The Capricorn Full Moon and Mercury in Cancer

Crater Apollodorus and part of Pantheon Fossae on Planet Mercury

(photo credit: Messenger Spacecraft - NASA, JPL, Johns Hopkins Univ Physics Lab, Carnegie Institute of Washington, July 2011)

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With July’s Full Moon being in Capricorn and that Capricorn Full Moon occurring a mere day before  Mercury enters Cancer, we might well think these two items are connected.

After all, everything happens for a reason, right? The unfolding of life, the inter-meshing of schedules and cycles... ultimately they all have a purpose for we are what we have come to be in this very moment.

You know... this moment when we’re looking ahead a couple of days to July 12th, when at 11:26 in the morning (UT/+0) a Full Moon at 20 Capricorn signals the cresting of some effort or the fullest monthly extent of solid, dependable growth. The Full Moon is always a ‘high tide’ time emotionally, whether good or bad. We cry, we rejoice, we mourn, we wonder...

...and then the moment ends. The Moon moves on, as do we, proving in that procession of processes how all things, all moments, all thoughts are but phases of much larger, longer passages.

Crucial, even pivotal though they may be, moments are transitory. That we know that as humans reflects in how hardly a soul born of this Earth will pass through the whole of a full-phased life without pausing to recall... reminisce... to for one moment be engulfed in some vivid robe of memory which like a spell falls upon us in that moment when we lift our eyes and behold the poignancy of the Moon in one of uncounted moments when as we stand reflecting on it, the Moon rides high in the sky positioned exactly so that for that short time we are able to witness the full reflection of our stellar Sun - astrology’s image of life, consciousness and our very capacity to be and become aware.

The Full Moon at 20 Capricorn (glyph chart)

July 12, 2014 - 11:26 a.m. (UT/+0)

The Full Moon at 20 Capricorn (text chart)

July 12, 2014 - 11:26 a.m. (UT/+0)

As for the concept of connection, that’s relatively simple: as Mercury enters Cancer (on July 13th at 4:46 a.m. UT/+0 time), because the sign of Cancer is ruled by the Moon, that connection becomes not just automatic... but axiomatic.

And knowing the difference between those two things - especially as that may (or may not) apply to your personality and tendencies of choice, that is likely to make a difference not just during these couple of days, but either through the whole of this next day-to-day lunar cycle (July 12-August 10)...or during the whole of the time that Mercury transits Cancer, which would be from July 13th until late on July 31st, UT/+0 time.

The thoughts and all the choices to do, not do, do this (then that) or that (and then this) - all that is the Mercury side of this equation. And let’s not forget, we’ve already felt Mercury’s influence in Cancer this year. Back on May 29th (of this year) Mercury entered Cancer as Venus entered Taurus. In that ‘first part’ of Mercury’s 2014 Cancer transit we mostly just got time to focus and get mentally directed...and then Mercury went retrograde. That was back on June 7th, with the theory being that whatever we came into that period focusing on...that by working on, working past and through the details of life in general over the next few weeks (of Mercury retrograde) we would come to a better perspective on what our choices are, what they entail, why they work the way they do...

...and through that a clearer understanding of our own (Mercury) thinking (and like as not our Venusian values) will have emerged in a more clarified and precious or viable...even enduring state.

So these cycles would seem tied together - and not only in that their horoscopes, being but a day apart are not going to vary by much.

And yet, they do vary some - so we should start there.

The Full Moon itself is positioned at 20 Capricorn, a degree which by decanate - in being part of Capricorn’s last ten degrees is without reservation about our world, how we react to that world and how what we put out into our world affects or fails to affect us...with the specifics of this degree being focused on where we have all failed our own expectations (not the task - our expectation of our own ability with the task) with for better or worse some ‘degree’ of self-critique being encountered along the way.

This is not to say this degree is about failure - it isn’t. The tangible result may well result...and yet we thought it would be more. Or better. Or more satisfying.

And it’s generally not.

With the Moon the functional symbolism of our feelings, the Moon in a grand cross well may be (if I may be pardoned this untoward reference) our feelings are ‘hung up’ on something, with the other three corners of the cross being undecided, un-reconciled factors we must contend with.

On one hand we have the Aries effort - the willingness to make the effort to hold onto [Pandora] hope while dealing with the [Eris] untoward and unexpected occurring in [Industria] connection with some effort, be ours or someone else’s. It will surely feel [South Node] simpler...even convenient to stand our ground and know only our own position. Yet in beneath the hardest of hard veneers there will be anywhere between an inkling and a certainty that there is a reason for the actions, statements and positions [Mars-Ceres-Vesta] of [Libra] others.

We [Spica] know we [North Node] should consider the other side of every coin. We know that the person we [Arcturus] would like to know we were being would do that.

And yet, there is another side of things to consider...the [Sun] recognition that sometimes we have to pay the [Castor] cost, whatever that involves and in spite of all the reasons in the world. It’s our passion - and here I refer not to the passion of lust but rather those many [Amor] passions ignited by the simple emotional [Cancer] experience of being alive in this life. Plus or minus, this life as well as our life has an effect on us - and in that, spurs us to learn from the experience and the emotions experienced during the experience as both data and motivation.

That’s just Cancer. And into and through every life, a bit of Cancer will wash, time and time and time again.

As the Moon has phases, Cancer manifests through the display of moods others see and which we appreciate ourselves being impressed by.

Seen from the lunar cycle ‘side,’ July-into-August is a time for achieving - and indeed, considering the reputation of Moon in Capricorn for promoting haste, we may reach for the stars and at least arrive at the top of some very tall mountain.

But when we get there...how will we feel? Will we want to be there?

