Eclipse Notes: Aspects, Effects and Returns

A circumhorizontal arc - an optical phenomenon caued by ice crystals in high level cirrus clouds

(photo credit Jeff Kubina, June 2007)

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Eclipses are funny astrological beasts. Sometimes they time out some very fun times - particularly if you’re talking about a lunar eclipse, as lunar eclipses (like all things lunar) tend to be ‘framed’ by feeling where solar eclipses, as emotional a time as they may indicate, are more focused on lifestyle and evolutionary life events than any particular emotional goal, needs or fervent hope. Plus lunar eclipses tend to be prompt. That is, with a lunar eclipse the effects are immediate - and if the eclipse aspects your chart with any acuity - often memorable.

But the emotional ‘high’...? Those effects tend to be relatively short-lived. Three months is pretty much the standard duration - which may be disappointing when all is bliss but rather reassuring when events which time with a lunar eclipse go really and truly bad.

Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are less defined - and they’re curiously reflective of the process of an eclipse. The Sun represents life. Or ‘illumination’ as in understanding and inner clarity. And when an eclipse happens, the Moon - a satellite which is closer to Terra Earth than the Sun is - that Moon intervenes...which metaphysically is what happens with a solar eclipse: something about life (yours, or life in general) ‘blacks out’ your sense of understanding. Or your ability to ‘shine.’

Yet solar eclipses aren’t metaphysically ‘cruel’ or about 'failure' even if they’re often challenging and in sync with losses and mistakes. Indeed, lore teaches that eclipses are about causing us to shed something we may or may not like or prefer - and even which we may have stuck with/invested ourselves in over many a year. But in some way...and at some level, that loss, that change, whatever else it may be is also about eliminating something which in some way is now keeping us from being that person we are capable of being going forward.

And why aren’t we that person? Well... you know.,.. it may just be easier to keep on doing (saying, thinking, acting) in a manner which ‘settles’ when it comes to our capacity? Or maybe we're just doing what has worked well enough for us over a lot of years.

On a metaphysical level, whatever our reasons are they’re excuses. Very human and perhaps heartfelt excuses, but (metaphysically) excuses, nonetheless. And those ‘excuses’ or those singular or many ways of ‘escaping’ our true capacity (read: the truth of our Self and who we really are) are what solar eclipses tend to affect. Generally effects are neither subtle nor convenient - and in that last bit (in particular) are seldom entirely to our liking. In fact, any solar eclipse which aspects your natal chart with acuity will manifest as some sort of situation which includes some degree of being (and feeling) at a lack for control.

And that would happen why?

That would happen because you are letting go of that thing you feel so comfortable doing, being surrounded by or feeling part of (etcetera).

You’re in free-fall with/within your Self, without being able to fasten on some inner (Sun) knowing.

 Shown as calculated for the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio,

the five degree orb of aspect surrounding the conjunction.

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With the conjunction (an aspect which extends to five degrees in either direction from the eclipse), eclipse effects are very personal. They’re about our life and how we perceive it - for better and for worse. (And maybe both.) Whatever planet, axis or other point is being conjuncted, the eclipse will manifest through whatever ‘flavor’ is exhibited by that combination of point and sign, making the conjuncting eclipse something along the lines of transformative tofu.

 Shown as calculated for the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio,

there is a three degree (plus/minus) orb of aspect surrounding the sixty (60)

degree standard sextile aspect which from 0 Scorpio would occur at 0 Virgo

and Capricorn, respectively.

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As opposed to this, the eclipse-by-sextile (the sextile being a 60-degree aspect) is the signature of opportunities lost... or about to be found, depending on how you come into any given eclipse period.

Sextiles seldom exhibit requirement or necessity, however positive they may be - and that can be a positive where utilization of a natural ability or talent - the ‘voicing’ of it gets involved. On the other hand, having an eclipse aspecting your chart by sextile can represent the ‘blacking out’ or elimination or destruction of some avenue or choice - or some opportunity you may have had. In such, eclipse energies sometimes seem like Pluto, which tends to point to a ‘transformation’ which reverses existent to non-existent (and vice-versa) depending on where, how and what in the chart is aspected.

