THE ASTROLOGY of POSITIONS, PERSPECTIVES, & METAPHYSICS
by Boots Hart, CAP
Showing posts with label 16 Scorpio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 16 Scorpio. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Chaos-Achilles on Station



Clearing Storm
(photo credit: Rennett Stowe, 2013)

Though today’s world seems addicted to hyperbole and all things exotic and extreme (which doesn’t always equate to necessity no matter how loudly someone shouts or insists), I’m going to disappoint you by saying TNO Chaos isn’t necessarily at all ... or even vaguely chaotic.

In other words, if you’re looking to beat the drums of disaster, look elsewhere. The term ‘chaos’ as it is used today (to mean an unimaginable mess) - or rather I should say the redefinition of the term ‘chaos’ was made popular by a Roman poet named Ovid. He’s the guy who decided ‘chaos’ meant messy and unpredictable - not that the state wouldn’t exist anyway, but Ovid decided we should all use the term ‘chaos’ to describe said messy and unpredictable status.

The term itself, however, is much older. Dating back to Ancient Greece, the term ‘chaos’ originally wasn’t a negative at all - it meant a state of endless possibilities and fertile inspirations.

So what was Ovid’s problem? That, I don’t know. But the point of this point is not Roman, but Greek. In other words, all along its 309.1 year-long orbit the astrological TNO/Cubewano Chaos speaks to finding our way through various choices to that one course of action or presentation which has the lowest chance of being some ‘illusion’ which will trip us up (or compromise our efforts) and the greatest chance of being something we can either utilize well or embody as we continue about our life.

To this of course, we add the degree - which would be 17 Gemini, the degree of fixed star Rigel ... which somewhat changes the perspective as Rigel always speaks to a learning/teaching quotient of some sort. So are we looking for that which we can learn through and succeed? Are we about to meet up with some wonderful idea which we can teach/offer to others and thereby improve many things for many people?

Being that Chaos is a TNO (a Trans Neptunian Object, meaning Chaos orbits way out yonder beyond Neptune in the giant vastness of the Kuiper Belt) ... Chaos represents things which we haven’t encountered before. Effects will of course depend on how this point is aspected and positioned in your natal chart, but with its 300-plus year cycle Chaos covers only a third of the zodiac in any given century, representing what we would probably think of as the ‘general limits’ any given period ... what people think is valuable, interesting, enjoyable or (yes) possible to do at that time. 

Back in the year 1900 Chaos was in early Aquarius. So everyone alive today has Chaos in Aquarius, Pisces, Aires, Taurus or Gemini, with the change from 4th quadrant ‘big picture’/’global’ zodiac signs to the ‘learning how to be me’ 1st quadrant signs occurring as Chaos cycled back and forth across the 29 Pisces/0 Aries during 1952, finally committing to its transit of Aries as of February 20, 1953.

This is important in part because though Kuiper Belt objects are often things we have to work with individually, they’re seldom entirely personal (on an individual basis) ... something or someone else gets affected or is in mental play when we deal with TNOs. And because of that, there will be very different considerations being applied by those born before that 1953 date and those born after it, especially as Chaos moved into Aries and the zodiac’s first quadrant, splitting populations into two big groups - those born with a natural 4th quadrant ‘big picture’ natal feeling about possibilities (which would lead to  spending some, much or most of their life dealing with possibilities from a seemingly personal or individual perspective) versus those born with Chaos in a 1st quadrant sign (Aries, Taurus or Gemini) who are apt to see possibilities in terms of what they can make of their own life (as an individual) rather than what they can do to build (shape, contribute to) their world through developing or expressing their various Chaos possibilities, opportunities and inspirations.

a Cubewano/TNO Chaos orbital diagram at February 28, 2015
(diagram courtesy of JPL)
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Yet with all this nicely ‘us’ sort of thing said, Chaos is still a TNO. So its notions ... and on some level its application is always going to work best when not entirely personal - which might seem to favor those born before that magic February 20, 1953 date.

But it doesn’t ... not really. And why not? Answer: because while those born with Chaos in Aquarius or Pisces have some native orientation towards ‘big picture’ contemplations, they were also born under an astrological Age which has been phasing out for most of the past century. (Full disclaimer here: this question of when the Aquarian Age comes into force is one still being debated by astrologers. But considering how life on Planet Earth is now digital and technologically driven, that debate strikes me as unnecessary in the light of reality and facts.)

In any case, those born under the Age of Pisces may have been born with TNO Chaos in ‘big picture’ signs Aquarius or Pisces, but those born with Chaos in Aries, Taurus and Gemini were born into the Aquarian Age ... which isn’t exactly “addition is commutative” (meaning 2+3=5 is the same as 3+2=5) in terms of life experience but it does mean that in the end - give or take whether we start thinking globally or learn to think big picture and globally - both population groups will be called upon to integrate both quadrants in their (Chaos) plans.

(Does that mean part of the learning process on both sides will simply have to do with learning to respect each others’ process? Maybe. Whatever happens, this is an interesting way to think about why older and younger populations operate differently.)

(Also - please note, I’m not using the term ‘generation’ here - and that’s for a reason. Astrologically, generations separate and sort themselves out by the sign Pluto is positioned in at birth and I’d like not to get anyone confused on that point. If you’re an astrologer, it’s bad enough that mainstream societies around the world guesstimate generations without any rationale arising from any real timing mechanisms - as an astrologer I’d like not to add to this messiness!)

That 17 Gemini is a degree known for qualities of planning and needing plans if things are going to go well. It’s also known as one of Gemini’s ‘handy’ degrees with a distinct emphasis on the hands and what those hands get into, recalling the old saying ‘the burned hand teaches best’ - all of which are qualities bound to be encountered through whatever we do with (or about) matters which arise now or which have become sufficiently ‘Chaos-like’ (multifaceted) as to require some sort of plan, even if that plan is to react to each thing as it happens.

However ... along with Chaos going direct (meaning we’ll now be meeting up with possibilities which exist around us, which comes to us via others and which we find out about by participating in daily activities), asteroid Achilles is going retrograde.

A symbol of skill, Achilles is going retrograde at 16 Scorpio, a degree which wants much and which is known for ‘bad actors’ and people ‘acting out’ for all those negative emotional reasons we dislike so fervently in others: denial, rage, fear, jealousy, lack of trust or that ever-popular desire to control what others say, do, have or are. Known for its tendency to be judgmental and to imagine grievances where there are none to speak of, 16 Scorpio embodies everything which people do (and why they do it) when folks would rather focus on what they see as wrong in others rather than why they feel so passionately (not to mention negatively) about it.

In going retrograde in this degree, Achilles asks us to reflect on what we’re doing and why people are acting as they are. It asks us to not judge lest we be judged ... or if humanly (or humanely) possible, to work on getting a clear(er) view on who we are to be being so upset with others.

