The Two Popes: Francis I and Benedict XVI

 

(Left) Pope Benedict XVI during a May 2007 visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil (photo credit: Fabio Pozzebom, Agencia Brasil) - (Right) Pope Francis in March 2013 (courtesy of the Presidency of the Nation of Argentina)

To start with, a thought which came to me after the papal election: when Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to step down, Jupiter was conjunct Aldebaran in Gemini. To be precise here, Pope Benedict stepped down just before Jupiter hit Aldebaran (though granted, Jupiter was well within orb of said fixed star). But that Jupiter was in an exact conjunction with Aldebaran when, on March 13th, the College of Cardinals elected Pope Francis.

And that is – without metaphysical question - a celestial statement about Papal integrity, inclusive of the College of Cardinals (in the sense of their being a channel or conduit for greater universal function) voting for there to be greater integrity in the Catholic Church and in work/works done by the Catholic Church.

But beyond that of course, is the fact that Pope Benedict hasn’t died. And though he’s reportedly going into total seclusion to pursue religious studies, no one would be surprised if these two Popes arrange here and there to meet up for tea and pastries.

Two living popes. How very Gemini, don’t you think?

And if they do have tea now and again, who could blame them? Being Pope is a calling, yes. But it’s probably also a pretty tough job. So maybe the Vatican chefs can come up with a new pastry for such occasions. They could call them popeovers – as in I’m having the other Pope over for tea.

Jokes aside (no, I couldn’t resist) it’s far more than that. In the difference of their orientations, Benedict and Francis express Gemini’s two very famous stars, Castor and Pollux.

Maybe you remember their story.

For a post which tells the story of

Castor and Pollux, link HERE... 

It’s the mortal versus immortal part of this being referred to. Castor was mortal, Pollux immortal. Pope Benedict is very focused on spiritual (immortal) doctrine, while Pope Francis experiences spirituality by living a very ‘mortal among mortals’ human life. In spite of Vatican traditions, Pope Francis is already demonstrating that he really feels part of the human, mortal condition. And that he’s willing to touch and talk to and be touched by every kind of fellow human.

One really simple way to see this in the horoscopes of these two men is to look at them merely in abstract, in terms of emphasis. So here’s the chart of Pope Benedict…

Pope Benedict XVI (born: Joseph Alois Ratzinger)

April 16 1927 -  4:05 a.m. (CET/-1) - Marktl, Germany

…and here’s Pope Francis:

Pope Francis I (born:  Jorge Mario Bergoglio)

December 17, 1936 - 9:00 p.m. (ADT/+3) - Buenos Aires, Argentina

If you just look at the groupings of planets in their charts, you’ll see Pope Benedict has a whole group of planets in the first quadrant of the chart (houses one, two and three) – including his Sun. When we see these kinds of  chart ‘weightings’ we know this is where a lot of that person’s energy ‘lives.’ So Pope Benedict ‘feels’ himself being alive and living on this Earth.

His 'work’ – as in all charts – is generally typified by Saturn. And Pope Benedict’s Saturn is in Sagittarius, the sign of doctrine and religion (the ‘rules’ and ‘laws’ of religion) and in the 9th house. So it’s not shocking that he’s into doctrine. According to his horoscope, he needs to “elevate” (9th house) his understanding. And maybe that’s all about having such a clear concept of life and existence here in the material, Earthly realm.

Pope Francis on the other hand, has a large grouping of planets (again, including his Sun) in the 6th house, a house all about the work to be done as part of life. Where Pope Benedict’s Sun is in Aries (consciousness of Self) Pope Francis’ Sun is in Sagittarius – which as a comparison gives us another way to think about this ‘Gemini pairing’ of these two living popes. Maybe Pope Benedict focuses on the ideas of immortal doctrine because he has such a consciousness of being so very mortal. Maybe his drive is to educate his immortal (Pollux) self because his (Castor) mortal self is so evident to him. Against this, Pope Francis’ Sagittarius Sun in the 6th house enables him to see the Sagittarian possibilities for mankind, and how only through everyday honest labor which shirks not the untidy or ‘dirtied’ parts of life (6th house) can we hope to approach that ideal.

Gemini is in eternal opposition to Sagittarius: they complete each other with Gemini being the innately personal side of the question (my thoughts, my understanding, my choice) and Sagittarius always being about application and how well things work. And when they don't work, why that is and what we need to learn or do so that things are right. And though to be sure on the Gemini side Castor and Pollux represent many versions of the Gemini ‘search’ for (Sagittarius) how to make life work, when we speak of religion, then it becomes clear that this polarity is about the (Sagittarian) ‘teachings’ which have come down to us to (Gemini) learn…and just as vitally, a process in which we choose to learn (Gemini) to be people better able to function successfully (Sagittarius) in this world.

  Constellation Gemini, with fixed stars

Castor and Pollux as the 'head' of each twin

In this quest, the 6th house – the natural ‘t-square’ point we have to ‘get over’ or ‘get past’ in our life is represented by the 6th house. Naturally ‘colored’ by Virgoan ideas, the sign on the 6th house and where Virgo falls in our charts tell us how we will (or won’t)  go about making this effort.

In Pope Benedict’s chart, the 6th house is Leo – a fiery sign all about the ability to ‘see how things could be’ which often tests us through our willingness to deal with our native and very mortal disappointment when real life doesn’t life up to that ideal.

In Pope Benedict’s chart, Leo on the 6th is his seeing that he has work to do to become more of the ideal – that last part being greatly about the Sun being ruler of Leo. And since Pope Benedict’s Sun is intercepted in the first house of self or awareness of one’s self, that interception (with all  the rest of his Aries signatures, including Uranus) we know he feels he has work to do. That he has to change on the inside, as pictured by the intercepted Aries Sun and Uranus) so that he can become more of the (Leo 6th house) servant of the Divine and of better service in this world.

