Blogpost (May 5 - May 11): Mercury in Gemini, Mars/Diadem at 9 Libra

 At the center of constellation Orion, a region known as the Trapezium reveals streams
of glowing particles charged by nearby stars

(photo credit: NASA, ESA, M Roberto, January 2006)

I'm sure there is a goodly gathering of those who stop by astroPPM on a regular basis who have been reading over the past few months and wondering (between uproars in your own life) when it was that I was going to catch up with myself.

That answer would be now.

I had originally gird my whatever (while gritting my teeth and otherwise donning the armor of determination) to continue through to Mars direct (May 20th) and then breathe...

But apparently I don't look that good in blue.

Still...so you know, it isn't an easy choice. Over the years that this blog has been running I've gotten all sorts of communiques from people - from those who understand astrology as a language to those who just like having a source of questions they can think about. I'm quite sure most people think of any blog all that seriously, but it is a way to contribute and I believe in being a contributor. Caring about others and being of help is what makes our world - and thus our lives - richer. While I understand the barter and negotiating power of money and why people listen to the rich folks, the metaphysics of money state that ultimately money is just another Taurus/Scorpio connector.

Like power, like sex, like the creating of life and the meting out of death, what we use as our connector says...and should say...more about us than about them.

The point really is that I do what I do not just because despite limitations it's something I can do, but because writing online makes whatever information I have been taught available to anyone who can access the internet (give or take digital politics).

I care about laying the information out for you to use. If you want it, it's there. So despite personal need and the need to care about my personal person (in case you're wondering, being an astrologer is like being a weatherman - you still get rained on) for the next while I'll be setting up blogposts on a basic weekly basis. Since astrology is cyclic, between the blog archives and featured lists of past posts (plus the word cloud) you should be able to answer most of your questions.

And should you get stuck (or stucco, if you're into plaster and such) you can always post a question here at the blog or send me an email for sticky specifics.

So saying, thank you for understanding, and let's get to it...

Burnished fields outside Benton Township, Columbia County

(photo credit: Nicholas A Tonelli, May 2010)

Mercury in Gemini:

Mercury enters Gemini on May 7th at 2:58 in the afternoon, UT/+0 time and will remain in Gemini until mid-July.

Mid-July?

Considering how Mercury normally zooms through a sign in the matter of a few weeks, to hear that length of time is something of a sure-fire tip-off.

Of what? Of the fact that we will be going through another Mercury retrograde in rather short order.

Ah yes, Mercury retrograde... the land of bad traffic, delayed communications, late paperwork, and too much to do...all of which is (theoretically) supposed to teach us humans about priorities and limits.

Apparently we like to ditch that class.

Anyway...that retrograde begins in early June - a couple of days before Neptune goes direct, all of which brings up the subject of Mercury-Neptune connections (and Neptune's current position) talked about...here.

- link to -

Mercury in Taurus/Neptune at 7 Pisces

Gemini is a sign of dualities, choices and information, all of which serve to support (or not support) the process of learning...and learning better. Under transiting Mercury in Gemini the pace of life seems to pick up, though it's possible (maybe even likely) that the truth is more about our unwillingness to choose or some choice not to prioritize which govern the limitations, successes, insights, opportunities and responses (positive or negative) we run into during this time.

Moonrise on Hobart Bay, Alaska

(photo credit: Commander John Bortniak/NOAA, October 1990)

Mars conjunct Diadem at 9 Libra:

Mars will enter 9 Libra - the degree of its upcoming May 20th turn to direct - on May 8th.

What does that mean? Well, let's look at it this way...Mars retrograde represents a trying period when our pro-active, assertive, even aggressive attitudes, choices, instincts, words (etc.) either get blocked, turned aside with (Mars) "point" twisted, deflected or "blunted." It's sort of all about our effort to 'get ahead' being put on hold and no, we don't like it. I doubt there ever has been (or ever will be) a Mars Retrograde Fan Club. Under Mars retrograde the normal Mars tendency to 'do' things externally (and get them done) turns inward asking us to 'do' something with or 'about' our Self as indicated by the sign (or position in your personal chart) of the retrograde, without whatever normal Mars 'my way or the highway' quotient tends to be resident in or as part of your life.

This time around, Mars' sign of retrograde has been Libra - the relationship polarity. Are we therefore shocked that our relationship(s) to others and maybe to life itself or the world around us has been odd?

Maybe. But astrologically, we shouldn't be surprised - except at just how odd things and people really are, of course.

Part of Mars retrograde theoretically is always about 're-balancing' our inner and outer worlds and the energy (the Mars "doing" or Mars "focus") put into each thing. Presented in Libra, this retrograde has had that eternally airy (air sign) quality of having to decide between ideas and people and paths and goals and all that stuff. That's the air sign thing - which is why air signs are always about choices. Gemini learns through choices and is personal, Libra learns through relationship and is thus interactive and Aquarius sees relationships in the world and how we relate to those relationships and the process of relating on an individual or collective basis.
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So ever since early December, we've been in this Mars-in-Libra mode, learning about our Self through our relationships (or lack thereof) with others. The 'who,' the 'how,' the priorities one party or another party places on 'what'...it's all been a debate to the extent that they (or the situation) sets off our triggers.

Retrogrades are about us. We tend to think they're about others and 'the world' and such, but while it's natural to start by saying 'they made me feel that way' our feelings aren't theirs, so 'they' don't make us feel any given way - we feel whatever we feel because we have interacted with others.

That's pretty much the start of the Libra road - realizing that we're drawn to others or alienated by them or whatever else because of Self...not 'them.'

Where we go from there of course once we understand that is up to us.

And if we don't learn that, we just keep banging our heads - which may simply say we like being our own headache, but let's not go there.

Next we add in the 9 Libra part. By simplest definition as a first decanate degree (any degree between 0 and 9 of any sign is in it's first 'decanate') 9 Libra is a personal degree referring to our Self, our life, our body or our actions. Having a bit of a 'yang' edge (or edginess) to it, 9 Libra calls upon us to see the 'other side' of things before coming to any decision and to be fair in making any decision which stems from seeing both sides of every coin (or pancake, if you prefer). Assertiveness associated with 9 Libra often surfaces as frustration even without Mars (or Mars retrograde) getting into the act as it is in our present. And all of this...just in case you're wondering why people get so much more frizzled and out-of-hand these days than they did in the "good old days"...well, apparently it was time for us to go through all this frizzling because as of December 19, 2003 the star astrology knows as Diadem moved into 9 Libra.

That made 9 Libra part of our greater global background vibe - a fact I'm sure you'll just be charmed by once we apply the idea of Diadem, that being the idea that our crowning glory as humans being we learn from what we go through.

In other words, we're back to the experience of gaining wisdom - often through something which doesn't go at all the way you want it to.

And that sounds like Mars retrograde.

Could it be all the awful stuff we've all gone through since last December is about what we learn from it?

Apparently so...which makes me wonder what's going to happen next. You know...once we stop and realize what we've learned and begin to apply that (wisely, one hopes)?

