Niobe Direct

 
Niobe in Neustrelitz by Ruchhoff-Plau (2007)

.

With Juno still at 3 Leo and Nemesis at 4 Leo (and both in direct motion) asteroid Niobe will go direct at 2:59 (UT/+0) in the morning on Saturday, March 28th.

The degree? 6 Leo, which right out of the gate points to things which are personal and which have to do either with who we are being or what we are doing ... which could be a very good thing -  and then again, could be a bit of a pain in the very (very) low back.

And that pain in the back part isn’t exactly what anyone is likely to need at the end of a week which has seen Nemesis, Ixion, Pholus and Sisyphus tripping switches through their stations fantastic.

The central issue with Niobe is pride, and the biggest problems we tend to see in connection with Niobe (either in transit or by natal placement) have to do with being overly proud. But Niobe is not merely about those who strut around proclaiming how magnificent they are. This is an energetic which can be seen in what we are proud of. Or how we go about showing or displaying our pride.

Niobe - particularly if there’s a badly placed natal Niobe involved (or one which is under stress by aspect) - Niobe can be an indication of not being proud enough of what one does. Or not knowing how to take a proper amount of pride in what we do.

It can even indicate no even having any pride in one’s Self, which may sound like a matter of self-worth and confidence - which it is sometimes. But in combination with other things in the chart, Niobe could also indicate the kind of lack of pride in Self which happens because you’ve been beaten down too far. Or where someone is so beleaguered or ill that they’re beyond the ability to focus on those simple things which denote the common level of pride-as-care we all normally exhibit in keeping ourselves reasonably clean and healthy and in doing things as we should (i.e., in accordance with personal responsibilities as well as society’s rules and standards).

The myth of Niobe is fairly straightforward: a queen in her own right, Niobe brags about how her mortal children were more numerous, beautiful and talented than the children of the gods ... specifically Apollo (enlightenment) and Artemis (feeling reflection).

And in return, the gods - specifically Leto (also known as Latona), the mother of Artemis and Apollo - punishes Niobe for her ‘immortal arrogance’ by sending those very children (Apollo and Artemis) to shoot down Niobe’s children so as to demonstrate the difference between mortal and immortal abilities and attributes and teach Niobe some sense of limits and place.

Niobe recognizes her mistake, but it’s too late. Her children are dead ... and in mythic terms, it was her pride which killed them. So although most Niobe’s effects fall far short of physical deadliness, evidently we humans do have some sort of habit of ‘killing’ things we create through sheer pride about having making it or making it happen. Sometimes we brag too early on - before we realize we aren’t actually up to some task. Sometimes we take our eyes off what we’re doing to talk about it, and in that moment when we’re not looking, everything just runs off a cliff.

In either case (as in most cases where Niobe is active) it’s the assumption or presumption of success or glory which gets us in trouble. Maybe someone hears us bragging and beats us to the punch. Or maybe we are so desiring to ‘look good’ that we claim we’ve had some part in something we haven’t really done.

And that’s the key to Niobe pride: it isn’t about ‘the thing’ (or person, in the case of one’s children) - it isn’t about being proud of what someone else has done for their sake or their growth or their success. It’s about us - our ego wanting acclaim so that it feels validated.

In other words, the pride of Niobe is not about something we feel successful and secure about - it’s an instinctual voicing or embodying of our desire not to feel ‘less than’ or less viable.

 

.
Under astrologically normal circumstances, we would expect any Niobe station to bring out such feelings - most of all so we can feel our insecurities, recognize them for what they are and alleviate them (or put them aside) so they don’t become a point upon which we fall, defeating ourselves by ‘killing’ all chance for success or personal victory. But this isn’t a ‘normal’ moment. There was a total solar eclipse just a few days ago, which means we are all - each and every one of us - still being exposed to whatever will get us past our desire to not feel or not cope with our feelings about something. And most of those ‘something’s (at least our feelings about them) are quotients we would just really rather nobody knew about. Yes, we really wish there was someone we could talk about such things with ... but when we’re in our Niobe mode, we tend to not feel very comfortable talking about such things.

It would ...probably hurt our pride to do so, and whenever Niobe is in astrological ‘play’ we have to assume we may be more quick to react or take offense than we otherwise might be - which may be part and parcel of ‘other things’ (read: eclipse things) which are going on ... and then again, may be something new and totally not connected to all the many things in motion (some of which, due to the eclipse, may either not be in motion at the moment or not going in the direction we’d like them to go).

