Mercury Exits Retrograde Shadow Tomorrow (May 11, 2011)

If Mercury is exiting the shadow of its March-into-April retrograde tomorrow, why talk about it today?

Simple: because today would be the day when in some areas of life we ‘wrap up’ matters which began back in March…and where in other areas of life we have our last chance to change things which have been hanging on – or which (frankly) we really haven’t wanted to deal with.

That this ‘final moment’ (aka ‘last chance’) idea is so very emphasized by Mars being at the critical ‘do or don’t do’ point of 29 Aries? Considering that means Mars is about to move into Taurus (a passage which typically makes personal change difficult to face, never mind do!) again underscores this Mercury moment as one to be aware of.

So what might this be about? What might you do well to take into account?

The first thing which jumps of the page here is Mercury’s transiting conjunction with Venus and Jupiter. Astrologically this would rather clearly point to discussions and decisions (or the need for) money, an exercise of one’s personal values or a confrontation at some level with how you really feel about who you are.

With Venus and Jupiter united, we have a clear indication of ‘expansion’ – or the desire for more. And with Venus emphasized by the fact it rules  asteroid Niobe’s 29 Libra positioning (in direct opposition to Mars) there is a note of disappointment.

But is that with ‘them’? Or is that with yourself – or what you have perhaps done, chosen or ignored?

This would be a classic sort of moment to expect an ‘I told you so!’ IF Niobe was direct. But Niobe (boastful pride) isn’t direct here. So this is a moment when we reflect. Or when the news comes home that we aren’t ‘all that.’ Or even when what we really need to do is stick our pride in a drawer and do something because it simply needs doing, never mind our blessed ego!

That others or some outside force is involved here – maybe just as a consideration, but certainly as part of the mix - is pretty well underscored by Mercury’s rulership of the South Node in Gemini and Jupiter as ruler of the North Node in Sagittarius. Considering this, the suggestion would probably be more about ‘learning better’ (maybe just ‘learning’) or putting out the effort to do the right thing.

An Aries chart of Mercury exiting its retrograde

shadow (location not specific).

Remembering that the Nodes move backward through the zodiac it’s also reasonable to take note of the idea that said North Node – currently at 23 Sagittarius – will in the tick of a celestial moment move back into 22 Sagittarius, the degree of fixed star Ras Alhague. Known as a difficult star the better side of which involves healing, Ras Alhague’s position in Sagittarius’ 3rd decanate implies some sort of news or notification which though uncomfortable is actually real or true or the way to solve some dilemma, whether we know it (or like it) or not.

Given that we all like the easy way out of things, we’re all likely to ‘want’ to do the South Node thing – which at this point is pictured as a South Node sitting between Arachne (entanglement) and fixed star Bellatrix, emblem of difficult communications.

Maybe the best way to think of this is that Bellatrix (and its neighbor, fixed star Phact) – in being respectfully at 21 and 22 Gemini extend their confounding, confused, often excuse-ridden influence to approximately 26 or 27 Gemini. Meanwhile, fixed star Betelgeuse at 28 Gemini (with an orb which stretches between 23 Gemini and 3 Cancer) overlaps that Bellatrix/Phact ‘district,’ giving us the picture of a period when the easiest thing is to try and avoid problems ‘out there.’ Or situations which would cause us to re-evaluate our relationship with the world. With the Nodes now at 23 Sagittarius and Gemini, a good many of us are going to be clinging to wanting things to be easy while others (and sometimes those self same people!) are also complaining about how nothing’s getting done. How nothing’s changing.

And how it needs to change. The North Node’s perfecting trine to Eris Discord at 22 – a trine which becomes perfected as the North Node solidifies its conjunction with Ras Alhague – that speaks volumes to the fact that our choice is social/societal disruption or renovation. It’s something we each need to think about. And though optimally we would each do our part, it can’t be ‘about’ us. We live in this world – the world doesn’t operate at our behest.

Confuse that, and nothing will change. It may even become something of an excuse to not try, which for some may be the object as the whole idea of looking in the mirror to get a grip on why your own world is so screwed up, messy or problematic is because of your decisions? Or maybe because you won’t stand up and do something about what you say you really stand for?

Complaining? That’s easy now! Mars at 29 Aries is all ripe for fury and Venus in Aries (which is going to continue for a few days yet) is notoriously a time when our difficulties with the world get translated as being about ‘them’ and not about how we have chosen much of what we have and in some measure the path we’re currently on.

Can we change that? Yes! That’s a whole other side of this whole configuration and it would be a great moment to commit – at least to yourself – that you indeed intend to dedicate yourself to growing or changing your life.

Tomorrow…as Mercury exits its shadow and as Mars enters Taurus, those who don’t have a thought or a plan or a handle on how their choices create their results. They’re going to be the ones who experience the classically Mars-in-Taurus ‘sticky wicket’ thing. Those who have a plan, who are working towards their goals, they will make slow progress. It won’t be easy, it may not be all rose petals, champagne and fun, but advances can get made and much depends on what you decide you are willing to do, become, and let go of.

That would be the contemplation for today and as we head not just into tomorrow, but into all our tomorrows.

Edisona in Gemini: What is a Bright Idea?

