Tantalus, Station-Retrograde

 Tantalus by Gioacchino Assereto (circa 1640)

In looking up the word ‘tantalize,’ the big book of word roots I use said it came from two sources. One was ‘to drag or carry,’ to which the Greek evidently added the idea of ‘waving something about’ in the sense of making it impossible to ignore or not notice.

Thus when we’re talking about asteroid Tantalus, what we’re referring to isn’t the ‘thing’ which is attracting or provoking us…but rather whatever it is inside us which makes it impossible to ignore that thing, that gesture, that person, statement, idea, belief, stance, activity, difference, preference…or anything else.

Which means that in the most pragmatic sense, though asteroid Tantalus could always be taken to mean an opportunity to discover why something is important to us (or not important, depending), we will tend to react to Tantalus effects by thinking the other person or side of the coin (or question) will somehow solve our problem, fill our gap, scratch our itch, heal our ill…or whatever else.

Another thing to take note of here – the fact that the orbit of Tantalus only lasts 1.47 years, which is short for any asteroid (most main belt asteroids take half again as long). Moreover, Tantalus isn’t ‘just’ a main belt asteroid. Classed as an Apollo asteroid (the Apollo reference suggesting all such objects as ‘personal truth’ mechanisms) Tantalus cycles inward as it orbits, turning away from the (Jupiterian) search for objective knowledge in heading towards our Sun – the image of our individual, self-encapsulated consciousness.

In doing so, in ‘drawing a circle’ around such objects, Apollo asteroids evidently tell us what they are ‘about’ in the sense of how they will function… which in this case has Tantalus drawing a metaphysical circle around Mars plus Earth and its attendant Moon.

Mars plus Earth/Moon is all about what we, as creatures of the Earth want (Moon)… inclusive of all those Mars/Moon feelings which have us feeling ourselves going through all that wanting – you know, the Tantalus process. However this arises, however it is keyed in or set off, the energetic is ours.

Not that we tend to always act that way when it comes to Tantalus, the orbit of which seems to as often describe our fervent (Mars) attempts to ward something off or ‘keep something out’ of our life or world because we don’t want to feel, cope or face whatever that may be. The nature of that…and the means through which we will tend to respond or feel provoked individually is basically read through natal element – which explains easily enough why Person One (with Tantalus in water) may always get emotional whereas Person Two (with Tantalus in earth) tends to react to every problem as though it’s a threat to their earthy realm of operation.

Which of course leads us to the classic Tantalus problem: remembering that life is not only not just about us – but how that which happens in life is meant to happen so that we will learn from it.

However...remembering that fact - especially when either our defense or desire quotient rises in our throat?

That’s a human art form, against which the tug or push of Tantalus will tend to function as a distraction or focal point on our side which may well become problematic simply because where Tantalus is concerned we often wall others out (intentionally or simply as a matter of course) or are at least tempted to ignore everyone and everything because we're so focused on or 'consumed' by matters reflecting our native Tantalus.

And why that would be has everything to do with the Tantalus myth, a story which in most accounts begins with Tantalus being invited to dine with Zeus (Jupiter) - a scene which in an interesting variation on the famous Garden of Eden has Tantalus sitting down to a banquet consisting of all which could be offered by Knowledge (Jupiter) with the snake - in Greek terms - being Tantalus’ personal nature.

In other words it's his snake: his temptation within.

Tantalus of course accepts Jupiter’s invitation - one we know from other stories (such as that of Ixion) is as much of a challenge as a gift where mortals (or even demi-mortals) are involved. As with Ixion, Tantalus becomes fixated on that which Knowledge (Jupiter) can provide.

He is...tantalized by all he could know and could possess.

He is tantalized.

When Titan Prometheus came to a similar situation, he ended up stealing fire - the power of immortal illumination. It was a primal (Titan-ic) choice, one which was taken in order to empower humans - all humans.

And therein lies an important difference: Tantalus is purely about the Self. Whether it's a matter which originates with us or our being 'tantalized' by others, Tantalus is about our allegiance to our choice, whether or not anyone else is involved.

Even (often enough) whether or not someone else is affected. 

Prometheus Bound by Thomas Cole (1846-47)

Not that Tantalus was into anything as esoteric as fire. Nor was he evidently even a tiny bit deterred at the lasting wrath which rained down on Prometheus from Olympus on high - meaning Jupiter.

All of this evolves into an interesting thing about Knowledge - and therefore the astrological Jupiter. While Jupiter influences can represent the expanding of our life and world, they can also represent the need to go "too far" in order to learn not to overstep our bounds or abilities - or sometimes just the limits of good sense or established tradition.

All of which Tantalus evidently didn't know (or didn't care about), as no sooner was he given access to everything Knowledge (Jupiter) could provide but Tantalus went and stole from same.

And what he stole? That was nothing simple. What Tantalus focused on as the object of his desire was ambrosia, that ‘nectar of the gods,’ the source of core immortal nourishment.

Moreover, once he got the ambrosia home, Tantalus began handing it out, 'selling' people on his ability to provide all the power they would ever need.  

And people bought it…which brings up the other side of the Tantalus symbol: the wanting something to be true, whether that's a reasonable thing or not. This is an incredibly human habit I was reminded of when reading an email from someone about 'Pinocchio Girl' - an ‘early years’ auto-biography released recently as an eBook (link to Amazon US).

I've released the book for many reasons...and yes, I  understand that some will find it very hard to read. But that fits - it's about child abuse, and child abuse is one of those things which is entirely distressing on a truly human scale.

However, for someone to tell me how in my ‘coming clean’ I had inadvertently invalidated their assumptions about me? That's Tantalus. Sorry though I might be that their expectation was disappointed, I knew that wasn't about me. I know I became an astrologer (in part) because metaphysics helped explain what I didn't learn growing up just as surely as that growing up taught me how important it is to care about people both in their physicality and their spirit.

All of which is probably why astrology became my hobby.

The bottom line here is that I understood this person had been tempted to believe what they wanted to believe about me  without making the effort to be or become factually informed - all of which is very Tantalus, as is the standard ('I want to be known') Tantalus-like response where we try to seize control of the situation and re-inform the other party based on our (Jupiter) knowledge of Self.

Thus we come to the place where the Tantalus ability to focus - if we can avoid becoming fixated - becomes a plus: if we can recognize a 'Tantalus dynamic' for its 'Tantalus quality,' we can defuse it. My first read of that email left me a bit defensive. But as I focused on how this couldn't be me and thus was a classic Tantalus projection, my being 'caught up' in a flux of defensiveness (remember how Tantalus orbit 'isolates' Mars, Earth and Moon?) melted away.

And that's the Tantalus answer: to think things through until you arrive at the (Apollo asteroid) truth by going beyond the feeling of being 'tantalized' to where our full (solar) consciousness can refocus us.

As for me, I’ve had to learn this lesson about how people who may offend or even harm me - how they have their own issues. So what is projected on me is not a reflection on me.

