Mercury Retrograde: Small Planet, Big Effects

Asemic grafitti: an abstract calligraphy painting by Matox (Nuno de Matos)

(photo credit Matoxvisual, Oct 2010) 

Have you ever wondered why Mercury retrograde is such a big deal? It’s the first astrological item I ever heard being discussed by news anchors.

Anchor #1: The 405 Freeway is a mess….

Anchor #2: Well, it’s Mercury retrograde – what do you expect?

Is traffic really worse under Mercury retrograde? Or given the Mercury retrograde tendency to ‘hear’ our own thoughts…(hopefully to review them, not that such a thing always happens)…are we just more prone to wanting to project our opinions on how life should be on the world?

This isn’t such a far-fetched concept, if you look at the many charts of successful people which have  Mercury natally in retrograde. We’re used to thinking of Mercury retrograde as a time to go back over our ideas. When we should take time to ‘straighten things out,’ whether what’s being ‘straightened’ is the course of a relationship, our thoughts on something once we do a little reading on it…even our closet.

Writers often have Mercury natally retrograde. I don’t have a collection of programmer charts (not tagged as programmers, that is), but I’ll bet that programmers and all sorts of people in the kind of ‘design’ job which requires testing viability (like engineering) have Mercury in retrograde.  

Retrogrades are the energy of the planetary symbolism turned inward. In other words, we’re not interacting with someone else or some external entity on something, we’re dealing with ourselves.

So for those who want to go around talk to themselves, I can think of nothing better for you than Mercury retrograde.

For the rest of us? Well, it’s kind of ‘meh…’ You know...tolerable, but maybe a bit inconvenient? During Mercury retrograde, time seems to slow down. Things seem to take forever. But since time doesn’t actually slow down in the big sense, what causes that sense of would it hurry up, already?

That must be us. And that’s exactly what’s going on. If the Gemini concept of Mercury is the mental part and the ‘getting things in order’ part of Mercury is the Virgo part, we ‘hear’ ourselves wanting things to get into order. During Mercury retrograde, we will hear our thoughts…and goodness knows, we may even listen to ourselves!

And through that…sometimes there comes a revelation. A greater or deeper understanding of ourselves. Or how maybe someone out there isn’t just bizarre-o…maybe they’re reacting to something in us.

Lots of things change during Mercury retrograde. And though they may change out in the world (yes), the more important things are probably those which we change in our own head, self and lives.

The first of 2013’s three Mercury retrogrades (some years have four, this one only has three) begins on February 23rd, which happens to be your astrologers birthday. (Yes, I have big Mercurial doings planned for this year!) Mercury’s average retrograde being twenty-one days long, this one is going to be a touch longer than average, as it doesn’t end until March 17th (which will make this retrograde 23 days long).

Probably most important to all of us, this retrograde is wholly in Pisces, the sign of all things which provoke, evoke and try to get us to feel our feelings so that we can become aware of why we feel the way we do about things.

This is not some cosmic trick. Pisces is not about trying to emotionally yank the rug out from under you. Pisces is the sign which brings us back to our humanity at isn’t most humane (and sometimes inhumane) point: our emotionality.

People live in their emotions. We like to think we don’t, but we do. And it’s really only to the extent that we are comfortable with our emotions - and emotionally comfortable with our life (which is an entirely different thing) – that we are able to harness our abilities and create the life we really want.

You know, the one which would be emotionally satisfying.

People who can’t handle their emotions are constantly on the run. Constantly rejecting others for fear what they feel will create a need to (gasp!) feel something emotional. Or (heaven forbid) show compassion.

And yet, among the arcades of the great, those who have shown they can make the tough decisions in spite of being a caring person who touch us most deeply.

As human beings, we know we need to feel. We know we need to be okay with what we’re feeling and why we feel that way and why we do or don’t value things …and other people as we do.

One of the hardest things we ever face is trying to understand how someone who does something incredibly heinous can like bunnies. I know that the first time I found out that some of the Nazi architects of the ‘Final Solution’ had kids and dogs and liked gardening, I was left gasping in my agog-ness.

Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac. Like the other three 4th quadrant signs (Aquarius and Capricorn), it’s a sign about universality which only works in our individual lives if and to the extent that we understand the universal need or right or feeling. Those who fail the Pisces test often retreat from life. Or get abandoned by it. Pisces is the sign of the hermit and the guru, addiction and incarceration, solitude and loss, loneliness and nirvana.

Some of those things are great. Some are terrible. And every item on that list is the cause or effect, the provocation or manifestation of emotionalism gone right or gone wrong. And it’s really as simple as this: we love the guru for caring about us and taking the time to teach us. We pity the addict (whatever they may be addicted to) and loathe the criminal for not understanding the value, the need, the humanness which caring about others is.

That’s Pisces.

Mercury is going retrograde at 19 Pisces a degree which is all about the success or failure which comes of grappling with this need to be human and to live a life which is equally humane to yourself as to others. There are texts which speak of 19 Pisces as being specifically a degree which tests our materialistic limits. And to that end, we may now be seeing (or you may be experiencing) critiques or outcomes which have to do at some level with the balance in your life between ‘things,’ ‘money’ and human need…or the need to be human (depending).

With Mars just behind and asteroids Photographica and Amor just ahead, there would seem to be a bit of a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ quality attached to this moment, but that probably depends on personal charts. But for sure, for sure – with this 19 Pisces station being in trine to the North Node at 20 Scorpio there is something about a ‘should’ in relationships which life is calling your attention to.

On the other hand…if the North Node is at 20 Scorpio, that means the South Node is at 20 Taurus. And if the North Node is a trine to Mercury’s station, the South node is a sextile.

 
And lookie there…Sedna’s sitting right there at 22 Taurus. How cute. How quaint! How ‘do I do what I want…or do I WANT to do the thing which will work long term?’

