Ceres in Sagittarius

Just below and to the right of the center of this photograph is the Milky Way's

Galactic Center - which is currently located at 27 Sagittarius

(Photo credit: G Kopan, R Hurt, Caltech)

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Asteroid Ceres will be entering Sagittarius late on Monday (UT/+0) time - at 22:04 (10:04 p.m.), to be exact. Which first of all means that as this post goes to digital press, Ceres will be positioned at 29 Scorpio, a degree known as more inward than otherwise and particularly bent towards figuring out or doing whatever sort of investigating is needed in order to understand what’s ‘behind’ things or comprehend either how something works - particularly with an eye to stabilizing some situation.

Which as we all know would in Scorpio ultimately mean a stabilizing of feelings and/or reactions: the situation creates the emotionality because it touches on some insecurity or vulnerability in each and any one of us.

And that’s just the degree. 29 Scorpio is also the current position of fixed star Toliman, a star which in being the foot (or hoof, if you prefer) of the Centaur is connected both to life-long learning (the habit of learning or learning to learn) and either the sense of being grounded or learning to be grounded.

It’s a star which seems to represent how we light our own way...and as such is a very thematic ‘doorway’ to Sagittarius, zodiac land of expansion and all we learn through the process of expanding on any level, some of which we like - and some of which we tend not to like all that much.

As for Ceres, it’s easy to think of Ceres in earthy and rather pragmatic terms as particularly by transit Ceres both acts a bit like a yes-no, stop-start “traffic light” and a personal GPS the point of which is (in the end) more or less about our Self depending on where Ceres is in our natal chart (and how its aspected and all such things) plus the house Ceres is transiting as it leaves Scorpio’s hot-and-cold water for realms which are as boundless as we imagine them to be.

At least in Sagittarian theory.

But all is hardly negative here as Ceres and Sagittarius go together not quite like peanut butter and jelly but more like rubber tread meeting road: Ceres provides the plan (or the need to plan) and Sagittarius either provides the need or opportunity to get things done - a quality which may motivate us to get out of neutral and into gear...or which in keeping with other recent events (like Mars entering Capricorn) speak to the actual getting to the issue - whatever that issue may be. Where Mars in Sagittarius contributes just a bit (just a bit?) to spinning our wheels and instances of getting dizzied by options, problems, details, input or other things, Ceres in Sagittarius is a plus for organization and for at least a focus on priorities if not an out-and-out letting go of Things Unnecessary.

There is a nurturing quality to Ceres which in the immediate tends to be the nurturing of something (the idea, the project, the plan, the effort...even our tolerance, perseverance, curiosity or willingness to be less defensive and more open). But beyond this there’s a reason...a rationale...a ‘plan’ which is eventual and much bigger than this moment.

And that’s the plan we’re most interested in - and, if truth be told, most vested in.

A diagram of Ceres orbit at October 27, 2014

(Generated by the JPL small body database)

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Ceres will be in Sagittarius until January 9, 2015 - just over two months, which is rather quick for an object with a 4.6 year-long orbit. What does that suggest metaphysically? Well for one that we may have to hustle our bustle, lest we not get everything done - which in turn suggests there is (and is going to be) a lot which needs doing and to get done. As a combination Ceres in Sagittarius also suggests a need to secure new/more resources and to harbor or conserve what resources we have - which could be about some problem or blockage in some system (Mercury will be revving up to go retrograde just as Ceres completes this passage)...but it may just be because we don’t have the time or inclination to have more details or more things we need to deal with.

It all depends. Again - check your chart, and when in doubt, talk to a qualified astrologer.

There are a few dates we could cite as Ceres makes its way through Sagittarius though. The first would be November 18-20 as Ceres conjuncts royal star Antares.

- link to post -

The Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 3): Antares

Plan on not obsessing. Or obsess about your plans - whichever works.

Ceres-wise, nothing appears globally all that fascinating thereafter until December 8/9, when Ceres will be in conjunction with the Sun as part of a transiting grand trine/kite which just happens to occur with Jupiter on station (to go retrograde) at 22 Leo.

By itself (which is to say, apart from anything else which may be happening at the time) this amalgamation would seem to speak not to what we could or can do with-for-with regards to others, but what we should do - particularly if we want things to go more easily/pleasantly somewhere down the line. Plus, that Ceres will move on, degree by degree, while remaining in (grand) trine first to Juno/Nemesis and Uranus-South Node-Eris in Aries (wanting-needing-finding ways to maintain control of our Self as we have learned we need to in order to reach our aim)...and then to Jupiter and Eris/South Node?

