Referencing a 25 Cancer Full Moon

Austria's Melk Benedictine Abbey Library

(photo credit: Arthos Wien, January 2013)

The Sabian Symbol for 25 Cancer reads as follows:

GUESTS ARE READING IN THE LIBRARY OF A LUXURIOUS HOME

Astrologer Marc Edmund Jones made a note on this degree which in the light of this month’s Full Moon seems particularly apt, seeing as any Full Moon is technically an astrological opposition, oppositions being formulations which cause us to face…or be faced by situations, challenges, realizations and - in this case - our feelings about things. Marc Jones referred to this degree as one embodying ‘the transference of social privilege to the level of intellectual enjoyment’ which here taps into both the Cancer 'home-residence-established base of operations' sense and Capricorn standing as the zodiacal sign most associated with social status and achievement.

One one level this image functions for each of us as a whole: we are each thinking through what we need to do, who we are, who others are, how we do or don’t connect to whomever – all those many things which have to do with our ongoing lives. What are we doing? Will our current plans get us where we want to go? On one side we want, need and crave freedom...on the other we want (and need) a measure of stability.

It's a quandary - one which leaves us quite sure of the confidence we have in our Self even as we are aware of (and perhaps bothered by) things we know we don't know - and indeed which we can't know, or manufacture a 'knowing of’ (or about) by ourselves.

And that quality…issue…notion…whatever we perceive as a gap between our capacity and what we consider optimal - or the disparity between expectations (always dangerous, those expectations) and results (or lack thereof)...all that is now in mind, affecting how we feel not about life - but about how we're living that life.

Occurring at 4:53 in the morning (UT/+0 time) on January 16th under Venus retrograde, we are in a time more likely to be touching than jubilant and more touchy than gratified. None of this really has anything to do with anyone else, but we’re likely to feel a bit distanced, regardless. The Venusian flip side here being not feeling appreciated for what you have done, this Full Moon could also set off spats and disagreements, most of which will merely be the venting of frustrations.

All of us are going to be trying to sort through something. For some of us, it’s how we will deal with whatever feelings come welling to the surface.

The image of the Full Moon as a ‘wave’ of emotionalism seems particularly reasonable with the Moon in Cancer as Cancer is the first of the water signs and thus associated with first encounters with every form of anything. Or places in life where we either avoid getting in “over our head” or where we weigh up what it will take to get past those waves to more easily negotiated ‘waters’ (water here being a metaphor for sense of position or safety).

Sign of amphibians and all things which live both in and out of the water, Cancerian situations tend to manifest in ebb-and-flow (give/take, go/come, send/receive, in/out, spend/earn, learn/teach) patterns which ‘start’ with our being on whatever we think of as ‘dry land’ from which we ‘venture’ into emotion-provoking waters.

And that might be fine except…well, Black Moon Lilith conjunct the Moon from 24 Cancer is telling us that our successes of the past are not ours to rest on - and that doesn’t feel so good. With fixed star Pollux (one of the Gemini twins) involved, the choice is ours – we can try or not try. Trying, however, involves substantial work…and that’s likely to be a rub, whether because we’re already overloaded, tired, busy or whatever else.

The Main Library at University College London (UCL) with artwork from the Flaxman collection

(photo credit: SomeDriftwood, 2010)

In essence, this is a reality test.

Do we want ‘it’ or not?

If we do, we will put in the time and effort to grow – either into the mold of today or past that into cutting edge, leadership or ground-breaker territory.

You know…the stuff of tomorrow?

It’s our choice. And granted, most of us are going to be pretty well stuck (aggrieved?) in present tense situations (which yes, may at present make us very tense) which appear to aggravate the problem.

But I have to…

Fine. You have to. That being true, all you have to do is decide whether you want to be doing this same ‘I have to’ tomorrow.

