The 2 Virgo New Moon / Sedna, Station-Retrograde

Gluehlampe

(photo credit: KMJ, Oct 2007)

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

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

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

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

How long ago?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Moon over Djúpivogur, Iceland

(photo credit: Daniel Om Gislason, January 2009)

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

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

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

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

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

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

 The 2 Virgo New Moon (glyph chart)

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

The 2 Virgo New Moon (text chart)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Of course, we could change...but wouldn't that require a different perspective?
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Dateblog: August 2014

 August 2014

For various real life reasons (yes, something else has happened) this isn't going to be my longest post. Nor are these my finest diagrams, I would say. But I did want to offer some general August information...so here it is:

The above is a chart by sign which plainly shows that Leo (in yellow) is the dominant sign of the month. This speaks to a huge amount of energy and a 'brilliance' of mind (or mindset) which can accomplish great things providing others and the 'greater concern' beyond that which we are focused on as what we want/want to accomplish...providing all that is taken into proper account.

Towards the end of the month as the Sun and Mercury move into Virgo (on the 23rd and 15th, respectively) cooler thoughts (heads, solutions, reasoning) will begin to prevail, but with Jupiter in Leo there is likely to be a lot of 'stepping out' and much stepping over boundaries and limitations simply because some urge is so potent as to blind us to greater and factual issues, much as we might be 'blinded' if the Sun was in our eyes.

The are likely to be some very sun-struck (star-struck, arrogantly stubborn) folks around this month. As the Full Moon occurs in late Aquarius leading into the peak of the annual Perseid meteor shower insights will happen and they may well mark the 'sparking' of new ideas, insights and choices which are made as a consequence of same. 

Ceres having entered Scorpio (see previous post) and Juno entering Cancer speak to a shift of energetics; where the 'idea' [Juno/Gemini] of the thing had been a premier  basis of consideration, now a more 'domestic' [Juno/Cancer] and less theory-idea-concept-driven orientation comes on line, like as not because sufficient negatives have been encountered (that being Vesta in Libra) that we are each driven to consider some sort of basic, very (Cancerian) personal...even primal sense of [Vesta] cost.

With the Virgo New Moon a more practical and pragmatic phase of operation/operational necessity is implied, with the close association of this New Moon to Sedna's station-retrograde in late Taurus posing 'how to...' questions precisely where our mentality has failed to mature - a fact which conjures up all sorts of ingrained possibilities.

Will all of this happen succinctly and politely? Looking at the month in terms of element, that answer would seem to be solidly and resoundingly 'no.'

(And yes I'm sorry I have to say that, but truth is truth.)

 
In the above diagram, red is fire, blue is water, that greenish brown is earth and...oh yes, there IS a little air in this amalgamation, courtesy of the Full Moon.

But remember, the Full Moon is a moment. So we can expect a moment of clarity around the Full Moon (plus Perseids), but the rest of the month - while possibly very productive, creative, delightful and developmental - is likely to manifest in a manner which is very fervent, either in pursuit of a [fire] goal or aim...or through some wholly [water] feeling effort or emotionally-driven choice.

There is a possibility for much knee-jerk activity here - the response by rote, the retreat into your own 'world' because dealing with others rains on your parade. This is also a recipe for real world (as opposed to theoretical) considerations.

In other words, just saying the words isn't likely to cut it this month. It's one of those 'the proof is in the pudding' periods with a lot of hungry and expectant folks poised at the universal table.

Which begs the question: what are we about to serve up to others and be served by life in kind?
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Virgo’s New Moon Cycle: Processing Our Process

Australia's Great Barrier Reef

(photo credit: Steve Evans, January 2011)

Sometimes I sit and stare at something like a New Moon and wonder what it means – which in this case would be the meaning of a Virgo New Moon in the midst of everything else going on. Then it hit me…and the answer was very simple and utterly direct.

This New Moon is all about how we are going about doing our ‘Virgo work.’ It’s about how we’re operating in life and in our own lives and what we’re working to purify or make more functional…efficient…healthy…and maybe in sync with everything which is currently going on while supporting our greater, long term goals.

And we’re doing all this with Pholus and Ixion having just gone direct. We’re also doing it after entering the intense if glorious realm of dissolving structures and breaking down of walls which stand between us and the what we need to have in place which is so very typical of the eight weeks (or so) which precedes any given Solar Eclipse.

