The 14 Virgo Full Moon

The Moon at dawn

(photo credit: Mike Lewinski, December 2012)

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There’s a Full Moon in Virgo this Thursday. Occurring at 18:07 (aka 6:07 in the evening), its position at 14 degrees highlights our ability to pay attention and focus on effect and detail with some emphasis on hand-done work, handicrafts and -given Virgo tradition - how we ‘handle’ things (or people). Yet this degree also speaks to lacks, most of which have little (or at least less) to do with what we do on our own and which surface when or where we deal with others. Traditions and that which is ‘traditional’ is held as important and virtually ‘clung’ to with this degree, emphasizing the known, the cherished ... all of the ‘comfortable’ (or comforting) feelings.

But of course, as with any Full Moon story, the Moon’s position is only half the story. The feeling half, yes. The half we will tend to react or respond to? Absolutely.

Still, there is another side to things here, and with a Full Moon, that ‘other side’ is the Sun - emblem of that life, that ‘light’ which the Moon, in coming to its Full phase, reflects.

Which yes, is worth reflecting on for a moment.

The 14 Virgo Full Moon (glyph chart)

March 5, 2015 - 18-07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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The 14 Virgo Full Moon (text chart)

March 5, 2015 - 18-07 (UT +0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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So with the Moon at 14 Virgo, the Sun is at 14 Pisces, a degree known for serving up a decent helping of fairly good luck which unfortunately tends to get dished out in simple (or simplistic) forms which may not be sufficiently sophisticated to get the job done ... for which reason (as one writer puts it) the luck associated with 14 Pisces often ‘runs out’ unless there is (in the case of a 14 Pisces placement in a natal chart) there is support coming from other parts of the chart (i.e., other attributes in the personality, other people in the native’s life, etc.).

And that idea in a Full Moon chart? That means the Sun of this Full Moon will trend towards positive or negative according to how it’s aspected, and for those living on the planet this Full Moon is going to grace (that being you, me and everyone/everything else on Earth) that starts with the Moon in opposition (not always the world’s friendliest aspect) and goes on from there.

Plus let’s not forget ... this is the last Full Moon before the March 20th total solar eclipse.

In case you’re curious about the lunar eclipse which goes with this solar eclipsing of 29 Pisces (and fixed star Scheat, which happens to be positioned at 29 Pisces), this season’s Libra lunar eclipse happens after the solar eclipse, telling us to expect the emotionalism which accompanies any eclipse season to occur after the 20th.

But enough about that - back to our March 5th Full Moon, one which it interesting in its own right as it happens to be occurring hours prior to  Neptune exiting and ending its 2014 cycle, an idea which fits interestingly with the idea that any Full Moon is, among other things, the end of a ‘waxing’  phase based in (or on) ‘increase.’

Does this mean that some things will now be shown to be an illusion? Maybe - although the combination of Neptune and Virgo would probably be more akin to the ‘dissolving’ of something, be it a notion we may have held onto ...some relationship, or some effort we have been determined to carry through on (or maintain).

Where Neptune’s ‘dissolving’ of some curtain or veil causes us to see something we had hoped would be otherwise, we’re likely to be disappointed.

We’re even likely to not want to do ‘that’ again - which despite the pain or frustration of the moment really is Neptune in Pisces representing the need to face our own feelings facing off against the Full Moon in Virgo as life demonstrating what reality (and realities) really are.

As for the Sun side of this Full Moon, recalling how the degree references speak of 14 Pisces as needing support from other parts of a chart in order to bring the degree’s good luck into play, that list only starts with Moon-opposition-Sun.

For one, the Moon is conjunct Black Moon Lilith at 10 Virgo with Lilith exactly inconjunct Mars and the South Node at 10 Aries ... with the Moon itself inconjunct Uranus and Venus.

Inconjuncts denote ‘adjustments’ or the process of ‘adjusting.’ So both of these connection denote something which ‘shifts,’ or some dynamic which we respond to by shifting or adjusting something. Uranus-Venus speaks to instability or changes (or the changeability) of values or qualities of liking which at the moment aren’t being fully met anyway - that coming as a note about Venus in Aries. Some of us will like ourselves for standing up or for doing things we aren’t comfortable with while Venus is in Aries, though this isn’t Venus in any truly ‘receptive’ or particularly giving mode.

The thing to understand here about our ability to get what we want to get, however ... (that being the Venus part of things) ... is that this doesn’t come from a position of self-assurance. Venus in one of the signs of its rulership (Taurus or Libra) feels rewarded when others prosper ... partially because when passing through those signs Venus represents the type of warmth of feeling which inspires gratitude and a bountiful return of (and on) good deed incarnate.

Yet while transiting Aries (as opposed to a natal Venus in Aries, which operates somewhat differently), Venus is more - even most often a sign of want and wanting. In other words, nothing seems like it’s ‘enough’ or the ‘right thing.’ It could be fine. Things can be going along with nary a hitch - and sometimes that’s what’s wrong, people are bored. They want excitement. Venus in Aries often manifests with a feeling that there’s no fun, no romance, nothing to look forward to in life - and in that, it prompts us to dislike that so much that we do something about it.

In other words, sometimes irritation, boredom and frustration are motivations.

Then again, sometimes they’re just energy wasted and opportunities lost.

Which is which is somewhat of the question here, and with these twin inconjuncts from motivation, action-oriented Mars and desirous-if-unpredictable Uranus/Venus in a tussle with a Virgo Full Moon conjunct Black Moon Lilith (with the Moon trine Pluto, which is a drizzle of obsessiveness stirred into the mix)... sense and sensibility aren’t always going to match - not yours, and not that of others you're interacting with or listening to out there in the Big World.

There’s a lot of disbelief (rejection, denial and flat-out refusing to listen and think things through) going around, and that's of every type on every subject possible. So something may get said or something may happen and you may be totally astounded ... and the person next to you may yawn ... and the person sitting beyond them may not be surprised at the idea, they're just didn't believe anything would ever really happen.

Things are going to be unpredictable. And surprising. There’s a lot which wants to get done, and much in the way of personal insight which will ultimately drive whatever choices come to be made.