It’s simple. Dauntingly simple. That’s the overall bottom line drawn by the rather brilliantly obvious grand square included in this chart:

January 2014 - Full Moon Chart

January 16 - 4:52 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

 

The Capricorn Venus squaring Libra Mars bespeaks great urgency and desire – but then, Venus square Mars always does, and there are always glitches. Either the timing is off or it’s not time yet or someone (or something) isn’t available…it’s always something.

And yet, if we can harness our willingness to connect with others bringing our very best and most considered Self to the fore, much can be accomplished. Still, there’s likely to be some tension as indicated by Venus conjunct Klotho – the wanting (or needing) to get something done so that results can be reaped. Mars/Typhon favors the new and in particular that which reaches deep within the core of what it means to be human (think: basic, primal, primitive, survival).

But as soon as we say that…Venus is still retrograde. So it’s a thought – but not the final thought. We’re paused for a moment so that we can reference our notes and search our mental files for what we know…

A (pre-digital) card catalogue

(photo credit: Stuart Caie, September 2009)

 

….and what we need to reference in whatever we do next, accepting that this is a time for inward consideration – and reconsideration. This ‘elevation to the intellectual level’ referred to by the Sabian symbol reflects an Eris-Mars ‘separating’ of perspectives which may be literal (as in a disagreement) a separation – or dealing with how you’re being seen…and what that means about those who are reacting to you.

Who knows…through whatever happens you may realize something very different about yourself. Or you may discover that someone you thought was ‘this’ sort of person is very distinctly ‘that’ sort of person.

Given life’s current multi-lateral backdrop of mild dismissals (the manifestation of the floating Venus retrograde quotient) Eris appearing conjunct Tantalus says there’s a lot of resistance to the idea of changing how we do things – or that we need to do things. Against this we have  Vesta (the cost of the promise) opposing from Libra with Typhon and Haumea in attendance.

It’s easy to finger-point now. It’s also easy to feel  overwhelmed.

And yet, we’ll carry on. After all, what’s our choice?

The end of this lunation probably can’t come soon enough for most of us. For all that there are things to be done and never enough time in the day to put every task to rest, demands are constant, if not consistent. Once we the Full Moon crests however, things will begin falling more or less together, carrying us through several weeks of activity and interaction rather different than the reaping, responding and reflecting we’ve been in since New Years.

The work goes on – that is the nature of Capricorn. With the Sun at 25 degrees of Capricorn we know there are only a few more days until it reaches 29 and then moves on into Aquarius, broadening the ‘playing field’ as well as our understanding and reach. These last few days are highly useful for those concerned with social, marketplace or economic fundamentals though what is learned or gleaned now is probably yet a bit in the future.

January 2014 is one of those so-called ‘blue moon’ months: a month in which we have two New Moons. The first was on January 1st and the second will be on January 31st – the same day Venus goes direct. In many ways that ‘encapsulates’ the whole of the current lunation (the one which started on New Years) as being about whatever it is we are working or recognizing under Venus retrograde, some of which probably isn’t making us all that happy.

(Sorry, that just happen with Venus retrograde.)

However…! The more we do or learn now the better equipped we will be once we get past this January surf zone. There are wider waters beckoning. Not all of them will be smooth sailing, but to those who would hang back on dry Cancer land, a warning: those who never leave port never arrive at the desired destination.
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Mercury in Aquarius: Wired

header image based on 'Day's End' by Frank Ammerlaan

(image by artist's permission/2012, materials listed: metal and colour passivated zinc)

Mercury entering Aquarius with the ‘weight’ of our Sun/Venus desire to be that thing which gives us what we want in this world suggests that the next few weeks are going to be filled with challenges even as there seems to be some sort of slightly strange serenity. Call it a steadying of pulse, our adapting to a lighter touch or regard…or maybe we’re just settling into the many facets of life which seem clear even if they aren’t entirely cohesive.

Or functionally optimal.

The good news here is that unbeknownst to us, providing we are making the effort to recognize the difference between what we like and what works, advances are being made.

