Venus in Cancer/Mercury Direct

 Venus Anadiomene by Antonio Maria Esquivel (1806-1857)

For those who need to read and run, here are the stats and facts:

1.) Venus will enter Cancer on Tuesday, August 7 (2012) at 1:44 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time.

2.) Mercury will go direct on Wednesday, August 8 (2012) at 5:41 in the morning, UT/+0 time.
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Since all planetary stations get a ‘station allowance’ window of two days before and two days after the planetary turnabout, this means that Mercury goes on station early on Monday (August 6th) UT/+0 time.

(That's it for the read-and-run stuff)

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As for those with a few more minutes to browse, muse and otherwise contemplate...Mercury is doing it’s ‘turnabout may and may not be fair play’ at 1 Leo. And yes, this is apt as Mercury does represent (among other things) tricks of the mind and therefore the trickery we play on others as well as the tricky situations we get into.

 A painting of Mercury which dates back to

the 14th century (artist unknown)

Is all that heightened because Mercury is in Leo, a sign which though it has the power to be incredibly perceptive often is blind to the necessity to appeal to others in the terms they might react to positively?

Probably yes. And then we add in qualities noted as being associated with 1 Leo, among which are insecurity and all we (or others) may do to cover for feelings of inner anxiety, inadequacy – all that stuff.

With Mercury doing this turnabout with Lust at 29 Cancer adds a real focus…even an urgency to this  issue. The name ‘Lust’ is a little misleading; people tend to think this asteroid is all about carnal desire, forgetting that horoscope points are always a quality in us which we have to manage. Therefore 'Lust’ is about our tendency to lust – which is really about focusing on one thing to the exclusion of others.

At a Mercury station, this combination will for some most assuredly be some sort of revelation (startling or otherwise) that they have been focused on one thing when they should have been focused on another.

It's that trickster thing. Mercury is always a trickster, and the person we are always most likely to be tricking is ourselves…with the medium of the tricking being through mentality.

In other words, we fool ourselves. This differs from denial (if slightly) because denial is about something we can’t see because it would be too upsetting to us to deal with it. Denial has an emotional root where tricking ourselves is merely about ‘I don’t want to!’

And that quality – – is all too commonly Leo.

Another comment on this Mercury turnabout: it’s in trine to the North Node at 1 Sag and in sextile to the South Node at 1 Gemini…with that South Node being conjunct Atropos.

The North Node is always (always, always…) what we should do. And though this North Node at 1 Sagittarius says we should try to see our relationships with our world (and those in our world) on a factual basis (the proof being in the pudding and all that)…despite that, we are far more likely now to want to edit what we see, hear, and who we deal with rather than deal with trial and error or testing the reality of the situation.

Atropos/South Node is a signal that it’s easier to give something up than cope with what it takes to make it right. And with Mercury’s station in a sextile to this Atropos/South Node conjunction (which is exact, by the way) cutting our losses and getting out of something which has had us tied up is an option now.

The question is thus posed by the North Node: should you?

The handwriting on the wall here is that the Nodes – which cycle backwards through the zodiac – are about to change signs. That’s going to happen at the end of August. What will follow is a year-and-a-half (or so) of progress being made only where we risk the right things with the right people. The object will be the increase of satisfaction and self-worth, confidence, realistic recognitions of boundaries-versus-opportunities…all that stuff. So! Are you in position to move ahead developing your capacity to risk not what’s easy, but that which comes hard for you?

Considering that August has only a few cues for such things prior to the nodes changing signs, those who take this opportunity to look ahead and sort their efforts by positive potential are in a good space here.

And then we add in Venus entering Cancer.

No matter where Cancer appears in your natal chart, the idea of this first and most basic of water signs is all about building value – which yes, is related to the idea that Cancer is associated with real estate (‘built’ value in a very tangible form) and our heritage and native experience of family – that which forms our emotional foundation.

 Because the sign of Cancer is the first of the water elements,

it's often thought of as the 'surf zone' - that place where we get

our feet wet...and where in truth we may get tossed about a bit

until we learn to swim. Like the oceans, all things Cancer tend

to have a 'tidal' ebb and flow...so during these next few weeks of

Venus in Cancer, we should expect that there will be increases

and decreases in activity, feelings and motivation.

(photo credit: Kahuroa, December 2002)

Granting that no house, no family/experience of family and no heritage is “perfect” Cancer still always carries that ‘foundational’ building-for-the-future sort of vibe. And when we apply that to the cause-effect lynchpin which is Venus, that gets us to the who am I being and what am I doing to create what I am or am not receiving in – and from life?

Venus in Cancer can be a time to revamp your home, absolutely. Many a DIY project is begun under various Cancer influences. Many a home gets bought or sold under Cancer influences. Nesting is very Cancerian and providing you’re not doing that to avoid what you should be doing, this could be a great time to just be a homebody. Or when you may want to spend time with your family.

