Astrological Journaling

New Moon in Aquarius and Mars stations retrograde.

2012-01-22T18:28:00.000Z

There’s aNew Moon in Aquarius this Monday, 23^rd January at 7.39am GMT.

Aquarius,the sign of the Water-Carrier, is in fact an Air sign, the sign of the inspiredintellect, of knowledge from the Gods, of being struck by that ‘thunderbolt’moment of knowledge, Eureka! Aquarius is inventive and wilful. Often associated with genius, it’s also a‘fixed’ sign, suggesting stability and sticking to your guns. This occurs inthe realm of ideas: the Aquarian will make up their own mind and go their ownway regardless of others, they’ll ‘think outside the box’ and they may often be‘ahead of their time’ – the sign is very future-oriented.

There is anassociation here too with scientific objectivity. Aquarius is linked to any newor futuristic technology, and also with the Internet as a modern tool whichbrings people together and gives them freedom (very Aquarian) to communicate(air sign). Humanitarian issues are often a concern for this group-orientedsign. The cause of the collective is more important here than the individual,great ideas and inventiveness are for the benefit of society as a whole.Aquarius sees everyone as equal. It believes in equality.

With a NewMoon in this sign, there is a seeding of the Idea, and this New Moon is in aharmonious and creative aspect to the planet Uranus (the modern ruler ofAquarius), emphasising the energy still further. This is a great time to starta new group or project, particularly anything future-oriented, original, new,technological or inventive, or something that serves the collective rather thanthe individual.

There is,however, a slight ‘push-pull’ tone to this New Moon, since Jupiter and Saturn,both form challenging ‘square’ aspects to it. This can be useful though -creating a dynamic tension which makes us ‘need’ to take action. Jupiter maywant to run with the great project or idea and expand on it exuberantly andoptimistically, although it could be thinking of the practical and financialaspects (in Taurus), which might not quite fit with Aquarius’s airy ideals. CautiousSaturn could perhaps put blocks in the way, create delays, or simply say ‘Hold on, make sure all the practical detailsare in place. Be slow and thorough. Are the foundations right? Do this by the rules!’ Saturn (in Libra) may also be asking “How will this affect others, is it fair?”The slower Saturn energy is further emphasised by the fact that Mars (planet ofaction) grinds to a halt in an earth sign 16 hours later!

Mars is ouraction planet, it’s what gets us up in the morning, gets us moving, makes usDO, and Go, go, go! Mars ‘stations’ and turns‘retrograde’ at 23° Virgo within a day of the New Moon – at about one o’clockin the morning (GMT) that night (24 Jan). Thered planet will appear to stand still in the sky and then turn (slooooowwwwwly)and backtrack along its former path. This ‘retrograde’ motion happens with Marsonce every two years and two months. I was born when Mars was retrograde (itwas in Libra at the time) so it’s of special interest to me.

Virgo likes to organise, to be busy, to put things in order.It likes to be of service, to do something useful, to attend to the minutiae ofeveryday life. Separating the wheat from the chaff. It can be nit-picking. Iread it somewhere described as ‘the flour sifter’ - I like that image. Virgo isdiscriminating. There’s a lot about perfecting. Perfecting skills in particular. Virgo likes to be a specialist.

But Mars doesn't really like all that detail, so it gets abit frustrated in this sign - it wants to charge ahead as fast as possible andnot stop for the small things (represented by Virgo). But stopping is what it’sdoing right now. There’s a real condensation of our ‘Go!’ energy, and it willtake time for Mars to get moving again, and then it will be backwards. Many ofyou may well have been feeling that ‘slowing’ energy, as things take longer toget done, or to get moving. I’ve certainly been feeling a bit like I’m wadingthrough treacle, especially the last few days, while at the same time notsleeping properly. And I’ve had a niggling headache in the background (Marsrules the head). If you have planets aspecting the position of Mars, especiallyin Virgo, Pisces, Gemini or Sagittarius, it might be rubbing you up the wrongway right now.

So what can we do with this slowed down Mars in Virgoenergy?

When Mars retrogrades we might learn about our own ways ofdealing with what motivates us, our self-assertion, our anger, frustration,aggression. The latter being when that healthy Mars action energy gets blockedsomehow. ‘Retrograde’, it’s going back over old ground. Old issues which havemade us angry or frustrated in the past could come up again, perhaps, stillneeding resolution.

I suggested to a friend last week (she’s moving house soon)that she put things in the boxes… Virgo likes to put things in boxes! My friendalso has a Virgo Moon, so she needs (Moon rules what we ‘need’, what makes uscomfortable) to do that anyway. Tidying the house, organising, or dotting 'i'sand crossing 't's - it's all about the detail.

In Virgo we might look again at how we do things on apractical level (Virgo is an earth sign), how we deal with our day-to-dayroutines, our diet, our work, and our health and exercise. Exerciseparticularly could be a good plan while Mars is retrograde here – it might helpsomewhat to offset any frustrations which come to the fore in these areas.

Erin Sullivan* says of retrogrades: “Having a retrograde planet requires securing a certain amount ofobjectivity about the impact that one makes on one’s environment – upon otherpeople and in one’s own sphere of activity. When a planet is retrograde, thatobjectivity is often lost, symbolically obscured by the Sun’s power.” Andshe goes on to describe the expression of that planet as “uncertain or awkward… until a degree of maturity and confidence is attained.”