Optimal, in other words, is the goal…and the process of working towards that optimal (and a few other things) is likely to be an ‘embracing’ concept which colors many a thought and plan between January 11th at 9:36 in the evening (UT/+0) as Mercury enters Aquarius and when it exits Aquarius for Pisces as of 2:30 in the afternoon (UT/+0) on January 31st…which just happens to be the day Venus goes direct.

All the above remaining true in a general sense, this Venus-in-Capricorn station/direct date is important as pertains to all things Capricorn and worldly (public image, societal standing, personal achievements, building a career…and all which goes into any one of these) plus all things Aquarian: income, social/societal acceptance, mass market, mass culture, universalism/unity vs. individualism/uniqueness.

This is – in short – a metaphysical recipe which speaks of non-optimal circumstances we are faced with so that we will take ourselves seriously and focus on what we can do as one thought against what might really be worth doing.

In that ‘what might be worth doing,’ there are two ways of thinking about the matter: the ‘what do I want out of this’ point of view, and the ‘what can I contribute to the whole which improves things so that life is better and easier for everyone?’ sort of perspective.

And that difference – a difference which amounts to a sort of ‘give versus take’ or ‘have versus create/empower’ is exactly the difference between Capricorn and Aquarius, two signs which are adjacent to each other on the zodiac wheel.

Of course there are some global irritations to face here – there always are when we’re talking about signs which sit side-by-side. Our Mercurial thought processes are now moving into ‘airy mode’ which favors discussions and ideas but our Venus hearts are undecided. Maybe even doubtful.

And though it’s always easiest to blame ‘them,’ this is also a time where we’re all doing a lot of deep questioning about who we are, what we’re capable of and ‘if we really want to do “that.”’

Perhaps the best – and simplest astrological suggestion here is to try not to pair the (Mercury) idea against the (Venus) result (i.e., what we will get if we do or are such-and-such).

Why would that be?

That would be because of the five ‘daily life’ personal planetary symbols (Sun-Moon-Venus-Mercury-Mars), Mercury’s arrival in Aquarius trines that prone-to-vacillating Mars in Libra.

Or maybe that’s not vacillating? Maybe that’s preparation you’re involved in? That’s fine too. After all, in the greater perspective preparation is vacillation – it’s our negotiating, our act of trying to ‘hold on’ to that moment for some reason or personal purpose.

But the greater point is this: since air signs tend to work well together...and because both Sun and Venus are in earthy, tangible-practical-pragmatic Capricorn, the ‘path of least resistance’ will seem attractive, meaning that a lot of us will wait (in turn putting other people on hold). There are ways to achieve  greater productivity providing we’re willing to bring an open mind to life’s negotiating table and those now willing to undertake intense or spirited (Mars) discussions...debates...communiques...in an effort to link all those theories and urges we're feeling to things and people who can at least give us input.

With that, however, comes a disclaimer: conversations and communications now may not solve or answer all questions and quandaries. Some will, of course. But even those which don't are likely to give us grist for the mental mill, and during the weeks ahead such grist will provide not only something to work with (call it 'nourishment') but keep us from pushing too hard or falling prey to undirected (unfocused) frustrations but usefully funneling off our psychological energies.

Plus there is the fact that in most of our lives many a Mercury/Mars situation will pop up, testing, utilizing, balancing actions, choices, alliances, promptings and commitments which are either directly about something which needs tending/attending to, or which has become corrupted or ‘detached’ (separated?) in some way.

Or yes, maybe both. Such things do happen.

Still…that only gets us so far. As Mercury makes its January 31st Pisces ingress it’s only days away from going retrograde (on February 6th). And since at that point Mercury will have only reached 3 Pisces, we know it’s going to retrograde back into Aquarius rather soon.

Which would be true, of course. After poking its planetary head into Pisces, Mercury does a turnabout and re-enters Aquarius on February 12th at 3:31 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time).