Not to mention one in Scorpio – a sign all about being transformed through our relationship with others and with our world, a sign which tests our ability…particularly our emotional ability to get past our own fears and insecurities in the search for what we think is really our dream, our goal, our nirvana, our bliss.

This Virgo New Moon is also occurring just as the South Node (the easy way, the comfortable thing) is leaving conjunctive orb with fixed star Menkar. And since Menkar is another version of what’s easy to do – aka the thing which doesn’t require confrontation – for the past few months or so, in spite of all we all have been doing what we needed to do.

Or rather, we’ve endured all the ancillary emotionality. And the feelings which have arisen during carrying on with what we had in our minds as the thing we needed to be focused on. That has been our South Node/Menkar combination.

With Menkar at 14 Taurus, the South Node (which if you remember cycles backwards) came into five degrees of conjunctive orb  - which is to say it hit 19 Taurus - back in February, 2013…which if you remember is also the month when Saturn went retrograde at 11 Scorpio, the degree of the incoming eclipse.

- link to -

Saturn station/retrograde (Part One)

- link to -

Saturn station/retrograde (Part Two)

During the months since, that South Node/Menkar combination became something of a bedrock – ‘the thing we could trust’ as a good place to invest our time and effort. It was Taurean. It was comfortable. We felt like we knew what we were doing and we knew that by putting our time and effort there we were going to at least be on an even keel with ourselves…we wouldn’t suffer any big nicks or cracks in the self-esteem department.

And let’s be real…humans are all about self-worth, self-esteem and self-respect, am I right? Those are the stuff of satisfaction, whether we’re rich or poor, whether we’re young or old, whether we’re single or married…whatever.

Let’s also note that this Virgo New Moon? It’s at 13 Virgo. And 13 Virgo is about as trine to 14 Taurus as you can get. What’s one measly degree in the life of a trine?

But that’s sort of the point. Back in February – as the South Node slid back into 19 Taurus and thus came into orb-of-conjunction with Menkar, we had a Full Moon at 7 Virgo. And now, as Menkar is being left behind by the South Node, we’re getting a New Moon at 13 Virgo.

Full Moons are about fulfillment and often about having finished a ‘phase’ of some project or effort. So back in February, some long term (Saturn) effort was getting ready to be completed and between then and now we have gone through the finishing of that and the ‘making good on the easy part’ (South Node) in the sense that nodes always refer to our relationship to others and our world.

And now the South Node is leaving Menkar as we get this Virgo New Moon at a moment when we are entering the thickening energetics of the approaching Scorpio Solar Eclipse…and all this is happening just as we’ve experienced Pholus (the little things which can cut us so deeply) and Ixion (the need to recognize others in this world for who and what they are) have gone direct – in Sagittarius.

In short, this is a recipe for finding out what is and isn’t working in our lives, with the the Virgo Moon part of this equation being the what we’re responsible for in terms for doing well…or not doing at all…or doing too much of, to the exclusion of other things which perhaps need doing – or with so much focus on the nuances that we forget the bigger picture.

The South Node actually conjuncted with Menkar on July 10th – just after a New Moon at 16 Cancer, a degree Jupiter will be rolling over during this very lunar month. If you remember, the grand trine in water (which began as Saturn-Jupiter-Neptune) came online in late June – at June 26th, with Jupiter’s ingress of Cancer. That began a steady increase in the emotional ‘water level’ in life. Some of us felt more emotional. Situations and conversations turned towards being about emotions and got emotionally provocative. People were ‘getting to us’ and things were ringing bells which got us to thinking about how driven we all are by our experiences…our feelings…our need to have or avoid emotionality.

Then as July 10th and the exactness of conjunction slid on by then came Uranus’s station. and Eris’ station – both of which amounted to some ‘emotional turbulence.’ There was energy breaking out like chicken pox all over the place – and yes, it did all seem highly contagious.

The combination of Uranus and Eris is dramatic. So there was a lot of drama and some dramatic things were revealed to us, through us and in our greater world. Life kept throwing curve balls at us, shaking us up in order to get us to consider what our capacities really are. And what they should be.

