The Lyrid Meteor Shower 2013

Image based on a map of constellations Lacerta, Cygnus, Lyra,

Vulpecula and Anser as pictured in 1825

(courtesy of the Library of Congress, retouching by Sidney Hall)

The 2013 edition of the sky show known as Lyrid Meteor Shower begins on April 16th and continues on through April 25, peaking on April 20th. Admission is free, all you have to do is go outside at night somewhere where’s its dark enough to actually see the depth of the sky. (Which means everyone who lives in a city probably does have to pay some price – that involved in getting to a place where the sky is dark enough to show up this glimmering rain!)

 

The Lyrids, like other meteor showers, are named for the direction the comet which produces them ‘appears’ to come from in the sky. In the case of the Lyrids, the comet’s name is Thatcher (also known as ‘C1861 G1’ in astronomy-speak) and the constellation is Lyra.

Maybe that rings a bell? We were discussing Lyra just a few weeks ago in a post on the long-term conjunction by Pluto of Lyra’s most famous star, Vega.

Transforming Charisma:

Pluto conjuncts Vega

Mind you, Thatcher evidently doesn’t actually originate inside the boundaries of Lyra. It’s ‘radiant’ point (i.e., the point from which the comet seems to radiate) is just beside Lyra. So if we think of Lyra as the lyre of Orpheus (which in Greek thinking is what it’s supposed to be), then maybe Thatcher is the ‘hand’ which holds the lyre.

I have nothing to prove that…it’s just a thought. But if so, then the Lyrids may be those ‘sparks from heaven,’ those little dapples of input from ‘beyond’ which tell us to ‘look what we have,’ be that in material, human or spiritual terms.

Orpheus had enormous gifts. He was a musician capable of charming the beasts of the field and even that implacable god of the dead – Hades (who give or take a Disney movie or two is generally known by modernists and in most walks of astrology as Pluto).

There are various stories about Orpheus’ parentage, so we don’t know whether he was a god immortal or a full-blooded mortal or one of those many mythic Greek half-and-half types. What we do know is that when it comes down to it, the Orpheus story (specifically his inability not to look back when rescuing his lady love Eurydike) makes it very plain that Orpheus had his flaws and insecurities, just like the rest of us.

(Greek gods had their flaws too, which is why this is hard to sort out.)

Should we combine that ‘don’t look back’ with the idea of investing ourselves in our talents? Are the Lyrid meteors some metaphysical twinkle about the need to move forward? Or are they a ‘shot in the dark’ which points out how off-key we really can be?

Just to toss in a quirky little note here, during last year’s Lyrid shower, a few of those meteors made their impacts literally felt down here on Mama Earth. It was not the huge ‘bang’ we all heard about early in 2012 when a big meteor exploded in the skies above Russia, no. But there were two little Lyrid chunks large enough to earn notice. One came to rest in a California parking lot near Sutter’s Mill – which if you’re up on your California history is a place famous from the gold rush days.

Fragments of what is now being called 'the Sutter's Mill meteorite' one of

thousands of meteors which fell as part of the 2012 Lyrid shower.

(photo credit: astronomer Peter Jenniskens and Eric James NASA-Ames Laboratory)

And the other came to rest in northern Guatemala.

I've highlighted the location of Tikal, the 'Queen of the Mayan Cities'

- one of many fascinating places to be explored in northern Guatemala. 

I found this out while doing research for this blog. And yes – I was surprised. After all, about the time those two meteors fell with a ‘klunk’ (one supposes) onto planet Earth, I was a person living in California working on shaping up their first eBook. That book is all about my very personal and spiritual experiences which began in Mexico, but which led me to Tikal in northern Guatemala, a place which left an endemic imprint on my soul, a place which touched me like no other place on this planet ever has.

Yes, there are a few non-spiritual moments too. More than a few, actually. But that's one of the things about human life and experience, isn't it? Sometimes its the mix, the combination, the dichotomy, the combination of ethereal and flesh-bound which makes our lives so rich.

I released that book during 2012 even though I wrote it during the 1990s for the very reason you might suspect – 2012 was the end of one of the (many) Mayan calendar counts. In launching ‘Travel Gossip,’ I took to the waves as a book author. And while that was a landmark for me, just as important – if not more important – was my wanting to make a contribution to the human pool of metaphysical and mortal thought at a time when according to Maya lore, people would be entering a new phase of awareness and growth.

And, of course, all the challenges which go with new ways and the need to grow.

Here’s the link to the page where you can get a copy of ‘Travel Gossip’ if you’d like to read it.

Link to the “Travel Gossip” page

at Amazon.com (US)

(For those not in the US, there are pages for ‘Travel Gossip’ on all the Amazon book sites world-wide.)

The real reason I bring this up (besides telling you how surprised I was to learn about those two meteors) is because this sort of ‘reminder’ is, I think, typical of meteor showers. They’re twinkles and glimmers – and yes, occasionally the big boom or the klonk on the head (hopefully not in real time) when life wants us to realize that we really are part of the All, the greater thing we call the world and the whole of life.

If we get that far, then maybe the eyes of our mind and soul become better attuned to the vision of our place in the vastness of the universe and our value to the time in which we live.

And thus the values of our talents.

And the need to accept life and not doubt what we can do for the good of all – and how that comes back to us as opportunities for growth and on occasion, the need and opportunity to work towards self-redemption.

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A Host of Stations

 

 Image adapted from a Sierpinski square in public domain courtesy of Solkoll

With Athena (dispassionate wisdom) and Sabine (confines) just about to go retrograde, some of us are feeling....well, a wee bit cornered. Or confined. Some of us awill be actively denying things which might get in our way which in truth are something of a mental blockade simply because we're not dealing with them.

Yes, life will get to us, no matter what we do. The trick is getting ourselves to meet life on its terms...which is often multo hard to do!

Of course...there will be those who will interpret Athena and Sabine's turnaround as a recognition. Such people are likely to be coming to have a far better (Athena) understanding of what their (Sabine) limits really are.

