The Taurus(Scorpio) Full Moon: Meeting Ourselvs Half Way

 Full Moon over the Grand Canyon

photo credit: Matthew Hunt (September 2005) 

Whenever we talk about a Full Moon...in whatever sign - we're actually talking about two different signs.

The 'why' of that is simple: a Full Moon is an alignment of Sun, Moon and Earth with Sun and Moon in perfect ("full") opposition (which allows the 'full face' of the Moon to be illuminated by the Sun)...with Earth sitting nearby taking in the lovely view. 

Where that alignment happens (which astrology describes using signs and degrees) and who is hanging around gawking on either side (or commenting from a distinctly discordant quadrant) is how we describe Full Moon effects.

But why would one Full Moon differ from another (give or take bystanders) if it's always Sun opposition Moon? Why do signs exist at all?

That's because, despite Galileo having paid a heavy price in his time for having declared that the Sun was the center of the solar system (ridicule, house arrest ordered by the Vatican...he has so little fun trying to teach his fellow folks the truth of things!) ...despite that, Astrology - which is a study of time/space/celestial effects on Earth and all things Earthly and earthy....that remains geocentric. 

And don't get all frizzled by the term. 'Geo' refers to Earth and 'centric' is 'centered on.' There are a few people out there who practice helio(Sun)centric astrology, but probably 99% of what you read is totally about us. Which makes sense - Earth is where we live.

Taking this back to 'what the heck are signs about?', if you think of Earth as the center of "its" solar system, then in succeeding months, everything comes from a different angle. You know...it comes at us from a different place - which is maybe why we use expressions like 'I got broadside by that one!' or 'it came right at me!'.

And as anyone who plays pool, billiards or works in a car crash laboratory will tell you, angular alignments count. Angles of impact often determine crash safety and effects on passengers. They certainly are what automotive designers build to protect against.

Problem is, there is no defense against life. Life comes at us from whatever angle no matter what.

And with a Full Moon putting the light of the Sun "full" in the eyes of our emotional (Moon) reality (Earth) - that being the basics of the 'highlighting' or 'emotional high tide' metaphorical meaning of any Full Moon....

...well, let's just say it pays to know where life is going to be coming from every month. Which yes, is why I've taken to talking about lunar cycles here on Ye Olde Blog every month.

So this time around, as happens every year about this time, we have the Sun in Scorpio and the Moon in Taurus, as we see here:

Taurus being all about our self worth...with which we go out and get what we want from the world and therefore have in our personal 'coffers' as resources...Taurus is about our sense of security and/or satisfaction as a reflection of our values.

As polarity sign to Taurus, Scorpio is where we risk that self worth and those values with others. The key word in that sense being 'risk,' everything about Scorpio feels 'dangerous.' The investment could go bad. That person we get into a partnership could be a dud. Or betray us. That innocuous person could be luring us in so as the manipulate the heck out of us. The sex could be terrible. That proposal we worked so long and hard on could get rejected. We could get turned down for that job.

But if you think about it, these events - in and of themselves - are not deadly. What's difficult about Scorpio - a water (and therefore emotional) sign - is how we feel going into them (the trepidation, the excitement, the angst, the expectation) ...and how we may feel when things if/when things don't live up to our expectations.

And with Uranus - our solar systemic destabilizing force (cammon...a planet which rolls around its orbit? How throw-a-wrench-in-our-thinking odd is that?)  - with Uranus in Pisces, land of emotional expectations...we are all ripe for a shakeup.

This sort of goes back to the New Moon, every New Moon being the basis of the cycle which leads to the Full Moon. This last New Moon was a sticky one in Scorpio. More precisely, in the emotional district of Scorpio, a sign which is emotional to begin with.

Even more interestingly (or let's say at least as interestingly)...it was the first of three New Moons which focuses on that number: 13. Next month's New Moon will be at 13 Sagittarius, and the month after that is a Solar Eclipse at 13 Capricorn.

In itself, this is a metaphorical progression which starts in our values and how to get along (Scorpio) which then moves into 'will it work/how to make it work' (Sagittarius) and seeing ultimately if that gets us where we want to go (Capricorn). If so, that equals life renovation. If not, that equals life changes forcing us to renovate.

At the moment, there's been a whole lot of emotional stuff going around. We've all been reflecting, refracting, sorting, interacting and in some cases forging new alliances...and in others realizing through our interactions how we really had it wrong who we were and/or who the other party/parties were or are.

