Saturn Station-Retrograde (Part 1)

Planet Saturn caught having a major storm in its northern

hemisphere by spacecraft Cassini

(photo credit: NASA, JPL)

This blog is definitely ‘part one of two’...and actually part one of three, if we consider how Saturn’s station and actual turn to retrograde happens on the same day that the Sun enters Pisces.

That's a whole subject unto itself. However, it does conceptually affect Saturn's station, so that - and the general concept of station affects are a good place to start.

What with planetary stations emphasizing the nature of the ‘cosmic moment’ for several days before and several days after the actual ‘moment’ of “turnabout” (which is not always fair play, no…!) Saturn’s going retrograde on Monday, February 18th at 5:04 in the afternoon UT/+0 time means the days between February 16th and 20th…even February 15th and 21st…are going to be highly Saturnized, to coin a term.

Moreover, having just pointed out that the 18th will also be the day that the Sun moves into Pisces, this means that the days leading into Saturn’s turn are Aquarian and the days leading out of this Saturn station are Piscean.

Saturn itself is in Scorpio – at 11 Scorpio, to be exact. Saturn moved into 11 Scorpio back on January 25 (just before Jupiter went direct) and, in retrograde, will be remain at 11 Scorpio through March 15th. 11 Scorpio is a degree which is known for intense focus – up to and including the point where focus becomes so shortsighted it may as well be blindness.

As a sign, Scorpio presents us with choices – emotional choices, which differentiates it from Gemini, the sign of ‘deciding’ and ‘decisions’…in other words, mentally-driven choices.

Cutting to the chase here about Scorpio, everybody faces risks when it comes to the Scorpio choice. What should I or should I invest my time, energy, loyalty, efforts and best bets or abilities in? That’s the question, whether the Scorpio venue you’re dealing with is an intimate relationship, a partnership, an investment, your reputation…your whatever in. And because we tend to be so focused on whether ‘what’s going to happen’ will benefit us in the way we want to be benefited (or not), we tend to forget that in any ‘investing’ of time, money, trust, energy, emotion, relationship, risk, reputation… whatever… there are two sides to the equation: the ‘me’ (or us) and the ‘them.’ We tend to forget that they are approaching the table with the same sort of focus, and that the more experience they have in the matter, the greater chance there is that they know all the (Scorpio) secrets and nuances we may not know.

Sometimes that experience is exactly what we want. But (to use one example) will the experienced surgeon know more, or will their experience have them ‘just phoning it in’? Maybe the new surgeon is all freshly studied on new techniques. Or maybe they just care more because they aren’t yet jaded by life and experience?

Many of us try to level this playing field with assurances, contracts, forms of insurance, or other means or methods which amount to efforts to ‘control the risk.’ Sometimes that’s entirely sensible. Yet whether the subject is fiscal risk or emotional vulnerability, risk exists.

And that’s the Scorpio thing. Scorpio is the interactive sector of life’s playing field which foists risk upon us so that we will get some internal sense of not how and where we are necessarily  vulnerable but yes – where we feel vulnerable, absolutely!

Some of us will come into this station focused (to the degree, one might say!) on those matters which provoke our feelings of vulnerability. Some of us will come into this station asking ourselves why we feel vulnerable to begin with. Where did we learn to be afraid of ‘that’? Why are we afraid of ‘that’ – what does it mean to us and why does it mean what it means?

 Saturn's rings as photographed

by NASA's spacecraft Cassini

With the Sun still in late Aquarius for the several days leading into this station, we can count on external input and examples (or reactions) prompting our thoughts. Then as the Sun moves into Pisces on the 18th, the nature of the energy will shift. For you, that shift may be ever-so-subtle, but if you’re aware (dare I say focused?) you’ll feel your own internal mechanisms move from the (air sign) idea of the thing into more of a (water sign) feeling mode.

Putting together the 11 Scorpio, the Saturn ‘cause/effect’ reality quotient and Pisces’ signature how I feel about my feelings, the Sun’s shifting into Pisces will cause many of us to begin imagining what could happen and how we’d feel if that did happen. This is a classic moment for fears to prey on our mind and for others – well intended or otherwise – to play on our fears, be that skillfully or otherwise.

Other factor here would involve the Sun’s activation of All Things Piscean as it moves into Pisces. The list here is pretty extensive, with most of the activity breaking into two groups. In early Pisces we have Eros (passion), Kalypso (love as a function of the other person, not what we want from them), Neptune (tests of our willingness to be realistic), Fomalhaut (success promised only where our aims are not corrupt, corrupted or corruptive) and (ouch) Chiron – the symbol of where we tend to trip ourselves up by not accepting the responsibility for what we do and don’t do.

