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

As photographed by the Spitzer Space Telescope, the Baby Boom Galaxy shows off its ability to 'birth' an average of 4,000 new stars ever year - a number which is one hundred times the number of stars produced by our Milky Way Galaxy.

(photo credit: Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA-JPL-Caltech, Oct 2008)

 .

First of all, let’s have a hearty ‘hallelujah’ for the fact that as of July 20th, Mars will exit the shadow of the retrograde which, though it began formally on March 1st (2014), really reaches back to Christmas Day 2013 - the date on which Mars entered it’s retrograde shadow to begin with.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is it? Why are we reacting to it?

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

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

- link to -

Eris Discordant: Mastering Our Own Weakest Moments

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Will we want to make it? Probably not.

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

That’s up to each one of us.
.
.
.

Eris Retrograde

An artist's rendition of Eris and its moon with the sun far, far away in the distance

(image credit: A Schaller, STSci, April 2006)

Sometimes discord is something which goes wrong. Sometimes discord is an interruption which gets us to think things through. Or to see things as part of a bigger picture and because of that, to make a more powerful choice.

Eris is a dwarf planet. That puts it on par with Pluto – another dwarf planet and an astrological symbol which is thought of as the energy of transformations which come upon us, which change lives, which in being harnessed can change or destroy our world.

Both Eris and Pluto orbit out beyond Neptune. And as such, they both represent energies we can’t quite predict, which are definitely ‘bigger than we are.’ That said, Pluto differs markedly from Eris in two vital ways. The first is the difference between Pluto being an object ‘controlled’ by the spellbinding (and evidently planetoid binding) energy of Neptune where Eris goes its own way.

The other is in size. Eris is roughly three times the size of Pluto…which says a lot for that Neptunian juju which gets Pluto all that hot human PR.

But Eris Effects are nothing to fool with. We of the astrological ilk are nowhere as near familiar with Eris (which was only discovered in 2003) as we are with Pluto, but for those of us who are avid (or habitual) chart watchers, wherever we see Eris natally…or by transit…those points represent areas or dynamics which we either use purposefully for positive benefit, or which tend to rattle our chains or otherwise bite us in the metaphorical nether parts.

So the name Eris – which in Greek mythic reality would be Eris Discordia is really about the discord which comes upon us, or our willingness or efforts or determination to go out there and shake things up. And it would seem that when our efforts are altruistic (as opposed to purely selfish) Eris seems to enhance not just the effort, but our lives as a whole.

I’ve written long-form about Eris, and here’s the link to to that page…

- link to -

ERIS DISCORDANT:

MASTERING OUR OWN WEAKEST MOMENTS

I’ve also written some about the pattern of Eris’ movements. In short and glib terms we can sum it all up by saying that Eris’ zodiacal progress is pretty much ‘slow and unsteady.’

Yes, that’s a joke. Eris moves slowly and it’s our lives – when Eris is affecting us in some focused way – which seem unsteady. Or maybe destabilized is a better word. But then, sometimes life has to destabilize the norm in order to get us into gear. My best astrological guess is that Eris energetics are part of that metaphysical machinery.

For now what we want to know is what degree is Eris going retrograde at, and what is it affecting?

Considering our these past few days with Mars entering Cancer, the deepening of the major water trine and Uranus going retrograde, Eris going retrograde represents a fairly serious challenge, one which comes from beyond our personal norm. The issues being presented are very real, and considering what with Uranus turning to retrograde on July 17th, for some it will be difficult to separate Uranus effects from those of Eris.

Uranus…change, breakthroughs, sudden shifts of circumstance, shocks, flights, insights, eruptions, explosions, discoveries…against Eris, the unsettling of the norm, the disrupting of our status quo, those forces which cause us to consider something totally unexpected not when we want to, but right now.

These two concepts sound rather like different levels of the same thing. And if we believe that unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should, this mélange, this fusion, this confluence of effects – which is occurring during a highly emotional grand-trine-in-water period – has its purpose.

Obviously those whose charts answer to both 12 Aries (Uranus’ station degree) and 22 Aries (Eris’ station point) are going to feel the greatest shifts as we go into and emerge from the period defined by Uranus’ station on July 17 and Eris’ station on the 19th. For those whose charts are only aspected directly by one or the other, the energies of the object which aspects your chart will feel more ‘directed’ at you (or personal) while the symbolism of the other will be felt or recognized in the world around you.

