You Were Searching ... Quick Takes

In this Hubble photo of Cygnus, one of its stars is revealed to be in a late-phase

evolutionary stage where the star sheds its atmosphere into space

(photo credit: ESA, NASA, July 2010)

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Before anything else happens to sidetrack or otherwise interrupt us, here are a few ‘quick takes’ on more of your search terms ...

CIRCE AND BYBLIS THE SAME

 

Circe Invidiosa by John William Waterhouse (1892)

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The astrological Circe and Byblis - not to mention the mythic characters - are absolutely not the same. Circe refers to something which in entrancing or affecting us ‘reduces’ us to ‘less than human’ in the thinking department (i.e., less in ‘command’ of our sensibilities) where Byblis refers to a choice we make knowing it is is unpopular or possibly considered ‘unthinkable,’ whether by us, someone else, or even society.

Astrological effects associated with these points (as with all points) can take many forms, but to give an example, while Circe could stand for our state of inebriation or drunkenness if we drink too much, the more Byblis version might involve someone trying to get someone else drunk for the direct purpose of taking advantage of them in some way.

So no ... Circe and Byblis are not the same (and I’m pretty sure both of the mythic personages involved would be happy to hear it!)

SPICA RISING IN NATAL CHART

 

The Moon, Mars, Venus and Spica all photographed from Nashville, Tennessee

(photo credit: Goddard Space Flight Center)

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‘Brilliance’ is often the astro-shorthand used for Spica, though the star otherwise known as Alpha Virgo stands for a lot more than just the ability to hit some nail on the head (mentally or otherwise). Traditionally seen as the sheaf of wheat carried in the hand of the goddess of earthly fertility, Spica is most often used astrologically as a reference to our ability to achieve a ‘great harvest’ of any kind. 

Apart from that, this star can also indicate where we understand some specific need or how to get something done - or where we find it easy to be supportive (or to get support) with regards to efforts which may simply be productive, but which may also be educational and some sort of investment in the growth of some process or method which in itself is ‘brilliant’ enough to open doors going forward.

With that much said however, Spica - which is currently positioned at 24 Libra - is conjunct Arcturus (which is also currently at 24 Libra), making it a bit hard to tell the effects of these two stars apart. Arcturus is part of an entirely different constellation (Bootes), and in being known for daring and the willingness to try something new/unproven could be seen as contributing a lot of positives if positioned with Spica at anyone’s Ascendant.

But let’s be real - this could just indicate someone who thinks they’re ‘all that and a bag of chips’ (as the saying goes) when they really aren’t. Beyond that, with both of these points being in Libra, the position and condition of Venus in the chart is going to say a lot about whether this sort of Spica (plus Arcturus) will tend to manifest as a plus or a source of frustration and disappointment.

HIS EROS IN ARIES

HER PSYCHE IN SAGITTARIUS

L'Amour by Julien de Parme (1762)

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I’m guessing this term came up somehow in relationship to something I wrote here at the blog...or at least that the Searcher in question here found the following astroPPM post while trying to find their answers:

-link to post-

Eros and Psyche: Falling in Love

With Our Mind

But with all due respect to the question (and questioner), the critical interplay between Eros and Psyche and that being referred to astrologically in the post and probably in the original myth is about the relationship of Eros to Psyche in our OWN mind, not between our mind and someone else’s.

Is there some effect if Eros aspects Psyche between two people? Probably yes. Positive aspects might well point to areas of commonalty and ‘attraction’ (human, not necessarily romantic or sexual) with negative aspects indicating ways or areas of relating to one another where one person doesn’t feel understood or cared about.

Everyone who is interested in astrology eventually (or habitually) looks up things like this between charts. It’s part of our human desire to be loved, accepted and appreciated. But when looking at these two points, before we look at them between charts, we should look at them in our own as ultimately our ability to love anyone depends on a level of trust in our Self which allows us to risk loss, rejection or relationship failure.

UNASPECTED VENUS IN CAPRICORN

 

Planet Venus as photographed by the Hubble Telescope on January 24, 1995

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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Any time a planet is unaspected (that is, unaspected when using the list of standard Ptolemaic aspects: conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition) using standard orbs, it’s effects are said to be ‘purely’ expressive of the combination of house, sign and planet - which since we’re not working with a chart, can only be sign and planet here.

By itself, Venus in Capricorn tends to be a stabilizing quotient or a desire to achieve a level of calm - or that which the native finds calming. Texts often refer to this combination as ‘aimed’ at material wealth, but someone who simply focuses on quality, the qualities of something or ‘having the best’ would also fit Venus-plus-Capricorn with the term ‘best’ being  purely individual, and thus subject to individual preference, quirks and all the other human oddities.

Given that Capricorn is ruled by Saturn, depending on what house this combination appears in (and the disposition of the planet ruling the sign on the cusp of that house), Venus in Capricorn may manifest as professionalism, austerity, cool or distant attitudes, or dignity which ranges from the simple to the  diplomatic.