Continuing on with aspects, one of our favorites (I’m being sarcastic here ...) is putting in a Full Moon appearance: Pluto (which is sextile and Sun and trine the Full Moon) is square Mars, exactly square Venus and one degree off that exactness in squaring Uranus.

In being conjunct fixed star Vega by degree, Pluto represents a transformative force coming through ... or operating on something which has, or which has had 'charismatic' appeal. Notorious for expressions of potency positive and negative, this conjunction represents the purging of internal shadows,  often through projection of whatever is considered most incorrect or unacceptable about the Self (whether real or dreaded) onto others with a passion which is far more about fear of and for that Self than anything else.

In square to Uranus, this process can be electrifying and fascinating - or exciting and the sort of real eye-opener you're happy you didn't miss. But then again, this square can be the very essence of trying to escape those changes and realities about one's Self which though not particularly appealing are both inescapable and (in all likelihood) not as terrible as we think except for what we think of, and about them. Our current time seems awash with this square; since its formulation (by orb) began back in 2010 life has been full of an inexorable, implacable challenge to change our Selves which being human, we’ve tried to foist on everybody but our Self.

It doesn’t work. It won’t work. But we seem determined to make everything as difficult (i.e., as 'un-charismatic') as we can before learning there are only so many structural members which can be created, denied or destroyed (those being the Pluto keywords) before karma comes home to roost.

That 'un-charismatic' part would be courtesy of Pluto-Venus connections, which whatever they may be and wherever they might surface would and will always be Plutonically intense. 

And with Pluto trine the Moon, there’s a lot of ongoing emotional energy going into efforts to achieve valued or valuable ends which are now being either set off or offset by forces unpredictable (or unpredicted) which, when we consider Pluto sextile Sun says we can change things ... or that this is when there’s that change of luck referenced by 14 Pisces. That change could be for the better or for the worse, with the good-or-bad of same being that the net of whatever happens is something we probably couldn’t have predicted, and how its something we don’t or can’t control - or influenced by something we can’t control, resist, do away with or ignore.

Of course there is that critical Pluto factor which is known as where you're starting from. What I mean is that Pluto is the energy of transformation, or that which transforms us - which means changing what you come into this period with, as, doing, thinking (etcetera) since that is your current status quo. So for some, Pluto/Vega indicates increase, where for others it will indicate decrease - or maybe disruption as opposed to harmony.

Then there’s one other little detail - namely the fact that Pluto and the Sun are not just linked by just any old sextile of opportunity, but by one which is part of a Yod.

And that complicates things yet again - at least for a lot of us. It brings things 'back around,' in some sense. How and why will be entirely individual - depending on your chart. But the Yod itself feels rather fateful as 'moments of Yod' (which sounds odd) are composed of two inconjuncts (two separate adjustments) which emanate from a single point, which in this case is Jupiter retrograde at 14 Leo.

From that point - which would be our opinion on how things are (or should be) - we regard or have to consider (or take into consideration) two things which we are going to have to deal with simultaneously (either internally or externally). And to do that, we’re going to have to undertake some (adjustment or adjusting) process which is either foreign as a process or which is bound to lead to something other than what we were thinking - which with Jupiter in Leo isn’t defined as our first, second ... or even third choice.

But still, if we want to get anywhere, we’re going to have to stop insisting that we are in control - especially in our own heads.

And that, nobody’s likely to love.

But there is some good news here, namely that Yods are one of the few astrological configurations (or ‘planetary pictures,’ as they say in astrology texts) which come with instructions on how to find their ‘solution’ point. That point - astrologically - is immediately opposite the joint ‘base’ of the inconjuncts (the Jupiter of it all here) and half way between the two points which are in sextile (the Sun and Pluto).

In other words, the solution here is found at 14 Aquarius - a degree known for unusually eccentric expressions (physical, verbal and otherwise) and challenges or challenging status quos which are not of one’s making. There are too many variables (and unknowns in your individual chart) to make any sort of predictions here, but if your chart has a planet, dwarf planet, node, axis or cusp point at 14 Aquarius, this Full Moon has your name on it - don’t shy away from your challenges!

With all this said however, let’s go back and remember Neptune’s little part in this play. No matter how seemingly insignificant the ripple through our life seems to be, Neptune’s motions and effects unsettle us from within ... not because we’re actually weak or endangered, but because once we adopt something as part of our life, even if it’s a negative we’re going to feel ‘different’ when it disappears.

At least for a little while.

And we’re not going to know everything ... at least for a little while.

And we’re going to vacillate back and forth between an excruciating awareness of others (many of whom seem to be in some fog) and being that person lost in some thought.

A Full Moon under every circumstance is an upwelling of feelings, an outpouring of fervency and whatever actions reflect our convictions, our hopes, our agonies and desires.

And yet ... it is a phase. Unlike the lunar eclipse which lasts three months - or the solar eclipse which evolves over a full three years (36 months) this Thursday’s Full Moon is a moment in time, a passage through our own feeling core, a chance to reflect on what is darkness and what is light, not only in our world or the world ... but in our own spirit, soul and human life.
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Mercury Retrograde at 17 Aquarius

Trees... sky

(photo credit: US Department of Agriculture, February 2005)

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A week from when this post hits the internet (January 21st) Mercury will go retrograde at 15:44 (3:55) in the afternoon.

So why bring it up now?

That would be because what we humans do depends on how and how well we think - that being the heart and soul of the astrological Mercury. So since as any celestial object heads into its station (either to direct or retrograde) things tend to get congested, challenging and otherwise somewhat like slogging through a lake filled with peanut butter (perish the thought...), to have such that gumming up our mental works seems something it might be helpful to have a ‘head’s up’ on in advance.

Ergo, this post.

Besides, next week is going to be one of ‘those’ weeks in astrology - call it either many things coming together or much ado (and to do) about much which needs doing ... and if you're someone with a birthday around the 20th or 21st, this coming year is going to be full of new things and new opportunities ... but with them are going to come some personal challenges, with all of this pertaining to long-range (rather than immediate) life changes.