And lest we miss the message (or feel not tested enough) then there’s the energetic of 6 Leo, a degree which itself is all about pride - specifically, how that energy is manifested or directed. As with the myth of Niobe, part of the 6 Leo question is whether we have done sufficient self-reflection as to be accepting of who we are (and aren’t) so we don’t act boastful, arrogant, dismissive or denigrating of others. One writer even speaks of 6 Leo as having a tendency to manifest with the kind of impulsiveness coupled with  insecurity which almost surely leads to self-defeat.

All of this may just occur in the moment. It may also be part of the pressure we feel ‘within’ which causes us to ‘flee’ matters connected to the eclipse itself (and the weaknesses it seeks to help us uncover, detoxify and in time, convert to neutrality or strength) into some nexus of contemplation (or some self-involving matter) which echoes situations, feelings, distractions or ways in we dealt with things some two-and-a-half years ago when a solar eclipse at 21 Scorpio triggered a long string of evolving circumstances which itself took a turn soon after November 13, 2012.

 

-link to post-

The 21 Scorpio Solar Eclipse:

(Part 2) Fate Beckons

 

-link to post-

The 21 Scorpio Solar Eclipse:

(Part 2) Scorpio’s Eclipsing Provocations

 

So that’s where things are as Niobe goes on station - plus the flavor of the aura of thematic strains playing about many a choice made ... and (one suspects) a number of choices which get made which in the end are wholly devoted to avoiding something out of pride ... or perhaps more evocatively conjugated, out of pride in one’s emotional stance, whatever that may be or not be with however many people are in your individual life.

But then we stop to ‘give a think’ back on that subject of Juno and Nemesis at 3 and 4 Leo (respectively) as Niobe comes to its station. Nemesis in the ‘lead’ recalls prior information, either received or given ... though probably not fully heeded (or perhaps delivered with a proper amount of something connective or having to do with accessibility in the mix). Against that, Juno/Nemesis as a ‘unit’ (of sorts - and only temporary) speaks to leaving something behind.

And that leaving? It was inevitable, as much as we might not have wanted it to be true ... or as much as we might not have wanted to admit to our Self that in the end we have to be who we really are.

The reality of that life, that is.

But lest you think this is the end of this tale, it isn’t. As a celestial object at this point in its orbit, Juno is moving through zodiacal degrees faster than Nemesis is. (Part one: such things can vary, due to orbits not being perfectly round. Part two: not much faster, but faster.) What this comes out to be in astrological/calendrical terms is a month or so where Juno catches up and passes Nemesis (the conjunction runs from April 6-16) ... after which Juno catches up to Niobe on April 26th.

That conjunction occurs at 9 Leo, with the Moon at 23 and Jupiter at 3 Leo (and no longer in retrograde - that’s over on April 8th, UT/+0) on April 25, 2015.

It also happens with the the Nodes having backed their lunar selves back into 9 Libra (and Aries) at a moment when Neptune is wending its indistinct way through 9 Pisces.

That equals a Yod.

 

.

Technically, we can all expect this Yod’s effects to become apparent as of April 14th - and prior to that, we’ll all just have the joy of North Node inconjunct Neptune, otherwise known as a fantasy head-scratching quandary entitled “what should I do here?”

Seldom do I think of a Yod as a lovely thing, nor do most people (just ask anyone with a natal Yod - they can get to feeling a bit vice-like at times). And the reason for this is that the ‘fated’ quality of the Yod, that which is either ‘I can’t do anything but this’ (i.e., a lack of physical options) or ‘I don’t want to do this but I know I have to’ (lack of emotional options)... the sum of which pushes us off the ‘spot’ we’re standing at (also known as “stuck on”), in some way forcing us to adapt a position which is workable considering all circumstances, seeing as circumstances dictate that something must be done.

This is accomplished through adapting to (or adopting, if you must merely act the part) an ‘airy’ sort of dispassionate, friendly-to-all-for-the-sake-of-discussion (ideally Libran) sort of point of view, becoming the facilitator to the solution even if it’s a solution you don’t like now but which will ultimately earn you the ‘currency’ (respect, money, alliances, whatever...) which will stand you in better stead down the line.

(Please note: I said better stead, not necessarily excellent stead.)

Yods force us to adjust our approach to being who we are - which in this case (with Neptune representing the ‘point’ we want to ‘stand’ on) says something about indefinites and something about (9 Pisces) some sort of attraction to that which is just difficult enough to present us with situations to which there are no ‘right’ (totally right) answers ... and how, in not making a choice we are - far from avoiding those results we are claiming to be concerned about - how we are/have been really looking for a way to not face how we might feel if things went sour.

And perhaps even more to the point, all which we would anticipate ourselves feeling while not knowing how things were going to turn out.