With all of Pisces being in a whole-sign-trine to Scorpio, we can assume Saturn’s station will activate all these thoughts, feelings and internal questions. But since the object in this group which actually trines Saturn is Chiron, and since one of the key words for Saturn is ‘responsibility,’ this would be a principle and obvious moment for a good many of us to have that OMG moment where we realize how we got ourselves in some mess. Or compromise. Or bad deal. Or untenable position.

And some of us will despair. Other will embark on a frantic course of fervent (Scorpio) denial. The second ‘group’ in Pisces begins with Mars at 13 Pisces, a Mars which is also in trine to Saturn. And though the orb of conjunction between Mars at 13 and Chiron at 8 is stretched wide, it’s still there.

In fact, it’s something of a metaphysical picture of a gap – one we need to bridge at least within ourselves.

With Mars conjunct Mercury at 17 Pisces, there’s likely to be some ‘but what can I do?’ (or say) feelings of helplessness. And given Mercury’s sextile-trine position to the lunar nodes in this moment, wanting to ignore or walk away from problems (or at least deny culpability) is high.

But so to is the understanding that ignoring the proverbial 600 pound gorilla in the room which is your brain, heart and soul isn’t going to work.

That Saturn is going retrograde at the midpoint between Deucalion (finding the moral path) and Polyhymnia (‘musing’ over something) is truly a celestial suggestion that we stop and think things through. Deucalion’s position in Scorpio is something of a dictate in that it’s a clear indication that we can’t just decide things based on our own wants, pleasures, preferences or alliances.

Minerva among the Muses

by Hendrick van Balen the Elder (1573-1632)

The ‘others’ in this equation – the ‘them’ of it all is underscored by Deucalion, telling us that this is a time when we truly need to consider the premier Scorpio rule. That rule says everybody must feel equally heard and equally benefited by any situation. The corollary here is that we also cannot decide ‘for’ anybody what they want out of a situation. Take a business partnership, for example. One party to the partnership may just be looking for a way to earn money. Another party to that same partnership may be looking for a firm with the ‘right’ kind of status which will allow them to do something else in their life.

One of the premier difficulties in Scorpio involves the tendency to assume or try to control what someone else wants out of the relationship, be it personal or professional. Another version of this mismatch comes through not checking on what the other party really wants. The really ambitious (read: insightful) among us will also ask someone why they feel as they do (Scorpio is a water sign, remember that!) and from that exploration come to some understanding of the other person/party’s Taurus/Scorpio range of self worth or self respect.

Some think of this as prying. But in a Scorpio situation, it’s generally not, unless someone is looking to flat out use us – in which case, you’d want to know that, right? But generally, understanding the aim of the person as the generator behind why they are asking for (say) the assurance of status even if that means less money going in (or vice versa) gives us a far better idea of who they are.

And that insight is something we can apply to our Scorpio calculations, allowing us to mitigate our risk through facts which allow us to make a more ‘informed’ emotional choice.

With Saturn passing through Scorpio, there’s a lot of growth going on. Saturn is our symbol of ‘life structures’ and principle among those is personal maturation. Given the requirement to face ‘emotional facts’ which is so endemically Saturn-in-Scorpio, a lot of us are going to be tackling the ‘tough stuff’ during this passage. A lot of ‘false fronts’ are going to fall apart, a lot of alliances, partnerships and (yes) even marriages can be expected to end. And when they do, the fur can be expected to fly. That’s pretty standard with Scorpio, the premier sign of vengeance. But the reality of all such emotional reactions is that some part of them is less about ‘them’ and more about our being upset with ourselves. ‘They’ have provoked our feelings of vulnerability.

Why do we feel so vulnerable? Things Scorpio are always about that very question. Whether we’re getting into a situation, deciding to avoid a situation, or plunging into a situation, we will tend to think ‘it’ (or they) will “make everything wonderful.” To the degree that we understand the realities and are willing to grow in ourselves, wonderfulness can result – that wonderfulness being a sense of pride in our choices and resourcefulness and internal security.

But where we have made choices merely ‘on appearances’? That’s where Saturn in Scorpio can prove problematic. Saturn in Scorpio tends to threaten to unmask us if it doesn’t just produce situations which truly unmasks us, and nobody likes going around with their naked psyche hanging out!

The solution – to use the vernacular – is to ‘get real,’ starting with our Self.

This is a moment when much reality – and many efforts to avoid or ‘fix’ our feelings about what we the facts really are (or at least what we perceive them to be) – are going to take a turn.

Good luck to all of us with that, right?

A word to the wise would seem apt here...when in doubt, ask. And if you have any doubt that you understand where someone is coming from, ask again.

Also, track records count – don’t ignore history, even when you don’t like it. 