This is not one of Venus’ most effusive or carefree positions, but Venus in Capricorn (if well placed in the chart, of course) is known for manifesting as loyalty, security and a general appreciation for history, traditions, culture and the rights of others.

On occasion, this combination could also indicate great paths of fortune. Such a native is in (or comes to be) in a position where life is or becomes ‘pre-determined’ on some level. Unaspected, Venus in Capricorn can also indicate a tendency to make choices and do things only for material or personal gain.

22 DEGREES SCORPIO

 

An Arizona bark scorpion photographed under black light by Bryce Alexander (2008)

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This is not considered one of Scorpio’s finer degree moments. Known for insufficient control of various kinds, 22 Scorpio is one of those degrees which is evidently given to us so that we can see what lack of control does, and how over-impulsiveness and the tendency to just ‘go off’ about things is hardly ever useful.

(And yes, hopefully deal with whatever is causing us to act that way.)

Relationships to the Moon (and its associated sign of Cancer) are said to be important whenever this degree is active, or activated in a chart. Those who run afoul of their own nature under this influence are also fairly well known for lacking the emotional will (except under duress) to deal with the problems they’ve caused.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree (22 Scorpio being read as Sabian phase 233) ‘A rabbit metamorphoses into a nature spirit’ gives us some idea about what the issue is here through its reference to an ‘animal’ (our more instinctive and less thought-driven self) which transforms into something of a ‘higher’ nature - one imagines through the nature and process which is so very Scorpio. And since purging us of mortal toxins (most of which originate at an emotional and/or instinctive level) is part of Scorpio’s business, difficulties associated with 22 Scorpio probably point to personal/internal (read: vulnerability or fear) issues we either haven’t yet recognized or aren’t (as yet) prepared to take in hand and deal with.
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Blogpost (May 12-19): The Scorpio New Moon (+ Mars and Other Stations)

 

A photograph of the April 15, 2014 Lunar Eclipse taken in Minneapolis, Minnesota

(photo credit: Tomruen2)

As May 12th comes upon us, life [Sun] shifts us out from behind a variable set of lenses colored by contradictions which want resolving plus a smattering of just those sorts of cravings which make us feel everything or anything we have or are isn’t as good as what someone else has (or is).

Fortunately, it’s only been a day of that - a 20 Taurus sort of day which had us wanting to do whatever our way when for good or ill what we want, especially in the long run was more likely to come from an honest estimation of personal needs.

From solidity of self comes the ability to tolerate differences in others. Without that security, Taurus becomes the land of endless wanting - of whatever your “medium of choice” is, be it money, power or any of the other illustrious polarizing (Scorpio) forces which are apparently part of life not so much so that we can test or control others but so that we can learn about what works for us and...separately...for others so that we can forge a path forward which works to equally support the need/drives/aims of all.
 
With every year comes a 20 Taurus sort of day. And once we complete that task, life rolls on...time pushes forward...and we get to the next thing, the process of enacting yesterday’s realizations.

It’s something of a theme this week, that process thing. No matter who we are we’re in the middle of something, and the Sun’s moving into Taurus’ ‘third third’ (degrees 20-29) is where our more (and most) personal view(s) encounter the minds, the lives, the push back, applause, critique and support of both a few...and at other times many others.

There will be a literal highlighting of sorts which will occur around/at the time of this month’s Scorpio Full Moon. The date will be May 14th and the UT/+0 time 7:17 p.m. as this Moon takes its mark at 23 Scorpio.

And if that degree sounds familiar, it should. 23 Scorpio is the degree Saturn went stationary-retrograde at back on March 3rd.

Which yes, would be one day after Mars went retrograde at 27 Libra....which was one day after Mercury went direct at 18 Aquarius.

- link to -

Mercury, Mars, Saturn on Station

And we’re all still dealing with that. Whatever was afoot then was what we like as not stubbed our mental toes on, with the whole of the Mars retrograde and solar eclipse process slowly moving us towards a ‘bottom line’ we are just about to reach with our Self, and which all around us we hear people wanting to reach (often just so they can be ‘done’ with something).

Over this time...through whatever has happened to us over the past few months...our trajectory has changed. Why we do what we do (the way we do it) has become clearer to us - and the flaws with that, personal or social - have also become clear.

We all have been changed. A little or a lot...that’s individual. But as this Full Moon comes to be...during the time leading into or out of it (some people tend to do one, some the other - that’s natural) we’re likely to feel ourselves recognizing just how we’ve changed.

And what that means with regards to our personal  potential, alone or as part of some greater group or concern.

Maybe even as part of many groups or concerns, some of which don’t overlap so well. Energies stirred at 23 Scorpio wash through life either with a ‘scattering’ or ‘wasting’ effect or a revealing of that which has been scattered or wasted which here is ‘highlighted’ symbolically by a Full Moon - a ‘high tide’ of feelings summoned from deep within whether we really want to feel them or not.

But it’s just a phase. The Moon moves in phases...this is just another phase, and after this one will come countless others. When we make a Scorpio-Moon connection, we tend to feel the impact...of how we feel in the moment we register our feelings most of all.