Meanwhile, while all this is going on on our very real and mortal human plane, and while all such considerations do indeed have real and tangible Real World considerations ... on the metaphysical plane the issue really is how we are facing some internal and infernal personal puzzle.

This being a Yod, we will want to remain in that Neptunian intangible limbo, probably dancing some dance (most of all with our Self) - on some deep and deeply personal level. But the solution to our problem (whether we know it, like it or not) is said to be at the opposition point to that ‘base’ of the Yod’s “Y” - the Neptune of it all (at the moment).

And that point is 9 Virgo, a degree known for its ability to cause us to ‘check in’ with how ‘long term pragmatic’ something is in terms of the whole of our life or some very long duration against what gain or success it might offer in the short run.

In other words, where the Neptune/Pisces side of this polarity is an emotional reality check, the Virgo (solution) side of this Yod’s equation points to something realistic, tangible and useful - with this dynamic being part of why we need to adjust our  Niobe attitude or emphasis as our feelings about either the issue or our feelings about it take a (Yod) turn. Furthermore, as part of this process ... or as a result of it ... there is an ‘adjusting’ of how something is represented, a trait which lore tells us is particularly likely to be needed where drama or ‘showiness’ has stood in for ability or willingness to tackle a challenge.

And because the Nodes are involved, we know we are not alone in whatever is going on. Either we are part of a group (of any size), or what we are involved in affects others.

Also, since it’s the North Node which is involved in the Yod, that means the South Node is not just at 9 highly dynamic and self-motivated/motivated towards Self degrees of Aries, but it’s also in a semi-sextile with Neptune.

So nobody wants to do what they need to do at the moment. You don’t as you experience this moment, the other guy doesn’t as they experience this moment ...

And lest you think ‘I’ll wait this out,’ - which in the case of some transiting Yods would be just fine - with this, you may or may not be defeating your own purpose to play the endurance-cum-avoidance card as the North Node in this figure is conjunct and therefore described by fixed star Diadem: ‘a wonderful and idea which is so powerful to embody, to teach and to learn from,’ which in 9 Libra tends to have us thinking we know how things work when in the long run, by some means we are destined to create whatever goad will then become a lesson which in a classic Virgo (tangible) manner is likely to come with some sort of ‘price tag.’

And in some way ... perhaps large, perhaps small ... all of this starts as Niobe goes direct.

Call it a pebble falling into a well of self-acknowledgement.
.
.
.

A Taurus New Moon: Self-Divining

 A New Moon against a field of stars....

On Saturday, April 21st, a New Moon at 1 Taurus will begin the lunation month leading into May’s solar eclipse.

Typically, the month before a solar eclipse is a bit of a bumpy ride…so what does this lunation bring to the metaphysical party?

For one, it’s happening at 1 Taurus, a degree which by default is about us…either physically or in terms of what we do. Taurus being an earth(y) sign, the issues are tangible. Or maybe our object or aim is.

Taurus is also the first of the zodiacal ‘fixed’ signs, ‘fixed’ here describing it’s astrological “modality.” What this tells is is that the tenor of feelings (the lunation) we are likely to…or perhaps need to approach things with…there’s some consideration in the mix. Taurus isn’t (by and large) hasty. Emphatic? Sometimes. Enraged? Also sometimes.

The core of the Taurean process is discovering what’s of worth. And that process is what leads to the building of self worth. Though this isn’t about learning per se (that would be Gemini), Taurus is about explorations which lead to an understanding about what’s safe and not safe – hence this sign’s association with security, which many simply interpret as ‘money and things’ (materialism).

 an image of Taurus from a 15th century medieval book on astrology 

The biggest challenge for anything (or anyone) Taurean is to see down the road. You know, how what I do or grab or hold onto today affects me next week, next month or ten years from now. Taurus is the first of four fixed signs – sign number one in the fixed sign process which, providing we work through all the challenges, leads to a kind of personal security which gives us the self assurance (confidence in self) which others respect, will always support and which can rescue us come what may.

So that’s something of the Taurean ‘vibe’ which is the basis for this lunation. Because of this vibe, we can assume that some of us are going to have our chains rattled this month (so that we can see what the nature of our self worth and security really are) and some of us are going to be moving ahead with developing/working on something of worth which we are invested in and thus recognize our own value as part of.

2012 - the Taurus New Moon

(Aries Wheel  - location not specific) 

 

1 Taurus in particular – as a degree – speaks to the emotional side of this process. Descriptions speak of an insecurity which can manifest as sensitivity – or then again as cruelty. The Sabian Symbol for 1 Taurus is ‘An electrical storm’…which in itself speaks to feelings of not being in control and the dangers we may feel because we could get ‘zapped’ at any moment.

