Mercury Direct at 18 Aquarius

In accordance with the Sabian image for Mercury's station degree, a photo of a forest fire in Russia's Yugansky Nature Reserve taken by Tatiana Bulyonkova (July 2012)

One of Aquarius’ interesting qualities is its dual rulership by first Saturn, a symbol of solidity…then Uranus, the energy of being freed, which is about as theoretical a notion as any – and therefore capable of being molded in any of a thousand ways.

Of the three signs of the zodiac with such dual rulers, two (Scorpio and Pisces) are water signs – water being the symbol of all things emotional and emotionally insightful, provocative…or otherwise educational if trying when it comes to the subject of trying to live the lives we really want.

Only Aquarius differs – and it does so by being an air sign. Aquarius is also fixed, which is to say its operations tend to be particularly ‘calculated,’ whether that means a goal is predetermined, why that goal ‘works’ (or is fitting) and/or how the ‘style’ of one’s methodology tends to be determined as well as in some measure determined by moment-to-moment facts at hand.

But Scorpio is fixed too...although Scorpio is about the sticky parts of emotions - the parts of emotions and emotional experiences which 'stick' with us (and which sometimes even stick it 'to' us...) - as opposed to the Aquarian wrangling of the idea - be it complex, incomplete, universal, rewarding, acceptable or unacceptable. The difference is very much with us at the moment seeing as the end of last year was all about that sort of uniquely Scorpio feeling of getting emotionally wrung out even as - and strangely enough - in virtual diametric opposition to all the difficulties, doors seemed to open.

At least in our minds, hearts or spirits.   

But now we're in the Aquarian realm. A very ‘big picture’ sign by nature, the biggest Aquarian challenge seems to be getting from the idea of what needs doing to the 'done' point with all in order and on time without emotional frizzles.

Aquarius teaches us that we can't have it all...but we can have what we really value providing it's an honest expression of who we really are. When Aquarian influences run thick in life's Mercurial mix (such as over the next few days) we will tend to think down the road, around the corner and into that next dimension no one’s thought about thinking up yet – although this 2014 Aquarian passage of Mercury has been anything but glassy slick or smooth. Comfortable and profitable have not seemed to exist in the same breath – at least not all the way around.

We've all had to surrender something. It was something of a lesson in humility - which Aquarius is also about in the sense that it's a universal/universalist dynamic both about the individual human and the whole of humanity, which perhaps you'll pardon me for saying...I found a particularly intriguing thought while the Olympics were going on in Sochi while not so far away fires were burning in the Ukraine.

I mean no criticism here...it's just...these two events were happening at the very same moment. That's the level at which astrology functions on a global level.

I just wanted to point that out. The combination of Mercury's retrograde starting in feeling Pisces seems to have pulled emotional energy into our Aquarian thoughts. It challenged and exhorted us, reflecting the onset of Ixion conjuncting fixed star Ras Alhague at 22 Sagittarius - the call to attend to our injuries lest we be injured by sheer self-motivated insistence. 

It’s definitely been one of those times when no matter how ‘fine’ things are, something – and something unexpected at that – is turning desires, hopes, plans and other such personal cravings for whipped cream and sprinkles into a not-so-merry-go-‘round of conflict.

And all this has been highly encompassing if also something of a ‘backdrop’ against which we know life is playing out…a life which is our motivation, challenge and glorious disappointment often all in one whether you’re dealing with the fires of war or fires on the personal home front as you work out personal problems.

To the extent we have based our hopes on others – or what others ‘do’ (or don’t do) and not on what WE do to interface, connects to or contributes to the overall environment…or which affects capacity to function or functional capacity…to the extent that we have spectated on our own life we are being tumbled. Sometimes thought of as substances metallic or crystalline, there’s always a strong positive in any Aquarian issue or drive which serves to clarify our thinking.

Yet even as it does that, even as the Aquarian ability to parse, fissure, factionalize and factor finds ever greater comprehension, so it also raises new questions.

That’s just the Aquarian way. Understand that one idea and you’ll understand why Aquarius is the sign of modernization, upgrades and all the ruptures – social, mechanical, economic and individual – which in breaking something down…or in breaking us down to ourselves or someone we love, or in some plainer fashion leads to greater potential, power and plain old everyday likeability.

Acceptance, call it.

Or maybe success.

All this – all the challenges and enhancements to our ability to understand and utilize any such notion or focus which began back in January issues returned  by mid-February. And from there…as Mercury backed down (retrograded) through Aquarius, so life backed us down in one or another way, starting in the public (third decan/degrees number 20-29) arena.

By February 20th (the 19th in some time zones) Mercury backed into Aquarius’ most fervent, most driven second decanate (degrees 10-19). And since Mercury was in retrograde (where energy is internalized) we pushed internally towards goals – which yes, in the case of a couple of nations meant civil unrest (the push on a nation’s ‘internal’ affairs).

Mercury goes direct on February 28 at 2:01 in the afternoon, UT/+0, which means there will be an uptick in activity between February 26 and March 2nd.

March 2nd is the date for Saturn going retrograde, by the way. It’s doing so in a degree known for dissipating Scorpionic energies – which we can hope will mean a ‘dissipating’ of ongoing violence.

The truth is however, such a dissipation – especially in the wake of Mars’ March 1st Libra station – could just as easily represent the ‘dissipating’ of pent up (or controlled) energy in some sort of “explosive action.”

The degree Mercury is stationing at being 18 Aquarius, there are likely to be highly quirky challenges which arise from ‘turnabouts’…(large and/or small; singular and/or as part of a greater action, movement or process)…wherever our plans, actions, hesitations, methods or responses to others and the society in general are derived from false information, presumptions, diversions or incomplete (and/or) overly simplistic reliance on ‘socially accepted’ answers as opposed to reality, or the facts of the matter.

