Michael E. Brown, Astronomer
photo credit: NASA
Today (June 5th) is Mike Brown’s birthday. Don’t know who Mike Brown is? Well, more formally known as Michael E. Brown, professor of planetary astronomy at the illustrious CalTech, Mike Brown is one of the great (and friendly) planet hunters around.
And he has nothing against astrology. In fact, if you read through his blog (Mike Brown’s Planets) you’ll find that he likes the detailed thought and work astrologers (of any repute, that is) put into their studies. If you want to know ABOUT a planet, you go to Mike Brown. If you want to know the metaphysics of a planet, you ask an astrologer – like me.
That’s his take on things. We've even had a digital chat on the subject - I thought it rather fun.
Anyway…today is Mike’s birthday and I for one, cheer. Without Mike Brown we wouldn’t know about all sorts of great points like Haumea, Huya and Makemake. We wouldn’t know that Orcus has a moon. We wouldn’t kwon all sorts of neat stuff.
So happy birthday to Mike.
Having said that, considering his birthday is only 4 days after a solar eclipse, we can expect to hear that Mike Brown’s life is changing in some fundamental manner. And no….Mike, if you happen to read this, I’m not trying to make you some sort of lab rat wearing one of those fabulous NASA helmets.
Okay…so I would be entirely happy if half the people who read this blog would email you a ‘hey, Mike, happy birthday!’ missive through your blog (my gift to you, guy…) but that’s not really my point.
My point is that sometimes knowing that someone famous is born around the time of an eclipse helps us understand how eclipses (and astrology) work.
Considering that Clint Eastwood and Brooke Shields both have birthdays on May 31st…and that Rudi Giuliani has a birthday on May 28…even that the Dali Lama has a birthday on June 6 and Muammar al-Gaddafi (choose your own spelling there) has a birthday on June 7th… don’t be surprised if you hear of big ‘life shifts’ happening in any and all of these individual lives.
How they change? Ah, that’s the ‘individual chart’ thing. But the dynamic evolution OF life which is so typical of a solar eclipse, that will be a constant.
Interestingly enough, eclipses work whether you’re dead or alive. So whether you’re a ‘life after death’ person or not, apparently the ‘mark’ we make with having lived lives on even after we’re gone. So with Mike Brown, Clint Eastwood and Brooke Shields we can add people like Marilyn Monroe (June 1), actor Peter Lorre (June 6), Armand Hammer (May 28), Pancho Villa (June 5), James Dean (June 5), John F. Kennedy (May 29), Isadora Duncan (May 27), Allen Ginsberg (June 3) and Thomas Hardy (June 2) to our list. Often times when say, a writer has been dead a long time, something they wrote will become suddenly popular again for some reason when their Sun gets eclipsed. A biography may be released on the life of someone like Isadora Duncan or Armand Hammer or JFK. Or maybe someone will build a monument to them or name a philanthropic prize after them…you get the gist.
Dancer Isadora Duncan as photographed
by Arnold Genthe (photo housed in the US LIbrary of Congress)
We may only life and die…that may be your belief. But time and time again I have seen not just eclipses but major transits (such as those made by Uranus, Neptune or Pluto) hit charts and signal a renewed interest in someone’s life or work.
With last week’s astrological events having been something of a stunning line-up (the solar eclipse followed by Neptune’s station followed by Jupiter changing signs), especially with Sun and and Mercury in Gemini our thoughts are busy even if we aren’t.
With Venus and Mars in the latter part of Taurus as the week starts out there’s a big emphasis on wanting things to ‘count’ and to be worth the effort. Appreciation is likely to be another theme, whether that’s voiced as ‘hey – appreciate what I’ve done for you, okay?’ or the more eloquent ‘we should honor the efforts of those who have made sacrifices on our behalf…’ And either is apt. Venus in Taurus is gracious, Mars in Taurus tends to see the glass as half-full, no matter whose glass that is.
As Jupiter in Taurus sinks in against Neptune having gone retrograde in earliest Pisces (and now headed back into Aquarius) there’s a sense of awareness…maybe concern…about how we will make our way in the world. Or what we need to do to be more effective. Or if we can do what we think we need to do. Combining that with the Venus, Mars and Sun-Mercury, those who are realistic about what can or can’t get done would seem to be the best off.
At least they know what to concentrate on first, right?
About the worst thing we can do is expect others to cover our gaps, debts and faux pas now…though you may get help, those who expect to be helped are likely to feel the most disappointment. Entitlement is a buzz-word in some circles and a quality which gets others short-changed. Mercury-Neptune are just finishing off their square-by-aspect as the week begins and that means that lies…told to us, told by us or that we’ve tried to put over on ourselves...are coming clear, or coming to an end of their allegedly useful life.
With Saturn due to go direct next week, the whole of this week is likely to feel ‘pressured’ for some, ‘problematic’ (aka challenging) for others and for a few, downright depressing. Reality is in our face. Time and necessity and all those very Saturn realities are making themselves known.
So with this as the basis of the week’s ‘astro-operational parameters,’ that takes us to…
TUESDAY, JUNE 7…The big highlight of the day is Hebe moving into Cancer. Hebe being the immortal ‘cup bearer’ to the Olympian gods, the basic idea associated with this point is two-fold: one being about service and the other provision in the sense of making sure those things which are wanted or needed are on hand, perhaps with something of an emphasis on sustenance.
That Hebe is moving into Cancer suggests the ‘venue’ of this service or needing to provide or take care of things is pretty basic: family, home…in keeping with one’s culture and national traditions.
