Chaos-Achilles on Station

Clearing Storm

(photo credit: Rennett Stowe, 2013)

Though today’s world seems addicted to hyperbole and all things exotic and extreme (which doesn’t always equate to necessity no matter how loudly someone shouts or insists), I’m going to disappoint you by saying TNO Chaos isn’t necessarily at all ... or even vaguely chaotic.

In other words, if you’re looking to beat the drums of disaster, look elsewhere. The term ‘chaos’ as it is used today (to mean an unimaginable mess) - or rather I should say the redefinition of the term ‘chaos’ was made popular by a Roman poet named Ovid. He’s the guy who decided ‘chaos’ meant messy and unpredictable - not that the state wouldn’t exist anyway, but Ovid decided we should all use the term ‘chaos’ to describe said messy and unpredictable status.

The term itself, however, is much older. Dating back to Ancient Greece, the term ‘chaos’ originally wasn’t a negative at all - it meant a state of endless possibilities and fertile inspirations.

So what was Ovid’s problem? That, I don’t know. But the point of this point is not Roman, but Greek. In other words, all along its 309.1 year-long orbit the astrological TNO/Cubewano Chaos speaks to finding our way through various choices to that one course of action or presentation which has the lowest chance of being some ‘illusion’ which will trip us up (or compromise our efforts) and the greatest chance of being something we can either utilize well or embody as we continue about our life.

To this of course, we add the degree - which would be 17 Gemini, the degree of fixed star Rigel ... which somewhat changes the perspective as Rigel always speaks to a learning/teaching quotient of some sort. So are we looking for that which we can learn through and succeed? Are we about to meet up with some wonderful idea which we can teach/offer to others and thereby improve many things for many people?

Being that Chaos is a TNO (a Trans Neptunian Object, meaning Chaos orbits way out yonder beyond Neptune in the giant vastness of the Kuiper Belt) ... Chaos represents things which we haven’t encountered before. Effects will of course depend on how this point is aspected and positioned in your natal chart, but with its 300-plus year cycle Chaos covers only a third of the zodiac in any given century, representing what we would probably think of as the ‘general limits’ any given period ... what people think is valuable, interesting, enjoyable or (yes) possible to do at that time. 

Back in the year 1900 Chaos was in early Aquarius. So everyone alive today has Chaos in Aquarius, Pisces, Aires, Taurus or Gemini, with the change from 4th quadrant ‘big picture’/’global’ zodiac signs to the ‘learning how to be me’ 1st quadrant signs occurring as Chaos cycled back and forth across the 29 Pisces/0 Aries during 1952, finally committing to its transit of Aries as of February 20, 1953.

This is important in part because though Kuiper Belt objects are often things we have to work with individually, they’re seldom entirely personal (on an individual basis) ... something or someone else gets affected or is in mental play when we deal with TNOs. And because of that, there will be very different considerations being applied by those born before that 1953 date and those born after it, especially as Chaos moved into Aries and the zodiac’s first quadrant, splitting populations into two big groups - those born with a natural 4th quadrant ‘big picture’ natal feeling about possibilities (which would lead to  spending some, much or most of their life dealing with possibilities from a seemingly personal or individual perspective) versus those born with Chaos in a 1st quadrant sign (Aries, Taurus or Gemini) who are apt to see possibilities in terms of what they can make of their own life (as an individual) rather than what they can do to build (shape, contribute to) their world through developing or expressing their various Chaos possibilities, opportunities and inspirations.

a Cubewano/TNO Chaos orbital diagram at February 28, 2015

(diagram courtesy of JPL)

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Yet with all this nicely ‘us’ sort of thing said, Chaos is still a TNO. So its notions ... and on some level its application is always going to work best when not entirely personal - which might seem to favor those born before that magic February 20, 1953 date.

But it doesn’t ... not really. And why not? Answer: because while those born with Chaos in Aquarius or Pisces have some native orientation towards ‘big picture’ contemplations, they were also born under an astrological Age which has been phasing out for most of the past century. (Full disclaimer here: this question of when the Aquarian Age comes into force is one still being debated by astrologers. But considering how life on Planet Earth is now digital and technologically driven, that debate strikes me as unnecessary in the light of reality and facts.)

In any case, those born under the Age of Pisces may have been born with TNO Chaos in ‘big picture’ signs Aquarius or Pisces, but those born with Chaos in Aries, Taurus and Gemini were born into the Aquarian Age ... which isn’t exactly “addition is commutative” (meaning 2+3=5 is the same as 3+2=5) in terms of life experience but it does mean that in the end - give or take whether we start thinking globally or learn to think big picture and globally - both population groups will be called upon to integrate both quadrants in their (Chaos) plans.

(Does that mean part of the learning process on both sides will simply have to do with learning to respect each others’ process? Maybe. Whatever happens, this is an interesting way to think about why older and younger populations operate differently.)

(Also - please note, I’m not using the term ‘generation’ here - and that’s for a reason. Astrologically, generations separate and sort themselves out by the sign Pluto is positioned in at birth and I’d like not to get anyone confused on that point. If you’re an astrologer, it’s bad enough that mainstream societies around the world guesstimate generations without any rationale arising from any real timing mechanisms - as an astrologer I’d like not to add to this messiness!)

That 17 Gemini is a degree known for qualities of planning and needing plans if things are going to go well. It’s also known as one of Gemini’s ‘handy’ degrees with a distinct emphasis on the hands and what those hands get into, recalling the old saying ‘the burned hand teaches best’ - all of which are qualities bound to be encountered through whatever we do with (or about) matters which arise now or which have become sufficiently ‘Chaos-like’ (multifaceted) as to require some sort of plan, even if that plan is to react to each thing as it happens.

However ... along with Chaos going direct (meaning we’ll now be meeting up with possibilities which exist around us, which comes to us via others and which we find out about by participating in daily activities), asteroid Achilles is going retrograde.

