Tag Archives: Sabian Symbols

astrology, lunations, planetary aspects, planetary change, Politics, Root Medicine of the Stars

Post-Truth And The Power Of Love

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Post-Truth

The new Moon at 4°47′ of tropical Gemini on May 25th is unaspected within the planetary matrix, enhancing the entire field in resonance with its qualities. There is a fired up conscious energy at work in the inception of this lunation which can be brought to bear on actions and ideas that carry the revolutionary potential to go beyond the norm. This breaking of ‘old patterns’ inherent within ‘the norm’ is itself a necessity born of long held beliefs and views now being perceived to have well and truly run their course. In fact, the uprising common sentiment driving this energy of change is that ‘enough is enough’!

The 5th degree of Gemini carries the Sabian symbol of “A Revolutionary Magazine Asking For Action”, as poigniant a symbol as you could ask for in the current socio-political climate of an impulse for populist change and a reseting of what we ‘believe’, or have been led to believe, against ‘what we know’ to be true. The Sabian’s keyword of “Plenitude” has positive qualities here, indicating a release of energy that expresses movement beyond fullness and culmination. A saturation point is reached where prevailing conditions are now collectively perceived to be unsustainable to the extent that a decisive and corrective movement towards realising their opposite is inevitably stimulated. This is clearly expressed by the Sabian’s resolution of its symbol through the desire “To Reach Beyond Established Forms”, the very impulse which carries this energy of change. We might sense within this time a threshold beyond which is poised what the Sabians further describe as “the experience of a world of being so far unperceived by the everyday consciousness”.

Such novel inventiveness is both natural to life and an expression of Life’s non-linear capacities for creating uniqueness within ‘evolution’.

But, although otherwise unaspected, this new Moon enhances the dynamics of a planetary matrix that is already similarly poised; the celestial field is fomenting the desire for realisation of this creative release. It has its counterparts in the mundane world where, amidst dynamics that are reseting the power structures underpinning western (and ostensibly ‘global’) society, the recent series of political elections figure strongly – the upcoming UK parliamentary election on June 8th is itself an opportunity for the revolutionary potential of this moment to be given form. Voting UK nationals take note – if ever there was a time to vote and to maximise this potential, this is it!

All things being equal, the global (and ‘globalist’) political agendas that have brought us to this point are consistently being tested in our times, Brexit and the election of Donald Trump being arguably perfect examples, and, while a rear-guard resistance to such change is inevitable, the otherwise seemingly ‘immovable object’ of the ‘establishment’ is now seen to be losing credibility and integrity. While the voice of the ‘establishment’ might speak of being ‘strong and stable’ (which is the predictable mantra that the UK’s prime minister Theresa May has chosen to lead her Conservative party into battle with) this meme is very far from the emergent truth that is seeking expression and, ‘if truth be known’, as the Gemini Moon suggests the ‘irrestistable force’ that would bring the necessary change is gaining sway. The planets mirror this sentiment with unerring accuracy.

Uranus, Saturn and the Moon’s north node trine each other, uniting the fire signs, with Mars in Gemini in waxing opposition to Saturn, together forming a kite configuration at new Moon. This aspect becomes exact on May 28th when the Mars Saturn opposition becomes exact and the Moon in Cancer opposes Pluto, forming a T square with Venus in Aries.

Venus too is now moving forward carrying the dream of a new reality that she seeded during her recent retrograde – in pragmatic unison with Pluto’s complete restructuring of the ‘power base’ in Capricorn, their influence is infusing the new Moon’s global resonance for conscious action with a new focus. We’ll come back to Venus, but, there are other planetary factors which support this focus as the lunation unfolds.

Mercury in Taurus and Neptune in Pisces are forming a yod at new Moon with Jupiter at its action point in Libra. This is a catalystic aspect pattern that also becomes exact on the 28th of May, here pushing levels of awareness in collective consciousness to a new high; the recent publication of three books all sharing the meme of ‘Post-Truth’ in their titles resonates here and, true to our times, the Oxford dictionary chose ‘post-truth’ as its word of the year in October (1).

What we might have formerly held to be ‘true’ is undoubtedly now being called into question and its is our inner conscience, the voice of our own heart and spirit, which is now pushing for new values to be shared as a common basis in this time of ‘post-truth’. We need to listen to this inner voice of conscience as well as communicate the truths of its own values to each other to maximise this lunation’s potential.

Mars opposition with Saturn, still conjunct the Galactic Centre, highlights the need for collaboration between the energies our personal awareness with the reality of the bigger picture – this resonates with the Moon’s nodal axis as an elevating influence on how we perceive the future, and our personal role and place within it. Big themes yes, but, to make sure that Venus’ dream goes  ‘big time’ this is the celestial mandate for our focus.

This Venus retrograde, for all its visionary subtlety, registers in the heart, and as mediator between the ‘body-mind’ and ‘brain-mind’ the heart embodies the centre and balance point, the generative power house of creative energy that gives our physical vehicle life and, ultimately, those core values which are most truly meaningful to each of us.

Old value systems which are incapable of embodying these powers are on the wane, their redundancy becoming ever more obvious, a fact of life which the state of this post-truth world reflects back to us faithfully day by day.

Within the political establishment, its religious and economic foundations, an emergent reality is at work, but, far from rising from the old order, it is sourced in the individual, expressed to great effect collectively, and requires our personal involvement to realise its full potential. We saw the process at work in the US elections, but, who could have predicted its outcome – in truth this is an outcome that is still unfolding and each political juncture brings its potential further to the fore. The ‘war on our minds’ this is fueling is now very tangible.

For UK voters the moment is loaded with meaning, a truth now being fully felt through terrorist intervention, following the Manchester bombing event which is now pulling on our attention. Timing is crucial in understanding what is at stake here – in recent years ‘terrorist attacks’ have almost unfailingly coincided with political processes, interrupting elections, creating diversions and drawing focus, often enough away from other key political, military and financial developments – such is in the nature and design of so called ‘false flag’ events. But, the contentious nature of such events is itself perhaps not the only relevant factor to us now; we are fast becoming savvy to the patterns involved, are developing our ability to read beneath the surface of appearances and join the dots. While this is highlighting the tension between beliefs, appearances and inner truths, it is also calling us to the counter their underyling causes and this increasingly asks every individual to think more carefully about what we can do to affect change upon those causes themselves.

The post-truth quality of our times has politicised life to an unprecedented degree – in a sense we are re-inventing politics in our own image. This impulse too aligns with the energy of this lunation, but, it also expresses a natural function of the Pluto Uranus squares that began coming into orb a decade ago. If the turn of the millenia saw us shocked into questioning reality, post 9/11 we have begun to rebuild from within. The financial and environmental crashes we have witnessed since have forced us into realisation that our world is under assualt, and questioning these realities, are now coming to realise that it is not all ‘our’ fault’ or for that matter down to forces beyond our control, as the political memes otherwise might have us believe. An increasingly awake and questioning public is ensuring that the ‘politics of guilt’ is now being crucified on a cross of its own making.

The complicity of the ‘power-base’, of corporatocracy and a pernicious ‘agenda driven incentive to deceive’ are now become a daily part of a war on our minds, as much as on our liberty. Where we formerly rallied to the call to ‘wake up’, many now have and the level of cognitive dissonance encountered in the process is pushing the envelope on ‘truth’. The process is now become political at a personal level – we know that our liberty is not only at stake, but its re-establishment is commensurate with ensuring the health and future of the planet. The means to achieve this are themselves at stake, a pragmatic imprint of this lunation’s qualities.

The June 8th election in the UK will see the country’s national chart challenged by the intrinsic impulse of this lunation in particular and, as a case in hand, is worth mentioning here.

Transiting Pluto precisely opposes the UK’s natal 10th house Moon throughout this time and, on election day itself, the Sun opposes UK’s natal 3rd house Mercury which is at 18 Sagittarius. The voice of the people rests upon the power to bring the necessary percieved need for change into manifestation. There is a worldly quality to this voice that is carried by the younger generations of voters, those whose savvy in world affairs is perhaps more clearly expressive of the new reality that is seeking expression – on election day transiting Mercury, domicile at 3° Gemini, squares the UK’s natal 5th house Pluto and trines UK’s 12th house Uranus. This is a moment of high octane creative potential and an opportunity to truly break with the past. The creation of a new social mandate is required; whichever party most reflects this need will capture the imaginative vote.

The ruler of the UK’s Ascendant, Venus, is trined by the transiting Sun as the poles open, activating innovative social awareness with more worldly conscious energy. Venus occupies the 5th house in Aquarius in the UK chart and the Sun’s transit through the UK’s 9th house suggests that the values of the bigger picture will be highlighted in this political process, but, the key is in the Sun’s opposition to Mercury here.

The voice of the younger generations needs to be heard – can the establishment really be said to represent that voice……

 The Power Of Love

Venus retrograde saw her track back to 27 Pisces, the degree of her exaltation in the sign of her exaltation, a point which may have slipped under the radar of collective consciousness but which nevertheless reveals the core values she is now carrying forward. In many ways she has unconsciously touched and activated that inner voice of conscience we all have.