Less than twenty-four hours after the Full Moon - a highlighting of our feelings - Mercury moves into Cancer, initiating a more thoughtful... even analytical examination of why we feel (or have felt) the way we do. What do such things mean to us... and why do they mean that personally and culturally (which may be two very different things)?

By the time Mercury reaches Cancer, the Moon will have reached 0 Aquarius where, in conjunction with Medea it represents moments and situations where  though we know ‘should’ from ‘preferred,’ not all of us will opt for doing not that which is hardest but hardest for us... and not all of us will hold ourselves to being worthy of our own ability to find and work through all the challenges which lie between us and those [Aquarian] all-encompassing and most universal (and/or universally responsible) of all solutions.

Our reactions to such things - in the most general sense will be the source of most frustrations and feelings of restraint during Mercury’s three week transit of Aquarius... and perhaps because of this,  some of us will divide our time between ‘things of the world’ and a natural here-and-there contemplation which examines why things affect us as they do - and how useful it may be to understand ourselves in the context of others (and our world) as within our design for our life.

As for the grand square created by the Full Moon, that will have faded in every effect apart from memory by the time July 12th becomes the 13th. However... given that the Sun will still be at 20 Capricorn as Mercury enters Cancer, the Sun will still be in opposition to charismatic fixed star Vega - an emblem which is evidencing its ongoing conjunction by Plutonic obsession through disruptions and displays throughout our waking world.

As Pluto ‘transforms’ the norm, so Pluto coming upon Vega in an era when Vega has long shone as a conceptual light of inspiration will naturally turn many a positive to negative... and some negatives to positives. History is rife with such tales.

And perhaps - as with so many things Mercury - it’s all about our choice. Will we combine our [lunar] feeling intentions with our [Mercury] thoughts and work to mesh their purpose? Will we be so frustrated as to refuse all overtures of kindness?

Things are [Arachne] neither simple, nor uncomplicated - but they’re not impossible, although [Vesta now at 24 Libra], we can expect to encounter flecks of defensive-aggressiveness either in our Self or others. Such feelings (and the attempt to bluff your way past them or avoid them altogether) are basic... they’re just about how vulnerable humans feel when - in short - they’re made to feel their Self feeling.

Given current [Mercury in Cancer] dynamics, the easiest fallback point is ‘protection’... or perhaps ‘self-protectiveness,’ depending. From there, some of us will recognize that our approach (the challenge of the t-square, a figure which requires that personal ego be subjugated to a greater-than-personal purpose) has been too limited and too ‘exclusive’ to ourselves and ‘our own’ - and among them, some will step forward and make the leap from the exclusive identified as ‘mine’ to the all-embracing which acknowledges no boundaries.

For those who come through this period having grown, their reward will be the opportunity to try.

Meanwhile, those who don’t grow will interrupt.

One other thing to be aware of over these next few days in particular: Jupiter is about to change signs, and because of this is currently resident at 29 Cancer, a degree deeply enamored of beliefs, traditions and perspectives of substantial heritage. Spoken of in the Sabian Symbols as ‘A Daughter of the American Revolution,’ there is a side to this influence - as typified by Dane Rudhyar - which well may be typified as ‘glorification of the past,’ regardless of our national origin.

Over the next few days we will all experience, witness and be exposed to many things which reflect Jupiter’s ‘expansion’ principle. Will we grow only in our [lunar] personal sense where will (ego) is our divining rod...or will we summon our native strength of belief to the task of bettering our life through a [Mercury] thoughtful embracing of the whole of life, however that is defined?
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An Aries New Moon

It’s hard to say that the Aries New Moon will ‘appear’ in our skies because New Moons are that moment when the light of reflection – that of the Moon reflecting the Sun – is for a moment, extinguished.

But soon, it will appear yet again. And as that happens, the metaphysical image is one of life on the move. In this case, Aries promises a new image, a new sense of being, a fresh, maybe innocent or naïve approach to something with our preconceptions already gone and our minds, hearts and spirits ready to embrace and avail ourselves of new ideas and opportunities.

This Aries New Moon will occur on April 10th at 9:26 in the morning, UT/+0 time. By being a degree in a sign’s third decanate (degrees 20 through 29) the degree 20 Aries is by definition one which involves an idea or action or situation which we don’t personally embody. Third decan degrees always involve a degree of ‘worldliness,’ even if that ‘world’ is simply those we live with. Whatever it is, we don’t control it in its entirety. And given Aries as a sign all about the Me-I-I Am of life, we may want to control it.

But we don’t. So be prepared for opinions. They may be on who you you are or what you’re doing. They may be suggestions, or answers to some question you’ve been searching for. There is some tendency with Aries to ‘assume’ or jump to conclusions and to be on guard, or to assume someone is trying to pick a fight when they’re not thinking about anything of the kind.

And realizing this…being able to separate the ‘me’ from the ‘thee’ of things – that may be one of the things which comes into focus at this time. A new thought, newly occurred and newly formulated.

With the Moon being our image of emotions, values and emotionality, this can be a time for grand, courageous actions. Then again, seeing that Aries can be so very ‘conscious of the Self’ this New Moon may begin a month of days when you or others make a timid first step towards something you’d like to be true. Or which you’d like to be able to do.

The Moon moves in phases. Aries is birth – or however you want to conceive of ‘a beginning.’ So whatever else this New Moon is about, it’s about a new phase of something. Maybe of you or in your life. Or maybe a new phase in relationships or how you handle them or behave in them or regard or prioritize them. The natural polarity between Aires and Libra asks us to respond to others and to think through how we effect others.

And in that, it asks us what is really important to us about relationships, and whether they are about what we can get…or what we have to give.

