The August Full Moon

 Full Moon over Cincinnati, Ohio

Also known as the Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, Barley Moon and Sturgeon Moon (don't ask...!), the August Full Moon occurs this year on August 24 at 5:06pm, Greenwich Mean Time.

Occurring just a day after the Sun entered Virgo, the chart for this Full Moon is obviously going to have a lot in common with the Virgo ingress.

The Virgo Ingress (shown as an Aries Wheel)

       

The August Full Moon (shown as an Aries Wheel)

Look carefully...all you'll see having moved are Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars and Vesta. And that in itself tells us something, as Mercury - one of the fastest moving planets in our solar system - hasn't shifted even a degree.

To make the point, Mercury makes an orbit of the Sun every 88 (plus) days. That means Mercury usually moves a couple of degrees a day. So that it hasn't moved is in the bigger picture of 'norms' unusual. Yet it's also entirely understandable, seeing that Mercury just went retrograde on August 20th.

On the 20th, it was at 19 Virgo. Four days later, it's only at 18 Virgo. That's Mercury moving at barely ooze pace.

Considering Mercury's metaphysical connection with thinking and the general thought process, decisions, planning, activities and schedules, that suggests a Full Moon period rife with hold ups. Or maybe just with taking a pause.

Famous for interruptions in mail service, processing of paperwork, clarity of communication, car problems, computer snafus and everything from stubbed toes to canceled or delayed travel, business and personal plans, Mercury retrograde is a pain in the very low back for the highly motivated and speed-addicted among us, but quite all right if you're taking a personal 'time out' of some kind.

On the Full Moon side, Full Moons are known as a time of great 'illumination in reflection' ...and a general intensity of feelings.

Occurring at 1 Pisces, this Full Moon is conjunct three separate astral objects: Athena (wisdom), calculated Lilith and royal fixed star Fomalhaut, a star which promotes those dreams which are not corrupt and which brings great unhappiness where corruption is in the mix.

Athena, goddess of Wisdom. Having sprung from the

brow of Zeus full grown, her helmet represents Athena's

'unassailable mentality' - an 'armor clad' intellectual function.

Considering Lilith is here, and that calculated Lilith is hardly ever a piece of cake as it represents societal considerations we either avoid, evade, reject  or have forgotten about, at best this is likely to be a time of sorting things out. And at worst? The worst here would seem to be where we have done without wisdom (Athena) and done something totally naughty (Fomalhaut) which for some reason has now come back to haunt us (Lilith). Courtesy of Mercury inching along like an unmotivated snail, there's little likelihood of doing a verbal tap dance and scooting away.

However...this is just a Full Moon. And though Full Moons can be 'one of those moments' (good or bad) they are also very transient. With the Sun in perfect conjunction with Orcus and Sphinx, there is either a tendency to attempt to use Sphinx-like patience and tolerance couple of Orcus-like 'facts' to try to charm your way out of things. But if you really have violated the Fomalhaut rule, chances are Orcus-Sphinx-Sun is going to manifest as a totally blank wall which greets all your witty charm with a 'nice try' and a demand that you toe the line, admit your error and make amends.

The good news is that over the next couple of days - while the Moon is still in Pisces, you have some room for emotional negotiation. And this is useful even if you haven't had a good time as Moon in Pisces is as wonderful time to achieve understandings and make mutually beneficial plans as it is to mend broken bridges....

...It's also a perfect time to work on you own if you have some personal project.

Looking to the Arabic Parts for this Full Moon, issues concerning one's own experience of being mothered arises now, as does your personal relationship to honor as a concept. How these two things interact is now functional across the board, as is the experience of being a daughter - which would obviously be personal for women and as something men will do well to be aware of.

These qualities or 'patterns' may be apparent in what goes on, but they won't necessarily be the subject of conversation. But if you know the people you are dealing with or listening to well, you are likely to hear some of their own experiences coloring their parameters in this moment.

Again, this isn't necessarily a giant red flag, merely a nuance which if you understand it may allow you to comprehend what's going on better and operate more clearly for your own part.

Often marking the period when something comes to fulfillment, this particular Full Moon - given Mercury having just gone into retrograde - suggests a time for reflection, discussion and self examination. 

Given the Sun in a pragmatic sign on one side backed up by fact-driven Orcus in opposition to the Moon in a emotional, perhaps even vulnerable (hopeful?) position conjunct Fomalhaut on the other, keeping the facts separate from the feelings is the best way to go. Both are valid, but it won't help matters to let them get confused.