The Sabian Symbol for 18 Aquarius (which is numbered phase 319 for those looking it up) gives us the following image: A FOREST FIRE IS BEING SUBDUED BY THE USE OF WATER, CHEMICALS AND SHEER MUSCULAR ENERGY – an image astrologer Marc Edmund Jones typified as the skill and courage necessary to bring under control the destructive potential of carelessness of karmic ‘visitations’…which is a curious sort of comment when applied to airy, theoretical Aquarius (metaphysically karma is generally thought of as watery or emotional) ….very curious except for how the days may affect how we operate.  

Or maybe they’ll just end up turning us in a whole new direction.

The reference to karma also tends to remind us of Scorpio, karma’s ‘home sign,’ if you will. And that’s a bit of a reminder that Saturn…which is, after all, the primary ruler of Aquarius…how Saturn is about to go on station in Scorpio.

Things aren’t a joke right now. They don’t even feel like a joke right now. Between the seriousness and our (Sun in Pisces) sensitivity to our inability to escape our feelings of limitation, anyone can get to feeling terribly raw now. So kindness counts – to yourself equally with others. A cross-collateralization of some type may be possible if you’re willing to wade through choppy waters…and for those who realize those waters are their own feelings, things will become manageable.

That’s a persistent theme which has…and which will continue to carry for a couple of months yet: the projection of power on others. We have the ability to walk some longer road ourselves. We just want…and hope…and dream of somebody helping us.

According to that which lore says about this 'Mercurial presence,' help is now to be found in our friends, in our societies, in our wits. Those of us who think in terms of connectivity between self and others or in the sense that any system of any type has to be connected to work…those people will see a path forward. No – it isn’t simple.

Nothing which is both Aquarian and high quality is ever simple. It may LOOK easy…but it’s never simple.

And there is the fact that by the time Mercury goes direct a couple of days from now, other things will have happened. The time between now and the 28th will present us with all sorts of moments which ask us where we’re going and what it will take to get there – which rather automatically ask if it’s worth all that effort…which may be another way of seeing the symbol for this degree, as all astrological symbols are first and foremost about our relationship within our Self.

From that, all else flows…which is why people say ‘life is what you make it’ – which in the case of an Aquarian Mercury station starts with what we conceive of as our current status quo, and what needs bettering from here.
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Pholus + Ras Alhague @ 22 Sagittarius

Binary star Alpha Ophiucus (known by it's older name, Ras Alhague, to astrologers) is about 400 Light Years from Earth. Near the top of this photo, the yellow star is royal fixed star Antares and at top left is IC 4592, the Blue Horsehead nebula.

(photo credit: Rogelio Bernal Andreo, September 2012)

'It’s all in what you do with it,' people say. And since that’s probably a keyword for a period starting December 27th when centaur Pholus perfects its conjunction to fixed star Ras Alhague, I'm fine with people saying it.

(Like they asked me?)

Ras Alhague – also known as Alpha Ophiuchi (and apparently ‘a Oph’ to its friends) - is a binary star located in the constellation of Ophiuchus with a binary (self-orbiting) period of about 8.62 years.

(I do love it when scientists give you this ‘about’ thing and then list things out to infinitesimal fractions. It’s so geeky!)

Over twice the size of our Sun, Ras Alhague’s astrological meaning goes along with it’s placement in Sagittarius, a sign which is as much about finding out about what is wrong (so that you can correct it, or at least consider it) as learning or trumpeting the right, the truth, the opinion and that which is a touch over-opinionated.

You know…just ever so possibly over-opinionated.

As for the star, Ras Alhague (and no, I wouldn’t Ras you about this) is about two associated, if very different things: harming and healing. Wherever we see Ras Alhague – or wherever and whenever we see it being set off by some other energetic, we know that whatever is at ‘stake’ (the other object’s energetic) will either flow in one of the two stated directions…OR there will come to be a very Sagittarian sort of learning about which is which and what is appropriate when considering some fact or known parameter. Additionally, that these ideas – the healing and harming concepts – are associated with a star in Sagittarius should tell us that we are talking less about the actual incident of a physical injury than the idea of it. Or the theory about what to do to a.) cause it…or b.) fix it. And that very much goes along with the fact that Sagittarius is also the sign of law and medicine as bodies of knowledge.

In Sagittarius, we think, we talk, we discuss, we muse, we explore. We grow our understanding of what works and what doesn’t work – and from that, we make choices which will be most productive and effective for us.

You know, everything that the Sagittarius/Gemini polarity is about - and exactly what Ras Alhague embodies as an overall or ‘backdrop’ to some of our various live situations. Located in the head of the Ophiuchus wrestler fighting with a snake, the star Ras Alhague symbolizes our choosing to use what we learn or learn about to ‘heal’ or ‘harm’ ourselves or others. Ras Alhague is also about how others ‘heal or harm’ us…and theoretically about what happens to us in life as we’re going about trying to reach our (Capricorn) aims - so that WE learn something.

Pholus meanwhile, represents our cyclic processes of retreat specifically from others or from what we are able to do but choose not to do - inclusive of asking why we choose what we choose to do or not do. Next to Ras Alhague, Pholus comes off more as the motivation next to the action. And thus, since conjunctions signify times when we are so ‘close’ to something that we don’t see it (but tend to embody it) OR times when we become highly aware of a certain attribute, whatever this Pholus-Ras Alhague period means to you you’re going to see, feel and probably hear a lot about it. That conversation or ‘sense’ may be wholly internal – or it may be between you and someone else. Or you and some life circumstance. There is no ‘rule’ here about whether we’re the actor or the witness, so what we could learn now spans the gamut from how we may have harmed our own efforts to how others have – knowingly or unknowingly - helped or harmed us.

