Venus in Libra

Invitation by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

It’s hard not to think of Venus in Libra in beautiful terms. The image of enchanting allure is simply too delightful not to contemplate.

And in a sense, that is what Venus in Libra is all about – though not as literally as many would like to think. In being the polarity sign to the ‘consciousness of Self’ sign of Aries, Libra embodies how all we do, are and ‘give out with’ affects others.

In other words, Libra is about the impression or the impact made. And being an airy sign which expresses itself (like all air signs) through ‘the idea of the thing’ Libra is more about what others think of what we are or what we do…hence its connection not to ‘beauty in the flesh’ (you’re disappointed, I know!) but attractiveness. So the plus and minuses of Libra in your chart (and to some degree, the associated 7th house of any horoscope regardless of the sign on its cusp) is all about the reaction…the response we get in this world – be that a response to our physical presence, our expertise (or lack of same) or whether we’re the one who gets picked or applauded or rejected.

Or even completely ignored.

Remembering that Libra is an air sign we should always remember that what one person likes another person yawns at. So your version of beauty may be something I just shrug at - which is true, by the by. I’m notorious for not thinking “standard” images of beauty are anything exciting.

And that idea highlights the difference between Libra and Venus. Venus embodies the ‘cause-effect’ point, so wherever your Venus is natally, that will tell us what you value and what you get ‘turned on’ by (not necessarily in the sexual sense, but possibly that as well). That my personal Venus is in a water sign (Pisces) means I will tend to affect and be affected by emotionality and in particular, someone’s willingness to be vulnerable and show they have feelings. Or their willingness to deal with the emotional difficulties of others and not shy away from their own sticking points.

As Venus moves into Libra on August 16th at 2:38 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time) I know my focus will move into the ‘I/thou’ realm of interaction and effect. I know three-plus weeks of Venus’ transit through Libra will be filled with prime examples of how I’m doing with regards to how I want to affect others. It will also offer me a chance to experience others and to hone how others now experience me.

In being the polarity to ‘Self-oriented’ Aries – our ‘causal’ energies now come into focus. Venus in Libra is thought to be ‘graceful’ in part exactly because of this quality…which may simply mean it’s always nice when we aren’t so hugely distracted.

But this is also about our willingness to connect. While passing through the sign prior to Libra (Virgo) there’s a natural tendency to focus on the little things without focusing on the whole. Venus in Virgo, has a ‘focused on what I’m doing’ vibe which you might associate with getting ready for some big debut. Or an important meeting. Venus in Virgo is great for getting things done and it’s well thought of as a time to get much done.

But once Venus moves into Libra, the curtain goes up. We see ‘them’…and are seen by them.

Thus we connect and the dance – in theory - commences.

 Constellation Libra (center) with famous fixed star Spica (above and

Royal Star Antares (below) as part of constellation Scorpio

Being that the first half of Venus’ passage through Libra is happening during the second half of the Perseid meteor shower, this is still a time for a ‘sprinkle of sparks’ – which makes the first week or so of Venus in Libra a time to ‘strike’ up a conversation. Or maybe some sort of deal, agreement or when by stopping to listen, we realize how to be or become far more effective.

Call it a time of focusing on our focus…and whether we’re doing what we should to get the effects we want. Or even whether we’re aimed in the right direction. Venus in Libra is a clarified vibration, one which allows us to see whether we’re doing the right thing in the right place, thus making it as good a time to bow out of one thing (or relationship) gracefully as it is to start something new.

For the first week of this passage the Sun will still be in Leo. And since Leo is all about how we ‘shine’ (or stand out like a sore thumb, depending) this would be a time which highlights us – in particular, I mean. The combination of Sun in Leo and Venus in Libra points the spotlight towards us, which some will react to by basking in the limelight while others get self conscious and still others get recognized for their abilities.

So don’t be surprised – anything could happen during these days of August 16th through 22nd. But then a series of things happen in quick succession: the Sun moves into Virgo (late on the 22nd in the UT/+0 zone), Mercury moves into Virgo on the 23rd (again, late in the evening UT/+0 time), Sedna goes retrograde (on the 25th) and then Mars enters Leo just as a transiting grand sextile moves towards formulation.

(And yes, you can look forward to all those posts to grace Ye Olde Bloggery in due time.)

What this amounts to is a lot of energy moving into the Virgo arena concentrated in the areas of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it – which when combined with Venus in Libra is a recipe for accomplishment or realization that things need at least a bit of (Virgoan) refinement or tweaking. And though at some points in time Mars in Leo could be too much strength or energy on the ‘how I like it’ aspects of life, the natural (whole sign) sextile from the Mars/Leo to our Venus/Libra suggests that we’re ready to make improvements and take feedback as a constructive (rather than offensive) thing.