In fact, it may well be that some of what gets 'dished out' to me...to you...to any of us in this world and life is so we will reflect, so we will remember that Tantalus and being tantalized is all about isolation - our isolation - in a state of mentality which can either exclude our consciousness or provide us with a specific situation through which we can better understand our Self and others.

Which would seem to be the positive of Tantalus, a wave energetic which tempts us to try out what doesn't work so we can discard that and thus identify the truth.

You know, that reality of Jupiter Knowledge.

Yes, that truth.

And yet…even as I say that, as fast as Tantalus reveals things, Tantalus also tempts us to forget.

Tantalus really is a strangely self-feeding process - one which describes how easy it is to mislead ourselves. The Tantalus process is one which teaches that the idea and feeling is not equal to the truth of reality - and what it means for us to grapple with that difference.

Tantalus is truly personal – almost blindingly so. It’s lack of perspective can delude, making all into a pretty lie against which truth has little weight, making Tantalus the asteroid which often seems to fulfill the function many people think should be attributed to asteroid Lust, but isn’t.

Lust is about the passion with which we ‘do’ or attend to something. Tantalus is the ‘what’ – the thing which arouses a Lust-driven response.

In any case…as of April 4th, Tantalus will be going retrograde at 4 Taurus, a degree known for a brittle sort of tension the Sabian symbol describes as ‘A WIDOW AT AN OPEN GRAVE’ - an image which pictures both loss and survival at the same time. This is the energetic which will be evolving and dissolving upon us in whatever form or formats. With 4 Taurus being a first decan (between 0 and 9) degree of an earthy sign all about mastering our security, events are likely to be trying or unsettling directly in response to our most ‘separatist’ efforts – especially where we attempt to ‘hide’ from some truth we know about ourselves, our life or something we would be doing if we hadn’t given in to some ‘temptation’ which ‘felt good’…at least at the time.

Lore notes 4 Taurus as a degree where negotiations require a true ‘give and take’ quality in order not to create negative responses personal or karmic – which with Tantalus on station may time the revelation of something you didn’t want to know. Or maybe the truth of some situation, one you had thought lost (ended, forgotten, abandoned) but which is merely waiting input – yours or someone else’s.

Or maybe you’re going to be embodying Tantalus on station at 4 Taurus by going out and ‘tempting’ people to get involved in some movement. Maybe you’re a teacher who will take the days around Tantalus’ station to tweak a lesson plan in some interestingly quirky way which gets young minds thinking.

Whatever we do now, it’s likely to feel a bit odd, even foreign – another quality of 4 Taurus which here may well favor those who are changing their tune or otherwise doing a ‘turnaround’ on some subject which good or bad has a ‘tantalizing’ effect on their mindful psyche.

One other thing to consider here, however…and that’s the incoming solar eclipse at 8 Taurus, a degree which by any (5 degrees of orb) estimation is conjunct the 4 Taurus Tantalus station.

 
Tantalus/Phaethon being our current concern, Phaethon brings in a quality of ‘hard-headedness’ which either because of lack of understanding or simple hard-headedness (or maybe being ‘dug into’ some position) ends up playing against our better interests.

The error? By and large, the error of judgment being described here concerns an act undertaken or decided ‘in the moment’ or at least without proper understanding (as talked about above with regards to Tantalus – the ‘assuming that you know’).

Given Mirach and Dionysus respectively at 0 and 1 Taurus, there is a ‘youthful influence’ (or influence on youth) left behind which is not going to be directly affected by the eclipse itself, but which we are in all likelihood already aware of as a factor which has somehow contributed to where we are today -  whether we cleaved to it way back when or or rebelled against it.

That’s just a fact, atop which we also have the presence of two fixed stars at 7 Taurus: Schedir and Hamal.

Known for being akin to the tofu of fixed stars, Hamal – or ‘Alpha Aries’ as astronomers call it – most often marks a some first-person quality as a distinct talent or distinction when in conjunction with some point or the axis of a natal chart. For instance…Hamal conjunct Mars (Mars = strength) might well appear in the chart of an athlete where Hamal conjunct Mercury (Mercury = thought, communication) would suggest more of the intellect, debater or writer.

But even if un-aspected in the natal chart, whenever Hamal is activated it manifests as being or becoming ‘independent’ in whatever manner.

And yet…then along comes this eclipse. Eclipses are known to bring out whatever we have ignored or denied – the ‘shadow’ of our strength. And that makes Hamal being eclipsed, and its being involved in this two-month ‘breaking down’ period preceding the eclipse a time when we are likely to see people exhibiting their strengths (or at least the appearance of strength) while also revealing that latent shadow. The last time this current eclipse cycle occurred was back in April of 1995,  s are cyclic, the last time this eclipse cycle came around was back in  of us who makes this a time when the pluses and minuses of independence and how we may have handled (or not handled) not merely the pleasures of independence but freedom’s responsibilities are now playing out.

And where they are playing out, they are not likely to manifest as anything genteel.

As for Schedir, it’s not only very different from Hamal, it’s also about our ‘shadow’ – that person we are but don’t like thinking we are. Those qualities, especially where magnified by Hamal, are more than likely to be brought out over the next month or so, especially in the chart of anyone with a planet, node or axis (vertical or horizontal) between 3 degrees and 13 degrees of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius.

And of course it follows that if you have more than one point which falls under these auspices, even more attention should be brought to bear on what goes on now. You probably already know things are in flux. Soon whatever ills or lurking inconsistencies will be exposed, exposing us to what we didn't want to know.

Yes...it feels like one vast season of all things uncomfortable. And well it might: Tantalus is most known (and in Greek terms, loathed) for the act of butchering, cooking and serving up son Pelops as food for the gods.

The Olympian gods, in this case.

In many ways we can see this act – as horrible as it is – as the consequence of Tantalus having sat at Jupiter’s table. It’s a reminder about how we need to be mindful of what we expose ourselves to – our ‘appetite’ for things, as it were – while remaining conscious and aware of how what we think we want sometimes turns out to be a reality which is not merely less than satisfying, but something we can’t…or don’t want to know we have to swallow.
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Venus in Shadow

'Silhouette'

(photo credit: Cornava, March 2007)

Not that we humans asked for any further life complications or anything, but Planet Venus will be entering the shadow of its upcoming retrograde as of November 20th. 

And here you thought life was going to calm down after the Scorpio solar eclipse? Oh, not hardly...

But let’s be real about this: Venus retrograde generally sucks…and that means that as Venus moves into (and through) its shadow, things are likely to grow ever more sucky. (Is ‘suckier’ a word?)

The date of this leaping into shadow? November 20th…which means no, you didn’t get any notice about this impending whatever-it-is, which meant you couldn’t invest any quality time fretting about something you probably couldn’t change anyway.

The retrograde shadow, I mean.

As for the Venus part, yes – there we can change. And when discussing Venus retrograde in any way, shape or manner, the optimal issue is pretty simple – if hard to really get hold of. That issue is feeling rewarded…which when we think of Venus as the hot and sulfuric little planet it evidently is, doesn’t seem too far off the mark.

