Nemesis, Ixion, Sisyphus, Pholus

Is the glass which you are operating in a half full or half empty mode?
(photo credit: Derek Jensen, December, 2005)

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There are a couple of ways to look at a group of astrological ‘bad boys’ being clustered immediately in the wake of an eclipse. They could indeed indicate the final tipping of a situation or the crumbling of some inner resistance we’ve been trying to ‘wall’ ourselves away from something with.

But if you’re already in the middle of eclipse processes - and yea verily right at the moment when, with the eclipse hardly having left our skies, we would expect things to change, happen, transform, be revealed or otherwise have us in the process of dealing with the energies of the eclipse, many of which we don’t like.

How do we know we don’t like them?

Answer: because it took an eclipse to get us to move off some previously established way of thinking, seeing, acting, choosing, doing, feeling and yes, even thinking.

Besides, these stations have to happen sometime ... so why not now, while we’re all primed to make a few changes now that eclipse forces have pried up a couple of our normally welded-and-reinforced emotional positions, principally those which are all about what we don’t want to know about our Self lest we have to feel things we don’t want to (or are afraid to) feel about our Self while we’re dealing with newly revealed facts. And considering how eclipses are the impactful and global transits that they are, surely all of us are going to be grappling some of our own things even as life is asking us to deal with others who are either asking their own questions or just beginning to see or recognize various facts others have known (or known specifically about them) for some time.

Years, maybe. Even decades.

All of this currently centers on the idea that there are four celestial objects going on station and changing direction within the space of four days (from Sunday through Wednesday) after the previous Friday’s eclipse.

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Not that any of this is necessarily a one-and-done sort of thing. Any one of the objects being discussed here (Nemesis, Ixion, Sisyphus and Pholus) may manifest independently. Plus, who is to say that the less than delightful reputation earned by these points isn’t part of a greater eclipse which in many cases is about revealing ills and errors of judgment so they can be corrected or properly eliminated?

How these four points are going to manifest will also vary. For instance, of the four, Nemesis and Sisyphus are main belt asteroids, which like all of the asteroids which orbit between Mars and Jupiter merely represent those things we encounter in the course of everyday life. Known for its quality of ‘forewarning’ (or being forewarned) Nemesis often simply represents something we have heard about, though it certainly can be that thing we have been warned about - or the fact that we may be called upon to issue some warning to others. In the wake of the eclipse, this Nemesis could represent that ‘they told me so’ moment when yes, we do finally ‘see’ what someone has been trying, trying, trying to tell us.

Nemesis
by Gheorghe Tattarescu (1853)

(re-colored for posting purposes)

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Then again, it could be a moment when we undertake something which will teach us why we shouldn’t do something - or at least in the way we’re approaching it - so that we become the essence of Nemesis for others down the line. In fact, the chances of ‘being’ the Nemesis party are increasing, not decreasing as Nemesis’ March 22nd station is Nemesis going direct: moving from a personal and more private or ‘internal’ mode into a more public, worldly and external mode - to which we add 4 Leo as the degree.

But wait ... do you recall Juno’s turn to direct at 3 Leo just a bit ago?

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Mercury in Pisces/Juno Direct

That was March 13th. And now, nine days later, Nemesis is going direct at 4 Leo with Juno just behind, still at 3 Leo. Juno will arrive at 4 Leo as of March 28th, increasing the ‘volume’ of issues having to do with managing some sort of information for two days, after which Nemesis will move ahead and the volume will slowly, slowly drop - at least in our mind.

As for Sisyphus, Sisyphus differs from Nemesis by the fact that it is an ‘inner system’ comet-type object with an orbit which at its farthest from the Sun is at 2.9 AU (AU = astronomical unit: the mean distance from Earth to the Sun) ... which puts it right in the thick of the asteroid belt, and which at its perihelion (the point closest to the Sun) is only at 0.87 AU, which means that in the course of its orbit, Sisyphus comes past Mars and past Earth, ending up just shy of Venus.

Metaphysically that says Sisyphus represents that which can breach our personal will and get ‘behind’ (or inside) our sense of individual assertion - which is part of the rather raggedly sorry story which is that of the mythic Sisyphus.
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Sisyphus by Bernard Picard (1731)

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Sisyphus was a well-born young Greek with basically everything to live for and not a lot in the way of problems ... except for his peculiarly twisted nature. Considered exceptionally intelligent, Sisyphus used to go out into town and befriend travelers, sometimes inviting them to be a guest in his house - as was the custom in those days.

But once those travelers accepted Sisyphus hospitality, all bets were off. In spite of customs of the day which very clearly held that host should not harm guests (in return for which, guests were forbidden to bite the hand which was feeding them), Sisyphus was convinced he was so clever (and indeed, so much more clever than anyone else) that he could do what he wanted - which in this case, included murder.

Moreover, Sisyphus was not even deterred from his trail of ill deeds when the Olympian gods stepped in, resulting in a not-so-delicate dance of crime-and-Olympian-punishment which ended with Sisyphus being condemned not just to Tartarus (the Greek form of Hell), but to a special little niche - one of two - just at the very gates of Tartarus where as an example of what not to do and who not to be, Sisyphus now spends his eternity rolling a rock up a hill ... only to have it roll back down the hill so he will then be forced to roll it up the hill again.