Optimally, those qualities are in harmonious balance. And even then, the idea of the Aries New Moon is such that you may feel it’s time to change things. Or tweak things. Or alter your priorities. Or to take on some new goal for yourself in what you do or who you are to, or with others.

Astrologically, one of the more interesting facts about this lunation is that it’s not part of a greater planetary picture, as has been so common in recent lunar months. As I say that, I’m reminded also that this is the first New Moon since last October to not appear at 21 degrees of a given sign. This is a subtle if important sign of energies beginning to shift: in the months ahead we will see the monthly New Moons sort of ‘counting down’ through the ‘teen degrees of successive signs.

So this lunation stands at the ‘brink’ of our worldly life. It stands on that line where we waver back and forth between ‘it’s me…it’s them,’ and that too is very Aries / Libra. Lore on this degree speaks to it having a quality all about being aware of our ego, underscoring the many “I / Thou”…‘me / them’ …. ‘cause / effect’…and ‘do / haven’t done’ dualities which exist in our life.

But when I say that this New Moon is not part of a planetary picture, that isn’t to say it isn’t in aspect to anything. Dwarf planet Haumea is at 19 Libra in opposition to the New Moon lending it’s nature to the idea that there will be a ‘shifting of the shape of things’ going forward. There are dual warning here. One is not to use what you do only to your own benefit, as that will lead us into situational self-defeats. The other is against ‘changing the shape of the discussion’ in order to avoid the truth of it, or your position in the matter, be that past or present.

 Dwarf planet Haumea, with moons H'iaka and Naumaka as photographed

by the Keck Telescope by Caltech

(photo used by permission - c. 2003, Caltech)

Just ‘north’ of Haumea (yes, I think of degrees in directional terms!) Rhadamanthus at 22 Libra urges us to be fair with others and fair with ourselves in understanding our very human vulnerabilities, fears and blunders. Fixed Stars Spica and Arcturus (the brilliance of leadership or brilliance evidenced in or discovered through leadership) positioned with Kallisto suggests that there are some ‘beastly’ things which need to be dealt with, but that only by accepting that ‘phase’ can we emerge as a star and yet twinkle again.

Closest to this New Moon are asteroids Pelion (the mountain) and Niobe (pride), a comment on how ego (specifically “big egos” or “mountainous pride”) can get in our way, or be in our way this month as we try to move through our tasks and challenges. That ego may be ours. Or it may be presented to us by someone else who – in true Haumea style – tries to ‘shape shift’ as fast as we try to pin them, or the subject at hand, down in order to try and sort things through and move forward.

Eris and Mars sitting at 22 Eris is a huge descriptor for this lunation as Mars rules Aries. The degree 22 Aries being one where ‘good fortunes’ fall apart in the face of the reality of work which needs to be done, Eris’ presence in this mix suggests that something unexpected is or has ‘unsettled’ our norm, either forcing us or allowing us to see how much life can offer which is beyond our experience.

This could be the whole point of your (Pelion / Niobe) New Moon experience. Simply getting past our know-it-all habit of thinking we know what’s what and that we know how the world works is an ego bender. And if this helps you understand that you are part of something greater and that you can do great things and earn such love and respect that you have no need for ego, that’s a huge, huge step for an entirely human psyche.

That Eris / Mars is in direct opposition to Rhadamanthus, asks that we rise above our own pettiness to act in a ‘kingly’ manner in resolute fairness. That was what Rhadamanthus was famous for. As son of Zeus (Jupiter) and Europa, Rhadamanthus is the image of the balance we strike between getting ‘carried away’ (Europa) or ‘overcome’ in any sense and thinking we know everything or have the right to everything (Jupiter).

 Jupiter and Europa by Gustave Moreau (1826-1898)

In this, Rhadamanthus asks that we be fair to ourselves – an idea which is here presented through Libra (through who we are to others in this world) with the choice being to ‘fall back’ on our Haumea tendency to try to make everything suit our personal fancy and Spica – Kallisto – Arcturus, the knowing that to be or become that which we would really like to be (or to know ourselves to be) we need to face what it takes to get there…and that such a process isn’t all fun, sunshine and cupcakes.

With Venus at 23 Aries we would expect some degree of wanting things to be as we want and a commensurate amount of irritation when things don’t go our way. And that Venus’ position is perfectly sextiled to Black Moon Lilith at 23 Gemini (with Vesta at 24 Gemini) is a suggestion all about our awareness. We know what it will really take to achieve our highest goals. Are we willing to go that distance?

New Moons are always a moment for inner reflection. Our ‘light’ does not shine forth. We are given this moment in which to determine our course. That this New Moon takes place on the 'opening day' of Pluto's Capricorn station (more on that tomorrow) and that Pluto will go retrograde in a perfect sextile to Saturn's February station-retrograde at 11 Scorpio tells us that this is a time to do and be more. There is a definite sense of 'calling' the world over. Some people are 'calling' for things to happen. Some of us are heeding our personal callings. We shouldn't expect instant changes. What is being generated now is an energy which will take time and effort (Saturn) to (Pluto) create in the fullness of change.

In all of this, the Aries New Moon is our awareness. 

So...what are you now aware of? Or coming to be aware of?

What do you know you want to do?

Do you have the courage to fulfill your promise and potential and bring joy into your own life and that of others by not compromising what you were created to be in the eternal and mortal sense?

Do you know what that asks of you?
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The Libra New Moon: Life Revealing

 Hebe by Carolus-Duran (19th century)

With Libra being the precept of connecting with others in order to see what they think of us, our situations or what we’re doing with our life, the New Moon which will take place on Monday, October 15th, 2012 at 12:04 in the afternoon UT/+0 time is of interest to us in part because it occurs at 22 Libra.

