Dateblog: November 2014

November 2014

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For those who were thinking that once past the solar eclipse we were out of Scorpio’s alternately frosty and incendiary waters, not so fast!

As is clearly visible in the above (looking at all the red) it’s pretty obvious much of November will be all about what we (Scorpio) want, why we (Scorpio) want it and why it’s (Scorpio) so incredibly important to us to make our point and if humanly possible, have our way.

But again, the real issue with Scorpio is not about whether ‘they’ cooperate or agree with us. It’s not about whether we achieve our aim-de-jour.

It’s about why such things are so important to us - and that doesn’t mean ‘because that’s what I was taught’ (or what we believe in, etc.) but an emotional (water sign) reference to where we stand with our Self with regards to the whole concept of security - that being what Scorpio ultimately seeks to teach, and where necessary, test.

And lest we miss the point, this doesn’t refer to what our security “depends” on in day-to-day life, either; as important as food, shelter, health and other such basics are, they are the Taurus - not the Scorpio side of this equation. So it’s not the money or food or housing structure which we’re talking about, but the emotional sense of importance - that critical emotional concern which ‘defines’ security beyond its mere physicality which is the heart and soul of Scorpio.

For the first half of the month this basic Scorpio concern will underlie much of what happens, with feelings and issues being ‘highlighted’ around the time of the Taurus Full Moon on November 6th. Providing we can get past our own business we are likely to be treated by interesting ‘displays’ being put on by others - and while some will merely focus on what is getting (or that has been) done, others will learn far more by thinking through to why those people would be needing to do whatever they’re doing. The important information of the moment will come from this secondary and more emotional source... but it will also be hard to utilize what gets learned without recognizing that whatever we do will produce unilateral results.

And that means we can’t win or ‘defeat’ anyone in this moment. We can HELP everyone, but the ‘singling’ out which creates some pluses and some minuses isn’t likely to hold water during this particular Full Moon period.

Against this, Pluto and Mars are in Capricorn - a sign which is naturally in sextile to Scorpio, indicating the 'thought'...or an opportunity to either advance one’s own cause or to create or advance cooperative efforts. Starting the month out at 4 Capricorn (which is neither here nor there, I’m just giving you a point of reference), Mars will enter the 5-degree orb of conjunction to Pluto on November 4th (UT/+0), give or take the time zone you’re in. The actual conjunction takes place over the days of November 10th and 11th, which given time zones may lapse back to the 9th and forward to the 12th, and we should expect a good deal of ‘movement’ on many a matter or situation at this time as 'hard' aspects between Pluto and Mars (the square, conjunction or opposition) represents the sort of intersecting of motivation and understanding which promotes feeling responses - which then we do or don't manage. Pluto/Mars combinations, whatever shape they take speak to ‘developments’ which test our ability to understand how what is being done 'to' us is at some level a product of choices (our choices) past and present.

The dates from November 4th to/through November 17th (again, depending on your time zone) will reveal most of the “business” of this month - and that can be positive in full measure with the degree to which we are willing to require of ourselves that we own our own feelings (as above) and neither project nor base decisions on that emotionality... and which can be negative when we let ourselves do what we want just because we’re ‘feeling that way.’

Meanwhile life will tempt us to do our worst - or to fail ourselves in the fullest of eventualities simply because we did give in to the emotions of the moment.

With Pluto not moving from 11 to 12 Capricorn until November 26th, most of November will carry an undercurrent about connectivity/connections (or opportunities to connect) which we avoid - which as November draws to a close will turn into a desire to charm, to intrigue, to interact, with the motivation for same being the basic question. The positive of 12 Capricorn being a wit, care and precision which when applied in equal measure crafts genius, and the negative of this degree is the cruelty (sometimes to the point of criminality) and narcissistic tendencies which produce fantastic and frantic lies, all of which are visible to those being lied to, if equally and determinedly denied by the liar.

The ‘shape of things’ begins to change around November 14th as Neptune goes on station and the Leonid meteor shower beings on the 15th. The Leonids don’t last that long - this year they will only be seen between November 15th and 20th, that being all about how the orbit of the comet (Tempel-Tuttle) intersects that of Earth in such a manner as to ‘compact’ the effect - which metaphysically we can think of as many ideas or new ‘sparks’ of information appearing in the darkness of our mental-mortal skies.

But that all this happens just as Neptune goes direct on November 16th? And that this is just about the time when Venus, as the first of the personal planets to shift into Sagittarius changes many a consideration.

About this time, things will begin to change. With Neptune on station they are not predictable - not that that’s any help. Instinct will have us wanting to do things, but if our instinct is based even a little on anything corrupt (including our sense of vulnerability or fear) we’re likely to get a bit of a lesson.

And that would be because this particular station-direct moment is being brought to us by not just Neptune and not just Pisces, the sign Neptune is transiting - but also fixed and royal star Fomalhaut.

- link to post -

The Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 4): Fomalhaut

For some, the reality of their vulnerability is their need to be invulnerable - or at least to feel they are. For others, walls between Self and the reasons why we feel some given way will melt away.

As the Sun and Mercury join Venus in Sagittarius, the intensity of this past month will further ease. With that however, many will experience a period of disappointment - a sort of ‘why can’t things be the way I want them to be?’ malaise. With Mercury moving into Sagittarius on November 28th, a few things may get out of hand - which among other things could be good or not good for retailers as this date coincides with the ‘official’ start of the holiday shopping season. Known for blowing things out of proportion and a tendency towards much talk and fewer practical/pragmatic solutions, Mercury in Sagittarius speak to rising levels of stress, rhetoric and activity where and IF we don’t think in concrete terms.