If we don’t express our Mars, assert ourselves in a‘healthy’ way, we could end up unconsciously ‘sending’ that energy outsideourselves so that we stir up opposition or frustrations in other people.Alternatively we could push down our anger or assertiveness, or becoming moresubconscious of it, which could mean it comes out in health issues, or it coulddrain our energy and create depression.

How can you take action in a practical sense and payattention to the detail without becoming frustrated? This might be a time toRE-DO things, perhaps, that weren’t done properly before.

Virgo is great with analysis. We could look at ourday-to-day systems (Virgo has a lot to do with ‘systems’) and routines and adjustthem to make them work better for us. How are we doing this? Is it working? Orif we don’t have a system, it might be time to sort one out! While Mars isslowed right down just at the moment, this might not feel very comfortable, therecould still be that background sense of urgency, but if we deal with the ‘smallthings’ now, it could help us a lot in the future.

This ‘station’ of Mars, when it stands still around 1am onthe 24^th January, is a peak day, and a powerful time of focus in thecycle, as is the 3^rd of March, when Mars, in its ‘backward’ motion,comes opposite the Sun, creating a point of tension, which might often bring upsomething important. Then the next date of note for Mars is 14^thApril, when it stations again and turns direct around 4 in the morning (GMT) at 3°41' Virgo. Then it has to gain speed again until eventually on the 20^th June itfinally regains its ground and reaches 23° Virgoagain!

The area of your birth chart (‘house’) through which Mars ismoving right now will tell you more about how this energy will affect youpersonally, and this will be much more prominent if you have a natal planet ator near 23° Virgo, Pisces, Gemini orSagittarius**, or . Normally Mars spends just over 2 months in a sign, but becauseof this retrograde motion it will not leave Virgo until 4^th Julythis year. That’s a long period of focus in that area. For example, with this activity in my 3^rdhouse of learning, communication, writing, speaking and the mind, I’mattempting to remember to breathe, slow down and accept what comes rather thangetting too scattered mentally.

Don’t beat yourself up too much if you don’t get things DONE(Mars) as quickly as you’d like – Virgo is apt to be over-critical at timestoo, in its search for perfection, and in this Mars retrograde period weperhaps need to give ourselves time to turn inward more to attempt to be moreconscious of our own form of self-assertion, internal drive and motivatingforce. Mars is the ‘warrior’ planet – in what way do we fight or compete with ourselves internally as well as withother people, our situation, or our environment?

*For more information on retrogrades, read Erin Sullivan’s greatbook “Retrograde Planets”.

**Contact me with your chartdetails for a free chart wheel if you want to check this – I’d need time, dateand place of birth as accurately as possible. I’m also onTwitter and Facebook

Great Astrology Books for your Kindle

2011-08-28T21:52:00.009+01:00

My mum bought me a Kindle for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. It's very dangerous due to the instant gratification of pressing a button on Amazon and having your book turn up on your Kindle a few seconds later. The other feature that pushes all my nerdy buttons is the ability to create 'Collections' so, of course I have my 'Astrology' collection on my Kindle, and now I want to spend, damn it!

Just to whet your appetite, if you have a Kindle, here is a mix of interesting astrology, old and new, you can access in seconds, complete with links...

Astrology, Karma & Transformation: The Inner Dimensions of the Birth Chart by Stephen Arroyo (Kindle Edition - 22 Sep 2010) - Kindle eBook

ANCIENT ASTROLOGY (Sciences of Antiquity Series) by Tamsyn Barton (Kindle Edition - 14 Mar 2007) - Kindle eBook

The Fated Sky by Benson Bobrick (Kindle Edition - 1 Nov 2005) - Kindle eBook

Brady's Book of Fixed Stars by Bernadette Brady (Kindle Edition - 30 Apr 1998) - Kindle eBook

Predictive Astrology: The Eagle and the Lark by Bernadette Brady (Kindle Edition - 1 Dec 1998) - Kindle eBook

Dr Simon Forman: A Most Notorious Physician by Judith Cooke (Kindle Edition - 31 Mar 2011) - Kindle eBook

Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans by Franz Cumont (Kindle Edition - 25 Apr 2009) - Kindle eBook

How to Read Your Astrological Chart: Aspects of the Cosmic Puzzle by Donna Cunningham (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2008) - Kindle eBook

Moon Signs: The Key to Your Inner Life by Donna Cunningham (Kindle Edition - 8 Dec 2010) - Kindle eBook

(The two Donna Cunningham books added in since AuntieMoon's comment below)

Medical Astrology by Heinrich Daath (Kindle Edition - 30 Nov 1906

Yesterday's Sky: Astrology and Reincarnation by Steven Forrest (Paperback - 1 Sep 2008)

Linda Goodman's Sun Signs (Linda Goodman Series) by Linda Goodman (Kindle Edition - 18 Feb 2011) - Kindle eBook

Astrology of Fate by Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 30 Nov 1983) - Kindle eBook

Relating: An Astrological Guide to Living with Others on a Small Planet by Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 1 Jun 1978) - Kindle eBook

Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil by Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 1 Jun 1976) - Kindle eBook

