William and Kate: A Marriage Royal, A Human Relationship

 William placing the ring on Kate's finger

photo source: CNN

Anyone and everyone who cared about the grand affair which was the wedding of William and Kate got their chance to watch…once, twice...many times. The whole event was broadcast live, then re-broadcast over and over and over again.

Astrologically, the marriage is one chart – a chart timed for the moment when the vows are sealed.

 April 29, 2011 - 'Let No Man Put Asunder'

But the relationship which underlies that wedding? 

That’s a whole other thing. And when we talk about that 'whole other thing,' you'll even hear two versions talked about there.

One version is the astrological 'composite' chart. We take the Sun of one chart, the Sun of another, we translate the zodiacal positions into 360 (numerical) notation and divde that by two.

The composite chart is a great picture of what one person 'thinks' of the other.


What it isn't is the 'living' chart of the relationship...as in, "honey, we have to go away for the sake of the relationship." Instinctively we seem to recognize that when there are two people in the room there are three entities present: person one, person two, and the relationship which lies between them.


That relationship is a dynamic thing. A composite chart isn't. You can't look up its "date" in an ephemeris because it doesn't have one. Not even computer software will let you calculate with a composite chart because it's 'midpoint' construct does not reflect an actual point in time.

The 'actual point in relationship time' chart is called a "Davison chart." It's a chart erected for a midpoint in time, space and birth location between the two people involved.

I'll spare you the rest of this recitation...but trust me, I've done my homework here and Davison charts are for real.

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 William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Davison Relationship/Aries Chart (No Time Known for Kate's Chart)

So we have one chart which is the chart for the sealing of the wedding vows. That's a regular, everyday  real-time chart which, given modern satellite technology and my watching the wedding in real time can only be mere seconds off the actual moment of sealing the marriage vows with the traditional ...let no man put asunder speech.

Against this we have the chart for William and Kate as a couple – the relationship chart. There we have a bit of a problem as there has as yet been no time confirmed for (as she’s now known) the Duchess of Cambridge’s birth. All we know is that Catherine was born on January 9, 1982 in Reading, UK.

For William, there's exact data – of course! But given that we don't have Kate's time, we do well to cast the Davison in Aries Wheel format.

The other thing we have an issue with because we don't have Kate's birth time is how we need to own that while the Moon of this relationship is more than likely in  Cancer, we can't swear to that.

But it is likely - and that's an interesting item to note seeing as we know William’s Moon is in Cancer and it's very highly mostly really likely Kate’s is too.

(And in case you're thinking that would be "automatic," it isn't. It's easy enough to have two people with Moon in Virgo and have the Davison Moon come out in any sign but!)

However! As we say this we do have a whole bunch of 'absolutes' and 'givens.' And that list starts with the lunar nodes of the Davison being positioned at 18 Cancer (North) and Capricorn (South)...which makes an  interesting statement.

How's that? Well, the North Node is what we should do. And this North Node being in Cancer speaks to how important it is for this relationship to be about family, heritage, one’s personal life and - since this is a royal couple - 'the people’: one’s native population and homeland.

Against this we have a South Node - the 'easy thing' - in Capricorn. Especially with Capricorn’s ruling Saturn strongly positioned in Libra, it's 'easy' for this couple of follow the rules. They will find things easier if they 'color inside the lines' - royal and otherwise.

This also suggests that when the day comes that William becomes King, his work will easily come first even though they know as a couple that in order to be figureheads for their nation they need to keep working on their relationship.

It's something of a dichotomy...and no, not at all easy.

Sitting at 19 Libra and the apex of a t-square with the lunar nodes, this Saturn is not quite conjunct Pluto at 25 Libra...and it's a couple of degrees out of strict Ptolemaic (5-degree) conjunction orb with Pallas at 12 Libra.

It's something of a picture of being between the rock and the hard place. And since in this picture the 'hard place' is pictured most immediately by the lunar nodes, the issue is social and societal obligation.

Then we add in Eris - aka Eris Discord. Conjunct Sabine (entrapment, slavery) in emotionally expressive degrees of Aries, Eris is in opposition to Saturn and square to the nodes, making this not a t-square but a grand square (also known as a grand cross).

Since all astrology is a two-way swinging door, this tells us that there will be times when the 'public call' is simply a pain in the low back and very frustrating. But there will also be times when discord strikes in the world and in response this couple of will react as a matter of course.

In other words, they're really very human.

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 Westminster Abbey witnesses yet another royal marriage

photo source: CNN

And this Eris/Saturn 'inconvenient timing’ issue doesn't end there. Though at 19 Libra Saturn isn't strictly conjunct a 12 Libra Pallas (wisdom) which is itself conjunct a 10 Libra Mars and Eros/passion, Eris IS positioned to be in opposition to Saturn and - SEPARATELY - opposition Eris...which is conjunct the couple's strong 10 Aries Sun.

Sun in Aries is very strong. Conjunct Eris and Sabine and in opposition to Pallas-Mars-Eros (and let's be reminded: Mars in Libra is hardly Mars at its most assertive!) this suggests that as a couple, William and Kate will defend their right to have a personal life.

It also suggests that the 'being apart' we saw in their dating life may yet happen again. That may be all about necessity, that may be because they need a bit of a break, that may be simply because William's work - whether in the military or elsewhere - that may take him away.