 The New Moon of October 15, 2012 at 22 Libra

occurs at 12:04 p.m., UT/+0 time

(Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific)

Twenty-two Libra is a degree which asks us to focus on how much we’re trying to do…and where that’s too much, to pare back (carefully) so that we have the mental space in order to do what we do well and to good effect.

That doing this isn’t going to be so easy is well portrayed in this chart by Hebe, Rhadamanthus, and Medea all being clustered at 21 Libra.

Hebe is the servant of Olympus who brings the sacred nectar of life (ambrosia) to the gods. This is a reference to whatever it is you need to survive…and whatever it is you think you need to survive. And yes, they can be two very, very different things!

More on that in a bit.

Rhadamanthus is a judge. A very fair judge. He’s impartial and totally unmoved by pleas or excuses. If you’re looking for a Greek version of the ‘just the facts!’ concept, Rhadamanthus is your man – and symbol.

Okay...so as son of Zeus/Jupiter and Europa, Rhadamanthus was only half-human.

In this painting of Europa by Willy Bosschem (painted in 1994) the quintessential image of Europa getting  'carried away' by Zeus (Jupiter) seems very much in keeping with much else about the current New Moon-lunation. With Rhadamanthus as 'what comes' of this union of Europa and Zeus there's an implied understanding that we can get carried away and that what comes of that can be very good. But is it always? Or maybe more importantly - is 'what has come from' some sort of 'getting carried away' for good or ill good or bad and have you faced the consequences? Especially with a solar eclipse looming, that would seem to be the question!

But he was considered so fair in life that when he died he was then made an ‘eternal judge of consequence.’

More to our point, with Rhadamanthus in this mix, we know what really counts here is what has been already done.

Haumea is a Hawaiian goddess, a shape-shifter whose neediness or greediness (depending on how you interpret it) caused her to keep changing ‘who she was’ (which to us in Libra would be our expressed position on things, our partners, our attempts at building a reputation, our prioritized efforts) in an attempt to feel like she was important.

With Haumea we get a note about ‘stooping to the unimaginable’ too, as in stories about her she goes so far as to shape-shift into a younger form so as to marry her own children.

Plainly with Haumea there are some boundary issues. There’s a note of neediness. And even a few comments about our willingness to acknowledge the passage of time.

Ahead of this 22 Libra New Moon sit fixed stars Arcturus and Spica, the unity of which asks us how brilliant we are, can be or have been.

So maybe it’s for us to ask ourselves. How brilliant have we been of late?

Oh yes…and with Arcturus and Spica is a little ol’ asteroid named Medea, she of famously obsessive character and willingness to use her own powers ostensibly to love someone…but in reality only so that she could get something from them.

Oh yes – and while Medea is at it, she kills her her own children. (Talk about bad judgment…!)

 A poster for the play 'Medea' starring Sarah Bernhardt

(artist, Alfons Mucha - 1898)

As an asteroid, Medea is pretty large (136 km). And though that’s not to be compared with any planet, have you noticed how often we’ve found Medea mixed up in astrological images of late?

That’s an indication that there are obsessions at play. The ‘Medea vibe’ is functional in each of our lives and it’s likely that we’re ‘killing something we love dearly’ because we’re choosing to do something which should just be lower down in our priority list than we’re making it.

Personally, I’m willing to raise my hand on this one. I’ve done it, I’ve recognized what I did, I’m sorry I did it and I’m doubling around to fix the harm I’ve done myself.
And since I don’t have children (never have had children, alas!) the message here is that none of this has to be literal.

With 22 Libra being a 3rd decanate degree (meaning it’s in the last third of the given sign) the ball isn’t in our court. Everything 3rd decanate, in whatever sign is about how others react to us, how others respond to us, what others have to say about the situation we’re in, whether they’re willing/able to support us or whether they even agree with our primal premise.

So…how brilliant have we been of late? That does seem to be the question!

Then again, part of this is all about who you ask, who’s doling out the reactions and by inference, who you’ve been keeping company with.

That’s very Libra too. But more than that, there’s another whole subject to be considered here, namely the fact that the South Node – that thing we all like to do which is so native to us, requiring little-to-no effort or thought – is conjunct Algol at 26 Taurus.

Also at 26 Taurus at the moment: Phaethon, the signature of being too headstrong for your own good.

And right nearby sits our (ouch!) good buddy and maturity-checker supreme, dwarf planet Sedna.

In lore terms, Algol is a tricky star. Often referred to as ‘the power of the feminine,’ the term ‘feminine’ here means ‘receive/respond, ‘ not gender. Algol is thus all about how we tend to receive what happens (or what we are given) and how we tend to respond to that – which pretty obviously refers to our emotional makeup.

Interestingly, as far aback as ancient Egypt there was an understanding that as a star, Algol is ‘variable’ – which is probably a clue as to its metaphysical presence as a ‘fluctuating’ emotional quotient. Today we know that the variance in Algol’s light (an indication of the energy which streams towards Earth over lo, many millions of miles) fluctuates because Algol is not just one star, but three, all circling each other.

In Greek and Medieval astrology, Algol is known as the ‘Gorgon’s head’ and when critically associated with a planet or axis was considered to be a sign that death by decapitation was possible.

Today? With decapitation (thankfully!) not being as frequent an event, having Algol prominently placed in your chart can still mean you tend to ‘lose your head’ emotionally…or that when a situation emblematic of that which Algol is connected to, you stop thinking logically and get overtaken by whatever emotionalism is indicated.

Get the connection?