One last note here: with Mars going direct at 9 Libra, that means that anyone with a Sun, Moon, Ascendant-Descendant, Midheaven-Nadir, lunar node or significant point (significant to their individual chart, that is) between 4 and 14 of the following signs is going to be most dynamically affected by the approaching Mars station as a turning point in their life or their thinking or their choices.

AND that such people will do well to take into account that others (people who may not have any points, planets or whatnot in those degrees) won't react the way they do. Those others may not even seem to care...even if they do care.

It's one of those times when you could agree with someone and still argue with them - especially once Mercury is in Gemini. (Such things happen.)

Or maybe Mercury entering Gemini is that clockwork signal for all clicking into place or our mental gearing finally seeing where and how we are in agreement with someone, giving us a basis to proceed. (Carefully, yes - but progress is progress!)

Mars retrograde is said to raise feelings of isolation and being 'on our own' so that we can recognize what we are capable of doing as an individual. Or what we're not capable of doing. Or what we're doing to each other because we both feel helpless, but neither party wants to admit it and neither party wants to communicate what they can't understand or admit in or about their Self or those (or that) they love or feel allegiance to.

Whatever we have learned over these past months we have learned in 'isolation' - which in the realm of air signs means 'in our mind.' That's no negative - it merely begs another question: what are we going to do with (or maybe about) what we have come to understand about ourselves (or our Self) in (dis)connection with others and our world? 

All of this is taking place in the wake of an eclipse with the other two astrological "personal planets" (Sun and Venus) being in Taurus and Aries, respectively.

Venus rules Taurus, of course. And as noted while we were skating through the last post, Venus in Aries isn't generally known as anyone's peak point of personal satisfaction.

Mind you, that doesn't spell doom. Or defeat. This is just life's requirement that we 'eat our vegetables' so that we can merit our eventual dessert...which for reasons discussed over many a past day, week and month may or may not yet be of the humble pie variety.
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Mercury in Taurus

 Image adapted from an image of constellation Taurus as found

in the 'Uranographia' of Johannes Hevelius (1690)

When I think of Mercury in Taurus, the first thing my mind goes to is the image of ‘good solid thinking.’

And yet…it can be so much and so very otherwise. Taurus is a sign all about our security (physical or psychological) and our abilities (our “native resources”). Taurus is also the sign of the self worth and/or self respect which motivates us to take those abilities and develop them. To make something of ourselves. To do something in this world.

When Taurus goes right, we do well, we flourish, we earn respect and support from others – in general we earn a sense of personal satisfaction.

And in the world of Taurus, satisfaction is the metaphysical peanut butter which goes oh so well the jelly of Taurean security.

So where can Taurus go askew? Taurus, which if you remember is one end of the Taurus-Scorpio polarity, goes wonky when the ‘personal earth’ (Taurus) gets undermined by ‘interactive water’ (Scorpio) in any of the numerous ways that Scorpio situations test how secure we are or aren’t inside our own skin.

War, sex, investment, birth, death, surgery, control, imprisonment, taxes, interpersonal conflicts, manipulation, domination, vulnerability…any and all of these (in just about any form they turn up) are by dynamic, Scorpionic. And though, being the self-protective critters we are, we tend to think that anything that goes wrong is “their fault” (oh, how many times have we all heard that!)…the truth of this on the astro-metaphysical level is that whatever the situation is, it’s raised a question inside our Taurean corral.

And when that happens, our inner bull comes out snorting!

Of course a bull doesn’t know to check its own hide and see where it’s got pricked. As far as I know, bulls don’t say to themselves ‘why does my hinder flanks suddenly hurt?’ They just look for whoever hurt them, and when in doubt, they gore a wall or fence or two. (Or three or four.)

But as people, the best thing we can do IS to look at what hurts and what about us has been hurt and why that hurts. It’s our sense of security and our sense of satisfaction and with the exception of those who are truly out to get us, most people tend to prick our pride or scratch our ego less intentionally than we suspect.
Why we’re so sensitive there? That would be our issue.

Now I’m not tell you to go thank someone whose carelessly thrown verbal dart hits you right in your trigger point, but let’s be real. We all have a few trigger points and though it’s a whole lot easier to blame than self reflect, we’ll probably do better in the long run to figure out the where and why’s of those triggers.

Sometimes we can fix them. Sometimes we can’t. Some people have been so beat up, whether in war or maybe growing up, or through some tragedy or crisis experienced as an adult that they’re just plain injured.

As our symbol of mentality and the thought process (and everything we mentally choose to do or not do) Mercury brings to Taurus exactly what we need to reconsider how well we’re doing in our own life – and as a person among other people in this world.

It’s a great time to examine the viability of your plans or when you may need to have a talk with yourself about really getting on developing a few more personal tools so you can be more effective, be that in your personal or professional life.

As Mercury enters Taurus on May 1st at 3:38 in the afternoon UT/+0 time, it’s joining a Taurean party already in progress. The Sun is already in Taurus, Mars is in Taurus and Venus is already half-way through Taurus, dancing along as Venus does.

In short, on a personal level it’s a hugely Taurean moment. Sun, Mercury, Venus and Mars…? That’s every personal planet on the list apart from the Moon!

Oh yes…the Moon. Well, the Moon will have entered Aquarius just before Mercury arrives in Taurus (no doubt striking a natty pose). And because the Moon is the ‘astro-clock’ of daily doings that means Mercury is entering Taurus probably just about the time a few Aquarian/Taurus challenges hit the grill.

That suggests issues with ‘enough-ness’ of various kinds.

 As I set out to make an image of an "astrological clock" I realized that bcause

zodiacal motion through the wheel is counter-clockwise, it would look pretty

funny. So! It's a bit 'Alice in Wonderland,' but the above is pretty much "two

minutes to Taurus" - give or take a half-minute!  

Just to make it plain here, this Mercury-Taurus transit is going to be a quickie: Mercury enters Taurus on the 1st and moves on into Gemini on the 15th (which would already be the 16th if you’re in any longitude corresponding to, say, Greece or points east).

Astrologers have various opinions on what such swift transits indicate. Some say there will be more of ‘that’ packed into less time (“that” being the Mercury-in-Taurus quotient). Some think of it as a brief time in which to get something done – sort of like being in a rush. Others think that such brief transits manifest as ‘not much here – moving on!’ sorts of periods.

However you think of it, we know a couple of other things about this particular Mercury in Taurus passage. One is that Saturn is still retrograding through Taurus’ opposition sign of Scorpio, a combination which can be destructive, reparative or simply mind-bending in the sense that you look at something and say ‘REALLY?’ How could you not see that? Not know that? Put up with that? Do without that? WHY did you do that? WHAT are you going to do now?

Thinking back on the Taurus/Scorpio polarity, we would have to think that this short two weeks or so is at some level an opportunity to get on a better, more even or more productive keel with yourself (Saturn being in retrograde makes it about our internal life)…from which you can make better life choices and act with greater security, from which theoretically will come better results.