If this couple learns to handle the 'unevenness' of schedule to their advantage, they'll thrive. Is this likely? Well, Saturn's strength in Libra and the Sun's resilience in Aries says they have better than the average chance.


It also suggests this is a couple which knows how to disagree. And that life isn't all cupcakes and rose petals.

Another aspect of this is how the Mars-Eros-Pallas speaks to their understanding that they represent something to literally millions of people they will never meet. And how this couple is aware of the difference between the way they live and the lives of non-royals - which will like as not become far more evident and/or important William comes to the throne.

Even before that, one suspects.

Leaving that for a moment, let’s consider the Davison Juno at 7 Capricorn. This is Juno positioned as the apex of another t-square which might be a grand cross, though we can't know without having a birth time for Kate.

As it is, Juno sits at the half-way point between Sun in Aries and Mars-Pallas, which is clearly (among other things) the overhanging, omni-present fact that William is a member of "the Firm"...British royalty. Learning how to manage that? That's a huge piece in the relationship puzzle.

But without that Moon....?

The difference between t-squares (which are solvable) and grand squares (which are eternal challenges in one's life) is huge.

A grand square (or grand cross) is a figure of being pulled from all sides. In an individual’s natal chart, grand squares ask that we ‘pull all the corners together’ (symbolically) before we do any “heavy lifting” - or at least have any success with same. About the best image here I could give you is collecting everything off a table by pulling all four corners of the tablecloth together before you hoist; in a chart, the one ‘corner’ you miss will be the place where all sorts of havoc spills out, ruining your effort to get ahead.

Against this, the t-square is a hurdle. You have to understand where you're coming from, where you're headed and what about yourself (the 't' is part of your chart, right?) you have to get past or "over" in order to reach your goal.

In pragmatic terms, the difference between the t-square and grand square is one of degree of complexity…the number of details one must ‘pull together,’ as it were. In real world terms however...t-squares are often found in the charts of great achievers where grand squares are found more often in those who rise and fall at least a few times before figuring life out.

Still....whether or not the Moon is in aspect to Juno or anything else in this chart, by sign the Moon and Sun are in square. This is a classic indication of problems with timing. We saw some of this (or at least thought we did) with Kate’s having appeared to ‘decide’ William was her guy before he decided she was the woman he wanted to marry. Another form will like as not be a clashing of schedules we will never see – and perhaps never even hear about.

That Pluto (symbol of emotionally transformative experiences) had gone on station and retrograde at 7 Capricorn – the degree of Juno – is exactly what we would expect to see in the chart of a royal couple about to get married. Capricorn is traditionally the sign of ‘head of government’ and Juno a symbol of domestic leadership. With the wedding having happened with the Sun moving across first Sedna at 6 Taurus (the maturation process) on April 26 before ‘triggering’ Pluto’s 7 Capricorn station (and the Davison chart Juno) on the 27th…we get a real picture of this couple recognizing the enormity of the event their wedding would be.

Conversely, this also signals the wedding as an enormous public moment.

 Crowds lining the street, enjoying the moment

outside Westminster Abbey, London

photo source: CNN

For those who are dedicated royal watchers, there’s also the contemplation that in having gone into retrograde, Pluto will return to 7 Capricorn 39 on January 9th with the Sun doing a ‘lesser' trigger to this Pluto cycle on December 28/29 – which will be an interesting moment to watch. Will we be hearing more news from the Duke and Duchess as either of these dates roll by?

Yes or no, this is something interesting to watch for and very much how astrological research is done.

Meanwhile, the marriage chart…with it’s regal 15 Leo rising…it’s a lovely picture of a public royal wedding. Leo has always been known as a sign of royalty even though governance is a Capricorn attribute. The difference…rulership versus governance is one of perspective. But here we have the Sun which rules that 15 degrees Leo rising intercepted in the 10th house – a signal which on one hand speaks to the marriage being a matter of duty (interception) to the not just the (10th house/MC) nation.

And with 28 Aries on the MC/Midheaven of this wedding chart, with the Mars which rules that 10th house cusp in a triple conjunction (Jupiter, Mars, Eris all at 21 Aries) …all four of these points in degrees between 20 and 29 degrees (that being the 3rd decanate of the sign) we know…for absolute sure that everything which comes of and from this marriage will be reacted to by the public and ultimately ruled and regulated by that same public – and the world.

So much for a private union between two people, right?

As for 15 degrees of Leo, like 15 degrees of any fixed sign (there being for fixed signs: Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) we are speaking of a ‘moving into the next phase’ or ‘taking a step’ in life – which marriage truly is.

 A lovely photograph of Queen Elizabeth II being greeted by

the Dean of Westminster as she arrives at Westminster Abbey

to attend her grandson's wedding.

photo source: CNN

The Ascendant being conjunct Photographica at 11 Leo puts the marriage in the public eye and tells us that it was carried out with an eye to (and on) the public.

But then things get…a bit less candid. That intercepted Sun is positioned in a difficult degree: 8 Taurus is known for sensitivity to teasing – which we know will come from the tabloids, never mind the public and possibly (?) the royal court. This degree is known for ‘fighting shadows’ and a general defensiveness which suggests an internal frailty which develops as demand outstrips ability to comfortably comply.