Mercury Rx (glyph chart)

Jan 21, 2015 - 15:55 (3:55 p.m. ) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Mercury Rx (glyph chart)

Jan 21, 2015 - 15:55 (3:55 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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As for Mercury, once in retrograde, Mercury will continue counting down through the degrees, crossing back over ten  Aquarius on January 30th - a signal that the fervency likely to color many a thought, idea or precept until then will change over into more of a background now-you-see-it, now-you’re-clueless mode likely to be relegate to the background of our conscious thoughts even though it’s underlying everything we’re likely to be focused on.

The basic arc described by this retrograde (by its stations) is Aquarian - which means it is likely to have two energetic thrusts, one of which seeks to stabilize while the other seeks to change (representing Aquarius’ two rulers, Saturn and Uranus). When or where meshed together, these two energetics represent the chance that life will change (and/or) our efforts to be part of, or to resist it that change. And when or where Aquarian energies are not used in sync, they tend to represent the many  pluses and minuses of multiples and multitasking, which for some is easily artful ... and which for others is like living through some particularly unpredictable assault on one’s mental sense and collective sensibilities.

As to the specific degrees involved here, Mercury will go retrograde at 17 Aquarius and go direct at 1 Aquarius as of the 11th of February (both UT/+0 time), describing an arc of personal reconciliation to or understanding of circumstances which, if allowed to get the best of us, can manifest in difficulties or illnesses with the lesson being all about why, where and how we interact with others. The process involved here - like all Mercury retrograde cycles - will tend to manifest in a period where not much gets done ‘outwardly’ because things are being done (and need to get done) first, and those things may not be as ‘visible’ ... either to you or others.

Given that the sign involved here is Aquarius, neither the issues or whatever it is which ends up occupying our time is likely to be strictly personal - and with the station-direct point being 1 Aquarius there’s every chance that the whole of this time is ‘about’ someone or something which hasn’t been ...

a.) paid proper attention to ...

(or)

b.) ... which haven’t yet been even been noticed for what it actually is - or is worth.

You may be waiting for others to notice you or something you’ve done. Then again, others may be waiting on you - or you may not have yet noticed that the thing which is going to prove valuable moving forward.

It’s to think about.

With Mercury going direct only one degree ahead of the Moon, there’s a note of fervency, concern and high focus to this station. As well, with Mercury (and the Moon) within the 5 degree orb-of-trine to the North Node but NOT within the 3 degree orb-of-sextile to the South Node, there’s a clear differentiation between what we want to do and what we should do, with the Mercury/Moon-to-North Node trine indicating something ongoing which cannot be turned ‘off’ or ‘on’ through any act of individual will - which isn’t just about us, it’s about everyone.

In other words, we can’t ‘fix’ whatever is going on in a split second - and neither can anyone else. Will that play into why we feel we must or must not do something?
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It could ...with Pluto is sitting at 13 Capricorn t-squaring the nodes, dualistic (and maybe dueling) interests which range from 'resistance' to inordinate efforts to make something happen ... bring something into being ... or the eliminating of something something altogether seems inordinately important. And it may well be. But if or where the question is how to do-or-be all those important things, the very strength or intensity of our focus may get in our way.  Those who understand where their interests are in the global (meaning either 'world' or 'universal') interest - those people may now come to the forefront.

But will they succeed? Providing they are not working solely in their own regard (be that an individual person or an individual collective) great strides can be achieved. Yet those strides are unlikely to be immediate: Mercury retrograde is Mercury retrograde and all the standard advice about don't be impatient ... check your work twice ... don't sign onto anything permanent ... do your research ... thinks things over ... be prepared for messages to get garbled, lost or delayed ... all such regular Mercury warnings are all in play, as they always are under Mercury retrograde.

But even beyond that, with Pluto at the t-square here, that which is being negotiated now is unlikely to be achieved without some measure, feeling and reality of sacrifice even if in the end what gets achieved is something more wholesome, more satisfying, more productive ... and just better.

With Mercury (and the Moon) in opposition to Jupiter still retrograding back through Leo there’s likely to be a sense that something has gone ‘over the line’ or ‘too far.’ And with Jupiter retrograde posited as the ‘goal’ of a Venus-Sedna-Jupiter t-square, the freeing of our Self from whatever it is which is most challenging in the moment (be that one or a thousand things) is going to require that we finish learning that we need to, and how to let go of perspectives and expectations we were raised with and which were formed early about who people are (and aren’t!) as well as what we are entitled to ‘expect’ life to be, or how we thought things were going to “work” for us.

The strength, the power, the efficacy that we seek is there. But it’s not out there ... it’s inside some kind of ‘thought shell’ which has hardened around our way of thinking - most of all about what we ‘need’ in order to be or feel valid as a person or validated as part of our world.

And now we get to think our way to ‘breaking through’ that barrier which (oddly enough) we probably played a large part in erecting long ago when in our heads the ‘how it works’ ideas got set down in concrete.

We’ve outlived some of that. We need to change. And this week - the week leading up to Mercury’s station on the 21st (UT/+0) is all about coming to focus on what ... and why ... certain things need to change.
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Chiron Direct at 13 Pisces

Princess Olga Paley of Russia (1904)

by Pascal-Adolphe-Jean Dagnan-Bouveret

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That the Sun will have entered Sagittarius two days prior to Chiron going direct at 22:44 (10:44 p.m.) UT/+0 time on November 23rd promises growth. Not necessarily the kind of growth which is easily achieved, but growth... which yes, does include gaining weight - a comment which is timely  considering how this Sun-Sagittarius-Chiron mélange is happening but a couple of days before Americans sit down to Thanksgiving, the laden table of which is very Sagittarian, a sign in which ‘more’ often carries the thematic day.

That our Sun-in-Sagittarius life now presses for ‘more’ fits much of which is - and will be going on in these next days ahead. The issue may be what we do, how we think, what our aims are or the need to take on things we see as wrong or problematic - all such things will be on (or come to) that laden table this solar month typifying all we feel we need to do and all which life is confronting us with.

There’s a lot to take in, to do, to think about - and with Chiron now standing for what we do (or conclusions we adopt, back, act on or reject) which come back to bite us - or which we are concerned will come back to bite us (wanting to correct things being another Sagittarian tactic) we are likely to meet up with indecision. With not know quite what to do.

And that would be natural, as where Chiron is concerned we never know, we never learn the right-versus-wrong of virtually anything except through the doing of it, and that goes for not just what we actively choose to learn, but also for what we don’t know we’re going to be (ahem) caused to learn.