With the inner meaning of Venus retrograde now being carried forward, emphasis on our abilities to live out our heart’s desires and knowing is now brought into the broad light of day. It should be remembered that Venus conjoined with Chiron as she stationed in 27 Pisces and old wounds are now coming up for long awaited healing. In Neptunes realms the energies locked up within them carry a strong redemptive value. With a re-invigorated and resurgent spiritual quality, the energy we bring to this impulse is both creative and visionary – we should not hold back in applying it. It is with exquisite timing that the May-June lunation furthers this seed for the future and brings it into the conscious sphere.

There is also a core principle at work here which, in esoteric teachings, tells us that conscious focus maximises energetic manifestation. ‘Energy follows intent’ would be another way of expressing it, but, when the underlying seed of a ‘completely new’ reality is being activated an extra level of awareness, rooted at deeper more innate levels of consciousness is also necessarily at work – its manifestation also requires that we be fully awake to the emergence of its unknown and ‘so far unperceived‘ qualities, ready to respond to them and work with them co-creatively. This level of adepthood will find resonance in each of us according to the degree of self-awareness and heart centeredness we have achieved, being grounded in where we put our individual focus. Behind this another reality is also at work, that which lives in us as an accumulation of the past which is embodied within us in the present.

In previous posts we have seen how the celestial impulse emerging through recent lunations has drawn our attention to this truth, the need to own our personal power and to stand firm, deeply rooted in it. From this place of inner integrity and culminating presence the energy of this lunation draws its most potent power. To now give it voice and form is central to its celestial mandate.

Having taken time to look into the resonances unfolding throughout the Venus retrograde, it is now possible to identify some of the key areas in which this is embedding within the collective sphere. In the follow up post we will journey into the esoteric side of this process, but, for now, the lunation pulls us into a worldly sense of timing. Again, ‘timing is everything’ here and how we make this lunation count depends as much on this as on our individual potentials.

Venus emphasis on the truth of the heart pulls us into personal focus, grounds us in the present and can make short work of the cynicism which pervades the political terrain of our times. With this lunation, its point of focus is nowhere more strongly visible than within the rising generations that will inherit the political reality it is now instrumental in choosing. The power behind this focus, which can carry its intent forward most effectively is Venus own, the Power of Love. Reclaimed from its own seeding in the 60’s, the era of the Uranus Pluto conjunction which began their present cycle, the potential for this to be instrumental in activating its new tap root and deeply grounding its much needed power within the world is at hand.

If the harmonious implementation of the ‘so far unperceived’ planetary impulse behind this lunation is to find its true form in the world, this is the power it must now rest upon. For us all, but for the people of the UK in particular, the ‘next day’ will say it all – June 9th is the day of the full Moon in 19 Sagittarius, conjunct UK’s natal Mercury. The Sabian symbol for this degree has this keynote : “The need for people concerned with the future to discover a new way of living and more wholesome surroundings” – its keyword is “survival”…..

…..if ever it were in doubt, this alone should tell us that ‘now is the time to speak from the heart, with the power of love‘.

(1) Evan Davis’s ‘Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak Bullshit and What We Can Do About It’
James Ball’s ‘Post-Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World’
Matthew d’Ancona’s ‘Post Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back’

Aries Libra axis, astrology, Disclosure, eclipse, EMVs, lunations, planetary change, Planetary Mind, Politics, retrograde planets, Root Medicine of the Stars

Mysterious Travellers

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Just four months ago our outlook on the world appeared very different. Few could have foreseen the full consequences of the choices that were being made around that time or the speed with which the global change we are experiencing  would be catalysed to a new level of intensity – I am of course referring (at least in part) to the significant impact of the USA’s presidential election. But, the arena within which this change is now unfolding is more than simply ‘political’ – behind the regime change driven legislative and geopolitical restructuring that we are now seeing a planetary process has been unfolding that reflects  our terran experiences quite clearly.

Jupiter and Uranus are now fully within the mid-phase of their current synodic cycle and, if the ‘effects’ they reflect on the ground are undeniable, the transformation at work within them is equally startling. Here we will map out some of the ways in which these two transformative aspects of what is actually a singular process relate to and inform each other.

Enough time has now elapsed since entering the midpoint (November 2016 to November 2017) of the current Ju/Ur cycle for us to begin assessing how Uranus and Jupiter’s opposition is working out. In this article we will see how, in our immediate time, this ties into the current lunar cycle. In the process we’ll also unpack some of the key points of the midpoint period as a whole and look into correlations between this and the Moon’s phases.

Confused? Well, it is a revealing journey that we have embarked upon that will, hopefully, help us to make some sense of this chaotic time!

Back in October I published an article here that began exploring the current synodic cycle between Uranus and Jupiter and its significance for us now. It revealed some of the key signatures of this cycle, as seen through the lens of their initiatic conjunction (2010-11), particularly in relation to pivotal events carrying global implications around that time.

We found connections with events like the Deepwater oil rig disaster and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. One of the characteristics of these are events is their profound environmental impact, and we found further echoes in the historical record of oil spills that have brought much environmental damage to our oceans and land. We also found connections to the history of landmark nuclear events – all of the events highlighted were shown to have clear astrological signatures that tend to repeat themselves as these incidents arise.

Power generation and the widespread traumatic impact of the energy industries, especially when they fail is very much at the heart of these events, as might befit the combined signatures of Jupiter and Uranus. The nuclear story is equally impactful in its ‘military’ applications, as well as its ‘domestic’.  Both radically change our outlook on the world.

Both mythologically and integral to our experience of the world, Jupiter and Uranus together have the ability to wield power that transforms us intrinsically, but, as we reach the height of their cycle the opposition between them is turning the dissemination of this power more fully inwards. At their first opposition both planets were direct, but Jupiter is now retrograde as we approach their second opposition, and at their final opposition it is Uranus that will be in-volving, in retrograde.

We have entered a period of augmented ‘inner adjustment‘. Whether we engage with the process or not depends on our outlook and personal capacity to see the bigger picture – however, and this is a big ‘how-ever’, the more we do engage with this process the easier excercising this capacity will become.

At an individual level the moral of this part of the story is to trust in our selves and our inner guidance in dealing with the world – augmenting and facilitating this, this is a time to take up the inward momentum to observe our personal bias and use this process to shed our personal blinkers.

Within this, over the coming year we will also see another aspect of the Jupiter Uranus dynamic begin to accelerate and expand, in ways that will radically alter how the world looks – the impact of revealed truths, and their ability to both generate reaction and disclose deception, both of which are intimately related to each other, will begin to transmute our ‘reality’.

To begin now, lets pull focus and come more fully into the present.

On February 6th (2017) Jupiter stationed at 24° Libra beginning a four month period of retrograde motion that will change to direct when it slows down in the skies again to station at 14° Libra on June 10th. There is a connection here between these degrees and the lunar phases. Taking a look at 24° Libra through the eyes of the Sabians and their symbology gives us some insight.

The Sabians tell us that 24° Libra is associated with “the ability to develop, for inner strengthening, new modes of response to basic life situations….” and what makes this particularly interesting is that Jupiter entered 24°s of Libra precisely at new Moon on January 28th, the beginning of the current lunation. There is a cross fertilisation suggested here that the Sabians further elucidate :

“A special development of an aspect of the spiritual life is shown…..some power has been added to the normal spiritual life of the individual person (within) the instinctual field of the consciousness….A new strength is shown, perhaps as yet unrealized.”

What we will see beyond this initial seeding is the “unrealised” gathering energy – we will feel this as a latent ‘knowing’, an increasing feeling that we need to be paying real attention to our instincts and intuition. The Sabians go on to say  :

“A fourth stage symbol usually refers to some kind of technique or technical achievement. What is implied here is that the contact with the revivifying Life-force can result in the appearance of a new faculty, the use of which may not as yet be consciously evaluated. Indeed it is the establishment of such a contact which constitutes a technique for ORIGINAL MUTATION.”

“A BUTTERFLY WITH A THIRD WING ON ITS LEFT SIDE“ is the Sabian symbol for this degree.

‘Original mutation’ is an interesting term…..the reality of this symbol is being seen here as a non-physical change of state, but, the image itself reminds us of the mutations caused by radioactive isotopes. There is an intimation of genetic engineering about it as well.

For us, the fall-out of this process of incursive energetic insemination, of the primary mental realms in particular, is initiating an inward expansion of connective awareness and energising consciousness. Imagine the primary impulse that causes the single cell to divide and multiply within itself at work. Go a step further and we are in the realms of ‘Life making’.

With the Sabians, who gave symbolic form to each of the 360 degrees, this is translated in our time into an anomalous ‘third thing’, the wing being symbolic of flight (higher dimensions/spheres of consciousness) and the butterfly being symbolic of both transformation and the intrinsic nature of the imaginal.

