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Italy's Telescopio Nazionale Galileo

(photo credit, Giovanni Tessicini, September 2012)

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One of the things about human nature I like best is curiosity - which is probably a good thing, as I’m a very curious person ... or at least that’s what people have told me over the years. And yes, I am aware how that labeling me as a ‘curious person’ may mean several things most of which I surely am.

I am curious. I have also always been curious about nearly everything, a fact I attribute to an aversion to  boredom plus having been left to amuse myself  through most of my growing-up years.

So ... From one curious person to those curious enough to type search terms into search bar of browsers because you’re on a search to understand yourself better, I’m with you so thoroughly that here at astroPPM I’m taking on search terms (as time and transits allow) to help you in your quest.

And here’s today’s handful, as always pulled from the search phrases which Google/Blogger lists for people who decide to come and vision this here-now blog.

ASCENDANT DISCORDIA
Any time we talk about any of the angles (the Ascendant, Descendant, Nadir/IC or Midheaven/MC) it’s important to know whether you’re talking about a planet which by degree falls before the cusp line (heading into the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house) or after the cusp line (in the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house). This is one of those areas of astrology which have been statistically tested (according to scientific standards) and the results are really interesting, though not illogical if you think the thing through.

Put simply, the planet, asteroid, dwarf planet, node or whatever else which is positioned just before the angle cusp line is more potent and determinative in terms of that house’s operations than those which fall just after that 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house cusp line.

And why does that make sense? That makes sense because it is the energy you bring to the subject which changes it, not what it is to begin with. Any object (planet, node, dwarf planet, etc.) sitting within a degree or two of the angle is metaphysically that energy which is being applied TO that angle.

(Astrology students, please take note. In my experience, this idea, the collection of rules known as the Doctrine of Sect and the old rule which says ‘the good or bad which comes out of the house (and thus any planets or objects positioned in the house) is determined by the condition of the planet ruling the sign on the cusp of the house’ ... those three rules sort out more confusion in charts than anything else. But maybe that’s just me.)

As to Eris (Discordia) on the Ascendant, any form of Eris on, behind, or in the house (while conjunct the Ascendant) speaks to several very different themes. One involves a tendency ... ability ... some might even call it a talent ... to cause or create discord through what you say or do. This can be negative, as in the case of someone who just likes to pick an argument or rabble-rouse for the sake of upsetting others. Then again, it could be a very positive quality, as in the case where someone stands against some evil being done. Or where someone stands up for those who have no ability to protect, defend or stand up for themselves.

Planets close to the Ascendant also often manifest as a quality others see in us, as the Ascendant describes and times not just our actions, but the general personality and manner of physical presentation. Astrologers often refer to the Descendant as a ‘performance point,’ or the place in the chart to look at when thinking about what we ‘put out there’ and (in return) how others react/respond to whatever we offer - and that true, if in terms of specific acts and people that we interact with, generally by choice (a big exception here would be in the sense of the 7th house representing ‘open enemies,’ lawsuits and such).

The Ascendant is generally more associated with personality and appearance - by which we mean both your daily outfit and sense of style and your height, general body shape and (often enough) particular traits which tend to surface with any given sign being on the Ascendant.

So with Eris - an energetic which arises most often with a quality of ‘unpredictability’ in the mix - on the Ascendant we may be unpredictable. Or, in the sense that the Ascendant is “now” and thus the aperture for the rest of the chart, we may be skilled in being unpredictable.

Ascendants are tough quotients to control, hence the terribly human ability to open the mouth and just change feet. (As a Pisces, might I suggest this is a good reason to keep up good foot hygiene?) This challenge is not just about the Ascendant however - it’s common to every calculated point in the chart (as opposed to asteroids, planets and such, all of which have physical mass). Something with mass we metaphysically can ‘get a hold of’ and thus teach ourselves how to deal with, forming habits, mannerisms and whatnot in the process.

But the Ascendant? Like the lunar nodes, like Lilith the Black Moon, the Ascendant is something we cannot train, we cannot tame - we can only be aware of on an ongoing and consistent basis... which, since ‘being in the now’ is what we all should theoretically be doing anyway, isn’t intrinsically a negative.

And at that level, Eris may well provide some sort of personal warning: care about what you do and say, lest others not care about you or anything you end up saying.

One last comment here: being that Eris has been in Aries since 1926, understanding the Mars of any given chart (Mars as ruler of Aries) is going to help in understanding and utilizing this placement. Through Mars experiences and maturation the Eris of such a chart will sharpen and/or mellow, affecting the external life (in particular) of this person (or company, etc.) over time.

TYPHON ORBIT
Typhon being an object which I’ve seen variously listed as an SDO (Scattered Disc or Disk Object), a TNO (Trans-Neptunian Object), a centaur (think domestic cousin to all those international comets) or just plain asteroid, its orbit originates out in the Kuiper Belt (beyond Neptune) rather in the district of Eris (speaking of Eris).