It also says that concrete terms are not what we’re likely to be thinking in - particularly as November ends with transiting Mercury (in interactive Sagittarius) square transiting Neptune (in global/universal Pisces). Neptune-Mercury contacts being known for confusing or deceptive situations, in being posed between Pisces and Sagittarius this would seem to be a search for truth - or an avoidance of facts, depending.

Does this mean there will be a little over-indulging as November comes to a close? Probably. Does it mean we either won't be sure of what we want to do or that we will be wanting to do some 'fun' thing instead of the 'right' thing? Quite possibly. So long as we keep a sense of proportion about us such a transiting square will generally pass with little hassle other than the occasional set of lost keys.

And then we move on, as November becomes December - and the truth, especially that which informs us as to why we have done or been as we have, asserts itself.

At which point, we will reflect.
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Ceres in Sagittarius

Just below and to the right of the center of this photograph is the Milky Way's

Galactic Center - which is currently located at 27 Sagittarius

(Photo credit: G Kopan, R Hurt, Caltech)

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Asteroid Ceres will be entering Sagittarius late on Monday (UT/+0) time - at 22:04 (10:04 p.m.), to be exact. Which first of all means that as this post goes to digital press, Ceres will be positioned at 29 Scorpio, a degree known as more inward than otherwise and particularly bent towards figuring out or doing whatever sort of investigating is needed in order to understand what’s ‘behind’ things or comprehend either how something works - particularly with an eye to stabilizing some situation.

Which as we all know would in Scorpio ultimately mean a stabilizing of feelings and/or reactions: the situation creates the emotionality because it touches on some insecurity or vulnerability in each and any one of us.

And that’s just the degree. 29 Scorpio is also the current position of fixed star Toliman, a star which in being the foot (or hoof, if you prefer) of the Centaur is connected both to life-long learning (the habit of learning or learning to learn) and either the sense of being grounded or learning to be grounded.

It’s a star which seems to represent how we light our own way...and as such is a very thematic ‘doorway’ to Sagittarius, zodiac land of expansion and all we learn through the process of expanding on any level, some of which we like - and some of which we tend not to like all that much.

As for Ceres, it’s easy to think of Ceres in earthy and rather pragmatic terms as particularly by transit Ceres both acts a bit like a yes-no, stop-start “traffic light” and a personal GPS the point of which is (in the end) more or less about our Self depending on where Ceres is in our natal chart (and how its aspected and all such things) plus the house Ceres is transiting as it leaves Scorpio’s hot-and-cold water for realms which are as boundless as we imagine them to be.

At least in Sagittarian theory.

But all is hardly negative here as Ceres and Sagittarius go together not quite like peanut butter and jelly but more like rubber tread meeting road: Ceres provides the plan (or the need to plan) and Sagittarius either provides the need or opportunity to get things done - a quality which may motivate us to get out of neutral and into gear...or which in keeping with other recent events (like Mars entering Capricorn) speak to the actual getting to the issue - whatever that issue may be. Where Mars in Sagittarius contributes just a bit (just a bit?) to spinning our wheels and instances of getting dizzied by options, problems, details, input or other things, Ceres in Sagittarius is a plus for organization and for at least a focus on priorities if not an out-and-out letting go of Things Unnecessary.

There is a nurturing quality to Ceres which in the immediate tends to be the nurturing of something (the idea, the project, the plan, the effort...even our tolerance, perseverance, curiosity or willingness to be less defensive and more open). But beyond this there’s a reason...a rationale...a ‘plan’ which is eventual and much bigger than this moment.

And that’s the plan we’re most interested in - and, if truth be told, most vested in.

A diagram of Ceres orbit at October 27, 2014

(Generated by the JPL small body database)

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Ceres will be in Sagittarius until January 9, 2015 - just over two months, which is rather quick for an object with a 4.6 year-long orbit. What does that suggest metaphysically? Well for one that we may have to hustle our bustle, lest we not get everything done - which in turn suggests there is (and is going to be) a lot which needs doing and to get done. As a combination Ceres in Sagittarius also suggests a need to secure new/more resources and to harbor or conserve what resources we have - which could be about some problem or blockage in some system (Mercury will be revving up to go retrograde just as Ceres completes this passage)...but it may just be because we don’t have the time or inclination to have more details or more things we need to deal with.

It all depends. Again - check your chart, and when in doubt, talk to a qualified astrologer.

There are a few dates we could cite as Ceres makes its way through Sagittarius though. The first would be November 18-20 as Ceres conjuncts royal star Antares.

- link to post -

The Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 3): Antares

Plan on not obsessing. Or obsess about your plans - whichever works.

Ceres-wise, nothing appears globally all that fascinating thereafter until December 8/9, when Ceres will be in conjunction with the Sun as part of a transiting grand trine/kite which just happens to occur with Jupiter on station (to go retrograde) at 22 Leo.

By itself (which is to say, apart from anything else which may be happening at the time) this amalgamation would seem to speak not to what we could or can do with-for-with regards to others, but what we should do - particularly if we want things to go more easily/pleasantly somewhere down the line. Plus, that Ceres will move on, degree by degree, while remaining in (grand) trine first to Juno/Nemesis and Uranus-South Node-Eris in Aries (wanting-needing-finding ways to maintain control of our Self as we have learned we need to in order to reach our aim)...and then to Jupiter and Eris/South Node?