Put simply, in the world of what you put out comes back to you…(aka cause/effect)…Venus is the hinge energy which ‘turns’ cause into effect. In other words, though many of us think of Planet Venus as being the ‘ruler’ of our Pleasure Principle, Venus really only gets to that distinction because of its association with things we like.

Or getting our way.

Or winning the moment.

Or basking in the warmth of adulation and admiration.

In other words, Venus is NOT the feeling of success - Venus is the energetic which aligns response with generation. Venus is that magical moment when what’s in the package matches your expectations because you have that particular expectation. Venus is the quality of knowing you’ve gotten what you deserve because you know (deep inside) what you deserve.

Venus is not precisely beauty. It is our appreciation (or lack thereof) of what we get to deal with in life based on whether there is a difference between what we want to be true and what the truth really is.

So…with that said, Venus is about to enter the shadow of its retrograde tomorrow – November 20th. Whether we like it or not, Venus enters its shadow on that date, after which Venus will go retrograde on December 21st, only spare hours after the Capricorn Solstice.

And it’s pretty guaranteed that some of us won’t like that part at all, as Venus in shadow OR in retrograde tends to be a time when no matter how hard we try, nothing feels really rewarding. That urge to be loved, that need to be cuddled, coddled or appreciated – all of that is dampened if not doused during Venus’ retrograde cycle.

On the other hand…there is the fact that since this cycle is up for grabs again (it happens just shy of every two years) …it is evidently time for us to experience this Venusian lack of thrill, thrall and enthusiasm – for whatever reason we may have.

Let’s remember…cycles turn up when they’re supposed to turn up. When the greater dynamic of life needs for them to turn up in order that we might be reminded of something or learn something new.
That’s the theory of it, anyway. And under that theory, we should all take it on credit that there’s something in life we are needing to feel chilled about. Or alienated from. Or not so enthused about.

Why would that be? Okay – let’s consider that in terms of the typical responses or patterns associated with Venus in Shadow and Venus Retrograde. The basic concept with Venus Retrograde being akin to ‘you’re on your own,’ or ‘the current state of things doesn’t work – try harder/again’…that suggests that from wherever we are to wherever we are going to be by the time Venus goes retrograde (in December)…that’s the territory for Venus’ shadow.

In other words, things have to change so that we will feel that we’re on our own. Or so that we’ll recognize that things aren’t working at a level which demands or necessitates change.

And that’s what makes the Venus Shadow period dicey.

For instance…let’s say there’s something ‘Venusian’ going on in your life which you are perfectly fine with, but which you KNOW….somewhere in the fuzziness of your soul you just KNOW it’s not the right thing. Maybe you’re temporizing, maybe you’re saying ‘I’m going to make the best of this while it lasts,’ maybe you’re trying to be noble and put up with behavioral excrement (yes, I said that)…

…anywhere in your life where things aren’t optimal is where Venus Effects are likely to surface.

Since this whole Venus retrograde is going to be in the sign of Capricorn, we know that matters of getting ahead in life, social standing/status and all that fancy-dancy head talk we all get into about ‘how we will be thought of’ is in for some serious challenging. We know that those of us who are attempting to live in a ‘shell’ of respectability which is all surface and no depth will begin being exposed simply because Capricorn demands the sort of solidity and durability which is lasting.

There’s also the fact that Capricorn is the sign of commerce – which when we think of this Venus cycle extending through the holidays and into the January of fiscal 2014 sort of begs the question whether Venus entering its shadow bodes well for the economy of the US and the world?

Simple Answer: no.

More Carefully Couched Answer: strictly in terms of holiday shopping, the great bulk of consumers are to be expected to rein back a little and look for good prices on large-ticket items. Venus in Capricorn points in one direction to ‘sensible gifts’ and another to the kind of luxury item which is either better built or known to hold its value more effectively.

Most of the effects of the actual Venus retrograde won’t be felt until Venus goes retrograde – which is not until December 21st. But we should also expect our social and societal climates to begin reflecting a subtle ‘pull back’ into what we might think of as a ‘reflection mode’ as Venus moves into its shadow and the Sun moves into Sagittarius on November 22nd.

At the moment, in other words, we’re likely to merely feel frustrated and subtly annoyed by that which we can’t quite get back on the track with. And since maybe recalling our last go-round with this will help remind us all as to how this passage works in our life, let’s look back. The last Venus retrograde began in early October 2010, lasting until mid/late November. Considering there was a solar eclipse (at 13 Capricorn) on January 4th of 2011, that Venus retrograde was part of the ‘breaking down’ period which preceded the eclipse, and that combined with that retrograde having been in Scorpio accounts for the scads and scads of painful decisions people went through at that time.

We were incorrectly ‘invested’ – you know, that Scorpio thing. Many of us needed to rebalance or at least reprioritize. In going retrograde in Scorpio at that time Venus mirrored in our individual lives as the knowing if or where we needed to let go so that we could grow into someone closer to who we really are without catering to that ‘other’ or to dictates which really didn’t fit us.

Now it’s happening again with the sign being Capricorn – that of rules/regulations against the rewards, the costs and the realities of what life is…and isn’t. Issues like appearance and how appearance can’t really fix what’s wrong underneath the veneer are going to surface. This time ahead would be one where it would be very natural to compare yourself with others and find yourself lacking…or when you may, after tons and tons of work and effort feel like walking away from something (or someone) altogether.

For those less of the action orientation (read: more prone to taking everything personally) this may feel like a time when you are undervalued. Or not valued at all. It being so hard to feel the warm cozies of love under Venus retrograde even though all the normal and upstanding appreciation may be there makes the next month or so one ripe for loneliness, yearning, wishing life was otherwise and in general, thinking about how green the grass could be.

And no…this isn’t about how ‘the grass is greener on the other side.’ When the grass is merely greener, usually we know where that grass is. With this incoming Venus period, the grassy goal is in our head. The imagined peace is in our heart. The image of an optimal life which functions optimally is in our soul.

Which is exactly the point. Venus retrograde – and thus the Venus shadow period which precedes it – is all about valuing ourselves so that we don’t NEED to be valued by others. It is that need, after all, which corrupts us, causing us to pander to others in ways which will never actually validate our self respect.

It’s not who ‘they’ are. It’s not what ‘they’ are doing or not doing now which is the issue.

The issue going forward is ‘who do I really want to be? Who will I respect MYSELF …independent of anyone else…for being?’

Venus passages always ask us about who and what we value – and why we value it. A huge proportion of us tend to opt for peace and fun stuff not because it’s nice, but because we don’t want to deal with the tough stuff, the hard stuff, the sad stuff and the scary stuff. We think that if we just don’t poke that dog, it won’t hunt.

Wrong. Dogs hunt because dogs hunt and the nature of what we are…particularly as that pertains to the things in our life which scare us, make us sad or tempt us to deny our own history…those are the very things the Venusian urge seeks to tap into.

Why?

Because our desire to be loved is – in the end – one of life’s most powerful motivations. By moving us towards challenges that the Venus retrograde period will confront us with more blankly, the shadow period begins…well, let’s just call it cluing us in on what’s yet to come. Plus, as with many shadows and retrogrades, issues of the past now come into play.