Critical, lyrical, esoteric and practical, with Mars having entered Cancer back on June 13 (UT/+0 time) we were all caught in our various crucibles, the lid of which was tightly locked against our ability to do anything but cope or stew or steam or vent. And that we did. And by doing that – through all that has taken and through all that we have been forced us to grapple with we have become both more imbedded in who we really are even if we are perhaps still papered with layers of situations, habits, choices and ideas which everyone seems to get cluttered up with.

You’d think we were all city walls getting pasted over with handbills or something.

Sedna’s turn to retrograde ushered in the first of a series of grand sextiles represented the fusion of cause/effect energies which will either bury us in the effort to be who we are or in the denial that we are indeed individual…or that we need to individualize and stop living on hype, dreams, or some sense that ‘it will just be okay’ if we just hold on.

- link to -

Sedna goes retrograde in Taurus

That ‘holding on’ thing would seem to be part of the Virgo New Moon question…what should we hold on to? What should we let go of? Wherever Virgo is concerned it’s easy to opt for the habitual and the traditional. It’s often simpler to go along with what everybody wants and not assert ourselves.

But that isn’t always going to get us where we want to go in life. We can be the nicest person in the world and still fail ourselves – miserably. We do and do and help and support and then feel utterly empty because we have been supporting those who don’t support us in turn.

This isn’t about money. (Though yes, money has it’s place as a life necessity.) Sometimes the simple ‘thank you’ or care-worn smile of appreciation is the greatest validation in the world.

What this comes down to is the idea that Virgo is the last of the zodiac’s first six signs. In Virgo, we come to the end of the ‘inner’ or personal development sequence and face the ‘emergence’ of our abilities and drives and the nature of our motivations.

How so?

The answer there lies simply in the idea that Virgo ends at the Descendant. Though it’s technically the first degree of Libra (0 Libra), the Descendant point would be that place that Virgo leads to…and thus, where airy, theoretical Libra is the IDEA of cause effect, it’s really what we do which counts. It’s who we’re being and what we put out there into the world which turns cause into effect.

And that’s the Virgo dynamic.

So when we talk about Sedna in association with a Virgo New Moon, at some level that speaks to the whole of this next month …the lunar ‘phasing’ of our days…as being about the grace of our individuality or uniqueness, or the trials we face in becoming unique and in discovering what needs to happen and who we need to be in order to be able to be effective (i.e., get the desired ‘effect’ from our causal energy) in our daily life. In the whole of our life. In this world.

That makes this month a month about figuring out where we excel and where we lack…what we need to work on and what we need to have some (Sedna) perspective on.

Hopefully a “matured” perspective, yes – which would mean one which is ready…or on the way to being ready…to go out into the world or take us out into the world.

As for the (Pholus)Ixion part of this process? That – and the South Node leaving Menkar’s aura would seem to be about the ‘revealing’ of where improvements need to be made. Where we tend to time and time again trip ourselves up as the thing which can be worked on during this month’s lunation – or even uncovered, probably in the midst of some Virgoan process which has us focused on being just attentive enough that we’re able to ‘see what we’re doing.’

Or maybe not doing.

Or doing which gets us in a bind.

No matter what year it is, no matter what degree the Virgo New Moon occurs at, it’s basic theme is always more or less ‘get to work.’ Or ‘its time to make things work.’ Whatever house of your natal chart Virgo falls on, that’s the prime area of concern – call it the “arena” in which you’ll be experiencing day to day events. Then we add on the house containing Mercury (as ruler of Virgo) and the sign Mercury is in. Both of these will – especially in terms of their aspect to Virgo give you a hint as to what you’ll be facing.

The basic idea here is this: if the New Moon is Virgoan, the underlying issue is functionality which supports the  greater purpose. That idea is why the thing which is so easy with Virgos (or with anything Virgo) – which is to get totally caught up in the nuances and details to such an extent that you never get the ‘greater purpose’ taken care of (at least not in a purposeful manner!) is a negative.

 As the second of the zodiac's earth signs, Virgo involves the process

of working on what we are or "have" (be that tangible or in terms of ideas

or abilities) and bringing that to the point where it can be put out into a

(Libra) world - at which point it will build towards our (Capricorn) aims.

I know, I know…I’ve heard all the defenses about exactness and thoroughness and doing your best and all that. And it’s all fine. It’s just that when we talk Virgo, there is always some point where the forest gets lost for the over-focusing on this tree…and that tree..and that other tree over there…and lookie at that cute little tree beside the brook…

There’s a famous slightly crude expression which goes like this: when you’re up to your ass in alligators it’s hard to remember that the prime directive was to drain the swamp.