There is a deeper and more hidden layer to this as well that is worth noting here : the meaning of each degree, which the Sabians codified, has ancient roots in the 360 senses which describe the original  range of human senses, each referring to its own divine origin. Referred to in ancient Egypt as the Neters, the divinities involved are spiritual entities that reside, within the Earth sphere, within nature, ours as well as the planet’s. Are we being opened up to this fuller range of senses…..if so, the breakdown of the ‘status quo’ and the ‘establishment’ is deeply entangled within this process.

If we return to the bigger picture of the present Jupiter Uranus cycle and look back to the end of its first quarter we will find some clues as to where within this cycle the breakdown first began to show.

The first square became directly active between June 2013 and May 2014 and the following are some of the key events that occured through that period.

Edward Snowden exposed the covert mass surveillance programme being run by the NSA and other intel agencies.
Egypt saw a military coup which removed its president.
India launched a rocket carrying its Mars orbital observer.
The Ukraine regime change was instigated.
Iran agreed to limit its nuclear development programme.
China soft-landed its Yutu rover on the Moon.
Flight 370 disappeared.
Russia was suspended from the G8.
The UN and Russia came into dispute over Crimea.
The USA enforced sanctions on Russia.
The militant organisation known (amongst other things) as ISIS emerged in Syria.
Flight 17 crashed in the Ukraine, under accusations of it having been shot down by a ‘Russian’ missile.

Disclosure and changes in perception, as well as regimes and boundaries, are intrinsic to these events. If there are trends visible here they continue to play out. Within the geopolitical arena in particular, they became exacerbated as the US elections and the current Ju/Ur opposition were simultaneously coming into effect.

The environmental arena has also become intensified. This period also saw the rise of mass marine die-offs within the Pacific, especially on the eastern seaboard. The isotopes that are Fukushima’s fingerprint are now being acknowledged to be present in the marine life found there. The truth about Fukushima is presently becoming harder and harder to deny, six years after the event.

Hurricanes and Typhoons also ravaged the eastern Pacific and eastern Atlantic. Globally, the occurance of ‘extreme weather’ has increased. While sunspot activity is now at a minimum it has been shown very convincingly that such solar minimums accompany lowering temperature on Earth and, if the climate change meme of human driven causes insists upon the opposite, it has also been shown that global distribution of temperature increases is matched by redistribution of seasonal cold. Selective data use to push official agendas not withstanding, it is rarely mentioned that in some parts of the globe the glaciers are growing and new ones being formed.

Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are more related to coronal holes than sunspots, and quakes above 7.0 during this period were observed to be above the long term average, the largest occuring in Russia and Chile, many of 5.0 and more focused around the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’. The atmospheric influence of vulcanism is a more powerful driver than any effects of CO², in fact it is now acknowledged that CO² follows temperature rises and currently remains far below high levels know prior to the industrial revolution. Geo-engineered weather manipulation, however, is deeply instrumental in climate change.

Our thirst for material comfort is no less impactful of our environment and little needs to be said further on this – it is self evident. But, the oil industry is the source of widespread pollution in many ways, oil derivatives such as plastics chief amongst them. Oil spills from pipelines are a hot topic now and are increasingly being reported (although you’ll often have to look beyond the MSM to find reliable coverage).

Notable for its visibility in this respect, the stand-off between indigenous/environmental ‘protectors’ and federal agency backed oil ‘enforcers’ at Standing Rock has intensified alongside the current Ju/Ur opposition. Standing Rock has now entered a critical stage as a direct result of the US election and its symbolic significance has amplified as the situation on the ground has escalated in intensity. We can expect the ennvironmental, political and sovereignty issues involved here to become more intensified, but on a wider scale. They will continue to do so as the fossil fuel industry fights to maintain its centralised role in power generation…..the technology that makes this role redundant is ‘bringing the edges to the centre’.

Coping with this prolonged intensity will take its toll and it is here that the Sabian’s mention of “inner strengthening“ finds its purpose. We cannot know what will transpire over the next four months, but, we know that we will need our strength. A brief look at Jupiter’s station degree in June helps clarify the likely effects and our best strategy for dealing with them.

 

14° Libra carries this Sabian symbol :
“IN THE HEAT OF THE NOON HOUR A (HU)MAN TAKES A SIESTA.

KEYNOTE: The need for recuperation within the social pattern of everyday activity.”

The emphasis here is on the emotional/cultural level and the fact that we cannot maintain the same level of activity indefinitely. As the Sabians go on to say, “….this fourth stage symbol can be seen as emphasizing the need for techniques of RELAXATION, and the need to allow the functions of body and psyche to “digest,” free from external pressures, the complex experiences of social living and particularly of business.”

Jupiters stationing direct occurs simultaneously with the June full Moon, shortly before solstice. Culmination and balance is emphasised. We should anticipate the risks and make efforts to avoid ‘burn out’. Intense processes in the mental realms can have a deep impact upon our feelings and emotional body and impact directly our ability to continue functioning as we have been. We need to release our own inner tension, the better to be able to think ahead.

In the face of outward shocks to the system the key here is to remember that an internal process is at work, one that is aiding us in developing our ‘seeing’ capacity and, through this, understanding more clearly what is happening around us. The millenia of ‘control’ are now culminating. The blinkers are falling away. But, that is not all that is falling away…..the millenia of censorship of our innate senses, our complete natural range of intra-action within the world, is also coming to and end. Here is our unified process.

The next direct opposition we will see between Uranus and Jupiter is exact on March 2nd, just four days after the February new Moon (Feb 26th) in Pisces. This will be a time to be especially vigilant of our thoughts and impulses, the more so as Mars is moving through conjunction with Uranus during the week before and after new Moon. To add spice to the recipe, this will also be a strong solar eclipse, a real turning point and reset.

With such heat applying to the new lunation the confrontational aspect of the Ju/Ur opposition could be what creates the turning point. With Uranus involved and Mars powering up the unexpected, it is fairly safe to say that some form of disclosure or acts that will ‘blow the lid’ will be ‘in the air’. Make sure your mind is not blown into a state of cognitive dissonance along with them!

Whatever happens, Uranus and Mars direct intervention will push the boundaries within the mundane world and force the issue….we should use our increasing accuity to maintain inner balance during this time. Hightened discernment will be ‘de riguer’. But, that is precisely where our inner process can be most pragmatically put to use, in developing an inner strength of ‘knowing’.

With the February new Moon close on both the Moon’s south node and Neptune in Pisces the spiritual aspect of this lunation is also emphasised. A great need for compassion, especially self compassion alongside compassion in action, is likely to be matched by challenging events, so inner strength rests upon our inner balance. We can each use our most favoured methods for maintaining inner health to foster this, as a way of grounding.

Mars will also figure in the third opposition between Jupiter and Uranus in the latter half of September and Venus is also in Aries tracking Mars at the February new Moon. While Mars is domicile and excercising great power, Venus is in detriment in Aries. Here it is the fragility of isolated values that are emphasised….we each need to ask an important question now – ‘what do I value and love most in life’? However, their unity finds its mark more fully in September and the answer to this question may also become more pragmatic as a result.

Uranus and Jupiter’s third opposition is in the late degrees of Aries and Libra respectively. An accompanying opposition at that time is between Mars+Venus in Virgo and Neptune in Pisces. Venus is in fall in Virgo. I am seeing financial dissolution in this, perhaps appearing to be driven by hyper-inflation, the seeds of which may well be sown around the February new Moon. We could see a hidden agenda behind this, as well as an underlying necessity – looking beneath the surface will provide the answers.

The third Ju/Ur opposition is also exact at first quarter Moon after the equinox and will see all the outer planets beyond Saturn retrograde at that time. The ‘powers that be’ may well be in retreat, but, the impulse to shape our future will be firmly in our own hands with Saturn Uranus and the north node trining each other in the fire signs. We will need to ask then, as now, a second important question – ‘what are my responsibilities‘?

Venus and Mars in Virgo at that time will pull us down to earth and both astrological impulses and world events will help us answer these questions. But, there is an equally important third question that we must ask of ourselves at this current ‘entry point’ in time. ‘What are my Gifts’?

We can sum up here by focusing on this question as it is now presenting itself.

The full Moon that is coming into phase as I write is a also penumbral eclipse. This dimming of the lunar disc is at the edge of the Earth’s shadow, but, the full Moon is accompanied by a green comet in a fly by 7.5 million miles from Earth. Comets are the ‘mysterious travellers’ of our solar system, augeries of the unknown.

We are seeing disclosure all around us and what has been marginalised and hidden is coming into full view. We have arrived at the boundaries that demark the balance between illusion and truth. As we cross this threshold the weirdness of it all is ramping up; who would deny it. Expect more over the coming year and beyond.

