Libya’s Turmoil

 Um el Maa Oasis

photo credit: Michael Diederich (November 2005)

There are at lot of charts for Libya. For centuries it’s been ruled by treaty, partitioned by war and overrun by invaders. Not meaning this to sound cavalier, if your nation has been a power in the Mediterranean region north, south, east or west, its likely that at some point in history your nation has been in charge of the area we know today as Libya.

That nation – that collective/collected territory seem to have its roots in a peace treaty struck between the Allies and Italy which, as of February 10, 1947 has Italy relinquishing its command of Libyan lands.

February 10, 1947 - Italy relinquishes all control of Libya

in a treaty with the Allies (Tripoli)

This chart, in many a way – describes Libya as a nation as one which arose out of war (WWII) and which in that metaphysical formulation is created replete with the  groundwork for the Libya we know today, a Libya which is now painfully showing us its 'wartime-like' roots.

This concept starts with a chart which has 23 Libra on the 6th house of national health, work and service. Not only that, but this Libra 6th house contains the whole of the sign of Scorpio. Known as an interception, this ‘sign wholly encapsulated by a house’ is Scorpio. And in this intercepted pool of captive Scorpio energy is Chiron conjunct Niobe/Klotho and Jupiter conjunct Charybdis, Panacea and Eros/Hera.

The 6th house of any national chart is the nation’s ‘health’ as a nation plus its health care system, the general health of its people and the ‘health’ of its civil service and infrastructure, replete with whatever efforts are made to maintain the country in working order.

Modern Tripoli - Shari al Coiche

photo credit: Jaw101ie (June 2009)

A national 6th house also pictures the civil service, those who work to create or keep up the national infrastructure and – probably important here – the military.

One of Scorpio’s aspects is about death, conception and resurrection – hence the idea of the Phoenix being associated with Scorpio. So to have Scorpio intercepted in the 6th speaks of the war through which Libya was created, the warriors which created it and as a means of foreshadowing, the military man who would come to rule it.

The ruler of Libra (the sign on the cusp of this 6th house) is Venus. The Venus of this chart is in the 8th house of power, control, sex and joint finances – which in a national chart would be more like the nation’s use of credit and debt and/or what it uses money for.

Venus as a concept is about bringing things into being.

 We often think of Venus as the beauty of Aphrodite which inspires results. But the reality of Venus is more about what you earn, you have, what you have, you get to use as a resource. 

Which yes, would be why the concept of beauty is that ‘if you’ve got it, flaunt it!’ Of course that does sort of ignore how much work often goes into being that casually beautiful…

…But that’s another blog.

My point here is that the Venus of this chart is in the administrative/governing sign of Capricorn - is conjunct calculated Lilith. Calculated Lilith is either what we deny about our society or what our society denies (“refuses to know or acknowledge”) about us. And with this pair conjunct Scylla, there’s a whole stubbornness about this, plus a “whirlpool” effect – the ability to get ‘sucked in.’

In the 8th, this could easily be seen as Italy being…uh… ‘cajoled’ by the Allies into surrendering Libya. I mean, who thinks Italy woke up one morning saying ‘I want to set Libya free!!!’

 The ancient rock art of Tadrart Acacus bears mute testimony to

Libya's past as an area which was once far wetter - a land of

savannas which would have supported large animals like giraffes.

photo credit: Roberto D'Angelo (December 2005)

I don’t know about you, but WWII doesn’t strike me as a war which inspired such moods. As if any war does?

But moving on. In some houses (such as the 12th) Venus can indicate a free flow of creativity, no question. In the 8th however, it tends to be very controlling. And since it rules that 6th house (replete with its ‘impounded’ military) there’s the whole sense of ‘mandate’ to be associated with this Venus-Lilith-Scylla in the 8th. And that metaphysical essence would not only be part of Libya coming to be, but in what it is as it starts out.

No, not exactly what you would call a liberal start to national identity.

But we could go very ‘maybe yes, maybe no’ on whether this was going to be good or bad for the new nation…until we see how this 8th house is ruled by the Scorpio Jupiter intercepted in the 6th house.

It’s a closed circuit which turns itself a bit inside-out, right? The sign on the 6th is ruled by a Venus in the 8th with the 8th house ruled by a Jupiter which is intercepted in the 6th.

This ‘inescapable’ quality is what tips us off that the nation is not only controlled (Scorpio and 8th house) into being, but that the factor which goes into and comes out of this incarnating of the Libyan nation is a controlling (Scorpio) and probably charismatic (Scorpio/Jupiter) member of the military (6th house).

And no, I don’t know who negotiated for the Allies in WWII, but there’s no question but that Gaddafi – the man who will end of seizing and wielding Libyan power and power over Libya – he was widely known to have been a dashing, charismatic military presence when he took power.

Of course there is the other side of this Venus-Lilith-Scylla thing…that whoever would take power would do so without paying all that much attention to the people. And the people, in reality, would not be really honest with themselves about who this leader is.

If we had any doubt about this descriptor-description, we would look to the ruler of the Venus-Lilith-Scylla in Capricorn. That would be Saturn, which positioned in the 3rd house is in Leo.

Saturn in Leo is notorious for having…well, let’s just say a bit of an issue with arrogance. In the 3rd house of mentality and communiqués it’s a rather brilliant image of a nation created through treaty: you WILL give up these lands…they WILL become a country. On the other hand, this would also tend towards a country where those in charge would want (demand) to be right, and one prone to wanting to  dictate to others – including other governments. Making this all a little less comfortable is the idea that this Saturn is conjunct Eurydike and Atropos, making the newly freed Libya a place where the cost one is made to pay (Eurydike) equals and ‘end’ or ‘loss’ (Atropos) where the Saturn dictate is not adhered to.

Tripoli's 'Old Town'

photo credit: Franzfoto (November 2010)

At the risk of sounding a little like that old song about the leg bone connecting to the hip bone and the hip bone connecting to…. to have such a Leo Saturn-Atropos-Eurydike disposing the 8th house Venus (plus stubborn Scylla plus societal denying/disliking calculated Lilith) which in turn rules a 6th house with Scorpio intercepted therein replete with Jupiter…that seems to be the basis upon which the Libya we hear of today – a country ‘formulated’ less as a ‘nation’ as most conceive of it than a  hierarchal-tribal rule, leaving it apt to being not only run by a “strong-man” figure who comes to power through the 6th house military but who grows up thinking of this as the way the world should be run.