Mind you, this isn’t an ‘instant’ process. It hasn’t been hasty pudding getting here and it won’t be ‘just add water’ changing anything. Coming from Sagittarius as an emotionally-driven centaur and (more to the point, perhaps) a fixed star, Pholus and Ras Alhague probably represent mindsets more than anything else, though in this case we are given to know that said mindset at least in part concerns a “centaur-type” conflict. Any time we see an astronomical centaur the astrological meaning is described as being challenged by one’s willfulness or more emotional/primal nature.

Does this mean we’ll learn more about such challenges and our willfulness (and/or lack of same) at this time? Probably. And if we decline the invitation to do a little mind-searching on our own, chances are life will provide a few…uh…incentives.

You know, those charming little incidents which mean so much to us in all the most ouch-ish of ways?

But again…this isn’t anything we’ve arrived at overnight. Pholus came into (standard 5-degree) orb of Ras Alhague back in January 2011, pretty much right in the wake of a Capricorn solar eclipse at 13 Capricorn – a degree Pluto is going to conjunct and ‘transform’ during 2014. For those whose charts answer to 13 Capricorn whether by planet, node, chart axis (horizontal or vertical) or dwarf planet, you probably remember the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 very well. (And maybe not all that fondly.)

Put simply, IF at that time you ‘initiated’ (or began) to pull back or pull away or ‘shut something out’ of your life, you now have the ability – again, if you choose – to understand more about what happened then now and turn things around. At the very least you may now see ‘how you got here’ and thus become able to ‘heal’ something in your own life and going forward, profit from that rather nicely.

Kepler's Drawing of Ophiuchus, one made in the wake of a supernova in 1604 in the constellation's 'foot.' For those who may hear of the often-circulated rumor that constellation Ophiuchus is (or should be) made a sign of the zodiac, that answer is 'no' by the simple definition of what the zodiac is: a list of constellations which lie on or across the ecliptic, Earth's path around the Sun. Pure and simple, Ophiuchus doesn't quality. But that doesn't stop the rumor!

Even if the end of 2010/beginning of 2011 doesn’t mean a lot to you, this here-and-now time still matters. (When doesn’t time matter?) Pholus’ initial conjunction to Ras Alhague will only last through January 17th, though it will retrograde back into 22 Sagittarius (the degree of Ras Alhague) next May 27, after which it will remain at 22 Sagittarius until early December, 2014.

And that’s a long time.

These two periods may represent two different situations or aspects of your psyche. Then again, it may represent the ‘inkling’ of an awareness now which comes more into focus – for clarification or  rehabilitation (of your own approach), or for the ‘switching’ of sides – come next year.

A lot of the diversity (some would say the conflict) involved here comes from Ras Alhague. More comes from the internal emotional testing we experience through the energetic we call Pholus. Apart from this, some also from the nature of 22 Sagittarius, a degree known variously as sympathetic and supportive and unfeeling, manipulative and perfectly willing to take advantage of others.

And what divides these two extremes? That would be an interesting and seldom spoken-of Sagittarius concept: the need for attention. We often think of Sagittarius as a place where we excel and ‘shine’ but few of us talk about the very real and human need for attention. Ras Alhague’s various pluses and minuses react to and are driven by the need for attention (whether that’s too much or too little attention) meaning that we manifest from this psyche quadrant, positive or negative aren’t always…or even generally about who we’re dealing with. They’re about us and our ability to cope or respond to situations which trigger our better or lesser natures.

In other words. Ras Alhague – the star which arrived at 22 Sagittarius in 1968 and which will be resident in this degree until 2040 – is all about our Self. And thus Pholus, in conjuncting Ras Alhague asks us whether we are ready to take a step back so that we can heal as opposed to taking a step back because we haven’t.
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A Gemini New Moon

Sunset, with a gibbous moon over  Unthank Park in Portland, Oregon

(photo credit: Steve Benoit, July 2008)

Can you believe it? Yes, it’s already time for another New Moon. How time flies when you're busy being eclipsed, right?

Anyway...about this New Moon, the date will be June 8th. And that will be smack-dab amidst the ‘after-effects’ of Neptune’s station/retrograde - which is to say Neptune has just gone retrograde, but we're still inside the station.

Just that much is quite a lot to think about, considering what we know connections between Neptune and Mercury mean…confusion, possible deception…or on the positive side, the suspending of life’s problems in moments of delight or bliss of some kind.

I know you’re saying ‘what, Neptune and Mercury? How’d Mercury get into this?’

The answer to that is simple: any time we talk Gemini, at some level we are talking about ‘Mercury things,’ the foremost of which would be our thoughts. Our perspective. What we’re thinking. Our decisions.

And considering this is a New Moon we’re talking about, it is the moment to make some sort of choice – even if that’s just choosing to think something through.

 The chart of the Gemini New Moon

(Aries wheel - Location Not Specific)

Neptune’s turning to retrograde represents the softening or melting away, even the dissolution of positions, thoughts, pre-conceptions. That means some of us are coming out from behind our mental walls. It also means that some of us may well be losing our grip on certainty.

The date of this New Moon is June 8th. The time of this New Moon is 3:57 in the afternoon in the UT/+0 zone. And the degree we’re concerned with here is 18 Gemini, a degree with a reputation for difficulties when it comes to reconciling our love of life and our desire to life as something good with the situation. Or the facts. Or that which we may need to see in order to establish some clarity and definitive orientation moving forward.

