October’s 0 Scorpio Solar Eclipse (Pt. 2: that ‘Other’ eclipse)

The partial solar eclipse of March 29, 2006 (at 8 Aries) as photographed by Szczery

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Every time we get into ‘eclipse season’ we run through the stats on eclipse duration and such - the answer there being 3 years for solar eclipses and 3 months for lunar eclipses, give or take your having a birthday within five days of an eclipse event (in which case there will be thematic echoes of the eclipse throughout your ‘birthday year’).

And despite all the up-front drama which tends to cluster around eclipses (which I’m guessing we’ve all noticed this year)... with all the chaos and upheaval which sweeps through at the time of any eclipse, there are thousands of years of lore which say that in the long run (that being the operative and imperative term: long run) events of today will ultimately prove beneficial in the evolutionary sense - most of all to those who experience upheaval/s at this time.

Those changes - be they a change of heart or a new opportunity - will begin to occur or formulate somewhere around the two-and-a-half year mark after the original eclipse (our ‘Now’). And despite whatever we may think, we do NOT know what those changes will be except for the fact that whatever happens in the future can only happen because of what we’re going through now.

Just don’t connect the two. It’s natural to think that the two things might be connected - and indeed they may end up being ‘in theme’ as it were. Such ‘eventualities’ often show us precisely what we can gain because we have gone through some sort of giving up of something, whether that’s physical, financial, mental/theoretical or otherwise... and in that are probably part of our overall maturation as human beings, a process which teaches us both to try and to accept, stressing those lessons we need individually.

Not that we like them, of course. But in terms of what we need to learn in the whole of our lives...? Yes, they’re probably needed.

And therefore we get...’eclipsed.’

That said, eclipses - like most things celestial and astrological - have a certain rhythm. In the case of eclipses, we get two ‘eclipse seasons’ a year, which means they happen around every six (6) months.

And that means any given eclipse is really two processes, not just one mega-complicated test of gut, endurance and ability-vs.-inability to focus.  The first process is the one we talk about most often: the eclipse as a focal point in time which is evolutionary in that it represents something which both dismantles and regenerates our life or life around us - the former happening (astrologically) when the eclipse aspects our chart.

But the second process is just as important. It represents that which you’re coming to be aware of now which in some way you couldn’t have gotten to or arrived at if you were still who you were (or where you were) two-and-a-half years ago.

That’s right...that eclipses happen approximately six months apart means that the ‘twist’ on an eclipse already past occurs in tandem with current eclipse effects.

No wonder things get weird, right?

This varies a bit, as when you get down to the nitty versus gritty of it all as eclipses cycle backwards through the year - which makes technical/astrological sense when we remember that eclipses occur when a full or new moon occurs within fifteen degrees of the lunar nodes and they cycle backwards through the zodiac. Add to that the subtle but pervasive iffy quality of a calendar with months of various lengths and what you come out with (after a deal of sitting with eclipse tables) is how most such two-and-a-half-year marks will fall just after a current eclipse season - though I’m not willing to chisel that in concrete and this isn’t the moment to hand-check a hundred years of eclipse cycles.

Still, what this amounts to is an interesting concept: namely that the pre-(solar)-eclipse ‘breaking down’ period is about the current eclipse - meaning in this moment the eclipsing of 0 Scorpio and our ability or willingness to recognize that what life is ‘bringing home’ to us is meant to provoke deeply personal feelings and emotions of vulnerability not so that we can fight about it (or against it) but so that we can ask ourselves how we came to be who we are, and whether that’s valid or (quite possibly) the product of a different time, a time and perspective which is no longer valid.

Scorpio is never “about” them. It’s always about us. The reason we should understand this is simple: it’s our chart and our life.

As for that secondary eclipse, if that eclipse comes into the last half-cycle of its process (at the two-and-a-half-year point) in the wake of eclipse season, then the “opportunity” we associate with with an eclipse which is ‘aging out’ of its transit cycle is also something which buoys us through the natural period of vulnerability letting go of whatever it is being currently ‘eclipsed,’ be it a notion, a relationship, some course of action or conviction - whatever we have been under pressure from, about or because of over these past two months.

That becomes our opportunity - and a worthy explanation of why this 'turn' in any given tale of any eclipse ends up being, or focusing on something generally at a tangent to events which we began with. After all, now we're dealing with a Scorpio eclipse. But back then?

That eclipse...the one which occurred two-and-a-half years ago was at 0 Gemini. It occurred during May 2012 and the blog post (for those who care to traipse back in time) would be this one:

- link to post -

0 Gemini Solar Eclipse of May 20, 2012

Perhaps you’re looking at that ‘0 Gemini’ notion now and thinking... ‘Does it matter that the 2012 eclipse and this 2014 eclipse are both at zero degrees of respective signs?’

Answer: exactness always matters in astrology, mostly because degrees function like frequencies. So when any aspect (or transit) is exact, that’s like a radio station getting perfectly tuned in. It’s louder. It’s stronger! If you’re off the mark, there’s static - which in this case would be confusion, distraction, things being up in the air or unknown. And once you get the station tuned in, all becomes clear.

