Agamemnon, Eros, Damocles: What Insistence Brings

 Chryses visits Agamemnon to Ransom his daughter Chryseis (4th century)

photo credit: Habib M'henni (Oct 2010)

As asteroid Agamemnon crosses the line into Cancer at 35 minutes past midnight on May 16th, several things take hold…in our world, and as affects our outlook.

For one, this is Agamemnon moving into the sign of what will be July’s solar eclipse. We saw this trend begin back in April…first with Medea entering Cancer on April 23rd then with Psyche entering Cancer on April 25th (LINK to 4/25 Blog Post). Given that solar eclipses tend to give us a 6-8 week period prior to occurrence when issues concerning that sign get challenged, become challenging or seem to shift entirely, April would seem a little early when you’re talking about a solar eclipse which will happen July 1st.

But considering that Psyche represents our mind and the innate awareness of self?

LINK to Full Article on EROS and PSYCHE

And considering not just that Medea is the sort of fixation which can cause us to do totally irrational things but actually undermine our cause – and that Medea’s entrance into Cancer occurred at a moment when Mercury was not just on station going direct, but doing so in opposition to Saturn…?

LINK to Blog post of April 23rd

If life was a story plot we’d call this a ‘foreshadowing device,’ as this time was surely an echo of things to come. For you, the ‘echo’ may be emotional. For some it might have been situational. And for many, this entire April through July period is going to be one giant headache.

As we came into May, Medusa (fear of knowing) entered Cancer. And now here comes Agamemnon. So now we have Psyche (awareness of our mind) plus Medea (loving to distraction/destruction), Medusa (fear of knowing/fearful knowledge) and Agamemnon (stubborn insistence) all in Cancer. That sounds a lot like mental digging-in activity, particularly when we consider that in moving into Cancer, Agamemnon (and all the rest of the points mentioned in this regard) have moved from the ‘personally pro-active’ side of the zodiac into the ‘responsive-receptive’ hemisphere zone.

So adding all those things together, we are either aware of things which make us stubbornly self-limiting (even destructive) or we are becoming aware that there are things which we’ve been clinging to stubbornly which in the end are (or have become) limiting or undermining of our actual aims.

Such matters and realizations may be person. They could be global or societal. Or they could be a grandly dislikeable combination of both.

Also to remember here is that this is so not just about you! Cancer is the first of the water signs. As such, it got a whole ‘instinctive’ quality to it which feels very ‘me-ish.’ But when we’re talking mundane (global) astro-doings, it pays to remember that everyone is going through a version of this. It isn’t just you!

In fact, that others are going through all this stuff? That may be contributing to your questions, challenges and general sluggishness in achieving productive aims.

A lot of things say much is about to change however. The first would be that this moment – the ‘today’ of it all (May 16, 2011) is one day shy of a Full Moon. So while things are cranking up to ‘full,’ there’s this screwing down into ‘personal’ mode… which may or may not be productive. Considering how the May’s Full Moon will be (as it always is) in Scorpio, the real question is not what you want (even if you’d like that to be the question!) …the real question is how your positions work for everyone else, near and far.

Just to make this a little more exciting, asteroid Eros is also crossing into Aries today. Given that it’s doing so at 2:43 in the afternoon (UT/+0), that means it’s at a full-press maximally evocative 29 degrees of Pisces when Agamemnon hits Cancer.

That tell us that the first part of the day is distinctly emotional and centered-on-self quality. Whether or not it’s actually self-centered…? That depends on you (and where 29 Pisces, Eros and/or Agamemnon are in your natal chart). But rather universally, this would be a moment when emotions are getting provoked or evoked. It isn’t likely to be a cool-as-a-cucumber moment.

But let’s also remember – these are not planets, these are asteroids we are talking about. And considering that asteroids such as Eros and Agamemnon reside in the asteroid belt which orbits between Mars and Jupiter, what this all represents is a learning about self and life. Where planets are modes and ‘personal realities,’ asteroids represent all those things we meet up with on a periodic basis in various forms as part of our daily, normal life.

It’s just when we see them in clumps – and there are great clumps of asteroids – that does tend to emphasize a greater ‘learning curve theme’ that everybody is going through. At the moment there is a huge grouping of asteroids in Taurus, Gemini and Cancer, with less populated clusters strewn through Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn…

….which pretty distinctly pictures two sides of the picture, the problem, the coin, the issue, the debate – and all the other merry forms such pro/con, you/me, us/them, private/public (etc.) things can take.