Added to this is fixed star Hamal plus Byblis, a more than difficult commentary. Hamal equals  independence and is known to take on the coloring of whatever else is present. Considering that the Sun itself is often an image of males and that Sun in Taurus is security and/or privilege of wealth, this can well speak to William’s already-demonstrated ability to eschew the trappings of royalty.

Then we add in Byblis. Byblis is an asteroid which is all about defending the indefensible. And thus we ask: will this couple run afoul of their very caring for common people and/or a ‘regular’ way of life? Will they prove sufficiently ‘independent’ as to offend those still ‘married’ to an older and more traditional role for royalty?

Phaeton/Hera speaks to the 'impulsiveness’ and ‘headstrong’ quality of ‘the mate’ – Hera usually being the wife. Does this mean that William will ultimately decide he chose a bride too early? Or will we end up seeing yet another example of a couple which in becoming entrenched in the duties of royalties rebels against it?

With Bali (paradise) and Deucalion (finding the moral path) in direct opposition to the Sun of this chart (and thus intercepted in the chart’s 4th house) we do understand that the marriage will always be understood to be of import to the public. Positioned at 9 Scorpio the underlying dynamic is emotional commonalty or agreement – that being the Scorpio part. With 9 Scorpio being a 1st decan degree (between 0 and 9) we know what this pair does is ‘the proof of the pudding.’

That this Bali/Deucalion is intercepted in the 4th says a lot about this marriage being founded in a (Scorpio) inheritance of native…and yes royal…tradition. And for those who wonder whether this royal couple will continue in what is seen by some as ‘a life of excess’ which has so typified so many royal households, that answer is ‘maybe not.’

Why not? Because fixed star Arcturus is exactly conjunct Spica as the objects closest to the 4th house cusp with Saturn (retrograde) at 12 Libra farther back in the 3rd house and in opposition to Venus at 10 Aries, Pelion at 11 Aries and Mercury at 14 Aries in the 9th.

Saturn retrograde in the 3rd either makes one pessimistic or says you think before you choose to do or what you do. In Libra, there’s a built in concern about what others think or how they’ll react.

Meanwhile, that Aries Venus-Pelion-Mercury in the 9th is something we already have heard about – the British Royal Family’s concern about how to hold a royal wedding during a period of financial struggle. Pelion is the ‘great mountain’…it can either be something you climb or that thing you’re sitting atop looking down at everyone else from. Add in Venus in Aries (the appearance) and Mercury in Aries (what I say, what people think of me) and you have a royal couple who is “saddled” with being emotionally aware of others.

Yes…its just William and Kate in this marriage. Plus the rest of the royal family. Plus the press. Plus the citizens of the UK and anyone else who cares to watch.

Neptune – pictured at 0 Pisces in this chart - is at this moment about to go station/retrograde. Come next June (2012) it will go retrograde at 3 Pisces, right atop the 8th house cusp of this chart. Since this 3 Pisces is also the position of Damocles (the dangers we don’t recognize until we take the job on) in the Davison relationship spot, it’s very likely this is a moment when a soft spot in the royal relationship is found, resulting in at least a bit of bruising.

 With festivities having begun inside Buckingham Palace,

people linger in the streets, still celebrating

photo source: CNN

Speaking of the Davison chart, June’s 24 Sagittarius Lunar Eclipse bisects the split between Black Moon Lilith/Ascendant at 21 Sagittarius (plus Ras Alhague at 22 Sagittarius) and Neptune at 27 Sagittarius conjunct fixed star Acumen at 28.

Acumen being ‘all we’ve learned’ in conjunction with Neptune is likely to be what some call ‘fuzzy math.’ With Black Moon Lilith (what you don’t want to admit about the world and what the world doesn’t or shouldn’t know about you) conjunct Ras Alhague…?

Ras Alhague is the really iffy coin toss here. Sometimes it’s a healing force and sometimes it’s the ripper (or ripping) which creates the need for healing. Given that this is about the Ascendant, IF William and Kate determine at this point to do something for others (or even issue a delightingly sensitive statement of some kind) …then can could count this for a plus.

But with Black Moon Lilith on the Ascendant/Ras Alhague of this chart virtually guarantees some sort of ‘paparazzi war’ at some point…if not consistently.

And let’s remember: the 11 Gemini solar eclipse happens June 1st. Occurring in that emotionally challenging 12th house, it’s in trine to Pallas/Mars and sextile Sun/Eris/Sabine…so something’s going on which is of an evolving/evolutionary nature. Keep your royal ears tuned in and take whatever happens during June/July seriously – take it as the start of a  process.

 The happy couple...happy (probably among other reasons) for

having gotten through the ceremony without any giant faux pas!

photo source: CNN

This is underscored certainly by the July solar eclipse (at 9 Cancer) being in opposition to the Davison Juno and maybe conjunct the chart’s Moon, though without an exact birth time for Kate we can’t be sure. Certainly in square to the Sun/Eris and Mars/Pallas, this becomes a testing time for the relationship.

What’s it about? Call it this: now that they’re married, now what?

Kleopatra’s Royal retrograde into Libra: What’s in a (Wedding) Day…?

'Anthony and Cleopatra'

Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1885) 

Welcome to one of my all time convoluted blog posts. It's about Kleopatra the asteroid - and Cleopatra the person - and more than a bit about the UK's royal wedding, which considering it hasn't even taken place yet when this blog goes up, is an exercise in illumination of astro-theory and a bit of supposition.