Then again, this could be the time to launch a new ‘business plan’ whether in a business, or with regards to a business you want to build. This is an excellent time to get real with yourself about where and how you need to develop your Self or your skill set in order to get ahead in the months to come. In that regard, Venus would represent the ‘laying of foundations’ with Mercury representing the creative effort being invested in Self so as to make you into that ‘winning package.’

So…let’s boil this down to two questions:

1. Are you dealing with problems and paying attention to opportunities?

2. Are you being realistic about what it takes to get where you want to go and have what you want to have in (and out of) life?

The Leo challenge here is not just to dream, but to do. With Leo being the sign of children, that’s a pretty darn good example of this dynamic: it’s easy to ‘make’ a child…it’s a whole lot harder to raise that child and to work at being a good parent.

Get the difference? We all love the dream, the vision, the Leo ‘gosh wouldn’t it be wonderful if…’ but that’s only half of the Leo process. Lions don’t stay strong and magnificent through sitting around on a rock basking in the sun. There is game to be stalked, there are territorial boundaries to be patrolled, there are other lions to be dealt with.

It isn’t all ‘peel me a grape…’ no matter how much we want it to be!

So if you can, enjoy yourself…but challenge yourself a little too. You’ll like yourself better for it – and isn’t that the ultimate goal?

Mercury in Taurus

 Mercury - a statue by Francois Rude

When Mercury enters Taurus on May 9^th at 5:14 in the morning (UT/+0) we will all move into a somewhat more serious mode. Not depressed - serious. Instead of thinking in terms of what life can be or could be (or what we wish it was), we’ll be thinking more in terms of what it is and what it needs to be in order for us to feel like we’re at least headed in the right direction.

Life is interconnected. It’s all a continuum - that’s the meaning of E=mc² (or as the ancient Maya used to say, inlakech). Over thousands of years, astrologers have watched the skies and watched human beings (we assume they mumbled dastardly things from time to time, but little of that got into the written record)…and they noticed not an overlap, but a connectivity of influences. It’s not quite ‘the ankle bone is connected to the shin bone’ sort of thing, but it is an understanding that there are patterns and harmonics to life - from which arise the idea of sign rulership.

I know people (astrologers, even) who think that astrology is willy-nilly and that anything can be made to sound like anything you want it to. That’s not true. The reason why metaphysical research goes on is because sometimes you try to fit the square peg into the round hole and it just doesn’t work. The smart person (or astrologer) goes to find the round peg.

I make no claims about the others.

In this case, the connective Taurean harmonic is Venus - ruler of Taurus and Libra, signs which are all about the quality of our life. In Taurus, we recognize our qualities, and decide if we like ourselves. (If we don’t, hopefully we work on it.) In Libra, Venus represents the quality of that we put out into the world (said ‘quality’ being a reflection of the Taurean Venus) …and according to that quality of Self or the qualities of our work, we create the ‘cause’ which generates the ‘effect’ from others…and in time, the like attracts like principle of who we end up spending our time with. If we don’t attend to some lack of quality we see in ourselves, we can bet we’re going to attract others with a similar lack of quality in themselves …as those are the people who - to put it as blatantly if gracelessly as one Taurus male I know put it with regards to himself, those are the people who will ‘who will put up with’ us.

Mercury enters Taurus

(Aries Wheel - Location not Specific) 

We can change that at any time. And as a matter of fact, this is about as good a time as any for changing things about yourself - the ‘quality’ of your life or how you live.

Actually, it’s a better time than many…particularly if life has been ‘telling’ you of late that you have some issues with personal ‘quality.’

Question: What makes this a better time?

Answer: Venus is about to go retrograde as of May 15. 

Retrograde is the classic time when you can’t get things done ‘out there’ …which metaphysically says it would be the time to deal with stuff on the inside. The planet (Venus, in this case) is on the other side of the Sun (from Earth) when it’s in retrograde. So the Sun (life) is getting in the way of ‘your making a connection’ to whatever the precept represented by that planet is.

With Venus, we would guess appreciation in any form. It may be money, it may be love, it may be just the warmth of laughter or cuddles. And even if you’re getting the money (which is possible) or getting the love or sharing the laughs…they really don’t satisfy like they usually do.

That’s the retrograde quality. More money, more love, more laughter isn’t going to ‘hit the spot’ because, believe it or not, you’re not available to be loved or appreciated or to feel worthy and valued. Venus retrograde is simply like that.

So as Mercury enters Venus, it’s beginning to stir up all that intuition. With Venus at 23 Gemini at the time when Mercury enters Taurus, this is a back-and-forth self-feeding cycle (Venus rules Taurus, Mercury rules Gemini) astrology calls a mutual reception.