 Going forward, we move into a 'waning' period (from the Full to New Moon) which here involves becoming more aware of ourselves, our values, our choices, our plans and how our personal aims matter, but need to work with others if we're to get ahead. All this is up for consideration, and with Mercury in retrograde, considering and thinking things over is the perfect thing to do.

Have a happy, prosperous, productively feeling-filled Full Moon!

The Full Moon - photographed from Japan

Sun enters Virgo/Sedna goes retrograde

The Sun (Xray image taken by NASA's solar observatory)

Come August 23rd at 5:28 GMT, the Sun will enter Virgo. Given that the first ten degrees of every sign is where sign attributes manifest physically and through one's physicality (in a body or through actions), this sets a variable stage built around the three standard Virgo keywords: health, work, service. 

By 'work,' Virgo means doing things which either are done simply because they need doing and/or because they are part of a greater effort. Thus going to the job (or finding one) is Virgoan. Being an employee is very Virgo. Being part of a team effort is a Virgo sort of thing as is brushing your teeth, washing the dishes (car, dog, etc.) as is helping someone out because they need assistance.

This last, in particular, naturally blends with the Virgo concept of 'service.' Where work meets service we naturally come to a sense of those who serve, which in the sense of 'in a process' is again why Virgo represents employees, but at a more esoteric level is why Virgo also embraces any one whose job is to provide a service to others. Medical people, help desk people, civil servants, members of the military - and indeed anyone who may be in a honcho position, be they lawyer, leader of a nation, CEO/CFO...to the extent that they have any responsibility to anyone, they too have a Virgo connection.

Must be why every chart comes with a Virgo component, don't you know!

Yet because Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the Virgo 'service' as well as 'health' concepts are not just the physicality of doing for others, or taking care of yourself (exercise, eating right, going for checkups, etc.). 

Being that Mercury also rules thought-thinking-idea-choice-oriented Gemini, all things Virgo also involve the idea of the thing. Which is why say in the 'work' category, Virgo becomes not just going to work or doing the job, but every facet having to do with improving the ways things get done, inventing the better mousetrap and making efforts efficient, effective and thorough.

Which yes, leads to that Virgo negative of obsessing about details. Virgo is so the sign which loses the forest for the trees so often! Instead of listening to the sense of the idea being presented, Virgo is perfectly capable of glomming onto one little word in the presentation being used "incorrectly" and acting like that's the make-or-break in the whole deal.

Why does Virgo do that? There's a thousand reasons - maybe more. And in your chart or the chart of whoever is getting stuck on such minutia, there are indicators about what it is they really don't want to contend with, those being the reasons they instead glom onto the misused word. Or that one smudge on the mirror. Or the chore list which never ends which they are using to effectively prevent them from ever having to get on with life, broaden their horizons or....

Know anyone 'married' to cleaning, chores and 

errands? Or someone who simply can't bear anything
having to do with keeping (themselves or their house) clean? 

It's probably all about Virgo/Mercury in their chart.

...deal with mental health. The combination of Virgo and Mercury is not just about dealing with health, it's the mentality of health, the health care 'marketplace' and the fine balance between health obsessions (from hypochondria to fitness nuts) and dealing with mental health problems or problems in general in a mentally healthy way.

And lets remember - this is not just about Sun, Moon and Virgo rising people (or entities). This is global stuff. This is all of us! Every chart around includes Virgo. And those who moan, groan or twitter at such? Those would be pretty sure 'tells' (as they say in poker) pointing to  issues with responsibility and various forms of internal/mental self-discipline which in balancing need against want tests our sense of propriety and priority  (otherwise known as entitlement).

So as the Sun enters Virgo, life 'lights up' these arenas. It can do it on the mundane level - meaning you'll be busy, the job thing will be particularly on the front burner, someone may have some health issue which needs attention or there's just someone who needs help. Sun transiting Virgo can also be a time when you become aware of where you're too invested in one thing - maybe even to the degree that you're damaging something good by putting SO much focus on it.

And that includes you - the physical you. As well as your environment and the environment, seeing that ecology (recycling, etc.) is so very Virgoan.

Entering Virgo in the company of Sphinx and Orcus with a direct opposition to Athena at 0 Pisces, it's to be expected that we will all be dealing with the repercussions of things done or choices past (Orcus).

 one artist's concept of TNO Orcus

Some of us will think (or may have thought) we could just wait it out (Sphinx) and that some storm would blow over. But because Orcus and Sphinx are sitting here side by side greeting the Sun at Virgo's door...apparently not! Together, Sphinx and Orcus are a sort of earthly, earthy manifestation of eventual consequence: the paying of the piper which in the end must be dealt with.