But eclipses aren’t Pluto. Eclipse effects differ from those regarding Pluto in that Pluto manifestations tend to apply to our personal feelings - the why we’re feeling them, whether we have any right-minded reason to feel that way and whether such emotional drives (cravings, desires, aims) are safe or dangerous in practice or theory. Against that, eclipses are more ‘situational.’ Yes, they can (and sometimes do) manifest as a physical illness or accident. But the ‘eclipse factor’ in that mix is about how our lives are changed by the eclipse and thus all about how we need to change who we are being or how we are going about doing what we’re doing (or living our life) in order to take best advantage of some challenge... or simply in order to cope.
As with most things astrological, the greatest challenges, problems and gains are associated with the squares and as with sextiles, trines, semi-sextiles and inconjuncts (aka quincunxes), there are two different squares to consider. The first is the ‘departing square’ (or departing whatever other aspect) - a reference to the idea that the ‘event’ (in this case, an eclipse) is occurring within a three-degree orb of sixty degrees from whatever natal chart point you want to consider.

ASPECT EXAMPLES: The October 2014 solar eclipse will be at 0 Scorpio and the October 2014 lunar eclipse will occur under the sign of Aries. If this position is within the three-degree orb of sextile to some point in your natal chart (which would be in Virgo for the solar eclipse and in Aquarius for the lunar eclipse), then your chart is being eclipsed by sextile.

Do you have a point within five degrees (plus or minus) of 0 Leo - which is to say between 25 Cancer and 5 Leo? If so, that point is being eclipsed by square - and because from Leo to Scorpio is moving forward through the zodiac, that is referred to as a “departing” (i.e., from the point in your chart) square...and conversely, were it ‘behind’ in astrological/zodiacal order, that would be the approaching square.

Departing aspects are about something wanting to be built, developed or utilized as a point of personal growth. 

Conversely, approaching aspects are about finishing, completing or achieving something. When a solar eclipse occurs in a position to eclipse that departing momentum, that aim or the ability to pursue that aim changes - often dramatically - either for better or worse. When a lunar eclipse hits at the departing aspect (or within orb of it), something dramatic may well happen - but in the end the aim itself generally remains ‘out there.’ No, it may not work as we thought it would and depending on the natal point(s) being eclipsed the experience may no longer be desirable.

But it’s there. That’s the difference between lunar and solar eclipses: where the Moon symbolizes all things which elicit or reward our feelings, the Sun refers to life itself and therefore things we have to learn about and contend with.

 With the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio, the two squares will occur in Leo

and Aquarius. Given that squares are given five (5) degree standard orb, this means

these squares start at 25 Cancer or Capricorn and end at 5 degrees of Leo

and Aquarius.

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Squares pose particular questions and challenge our sense of balance. A square successfully handled requires that we both accept limitations and our responsibilities to act, embrace and balance qualities which differ against each other whether those qualities are intrinsically ours or exist with regards to something we are doing or attempting to accomplish. To have one’s chart eclipsed by square poses a challenge - one from which we will (generally) prefer to retreat out of a sense of being thrown ‘off balance’ or because something we had counted on (or believed in) has been removed, eliminated or proven invalid.

 Oppositions also get a five (5) degree standard orb, which puts the opposition to

October 2014's 0 Scorpio solar eclipse at 0 Taurus and the extent of opposition

orb between 25 Aries and 5 Taurus.

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Oppositions differ from squares by being a flat-out confrontation. Sometimes that’s with others or something in or about our overall life and sometimes that’s with ourselves as we belly up to the mental bar and come to grips with something about our Self or our assumptions.

When we experience an eclipse by opposition, something (or someone) either vanishes from our life (which could be as simple as their changing jobs and no longer being part of our workday) or as we become ‘confronted’ with a need to be or do something and all it is going to take to deal with that. Eclipses by opposition often reveal qualities about our Self which we have either been ignorant of or unperturbed by so long as they didn’t cause problems...which (voila!) the eclipse period provides feedback on.

 Like oppositions, trines also get a five (5) degree standard orb. Unlike oppositions

however, trines do have departing and approaching formats, giving us a departing

trine to the October 2014 Scorpio solar eclipse with a position of 0 Pisces (and thus

an orb of affect between 25 Aquarius and 5 Pisces) and an approaching trine

between 25 Gemini and 5 Cancer.