Then again, this symbol also images being struck with a ‘bright idea.’ Whether we manifest the positive, negative or a bit of both here…? That’s all about our native self worth.

And it’s not all that simple.

This New Moon (Sun conjunct Moon) is going to form up between Scheherazade at 0 Taurus and Tantalus at 2 Taurus. Scheherazade being ‘the telling of tales’ and Tantalus being ‘temptation’ and often ‘temptation to do that we know we shouldn’t do,’ it’s to be expected that situations will tempt us to find excuses for things. Or to do things and ‘justify’ it in our mind (and to others) even though that niggling tug in our gut is telling us we’ve done something wrong.

 Scheherazade Went on with Her Story 

- an illustration done by Virginia Frances Sterreff in 1928

This would also be a time when situations already committed to or actions taken (somewhere in the past) come to light. Or maybe they become the foundation of a discussion about the ‘value’ (worth) of going forward in some way which (Taurus) matters to you and/or your security.

Because we’re in the month before a solar eclipse, this New Moon does carry an extra dollop of whammy. Namely, through such Taurean (Scheherazade, Tantalus) feelings we are being forced to focus on something which isn’t working correctly. Or at least the (Gemini) idea of it.

With Medusa at 4 Scorpio (in opposition to the New Moon) there is some ‘frightening truth’ (Medusa) to face – oppositions always being about facing something. Those of us who are willing to do this work ourselves will do so. But those who are card carrying members of the ‘me good, me entitled, my life is rosy’ club will like as not encounter people who will ‘stand in’ for this Medusa vibe, making sure we are forced to at least acknowledge (if not deal with) where we have gone astray of what are – in all likelihood – our own standards.

Astrologically, the solar eclipse is the ‘big dog’ on the block. So though this lunation has its own valid process, it does embrace the heart of the ‘breakdown’ period which precedes every solar eclipse.

Another piece of information on this lunation is given us by Venus and Byblis both being positioned at 14 Gemini – a fact we care about because Venus rules Taurus. The Sabian for this degree (14 Taurus) is ‘Two Dutch children talking to each other, exchanging their knowledge.’ That’s at least a signal of talking to people of like heritage, and probably a desire to build alliances. (Or maybe to get your stories straight before you each go home to your mothers!)

Interestingly, both 14 Gemini and 1 Taurus have a ‘reputation’ in lore for being difficult in the sense that when we see something positioned in either degree we know that there is a problem to be met which has to be dealt with before any good can come of the situation. 

The overriding Taurus lunation issue – as described (sensitivity, cruelty, self-protection through denial, maybe?) – is plainly emotional. Or maybe emotionally provocative. Add Venus in Gemini and we have some concept or idea which either seems emotionally challenging, or which requires that we face some ‘scary issue’ (Medusa) if we are to capitalize on.

On its own however, 14 Gemini is a call for greater perspective and objectivity.

But then we need to add in Byblis. The specifics of the Byblis story have to do with child abuse – specifically, sexual relations with children. But since not everyone is a pedophile (nor will we all deal with such ugliness) in a greater sense, Byblis is about ‘trying to defend the indefensible idea.’

Venus/Byblis thus stands for ‘the idea of getting what you want (Venus) through undesirable means.’

I know…much symbolic drama for something which is in the end, rather regular. But that’s the point. The incoming solar eclipse will be at 0 Gemini: there is some ‘starting anew’ coming at us, with a lot of us having some old ‘idea’ of life (or facet of life) being given up along the way.

Two more items about this New Moon. One is that asteroids Lust (over focusing) and Amphitrite (something you’ve gotten used to) stand with TNO Chaos at 13 Gemini…a degree behind Venus/Byblis. That’s a picture of all which has been done or gotten from (TNO Chaos) something you’ve been over focused on and gotten used to.

 Planet Venus, wreathed in clouds of sulfuric acid,

showing us that Venus is not all sweet - and that

sometimes dealing with that which is difficult

 (life's more 'acidic' moments) in time gets us to

where we want to go. (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Coupled to Venus/Byblis, this is very much the image of needing perspective. And when we take all that back to the lunation, it would appear that this month we all are going to be either challenged…or getting a lot of clarity on something which our ‘habitual response’ (Taurus) to having challenged is that insecurity or snarkiness thing.

To everything, there is a season (turn, turn, turn…). 

Apparently it’s time to get real with ourselves.

The last note for this blog-thought is that as this lunation occurs, Neptune is conjunct Niobe at 3 Pisces (conjunct royal star Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces), with all in square to the nodes. Just to make this a little more pickle-like, Juno is exactly conjunct the North Node.