Asteroids don’t generally confront us with matters of import all by themselves…they’re the ‘hint of flavoring’ to all else which goes on now. So with Mars, Jupiter and Venus all in Taurus, how we live and providing ourselves with security in regards to our livelihoods, our families, our homes and such, there’s a planetary (conscious focus) on such matters which Hebe entering Cancer would seem to compliment. Perhaps it means we need to think of others who need things too? Perhaps Hebe during the weeks that Hebe is in Cancer you life will prompt you with a need (or inspiration) which tells you what you need to do in order to get ahead in the world (which would be very Saturn in Libra) and that involves showing someone how useful you are. Or what your abilities really are.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8…with Cubewano (and dwarf planet candidate) MakeMake about to go direct early on the 10th, its station effects begin now, suggesting it’s a good time to move ahead whatever projects we have slated. As ‘creator’ god of Easter Island, MakeMake can be seen as a symbol of ‘raising something up out of the depths’ or of creating something in isolation or all by yourself, this last part going very much with Saturn’s position at 10 Libra.
MakeMake the astronomical object as photographed by
the Hubble Telescope (photo credit: NASA/JPL)...
...and MakeMake the Easter Island creator god as a glyph
carved in stone on Easter Island
There is a thread of this ‘be your own person’ thing going around…have you noticed?
And just because I want to, I’ll also note that Mike Brown was one of the three discoverers of MakeMake - the others being Craig Trujillo and David Rabinowitz. So isn’t it nice that one of his ‘very own’ KBOs is doing a little turnaround dance for him during the week of his birthday?
Prosaic, yes. And when we put this all together…maybe the devoted dad Mike Brown will be expanding his family this year? Who knows…but just to show you how astrological thinking goes, that wouldn’t seem to be out of the question, considering all things!
THURSDAY, JUNE 9…an interesting day which starts with Jupiter in Taurus perfecting a sextile to Neptune retrograde in Pisces at 2:42am (UT/+0) – which yet again speaks to something of increasing (Jupiter) value (Taurus) which either clarifies or stirs up that nebulous Neptune ‘wish list’ we all have inside. It’s a moment when we can be realistic and we can profit from doing so. But we may not want to.
Like as not, a little fantasy is okay – but we will do well not to get lost in same. Remember, Saturn is bearing down on its station/direct point: reality must be served!
A bit later – at 2:42pm (UT/+0) Venus enters Gemini, meaning that as Jupiter perfected its sextile Venus was at 29 Taurus: a critical moment which can point out the chinks in our armor as well as the blessings in our life. It’s a real ‘glass half full or half empty?’ moment.
Te aa no areois (The Seed of the Areoi) by Paul Gauguin (1892)
As a planetary ingress, Venus entering Gemini will earn its own blog post, but when tossed in with all the other doings of the week it would seem to be a warning to choose knowingly. There’s a time for play and an extent to which we know we can play. There are also times when the priority needs to be work. Knowing the difference and what our goals and limitations are (and yes, sticking to them!) seems the object d’moment.
However! With Kassandra about to go retrograde in Aquarius, we may not want to see the clouds which go with those silver linings. Or that the proverbial cloud tends to come with one. Which way you go here is probably described by your general mental attitude. Are you someone who refuses to hear anything which darkens your day? Are you someone who doesn’t believe anything good will ever happen?
Remembering that Mars and Jupiter are still in Taurus, with Venus now in Gemini we want…but can we have? We know the truth of this is about what we’re willing to strive for and earn (or whether we have) and that for all we want there are limits to what is sensible in life…but we…or someone close to us…may not want to hear that just now.
Thus we come to…
FRIDAY, JUNE 10…with KBO MakeMake going direct at 4:40am (UT/+0). That MakeMake is going direct at 25 Virgo rather challenges us to understand the difference between what we think works and what other people think, given the same situation. For those building or improving something or some part of their life (or learning/trying to figure out how to), this would be a moment when your abilities and practicalities meet up with those of others around you. The combination of Virgo and that we’re talking about a point which is between 20 and 29 degrees of some sign (a 3rd decanate point) means that we are not – as individuals – in the initiating position, though we need to be self-motivated in getting things done.
Showing your capabilities today? A positive. Insisting on having your own way? Maybe not so good. When you need to at some point or any point deal with others, you really have to take the audience into account. It’s sometimes annoying, but true!
And thus we arrive at…
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, a day when Kassandra goes retrograde at 18 Aquarius early in the UT/+0 morning (at 6:27am, to be exact) and when Saturn’s station effects begin…if they haven’t already, that is!
Saturn’s going on station in Libra (at 10 Libra) is all about our ability to function as individual human beings. There are a lot of parameters to this, but that’s the basic gist of the thing. It’s a real ‘get hold of yourself!’ kind of moment which Kassandra can help or hinder.
Ajax and Cassandra (aka astronomy and astrology's Kassandra)
by Solomon Joseph Solomon
Going retrograde in an emotional degree of a public, social, worldly sign, Kassandra’s going retrograde signals our being prompted to pay attention – which is exactly what some of us don’t want to do.
Another part of this would be the necessity to sort the real from the inflammatory…the fact from fable, fiction, pipe dream or fear-mongering drama.
Again, we may not want to.
But apparently we need to. It’s wonderful to work on ourselves and hopefully we’re all using our time to better our personal world with an eye to building a better future for everyone and thus, those we love. In this, the trick would seem to be remaining aware of what’s going on and what ‘the trends’ are without being deluded by hyperbole or drawn astray by our own desire to hear only what we want to hear.
Plus there is that need to maintain an awareness that what is today may be different tomorrow. Time marches on…things change.
And so do we.
I really like the once-a-week updates! I can go back to them again and again to take it all in as it happens. Thank you.
ReplyDelete