With Athena in opposition, some sort of emotional 'knowing' in the mix. Given that Athena stands in opposition to the Sun here, that may manifest as someone who confronts you with how you have hurt, unfairly compromised or cheated them. Or it could just be that your conscience just kicks in. Or that necessity now rears its demanding head.

That this will affect us greatly on an internal basis is shown by the fact that Mercury, ruler of Virgo, has just gone into retrograde. With Mercury in emotional degrees of Virgo, we get another indication of emotionalism - and with Mercury now in retrograde, this would tend to indicate internal emotionalism. So it's either your emotional reaction or something emotional which is/has been hidden by someone else, or with regards to someone else's emotional (Virgo) functions.

Or yes, maybe lack of same. That quality - the 'lacks' - are likely to become even more apparent in the first couple of days after Sun enters Virgo, too. Why do we know that? Well, it's a combination of two items: Bali (paradise) being at 2 Virgo and Atropos (cut-offs) standing at 16 Virgo, two shy of Mercury at 18 with Mercury moving backwards through the zodiac.

The Three Fates by Sodoma (Atropos is on the left) 

This gives us a 2 day, 2 week, 2 month sort of implied 'progression' of circumstances which imply and end (Atropos) to some sort of conceptual paradise (Bali).

Some party is almost over, people. And since asteroid House stands at 16 Pisces - in exact opposition to Atropos - this is about some 'end' to some sort of 'being at home' with something. Or someone. Or some thought, effort or idea.

One other item coloring this event - and a big one - is Sedna going retrograde. Ultimately a figure of oceanic fertility and creation which requires that we wrestle with immature (often egotistical) urges and/or personality traits which have developed out of childhood experiences or "programming," Sedna applies at very separate levels to our planet, our feelings (water always equals emotions) and our process of growing into our Self and purpose as an individual and as a race of beings living on our planet.

 Sedna's orbit is shown here in red. The orbit of all the rest

of the (inner solar system) planets is shown by that set

of small concentric circles at the upper right.

Going station/retrograde in Taurus on the 23rd, Sedna's station highlights any sort of meaningful event which highlights (Taurean) values - yours personally, those of a community, or on any sort of global basis. Standing in an inconjunct to Ceres - which has just recently gone direct (link) - we are reminded that we need to think through what we do.

Ceres being goddess of the harvest and also associated natively with Mercury reminds us that we must sow and tend before we can reap. Ceres also tells us that we cannot decimate the 'ground' we till - be that human/physical, human/relational, human/emotional, human or global/ethical or strictly planetary - if we expect to survive long term.

Sedna itself indicates an adjustment - and a difficult one for many. The simplest way to think of Sedna is as the individuation which comes from a successful passage from dependent childhood to independent adulthood. But it's (unfortunately for us...!) more complicated than that.

Sedna's story starts with her wanting what she wants - and wanting those desires to be provided to her by others. Hers is not a compassionate or empathetic world at all.

Ultimately, it takes bitter disappointment, great ocean storms (i.e., emotional storms) and the experience of actual physical violent rejection to get her to relinquish her hold on...on at least the concept or ideal of life as she has known it. And yes, the reality which goes with that - which by then includes some really sad tales of reaching for what she wants so desperately, only to find that when she throws everything aside for her dream, the reality which her dream becomes is not far different from the dream, but not all that pleasant.

In the mythology of the Inuit people, from Sedna has come seals, 
fish, walruses,whales and much else we think of as the beauty and
wealth of the sea. That originally Sedna rejected every effort made
to teach her that life is about both give AND take - only to end up
as goddess of/providing that which her people rely on for life
...that implies a good deal about human growth, the process
of maturation, and some of the key metaphysical concepts with
regards to that which we are so attracted to getting - ultimately being
that we should provide or teach to others (i.e., personal karmic purpose).

Ultimately given a chance at reprieve, Sedna thinks she's been 'saved' and that she can reverts to old ways, but it doesn't turn out like that. A great storm erupts. Sedna gets thrown overboard into stormy seas. And there she drowns.

But since this is a myth, she isn't really dead. So what has she drowned in? Answer: the ocean - the metaphorical equivalent of our 'sea of emotions.' And  through that drowning which comes at such great cost and through such painful means (Sedna's father cuts her fingers off as she's trying to hold onto the boat) once Sedna accepts being cast into the great sea of her emotions, she acquires a new life. Sinking into the icy depths (the 'cold aloneness' of our individual soul) she  becomes the great ocean provider. Her severed fingers become seals, walruses, whales and fish, and thus the Sedna who had wanted to have everything provided for her becomes the respected protector and goddess of her sea-dependent Inuit people.