Also rather like Eris, Typhon has a egg-shaped orbit which goes from ‘way out there’ to rather more ‘in close, towards here’ - with ‘here’ being our lovely Planet Earth, of course.

 a diagram of TNO Typhoon's orbit

(diagram courtesy of JPL's Small Body Database)

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The difference between Eris’ orbit and Typhon’s however, ends with eggish-ness and proximity, specifically because where Typhon and Eris sort of ‘meet up’ in purely theoretical distance-from-the-Sun sorts of measures is different.

In short, Eris comes in towards the Sun to a distance of 37.91 au (one ‘au’ or Astronomical Unit being the mean distance from the Sun to Earth) which is about where Typhon is at its farthest from the Sun.

Why is that important? It’s not if all you’re interested in are orbits - in which case, at it’s closest to the Sun (the perihelion point) Typhon is at 17.5 au - a distance which puts it inside Neptune’s orbit, inside Uranus’ orbit and not all that far (in astronomical terms) from Saturn.

That’s a very eggish orbit, not to mention one which explains why Typhon might be listed as a centaur - a denotation which approaches fitting with Typhon as an astrological reference, Typhon being (in the chart) a point which carries with it very ‘primal’ energies. Things like eating, sleeping, breathing and such are often referenced by Typhon in the chart if not always on a physical basis (thank goodness) but also in terms of our reactions to things, such as when we react to something as if something truly dangerous or life-threatening was at stake. Typhon isn’t about explaining why a person reacts as they do, but rather refers to the level at which they react.

Currently positioned at 22 Libra (where it is keeping conjunct company with dwarf planet and ‘shape-shifter’ Haumea) Typhon is describing primal reactions which keep (Haumea) changing in nature and/or emphasis, with some (if not much) of the lack of ‘settling on one thing’ being attributable to simply being overloaded.

With an orbital time period of 235.25 years, Typhon moves at about the rate (astrologically, give or take) that Pluto does (read: not all that quickly). Typhon entered 22 Libra late on December 26, 2014 (UT/+0) and will be there until it retrogrades back out of 22 Libra on March 1st, after which it will return to 22 Libra on October 9th and remain there until October 16, 2015.

SWATCH REGROGRADE MENTAL FAME YRS... 
I confess, this one stumped me - except for the thought that someone wants to know why their Swatch watch is running backwards.

Answer (should that be the case): I haven’t a clue.

On the other hand, I do wonder how this search term led to astroPPM. Would you consider posting a comment to explain how that happened?

Like I said above ... I’m a curiously curious person.

WHAT DOES SAPPHO IN AQUARIUS MEAN?
I appreciate the full sentence here - complete with question mark. (Yes, that’s how it showed up in the back room here at the blog - with question mark intact.)

As to your question, Sappho in Aquarius is at one very distinct level connecting universal (Sappho) appeal (“the striking of the common chord”) to the idea of a mass (Aquarian) marketplace, with Sappho adding qualities of grace and the ability to ‘distill’ ideas into the mix. Finding ideas, methodologies and success through this combination would require finesse and an ability to state all matters simply, if meaningfully.

And while we’re on the subject of Aquarius...

WHY ARE AQUARIUS SO POWERFUL
The simple answer here is “they aren’t - at least not all of them.” Aquarius succeeds where it understands the overarching ideal as well as all the fundamentals which hold things together and make them work, qualities which reflect this last-of-the-air-signs’ twin rulers, Saturn and Uranus.

Reflecting this, most of the problems found in Aquarian situations or as symbolized by planets and other things being positioned in Aquarius have to do with attempts to escape responsibility, impatience and the unwillingness to accept ideas or value those whose lives, aims or goals differ from our own, judgments and decisions based on incomplete or biased information and simple, unadulterated haste (wherever that surfaces) ... all of which represent desires likely to do harm to current endeavors whether or not the eventual aim is terminally compromised.

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So that’s it for today - mostly because the next subject on the list I want to tackle is a giant thought unto itself.

(No, I’m not telling you.)

But like others, if you search for something about astrology and end up here at astroPPM ... if your search string hits the Google list in this blog’s backroom (which I check pretty much daily) I may be answering your questions too.

And I’m just fine with doing so. In the Aquarian Age creed we will all search for individuality and a way not just to fit in but to find a place which really ‘works’ for us. But if that place doesn’t give back - if it’s all about you (or you and yours), or to the degree that anyone (including you) becomes isolated, ultimately all will come to naught.

In other words, freedom and individuality are both very good things - very essential items to focus on throughout this incoming Aquarian Age. But when (or if) freedom and the quest for individuality ends with, or becomes an end in itself all about the Self, that defeats the purpose of this Age - an Age which if nothing else is about that which works functionally everyone in spite of their age, creed, religion, origin, gender, marriage status, ethnic origin, financial, health, educational status or whatever else.

And no, not everyone is going to be okay with that. During this age, ‘might makes right’ will be tried and tried again - as often in the name and form of that which it seeks to defeat as otherwise ... which is a very interesting form of 'like attracts like' few who consider themselves opposed to or actual enemies of others generally fail to consider - never mind admit, own and act on.

That which in the end survives to ultimately endure (keyword: ultimately) will be that which is respectfully earned and which is based and grounded in respect which is earned long term and - in keeping with the Aquarian credo - which also does not apply simply to who we are or what we do, but which reflects systemic growth and changes which again are functional and workable on a global, unrestricted and un-restrictive bases.
 