 

 Thomas Alva Edison

A famous Edison quote: 'Genius is 1% inspiration

and 99% perspiration.' (Harper's Monthly - September 1932) 

photo credit: Louis Bachrach (c. 1922)

May 4th and 3:08pm (UT/+0) will find asteroid Edisona moving into Gemini, joining an interesting little group which includes Dionysus (sacred celebration/ritual), Sabine (captured, enforced), Tantalus (tempting, temptation), fixed star Aldebaran (integrity), Orpheus (irresponsible/self conscious talent), Industria (industriousness), Hebe/Chaos (service/endless fertility), Klotho (bringing to be) and fixed star Rigel (the teacher)….all in Gemini’s first fifteen degrees.

Why care about the first fifteen degrees in particular? 

Because the above list of points are those which are going to be getting ‘fired up’ as we move forward through these next three weeks or so to June 1st’s Gemini Solar Eclipse.

Edisona, obviously linked to the famous inventor Edison is all about ‘the bright idea.’ You know - because Edison invented the light bulb.

A light bulb

photo credit: KMJ (Oct 2007)

It’s also about illumination...in something of the ‘lesser’ meaning of the word. Mercury, the Sun – those are the central astrological symbols of enlightenment or learning of the internal sort….the kind of understanding which we use in growing our interests.

Against this we have Edisona, which seems to be more about ‘seeing what’s happening’ or having a moment where we ‘get the drift’ or – as applies to the upcoming solar eclipse – we begin understanding the nature of things which will be at stake, up for grabs, in need of attention and of the moment as eclipse-oriented events become the talk of the day.

Considering this eclipse will be at 11 Gemini, Edisona being in Gemini would seem like (sorry, I just have to say it!) a really good idea.

The down side? Considering how solar eclipses tend to be all about blindly tossing the proverbial baby out with the unused bathwater, what we may hear now and going forward are a lot of good ideas which actually aren’t going to get anywhere because some giant force plows them down like a steamroller over an army of marshmallows.

However…that doesn’t mean that this isn’t a good time to have a great idea. Gemini being a sign all about mentality and choice, this would be a classic time to begin getting a clue as to what you need to do in order to make your own dreams come true. And if that new idea or concept or perspective on life includes letting go of something or some method or some situation which has worked ‘well enough’ but which deep in your….whatever (far be it for me to  presume here)…you know isn’t your passion, your ‘this is who I really am (or should be)’ thing…then so much the better. The letting go of temporizing and ‘making do’ is the heart and soul of what a lead-up period to an eclipse is all about, so the more honest you can be with yourself about who you really were “born” to be, the better off you’re going to be.

And listen...I know this isn’t easy. Plenty of us get into life wedgies with ourselves where we’re making the decent paycheck or we want to be ‘part of something’ which makes us feel accepted…but if that isn’t you, it isn’t. The lore about eclipses is all about this very concept – that when we compromise our real reason for being, particularly where we get all dug in and stubborn (yeah, that would be like what…half the human race?), that’s where an eclipse comes along and hits you really hard.

This isn’t about what you like, either. It’s about that inner sense of who you are and who you should be in the world. Let’s remember: Gemini is the polarity sign to Sagittarius, which means what we do or think up gets tested in real world surroundings. Where we love something but everybody hates it (or hates us for doing it, being it or loving it) that may or may not be totally wrong – you have to reflect. Deep inside, is this …no, not what you like or who you are, but who you know you should be in the greater world? Sagittarius is all about the ‘out there’ stuff – our making the way in the world.

And when the world hisses at us for how we’re making our way or who we’re making our way with, or…or…

…It may not be that said ‘group’ is really bad. It may just be that that’s not for us. Much as we might like it, it’s not for us.

Anyway….so let’s get back to the plus side of this ledger and how this all sort of times out. By May 29, Edisona will be conjunct Aldebaran, a fixed star all about integrity. That being at 9 Gemini (the last of Gemini’s ‘doing/being’ first decanate degrees), and with this being just a handful of tick-tocks prior to the eclipse, getting the idea (also known has ‘are you getting the idea already, bub?’) is the order of the day.

With Venus running with Mars at this point in Taurus, a lot of folks are going to be sticking out their lower lip and pouting ‘but I LIKE doing this!’ … and yes, that may work for some. But will it work for you? That idea is your Edisona/Aldebaran: check the inner integrity meter. Is your world growing? Are you more rather than less secure with your place in life and/or the world (both count)?

As of May 30th, Edisona moves into Gemini’s second decanate: degrees 10 through 19. This being where Gemini expresses itself about emotions and most emotionally (poetically? fervently? persuasively?) it’s a good time to ‘put out the appeal’ or maybe launch some sort of campaign.

Whatever you’re doing, the days of June 14, 15 and 16 have Edisona conjunct fixed star Rigel (the teacher). So it’s a great day to ask questions and get information, however you glean best. Since that Venus/Mars thing is now split up, everyone’s more in a ‘productive mode’ and with Mars still in Taurus’ late degrees part of the reason why would be that a few resounding NO!s have been delivered since we last checked in on this transiting pair.