That Pope Benedict is a man more inclined to scripture than living in a small apartment and taking the bus to work is also pretty clear in this chart. Spirituality being Pisces in nature, his 14 Pisces rising conjunct Achernar is a heartfelt symbol of ‘continuous challenges or continuing to challenge one’s self’ which with Neptune, as outcome ruler of Pisces being in the 6th gives us a pretty ‘hands off’ quality in the work realm. Add to that how this Neptune is in Leo and we know that there is an esoteric quality to the work Benedict would do, and with this 24 Leo Neptune in a near-perfect trine to the Sun with Regulus positioned at 29 Leo and exactly conjunct Psyche (“the mind”) Pope Benedict sees the work of the human mind as a form of work in this world which indeed brings us closer to Spirit.

Of course there is an aspect of this Leo Neptune in the 6th (plus Regulus/Psyche) which isn’t so very pretty. One of the meanings of the 6th house is ‘employees.’ And when you’re the head of any organization (in this case, the Vatican) those are your employees. That same ‘hands off’ and see with the Leo Neptune would, whether it’s financial issues with regards to the operations of the Vatican or the world-wide rash of sex abuse among priests be something which Pope Benedict would have a problem with. And on this level, his Psyche/Regulus (particularly ruled by an intercepted Aries Sun in the 1st) gives us a clarity about his inability to punish others in the ‘but there for the Grace of God go I’ sense.

Survivors of abuse – whether perpetrated by priests or otherwise are not likely to feel as generous about the matter. But that which seemed to get echoed by various Church representatives and Cardinals, namely that forgiveness should be universal, would seem very much in keeping with Pope Benedict’s chart. And if we believe that great spiritual maxim that everything happens as it should and that unbeknownst to us the universe is unfolding as it should then such things have happened in Pope Benedict's life to test and educate him and that as difficult as it may seem, those who have been challenged and those who have perpetrated such atrocities have each been exposed to their own 'hellish purgatory' through which they too will ultimately learn.

Or not learn, yes.

In comparison, Pope Francis is a man very different from Pope Benedict. His challenges are shaped differently. With his chart laid out with such a strong 6th house ‘doing the work in this world’ structure, it’s also interesting to note how the signs Gemini and Sagittarius are laid across his 12th/6th house axis. With his Sun squarely between the North Node (“what I should do”) and the Galactic Center (‘that which we must give in order to receive or BE received in and by this world’…and theoretically, the next) Pope Francis is pictured as a man well able to feel the presence of Spirit in his everyday world.

In fact, that may well be where he feels it most. In the work (and works) he does, he feels himself testing his own ability to do that which is truly needed to make this world a better, more (6th house) healthy and functional world. How to do that, and how not to be overwhelmed by what it will take to even begin to do that is more the nature of Pope Francis' problem.

If you're someone who theorizes like Pope Benedict, it would be one thing - you think the problem through then lay out a plan. But if you're Pope Francis and your every instinct is to do the work...? How do you do it all? How do you chose what is most important? How do you get past the ache in your heart and your certainty of understanding that so much else needs and is crying out to be done?

Gemini on the 12th house, with Chiron conjunct Bellatrix (‘the difficult idea’) and the ease of the South Node pictures Francis as a man who finds it entirely possible to think (Gemini) about difficult things and life’s most difficult challenges (12th house), so many of which are painfully challenging. Chiron (‘our personal vulnerabilities’) being conjunct the North Node speak of Pope Francis as a man willing not to just own up to his own issues, but those of others.

Nebula IC-443, which is in Gemini, went supernova somewhere between

5,000 and 10,000 years ago, leaving us this rather spectacular image

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, Caltech, WISE team, December 2010)

On one hand this is a very ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ sort of configuration – and I’m sure Pope Francis often thinks is something close to these terms. And with the 12th house being the house not just of spirituality but of fantasies and secrets which originate in emotionality, Pope Francis is likely to think through the mortal-immortal (Castor-Pollux) problems of celibacy in the priesthood, women in the priesthood and the causes of sexual abuse particularly as that pertains to the Church not just as a body of teachings, but as a life choice.

It’s also worth noting that the Mercury which rules this 12th house is in Capricorn, the primal sign of Saturn’s rulership. This being a man whose Saturn is in Pisces and the 8th house, Pope Francis’ mission, his life’s work is all about being with people and understanding the greatness of Creation through the vastness of human life and variable experience.

Pope Francis will feel for us all, just as with his Saturn in opposition to his Virgo Neptune he hopes we will feel for him and the limits imposed on him by his mortality.

He honors that. His Neptune in the 2nd house conjunct Sisyphus tells us he sees vindictiveness as a flaw, even when on those occasions it rises in himself as a ‘killing of self’ through the frailty of mortality. This goes to Virgo as a sign which is often critical in the ‘criticism’ sense when its greater worth is self-regulation. Wherever we see Virgo, we see this temptation to do injury to our efforts (or even being) at some level through “pointing” criticism at others or trying to shifting our responsibility to someone for something we have or haven't done.

Virgo embodies critical thinking, yes. But the positive here isn't about anything which is injurious on the emotional level, which would be very much the negative side of Pisces, Virgo’s polarity sign. Virgo asks that we ‘critique the process’ and often our own work. That's where the critical energy is supposed to be aimed - not at ourselves as shame, not at others as blame. It's supposed to go into perfecting the process and making it more effective, efficient and clearly defined.

With Virgo – a Mercury ruled sign – on Pope Francis’ 3rd house of mentality and at a degree (27 Virgo) high enough to indicate he is in consistent interaction and always willing to hear others and the thoughts they may have on his thoughts, Pope Francis is not described in his horoscope as strict in the domineering sense.
But with a Pisces Saturn opposition Virgo Neptune, this is a man willing to draw the Saturn line for those who are being marginalized.

