Ixion and Pholus Station-Direct

Centaur an den Kaskaden in Kassel

(photo credit: Fingalo Christian Bickel, May 2008)

Plutino Ixion and centaur Pholus both have somewhat problematic reputations. They’re not quite the zombies of our character set, but they do seem to tempt us to act contrary to our own best interests.

How they do that is individual - which is to say described by where these points are in your personal chart and where they are going to be going direct, which is at 19 and 20 Sagittarius.

Being that I’m still having some physical difficulties, I’m not going to do a marathon fandango on the lore and astro-theory behind these points.

But never fear - we have links:

- link to -

Ixion: Our Conflict of Self

- link to -

Pholus: A Little Nasty

Either way, both Ixion and Pholus are about what we don’t want to do, though they act on that desire in very different ways. Ixion acts out (is assertive or pro-active, to use the common terms) and Pholus tends to retreat, single out, ignore or isolate.

As defined by what these points are astronomically, they will also tend to describe different sorts of influences we would meet up with (either in our own heart, mind or soul or through some external prompting). Like better-known Chiron, Pholus is a centaur - one of a number of astronomical objects which act sort of like ‘short range’ comets which unlike “official” comets don’t cycle around the Sun - our emblem of consciousness, existence and will to live.

Because Pholus doesn’t orbit around the Sun, it doesn’t represent any ‘core’ aspect of our personality. It can’t directly affect our life, will or consciousness - except in the sense that in cycling back and forth from just beyond (outside) Neptune’s orbit to just inside Saturn’s, Pholus does indeed cross over Saturn’s orbit, an event which symbolically represents Pholus as a force which can ‘penetrate’ our outer barrier (Saturn).

Pholus is about that which can get to us, or the experience of dealing with ourselves once something has gotten to us. What Pholus doesn’t seem to be is outwardly motivated.

That’s Ixion. Ixion is that ability to do the same thing over (and over) again thinking you will succeed this time. Ixion tempts us to ignore life’s realities in favor of something we believe we are - and in particular, that we are entitled to do, be or have.

And in that, we would be wrong. But that’s the point - where we see Ixion we tend to do think we can ‘get away’ with something (whether in conjunction with others or our Self).

It doesn't work. That’s the Ixion nature: to pursue some path (generally one which is open to us because of some natural talent or simply because of who we are or know how to do) in a singularly self-serving manner until our lack of respect for others and life in general becomes our Self-undoing. Ixion is a Plutino: an object whose orbit around our Sun is governed by a little invisible (to us) force called magnetic resonance - Neptune’s magnetic resonance.

And since Neptune notoriously symbolizes all the many ways we idealize, imagine and so often delude ourselves (lest we have to deal with all that messy ‘being a mortal human being’ stuff), that would be why Ixion always has to do with somewhere in our life where we tend to delude ourselves.

So Ixion tends to ‘act’ and Pholus tends to ‘withdraw,’ which makes things curious when you consider that these two points are stationing at 19 (Ixion) and 20 (Pholus) Sagittarius.

Part one: they’re in conjunction.

Part two: this is the ‘bookend’ to their having gone into retrograde in tandem.

- link to -

Pholus-Ixion Station-Retrograde

(March 2014)

Part three: there is a general traditional notion that degrees vary by nature depending on whether they’re numerically even or odd. Even degrees are ‘receptive-responsive’ and odd degrees are ‘proactive-assertive.’ So that proactive Ixion is going direct at proactive 19 Sagittarius and reactive Pholus is going direct at a responsive degree like 20 Sagittarius tell us that we should expect anything Sagittarian to move towards more polarized or ‘purist’ forms of expression bent on classic Sagittarian aims like expansion, exploration, getting the word (or anything else) “out there” and dealing with objections, blockades or errors in judgment or operational imperatives.

And let’s just say Sagittarius isn’t exactly known for being all that cooperative when it comes to having people or things not cooperate. Famously associated with the legal system, Sagittarius is all about the debate rather than the punishment, punishments legal and otherwise fall under Capricorn (with the exception of guilt, shame and other such emotional torments, all of which fall under water signs).