 Asteroid Achilles' orbital diagram at February
(diagram courtesy of JPL)
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Remember: this is Scorpio. And in Scorpio, we meet up with everything which has any possibility of unsettling us as Scorpio’s primary function - that of moving us past our ‘risk sticking point’ to where we are ready, willing and able to weather life’s raucous and untamed currents, storms and occasional emotional tsunamis. We’d like to think the storm is going to abate - but it isn’t. The thing about Scorpio is that it reflects whatever ‘hidden’ emotions WE bring with us, delivering to us whatever it is which will ‘satisfy’ or elicit our most base or basic vulnerabilities so that we can deal with them and be that truly capable person able to deal with the big world ocean of society when we get out there.

And for those who truly can’t deal with deep emotional water? For them, Scorpio is a warning - and for them, Achilles going retrograde here may just say ‘you’ve reached your limit’ while posing the question ‘do you have enough (Achilles) skill to get out of this?’

For some, what they see as Chaos possibilities now are attractive. For some, they’re highly unattractive. Whichever we meet up with, our job is to be (Achilles) skillful enough at living our own life to either avoid troubles, to take advantage of opportunities or to grapple with what we need to know/know how to do, lest we exceed our (Achilles) skill level and end up paying with what would otherwise have been our means to avail ourselves of opportunities, whether that means amounts to time, respect, money, stability or anything else.

These are not major stations. Most of us will move through these days of station allowance (February 26-March 2) with a few high points and a few moments where we decide not to step up to the plate. But since anything which happens in proximity to a solar eclipse has the potential to be important and/or part of the process of ‘breaking down’ walls which we build allegedly against the world but in reality to order to wall out some part of our Self we are less than thrilled about contending with openly and honestly, some people are going to meet up with Chaos now - and through that experience come to know a bit more about what their Achilles skills are ... and aren’t.
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Sunday, September 7, 2014

A 16 Pisces Full Moon



Moonrise on Hobart Bay, Alaska
(photo credit: Commander John Bortniak/NOAA, October 1990)

Somewhere back in my early astrological days some fellow defined Pisces to me as ‘the trash can of the zodiac.’

I’m not sure he knew he was talking to a Pisces at the time or not. I just gave him the benefit of the doubt. 

(Which yes, is very Piscean of me.)

That being plural decades ago, I’ve learned several things about what he said, the first of which being what struck me as a better definition for this most oceanic of water signs: Pisces represents the distance by which we will fail our own expectations.

Esoteric? Yes... and yes, that probably means I’m esoteric too.

But I digress. That definition is a singularly opaque way of saying something very Pisces and very true: Pisces is the sign which is all about all our experiences of feeling our own feelings. And thus Pisces becomes also the realm of all we do to control what we feel, however we do it - and to whatever end(s) we do it.

As for that first definition (the dust bin thing)...it was only once I faced my own Piscean-ness that I finally understood the fact that what had been said to me about Pisces and the trash hadn’t been... and shouldn’t be discarded.

(Yes, I said that.)

But it’s not all bad. It’s not even half bad once we get to the reality of what all the ‘trash’ talk really means... namely that wherever we find Pisces (in your chart, as an energetic focused by some object moving through Pisces, etc.), that’s where we will - at some point in time - experience ‘feeling trashed.’

That’s an expression which has a whole bin of feelings, to be true - and all of them apply. Wherever or however we experience feeling crumpled or sincerely, vulnerably concerned - that’s a Pisces moment which will stir or bestir your world, your life, your spirit, moving you to be or do something, to think about something or perhaps to imagine something or surrender yourself to some inspirational ‘greater feeling’...

Within us, when a Piscean wave overcomes us, some of us fight, some of us surrender and accept. And whatever that situation, what’s most and finally at stake is having to live with - and through - the depth of our feelings.

A trash can. Our trash can. That place where we feel how we feel about our most vulnerable of mortal feelings.

Good or bad, despairing or marveling, that’s what life taps into this month as the Moon comes to its  Full phase at 16 Pisces on September 9th at 1:39 in the morning UT/+0 time.

The Full Moon at 16 Pisces (glyph chart)

The Full Moon at 16 Pisces (text chart)

Known for protectiveness and often a touch of caution some would think borders on suspicion, 16 Pisces challenges our priorities in ways basic, very human and entirely understandable. The crux of the matter begins with some situation which has two sides of it: the localized or personal and a more worldly, mortal or universal. Alliances and perspectives become important, especially where we have made a choice under duress/stress which shows some sort of weakness.

The weakness itself may be valid or something easily coped with - that’s not the point. The point is how we feel about having chosen to ally ourselves with someone or something without yet knowing its/their true capacities... and that not knowing is what has set us up for whatever we feel now.

Again, this can be good... or it can be a problem. That depends on how well we deal with how we feel about reality - and separate from that, the realities of our emotions/emotionality and our own relationship (or ability to relate) to that.


There are two planetary ‘pictures’ in the chart for this transiting event, the first of which is a grand trine (above) which has our emotionality - for good or not - tied into things and bound up with matters which are ongoing whether we want them to be or not. With Vesta sitting in the degree (16 Scorpio) that Saturn went direct in back on July 20th, some part of what we are dealing with comes out of a ‘turn of events’ (or fortune, or a decision) made then.

Chiron retrograde in an emotional degree (15 Pisces) of an emotional sign tells us that when we do not know what to do we rely on inner instinct [Moon-Polyhymnia]... and yet at this point, something [Saturn at 18 Scorpio] challenges our ability to interact successfully with others.

Mostly such challenges are simply about who goes first. (We’re waiting for someone who is waiting on us.) But in certain circumstances there is so much grievance collecting and imagining of injustices (read: having forgotten one’s personal boundaries) that things could get very sticky.

Fortunately Full Moons are merely ‘a phase.’ Like teenagers, they move on.

Eventually, that is.

As for the other planetary picture, that’s a grand cross (or grand square).


...And though this grand cross doesn’t include the Moon or Sun, it does connect to the grand trine we just talked about - through Sirius/Juno, a combination which speaks to ‘brilliant management’ best realized by dealing with one thing at a time.

In opposition to Sirius/Juno stands Pluto (in retrograde) plus Hera (the quality of support) and fixed stars Facies (negative complications) and charismatic Vega. This is a recipe for complications, most of which will require that we not get overly frustrated (or panicked) in order to get through successfully.

So are we being brilliant in the cause of dealing with a problem? Or are we carrying on being brilliant when... (as was said in the film version of ‘The Wizard of Oz’)... when someone drops a proverbial house on us?

