Archive for October, 2007

Full Moon in Taurus – October 26, 2007, 04:52 UT

Friday, October 26th, 2007

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

THE FULL MOON at two-plus degrees Taurus invites us to search for our inner child and boldly to express our creativity, even if it seems a little risky. The Full Moon happens right near the Chiron discovery degree, which was three-plus degrees Taurus. This gives us awareness in the midst of the current contradictory celestial influences.

Last time we were talking about ancient dignities and the different kind of rulerships in astrology. For example, if you’re a Libra, your planet, Venus, is said to be the ruler of your sign. But if you’re a Pisces, your sign is also associated with Venus because Venus is exalted in Pisces. Exalted is like being a visiting king in a friendly nation; you are treated with dignity. The Moon is exalted in Taurus.

The Moon in Taurus has the focus on security, material well-being and values. In negative aspect this can lead to greediness and being perpetually stuck or stubborn. The Sabian Symbol for two-plus degrees Taurus is “Steps up to a lawn blooming with clover.” The keyword is “hopefulness”. The symbol is offering spiritual abundance, as the three-leaf of clover can be seen representing the Holy Trinity, or the Triple Goddess.

The Sun is in the depth sign Scorpio, conjunct Mercury, which is busy retrograding in Libra. The exact conjunction occurred on Oct. 23 in the first degree of Scorpio and Mercury retrograded back to Libra on Oct. 24. When a planet is retrograde the energy is turned inward, but the Sun in Scorpio helps the creative ideas provided by Mercury to penetrate the surface (depicted by the sting in the glyph of Scorpio).

Mercury is tightly sextile Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio. Pluto is approaching his third and last conjunction with the Galactic Core, before ingressing to Capricorn for the first time in January 2008. Pluto is right at the Galactic Core aligning with the window to the Source on Oct. 28. At the bright core of our galaxy there is a supermassive black hole and a lot of dark matter. This is a metaphor for subconscious, from which creative impulses arise. The effect is intense. We may perceive it as something which is coming from outside us but which really is within us.

Both Scorpio and Taurus are fixed signs and they represent stability and are prone to resist change. Holding things the way they are isn’t always the best procedure though. Make conscious choices keeping in mind what you want to create. Venus is the ruler of Taurus (where the Moon is now) and Libra (where Mercury is now). The stability of Taurus and Scorpio is challenged by the opposition between Venus and the rebellious Uranus. Asteroid Icarus is exactly conjunct Jupiter in Sagittarius. This conjunction is in the middle of the opposition squaring Venus and Uranus, and square is a dynamic aspect of something happens. According to Sue Tompkins, squares describe where we meet the world and make an impact upon it and where the outer world makes an impact upon us. This T-square pattern asks us to be brave and let our imagination fly.

Asteroid Hephaistos is in exact conjunction with the Moon. In Greek mythology Hephaistos was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals and metallurgy, and fire. His Roman equivalent was Vulcan, husband of Venus. Alice A. Bailey, in her 1951 book Esoteric Astrology, described Taurus as the foundry of the soul, the hot furnaces and anvils of which are not ruled by Venus, but rather by her consort Vulcan, the divine blacksmith. And it is in Vulcan’s shop that the whole process of greed and desire that has led to the mess that humanity is in, she says, becomes reversed, and where the life of the soul takes form and consciousness.

Asteroid Child in Aquarius Squares the Sun and the Moon

The Full Moon chart is colored with septile aspects. A septile is an aspect which you get when you divide the circle by seven (= 51 degrees 26 minutes). The seven series also includes the bi-septile (the multiple of the septile by two) and the triseptile (the multiple of the septile by three). The suggested orbs are very tight, only one-to-two degrees maximum for the septile and a half degree for the multiples.

In the Full Moon chart Neptune septiles Pluto. This is one of the septiles in a long series of them forming between Neptune and Pluto between the years 2002 and 2012. The Sun forms a biseptile to Varuna, which is the most elevated planet in the chart cast for The Hague, Netherlands, and also the apex planet of a Yod formed by Jupiter, Neptune and Varuna. Venus triseptiles Neptune. There are two chains of accurate septiles which almost run around the chart. The first chain is formed by Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter/Icarus and Chiron. The second chain is formed by Quaoar, Nessus, Bienor, Sedna/Ceres and Mars.

