A Leo Moon: Moving Hope, Maintaining Scope

 Dawn in Sydney (photo credit Taro Taylor, October 2009)

A New Moon will grace us come 3:55 p.m. (UT/+0) this Friday, August 17th. Occurring at 25 Leo, it’s a sweetly powerful, ultimately exultant influence which will give us reasons to try anew. With it comes a renewed hope that we can grow our lives into something which beyond ‘worth’ creates in us a feeling of life as a worthwhile pursuit…and maybe even that we’re worthy of that life.

To get there, all we have to do is lay aside our precociously presumptive need to feel ourselves in everything we do. Whatever we do it can’t all be ‘about us’ and we can’t presume we either know everything or that we have the right to do whatever pleases us.

Yes, that is a tall order – taller for some than others.

Defined by the presence of royal star Regulus at 0 Virgo (just on the edge of orb in the direction future will carry us), how we do whatever we do matters. To resist the urge to strike out at those who we see as ‘lesser’ party to any situation or the offensive in their manners or mannerisms behooves us and supports our efforts providing we know where we are going and are willing to accept the responsibility for self and for leading the way forward, not in the sense of ‘being in charge’ but in the sense of being aware, conscientious and timely.

Being observant of details is fine. Making corrections during these next weeks will, like as not, be necessary. 

With that will come the reckoning with our sense of regret, annoyance – even shame where we feel ‘we should have known’ or done better.

Learning from mistakes is key. Owning up to our errors is the great step forward; making amends (where necessary) is a salve on our soul which may engender anguish – even tears – where we realize the price of our arrogance.

You know, ego. That thing which is given us as humans so that we may know ourselves has come in time, in this day and time to be our mask, our shield…and for many, a drug of choice.

Yet we cannot be such a closed system. We cannot consume that we excrete in the cause of self-awareness, lest we become blinded through resultant mental-emotional convictions which blind us to others. And beyond that, blind to the true goodness and quality of our potential – that actual greatness we achieve when we stop thinking about the rewards and focus instead on the process, the effect, the potential inherent in all we do, say and are.

That’s Leo. Leo is all about our potential. Here we are given a moment to recognize what we can be and can do and how good those good things and words really say when they’re given to us spontaneously.

In other words, when they’re earned.

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 Yosemite Falls in California's Yosemite National Park

(photo credit Nubarb June 2009)

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Coming to us with a t-square built in, this Full Moon asks us whether we are willing to 'take the plunge’ (Sedna)…whether we’re ready to stop waiting for some ‘right time’ or ‘right sense’ of ‘enough-ness’ (Sphinx) to stop thinking in terms of (Taurean) security and instead think in terms of how we could create, recreate or provide ourselves, our world and our posterity with a life which would be securer and happier than the one we live in today.

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If we can get there, in the moment of that decision, that revelation…then the shell of our defensiveness changes into the fire of joyous motivation (Algol) which shatters all barriers of (Hybris/Black Moon Lilith) entitlement and denial …(be they ours or those of society)…enabling us to take flight.

And it is at such moments – and yes, there will be several – that we realize our own power to do good or ill (Sisyphus) in our own lives and those of others that we get some (Edisona) idea of the enormity of our own power, a power which can harm, heal or nurture us as easily as it can others (Kallisto).

Will we do one thing? All things? Will we harness our own power or share it? Should we go it alone or must we remain in lockstep with others?

The object here is Juno in Scorpio: that mastery of understanding which allows us to build functionality into life – ours and that of those around us – and by that, advance the cause, the capacity of all.

Maybe this post says nothing to you.

Maybe it means everything.

That it could be either is told - astrologically - in the figure of the t-square, which guarantees that whenever we don't get past our own ego issues we encounter feelings, if not literal rejections and defeat.

We tend to think life has defeated us. In reality, we have - simply by not letting go.   

Whichever way that goes, that’s the measure of how well you know yourself. And in life, that is the measure of all. You cannot be anything to anyone – including yourself – without consciousness of who that Self is and how that self feels, operates and aspires.

Only once you can cry with and for your Self, once you can be angry, happy, regretful and hopeful…perhaps all at once…only then can you love yourself.

And it takes loving yourself to love anyone else.

And for them to love you.

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Leo is the great gateway to inner consciousness of existence. To those who move into that space is given the opportunity to understand what it means to be alive.

To those who move beyond that space is granted the chance to be a blessing to others and blessed in every breath they take.

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Asteroids, Mars and Pluto - oh, my! (plus a little Mercury note just because…)

 Great Observatories present a 'Rainbow of a Galaxy'

photo credit: NASA-JPL-Caltech-ESA

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Here's the roll-out for this week:

Monday (December 13): Tantalus enters Pisces

Tuesday (December 14): Transiting Mars

conjuncts Pluto - Pelion goes direct

Wednesday (December 15): Kallisto goes direct

Friday (December 17): Phaethon enters Aquarius

- Sphinx enters Scorpio

Saturday (December 18th): Mercury retrogrades

back into Sagittarius

That’s two asteroids going direct, three changing signs, Mercury backing into Sagittarius and transiting Mars conjuncting Pluto.