Another thing afoot here…(as they would say in Sherlock Holmes)…is with Neptune direct at 5 Pisces, Mercury is going to spend four days or so (let’s call it from May 2nd through May 5th) in sextile to Neptune. This is great for parties and vacations. If you happen to have a fantasy, musical or romantic comedy film you want to release during this time, people will probably be in the mood to go and see it.

(Movies grosses do reflect the dates - which is to say the charts - of their premiers. It’s a subject that as a member of the film industry has long interested me and which I’ve done a lot of research on!)

My father was a huge fan of Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes (above). Personally, I prefered Jeremy Brett in the part. And that 'debate' became a lasting joke between us, one we enjoyed bandying about right until the day he passed away. Of such things are memories - especially the ones we value - made of.

(photo courtesy of the NY Public Library Digital Collection, c. 1930)

Those days of May 2-6 aren’t likely to be great for ‘precision’ work. Or precise thought. And since Neptune connections with Mercury are often said to be a signal of misunderstandings and deception, watch what you say and who you say it to.

The flip side here is that this Mercury/Neptune connection is also one when egos are a little softer than usual. So that’s good for tender matters, matters of the heart and equally good for saying ‘I’m sorry’ where you may have offended someone.

Last but not least (not by a long shot!) is the fact that May 10th is a Solar Eclipse at 19 Taurus. So matters of values and what we consider valuable (whether we have it or have lost it or feel good about it or feel rancidly and wretchedly offended about it) …all such matters are already on our minds.

And up for cosmic grabs, shifts, losses and incarnations.

The weeks before a Solar Eclipse tend to be a hodge-podge of happenings. With this one being in Taurus everything from food to banking to national economies to personal finances, bankruptcies, fidelity and friendships are up for grabs. The very concept of security is now being challenged both in the world and in your world, forcing you to think about it and think things through in general.

And thus Mercury comes into Taurus, helping us do just that.
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Dateblog: April 2013

If you look at the April monthly diagram, you’ll see one color dominating the scene – a bright sunny yellow signifying Aries.

(Oh - and thanks for the emails and comments letting me know you like the bar charts!)
 
Among astrologers, there’s a joke about Aries being the sign of ‘first person perpendicular’ – in other words, “I.” That joke makes total sense if you think of Aries as the sign of ‘I Am,’ but maybe a little less sense when we think of the Aries modality – the nature of Aries activity, which is cardinal. Aries is a sign which is all about DOING. And since by element Aries is a fire sign, we know Aries as a sign all about the vision, the ideal, the possibility.

Put it all together and you have Aries as the sign of what I can become. Or an ability to see what you can do if you put your Aries muscle into it.

Yes, Aries is a sign which tends to be a little egotistical and a little prone towards getting into debates replete with butting heads on any of a number of subjects.


But the argument can’t be the object. Winning – or winning through - can’t be the object. It’s that vision, the why you try which means everything with Aries. If you’re a prince, yes, you do want to slay the dragon. But you want to slay the dragon not for the sake of dragon-slaying, but so that your kingdom is protected. So that you can go home and, having learned what it takes to fight and risk and defend that you believe in, invest your Self (to the hilt, one might say!) in that world you’ve protected in order to make something of it…and of yourself.

So what are our challenges? Well, there is the need to temper ourselves (and our tempers) so that we aren’t SO into our own goals that we’re totally obnoxious to live with. And as part (or apart) from this, we will have a first half of April with Mercury in Pisces (purple) and Jupiter (beige) in Gemini – which is a recipe for not thinking things through…or learning the cost of not having thought things through prior to now.

This would also be a classic time to speak out of turn. Or say too much. Or become overly aggressive or defensive-aggressive. Or even evasive.

There’s also a little factor here that involves Mercury passing through Pisces as Neptune (also in Pisces) connects with Fomalhaut, that famous royal star which rewards us where we’ve been very, very good…and which unseats us where we have done anything shady, dishonest, or otherwise emotionally corrupt. As a pairing, Mercury-Neptune is known for lying and representing liars or lies. So with Mercury/Jupiter eliciting all the qualities of standing on our own tongues (or shooting ourselves in the foot, if you prefer), this is a time when we should first and foremost be careful about keeping our own slate clean.

And others? Well, this would be the time to find out that others are not the peachy types we thought they were. And yes, if (make that ‘when’) things surface, you’ll be tempted to blame that ‘other party.’
 
But don’t. At least not totally. Yes, they may be crumbs, but remember – your disappointment is all about the expectation or whatever self-illusion/delusion quotient you have cloaked yourself in up until now. Call it a case of celestial ‘buyer beware’…this is a time for being very sure of who you’re dealing with and that people really are who they say they are.

Or aren’t.

The good news here is that all is not lost, even in the most difficult situations. Some losses cannot be made whole, true. But Pluto’s going retrograde at 11 Capricorn on April 12^th tells us that the first part of April is greatly about personal structure, individual capacity, and whether we own our Self (fully) and our sense of life consequences.

If things are difficult now, try and work them through. If the ‘other party’ will not discuss things, wait a while. There is a Solar Eclipse coming up on May 10^th, which means the whole of April is enfolded in that Eclipse’s ‘breakdown’ period. Your situation in your life…and whatever the ‘joint’ situation means in that ‘other party’s life are two separate experiences of this upcoming 19 Taurus eclipse. Life is trying to tell you that something needs letting go of. The ‘size’ or ‘importance’ of this issue (and its nature) would be told by whether your chart is aspected directly by 19 Taurus, with hard aspects (the Taurus conjunction, the Leo or Aquarius square, the Sagittarius or Libra inconjunct and Scorpio opposition) being more rather than less in the ‘target zone.’

Once we get past April 15^th (income tax day in the United States – hello?) energies shift. Some planets (like Venus, which is first to enter Taurus) are very good in Taurus, picking up more or less easily on the Taurean desire to just be satisfied with life. The Sun can be good or bad in Taurus, depending on how happy you are with yourself. And with Mercury moving into that First Person sign of Aries as Venus moves into Taurus, we can expect people to be doing a lot of self assessment or development of plans they have for the future, particularly as the Sun and Mars enter the sign of the bull (or just plan ‘the sign of bull!’) on the 19^th and 20^th respectively.

Mars in Taurus is known to manifest as feelings of frustration. With Saturn retrograde in the opposing sign of Scorpio, things could get explosive, especially around April 25 when we’ll be treated (if that’s the word!) to a Lunar Eclipse at 5 Scorpio.

**An American Event Note**

April 25^th is the date of the dedication for the GW Bush Presidential Library in Dallas.Maybe it’s karma, and certainly nobody asked me, but had they asked me I wouldn’t have picked this date - not necessarily in the specific sense, but in terms of the greater 'life' of the Library.

5 Scorpio is a degree known for actions and activities which can often be typified as “good energy after bad.” With Saturn and Mars involved directly in this lunar eclipse, we are being given a recipe for high tension, vast amounts of contention and intransigent unwillingness to hear anything but what you want to hear.
 