It’s a lovely thing indeed...although it can get us stuck. The Moon in Scorpio fights for control; its habit and instinct are to use external sources to  stabilize anything we feel [Moon] is keeping us from ‘getting on’ with whatever it is we want to do next...and to find/use/employ whatever we [Moon] feel will support our positions.

At it’s best, Moon in Scorpio supports difficult emotional constructs and the constructing of whatever will support, detoxify, rebuild and/or regulate any force. Sometimes that means investing. Sometimes that means pruning. Sometimes that means detoxifying. Sometimes that means not doing anything and sometimes it means ripping the old construct down to whatever level lays it bare.

Scorpio is the sign of the Phoenix. We are transformed by our ability to trust our Self, whether or not others agree - whether or not we like (or trust) them. That all ‘Scorpio tests’ are internal and yet enacted through others or external circumstances will lead most of us to experience at least a moment or two (or three) of insecurity...maybe confusion or even that helpless, hapless feeling we all dislike. The Sun-Phaethon-Dionysus (in Taurus) side of things describes demands and determinations being balanced against a future and a potential we should want...and which we actually have the ability to go after if our overall priorities are in line.

If not, others will let us know. They may not even be subtle about it.

One other thing about this day or so in time...with the Moon (at 23 Scorpio) conjunct Mnemosyne (creativity) and Huya, there is something we can give - something which we have learned at hard cost long before now [Huya] through the sorts of events and experiences which try the human soul.

However we connect to that...whatever we have learned from that...it is the offering of that which becomes our “Huya Rainmaker.”

- link to -

Huya, Rainmaker: Direct at 20 Scorpio

Remember: this is your Huya we’re talking about, which in Scorpio has to do with what you have to offer others out of your own life which will ‘make it rain’ for everyone...and thus bring fulfillment to us. 

 Asteroid Eros as photographed by NASA

 

Eros station-retrograde at 19 Capricorn

As astrological Eros the ‘object’ as been covered about as well as I'm ever going to cover it in a different post, let’s start there...
 

- link to -

Eros and Psyche: Falling in

Love With Our Minds

...after which what you need to know is that asteroid Eros is going retrograde at 19 Capricorn on May 11th.

Yes, that is the same day as the Full Moon. But let’s remember, stations (be they station-retrograde or station-direct) all get 'allowances.' I'm currently using a two-day allowance, but if you may find three days works better for you, feel free.

Representing ‘passions’ of all kinds, Eros energies tend to arise as described by the sign element in your natal chart. In other words, if your natal Eros is in an air sign (Gemini, Libra or Aquarius) you are stirred by ideas and your ‘passions’ function greatly on an idea-driven level and it doesn’t matter what the subject matter is, it’s the idea of the thing which ‘gets’ you (or gets to you).

With natal Eros in water (Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces), the drive and driver is emotional. With natal Eros in fire (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) the ‘vision’ is the thing.

And when we find Eros in an earth sign - as it is now, transiting Capricorn, it’s the reality which we’re passionate about, and life’s realities which stir our passions, however they’re individually shaped. With Capricorn pointing us to the worldly and public sections of life as well as all things/concerns ‘structural’ (and the price or penalty we pay for a lack of Eros focus) certain types of ‘standings’ (or our regard for same) take a ‘turn’ now... or don’t, depending on our individual relationship to the kind of passionate assertiveness of the interactive type this Scorpio Full Moon favors working with.

Our ability to negotiate, team up with, support or serve as a coalescing (Scorpio) force is in the (Full Moon) spotlight.

Known as least mildly pro-active (and more than a little bit determined, 19 Capricorn is a degree which presses for its goals with an unusual degree of creativity. And though advances can be made, the fullness of what one wants to accomplish probably can’t be done overnight.

Yes, patience is required. That may be the test here, as Scorpio Moons (Full or otherwise) tend to ‘freeze’ or ‘hold off’ where Eros energies tend to erupt as ‘pushing’ for what we want or need.
 
Balance and an understanding of who or what we are dealing with in its own terms (not pre-defined by us) is necessary for what is done now to endure as a supportive measure which does what we want it to correctly.

If nothing else, the Sabian symbol for 28 Virgo ('A SEEKER AFTER OCCULT KNOWLEDGE

IS READING AN ANCIENT SCROLL WHICH ILLUMINATES HIS MIND,') reminds us how in

great part the decision (and effort) to continue seeking and the remaining open to new ideas

(not the allegiance to what we already know) which provides opportunities for growth. 

Srimad Guru Adi Shankaracharya by Raja Ravi Varma (1904, Oleograph)

Byblis direct at 28 Virgo

There’s an unpleasant quality to Byblis, one which can probably be typified either as the defense of the indefensible or the attempt to defend one’s Self against that ‘awful’ thing we don’t want to think about or contend with.

But that’s the point - the metaphysics of asteroid Byblis is about us. It’s about what we will or won’t consider or face having to deal with, whether that ‘dealing’ is self-contained or whether such things ask us to take on matters beyond our Self or even our understanding.