That suggests a rather long period (December 8/9 through December 31st) which to start with is simply hectic. There’s a lot under way and no matter what we do and no matter how good we are at doing it (or avoiding it, depending...) there are things which are going to come along which either disrupts what we have been doing or which causes us to see things from a bigger and more potent perspective - thereby suggesting (yet again) why we probably should be thinking thing through based not on our current position/s or past performance/s, but rather on our potential.

Yes, happy holidays to us all.

Then the grand trine dissolves. And that it does so as Ceres reaches 27 Sagittarius (the current location of the Milky Way’s Galactic Center) speaks to needing to fulfill our purpose to others - whatever that may be or mean - before we ‘get ours’...which could be good or bad.

And that means we’re going to start 2015 with Ceres at 27 Sagittarius...which is rather like being asked to go into our next year asking ourselves not what we can give, but whether we’re going to give - and what may come of our giving...and not giving, should that be our choice in a moment where preference - specifically the preference to make contributions to this life, this world - to people you don’t know and will never know - is said to be a requirement.

That’s rather poignant, don’t you think?
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June 4: A Sagittarian Lunar Eclipse

 Road with Cypress and Star

by Vincent van Gogh (1890)

With the Moon of the June 4th lunar eclipse positioned at 14 Sagittarius the ‘very idea of it all!’ becomes a point of emotionality. For some, that will mean delight, for others this won’t be their most delightful, delighted or otherwise delectable day.

14 Sagittarius is considered a degree all about intelligence. But it’s not what you know or your capacity to know it here which counts…it’s what you DO with what you know which is the wholly big deal.

So don’t think you have to be Einstein to shine in your own mind or the eyes of others. That’s just not the case!

A handful of modifiers on the Moon’s side of this Full Moon…(all lunar eclipses are full moons)…Hidalgo points to the manner or ‘mannerism’ involved – which for some (depending on what you’re involved in) means “protocols.”

So you don’t have to be brilliant, you just have to ‘do’ what you do well or brilliantly to take on the sheen of this high water Full Moon.

Then we add Nemesis. Nemesis is the person who stands up and, despite knowing they’re doing the unpopular thing, announces what will happen if everyone behaves like lemmings and runs off a cliff. So maybe your touch of rising to the fore is pointing out some flaw in the plan?

Or maybe…just maybe this is about the proverbial light bulb coming upon you as you realize that someone (or some moment) which was unpopular with you ‘then’ (Nemesis warnings by definition are never popular!)….weeeeelllll…. maybe you’re realizing that unpopular or not, the warning was right?

One more crayon to add to the box here: my favorite Plutino, Ixion. Since if nothing else Ixion carries a theme of ‘repetitiveness,’ this light bulb (or lightning strike) may be your making the same mistake yet again or your finally seeing that some error in the manner in which you're doing something or thinking something (Hidalgo) is what's been tripping you up.

(That being true, take a V8 juice from petty cash.)

 Lightning strikes Denver, Colorado

photo credit: Retractor (June 2004)

There is, however, a problem with Ixion being in this picture. That’s because Ixion is at core the idea of the ‘repeating bad act’ which we will hope is not you…but which well may be you.

And yes, this could be as simple as cheating on your diet. (Who is it that you’re cheating? Wouldn’t that be …uh, you?) Then again, it could be stealing from your own company. (Who are you stealing from? Wouldn’t that be…uh, you?)

Whatever the Ixion influence, the issue really becomes how we harm ourselves through repetitive cycles of doing the same thing. We may harm others in the process…then again, we may only do injury to ourselves or, since this is Sagittarius, our reputation.

So this could be a time when some issue you thought had faded into the background suddenly rears up to bite you.

On the Sun’s side of this figure we have an interesting group…Aldebaran (integrity) at 9 Gemini, TNO Chaos (endless possibilities) at 15 Gemini and Rigel (the teacher) at 17 Gemini.

(Oh, I think I hear a theme!)

Gemini being a sign about our mentality, the way we think, our ideas and (in the end) our choices and priorities, the Sun presented here in an emotionally evocative degree represents the ‘bringing to light’ of some sort of information or realization.

I’d say ‘happy days’ but this is more likely to be a happy, snappy or even crappy daze, depending.