 Venus and Mercury by Bartholomaus Spranger (1585)

And that’s not all. Venus is conjunct Byblis (trying to defend the indefensible), Lust (focus-fixation), Bellatrix (the difficult idea to get across or comprehend) and Amphitrite - the idea we find hard to accept which in time catches up to us.

We’re all dealing with some of this. And that Mercury itself is entering Taurus in a perfect opposition to asteroid Medusa? While the story is of Medusa is not exactly about being ‘turned to stone,’ there is a quality of being stopped in your tracks with asteroid Medusa. 

But the thing which stops us in our tracks is realizing what the truth about something really is. Either we’re scared to know the real truth or we are scared of what knowing that truth is going to mean to the rest of our world.

The truth is the truth. And that we’re scared of it is about US.

With Medusa in opposition to Mercury’s entrance into Taurus speaks of a confrontation: either you’re concerned about having it or you’re having some sort of Mercury/Medusa gag-fest over having been confronted with something which - (gulp!) - says something about you.

With Mercury trine the Moon at 1 Capricorn in this figure it’s really likely that someone has taken a hard line and that said hard line was like-as-not taken a little fast. That may be ‘too fast for your liking’ and then again, you may have overstepped your bounds or done or said something before you had sufficient (Medusa) facts to act with a degree of wisdom.

That’s another thing about Medusa: the whole Medusa issue is about Athena - dispassionate (often intellectual) wisdom. The story of Medusa is really all about human vanity and our yearning for ‘immortality’ which we get a chance to earn through investment in intelligence and a loyalty to a high standard of clarity….but which we flub up on by giving in to emotional cravings. Medusa embodies the ‘cost’ of indulging ourselves by flagrant disregard of standards ethical and commitments personal.

In this case, the cumulative effect of Medusa, Moon, Venus, Byblis, Lust, Bellatrix and Amphitrite involved with Venus already slowing down to go retrograde represents a growing awareness that we have undermined ourselves at some level.

Then we add in the fact that Mercury is also inconjunct Juno…self discipline or the need to run one’s ‘personal household’ (your life) with discipline. The inconjunct represents an ‘adjustment’ you need to make, and with this happening from Taurus to Sagittarius, we have an eight-sign “departing inconjunct” which says you need to make a decision. The decision is to leave XYZ behind OR to be left behind by ABC.

After all that, next we get to the muddying of the mental waters.

 

What? You thought things were messy enough? Heavens no…! We have a mere eleven days until we hit the moment of a Gemini Solar Eclipse. And before that happens, Venus is going to go retrograde.

Did you really think thinking things through would be easy about now?

Uh…sorry, no.

So back to that murky muddy thing. Mercury is in sextile to Neptune/Bali in early Pisces. So we have some pretty, dreamy, happy ‘little lie’ we would like to tell…or like to tell ourselves…about things being all happy and good and such. The reason why we would like to tell this little lie (no matter who it’s to - them or ourselves) is because we would like to have to avoid feeling bad. 

Okay…so what do you think the chances of that are, considering Venus is about to go retrograde?

Interestingly though, there is help - though you may be too close to the issue to really see the answer to your own problem here. As Mercury enters Taurus it is not just opposing Medusa and not just trine a ‘maybe too fast’ Capricorn Moon. It’s not just sextile Neptune/Bali and it’s not just overloaded by a Byblis-Lust-Bellatrix-Amphitrite-Venus conversation spinning in the back of our brains.

The good news - for those willing to get down to it - is that Mercury is also conjunct Vesta/Phaeton. Vesta representing ‘sacred service’ (personal promises) and Phaethon representing the impulsively brazen ‘devil-may-care’ teen nature which frequently overreaches good sense tells us where our gliches (or lack of quality may be). So providing we’re willing to deal with that and not compound our errors with insisting on doing ‘more of the lack-of-quality same,’ we may be able to redeem ourselves - first and foremost in our own eyes.

 The Fall of Phaethon by Peter Paul Rubens

Considering that Mercury will be in Taurus for only about two weeks, this next little while is a time to get straight with ourselves. Because Mercury in Taurus lends itself to conversations which pertain to quality or lacks thereof, this can be an excellent time to get some input from someone or even for rebuilding bridges with someone, should you have had a problem.

Negotiations of the business type are also favored by this transit, although with Venus about to go retrograde and the Gemini Solar eclipse this is not a ‘business as usual’ sort of cut-and-dry moment. If you get a job now, don’t plan on the position you accept being the one which you end up working in. This isn’t any cause for terror - after all, you may end up in a position you like much better or which you are better suited for.