It's all in how you use it, people!  At least that's what all the (Athena) lore left us over the ages suggests. Of course, my favorite way of thinking of it is in Robert Hand-speak: use the energy wisely, lest it use you unwisely.

Ah yes...the Rob of Hand. Nice guy, Rob.

So when will Athena and Sabine go retrograde? Athena’s station is this Wednesday, January 16th. And Sabine's is the day after (Thursday the 17th). But since there will be other astro-doings to discuss later this week, I wanted to prattle a bit about things asteroidal. (No, that's not dirty!)

And the first thing to discuss is Mnemosyne, mother of all muses (not to be confused with the muthah of all muses...I'm pretty sure she didn't live in the Hood). 

So let's start with the 'muse' part. Whatever they are in Greek myth, in astrological application, the muses tend to refer to comes out of our reflecting on things. You know…how we express ourselves and what we say, considering how we feel or maybe what we’ve learned.

Or haven’t learned, yes.

...a moment of pause while we all muse on this idea…

We can hope that Athena going direct will awaken our internal ‘think it through’ process. After all, Athena is the very vibe of cool, logical, dispassion. And considering the points which are going on station this Friday-into-Saturday…? Well! They’re emotional emotional enough that going into these next couple of days with a bit of thought and a breath of clarity sounds like a good idea!

As for the ‘when’ of all this, the station effects start now - January 16th. And they extends through January 20th….or the first few minutes of the 21st, if you want to be exact, seeing as Mnemosyne goes retrograde at about 9 minutes after midnight (UT/+0 time) on Saturday the 19th.

Depending on how the four objects involved aspect other things in your chart, you may be feeling a bit more evasive (or being avoided) and Haumea-ish and less Mnemosyne. Or maybe your life will be filled with a lot of Scheherazade ‘telling tales’ influences.

A fragment of a 17th century fresco depicting the round of the Zodiac

(photo credit: Kober, 2007)

Whatever our personal charts say, there will be a ‘vibe’ which is worldly and ‘mundane’ – which has got to be the most misunderstood astrological term around! In ‘regular’ speech, ‘mundane’ means ‘common’ or ‘general.’ And it’s this second meaning which leads to the astrological sense of ‘mundanity’….but really, something like Mars conjuncting Uranus or Pluto does NOT indicate a mundane event!

Far from it. Yet when you see the term, it means ‘world-wide.’ And on the world-wide ‘mundane’ level, that which is happening now – or being (Athena) thought about now, is about to evolve. And let’s remember, it’s going to do its evolving with the Sun in Capricorn with last Friday’s New Moon in Capricorn has given us all some sort of something which resembles a report card.

With Saturn the sole rules of Capricorn, that Saturn is transiting Scorpio tells us that how well we are intersecting others and that work around us will be generating what’s afoot. At it’s dig-down-deep base and bottom, this is about your personal values, so start there. What do you value? How well that is working for others in your world…and the world in general…will have built up some reservoir of support or respect where all is well, and will have built up some sort of ‘debt’ (be that financial, emotional or otherwise) with others or even with yourself.

So here we are trying to cope, make the best of things and inch-by-inch get things moving in the right direction…and then we get to this four-part station. The players are as follows: Scheherazade the story teller… Mnemosyne (reflections, and what we see, understand or do because of same)…Typhon, symbol of primal feelings…and shapeshifter Haumea, the goddess whose endless pretenses, pretending and ignoring of human standards lead to her eternal demise.

Taken all together, the basic question becomes what is driving us? Some of us will get in touch with those issues and act from them, and some of us will deal with a life which, in provoking our innermost feelings and needs, will show us what our (Capricorn) priorities really are.

So it’ll be easy to have these next days be a product of being driven by compulsions we don’t even consciously recognize. Or maybe you’ll get annoyed with yourself because you did ‘that’ again!

Oh, when will we learn!

But there are huge positives to be gained now. For those who are wiling to bite the proverbial bullet (no real bullet biting is advised!) this can be a time to turn a corner and turn over a new leaf. Things which have been out of line or gotten out of hand can now be stopped.

(with regards to this diagram, darker shades indicate retrograde,

lighter shades indicate direct motion)

With Scheherazade going direct, those who do take on making changes may face objections in the forms of reasons, rationales and excuses (in other words, ‘tales’) as to why things have been the way they are, or why they should stay that way. Or they may be telling themselves 'stories' as to why they need to do something. There's also the idea that Scheherazade’s station is in an exact trine to Mnemosyne’s. And that combination suggests that there are going to be some who do their best to ‘reason’ (wheedle, persuade, daunt, circumvent, avoid, stonewall, ignore…etc.) whatever gets brought up for discussion!

Who’s to say the new is any better than the old?

Good question!

With Libra being the host sign for Typhon and Haumea’s turn to retrograde, it’s also not impossible to hear some ‘if you do that, I’ll do this’ sort of stuff. And though this may be difficult to deal with, those who understand that those who feel most threatened are the one’s most likely to issue threats will understand how to cope. Sometimes compromise is needed, yes. But sometimes pointing out the fallacy of the (Typhon) feeling which is being triggered and driving the ‘digging in of the heels’ is a far better route.

At extremes, this can be a moment when ultimatums get issued. Are they real? Sometimes, yes.

With all of this happening with Jupiter having moved into the degree it will linger and go direct in come January 30th, many people will be feeling impatient either because they want to ‘move on’ or are fed up with ‘discussing’ and looking for additional options. This is part of the whole Capricorn New Moon cycle, which in part is about learning to stand on our own two feet and not worry as much about what others say as getting things right.

But at the moment? Well, let’s just say there may be a few matches getting lit under a few tender parts and a bit of resultant objections. With the Sun and Mercury coming into unison as they reach the end of Capricorn, maintaining perspective on your own reasons (and your ability to reason) is part and parcel of all which goes on now.

If you can remember that the instincts which drive you (Typhon and Haumea) are coming from an emotional place…and the reactions or input you’re getting may set off your reactions, you’re in a good place to learn a lot. You may even learn a lot about others.