In this way, the mythic Sisyphus stands as a warning: don’t think the fact that you’re clever and can do something means you should do anything. Talents and privileges of status are gifts some have and some don’t have, making this ‘non-standard equipment’ precious - which is different than something which would make the person with the talent intrinsically precious.

All of which makes the idea of Sisyphus as something we encounter which ‘penetrates our (Mars) defenses’ quite apt. And when add on a little considering of Sisyphus as a member of the Apollo group of asteroids, Sisyphus should have some ability to ‘enlighten’ us (in the best Apollo tradition), even if that enlightenment comes through finding out how wrong something is in some fashion which could be termed “the hard way.”

Not that this has to be disastrous. After all, there are all those little lessons we learn in life - often about things which someone ‘warned’ us about (shades of Nemesis...) or which they told us should be done XYZ way, but we didn’t listen. Or we preferred to do otherwise.

And sometimes we learn that our ‘better’ wasn’t better at all. How all we did through our stubbornness was ‘kill’ some chance for our own success or happiness.

Voila: Sisyphus.

Not that Sisyphus is going on station alone. As Sisyphus goes direct at 29 Cancer (a degree known for various kinds of weaknesses, vulnerabilities or lacks) Ixion will be going retrograde at 23 Sagittarius, speaking to emotionally-driven positions, challenges and/or suspicions which are either projected or possibly completely groundless.

Ixion by Hendrick Gottzius (1558-1617)

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Moreover, this probably isn’t the first time such emotional positions have arisen - not in present tense, and not in terms of the whole of our lives.

Why would that be? That would be because Ixion is part of this conglomeration, as with Ixion, part of the point is that it’s not the first time which gets us ... it’s the fact we simply don’t learn. For some, they can’t be bothered. Others are sure they can do (read: get away with) something which might be a problem for others but not for them ... which with Ixion in play is often wrong, more wrong and most painfully incorrect.

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Ixion: Our Conflict of Mind

However this manifests, the combination of Ixion and Sisyphus is likely to indicate a personally trying period which some will deal with by ‘bulldozing’ through, and which others will experience as a chance to really see what has happened, what we have done and what we may be poised to do or choose, all of which will be tapping on the lock-box of our conscience - that being in the end where the turns and twisted fates associated with these two points to first and last.

In other words, do we have a conscience? Do we listen to that conscience? Does that conscience take only our position into account, or is our conscience willing to be accountable for the position we put others (and maybe everyone) into?

Sisyphus represents that place in our personality where others seem so unimportant that we become able to treat them as inconsequential, just as Ixion represents that place in our personality where we think rules, standards and realities don’t apply to us. And here they are taking stations in degrees which speak to vulnerabilities and emotional jealousies.

Plain and simple, this is not terribly positive combination unless utilized as part of a greater process of self-reflective discovery. Why we are victims, why we are perpetrators, why we think its okay to treat anyone or anything on this planet (or elsewhere) simply as we please without any regard for others and long-term effects on life in specific and general - those are Sisyphus-Ixion questions.

Moreover, because Ixion comes to the party with Neptunian magnetism as part of its essence, a significant number of people will be more likely to create problems and deny that they are part of some problem (or making the problem far worse) than we might expect at other times.

It depends on how clear we are not just on who we are, but who we aren’t - and why either-or-both things would be true.

Especially now.

(Suggestion: think eclipse)

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Solar Eclipse Scheat: Flight against Insight

There is another group here, of course - those who have come to some form of miraculous (or perhaps crunch-worthy) realization as the eclipse has reached full potential. For them, Ixion-Sisyphus will like as not indicate some sort of ‘further unfolding’ of things past and present, with the eclipse representing all those things we go through and think through whenever we change course or change our personal ways.

A couple of days elapses before Pholus goes on station, which given the Pholus-type tendency to withdraw or pull back from ‘the fray’ (or the point of some issue) may be anything - a time of reflection, a time of working behind the scenes, a time of regret or even mourning.

Like Ixion, Pholus’ orbit has its farthest point from us (and the Sun) out beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt. So Pholus always represents something which isn’t ‘commonly’ met up with or known. Unlike Ixion, however, Pholus is not a Plutino - i.e., an object whose orbit is controlled by Neptune’s magnetism, and which therefore in part embodies Neptune’s astrological magnetism. So there isn’t the kind of idealism or the chances for disillusionment (and disappointment as to the reality of one’s life) which seems so much a part of Ixion’s transits - and its position in our natal chart, along with that. But that doesn’t mean Pholus is an ‘easy’ astrological influence - it isn’t. For one, Pholus is a centaur. So with Pholus we know there is always some sort of lurking internal/interior ‘battle’ between the ability (or willingness) to think things through calmly, logically and rationally and that sort of hot blooded emotionalism (of whatever flavor) which can get us into trouble - or even killed (literally or metaphorically, as in the ‘killing of an idea’ or the ‘killing’ of some effort).

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Pholus: A Little Nasty

Having gotten as close to us (and the Sun) on June 3, 2012 as it is going to get over the course of its 91.3 year-long orbit, Pholus is currently headed away from us. And as the Sun represents our consciousness, that suggests Pholus is astrologically ‘standing in’ at present and serving as a marker for a retreat from consciousness ... or perhaps a conscious retreat from something (depending on your personal Pholus). Furthermore, with Pholus going retrograde in 26 Sagittarius there is an ‘invisible’ suggestion that this ‘retreat’ - for positive or otherwise - is going to be most seen or more often adopted as a mode of operating (or coping) by those whose birth charts would have the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius.