Saturn’s transit of Scorpio began in October 2011 and which will last solidly through to nearly the end of December 2014. After that, we will have some of the standard back and forth between Scorpio and Sagittarius during 2015, with Saturn finally committing to its transit of Sagittarius in September 2015.

So that's the overview. The next post up will be on some configurations which are part of this Saturn station, giving us more directions and descriptions of the challenges - and opportunities we stand to glean if we can just get past what we want to be true to the truth of how things really work.

Until then, I hope you run rings around your Saturn, not vice versa!
 

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An Aries Full Moon: Striking a Working Balance

 A full moon framed in a window of Castelo Belmonte

(photo credit: Ken and Nyetta, April 2011) 

The tale of Pluto’s conjuncting of fixed star Facies…(a nebula which to us Earthlings looks a single point)…that year long work-over of our lives, our feelings, our sense of right wronged…

It’s been something like a bad fairy tale. And yet…it’s reality.

This Pluto/Facies trial by complicated conflicts will continue on until mid-December of this year. Even after that, it will return to give us a little back-paddling stickiness come next September.

Or so. With Pluto, it’s always ‘or so.’ And oh, how we wish it wasn’t! The good can’t come fast enough and the nasty is truly nasty.

We so feel caught between.

Anyway…at the moment the issue is the Pluto/Facies involvement in September’s Aries Full Moon. That Full Moon occurs on September 30th at 3:20 in the morning UT/+0 at the degree of 7 Aries – the degree of the Moon’s position.

 Full Moon of September 30, 2012 (3:20 a.m. UT/+0)

Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific

The Full Moon is always an emotional time. With the Moon sitting at 7 Aries, the Aries part makes this moment not just emotional, but very personal. And with this Full Moon happening at a degree between 0 and 9, we know it has to do with how we feel. Or our personal physical body. Or something we’re doing. Or are thinking of doing. Or need to do.

So this is likely to be a very intense and personally focused time. Plus or minus, we’re each all about ourselves.

With Mars – ruler of Aries – at 25 Scorpio and conjunct the more challenging if profitable North Node (as opposed to the more comfortable, easy yet long-term-dissipation effects of the South Node)…and ALSO conjunct the ‘I’m afraid that was going to happen’ (or ‘afraid you were going to say/think/do that’) Medusa, situations of the moment evoke Scorpio emotions.
And though we are all always tempted to love or hate such Scorpio moments based on what ‘they’ do, the reality of the issue is that Scorpio is always about testing our values and our choices.

Besides, this is not ‘just’ a Mars-Medusa-North Node thing (though that in itself is a loaded statement!). Why not? That would be because Mars-Medusa-North Node is part of a Grand Square formulation:

The Mars-square-Venus quality is likely to lend quite a bit of hurt feelings (read: ego) to the mix here. That Venus is conjunct Achilles and Agamemnon suggests emotional protests – which yes, may well surface in arguments and anger. But please take note: Venus is also conjunct Regulus – the famous fixed star which is all about success which is ONLY garnered where we avoid the pitfall of revenge.

With Achilles and Agamemnon behind Venus (if barely) and Regulus, Sabine and Eos just ahead, some of us are going to be pulling ourselves together to get out of a funk and over our big bad selves in issuing a Mars-Medusa-North Node apology.

At best, no matter who you are or what’s going on, if you can harness the moment in the service of (Eos) recognizing how you have (Sabine) limited yourself and deal with what the truth is and where you may have been shooting yourself in the foot (as it were), that would be a positive. As a figure of emotional responsiveness of the ‘I want it MY way,’ Algol’s opposition to Mars/North Node with Algol obviously in conjunction to the South Node lends a whole air and aura of reluctance to face that which is emotionally challenging to us. And this goes double where a situation is rooted in deeply held values or convictions (on our part) about how we think things “ought to be.”

Wherever you’re reacting from a ‘this is how I’ve ALWAYS done it’ or ‘I CHOOSE to do things my way and everybody else should just get over it!’ sort of perspective, life is going to be particularly challenging, too. Black Moon Lilith at 1 Gemini here is emblematic of choices which are sufficiently narrow to work only sometimes (if that) and in opposition to Mars-North Node this gives us a flavor of rejection or denial or simply not getting what you want out of a situation.

 Expulsao do Paraiso (Expelled from Paradise)

by Obra de Aldo Locatelli (c. 1950-1969)

If you’re not familiar with both forms of Lilith (there are two) I suggest you read a blog post from a while ago called The Two Liliths

Link to 'The Two Liliths' blog post

The last part of this Grand Square is Neptune. Ah yes…now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t Neptune. Neptune opposition Venus tends to have one of two modes: either it’s dreamy, hopeful and expectant…or its motivational in the sense that you can see what can be, you’re able to dream the dream and that keeps you moving and trying.