That suggests a rather long period (December 8/9 through December 31st) which to start with is simply hectic. There’s a lot under way and no matter what we do and no matter how good we are at doing it (or avoiding it, depending...) there are things which are going to come along which either disrupts what we have been doing or which causes us to see things from a bigger and more potent perspective - thereby suggesting (yet again) why we probably should be thinking thing through based not on our current position/s or past performance/s, but rather on our potential.

Yes, happy holidays to us all.

Then the grand trine dissolves. And that it does so as Ceres reaches 27 Sagittarius (the current location of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center) speaks to needing to fulfill our purpose to others - whatever that may be or mean - before we ‘get ours’...which could be good or bad.

And that means we’re going to start 2015 with Ceres at 27 Sagittarius...which is rather like being asked to go into our next year asking ourselves not what we can give, but whether we’re going to give - and what may come of our giving...and not giving, should that be our choice in a moment where preference - specifically the preference to make contributions to this life, this world - to people you don’t know and will never know - is said to be a requirement.

That’s rather poignant, don’t you think?
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Mercury Direct / Mars in Capricorn

A combination photograph of nebula-supernova remnant W49B generated by the Chandra X-ray

Observatory (sections in blue), the observatory at California's Mount Palomar (sections in red

and green) with additional infrared courtesy of Caltech

(photo credit: NASA, CXC, SSC/J Keohane) 

To typify the difference between Mars in Sagittarius (which is ending) and Mars in Capricorn (which is about to begin) is akin to the difference between a roller coaster with all its highs and lows and a diesel freight train rolling along flat tracks.

One is a thrill ride (‘thrill’ being a relative term, of course) where the other is about efficiency and effectiveness in the course of achieving or ‘riding’ on who are what you are. (Or what something is, in the case of businesses and events.)
Mars in Sagittarius is about more, more, more...which reminds me of a movie director I once worked with, but that’s besides the point. Or maybe it isn’t, as Mars in Sagittarius manifests both the urge and the urgent need to perform for whatever reason, be the goal expansive, productive, destructive, educational or provocational - especially on any philosophical or thought-provoking level.

And where Sagittarius challenges, Capricorn rewards - provided we have earned, that is. Not that such ‘rewards’ are always pluses - sometimes there are ‘just rewards’ meted out in the course of Capricorn business of the most unpleasant kind.

Capricorn is about results and consequences. While Mars traverses Capricorn, what we do creates consequences and repercussions and we deal with the consequences and repercussions of things which have come before. Known as a ‘cool’ sign, Capricorn doesn’t hesitate to act but will tend to think through any given issue enough to reach a point well typified as ‘calculation.’

Capricorn wants to know what its getting into, because Capricorn plays to win. Note: that’s not ‘win or lose,’ Capricorn only plays to win even if there’s a background understanding that “of course” one could lose.

But with Capricorn, what is done is done not out of risk, but out of decisiveness and decision. Whatever is met up with is dealt with as that’s part of what we accept when we take something on - which may be why Mars in Capricorn is associated with tools and a quality we think of as ‘steely.’

Before I forget...while working on this blog I saw people reading Venus in Scorpio posts from other years - which is fine, mind you. That’s why they’re there. But because I’m guessing such people were reading those posts because I didn’t seem to stress Venus in the last solar eclipse post, and that’s what I want to address.

Venus was conjunct the Sun and Moon at the time of the eclipse. Like at 0 Scorpio conjunct - exactitude et al. What that means is that our yearly Venus in Scorpio period (which for 2014 began on October 23rd and will end on November 16th, UT/+0) is virtually nullified by the greater concerns of the eclipse (hence my not lingering on the Venus part though yes, I could have made this a whole lot clearer). Venus entering Scorpio would normally pit us against our own balance between self-interest and our willingness to deal with others equally (or their willingness to treat us as equals) with each of us going through our own internal push-pull as we learn all-important personal lessons about the difference between qualms, insecurities, desires and necessities.

But whenever we see any planet (or asteroid) closely conjunct the astrological Sun, we know the qualities associated with that planet are going to lose their ‘distinctness.’ Known as being ‘burned by the Sun’s rays,’ what this means is that it’s going to be very hard (read: virtually impossible) to separate our needs from our aims from our wants, hopes and resources during this Venus transit.

You can thank the solar eclipse, if you like.

A screen shot of the October 23rd solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio taken off off NASA's HD-feed from the Griffith Park Observatory here in Los Angeles.

 

However...and this is why I’m bringing this up here...when you deal with anything Scorpio, the way to find clues as to where and how and at what pace it’s going to manifest is found by looking at the planetary ruler of Scorpio - and that would be Mars. Mars is the Scorpio ‘in’ door where we choose (or are cornered, forced or otherwise obligated) to become involved with something or someone.

Yes, I know...you're thinking that Pluto rules Scorpio, and it does. But Pluto marks the results - eventual and on the short side - because we've gotten (Mars) involved.


In short, one we control: Mars. One we don’t control: Pluto.

And why is it that we focus on the Pluto?