And let’s not forget – TNO Orcus just went direct in Virgo. That ‘TNO’ designation telling us that Orcus – unlike Agamemnon, Psyche, Medusa, Medea, Eros and countless others…Orcus is not merely a TNO, Orcus is a Dwarf Planet. So as an astrological descriptor, it “outranks” an asteroid. Thus our experience of Orcus effects represent our meeting up with asteroid effects – not the other way around.

TNO's (standing for Trans Neptunian Objects) are things beyond our ‘knowing’ …except when they happen, that is. Japan’s catastrophic experience of  a Godzilla earthquake meeting up with a Mothra tsunami causing the mother of all nuclear plant malfunctions is something of this ilk. Those events – signaled by Neptune and Uranus both being at 29 degrees of respective signs for but a couple of days (during which the earthquake and tsunami happened) is causal. That’s a planetary signal.

But the consequences which must be dealt with down the line? That would be Orcus – and that Orcus is a TNO says such consequences are unbidden and unexpected: they just happen.

In a sense yes, we are all of this Planet Earth and therefore what happens in Japan and affects the ocean there (which is connected to all the rest of the oceans)…that’s global. The consciousness is global. But Orcus is a Dwarf Planet (smaller scale shift of dynamic) which in turning direct in Virgo yesterday puts us on notice that things will happen (direct motion: things happen, we react to or interface with them)….and that they are consequences or consequential. 

Into all this comes Damocles the swaggering courtier. Damocles had no idea why his king was always so worried. From where he stood (i.e., on the sidelines) the king’s job looked simple.

But jobs which entail a great deal of responsibility (especially where others are concerned) and which have serious potential to create lasting ‘ripple effects’ (i.e., consequences)…they just aren’t so simple. And that’s the point of the Damocles story. His king gets sufficiently irritated with his scoffing courtier to offer Damocles the job of king-for-a-day… and it’s only when Damocles sits down in the throne that he notices a sword poised – point down – directly over his head, representing all the possibilities of dangers which come with the job of king.

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

As Damocles goes retrograde today at 4:40pm (UT+0) at 22 Aquarius, we are all reminded that some things aren’t as simple as they look. Damocles is a comet, too – not a planet, dwarf planet or asteroid. Comets have long been thought of as messengers which ‘bring news from afar’ – and that’s certainly one way to look at them. Another way is to think in terms of what their orbits really are.

In the case of Damocles, the other orbital point is at 22.1au – just beyond ‘breakthrough’ planet Uranus. It’s inner orbital point (the perihelion point) is at 1.58au…which places it in a region to do a do-si-do with Mars, given that Mars aphelion it at 1.6658au and its perihelion is at 1.381au.

Mars symbolizing the ‘initiator’ of action and activity in life, this seems rather apt – the whole Damocles story is about learning whether we should or shouldn’t do something (that kingly job). And learning what it takes to make such decisions – how doing the right thing (as opposed to the convenient thing) is not snap and strut and simple yes/no, black/white, good/bad.

When any type of object goes retrograde, the concept is that we reflect on its message. And just in case you’re not the type who’s reflective by nature, not to worry…life will come along and deliver the kind of moment which will get you reflecting if you need to.

All this just prior to a Full Moon in Scorpio? Yes, it's one of those sure fire tests as to whether our values and self worth are intact and aimed in the right direction.

It's an interesting moment, to be sure!

Psyche in Cancer: Being Mindful of the Bottom Line

 Psyche Opening the Door into Cupid's Garden

by John William Waterhouse (1904)

Psyche is a very large asteroid. As such, metaphysically it represents something which ‘looms large’ in our life.

And what would that be? Our mind. Knowing our mind, being mindful of the fact we have a mind (and therefore should use it!)…from minding our mind (physiologically) to being aware of our level of mindfulness of not just our concerns but those of others (and/or how what we do affects others), even realizing that whether we mind or not others might and that what we have in mind may not be what others have in mind and that’s okay so long as they deal with us with respect and we reciprocate in kind… 

These are all Psyche issues. Every once in a while the Psyche in all our lives jumps up to confront us. Did you think before you opened your mouth? Did you know what you were getting involved in before you did the deed or signed on some bottom line, real or emotionally implied?

