Niobe Direct

 
Niobe in Neustrelitz by Ruchhoff-Plau (2007)

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With Juno still at 3 Leo and Nemesis at 4 Leo (and both in direct motion) asteroid Niobe will go direct at 2:59 (UT/+0) in the morning on Saturday, March 28th.

The degree? 6 Leo, which right out of the gate points to things which are personal and which have to do either with who we are being or what we are doing ... which could be a very good thing -  and then again, could be a bit of a pain in the very (very) low back.

And that pain in the back part isn’t exactly what anyone is likely to need at the end of a week which has seen Nemesis, Ixion, Pholus and Sisyphus tripping switches through their stations fantastic.

The central issue with Niobe is pride, and the biggest problems we tend to see in connection with Niobe (either in transit or by natal placement) have to do with being overly proud. But Niobe is not merely about those who strut around proclaiming how magnificent they are. This is an energetic which can be seen in what we are proud of. Or how we go about showing or displaying our pride.

Niobe - particularly if there’s a badly placed natal Niobe involved (or one which is under stress by aspect) - Niobe can be an indication of not being proud enough of what one does. Or not knowing how to take a proper amount of pride in what we do.

It can even indicate no even having any pride in one’s Self, which may sound like a matter of self-worth and confidence - which it is sometimes. But in combination with other things in the chart, Niobe could also indicate the kind of lack of pride in Self which happens because you’ve been beaten down too far. Or where someone is so beleaguered or ill that they’re beyond the ability to focus on those simple things which denote the common level of pride-as-care we all normally exhibit in keeping ourselves reasonably clean and healthy and in doing things as we should (i.e., in accordance with personal responsibilities as well as society’s rules and standards).

The myth of Niobe is fairly straightforward: a queen in her own right, Niobe brags about how her mortal children were more numerous, beautiful and talented than the children of the gods ... specifically Apollo (enlightenment) and Artemis (feeling reflection).

And in return, the gods - specifically Leto (also known as Latona), the mother of Artemis and Apollo - punishes Niobe for her ‘immortal arrogance’ by sending those very children (Apollo and Artemis) to shoot down Niobe’s children so as to demonstrate the difference between mortal and immortal abilities and attributes and teach Niobe some sense of limits and place.

Niobe recognizes her mistake, but it’s too late. Her children are dead ... and in mythic terms, it was her pride which killed them. So although most Niobe’s effects fall far short of physical deadliness, evidently we humans do have some sort of habit of ‘killing’ things we create through sheer pride about having making it or making it happen. Sometimes we brag too early on - before we realize we aren’t actually up to some task. Sometimes we take our eyes off what we’re doing to talk about it, and in that moment when we’re not looking, everything just runs off a cliff.

In either case (as in most cases where Niobe is active) it’s the assumption or presumption of success or glory which gets us in trouble. Maybe someone hears us bragging and beats us to the punch. Or maybe we are so desiring to ‘look good’ that we claim we’ve had some part in something we haven’t really done.

And that’s the key to Niobe pride: it isn’t about ‘the thing’ (or person, in the case of one’s children) - it isn’t about being proud of what someone else has done for their sake or their growth or their success. It’s about us - our ego wanting acclaim so that it feels validated.

In other words, the pride of Niobe is not about something we feel successful and secure about - it’s an instinctual voicing or embodying of our desire not to feel ‘less than’ or less viable.

 

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Under astrologically normal circumstances, we would expect any Niobe station to bring out such feelings - most of all so we can feel our insecurities, recognize them for what they are and alleviate them (or put them aside) so they don’t become a point upon which we fall, defeating ourselves by ‘killing’ all chance for success or personal victory. But this isn’t a ‘normal’ moment. There was a total solar eclipse just a few days ago, which means we are all - each and every one of us - still being exposed to whatever will get us past our desire to not feel or not cope with our feelings about something. And most of those ‘something’s (at least our feelings about them) are quotients we would just really rather nobody knew about. Yes, we really wish there was someone we could talk about such things with ... but when we’re in our Niobe mode, we tend to not feel very comfortable talking about such things.

It would ...probably hurt our pride to do so, and whenever Niobe is in astrological ‘play’ we have to assume we may be more quick to react or take offense than we otherwise might be - which may be part and parcel of ‘other things’ (read: eclipse things) which are going on ... and then again, may be something new and totally not connected to all the many things in motion (some of which, due to the eclipse, may either not be in motion at the moment or not going in the direction we’d like them to go).

And lest we miss the message (or feel not tested enough) then there’s the energetic of 6 Leo, a degree which itself is all about pride - specifically, how that energy is manifested or directed. As with the myth of Niobe, part of the 6 Leo question is whether we have done sufficient self-reflection as to be accepting of who we are (and aren’t) so we don’t act boastful, arrogant, dismissive or denigrating of others. One writer even speaks of 6 Leo as having a tendency to manifest with the kind of impulsiveness coupled with  insecurity which almost surely leads to self-defeat.

All of this may just occur in the moment. It may also be part of the pressure we feel ‘within’ which causes us to ‘flee’ matters connected to the eclipse itself (and the weaknesses it seeks to help us uncover, detoxify and in time, convert to neutrality or strength) into some nexus of contemplation (or some self-involving matter) which echoes situations, feelings, distractions or ways in we dealt with things some two-and-a-half years ago when a solar eclipse at 21 Scorpio triggered a long string of evolving circumstances which itself took a turn soon after November 13, 2012.