Of course there is another possible side to this eclipse. For those who have worked hard and whose efforts are worthy of attention, support or reward, this would be a time to get good news.

For those whose charts are not directly aspected by this Lunar Eclipse, you’ll probably hear someone in your personal world or on the news who is ‘owning’ this moment. And maybe that will key you to make a move.

This is a good time for planning, working through options and self-development. Not wasting our opportunities is important, but so is our productive use of time, personal abilities and individual resources. Thinking long term and being honest with ourselves may bring some (maybe even many) of us to the realization that certain things, positions or attitudes we’ve invested in over quite a long time have to be let go of.
 
But what’s our choice – to continue doing the thing that doesn’t work?
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Pope Francis I: The Papal Election Chart

The Coat of Arms for Vatican City is considered a de factor symbol of the Papacy

There’s something truly beautifully metaphysical level about a Pope being elected with Jupiter conjunct Aldebaran. Jupiter is after all, the ruler of Sagittarius (the sign of religion) and Jupiter is also the initial co-ruler of Pisces, the sign of spirituality.

Fixed star Aldebaran is the first of the zodiac’s Royal Stars – first in zodiacal order, that is. Positioned at 9 Gemini, Aldebaran is a celestial promise of success which is achieved and maintained through integrity of intent, word and deed. It’s presence in Gemini makes Aldebaran the most mentally-oriented of the Royal Stars, and though Jupiter isn’t known for being wonderful in Gemini, it would seem likely that integrity was something the Cardinals had in mind when electing Pope Francis, especially since (as it has been commented on a lot of late) the Vatican needs a Pope capable of dealing with the Curia and the ‘business machinery’ of the Vatican.

The famous white smoke went up from Vatican chimney at 7:06 on the evening of March 14th. And here is the chart for that moment:

The Election of Pope Francis I

March 13, 2013 - 7:06 p.m. (CET/-1) - Vatican City, Italy

The strong set of squares from Ceres and the Black Moon in the 9th house to the Sun and Venus in the 6th is exactly what we are talking about with regards to the Vatican’s ‘machinery.’ But let’s not be bashful here: the Scorpio Saturn conjunct Deucalion (Deucalion being ‘finding our moral way’) in trine to the vulnerability or injury point (Chiron) at 10 Pisces in the 6th house (with Pisces conjunct Kalypso) is a statement in big and bold about the money being hemorrhaged by the Church by various ‘bad acts’ on the part of the clergy (as in sex abuse) as well as the Curia.

With Kalypso being a point all about asking us whether love is about what you get or the happiness of the one (or the thing) being loved, Chiron conjunct Kalypso in the 6th house of this chart with Chiron-Kalypso in square to Aldebaran (integrity) –Scheherazade (the tale told) – Jupiter in the 9th is a poignant astrological statement about the need to bring the Church back to loving those it serves and the love of why it serves them.

Calypso (astrology's Kalypso) as sculpted by Celestin Anatole Calmeis

(photo credit Vassil, artwork c. 1853, Musée Picardie Beaux-arts)

That said, this is a square. So the task isn’t easy. Fortunately (for the Catholics of the world and the future of the Church) Saturn-Deucalion trining Chiron-Kalypso from the 2nd house says there will like as not have to be some 'threat’ installed in order to bring everybody who has gotten out of line back into line.

If you look around the ring of the chart, you’ll notice that all the house cusps are in early degrees. That tells us that this election is about doing something. And the four cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn) appearing on the prime horizontal and vertical axis points tells us that things will get done. Cardinal signs ‘act’ and learn through their accomplishments. Where modification is required, they then act again.

That of the four cardinal signs Libra comes up at the Ascendant (the Ascendant being the ‘action’ point of a chart) tells us the Cardinals have voted to act in the spirit of connection with others and with an eye to how the Church affects others.

Libra being ruled by Venus, Venus in Pisces and in the 6th house tells us that those who work in the Church are supposed to ‘exalt’ in service. That this Venus is conjunct the Sun (at 23 Pisces) says this election is about finding a man and a ‘life’ for the Church which is dedicated to that sort of service.

And yet…Venus is not comfortably placed in the 6th house. So we can expect some problems to surface inside the Vatican (whether we hear of them or not) in the years ahead. With the mid-point between Venus and Chiron being the fixed star Achernar, we can assume many problems will be found – even more than this Pope probably expects to find going into the job.

 Pope Francis I (then Cardinal Bergoglio) on official business in Argentina

(photo courtesy of the Agentine Presidency website, dated March 17, 2010)

It would seem that we can trust one thing: this new Pope is going to need all the faith in this world (and maybe the next) to deal with what he finds. 19 Pisces (Venus’ position) is known for the kind of frustrations and ‘imbedded’ problems which lead to stomach aches or with difficulties with being able to emotionally ‘swallow’ something. Add to that Achernar’s reputation for being ‘one thing after another’ and there would seem to be a tough road ahead for this Pope and the Church, starting with the necessity to deal with the ‘health’ (6th house) of the institution.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), the Sun at 23 Pisces is all about the spiritual and psychic realm. But with this degree come tests and temptations, which leads us back not to just the pock marks of world-wide sex abuse on the part of clergy, but probably also to the ‘ca-ching!’ of serious (not to mention numerous) financial scandals which we may or may not hear about.

Just ‘south’ of Chiron’s position in the 6th house we have Neptune and Mercury at 3 and 6 Pisces respectively. Mercury is in retrograde but barely in motion, heading for a station/direct point which will occur four days after this election at 5 Pisces.

Any time we see Neptune and Mercury in conjunction we know there is some sort of lie or fantasy going on. The principle ‘vibe’ for 5 Pisces (Mercury’s position) involves ‘friendship’ and that loving regard for other people and things of this Earth that Christians call ‘agape love.’ Neptune’s position, on the other hand speaks to good fortunes which may lead to weakness. Both of these degrees are so strongly associated with (read: close to) Royal Star Fomalhaut’s present position at 4 Pisces that whatever else they may be, both Neptune and Mercury here become ‘adjuncts’ to Fomalhaut’s promise of success only if one’s choices and acts are neither corruptive, corrupted or straight-on corrupt.

Link to blog:

Fomalhaut, Royal Star of Persia 

Since Mercury and Neptune are in the 5th house and not the 6th, we know the ‘fantasy’ (or lie) they indicate have to do with what the Church election would like to be true. And it’s not unreasonable to think that the Church very much wants to think that a change of Pope, a little staunchness in the homily and the bad stuff will go away.

That’s probably not true. Pisces is always about facing the truth and knowing that we can endure that and work towards better times.

Of course, there is an up side here…which would be that this is a papal election chart, and with asteroid Kleopatra exactly astride the 6th house cusp, this Pope is being elected with a ‘wise eye’ to the fact that things do need to be faced, things need to change and that – in the collective opinion of the Catholic Cardinals – Pope Francis is the man with sufficient breadth of wisdom, openness of mind, cleverness of wit and warmth of being (all those being Kleopatra qualities) to (6th house) do the job and see the job done.

