The Inner Gate of Babylon (c. 1960)
photo credit: Richard Peter (1895-1977)
There’s a certain North African dictator whose name gets translated with a dozen different spellings. It happens. Whenever we bring names into English from languages which use a whole other alphabet (such as Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew) we get into this gnarl.
‘Chaldaea’ is the scientific community’s spelling of the name assigned to asteroid number 313, so despite my many varied spellings, this is the one we are going to use. The people of ancient times were the Chaldeans of ancient Babylon.
The asteroid is Chaldaea.
(Ah! I feel so much better now that I've said and disclaimed all that!)
Said asteroid, a metaphysical symbol of ‘times gone by’ and all things merely old, which have endured, or which we think of as ‘traditional’ or even ‘status quo’…that asteroid is going retrograde today, April 30, 2011 at 1:20am (UT/+0).
Where is it going retrograde? At 6 Capricorn, a degree which by nature is about what we ‘do’ – as any degree between 0 and 9 of any sign is. Capricorn being a sign all about the structures which form a framework for our life (and with which we must work or live), this one tests altruism against aggression – much as the nearby fixed star (nebula, actually) Facies – at 8 Capricorn - does.
In an operative mode, 6 Capricorn seems to indicate ‘trouble in relationships’ though depending on what we bring to issues now in operation, that doesn’t necessarily mean anything fatal.
Please note, however – the operative word in that last sentence is ‘necessarily.’ With Atropos (endings) on one side at 5 Capricorn and Pluto (transformational emotions, emotionally-driven transformations, transformations which elicit emotional reactions) on the other at 7 Capricorn, a change – an ‘ending’ to something (as indicated by fateful Atropos)…it would seem to be a’comin’!
But let's be real: this is not a particularly genteel combination. Pluto is known as being ‘inexorable,’ Facies is known for a distinctly ruthless ‘victim/aggression’ quotient and Atropos is just plain factually cold. Snip go the fate’s scissors – the time is over, the ‘life’ of whatever is at stake (the job, the hope, the law, the life, the effort) …it’s over and out of there!
Also - this is not the quickest turnaround in all of celestial history. Chaldaea will go retrograde in 6 Capricorn and then sit around at 6 Capricorn (allowing Atropos to actually catch up and pass it) until May 11th, when Chaldaea finishes up its stay in 6 Capricorn and slides back into 5 Capricorn early on May 12th.
That’s a pretty long time for an asteroid to hang out in one degree. We’d expect that kind of lingering of objects and planets out in the Uranus-Neptune and beyond sort of area. But in a main belt asteroid which only takes 2.375 years to go once around the Sun? That seems to be more than a bit of undue lingering.
So we should plan on some emphasis to go along with this almost-two-week-long event. In metaphysical terms, that would be what lingering in a degree would pretty much be about: emphasis.
And what is being emphasized? The ‘old ways’ are being emphasized and the need to change them, what goes into changing them and what to change them into, most likely. With all this taking place in Capricorn, we should expect this all to take place in a ‘structural’ arena – and yes, it can be about a relationship, some sort of structure (division of responsibility, perhaps?) within a relationship, or the life structures/conditions/options (or lack of same) in life which we all have to relate to…and which evidently need some serious consideration.
But let us also be aware: with this cluster of celestial objects coagulated at 5, 6, 7 and 8 Capricorn, a lot of people are going to look wishy-washy. But is that civility, or is that just the ‘look’ of wimpiness which is being caused by someone else being over-the-top aggressive (ruthlessly so, considering Facies in the mix).
In fact, since Pluto has gone retrograde rather recently….did you happen to read that blog? It’s on Pluto and Facies, which might help with understanding this moment. So here’s THE LINK.
What’s also interesting is that Chaldaea and Atropos…? They’re orbital buddies at their outer orbital (aphelion) point – (Atropos goes just beyond Chaldaea’s 2.375 AU to a 2.395 AU aphelion point) but at their inner orbit (perihelion) point, these two keep different outer space company.
Since we start from the inner solar system and look out, this really says to us that Chaldaea (the old, the status quo, the tradition, the habit) and Atropos (endings) ‘come’ from different points – which sounds perfectly sensible – but that there comes a time when the old must end….or as the expression goes, ‘all things must end.’
That seems to be the point – here, particularly, what with Chaldaea, Atropos and Pluto ‘ganging’ up in early Capricorn.
As we see it in the world around us, so we should assume this same ‘vibe’ is working in our lives. You probably know or feel ‘stuff’ is changing…and maybe you know what you need to change or let go of, maybe not. But evidently, this would be a time when we have to come to some realizations. So maybe a crack opens in a relationship, or maybe we see some options, or maybe we realize that we are holding onto some old way of being which not longer works for us.
Getting back to those perihelion (inner) orbital points…who does Chaldaea “run” with when ‘bringing things close’ to be held onto…that being where and what we end up thinking of as our ‘starting point’?