On other business levels, Mercury in Taurus leading into the Venus retrograde would also be a marker for complex business negotiations or dealings which end up being solidified as or after Venus goes direct in late June. If you have any interest in developing a business with someone, this is a good time to open discussions but don’t plan on any agreements reached in short order holding for the duration. This is a fine time for development of any ideas and for improving the structure, operations or design of anything you need to move forward with - especially long term. Again, just don’t think anything’s going to get sorted out in five minutes. Or if it does, that it won’t need to be revamped.

Mercury in Taurus is an opportunity. This Mercury in Taurus in particular offers us the chance to get some real insight on ourselves - insights which can lead us to a happier and more profitable future.

The one challenge here: facing our weaknesses, our errors, our vulnerabilities, our misguided efforts.

Depending on their nature or the ‘size’ of the glitch, you may have to spend some real time investing in fixing some problem.

But in the end, aren’t you worth it? Besides, what other choice to you really have?

A Taurus New Moon: Self-Divining

 A New Moon against a field of stars....

On Saturday, April 21st, a New Moon at 1 Taurus will begin the lunation month leading into May’s solar eclipse.

Typically, the month before a solar eclipse is a bit of a bumpy ride…so what does this lunation bring to the metaphysical party?

For one, it’s happening at 1 Taurus, a degree which by default is about us…either physically or in terms of what we do. Taurus being an earth(y) sign, the issues are tangible. Or maybe our object or aim is.

Taurus is also the first of the zodiacal ‘fixed’ signs, ‘fixed’ here describing it’s astrological “modality.” What this tells is is that the tenor of feelings (the lunation) we are likely to…or perhaps need to approach things with…there’s some consideration in the mix. Taurus isn’t (by and large) hasty. Emphatic? Sometimes. Enraged? Also sometimes.

The core of the Taurean process is discovering what’s of worth. And that process is what leads to the building of self worth. Though this isn’t about learning per se (that would be Gemini), Taurus is about explorations which lead to an understanding about what’s safe and not safe – hence this sign’s association with security, which many simply interpret as ‘money and things’ (materialism).

 an image of Taurus from a 15th century medieval book on astrology 

The biggest challenge for anything (or anyone) Taurean is to see down the road. You know, how what I do or grab or hold onto today affects me next week, next month or ten years from now. Taurus is the first of four fixed signs – sign number one in the fixed sign process which, providing we work through all the challenges, leads to a kind of personal security which gives us the self assurance (confidence in self) which others respect, will always support and which can rescue us come what may.

So that’s something of the Taurean ‘vibe’ which is the basis for this lunation. Because of this vibe, we can assume that some of us are going to have our chains rattled this month (so that we can see what the nature of our self worth and security really are) and some of us are going to be moving ahead with developing/working on something of worth which we are invested in and thus recognize our own value as part of.

2012 - the Taurus New Moon

(Aries Wheel  - location not specific) 

 

1 Taurus in particular – as a degree – speaks to the emotional side of this process. Descriptions speak of an insecurity which can manifest as sensitivity – or then again as cruelty. The Sabian Symbol for 1 Taurus is ‘An electrical storm’…which in itself speaks to feelings of not being in control and the dangers we may feel because we could get ‘zapped’ at any moment.

Then again, this symbol also images being struck with a ‘bright idea.’ Whether we manifest the positive, negative or a bit of both here…? That’s all about our native self worth.

And it’s not all that simple.

This New Moon (Sun conjunct Moon) is going to form up between Scheherazade at 0 Taurus and Tantalus at 2 Taurus. Scheherazade being ‘the telling of tales’ and Tantalus being ‘temptation’ and often ‘temptation to do that we know we shouldn’t do,’ it’s to be expected that situations will tempt us to find excuses for things. Or to do things and ‘justify’ it in our mind (and to others) even though that niggling tug in our gut is telling us we’ve done something wrong.

 Scheherazade Went on with Her Story 

- an illustration done by Virginia Frances Sterreff in 1928

This would also be a time when situations already committed to or actions taken (somewhere in the past) come to light. Or maybe they become the foundation of a discussion about the ‘value’ (worth) of going forward in some way which (Taurus) matters to you and/or your security.

Because we’re in the month before a solar eclipse, this New Moon does carry an extra dollop of whammy. Namely, through such Taurean (Scheherazade, Tantalus) feelings we are being forced to focus on something which isn’t working correctly. Or at least the (Gemini) idea of it.

With Medusa at 4 Scorpio (in opposition to the New Moon) there is some ‘frightening truth’ (Medusa) to face – oppositions always being about facing something. Those of us who are willing to do this work ourselves will do so. But those who are card carrying members of the ‘me good, me entitled, my life is rosy’ club will like as not encounter people who will ‘stand in’ for this Medusa vibe, making sure we are forced to at least acknowledge (if not deal with) where we have gone astray of what are – in all likelihood – our own standards.

