Search Term: Fomalhaut conjunct Ascendant

Fixed star Fomalhaut in infrared

(photo credit: Spitzer Telescope, NASA-ESA, December 2008)

.

Fomalhaut is one of astrology’s ‘royal stars’ - all of which have been noted for their quality of ... well, some would say it’s karma and some might refer to it as ‘mythic fate,’ or even some peculiar form of prophesy.

Whatever you want to call it, wherever Fomalhaut falls in the chart, integrity is called for.

Mind you, this isn’t the mental integrity of fellow royal stellar object Aldebaran, which is sitting in Gemini. Aldebaran refers to ‘integrity of thought’ and such things as plans which both have integrity (they “hold water” and will get you where you want to go) ... and are an expression of an intent or goal which itself isn’t something mankind generally votes ‘thumbs down’ on.

No, with Fomalhaut, the subject is emotional, and the emotions are ours. Currently, Fomalhaut is at 4 Pisces, a somewhat feast-or-famine degree which operates greatly through various means people of different ilk would refer to as spiritual - maybe even mystical - all of which plays right into Fomalhaut’s call for integrity (lest all your effort come to nothing - or on occasion, less than nothing)(read: negative numbers).

Other people seldom understand our relationship to our inner Fomalhaut, as Fomalhaut is often bound up with emotional lessons we have to learn - which at the Ascendant means we learn them either through what we do/who we are, or the results of what we do/who we are.

-link to post-

Royal Stars of Persia (Pt. 4): Fomalhaut

In short, this is a call to do things with integrity - and to choose what you do with an eye to its integrity (and your integrity as part of the process). Ascendants being a calculated point (and not a planet or asteroid - an object which has physical mass) it’s harder to “keep track” of them all the time ... which means with Fomalhaut conjunct the Ascendant, not only are there likely to be temptations of various sorts from which to choose the thing ‘of integrity’ (or to not choose the thing of integrity and suffer the consequences), but if that which one does in life isn’t about working with (or possibly ‘fixing’) things which are all about integrity or possibly something which in or by its own nature is dependent on the integrity of some operation-construction-process (etc.), then the weight of all decisions must be constantly kept in mind (i.e., consciously held at the forefront of one’s thinking).

With Fomalhaut at the Ascendant, either we know that what we do matters and has an impact - or we learn that what we do matters and has an impact ... which in case we were lacking in same, teaches us to act with integrity.

How we feel about that, and whether we treat feelings (our own or those of others) with integrity is a trial and there is some danger of becoming over-involved with others. With that (fortunately) comes an internal grace - the ability to think through, recognize errors and learn from them.

Depending on the placement of Jupiter and Neptune and the overall nature of the chart, this may be an indicator of ability in areas like diplomacy, public service (either professional or voluntary) and the ability to earn respect through ‘helping’ efforts and any career which seeks to connect with others.
.
.
.

Mercury in Sagittarius... Arachne and Pandora Direct

(background) A spider web strung with dewdrops

(photo credit: William Waterway, September 2006)

 .

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)

 .

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

.

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).

 .

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)

 .

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.
.
.
.

Venus in Sagittarius / Neptune Direct

The painted image is the 'Venus Anadynomene' or 'Venus of the Sea'

by Théodore Chasseriau (1838). The photo behind it is one of Planet

Neptune - the credit for which goes to NASA and JPL

There’s something definitely thematic about any connection of Neptune and Venus. It’s a combination which evokes something friendly...pleasant and nice - or at least nice looking. Such niceness could amount to relaxation... or really any form of the proverbial ‘nice day.’ Or it could manifest in the form of interactions which warm... but don’t overheat one’s heart.

Yes, it’s an interesting combination, what with Venus being the symbol of wanting a result (and which ‘does’ to produce results or responses) paired Neptune - the symbol of all which requires us to accept everything simply for what it is, warts and all.

Yet these two planets are not really being ‘synced’ here. Venus is entering Sagittarius at 19:05 (7:05 p.m.) UT/+0 time on November 16th, and yes, it will already be in orb to square Neptune as Neptune goes direct at 4 degrees of Pisces at 7:07 in the morning (UT/+0) of that very same day.

 Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific

  Aries Wheel - Location Not Specific

And yes, 4 Pisces is the exact current position of fixed and royal star Fomalhaut. So this is not your ordinary Neptune station... (as if any Neptune station by definition would be “ordinary”?)