The Astrological Neptune and the Quest for Redemption by Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 31 Mar 1996) - Kindle eBook

The Luminaries: The Psychology of the Sun and Moon in the Horoscope (Seminars in Psychological Astrology, Vol 3) by Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 1 Apr 1992) - Kindle eBook

The Development of the Personality: Seminars in Psychological Astrology ; V. 1: Seminars in Psychological Astrology Volume I: 001 by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 2008) - Kindle eBook

The Inner Planets: Building Blocks of Personal Reality (Seminars in Psychological Astrology, Vol 4) by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas (Kindle Edition - 1 Jan 1993) - Kindle eBook

Dynamics of the Unconscious: Seminars in Psychological Astrology, Vol 2: Seminars in Psychological Astrology Volume 2 by Liz Greene and Howard Sasportas (Kindle Edition - 1 Nov 1988) - Kindle eBook

The Message of the Stars by Max Heindel and Augusta Foss Heindel (Kindle Edition - 30 Nov 1921) - Kindle eBook

The Archetypal Cosmos: Rediscovering the Gods in Myth, Science and Astrology by Keiron Le Grice (Kindle Edition - 9 Jun 2011) - Kindle eBook

Christian Astrology - Volume 1 by William Lilly (Kindle Edition - 6 Jun 2011) - Kindle eBook

The Life of William Lilly, Student in Astrology by William Lilly (Kindle Edition - 13 Mar 2009)

Astrology by Jeff Mayo (Kindle Edition - 8 Jun 2011)

Tetrabiblos by Ptolemy, Charles River Editors and J.M. Ashmand (Kindle Edition - 4 Jun 2011) - Kindle eBook

The Twelve Houses: Exploring the Houses of the Horoscope by Howard Sasportas and Liz Greene (Kindle Edition - 28 Oct 2010) - Kindle eBook

Chiron Ephemeris by Zane Stein (Kindle Edition - 16 Jul 2011) - Kindle eBook Buy: £1.43

Astrology of Midlife and Aging by Erin Sullivan (Kindle Edition - 19 May 2005) - Kindle eBook

Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape by Erin Sullivan (Kindle Edition - 11 Oct 2006) - Kindle eBook

Saturn in Transit: Boundaries of Mind, Body, and Soul: Boundaries of Mind, Body and Soul by Erin Sullivan (Kindle Edition - 3 Sep 1991) - Kindle eBook

A Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer by Michael R. Meyer and Dane Rudhyar (Kindle Edition - 27 Aug 2011) - Kindle eBook

Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View by Richard Tarnas (Kindle Edition - 19 Jan 2006) - Kindle eBook

The Passion Of The Western Mind by Richard Tarnas (Kindle Edition - 31 Oct 2010) - Kindle eBook.

(OK, this isn’t astrology, but it’s brilliant, and a predecessor to Cosmos and Psyche)

Noel Tyl's Guide to Astrological Consultation by Noel Tyl (Kindle Edition - 1 Jul 2007) - Kindle eBook

Can I justify it, since most I already have in paperback or hardback versions? Oh, but it'd be so lovely to have them all on the Kindle and carry round a whole astrology library! So far, I've been really good and only bought the updated 'Twelve Houses' by Howard Sasportas, and that because my old copy is literally falling to pieces from overuse. Soon Amazon will catch on and make it possible for other people to buy Kindle books for friends or family from a wishlist... Christmas isn't that far off.

If I've missed any off here that you know of and like, please let me know.

Libyan liberation imminent?

2011-08-22T03:41:00.003+01:00

I'm watching BBC News Live Feed on the Libya situation at the moment, hoping that the final stages will happen with the least bloodshed possible.

Nick Campion in The Book of World Horoscopes gives a chart for Libya from Gaddafi's proclamation after the coup in September 1969. Inner chart is Libya national chart, outer chart is transits tonight:

His regime began under a Uranus-Pluto conjunction and is ending under the first major hard aspect to occur since that time, the Uranus square to Pluto, (mentioned in previous posts) which triggered the 'Arab Spring' earlier in the year. Not only that, but Uranus is almost exactly opposite Uranus in the national chart, retrograding back to that point after its first pass in May. It will be exact in mid-September (retrograde) and then make a final pass in February 2012. This Uranus half-return is a huge turning point for the country, by itself, let alone with Pluto in the mix, which massively intensifies that revolutionary energy. and drive for freedom.

Can you visualise 'retrograde'?

2011-08-21T19:27:00.005+01:00

Mercury is most of the way through its retrograde period now, in the fire sign of Leo. It goes direct again on the 25th August.
We've had the usual computer go-slow problems, delayed post, wireless network signal constantly 'weak'. Oh, and one of my appointments postponed twice.

I'm re-reading Erin Sullivan's Retrograde Planets - it seemed appropriate use of retro Mercury time. Meanwhile I've been trying to recreate retrograde motion in my head. I'm not very good at that, and since other people might not be either, here are some videos I've found online that might help. Actually, I'm a bit nerdy and enjoy watching them anyway: bonus!

Above is a video of Mercury's retrograde motion in 2011, created with the software programme Redshift, by Robert Van Heeren.

Venus: this is a link to a website which shows Venus retrograde. (Scroll down the page to see the animation.)