Children tend to formulate a good deal of their ‘view’ of the world between Jupiter’s first opposition (at about age 6)/Saturn’s first quarter cycle (approximately age seven) and the end of Jupiter’s first round (11.86 years), which is just shy of Saturn’s first opposition at about age 14.

Muammar Gaddafi was born in 1942. He would have thus been 5 when Italy relinquished its hold on Libya, and he would have been 9 when the Kingdom of Libya came into being on December 24, 1951.

 Kingdom of Libya: December 24, 1951 (Tripoli)

For a country to change charts, we would expect there to be some indicator on the original chart – in this case, the Independence (from Italy) chart. And indeed there is. Libya becomes the Kingdom of Libya as Pluto is opposing the Sun of the Independence chart – a challenge which comes from the 4th house of the populace and nationalism.

Interestingly, this is also what we saw with Egypt – as Pluto moved across the IC into the 4th house of culture, homeland, national population and tradition, Egypt changed. We see the same thing here. The new chart has Pluto at 21 Leo – the ‘exiting’ of the total opposition to the 20 Aquarius Sun of the Independence chart. This is Pluto picturing emergence…and in essence, the repercussions of transformation.

(LINK to the first of the blogs on Egypt. There are others linked in the sidebar Corporate, National and/or Political Kind section.)

In the Independence chart, shape shifter Haumea is at 18 Leo; Deucalion (finding the moral path) is at 22 Leo. Pluto runs over Haumea and ‘the shape of things’ begins to shift/change. Libya becomes a kingdom and then Pluto conjuncts Deucalion.

Considering that Pluto creates, denies or destroys, this is an interesting signal. Like as not, all three forms of this dynamic were felt in the new, young kingdom. But to fast forward to today, it would seem that the transformation into a kingdom which came to be ruled by Gaddafi ultimately denied the morality of the people and represents a ‘kingdom-format’ (as opposed to some other form of national governance such as a democracy) a format which is unlikely to work for Libya in the sense of giving the Libyan people their moral rights as a people.

That this is a negative and not positive call here is actually underscored by the idea that the Sun of the Kingdom chart is conjunct the Black Moon (calculated) Lilith of the Independence chart. Today we hear a Libyan people saying – if nothing else – that their kingdom’s ruler (Gaddafi as monarch) has ignored them and denied them their rights.

By this chart, their Independence would be denied. And since like all astrological signals this one swings both ways, the uprising of the Libyan people suggests some pretty serious consequences (a “dire” outcome) for Gaddafi. Black Moon Lilith can certainly represent a society or social standard which we want to ignore – but it can also represent the society or social forces coming to ignore everything about us. Considering that this statement is being made via the Black Moon of the Independence chart which is in the 8th house, the acts and attitude being displayed by Gaddafi towards his people (having them shot in the street) is absolutely 8th house.

Snow in Al Bayda, Libya

But as he has turned on his people, so also does this Kingdom Sun conjunct Independence 8th house Black Moon also says everything can be turned against him. Like attracts like…what we put out will come back to us. This is always true – and doubly potent when the symbols are 8th house oriented, which is to say either posed in the 8th house or in Scorpio.

As for the Kingdom chart as a whole, with Juno-Chiron-Sun conjunct in the 10th in Capricorn accompanied by Edisona, Medusa and Scylla, there is both a need to be strong and a likelihood that rulers of this Kingdom are going to be overly strong. Juno/Sun in Capricorn is the need and existence of dominant leadership – adding Chiron means one finds their own way in the doing of it, which in this case led to strength in Capricorn commerce (Edisona would be the ‘new idea’ which helped the country along) but Medusa/Scylla is a fearful stubbornness and ability to swallow others up which has been activated now as transiting Pluto is rolling over all these positions.

But why would Libyans explode now instead of continuing to tolerate their life? As viewers in a big world of events, we can easily say ‘that’s what’s going on in the Middle East – the turmoil is spreading.’ Yet astrologically, that doesn’t work – charts are more like data: they don’t react to external “feelings” or a world ‘mood.’

Instead, what we have is (let’s say it all together!) the January 4th Solar Eclipse at 13 Capricorn – an eclipse which occurring in Capricorn is easily ‘about’ government and commerce and what governments are doing with money and about commerce (their own and otherwise) …and this is an emotionally evocative degree.

In the Kingdom’s chart, this eclipse occurs virtually atop the Part of Fortune – Fortuna, as she is known. It’s something the Kingdom needs to go through and needs to know it will need to resort to (if necessary) time and time again until/unless things function correctly. That last part – the ‘functioning correctly’ comes from this Part of Fortune appearing in the functional 11th house. And since the 11th is about income, the marketplace, societal gatherings and operations of a nation in the world and a nation’s people in the national marketplace, all that we see going on and all that we hear from the Libyan people about their lack of opportunity and what is/isn’t allowed is entirely on mark.

That this Part of Fortune is conjunct Kleopatra says the people and Gaddafi know what they are doing and that they ‘speak with or in many tongues.’ Also conjunct Icarus, this Part of Fortune stands for actions taken in a sudden, headstrong and precipitous manner.

Jabal Al Akdar - Cyreraica in Eastern Libya

Photo credit: Barghathi

But does this have to be fatal? We would hope not, yet with Damocles and Vega at 13 and 14 (which makes Damocles exactly conjunct the Part of Fortune) there are perils to be faced…and frankly, Damocles/Icarus/Vega would spell an eloquently spoken ‘plunge’ which yes, could end in death.

(LINK to article on Damocles)

And there is another little pair ‘o’ points to be considered here. One is the 12 Capricorn Part of Fortune being semi-sextile Pallas (wisdom) at 12 Aquarius, which is an ego-bruising don’t bother me which mostly/greatly flows from the top down in this kingdom society. The Pallas portion of this also underscores a lack of regard for education of the people and use of their wisdom.