Remembering that Neptune in its home sign of Pisces is that thing which dissolves the illusion and ultimately reveals the truth…that tends to say that either we’re disillusioned with something (or someone) or we’re putting aside our self-pleasantries and just devoting ourselves to getting the job done, dealing with whoever and whatever (Scorpio) thing must be dealt with, adapting (Leo) as we go, calling on (Taurus) everything we know we can rely on in our own makeup as well as that conviction as to what can be accomplished…we’re doing all that and (Medusa) braving the Great Unknown, whether that’s our unknown or that of others…in creating something better, in advancing a cause, in building something which in (Neptune) reality can hold (Pisces) water…(which in this case would be the needs of our emotional self respect).

Since this is a grand square, the trick is keeping everything in focus, in balance and in motion. With three out of four corners of this square in fixed signs, those who come into this period already in motion, on the road and in gear will have the benefit of momentum to carry them through current difficulties.

Which yes, leaves the rest of us – those of us who have been thinking, longing, wanting, trying…but not really being honest with ourselves. Those people are likely to hit a high-in-lows at this moment – which fortunately IS only a Full Moon moment.

In other words, it’s part of a greater (life) cycle.

Yes, it is pretty easy to get shortsighted at the moment. Particularly on the emotional level..and particularly when that emotionality comes from a feeling of loss or sheer discomfort with changes necessitated by life’s greater scope.

It’s time to get a plan…or to put your current plan into motion. As we discussed in the last post (on Ceres entering Cancer) those who can undertake a journey knowing that it’s going to take a lot of work, that it won’t all be predictable and that they’re going to have to deal with people who may come from completely different walks of life…those people can  take what could be negative feelings which arise to bite them now and turn that into dynamic energy.

We just can’t be too proud, want things to be too easy or think that we can get away without having to invest our heart, noggin and abilities.

So getting back to the Moon proper – since this is a post about the Full Moon, yes!

All of the above was sort of background…the backdrop against which this Full Moon is taking place. But the Full Moon itself…?

That’s the object of a t-square.

 
And this is where Pluto/Facies comes into the mix. The way a t-square works, we “start” at the sign which is zodiacally before the sign of the ‘t’ – which in this case is Capricorn.

So this t-square starts with the Sun in Libra, faces the ‘t’ which is Pluto-Facies-Icarus…and the object of a t-square is to ‘achieve’ the Uranus-Moon-Child quotient, which one would suspect is rather like ‘the innocence of a child.’ Or to put that in a slightly more ‘adult’ way…to have things easy again.

It’s just…well, Pluto-Faces is a complication which surfaces out of a lot of gnarly factors which come together. It seems like you can’t fix one thing because another thing isn’t fixed yet.

Add in Icarus and we have the picture of haste having made everything a whole lot worse.

The Lament for Icarus by Herbert James Draper (1898)

Then we consider that all three of these points (like everything else about this Full Moon t-square) is in the first decanate: between the degrees of zero and 9. That means this is all very person. It’s about us, it’s about something we need to do or have done (Pluto-Facies tends to suggest here that this is something already done). And it’s affecting us physically. That may mean ‘physically’ in the simple sense – in terms of our health or physical body. Then again, it may be a question of our social standing or marriage. Or maybe (given all the Taurus-Scorpio in the background) how finances are affecting our ability to do anything about anything.

Sun-conjunct-asteroid House at 7 Libra is a reference to how comfortable we are with ourselves. With the Sun in its sign of fall, the answer is likely to be ‘not as comfortable as we’d like to be with ourselves.’ Where 7 Libra falls in your personal chart, along with where the Sun and asteroid House are natally (and how they’re aspected) will lend additional color to this factor for good and ill.

But plainly we’re considering (or reconsidering) how things are going, the nature of the people we’re interacting with (or not interacting with) – and whether all that is getting us where we want to go. You know…to that feeling of all being simple as it ‘should be’ in our most innocent of childlike dreams?

That thought brings up a good point: Aries can be childlike…or childish. How we have set ourselves up prior to now is like as not delivering results on this choice. If you want ‘permission’ from life to be childish and you’re hanging out with a bunch of responsible, thoughtful people that may not work. If you want to achieve personal freedom (Moon-Uranus in Aries) and you’re hanging out with a bunch of irresponsible folks, then that may not work so well for you.

(Yes, karma is apparently contagious)

There are as many ways these you-me-he-she-it things can manifest as there are leaves on trees. But at some level, whether or what you are/aren’t being to others (Sun in Libra) is setting the stage for successes and headaches of the moment.

Then we come to TNO Typhon. The Greek Typhon is a totally primal figure which references that essential level of life where biological drives manifest as the need to breathe…hunger…exhaustion and the need to sleep…the urge to reproduce…all such things.