A symbol of skill, Achilles is going retrograde at 16 Scorpio, a degree which wants much and which is known for ‘bad actors’ and people ‘acting out’ for all those negative emotional reasons we dislike so fervently in others: denial, rage, fear, jealousy, lack of trust or that ever-popular desire to control what others say, do, have or are. Known for its tendency to be judgmental and to imagine grievances where there are none to speak of, 16 Scorpio embodies everything which people do (and why they do it) when folks would rather focus on what they see as wrong in others rather than why they feel so passionately (not to mention negatively) about it.

In going retrograde in this degree, Achilles asks us to reflect on what we’re doing and why people are acting as they are. It asks us to not judge lest we be judged ... or if humanly (or humanely) possible, to work on getting a clear(er) view on who we are to be being so upset with others.

 Asteroid Achilles' orbital diagram at February

(diagram courtesy of JPL)

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Remember: this is Scorpio. And in Scorpio, we meet up with everything which has any possibility of unsettling us as Scorpio’s primary function - that of moving us past our ‘risk sticking point’ to where we are ready, willing and able to weather life’s raucous and untamed currents, storms and occasional emotional tsunamis. We’d like to think the storm is going to abate - but it isn’t. The thing about Scorpio is that it reflects whatever ‘hidden’ emotions WE bring with us, delivering to us whatever it is which will ‘satisfy’ or elicit our most base or basic vulnerabilities so that we can deal with them and be that truly capable person able to deal with the big world ocean of society when we get out there.

And for those who truly can’t deal with deep emotional water? For them, Scorpio is a warning - and for them, Achilles going retrograde here may just say ‘you’ve reached your limit’ while posing the question ‘do you have enough (Achilles) skill to get out of this?’

For some, what they see as Chaos possibilities now are attractive. For some, they’re highly unattractive. Whichever we meet up with, our job is to be (Achilles) skillful enough at living our own life to either avoid troubles, to take advantage of opportunities or to grapple with what we need to know/know how to do, lest we exceed our (Achilles) skill level and end up paying with what would otherwise have been our means to avail ourselves of opportunities, whether that means amounts to time, respect, money, stability or anything else.

These are not major stations. Most of us will move through these days of station allowance (February 26-March 2) with a few high points and a few moments where we decide not to step up to the plate. But since anything which happens in proximity to a solar eclipse has the potential to be important and/or part of the process of ‘breaking down’ walls which we build allegedly against the world but in reality to order to wall out some part of our Self we are less than thrilled about contending with openly and honestly, some people are going to meet up with Chaos now - and through that experience come to know a bit more about what their Achilles skills are ... and aren’t.
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Dionysus Direct, Deucalion Retrograde

Amzinybe (Eternity) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

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Are you wondering if there’s anything afoot for Valentines Day, astrologically speaking?

That answer would be ‘yes’ as asteroid Dionysus and TNO Deucalion are going on station as of the date of this blog with both actually taking their station turns on February 14th.

In going direct at 17 Gemini, Dionysus is taking a ‘direct stand’ in trine to the degree at which Mercury’s recently concluded retrograde started back on January 21st. Does this mean these two issues have to be connected? Not necessarily, but it is likely that these days which follow in the wake of Mercury going direct holds a few notions about things each one of us feels we need to do (which isn’t about ‘needing to get it done’ but rather some underlying ‘requirement’ to do it). That’s a Dionysus quality - which yes, may seem a bit odd if you’re thinking of Dionysus solely as the Greek version of that rowdy wine-swigging Roman god, Bacchus, everyone’s favorite good-god-to-go at a good-time party.

But that’s the point - the astrological point, at least: asteroid Bacchus is about the celebration as the good time and the party. And Dionysus? Well, Dionysus, the celebration is more of a ceremonial or even sacred type of event - which is probably a good thing as in going direct at 17 Gemini, Dionysus is doing so in conjunction with fixed star Rigel (teaching/learning through/about the mind) and TNO Chaos (endless potential), the combined influence of which is virtually unlimited, but not precisely romantic.

Yes, it does speak to choices. And this being Valentine’s Day, we know a whole lot of people are going to be making all sorts of choices. (Ahem!) In fact, with the Moon moving through Sagittarius (the opposition sign to Gemini) during the day of the 14th, and Dionysus turning to direct motion late in the evening (UT/+0 time), there are likely to be all sorts of things going through our heads all day.

(Oh goodie ... a think-a-thon!)

As for Deucalion, let’s just remember what Deucalion is before embarking on any astrological dance steps here. Like Chaos, Deucalion is a TNO, which first and foremost means that both objects orbit way out there in the cold vastness of the Kuiper Belt (beyond Neptune and thus metaphysically beyond all which we can ‘imagine’ and everything which is - or which could be only about the 'us,' whether we think of that 'us' as our Self as an individual, or some 'group' or segment of humanity ... even Existence).

-link to post-

Deucalion: Freeing Our Will

And after that? Well, after that comes the real Cubewano quality, that being how Deucalion, like Chaos, is not affected by Neptune’s more than powerful magnetic resonance. Said magnetic and Neptunian quality does affect Pluto. And it also affects Ixion, both of these points being astrological tiger-traps we all manage to tumble ourselves into along the line. (And sometimes, repeatedly all along that line!)

But Chaos? And Deucalion? Both of these points represent notions which at some level are free from outside influence ... as they come along and deliver the unexpected. That Dionysus stands with Rigel and Chaos is a chance to learn more about what matters - and an invisible question posed as to whether it matters to us. Add to that how Deucalion going retrograde at 15 Scorpio is in part a universal announcement that we haven’t yet gotten to the point where we can move ahead because the person who needs to move on isn’t who we are yet being in this moment?