And yes, that is one day before St. Valentines Day…which in true and Mercury/Aquarius quirky fashions has always struck me as the very oddest of holidays. No – it’s not the intent which strikes me odd, it’s how modern society has managed to get from the life of St. Valentine (which evidently was pretty horrific) to chocolate and hearts.

Not that I object, of course. The Mercury in Aquarius touch to this year’s edition of the Valentine tradition favors friendship and either fun or simple and heartfelt statements. Connected to Valentines or otherwise, the conservative or modern, out-of-the-box thought may work now – and to the degree that anything (personal or professional) works or doesn’t work now, taking time to work through why strengths work and why weaknesses aren’t working is something to take into consideration.

Whatever you are doing, consistency of quality will count – especially during the latter half of January. Once Mercury retrogrades back into Aquarius starting February 13, that becomes a time for  consolidating gains and making new plans, some of which will depend on information which will be received as or after Mercury goes direct on February 28th.

Mercury's Southern Hemisphere as photographed by the Mariner spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Mercury will exit Aquarius for Pisces on March 17. However…since no sooner will Mercury have gone direct on February 28 but Mars goes retrograde on March 1st with Saturn going retrograde on March 2nd, especially where you’re involved with efforts having do with networking, income, friends or  finding-maintaining-improving your place in ‘social society,’ this Mars/Saturn dual-station would seem obvious, if not y important.

Nothing which is done at this dual Mars-Saturn station is likely to come to fulfillment or potential fruition quickly. Given that, and given that Aquarius is a sign all about ‘the plan,’ ‘executing the plan so that it works’ and ‘successes to be earned,’ Mercury entering Aquarius now seems like a path which no matter where it wends exits precisely as we find ourselves on a ‘cosmic doorstep.’

Question:

A doorstep leading to what?

Answer:

Where life will take us between

March 1st and May - if not June 2014.

That clock starts now. We need to take ourselves seriously but not be so wrapped up in who we are that we are unapproachable. Humor may be our finest weapon providing we are equally willing to laugh at ourselves as anything else, using that very demonstration of mortal humanism as our calling card and magnet. That elitism, isolation, lack of flexibility and narrow-mindedness are all negatives under Aquarius reminds us through errant steps taken and rebuffed that even if we don’t want to change...be it our minds, our preferences, priorities, courses of action or anything else...how hearing others out, by the very act of accepting whatever differences between us exist enhances us far beyond that we can be consciously aware of.

 Created by René Descartes, the above is one of the earliest drawings of a magnetic field known, and what is personal magnetism if not the outward experience of our 'electric personalities'?

 (credit: Rene Descartes - 'Principia Philosophiae,' 1644)

We are, in other words, not merely who we think we are, but who we are witnessed being. Problems will arise where there is a disparity between the two, and even if you are able to avoid any consequence for that contradiction, in the wake of its having been observed it is likely to become more problematic ever.

Life now is about connecting. Human commerce and life’s interactions are our wires, and we are all electric.
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Eris Direct: Awareness, Prompted

One of NASA's illustration of Eris (UB313) with the Sun in the distance

(credit: NASA, JPL/Caltech image source-Mike Brown)

Considering Eris’ alternate name (Discordia), it’s sometimes hard to think of the dwarf planet Eris experience of being ‘shaken into conscious’ as a positive. But there are those ‘discordant’ times of improvement, such as when we go through the mess and hassle of moving. Or when we take on a new job, complete with new co-workers, new tasks and that dreaded ‘am I going to screw this up?’ feeling which no matter how good we are at what we do does occur to all of us when we haven’t yet settled in.

There are ‘unsettling’ realizations which ultimately lead to great improvements in our life.

Then again, there are those times when life simply is discordant. Yet isn’t life – in some way – always trying to prove to us that we aren’t omnipotent, that we humans (and our precious egos) aren’t ‘in charge’?