Understandable? Yes. Alligators are serious critters. I did a very long film location down in Louisiana and when one of the locals said ‘don’t stand too near that shore, there’s a ‘gator in the water’ I moved my city girl self to higher ground. (Don’t ask me why I wore nice white heels out to the swamp, either – I just did.)

Virgo asks us to have priorities, to utilize those priorities in doing our best but to always remember that getting the job done is the point of all things.

Sometimes just what the job is becomes the problem, yes. Is it the thing at hand…? Or is it the working on yourself to be a better person doing that job at hand?

That would be the avenue of discovery we travel every time we encounter the Virgo brand.

As for 13 Virgo, that’s a degree about owning one’s own choices. And yes, maybe with the New Moon taking place in the wake of Ixion’s station, owning up to how or why (or what) you’ve done in the manner you’ve done it is now important. Ixion often points to those things we do because we like doing them…or because we simply like doing them the way we like doing them in spite of the fact they don’t work.

Ixion…Virgo…yes, that might well be the case. And because of that, some of us will spend this month clinging to the notion that what we’re doing is okay when it isn’t and some of us will feel persecuted – even punished – for things we don’t seem to be able to get a handle on with regards to their incorrectness.

With Ixion (and Pholus) at 18 Sagittarius and the New Virgo Moon occurring at 13 Virgo, there is also a natural square in the works. That suggests that there is a building of (sorry to say) narcissistic energy at one pole of life’s possibilities with a building of momentum towards making good on your aims through self-discipline and thinking things through.

And with all this happening under the auspices of the incoming Solar Eclipse, we will suspect that there will be some separating of our ways. This is a natural time for changes and for things which have run their course to come to an end. In some cases – particularly at the moment with Ixion in the mix – denial of something may get peeled away or fall by the wayside.

With the North Node representing the situations and ‘relational dynamics’ sitting in Scorpio, something about our life is being eliminated or purified. Or maybe transformed, rehabilitated, denied or created through our relationships and how we relate or are caused to relate to our Self through life, our world and all the people in it.

Through all that we are guided to all we need to do and work on…and what we need to let go of, whether that’s in our life or about ourselves.

In light of which, all either goes well or we learn that we’re in for a major shift of reality yet to come.
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Pluto Direct (With a Uranus Twist)

 NASA artist Pat Rawling's concept of Pluto as it might be seen from

its moon and partner, Charon (NASA, October 1992)

 

Pluto will go direct on Tuesday, September 18th at 5:06 in the morning (+0/UT). This station is being taken at 6 Capricorn, a degree the Sabian Symbols image as ‘A VEILED PROPHET SPEAKS, SEIZED BY THE POWER OF A GOD.’

Please note: that’s “A” god, not “THE” God. The idea here is about passion. About conviction. About motivation. And that all is not clear…or yet available (maybe to be presented?) in fullest form is denoted by the idea of a ‘veiled prophet.’

While we’re here, a few notes on the word ‘prophet.’ Modern parlance has come to think of the term as allied to prognostication….along the lines of the word ‘prophesize’ which means to see and speak accurately of a future yet to be experienced.

That’s not, however, what the word started out being. The Hebrew concept of ‘prophet’ (which is probably the earliest we have) merely denotes ‘one who speaks for another.’ If there’s a CEO who has laryngitis, for instance, the person who reads their speech for them and who helps interpret the whispers and gestures said CEO uses to try to answer questions – that “interpreter” is, in ancient Hebrew terms, ‘a prophet.’

Think of it…it could have been a job description.

Moving on to ancient Greece, the prophet (or prophetess) of Delphi for instance…s/he was charged with telling the truth as interpreted from ‘a god,’ which in the case of Delphi, was Apollo. Apollo being the god of truth and enlightenment, this fits particularly well with the rest of the Sabian Symbol, giving us to know that this degree – 6 Capricorn – is about recognizing the truth. Or maybe some ‘aha’ moment.

From the stories you hear about the Temple of Delphi, it isn't all

that apparent that Delphi s a tiny town clinging to the side

of a rather steep mountain. But it is. And the view is - as shown

above, often rather spectacular. Who said those Greek gods

didn't know the old 'location, location, location' maxim?