For one, the effects will be both more cloudy and more inspirational... more brilliant and yet less definable and highly experiential - which means no two of us is going to be exactly on the same page as Neptune goes direct - a fact which is interesting to think about in today’s world as this Neptune station falls on a weekend when many a world leader is joining in conference at the G20 World Summit in Brisbane, Australia.

Chart cast for Brisbane, Australia - Placidus houses

 

Chart cast for Brisbane, Australia - Placidus houses

With Neptune’s moment of station/direct falling in the 10th house at this location, this is indeed a world event and the inevitable news coverage which attends any such gathering will have a Neptune-in-10 ability to reach extraordinarily far with an equally well-known Neptune ability to be misunderstood going right along with that.

And let us just note for the record: where Neptune is concerned, sometimes the misunderstanding is willing...and sometimes a mistake is just a mistake.

Will you know? Will anyone be sure? Probably not. They my think they are, but in time the shine of any event marked by a Neptune station will dim...just as Neptune will dissolve the need or even any desire to see things in other than the simplest of human and mortal terms.

So saying, back to Venus...specifically more to the technical side of things. Since Neptune is at 4 Pisces, Venus will have come into orb of that square when Venus entered 29 Sagittarius, a degree known for its physical qualities and/or an interest in physicality, all of which can be challenged or even defeated by actions which if not sufficiently mature/matured or understood in both long and short terms can lead to some sort of stress which undermines or defeats the original purpose.

For some, this becomes the time when those problems begin fading away - though why they’re fading away makes all the difference, especially if that ‘why’ has anything to do with ‘taking the easy way out’ - and that goes double if what we’re trying to avoid is less the ‘thing’ is in progress and truly about our inability to face feeling defeated in our own right.

Or at least in terms of what we were thinking was right.

Venus will not end this transiting square to Neptune until November 22nd, which (surprise!) is the date when the Sun shows up in Sagittarius wearing the guise of a New Moon - which means that about the time that life [the Sun] shifts from psycho-squishy, self-reflective intensity of Scorpio into the wide and variable Sagittarian realm of all we imagine against all we need to live with...as that clarity ‘hits,’ so too will melt a least a few of the veneers forged now as factual necessity requires more focus on some goal.

Sagittarius being a fire sign, there is a speculative to quality to much which gets done between November 16th and December 10th, when Venus moves on into Capricorn.

And yes, there will also be a tendency to speculate - in private or in public. With Sagittarius being a sign known for ‘getting the word out’ and other forms of dispersion or dissemination (anything media and any sort of ‘taking a stand’ works here) there is much which is worthwhile to do and pick out of the milling throngs.

There is also likely to be a deal of pontificating, grandstanding and out-and-out fabricating - which may refer to a production or may be that which is more commonly known in non-Venusian circles as lying.

Whatever happens now, it’s ‘reality’ of the moment (and maybe its forever) is likely to be at some very real level, intangible. So this is a good Venus time for promoting something which will turn into something, but has some distance yet to go.

And maybe grow.

As for Neptune, the station at 4 Pisces brings us two very different perspectives on lore which suggests a spiritual, mystical, almost magically unfettered perception which, even while being unbounded, is simultaneously anchored in some very static form or position from which all is viewed or processed.

And yes, that is apart from royal/fixed star Fomalhaut’s presence at 4 Pisces, a presence which to the above adds the warning that only that which is neither corrupt nor corruptive brings success.

In Pisces, this refers to many things - all of which are about our willingness to a.) face our own emotions and b.) the willingness to accept that we are who we are, with all our good parts and all our icky bits. Whether our issue is accepting our mortality, our existence as one among countless equally human beings or feelings which reflect some unwillingness to face the uncertainty of existence, Pisces tests it all - and Fomalhaut’s long-term residence at 4 Pisces is ensuring that life continues successfully (which is a different thing than if I typed ‘...is ensuring that life continues successfully...’) is our warning that success  - which in Piscean terms would amount to peace of both the emotional and worldly type no matter how that manifests - can only be achieved when what we are doing is neither divisive under Piscean definitions nor inhumane or an expression of our own inability to be equally human to ourselves and others.