If we had any doubts that there is a ‘business’ side to this election, that should be dispelled by Capricorn being at the bottom (the IC or Nadir point) of this chart with Cancer at the top. Capricorn is the sign of structure and business. It’s the sign of governance and the ‘punishment’ (penalty) side of the law.

The IC itself is presented at 5 Capricorn, a degree which is highly self-occupied and often not willing to deal with the weaknesses of others. With Industria at 6 Capricorn, Facies at 8 Capricorn and Pluto at 11 Capricorn, this is an indication that the Church is likely to go through a period of intense self-involvement. Is that before it gets to the ‘business of the people’ (pastoral attention) or after?

Link to posts:

Pluto conjuncts Facies (2011-2012)

 Pluto conjuncts Facies (2012-2013)

We have one thread of hints there: with Capricorn at the bottom of the chart and the Saturn (in Scorpio) so very involved – as discussed – in the operational imperatives of this chart, that would tend to say that this is an image of the Church dealing with it’s internal business first, with the ‘needs of the people’ (portrayed in this chart as the Cancer Midheaven) being the ultimate aim.

However! Since this is a nocturnal chart (ruled by lunar considerations like feelings, money and – one would hope – spirituality), that means Saturn in the 2nd may be unpleasant as all get-out and ugly as sin (so to speak…) but the choice of what to attend to first is dictated by the rulers of Scorpio.

And those are Mars (the choice) and Pluto (the outcome of the choice).

In this chart, Mars is in its own ruling sign of Aires, which raises Mars by a tick on the volume scale. This is also, as noted, a nocturnal chart, which raises the Mars volume a little more. Mars is also in the bottom half of the chart – even louder. And lastly, Mars is positioned in the degrees immediately preceding one of the chart’s four angles – which also amps up the noise.

Then we add in the modifiers: Photographica and (trumpets please) the infamous fixed star Scheat, which sort of operates as the Gilbert and Sullivan chorus which says we the people like what we like and want what we want. Considering that Aries on the Descendant in this sort of chart would be all about how the Church is seen – with this quality also being amplified by Photographica’s “the image of the thing” presence, it would seem pretty obvious that this election is as much about the image of the Church as anything else.

Is this cynical? Have the Cardinals nominated a man who will ‘put a good face’ on things? Or is this the ‘real deal’ Pope so many Catholics have been waiting for, a Pope who will hear the people and deal with them fairly, and care that the Church’s image is based on some sort of ethical reality?

The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library

(photo credit: Maus-Trauden, September 2006)

That’s where Pluto comes in as the ‘outcome ruler’ of Scorpio. We already know from having talked about Pluto’s transit of Facies that we have seen maybe the worst of this transit’s intensity…but that we’re also not done yet. Pluto will be going station/direct at 8 Capricorn (in exact conjunction with Facies) during September, 2013. Will we hear of changes happening at the Vatican at that time?

We’ll have to wait and see. But this combination of Mars in the 6th house pressing on the Descendant against Pluto in the 4th house is a square by sign (Capricorn against Aries) and a sextile by house – a combination which reads making an effort to get a difficult thing done.

Meanwhile, we do have one other good ‘clock’ for this activity in the chart: Saturn. In being located at 11 Scorpio in this election chart, Saturn is in an exact sextile to Pluto at 11 Capricorn. Saturn went retrograde at 11 Pisces during February, as Pope Benedict announced he was going to step down, an act which validates our use of Saturn (which is still at 11 degrees) as our timer in this instance. So in a sense, the whole of this Saturn retrograde-and-back-to-direct motion which has Saturn coming back to (and clearing) 11 Scorpio is all about this ‘change of Popes’ or the passing on of the staff of St. Peter, if you will.

And when will that happen? Well, Saturn goes direct in July. And it will go direct at 4 Scorpio – in perfect trine to Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces and in a semi-sextile (‘ego bruising aspect’) to the Ascendant of this election chart.

I’m not sure we’ll hear what’s going on at the Vatican or with Pope Francis at that point, but the Vatican may feel obliged to ‘speak out on the ills’ of that moment.

But to answer the principle question posed here, when does Saturn come back to 11 Scorpio and clear that degree? Answer: October 2013, in the weeks following Pluto’s stationing atop Facies.

Coincidence? Probably not.

Is it worth marking our calendars? If the problems which have plagued the Catholic Church are important to you, probably yes.

Much has already been said about the new Pope’s basic conservative views on doctrine. Jupiter-Aldebaran-Scheherazade in the ‘teachings’ 9th house would seem to support that. The ‘integrity of the body of religious teachings’ is likely to be upheld. But so is the need to apply such teachings with integrity on the part of the teachers, and that’s where Pope Francis as a ‘man of the people’ probably comes into play. This 9th house of ‘dissemination’ (what the election would have the new Pope teach) has in it not just Jupiter, Aldebaran et al, but also Vesta conjunct Rigel, which is the price of teaching or the cost of what it takes to adhere to the teachings of Christ, pretty much across the board (meaning both for the clergy and for Catholics around the world).

There’s another interesting note in this 9th house which is astro-labeled “Black Moon Lilith conjunct Bellatrix conjunct Ceres.” On one hand this would seem to speak to ‘things denied’ by the Church up until now as all these objects being in Gemini points us to the Mercury in conjunction with Neptune. Bellatrix always indicating a difficulty, it will be hard for people to believe things have changed and very hard for the Church to get past damage already done.

Ceres-Black Moon also speaks to a sense of history, with Bellatrix being ‘difficulties’ of the time, most likely. We are likely to hear a lot about Pope Francis’ past and how he did and didn’t deal with various issues.

But this trio of factors also speaks to one other thing: that ‘female half’ of the whole, which in the 9th house would seem to represent the position of women in the Catholic Church hierarchy. Will that change?

 Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Black Moon Lilith is a ‘rejection’ of that ‘shadow part of the self’ we cannot or choose not to cope with. It comes from an interesting astrological idea, that of the position along the Moon’s shifting orbital cycle where the Moon is physically closest to Earth. What this represents is a ‘reflection’ of ourselves which has come so close to us that we ‘back away’ (or reject) coping with it.

And yet, without that thing, ultimately we are not whole.

Given how the Black Moon ordinarily works in astrology, as represented here, calculated Lilith (Black Moon Lilith) would apply to question of Church attitudes towards homosexuality, birth control and whether women will be given greater latitudes of roles in the Catholic Church. And it would appear from this election(al) chart that the answer to that would be ‘no.’ But to all those who look at this and feel rejected or alienated, two comments. Vesta-Rigel here is closely enough to being the midpoint between Jupiter/Aldebaran and Black Moon Lilith/Ceres/Bellatrix to say that this Pope's tenure in office is in many ways a learning experience for the church. So there is a chance that some sort of change or shift may at least begin being talked about when Saturn reaches Sagittarius in a couple of years. 