See? I told you it was a mish-mosh...happens. And as for using the impending wedding as an illustration tool, never let it be said I didn’t use an available event!)

So let's start with the obvious: the basic astrological item on the bill of fare today is an asteroid named Kleopatra, which come 7:24 in the evening of April 29, 2011 (UT/+0)…(and yes, that would be London, England time)…will be retrograding back into Libra.

And that means it's retrograding out of Scorpio.

Continuing to lay ground work for the conversation to come, this means that (for all you royals watchers) unless the royal wedding has been amazingly delayed, it will have taken place with Kleopatra in Scorpio.

And considering that Niobe (headstrong pride) is sitting at 1 Scorpio at the moment....? And how Scorpio is always about the emotional investment of the group (the whole group and nothing but the group, which in this case is not only local but pretty much global), this suggests that after said wedding, after all the toasting and dancing and whatnot is done in royally regal form, newlyweds William and Kate will probably be really, really, really, really, really happy to get away from all the pomp and circumstance (read: pompousness which circumstances dictate). You know...to have some 'take the shoes off,' heave the big sigh and slump into a chair time.

Not to mention some personal and private time!

But as we say this with our smile, giggle and wink (which isn't just for fun but also because we all know what a giant headache big events can be, royal or not!) …there is a more universal question. And that is, what does the movement of Kleopatra the asteroid have to say about all this? Can we understand more about the event and the asteroid by taking a closer look at all?

Answer: probably yes. So let's give it a try, shall we?

Obviously the metaphysics of Kleopatra start with the the queen (Cleopatra) for whom this celestial body is named. Okay, so what about Cleo? Well, as a queen, she came to the throne at the end of Egypt’s long, long, long line of headdress and sandal-wearing Pharaohs. She also seems to have actually been a notably unusual soul.

Oh and by the way, the famous Cleopatra? That's  Cleopatra VII (Cleopatra the 7th)…which just proves you can’t keep a good name down. If at first you don't succeed...

Anyway, Cleopatra was not your usual woman...which is probably how she has come to spawn such enticing myths and movies. (Okay, so the movies were not all so enticing – but they were rather regal in their time!) And no, her fame is not just about her having managed to do such a tragically good job of wooing Caesar and Mark Antony at the same time…

 

Gaius Julius Caesar - the 'Tusculum portrat': 

one of two surviving busts made during his life

photo credit: Tataryn 77 (aug 2010)

And to be sure Cleopatra had some iffy qualities. (Don't we all?) Personally, I happen to think a queen of any country should deign to speak the same language as her people and this wasn’t case with Cleopatra! No, she was all Greek and no local-lingo.

She also apparently wasn’t against rather dislikable practices such as testing out new and promising poisons on unfortunate captives...

Cleopatra Testing Poisons on Condemned Prisoners 

by Alexandre Cabanel (1887)

Yet in spite of this, in many ways Cleopatra would strike us as a modern sort. For one, even if she wasn’t into speaking the national language, she was fluent in more than several  tongues (all puns intended, obviously!) and contrary to what many think today, there were aspects of ancient Egypt – such as women being able to own property and inherit – which Cleopatra would have considered her status quo.

(Odd how from then until now such rights are denied in  some countries, right?)

There’s also the fact that Cleopatra was quite the shrewd politician. This is in fact, her greatest claim to fame - or maybe how she managed to mix the politics and personal was...which yes, does remind us of a royal wedding held as a great spectacle not only for the millions in the realm but for zillions around the globe. There's nothing so personal as a wedding, and yet if you're part of a royal family the politico of being royal in this day and age certainly requires that you let people far and wide in on your most Special Day.

As for Cleopatra, yes, she had a few problems in the romance department. But how many of us (male or female) don’t get our business screwed up when the business of our heart gets involved in the business of  business, political or otherwise?

Yet it's how Cleopatra went about mixing business with the pleasure of power politics which marked her as so unique. Aside from being a shrewd socio-political force of her day, she was not just a great hostess - no, she was a magnificent hostess! One who knew to (and how to) find out all sorts of special little facts about prospective guests and thus have things arranged so that when they arrived they would be utterly charmed and enchanted from the first moment they arrived in the World of Cleopatra. And so she would keep them entertained and enticingly dallied on throughout their stay, sprinkling just enough distraction in with the politics, trade deals and economic chit-chat to keep their eyes dazzled while hers on whatever Cleopatra’s prize of the moment was.

And...well! You know how they say women are drawn to men who exude power? Well! Evidently Mark Antony and Gaius Julius Caesar, two of the most powerful men of their day, they were pretty mesmerized by Cleopatra, too - and by today’s standards she wasn’t even some raving, ravishing beauty.

A Cleopatra VII tetradrachm. She evidently didn't look

much like Elizabeth Taylor. But then, who does?

photo credit: Phgcom (2009)

Was she manipulative? Some would say undoubtedly so...and certainly the combination of political savvy and lusciously immortalized love affairs suggests how ol’ Cleo probably had some substantial Scorpio or 8th house factors in her natal chart!

Which alas…we will never have: there is no precise date (never mind time) for her birth given, so all we have to go on are the records…and the tale of her asp.

Yes, that really bites...

Given all this, it would seem natural for Kleopatra (now we're talking about the asteroid) to have some of the  ‘maneuvering, aka manipulating’ quality we associate with the queen. We might well think the asteroid signifies where 'business' (or requirements, or responsibilities) get mixed with things personal - and whether pleasureful or not.