To understand a bit more about the nature of Typhon, here’s the diagram yours truly drummed up for the Pholus blog (may it long be remembered) modified so as to include Typhon…and make a blogger’s best attempt to put things a little more to scale.

The point here is that Typhon originates in the Kuiper Belt – it’s a Trans Neptunian Object, hence the ‘TNO’ designation. And anything which comes from way out there (beyond Neptune) on the esoteric level can be thought of as ‘coming through the Neptune reality/non-reality’ gate.

In other words, objects which orbit beyond Neptune (our solar system’s last true planet) are ‘beyond’ that point where the known, where our conceptual ability to predict reality ends. Put all this together and we’re likely to have been drawn into Scorpio (joint/joined) situations (through assertive Mars choice) which at this time are confronting us with complicated, multi-faceted (Facies) situations which evoke emotionally transformative (Plutonic) upheavals at a very basic (Typhon) level.

Whew! That’s a thought-ful, right?

The bottom line here is that t-squares have a time-honored, if-you-can-do-it-you-will-end-up-happy formula. That formula says that we have to get over a “hurdle” (the ‘t’ in the t-square) which is really all about your focus on you. Call it ego, call it selfish, call it personal priority…the astrological rule where t-squares are concerned is plain.

So! If all is good now, probably things are really great. (At least for the moment. After all, this is just a Full Moon we’re talking about!)

And if things are tough, the challenge is to shift your focus to the ‘greater picture’…the what needs to be changed and how you can move to lead the charge, the moment, the effort there.

Oh yes…Diadem. Diadem is a fixed star which represents the ‘crowning glory’ – our most cherished thought, hope, possession, activity (etc.). Positioned at 9 Libra, Diadem is positioned in a degree which is quick to criticize and mentally aggressive, a degree known for its preference to talk (study, examine, think) rather than do. This degree does not favor making decisions…which gives us a hint not just about the present, but about these years we’re all muddling through.

Having entered 9 Libra on December 19, 2003, Diadem won’t be moving on into 10 Libra until December 25, 2075 (merry Christmas a half-century early!). And not only does this echo some of the data we got when discussing Pholus (and the ongoing game of zodiacal tag Pholus is playing with Ixion)…namely, that we live in changing times when it’s easy to complain and long for calmer waters, but when that’s truly not likely to happen.

Link to the blog on Pholus

By the year 2075 (interestingly) Pluto will be where Uranus is right now, a fact which poses suggests that what gets done today (or not done today) has some long-term ramifications.

Fortunately…(if that’s what you want to call it)…upheaval and difficult, challenging times seem to be the hallmark of every shift of astrological age.

So as they say…unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should.

We just have to decide to live in this world instead of trying (expecting?) it to work as we want it to.

Is it worth your try?



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April 2012: Mars direct / Pluto retrograde

Mars has been sitting around for a couple of months, but no more!

(Carl VanVechten sitting in front of the figure of Mars god of War)

Here’s the simple form of the thing: Pluto is going retrograde on April 10th (at 10:12am UT/+0) and Mars is going direct on April 14th at 3:54 am (UT/+0).

Pluto will do it’s turnabout at 9 Capricorn and Mars will take its station at 3 Virgo.

This becomes more important as we consider that these two planets (or planet-and-dwarf-planet, if you want to be picky about it)…together, these are the modern co-rulers of Scorpio.

AND….Scorpio would be the sign that sits mid-point to this week’s double-station event.

There are as many ways for this to manifest in lives as (yes, I’m going to say it) there are stars in the sky. But some things are constant here – which is why this blog seems well worth posting.

Known for its attention to detail (speaking of picky…) Virgo is really about the refining of the process. Being the second of the zodiac’s three earth signs, there’s a Virgo quality which is implicitly about ‘getting it done’ and how we get it done.

Lore on the degree Mars will station in (3 Virgo) speaks to the difficulties we encounter and persevering despite all. There’s a strength indicated by this degree which may suggest taking on tasks (or ideas or methodologies) which you have long resisted or not wanted to tackle the implementation of. Mars certainly is a pro-active symbol, so don’t be surprised if this week finds you gearing up for something. Or maybe you’ll find the way to get something done.

Those who resist doing anything (especially in areas where Virgo’s association with ‘quality’ is hindered) may well find that situations prompt (force?) them to look at things in a new, different and perhaps more critical light.

 A medieval imaging of Virgo, which says not a lot

about the Virgoan quality of being able to provide

or leave us destitute for not having done 'the 

required work.'

Meanwhile, we also have Pluto going retrograde. That it’s doing so at 9 Capricorn and conjunct Facies brings home the question of how wise we are and have been in our choices, with Facies adding a highly ‘provocational’ touch. What this amounts to is the need to do things wisely…lest you get called on your lack of native wisdom.