With the Sun positioned between Royal Star Aldebaran and Rigel, there’s a definite aura of 'need’ to get something right – or to get right with something, or maybe someone. The Sun is at 14 Gemini here and the Nodes are at 5 Sagittarius (North) and 5 Gemini (South), so this eclipse is not quite as far away from the nodes as you can get and have an eclipse (that would be fifteen degree) but it’s definitely not a chummy conglomeration PLUS both Sun and Moon are moving away from the node.

All and all, this looks like our ‘parting from the crowd,’ which actually works well if what you’re doing is exhibiting some power of your mind or even leaving some job because you’ve found something better to do with your life and time.

(Caution: this is still Venus retrograde, so don’t be thinking anything is going to be nirvana.)

Plus let’s be real…this eclipse also features Mars at 16 Virgo. And why do we care about Mars at 16 Virgo? For those of you astrology students, that would be – yes – because Mars at 16 Virgo is at the half-way point between Sun and Moon, turning this eclipse into a t-square.

Oh joy, oh rapture…which back in dinosaur times would have no doubt been oh joy, oh raptor…but that’s a whole other thing. (Yes, I am the Jurassic Astrologer. Thanks for noticing.)

So the rules for t-squares…as I sit here twiddling my thumbs (which makes it harder to type) I ponder this Mars thing and, since all t-square confront us with the necessity to “get over ourselves” (i.e. our ego), this one would seem to be about the necessity to DO something instead of just pontificating about it or insisting you know how.

All you delegators and procrastinators be forewarned: you may get told to put up or shut up about now.

(Yes, Venus is retrograde. People are feeling annoyed, feisty and aggrieved – which isn’t a name of some nasty law firm, even if it sounds like it - lol!)

Virgo is the sign about knowing how, refining our methods, making things work, coloring inside the moral bounds and – oh yes – those sworn to do a duty (soldiers, employees, civil servants, etc.). So while it may be easy to finger point, the real point is that if you’ll just apply the logic and skill you have to whatever the issue is, you’ll do a whole lot better than otherwise.

And for those who don’t? Well, let’s just say that Lunar Eclipses are well known emotional periods. With Mars involved, this could turn into a pretty feisty, even brutal debate.

And yes, we’ll hope it’s just a debate. 14 Gemini has a reputation for trickery and dishonesty, so…are you having a trick played on you? Is some trick which has been played on you now coming to light? Are you realizing you’ve been tricked into doing something?

There are all sorts of ‘scales’ to such things of course…this June 4th eclipse might be a great day to spring a surprise party on someone. That’s a trick – but a fun one! Then again, this might be a time to be particularly aware of who you’re dealing with and whether they’re on the up-and-up with you.

And there is a chance that you will very blatantly (at least to others) not be watching out for yourself…that you may not have learned your lesson about something? Or that you might be digging yourself  into an ever-deepening hole – most of all with-or-in your own mind?

Like I said…Venus is still retrograde – we’re all prone to feeling very unlovable, even in our own regard!

Just to make this a little MORE exotic (as if it needed to be…?) there is also the fact that asteroid Niobe is sitting at 15 Pisces, turning this whole t-square affair into something of a Grand Cross. Certainly if you have any planet, node or axis point in the 11-19 Pisces district you should consider yourself in Grand Cross territory with this eclipse, which means yes – you could get ‘grandly crossed’ by others. More likely is the idea that your head could be spinning, what with the nineteen hundred things you need to do and give a little thought to.

The t-square here is validated. And if you have planets, axis points or nodes between 11 and 19 Virgo, you’re on the Mars end of this affair and frustration and critique and getting over what you have to do or need to learn how to do or summon the chutzpah to get done…those would be your challenges.

Above all, don’t flake out. Don’t think that if you ignore something it’ll go away. It might not hinder you for a while, but then like a malignant cancer it’ll do some seriously significant damage to life and livelihood.

And a note here to those of the astrologically-trained ilk here: why am I tightening the normal 5-degree orb on Mars? That’s because the rest of the t-square is based at 14 Gemini/Sag. So add five to 14…that’s 19.

But that doesn’t mean that if you have a planet (axis point, node) at 20 or 21 Virgo I would say you’re getting off Scott-free. This is sort of a ‘sucker punch’ effect which says you can get sucked into difficulties now even though you may not be ‘part’ of them per se.

Also…a last tasteful note before we go back to Grand Crosses to finish up. Medea is sitting at 13 Virgo (obviously conjunct Mars and VERY much t-square the eclipse) in this figure. So the act of loving something too much is a path to self-undoing here.