Put simply, this means we (North Node) need to use some (Juno) self discipline this month. Or maybe a better word for this particular Juno placement might be 'integrity.'

Whichever word you choose, North Node/Juno in early Sagittarius is the need to do something which works. It's also all about recognizing what doesn't work and getting to the fixing of problems. The object is applied functionality - getting to your goals in a manner which doesn't just work for you, but which works all around.

Not that glitches and negative feedback is going to be putting a smile in our day, no. South Node in early Gemini promotes a desire for 'wealth and power' - which in your life may be literal, or maybe just the ability to have your way and not be bothered with having to listen to anyone.

That may work in the short run. But then again, with a solar eclipse about to happen in conjunction with this degree ('eclipsing' that idea), is that really a good bet?  

And about that Neptune-Niobe/Fomalhaut thing...standing at the ‘t’ of a t-square, this is something of a pretty good image putting us all on notice about how illusions of grandeur are self-defeating.

Again, we probably need a little (Juno) self-discipline. Or something!

So that’s the Taurus lunation image. We may seek much in life and from our world, but in the end, none of that matters. What matters is whether we are satisfied with ourselves.

Remember the famous line from the old movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’…? Just before it ends, Glinda asks Dorothy what she’s learned. Her answer is all about how when we go looking for our heart’s desire, we don’t have to look any farther than our own back yard.

As a human being, that’s inside ourselves.

‘….there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…’

May you always feel welcome, safe and secure in your own heart.

Niobe’s Moment, Photographica’s Image, and a bit on the changing of the Ages

 The children of Niobe being slain by Apollo

and Diana by Pierre-Charles Jombert

Niobe goes retrograde at 10:18 (UT/+0) on March 14th at 9 Scorpio, a degree known to test and elicit basic emotional weakness.

If pride goeth before the fall as the myth of Niobe tells us, what we are being confronted with is more than mere pride in self, but rather a moment in which we are brought to question why we are proud and what pride means. 

There’s no question that when we do something well we earn certain rewards. We work, we get a paycheck. We clean the bathroom, we have a nice place in which to take our next shower. We tend to call this ‘pride’ but these sorts of feelings would seem to have more in common with ‘satisfaction’ than pride.

It’s one thing to be pleased that you’ve lived up to your word. That you’ve done what you set out to do. It’s another to strut or primp, to require that others acknowledge or compliment you beyond the simple transaction of work-for-pay already mentioned.

The kind of pride which Niobe represents in the pride which is boastful, the pride which in needing to say ‘I’m better than anybody’ is really a reflection of insecurity and self-worth issues. After all, if you’re truly happy with yourself, who needs to brag?

In going retrograde at 9 Scorpio, this would be a time when we question why we value things as we do. What needs are really driving us? Certainly coming on the heels of Uranus entering Aries, this would be a time to be discovering things about ourselves.

In fact, that’s the up side of Uranus/Aries! Those who will not change, who will not deal with who they are honestly, who simply act out of entitlement will find life turning the tables on them. It may not be instant, but it will happen. Uranus in Aries is the essence of change or be changed…and the Aries side says while self consciousness (vanity), self proclamation (ego) and entitlement (insecurity turned inside out) is easy, so is courage. So is discovering better ways and the truth of our capacity, our ability, our intelligence.

Bottom line, if you’re going to toot your own horn now – you’d better either be a virtuoso tooter or willing to admit you’re working on it!

But getting back to Niobe…given this turn to retrograde at 9 Scorpio this would be a classic time to have a moment of embarrassment. Or when you may look up and have one of those twinges of would’a, should’a, could’a….but (oy!) didn’t!

Do you need to beat yourself up? No. Do you need to admit whatever ‘it’ is? At least to yourself – absolutely!

And to others…? Well, maybe that too. With TNO Deucalion just ahead (at 10 Scorpio) and Kleopatra just behind at 8 Scorpio while you may be able to avoid the ‘moral cost’ (Deucalion) you may do yourself a huge giant cotton candy favor by being knowingly gracious in approaching others (or whoever) being openly ‘knowing’ (Kleopatra) of the whole of the situation…your side, their side, what has gone down, what maybe should have happened…

 A statue of Cleopatra (the astrological Kleopatra)

housed at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum

photo credit: E. Michael Smith (2007)

Let us not forget here that all this happens as we are still under the station influence of Hidalgo, which went retrograde on the 12th at 4:23 in the afternoon (UT/+0). That station extending at least until 4:23 in the afternoon on the 14th, the whole idea of nobility and nobless oblige is certainly underscored…as would also be the temptation to be proud. Or to become aware of the cost of pride, be recognize someone else setting themselves up to pay a heavy price because of their pride…there are so many ways to conjugate this idea!