Sometimes…apparently…we need reminding. That’s the Eris vibe. Whether it’s from without or within, whether the issue is what we need to do or be, Eris is always that thing we hadn’t thought of…and we will ultimately pay a price for. That price may be something we’re perfectly okay with the idea of paying because…well, if we want the house, we have to pay the mortgage.

Complications begin to arise as we realize that Eris is currently transiting through Aries, fiery sign of Self, motivation, tests of courage and of the physical body along with all we do or don’t do – and how we ‘see’ ourselves in anything. At an innate level, Aries energies are all about that we can use, embody or be motivated by – separately or together.

Aries is associated with the military (in the sense that soldiers embody the use of “motivational” force). In that sense, Eris in Aries is particularly ‘not gentle’ – a fact which would seem to fit uncomfortably well with it’s passage through Aries dating back to 1924, considering how mankind has harped throughout the 1900s about peace while pouring time and effort into building weaponry.

The question here is not political – it’s human. WHY do we have (or create) crises? We think of this in ‘fighting’ terms, of course…but if you think about that ‘fighting’ thing in metaphysical terms, the ‘fight’ is the reaction. You know, as part of a ‘fight or flight’ scenario. Even when campaigns (be they prompted by vengeance, politics, jealousy or anything else) are long planned, they still go back to the same place: our feelings of ‘less-ness.’

Those are feelings we don’t like feeling, because when we feel them, we feel ‘shook up.’

One last note here about dates before I move on: if you look at that chart and say ‘but WWI happened when Eris was in Pisces and WWI was allegedly one of the most horrific events of all time,’ I agree. But when World War I occurred, Eris was at 29 Pisces – the ‘culmination’ degree of the entire zodiac, a degree which with Eris (utter discord) present would be pretty good at events which would foist upon mankind all the follies of not wanting to be human or humane, most of all to ourselves.

That Eris did cross into Aries back in 1924 tell us that an entire celestial cycle finished then.

Which means that we are indeed in a new cycle of human development. And at the (Eris in Aries) moment, that development is aimed at who we are: our physicality, what we do with our lives or during our days. Through these venues, Eris becomes the timer, the flag-waver of all that we tend to say ‘why did this have to happen.’ From the startling to the disquieting to the shocking to the chaotic, our clocks – life’s clocks and life events will now be turning away from feeling a more or less ‘strictly’ internal sense of balance-and-rebalance as we mold, shift, shape and learn from life.

And what is it turning towards? Towards a whole series of events and months during which we will molds, shift, flex, respond/react to, be startled (even shaken up by) events occurring on the outside.

It’s straightforward astrology stuff….when the celestial object goes retrograde (which remember, is only ‘a matter of perspective’ from here on Terra Earth) its defined ‘effects’ are experienced internally. When the planet or object goes direct, the ‘interaction point’ is external.

With me?

The station – which in this case is occurring on January 9th at 10:26 in the morning UT/+0 time – is occurring at 21 Aries and as with all stations, can represent a ‘turning point’ in your life (or life in general as you see/experience it around you). Effects will tend to center around January 9th (if you’re going to feel anything marked) with events during the two ‘station allowance’ days prior generally speaking to things yet to happen or play out and those occurring during the similar period after January 9th indicating phases coming to an end and ‘conclusions’ being drawn, owned, realized, admitted to…(etc.)

With all that said, this station is occurring at 21 degrees of Aries, and 21 degrees of Aries is an ‘open invitation’ of sorts – which with Eris present may seem not all that fun a door to go through. Should you? Shouldn’t you? While not everybody is going to go into this time and considering how Eris will go retrograde again in July (when, by the by, it does so with one day of Uranus's station) this station at some level sets the stage for what we will either take on, grow through dealing with or find revealed in our own makeup between now and July.