Keep in mind that both Mercury and Venus orbit between the earth and the Sun, and are known as 'inferior' planets, whereas Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are all beyond earth, and called 'superior' planets. The apparent backward motion (retrograde) is different for each group.

Mars: this is a link to a website which shows Mars retrograde.

And above is an animation, including explanation, of the retrograde motion of a superior planet (on the outside of the earth from the Sun) - in this case Jupiter, back in 2008. This is Redshift again.

Which house is Mercury currently retrograde in, in your chart? With Mercury retrograde in Leo, we can get stuck somewhere in our creative process whatever that may be; we can be anxious for inspiration to come. Erin Sullivan states, in relation to Mercury retrograde in fire signs :

"In her book Creation Myths, Marie Louise Von Franz deals extensively with this concept of play. She states that the unconscious intent underlying depression is to bring the consciousness down into the nigredo, into the darkness of the unconscious, in order to release the creative spirit."

Perhaps this is a time for incubation for our creativity, and it could be important to allow ourselves to play now, without expectation.

Saturn = father

2011-08-15T23:09:00.013+01:00

With Mars currently exactly square (today at 2.13pm) my natal Saturn (in my 10th house conjunct my MC), Dad went into hospital today. This was unexpected (Uranus) for me, since I only found out when Mum rang this morning...
The op was sometime this afternoon. Three operations for the price of one - gall bladder out, prostate work, and something else being done to the neck of his bladder. He's back on the ward again this evening, and in hospital for the rest of the week. My Saturn is at 8 Aries, with Mars at 8 Cancer today, so the outer planet cardinal energy (Uranus square Pluto) is also involved.

Meanwhile, my father-in-law is also going into hospital for an op tomorrow.

Mars is connected to operations, the cutting, surgery. Saturn is representative of our fathers as well as authority figures or older people in general.

There's still not a complete consensus about which house (4th or 10th) rules 'mother' and which 'father'. I just look at the 4th/10th as the parent houses. My dad is a Sun Aries, and my mum is Libran. I have Aries on the MC (cusp of the 10th) and Libra on the IC (cusp of the 4th).

Saturn is currently in my 4th house (family/home/parent). It has been opposite natal Saturn but is now moving away, though still in aspect. Mars will square it exactly in the sky on the 25th.

At the same time, Saturn is moving toward my own natal Mars again. So lots of Mars-Saturn energy flying around for me at the moment. The last time I had this Mars-Saturn energy doubling up, I developed a back problem which lasted a few weeks. Mars-Saturn has been described as a feeling of 'driving with the brakes on'. There is often frustration involved as the planet of fear, contraction, caution and limitation (Saturn) comes into aspect with the planet of action and assertion and Go, Go, Go! Do It Now! (Mars)

My natal Saturn echoes this even further since it's in the sign that Mars rules, Aries. Traditionally, Saturn in Aries is in 'fall', which means it doesn't work well there.

I'm definitely feeling the Saturn energy at the moment. There is an element of 'Eeyore' about my mood. Maybe not the best time to write a blog post? Perhaps I'll look at the positive Mars-Saturn tomorrow. But for now, there's a feeling of heaviness and pessimism (Saturn), which seems to come from not being able to act (Mars). I can't DO anything about the current situation except sit and worry, which doesn't help. I even feel inadequate about not being able to send positive, healing energy as I can't get into the right mindset. One insight I've had: the inability to act, to express anger or assert yourself gets turned inward. The Mars energy goes back inside when it's blocked and creates depression or depletes motivation instead.

I'm going to try some focusing now, and see if I can just allow myself to feel this for a while, and be accepting and compassionate with the energy, without judging it.

Love you, Dad. Eeyore signing off for now.

UK riots continue...

2011-08-10T02:20:00.009+01:00

This continues on from the London Riots post.

Wednesday 10th, 1.48am BST. Mars is now separating from the square to Uranus (it was exact at 5.33pm BST, Tuesday 9th). See the chart at the very bottom of the blog page for current planet places (click 'show current chart' if you need to update it for exact time)
I haven't talked much about this aspect yet...
Mars-Uranus reflects the sense of novelty and excitement in what the rioters are doing as well as the rebellion and breaking the rules... well, and just breaking things generally. Driven by the 'buzz' of it all. Breaking things for the sake of breaking things. It's an unpredictable, volatile, thrill-seeking energy. Incredibly wilful. There's a brittle sense to it, like something could snap when you least expect it. It will not be contained. Any kind of restriction is anathema. Last night, during the worst of the disturbances, the word 'flashpoints' was used: this seems to fit the Mars-Uranus energy for me.
With the separating of the aspect, that energy will finally starting to pass away now.

Mars opposite Pluto, which I spoke of in the previous blog, is yet to come to exact though: early morning on Thursday 11th (6.14am BST).

Because the Uranus-Pluto square is so close the influence of all three planets works together. After Thursday morning the tensions may begin to ease, but the UK will remain scarred. And Uranus-Pluto will be around for years to come. The aspect is exact (with retrograde motion) an astonishing seven times over the next 4 years.