And so in short (which describes me well) I’m good with answering your searching search questions. Query on!
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Eris Discordant: Mastering Our Own Weakest Moments

 Hubble captures us a glipse of distant dwarf planet
Eris (center) and Eris' moon Dysnomia (left)

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech)

 

Discovered January 5, 2005, dwarf planet Eris is just one of thousands of KBOs (Kuiper Belt Objects), all of which are collectively also known as TNOs - Trans Neptunian Objects - for the simple reason that the Kuiper Belt lies beyond Neptune.

Of all such objects, Pluto is probably the best known - though it certainly isn't the biggest.

Which is....(as one might  say in fairy tales)...the largest of them all?

Why, Eris, of course. Dwarf planet Eris. The reason Pluto seems so familiar (and certainly more familiar to us than Eris) is simply about time: Pluto was discovered in 1930 and Eris was only discovered in 2005 by the team of Craig Trujillo, David Rabinowitz and Michael Brown of Caltech.

We've had a lot more time to get used to Pluto - not to mention the fact that when Pluto was originally discovered it was given 'full planetary status,' an honor which got everyone's attention.

Like Pluto, Eris is an object which in orbiting beyond Neptune, astrologically refers to something we don't deal with or encounter all that often. But that's pretty much where the metaphysical likeness ends. For one, Pluto's orbit crosses inside that of Neptune every now and again, marking Pluto as part of our ongoing life - something we may not control but which we at least have a decent concept of. We may not love everything Plutonic as such events and periods are generally potently transformative and emotional.

But at least Pluto's effects tend to feel 'normal' in the sense that they're part of human life whether we like them or not...which isn't true when it comes to dwarf planet Eris.

Known as Discordia to the Romans, Eris symbolizes energy which exists seemingly simply to disrupt ongoing patterns, thereby getting us to see things we never before suspected. Yes, Uranus symbolizes change in all it's newness and discovery modes. But Uranian 'breakthroughs' and the 'breaking out' of the old patterns Uranus is associated with are something we comprehend.

We don't control it, but we comprehend the driving forces behind Uranian outbursts and disruptions.

Not so with Eris. Eris is literally beyond all that, apart from that and emblematic of all which strikes us, seizing us in some compelling notion which is foreign to our daily life.

Or at least it feels that way. Arising from the unknown and the deep, dark, unbidden sectors of our psyche, Eris Effects test our ability to deal with the unknown. Or the  uncontrolled facets of our world. Or the untamed and  unpredictable parts of our psyche.

That which Eris tends to trigger or provoke in us doesn't tend to be so very gentle. And yet...if E=mc2 is true, everything is contiguous - and that would mean that the metaphysics of unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should includes that which isn't gentle, which may be shocking, astonishing, alarming or even truly despicable is really meant to be there.

Meaning, it all could have a positive use.

Yet let's be real here...the Greeks didn't think of Eris as all that pleasant. Discordia isn't comfortable and sometimes living through a period when Discord (Eris) seems to rule our life can be incredibly awful...which is probably why the most well-known of all the Eris tales is of the 'you're damned if you do and damned if you don't' sort.

It starts with a wedding - a joining which is reality is between people and which metaphysically is between influences. Or ideas. Or efforts. Or needs. 

But someone forgetting to invite Eris to this wedding - which in human terms is rather like our trying to take a next step in life or create something new without making any changes.

That doesn't tend to work. In fact, it often backfires. As for the unforgivably lax entity in the story was...that, we don't know - though we could hope it was at least one of the immortals instead of some poor human schlub who could (in classic Greek style) simply get turned into a self-poisoning toad with a fondness for toadies by the irate Discordia.

Of course...having any error committed by an immortal could be a sign of worse. Greeks never thought of their gods as infallible in the monotheistic sense - their gods had all the same foibles and petty problems as humans, (which may be more realistic than what came after, especially if one wants to say mankind was created in the image of mankind's Maker). That the idea of divinity equals infallibility has grown more emphatic over the past several thousand years makes astrological sense as we've been in the Age of Pisces - with the two fish of Pisces being headed in opposite directions being the image of all sorts of dichotomies: rich versus poor, male versus female, the divine versus the mortal.

And now we're moving into the Aquarian Age, an age which acknowledges none of that.

As for who left Eris off the guest list, considering that eternity is a really long time to suffer Olympian grudges, maybe we should hope the offense was committed by a human who could simply die and forget - which according to the Greeks is what we do.

Back at the wedding, despite the lack of invitation, Eris shows up - which yes, is properly Discordant and a sign that we can't exclude Discord. Discord (Eris) will become evident wherever Discord (Eris) sees fit - as will the facts or issues which the astrological Eris raises.

They come without warning. They're nothing we were anticipating. Here we were having this nice little marriage of thoughts or feelings in our cozy little world...and then a note of (Eris) Discord shows up.