 

-link to post-

The 21 Scorpio Solar Eclipse:

(Part 2) Fate Beckons

 

-link to post-

The 21 Scorpio Solar Eclipse:

(Part 2) Scorpio’s Eclipsing Provocations

 

So that’s where things are as Niobe goes on station - plus the flavor of the aura of thematic strains playing about many a choice made ... and (one suspects) a number of choices which get made which in the end are wholly devoted to avoiding something out of pride ... or perhaps more evocatively conjugated, out of pride in one’s emotional stance, whatever that may be or not be with however many people are in your individual life.

But then we stop to ‘give a think’ back on that subject of Juno and Nemesis at 3 and 4 Leo (respectively) as Niobe comes to its station. Nemesis in the ‘lead’ recalls prior information, either received or given ... though probably not fully heeded (or perhaps delivered with a proper amount of something connective or having to do with accessibility in the mix). Against that, Juno/Nemesis as a ‘unit’ (of sorts - and only temporary) speaks to leaving something behind.

And that leaving? It was inevitable, as much as we might not have wanted it to be true ... or as much as we might not have wanted to admit to our Self that in the end we have to be who we really are.

The reality of that life, that is.

But lest you think this is the end of this tale, it isn’t. As a celestial object at this point in its orbit, Juno is moving through zodiacal degrees faster than Nemesis is. (Part one: such things can vary, due to orbits not being perfectly round. Part two: not much faster, but faster.) What this comes out to be in astrological/calendrical terms is a month or so where Juno catches up and passes Nemesis (the conjunction runs from April 6-16) ... after which Juno catches up to Niobe on April 26th.

That conjunction occurs at 9 Leo, with the Moon at 23 and Jupiter at 3 Leo (and no longer in retrograde - that’s over on April 8th, UT/+0) on April 25, 2015.

It also happens with the the Nodes having backed their lunar selves back into 9 Libra (and Aries) at a moment when Neptune is wending its indistinct way through 9 Pisces.

That equals a Yod.

 

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Technically, we can all expect this Yod’s effects to become apparent as of April 14th - and prior to that, we’ll all just have the joy of North Node inconjunct Neptune, otherwise known as a fantasy head-scratching quandary entitled “what should I do here?”

Seldom do I think of a Yod as a lovely thing, nor do most people (just ask anyone with a natal Yod - they can get to feeling a bit vice-like at times). And the reason for this is that the ‘fated’ quality of the Yod, that which is either ‘I can’t do anything but this’ (i.e., a lack of physical options) or ‘I don’t want to do this but I know I have to’ (lack of emotional options)... the sum of which pushes us off the ‘spot’ we’re standing at (also known as “stuck on”), in some way forcing us to adapt a position which is workable considering all circumstances, seeing as circumstances dictate that something must be done.

This is accomplished through adapting to (or adopting, if you must merely act the part) an ‘airy’ sort of dispassionate, friendly-to-all-for-the-sake-of-discussion (ideally Libran) sort of point of view, becoming the facilitator to the solution even if it’s a solution you don’t like now but which will ultimately earn you the ‘currency’ (respect, money, alliances, whatever...) which will stand you in better stead down the line.

(Please note: I said better stead, not necessarily excellent stead.)

Yods force us to adjust our approach to being who we are - which in this case (with Neptune representing the ‘point’ we want to ‘stand’ on) says something about indefinites and something about (9 Pisces) some sort of attraction to that which is just difficult enough to present us with situations to which there are no ‘right’ (totally right) answers ... and how, in not making a choice we are - far from avoiding those results we are claiming to be concerned about - how we are/have been really looking for a way to not face how we might feel if things went sour.

And perhaps even more to the point, all which we would anticipate ourselves feeling while not knowing how things were going to turn out.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on on our very real and mortal human plane, and while all such considerations do indeed have real and tangible Real World considerations ... on the metaphysical plane the issue really is how we are facing some internal and infernal personal puzzle.

This being a Yod, we will want to remain in that Neptunian intangible limbo, probably dancing some dance (most of all with our Self) - on some deep and deeply personal level. But the solution to our problem (whether we know it, like it or not) is said to be at the opposition point to that ‘base’ of the Yod’s “Y” - the Neptune of it all (at the moment).

And that point is 9 Virgo, a degree known for its ability to cause us to ‘check in’ with how ‘long term pragmatic’ something is in terms of the whole of our life or some very long duration against what gain or success it might offer in the short run.

In other words, where the Neptune/Pisces side of this polarity is an emotional reality check, the Virgo (solution) side of this Yod’s equation points to something realistic, tangible and useful - with this dynamic being part of why we need to adjust our  Niobe attitude or emphasis as our feelings about either the issue or our feelings about it take a (Yod) turn. Furthermore, as part of this process ... or as a result of it ... there is an ‘adjusting’ of how something is represented, a trait which lore tells us is particularly likely to be needed where drama or ‘showiness’ has stood in for ability or willingness to tackle a challenge.

And because the Nodes are involved, we know we are not alone in whatever is going on. Either we are part of a group (of any size), or what we are involved in affects others.

Also, since it’s the North Node which is involved in the Yod, that means the South Node is not just at 9 highly dynamic and self-motivated/motivated towards Self degrees of Aries, but it’s also in a semi-sextile with Neptune.

So nobody wants to do what they need to do at the moment. You don’t as you experience this moment, the other guy doesn’t as they experience this moment ...

And lest you think ‘I’ll wait this out,’ - which in the case of some transiting Yods would be just fine - with this, you may or may not be defeating your own purpose to play the endurance-cum-avoidance card as the North Node in this figure is conjunct and therefore described by fixed star Diadem: ‘a wonderful and idea which is so powerful to embody, to teach and to learn from,’ which in 9 Libra tends to have us thinking we know how things work when in the long run, by some means we are destined to create whatever goad will then become a lesson which in a classic Virgo (tangible) manner is likely to come with some sort of ‘price tag.’