From June 25 through July 21st when Edisona enters Cancer, this is the real test of how well things are working. The 3rd decanate of Gemini – degrees 20 through 29 – are like all zodiacal 3rd decans about the getting feedback, the responding to external force and influence. And here the response (and often the input) is verbal, textual – or otherwise expressed as the opinion on ‘idea of the thing’…even when Edisona isn’t around!

As photographed in UV, 'fixed star' Betelgeuse can be seen

pulsating. Is this a metaphysical indicator that things are - and are

meant to be more or less easy? I'd think so!

photo credit: NASA/ESA

And with this particular Gemini 3rd decanate…well, let’s just take our theme from the two fixed stars positioned at the beginning of said decan (Bellatrix) and at the end of the decan (Betelgeuse). There are a couple of others hanging in this arena, but these two really pretty much say it all. Bellatrix is the quintessential ‘oh, you think? PROVE IT!’ and Betelgeuse is ‘ease of passage/easy going.’ Obviously we all like Betelgeuse and hardly one in twenty of us enjoy Bellatrix.

But since all of life is a process, let’s look at it this way: if you receive the Bellatrix critique and you fix the problem, then you get the Betelgeuse approval and support – you’re on and about your biz. But if you fight for (or insist on persisting with) something which doesn’t work, which isn’t acceptable, which violates or ‘cheats’ on some sort of rule or standard…(or frankly, if your choice simply sucks) then Betelgeuse becomes the door which slams in your face.

The third decan of Gemini is totally about this process and the experiencing of this process. If Edisona’s passing through here gives you the idea of how life works, bravo! If Edisona passing through this decan even gives you some idea of what’s keeping you from achieving some peace and harmony in your life or efforts, we have to applaud that too.

Worth noting here also is that on July 4th, Edisona will be conjunct the South Node (ease of association) with fixed star Phact (and Bellatrix) right behind. Would this make it a good day to go out and do something new? It well might be.

But maybe more to the point...this combination really sounds like one where you get past the hard stuff (Bellatrix) and explore possibilities (Phact) which may well pay off. Or when you begin to understand how to get in sync with others. With Venus at 0 Cancer (the beginnings of connections) and the Sun already in Cancer’s emotional degrees (not to mention this coming right after the July 1st Cancer solar eclipse) this is a good time to get rid of the old, accept the new and perhaps …just perhaps to mend fences or bridges, depending on what’s gone down in your life.

To this we could at how Bellatrix and Betelgeuse (and come to think of it, Rigel) are all members of the same constellation: Orion...the Hunter.

A constellation map of Orion

by Blueshade (Nov 2004)

Take it as just another little celestial suggestion that we are meant to go find our answers, our inspirations, our new and bright ideas. Life isn't supposed to be easy...the eternal Gemini/Sagittarius polarity is all about the growth cycle and about stretching ourselves particularly in areas which seem uncomfortable or disquieting to us.

At the very least...we need to understand why they're such a problem, y'know?

So that’s all I have to say on Edisona - for the moment, that is. Which means I’m now leaving you with all these ideas so that you can have some of your own!

Is it a deal?

Happy gleaning!

Enter the Nodes: Trying Anew - and the Utterly and Truly New

 

As of March 3rd, the Lunar Nodes will shift from a North Node in Capricorn and South Node in Cancer to the North Node transiting Sagittarius with the South Node transiting Gemini.

What exactly are the Lunar Nodes and why do we think they are what astrologers say they are?

Well, look at it this way…the Earth orbits around the Sun. Metaphorically, that’s the path of life – of all of life, which on a human level we think of as ‘the world.’

The Moon meanwhile, orbits around the Earth. Where the Sun is more global, the Moon is our feelings and memories and resources – it’s connected to all things personal…mostly because we react on a personal level to things around us!

Anyway…think of the Moon as orbiting around Earth – and as it does so, it crosses that (imagined) orbital path of the Earth around the Sun.

The two points of crossing would thus be where our personal life intersects life in the world around us…which is why we think of the Lunar Nodes as all those places we intersect with the world or society. Nodes are often involved (by transit) with getting a job. Or zeroing in on how to get people to respond to you. After all, the Nodes represent not just the intersecting for you, but where the You of life is able to intersect with society. 

So what’s the rub here?

Yes, there is always a challenge! (big sigh…)

Going back to that idea of the Moon orbiting Earth, crossing Earth’s path around the Sun at two spots, one of those crossing points would be as the Moon is moving ‘up’ through Earth’s path – which is known astronomically as the plane of the ecliptic. This is known (trumpets, please…) as the Ascending Node. 

And once I tell you that, it doesn’t take a genius to realize the other Node will be the Descending Node. 

The Ascending Node would require (like anything else uphill-ish) more effort. Think of pushing a bike up a hill. But once you get to the top? Wheeeeee! It’s a fun ride down the mountain! We know how to do that part, right? We like doing that part!

Yup, that’s the Descending Node.

The Ascending Node is the North Node. And while we could wax all philosophic here about phrases like ‘going south’ and such, the reason for this is more realistically that this is about the Moon rising up through the plane of the ecliptic, heading for Earth’s northern pole.

The Descending Node is the South Node – for reasons which are just as evidently obvious.