This is also the description of Pope Francis’ evident humility and his preference for “everyday” life. 

Wherever we see Neptune in a chart we see some sort of lack of ego or ego-involvement. In Pope Benedict’s chart, the most unfortunate part of this would be Neptune’s position in Leo and that showing up in the 6th house as not just the willful (Leo) acts of Vatican employees (the Curia, et al) but also priests as that has impacted the ‘health’ of various children, teens, and indeed, the ‘health’ of the Catholic Church.

With Pope Francis’ Neptune being in Virgo, we get a totally different notice. This combination has Neptune speaking to Virgoan work which nourishes his sense of satisfaction and at some level the human spirit through ‘selfless’ (Neptune) ‘works’ (Virgo).

The whole idea of work is further emphasized by Leo being on the cusp of Pope Francis’ 2nd house. Leo being a ‘visionary’ fire sign which is always challenged by that difference between the ideal and the reality, to have the ruler of the 2nd positioned in the 6th gives Pope Francis the spirit do his very best.

But to finish up with this Gemini concept, which is really what I wanted to talk about today, we need to go back to Mercury. Mercury rules Pope Francis’ 12th and 3rd houses: the house of spirituality and feelings which connect us to others and to the All…and the house of mentality.

This man doesn't just think, he thinks about feelings. He will also not be afraid to speak with feeling or talk about his feelings - or the emotional difficulties of others in this world. He’s a man who will think through problems in private and discuss what it takes to make difficult choices in public.

This is the first of at least two or three posts on Pope Francis and I’m pretty sure that over the next few months you’ll see a couple of other posts on the astrology of Catholicism in a more general sense.

My apologies for how long its taken to get this far - which is to say, to this next post on Pope Francis. As in many of your lives I’m sure, a lot has been going on in mine. (You, me, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict, the Church…everyone has a lot of changes going on!) These posts do want writing, but they also evoke in me a desire to think them through...which may be the metaphysical reflection of the man whose chart I'm writing about.

Yes, such things do apply. When we like people because they inspire us to feel one way or we 'feel their essence' as a particular pro or con, if we check, that's always their chart connecting to ours - the synastry or astro- cartography between horoscopes.

So while I can't say I'm "like" Pope Francis or of his caliber at all, he has a very complex chart which is taking a lot of thinking through and which will take a lot of blog space to talk about. Which ultimately is why I've decided to share these thoughts in several posts.

Besides, there are ongoing things which need thinking through, too.  Apart from general life and books and such which need attending to, we’re also moving into ‘eclipse season.’ So though I might want to write ‘papal posts’ (as we might call them) my commitment to others things has to take priority. 

As a friend of mine put it to me: a girl only has so many words a day she can write. He’s right. And that’s my mortality showing.

And at some level, so it is with all of us.

The interior of Notre Dame d'Amiens, Somme, Picardie, France

(photo credit: Tango7174, September 2008)

So to close here, I think it’s important that we recognize that Pope Francis’ Descendant is at 10 Capricorn and that his Mercury – the ruler of his “Castor-Pollux Factor” and those 12th and 3rd houses (not to mention that touchingly vital Neptune in the 2nd) is at 11 Capricorn.

11 Capricorn is the degree that Pluto is in right now…Yes, with the Descendant being (among other things) the ‘stage’ from which we speak to others in the world, Pluto conjuncting Pope Francis’ Mercury is the obvious signal of his becoming Pope and the ‘spokesperson’ – the world leader and speaker for the Catholic Church.

Being Pope is this man’s life Purpose. That we know not just from Pluto rising up over the Pope’s 10 Capricorn Descendant as he was elected, and not just by 11 Capricorn being the degree at which Pluto will go retrograde at in a couple of weeks (i.e., during April).

We also know this because Alhena, the Star of Purpose, which though at 8 Cancer is also part of the constellation Gemini, and thus always bound up with the Gemini idea of choice and making life choices.

In Pope Francis' chart, Alhena is in the entirely potent position of being just behind Pope Francis’ 10 Cancer Ascendant. And with Alhena are MakeMake and Huya, two dwarf planets (which should make them as powerful as Pluto, remember) which emphasize teaching from what you have learned the hard way (Huya) and creating or ‘raising up’ something new or ‘anew’ (MakeMake) out of fertile waters.

Going back to the Pope’s Mercury, his Mercury is at 11 Capricorn, a degree which is known for keeping secrets and power which is ‘held in secret’ and used for the good of others…or sometimes, the ‘not so good’ of others. Lore suggests that this is one of the Capricorn degrees which very much depends on the state and status of Saturn as ruler of Capricorn, which takes us back to the Pope’s Saturn-opposition-Neptune, which so far we’ve seen him operate (along with transiting Pluto conjuncting Mercury) for doing as he thinks right, despite long-standing Vatican traditions.

Long-standing is a statement of time - Saturn is time. And 'traditions,' though often Cancer in the ‘cultural heritage’ sense are more of a Capricorn thing when you talk about the ‘traditions’ of pomp and ceremony and all such thinks of that ilk. And the Catholic Church is nothing if not long on pomp and ceremony!

But standing with this Capricorn Mercury is a trio which may explain a bit more about the Pope’s thinking – or at least his internal ‘alignment.’ Those points are Pholus, Scheherazade and House, all of which are also at 11 Capricorn and therefore “fused” and part of Pope Francis’ Mercury mentality.

Pholus is that little thing which can kill us…or, conversely which can save us. House is the feeling of ‘being at home with’ and Scheherazade is ‘the story of a life’ (or lifetime, or many lives).