And yes, even sometimes through perils and problems we bring upon ourselves when we don’t learn.

In going direct at 13 Pisces, Chiron is stirring up a lot of variable energetics which are likely to look like indecision, indecisiveness and various kinds of realizations which test us at the heart-string level as something we want very much to be true is proven wrong.

Will we hurt ourselves our our aims or some goal if we change directions? Is is the right thing to do to stand on our own?

Considering this as a basic combination, there is a natural Sagittarian drive to do and know more which is meeting up with Pisces hopes and that human and Pisces tendency to want to see things for the best instead of in reality - and with Chiron on the Pisces side of this dynamic, interpreting situations and figuring out what to do may require investigation to sort truth from fluff and assorted forms of self-serving spin (which may or may not be deliberate) out from the chaff.

The good news here is that if such looking for facts and all that investigating is done with attention to detail and the willingness to face facts (including those which may be uncomfortable, unpleasant or feel invalidating (not that they are...) then a lot of good things can result.

It just won’t be instantaneous, which points to another little concept: though Chiron stations often lead to something good, they generally don’t mark our favorite moment in life. Most often we’ll greet such a series of days with a series of ‘do this - or do that?’ questions as we wonder, ponder and otherwise contemplate which path will get us to our desired result... and which path is least apt to cause complications. (Especially emotional complications, which given Chiron’s presence in Pisces could be more costly than one suspects.) One common challenge now will be dealing with one choice or aspect ‘pulling’ especially hard in one direction even as something deep inside ‘knows’ that’s not what we should do.

And that’s in spite of the fact that we’re not positive about any of it - not as positive as we’d like to be, at least. For some, just the idea of having to make any choice (or needing to face what past choices mean you need to do now) maybe that’s your amplifying force.

Whatever happens, expect some intermittent if persistent rattling to come from somewhere under the back of your psyche as Chiron is all about the difference between our native inclinations and how we can (and could) learn better. The reasons for such lessons are as individual as snowflakes - which makes sense considering how charts don’t repeat but every 25,920 years even without using asteroids, fixed stars and other such ‘extra’ natal points.

But they’re there. Lift the edge of a challenge over this next little while and you’ll find your own Chirotic dichotomy staring right back at you: the thing you know and which comes easily against the potential you have to turn your challenges into ability.

So what’s the rub? Well, the rub is simply this: where Chiron is concerned, the object is to master ourselves while our instinct is to master others - or at least spend all our time critiquing, criticizing and pointing fingers at others as we wax symphonic in explaining (to others or ourselves, whatever works) that we know how to do it - they don’t. And how could they be so foolish? How could they be in a position of power or responsibility when they obviously don’t know how to do what they’re doing?

Meanwhile, the irony of Chiron is simple: we may be talking about them. But while that’s getting sorted out, we are surely talking about ourselves.

With Chiron in Pisces we’re reacting to our own feelings - feelings which are currently being universally stirred by things happening on a universal level without anyone (starting with us) actually knowing what can be done to make everything universally acceptable, to us or anyone else. After all, there are two grand trines in progress...

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... both of which are in fire, implying there are at least a couple (if not multiple) ongoing situations, one or both of which involve disruptions which at some philosophically intricate level asks whether we know what ‘disruptions’ are, and what their cost - especially long term - really is.

What can we afford to do? More importantly, what can we afford to be? That these two trines come together as Chiron goes direct tends to say that it’s things already in motion which are complicating our life, and Uranus (at 12 Aries) is certainly in a semi-sextile to Chiron’s station, so we should expect the unexpected and not be surprised if something doesn’t quite go as planned.

That’s not to say that what happens isn’t a positive - it’s just that it’s likely to catch you off-guard, whatever the net result may come to be.

Uranus in this picture suggests we flex. But while we flex, we need to also maintain our individuality - and that may be just the Chiron question: how to do that?

Plus let’s remember - both of these grand trines (which amounts to ‘a lot’ of what our minds are caught up thinking about) are in fire, with the Sun’s and Venus’ presence in Sagittarius challenging our allegiance to the greater purpose... against our need to be who we are.

And if not validated by others, at least acknowledged by our own sense of being functional in our own life. 

Throughout the days of this station (which gets an allowance - say from November 21st through the 25th) we also shouldn’t be surprised if things which otherwise could be expected to be reasonable are suddenly inexplicably unreasonable. Or being greeted with a lot of talk, little doing, tons of critique and many a ‘if I was in that situation...’ commentaries, all of which are (unfortunately!) a terribly common Chiron symptom.

In short, wherever Chiron falls in your chart by house, that’s where you’re going to encounter some form of stumbling block in your own life... one which usually feels like ‘I don’t know how to do this’ which indeed you may not know how to do, but which you also aren’t likely to find anyone to do for you.

Why not? Because Chiron is a symbol of things we need to learn whether we want to or not. And it’s not like we’re disinterested, as generally the house in which Chiron falls describes areas of life where we would like things to work and be or become a ‘success story’ in our life - or life in general.

We’re even generally knowledgeable - at least to some extent on our Chirotic subject - as natal Chiron (by sign, house and aspect) often describes what we are perfectly willing (just ask us) to comment, critique and otherwise comment on how other people are dealing with the given question.

Given all this, what Chiron operationally manifests as is a irritating made up of a bit of angst, a bit of envy, and a generous desire to just ignore the whole thing - all of which causes us to feel like something has gotten under our skin when in reality the fact that we haven’t dealt with something in OUR own life.

That’s what’s under our skin. We just don’t want to think about it - because if we do, we’ll get all bent out of shape. Or just plain uncomfortable.

And about that 13 Pisces part... referred to as ‘The use of intelligence and mental subtlety as a protection against storms and trials’ by astrologer Marc Edmund Jones, the Sabian symbol for 13 Pisces (read as 14 Pisces) is ‘A lady wrapped in a large stole of fox fur,’ the ‘intelligence’ quotient of which is taken from the reputed cleverness of the fox (though intelligence and cleverness are not exactly the same thing) and yet, being that the reference is specifically animalistic, this would seem to refer to the kind of mentality we use in order to avoid facing our own emotional (Piscean) vulnerabilities - here referenced by ‘storms and trials’ which are anticipated to be of some breadth or duration considering how the stole being talked about isn’t just an ‘ordinary-sized’ stole, but a large stole which is specifically being cited as ‘protection.’