(photo credit: Antonio DeLorenzo and

Marina Ventayol, June 2007)

Well, maybe not a moment. With Pluto, truths tend to ‘dawn’ in our consciousness. Though with this current indicator being a retrograde-to-direct station, there may well be a ‘moment of truth’ when things shift or change.

As always, being that this is a station, we give it an ‘allowance.’ The two-to-three days prior and the two-to-three days after the station (yes, I’m beginning to expand these parameters a bit, simply because of observational effects)…these seem to be telling times in terms of the object taking station.

With Pluto, the effect is emotional or emotionally provocative – which would be why Pluto is associated with all the things which tend to provoke us most easily: rejection, money, sex, war, death, birth, taxes, surgery, investments…

And since through the thousands of years prior to Pluto’s discovery Mars-the-initiator was considered ruler of Scorpio, we understand why this pairing…Mars as first ruler, Pluto as outcome ruler…is so descriptive of Scorpio dynamics.

Put simply, Mars is about the choice to get involved in some interactive venue – the investment, the intimate relationship, the having of children, the agreeing to have surgery. And Pluto denotes the emotional effects – the emotionally ‘transformative’ process we experience as a result of having made that choice.

And that emotional part? That explains why when in areas of life Scorpionic we try so hard to ‘control’ the outcome.

Or deny our responsibility – that we knew any such thing. No, no…it couldn’t have been our fault!

Scorpio is the home of two very important sayings. The Mars part of Scorpio says ‘try, try, again’ and the Pluto part of Scorpio says ‘the burned hand teaches best.’ Yes – there are spectacular successes which are a result of Scorpio involvements, but most of us have a few burned fingers, to be sure!

Okay…so Pluto, this secondary/outcome ruler of Scorpio…is currently in Capricorn.

And what is Capricorn?

Capricorn is:

1. The sign of commerce

2. The sign of rules, laws,regulations and all the penalties/life setbacks we incur when we don’t color inside the social/societal (ethical, legal, regulatory, moral) boundaries. Or even inside the lines of our own personal standards…which yes, sometimes extends to family or cultural standards.

3. The sign of management and structural integrity. Neither building nor company nor country nor family nor life stands where there is a lack of firm foundation or responsible loadbearing cohesion.

4. The sign of where our world intersects the ‘big world’ whether through our efforts (career, marriage) or through how others regard us for whatever reason (social standing, reputation).

5. The sign of durability and all things tangible, factual and established, lasting and ongoing – particularly those things we ‘hang our hat on’ personally, nationally or otherwise in the support of or structuring of ongoing efforts.

So we combine the Pluto/Scorpio “things evocative” quality with the Capricorn structural-commerce-morals/regulations quantities and its no wonder we’re hearing the public and political fracas we’re hearing going on around the world. It’s no wonder that we’re passionately involved in trying to clarify our direction and the path to our goal. Or goals.

Or even some shelter from the storm.

That just all of this would denote an emotional or unstable or provocative time is rather well told by two things. And then we add in Uranus.

  A false color image of Uranus taken by Voyager 2

during the month of January 1986

(photo credit: NASA)

The reason to add Uranus in with our thinking in this moment is because September 19th (at 6:55 am, UT/+0) is when Pluto in Capricorn will perfect a square to Uranus in Aries.

In astrology, squares are pesky things. They tend to denote our focusing so hard on one thing that we don’t balance out our efforts. Long vilified (square aspects have long been thought of as things which twirl handlebar mustaches)…a square in our charts – and therefore in transit – is an opportunity to achieve through being challenged.

Just as in architecture, square angles are “building blocks.” So sigh all you want to about the loveliness of trines, but when it comes to getting what you want out of life, look to those moments when life hits you with the challenge.

Or when you realize you’ve insisted on plowing straight ahead when you should have taken a hard turn.

Or when all comes tumbling down because you haven’t built on a firm foundation.

Uranus committed to its transit of Aries back in March, 2011. You may remember this time as being when the Earth’s crust gave way near Japan, setting off a huge earthquake and accompanying tsunami.

Lives were changed – and not just in Japan. We all became more aware of what it meant to be alive, and what we can or cannot do to ‘master’ Mother Nature.