Mind you, ALL of this is happening under Mercury retrograde. So no matter what happens in life or the world, the real point is reflective. It’s about what all of this evokes in your personal ‘think tank’ (as author Will James put it in a wonderful children’s book called Smokey the Cow Horse).

Retrogrades are about challenging ourselves. Learning more about what we’re capable of – by which we don’t mean whether you have the capability or capacity to climb Mount Everest. This is also about whether you are capable of lying to others, or yourself. Are you maybe selfish, even though you constantly ‘do’ for others? Martyrdom can be very manipulative – just as generosity can be controlling.

Why do you resist certain things or ideas? Why do some things totally fascinate you? Why we are who we are and not something or someone else why we do this and don’t do that, these are all retrograde questions.

At the moment, specifically Mercury questions. The nuances and details count. The ‘how to’s and what I know/don’t know counts. What I put first, second, tenth and last now counts. What I think I want versus what I do or don’t do now counts.

Let’s also remember that against this background we have Pluto playing footsie with North Node in early Capricorn. Change, and the need to change, are front and center in our world, and in our personal lives.

There are a lot of Black Holes being conjuncted and opposed by the North Node, Pluto, Mars and Mercury – all in Sagittarius. There are other ways to see life – will we see them? More importantly, will we tackle them or learn from them or ignore them?

Also to remember – we had a whole handful of factors (asteroids) move into yang (pro-active) signs just last week. So the engine is there. The need is there. With Mercury retrograde, this equals either some degree of impatience or frustration (for those who continue expecting life to fulfill their desire for gratification) or motivation (for those who recognize what they need to do in order to set things up for success-yet-to-come).

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Thus we come to Monday (December 13th) and Tantalus moving from Aquarius into Pisces at 1:37pm (UT/+0). The myth of Tantalus is a pretty gruesome one. What it amounts to however, is the idea that ‘might’ (of whatever form) does not equal right. Tantalus also delivers a big lesson about spite.

Bottom line, wherever Tantalus is by transit, that describes a general area of life where we get tempted to exercise power as a matter of ‘because I can’ or because ‘I want to get back at you’ for reasons which are all about my selfishness, or lack of personal self worth.

A fast-moving Apollo group asteroid which at its farthest orbits just beyond Mars and which at its closest zips just inside Venus (obviously crossing Earth’s path along the way) Tantalus entered Sagittarius on November 4, Capricorn on November 19 and Aquarius on December 1st.

That ‘Apollo group’ notation does tell us one more thing about Tantalus – that it is, in the end, about revealing the unpleasant truth…about us, others, and life on the whole. With Mercury now in retrograde, this implies we are moving several weeks where our own worst enemy may well be our emotions or emotional expectations, which may just eat us up if, where and when we don’t stop to get a grasp on the difference between our feelings and the intentions of others.

This is not to say other people are angelic – all is says is that we need to know who is doing what, and why they’re doing it. Disappointments, whether about others or ourselves, are likely to be about disparate sets of emotional standards.

And what does that mean? Really?

That would be a Mercury retrograde question. Think about it.

 A hypergiant star's massive outburst

photo credit: NASA/JPL

 

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With Tuesday, December 14 as the date of transiting Mars conjuncting Pluto, the cosmic clock strikes a chime of huge and vital potential. The basic symbolism here is ‘creation’ and ‘release’ with the number of ways that can happen being a list as long as the seconds in a day. Discoveries, revelations, good news, bad news, shocking events, exciting surprises, mind-boggling life-changing ideas – it’s all here in the mix.

What every happens, its big – that’s indicated by the power potential of Mars/Pluto being underscored by Pelion (big challenges) going direct. Direct motion always being an indicator of something which comes at us from outside.

Mars conjuncts Pluto at 4:14am (UT/+0). Pelion goes direct at 7:56 pm (UT/+0). That puts the Mars/Pluto quality of ‘explosive energy’ (at 4 Capricorn) in a very close-to-exact square with Pelion AND coming to life some hours in advance of when Pelion going direct at 5 Aries, a degree known for ‘presenting problems which cannot be avoided’ even without Pelion being present.

Getting a hint?

Let’s also consider what Pelion is. It’s not a ‘regular’ asteroid – it’s a centaur, which adds a whole other note about using our heads rather than going with instincts or raw desires (that being a centaur thing).

Like we need that the day after Tantalus enters Pisces?

As for Pelion’s orbit, it has an orbit which is in a celestial intertwining with that of Uranus. Since Uranus is a planet we can’t see with the naked eye, this makes Uranus and Pelion both objects representing things which just ‘happen.’ We don’t get to change it, we don’t get to avoid it, we probably don’t even know its coming.