That one word - protection - denotes our vulnerability. And with Chiron taking its turn to direct at this degree, either things take a turn making it easier or more necessary for us to face that vulnerability as a fact. Or because this is Chiron, we may now be need to face what feeling vulnerable does to our thinking in causing us react perhaps in an ‘animalistic’ manner or as a matter of a more basic (instinctive) reaction which causes us to don some other ‘skin’ in, or as we contend with some  specific situation.

From here, Chiron will remain in direct motion until June 24th of 2015 at 21 Pisces in opposition to Black Moon Lilith at 23 Virgo - a tale of whether we’re willing to join in a task and whether we need to ‘go it alone’ which we’ll no doubt be thinking about next June. But for now....? Well, given the Sun’s presence in Sagittarius, we’re likely to have more than enough to do in the present moment.

Will we want to do it? Probably not - and the drive which underlies however we cope will be far more about what we feel uncomfortable with than that we like better. But does that mean we shouldn't do 'it'? That's the Chiron question. So  prepare yourself for excuses - some of which you will make to others, some of which you will make to your Self, and some of which you will make about whatever it is you’re doing while in the course of getting yourself to just go do it.

This station - the actual days of station - are likely to be vague trying. We’re likely to hear and see things which either force us to take a different route (or to change our priorities) or to just wonder how we’re supposed to get anything done, even while we watch people getting away with what we think is not trying. Or only vaguely trying.

Which yes, we’re likely to find quite trying - at least to our nerves or our stock of patience.

But if we stop...if we are able to stop focusing on them or what we don’t know long enough... if we’re brave enough, we’ll begin feeling whatever it is which is fueling some inner (and truly personal) annoyance.

It’s Chiron. Astrologers used to talk about Chiron as some philosophical ‘bridge’ to a more ‘evolved’ form of self - and maybe it is that. But if it is, Chirotic energies function as (and through) whatever it is which gets us to recognize how when Chiron is active either in transit or in our chart, how that’s when we tend to be riled up not by what we’re trying to do - but by how hard it is to get ourselves to do it.

And that would be for whatever reason.

Yes, it’s annoying, I know. And so does everyone else as Chiron is a truly universal experience - one of those ‘dirty little secrets’ about being human and mortal that none of us like...or at least like admitting to. There’s a subtle sort of undercurrent when Chiron is active which isn’t jealousy but which is definitely begrudged - and again, we tend to project that feeling. We’ll be annoyed with someone else instead of letting ourselves understand that none of us really like learning on the job.

Mastery, we like. Being forced to eat our cosmic vegetables before we get dessert...? That, we’re not as enthusiastic about.

But still...apparently there’s something we need to know. If unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should - whether you call that Fate or Creation or space/time or the workings of God, then no matter how we feel about anything in this moment, the Chirotic object is to learn from it... about it... and what it means that we have the feelings we have about it at this time. We may want to wrap ourselves in some guise, we may need to protect ourselves against some storm. This is ‘not knowing how to get myself through’ something (the Chiron Factor) immediately in the wake of Neptune’s station-direct in conjunction with Fomalhaut - a combination which is water plus water... feelings meeting emotional situation... irresistible change triggering an understanding of inevitable results.

Fomalhaut and its dust ring (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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Of course, some of us won’t want to see or think about those results - and perhaps we shouldn’t blame them. After all, some things are hard to face and even harder to get through... especially when that Someone not wanting to feel what it’s going to take to get through something is you. 

Being that Chiron is currently heading away from the Sun (towards the outermost point in its orbit) the metaphysical implication is about expansion - about pushing us past whatever we consider the ‘boundary’ of what we know, what we know we can do and who we know ourselves to be. However this works we are going to be exposed to what our own feelings are about a lot of things - which is typical for anything seen in the sign of Pisces.

How we deal with all that will contribute or detract from everything else we are seeking to do, move ahead with or learn about now as the Sun continues moving through Sagittarius. It will also become its own Chirotic moment November 25th arrives and Chiron’s station starts giving way to Arachne’s station, Mercury exiting Scorpio for Sagittarius and Pandora going direct (all of which will be the subject of a next post).

In short, it’s going to be a complicated week which struggles a bit before finding its way...as we feel our own struggles before finding our way as well.
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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.

- link to post -

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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Dateblog: August 2014

 August 2014

For various real life reasons (yes, something else has happened) this isn't going to be my longest post. Nor are these my finest diagrams, I would say. But I did want to offer some general August information...so here it is:

The above is a chart by sign which plainly shows that Leo (in yellow) is the dominant sign of the month. This speaks to a huge amount of energy and a 'brilliance' of mind (or mindset) which can accomplish great things providing others and the 'greater concern' beyond that which we are focused on as what we want/want to accomplish...providing all that is taken into proper account.

Towards the end of the month as the Sun and Mercury move into Virgo (on the 23rd and 15th, respectively) cooler thoughts (heads, solutions, reasoning) will begin to prevail, but with Jupiter in Leo there is likely to be a lot of 'stepping out' and much stepping over boundaries and limitations simply because some urge is so potent as to blind us to greater and factual issues, much as we might be 'blinded' if the Sun was in our eyes.

The are likely to be some very sun-struck (star-struck, arrogantly stubborn) folks around this month. As the Full Moon occurs in late Aquarius leading into the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower insights will happen and they may well mark the 'sparking' of new ideas, insights and choices which are made as a consequence of same. 

Ceres having entered Scorpio (see previous post) and Juno entering Cancer speak to a shift of energetics; where the 'idea' [Juno/Gemini] of the thing had been a premier  basis of consideration, now a more 'domestic' [Juno/Cancer] and less theory-idea-concept-driven orientation comes on line, like as not because sufficient negatives have been encountered (that being Vesta in Libra) that we are each driven to consider some sort of basic, very (Cancerian) personal...even primal sense of [Vesta] cost.