But there is that other little issue…namely that this Part of Fortune is in EXACT opposition to Uranus, aka Uranus conjunct Sirius, Ye Old Dog Star which teaches that little things (and “little people”) matter – and that sometimes we need to stick our ego in a box and do what needs doing instead of humoring ourselves.

Given how this Uranus is in the 5th house this is the quintessential ‘who gets to do what they want’ versus ‘no, you can’t do what you want!’ sort of energetic which the January eclipse went and set off, sort of like a heat-sensitive explosive encased in ice and left out in the sun.

With this all said, there’s also a teaching in astrology called progressions which, particularly with national charts functions best with a regimented ‘year-as-degree’ of movement. From 1951 to 2011 is sixty years, which in astrological terms is sixty degrees, or a sextile – equaling opportunity.

And if the Lunar Nodes represent society as a whole (which they do!)…a sextile backwards (by sign, which is how the Nodes move) would take us from the North Node at 2 Pisces to progressed North Node at 2 Capricorn. And 2 Capricorn is right smack conjunct Edisona and right between the 3 Capricorn Juno and 1 Capricorn Sun ‘ruler’s image’ of this Kingdom chart.

Oh, a new thing would be a brewing now, yes.

Being that Neptune is as of posting at 28 Aquarius about to move thru intense Aquarius 29 into Pisces as of April 2011, we have an image of Neptune in opposition to the Kingdom’s Regulus/Deucalion. Deucalion again being about ‘finding the moral path’ the people are saying their ‘morality’ is about having it be moral for them to have opportunities in life, it here joins Regulus – the royal star which promises success if vengeance is avoided.

With this combination situated in the 6th house of civil service and (yes,) military, it’s a very bad astrological idea (never mind political or humanistic!) for for Gaddafi to allow any military (particularly his own!) to fire on his own people. That several Libyan fighter pilots flew to Malta and asked to defect when asked to fire on the Libyan people is the ‘up’ side of this opposition. Neptune is opposing from the 12th house – a very strong position for Neptune. Still in Aquarius, the people will feel for the people’s plight – this is not going to be one group of Libyans saying another is out of their mind for protesting.

Moreover, all of humanity is going to object.

 The ruins of an ancient Roman theater in today's city of Sabratha

photo credit: dumidog

But this isn’t going to be easy. When Neptune reaches Pisces, the first thing it will hit in this Kingdom chart is asteroid Lilith – the cost of what one has done. This may be Gaddafi’s end, it may be the cost of revolt being paid by a people, either in human or societal terms.

This is one of those charts we could talk about for hours – the Mercury in Sagittarius at the top of the chart gives us a government (a king of the land) prone to hard-headed pronouncements. With the Mercury ruled by Jupiter/Eris in Aries, there’s an aggrandizement of the rights of the monarch with the now-being-seen willingness to serve out discordant treatment of the people (injury to members of the populace). With House and Typhon conjunct this Jupiter-Eris, there’s a comfort (House as ‘being at home’) with primal acts (Typhon), which coming from a military man turned national leader surely suggests a willingness to resort to military tactics and killing.

Plus with that Jupiter/Eris in Aries, one would surely look at the Mars/Saturn/Ixion/Lust/Medea in the 7th house in Libra. This is a weakness to entitlement (Mars/Ixion), a strong-arming (Mars/Saturn), a focus on what you love (Lust/Medea) and a craving for what suits your will even if it in time brings your downfall (Saturn/Ixion/Lust/Medea).

And for those not yet convinced, there is a 5 Scorpio Moon in the 8th – a fusion of money and power in the house of life or death, control or agreement – another underscoring of the potential for selfishness or violence. Or for that matter, terrorism or the sponsoring of same in any way, shape or form. Yes, this could be a great position for a government which really works with a people who earn being worked with. But Moon in the 8th OR Moon in Scorpio tends to feel what it feels. Combined, that becomes more of a given.

The final coup de gras here? That this Moon is conjunct Hybris and Byblis….not a pretty triad! Hybris is an arrogance to think you can get away with something. But eventually, it does come back to haunt you. And Byblis is wanting to justify something which on the face of it, should not even be argued for. But there’s something about it (namely that you want so for it to be okay) which makes you try and justify your love for whatever your Byblis quotient is.

That Libya erupted after Saturn took its station and went retrograde atop Ixion, backing into Mars as the ignition point says a lot. It both ignites the pent up feelings of the people as portrayed in this chart and all the propensities for how the ruler of this Kingdom will act in return.

 A mosque in the city of Ghadames - a protected

UNESCO world heritage site

photo credit: Roberto D'Angelo

 

So where is Libya going? The June 2011 Solar Eclipse at 11 Gemini will be right between fixed star Aldebaran (integrity) at 9 Gemini and fixed star Rigel (the teacher – 16 Gemini) at the 16 Gemini IC/Nadir point of this chart.

Because this eclipse is conjunct the Nadir of the Kingdom chart it acts to sort of ‘blast’ the base out from under this chart – implying that there is either a ‘teaching of a lesson’ to the country or a ‘greater wisdom’ which undermines the foundation upon which this Kingdom chart has stood now for 60 years.

That number – 60 – is in astrological circles a fairly automatic reminder of Saturn, by the way. Given that Saturn takes 29.46 years to go once around the zodiac, that’s pretty darn close to 60 years when you double it. The Saturn of this Kingdom chart being at 14 Libra with Saturn in retrograde going from 17 Libra back to 10 Libra tells us that this time...these weeks...this is the Kingdom chart’s Saturn return. It's going on right now. It's in progress. And it won't be complete until August, 2011.

Put in prosaic terms, Saturn is a symbol which says what you earn, you shall reap. This Kingdom chart seems to have earned a bucket full of trouble!

But why would that be? After all, the first go ‘round of Saturn didn’t create that kind of trouble, right?

Well, right. But that first Saturn return didn’t happen in conjunction with a Solar Eclipse squaring Saturn.

This brings up something which is important to understand: in astrological terms, one big transit can indicate a problem or an advancement. But catastrophe or achieving something over-the-moon fabulous requires more than one indicator. Saturn returns are something like a “payout” …or when the bill comes due. Some people have really great Saturn returns!