Where have we heard that before?

Those who have planets, axis points or nodal positions between 0 and 10 degrees of Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn are going to feel this ‘turn of events’ most acutely. Considering Mercury just having taken its turn into retrograde at 5 Capricorn, this is a whole ‘change of thought’ season for you anyway (in other words, you probably already have gotten the memo, whether or not you want to deal with it!).

But now, the (Pelion) size of your challenge is really taking shape. Life is really, truly in your face, probably forcing you to do some tall (Mercury retrograde) thinking about how – good or bad - you got to the point where you are now.

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And no, we’re not done! Kallisto goes direct at 1:11am (UT/+0) on Wednesday, December 15. This station taking place at 24 Aries puts the Mars/Pluto (Pelion) energy in Kallisto’s shadow/direct, telling us that there are ‘Kallisto possibilities’ to be had if you bear with.

Bad pun, that…the ‘bear with’ thing, I mean. Why? Because Kallisto’s story is about vindication in spite of the craven acts of others. It’s a complicated story – but essentially Kallisto vows to serve Artemis – she who we would call ‘emotional insight’ by remaining  chaste.

But Zeus (Jupiter) takes one look at the comely Kallisto, and perhaps because she doesn’t want to be ‘known’ (in the bliblical sense) he decides to take what he wants. And after the rape, Zeus hide his bad behavior by transforming Kallisto into a bear – a beast to cover up his beastly act.

Several tragic scenes later Artemis (she of emotional insight) recognizes what’ has happened. And though she can’t undo that which Jupiter has done (we cannot ‘unring’ the bell of knowledge), the power of emotional insight (Artemis) mitigates the transformation by turning Kallisto into the constellation we know today as the Great Bear.

In other words – to put this in modern parlance, through terrible pain (or maybe in spite of all that suffering), Kallisto becomes a star.

As a main belt asteroid, Kallisto represents things we learn about as we go through daily life – and life as a whole. The degree of this station reveals to us the pluses and minus of how we use our ‘creative energy,’ with split being generally between being creative in life or pouring all that energy into sexuality. Life now shows us how well that is working for us.

When combined with all the other influences of this time – and (let’s not forget) the effects of the January Capricorn Solar Eclipse building and thus dissolving some of our ‘life structures,’ the real question would seem to be where our life is taking us, and whether we need to take energy out of one pot and put it into another, whether we are beasts, or whether we are poised to become a star not only in our own life, but in the lives of others.

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 The 'almost invisible' aftermath of a giant star's death

photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Come Friday at 4:35pm (UT/+0) on December 17th, Phaethon enters Aquarius. If you didn’t read yesterday’s blog on the Geminids, you may want to start there. Otherwise, as Phaethon enters Aquarius that adds get more itchiness to the ‘let me get this done!’ yang fire (and fieriness of the moment) and yet…

…and yet, let’s not forget that Mercury is still in retrograde. Considering Phaethon’s headstrong, overreaching quality, that would seem to be part of the theme of the moment: are you overreaching? Have you overreached? Have you taken a big fall or scorched your chances or ‘burned bridges’ in some way, shape or form?

With this also being the date that Sphinx enters Scorpio (at 10:22pm - UT/+0). We all know the Great Sphinx of Giza – a symbol of patience and endurance. But Sphinxes have other meanings. Oedipus meets a Sphinx along the road who asks him a riddle. Ultimately, that Sphinx represents what he might have learned had he stopped to think everything through.

With Sphinx being a main belt asteroid which orbits nearer to Mars than Jupiter, this symbol is more about what we do and why we do it. In entering Scorpio, it asks that we have the patience to recognize how others feel and why they feel that way. AND to recognize how having breezed by questions posed along the road we may have ended up exactly where we didn’t want to go – a la  Oedipus (though we’re certainly not referencing the exact circumstances of his story.)

But there is to recognize that Scorpio is jointly ruled by Mars (first) and Pluto (as outcome of our Mars choices). This again underscores the Mars/Pluto conjunction, the Pelion challenge(s) – whatever that may mean in your life.

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As Mercury retrogrades back into Sagittarius at 2:54pm (UT/+0) on Saturday, December 18, determination softens. Attitudes become less hardened. There’s room for discussion, though be prepared – some people are simply not going to negotiate!

And that too is part of what we have to learn now. Whether its our standing on or for some point we absolutely know (or maybe have even just learned) the facts are the facts. Reality is reality. Life can be some things we want it to become but it isn’t that way simply because we want it to be that way.

It’s a busy week. There’s a lot of energy focused within each of our lives and each of our minds. Especially as Mercury re-enters Sagittarius, ‘haste’ becomes a big thing we all want to avoid. That in itself may be a challenge – but being challenged…isn’t that what life is really all about?