And our response to the Nodes? They’re very much exactamundo in keeping with the bicycle image: we don’t much like being made to push that bike up the hill and we all love coasting back down.

For those into the concept of past lives, the South Node represents what’s ‘easy’ for you, considering you learned it in a past life. For the rest of us, it’s just easy because it’s easier to do than tackling all that drudgery and trudgery going up the hill. As an astrologer, if you name a novice or newbee’s North Node task you can expect to get at least a groan, and sometimes a wholesale flack attack!

(Yes, sometimes being an astrologer requires flame proof armor.)

Because the Nodes have an 18.6 year cycle, they change signs about every 2.5 years. And yes, that 18.6 year cycle does relate to why so many societies think of childhood as lasting until we’re 18. And why at that point we’re fit for college and the military and such. Not that we’re really grown up or anything – neurology types now put the age of full brain maturation at around age 26.

But maybe there’s a benefit to inducting us into hard core life choices before our brain has a chance to fully develop a sense of consequence – as medicine now projects to be around age 21?

That’s a whole other blog. This one continues on by pointing out that the Nodes changing signs about every 2.5 years means that the last time this happened was back in August 2009, when Pluto had just committed to its transit of Capricorn – the sign the North Node was moving into at that time.

Because the Nodes (like the Astrological Ages) move backwards, this means Pluto was at the beginning of Capricorn as the Nodes hit the end of Capricorn.

Think ‘pincer movement’ – society got caught between these opposing forces. And as the Nodes counted down (backwards) they rather swiftly (in astrological/cosmic terms) arrived at the wee degrees of Capricorn (North) and Cancer (South) with Pluto still in Capricorn’s first decanate.

A pause here to contemplate how those things which move backwards….the Nodes, the Ages…they all have to do with the big shifts of society…time unfolding, unfurling and marching by…

Why would that be? Maybe they’re not ‘going backward’ so much as they’re ‘coming towards us’ where “normal” motion has to do with our efforts to move forward in our lives?

As the Nodes moved into and through Capricorn’s last (lowest) degrees, things became very personal, very vital, entirely physical – on a societal basis. There was a shooting in Arizona where a member of the US Congress (government/Capricorn) and by-standing members of the public (citizenry/Cancer) were killed. Across the Middle East, citizens (Cancer) rose up against their (Capricorn) governments and “ruling classes.”

Eighteen years ago (back in 1993), the Nodes were in this same zodiacal region. Did we see such things back then? No. But then, Pluto wasn’t in Capricorn at the time.

Signal combinations add meaning, yes. That’s why simple, computerized astrology generally doesn’t work. Yes, computers can tell you where celestial positions are, just like computers can now analyze blood tests. But when it comes to putting together a stellium of symptoms, you need a doctor – or in the case of a stellium of astronomical positions you want to interpret on the metaphysical level, an astrologer.

(Someone hand me my lab coat, please…)

Anyway…getting back to that moving backward thing, what this means is that when the Nodes change signs, they enter the next set of signs at 29 degrees, the last degree of any given sign. You’ve heard me talk about 29 degrees as a ‘critical’ degree, though ‘intense’ or ‘fervent’ may be a better sort of term. Twenty-nine is where the sign is at it’s maximal pronouncement – for better or worse, pro and con. It’s as if it’s on a deadline, racing around trying to get everything done before the due date.

Some of us work well under pressure. Astrological symbols…? Sometimes yes, but often not so much!

But since the work symbolized by the Nodes is to bring society, opportunities and social forces home to us…(hoping we’ll do a little North Node thing and improve life!) in Nodal terms, the ‘extreme’ is when they reach zero – the Nodal “end of the line” signifying its maximal effort in any given sign.

So as the Nodes move into 29 Sagittarius and Gemini as of March 3rd at 12:38 (UT/+0) should we expect much intensity but not the flat out affect we saw when the Nodes were in the 0, 1, 2, 3 of Capricorn/Cancer?

Well, sort of. And to understand my hedging, we have to consider the signs. Capricorn is an earth sign. It’s pragmatic. Cancer is a water sign. It’s emotional. As an axis and polarity, Capricorn/Cancer is all about how life works…and of course that ever popular adjunct, life sucks! and this isn’t working for me or anyone else! 

Considering that, it’s not shocking that around the world, as the Nodes backed through Capricorn and Cancer, lifestyles were on the line and governments (and business, seeing that Capricorn is ‘commerce’ or ‘the business of business’) …governments and business got yelled at a lot.

Not to mention all the yelling which went on inside governments, business and so on!

Sagittarius/Gemini is a whole other thing. Sagittarius is a fire sign. Fire equals imagination and the idea of it. The positive of Sagittarius is that it forces us to put things out there and in the works in order to find the hidden glitches which only show up when things exit the drawing board and meet up with real life. Sagittarius is all about learning better and finding the flaws in order to correct them and by correcting them, come to be able to reach your goals.

Gemini, on the other hand, is an idea and concept driven air sign. In Gemini, it’s a lot easier to talk about it than get to the task of doing it. Planning is fun, assembly not so fun. The popular notion of Gemini as being all about ‘many’ is valid in that we should see what the choices are…but in the end, Gemini asks that we make a choice and follow it through far enough that it can get put out there in the Sagittarian polarity and we can see what the flaws may be, correct them, and get somewhere in life.