Answer: because mystery is exciting and Mars energies by any name always confront us with making some sort of effort (pleasant or otherwise) while taking on whatever risks are associated with that effort, be they Aries-like and physical or Scorpio-like and emotional.

Mars is assertion. Now always 'naked' assertion as in 'I'm asserting myself' but the energy of assertion - that which initiates. So as Mars moves into Capricorn as of October 26th at 10:44 in the morning UT/+0 time, that would seem to be some sort of trigger or light bulb or starting gate or something which at some level sets energies, feelings, repercussions, thoughts, costs, activity and in general a deepening, an assimilating of the experiences we’ve gone through in part since August (when eclipse effects began and while Mars was in Scorpio)... and in part since early October when Mercury went retrograde - in Scorpio - prior to the month’s two eclipses.

And all that would also be true (or be truer to a more maximal degree, one doesn't know) because Mercury is going direct as of 19:16 (or 7:16 in the evening) UT/+0 time on October 25th.

Think of it as doubling up on impetus.
 
The degree Mercury is going direct at is 16 Libra, a degree which if it was a water sign we might typify as the icebergs. There’s a lot here...you just can’t see all of it. Who we are ‘meeting’ up with (as we see it in our own mind) now - and the ideas we think are being expressed - we may be assured we’re not hearing all of it at the moment. This is a moment when much ‘looms below the surface’ - and when conversely, that which may be important doesn’t rise to the surface or into sight or where we can ‘grab hold of it.’ This degree is noted for the ability to hide things, its association with career members of the military and sometimes the difficulty with belief in Self on a par with ‘the idea.’

That means that conversations, events, interactions, information...much which occurs while Mercury moves through its current station (October 23-27) is what it seems, yes. But it’s also so much more.

There’s one more station worth mentioning here at this moment - that being a station being taken by asteroid Apollo, which is going retrograde at 4 Leo on the same date (October 26) when Mars enters Capricorn. Known generally by the term ‘enlightenment,’ transits by asteroid Apollo tend to be when light gets shed on things - or when we find that thing which we need to be/become informed (enlightened) about. Considering the association between Apollo and Mars by date, we may feel or hear of a lot of people taking some (Mars) initiative to shine the light on something. Or to ‘get real’ about something rather than theorizing or dancing around about it - which would be another natural shift associated with Mars moving from a fire sign (Sagittarius) where theory is all into earth sign Capricorn, a sign known for tangible results.

Mars' Acidalla Mare Erythraeum

(photo credit: NASA, JPL) 

As for the degree Apollo is going retrograde at (4 Leo) this is a degree which sounds very un-Leo-like as instead of being known for it’s buoyant sunniness is known for its ability to manifest with a directness which is (unbeknownst to some) somewhat cynical. The insight here is on self-reliance and an active interest in tracking down the thing which will ‘scratch the itch,’ as it were.

With Mercury going direct, we can expect a lot of things which have been held up to begin moving, and over the next couple of weeks much can get done, particularly in any arena where interactions center on exchanges of information are concerned. Moreover, it seems well worth noting that as Mercury exits its retrograde shadow on November 10th, Mars is conjuncting Pluto.

That should be exciting.

In fact, it’s likely to be exciting...maybe even overly so... though the bliss-versus-breakage balance is strictly up to us.

But then, that isn’t news.

Mars will be in Capricorn until early December, when it will move into Aquarius a day or so shy of Jupiter going on station in Leo - which is an astrological way of saying those who want to get things accomplished should get them done now.

After all, what are we waiting for?
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October’s 0 Scorpio Solar Eclipse (Pt. 3: Aspects, Stars and Dates)

 The partial Solar Eclipse of January 4, 2011 at 13 Capricorn as photographed from Strakonice in the Czech Republic

(photo credit: Hynek)

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The image for 0 Scorpio’s Sabian symbol (‘A crowded sightseeing bus on a city street’) says many things. Astrologer Marc Edmund Jones typified this degree as being about the urge to be social or interact in order to experience and learn through society’s collective achievements - to which astrologer Dane Rudhyar, while agreeing added a decisive comment on how the influences which manifest as part of 0 Scorpio’s energetic refer not only to the moment at hand but much wider, broader and far-reaching considerations which in his words are ‘very concrete and perhaps startling.’

All that being true, when presented by a solar eclipse the effect is both as broad and far reaching as possible...while also being entirely close, personal and inordinately primal. And that’s what we’ve been seeing, hearing about and experiencing in life in many ways over these past two months or so both locally and universally on our national and international stages. That people have reacted with such a depth of emotionality has been typically Scorpio as Scorpio presents us with whatever will get us to feel (or failing that, force us to feel or react emotionally) in part of course in direct reaction to given situations.

But metaphysically? Metaphysically this has been all about our Self: who we are, what our values are, whether our values work or not and (this being the special Scorpio touch) how we feel about our values and thus our sense of security being shaken.

Please Note: the statement is sense of security, not actual security. No single astrological transit - be it a solar eclipse or anything else - is enough to signify disaster or death. Some people (and some charts, be they of people, places or things) will be under a lot of stress from multiple major astrological placements and triggers and they will experience trouble.

The Solar Eclipse at 0 Scorpio (glyph chart)

 October 24, 2014 - 21:58 (9:58 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Yet no solar eclipse - not even this one at 0 Scorpio - signifies disaster or death. A single transit can and often does time a given event and it is common to hear of death/s occurring just around the time of a solar eclipse (generally within a couple of weeks of it). But those charts will have shown multiple indicators generally for some time at least.