No, not cute at all. Mind pretzel-ing? Maybe. But cute? Probably not. After all, Saturn just went retrograde as the Sun entered Pisces, the tale of which was told in the last three posts. (Yes, life is apparently a celestial soap opera.) The (Sun in Pisces) emotional (Saturn) repercussions or consequences for what we’ve done right or wrong in our lives is still rattling our mental cages.

And caged or not, you can’t say ‘mentality’ in the astro-world without getting into the whole Mercurial soup.

With Mercury going retrograde on Saturday the 23rd at 9:42 in the morning UT/+0 (which will still be Friday night if you happen to be in Hawaii or some equivalent time zone) there is a going into/coming out of station effect to consider…and given our two days before, two days after rule that would take us back to Thursday the 21st (do your own time zone warps, please) and forward to February 25th.

And that Saturn thing? Saturn having gone retrograde late on Monday the 18th (UT/+0) would give it a ‘station window’ which extends to February 20th.

Are you getting where I’m going here? Let’s remember, we’re trying to fit giant celestial things into little man-made boxes. Days…hours…time zones…do we really think the universe gives a twinkie about those things?

What I’m getting at here is that the Saturn Station Effect may very easily overlap the Mercury station effect. Especially since Mercury’s ‘run up’ to its station tends to feel ‘pressured’ anyway (the human race being so very prone to acting like White Rabbits in Alice in Wonderland anyway)…the whole of this week would seem to be a-sloshingly awash in water sign doings.

Sun in Pisces. Saturn going station/retrograde in Scorpio. Mercury going station/retrograde in Pisces.

And on the other side of the Mercury station we’re headed into…just over yandrow there’s a Full Moon in Virgo.

So if you were thinking things were going to get less emotional once you get through the weekend, maybe not. They may change tone, yes. Virgo is, after all, an earth sign.

Some of us will no doubt hit the mental bricks this weekend and figure a few things out. Others among us will do their darndest to dart by problems like tiny fish avoiding predators in a tropical reef. A lot of the who-does-which about this having to do with your natal chart, it’s a pretty likely bet that whose who DO have major water sign placements (including you Cancer types…what, you thought you could sidle off and go eat a coconut?)…the water sign folks are going to be doing the breast stroke or dog paddle or simply hitting an undertow (sorry if that’s the case) before the weekend of the 23rd/24th moves through.

But then comes a week which, staring with that Full Moon moment, is likely to grab all those who hung ten when the surf came in.

(Yes, I’m doing a whole kowabunda recitation here.)

Let me just put it this way…by the end of this week, the Sun, Mercury, Mars and Neptune are all going to be in Pisces with Saturn coagulated in Scorpio. Next week will see Venus join the Pisces party, which means we will then have SIX planets in water and two in retrograde.

Which two? Saturn and Mercury. And by the beginning of March, Mercury will have retrograded back to the point where it’s trining Saturn not just by sign but by orb…then (on March 6-7) by degree.

This is serious stuff – literally. When linked astrologically, Saturn and Mercury equal “focusing on the idea” …or possibly the situation. With both in water signs, the first thing which jumps to mind is Matters Fiscal. For those of who are in business, this is prime time territory for discussions, negotiations and doing whatever it takes to get your business house (or life) in order, lest you get caught with your proverbial flippers down as Mars moves into Aries just before Mercury goes direct.

Remember: where Pisces is concerned, the most important thing is getting on an even and realistic keel with yourself. Your smooth sailing depends on your understanding not just why you’re doing what you’re doing with/in your life, but that you really agree with those ideas right down to your spiritual DNA.

Above all, don’t kid yourself. Don’t play games, don’t put on airs, don’t make excuses…this is the time to get honest with yourself. And yes, maybe others.

But first, think it through. That’s the Mercury Retrograde in Pisces thing to do!
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Signs of Internal Relating

 Personally, I'm thinking of making the Jacaranda my family tree, but other members of the family might object...

photo credit: Shiftchange (2004)

I have a lot of Leo people in my life. I've always had lots of Leo folks in my life. As far as I know, it started with my baby brother being born under Leo.

Okay, so he's not a baby any more. But he was then, and I tend to think he's the one who started the trend. That I refer to him still here on this oh-so-international blog as my baby brother...? Well, call that sisterly prerogative! The minute he got taller than me he started referring to himself as my 'big brother' - so its mutual.

As for facts, by now we're both adults. At least allegedly. And he's out there being married with his own little munchkin.

Does that make you an adult? Probably not - but that's a whole other blog. As is the idea that my Bro the Leo married a She Leo in the founding of his Leo pride.

Sometimes I think Leo people marry other Leo people just to keep them from excessive pride. Not sure - but it's a concept. And yes, through the years I've watched this Sun/Moon matching thing. There are some odd sorts of commentaries to be made on same.

But hey...that's yet another blog.

To my endless astrological amusement, the son both to He and She Leo is an Aries. For one, that allows (and causes) me to refer to them as The Fire Sign Family. But maybe more importantly (as big sister with the Aries rising), that Aries son gives me cause to chuckle. The morning young nephew was born I looked at the calendar and knew that if nothing else, Sir and Ma'am Leo had just been blessed with a child who would (sooner and/or later) give them a bit of serious fire sign competition!

Ah, the quirks and twists of fate, no?

But getting back to the subject...we all tend to 'collect' signs. If you go through your address book (or birthday calendar) you'll see the same thing. Generally those birthdays cluster around points in our chart, making such people not only 'representative' of what that point's 'vibe' attracts (what we're putting out there), but through their energies and actions, part of what we get to learn. 

It's a funny thing, this universe...like attracts like and yet cause creates boomerang effect. As near as I can make it out, the more usefully and constructively positive we are in any given department of life, the better we get responded to. As I say (type) that however, I don't want anyone to think I mean we always have to all be "nice." Sometimes the painful truth is the very best thing we can hear. Discipline from without (not brutality, discipline) teaches us discipline within.