The unknown faculties of perception and thinking that are being activated are in fact innate within us, even if we are relatively unconscious of them. This is their novelty, the Uranian gift, which Jupiter is helping spread. Beyond what we already know of ourselves lies much more, amongst which are gifts that have long been deliberately overshadowed and suppressed. But, the agencies of that suppression are collapsing under the same impulse now. We are witnessing the impact of truth upon the delusion that they have created, and that delusion is dispelling.

The long spiritual and mental war that has been waged upon us as natural beings is coming to an end and the physical wars will be unsustainable if we embrace this process fully. As Jupiter and Uranus might be urging us to realise, the more who do so, the stronger will be the transformation. Jupiter’s energy spreads from a centre, an effect that is now potentiating our awareness while spreading consciousness. Uranus breaks through the boundaries within our selves.

The three important questions above help us to redefine ourselves, in the context of our own lives – it will help us now if we consider that the anomalous ‘third’ thing symbolised here suggests a redefinition of our selves. The process we are in, for all the mundane turmoil that attends it, aids and abets this redefinition, but, it is taking us on a journey into long forgotten terrain in which our answers will also change, based upon different values and perceptions to the ones we have become ‘accustomed to’. 

The reality of this planet is not as we have been told. But, it is being revealed. The planets and the living energetic matrix they and we inhabit are wise in this. Uranus itself holds many clues, being anomalous amongst the ‘known’ planets, its axis of rotation perpendicular to those of the other planets. Why this is so, and why the planets are in their current orbital positions will become more widely known to us, founded in disclosed reality, beyond the redundant musings of the orthodox scientific priesthood.

When Voyager II left the heliosphere and our solar system, its internal language was altered, 0 flipped to 1 in its communication systems. According to the scientists working with the probe, this could not have happened by itself. If it was hacked, it was not by any terran source, they say. While such revelations are often cloaked in untruths and can lead us astray, it is the eyes of experience that will rule here. The Indian Mars orbiter and the Chinese lunar rover are not alone exploring our solar system. Whether they are instrumental in accelerating ‘disclosure’ remains to be seen, but, this too is a pathway of  discovery that could, amongst other things, reveal the truth behind ‘Apollo’. It is my understanding that the Moon is no stranger to the human footprint, but, it was not the technology we have been shown that took us there.

As many medicine people and carriers of indigenous traditions tell us, we have our origins beyond this Earth, and we always have belonged to a wider community both seen and unseen. Many eyes are upon us, beyond our known mundane world, watching our progress; we are being gifted with a chance to return to our senses and become mysterious travellers in our own right. Think of it as initiation that opens this wider community to us, while revealing our true identity. 

Footnote

This article and ‘Jupiter & Uranus – In Deep Waters’ are part of a continuing series that will be exploring the midpoint of the current synodic cycle between these two planets. The next article will be published around the second week of March, shortly after the second exact opposition between Jupiter and Uranus. At that time we will be collating some of the evidence that has been found so far in the midpoint period alongside that for the key points of the waxing half of their cycle. A deeper analysis will begin to emerge then so that, by the time of their third and final opposition, we will be able to anticipate the denoument of this part of Jupiter and Uranus cycle and look forward with a clearer understanding of their synodic cycle and its significance as a way shower in our times. Thanks for tuning in….!

astrology, culture, Earth healing, human rights, lunations, planetary aspects, Root Medicine of the Stars

Failing Magnificently

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nine samuri

“The creative adult is the child who has survived”
Ursula Le Guin

Growing Pains

The August lunation opens with the new Moon at 10°58′ of Leo in the tropical zodiac. The Sabians tell us that this degree augers “spontaneous activity of the innocent mind”, a creative energy that loves to explore the possibilities of life, is open to the future, but whose outlook is still ‘green around the ears’ and easily swung by emotional energy. This childlike energy belongs amongst the people as awareness of something of great significance emerging into our world; but we do not know at this point what it is, the shape it will take, more that it is immanent and happening, an upsurge of ‘spirit’. It is a playfull energy that can inspire, wants to run free and yet, at this stage, is also vulnerable, needs to be ‘protected’, and the aspects to this new Moon bring out the tension generated between these qualities.

In traditional ways the elders, in their wisdom, will let the children play freely, but, will always keep an eye out for them and be there when reassurance, compassion and the wisdom of experience is needed. Its a community approach that values uniqueness, young and old alike. The Sabians clarify this, telling us that the role of tradition and grounded knowledge which the elders signify offers valuable protective space for the as yet ‘young’ to flower in. But at new Moon the Sun and Moon are in aspect to Neptune and Saturn whose own antagonistic square is actively breaking down the old to make way for the new. ‘Tradition’ and ‘the orthodoxy’ too is being tested out in the world, the tried and tested is giving way to the ‘unknown third thing’.

We are looking at a handover of power, from the old to the new, from the established formalised ways of the older generations to the innovative ways of another, younger age group under the stars. Walt Whitman captured something of the underlying sentiment at work here when he said,

“When I heard the learn’d astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in
columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams,
to add, divide, and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomerwhere he lectured
with much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till rising and gliding out I wandered off by myself,
In the mystical moist night air,
and from time to time,
Looked up in perfect silence at the stars.”

The mutable square between retrograde Neptune and Saturn carries this flavour at its most philosophical level and this square has been at work since late 2015. It will continue through this year to revision our knowing and understanding, to challenge our beliefs as well as our capacity to mature, to step into the “mystical moist night air”. Neptune’s pervasive creative resource can be very otherworldly and Saturn’s knowing conservatism very down to earth ~ they are not in easy relationship. Goethe also captured something of the dynamic in their ambivalent relationship when he said “talent develops in tranquility, character in the full current of life”. For our dreams to grow beyond the known we must be prepared to take risks and accept the ‘breakdown’ as a part of the ‘breakthrough’, before we can build new edifices for our mores and ethics, our invention and learning. And, as Sarah Ban Breathnach tells us, “playing it safe is the riskiest choice we ever make”.

Walt’s tiredness with the old mechanical view of things was enough to inspire him to follow the call to a far less jaded and self-congratulatory place and commune in more innocent rapture with life. There is a deceptively naive beauty present at this Moon, both raw, knowing by instinct, and clarified in its knowing, the more clearly to see and experience Life. It is the soul nourishing innocence of one who has survived and taken their inner child with them for the journey. We too must trust that knowing and enjoy its mature transparency.

But, as Mark Twain said, “loyalty to a petrified opinion never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul”, and while the energy of the lunation may have a fresh and forward looking quality to it, the emergent awareness is also telling us that we are no longer able to rest in innocence and are waking up to those aspects of living in which we must find a new freedom, one that feeds rather than defines or delimits the creative expression of our souls.

In trining the new Moon retrograde Saturn also gives us the benefit of a more positive protective quality. There is a co-creative element at work here too, in that the creative energy is crucial and must be allowed to develop through its own experience and wisdom, given the space within which it can feel safe enough to take risks. Here Saturn’s more maternal archetypal qualities are revealed, those belonging to the all embracing mother goddess as Crone, ‘She who knows’ and within whose compass all arises and resides.

The Moon and Sun quincunx both retrograde Neptune and the Moon’s south node, and here culture and tradition is being pushed to re-envision itself from within. Antoinne de Saint-Exupéry captured the essense of this aspect well when he said, “if you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people together to collect wood and don’t asign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea”. If the ocean of imaginal creativity is to be explored we must have more than simply the means to do it; we need the passion, a sense of calling, and the willingness to set sail from the safe harbour of the known, the Moon’s south node. This node can provide us with vitals, essential supplies, talents for finding our way by skillful means and charting new territory, but, they do not represent the end in themselves – to some large extent that ‘end’ belongs in the ‘lap of the gods’ and the fair winds they may or not assist us with!

Pattern Recognition

In astrology this threefold aspect complex is called a ‘pythagorean triangle’, and this one (involving planets; the Moon has been triggering this aspect many times through this period) is the last of nine that have been peppering the planetary matrix over the last three months. The ‘uncertainty’ it embodies comes from the quincunx, an aspect in which an incongruity arises, a lack of relationship that calls for a new level or quality of consciousness to prevail; the ‘necessity’ is expressed in the square, where dynamic interaction between two different but clearly defined ways of approaching a problem is at its most difficult, in which the process itself needs to be raised to a higher level, regardless the outcome; the willingness to go forward together is expressed in the trine, where a continuous interchange of energy underpins the process and lends its qualities to the outcome.

Together this configuration of aspects brings a sense of uncertainty, necessity and willingness to ‘taking the leap’ together and the lunation will carry this forward in a positive way, if we give expression to its creative energy, allow its process to unfold while holding the tension embedded within its dynamic. In the words of Rabindranath Tagore, “when the string of the violin was being tuned it felt the pain of being stretched, but once it was tuned then it knew why it was being stretched”.