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Mercury Exits its Shadow

Having gone retrograde back on August 20th at 19 Virgo and turned back to direct motion on September 12th, Mercury has now finally reached 19 Virgo again and thus is now emerging from the 'shadow' of its retrograde.

What does that mean to us? Several things.

For one, this signals an end to projects, conditions or issues which have been 'hanging around' since back in August. Even (actually) the tail end of July, seeing as Mercury entered the shadow of its recent retrograde back on July 31st. For some, things are finally slipping into place. Finally! It's done.

Then there are those who get to a point that they decide it's not worth chasing after something. Or someone. They're not just ready to move on - that would have happened back around the time of the station - they're moving on!

With Mercury as ruler not just of Virgoan 'needs of responsibility' but of Gemini and the 3rd house of 'everyday doings' and with these retrograde cycles coming around (generally) four times a year, there are 'seasonal' matters also on the list. And with Virgo the last sign in the zodiacal 'second season' (the 2nd quarter of the zodiac being Cancer-Leo-Virgo), with Mercury emerging from this retrograde shadow at 19 Virgo we get the message that a 'private and responsive/reactionary' phase of (Mercury) thinking is just about over. Mercury hasn't yet gotten to Libra and Matters Public and Worldly, but it's definitely on its way there.

Thus, so are we - at least in our Mercurial thoughts.

Into all this comes the fact that Virgo being an earth sign, this is about real things. Or at least what's 'real' or a 'reality to us. 19 Virgo being the last of Virgo's emotional degrees, this may be the reality of our emotions. Or something real and emotional we've been dealing with. Virgo being a sign of health, work, service, something emotional in that arena has now been dealt with. Or maybe - in true Virgo style - it's been worked over and made more functional.

Lore on this degree suggests a capacity for 'sharp tongues' and 'philosophical developments,' which considering this is Mercury we're talking about may be what you hear, what you say, or what you say to yourself. And with Mercury hitting this mark in tandem with asteroid Sphinx, there's a definite 'stone face' quality here - so don't count on knowing what everybody else is thinking. Or that what they're saying in the heat of what may be a heated moment is the gen-u-ine mental article, as there is a little emotional stress in the air: Sphinx meets emotionalism is not a graceful combination!

Whatever Mercury's exit from shadow means in the moment, it is just a moment. We experience it and move on. A few things are over, a few are not forgotten, but now it's on to the new!

The Mercurius of Chateau Neercanne in 

Maastrich, Netherlands - by Alexander Taratynov (2000)

The August Full Moon

 Full Moon over Cincinnati, Ohio

Also known as the Corn Moon, Fruit Moon, Barley Moon and Sturgeon Moon (don't ask...!), the August Full Moon occurs this year on August 24 at 5:06pm, Greenwich Mean Time.

Occurring just a day after the Sun entered Virgo, the chart for this Full Moon is obviously going to have a lot in common with the Virgo ingress.

The Virgo Ingress (shown as an Aries Wheel)

       

The August Full Moon (shown as an Aries Wheel)

Look carefully...all you'll see having moved are Sun, Moon, Venus, Mars and Vesta. And that in itself tells us something, as Mercury - one of the fastest moving planets in our solar system - hasn't shifted even a degree.

To make the point, Mercury makes an orbit of the Sun every 88 (plus) days. That means Mercury usually moves a couple of degrees a day. So that it hasn't moved is in the bigger picture of 'norms' unusual. Yet it's also entirely understandable, seeing that Mercury just went retrograde on August 20th.

On the 20th, it was at 19 Virgo. Four days later, it's only at 18 Virgo. That's Mercury moving at barely ooze pace.

Considering Mercury's metaphysical connection with thinking and the general thought process, decisions, planning, activities and schedules, that suggests a Full Moon period rife with hold ups. Or maybe just with taking a pause.

Famous for interruptions in mail service, processing of paperwork, clarity of communication, car problems, computer snafus and everything from stubbed toes to canceled or delayed travel, business and personal plans, Mercury retrograde is a pain in the very low back for the highly motivated and speed-addicted among us, but quite all right if you're taking a personal 'time out' of some kind.

On the Full Moon side, Full Moons are known as a time of great 'illumination in reflection' ...and a general intensity of feelings.

Occurring at 1 Pisces, this Full Moon is conjunct three separate astral objects: Athena (wisdom), calculated Lilith and royal fixed star Fomalhaut, a star which promotes those dreams which are not corrupt and which brings great unhappiness where corruption is in the mix.

Athena, goddess of Wisdom. Having sprung from the

brow of Zeus full grown, her helmet represents Athena's

'unassailable mentality' - an 'armor clad' intellectual function.