It's an odd position to take, but there are people who have been born into this world who are truly awful and miserable, yet through their 'badness' we have all learned something incredibly valuable.

Would we have learned it otherwise? Sad to say...but probably not. Human beings learn more through pain than through cotton candy happy times. The old saw the burned hand teaches best is a truly apt expression.

And sometimes it's the unpleasantries which show things up. In the middle of one of my testier conversations with the Leo Bro I discovered he had felt envious of my intellectual learning. Astonished, I replied that I have always been a bit envious of his social delight and grace.

It took us a fractious moment to get there. And even once we got there, it didn't solve anything. But as we've talked, I've come to realize that it's how we say things which as much as anything else creates the positive and negative of it response.

And while I could wax technical here about Ascendants and Mercury placements, I'm not going to. This blog isn't about us - it's about how we tend not to see each others' point of view. And seeing as there's hardly anything that's going to cure of us of being who we are (nor would we want to be cured of being who we are!) (okay...so there are a couple of people I could say that about, but...)...could it be we just don't have some quick 'cliff notes' on how to express ourselves in a good, connective and useful way?

That became my 'yes, grasshopper!' moment. And for those of you who know me, uh-huh...that grasshopper should probably be a cricket. I have a long, long history with crickets and am currently living where I get a lot of them coming inside to visit. It's taken me literal decades (plural) to learn not to leap away in fear at the mere sight of a cricket twiddling its antenna...I have a memory of a grown man who felt so for my fears as to have chased  one (un)lucky cricket across a hundred feet of painted floor inside a sound stage one evening to make sure it wouldn't come over and do something dastardly like attack me.

(Trust me - it's was a scene straight out of the movie Beetlejuice. Very endearing...very ridiculous!)

In the end, I made peace with the crickets, but it didn't come cheap. It came from a terrible moment when I finally realized my fear of them was a reflection of fear I had learned of others - other people, I mean. There had been crickets present in that situation so I had learned to fear the insect, not the people.

Back then, I didn't dare fear the people. I needed them too much. So all that fear went into crickets until there came a day when I realized they were as frightened of me now as I must have been of those people way back when.

So now I catch crickets in a plastic cup. Most of them are fairly cooperative, though there are a few determined, feisty hold-outs. Once they're in the cup I take them outside, warning them not to go into my neighbor's house (he takes absolutely no cricket prisoners!).

My point here is that in that moment...those hours of realizing how wrong I had been about what was and wasn't 'evil' that was really about me.

And though not everyone has as weirdly melodramatic a story as I have, we all tend to be unsuccessful in some way, in some area of our lives.

That's my point here...and why I thought to write this blog on the idea that every sign has its weakness. They do! A "blind spot," call it. And yes, I'd use the term vulnerability (because that's what it really is) though this is really about how to better get along with others.

It's really about what others call a weakness in us. You know...when they're not calling them by other, possibly more colorful names? Uh, yes - that!

So here's the list and its to remember, this is just one part of the list. These same quirks show up in a number of ways, but let's shoot today for a general understanding and as time goes by, perhaps go from there.

ARIES: There's an astrological joke which refers to Aries people as having a case of 'first person perpendicular.' It's a reference to the constant consciousness of self so typical of Aries. The problem is, to others Aries comes off as being egocentric, if not out-and-out egotistical.

The solution to this challenge? Simple - ask not what the world can think of you, O Aries, talk about what you can do for and in this world. We know you're capable! So just be the gift - don't talk about what a gift you are!

TAURUS: Perhaps you remember that story about Ferdinand the Bull, trotting along smelling the buttercups? Taurus folks so want the world to be a nice place it seems to the rest of us like it takes dynamite to get them to talk in realistic terms about what's wrong in this world.

We get it, Taurus: you want everything to be good. That's your security bent (sometimes hell bent!) talking. What we need from you though is for you to extend your sense of security to the rest of us. Talk about what we can all do to fix things, instead of what things should be like or what you do to fix your own stuff. We need to know you're with us - and that's no bull!

GEMINI: I hardly need to tell Geminis that they're known for a busy mind which likes to explore a thousand things, discussing and contemplating each in turn. 

The problem is, when Geminis go in that direction, everyone else says oh...I guess they're never going to get anywhere (or get anything done). Showing others you know how to make a choice and set priorities is the trick to earning not just respect from others, but interest. So go ahead and do each and every one of those two thousand things you want to do - but do them one by one. See each one through. Discuss what you are thinking, and by all means, listen to input and discourse. Just don't be owned by it! The minute you go into that 'fascination mode' which shows you being "run" by the agenda of others, your stock takes a big fat fall - so don't go there!

CANCER: Known to many as strong but moody, the Cancer challenge is often just about holding your tongue. And yet, if you don't speak, then you feel unneeded. What's a Crab to do?

It's all about approach Cancer - you want to guide, not pinch! And if (okay, when...) you do exert too much strength, the answer is not to react to someone's 'OW!' with self-justification! Everyone knows Cancers mean well - so why don't you believe that and stop with all the 'I was just...' stuff?

Here's the thing...the more important the situation, the more supportively you should approach it. That doesn't mean tip-toeing - it means looking at what can be done, not what has already done wrong. You'll be amazed at what that one little change can do!

LEO: Yes, this is where my thoughts all started. And I didn't start with any negative. What I started with was the realization of just how strong Leo people really are, and how many Leo people don't realize how strong they are. With the ruling Sun in their eyes they don't get that they're the big cats on the veldt and a lot of the rest of us are just little puddies.

What I think is that this is why (or part of why) Leo has long been told that the choice is to be arrogant or supportive. If you want the world to be filled with sunshine, support us. The least little critique from a Leo comes out with so much strength that it sounds critical and thus makes the Leo sound arrogant - even when its not meant that way! Be of that great good cheer you want others to be of with you, Leo - compliment and support! Be the companion and protector, not the judge!