We are all facing ‘newness’ of some type. For you it may be something you are doing. Or something you don’t know how to get done (and it’s just driving you crazy!). Whatever the focus, the Eris/21 Aries combination is likely to manifest in self-questioning which periodically gives way to devil-may-care bravado which in turn either prompts determination and advances or retreats, be they wise or cowardly.

And let’s remember: all this is happening with Sun in Capricorn and Venus in Capricorn and retrograde. So we’re concerned about our basic ‘standing’ in the world – however you see that. Plus, given that Eris is about to go direct but Venus isn’t, we would suspect  that some ‘thing’ we don’t control (Eris) is in motion even though we’re not sure we know what we think of it.

Not entirely. And it’s the ‘why’ here - the why we don’t know which is where most of us will miss the image. We will think this period is about others. Or the world.

It isn’t. It’s about each and every one of us. It’s about who we are as a person. It’s about how well we do or don’t take care of ourselves and whether we have any conscious, any cognizance that the world in which we live – that world out there that we think isn’t always so good – is a world of our making.

No, life isn’t about ‘them.’ It’s about us…which brings me to a whole other side of this Eris concept – the Sleeping Beauty aspect.

Like most of the ‘standard’ myths and fairy tales of childhood, if looked at closely enough Sleeping Beauty isn’t quite what you thought it was. The story’s origin is German. Originally published in 1697 by Charles Perrault as ‘Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé’ the story – particularly as it has come to us (as ‘Sleeping Beauty’) speaks to the unconscious. Or that which we are unconscious to (or of) until we are ‘awoken’ to it – which is the underlying theme with Eris.

That 'not them, us’ is awakening us to who and what we are so that we can be that person more consciously.

You know…Eris in Aries, sign of awareness and consciousness.

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One of two poems by Tennyson about Sleeping Beauty, this one is from
'The Early Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson' (1901)

An illustration by W.E.F Britten from 'The Early Poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson' 

Year after year unto her feet,
She lying on her couch alone,
Across the purpled coverlet,
The maiden's jet-black hair has grown,
On either side her tranced form
Forth streaming from a braid of pearl:
The slumbrous light is rich and warm,
And moves not on the rounded curl.

The silk star-broider'd coverlid
Unto her limbs itself doth mould
Languidly ever; and, amid
Her full black ringlets downward roll'd,
Glows forth each softly-shadow'd arm,
With bracelets of the diamond bright:
Her constant beauty doth inform
Stillness with love, and day with light.

She sleeps: her breathings are not heard
In palace chambers far apart.
The fragrant tresses are not stirr'd
That lie upon her charmed heart.
She sleeps: on either hand upswells
The gold-fringed pillow lightly prest:
She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells
A perfect form in perfect rest.

                                               - Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson

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Apart from being fairly certain Disney either didn’t get Tennyson’s memo about Beauty not being a blonde or didn't care that to meet our unconscious or the unknown is to proverbially 'meet the darkness,' the other half of this Eris-Beauty comparison is one long made. It comes from how both stories ‘turn’ on forces which come from 'beyond that which we know in everyday life' - the fairy in the fairy tale against Eris as Roman goddess. In both cases, these 'forces' lay on a curse because they didn’t get an invitation to the party. (They were 'excluded,' in other words.)

The fairy gets all ticked off because she didn’t get invited to Beauty’s christening.

And Eris?

Well…far be it for any of us to cite and critique the behavior of a Roman goddess known for all things which go ‘bump’ in the night of our lives, but Eris turning up at the of Peleus and Thetis with a golden apple which she hands to none less than Paris – you know, the guy who steals Helen and causes the whole Trojan War?

Yes, that Paris.

That’s just mythic nastiness - as well as meddling on a truly mythic level. And it's even more so when you stop to look at the story and realize that Eris is prompted to go to this wedding by Jupiter (aka Zeus, should you be feeling all Greek about it), lord king Olympian and astrological emblem of all that we know or learn about our consciousness and life.