With that said, Eris and Uranus are both going retrograde in Aries, the sign of consciousness, conscious awareness, physical existence, physicality, personal assertion and assertiveness… the whole panoply of variations on “I Am,” however you conjugate it.

But there are differences. Uranus (as we talked about in the last post) is going retrograde at 12 Aries. And 12 Aries is by definition emotional degree, which is to say where Uranian energies (the discovery, the interruption, the startling fact) is being manifested emotionally. That suggests anything from excitement to terror, from awe to fervency. Being that Uranus is the secondary of societal/’mass concept’ Aquarius, with Eris serving in a sense to ‘set off’ Uranian energetics it wouldn’t be unlikely to have people step outside of or depart from their societal roles…or societies rules during this time.   

As it goes retrograde on July 19th at 11:08 a.m. the shift of relative motion (perceived or otherwise) between Eris and Earth will no doubt manifest in many ways typified by 22 Aries, a degree which involves luck which can either be very rewarding or  undercut by frittering away time or opportunities through fudging, vacillation, indecision or that sort of simple confusion which invites us to ‘forget it’ and hope that things will sort themselves out.

It sounds like fertile Eris ground.

Being in that Eris is going retrograde in a third decanate degree (between 20 and 29 of some sign), it may do us well to think of this as a time when what we do to change, improve or benefit the ‘greater situation’ or status quo and thus utilize these energies for betterment (rather than sitting around waiting for them to thwack us in the face) may well be the most positive way to go.

But no, not necessarily all that popular. The mere idea that so much disrupting Uranus/Eris energy is being brought to bear on and in our world and our lives during an ongoing emotional period delineated by major planets Saturn, Jupiter and Neptune all in grand trine formation will without question have many people’s mindsets set to ‘stubborn’ simply because they aren’t prepared to experience something different.

Or what it feels like to have to cope with change.

Or what it feels like to go through changing.

Or what it feels like to simply have control wrested from their hands by forces – or even plain good sense – which apparently is beyond their control. 

By definition, Eris station/retrograde moments wouldn’t be thought of as effortless. The Eris energy is now turning inward and for the next few months will ‘reside’ inside, promoting and provoking any and all processes which get us to see life from a different point of view.

And that…or the process of getting there…may not be all that pretty.

After all, thinking back to the Eris myth, Paris (You remember him…the guy who started the whole Trojan War by stealing Helen from her duly wedded husband?)…Paris is given an ‘apple of Discord’ by Eris and asked to give it to the goddess of his choice: Venus (appeal), Hera (protective nurturance) or Athena (wisdom). And much like humans have done throughout the ages, Paris chose Venus…which leads to trouble for Paris, Troy, Helen, and a lot of other folks, with the implication being that to choose beauty – the ‘pretty thing’ – to favor that over other (Hera or Athena) qualities not only isn’t such a great idea, it actually opens the way for Discordia (Eris).

There’s another thing to consider here as well – that being how Eris is going retrograde (in the company of Pelion and trine Venus-in-Leo) just as Jupiter enters the orb to oppose Pluto.

This opposition doesn’t become exact until August 8th. So we evidently have a while to wrestle with the difference between our wants and desires (Pluto), that which will build a better future (Jupiter in Cancer), our willingness or ability to change things as they currently are structured (Pluto in Capricorn) and our ability to keep everything in perspective (Jupiter)…especially emotional (Cancerian) perspective.

Moreover, when Jupiter does reach the moment of exactitude with regards to its opposition to Pluto, Jupiter will be conjunct Alhena - the fixed star which speaks of Purpose – and (surprise!) Pallas.

Those who recognize Pallas as the first name of Athena will probably be going ‘ohhhhhh….’ about now. (Or maybe that was just me.) In any case, it would be reasonable to suspect that the Uranian cracks and Eris upheavals we get into now will lead to a gaining of dispassionate (Pallas Athena) sorts of lessons.

Call it wisdom, call it perspective – to have Athena (Pallas) brought into this Jupiter-Pluto face off with our Self, our life or maybe our concept of how life really works says there are lessons to be learned over the next few weeks.