And that would seem to be the point – learning who we all are. As this station is winding up, the Sun and Mercury will move into that universal sign of greater theory: Aquarius. We really are closing out the end of the Piscean Age and moving into the Aquarian Age, which is the astrological equivalent to the rolling over of the Mayan creation cycle.

(Yes, I know it’s not the exact equivalent, but these two Cycles of Different Sources do seem to have some sync-power!)

The reason to think about this comes from the idea that every time the astrological ages change, we see humankind in all sorts of turmoil. The Ages don’t have a ‘finite’ date for end-and-beginning like the Mayans had. (We can but wish they did!) Instead, astrological ages move from one to the next sort of like the colors in a rainbow meld one into the next. So yes, there is a point at which you’ve ‘totally in the yellow’ but you sort of have to get there in order to know you’re there.

 Pages from the famous Mayan Dresden Codex which has helped us

learn so much about Mayan astronomy, their understanding of numbers

and their truly astounding concepts about time.

Fortunately, we do have some signatures. That’s the clockwork of major planetary symbols (etc.) moving into Aquarius. Saturn (reality) will reach Aquarius in 2020. That’s our next big step…with Pluto changing many a parameter starting in 2024.

Prior to that, every time the Sun or Mars or another of the personal planets moves into Aquarius, we get a different perspective on life. We feel the need to change because change is in the air and on the way.

And that makes this set of stations leading into the 2013 Sun/Mercury Aquarian ingress our chance to gain some ground for – and with ourselves.
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Pelion Direct: Peaking Ahead

Pakistan's K2 is the second highest peak in the world, after Mount Everest

(photo credit: Maria Ly, August 2010)

Depending on whether your chart reacts to 14 Aries, my telling you that asteroid Pelion is going direct at 14 Aries on the day after the Sun enters Capricorn may get a big shrug…or a gasp.

Let’s put it this way. If you have a planet, node or axis (vertical or horizontal) point between 9 and 19 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn (speaking of Capricorn)…OR between 12 and 16 degrees of Scorpio, Virgo, Pisces or Taurus, the days between December 20th and 24th may be a bit of a headache.

Those in the Aries or Libra bucket are likely to feel put upon or challenged. (I say growl early, avoid the crowds.) Those of you with positions triggered in either Cancer or Capricorn will do well to bear in mind what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and that the higher the quality, the more secure the result and eventually, the better the reward.

Pisces and Taurus people are likely to get all the put-upon-ness of the Aries and Libra group with a sprinkle of feeling personally offended on top. And for those in Pelion’s Virgo or Scorpio station sights, undoubtedly you didn’t need things to be more complicated, any harder or in general, so trying.

The reason for all this is the fact that asteroid Pelion is going direct on December 22nd at 14 Aries (which you may have already figured out). Pelion represents all the challenge, all the feelings of possibility and yet all the understanding that there’s a ‘hard road ahead’ which we might feel if we saw a great mountain in the distance and knew we were going to have to climb it.

Are there no ‘easy ways out’ here? Well, there might be. It’s to be supposed that if you have a natal Pelion conjunct a well placed, well graced Saturn, you’re good at mammoth tasks. Or maybe you have Pelion natively conjunct a favorably placed Mars in Aries or Capricorn. In that case, we’d pick you out to be someone who thinks those who quail at the thought of climbing Everest with no practice, no climbing gear, no oxygen and no Sherpas are just Class A wimps.

Or maybe you’re the person who has already conquered their challenges? That’s possible too. Pelion changing direction appears to be a marker. It tells us we’re facing up to something, taking it on, or recognizing we’ve ‘done it’ and can now move on.

The actual date of the station/direct moment being December 22nd, this also comes a day after the Sun’s Capricorn ingress – which we talked about in the previous post. It’s a whole interesting moment of time, which you may be able to better understand with one of my handy-dandy little diagrams…

The idea which seems most important to this moment is that the Sun’s Capricorn ingress falls before Pelion goes direct. Astrological logic suggests this means there’s a greater chance that the “Pelion effect” (the challenge, whatever that may be) lies ahead. And since the indicator is not just the Sun but the Sun AND Agamemnon going retrograde…there would seem to be a likelihood that what lies ahead either needs you to ‘steel yourself’ to doing something, or that you are going to have to deal with some “pre-determined idea” (Agamemnon) that you have had, or some sort of resolve you need to develop going forward – or in order to go forward.

For some of us, this will just be ‘getting through the holidays’ and all the usual heaving of the sigh as we strap on our mental snowshoes and trot over hill, over dale to grandma’s house while toting buckets of goodies, edible and otherwise.

For others, this is a time, a season, a period when you are realizing that what was, was…and that you really need to turn over a new leaf or tackle that huge challenge (problem? task?) which needs to get done, dealt with, sorted through or otherwise made (Capricorn) enduringly functional.

Or at least more functional.

Any other year I’d vote for this just being a seasonal ‘in with the new, out with the old’ sort of thing, whether it applies to the holidays, to relationships, to your career or cleaning out the garage. But this year being the year of the Mayan calendar renewal, what with that chiming a reminder that the Ages they are a’changing (can you imagine what Bob Dylan singing astrology would sound like?)…never mind my glibness, but this does seem to be a time when a lot of ‘old’ thoughts, old stances, old habits, old whatevers are going by the wayside. I know people who are changing entire careers. I know people who are leaving marriages.

I’ll bet you know of such situations as well.

We all know of countries which are struggling with the changing of not just regimes, but entire ways of living, being, thinking of their national identities. And sometimes those ‘worldly’ images are the best to focus on because they give us the “macro” picture which we’re each living out on a “micro” level in our own way.

If you’re traveling during this time (which considering the holidays, is likely) Pelion going direct sounds at least like it’s a “big deal” – which could mean any number of things.

But all is not yet over. In fact, looking ahead at next week’s astro-doings, without getting into that too much (what, and spoil all the end-of-December fun?) this seems to be a period which asks us to do what we do well because it will set a tone and a pace for us to roll ahead into 2013 with.