Alpheratz-Uranus in Aries speaks to interruptions of effort, a retreat of some kind or a very sudden feeling that something is ‘gone’ without notice or ‘gone too soon’ in some cases. In opposition to this, Charybdis-Atropos speaks to trying again - or ceasing to continue trying (shades of Saturn-Vesta!) depending on which mode you have been in, and this stopping or starting may well be all about timing, timing, timing as Mercury-Diadem indicates a stream of critically clarified perception. However... the degree of this conjunction (9 Libra) isn’t always all that directly productive - there is a strain of wanting to push others into doing something simply because you can’t be bothered to consider here.

This is also the degree Mars went direct in back in May, raising a second direct note (the other being Saturn) to events which have already taken place.

The degree 16 Pisces has a Sabian Symbol which reads as follows: the capacity inherent in all great sociocultural images to unite the members of a community in a display of excellence.

Will we connect and unite or not? And if we do connect and become united, what belief will we allow ourselves to 'phase in' so that we can be and live united in something which fits us equally and all?
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Thursday, July 17, 2014

Venus in Cancer/Saturn Direct/Mars out of Shadow/Uranus Retrograde/Eris Retrograde


As photographed by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Baby Boom Galaxy shows off its ability to 'birth' an average of 4,000 new stars ever year - a number which is one hundred times the number of stars produced by our Milky Way Galaxy.
(photo credit: Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA-JPL-Caltech, Oct 2008)
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First of all, let’s have a hearty ‘hallelujah’ for the fact that as of July 20th, Mars will exit the shadow of the retrograde which, though it began formally on March 1st (2014), really reaches back to Christmas Day 2013 - the date on which Mars entered it’s retrograde shadow to begin with.

(And yes...I’m sure a couple of people - especially now, as we’re leaving the Mars/retrograde shadow - will be saying ‘ohhhhhh....’ as the light finally dawns.)

No problem. That’s just how the machinery of time, energy and coalescence works. Using astrology is a constant process of saying ‘oh, I get it now...’ until there comes one fine (or more likely, stormy) day when you’re having a perfectly rotten time and you read something about an astrological event or transit and you’re just so fed up that you say (to yourself, most likely) ‘Okay...! Since I have no better idea of what to do, I’ll just rely on this for a minute.’

And that - for many of us - is when we find that time and space really work the way they work...and that astrology is really nothing more or less than the ability to read a truly exotic clock. The fact that the clock exists is still subject to all the beliefs and non-beliefs we humans love to love and loathe - a battle in which astrology basically operates much on the same basis as gravity.

In other words, you’re welcome to ignore either, but you do so at some rather predicable risk.

So as of July 20th, Mars exits the shadow of its recent Libra retrograde by reaching 27 Libra, indicating some sort of ‘letting to’ or ‘letting something lie for the moment’ as we all move on to the balance of a week spent coping with various worldly tasks, necessities and interactions.

At the end of that time (read: July 26th) Mars will finally exit Libra and move on into Scorpio, changing the energetic dynamic from what we might refer to as a ‘theoretical dynamic’ (being motivated, driven, triggered or spurred on by ideas, ideals and theories) into Scorpio’s deeply emotional waters.

But let’s not get lost in that - astrologically there are plenty of notices to get through before that, the first of which is the fact that the hot and rocky world known as Planet Venus will be exiting Gemini and entering Cancer on Friday July 18th at 2:07 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time)...a point in time which in being barely a couple of days after Jupiter enters Leo (the subject of the previous post) combines something of a ‘ramping up’ and ‘smoothing down’ effect which may indicate odd moments of confusion or even a sprinkling of those inevitable human moments when we’re confronted with two things, both of which we may want to do but which are incompatible with each other (for whatever reason).

As a general influence however, Venus in Cancer tends to enhance our awareness of whatever is native or natively comforting to us, though we may do well to remember that with Pluto in Capricorn, Venus’ entrance to Cancer does open the door to obsessive moments and preoccupations, especially as Venus comes into orb of opposition Pluto (July 23rd) ...through the opposition (July 27th) to the exit of orb on July 31st.

Any opposition of Venus to Pluto is fertile soil for attractions of that very particular type which have us craving emotional rewards from someone else. The conjunctions and squares between these two planets are known for this as well, but since oppositions are naturally about ‘the other,’ it’s not improper to think of the whole of Venus’s July 18 - August 12 transit of Cancer as a time when natural polarities between people...be they positive or negative...will tend to be heightened. Furthermore, with Pluto having just entered 11 Capricorn, a degree Pluto will be positioned at (give or take a few days surrounding it’s late September station) until November 25th. Described by the Sabian symbol ‘A FIRE WORSHIPPER MEDITATES ON THE ULTIMATE REALITIES OF EXISTENCE’ this period will be rife with what astrologer Marc Edmund Jones describes as ‘the subjective quest for ultimates beyond the interplay of life and death processes.’


Some will become obsessed by such questions - or the fact they think they know the answer to such questions - during this Pluto period. Others will, in truly Pluto/transformational form, realize that while they may know ONE answer to what may be THEIR question (or the question they think the most important and deserving of the highest priority)...how there really are a lot of questions, a lot of answers which might possibly work and how none of us have a monopoly on what’s ‘right.’

It may be right for us. Does that make it right for everyone - or are we just overly dug in with thinking that way?  

The positives of Venus in Cancer is that it promotes an appreciation for the close company and companionship of those we know best, complete with the understandable tendency to want to spend time enjoying comfortable surroundings (whether with others or just as a measure of relaxing solitude).

The negatives of Venus in Cancer are the tendency to do just that at the expense of responsibilities, some inclination to indulge your desire for personal comfort (or the comfort of those closest to you) in some way which seems irresponsible, imprudent or simply impractical to others. Mind you...it may or may not be impractical, imprudent or irresponsible. But in this instance (which is to say, with Pluto in Capricorn) it may seem that way to others.

And where Pluto is concerned, sometimes it’s that loud, loud chorus which wins out. HOWEVER...since this is Pluto, there is always that odd piece of lore about how those who win through ‘sheer force’ (physical, financial, emotional, verbal, etc.) to consider, since where Pluto is concerned anything which is done purely to satisfy our own emotional cravings is said to incur negative karma. Pluto is all about passions as obsessions - our obsessions - which is to say those emotions (of ours) which have been driven to the ‘passion’ stage by something.

What is it? Why are we reacting to it?

As first of the zodiac’s three water signs, Cancer is emblematic of Earth’s oceanic surf zones, replete with tide pools of nurturance and rhythmic tidal shifts which in watery Cancer are most often identified with moods and moodiness. With all water signs having some relationship to finance and things ‘of worth’ to us, Cancer represents that most basic of human needs - shelter - and all which that represents, be that the land, what is built on the land, plus all which grows and lives on this Earth of ours, whether it does so naturally or not.