Fifteen degrees of each of the four fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) is what’s known as the ‘cross-quarter’ point. It’s a reference to having gotten through half of that zodiacal quadrant’s ‘business’ - or in this case, having gotten to the half way mark without having yet quite enough to move any farther.

In Scorpio, the question is how we handle the feelings and values of others in our own terms - or in terms of our Self and that Self’s perhaps Self-ish emotionality. After all, Scorpio is where we put questions of (Taurus) security to the test - and that security is not ‘about’ “them,” but rather a question of whether we are able to deal whatever it is ‘they’ (or life) is presenting us with.

Do we feel rejected? Neglected? Are we of the nicely independent opinion that others need to have their brains, priorities and morals inspected?

To whatever extent we are merely reacting to what others do, say or are now, that’s the degree to which we’re not taking advantage of some opportunity to achieve mastery.

No, not over them - over our Self, which would be both the business of Scorpio (getting us to own our own vulnerability at least enough to get past them so we can think, plan and make decisions based on choice and not instinct) ... and Deucalion, as Deucalion is a point which presents a challenge (sometimes a crisis) which is either emotional in nature or which promotes or provokes general emotionalism in order to get us to be independent of whatever is capable of causing us to (Neptune) feel overwhelmed (or stirred up) and to thus rise above the storm, discarding that which was weighing us down in the process.

Some of us will beat a (retrograde) retreat now and think things through (which would be more  Deucalion than Dionysus). Then again, some of us will go right through this cupid-like and chocolate-covered time and learn from all we see, hear and experience. That Deucalion is going retrograde in a degree (17 Gemini) which emphasizes planning not done (or) executed solely on an individual basis does indeed favor not going solo at the moment.

It just doesn’t guarantee happiness or success. We may be delighted with where we are at the moment - and then again, we may be wondering who the ‘right person’ is (and how to get close enough to them) with regards to whatever we’re trying to accomplish, whether that’s romantic or entirely otherwise.

Deucalion won’t be going direct again until July 27th, and during the whole of that time it will only move two degrees. By the time it goes direct we will (hopefully) have learned a deal more about our Self ... about what works for us, what we can agree to be 'about' or stand for (or against), and that which may work in the moment but which we know in the long run isn't going to generate the rewards or ‘harvest’ which emotionally we might be thinking of ... but which we know at the bedrock of our heartfelt recognition isn't either likely - or not actually the truly and functionally universal answer.

Deucalion always asks us to rise above our emotions, whatever they may be and be about. To have an 'emotional regard' for the whole of an issue or situation is very Deucalion. To parse that down to bias or something which is emotionally convenient violates the Deucalion premise, virtually insuring that we'll get 'swamped,'

By what?

By whatever will incite or produce and understanding of why emotional convenience is actually seriously inconvenient.  

So ...! Between now and then, either we’ll 'get it' and it won’t be good, or we won’t get it and we will realize just how we have squandered other opportunities  - and in some cases the lives of others we care about - by being so focused on one thing ... or even just one facet of one thing ...as to be willingly blinded to so much else, as to be emotionally unwilling to speak or stand for what we know is universally true about one of us... and therefore all of us as human beings.

That we will not name in the world and which we will not look at in our Self is the thing which will most upset and in moments upend us - and lest we forget, we deny such things and turn away from them not because they are not worthy of our attention, but because we know we are guilty of having not given something which merits attention its due.

That is also Deucalion. 

As for Dionysus, it will be in direct motion for nearly the balance of the year, going retrograde next December 8th at ... (do you want to guess?) ... 22 Leo, the degree at which Jupiter went retrograde last December as Saturn (then at 28 Scorpio) crossed the degree line denoting the start of our 2014-2015 efforts to grow, prune, structure, restructure and slowly develop that which will provide us with a framework which allows the rest of life to blossom.

Are these factors connected? They don’t have to be, but they may be ... in which case, by the time Saturn finishes its yearly round (which happens in early  August) and we wrap all that up, maybe we’ll be in the mood and just the right position to celebrate something which from here is yet an ocean of emotional experiences - and understanding - away.

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Jupiter Stations at a Gemini Full Moon

The Circus (Le Cirque)

by Georges Seurat (1891, oil on canvas - currently housed at the Musee d'Orsay, Paris)

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The standard orb of conjunction is five degrees. And as of tomorrow (Friday, December 5, 2014) the south lunar Node will broach that five-degree orb of conjunction with regards to planet Uranus - which being already at 12 Aries (the degree Uranus will go direct at on December 21st, UT/+0) means the Nodes - which rotate backwards through the zodiac - will be entering 17 Aries on December 5th.

And why should we care about that? Well, with Jupiter about to station at 22 Leo on December 8th with Saturn (Jupiter’s astrological “partner” in all things building up or tearing down) currently at 27 Scorpio and about to move into 28 Scorpio as Jupiter goes retrograde, these two degrees - their metaphysical meanings, that is - are likely to intersect... and  overlap in somewhat different ways.

But first, a note on Saturn’s position. It matters here in particular because 28 Scorpio... a degree which concerns itself with ‘mastery’ (of self, of situations, of talents and/or inner conflicts) is the degree Saturn will go station/direct at during the earliest days of August 2015. And that metaphysically draws something a bit more substantial than a dotted line between this station/direct and August of 2015 in every and any area of life which has to do with structure or restructuring, building for the long term, social standing, achievement (that you have or that you want) and success as a functional form of self-stability in life.

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As for Lunar Nodes, any time we see either node involved in anything the keyword which should come to the fore is ‘relationship’ - which may be the human kind and may simply be the relationship between one thing and another. In our individual lives the nodes denote our relationship to our life, to that big world out there, to people (and other tangible entities) ... and to all those things we want or want to achieve in life.

You know, depending on what we relate to - and how we do or don’t go about doing that (nodal) relating thing.