And lest we miss this subtext: nothing tempts Discord like a lack of options.
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 Thetis and Zeus by A. Loshenko

As for the marriage the wedding is all about, that was between Peleus (a mortal) and Thetis, an immortal water goddess mostly known as the mother of Achilles, he of  shining helm and deadly skills. So yes, this story of Eris is the mythic version (or at least one of them) about how mankind arrived at the ten-year Trojan War, war being about as discordant as it gets.

Not to mention one literally seeded by a questionable marriage. Though well known as a hero, groom Peleus was known for anger, jealousy and a taste for committing murder.

So why was Thetis marrying him?

As the daughter of a primordial sea god, Thetis' presence here says much about the 'marriages' between that which is born of 'deep' (primordial) emotions (many of which we aren't even generally aren't aware of) and our very mortal nature.

Into all this comes Eris, who shows up not quite empty handed. And what does Eris bring as a token of her discordant regard with respect to this occasion?

An apple.

Specifically, one labeled "for the fairest."

 The simple apple...throughout history, accused of being an endless
source of trouble even though it's also been proven to be a healthy

source of fiber and much nutritious goodness. That contradiction

is very similar to the energies of Eris as Eris tends to manifest through
trying circumstances which ultimately lead us to unsuspected truths
about life - and about the life we're leading.

(photo by Abhijit Tembhekar) 

However...Eris doesn't give the apple to the bride. And here we can give Thetis some credit, as evidently she knew not to pull the bridezilla thing and insist on being the fairest just because it was her wedding.

Maybe she had a premonition of Cinderella problems yet to come?

Maybe. But perhaps Thetis just knew Eris (Olympians do get around) and figured any apple being handed out by Discordia had to be the proverbial bad apple.

The parallel here to the Adam and Eve story being obvious, it's probably sensible to consider that the biblical image of an apple was as the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, lending to this story the aura of what it costs when we choose to learn too much about things one perhaps just better off not knowing.

Or is that the cost of refusing to know? With Eris, as with all astrological points, the sword can cut both ways. A knife can kill, yes. But in the hands of a surgeon, a knife can cure.

It's all about how you use something - and that's what knowledge is for.

So Eris walks right past bride Thetis (who probably took a moment to thank her Olympian stars) and in her finest and most mythic Greek mythic fashion declared the open question:

Who is the fairest? Who should get Discord's apple?

Standing before Eris was a trio of goddesses, each of which might deserve this truly fruitful gift. The first was Venus (Aphrodite)...and if 'the fairest' was a reference to the treasure which is physical existence, physical beauty, physicality and all things tangible (the astrological earth signs), then the apple should go to Venus.

But maybe the 'fairest' - the most beautiful thing we can ever have in life is the nurturance and guidance of our parents and family, the emotional security which grows in us the ability to build a quality life? That being the drive of astrological water signs, if that's the thing to be most valued then the apple should go to the second goddess present: Juno (Hera), consort of Zeus/Jupiter and goddess of all which humanely provides protection for our needs most human.

Or maybe 'fairest' was a reference to a balanced mind and the ability to be fair? Reflective of astrology's air sign principle, if this is the quality to be treasured and prioritized, then Eris' apple should be given to Athena, goddess of dispassionate wisdom, impartial justice and clear-seeing logic.

But is this just a matter of essence - that which we refer to in astrology as 'elemental'? Maybe we should think of this choice as one between quadruplicities - the zodiac broken down in three stages representing the orientation of our efforts?

The first four signs (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) are all about the Self. Is life about what our Venus potential and what the Self we are is, does and has?

Or is life about who whether or not we are able to embrace who we are in the many Leo-Virgo-Libra-Scorpio interactions which embody the Juno/Hera 'give and take' principle required in building a life which is functional and supportive?

Or maybe our life isn't 'about' our individuality, but how what our individual self can contribute to the whole? If so, then 'the fairest' perspective of all would like as not be that of the last zodiac four signs (Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces), all of which require us to work from the greater global (Pallas Athena) perspective?

And more to the point, who did Eris give her apple to?

Answer: none of the above.

Instead of put her apple in the hands of a goddess, Eris instead places her token of Discord in the hand of a human being - the mythic way of saying that to be human involves dealing with D/discord.

Oh yes...and because she puts the apple in 'human hands' that's both a reference to what is within our 'grasp' and all things Gemini - our mentality, our thinking, what we say (or don't say)...the daily doings, our choices and so on.

So now the apple of Discord is in human hands.  What could go wrong?

Plenty. After all, the human Eris places her "fairest fruit" into the hands of is none other than Paris of Troy, younger sibling to Hector and a prince with a bit of an inferiority problem (okay, more than a bit).

 Paris by Anthonis van Dyck (c.1628)

Through this choice we see how Eris (and discord) functions not through our defined strengths but through whatever we are confused about and wherever we are under-developed in life.

And if you know the rest of Paris' story - how his choices brought down everything he thought he had believed in, that tells the rest of the story. Eris is discordant in that its energetics forces us to release old notions and ways of doing things in favor of essential preservation of what it means to be human. It's manifestations either send us scrambling for information or put us in a position to proceed on Neptunian faith.

Maybe more importantly, we can either be the object of discord or the one who embodies Eris. Wherever we find Eris in the natal chart we know there is both a sense of weakness, a huge potential for learning and with that, the challenge to deal with others through...and in terms of what we learn.