Astrologically, the solar eclipse is the ‘big dog’ on the block. So though this lunation has its own valid process, it does embrace the heart of the ‘breakdown’ period which precedes every solar eclipse.

Another piece of information on this lunation is given us by Venus and Byblis both being positioned at 14 Gemini – a fact we care about because Venus rules Taurus. The Sabian for this degree (14 Taurus) is ‘Two Dutch children talking to each other, exchanging their knowledge.’ That’s at least a signal of talking to people of like heritage, and probably a desire to build alliances. (Or maybe to get your stories straight before you each go home to your mothers!)

Interestingly, both 14 Gemini and 1 Taurus have a ‘reputation’ in lore for being difficult in the sense that when we see something positioned in either degree we know that there is a problem to be met which has to be dealt with before any good can come of the situation. 

The overriding Taurus lunation issue – as described (sensitivity, cruelty, self-protection through denial, maybe?) – is plainly emotional. Or maybe emotionally provocative. Add Venus in Gemini and we have some concept or idea which either seems emotionally challenging, or which requires that we face some ‘scary issue’ (Medusa) if we are to capitalize on.

On its own however, 14 Gemini is a call for greater perspective and objectivity.

But then we need to add in Byblis. The specifics of the Byblis story have to do with child abuse – specifically, sexual relations with children. But since not everyone is a pedophile (nor will we all deal with such ugliness) in a greater sense, Byblis is about ‘trying to defend the indefensible idea.’

Venus/Byblis thus stands for ‘the idea of getting what you want (Venus) through undesirable means.’

I know…much symbolic drama for something which is in the end, rather regular. But that’s the point. The incoming solar eclipse will be at 0 Gemini: there is some ‘starting anew’ coming at us, with a lot of us having some old ‘idea’ of life (or facet of life) being given up along the way.

Two more items about this New Moon. One is that asteroids Lust (over focusing) and Amphitrite (something you’ve gotten used to) stand with TNO Chaos at 13 Gemini…a degree behind Venus/Byblis. That’s a picture of all which has been done or gotten from (TNO Chaos) something you’ve been over focused on and gotten used to.

 Planet Venus, wreathed in clouds of sulfuric acid,

showing us that Venus is not all sweet - and that

sometimes dealing with that which is difficult

 (life's more 'acidic' moments) in time gets us to

where we want to go. (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Coupled to Venus/Byblis, this is very much the image of needing perspective. And when we take all that back to the lunation, it would appear that this month we all are going to be either challenged…or getting a lot of clarity on something which our ‘habitual response’ (Taurus) to having challenged is that insecurity or snarkiness thing.

To everything, there is a season (turn, turn, turn…). 

Apparently it’s time to get real with ourselves.

The last note for this blog-thought is that as this lunation occurs, Neptune is conjunct Niobe at 3 Pisces (conjunct royal star Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces), with all in square to the nodes. Just to make this a little more pickle-like, Juno is exactly conjunct the North Node.

Put simply, this means we (North Node) need to use some (Juno) self discipline this month. Or maybe a better word for this particular Juno placement might be 'integrity.'

Whichever word you choose, North Node/Juno in early Sagittarius is the need to do something which works. It's also all about recognizing what doesn't work and getting to the fixing of problems. The object is applied functionality - getting to your goals in a manner which doesn't just work for you, but which works all around.

Not that glitches and negative feedback is going to be putting a smile in our day, no. South Node in early Gemini promotes a desire for 'wealth and power' - which in your life may be literal, or maybe just the ability to have your way and not be bothered with having to listen to anyone.

That may work in the short run. But then again, with a solar eclipse about to happen in conjunction with this degree ('eclipsing' that idea), is that really a good bet?  

And about that Neptune-Niobe/Fomalhaut thing...standing at the ‘t’ of a t-square, this is something of a pretty good image putting us all on notice about how illusions of grandeur are self-defeating.

Again, we probably need a little (Juno) self-discipline. Or something!

So that’s the Taurus lunation image. We may seek much in life and from our world, but in the end, none of that matters. What matters is whether we are satisfied with ourselves.

Remember the famous line from the old movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’…? Just before it ends, Glinda asks Dorothy what she’s learned. Her answer is all about how when we go looking for our heart’s desire, we don’t have to look any farther than our own back yard.

As a human being, that’s inside ourselves.

‘….there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…’

May you always feel welcome, safe and secure in your own heart.

House enters Taurus

Asteroid House was discovered on December 7th, 1988 by E.F. Helin, who apparently was hanging around Palomar Observatory at the time, doing what astronomers do – inspecting the wonders of the universe.