And how those who learn them will become more wise. Whether this is our moment to swallow our nerves (our ‘emotional discord’) in the process of be or becoming the person we can be, in coming to the recognition of our Purpose and that said Purpose may not be ‘shaped’ the way we thought it was…that may not be easy. Or convenient.

A Hubble Telescope's view of Jupiter

(photo credit: NASA, ESA H. Hammel/Boulder Colorado's Space Science

Institute, Jupiter Comet Impact Team, July 2009)

But it is what it is. And whether we greet that fact with sulky dismay or with an eye to this being an opportunity – that’s up to us.

In going retrograde on July 19th, Eris ‘official’ station window opens on the 17th (Uranus’ station date) and ends on July 21st – a day after Mercury goes direct in Cancer (more Cancer energy, anyone?) and a day before the Sun enters Leo, Venus moves into Virgo and the occurrence of a Full Moon in Aquarius.

The fact that the Sun and Venus will both be moving through ‘critical’ degrees of respective signs just before the Full Moon suggests that a lot of us are going to be pressing and pushing to get something done. Things are becoming ‘cumulative’ in our world or in our psyches. There will undoubtedly be those who don’t handle the intensity of these feelings all that well, and ‘feelings’ or emotionality would seem to be a vital part of this discussion as any time we see a planet pass through 29 degrees of any sign we see it ‘setting off’ the energies of any other object or astrological symbol in that sign – which in this case would be Mercury, Pallas Jupiter, Mars and Black Moon Lilith (which adds a bit of ‘counter-cultural’ or ‘against the grain of tradition’ to this mix).

This last day of Eris’ ‘official’ station window will also see Mars entering the orb of opposition to Pluto. Considering that the theory on stations tells us that events which happen in the wake of the actual moment of stationing have something to do with the playing out of ‘things already done’ (or committed to, etc.) this well may be a moment when those who have been working or struggling to break through some set of restrictions or to get something ‘going’ will find ways to overcome inertia.

For those who have been ‘hiding’ from change however, this period may be particularly chaotic – particularly emotionally, however your emotionality is triggered.

Eris Discordant is not our solar system’s most genteel symbol. But Eris does serve to get us thinking in ways we hadn’t considered before. Whether that’s recognizing that you can make a difference…or that you aren’t bound by some arcane rule or tradition…or that you need to be more realistic about something or someone or life itself…that’s about you. That’s about your chart.

The Butterfly Nebula (NGC 6302) is really beautiful, but considering temperatures at its heart are

somewhere in the area of 250,000 C, it would seem to fall in the realm of 'look, but don't touch'!

(photo credit: Hubble Space Telescope, NASA, JPL)

As tough and trying and for many tumultuous as this month has been, it has purpose. Sometimes life tells us that it’s time to stop being caterpillars and time to transform ourselves into butterflies. Only by doing that can we not just fulfill the beauty of our potential, but do that which is necessary to leave something of ourselves…be that in our work, in how we effect others or maybe through having a family…for generations and eons to come.
.
.
.

Eris Stations at a New Moon

 Moonlit Seascape with Shipwreck by Ivan Aivasovsky (1817-1900)

Astrologically, Thursday July 19th may be many things…but boring is not likely to be one on the list. At the very least it’ll be interesting. Maybe even thought provoking. Or exciting.

Then again, it could be cataclysmic. Or problematic. Even shocking.

Whatever it is, it won’t be that ‘same ol’, same ol’’ thing.

The particulars here are as follows:

- Dwarf planet Eris will go retrograde at 11:22 p.m., UT/+0 time.

- A New Moon at 26 Cancer occurs at 4:25 in the morning, UT/+0 time.

Obviously this means that for some (notably those who live a time zone or more east of Greenwich) Eris will go retrograde on July 20th…with the New Moon occurring on the 19th. And for others (those living more than 4 time zone hours west of Greenwich) the New Moon will occur late on the 18th with Eris going retrograde on the 19th.

Usually I simply giving you the time and let you sort it out from there. I’m pointing this out today simply because we’re talking about two separate astrological issues which, because of their proximity in time may combine to create a pot-sticker of a time in your life.

Then again, they may apply to two very different things.