In entering Cancer with the Sun and Mercury already in the sign, it is to be expected that the days between July 18th and the 22nd (when the Sun moves on into Leo) will be evocative. Many a sentiment is likely to arising among those arguing from purely feeling points of view. With Eris going retrograde one day after Venus enters Cancer and Saturn going direct two days after that same ingress, transactions are on the table and stability is being sought in the face of [Eris] challenges to our ability to do that which though entirely possible, isn’t quite what we want to do.


Eris energies can be very disruptive - but don’t have to be. Having only been discovered back in 2003, dwarf planet Eris is a relatively new astrological object, meaning there will undoubtedly be many a nuance spotted as time goes along. What has been observed thus far is how Eris tends to represent that which arises unexpectedly as a.) something we hadn’t thought of/experienced before...or, b.) the struggle against some weakness, injustice or vulnerability. Either way, it would seem that Eris effects are more positive, less disruptive (psychologically or emotionally) and far easier to manage when/where the aim is not purely personal...and when we are actively working to change a systemic or societal situation - all of which probably seems axiomatic at the moment, as the July 2014 Eris station is happening with Eris at 23 Aries in conjunction with Pandora (hope amidst the storm), Industria (effort) and the lunar South Node (the easy thing for us...or for everyone to do).

Evidently things aren’t calm...and aren’t meant to be calm at the moment. The center of this particular piece of turbulence being at 23 Aries, clarity of judgment isn’t likely to be anyone’s strong point for a few days even while there’s an inordinate need for understanding.

This tug-of-war...a push-pull which is likely to build towards intensity as Eris goes retrograde on the 19th, won’t even reach its maximum until July 23rd, by which time Saturn will have gone direct and Uranus will have gone retrograde, indicating changes [Uranus] we are either going to make or find being thrust upon us (or arising from within, unbidden).

Lest we miss the [Saturn] point, such changes are important, structural and a matter of responsibility both in when and how they get made. Some such changes undoubtedly need to be made now and some will get made now, whichever side of the Eris ‘me/them’ question we are coming from.

And just to make the point, no, you don’t have to like all the changes - you don’t have to like doing them, nor do you have to like what needs to be done. In fact, there’s a pretty sound astrological Eris argument which could be made for tackling those very issues we don’t like now simply because Eris is in the astro-mix..not to mention the fact that with Saturn going station-direct at 16 Scorpio and Uranus going retrograde at 16 Aries, what we have here is a genuine opportunity to break ourselves of the habit of thinking in purely first person terms.

Okay...so most people won’t do that. But they could.

This very perfect inconjunct between Uranus and Saturn speaks to the Aries “I” and the Scorpio “We” with the tension being one of ‘adjustment’ which would seem to be about bedrock realities as opposed to emotional realities. One we like to think would make life worth living. The other simply allows us the opportunity to keep living, period.

Which do you think is more important? Whichever way you vote here, the first test is our Uranus-in-Aries ability (and yes, willingness) to change in accordance with 16 Aries’ theme of ‘natural’ connection to that which is around us, emphasizing all things natural and ‘about nature,’ be that our human nature, the environment as nature, or any other way which is pertinent. Known as particularly problematic when contained, blocked Uranian energies such as those likely to be timed by this station tend to manifest as frustrations, anger and alienation. Since the reference is ‘nature,’ Uranus at this degree may well signal issues having to do with natural sources of power such as lightening - or the effects of same, be they physical or metaphorical. It could even indicate the effects of something natural (or naturally incurred effects) on some socially significant ‘system’ of operation.

As for Saturn, Saturn’s turn to direct motion signals a shift from internal to external efforts and experiences involving all that we need to do as well as all we might want to accomplish. With this station occurring at 16 Scorpio, there is much to be learned from both the ‘pro’ and the ‘con’ of various situations and probably no entirely clear path forward. Being that 16 Scorpio is known as often for hospitality, generosity and humanitarian connections as for secrets, unannounced or confidential meetings, messages and investigations, back room negotiations, underground groups and mysterious societies, alliances or sources of power, Saturn’s turn to direct would seem to indicate the substantiating of something, learning something is real (or not real) becoming a member of a group or leaving some group for reasons personal or professional - and that achieving our goals depends on our ability to rely on that which we have abiding faith in, deep within our soul.


That these two major planets - Saturn and Uranus - are going on station within two days of each other is an obvious metaphysical reference to things which matter. Saturn is the last planet visible to the naked human eye from here on Earth, and Uranus is the next planet out and first of the ‘transpersonal’ objects. So Uranus represents how all that which is not ‘within our grasp’ can change us. Or how we can change ourselves and our world by being or becoming able to ‘go beyond the self.’

(Think of it as riding a cosmic bicycle with no hands.)

More to our experiential point perhaps (and as an extenuation of a post written a few days ago) Saturn and Uranus are co-rulers of Aquarius...which in the abstract sense would be a reference to the ongoing ‘solidifying’ of an incoming Age (that of Aquarius), and which on a here-and-now basis would be an overall reference to things economic, societal, systemic and how we all think of our place in the world, inclusive of how we feel about how the world tends to treat us.

Between Saturn’s turn to direct on the 20th and Uranus July 22nd turn to retrograde which speaks to a period (beginning now) of approximately five months during which we will be challenged to change as individuals. We are in a period when some things which have outlived their purpose in the form they were originally conceived will get updated, modernized or, in some cases simply replaced as part of the normal evolution of life and time. Unfortunately there are some people (and some issues) which people are more than reluctant to revolve about.

Therein lies the rub...the challenge...the inevitability which must be faced. The Aquarian Age requires that we understand that which came before now so that we can build on that which remains viable, creating of the old something ever more viable for being applicable to today, tomorrow and the conceivable beyond.

Between the 20th (when Saturn goes direct and Mars exits its retrograde shadow) and the 22nd (when Uranus goes retrograde and the Sun enters Leo, which is part and parcel of the next post)...between those two pillars one other thing occurs: Apollo (illumination) goes retrograde at 17 Virgo, a degree known for operating on a mental level with a marked tendency to bend all things, all ends, all outlays and all aims towards that which the Self likes...or thinks they like...regardless of the fact that the very control being exerted (or which the native or situation seeks to exert) is exactly that which will end up being a detriment. In essence, the choice here seems to be between being supportive and being insistent - cons are likely, but are we only conning our Self?

Apollo going retrograde at this degree at the midpoint in time between Saturn and Uranus’ stations suggests some degree of insight which applies to the inconjunct aspect between the two planets which so definitely points to some adjustment needing to be made.

Will we want to make it? Probably not.

Will we make the [Saturn] effort to [Uranus] change anyway?

That’s up to each one of us.
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Monday, April 7, 2014

Saturn by Degrees


Technically a perfect example of a man-made eclipse, the Cassini spacecraft took position beyond Saturn so and photographed the ringed planet 'lit from behind' by the Sun.
(photo credit: NASA-JPL, Caltech)

Part of the symbolism derived from Saturn’s position as the planet farthest from Earth visible with our personal, unassisted eyes is the idea that Saturn both marks our ‘boundaries’ in life – those limits beyond which we cannot (or will never) reach along with the challenge to reach the fullest extent of our potential.