Moreover, to have Ixion at 19 degrees and Pholus at 20 degrees is something of an indication that a ‘connection’ [the conjunction] is currently in play which links Sagittarius’ ‘fervent zone’ (its second ten degrees) with Sagittarius as a basic signature of things going on in the world.

That Pholus is ahead of Ixion may well say that some of us (those who have Pholus more prominently placed in their natal charts, one would guess) will, upon confronting whatever is going on will retreat, want to retreat... or at least function from a separate and singular perspective. What that gives us may take any number of forms: some of us just have things to do, some people will choose (for any of a number of reasons) to stay uninvolved or at a distance which allows them to be less partial, and some of us will simply ignore, deny or insist on being hard-headed in wanting to believe what we want to believe, never mind anyone else (or the facts, in some cases).

With Ixion just behind Pholus and still in an emotionally charged degree there is a deal of energy driving our needs and convictions, which against Pholus’ instinct to separate and go one’s own way is likely to manifest as various types of confusion and conflict within and without our Self and in that ‘zone’ we have defined as our sphere of operation.

Which one of these influences is strongest and therefore represents which side of this push-pull being individual will make everything a bit more messy, of course. Plus there are certainly those who will feel more of these effects going into the September 3rd (Ixion) and 4th (Pholus) station as opposed to coming out of it.

We give stations a two-days-before, two-days-after ‘allowance’ period (making the full extent of this station from September 1st through 6th), and if you follow this sort of stuff (yes, astrologers collect people stats as opposed to sports stats) what you’ll learn is that events (real time or mental, it doesn’t matter) which occur prior to the actual moment of stationing tend to refer to things which have yet to play out where things which occur after the station tend to reflect a ‘wrapping up’ of matters which have already happened. With this particular station occurring just as Mars and Saturn are parting their Scorpio conjunction things are intense and require the kind of focus which refuses to go off half-cocked, which is to say before what AND why everyone is doing and feeling as they are - before all of that is at least noted, if not well understood.

But let’s be realistic here... Ixion and Pholus are not the kind of life factors any of us like coping with. Sure, we’re all about what ‘the Other’ is doing or saying which we don’t like or maybe want to brush aside... but we’re not as good with ourselves. Their flaws and the problems with situations...? That we see. That, we’re willing to see.

But flaws in our Self? Both of these points refer to personality paths which are Self unaware - and both come from a position which speaks to where or how we tend not to take responsibility for Self, particularly as that pertains to being one human among many, all of whom are equally human.

As for the degrees involved, 19 Sagittarius is known equally for an aversion to ‘mainstream’ standards or ways of doing things... difficulties and trials which specifically test inner emotional (water sign) stamina... in a symbolic offset to the inner emotional tests, an affinity for natural water and waterways. This degree is associated with causes. Yet though having a ‘cause’ (or focus) is a plus, failing to deal with negatives, evils and any lack of inclusive thinking (which with Ixion tend to be ours by definition) is a recipe for bitter... even poisonous pain.

Not theirs, ours.

Though this is only a moment in time and the passage of a few days, what happens now can be important. Ixion has an oddly ‘fated’ quality reflective of this influence as one which brings some very ugly traits to the surface... and whether we like it or not, we’re all human and we all have some spots dappling the landscape of our thinking and personality which in the grander scheme of things are just ugly.

From Pompeii's Casa dei Vettii, a detail from a scene depicting Ixion's punishment which

features Mercury holding the famous caduceus.

(public domain)

With Pholus, personal ethics and morality count. With Ixion, social and societal contracts count. So with Mercury just crossing Virgo's massive black hole M87 (see previous post) just as Ixion takes its station turn, we are almost being invited to see things differently... to see others and our attitude towards those others in an entirely alternative light.

What we do after that... or in lieu of that, should we are so enamored of our own personal vision of things that we’re not even willing to entertain someone else’s truth as truth... that’s up to us. And because that's up to us, that means the karma which comes from what we do or not do leaves us with no one to blame (or cheer) apart from our Self.

But then, that would be the theme here: taking responsibility for what we do, who we are, how we think and feel - and what we allow ourselves to do or be because of that.

Or maybe in spite of that.

Speaking of karma, Pluto (the outcome ruler of Scorpio, sign of karma) is going direct in just a couple of weeks.