With the Virgo New Moon a more practical and pragmatic phase of operation/operational necessity is implied, with the close association of this New Moon to Sedna's station-retrograde in late Taurus posing 'how to...' questions precisely where our mentality has failed to mature - a fact which conjures up all sorts of ingrained possibilities.

Will all of this happen succinctly and politely? Looking at the month in terms of element, that answer would seem to be solidly and resoundingly 'no.'

(And yes I'm sorry I have to say that, but truth is truth.)

 
In the above diagram, red is fire, blue is water, that greenish brown is earth and...oh yes, there IS a little air in this amalgamation, courtesy of the Full Moon.

But remember, the Full Moon is a moment. So we can expect a moment of clarity around the Full Moon (plus Perseids), but the rest of the month - while possibly very productive, creative, delightful and developmental - is likely to manifest in a manner which is very fervent, either in pursuit of a [fire] goal or aim...or through some wholly [water] feeling effort or emotionally-driven choice.

There is a possibility for much knee-jerk activity here - the response by rote, the retreat into your own 'world' because dealing with others rains on your parade. This is also a recipe for real world (as opposed to theoretical) considerations.

In other words, just saying the words isn't likely to cut it this month. It's one of those 'the proof is in the pudding' periods with a lot of hungry and expectant folks poised at the universal table.

Which begs the question: what are we about to serve up to others and be served by life in kind?
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Jupiter in Leo

Jupiter and moon Io photographed in thermal-infrared from the Paranal Observatory

(photo credit ESO, November 2000)

That Mercury is going to be exiting the shadow of its recent retrograde on the same date (July 16) that Jupiter enters Leo would seem to be nothing less than a billboard: new things are on the horizon.

Or are they? Are they really there - or are we being fooled by something we want so badly we’re willing, able and ready to test (read: risk) not just success but some measure of our inner confidence in Self? Are we willing to deal with 'feeling questions' pertaining to how well (or not well) we use - or have used - what we’ve learned up to this point?

Something is going to change here (or at least evolve from here) in reflection of Pluto reaching 11 Capricorn, a degree it will remain in until September 17th when Pluto dips back into 10 Capricorn for just over a week as it goes direct (on September 23rd) before returning to 11 Capricorn for the period of September 28th through November 25th.

Something is going to change. Representing the ability (particularly in verbal form) to reveal falsehoods and what one writer refers to as 'superstitious and misguided beliefs' on the part of one or many, the degree 11 Capricorn is associated with the sort of mathematical ability and "precision thinking" (technical or theoretical) which organizes quickly and which tends to be so driven (read: impatient) to achieve that little in the way of delay or alternative thinking tends to be tolerated.

And where it isn't tolerated, that may well lead to a  distortion in some relationship, creating some sort of distance between parties simply because sheer ability on one side now appears not as brilliance, but rather as arrogance, bullying or manipulation of some 'other.'

As Jupiter moves into Leo on that appointed morning at 10:31 a.m. (UT/+0), not everyone will feel the shift. But we are likely (more than likely) to see some more or less immediate manifestations of this combination of Leo imagination and creativity with Jupiter’s power of expansion.

In Leo, the question is what we will create, why we are motivated to do everything (and sometimes anything)... and whether we are able to balance Leo’s inner vision of ‘the possible’ with external real world factors. The positive side of Leo is known for brilliance of nature and a cheerful sort of drive which is curious about the new and willing to tackle tough tasks for the good of all, from which comes respect for one’s Leo efforts - whatever they may be and however they may be expressed even if that’s just keeping after yourself (creatively, of course) in the name of being a person others enjoy being around.

As for the negative side of Leo, though I’m sure any number of Leo people will respond with ‘there is no negative side of Leo’... after the chuckle comes the truth: while Leo is a sign which evidences much deftly quick humor, such humor is more likely than not a deflection.

All signs deflect - evading, to some degree, is simply part of human nature... which makes it what, and the degree to which we deflect the source of our those Factors Avoided which come back to haunt us.

In Leo (a fire sign) there is a marked tendency to get ‘married’ to that feeling, that image, that thing we imagine could be ‘so right’... and then to be shocked and disappointed when real life doesn’t match the ethereal beauty of our seamlessly perfect inner concept.

Is that fair? No...but we do it anyway. And when it comes to Part 2 of Leo (Leo Part 1 being the creative drive to create anything from world records to films, leisure time, children, art work, profits in the stock market or anything else you might think to create)... it’s how we respond to those realities which count.

Reality (as generally represented by Aquarius as the Leo polarity) is never the problem per se...even if when it comes to Leo there is a tendency to ranting and tantrums while adapting to the inevitable. Some of us never get that frustrated (I’m not sure who they are, but such people surely exist)...and it’s to be expected that there will be a bit of tail lashing and roaring during Jupiter’s 2014-2015 transit of Leo.

The 'up' side to this is that as opposed to this past year’s Jupiter in Cancer there will be less emotionalism, less reliance on (or success with) subjective provocation based on emotionality. Where we are able to motivate our Self or others through ideas, we may well be able to build momentum by focusing on our “projects” (be they our families, jobs or some personal goal we want to reach). But that is only likely to reap success if and where what we do (our ‘cause’)  meshes well enough with existing or ongoing social, group, systemic or marketplace (Aquarian) functionalities.

Part of that - and part of what we are going to be exploring this year in each of our daily lives has to do with a couple of zodiacal basics. The first is how any accessing of Leo represents an astrological shift from the first four signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) to the second group of four: Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio.

As the first four signs of the zodiac are about learning about our Self and how to go about simply being a person in an (Aries) body with human needs and attributes of the (Taurus) physical, (Gemini) mental and (Cancer) emotional kind, the second four are all about how interacting with others and our more-or-less ‘everyday’ world teaches us about who we are in conjunction with that world - sparking ideas on what to do IN that world.

Hence the Leo creativity thing. Mind you, this is still a sign which is below the natural zodiac horizon - so it’s still personal. It’s still part of our more-or-less private world, which reflects as Leo being the sign of the imagination’s image... the ‘film’ in our head - and yes, the ones we see on the screen (or on whatever device you’re using these days).

Again, it’s this ‘private’ quality which is so very comfy-cozy which gets us trouble, lulling us with that divinely delicious perfection of inner vision into thinking life... reality... is the premier Leo challenge. Reality is never a ‘problem’- reality is just reality, and yes there can be terrible things happening IN reality, but that’s the way things are.