So as our story begins on Friday (December 5th), Saturn is finishing its traverse of 27 Scorpio, a degree which is said to have subtle and often unnoticed effects on everyone in terms of what they do - but such qualities are readily noticed by others. With Saturn in this degree some will be working hard to do that which exudes such qualities, some will be clamping down on things and some will be exerting some effort to understand how and why this cause/effect works with an eye to utilizing said dynamic for purposeful effect.

To be noted: this is one of Scorpio’s degrees which has a reputation for marked karmic results. In other words, if you do something with a positive aim which satisfies the Scorpio requirement that it be positive for everyone...then results may be good. But for those who are on the defensive or only really trying to have things ‘their way,’ to those who are trying to manipulate something to their own benefit because it feels like ‘survival’ (not necessarily literal) is at stake...

...to them go the stale and woe begotten chips - you know, the ones which end up falling where they may.

As for that South Node we started out by mentioning, to have the South Node moving into 17 Aries awakens notes of high emotionalism... and at times some very short-sighted choices when/if what one might call ‘philosophical perspective’ isn’t adopted going in. Having a well-deserved reputation for taking the easy way through any issue, the South Node’s presence in 17 Aries may simply signal emotional self-indulgence. Then again, because this degree suggests perspective is key, some of us who are inclined (naturally or just at the moment) to take a breath and a step back before diving off cliffs (or into conversations, agreements or anything else) may find it easy to apply the Saturn brakes so that we are able to ‘take the temperature’ of the emotional waters around us - the ‘everyone involved here’ - and thus come up with a solution which does fix all in equal measure for everyone.

With Jupiter going retrograde and Saturn in direct motion until next March, there is a ‘parting’ of some ways implied here - and a shift, perhaps merely of priority. Saturn in direct motion is always about self-development at some level which is encountered through everyday life (as opposed to in our head). While Saturn remains in late Scorpio the issue is going to be about our internal vulnerabilities and fears and that which promotes or triggers, whether in real time or simple personal consideration. And no matter what happens, there are two sides to the situation - the coping with it in real time and the emotional underbelly of how it makes us feel.

And why.

Most important to us in this moment as Jupiter goes retrograde is some form of reflexive response to events, realities, information which tells us what is possible... and what isn’t - at least for now. There will be a response in the moment... and that which the response becomes over a period of days following Jupiter’s station, especially as (and after) Venus moves from Sagittarius into Capricorn.

Jupiter Station-Retrograde (glyph chart)

December 8, 2014 - 20:42 (8:42 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Jupiter Station-Retrograde (text chart)

December 8, 2014 - 20:42 (8:42 p.m.) UT/+0 - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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That date will be December 10th (UT/+0). From there things get more pragmatic - which can be a wonderful thing if you’re trying to get something done, if not so wonderful for those who would like to live in a world of holiday abandon.

But a lot can get done.

So back to that split... Jupiter and Saturn have both been in direct motion since late July, and now Jupiter (growth, expansion) is going retrograde. For some, this marks a ‘high water mark’ on growth or growing something for this season, this year - or maybe forever.

Imaged by Sabian 143, “In a circus the bareback rider displays her dangerous skill’ (hence the header on this post), that which Marc Edmund Jones refers to as ‘the audacity and perseverance required to control and play with the powerful energies of the vital realm in human existence’ is importantly described as being a “her” - which in metaphysical terms refers to something which is ‘contained,’ or responded to, often with a dash of previous experience or knowledge (right or wrong, current or not current) figuring in the choice - which here is to ‘display’ (reveal, show, demonstrate) something ‘dangerous.’

But dangerous to whom? Because 22 Leo falls in the last third of the sign we know this is not an ‘individualist’s’ degree. So it’s not ‘about’ us individually, though it may well pertain to something we have done, which we have ‘put out there’ (into public view) or which could simply affect us if it does or doesn’t happen...which in Leo could make us dread something which could go wrong in light of same, evoking a case of the ‘What if?’s.

This one-direct, one-retrograde which squares by signs but un-squares by degree once Saturn reaches 28 Scorpio (an event which occurs on December 6th as Jupiter is formally on station). And that suggests coming to some understanding out of a juxtaposition of (Saturn) that which we must yet do (and perhaps learn how to do). and that which we know we can’t go any further with - at least for the moment (Jupiter).

And there’s still more to see here. For instance, if you’re up on your ‘this month in astrology’ doings (and if not, you can link back to this month’s Dateblog post to catch up) you’ll know that Uranus is going to be going direct on December 21st. The operative question here being when will it go retrograde again, that answer will be-and-become that Uranus will go retrograde on July 26, 2015.

That’s a week or so before Saturn goes direct at 28 Scorpio on August 2nd and about two-and-a-half weeks after Jupiter exits the shadow (on July 6, 2015) its now beginning to retrograde back into.

That's three sets of major astrological 'loops' which connect our current December with July-into-August of the year which soon will dawn, which indicates a lot going on. Some major portion of same (the Saturn and Jupiter parts) speak to places in our life where we have operational choice (and let's please remember that not choosing or choosing not to do something is also a choice). Against this there are things which are totally Uranian and not under our control - nor are they predictable. The 'rule' of lore with Uranus is to accept that which we don't control (part one) and to flex or be flexible (literally or figuratively) as we marshal our Self to respond to life despite our misgivings, using the Uranian imperative to break with or break through some sort of personal limit that we have probably set for our Self.

Some of us (of course) will think we can 'escape' any need to try. That would be Uranian as well, and only you know whether your current choices represent a status quo or some sort of personal 'breakthrough’ or not.

Just remember - if you're not 'flexing' vis-a-vis where you have been, you're probably resisting, which with Uranus is that which tends to create the greatest 'breakage.' Of all the astrological symbols, Uranus, Eris and Mars may well be the three which make their negative effects most obvious when we're off-track or refusing to utilize the energetic.