As for what being divisive in Pisces would be, that would involve divisions of direction - either a conflict of Self or acceptance of exclusionary dynamics... which is to say the human art of trying to shape life according to what we like, not what would be most supportive (and least harmful) to all and everything involved, particularly as that applies on the universal level (whether we see that ‘universal’ terms as being human, global-and-planetary or simply personal.

All of this is now subject to Neptune’s famously unpredictable and utterly ill-defined effects. Neptune is the mist, the fog, the emotional and sometimes physical toxicity which subtly overwhelms us, sometimes ‘looking’ (and feeling) worse than it actually is, and sometimes looking perfectly fine in moments when all is far from fine (and far from  understood). Representing everything from the giddiness which distracts to the façade which hides or belies, Neptune is the heart and soul of all we love to watch with fascination and equally associated with that which is utterly unreal.

To inspire, to deny, to enthrall, to assuage, to dissolve - Neptune symbolizes it all. When we proceed because we have faith but no knowledge, that is Neptunian. When we abandon reason for convictions based on longing, that’s Neptune. Neptune symbolizes that which carries us away in a tidal wave of emotion and the water which carriers us away in a flood or tsunami... its forces - whatever they may be - those Neptunian energetics will never be denied.

So...will we be overwhelmed by what we haven’t known and now do? Will we be inspired to see something new - some new vision - which will of its own accord release us from some bond which unbeknownst to us has been our way of holding ourselves back?

Have we even known what we want or why we want it? Is it thing we want - or are we more afraid of feeling what we would think of our Self if we didn’t get there or achieve that?

The Sabian symbol for 4 Pisces being ‘A church bazaar’ we know there are multiple factors and facets to that which is going on now, much of which is going to come or be provided by various sources (human or otherwise) united by function and belief in various forms of ‘transacting’ (or trading) which when entered into on the basis of Fomalhaut’s requirements (honesty, integrity, etc.) have the potential to inspire equitable agreements and feelings that ‘all is right with the world.’

(And wouldn’t we all like that?)

However...! (Yes, this is the near-obligatory ‘however’) There are a few configurations which in being active during Neptune’s station become part of the general aura, the first of which describes a grand trine:

On the Aries ‘me’ side we have the South Node conjunct Pandora at the end of Aries’ second decan (the teen degrees) - with both of those conjunct Eris. Pandora gives us the option between disaster and hope which in conjunction with the South Node (the easy thing) will refer to qualities we encounter and which are exhibited in/through relationships - the nodes always refer to our ‘intersecting’ with something, be it our ambitions, human others or the world.

Currently in retrograde, Eris is operating internally - which is to say there is a lot inside each and every one of us which is ripe for getting triggered, whether for good, bad or indifferent. Known sometimes as ‘Discordia,’ dwarf planet Eris represents potent moments and periods when status quos get ‘disrupted’ - sometimes unpleasantly and sometimes entirely for the good.

That these three points are connecting in Aries speaks to a great deal of emotional energy and conviction being aroused. As part of a grand trine, these feelings are ‘circulating’ in a manner which seems to have a (fire sign) life of its own.

Does it? Well, maybe yes, may be no. With Niobe and Jupiter in the latter third of Leo there are those who have something to be proud of and those who are merely proud - maybe for perfectly valid reasons and maybe...well, otherwise. Those accomplishments which can stand on their own however, like as not will whereas energy being invested (or vested) in boasting - or that which is boastful by nature - is likely to get [Niobe] ‘shot down.’

Or maybe we’re the shooter. Or perhaps that which is continuing to (Eris) rouse us is something about which we are right on target.

Remember: all astrological influences are capable of acting/reacting at either end of any spectrum - the fun and fabulous or the rancid and wretched. Some have marked tendencies to flow one way or the other - and with any symbol presented in a fire sign the thing to ‘fight off’ or ‘douse’ is the tendency to live, operate or think of the (fiery) vision as real instead of the aim, goal or motivation.

It’s not that the vision is bad - or even incorrect. It’s that you have to get there, which means seeing the real path before our real and tender everyday toes which really hate getting stubbed.

Especially as it’s that stubbing which (when all else fails) tends to ‘inflict’ enough reality that the very act of working to return to the dream generally gets some job done.

Or at least begun.