As I say this, I’m reminded to mention something which floats through my (alleged) brain now and again when I’m doing the ‘magic finger’ typing of these blogs. That ‘something’ is the fact that having a degree as a natal influence often manifests somewhat differently than when we see something – like a New Moon – occurring at that degree. The transit, the New Moon ‘moment’ may feel or manifest more ‘purely’ than the whole of a life lived in being born with your Sun at 18 Gemini. The life lived with such a nativity gives time to explore and work through and resolve the issues. And yes, there will be those who don’t get there. But many do. This is similar to the fact that many people born with a given planet in retrograde (the popular one to cite being Mercury since we’re exploring a Mercurial idea). Someone who has Mercury retrograde in their natal chart has a time – a literal lifetime – to adjust to the influence and find ways to make it work for you as a positive. In fact, having Mercury in retrograde in your natal chart seems to make transiting Mercury going into retrograde less of a headache. You’re more accustomed to the ‘internal’ or more behind-the-scenes sort of work Mercury retrograde symbolizes, so you go into that mode with less muss, less fuss and less mental frothing.

So while this New Moon at 18 Gemini may pit us all against what we don’t want to know or do or deal with or be pitted against (conjugate on at your own pace), those born with a Sun or any other planet at 18 Gemini will merely be getting a notice that it’s time to shift into a different gear.

Hopefully they’ll be smiling at the rest of us and offering us a hand. But don’t count on it – this degree is known for ‘going another way’ which means such a native would be busy doing their own thing now, perhaps while paying less than total attention to the splashes and sounds of indecisive floundering coming from the rest of us in the cosmic gene pool.

Even apart from any native tendency which goes along with this degree, this also seems to be a moment which is all about doing what we need to be doing. And maybe that will seem unkind to others, but there is a nicely perfected trine between Juno (in Aquarius) and this New Moon which says we need to be managing ourselves and our own affairs right now.

Not that it’s all comfy-ness. With Vesta at 17 Cancer (conjunct Apollo at 16 Cancer) there is an emotional, maybe even instinctual quality to this New Moon which separates us from others even as they are separated from us. For most of us this won’t be anything huge, but since there is an ego-daunting semi-sextile between Vesta/Apollo and this Gemini New Moon, there is something uncomfortable about this moment.

Apollo and Daphne by Bernini

(in the Galleria Borghese, photo by Int3gr4te, January 2007)

Or maybe it’s about what we realize we need to get to doing which is so ‘aw shucks!’ disquieting. In the emotionally experiential (emotionally educationally) sign of Cancer, Vesta’s symbolism as ‘the cost of keeping our commitments’ may be about what we need to do to be our own person and fulfill our own potential, it may be about some ‘cost’ associated with keeping our commitment or promises to someone else (or in our profession)…or, considering that this is a semi-sextile, and semi-sextiles are known for producing or manifesting as ‘ego bruises,’ this may be a difficulty with someone else’s willingness or lack of willingness to keep some commitment to us.

If that’s the case, it would be natural to feel offended and put out – and maybe a bit confused about how to cover all the bases or catch up with what hasn’t been done as promised.

Sound like daily life yet?

That the mental flow is likely to be a bit choppy is further outlined by the following opposition: Arachne  at 18 Sagittarius with Ixion at 19 Sagittarius, Pholus-Pandora at 20 Sagittarius and Ras Alhague, the ultra-pronounced hero-villain of the fixed star set at 22 Sagittarius.

- link to –

Ixion: Our Conflict of Self

Oh golly gosh…where to start?

Embodying the qualities of a spider, Arachne is all about the webs we weave (when first we practice to deceive, perhaps?) and our entanglements. Arachne also tends to speak to ‘spinning,’ which has a whole meaning of its own in Sagittarius as the sign of media and ‘putting information out there.’

Next to Arachne is Ixion, the emblem of not learning the lesson until you get so ‘burned’ by your errors and your continuing inability to own what’s wrong with your methodology that you hit that point of no escape.
I know…we’d all like to think this New Moon is going to signal quick work and swift results. And it may. But we need to be aware of the parameters of what we do as we do it – and evidently for some folks, that’s going to be a bit much to ask.

Or maybe this is the moment when they find out that they should have paid attention, and that now Ixion-Arachne against the New Moon means they’re knee deep in the tar pits with the whole world acting like toothy, primitive carnivores snarling and licking their chops?

That’s a bit dramatic, yes. But with all this Sagittarian energy in opposition to the New Moon, our judgment is of concern. So either we’re thinking things through carefully, or judgment is coming at us. Let’s remember: Sagittarius is both an interactive AND big picture or ‘global’ sign, so this isn’t just about us. There’s something that we’re having to face now, whether it’s something we’ve been thinking is true, something we thought we could do, or some sort of societal force which is bigger and more complicated than we had thought.

 The zodiac quadruplicities

 

The Ras Alhague part of this opposition gives us a ‘it could be very good…but then again, it could go very bad’ sort of quality. And since Ras Alhague, like Pholus/Pandora, is in a third decanate degree (meaning a degree in the last 10 degrees of a sign), we know this has something to do with others. Or the world in which we live. By “degree definition,” we don’t have control. And with Pholus conjunct Pandora (which sounds like a splinter situated in a spot you can neither reach nor see) the little things count. One slip-up can be highly, even wildly Pandora-ish and problematic.

- link to -

Pholus: A Little Nasty

So…going back to that somewhat ‘separatist’ vibe spoken of with regards to the New Moon’s position at 18 Gemini…do you really want to do things your way? Or is doing it your way the best thing to do and going ‘with the group’ the definition of the problem?

F. S. Church's truly unusual conceptualization of the 'Pandora Problem' - namely, our efforts to try to close the box after we've let all the trouble out. (engraving, 19th century)

Sometimes it’s a good thing lunar cycles are only a month long. With the lunation itself conjunct TNO Chaos, fixed star Rigel and Kassandra, we will do well to listen and probably – in that ‘limitless possibilities’ sort of way which is so TNO Chaos – consider things beyond our comfort zone. That doesn’t mean we have to believe them. Kassandra’s presence in this mix says we may not.