Also - to differentiate: Scorpio deals in the emotions of death just as it deals in the emotions of sex and conception. But death’s physicality is far more often astrological associated with Cancer and/or the fourth house in a given chart in a literal ‘ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ sense, and such indications may or may not appear in a given natal, solar, lunar or other return chart.

Unless you’re meting out death, that is. Delivering death and the dangers of delivering death (see: war, surgery, societal violence) or choice to participate in same ARE eighth house and Scorpionic - with a tip of the weighting hat to the eighth house side of this concept rather than the sign.

In other words, if you’re not an astrologer don’t assume Scorpio means something just because your emotional psyche might want to think of it that way... that may in fact be the easiest and fastest metaphysical path to setting yourself up to experience that you dread most.

The Solar Eclipse at 0 Scorpio (text chart)

 October 24, 2014 - 21:58 (9:58 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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It is a cause/effect universe, after all. If you ask to fear, you’ll get something to fear about - and so often that anger which erupts from fear (and fearing that your position, perspective or thing you like most might get defeated or otherwise eliminated) becomes the ill itself.

As for expanding the idea of this degree to its utmost point, that could take many forms, all of which will somehow display an extreme of emotionality which has to be compensated for in some way. In our individual lives this will function one way...in the life of families, companies, products, societies, movements and nations it will function another way. But all will be in parallel.

Just to explain, I’ll volunteer one idea being meandered through by yours truly in a few more metaphysical moments. Planet Earth must maintain balances  metaphysical as well as physical and though human beings have been a rowdy and often violent species resident on this Earth for many a thousand years, it is in the past sixty to a hundred years that we have seen a new rise of decline in many species. Putting aside all the physical/scientific reasons for same (physicality being on the astrological level an outgrowth or manifestation of metaphysics or what we might call ‘metaphysicality’) it is also during this period of time that humankind’s ability to inflict death (i.e., the scale of same) has multiplied  exponentially. It is in fact arguable that most if not all causes of death are things developed by humans which makes humankind - in the life of Planet Earth - its absolute top predator.

So if you’re a planet and the laws of existence mandate maintenance of predator/prey balances, what happens? Is there a massive decline in prey? Or, because humans are now owning and utilizing so much of what we might call Earth’s ‘predatory energetics’ does that mean natural predators such as lions, leopards, tigers, sharks and so on are bound to decline...or that human energetics will in turn promote planetary developments which will by their essential nature cause us to be less inclined to predation?

If so, the answer to decline in our planet’s wildlife may be wholly or in part a province of our emotional psyches - and therefore a choice (one of many) we may not have currently made, but which is there for us to avail ourselves of. You know...if we come to realize that when it comes to planets, we really are inescapably together on this currently Earth-bound sightseeing trip through space as part of our galaxy.

And that idea of there being choices to make, old choices which need to be ‘eclipsed’ and new ideas which need to be developed so as to serve the difficulties, challenges and possible losses which come with any solar eclipse - that seems natural too in a moment when there is a Gemini influence afoot courtesy of the 0 Gemini eclipse of 2012.

Why would that be? If you missed it, here’s the link to that post:

- link to post -

October’s 0 Scorpio Solar Eclipse

(Pt. 2: that ‘Other’ eclipse)

For the sake of reference and calendar marking, this eclipse (the solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio) will be taking its’ turn around April 2017 - which will be in the wake of a solar eclipse at 8 Pisces, a degree we will all learn a lot about (for among other things, reference) as Neptune (ruler of Pisces) work through a range of motion between 4 and 8 Pisces during its 2015 (into early 2016) cycle, with 4 Pisces being the position of royal and fixed star Fomalhaut.

- link to post -

The Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 4): Fomalhaut

As for fixed stars to be concerned with at the moment, though there is a very wide connection between 0 Scorpio and Arcturus (a leadership or ‘leading’ influence) and Spica (true brilliance versus ‘the brilliant image’) these stars are at 24 Libra and therefore not within 5 degrees of the eclipse. So though matters of leadership and ‘where things are leading’ (or how someone has led, led others on, been led on, etc.) may get referenced, they are not actually involved. With an emblem of skill (Achilles) at 29 Libra, some skills will be eclipsed now, some will be ‘taken off the table’ and others will be revealed, at least in part - this being a partial (not total) eclipse of the Sun.

With Libra being a sign about how we relate to others or how they relate to us because of how we are ‘presenting’ our Self, our thoughts, positions, efforts, projects and products, the [Achilles] skill with which we handle ourselves is a key to the responses we get from others and some - at least - of what we have done or how we have done it will now fall by the wayside at least for three years (the full term of the eclipse). At the same time, being that this eclipse will have the Sun, Moon and Venus in conjunction at 0 Scorpio, there are some highly pronounced qualities which pertain to secrecy, power, greed and all the many ways we try to get or avoid attention (and responses) from others which are now being eclipsed.

Put simply, to have Venus eclipsed will eliminate some evils while spawning others with all such notions or factors having to do with our emotional tendencies to prioritize our Self or what we ‘want’ (or want to be true, want to happen, etc.) which in the small venue is petty and annoying, which in the moderate venue is selfish, emotionally tone deaf or egotistical and which in the grandest view is likely to spawn things, attitudes and behaviors which are patently-reflexively-instinctively narcissistic and which become wholly, grandly destructive - even... and most particularly of the generative aims.