Considering that the Saturn which rules this Mercury is in Pisces and conjunct fixed star Achernar, this would seem to conjugate as there are so many places where we can go astray, and hurt or harm ourselves or our cause. And yet, there are just as many by which we can find our way back to that which is good, which we know in our hearts and souls is worthwhile and worthy of the ongoing effort to make something better of ourselves, so that we can do better in this world, and by doing that, create a world which not only inspires the best in all mankind, but which comes closer to living up to the potential and intention of our Creator.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Embroidered Easter Eggs by master folk artist Inna Forostyuk

of the Luhansky region in the Ukrane (Qypchak, 2009)

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Mercury Direct and an Evolutionary Yod

The photograph upon which this blog header is based was taken of 
Mercury by spacecraft Messenger on a second flyby.

(photo credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics
Lab,Carnegie Intitute of Washington, January 2013)

Mercury will be going direct at 5 Pisces on March 17th at 8:04 in the evening, UT/+0 time.

As we have spoken of many a time, fixed (and Royal) star Fomalhaut is positioned at 4 Pisces, a degree which asks us to live in this world but see the greater importance of what we do. When we do that, and when we are able to see that what we do matters, yes – we may get ‘shaken’ (or stirred, she says in her very best James Bond voice) by sensing the vastness of time and our own ability to ruin things (for ourselves and others) even when we don’t mean to.

And with Neptune at 3 Pisces, there’s a lot going on. 3 Pisces happens to be one of my favorite Sabian Symbols. Why, I’m not sure, but I think I just love the clarity and geography spoken of in the image: HEAVY CAR TRAFFIC ON A NARROW ISTHMUS LINKING TWO SEASHORE RESORTS. However you think of this Sabian Symbol, it seems to imply a.) a lot of other people, b.) some sort of congestion or a circumstance which is ‘tied up’…and those seaside resorts? They may represent choices or destinations or sources of pleasure. Or you might go with the more metaphysical concept of ‘where land meets water’ and the intersection of solid ‘mental ground’ and the tide-tossed waters of emotionality.

This image can also be thought of as something which ties two things together. For you that could be something as simple as a road. Or some philosophical concept such as your place in the great chains of human generations as the parent which ties your parents to your children - be that a cultural measure or as someone recognizing how the world changes, and has changed.

You may even think of this in terms of people (or positions) such as that of the newly elected Pope, who on a theoretical basis ties the Beyond to the Now - and how such people stand for more as an examples to us all, whatever you believe or don't believe in Catholic doctrine.

We are each and every one of us a link. We are each where the All of Existence becomes the One person - the 'us' - who has a chance to do good or fall into ills, or to serve witness in this world.   

However you think of it, Neptune’s presence in this degree denotes a time when our ‘reality boundaries’ about all such matters ‘dissolve.’ So where you may have had great clarity, you may now not feel so sure. Or maybe you haven’t felt sure at all but have been all angst-ridden about something. Now you may learn to do what you need to do without caring what it ‘looks like.’

This all connects rather well to Mercury’s position in 5 Pisces, as 5 Pisces is a degree which is at some level about ‘presenting an image.’ Yet with Neptune close by, why that image is presented may be the question.

Neptune is often associated with gurus, charity, spirituality and healing because it is a symbol of ego-denial. That ‘dissolving’ spoken of above is exactly that. Whatever your thoughts are, or your positions are or what you think you ‘know’ (all those things being symbolized by Mercury)…wherever you have fears connected to those things, or hopes which are just about wanting things to be ‘nice’ (or okay or devoid of strife) simply because you can’t bear to feel those “terrible feelings,” that’s where your biggest ‘tests’ are likely to occur.  Though I’m not trying to say something truly difficult or painful might not happen (it could, let’s face it), there’s a difference between dealing with the inevitabilities of reality and the fear connected to having to feel whatever feelings we attach to the idea of the thing.

That’s Neptune in Pisces. And when we throw in the mentality and communications side of Mercury, we get those who would escape reality and those who will realize that as was put by a far greater human being than myself (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), “there is nothing to fear but fear itself.”

Fear is…our greatest fear. I know that sounds funny, but if you think about it, it’s true. What is going to happen will happen. How we feel about it is what makes some things so horrifying. For all the blood and gore in today’s movies, one of the best stories (and truisms) in all of Hollywood’s history comes from the master of tension himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Hitchcock knew that if you don’t show the act itself you can scare the audience in ways showing something on film will never reach. Why? Because each of us are afraid of different things. The functionality of our imagination (Neptune/Mercury) is far more powerful than reality.

So! Yes, this would be a great time to release a horror film which doesn’t show the gore, but ‘shadows’ it…letting us ‘know’ something terrible has gone one while letting us each fill in the blanks in our own gruesome way.

On another level, this ‘implying but not showing the whole truth (Neptune/Mercury) can be deceit. Or propaganda. Or lying.

Into all this comes Deneb, a fixed star greatly overshadowed (astrologically, at least) by Fomalhaut. Situated at 5 Pisces and thus exactly conjunct Mercury’s station, Deneb is part of the constellation Cygnus – the Swan.
 

  A Cygnus constellation map, including Deneb in the position of the swan's tail

(credit: copyright 2003 Torsten Bronger, used by CCR permission)

In the Greek stories, Cygnus is connected to Pisces through the idea of Zeus (Jupiter) having taken the form of a swan in seducing Leda, wife of a Spartan king named Tyndareus and the mother of none other than Helen of Troy…which apparently proves that even Greek gods are subject to Karma.

The swan is of course, a water bird. And through this Jupiterian-swan connector, we see that the Jupiter ‘wisdom of the choice’ (which is highly Piscean) can have huge, universal consequences.