Bringing all that to Scorpio, Saturn in Scorpio thus becomes the sign that we’re in the middle of a (two-and-a-half-year-long) period when our ability to grow the fulfillment of that potential and the goals we have for our Self in life – when all that is intersecting and being confronted with the need to contend with whatever feelings, goals and needs everyone else has.

Known for a period when praise can be bullying and when what appears to some as bullying can act as structural support, Saturn in Scorpio can stand for a ‘cutting’ force which when used with skill “cuts through problems.” And yes, such solutions may seem sensible – even popular. But because Saturn in Scorpio also times out glitches in plans of sufficient size guaranteed to get our attention what we think we know we may well know, yes.

Then again, we could be completely wrong. During the whole of Saturn’s two-and-a-half year passage through Scorpio various forms of this knife-edge between polarized convictions will occur simply so that we’ll stop acting on instinctual desires to ‘win’ and ‘deter risk’ in order to build something which will not just provide a path into the future, but enough feeling of sufficiency and security to continue what in reality is an unsecured loan on eternity called life.

Still, let’s be real here…we humans don’t much like our plans going awry or getting stopped. Very few of us greet moments with glee. (And yes, if we did, that would be a whole other issue.)

However we want to think of it, Saturn in Scorpio often manifests in a sense of frustration over loss.

But is the loss real? It may feel final, but is it?

And is that an actual loss – or is there something better?

Until we get to the point where we cling to something as immutable bedrock because it’s our bedrock (our emotional ‘my way or the highway’ stance) Saturn in Scorpio tends to manifest as supportive. But once we do get to the point of clinging, whether it’s to some person, some idea, some method, means or condition (which in Scorpio is merely a back-handed attempt to control)…then Saturn in Scorpio represents the upset, the destabilization, the undermining of security real or imagined.

Remember: Scorpio is an emotional sign. The external stakes may be real enough. Then again, things positive and negative now may be what they are because of some internal emotional process – one which some might call an emotional blockage. Even denial.

Wherever we see such internal/external imbalances, stability ends.That’s something we’ve seen over these past few months in ‘spades’ (as they say). As a sign Scorpio tests and stands with great durability in many a situation which looks imbalanced, but which on the inside, isn’t.

That’s one of the premier Scorpio secrets. If a structure tangible, financial, situational, relational or of any other type is properly ‘calibrated’ or engineered…or to put it more in ‘people-ish’ terms wherever a matters gets fully discussed, negotiated and/or agreed upon without coercion, denial, manipulation or threat ensuring that both/all sides are able to own and operate from a conscious position of power, Saturn support and growth can be lastingly initiated.

Note please: Scorpio dynamics require that we respect both (or all) sides of any question – and this applies whether your debate is with someone else or with yourself. It also applies equally whether the question is something you’re on the positive or negative side by preference.

That Scorpio is also strongest during times of calm and clarified focus has been evidenced over the past few months as Saturn has been continuing its opposition to dwarf planet Sedna in Taurus, the signature of our desires. At some level we’ve all been being put through the personal wringer about who we are, what we believe is valuable, who doesn’t agree with us and how to have personal viability on a workable scale.

Solutions to problems have felt intractable. And yet, they must be solved. That solution – and the fact that we know there’s a problem (though the thing we’re staring at is probably not it) is a good and decent start of things. But it’s certainly not the end, the solution, the light at the end of our tunnel.

And that…that’s going to still take some time to come about. At the moment, all our evaluations are being put to the test and we’re bound to find a few things need tweaking (on the inside) through October, 2014 – at which point something integral will shift (reflecting the solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio on October 23, 2014).

But for now, we need to know what to do…which points to yet another possible function of the current Mars retrograde in Libra, a sign where our Mars energy may be down (have you been feeling tired or worn out lately?) and certainly we’re having a bit of a ‘think’ about who others are – and aren’t.

No, we don’t like all the answers. Plans and ideals are getting tumbled and jostled as we all cope with some sort of growing (Saturn opposition Sedna) realization that the way things ‘have been’ really doesn’t work any more.

But if we can’t do it ‘that way,’ how are we going to do whatever it is we do or be whoever it is we are being?

Wait…should we change?

These are the kinds of very basic…if complicated questions facing us now. And while they’re facing us…they’re also facing everyone we know, which is going to make for a bit of ‘being out of sync’ and/or some ‘dissipation’ of energy which could be all good or disappointing, to say the least.

Ahead of us (Huya/Saturn) is a task which needs doing in an interactive and public setting which involves harnessing that which we have learned through our hardest of hard lessons in the greater interest of all from which we make some sort of gain or gain ‘traction’ of some form.

But we’re not ready for that yet. In fact, for whatever reason peculiar to us we’re each ‘backing away’ from that ‘thing’…specifically some moment of decision or commitment which will trigger our taking on ‘the task.’ And that process – the working through of the ‘how,’ ‘in what order’ and the ‘sorting out of risks, responsibilities and rewards’ – is going to take us through May 20th, at least.

Not that things aren’t going to change between now and then, whatever we may think to the contrary.

And we may be doing that contrary thing, to be sure. In fact, to the degree that we are committed to being “stuck” or holding onto some position which doesn’t take the interests and needs of all parties into account… that’s pretty much a measure of how diligently we will be tested by life, events, situations and others as we move through the April 29th solar eclipse.

A Taurus solar eclipse, that is – the Taurus ‘energetic’ of which would be plenty for us to deal with even without the feeling of being made to ‘tread water’ or some sort of tedious-feeling sluggishness, a sluggishness which reflects our being ‘pushed through’ our own reluctance to see something truly valuable that we’re missing.

Imagine that…we’re missing out on something really valuable, all because we’re doing some sort of immature (Sedna) clinging to some pre-determined definition of ‘good’ which doesn’t allow for many of the beyond imagining possibilities life may hold if we will just let go of our Scorpio desire to control everything in sight.

Everything which is out of sight, too.

Working from the premise that it’s better to have more information than less throughout life in general, it occurred to me that you might find it useful to have a list of Saturn’s degree position not just through the April 29th date of the eclipse but, from now until the station where Saturn turns direct this coming July. For one, once its here at the blog you can always come back to think things over. But just as important is the idea that each of the ‘major indicators’ we are given in the ciphering of time into opportunity is understanding the ever-shifting, ever-evolving pattern.

Thinking through that tells us even more. For instance, last year (2013) Saturn went retrograde on February 18th and direct again on July 9th. This year (2014) Saturn went retrograde on March 2nd and will go direct again on July 20th, shifting the cycle forward in terms of our calendar year by about a half month. And next year, another shift will occur.