The concept that we can think and therefore we should think, that we can become informed and therefore we should be well informed…knowing the difference between how our mind handles facts and handles emotions – that’s all Psyche stuff.

And this last – the difference between facts and feelings – that’s is particularly important now…why? Because as of 6:43 in the morning (UT/+0) on April 25th, Psyche enters Cancer. And it will be in Cancer until July 15th…which is after both of 2011’s mid-year solar eclipses, one of which is in Cancer.

In the weeks ahead you’re going to start hearing of a lot of celestial objects – popular asteroids and such – moving into Gemini and Cancer. This is important as the summer solar eclipses are going to be in Gemini and Cancer. Now optimally, eclipses ‘open the way’ to great and purposeful achievement. But along the way there has to be a lot of tearing down and clearing out – witness what happened in the weeks (and now months) since January’s Capricorn Solar Eclipse (conjunct fixed star Vega) set off so much strife, struggle and violence, all of which has challenged and ‘exploded’ through what we might call ‘Capricorn portals.’

Considering June and July’s solar eclipses will be atop other fixed stars (with July’s also opposing a fixed star – not to mention Pluto!) we probably should be keeping track of asteroids and such moving into these signs. Like Psyche.

Psyche in Cancer is a metaphysical picture of our mind turning to or being confronted by all things Cancer. So family may loom large now – your family of today, or your family (or lack of same) as a child. Home, home life, real estate and homeland are other more or less ‘blantant’ Cancer ‘portals’ – as are subjects like homeland, national populations, culture, traditions and by implication, cultural or political movements.

This last would seem particularly apt now as Psyche is hitting 0 Cancer with Neptune at 0 Pisces. The niggle in the equation comes from Neptune being conjunct three other figures.

The first is Chiron, the symbol of that we need to do which we claim we don’t know how to do which in the end we can only actually learn by tackling the problem and learning as we go. Chiron also has one other little annoying quality in that generally what we need to do ourselves we’re not so good at getting to but really excellent at pointing out the lack of in others.

If there’s some area of your life that you tend to walk around in circles whining ‘but I don’t know HOW to!!’ that’s probably a Chirotic issue. Why you have it we’d read through the chart and there is one good piece of news here in that conquering your Chiron reluctance (fear? avoidance? projection?) doesn’t need to be necessarily done all by your lonely.

Also hanging around with Neptune: asteroid Hel.

Need I say more?

Actually, I’ve decided it’s good this asteroid has only one ‘l’ and not two as it’s not the classical ‘place’ (hell) but the flustered angst, the struggle we go through inside ourselves when we have to deal with something which is Hel’ish. (Not Hellish, Hel’ish.)

So what’s the difference? One is theoretically eternal – the other, situational. And that, at least in my opinion, is a substantial difference!

Chiron and Hel actually go pretty well together – if you like your scotch bonnet peppers mixed with a little freshly ground horseradish, that is. And we’d say this was just a good old fashioned bad time except for two things – the Neptune part (which we’ll get to in a moment) and Fomalhaut which at 4 Pisces is the Grand Affecter of everything between 29 Aquarius and 9 Pisces.

And if you remember how much destruction broke lose when Neptune was at 29 Aquarius… (just sayin’…!)

The standard recitation of the Fomalhaut ‘rule’ is that this is a fixed star which promises success where our dreams aren’t tainted by corruption.

 Neptune

photo credit: Manfred Bruckels (2005)

This being Pisces, that corruption is emotional. So it’s about the lengths or the heights or the level of fantasy at which we dream. This gets back to Neptune, the great symbol of fantasy and despair, charity and isolation, imagination and inspiration against abject abandonment, faithlessness and addictions. Neptune symbolizes the addict, the martyr, the guru, the savior.

And as Psyche enters Cancer, we should suspect that we could start ‘imagining the worst’…or at least that it’s likely there’s going to be a rash of blowing things out of proportion going around.

Indeed, with Medea already positioned at 0 Cancer as Psyche moseys on in, it is going to be very easy – in some cases even ‘popular’ (i.e. “the popular thing to do”) to be protective of our own.