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Having some point in your chart be eclipsed by trine is to not be able to ‘escape’ some process which is continuing to alter whatever attribute is being described by the planet/symbol being trined. Less of an obvious ‘hit’ to your life or lifestyle than the the conjunction, getting eclipsed-by-trine is potent enough to keep us on track with necessities and highly likely to eliminate a sense of personal ease (or a willingness to ‘take it easy’).

So much for trines being all pleasant, eh?

Two last aspects, which are by nature the inverse of each other: the 30-degree semi-sextile and the 150-degree OR 210-degree inconjunct or quincunx.

(above) Like trines, squares and sextiles, both semi-sextiles and inconjuncts have

approaching and departing and approaching formats. However, unlike any of those

aspects, semi-sextiles and inconjuncts are most useful when the orb is kept limited

- often to an orb as small as one and one-half (1 1/2) degrees. This gives us semi-

sextiles to the October 2014 0 Scorpio eclipse (0 Scorpio 25, to be exact) at

0 Sagittarius and Libra with orbs allowing for effects between 29 Scorpio and

2 Sagittarius or 29 Virgo and 2 Libra... and inconjunct positions at 0 Aries and

Gemini with effects extending to between 29 Pisces and 2 Aries and/or

29 Taurus and 2 Gemini.

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Put in simplest terms, the semi-sextile is about getting past our own feelings while the inconjunct is about our personal feelings about what it takes to adapt to being part of a group, system or process. In other words, they’re both about adjusting to what we feel or think about things it’s just that the semi-sextile process is more about a conversation in our head we have to work through (mostly) on our own where the inconjunct is about something outside of our Self. Either way, when eclipsed both of these points tend to speak to responsibilities and how we respond (or sometimes more to the point, how we don’t respond) to the standards, morals and ethics of responsibility.

As noted, lunar eclipses tend to have a duration of around three months. By the end of that time the ‘heat’ of our feelings will have cooled and we will have learned a lot - most of all about our Self. Solar eclipses however, run a longer course. Instead of three months their duration is three years, which may well mean that we will at times be under several overlapping eclipse cycles. Also: at about two-and-one-half years after the eclipse itself things tend to surface or happen. Whatever occurs, it could not have happened or we would not have been in a position to care or take advantage of this opportunity or information had we NOT gone through whatever happened at the time of the eclipse.

That may be the most interesting thing of all about solar eclipses - whatever else they are, solar eclipses are also a rather ultimate form of the ‘delayed gratitude’ lesson... a lesson which perhaps is meant to teach us to handle the moment and to recognize life has much, much more to offer if we will just keep walking, whether that’s physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

RETURNS: The one exception to the (above) statements made about how long eclipses last concerns personal returns. If an eclipse - either solar or lunar - occurs within five (5) calendar days of EITHER your birthday (i.e., your yearly solar return) or your monthly lunar return, eclipse effects will be far more pronounced. If the eclipse occurs within five days of your personal/monthly lunar return, get your emotional raincoat on, particularly during the first month after the lunar eclipse. Whether effects taper off over the next few months as they normally would depends on your natal chart - most specifically the astrological ‘condition’ of your natal Moon plus whatever point the eclipse is in aspect to.

However, if an eclipse - solar or lunar - occurs within five (5) calendar days of your solar return (birthday), those eclipse effects can be expected to (lunar eclipse) last... and indeed (solar eclipse) dominate the whole of your solar/birthday year.

We just can’t say this often enough - and this is actually one of the biggest of big markers astrologers look for. A lunar eclipse around the date of your birthday can speak to a year which will have lots of ups and maybe an equal amount of downs and will often mark dramatic changes of circumstance, mindset or heart (personal or otherwise) over the course of that year, but a solar eclipse around the date of your birthday speaks to a year which could (just possibly) change the charted course of your life - or your ability to have the life you’ve worked long and hard to chart out for yourself.

Mind you, an eclipse around the date of your birthday is NOT enough to predict tragedy. I mention this here because people tend to jump to conclusions about such things. So please understand: even if an astrologer sees a solar or lunar eclipse around the date of your birthday it’s no sign of doom.

In fact, it’s a sign of an opportunity. No, everything may not be the way you want it to be. But that’s the point. Life is bigger than any of us know and we can’t know how to define all the possibilities.