And if you do get called on having been clueless (purposefully or innately), your first instinct is likely to be to get all hurt.

This gets us back to the Mars/Pluto combination as the co-rulers of Scorpio. Yes, Scorpio is known as the sign of sex and inheritances, taxes, power, investments (of time, money, emotions…etc.) and so on. But the crux of Scorpio is really our pitting ourselves against our Self. Mars here indicates the proactive choice we’ve made to do something or not do something, and Pluto refers to how we feel about how things work out.

Because Scorpio is by nature an interactive sign, we generally tend to love ‘them’ or blame ‘them’ depending on how things have worked out. But they didn’t do OUR choosing – we did. And that’s the eternal Scorpio point. Scorpio is the polarity sign to Taurus and Taurus is all about self worth and our abilities – or ‘ability to be who we are’ (or are capable of being). In Scorpio, Taurus’ native attributes are tested.

As Mars goes direct (after several very long months of our feeling rather like life has us on some very bizarre treadmill), Mars stands conjunct Regulus, Hebe, Orcus, Arachne, Psyche, Polyhymnia, Thuban and Medea.

Got that?

Of course not! Who would, right? Fine...let’s go through it a little more slowly.

REGULUS: Regulus is one of the Royal Stars of Persia. All of the Royal Stars promise success IF we avoid a particular human no-no, which in this case is the temptation to wreak vengeance. So it’s okay to state your case this week, but the idea of declaring all-out war will probably not bring you any victories.

(Note to the wise here: Pluto’s instruction kit comes with a notice which says ‘when using your Pluto, state your case once – clearly – then HUSH UP’)

This is a good thing to remember when you’re in any sort of power struggle. Debating should be a college sport, not a way of life. (Unless you’re a trial lawyer or something like that, of course!)

 Hebe - by Francisco Javier Ramos y Albertos (1784)

HEBE: This asks us what we can do (Virgo) to make things better. Technically, Hebe is the cup bearer to the gods of Olympus, and in that cup is the drink of immortality, ambrosia. So Hebe is not just about serving the drink, but about providing that which preserves, protects and – considering Hebe is in Virgo - makes things healthier, more effective, more efficient and maybe above all, moral in the sense that whatever we do can ‘pass muster’ and stand the test of time and criticism.

ORCUS: TNO Orcus is – in a word – a symbol of ‘consequences.’ Whenever we see Orcus in an astrological figure, we know we are talking about something which cannot be ‘undone.’ You may have “done it” or it may simply have happened – or someone else may have done something or made some decision. The Orcus touch here conjunct Mars going direct suggests needing to ‘respond’ to something.

ARACHNEArachne is the symbolic idea of something you are entangled in. But as always, such symbols go both ways – so this may pertain to something (or someone!) you’re trying to ‘tie up in knots’ or render helpless.

Considering that Arachne is pictured here in Virgo, the stakes are realistic: this is something ‘real’ going on (or at stake). And with Arachne positioned between Orcus and Psyche (the mind) it’s very likely that its something very real, the thought of which (or the thought of trying to deal with) is tying up your mind.

And let’s remember…asteroid PSYCHE is very large asteroid.  Estimated to be 200km across and of sufficient mass to comprise 1% of the entire asteroid belt, Psyche’s presence in this kind of lineup is the signal that whatever is in the works requires your attention. We have to ‘put our mind to’ whatever this ‘entangling’ (Arachne) situation is.

POLYHYMNIA: One of the fabled Greek Muses, Polyhymnia speaks to the longing for beauty and the requirement that we reflect on things to get the most out of our life.

And you thought you didn’t have to think about things now? Apparently ‘thinking’ (and reflecting) on who we are (Psyche), what we do (Mars) and how well we do it (Virgo) is absolutely ‘of the moment.’

THUBAN: Thuban is a fixed star which refers to something we treasure – or which is worth treasuring. This ‘thing’ can be material…or spiritual, depending. 

Once out of retrograde, Mars won’t cross Thuban’s position until May 10th, though the emphasis on ‘what’s valuable to me’ may well arise at Mars’ April 14th station.

Of course…speaking of stations, let’s also remember that all planetary stations get a two-day before, two-day after ‘station window.’ So Pluto is ‘on station’ from April 8 through 12 (going retrograde on the 10th) and Mars is on station from April 12th through 16 (going direct on the 14th).

Yes, there’s an overlap. April 12th is likely to be an interesting day in many a life. Whether it’s good or bad depends on how well things have been working (or you have been working) coming into this time.

Medea by Henri Klagmann

 

The last symbol in this lineup is MEDEA, an asteroid which summons up the famous story about loving something and being so focused on your own investment in that ‘thing’ you so treasure or long for that you end up undermining yourself. Or, in Virgo, what you need to do – your responsibilities, perhaps? Maybe even your health? (We’ll hope not!) Or your moral or positive standing on some subject or in some field of effort?