The point is that with Byblis, there always seems to be something involved which is ‘wrong’ - or at least something which seems or feels wrong. And with Byblis’ station taking place in Virgo, the ‘lens’ through which this ‘wrong’ is being seen (or through which it is manifesting) will be the means, method or reasoning/rationales for doing/not doing things...or the means, methods or rationales being employed in the doing of things.

That Byblis is making its turn to direct at 28 Virgo (one of Virgo’s last ten degrees) also tells us that whatever the Byblis note is, it will be ‘group’ and not personal. So it’s something we can react to... or which in embodying a reaction to something we’ve already done brings out the Byblis effect (theirs about us or us about something ‘out there’).

This isn’t the sky falling. Like most main belt  asteroid energetics, Byblis represents something we ‘run into’ and thus are affected by, which may color what we do, how we think or some choice we make because of or maybe in spite of everything and anything disquietingly ‘Byblis-like.’

At the same time, seeing as Byblis went retrograde back in early February in tandem with Mercury there is some chance that an assertion made back then may fall through now. If so, it will fall through on the basis of improper choices (which of several options was taken)...  or how a choice, commitment, resistance or position has failed to take all of the details and/or universal needs (or universal commonalties) properly into account.

In other words, where we may have thought over-much of our Self (in the ‘self important sense) or even just more of our opinion in some situation which really needed to be more balanced in the ‘my’ versus ‘their’ department...such issues may arise - or even re-arise now.

Again, this doesn’t have to be any sort of costly  interruption or reprocessing of anything. For many of us these Byblis moments are just those ‘do you have to bring THAT up again?’ sort of influences.

And since we’re here...the answer to the above is ‘yes, they do have to bring that up again,’ if only because their Byblis says they have to bring ‘that’ up again for their own Byblis reasons.

How would we know who would react and who wouldn’t react to such an influence? Granting that energetics tend to have a low-level effect no matter who we are, the person who reacts now will have 28 Virgo as a sensitive point in their natal chart or a natal Byblis which is somehow emphasized, however that happens.

Also, one other item worth noting...

Astrologer Marc Edmund Jones (the original astrologer to work with Sabian symbols)

typified the image for 0 Libra - 'IN A COLLECTION OF PERFECT SPECIMENS OF MANY

BIOLOGICAL FORMS, A BUTTERFLY DISPLAYES THE BEAUTY OF ITS WINGS, ITS BODY

IMPALED BY A FINE DART' - as 'the immortal archetypal reality that a perfect and dedicated

life reveals,' validating in yet another form those many age-old sayings which warn how 

with every great honor comes some sort of responsibility and feeling of being 'pinned' to

that 'perfect beauty' we represent, stand for, have achieved or have created.

A Chinese cloisonne and enamel box (photo credit: Vassil, June 2007)
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Haumea direct at 0 Libra

Haumea is a dwarf planet, not an asteroid, meaning it’s greater size and mass translates rather literally into the metaphorical world of metaphysics, telling us it’s effect will have ‘weight’...or perhaps ‘gravity’ in our psyche, if not our life.

And maybe our life too - but first the psyche, as that is the principle realm (hierarchy of thought) around which western (tropical) astrology is organized. There are other forms of astrology which tend in that direction, but in western astrology, fate is what you are handed: what you do with it is free will and that’s what we see in your chart...which is why what happens (astrologically) isn’t about ‘them’ it’s about you and your responses, reactions and learning curve.

And why does that apply here? That applies because Haumea is a goddess of tricky manifestations, whether we’re talking about Haumea as an entity capable of ‘giving birth’ through various portions of her being (which metaphysically would suggest our ability to ‘give birth’ to ideas or efforts when various facets of our lives are triggered)...or Haumea the ultimately self-destructive shape-shifter as a representation of how we choose, do or say this or that to placate or ‘get by’ or ‘get along’ in any of the many manners which ultimately come home to us in some form of self-undoing.

In going direct at 0 Libra, Haumea drives us to understand truths even while (or because) we’re being driven crazy - or just driving ourselves crazy over something we need to deal with before moving on. There’s a ‘spin’ on complications here which suggests easy things being made more complicated (perhaps more complicated than they need to be) even as complicated issues are being simplified - and yes, maybe over-simplified. Whichever effect is encountered, the subject... interestingly... does seem to be something important, particularly in its ultimate potential with problems of the moment being linked to an undermining of momentum through improperly applied efforts.

Either the right method is not known, the right skills are not present or skills are needed but not present, all of which is complicated by questioning which in the end will tend towards lack of capacity - a quality which isn’t going to be felt as any more cuddly or cozy by any of us seeing as Venus is still in Aries (a fact which links because the Venusian drive for reward rules the Libra principle of relating).

You do remember Venus in Aries, right?
 

- link to -

Venus in Aries

Haumea and Byblis both go direct on May 18th, which means their stations (conservatively) begin on the 16th (Friday) and extend through March 20th, the actual end of Mars retrograde.