No, you may not like the song being played - but at least it’s clear while being clearly awful.

The current eclipse being (about to be) in Scorpio, Gemini is the eighth derivative sign from this eclipse, just as seen the other way around, Scorpio is the sixth derivative sign from Gemini.

Eighth sign derivations area always about transformations. They’re also intrinsically Scorpionic by nature, which by implication ‘doubles up’ on the potential to create/experience change now, whether that manifests through some effort to do something or your effectiveness/ability to get where you want to go in life, all of which we learn about through an intense course of effort and reflection.

Eighth sign also derivations speak of emotional ‘check points’ - meaning this eclipse season we’re in (the Aries lunar eclipse plus the Scorpio solar eclipse) may signal a challenge to something you have been working on or towards since May 2012. Or perhaps you now find yourself going (or needing to go) in more than one direction - a fact which tests you emotionally (which is to say through a test of self-confidence and self-determination emblematic of this October’s Scorpio solar eclipse) or mentally (referring to the 2012 Gemini eclipse).

The above is the eclipse map not for the 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio, but the solar

eclipse at 0 Gemini which occurred back in May, 2012. Unlike the eclipses for this year

(2014) this eclipse back in 2012 was a total eclipse and therefore has a central line of

totality (in red) which is different from the total expanse of the eclipse (marked off with

two vertical blue lines) where the eclipse would be visible in part, but not in its totality.

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That two eclipse signals would be in an exact one-hundred-fifty inconjunct signals various ‘adjustments’ and adjusting to realities which began being (Gemini) ‘thought/talked of’  back then and which is now being revealed to be something other, indicating the need to ‘adjust’ one’s thinking and/or manner of addressing issues (or others). Testing times and finding out about slips, cracks and soft spots in our own sense of ‘feeling secure’ - whether that has anything at all to do with the reality of personal security - would be common during a time like this. And some will, make no mistake, thrive on this energy even if that act of thriving gets them nowhere or undermines their own interest.

Yes, such are the gifts of eighth sign harmonics. And Scorpio, if truth be told.

Others will take it upon themselves to take their Self in knowing...or at least ‘willing to know’ hand. And let’s not be too unhappy here as there is much progress to be made now, even if some of it will take a while. Scorpio is a sign which never rushes. Or at least it does better when it stops to consider without solidifying on the spot. Like it’s polarity partner Taurus, Scorpio is fairly well known for digging in an resisting simply because something isn’t their idea - at least initially. That quality - that(Scorpio) ability-and-willingness to react in one direction then ‘adjust’ to another once all the reactions and feelings get sorted out - is part and parcel of this dynamic too. Scorpio energies always incite emotionality while challenging us to get past that emotion to an act or choice at least driven by thought and not emotion. 

Are we capable of getting past the pluses and minuses of our ego strengths?

Will we are able (and willing) to create alliances and grow opportunities which are not necessarily based on similarities with others but on the capacity to unite in terms of just the goal? Or because something which could be created would be a decided “total which is more than the sum of its parts”?

Some will, some won’t. Eighth sign dynamics always achieve their greatest gains through acting, not relying not on control, but its certainly not easy. After all, even when eighth harmonic energetics don’t indicate mortal threat they tend to stir up insecurities and floating questions which make us feel vulnerable even when we aren’t. Why? Because that’s another side of eighth sign harmonics. Wherever we see active inconjuncts we know there’s an ability... maybe even a propensity to make  emotional mountains out of molehills - sometimes all by ourselves with regards to our Self.

And that may or may not be part of the problem. Given how the gravity of the Sun - despite its massive size - is less ‘apparent’ to us here on Earth than that of our tide-producing Moon, it’s not surprising that the solar eclipse which metaphysically seems so ‘aimed’ at getting us to change our life begins through our more ‘fluid’ or emotional nature.

A lot of the walls have been torn down. We have a chance to be, become and change in response to our world, our times and (evidently rather importantly), our ability and willingness to use our (Gemini) ability to think, choose, organize and prioritize.

What we do with all that moving forward...? Well, that’s pretty much up to us. While Gemini is always about our world (life as we experience it in our mind), Scorpio is about the world - that which we share and which through creating, we ultimately bring upon our Self.
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Dateblog: October 2014

October 2014 by Zodiac Sign

Seeing as I've spent more time in medical hands than I care to think about over the past few days this has to be short. But I did want to give you the charts for October 2014.

As you'll note above, there are (count 'em) two meteor showers this October - the Draconids (which come to us courtesy of comet and the Oriondis - which because of the comet which produces said Orionids (Comet Halley) brings up not only Halley's somewhat 'showy' or 'want to see...want to be seen' (and other such 'value' as in, what do I value and why do I value it? commentaries) and the interesting factoid that both of these comets were discovered while transiting Aquarius.