Let’s remember: Scorpio is the sign of karma. With all things Scorpio, what we put out will come back to us, and not always from the same ‘place’ or ‘direction’ we were thinking about or ‘aiming’ at. With Libra, things tend to be direct and timely - the person who sues you is a Libran figure who must abide by the laws of the ‘equal’ playing field (the legal suit). But with Scorpio, emotions come into play - which both defines any Scorpio situation as something which can upset us and something in which people invest emotionally - and not always for the best of productive reasons. Malice is Scorpionic, as is manipulation. But so is rehabilitation, detoxification and the concept of resurrection - especially that sort of emotional resurrection which allows us to purge our beings of that which is dangerous or toxic to us or others, thereby clearing the way to the sort of greater personal power which leads to opportunities and eventual achievement.

The good news is that the worst of Scorpio’s spawn is likely to be relatively short-lived (2.5 - 3 years) before it ‘takes a turn,’ though there is no guarantee that such a turn will be for the better.

But I digress. There are two fixed stars which are very much part of this eclipse. The first is Mirach, a star which is said to have the nature of Neptune and Venus (speaking of Neptune and - ahem! - Venus).

Mirach is part of constellation Andromeda and also part of constellation Pegasus - an odd combination of ‘taking flight’ (Pegasus) and the experience of helplessness in the defense of self (Andromeda).

'Andromeda' by Edward Poynter (1869, oil on canvas)

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The Andromeda part of this influence is purely human, mortal and understandable - its our reaction or tendency to react when we feel powerless because choices have been made for us by others (human beings) who are diminishing our (Taurus) value through their (Gemini) choice. Whoever we are and whatever we are involved in and have been doing over these past months, there are places in our life where we are Andromeda (and where we feel helpless)and places where we have made the choice to put others in a position of helplessness.

At this point, neither one is benefiting us - and that this happens so soon after royal star Aldebaran moved into 10 Gemini seems telling.

- link to post -

Aldebaran at 10 Gemini

But there’s also the Pegasus part of this dynamic, and when we get to the metaphysics of Pegasus, with all due respect for those who want to think Pegasus is all about beauty, strength and the freedom to fly, it’s all that yes - but also the ability to flee the scene of the crime (avoidance of problems and/or culpability, in other words) by utilizing special or specialized or unique attributes or talents in a manner which hinders us through fear even as it offers us a new way to maneuver, see things or deal with difficulties or threats.

And why is that?

That’s because Pegasus is the offspring of Medusa - the symbol of all we fear knowing, most of all about our Self.

- link to post -

Medusa: Through Our Mental Mirror, Darkly

The ideas expressed by Pegasus can absolutely be used for good and productivity. But given the idea that Pegasus is allegedly born of blood shed when Medusa is slain by the young and heroic Perseus, there is something within - our native Medusa - which must be confronted and worked through before, in true Scorpio style, our attempts at ‘flight’ (whatever form that takes) become fully imbued with inner strength of character.

'Perseus vanquishing Medusa' by Eugene Thirion (1839-1910)

- that's Pegasus in the background.

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The other star in opposition to the eclipse is Mira or ‘Stellar Mira’, a star once marveled at because of the nature of its variable light. Thanks to modern astronomy we now know Mira is a binary star with a cycle of roughly 11 months (332 days) and there are no specific mentions of Mira in Chinese or Babylonian lore (though over the years Chinese astronomers have described constellations thought to contain Mira)...and thus we would think it natural that anything Mira would come into aspect with (be that Mirach, a solar eclipse or something in your personal natal chart) would have an ongoing on-off (plus-minus, positive-negative, strong-weak) cycle inherent in its nature.

As for what shape that nature tends to take, well-respected astrologer Reinhold Ebertin described Mira as having the nature of Saturn and Jupiter, telling us that Mira star should be associated with two very different things: beginnings and endings along with long-term existence or duration.

Why? Because when or where Jupiter and Saturn appear together (or are associated by linkage) we are being given the symbolism of growth (Jupiter) and durable structures (Saturn) which are in themselves achievements and which afford us the opportunity to achieve that much more. Furthermore, Jupiter and Saturn have a synodic cycle (synodic meaning the frequency with which they conjunct while in orbit around the Sun) of 19.86 years while eclipses are clocked on the Metonic cycle, a cycle which is nineteen years (235 lunar months) long. Both of these cycles refer to what philosophers, historians and story tellers refer to as ‘the rise and fall’ of fortunes - be they of a person, a nation, a reign or anything else.

Mira's (aka Mira A's) bow shock and tail as photographed in ultraviolet

(photo credit: NASA)

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The last time we had this year’s 8 Taurus/0 Scorpio eclipse sequence was back in 1995. And for those of an age and sufficient willingness, there is a value in looking back and thinking about what you were going through then - not in terms of finite subjects of concern which were important then, but in terms of how you coped with those times. How did what you felt then spur you on to more growth or personal development in the wake of those eclipses?

That process is being repeated now. Not in the same form and not (generally) through the same people, places or things, but the pattern of personal growth is being repeated now. Again, this only applies to those of “a certain age” (sorry young folk, but this is one place where being older has a few perks!) but those who learned about their own capacity back then will have the ability to weather these times with more aplomb, calm and general effective efficiency. And those who didn’t? Or those who aren’t old enough yet to have passed through multiple eclipse cycles?

