Black Moon Lilith at 22 Leo

(image) Maser M 31 at the core of the Andromeda Galaxy as photographed in X-ray by the Chandra Space Observatory

(photo credit: NASA, January 2000)

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Here’s my thesis for the day: orbits aren’t round. In science, that’s just a fact - orbits tend to be egg-shaped complete with one end of the orbit being pointier than the other. (Which may, with all due respect for chickens and eggs just beg the question ‘which came first, the orbiting object or the orbit it is orbiting along?’ or some such akin to that.)

So we have these egg-ish orbital tracks. And most of them are pretty constant. But some - such as the orbit of our Luna Moon around Planet Earth - do their own little orbital dance, one which in the mind’s eye (provided you’re not feeling blind-sided) might well remind you of that child’s toy known as a Spirograph.

The tracings of a Spirograph

The Moon’s orbit being the Moon’s to moon over, what seems notable to mention at this particular point in time is the fact that the ‘short’ or ‘near’ end of that "rotating" or transiting Spirograph figure is what is known in astrology is known as Black Moon Lilith, a calculated point which like the Ascendant and other axis points (the MC, IC and Descendant) is often difficult to manage simply because this isn't a planet. Or an asteroid. Or a comet, star or dwarf planet. They all have mass. But a calculated point has no mass - and when you watch things astrological for long enough it becomes rather apparent that the metaphysics of 'mass' is related to any form of a very common expression: I'm trying to get hold of it.

Metaphysically, that's about mass. Any attribute denoted or described by an object with mass appears to be something we can develop 'habits' with (or about) - and thus we can change those habits. No one's saying such changes are easy, just that they're possible...with the real idea here being that Black Moon Lilith, in being an astrological symbol of zero mass is very hard to 'get hold of' or otherwise remain constantly and consistently aware of...which in one sense leads to a very consistent kind of perspective on the Black Moon as in the world of energetics it functions something like a ‘shadow effect’ in all of our lives, shifting through the zodiac raising this and daunting us with that, always originating from some area of thought or feeling, ethic, perception, value or awareness which we have ‘pushed away’ or abandoned outright.

As for the reference to Lilith, that would be something which ‘embodies’ something we have - individually or as a culture (or race, perhaps) turned our back on, rejected, or denied in manner which may or may not be obvious to us...or others.

Just to make this all a little more interesting, there are also two forms of Lilith: the calculated point (Black Moon Lilith) and a main belt asteroid (Lilith). And yes, there's a post on that too, if you'd like to read the long form:

- link to -

The Two Liliths 

The effects of Black Moon Lilith are not always entirely noticeable in our busy moment-by-moment days, but we do feel them. They're there even if they're that itch you can't quite scratch, that certainty you can’t quite define and that uncertainty which, try as you may, you can’t quite resolve...at least not to the degree of relaxed satisfaction.

As for why Black Moon Lilith seems worth taking time to think through in this moment, that would be because Black Moon Lilith moves into 22 Leo on September 17th (UT/+0)...and 22 Leo just happens to be the degree Jupiter (the desire to get ahead, achieve, expand one’s understanding/ability) will go station/direct in come this December.

Technically... (read: in the short run)... the Black Moon will only be in 22 Leo until early on September 26th (UT/+0). But it still seems worth our while to be on the ‘lookout’ for social and/or societal clues as to where you’re going to be (most of all with your Self) or be facing come mid-late December 2014 - and in this regard, the Black Moon is a metaphysical signpost we are all being given (even if what we do with it is our business).

To understand how this will function in your life, obviously the first place you need to look is at your personal chart, complete with sign, degree, aspects and all the usual contemplation. Then, where does 22 Leo fall in your natal chart?

As for 22 Leo as a degree, it’s a sensitive one - which you may read as ‘emotionally sensitive’ or ‘psychically sensitive’ or any other kind of sensitive as seems applicable, given the rest of your nature (and chart). There is a need to be of use and help in the world, plus a need to learn how to value and be valued properly - which is to say, not too much and not too little. This degree carries with it a quality of anxiety which is often made worse by attempts to ‘cope’ with the problem rather than deal with the reaction to it (the anxiety) which in the long run is really the problem - and as I say that (typing to you as I look up the Sabian Symbol)... well evidently that anxiety could be deserved - at least at some level.

Sabian 23 Leo (Zodiacal 22 Leo):

In a circus, the bareback rider displays her dangerous skill.

Keynote:

 The audacity and perseverance required to control and play with the powerful energies of the vital realm in human existence.

Astrologer Marc Edmund Jones wrote of this degree as one which in being both vital and creative is the driving engine behind spectacular human feats. In commenting on this degree Astrologer Dane Rudhyar typifies it as that which turns ego into imagination and inventiveness, providing us with the insight as to our own potential for dramatic native virtuosity.

And yet this showmanship cannot be ego-aware. The moment it turns into a means to receive those accolades or those longed for rewards and/or advantages, that’s when the shadow of the Black Moon becomes the gaping vulnerability which though perhaps not apparent to others, nonetheless swallows us unimpeded.