Uranus entering Aries signified that force. I know of nothing else which could have demonstrated this idea that we should be aware of life and the precious opportunities we have…and which maybe won’t have tomorrow…than Uranus in Aries.

Uranus in Aries says ‘make something of your life.’ Uranus in Aries urges us to not squander our lives on the silly stuff, but to make each moment matter. To consider the ramifications of what we do…and leave undone. To think about how today’s action in one place can upset someone’s plans tomorrow.

Or maybe damage our world…THE world…for many.

That’s just what Uranus in Aries is. And considering that Uranus moves about four degrees a year, Uranus is going to be transiting Aries for yet a while. Currently it’s still in the first ten degrees of Aries – the first decanate (“deca” meaning ‘ten’ in Latin). These ten degrees of any sign are where that sign manifests through our physical being and in our actions. So this is a time when we can disrupt our own lives through what we do…or what we don’t do. Or when, through our awareness, or lack thereof, or determination to ignore certain factors, when we can either put ourselves on a path to personal achievement or trip ourselves up.

Or to varying degrees, both.

Obviously Uranus is all about…well, distance. Wherever you are, Uranus is the urge which, consciously or unconsciously motivates (or provokes) you to try out that ‘other thing’ and thus…in experiencing the whole, be afforded greater choice. So if you’re a ‘part of the group’ person, Uranus is all that provokes or evokes the urge to separate from the group (or distinguish yourself) in whatever manner. And if you’re a ‘I go my own way’ person, Uranus cycles are that which make it necessary to experience and focus yourself about working with others and being part of ‘the process.'

Thus the reason why we experience Uranus as ‘change’ or instability is precisely because human beings are stability-loving creatures. We love the idea of change, but the experience of it? That's is quiver-inducing...especially when we're not in control of the situation.

And guess what planet is associated with control? That's right...Pluto.

As secondary (outcome) ruler of Aquarius, Uranus denotes where we succeed or fail in our world and in the world through our willingness, un-willingness, ability or ineptitude when it comes to connecting to others WITHOUT violating all those Capricorn concepts we just talked about.

Aquarius and Capricorn as constellations pictured on the

Mercator celestial globe which dates from 1551

(Harvard Map Collection)

And that is why Aquarius, sign of economics, is always a dicey issue to tinker with. Whether we’re talking about personal income, corporate income, gross national product (GNP) income or anything else, the ‘free flowing inclusiveness of opportunity’ which sounds optimal and which might well be optimal if it could be a ‘status quo’ is a lovely thought. But the Saturn-Uranus quotient which represents the ‘two sides’ of the Aquarian coin (and therefore, any set of economic considerations) inevitable runs into problems with all of the above.

But that doesn’t mean people don’t try, which accounts for a lot of societal Saturn-Uranus ‘change it versus don’t change it’ arguments.

And here’s the astrological deal…Aquarius is ruled first by Saturn and then by Uranus. Those who ‘leap’ to the Uranus part…the freedom, self-empowerment, the income…those who grab the Uranian brass ring without doing the Saturn work to prepare AND who don’t honor needs implied by the general Capricorn standards regarding structure inevitably find that ring to be too hot to handle.

So! Ask yourself…now, as we are coming into the height of this Pluto square Uranus and therefore finding ourselves in the midst of a stretch of time which mixes the impetus of necessity, the requirements on static/ongoing structures and unpredictability, instability and a general need to change…how’s that working in your life?

Since we paused for the Sabian Symbol with Pluto, it seems only fair to do the same for Uranus. Said symbol is as follows: ‘A MAN SUCCEEDS IN EXPRESSING HIMSELF SIMULTANEOUSLY IN TWO REALMS.’

The most obvious interpretation of this would be the connection or expression of our personal life and our business life. Or perhaps our individual life with that of some ‘group’ (social, societal, cultural, professional, personal, etc.) we belong to. Or even it’s a question of our expressing ourselves as an individual in conjunction with a relationship partner or our family.

Then we come to Uranus. Where we try to contain ourselves the most, where we are not free to express ourselves, that’s where Uranian energies tend to be most potent. Especially in Aries, Uranus wants us to break through the preconceptions and false fronts (societal masks and otherwise) which we all tend to adopt in order to get along better.

 You think Earth - or even Earth's Moon has it rough?

Above is a photo of Miranda, one of the moons of Uranus.