They will have a more robustly trying (emotional) time now - and hopefully they’ll be taking notes, as this is not the last Scorpio eclipse younger folks are likely to see as the Scorpio/Taurus sequence returns in (yes,) another nineteen years.

This is however, the last of the Scorpio eclipses for now. Next time around there will be no 0 Scorpio eclipse (though the year 2032 will bring us an encore of last year’s 19 Taurus/11 Scorpio solar eclipse sequence).

Moreover, given how the lunar nodes cycle backwards through the zodiac we would expect that after the Taurus/Scorpio sequence would come an Aries/Libra sequence.

But if we expected that, we would be wrong. For whatever reason deemed proper by that which manifests as our universe and all which exists in it, after this eclipse our world will be skipping Aries-Libra and moving straight into a Pisces/Virgo mode.

In other words, this very feeling time is preparing us to confront very important questions about what we are willing to endure feeling (as individuals and as collectives of various sorts) in order to make things health, workable and supportive of our aims not only for the foreseeable future, but in the longer range of long runs - which is a very good reason to heed the warning of 0 Scorpio, that being about how it requires both the decision and the effort to turn ourselves (and one supposes, that which is in front of us now) to good.

May we all decide to be and become our finest and most human mortal Self.
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Pallas in Scorpio

In keeping with the Sabian Symbol for 0 Scorpio ('A Crowded Sightseeing Bus On a City Street'),

the photo above is of a sightseeing bus in 1909 Salt Lake City, Utah

(Commercial photo taken on assignment, published c. 1909, now in public domain)

That asteroid Pallas is entering Scorpio but a few days ahead of the solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio describes something simple in theory...and perhaps difficult to act on.

In short, what is wanted, perhaps needed - or which is simply becoming part of some consideration or some situation is a bit of perspective. Pallas represents our more cerebral side - including something of an independent quality which may  simply describe being alone in one’s thoughts, or something you do on your own.

Then again, Pallas can signify the moment when we gain perspective on our thoughts. Or when we finally stop to think things through, thereby gaining perspective on what’s happened and what needs to happen next.

And while all that is well and good, none of it - at least on the face of it - is all that Scorpio by nature. 

As part of the zodiac’s interactive (third) quadrant, Scorpio requires interactive involvement, whether with others or in the service of some cause, aim or effort - or even just because in order to comprehend we need to dig deeper or get more involved or more intimate with some subject.

When we find ourselves pitted against our concern for our reputation, that’s Scorpio, a sign which at its heart pits us against our own feelings about, and ability to risk. We approach Scorpio situations thinking about how to make it ‘work for us,’ and we focus on the thing, the other, the plan and what we ‘need’ to do.

But make no mistake - the issue isn’t ‘them’ or that goal, it’s how we’ll feel if we succeed... and how we’ll feel, most of all about our Self, if we don’t succeed, if we don’t win, if we lose all control of what’s going to happen. Every form of investment which comes with the risk of loss, be that an investment of time, money, hope or life is intrinsically Scorpio.

In short, Scorpio involves emotional intensity and focus while Pallas is all about taking a step back and establishing calm. Particularly mental calm.

It’s something of a dichotomy.

Or is it? If we were to stop and think about how or why we feel so strongly about something, whether positive or negative. Pro or con, Scorpio is all about strong feelings - and if we stop to think about them, that act of considering, providing we think with our head and not our heart (or some other body part), that would be rather distinctly Pallas.

Of course there are many ways for this to work. As Pallas comes into Scorpio as of October 19th at 1:09 in the afternoon UT/+0 time, you may change your mind about something. This doesn’t have to involve anything earth-shattering though it could, particularly because the solar eclipse about to happen.

And of course, the fact that in arriving at 0 Scorpio, Pallas is symbolically setting eclipse processes in motion, which may prove beneficial as the negatives associated with 0 Scorpio tend to be exacerbated by frustrations and misunderstandings along with situations which allow strength and/or resources to be purposefully used for private purposes or for any gain which is perpetrated through the auspices of unfair practice.

Will Pallas entering Scorpio mean an end to so much bad behavior? It may, and where it doesn’t end disagreements it well may signal the dawning of a will to be rational and figure things out or talk them through. That may take a bit of time to come to fruition (or alternately, for anything to come of such conversations) as Mercury is in retrograde until October 25th. But there would seem to be some sort of ‘reward’ coming down the pike...

...and it’s name is Saturn.

Why Saturn?

Simply because of this: as Pallas enters Scorpio, there is a Yod in the ingress chart.

 The transiting Yod of October 19th

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This Yod doesn’t involve Pallas directly, no. However, though with this figure centered on 24 degrees of Taurus, Sagittarius and Libra, since at the time of ingress the Sun will be at 25 degrees of Libra and therefore conjunct Pallas at 0 Scorpio, there is a connection, it's just there's a little distance there.

You know...the kind of distance which allows for perspective - in this case on 'the relationship,' which may be literal (as in two people in a relationship of any positive or negative type) or which may refer to the kind of perspective which allows us to see how two things relate without any personal involvement.

That would be very Pallas.

As to the Yod, this particular Yod will like as not occur with a lot of people trying to hold their position while cutting off (rejecting, eliminating, ignoring, etc.) others, specifically those whose knowledge (i.e., raw information, facts) feel threatening.