Sometimes something has to break down the walls and lift our cherished veils so that we can grow, so that we can learn differently, so that we can move beyond our previous conceptions, realizing even as we witness eclipse dramas in the sky how we are  part of something miraculous... something vast and ever-changing and truly universal.

Maybe that’s why eclipses fascinate us so.   


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Eclipse Prequels, Eclipse Sequels

Sunrise, looking towards a downpour from Loutra Harbor (Kythnos, Greece)

(photo credit: Takaway, September 2007)

So there’s this solar eclipse about to happen when the Sun and Moon meet up at 11 Scorpio. (Yes, we’re back to that again.) Said event happens on November 3rd – a fact we’ve already established.

But what we haven’t talked about is one of the reasons why your month leading into the eclipse might have been truly terrible…where the month your friend has been having has only been mildly awful.

Call it the eclipse of a different perspective, maybe.

(Very maybe.)

But whatever: take the following two charts…both of which have Scorpio Moons natally, meaning they will have a lunar return within 24 hours of the eclipse.

Here’s the first chart:

Person One/Moon at 7 Scorpio (Nov 2 @ 11:05pm PST)

Here’s the second chart:

Person Two/Moon at 14 Scorpio (Nov 3@ 9:55 PST)

These charts are both drawn as Aries wheels (with 0 Aries at the Ascendant and zero degrees of each sign on each following cusp)...so the 'shape' of the wheels or what is being emphasized isn't the focus here. No, all I'm talking about is the degree of the Moon - which in this second chart is 13 Scorpio.

If we start by saying both natal Moons are in position to be eclipsed by conjunction on November 3rd, then we come to one very important difference shown in the two above charts.

The chart at 7 Scorpio is a return which happens before the eclipse. The other (the chart at 13 Scorpio) is a return which happens after the eclipse.

(And by the way, in case you’re curious, the second lunar chart belongs to esteemed astrologer Robert Hand.)

So saying…remember that old rule about planetary stations?

As you come into the orb of time described by the station, things which happen before the object changes direction concern things yet to happen while things which happen afterward are a playing out or result of things which have already taken place.

By taking this ‘before/after’ theorem which we know from stations and applying it to the two lunar returns above, we understand that the lunar month cycle embracing the eclipse’s effects will be strongest prior to the eclipse for the second chart (the one at 14 Scorpio) because the new lunation is after the eclipse. In other words, when the eclipse happens, the Moon in the 7 Scorpio chart (which happens to me mine, if you care) has not yet reached 11 (the degree of the eclipse) and thus the ‘crux of the matter’ is still to come.

I’m taking a deep breath as I’m writing this (a bit in advance of the actual day of posting) because what this says is that the strongest shift I am likely to experience in conjunction with this eclipse hasn’t (shudder) even happened yet. Really? And here I thought my life had just imploded. Last time I checked, I was still shaking.

So…what now, more? Really? Well, okay….

(Sometimes being an astrologer is no help at all.)

AND….(getting back to biz)….back to the central theory and we arrive at the idea that if your personal natal Moon falls between 0 and 10 Scorpio (the degree after the eclipse)…then you too have also not hit the point where ‘letting go’ turned to ‘rebuilding in a mode which is more true to who you are as a person, never mind society and life conveniences.’

Conversely, those with a natal Moon beyond the degree of the eclipse (11 Scorpio) have theoretically already found (or even fallen into) come gap in your plan, some crack in your wall of plans…something.

There is even a school of astrological thought which would extend this theorem out through the rest of the zodiac. So what I’ve said about degrees beyond the eclipse…at some level that applies all the way through Scorpio into Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius Pisces, Aries and Taurus up to 10 Taurus (11 Taurus being the opposition point to 11 Scorpio). Since we’re using the eclipse’s position as dividing point, that means everything from 12 Taurus on through the balance of Taurus and Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra and 0 through 10 Scorpio – if your Moon falls anywhere in this grouping, you have yet to ‘reach’ your eclipse point.

This may sound counter-intuitive until I remind you that the Moon, being a satellite to Earth, is Earth’s natural and metaphysical ‘timer.’

Then again, maybe I should have left well enough alone?

In any case, this is an interesting idea to thing through as this rather trying eclipse comes running towards us along the river of time.