And that would include just about everyone born roughly between the latter part of 1938 and October, 2010.

Currently positioned at 27 Sagittarius, the Milky Way’s Galactic Center (‘GC’ for short) is a point which functions as a form of astrological ‘gateway’ through which we project what we are and what we have to give in this life to this world. Since it is in Sagittarius for everyone (that part being all about where our solar system is vis-à-vis the center of the Milky Way) the positive is judicious expanding of knowledge or opportunity through what we do ... and the negative is the injudicious limiting of knowledge and/or opportunity, however that functions in your life and personal world. Where your Jupiter is natally, the sign it is in natally, and how the planet which rules that sign often gives us an indication of how we’re going to feel about giving to the world - and how we define ... or how well we define what we have to give, and the mode through which we will end up giving it. 

A VISTA photo-mosaic of the Milky Way's central district, which lies in constellation of Sagittarius.

Some million stars are in this photo.

(photo credit: ESO VISTA, Dec 2009)

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And since this is a cause-effect, ‘for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction’ sort of universe, this also helps us understand how well our efforts to give work, and - oh by the way - why Pholus going retrograde can be problematic.

Put simply, Pholus stations can mark a moment when our unwillingness to give or our efforts to give go awry.That may be ‘give’ as in “giving a present,” or it may be ‘give’ as in “giving an inch” or even “giving in.” Whatever it is, when a Pholus station aspects your chart, things may take a turn for the worse or better, depending on what we’re doing in that moment - and why we’re doing it. Pholus often backs away from the ‘strong move’ and that which will benefit others more than the Self, which metaphysically speaks to the classic sort of self-concerned emotional (centaur) challenge we see with Pholus, Chiron, Nessus, Pelion, Ceto, Asbolus, Typhon and all the other centaurs wherever emotionality gets stirred up.

More to the point here however, is the idea that Pholus is going retrograde at 26 Sagittarius, the natal position of the Galactic Center for everyone born between late 1938 and October, 2010. Known as a degree imbued with creative flexibility and a wide array of abilities and interests which causes many people and many things to be either marveled at or completely misunderstood, those born with their Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius are asked to be selective about personal and intimate alliances if generous with social contributions - all of which may now be on the wane (with Pholus going retrograde) ... OR which may now be brought to the forefront of discussions as we reflect on how we have or haven’t utilized our talents properly due to some sort of personal, internal (Pholus-type) ‘separation’ which causes us to not identify with others, or which inspires us to actively choose not to ‘fight that fight,’ even if something will be lost because of that choice.

With Mars in the third decanate of Aries, a lot of energy is flooding towards motivational ideas which, with Mercury in Pisces, may be either not that well thought through (yet) or in need of revisions, editing, validation, research, discussion and in general, a cool, collected and sober review of much going on.

All of this is still being driven by the eclipse. So as much as we will still be wanting to think all the flaws and ‘faults’ are ‘theirs,’ some are bound to originate much closer at personal hand.

Considering that, are we willing to look not only at what we we are holding on to, but why - in reality - we’re holding onto it? Is that choice really about ‘the good’ - or just something we want others to think is good because it benefits us and validates what we want to think - most of all about our Self? 
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Ceres in Sagittarius

Just below and to the right of the center of this photograph is the Milky Way's

Galactic Center - which is currently located at 27 Sagittarius

(Photo credit: G Kopan, R Hurt, Caltech)

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Asteroid Ceres will be entering Sagittarius late on Monday (UT/+0) time - at 22:04 (10:04 p.m.), to be exact. Which first of all means that as this post goes to digital press, Ceres will be positioned at 29 Scorpio, a degree known as more inward than otherwise and particularly bent towards figuring out or doing whatever sort of investigating is needed in order to understand what’s ‘behind’ things or comprehend either how something works - particularly with an eye to stabilizing some situation.

Which as we all know would in Scorpio ultimately mean a stabilizing of feelings and/or reactions: the situation creates the emotionality because it touches on some insecurity or vulnerability in each and any one of us.

And that’s just the degree. 29 Scorpio is also the current position of fixed star Toliman, a star which in being the foot (or hoof, if you prefer) of the Centaur is connected both to life-long learning (the habit of learning or learning to learn) and either the sense of being grounded or learning to be grounded.

It’s a star which seems to represent how we light our own way...and as such is a very thematic ‘doorway’ to Sagittarius, zodiac land of expansion and all we learn through the process of expanding on any level, some of which we like - and some of which we tend not to like all that much.

As for Ceres, it’s easy to think of Ceres in earthy and rather pragmatic terms as particularly by transit Ceres both acts a bit like a yes-no, stop-start “traffic light” and a personal GPS the point of which is (in the end) more or less about our Self depending on where Ceres is in our natal chart (and how its aspected and all such things) plus the house Ceres is transiting as it leaves Scorpio’s hot-and-cold water for realms which are as boundless as we imagine them to be.

At least in Sagittarian theory.