As part of the constellation Perseus, Algol is generally designated to be the hero’s right foot, important in metaphysical theory because the right side of the body (like the right side of the horoscope) is considered to be about things which have already happened. So they can be a past which haunts us, they can be experience and what we’ve learned along our way through life. Right side images can represent our support system…or all we’ve built.

 Perseus rescuing Andromeda by Paul Veronese (1576-1578)

The right side of the horoscope wheel (and thus the right side of the body, including the foot) are also about where we ‘invest’ ourselves in situations, relationships, agreements and such. This, in air sign Libra points mostly to agreements, things said, promises made, alliances and sources of support…whatever form that support may take.

Considering that Sedna represents tests of emotional maturation which ask us to let go of the old and fend for ourselves, when combined with Algol and the ‘I want to do this the easy way’ South Node you can pretty much see the problem.

Oh yes – and don’t forget Phaethon. Phaethon is a headstrong teen who takes something Apollo (truth in enlightenment) has said and twists it to give himself an advantage which ends up killing him.

Gosh, let’s do the (uh…) head count here: Medea ends up dead, Sedna finds her strength only after getting drowned in a storm, Phaethon dies when he falls from Apollo’s chariot as it gets too close to the Sun and Phaethon gets charred, Algol is about the ‘gorgon’s head’ (the gorgon in question being Medusa – another indication that Algol is about falling prey to our own emotional drives and betrayals of standards, vows, promises, commitments and other responsibilities.

Add in Rhadamanthus and we have a distinct quality of ‘consequences.’ So either you’re about to do something which has ‘deadly consequences’ (again, don’t take that literally), or you’re now dealing with the fact that you have done something which has had deadly consequences.

One more item to discuss here, namely Libra’s rulership by Venus.

Venus, as you recall, is currently in Virgo, a sign about reality. Right away this is another hint that we’re hitting bedrock on something at some level.

 A photograph of Venus over the Pacific. When looking at the night sky,

Venus is always brighter than any star

And remember – to a greater or lesser extent, this is happening in everyone’s life.

At this moment in time, Venus is at 14 Virgo, a degree which says that through communications (i.e., Mercury factors) things get connected. That may mean what you’ve done prior to now connects to now, that may mean that people you have connected to now become connected to each other or to something/someone else you hadn’t thought of/about…in general, this is a ‘how small is my world’ sort of nuance which teaches us that no matter how well we think we ‘compartmentalize’ things (our thoughts, our activities, whatever else) we are not in charge of life and life has more quirks and byways than we’ll imagine in a million-zillion years.

So…considering where you are now and what all is on your table, what are you going to do? How are you going to proceed? What gets priority in your life?
This is where we touch back to Hebe and that ‘cup of ambrosia’ idea. What we want may not be what we really need.

It’s to think about. And because this lunation (lunar cycle) ends at the November (Scorpio) Solar Eclipse, whether we need to face ourselves in the physical, mental, moral, emotional, financial, relationship - whatever mirror you care to name, this would seem to be the moment to do that and get on to doing whatever is possible to do in global terms.

As with all other transiting events, if you stop and think about it (okay, so maybe you don't have to think hard...) you'll know what this New Moon pertains to in your own life. But it's also happening in everybody else's - so how do you think they're going to react to it?

For some people, the answer will be 'with regret.' For others, plainly the answer is that they'll react not all that well. Maybe not at all well!

There are always some who refuse to take responsibility, period. There are also those who refuse to think of others. And some who can't be bothered to deal with the idea that different lives have different parameters and different goals.

Probably most difficult of all...and therefore those who are likely to run into the biggest difficulties (or disappointments) are those who refuse to understand that their life needs to work in tandem with others. We do not exist alone in the universe. Life does not end at our skin, nor at our front door, nor at the boundaries of our kith and kin, our nation - even our species.

The great Einstein equation E=mc2 says we are all connected. Life would be better if we lived like that was a general fact, not just a scientific one.     

In metaphysical terms, probably the thing to do now is to think in 'Rhadamanthus terms.' Dispassionate judgment is a universal function now. In the first couple of days after this New Moon you’re likely to realize – by whatever mans – that life is not poetry.

But it does speak the language of poetic justice. 
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BP: What Percent Crude PR?

 

There are two important versions of BP's chart. The first is its original incorporation chart:

  

 Anglo-Persian Oil Co. Ltd (BP) - Incorporation chart

Founded as the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (Ltd.), the company we now know as BP's Descendant - what it would have put out as messages to the public (and shareholders, one assumes) is represented by 12 Aquarius.

Aquarius being the sign of the marketplace, corporations and income and 12 being a 2nd (emotional) decanate degree, we know that BP would always put out a message that was slightly fervent. With this position modified by Pelion - the great mountain one must climb? Make that fervent and long-suffering, even in anticipatory mode.

With Aquarius ruled first by Saturn (representing the foundations upon which the corporation's fortunes are built) then Uranus (its success), we then look to these two planets to see what else may be seen.

What we see first is a 14 Aries Saturn conjunct Mercury (at 15 Aries) and Sedna at 10 Aries. Sedna being all about the struggle to let go of security and reach one's actual potential being conjunct Saturn - which never mind being the signature for BP's Descendant is the premier symbol of business - this combination in and of itself is wonderfully descriptive. Founded in 1909, BP (then the Angle-Persian Oil Company) was one of the first oil producers and the first to go into Persia. It pioneered much of what we now think of as 'standard oil operations.' And it did all this in Persia - the place we now call Iran.

Obviously, to British would-be oil tycoons, Persia was a very foreign country, and the 9th house is the house of foreigners and foreign places. So that this fledgling British Company had to risk letting go of dear old England and travel abroad to found its fortune is right in keeping with the chart.