In the end however it’s probably the Ixion-Pholus coming from the Sagittarius quadrant which represents some sort of sand in a sandwich (or fly in the ointment) of ongoing, trine-like dynamics. As both Pholus and Ixion are centaurs, the reference is one which speaks of the difference between ‘should’ and ‘preference’ with both points known for instincts which spell defeats and losses which either spell the end (death) of certain attributes or being eternally ‘stuck’ with the folly of our blindness to others - that being a prime quality which unifies these points.

Add to that Vesta-Eurydike (the cost/price of a promise or commitment) which is encountered in a public and interactive (Sagittarian) space and this grand trine has all the markings of having to do want to do or stay with something despite all.

And despite what may be a desire to opt out. Grand trines don’t allow for any opting out...or opting in, either.

Yet there is a curious quality to Neptunian periods... while all this may be true going into Neptune’s station - it all may have changed by the time the station ends. The metaphysical Neptune points us to whatever will inspire us and open us up to possibilities. It’s also about all which may cloud our thinking - or why our thinking is clouded. Neptune stations sometimes mark the passing up of opportunities and sometimes mark the unbidden gift or miraculous happening.

But most of all it’s about the difference between reality and our beliefs, and how when we allow ourselves to believe in believing to the point where we get out-of-balance with our reality, problems arise and we end up feeling disappointed - most of all with our Self for not having been realistic.

Yet...is it realistic to think as humans we will never do such things?

In the end the distance between the blessings and woes of Neptune are simply about us. Where and when we believe in any belief more than reality, reality will let us down.

It’s cause-effect: we’re not believing in reality - it therefore doesn’t believe much in us.

Speaking of which, the other configuration occurring at this station is a Yod, that very special configuration which points to a lot of adjustment, generally - at least initially - of the internal and personal sort.

Composed of two 150-degree inconjuncts which  focus on a single point at one end and which are 60 degrees apart at the other, Yods often manifest by causing us to recognize or feel that there are certain limitations or boundaries which need to be observed while continuing on with our aims. In this particular figure those boundaries are represented by Chiron in Pisces (not knowing how to feel, whether that pertains to indecision or some sort of lack of experience) and Pluto-Mars-fixed star Vega in Capricorn, a conglomeration of highly dynamic and possibly highly difficult (even dangerous) energy which while full capable of marking a striking turn to the positive is also capable of manifesting as (or through) figures and events of darkly fascinating quality which wreak much destruction and indiscriminate, long-term havoc.

Occurring in Capricorn, the source and aim are both  structural, and with all three points appearing in ‘teen degrees, many people (and entities) will be exhibiting much determination and drive.

But remember: this is a Neptune station. In terms of astrological ‘ranking’ Neptune’s station, especially as it is happening in conjunction with Fomalhaut ‘outweighs’ all else. So while there is much determination, where, if and to the extent that such determinations or beliefs in positions are based on, in or through arrogance or egotism, they will eventually either come to be transformed... or they’re basically a zilch-zero-nada sum effort.

They may also be a feint. Just as Neptune can lure us to belief some illusion(ary belief), Neptune also often manifests in a ‘performance,’ though not of the ‘celebrate me’ type. Great artists often have Neptune prominent (or at least strikingly placed) in their natal charts - Neptune in this sense marks the difference between ‘celebrity’ and ‘artistry.’ The fame of Neptune is not that which appears in the tabloids - it’s the embodiment of the human experience in some iconic form or moment which stirs others.

Neptune cannot be profited on - at least not directly. When it does, when anything metaphysically Neptunian moves from being ‘the gift’ to being something meant to affect others the way you want them to be affected, that’s the quality of astrological ego which Neptune affects. And just to make the point here (considering everything going on in the world), as outcome ruler of Pisces, Neptune will mark outcomes in the fields of petroleum (and all which comes of oil, such as plastics), caregivers (be they medical, spiritual or familial), all things intoxicating and/or toxic (including their industries), entertainment, pharmaceuticals (at all levels, pro and con) and the very quality of having or needing to have faith.

The good news with a Yod is that it furnishes us with a ‘solution’ point. The not so lovely news is that those solution points occur in opposition to what we instinctively think we should do - that being why Yods have such an unsettled reputation.

Yes, we humans want answers. But when we get pointed to the answer we request, often we protest because that’s not the answer we want...which in reality means we didn’t want an ‘answer’ at all - we wanted our position and belief to be validated.