The Aquarius part may well be part of October's natural interactive and Libran social-socializing (maybe marketing...maybe audience) orientation as Aquarius is nothing if not about pluralities, be they notions, people, sources of income or otherwise. In the world of thinking and concepts, Aquarius is the broadest and (often) the most intricate.

Not necessarily easy, mind you. Nor necessarily practical for any of a number of though-provoking (and possibly irritating) reasons.

In any case, there's a lot of Libra to go around this month, October being a natural time for making plans and sometimes making moves. (Not always, but sometimes.) Who we relate to and why, how we relate to them and how they respond to us tells is everyday subject matter almost all month long, though it will ebb off as Venus and the Sun move on into Scorpio... which you may (or may not) have noticed is the subject of a solar eclipse this month.

You know, this eclipse...

Eclipse Map for the Solar Eclipse of October 23, 2014 at 0 Scorpio

(map generated by Solar Fire)

 

And yes, providing I can type we'll be talking more about it. But getting back to Sun and Venus, what they're a reference to is how we relate to others... and how well or not well we relate to them is based in something (and what that is). Even people who are stone tone deaf to the needs and rights of others to hold opinions come from somewhere. And the interesting thing is... which we are all learning right now ... those opinions are far (far) more often rooted in vulnerability than strength.

Scorpio fights... or produces the impulse to fight ... as a sign that the instinct of threat has come to light.

That threat is not about 'them' or 'that' or even 'this' (whatever 'this' may be). It's about how we FEEL about them or that or even this... and that's about US.

Not them, us.

It's uncomfortable and we can all expect to feel a deal of discomfort going forward at least until October 23rd, that being the date of the eclipse. Moreover, prior to that we'll be having an Aries lunar eclipse ... a time when our passions, our feelings and our ability to feel or not feel are all brought to the fore.

As always, where these eclipses fall (in what house of your chart) and how these eclipses aspect the various objects and factors in you your chart (and how closely those aspects apply) will determine how strong or weak eclipse effects will generally tend to be. With the lunar eclipse at 15 Aries, what we want may well be outstripped by our opportunity (or ability) to do such things, and that's not all that comfortable.

(Not at all comfortable.)

There's an aspect of change indicated by these two eclipses which no one wants to take on. So especially after Mercury goes retrograde we're bound to hear a lot of excuses and evasiveness. Those 'I don't want to talk (or think) about it' actions/choices are not all that productive, especially as nothing is going to in the end be entirely avoided. The productive thought here is to deal with others and your issues about/with others and to invest in examinations which will reveal not only what the strengths and weaknesses of the situation are, but what the reality of the strengths and weaknesses of others really are.

No one has told anyone everything. (Count on it.) Mercury retrograde - especially one in Scorpio - provides a natural time for interesting, invaluable and possibly important conversations, meetings, research and other interactive/interactions which provide grist for the mental mill or information needed before moving on.

That 'moving on' then begins to occur after Mercury goes direct on October 25th, but given how Mercury will have retrograded back into Libra before going direct, there will be complications and the need for more investigation, conversations and even a few (reluctant) course corrections once Mercury re-enters Scorpio late on November 8th (UT/+0).

You know, next month.

As for elements, the personal planets are moving through air (Libra) and water (Scorpio) for most of the month... and then there's just more Scorpio.

October 2014 by Element

That's a recipe for raw emotionalism and issues which raise raw emotionalism, but because of the eclipse (solar eclipses are cosmic trump cards) this is ALL about our realizing and recognizing and beginning to grasp our vulnerabilities - our internal hurts and vulnerabilities and fears and shames...all that.

And it's about the recognizing them and the owning up to them and the being able to admit them to others which leads to betterment. Our betterment.

The combination of other elements - fire and earth - being more global or worldly elements of our October, it's useful also to keep a clear separation of public versus private and personal/individual versus relationship/others in mind, in hand and (perhaps most of all) as a curb to our actions and statements, all of which carry the sort of weight/weightiness this month which may seem deliciously dramatic, but which could also cook our goose (so to speak, no offense to the geese) down the line.

All those meteors insure an interesting month to be sure. For those who are in a good place, this is a great month for being creative, providing you are willing to go through the whole of any process and not cut corners, the whole of which includes doing your up-front homework. That the Aquarius quotient resident in/with both these meteor showers is in a natural square (then trine, then back to square) with the overall purpose of the October Mercury retrograde challenges us to see how to use our more native human nature - not that of rhetoric, but of nurture.

Still, don't be surprised if you meet up with a lot of stubbornness... even within your Self. Underlying Scorpio's deep well of emotionality are its eternal questions of (Taurean) safety and self-doubt, those being the metaphysical source of all of our attempts to 'win at all cost' and otherwise weight or can't the playing field for others. The Scorpio demand of 'I want what I want' is, in other words, at its heart an extreme statement of fear - we're afraid we can't have what we want, so we'll fight for it.