Seeing that Mars makes its turn to direct in opposition to Neptune, Bali and Fomalhaut, it’s to be expected that those who have been kidding themselves (Neptune) and dancing with dreams which are in reality immoral at any level…they’re about to hit an iceberg with the name ‘Titanic’ etched on the side.

As I write (a bit belatedly) on Monday the 9th (as Pluto is about to go direct, I’ve just heard of a fourth legal action among people that I know. All of those legal actions have to do with standing up and saying ‘now wait a minute…’ to people who have tried to slide by or fluff off responsibility for doing things correctly. Effectively. In an ethical and above-board, crossing-the-‘t’ manner.

The legal system per se is not at stake here. What’s being discussed (or contested) is the use of power on someone’s part. That’s Scorpio. Scorpio energies work well ONLY when everyone is equally satisfied. When that doesn’t happen, especially when one person has pleased themselves at someone else’s expense, Scorpio stops being the high flying eagle and zooms right past gray lizard stage, becoming the sting of the scorpion.

All of this is to say this week is likely to be more than feisty, more than interesting and more than thought-provoking. Those who need to stand up for their rights should do so, but are advised to do it CALMLY. No flame-throwing, no dropping houses on anyone (even if it is tornado season in the U.S.!). If you must state your case, do it Plutonically: know your facts, state you position with clarity, then hush up! Let the froth fly. Let others do their thing.

Just wait for the answer.

That’s the point here. Situations which have arisen are not about ‘them’ – they’re about us. The ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ here isn’t about gain or loss, it’s about learning who we are…and maybe who we aren’t. Those we are most polarized by now are provoking our reactions and pushing our buttons, yes. But let’s remember…those are OUR buttons and reactions and people being as human as they are, we attract such folks to us just so that we can learn more about ourselves.

Annoying? Maybe.

Useful? Ultimately.

Could it be easier? Evidently not.

Have a good week then…and remember to look in the mirror now and again. It really isn't about 'them.' Everything which is happening is happening to us for a reason: so we can grow.

Jupiter square Pluto: Overcoming Odds, Underwhelming Aspects

 

 Nature et Architecture15 by Clo Baril

The frequency with which planets meet up in zodiacal manner is referred to as their ‘Synodic Cycle.’ Jupiter and Pluto meet up once every thirteen years (plus a few days) – their last synodic conjunction was in late Sagittarius on December 11, 2007 and the one before that was in late Scorpio back on December 2, 1994.

Why care about such a thing? Well, synodic cycles are a bit like the layers on an onion. Or tree rings. Maybe a better way of thinking about it is the building up of courses of bricks in the building of a wall. They’re ‘steps in a process’ – and when we think about Jupiter and Pluto, the process being represented is building effectively and understanding how we get in our own way…otherwise known as ‘how do we let ourselves down’ – which may ring as the opposite of the ‘building’ concept a bit more clearly.

Considering it takes Jupiter 11.86 years to go once around the Sun and it takes Pluto 248.09 years to do the same thing, it’s obvious that once these two meet up in the same degree, Jupiter zooms on ahead while Pluto wends its sauntering Plutonic way along its (Neptune governed) Plutino track.

Okay…so now what’s up?

What’s up is that Jupiter squares Pluto on February 25, 2011 at 7:56pm (UT/+0) with Pluto at 7 Capricorn and Jupiter at 7 Aries.

 Jupiter's aurora's in UV

photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

To understand this concept, let's start with the 'square' part. The astrological square generally refers to a 'challenge.' Sometimes a puzzle, sometimes a choice of which of two things you want/should do or think...but whatever the situation, choice or concept, there's generally some feeling of being 'challenged.' What to think? Which one to do? How to make this work?

In this case we have have two planets with each in cardinal signs – ‘cardinal’ meaning do it first, learn from results. But sort of like two cars proceeding along two different roads which meet at a (square) intersection, this doesn’t always mean our abilities are up to par with our desires. Or maybe it’s that we’re at some sort of ‘crossroads’ with some process. Or some relationship. Or some effort (like say, getting a job) where our effort meets up with someone’s opinion of us.

Streets which intersect at right angles posing the question of who goes first (and the need to acknowledge each other, lest we go ‘kaboom!’ in an accident which benefits neither) is one way of thinking of a square.

Another – which is just as valid – is to think of the 90 degree (right angle) square in terms of its validity in engineering.

If you’re inside – look up. It’s likely that the ceiling above you meets the wall at a 90 degree, square right angle. It’s a ‘structural’ angle…and if the world’s cities are any kind of decent testimony, it would seem that the square angle is basic to our ability to build anything!