VIRGO: Yes, you care about the details, Virgo. You want to see things done right - that sets your mind at ease and frees you to enjoy the rest of life.

Just remember, please...that rest of life is the object of the game - not the details! If you can not only bear this in mind but make it clear to others that the goal and the growth of that life is your object, you will garner the cooperation of those around you.

One other thing - try not to see the fact that others don't think in terms of details as your burden. It isn't. What others don't do is not necessarily your problem - for all you know, it may just be their preference! Being responsible for you and knowing your boundaries (not just your limits) not only gets you respect, but "forces" others to own their own responsibilities...which is what you wanted in the first place, right? 

LIBRA: With Saturn in your sign from 2010 into the latter part of 2012 this is a time to recognize that though the Libra instinct is to relate to others, the point there is to learn what others want, need, believe in and respond to...and to decide for yourself whether you like any of that.

The signs of the scales is always a balancing act, yes. The temptation is to be like "them" (and get along)...or to counter every positive with some possible consideration or downfall. And yet, neither one of these is actually who you are...and in the end, that's the only thing which people are going to love you for - you!

Libra is not supposed to be a joiner - or nagging Devil's Advocate (how annoying is that?). Libra is where cause meets effect, so focus on the interaction...and don't conform to it - learn from it! The world wants to know you, not how you can pretend to be this, that and the other thing!
  

SCORPIO: Let's be real. The Scorpio drive to want what it wants is really strong. But people are wary of Scorpios for a reason - that reason being that Scorpio is very good at relating but then has a tendency to use what it learns for personal profit.

Yes, I hear you laughing! And yes, Scorpio can often simply take what it wants in the short run. (maybe). But everything Scorpio does generates karma - which is why fear runs so deep in this sign. It's not 'them' you're scared of - it's you and what you know you're capable of! 

The more actively aware you are of your potential and the more radically you take on and demonstrate that your 'winning' is to understand what others want so they can win in their terms - more you get what you want. So don't assume! The more you aim at what others want, the more they aim to get/give what you want to you! Sound fair?

SAGITTARIUS: There are two edges on the point of the  Sagittarian arrow. One is all about seeing how (and if) things work. This can drive people nuts by making you look like you're all theory and no effectiveness.

Then there's the Sagittarian who demands to rule. While they may make people bow down, this generally alienates a lot of folks who really hate being preached at. 

Remember - Sagittarius is the sign of the hunter, and hunters are supposed to feed people, whether that's with ideas or knowledge or whatever. You can't eat for them, you can't force feed them. You have to offer. By offering the right thing, you succeed - feedback validates Sagittarian success. Hopefully that will keep you hunting - and your game always fresh (so to speak)!  

CAPRICORN: The Capricorn drive for durability often causes Capricorns to look to the past - towards that which has shown itself to be lasting.

Obviously that can't work on the whole...I mean, if it did, wouldn't we all be driving horse drawn buggies and using oil lamps?

So talk not about the 'good old days,' Capricorn, talk about how good it is that those old days have brought you to a place and a space and a moment where you have the opportunity to use what you have learned about life and yourself. Yes, we all can and probably should make this world a better place. But in the meantime, isn't it worth something to recognize how far we've come?

Remember - today is tomorrow's 'good old day'...so isn't it worth appreciating?

AQUARIUS: Aquarius, sign of wit...Aquarius sign of insightful observation...Aquarius sign of humor!

So good! So right!

But then again, there is Aquarius the elitist. Aquarius the anarchist. Aquarius the overbearing tyrant.

What separates these? Connection. Where Aquarius operates in the 'it's all about me, mine and what I like' zone, Aquarius comes off badly - and suffers from the very lack of inclusion they are revealing to those around them. When Aquarius shares, includes and treats others as valid equals, Aquarius not gains momentum, respect and functionality, resulting in all things working as they should.

And are you all about making things work?

PISCES: Hate to put it this way, Fish...but that Pisces vulnerability thing looks to others like pure weakness. Many think of Piscean folks not as the strong and enduring types they are, but martyrs - hence the 'trash heap' thing...the 'trashing' of Fish folk! 

Fixing that is not so hard and starts pretty much with one idea: when you admit you're lost, you lose others - hence that ugly habit of referring to Pisces people as 'losers.' Pisces folks need to speak in upstream terms, not 'I'm being carried away by the current!' terms. So don't phrase it as what you don't know how to do - talk about what you're looking forward to learning, and the world will be your oyster!

Okay...so that's a roll through the signs. A wee set of comments on where each sign seems to step in their own pothole. Most of us know our Sun - and if you don't, why on earth are you reading an astrology blog?

My point is obvious: the Sun is what we would all read. But what about your Moon - your feeling nature? What about your Mercury - the 'how I think and speak' arena? What about your Venus - the mannerisms and methods you tend to use in making things happen in life?

And let's not forget - what about that almighty Ascendant, descriptor of how you act, do things and the general personality thing?

Read them all. Give it a little thought. I bet you'll realize how it all applies and yes, it all applies a little bit differently in each venue of your life.

(And if you don't have your chart, use one of the free chart links in the sidebar.)

How the heck to manage who we are? That would be the million dollar question! How to synthesize all these separate thoughts into one? That's what astrology is about. It takes time. It takes awareness. But as we keep these ideas stuck away in the pocket of our mind we come upon those 'light bulb moments' which not only explain how (and that) astrology works, but which illuminate our habits to us.

Which would be the whole reason astrology exists. It's not about replacing life or thought. It's about enhancing thought so as to help us explore and empower our lives.

And yes, why I keep coming back to blog.

Oh yes - if you see the Leo Bro, would you ask him to give me a call? I need to ask him something....

Saturn times…

In our last episode, we went all Jupiter. Jupiter entered Aries. And now some of us are just bounding along, some are looking around and considering (or reconsidering), and some of us are setting about changing the world.

Well, at least our world. And yes, maybe the world.