Which begs the real question: what are we so afraid of being (and being known/seen as) without it?
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Astrologer's Diary: Mercury in Scorpio, Venus in Libra

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I feel like I'm in a race against the solar eclipse. As I've told you, I have a back injury. And try as I may, it's amazingly hard to get help for it.This is not about naming names or pointing fingers... it's about a serious physical need on my part and a dismal amount of systemic and individual unwillingness to take responsibility for what one is supposed to take responsibility for (since that's what you're doing) going around.

All such moments (people, situations, choices)...and I'm sure you're either running into it or embodying it (whether out of necessity or preference)...reflects the October 23rd solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio.

Hence my race. That eclipse can't get here and gone in my book. (And yes, there is great irony to saying you're running any race when your problem is a back injury.) However... with that duly quipped (I'll be telling jokes on my death bed, no doubt), before I contemplate surrendering to being horizontal, here are a few thoughts Mercury moving into Scorpio and Venus entering Libra which may be tasty or tasteful enough to chew on:

Mercury is entering Scorpio late on the 27th at 10:40 in the evening (UT/+0 time) and Venus will enter Libra on September 29th at 8:53 in the evening, UT/+0 time.

These two signs (Libra and Scorpio) occur in succession (Libra then Scorpio). As with any two adjacent signs, this means their tone (element) and nature or mode of activity (modality) is entirely different. Mercury entering Scorpio is all about passionate thinking and feeling our way into issues. Or feeling because of issues.

Meanwhile Venus is entering Libra - the sign which most exemplifies the whole Venusian (Aphrodite) 'beauty' idea.

And idea is the thing, too. It's the idea of what beauty is... or what we would like, this Venusian move. On one hand it supports grace in (and of) conversation. It's an opportunity to be creative and when much can come of what you otherwise might think is something easy.

On the other, Venus in Libra can be lazy (think 'languid,' but in an uglier, more irresponsible light). Venus in Libra can also be charming. Or graciously demanding in that curious way no one even thinks to frown at or resist.

With Mercury's having entered Scorpio, there's likely to be some sort of 'subterranean' atmosphere - the aura of wanting to know (or) wanting to play your cards carefully/close to the vest, whether that's needed particularly or not.

That's right - we could be fooling ourselves about how good OR bad something is simply because we're far too over-focused, a quality which is likely to infiltrate everyone's thinking and feel less than pleasant (!!!) as Mars (in Sagittarius) comes into semi-sextile with Pluto (in Capricorn) just as Mercury changes signs.

The 'solution' here is in keeping with all semi-sextiles: we are going to feel 'offended' and yet, to act solely on that (to allow ourselves to 'operate in the reactive,' as it were) only makes things worse. Semi-sextiles, in this case whether that of Mercury-to-Venus' Libra/Scorpio combination or this other Mars/Pluto (Sagittarius/Capricorn) tend not to indicate  comfortable moments. But they are just that - moments.

And another thing... in stirring up Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn, this pair of semi-sextiles is combining to effect a complete and continuous image of one-third of the zodiac - the operative interactive and worldly third of the zodiac - being involved in challenging processes of an interactive nature.

Any time Pluto and Mars connect by transit there's a generous quality of focus/over-focus which gets lobbed into our works. In this case, the prime/most intense period for same begins (in earnest) during the latter part of the day on September 29th (UT/+0). From there it will extend into October 1st - but the repercussions and effects of this time will continue to evolve for most of two months.

You know... through the solar eclipse and beyond, a fact made all the more poignant by the fact that Pluto is the 'outcome ruler' of Scorpio, sign of said eclipse.

Prepare for more unearthing of whatever is very wrong - in the world, yes... but even more than that terms of who we are and why we value and devalue others most of all. Through bringing out all the many ways our interactions aren't working this eclipse - as part of the plural-year Scorpio eclipse sequence now being completed - we are being asked to consider what our most basic values are and whether we are inclined (or even able) to relate to our own sense of weakness with as much perspective and in-depth consideration as that we tend to apply to others, however we relate to them.

Then there's the fact that Libra is a cardinal sign, which can indicate promptness, wit and being in the right place at the right time...or impatience, demands of nature and a general tendency to downgrade someone or something simply because we want what we want at the moment, whether it's important or not.

Against this, Scorpio is a fixed sign... and fixed signs live up to the idea of being 'fixed in place' rather well. Even half-past well - at a level which is all about wanting your own way because the idea of having to feel someone else get their way or deal with someone else getting to dictate to us isn't anything we want to face.

But nothing is forever in this formulation as Mercury's about to go retrograde. (I know... you're just jazzed, right?) The start of said retrograde is October 4th at 5:03 in the afternoon (UT/+0 time) with Mercury at 2 Scorpio, a degree which asks whether we are willing to take on the responsibilty of getting past our own challenges - challenges which are defined as intense and intensely testing of us on the inside.

Think 'do I have faith in my Self?' 

It will take Mercury a full week to move back through three degrees and re-enter Libra (on October 11th) - an indication that things are generally 'sticky,' probably within and without. There is an 'up' side here however... once everything shakes out the next (almost) two weeks will have both Mercury and Venus in Libra, giving us time to get a lot done - none of which is worldly or highly apparently.