So this would seem to be a signpost.

Will we read it? And beyond that, will we heed it - or will some Ixion-Pholus impulse get the better of us?
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The 2 Virgo New Moon / Sedna, Station-Retrograde

Gluehlampe

(photo credit: KMJ, Oct 2007)

Like much of life it seems, astrology is rife with verbal shortcuts, one of which is the idea of maturity or maturation in association with dwarf planet Sedna.

Yes, both those terms do apply. But the process being referred to is more about how we arrive at maturity (or a moment or experience which is maturing)...what causes such a moment or change of perspective to happen and how we came to think or act as we did prior to changing.

All such things are part of the Sedna process, starting with that last part, the part which is about assumptions, presumptions, ‘standards,’ and habits personal, cultural, economic or of any kind and not so much where they come from as why they may (or may not) actually be correct. Or true.

And yet...though the kind of change of perspective we’re talking about here might seem to be something we would experience like the flicking on of a light switch (the proverbial ‘light bulb moment,’ to use a  modernist’s Aquarian Age term) - that’s not how it works. After all, Sedna takes over eleven thousand years to move through 360 degrees as it orbits our beloved Sun - so we’re not talking about anything close to instantaneous or swift. So when Sedna goes retrograde at 1:48 in the morning (UT/+0 time) on August 26th, it’s continuing a metaphysical process started some time ago.

How long ago?

Well, granting that each of us has various individualizing astrological qualifiers which would cause such dates to vary some, in general terms the shortest of short terms would date back to May 8th (when Sedna entered 24 Taurus, the degree it will be going retrograde at), the next longest consideration would be early February 2014 (when in tandem with Mercury, Sedna went retrograde)...and the still-broader ‘bookend date’ would be June 25, 2013 - the date when Sedna first entered 24 Taurus, a particularly testing degree which with Sedna present would indicate a testing time during which we are all will end up facing some need to get/gain/expand perspective on our own security issues.

Not ‘theirs,’ ours. And that’s not a collective ‘ours’ - that’s the you, me, one-by-one everyone on Earth ‘ours.’

And what’s the subject matter we are to be all so individually tested on? Answer: the difference between courage and over-aggressive, the difference between accessible and vulnerable, the difference between help and manipulation, the difference between spirituality and the abandonment of realism.

Sedna marks periods of process. It also marks moments when we recognize how things have changed - that being us in that moment of realizing our perspective has actually changed, a moment we can learn from in any of a number of ways.

And finally, Sedna marks the person we become both for having gone through our experiences - and through our realization of how such processes work.

As usual, we would expect for Sedna’s change from direct to retrograde motion to stir things up - changing our perspective, as it were. Those of us who have major positions in our natal chart (planets, dwarf planets, nodes or axis points) between 19 and 19 of Taurus or those same degrees in Scorpio are the most likely to find this moment ‘educational’ at some level with those on the Taurus side having to deal with issues which touch directly on how we ‘secure’ ourselves (whether emotionally, financially, with a door lock or any other way) and those with positions in Scorpio feeling challenged by external means, be that someone confronting you, some sort of news, a choice which needs making - something.  The squares to Sedna’s station would have the same degree spans but be in Aquarius or Leo with those on the Aquarian side having to wrestle with what needs doing and those on the Leo side having to deal with what’s already been done.

More to the point, Sedna’s going retrograde means we are all moving into a period of months (from now until February 6, 2015) during which our living our own life - just the process of doing that - becomes a catalyst for our coming to understand something more about the difference between making a thoughtful choice and those ‘choices’ or actions which reflect ‘knee-jerk’ responses to situations in our life.

Are we capable of knowing what is a choice and what we’re acting on because we think we are ‘supposed to’? This is the Sedna focus. That which we do because we lack true inner security will reflect past experiences where that which we truly choose to do (or not do, be or respond to) will reflect our consciousness of Self...not the situation or someone else.

As for whether we will do any such thing, the fact that there’s going to be a New Moon in productivity-oriented Virgo on the day before Sedna’s actual turn to retrograde seems something of a clue.