Or more precisely, the results or consequences of things already done now come into play…mostly with us – which is to say, on the inside. But since Capricorn is that most worldly of signs and we’re likely to be ‘doing’ things even as we begin recognizing there’s something brewing amidst all which underlies that doing…well, let’s just say the satisfaction with accomplishment will be real.

The regret of loss will also be real.

What will perplex and goad us now is why must there be loss where there is gain? Or…must there be loss where there is gain? In that difference…right there…lies the parsing of our path - and thus, the measure of the reconciliation which still lies there untended.

The reconciliation is within and with our Self. But considering this is Venus we’re talking about, and Venus is at some level always about connecting (or the feelings which come from being connected) there are going to be parameters we each have to face.

Do we want to have life slow us down with notions and nudges about how we might not yet have all our VID (Very Important Ducks) in a row? No.

Can we profit by heaving our giant impatient sigh and shifting our focus anyway? Yes.

A fractile image sample as generated by Electric Sheep

(image credit: February 2006)

 

Oh gosh...it's a recipe for mental barf-a-roni. You know, that moment when you'd like to just shove everything down but the thought of what it'd be like coming back up just warns you not to?

Besides, why should we care?

Answer: we should care because second best can’t do when the subject is our life. When we moderate our choices because we only want the results and end up contorting who we are and what we know is right…true…right…human…humane…feeling and thoughtful….that’s giving up on us.

You know...our Self person (yes, that one).

To whatever extent you now feel life slow you down now…part may be about what you’re doing and part may be about the internal realities (or lack of reality) inherent in you. We cannot want to be anything other than what we are and we cannot deny our past, lest we relieve it.

We think of Venus as a sumptuous wallowing, a coddling of our physicality so as to render us pliant.

We tend to forget that what we must be pliant to first is to our Self, and that to share ourselves with others has nothing to do with giving up the integrity of who we are.

What begins to surface now or the next couple of weeks may in substance continue on through Venus retrograde (December 21, 2013 – January 31, 2014, UT/+0). Then again, the part of you, the relationship you have to your Self at some level may be what is truly seeking voice and consideration.

The distinctions here are going to be between what we want to be and who we are. Venus shadows tend to be periods of increasing coolness which helps the ‘reality quotient’…but decreases what is apparently a degree of romantic suspension of fact we all build into our lives in order to cushion us from life’s blows. Once retrograde starts in late December, being willing to be your own person and take responsibility for your own happiness becomes vitally important.

From now until retrograde, themes appear. From December 21st through January 31st, we work on our own or within our own Self (or realm of influence) and/or face ‘road blocks’ which have to do with our not dealing with/not having dealt with such themes.

Venus will not exit the shadow of this retrograde until March 4th. Between January 31, 2014 and March 4th we will be setting things to right. We’ve grown through our self-positioned barriers and we’re ready to move on.

Of course life isn’t going to make this easy, y’know. Venus doesn’t exit the shadow of this retrograde until March 4th, but by the time Venus gets there, Mars (Venus ‘partner’ in getting things done) will have – as of March 1, 2014 – gone retrograde.

What this adds up to is a big long period of...

...PROCESSING.

The first (Venusian) part is the drafting, planning, figuring out the relative values of this and that – in life…and (one would suspect…!) in your life as a whole. All the problems with wanting what you want and needing to do what you need to do to HAVE what you want are going to become obvious.

The second (Mars) part is the not being able to get where you want to go as deftly as you had planned. Some of us will get interrupted, some of us will have to figure out how to get past prior convolutions to get to that so necessary or desired. Expect frustrating oddities…they always show up under Mars retrograde. If it’s bizarre and strangely interesting but something you really (REALLY) don’t want to deal with, it’ll show up under Mars retrograde.

And yes, Venus and Mars retrogrades travel as a pair – at least of late (which is a whole other astrological commentary. Apparently we humans are needing more convincing than ever!). That this incoming around of Venus-Mars retrogrades are in cardinal signs (Capricorn and Mars) is another thing again. It suggests times of wanting to promise big, whether or not you can deliver. The more savvy and balanced among us will do well to approach this next six (or so) months deliberately but with an eye to negotiating agreements which as opposed to ‘sounding good’ are actually sound.

This is not, in other words, a time to think cheery buoyancy is reality. It may or may not be suitable, but that’s not the point. As we move into Venus’ Capricorn shadow and I look through the ephemeris pages…I realize that the counterpart to the hugely trying (Scorpio) eclipse we just experienced will be occurring next April (in Taurus) before Mars even gets out of retrograde.

Oh…and for those who are into patterns (read: the energetic self-structuring of time, space and life) as that April 2014 solar eclipse occurs at 8 Taurus, guess where li’l ol’ transformational Pluto is going to be?

Answer: 13 Capricorn – the degree ‘highlighted’ by the January 2011 solar eclipse our last Venus retrograde led us to.
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Huya, Rainmaker: Direct at 20 Scorpio

La Guajira desert (Macuira National Park) in Columbia

(photo credit: Luis Alejandro Bernal Romero, April 2006)

Lore on the degree 20 Scorpio speaks of a restless sense of self which, though it can be directed to eventual accomplishment is often directed towards short term goals which will garner some sort of personal pleasure.

Or pleasuring.

This shouldn’t be any surprise, as Scorpio is all about all everything and anything which raises our sense of wanting…against which life tends to throw various challenges. These challenges are designed to teach us as to whether our aims and motivations hold realistic water.

More to the point, emotionally realistic water. The Scorpionic thing we aim at tests our sense of proportion and whether we can handle what we ask for. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it is a wholly Scorpio saying – as is the implied threat which goes with it.  

That this sign which is all about passion should be best dealt with coolly and calmly has got to be one of metaphysic’s most superb ironies. But maybe not. What we fail at in Scorpio, be it the job, the partnership, the investment or intimate relationship is an emotional grounding mechanism which sort of warns us not to go any further before we’re really ready to play for all the marbles.

If you’ve ever had an investment go sour or a love affair bite you in the deepest nether region of your feelings, you know that Scorpio sting. It’s part embarrassment, part regret, part frustration and part anger – most of all at ourselves for being so foolish as to not ‘have seen the signs.’

Like I said…Scorpio issues are best approached coolly. Only when we’re cool can we size up the give and take, the emotional negotiation which in making whatever equally worthwhile to all parties involved secures the deal.

Considering that Huya is either the learning of a lesson which through pain can teach us the value of one of our greatest gifts (and in action represent the opportunity to give that gift or put that ‘gift lesson’ into action), this station is a celestial invitation to make more – and better – of our lives.

Or of our lives in the whole of life. But to do that, we have to give to others. Or at least put the ‘lesson learned’ to work as part of what we do to help others. Sometimes Huya represents the motivation which causes us to help. Sometimes it’s the willingness to put what we want on hold in order to help.

However Huya functions however, it is best to think of the process as the point of whatever you do now – which is to say don’t think in terms of what others may think or not think of/about you. Huya is named for a South American rain god – and rain is what creates fertility out of the dry and desiccated, the painfully barren in this world.