And that station (Mars’ station) begins on the 18th, the date Haumea and Byblis go direct.

Wait...let me try to make this a little easier by offering what schools the world over have no doubt taught us all to regard as a ‘visual aid.’

I’m sure to some, this all sounds rather dire - and it could be for those brining their minds in some proverbial pickle while waiting on someone or on something to happen. But the element involved here - air -  tells us that however Haumea and Mars manifest amidst all other things is of theoretical concern.

In other words, they’re arising in our mind, and whether it’s an evolving idea or some new notion about how life works or who you are in this life...with the Sun in Taurus’ latter degrees, we’re all being subjected to some level of interfaced wants and ‘security needs.’ Or maybe for you that’s the interfacing of wants and whatever allows you to feel secure (starting in your mind, evidently).

Or maybe it's just all in our mind. Sorting through that question is part of what happens now...and evidently it needs to happen as part of Mars reaching the end of its long Libra retrograde. How much of what we do in life is governed by what we think others like or dislike? How much is our life modeled or molded by ideas which may 'hold their shape' for us but which in the end are undercutting or compromising our greater ends? 

By the by...just to define here, ‘security’ in this sense is the Taurean (and/or 2nd house) version of security, which is to say that we find in our Self, making this reference ‘that which makes us feel secure as a person in life and/or in any given moment of our life.’
 
For the record here, the obvious is also true - namely that the reason why Scorpio as the polarity to Taurus is so often associated with death, birth, war and various kinds of tests of control are because where and when Scorpio functions that way it does so as a projection onto others of that we feel disquieted by ourselves.
 
Some factor which arises from this quadrant of our thinking plays a role at least in how we will tend to consider things now... and with Mars continuing to ‘sit’ at 9 Libra (conjunct fixed star Diadem), whether we’re in position to be comfortable with some sort of separateness of perspective or struggling through dealing with feelings, tales and issues having to do with separations or a ‘separating of ideas,’ isolation and/or its elitist cousin isolationism will be pushing us each and all to see the beauty, full potential and possible nasty (to our thinking) ideas to be faced amidst all.

Traces of liquid passage as recorded in planet Mars' surface

(NASA, GSFC, December 2006)

Damocles, Mars-Diadem

and Orcus on Station

 

Speaking of Mars (you knew we were going to get around to this, right?), the strangely unsecured feeling so many people are feeling, reacting to, and whether productive or not - that continues...as does the [Mercury in Gemini] pace of things in general. We often think of Mercury in Gemini as a somewhat ‘hectic’ time - and that factor may well be missing this time around, what with the overhanging Diadem/Mars retrograde effect. The net is likely to be a deal of coming to terms with Self first and then others, yet with Mars and Venus both in ‘fervent’ degrees we will need to conquer our own trepidations going in and be willing to work through a process of consideration and reconsidering (most of all with our Self) if by week’s end we are to arrive at suitable (or at least employable) combinations of [Venus in Aries] aspiration, [Mercury in Gemini] facts, choices or options and what may only be a dawning of the greater [Mars/Diadem] understanding of why (in the biggest-of-big-picture metaphysical sense) you have gone through so much of what you have gone through over these past days, weeks and months.

This period has its own function, absolutely. But it is also part of an intense and challenging period filled with personal tests which dates back to December, 2013 - just before Christmas.

Speaking of intensity...since Mars is going direct in square to Pluto (conjunct Vega) in Capricorn, apart from and yet as part of all else we go through now we are experiencing a long-term [Pluto] transformation of allure and that which fascinates us, draws and or commands us.

The longest range personal and societal shifts began a couple of years ago and won't become evident in the general sense for several years hence. However the short term effects of Mars-square-Pluto (which this would be with Pluto in Capricorn and Mars in Libra) could be explosive IF both symbols were not in retrograde.

In other words, froth if you must, but the transformational energetic is personal and wholeheartedly internal, causing us to 'work over' issues in our own way and at our own individual pace starting somewhere around May 14th.

This is not a transit to quail at unless you have done something dishonest, wrong or wholly manipulative (i.e., without regard for consequences or who gets harmed). If that is the case, as always Pluto/Mars contacts are likely to time out matters which 'expose' your secrets and 'occulted' (hidden) matters...and something like Mars squaring Pluto through a station is certainly that kind of event.

For everyone else the latter part of this coming week is likely to feel 'constrained' or 'compacted'...or perhaps weighty but complicated in that messy if not in-obvious manner which persuades us we can get where we need to go if we will but tackle the job and get on with things.  

In this light, some of us will solve short-term problems first as greater perceptions filter down upon us...some of us will have one of those light-bulb ‘epiphany’ moments then use that to develop new strategies which apply to the here and now of today, tomorrow and next week.

Then there’s the rest of us - a vast swath of humanity which is seeing so much so fast that it will take a bit to sort out, shake out and otherwise prove out.

Which is okay too...and entirely astrologically sensible. Even before Mars enters its two-day ‘station allowance’ on May 17th, asteroids Damocles and Sabine go on station on May 16th, serving as metaphysical clockwork chimes striking new notes of recognition...