But in a chart like this where we see Saturn (at 14 Libra) square the Part of Fortune and Uranus – this is Saturn sitting at the apex of a t-square. The challenge of a t-square is to get “past” the apex of the “t”, which generally represents something difficult in your own (ego) nature to put aside. If you can manage it, then you reach the ‘other side’ of the “t” and everything falls together.

In this instance, as Saturn came to its (second) return at/as the apex of the Kingdom t-square – this is when the Solar Eclipse hit the “destination” point – the Part of Fortune.

And what do Solar Eclipses do, class? That’s right – first they show up all the worst positives, then they ‘black out’ what quality.

We are now officially in the worst of the positives zone, and that Uranus is at the time of this uprising and Gaddafi’s threatening (ordering?) of a ‘bloodbath’ of government against its own people, Uranus is at 29 degrees of Pisces – the last degree of the zodiac. The uprising began with Uranus at 28 degrees – conjunct Athena (knowing, wisdom) and fixed star Scheat, a point famous for rejection of ideas. The people rejected the rule of the leader and the leader (Gaddafi) rejected the right of the people to reject him.

(Oh – and by the way…the full name of the Greek Goddess is Pallas Athena. Her name has been parted into an astronomical two-ism with one asteroid being named Athena (or Athene) and another rather important astrological asteroid being known as Pallas).

Unfortunately, the combination of these symbols in this national chart (as opposed to a personal chart) suggests this is not going to be a quick process Libya is going through. Not only will June’s Gemini Solar Eclipse hit the Nadir of this chart but July 2011’s Cancer Solar Eclipse will hit the 5th house cusp of the Kingdom chart, rousing the full expression of that Scorpio Moon/Hybris/Byblis in the 8th.

This is an awfully long post. As I started, my intention had been to continue on into a discussion of Gaddafi’s personal chart. Born June 7, 1942, Gaddafi has a Sun which at 15 Gemini falls right at the Rigel/Nadir of the Kingdom chart.

 Muammar al-Gaddafi

June 7, 1942, Sirt (aka Sirte or Surt), Libya

Aries Wheel (no time known) - no Moon shown

With that point about to be ‘eclipsed’ come June, that seems enough to say.

Besides, the future of Libya as a nation which is home to millions of people seems far more important than the fate of one man who seems to care not at all for the values of his people – or the world.

Signs of Internal Relating

 Personally, I'm thinking of making the Jacaranda my family tree, but other members of the family might object...

photo credit: Shiftchange (2004)

I have a lot of Leo people in my life. I've always had lots of Leo folks in my life. As far as I know, it started with my baby brother being born under Leo.

Okay, so he's not a baby any more. But he was then, and I tend to think he's the one who started the trend. That I refer to him still here on this oh-so-international blog as my baby brother...? Well, call that sisterly prerogative! The minute he got taller than me he started referring to himself as my 'big brother' - so its mutual.

As for facts, by now we're both adults. At least allegedly. And he's out there being married with his own little munchkin.

Does that make you an adult? Probably not - but that's a whole other blog. As is the idea that my Bro the Leo married a She Leo in the founding of his Leo pride.

Sometimes I think Leo people marry other Leo people just to keep them from excessive pride. Not sure - but it's a concept. And yes, through the years I've watched this Sun/Moon matching thing. There are some odd sorts of commentaries to be made on same.

But hey...that's yet another blog.

To my endless astrological amusement, the son both to He and She Leo is an Aries. For one, that allows (and causes) me to refer to them as The Fire Sign Family. But maybe more importantly (as big sister with the Aries rising), that Aries son gives me cause to chuckle. The morning young nephew was born I looked at the calendar and knew that if nothing else, Sir and Ma'am Leo had just been blessed with a child who would (sooner and/or later) give them a bit of serious fire sign competition!

Ah, the quirks and twists of fate, no?

But getting back to the subject...we all tend to 'collect' signs. If you go through your address book (or birthday calendar) you'll see the same thing. Generally those birthdays cluster around points in our chart, making such people not only 'representative' of what that point's 'vibe' attracts (what we're putting out there), but through their energies and actions, part of what we get to learn. 

It's a funny thing, this universe...like attracts like and yet cause creates boomerang effect. As near as I can make it out, the more usefully and constructively positive we are in any given department of life, the better we get responded to. As I say (type) that however, I don't want anyone to think I mean we always have to all be "nice." Sometimes the painful truth is the very best thing we can hear. Discipline from without (not brutality, discipline) teaches us discipline within.

It's an odd position to take, but there are people who have been born into this world who are truly awful and miserable, yet through their 'badness' we have all learned something incredibly valuable.

Would we have learned it otherwise? Sad to say...but probably not. Human beings learn more through pain than through cotton candy happy times. The old saw the burned hand teaches best is a truly apt expression.

And sometimes it's the unpleasantries which show things up. In the middle of one of my testier conversations with the Leo Bro I discovered he had felt envious of my intellectual learning. Astonished, I replied that I have always been a bit envious of his social delight and grace.

It took us a fractious moment to get there. And even once we got there, it didn't solve anything. But as we've talked, I've come to realize that it's how we say things which as much as anything else creates the positive and negative of it response.

And while I could wax technical here about Ascendants and Mercury placements, I'm not going to. This blog isn't about us - it's about how we tend not to see each others' point of view. And seeing as there's hardly anything that's going to cure of us of being who we are (nor would we want to be cured of being who we are!) (okay...so there are a couple of people I could say that about, but...)...could it be we just don't have some quick 'cliff notes' on how to express ourselves in a good, connective and useful way?

That became my 'yes, grasshopper!' moment. And for those of you who know me, uh-huh...that grasshopper should probably be a cricket. I have a long, long history with crickets and am currently living where I get a lot of them coming inside to visit. It's taken me literal decades (plural) to learn not to leap away in fear at the mere sight of a cricket twiddling its antenna...I have a memory of a grown man who felt so for my fears as to have chased  one (un)lucky cricket across a hundred feet of painted floor inside a sound stage one evening to make sure it wouldn't come over and do something dastardly like attack me.

(Trust me - it's was a scene straight out of the movie Beetlejuice. Very endearing...very ridiculous!)