With Mercury (ruler of Virgo) in Gemini and conjunct Byblis (the attempt to defend the indefensible) I could go on and talk about how it’s plainly the thing in you which you don’t want to tackle because it’s just so uncomfortable which is getting in your way but…naw, I won’t say that.

Yes, it’s true. But I won’t say it. Free free to admit it if you dare (you’ll thank yourself later if you do) but I’m not going to be pushy here.

(Who me, pushy?)

Getting back to that Grand Cross thing…because we’re seeing an asteroid (Medea) filling out the fourth side of the cross – what would be why I’m not calling this a Grand Cross for sure, for everybody, for better or worse. Those with planets in the named Pisces zone? Yes – your chart is filling in this side of things and you had best watch the pride thing, lest it get you shot down.

(In other words, no gloating. I don’t care how much you want to – resist, lest Aunt Karma come and give you such a pain that you’ll be aching long past forever.)

 Medea, about to murder her own children

painting by Ferdinand Victor Delacroix (1862)

Asteroids have mass, yes. But they aren’t full fledged planets. Dwarf planets are dwarf planets because they have sufficient mass…and it’s one of those ultra-interesting parts of physics that once something ‘out there’ has enough mass, it tends to ‘spin’ itself into more or less a globe – and it’s a combination of these factors which divides the full fledged planets from the dwarf planets. Generally, I mean.

So anyway…Medea being an asteroid, there is some ‘undercurrent’ of a Grand Cross for everybody. So even if all is going just fine, dandy and nifty-swell, someone’s brain will get a stubbed toe or mental hangnail which needs tending to. There will be details upon details.

But what do we expect from a Sagittarian Lunar Eclipse? Sagittarius is a ‘busy’ sign to be sure – and lunar eclipses are filled to the brim, usually with emotion, but maybe sometimes occasionally with so much stuff to do or consider or make sense of that you get to feeling emotional.

And there is that One Other Thing, of course.

What other thing?

That would be the ‘little thing’ we talked about in our last post. Hardly will this lunar eclipse have gone off (at 11:13 a.m. UT/+0) when Neptune goes retrograde.

 Planet Neptune

photo credit: NASA-JPL

Yes, that little thing: the fact that we don’t quite know how anything is going to turn out.

Maybe the answer is to count our blessings?

Yes, maybe. It couldn’t hurt!

MakeMake Station/Direct: Purpose Positive?

 Dwarf Planet MakeMake as photographed by the Hubble Telescope

photo credit: NASA/Caltech-JPL

Dwarf Planet MakeMake goes direct at 4:40 in the morning (UT/+0) on June 10th.

Let’s start there. Metaphysically, what is a dwarf planet? Considering that planets represent universal human attributes and asteroids and such are moments and situations, aspects/factors of or in our lives which we meet up with and are inspired by or need to deal with, dwarf planets are something of a curious ‘hybrid,’ if you will.

One of the interesting qualifiers which differentiates a dwarf from real planet may give us a big clue as to meaning here too. Given how astrophysics (and plain old regular physics) work, if you’re a big enough object, apparently orbital-versus-revolution dynamics will cause you to pretty much ‘spin into a ball.’

Or at least something close. This is one of the big reasons (so I gather) that Pluto got demoted. At not even a quarter the size of Planet Earth, Pluto just doesn’t have the mass to put a ‘spin’ on things – which may be why we think of Pluto as ‘emotional transformation.’ Pluto is where the ‘spin stops’ and the dream hits reality. Either we win or we lose and from that comes the delight or deep heartache we associate with Plutonic emotional transformation.

Okay…so if MakeMake is also a dwarf planet, it too holds that capacity to represent something about where the proverbial rubber meets the road.

Again borrowing from what we know about Pluto, Pluto being the ‘king’ of the underworld points us to that ‘reigning’ quality which ‘rules’ just under our skin. And that would be emotion.

This is an interesting concept to translate as we move back to MakeMake as MakeMake is the creator god who in myth is ‘responsible’ for Easter Island.

Easter Island is out in the middle of the ocean. And ocean (water in general, actually) is always a metaphysical metaphor for emotion.

So what is created out of emotion?

One more thing to consider here is what happened to Easter Island. Its people were became victims of their own inability to safeguard their resources, which by any estimation is an example of desire outstripping wisdom.