Then again, it also says we may not be believed.

What’s a person to do?

My answer to this would be to remember that all lunations are a process, and that in being positioned in Gemini, this one is about choosing to learn – which doesn’t mean scattering efforts and doesn’t mean endless dithering. My favorite image of Gemini remains that of the jig saw puzzle…the object would be to find the pieces which fit and to build on that.

The finding part is probably Rigel, a star which in being positioned at the foot of Orion represents ‘sitting at the foot of the teacher’ in our search (Orion is ‘the hunter’ constellation) for a path to personal fulfillment.

A map of constellation Orion made by Blueshade. You'll see Rigel down at the lower right corner - which is (at least theoretically,) Orion's foot...the one he's "leading" with.

Happy hunting!
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A Sagittarius New Moon

"Earthrise" - a photo of Planet Earth taken by astronaut Bill Anders on December 24, 1968 revealing a sight apparently only visible from someone orbiting the Moon, not standing on its the surface.

(photo credit: NASA)

 
One of the things Sagittarius evokes in my astrological thoughts is the idea that anything Sagittarian is about being ‘on the road’ to somewhere or something.

So when it comes to a New Moon in Sagittarius (which occurs at 8:43 a.m. UT/+0 on Thursday, December 13th)...and since being ‘on the road’ is about learning new things, accepting the new and letting go of the old (at least as being ‘the only thing’…Sagittarius embodies qualities of wandering, wondering and maybe having a few regrets. For all we may gain, we may also leave something behind. We may triumph…then again, we may also make a few mistakes.

Known sometimes as dogmatic, Sagittarius becomes demanding or resistant through an inability to consider new ideas. It’s also about our ability to miss out on success when we refuse to hear good sense or learn better.

Any New Moon is the beginning of a next life ‘vignette.’ I often think of a solar return and our ‘birthday year’ as a chapter in the book of our life. In that sense, the lunation is a scene, a scenario, one of the subsets with which and upon which we will build our future and, in learning more about who we are, gain perspective on our past.

It’s that perspective which gives us insight and the power to improve our future. So here’s at least to that!

This year’s Sagittarius New Moon falls at 21 Sagittarius, a degree which by “decanate definition” has us interacting with our world. But it’s also a degree which is about some sort of active struggle we’re having with ourselves…about something. Or maybe some things. The Sabian Symbol A CHINESE LAUNDRY implies (among other things) that we’re sorting things out and trying to ‘clean things up’ or sort them out. The reference to ‘Chinese’ would seem to imply something ‘foreign’ to, or about, or which is part of what we’re trying to sort through this month. At the same time, we’re trying to be practical. And because this symbol refers to a business which would be part of a community or city, this refers to us as someone in our world – and whatever ‘thing’ we’re working at as one ‘working function’ in a greater tapestry of life.

And that idea…the ‘one among many’ issue, that echoes the ongoing Pluto/Facies conjunction.

LINK TO PLUTO/FACIES BLOG

That this moment – and this lunar month – may be an emotional one is shown by this New Moon at 21 Sagittarius being conjunct fixed star Ras Alhague, square Pallas in Pisces, and in perfect trine to Eris (retrograde) in Aries.

There’s a humble and industrious quality to the idea of the Chinese Laundry...coupled to the fact that the phrase 'Chinese Laundry' as coined in the US in the early part of the 1900's really had to do with oppressive circumstances experienced by Chinese Americans unable to get an economic foothold in a country which they were having trouble integrating themselves into.

Ras Alhague upholds both sides of this idea in many ways. As a binary star (with an orbiting cycle of approximately 8.6 years) Ras Alhague describes situations which 'circle around themselves.' Thus the dualistic nature of the Chinese American at the time when the term 'Chinese Laundry' was coined refers both to a group of people wanting to be part of a greater culture and a group of people who were at that time still very involved in holding to their own 'old' ways. Thus the difficulties ("punishment") which is felt whenever and wherever we see Ras Alhague becomes one which comes both from without and from within, with no clear answer.

And that 'seeking the answer to the problem' idea - that is entirely Sagittarian.

Known as the ‘Astrologer’ (implication: one who seeks information leading to greater knowledge) in Chinese lore, the name given to it by Arab astrologers (Ras Alhague) evidently translates as the ‘head of the serpent,’ which is apt because the alternate name for Ras Alhague is Alpha Ophiuchus -  Ophiuchus being a constellation which from time to time is proposed as a ‘lost zodiac sign’...but which it isn’t.

To qualify as a zodiac sign, Ophiuchus would have to lie on or across the planet of the ecliptic (Earth’s path around the Sun). And it doesn’t. But this too echoes the 'wanting to be part of something while being apart' quality as noted above.

And the constellation doesn't suggest that situations are easy, either. The image of Ophiuchus is of a hunter (some say a warrior) wrestling with a serpent, which fits with the ‘wrestling with things’ theme posed by the New Moon being at 21 Sagittarius.

The image of constellation Ophiuchus as pictured in the Azophi (al Sufi) manuscript Suwar al-Kawakib (dating from around 1730) which itself is a copy of a lost manuscript prepared for Ulug Beg of Smarkand in 1417 

(courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC)

 
Then we add the most prevalent themes which go with Ras Alhague, that of its representing situations which heal or hurt – even harm. If you saw the second in the recent series of Batman movies (‘The Dark Knight’) you may remember a character named Ras Alhague who asserted that the city of Gotham had to experience chaos and darkness in order to be purified. That idea is right in sync with the star and its lore, whether or not that was the intention of the character’s creators.

So there’s a definite ‘theme’ of difficulty and how we go about dealing with difficulties, whether they be past or present.