In light of Damocles going on station at 24 Aquarius ('A BUTTERFLY WITH THE RIGHT
WING MORE PERFECTLY FORMED' ) we are reminded to stay in balance with ourselves

...and just how much doing that much requires of us.

A plate of Charaxes Aristogiton from Adalbert Seitz (ed.) 'Macrolepidoplera of the World'

(published before 1930, author unknown)

...yes, we see what needs doing...it’s just that it’s [Damocles] a whole lot harder to carry through on, especially given the growing understanding that reactions may arise during the process. As the weekend of the 17th-18th comes upon us time [Damocles in Capricorn] is ever more an essential ingredient going forward...but there are distinct real-time, present tense needs too. 

And one or two of those are likely to feel a bit like volunteering to sit on a tack the ‘point’ of which is driving home our own mortality, our vulnerability to being human as both the reason we care about others (and need to be cared about) and why we need to individuate.

It’s back to that Libra thing - the knowing who we are in the presence of others and knowing how we act to, with and about them is the cause of the effect they hand back. It’s all about negotiation, most of which happens first and last with and within our Self.
 
You know, the [Orcus] consequences which come from being who we are and aren't...or who we have come to think we don't want to be or need to become in spite of all. Through others, through all we have been through and been thwarted in, so we come to realize what is possible, reasonable and - in the end - maybe not so desirable in spite of all.

 Asteroid Sabine going station/retrograde at 16 Capricorn, a degree imaged by the image
'A REPRESSED WOMAN FINDS A PSYCHOLOGICAL RELEASE IN NUDISM' representing

whatever unexpressed or denied experiences we meet up with (in our own life or that of
others) which causes us to see, become free with or 'put on display for all to see' either
that which represents our inner (Capricorn) structures or external (Capricorn) goals,
drives or aims. 

Inu (Nu debout) by Jean Metzinger (oil on carton, 52 x 35 cm., 1911) 

 
Maybe it's not our path or role in life. Maybe the thing at hand (or in mind) isn't ours to do even comment on. Why this should be - and why we will, in reconsidering our current focus arrive at considering the 'where we are now' in light of all we have done...that both holds us back [Sabine] and in getting us to [Sabine] take hold of that which is immediately available to us gets us to consider what our life should be as well as the [Damocles] difficulties we're bound to encounter whether we adjust or stay our course.

In other words...in light of all that, what is really worth doing [Mars] and/or investing our [Mars] energies in? At some level we know our choice cannot be just about what we want, nor can it be entirely about what one (or many) parties are lobbying for.

It's about any and all of us - and what we mean...at least on a theoretical level...amidst all that.

Considering we're all going through this together (which is a thought worthy of contemplation right there...) patience and thoughtfulness will count now more than usual - and though we dare not leave ourselves out of the mix (yes, a little 'be nice to me' time is in order) we also dare not neglect others, with and without regard for who they are.

Libra is about equality - a theoretical equality which on a metaphysical level must allow for differences simply because together we all balance each other out.

(And isn't that a metaphysical noodle worth thinking about?) 

The better we understand why all this is, the more likely we are to ask ourselves that we actually hear others instead of just listening (in general, read as 'tolerating') them. And once we do that, we're likely to not just hear what they're truly saying (as opposed to what we might have been thinking we wanted to hear)...from which we will begin to really understand why others choose as they choose.

Such perspectives...or our unwillingness to contemplate same...are what we carry into and through the Mars/Diadem station, wherever that may yet lead.

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Mercury Retrogrades in Leo

 Mercury, Herse and Aglauros

by Marie Pierre Jean-Baptiste (1763)

 

Mercury entered Leo back in late June – June 26th, to be exact. That same day, it entered the shadow of its upcoming retrograde – which would be this Sunday, July 15th (at 2:17 in the morning UT/+0 time, just in case you’re into clock watching.)

Oh…and that date of Mercury’s entrance into Leo? That just happened to be the day between the dates on which Saturn and Venus each went direct.

This all bodes well for those doing something of portent. This bodes as perhaps rather problematic for those trying to stand on ego or I-Me-Mine oriented positions. Leo fosters that, if for the most understandable of reasons: nobody wants to think something they like, really believe in or have labored long and hard on is ridiculous, broken, unacceptable or otherwise being rejected for whatever reason!

With Mercury going retrograde at 12 Leo – a degree guaranteed to carry a bit of waffling Leo ‘can’t I just be proud of myself?’ those with 12 degrees of any sign are likely to be going through a little Adventure In Self Questioning sort of moment. That’s neither good nor bad in and of itself, though with Kallisto (the ‘bear of a time’) also at 12 Leo, it’s likely that nobody’s getting a free ride at the moment.

At least not an emotional ‘free’ ride.

 

This doesn’t mean that anything is truly ‘wrong.’ It’s just that the kudos and ‘atta boy’ (or ‘atta girl’) you’d really like to be getting is in most cases, not going to be forthcoming.

At least yet.