Capricorn is always about ‘the quality of the thing.’ Pelion going direct in Aries tells us that greater effort or quality or use of our qualities (conscious attention) is upon us…and ahead of us. Any symbol going direct means we can ‘do’ the thing or have life (ahem!) “prompt” us with situational interactions which require that attribute – in this case, the willingness to do what’s required.

Pelion in Aries is a very personal form of challenge. It is about who we are and whether we are willing to take on being all that we are with an understanding that what we are and what we do (Aries is an action-oriented sign) has consequences. It has implications. It affects other people, and those other people can have an effect on us.

But it’s all part of a dawning, growing process. Those who think of the end of the “Mayan Calendar” (which is actually just a cycle within the greater whole of the Mayan Long Count) as cataclysmic are likely to be disappointed. But that’s part of the challenge when looking at ancient texts. Their use of the word ‘world’ often doesn’t mean what it’s come to mean in modern times. Back when scriptures far and wide were being written, humans didn’t even know Earth was a planet zooming through space. The term ‘world’ to them, was still greatly about understanding what it meant to be a human being and dealing with survival.

Tibet's Mount Kailash is one of the sacred mountains of Hinduism, a religion which (like Buddhism) dates back to 5,000 BCE (plus), giving us a serious perspective on where spiritual thoughts come from, how long mankind has been struggling to understand life and existence, and how important it well may be to know when and how our eternal quests are colored by the old and when they should be seen through the lens of modern life.

(photo credit: Heringf, February 2006)

Just as unfortunately, there are many among us who still deal with survival in this day as well. So the term ‘world’ can mean many things to us. It can be something which is global, even militaristic.

And it can also be about that world we exist in personally. It can be about who we are and what we conceive of ourselves in our own head, or as one person living among others.

What we don't do any more is think of life in as limited terms as the Maya did. While its entirely possible that their metaphysical grasp on time and existence surpassed ours, their ability - the tools, the knowledge, the technology we take for granted have totally transformed the sense of the word 'world' since the day of the Maya.

And still...when you get right down to it, the more we learn about the universe and what it means to exist, the more life is brought into focus as a matter of perspective. 

Sometimes just gaining that perspective can be the greatest challenge of all. So whatever your challenges are, expect them to evolve now...and here's to having the confidence and the courage to be the person who tackles and carries through on whatever your challenges may be!
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The Mayan Calendar Turneth Over

 Representation of differing forces or elements within man or woman

(Ade McO'Campbell, October 2009)

Though ‘calendars’ are by nature precise – like clocks – I’m not so sure the Mayan sub-cycles are meant to work that way. Or to reference things happening in our world which respond to a particular ‘date’ like we do to the blare of our alarm clock when it rousts us from sleep way to early in the morning.

The parallel I’d use as an astrologer is to the astrological ages. Yes, we can treat the whole of our daily and yearly life with clock-and-calendar precision because we’re working with fairly small chunks of finite time. But an astrological age? Probably not. The astrological ages are ‘clocked’ by a peculiar mechanism known as ‘precession’ which says that as the Earth rotates (and moves) forward through space, there is a slight ‘counter-spin of its axis, much like that we see with a gyroscope or a top.

But I defy anyone to go…wherever….and find a big line in the Earth (or the sky, for that matter) which says “start here.” So when we’re talking about these big shifts, we probably shouldn’t be thinking in terms of a ‘flick of a light switch,’ as it were.

We just don’t have much written by the Maya to go on with regards to this calendar cycle. But one thing we do know – that which ends this December is not “THE” Maya calendar. THE Maya calendar – the Long Count – doesn’t end until the year 4,772 (CE).

(Mark your date book – we’ll have lunch.)

The Maya envisioned the whole of the world as being cycles of ‘worlds,’ which is why people tend to think of this calendar turnover as ‘the end of the world.’ Yet there isn’t anything to really support that, and when I read of the fire and ‘quaking’ which allegedly is supposed to occur at the end of this ‘creation cycle’ (aka “world”) I tend to think more in terms of what those words or ideas would have meant back then – specifically by who would have been writing them.

This gets to be a whole touchy subject as people don’t seem to want to be bothered with facts when it comes to beliefs....or, for that matter, dramas they either like stirring up or like being stirred up by.

But it’s pretty much true that back in a time of no television, no radio, virtually no education and no books, there were only a few folks around (relatively speaking) and since nobody knew very much (certainly not about science or foreign cultures), those who were trying to teach anything to others had a limited “vocabulary” to work with.

So while the term “fire” may be literal, it also may be figurative – which is how we take it in metaphysics. If you’re an Aries or Leo or Sagittarius, you were born with the Sun in a fire sign. Does that mean your brain is literally on fire all the time? Of course not! It means your life is fired with ideas. That ideas ‘fire you up’ and maybe even that you need to get fired up to get anything done.

(It would be interesting to see a study on “degrees” of Type A personality people to see if they have more fire sign planets or emphasis in their natal charts.)

So when it comes to this end of the Mayan ‘world’ (which may better be phrased as ‘phase of growth on the part of mankind’) could it be that were will be getting all ‘fired up’ and ‘shaken’ by new ideas? Or by old ways of living or thinking falling away like so many brick buildings after a terrible earthquake?

I tend to think yes. I also suspect this is a long-term process which began some time ago. Prod me a bit and I’ll come out with “I think this Mayan creation cycle is an echo of the passing of an astrological age and we are currently in the throes of moving from the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius.’

The Age of Pisces would have been hugely emotional and very stratified. It has been an age of spiritual gurus and all the pluses and minuses of spirituality. Anything and everything which could test us on an emotional level – money, drugs, sex, power, education, disease, prisons, charity, care giving/health care, fossil fuels, art/artistry – however they have manifested and whether you were in the thick of it or gazing through a window at some situation, it would have all been part of a process all about whether we care only about ourselves or others. And when we didn’t care about others, it was because we couldn’t face ourselves – first and last at some very deep, very personal emotional level.