At a time when the entire gamut of worldly life is feeling the tension of this unavoidable process at work this lunation can be seen as a potential watershed, a place beyond which, if its positive side is nurtured, the emergent ‘new thing’ will begin to come more fully into view. To do so we will need to keep our eyes on the trends and currents that are emergent, to look for the patterns they are expressing, and build this ‘pattern recognition’ into our knowledge base, the better to navigate and work our passage. We will not see the pythagorian triangle again for a few months so the field is changing now and both ‘the inspired’ and ‘the experienced’ must work together, to keep an eye on the ‘weather’, and how it is changing. And that includes the emotional energies we are experiencing, together and in our own lives. We must not allow ourselves to fear, either failure or its consequences, but, the creative persistance that will prevail if we trust ourselves enough to make the leap, is the best quality we can bring to working through this time with the energies of this lunation.

Ice Cave Aurora

Falling Awake

As I write this the Moon is forming a pythagorean triangle with Neptune and Saturn from tropical Cancer, close to the degree of the last new Moon, and the sense of culmination is growing. It is a sense being enhanced through its quintile with Jupiter, 72° away in Virgo.

Jupiter is now opposing Chiron in Pisces and quincunxing Uranus in Aries. This is an aspect pattern that pulls us into a healing space that needs us to center ourselves in the unencumbered present, the kairotic moment represented by Uranus, for its fruits to be delivered. To do so these aspects too calls us to bring a new level of consciousness to bear, to pay attention to our wounded nature, to mature beyond the past and its grave errors and allow the moment to reveal the inner meaning of our history. Much of this revelation centers on invoking the creative energy of the lunation through practical means, and, Venus in late Leo at new Moon aids this release very creatively through trining Uranus and quincunxing Chiron.

This is about letting go of past hurts, while being able to accept our wounds, errors and limitations, so that we can not only mature as people but enjoy the collective freedom our hearts know we desire by embodying it creatively. It is a complex of aspects that supports the lunation’s matrix for growth, while bringing it into a more personal space. Go with your hearts desire but, as the Chinese proverb has it,  ‘be aware of your mistakes in the beginning!’

Buckminster Fuller once said, “Nature is trying hard to make us succeed, but, Nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment”, and with Pluto trining the Moon’s north node at new Moon the reality of Bucky’s statement is very much present with us as we navigate the transformational qualities of the times. Pluto is in a waxing quincunx with the new Moon and Sun but is otherwise unaspected as the lunation begins, and this pervasive sense of scale within the bigger picture, while it is a part of our growing process as a species, is not only hard to accept, but is humbling once it has been.

This lunation will close with a trine, from the north node, Sun and Moon to Pluto and pressure to take this perspective in will increase as we approach that time. In fact, the solar eclipse we will see as the September lunation opens will bring the sense of culmination to a head.

If we are to work with the larger perspective that the times require of us, and bring this lunation alive within our lives, allow its creative energy expression, the luminosity we each carry within will be our most valuable asset. As Elizabeth Kübler-Ross said, “People are like stained glass windows; They sparkle and shine when the Sun is out, but, when darkness sets in their beauty is revealed only if there is a light within”.

Failing Magnificently

The final piece of this puzzling time is provided by Mars who enters Sagittarius once more just as the Moon is renewing its cycle. Falling out of aspect with the other planets as the lunation opens, Mars is bringing a strong sense of purpose to the entire matrix, a sense that this is the time and the time is now! His journey through Sagittarius will see him meet with Saturn and re-ignite the burning issue of how we use our power to create the reality we are now experiencing in the world. War will be top of the agenda for scrutiny, not least of all as they re-unite on the fixed star Antares. As Thomas Jefferson observed, “War is an instrument entirely inefficient toward redressing wrongs; and multiplies instead of indemnifying losses”. As the pressure for confrontation is tangibly increasing so is the anti-war voice at large in the world.

We can transform the world, we know, simply by choosing more peaceful means for expressing this energy, but our journey will be all the more magnificent if we can do so by transforming our wounds, and the understanding we have of ourselves and the world in the process. In fact, the one rests upon the other. Mars will accelerate through Sagittarius and spend a mere six weeks in Capricorn, where a conjunction with Pluto looks like a catalyst for significant upheaval. This might give us cause for real concern, but, as Hellen Keller advised, “we could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world.” 

It is hard for us to continue to witness the pain and suffering being brought upon us by so much blatant misuse of power, and this is a time for mobilising the creative energy in the face of the destructive. It is a time when we might feel anxious, wrought by fears and doubts as much as by horror and a feeling of deep uncertainty about our future, but, there is some wisdom to be had even as we do so; as the Chinese alchemist Wei Boyang said two thousand years ago, “worrying is preposterous; we don’t know enough to worry”.

As the August lunation opens Venus is pulling out of a square with Mars and will be working her way through the Virgoan fields of healing and nurturing as the lunation progresses – she brings the dedication necessary for our time and our acts within it to really count. It is a concept that is at the heart of the most traditional of healing ways, that the world is in constant need of repair and maintenance; this is the basis upon which our healing must take place. When we understand that our true power lies in being magnificent in the face of this unremitting demand for care and creative giving, the world becomes transformed, a constant source of inventiveness and response-ability, a place in which love is the means and the end in itself. In that place we have the power to fail, regardless, and to do so magnificently.

As Venus approaches Virgo and activates the feminine wisdom of healing and nurturing through this lunation, and as Mercury very much at home in Virgo crosses the Moon’s north node and comes to meet with Jupiter opposing Chiron at full Moon, it seems fitting to close as we opened with the strong and down to earth voice of feminine wisdom that can help us traverse these difficult times while capturing something of the essense of the moment :

“Life is glorious, but life is also wretched. It is both. Appreciating the gloriousness inspires us, encourages us, cheers us up, gives us a bigger perspective, energizes us. We feel connected. But if that’s all that’s happening, we get arrogant and start to look down on others, and there is a sense of making ourselves a big deal and being really serious about it, wanting it to be like that forever. The gloriousness becomes tinged by craving and addiction. On the other hand, wretchedness–life’s painful aspect–softens us up considerably. Knowing pain is a very important ingredient of being there for another person. When you are feeling a lot of grief, you can look right into somebody’s eyes because you feel you haven’t got anything to lose–you’re just there. The wretchedness humbles us and softens us, but if we were only wretched, we would all just go down the tubes. We’d be so depressed, discouraged, and hopeless that we wouldn’t have enough energy to eat an apple. Gloriousness and wretchedness need each other. One inspires us, the other softens us. They go together.”
Pema Chödrön

Images :

Still from the film ‘The Nine Samurai’

Nest sculpture ~ Nils Udo

Cave Aurora ~ Sebastian Saarloos

Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

astrology, divination, Earth healing, I Ching, lunations, planetary aspects, retrograde planets, Root Medicine of the Stars, Sagittarius Gemini axis

Conflict Resolution

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The May full Moon is conjunct Mars, retrograde in Sagittarius. This is a Moon that draws attention to qualities of mind, their power in shaping reality and the conditioning influences they bring to life. The will is turned inward, the search for meaning is amplified, the need to get under the skin of our most burning issues is emphasised. This can stir up emotional stress and requires a presence of mind that is able to penetrate beyond appearances without losing its lucidity.

The nature of conflict, its inner purpose and causes, is under the spotlight of the Gemini Sun as the May lunation reaches its height.  How we claim a positive application of the inflamed Moon’s energies is an open question and rests upon our own inner state of lucidity. The lunar impulse will give way to a more positive dynamic if, in its midst, mindful equilibrium is sought and its energy focused in diligent awareness. Its usefulness can overcome its potential volatility.

Knowledge is the ‘weapon of choice’ here but the aim is to use it to a higher purpose, one that avoids misuse of its power, that rests upon a respectful understanding of its purpose.

Interpretations of that purpose can be as individual as the person making them, and it is advisable to reflect upon your own use of the power available to you, as well as the areas of conflict it highlights in your own life. But, collectively there is something to be gained from looking into the nature of Mars own journey at this time.

Mars journey through the Sagittarian fields took a turn on April 17th when he reached the star Antares in the heart of the Scorpion’s constellation and stationed retrograde. At that time Mercury in Taurus was in exact trine with Pluto in Capricorn and the waxing Moon was passing through mid Virgo, joining with Jupiter and the north node. The grand earth trine they formed has contributed a sense of immanence and build up, a pulsing of the earth field that deepens the sense of expectancy. Its image is of thunder within the earth. In the full Moon we see this image developed, activating its potential energy within and releasing it amongst the people.

The qualities of the star Antares, whose name can be read as ‘against Aries’, have a distinctly martial nature, bring a deeper meaning to Mars station – a will to pull back from the brink of war, is an obvious interpretation. But, this star is also one of the four guardians of the heavens, associated with the ‘Watcher of the West’, an epithet suggesting the need to be vigilant of the path the ‘red road’ is leading us on, towards the ancestral realms, beyond the borders of life.

Amphitrite

At full Moon on the 21st of May Mars meets with the Moon in the second degree of tropical Sagittarius. They appear in the skies as two bright travellers passing through the great library of Nature amongst the stars. They will reflect the solar life force at work in nature through the intelligence and awareness of the Geminian field as the Sun opposes them across the zodiac. The energy of the intelligent design at work in nature, reflected in the purposefulness and psychosomatic unity they signify, lends to Mars meeting with the Moon a deepening desire to recalibrate our personal power in line with our soul. The need to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and why we have come here.