Or to put it as master astrologer (and nice guy) Robert Hand has said: use the energy wisely, lest it use you unwisely.

With Uranus in Aries getting ready to go direct in a degree (20 Aries) which if nothing else images our standing at the edge of a great change which we can only join and not avoid, it is likely that those who fritter now will have some sort of 'news' unexpectedly ‘broken’ to them. With Uranus and Saturn the joint rulers of Aquarius and Mars now in Aquarius, such news will effect what we do, bring focus to the effect what we do has...and make it plain what needs doing.

And separate from that, what we need to do.
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As for who is going to be most affected by Jupiter’s ‘turnabout,’ we can start with a range of degrees: 17 through 27, that being five degrees to either side of Jupiter’s station at 22 degrees in Leo. If your Ascendant falls in this 17-27 Leo district, this station will affect what you do, how you go about doing it, or possibly your physicality. If your Ascendant falls between 17-27 Aquarius, that means your Descendant is in the focal Leo zone, emphasizing relationships with others beyond what we’ve already seen.

Either way, try not to overdo things. Jupiter going station on any natal point can be very, very good - and then again, very, very awful.

It’s just not subtle.

So we need to be - subtle, that is. Even if you’re a professional performer used to plying your craft on-stage, it’s easy to go overboard at a Jupiter station and easy to be seen as going overboard, which asks us to enjoy, but not at someone else’s expense.

As for the Midheaven and IC (or Nadir - the bottom most point in the horoscope), Jupiter stationing within orb of conjunction to the MC or Midheaven brings all into public view with particular references to societal standing, achievements and career path or something you’re striving for while Jupiter stationing at the base of the chart can mean a change of residence, changes within the family structure or some form of powerful movement.

Beyond that, here’s a chart... 

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If you are born between any of the date spans indicated, that planet is in aspect to Jupiter’s station in your natal chart, so you can expect to ‘feel’ this Jupiter station more acutely than others.

If you're in the 'Saturn group,' things may be difficult now for any of a million reasons, and you're likely to be feeling  challenged - as much by your own need to validate yourself in your own eyes as anything else. Those who persevere in an evenhanded manner in spite of challenges (learning as you go) will in time get somewhere with their efforts even if that ends up not being where you might expect to end up as you start out.

As for those in the Uranus, Neptune and Pluto groups... well, these are transpersonal planets, so by definition there's a quality of having to learn from (or react to) that which happens now and which may well need to happen going forward. Those in the Uranian group will face questions where flexibility and a willingness to see or do things differently require a delicate touch and a definite lack of haste (lest things be made worse), against which there will be a temptation to escape or evade responsibilities - which may seem a happy solution in the short run but which will likely seed long term instability. Meanwhile, those born during the noted Neptune years will simultaneously be coming to a far greater understanding of how life really works (never mind societal PR) while letting go of things, places and activities which are no longer worthwhile - a far cry from that which most of those with Pluto being affected are going to feel. This group is highly likely to be/have been in the midst of building or rebuilding (depending on your individual life path) when something different, challenging and transformational has come upon them. Since Pluto is in the latter third of Leo during the period indicated, questions generally center around effectiveness with others and in a world which having changed now requires that these people alter their perspectives and goals accordingly - and not all of them are liking it. With Pluto, cooler heads win and knowing all the facts (not just those you like) is the basis for creating workable and worthwhile solutions.

But no, they aren't always what this group of natives like.

Moreover, with all of this said, NONE of it is only about Jupiter's symbolism, as Jupiter is still involved in a ongoing grand trine.

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This trine has changed some since we last talked about it... asteroids do come and go. But at the Jupiter end of things, Jupiter and Niobe have been a standing pair of late... which considering Jupiter as a thematic ‘grow and accrue until enough becomes  too much’ and Niobe as she who was sufficiently overblown in the go department as to compare herself to the Olympian immortals (which is as bad a bet as you could make back in the good ol’ Greek mythic days) which got all her children (read: everything she had ever created) shot down by truth (Apollo) and wisdom born of reflection (Diana).

It’s just not a moment to lie - or even boast, one suspects. And for those who have...to others or themselves?

Things could get ouch-ish.

That the South Node is conjunct Pandora and Eris virtually guarantees a smattering of things which (Eris) unsettle the status quo and (Pandora) rattle hopes as we (Pholus-Ras Alhague-Ixion) try to pull away from, or otherwise separate ourselves from something that we have (Echo) been a part of (or dedicated to) but which because of our ‘slavishness’ to the ‘idea of the thing’ as opposed to what it means in reality and modern, everyday time has come back to haunt us.

Even if it’s only in guilty conscience, there’s something we regret, and (Sun-Mercury) its unlikely we have (or have had) sufficient perspective to see what we need to see. (Yet.)

And whatever this all pertains to, it ‘hinges’ on whatever we are most fixed on in terms of where we want to ‘grow’ our life... and whether that is in, or out of proportion - not in our eyes, but in terms of that which is ours to have by eternal Nature.

One more thing to think about here - that being how all of this happens just in the wake of December’s Gemini Full Moon, which like any Full Moon is a sign of emotional emphasis, whether that’s you feeling something specific (or feeling something about something specific) or a general social-societal ‘feeling’ which to one degree or another we get swept up in, or affected by.

December's Full Moon at 14 Gemini (glyph chart)

December 6 2014 - 12:28 p.m. (UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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 December's Full Moon at 14 Gemini (text chart)

December 6 2014 - 12:28 p.m. (UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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In fact, because that Full Moon occurs at 12:38 p.m. (UT/+0) on Saturday the 6th and because Saturday December 6th would be part of the ‘station allowance’ we give to celestial objects as they go in or out of retrograde, whatever the ‘rising tide’ of Full Moon feeling represents in your life (and that of others) will be part of what’s leading into your experience of this Jupiter ‘turn’... which in turn might lead us to wonder whether, considering how this is a Gemini Full Moon, whether a lot of us will be changing our mind about things about now. Or to put it in a way which might fit more easily with what we’ve been musing about with regards to Jupiter, Saturn and Uranian cycles, maybe it is something which occurs around the time of the Full Moon which brings us to understand (or ‘see,’ whether literally or figuratively) why it is that we need to put the growth-expansion portion of our program on hold in favor of doing something of a more (Saturn) ‘work/effort’ nature before we move on.

