You Were Searching (3rd edition)...

Comet ISON as photographed on Oct 08, 2013

(Adam Block, Mount Lemmon Sky Center-U AZ, October 2013)

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Since publishing my first post on the search terms turning up in the astroPPM (Blogger) ‘back room’ where such things get listed, a whole lot of quirky things are turning up - which is why I did a quick second edition, and now am returning for a third.

For the last few weeks (granting that I was offline with computer problems for one of them) there seems to be a lot of searches regarding centaur Pholus. And yes, it has occurred to me that such folks may be ending up at astroPPM simply because not much is written about Pholus. But be that as it may, here's the Pholus search string for today:

Dating from around the year 500 BCE, a vessel depicts the labor

of Herakles (Hercules) in which the hero deals with centaur Pholus

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LILITH CONJUNCT PHOLUS SYNASTRY
Lilith represents a part of our Self which we deny. Not that we want to deny and not that we wish we could deny.

We deny it. That’s the Lilith quality: the inability or refusal to acknowledge, ‘own’ or utilize - even for our own benefit - those qualities associated with Lilith, the degree it’s positioned in, and all the other usual suspect factors (position by house, aspects from other astro-objects, etcetera).
That said, there are actually two objects named Lilith in astrology - a fact which irritates some astrologers all to tar. And I’ve written on that point ...

- link to post -

The Two Liliths

So if there’s a ‘personal’ Lilith (i.e., something I deny about myself) and an impersonal or societal Lilith (that which I deny in the world -or- how/what the world denies me), which one is this searcher referring to?

I don’t know. But since both forms of Lilith refer to either something we are denying or others (individually or collectively, personally or generically) are denying about us, when we apply that to the Pholus tendency to ‘pull back’ or choose to not involve one’s self in something, to combine these points describes a pulling back or absenting of one’s Self or one’s influence in a situation which (now we add in Lilith) is either being denied to us ... or which we are in some way in denial of, whether that means denying the whole of the situation, the need to deal with it or think about it - and maybe how that applies to us as an individual (that we should be involved as opposed to someone else).

But that’s not the question. The search term is about Lilith and Pholus being conjunct in synastry - which I am taking to mean true synastry (a chart-to-chart comparing of the positions of objects) as opposed to Lilith and Pholus being conjunct in a time/space relationship (Davison) chart. So what the searcher is saying is that Person A ‘owns’ the Lilith and Person B has the chart with Pholus in it conjunct A’s Lilith.

Again, where these objects are placed, how they’re aspected and all that is going to color this discussion some. But this is one of those combinations which could be very good - as in one person choosing to look past (“ignore”) another’s vulnerability or “flaw” ... or this could be a point of frustration because the Lilith person is in denial of who the Pholus person is and how the Pholus person is going to draw away on some level (described by their natal Pholus) when things get too uncomfortable, whether or not it turns out well for them or the situation.

One other version of this... in some cases the Pholus person may look at the Lilith person, perceive their denial as strength and be inspired OR cowed by comparison. Either way, the Pholus person may try to learn from what they see by cutting themselves off from their own misgivings (or better judgment) in order to comply or participate in some situation, whether doing so is a good or terrible idea.

PHOTOS OF THE TROJAN WARRIOR PARIS
Photos? The Trojan War itself being dated to around the 12th century before Christ, cameras were a bit scarce back then (read: non-existent).

However, there are a number of paintings of Paris, and on the astrological side, that this search turned up just around the time Eris went on station seems particularly apt, as the very mortal chosen by Eris (Discordia) to decide a rather ‘fateful’ question (which is more important, beauty, wisdom or nurturance?) was none other than young Prince Paris - he who would go on to steal a married woman (Helen) away from her husband, beginning a decade-plus of Trojan warring and (oh, incidentally) the trials of untold students who throughout the centuries yet to come would be sentenced to studying Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey” in epic poetic detail.