The Age of Aquarius is not emotional in the same way as the Age of Pisces was. Compassion, empathy, guilt, shame, love, idealism, sensuality, loss…those are Pisces words. Contrary to what people think, Aquarius does have an emotional component (let’s face it, where there are people, there are feelings!) but they’re less personal. The fervency with which you could get fired up about something? The idea is the fire sign part, but the excitement you feel when you realize that you know how to do something or ‘make it work?’ That’s Aquarian.

Aquarius is a sign of social systems and universality. It’s realm encompasses things economic and economies, it’s about power systems (and power grids) and specifically about electricity.

A prime signal that we’re moving from the Age of Pisces into the Age of Aquarius would be found exactly here: though we are currently living in a world which is powered by fossil fuels (oil, coal, etc.) the emphasis is becoming the power grid itself. And more and more of our world is moving towards things which run on electricity.

Aquarius is also the sign of information and computers. And wasn’t it back in the late 70’s or early 80’s that we started hearing the phrase ‘the information age’? That – to me, as a metaphysician – is a great ‘date marker’ for the shifting out of the Piscean Age into the Aquarian Age.

I’m betting the Maya would have agreed.

Does this mean that we shouldn’t hold any celebrations to mark this once-in-five-thousand-one-hundred-twenty-five-years-(plus) event? Heavens no! Celebrate! Dance! Have a party!

Okay...so maybe you won't be having this big a party. But it does look like a fun time was had by all!

Eiffel Tower with fireworks by Slumbering (2008)

As a matter of fact, the fine folks at NASA were so sure that the end of this Mayan cycle wouldn't be the end of the world that they issued a circular on December 14th linking to a post dated December 22nd the "day after," as it were.

Link to "NASA: WHY THE WORLD

DIDN'T END YESTERDAY"

(I thought that was so funny I just couldn't resist sharing!)

Chuckles aside...the Age of Aquarius – the incoming age – is all about universality and groups. So celebrating with others is a natural. The letting down of our barriers, the eliminating of the old Piscean ‘us/them’ walls – that’s what the Age of Aquarius is all about. Sure, we’re different. And absolutely, we like different things. But that doesn’t mean that one person is ‘good’ and the other person is ‘bad.’ We cheapen ourselves, we limit our lives when we cling to just what we know or ‘our kind of folks.’ Is it easier? Maybe. But life is all about what you put into it.

Did I mention that Aquarius is the sign of the rewards we get for the effort we put in? Often simply known as ‘income,’ at other levels this same idea manifests as friendship and loyalty. Aquarius says we have to work for what we get out of life and that includes our friendships. That which comes cheaply is probably just that – cheap. And it isn’t about them…it’s about our choosing not to work at/with/towards a higher caliber of discernment.

It’s easy to blame ‘them.’ It’s easy to say ‘us good, them bad’ and Aquarius often manifests as just that sort of ‘splitting’ and factionalizing – the sort of thing which ends up in anarchy, rebellion, elitism, marginalization, fanaticism and all that which detracts from life by over-defining it, by trying to create the ‘theoretical’ barrier now that the Piscean emotional barriers are breaking down.

It didn’t work then, it won’t work now. And that things are changing may well be the ‘fires’ which are burning away the walls which separate us in part from one another, but at a more important level from the recognition of the human being we can be.

The Maya weren’t saints. Far from it! As the Maya culture arose, its leaders fell into the same sort of bickering city-state wars which have felled every society since mankind first figured out how to organize way back when.

What we’re realizing now is how futile it is to follow that path. The quakes and fires going forward are more likely to be the realization of the damage we’re doing to ourselves, our families, our world, our planet…than anything else.

Fortunately for us, there is a solution. The less we clutch, the more we’ll have. Humans are far better off when they accept others and work with them, caring about how everybody does than when we segregate ourselves by social strata, nationality, education, gender, religion – or anything else you care to name.

Sure, this is just one person’s opinion. (Mine.) But there is a level at which we all know that it isn’t okay to write anyone else off. Not for any reason, not at any level.

So let’s not write others off – let’s celebrate being here and being alive. Let’s join with each other and share what we know and learn from what we share.

Let’s be the Maya the Maya talked about being in what of their spiritual writings we have and not a person or a people which undermines our reality for the sake of some idea.

And now…let’s get started again. As of the end of this week we’re “officially” starting on another 5,125 years of human development.

I wish us all our best!
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Dateblog: December 2012

December 2012

The wash of red and burnt-orange of November where here in December gives way to more orange mixed with the turquoise representing Capricorn tells us that the global intensity so prevalent in October and November is giving way to a 'cooler' outlook and a lot of energy going into getting things done and make things work - that being the combined signature of Sagittarius and Capricorn.

That Mars is the first of the personal symbols to be in Capricorn is a bit of a ‘sober(ing) note’ in what otherwise may be an expectant (or expectation laden) mix. So given that Mars (the 'doing' planet) is already in Capricorn as the month starts with the Sun in Sagittarius, we know (or think we know) what's possible but we're not much in love with the current pace of the process.

The human words with would seem to apply here are frustration, impatience, overwrought, even anxious, though anxiety is more of an Aquarius reaction. 

Sun in Sagittarius has us making the effort and trying to get things done. But let's remember...Sagittarius is a sign associated with test runs and ‘putting it out there’ to see how something works. Sagittarius has an explorative nature which with Venus and Mercury still in Scorpio as the month starts is testing us. Are we listening as much as we're talking? Are we taking into account all the parameters of any given situation or merely the ones we think will get US to where we want to go?

The Mars factor in all this is the note of necessity. The thing which is emphasizing structural soundness. Whatever we do now, we want it to be structurally sound. We want it to withstand what life throws at us. And we know getting to such goal may take some time.

But we don't like that it may take some time. That may not work for us, considering other issues in our lives.

What to do? How to keep things moving and working in the meantime?
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 The Great Mosque of Samarra (in Iraq) was built back in the 9th century CE.