The Moon over Djúpivogur, Iceland

(photo credit: Daniel Om Gislason, January 2009)

To be exact here, the August New Moon will occur at 2:14 in the afternoon of August 25th (UT/+0 time). And it will be at 2 Virgo, a degree which by definition is personal, action or physically oriented, and which is based on tangible knowledge against tangible results. Virgo being the second of the zodiacal earth signs to Taurus being the first gives us a pretty good indication that the first part of the week (and some part of the weekend which precedes that) will be about putting some notion into play...or recognizing how well/not well something in motion (or ‘play’) is working.

The essential (and eventual) question is whether we can reach our goals - whatever they may be. But in the short run...in the ‘now’ the question is what needs to be done? Since Virgo only works well when responsibility of all types is lightly held but kept very much in the forefront of all choices, efforts and activities, morals, ‘the quality of’ things and who we associate with are all important. Virgo favors the established because that gives us something to work with or from (why make things any harder than they need to be?)... and yet Virgo is also well known for endless busywork.

So...are we applying grease and spinning our wheels? Or are we actually about to get somewhere?

Yes, that would be the question - a question we will find ourselves answering in the days and weeks to come. In case you need to know (which you do - need to know, I mean) Pluto will be going direct under this lunation. And among other things, that ties the other of the zodiac’s earth signs (Capricorn) to the doings of the next month.

Things are going to be...earthy, if nothing else. (And probably ‘earthly,’ in terms of ‘what do we intend to happen to life on this planet,’ but that’s another matter.) Seeing as Pluto always carries some level of ‘karma’ wherever it goes, the Capricorn nature to dismantle that which no longer has use while meting out consequences would seem to be set against Sedna in (or as) a conspiring of circumstances which asks us what we are willing to do (part one) and what the definition of ‘necessary’ really is.

In terms of planets (true planets), the only aspect to this New Moon being Neptune at 6 Pisces (notes on which can be found HERE...) it is to be expected that there will be questions during the time of this New Moon. Even some degree of confusion. That Neptune is involved in a grand trine with Juno and Vesta which the Moon is not ‘technically’ (read: by strict application of orbs) part of speaks to matters which are not in our control which we will need to take into account during the days ahead. 

 The 2 Virgo New Moon (glyph chart)

August 25 2014 - 2:12 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

The 2 Virgo New Moon (text chart)

August 25 2014 - 2:12 p.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

There’s one other aspect seen at the time of this New Moon which deserves a moment of discussion. That aspect is Mars conjunct Saturn at 17 Scorpio, an indicator of a great deal of pressure, particularly applied pressure of the emotionally provocative kind. This is not a kindly combination (Mars/Saturn) though it lends a great deal of strength - ‘steely strength’ or ‘and iron grip’ would be the kind of metaphorical expression one would go for with this pair in structural combination.

As for 17 Scorpio, this is a degree which concerns, and which is known for moral cowardice in the face of losing sight of alternatives to the blind sort of ‘lower Scorpio’ sort of energetic manifestation. Referred to in several texts rather specifically with ailments like cancer, appendicitis and lower GI tract problems, 17 Scorpio is also known for the flaunting of shallow emotional attributes with all of this thought to be the result of not having dealt with inner resentments, anger and frustration.

When in ‘normal’ motion (as it is now), Mars tends to move one degree every two days - or a half a degree a day. Given that and the standard five-degree orb of conjunction, Mars entered the ‘Saturn conjunction zone’ back on August 14th (late on the 13th for those in the eastern Pacific basin region)...and Mars will technically remain in orb to Saturn after having passed Saturn’s position by until September 3rd. In your personal life, trying issues of today which arose back around the time of the 14th (give or take your location) may well end...or at least finish one ‘phase’ in a greater overall structural process by then.

But with Mars conjunct Saturn at the New Moon, we have every reason to expect that things going on now will be going on weeks from now. No, they will not be exactly as they are now, things will change.

We will be in the same chapter of the story, if you will...if not on the same page. How far we each get depends on what we’re willing to do - that much (at least) is clearly indicated by the New Moon - with the Moon being an indicator of daily doings - being in a sign all about health, work, service...which includes the commitments we have to our Self - as well as those we have to others.