And on that subject ...it being the Goddess Discord (Eris) who in arriving unbidden at a wedding (i.e., ‘a joining’)  precipitates Paris’ problems seems apt, because when Paris chooses to award the apple of Discord to Aphrodite (aka Venus), he is choosing the same path he will choose in the case of the fair Helen: he is choosing beauty over wisdom or nurturance - and because of that becomes the subject of a very Eris-like message, event and warning about how if we  rely on the appearance of the thing as opposed to what it really is (because we wouldn't like what we’d have to ‘see’ if we were seeing things as others are seeing us-or-it) we can expect Discord.

Beyond that, the last time I saw Paris as a film character, he was being played by Orlando Bloom in the film "Troy" - and I'll wager Orlando had a better time with his Trojan War than the original Paris did - by far.

The theatrical release poster for the motion picture Troy (c. Warner Brothers, 2004)

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ARE 1st DECANS STUBBORN?
Given that the first decan (or decanate) is the set of ten degrees (in this case, zero through nine) which are about how we act or what we do, that answer would be ‘yes’ providing that we are talking about a placement or configuration which could indicate stubbornness in its own right.

AQUARIUS ZODIAC SPY PROFESSION
I'm taking this search to mean the following: would an Aquarian (Sun) be more likely to be or become a spy than any other sign? 

Well, there is an ‘exacting’ quality about Aquarius which calls for the clarifying of things, but not only could that ability to focus and discern be applied to many things but there are also many aspects of other signs (Scorpio and Gemini leap to mind here - again, confining this conversation to Suns alone) which have the capacity to be equally focused for different reasons.

In a sense though, you could ask this question in a totally different manner ... at a different ‘level,’ call it. How about this: will we all be more prone to spying during the Age of Aquarius?

That answer would be ‘yes’ if only because with the Aquarian Age we do get a ‘technological marketplace’ (Sagittarius on the 11th of the Age) which by its very nature is purely global and therefore portrays the kind of universal knowing which though most powerful when unconfined, by its nature is likely to be spotted here and there with those who fall prey to the allures of falsehood and/or power - which is to say either without the Aquarian mandate of responsibility to/about others and that which is not ‘ours’ (in any form) as a primary and eternal underpinning.
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A crescent Uranus as photographed by Voyager 2 in January of 1986

from a distance of 1 million kilometers (600,000 miles) away

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

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GEMINI URANUS PLUTO 2013 MARRIAGE
 Other than being thankful for something so easy to look up, there are a couple of things to say about this particular 2013 (Sun in) Gemini period, the whole of which runs from late on May 20th through early on June 21st (both UT/+0 time).

But first off, this is early on in the utterly lovely transiting Uranus-Pluto square we’re all still enjoying. (Most, not - but that’s both obvious and a whole another thing.) Uranus-Pluto being the potentials of change, frustration, eruption, innovation, discovery, break-through, unification, universalism, disruption and anarchy being pitted against transformation-through-inner-reorientation as to who we are ... or ... what the ‘thing’ is (that being the Pluto part).

And all of this happens in such a way as to get us (whether we’re inspired, coaxed, forced or tempted) to give up or give in and relinquish the need to govern and control. (You did note I said ‘need,’ right? This is an emotional thing, not actually what happens - at least not necessarily.)

As we all have been experiencing this energy it’s been a mixture of many things good and awful. But when we talk about a marriage, what we’re talking about is this aspect being “embedded” in the “natal chart” of that marriage.

That said, was this marriage before or after June 9, 2013? June 9th was when Mercury moved into the shadow of a Gemini retrograde which started at the end of that June, and as with any horoscope which includes Mercury about to go into retrograde there may be a tendency towards pressuring, rushing or feeling pressured.  

(To all astrology students: this is one of several reasons any nativity should be checked out using a printed or graphic ephemeris - so you can see if some planet is going into or out of retrograde in the week or so before or after the birth date.)

In addition to this, Neptune went retrograde on June 7, 2013 in square to Mars and in trine to Mercury - which on one side will tend to support the notion of romance in a relationship while not guaranteeing the kind of love we think of as romantic ... and which may well be an indicator of a continuing lack of clarity (or indeed, lying) which is either part of the marriage itself (the why or how the marriage came about) or which becomes an issue in the marriage at some level, whether that’s a deal of of confusion about how the marriage functions, a statement on some stability-versus-undermining quality in the marriage which has to do with how the marriage is regarded - or even an indication that the married partners will set about lying to everyone else about something.