24th June 2012, Uranus 8°24 Aries, Pluto 8°24 Capricorn
19th September 2012, Uranus 6°57 Aries, Pluto 6°57 Capricorn
20 May 2013, Uranus 11°14 Aries, Pluto 11°14 Capricorn
1st November 2013, Uranus 9°26 Aries, Pluto 9°26 Capricorn
21st April 2014, Uranus 13°34 Aries, Pluto 13°34 Capricorn
15 December 2014 Uranus 12°36 Aries, Pluto 12°36 Capricorn
17 March 2015 Uranus 15°18 Aries, Pluto 15°18 Capricorn

Mars will periodically transit the Uranus-Pluto square. This is usually about once every 5 months, but because of the upcoming Mars retrograde period (January to April 2012) the next transit will be in July 2012, just a month after the first exact alignment of Uranus-Pluto, so while the two outer planets are still within very close orb. It will be interesting to see what happens at that time.

Mars-Pluto continued...

2011-08-08T15:05:00.009+01:00

Aside from the ongoing London Riots, other headlines from BBC Online today caught my eye today, reflecting the applying Mars-Pluto opposition at the moment.

"Soldier allegedly cut fingers off dead Taliban"

Attacks and cutting, and the violence is Mars. Pluto reflected in the intensity of such attacks, the primal nature of them. To me, the soldier's (alleged) 'souvenirs' are reminiscent of Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness. "The horror..." Pluto is the horror - hell, after all. Lord of the Underworld. It's also the things we consider taboo.
Dangerous and wild animals correlate to Pluto. Rottweiler screams Pluto at me, as they can be very scary dogs, along with their colouring. I associate them with the film 'The Omen'... I also seem to remember reading a suggestion that dogs in general are symbolised by Pluto - I think it was Sue Tompkins, but could be wrong.

A bear attack is a bit of a random headline for the UK though! It happened in Norway, but the boy is from Jersey. I hope he recovers soon, it must have been incredibly traumatic.

Mars is exactly opposite Pluto early on Thursday morning (11th August, 6.14am BST).

Riots in London

2011-08-08T04:11:00.047+01:00

As with everyone else, I've been shocked by the violence happening in London over the last few days, even though Mars has recently entered Cancer and formed a tense aspect with the ongoing long-term cardinal square between Uranus and Pluto.

This is the chart for the triggering event, the fatal police shooting of a man in Tottenham (Mark Duggan) on Thursday night at 6.15pm.

Click to enlarge

The opposition aspect between Mars and Pluto is aligned right across the Ascendant- Descendant axis at the time of the event. In other words, it is strongly highlighted at that time of day, with the threatening crisis energy of Pluto very strong and 'in-your-face', and Mars (guns, violent events, over-impulsiveness, aggression) just setting opposite it. I have mentioned previously the frequent correlation between shootings and Mars-Pluto aspects. The shooting in Norway happened with Mars conjunct the Pluto of Norway's national chart (see previous blog), and Anders Brievik, the perpetrator, has a Mars-Pluto trine in his natal chart. The shooting aboard a nuclear sub here in the UK happened under a square of Mars-Uranus to Pluto.
More generally, Mars-Pluto aspects reflect the intense (Pluto) drive to take action (Mars) but since the healthy assertive energy of Mars can so easily tip over into anger and aggression, these aspects are incredibly potent. Pluto is outside of conscious control - it represents a volcanic upwelling of instinctive and compulsive energy and when combined with Mars the results can be extreme. Combine this with Uranus, squaring both planets to form a tense t-square, and the qualities of unpredictability, sudden shock and the unexpected are thrown into the mix.
There is, of course a positive manifestation of Mars-Pluto energy, as in the tremendous never-quitting energy of the boxer or the martial artist, and perhaps that's something to look at sometime in the future to give some balance.

Mars is triggering the Uranus-Pluto square at the moment, and for the next few weeks. It's a very tense time. The ongoing Uranus-Pluto square is only just in its early stages as it has effects for a number of years into the future. We're already seeing world-wide radical and revolutionary change (Uranus) on a mass scale (Pluto) reflected in world events this year, and the energy is growing stronger; the aspect becoming exact for the first time next summer.This is Richard Tarnas' in-depth article if you want to find out about Uranus-Pluto (and the other major world transits) in more detail.

click to enlarge

The chart for the UK (1801) is being triggered by the tense 'hard' aspects of the cardinal planets - Uranus, Pluto, Saturn and Mars soon to transit them, since the Sun in the national chart is at 10° Capricorn, the Midheaven 9° Cancer (Sun on the IC), and the Ascendant at 7° Libra. These events in London, as the nation's capital, reflect events near the beginning of this ongoing dynamic energy. Next year, the first exact alignment of the Uranus-Pluto square will be at 8° Aries-Capricorn in June, aligning more closely with the UK national chart.

My thoughts are with the family of Mark Duggan, and with all those caught up in the violence.

BBC Timeline for the riots.

Updates

8.10pm BST, fresh violence in London as Mars closes in on an exact aspect squaring Uranus (tomorrow, 5.33pm BST) and opposite Pluto early morning on Thursday. (6.14am).

Just before midnight - I'm just listening (BBC Online Live Feed) to the poor chap who's business, which stood for 5 generations of his family, since I believe he said 1867, is an inferno. So awful, and such a tragedy.