There are those who will finish something now, or who have been working towards something which by hook or crook or fate of finality ends up locking, stocking and barreling out of the gate about now. For them, this is a red letter day – and if something happens now which is a ‘turn of circumstance’ of any note, you will do well to note that note and consider it noteworthy!

For those who are working on some project OR who are busy following a course of action they are determined not to be distracted from Edisona (the ‘bright idea’) sheds a little light on your topic from 15 Leo – one of the zodiac’s cross-quarter degrees. The most frequent result of input which shows its informational face now is that you’ll need to double back or make a few adjustments based on what you learn. HOWEVER…! There are some folks who will realize that they’ve been kidding themselves. Or that they’ve been led amazingly astray.

This is one of the interesting things about Edisona – and about tracking orbits of asteroids in general. (Yes, I have a giant chart on same with all sorts of orbital numbers and distances.) When you start logging these things, you start noticing the ‘near-and-far’ patterns.

What do I mean by that?

Simply this...when Edisona is at it’s farthest from the Sun (its aphelion point) it’s closest neighbors are Juno and Scheherazade. Juno represents the kind of discipline we need to exert inside our Self in order to keep ourselves on track. It’s the sort of energetic which keeps us from believing in just any-old-thing. It’s the concept that we should look before we leap, the need to know who we’re dealing with and the soundness of that old slogan you never gamble with anything you cannot afford to lose.

On the other side of Edisona is Scheherazade, ‘the telling of the tale.’ In most instances, Scheherazade is harmless. But sometimes Scheherazade is the tale which gets sold because someone feels the truth will not get them were they want to go.

Edisona – representing ‘illumination’ on the conscious or mental level – asks us to take both ideas into regard. And that requires thinking things through…which is an obvious Mercurial quotient.

At Edisona’s inner orbital position (it’s perihelion) it is flanked by the perihelion points of Byblis (defense of the indefensible) and Lilith (emotional denial)…neither of which sound like such a ‘bright idea’ but which often enough, people resort to anyway.

In considering this, we should probably wonder where all these points are at the moment – vis a vis their orbital cycles, I mean. Lucky for us, looking such things up is pretty much of a breeze using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) data bank and orbital image generators, from which all the following images come, with the date set for July 15, 2012.

First up, an image of Edisona in orbit:

  Edisona in orbit at July 15, 2012

Next, a reference check on where Edisona’s outer-reach (aphelion) neighbors are.

  Juno in orbit at July 15, 2012

 Scheherazade in orbit at July 15, 2012

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Finally we come to the images for Byblis and Lilith, the positions of which may well tell us whether we may be kidding ourselves, lying to others or in complete denial about what the truth of some situation really is.

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 Byblis in orbit at July 15, 2012

 Lilith in orbit at July 15, 2012

Of course this could be the other way around, you know…with all of these points (with the interesting exception of Edisona) pretty much near or at their aphelion (as far away from the Sun as they get) this could be an image of our trying to ‘offload’ responsibility.

That’s the problem with being human…just about the time you’re sure it’s all about them (or their fault) the truth appears to become some form of a lesson for us to learn about ourselves – that lesson being the offset to that ‘I’m so sure it’s them’ opinion.

Remember: we all fit into each other like yin and yang. We know people, we are attracted to people and circumstances because there is some form of ‘mirror image’ or ‘mirroring.’

 Mirror image of Tewkesbury Abbey

(photo credit: Pauline Eccles, first published by

geograph.org (UK) in July, 2009)

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With the former (the mirror image) we get either our twin, the easy agreement which can be twice as right or twice as wrong…or we can get the polarity – I say light, you say darkness and together we learn about the cycles of a day.

As for ‘mirroring,’ there is the ‘strictly psychological’ form of mirroring which involves echoing what you’ve just heard someone say either because you want to make sure you understand, because you are afraid of having some other point of view or because you are echoing what was said in order to elicit further comment.

For those of you who are into the astrology of asteroids, you’re probably saying ‘okay, so what about Echo?’ Which is valid.

But no, Echo is not at either end of its orbit either (I checked). Although… considering that at the moment of Mercury’s station asteroid Echo is sitting with Pelion and Child suggests either:

1.) much ado about children

2.) difficulties we have with accessing our ‘inner child’ (sorry, but that trite sort of phrase just works here)

…or,

3.) an act of childish nature which we are in the process of doing or more likely, have already done.

 Though we would all like to think that the 'Echo' in our

life is about someone else, since the whole of the horoscope

represents our Self, the 'Echo' we do not want to 'hear' (or

acknowledge that we have heard) is more often than not,

something we 'know' but do not want to know - which makes

any moment which summons the concept of Echo along with

that of Lilith (emotionally-based denial) an important one.

Echo by Alexandre Cabanel (1887)

 

And why is it that we’re going through all this tra-la about Edisona? Positioned at 15 Leo, Edisona is at one of the zodiacal ‘cross-quarter’ points. In this case the quadrant involved is the 2nd, indicating that matters at hand have to do with moving from a learning and ‘taking in’ phase into a phase all about applying what we think we already know in the process of learning more. That Mercury is ‘reversing course’ at 12 Leo would be one very good indicator that we still have ‘work to do’ on whatever project is now at hand…even if that project is going on vacation!