With Sedna going retrograde now in Taurus, we look to Venus, ruler of Taurus for a clue on where this energy will manifest. And we find Venus at 15 Libra, exactly conjunct Mars and TNO Haumea.

Mars in Libra is the quintessential lowering of ego which allows relationships to happen. Conjunct TNO Haumea however, we have an indicator of manipulation and 'trickiness' - trickiness also being a quality associated with Mercury, the trickster/game player/joker and poser of questions (recalling the Sphinx, another riddle-asking entity of lore).

Have we been fooled? Is someone playing a trick on us? Or have we played some trick on ourselves? Any of these things can be true now. All of these things might be true now.

And throughout the Sun's passage of Virgo, especially until Mercury goes direct come September 12th, these will be issues either on the table or niggling us from the sidelines.

That Pluto will go direct right after Mercury does? That indicates a change is certainly in the works. Those who resist now will be forcefully confronted with it next month. Those who begin moving through the process now will find their efforts beginning to bear fruit and clear problems out - again, next month.

  Planet Earth - source: NASA

One more note here...as the Sun enters Virgo, the Moon stands at 13 Aquarius, a degree which is either honorably assertive or reactive and aggressive. Just at the edge of its conjunction range (at 18 Aquarius) stand Damocles and Nessus, a truly formidable duo totally worthy of the  article on same which will post at Daykeeper Journal as of September 1st (mark your calendars!).

Again using progression theory, this five-degree separation suggests looking ahead five zodiacal months, which takes us to Sun in Aquarius. And the New Moon which occur that month (on February 2nd/3rd, depending on where you are)? That New Moon will occur at 13 Aquarius, underscoring the long-term effects of what we do - or don't do - now.

Will you be on the initiating side of it or the receiving side of it? Will you let go of the boat and actually through drowning in your own emotions come to a truth and some understanding of the true potentials of your life? Will you refuse to let go and cling to being provided for simply because you are so spoiled and so indolent in your own desirous way?

Will you own up to your own issues? Will you seek help or give it where it's actually needed? Will you recognize errors and own up to them? Will you accept that some measure of pleasure, compensation, 'the good stuff' or gratification has to be deferred in order to not rape your own life, this earth and the future or even present of others?

At the moment, it's all questions. And only over time will you provide yourself - and others - with your answers. But that's the Virgo way: we have to work for it, lest we compromise all for ourselves and others by denying the truth of reality.

.

Persied Meteor Shower

A little streak of meteor light in the night sky 

The coming nights of August 12th and 13th are the height of the annual Perseid Meteor season. Visible mostly in the northern hemisphere, meteors streak across our sky every night for about a week and are most visible just before dawn.

Not much is made of meteor showers in the astrological world, but maybe we're just missing something. So what do we know about this event?

For one, we know that the meteors which shower down upon us from a comet named Swiff-Tuttle which has an orbital period of 133.45 years. If we just divide that number by 12 (signs of the zodiac), that gives us 11.12 'implied years'...which is a number close to what we would think of as the primary "Jupiter number" seeing that Jupiter takes 11.86 years to orbit once around the Sun.

Close though that may be, Swiff-Tuttle is a whole other thing than giant gas planet Jupiter. Consider this...it takes Jupiter 11.86 (earth) years to orbit around the Sun. Go past Jupiter and Uranus and you arrive at Neptune, which takes 164 years to do a single-orbital thing. Pluto - whether you call it planet or dwarf planet - it's out there beyond Neptune and it takes 248 years to go once around the Sun.

When farthest away from the Sun (a point known astronomically as the 'aphelion') Swiff-Tuttle is out beyond Pluto. It's even out beyond Pluto, Ixion, Chaos and Huya, if you want to get right down to it.

At the other end of the scale we have the perihelion - the point at which objects in solar orbit come closest to the Sun. Measured in what is known as 'astronomical units' (or AU's), Earth's perihelion is 0.983 au. And Swiff-Tuttle's is 0.9585 au.

This means that Swiff-Tuttle makes its innermost curve to head out back into icy solar systemic realms pretty much in our earthly neighborhood, which is why we see all the meteors. If you think of it as Swiff-Tuttle throwing off droplets like a wet cartoon dog making a quick turn, you're just about there - the reason comets have tails (and are thus thought of by us as comets) is exactly all about this 'shedding' thing. (But no, you shouldn't worry about having to tell a comet to get the heck off the couch.)

The point here is that Swiff-Tuttle makes its entire orbital journey in just 133.45 years, which might mean calling it 'swift-Tuttle' would be more apropos - this comet trucks!