And in some way ... perhaps large, perhaps small ... all of this starts as Niobe goes direct.

Call it a pebble falling into a well of self-acknowledgement.
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Mars Direct (Blogpost: May 19-20)

The atmosphere of Mars as photographed by the Viking Orbiter

(photo credit: NASA 1976)

Congratulations!

No, seriously - congratulations to you (and the rest of us) for making it through a sincerely pretzel-ing series of celestial psycho-pressure points. In arriving at the Mars station (and Mars direct), apart from anything else, for those who have become even a bit more conscious of who we are in light of who we aren’t, bravo. For those who have confronted what it means to be who you are in the moment as well as in the light of your history, our history or history itself... for anyone who willing to see any set of differences merely for what they are, my congratulations.
 
Why? Because this set of months (and retrogrades past) has not been easy on anyone. Our tolerance has run thin at times, especially where things have challenged our ability... or (more likely)... our willingness to factor in anything other than our own convictions, especially as that pertains to who we are.
 
In being driven into the depths of our Self, there we learned more about who we are. People seldom take time for such things nowadays...which may be why life has to do ever more drastic things to get us to stop and think, consider things on a feeling basis or simply breathe, depending we tend to run shortest on.
 
Does that metaphysically mean that our times are more turbulent because it takes more to get us to periodically stop being connected and resume being our Self?
Maybe. It’s a thought - beyond which I tender hearty applause to all of us for merely having weathered the past five months of convolutions - not that we’re quite done yet however, as in the process of May 19th coming upon us our Big Picture [Damocles] challenges still loom large, and though we would like to [Mars] ‘get on with it,’ we also know somewhere deep down inside that haste could make waste...and yes, how we have already done a bit of that, the [Orcus] results of which - good, bad and indifferent - have become apparent.
 
Waste, I mean. Physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially...somehow we all can remember something. And if we can’t remember, surely about now something (read: Orcus going direct in Virgo) will remind us.
 
Though there may be cost, the real ‘cost’ indicated by Orcus is the lack of opportunity to ‘go back and do it over’ knowing better from the start. And yes, there may be some regret, frustration or internal chiding of the ‘why didn’t I realize that?’ or some such which, considering Orcus and Mars are both going direct within twenty-four hours of each other suggests that something pragmatic having to do with having or making something work [Virgo] must be considered ‘dead’ [Orcus], meaning something else must be taken on or considered as a fact or tact or way of seeing things... just may mean this Mars/Orcus station is about really bringing us to some point where we’re willing to listen or communicate or negotiate something which is tough for us for reasons which are probably entirely personal.
 
For no other reason than because we’re sick and tired of things not going well, we’re becoming a whole lot more about actually getting things done. There’s an aura of [Orcus] consequence brewing which is challenging our misalignments of ego - most of all with/within our Self or soul - to resurface in some sort of humanely pragmatic form. We know that what is happening shouldn’t be happening - and if you’re more than personally observant you’ll probably notice how rather magically each one of us is being confronted with just that little thing which creates just enough vulnerability to bring about relating.
 
Oh yes...we have all been thinking it was about ‘them.’ The holdup or the problem? Ah yes, that was ‘them.’ No matter who we are, some ‘they’ (or that) was doing, not done or not doing something, leaving us with an odd taste in mind about sitting and waiting for some unknown shoe which may just drop. (Or not drop.) And while waiting with unconvinced anticipation we've been doing a lot of figuring...pondering...thinking about things near and far. Some such contemplations have been earnest while others were merely out of interest.

And some...? Some where just our needing some measure of distraction.
 
Yet were we really waiting? And if so, who were we waiting for, and why? What was that based on - or in, given our particular situation? We may know why we’ve been wait...we may even know what we were (hopefully) waiting for. We may even have been dedicated to the proposition of “waiting our turn.”

And then...wonder of wonders...just as we forget about the waiting, something pertaining to matters, shipments, products and concerns which under Mars retrograde (or coming into Mars retrograde) got stalled, backlogged, diverted, ignored, delayed or which went just plain ‘missing’ ...now, just as we reconcile ourselves to the reality of our imperfect world and all the imperfect people and things in that world, just as despite all we form some sort of recognition about the balance of pluses and minuses in our past, present and/or future...

...about then, something begins to shift. Under any circumstance (retrograde or direct, in other words) Mars in Libra has an odd ability to show us up to others so that through those others we learn about our Self (and beyond that, what works and doesn't work as motivated by our inner Self).

And that quality, that is what has brought us to our crossroads, a place where for the duration of the (May 18-22) station during which in a subtle if very real way we will achieve some sort of an understanding which in part lies beyond what others just say or think and beyond mere appearances. In essence we aren't learning about them at all right now, but about who we are in relationship to them (or some situation)...and why that dynamic (the Mars power of the Libra interaction) is what determines much of our success or rejection with others and in much of what we do in daily life.

These realizations may be exotic or they may be simple. Over the next few weeks they will remain with us and begin coloring our choices and abilities to converse, transact, interact and make whatever course corrections are or will be needed in the coming weeks and months - during which .

In other words, it isn’t about them... it’s about us - and yes, that’s what any astrologer would have been telling you all along. It’s what astrologers always say and because the nature of anything in retrograde tends to be inward, the basic facility to connect to and process that very information will be interrupted.

Question: So why don’t astrologers just hush up for the duration and wait for people to emerge from their cocoons to discuss things?