In other words, we can be Discordia and through that create a new status quo by disrupting that which is too narrow or self-serving...or we can live a life discordant and be periodically displaced as a means by which we learn.

It's a choice. Our choice.
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Astrologically there are a few other useful things to know about this particular Plutino, starting with the concept that dwarf planet Eris' 557 year orbit interfaces with two cycles in particular: that of Earth's lunar nodes and (on a close-to-exact basis) our Moon's anomalistic month -  that being the length of time it takes for Earth's moon to move from one month's closest approach to Earth (its perigee) to the next.

And why would we care about such things?

As pertains to the lunar nodes, the nodes represent 'intersections' and the process of intersecting. As nodal functions become active, our lives invariably manifest as matters having to do with how we interface with or approach others (and society) on a personal or business basis.

That intersecting changes our status quo. We may think it useful or not useful - that's not the question. Where the nodes are considered, there's a far distant Eris echo which changes relationships and how or why we relate to any person, place or thing.

Eris doesn't have to be catastrophic. When transited in our personal chart yes, changes tend to take a bit more effort or adjustment. But otherwise, at some level Eris represents all that which is unexpected, and to the extent that we react, Eris thus becomes a tool by which we experience our very weakest moments, whatever they may mean.  

This same thought applies to the anomalistic lunar month with one major difference: the perigee point - a point which has a different name in astrology.

Astrologers call it Black Moon Lilith. There are two forms of Lilith: Lilith the asteroid and Lilith the 'Black Moon.' Considering the Moon is our 'feeling light' and symbol of spiritual or personal enlightenment, the Black Moon is all we feel rejected by and everything about us which is rejected - especially by our Self.

That 'rejection' is the issue. Either form of Lilith tends to manifest in some sort of denial, so the variable harmonic which numerically fluxes in and out of focus with Eris can represent our desire to 'break away' from Self or our reality. Or it could represent discordant sorts of insights which lead us to discover that which we have denied...or maybe that moment when we 'discover' we're no longer willing/able to accept denial from people we know or society as a whole.

Eris is the disruptive part of change. Where Mars symbolizes volition, motivation or the act of initiation and Uranus represents the force which powers through limitations, Eris is the snap - the moment of disruption when it 'hits' us that what was is no longer true, and our world, our life, our consciousness is altered, and how we deal with that is written in our charts.

And yes, our hearts as well.
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 Le Jugement de Paris (The Judgment of Paris)
by Carel van Savoyen

Currently transiting the third decanate of Aries (i.e., the last ten degrees of the sign, degrees 20-29) Eris is activating everything and about our interactions with the greater society and our need to understand who we are as an individual so we can do just that with a modicum (one hopes) of grace. Along the way we will be exposed to - and like as not appear to others as disruptive, elitist, an outsider, entirely exalted and utterly destitute...all at the same time.

This is a period of willfulness, one when we can either contribute or be selfish. It's a time when the world will critique or deny us totally in one minute then shower us with riches in a next. Whatever promotes our understanding of who we are and aren't individually and collectively, that's where the energy goes.

And this is where we're going to be until the year 2045.

Wherever Eris is in your chart marks an arena of great individual latitude which in affecting you will affect others and thus we are connected - even if through disconnection - to each other either symbiotically or as allies. Through those chart precepts we work to integrate our Self with our society, world and compatriots both in terms of what we share...and despite society's fractured factions.

The choice to do all that is ours...until it isn't ours, that is.

Eris has been gaining something of a reputation as a 'malefic' - a negative astrological influence. But that's not all Eris seems to be. Discordia is opportunity cloaked in challenge, a process which shows us what isn't true while revealing possibilities beyond our ego's eye.

We just haven't gotten there...yet.

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Originally published May 2009 by Daykeeper Journal. Revised and updated January 2014 (B.Hart) - all rights reserved.

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Eris Direct: Awareness, Prompted

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With me?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

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

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

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

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

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

                                               - Sir Alfred Lord Tennyson

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +

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

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

And Eris?

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

Yes, that Paris.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 .

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

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

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

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

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

The very process of our existing.

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

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

A Full Moon over Amman, Jordan

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What to do, how to make one’s efforts count, how to move beyond the basic problems we know exist in life and which have plagued us – and maybe all of humanity – throughout time?

With Ixion having just gone retrograde showing up the shadowy underbelly of our minds and the world around us, it’s not the most frivolous and lighthearted of moments. What’s wrong and what needs doing are so apparent. We need to take on all those ‘things’ and no one is cheering us on.

Can’t life just be easy for a change?

Full Moons always being the ‘highlighting’ moment of the month, the good part is that the Full Moon does actually point out the thematic center to current doings. It may not be a happy note, but it is the overall central concept.

And that may be the best place to start, especially if you have the proverbial “bunch of stuff” going on – which a lot of us do!

Try to find the commonalty. What is the dotted line which connects your various points of (dis)pleasure? It may be one word, one issue….like money or getting a job or an illness or a relationship which has really hit the ‘this no fly’ zone. Then again, it may be something more nebulous, like feeling very iffy. Or feeling depressed. Or recognizing that nothing you are doing is going anywhere.