In the end, I made peace with the crickets, but it didn't come cheap. It came from a terrible moment when I finally realized my fear of them was a reflection of fear I had learned of others - other people, I mean. There had been crickets present in that situation so I had learned to fear the insect, not the people.

Back then, I didn't dare fear the people. I needed them too much. So all that fear went into crickets until there came a day when I realized they were as frightened of me now as I must have been of those people way back when.

So now I catch crickets in a plastic cup. Most of them are fairly cooperative, though there are a few determined, feisty hold-outs. Once they're in the cup I take them outside, warning them not to go into my neighbor's house (he takes absolutely no cricket prisoners!).

My point here is that in that moment...those hours of realizing how wrong I had been about what was and wasn't 'evil' that was really about me.

And though not everyone has as weirdly melodramatic a story as I have, we all tend to be unsuccessful in some way, in some area of our lives.

That's my point here...and why I thought to write this blog on the idea that every sign has its weakness. They do! A "blind spot," call it. And yes, I'd use the term vulnerability (because that's what it really is) though this is really about how to better get along with others.

It's really about what others call a weakness in us. You know...when they're not calling them by other, possibly more colorful names? Uh, yes - that!

So here's the list and its to remember, this is just one part of the list. These same quirks show up in a number of ways, but let's shoot today for a general understanding and as time goes by, perhaps go from there.

ARIES: There's an astrological joke which refers to Aries people as having a case of 'first person perpendicular.' It's a reference to the constant consciousness of self so typical of Aries. The problem is, to others Aries comes off as being egocentric, if not out-and-out egotistical.

The solution to this challenge? Simple - ask not what the world can think of you, O Aries, talk about what you can do for and in this world. We know you're capable! So just be the gift - don't talk about what a gift you are!

TAURUS: Perhaps you remember that story about Ferdinand the Bull, trotting along smelling the buttercups? Taurus folks so want the world to be a nice place it seems to the rest of us like it takes dynamite to get them to talk in realistic terms about what's wrong in this world.

We get it, Taurus: you want everything to be good. That's your security bent (sometimes hell bent!) talking. What we need from you though is for you to extend your sense of security to the rest of us. Talk about what we can all do to fix things, instead of what things should be like or what you do to fix your own stuff. We need to know you're with us - and that's no bull!

GEMINI: I hardly need to tell Geminis that they're known for a busy mind which likes to explore a thousand things, discussing and contemplating each in turn. 

The problem is, when Geminis go in that direction, everyone else says oh...I guess they're never going to get anywhere (or get anything done). Showing others you know how to make a choice and set priorities is the trick to earning not just respect from others, but interest. So go ahead and do each and every one of those two thousand things you want to do - but do them one by one. See each one through. Discuss what you are thinking, and by all means, listen to input and discourse. Just don't be owned by it! The minute you go into that 'fascination mode' which shows you being "run" by the agenda of others, your stock takes a big fat fall - so don't go there!

CANCER: Known to many as strong but moody, the Cancer challenge is often just about holding your tongue. And yet, if you don't speak, then you feel unneeded. What's a Crab to do?

It's all about approach Cancer - you want to guide, not pinch! And if (okay, when...) you do exert too much strength, the answer is not to react to someone's 'OW!' with self-justification! Everyone knows Cancers mean well - so why don't you believe that and stop with all the 'I was just...' stuff?

Here's the thing...the more important the situation, the more supportively you should approach it. That doesn't mean tip-toeing - it means looking at what can be done, not what has already done wrong. You'll be amazed at what that one little change can do!

LEO: Yes, this is where my thoughts all started. And I didn't start with any negative. What I started with was the realization of just how strong Leo people really are, and how many Leo people don't realize how strong they are. With the ruling Sun in their eyes they don't get that they're the big cats on the veldt and a lot of the rest of us are just little puddies.

What I think is that this is why (or part of why) Leo has long been told that the choice is to be arrogant or supportive. If you want the world to be filled with sunshine, support us. The least little critique from a Leo comes out with so much strength that it sounds critical and thus makes the Leo sound arrogant - even when its not meant that way! Be of that great good cheer you want others to be of with you, Leo - compliment and support! Be the companion and protector, not the judge!

VIRGO: Yes, you care about the details, Virgo. You want to see things done right - that sets your mind at ease and frees you to enjoy the rest of life.

Just remember, please...that rest of life is the object of the game - not the details! If you can not only bear this in mind but make it clear to others that the goal and the growth of that life is your object, you will garner the cooperation of those around you.

One other thing - try not to see the fact that others don't think in terms of details as your burden. It isn't. What others don't do is not necessarily your problem - for all you know, it may just be their preference! Being responsible for you and knowing your boundaries (not just your limits) not only gets you respect, but "forces" others to own their own responsibilities...which is what you wanted in the first place, right? 

LIBRA: With Saturn in your sign from 2010 into the latter part of 2012 this is a time to recognize that though the Libra instinct is to relate to others, the point there is to learn what others want, need, believe in and respond to...and to decide for yourself whether you like any of that.

The signs of the scales is always a balancing act, yes. The temptation is to be like "them" (and get along)...or to counter every positive with some possible consideration or downfall. And yet, neither one of these is actually who you are...and in the end, that's the only thing which people are going to love you for - you!

Libra is not supposed to be a joiner - or nagging Devil's Advocate (how annoying is that?). Libra is where cause meets effect, so focus on the interaction...and don't conform to it - learn from it! The world wants to know you, not how you can pretend to be this, that and the other thing!
  

SCORPIO: Let's be real. The Scorpio drive to want what it wants is really strong. But people are wary of Scorpios for a reason - that reason being that Scorpio is very good at relating but then has a tendency to use what it learns for personal profit.

Yes, I hear you laughing! And yes, Scorpio can often simply take what it wants in the short run. (maybe). But everything Scorpio does generates karma - which is why fear runs so deep in this sign. It's not 'them' you're scared of - it's you and what you know you're capable of! 

The more actively aware you are of your potential and the more radically you take on and demonstrate that your 'winning' is to understand what others want so they can win in their terms - more you get what you want. So don't assume! The more you aim at what others want, the more they aim to get/give what you want to you! Sound fair?

SAGITTARIUS: There are two edges on the point of the  Sagittarian arrow. One is all about seeing how (and if) things work. This can drive people nuts by making you look like you're all theory and no effectiveness.