Is MakeMake thus the creating of the ‘island’ in our life? Or the ruination of same?

Considering that MakeMake is going direct now at 25 Virgo with Virgo being a sign not only of jobs and civil service and details and practicality but health… this may be a turning point in many of our lives.

Are you someone whose chart is within orb of June 1st’s solar eclipse at 11 Gemini and/or July 1st’s solar eclipse at 9 Cancer? Maybe both?

The more “dynamic” the images of change are right now in your life, the more likely it would seem that MakeMake going direct at 25 Virgo will signal ‘news’ (information, etc.) regarding a change of circumstance. It could be good…it could be challenging.

And then again, it could be both. Especially if you’re being affected by either (or both) solar eclipses its worth remembering that what you’re going through now is “setting the stage” for realizations and realities which will solidify some 36 months from now.

Discovered in 2005 by the handy, dandy team of David Rabinowitz, Craig Trujillo and Mike Brown, MakeMake has an orbital period of 309.88 years – so it’s hardly gone anywhere since it was discovered. But since in astrology all counts, it’s worth noting that when discovered, MakeMake was conjunct none other than Sisyphus, a smart guy from a very good family who had all the advantages and a very clear choice between using what he had for the benefit of others or simply doing as he pleased.

His choice? To invite people into his house under the guise of hospitality and thereafter murder them.

Link to...

ARTICLE on SISYPHUS, TYPHON & DAMOCLES

When discovered, MakeMake was also in direct opposition to Eos (instinct), Pandora (a box of ills), Juno (leadership dependent on self discipline), Chaldea (the old and known), Sphinx (enduring patience) and Scheherazade, the slave who became queen through entertaining her sultan with stories of worth without once treading on his ego. Or insisting on the value of her own.

This all sounds very much like parts of the same tale. And when we add in the idea that MakeMake, unlike Pluto is a Cubewano (meaning its orbit is not controlled by Neptune or any other planet)…that stresses the integral quality of individuality involved here.

And isn’t integrity one of the big keywords for the 11 Gemini solar eclipse just passed? By Jove…not to bring Jupiter into this, but yes, it is!

As MakeMake goes direct, it’s doing so at 25 Virgo, a degree which is known for a ‘mesmerizing’ or even ‘hypnotic’ effect. Is this something you will feel? Which you will wield? Which you will utilize to get something of worth going/on track in your life?

Considering this station occurs in square to the lunar nodes with Ceres in opposition at 25 Pisces, there would seem to be something of a crisis of direction or leadership. All bases must be covered in order to get anywhere at the moment and with MakeMake flanked by Nemesis and Typhon there are some elemental (Typhon) energies being appealed to (or exacerbated) and more than a flavor of ‘be warned!’ or ‘I told you so’ in the mix.

 MakeMake's station/direct: June 10, 2011 at 4:40 am (UT/+0)

Aries Wheel/Location Not Specific

(Grand Cross indicated in black)

This four point ‘grand square’ definitely poses a question of where the world is going…or where you want to go in the world. If this is a moment when you are working to bring something into being, its evidently important to pay attention to how ‘appealing’ it is to others. Will it get them where they instinctively (Typhon) live? Are you giving them some sort of reason (Nemesis) to take your part lest they lose out? And are you minding all the p’s and q’s and valid critiques (Nemesis) you may have gotten up until now?

Are you being realistic about your ability to do what you say you (Ceres) want to do? And considering Ceres is at 25 Pisces and therefore within range (and heading towards) nobody’s favorite fixed star Scheat, are you willing to weather choppy water on your way to proving your value, worth and point?

There are several indicators of ‘4’ in this chart…which metaphysically can be 4 days, 4 weeks, 4 months and/or 4 years. Since we’re talking about a celestial object taking station, generally the indication is day-week-month. But one never knows. And since four days from now will be one day after Saturn goes direct…

…just sayin’! Be prepared to flex a little and deal with a little unwanted material hitting a fan somewhere in life where you least suspect it over this next while.

This is a double-solar eclipse season, after all. What would you expect?

With Venus having just entered Gemini, there are choices to be made and priorities to be considered. And when we think…well, how much faith do you have in your own ability to bring what you really want into being and the value of doing so?

That would seem to be the question now. So to all, may your pondering bring you only worthwhile answers!