Reality has several homes in the zodiac: the first one is the earth, land, ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust quality of mortal life... the Cancerian venue. The other is Capricorn - the daunting requirement to make the effort to make something out of our Self so that we continue the business of survival.

Leo is in a peaceful and harmonious aspect with neither sign... and in that can represent how we fight in reality or with our personal reality...and what we can come up with to improve our life, and just maybe all of life as well.Deep in the human spirit is a desire to make contributions to this life. Some do it through having children. Some do it through their work. However we see this ‘making my mark in this world’ that’s the Leo thing.

With Jupiter transiting Leo, we can all expect to be thinking about who we are and what we’re doing with our life... against which will be ranged all sorts of interesting challenges. Some will come from our just wanting to enjoy ourselves and do nothing. Some will come from those who though perfectly willing to invest in their own vision, clearly have no concept that anyone (or anything) else has a vision of their own.

Jupiter in Leo creates our mythic self... and then explores it. Leo is the sign of dating, competition and speculation... so we have to be prepared for some setback this year, with most of our errors coming from overstepping our bounds or (to put it differently) by exceeding our understanding of real world parameters which really exist and which we really do need to know about and heed. Leo is the sign of the parent’s love for the child or our love for anything we nurture on an ongoing basis... and yet does that love in and of itself guarantee that your child is going to grow up to be a wonderful person?

No, it doesn’t. And that very lack of insight we have on ourselves (typically) as parents which causes so many wonderful people to be blatantly blind to the problems with their offspring...that’s the example of the Great Leo Blind Spot - which for the next year or so is likely to be more evident than ever, if maybe not to others.

Or maybe not to us.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot as photographed by the Voyager 1 Spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, February 1979)

Between these two points lies the needle of success (as we judge that personally) under Jupiter in Leo, the combination which purports to say ‘what you see is what you get’ when in reality (yes, that reality) Jupiter in Leo is a combination which can manifest as the very essence of the performance. Celebrity as motivation and as that thing which is not the ‘real life’ of the given celebrity - both these qualities are entirely Leo and we’re likely to see see them play out this year in the charts of many currently known and as-yet unknown. Children, childlike as well as childish behaviors (on the part of adults and others) can be a venue of discovery and disturbance of the status quo in any of a number of ways...so long as we learn from it, life is likely to provide it somewhere along the way through this leonine Jovian year. Aquarius against Leo manifests (as all sign polarities do) in any of a number of ways, but especially through the end of 2014 (that being the last of the fixed sign eclipses for a bit) issues which test our ability to balance moderation against excess and perceive where we need to be proper or cautious without being so cautious or ‘separated’ in whatever way that we end up undermining ourselves or our own greater (Aquarian) interests.

In other words, in some way we’re all going to discover we have a bit of a case of personal myopia (shortsightedness)... with just a bit of social astigmatism (fuzziness of focus) to make it extra-special challenging.

And yet...in the sense of ‘can I correct my vision?’ the lesson would be decidedly yes: wherever we see Jupiter by transit there is an ability to grow providing we are actually willing to go through whatever growing pains are involved. In Leo this Jupiterian expansiveness can mean an expansion of enthusiasm, success and all those wonderful feelings of freedom-in-accomplishment we all so love to revel in. Then again, Jupiter in Leo can also manifest as  ever-increasing convictions that what is ‘mine’ must be defended at all costs simply because my ‘rightness’ or even just my right to be wrong is getting challenged.

All and all, we can count on several (more) miles of that road to foolish human stubbornness to be paved (and heedlessly paved over) this year, mostly by those who for whatever reason are focused on the image or ideal to the exclusion of real life, realities and other living, breathing entities on this planet.

Jupiter in Leo is a recipe for great opportunity.

It’s also a sure-fire promise that insistence on theory (or out-of-hand rejection of something) can be instantly and lastingly detrimental. Under Jupiter in Leo we are all likely to find something we enjoy or are at least entertained by. Then again, we might have to face a couple of situations which ask us whether we’re willing (or even psychologically equipped) to face setbacks or defeat.

Might we really not be be the hero we are in our own mind? (It could just be true.)

Then again, maybe we don’t want to be a hero, merely heroic from time to time. Jupiter in Leo is a time we can learn the difference between such things and in that, to become far more comfortable in our own human skin, finding ways to be more creative, productive and available - not just to others but to ourselves. Through letting go of definitions Jupiter in Leo can become a time to launch a new venture, take on some personal adventure or to make more of life among old friends and new acquaintances. It’s a time to stretch our limbs and flex our muscles, be they physical, mental or emotional. The deeply provocative element of Jupiter in Cancer will fade as perspectives shift, offering fresher outlooks, some of which will allow and encourage us to soar.

Others will merely leave us (or others) sore - for which we may not feel sorry at all. So long as the competition is ethical, Jupiter in Leo supports the ‘all out’ willingness to give the cause what it is you’ve got.

And where we do bend, break or otherwise color outside the boundaries (a little of which at least is inevitable), eventualities will get us back, eventually putting us back on our right course.

It’s all part of Jupiter in Leo empowerment with regards to knowing who we are - and aren’t.  Sometimes we just have to cram one foot in our copiously open mouth while hopping madly in the direction of some giant cliff to learn for ourselves that - never mind what anyone says about limits - we do actually have limits which we had better learn to respect and mind.

Jupiter in Leo can open doors. It will also undoubtedly teach us all at least a few tough lessons about what the term ‘immature’ really means...in every sense. The ‘ping-pong’ of Leo-Aquarius says how we (Leo) ‘take’ things isn’t so much about how or what the (Aquarius) other person says as much as it tests and delivers a readout on our relationship to whatever it is we haven’t yet mastered...which psycho-emotionally ‘reads’ internally (to us) as vulnerability.

Yes, we get to learn about how some glitches work over the next few months...which which comes the opportunity for skillful development and the acquisition of insights which in their own right (over time...probably in a couple of years) may prove out to amount to additional skills.