But all is hardly negative here as Ceres and Sagittarius go together not quite like peanut butter and jelly but more like rubber tread meeting road: Ceres provides the plan (or the need to plan) and Sagittarius either provides the need or opportunity to get things done - a quality which may motivate us to get out of neutral and into gear...or which in keeping with other recent events (like Mars entering Capricorn) speak to the actual getting to the issue - whatever that issue may be. Where Mars in Sagittarius contributes just a bit (just a bit?) to spinning our wheels and instances of getting dizzied by options, problems, details, input or other things, Ceres in Sagittarius is a plus for organization and for at least a focus on priorities if not an out-and-out letting go of Things Unnecessary.

There is a nurturing quality to Ceres which in the immediate tends to be the nurturing of something (the idea, the project, the plan, the effort...even our tolerance, perseverance, curiosity or willingness to be less defensive and more open). But beyond this there’s a reason...a rationale...a ‘plan’ which is eventual and much bigger than this moment.

And that’s the plan we’re most interested in - and, if truth be told, most vested in.

A diagram of Ceres orbit at October 27, 2014

(Generated by the JPL small body database)

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Ceres will be in Sagittarius until January 9, 2015 - just over two months, which is rather quick for an object with a 4.6 year-long orbit. What does that suggest metaphysically? Well for one that we may have to hustle our bustle, lest we not get everything done - which in turn suggests there is (and is going to be) a lot which needs doing and to get done. As a combination Ceres in Sagittarius also suggests a need to secure new/more resources and to harbor or conserve what resources we have - which could be about some problem or blockage in some system (Mercury will be revving up to go retrograde just as Ceres completes this passage)...but it may just be because we don’t have the time or inclination to have more details or more things we need to deal with.

It all depends. Again - check your chart, and when in doubt, talk to a qualified astrologer.

There are a few dates we could cite as Ceres makes its way through Sagittarius though. The first would be November 18-20 as Ceres conjuncts royal star Antares.

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The Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 3): Antares

Plan on not obsessing. Or obsess about your plans - whichever works.

Ceres-wise, nothing appears globally all that fascinating thereafter until December 8/9, when Ceres will be in conjunction with the Sun as part of a transiting grand trine/kite which just happens to occur with Jupiter on station (to go retrograde) at 22 Leo.

By itself (which is to say, apart from anything else which may be happening at the time) this amalgamation would seem to speak not to what we could or can do with-for-with regards to others, but what we should do - particularly if we want things to go more easily/pleasantly somewhere down the line. Plus, that Ceres will move on, degree by degree, while remaining in (grand) trine first to Juno/Nemesis and Uranus-South Node-Eris in Aries (wanting-needing-finding ways to maintain control of our Self as we have learned we need to in order to reach our aim)...and then to Jupiter and Eris/South Node?

That suggests a rather long period (December 8/9 through December 31st) which to start with is simply hectic. There’s a lot under way and no matter what we do and no matter how good we are at doing it (or avoiding it, depending...) there are things which are going to come along which either disrupts what we have been doing or which causes us to see things from a bigger and more potent perspective - thereby suggesting (yet again) why we probably should be thinking thing through based not on our current position/s or past performance/s, but rather on our potential.

Yes, happy holidays to us all.

Then the grand trine dissolves. And that it does so as Ceres reaches 27 Sagittarius (the current location of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center) speaks to needing to fulfill our purpose to others - whatever that may be or mean - before we ‘get ours’...which could be good or bad.

And that means we’re going to start 2015 with Ceres at 27 Sagittarius...which is rather like being asked to go into our next year asking ourselves not what we can give, but whether we’re going to give - and what may come of our giving...and not giving, should that be our choice in a moment where preference - specifically the preference to make contributions to this life, this world - to people you don’t know and will never know - is said to be a requirement.

That’s rather poignant, don’t you think?
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Venus in Virgo / Hidalgo Direct

The Harvesters by Pieter Bruegel the Elder

(dated 1565, Metropolitan Museum of Art,  courtesy of Google Art Project)
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There’s something about Venus in Virgo falling just after Venus in Leo which sometimes seems like a grand cosmic joke. After all, there we are getting into rhythm (with ourselves) while putting on some sort of ‘game face’ with which we dazzle others.

Yes, even when we’re bad, grumpy and entirely ticked off, under Venus in Leo it’s at least a good performance - and in time, as Venus sails through Leo’s degrees we get to where we can see how it all works (whatever ‘it’ is).

Good or bad, at least we ‘grok’ it, to borrow from Heinlein’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land.’ (Sometimes you just have to use the word that works, regardless of its official language status or lack thereof.)

And then Venus moves into Virgo - a sign transiting Venus’s normally beneficial and responsive energies often fail to produce even a teaspoon of joy in. Still, it’s not like that’s any surprise - or at least it shouldn’t be as Venus is about 'the reward.' The response... and yes, hopefully the applause (with a side of ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’).

And Virgo? Virgo is about the effort. The work. The responsibility.

So when we put the two together we get Virgo starring in the role as a zodiacal ‘do it right’ authority against Venus’ aim to win, celebrate and relax, enjoy and receive accolades at leisure - which is something of a problem as leisure is something of a dirty word where Virgo is concerned. As gracious and lovely as transiting Venus in Pisces can be (Venus being exalted in Pisces), that’s pretty much the level of discomfort, annoyance and sense of unwanted obligation Venus in Virgo may be able to rise to over the next several weeks once Venus enters Virgo on September 5th at 5:08 in the evening UT/+0 time.

Then we add in the fact that this particular Venus-Virgo ingress is happening not just in the wake of Ixion and Pholus going direct (see previous post) but also just as asteroid Hidalgo enters its two-day allowance to go on station - and then direct - come Sunday the 7th.