Obviously a structure meant to endure through the centuries, this is a

beautiful example of what the human mind can conceive and create when

we build carefully...sometimes in a literal 'brick by brick' manner.

(photo credit Jim Gordon, December 2007)

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That in the wake of the eclipses we’re reconnoitering and recognizing that all cannot remain status quo is signaled by Orcus (a Plutino) going retrograde on December 3rd. That this is happening at 5 Virgo says one of two things: either something isn’t working (or we see it can’t work the way we thought it would) or we’re seeing (a little too late) that actions have consequences.

On that note we continue forward into December’s second week – a week which is notable for Mercury entering Sagittarius (likely to manifest as intensity of focus being released or simply coming to its end) and something we might refer to as an astrological coagulation occurring on December 13th.

This conglomeration is composed of...Uranus and asteroid Kassandra going direct in Aries (would you believe the unbelievable is about to happen?), Circe going retrograde in Libra and, just in case we’re disinclined to think this applies to us for longer than a moment, a New Moon at 21 Sagittarius – which like all New Moons indicates an entire lunar cycle (ending January 11) all about seeing how well things work...and where they don’t work, figuring out why they don’t work and what to do about that.

The combination of Aries/Sagittarius (Uranus-Kassandra-Mercury-Moon) is likely to turn into one of two things, especially when we throw in the Circe ‘spellbound’ effect. Either we reject the idea that we ‘have to be like everyone else’ (and all that ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ stuff) or we are driven by some magical (Circe), theoretically dynamic (Sagittarian) idea that we can change how our life works (or is/isn’t working)...or image how others see and regard us (read: reputation) through doing something either unbelievable or which nobody believes.
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 Mercury's Southern Hemisphere as photographed by the Mariner

spacecraft (photo credit: NASA)

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The plus and/or minus here is purely individual. And considering that this is just about when Pluto is finally (FINALLY) finishing its primary conjunction of that nebula-of-ill-repute (Facies), a lot depends on whether we are each willing to – as the saying goes – ‘clean up our act.’

And if all that happens during the first couple of weeks of December (in the wake of November’s eclipses) isn’t telling enough for you, then we reach December 16th’s Venus entering Sagittarius, the culmination and re-start of the Mayan ‘creation’ cycle (read: a new era of being) and the seasonal (Capricorn) solstice – the official beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and the sounding of the summer bell in the southern hemisphere.

All signs point to one thing: humans have by now learned how to survive in on this planet. What are we going to do now? This is not a question about spirituality or ecology or economics or education or political nationalism or internationalism. This is a question about balance. About taking a holistic view on what it means to exist. For all we know, we’re a mote of dust in some other universe. For all we know, we are the canker sore on Earth’s planetary behind.

Then again, we may just be a gift to the whole of the universe and all that exists and all that ever will exist. In that light, just how important is that new car or iPhone that you want? What is having children really about? 

Yes, there is a level at which we need to find pleasure in our life. But is that all we’re really worth? Is that why we’re given years of breath and a mind to think with?

All this swirls around us in many a form, shading every form of nuance as Mars moves into Capricorn on December 26th and we come to yet another pile of signals on December 28th.

It would seem that Creation wants to make an impression on us. Sometimes, we humans need more than a gentle tap to get our attention.

Hel going direct in Taurus combined with dwarf planet MakeMake and Achilles going retrograde (both in Virgo at the moment of a Full Moon would seem to be something akin to a realization of what it’s going to take to get done that which we need to get done. Considering the combination here, we've put ourselves in various positions which challenge us (Hel) mightily. We also realize (MakeMake/Achilles) that it's up to us to make things work in our lives.

This may have short or long term repercussions (maybe both) and so ends December.

Well, except for Mercury entering Capricorn in tandem with Dionysus (sacred rituals) going retrograde in Virgo on December 31st. For some, there’s a traditional ‘obligation’ of sorts to ring in the new calendar year. The term ‘rituals’ in the astrological Dionysus sense can be sacred, but then again can be that yearly de-cluttering of the house now that festival season is over. Or maybe you’re someone who has New Years Day rituals akin to mine: I belong to the ‘get up late, make breakfast and watch the replay of the Rose Parade’ group myself.
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 A 2008 Tournament of Roses float honoring the City of New Orleans

(photo credit erinbrace, January 1, 2008)

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But whether your ‘ritual’ is family, sports, religion or turning to closing out last years files in anticipation of this year’s business...whether it’s getting back to your exercise routine or starting something new so that 2013 becomes something different than 2012 was, the point is, we all have rituals. Some are declared, shared and traditional some are private and uniquely individual. Some are religious, some are social, some are familial and some are about business.

One last note here...having already done calendared all the major astrological issues "of note" for December (is 'calendared' a verb?) this is one of the 'clumpiest' months I've ever seen. So whether you're in high or low gear, you should expect this month will include some really intense periods with all sorts of factors in the mix interspersed by groups of 'more of the same' and 'adapting, dealing, flexing' days. Here at the blog I'll be breaking some of these lists up (yes, they're actual lists) into separate blogs which post in a chain so that you can read them one by one, like building blocks (or Legos, if you prefer). The famous 'end of the Mayan calendar' is also this month. I've talked about the calendar before here on the blog and there's a chapter on it in my eBook Travel Gossip if you want to know more (the link is in the sidebar). The point which seems most of interest here however, is that the Mayan calendar 'turnover' is in sync with the Winter Solstice with December's day-to-day intensities falling more in line with the Moon's lunar cycle.

There are some of you (and some cultures) which still use a soli-lunar calendar. Because this combination is about 'reconciling' (adapting) our emotional and valuation nature to that rational thought by which we run our daily lives, this seems one of the big 'make or break' concepts this month. In other words, don't work to mesh your feeling and thinking worlds (in every sense that that's applicable) and you'll find life far more difficult than if you do. 

Whatever yours plans are, and whatever your circumstances are, I wish you well in all things, from work to holidays to health and year-end/year-beginning pursuits.

I also hope you'll pass the good wishing along!