00.17am (9th August) - still watching the live feed. Feeling very emotional now, and disbelieving too. Stunned by how this has spread. Lots of us here in the UK are staying up watching the news tonight, it seems. The Guardian journalist, Paul Lewis said it's spreading rather than calming down. He was speaking of a 'sense of empowerment' for the rioters, and that they feel they've taken control (to paraphrase him). This rang bells for me with something Rick Tarnas said somewhere on the Correlations podcast, about Uranus-Pluto being the empowerment of youth, but also saying that the shadow side of Uranus-Pluto can be pure chaos. That's definitely what we're seeing here now. I think it was this podcast recorded back in March. Have a listen, from about 15 minutes in, until about the 30 minute mark. Matthew Stelzner describes the shadow of Uranus-Pluto as "the narrative of chaos". Rick Tarnas elsewhere has describe the Pluto energy as the "collective id".

Please send all your positive thoughts to London. (And to Birmingham which is also having problems now).

Just been talking to David @ Stellar Insights on Twitter - he's posted the really powerful Mars>Cancer Ingress chart set for London. His blogpost is here.

It seems that there are now some disturbances in Liverpool as well.

01.25am ...and Manchester?
Lots of my friends on Facebook still awake and worried about their friends and family in London.

4.09pm Tuesday 9th - huge uncertainty about what's going to happen tonight. When I went to my local shop they were looking at CCTV photos of a shoplifter who had been causing problems over the last three days. Interesting synchronicity. I'm in Exeter. The 'last three days' stood out for me, considering the time-scale of unrest. I'm wondering if it will spread further in other cities tonight. We haven't had anything in Exeter yet that I'm aware of, but Plymouth has had some looting, I've been told. If you're in the UK and in a city, keep your kids in tonight, folks.

Regularly updated map of where disturbances are occurring, on The Guardian site.

5.25pm Interesting phrase in the Telegraph article "Its participants, marshalled by Twitter, are protagonists in a sinister flipside to the Arab Spring." - both are reflections of Uranus-Pluto.

This post seems to be getting too long and unwieldy, so I've continued on with reflections on Mars-Uranus and the riots here.

Oslo bombing

2011-07-22T22:38:00.019+01:00

The huge bomb in Oslo and subsequent shooting this afternoon, are reflected in the current conjunction of Mars to the South Node . This alignment is hitting Pluto in the national chart for Norway. Pluto is conjunct the Sun in the nation's chart.

Link for Norway chart

Data for Norway is from Nick Campion's Book of World Horoscopes.

Time for the bombing is given on Wikipedia, with other sources quoting around 3.30pm.

Note, transiting Chiron is also conjunct the South Node (and Saturn) of the national chart. There seems to be a fated quality about this event. Transiting Mars is triggering (within 2 degrees) last months lunar eclipse (15 June). Norway is also experiencing a Uranus square Uranus transit, which of course also draws in the current major Uranus-Pluto square active right now and becoming exact for the first time next year.

My thoughts are with the people of Norway tonight. Sending love.

Update, 29 July 2011: I intended to come back to this for a longer look, and of course got distracted. Meanwhile, there have been other postings about the bombing and shooting in Norway, and I found Lynn Hayes' to be very interesting, so I'll add a few links here: The astrology of the Oslo bombing. A second post of hers on the same topic is here: More about Norway...

Timeline given for events (NY Times).

Matthew Stelzner discusses Norway in the latest Correlations podcast.

Noon Chart for Anders Breivik (no time known)

Alice Cooper cancels a show for the first time in 30 years.

2011-05-27T02:54:00.013+01:00

A status update tonight, from the Alice Cooper Facebook page (I'm a big fan) states:

"For the first time in thirty years, Alice was forced to cancel a show tonight due to illness. He was too ill to even leave the hotel here in Santiago, and is very sorry to disappoint the many fans here who have waited so long for this concert. The Doctor is optimistic that he will be well enough for Saturday's show in Buenos Aires. Hopefully, Alice will be able to get back to Chile another time."

It was posted 27th May 2011, around 1.30am, British Summer Time. Transits below are for 6pm in Santiago, 26 May 2011, though I don't know what time the cancellation happened.

Click on image to enlarge

Note transiting Saturn closely conjunct his Libra Ascendant (and natal Neptune, ruler of his 6th house of health). It's interesting that they say 'for the first time in thirty years' as that is roughly the Saturn cycle, so Saturn would have been on his Ascendant or thereabouts at that time too. That's pretty good going for a 63 year old. Touring must be very gruelling.With Saturn transiting his Ascendant, he needs to slow down a bit now, look after himself, and not push so hard. There was recently a pile-up of planets in Aries - these would have all made stressful opposition aspects to Neptune, his Ascendant, and that transiting Saturn, so I would imagine he is exhausted and perhaps feeling his age more (Saturn). Neptune rising is very sensitive to the environment, more so when triggered by these transits. Saturn is retrograding at the moment, going direct on June 13th, and it will make another final pass over his Ascendant in mid-July this year, and over Neptune in August.

Get well soon, Alice. Cut down on the shows and save some energy.