Considering that Sedna is all about letting go of preconceptions (or “pre-programming) with the goal being greater independence of perspective on Self and personal abilities, this all sounds rather good. And for those willing to let go and trust a bit in life’s processes, the moving through of a grand sextile in earth and water can literally become a moment of being ‘moved.’

Or even making a move – however you take that.

But then…then comes El Fly in Zee Ointment. Or rather two flies which are flying tandem. Their names are Pholus and Ixion, and if you don’t know about Pholus and Ixion, I invite you to have a nicely unpleasant read on either one…

- link to -

Pholus: A Little Nasty

- link to -

Ixion: Our Conflict of Self

…or both – your call.

Before you say ‘so what?’ I’ll fill in that gap: both of these points are about self absorbed. And though Venus in Libra is something of a natural ‘linking’ energy, Venus’ well known strength in Libra isn’t always altruistic. That ‘pretty’ side of the Libra Venus sometimes surfaces as vanity. Or absorption on the shallow or ‘how does it look?’ (i.e., to others) part of something – as opposed to what it really means to you deep down in side (in spite of what others think, do or say).

Moreover, as of September 1st and 2nd, Pholus and Ixion are going on station in the same degree of Sagittarius.

From the wall of Pompeii's Casa dei Vettii, 'Ixion's punishment'

More on that then. But since Venus will at that moment be passing through Libra’s sextiling degree to said two-day, dual station (that would be 18 Libra versus 18 Sagittarius) this is a piping hot moment in the life of energy pouring through the celestial pipeline.

And there is the fact that as of September 3rd, we’re ‘officially’ into the eight-week ‘loosening’ of life bolts which precedes the November 3rd Solar Eclipse at 11 Scorpio.

Adding this to the fact that there will be a New Virgo Moon on the 5th, things are likely to be highly polarized at this point, which is to say sublimely fine or disgustingly awful. And seeing as this is about when Venus will be traversing Libra’s last ten degrees, for those who are in the mental dumpster at the moment, this isn’t any matter to just hole up in one’s cave about.

Yes, you can go hide in your cave – absolutely. But eventually we all will have to face our ‘out there’ Big World stuff.

So here’s the ultimate choice: would you rather try to deal with what needs dealing with, improve your odds or fix the leak in your psyche under Venus in Libra, a time which favors connections, or would you rather wait until Venus moves on into one of it’s sticky wicket signs (Scorpio) early on September 11th?

Venus in Libra offers us a chance to make good on our own ability. The trick is remembering that making good on what we want to do isn’t just about what we want, like or our personal perspective.

We don’t rule the world. The world…and time…does.
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Deucalion, Jupiter, North Node and Pluto

Speaking strictly (and in UT/+0 time zone terms), the lunar North Node moves into 11 Scorpio late on August 7th. And there it conjuncts Deucalion.

For you orb-ists, this does indeed mean that the North Node has been within orb of Deucalion for quite some time now – since back in early April.

So what were you doing back in early April? That was back when Saturn was moseying through retrograde at about 9 Scorpio, having (as we’ve discussed a few times) done it’s own station at 11 Scorpio in mid-February.

Getting a feeling we’re getting a real 11 Scorpio workout this year? Um…I’d say so, yes. And I know there are plenty of people with vital focal points at 11 Scorpio – even close by – who are getting a heck of a workout.

(Full Disclosure: I know this in part because I’m on that ‘close by’ list.)

As long as we’re on this subject for the moment, the standard orb to 11 Scorpio would be 5 degrees either way. (And yes, there would be some particular harmonic effects for similar placements in Taurus, Aquarius and Leo.)

Let’s face it: it’s a fixed sign sort of year. Between the eclipses, the Moon’s nodes (personal and societal relationships and the world’s functionality as a set of relationships) and Saturn’s transit of Scorpio, life is pushing us to get past our sticking points (be they hesitancies or reluctance). The whole fixed sign cycle (Taurus-Leo-Scorpio-Aquarius) being about creating the functionality and teaching us to recognize that ‘no (hu)man is an island’ in this world…how ultimately our satisfaction is about developing the whole of our being – not just those parts which are easy.

Even sort of, kind of, were-it-only easy.

