humanity as a whole. What is revealed is the potential ability of every human being to participate in a higher realm of evolution AFTER his or her emergence from a critical state of transition.

……the Keyword is METAMORPHOSIS. In spiritual terms, this implies “Initiation,” i.e. entering a higher realm of conscious existence and there joining a sacred Company.”

There we get to the point. “Nothing short of a complete renewal of all the implications of being alive as a human will do”…..this is the individual’s mandate and, both Sun and Moon are showing us clearly through the Sabians that this is the time for Emergence. What is more, it is emergence into a sacred reality. The time for pontification, analysis and maneuvering is rapidly becoming superseded by holistic realisation. What else does an emergency ask of us if we are to become emergent? Look again at the Keynote “The capacity to utterly transform the character of one’s consciousness by radically altering the structural patterns of everyday living and the types of relationships one enters upon.” We will be able to capitalise on this more as the Sun moves into Virgo.

Some are going to find this hard. But, the key is in holding fast to your deepest knowings as you act and walk your own true path. This is also going to become radicalised as ‘an emergent way of living’ with great rapidity if the present energy is allowed to flow through. The ‘ascent’ of civilisation that has led into hubristic decadence is being replaced by the ‘descent’ into a new civility represented by the garden and a partnership with ‘the divine’, otherwise known as Nature. Given the state of the planet it is a tough call as we each have to learn how to create the path as we are walking it, while appreciating and respecting that we do not all have to be the same. And, no illusions, Jupiter brings the benefit of an overview and expanding movement at grass roots level face to face with the Plutonian counter controls imposed upon that movement, and, if Uranus stands alone squaring both, the punches are not going to be pulled – sparks will fly. Wait until the end of the month when Mars enters Leo – we’ll look into this more next time. It is no small matter then that, as this Moon is at its highest energy point within the lunation, Venus is also coming into opposition with Uranus and turning that T square into a grand cardinal cross!

This, for me, is where the lunar thrust finds its true form. Venus in Libra is here bringing the perfect balance to Uranus in Aries – this is how that radical and initiatic fiery energy of invention and intervention becomes deeply and creatively grounded, infusing our minds with heart wisdom. In doing so it founds an energy upon which a culture can be formed based upon civilised values that are the counter to those now destroying our planet. There is no soft edge here, no love and light idealism – this is in-the-moment ‘dancing with the sword unsheathed’, a dance that must be learned to understand how the cutting edge of the sword can become the transformative edge of creativity – more a display of fearless beauty and truth than any kind of aggression or destructive intent. In this instance Venus shows her own radical face, the immense life engendering and inspiring power that issues from the organ of total connectivity, the heart, and takes the opposition of Jupiter and Pluto to an evolved and very creative new level.

Venus opposition with Uranus is building and becomes exact on August 26th, just preceding Mars ingress into Leo, indicating the on-the-ground effects in which the warrior planet’s energy may be most visible. There may well be unexpected developments around money and the financial markets, we could see ‘breakaway movements’ being more coherent, increasingly effective and politically active, and, almost certainly, the rise in women’s voices will continue to gain power at that cutting edge, demonstrating respect and exerting an increasingly effective and transformative balance against the patriarchal hegemony, all reflecting the movements and aspects of Venus as we move towards equinox.

There is a wonderfull opportunity now to bring the emergent elements of the full Moon into reality and really make them count. The Moon’s Sabian tells us clearly that we are here to live as we, and our children’s children would wish to live, according to an as yet unrealised potential inherent in our indigenous human nature. For us, at large, this is means we have an unknown territory before us, waiting to be discovered, but, there will be few now who do not sense and know that a crucial point has arrived in the process of entering that place. Perhaps you can feel it as that emergent element within the midst of everything, seeking concrete form, wanting to stand on its own two feet. It is also true that our ancestors have been here and lived this reality before us, even as we carry their memories and knowing, as if from a journey through a half remembered foreign land.

Just as Venus comes into exact opposition with Uranus the Moon transits the degree of its own south node. It has always been the right time to do so, but, the time for rejecting the untenable and unworkable, and claiming that which serves us most on this journey, is now truly upon us. It does mean that the world will seem a much more polarised arena, but, the positive gains are there, if we have the courage and heart.

Some astrologers are playing down this full Moon, others are emphasising the uncertainty and upheaval – for this astrologer its all about bringing inspired action to bear in the world. We do live in unique times and astrology can encourage, engender and stimulate the dialogues, offer the tools and help develop the perspectives needed to navigate them. It is intrinsic within its roots that it is used as such, an ancient practice that helps us to ‘integrate and integrate-with’ the bigger picture. Something can happen that has never happened before – untold skills, knowledge and abilities are available to us now, inherent riches and human gifts that can serve a higher purpose. ‘Looking up’ here means raising the bar on our requirements and expectations, both of ourselves and our global family. Yes, we’ve fucked up, and the past, for all our errors and those of our ancestors, may well be a foreign place to us, precisely because we have suffered the consequences of those errors, errors which are still blatantly being perpetuated. But, the future, in true Jupiterian spirit, is ours to claim, and that place, we instinctively know, is nothing other than our true and rightful home…..time to unsheath our swords, join the dance and cut the Gordian knot of time that binds us!