Septiles are mostly described as creative and inspirational aspects and having to do with sacred matters. The study of Kollerstrom and O’Neill shows that septiles are relevant to the process of scientific inspiration and prominent in the moments of a breakthrough of the scientific discoveries that have changed the course of history.

But septiles also have their darker side. They can have a disruptive nature and feel threatening. The septile aspect is said to represent the concept of the shadow. The shadow arises from the depths of the unconscious. It is dark material bursting into light. According to Carl Jung, the shadow is instinctive and irrational, but is not necessarily evil even when it might appear to be so. Its effects can be positive as well as negative. The shadow may operate as our greatest source of strength, the place where important growth can take place, unless we try to push the dark issues away. The shadow may also be a great source of inspiration and creativeness. As astrologer Steven Forrest has put it, “In a nutshell, the Shadow embraces everything that gets you hot.”

New Moon in Libra – October 11, 2007, 05:01 UT

Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

By Kirsti Melto and Eric Francis

THE NEXT Sun-Moon conjunction or New Moon occurs at 17+ degrees Libra on Oct. 11. The chart is, perhaps, challenging as the Sun, Venus and Mars are in signs where they are said to be in their “fall.” Fall is one of the ancient dignities. Dignities are part of a much more complex system that is all but forgotten now, and greatly misunderstood. It is a system of weighting how strong a planet is in its sign.

There are several kinds of rulership in astrology. The most common one we know about; for example, if you’re a Libra, your planet, Venus, is said to be the ruler of your sign. But if you’re a Pisces, your sign is also associated with Venus because Venus is exalted in Pisces. Exalted is like being a visiting king in a friendly nation; you are treated with dignity. But planets that are in signs opposite to their exaltation are said to be in their fall. When planets are in their exaltation they are usually able to express their nature to the best advantage, and when they are in their fall their influence is said (by the ancient astrologers) to be imprisoned. Using the energy of the sign requires some work.

But here is a theory for you. We have learned a lot about astrology from Chiron, which creates strength from seeming debilities. Chiron is often associated with a struggle that makes a person truly strong; or a debility that creates a superior ability or very focused talent. I have seen this “Chiron effect” work in many circumstances when Chiron is not directly involved; it’s just one way that humans use adversity to adapt and become much stronger.

Libra is about relationships. It is a sign seeking balance and harmony almost at any cost, and typically willing to please others. It has a dislike of confrontation and a strong need for maintaining peace and stability. But it is also motivated by justice and an egalitarian spirit. Venus, the ruler of Libra (and also Taurus), will be in Virgo for the New Moon, and it has just completed a conjunction to Saturn. A limit has been reached, but it may not be recognized. It’s like Venus is in a blind spot, unaware of where she is, and caught up in the details that would be applicable anywhere but are creating a kind of blinder to the challenges of the present.

Mars is exalted in Capricorn. This second planetary association (we all know about Saturn) is what gives Capricorn its power of initiative. Mars in Cancer would rather run than fight. It is a placement for Mars where it has difficulties in expressing anger and being direct, so that directness is going to be helpful if we can summon it without losing our temper. However, the pushy or over-emotional side of Cancer may come out, and that is a tendency to be aware of.

However, this is not a time for keeping the status quo at any cost, because Quaoar, a small world beyond Neptune which is astrologically about family patterns, is tightly conjunct Jupiter at the Great Attractor, which will magnify its effects. We will be able to see and feel the family pattern vividly. Mars in Cancer is a placement which may manifest as fighting against family and tradition, or being able to assert oneself enough to resist those tendencies. We tend to drag around family baggage, but this might be a good time to start a fair conversation and gain some healing on the subject.

The Sun and Moon are sextile Jupiter-Quaoar conjunction. The conjunction of Jupiter and Quaoar (which is pretty rare, happening every 14 years or so) will be exact the day after the New Moon, so it’s a meaningful part of this chart.

Quaoar is a kind of planet called a cubewano (que-bee-wanno). It was discovered in 2002 and named for a Native American creation deity of the Tongva people from what is now southern California. Quaoar speaks to the rhythms and choreography into which we were born, as these manifest within the family pattern going back countless generations. It points to how we dance to the music of our own creation mythology more or less unconsciously. The square from Uranus hints that we are ready for a revolution in this department. The Jupiter-Uranus square, which is the third and last in the series, is exact two days before the New Moon.