That station will be at 26 Sagittarius, a degree which because it is between 20 and 29 of the sign is never only a personal thing. Yes, you may have all sorts of feelings and opinions on any given subject. (In fact, being that this is Sagittarius we’re talking about, that could actually be plural feelings and plural subjects.) But whatever you’re focused on or involved in, you’re not alone in the doing, thinking, feeling, focusing, opinion-rendering or trying to figure out how to fix something which has gone wrong or which has gotten out of hand (both these last being common Sagittarian trials even without Ixion and Pholus' station effects).

As for the specifics of the degree, 26 Sagittarius is known for providing (and needing) a good deal of flexibility. This is a degree which shifts and changes and presents different ‘faces’ or factor in just about every situation and case. Sometimes such malleability is useful - as in the case of an actor or a dancer exercising their craft (26 Sagittarius is known for skill of movement, though not necessarily grace). But then... despite the fact that this degree can sometimes manifest as with warmth, friendship and outstanding loyalty, Sagittarius can also come off with a shiftless and untrustworthy edge which makes others think every new move, idea or opinion is some attempt to manipulate others (or some situation) for personal gain or aggrandizement.

And just to make it more exciting, all of these plus and minus factors may be being true and on display at the very same time.

With Hidalgo going direct at this degree the emphasis is on the manner, mannerisms or the manners (as in politeness) with which we do something. So people may change what they’re doing during these days and going forward. Or we many, any of us, realize that while our goal may be perfectly respectable, how we’re going about it (or even how we’re acting as we’re going about it) is creating problems for our Self, others...or even for that aim we seem to be so bent on.

Another thought to consider is that up until October 2010, 26 Sagittarius had been the degree of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center for many a plural decade. So anyone born before October 2010 has this point (depending on where and how it is positioned in that chart) as an active position and thus a ‘place’ where they need to ‘give’ to the world (this being a ‘beyond global’ point, this isn’t to ‘others’ but to our world/planet) in order to pass some personal “gateway,” said gateway being indicated in any given chart by the position, sign and aspects to that big red planet known as Jupiter.

Remembering that as Venus enters Virgo it will conjunct royal fixed star Regulus, this is a time to be careful about assertions and assertiveness as Regulus promises (eventual or long-term) success only where one’s actions are not affected by the spirit or intent of revenge - which in this case may be a challenging consideration as Orcus (things which have been decided or which can no longer be changed) will be positioned at 5 Virgo as Venus enters Virgo’s earthy, concrete world of the nitty-gritty, the fact of the matter and getting our hands dirty either in the cause or because we weren’t so very ethical (or careful...maybe even thorough) about some cause.

Moreover, sitting right behind Venus (at 29 emphatic degrees of Leo) is asteroid Germania - an object which refers to strength of determination and the will to ‘continue the fight’ which here is shown as being left behind as the need for real results (Venus) ends imagining what could be in favor of dealing with what is... and what is going to become of things if necessities - no matter how much we do or don’t like them - aren’t tackled, dealt with and taken care of properly and in detail... hopefully without getting bogged down in details along the way.

Virgo is about getting it right and making things work in a healthy and productive way. Venus meanwhile, is all about results and ‘the result’ - that which we pull or hold close, and which by its yea and nay, by its functionality or lack of same tells us whether we’re heading in the right direction or whether we’re just embedded in some ‘old way of doing things’ which we like or which feels comfortable to us, but which in reality is no longer useful to our present or foreseeable future.

Venus will be in Virgo until September 29th (UT/+0 time) offering us an opportunity to become more grounded, more realistic and more productive in who we are as people...and in what it means to be human. During the weeks ahead we’re likely to feel vulnerable, but that doesn’t mean we need to (or should) lower our standards or exclude anything (or anyone) others who don’t feel, act or live like us.

Virgo’s keywords... health, work, service... are all about responsibility: that we have to our Self (mind and body), that we have to be a contributor and not just a ‘taker’ in this world, and to all which we acknowledge about being human when we determine what needs to be done while simultaneously requiring of ourselves that we remember how ‘life’ is not just our life, but one we share with every being, plant and creature on this planet.

Even with Planet Earth itself.
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Pope Benedict XVI Gives Notice

 Pope Benedict XVI during a May 2007 visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil

(photo credit: Fabio Pozzebom, Agencia Brasil)

Technically, when a Pope leaves office (which apparently hasn’t happened in some 600 years) they resign. And considering what one must be resigned to once you’ve been Pope for a while, that may be apt. But seeing as the rest of us ‘give notice’ in our jobs, maybe that works too.

Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 in the small Bavarian town of Marktl, Germany, the obvious question is why now? Why is Pope Benedict stepping down in this world instead of holding on until he moves on into the next in what is pretty much Catholic Papal tradition?

We aren’t going to ever know this answer for sure, but there are a few thought-worthy notes in the Pope’s chart which may help us each think this question through…should we want to, of course!

 Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger)

 April 16, 1927 - 4:05 a.m. (CET/-1) - Marktl (Bavaria),  Germany

One way to think of ‘why’ now is to say ‘Pope Benedict is leaving office on February 28, 2013. Does that have any astrological connection to when he assumed the role of Pope?’