In a sense, in retracing his steps Mars shows a willingness to dig deeper into the substrates of accumulated knowledge held within the Sagittarian bedrock of its first degrees. The pathway he is following leads to the underworld and, beyond the Scorpio cusp, breaks through to the subterranean ocean that lies beneath. Pluto and Mars combine their powers in this realm.

This a place of primaeval intensity, its instinctive drives an expression of an archetypal desire for life that underpins the incarnate world. The life forms that inhabit the oceanic underworld of Scorpio correspond to essential manifestations of the life force, to the fundamental dynamics and beings of the unconscious – the codes of natural law are given shape here and their primal coding of the intelligent design within nature reveal its raw building blocks; Scorpio is also associated with DNA.

The journey Mars has undertaken and his lunar rendevous suggests their meeting across from the Sun is intended to draw attention to where our own journey is taking us in relation to those codes of Life. Their highest expression is present ‘in potentia’, an unimaginally vast store-house of ancestral knowledge lies behind its patterning, but, science has failed to understand that the message is not in the code itself; decoding its pattern does not give us access to its highest purpose. It requires the quality of virtue to access its meaning.

The I Ching says ‘virtue is what is commanded by the divine, and is the root of human life‘ ~ natural law and intelligent design, if respected and honoured, bring our actions into a harmonious relationship with the divine. When the honouring is lacking and the virtue missing, it is like making empty prayers and false offerings, seeking to aquire without giving.

When science plays god we can see this dynamic at work; knowledge is aquired without giving respect to and honouring the root of life. Genetic modification is the obvious mirror of this. Our attention is drawn to the dangerous naivety of such inherent ignorance, its aggressive nature exposed while the ancestral codes for living are subverted; warring against and competing with nature manifests Mars negative impulse, reflecting the more pernicious devolutionary characteristics our times. We are fighting for our survival as a result.

Turning back from such foolishness is the option Mars will deliver at full Moon, lending energy and purpose to the search for deeper meaning as a path of resolution; it is of necessity the only viable option, but, the Sun illuminates our minds with spiritual awareness, sublimating the aggressive ‘competition’ traditionally associated with the evolutionary struggle for survival to a higher order of awareness and understanding.

The Moon in Sagittarius sees the people actively embodying culture and Mars represents the energy of competition in its most aggressive form within the dominant culture of our times, but, in its original form com-petition meant co-petitioning, and was enshrined in the act of petitioning ‘the gods’ together. This was the prayer offered by the warrior asking for their martial skills to be infused with the divine blessing, made sacred. The sacred warrior commited themselves to Life by offering their own in service to the divine and the community. It is their ‘purpose’ that is offered, for the welbeing and preservation of life. This makes a virtue of action that honours the roots of life.

There is a feeling of release associated with this image, of personal mastery becoming the instrument of a higher purpose – it expresses the surrender of will to the partnership between this life and the worlds beyond. It also expresses an artistry, a creative edge and dynamic that the warrior has attained in their own life; the warrior, as has been said, must first learn to dance before they wield the sword….the sacred dance of life and the aquisition of virtue are intimately bound to each other.

These reflections on the full Moon give us a feeling for its sacred dimensions. They remind us of the qualities of soul intrinsic to the path we are on, of following the impulse seeded through the Spring eclipses, and the degree of commitment necessary to seeing it through. Inner work, like our work in the world, needs to be done for the long haul, sustained. The energetic recalibration we are put in mind of at this full Moon needs us to bring out the usefulness of anger…..to learn how to transform it, become fluent in its language, enough to use it as a high octane catalyst for positive change and to develop our artfulness in using it; as revolutions build it is as conspicuous in its expression as it is in its absence.

The partner in competition has been made our own shadow, an adversary in this journey that has been externalised for too long, the blessings of the challenge forgotten, desacralised and making of life a journey in adversity. The secular use of power is exposed here, its faults themselves becoming our adversary, as much within as without. The mandate is clear, we must first make peace with ourselves and life and apply the lessons and understanding we receive in the process to the world around us. There are ways and means available to us……to find them we must first dedicate ourselves to conflict resolution.

We will almost certainly find ourselves working hard to contain the energies of this full Moon. If you feel your buttons being pushed don’t let your anger get the better of you and don’t dwell on it. Mars igniting the lunar passions indicates a need to regulate the inner fires, whatever the outer events that accompany its heat. Our thoughts affect our emotions and visa versa – let them pass. Better, bring a mindful quality to applying this powerful creative energy to more evolved purposes.

In closing there is an opportunity here for bringing out the joyful side of this full Moon.

the horse panel at Chauvet copy

The inner meaning of this full Moon is the expression of Joy. In sublimating its energies joy becomes its natural expression. Being fired up with joy is its emotional expression, but, the presence and celebration of virtue are necessary for this to be realised. In the words of the I Ching, if practiced  and honoured ‘such virtue is a joy to cultivate’. The potential for such cultivation is inherent within the ancestral codes of life, but, it requires an honouring of Life and an appreciation of its deeper meaning to be realised. The long journey our species has undertaken carries this potential at every step of the way, even in the midst of adversity.

In following this evolutionary impulse our forebears went through extraordinary pains to bring the fires of their own inner light into manifestation. Survival in times and amongst events that were also harrowingly difficult did not prevent them from developing technologies that embodied its potential. The orthodox histories exclude this fact. Traces of the level of technology they reached are difficult for us to find, not least of all because it was at heart a spiritual technology. Their understanding of the non-physical is perhaps the least understood of human gifts that are available to us when we subscribe to the orthodox view, not least of all as the dominant use of science has gravitated so heavily around its fixation on the physical in our times.

As Tesla is attributed with saying, “The day science begins to study non-physical phenomena, it will make more progress in one decade than in all the previous centuries of its existence.” We can develop a spiritual technology here with the aid of the unseen. While many are already engaged in this work, the momentum building now and the network growing, this full Moon can bring meaningful power to all inner workings and help us in celebrating its insights. If you run a circle or have a community that works within the architecture of spiritual energy consider coming together to celebrate the circle itself. Make of this Moon’s energies a joyful offering.

This is the penultimate full Moon before solstice, which also falls on a full Moon, and solar energies are vitalising the Earth to receive gifts of spiritual power into the deep earth realms.

The Sabian symbol for the Moon’s degree on 21st May confirms this – “the mobilization of unconscious energies under the pressure of super-personal motives.” There is an echo here of Mercury’s solar transit and the Sabian symbols that have been activated recently ~ above and below, the inner and outer worlds, are working in unison, and we are their bridge.

The symbol speaks of ‘the wind rushing over the ocean stirring the waters into white capped waves’ – it advises ‘stabilisation through rhythmic intensity’ as its most creative expression. Another Tesla quote comes to mind, “If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”

If you only get to drum with one full Moon this year, make it this one!

But, be mindful of the rhythm at its heart….ultimately, it leads us into the sanctity of our own, a place where the subtle power of original nature is enshrined.

Original nature reflects its own innocence. Work with the energies of this full Moon to engender that subtle quality. After full Moon the energy subsides and crystalises as the Moon connects with Saturn and we come back to the apex of the T square that Saturn is forming with Jupiter and Neptune in anticipation of the new Moon. Grounding after an ecstatic dance with the cosmos, this is the ‘after the ecstacy, the laundry‘ moment. Closing down the ceremony, cleaning the sacred space that has housed it, the mood is quietly practical and calls for rest. An emergent sense of belonging will help counterbalance the slump in energy we may be feeling. We have a lot to process and should seek gentler interactions with others, be kind to them and to ourselves.

First, make peace with yourself….then vibrate the roots of life into action….

“Walk carefully, well loved one
walk mindfully, well loved one
walk fearlessly, well loved one.
Return with us, return to us
be always coming home“

Images, from the top :
Sacred Anger ~ Rob Purday
Amphitrite ~ Susan Seddon-Boulet
Chauvet Cave ~ 35K bpe

Quotations from the I Ching are from the Thomas Cleary translation, ‘The Taoist I Ching’, Shambala Publications, 1986

The poem is by Ursula Le Guin, from
“Initiation Poem Of The Finders Lodge“

astrology, Earth healing, eclipse, lunations, planetary change, planetary nodes, Politics, retrograde planets, Root Medicine of the Stars

The Fertile Darkness

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wild hive

…..luminous darkness, birthplace of light…..

The fifth lunation of 2016 opens with the Moon and Sun joined at 17 degrees of tropical Taurus. From the earthbound point of view five planets are in retrograde motion as this Moon cycle gets underway, all of which fertilise the New Moon, intensifying the seed energies of the lunation.