For some of us, the worst of the ‘shake up’ is over and we are about to feel life pushing us forward into a ‘rebuilding’ space. Whether you do well or terribly with that is a whole other matter, but for some of us, the hardest of the hard parts is over.

And for some of us, it hasn’t even shown its coronal filament yet. Call it the 'prequel versus sequel' eclipse effect.

Whichever group you fall in, whichever group your cherished loved ones fall in, this may also help explain why whatever happens over the next few weeks happens.

And why what you might be expecting just might not happen at all.
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North Korea at 12-12-2012

A man cycles past the Grand People's Study House in Pyongyang

(Kok Leng Yeo, Sept 2008)

Maybe you heard…North Korea launched a rocket. This of course, generated many an objection. And considering how secretive North Korea is, that’s probably justified. As we move into the Age of Aquarius, the way forward into peace involves honesty and disclosure. Yet just as obviously, the negative Aquarian tendency to isolate or think you’re ‘above all that togetherness’ is going to rear its ugly head many times over the next two thousand (plus) years.

As for Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (the DPRK or North Korea) has a ‘birth date’ of September 9, 1948. Its capital being Pyongyang, we thus get a chart which looks like this:

 North Korea's inception

Pyongyang, North Korea - September 9, 1848 - noon (JST -9)

A few astrological observations:

This chart has a Moon at 2 Sagittarius and conjunct Medusa and Nemesis, describing a nation which has been ‘born’ under a strict set of warnings and which is afraid of facing certain truths as to what that means. With this Moon in opposition to Pallas at 7 Gemini (conjunct Aldebaran at 9 Gemini) there is great wisdom to be gained and utilized, but that depends on a high level of integrity in the part of the nation itself.

And that may be problematic for two reasons. One is that the Jupiter which rules this national Moon is in its own sign – a signature which tends to denote a very particular brand of self-involved short-sightedness. That this Jupiter is conjunct Circe, Kalypso and Ras Alhague further lends a convoluted ‘enchantment’ with both the ability to rise above all evil and to inflict it.

The Sun in this chart is at 16 Virgo and conjunct House and Photographica, giving us to think there is an issue with what we would refer to in a personal chart as ‘self-image’ and being comfortable ‘in one’s skin.’

With this Virgo Sun ruled by Mercury at 8 Libra is a highly interesting note in that 8 Libra, sometimes known as the “Widow’s Degree,” speaks to what seems to almost be a karmic need to lose in order to learn important lessons about values and what’s valuable.

Link to 'TO A DEGREE: 8 LIBRA'

But this Mercury is not alone…at 8 Libra, Mercury is conjunct fixed star Diadem – the crowning glory. So this idea of needing to experience loss is at some level an metaphysical aesthetic of this country.

To add to this and make all inestimably more complicated, this national natal Mercury is also conjunct Neptune, the classic description of invisibility and/or deception. Positioned in Libra (the ‘how it looks’ sign) its easy to see North Korea involved in posturing because and when it feels a sense of loss or lack of world identity.

Moreover, this nation’s natal Neptune is conjunct Ixion. And (for those who care) it is also conjunct the position that the Galactic Core would have been at the inception of the Mayan creation count which is ending now in under two weeks.

Link to 'ASTROLOGY and the MAYAN ROAD' post

The Ixion challenge is to learn not to repeat one worst attitudes or attributes, notably when it comes to how you treat others. The whole ‘I can do what I want, never mind the rules, morality, integrity…’ all those are very Ixion.

Link to 'IXION: OUR CONFLICT OF SELF'

So when we recognize that transiting Ixion and Pholus (another symbol of how we tend to trip ourselves up) are both currently conjuncting North Korea’s Jupiter, it doesn’t seem so odd that this would be a time when North Korea would stir the rest of the world up by sending up a rocket.

Link to 'PHOLUS, A LITTLE NASTY' post

As for the date, the specific date of this launch comes as the Sun is rolling over this highly sensitive point.

 North Korea launches rocket

Pyongyang, Korea - December 12, 2012 - 9:55 a.m. (JST/-9)

In attendance here is not just Ixion, Pholus and Ras Alhague, but also Hidalgo and Tantalus. In a national chart, Hidalgo (manners, protocol) is easily seen as a symbol which ‘trips’ a diplomatic switch. Or, considering Tantalus (temptation) is involved, an undiplomatic switch.