Then there's the Sagittarian who demands to rule. While they may make people bow down, this generally alienates a lot of folks who really hate being preached at. 

Remember - Sagittarius is the sign of the hunter, and hunters are supposed to feed people, whether that's with ideas or knowledge or whatever. You can't eat for them, you can't force feed them. You have to offer. By offering the right thing, you succeed - feedback validates Sagittarian success. Hopefully that will keep you hunting - and your game always fresh (so to speak)!  

CAPRICORN: The Capricorn drive for durability often causes Capricorns to look to the past - towards that which has shown itself to be lasting.

Obviously that can't work on the whole...I mean, if it did, wouldn't we all be driving horse drawn buggies and using oil lamps?

So talk not about the 'good old days,' Capricorn, talk about how good it is that those old days have brought you to a place and a space and a moment where you have the opportunity to use what you have learned about life and yourself. Yes, we all can and probably should make this world a better place. But in the meantime, isn't it worth something to recognize how far we've come?

Remember - today is tomorrow's 'good old day'...so isn't it worth appreciating?

AQUARIUS: Aquarius, sign of wit...Aquarius sign of insightful observation...Aquarius sign of humor!

So good! So right!

But then again, there is Aquarius the elitist. Aquarius the anarchist. Aquarius the overbearing tyrant.

What separates these? Connection. Where Aquarius operates in the 'it's all about me, mine and what I like' zone, Aquarius comes off badly - and suffers from the very lack of inclusion they are revealing to those around them. When Aquarius shares, includes and treats others as valid equals, Aquarius not gains momentum, respect and functionality, resulting in all things working as they should.

And are you all about making things work?

PISCES: Hate to put it this way, Fish...but that Pisces vulnerability thing looks to others like pure weakness. Many think of Piscean folks not as the strong and enduring types they are, but martyrs - hence the 'trash heap' thing...the 'trashing' of Fish folk! 

Fixing that is not so hard and starts pretty much with one idea: when you admit you're lost, you lose others - hence that ugly habit of referring to Pisces people as 'losers.' Pisces folks need to speak in upstream terms, not 'I'm being carried away by the current!' terms. So don't phrase it as what you don't know how to do - talk about what you're looking forward to learning, and the world will be your oyster!

Okay...so that's a roll through the signs. A wee set of comments on where each sign seems to step in their own pothole. Most of us know our Sun - and if you don't, why on earth are you reading an astrology blog?

My point is obvious: the Sun is what we would all read. But what about your Moon - your feeling nature? What about your Mercury - the 'how I think and speak' arena? What about your Venus - the mannerisms and methods you tend to use in making things happen in life?

And let's not forget - what about that almighty Ascendant, descriptor of how you act, do things and the general personality thing?

Read them all. Give it a little thought. I bet you'll realize how it all applies and yes, it all applies a little bit differently in each venue of your life.

(And if you don't have your chart, use one of the free chart links in the sidebar.)

How the heck to manage who we are? That would be the million dollar question! How to synthesize all these separate thoughts into one? That's what astrology is about. It takes time. It takes awareness. But as we keep these ideas stuck away in the pocket of our mind we come upon those 'light bulb moments' which not only explain how (and that) astrology works, but which illuminate our habits to us.

Which would be the whole reason astrology exists. It's not about replacing life or thought. It's about enhancing thought so as to help us explore and empower our lives.

And yes, why I keep coming back to blog.

Oh yes - if you see the Leo Bro, would you ask him to give me a call? I need to ask him something....

The Age of Aquarius: Money and Power, Money as Power

 

 The Zodiacal Wheel of Aquarian Age

In the chart of any given Astrological Age, the sign

for which the Age is name appears on the Ascendant

(here at left and color-coded to the frame). This denotes

that sign as 'acting' (1st house) to 'set a standard' and a 

goal which is to be learned about and struggled with

throughout the duration of the Age. 

There are several zodiacal ways to think of ‘money.’ There is the money you have at hand or as a resource – that’s Taurus and the 2nd house. There’s money as income – a measure of reward for what you do. That’s Aquarius and the 11th house. 

Considering we’re moving into the Aquarian Age, that should tell us right away that with Aquarius on the 1st house, for the duration of the Age money will be a prime expression of Self. We will have it or we will not. We will work for it or we will not. We will focus on it or we will not.

Remember – Aquarius is all about individuality. And by definition, individuality is very individual.

(There’s a giant ‘DUH!’ if there ever was one!)

But looking at this strictly astrologically, there are two big groups when it comes to the Aquarius Self: those invest effort and those who don’t.

Those who invest may have to. Or like to. They may have an aptitude for it or they may simply be resigned to a regimen of need.

Those who don’t invest in effort may not like to. They may reject the idea that they should. They may do the least amount of anything possible. They may simply opt out.

Where Aquarius falls in your personal natal chart gives us a clue as to where in your personality life these attributes fall. The Saturn and Uranus in your natal chart (and how they’re placed, in what sign – all that stuff) tell us how how you tend to react on the individual level.

But on the level of the Age – you may be someone who hates the whole ‘rat race’ and yet may have to deal with it, day in and day out. You may be someone who would give their right toenail for a chance to have a decent job.

Yet that’s not money as power. Money as power is Scorpio, ruler of credit and debt, ruler of financing and loans, ruler of interest rates and inheritances and the power which comes from simply having a whole bunch of money. 

 

In the Aquarian Age, Scorpio sits at the top of the wheel of the

Age - the 10th house of career, government, achievement,

social status, feeling we have a place in this world, commerce and

the greater world we live in...or the greater world we live in. 

,,,

  

That we regard people who have lots of money as able to have anything they want – that’s our own investment in money as power. That’s our relationship to the power money holds over us. 

Our tendency to conceptualize the idea of money as something which makes us free - that’s a combination of Scorpio and Aquarius, and not always true. Some people have their money working for them in such a way which will keep the monetary pumps primed. Some have good people working to take care of their money. But ask any first generation mogul and they’ll tell you that there’s a whole lot of ‘doing’ which goes into earning (Aquarius) all that money and that once you have it, you have to take care of it. 