Ultimately the issue is the good old fashioned Taurus-2nd house thing: how to get to a point where were feel secure and satisfied with our life. Taurus (and whatever the sign is on your personal 2nd house) indicate both our resources and the ultimate aim of developing those resources – that being the security and satisfaction thing. Our starting point being at some level our talents, abilities, self respect and self worth, those are what we carry with us into the ‘earning’ arena (this would be earning not just money but that satisfaction/security thing)…which we develop through challenges in the process of developing our abilities and Self (the Leo thing), and meeting the challenges personal, emotional and societal (the former two being Scorpio and the latter being Aquarius) in achieving the ultimate goal.

You know…security and satisfaction.

In fact, seen in this light, the whole idea of earning a living (you know, the money thing) is merely a necessity foisted upon us so as to push us through this very process. Income (as a concept) is Aquarian. (Aquarian and 11th house, to be more exact and nit-picky-personal.)

But to get that income, we have to develop some ability. And to do that we have to have at least enough self worth and self respect to get ourselves out there and give it a go.

Most of us are into the whole developing, experimenting, having fun with finding-what-we-like (what fits us, what we’re good at) part of the process.

That would be the Leo bit.

But after that comes Scorpio. And hardly anyone likes the Scorpio deal. Scorpio requires that we risk whatever sense of accomplishment we’ve built up through our Leo process – be that the developing of a skill or the development of our dating skills or whatever else you may want to cite.

Like, ouch. Either we get sent back to ‘Go’ (without the proverbial number of dollars) or we end up finding out that we need to learn to integrate ourselves into a group by offering that which we are complete with our vulnerabilities. You know, the I might have more to learn here part.

Some of us are good at one thing, some are good at the other and from what this astrologer can tell (after several decades in the study) it does no better to approach others as the total naïf than as the Commander-in-Chief. (Unless of course, you happen to be a commander-in-chief! But even then there are going to be things you need to learn.)

So…getting back to the orb thing. Eclipses cycle backwards through the zodiac – which makes sense if you think about how eclipses (either solar or lunar) only happen when the New (solar) or Full (lunar) Moon is within 15 degrees of the lunar nodes…and the Nodes of the Moon cycle backwards. (It’s a lining-things-up sort of issue.) You may remember this concept as part of our ‘the Nodes are at the Cross-Quarter’ point a while ago. If not, here’s the link:

- link to -

The Lunar Nodes at Cross-Quarters

The illusion I drew there was that by counting ‘down’ through the degrees the Nodes – in part – represent the various things we encounter which “bring things home” to us.

So the Nodes ‘count down’ through the zodiac as the planets (asteroids, etc.) move forward (“up”) through the zodiac. This in itself is akin to the spin-counter spin of electrons.

Or should you not be into things tiny, the twin helix of DNA. Or the inhalation and exhalation of our breath, the ebb and flow of tides, the process of life and death as the plus and minus of renewal and growth.

As things are brought home to us, we ‘shed’ the old and outmoded, the thing which doesn’t work, the idea or social masks which is too inhibiting or to far of the mark of truth…and whether we go through trepidation or we simply struggle to free ourselves, there is a trial to be endured if we are to grow and purify our being.

That – at some level – is the heart and soul of Scorpio, no matter where or when or through what or whom we encounter it. Scorpio is the process of transforming ourselves or being transformed through recognition. Through emotional encounter. Through risking our sense of safety and security on the way to creating those bridges and alliances and successes which ultimately lead to true and lasting security and personal satisfaction.

Augusto De Luca - Photo 5 (abstract)

Imaged as “AN OFFICIAL EMBASSY BALL” in the Sabian Symbols, 11 Scorpio tests our sense of perspective through situational exposure which embodies growth and risk and a reflection on who we are to have ‘come to this place’ in our lives.

Or who we should be. Or maybe don't want to be, whether or not we need to be it anyway.

As a symbol of finding our way, TNO Deucalion asks that we rise above whatever sea of emotion which may be assailing us now – which considering that August 8th (the first full day of this Node/Deucalion conjunction) is also when Jupiter perfects its opposition to Pluto.

Considering that Jupiter represents everything about (and involved in) the metaphysical process of growing our understanding (generally through use) which in Cancer is all about basics and our most intrinsic feeling experiences, to have Jupiter in opposition to Pluto signals a time of testing or change – depending on how we all deal with growth. That Pluto is conjunct fixed star (nebula) Facies says there’s a lot of ‘moving pieces’ and complexities to the process so one wouldn’t expect this to be a one-and-done sort of thing.

Jupiter is also conjunct Alhena – the star of Purpose – which if we take it into account as part of the Whole being presented here would seem to be asking what’s our purpose as a human being? Or maybe what does it take to BE a good human being? Maybe this is about what you do, maybe this is about what you don’t do. Maybe this is about how you see others (particularly those you have been connected to or influenced by in the past) and moving through (“transforming”) your relationship to them or to something you learned through your relationship with them.