Considering all this as a metaphor - which everything in the solar system is from a macro/microcosmic point of view - that means that whatever Swiff-Tuttle brings to us is quick acting, has a quick affect, or comes and goes quickly. That the comet's 'way out there' aphelion point is in the Kuiper Belt also tells us that at the very least Swiff-Tuttle's meteor shower brings is a 'shot' or two (or three or sixty) of things we don't control and which end up being influential at some level on things we are doing, the way we think, or how we or our lives change because of these new influences.

The area of the zodiac which this comet comes from being in the constellation Perseus adds to this a whole mythical bent.

Benvento Cellini's Perseus

Perseus was the first of the great fabled Greek heroes. A son of Zeus (aka Jupiter, speaking of Jupiter) he ends up being challenged by various monsters conjured up by Jupiter (knowledge) and dad's ocean ruling brother, Neptune (water=emotion; Neptune= ideals versus illusion).

So right away we know this is a tale of generations, calling us to consider parent/child relationships, what we have learned, not learned or rebelled against with regards to our parents or family...maybe even whether we are 'turning into' our parents as we go along. Or whether we can accept being parents, with all the responsibilities and ultimately, the losses there implied as children grow up and go off into the world.

Important too here is that the monsters are not the parents. These are monsters conjured up by the parents - which plainly indicates they are psychological issues or choices which may have roots in family, but which you are acting out/on in your own life.   

The two most famous Perseus hero stories being the  slaying of Medusa and his rescuing lovely Andromeda from a monster conjured up by Neptune.

The story of Medusa is one we all think we know. But unless you've really dug into it, you probably don't really understand the full importance of the Medusa which is in each and every one of us - the Medusa in our own lives we are so afraid of. Medusa can be about facing the truth. Or admitting to yourself that you live in a world of delusions, fantasies...or that you're just kidding yourself about what reality is. Or what real values are. Or what you are capable of, have done, are responsible for, or so on. Medusa can simply be our fear of the new - or that if we learn better, we'll have to admit (oh, horrors!) that we were actually wrong about something. 

 --- (New! Link to my full length Medusa article, now posted here at astroPPM) ---

And sometimes that is (yes,) a whole giant and difficult thing. But whatever it is, if it's the truth, its the truth - there's a reason why Medusa's head ends up being mounted on the front of the shield of Pallas Athena, she being the Goddess of Wisdom.

As for Andromeda, she is a beauteous lovely overcome by Neptune (emotion) who Perseus, son of divine knowledge (Jupiter) is sent to rescue. In this assignment we get a good clear shot at trying to grasp the difference between knowledge and wisdom - they are not the same thing! Apparently knowing and understanding all (Jupiter) is not the same as wisdom, which would be why Athena is incarnated separate from Zeus (though sprung from his brow) complete with helmet, spear and various other kinds of weaponry - including, one would suppose, a pretty pithy ability to pronounce that truth which really hurts!

What does this amount to for our purposes, though? Probably that knowing and knowledge is static: it is what it is. Wisdom is knowing how to use knowledge - what to do with it.

In Perseus' case, Zeus (Jupiter) sends Athena (wisdom) to help arm Perseus - another hint about wisdom as the weapon or tool with which we do, not merely contemplate. And since Perseus' tale is all about going to fix things, we thus are informed that anything emanating from this constellation, like the Perseid meteors are about 'showering' us with not just the wisdom, but the need to fix things.

So don't be surprised if there are things going on right now which need fixing. Or which you're being challenged about in the sense of how to fix them. That Medusa is involved here (by Perseus implication) also tells us that there's some element of 'facing the truth' involved.

Edward Burne-Jones - Perseus rescuing Andromeda

from sea monster Cetus (associated with Aquarius/society

and Pisces/feelings, empathy, universally connective

emotional standards)

Astrologically, there are also two important fixed stars associated with constellation Perseus. The first is Mirfak. Also known as Algenib, this is a very large star estimated to be about 42 times the size of our sun.

Fittingly, Mirfak is conceptualized as the honorable battle, the accepting of a challenge - even the desire to compete. If Mirfak (which is positioned currently at 2 Gemini) is strongly aspected in your chart, you will embody or react to these concepts in terms of whatever planet or point connects to Mirfak's placement.

The other star is a bit more touchy. It's name is Algol, and it has a rather rancid reputation as reflected by alternative names like the 'Ghoul' and 'Demon Star.' Associated with the eye of Medusa, Algol is often simply referred to as the 'passion of the feminine.' And because of this, particularly in times gone by it has come to be associated not just with the 'evil woman' but with anyone who when prodded, wronged or prompted was of a mind to speak up, speak out or stand up for themselves.