And sometimes there the answer is ‘no’ - and at the moment in particular is going to be ‘no’ because there’s too much ego being vested, or already invested.

Neptune will not honor ego - and at this time, with all the best intentions in the world a lot of people are going to be standing on the 13 Leo/Juno side of some matter when for best results they should be taking a more 13 Aquarius point of view.

Juno seeks to manage. And since 13 Leo is known to exhibit qualities of truly vast stubbornness, either people will seek to control (manage) their own stubbornness or they will ‘manage’ to create serious difficulties which they must then manage in terms of 13 Aquarius, that being a degree which insists that differences be noted, understood and respected.

From France's Chartres Cathedral, the symbol of Pisces showing its two fish

heading in different directions while eternally connected by a golden

cord rendered in stained glass. (photographer unknown.)

All of this is now being framed both in terms of the current Neptune station... and as part of the solidification of the incoming Aquarian Age as the Piscean Age ends - which is part of the challenges of today and for decades yet to come.

Put simply, people born under one Age know their lives to be one way. They “grew up that way” - which has over the 2,160 years of Piscean Age life come to be a lot of involuntary two-tier versions of life, thought, belief and everything else. It’s this ‘us versus them’ quality which Aquarius seeks to abolish, whether the subject is wealth, power or the essential necessity to acknowledge truths as truths despite alternate desires, instincts or preferences.

That which was accepted or acceptable under the Piscean Age is under scrutiny. Some of it at least is going to be melted away.

That’s a Neptune process, which is why during these years we are passing through every ‘Neptune event’ on the celestial list is going to be of elevated importance, with the current edition (the Fomalhaut station) being written in big and bold.

The last note here is a likeable one - the fact that the Leonids will be showering Earth with meteoric streaks and sparkles from November 15th through 20th.

A Leonid meteor streaks across the sky

(photo credit: Tushar N Dadarwala, January 2012)

As with every meteor shower, the Leonids represent ‘sparks’ and ‘being sparked,’ whether by  love, by ideas, by insights or sudden realizations which give rise to different perspectives. With the Sun, Saturn and Mercury still in Scorpio, such insights are likely to be sharp - and perhaps part of a process whereby some Neptune veil is ‘cut away’ either revealing something which is no longer needed either in light of something else which takes priority...or because we are now able to recognize and 'defuse' the emotional need which made something seem the only acceptable result.

And of course there will be a few who will decide to dedicate themselves to whatever ‘cutting abilities’ they think will puncture the dreams of others. One of the metaphysical reasons we’re seeing so much violence right now is exactly about this - but not as most people expect.

Under Aquarius, the issue with equality is not the weakness of the ‘underdog’ as it has been throughout the Age of Pisces, but rather with the other side of the 'equation' not wanting to be equal.

The upheavals we are experiencing and seeing all around us amount to simply this. Throughout the Age of Pisces, emotional waters were constantly seeking their own level.

Now those waters are evaporating into air - Aquarian air, to be exact. And if Aquarius is now on the first house of the Age, that means Pisces - and therefore Neptune - is delivering results which pertain to our values.

And our possible lack of values.

And all those things which we think so valuable when in reality they're merely personal illusions. 

We're in a period of re-education. We have things to learn and things to unlearn. As a sign, Aquarius says yes, we can have, learn and function as we want, so long as the need is there that we are fulfilling through our choices.

As for the reward, we can have what we want - we just have to be that person who would be given or awarded what we want by others.

And that may...or may not be who we are in our current reality.
.
.
.

Aldebaran @ 10 Gemini (2014-2086)

 Constellation Taurus

(image generated using Stellarium software)

.

There are a lot of famous stars, though what they’re famous for (and who made them famous) varies. Astrology certainly has its share of same, for sure - though even among astrologers there are a group of stars which seem to take stage center front more often than not.

Those stars are known as the Royal Stars of Persia. The complete list of Royal Stars is several dozen names long, but of those we use all the time, none seems any more important than Aldebaran.

All Royal Stars promise success IF (and only if) some particular human foible is avoided. With Aldebaran, that challenge regards integrity - most specifically, the not violating of one’s integrity.

This makes astrological sense of a rather important type when we think of Aldebaran as a star which sits at the heart of the zodiac constellation known as Taurus.

You know, Taurus values - what we value and what we are valued for against all our insecurities and vulnerabilities.