But the point is we have overlapping influences. And while both are about objects going into retrograde, telling us we should reconsider how we come to be in the spots we are in life feeling the way we feel…the truth is, such stations often call out the best and worst in every one of us. And yes, that’s why we might see or recognize these less-than-lovable qualities in someone else – because it’s so pronounced at this time.

Seeing such things in ourselves? Well, that’s probably not as easy. Nobody likes to see themselves in anything but a sterling, rose-scented light. It horrifies many to realize it, but not one of the great monsters of human history has gotten up in the morning thinking about how to be a more terrible person.

If you’ve listened to the news of late - you may be listening to politics, sports, human interest, entertainment…and the process of life is at this moment shaking things up, separating the ‘wheat from the chaff’ as it were. There are literally thousands of stories of the banal-looking person next door who turns out to be a truly terrible – or wonderful person.

This wanting to think well of everyone is a very Piscean Age image. The two fish headed in different directions tied by the (singular) golden cord which is the sign of Pisces among other things describes an age where things tended to be good or bad, pro or con, dominant or submissive – a plus or minus, positive or negative.

In reality, a lot of things are sometimes one thing and sometimes another. If you’re a seven year old and you’re sitting at home studying history at the kitchen table, that’s good. If you’re a seven year old and you’re on a rollercoaster at Disneyland studying history, you’re probably a bit odd (not to mention nauseated. Or maybe that’s just me…).

Some would say this one/other thing duality which is Pisces is because the sign has two rulers: Jupiter and Neptune. So would Aquarius be any different?

Answer: yes. Aquarius is very different when compared to Pisces – just as Pisces is very different when compared to Aquarius. Even if we look at the pictographs or glyphs commonly used for each sign they describe two very different scenarios.

In Pisces, we have two fish going in opposite directions.

In Aquarius – ruled first by Saturn and then by Uranus – we have layers of water.

 

It’s really a great analogy for what the sign is about; Aquarius asks that we build towards success and earn acceptance not just in this world, but in our own life. You know, the idea of being able to ‘live with yourself’ and all that.

We’re all being tested in that regard. If we have been fine with ourselves, wrenches are probably being tossed in our real or mental works, challenging either our personal status quo (who we are) or life in the world around us, challenging us to grow or adapt.

And the point? (Yes, there is one.) The point is that Aquarius is not about good or bad or even ‘shades of gray’ so much as it’s about reality and realism. The reality is that a bee sting can really ouch and a scorpion sting might be able to kill you. But the reality of that toxin is that it holds medical promise. Someday your life could be saved by a medication derived from scorpion venom.

Is it good? Is it bad? Or is it all in how you use it? That’s one bit thing Aquarius – as an Age – asks us to consider.

But at the moment? Hey, things are primal! That they are, that things are hitting us where we live (as the saying goes) is indicated by Typhon (basic instincts) retrograding into Virgo, the sign which asks can it work? will it work? how to do it so that everything works out well? 

That question may be physical or about our physicality (health). It may be about schedules, jobs, getting food into the house – all those basic how can I make life work? sort of questions. It can be what you should do for others or what you need to do with (or for) others in order to ‘earn’ a place ‘in line’ when it comes time to divvy up opportunities in days, weeks or months yet to come.

The myth of Typhon being about a primal Titan (corresponding to mountains, oceans, rainfall) and that Typhon retrogrades back into Virgo on March 14th at 3:05pm (UT/+0) after having rolled over giant Black Hole M87 tells us we are confronting basic considerations as a result of our concept of ‘what’s going on’ having changed.

And considering Typhon is a TNO, this suggests there’s an actual ‘event’ triggering your thinking.

Plus, all of this is happening not just as Niobe is going retrograde but as we come into the two-day ‘station allowance’ before Photographica goes direct. And that’s an interesting combination. After all, for those who are suffering from a terminal case of pride what often gets them biggest and mostest? Their image.

And Photographica is the astrological concept of ‘image.’ It can be literal – “what do I look like?” It can be our reputation. It can be taking on something new (which might be nicely Uranian/Aries) in order to create a new image for yourself.

Or could it be others trying to make you think they are what they're not? That may now be quite as likely.

 

'Ascending and Descending' by MC Escher

It would be suspected that we’d hear a lot of proposals during this time, whether true or untrue. People will be looking ahead, painting ‘images’ of what could be. These next few days would be a time for social networking and social networks to be in the limelight or getting your attention, all of which is fine, so long as no one ‘banks’ on anything which might be merely an image….or vote against something again, without knowing the reality. It may be tempting to bet on a dream, and if you’re willing to work for or towards that dream, that’s a whole functional consideration.