The Great Attractor is a bit mysterious, a fixed point at 14+ degrees Sagittarius. It is a kind of anti-Big Bang, a point pulling everything — including us — toward it, but nobody currently understands entirely what this point is. Both Jupiter and the Great Attractor have a tendency to make things bigger. The Great Attractor tends to polarize situations and push people one way or the other; it is associated with distinct or even extreme opinions. Jupiter conjunct this point possibly either magnifies or softens its effect.

The Sun and Moon are opposing a conjunction of 1992 QB1 (289 year orbit) — the first planet discovered beyond Pluto — and Eris (557 year orbit) — the first planet found after Pluto’s discovery in 1930 that has proved to be bigger than Pluto. This is a very rare event because of the length of the orbits. The discovery of 1992 QB1 proved the existence of the Kuiper Belt, which had remained only theoretical until then. 1992 QB1 has not yet been officially named, but Eric has proposed Radharani. 1992 QB1 may have associations with the Phoenix-like process of arising into new incarnations within our current lifetime, which often happens as a result of near-death experiences or with the experience of “ego death.”

Eris, for her part, represents that missing factor in the modern psyche; the sense that we are not quite whole, that our minds are fragmented by the onslaught of history and the pressures of modern consciousness. Indeed, Eris represents what is happening to our minds at the end of the Modern era and the dawn of the Postmodern era, when all the old rules, definitions, models and neat concepts that supposedly bolstered life are essentially lying in fragments.

Radharani in conjunction with Eris would seem to represent a factor that restores our sense of sanity in clearly insane times; that bridges us with the cosmos in a time when we have no tangible model of the cosmos.

The Sun opposes Eris on Oct. 14. In keeping with the theme of Libra, this is about our relationships. The inherent nature of a relationship is that of inviting another into our world. This means relinquishing a certain amount of control and making sure we are open to a measure of change and disruption in our life.

Asteroid Vesta is in conjunction with Pluto on the Galactic Core at 26+ degrees Sagittarius. Radharani can be compared with Vesta, which is about service to a higher power, giving oneself over, and tending the sacred hearth of sexuality and creativity. Vesta is the devotion and space-holding aspect of this energy and Radharani is the cosmic bridge aspect. Vesta is a guardian of the inner and outer space that surrounds the cosmic fire; QB1 is a guardian of the rift between the dimensions, personally bridging the contradictions of space and time with her awareness and opening the way to those who need assistance or who are not fully initiated.

The Sun and Moon are conjunct asteroid Psyche. The exact conjunction of the Sun and Psyche occurred the day before the New Moon. Psyche is the sense of the psychic wound that never heals. Often it is a wound to faith. It is where we think we are permanently damaged. WE ARE NOT! But that is the sense of where and how. Psyche works a lot like Chiron in that because we think we are damaged in some specific way (and often are), we do a lot of healing work and create a sense of power and special strength; the injury becomes its opposite. But there is often some kind of psychological legacy involved, and it can involve — among other things — guilt. So can Vesta, so we may want to focus on a theme of healing guilt at this juncture.

The Sun and Moon are square asteroid Eros at 16+ degrees Capricorn and square cubewano Varuna at 19+ degrees Cancer.

The most recently named trans-Neptunian object Borasisi (1999 RZ253) is conjunct the true node of the Moon at 6+ degrees Pisces. The naming was announced last week. Borasisi is a binary Kuiper belt object discovered in 1999. The binary companion, discovered in 2003, was named at the same time as Pabu. These names come from a fictional creation myth of a fictional religion told by Kurt Vonnegut in his novel Cat’s Cradle.

Borasisi and Pabu are personifications of the Sun and Moon, and quite interestingly this myth describes family patterns:

“… wherein Borasisi, the sun, held Pabu, the moon, in his arms, and hoped that Pabu would bear him a fiery child.

“But poor Pabu gave birth to children that were cold, that did not burn; and Borasisi threw them away in disgust. These were the planets, who circled their terrible father at a safe distance.

“Then poor Pabu herself was cast away, and she went to live with her favorite child, which was Earth. Earth was Pabu’s favorite because it had people on it; and the people looked up at her and loved her and sympathized.”

The echo phase of Venus ends at 2+ degrees Virgo on the same day as the New Moon occurs. Venus is conjunct Saturn. We can say that Venus enters a new territory with healthy grounding.