With that shift now in progress and it’s prompting being felt far and wide, the next thing on the cosmic menu is that which happens but a couple of days from now: Saturn going retrograde.

Part one, that this is going to happen around dawn UT time on Wednesday means we are now heading into the pre-station ‘station zone’ which is so famous for its effects.

The last couple of stations have been helpfully illuminated by worldly events: Jupiter went direct and as we came into that station, the UK’s Prince William announced his engagement. We came into the Uranus station. In the US, President Obama cast his tax proposal upon governmental waters and up boiled a fracas. In London, Parliament voted to raise college tuition and riots broke out in the city streets.

This is exactly what stations are about. They don’t cause anything – they’re alarm clocks telling us when things will happen. What happens is delineated by the planet going on station, the degree in which the station happens, and (where you have a chart) how that station affects said chart.

And not all charts are going to be aspected by all stations. But if the station does aspect your chart, the event will happen to you, or in your life. If it doesn’t, you’ll hear about it happening to friends or in the world.

I’ve had clients (and yes, even family) who protest, but if I hear about it, isn’t it happening to me? My simple one word answer to this is “boundaries.” Though we may enjoy Prince William’s engagement, it’s not our life being affected. And even if you live in the US where you’re going to be affected by what the President and Congress does, this is not your life.

And to those who say but it’s my taxes! It IS my life! the astrologer answers evidently not. We are people. Money is, in essence, a tool with which we all have agreed to barter for things. They may be essential things like food, they may be unessential things like the latest electronic toy.

This may strike you as a metaphysical splitting of hairs, but at some level metaphysics just says we are not a concept. We are flesh and blood and life force. Money may help us, but it is not who we are. It famously cannot buy us love, nor can it in the end often even buy us health.

Learning where we end and where the ‘outside’ begins is a very Saturn thing. Astrologer Robert Zollar once wrote that Saturn, in defining our individuality, dooms us to loneliness. With that privilege of individuality comes all the cost of being individuated.

All that becomes more apt now with Saturn going retrograde at an emotional degree of Libra, the question is how’s the world treating you? Personal or professional, we are the ‘cause’ in our personal ‘cause/effect.’ So are things good, mediocre, luke warm, bubbling hot, painful, lonely, filled with joy, iffy, exciting, rewarding, daunting, paralyzed, giving you a giant Excedrin headache…or another variation on some exotic but in the end, all-too-human theme?

People seem to think that Saturn in Libra is about relationships. That’s sort of right…but it’s really about the attention, effort and focus which gets put on relating. Or not relating. Or putting up walls. Saturn symbolizes all we build, all which we are limited by, all we limit ourselves with, all the effort we put into getting past our personal challenges. Saturn is the symbol of time – and all we do with our time in this world.

And all we don’t do, too.

Saturn is associated with fear because we fear that we can’t have. Or that we won’t make time in our lives to do and thus never end up being, having or experiencing. We fear our mortality – it’s an insurmountable limit. We fear deprivation, however you personally define that kind of term.

And of course there is that individuality versus loneliness thing cited above – which is very much why Saturn is not only the sole ruler of Capricorn (sign of individual achievement) but has always been the primary ruler of Aquarius. The individual who much define themselves in order to fit in somewhere in society must then transcend that aloofness in order to become part of their society or their work world or their social network…or whatever.

And if only by being part of that world can they then reap the benefits of that world - including income, acceptance by others, support/assistance of others in this world be that personal or professional…

…that rather tells us why Saturn effort, dedication and self-discipline both in the ‘self development’ phase and the networking/integration phase (replete with all the social morays, habits, hierarchies et all which may be) is so essential.

That’s important to us why, what with Saturn going retrograde in Libra?

That’s a good question, to which I have a good answer. That answer is that Aquarius being the 5th house/sign from Libra makes Aquarius – and all arenas Aquarian – where we express ourselves.

To figure out what zodiac 'harmonic' you're dealing with, 

start with the first sign and count counter-clockwise

around the wheel (that being the direction of the natural

zodiac pictured on a horoscope) until you reach the

second sign. The originating sign counts as "one."

And this, fair friends, is why as the incoming Aquarian Age has dawned among us, that such Aquarian things as computers and networking and corporations and social groups – all Aquarian things – have come to be such primary outlets for relationship and relating (Libra) expression.

Those of us who are doing well in either the Libra or the Libra/Aquarian departments (relationships versus relating to/in one’s world) will tend to ‘regroup’ and consolidate as this time come upon them. Those who aren’t doing so hot in these arenas will either meet up with challenges, be confronted by problems OR be presented with situations which force them to reconnoiter not necessarily as much in the world as in their own psyche.

Direct motion: things happen in the world, we respond in a worldly arena. Retrograde motion: things shift inside, we challenge long-term standing ‘personal realities’ and notions.

This is also one of those curious moments of station. There will be another post on Saturn coming up in a couple of days, but that being then, the now of the conversation is how tomorrow (at 9:11am UT/+0) there will be a conjunction of Hera, Lust and Scheat.

Approaching this like a painter might, the broad brushstroke is fixed star Scheat. All stars being part of our solar system’s celestial background, astrologically, they a ‘bright points’ which like stationary traffic signs along the highway of life, we are called upon to heed.

In Scheat’s case the term ‘bright’ may be a bit misleading however. Scheat is not about brilliance or a ‘bright spot’ in life – far from it! Scheat is ‘bad receptions.’ And in (very) late Pisces, it’s emotionally driven bad receptions – or at least a reception which sets you up to feel badly. Scheat can be disappointments, disapprovals or out-and-out rejection.

This being part of the Saturn station, the question becomes whether the station represents your meeting up which makes you feel like rejecting something…or what you’re doing or how you’re going about being you – having that trigger someone else’s negatives.