Nor is the Black Moon going to be lighting its 22 Leo September-to-December ‘shadow torch’ on its own.

As the Black Moon begins activating needs imbedded beyond conscious perception on September 17th, so too will Europa (getting carried away) and Hestia (structural protection/protection of life structures) move on station to turn retrograde as of September 19th. And since both of these influences originate in Taurus and any turn to retrograde means the symbolic energy is turned ‘inward,’ the whole of this September 17 through 21 station will like as not test our ability to balance control against lack of productive participation, maintaining (or supporting) our personal sense of [Taurus] ‘having things secured’ as part of the process. Mind you, with Hestia (a guardian figure of home, hearth, family and state) in this mix there may be something we need to ‘guard against’ or take proper care of here, whether that thing would be doing our homework, nursing a drippy cold or remaining aware of some job effort, social obligation or merely our erratic temper.

There’s also the idea that the degree Europa is going retrograde in (19 Taurus) is one which tends to get bogged down or which ‘chases around in circles,’ which may well lead to much action and many words while also acting as a ‘symptom’ of the underlying (subconscious, rejected, misunderstood) Black Moon matters. Plus with Hestia on station and conjunct Europa in a degree (14 Taurus) known for beating a full retreat as well as doing much (too much) out of an abundance of instinctive (perhaps spiritual) beliefs there are likely to be more than a few ‘turnabouts’ during this time.

In point of fact, the whole of this week seems to be one long series of patchwork overlays. Europa and Hestia going retrograde on the 17th is not only its own event but also serves to mark a beginning the Cubewano (and possible dwarf planet candidate) station-retrograde moment for TNO Chaos.

Unlike Neptune-influenced Plutinos like Pluto, Ixion and Huya which test our ability to keep our dreams either separate or strongly rooted in fact, Chaos is a [Cubewano] symbol of something which exists apart from all other influences.

And what is that ‘something’? That something is all about possibility. Endless possibilities. Originally a symbol of that sort of fertility which promises there are more ideas yet to be had, and that the Sun will yet come up again tomorrow, the energy of Chaos is generally the proverbial ‘light bulb moment’ which starts some inspirational process. And here? Well, in going direct at 19 Gemini, Chaos presents us with a variety of [Gemini] choices - none of which are likely to utterly delight us... at least not in the short run. The Sabian symbol for this degree (‘A modern cafeteria displays an abundance of food, products of various regions’) being plainly multi-regional, multi-cultural or even international, the image being presented is about nourishment (food) of various kinds, some of which is foreign to us - an idea which fits very well with the endless source which is TNO Chaos.

And then we add in asteroid Apollo, which in overlapping Chaos’ station goes direct at 1 Leo a day after Chaos goes retrograde (on the 22nd, to be exact). Representing truth (the light of truth) and general enlightenment of every informative and curative kind, asteroid Apollo’s station at 1 Leo shines a light on vulnerabilities not as a negative but as something which gives us a chance to relate to others - and maybe more importantly, relate to our Self.

Our oh-so mortal Self.

For reasons mentioned before (read: because of a newly installed back injury) I will mention all this then let you think it all through...pausing only for one moment more to point out how all of this is happening during the run-up to Pluto going station-direct on September 23rd in tandem with the Sun moving into Libra, a fact which gives everything about this Black Moon-Europa-Hestia-Chaos-Apollo sequence something of a hint of ‘cosmic prelude’ preceding the bringing of all into [Libra] balance for good, for bad, for all it can possibly be worth.

So yes, everything about such moments are valid in the moment that they become: individual global transits will evidence their effects in and across all our days in all their symbolic if sometimes subtle manifestation.

And while all that is happening, time and our Black Moon Lilith timings will also be weaving all of this and more together seamlessly, bringing us to a place where no matter who has denied what we are ready to face another round of Plutonic transformations and the chance (or risk) of being transformed as we pursue our relationship to life and our place among others on this planet we call our world.
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Venus in Cancer/Mercury Direct

 Venus Anadiomene by Antonio Maria Esquivel (1806-1857)

For those who need to read and run, here are the stats and facts:

1.) Venus will enter Cancer on Tuesday, August 7 (2012) at 1:44 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time.

2.) Mercury will go direct on Wednesday, August 8 (2012) at 5:41 in the morning, UT/+0 time.
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Since all planetary stations get a ‘station allowance’ window of two days before and two days after the planetary turnabout, this means that Mercury goes on station early on Monday (August 6th) UT/+0 time.

(That's it for the read-and-run stuff)

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As for those with a few more minutes to browse, muse and otherwise contemplate...Mercury is doing it’s ‘turnabout may and may not be fair play’ at 1 Leo. And yes, this is apt as Mercury does represent (among other things) tricks of the mind and therefore the trickery we play on others as well as the tricky situations we get into.

 A painting of Mercury which dates back to

the 14th century (artist unknown)

Is all that heightened because Mercury is in Leo, a sign which though it has the power to be incredibly perceptive often is blind to the necessity to appeal to others in the terms they might react to positively?