Update: It was food poisoning, which fits with Neptune on the Ascendant, sensitivity, and Neptune ruling poisoning. (Defences are 'leaky' or weakened) He is still feeling weak, but getting better, fortunately. I just read on Wikipedia that in a 2005 Australian interview Alice said he wouldn't retire before Mick Jagger. Mick Jagger is 6 years older than he is, so he said that means he has to carry on for 6 years after Sir Mick throws his cap in :)
The blog on the official Alice Cooper website also states that he's had no sick days off in 30 years, so the 30 years was intriguing me again. I looked up transits for 1981, and Saturn stationed retrograde within 1½ degrees of Alice's Libra Ascendant in January 1981, then crossed over it in September 1981, and over that natal Neptune in October 1981. I'm still trying to track down what was happening for him then though. His first child, daughter Calico, was born that year, on the 19th May.

Birthday, Stumpy the Hermit Crab, and 'Astrology in the Year Zero'

2011-05-15T18:22:00.008+01:00

It was my birthday on the 10th, which was a bit of a washout as I spent the morning in the hospital with my husband who had to have a 'carpal tunnel' operation on his hand; the poorly paw subsequently dubbed Stumpy the Hermit Crab (huge fat bandage, wiggly fingers poking out). He has Chiron in Gemini in his 6th house, currently being squared by Chiron and Neptune.

One of my birthday presents was Astrology in the Year Zero by Garry Phillipson, which I've been reading for the last few days. I've just discovered there is a companion website and wanted to share it. Still to come in the post - Apollo's Chariot by Liz Greene, and Frank C. Clifford's The Astrologer's Book of Charts. Yay for birthdays and Amazon wishlists :)

Ouch

2011-04-11T01:20:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note to say that with transiting Saturn conjunct my natal Mars in Libra in the 4th, and transiting Mars coming up to conjunct natal Saturn in Aries on Tuesday, I have had a bad back (lower back) since Thursday night and I'm finding it really difficult to get about. That with all the Aries energy on top. Restriction, pain, frustration, raaaarrrrr!!!! That about sums it up :) More when I can sit at a desk for longer than 5 minutes :)

Shooting aboard a nuclear sub here in the UK

2011-04-08T15:55:00.002+01:00

Here in the UK, there has been a shooting aboard a nuclear sub. The BBC News report states that one crew member was killed and another seriously injured. Below is a chart for the time the police were called in - I'm assuming it was only minutes after the event.

Note, Mars/Uranus on the Aries MC. Squaring Pluto.

Mars-Pluto aspects are very common in the charts for shootings. Mars ruling guns and violent, aggressive and impulsive acts, and Pluto an obsession with, a compulsion or an intensification of the Mars energy. Pluto has been suggested as a 'higher octave' of Mars. Pluto correlates with the animal instinct as well, with danger, with threat and crisis. Uranus represents the unexpected nature of the event, the sudden shock, the breaking away from the norm, the perversity of the event.

The presence of Mars and Uranus both in Aries emphasises impatience, impulsiveness, wilfulness and speed. Right on the Midheaven, the conjunction highlights these energies strongly.
Pluto in a tense, square aspect to the two, is also a symbol for nuclear power.

19 September 2011 Update - this is the Wikipedia link for the submarine involve which gives all updates for the incident. (Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan was jailed for life today)

Archaeological discovery of earliest Christian writings?

2011-03-29T17:37:00.000+01:00

I've just been reading in the news today (BBC Online) about the archaeological discovery of ‘metal books’, almost 2000 years old, in Jordan. The books are made of lead and it appears that they were discovered hidden in a cave sometime around 2005 to 2007.

2005-7 was when Saturn was opposite Neptune: concrete (Saturn) or rather lead (Saturn) evidence of the very earliest writings of Christianity (Neptune). They were also exposed by a flash flood (Neptune).

The Saturn-Jupiter opposition was exact yesterday, The exact opposition also contacts Neptune, though only by minor aspect. Neptune is in sesquiquadrate aspect with Saturn (reflecting back to the opposition of 2005-7) and semi-square Jupiter.

I'm wondering how well the negotiations for them will go, given the importance of the discovery, and the number of planets in Aries at the moment. Tempers may get frayed.

See close-up photos here.

Gary Oldman - Empire Icon award.

2011-03-28T03:56:00.001+01:00

He's one of my favourite actors, so I was really chuffed to hear that Gary Oldman has just won the Empire 'Icon' award. (If anyone has the time he received the award, I'd appreciate that as I wasn't watching). The Empire movie awards were held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London.

Gary Oldman starred in Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' played Sid in 'Sid and Nancy', and had noted roles in Dark Knight, the Harry Potter films (as Sirius Black) and The Fifth Element, among many others. He's just finished filming a version of John LeCarre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with Colin Firth.

Please note, I don't have a time of birth for Gary, so I'm using a noon chart, but appropriately, transiting Uranus is exactly conjunct his natal Sun in Aries right now. Transiting Jupiter is also conjunct his natal Moon-Mercury conjunction in Aries (with transiting Saturn opposite).

I've also been taking note of possible 'recurrence transits' in charts recently. This is when aspects between two planets in a natal chart repeat at significant times in a person's life. It seems Gary's natal Sun-Uranus trine is currently reflected in the Sun-Uranus conjunction which is in orb but now separating. Interesting. His natal Uranus is also in Leo, (acting) so the Uranus-Sun transit emphasising the effect of this double-whammy already in his chart. Transiting Sun is also trine his natal Uranus, further emphasising the effect. It was his birthday last Monday. Belated Happy Birthday Gary, what a great present! :)

Picture source - Jasmin Hunter via Wikimedia Commons

Wikipedia banning astrology-friendly editors?