All of which gets tested out through our various Adventures Scorpionic. You know... like the 0 Scorpio solar eclipse about to occur on October 23rd (UT/+0)?

For decades now (many plural decades) Aldebaran has been sitting at 9 Gemini, a degree which tends to involve us in very complex issues and ideas, occasionally causing us to outsmart (or scare) ourselves in the process. Known for amazing thought processes which tend not to lead to accomplishment under the influence of this degree, Aldebaran’s having been positioned at 9 Gemini since September 1943 suggests that when it comes to what we’ve created or begun to understand or harness hasn’t even really begun paying off.

Imagine that.

Considering all that, is it logical or philosophically reasonable to think that just as Aldebaran is about to change degrees it would represent the pressure and squeezing of us, each and all, getting us to give up (cough up, let go of) that which is so futile... that which will not ever bear the dreamed of fruit?

It often works that way with planets. Why not stars?

In any case, now Aldebaran’s ‘integrity required’ directive is moving to 10 Gemini. The date the change occurs is October 2nd (UT/+0), and the degree ‘ten’ in any sign is one which includes an experience of.. or embodying of... some sort/amount of feeling(s). In a sign known for dispassionate perspective, 10 Gemini somehow ‘breaks’ that mold by being known for its strong compassion and desire to uphold justice (and correct injustices) which given Aldebaran’s presence speaks to an undercurrent we are going to hear a lot about (and feel in our own lives) over the seven or so decades.

During that time we will each meet up with many ways which ask us to connect with and uphold the concept of compassion, injustice, reform and so on.

And because Aldebaran will be in 10 Gemini, we are required to uphold standards of universal integrity. That means that things many people have ‘gotten away with’ up until now will no longer work. Corner-cutting or bypassing which has been accepted prior to now will either not be accepted/acceptable, or not work - to substantial (even great) cost.

This is a degree of beginnings - and evidently the need to begin with integrity, and to build or progress with ever more integrity. This is a degree of insight, which with Aldebaran at 10 Gemini suggests that one of our tests is going to be knowing the limits of integrity as a concept, for though we will understand much in the years ahead, not all of it will be what we’d like.

Aldebaran ‘travels’ in zodiacal opposition to another of the Royal Stars, a star which goes by the name of Antares and whose test involves obsession.

Don’t do it, in other words. Where Antares is concerned, obsession - which in this case is coming from Sagittarius (the “I Know the Truth and What’s Right”) undermines ultimate success.

(Ours, that is.)

In perfect opposition for these past more-than-several decades (and thus in the natal charts of everyone born since 1944) this Aldebaran-Antares dynamic is our challenge to find our passion... and the need to remain aware of our limits. That balance is in each chart and each life... and now that which was spinning like a gyroscope is going to begin to wobble -- just a bit, and just for a few years as Antares will also change degrees as of 2017, re-establishing a sense of inner directives.

But it’s could be a bit lumpy for the next few years. Things don’t have to be wildly out-of-round, but they will inflict on us a sense of being just barely out-of-balance. The smart money being on remembering this fact when things go wonky, it is to be expected that a lot of people (from every walk of life) are going to be flailing just a touch... or now and again... as they attempt to control that which cannot be controlled.

To typify this star as a more familiar sort of energy, one might call it assertion. But it’s more than that. Aldebaran represents the making of a point and the understanding of some point.

It also represents the need to simply know - not because we want to be right, but rather as a matter of living a life in which information doesn’t just allow us to make better choices but which requires of us to do that ‘right’ thing (live up to our own standards of integrity) and to that which is right because that’s simply the right thing to say, think or ultimately, do.
.
.
. 

Sun in Virgo / Eclipse Effects Begin

A mirage sunrise over Lake Superior

(photo credit: Tom Ruen, July 2002)

Believe it or not, everything that we have been going through and seeing around us in the world is something of a prelude (or prequel, if you prefer).

To what?

To understanding what it’s all about, which at some level and at some point isn’t about ‘them’ or ‘that’ or whatever. It’s about us. It’s about how willing we are to grapple with what’s wrong - not with life, but with how we’re responding to life. How we’re treating ourselves through whatever we choose to do with our days, our life, to this world and (so we think) to others. All the fighting, all the despair and disregard, all the name calling and ill will, all the shameful neglect for our own standards with regards to anything or anyone who would dare disagree with us...