Once it was established that the Masjed Soleiman field held sufficient promise to justify same, an oil lease was negotiated with Shah Mozzafar al-Din Shah Qajar of Persia. This is Orcus at 10 Aries. Orcus describing things done which cannot be changed, the fledgling BP had to invest enough money to find the oil before they could negotiate the lease.

Industria at 12 Aries and Rhadamanthus (fairness) at 13 conjunct Mercury (thought, organization) at 15 tells a tale of the enormity of effort it would have taken to get temperate climate English workers out into the deserts of Persia and the training of locals to partake in what must have been a grueling effort to tap those first wells.

And that grueling part? That we would know not simply from knowing that its hot in Iran, but because Mercury in the 9th house would make anywhere where BP tends to work a harder-than-usual place to work. Hence Iran, the North Sea, Alaska, the middle of the Gulf of Mexico...

...it's a corporate thing with this Anglo-Persian company which grew up to be BP. This just isn't a 'take the easy way out' company. Which means - yes - that this is a company which even when it doesn't intend to can make things very, very difficult for itself.

And that Mercury reaches out just far enough to conjunct Pandora (and her famous box) at 20 Aries? That doesn't just reinforce BP's 'strenuous efforts' of all types but also speaks volumes to the repercussion oil was to have not merely on BP's fortunes, but on the world as a commodity. Ruled by an Aquarian Mars in the employee and work-standard 6th house conjunct Psyche (the mind) and an early Aquarian Moon however...that lays the groundwork for BP to have issues with cost cutting.

With Uranus, the secondary ruler of Aquarius also in this 6th house but in the last third of Capricorn, we see the Anglo-Persian Oil Company as a founding industrial giant. It did the (Uranus) job of literally breaking ground as it broke through all the Uranian/Aquarian geological, technical, distribution and marketing problems in turning oil into a commodity then a baseline necessity upon which the whole world has been running on for heading towards a hundred years now.

That same 9th house which represented the 'foreign interest' is also the house which rules dissemination of information. Ruled by Jupiter in Virgo in the 2nd house we get our second indication that everything which comes out of BP's corporate mouth isn't the whole truth and nothing but the corporate truth.

Why would that be? Well, because Jupiter in Virgo tends to over-scrutinize either the information or what it chooses to say. Ruled by that Mercury in the 9th which here being conjunct ultra-fair Rhadamanthus and Pandora's plethora of ills which one must endure in order to find hope...this is the picture of a company which will generally stick its oil boot in its corporate mouth before it loses the oil slick and comes clean.

Oh yes - Medusa and Ixion are also in the 2nd and also conjunct Jupiter, as is Thuban, a fixed star known for imparting struggle. Medusa is a fascinating entity - it's fear, yes. But also fear of the truth (link to article on Medusa)...and even fear of self. Ixion, meanwhile is about ingratitude, particularly of the 'I should be able to simply because I can or have the opportunity right here' type (article on Ixion). So this is greatly about corporate fear of what people think - no matter what the news is. Are they making enough money? Too much - do they look like gluttons? Will they undermine their own position by people knowing too much? Not enough?

Love the company or hate it, this is an entity almost to pity for its inability to take a stand and go with it.

I said almost.

Saying all that, now we come to the most recent major merger, that committed to as of December 31, 1998 with Amoco. The chart for BP/Amoco (later renamed simply  BP) looks like this:

 

BP/Amoco merger chart

Going back to the prime PR spots of any chart (the Descendant and 9th house) at the Descendant we have fixed star Spica -  the gift of knowledge and brilliance - sitting with Deucalion, signature of 'finding the moral path.' So far, so good.

But then we look at the Venus ruling this 22 Libra Descendant; said Venus is in Capricorn (sign of business structures) in the very worldly 10th house of leadership. Still not bad at all! Venus here is conjunct two pairs of symbols (with Venus at the midpoint, the pairs don't connect). On one side we have Atlantis/Bali, which in 3 decan degrees are without question the desire to have everything be good and as ruler of the Descendant, to look and sound good too.

The other pair would make is even more skeptical: Child and Hebe (the servant) at Capricorn's critical 29th degree tells us the worse the situation is for the business or world opinion (i.e., anyone outside the BP fold), the more they are likely to serve up something dumbed down to 'not scare the Child.'

But this is a classic astrological mistake: the Child we are referring to is BP asteroid Child, not yours or mine. They are projecting it on us and thus they are acting as though we are children better off without the real facts. But the real fact is that it's BP which is scared: wherever the symbol appears (by house) is the 'department of life' where that energy will manifest. So when it gets to the executive running-BP-as-a-world-entity level of the company, if/when BP runs into trouble it...acts like a child! (No mommy, I didn't break it - it broke itself!)

And since the Saturn ruling this 10th and the Venus (et al) in said 10th...

...Since that Saturn is a 3rd decanate Aries Saturn unhappily placed in the first house, we know BP dislikes outsiders and doesn't like anyone having input or the ability to comment or discuss what it is doing. Conjunct Circe, Sphinx and Sisyphus (sounds like a very bad law firm)...this is more about BP as a company which will do its best to wait out public furor (Sphinx) or transform  situations/information to serves its own purpose (Circe). And if necessary - which is to say if you disagree with BP while "on its turf" (which one would have to assume at least means working with or for BP) then BP will have to simply do away with you somehow (Sisyphus).

This kind of determination serves BP well as an oil explorer. It serves them very badly as a real life corporate entity in an increasingly interactive world.

For all the mergers along the way (BP has had a barrel full of them from inception until now)...this company hasn't and has changed. The Ascendant/Descendant of today's BP is only one degree off the original chart's prime vertical - the Midheaven/Nadir 'who are we as a corporation?' - with that original vertical axis now turned into the horizontal axis.