Pope Benedict became Pope on April 19, 2005. Here’s a bi-wheel for that date. The inner wheel is Pope Benedict’s natal chart, and the outer ring shows planetary positions for noon in Vatican City on that date. (I don’t have the exact time he assumed office, so we will use the noon ‘leadership’ astrological default.)

 Pope Benedict XVI's natal chart (inner rung and horoscope

wheel) with planetary placements for the date of investiture in the outer ring.

The first thing which jumps out of this chart is Pluto (in pink) at the very top of the wheel. Positioned at 24 Sagittarius, it could hardly be any closer to the Pope’s natal Midheaven without being on top of it, and this position just before the cardinal axis has been statistically tested to be a very important place in the chart. The most basic of keywords for Pluto being “transformation” and Sagittarius being the sign of religion, Pluto conjuncting the Midheaven is a wonderful and clear sign of this being the time when this man’s worldly image, his societal achievements, his place in the world would change. He was – metaphysically and literally, at the ‘top of his game,’ if you will.

Also interesting here is that in reaching the top of the to-be-Pope’s chart, Pluto had just conjuncted Ceres (in blue, at 21 Sagittarius), which in the Pope’s chart is both stationary (exactly on station) and involved in a natal grand trine…which would ‘set off’ the grand trine.

 
Ceres on station is a powerful indicator of thinking things through. In a natal chart it would indicate someone who would work to (or towards) figuring out how things can get done. Or, given that this is fiery Sagittarius we’re talking about, how they should get done, or how they would be if things were as they could be.

And yes, there’s something highly evocative (yes, almost amusing) about a Pope’s chart which has asteroid Hel at the Midheaven, too. Ordinarily, asteroid Hel indicates where we make things hard (on ourselves or for others, depending) but this is one of those cases where there’s a whole literal quality to the asteroid. You may not have read any of the Pope’s writings, but the ones I read which were written prior to his becoming Pope and which I heard discussed by Catholic Deacons were pretty conservative, hard-line treatises. When the Pope took office, there were many who wondered how this ‘old style’ thinker would do as a leader in our new fangled world, and to the extent that Pope Benedict stood for very traditional, conservative values he lived out this position very well – he took the ‘difficult course’ and stayed that difficult course, come…um…Hel or high levels of indignation.

And of course, his Midheaven was also conjunct the Galactic Center of the day. Wherever we see the Galactic Center in the chart we understand that’s a place where the person is supposed to give of themselves. Lore tells us that we will not succeed in fulfilling our true potential without honoring the GC’s position.

Regarding the calculation of the Galactic Center: According to planet-hunter Mike Brown (yay!) of Caltech (yes, I’m a fan), though there is a teeny tiny variation in this ‘standardized’ equation, we are pretty much on the dot of the black hole if we work with the idea that the Galactic Center moves 50.27 seconds of arc per year. Given that, the GC which is currently at 27 Sagittarius 01 would have been at 25 Sagittarius when the Pope was born.

With Sun conjunct Medusa-Tantalus in late Aries, the Pope is not just a man who would be horrified (Medusa) if anyone accused him of anything “Tantalus” (unholy, to say the least and probably deviant and carnal to be more honest)…he’s a man who is horrified by even having to deal with such things.

Enter the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal(s). If humans are supposed to be tested in their lives, then part of Pope Benedict’s ‘trial by mortality’ was surely having to deal with the Church’s sex abuse problems as its Pope.

Was he ignorant about it? Probably not. By now hardly anyone believes the Church as a whole was ignorant of the transgressions of those working as part of the Church.

But there is the matter of Pope Benedict’s physical frailties. He may be one of those people who funnels so much of their mortal energy into one thing (call it religion, Catholicism in particular, maybe spirituality as a whole) that the rest of their life, and to whatever degree their body suffers. Certainly Neptune as ruler of Piscean idealism and the non-corporeal side of spirituality and faith…Certainly Neptune’s position in the Pope’s 6th house (the house of health) speaks to his ability to have compromises of the physical and constitutional sort.

Beyond this however, is the fact that when you’re the ‘head’ of any organization (or even in middle-management), the 6th house becomes the house of employees. In the chart of a nation the 6th house is not just the ‘work’ of that nation but also the civil service/servants and the military who ‘work for’ that nation. So if you’re Pope, then all the other members of the Catholic clergy fall into your 6th house.
Neptune thus would be the ‘willingness to believe’ and the ‘blindness’ turned towards those who did such terrible things to innocent – and particularly young - parishioners. Astrological deduction would also tell us that having to deal with such people and the cost of their acts (Eurydike at the Midheaven) would be taxing and debilitating.

A photograph of  Marktl am Inn, the Pope's birthplace in Germany

(Alexander Z, April 2005)

Interesting also is that Regulus is in this 6th house and conjunct Neptune. One of the famous Royal Stars, Regulus promises (your) success ONLY if you do not wreak revenge or ‘go’ for vengeance. And so, ultimately Neptune conjunct Regulus in the 6th house said that this man did what would be successful for him.

There’s a lot more which could be written about this facet of the Pope’s chart. Asteroid Lilith just barely in the 5th house and conjunct the 6th (Lilith at 6 Leo, the 6th house cusp at 7 Leo) is another form of ‘not wanting to know’ about what happened to little children.

But it’s more than that…which I personally can’t speak to. This Lilith in the 5th house of the Pope’s childhood conjunct his 6th house of health, work, service may well tell us about things he saw in his own early life. He did live through WWII, after all, and was born in Germany.