Probably yes. And then we add in qualities noted as being associated with 1 Leo, among which are insecurity and all we (or others) may do to cover for feelings of inner anxiety, inadequacy – all that stuff.

With Mercury doing this turnabout with Lust at 29 Cancer adds a real focus…even an urgency to this  issue. The name ‘Lust’ is a little misleading; people tend to think this asteroid is all about carnal desire, forgetting that horoscope points are always a quality in us which we have to manage. Therefore 'Lust’ is about our tendency to lust – which is really about focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others.

At a Mercury station, this combination will for some most assuredly be some sort of revelation (startling or otherwise) that they have been focused on one thing when they should have been focused on another.

It's that trickster thing. Mercury is always a trickster, and the person we are always most likely to be tricking is ourselves…with the medium of the tricking being through mentality.

In other words, we fool ourselves. This differs from denial (if slightly) because denial is about something we can’t see because it would be too upsetting to us to deal with it. Denial has an emotional root where tricking ourselves is merely about ‘I don’t want to!’

And that quality – – is all too commonly Leo.

Another comment on this Mercury turnabout: it’s in trine to the North Node at 1 Sag and in sextile to the South Node at 1 Gemini…with that South Node being conjunct Atropos.

The North Node is always (always, always…) what we should do. And though this North Node at 1 Sagittarius says we should try to see our relationships with our world (and those in our world) on a factual basis (the proof being in the pudding and all that)…despite that, we are far more likely now to want to edit what we see, hear, and who we deal with rather than deal with trial and error or testing the reality of the situation.

Atropos/South Node is a signal that it’s easier to give something up than cope with what it takes to make it right. And with Mercury’s station in a sextile to this Atropos/South Node conjunction (which is exact, by the way) cutting our losses and getting out of something which has had us tied up is an option now.

The question is thus posed by the North Node: should you?

The handwriting on the wall here is that the Nodes – which cycle backwards through the zodiac – are about to change signs. That’s going to happen at the end of August. What will follow is a year-and-a-half (or so) of progress being made only where we risk the right things with the right people. The object will be the increase of satisfaction and self-worth, confidence, realistic recognitions of boundaries-versus-opportunities…all that stuff. So! Are you in position to move ahead developing your capacity to risk not what’s easy, but that which comes hard for you?

Considering that August has only a few cues for such things prior to the nodes changing signs, those who take this opportunity to look ahead and sort their efforts by positive potential are in a good space here.

And then we add in Venus entering Cancer.

No matter where Cancer appears in your natal chart, the idea of this first and most basic of water signs is all about building value – which yes, is related to the idea that Cancer is associated with real estate (‘built’ value in a very tangible form) and our heritage and native experience of family – that which forms our emotional foundation.

 Because the sign of Cancer is the first of the water elements,

it's often thought of as the 'surf zone' - that place where we get

our feet wet...and where in truth we may get tossed about a bit

until we learn to swim. Like the oceans, all things Cancer tend

to have a 'tidal' ebb and flow...so during these next few weeks of

Venus in Cancer, we should expect that there will be increases

and decreases in activity, feelings and motivation.

(photo credit: Kahuroa, December 2002)

Granting that no house, no family/experience of family and no heritage is “perfect” Cancer still always carries that ‘foundational’ building-for-the-future sort of vibe. And when we apply that to the cause-effect lynchpin which is Venus, that gets us to the who am I being and what am I doing to create what I am or am not receiving in – and from life?

Venus in Cancer can be a time to revamp your home, absolutely. Many a DIY project is begun under various Cancer influences. Many a home gets bought or sold under Cancer influences. Nesting is very Cancerian and providing you’re not doing that to avoid what you should be doing, this could be a great time to just be a homebody. Or when you may want to spend time with your family.

Then again, this could be the time to launch a new ‘business plan’ whether in a business, or with regards to a business you want to build. This is an excellent time to get real with yourself about where and how you need to develop your Self or your skill set in order to get ahead in the months to come. In that regard, Venus would represent the ‘laying of foundations’ with Mercury representing the creative effort being invested in Self so as to make you into that ‘winning package.’

So…let’s boil this down to two questions:

1. Are you dealing with problems and paying attention to opportunities?

2. Are you being realistic about what it takes to get where you want to go and have what you want to have in (and out of) life?

The Leo challenge here is not just to dream, but to do. With Leo being the sign of children, that’s a pretty darn good example of this dynamic: it’s easy to ‘make’ a child…it’s a whole lot harder to raise that child and to work at being a good parent.

Get the difference? We all love the dream, the vision, the Leo ‘gosh wouldn’t it be wonderful if…’ but that’s only half of the Leo process. Lions don’t stay strong and magnificent through sitting around on a rock basking in the sun. There is game to be stalked, there are territorial boundaries to be patrolled, there are other lions to be dealt with.

It isn’t all ‘peel me a grape…’ no matter how much we want it to be!

So if you can, enjoy yourself…but challenge yourself a little too. You’ll like yourself better for it – and isn’t that the ultimate goal?