With Pallas Athena (dispassionate wisdom) being conjunct headstrong Phaethon at 10 degrees of Cancer is most likely to manifest as convictions – some of which will be opposed (Pluto) by societal forces (or others who consider themselves to be “in charge”) and some of which you will recognize you need to disregard in changing your status quo.

As of August 8th, the Sun will be passing through 15 Leo – another of the zodiacal cross-quarter points. This suggests a ‘developing’ aspect of something which asks whether you are willing (yet) to move on. To take a ‘next step.’ To let go of whatever ‘has been’ your standard in the process of accepting and taking on a new growth phase.

The North Node will be at 11 Scorpio and in conjunction with Deucalion through August 18th. And since 11 Scorpio is the degree of the upcoming November 3rd Solar Eclipse…and because that means that the two-month period during which facets of your life which are no longer useful or authentic enough will begin ‘breaking down’ in (advance of said Solar Eclipse) come early September, this Deucalion-North Node conjunction would seem to be an opportunity to ‘get ahead of the flow.’ As in all things, astrology teaches that if and where we purposefully use the energy (which is going to be there regardless) there is less likelihood that the energy will come back to haunt us.

Or, to put it in the immortal words of honcho astrologer Rob Hand: use the energy wisely, lest it use YOU unwisely. 

Balls of World by Anastasiya Markovich (2008)

There is likely to be a desire to do what we want the way that we want to do it now, yes. (There generally is.) The North Node always being representative of that which we don’t really want to have to do (but which we need to do anyway), to have it combining with Deucalion is asking us to not see things as we might want to see them, but to see them in reality and through the lens of fact.

In case you’re interested, Saturn will be hitting this 11 Scorpio point in mid-October. Prior to that – call it September 16th – Saturn will have it’s own little encounter with the North Node. Again for the orb-ists among us, Saturn and the lunar North Node will come into 5-degree orb of conjunction as of August 15th, which yes, is during our North Node/Deucalion window of process.

Saturn being about responsibilities and long-term dedication, with the Nodes conjunct Deucalion, this is a grand testing period (and a grandly testing period) which is both about who and what we are in the world and who we are to others.

And who they are to us.

Not to make this simple or anything, there is also the not-so-little ‘little matter’ of the ongoing grand trine in water, too. Originally composed of Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune which added a little ‘dissolving of our defenses’ to the mix), Jupiter’s having moved on through Cancer has shifted this period of epic feeling-ness into a new mode which is composed of Jupiter in Cancer (emotional growth/growth which tests emotions), Saturn in Scorpio (valuing interactions, values learned through interactions and interactive values) and Chiron retrograde in Pisces (challenging ourselves to take on that thing we really don’t know how to do and which probably freaks us out to the max).

Many among us will simply say ‘this too shall pass.’ And they’re right. But what we do now would seem to be setting the table for what life will serve up next.
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Shades of Nodal Menkar

An aerial view of the San Andreas Fault as crosses the Carrizo Plain in Central California

(photo credit: USGS, July 2006)

It was a couple of days before Jupiter moved into Cancer back on June 26th that things started popping. Since I knew Mercury was about to go on station in the latter part of Cancer I wasn’t surprised to start feeling like I was being buckshot with  emotional shrapnel.

It was a day or so before our current triad of major planets (Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune) slid into water trine formation that feeling blood began to flow. Like many, I wear a social mask. Unlike many, mine is a defense against extremes of emotional vulnerability which though in the end have been the strength which has gotten me through a havoc-strewn life, still I’m not very fond of being open about my soft underbelly.

Hardly anyone is. I’ve long made a joke of a pet slogan – when in doubt, cry – but for all that I’ve always told myself that other people didn’t want to see my fears or lingering pain, the truth of the matter is that and more.

It’s scary being human.

During the period July 9th through July 20th, the Moon’s South Node is going to be at 14 Taurus – the current position of fixed star Menkar. I wrote about Menkar not long, so I won’t go into a lot of details. But when it comes right down to it, Menkar is one of those cosmic devices which is all about the efforts we make to avoid those dark corners of our Self.

The degree 14 Taurus has a reputation for many things…some of which connect us to others and some of which are about whatever tendency we may have to ‘go it alone’ or retreat and hide from the world.

From our life is more like it.

There are moments of solitude we all experience. There’s nothing wrong with that. The question comes when we withdraw, when our need to pull away is driven by avoidance.