The use of astrology in picking wedding dates being a complicated thing, however, there’s a lot to look at beyond the date itself. Looked at separately, synastry between the wedding horoscope (proposed or already effective) and the horoscopes of each marriage partner will say something about how the people feel about being married. And differences between those answers and what we find when we simply look at a Davison (time/space) relationship horoscope between the parties says a lot about how some people are fine (or not fine) until they say their ‘I do’s.

It’s complicated. But then, marriages are complicated - that’s just a fact ... and something of a tribute to us as human beings. WE aren’t simple ... we have enough trouble with our individual lives - so why would a marriage of two complicated individuals be easy?

As to the Aries Uranus-Capricorn Pluto square in this (or any) marriage horoscope, the positive or negative there is going to depend a good deal not just on how this square is presented (in what houses, etc.) but also on how the rulers of the signs - which points to Mars (as ruler of Aries) and Saturn (as ruler of Capricorn) ... which means that even if the Uranus-Pluto square itself is decently placed (let’s remember that Pluto can remember power struggles, among other things), if the Mars or Saturn of the marriage chart is badly positioned there is going to some sort of underlying matters of ‘push/pull,’ structure, control/resistance and determination to be faced.

This can turn out just fine, of course - but given that Mars and Saturn will be in square from May 31st through June 15th during this May 20-June 21 “2013 Gemini (Sun)” period, responsibility, willingness and the direct physical ability to work for/towards things becomes a challenge.

Uranus (at 11 Aries) being in sextile to the Sun (by sign) for the whole of this period may well speak to a marriage which changes all the time - and in which ideas, the ability to ‘keep pace’ and flexibility are all important, no matter which date during this period is the actual day of the wedding. That 11 Aries being known as a degree is prone to unpredictability may well indicate a compounding Uranian effects, making things extra-special lively in this marriage (check those Mars and Saturn placements!).

Then again, Uranus in any degree is most often a ‘changing’ of the degree’s normal status, which means this marriage may be all about a very Saturn-Capricorn ‘structuring’ of the lives of both of the natives who are party to the marriage - a classic and very human ‘giving up of one’s wild days’ in the interest of (Saturn) growing up and (Saturn) getting ‘real’ sort of thing.

Whoever you are, good luck!

Mercury, Venus and the Moon align over the Parnal Observatory VLT

(photo credit: ESO, March 2008)

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BEING BORN COUPLE DAYS AFTER MERCU...
I’m going to take a wild stab at this one (sorry, your search string was too long!) ... and I’m going to take it in terms of part of what I said (above) about using an ephemeris (graphic or printed). To be born a couple of days after a Mercury station would mean your whole life is going to have a very important Mercurial (and mercurial) quality - and when looking at major planets (i.e., anything from Jupiter on out) you may want to give as much as a week or so in terms of influence.

But these influences don’t function the way you think they might. To be born a couple of days after a Mercury station/retrograde (for instance) doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to think. It could (given the rest of the chart) indicate some learning disability ... but then again it could also indicate not finding that thing (your “passion”) which excites you until a later age than your peers. It could merely say that by habit you’ll be someone who thinks things through. Or that you’ll be a ‘life-long learner’ because your native perspective is that you can just never know enough, never learn enough and that there’s always something new and interesting around a next corner.

I can even use myself as an example here: I was born a few days after a Mercury station/retrograde and within a week of Saturn’s station/retrograde.

All of my life I have written: I’m a writer - which fits: Mercury is about communication and Saturn is the first place we look to find information on career. Moreover, I write about time - a purely Saturn thing. When I write astrology, I write about its cycles. When I write books, I tend to either written non-fiction about what my time on earth has been about (biographies and autobiographies being a Mercury expression of the Saturn reality of a Saturn lifetime) ... or I write fiction, in which case I simply embody time... Saturn... Chronos ... whatever you want to call him (read my ‘Reality and Mind’ quadrilogy if you want to know more about this particularly Timely quirk of mine).