Considering these qualities, it might also be reasonable to think of Kleopatra the asteroid to have a natural affinity for the public signs (Libra through Pisces) rather than the private signs (Aries through Virgo) and in particular, the 3rd quadrant interactive 'sign natives': Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius.

Now let's think a bit about this whole royal wedding escapade. The engagement was announced in mid-November - just as Jupiter was moving into its station to go retrograde. And that fits the rule: things which happen during a station window but before the actual station refer to things which have yet to happen.

During December, though the date and location had already rather been 'announced' there continued being a dribble and drabble of comments (read: "leaks") about how the couple would have preferred to have a small-ish, more private affair. But alas, matters of state and crown intervened.

During this self same December 2010 was when Kleopatra moved into Scorpio - the specific date being December 21st, the date of a Lunar Eclipse at 29 Gemini (critique of thoughts, critical choices). So what with this being a lunar eclipse period, we would expect some high emotional drama, no? And we got some...as Kleopatra moved through late Libra into Scorpio, we were getting the flip (the planning) of what we are now seeing as Kleopatra is retrograding back out of Scorpio into Libra. And yes, it's very 'Cleopatra royal' - the mixing of personal and state.

So what about the rest of us who aren't lords and ladies except perhaps in our own mind? Well, the same premises exist, just on a smaller scale.

Yet on another level, let us be more astrologically pragmatic: as December's Gemini Lunar Eclipse was part of/marked the settling of date, place and such in  Buckingham Palace wedding circles and that is being played out today, so are matters of our own lives from that time likely to be playing out now as well. That lunar eclipse at 29 Gemini with Kleopatra passing through 29 Libra to reach Scorpio created a period of trining...when things would 'just happen because that's the way they works' (whether we like it or not!).

And as I remember that time (the phone calls, the emails...) I do seem to remember a good number of people not liking everything all that much. There was something of a ‘grab your asp’ high drama signature going on in many a life!

Expect the echos of that now.

 An Egyptian Cobra. The term 'asp' is presumed to be short

for 'aspis' - an old term for any type of venomous snake. For this

reason, many think Cleopatra's famous asp was actually an

Egyptian Cobra.

So now we arrive at today: April 29th. What's the timing here?

Well, as Kleopatra retrogrades through 0 Scorpio heading for its re-entry into Libra at 7:24pm (UT/+0), the Moon will be just be leaving Pisces (encountering our old - ugh! - friend fixed star Scheat) and entering Aries. And this creates an aspect relationship astrology calls an inconjunct. It's a situational energetic which calls for adjustment...which in this case includes the feelings of the public (Scheat/Moon) which aren't, well, delighted.

Let's just go there.

And what's being adjusted? The "I" Aries desire as it meets up with the jointly held emotional values (Scorpio/Moon). This inconjunct only lasts a couple of hours, but it does express some inconvenience to be sure and like as not, feelings of being 'put upon.'

These effects will "set in” around 1:30pm and last until midnight (London time) - and just to add to the joy (not!) will be the Moon opposing giant black hole M87 during the heart of this period.

One would expect - as concerns the wedding of William and Kate - that people will (automatically...let's be real here...) compare it with the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. No, that's not fair. But it'll get done. And if that's the only cloud which dims any of the light on this day that should be good enough, as astrological thinking would tend towards also warning that this configuration suggests that not everything should be expected to run as traditionally or royally predicted.

Why not?

For that we have to consider what 'rules' what, and where those sign rulers are.

Rulership tells us a great deal about the ‘nature’ of an energy's outlet. In this case, we're starting with Kleopatra in Scorpio...so where are Mars and Pluto?

To Scorpio, Mars is the pro-active choice, the assertion. And depending on how good, bad or properly involving/appealing that choice is….that leads to the  Pluto ‘outcome’ - the ‘transformative’ emotional experience of the moment, plus or terribly minus.

Libra is terribly different in that it’s an air sign. It’s about the idea, the agreement, the theory of the thing. Ruled by Venus, Libra is the moment where cause become affect and things get realized instead of felt (as they are in Scorpio).

Not that Libra doesn't have it's hard side. There are tough negotiations and fun, relaxed days. There are arguments and blissful agreements. It's all Libra.

Westminster Abbey

photo credit: Tebbetts (2006)

So as we said…barring the unforeseen at time of writing (which is on one sunny, early/mid-April day) Kleopatra will be in Scorpio when the ‘I do’s’ get said, meaning the Mars sense of ‘making it happen’ (active ‘doing’) added to the Scorpio 'joint/joined values' will be uppermost in charge.

Very apt, don't you think? Kleopatra as a symbol of 'the royal importance' to mix business and pleasure at the primal degree of zero Scorpio (any zero degree indicating a "beginning" or 'staring out point) as the wedding - a very Scorpio thing its emotional 'joining together' quality - happens in front of not only family and friends, but politically important people (Cleopatra would approve) and a good part of the global world.

A note here for those who consider marriage to be a Libra thing: the contract between two people is a verbal agreement - that's Libra. The state of two living as one, that's Libra. The joint assets is Scorpio - as is the sexual union, whatever issue may come of that and the 'til death do us part bit.