The inner power of this seed point is emphasised by the Sabian symbol for 17 Taurus which talks of the ‘Seeker’ turning ‘Warrior’, raising the energy of internal illumination as the weapon of choice in the ‘eternal battle’. The battle that would see truth prevail. The historical limitations and conditioning of material existance are no longer accepted as given, as the bottom line, the necessity for individual evolution and self determination taking precedence over conformity to roles and agendas that do not belong to us as individuals.

Taurus pulls focus to the individual’s struggle for survival, to the question of what matters most, and, having begun to witness the groundswell of energy emergent at a grass-roots level since the spring eclipses, this lunation  furthers the internal strengthening of individual resolve to repurpose life in accord with our own natural values, the impulse  that was seeded at the March solar eclipse. The darkness of the eclipse is coming alive. It is about aligning ourselves and re-establishing life in accordance with Natural law, as opposed to Human law. This is an image brought to the point of utter necessity by what we are witnessing in the world and emphasised beyond question by the Sun and Moon’s trine to retrograde Pluto in Capricorn. Wholesale destruction of nature through authoritarian rule stops with our personal choices and the transformative power they enshrine.

The lunation’s seed point is amped up by Venus and retrograde Mercury also in Taurus, both now closing on the Sun, and the Earth signs are further linked through this stellium’s trine to retrograde Jupiter and the Moon’s north node  in Virgo. The Earth signs ask us to bear witness, in support of a future that can be lived according to realities with which we can each resonate. These are core values, realities that are meaningful in answer to what we are witnessing and can be sustained to the benefit of those who come after us. This is the bottom line impulse powering the grass-roots groundswell.

Venus sextile to Neptune in Pisces pushes the issue of discerning what is real in relation to those core values and through quincunx to retrograde Mars in Sagittarius makes it clear – this is, as the Sabians describe it, a time in which ‘swords’ are at odds with ‘torches’ in the struggle for survival. If we are to be torch bearers we must pay heed to how rx Mercury is working within us. Mercury’s retrograde raises the need for inner clarity and clear connections to become the cutting edge here. We must, we know, be on guard against fantasy and deception, especially our own, emphasising the importance of inner illumination as a metaphor for light thrown upon our own thinking. But, this is also about ‘thinking on our feet‘.

As the old Irish saying has it a warrior must first learn how to dance before wielding the sword. Neptune’s mutability can provide us with both the imagination required to refigure our path and at the same time distract us from grounding ourselves in the ‘now’. A fluidity of action, perception and balance in motion serves to keep us centred in our power. It is an old art taught for the benefit of both the individual warrior and the community and cause they serve. The old guard is now being unbalanced and caught on its heals, fighting a dirty war in the face of rising awareness of their stratagems. It is becoming clearer that the ‘old’ is being dressed up as the ‘new’, ‘vision’ being appropriated and propagandised as ‘truth’. Nowhere is this more apparent then in environmental and ecological issues, particularly where vested interests are exposed. However, in the emergent climate the efforts of those who continue to disseminate the deception can no longer escape attention, and not only is the historical veil of lies and hypocrisy wearing very thin but the ‘people’, seeing through the orthodox version of reality we have been and are being sold, are gaining in awareness of what lies beneath. If the momentum is with the ‘People’, we know we must also dance with the Earth and her rhythms.

The lunation carries this momentum forward with a release of energy as Jupiter stations direct during first quarter and begins moving towards the Moon’s north node again. They will converge at solstice on the full Moon of the next lunation, just before Uranus ignites Mars into action, but, in the meantime we have a deeper matter to consider.

In her novel ‘Children Of Men’ the author P D James cast a distopian vision of the future in which human fertility has ceased, a not too far distant time that sees ultra controlling authority at war with rebelious factions amidst a world in lock-down. As speculative fiction it carries disturbing tendencies very much present in our own world to an all too plausible point of realisation. She is not alone in envisioning such a future. Margaret Atwood’s novel ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ envisions authoritarian rule over fertility under militant theocratic control as a consequence of terrorist driven revolution. In both cases the issue of self determination is raised to become the front line in the battle between natural law and human law.  Human fertility is its central metaphor. Womankind is made both victim and redeemer. With Venus in the sign of her rulership there can be no fakery in this respect.

Many might not want to contemplate such visions of the future, but, they serve us with due warning – there is too much that is recognisable in the world not to take heed of it. This too is a reflection of the illuminating power that is central to this lunation, made all the more poigniant through Taurus association with fertility and survival. To remain grounded in livable realities that give us the balance of a positive vision of the future the threats to that future must be acknowledged and actions be taken that ensure we do not allow such threats to become realised. This is not a time for navel gazing and idealistic dreaming.

This factor will become more pressing and present as this and the following lunations unfold, unless our individual choices carry the clarity of perception and adaptability called for now – while the ‘new age’ may be the prerogative of the dreamers amongst us, the danger is that in following the dream alone we may also discover that the road to hell really is paved with good intentions. The future must also be defended and the offensive against it, as these two novels might strongly suggest, is already under way.

A core underlying element that reflects this through this lunation and beyond is indicated by Saturn’s presence in Sagittarius, quincunx the new Moon. Retrograde Saturn is testing the reality of our beliefs against experience. In squaring Neptune we may become disillusioned at what we find, become dispirited and equally determined to hang on to our cherished dreams. The mutable fire of Sagittarius illuminates from within, transforms through worldly experience and encourages us to grow in the process. The message here is to allow the truth in. Saturn, while burning off false beliefs can also be the ally who provides the essential reality factor that fuels wiser and more realistic choices.

The worldly view of evolutionary forces that are at work within our times can be revealed in this. Saturn’s stationing retrograde on Uranus south node activates memories stored in our bones, ancestral memories inherited from times in which natural law has been at the centre of both traumatic and revolutionary events in our extended history. These are memories that have been over-written in the orthodox version, versioned to suit controlling agendas. In accessing them we reclaim our past and with it our rightful path.

Sagittarius is also the sign of the seeker, the wise fool who follows the spirit of their passion out into the world. With Mars in close proximity this factor is being fueled up, in-volved with passionate soul searching – a passion that can lead to the most fundamental heart of truth, embedded within the fertile darkness. The torch bearer leads the way.

Each of the five retrograde planets reveal different aspects of the seed energy at work within the inner workings of this lunation. They invite us to engage on a personal level with our…….

……individual evolution and self determination taking precedence over conformity to roles and agendas that do not belong to us as individuals,

concerning ourselves with what matters most,

our own natural values 

the better to embody personal choices and the transformative power they enshrine.

They ask us to bear witness

to core values, realities that are meaningful,

inner clarity and clear connections

providing light thrown upon our own thinking.

Thinking on our feet,

 a warrior must first learn how to dance before wielding the sword,

embodying perception and balance in motion –

an old art taught for the benefit of both the individual warrior and the community and cause they serve.

Here the issue of self determination is raised to become the front line in the battle between natural law and human law.

The future must also be defended by such a warrior,

testing the reality of our beliefs against experience,

prepared to allow the truth in,

the essential reality factor that fuels wiser and more realistic choices.

In doing so  we access memories stored in our bones, ancestral memories

 and reclaim our past and with it our rightful path,

the most fundamental heart of truth, embedded within the fertile darkness.

The torch bearer leads the way……..

Root Medicine of the Stars

Phoenix Rising

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phoenix-rising

April 20th 2013 sees the conjunction of Mercury and Uranus in the 10th degree of tropical Aries……the mysterious traveller is on his way home, but, on the way he drops in on the Magician to deliver feedback on how things are going in dreamland, back on Earth…..

……it is a day to make use of for all the right reasons……lets start with the Sabian symbol for 10 Aries :

“A TEACHER GIVES NEW SYMBOLIC FORMS TO TRADITIONAL IMAGES.

Revision of attitude at the beginning of a new cycle of experience.

……….we find expressed…..the problem of focusing one’s energies upon emotional drives and cultural values which exclude far more than they include….there arises in the consciousness a desire to reformulate at a new level much that had been taken for granted because it indeed originally had been an evolutionary necessity. The very concrete emotion-arousing images of the past can now be reinterpreted as “symbols” with a wider scope of meaning.

…….a new dimension of consciousness is discovered, revealing higher possibilities of experience and mental development. This is a phase of ABSTRACTION and of emotional allegiance.”

Mercury can be the go-between here, the interfacing awareness that allows traffic between the personal and transpersonal consciousness. In another sense, when Mercury and Uranus stand together the interface is fully activated, and, in another sense still, while the boundaries between the two become open, their distinct energies needing differentiation, they also merge…..but, if that sounds like a multidimensional challenge,  holding the two together while keeping them clearly grounded in their own realities, then the Sabian symbolism helps us know how to do precisely that. Here comes the unexpected…..