In this case, the segment of universe in question is solar systemic: House is a main belt asteroid (meaning it orbits between Mars and Jupiter) and as asteroids go, it’s a pretty mainline main belt asteroid, considering it’s 2.74 away from Ye Olde Sun at it’s farthest and 2.250 at its nigh-est from Old Man Sol and that means – the difference between these figures being in all consideration so minor – that it’s orbit is rounder than most, meaning House is pretty much at home where it is…right there in the middle of the gigundo pack of asteroids which liberally liters local space between Mars and Jupiter.

(I keep wanting to type You-piter, but that just seems too flippant…)

With an orbital period of 4.56 years, House pretty much keeps company with some of its asteroid neighbors such as clever Kleopatra and platonic and friend-oriented Amor. And hey, if you’re an asteroid out there wandering around you probably want a few friends, so Amor and Kleopatra aren’t that a bad choice for celestial neighbors.

However, looks (of orbits) can deceive. Granting that the data base this astrologer uses is only several hundred entries (out of thousands) long, at its farthest from our most yellow Sun (and therefore little blue marbled Earth, too) House keeps company with Kleopatra and Amor as closest neighbors. But beyond Kleopatra cycles Arachne (entanglement, patient stealth) and She Who Should Have Kept Her Mouth Closed – Echo.

Remember Echo? Oh, how dangerous it is to lie for the boss when the other boss is his wife and she doesn’t know that he’s going out on her!

But I digress. The point I’m trying to make here is that when we look at asteroid House’s perihelion point (it’s closest orbital point to us and the Sun) we find it’s running in a somewhat different crowd. Instead of friendship (Amor) and cleverness (Kleopatra) we find House’s orbit “closely” linked with Lust (fixation), Byblis (defense of the indefensible), Arachne (entanglement – as above) and Hel (use your own favorite description).

So “close up,” House seems to be fraught with issues where from “far away” it’s nice and respectable.

Gee…does that remind you of anything? Maybe all those many human constructs – be they families, marriages, communities, companies, religions – which have these nice white picket fences or glossy covers or spinky-spanky reputations…but look under the proverbial rug and what do you find?

All those human uglies.

But in celestial terms, let’s remember – though the inner solar system (and therefore, the ‘close in’ aspects of cycles, even if they don’t pass mars and technically enter the inner solar system…) though that inner system is where we may feel ‘at home,’ the metaphysical ‘growth’ of life is to be powered by life (the energy of the Sun) in moving out through and into the unknown.

Which may actually be some good news, seeing that when we look at House in that light we see where while yes, we can put on that false front of friendship and/or cleverness with others, we could also grow in that direction. We can master asteroid attributes – we just have to want to!

Another idea this dichotomy of positions would seem to suggest is how (and in a sense, why) we are so hard on ourselves. We see our ‘Hel’ish’ points. We get where we’re all Arachne/tangled up in our heads or histories. We know how we want to have things the way we want them to be even when we know that’s wrong, wrong, (Byblis) wrong.

(Though yes, Byblis covers a lot of ground here – as do all these points, actually!)

As the saying goes, sometimes we are just our own worst enemies. And even when we succeed, we come back to realizing there’s still more to do, things to grow, accomplishments we can tackle.

Yet…there is some comfort in coming home to that slouchy shoe which just feels good. Sure it’s ugly. But it’s comfy.

And what does that say? Maybe that we are capable of being at home in a life which is filled with entanglements and fixations and ridiculously wrong things being defended?

That would make us out to be some pretty resilient beings, no?

Given all this, what does it mean that House is entering Taurus on April 5th at 5:52pm (UT/+0)?

Well…like anything in any of the first three signs (the first zodiacal quarter), objects in Taurus define both the starting place and the object. The object would be to feel at home…to feel safe and secure. That’s pretty much a no-brainer. But that’s the Taurus end product, not it’s genesis. The Taurus genesis point is self worth and abilities: those things with which we create a life which generates security and satisfaction.

Especially with Neptune having just moved into Pisces, House’s transit of Taurus is likely to show up both where we feel okay and what we feel insecure about. It would actually seem ‘apropos’ to have reservations about a lot of things at the moment.

But let’s remember: life’s object (if I may be allowed to put it this way) is to get us to do things. And in order to get us to do things, life has to make us either uncomfortable or dissatisfied. Even distressed or insecure.

So you tell me – with all the upheaval and uncertainty going on, is this the best of times or the most bizarre of times?

And especially now with Neptune in Pisces asking us to embrace the integrity of acceptance, is House in Taurus perhaps really a call, a challenge and question about whether we feel ‘at home’ in our own skin - no matter what is going on?

Klotho/Lust Direct: Wanting Anew or Not

 The Greek Fates

by Alfred Agache (c. 1885)

Klotho is one of the three Greek Fates. Like many Greek concepts, the one of 'fate' as the Greeks saw it was not what we tend to think of today - i.e., "fated." That's pretty simply demonstrated by the concepts the three Greek fates embodied, too. Klotho is 'the beginning,' Lachesis is 'the duration' and Atropos is 'the end.'