The optimal thing would be to use the whole of this polarity in an integrated manner, looking through our choices and choosing something (Gemini) which we then follow through on, learning from the doing, from the effort, from the little - even substantial problems along the way (Sagittarius).

However...with a South Node in Gemini, we’re far more likely to hear a lot of talk and not as much choosing. If 'broken' apart from the North Node in Sagittarius, things which should be renovated, corrected, worked through or replaced will get debated and if they fail, critiqued.

North Node in Sagittarius asks us to critique usefully – to find the flaw and fix it. But it doesn’t suggest we should set ourselves up as judge and jury on others! Far from it – North Node in Sagittarius asks us to grow. It asks us to learn what ‘just’ really is by opening both our hearts and our minds. Like as not, it will be useful if we do. Even profitable. Even necessary. North Node in Sagittarius asks us to expand our personal world and grow the greater body of world knowledge. It asks us to try something new and accept things which seem odd to us. We may not love them...but maybe there's a reason they exist? That which is new and unfamiliar, the "road less traveled" is where opportunities may well lie. Do we want to capitalize on new ideas? Or just cling to the known?

As the South Node enters Gemini, its within zodiacal ‘spitting distance’ of fixed star Betelgeuse (at 28 Gemini), a star all about ‘ease of accomplishment.’ For some of us, this will herald a time when what we have been working for becomes easier to achieve while for others, taking that ‘easy way out’ becomes more of an allure than ever.

Moving quickly, the South Node conjuncts Betelgeuse during early March and moves on, entering the 5 degrees of orb inside at the very end of Marsh, after which we can expect a tinge of 'affect' representing fixed star Bellatrix (at 21 Gemini).

Bellatrix is pretty much the opposition dynamic to Betelgeuse, challenging us to get our ideas out there against objections, hassles and – like as not – people so in love with their own point of view that they’d rather see something useful or good go down in flames than let go.

The symbols here: Agamemnon (strength), Psyche (the mind), Medea (self-defeating love) which by the time the Nodes get into the Bellatrix district will be hanging out at 20, 21 and 22 Gemini.

 

Medea - a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's

theater production by Alfons Mucha (1898)

And considering that about this time Atropos (endings) will be coloring the North Node, there is an ending coming. What that ending is…that’s up for grabs, except that we know Medea is sitting with the South Node.

We also know that as of 10:14 am (UT/+0)...a little over two hours before the Nodes shift signs...Medusa, Ye Olde Asteroid named for She Who Symbolizes Frightening Knowledge moves into Gemini.

The former note tells us that if what you are doing is actually about doing the right thing (as simply opposed to something which will work well for you) you will in time, win through. 

But yes, you  have to first get there. And if what you are doing isn't right, you can face the music now...or be faced down by fearful truths soon enough.

And yet there is that odd little quirk about Medusa - namely that when you reflect on what you learn which seems so frightening, you can actually deal with. You can 'slay the gorgon,' as it were.

(Don't know Medusa's story? CLICK HERE.)

With all this in mind, we do know that in moving forward into this new Nodal 'slice-of-life,' there is some benefit in taking some cherished 'something’ out there. How do we know that? We know that because as the North Node enters Sagittarius in conjunction with asteroid Child. So what is “your baby”? If it fits the Sagittarian criteria of being something new, useful, mind expanding, philosophical, correcting of flaws…(etc.)…then this is your time to give your baby project or idea a public whirl.

Just don’t expect things to be simple, easy, or without a lot of uphill bike-pushing.

The South Node will reach Bellatrix by mid-August, 2011. But seeing as we will have an eclipse in Gemini as June arrives, dynamics will be changing long before the South Node rock meets up with the Bellatrix hard place.

And lets not forget...Bellatrix and Betelgeuse are stars which are part of Orion, the archer and hunter.

 A diagram of Orion the hunter by Mysid

And Sagittarius? That is also the sign of the hunter.

So this period is all about hunting what we need and want in life...which does require (North Node) efforts! 

But maybe for now, the best place to start with is recognizing the difference in social mindset. Much of life has been focused on ‘hard facts’ (Capricorn/Cancer) during these past couple of years. And maybe the lesson is that we really need to recognize the problems in order to now grasp that it’s a time to choose (Gemini) to fix (Sagittarius) things, in our life, and in the world which supports that life.

This March's aura of the Nodes moving into the third decanate of Sagittarius/Gemini may remind us of times in mid-late 2009 when we saw everything going on and going wrong in our world. That was North Node in Capricorn’s 3rd decan, South Node in Cancer’s 3rd decan. Most people pulled back and got protective about their power, their positions and what they were wanting to achieve.

That was very Capricorn/Cancer. The considerations then were very tangible and they felt pragmatic. Now the considerations will be more of a 'thought reaction' and seem less about need than 'what's right' ...and maybe 'what's right for me.'

 .

 Sagittarius the Archer as illustrated in

an old English manuscript

We can hope we won't just feel self-protective, as we did when the South Node was in Cancer. But can we get past our instinct to just talk about it and want to know more and procrastinate and find someone to ask and, and, and, and...