And to the retrograde part ... a lot of that is the time it takes to write and how writing (generally) includes (lots of) editing. Saturn stations seen in a natal chart around the time of birth can also indicate late marriage or a late ‘coming to be who you are,’ which may be cognitive, and may simply be a reference to successes which happen later in life.

One other thing to wonder about since we’re talking specifically about stations (direct or retrograde) around the time of a birth, and that’s the reference to health or basic abilities which may lie hidden, go unrecognized if not supported, which may start out as very active only to go dormant - or which simply go unnoticed, sometimes for amazing amounts of time. (Next time you wonder how someone missed or didn’t know that, think ‘retrograde station around the time of birth.’ It happens more often than you think ... or maybe that you don’t think, depending!)

My point here is really that stations - like eclipses (either lunar or solar) which occur immediately before or after a birth are astrologically important. There’s also a long tradition of astrologers checking for whatever the New or Full Moon before birth is going to be, the lore there being that those who come into this world after a New Moon spend a lifetime learning as if all was new where those born after a Full Moon (and before the next New Moon, obviously) start out with a certain ‘knowledge’ which they then spend a lifetime developing uses for and as a base for further learning.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

With all of that said, that last search string is 34 characters long (including the spaces between words) ... and it got cut off. I think I said Blogger reports the first 30 or 32 characters (that was a guesstimate) - and the above is better proof: Blogger (aka Google) gives a bit more that that ... but not much!

Every once in a while (as at the moment) there’s a break in the flow of astrological changes to report on. So you keep searching, and as such times come along I’ll see what I can do to fill in the blanks.

Meanwhile, here’s hoping some of this helps scratch that curiosity itch!
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Can You Hear Me Now? (Part 1): Getting that astro-"in" with someone

I once had a doctor I needed to deal with but felt very disconnected from. Surely there was some way to 'click' with this guy?

So I did what astrologers do: I asked for his birth date. I can't recall at this point (years later) whether I did it the old fashioned direct way, or if I got to it by playing any of the hundred games astrologers play to get folks to spill.

In this case, he spilled (verbally) and I retreated to my casa of the moment and looked up his chart.

Should you want to try synastry for yourself ('synastry' being the chart-to-chart comparison of symbol positions), try to keep these rules in mind:

If your planet connects with their Sun, you need to approach them in terms of who they are. You may even want to read a sun sign book to get a clue first.

If your chart jives with their Moon, feelings, money, family heritage and anything they're really care about (general rule: with clothes on) is your quickest 'in,' but don't count on this holding their attention for longer than a conversation or two. In other words, it's a good 'in' but not necessarily what will build a real relationship.

A connection to their Mercury means you need to appeal to what they think about things or the whole subject of how people think, commmunicate and run their day-to-day lives. Appeal to their interests and try not to be too, too boring. Mercurys are...well, mercurial - like the metal which doesn't stay put or hold its shape. Move in and move on!

Hooking in via their Venus requires a deft touch with regards to their values and what they value. Asking what they 'like' or 'like to do' or 'admire' is a good one here, and flattery may get a spark, but don't pander. Venus connections are good with flattery right up until the time they get hungry for real human sustenance - at which point you either become a feast or a forget-me-knot (yes, knot).

If your planet connects with their Mars, you need to cooperate with what they're doing/want done or at least appear to be interested in whatever their immediate goals really are (immediate being the key word here).

Your chart point intersecting with their Jupiter is a classic give/take point. It could be teacher/student (roles may flip-flop back and forth), you could just be dealing with someone who wants to lord over you (which could get very tiring) or you may find yourself constantly having to feed one of their interests, drives or need - which could be fun....

....or it could be simply like trying to keep a very large shark fed, lest you get munched.

Your chart clicking in with their Saturn means respect is on the table. Know where they come from, what their standards are and what they're (maybe secretly, maybe not so secretly) afraid of. 

Unless they're very wishy-washy, watch yourself. And if they are an uber-wuss, be prepared: they may bail just when you need them. Or if you really, truly frighten them (in which case it's up to YOU to go un-frighten them!).