That now dutifully disclaimed, on to the meat of the subject…as we has now been noted many a time, all celestial stations, be they into retrograde or retrograde-direct, are given at least a two-day ‘station allowance. (I’m beginning to be inclined to think that perhaps should be three days going into the station and two days coming out of it, but that’s just a theory I’m playing with as yet…though input is welcome!)

What this amounts to is the idea that Eris’ turn to retrograde occurs late on July 19th, but the effects of same begin on the 17th. (Maybe even the latter part of the 16th, yes.) Coming into this station, Eris is in direct motion. That tells us that the ‘Eris Effect’ – that of provoking or evoking emotionalism or emotional reactions – comes from outside of us and affects our sense of being.

That ‘being’ part comes from Eris’ current transit ‘being’ in Aries, sign of Self. Will this effect be physical or merely psychological?

Yes.

 Eris and Eris' moon, Dysnomia, as photographed

by the Hubble Telescope (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

I know, I know…that’s a snotty way to answer. But it’s true – and I may as well cut to the chase as anything else. Eris’ station may be physical, psychological, environmental, experiential, emotional, or any combination of the above. To be noted as well, this ‘Eris Effect’ may not be directly about your emotionality or your physicality. In other words, it may be something which happens to someone else or which merely ‘happens’ which ends up affecting you. Maybe someone else gets their ‘dream job.’ Might that cause you to think about whether you’re trying hard in your own life or not? Or maybe someone you have long respected and trusted is shown up to be a lying crumb. How would that affect you – not just your relationship with them, but your overall sense of trust, your willingness to invest your faith in others?

What does all that mean?

Maybe a law will get passed somewhere which changes what you can buy? Or whether you can buy it at all? What if that law changed the standard of education for your children – or your pension fund structure? Or your health care?

Those things which have the power to challenge our sense of survival and trust in life, our sense of world order or ‘our world’s order…those are Eris.

But there’s another side of Eris, too. Eris is the energy of going to to make a better world. Eris is about changing the world and fighting for that which is right, which has integrity.

The trick with Eris, however, lies in the purpose. Let’s remember – Eris is a dwarf planet, yet. But where it orbits is way, way, way out there in the Kuiper Belt.

 The Kuiper Belt involves a vast area of space beyond Neptune

 and inside that area currently thought of as the very edge of our

solar system - the Oort Cloud.

All those things represented by objects in the Kuiper Belt – defined pretty much as ‘beyond Neptune’ have to do with transpersonal dynamics pertaining to more than just me-myself-I. By definition, these are not individual issues. Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) evoke reactions to life. They are life’s processes and surprises good and ugly coming upon us. Undoubtedly the best-known of the KBOs is Pluto. And though surely we’d like to think we have control over life, we don’t – which is why Pluto is connected to the symbolism of death as the experience of life being transformed. Pluto is actually the symbol of conception and death and connected to all which brings us into this world (sex) and those processes which take us out of it (war, murder, death through old age) as well as our efforts to control that (surgery, for instance).

The ‘obsession’ quality we note with Pluto is our wanting to control all these things. That in itself should tell us that we aren’t in actual control.

So it is with Eris. We are not in control of that which Eris represents. Much as we might try to ‘guard’ ourselves from experiences which provoke or startle the living daylights out of us, Eris is that life dynamic which cuts through all our naiveté, all our protection, all our denials, forcing the truth not of the world, but of our own consciousness upon us.

With Eris, wherever we find Eris in the chart, it’s easy to feel self-protective. And since Eris has been in Aries since the latter part of 1921, most people alive today experience Eris very personally.

Yet Eris’ has a positive side. Eris functions to the positive when we work at using what we do or who and what we are for the benefit of others. Some of us – notably those with Eris strongly placed in their chart – say ‘but what about me? when do I get to make me my own priority?’

The answer to that is ‘probably never’...but I'll have to scout around for a chart or two which show how Eris works when sincerely focal. In the interim, though it’s easy enough to want to do, a focus on the Self in the chart of someone with Eris prominently placed will probably wear their ‘connective batteries’ (connective to the world) down, quickly rendering them irrelevant.

Someone who has made it big, who has hit the limelight and gone as far as they want to go? Turing their Eris ‘evocation’ energies to personal uses or pleasures may be a good way to get out of the public eye. But energies never actually go away, and with Eris, just thinking through the myth it seems likely that those energies neglected will in time backfire and cause trouble in our lives.