But marriage, as an institution is Capricorn. Why? Because it's a societally recognized thing, marriage. If two people just go off and say 'we're us' that's Libra. To be recognized as a married couple, to pay joint taxes, to live in the social/societal stature of 'a married couple' - even the fact that your get a wedding license from a civil authority says it's Capricorn. If you can't get married without the license and the license comes from a civil magisterial functionary of some kind, that's Capricorn - not to mention the famous  phrase 'by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you...'

Who do you think 'vests' that power in whatever member of the clergy or justice of the peace performs the ceremony? That would be the city, state, county, or nation - something like that. And that's Capricorn. 

So saying, back to our regularly scheduled episode....

...it's going to be interesting to see (or more likely, hear about) how things change as the gigundo world-scale party is over and the more personal party begins. As I've heard of this whole event (which goodness knows, could be wrong or could change!) once the grand celebration is over there will be a dinner held for family and friends in the early-ish evening.

Will that fit with a celestial timeclock which at about  7-7:30 in the evening has Kleopatra retrograding back into Libra? One would suppose, no?

At this point Venus (ruler of Libra) gets to do it's Venus-in-Aries number of saying 'its more about the 'us' of it all' - as opposed to the grand affair of royal state.  Wherever they are, William and Kate will likely be at this point really beginning to 'feel married' as a couple instead of going through the massive obligations which as members of a highly aristocratic institution (monarchy) they are required to follow at least to the 't,' if not to the 'x, y and z'.

And as they turn to thinking more about their own lives (and the having survived the great state event) we ourselves will be thinking less in terms of 'them' (whoever that is in our day) and more in terms of 'my life, my world, my personal interactions.'

But wait...wait...wait. Mars and Venus are not even vaguely isolated on this date, so we have to give a thought to that, too! Yes, its easy to think of Mars  wandering along looking soldierly, but that's not quite it. Today has Mars conjunct Eris (you remember her: Eris Discord?) and expansive Jupiter (expansion), all at 21 Aries.

Known as a symbol of 'discordance,' Eris is generally ether social evolution or some kind of discord-revolution. When combined with Mars and Jupiter all in Aries this is energy and attention on the grandest of grand scales against the possibilities of grandstanding ...in all our lives.

And how does that pertain to the royal wedding? Well let's remember that this Mars-Eris-Jupiter trio is not just of the William-and-Kate-moment. No, for them this is going to be in their marriage chart.

So what is 21 Aries all about? Well, simply by its being a degree between 20 and 29 of some sign (any sign!) we know this is about responding to circumstances, input, necessity - all that. And in Aries, this is me responding to those circumstances with Aries attention, action and (hopefully) courage.

That 21 Aries is also specifically known as a degree ‘displaying all one is’ we would assume fits the wedding and it's millions of witnesses. But it also may well be our thinking about ourselves. Whatever happens today, whether you're a wedding-watcher or not, events and thoughts and input may well incite reaction or spur you to move into a mode of being 'more.' Remember - the Moon (our instinctual feeling capacity) is going to be in opposition to M87 during at least part of this time (allowing for adjustment to your local time zone, of course). But as that happens, you may well be seeing or feeling inspired or even just realizing what you could do or what you could be. You could be hearing the 'other side' of something and gaining perspective.

It's just a period which asks us to see alternatives, and maybe even to adopt a few. In seeing those alternatives, our attention may well begin to work on how to get what we want from our world, someone in it, or for our life. Then as Kleopatra moves into Libra (heightening the Venus influence) we're likely to voice or 'know better' what it is we really want.

But this isn't just happening in a vacuum tube either: Venus is in Aries and keeping conjunct company with Pelion (a mountain to be conquered), Mercury (thoughts of self) with this combination in opposition to Saturn (retrograde) at 11 Libra.

On one hand, don’t be surprised if you feel bogged down, ‘hemmed in’ or in ‘bound’ to something. Or someone. Don't be surprised if you think about all the effort it will/would take to achieve your dreams and feel a little queasy.

This could also be a time when we go overboard with others. Why? Because we're tired or frustrated with ourselves. And for William and Kate...well, they know full well going in that their 'private lives' are not going to be entirely private. But with this indicator...? One can only guess that the effects of that are going to be more than even they have come to expect.

All of us face shifting dynamics today...and we're likely to be a bit impatient. No, we don't want to wait - can't I skip the veggies and just have dessert?

No, says life. You have to eat veggies! But dessert? That could make it all very, very worthwhile!

To finish up here about the wedding. Since this blog posts before the wedding even starts, a full telling of the chart tale which will be cast for the ‘I now pronounce you husband and wife’ moment will yet have to wait. But at least we know how the stage has been set, right?

Also: there are always three astrological parties in any two-person relationship. Each person has a chart, and the chart of the relationship makes three.

Think of it this way: many people like being married – they just can’t stand the person they’re married to! And there are those who like another person fine, they just don’t think they’re the right marriage partner. There is the person...and the relationship. The marriage chart is that of the relationship as a married couple. 

Kleopatra the celestial body will remain in retrograde until June 19/20, when it goes direct at 23 Libra, hanging out there with Spica (putting aside one's self for the greater benefit) for a few days before heading back towards Scorpio, which it will re-enter on  pretty much throughout the ill not then re-enter Scorpio until August 12/13 which should be just about the time of the 2011 Persied Meteor Shower under Leo.

Oh gosh. I wonder what we'll learn then...?