(You have heard the expression work hard, play hard, right? That’s what I’m referring to!)

Mercury will be retrograde from July 15th into the semi-wee hours of August 8th, when it will go direct just before dawn, UT/+0 time. During these weeks, we will all be examining what it takes to achieve our aims. Some of us will be having to face the idea that our choices just don’t work – at least not in current form! Leo being a very ‘headstrong’ sign, this is not a time when anyone tends to take critique all that well, though it would be a grave mistake to believe that all Leo bravado is built on fact, success or even sensibility to functionality. As one half of the Leo-Aquarius polarity, Leo is a lesson in creating for an ultimate purpose…and with the success of that ‘purpose’ being ours to propose, but not ultimately to fully define.

Let’s use an example here, taking ‘celebrity’ (a Leo concept) as our example. Pausing only to point out that in astrology celebrity is not the same as fame (celebrity is about the person and fame is about society’s appreciation of their accomplishments, achievements or creations)…anything which we purposefully ‘create,’ be that a child, an image or a product – the eventual ‘judgment’ on any one of those and its success is ultimately up to others, including people we personally will never meet.

That’s Aquarius. Aquarius is the mass of society. It’s ‘people’ not individuals. Leo polarizes into Aquarius by understanding that you can’t please all of the people all of the time and yet, we are each and every one of us dependent – at some level – on how others regard us. 

Those who, as the saying goes, ‘read their own press’ get so self-involved that eventually others are repelled. And that makes sense: to become self-involved excludes others.

Given all of this, Aquarius becomes the sign of reward for whatever we are and whatever we do which finds its place in what we might call the ‘greater marketplace of mankind.’

And that’s what Mercury in Leo is all about.

On the very-much-plus side here is that Mercury is going into retrograde in a perfected sextile to Venus – an indication that these weeks ahead can be a highly productive time. That Mercury is conjunct Kallisto on the date of its station says that we have either had a ‘bear of a time’ (Kallisto) or that we are having one…and that we probably need a ‘time out’ to think things through.

Mercury retrograde is an excellent time to think things through. It’s also good for making plans, for straightening things out, for having private conversations, for asking questions and for checking out all the possibilities before you settle on one as your choice in how to proceed.

If something comes to a head during the two days prior to Mercury going into retrograde (July 13-15) the indication is that something lies ahead which will change things. That ‘other shoe’ hasn’t yet dropped.

If something of note or import happens in the two days after Mercury goes retrograde (July 15-17), this is a further comment on something which has already taken place. Think it over…maybe you need to amend some position, attitude, choice or priority?

Mercury being trine Pallas at 10 Aries (and thus conjunct the trio of Child, Echo and Pelion discussed earlier) is yet another vote for recognition that we don’t know everything. That’s a totally neutral statement which at the moment may prove useful.

Maybe you need to admit you don’t know everything? Maybe even anything?

Do you need to admit that to yourself? To someone else?

Indecision is highly likely at this point and the smart money is on thinking, talking and investigating. 

Declarations and any other form of ‘betting on results’ is highly risky at this moment and the more that has to do with something you either want, want, want …or which you think you “should” do (societal obligation) the greater your chance of making a challenging, if not problematic choice.

Don’t let your ego get the best of you!

Oh yes…all these considerations, especially those involving risk or speculation should be doubled where money is concerned. Leo is the sign of athletics, competition and the stock market (as distinct from investments in anything solid) and all such matter are…well….something of a horse race at the moment.

 Spacecraft Messenger giving us a close-up

view of planet Mercury ( photo credit: NASA 2009)

Among astrologers, Leo retrogrades are infamous for instability in financial dealings. Some – undoubtedly – will be fine, but the name of the game now is likely to be volatility. Were there an eclipse, we’d worry giant time. As things are though, there’s just enough instability (especially with Uranus having just gone retrograde) to suggest things aren’t settled or predictable.

Take it as another form of that ‘other shoe’ thing.

With Mercury due to retrograde all the way back to 1 Leo, those who are willing to review and revise are likely to do well moving forward. This applies equally to products and life plans, so don’t be stingy – give yourself some latitude.

Mercury retrograde is a well-known headache when it comes to getting answers from people, sorting out final terms and finding exactly the right way to get anything done.

On the other hand, it’s also exactly the right time to figure out how to put the question so that it will in time get answered…and to have some idea of what you will do no matter what that answer is.

It’s a very good time to get informed on the parameters of any deal pending or in process.

It’s a good time to think ahead and work out how to get from here to there, pretty much across the board.

And for those on vacation? For you, it’s a good time to think about how pleasant it is not to have to think about anything. After all, there will be all those things which need accomplishing once you get home.

So! Stay in touch – at least with yourself! You’ll thank you for it in the end, I’m sure.

Anon and au revoir!