 (Close-up of rocket launch chart above, with detail)

Just for information’s sake, the time for the launch in this chart is 9:55 a.m.. North Korea certainly did not post anything public about the exactitudes here, but South Korea recorded the launch as happening ‘just before ten’ which is why I took 9:55 as a roundabout guestimate. The location is set at Pyongyang for logical reasons; though we don't know exactly where the rocket launch site is, as we consider this as a national event (or an event in a nation's life), locating the chart in the North Korea's capital makes perfect sense.

In any case, with the Moon at 1 Sagittarius, that means that as a nation, North Korea would get a new Lunar Return within about an hour or so of the launch. And that’s useful as it suggests (as an astro-theory) that we will learn more about this entire situation when the Moon reaches the opposition sign of Gemini.

That will happen on December 25-26, leading into the Moon’s Cancer ingress on the 27th and the Cancer Full Moon in the 28th.

Could this mean a few more ‘surprise packages’ than we might have otherwise expected?

Maybe.

If we ever learn the details of this rocket launch, the data and dates may well lead to something having happened back in April-May-June of 2012, this having been when the Solar Eclipse at 0 Gemini conjuncted North Korea’s Moon. That alone sets off a 3-year clock which tells us the North Korean sense of national values and valuations are currently in flux.

We also know that Pluto’s year-long conjunction of fixed star (nebula) Facies in perfect square to North Korea’s 8 Libra Mercury/Diadem (conjunct Neptune/Ixion) tells us that this entire saga is far, far more complicated than we know. With Mercury/Neptune (Diadem/Ixion) in Libra and therefore ruled by Venus at 0 Leo, the Venus square Mars in this natal chart (with Venus exactly on the 9th house cusp and Mars exactly on the 12th house cusp) says something very particular about the “official” North Korean thoughts on human potential, mental or sexual health and general national public/private finance.

That part, we’ll probably never know. But it is there in the chart…as is a sort of ‘subterranean’ note about a deep, almost spiritual belief about the nation as a nation and all else being subservient to that nation by virtue of Jupiter ruling itself in the first house of national identity. 

One would also guess that with the November 28the Lunar Eclipse at 6 Gemini landing smack dab on North Korea’s Pallas (wisdom) and opposing its Moon, this rocket launch is – if nothing else – a national announcement that ‘we are not dummies.’ Combined with the November Solar Eclipse at 21 Scorpio conjuncting North Korea’s national Chiron at 20 Scorpio and Psyche at 18 Scorpio, two other messages come out of the national chart. One, that North Korea has a core issue with its opinion of itself. The crux of this is told by Chiron’s very uncomfortable semi-sextile to Jupiter, which makes for a very difficult battle between the desire for autonomy and power juxtaposed against a need for involvement with the world as a whole, lest North Korea never be able to be the country it can be proud of itself for being.

(A brief interjection: If you’re wondering whether South Korea has the same chart – as I did - it doesn’t. South Korea’s ‘establishment date’ is August 13, 1948, which creates a substantially different chart.)

 An ancient carving of Buddah in a native mountainside of Kumgangsan

(photo credit: Myo-gilsan June 2004)

Beyond all this, since Jupiter is currently in Gemini, this would have Jupiter moving through North Korea’s 7th house of ‘being on the world stage.’ So at that level, it’s entirely natural for North Korea to be stepping up to the public plate. Sagittarius being the premier sign of exploration (and for that matter, science fiction) there is a lot of metaphysical rationale to the idea that they would like shooting off a rocket as their way of talking to the rest of the world.

And as a way for Korea’s government to say to its citizens ‘See? We are on a par with other countries.’
 
With the DPRK’s natal 1st house Jupiter at 19 Sagittarius, now that North Korea has shown its Jupiter to be currently active, we can also expect to see, hear or understand more about North Korea. When? Well, one obvious moment would be when Jupiter reaches 19 Gemini, the  opposition point to its natal placement. This will happen on May 12-13 2013 (give or take a time zone. What doesn’t happen at that time is the concurrent transit by the Sun that we saw today. On those days of May 2013, the Sun will be in Taurus.