Astrologically, religion as a codified body of teachings is a 9th house entity. (Spirituality - the emotional 'faith and belief' component is 12th house.) Considering that sexuality, birth (and thus birth control) and 'associations of the genders' are 8th house concepts, that makes such things astrologically associated with the house just behind that of religion - the 12th derivative harmonic. This means that all things 8th house (which includes money as power, by the by) are put in a karmic position which in being a '12th harmonic' has some of the Piscean quality of 'fear of what I might fear' sort of quality.

And that feeling which we know as something we all have problems with when it comes to Pisces challenges is very typical and something of a kindred concept to the whole idea of Black Moon Lilith.

So metaphysically, the Church's positions aren't about rejecting women or homosexuality or birth control per se - it's a rejection of fear of how all those 'scary powerful' things could affect a body of teaching...a religion which as an institution is ‘founded in spirituality.'

(For you astro-techy types, this would be the Piscean 12th as the derivative 4th ‘foundational’ harmonic to the Sagittarian 9th.)

As we move into the Aquarian Age, Pisces moves from the 1st house to the 2nd on the wheel of the Age.

Pisces ("Pi") is on the second house of this wheel - look for the house color coded to the picture's frame

And that means that in time, with Scorpio at the top of the native chart of this incoming age, things are going to have to change. All things secret and powerful will be flaunted, and only in being dealt with as a reality will our lives...and our world become more normalized and secure.

That's across the board. But in the meantime, we have Pisces - the sign of spirituality, on the 2nd house of the Age.

 Scorpio ("Sc") is at the top of the wheel (look for the blue which matches the frame of this picture) occupying the 10th and most worldly position in the chart of the Aquarian Age, which would be why for the next 2,000 years are so, sex is going to be out in the open and a subject for discussion - for better and worse.

And what do people do when they feel threatened? They look for ways to be secure - that's the standard 2nd house (Taurean) solution. And I'd say that this tendency is so pronounced that sometimes you'd think all those bulls were clamming up (which is an interesting mental picture) except for the fact that when things feel threatened in the world of the 2nd house/8th house axis, we tend to react with...what? Threats and aggressive stances. And since Virgo is always in opposition to Pisces, religions have (by and large) always responded to that which threatened spiritual power with moral criticisms and strictly defined "lessons" on how we should be...which is very Virgo!

But things will change. Just don’t hold your breath waiting for it to happen. Considering how Pluto will enter Pisces in 2044, we should look to a time starting then for any real changes yet to happen.

Still, in the meantime, this election chart suggests we can expect discussions on this matter. They may arise in various ways from any of a variety of quadrants, and the timing on such a discussion coming up for grabs is likely to be late 2016 and on into 2017. The trip-wires here will be Saturn rolling over the election chart’s Black Moon, Bellatrix, Ceres and the Galactic Center (located at 27 Sagittarius) as Uranus arrives at the position of the election chart’s Eris (discord) as Neptune conjuncts this election chart’s Chiron.

So set your mental alarm clocks.

We may have a precursor ‘eruption’ on this subject (in some capacity) as Uranus hits the Aries degrees 16 through 18 (Moon, Pelion/asteroid Lilith) which happens in 2014 and extends through 2016. That may be framed around the concept of families, whether that involves priests having families or otherwise. Violence against women would also fit this bill as would (sorry to say) personal use of Vatican funds.

And yes, this would seem to be a good moment to mention that there are indeed two astrological Liliths (as if we needed more than one?) One is the calculated form of Lilith - the Black Moon. The other is the asteroid Lilith. For more information on them, here's a link to a blog post which will explain which is which and more about why either Lilith is what it is in the astrological sense. (You'll recognize the image in the header there, too - it's what happens when there's limited artwork on a given subject!)

Link to post: The Two Liliths 

Speaking of Uranus, it’s position at 7 Aries in this chart conjunct Niobe (pride) is plainly meant to ‘explode’ the pride of the people in their Church (which seems to be happening) and explode the image of the Church as an institution too prideful to care.

Photographica-Mars-Descendant coloring this Uranian position means though the joy may be real, the jury should still be out on whether real change is to come. But given all the low degrees involved, fortunately people will have their (initial) answers sooner rather than later. 

There’s one other interesting Jupiter-Aldebaran note worth making here…namely that Pope Benedict (now the Pope Emeritus) will evidently be returning to life somewhere inside the vastness of the Vatican soon enough. So there will be not one, but two Popes in the Vatican – how very Gemini, right?

Since Pope Benedict stepped down before Jupiter hit Aldebaran (though granted, Jupiter was well within orb of said fixed star) the onus for Papal integrity is squarely in Pope Francis’ court. But it is an interesting situation to contemplate, and no one could blame anyone for wondering what will happen going forward or if these two men will occasionally meet up for tea and pastries.

Maybe the Vatican’s kitchen could come up with a new pastry for such an occasion? I know…they could call them popeovers!

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This post was begin with the full intention of getting to the chart of the man himself. It obviously didn’t get that far. But it may be worth waiting. At present, there is no time of birth available for the new Pope, though astrologers being as diligent as they are about such things, it’s likely someone will find that information and get it sent around in the next week or so.

Either way, I will post something about the man himself. If it takes too long for some enterprising soul to come up with a birth time we’ll go with a chart which looks at only the day, with no Moon or house placements involved. And having already taken a look (yes, I peeked!) I promise there is much to be discussed...and that we will be discussing it soon enough!
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Pope Watch 2013

The Sistine Chapel (where the Cardinals will be voting on a new Pope) sits
in the foreground with the dome of St. Peter's Basilica behind

(photo credit: Yair Haklai, October 2009)

Whether or not you're interested in who the Pope is, the election of a Pope has a lot to tell us about how astrology works. Not that it's something most  astrologers get to work on in real time all that often. Indeed, Pope Benedict's retirement was a giant surprise - such a thing hadn't happened in some 700 years.

And the bigger question may be whether that's a sign of the times and changes in the Catholic Church we will see playing out in years to come. Astrologically, that question would depend on coming up with some chart for the founding of the 'Vatican Church' as we know it in today's world. That data would go back in most likelihood to the days of Emperor Constantine and the 3rd century...but I haven't found the date yet. (It may take writing a Bishop or Cardinal, and they're busy at the moment.)

Certainly there are many who think that the Catholic Church needs to change. But will it? When will that happen?

Stand by...I'll let you know what I find when I find it.

But that said, there is something to be said for the influence of any given Pope on the direction the Catholic Church takes and the speed with which it moves. So once the trumpet sounded for a Papal Conclave, astrologers hither and yon did begin delving into the 'who's going to be the next pope?' question.

I got an email from an astrologer friend of mine who decided to use a small collection of asteroids to frame their guess. The list (at least that which was mentioned in the email) includes Pappos (for pope), Vaticana (as a reference to the Vatican) and national asteroids (there are a lot of them, choose your country!) standing for the nationality of the Cardinals and thus the pope to be chosen.

I'll cut to the chase here: this astrologer is betting is that Scherer will be the man - or pope, depending on how you want to put it.