That ‘taking care of it’ – whether you do it yourself or you have to have people who do that for you – that’s the Scorpio part.

There are many hubs of monetary power in this world. There are nebulous entities like ‘Wall Street.’ Or a more defined entity like the Federal Board of Reserve. There’s OPEC. There are the international currency markets and all those mysterious/not-so-mysterious means and methods of valuing currency.

The whole concept of assigning a value to anything – be it a commodity like oil or a currency, or moving prime interest rates up or down, that’s another relationship between Scorpio, the price we have to pay and Aquarius, what the market will bear. 

These signs are in square. Managing both ends of any one of these puzzles is therefore defined as challenging. And yet, for the next 2,000 (plus) years, when people get it right Scorpio power will become potential unleashed – and everyone will benefit.

That we know…how? We know it because in the Aquarian Age, Scorpio sits at the top of the wheel of the Age.

The Midheaven of any chart describes what we aim for. Being a worldly position (the most worldly position in the chart) this can be what we aim to do in the world or provide to the world or what we simply aim to be. Or both!

With Scorpio on the Midheaven, the pursuit of personal power becomes an aim of the age. Since the 10th house is the house of corporate management and government, we will see governments struggle with the craving for and us of power throughout the whole of the age.

Scorpio is the sign of joint money….invested money. Governments obviously have the ability to amass huge amounts of money. Will they try to control it, or utilize it for the benefits of their people…and how does astrology define this idea.

Scorpio is a water sign. Everything about everything Scorpio – from interest rates to loans to war to control to sex to power to surrender is emotional. And that’s rather the point of the sign. Scorpio has two rules – Mars and Pluto. Mars symbolizes the choice of what we get involved in/with and the ability or willingness to risk all which goes with that involvement. Pluto represents the highly emotional ‘transformational’ moments which result from having made, or taken some risk.

And yes, Scorpio is a fixed sign. Fixed water being ‘ice,’ that those in power can ‘freeze assets’ or ‘freeze’ an interest rate…that we talk about liquidity when it comes to a flow of money…those do tell us a lot about our unconscious (perhaps) acknowledgement of Scorpio.

In the 'natural' zodiac wheel, Aries appears on the Ascendant - here

in orange at the left. The nature of the signs as they appear in a 'natural'

horoscope wheel is important, as the houses of the horoscope (that is to

say, any horoscope) are 'thematically' colored by the nature of the natural

zodiac wheel. This means that whether we're talking about your individual

chart, the chart of the Age or a chart of a company or a relationship, the

fixed sign houses 'act' in a somewhat 'fixed' (cautious, goal-oriented)

manner no matter what sign is on their cusp.

And yes, the converse of this is true too - wherever fixed signs fall in a

chart, whether that's your chart or that of an Age, a nation or a company,

those could be "naturally" very devil-may-care houses...but with a fixed

sign on the cusp, they are going to be far more convinced that yes, that

'devil' really does care about the details!  

Fixed signs tend to want to ‘hold on’ or ‘hold off’ until they’re sure something will work. But considering that the problem presented to/through all four fixed signs is that exactly what they care so much about cannot be proved out except through ‘doing’…that tends to bottle things up.

What this points out is that there’s a difference between being reasonably informed (and taking the time to get reasonably informed) and simply holding out, hesitating, balking or digging in your heels and refusing to budge.

But maybe the most useful image for Scorpio is the idea that (of all things!) there is a long-standing story image all about Scorpio as a swamp.

A swamp?

Yes! And a fine swamp too…which comes down to the fact that most of us don’t really know much about swamps. They’re actually incredibly rich natural environments. The Atchafalaya and the Everglades of the southern United States – just to name two handy swamps I have personal experience of - are some of the richest and most fertile environments on earth…EXCEPT WHEN THE WATER GETS TURNED OFF.

That’s the big astrological clue. Swamps remain healthy so long as the water flow which circulates through them bringing in new nutrients and flushing the system of its toxins isn’t stemmed. When that water is shut down to where not enough new comes in and not enough ‘used up’ is carried out, the swamp begins to get toxic and die.

This is the key to power, and if you think about it, there’s a direct ‘dotted line’ between this idea of the swamp and that old saying ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ After all, what does absolutely corrupted power do? It holds everything for itself. 

And whether that’s us or our governments or our monetary systems or our availability-willingness to give-and-take emotionally or in emotional relationships, that’s the challenge of the Age.

Maybe the biggest challenge of our Age. Our use of money (and debt and credit and war and sex and manipulation, coercion, surrender, denial and everything else Scorpio)…and our acceptance that it’s our responsibility to deal with these dynamics – that is what is going to shape our (10th house) world.

Of course there is one more part of this, namely: what sign is on Scorpio’s native 8th house during the Aquarian Age? 

Ah! Good question, grasshopper!

The answer to which is (drum roll, please…) VIRGO.

Virgo on the 8th house of the Aquarian Age says we want functionality.

But are we willing to work out a way that things can work for everyone?

Or are we so bent on what WE want that we are willing to sacrifice everyone

else for our personal concepts, demands, judgments and aims?

Because Virgo's 'moral requirement' goes wherever the sign goes, this

brings morality into matters financial, sexual and wherever force or efforts

to control (anything, for any reason) not only are we being told that the 'human

stakes' are being raised but that questions of responsibility and morality are

likely to be more necessary and be more of a 'bargaining chip,' which

considering this is the 8th house we are talking about, may or may not be a

total effort at coercion and/or manipulation.

  

And what are the key words to Virgo? Health, work, service. 

Right off the bat, are we surprised that as the Age comes in we’re having a health care financing crisis, a job crisis and a huge upsurge in various forms of problems where ‘one side’ seems to think it’s all about servicing their needs while the other is saying ‘hey, what about me?’ with the goal or (Virgo) effort falls through the cracks, all but forgotten for the highly visible (10th house) emotional (Scorpio) struggle (8th house)?

Virgo being (in essence), all about how we make life more functional, this one quality stands to be the ‘battle ground’ for the age and yet one of its greatest objects as well. Remember: the 8th house is Scorpio’s native house – this is the native land of that ‘nursery’ which nurtures the small and the as-yet-not-fully-formed. 