The actual nature of this time is self-reflective. And it's during this self-reflective period with its flashes of forward insight and moments of recognition with regards to why something doesn't work that the solar eclipse occurs.

Oh joy...a solar eclipse under Mercury retrograde. We're being asked to let go of some old idea, some image, some vulnerability we probably cover with a bristling shield of armor. Plus (if you must know)... this incoming eclipse is going to occur in full-fledged conjuction with Venus.

A few values are getting radically changed.

What things are they will not be two-and-a-half years from now. We don't believe it... most of us can't even see it. But it's out there. Something is happening which besides occuring (and probably testing us) in the present is also preparing us for something which will occur a couple of years from now, something which we wouldn't even be prepared to appreciate if we weren't going through all the many things occupying us right now.

And granted, a lot of what's going around now is more than a little trying.

Against which, we're trying. (Hopefully.)

The idea of 'quality' is afoot. To get there, we are each facing our flaws, our weak points, our not-so-universal perspective and whatever tendency we have to insist on having things our way regardless of whether others agree. Or are even safe.

If I can get back here (all puns intended) in any short amount of time (I'm not that tall, so it shouldn't be impossible...) its on the calendar to explore the idea of Aldebaran (the royal star of integrity) moving to 10 Gemini. The date for this shift is October 1st, and as opposed to 9 Gemini (a degree which stresses mentality, mental stress and an indescribable need to be involved at a micro-detail level)... Aldebaran's next position is going to underscore the need to help and protect the poor, the abused, the neglected while doing two other things: 1.) internally recognizing the ills of human nature, complete to why we choose such actions in the name of 'solution' and 2.) requiring of our Self that we not embody those ills, particularly as pertains to others - the more innocent, beleaguered or battered, the more importantly.

Taken all together, yes, this does sound like the approach to a solar eclipse. Chances are we each already know about what is about to be eclipsed, though as yet few of us believe the bond will break, the time will come, that fate will move us on.

But it will. Mostly because by the time we get through the next month or two, we'll see the sense of letting go - not of our Self, but of something we've been clinging to because we think we can be nothing deeply satisfying without it.
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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.
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Jupiter in Leo

Jupiter and moon Io photographed in thermal-infrared from the Paranal Observatory

(photo credit ESO, November 2000)

That Mercury is going to be exiting the shadow of its recent retrograde on the same date (July 16) that Jupiter enters Leo would seem to be nothing less than a billboard: new things are on the horizon.

Or are they? Are they really there - or are we being fooled by something we want so badly we’re willing, able and ready to test (read: risk) not just success but some measure of our inner confidence in Self? Are we willing to deal with 'feeling questions' pertaining to how well (or not well) we use - or have used - what we’ve learned up to this point?

Something is going to change here (or at least evolve from here) in reflection of Pluto reaching 11 Capricorn, a degree it will remain in until September 17th when Pluto dips back into 10 Capricorn for just over a week as it goes direct (on September 23rd) before returning to 11 Capricorn for the period of September 28th through November 25th.

Something is going to change. Representing the ability (particularly in verbal form) to reveal falsehoods and what one writer refers to as 'superstitious and misguided beliefs' on the part of one or many, the degree 11 Capricorn is associated with the sort of mathematical ability and "precision thinking" (technical or theoretical) which organizes quickly and which tends to be so driven (read: impatient) to achieve that little in the way of delay or alternative thinking tends to be tolerated.

And where it isn't tolerated, that may well lead to a  distortion in some relationship, creating some sort of distance between parties simply because sheer ability on one side now appears not as brilliance, but rather as arrogance, bullying or manipulation of some 'other.'

As Jupiter moves into Leo on that appointed morning at 10:31 a.m. (UT/+0), not everyone will feel the shift. But we are likely (more than likely) to see some more or less immediate manifestations of this combination of Leo imagination and creativity with Jupiter’s power of expansion.

In Leo, the question is what we will create, why we are motivated to do everything (and sometimes anything)... and whether we are able to balance Leo’s inner vision of ‘the possible’ with external real world factors. The positive side of Leo is known for brilliance of nature and a cheerful sort of drive which is curious about the new and willing to tackle tough tasks for the good of all, from which comes respect for one’s Leo efforts - whatever they may be and however they may be expressed even if that’s just keeping after yourself (creatively, of course) in the name of being a person others enjoy being around.

As for the negative side of Leo, though I’m sure any number of Leo people will respond with ‘there is no negative side of Leo’... after the chuckle comes the truth: while Leo is a sign which evidences much deftly quick humor, such humor is more likely than not a deflection.

All signs deflect - evading, to some degree, is simply part of human nature... which makes it what, and the degree to which we deflect the source of our those Factors Avoided which come back to haunt us.