And yet, considering this is Medea, and how the story of Medea has love being the very force which undermines everything….considering that the real lesson of Neptune in Pisces is not feeling the feelings but being rational in spite of emotionalism and knowing the difference between fact and fiction…

….well, this could be a trying time. Medea’s tragic (and yes, frightening) story of what we are each and all of us capable – at some level – of doing because we are so devoted to something we think so good or necessary…it’s to think about, especially now with Neptune in Pisces.

One more idea for the mental hopper here…beyond reminding you to watch for other celestial objects moving into Gemini and Cancer in the weeks ahead, as all those attributes will be ‘eclipsed’ come June and July…

This idea is about where Psyche the asteroid roams. I put together a little ‘visual aid’ (as they say in school) which I want to say going in is NOT drawn to scale! 

(I may be many things…a rendering agent of all things solar systemic is not among them!)

So here’s the diagram…

The lines represent asteroids going about their asteroid business in the big giant main belt of same which orbits between Jupiter (top) and Mars (fifth from the bottom).

If you will notice, Psyche’s aphelion (its farthest point from the Sun) is at 3.328 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun, just beyond the aphelion of Eos, the symbolic ‘dawning of instinct’ (LINK to BLOG on Eos).

On its way around the Sun, Psyche – our mind – crosses over, coming closer to us than instinct (Eos), representing our ability and (most likely) how necessary it is for us to be realistic, and to not simply be driven by instinct. In fact, since at it’s perihelion (closest point to the Sun), Psyche comes to 2.5 AU – which is actually inside Eos’ perihelion point (2.7 AU), that pretty much tells us that our mind fully encompasses and therefore is fully able to experience and move beyond instinct in searching for knowledge and understanding (Jupiter).

Orbiting ‘inside’ this realm we have Lilith – asteroid Lilith: those things we would like to deny about ourselves or in our lives…which probably create a huge proportion of our everyday problems. Very annoying, yes? But unfortunately, still very true. By sign, house and aspect, you should be able to theoretically understand where your asteroid Lilith problems lie….though let’s face it, really dealing with these issues is a whole lot harder, considering this is a celestial image all about that thing we really don’t want to have to admit, deal with, own, be responsible for (etc. etc. etc.).

But because it’s an asteroid and therefore has mass? Dealing with it IS possible. Because asteroid Lilith orbits between Mars and Jupiter? It IS something we will meet up with on a cyclic basis.

In other words, continue to deny at your own risk.

The point here is that Psyche’s near point (2.5 AU) lies within Lilith’s 2.14-to-3.18 AU orbital realm. That means that denial is in some senses even more native to us than our mentality. (Ouch! That hurts!) But it also says that as denial starts to ‘act out’ or ‘become functional’ in our lives, it enters a realm where we have the ability (i.e., choice) to deal with it.

So there you go...It seems we’re all moving into a period where our choices mean more and where what we may feel we need to do first may not be what we need to do most.

One suspects it’s not what you know…it’s what you’re willing to know or learn which will make a deal of difference now – and going forward.

So here’s to personal courage and determination! Here’s to the willingness to be and do not just what comes easily, but what will accomplish that which is actually necessary so that we all can have dignified and productive lives.

Looking forward, this would seem to mean a lot of changes. A lot of giving up living in dreamland and on some hope that ‘someone else’ will see the light. Much as we like to decry it, human beings are famous for liking to live in ignorance….it’s ‘bliss’ says the saying.

Except it’s not. It may be popular, but in the end, ignorance is the very compromise of existence.

And who wants that?

Mercury Direct: In the Thrall of our Thoughts

 Mercury's 2011 Aries retrograde pattern...plus a few items

(and indications of blogs) yet to come!

Telling people that Mercury is going direct always gets a big ‘whoo-hoo!’ Especially for those born with Mercury direct in their chart, it feels like getting out of school early with no homework on a warm early summer day with money in your pocket and nobody telling you what to do.

Whoo-hoo! Mercury’s going direct! And since it’s going direct at 10:05am (UT/+0) its even April 23rd pretty much everywhere. We all go direct together!

Whoo-hoo times two!

EXCEPT….

(Oh, don’t tell me you didn’t know this was coming! Is there ever NOTHING we need to deal with? Cammon! This is Earth! This is reality! Wake up and smell the responsibility!)