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May 6th: A Super Scorpio Full Moon

 A Full Moon as photographed by an unknown

photographer in Japan

Maybe you’ve heard we going to have a ‘Super Moon’ this month?

Occurring at 16 Scorpio, this Full Moon will occur on  May 6 at 3:36 a.m. UT/+0. And the 'Super Moon' part has to do with the fact that this Full Moon takes place in a moment when the Moon is pretty much as close to Earth as Luna Moon gets. So if you’re into Moon watching (and who isn’t, at least once in a while?) this is the time to go outside and stare at the sky.

In saying that however, there is another note about this Full Moon, namely that it's happening amidst Earth's annual Aquarid meteor.

Ah yes...Mama Nature puts on quite a show.

The Aquarid meteor shower is a product of (arguably) Earth's most famous comet - comet Halley. So apart from the 'sprinklings of ideas and insight' which go along with any comet, there would be a marked interest in - and capacity to be - famous (even infamous) which goes along with this moment. And yes, any birthday or wedding which happens during this time may have a touch or brush with same. Having known a few people with birthdays during these 'Halley days' I have observed a marked interest among such people in fame, the famous, broad societal movements (which fame is a sub-set of, fame being a mass focus on one given person or thing)...and even just the concept of being 'part of the group' (or their culture).

And yet...the question which evolves from this is whether such energies are about what we should be fascinated by...or what others should (or could) find us fascinating for. As a person, or as a couple - or even as a company founded during these days - is it right simply to be dazzled and awed by what you see in the world (or in the sky) or is there an essence here all about being dazzling and doing things which are worthy of respect or awe and which inspire delight in others?

Halley aside, looking a bit more closely at the particulars of this Full Moon, as with all Full Moons there's a polarizing energy which can represent a tug-of-war or a 'bursting out of confines,' depending on how we use it. Given how this Full Moon is at 16 degrees of any sign (in this case Scorpio/Sun and Taurus/Moon) there's an air of emotionality. With that 16 degree position being in fixed signs, maybe we should color that feeling as anticipatory or filled with wondering...or even wonderment. The Moon’s position at 16 Scorpio gives us this Sabian Symbol: a woman, fecundated by her own spirit, is “great with child” is an image all about our internal development. And that something indeed is growing within us.

Remembering that the Full Moon is the ‘highlight’ (the Moon’s ‘highest’ light) of the lunar month, this puts the spotlight on events ‘of the moment’ and on any project or effort which involves your having been building or working towards ‘growing’ something soon to be ‘born.’

16 Scorpio is an emotional degree of an emotional sign. And since any Full Moon tends to be an emotional time, this promises a real ‘high tide’ of feelings pleasant, unpleasant - and even unsuspected. Lore on this degree speaks of a kindness and generosity of spirit which is oddly offset by secret dealings and problems involving keeping one’s word. Some writers speak of 16 Scorpio in another disturbing sense: instead of the ‘child’ waiting to be born (which may be some project or moment you’ve been building towards) they refer to a ‘growth’ - a cancer or tumor which may or may not prove ultimately detrimental.

 

 The Full Moon of May 6, 2012

To know what’s what here, we would first retreat to the nature of Scorpio. When Scorpio is about what I want and my security or my pleasure or my family or my satisfaction - it inevitably leads to disruption, hard feels and more often than not, ultimate failure.

Why would that be? That would be because Scorpio is the polarity sign to Taurus, sign of self worth and inner (personal) security. In Scorpio, we ‘risk’ our self worth by joining or negotiating situations with others. The greatest Scorpio successes inevitably involve finding solutions which satisfy everybody - but everybody has to give and everybody has to get. There is no abdication of control or responsibility under Scorpio, just as there is no having total control or responsibility under Scorpio. It all has to be negotiated and everybody has to have an equal stake in making things happen…and an equal risk if they don’t go well.

So whatever you’re doing, whatever is on the table at this time, let’s hope it isn’t out of emotional balance. To whatever degree your world is out of balance, that will shadow your Scorpio Full Moon and hey, nobody does shadowing like Scorpio!

On the Sun’s side of this Full Moon figure (the Taurus side) we have the Sun at 16 Taurus, bringing up a very old question. In Sabian terms it’s ‘a symbolic battle between swords and torches,’ which otherwise is the eternal battle between old and new, between intellect and emotion, between give and take, between tradition and autonomy.

So this Full Moon…this ‘SuperMoon’…being so close to Earth…is that anything like something getting stuck in our face?

Or shown up IN REALLY BIG LETTERS SO WE CAN’T IGNORE IT?

(No, I'm not shouting...my fingers are!)
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Known as a degree which is distinctly stubborn (what, in Taurus? No! Say it ain’t so!), 16 Taurus is stubborn about what? About that whole ‘rose colored glasses thing,’ which in Taurean terms is probably being nice, living well, sitting pretty - physically and financially.

But this is also a degree which is known for being endowed with a certain amount of luck which, if not appreciated with some degree of integrity, runs out rather suddenly.

And for those of you who are interested in the end of the Mayan creation calendar (the Maya had a lot of calendars, so I’m specifying)…this 16 Taurus/Scorpio thing is going to be opposed by the 21 Scorpio solar eclipse of this coming November, which as someone with a distinct interest in the Maya I would suggest is the ‘beginning’ of the end of the creation cycle. And if that November 21 Scorpio solar eclipse is the onset of the evolutionary process which will move mankind into our next phase of growth, then this Scorpio Full Moon may well represent a marker which operates rather like the ground tremor which signals the coming eruption of a volcano.

In this figure, we have the Sun conjunct Tantalus (the temptation to do as you please) and the Moon conjunct ‘rainmaker’ Huya. That’s something like a celestial commentary on the order of just because you CAN doesn’t mean you SHOULD.

Another indicator that this Full Moon is a foreshadowing of things to come: in this figure, Tantalus is conjunct the Sun and Huya is positioned with the Moon. Come November, the Sun and Moon will be conjunct (as is always the case in a solar eclipse) and by then, Tantalus will have arrived in Scorpio. So we will have Tantalus-Sun/Moon-Huya.