Answer: Because those who learn to recognize the difference between energies in retrograde and energies in direct motion will in time not be subject (or at least be less subject) to those facets of their persona, psyche, personality or inbuilt/knee-jerk reactivity/reactions which may well be less productive natures as time goes along. The difference between productive and problematic retrograde periods is pretty much just about this: the ability to recognize the problem and sort through it either in private, behind the scenes or personally (internally) before proceeding so that everything as a whole functions more effectively.

In theory, those who learn the process of retrograde cycles are still subject to the same ‘slow down’ periods but instead of being or becoming wholly stymied they learn to...(a.) understand the incoming cycle while (b.) watching for slowing forward progress which is the cue to - in keeping with symbol, sign and placement in your personal natal and solar chart - then becomes (c.) a period of less ‘outward’ or at least ‘final/finalized’ activity through which greater understanding and capacity is gained.

All of this could be summed up in the immortal words ‘to everything there is a season, turn, turn, turn...’ but then you wouldn’t think I was giving you your due as the not-so-local local astrologer even if the expression is sincerely true.That we have such a well-known phrase on such a subject, that we think such thoughts, all that - metaphysically - is because we are all connected, all contiguous, all part of each and every other person's life from our electrons to our understandings and on up the line as people.

Which would be why we take our time with each other: because we're people. You may be a very 'big' person and I may be little. Poor or rich, smart or clueless, responsible or otherwise, humans are all - in the end - just people.

It's our very best and worst quality all in one.

Amidst the gardens of Italy's Villa Hadrian (Hadrian's Villa) stands

this statue of god Mars (also known as Ares)

Mars is going direct at 1:32 in the morning (UT/+0) on May 20th. With much still undefined there is an odd combination of feeling stymied, a bit emotionally ‘mired’ (whatever that means in your life)... and yet a little restless, all of which amounts to one of those days-nights-experiences of not knowing quite what to do which leads to dealing mostly with whatever is right in front of us.

There’s nothing wrong with that as long as we are remembering to be aware, though that may lead to some degree of mental overload or [Neptune at 7 Pisces] utter confusion. Try as we may and protest as we might (trust me, some will - loudly) these qualities are unlikely to shift until just over twenty-four more hours passes and the Sun enters Gemini on May 21st at 3:00 p.m. (UT/+0 time).
 
And a note to the born yellers, debaters and confronters in the crowd: Venus is still in Aries. So though the boldly courageous which we are willing to embody may go well, when it comes to anything which smacks even vaguely of ego...well, let's just put it this way: do you really want to be known for what you are likely to be seen as/as doing? Care may be advisable in the short run particularly where we are using any form of “capital,” be that a physical resource or financial capital - even the ‘personal capital’ an established reputation or track record gives us. It isn’t that the action (or transaction) itself is necessarily problematic (it may or may not be, but that’s a different issue), it’s why we are doing or not doing something which can be out-of-kilter with our more “normal” feelings. Under Venus in Aries, even without Mars being in retrograde or on station people tend to think in more ‘first person’ terms than usual - which is a bit torturous to think about particularly as that concerns others, seeing how each party will be considering the other based on this somewhat canted perspective.
 
(See the problem?)

Some of us will be put on notice now for actions or choices already taken. Or when others may find out what you’ve been doing, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Whatever it takes to get us to see who we are (and aren’t) and what that means in the greater scope (generally greater than we have been thinking), that’s what happens now.
 
These effects DO NOT have to be violent, disruptive or even vaguely obvious. Mars stations often enough simply mark either a flinch-worthy or ‘light bulb’ moment - that thing which inspires and motivates us as we move on. With this Mars station being in Libra we are - and have been mirrors for one another, and for ourselves most particularly over these past months, exacerbating our own concerns in the process.

Metaphysically, our trials have not been about ‘them’: they’ve been about something in them which attracts us. We have been seeking some sort of lesson about ourselves and have (seemingly by magic) attracted anything or anyone we could learn that lesson from... or at least get keyed into learning that lesson by.
 
The tale which led us to or through our experiences began last December on a Venusian ‘how to get the rewards I want out of life’ note... moved through the organizational and mental Mercury (debate) phase throughout February - after which we were all unceremonially sealed into the turbulent confines of our own best stealing-or-steely psycho-emotional embrace.
 
No, it isn’t about them - it’s about us. As if to underscore this (at least astrologically), as I was perusing my ephemeris wondering when the next dose of Mars retrograde challenge (I would use a different word but I’m trying to be optimistic here...) when that sluice gate will burst open.

Answer: April 2016, and next time around Venus retrograde will be miles away in time, seeing as Venus’ closest retrograde escapade will run from late July 2015 through early September of 2015.

But that’s not really what I was looking at which so pertains to present-tense time. What I was checking on was the concept that each successive Mars retrograde falls in the following sign - which would mean the next retrograde would be happening in Scorpio, one of Mars’ two ruling signs.

You remember Scorpio right - from last year’s November eclipse, never mind the relationship we all have to any sort of [Scorpio] subject which asks us to risk our self-worth, sense of (emotional) security, life or personal or public reputation/image?

As much as we all think we adore Scorpio there’s not one of us who doesn’t fear it, and as I say that I’ll bet every Scorpio Sun, Moon and most of the Scorpio Ascendants are murmuring under their confidential breath in agreement...as are (now that I think about it,) all the Taurus Ascendants, since having a Taurus Ascendant means you automatically have a Scorpio Descendant.

And yes, I say that as someone who not only has a Scorpio Moon but who knows a bunch of people with Taurus Ascendants, all of whom may have thought they were going to get off without my mentioning the obvious. 