So much about Uranus is misunderstood from the cultural values that have been shrink wrapped around the ol’Mage…..the lock-down on wonderous things, like magic, electrifying realisations, otherworldly, that is to say, ‘divine’ intelligence, and, the with-holding of  technologies far beyond the cultural norm’s established infrastructures, have distorted the view of the world that has been projected onto and with that wrapping, until, at worst, we are expected to live as though such wonderous things are no longer available to us, in their immediacy, as Uranus would have it……but, Mercury has a sharp intellect and cunning propensity for ignoring boundaries and in this conjunction will be bursting the bubble and releasing the vacuum to let Uranus breathe all those gifts back into our memories, and that will be when the fun begins……

Lets just put a slightly wider context on this…..the Uranus Pluto square. The next date for this exact aspect is 20th May when the twelfth degree of Aries and Capricorn will be connected through these two powerful outer planets. The tension is already showing and arcs of restructuring archetypal energies are being traded between the innovative and the controlling sides of the equation.

Uranus wants nothing to do with the past, unless it serves to ground Uranian insights and power the people in the process….while this is about connectivity in the NOW, ‘abstraction’ may not be the right word, but, in re-interpreting symbols it finds some resonance, a means, and describes something of the technical effort of symbolising anew. But, it requires the emotional input that brings the meaning alive and that is provided in Pluto’s relentless exposure of fundamental power in our world. We feel that power, bigtime, once the wrappers are off…….it too enlightens us. There is big healing afoot……

Expect the landscape to change shape rapidly……and all thats built upon it.

And, in that part of the process, Uranus brings us the elevated view, “higher possibilites of experience and mental development”, according to the Sabian sages .

The Sabians are tied into religious tradition, and originate in the Middle-East, and it seems….“the word Sābi’ūna (Sabian) is derived from the verb saba’a, which refers to the action of leaving one religion and entering another……” – sounds like ‘knowing’ don’t it?!

Perhaps this will play out in that specific arena over the coming times, but, more likely we could see virtually anything carrying the characteristics and effect of ‘religious’ manifestation finding new form, not just in religion……if Uranus is at work in this process, the old symbols within our prevailing spiritual and material doctrines could shed their old skins, become released from the shrink-wrap of 21st century dualistic materialism, and surpise us all at how familiar the taste and smell of the forbidden fruit from the old Tree actually is! Not to mention how liberating to take a bite….

All through this we will be faced with choices that are going to add to the tension, and, call for accelerated and real release from the old hegemonies. Mercury’s report back to Uranus is also going to be spilling the juice on how mystery has been misused, how our sense of spirituality has been fogged, and how our shadows have been hijacked and turned into a virus, to keep us under and anaesthetised…

…..look out in the ‘tween time for revelations to galvanise the mind and heart into unified action with intent when Venus, followed by the Sun, and Mars oppose Saturn from Taurus…..Saturn is looking in on the karmic residues that have calcified our deepest visions, and, he does so from the sign that used to carry the symbol of the Phoenix – on May 5th Mercury opposes the old devil and the rising fire of our awareness will ground itself with intent in the Earth plane. Our world is poised…….

…but, hats off to Mercury, for doning the cloak of invisibility and entering the Mystery on our behalf – the winged one will also bring our personal choices into a clearer level of consciousness and this will be the time to claim our evolutionary rights, use our personal and collective Magic and get down to work with the Magician and the Alchemist. But, remember, the Phoenix is the most peace loving of the Scorpio’s symbols………what kind of World do you envision we can create through such empowerment……as the Phoenix rises from the ashes……

Root Medicine of the Stars

A Quest for Beauty – Venus enters Scorpio, Sun enters Sagittarius

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The astrological matrix undergoes a shift of tone and significant adjustment over the 22nd through 23rd November 2012 – within a period of just 24 hours Venus enters tropical Scorpio, the Sun enters Sagittarius, the Moon leaves Pisces for Aries and, as this is happening, Mars, now in Capricorn, comes into exact square with Uranus in early Aries. Initiating the 2nd waxing quarter of the current lunation, the process reaches a point of culmination in the Mars Uranus square, strongly accenting and bringing an emphasis to the changes intrinsic to the Sun and Venus’ ingress. The tone of the moment suggests that this is a ‘hinge point’, a moment of discontinuity and departure from qualities and characteristics of a time that is now ending. If the eclipse of the 13/14th November opened a ‘time out of time’ this is the dynamic of the emergent energetic field that came in through that opening.

The matrix is shifting gear and injecting an accelerating impulse of energy into the ongoing process. The changes will continue to build beyond this moment, but, by the time of full Moon, the outer manifestations of the resonances at work will have become visible to all. These will reflect back to us and offer a clear mandate for the crucial inner changes needed to bring the new sense of purpose and direction into the world that is now emerging and bring a boost of energy that will serve us as we cross the threshold of the much anticipated December solstice 2012.

Venus role here is one of widening creativity and emotive healing within a quickly sequenced network of aspects as she aspects no less than six luminaries in tight synchronicity over the immediate period up to full Moon. There is an expansive quality to Venus energy at this time, bringing creative energy into a new social context – we can choose to bring the broken promises of the past into a new light, to repair the wounds of relationship where we once knew beauty and where we value this beauty still. Nothing is lost to the goddess of love and beauty if these twin powers are brought to bear in the world – this is a message of profound import for our times. Venus will develop this theme over the coming month, but, now is a time when appreciation can extend to the less than perfect aspects of ourselves, our valued possessions and to Earth herself….there is great healing available in this.

The ingress of Venus into Scorpio also brings the goddess into trine with Neptune, now direct in Pisces. As she moves further into Scorpio, and as she approaches conjunction with Saturn, Venus will come into trine with Chiron. Venus’ dynamic develops further over the coming days as we approach the full Moon/lunar eclipse, coming into tightening sextile with Pluto and Mars, and quincunx with both Uranus and the Moon. What is set in motion through this time will be tested at the full Moon and we will face another moment of deep choice with the lunar eclipse.

Venus in Scorpio also brings a fresh sense of passion and deep appreciation to the creative impulse through which we express our belonging in the world. Re-evaluating the capacity each of us has to draw sustainence from our inherited roots, and doing so in terms of beauty and heart centered values, the trine with Neptune will enhance the sense of spiritual value, the very immenance of spirit we experience in our creativity, within the world. This will be a powerful time for envisioning beyond the known. As the coming days see the trine with Neptune give way to the same aspect with Chiron, the partnership between creativity and healing is very much a center of focus here. The symbol of the broken shards of a beautiful clay pot being re-assembled and brought to an even higher level of beauty is fitting – there is a tradition in Japan of filling the cracks in broken clay vessels with gold, and this illustrates well the energetic values at work here….

…..essentially, there is an ecology of the soul to be gained through this reparitive work – Scorpio is the shadow sign of Venus home, Taurus, and the trine to Neptune can increase our sense of longing and melancholy for the ‘other’, the desire to be re-united not just in spirit but in body, and too know the transcendence of completion. Mending our relationship with Earth is a vital quest for humanity now, one that has an emotional charge and carries both the sadness of seperation and the passion for redemption and reclamation.

We no longer tend to associate melancholy with either creativity or the divine, these are images very much belonging to the great spiritual traditions of the past in Europe and the Near East – for us melancholy has developed a depressive quality over time, an emotional tone that reflects the dehumanising processes of industrialisation and seperation from the divine feminine in Nature. However, if we move closer to source we discover that this sense of melancholy is at the very root of creativity and profound divine love. It is expressed in the longing for union with the ‘Beloved’, the troubadour’s courting of the divine feminine and in the transcendent mystery of conjunctio, so characteristic of immersion in the Neptunian field. The flavour of this ingress is a balm to an ailing world of aggression and conflict and gives an heroic context to the struggle, one that is further enhanced by the Sun’s own entry into Sagittarius.

When the Sun enters Sagittarius a boldness in approach and outgoing philosophy on Life begins to illuminate the field. The search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, of lost riches and new horizons, the re-covery of values that reflect a broader view on life, and the largess of a philanthropic heart that aims to harness the greater energies of the universe in beneficiant service come to the fore.  This is also reflected in the Sabian symbol for Venus’ degree of ingress into Scorpio…

“Individuals coming from a variety of places and backgrounds “commune” in new awareness of a greater whole of human existence, an organized whole with its own rhythms of multifarious activity. New feelings and an expansion of consciousness result…….”

The key phrase of the Sabian for Scorpio 1 is ‘A Widening Of Experience’……..in times of great upheaval, amidst evolutionary processes and strivings, the call to reach beyond our familiar boundaries and grasp the moment, in all its magnitude, and be lifted into a higher state of engagement in the world comes loud and clear……we might find that the coming times see the energies of the Venusian and solar ingress working alongside each other in the world…..this is a time of redemptive and meaningful action. Being able to see the beauty in the wound is healing of the highest order. Having the heart to manifest that beauty and the courage to protect it at all costs is the flavour of our times as we approach the problems of transition and harness the energy of profound change inherent in the moment…..but, the energy available to us now, if we have the eyes and heart to embrace it, is that of a People in love with Life. This is the glue that binds us and brings a sense of unity to the fight for liberty and freedom from the forces of oppression and destruction at large in the world.