Uranus, Hidalgo, Nemesis: Parameters and Prerogatives

 The Wheel of Fortune

by Edward Burne-Jones (1863)

As this blog posts on March 11, Bali is on station and going retrograde. Our vision of what things should be (Bali as paradise) is under review. And yet, we probably believe in it all more strongly – as we often do when such idyllic concepts are believed in. Reality can disappoint us – the dream, the image, the fantasy of what things could (or should?) be never does.

Remember Alfred Hitchcock, the movie director? He knew this on an intrinsic level. It’s part of what makes his movies so tense, so artistic, so eerily suggestive. Our minds are far, far more capable of scaring or enchanting us than reality will ever be. So while we gain something irreplaceable when we go on vacation to somewhere beautiful or have experience some wonderful event, the place or the moment is what it is. The real elation comes from our emotional reaction…the how we ‘spin’ things in our emotional mind.

That’s Bali.

But as this ‘emotional exalting’ mechanism is at its ‘station balancing point,’ Uranus is pressing forward to the very last, nth degree of Pisces…wringing the last drop of emotionality out of the old cycle, the old way, the old life before exploding into the new Aries world which is as full of potential as it may be full of helplessness. Or innocence. Or courage.

Aries is the sign of the infant. Infants do what they do because they have no pre-conception of good or bad.

And this is the energy the Uranus clock is striking, tapping, accessing and liberating as it hits 0 (degrees) Aries 0 (minutes) at 53 minutes after midnight on March 12, 2011 (UT/+0).

But before that ‘breakthrough’ moment arrives – before the door opens on the colorful land of Oz, first comes the tornado which rips us out of a world which as Dorothy’s Kansas was in the famous story – wasn’t working for her.

I once dated a guy from Kansas. We met at work – at a magazine publishing company, to be exact. Upon learning where he was from, I glibly made the obligatory Wizard of Oz joke: oh! I thought Kansas was all black and white. 

We were both in our 20’s, so he evidently wasn’t as yet dead-tired of such, so I merely got a dignified sniff and somewhat lofty correction: actually…it’s mostly sepia tones. 

Years later I drove through Kansas – much of which is beautiful. And he’s right – a lot of it is sepia toned.

So your life may be dull. Or as people in the Middle East and elsewhere have been making so very plain, it may simply not be tolerable any more.

Even if you’re completely comfortable with and in your world, this is going to be a time when things don’t feel entirely ‘solid’ or secure. They may be fine…or they may be about to melt in your hands like ice in a tin bucket sitting on black asphalt on a hot summer day.

You don’t know yet…and you aren’t going to know yet for a while; though the Uranus clock with strike zero Aries o’clock within the next twenty-four hours, Neptune is sitting at the intensely societal, social and systemic degree of 29 Aquarius. Neptune moved into 29 Aquarius back on March 5th and will not slip-slide its big blue self into Pisces until April 4th. And until that happens, many a proverbial ball will be in the air. Or you may think that all is well – that your bullet has been dodged. Or that the status quo will hold. Or that there will be nothing new to contend with.

Or, or, or…

We just don’t know. And that’s the point: we’re in a period when one of our biggest bundles to grapple with is how to carry on without knowing.

We live in a very ‘what is it?’ world. We really like to nail things down. We like to think we know what will work.

Right now, we don’t. And if astrology’s metaphysical lessons mean anything, the more you try to ‘hold on’ or ‘nail down’ or define things, the less they are going to conform to your expectations.

 

Neptune Rule #1: 

Allow yourself not to know.

  

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Neptune Theory #1:

The thing you think ‘must be’

probably isn’t. The thing you think

least likely will probably prove true.

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In this moment, as this blog posts there is also a point of Nemesis to contend with. Considering that Nemesis is a cosmic ‘warning’ which says just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should (and that there are consequences for many a thing you think won’t have any down side)…

Nemesis went retrograde in late January – about the time that people in the Middle East rose up in protest against their government, about the time that there was a distinct and disturbing uptick of violence in Mexico, about the time of the Arizona shooting which left six people dead, about the time natural confluences were wreaking havoc in Australia….

Nemesis went retrograde in early Libra, making its turn to retrograde a shift from ‘how can I do/get something done?’ to ‘how can anything get done?’ From all of us focusing on what others (Libra) were doing wrong, we began to think more in terms of how any of us can get what we need done considering what others are doing.

Do they know…can’t they see how what they’re doing isn’t, doesn’t, can’t work? Why do they think everyone else is there to exist at their beck and personal-financial-emotional-theoretical call?