Any and all such tendencies – to connect or withdraw, or maybe to connect as a form of withdrawing (from ourselves)…all that comes into focus as the South Node rolls over Menkar’s position at 14 Taurus. Considering how the Nodes (North or South) refer to relationships or our relationship to the world (or relationships as connected to our worldly pursuits), we’re all in for some measure of this effect no matter where we go.

And the reason to bring it up is…what? WHY do we need to know about this in the middle of a grand water trine made by our most worldly planets (Saturn and Jupiter) with everything made more hugely nebulous by Neptune’s magnetic presence?

That would be because in theory, this is also a moment when others should also be most receptive. That all of our emotions (and emotional barriers) are being stretched a bit like so much human cosmic taffy should make it easier to connect.

If we will, that is.

Of course we may also hear a lot of things we’d rather not know. South Node – Menkar – 14 Taurus as a combination is likely to bring out some truly strange stuff.

Or is that the North Node at 14 Scorpio?

Oh, these continuums…they so have us by the tail and nose.

Usually when we look at pairs of opposing degrees we can see something like a dimensional reflection. That may be true here, though considering 14 Scorpio is known for skill where 14 Taurus is very un-earthy (even unearthly) in its own mystical, far-seeing way…perhaps so. Not particularly known as one of those ‘fiery’ Scorpio degrees, the fact that the North Node (the “should do’) side of the nodal axis is in a Scorpio degree which more than others takes up the causes of others says we should get with others and we should form alliances.

Yet 14 Scorpio also has a bit of a reputation for indiscretion. So we should be careful what we say for this next little while. While communication can solve many problems, there should be established limits.

This rules out sky writing and watch those internet posts, one would guess (she said while writing an internet post).

(Never mind. I’m the astrologer – I’m just doing my job!)

Other other part of the North Node at 14 Scorpio which seems important as the South Node conjuncts fixed star Menkar: people are more complicated than we know.

The bottom line here thus suggests that we shouldn’t jump to any grand, assumptive presumptions. When in doubt…especially for the next couple of weeks…ask questions. Or ask yourself what that means or why someone would have said that.

We are all in a position to learn a lot about other human beings. In doing so we may learn a lot about others…and why we’re okay, just the way we are.

We’re in the midst of a seriously feeling time. We’ve just begun to evolve. This astrologer can’t say she thinks it’s all going to be peachy-pleasant, but our greatest gains are not achieved through ease or simplistic fun.

Growth takes energy and effort.

That’s why we call them ‘growing pains.’

So in spite of the ouches, it’s time for all of us to try to remember to stand tall, particularly (and maybe most of all) when we're feeling most vulnerable and truly small.

Real strength isn't about what you can do to someone, it's about the ability to endure the trials which go along with being human - most important of which have to do with the courage to be and know yourself honestly.
 

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For more information on our current dynamics:

- The Lunar Nodes at Cross-Quarters
- Menkar: Soul, Searching
- A Water Grand Trine in Planetary Major
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The Lunar Nodes at Cross Quarters

This header image is based on a photo of Main Street in Old City Dubrovnik

by Alex Proimos of Sydney, Australia (July 2011)

Pretzels. That’s what first came to mind when I started thinking about the nodes moving backwards through fifteen degrees of Scorpio and Taurus. After all, the normal astro-celestial movement is forward and the idea of the zodiac’s cross-quarter points is of the infamously famous ‘move on’ sort.

(Or if you want to be more benign and Zen about it, ‘walk on’.)

Occurring at 15 degrees of each of the zodiac’s fixed signs (or on a more esoteric level, at the half-way mark in houses 2, 5, 8 and 11), the cross-quarter points are where gathering information and learning about something shifts into ‘doing it’ gear.

Or at least ‘trying it’ gear.

And yes…if you have some planet, node or axis positioned at 15 degrees of any of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), this may explain why – in terms of whatever that symbol is – you’re always struggling with the ‘do I know enough?’ or ‘do I HAVE to?’ or 'are they going to like/approve of me (or what I do)?' issues.

Or maybe you’re just hesitant (read: reluctant) when it comes to getting started, with once you’re in gear being a whole other thing.

Taurus and Scorpio being signs which are natively 1st quadrant and 3rd quadrant in the zodiacal sense, the stakes here are pitting the ‘learning how’ and ‘learning about how my life works’ first quadrant process against the 3rd quadrant ‘what works?’ with others, or in terms of who (or what sort of company or organization) you should be dealing with.

Basically, the first-against-third quadrants are more ‘who am I and how do I operate’ where the second-against-forth quadrants are more about what we do and whether the world likes what we do: one-three is directly personal and two-four is a bit ‘offshore,’ if you will.