That remains for us to see. The Nodes will be in the 3rd decanates of Sagittarius and Gemini until mid-August 2011. This will seem the time when we have less of a 'handle' on things.

From there they move into the 2nd and emotional decanate (think: evocation of emotions...) until late in February 2012. It can be a joyously exciting, or a seriously over-stimulating time.

In late February, 2012...then the Nodes move on into the physical and 'real life' portion of Sagittarius and Gemini until the very end of August 2012. That's when we'll see whether we acted with sufficient alacrity - or whether we babbled while we painted, ending up in our own corner.

But the totality of this...does that strike you as 2.5 years? From March 2011 through August 2012 doesn't register with me as being anything close to 2.5 years!

And that would be....why?

The 'why' there is about the fact that just like all other celestial cycles, the Lunar Nodes have 'short' and 'long' passages. This next one is a short one. That may mean we can get our work done quickly. That may also mean we need to have life 'compact' a lot into a little temporal space in order to get us to....to what, make the Gemini choice or to venture away from what tend to be our Sagittarius assumptions of life should be?

Whatever happens is up to us. And though we do need to obviously think about what to choose to do, we also need to get on with the doing.

Sounds like a busy year or so to come...with much to be realized and discovered, if we will only require that we give ourselves a chance to grow!

Orionid Meteor Shower

The constellation Orion over Arches National Park in Utah
(photo credit: Daniel Schwen/2004)

Having begun just as Venus went retrograde, October 12th marks the height of the annual 2010 Orionid meteor shower.

Named for the constellation Orion, the Orionids don't actually come from the constellation itself, rather from an area just outside of the 'body' of Orion - between Orion and Gemini.

And astrologically, knowing just that is the key to understanding this annual event.

Gemini we know. Gemini is the process of thought and all which comes from thinking - or the lack thereof. We either choose or choose not to. We are organized or not. We are neat or not. We talk or we are silent. We are mobile, stationary, hasty or simply stuck. We understand or we're confused, we're seekers or we know and comprehend. We communicate our thoughts through the mail, email, text, writings, speech or otherwise. We communicate ourselves or our ideas via phones, books, computers, mail carriers, cars, bicycles, planes, trains and last but never least, our mouth, hands or feet.

Gemini is the everyday. Gemini is 'temporal time' - the schedule, the people we meet along the way (shopkeepers, neighbors, etc.) and those who are 'part of our world' but not part of our core mom-pop-and-kids family.

Orion, on the other hand, is one of the most famous constellations in our sky which most people know simply as The Hunter.

 Constellation Orion

But astrologically, it takes only a little looking at the diagram of Orion to realize how many 'statements' are made in its form. No less than three well known fixed stars (Betelgeuse, Bellatrix and Rigel) are part of the full 'Orion picture.' 

So what does this tell us?

First in line, Betelgeuse is a red giant star nearing the end of its astronomical life. Known as a star of 'ease or easy process,' Betelgeuse is a wonderful example of how fixed star influences work, starting with the idea that though they are referred to as 'fixed,' this is 'fixed' in the astrological sense (slow to move) not 'fixed' as in concrete - forevermore set in place. Currently moving at roughly one minute of longitude per year, Betelgeuse is currently at 28 Gemini, having moved out of 27 Gemini towards the end of 1945.

Twenty-seven Gemini is a degree typified as either a 'sleeping giant' or a 'genie in a bottle' - you don't know quite what is going to happen until you rouse the giant or free the genie. That Betelgeuse moved out of 27 Gemini into 28 Gemini as WWII came to its end (a world-wide example of genies and sleeping giants if there ever was one!) is apt.

Since 1945, Betelgeuse has been colored by 28 Gemini's legendary preoccupation with values...whether you color that as money and wealth or morality and integrity. A degree known for just enough intuition to be confused and enough suspicion to promote caution, 28 Gemini often functions as a degree at which whatever is positioned there prompts situations through which we learn. That would be in keeping with 28 Gemini being a 3rd decan degree, to be sure - any degree between 20 and 29 of any sign is known as where results are only known through worldly/outside input or reaction.

Of course the down side there is that if Betelgeuse is about 'ease' and we see how it did when at 27 Gemini, then it's no wonder that so many difficulties have arisen in the last sixty (plus) years. We keep trying to take the easy way out and life teaches us to be more cautious and to opt for truly global rather than self serving values inclusive of the idea that though it's easy to assume and assert the meaning of 'morality' and 'integrity' that in the greatest of big picture perspectives, those ideas are always far, far more global than we tend to think.

 Young Stars Emerging from Orion's Head

(source: ASA/JPL/Caltech/Spitzer Team - 2007)

Betelgeuse is the star at Orion's right shoulder, representing that which is, and from which we respond. Opposite that is Bellatrix, a star known to represent a difficult process - apt, seeing as left is 'what is yet left to do' and thus the unknown. Thought by physicists to be too small to ever go supernova, the brilliant light emitted by Bellatrix is created by extremely high temperatures at its core: a metaphysical emblem of 'high power' and 'great friction,' both of which fit well with the challenges and struggles associated with Bellatrix.