Italy's Basilica di San Pietro (St. Peter's Basilica) at night

(photo credit: Eugene Pivovarov, September 2009)

Proving that there are many ways through the forest of celestial objects out there, my thought was to start with the basic conversation we hear is being held in 'circles Catholic.' That conversation seems to be falling into two separate chalices - those who are most concerned with the Catholic church as a body of traditions which have arisen out of a doctrine considered eternal and unchanging, and those who want the Church to "live in the modern world" and deal with not just the world's problems, but the real world problems in the Church.

That breaks down to be pretty much traditionalists (read: conservatives) versus progressives (or realists) which in the world of current Catholicism seems to have become two camps known as the Romans (those members of the clergy who are work at the Vatican) and the Reformists - who tend to come more from, and work in the realm outside the Vatican.

What this comes down to astrologically is one of the great and eternal conversations: that of Sagittarius versus Pisces....religion as a body of teachings and ritual versus spiritualism and the spirit of belief or faith. 

Both signs are ruled by Jupiter, though Pisces is a dual-ruler sign where Jupiter is the 'choice' signature and Neptunian precepts teach us (through ecstatic joy or the disillusion of disappointment) where we have been right or wrong.

That Piscean lesson is based on expectation versus reality...which in the religious realm has a great deal to do with our ability to separate our belief (however it may be framed) in Existence, Creation or Divinity (whatever you call it) versus the reality of human life and human beings as innately mortal, imperfect beings.

So the question is a 'duality of dualities': the teachings and growth of understanding - the Jupiter/Sagittarian side of religion...and the acceptance of mortal life, personal wisdom and limits of human capacity, that being the Jupiter-Neptune/Pisces challenge.  

Knowing all this, we come to the chart of the Conclave. 

First day of the Vatican Conclave

Vatican City, Italy -  4:30 p.m. (CET/-1) - March 12, 2013

The time used for erecting this horoscope was that given by the Vatican as part of the 'standard procedure' used in papal elections. On the first day of a Conclave, the Cardinals will enter the Sistine Chapel at 4:30 in the afternoon. If no agreement on a new pope is reached, all subsequent days of that Conclave will have two 'voting sessions,' one of which begins at 9:30 in the morning, and the second of which begins at 4 in the afternoon. 

At writing, it is already known that the first vote of the Cardinals produced no election of a new pope. But since this chart does at some level hold for the whole of the election process, we can use this chart to think through some of what would seem integral to the process.

This is a diurnal chart, meaning it's 'Sun-ruled,' or an intellectually informed 'structural' effort - an interesting commentary for a spiritual institution, perhaps. And since as according to Vatican traditions all papal elections are initiated during the daytime (i.e., when the Sun is in the sky, that being the determining factor between a diurnal and nocturnal or Moon-ruled chart) that means that with the exception of second-ballot, second session votes, most popes are elected as a matter of thought, not 'instinct.' 

However, with the Sun in Pisces, we do have an 'automatic' note of what is the wisest course forward being put into this mix.

Evidently, popes are generally not elected on the first day of any Conclave - at least not in modern times. And this does leave open the question of how many popes may have been elected after sundown on any day of whatever particular Conclave...and what the trend away from 'first vote election' of popes says about the Church in general. That would require a chart for the Church itself, which as I say, I'll continue to look into. In the meantime (and more to our focus), this chart shows us Jupiter-Vesta-Black Moon Lilith-Ceres in Gemini and intercepted in the 10th house of this chart is a clear and lovely description of the workings of this Conclave being done behind 'closed doors' and how the eyes of the (10th house) world are not being able to watch. 

But behind those closed doors, not just the Sun in Pisces, but Venus, Chiron, Mercury and Neptune in Pisces, with Neptune conjunct Mercury and Mercury in retrograde.

Mercury will go direct on Sunday, March 17th. Seeing that the 'average' number of days in a Conclave is 5 days, with this one starting on the 12th we shouldn't be surprised if a new Pope is named as Mercury goes direct. If so, this would mean the next Pope will embody or deal with some combination of the following during this tenure as Pope:

1. Deep spirituality
2. Spirituality used merely as a guise
3. Faith in our own willingness to experience our human vulnerabilities

With Mars having entered Aries by the time this conclave begins and sitting conjunct the Moon (which is in turn conjunct Uranus) in the 8th house, this chart is a perfect picture of the exact sort of dichotomy reflected in the 'Romans versus Reformers' discussion. There is bound to be a strong resistance on the part of some Cardinals to changing anything about the Church. Just as fervently, other Cardinals will be adamant that the Church exists in a real world and therefore must care about 'real world business' - a quotient the last pope (Benedict, a scholarly sort) wasn't overly skilled with, people say.

Beyond this, that Mars-Moon-Uranus in degrees zero through 7 of Aries in the 8th house are a perfect picture of the financial and sexual scandals which continue to plague the Church. With Niobe (pride) in conjunction with Uranus, we know that the pride OF the Church as well as the pride of people in their Church has, and continues to be shaken.

2 Virgo on the Ascendant of this chart speaks to the 'work of the Church.' With the ruler of Virgo (Mercury) in retrograde, this is being thought through and quite possibly under revision. Then again, with Neptune at 3 Pisces and thus sitting right atop the 2 Pisces Descendant, there is a 'face of deception' which is being presented to the people of the world. Is this just about the 'closed door' nature of the Conclave? Or is this the Church facing the corruption that so clearly represents the 'lie' being told by the Church (and members thereof) to themselves about being of service to God and humanity?

As an astrologer, Neptune's conjunction of Fomalhaut at this time, with all the havoc of Church sex abuse scandals an ever-ongoing matter, could not be more apt. Or more telling. That Mercury in conjunction to Neptune is where 'the great belief' becomes 'the great lie' - or vice versa - is here mitigated or regulated by Fomalhaut, the Royal Star which says success can only be achieved where your aims are not corrupt, corrupted or corruptive.

Having just gone retrograde at 11 Scorpio, Saturn is still at 11 Scorpio and here in the 3rd house, a sign that consensus must be reached and that there is a thoughtful and communicative 3rd house process which is going on which in true Scorpio manner is bent on 'drilling down' to core values. But there may be a lot of resistance along the way. The good news (at least the hopeful news) for everyone here is that Deucalion is sitting at 12 Scorpio, very much conjunct Saturn. This tells us that this papal election is about the Church finding 'the moral way' (Deucalion) and that doing just that will take work (Saturn) and sacrifice or 'limits with chops attached' to reach.

With this Saturn/Deucalion in trine to Chiron/Kalypso in Pisces, we are assured that the Catholic clergy knows the Church has a deep vulnerability which is written clearly as it's love for itself being stronger than its love for other human beings in this world. Being that Saturn is in dual-ruled Scorpio, this fuels resistance to change in the sense that there will be some members of the assembly who fear the loss of power and influence 'coming clean' would require. That we know from the first ruler of Scorpio being Mars, and we see Mars positioned in the 8th house (of power, finance and sexuality) and with the Moon...a Moon which points to women, families and finance.