In Leo (a fire sign) there is a marked tendency to get ‘married’ to that feeling, that image, that thing we imagine could be ‘so right’... and then to be shocked and disappointed when real life doesn’t match the ethereal beauty of our seamlessly perfect inner concept.

Is that fair? No...but we do it anyway. And when it comes to Part 2 of Leo (Leo Part 1 being the creative drive to create anything from world records to films, leisure time, children, art work, profits in the stock market or anything else you might think to create)... it’s how we respond to those realities which count.

Reality (as generally represented by Aquarius as the Leo polarity) is never the problem per se...even if when it comes to Leo there is a tendency to ranting and tantrums while adapting to the inevitable. Some of us never get that frustrated (I’m not sure who they are, but such people surely exist)...and it’s to be expected that there will be a bit of tail lashing and roaring during Jupiter’s 2014-2015 transit of Leo.

The 'up' side to this is that as opposed to this past year’s Jupiter in Cancer there will be less emotionalism, less reliance on (or success with) subjective provocation based on emotionality. Where we are able to motivate our Self or others through ideas, we may well be able to build momentum by focusing on our “projects” (be they our families, jobs or some personal goal we want to reach). But that is only likely to reap success if and where what we do (our ‘cause’)  meshes well enough with existing or ongoing social, group, systemic or marketplace (Aquarian) functionalities.

Part of that - and part of what we are going to be exploring this year in each of our daily lives has to do with a couple of zodiacal basics. The first is how any accessing of Leo represents an astrological shift from the first four signs of the zodiac (Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer) to the second group of four: Leo, Virgo, Libra and Scorpio.

As the first four signs of the zodiac are about learning about our Self and how to go about simply being a person in an (Aries) body with human needs and attributes of the (Taurus) physical, (Gemini) mental and (Cancer) emotional kind, the second four are all about how interacting with others and our more-or-less ‘everyday’ world teaches us about who we are in conjunction with that world - sparking ideas on what to do IN that world.

Hence the Leo creativity thing. Mind you, this is still a sign which is below the natural zodiac horizon - so it’s still personal. It’s still part of our more-or-less private world, which reflects as Leo being the sign of the imagination’s image... the ‘film’ in our head - and yes, the ones we see on the screen (or on whatever device you’re using these days).

Again, it’s this ‘private’ quality which is so very comfy-cozy which gets us trouble, lulling us with that divinely delicious perfection of inner vision into thinking life... reality... is the premier Leo challenge. Reality is never a ‘problem’- reality is just reality, and yes there can be terrible things happening IN reality, but that’s the way things are.

Reality has several homes in the zodiac: the first one is the earth, land, ashes-to-ashes-dust-to-dust quality of mortal life... the Cancerian venue. The other is Capricorn - the daunting requirement to make the effort to make something out of our Self so that we continue the business of survival.

Leo is in a peaceful and harmonious aspect with neither sign... and in that can represent how we fight in reality or with our personal reality...and what we can come up with to improve our life, and just maybe all of life as well.Deep in the human spirit is a desire to make contributions to this life. Some do it through having children. Some do it through their work. However we see this ‘making my mark in this world’ that’s the Leo thing.

With Jupiter transiting Leo, we can all expect to be thinking about who we are and what we’re doing with our life... against which will be ranged all sorts of interesting challenges. Some will come from our just wanting to enjoy ourselves and do nothing. Some will come from those who though perfectly willing to invest in their own vision, clearly have no concept that anyone (or anything) else has a vision of their own.

Jupiter in Leo creates our mythic self... and then explores it. Leo is the sign of dating, competition and speculation... so we have to be prepared for some setback this year, with most of our errors coming from overstepping our bounds or (to put it differently) by exceeding our understanding of real world parameters which really exist and which we really do need to know about and heed. Leo is the sign of the parent’s love for the child or our love for anything we nurture on an ongoing basis... and yet does that love in and of itself guarantee that your child is going to grow up to be a wonderful person?

No, it doesn’t. And that very lack of insight we have on ourselves (typically) as parents which causes so many wonderful people to be blatantly blind to the problems with their offspring...that’s the example of the Great Leo Blind Spot - which for the next year or so is likely to be more evident than ever, if maybe not to others.

Or maybe not to us.

Jupiter's Great Red Spot as photographed by the Voyager 1 Spacecraft

(photo credit: NASA-JPL, February 1979)

Between these two points lies the needle of success (as we judge that personally) under Jupiter in Leo, the combination which purports to say ‘what you see is what you get’ when in reality (yes, that reality) Jupiter in Leo is a combination which can manifest as the very essence of the performance. Celebrity as motivation and as that thing which is not the ‘real life’ of the given celebrity - both these qualities are entirely Leo and we’re likely to see see them play out this year in the charts of many currently known and as-yet unknown. Children, childlike as well as childish behaviors (on the part of adults and others) can be a venue of discovery and disturbance of the status quo in any of a number of ways...so long as we learn from it, life is likely to provide it somewhere along the way through this leonine Jovian year. Aquarius against Leo manifests (as all sign polarities do) in any of a number of ways, but especially through the end of 2014 (that being the last of the fixed sign eclipses for a bit) issues which test our ability to balance moderation against excess and perceive where we need to be proper or cautious without being so cautious or ‘separated’ in whatever way that we end up undermining ourselves or our own greater (Aquarian) interests.