The implications here are useful when planning a year, especially when we mix in the ‘partner’ energy of Jupiterian experimentation and learning without which Saturnine efforts in time become defeated by sheer antiquity.

You know, the ‘that’s old hat,’ thing. Preserving the precious ideas while continuing to keep pace with our times would seem to be the Saturn-Jupiter balance and those who manage or master such cosmic dances do well.

Saturn's rings (photo credit: NASA, JPL)

And when we don’t?

The breaking, the limitations, the loss and the ‘weakness of standing’ which is as much a part of Saturn as the ability to endure come what may… whether we are being called to some challenge in the world or within our Self-world or being limited by factors we must master through being mastered by – knowing that we are now in a period where Saturn’s retrograde starts under Sun in Pisces and extends through Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini into Cancer describes a solar five-sign trine.

Trines equal ‘ongoing energy’ which can be good or bad depending on whether we’re content with what we’re doing (or being) or not. In that Saturn us the descriptor here we are told that there may be growth or ‘stoppage,’ ‘gain’ or ‘loss’ depending on what we have (Scorpio) invested thus far… and that the (Pisces) ‘origin’ of the day by day (Sun) life we’ve been leading – both within our consciousness and as a participant in our life-or-world – is at some level both the evidence and some lesson we could be empowered by if we understood how our degree of ability (or willingness) to cope not with others but with how they are reacting to however we are displaying our values (or) what those values are…how that ISN’T about ‘them’ (or ‘that’ which is in progress, or which has happened) but about our ability to (Scorpio) reconcile ourselves to some sort of (Saturn) reality.

How that becomes whatever it is which either promotes peace (general and/or personal) or forces us to keep fearing the worst, whether we are rewarded with opportunities and positive developments or rejections, rebuffs and threats…that may well be about ‘them’ and whether they’ve done their Saturn stuff, yes.

But it’s also – totally and separately – about prompting us to do our best so that in time we can move towards our goals regardless of whether someone else wants to stand there quacking or not.

(Yes, I said quacking.)


That trine also says that we are living through a period of years when the ‘largest emotional common denominator’ (Pisces) is being brought home to our most personal of emotional experiences – Cancer, sign of home, hearth, family, culture, national heritage…all that.

This is a pattern which moves fairly quickly (at least in astrological terms). Back in 2001 (using that just as an example) Saturn’s retrograde was starting at the very end of September (with Sun in Libra) and ending in early February with Sun in Aquarius.

Those are both public and worldly signs. They are about how we experience life rather than more or less about what life is. The second six signs of the zodiac (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces) are always about life in general, which is why people born under these Sun signs learn from interaction more readily and more necessarily than those born under the Sun in the first six signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo), meaning half of us naturally learn just through the process of being (and on our own) while the other half of our world’s population is naturally attuned to learning through processes which involve others and things going on in the environment.

INTO WHICH comes the cosmic clockwork we think of as Saturn, a ice cold gas giant upon which we can have no standing – literally. There is no ‘standing’ on Saturn: in the moment you reached its surface you would be under it.

That’s a perfect scientific image of the Saturn as the astrological cogwheel we call time. We cannot ‘stand’ on time.

Time is evidently not there to support us. Nor are we – evidently – supposed to stand in a defined ‘spot’ when it comes to time. Some of Saturn’s greatest losses come about from ‘living in the past’ instead of learning from it and applying just that  in a present day (Saturn) reality environment.

Saturn will not honor a present day life lived in ‘back then’ terms. Where we attempt to do that, Saturn inevitably emerges as some sort of loss, big or small. This dichotomy between that which is ‘of the past’ and our reality of the present is being brought out now as part and parcel of other things allowing us to develop the sort of emotional insight which will release us from internal enslavement to some ideal or fantasy we’ve perhaps thought we had to live or embody in reality.

Saturn – regretfully – is now tearing down many of our gossamer dreams in processes rife with disappointment. We will tend to think ‘what’s wrong’ is in or with reality when much of the onus is on us.

Somewhere in our past we took something which should have been a motivation and we’ve turned it into a goal. It’s time to let go of that as reality and live in the reality we have, releasing our Self from the impossibility of some mythic unattainable so that we can flourish in the (Saturn) time we have among those willing to see and receive us.  

Since 2001, year by year Saturn’s retrograde pattern has continued shifting. There’s a natural variation in how long each retrograde lasts which astronomically is about planetary orbits not being round – not to mention the fact that astrology is geo(Earth)centric – meaning any ‘egg-shape’ in Saturn’s orbit around the Sun are compounded by earthly eccentricities.

You know…like our life is littered with all those places where we get out of ‘sync’ with our responsibilities, whether to others, Self, world or even those parts most human which require structure?

To the degrees Saturn is going to be passing through over the next several months, in reading through the symbols (below) you’ll no doubt notice their impersonal or ‘transpersonal’ nature. That’s a third decan/decanate quality we always see in any degree (of any sign) between 20 and 29 and its an indicator that our work… our difficulties… our challenges and our greatest rewards come from taking on where our own (Taurus) orientation towards life and what we think is viable or valuable meets up with the orientation of others.

Into which comes the solar eclipse, the ‘unbidden’ and ‘awesome’ splendor of illumination which comes upon us, forcing us to see some greater inner light than we otherwise behold in our everyday life.

So for good or bad, for all the pluses and minuses we feel, suspect, cling to and are being pressured by, in the end these passages and thus this time all about our learning about who we are and where our individual strengths and weaknesses lie and whether that’s truly apropos for the person we have become – or are becoming in this moment.

Whatever our direction is, it’s as much about how others see us as how we are wanting to be seen – that’s the simplest side of Scorpio. Our (Scorpio) instinct will be to define, divide and apportion things, whether that’s our time, our interest, our efforts, our love, our willingness to risk, our money, our vulnerabilities or strengths…we will be tempted to structure everything for our own goal. 

And we may achieve that goal. Or we may not achieve that goal. But since Scorpio is an interactive sign, wherever we don’t at least consider the opinions, priorities and needs of others, we will be sowing the seeds of karma.

Our karma, that is. Saturn is the astrological symbol of earning. What is earned through time is delivered in time. As Saturn passes through Scorpio’s third decanate (a process which will continue until Saturn moves into Sagittarius on December 23, 2014) we all have an opportunity to work on whatever our misgivings are so as to be more whole and wholly who we are…a quality Saturn ultimately times our learning about, defining in that the being of a leader not necessarily in the world at large, but definitely in our own individual life.