Oh yes...and nuns. That's a whole other topic, but one you shouldn't be surprised if you hear about going forward. 

With the outcome ruler of Scorpio being Pluto, Pluto's position in this chart at 11 Capricorn with multi-faceted Facies conjunct Industria in the 5th house says that the Church face many interruptions of its 'current work' or 'how it likes to work' to change what really needs changing. Pluto in the 5th does speak to the question of clergy being allowed to have families, and the exact sextile between Pluto and Saturn speaks of a 'fear' about that very question. There is a very real and very human question about whether the Catholic Church could be the institution it is and has come to be if priest and nuns did marry. After all, don't married people put their families first? Isn't that what having children requires of people?

And yet...if you go to the 'resisting change' side of this (using Saturn to try and 'stop' Pluto) then Pluto acts out - and there will be more sex abuse.

Humans are sexual beings. If you bar sexuality, then what kind of people - especially in this day and age - are going to enter the priesthood?

The Torre Giovanni (Tower of Saint John) and the Leonine wall inside the Vatican gardens

(photo credit: Gugganij, July 2011)

Such are the questions which confront the Catholic Church. They're plainly stated in the opening chart of this Conclave.

But what about the additional sessions which will follow? Here are the charts for those Conclave 'chapters' for the next five days:

 Papal Conclave - March 13, 2013 - Morning session

   Papal Conclave - March 13, 2013 - Afternoon session

  Papal Conclave - March 14, 2013 - Morning session

 Papal Conclave - March 14, 2013 - Afternoon session

  Papal Conclave - March 15, 2013 - Morning session

  Papal Conclave - March 15, 2013 - Afternoon session

 Papal Conclave - March 16, 2013 - Morning session

Papal Conclave - March 16, 2013 - Afternoon session

Papal Conclave - March 17, 2013 - Morning session

 Papal Conclave - March 17, 2013 - Afternoon session

Maybe you read horoscopes. Maybe you don't. Whichever is the case, what's easy enough to see is that the morning charts are all 'weighted' (more planets) on the left side of the chart where the afternoon charts are more on the right side of the chart. Also, though as the days go along the afternoon charts 'rise' towards the top of the chart (a position known as the "Midheaven" which is the most worldly and/or aspirational) the morning charts don't push more down towards the lower part of the chart.

What this says is that as the week goes on, the 'worldly' aspect of the afternoon voting sessions becomes more obvious. You may think of that as 'who the Church is in the world' or 'what the Church's work is in the world' and both will be true. But what may be more interesting to think about is how the left-versus-right qualities evidence. The left side of the chart is proactive. The right side of the chart is responsive and - to this conversation, more 'traditional' or built on experience.

So if you're someone who wants a pope to change things, you might well want to be hoping for a pope who gets voted for in the morning.

Then we get to the Moon. Through the afternoon of the 14th, the Moon will be in Aries. After that it will be in Taurus moving from Taurus into Gemini on March 17th, all of which is typical of the Moon, which give or take some time zone stuff changes signs every two days.

(For the purposes of this post we're guessing that the 'standard length' of five days total will not be exceeded during this election. If it is, I'll post again on what we know at that point.)

Moon in Aries asks the Church what it is. What is the Church about? What are its goals in this world? Moon in Aries also focus on the quality of physical life, which would tend to emphasize the real world issues of real world people.

The Moon in Taurus is about values and what creates that 'safe' feeling when we're secure in knowing all is stable - that we know we can survive another day. (Or in the life of the Church, maybe another hundred years - or at least through the reign of the next Pope.) Moon in Taurus is more protective than the Moon in Aries, which would seem to emphasize more conservative positions.

But how that is expressed in these charts varies. The afternoon charts mostly have the Moon in the 9th house no matter what signs it's in, though the chart for the 13th has it still in the 8th house and the horoscope for the 17th has it in the 10th. The Moon in 9 is several things. It speaks strongly to the teachings of the Church in a ritual form - the letter rather than the spirit of the thing. Yet in Aries this would be 'what we should do' where in Taurus it would be more like 'what we have been taught we should be'...and then there's the Moon in Gemini of March 17th, which would place and emphasis on 'doing our job better' on a level which looks to teaching and education.

Interestingly however, the morning charts for the 14th, 15th and 16th have the Moon in the 12th house with those for the 15th and 16th (the Moon in Taurus) having the Moon intercepted in that 12th house. These charts probably represent the most 'liturgical' and conservative sessions of all, the moments when the Conclave veers more towards internalized doctrine with less of a focus on worldly matters.

Most people who think the Church needs to change would call this 'more of the same' and not like it very much. If you're one of the people in this collective, your feelings would probably echo more with Conclave doings on the mornings of the 13th, 14th or 17th, should it go on that long.

Yet it's not that the Church isn't aware that changes of some kind need to be made. Throughout this Conclave, Pallas (dispassionate wisdom) will be conjunct Eris, the idea that things happen to shake us up in ways we never suspected (or believed) could possibly happen. Remembering that in these circles someone in the 60s is considered rather young, this reminds us that many (if not most) of those in the College of Cardinals were born in the 1930s and 40s, marking them as members of Pluto in Cancer (for whom the world has pretty much changed entirely) or Pluto in Leo, a group of people who adapt slowly, but ultimately well...though that may be harder when you're part of an institution as resistant to change as the Catholic Church.

Among others, a small child marvels at the beauty of sunlight

streaming in through the windows of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

(photo credit: James Bromberg August 2003)

In the overall sense, this progression of charts strikes me as an ongoing discussion - which the Conclave probably is. With various views being expressed going in (hence the black smoke for the initial vote) there is likely to be an initial bend towards conservatism (the 'Romans' side of the equation) which after several days becomes somewhat more 'Reformist.'

So we'll see. Once a new Pope is elected we will know when during this process two-thirds of the Cardinals were able to agree on one name and what that name is. We will look to his chart and see where it fits into the greater picture. Granted, we will only know what his tenure as Pope will produce in time, but by and large, the administration headed up by any given Pope tends to be a great deal like the Pope which heads it.

In the meantime, we do know one thing: this Conclave is being conducted during Mercury's moving into its station to go direct. Given that we allow a metaphysical two-day before, two-day after 'station allowance' for any such event, that means that any Pope elected between March 15th and March 19th will bear the 'mark' of Mercury's upcoming 5 Pisces station. If that degree is not obviously active in the next Pope's chart, we will know that this point is sensitive for some other reason, and figure out what that is.

But still, the basics apply. To be electing a Pope under a Mercury retrograde in Pisces as Mercury comes into conjunction with Neptune asks that any such choice be made based on our having faith in the reality we live with, and the life to be lived in the here and now. Scripture can be hugely inspirational, but rituals do not create reality: humans do.

And to be human is to be mortal, a fact which stresses our own need for compassion and acceptance that our life can only be as good or as safe or as moral as that life we help others achieve for themselves.  
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