That doesn’t mean we won’t get offended if someone sneers at us, obviously, but there’s a difference between someone saying ‘you baked a lousy cake’ (or you hired a lousy employee) and ‘you’re a lousy so-and-so.’

Of course there are some cross-collateralizations here, I will freely admit. Maybe you’ve noticed this and maybe you haven’t, but people who are born under 2nd or 4th quadrant signs (Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces) seem to have a bit of a harder time separating themselves from what they do. And when you add in not just Sun but also Moon, then take where each falls in the natal chart it all gets a bit complicated and everybody has sensitive spots.

But then, we are humans. And humans, it seems, were born to get real and realer as time goes along by having their soft spots poked, prodded and otherwise stimulated.

(No, don’t go there. Google/Blogger has rules, don’t you know!)

Into all this comes the Nodes of the Moon. Defined as that place where the Moon’s path around Earth intersects Earth’s path around the Sun, the nodes are the ‘intersection’ of our very personal world (the Moon) with the greater life around us (the Sun). And thus they are about how and where we interact with the world and with other people.

So now we have the North Node (the “should do” end of the nodal axis) entering 15 Scorpio as the South Node (the “what I like to do”) side of the equation is entering 15 Taurus, an event which starts on June 23rd (this Sunday, UT/+0 time) and continues on into July 8th.

June 23rd happens to be the date of a Full Moon, so we know this Nodal shift begins in a celestial 'spotlight.' It's also just days shy of Mercury going retrograde, so things, and the thought processes of various folks are going to be set on 'high' - and with Jupiter at 29 Gemini about to move into Cancer, things are likely to be pretty intense, to say the least!

Ergo...depending on how well we each do with adjusting our outlook, this will probably be a time to enjoy...or for struggling through.

And why would that be? Well just to begin with, there is that ‘fixed sign’ thing. Being that the Taurus Challenge is all about how secure we are with ourselves, anything that tends to make us feel invalidated or ‘less than perfect’ in our own eyes rouses the bullish snort and much pawing of tender ground. And since the Scorpio Challenge is all about how well we are able to negotiate with others in a give-and-take sort of manner so that we can all join forces and depend on each other as we move ahead and towards our goals, with the South Node in the “don’t invalidate me, bro!” Taurus end and the North Node in the Scorpio “we should get along, which optimally means you should agree with me” end of things, the past year and something (or so) has felt like something of a cosmic set-up which brings the worst out in everyone.

Why this is so difficult for us is all about the fact the Nodes are a continuum. It’s a lot easier (not to mention more convenient) to think of them as separate things, but they’re not. So when we do what we want or like to do (embracing the South Node of it all), if – or to the degree that we ignore or don’t pay any attention to the necessity of the situation (the North Node getting along with others) we fall afoul of our own ‘but I want to see it MY way!’ sort of thing.

There are of course, places and times in life when it’s simply ducky to say ‘we agree to disagree.’ And hopefully we’ve done that rather than resorting to launching WWIII (or IV…or V…or XXVII) because someone doesn’t agree with us.

But that doesn’t always happen. I had a raucously bad week(plus) this past April when an astrologer I know just couldn’t accept that I wasn’t into their particular area of expertise and wasn’t buying into their rationale(s). No matter how many times I said ‘I’m sure there are many on your wavelength, I’m just not on the list - but I wish you entirely well with your studies…’ this person snarled, snorted, barked and snapped.

Evidently they hadn’t taken their daily does of Node Tonic. For some reason it was very important to this person that I should validate their thoughts and choices, and they aren’t the only one I know of going through this cycle. I’ve seen all sorts of people either wanting validation or getting all snarky because their choices didn’t get someone’s endorsement.

But wait…isn’t the idea to be secure in our own choices? If we are, when we are, where we are secure others thinking differently becomes interesting instead of threatening.

So if we go to war because someone is different, is that about them – or us? War is a Scorpio reaction which at it’s most basic metaphysical level says ‘my sense of safety requires that I exert force in order to restore control at a level I think of as safe.’

Question: does that define what is safe? Or does that define one’s sense of vulnerability?

That would seem to be the general lesson of the Nodes passing through Scorpio (North) and Taurus (South): learning to work with others without feeling you need to control others (or dictate terms of control to them) in order to feel secure or ‘good’ about yourself. And as with all things astrological, if we don’t do the work…or to the degree that we aren’t willing to challenge ourselves, life will bring on the situations and interactions which will promote or provoke those tests and testy situations.

It’s not about ‘them,’ it’s about us – but the human thing is (sure as shootin’, so to speak) that we’ll blame others first.