LINK...Eris Discordant: Mastering Our Own Weakest Moments

Currently transiting the latter part of Aries, Eris very distinctly portrays the changing of life and how we can either all be contributing to this world or being changed and molded by that world. Those who think there is any ‘escape’ from the march of modernism are particularly wrong at this particular time. I know a number of people who are still trying to ‘hide’ from the digital age and technology in general. Good luck to them – I think their cause a foolish one, for it will in time corner and suppress them. They are, in essence, volunteering to be marginalized. And few know what marginalization means until it is beyond capacity to get back aboard that ship which has already sailed…in this case without you because you simply refused to get on board.

That said, I understand the challenges of technology. Aquarian in nature and astrologically governed by a headache pair of planets (first Saturn, then Uranus) modern technology has a unique ability to frustrate and upset us. Years ago I was working with a company on the development of accounting systems for motion pictures. When not trying to convey the realities of production to the programmers (I probably should have provided them with popcorn) I spent a lot of time doing tech support and teaching people how to us the software of that time.

My classic statement on such: until you get so frustrated that you want to scream and pitch the computer out the window, you’re probably not quite there.

I recalled this lesson for my own purposes not but about a month ago now while I was learning to format my first eBook. Trust me…my verbal capacity with invectives got quite a workout during those couple of weeks.

But I prevailed. And once I conquered that first issuing-of-a-book, a whole world of self-publishing opened up to me as something I could do. Not that might be possible, but which I CAN now do.

Yes, this will include the famous epic high fantasy you all have heard me talk about. That will go out via Print on Demand (POD) and somewhere in the next couple of months I’ll bite that formatting apple.

All of this is to say that while there is – unquestionably – some sort of genius-intellectual salvation mechanism which only goes off in our brains when we reach the point of personal cataclysm…that’s not Eris. That’s Uranus.

Uranus – a planet which orbits inside the line of Neptune – represents those things which we can master, but which require letting go of our pre-set boundaries, our limits. They may be behavioral, experiential, regarding what we know or have been willing to perceive. They may pertain to our attitudes about social acceptance and our willingness to be a true individual.

With Uranus, we generally have some choice, even though sometimes we say ‘no’ or refuse to make a choice and life thrusts a choice upon us.

 This is a detail from a painting called 'The Mutilation of Uranus by

Saturn' by Giorgio Vasari which in following the Greek creation

myth about the primordial sky god (Ouranus, from whence comes

the planetary name Uranus) being 'deposed" by Saturn...that concept

we call time, reality, consequence, pragmatism, responsibility. 

But that’s not Eris. Eris begins as life thrusting something – some experience, some moment, some realization - upon us. Zak Bagans became a parapsychologist because he encountered a ghost and from there went on to learn about them.

Someday I’ll tell you all (and the rest of the world) how I came to be who I am too. I just have to be able to pay the legal bills to process the manuscript – which is the ‘down’ side of growing up with famous people as family friends.(Never thought about that part of famous families, did ya? Mmm...it's not all parties and good times, trust me!)

To the point here….when Eris touches our lives - and it happens to us all at some point - taking the disruption and making something useful or positive from it is key. And the more that ‘something’ you make touches others – maybe more gently than you were touched, but touches them nonetheless…the more you turn Eris’ energy to the positive.

That’s why Eris as (for instance) a social reformer holds such potential for good. Anywhere where you fix things for others, where you take the evocative or emotionally unsettling and use it to help others understand or to fix something which is harming others at any level – that’s Eris to the good.

And when Eris functions to the positive, like fellow KBO Huya, it evokes a positive response which empowers, enriches or supports you.

With Eris going retrograde at 22 Aries, where we are weak, where we have been unwilling to carry through on our tasks – all our irresponsibility gets uncovered, exposed and pretty much shoved in our face. With Saturn still very much in opposition to Eris (at 23 Libra) there will be a tendency to project blame on others, on circumstances, on whatever.