But to merely say ‘oh, that sounds nice’ is probably not all that useful. What we want to be true and what is true or workable may well be two different things.

And that’s the real point de jour – don’t buy the packaging, buy the content. Better yet, rent first, then buy. And yes, read all the fine print!

More to come...

Kassandra, Uranus, Hidalgo, Niobe: Believing in Potentials

Uranus enters Aries March 12, 2011 at  00:53am UT/+0

With Bali now in retrograde, we know we need to rely on ourselves as our premier generator of all which produces achievement and satisfaction.

With Nemesis now having retrograded back into Virgo, we see what needs doing. Or what has gone wrong.

And now...? Well yes, Uranus is just about to enter Aries. The ticking of the clock seems louder than usual.

But before that happens, Kassandra moves into Aquarius. This asks us whether we really believe in this world. In our life. In our values. In others and ourselves.

Do we trust anyone? Do we think people will do the right thing given the chance? Is this altruism - or chance? Do promises matter? What is integrity - really?

Named for Cassandra, Apollo’s ill-fated priestess of Delphi, asteroid Kassandra is a main-belt asteroid. And because Kassandra is one of the thousands of main-belt asteroids, we know Kassandra represents one of the thousands of things we meet up with in life.

And how when we meet up with such things, we have to deal with them.

In the case of Kassandra, the question is belief. What, who and why do or don't we believe? This may be a question of 'faith' but then again, it may be about trust. About being trustworthy - are you to be believed? Is something 'too good to be true?' Has someone been duplicitous?

Do we believe in ourselves and what we're doing in and with our own life? Do we believe in this world? Our potential? Do we believe that the lives and values of others matter as much as our life and our values mean to us?

Bali having gone retrograde most likely will manifest for most people as a realization that life doesn't get handed to us. That fantasies aren't real and that reality is sometimes disappointing not because it's bad, but simply because it's not a living fantasy.

Since ‘paradise’ (Bali) isn't going to be provided to us by others, do we believe we are capable of creating a happy life for ourselves?

Kassandra enters Aquarius on March 12 at 36 minutes after midnight, +0/UT. Aquarius is a sign of society, freedom, anarchy, systemic functionality, energy, the marketplace, individuality, human collectives and income (among other things). Aquarius is also an air sign – it deals with the idea of the thing, not the reality.

This air sign quality is sometimes a blessing – it allows us to theorize. Then again, sometimes it undermines us by discouraging us with the ‘idea of what it will take’ to do something when the reality is not all that complicated.

Aquarius has two rulers. The basis of Aquarian accomplishment is rooted in Saturn: the effort, the thought, the dedication we are willing to apply to a project. Saturn asks that we take the required time and do each thing correctly. Saturn says make it work well. When we do, the we get the Uranian benefits, the results, the profits, the freedom of something which makes our life easier.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Saturn is retrograde at the moment. On one hand, that says we can take matters into hand…as a matter of fact, our job IS to take things into our own hands!

At the same time, this is also a celestial way of saying any free rides are absolutely over. Saturn in retrograde is always about the need to work on ourselves or to re-examine our priorities, our attention to and attitudes towards responsibilities.

 Saturn's rings - photo credit: NASA/JPL

Most of all, Saturn is about whether we’re being realistic. This doesn’t mean we have to like our reality…or the facts currently on our plate(s). No, we don’t like it – but we do have to deal with it, and the more realistic we are with ourselves about what life is and requires of us, the better off we’ll be…in the Aquarian individual or collective sense!

Of course this is just the appetizer. The real entrée being served up today is Uranus entering Aries, an event which happens not twenty minutes after Kassandra enters Aquarius – at 00:53am (UT/+0), to be exact.

Uranus being the kind of energy which pushes us towards the ‘new,’ this can either become a motivation or explosion. It can represent our suddenly taking hold and making more out of what is and what can be, or our rebelling against everything around us.

We look around us and we see old structures crumbling. Old ways of being being taken apart. Old ways of thinking no longer being upheld, honored or even acknowledged. For some, this means all the rules get thrown out the window. Given that Aries is the sign of “I Am” some will say they are the rule – that what they say goes. Some will go the nihilistic route and claim nothing means anything and whatever you want you’re entitled to take because in the end nothing means anything.

Frankly, that nihilistic concept seems rather easy to defeat. I've had it proposed, but the 'life is meaningless' idea seems the easiest of all to take apart! After all, if you believe nothing matters, aren't you investing belief and meaning in that very idea?