Look…this really isn’t SO hard. It’s easy to make it hard, but it’s really not so difficult to make this station/direct period really positive and productive.

And just so we have the disclaimers out of the way, here they are:

 /

Any planetary station is a ‘turning point.’ I won’t go into all the science here, but there is science behind this fact (discovered some 5,000 years after astrologers figured it out but what the hey…) and events which occur during the couple of days just before AND just after any station should be taken seriously.

 /

Events prior to the station have yet to play out…events after the actual station are the playing out of something which has already happened.

If you are waiting for information our some decision, it generally will happen on or a couple of days after Mercury’s station…as soon as the planet picks up ‘relative’ speed again. (In actuality, no planet ever slows down – retrogrades are about relative solar system positions of other planets vis-à-vis Earth.)

 /

As for where exactly Mercury is going direct, that would be at 12 Aries, a degree known for an egocentric sort of energy which cares a lot about ‘me and mine’ with some difficulty when it comes to balancing out ‘my aims’ with those of others. The confusion which results here can incite rebellion or attitudes which sound a whole heck of a lot like a kid having a tantrum.

 /

For many, this energy is SO strong they end up  drive themselves right over a cliff trying to prove they’re right, they’re right, it’s so all about that idea in their head!

And with Saturn in opposition here…can we say PUT THAT IN BIG AND BOLD? 

(By Jove, I think I just did!)

Mercury is going direct at 12 Aries. As it does that, Saturn is at 12 Libra, a degree known very much for trumpeting the good in the idea but not having the conviction to follow through on anything.

In abstract, Mercury in Aries opposition Saturn in Libra should be about a moment of considering how well what we choose (or have chosen) to do is working out. Are we getting the reception we had hoped for? The Saturn side of this is sort of the ‘applause meter’ – our gauging how well the actuality of reality is against what we had hoped life would be at this point.

And given that this is Saturn we are talking about, there’s always room for improvement (oh please – really? Do we HAVE to?) …AND this is also a good time to make those course corrections. Or when you can have that profitable ‘aha moment’ and set to work improving on whatever needs improving on so that by the time Mercury exits the shadow of its retrograde come May 10/11, you’re in much better shape – at least mentally.

Why not entirely? Well, some things take time. If you’re rebuilding a car or editing the Great American Novel, that may take longer than a few weeks, right? For you, by that May date you’ll be ‘in your groove’ and have an idea of how long things will take and what you need to do first, next and finally.

For others, you will – providing you put in the (Saturn) effort – be at least in the process and on your way to getting where you want or need to go. Results (as they say) are individual of course – those we would see in individual charts and most any astrologer will tell you that one of dangers of prophesizing any date based on effort is that there are WAY too many clients in this world who will figure out how to drop the ball.

Funny, isn’t it…? It’s far easier to predict release dates for hit movies or who’s going to win an election than it is to tell someone when they’re going to get a job because that sort of comment implies they’re going to make the effort where the others are based on efforts obviously already being made.

Anyway…this Mercury/Saturn opposition is a typical sort of ‘decision point.’ But because Saturn is in a public/worldly sign (not to mention because Saturn is Saturn) this can be a really motivational time. Like as not you’ll hear all sorts of decisions getting made – you may even make one yourself! It’s also a likely moment for exhortations – people trying to get you to go along with what they believe right.

And therein lies the decision and the seeds of possible confrontation…even rebellion.

In other words, it’s all the same “I/me + you” energy equation, but there are several general ‘formats’ in which this energy can play out. You can reflect on where you’re going and change that…or refuse to change that. You can do so as a matter of personal drive or you could do so in response to positives or negatives being dealt, handed (suggested, sold, etc.) to you by others. Or by life!

There’s one more symbol on the day here…Medea entering Cancer at 1:49am (UT/+0). And what’s that rule…? Things which happen prior to the actual station have yet to play out. So here we have Medea going into Cancer, sign of homeland, family, house (construction, real estate, etc.), tradition, culture, ingrained habits, childhood…

…all in advance of Mercury actually going direct.

 /

 Medea by Evelyn De Morgan (1855-1919)

For one, this sounds like news soon to come. And considering this is Medea, it might be news which is problematic (such as the abuse of children) or news which prompts that over-focus we just talked about with Mercury’s degree of station…or something which halts plans we had been formulating in its proverbial tracks.