But Cygnus – as a constellation – goes back beyond Things Greek. This means that when we move back to a time before the Hellenistic separation of intellect and emotionality into a time when there was no ‘science’ per se, just spiritual philosophies…the attempts by mankind to understand their world. All of this time has come down to us conceptualized as ‘early religion.’ But back then it seemed to have operated more as a unifying and universal shamanistic theory - an understanding of how Existence works as opposed to ‘rules, rituals and regulations’ to live by which is more akin to today’s rather codified religions.

Anyway…back then the image of the swan was somewhat akin to what we think of today as ‘the phoenix,’ if less in the death-and-rebirth ‘rising from the ashes’ mode (which would be Scorpio) and more in the ‘understanding you are part of Something Greater and that in being part of that Greater Thing have both the power to work good and the power to destroy.’

 Another amazing Hubble Space Telescope photograph, this one being of one of the stars in constellation Cygnus. Here the star is in one of its late phases of 'star life,' a stage where the star sheds its atmosphere into nearby space

(photo credit: ESA-Hubble-NASA, July 2010)

And to know that? To understand that in being part of the Whole and so very much a valid part of that Whole that you can really affect the whole – that we ALL can?

That’s pretty daunting. Even scary.

…There is nothing to fear but fear itself…

In the constellation of Cygnus, Deneb is the tail. With a bird, tails serve as stabilizers and rudders – they keep the even keel and help determine where the bird (our power) is headed. In Pisces, that’s the Jupiterian ‘in door’ decision to do something or not do it, to recognize the truth of it or to deny it, to relinquish the control and feel the feeling or to deny reality through the power of our ego.

And of course the tail is the last thing to leave ground. So we can remain rooted…or we can be grounded.  Which is it?

Deneb has a reputation for strong wills and strong tempers. With Mercury going direct here with Neptune so close by and with Chiron (vulnerability) positioned at 10 Pisces this would be a time when your own relationship to will and displays of will are likely to play out. Are you afraid of confrontations? Or maybe you’re someone who speaks their mind and lives to regret it?

Foot-and-Mouth is an animal disease. Foot-IN-Mouth is an all-too-common human habit!

Having Chiron in orb (within 5 degrees) to be conjunct Mercury and in the first of Pisces’ emotion-meets-emotionality degrees tells us this is a time when we will at least feel some sort of vulnerability. It may not be in present tense…meaning, this could be about guilt rising up to stick in your craw like a pill which won’t go down.

With Mercury going direct on the 17th, that means its ‘station window’ opens on the 15th, as the Moon moves into Taurus, rousing our feelings about self worth, the values of our values and our general security about our lives, whether that ‘security’ plays out on a physical, emotional, financial or whatever other level.
But then…just because the universe is a fun sort of place, then we get a little Yod thrown into our Mercury station party.

A Yod, you say?

Yes, a Yod.

Maybe you remember our discussing a Saturn Yod as part of the Saturn-going-retrograde discussion back in February?

Link to post:
Saturn Station-Retrograde (Part 2)

Well, let’s just say that the first thing to consider with this next Yod moment includes the fact that Saturn is STILL sitting at 11 Scorpio.

So yes, that brings in all that energy we could associate with the fire aboard the cruise ship in the Caribbean…

Link to post:
Carnival Triumph: Sparking
a Corporate Firestorm?

Pope Benedict XVI announcing he was going to step down…

Link to Post
Pope Benedict XVI Gives Notice

...anything which would in any way call our attention to a lack of ability or having reached our limits, or tests of tolerance along with our individual and collective sense of standards, all that is Saturn in Scorpio, which is now retrograde, or working from within.

Saturn's energy isn’t going to be quite as potent or focused now that Saturn has actually gone retrograde, but it’s still pretty darn thick. How you feel about it and what part of your life is being affected a lot or a little will depend on where Saturn is sitting in your chart and what it may aspect, of course.

But if Saturn is 'on' in your life, Saturn's having gone retrograde may actually feel even more intense. It may feel isolating or increase your sense of being burdened. Considering the sign here is Scorpio, there is an interactive quality to life which tests you - as all 'things Scorpio' will. And now, as Mercury goes direct, and especially as Mercury moves forward into orb to Saturn (which will start on March 21st and end on April 3rd)...this all becomes emotionally provoking.

It may not be overt, but the feeling's still there.

All if this effects us all at some level. Even if your chart isn't aspected directly by 11 Scorpio or by Mercury's going direct at 5 Pisces, you're living in a world which is being affected by the values - or lack thereof of others. You may feel some part of your life is being threatened in some way...or you may merely have to deal with others with grave concerns of some kind.

That's the funny thing about Pisces...at one level, Piscean issues are incredibly clear, and totally present. At another, they're impossible to define or pin down. And just that can be frustrating and upsetting, if not for us, to those around us. Many of the difficulties and isolation, the desperation and 'giving up' which is associated with this most universal and 'deep water' oceanic of water signs is the nebulous inability to convey ideas and feelings with clarity.

Or in some form others can deal with.

Acceptance lies at the heart of all Piscean situations. The accepting of love, the accepting of loss, the accepting of differences, the accepting of gifts. The acceptance that we have a responsibility to see and feel that which we know is true whether or not it 'feels good' or is popular. Accepting that no matter how close we will be to others than they're always someone else and that at some level we're all alone.

That's one of the hardest things we encounter with Pisces. And yet...we do have a chance to work our way through the 'traffic' of our thoughts or feelings or habits. 

Considering what's seems to be afoot now, we are all likely to be feeling a little separate...and perhaps in that be causing someone else to feel a bit more alone. And yet, it is when we are alone that we can so benefit from feeling ourselves think...exist...and feel.

Ah yes, another Piscean dichotomy.  

We should expect what we think, feel and hear to test our faith, our trust, our sense of reality, our capacity.

And just where ego gives way, that's where we'll find our greatest strength. But let's face it - the desire to know to define to predict is incredibly strong.