Constellation Perseus

Positioned at 26 Taurus, Algol is without question a star which has two sides of it: here we either embody the effective or disruptive 'power of the feminine' (reflective response). Once embodied, everyone reacts to this energy - that's the guaranteed part, coming from the fact that Algol sits in a 3rd decan (degree 20-29) position of its' zodiac sign.

Mirfak is 1st decanate: it falls between degrees 0 and 9. So it's about our person or what we do. Algol is 3rd decanate - once we do what we do, then what we put out there affects other factors, other people, other lives...and in time, us: our reputation or our reception or our opportunities or our relationships.

At its peak during the August 12-13 period, the Perseid meteor shower is occurring with Neptune in a challenging square to Algol, prompting issues of disillusionment to surface. They may be past, they may be just happening now, or it may be that at this time facts are exposing you to truths you had denied or never wanted to know in the first place.

Meanwhile, there's a huge influx of energy by trine (meaning it's unavoidable) connecting with the Mirfak dynamic. The lineup here is Mars (proactive energy), Saturn (earning, structural rules, leadership) and Venus (relationships, products and reputations), so expect there to be calls for things to be done, get done and owned up to. This last is particularly underscored by a  rather compounding, compacting, metamorphic pressure-filled touch being thrown atop all by Pluto, still retrograde, inching backwards in early Capricorn, a sign ruled by Saturn.

That Pluto is retrograde now means that this is unlikely to be a moment of action per se...but what's rising to the surface now is not the sweet cream - it's something far fouler. Real change however...that isn't likely to happen until mid-September at least, as that's when Pluto with station and go direct.

But the shower of information? That's now. We're hearing it. We're seeing it. We're becoming aware of it.

Maybe we should pay more attention to these meteor showers. What do you think?
 

Mercury enters Virgo Prior to Retrograde

Planet Mercury as viewed by Mariner - source: NASA

As Mercury enters Virgo on July 27 (9:42pm GMT) it does so in exact conjunction with Orcus, symbol of all those things which can no longer be changed, whether that means money gone, trust broken, lives spent or decisions made badly. 

And just ahead, at 4 Virgo, sits Atropos, the Greek Fate all about endings. 

Gee...does that give us a clue, or what?

 And yet, considering the great metaphysical theorems that 'all things happen for a reason' and 'unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should,' that suggests that whatever 'ends' (or we let go of) is truly all for the best. After all, Virgo is all about making things better and more functional. 

So maybe this is a very auspicious way for this particular ten week transit to begin. 

WAIT! 

Did I say TEN weeks? 

Yes, actually, I did say ten (count 'em, TEN!) weeks. It wasn't jus a test just to see if you were listening. 

Now...I know that you the fairly more savvy astro-watchers know what this means. It means that Mercury's about to go into retrograde, elsewise it would move on to a new sign in something like...oh, say...three weeks or so. You know, the standard sort of time period for Mercury transiting any given sign. 

The retrograde itself we'll talk about in detail later. But as for this 'letting go' thing, there's a couple of ways to think of it, considering the retrograde is a-comin'.

 One is the pro-active concept. And yes, those who know something needs giving up who begin the letting go process now will probably have that process pretty much well and done by the time Mercury ends retrograde and goes direct on September 12th, having all 'in gear' and moving on to the next thing by the time Mercury exits its shadow come late September. 

Then there's the 'I guess I have to think about it, but I'm not making any decision yet' group. Considering this is all taking place with a Mercury (thought process) in Virgo (making things work better/more workable), this group is going to investigate all the angles and see what can be done without doing anything truly drastic until the September 12th station rolls around. At that point they'll see why something has to change and begin making changes. 

For the record, this is likely to be most people. 

The last group of people are the 'I'm going to do this my way - I don't CARE what anyone else thinks!' group. This group will resist pressure heading their way as retrograde approaches, hold on by the proverbial skin of their teeth (however unhygeinic that is) through the actual retrograde period and then, as Mercury goes direct, find out what the gain or loss is for having refused to yield to clear indications that things weren't okay as they stood. 

In other words, especially with Atropos as part of this picture, they are going to feel or experience loss. 

Truth is, there's some sense of loss to be associated with this transit no matter what. It doesn't have to be terrible or disatrous, it's just a 'loss' in terms of what comes out of it is an altered status quo - it could be totally positive! The question is really whether you want to participate in the changes and ultimately benefit from them, pinch Peter and pay Paul as you go along, hedging every bet - or if you're just going to have change thrust upon you, for lumps or glory. 