What would that say? That would say that who BP started out to be, they now use as the face of who today's BP wants you to think they are. They want the world to think they're that same pioneering company.

But they aren't. The vertical axis of this new chart is 8 Capricorn (Midheaven)/8 Cancer at the Nadir or IC - the foundational point of the chart. Looking to Cancer's ruling Moon we find it in the 2nd (emotional) decanate of Gemini (thoughts, communications, choices) in what would be the modern company's 2nd house of corporate coffers.

Through chains of rulership, the Mercury which rules the 2nd (value/values) and 3rd (organizational concept) house of this chart points to Jupiter - which rules both the 8th house of investment and 9th house of foreigners/foreign things. This says a lot, especially in this international world where BP has to work outside its native UK with less rather than more world power now being part of its national identity.

That the Jupiter which ends up ruling this 8th and 9th (the 9th house part including 'information disseminated and thus PR') being intercepted in the 12th house conjunct Pallas (wisdom) and Sabine (forced imprisonment) tells us two things.

One is that BP is in a sense hostage to its stockholders. BP knows that an enormous number of real live people - that their pension funds are invested in BP on the London Exchange, and that part of BP's financial power has come of its ability to be a premier source of dividends.

The second part of this is BP feeling that it can simply hold knowledge hostage. Niobe (pride) and Amphitrite (overwhelm) conjunct the 26 Aquarius 12th house cusp tells us that this company's overwhelming pride is a good thing when its about how they can indeed take care of others but a total detriment when they are focused on their own reputation and income.

With all this said, we each have to decide for ourselves exactly what percentage of BP's PR is simply crude which has bubbled up to the top. What is for sure however is that unlike oil, what BP says only ever partly dispersed by means natural or artificial.

That the modern chart was hit by the January 2010 solar eclipse on their Venus/Child/Hebe in advance of the Deepwater Horizon debacle speaks volumes to the financial hit BP is going to take coming out of this disaster. It may be worth looking ahead to incoming solars and eclipses to see where the company's going to go (vote with your blog comments - if you want more information, you'll get more information!).

There is no question but that BP is going to try to evade/avoid full payouts. That started as soon as the well blew out with BP trying to 'fudge' or cover up exactly how many barrels of oil have flowed out of the Deepwater well because of their agreement with the sovereign nation involved (the US). The US has every right to not merely make BP pay for every barrel 'extracted' from its mineral rights reserves, but fine BP for every barrel allowed to pollute the Gulf of Mexico.

And that ain't just chump change.

Lay on top of that physical/ecological damages and loss-of-livelihood lawsuits and BP will have more than just a pond of fiscal goo on its hands.

Oil is a dirty business, unquestionably. But protecting the current corporate structure at the expense of public opinion is probably the most karmic thing BP can ever do. For one, it will erode the public trust. And secondly, it will cause people to see that there really does need to be an alternative to oil.

That's literally driving consumers away - which in the end is not merely the most costly form of PR possible, but BP having crudely undercut the very legs of the platforms their corporation stands on. Literally.

 

   

 

 

 

Astro News: Saturn in Libra Until October 2012

Due to retrograde periods, in this round of the zodiac Saturn has entered Libra twice. But as of July 21, 2010 it has committed to a full transit of Libra, so that's big news.

First of all, Libra is the first sign of six which describe our worldly and public life. For the past 14 years, Saturn has been in the private and personal arena - so this is quite a shift.

When Saturn first hit Libra back on October 29, 2009 we all felt a shiver run through our 'relating and relationship' quadrants. Our opinions of who we were in the world and maybe who we needed to be (or what we needed to do in ORDER to be that person) became more obvious.

 Saturn's 2009 Libra Ingress

Just inside the Libra doorway is supermassive Black Hole M87. It's one of the largest objects known to us in the universe, so it's effect as a vibe of 'altered realities' is really emblematic of this realization process. Libra is an airy, theoretical sign about relationships - and in its being an air sign lies some very important clues. One is that this is the concept or idea of the thing, not the actual experience OF the thing.

Libra is the negotiation, the theory - which is why it signifies all kinds of counselors (people with whom you discuss ideas and negotiate what will get done)...and that stage of any relationship, personal or professional, when we're laying the groundwork for how things will work, figuring out what we both like, dislike, can deal with, etc..

Saturn being a symbol of life structures, it's great in Libra. And when it first entered Libra during fall 2009, the ruling factor here (Venus, as ruler of Libra) was very well placed in Libra. Moreover, it was in an emotional degree of Libra, making the 'relating' dynamics of last fall all the more feeling and about what we felt we wanted or needed to have in our lives.

But there was a catch. (Isn't there always?) In this picture, Venus was conjunct five symbols. We will start with the nearest and move through to the farthest affected by conjunction because that would describe the process we would encounter along the way.

Starting with Venus at 18 Libra, we have Rhadamanthus also at 18 Libra. Being that Rhadamanthus is the emblem supreme of 'human judgement,' we know that the central plus/minus in this initial entrance of Saturn into Libra was all about human judgement - most specifically, how good our personal (human) judgment actually is.

At 17 Libra we have Hel - the symbol of bad choices which turn your life into a 'hell' or which cause you big regrets (to experience an 'internal hell').

That this symbol is one degree (and a few minutes) behind Venus tells us (using progression rules) that just over a month after October 29th, we all faced something which presented us with...a choice which involved human judgment. And though you may have suffered a bit of Hel at the time, since the process wasn't over, you wouldn't have yet known the real outcome. You know, what Hel you put yourself through in either doing the right thing (judging correctly) or the Hel you experience because your oh-so human judgment isn't all that spiffy.