Considering Lilith is here, and that calculated Lilith is hardly ever a piece of cake as it represents societal considerations we either avoid, evade, reject  or have forgotten about, at best this is likely to be a time of sorting things out. And at worst? The worst here would seem to be where we have done without wisdom (Athena) and done something totally naughty (Fomalhaut) which for some reason has now come back to haunt us (Lilith). Courtesy of Mercury inching along like an unmotivated snail, there's little likelihood of doing a verbal tap dance and scooting away.

However...this is just a Full Moon. And though Full Moons can be 'one of those moments' (good or bad) they are also very transient. With the Sun in perfect conjunction with Orcus and Sphinx, there is either a tendency to attempt to use Sphinx-like patience and tolerance couple of Orcus-like 'facts' to try to charm your way out of things. But if you really have violated the Fomalhaut rule, chances are Orcus-Sphinx-Sun is going to manifest as a totally blank wall which greets all your witty charm with a 'nice try' and a demand that you toe the line, admit your error and make amends.

The good news is that over the next couple of days - while the Moon is still in Pisces, you have some room for emotional negotiation. And this is useful even if you haven't had a good time as Moon in Pisces is as wonderful time to achieve understandings and make mutually beneficial plans as it is to mend broken bridges....

...It's also a perfect time to work on you own if you have some personal project.

Looking to the Arabic Parts for this Full Moon, issues concerning one's own experience of being mothered arises now, as does your personal relationship to honor as a concept. How these two things interact is now functional across the board, as is the experience of being a daughter - which would obviously be personal for women and as something men will do well to be aware of.

These qualities or 'patterns' may be apparent in what goes on, but they won't necessarily be the subject of conversation. But if you know the people you are dealing with or listening to well, you are likely to hear some of their own experiences coloring their parameters in this moment.

Again, this isn't necessarily a giant red flag, merely a nuance which if you understand it may allow you to comprehend what's going on better and operate more clearly for your own part.

Often marking the period when something comes to fulfillment, this particular Full Moon - given Mercury having just gone into retrograde - suggests a time for reflection, discussion and self examination. 

Given the Sun in a pragmatic sign on one side backed up by fact-driven Orcus in opposition to the Moon in a emotional, perhaps even vulnerable (hopeful?) position conjunct Fomalhaut on the other, keeping the facts separate from the feelings is the best way to go. Both are valid, but it won't help matters to let them get confused.

 Going forward, we move into a 'waning' period (from the Full to New Moon) which here involves becoming more aware of ourselves, our values, our choices, our plans and how our personal aims matter, but need to work with others if we're to get ahead. All this is up for consideration, and with Mercury in retrograde, considering and thinking things over is the perfect thing to do.

Have a happy, prosperous, productively feeling-filled Full Moon!

The Full Moon - photographed from Japan

Sun enters Virgo/Sedna goes retrograde

The Sun (Xray image taken by NASA's solar observatory)

Come August 23rd at 5:28 GMT, the Sun will enter Virgo. Given that the first ten degrees of every sign is where sign attributes manifest physically and through one's physicality (in a body or through actions), this sets a variable stage built around the three standard Virgo keywords: health, work, service. 

By 'work,' Virgo means doing things which either are done simply because they need doing and/or because they are part of a greater effort. Thus going to the job (or finding one) is Virgoan. Being an employee is very Virgo. Being part of a team effort is a Virgo sort of thing as is brushing your teeth, washing the dishes (car, dog, etc.) as is helping someone out because they need assistance.

This last, in particular, naturally blends with the Virgo concept of 'service.' Where work meets service we naturally come to a sense of those who serve, which in the sense of 'in a process' is again why Virgo represents employees, but at a more esoteric level is why Virgo also embraces any one whose job is to provide a service to others. Medical people, help desk people, civil servants, members of the military - and indeed anyone who may be in a honcho position, be they lawyer, leader of a nation, CEO/CFO...to the extent that they have any responsibility to anyone, they too have a Virgo connection.

Must be why every chart comes with a Virgo component, don't you know!

Yet because Virgo is ruled by Mercury, the Virgo 'service' as well as 'health' concepts are not just the physicality of doing for others, or taking care of yourself (exercise, eating right, going for checkups, etc.). 

Being that Mercury also rules thought-thinking-idea-choice-oriented Gemini, all things Virgo also involve the idea of the thing. Which is why say in the 'work' category, Virgo becomes not just going to work or doing the job, but every facet having to do with improving the ways things get done, inventing the better mousetrap and making efforts efficient, effective and thorough.

Which yes, leads to that Virgo negative of obsessing about details. Virgo is so the sign which loses the forest for the trees so often! Instead of listening to the sense of the idea being presented, Virgo is perfectly capable of glomming onto one little word in the presentation being used "incorrectly" and acting like that's the make-or-break in the whole deal.