Acceptance of differences I can rent, lease or buy. The 'life is meaningless' Nietzsche sort of thought? That strikes me as an excuse to not try or getting involved.

But maybe that's just me. (sigh....)

Getting back to the subject however, let’s be real here – there are those who with or without having brought along their own soap boxes will claim they get to make their own rules here in this moment and over the next eight years or so while Uranus jolly-trots through Aries. That idea is in itself the Aquarius idea of freedom without any of the Saturn foundation-laying and taking on of responsibility. That’s freedom from responsibility and the honoring only of the individual in a world where we don’t live alone.

Such people will happen as we move forward – count on it. Some will be startlingly outrageous. We will be hearing now from people who seem to be out of touch with the mainstream and sometimes that will pique our interest and drive innovation in society, methodologies and human existence. This is the ‘thinking outside the box’ we all so admire.

Yet with those who color usefully outside the lines will sure-as-shooting be those who are just plainly off base. The nature of this time is to reveal those who are off base, and as difficult as this may seem, the lessons which go with realizing strangers hide in plain sight is really about learning more about what humanity is and what we’re capable of being, tolerating and creating.

Some of these ideas are very long term; Uranus will be in Aries for years now. But with Neptune at 29 Aquarius for the next few weeks (not to mention a few other astrological events which will be happening between now and then) we can expect to be surprised and daunted and enlightened as much as dismayed.

For the past eight years while Uranus has been in Pisces, we were being asked to become more adept with dealing with our emotions. Now we find out why.

Hours pass…tick, tock, tick, tock. Then at 10:18am (UT/+0) we enter Niobe’s station zone, an indication that the pride which goeth before the fall here begins to take its toll. With Niobe going retrograde in Scorpio, the platform upon which some will now meet up with their self-destruction will be defined by choice. Have we invested ourselves in others, in situations, in joint ventures wisely? Have we acted with intelligence and integrity, knowing our limits and what’s ‘too good to be true’? Have we overstepped our bounds? Have we been too greedy, too proud and too selfish?

Some will take a fall now. Others will see how people go wrong and learn plenty from that.

It’s a time for learning…and for learning better. And considering that this is Niobe entering it’s two-day pre-station allowance, what we are likely to hear first are the realizations. The recognitions. And more than a few defiant announcements which claim the higher ground, which in essence say I know better. I don’t have to listen to you! I don’t have to listen to anyone! I know!

Niobe et Enfants (Niobe and her Children)

Charles Gabriel Lemonnier (1770)

And those people will be wrong. Some will attempt to prove how right they are now and be taught lessons in short order. Others will take a stand and have their pillars knocked out from under them.

And yet...and yet...and yet...

At its best, this combination of Niobe’s station and Uranus’ Aries ingress would be a realization – a recognition that we have been in a dark of our own making, that there are changes which need to be made in our lives (or in the whole of life or our world) which we need to stop hiding from, or denying. In saying that, it pays to recognize that there are all sorts of ways we can hide from ourselves.

Or more to the point perhaps, all sorts of ways that we can hide…or may have been hiding from our own feelings. From our mistakes. From our vulnerabilities. From the reality that some dream we really, really, really wanted to be true is…in the end, just a dream.

Niobe going into retrograde in some lives will represent a moment when they drop the mask or the act or the pretense. For them, Uranus’ entrance into the innocent potency of Aries – the new life – will be reinvention of self.

And so long as they are able to own up to who they are, what they’ve done, what they haven’t done, with this day being when Hidalgo actually goes retrograde in Sagittarius…others will be more inclined to forgive them their humanity. That doesn’t mean they won’t have to make up for whatever they’ve done, but there is a special sort of quality which goes with this mélange, this collective confluence which suggests that honesty will beget begrudged agreement to at least talk about it.

In other words, it’s as good moment to lower intemperate temperatures of debates as it is to turn up the wattage when it comes to illumination in and about your own life.

And that’s just the point. We not only all make mistakes, but we need to make mistakes. That’s how we learn what works and what doesn’t work – and that’s part of the Sagittarian process. Sagittarius isn’t just about proclaiming ‘the truth’ but in finding it.

Uranus as discovery, Aries as new life plus Hidalgo as nobility of being with the reflective questioning of Kassandra.

Maybe Niobe’s approaching station/retrograde is all about accepting with a certain grace (Hidalgo) that sometimes we need to question (Kassandra) what we are or have thought and through that, become a new person. It doesn’t mean we won’t stub our toe, and it doesn’t mean we won’t cry or feel helpless or feel wonderment at how anyone lives through this life.

Or all that life can perhaps be…and become. That’s a really Uranus/Aries ingress sort of idea.

Pass it on!