Any Moon in Virgo is always about how we feel about functionality and ‘how things work’ or the ‘state’ of life or our home or the state of our state, if maybe you’re of the political ilk! And yet, with this Full Moon occurring at 28 Virgo, by definition this isn’t about the ‘news’ coming to you. You’re in the position of reacting, not controlling the reaction.

With 28 Virgo also being the current position of Typhon and Nemesis, there’s also a big ‘I told you so!’ (or possibly ‘I’m warning you’!) quality to this whole event.

Mind you, this could be when your wished for, hoped for, longed for ship actually does comes in. But if it does, don’t expect it to show up without ancillary issues. You might be welcoming your sweetie home, but then there’s all that dirty laundry which needs sorting out. Or the fact they’ve been away so long there’s a whole settling in process which needs to be waded (and waited) through.

All that is emotional. The Moon reflects the Sun and so at the Full Moon we tend to react or reflect on the moment. Or in the moment, depending. With the Moon side of the Full Moon usually describing all the emotionalism of this moment, we tend to look to the solar (more concept-oriented) side for definitions and ‘what’s on the table.’ But with this Full Moon having the Moon in an earthy earth sign and the Moon in a watery emotional sign (Pisces) that may not be the case.

Then again, the matter OF how you deal with your emotions…that may well be the crux of current goings on.

This combination suggests (among other things) that being practical and pragmatic about what you do and choices du jour is pretty darn apt. With Virgo Being a mutable sign, you may need to change your tactics or course of action, and providing you do so for reality-oriented reasons (as opposed to emotionally evasive ones) though you may get a bit of flack in the moment that shouldn’t be a ‘points off’ issue in the long run.

Mutable signs support learning as you go and making course corrections and refinements to master plans, no matter what anybody says.

 A dhoni on the waters of the Maldives (2006)

photo credit Lankan Fushi (tokyohead.com)

And yes, they tend to say it. Virgos get called nit-picky for trying to get things right, Pisceans get called wishy-washy for not being emotional stoics, Sagittarians get called dreamers for their enjoyment of developing the idea and Geminis have heard a thousand times how they’re scattering their efforts and aren’t ever going to get anything done.

Mind you, there’s a little bit of sensibility to each of these finger-pointer-slogans. When Virgos nit pick instead of getting anything done, that’s a negative.

When Pisceans get nothing done or make emotions their excuse, that’s a negative. When Sagittarians want to eternally discuss and never do ‘for real’ that’s not a positive. And since Gemini is about making a choice and following it through, never focusing, never choosing, never making that concerted, long term effort is not the finest Gemini moment.

And let’s remember: we all have all of these traits in our charts. Sure, the person with a Gemini Sun or a Sagittarius Ascendant or Virgo Moon will deal with them as a focal point, but sign qualities are activated by planets moving through signs, or when planetary pictures (such as a Full Moon) come into formation, combining sign/planet attributes.

Or more on the scientific side of it, when planets in positions give us notice of time/space ‘disturbances’ plus attributes particular to any given celestial body are going to be generated so that like ripples, they can then roll towards Earth.

So having said, we get back to the Sun’s side of this particular picture by pointing out that Sun - (fixed star) Scheat – Black Moon Lilith all clumped together in Pisces is a sure sign of what society doesn’t see. Or what you don’t want to know about the Big World. Or what you may not have taken into account (because you didn’t want to) about said Big World. Or about what that world doesn’t want to see about what it does in any given arena because that would force said world to realize it was wrong. Or out of its mind for doing/not doing various things.

And just a thought here...Scheat - the star - is part of the constellation Pegasus. The mythic Pegasus is a descendant of....do you remember who? Medusa!

Medusa - in case you haven't read much about She of the Thoroughly Frightening Countenance - Medusa is our fear of what we learn...or our fear of having to learn something we might not want to know. Medusa is all about our emotional desire not to have to face things.

Obviously that doesn't work so well for us human types - at least not on the mythic/metaphysical level!

(And yes, there's an ARTICLE on MEDUSA should you care to read more fascinating and hairy facts about her!) 

Meanwhile, Scheat is a star in the shoulder of flying horse Pegasus - a symbol of the power (ability) to escape by flying away, or the emotional 'taking flight' (as in 'fight or flight') depending on who you are and what the issue is.

Or maybe not! The famous example of Scheat-in-action being the Catholic Church's reaction to Galileo (of all people!) announcing that he had figured out the Earth revolved around the Sun, not vice-versa...for whatever reason the Church felt so threatened by Galileo's discovery that they had him put under house arrest and let it be known he was a bad, bad man.

So...what difference would it have made to the Church or Catholicism that Earth revolves around the Sun? The simple answer (of course!) is power. No Power-in-power likes being upstaged by some yahoo. (Can you imagine? Galileo...a yahoo!) But if you dig around for information of the time (which is pretty consistent through history) there is the point that when you're running some large group (a religion, a country...) the thing you want least of all is to have your thousands or millions of minions to panic over/about something.   