Answer: Chaldaea’s perihelion is at 1.945 AU and the closest asteroids I know of (so far…!) are Hidalgo (nobility of courage) at 1.950 AU, Echo at 1.958 AU and Hebe (service) on the ‘even closer’ side at 1.937 AU.
You’ll note I didn’t give you any ‘quick definition’ on Echo. That’s because Echo’s story seems central to our understanding of Chaldaea and worth a bit more detail.
A relief of Echo carved into native rock at Parc del
Laberint d’Horta in Barcelona, Spain
Echo is a servant to Olympian honcho-god Zeus (Jupiter) and his magnificent if often testy wife, Hera (aka Juno). Zeus/Jupiter has a couple of habits which go into this story. One is his legendary record for philandering (read: fooling around). Another is that he tends to go off to do what he wants without taking care of important business (which turns Hera into a goddess of a nag, if a nag nonetheless). Very into forgiving himself (and ignoring his own trespasses whenever possible) Zeus/Jupiter takes to telling servant Echo what to tell the wife when she asks where his immortal self has gotten off to.
And Echo, like a good servant, dutifully repeats what she is told. Does she think it through? Evidently not. Echo might have considered the whole of the Olympian dynamics – namely that she is either “buying into” being put in the middle or that she is totally into saying ‘I’m just into doing my job’ and thinking ignorance (as to what is really going on) not just bliss but a defense against repercussions.
WRONG! At some point Hera (Juno) gets SO mad that she before magnificently heading off to give Zeus a magnificent piece of her magnificent wifely mind, she pauses just long enough to turn Echo into an…echo. Okay – so you think it’s enough to just repeat what you hear? Fine! Than live a life which is confined to repeating mindlessly.
In other words, the mind we won’t choose to use, we lose.
As it happens, Echo is not all that far away as Chaldaea goes into retrograde: with Chaldaea at 6, Echo is at 11 Capricorn conjunct Scylla, which has just gone retrograde. Since we just discussed Scylla the other day and it’s still in the degree it went retrograde in too, with 11 Capricorn being (by definition) a degree where the sign expresses itself emotionally (because it’s between 10 and 19), there’s likely to be a ‘monstrous’ (Scylla) temptation to just ‘echo’ what we have been told to say, or what’s popular to say – without necessarily thinking any of it through for ourselves.
And since the ‘Echo’ disaster is really about “serving two masters” which don’t agree without having sufficient ‘backbone’ to go with what’s right instead of what’s (emotionally) easy…
Yes well…there’s a lot of that going around, right? And apparently this is another of those moments when our choices is to be the problem or face up to the problem. Considering that the Sun is in Taurus and Uranus, Black Moon Lilith, Venus, Mercury, Mars, Eris and Jupiter are in Aries (that’s a LOT of Aries ‘me-me-me/my opinion’ energy!) the subject matter is going to be values (money or otherwise) and everyone is going to want to be the hero and be right and there will be a lot of sulking going on and attacks ranging from the petty to the bloody.
So who’s right? The person with the facts. While everyone is going to be up in emotional arms the smart course is the course based on facts. Not tradition, not conjecture, not pie-in-the-sky ideals, not accusations…hard core facts.
Interestingly, Chaldaea entered Capricorn on February 14th – in the midst of much political and personal bru-ha-ha of many kinds all around the world. After going retrograde, it will exit (back out of) Capricorn on June 14. With Sun in Gemini at the time and evolving out of a Gemini Solar Eclipse, this is also going to be a fervent moment but here ‘right’ will have changed into ‘rights’ and ‘righteousness.’
Again, the solid money bets on facts, not what feels good. If the facts are not what it the ‘old way’ it’s time to change and get a better ‘status quo’ to work from. Just let it be based on facts, not exaggerations – which are going to be everywhere about now!
Chaldaea will go direct at 20 Sagittarius on August 9th (in the wake of a Cancer Solar Eclipse) with everyone trying to keep up with what they need to keep up with. Expect a hairy sort of time – but again, those who are working things through with sobriety and care (without simply parroting) will be making slow headway.
Re-entering Capricorn on October 8th, Chaldaea will again reach 6 Capricorn on October 27. And when it gets there, it will be exactly conjunct Icarus (haste). With Capricorn’s ruler Saturn (at 21 Libra) sitting in exact opposition to Eris (at 21 Aries) those who have fought for the sake of fighting will find out why that’s a bad idea. Likewise, those who have fought for a narrow or falsified cause will meet with exposure, dismay or defeat. Only those who are working for the good of all will come out of this in good shape.
And if no one actually has the fortitude to work for the good of all, then there’s just more trouble to be dealt with.
It’s pretty much our choice. But then, isn’t it always? That really is the oldest of old stories – one which isn’t likely to ever go out of date, style or value!
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