(No such luck, sorry.)
 
So when it comes to our next Mars retrograde (which I’m evidently done thinking about, never mind slogging through) it starts in Sagittarius and ends in Scorpio...specifically at 23 Scorpio.
 
Does that ring any bells?
 
It should...or if you’re into remembering degrees, it should, as 23 Scorpio is the degree that Saturn as at when it went retrograde on March 2nd, a day after Mars went retrograde this past March.
 
As a concept, that at least subtly links events or developments (the formulating of a goal, the starting of a relationship or something akin to that) which began back around the beginning of March and which have developed through or throughout this Mars retrograde to things which will play out or have a next ‘phase’ start-or-finish point near or just after the end of June, 2016.
 
Speaking of ‘end of June’s, it’s also worth noting that in keeping with the fact Mars will take over a full month to resume its “average” rate of moving through one degree every two days or so, meaning we should think of June as a ‘start’ or a ‘ramping up’ month which in also reflecting Mercury’s going into and being in Gemini retrograde is still highly functional if in a distinctly behind-the-scenes (and/or) ‘in process/not finalized’ mode.

  
Mars entered the shadow of its retrograde back in December, 2013 - just a few days before Venus went retrograde. And though Mars will go direct on May 20, 2014 it doesn’t emerge from the shadow of this wholly Libra retrograde until July 20th.

That means we still have time to build and rebuild - not just in the physical sense, but based in part on all we’ve learned to let go of and what that means we may do...and with a deal of conscious effort, yet become and be with and among others. 
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Blogpost (May 5 - May 11): Mercury in Gemini, Mars/Diadem at 9 Libra

 At the center of constellation Orion, a region known as the Trapezium reveals streams
of glowing particles charged by nearby stars

(photo credit: NASA, ESA, M Roberto, January 2006)

I'm sure there is a goodly gathering of those who stop by astroPPM on a regular basis who have been reading over the past few months and wondering (between uproars in your own life) when it was that I was going to catch up with myself.

That answer would be now.

I had originally gird my whatever (while gritting my teeth and otherwise donning the armor of determination) to continue through to Mars direct (May 20th) and then breathe...

But apparently I don't look that good in blue.

Still...so you know, it isn't an easy choice. Over the years that this blog has been running I've gotten all sorts of communiques from people - from those who understand astrology as a language to those who just like having a source of questions they can think about. I'm quite sure most people think of any blog all that seriously, but it is a way to contribute and I believe in being a contributor. Caring about others and being of help is what makes our world - and thus our lives - richer. While I understand the barter and negotiating power of money and why people listen to the rich folks, the metaphysics of money state that ultimately money is just another Taurus/Scorpio connector.

Like power, like sex, like the creating of life and the meting out of death, what we use as our connector says...and should say...more about us than about them.

The point really is that I do what I do not just because despite limitations it's something I can do, but because writing online makes whatever information I have been taught available to anyone who can access the internet (give or take digital politics).

I care about laying the information out for you to use. If you want it, it's there. So despite personal need and the need to care about my personal person (in case you're wondering, being an astrologer is like being a weatherman - you still get rained on) for the next while I'll be setting up blogposts on a basic weekly basis. Since astrology is cyclic, between the blog archives and featured lists of past posts (plus the word cloud) you should be able to answer most of your questions.

And should you get stuck (or stucco, if you're into plaster and such) you can always post a question here at the blog or send me an email for sticky specifics.

So saying, thank you for understanding, and let's get to it...

Burnished fields outside Benton Township, Columbia County

(photo credit: Nicholas A Tonelli, May 2010)

Mercury in Gemini:

Mercury enters Gemini on May 7th at 2:58 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time and will remain in Gemini until mid-July.

Mid-July?

Considering how Mercury normally zooms through a sign in the matter of a few weeks, to hear that length of time is something of a sure-fire tip-off.

Of what? Of the fact that we will be going through another Mercury retrograde in rather short order.

Ah yes, Mercury retrograde... the land of bad traffic, delayed communications, late paperwork, and too much to do...all of which is (theoretically) supposed to teach us humans about priorities and limits.

Apparently we like to ditch that class.

Anyway...that retrograde begins in early June - a couple of days before Neptune goes direct, all of which brings up the subject of Mercury-Neptune connections (and Neptune's current position) talked about...here.

- link to -

Mercury in Taurus/Neptune at 7 Pisces

Gemini is a sign of dualities, choices and information, all of which serve to support (or not support) the process of learning...and learning better. Under transiting Mercury in Gemini the pace of life seems to pick up, though it's possible (maybe even likely) that the truth is more about our unwillingness to choose or some choice not to prioritize which govern the limitations, successes, insights, opportunities and responses (positive or negative) we run into during this time.

Moonrise on Hobart Bay, Alaska

(photo credit: Commander John Bortniak/NOAA, October 1990)

Mars conjunct Diadem at 9 Libra:

Mars will enter 9 Libra - the degree of its upcoming May 20th turn to direct - on May 8th.

What does that mean? Well, let's look at it this way...Mars retrograde represents a trying period when our pro-active, assertive, even aggressive attitudes, choices, instincts, words (etc.) either get blocked, turned aside with (Mars) "point" twisted, deflected or "blunted." It's sort of all about our effort to 'get ahead' being put on hold and no, we don't like it. I doubt there ever has been (or ever will be) a Mars Retrograde Fan Club. Under Mars retrograde the normal Mars tendency to 'do' things externally (and get them done) turns inward asking us to 'do' something with or 'about' our Self as indicated by the sign (or position in your personal chart) of the retrograde, without whatever normal Mars 'my way or the highway' quotient tends to be resident in or as part of your life.