It probably won’t wash. And because it won’t wash, we will all of us be confronted (to whatever degree) with where we have been humoring ourselves thinking ‘oh, they’ll go along with it’ when in the end, they won’t. And in the end, we will pay the price not for ‘their’ intolerance, but for our lack of willingness to work (Saturn) at the thing which we find emotionally difficult to swallow (Eris). That may simply amount to not liking to be told what to do. Or maybe it’s that you don’t want to change how you go about doing something or the ‘charge’ you levy for doing it.

There are a million-zillion ways this Eris (opposition Saturn) station can manifest. The important thing to remember is that whatever happens now, the core of the emotional reaction is pointing at you. Specifically, at some vulnerability in your character. Maybe you don’t like being or working alone. (Maybe you need to learn how to do that?) Maybe you don’t like having to change the way you ‘always’ have done something (Maybe you need to recognize the times are changing and/or have changed?) Maybe…

….maybe, maybe, maybe.

So many maybes. One life to get them straight in.

The other half of this moment is – as mentioned – a New Moon. And that makes this the PERFECT time to learn better. As this post goes up (July 15th) Mercury has just gone retrograde (see previous post), meaning that the next couple of weeks are a really good time for cleaning house – mental or otherwise.

And yes, it is likely that for those who are dilly-dallying around about things, others will do some of the housecleaning for you. Or to you, depending.

Again, don’t blame them. Take responsibility for how you are perceived. We can coax, con, soothe, explain some of the time. In the end, actions speak the bottom line. Both Saturn and Eris are in cardinal, action/demonstrative signs. If you want others to think differently of you, change you and prove that you’re different.

With this New Moon occurring at 26 Cancer, we know there is some sort of ‘basis for proceeding’ in the mix now.

.

 Positioned at the bottom of the wheel of the 'natural' zodiac (the

 zodiac as placed around the horoscope wheel starting with

 Aries and ending with Pisces), Cancer reveals itself as the sign

at the very base of the chart - thus its associations with our

foundations as individuals (our childhood, home, nationality, culture)

as well as any plans we have in life. If you think of the chart wheel

as a building the meaning here becomes clear: without sound

foundations, all which is built ON those foundations does not

stand firm. This idea supports exploration of childhood and

child-mentality through psychology as surely as it supports our

need for 'down time' (moments in which to be childlike, even

child-ish!) in life...and the need to have a sense that you 'belong' 

somewhere...in a family, in a people, as part of a national identity

...and why astrologers do well to examine where Cancer falls in any

chart, PLUS the nature and stutus of the 4th house in order to

understand challenges and positives of functionality.

Cancer is the first of the water signs. Known in virtually every spiritual and metaphysical tradition as an emblem of emotionality, water is also the basic ‘giver of life,’ accounting for Cancer as the sign of family, our nationality and culture, our childhood and our basic ‘life plan.’

With this New Moon occurring at 26 Cancer, we are given to know – from the fact that this is a 3rd decan degree (between 20 and 29 degrees) – that we are getting ‘feedback’ now. We are learning what it means to have our background. Or to be of our nationality. Or whether our ‘life plan’ is functional or not.

For those who are having difficulties, the Mercury retrograde weeks between July 15 and August 8 (when Mercury goes direct) will be an excellent time to make plans, develop methods and ways of reaching your goals and finding our everything from who can help you to how things can work. Business or personal, this New Moon adds to things by asking that you recognize what your values are against what the world may think of those values.

Just understand one thing: considering that Eris’ turnabout is happening in virtual tandem with this New Moon, you may be tempted to blame difficulties on others. And no, life isn’t fair. But how you respond to life and what your plans become given that life is at this point what it is…? That’s what will now evolve over this next lunation.

Specific to the lore on the degree of this New Moon, it deals with artists and artistry as well as questions of luxury. The term ‘artistry’ is not confined to the arts here. Rather, it’s a reference to the way you go about doing whatever you do. Likewise, while ‘luxury’ may be about material goods, it may also be a reference to the ‘luxury’ of not trying or not living up to standards (which would be very Eris-Saturn), “resting on one’s laurels” (thinking you don’t have to try any more and/or can do what you want now, which plays right into the Saturn/Eris scenario) and the ‘luxury’ of abdicating responsibility to others.

Again, I refer you back to our conversation about Eris…or Saturn/Eris as a particular.