Because this is a New Moon, it may also be very helpful to think of the whole of the lunation (something I’ve been thinking about doing but hadn’t gotten to until now). The New Moon is at 21 Sagittarius, the First Quarter is at 28 Pisces, the Full Moon will be at 7 Cancer and the Last Quarter at 14 Libra.

Yes, the lunar cycle has 8 phases. But let’s start with the four ‘axial’ points. The first half of this lunation (the New and First Quarter phases) are in mutable signs, indicating a period where we learn as we go and will probably deal with a lot of adjusting of our plans, schedules and aims. Then the second half of the lunar cycle are in cardinal signs. So as we get to and pass through the Full Moon phase (which falls on December 28th), we will be moving from a reacting-to-things-as-we-go sort of mood-and-methodology into a more ‘get it done’ sort of mode.

Which makes sense, seeing as by December 28th the holidays are pretty much over.

(Yes, I know…there’s still New Years. But who doesn’t have their New Years plans in place by December 28th?)

Going back to the more astrological side of it all though, any lunation which begins in Sagittarius and comes to ‘full’ in Cancer is describing a couple of things.

One: since Sag-to-Cancer is an 8th house harmonic, this says that whatever we’re trying to ‘do’ starting out (i.e., at the New Moon) is all about a “Scorpio/8th house” sort of effort. In other words, we’re a.) dealing in the interactive realm here, b.) things are emotional and/or emotionally based and c.) we’d really just like to be doing what we’d like to do (or do it in a fashion and on a schedule which suits our fancy) but there are others to consider in our equation.

As always when we talk Scorpio/8th house, that’s the real test. We go into this lunation thinking about ourselves and our aims. But if that’s all we think about during this lunation, we’re going to have a hard time. All things Scorpio and 8th house require that we think not just in terms of our own values and judgment, but that of those around us with the trick being not to try to control them…AND not to be controlled by them.

(Oh yeah…that.)

So we can’t pander and we can’t give in, but we also can’t be unfeeling, uncaring, demanding or pissy.

The weird thing is…in a situation like this, especially since we’re talking a cycle which is by its lunar nature all about money, feelings, family and the bonds which tie (and sometimes unravel us!) it’s our very desire which can get us off track.

Yes, well…desire IS a Scorpio/8th house word.

The answer is to think it through and to do what’s right for you to do, regardless of pressures from others – or from some guilt or shame or whatever on the inside.

But be forewarned: this is one of those situations where the more sensible you are, the more lacking in sense others may turn out to be.

And when you see that, your feeling about them will change…which sometimes is the hardest thing of all, but oh-so Scorpio. Scorpio isn’t about sex or power or money as some think it is. Scorpio and all 8th harmonics are about how we discover more about our innermost self.

The other thing which seems so notable about this New Moon being in Sagittarius – particularly where it’s positioned (with Ras Alhague and trine Eris) – with the Full Moon being in Cancer is that this would seem to be a lunation which ‘brings things home’ to us. That can be in the external and obvious sense, but then again, it may symbolize a time…a lunar cycle…which ends up revealing more about why you are as you are. Why you live and have built the (Cancer) life that you live…how it came out of  (Sagittarius) things you learned or learned to believe.

Such concepts may now work for you…or not.

Either way, with Eris in the mix, this is New Moon starts us along a path which is meant to get us to feel something we haven’t felt before. Or which we didn’t think we were capable of feeling. Or which we didn’t realize was so important. Or not important.

Eris generally works best when we’re fighting for others. The person who defends the helpless, the person who stands up for the rights of those who aren’t being heard, those are Eris people who earn respect, support and lasting positive regard. Those who don’t care about what happens to others or how what they do effects others are also ‘Eris figures’ but in time the compromise of their own mortality comes back to haunt them.

The Judgment of Paris by Anton Raphael Mengs (c.1757)

The famous story of Paris' judgment being tested is very much what Eris is all about. When Eris is in the astrological picture, things will happen which test us emotionally, seeing what we're really all about and what we're willing to stand for. Want more information on Eris? Here's a LINK to an article on dwarf planet Eris here on the blog.  

That the New Moon is a latter (3rd decanate/21 Sagittarius) degree and the Full Moon is at 7 Cancer and thus a 1st decanate degree which is about who we are ‘in the flesh’ and what we do is another way of saying that life is ‘bringing home to us’ not just what we are going about (Sagittarius) doing, but what that means we are or are going to end up (Cancer) being.

With Mercury having just gone into Sagittarius as this New Moon arrives and Venus about to do likewise (as of December 16th) we know this is a busy time which will tempt us to just do “whatever” in order to get something done.

About the time the Full Moon hits, some of us will simply exhale in gratitude. Others of us will wonder where to go, considering what they’ve already done. We have three more months to come (after this one) of New Moons at 21 of successive signs, so we know that life is still about how we handle ourselves in our more and most ‘public realm.’ As of next month however, the emphasis shifts from interactive to worldly and “big picture” concerns. That fits with December being all about friends, family and holidays and to some extent that’s yet another way of looking at the New Moon being at 21 Sagittarius and the Full Moon being at 7 Cancer as the major markers in this cycle. Sagittarius is about how things are going along the road through our life. That reflects now – in some ways – in terms of what you bring home and for many, what home they have to come home to.

There’s a physical home, there is that home we find with family and people we love and treasure. Those are important, yes. But ultimately, it’s being at home with your Self and inside your own skin which really counts.

December 13th is not just the date of the New Moon – it’s also the day when Uranus and asteroid Kassandra go direct and when asteroid Circe goes into retrograde. And this is also at the peak of the Geminid meteor shower, as got blogged about yesterday.

 A photo from a 1955 episode of "I Love Lucy" with (left to right) Lucy's real-life husband Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance as Ethel Murtz and William Frawley as Ethel's husband Fred in the middle of some ridiculous situation so typical of the show and all the other sit-com's of the1950s.