This time around, Mars' sign of retrograde has been Libra - the relationship polarity. Are we therefore shocked that our relationship(s) to others and maybe to life itself or the world around us has been odd?

Maybe. But astrologically, we shouldn't be surprised - except at just how odd things and people really are, of course.

Part of Mars retrograde theoretically is always about 're-balancing' our inner and outer worlds and the energy (the Mars "doing" or Mars "focus") put into each thing. Presented in Libra, this retrograde has had that eternally airy (air sign) quality of having to decide between ideas and people and paths and goals and all that stuff. That's the air sign thing - which is why air signs are always about choices. Gemini learns through choices and is personal, Libra learns through relationship and is thus interactive and Aquarius sees relationships in the world and how we relate to those relationships and the process of relating on an individual or collective basis.
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So ever since early December, we've been in this Mars-in-Libra mode, learning about our Self through our relationships (or lack thereof) with others. The 'who,' the 'how,' the priorities one party or another party places on 'what'...it's all been a debate to the extent that they (or the situation) sets off our triggers.

Retrogrades are about us. We tend to think they're about others and 'the world' and such, but while it's natural to start by saying 'they made me feel that way' our feelings aren't theirs, so 'they' don't make us feel any given way - we feel whatever we feel because we have interacted with others.

That's pretty much the start of the Libra road - realizing that we're drawn to others or alienated by them or whatever else because of Self...not 'them.'

Where we go from there of course once we understand that is up to us.

And if we don't learn that, we just keep banging our heads - which may simply say we like being our own headache, but let's not go there.

Next we add in the 9 Libra part. By simplest definition as a first decanate degree (any degree between 0 and 9 of any sign is in it's first 'decanate') 9 Libra is a personal degree referring to our Self, our life, our body or our actions. Having a bit of a 'yang' edge (or edginess) to it, 9 Libra calls upon us to see the 'other side' of things before coming to any decision and to be fair in making any decision which stems from seeing both sides of every coin (or pancake, if you prefer). Assertiveness associated with 9 Libra often surfaces as frustration even without Mars (or Mars retrograde) getting into the act as it is in our present. And all of this...just in case you're wondering why people get so much more frizzled and out-of-hand these days than they did in the "good old days"...well, apparently it was time for us to go through all this frizzling because as of December 19, 2003 the star astrology knows as Diadem moved into 9 Libra.

That made 9 Libra part of our greater global background vibe - a fact I'm sure you'll just be charmed by once we apply the idea of Diadem, that being the idea that our crowning glory as humans being we learn from what we go through.

In other words, we're back to the experience of gaining wisdom - often through something which doesn't go at all the way you want it to.

And that sounds like Mars retrograde.

Could it be all the awful stuff we've all gone through since last December is about what we learn from it?

Apparently so...which makes me wonder what's going to happen next. You know...once we stop and realize what we've learned and begin to apply that (wisely, one hopes)?

One last note here: with Mars going direct at 9 Libra, that means that anyone with a Sun, Moon, Ascendant-Descendant, Midheaven-Nadir, lunar node or significant point (significant to their individual chart, that is) between 4 and 14 of the following signs is going to be most dynamically affected by the approaching Mars station as a turning point in their life or their thinking or their choices.

AND that such people will do well to take into account that others (people who may not have any points, planets or whatnot in those degrees) won't react the way they do. Those others may not even seem to care...even if they do care.

It's one of those times when you could agree with someone and still argue with them - especially once Mercury is in Gemini. (Such things happen.)

Or maybe Mercury entering Gemini is that clockwork signal for all clicking into place or our mental gearing finally seeing where and how we are in agreement with someone, giving us a basis to proceed. (Carefully, yes - but progress is progress!)

Mars retrograde is said to raise feelings of isolation and being 'on our own' so that we can recognize what we are capable of doing as an individual. Or what we're not capable of doing. Or what we're doing to each other because we both feel helpless, but neither party wants to admit it and neither party wants to communicate what they can't understand or admit in or about their Self or those (or that) they love or feel allegiance to.

Whatever we have learned over these past months we have learned in 'isolation' - which in the realm of air signs means 'in our mind.' That's no negative - it merely begs another question: what are we going to do with (or maybe about) what we have come to understand about ourselves (or our Self) in (dis)connection with others and our world? 

All of this is taking place in the wake of an eclipse with the other two astrological "personal planets" (Sun and Venus) being in Taurus and Aries, respectively.

Venus rules Taurus, of course. And as noted while we were skating through the last post, Venus in Aries isn't generally known as anyone's peak point of personal satisfaction.

Mind you, that doesn't spell doom. Or defeat. This is just life's requirement that we 'eat our vegetables' so that we can merit our eventual dessert...which for reasons discussed over many a past day, week and month may or may not yet be of the humble pie variety.
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Dateblog: May 2014

In the wake of April’s solar eclipse, Mars retrograde in Libra continues. It's an indication that though we are busy trying to meet needs or goals immediate and long-term, getting things on track (or finding resources or gaining "traction" in your endeavor) is probably not 'connecting' with others as effectively as we might want, hope or have expected.

And what does that suggest? It suggests questions - lots of questions being asked, especially of ourselves and especially after Venus enters Aries (above, in red).

Yet why would that be? That would be because Venusian energetics, somewhat in keeping with those of Libra (a sign Venus rules and which Mars is in)...Venus is about connection and all that comes from connecting with others and our the world, to which gets added that very 'first person' quality of Aries. Venus is all about results and in the case of Venus in Aries, our best results come from us.