Why you do whatever you do is the important part of this Huya lesson. The more you bring your hardest-won altruism to what you do in life, the better your chances to succeed very much in the sense of that old saying ‘cast your bread upon the waters.’ Don’t ‘define’ what you think you are going to get back; whatever you’re thinking of isn’t likely to happen anyway. That we know as part of Huya being on the list of Plutinos – objects (mostly dwarf planets, but others too) which orbit around our Sun representing energies in our world which are ‘colored’ or ‘shielded’ behind – or beyond - a Neptunian veil.

That we all have a Huya in our chart says we are all capable of making great contributions and that our ability to make those contributions depends on our ability (or ‘willingness’ if you will) to a.) accept that our deepest negatives and greatest pain have something valuable to teach and b.) work through whatever the pain and/or negatives are until we realize what it is which we have been given to know.

Once we know, then we can fold that understanding into what we do (or who we are) in life, ‘raining’ that insight into the lives of others, emboldening them with the ability to accept their human realities (which we so often refer to as ‘flaws’ or ‘problems’) which in turn allows them to….blossom.

Huya, Rainmaker: the ability to be that fertile rain which provides that which others need to allow them to break through their hard husks and grow into fruitfulness.

Focused in that ‘fitting in’ realm of Scorpio which tests our ability (most of all) to negotiate with our feelings, this particular Huya station comes to us as a t-square.

With Huya at the ‘t’ of this t-square, the ‘starting point’ is Byblis at 20 Leo, suggesting this whole scenario is about OR centers in something we’re doing which we ‘want to do’ or ‘like doing.’

It probably seems easy enough to do as we’re doing it. But at some level we know it’s not right. It’s not serving its’ fullest purpose. Or maybe it’s not garnering us the rewards or feeling of acceptance (support, respect, etc.) that it should. With Damocles at the ‘goal’ position of this t-square, there’s something about life which feels problematic. Or ‘dangerous.’ And we want to resolve that – at least in our minds, if not in real time.

But there’s something in the way. And that ‘something’ involves whatever our ‘Huya Quotient’ is. For some of us, this will be some Huya power we already own, for some it will represent some Huya potential we need to yet understand.

Whichever side of that question you’re on (and yes, it is perfectly possible to be on both sides of the issue in differing parts of your life) that this Huya station is at 20 Scorpio and therefore in opposition to last May’s 19 Taurus Solar Eclipse tells us that this period (July 27/28 through August 1/2 with emphasis on the moment of station on July 30th) is all about a continuing process which began back in May.

Or more likely, back in mid-late March, which would be when the eclipse shift began to take hold.

In the greater hierarchy of astrological conceptualization, the Solar Eclipse takes center stage. Yet because the Taurus eclipse and this Scorpio Huya moment are in different signs and in opposition, where the March-into-May period was all about us or what we were doing/not doing at a more personal (Taurean) level, now Huya in Scorpio is pointing to the necessity to focus on how we relate to others and the building ourselves into a ‘greater place’ in the world and our world as a thing greater than just about our Self.

That requires digging deep and running some ‘risk’ that we’re wrong. Or vulnerable. Or taking on the realization that our means or method isn’t working or maybe workable.

Here Huya is telling us that our greatest satisfaction comes from and through others. How well we are equipped to deal with that which connects us to others – the fact of it as well as the emotional and deeply human(e) part of it – points to the pluses and minuses not merely of our life in the moment, but in the ongoing ‘processing’ of our life and times as set off by that May Solar Eclipse in Taurus.

Solar Eclipse transits take a full 3 years to evolve. With regards to this year’s May eclipse, it’s barely begun to show what about our lives may have been ‘eclipsed.’

For reference’s sake…

- link to -

The Taurus Solar Eclipse

You know if your life has changed over the past few months. You may have finally undertaken something, you may have reached some portal or passage. About now you are realizing – maybe with some difficulty or regret – that in moving forward, something is ‘over,’ done or no longer truly viable.

That’s part of your process. We all have some process to go through now. Considering how we are still under the auspices of a time which both holds us in our emotions and pushes us to deal with our emotional makeup (the grand trine in water), as Jupiter and Mars now press through Cancer and set off an opposition to Pluto in Capricorn, things will change. We will either change them through changing our outlook, attitudes and relationship towards our own feelings about things…or life will provoke/evoke those feelings.

At some level, this is a time all about the need to confront new realities. Or maybe you’re just gaining perspective on your reality and how that needs to change. What was earlier this month (the feeling of being ‘caught up’ in our feelings) now shifts as Jupiter ‘breaks tryst’ with Neptune and Saturn and sets up a new grand trine – this one with North Node and Chiron – which combines with Pluto to form a kite.

The astrological ‘rule’ with a kite asks that we ‘take hold of its tail,’ which here is pictured by Mars, Jupiter, Sirius and Kassandra. We may not (Kassandra) believe that we need to change, but we realize this is a time of change.

Then again, with Huya’s turn to direct, we may now not only see some ‘brilliant’ potential or twinkle of understanding which before now was lost in a myriad of inner space …but at some level recognize that to not own our potential and live to the highest form of our ability is petty, selfish – even self destructive.

Our lives always offer us the chance to do what is easy against the taking on of (North Node) challenges which though difficult, lie between us and a life we know is far more worth living. With Chiron’s influence currently in play, we don’t really ‘know’ how to get our of where we are. Or what that ‘thing’ we could be really involved.

And we never will know except by doing. That’s Chiron’s curse and Chiron’s blessing. Having knowledge is lovely. Utilizing knowledge – particularly for the benefit of all is even better.

Huya involvement in a water grand trine while opposing May’s Solar Eclipse speaks the emotional need to respect ourselves and to be someone we consider worthy. With Chiron and the North Node tied into Huya’s July 30th station, the question now focuses on what we don’t know how to do, but need to do anyway. Our goal is the revitalizing of the basis upon which we feel ourselves living, and the totality of our lives, through which we are able to key in on empowering others (and the world) which in turn will grace us with a fertile existence broader than the sky and beyond 'mere mortal' definition.
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The Astrology of Justice - the Jodi Ann Arias Verdict

The Great Seal of the State of Arizona

As many have, I’ve listened to a lot of the judicial proceedings as Jodi Ann Arias has been on trial for the murder of Travis Alexander.

Today, May 8th, was verdict day. When the news came in that the jury had reached its verdict, there also came the statement that there would be a two hour delay while all the necessary parties – family and lawyers – could get to the courthouse.

As astrologers do, I summoned up a chart. It had TNO Deucalion at the IC, which as I heard people in the streets of Phoenix calling out for justice I thought apt as Deucalion is a Cubewano which seems to function in charts as ‘the finding of the moral path.’

That Deucalion is a Cubewano seemed apt here, as Cubewanos, though they orbit in the same region (or ‘belt’) of space inhabited by objects whose orbits are controlled by Neptune’s vast magnetic resonance… Cubewanos go their own way. Astrologically, Cubewanos thus represent a ‘clarified’ concept – the moral path – which is without any of the doubts, hesitations or emotional biases so typical of Neptune-controlled Plutinos.