Everything pretty much embodies these three qualities, and with a few exceptions (God, the Big Bang) we all understand that how that works. Everything starts somewhere, whether it's a relationship, the decision to bake a cake, a plague, a tectonic continental shift...there is a source, there is a process, and there is an end. They go by a lot of names (for instance: source-start-beginning; process-growth-maturation; end-result-conclusion) but it all amounts to pretty much the same thing, give or take the situation you're discussing.

This totality of a cycle...this is what the Greeks called Fate. And thus the three fates (Klotho, Lachesis, Atropos) represent stages in a process.

Klotho is the start or beginning or inception, decision, initiation...however you want to refer to it. And since that list of words is very much like a set of keywords for Aries, we would guess that Klotho in Aries is when initiations come more naturally to us than at other times.

OR...when they're maybe supposed to? And if they don't...is that about Klotho, or is that about us?

Oh go ahead...no one's looking, go ahead and sigh at yet another thing you're supposed to be dealing with in life. After all, if you don't get off the Klotho mark and  Klotho/start dealing with things as they should be dealt with, they won't get dealt with and that's your not having utilized your Klotho power, right?

Yes well...you could put it that way. And yet...there are those people who Klotho themselves right into a corner. We can decide not to do anything. Or we can quit trying. That's Klotho in a whole other guise.

And what follows from either....? That's the (Greek) fate we create (Klotho) depending on how we handle the doing/not doing of our lives.

Love Sacred and Love Profane

Giovanni Baglione (1602)

On the other hand, Lust is not about existing or the grand cycle of existence. It's about the drives which shape that which will manifest. 

So when we think of Klotho and Lust in the same breath, Klotho is the 'theoretical determinative,' of the thing. Will it be? Will it not be? And Lust is the nature of that being - which against the idea of Klotho as a fire sign-friendly entity would tend to make Lust emotional and thus more at home in waters signs - and perhaps most at home in Scorpio, the fixed sign of learning how emotions work (ours and those of others) through choices which at some level are forcing us to risk personal values.

As it happens, Lust is not going direct in Scorpio - it's going direct at 29 Pisces, a sign all about how we feel about our feelings. Or, in this case, maybe more about how our fixations (Lust) in having created expectations (a typical Pisces issue) are rewarded or defeated.

Or maybe how rewarding they are in general...or how through either giving in to or avoiding our Lusty fixations - how those (Klotho) decisions do or don't get us where we want to get in life.

That Klotho is going direct in Aries says 'yes, what we choose to do and not do determines what we get out of life.' And that may be in this moment - or in general. How have our lusts and decisions over the course of time led us to where we are today, in this moment, with or without whatever expectations of success or failure we do or don't have?

Now, as I'm sitting here typing about Klotho and Lust going direct, are you asking yourself 'why are there so many direct and retrograde notices going up lately? It used to be so simple!' 

The answer to that is sort of simple too - and it's all about the 'information age.' Certainly the internet and blogs like this one have allowed astrologers to get out there and broadcast information. But let's not forget that the advances in science (astronomy and astrophysics in particular) have just added a whole bunch of new objects to the list of what we can now follow and explore as clockwork cogs in this vast Existence we are part of.

And it's fitting that we have more points. Why? Because with every passing day we learn more about how biology and physiology and how psychology is it's own thing and yet connected by dendrites (body workings) to the physical side of life! Every day brings us advances in the understanding of geo-magnetics, gravity and how solar flares and storms affect so many things Earthly - like communication technologies.

But yes...it does get a little mind-boggling, which is why it's good that handy lists of articles are available to you in blog sidebars, allowing you to remind yourself of what's been going on. And as you learn more astrology, then you're able to see the patterns in your life and in life in general ever more clearly.

As an astrologer, let me assure you this will not (repeat, NOT!) solve all your problems! But they will give you an understanding of what's going on. And in time, that understanding will allow you both to cope with the present and to look ahead...gleaning from patterns yet to come what happens when, and how the chiming of those cosmic hours sing out when you can be most effective in one or another part of life.

Okay! So enough for the commercial. Back to our Lustful, Klothonic program.

Of these two objects, Lust goes direct first - that even happening on November 15th at 7:35 (UT). And why talk about that now? Because remember - all stations, be they stationary/direct or stationary/retrograde (and whether of a planet, dwarf planet, TNO, asteroid, wandering comet or anything else) - they all get a two day 'station allowance' before and after station exactitude. So Lust's station effects begin on November 13 in the early-ish morning and extend to November 17th in the early-ish morning.

Klotho will go direct at 8:42 in the evening (UT) on November 15, giving it the same November 13 through 17th station effect window.