And yes, they may be about us - our feelings about the results we are capable of generating, the results we have generated, or those we are (or aren't) likely to generate as time rolls along.

Much is in flux. But then, with a solar eclipse barely a week behind, that's not surprising - solar eclipses often take a couple of weeks to settle out. And while they're settling out, we tend to be a little...undecided.

Or insecure.

Or puzzled.

Even intrigued.

The point is this: it's all part of a greater process, one which is asking us to see what in us (the Aries 'first person') isn't working or not being all that well received - or maybe just not getting done. (Don't you hate that?)

Remembering that Neptune is sitting at 7 Pisces, this is a period of weeks which ask us to allow ourselves not to know - which isn't always easy, as most of us are going to meet up with this and that which tries our faith in exactly that way which triggers our urge to be sure or to "glue" something down.

It's so very Neptune/Pisces - and once Venus enters Aries many will be tempted to blame things on others whether doing so is even sensible.

It's just that kind of time. The issue is greater than us but we all have personal needs. A lot of people will solve these issues by 'schooling' with a group (again, that Pisces fish thing...) as in various ways we all get to experience and 'take stock' (or estimate the measure of) what it means to be human.

And what that means to us.

With Mars going direct on May 20th, most of May will feel polarized and we can expect some unraveling of patience as well as the adjusting of plans. By the time Mars goes direct the need to get things done (seeing as this station is in Libra) will either prompt us act or react, depending on individual mindsets of that moment.

This Mars station in the end of five (very long) months of life feeling jumbled, pressured, confusing and challenging and it's to be expected that we will be giving up a few things (reluctantly) as we come to the station...and resolving ourselves to move forward on a slightly different tact coming out of the station.

Productivity is likely to seem 'easier' towards the end of May, with new factors being entered 'into the discussion' around May 28th (the date of a Gemini New Moon and end of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower)...which more or less which give us all something to think about - thinking being the prime Gemini modality and 'choice' as the Gemini goal.

One other May item deserves a note here: Mars will enter the degree of its May 20th station (9 Libra) on May 7th - and Mars will remain at 9 Libra through June 1st.

The degree speaks to introspective consideration undertaken in a time when old methods and ideas no longer serve our purpose, and throughout the weeks of Mars at 9 Libra (initially in retrograde and then in direct motion) there will be a lot of contemplating, doing, sharing, conversing, rejecting and negotiating of ideas which have to do with the search of some 'new way' of (Mars) doing things.

Some of us will do all of this through conversations with others, some will be sparked by things they see or hear - and some will do their contemplating in private. That fixed star Diadem (the "crowning glory") is currently at 9 Libra metaphysically increases our focus and what we can learn about matters which seem vital to our personal or long term interests.

But here's the thing - Diadem is a star which tends to manifest positively when we capitalize on a lesson learned, not one we want to teach others.

Most of May continues the eclipse process. Though not devoid of meaning and activity unique to itself, we're all realizing that things have changed.

Have we? Maybe we have...and maybe we haven't.

The good news is we have a couple of weeks to work on things now that the rather 'compacting' energetic of the eclipse has passed. Now we can take a bit of time and think our way through to who we intrinsically are - and who we are no longer becoming..
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Uranus stationary/direct

 Uranus, its rings, and several of its moons

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, ESA)

Uranus symbolizes change. Anything which alters the status quo or your status quo is Uranian. Discoveries are Uranian. The effort to try and figure something out (anything from experimenting to puzzling to science) is Uranian.

The information which represents the changing of the status quo or which leads you to make a change, that’s Uranian too. As are the means by which changes are created. Information is Uranian (and Aquarian). Bombs are Uranian. And so is a paycheck, especially when it changes your life lifestyle.

The internet is Uranian because computers and anything computerized is a.) powered by electricity and b.) a source of new information, both of which are Uranian.

Revolutions and rebels are Uranian. Anarchy is Uranian. Getting arrested is free…but so is achieving freedom. Both are Uranian – as are elitism and universality.

It’s all about where you start with a status quo, and the energy which is symbolically Uranus can function mentally, physically or as the itchiness which drives you to action. Uranus is about change, the act of changing, the choice to change, the discovery which allows you to change or the circumstance which forces a change upon you.

Lightning, such as that we see striking the CN Tower in Toronto, is 'very Uranus' in astrological terms: not only is it electrical, but it's sudden and can change things in a moment - not to mention startle the tar out of you!

(photo credit: Raul Heinrich, July 2008)

Uranus will be at a station/direct moment on Thursday, December 13th at 12:04 p.m., UT/+0 time. And that it goes direct at 4 Aries is both interesting and a warning. 4 Aries is by definition a ‘me-and-what-I-do’ kind of degree. It’s reputation is one of huge energy and a sort of naïve idea of how to use that energy, which right away makes the whole of the Uranus station period sound sort of like a time either when self-indulgence leads to choices which are then later regretted…or when instinct or luck or whatever you want to call it leads us to a moment which changes everything for the good. Maybe even the very good!

Celestial stations are normally given a two-days-before, two-days- after “station allowance.” With Uranus, just because this is Uranus, we might have to push that another day or so. But let’s safely say that this station starts on the 11th and extends to the 15th, with a little room for fudgery. (That’s fudging said with a flip of the mental tongue!)

But there’s more here to meet the mind than just that! 4 Aries is the same degree that Uranus went retrograde at back in July 2011. That means we should draw a line from here back to then. What was going on in your life?