Actually, the Sun will be conjuncting Atlantis and opposing that Scorpio Chiron/Psyche we talked about a bit ago. But what is the astrological Atlantis? Atlantis represents that which we have to let go of – even though we really don’t want to - in order to find that which will really fulfill us and make us happy. The difficulty here is that the ‘known’ is attractive and the Atlantis ‘unknown’ often seems unlikely, scary and certainly not what we were planning on.

The idea of flux and change and some kind of break with some long term status quo seems inevitable here; the Jupiter/Jupiter opposition and Sun-Chiron/Psyche opposition will happen only days before another Solar Eclipse. That Solar Eclipse (May 10th will be its date) will be positioned at 19 Taurus, which is also in opposition to North Korea’s Chiron/Psyche.

(If your birthday is within 5 days of May 10th, this eclipse has your name all over it, too!)

One more thing to do with today’s events: look at the transits. And the surprise there is that there are really only two symbols at all worth noting for this date. One is the progressed Moon moving into Aries in North Korea’s national chart. That seconds the idea that this is greatly about how the nation looks at itself and the fact that North Korea needs to feel good about itself. The other symbol of note is Uranus going direct. This is of course a global transit, but that Uranus’ turn to ‘active form’ trines the nation’s natal Moon, conjuncts its Eris and opposes that very sensitive Mercury tells us that what North Korea thinks its up to and what the world may think North Korea is up to are two very different things.

When I set out to dig up all the dates associated with this story in order to write this blog, one of the strangest things I encountered is the fact that there are two birth years given for the nation’s leader, Kim Jong-un. He is either born in 1983 or 1984, which means that as of January 8th of 2013, he will either be turning 29 or 30.

Astrologically, that’s really not helpful. Just looking at the transits, it would seem more likely that the 1984 chart is the accurate one. This would also mean Kim Jong-un is moving into his first Saturn return, which is a time in life which (pardon the expression) really separates the men from the boys. It’s a point of maturation, a time when we realize we really are adults and that life isn’t just a game.

So is he there? Or is he getting there? There's really not much for me to say here. As an astrologer, I've simply never seen any major world diplomat or public figure listed without a single birth year.

One date we do have: December 17, 2011. That’s the date listed for Kim Jong-un taking power as North Korea’s head of state. That chart has 17 Sagittarius at the Midheaven.

 Kim Jong-un takes power in North Korea

Pyongyang, North Korea - December 17, 2011 (JST/-9) -  noon

 
If you’re thinking that is very close to the national Jupiter, you’re right. The Mercury (mentality) of this chart (which we’ll call the Head of State chart) is at 4 Sagittarius, making it very close to the national Moon and hit by opposition by last May’s 0 Gemini Solar Eclipse. The Juno (control) is at 17 Scorpio, which means that it was hit by November’s Solar Eclipse.

This is an indication that there were ‘other things’ in play in Kim Jong-un’s rule of North Korea as of November 2012. This ‘remolding’ will continue to evolve as next May’s eclipse also hits this point, opening an overlapping period of evolution - and considering that this Juno is in the 8th house, maybe revolution. But against what or by whom...?

The details there are likely to be multiple. With Juno in Scorpio we are directed to Mars and Pluto, which tend to speak to commerce as a solution but eventual problem for this regime and North Korea as a nation if that which ends up as a Venus t-square isn't satisfied.

Venus is also square Eris, but Eris is not part of the t-square in question. Since t-squares always move in the direction of zodiacal sequence, this one starts in Saturn, requiring honesty and equality. Like all t-squares the 'trick' is to get past your ego involvement with the point at the 't' - which in this case is Venus at 25 Libra and the 11th house, which would be how this regime wants to be seen in the world. The object is the lack of value, the lack of 'regime worth' which, being at 0 Taurus speaks to how money is spent as part of national economic issues.

Since this is the chart for Kim Jong-un's installation as ruler, the classic interpretation here would be the need to not do what looks good or seems attractive, but to build (rebuild) North Korea from the ground up, valuing its people and a 'team connection' between government and citizenry which is less about glory and more about the basics of life.

Will that happen? The secondary square from Venus to Eris asks whether Kim Jong-un wants to be a champion of the people. With Eris in this square, the choice would seem to be between the conviction of a social reformer and the disruptions which are likely to happen if this leader tries to lead solely for his own benefit.

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