Why does Virgo do that? There's a thousand reasons - maybe more. And in your chart or the chart of whoever is getting stuck on such minutia, there are indicators about what it is they really don't want to contend with, those being the reasons they instead glom onto the misused word. Or that one smudge on the mirror. Or the chore list which never ends which they are using to effectively prevent them from ever having to get on with life, broaden their horizons or....

Know anyone 'married' to cleaning, chores and 

errands? Or someone who simply can't bear anything
having to do with keeping (themselves or their house) clean? 

It's probably all about Virgo/Mercury in their chart.

...deal with mental health. The combination of Virgo and Mercury is not just about dealing with health, it's the mentality of health, the health care 'marketplace' and the fine balance between health obsessions (from hypochondria to fitness nuts) and dealing with mental health problems or problems in general in a mentally healthy way.

And lets remember - this is not just about Sun, Moon and Virgo rising people (or entities). This is global stuff. This is all of us! Every chart around includes Virgo. And those who moan, groan or twitter at such? Those would be pretty sure 'tells' (as they say in poker) pointing to  issues with responsibility and various forms of internal/mental self-discipline which in balancing need against want tests our sense of propriety and priority  (otherwise known as entitlement).

So as the Sun enters Virgo, life 'lights up' these arenas. It can do it on the mundane level - meaning you'll be busy, the job thing will be particularly on the front burner, someone may have some health issue which needs attention or there's just someone who needs help. Sun transiting Virgo can also be a time when you become aware of where you're too invested in one thing - maybe even to the degree that you're damaging something good by putting SO much focus on it.

And that includes you - the physical you. As well as your environment and the environment, seeing that ecology (recycling, etc.) is so very Virgoan.

Entering Virgo in the company of Sphinx and Orcus with a direct opposition to Athena at 0 Pisces, it's to be expected that we will all be dealing with the repercussions of things done or choices past (Orcus).

 one artist's concept of TNO Orcus

Some of us will think (or may have thought) we could just wait it out (Sphinx) and that some storm would blow over. But because Orcus and Sphinx are sitting here side by side greeting the Sun at Virgo's door...apparently not! Together, Sphinx and Orcus are a sort of earthly, earthy manifestation of eventual consequence: the paying of the piper which in the end must be dealt with.

With Athena in opposition, some sort of emotional 'knowing' in the mix. Given that Athena stands in opposition to the Sun here, that may manifest as someone who confronts you with how you have hurt, unfairly compromised or cheated them. Or it could just be that your conscience just kicks in. Or that necessity now rears its demanding head.

That this will affect us greatly on an internal basis is shown by the fact that Mercury, ruler of Virgo, has just gone into retrograde. With Mercury in emotional degrees of Virgo, we get another indication of emotionalism - and with Mercury now in retrograde, this would tend to indicate internal emotionalism. So it's either your emotional reaction or something emotional which is/has been hidden by someone else, or with regards to someone else's emotional (Virgo) functions.

Or yes, maybe lack of same. That quality - the 'lacks' - are likely to become even more apparent in the first couple of days after Sun enters Virgo, too. Why do we know that? Well, it's a combination of two items: Bali (paradise) being at 2 Virgo and Atropos (cut-offs) standing at 16 Virgo, two shy of Mercury at 18 with Mercury moving backwards through the zodiac.

The Three Fates by Sodoma (Atropos is on the left) 

This gives us a 2 day, 2 week, 2 month sort of implied 'progression' of circumstances which imply and end (Atropos) to some sort of conceptual paradise (Bali).

Some party is almost over, people. And since asteroid House stands at 16 Pisces - in exact opposition to Atropos - this is about some 'end' to some sort of 'being at home' with something. Or someone. Or some thought, effort or idea.

One other item coloring this event - and a big one - is Sedna going retrograde. Ultimately a figure of oceanic fertility and creation which requires that we wrestle with immature (often egotistical) urges and/or personality traits which have developed out of childhood experiences or "programming," Sedna applies at very separate levels to our planet, our feelings (water always equals emotions) and our process of growing into our Self and purpose as an individual and as a race of beings living on our planet.

 Sedna's orbit is shown here in red. The orbit of all the rest

of the (inner solar system) planets is shown by that set

of small concentric circles at the upper right.

Going station/retrograde in Taurus on the 23rd, Sedna's station highlights any sort of meaningful event which highlights (Taurean) values - yours personally, those of a community, or on any sort of global basis. Standing in an inconjunct to Ceres - which has just recently gone direct (link) - we are reminded that we need to think through what we do.

Ceres being goddess of the harvest and also associated natively with Mercury reminds us that we must sow and tend before we can reap. Ceres also tells us that we cannot decimate the 'ground' we till - be that human/physical, human/relational, human/emotional, human or global/ethical or strictly planetary - if we expect to survive long term.

Sedna itself indicates an adjustment - and a difficult one for many. The simplest way to think of Sedna is as the individuation which comes from a successful passage from dependent childhood to independent adulthood. But it's (unfortunately for us...!) more complicated than that.