In all of this, the Full Moon’s position at 14 Gemini adds a curious note about deception and things which are dishonest and even dishonorable which are about ‘toying’ with others or being ‘toyed’ with - all of which is complicated by this degree’s tendency to embody or elicit fakery and the sorts of ‘false fronts’ which deflect attention away from the some thing far more important. Obviously this isn’t a problem in the chart of a stage magician whose work is to deceive the audience, but if or where people are simply using position or advantages they have to ‘toy’ with a situation or people’s feelings (remember, this is the Moon we’re talking about), things could be problematic - and yes, highly emotional all around.

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Given the t-square with Chiron at the ‘t,’ there is nothing anyone knows in this moment which is a proper or sure-fire choice. And since all t-squares describe lessons which require that we work “through” whatever is presented to us at the ‘t,’ we’re going to have to figure and understand and emotionally own that there is no known hard-and-fast “answer” to whatever is manifesting in loud (Jupiter) bas relief...and how that means we will have to learn as we go if we are ever to achieve that success which in this moment is being pictured by Aldebaran + Moon + Rigel... the sum of that success (Aldebaran) which can only be achieved through integrity and those choices which we (Rigel) learn to apply though (Moon) emotional integrity.

However... for the astrological record, let us also note that in this Full Moon figure, all that ‘success’ - the Gemini components of Moon, Aldebaran and Rigel - in being in Gemini is subject to the position of Gemini’s ruler...which would be Mercury.

At the moment of this Full Moon, Mercury stands at 13 Sagittarius, conjunct the Sun. And whenever we see Mercury conjunct the Sun, we know that our (Mercury) thinking is lacking in perspective - and that’s even without this pair being presented in Sagittarius, a sign about ‘seeking’ with earnest fervency, to say the least.

Plus this Sun/Mercury pair is conjunct royal fixed star Antares, a star which represents the oh-so human temptation to obsessions and obsessiveness in the ‘name’ of ‘right-ness’ which always fail if only because success in whatever that situation is requires perspective of a type which is incompatible with the obsessive fixation of our mortal passions.

With asteroid Child present, we may indeed act childish during these days. Or maybe we’ll come to learn more about what children are saying. Or what they mean to us - and the difference between what they mean to us and who those children may be as individuals. With Echo in this Sagittarian mix we cannot simply function on rote - we have to think, and think as an individual. Or maybe we’ll need to reconsider something and through that we’ll change our mind about something and stop ‘Echo-ing’ others because we discover our own voice, our own opinion, our own willingness to see something a different way or in a different light.

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse (1903, oil on canvas)

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On one hand this Full Moon figure stands on its own. So there will be levels of this which is simply about your home, your life, your family, your need to get those chores done or whatever else is boggling your brain at the moment. But there is also that part of this Full Moon energy which is very much part of a bigger picture - ‘our times,’ one might say. And at that level this Full Moon, with all its internal emotional quandaries is part of a greater Jupiter (and Jupiter-Saturn) pattern, a pattern which applies to how you want to live personally - and to what is going on in our world which makes that personal desire that much harder...or easier.

Considering that Saturn and Jupiter are astrologically thought of as ‘partners’ to the Sun in all our worldly and more or less intellectual or ‘matured’ aspects of life (against Venus and Mars as the ‘partners’ of the Moon in all things feeling and emotionally valued) there is going to be a strong emphasis on things which are ‘going on’ or which we feel are ‘going on’ - which may be a reality or merely something we’re feeling.

Whichever way that goes, it all comes back to why we (Moon) feel that way... and how much we (Jupiter) know, (Sun/Mercury) understand... and are (Saturn) willing to hold not others, but ourselves to that which we know should be right, (Juno) regardless and (Uranus) apart from how we personally feel.

How we deal with that will probably spell out one thing now, in the shortest of short runs... and something else in the light of a next year which comes to pass. Whether we are willing to understand not just our cause(s) but what it takes to create some desired effect(s) is the task of the Now and moving forward... and a lot of it, we control. We can build. Jupiter and Saturn always represent aspects of our Self that can be utilized as assets if we treat them as such, though in being planets which orbit beyond the asteroid belt we understand they involve things which are not just about our Self or what we want. We can study all we want in isolation, we can work all we want in isolation but ultimately, to satisfy Jupiter and Saturn - planets which together rule the zodiac’s four most worldly signs (with a little help from Uranus and Neptune). In saying that we also say that whatever Jupiter and Saturn represent comes to fruition and ultimate fulfillment through worldly ‘exposure’ of some sort. They require that we learn to navigate with others. With society. Through ‘the system,’ whatever that may be.

And what that means... and how we need to go about it?

That lies at the heart of things which happen now and which need to happen going forward, sometimes because of how we feel... and sometimes in spite of it.
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Mercury in Sagittarius... Arachne and Pandora Direct

(background) A spider web strung with dewdrops

(photo credit: William Waterway, September 2006)

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At a guess, one of the biggest hurdles in learning how to use astrology is learning to conjugate metaphysical meanings. Take Arachne, for instance. The astrological Arachne is very aptly named: it applies to every precept we could attach to the idea of a biological arachnid - a spider. So to be ‘caught in a web’ is very Arachne. But so is trying to ensnare or otherwise entangle something/someone else. From entanglements to ingenuity, Arachne is by turns the all of it - including that very particular, spider-like ability to wait.