And if you want to get really cyclic-exotic about it, Pluto hit a station/direct point at 4 Capricorn (the square to 4 Aries) in September 2011 and Saturn hit a station/retrograde point at 4 Libra back in January 2010. Saturn being the ‘extent of what we can do’ (or control) this means that something was at that extreme or moving beyond our control back in early 2010 which tested us rather crunchingly in 2011 which is now coming up as a ‘changing circumstance’ or change of circumstance.

 Saturn (and a couple of its moons) are here photographed in false color by Voyager 2

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

By going on station in Square to Capricorn’s Pluto/Facies, in trine to Mercury (in Sagittarius) in a semi-sextile to Chiron and Fomalhaut in Pisces, in opposition to Hera, Edisonia, Sappho and Diadem in Libra and in conjunction with Child and Echo in Aries…this Uranian moment would seem to be at least in part about our relationship to the sorts of questions about ‘perfection’ which ask whether we are too hard on ourselves (and why we have some to be that way) or whether we have not held ourselves (or what we choose to put up with) to decent standards. The Hera-Edisonia-Diadem Libra cluster here seems something like a mirror all about what we want to be, what others have taught us to be, what we want to be seen as, and whether we have any real idea of what we’re doing – most off all to ourselves. When combined with Uranus on station in Aries (with Child and Echo in attendance) we would seem to be in prime position to do something C/childish because we have been (Echo) told that’s ‘the way things are’ (or should be) which ‘breaks’ with something else.

Then again, since Child and Echo are but asteroids and Uranus is a big icy planet, maybe we’re making a break with what we’ve been told we should be (or look like, or whatever) because we instinctively (4 Aries) know that we need to be our own person.

Learning to disagree and how to have disagreements is one of life’s biggest lessons. Other people get to be who they are and have their opinions and positions, but that may not be who you are. Or what you believe in or want to be. That difference does not intrinsically define one person as ‘right’ and the other as ‘wrong.’ 

Can we live with that? In this moment, whatever is at stake or on the table is a (Pluto/Facies) complicated matter. And by (Uranian) definition, this would be a time when we would figure on seeing some (Uranus) explosive behavior.

But we can also expect some changes, too – most of all from ourselves, or in what we choose to do or be or put up with because we don’t see the status quo as one which is working for us. Or workable in the long run. Or anything we really want to (or can) build on.

Uranus in Aries asks that we make changes to things big and little in our lives so that we are not kept from being the people we should be…so that we’re not so bound by decisions, fears and unworkable obligations that we don’t get to doing the things in life we really know we want to do (hang everybody else’s opinions!).

As Uranus starts into its station period, Mercury is making its shift from Scorpio into Sagittarius. Since we covered that in the last post, thinking (the Mercury thing!) in those terms will point you to what’s first up for you in the Uranus district.

Unless, of course, you’re one of those avoidance people. If you’ve been avoiding some cucaracha which has been crawling around in your life, expect it to crawl out again now and do maybe a bit more than wiggle its antenna at you!

There are a few more things worth note about this Uranus station. One is that Uranus will ‘change directions’ (indicating a change in our perspective on things because of what occurs) on December 13th and December 13th is ALSO the date of a New Moon. So there’s a positive in the direction of ‘starting new things’ although as fast as you start something (fast being perhaps a problematic factor here…) you will run across things you hadn’t yet thought about.

Sometimes the only way to learn is by trying. Then again, going off half-cocked isn’t a great idea.

There’s also the fact that December 13th is the date when Kassandra (a symbol of disbelief OR not being believed) also goes direct in Aries…though Kassandra is doing its thing at 23 Aries and not 4 Aries. So this is the whole me/them thing brought into the area of disbelief. Do you not believe someone else could do something? Are you capable and willing to do something others aren’t going to believe you did or that you’re capable of (good or bad) or willing to do? Can you not believe people are going to react to your choices as they are about to?

This whole ‘surprise reaction’ is very much in keeping with Uranus’ reputation for change of circumstance. And in that sort of ‘harmony’ coming from the ‘Change Quadrant’ we can guess with some security that there will be some ‘I don’t believe it’ (or they don’t believe it) quality popping up during these days…or as a result of what you do (or at least decide to do) during this time.

The other interesting note to this ‘Uranus twist’ is that asteroid Circe, the emblem of being ‘enchanted and reduced to less than human’ (i.e., capable of thinking and acting for ourselves) is going retrograde as Uranus goes direct…as Kassandra goes direct…as we get a New Moon in Sagittarius and thus embark on a new ‘phase’ of some project in our life.

In going direct, Kassandra speaks to things coming ‘at us’ or that we will deal with in ‘external’ life. Meanwhile, Circe is going retrograde, a signal that we are either considering where and how we have ‘bought into’ something (on the inside) or where we are internalizing something which is going to keep us from having to think.

Circe sounds bad, and often does symbolize illusions and delusions – the having ‘bought into’ something. But it’s also a symbol of things which come to preoccupy us because we have been hurt by someone or shut out of some conversation by someone.

So this station can be liberating…or can be explosive. It could signal a renaissance in your thinking, activities or priorities. Or it could mark a time when you give up on yourself or some idea, effort or project.

The one thing to remember is that Uranus does not symbolize gentle, genteel energies. Discoveries are fun, but they can wipe out whole bodies of built-up habits and choice in but a moment. Changes in circumstance, and that which brings a change into being are often ‘unfeeling’ by nature. Those who are most prone to liking the soft, the romantic, the fluffy moments in life are least likely to like this week’s energy.

And that would be escapist, as far as Uranus is concerned. Astrologer Robert Hand’s metaphysical slogan ‘use the energy wisely, lest it use you unwisely’ seems very apt here.

It’s evidently time to make a change…or to be changed by the times or situations we live in or with.
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