As for things which will happen along the Jovian path through Leo, here are a few notes on the subject (no doubt to be added to as things go along):

Black Moon Lilith (external factors we deny or are denied by) conjuncts fixed star Dubhe on July 17th. Dubhe being an emblem of mothering either in the personal sense or through whatever we may personally think of as a “mother” force (such as ‘Mother Nature’), as opposed to things which are thought of as ‘father’ (like ‘Father Time’) the metaphysical ‘mother’ is more about whatever contains us as well as that which can support or protect us... but which in some other situation might just overwhelm us.

Said to have a rather ‘Mars-like’ nature, Dubhe lends a deal of motivation and strength of will to whatever passes over it’s position...which at the moment is 15 Leo, one of the zodiacal cross-quarter points.

As a transition, each of the zodiac’s four cross-quarter points moves us from a time of learning or watching into a ‘bigger’ (read: slightly more matured) world of operating where by leaning on what we do know we attempt to forge ahead.

And no, we generally don’t like it. Each of the cross-quarter points falling at the center-point of all four fixed signs indicates that.

Still...what’s our choice? We can learn, grow and try - or we can remain where we are, which if we consider Leo as the fifth of twelve signs is rather like arresting our own development at about age eleven and a half, instead of pursuing the rest of the path to adulthood.

On the other hand, that ‘about age eleven a half’ thing? That is the length of a Jupiter cycle, you know. Jupiter cycles once around the Sun in 11.86 years, making the general realm of this mid-Leo cross-quarter age a highly critical one in the whole of human development.

Some of us make it. Some people don’t.

So as the Black Moon encounters Dubhe, for several days before and after (one suspects) much will be seen, heard, felt and realized along the denial/need-to-not-deny-for-reasons-of-immaturity front. In some cases such situations will start and continue on, in some there will be a start and resolution. (Or resolution to not resolve anything, a solution which seems to be gaining in popularity at the moment.)

Whichever way whatever falls, Jupiter itself will then arrive at Leo’s 15 degree cross-quarter point on September 27th, by which time the Black Moon will have moved on to 23 Leo, putting it in opposition to Damocles [reference: “the sword of Damocles”] ...with Damocles being positioned in Aquarius.

The Sword of Damocles by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-1677)

Whatever we have done (or not done) this would seem to be a resurrection of the matter. It may be in simple review, it may be a re-eruption of challenge. Black Moon Lilith, being a ‘function’ of Earth’s Moon is always somewhat visceral, always somewhat poignant...and here would seem to be bringing us around to realizing that things just aren’t as simple as we were thinking they were going to be.

What we thought cut and dried may have gone and gotten itself all soggy, in other words.

As of November 19th Jupiter then enters 22 Leo. And since 22 Leo is the degree Jupiter will go retrograde at on December 8th (and thereafter remain in - in retrograde - until December 29th), we’re in for a lot of Jupiter/22 Leo interjections.

As a degree 22 Leo speaks to sensitivities which though insubstantial may well prove beneficial except where we become so devoted to being obliging (read: overly obliging) that we become more involved with our own feelings (and anxieties) which revolve around our own desire to be appreciated, wanted, loved, liked, cheered on and in general...(yes)...the myth we are in our own mind.

(Do we hear a pattern here?)

Moreover, all of this dovetails rather interestingly with the idea that Uranus’ 2014/early 2015 degree emphasis is on 13 Aries, a degree which tend to surface in tough and trying situations which lore suggests are far more about the perfecting and purification of our own souls than anything we encounter in real time.

...All of which we would think has been metaphysically also commented on by the recent astrological stationing of TNO Typhon at 13 Aries’ polarity degree (13 Libra) we meandered through the contemplations of in the course of the following post:

- link to -

Typhon/Eurydike - Chiron/Psyche: Minding Stations

It all seems to go together...especially in light of the fact that this October will see us experiencing a solar eclipse (at 0 Scorpio) which is sure to - among other things - bring home to us the benefits and penalties of not acknowledging equal values to all sides of any conversation, negotiation, affiliation or operation simply because we’re unwilling to allow for any other point of view apart from our own.

Some will say that this eclipse is the evidencing of karma, and I’m not against that concept except for noting that the physical karma we experience under anything Scorpionic is always about the emotions which surround, underlie, motivate or are bestirred as a result of something we are choosing to try to control (as opposed to understanding why we feel so threatened by it).

Only in retrograde for just under four months, Jupiter will then go direct (at 12 Leo) on April 8th, a date which falls between 2015’s 29 Pisces solar eclipse on March 20th and the accompanying lunar eclipse (at 14 Libra, a degree which tends to manifest through action as opposed to 13 Libra’s more mental-emotional-spiritual orientation) which will occur on April 4th... all of which is likely to serve as a ‘parting of the ways’ as successes fall away from various failures and efforts to reorganize in the face of needing to try, try again.

Some of what is happening then will be as part of...or as a result of things which are happening now, or which have come to light over the past several months (read: since mid/late February). As shown by the Sun, Uranus and Psyche being conjunct (to the degree) in the chart of this moment the clarity of this time may be delightful.

Then again, it may simply be excessive. Remember, Jupiter is about expansion, and that can as easily be over-expansion or doing more than is advisable or even good for you (or the given project you’re working on). There is growth...and as any cancer specialist will tell you, there is the kind of uncontrolled and unchecked growth which causes harm.

Jupiter has never been known for any qualities of moderation. The Roman god was known for great wisdom but some terrible (and terribly self-defeating) habits which time and again had Jupiter (aka Zeus, if you’re inclined to the Greek) learning his lessons about just what he could do, but not get away with.

So it is with us...which is why Jupiter’s year of transiting Leo holds such promise for us all, whether that’s about what we achieve or the joy of feeling empowered by coming to understand why we haven’t excelled up until now and what that means about who we are... and who we aren’t.

Maybe you've already felt yourself moving towards some new mode - that thing which will entice your Leo spirit to 'play' over (at least) the next year. Or maybe (as just happened to me quite unexpectedly)...maybe someone will validate something you've been certain of, or have been working on or towards for some very long time.

Jupiter in Leo is about fruitfulness and fruition...and even that point at which the finish line is in sight, bolstering our appreciation of that Self which in spite of all and because of much has made it to this brand new point - the point at which we feel ready to be more of who we really are.
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