Coincidence? Or is this an opportunity to plan our life going forward, correcting course and making improvements where needed while cutting loose those things which can only come back to haunt us?  

And with all this happening as Venus is beginning to slow down to take station and go retrograde…and that in advance of this May 20^th‘s solar eclipse at 0 Gemini?

Someone posed a question this morning about what this SuperMoon means. I almost laughed. At a certain level, who can tell one influence from another right now? We all have so much on our minds that we’re thinking over what to think about next. Or why we think about things as we do - and whether we think that’s a good idea.

With this Full Moon positioned a degree past the 15 Taurus cross-quadrant point, we know we need to apply ourselves. It’s time to do some growing and where necessary, growing up. (Yes, this applies even for adults!) We may be hesitant. We may have trepidation about this or that. We may have misgivings. Still, we also know we can’t just SIT here.

Our status quo isn’t of sufficiently good status to quo with, y’know?

The Sun/Tantalus in this figure virtually guarantees there will be lingering regrets masquerading as annoyance (even downplayed anger) lurking in the background - or in those shadows we mentioned a while ago. (See? I told you nobody does ‘shadowy’ like Scorpio!). And with Venus (ruler of Taurus) found at 22 Gemini (and conjunct Bellatrix) in this moment there’s a definite sense of difficulty mixed in. You may feel denied, picked on - even persecuted. Making your point, even defining your position in a workable manner - it’s tough.

To understand this part of the puzzler, we look to Mercury as ruler of Gemini and find Mercury in Aries - at 24 Aries, to be precise. Positioned nearby are Hel (how we challenge ourselves) at 23 Hel along with Atropos (endings).

Okay. So plainly we want something to stop or end. Or maybe we’re challenging ourselves as to how to stop making things just so hard for ourselves!

With Eris at 22 Aries (right next door to Mercury) in opposition to Saturn, Arcturus and Spica (all at 24 Libra), have you been misjudged? Or have you misjudged others? Is that part of the rose colored glasses thing?

And why is it that the celestial statement says that something ‘Eris-radical’ is needed to improve a problematic situation?

Eris in Aries is a piquant challenge as Aries is plainly ‘I Am’ and ‘my life.’ We also know that Eris functions best for us when focused on others. Considering the Roman name for Eris is ‘Discordia’ we know Eris doesn’t mean smooth sailing. So maybe we have to put aside our ‘kind-and-nice’ thing for a moment? Or maybe we have to ‘disrupt’ something in the same way that protestors and social reformers do by challenging a status quo which flat-out isn’t working. There are lots of ways Eris energy can function. Sometimes a situation - even a building - needs to be ‘torn down.’ Maybe someone needs surgery. There are many ways that Eris energies can manifest as ‘disruptions of’ a status quo and still be in a very good cause.

Just be careful. This whole conglomeration of meanings - from the Moon to Sun/Tantalus plus all the rest, that could very likely be you doing something which you like, which you find comfy for you but which you know isn’t ‘fair’ from the perspective of what the world might think of someone who was behaving the way you're behaving.

(Dare I say maybe a bit selfishly?)

After all, remember November? Remember that tremor before the volcanic blast thing?

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 Indonesia's Mount Rinjani erupting in 1995,

its power attracting lightning from above.

(photo credit: Oliver Spalt)

That’s rather the point here. The fact that this is a so-called ‘SuperMoon’ means - astrologically - that this Full Moon is occurring in conjunction with the calculated Black Moon - also known as Black Moon Lilith.

Which it is. Calculated Lilith is at 15 Taurus…right next to fixed star Menkar (at 14 Taurus). A star which tends to represent ‘being influenced by others’ Menkar gives the choice to be the person to affects others or is affect by others.

Then we add in the Black Moon, a point about our tendency to ignore how society will view us - or society (or some social group) ignoring us. This also can be bad or good. On one hand, the Black Moon could be someone getting a second chance despite past errors. It could be a social group in which everybody puts aside their quarrels for the moment. It could also be our doing something in spite of what others say or do - and this may be the nicest thing of all about this Full Moon formation. With the Black Moon involved, we know there is some social or societal aspect in this picture. 

And then we add the Moon being conjunct Huya.

Huya is all about giving based on what you’ve learned. (Or maybe in this case, learned better about.) Using Oprah Winfrey as an example here is always great, because her hard-fought-for self respect in spite of a bad set of early years was what she gave to others. She said ‘never mind, be yourself. You’re fine the way you are, black, white, yellow, purple, fat, thin…you’re fine!’ And that stance, that sharing of a conviction which was not about her but universal is Huya in operation.

When we act as Huya - when we act to make life better for everybody, in making their lives better, the rain of goodness falls on us, too. That's the Huya point.

And that choice? The choice of whether to use what we know and what we've learned for the universal betterment of all? That choice is ours.

All ours. 

There’s an old short story by Frank Stockton called ‘The Lady or the Tiger’ which ends with a man coming to two closed doors. He has no idea which is which but knows that behind one of those doors is a beautiful woman who will love him and give him everything he wants. Behind the other is a tiger. And that tiger will eat him.

This Full Moon is very much like that story. The big difference is that most of us know which door we’re opening now.

 

 A Bengal Tiger walks in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve

 (photo credit Mayankkatiyar, December 2008)

Considering all, that’s a good thing as it’s a time when looking ahead and recognizing that life is not just what we can do but what we should do in this world is of prime importance. We’re used to thinking in terms of ‘should’ as being about ourselves and our families. But is that true? When we think only of harvesting the fruit we need and not of providing fruit for all, we deny ourselves the opportunity to be given to in turn by others whose generosity of spirit is made possible by our own.

So have a ‘super’ Full Moon. Considering what Full Moons are - a reflection of the light of the Sun (life) - maybe having the Moon come so close to us is about the wisdom of stopping in this moment to reflect. With the Sun in Taurus, life's emphasis is on our worth as being rooted in, and reflective of our self-worth.

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