Putting that aside like a half-munched cookie, of course when we put this all together, our March Full Moon may be a mutual or group (or mass) rejection of effort. Or position. Maybe because the world is so hostile (or seems so hostile) we may not feel like it’s ‘worth’ trying something. Or we may be encountering rejection in action. Or be actively rejecting something because it just doesn’t fit our agenda.

With this Full Moon in square to the Lunar Nodes, it’s likely there’s a whole yes/no ping-pong quality to this day. North Node in Sagittarius says we should be trying anew or trying the new. But South Node in Gemini will tend to like the already known – or at least to not have to commit.

Of the four points central to this chit-chat (Sun, Moon, Nodes North and South) two are in signs ruled by Mercury (Moon and South Node) and two are in signs either ruled outright or ‘going in’ by Jupiter (Pisces and Sagittarius).

Didn’t we just talk about Jupiter and Mercury in conjunction? Ah yes – we did…on March 16th, as Ixion went into its station.

(Which yes, is still in effect.)

At this point, Jupiter is now at 12 Aries – a degree known for focus on one’s home or ‘home court’ point of view, sometimes to the point of rebelliousness.

Mercury is now at 16 Aries, a degree about the greater ‘nature of things’ and evolution of thought so as to become more in sync (harmony) with life around us.

Granting that Mercury moves along its orbit around the Sun far, far faster than Jupiter does (one Mercury obit takes a 87 days (some sources say 88); one Jupiter orbit takes over 11 years!)…what this amounts to is the fact that the distance between Mercury (thought) and Jupiter (knowledge) is increasing. 

Should we figure there is a parting of mental ways in the process? With Ixion having just gone retrograde, probably – and not because we’re all so lovely, cooperative and pliable!

But this is more curious than one might think… because Mercury is going to go retrograde at the end of the month, there’s going to be a second Jupiter-Mercury conjunction come April. On April 11th, to be exact. That one will take place at 17 Aries with Eurydike in conjunction and shape shifter Haumea in Libra opposition.

Seeing this will be Mercury in retrograde, that suggests things are being thought over. Contemplated. Discussed. Looked into. You may be doing something, yes - Jupiter is always about the expanding of our world, our understanding, our boundaries, our horizons.

But for those who are in the 'doing' mode here, it's not the 'final' step. It may be a step in a process...but it's not the goal, not the seal on the deal which ends this 'run' of effort.

You're just not done yet.

Oh…! And we should mention that Saturn will have been lurking in opposition all this time. So the whole issue is what we are willing to give in order to get…. 

….get what?

That’s probably the problem. Or maybe what we’ve got (or are getting from others) is not okay with us. That’s an inverse of the same sort of dynamic.

In the 1904 St. Louis Summer Olympics, the tug-of-war was

fought valiantly. Remind you of anything?

photo source: US Library of Congress Archives

With Eurydike being ‘the cost we pay’ in the moment and 17 Aries being about imagination and or wealth which is gained then lost through extravagance, one thing this entire cycle may be about on the world stage (never mind entirely different issues in your personal life) may be oil. More precisely, the cost of oil, the supply of oil and the viability of alternative energy. Health (health care, decent food/water) is another possible world venue for this Pisces-Aries-Virgo-Libra sort of combination.

To be understood here is that because we’re talking about signs which in a ‘natural zodiac’ surround the horizontal axis, we’re taking less about who we are as individuals (the vertical axis) than who we interact with and what we get from others (the horizontal axis).

It’s a somewhat different slant – but because it’s not intrinsically ‘us-oriented’ it does fit with the social, societal vibe symbolized by the Lunar Nodes. And with Ixion just having gone retrograde, it’s likely that part of what’s going on is the intrinsic tug between our desire to have things the way we want them to be personally (Ixion) and how life works on the bigger, grander scale.

So maybe another question is this: is my way really the best way? This doesn’t question what you might want…but does that work? Is it really a ‘workable’ (Virgo) position to take?  

If you’re really into this whole solar systemic orbital thing, knowing Mercury’s zippiness and that it conjuncted Jupiter once when direct and once when retrograde will pretty much automatically imply that there’s yet another Mercury/Jupiter conjunction to come even after the April 11th event. And you would be right – said third conjunction (third time’s a charm?) happens on May 11th with a planetary party being held at 24 Aries…

...and one other Object of Note at 22 Aries deserving of (dis)honorable mention.

The three planets which will be at 24 Aries will be  Mercury, Jupiter and Venus. The party at 22 Aries is (ahem!) Eris...which by Greek definition is a party crasher of the finest (or worst, depending) caliber.

24 Aries is a degree known as highly creative and maybe even ‘pro-creative’ in the sense that it promotes sexual interaction and has been associated with the rights of women (who obviously are very key in the procreation process!). So for individuals, this appears to be an opportunity to express an opinion, be heard or discover more about how you can become more effective.

The ‘Eris touch’ here (which let’s face it, sometimes feels like a club!) speaks to an ‘excitable energy’ which can be fractious, even destructive…or innovative and socially liberating, whether on a small or large scale.