The Sabian Symbol for this degree is ‘A VIOLENT STORM IN A CANYON FILLED WITH EXPENSIVE HOMES’ which astrologer Dane Rudhyar considers to be a ‘confrontation with social upheaval, demanding the reconsideration of static values.’

Whether or not you deal with things which are literally ‘expensive’ there are items and issues in life which we consider precious – and to lose them would be very ‘expensive’ to our lives. As much as the literal translation of this degree, the emotional concept will now be in play. Health, love, respect, trust, regard, proximity…everybody is facing some sort of change. Those of us least used to change will find it harder to face than others and where resources would seem protective, life now cuts through all protections.

That would be the Eris part of things.

Especially if your natal chart has a position between…say,…20 and 27 of any sign, you’re in the celestial shaker box.

And then there are those of you who have already noticed how Eris at 22 Aries is in aspect to this New Moon at 26 Cancer…

 

Yes, this is a total configuration. And that, my friends, would be why no matter what time zone you’re in…why these two events would seem to be tied together.

There are many interesting points in this diagram with one we haven’t touched on yet being Kalypso and Photographica opposing the New Moon. This would tend to be something of the ‘but how will it look?’ sort of thing.

But it bears recalling that there are not only structural rules for using astrological solar systemics to sort out what’s personal from what’s experiential, there’s a size thing too.

Yes, in astrology, size matters. I’m not sure it matters in other places as much as some think it does, but when it comes to celestial objects, yes – size matters. Not only does greater physical size generally translate into the symbolism having ‘greater mass’ and ‘more weight’ in our lives, but there is that physics thing that once a celestial object reaches a given size, it will tend to ‘spin itself’ into becoming a planetoid or for the lucky few, a planet.

(Yes, I’m using the term ‘lucky’ here rather abstractly.)

In those terms, the ‘gravity’ (gravitas?) of the situation plainly goes to the New Moon. Earth’s satellite – our Luna Moon – is pretty dinky in planetary terms. Yet it is close! But more to the point, there isn’t anything about our solar system which comes close to being as big as the Sun.

 Solar System: Size (only) to Scale

To make this even plainer, here’s a link to another web page which does a really good job of visually demonstrating how big solar system objects are with respect to each other...

LINK: 'All (known) Bodies in the Solar System Larger than 200 Miles in Diameter' (Kokogiak.com) 

Essentially, the structure of this moment is a t-square with the possibility of it being a Grand Cross in particular for those who have something positioned in the 20-27 degrees of Capricorn.

(Yes…that’s me raising my hand. I have a date with my Chiron.)(...shudder...)

What’s the difference? A t-square is incredibly annoying. It’s like throwing yourself against a wall which impassively resists your every assault.

But t-squares do have ‘solutions.’ And that ‘solution’ is to get over your big bad self! The ‘t’ in the t-square (in this case the New Moon) is the thing which is standing in your way. You want it. Your ego is wrapped up in the ‘you’ of it and not focused (sufficiently) on the quality or ‘end purpose’ of what you’re talking about.

Life, in other words, is not rejecting YOU…it’s rejecting your approach. Your insistence that life listen to you or that what you’re up to is about you. Or dependent on you. Something.

For those who do have a planet, axis point, nodal point or even a prominent asteroid, TNO or such (if you have one you know about it) in this 20-27 Capricorn department, your issue is a bit different. You’re in the Grand Cross quandary, the simplest version of which is ‘too much to do and not enough time to do it in.’

Answer: prioritize. No, that doesn’t fix the totality of what you need to do, but prioritizing by actual need and not emotional want (or pressure) will go a long way towards helping you think things through and work through whatever long laundry list you now have before you.

That all this happens under Mercury retrograde is actually in favor of the ‘laundry list’ folks. Mercury retrograde is the perfect time for catching up, for paring down, for editing out, for getting things assembled – with all the details duly checked out – in order to move ahead once Mercury goes direct (on August 8).

For those with no planets being affected, you may well be bystanders to others who are dealing with ‘image issues’ of whatever kind. Whether this is focal in your life or not, there are positive lessons to be learned about awareness of Self in connection to, and with regards to others.

And that…is just about all I have to say about all that.

Well, maybe. But I do have to go check my laundry – and the list, which may have just gotten washed.

So happy Eris Lunation all…may we all become wiser for our experiences!