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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in astrology

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_heart_shaped_full_moon.jpgYour playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. ~ Marianne Williamson

 If you’ve been anticipating that lovely, romantic Full Moon on Valentine’s Day, you might want to reconsider your approach. Instead of dreaming of moonlit skies and stardust, dust off your altar and pull out your journal and your magical tools, because you’re going to want to work to shift the energy of this Full Moon into some positive results. As with most difficult charts, there is power here, but you need to put a bridle on that horse, or you’ll likely get thrown.

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  • Byron Ballard
    Byron Ballard says #
    Ahhh. I love an invitation to rethink things.

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

b2ap3_thumbnail_scottish_wildcat.jpgThis post will be a two-parter: You can read part 2 here.

No man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving offense."—Thomas Carlyle

With Mars settled into Libra for a nice long transit of about six months, this is a good time to take a look at the Red Planet’s meaning in our lives, in our charts, and at the lessons we can glean from the Warrior’s transit through the realm of Themis and Her scales of justice.  Mars isn’t happy here — He’s not very good with the social graces beloved of Libra, the sign of his detriment — but he’ll happily fight for Libran causes. This means that one of the most prominent manifestations of this transit is often an emphasis on fighting for social justice, which can — and frequently does — devolve into fighting over issues of political correctness (at any point on the political spectrum) and hurt feelings. Libra is the sign of the diplomat, and wants everyone to get along. Mars loves to fight. Put the two together, and you’re going to see a lot of people with ruffled feathers, fighting over whether or not their feelings are getting sufficient respect and attention from others. In other words, there will be a lot of people taking – and giving – offense.

Sometimes, an act or statement of opinion we deem “offensive” so clearly challenges our sense of justice or personal core values that it requires an emphatic, even aggressive, action or statement of opinion in response. So the feeling of being offended can serve to raise an internal red flag, alerting us to a possible violation of standards we deem personally acceptable, and the need to do something about it. But more often than not, people don’t simply notice the red flag, take it as a warning, and then move to identify and solve a problem. Instead, they chase the flag and the flag-bearer around the arena, snorting and huffing and puffing, determined to trample the offending parties into the dust, certain that only the total decimation of the red flag will make the pain they are feeling go away. But it won’t, of course, no more for the offended person than for a wounded bull. And the offended person is wounded, no mistake, but the pain is sourced in a wounding much older than any current situation. Those unhealed wounds are worth identifying, whether in ourselves, someone we care about, or even just someone who is demanding our attention. We all overreact sometimes, and tracing that reaction back to its source can give us a wonderful opportunity for healing.

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  • Diotima
    Diotima says #
    Thanks, Courtney. I'm off to write Part 2 now. :-)
  • Courtney Weber
    Courtney Weber says #
    Wonderful points and insight! Sincerely, Yet Another Moon in Scorpio
  • Diotima
    Diotima says #
    Yes, Barbara, it would, and thanks for pointing that out.
  • Barbara Tiemann
    Barbara Tiemann says #
    Diotima -- great article! Greatly enjoyed! As I was reading, I couldn't help but think about the recent resurgence of social jus
  • Diotima
    Diotima says #
    , Oh, yeah, those delicate types whose Moon is ruled by Mars and Pluto, you mean? Just get out the smelling salts, dear, and tuck

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

b2ap3_thumbnail_snowy-day-in-the-woods.jpgThe chart cast for the moment of the Winter Solstice — when the Sun enters Capricorn — is predictive for the three months ahead, and when the chart is cast for the capital of a country, it is predictive for that entire country. As we spiral in towards the next solsticial shift — from dark to light here in the northern hemisphere, and from light to dark in the southern — we are caught up in planetary energies that demand change, and change often demands the destruction of the old before the new is birthed. It is the light within us — our inner Sun — that gives us the vision, energy, courage and strength to build anew in a world in which hi-tech warfare, critical levels of environmental pollution, catastrophic climate change and resource depletion promise a future very different from our present. The challenges are clear, and the Solstice chart offers us insight into the personal and spiritual strategies we can use to meet these challenges with grace, compassion, and courage.

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Posted by on in Culture Blogs


b2ap3_thumbnail_masks01.jpgDecember’s New Moon is a Vegas kind of Moon — big, bold, and dramatic. It heralds a holiday season of screaming headlines, explosive events and probably some wild parties, as well. The entertainment industry, issues of children and youth, especially education, and any kind of gambling, including the stock market, will be emphasized in the coming month here in the USA.

Let’s cover the basic astrology first. (Non-astrologers can skip this paragraph) The chart can be found here. Set for Washington, DC, it features the New Moon in Sagittarius in the 5th, with Sagittarius’ ruler, Jupiter, powerfully placed on the Ascendent in Cancer, the sign of its exaltation, opposing Venus, and widely opposing Pluto, as well. Uranus sits in the 10th house, adjacent to the Aries Point Midheaven, which is opposed by Mars. The Uranus-Pluto square is in full force, and the Sun-Moon conjunction plus Mercury are in a wide square to Neptune. There is a strong trine between Jupiter and Saturn, and between Uranus and the Sun-Moon. The New Moon falls in the fifth house, joined by Mercury and Saturn, and the fifth house rulers are Mars and Pluto. The houses and angles on this chart are specific to the USA, but much of what I say here will be applicable globally.

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  • Byron Ballard
    Byron Ballard says #
    Gad zooks, woman. Thanks for keeping the Comedy mask in.