(photo in public domain)

On the old ‘I Love Lucy’ shows hubby Ricky Ricardo used to say to his life (Lucille Ball) ‘you got some ‘splaining to do!’ in his richly Cuban accent…and it would seem that we are in something of a like position. But that’s good. If we can enjoy the holidays and along the way through them experience and learn about ourselves, what better present can we have...or become to ourselves, others and this world?
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Ixion Directs

  Sometimes the vastness of space is the perfect

metaphor for the millions of things which can

happen in life. Above is a photo of the three bright

stars which make up the belt of Orion the Hunter,

a constellation long associated with the ideas of

'hunting and learning' associated with Sagittarius

(photo credit: NASA, 2005)

If there is indeed a reason that all things happen, then we can have hope that there is a reason why we repeat our errors, why we refuse to learn, why again and again our passionate preoccupation causes us to fail to remember what we really value in life.

Ixion’s tale is an arrogant, fearful and painful story. And yet, we all have an Ixion in our chart. We’re all human, and inhuman to ourselves in some strange way. We seem bent on pushing the rules and ignoring things we know full well are there for a reason in life.

So we do the Ixion deed…and then the full light and power of knowledge comes upon us. The punishment we incur may be physical or imposed by forces outside ourselves – in fact, Ixion turning to direct motion would suggest that in the months to come both the temptations and judgments levied upon us for our ‘infractions’ will come from others and our world.

But the real core of the story is about knowing. It’s about Ixion refusing to hold himself to his own word and standards of behavior he knows are only decent and proper.

In the myth, his ‘comeuppance’ is delivered by Zeus the almighty ruler of Olympus known to the Romans and astrology as Jupiter. Jupiter’s role in this story (as in life), is as a symbol of conscious comprehension.

Our conscious comprehension. As much as astrology speaks of Jupiter as ‘expansion,’ and as much as that can represent anything from an increase of your experiences, your bank account balance or you waistline, all of these things mean nothing except for the fact you know and experience them.

That’s Jupiter.

This photo of Jupiter was put together from

an entire series of Voyager 1 images (photo credit NASA-JPL)

As Ixion goes direct on Friday August 31st, we will experience the Ixion precept in a myriad of different ways.

Some of us will realize we haven’t gotten away with something after all. In the story, Jupiter/Zeus finally condemns Ixion for his repeated violations of human standards by having him strapped to a burning wheel which will forever rotate like some gyroscope gone berserk. The turning of the wheel throws Ixion off base, preventing him from ever gaining perspective – which is indeed an ironic punishment for someone who never chose to see how his actions could hurt or harm someone else.

The shame that we feel when we realize we’ve been ‘caught’ is very Ixion. Sometimes its mild – we’re embarrassed. And when we’re embarrassed, most of the time what we’re most embarrassed about is being caught in the act of being human.

So it is with Ixion, the moral and king who felt he never had to care about anyone else. All that mattered to Ixion was what he wanted, what would suit his kingly fancy.

The lesson of the story – and the point – is that there are some limits we dare not cross. Some things are simply not okay. The small things are not accepted, the big things are not acceptable.

And yet we do them anyway. And when we’re caught, we burn with shame.

Ixion’s punishment, we’re told, is disorientation, which in our life is the having to give up the old way of thinking, whether that be entitlement or simple ignorance. We are ‘disorienting’ ourselves when we change our ways – change is disorienting, and when we finally learn our lesson, that thing we determine we’re not going to do any more we become eternally disoriented to.

Because Ixion is a Plutino, we know several things about its effects. For one, given that Plutinos are objects the orbits of which are controlled by Neptune, we know that the balance between the real and false ideal, between the illusion and ecstasy is human ego. If our ego is involved – or to the degree our ego is involved in the (like as not emotional) situation we are dealing with now, that vision of what we want so much…or what we so want to be real – that is going to be disappointed.

Why? Because the universe, a place so vast our lifetime is not even a grain of sand on its beach, that universe will in time operate so as to teach us each and all that we are not in charge of life.

Those bothered by this are either insecure or fearful. The emotions of insecurity and fear will drive us to do amazingly unproductive things in the search for validation, for satisfaction.

And where the indicator for all this is either Ixion in the chart (in transit or natally) or a global Ixion moment such as we’re moving through this week, things happen to change our perspective.

It may be very painful. And then again, the moment of ‘altered perspective’ may not hurt at all. At least now. It is an odd quality with Ixion that when the moment doesn’t hurt, the regrets which linger on – sometimes yes, eternally – hurt more than the terrible confrontation.

And that may be another Ixion lesson. Ixion was a devious man. He preferred to go about his business in a rather manipulative, behind-the-scene sort of way. He did fool many - but probably the biggest fool was Ixion himself. His thinking he could do what he wanted simply because he wanted to was his greatest piece of foolishness.

And maybe ours.

Like other Plutinos, Ixion is not assigned any sort of ‘rulership’ or astrological dignity as yet. But we probably shouldn’t be surprised if when that day comes Ixion is assigned to the Taurus-Scorpio polarity. At their best, Taurus-Scorpio is about the kind of personal confidence which allows us to bring the best out in everyone, knowing that by inspiring people and by finding ways for everyone to shine, not only will life itself be enriched but we will earn respect and – if we want it – the ability to voice our opinion, that being the real seat of validated power.

Fortunately for us (probably), Ixion isn’t in Scorpio or Taurus.

It is however, in Sagittarius. At 17 Sagittarius, to be precise, a second (emotional) decanate degree which right away tells us that emotionally charged situations are the most likely Ixion fodder.

Or situations which evoke emotions. Yes, those too.

That those situations will be vital is told by the fact that as it goes direct, Ixion is conjunct two other objects.