In other words, in some way we’re all going to discover we have a bit of a case of personal myopia (shortsightedness)... with just a bit of social astigmatism (fuzziness of focus) to make it extra-special challenging.

And yet...in the sense of ‘can I correct my vision?’ the lesson would be decidedly yes: wherever we see Jupiter by transit there is an ability to grow providing we are actually willing to go through whatever growing pains are involved. In Leo this Jupiterian expansiveness can mean an expansion of enthusiasm, success and all those wonderful feelings of freedom-in-accomplishment we all so love to revel in. Then again, Jupiter in Leo can also manifest as  ever-increasing convictions that what is ‘mine’ must be defended at all costs simply because my ‘rightness’ or even just my right to be wrong is getting challenged.

All and all, we can count on several (more) miles of that road to foolish human stubbornness to be paved (and heedlessly paved over) this year, mostly by those who for whatever reason are focused on the image or ideal to the exclusion of real life, realities and other living, breathing entities on this planet.

Jupiter in Leo is a recipe for great opportunity.

It’s also a sure-fire promise that insistence on theory (or out-of-hand rejection of something) can be instantly and lastingly detrimental. Under Jupiter in Leo we are all likely to find something we enjoy or are at least entertained by. Then again, we might have to face a couple of situations which ask us whether we’re willing (or even psychologically equipped) to face setbacks or defeat.

Might we really not be be the hero we are in our own mind? (It could just be true.)

Then again, maybe we don’t want to be a hero, merely heroic from time to time. Jupiter in Leo is a time we can learn the difference between such things and in that, to become far more comfortable in our own human skin, finding ways to be more creative, productive and available - not just to others but to ourselves. Through letting go of definitions Jupiter in Leo can become a time to launch a new venture, take on some personal adventure or to make more of life among old friends and new acquaintances. It’s a time to stretch our limbs and flex our muscles, be they physical, mental or emotional. The deeply provocative element of Jupiter in Cancer will fade as perspectives shift, offering fresher outlooks, some of which will allow and encourage us to soar.

Others will merely leave us (or others) sore - for which we may not feel sorry at all. So long as the competition is ethical, Jupiter in Leo supports the ‘all out’ willingness to give the cause what it is you’ve got.

And where we do bend, break or otherwise color outside the boundaries (a little of which at least is inevitable), eventualities will get us back, eventually putting us back on our right course.

It’s all part of Jupiter in Leo empowerment with regards to knowing who we are - and aren’t.  Sometimes we just have to cram one foot in our copiously open mouth while hopping madly in the direction of some giant cliff to learn for ourselves that - never mind what anyone says about limits - we do actually have limits which we had better learn to respect and mind.

Jupiter in Leo can open doors. It will also undoubtedly teach us all at least a few tough lessons about what the term ‘immature’ really means...in every sense. The ‘ping-pong’ of Leo-Aquarius says how we (Leo) ‘take’ things isn’t so much about how or what the (Aquarius) other person says as much as it tests and delivers a readout on our relationship to whatever it is we haven’t yet mastered...which psycho-emotionally ‘reads’ internally (to us) as vulnerability.

Yes, we get to learn about how some glitches work over the next few months...which which comes the opportunity for skillful development and the acquisition of insights which in their own right (over time...probably in a couple of years) may prove out to amount to additional skills.

As for things which will happen along the Jovian path through Leo, here are a few notes on the subject (no doubt to be added to as things go along):

Black Moon Lilith (external factors we deny or are denied by) conjuncts fixed star Dubhe on July 17th. Dubhe being an emblem of mothering either in the personal sense or through whatever we may personally think of as a “mother” force (such as ‘Mother Nature’), as opposed to things which are thought of as ‘father’ (like ‘Father Time’) the metaphysical ‘mother’ is more about whatever contains us as well as that which can support or protect us... but which in some other situation might just overwhelm us.

Said to have a rather ‘Mars-like’ nature, Dubhe lends a deal of motivation and strength of will to whatever passes over it’s position...which at the moment is 15 Leo, one of the zodiacal cross-quarter points.

As a transition, each of the zodiac’s four cross-quarter points moves us from a time of learning or watching into a ‘bigger’ (read: slightly more matured) world of operating where by leaning on what we do know we attempt to forge ahead.

And no, we generally don’t like it. Each of the cross-quarter points falling at the center-point of all four fixed signs indicates that.

Still...what’s our choice? We can learn, grow and try - or we can remain where we are, which if we consider Leo as the fifth of twelve signs is rather like arresting our own development at about age eleven and a half, instead of pursuing the rest of the path to adulthood.