(photo credit: Keele Astrohysics Group/NASA)

Of course…you may be one of those rock solid rebels. You may be someone who doesn’t care two hoots about getting along with others. You speak your mind, you do your thing and to heck with everybody else. If you’re such a person, Uranus in Aries will remind you that you’re not alone on the planet – and that lesson may come hard, notably by making you feel very alone.

Like everything else in astrology, the question is where we are along the continuum. We all tend to get polarized. And we may be very social in one way and very individualistic in another.

At this time we’re all likely to be hitting a check point about what’s working and what’s not. With that will come an opportunity to capitalize on what does work and correct what doesn’t. Considering that Pluto is not just involved but highlighted at the moment, we can guess that there is a strong emotional quotient of whatever kind in the mix.

At a guess, I’ll go with a lot of ‘but why CAN’T I do it this way?’

Whether what’s at stake is some status quo we’ve been living with which isn’t working for us any more, some fallacy we’ve believed in which has been proven incorrect…whatever gathers you to the core of your own being now is what you need to face the construction – and perhaps the need for reconstruction – of.

Having said all that, there are a couple of other notes we should take into consideration here. The first is that Pluto is not done conjuncting Facies.

(Ah yes…I hear you moan…)

For those who are late to the Facies party, here’s a link to the original post on same (LINK). which not shockingly coincides with Pluto having gone retrograde last April.

And yes, there have been a smattering of posts touching on Facies since then, all of which can be found using the word cloud in the sidebar.

In short however, Facies is a globular cluster – a ‘messier’ known in astronomy as M22.

M22 - Facies by Hewholooks (June 2009)

As a mass of stars which looks from a distance to be one thing, Facies doesn’t have that fabulous a reputation. Known as a ‘fixed star’ (which it’s technically not), Facies’ multi-star composition denotes ‘many factors’ and thus often a situation or problem which ‘many things have gone into’ or which cannot be created, mastered, executed, changed, reorganized, built, improved …or whatever…very simply.

Beyond that, Facies is known to denote a difficult moment, a difficulty in life, a bad attitude, a bad debt, a bad outlook – something which is frustrating, maybe even nasty.

Facies is currently positioned at 8 Capricorn. The first thing that says it that Pluto isn’t going to finish it’s primary conjunction to Facies until mid-December (2012).

On the other hand, Facies/Pluto IS being set off now.

Since this seems to be a post full of Sabian Symbols, there’s no reason to stop at this point. Thus the symbol for 8 Capricorn (Facies’ position) is: ‘A Crystal Gazer.’

Astrological philosopher Dane Rudhyar considers this Sabian symbol to be all about inner awareness. To that I think it’s sensible (maybe even wise) to add the idea that those who gaze into crystals are looking for answers. There’s also a question of ‘how clear is that crystal?’…which reminds us that our ability to find answers is no better than the clarity of our vision.

 The Crystal Ball by John William Waterhouse (1902)

Also…as regards this square, let’s be fair here. This Pluto-Uranus square has been in the works for some time. This current feinting of galactic ways began back in May, 2010.

You remember May 2010. There was a giant oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico due to the Deepwater Horizon well blowout. The European Union was setting up its initial bailout of Greece. An Icelandic volcano erupted, throwing off Atlantic and European air traffic. A would-be bomb was found and deactivated in Times Square, NYC. There were floods and mudslides in Poland and Russia which killed a lot of people.

Oh yes...and Nicholas Copernicus - the fellow who figured out the Earth revolved around the Sun (not vice versa) was disinterred and reburied in Poland, which is just the astrologer's note.

All this happened as Uranus was cracking through the 29 Pisces/0 Aries barrier - a circuit/reset it would retreat from, returning to commit to Aries a year later in March 2011. The real point here is that Uranus was direct and Pluto was retrograde. We thus felt the 'quivering' inside. People felt under threat. Humans realized they weren't invincible.

This square did not perfect. Indeed by October 2010 Uranus and Pluto fell out of 5-degree aspect to each other and everyone fell back into old habits (good and bad habits, yes.).

The square didn't renew until April 2011 - in the wake of Japan's earthquake and tsunami disaster. As it did, once again we humans recognized that we're playing with fire (to some extent, literally) by thinking we know how to run our physical world.