One is Pholus…that little thing which ‘does us in’ (or the little thing which ‘does in’ something we want to do).

The other is Europa,a symbol of getting ‘carried away,’

So even without Ixion’s presence, Pholus and Europa would pretty much speak of ‘getting carried away’ in a rather negative senses.

For those not familiar with Pholus, HERE is the LINK to a recent article on this object

But when we add in Ixion, then comes the ‘oh no, not again!’ quality.

Remembering that Ixion turning direct means it’s been retrograde for a while (since the 18th of March, 2012, to be precise). And considering that retrogrades mean things ‘function on an internal basis’ this suggests that we may not have owned up to something. Or we may not have dealt with it. Or perhaps we haven’t really changed our way at all – that unacceptable thing is still with us, and as Ixion goes direct we either have to face it or the repercussions of not having faced it face us down.

Then we add in the degree 17 Sagittarius, a degree which on one side recalls the innocence of our inner child, a hopeful willingness to do good and hold to the standards of those around us in a simple and trusting way.

But on the other, 17 Sagittarius brings the essence of rejection, and considering this as the degree at which Ixion is going direct, the cost of innocence or rejection – or the pain of feeling rejected may become apparent.

Or perhaps you will have to face something painful for you to own up to, and in giving up your attitude that you “didn’t know” what you were doing you recognize that your living in your own Ixion/Neptunian cocoon of self-serving illusion (delusion?) has cost others – the truly innocent – substantial harm.

Considering Ixion’s orbital position (beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt) we can expect whatever happens to come to us in a very ‘out of the uncharted realms’ of unsuspected life.

We can also judge by the timing some of the patterns to current events (which of course do not have to be personal events particular to your life). Granting Ixion the standard two-days prior, two-days after ‘station allowance,’ the fact that Ixion will go direct on August 31st tells us Ixion effects will surface from at least August 29th through September 2nd…and maybe a bit farther out either way depending on your time zone and how Ixion affects your personal chart.

Situations arising prior to the 31st pertaining to unresolved matters will take time to resolve, to heal, to dissipate the feeling of being ‘disoriented by.’ This may be a ‘disorientation’ of your time, your cash flow, your priorities, relationship communications – it could be just about anything. As they come into focus (or ‘get’ you where you live) as Ixion goes into its station, this reflects the prompting, the necessity to think about what could happen, what might happen, probably as a result of something you have resisted wanting to recognize about your priorities, standards or life’s path.

Things which become more focal after Ixion goes direct at 7:11 p.m. UT/+0 time on the 31st are about dealing with consequences – most of all how you feel about yourself. The temptation will be to ‘escape’ or to ignore…and this may even result in your making things worse by picking a fight, creating havoc or finding someone you think will ‘make it better’ when all they’re doing is distracting you from something painful you don’t want to confront.

In the end, if we just remember that all Kuiper Belt objects (i.e., anything which orbits beyond Neptune) evokes our feelings so that we will learn we can benefit in the ultimate sense, if perhaps not in the very moment. Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) often seem to be about what the world can ‘do’ to us, but if as metaphysics teaches ‘everything happens for a reason’ that reason may be about the world needing to be sorted out, yes. But in our life that purpose would also have to be about learning about who we are...and how that differs from who we may want to think of ourselves as, or who we want to be.

 Caught at sunset with the Moon and Venus rising into

a darkening night sky, ESO's Very Large Telescope at

Paranal searches the heavens as painstakingly as

we are sometimes forced to search our souls.

(photo credit: ESO/Y Beletsky, April 2010)

With the Lunar Nodes changing signs on August 30th (as Ixion is just about to do its ‘turnabout’ on the 31st) there is a striking chance that events and situations will reveal our vulnerabilities, particularly through relationships and however it is we conceive of ‘our standing’ in the world – which for some is ethical, for some is monetary, for some is intimate.

Whatever your ‘gold standard’ is, while such matters must be dealt with in real time, perhaps the greater lesson is why you feel as you do about what happens. What does it mean to you? What do you think it ‘says’ about you in the eyes of others and why do you feel that way – or do you even care?

And if you don’t care, what does that say about you?

All such things embody the Ixion concept.

Ixion will go retrograde again on March 21st of 2013. By the time it gets there, Pholus will be conjunct the fixed star Ras Alhague, a symbol of great healing and discoveries on how to heal versus great hurt, harm and destructive potential. With Pholus (the ‘little thing’) standing with Ras Alhague we hare given a connection which plainly speaks to how little things can change lives…our lives and those of others, our lives and that of our posterity, our lives and that of our nation or even our planet.

By going direct now, Ixion draws a dotted line between this moment and times to come. That when that next Ixion ‘turnabout’ occurs it (and Pholus) will be in any degree between 20 and 29 of Sagittarius (Ras Alhague is at 22 Sagittarius) tells us that have have the power to affect our world – and the world has the power to affect us.

So…it’s a cause effect universe, much of which operates merely as a matter of physics. If we have a grace as human beings, it’s that we have the capacity to think. Every great body of teaching, be it spiritual, educational, metaphysical or otherwise urges this one great truism of truisms: as humans, we have the choice to think…or not think.

And when it comes to Ixion, that question becomes will we think not just of our desires but the effect our choices have on the world around us?

To every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, science teaches us.

Ixion factors are the embodiment of that rule at its broadest and most insistent. To have what we want in life, apparently we need to care about something more than the moment and something more than our Self. We also need to face up to who we really are.

Vulnerabilities and potentials are both universal. If we don’t want to have ours preyed upon, taken advantage of or brushed aside, we need to not look at everyone and everything as a resource from which we can reap.

Standards exist for a reason. Those who violate them will be violated in turn. And when we violate our own standards? Then we will forever be goaded by the fact that we fell short of our own truest standards.

That is the Ixion thrust.
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