Metaphysically, none of that is about anyone but us.

Yes, it’s you and me and everybody else, individually going about stirring up our own karma. There is an argument to be made here that things have gotten so bad that there is some underlying knowledge that we need to do some purging of the malicious sort of toxin which has been eating away at our world.

It’s just that very (very) few of us are yet at the point where we realize that the ‘bad’ out there is what we apparently need.

Need? Who needs grief?

Evidently we do.

Why?

Simple: because we’re human, and humans generally don’t learn all that much through the good times. We would like to think that we do, but then there are all those expressions like ‘the burned hand teaches best’ (and a thousand others) which admit what we know deep down in our gut: we learn best through pain. That which carries too high a price, we tend not to repeat - just as that which we keep doing over and over again must have some benefit.

Think about that for a while and then think through what’s going on in our world. Humans don’t seem to be in the habit of ‘committing’ peace.’

But why would that be?

Astrologically - which is to say metaphysically - the reason we would be looking for here is described by Scorpio, the sign which wherever it manifests is always about the feelings we are confronted with through our experience of others or emotionality connected with some process, choice or situation.

When it comes to anything Scorpio, we like to feel not that we can win but that we’re going to win - a quality which tends to manifest in Scorpio’s intensity of drive and personal focus. But let’s be real here... as convinced as we might want to be, the reality is that if there’s a question of winning, there’s also a possibility of losing.

There are three water signs: Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces. With Cancer there’s always a candy coating of innocence. So Cancerian mistakes, as flinch-worthy as they may be are generally of the ‘fool me once, shame on you’ type.

But with Scorpio there’s a knowing - at least an emotional knowing. Plus Scorpio is a sign which belongs to the public and interactive quadrant - as opposed to Cancer, which is personal and mostly hidden from the greater world at large. This marks the Scorpio mistake as the one which isn’t just annoying, but possibly embarrassing...even humiliating.

And when people are threatened with humiliation, most don’t take it very well...hence Scorpio’s reputation for manipulation, vengeance and badgering, browbeating and other forms of waiting out a ‘foe’ - which is the point here: in representing where we intersect with others, as part of its polarity to Taurus (sign of personal security) Scorpio also represents how we defend our internal Self...or whether we need to.

This becomes important now as the Sun reaches 0 Virgo on August 23rd (at 4:45 in the morning UT/+0 time) simply because 0 Virgo is in perfect sextile to 0 Scorpio, and 0 Scorpio is the degree of this October’s solar eclipse, a solar eclipse which will occur on October 23rd (UT/+0).

In other words, with the Sun moving into Virgo (which obviously begins with 0 Virgo), this is also the moment when a celestial timer goes off as we enter the two-month ‘breaking down’ period which precedes any given solar eclipse. This ‘breaking down’ process has to do with us - the breaking down of our resistance to things, whether that amounts to something we need to know (and/or accept) about our Self, or something we need to understand about life, our world, or something going on in that world.

As Mercury moved into Virgo last week on the 15th we started thinking about things. Now, as the Sun moves into Virgo, the ‘thinking’ as something apart from real time efforts fades or even vanishes - a quality often seen when Sun and Mercury are in the same sign. Mercury alone is the thought...Mercury plus Sun becomes the theme.

With Mars in the 3rd sign to Virgo (Scorpio) throughout most of the Sun’s transit of Virgo we can expect to see efforts, denials and threats over the next few weeks, all of which are diversions of sort considering there are things coming to the surface in everyone’s life which are too real to ignore even if dealing with them is difficult at best. Eliminating things (and people) is sometimes necessary and yet often simply the easy way out - one which we are likely to find cuts us short in the process.

This year’s annual Sun in Virgo is likely to have  financial implications. Such matters do not have to be negative, but they should be taken into account. That this Sun/Eclipse positioning forms both a one/eleven...

...as well as a one/three...

...harmonic note speaks to communications and responses, acceptance and whatever earnings our successes are due against that tendency we have to segregate, separate, differentiate or unify, whether actively or passively, whether financially, mentally, systemically, societally or through any other means we might think to associate with ‘identity,’ ‘identification,’ ‘individuation’ or ‘ideation.’