I left an astro-clock up on my computer screen with the television on as the minutes ticked by, going about my business here at home until the appointed time for the reading of the verdict drew near. Then I went back to my desk, listening to television lawyers discussing possible outcomes as the tension around that Phoenix courthouse got sufficiently intense as to be palpable from here in Los Angeles, hundreds of miles away.

The verdict was to be read at half past and it was about 26 minutes past the hour when I sat back down at my desk and saw this on the Ascendant of the astro-clock.

 
Despite all the commentary about how prompt court proceedings are, that Ascendant said – to me – that court would not be starting at half past. All the intensity having occurred as the Ascendant passed through 3 Orcus, funneling through the energy of ‘final consequences.’ And that fit.
I looked to the bottom of the chart.

Hebe/Antares at the IC of the clock (yes, you have to read through the overlap) was a perfect picture of people in Phoenix being so focused (Antares) on being supportive of Travis’ family and his memory. And that they were so sure that justice would function as it should is a perfectly Sagittarian concept.

But I looked at that 6 Virgo Ascendant…and heard myself say ‘we aren’t going to get a verdict until that Ascendant reaches Sabine.’

And that’s exactly what happened as the verdict was read out at 49 minutes past the hour:

   
Like all astrological symbols, Sabine has two very different sides. One is the idea of being ‘taken prisoner’ while the other is ‘taking something’ or ‘raping’ (degrading) something which is not yours to judge or yours to even touch.

Sabine/Athena dictates that there is a dispassionate (Athena) perspective on an act (Ascendant) of Sabine wantonness being ‘voiced’ through the Ascendant.

Is this also emblematic of the Taurus Solar Eclipse about to happen? Absolutely. But with the Sun at 18 Taurus, a degree which either acts with or which deals with energies which are ‘over the line’ and with this Sun sitting right beside Pallas (dispassionate wisdom) and between asteroid Child and the South Node in the 9th house of the chart (that associated with judicial workings) the Taurean value of America’s judicial system played out well.

Wisely, one might say.

And yes, this eclipse hits Jodi Arias’ chart hard. We don’t have a time of birth, but we do know the date and place, which gives us the following Aries wheel:

Jodi Ann Arias - July 9, 1980 - Monterey, California

Aries Wheel (time unknown). This chart was cast for 6 a.m., which means the Gemini Moon shown

could be as early as 10 Gemini or as late as 22 Gemini in an accurate chart. 

 
The closest planetary aspect to the eclipse (dwarf or full planet) is an inconjunct to Pluto. And with Pluto in opposition to Eris in Aries, the fact that the jury voted for first degree murder would tend to say a lot about what the ultimate penalty will be.

But the closest aspect of all in this chart is the 19 Taurus eclipse hitting Jodi’s 19 Taurus Typhon – the symbol of our primal, human drives: hunger, the need for sleep, sex and reproduction. That Chiron is conjunct this Typhon and both are in opposition to Jodi’s Uranus, a Uranus which was not only hit with exactitude by last November’s solar eclipse but which is conjunct her natal Sabine says a lot.

When such factors tie together, it’s a sign of how life’s many tendrils cross and interweave. All which is counts. All which is, is a part of that Existence science refers to as time/space.

Unbeknownst to us, our time/space universe unfolds as it should. Sometimes it's just painfully sad, even in the most righteous of moments.
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The Taurus Solar Eclipse

 The annular solar eclipse of May 2012 (at 0 Gemini) as

 photographed in New Harmony, Utah by makelessnoise

 
This May’s solar eclipse is not a total eclipse. It’s an annular eclipse, meaning that even as the Earth, Moon and Sun come into alignment (with the Moon in the middle), there will still be a “ring” of the Sun – the solar rim – left visible. This means that the brilliant streams, the ‘halo’ which has so awed mankind for thousands of years is not going to be part of this eclipse.

Are annular eclipses thought to function differently than total eclipses in astrological terms? Somewhat, yes, though the basic time period involved is still thirty six months (3 years) and all eclipses, total, annular or otherwise (yes, there are a few more variations on this theme) come with a quirk or ‘twist’ as we get to the end of that time, providing that  eclipse aspects our natal chart (or the chart of a company or whatever else you’re concerned with) with any acuity.

So let’s get to that part. This eclipse is going to be at 19 Taurus and the basic (standard) allowance for any conjunction is within 5 degrees either way. So if in your natal chart (or any other chart which is important to you, be that the chart of a relationship, a child or the chart of your company – even a product) has any point in it which falls between 14 Taurus and 23 Taurus, that point is being eclipsed through conjunction.

 
The diagram above is of the ‘natural’ zodiac wheel – starting with Aries at the Ascendant (“9 o’clock”) and working around the wheel counter-clockwise with Pisces ending up just above the Ascendant, at what we would think of as between 9 and 10 o’clock on the face of a clock.

As you look around this diagram, you’ll see the degrees of each sign which are going to be affected by this eclipse. You’ll also see notations differing approaching from departing signs.

What does that mean? That refers to the a situation or effort pertaining to ‘departing’ from the norm or status quo (or which forces you to depart from the norm or status quo) as opposed to an energetic which is about trying to bring something into being, or learning about something new.

These differences are subtle, yet important. Take the squares to this eclipse. Squares being often the most difficult for most of us to manage, how would the departing square (Leo) differ from the approaching square (Aquarius) apart from the fact that these are two entirely different signs?

The question is the goal (Aquarius) versus the basis upon which one is working (Leo). If you think of the eclipse as a ‘rattling’ force, the ground the Leo effort is being built on is now ‘rattled.’ The goal the Aquarian effort is aiming at? The goal itself may change, or what it takes to get there may change, or this may be a moment when you realize that something you’ve been working towards is not going to scratch that itch or fulfill your true dreams.

Something gets in the way now, and that ‘something’ is the eclipse, which by giving your sense of security a shudder, causes you to think again. Or maybe you just weren’t thinking in sensible terms to begin with? That may happen too.

Conjunctions are the vital force, the ‘I can’t see the forest for the trees, nor would I want to while all the trees are falling on me’ sort of thing. Anyone who has what we’ll refer to as a ‘vitally personal point’ in Taurus is going to feel this eclipse in a very personal way.

What are those vital points? Those would include the personal planets: Sun (life, will, goals, consciousness, intellect), Moon (feelings, money, unconscious, family, culture, home/homeland, past), Mercury (mentality, choices, activities, priorities), Venus (values, resources, security, satisfaction) and Mars (assertion/assertiveness, motivation, energy, drive, actions/activities).

An Aries Wheel (location not specific) of the annular Solar Eclipse

which will take place on May 10, 2012 at 0:30 a.m. (UT/+0) 

This would also include the Ascendant: your personality, physicality and manner of doing things. It would include your Descendant: how your interactions with others and your world creates that which you get as a response from others or the world. Also included here would be the Midheaven or MC (the top of the chart): your worldly status and all that you achieve and/or are ‘seen as,’ and the IC or Nadir, the bottom of the chart which is what you stand on (and for), your basis of operations (mental, physical, financial or emotional) and where you ‘stand’ with yourself.