Currently at 21 Gemini, Bellatrix operates through situations where the world reactions to whatever we have (or have not) done. That this degree represents an elevated tendency to scatter one's efforts, waste time and energy and in general, dilute one's effectiveness through lack of focus on the actual goal (through getting distracted) isn't very helpful, particularly when we think of Orion as the Hunter. Hunters need to be focused and aware. Bellatrix in this position suggests that individually and as a world, we are in a period where our ability to discipline our thoughts and efforts is being tested.

But all is not lost. Not in the least! Orion is a fascinating structure in that the 'shoulders' of the hunter are indeed burdened by difficulties in moving ahead and desires to live in or respond from values held over from the past. Yet even if this is emblematic of the 'shouldering of so much tension' in today's world, there is a third star - Rigel - which is Orion's left foot.

A left foot represents our metaphorical step into the future. And Rigel is a star all about being 'under the foot of the teacher' - the necessity to learn. Positioned at 16 Gemini (a degree all about emotional thoughts) Rigel asks that we use our emotions as motivations and from that, learn what we actually can accomplish - and become.

 Orion as a guide by Mysid

As a 'hunter' in the sky, Orion is also a mythic guide; as above it helps point to other major stars...other resources in our life. Using Betelgeuse, we find our way to Procyon, a star of opportunities which come and go if not grabbed onto and used. Rather like Betelgeuse, don't you think? We have a chance to prevent things from going wrong...and if we just ignore it, then the genie gets out of the box.

Fortunately, Bellatrix points to nothing in particular, but there is a line drawn from Rigel to Castor and Pollux, the double edged sword of creative brilliance against personal angst. Positioned in the 3rd decanate of Cancer, this duo becomes evident as a test of personal character once we try to make our way in our worldly life, reminding us that our emotions are powerful enough to get us off track even when we (Rigel) know how to get things done.

Maybe the best news with Orion is the ideas this constellation's famous three belt stars guide us to...

  Orion's Belt (source: NASA)

    

...in one direction the belt points to Sirius, the most brilliant star in the whole of the sky apart from our Sun. Called either 'the Scorcher' or the 'Shining One' by the ancient Egyptians, Sirius - sometimes also called the 'Dog Star' reminds us that small things can have great consequences, and that often times our personal desires need to be sacrificed for a greater good.

(Yes, just like sometimes our beloved canine companions sacrifice for us!)

Positioned at 14 Cancer, Sirius is said to grant grace in either writing, math or money-making, but seldom all three. It's a sign of resourcefulness and grace - a resource which relates it's position on the same side of Orion as Betelgeuse, the symbol of that we find easy to cope with or do.

Maybe most importantly is the fact that Aldebaran stands in the opposite direction. One of the Royal Persian Stars, Aldebaran promises great success if, where and when we hold ourselves to levels of true integrity.

And maybe, just maybe that tells us what it is which makes moving ahead so hard. Just as the belt 'marries' the bottom and top of this constellation's figure together in a metaphorical union of emotion and the ability to move ahead, so integrity is just that quality which is held to when we marry our needs and our aims to the positions, goals and necessities of others.

With all this said, it's to remember that the Orionid meteor shower comes not from the heart of Orion, but from that deep spatial gap between Orion and Gemini: the gap between thinking and formulating our ideas, choices and priorities with knowing how to 'hunt' down the means and find guidance so as to achieve our greatest goals. 

Occurring just as and after Venus has gone retrograde in Scorpio, this year's Orionid meteor shower would seem to be bits of light...recognitions, ideas, realizations...

...probably pertaining to what we're mulling over inside, retrogrades always being about internals.

There are things we want (Venus).

And they aren't going to just drop into our laps. We're going to have to deal with others (Scorpio).

And maybe most of all, we're going to have to find the right combination of what we already know and what we're willing to 'go forth and learn' (Orion).

We know there's some risk to what we're undertaking (Scorpio). But without taking some sort of Scorpio risks, we never make Scorpio gains.

And maybe worst of all, we know time passes by. If we do nothing, a year from now the Orionids will come yet again, their little streaks of light in the sky reminding us that our life is flashing by without our even having tried to live it.

No, no one wants that.

Ceres Direct(ions)

 

 Dwarf planet Ceres orbits as part of the

asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter

Ceres is the only dwarf planet which orbits as a member of the asteroid belt. Considering that one of the things which makes a dwarf planet a dwarf planet is its spherical shape (who knew scientists were so fussy?), what this amounts to is that Ceres is large enough that it's mass has like as not helped it spin itself into that required, rather spherical shape.

Yes, even in space, greater mass creates roundness. Funny how universal some rules are. Or is it really strange? From a metaphysical point of view, actually not.

By Roman goddess tradition, Ceres is a goddess of agriculture, grains, fertility and relationships which are motherly, which many of us have come to think means Ceres is in some way female. It isn't. Ceres is the dynamic which motivates us to protect and provide for ourselves and others, which is obviously a purely human and not female trait.

 Roman statue thought to be of Ceres

When discovered on January 1, 1801, Ceres was in Taurus, giving us to understand that its metaphysical meaning is about use of resources and either things we need to do in order to ultimately be satisfied, things we find satisfying (to do or have) and the resources which we harness and/or use in the pursuit of personal security and satisfaction.