To have Lust (focus) and Hera (leadership/power over a personal group/relationship) conjunct Scheat tells us something more about the area(s) of life most likely to be triggered. This ‘lust’ being not carnal but being totally focused on something (‘lusting after’ a goal, aim or focus, whatever it may be), to combine it with Hera and Scheat suggests this may be a turn in relationships with someone…and not for the better! Or that the (Hera) protection of a singular focus (Lust) provokes a nasty reaction.

The other end of this dynamic may be that something which has been difficult or on-the-outs in your world may take a turn and become more palatable. Or more functional.

With Saturn in the mix the real question is what you have been doing about/with the question at hand. If you’ve been all about you…or disregarding the rules or maybe even the morays of those in your community and family, things could get tough. But if you’ve been standing for standards and fair play and someone else has been being a miserable so-and-so, things may turn forward.

Either way, this becomes a moment in which you realize or recognize what works and what doesn’t/won’t/hasn’t work(ed). And since Saturn will soon be retrograde until June 2011, this is either the start of a ‘working out’ and moving forward in areas where you’ve ‘got it right’ or the start of a long period of bumps and knocks, all of which are meant to cause you to reflect.

No, not on others – though that will be what you probably want to do. Saturn in Libra, whether we like it or not, is for good or ugly, ultimately all about us. 

So ends part one of this Saturn station chat. Since the planet of honor hasn't actually pulled into the station as yet, we are still standing by. But if you listen, I pretty much guarantee you that you can hear the Saturn dynamics coming down the track! 

       

The Astrology of Groups: It's elemental, my dear Watson!

 

 Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes (my favorite Sherlock Holmes)

I worked for almost twenty years in the motion picture industry as a production accountant.

You know, the person who pays all the bills? Sorts out all the costs? Listens to crew members explain why they need just one more (fill in the blank) while bosses are getting totally bent because expenditures they approved, signed for and maybe even ordered has now run things over budget?

Yes, that person.

And while I have a huge respect and enthusiasm for the art form that movies are, I'm also of the opinion that what really goes on behind a camera while a film is getting made is often far more entertaining, frightening and astonishingly unlikely.

Some of the story lines there...? If you put it in a movie, everyone would say 'aw, that NEVER happens!!' But it does. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

Anyway....as production accountant, I was keeper and guardian of the payroll records, said records including that most basic of astrological information: birth date data. Because of this, in rare moments when it wasn't raining check requests and I wasn't trying to wolf down cold scrambled eggs (production teaches you to eat what you can, when you can, regardless of temperature)...at least once a picture I would haul out the start cards and survey all the Sun signs. If I had time, I'd break it down by department, too.

What I found was a very interesting correlation between crews and film subject matter. To name a couple I remember best, I worked on Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2... a classic sort of 'fantasy' horror film. It's crew was overwhelmingly composed of fire and water signs. Considering that fire signs are all about imagination and things imaginary while water signs are feelings and emotion, that rather fits.

As does the idea that the rather huge crew which made Shy People (a story about a family's values being tested amidst the glory of alligators and bayous)...that crew was very much tilted in the direction of water and earth Suns. Family is typified by Cancer - a water sign. Values are typically Taurus, an earth sign.

And bayous? How much more water + earth = mud, silt and swamp do you want?

What I'm saying here is that groups seem to have applicable astrological cohesiveness. It's not always as obvious as crew versus film story type - I know of one extended group of associated people whose abilities to direct others seems expressed by the prominence of Juno in their charts.

But whether it's government administrations or social interest groups, the themes are definitely interesting. And useful. After all, even if planets are scattered all over the zodiacal map, when you're dealing with a group (or just trying to grok them), knowing the 'elemental' truth about who they are AS a group can give you the clue on how to appeal to them as that group!

For instance: back when I was being the Bank of Boots on films I'd use what I knew about a given crew when choosing my words and approach to certain problems. And as shooting wore on and the crew got more tired, I'd fine tune messages and conversations even more. Not to manipulate, but in order to minimize misunderstandings and not try tired brains.

You know - so we could get the job done.

And this didn't just apply on location. Whenever I'd take up habitation in some office at a new studio I'd ask around about birthdays. My cover story was always the same - I need to know so I know when to wish you happy birthday. In most cases you don't need the year to determine a sun sign, and let's face it - people are into that birthday thing. It's nice to know someone cares.

And yes, I did put their birthdays on my desk calendar and make sure they got congratulated.

But at the same time I was able to see what kind of group I was working with.

...Was the office especially airy? If so, I'd put everything out there in question form and possibilities. And when writing memos, I'd make my tone rather literary.

...If I was in a group which was greatly earthy, I'd speak of things in tangible, practical terms, emphasizing values.

...For watery groups, feelings are always in style - whether in writing or verbal form. Always start with how are you feeling today and remember their concerns.

...And those fire signs? Well, fiery folks like fun. Even if the subject is terribly serious they'll always appreciate an interesting comparison or anecdotal metaphor.

It all comes down to appealing to, and being understood by your audience. Call it appealing to the masses...or simply getting along with masters of industry (or the miss or mister of your choice). 

it's simply elemental, Watson...

....You know, that ever so human quality one calls 'elemental lingo.'

Can You Hear Me Now? (Part 1): Getting that astro-"in" with someone

I once had a doctor I needed to deal with but felt very disconnected from. Surely there was some way to 'click' with this guy?

So I did what astrologers do: I asked for his birth date. I can't recall at this point (years later) whether I did it the old fashioned direct way, or if I got to it by playing any of the hundred games astrologers play to get folks to spill.

In this case, he spilled (verbally) and I retreated to my casa of the moment and looked up his chart.

Should you want to try synastry for yourself ('synastry' being the chart-to-chart comparison of symbol positions), try to keep these rules in mind:

If your planet connects with their Sun, you need to approach them in terms of who they are. You may even want to read a sun sign book to get a clue first.

If your chart jives with their Moon, feelings, money, family heritage and anything they're really care about (general rule: with clothes on) is your quickest 'in,' but don't count on this holding their attention for longer than a conversation or two. In other words, it's a good 'in' but not necessarily what will build a real relationship.