...All of which is not only its own little pot of things to stew about (stewing can be nourishing), but also a means by which we will begin to process and either a.) attract, or b.) manifest those situations which represent our individual Scorpio test of personal security.

(Oh joy, oh rapture...)

With the Sun entering Virgo, the eclipse sits in the derivative third sign (1. Virgo, 2. Libra, 3 Scorpio), eliciting everything and anything which has to do with the generic third house...or the individual third house of your natal chart, which we obviously can’t talk about in detail. But we can consider what it means to have an eclipse ‘blacking out’ that which we have thought of as our ‘norm’ or ‘modus operandi’ for however long, tra-la-la.

The third house/sign points to mentality, choice, consideration, information, organization, intelligence, record-keeping, accounting/accounting for, siblings, communication, cars-trains-planes-telephones-computers and whatever else ‘communicates’ us or our ideas to anyone or anywhere else. To have a solar eclipse in this aspect to Virgo speaks to a desire (or) need to let something to... which may mean a real (tangible) something - or it may be our attitude which makes us think getting rid of someone or something will some a problem which in reality is about our personal perspective.

In other words, as the Sun reaches Virgo and as all comes to be as it is at that time and moving forward, something about our (Virgoan) efforts is either eliminated... or comes to be causal in some sort of event or experience wherein life is asking us to not just deny but actually let go of (in reality) something we have long used as methodology, justification, moral position - something.

One slightly unusual quality about this Virgo ingress chart is the fact that as the Sun enters Virgo it  doesn’t actually aspect any other standard planet using standard (Ptolemaic) aspects and standard orbs - a quality which in astrological terms accelerates or multiples the general effect of any placement.  Yes, the Sun is certainly in aspect to fixed (royal) star Regulus at 0 Virgo as it conjuncts it, but this rule only applies to the 'standard planet' list (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto).

As for Regulus, this is the point which gives us royal notice about how in all the things we may think of doing, revenge had best not be not a part of any of it.

No, don't even think about it.

You’re free to do what you want to do about this, of course, but Regulus at any degree promises success only where we are not embodying or utilizing the concept or qualities of revenge (otherwise known as vengeance). At 0 Virgo this speaks to a combining of two rather different influences, one being a burning confidence and the other being the humble servant, suggesting all sorts of ways we may move forward through requiring of ourselves that we lead through earning the respect of all those we would like to have as supporters and/or followers. It not being in the general Virgo play book to do much but drop a hint as to what may be coming at us, this unaspected Virgo Sun may well represent matters or issues in life which we don’t pay much attention to.

It may also represent our not wanting to pay attention to something which doesn’t tickle our fancy.

There is no pre-determined ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ chiseled in stone here. Furthermore, there is just that odd but karmic chance that something highly focal at the moment may be just the thing which the universe has made (in true Scorpio and Scorpio/Virgo style) irresistible so that it will elicit the behavior or choice or realization or victory or complete and utter loss which for some of us will be the 0 Scorpio black rabbit hole we drop rather in slow motion between now and October 23rd, the to-be-hallowed (in short order, no doubt) date of the incoming eclipse.

The March 2006 Solar Eclipse at 8 Aries

(photo credit: Aliparsa, March 2006)

As a side-comment here, if you’re thinking that you should start dreading now and avoid the October solar eclipse rush, there really is no hurry.

Why so?

Well, it’s not like we’re not already on slippery Scorpio ground with ourselves. We can tell that - just look around: wars are raging and death is stalking among us overly openly. Reason has become subject and subjugated to ensnarled passions we haven’t come to grip with yet.

We think we have, of course. But we haven’t. That’s what the next two months are about, with the first part of that process to be lived out under Sun in Virgo.

Oh yes...before I close, the other part of this Scorpio-Virgo relationship - the Virgo-to-Scorpio (one/three) derivation. We can expect a lot of demanding, a lot of manipulation, a deal of denial, much begging (real and otherwise) and a whole host of human beings attempting to manipulate, corner and browbeat others (often through sheer volume or repetition) over the next few weeks.

Be aware: those who fall to such tactics are showing you their vulnerabilities. Treat those issues with kind respect and both sides will win. Take advantage of such chinks in armor and the karma will be yours.

So...do you really want to try that fate on (of your own free will) as we go into the prelude to the last and most primal of all Scorpio solar eclipses?

That would be the question.
.
.
.