That this cycle happens as events which so mirror its dynamics unfold in the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere is the proverbial ‘sign of the times’ and why we look to astrological patterns to decipher when things might be just right for us to ‘catch that wave’ and ride to success in whatever it is we’re doing.

Right now…as this post goes up, this is a touchy moment. In fact, it’s a touchy moment with a side of soured desires. But it’s also part of a process. We’re all up to our proverbial ‘high water mark’ with angst, discouragement, lack of control in our life and a general feeling that no matter what we do, something always gets in our way.

That would be part of what’s going on. And there is no one thing which is going to make things fine and ducky by tomorrow.

I got an email from a dear friend of mine out in Texas. She was feeling very discouraged and depressed. She was feeling like a really old person in not that old a body and all the struggling was getting her nowhere (or at least it felt like nowhere) and it all was getting pretty old.

Mind you, she’s about half my age. But I resisted going there, seeing as I was going through the same thing.

And that’s one of the good parts of being an astrologer – everybody writes you and calls you to bitch, moan and ask why. So even if you have a blanket answer they really don’t like (“sorry, that’s just what this moment is…”) it is pretty evident we’re all going through it.

As I put it to my friend, we’re all in the trenches – it’s a trenchish sort of time.

But if you accept that life…evolution…experiences all have some merit, maybe the question becomes what do we learn by being in the trenches? 

My suggestion to her was that maybe we’re all in the trenches so that in feeling so terribly and inordinately bogged down we’ll simply shed some stuff out of desperation.

When things are good, people are loath to cut anything out or let go of something they think they ‘might’ need. But when things get down and out, people pare back. They let go of non-necessities in favor of what they really need and value.

Back in 2008, Pluto moved into Capricorn. Yours truly began writing about paring back and cutting down and in general, getting over our Pluto in Sagittarius addiction to ‘having it all.’ That’s a great idea and while Pluto was in Sagittarius, the idea was the thing. But now that Pluto is in Capricorn, reality is the thing. And the reality is that we’ve all dug ourselves some pretty big holes, whether by putting things on credit, letting social and national leaders get away with bad behavior or maybe just taking it easy on ourselves, expecting life to be ‘good’ if we just willed it to be.

Don’t get me started on that one, okay? When was it we forgot that reality is just fine as long as you are okay with reality? Optimism is a motivation, not a goal.

And I’M the Pisces? Sheesh! (Okay…so I have a Scorpio Saturn/Moon. But really…!)

Anyway…maybe the difficulties of things are meant to get us to be more realistic. Pluto’s movement through signs marks the generations and defines the emotional subsets of our ages. We pay attention to this Dwarf Planet…why? Because it registers emotional outcomes – and humans are nothing if not emotional creatures!

If we look at history, those who keep trying, who keep at it, who keep building through the hard times are generally in the right place when again the good times roll around.

And they will. But will you be ready? Will your life be sufficiently functional (Moon in Virgo) to be able to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes along?

For some of us, this is likely to be a day or two (or three) of realizations. For others, it’s just going to be something to get through and hopefully forget about.

This Full Moon is a moment of its own…and also a stumbling start to a long(ish) cycle which will take us on into and through May. And once we’re there, we’re all set for two 2011 mid-year Solar Eclipses.

Or maybe not so ready – that depends!

One other thing this Full Moon also images: the final moment of a highly emotional quarter dating back to last December. Tomorrow – March 20 – brings the Sun’s Aries ingress.

We finish…we start…we stub our toe and hopefully through that, learn a wee bit better. It’s a process – the human process. Annoying? Yes. The child in us wants everything to be magical and easy.

But if it was, we’d be bored. Face it…we’re all doomed to grow and strive and in time, be and become better people.

Oh yes! There is one more hint as to how to handle this moment. Just before the Full Moon comes into all its reflective fullness, Amor enters Taurus.

Amor is an 'inner circle' asteroid. At its farthest, Amor orbits at 2.754 AU - a bit past Mars...call it on the near side of the asteroid belt. But from there, Amor cycles inward, crossing the orbit of Mars into the 'personal' zone as we consider our solar system metaphysically.

There are two asteroids named for Cupid - Amor is one of them, and Eros is the other. Of the two, Eros seems to be the 'passion part' of Eros (i.e., eroticism) where Amor functions in the chart on more of a platonic basis, making it more about the love of friends and family (or possibly chocolate - though some would argue that's a passion!).

Amor and his bow - a Roman copy of a Greek statue by Lysippos

photo credit: Ricardo Andre Frantz (2006) 

Thinking of this another way, Eros is more about desire where Amor is more about loyalty and fealty.

So as Amor enters Taurus, we may well find advantages by turning to our friends or family. Or by approaching matters more openly, calmly...with the Taurus 'taste' for long term benefits which provide comfort. This may be physical and this may be monetary - but it's more likely to be personal.

Amor will be in Taurus for yet a while, and it's a nice combination. As it moves out of Aries we well may see people being so insistent that others must, must, MUST agree with them and more willingness to discuss, negotiate and see if some common ground can be found and thereafter built on.

What we build is, of course, up to us. But maybe this will help us build something which works for all, not merely for those who think as we do. Whether we like it or not, that's really the way forward into the years ahead.
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