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_baba_yaga_by_forestrogers-d5hixbb.jpgThe New Moon eclipse coming up on November 3rd is profound and transformative. The effects of a solar eclipse are more far-reaching and longer lasting than a regular New Moon, beginning a month or so before the actual event, and lasting for up to 18 months. This one will have us digging deeply into our psyches or projecting our shadows for some time to come. As I mentioned in my last post, there is an ongoing gathering of planets in Scorpio, the sign of transformation and secrets, sex and death, power and wealth, and they are all tied into the dramatic and revolutionary Uranus-Pluto square. The eclipse chart takes a picture right at the height of this wild party.  There are some observations and cautions to be drawn from the chart from a national point of view — when cast for Washington, DC, the chart has the Scorpio stellium in the twelfth house, with Mars and Neptune in a wide opposition across the MC/IC axis — and I’ll discuss those, but the chart also offers considerable insight on a more personal level.

One of the first things that jumps out of this chart is a complete lack of planets in Air, and a considerable emphasis on Water. Mercury is also retrograde, and in a Water sign. This subdues communication, information exchange, and the open and rational discussion of ideas, while giving free rein to the expression of emotion and the imposition of material authority through the close cooperation of the three authoritarian planets, Mars, Saturn and Pluto. Saturn and Pluto relate to karmic issues in a chart, as does the sign of Scorpio, which is ruled by Mars and Pluto. A lot of us are going to be looking at karmic issues coming home to roost, and struggles on an emotional level that can be exhausting because they are rooted in childhood or past life experiences. We may feel like we’ve been thrown overboard into the waters of deep feeling, and can’t find an island of logic and perspective on which to rest.

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  • Diotima
    Diotima says #
    Thank you, Janet!
  • Janet Boyer
    Janet Boyer says #
    Excellent post, Diotima!

Posted by on in Culture Blogs

 

b2ap3_thumbnail_The_Scream.jpgParanoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
Step out of line, the man come and take you away

 Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth



’Tis the season of scary in our culture, when we put on glaring display (using lots of plastic and blinking lights) the things that we are afraid of, mostly having to do with death and unknown or unseen powers — ghosts, monsters, skeletons, witches and oversized spiders. Undoubtedly, the underlying urge to flaunt and so face down these fearful things is rooted in our agrarian past, when the fact that this is the season of death here in the northern hemisphere was unmistakable, and the cold winter ahead threatened illness and hunger. Acknowledging and externalizing fears allows us to share them, and helps stave off the creeping dread.
 
Except for the increasing number of homeless, few of us here in the USA fear for our lives and health as winter approaches, but fear still looms large in our lives, a natural human reaction that is used by the media to get ratings, and by those in power to control us (“Elect me or socialist Muslims/Christian dominionists/aliens and their pet lizards will take over America!”) Certainly, fear is an effective motivator, but as a constant companion it is quite disempowering. Unfortunately, between the media and the politicians, we are constantly reminded of the things we should fear — things much more immediate and pressing to us than ghosts and monsters.
 
Astrologically, the Sun moves into Scorpio a week or so before Samhain, and Scorpio loves to explore those issues of fear, death, and control. So, let’s take a look at the upcoming Mercury retrograde cycle in Scorpio, which will be followed by a New Moon eclipse in the same sign. There’s a lot going on in Scorpio right now — Saturn is there, along with the Moon’s North Node, and Mercury. Mercury, because of its retrograde cycle, will be in the sign until early December, the Sun will join the party for a month on October 23rd, and the New Moon arrives there on November 3rd.
 
Scorpio, like all three water signs, is, in essence, about relationship. Cancer speaks to relationship with family, ancestors, the land. Pisces is about relationship with All That Is. Scorpio’s realm covers both intimate relationships, and relationships with both individuals and groups of people with whom we share resources. Scorpio always takes it down deep, because you can’t really know an individual or a group of people if you always keep it on the surface. The knowing is important to Scorpio, because knowing deepens relationship — not only with other people, but with life itself. Since Scorpio sees so deeply into the human heart, those who are strongly under the sign’s influence can be quite manipulative — sometimes from compassion, sometimes because they like to play the game, and sometimes because…well, you know the story about the frog and the scorpion, right? To Scorpio, pain, and even death, can be just another way of gaining the deep knowledge.
 
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Posted by on in Culture Blogs

b2ap3_thumbnail_raven-in-fulll-moon.jpgThere are two interesting lunations (New or Full Moon) coming up in October that can give us some insight on the month ahead — the New Moon on October 4 — and on the upcoming 6 months or so in the case of the Full Moon on October 18, which is an eclipse.

Let’s start with the New Moon. These are some of the configurations astrologers will want to take note of (here is the chart): Cluster of planets in the sixth house, 3 planets in Scorpio including a Mercury-North Node-Saturn conjunction. Venus rules the chart from her throne on the Descendant in a house she rules, but in detriment and tensely aspected. It’s a Libra New Moon, so we are looking for balance, and there is little to be found, with the Moon/Sun tightly configured with the Uranus-Pluto square. Mars is square the AS/DS axis and Venus, and in tight aspect (SSQ) to both Uranus and Pluto.

What to make of all this? From the point of view of mundane astrology, things look a bit tense. (I should note here that individual humans can use the energy of the planetary patterns to change themselves and their lives. Hence, individual reactions to a lunation are more likely to be positive and less “fated” than events in the nations and large groups that are the subject of mundane astrology. My fellow blogger here at Pagan Square, Kate Cartwright, has written about how best to use the personal aspects of this lunation here) This chart is cast for Washington, DC, so it is predictive for the entire country.

First, of course, we’ll look at the Sun and Moon, which are activating the ongoing Uranus-Pluto square (UPS). This means that surprises, transformations, explosive (physically or emotionally) events, and powerful breakthroughs are all likely. It’s probable that many of these manifestations will be in the realm of relationship, particularly, from a national point of view, the relationship of the people of the country to its leaders.

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