Virgo being an earth sign, this concerns something tangible. Something which is part of your reality. Considering that Virgo is a mutable sign and not set in its ways, that accounts for the aura of change, exchange, interchange, improvement and experimentation.

A medieval image of the astrological Virgo as the goddess

of harvest who teaches us to care for that which 'feeds' our needs

Being that Mercury rules Virgo, this is a highly focused period. Your thoughts are going to be on whatever your issues at hand are. Meanwhile, others are going to be focused on their stuff - so don't be surprised if you're not getting the normal amount of input or support you might normally expect. 

But that's not all. There's a whole slew of points standing in opposition to Mercury as we trot into this mini-epic, starting with Neptune, representing ideals and illusion or disappointment. Neptune supports non-egotistical energies and dissolves that which is simply too over-the-top selfish to bear. (And no, you don't get to decide which is which - that would be the cosmic/karmic point!)

Then there's Chiron, the mythic centaur healer. Chiron is all about those things which you don't know how to do (or "fix") and which truthfully you'd be much happier never having to face, never mind deal with.

 As it to underscore the issue, then we have Icarus. You may remember Icarus from the myth - a youngster who when equipped with wax wings takes off into the sky, forgetting that if you get too close to the Sun the wax melts and down, down you go. Astrologically, Icarus tends to be about overstepping the bounds of both safety and good sense. All three of these symbols are in social, societal, friend-and-income (supportive) Aquarius. In opposition to Mercury/Atropos, this sounds a bit like standards of behavior and/or operational parameters.

Moving on to the Pisces portion of this opposition program, only a couple of points, the first being royal star Fomalhaut, a star which rewards one with great success unless corruption enters the picture. And since Athena (wisdom) is here, this is a whole 'you should have known better!' story. Or maybe even a 'you DID know better and did it anyway' tale. 

Considering this ingress happens just a day or so after a Full Moon in Aquarius, whatever was 'highlighted' at the full Moon...(which would have been on Sunday the 25 in the Americas and Pacific region and on Monday the 26th in the UK-Europe-Africa region and from there, all points east)....whatever was highlighted then has set a tone, theme and tenor for what unfolds from this point forward.

Remember...this all started with Mercury/Orcus - the idea of something already done. We can build anew, we can fix, apologize, restructure...but we can't 'undo.' And sure as shootin' we shouldn't in this moment try and evade, deny or ignore. 

One more 'looking back' note: as we started we noted not just Mercury conjunct Orcus at 0 Virgo, but Atropos at 4 Virgo. That implies 'units' of 4: days, weeks, even months. (It could even mean years, though with this being about Mercury that seems highly unlikely.)

Atropos, cutting the 'life thread'

There's also that Mercury reaches 4 Virgo on July 30, so don't be shocked if something pokes you with a stick about then.

How you handle all this? That's of course up to you. And how you emerge from this cycle? Again, that's all your personal doing. With the whole of this passage in Virgo, cooperation is helpful and obsessive focus on doing your thing your way not only often not helpful, but undermining. 

This can actually be an incredibly productive time of substantial achievement. It just depends on your understanding and willingness to own that you don't know everything, your ways aren't always the best ways to do things and that the world has standards and necessities we all need to pay attention to.

So bottom line here, be honest with yourself. In the end, that's the Virgo-Mercury healthiest thing you can possibly do. You may not love the reality of your life, but it is your reality - and reality...realistically...that's all we ever have.


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Arlen Specter: The Parties are Over

The End of a Spect(e)ral Era 

Born on February 12, 1930 in Wichita, Kansas, Senator Arlen Specter first assumed office on January 3, 1981 after a campaign marked astrologically by a solar eclipse at 18 Leo.

Lunar eclipses are emotional times which in highlighting something, present us with some reality. Solar eclipse on the other hand, ‘block out’ some part of reality in order to
reveal some special attribute (the image here being the corona – the halo of solar light we see cast around the Moon when it moves in front of the Sun.).

Neither of these events necessarily good or bad – at least in theory, they’re educational. But when a solar eclipse strikes our chart with any exactitude, it certainly does often perform a blitzkrieg on something we’re used to.

That’s the cosmic point – we get used to things, but life wants us to git growin’.

With this particular 1980 eclipse occurring in exact opposition Senator Specter’s natal Damocles (at 18 Aquarius) and in general opposition to Amor (love, at 19 Aquarius) and Icarus/Sun at 23 Aquarius, this was Specter turning his ego to greater things, as lore suggests we should all do. (And do we?) That aside, he also met up with several other important lessons.