In conjunction with male/female assertively fixed stars Algol and Capulus at the time, we again get the male (or) female message here. But with that is the suggestion that Ceres is about asserting ourselves - it's about what we do which counts with Ceres. Considering how most people think of Ceres as goddess of the harvest, this puts a bit of a different spin on things. Ceres isn't just about the reward and celebration of harvesting, it's about all you have to do to get there.

 Discovery of Ceres

Conjunct Psyche (the mind) at the time of discovery, this also tells us what the tool and reward really is. We have to use our minds - and when we do, Ceres helps us gain security through knowing how to 'grow' our minds and through achieving mental satisfaction, aka peace of mind. (link to article on Pysche)

In trine to service-oriented Vesta at discovery, we know Ceres is not about just us, however. This is doubly emphasized by Ceres being discovered in perfect square to Saturn in Leo, which means the work is to create but that arrogance and personal pleasure cannot be the alpha and omega of the Ceres all.

Saturn in Leo has a couple of great ills: one is  arrogance, one is selfishness and third is being the 'know it all' (so don't bother me with facts) sort of thing. The perfect square here warns us that even when we think we're being a 'giver' that we must beware our lesser nature. And the cue here is probably all about what we most want. That wanting thing - at Ceres moments and in Ceres situations...that can just throw us under our own train.

Look at it this way: if you have everything you need but the storms of hell are swirling around you, how long can you hold out? You're still under threat. But if you create a better, more functional, more generous situation, group, society, world...then you have latitude.

As Ceres now goes direct on August 8, it's in an interesting oppositional situation...

Let's start by listing the players. On the Ceres side we have Ixion (ingratitude ultimately leading to undoing) in an emotional position of Sagittarius. Considering Sagittarius is always about expanding one's horizons and here positioned to be either the need to find what works or the finding out if something new you've embarked on works...? Well, that suggests that this station - a literal Ceres 'turning point' - would seem to be in part about where your emotions, emotional mindset or your understand of your own emotionality have gotten you, and whether that works or not.

With Charybdis ahead of Ceres, there's a lot of continuous effort ahead whether you continue on your current course or not. To this we add Ceres exactly conjunct Orpheus in a social/societal degree about how your emotional attitudes and choices play in public. 

And that sets an interesting stage, seeing as Ixion is plainly by degree behind Ceres and Orpheus is among other things a symbol which says 'don't look back!' lest all be lost.

In opposition to all this we have Agamemnon (strength of determination), fixed star Bellatrix (working through difficulties) and Pandora - the box of ills which only at its end reveals hope.

The synthesis here would seem to be all about what we've been up to - the Ixion as the only numerically  'lagging' symbol appears to be the cue, telling us that some of us have been too headstrong...some have not known our mind (or heeded common sense or our better angels)...some of us refuse to look back lest we have to own up to something...and some of us are/have been defeated by looking back when we shouldn't.

No matter which team you have been playing for, now - with the station comes a shift in dynamics.

But wait...there's more! We actually have a picture of the proverbial wrench tossed into your personal works: 

 

 
Also a dwarf planet, Sedna orbits waaaaaay out there beyond Neptune. Thus it is defined as something which is not only beyond our grasp, but metaphorically beyond our conscious grasp. Arachne and Sabine thus become the 'manifesting tools' through which our Sedna irresponsibility or immature, maybe even petulant insistence is likely to act out.

So whatever happens now, the 'entangling factors' and what's 'holding you back' or what you are holding onto - or perhaps something you have put into 'captive limbo' is the issue.


Why you did what, how others feel are now acting towards you...it's not all entirely a direct cause/effect. Some of it is karmic, which speaks to the part of astrology people often find difficult to get hold of. The immature or selfish things we do may come back to haunt us when we see someone else do a like thing. Our own unwillingness to confront our own conscience or deal with our feelings may get irritatingly aroused by someone who is doing something very much of the same ilk.

That's the point with Team Wrench Tosser - being collectively in an inconjunct to Ceres as it takes its station tells us that the issues, the prompting, the situational dynamic which nudges us to get hold of who we are an know our mind better....those things are coming from outside.

With all this said, because this is a global (aka 'mundane') transit, unless there's something in your natal chart being aspected by this station, you're more likely to notice these situations and feelings going on around you than in your own life.

But those who have anything within orb of 20 Sagittarius (which would be anywhere between 15 and 25 Sagittarius)? You're going to be going through this quandary big time.

For those with placements between 15 and 25 Gemini (the opposition), you're likely to be dealing with someone who has embodied the dynamics we've discussed. And that may be your problem you're taking them on about - or merely a problem in their own world you're watching them go through.

If you have a placement between 15 and 25 in either Pisces or Virgo, challenges and choices shaped by these issues are either on the table - or by refusing to fall into the person pot hole described, you keep yourself (and maybe others) from ever facing such an issue.

One other special nod to those who have placements between 18 and 22 Taurus. For you, the challenge is to 'let go' of the safe path and risk owning your own power for the good of all concerned.

Bottom line, whether your chart is aspected or not, this is a moment of 'attitude adjustments.' So...will you be adjusting yours?

And if not, isn't that exactly the issue described?