How we balance those questions out spells where we will be a couple of weeks from now when the Full Moon rises at 16 Pisces... a time likely to be filled with all the emotional vulnerabilities pertaining to things we refuse to admit or think through now. Over the days and weeks ahead, how well we deal with not the idea of responsibility but the execution of responsibility is going to become a question which we succeed through or fall short on depending on own willingness and orientation towards effort...particularly that effort which in the end either generates or destroys at least some portion of the support upon which we habitually depend.

Of course, we could change...but wouldn't that require a different perspective?
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Venus in Leo

Planet Venus above Boudicca's prancing horse at Westminster

(photo credit: Mattbuck, March 2012)

Once Venus enters Leo, that will bring the number of planets in Leo to four (Venus, Jupiter, Sun and Mercury).

That’s a lot of Leo energy - not to mention that the ruler of Leo (the Sun) is one of those four planets.

Under any (or every) circumstance, Venus in Leo can be creative and fully capable of exuding incredible warmth and charm. This is the kind of influence one might associate with that perfect relaxing day, that effortlessly deft show of skill or that feeling that we’re on top of the world. Venus in Leo can put the spark in sparkle and turn up the light in utterly delightful.

Venus in Leo can also manifest in acts, choices or thrusts which are selfish, unthinking, or downright arrogant.

The difference between these qualities sounds simple: it’s about taking the opinions, preferences and aims of others into account. In other words, should Venus in Leo manifest as some sort of drama with you as the performer, it’s one thing not to care whether you have an audience (that’s performing for the fun of it) another to do your best for a suitable audience and another yet again to have some sort of paying audience whose sensibilities you completely ignore.

It’s not that Venus in Leo necessarily promotes thoughtlessness... although it can. And it’s not as if Venus in Leo is lazy, though there is a tendency to get a bit ‘lost in the moment’ (or in one’s own thoughts) at a moment which doesn’t work for others - and of course since they’re under Venus in Leo as well, the mere idea of being ignored can rub their Leo fur every wrong way in town.

Venus in Leo tends to dramatize things - even in our thoughts. With all the Leo energy going on at the moment everyone has their own (Mercury) idea on and are probably entirely too (Jupiter) willing to explain to you why they’re right... sometimes whether or not what they’re being so ‘right’ about even applies to what’s being discussed. Under Venus in Leo things seem more important than at other times which can be lovely or desperation-inciting, depending on where we stand with ourselves otherwise. Those who are content or in good shape are apt to reap benefits, especially as transiting Venus conjuncts and passes over Jupiter on August 18th (UT/+0) at 7 Leo while those who are having difficulties are likely to react or experience the breaking of dreams that those at the behest of those caught up in the dream of what they consider ‘right.’ This is a ‘transactional’ conjunction which - given that the Moon will be in early Gemini at the time - creates the ability to take a lot on but warns that potential is not reality and that details... particularly those we gloss over... are likely to come back to haunt us in a singularly flat-footed way.

Overstepping limits (‘coloring outside the lines’ or exceeding previously set boundaries) is another thing we’re likely to see and hear about between August 12th and 20th. Such matters will have enormous power of suggestion and should be treated/treated with accordingly, as it will be easy during these days to set forces in motion...and not so easy (and maybe not even possible) to contain or ‘edit’ what others are thinking - which of course means we’re going to hear the good and the bad, the discoveries and fun along with a fresh batch of rumors and trash talk coming at us through various media.  

Put simply, it is our allegiance to whatever idea we are currently holding dear which either motivates us to success...or which confuses us and confounds our success for reasons we tend not to understand but which have everything to do with the Leo tendency to be so involved with making something happen that we tend to not see our actions (present or past) with enough perspective to see what part of reality (or realities) we’ve forgotten.

(Or purposefully ignored.)

And for those who do see their errors or miscalculations, then comes the big Leo flinch. Leo, doesn’t like being wrong. Wherever we see Leo (in this case as a signature for Venus) that’s the area of life we’re not going to enjoy anyone even threatening to find flaws with. Under such Leo ‘threats’ (which may not be real threats even though our ego certainly feels threatened) instinct often triggers us to get all defensive-aggressive - which with Venus often manifests as physical criticism, attacks on ‘how something looks’ or responses, retorts and declarations which are basically ‘I’m so fabulous - never mind them.’