On the other hand, that ‘about age eleven a half’ thing? That is the length of a Jupiter cycle, you know. Jupiter cycles once around the Sun in 11.86 years, making the general realm of this mid-Leo cross-quarter age a highly critical one in the whole of human development.

Some of us make it. Some people don’t.

So as the Black Moon encounters Dubhe, for several days before and after (one suspects) much will be seen, heard, felt and realized along the denial/need-to-not-deny-for-reasons-of-immaturity front. In some cases such situations will start and continue on, in some there will be a start and resolution. (Or resolution to not resolve anything, a solution which seems to be gaining in popularity at the moment.)

Whichever way whatever falls, Jupiter itself will then arrive at Leo’s 15 degree cross-quarter point on September 27th, by which time the Black Moon will have moved on to 23 Leo, putting it in opposition to Damocles [reference: “the sword of Damocles”] ...with Damocles being positioned in Aquarius.

The Sword of Damocles by Wenceslas Hollar (1607-1677)

Whatever we have done (or not done) this would seem to be a resurrection of the matter. It may be in simple review, it may be a re-eruption of challenge. Black Moon Lilith, being a ‘function’ of Earth’s Moon is always somewhat visceral, always somewhat poignant...and here would seem to be bringing us around to realizing that things just aren’t as simple as we were thinking they were going to be.

What we thought cut and dried may have gone and gotten itself all soggy, in other words.

As of November 19th Jupiter then enters 22 Leo. And since 22 Leo is the degree Jupiter will go retrograde at on December 8th (and thereafter remain in - in retrograde - until December 29th), we’re in for a lot of Jupiter/22 Leo interjections.

As a degree 22 Leo speaks to sensitivities which though insubstantial may well prove beneficial except where we become so devoted to being obliging (read: overly obliging) that we become more involved with our own feelings (and anxieties) which revolve around our own desire to be appreciated, wanted, loved, liked, cheered on and in general...(yes)...the myth we are in our own mind.

(Do we hear a pattern here?)

Moreover, all of this dovetails rather interestingly with the idea that Uranus’ 2014/early 2015 degree emphasis is on 13 Aries, a degree which tend to surface in tough and trying situations which lore suggests are far more about the perfecting and purification of our own souls than anything we encounter in real time.

...All of which we would think has been metaphysically also commented on by the recent astrological stationing of TNO Typhon at 13 Aries’ polarity degree (13 Libra) we meandered through the contemplations of in the course of the following post:

- link to -

Typhon/Eurydike - Chiron/Psyche: Minding Stations

It all seems to go together...especially in light of the fact that this October will see us experiencing a solar eclipse (at 0 Scorpio) which is sure to - among other things - bring home to us the benefits and penalties of not acknowledging equal values to all sides of any conversation, negotiation, affiliation or operation simply because we’re unwilling to allow for any other point of view apart from our own.

Some will say that this eclipse is the evidencing of karma, and I’m not against that concept except for noting that the physical karma we experience under anything Scorpionic is always about the emotions which surround, underlie, motivate or are bestirred as a result of something we are choosing to try to control (as opposed to understanding why we feel so threatened by it).

Only in retrograde for just under four months, Jupiter will then go direct (at 12 Leo) on April 8th, a date which falls between 2015’s 29 Pisces solar eclipse on March 20th and the accompanying lunar eclipse (at 14 Libra, a degree which tends to manifest through action as opposed to 13 Libra’s more mental-emotional-spiritual orientation) which will occur on April 4th... all of which is likely to serve as a ‘parting of the ways’ as successes fall away from various failures and efforts to reorganize in the face of needing to try, try again.

Some of what is happening then will be as part of...or as a result of things which are happening now, or which have come to light over the past several months (read: since mid/late February). As shown by the Sun, Uranus and Psyche being conjunct (to the degree) in the chart of this moment the clarity of this time may be delightful.

Then again, it may simply be excessive. Remember, Jupiter is about expansion, and that can as easily be over-expansion or doing more than is advisable or even good for you (or the given project you’re working on). There is growth...and as any cancer specialist will tell you, there is the kind of uncontrolled and unchecked growth which causes harm.

Jupiter has never been known for any qualities of moderation. The Roman god was known for great wisdom but some terrible (and terribly self-defeating) habits which time and again had Jupiter (aka Zeus, if you’re inclined to the Greek) learning his lessons about just what he could do, but not get away with.

So it is with us...which is why Jupiter’s year of transiting Leo holds such promise for us all, whether that’s about what we achieve or the joy of feeling empowered by coming to understand why we haven’t excelled up until now and what that means about who we are... and who we aren’t.

Maybe you've already felt yourself moving towards some new mode - that thing which will entice your Leo spirit to 'play' over (at least) the next year. Or maybe (as just happened to me quite unexpectedly)...maybe someone will validate something you've been certain of, or have been working on or towards for some very long time.

Jupiter in Leo is about fruitfulness and fruition...and even that point at which the finish line is in sight, bolstering our appreciation of that Self which in spite of all and because of much has made it to this brand new point - the point at which we feel ready to be more of who we really are.
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