 
And then there's the Yod:

 

Obviously the fact that Saturn is involved in this Yod is why we should be drawing the mental (Mercury) line between now and Saturn’s mid-February station.

On the other hand, considering that Saturn and Mercury are both in water signs suggests emotionality. Or maybe emotional reactions which stem from realizing what we perhaps simply cannot do. Or cannot do anything about. Or maybe it’s about what we could do, but haven’t done.

With Jupiter being the ‘in’ door to Pisces and involved in this Yod, that brings all the Pisces questions up for grabs. So how well do you (Jupiter) know how your (Pisces) emotionality works? Do you (Jupiter in Gemini) really understand your mental capacity – or how emotions affect our ability to think things through, whether that’s you or someone else? How do your (Pisces/Scorpio) emotions and emotion-driven values affect what you choose to do or not do…or judge others or their opinions?

Do you even know what you think about something…or whether some subterranean (or submerged) emotional bias or emotional (Chiron) vulnerability or emotional (Pisces) fear is driving your (Gemini) choices?

And let’s remember…Jupiter in Gemini is FAMOUS for overstepping the bounds, going a little too far, talking out of turn, saying too much, leaping before we look – all that stuff. While we can use Jupiter in Gemini to force us past our own ‘I don’t want to go there boundaries,’ and in doing so perhaps discover important and useful things about ourselves or our world, this Yod, replete with its floating Plutonic sense of doom-versus-salvation can be a tough time.

In the above diagram, I’ve given you the dates of all three planet’s positions for the full duration that the Yod will hold, and the thing to understand is that the Yod isn’t a Yod UNTIL the third point (Jupiter) gets into 9 Gemini.

And yes, that was back on March 11th. But because Mercury rules Gemini, Mercury’s station is highly likely to ‘set off’ or evoke the issues involved.

Hence my noting it now, not before. But now the effects we would associate with the Yod are building - and being built into many daily moments of many kinds. So this would be the time to really consider it. This is a time to 'make a turn' in our thinking - that would be a primary image we would associate with Mercury going on station.

So what happens now we should probably consider long term. Or at least longer term.

The ‘rule’ with a Yod is that you solve the issue presented (whatever it may be) by going to the opposition of the point in the Yod.

That ‘point’ is Jupiter. And this is where this gets really interesting, as the Yod starts with Jupiter at 9 Gemini, the exact degree of Aldebaran, the fixed star which stands for integrity.

So it’s likely most people will simply get all stuck on the ‘integrity’ concept. But the point in opposition to 9 Gemini being 9 Sagittarius, that’s where we really should be looking.

Part One: 9 Sagittarius is occupied by another Royal Star (one of the four): Antares. Antares promises success IF and only if we avoid obsessions or becoming fixated. So obviously getting ‘fixated’ on integrity isn’t the way out of whatever happens now, even if Fomalhaut-Mercury-Neptune-Deneb-Chiron may manifest as our wanting to get up on our high haunches about the ‘right’ thing to do.

With Antares is Hebe, the sacred servant of the gods, which sort of gets back to that shamanistic bent we were talking about earlier. What this amounts to is a calling upon ourselves to feel the right thing and to know it’s right without insisting on it. Thus this Yod – and the Mercury station is greatly about being that which we are, that essence of universality.

For the more astro-technical among us I’ll point out why this would be: Antares/Hebe in Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter, and Jupiter is in Gemini, which is ruled by Mercury. So in essence this station in particular is a flowing back and forth of an energetic which is about who we are, who we can be and how what and who we are and what we do affects the world that we – and ultimately those we love – live in.

Interpret that as you will.

This is where the Mercury station information – as such – ends. But for the sake of being thorough, it’s worth noting that as Jupiter moves into 10 Gemini on March 20th, Hebe will be moving with it.

Hebe by Laurent Marqueste (1848-1920)

This is a very subtle metaphysical idea of ‘service’ and our ability to (Gemini) choose what to ‘serve’ up to others in this world and in our lives, and that in doing so, we need to (Sagittarius) learn what works and what doesn’t work and correct our methods, course of actions and (yes,) choices accordingly.

By the time Jupiter reaches 11 Gemini, the opposition point is unoccupied – Hebe will be going retrograde at 10 Gemini on April 3rd (meaning its on station on the 1st), Which is rather a message in its own right.

That would tend to say this Yod, and what develops out of the lee of Mercury’s station (including what we learn as it goes direct) is all about recognizing who we are. That may happen through others. That may happen through assumptions melting away or rationales being debunked. To the degree that our egos get a workout (read: a dunk in that ghost pepper sauce) that may feel like it’s ‘about them’ or that ‘they did it’ or whatever. And whatever the acts or actions which spoon that salsa onto your tender ego may well be something you didn’t ask for and which you’re not in control of.

(Pisces, like its 4th zodiacal quadrant companions Aquarius and Capricorn, is like that.)

But the greater reason that life is handing you grapes divine or grapes sour now (or both) is about YOU. It’s about your learning more about you, including why you may not have recognized whatever until now.

All that in a nice, neat little Mercury station.

From which and through which we will evolve, yes.

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Pope Benedict XVI Gives Notice

 Pope Benedict XVI during a May 2007 visit to Sao Paulo, Brazil

(photo credit: Fabio Pozzebom, Agencia Brasil)

Technically, when a Pope leaves office (which apparently hasn’t happened in some 600 years) they resign. And considering what one must be resigned to once you’ve been Pope for a while, that may be apt. But seeing as the rest of us ‘give notice’ in our jobs, maybe that works too.

Born Joseph Alois Ratzinger on April 16, 1927 in the small Bavarian town of Marktl, Germany, the obvious question is why now? Why is Pope Benedict stepping down in this world instead of holding on until he moves on into the next in what is pretty much Catholic Papal tradition?