2011-03-26T00:38:00.003Z

I've just read Robert Currey's note about Wikipedia banning astrology-friendly editors. Visiting the Wikipedia page, I was quite shocked to see the changes that have been made to 'Astrology' - now horribly far from a balanced view. It's both saddened me and made my blood boil (with all the Aries energy about at the moment). I'm still working my way through the Discussion (tab on the same page), the early part made me feel like tearing my hair out.

I first came across this on Twitter today - the link from there is to a note posted on the Equinox Astrology Facebook page. It's all very drawn out and complicated (for me at least!) by all Wikipedia's red tape and elaborate rules of editing, but it's worth familiarising yourself (if you're an astrologer or astrology student) with what's happening, and the attitudes involved. Read all the comments underneath. If you have plenty of time, read the Discussion on the Wikipedia page. Hopefully then, anyone conversant with Wikipedia and its editing protocols (not me!) might be able to help out. I feel frustrated and wish there was more I could do to help, apart from talk/rant about it here.

Astrology seems beset on all sides, however: the issues with Prof. Brian Cox, Dara O’Briains and the Minnesota malarky, which I'm sure you've seen in the news, (see Deborah Houlding's article in answer to the Cox and Minnesota criticisms on her Skyscript website) preceded this new 'editing war' on Wikipedia. Please go to the Astrological Association website (click the image below) for more info and help if you can. I'd been planning on adding this link and kept forgetting: now it seems much more topical.

On a lighter note, the Wikipedia issue then led me on to discovering the Astrology News Service web page, and their article on the Carlson Double-Blind Experiment, along with Robert Currey's in-depth article on the same subject. I'm hoping the latter information got more of an airing further down the 'edit war', but I've been there hours reading it now, and it's time for bed! I'll update tomorrow if so.

Update (June 2011) - I recently read more about this on Deb Houlding's Facebook page, and eventually arrived at an article she has written on the AA website giving the background to the AA's petition, which is very informative. Deb is currently trying to decide whether to become a Wikipedia editor herself.

Full Moon in Virgo today is a 'Supermoon'

2011-03-19T16:20:00.000Z

Today's Full Moon in Virgo, exact at 6.10pm GMT, is a 'supermoon' - the moon is full at the point when it's at (or very near) it's closest point to the earth in its orbit. It will appear bigger in the sky. I think it's by about 15% but don't quote me on that!
This is a term coined by Richard Nolle in 1979, and it's received some publicity lately in the news, so here are some links to explain the term some more.

1. Richard Nolle's explanation of supermoons on his website

2. Richard's article, which the Mountain Astrologer recently posted on their website.

It'll be opposing my natal Chiron in Pisces from the 3rd house (3rd-9th).
Check your own chart to see if it's touching on anything (within a degree of orb). The Moon will be at 28 degrees 48 minutes of Virgo.

You can click on the image to make it bigger. I'm now flushed with success at actually managing to post a picture to my blog, woohoo, go me! I will get the hang of all this :)

Science of Intuition

2011-03-17T18:38:00.000Z

The Institute of Noetic Sciences just posted Rupert Sheldrake talking to Dean Radin (via Facebook) here on the IONS website. I don't know about anyone else, but I have often had the experience of thinking of someone, and then having them call me.

My cat Charlie, years ago, used to always come out of the back of the house to sit on the wall a minute before I arrived back from work, even though I didn't arrive at the same time each day. My house-mates informed me of this, otherwise I would never have known!

I do have a strong Neptune in my chart, not sure if Charlie did ;)

Some great astrology on Facebook

2011-03-12T04:16:00.000Z

I've just discovered that The Mountain Astrologer has a Facebook page!

As does:

Faculty of Astrological Studies
Astrological Association of Great Britain
Horoscopic Astrology Blog, (Chris Brennan)
American Federation of Astrologers
Association for Astrological Networking
National Council for Geocosmic Research
Association for Young Astrologers

And just a plug for our local group: Exeter Astrology Group
Please note - I post all the links to videos I find about serious astrology, along with other article links, on this page, so please go there to explore if you use Facebook.

If I come across more on my Facebook meanderings, I'll come back and add them. Hopefully all the above links will work. If they don't, just try googling 'Facebook' and the name of the group or page :)

Uranus enters Aries and I enter the world of blogging - tentatively!

2011-03-11T23:48:00.000Z

I'm still reeling from the effects of all these images of the massive earthquake in Japan today, and also aware of just how much faster paced and frantic everything has started to feel, even in the last few days. All my astrological reading has been focused around Uranus - obsessively so, in fact. And yet, I can't stay on any one track, I'm jumping around like a live wire, which seems highly appropriate.

This is just a brief few lines to start the blog officially. I'm not really sure what I'm doing in this medium, or indeed how to connect with anyone else out there - like-minded astrological types particularly. But it's a start. I'll begin to feed in some of my recent scribblings when I start to get the hang of things. In the meantime, hello to anyone who may start reading. Even if I just end up talking to myself, the need to get some of this outpouring expressed in some intelligible way is helpful.

This is my chart, for anyone who is interested :)