 /

Scylla/Chaldaea: Old vs. New - Is it Them, or Is it You?

Glaucus and Scylla

by Bartholomäus Spranger (c. 1580-1582)

In our last blog episode we began talking about Scylla and how as this asteroid was going on station we would be confronted with situations or feelings which could eat us alive or cause us to disregard others…and maybe both….and maybe for reasons we don’t even understand

The myth behind some of that commentary is probably best told by Ovid, though I’m still a little miffed with Ovid myself as that’s the guy who decided ‘chaos’ was more about ‘wreckage’ than potential. Changing innate meanings in order to incite negative emotions is a really old ploy and it’s not helpful. For whatever reason it seems dismally easy for people to be fearful and reject not merely ideas, but the people who are trying to think them through.

So not helpful…as is (similarly) the rewriting of history (which goes on and on and on) and trying to shade old facts to support your agenda. Naughty humans, naughty!

Anyway, so Scylla started life as a beautiful young lovely who inspires love in the heart of a sea god named Glaucus. Apparently she was not very thrilled with him as Scylla’s reaction was to head inland where Glaucus couldn’t get to her.

So what’s a sea god to do? Glaucus goes to a sorceress - Circe, to be precise. Living on an island and still miffed at the loss of her own mortal, Circe will understand his plight, surely!

Well, yes and no. Evidently still on the rebound, Circe falls in love with Glaucus herself – and sets about wooing and cooing at him in her most seductive manner. But seeing as spells which reduce human males to animals (Circe’s specialty) don’t work on sea gods, Glaucus did something Circe was rather offended at – namely, he told her to cut it out and stop plighting her own troth and get to his love affair problems already.

Circe by Charles Gumery

photo credit: Jastrow (2007)

Offended and enamored (a really bad combination in the world of narcissistic sorceresses) Circe goes off and finds the pool where Scylla takes a bath. Into this pool she pours a very particular poison which begins working on Scylla the moment she dips her lovely nymph toe into the water by transforming her into a monster.

The description here is very specific and peculiar…and I don’t mean the part where the monster has twelve feet and six heads with growling wolf heads protruding from Scylla’s waist. No, not that part. What is highly particular here is the emphasis on the fact that the ‘monster overcomes her’ – in other words, the monster form grows up and around Scylla, swallowing her up as she stands there frozen in horror, petrified by what’s happening to her, trying to shoo away this terrible thing which is coming upon her.

This describes a very certain kind of alienation from self and the concept that ‘that which I cannot cope with in my own life I will inflict on others, wittingly or unwittingly’ is the outcome of Scylla’s tale. Rooted in place, in desperation and horror, in loathing of all which has been thrust upon her she reaches out to and destroys everything which comes within reach.

When we think 'rock and hard place' in reference to Scylla

(which is one way to think of it, though Scylla is not just situational

but probably more importantly about our challenges and struggles

of Self...either way, Scilla Castle (or) the Rock of Scylla gives us a

clue as to why we think of it as a rock (or hard place).

photo credit: Adriano (July 2006)

Scylla is going retrograde today, asking us to reflect on where we are Scylla. So ask yourself: do I allow others to go about their business freely? Do I take out on others that I feel miserable about in my own life? Is there someone in my life who I allow to wreak damage because they can’t face “the monster” they feel was thrust upon them wittingly or unwittingly?

Some of these questions just aren’t easy. Having grown up with a fatally ill sister who was bright and talented and funny yet who knew she was dying every day I’ve watched the Scylla story. I understand how this illness affected my sister and the rest of the family, even though said family was rife with people who were otherwise afflicted by their own Scylla problems, which is why my young years were a maelstrom of abuse.

But here’s the bottom line. Certainly as children we are not responsible for what happens to us. As adults and throughout life, things happen. Accidents, illnesses, collapses of economies, tsunamis which create nuclear disasters – disasters have been happening to people ever since there were people. ‘Poisonous’ (to our hopes) situations are  going to keep on happening. Why? Because they’re just part of life.

What happens we can’t always prevent. But unlike the mythic Scylla, we can decide how to deal with the results. The abused child is not responsible for what happens to them in their youth but is 100% responsible for the adult who grows up out of that abuse. Some decide to deal with it and don’t become Scylla, scourge of all who come near. Some simply give in and become the terror who justifies all through a sense of victimization.

Hmmm…feel like you’ve heard that combination of victim and ruthlessness before? Actually, you have; this polarity of the victim-and-abuser/aggressor is the hallmark of fixed star Facies, which sits at 8 Capricorn.

And where is Scylla going retrograde? At 11 Capricorn, a degree known for a determination, an ability to stay on track/in pace with things going on in their world and a forward-thinking mentality which looks for ways to build structures and how to build people and things into structures – all of which is (or can be) highly positive.

But with this comes a tendency to keep secrets and to ‘edit’ what is said in order to gain favor or advantage which can be useful and then again can be all about a simple seeking of personal advantage which comes with a total disregard for people, things and society. The power of persuasion/conviction which goes with 11 Capricorn is exalted, and as this degree stands between fixed stars Facies (the victim/aggressor) and Vega (charismatic speech or thought) it is usually the nature of the celestial object passing through this area of the zodiac (and where Saturn as ruler of Capricorn is either at the time, or in a specific person’s chart) which determines whether the total effect will be for good or…(let’s just be honest here)…the many ills of evil times, evil acts, evil intentions.