Saturn's double auroras as photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope
(photo credit NASA JPL, Jan 2009)

* * * * note: all dates/degrees in UT/+0 time * * * *

Saturn at 22 Scorpio: March 22 – April 12

Sabian Symbol No. 233:
A RABBIT METAMORPHOSES INTO A NATURE SPIRIT

In keynoting this degree as ‘the raising of animal drives to a higher level,’ astrologer Marc Edmund Jones seems to be referring to the ever-present Scorpio reference to some sort of speed of action, reaction, advance or defeat - all of which, in being  focused on either mandates or prevents some sort of choice. The degree 22 Scorpio is known for it’s ability to ‘scatter,’ but whether that’s us or that which is ranged out there for us to deal with is individual and situational (read: individual to any given chart, be it a natal chart, product chart, national, corporate or relationship chart).

Where negative energies now ‘dissipate,’ that Saturn is in an emotional sign signals a moving through some situation which involves, invokes or causes us to witness (or connect with) whatever will get us to consider the scope and challenges of life in terms of anything from disappointments or losses to the need to regroup, recalculate, learn better and try, try again. In keeping with Scorpio and Saturn, the point here being is about the equal validity of experiences which may differ widely in perspective, though it is to be expected that some people will simply “shut the Saturn door” and attempt to wall some sort of reality out.

In other words, though the term selected for 22 Scorpio by astrologer Dane Rudhyar (‘TRANSUBSTANTIATION’) is apt, knowing whether we are serving as the inspiration for change or are being changed by someone or something which transforms us is entirely a demonstration of how far we’ve come along our path in the worldly sense as well as in the personal call to fulfill not some theoretical ‘destiny’ but the fullest utilization of our talents when it comes to being a human being.

Currently in retrograde, Saturn will return to 22 Scorpio after going direct in August, completing whatever ‘evolution’ is indicated here as we move through and past the period of October 15th-23rd.

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Saturn at 21 Scorpio: April 12 – April 27

Sabian Symbol No. 232:
HUNTERS SHOOTING WILD DUCKS

For those who recognize this symbol without quite placing the degree, 21 Scorpio is the degree of the November 2012 solar eclipse…which astrologically makes the qualities and themes associated with this degree (as they reflect in our individual life) are things we are working on, and which we will yet work through for another year and a half or so.

In case you’re new to astroPPM, here are the links to the two-part post on the 2012 Scorpio eclipse:




Marc Edmund Jones typifies this degree as ‘the socially accepted release of an individual’s… or a group’s aggressive instincts’ which is very much in keeping with Scorpio as an interactive sign which ultimately teaches that while we may win or lose through interacting, to not interact is to guarantee loss through decline. Wherever we experience our ‘Scorpio’ quotient(s) we either fear risk, abandon ourselves to risk or tend to gauge carefully before making a choice – and sometimes it’s all that gauging and estimating (read: inertia) which defeats or enables us.

Mistaking that for cleverness is a mistake, by the way. Scorpio dynamics ask that we be a participant, not the presumptive genesis of all things great and powerful, its premise being the greatest use of power is to rely on earning respect, thus negating the necessity to use whatever force power may give us. Signature of the metaphysical ‘walk softly and carry a big stick,’ Scorpio’s ‘stick’ is best used to defend necessity rather than ego…which is why the old expression ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ is also so very Scorpio in its request that we think things through while resisting the simple servicing of the desire to make ourselves feel good, which is where ‘revenge’ and ‘vengeance’ fit into that long, long list of things which only work when the basis of interaction is mutual.

Note please…it doesn’t have to be lovable or even friendly. Scorpio shows up differences even as it shows up inequality so that we will be judged and judge ourselves by how we treat with such things. So it’s not so much what we do but how and why we do it which defines success or failure here. And with Saturn (emblem of earning) setting this degree off this year (now and between October 5-15 when it returns to 21 Scorpio after going direct in July) we are beginning to understand many things which others may have known long before now.

How we react to that…the energy of whether we feel ‘shot at’ or ‘shot down’ or ‘hunted’ for whatever our reasons are…what we do with the understanding of what that means to us is important on its own and also as part of a present and far more complicated picture.

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Saturn at 20 Scorpio: April 27 – May 10

Sabian Symbol No. 231:
OBEYING HIS CONSCIENCE,
A SOLDIER RESISTS ORDERS

Dane Rudhyar’s  keyword for this degree – ‘INNER FREEDOM’ stresses the intrinsic Scorpio quality of self-relationship. In other words, the freedom is not that of the commander or whatever might (or might not) come out of some military action. This is the soldier’s freedom…and here the soldier is responding – as we do in Scorpio moments – to the idea of feelings he (or she) is feeling inside.

That the term ‘conscience’ is invoked here suggests that a broader concern or reference is being given priority as the soldier is not resisting out of spite or rebelliousness, but because there is some sort of higher cause or consideration at stake.

Marc Edmund Jones’ keynote for this degree - “A readiness to face the results of a refusal to follow the authoritarian patterns of an aggressive society” – may or may not be literal (referring to physical authorities or soldiers in a street) but are certainly references to those ‘patterns’ we have been raised with. The ‘echo effect’ alluded to early with regards to Saturn’s retrograde beginning under Sun in Pisces and ending under Sun in Cancer here alludes to our (Pisces) reactions – particularly those of an emotional, ethical or spiritual nature – to how we may or may not be ‘living out’ a message from the past or some idea which could limit our future.

Do we want to be doing what we’re doing? Are our priorities those we would respect in someone else as those which will earn respect and support in the short and long run?

After going direct, Saturn will return to 20 Scorpio as of September 25th and it will be at this degree through October 5th. Where life is requesting that we consider issues beyond our dedicated ‘norm,’ we do ourselves a favor by understanding what is being said. The person, the thing, the subject matter may be the point here. Then again, it may be totally insignificant when compared with what we will learn now about how we deal with our opportunities to grow. 

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Saturn at 19 Scorpio: May 10 – May 24

Sabian Symbol No. 230:
A WOMAN DRAWS AWAY TWO DARK CURTAINS CLOSING
THE ENTRANCE TO A SACRED PATHWAY

The reference here is an interesting one since it pictures a woman who in ‘drawing away’ curtains closes a path to something or somewhere else. In other words…we are being ‘arrested’ or stopped – at least long enough so that – as astrologer Marc Edmund Jones’ keynotes it – we can experience a ‘revelation to the human consciousness of what lies beyond dualistic knowledge.’ That the curtains are referred to as ‘dark’ may indicate an end to some sort of ‘guiding light’ we have been following, whether in our own mind or in real time and everyday life.

The symbol here being Saturn, this is also a process of time we are encountering. Does it call upon us to take something seriously? To act responsibly in that singularly Scorpio manner which rewards and disappoints (sometimes in the same breath) our ability to balance or harness our internal, wholly ‘us’ mentality (our natural ‘isolationist’ position) in the name of using that natural isolation for greater – not purely personal – benefit.