As noted, Klotho will go direct in Aries. 4 Aries, to be exact. This being a degree noted for 'indiscriminate growth,' it's important to chose what you get into, as whatever started is likely to go somewhere whether you want it to or not.

On the Lust side, going direct at 19 Pisces adds a distinct challenge which is said to be of a 'physical and material nature.'

Together, is this something getting out of hand? Going too far? Having unanticipated repercussions? Probably that and more.

Moreover - and maybe most importantly - this is not just about life's situations: this is about us. These symbols appear in each and every chart, and like all main belt asteroids represent qualities in perception which lie between what we want and aim to do (Mars)...and the actual understanding and knowledge which governs not only just how to, but whether to will or should do any given thing (Jupiter).

Lust and Klotho - by main belt definition - denote issues which manifest in us. They're part of our thinking. Or maybe more to the point...whether we think. Or think things through. Or think better. Or consider all the parameters. Will we think only in terms of ourselves...or will we take others into account? And what are our thoughts based on...imagination? Feelings? The reality of now or possibilities, future and consequence? 

What do we focus on? Are we capable of overcoming our own focus with greater perspective and parameters....or are we overwhelmed? Has being overwhelmed or overcome (i.e., fixated) become a norm?

There are a million ways to conjugate these ideas and obviously given how unique charts are (they only repeat once every 26,000 years or so without using any of the 'new fangled' asteroids, dwarf planets et al!)...we obviously can't come up with every permutation possible in a simple, two-dimensional blog log.

But what we can say is this: a couple of weeks ago, Nessus went direct. When Nessus went direct, we all became a little more aware of difficulties in interpersonal dynamics. Then Chiron went direct - and we all realized we would have to go outside our comfort zone in order to achieve that we yet don't know how to do...but really want as part of our lives.

Then Damocles and Neptune went direct, throwing in a whole bucket filled with not just confusion, but the recognition of how confused we may actually be. Or maybe how confused we've been. Or how we tend to confuse ourselves.

After that came Eos going direct, bringing in all the questions of instinct, good and bad, proper and unproductive, noble and undermining.

Now with Lust and Klotho going direct, we have a chance to 'fix our fixations.' Attention may be good. But a fixation? And lest we deny that we know what our fixations are, chances are life will provoke us! Yes, either we'll get dragged away from something we're fixated on...or something will get tossed in our face, lap (or wherever) forcing us to deal with some fixation we have...or maybe even a fixation against getting involved in something! You know...like fixations? Or doing something about something which needs fixing instead of just being a life fixation?

And whether our fixation is on starting, or on not starting. Or starting but never carrying through because we're so dependent on the urge and not the understanding of what's at stake to be gained or gone without.

The Chinese character for love looks like this:

The image of this letter-character-sinograph is explained as being a heart surrounded by acceptance, and  'feeling/perception.' In that, like in astrology, it is a picture of an idea which is a fusion of various factors and internal personal forces.

We have a chance to begin anew now, through every interaction and situation which fills our coming days, weeks and months. Back on August 23, 2010, Klotho went retrograde at 16 Aries, an emotional degree of a sign all about the Self. Retrogrades being all about our internal life, we've all been struggling with who we're supposed to become since that time.

Even before that (on July 23rd to be precise) - Lust went retrograde at 3 Aries...in tandem with Jupiter. Same day, same degree: Jupiter (knowledge) and Lust (fixated focus) went retrograde together. That signaled a July which for many a reason in many a life had us turning inside.

And by mid-August - when Klotho went retrograde - we all realized we needed to begin making internal (retrograde) changes. Events were unfolding to reveal that the old ways weren't going to make it any more. We needed to expand our perspective, our horizons our world. We needed new answers.

All very Jupiter.

So we began to focus on what wasn't working. And the more it didn't work, the more it bugged us, niggled us, made us feel itchy and twitchy, in need of release from this...confined wrongness.

How very, very Lust. Or Lustful, if you prefer.

And yes, we'd all like to think the process of change is easy. Once you realize you need to change, can't you just go do it?

Unfortunately, evidently not. Jets hold their brakes on while building up thrust before they roar down the runway and take off. Chicks struggle to break out of eggs. Runners build up momentum before taking their leap in the long jump.

This is the other side of the retrograde. Retrogrades manifest as periods when we look inside, see what's wrong, figure out what we should-could-want to try next then force us to build up enough momentum (and maybe sufficient frustration to translate into determination) that when celestial symbols go direct, we're primed for action. If it takes letting go of something, we find the courage to do so. If it takes getting past our ego, we're so sick of being held back that we toss ego aside.

And yet...as we say that, we also know there will be resisters. Spoil sports. Stick-in-the-muds.

Yet life does seem to evolve, doesn't it?

Some want. Some want not.

What are you focusing on?