Sedna's story starts with her wanting what she wants - and wanting those desires to be provided to her by others. Hers is not a compassionate or empathetic world at all.

Ultimately, it takes bitter disappointment, great ocean storms (i.e., emotional storms) and the experience of actual physical violent rejection to get her to relinquish her hold on...on at least the concept or ideal of life as she has known it. And yes, the reality which goes with that - which by then includes some really sad tales of reaching for what she wants so desperately, only to find that when she throws everything aside for her dream, the reality which her dream becomes is not far different from the dream, but not all that pleasant.

In the mythology of the Inuit people, from Sedna has come seals, 
fish, walruses,whales and much else we think of as the beauty and
wealth of the sea. That originally Sedna rejected every effort made
to teach her that life is about both give AND take - only to end up
as goddess of/providing that which her people rely on for life
...that implies a good deal about human growth, the process
of maturation, and some of the key metaphysical concepts with
regards to that which we are so attracted to getting - ultimately being
that we should provide or teach to others (i.e., personal karmic purpose).

Ultimately given a chance at reprieve, Sedna thinks she's been 'saved' and that she can reverts to old ways, but it doesn't turn out like that. A great storm erupts. Sedna gets thrown overboard into stormy seas. And there she drowns.

But since this is a myth, she isn't really dead. So what has she drowned in? Answer: the ocean - the metaphorical equivalent of our 'sea of emotions.' And  through that drowning which comes at such great cost and through such painful means (Sedna's father cuts her fingers off as she's trying to hold onto the boat) once Sedna accepts being cast into the great sea of her emotions, she acquires a new life. Sinking into the icy depths (the 'cold aloneness' of our individual soul) she  becomes the great ocean provider. Her severed fingers become seals, walruses, whales and fish, and thus the Sedna who had wanted to have everything provided for her becomes the respected protector and goddess of her sea-dependent Inuit people.

With Sedna going retrograde now in Taurus, we look to Venus, ruler of Taurus for a clue on where this energy will manifest. And we find Venus at 15 Libra, exactly conjunct Mars and TNO Haumea.

Mars in Libra is the quintessential lowering of ego which allows relationships to happen. Conjunct TNO Haumea however, we have an indicator of manipulation and 'trickiness' - trickiness also being a quality associated with Mercury, the trickster/game player/joker and poser of questions (recalling the Sphinx, another riddle-asking entity of lore).

Have we been fooled? Is someone playing a trick on us? Or have we played some trick on ourselves? Any of these things can be true now. All of these things might be true now.

And throughout the Sun's passage of Virgo, especially until Mercury goes direct come September 12th, these will be issues either on the table or niggling us from the sidelines.

That Pluto will go direct right after Mercury does? That indicates a change is certainly in the works. Those who resist now will be forcefully confronted with it next month. Those who begin moving through the process now will find their efforts beginning to bear fruit and clear problems out - again, next month.

  Planet Earth - source: NASA

One more note here...as the Sun enters Virgo, the Moon stands at 13 Aquarius, a degree which is either honorably assertive or reactive and aggressive. Just at the edge of its conjunction range (at 18 Aquarius) stand Damocles and Nessus, a truly formidable duo totally worthy of the  article on same which will post at Daykeeper Journal as of September 1st (mark your calendars!).

Again using progression theory, this five-degree separation suggests looking ahead five zodiacal months, which takes us to Sun in Aquarius. And the New Moon which occur that month (on February 2nd/3rd, depending on where you are)? That New Moon will occur at 13 Aquarius, underscoring the long-term effects of what we do - or don't do - now.

Will you be on the initiating side of it or the receiving side of it? Will you let go of the boat and actually through drowning in your own emotions come to a truth and some understanding of the true potentials of your life? Will you refuse to let go and cling to being provided for simply because you are so spoiled and so indolent in your own desirous way?

Will you own up to your own issues? Will you seek help or give it where it's actually needed? Will you recognize errors and own up to them? Will you accept that some measure of pleasure, compensation, 'the good stuff' or gratification has to be deferred in order to not rape your own life, this earth and the future or even present of others?

At the moment, it's all questions. And only over time will you provide yourself - and others - with your answers. But that's the Virgo way: we have to work for it, lest we compromise all for ourselves and others by denying the truth of reality.

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Sun in Leo

The Nemean Lion

Many are the stories told about Leo, 5th sign of the zodiac. It's said that the Egyptians worshipped Leo and marked their change of year by when the rising of royal star Regulus was directly east on their horizon. Some think that this is exactly what the Sphinx is aligned to stare at. We may never know for sure, but the idea is both intriguing and rather inspiring. 