Now, as Nemesis retrogrades back into Virgo, those questions become more systemic, more ‘realism’ oriented. From being more or less about ‘how can they THINK that?’ (think being a Libra/air sign conceptual world), now the question will be more about how we can do that. Or how others can do that to us. Or how they think we can do anything if our basic needs aren’t being met.

And yet, with Pluto in Capricorn, this also reminds us that this is a long-term (decade and a half) period which is all about becoming pragmatic. It’s about scaling back…focusing on what necessity really is.

That will now be what a lot of debate is really about.

It is also to remember that we are also in a Hidalgo station period. Hidalgo will go retrograde about sixteen hours after Uranus goes retrograde, suggesting that a lot of the push, the urgency, the pressure and stress(ed) points of this next day or so will best be dealt with more or less nobly.

 Das Paradies

by Jan Bruegel (c. 1620)

And yet there is that little danger here…that some will take the Hidalgo ‘nobility’ concept and turn it into ‘elitism.’ The same ‘class/caste’ system which populations are rebelling rather literally against in the Middle East have come to be more of a financial class/caste system – and (yea verily) a raison d’etre for many in many other parts of the world.

So….?

Hopefully you will take it on credit that there’s a reason why I would now ask you to gaze into the magical historical crystal ball….and to think about  how through the decades, centuries and millennia, when the divide between rich and poor gets too immense it always comes to a crunching, crashing end.

And one of the big problems in this epic opera is how those who are secure literally have no idea of what its like to do without. It’s not malicious – it just is. Marie Antoinette had no idea of how poor the poor among her French citizens were and for that (and a couple of other things) they cut her head off. On a little less drastic scale, I’ve had many a conversation with perfectly nice, sensible, well-educated, caring people here in LA who amaze me with how little they know about what life is for those who must do without. Try to talk to them about life on that scale and they get not vaguely uncomfortable, but really truly seriously uncomfortable.

And that’s probably what’s really most offensive in the split of fiscal classes. It’s not just what those who Have have and what those who Don’t Have don’t have – it’s that those who Have don’t even what to KNOW what those who Don’t Have go through in trying to survive.

  Morning Fantasy 

by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1904)

That’s enough to drive a person crazy. Or incite hate. Or get people with nothing into a real frenzy of you don’t know what it’s like? Well let me just burn your house down and reduce you to where I live so you can SEE and FEEL what it’s like! 

It will not take much ignoring to create the friction now. And I do mean friction (as in, lighting a fuse), not fiction – the thing I can ignore, should I wish to.

Privilege is an odd thing. I think one of the greatest privileges I have had in my own life is to spend time scratching by, counting pennies. And since where I came from was just financially solvent enough yet surely emotionally deprived enough to teach me that people really matter those two things have coalesced into a readiness to experience pain. Those who have never felt it are scared of it. Those who have been through a lot of pain – in the end – often realize how pain can be incredibly educational. It not only teaches you that you can survive, but that in the end, survival depends not just on the Self - but on those around us, and whether they're willing to deal with their Self.

Think I’m just getting into some sort of mushy moral proselytizing here? Surprise – I’m not! This is actually part of the grand amalgamation of the processes going on. We're all being made to feel more. Those who are used to it shrug more, grumble a bit and move on. Those who have been able to have a 'nice' life will find events more shocking.

In the end, this becomes a vast and global method of beginning to level the playing field or simply break it into two. That's pure Aquarian Age stuff - as we've been talking about in other posts. Bottom line, pretty much precisely to the degree and in areas of life where we think we have it ‘good’ where we are more than likely going to take our tumble.

But that’s the way of Uranus entering Aries - and yet another blog. Tomorrow’s, as a matter of fact…so not to worry...none of us have all that long to wait!

  

Seeking our Bali

 A Martinique coconut palm...ah, paradise!

Oh, how we all so want life to be good! However we define that term, we wish life would just be what we want it to be.

That image is our Bali.

Yesterday’s blog was all about Mercury entering Aries – an ingress which happens on March 9 at 5:48pm (UT/+0). But since Bali will be going into retrograde on March 11th at 12:56pm (UT/+0) that means Bali enters its station ‘window’ just before Mercury enters Aries.

So first a ‘Bali essence’ begins to enfold us. Then Mercury enters Aries, focusing our thought on who we are, what we can be, what our life is in this moment, what we have, what we lack, what we think, what we want to do…

You can see how this might go together, right?