We can change our minds about things and reject them on an intellectual basis, of course. But what we have seen as children often stays with us. Considering that the Pope’s natal Pluto is in the 4th house of family and native culture with Pluto exactly conjunct Sirius (the star of brilliance) with both – again – one degree shy of the next (5th house) cusp evokes something akin to the image of a child who wants to crawl out of something dark and into the light.

My comments are neither condemnations or excuses, merely astrological observations.

So…were there any giant boffo transits which accompanied this man’s investiture as Pope? Actually, no. He’d just had a birthday, but even that isn’t the a chart which yells Hey, I’m going to become Pope! 

 Pope Benedict XVI's Solar Return chart for the year 2005,

the year when he became Pope.

Far from looking like anything celebratory, this chart looks like someone taking on a long, tough job.

But there is one interesting (cough) note. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. And on April 3, 2005, the (then) Cardinal Ratzinger experienced Jupiter conjunct Moon (retrograde), a transit which is often referred to as a ‘feel good’ transit. And that might have been true with the Cardinal, though I’ll choose to go the ‘nice’ route here and say that with his Moon natally positioned in Libra (weighing out the me with the ‘them’ and the effect we have on others in this world), AND because this natal Libra Moon is intercepted in the then-Cardinal’s chart AND because Jupiter is here shown in retrograde, I think it’s safe to say that Cardinal Ratzinger was reflecting on the good deeds and good efforts of his predecessor.

Though…let’s be real. Anyone who knows about the process of electing Popes has got to know that there’s some campaigning which goes on behind those doors of the College of Cardinals.

So with all that now pondered and shuffled and dealt out as a hand, what about this resignation thing?

The Pope’s chart has taken a couple of hard thwacks from eclipses over this past while. The May 2011 Solar Eclipse (at 11 Gemini) would have opposed his 6 Sagittarius Saturn and the November 2011 Solar Eclipse at 2 Sagittarius would have conjuncted said Saturn.

(As someone who has just gone through that and more just recently, I assure you that successive eclipses on your chart can rattle your bones, your confidence, your outlook - many things. This is especially when it's the same point in your chart taking multiple hits, as in this case.)

Uranus made its natal return during this time and it is typical for people to let go of ‘steering the ship’ when Uranus reaches its natal position.

Maybe most telling of all however, is that little ol’ Pope-maker Pluto. Pluto will be going retrograde in April at 11 Capricorn, and by next year will be pushing through 13 Capricorn.

Pope Benedict’s 11th house begins at 14 Capricorn - which means he's been Pope for the time that Pluto has been traversing his 10th house - the worldly house of our greatest accomplishments. And yes, he has affected the world...and no doubt been affected by that world.

But another idea here...since the Pope's 11th house dose begin at 14 Capricorn (which Pluto will move across early in 2014), which his natal Pluto is at 13 Cancer (conjunct dog star Sirius), Pope Benedict has seen Pluto move through half the zodiac during his life.

Which is an interesting thing to think about considering Pluto’s full orbital cycle, is 249.09 years long. How could this happen? How could Pluto get through half of a 249.09 year-long orbit during one man’s life, you ask? That’s because Pluto’s orbit is rather ‘egg-shaped,’ which effectively 'compacts' the time it takes Pluto to move through signs during a certain part of its orbit...which would be - by luck, by fate, by whatever - during this man’s lifetime.

During our lifetimes.

And that is one of those astrological keys as to why we shouldn’t be surprised that so much has changed – been transformed – in the last hundred years or so.

It’s all part of a process.

I’m willing to guess that the Pope has had some second thoughts about stepping down. The announcement of his impending departure having been issued on February 11th, his transits for February 10th include Mars square Saturn, a transit known as testing to one’s will and often about decisions.

Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, giving a private audience

(photo credit: Sergey Kozhukhov, January 20, 2006)

And this transit ties to the one on February 28th, the day when Pope Benedict XVI steps down. On that day he will experience Mars conjunct Jupiter – the moment of exhilarating knowledge…and maybe for this man the moment when he recalls having seen John Paul II pass on with a little gladness that he will have time to be a…what, a Pope emeritus?

I’m not sure the Church has that title.

In any case, come March 2nd, the Pope will move through the last pass of Uranus trine Saturn. He will feel he has met his obligation to do what he could and, for good or ill, now that phase of his life is finally done.

I, for one wish him well. Not because he’s a perfect man – he isn’t. Not because I approve of how the Church has handled the sex abuse cases (and other matters), because I don't. The idea that perpetrators deserve 'forgiveness' and should keep their jobs or cushy pensions while victims struggle with their faith, their lives and the ability to trust anyone...if anything is heresy, if anything fits the definition of 'sin' that would be it.

But I do wish him well, because in the end this Pope has done something truly miraculous in the world of Catholicism: he has known when it was time to move on. Maybe he's doing it because he knows something else terrible is going to come to light, but still, I give him some credit for knowing that it’s okay to move on while you’re still breathing.That's a lesson more than a few Popes (and other world leaders, CEOs - and others) could do well to learn.

Religion is about the examination of being human in the light of that which is Divine - a perfection humans will never have. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try - we should. And when we fail, we should own our flaws and what we have done wrong, openly. It probably hurts a lot of Catholics (and therefore Catholicism) that the Church which asks them to come and confess their sins won't confess its sins.