 'Fixed' star Vega as photographed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope

photo credit: NASA-JPL/Caltech

That we all have these degrees in our chart is one thing. That the January 2011 Solar Eclipse hit Vega and ‘let the dogs out’ is another. With Pluto rolling through this area of the zodiac right now, especially combined with Neptune’s just having entered Pisces, land of illusion/delusion as the excuse, we’re going to hear a lot of the worst out of others.

Do they own it? Are they aware of what they are doing and are they willing to dial back what they do in response to how they affect others? That’s the real question.

There’s a whole other issue going on today as well – that’s asteroid Chaldaea (aka Chaldae or Chaldea, representing all things established, traditional, venerated and ‘old’)...which is entering it’s station to go retrograde on April 30th.

The rule with stations being that things which happen before the station will play out in time and things which happen after the station will be the playing out of things which have already been decided on or set in motion, this would seem to be a time when things are taking a turn. Old and/or venerated things are facing a tide of disregard or even obliteration through desperation.

These aspects apply to all of our lives, certainly. Our lives, our nations, our global interests are going through a long term process which in biggest terms we would look back at in terms of the January 2011 Solar Eclipse (LINK to Blog), Uranus’ shift into Aries (LINK to Blog), Neptune entering Pisces (LINK to Blog) and more recently, Pluto’s having gone retrograde (LINK to Blog). I put these links in hoping those who have just joined astroPPM (howdee, by the by...!) will know to read ‘around’ those areas, as there’s just no way to put everything about a subject in a single blog.

Life…and the unfolding of same as delineated through astrology…is simply the biggest soap opera around.

And – surprise! – it’s not fiction!

(I know…shocking, isn’t it?)

But as a moment in this soap opera, I also know a lot of people are thinking in terms of the royal wedding which is slated to happen tomorrow: April 29th, 2011.

This truly is one of those moments when you know that whoever chose the date didn’t ask an astrologer. Not only do I know of not an astrologer in two dozen who would glibly say ‘Sure – get married with Venus in Aries!’ because Venus in Aries asks that we get our ‘happiness quotient’ and feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment from ourselves without external (public) support, but any modern (and western) astrologer who works with things like asteroids would look at this Scylla/Chaldaea combination and say ‘uh, are we trying to support the old-style monarchy or not?’

Obviously the moment of ‘I do’s’ (the actual time) is going to make some difference in how this all turns out. It’s also worth remembering that a wedding is about the relationship more than about the partners who are reporting to the altar. When we marry (or otherwise commit to a relationship) it is our regard for the responsibility we have taken on to that relationship which changes. And this is why the ‘partner’ in the marriage is denoted by Libra, the ‘how we get along with each other’ thing. But a marriage? That’s a commitment. And that points to Capricorn, Saturn and all things 10th house, whether you have Capricorn on your 10th house or not.

So like I say, we’ll have to see how the royal wedding times out. But that it’s happening in this sort of moment suggests that if nothing else, it’s will be, become or experience a substantial change for  traditional standards of British monarchy OR as the standards and practices of the British monarchy evolve.

And for those really into this stuff, as the person with the calendar staring at them from the computer screen, it doesn’t really look like there’s an open slot for a more thorough peek at the royal wedding chart until the week which begins with May 8th.

Meanwhile, just to have this wedding now suggests that someone didn’t feel they could get out of something…even if it’s the date. Or the venue. Or the pomp and circumstance. But whether that becomes the Scylla ‘poison’ which engulfs this couple as people, or their relationship – or any one of us, that’s the question to be dealt with for the moment.

We are without question, now in the ‘breakdown period’ which precedes a solar eclipse, which in this case is the Gemini Solar Eclipse which will take place at 11 Gemini, conjunct fixed star Aldebaran. Just as the January eclipse ‘broke down’ the power of charisma, bringing out the very worst in some used to holding sway and inciting reaction against the status quo, June’s eclipse will be all about integrity – that being Aldebaran’s core concept. The six-to-eight week period prior to a solar eclipse being when ‘break downs’ begin challenging such precept, we can expect (no, I’m not going to quote Dickens – I’ll spare all of us that!)…we can expect a few, if not many people to show their colors at either end of the spectrum. Meaning what? Meaning we should expect to see the very best and very worst we would expect or could be greeted with.

 A poignant July 1997 photograph by Bart Benjamin showing

Aldebaran just about to be occulted (hidden) by the waning crescent Moon

Remember: Gemini is all about choice. Thus Aldebaran is the integrity of our choice or the integrity with which we make our choice or the choice to preserve or depart from a standard of integrity.

All about to be eclipsed, mind you.

And we shouldn’t be surprised if those revealing those aspects or issues are totally surprised at what is revealed…or that we have suddenly changed our mind about putting up with old ways which amount to their getting everything they want while others get nothing. We can expect to see the ‘victim’ card played and attempts to incite fear to be rife.

Whether you react to any of this, whether you rebel against it, whether you refuse to buy into this old and possibly unfair or even manipulative, whether you stand for equality or equal responsibility or whether you simply allow yourself to want what you want regardless of whether you hurt or harm others…

…that’s up to you. And that’s probably the most important thing to remember here: it is up to you. We DO have choices, and we are responsible for those choices…in each and every moment, come each and every day…and particularly in these days and weeks going forward.