The last thing on this list would be the Nodes, North and South. They represent relationships and our ability to relate, whether that’s to friends, family, co-workers, the world and it goes ‘round and ‘round – the whole thing.

When you experience an eclipse by conjunction, whether total or annular or any other kind, you will find that there is something which is ‘wiped out’ or taken away from you. Because this eclipse is happening in Taurus, this may at some level be your experience of security or satisfaction with yourself, your life, what you’ve been doing or how you’ve been doing it. The phrase ‘your experience’ is italicized here because your actual security (as in, your life, your ability to survive) may not be endangered in the least bit. But something is amiss. Some part of your world will not be feeling as secure as assured, as satisfying as it had been before this eclipse came along.

These effects have probably been growing on you now for some two months or so. Solar Eclipses are notorious for their ‘lead in’ effects, which I often refer to as a ‘breaking down’ of something. That ‘something’ has to do with the eclipse, which in this case is coming at us from an emotional degree of Taurus (19 Taurus) which lore suggests is a difficult degree many of us will tend to react to with what might be called ‘emotional listlessness.’ For the moment, our gung-ho has been de-gunged, and we aren’t all that happy about it.

Wherever Taurus appears in your chart, by aspect, by house, whatever…this is where the energy of this eclipse is going to come ‘at’ you.

But all is not lost. The Sabian Symbol for 19 Taurus being WISPS OF WINGLIKE CLOUDS STREAMING ACROSS THE SKY, as Dane Rudhyar suggests, many of us are going to be aware of spiritual processes at work. Everything happens for a reason, they say. So if you can, even if this is a difficult time, try to see it as an opportunity not to meet up with greater difficulties in the future. We are being given a ‘check point’ here so we will stop and consider – carefully – what it is going to take to achieve our aims, and if those aims are really the ones we want (or need) to achieve.

Not that we should expect this process to be easy or simple. There is a t-square which comes with this eclipse. It looks like this:

All t-squares present us with a challenge which asks that we get past thinking about the issue in terms of our Self. Generally, the lesson is about taking some stance or insisting on doing something in a manner which doesn’t work for others, that idea coming from the idea that t-squares always involve an ‘opposition point’ which by definition means one end of the t-square is in a public or worldly sign with the other being in a personal sign.

This particular t-square starts with the North Node in Scorpio, a requirement that we understand others and allow for the differences between ourselves and others, forging a platform of alliance. Fighting won’t work, particularly fighting which violates the Deucalion morality clause. TNO Deucalion is an object which seems to embody a joint message about ‘finding our way’ and sorting through questions of morality about ‘building a world.’

Deucalion entered Scorpio back in May of 2003 and will be in Scorpio until September 2027, meaning this is a time when we all are supposed to face issues of morality in building our world, personal and global. BUT…! As we say that, the Scorpio part of this says it’s not up to one person or one segment of life or the world to define what ‘moral’ is. That we – as individuals and nations and various other kinds of factions have a problem with that is obvious.

And this is a time when those difficulties are supposed to become obvious. The problem you never see, after all, is the problem you’ll never confront or contemplate fixing.

The ‘t’ of this t-suare is Juno (self discipline or discipline of the self), Icarus (haste) and Sualocin, a fixed star which is all about the burning desire to be effective, well thought of…let’s just say ‘validated’ or ‘accredited’ or ‘appreciated,’ whichever works best for your situation.

Presented in Aquarius, this sets up some (sigh…) standard Scorpio-Aquarius conflicts.  One rather common form of this conflict frames up as ‘localized’ power not being global power. So just because your ‘group’ thinks you’re the cat’s meow that doesn’t mean everybody is going to agree with you…and thus, if you go out onto the veldt, some lion may bite you.

This is a call to conceive of universality in more universal terms. And that gets to the hard part of this square: thinking in either less OR more precise terms. Aquarius calls for preciseness, clarity and a truth which works across the board, not just as you define it. Just recently someone wrote me suggesting that some asteroids could have ‘localized’ or purely individualized meanings. Their basis for argument was that there are just so darned many of the things!

And yes, there are!

But they’re all part of the same Existence. And that’s the Aquarian point. We are all part of the same existence, and though we may not all become botanists, botany as a concept is part of each of our lives. Any point is in every chart. So astrology has to function from a universal perspective. The emphasis is unique to each chart, the meanings of the points in each and every chart must have a universal meaning.

Typically, Aquarius is the sign of income and worldly success. It is the sign of systems and groups – and acceptance in a group or by a group. Aquarius is the sign of ‘mass markets’ and social bodies from corporations to your local parent/teacher organization to your community to those who belong to your profession – and so on. If you’re marketing, Aquarius is not your audience but it is the acceptance of your product in the greater marketplace.

Aquarius only works when we are able to access and accept being part of the many and finding our unique place in the mass of information and functionality which is life. Life wants us to participate. But life will not accept us when we simply demand that things be the way we want to define them, whether the subject is your relationships, your outlook on life, your behavior, the abilities you bring to your job - whatever.

That’s the ‘hurdle’ in this eclipse t-square. The goal is all that Taurean stuff in the diagram – the freedom to be who we imagine ourselves being (Child), the knowledge (Pallas) that we’re okay and that we have an ability to move forward in life without having to worry about every little step or moment (Sun/Moon/Lilith), our having some conviction in what we’re doing (Mercury) and our ability to tolerate a world which offers us much but which isn’t always what we think it is…or what we’d like it to be (Mars/Menkar).

Yet there is a level at which this ‘solution’ to the t-square is not as described. Yes, it could be that. And maybe we’d like it to be that. But let’s remember – that’s where the eclipse is hitting.

So the goal – as a goal – that goal is being either taken away entirely, or supplanted by some new formulation that we can’t see yet.

At least not clearly. This being an annular eclipse, the image is of a ‘right of fire’ around the darkened disc of the Moon. So there is something awesome and beautiful out there for us. It just requires that we let go of what we have been holding onto on a daily basis (as represented by the Moon) so that we can get there.

And that may hurt. It may be perplexing. Even confusing. Looking back to Juno at the ‘t’ of the t-square, something we have been ‘disciplining’ ourselves or working long and hard to achieve may now be being taken away by some force which is entirely beyond our control.

Life is proving to be bigger than we are. Juno’s presenting it’s ‘hurdle’ in Aquarius suggests a societal or social, group…maybe even income-oriented effort.

A solar map - the path of the eclipse projected onto the map of our world showing

where the eclipse will be visible (greatest visibility will be along the red line in the

center of the image). Those who study eclipse maps say that greatest effects are

along the longitudes where the eclipse starts or ends, and that sometimes we see

connections between these two points or longitudes.

 (Image produced by Solar Fire v8)    

Is the message that we shouldn’t try? Or that we need to change the nature of our trying – or maybe the scope of the outcome?