To look at Jupiter in the Olympian pantheon, he isn’t quite fate, so this is not instinct or habit we're talking about. No, Jupiter directs fate...which to us is the idea that what we know - whether we know it or not - becomes our fate so that we can consciously own it in or as part of our life.

Thus since the astrological Jupiter images wisdom… (knowing, learning, teaching, understanding, comprehending, et al ) …or even being determinedly unknowing (which would be the Jupiter/rejection position or energy used to not expand one's basis of existence...in light of all such, this ‘Eris energetic’ is that which stirs something which is going to come out anyway.

The next act in this complicated little Eris drama has Eris not getting invited to the wedding. But she shows up anyway with a golden apple which no, she doesn’t give to the bride (or groom) but to Paris, that very mortal known (to the gods) as starry-eyed and very, very passion-driven. 

Zeus …(pardon me, Jupiter)… evidently has this whole Trojan War thing in mind to being with, a fact which makes the ‘Jupiterian wisdom’ of setting Eris up to get insulted and all which follows, starting with Paris choosing love (Aphrodite/Venus) over personal-internal stability and security (Juno/Hera) and dispassionately clarified understanding (Athena).

And yes - Venus delivers. In typical what we put out comes back to us fashion, that Paris (mortal flaw that he is) has in the moment of being handed a 'golden opportunity' forgotten everyone but himself comes out to be a war where nobody thinks anything of anybody's life.

Of course the primary moral of this story is: always invite the local touchy goddess to your wedding, whether you like her or not. But more to the astrological point, everything about this is about our life. So the ‘not inviting Eris’ is our having shut some part of ourselves out...which at 21 Aries begs the following question: what do we need to be open to?

There is a very positive side to this symbol which is highly external – the fighting for some cause. Yes, this goes back to Eris in Aries having played host to so many wars during this past century. But more importantly, it says to us that we can stand for something. It may be a cause as in some social cause. Or it may be our willingness to stand up for some facet of Self we really believe in.

 Generated by JPL's databanks (thanks, JPL) the above is an interesting image as

it shows Eris in Aries (at 21 Aries) with Uranus - which is currently at 8 Aries - just

sort of 'behind' Eris' position, if you're looking at this as an orbit around the Sun.

Given that and something like Saturn (on the diagram's "near" side) being in Scorpio,

you can begin seeing how it is the orbital movement of planets around our Sun and

the astrological conception of 'wrapping' our solar system in a zodiac which is a

cipher for nothing more or less than the positioning of moving objects in space -

objects which in moving create 'ripples' of energy, as do we.

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This idea of ‘fighting for the cause’ – for something which is literally “beyond” the boundaries of your ‘Self’ reflects not just Eris position as a dwarf planet orbiting beyond Neptune, last ‘true’ planet in our solar system. Beyond Neptune… in the Kuiper Belt and Oort cloud… that’s the realm of all we cannot know simply because we don’t know it until we know it.

The Kuiper Belt: our land of things to come. This isn’t about ‘capacity’ – our ability to understand. This is about our ability to predict or be omnipotent.

Like you, I know a few people who would like to think they’re omnipotent (they’re not). But when you get right down to it, the issue is control.

And where Eris is concerned, we have to be willing to at least experience not being in control. Or the idea that we don’t control everything. We will experience it through what we hear on the news, someone who knows new, or even some event which occurs in real time or in our mind as we're walking down some street.

We'll just...hear it...we'll know because there it will be, and there we will be in the midst of experiencing it - and experiencing how we experience our life. Our existence.

The very process of our existing.

Eris is known as ‘Discordia’ mostly because humans like control. We like control because control feels like a defense against vulnerability. It feels safe – and sometimes safe is just safe and sometimes ‘safe’ is the space in which we improve. Or are productive.

But then Eris comes along. When an Eris moment hits you, that ‘which was’ a moment ago is forever changed. What was awoken? Why would it be awoken now? Were we in some beautiful dream – or is that what we have a chance to now see, experience and be motivated by?
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