Dane Rudhyar keywords this degree as a “PLUNGE AHEAD INTO THE UNKNOWN.” Because this is Saturn we are talking about, the dates indicated here plus the days between September 13th and 25th may be when we can’t ‘plunge ahead’ for some intrinsically Saturn reason. Whatever end of the polarity we encounter here (the need to stop what we’re doing/being or the need to press forward to deal with some specific issue which has emotionally ‘stopped’ us)…in the end these days contribute to our own estimation of who we are and where we stand with our own feelings about life, thus coloring who we are going forward and how we will come to be regarded by others – an important factor as Saturn passes through a degree noted for its ‘taste’ for violence which arises from a distant tap-root of sadness, sorrow or pain.

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Saturn at 18 Scorpio: May 24 - June 8

Sabian Symbol No. 229:
A PARROT REPEATS THE CONVERSATION
HE HAS OVERHEARD

The keynoting of this degree as ‘the capacity to transmit transcendental knowledge’ (Marc Edmund Jones) and “CHANNELSHIP” (Dane Rudhyar) in light of the ‘mouthpiece’ here being a parrot would seem to refer to repeating what we have heard (or been taught or instructed to do) without substantial thought – which is neither good or bad on its own.

Against this however, are the notes of lore stating that this is also a degree which like 19 Scorpio is also known for conflicts, particularly those which have one side choosing to embody some form of ‘justice’ which may or may not be applicable.

Taken in combination, the (Saturn) reality of things from May 24th to June 8th and again during August 31st through September 13th becomes focal as we work to sort through what ‘parroting’ is simply talk and which has some actual long-term (Saturn) value.

Whether we are right or wrong, in other words, may well not be as important as knowing/learning the difference between that which is easy to sign onto (and ‘parrot,’ whether to others or in emulation of someone we respect/admire) and that which has long-term merit worth committing our Self to over time.

Whatever else is happening now, we are plainly involved in the process of establishing parameters for communication and thought – which makes the parrot indicated here greatly a reminder about how as humans, we have other options.

Saturn’s question being always about responsibility for Self and the use of our time, maybe we need to change something, finish something or consider some set of standards.

What the facts are involved? Do we need to change how we deal with others based on what they advocate or choose for themselves? Or maybe we merely need to change who we associate with on what basis because of whatever qualities are now becoming evident as a truth which has, or which will like as not prove true over time? 

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Saturn at 17 Scorpio: June 8 – June 29

Sabian Symbol No. 228:
A PATH THROUGH WOODS BRILLIANT
WITH MULTICOLORED SPLENDOR.

Where the term ‘Transubstantiation’ refers sometimes to a change in our immediate environment or ‘private life’ and even more often to a “miraculous” change in our experience of or insight into our life/Self, the Dane Rudhyar keyword given for 17 Scorpio (TRANSFIGURATION) is more akin to that which comes ‘through’ us or what we do, appear as, or innately are - as when we occupy a particular niche or function (personal or impersonal) in someone’s life.

Metaphysically, any wood ‘brilliant with multicolored splendor’ is a reference to an autumnal transformation and some sort of ‘fruitfulness’ which with a great flourish and beauty gives up its current growth effort in the cause of the recuperation and consolidation of gains made throughout a last growing season or harvest. In an emotional sign like Scorpio the reference to ‘multi-colored’ can refer to feelings, efforts, reactions, approaches, ideas…whatever action or theme has been synthesized into one ‘brilliant display,’ with each of our lives offering us the chance both to see such a thing or to be such a thing.

Thus the ‘path’ may be that we take in approaching something we think of/experience as so wonderful…or it may be the path we take in our own lives in order to achieve whatever for us would be this magical walk through such a wood.

Referred to by Marc Edmund Jones as a degree which manifests as ‘the exalted feeling of a work well done and a truly consummated life,’ the Saturn transit of this degree now (from June 8th - June 30th) and again in direct motion from August 10-31 ‘surrounds’ us with a ‘splendor’ we must work with, work within the confines of and deal with responsibly, whatever that may mean to you and yours.

Because this is a second decanate (emotionally charged) degree of a sign (Scorpio) which is deeply emotional by nature, the (Saturn) ‘work’ implied here may not be unpleasant at all – indeed, it may have some glorious moments. But yes, it could be truly dreadful and it’s still (Saturn) work and should be treated as such. The ‘path’ may be in our head or under our feet; wherever it is, its realities remain important and will take some time yet to play out, though effort must be invested (investment being a Scorpio byword) in order to ‘fund’ future growth and a stronger basis for repairs, restorations, rebuilding processes and all those areas of life where that which is outmoded/no longer functional can be properly attended to in a ‘step by step’ manner.

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Saturn at 16 Scorpio: June 29 – August 10th

Sabian Symbol No. 227:
A WOMAN, FECUNDATED BY HER OWN
SPIRIT, IS “GREAT WITH CHILD”

With Saturn taking its station to go direct at 16 Scorpio on July 20, there are two ways to think of this degree. One is to say that it’s about our own ability to renew and create a whole new life for ourselves through the power of our self-determination and the other refers to a more esoteric ability to be inspired by a fertile ‘creating self’ we experience ‘in spirit’ as humans.

Seeing that metaphysics is not gender-specific in application (any valid metaphysical concept should be able to be  universally applied) the gender reference to “her” isn’t physical. Instead it’s a reference one of three things:

1.) The principle of receptivity.

2.) Something which has been retained and which as part of a ‘bank’ built through experience influences things going forward.

3.) The question of whether something should be responded to.

Typified by Marc Edmund Jones as ‘a total reliance upon the dictates of the God-within,’ and by Dane Rudhyar as “THE TRANSPERSONAL WAY,” Saturn’s long residence in and station at 16 Scorpio is an underscored metaphysical notice that what we do will involve others and that it should involve others – the entire concept of which will tend to test more than a few of our naturally ‘what’s in it for me?’ sort of tendencies.

No, we’re not supposed to put our interests first. Scorpio says we can have what we want provided everyone else gets an equal measure of what they want…and no, WE don’t get to define what someone else wants.

We have to ask them…which brings up that whole ‘Scorpio as an interactive sign’ thing. What this amounts to is a situation where necessity or desire may well drive us…but what it’s driving us to is to interact with others “outside our normal circle”  (achieving the Scorpio aim) in the effort to get our way.

And if we meet up with something which affects that goal, that aim, that drive? That may be fine too. Sixteen Scorpio has a reputation for being one of Scorpio’s more ‘warm’ (as opposed to heated or icy) degrees and its humanitarian influence may surface in any area of life where one is called upon to act honorably in the face of some process gone awry.

This is a degree which may call for bravery. But what we’re talking about is not the sort of bravery which ‘saves the day,’ but rather the kind of courage which gives us the strength to face things no matter how ‘out of our comfort zone’ they are.

And why will we do it? We will do what we can in light of what comes to light now because we know that in doing such things we are embodying the  responsibility to carry our fair share of life’s burdens.

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