So this is the question: will you get in your own way or let someone else discourage you? Or will you deal with your challenges not as being about the ‘other’ person/part of the question and work to build towards your aims?

With Pluto in Capricorn, part of the issue is all about long-standing ‘norms.’ The question is what can be done away with without creating such a lack of structure that nothing works. We don’t want to make a difficult situation even more complicated, right?

Against this, we have Jupiter in Aries – a signal that this is the time to develop ourselves, to move ahead with plans, when by expanding our use of our talents is highly apt.

But here’s the catch: Aries, though always the sign of ‘I Am’ does not really work that well when we try to turn “I Am” into ‘all about me.’ Aries is the sign of the warrior who saves the kingdom, not who aims to have a big parade held in their honor. In opposition to Libra, the question is what you have to give and the quality of what you have to give….that being the “cause” in the phrase “cause/effect.”

This is a karmic universe which obeys the scientific laws which are so well defined in certain quarters. ‘Cause/Effect’ is otherwise known by various names…from what you put out comes back to you to the popular karma’s a bitch! version.

It all amounts to the same thing: polarities count. For who we are through what we do (or ‘offer’ of ourselves), so we become known….and that determines how others treat us or respond to us.

Pluto stands in opposition to fixed star Sirius and Polyhymnia, reminding us to think before we choose and to reflect on efforts passed (Polyhymnia) for at many a juncture, it’s not only the smallest of small things which counts (Sirius) but the need to put our own aims aside in the service of others which ultimately really does get us what we want in the end (Sirius/Pluto).

That this is an opposition means we can face this/these ideas….or maybe just be annoyed as all get-out at anyone/anything reminding us of things we really, really didn’t want to be reminded of!

In other words, we can observe these limitations and lessons learned (or maybe not yet learned) or try to blow them off and in doing so, run the risk of running into….

….into what? Answer: ourselves!

(you know, our own headstrong stubborn nature?)

Dwarf planet Pluto

photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Yes, there’s plenty of energy around now suggesting that those who don’t do well with guidance or limits may just totally run into a self-constructed (or ignored) wall.

Like, ouch!

On the Jupiter side, though this is all about moving ahead and continuing to build, it’s not all peaches and peanuts. Jupiter standing at 7 Aries is about to meet up with  Pelion (the big mountain) and Lust (fixation) at 8 Aries. So ask yourself…how well focused are you on the task ahead?

This combination favors those willing to take on a task. It really doesn’t favor those looking for a gambol in the park or the easy time, the being catered to and all that stuff.

In fact, by the time Jupiter reaches 8 Aries on March 2nd, the Pelion/Lust of February 25th will have  turned into Pelion/Orpheus – Lust having moved on to 9 Aries.

And what is Orpheus? Orpheus is great talent marred by insecurity – which is actually a pretty common human problem!

No matter who you are, like as not March is going to evoke a few twinges. And maybe that’s all it is – a twinge or two that you roust yourself out of saying ‘oh, just let it go!’

But whenever and wherever we see Orpheus, we are also asked to consider the whole of the Orpheus story – namely that with Orpheus is the unspoken image of Eurydike. And since Eurydike always (always!) tells us that we must be prepared to foot the bill and pay the cost before we volunteer for something lest we be forever lost in doing so, it may just really pay to not overstep our bounds as the Jupiter/Pluto square rolls in, lest we buy into something in haste and live to repent having done so at most disappointed leisure.

Bottom line, this is really a check point on proportion. Going into this moment, you may feel overwhelmed with what's going on...or maybe overwhelmed by some conviction. There's an intensity, a 'push' which would astrologically be expected when Jupiter squares Pluto and with this aspect being pictured in pro-active (cardinal) signs, there well be a great sense of urgency or need to act for a day - even a day and a half before this actual aspect...as energies begin to build.

Can you do what you need/want to do without chickening out OR overstepping your own limits?

Once the moment of aspect happens, there's likely to be a sorting out, a realizing what has come of what has happened - or even through what you've felt. This can be just as productive a period as the time 'going in' to the aspect as this is when we learn, when we realize, when we come more to grips with what is, what has been, what yet can be (Pluto in Capricorn) against what we can and cannot to (Jupiter in Aries)...which really leaves us to understand our limits - and our capacities.

There are many things we can't do. But many things we can do as well! And though you may not be able to choose the moment or the times you live in, or how things come to be that you have to cope with - there is a choice whether to play your hand to the positive or to the negative. That choice belongs to you.

So if you can, use Jupiter square Pluto to get a grasp on something important to you - and do something with or about it. This can actually be a moment of victory long planned for and labored towards.

And if you do have problems? Don’t give up! Learn from the moment, regroup and move on. The basic notion of what you started back in 2007 has a good ways to go still…so keep on being and learning about who you are and how to Be you most happily and effectively!