And this is where Nodal motion makes this whole idea really all the more interesting. Usually, objects moving through the zodiac go from zero to twenty-nine degrees of any given sign. With the Nodes, it’s from twenty-nine back down through the sign TO zero. So where we’re used to the ‘personal and private’ giving way to the ‘emotionally challenging and interactive’ to the worldly ‘public’ sort of process, what the Nodes represent is a different sort of life process which starts “out there” and which through the emotional process “brings things home to us.”

And that's what made me think of pretzels. It was the quirk of the twist, the way life is engineered to move us forward as part of the process of making things more elemental which got me.

(And yes, I like pretzels. Also yes, I think life is crispy and often salty!)

Since the Nodes are calculated points, they don’t have “mass” (like planets and asteroids do). So this idea, this ‘function’ is more esoteric, more nebulous in nature than other things. I always say that if the symbol has mass, we can “retrain” ourselves and eventually form a positive habit. That doesn’t seem to be true where calculated points like Ascendants, Descendants, Midheavens, ICs, the Part of Fortune (any of the Arabic Parts, really), Black Moon Lilith and the Nodes are concerned.

All such ‘calculations’ are just what the word implies: they are ideas and concepts which we calculate the effect of and which we are right or wrong about by turns…which leads (hopefully!) to learning through both our mistakes and triumphs.

In moving over 15 Scorpio and Taurus, the Nodes are moving out of the ‘operational’ part of the 3rd and 1st quadrants into their 'provocatively personal' realms. That will ‘bring home’ results of what we have or haven’t learned through what was promoted or provoked in the world around us.

And again…this is something of an esoteric experience, for all it may have a real-time manifestation such as the getting or losing of a job, the forming or loss of relationships, business successes or disasters, and so on. All around us we’re seeing folks dealing with what their opinion of ‘right’ is against what the world’s opinion of ‘right’ is and the repercussions of same.

During the days ahead…the actual processing of the two opposing cross-quarter degrees by the Nodes, we can expect a linking of very different ideas. The North Node in 15 Scorpio speaks to guilt and where some people should feel guilty but don’t. It’s sort of a psychosocial checkpoint all about the need to deal with reality, not just what we want life (or others) to be. Meanwhile, the South Node at 15 Taurus can point to a moment of realization and recognition, when we ‘listen’ to our Self and others and realize that there is an actual growth opportunity, a process we can take advantage of.

Those who make changes now will relax and open up. They’ll be able to say ‘I understand’ and begin to remember that others may have a different point of view and that that’s not a disaster.

Far from it – they may actually have something valuable to say.

Those who make the shift will become more ‘operative’ and less about ‘digging in and holding their ground’ going forward. Those who don’t make the shift will continue attacking, sniping, being defensive and otherwise stirring up contentious confrontations where nothing of the sort needs to exist. They’ll look childish – even desperate – to some folks, and eventually (as the Nodes reach the end of their current Scorpio/Taurus traverse), they’ll peter out and be left either empty-handed or without much more to say.

Or folks who want to listen to them say it.

But that’s yet to come - next year when the Nodes cross into Libra-and-Aries. Our 'now,' is a next few weeks of the Nodes lingering at cross-quarters. And that's a time which is likely to be enlightening, even inspiring on one hand…and maybe filled with regrets and ‘why does it have to be this way?’ (or ‘why do they have to act that way?’) in the dim, even darker momentsr.

Providing we remember that the difficulties or challenges which we feel are ours – not theirs - and how their difficulties and challenges are theirs, not ours, all goes well. Or reasonably well, give or take the fact that life isn't perfect. The perfection (the theoretical 'perfectly human' part) comes in when we realize that our Nodal education - in the end - is about learning where ou responsibility ends and ‘their’ responsibility for who they are (and what ‘they’ earn or get saddled with) begins.

Is it easy? No. But it is important, especially if we want our lives to be-and-become more and more intrinsically ours and less-and-less something we feel 'mucked' with by others. So in that light...after we chew through all the reluctance will dawn the understanding that we are here to support each other, not live symbiotic live or a life in contentious alienation or isolation. We are indeed stronger together, but that relies on the unique abilities of each person to be brought to the fore.

If I love you, then I love you for being you. I don’t expect you to be me. I don’t expect you to think like I think and I don’t expect you’ll agree with all my pleasures, my treasures or my preferences. Nor do I expect myself to adore all your pleasures, your treasures or your preferences.

But if I love you…or even like you…or like the idea of getting along with you…or even just living with you on the same planet, then I have to accept that those variations and our differences have merit – an intrinsic merit and one through which I learn a measure of acceptance, the value of discordant experience and ultimately, tolerance.
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From an Astrologer’s Notebook: The Pluto Station

 

The Morning by Philipp Otto Runge (1808, oil on canvas)

This morning started out like any other morning: I opened my eyes, stared at the clock and (reluctantly) figured it was time to get out of bed.