Where Bali is going retrograde is also worth some ponder time. The degree is 17 – which means the two days prior to Bali’s going retrograde and the two following will be filled with whiffs and wafting emotionalism.

And what sign is Bali going retrograde (at 17 degrees) in? Scorpio.

SCORPIO?

 Arizona bark scorpion photographed under black light

photo credit: Bryce Alexander (2008)

Well…that surely puts a bit of a spin on the whole thing, doesn’t it? Scorpio is an interactive sign. And ‘interactions’ can be with other people…or institutions, companies, situations, groups – you name it, if its you and something you are involved in or are thinking about getting involved in or are unavoidably connected to, Scorpio is the water/emotional sign which governs how the ‘stuff’ which happens in and as a result of that connection affects you.

Oh sure…we all like to think that Scorpio is what’s being done to us. And yes, there are a very few situations where things are definitely and truly beyond our control. But 90% of Scorpio doings are because we choose to be involved. We choose to invest in such-and-such a stock. We choose to take that job. We choose to have sex with…uh…you know – them. 

We chose. We choose to get involved and out of that involvement (which would be Scorpio Part One) comes the emotional results (Scorpio Part Two).

Objects in direct motion indicate situations in life which are thrust upon us, creating the described dynamic. The first two days here (March 9-11) Bali is still in direct motion.

Then it goes retrograde. Bali retrograde at its best is our ability to be happy with and within ourselves. It’s the ability to not need others or to become someone we actually are happy with, at some very essential, everyday-basis.

Obviously this is an optimal. Bali as a concept is one of those ethereal ideas – paradise – which are not ever really a lasting factor in human life. We have happy moments. Blissful days and periods of time. But let’s face it – eventually the trash has to go out.

Particularly the emotional trash!

As Bali goes retrograde, it’s also within celestial hoo-ha distance (e.g., mere minutes of longitude) of Huya.

Remember Huya? Huya is the rainmaker…by taking something we have learned the hard way and turning it into a positive for others, we make their lives better and more fertile (rain as life-giving water) and thus we are fed.

We love Huya people. We respect Huya people. John Lennon…Oprah Winfrey…Abraham Lincoln…Martin Luther King, Jr….these are people who took things which hurt them or hurts thrust upon them or those they loved and turned that into a gift given to others. And in return, they are loved for what they have done.

That’s Huya.

The “dotted line” between the Bali and Huya concepts is not hard to see – the difference being that one is something you want for yourself (Bali) and the other is something you realize others need to have a right to experience (Huya).

Tanah Lot (Bali) sunset

photo credit: Kris Martin (2007)

 

With Mercury entering Aries, this would be the time to think about it. Those who refuse to will probably have situations arise which make them wonder why their life isn’t happier (the ‘anti-Bali’ effect) or why what they so want continues to be denied them (the ‘anti-Huya’ life situation).

Maybe it’s because they think only about themselves (Mercury/thought …in Aries/Self, ego)?

And maybe this is the time when they should think more in terms of how to be someone who does something so that good things happen to them?

Just in case this sounds too altruistic for cupcakes, one more little note on the astrological bulletin board…namely, that come the 11th, Nemesis (already in retrograde), moves out of Libra back into Virgo. This is about the input of challenge coming not from other people in specific moments, but from more all-encompassing situational functionalities.

Considering all which is going on around the world, it would not be surprising to hear of systems becoming problematic and both health care and civil service personnel (including militaries) are in focus.

The theme of Nemesis – the warning, the willingness to stand up and say no, this is not okay even when it’s not a popular thing to do is likely to pop up in any number of ways.

'A Glimpse of Paradise'

by Marie Ballan 

And one more thing here. We are in a period of flux. Those in areas of the world where trouble is evident are feeling it, but even if everything around your block, your town, your city seems normal enough – something is going on. Things are shifting, changing, feeling unpredictable. Uranus at 29 Pisces represents this instability; it’s a time for all of us to be feeling more and learning from our feelings…learning what is worth something and what is simply vanity.

The changes are not over yet. In celestial terms, they’re under way, but not nearly yet done.

That just means we have more to learn and more to realize about life and about ourselves; by our willingness to learn our lives will be empowered or not, crippled or not, enhanced or not, stripped down or not.

Clinging to the status quo is not going to be allowed until that status quo has itself changed. So let go. Learn to rely on yourself instead of some external standard and like as not you will come out – in time – with Huya/Bali in spirit, if not in life or hand.