We aren’t going to ever know this answer for sure, but there are a few thought-worthy notes in the Pope’s chart which may help us each think this question through…should we want to, of course!

 Pope Benedict XVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger)

 April 16, 1927 - 4:05 a.m. (CET/-1) - Marktl (Bavaria),  Germany

One way to think of ‘why’ now is to say ‘Pope Benedict is leaving office on February 28, 2013. Does that have any astrological connection to when he assumed the role of Pope?’

Pope Benedict became Pope on April 19, 2005. Here’s a bi-wheel for that date. The inner wheel is Pope Benedict’s natal chart, and the outer ring shows planetary positions for noon in Vatican City on that date. (I don’t have the exact time he assumed office, so we will use the noon ‘leadership’ astrological default.)

 Pope Benedict XVI's natal chart (inner rung and horoscope

wheel) with planetary placements for the date of investiture in the outer ring.

The first thing which jumps out of this chart is Pluto (in pink) at the very top of the wheel. Positioned at 24 Sagittarius, it could hardly be any closer to the Pope’s natal Midheaven without being on top of it, and this position just before the cardinal axis has been statistically tested to be a very important place in the chart. The most basic of keywords for Pluto being “transformation” and Sagittarius being the sign of religion, Pluto conjuncting the Midheaven is a wonderful and clear sign of this being the time when this man’s worldly image, his societal achievements, his place in the world would change. He was – metaphysically and literally, at the ‘top of his game,’ if you will.

Also interesting here is that in reaching the top of the to-be-Pope’s chart, Pluto had just conjuncted Ceres (in blue, at 21 Sagittarius), which in the Pope’s chart is both stationary (exactly on station) and involved in a natal grand trine…which would ‘set off’ the grand trine.

 
Ceres on station is a powerful indicator of thinking things through. In a natal chart it would indicate someone who would work to (or towards) figuring out how things can get done. Or, given that this is fiery Sagittarius we’re talking about, how they should get done, or how they would be if things were as they could be.

And yes, there’s something highly evocative (yes, almost amusing) about a Pope’s chart which has asteroid Hel at the Midheaven, too. Ordinarily, asteroid Hel indicates where we make things hard (on ourselves or for others, depending) but this is one of those cases where there’s a whole literal quality to the asteroid. You may not have read any of the Pope’s writings, but the ones I read which were written prior to his becoming Pope and which I heard discussed by Catholic Deacons were pretty conservative, hard-line treatises. When the Pope took office, there were many who wondered how this ‘old style’ thinker would do as a leader in our new fangled world, and to the extent that Pope Benedict stood for very traditional, conservative values he lived out this position very well – he took the ‘difficult course’ and stayed that difficult course, come…um…Hel or high levels of indignation.

And of course, his Midheaven was also conjunct the Galactic Center of the day. Wherever we see the Galactic Center in the chart we understand that’s a place where the person is supposed to give of themselves. Lore tells us that we will not succeed in fulfilling our true potential without honoring the GC’s position.

Regarding the calculation of the Galactic Center: According to planet-hunter Mike Brown (yay!) of Caltech (yes, I’m a fan), though there is a teeny tiny variation in this ‘standardized’ equation, we are pretty much on the dot of the black hole if we work with the idea that the Galactic Center moves 50.27 seconds of arc per year. Given that, the GC which is currently at 27 Sagittarius 01 would have been at 25 Sagittarius when the Pope was born.

With Sun conjunct Medusa-Tantalus in late Aries, the Pope is not just a man who would be horrified (Medusa) if anyone accused him of anything “Tantalus” (unholy, to say the least and probably deviant and carnal to be more honest)…he’s a man who is horrified by even having to deal with such things.

Enter the Catholic Church’s sex abuse scandal(s). If humans are supposed to be tested in their lives, then part of Pope Benedict’s ‘trial by mortality’ was surely having to deal with the Church’s sex abuse problems as its Pope.

Was he ignorant about it? Probably not. By now hardly anyone believes the Church as a whole was ignorant of the transgressions of those working as part of the Church.

But there is the matter of Pope Benedict’s physical frailties. He may be one of those people who funnels so much of their mortal energy into one thing (call it religion, Catholicism in particular, maybe spirituality as a whole) that the rest of their life, and to whatever degree their body suffers. Certainly Neptune as ruler of Piscean idealism and the non-corporeal side of spirituality and faith…Certainly Neptune’s position in the Pope’s 6th house (the house of health) speaks to his ability to have compromises of the physical and constitutional sort.

Beyond this however, is the fact that when you’re the ‘head’ of any organization (or even in middle-management), the 6th house becomes the house of employees. In the chart of a nation the 6th house is not just the ‘work’ of that nation but also the civil service/servants and the military who ‘work for’ that nation. So if you’re Pope, then all the other members of the Catholic clergy fall into your 6th house.
Neptune thus would be the ‘willingness to believe’ and the ‘blindness’ turned towards those who did such terrible things to innocent – and particularly young - parishioners. Astrological deduction would also tell us that having to deal with such people and the cost of their acts (Eurydike at the Midheaven) would be taxing and debilitating.

A photograph of  Marktl am Inn, the Pope's birthplace in Germany

(Alexander Z, April 2005)

Interesting also is that Regulus is in this 6th house and conjunct Neptune. One of the famous Royal Stars, Regulus promises (your) success ONLY if you do not wreak revenge or ‘go’ for vengeance. And so, ultimately Neptune conjunct Regulus in the 6th house said that this man did what would be successful for him.

There’s a lot more which could be written about this facet of the Pope’s chart. Asteroid Lilith just barely in the 5th house and conjunct the 6th (Lilith at 6 Leo, the 6th house cusp at 7 Leo) is another form of ‘not wanting to know’ about what happened to little children.