A connection to their Mercury means you need to appeal to what they think about things or the whole subject of how people think, commmunicate and run their day-to-day lives. Appeal to their interests and try not to be too, too boring. Mercurys are...well, mercurial - like the metal which doesn't stay put or hold its shape. Move in and move on!

Hooking in via their Venus requires a deft touch with regards to their values and what they value. Asking what they 'like' or 'like to do' or 'admire' is a good one here, and flattery may get a spark, but don't pander. Venus connections are good with flattery right up until the time they get hungry for real human sustenance - at which point you either become a feast or a forget-me-knot (yes, knot).

If your planet connects with their Mars, you need to cooperate with what they're doing/want done or at least appear to be interested in whatever their immediate goals really are (immediate being the key word here).

Your chart point intersecting with their Jupiter is a classic give/take point. It could be teacher/student (roles may flip-flop back and forth), you could just be dealing with someone who wants to lord over you (which could get very tiring) or you may find yourself constantly having to feed one of their interests, drives or need - which could be fun....

....or it could be simply like trying to keep a very large shark fed, lest you get munched.

Your chart clicking in with their Saturn means respect is on the table. Know where they come from, what their standards are and what they're (maybe secretly, maybe not so secretly) afraid of. 

Unless they're very wishy-washy, watch yourself. And if they are an uber-wuss, be prepared: they may bail just when you need them. Or if you really, truly frighten them (in which case it's up to YOU to go un-frighten them!).

If your chart point connects with their Uranus...uh...good luck. Whatever aspect in you is getting their Uranian attention, don't expect constancy, consistency or agreement, so tread lightly, carry a fire extinguisher and when in doubt, try to laugh. You may need to do it as you're backing out the door, but laugh anyway.

Should your chart link with their Neptune, don't define - elicit! You'll get their attention by getting them to get into themselves and find the thing which connects with you. Work the fuzzy edges. Be willing to be a little vulnerable. They can't see whatever you're leading with, so give them time - allow them to figure out how much they enjoy you.

This brings me back to the doctor, it being my Neptune which connected with his Mercury. I looked at that (and looked and looked again) then realized I'd have to walk my own plank (blindfolded) if we were going to connect. 

Which brings up the other side of the coin - the You part. 

But let's finish the 'them' list first...

If your chart connects with their Pluto, you need to get what their strongest strengths and/or finest weaknesses are. Not what they say they are - what they really are! That's where they'll either adopt you, or need you. 

HOWEVER...if the symbol on your side is Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars or Nadir(IC), it's best that you play fair, too as a Pluto wronged is a terrible thing to face and the little list above (Moon, Venus, etc.) are not exactly where you're blast-proof.

This does brings up what you are connecting through. Sun is your life - who are you? What are you about? Moon is money and feelings (always a goodie!).

Mercury is thoughts - if it's your Mercury connecting with their whatever, expressing a thought which pertains to their whatever will start a conversation (as opposed to your whatever connecting with THEIR Mercury, which means you want to PROVOKE thought in them, which will get them to start a conversation with you).

Venus is values, and the infamous art of personal allure. Venus intices where Mars asserts...and knowing the difference between tempting and arousing is a really important thing whether you're in the board room or the bedroom (or trying to bed someone in the boardroom!).

Jupiter is knowledge, exploration and sharing. Have you ever wondered...? Did you see that...? I just learned that...? Isn't it amazing...? Do you know how to...? Do you know anyone who....? Fill in the blanks, then let them fill in the response.

Using your Saturn to reach someone else is mucho tricky, especially if your Saturn connects with their 'likely to be more personal' points (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, IC). When starting out, it's best to adopt a (non-inflammatory) stance and see what happens. By and by you may become the 'strong shoulder' or the one who leads the way but you can't assume that will work starting out. Our Saturns often 'look' intimidating to others even when inside, they're just something we're used to doing (which makes us look very expert and when we least expect, threatening!) or a 'social mask' we adopt either to fit in, or because we're not all that confident in/about ourselves.

Your Uranus hooking into someone elses chart gives you insight, but not permission to intrude simply because you understand, see, or know how to get under their skin.

In other words, don't blow it! Unleashing your brilliance (not your impatience) is good - as is humor...Uranus is all about humor! And try not to say "don't you GET it?" to the point they want to barf. Yeah, YOU get it, but they don't want to be friends with the most obnoxious know-it-all of all time! 

Our Uranus can be the most unattractive part of us (just go for the inference here, and use both hands if you have to...) so start with short-strokes and don't rush into that  heavy impact thing. If your opening improv works, there's time enough for all things - and in a relationship where Uranus is a basic connection, that 'all things' is really ALL  THINGS!

Neptune is everybody's blind spot - hence my feeling like I was walking a plank blindfolded with that doctor. (We did become friends, by the by...) What you believe (or believe in) works here, but figure on not knowing what you're doing. Or what you may catch - figuratively or literally!

Pluto embodies all you are obsessed with and everything which is your weakness. And in that weakness department, be prepared: it may be exactly that you deny about yourself. If your Pluto connects with any of their personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) or particularly their chart axis (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven/MC or - ouch! - Nadir/IC) and they aren't just magnetized  by your presence, you might want to try someone else. 

If your Pluto connects with any of their generational (Jupiter, Saturn) or transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) there is a potential for alliance with all terms negotiable, so play a card and see what they respond with. 

Before I close, a word or two on chart angles: the Ascendant is what you're doing (or they're doing), the Descendant is what you/they want to be known for (or appear as) the Midheaven/MC is the longings, dreams, goals and ambitions department and the Nadir/IC is our foundation. 

Of the four, the Ascendant is the most obvious and the Nadir (or IC) the most vulnerable. And that vulnerability is more important to you than them - WAY more important. Nothing baby does remains standing when baby's IC gets undermined...and that applies whether you're the baby or they're the baby.