Presented in Taurus as a confluence of Sedna and fixed star Capulus at 24 Taurus, these threats do not have to be real. Or extreme. They can be, mind you, but they’re just as likely to involve something totally everyday, such as the parent who tells their child that it’s time to take a bath and go to bed in just the right way or at just the right moment to trigger that child’s budding instinct to be their own person - a situation which every parent has probably seen erupt into dire protests even when nothing truly dismal is seriously at stake.

Meanwhile, as with all Yods, the ‘solution point’ is in opposition to the ‘tail’ of the Yod, that ‘tail’ being what we all instinctively seem to grab hold of in trying to steer some Yod-like situation. So the answer is not Taurean - it’s not actually about security even though it may be described in seriously insecure security terms. Instead, the answer is posed at 24 Scorpio, a degree which though known for difficulties (even tragedies) and the appearance of negativity is actually highly directed and fully capable of respectable (and respected) tangible achievements which though presented on a time-table (and/or in an order) which may mystify others, proves viable and virtuous over time.

Saturn arrives at 24 Scorpio on November 2nd (UT/+0) and will remain at this degree through November 10th, stirring up all the standard Saturn themes of responsibility, limitations, achievements, age, stability, career, work and effort...which because Saturn will be opposing Sedna at that point spells either resistance and denial or the acceptance of truths which don’t ‘fit’ some image or notion we have come into this time believing in.

 Pallas enters Scorpio (glyph chart)

October 19, 2014 - 1:09 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Not Location Specific)

 Pallas enters Scorpio (text chart)

October 19, 2014 - 1:09 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Not Location Specific)

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Saturn-Sedna speaks to how ‘should’ be - not that there’s any ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ here, though there is a question of maturity and wisdom. And for this combination to come into any relationship which may represent challenges to what motivates us as Mercury re-enters Scorpio (activating the 0 Scorpio eclipse degree again) speaks most of all to where we stand with/within our Self.

Do we have perspective? Are we willing to see beyond some natural conviction or personal horizon?

Whether things are working well or off track is hardly the Pallas question as what Pallas in Scorpio asks us is:

a.) Whether we even know how to see our Self and the life around us without any passionate coloration,

...and...

b.) Whether we are willing to endure the internal trepidations which may come from our choosing to set various outlooks, orientations and biases aside as we decide to risk our ego standing with ourselves in exchange for an opportunity to gain some sort of greater or more honest understanding.

And at the moment - which is to say as Pallas enters Scorpio, that ‘understanding’ is (like as not) going to expose some factor or facet relating to how we are none of us as innocent as we’d like to think we seem.

Again, that’s not about what we are, mind you...it’s as we’d like to think we seem.
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Orionids 2014

 Constellation Gemini (at left) and Orion (on the right). Image generated

using Stellarium astronomical software in night mode.

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No sooner do the Draconids end but another meteor shower begins. Of course, being as its Mercury retrograde (even in the lives of well-intentioned astrologers - by which I mean me), hardly had I slept off the previous post (link: Part 2 of 3 on this month’s solar eclipse) when my calendar glared at me, causing me to recognize that in writing said previous post I had left out one almost literally star-spangled fact - that second meteor shower thing.

The Orionid meteor shower began yesterday, October 16th. And as I take to typing this reminder it also strikes me how, considering that the radiant (apparent origin point) for the Orionids lies between constellation Orion and nearby Gemini, there would/will be a lot of Gemini ‘sparking of the mind’ in the works and all goings on...not to mention at least a bit of Orion-like hunting and searching.

For what? For whatever our mind is bent on. And in that process, the idea of sudden realizations, recognitions, surprises, inspirations, notifications...and yes, reminders - they would all seem very much in keeping with the moment.

Given the notion we were just talking about (in that previous post) about how the current eclipse (in Scorpio) is only half of what is going on and how there is a distinct measure of Gemini in the eclipse works, to have this meteor shower seems...well, rather poignant (if not pointed). And the intrigue just gets deeper when we add in the idea that it's also Mercury (ruler of Gemini) retrograde.

So not only are we under a normal-and-standard Mercury retrograde auspice for thinking things through and catching up with what's needed, wanted and best for moving forward once Mercury goes direct again (an event which will occur on October 25th, UT/+0) - but we are also moving forward with (and) falling back on something which, like as not, has existed or has been in the works for several years at least.

And now we add in the Orionids...all those little 'sparks' of thought or insight or inspiration. Does the fact that Mercury has now retrograded out of Scorpio and back into Libra mean what gets ‘sparked’ will be about others? Maybe, but not necessarily. What is likely however, is that given Mercury’s current retrograde, most of what occurs to us now and during the days ahead will be more about informing ourselves than anything which is going to be broadcast for general consumption.

Well, at least for now. Once Mercury goes direct, given that the Orionids will still be in progress (though they will have tapered off by then) it doesn't seem unlikely that the 'standard' teaching with regards to Mercury station direct - that things which have been stalled will begin to move, how that which seems lost just may get found and how things which have gotten held up or ignored (by others, surely!) or which have otherwise gone off-track will either begin getting in gear and back on track.

Or you’ll come to understand why they’re not.

You may even find out why you’re fortunate that things didn’t go as planned.

Yes, unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should - in spite of the fact we don’t always like where the creases fall.

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More detailed/astro-technical information on the Orionids is included in the 2010 commentary on this meteor shower, the blog post for which you can link to here.  
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