Why? Call this reason 'the Medea Factor.' Medea’s is a story of a sorceress and madness and self-defeating, self-undermining love – a love which will drive one to doing the unthinkable.

Focused on Cancer, Medea spells a passionate devotion to all things emotionally defined as “mine”…and maybe to the point of self-destruction.

Okay, not maybe…rather assuredly!

And combined with Mercury’s degree of station and it’s tendency to focus on ‘my idea of right’ and Saturn’s “relatively” weak placement at 12 Libra?

Can you say ‘uh-oh’?

Und yet, yet, yet, yet….there is that eventuality of life. When we look at the relative size, placement and importance of the three players in this drama, though we tend to think of Mercury as the star here (both because Mercury is symbolic of thinking and because it’s the one going direct!) …the end-of-the-line truth here is Saturn.

So let’s review: this year’s Saturn cycle started with its station/retrograde at 17 Libra, a degree which is both theoretical, logical, gentle (at times) and quarrelsome. There is a quality of the ridiculous here (which we sure have seen a lot of!) and an implied necessity to work on our emotional position with an eye to reconciling what we may think so brilliant with a world which may or may not be so accepting of our sense of ‘rightness.’

Saturn’s station/retrograde of January 26 was the beginning of all the turmoil and violent events currently going on in our world. From economic and political uproars in the United States to uprisings and a demand for greater freedom in the Middle East and across North Africa to Japan’s nuclear problems, everything falls under Saturn – mostly in its role as ruler of Capricorn (commerce/commerical structures, governance/national structures, rulers, functional/responsible limits)….but also in the sense that with Saturn transiting Libra, now the good and bad of all such things are going to be brought to us to deal with. 

Saturn goes direct in June, another time we can count on as being full of upheaval as the June/July period includes two solar eclipses and one lunar eclipse – amidst which Saturn goes direct.

Can you say ‘handwriting on the wall’? That’s part of what this Mercury direct is about. But don’t think of it as just global or ‘big picture’ ….it’s also about the details and the nuances of life. Mercury always is!

The bottom line here is to be aware. The urge to be self-protective and maybe ‘think the worst’ or simply want what you want so, so much is obvious.

The better part of valor – and your future – is, however, wrapped up in your ability to take the bigger picture into account. Saturn is a ‘cold’ symbol (and a pretty cold place to be – brrrr!) …the point with Saturn is that in the end, facts and reality rules. You can’t escape that reality, no matter how much you want to. In fact the more that you do escape (or try to escape), the worse of a mess you will get into.

And yet, here we are faced with the problem that we can’t just ‘throw out the baby with the bath water.’ There will be wholesale calls for sweeping change – Uranus is here running with Amphitrite, Venus and Black Moon Lilith telling us that those who have the least to lose are urging that the masses just ‘get used to it.’

Mars at 16 Aries forming a bridge between Mercury at 12 Aries and Jupiter/Eris at 20/21 Eris tells us there is harshness in the mix now. There will be those who ‘draw the line in the sand’ and they’re likely to be highly emphatic about it. If they take a truly universal view, they may prevail. Those who are shortsighted or simply seeing things from their own point of view however, are likely to encounter some serious backlash(ing). Maybe not immediately, but soon enough.

Neptune is in Pisces. And not only is Neptune in Pisces but at this moment, Chiron is conjunct fixed star Fomalhaut, a star which promises success ONLY when one’s dream is not corrupted.

Corrupted by what?

By our own emotional longings.

That means facts and Saturnine realities rules. Neptune is not about my dream, its about our humanness…and how we all dream. The important word here is all…which means we cannot negate others. They are as entitled to be them as we each are entitled to be who we are, different though we may be.

An x-ray photograph of Saturn with a grid overlaid to show where

the planet is. And you thought Saturn was a regular, solid planet?

Think again! As one description put it, by the time you were

standing on Saturn's surface you'd be under it.

photo credit: JPL/NASA 

The challenge is figuring out what will work for all of us…even though that may well mean we each – universally - have to give up a few things.

Or maybe even our dream that we can have life our way, or go on thinking we actually know and/or are entitled to say what’s ‘right.’