Wait for what, you ask? Well, for fortune, of course... which with Arachne may appear in the form of something you ‘prey’ on (use to accomplish your aims), or something which is what you’ve been praying for - that opportunity which wanders by like a living, meandering feast.

Arachne often manifests with a touch of persistence, though whether that refers to our trying over a period of time (duration - which if Arachne is prominent may manifest as being ‘entangled’ in something you can’t/won’t walk away from)...or the more repetitive kind of trying which is all about try-try-trying again, replete with that trace of falling short which very much does speak to experience.
What kind of experience...? Well, that’s a whole other matter - and that would be primarily read from where Arachne falls in our natal chart.

So...if that’s not making you climb the wall just yet (or hide in a corner) we’ll just proceed to the facts de esta matter, which are that asteroid Arachne is going direct on November 27th at 10:24 in the morning (UT/+0 time) at 14 Aries, a degree which describes some sort of ‘trial by fire’ which often enough are presented in the form of an event, moment or situation which has not occurred because of anything which has to do with us personally - call it ‘fate’ or the matter of not just what cards have been dealt, but where those cards have come to fall as a matter of forces far beyond our control.

So... will we be hunkering down and waiting for the storm to pass? Or will we see some opportunity and begin stalking that?

In the United States, November 27th being Thanksgiving, the recent clout of early winter brings up another Arachne sort of terms: stuck - as in ‘I can’t get there, I’m stuck.’ That could be literal, that could be figurative - and it could be a matter of showing up at the right house at the right time to claim your seat at the table... or it could be the fact that because you’re at that table (or otherwise occupied doing something it would be improper to up-and-flee) you can’t do what you might rather do... whether that means watching a game, tackling Black Friday sales (whether online or in person)... or just getting away from noise, hassles and whatever else for a while.

Sholem Aleichem crater on Planet Mercury

(photo credit: NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory,

Carnegie Institute of Washington, January 2008)

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Then there’s the idea that Mercury moves from Scorpio into Sagittarius the day after Arachne goes direct. (In other words, while Arachne is on station and direct, if still moving slowly.) This is a bit of a mix, as Arachne is more about being tied down (or up, depending) where Mercury in Sagittarius is more of a speak-your-mind, act-and-then-discuss-change-modify sort of influence. The polarity here being Sagittarius/Gemini (and Mercury rules Gemini) with Arachne contributing Aries-versus-Libra says a lot about our wanting to get out there - or at least to advance our point.

Or to have our say. Or make things right as we see, or learn to see what is right, correct, effective or applicable to some specific instance.

Hardly known as the least opinionated combination which ever was, Mercury in Sagittarius represents the eagerness to get things done and the ability to overburden ourselves or to trip ourselves up by doing too much. Given that by mode Sagittarius is a mutable (as opposed to cardinal or fixed) sign, we should expect changes, too: mutable signs describe the process of learning as we go and correcting our course or manner of doing things as we meet up with new information along our merry way.

Even our not-so-merry way, but that’s another matter.

Under Mercury in Sagittarius the list of things which need doing gets longer and the parameters of what needs to feed into that list gets more complicated - it just does. Time flies by whether we’re having fun or not and we should expect several dribbles of the unexpected - though with regards to that, we should expect more oddities and surprises to pop up towards the end of Mercury’s run through Sagittarius than at its start simply because Uranus will be going direct on December 21st. Mercury will be moving on into Capricorn before we all get to said Uranian station (Mercury will exit Sagittarius for Capricorn on December 17th), but even without any other metaphysical influence, Uranian influences tend to decorate much which surrounds its official station.

Plus in this case there IS an additional metaphysical influence, that being the fact that Uranus is going direct on the same day as the Capricorn Solstice.

Things are changing. Things are going to change structurally. But that’s a different post. For the moment we should be concerning ourselves more with the fact that Mercury (in Sagittarius) will be conjuncting royal and fixed star Antares on December 3rd (UT/+0), warning us against being too ‘obsessed’...which because this is Mercury (the emblem of thought, communication, activity and mentality) in a fire sign is easy enough to slip into and often so lacking in perspective that we don’t (or won’t) notice ourselves either blocking out things we need to hear (think about, take care of or participate in)... or we will get so over-immersed in our own perspective that we can neither see its flaws nor take advantage of that which would help us achieve our ultimate aims because we cannot allow for something to work other than the way we want to think it works.

Antares promises success ONLY where we do not obsess (or get involved with something which is ‘obsessive’ or over-focused by nature).

There’s also an interesting association between Mercury conjuncting Antares and a few days later opposing Rigel - the fixed star all about sharing what we know and being inspired to learn. Since this is a sequence which would happen any time any object moves through Sagittarius, there isn’t always anything to emphasize connection, but since this year will have Mercury opposing Rigel on December 7th/8th (UT/+0) just as Jupiter goes direct at 22 Leo and Saturn opens its 2015 datebook by rolling over the degree (28 Scorpio) which will be its 2015 shadow point...?

The Orion Molecular Cloud with astrology's fixed star Rigel at the upper right as

photographed by Rogelio Bernal Andreo in October, 2010

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Yes, that would be a bit of emphasis. Quite a bit of emphasis, as a matter of fact. It suggests that this period (December 4 through 8) will be something of a ‘turning point’ for what we’re doing now - and turn out to be a time when things happen (or fail to happen) which end up having a deal of influence with regards to things we will be (Saturn) working on and (Jupiter) growing into and learning to utilize the potential of over the next twelve to thirteen months as come the December 2015/January 2016 Saturn rolls through the zodiac district we’re seeing highlighted now.

Some of us will spend this current early December time in a ‘wait and see’ mode. Others will use this time to keep working to grow and build things of long-term importance. With Jupiter (the ruler of Sagittarius) going direct as of December 8th there will be - as there is almost every year - a distinct ‘turning inside’ as a lot of people begin thinking about the holidays and their end-of-year plans. But every year as some do that, others use the time to plan ahead - which given how society ‘expects’ us to be more focused on family now can afford many of us the mental room to think.