And sometimes that works. Sometimes it doesn’t.

Venus enters Leo

August 12, 2014 - 7:25 a.m. UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

This year Venus is arriving at its Leo ingress on August 12th at 7:25 in the morning UT/+0 time, perfecting a square to Ceres, which having moved into Scorpio on August 7th will still be loitering around at 0 Scorpio.

Venus-Ceres is about having a plan and executing a plan which accomplishes things which are (in particular) important to longer-term considerations. Having come into the 5-degree orb-of-square on last Thursday or Friday (August 7th or 8th, depending on where you are), with Venus then still in Cancer most efforts were about things basic, necessary and supportive of anything or everything else we might want to do in this life.

That quality changes once Venus enters Leo, asking how we can achieve those aims creatively. Cancer’s influence being cardinal (action oriented) we ‘did’ then and now we’re pausing to think what still needs doing and how to do... not do... or undo the next item on our list as Cancer’s watery emotionality gives way to curiosity, imagination and inventiveness - all of which are particularly strong for the first few days of this transit. Once Mercury moves into Virgo on August 15th (UT/+0 time) pragmatic and practical parameters start taking hold, becoming ever more evident (and useful) as the Sun joins Mercury in Virgo early on August 23rd (UT/+0), helping us to make headway on whatever tasks may be at hand.

A few more notes here on what is typically a rather pleasant transit (though if things are going wrong you can expect a good deal of grumpiness!). Are you planning on taking a vacation? Venus in Leo works well for vacations of the restful, recuperative and recreational types, though with so much energy in Leo there are bound to be more than a few people who (vacation or not) are too full of themselves for their own good. Why that is may be about pride... or it may be about some deep-seated feeling of vulnerability to embarrassment, which often comes off looking like pride. At the moment such moments (apart from the purely gleeful) are most likely to be set off when people try to do something they just don’t know enough about.

Bluffing sometimes work. Then again, sometimes it just makes things worse. Leo as a sign is the very antithesis of its polarity sign Aquarius in that Aquarius (and Aquarians) have a near-infinite (and to others, sometimes maddening!) ability to shift into impersonal mode where Leo takes all things personally.

That all of this is happening as Jupiter’s inconjuncting of Neptune comes to its focal point on the 15th (the same day that Mercury moves from Leo into Virgo) emphasizes the fact that there are a lot of people who are living in either an ideologically driven emotional space or a period of time which is emotional because our ideals are being contested by realities we (frankly) don’t like. How we deal with our own [Neptunian] fears on various subjects and whether we are willing to feel our fears and do what is morally, ethically and universally humanistic (in real world, real life, real human being terms) now tends to divide and conflict us, even with regards to that which we have believed in now for some length of time.

There are [Mars and Saturn in Scorpio] things which we will need to face now and deal with, like them or not. In dealing with such matters we will ‘steel’ ourselves, with most choosing ‘duty’ over humanity.

Where such choices (and all they lead to) express our personal internal standards with truth and accuracy things will be simple and direct. 

Where we are essentially in violation of our own inner core of mortal standards however, we will do what we must do with even greater vehemence, hoping to convince ourselves through the reactions of others.

And as always, we will project. The more married we are to our own ideas and ideals, the more we will come to this time feeling alienated or envious or simply regretful...the more we will tend to look to others without taking stock of - and learning (or relearning) how to utilize our worth.

But then, that’s one thing Venus in Leo is very good at. Venus in Leo can be the heart of showiness or an influence under which we are ‘shown’ what we yet can do and excel at. The native instinct under Venus in Leo is to do what we want while aiming to please our Self (or fulfill our dreams).

And often that works just fine.

Yet as with all things Leo, what we do which contributes to a greater whole (or purpose) is far more lasting and powerful. We are all being faced with a series of situations which seem to be all about the ‘other’ and what they like or even understand, with much in the way of challenges coming from areas of life or concern where people are embedded or ‘conditioned’ by some established position.

But that’s not what Venus in Leo is about. Venus in Leo is about who we want to be (or be seen as). Some such efforts are working, others are not.

And still we’re reluctant to change. Why that is may well become a bit more clear over these next few weeks - at which point we’ll decide what we want to improve upon.

Or not.
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