But it’s more than that…which I personally can’t speak to. This Lilith in the 5th house of the Pope’s childhood conjunct his 6th house of health, work, service may well tell us about things he saw in his own early life. He did live through WWII, after all, and was born in Germany.

We can change our minds about things and reject them on an intellectual basis, of course. But what we have seen as children often stays with us. Considering that the Pope’s natal Pluto is in the 4th house of family and native culture with Pluto exactly conjunct Sirius (the star of brilliance) with both – again – one degree shy of the next (5th house) cusp evokes something akin to the image of a child who wants to crawl out of something dark and into the light.

My comments are neither condemnations or excuses, merely astrological observations.

So…were there any giant boffo transits which accompanied this man’s investiture as Pope? Actually, no. He’d just had a birthday, but even that isn’t the a chart which yells Hey, I’m going to become Pope! 

 Pope Benedict XVI's Solar Return chart for the year 2005,

the year when he became Pope.

Far from looking like anything celebratory, this chart looks like someone taking on a long, tough job.

But there is one interesting (cough) note. Pope John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. And on April 3, 2005, the (then) Cardinal Ratzinger experienced Jupiter conjunct Moon (retrograde), a transit which is often referred to as a ‘feel good’ transit. And that might have been true with the Cardinal, though I’ll choose to go the ‘nice’ route here and say that with his Moon natally positioned in Libra (weighing out the me with the ‘them’ and the effect we have on others in this world), AND because this natal Libra Moon is intercepted in the then-Cardinal’s chart AND because Jupiter is here shown in retrograde, I think it’s safe to say that Cardinal Ratzinger was reflecting on the good deeds and good efforts of his predecessor.

Though…let’s be real. Anyone who knows about the process of electing Popes has got to know that there’s some campaigning which goes on behind those doors of the College of Cardinals.

So with all that now pondered and shuffled and dealt out as a hand, what about this resignation thing?

The Pope’s chart has taken a couple of hard thwacks from eclipses over this past while. The May 2011 Solar Eclipse (at 11 Gemini) would have opposed his 6 Sagittarius Saturn and the November 2011 Solar Eclipse at 2 Sagittarius would have conjuncted said Saturn.

(As someone who has just gone through that and more just recently, I assure you that successive eclipses on your chart can rattle your bones, your confidence, your outlook - many things. This is especially when it's the same point in your chart taking multiple hits, as in this case.)

Uranus made its natal return during this time and it is typical for people to let go of ‘steering the ship’ when Uranus reaches its natal position.

Maybe most telling of all however, is that little ol’ Pope-maker Pluto. Pluto will be going retrograde in April at 11 Capricorn, and by next year will be pushing through 13 Capricorn.

Pope Benedict’s 11th house begins at 14 Capricorn - which means he's been Pope for the time that Pluto has been traversing his 10th house - the worldly house of our greatest accomplishments. And yes, he has affected the world...and no doubt been affected by that world.

But another idea here...since the Pope's 11th house dose begin at 14 Capricorn (which Pluto will move across early in 2014), which his natal Pluto is at 13 Cancer (conjunct dog star Sirius), Pope Benedict has seen Pluto move through half the zodiac during his life.

Which is an interesting thing to think about considering Pluto’s full orbital cycle, is 249.09 years long. How could this happen? How could Pluto get through half of a 249.09 year-long orbit during one man’s life, you ask? That’s because Pluto’s orbit is rather ‘egg-shaped,’ which effectively 'compacts' the time it takes Pluto to move through signs during a certain part of its orbit...which would be - by luck, by fate, by whatever - during this man’s lifetime.

During our lifetimes.

And that is one of those astrological keys as to why we shouldn’t be surprised that so much has changed – been transformed – in the last hundred years or so.

It’s all part of a process.

I’m willing to guess that the Pope has had some second thoughts about stepping down. The announcement of his impending departure having been issued on February 11th, his transits for February 10th include Mars square Saturn, a transit known as testing to one’s will and often about decisions.

Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, giving a private audience

(photo credit: Sergey Kozhukhov, January 20, 2006)

And this transit ties to the one on February 28th, the day when Pope Benedict XVI steps down. On that day he will experience Mars conjunct Jupiter – the moment of exhilarating knowledge…and maybe for this man the moment when he recalls having seen John Paul II pass on with a little gladness that he will have time to be a…what, a Pope emeritus?

I’m not sure the Church has that title.

In any case, come March 2nd, the Pope will move through the last pass of Uranus trine Saturn. He will feel he has met his obligation to do what he could and, for good or ill, now that phase of his life is finally done.

I, for one wish him well. Not because he’s a perfect man – he isn’t. Not because I approve of how the Church has handled the sex abuse cases (and other matters), because I don't. The idea that perpetrators deserve 'forgiveness' and should keep their jobs or cushy pensions while victims struggle with their faith, their lives and the ability to trust anyone...if anything is heresy, if anything fits the definition of 'sin' that would be it.

But I do wish him well, because in the end this Pope has done something truly miraculous in the world of Catholicism: he has known when it was time to move on. Maybe he's doing it because he knows something else terrible is going to come to light, but still, I give him some credit for knowing that it’s okay to move on while you’re still breathing.That's a lesson more than a few Popes (and other world leaders, CEOs - and others) could do well to learn.

Religion is about the examination of being human in the light of that which is Divine - a perfection humans will never have. That doesn't mean we shouldn't try - we should. And when we fail, we should own our flaws and what we have done wrong, openly. It probably hurts a lot of Catholics (and therefore Catholicism) that the Church which asks them to come and confess their sins won't confess its sins.

Still, in the end this one man, this Pope, has admitted he's human, and that’s one of the greatest lessons any of us ever learn, whether from religion or anything else.

While we should aspire, we should also recognize our sheer human-ness.
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