And just in case you're thinking to chop at someone elses IC - think again: this may be the point which generates more ill feeling (and vengeance) than anything else simply because it so does represent our softest of soft underbellies. 

Or....guys? Maybe not your belly, if you get me. 

We're just talking about basic basics here - your point matching up to their point within 5 degrees (a conjunction). And these are just the most standard of old-time symbols.If you really, really want more, make me feel your love and I'll DO more.

In the meantime, happy people hunting! 

And do try to play nice. Okay, or not! 

It does depend - I so do know. 


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Relating, Astro-Style: The Vibes of Life

My comments about ‘seeing’ parents and grandparents in our charts (in the ‘Family Pickle’ post) evidently popped a few blogged eyes (I be blogger, you be mine blogged). So I thought to offer a few points for contemplation.

And maybe for doing other things with - suit yourself.

Let’s start by think of the zodiac as a giant radio dial with 360 stations we call degrees. We tune into each of these degrees at their given frequency. 

You with me?

The astrologic/human term for that ‘vibe’ thing is a chart position. So we get born with a horoscope, a chart that tells us which vibes we’re attuned to, that we'll more or less 'naturally' tune in to - and how we’ll tend to operate (until we learn better, in some cases!).

And who we attract. Who we'll choose to hang with. Or yes, run from....sometimes with good reason, as I found out so recently. Sometimes we just know someone is no good for us. We’ll be all friendly and noble, we’ll do a whole noble ‘they get to be who they are, I get to be me’ thing…Then it happens. We find out that we were right to begin with, screw all those noble-sounding allowances.

As I noted in my ‘Family Pickle’ blog, sometimes we could have saved ourselves a lot of time and grief by looking at charts to begin with. 

On the other hand, life needs to be lived. So okay, we live. We learn. Sometimes we triumph and sometimes we end up doing time working on our weeping quotient.    

Obviously when we’re born, the first people we meet up with are parents and family. And there is a lot of lore (aka statistical evidence) out there to suggest that certain symbols are often in aspect from parent to child. The most talked about is Jupiter – which makes sense as Jupiter symbolizes teaching and learning. Often the parent/child chart comparison has a parent’s Jupiter in aspect to that of the child.

But sometimes it’s some other planet. Whatever it is (or they are, since often one or more planets are in aspect between a parent and child)....those are the things we learn from them. Those aspects also describe how they appear to be to us because that’s what we’ve learned OF them. Or ABOUT them. Which is one of the reasons (and techniques) I use as an astrologer to read in your chart who your parents and grandparents were. 

Generally what I will read out will sound a little foreign to you. But that's because you think of your parents as YOUR parents - not as independent people in their own right. It's tough getting the 'mom and pop' out of your head...but once people do, they not only recognize who I'm talking about, but sometimes things that they missed about the folks.   

Anyway, back to us...Whether we ‘mesh’ with our early ‘family’ (biological or otherwise) we get ‘habituated’ by them. And sure as shootin’ we’ll react to those degrees, down the line. 

Even more curious, we can get ‘broken in’ by people in our youth to degrees which aren’t even occupied in our chart – by a planet, cusp or node, I mean. (You know, the “usual” astro-stuff.) Truth is, there is so much out there in the cosmos that every degree of the zodiac is pretty much occupied at all times. Why some things count more than others seems to be sort of about broad brush strokes versus nuances – the things we can see which are ‘obvious’ up there in the sky are mirrored in the ‘obvious’ qualities, questions and challenges we encounter as people.

And yes – we do all wish we could change things. Not just from time to time, but fairly frequently, I’m sure.

Bottom line, we humans appear to be pretty much creatures of habit. When someone has been around us a long time, we adapt to the vibe even if we don’t love it. It’s that dent in the mattress after it’s been slept on a few years. I had a sister who died a long time ago; her Sun was at 15 Taurus, a degree I have nothing of note positioned in. But decades later I had to get myself a new doctor. And the moment I met my new GP, there was this feeling of…familiarity.

Sure enough, I later learned his Sun was at 15 Taurus. So I understood why he feels ‘familiar.’ Even more than that, as I’ve gotten to know him, our doctor/patient friendship has come to be comforting to me. Some small part of what I lost in my early teens when my sister passed away…a little bit of that chasm has gotten ‘filled in’ by his becoming one of the vibes in my life.    

In one of my ‘Family Pickle’ comments I noted how almost everyone in my personal ‘close circle’ have some point (all different) in the chart which is going to get thwacked by this summer’s eclipse at 19 Cancer – a degree which in my personal chart is occupied by Uranus. We do collect people who in one way or another 'fit' with our chart. The people I’m referring to - our ages differ. Our walks of life differ. Our functions in each other’s lives – those differ too. Given that this is my Uranus we're talking about, some are drawn to me because I'm an astrologer. Some like my quirky sense of humor. Some are part of an unconventional (Uranian) 'family' I've constructed for myself since my family of origin is...well, let's go with 'disrupted' - another Uranus word. And my Uranus is in my 4th house - the house of family, heritage and origin. 

I know each of us is about to undergo some form of personal revolutionary evolution. The two, two-and-a-half-month standard ‘lead-in’ to the solar eclipse where things begin breaking down, that’s already begun. I know eclipses can be trés difficult - to put it mildly. So I hope to be where I need to be for them, and hope will do their best (a relative term, I know) to be there for me.

In the end, maybe that’s why we’re part of each other’s lives. Through me, they evolve. Maybe I rattle chains or spark new ideas wherever 19 Cancer lies in their chart. Meanwhile through them, I evolve: I learn more about myself, I am given the support I obviously and oh-so human(e)ly need.
 
That's just the way it works. And maybe understanding that better, or getting better settled with that understanding - maybe even passing the information on to you...maybe that’s part of my eclipse lesson.

Maybe? A girl can certainly hope!

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