Nothing amazing there, I’m sure. We all have that moment almost every day.

I went by the computer to turn that on, I made coffee, I brushed my teeth, I made the bed…and with that first blessed cup of coffee in hand, I went to the computer (now all nicely warmed up and waiting for me), I checked my email.

Out poured hostility. No, not about me personally...but certainly me in the sense that I have my own opinions.

There is something about having your own opinions which offends some people, y’know? And there’s something even more annoying (to them, evidently) if you aren’t swayed by their impassioned arguments.

Such was the case this morning.

Then I remembered: today is Pluto’s date-of-station. And then it occurred to me that yes, the Moon is in Taurus, in opposition to Saturn in Scorpio (by sign, at at some points by degree). And Scorpio is Pluto’s home sign, right?

Evidently some of us will use this couple of days of ‘Plutonic’ opposition of Taurus-to-Scorpio to understand. Some of us will feel this opposition as the setting off of emotions which may or may not have anything to do with the matter at hand.

The thing that strikes me as the most important in all of this is how some people are reacting to this energetic by ‘demanding’ that people take sides. Or that you come onto their side. Or that you love what they love and hate what they hate.

What happened to just getting along? Why is it so terrible that some people like what you don’t like? Or that they don’t agree with you about something?

We all want our world to get along. Maybe we should start by getting working to get along with others – which in the final analysis is all about getting along with ourselves. The Moon in Taurus effect wants ‘satisfaction’ but does that satisfaction have to involve everyone thinking the way you do? If so, why?

The inability to allow differences of opinion is a primal Taurus quality. We often think of it as Scorpio, since Scorpio is the sign under which the precept of ‘control’ falls. But very often (not always, but often) that need or desire to ‘control’ comes from our lack of satisfaction if we don’t have control. Or our insecurity. Or or lack of satisfaction with that Self which we think should be able to ‘win’ every argument or discussion, lest we be ‘wrong.’

Saturn’s passage through Scorpio is (among other things) a two-and-a-half year cosmic college class which will bring us lessons on control or the lack of it. Those who don’t want control will be required to deal with their own ‘stuff’ and those who feel uncomfortable without control will meet up with testing (and perhaps testy) situations which challenge the ability to recognize that we don’t control others, only ourselves.

And of course there’s the famous corollary to that: we don’t get very far when we beat someone over the head while yelling ‘Love me, g-d it, love me!’

The Moon will exit Taurus by mid-weekend. Pluto will have begun its retrograde and from now until mid-September we will be figuring out where we need to change ourselves in order to live effectively in this world. Some of that is day-to-day stuff.

But it all comes from somewhere, right? And what’s more basic than our comfort and confidence with ourselves?

As I wrote to a client yesterday in an email:
  
‘…only the truly strong can afford to show their vulnerabilities. Why? Because only a truly strong and confident person would know they can live through whatever happens if they do show their humanity, their kindness, their ability to make a mistake and the fact that they don’t know everything and aren’t in “in charge” mode all the time….People who need to back others down all the time are not looked at by many as strong…the calm and the easy, implacable presence which comes from just knowing your stuff and DON’T have to prove anything (not to anyone) is the true sign of power.’

We were talking about business. But the same concepts apply in everyday life. And the flip side of this is that those who really are strong not only can show their vulnerabilities, but have them.

We cannot look at someone else as having all the answers or all the problems. We’re here to support each other as we go through life succeeding in some things and tripping and falling into gopher holes of our mentality and makeup at other times.

We’re here to learn to laugh together. We’re here to get along with ourselves and to learn to get along with others, however different we are.

Pluto power struggles occur often enough – and entirely often at Pluto stations. We think they’re about other people when more often than not, the energies they raise are truly about us. I hope my friends who are having a hostile morning get past whatever ill feeling is bothering them. We think differently, we like different things, we follow different paths through this life. I’m not telling them to do things my way and I’m baffled that they seem so intent on getting me to do things their way.

I’m going to work on trying to see it as a sign that they like me. But honestly? I think ‘like’ should come with a kindly frosting. When people think like each other or love each other, using that as an excuse to treat someone else as your personal punching bag because you think they won’t ‘leave’ isn’t about them – it’s about some dark (and Scorpionic) energy inside you.

I wish them well. I wish me well. I wish us all well!

May we all soon come to reside in a sunnier place in our thinking souls. And if you haven't yet read about the Pluto station, where this post ends, that post begins.

Inlakech. 
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