The first would have been colored by Damocles – a symbol that teaches that with power comes responsibilities and exposure, some of which can feel threatening or dangerous, and some of which can actually be threatening. Or yes, even dangerous.

Do we think he was horrified? No. Au contraire…with Damocles so close to Amor in this chart, there’s every reason to suspect Senator Specter has a love of the tough campaign and the good political fight, ego bruises and all. His is a personality which accepts that risks exist and that life isn't supposed to be a platter of cupcakes.

The Icarus/Sun signature also tells us that his is a personality prone to going over the top – which may be a plus in political debates. But this is also a sign of someone capable of taking off on flights of fancy which sometimes come with huge price tags. Still…did he have any real choice? Specter’s Sun and Icarus are both 3rd decanate symbols (degrees 20 through 29) which in social/societal Aquarius tells us that Specter is someone who really can’t know how well something works until it’s put to a real time, real life test. And yes, he has been tested. He's also been testy - go figger.

But that sometimes things work, sometimes they don’t....? Icarus/Sun in late Aquarius marks Senator Specter as someone who would be philosophical about failures but determined to work things through. And while right is optimal, this is a man willing to go with what ultimately works. He gets the distance between ideals and reality. He doesn't always like it (and during this time he got a big heapin' dose of same!) but he gets it. And probably by the time this 3-year solar eclipse transit had run its course, Specter got the clue about how things were going to work. And not work. Or sort of work.

Moving on...as the Senator finished his ‘freshman year’ (evidently a rite of political passage)a lunar eclipse occurred at 19 Cancer conjunct a powerful configuration in his natal chart: Pluto in Cancer opposition Juno/Vega in Capricorn. Juno is a symbol of responsive power. Often seen potently positioned in the charts of matriarchs and those who defend family and home (or in this case, homeland), here united with charismatic Vega and opposition Pluto we have a configuration all about deep beliefs in self, in what one thinks is worth fighting for or against (despite what anyone else will say) and a strong opinion about what’s good for his country and people in general.

And in case we might think Arlen Specter hadn’t found his life’s calling, we have only to look to Jupiter, which at that moment was rolling up on and over 8 Scorpio – the degree of the eclipse prior to Specter’s birth (often a sign of things ‘fated’) .

Just after that lunar eclipse hit, a solar eclipse hit his chart too. Positioned at 4 Aquarius, it focused on Specter’s Aquarian (social/societal) ability to utilize wisdom (Athena), assertion (Mars), image (Photographica) and Atropos – the severing of an ‘old life.’ Say goodbye to Mister Nice Guy – to Senator Specter, getting the job done was always going to be more important than looking good or being liked.

Cut to January 26, 2009 - another solar eclipse (at 6 Aquarius)which set off this Mars-Athena-Photographica-Atropos thing yet again, leading to Senator Specter’s announcement on April 29 that he was changing parties – he was cutting himself loose (Atropos) from the Republicans to join with the Democrats. True to blatant form, as Jupiter was moving in to

roll over Sun/Icarus and natal Venus, he even announced that one of his reasons for making the change was that if he stayed with the Republicans he wouldn’t be able to win another election. Was that crassly crude or a display of honesty and independence seldom like people keep saying they want to see in their politicians?

But some cosmic (not to mention social) die had been cast. A year later, January 2010’s solar eclipse at 25 Capricorn struck the Senator’s Hera (partnering), Mercury (thoughts), calculated Lilith (that I don’t like to see about society) complex: whether or not the Senator wanted to see it (and he probably didn’t see it) the public had witnessed or sensed something they didn’t like.

Or maybe just something didn’t want to deal with…whether in him or in themselves, we’ll never know.

Whatever the case, the politician who had seemed so untouchable suddenly looked vulnerable to challenge. And defeat. The primary of May 18th which finds Senator Specter losing to challenger Sestak proves that.

Interestingly, this summer’s July solar eclipse will be at 19 Cancer, sort of bringing Senator Specter full circle. As if echoing the lunar eclipse which saw him really claiming his place at the heart of American politics, so this 19 Cancer solar eclipse will see the Senator letting go of the reins.But like the song says, he’ll be doing it his way, with personal dignity – as far as he’s concerned – entirely intact.

There are some in both parties who probably dislike Senator Specter intensely. For them, this is the political exorcism of a Specter.

For the rest of us though, it may just be a lesson in how people used to be. Or what we've gained and lost by requiring politicians to play a social image game we not only don’t respect them for playing…but which we probably dislike ourselves even more for falling prey to. Why? Because that would mean we’re the authors of our own disappointment - and how do we 'eclipse' that?