Remember Barbara Streisand in Hello Dolly? One of the great lines from that movie is where she’s giving her penny-pinching intended beau (Walter Matthau) her philosophy about money: money is like manure…it doesn’t mean anything without spreading it around, encouraging young things to grow. 

I always thought that was one of the most hilarious...and true things ever said.

Hoarding money doesn’t help. Philanthropists have known this for (literally!) ages. Governments know it too – though in this incoming Age the diversion into power-as-power (aka “power politics”) is on the increase and definitely not helpful to the people of any country!

And let’s not forget…this 8th house/Scorpio vibe thing…that can be manipulating or feeling manipulated. This can be the effort to control the situation or feeling controlled by the situations. 

Thus we also have feeling swamped and getting drawn in to a sticky situation being often associated with interactive emotional (Scorpio) situations! 

Let’s also be real here - governments are scarcely the only source one could point to saying they’re “guilty” of power manipulation.

The 10th house being natively the sign of ‘commerce,’ anyone in charge of a company will do this. But ‘commerce’ is not just money – this whole discussion of Scorpio should convey to us that ‘commerce’ is about a system of ‘give and take’ which really amounts to ‘I have something you want and I can either set a price for it – and make you pay that price…or we can negotiate a price which is fair to both of us.'

This is the classic management/worker debate. This is also very much part of the union debates so much part of the news in today’s world. And protests about economic opportunity.

At the heart of Scorpio lies the question of control versus submission – the dominance and the dominated. That’s not the best way for Scorpio to work unless the power given to the dominant party is voluntarily given and able to be taken back in any given moment. 

Obviously that’s the rub.

But let us be honest here: this Dominance-submission (sometimes called ‘survival of the fittest,’ sometimes referred to as ‘the law of the jungle’) it’s a situational dynamic which is part of all of life. The ruler and their people – that’s the same setup. Police have this kind of power over citizens, doctors have this power over patients (why do you think they call them ‘doctor’s orders?) and parents have this kind of power over children.

These last couple of examples should give us the plainest message that with power comes responsibility for the other…and that the more helpless the ‘other’ (a patient or a child) the more reprehensible it is for the ‘in charge’ person to use their power selfishly.

And this is the ‘rule’ which all of Scorpio embodies.

It even holds when we make a decision for ourselves which takes us into a Scorpio arena. The essence of Scorpio is all about a taking of a risk where the ‘experience’ comes through something external (Scorpio being an interactive sign) but the emotional result…? That’s about as personal as it gets.

Wherever Scorpio is in your chart, that’s where you risk and learn how well (or not well) you have designed your choices and risks in terms of a choice which will fit everybody’s parameters and tolerance.

In terms of the Aquarian Age, Scorpio covers career. It covers governments. It covers the concept of achievements – obviously those which provide something to/for others will reflect/function better for us…and we are more likely to get there by understanding who we are dealing with and how to appeal to or negotiate a path forward with them where ‘everybody wins’ in terms they define as willing.

(Very important in Scorpio matters…never assume you know what someone else values! When in doubt, ask!)

This being modified by Virgo being on the 8th house of the Age tells us what one key component we need to think about (and aim at) is functionality – and/or, seeing that Virgo is specifically on the 8th, functional gain(s). 

The avenue forward may well be represented pretty niftily by the complete polarity being Virgo on 8 against Pisces on the 2nd of the Age as well. That poses a question: can we find the commonalties between us? Virgo’s challenge is always to find the emotional commonalty where in practice it may tend to over-focus on its own standards of ‘right’ or ‘perfection.’

And in being positioned on the 8th house of the incoming Age, Virgo tempts us to focus on what we think is the ‘right’ way to do things and refuse to budge, struggling for power and control instead of working to find a solution which works all the way around. And the fact that Virgo’s innate emphasis on morality requires us to do the ‘best thing’ – not just for us, but for the communal, collective Piscean emotional good of all.

The extremes of 8th house ‘solutions’  are generally measured in money, sex, death or control, any of which can be expressed literally, or which can be figurative. Control may not be literal (hand on the tiller) but figurative (making the decision). Sex may be literal, but may be colloquial – the “shafting” of someone, some idea, some project. In the same sense, death can be a literal killing, or it can be ‘eliminating’ someone else as a competitor. Or wiping out someone else’s point of view.

By zodiacal/astrological definition, unless something is a threat to all, it is not a threat to the system. This goes with the Aquarian Age mantra of acceptance and allowance for differences. It not only shouldn’t matter that we’re different, or that we have different ideas of what “good” (or even – to take one “o” out, God) is…in the Aquarian Age the optimal is not to be all one thing but to all be granted universal acceptance as from differences, inclusive of the friction that creates, come our greatest discoveries. Some about our world and some about ourselves.

One of the things about Scorpio goes back to that image of ‘ice.’ Emotionally, the ‘coldest’ of emotions is fear, indifference is the total absence of emotions and denial is refusing to acknowledge anyone’s feelings. With emotionally interactive Scorpio at the top of the wheel of the Age, systemic Aquarius at the “I Am/I Do” Ascendant and functional Virgo on Scorpio’s native 8th house, plainly rejection of emotions or emotional rejection or rejections based on ‘emotionally (Scorpio) based (Virgo) rationales (Aquarius)’ are likely to be seen a-plenty, but are simply Aquarian Age negatives.

The right and necessity to be ourselves – who we are – is essential. More essential now, apparently, than ever. Knowing where ‘our’ right to dictate starts and ends is evidently part of the trick of this Age – as is allowing that others have other ways and other values and that may not be all that bad.

Money is a vehicle. A tool. Apart from the Barbara Streisand line about it, money is a means by which people interact, wall themselves off, judge, exclude, reward and punish others.

During the whole of the next 2,000 (plus) years, we are likely to encounter every variation on a theme when it comes to use use and abuse of money as power and power exercised through money. So when you see or hear about it, when you feel yourself being tempted by it, remember – the feeling is the key, and we’re all more powerful when functioning from a position of knowing there is no price to pay rather than one where we say we will simply have to pay the price.

The difference is getting beyond our preconceptions of values – and taking the risks which get us there are what Scorpio’s all about…and thus a mantra for ‘getting rich’ in the many years to come.