Speaking of sphinxes, at the other end of this tale of tails-a-lashing is Leo as the Nemean Lion, a wild creature which so terrorized the countryside in which it lived that none other than Heracles (Hercules) was sent to take care of the problem. The 'sphinx' part of this tale is that the Nemean Lion was in this story said to be sibling to the Sphinx which Oedipus meets - you know, the riddle asking Sphinx. 

Thus rather neatly we have the polarity of what is for many, a rather enigmatic sign. Leo represents all the headstrong desire of the raging Nemean Lion and all the question-asking of the roadside sphinx...from which, when we consider Leo as the sign of children should not make us wonder at all the questions kids ask! 

A fixed sign by nature, Leo often gets itself in trouble because it's pride has such difficulty dealing with even the teeny-tiniest sign of defeat. It is humiliation? Is it the Leo tendency to be hard on one's self? Both, I'm afraid. And for those who know a Sun or Moon Leo in particular, telling one from the other is often rather hard - and it's sometimes worth your good hand to even ask! 

Frustration of many kinds gets stirred into the mix by Leo being the sign of creativity (and hence children, since kids are the creations of their parents and often inately creative). And it's in this childlike innocence which Leos so struggle with; wherever Leo is in your chart and whatever it may color in terms of symbols, these describe both the impulse and the challenge you face when in a personally creative mode. Can I do this? Will it be as good as I want it to be?

The first is a primal Leo question about willingness to risk. The second is about facing your own skill levels and possible (un)willingness to not just  admit (to your own ego) that you're not the hottest shoe on the block in some way, but also deal with the question of investing time, energy and resources in upping your quality quotient.

It's a problem. After all, since when was any lion on any savanna willing do admit they weren't the biggest, baddest and best cat around?

Constellation Leo - source: Allthesky.com

Ruled by the Sun, Leo is sometimes plagued by a sort of 'blindness.' Many who deal with Sun sign Leos on a regular basis (she said, sighing...) feel like they think the whole world revolves around them. They're right. Their way is the best way. Their pain counts, yours isn't interesting. 

And yet...though this sounds as if you (or your needs or opinions) don't count, Leo cares desperately. Wherever Leo appears in a chart, that's where you care beyond measure about what others think of you. 

It's very confusing. The Leo dynamic which seems to think it's 'right' no matter what needs beyond all things to be agreed with. Wherever this sign lies in your chart and as any planet passes through Leo, those attributes 'light up' and become almost blinding - the fire sign quality of imagination and ideal image are so strong that one cannot see anything else....and dare not see anything else, lest the disappointment be crushing beyond the ability to bear.

Oh, how dramatic, right? Yes, dramatic.

And yes, very Leo.

With all this now lingered over and duly pondered, now we get to the point: on July 22nd at 22:22 (10:22 pm, GMT) the Sun - Leo's ruler - moves into its 'home' sign, and there it will be until August 22nd/23rd (depending on your time zone). 

Like the Nemean Lion, when Sun is in Leo we tend to test ourselves against our own standards, our personal benchmarks and yes, each other. The Leo need and tendency to 'shine' (like the Sun) is literally exalted during this time...with what separates the winning through from the getting rebuffed roughly separated by exactly the Leo challenge: the ability to recognize that no matter how brilliant and creative you are, if you (the one) don't fit in with the mega-millions-of-others. In other words, you may have invented the most brilliant mousetrap every conceived of, but if there are no mice on your planet you're not likely to get much in the way of applause, appreciation...or orders for you product (and hence, success, income and satisfaction). 

Quite to the contrary...when under the Leo influence we fail to take the 'greater audience' (or society, social circle, marketplace, etc.) into account, we end up feeling rejected, unworthy and rather useless. I mean...let's face it, the lion devoid of pride is rather sad. We all need to be the 'mane' person somewhere in our life! 

Lastly, since lore suggests that configurations which exist as a planet enters ('ingresses') a sign color its complete transit of that sign (as if they mark the setting of a trend), a quick look to that as well.

The trine to Uranus (innovation/disruption), Hebe (service), Jupiter (growth/overload) and Lust (fixation) firmly in place as the Sun enters Leo suggests the 'backdrop' for this month-long passage is all about some drive which we come into this time with as an ongoing drive. With Jupiter on station, this is big - catch the Friday blog for more about that!

The challenge here comes in the form of an inconjunct to Chiron (the thing we should do but don't feel we know really HOW to do...), Icarus (having gone too far/too fast) and Fomalhaut - a royal star all about dreams and desires which if noble and untainted bring great happiness and which if tainted manifest as loss and confussion. Considering this connection is to a Leo Sun, this is either an ego-ouch in waiting or a moment in which (however reluctantly) you acknowledge that your way isn't the right way - not even for you. 

The good news is that the Sun/Saturn-Mars sextile tells us that there's now an opportunity to do yourself a favor and make things better, improve on situations or otherwise renew your Leo place in the Sun.

My advice? 

Wear sunscreen...and try to keep your cool.


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