Probably the latter. That would be consistent with Juno-Sualocin in Aquarius. We want to master something. We want to achieve something. We want to achieve mastery at least over our innermost vulnerabilities.

And maybe we will. We’re just not going to do it right now. Those whose charts have points falling within the ‘sensitive’ degrees indicated above are going to have to make a few changes.

Or…maybe now is when you have the opportunity to make a few changes?

Eclipses aren’t known to be nature’s most genteel force. The conjunction by eclipse is akin to life swallowing you whole for a while. The opposition faces us down with something we had hoped we’d never have to learn. The two inconjuncts tell us that we need to change our attitude about something – the 6th house attitude being all about responsibility, methodology and mental continuity and the 8th house attitude being about questions of risk-versus-power.

Then there is the sextile. Sextiles are always opportunities. Not to be confused with the sextile (60 degrees) is the semi-sextile (30 degrees) which is an ego-bruising aspect which tends to require that we reconsider values and priorities.

Then there are the squares. When an eclipse squares our natal chart placements something throws us off track or derails us. We are challenged to handle a lot of input delivered suddenly from an unexpected direction. If we’re lucky, we learn something intrinsically valuable about ourselves in the process. If we’re not lucky, we hit ‘overload’ and get so overwhelmed we get close to nothing done, if sometimes for totally obvious reasons.

Last are the squares. Though more subtle than other eclipse aspects, the eclipse by trine often alters our life through something ongoing, or something we didn’t know would end. And then it does.

Nor are we done yet. Not only does this eclipse come equipped with a t-square, it also includes two grand trines:

This first one also touches on North Node, House (feeling at home with ourselves or with what we’re doing) and Deucalion – an important idea since this tells us why we will come into this time feeling  so ‘rooted’ in our individual Scorpio forms of how we want things to work.

The trine to Pisces speaks to an underlying and ongoing sense of wanting to fix things (Chiron). We want not to be affected by fears which keep popping up (Achernar/Medusa) and we certainly want to make good on our (Orpheus/Tantalus) promise.

The other trine – to Cancer – speaks of our need to follow the steps which take us from planting to harvest (Ceres) and while on one hand we recognize the need to keep learning, Charybdis/Sirius also has us leaning on whatever long-standing ‘basis of personal emotional operation’ we have built up until now.

Grand Trines are notoriously difficult to break out of. But when we look at the grand trine above in light of its aspects to the eclipse, we see Medusa in Pisces and the North Node and House in Scorpio are both in line to be eclipsed.

That tells us that this eclipse is about moving us past our Medusa fears of what we might have to learn about ourselves and whatever reluctance we have about moving out of our (North Node/House) ‘comfort zone’ in our relationships with others.

Put more plainly: if we want to succeed going forward, things have to change.

The other grand trine which is part of this eclipse is a variation on one we’ve seen before now:

If you didn’t catch these posts, you may want to read them to get the fullest view:

Saturn in Scorpio

Neptune, Fomalhaut, Deneb: Dissolving Walls

Differing from the other two planetary pictures, this one is not aspected to the eclipse. And that’s an interesting metaphysical note since the degree Saturn went retrograde at back in mid-February (11 Scorpio) is the degree of the eclipse we will experience come this November. By itself, that would seem to draw a line from February to November, as if life is giving us this ‘space’ in which to make changes…a ‘space’ which is not being directly altered by the eclipse.

That, on a metaphysical level, would tend to say that while this eclipse may be about something entirely different from that which you’re trying to (Saturn) accomplish this year, it could also be trying to liberate you from some sort of personal ‘sticking point’ which is getting in the way of those things you are trying to accomplish this year.

The one item which probably merits the most commentary in this grand trine however (at least to this astrologer) is the involvement of Vesta in Cancer. Vesta is about our promises, and the ‘cost’ of keeping those promises, whether that means sacrifice, money or having to move away from some long-cherished (or simply comfortable) situation, position or idea.

This grand trine suggests that there is an ‘ongoing’ (grand trine) ‘cost’ which must be paid if we are going to make our (Neptune, Fomalhaut, Deneb) dreams a (Saturn) reality.

And let us not forget the great Neptune/Fomalhaut challenge: corruption and coerciveness are not going to lead to success. If you’re thinking you can ‘get past’ something by insisting or arguing or ignoring someone, you’re certainly free to try. But if you’re doing that because you are trying to shield yourself from your own emotional vulnerabilities (wherever they stem from) or if you are harming anybody (including but not limited to yourself) in the process…if you are trying to ignore standards of acceptable behavior or standards of decency, you’re likely to meet up with more trouble than success.

And that isn’t going to change because of this eclipse. We know that because the eclipse (at 19 Taurus) is not in aspect to Fomalhaut/Neptune - at least not an old-fashioned standard Ptolemaic aspect.

In the eight weeks leading into this eclipse we have all been through many trying moments. We’ve seen terrible things happen, we’ve had tradeoffs in our personal life which feel….okay. But there’s still been an inordinate, overhanging, inescapable sense of being under a microscope of our own devising.

Things may happen. Things have happened. But the fact that we feel them so acutely is at the core of this eclipse. With all the analysis said and done and delved into and delineated, still we are left with the simplest of simple mortal questions: WHY?

Why does life do these kinds of things to us? What good can come from it?

Answer: much good and we need to re-learn a certain kind of emotional awareness, lest we assume there’s nothing left to do.

That would be true because life is not about having everything be easy. That’s the message provided by Menkar being part of this eclipse. And yes, why I made sure to write the post on Menkar so you could read it prior to the eclipse.

- link to post -

Menkar: Soul, Searching

A couple of years ago we saw Aldebaran, the royal star of integrity, get eclipsed. Immediately in its wake a bunch of public figures take a great tumble for their lack of integrity. We also heard integrity become a huge subject of public conversation.

This year we are likely to hear a lot of Menkar stories. And as that happens, those of us who are not stumbling over our fears (or our denial that we too are vulnerable like the rest of the human race) will take stock of what needs doing and dealing with and begin walking that road.

The good thing there is that we will be walking in the good and human company of all the other people who have also just shed their mental masks in favor of owning their humanity.

And maybe that will help us reach out to each other…and help one another…

…And together, with soulful openness we can achieve our goals without the ego-striving which is so common with the drive to succeed. That well may be the way to turn Juno-Sualocin from detriment and hurdle to glorious, universal power – by getting past whatever our fears are about who we are (or aren't)...or about what we have or don't have - or what someone else has or doesn't have. Our differences are important, no question. And at some level, they define us - especially when we utilize them in becoming respected, supported and even admired by others.

But all that pales into meaningless vapor when we forget that beyond the networking is the realm where we accept being accepted as part of a whole which is only whole when we ourselves are whole. And when in being ourselves, we add to the functionality of the whole.

It is what we do and how we do it which reveals why we do anything. That's the level at which others, consciously or unconsciously and react to us. 

Those barriers, those boundaries, wherever we are blind to our own potentials and limiting factors, those issues are now coming to the fore and being eclipsed.

Where we go from here...? That's up to us.  

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