And thinking... imagining... dreaming up new ideas is just as important a Mercury in Sagittarius function as pressing ahead and learning about those details which are keeping you from your goals is.

Sometimes they even go together - and when they do, real magic of the most ‘I didn’t imagine this could happen’ type occurs. Sagittarius teaches us (among other things) that ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ is a truism even if it comes with pitfalls, critiques and a few out-and-out flops along the way.

It’s all part of the learning process - as is learning how to get things through that invisible barrier which is our Sagittarian mindset seeking to bring things into (Capricorn) reality. So often we see alternative points of view as threats when they might be opportunities; Sagittarius challenges us to learn how to see for our Self (and our enrichment) beyond that we hold as ‘sacred’ in our personal thinking - as distinct from religious scripture.

Some people find Sagittarian exploration exciting and natural, as is the ‘sharing’ of interests which comes from such excitement, that being the source of Sagittarius as the sign of ‘getting the word out’ and thus media, publications, publishing and travel (mental or physical). Sharing is the plus of Sagittarius where locking thoughts down, be it through codification of a code or ‘chiseling in stone’ some body of history, law or thought invites contrast, debate and further question simply because the ‘known’ quality of “chiseling something in stone” invites a Sagittarian exploration.

Either we just can’t win... or maybe (just possibly) our definition of winning needs revising.

All of that is now going to be funneling not only through the Sun (life, will, consciousness) but as of November 28th, through Mercury.

It’s a recipe for more of everything - in particular anything which has to do with a Mercurial subject: communications, details, errands, traffic. Phone calls and phones, letters, mail and the systems which transport or deliver them - all of which are Mercury objects (planes, trains, boats, trucks, feet and cars, rockets, internet facilities and systems, etc.) as are (generally) the operational factors which have to do with anything which services those Mercury objects, be they the delivery dispatching system which sends the trucks out, the shoes and socks which keep our toes happy or the air traffic controllers and radar which keeps watch over planes.

With Mercury in Sagittarius, things - including systems - can get overtaxed, which hopefully doesn’t mean any volcano is going to choose this moment to send up any smoke screens. It would fit with the Sagittarian Mercury concept, but especially as Mars moves into Aquarius come December 4th (UT/+0) it would be more like frost than frosting on the end-of-the-year economy, some part of which could pay a penalty for some sort of Mercurial ‘too much.’

All of which says that we can enjoy ourselves to the hilt so long as the point is only mental - and preferably enlightening or enjoyable (Sagittarius is all about a good time in-the-live, if not necessarily in-the-flesh).

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So with the general (Sun in Sagittarius) trend of life pace on an uptick we come to Thursday and Friday of this next week - November 27 and 28 - still [Arachne] dealing with ongoing matters or things which aren’t quite wrapped up (or dissipated) as yet. Then Mercury moves into Sagittarius and life’s ‘moving pieces’ multiply, become more active and perhaps noisy - with everything happening at once (or coming together for worse or betterment) or with so many different things happening, you could be thrown into Arachne-like confusion.

Or maybe disparate sources or unalike aims and concepts will come together and ‘gel’ as some new idea or complicated, Arachne-like solution to some equally entangling and Arachne-like sort of problem.

In any case, because asteroid Pandora is going direct at a prompt 2 a.m. (UT/+0) on November 30th, all of that is likely to lead to two very disparate situations.

Pandora by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema

(1881, rendered to black and white for posting)

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We think of Pandora as ‘Pandora’s Box’ - the box part of which was probably a jar and the tendency to be sufficiently curious as to ignore rules and open said jar being a Pandora quality which hardly gets talked about at all. But the point here is in part about perspective as in the famous story Pandora is assailed by a cloud of mortal ‘ills’ which escape from ‘containment,’ whatever shape it is. The ills are whatever would trouble or threaten us in our life, whatever those factors would currently be. Yet because Pandora holds onto that jar (or box, if you prefer), she still has hope - because of all our human traits, hope is the one which didn’t flee when the jar (or box) was opened.

So... when we ‘witness’ this story - and thus when asteroid Pandora’s effects come into play, we will either ‘see’ or - seeing as Pandora is currently taking its station at 18 Aries - how we experience things individually, from a hopeful or a beleaguered perspective.

In that regard, 18 Aries delivers little hope that things will be clearly defined or simple in that this is a degree which known for both a love of nature (which may be physical nature as in Mother Nature or their personal nature, as in character traits)... and competition, a combination which on one hand can lead us to want to ‘win out’ against nature and which on the other can lead us to want to master and/or utilize that nature which again may be physical and may be personal. Noted for strength in the area of imagining and inventing, 18 Aries may here contribute to great works of art and great tales which are merely lies... any of which we may be hearing, telling to others or telling ourselves.

Pandora will be taking its ‘turn’ to direct on Sunday, November 30th at an hour early enough to make its station-direct moment November 29th for everyone in the Americas and eastern Pacific region. It also says that the first couple of days of December are likely to be anywhere between hectic and complicated.

So... what to do?

With Mars set to enter Aquarius on Thursday, December 4th, that puts Mars in Capricorn’s most worldly and far-reaching degrees as Pandora goes direct and December comes upon us. Between that fact and Pandora’s station in a degree which suggests study and observation as a natural and productive course, this would seem to be a moment when we have the opportunity to ask critical questions, but most often of our Self.

Or selves.

And what comes of that? That’s to think about next as we know what evolves out of these stations and Mercury’s shift will proceed under Mars in Aquarius.

And that’s not just a different post, but something which speaks to our ability - and maybe more importantly our willingness - to interact in such a manner as to fit in with others, for that is the way to get our desired results in... and from life itself.
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