Still, in the end this one man, this Pope, has admitted he's human, and that’s one of the greatest lessons any of us ever learn, whether from religion or anything else.

While we should aspire, we should also recognize our sheer human-ness.
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Astro-Observations on Egypt’s Morsi

President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt (right) with the UK's David Cameron

(photo credit: Stefan Rousseau, Open Government License v1)

I was watching the news today, and there was a story on the unrest in Egypt. So, though it took a bit of doing (mostly geographical) but with the fracas going on in Egypt, it seems sensible to look up the chart for Egypt’s President, Mohamed Morsi.

Morsi was born August 20, 1951 in a small town north of Cairo which you’ll find listed some places as El-Adwah, but which is actually Al-Idwah. (Such changes are common when moving from Arabic to English.) There being no birth time available, here is his chart cast as an Aries wheel.

 President Mohamed Morsi

August 20 1951 - Al-Idwah, Egypt

(Time unknown, Aries Wheel)

Morsi came to the Egyptian presidency as of June 30, 2012, just a few days after Venus went direct at 7 Gemini and a month after the solar eclipse at 0 Gemini.

That solar eclipse trines Morsi’s Saturn exactly. It also sextiles his natal Mars (at 1 Leo) within one degree. That – obviously – says these two planets are in aspect, which they are. The aspect is a sextile, and that sextile describes President Morsi as someone capable of understanding others, and equally capable of wanting to, thinking he should and being willing to impose his will on others.

Interestingly, this same eclipse is also in an out-of-sign opposition to President Morsi’s natal Juno. Positioned in late Scorpio (26 Scorpio) and conjunct Tantalus, this would seem to be the trip wire which has now been tripped as Juno/Tantalus in late Scorpio is all about being willing to do what is necessary FOR others, with that you do TO them (or against their wishes) being a fatal sort of error.

This would be emphasized in Morsi’s having taken on the Egyptian Presidency by the Venus station/turnaround. Though there is no planet in Morsi’s chart at this degree, Venus having gone direct at 7 Gemini would be conjunct Aldebaran (integrity) on a global level. And since 7 Gemini is conjunct Morsi’s Moon/Eris in the “I Am” sign of Aries, thus we have a rather perfect demonstration of how Eris functions well when we fight for social causes and not so well when we try to do only for ourselves. Conjunct a strong Aries Moon (which would give Egypt’s President a very self-prepossessed quality anyway) this would of course backfire the minute he announced that he was giving himself additional power.

That trouble has broken out now seems not startling, considering that November’s solar eclipse at 21 Scorpio would have smacked the President’s Juno…and (oh incidentally) his natal Edisona as well.

He had a bright (Edisona) idea? Solar eclipses tend to bring out anywhere in our life where we have strayed from propriety or proper behaviors. One guesses that’s exactly what we’re seeing.

The next act should happen fairly quickly as Uranus will be going direct on December 13th at 4 Aries, conjunct Morsi’s Moon/Eris. 4 Aries is also within the 5-degree standard orb to oppose Morsi’s natal Saturn.

It hardly sounds like a moment for him to be taking a bubble bath.

One other interesting note to add here (this being not a conclusion-loaded blog post, just an observation) is that President Morsi has Chiron (retrograde) natally placed at 26 Sagittarius, a very (very) special degree as that was the degree of the Galactic Center when he was born.

This Chiron of his is in a grand trine with the Sun in Leo and Sedna in late Aries.

 
And that means – in particular the Chiron part of this? – that Mohamed Morsi is a man who tends to see his vulnerabilities (and probably his mistakes) more clearly in retrospect. His Sun, being conjunct Circe (being under the spell), Deucalion (finding the moral path), Lust (over-focus) and Amphitrite tends to say that (Amphitrite) he can persuade himself of many things…and that he is capable of feeling entitled to creating rules for himself. Especially with Sedna involved, this will tend to have him putting himself into situations where he involves others. And given the grand trine, this is not a dynamic (life habit) easily broken.

However…Jupiter opposition Neptune…this is also not a man who can wholly count on others. It’s to be sure that he has been betrayed and lied to, probably to the extent that part of why he does what he does in making up his own mind about what he’s going to do is at some level, a defense mechanism.

There is one other thing to note here: the North Node is currently transiting 26 Scorpio – the degree of Morsi’s Juno. Since the Nodes always represent society or relationships or our relationship to society, what with all the eclipse action it’s not surprising that this would be a time when things are in an uproar. As the North Node counts backwards to 25 Scorpio (which happens about the time Uranus goes direct) that will have the North Node conjunct Tantalus.

The mythic Tantalus was punished – severely – for his acts and bad choices. The crux of that punishment was not about what he did to humans, but what he tried to do to Olympian gods who came to his house for dinner. (No, you don’t want to know what he did!) In astrological terms, what this refers to are the esoteric questions of how others react to us when we take advantage of the opportunities we are given in this life.

 Juno

Juno is about the ability to ‘govern’ one’s ‘home.’ It can be about how we run our real world home, yes. But more often, depending on sign and house of placement, it’s about whether we’re at home in our skin or ‘how clean we keep’ our mental home – our basis for thinking.

This isn’t settled, no. And unfortunately, we have no birth time for this nativity. But it would appear that in the world of being a ‘ship of state,’ President Morsi will right, or sink himself.
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