So that was a month and a bit past October 29th, putting us at the end of the first week of December. Next we have Haumea at 16 (and a half) Libra, which translates to less than a month later. At that point came a transformational force which like as not contained some form of trickery and/or 'it isn't what you think it is.'

That would have happened at the end of December, beginning of January.

And remember - the process wasn't yet done. Also at 16 Libra but earlier in the degree (translating to a space of maybe a couple of weeks) we have Sappho, a poetic emblem which connotes love of all but which here, being so closely linked with Haumea and obviously part of the whole Saturn-Venus/Rhadamanthus process sort of asks us who we are really being. What is our love of others all about? Who are these people we are associating or caring about? Who are we to be in the place we are and learning what we are learning - what does this have to do with the greater process of moving us from our private life into a more worldly life?

The last symbol here is Lachesis - the symbol of things which only last a while. Uh-oh...did you make some choice back in the beginning of this process that you thought was going to last forever? Probably not. The five degees between Venus and Lachesis suggests that five months after October 29 (meaning March 29) should have revealed a few things to you not about others, but about yourself.

And just to make this a little more clear, this whole affair is opposed by Eris (Discord) and Achilles. So what we may have thought of as the 'strong choice' or that we were opposed (or motivated) by strong forces...that may well have been the issue this first Libra ingress was all about.

Saturn went retograde on January 13. Do you remember what was going on then?

Saturn then retrograded back into Virgo on April 7th, bringing us all back into a more practical and earthy mode. This is important to remember for while Saturn is exalted in the negotiating and restructing sign of Libra, Libra IS an air sign - it's all theory. And Saturn isn't. Saturn is the hallmark symbol of reality and consequence, earning and reward. We all can get equally inspired as lost when Saturn enters Libra and exposes us to that 'altenative reality' posed by Black Hole M87.

Once Saturn went direct on May 30th, we started having to deal with the difference between our inner and outer life structures. That's just the difference between  retrograde and direct motion. Direct motion is about external experiences and learning from what we encounter and do; retrogrades are a time for internal reflection, consolidation, restructuring and (possibly!) cleaning house and/or getting straight with ourselves.

But once Saturn went direct, all that you had or hadn't done was then brought into 'world parlance' - hence your being taken on about things you may not have dealt with and new clues of what needed doing. On top of that, life would have begun handing new new input to consider and deal with.

All that since the end of May came upon us.

This end-of-May thing is also where that 'backward number' thing came into play: because all the points Venus was in conjunction with were (except for Rhadamanthus) numerically lower than Venus (at 18 Libra), they would represent things already done by the time we realized the full meaning of whatever we did, set up or went through.

Some of it was probably right, good and proper. Other parts...? You do recall that old expression 'act in haste, repent at leisure'? I'm rather sure it was a Saturn scribe which came up with that one!

So with all that now bundled into our psyches we now arrive at Saturn committing to a full time, two-year transit of Libra, starting with another reality shift as we pass black hole M87 - and don't expect that to clear up and fade away until mid-August.

Saturn's 2010 Libra Ingress

 

The starting point now has Saturn positioned conjunct Panacea, suggesting a 'let's make this better' point. Think peacemaking...and pouring oil on troubled waters. And being confronted with the need to do so. That may, in fact, be the biggest part of the month in a black-hole: the realization of what we didn't know or didn't see. And what that says about us, that may be the crux of our shift. We may have been so sure about ourselves and now...a least for the next little while, maybe we just aren't so sure. A whole new point of view on ourselves may be dawning. Or maybe it's about the world. Or possibilities. Or what matters. It's all up for grabs.

The one thing you may be sure of is that being in Libra, this black hole concerns how life isn't just about us.
 
Looking back we get these messages: asteroid Lilith at 'critical' 29 Virgo indicates a critical matter which you really don't want to look at in yourself. Or criticism headed your way. Or feeling bad about something you think you should have known (seen, done differently, etc.) 

Echo at 28 Virgo says you should stop parroting what you have been told. It's time to be our own people in our own life lest we get reduced to an echo of our possible selves.

MakeMake at 25 Virgo tells us that we have an enormous and fertile potential to make things happen which are useful to others as well as ourselves and that it is through focusing on how we relate to others that we actually achieve a lasting and satisfying grasp on how life works - and thus how to achieve happiness.

Remember - all these 'descriptor' points are in Virgo's 3rd decanate (the last third of the sign, degrees 20 thru 29). Any time we see symbols in this 3rd decan we know that our success only happens when we are approved of and are thus supported by our greater social circle and/or society. Stopping to think, this totally underscores Saturn's shift into the public sector, telling us that we are the causal drive which produces reactions, good and bad. Our disappointments are thus because we are disappointing to others; our happiness comes from being the person others want to make happy.

To finish up here, the oppositional signature is Lust (fixation), Hebe (service), Uranus (change) Jupiter (growth) and that pain the bad reptuation, Scheat (disapproval). And because these symbols all appear in opposition, they represent things you now face.

So what are you going to do? That would be the Saturn question. You can hide, you can retreat, or you can accept the responsibility for your life and who you are. Those are generally the Saturn choices - all of which are made in the finite Saturn clarity of our having only so much time to be who we are in this life and on this Earth.

Change is on its way. With every moment, Saturn edges closer to the event horizon (edge) and into the realm of Black Hole M87: the shift of personal reality. You can either use it to your benefit and utilize this time to perform a 'virtual cleansing' of your soul, or you can lose yourself to your own lesser nature...which would simply be you not own up to the reality of your personal Saturn truths. 

Sometimes our greatest achievement is simply learning to be okay with ourselves. We have our given lifetime. What we deem worthwhile, whether temporal or lasting is in the end, entirely up to us.