The 2011 Pluto-Uranus aspect got tighter and tighter until July 2011. Then with Pluto already in retrograde, Uranus (the faster moving planet) went retrograde as well. Things have been unsettled ever since...with a wee 'respite' of sorts which began in December and extended into early March, 2012.

In the United States, that was the heart of primary season. What might have been 'vague misgiving' about life erupted in a cloud of political rhetoric with most everybody who isn't pontificating or pundit-ing more aware than ever that there's a gap between the conversation you hear from the top of the pile political, commercial and whichever-nation-national and the concerns regular people have about life.

The realities of life.

All of which asks what you have been doing during that time? Have you been pontificating or pundit-ing in some manner political, personal or otherwise?

That’s really the question. For those who have actively tried to change things, Pluto’s turn to direct (on the 18th) as this square finally hits its head on the 19th may bear fruit. That fruit may simply come to you in the form of (Aries/Uranian) perspective. Or it may involve some sort of very real and very tangible (Capricorn/Plutonic) change. For those who have taken on the really hard tasks in life or in their life, this square and Pluto station/direct will constitute real steps forward. The work isn’t done yet, no. We know many facets and challenges lie ahead, as symbolized by Facies. But if you’ve faced the facts and opted to innovate or renovate your LIFE…now you will see some sort of substantial shift.

And to that I say…take one huzzah from petty cash and call me in the morning.

In other words, celebrate yes – stop that nose-to-the-grindstone thing, no.

In physics they refer to the overcoming of inertia. Its one of the hardest things we ever do and yet life asks us to perform this (literally) ‘trying’ miracle time and time again. Astrologically, it is symbolism like Pluto square Uranus which indicates when unpredictable “change worthy” times around us challenge us to take advantage of the ‘opportunity to create opportunities for ourselves.’ Many of us would prefer making our changes when all is calm and placid, but that doesn’t seem to follow with astrological patterning.

So if things are hard, acknowledge it. If things are challenging, buy a big bottle of aspirin. Challenge yourself anyway.

One more symbolic noodle to add to the salad before we toss it around. This noodle is named Scheherazade (which yes, says it might be pita and not a noodle, but let’s just leave that aside – or as a side, depending…).

Asteroid Scheherazade is going retrograde at 16 Gemini – just shy of ‘teacher/learner’ fixed star Rigel – on the same day that Pluto goes direct. This is another version of our ‘not having learned’ quite yet, which goes with the concept that Pluto is going direct in conjunction with Facies, but it won’t finish its primary conjunction of Facies (M22) until December. It’s also akin to the Pluto-square-Uranus notion that things either are changing or they need to.

Plainly, we aren’t “there” yet.

But Scheherazade also carries it’s own message, and that message is about “storytelling.” The implication would be that with Scheherazade having been direct (and now going retrograde) that we’ve been being told a story. Or that we’re trying to get someone else to hear our story. Or that we’re trying to get them to believe some story we believe – whether about ourselves or…considering this is Gemini…some fact or some choice which may be true – and then again, maybe not.

 

 A scene from Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade

 by L. Bakst (prior to 1917-public domain in Russia)

There are a couple of interesting factoids here, the first of which is the obvious and synchronous part: Pluto is going direct as Scheherazade is going retrograde. That’s a ‘turn in the tale’ which, with Uranus squaring from Aries, is the very reason why this blog has a suffix: ‘with a Uranus twist.’

Where things have gotten twisted, this period may serve to untwist them. When things are humming along on an uncertain status quo, a wrench may fall into the works. For those who’ve been applying torque to life’s gears, trying to overcome some sort of inertial – especially if you’ve been want to reflect some sort of ‘tale’ out to others, this would be the time. With Mercury currently passing through Libra this is a time to connect and a time when others will react to whatever we are and do, good or bad. We will become more aware of who others are – and aren’t.

As this station comes into force prior to Pluto going direct on the 18th, it’s also worth remembering that this is the moment of the Virgo New Moon, which we just talked about (see the post prior to this one).

It’s time to ‘get it right.’ And for those who have been trying to get to the right or make it right or make that right thing function – this is your time to push through and find out both what’s on target and which challenges remain. Or if you prefer...what we are damaging by thinking we get to have things our own way - individually and every other way.

Will we be direct – or be directed? And if so, by what?

Those are big questions which in taking a turn now, will be with us for yet a goodly while.