If your chart point connects with their Uranus...uh...good luck. Whatever aspect in you is getting their Uranian attention, don't expect constancy, consistency or agreement, so tread lightly, carry a fire extinguisher and when in doubt, try to laugh. You may need to do it as you're backing out the door, but laugh anyway.

Should your chart link with their Neptune, don't define - elicit! You'll get their attention by getting them to get into themselves and find the thing which connects with you. Work the fuzzy edges. Be willing to be a little vulnerable. They can't see whatever you're leading with, so give them time - allow them to figure out how much they enjoy you.

This brings me back to the doctor, it being my Neptune which connected with his Mercury. I looked at that (and looked and looked again) then realized I'd have to walk my own plank (blindfolded) if we were going to connect. 

Which brings up the other side of the coin - the You part. 

But let's finish the 'them' list first...

If your chart connects with their Pluto, you need to get what their strongest strengths and/or finest weaknesses are. Not what they say they are - what they really are! That's where they'll either adopt you, or need you. 

HOWEVER...if the symbol on your side is Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars or Nadir(IC), it's best that you play fair, too as a Pluto wronged is a terrible thing to face and the little list above (Moon, Venus, etc.) are not exactly where you're blast-proof.

This does brings up what you are connecting through. Sun is your life - who are you? What are you about? Moon is money and feelings (always a goodie!).

Mercury is thoughts - if it's your Mercury connecting with their whatever, expressing a thought which pertains to their whatever will start a conversation (as opposed to your whatever connecting with THEIR Mercury, which means you want to PROVOKE thought in them, which will get them to start a conversation with you).

Venus is values, and the infamous art of personal allure. Venus intices where Mars asserts...and knowing the difference between tempting and arousing is a really important thing whether you're in the board room or the bedroom (or trying to bed someone in the boardroom!).

Jupiter is knowledge, exploration and sharing. Have you ever wondered...? Did you see that...? I just learned that...? Isn't it amazing...? Do you know how to...? Do you know anyone who....? Fill in the blanks, then let them fill in the response.

Using your Saturn to reach someone else is mucho tricky, especially if your Saturn connects with their 'likely to be more personal' points (Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, IC). When starting out, it's best to adopt a (non-inflammatory) stance and see what happens. By and by you may become the 'strong shoulder' or the one who leads the way but you can't assume that will work starting out. Our Saturns often 'look' intimidating to others even when inside, they're just something we're used to doing (which makes us look very expert and when we least expect, threatening!) or a 'social mask' we adopt either to fit in, or because we're not all that confident in/about ourselves.

Your Uranus hooking into someone elses chart gives you insight, but not permission to intrude simply because you understand, see, or know how to get under their skin.

In other words, don't blow it! Unleashing your brilliance (not your impatience) is good - as is humor...Uranus is all about humor! And try not to say "don't you GET it?" to the point they want to barf. Yeah, YOU get it, but they don't want to be friends with the most obnoxious know-it-all of all time! 

Our Uranus can be the most unattractive part of us (just go for the inference here, and use both hands if you have to...) so start with short-strokes and don't rush into that  heavy impact thing. If your opening improv works, there's time enough for all things - and in a relationship where Uranus is a basic connection, that 'all things' is really ALL  THINGS!

Neptune is everybody's blind spot - hence my feeling like I was walking a plank blindfolded with that doctor. (We did become friends, by the by...) What you believe (or believe in) works here, but figure on not knowing what you're doing. Or what you may catch - figuratively or literally!

Pluto embodies all you are obsessed with and everything which is your weakness. And in that weakness department, be prepared: it may be exactly that you deny about yourself. If your Pluto connects with any of their personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars) or particularly their chart axis (Ascendant, Descendant, Midheaven/MC or - ouch! - Nadir/IC) and they aren't just magnetized  by your presence, you might want to try someone else. 

If your Pluto connects with any of their generational (Jupiter, Saturn) or transpersonal planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) there is a potential for alliance with all terms negotiable, so play a card and see what they respond with. 

Before I close, a word or two on chart angles: the Ascendant is what you're doing (or they're doing), the Descendant is what you/they want to be known for (or appear as) the Midheaven/MC is the longings, dreams, goals and ambitions department and the Nadir/IC is our foundation. 

Of the four, the Ascendant is the most obvious and the Nadir (or IC) the most vulnerable. And that vulnerability is more important to you than them - WAY more important. Nothing baby does remains standing when baby's IC gets undermined...and that applies whether you're the baby or they're the baby.

And just in case you're thinking to chop at someone elses IC - think again: this may be the point which generates more ill feeling (and vengeance) than anything else simply because it so does represent our softest of soft underbellies. 

Or....guys? Maybe not your belly, if you get me. 

We're just talking about basic basics here - your point matching up to their point within 5 degrees (a conjunction). And these are just the most standard of old-time symbols.If you really, really want more, make me feel your love and I'll DO more.

In the meantime, happy people hunting! 

And do try to play nice. Okay, or not! 

It does depend - I so do know. 


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Family Pickles: the Astrology of Habituation

Did you wonder? After posting a story about incredible sadness and a relationship debacle which shattered arguably the most important relationship I’ve ever had (“Deep Night, No Dawn in Sight”), today I posted an astro-bio commentary on Jeffrey Dahmer.

More than a few people were probably grossed out. Part of this is just about what astrologers do – I have an astrologer friend I email back and forth with. He and I have spent the past couple of weeks discussing points erotic and galactic one-way doors in time and the human mind. And yes, I tried out some of our theories out using my data files, including one I call “criminals of infamy.” 

I’d gone in there meaning to pull up the chart of the Marquis de Sade, but my finger clicked on Dahmer. And what I saw was so illuminating and so sad…

...If you were offended, I apologize. But I also don’t think we can have beauty if we aren’t prepared to see the shadows which give light shape.

After all that, came down, my brother called. He had news: our mutual mother (we have different fathers) appears to have cancer. Metastasized cancer.

I scarcely knew what to say. My mother has been the shadow terror of my life. When I say in some past post that I’d written a memoir which amounts to Mommie Dearest meets The Jaycee Dugard Story, that all started with her. The myth of Medusa seems to have some bright spots. Me and my mother? Not a one.

But I’ve never wished her ill. All I ever wanted was for her to let me go. To stop threatening with her need to possess me.

Anyway, when I hung up after talking to my brother, I looked up mother’s horoscope, a chart I've had for years but literally never looked at. 

So today, I looked. And what do my eyes see there? That the Moon in mother's chart is at exactly the same degree as the Moon in the chart of the woman who set up the shattering of my relationship with that dearly loved Protector friend of mine. 

The astrological/mental dotted line here seems drawn by a thought I had after the December 2009/January 2010 eclipses spelled the crunching of my world as then known. It took a couple of months for my brain to chill out, but finally I found myself thinking I bet if I had met my mother as an adult – (meaning when I was an adult) – I would have thought mother was rather like that woman. 

Now I can say - oh, how right I was! The astrological lesson is about how we get habituated to certain degrees...particularly those which relate to family charts (for good or ill). The people we meet early and become so deeply impressed by are literally 'written' in our charts. I can take a chart and describe not only your interaction with your parents, but their interaction with their parents. 

And when one person 'leaves' those degrees, often - unconsciously - we 'pull in' someone else to fill that psychic void. Thus do our patterns repeat until we learn better - until we understand the Self in our chart. 

As for the real life part of this, I'm working on it. I wish no one ill, or illness – not even the mother who dismembered my life before it barely started. 

By now I’ve lived so long with this cloud over my world that the whole idea it might go away...that seems totally, entirely odd. Strange...and stranger. 

Maybe some director will yell ‘cut!’ and I’ll find out it’s all pretend. (Not!) 

Maybe this is all about the last reel of an extremely long film unwinding to its end. (More likely.)

In any case, that's one solar and one lunar eclipse down, four more solars in a row yet to go before my life again settles into place. This is going to take more than coffee and a chocolate bar, I can tell. 

Sometimes the world is so bewildering!. As an astrologer you 'get it,' though that doesn't stop it from getting you. 


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