And as soon as a lot of us have gotten past one puzzle, life has thrown another our way. Did we really get the message? If not, have another 'go' at it. If yes, it was on to the next step.

A lot of these messages have, in fact, centered on or come back to our self worth and values...and how that does/doesn't help us in our relationships with others - and in that, moving forward in life.

And all that...? That now comes home in 'Full' format with the rising and shining of our monthly Full Moon.

This does not...repeat NOT mean life will be filled with hilarity or disasters. What it's about is our ability to deal with our underlying humanity. This is about rooting out of us those glitchy, faulty, not-serving-us-well attributes we either don't need, haven't dealt with, or haven't done enough to properly develop. It's not the event of the moment in other words - it's whether you are overly reactive TO the moment. 

We all together on this one? Good, because with this Full Moon being positioned at 29 Taurus, life is likely to push us extra hard!

Twenty-nine being the last degree in every sign, it's known as a 'critical degree' in astro-speak. That's a little over-the-top, but "modern" astro-speak (a lot of it) was developed over a hundred years ago, which ain't so modern. In fact, it tends to be a lot melodramatic. So ignore the word and remember the term; what's meant here is that this is where the sign "presses" to complete its business. It's sort of all of Taurus loaded into one degree or all of Scorpio squished into 29 Scorpio.

For everyday purposes, this is an intensification of effects. So the testing of our values/self-worth is likely to be a tougher or more intense test.

And let me give you the biggest of big clues: we don't win by getting hysterical, angry, exasperated or upset. It seems counter-intuitive, but the solution to all Scorpio problems is to think, not emote - just as the solution to all Taurus problems is to do more, freeing one's  creatively, productive instincts rather than to conserve, hoard, or otherwise cling to what you have (security).

The degree in which the Sun sits (29 Scorpio) which speaks to the source of energy is all about 'adaptation' at all ends of the spectrum, depending on where you start. In all likelihood, solutions for the active begin with quiet reflection and/or studying situations...solutions for the more sedentary among us involve active 'doing something.'

Against this we have the degree of the Moon - and Earth, our 'reality,' if you will. Here we have 29 Taurus, a degree which is described as the 'having trouble doing.' Postulation is easy, but there's a problem with  demonstrating worth. The maladaptive form of this degree indicates bullies, makes excuses, procrastination and resorting to that really annoying sort of passive-aggressive stuff.

And that's where we're coming from? Blech! 

But wait....! Considering how metaphysics works, it's not shocking that this degree (and planets posited in this degree in a natal chart, should you have any) tend to attract the very kinds of provocations which will incite that which is really a form of insecurity.

Why? Because nature (life) constantly tries to help us grow, get out of our own way and otherwise become more successful.

But the process? That's sucky. No question!

And there is also the fact that this Full Moon isn't operating in a vacuum. (Well, other than that of space...) 
What I mean is that there are partners and parties to this Full Moon edition, the conglomeration of which looks rather like this:

 
The OPPOSITION part of this diagram we've already talked about...and we've touched on Uranus being in Pisces. So let's finish talking about that.

First of all, Uranus is at 26 Pisces, conjunct Byblis. Usually referred to simply as 'old knowledge,' what Byblis is really more about are 'tapes' in our psyche with which we are trying to reconcile. The tendency is to try and explain ourselves or justify our position, beliefs or desires, but where Byblis is concerned, the issue is us and how we understand things. Or, with Byblis here pictured in Pisces, how we feel about our feelings and/or how the world around us doesn't approve of or jive with our emotional perception or position.

Conjunct Uranus in a 3rd decanate 'others' degree, this issue of how others feel or what they say (or say about us, provoking emotional reactions in us) is very much underscored. And Uranus itself is all about the 'different' and the 'changing circumstance' which may be provocations coming from a quadrant which up until now seemed safely serene...or it may be all about our seeing something differently within ourselves.

Or, of course, both!

Lore for this degree speaks to a 'chaotic flow' of ideas which if we master and organize usefully, put us in a position to master ourselves. 

With a SEXTILE to the Moon (sextiles indicating opportunities) we have an opportunity described here to really drill through to the crux of some of our personal problems.

And with this Uranus/Byblis also being in TRINE to the Sun...this is what life (Sun) is trying to get us to really do.

(BTW...with an opposition, what sextiles one end of the opposition pretty much automatically trines the other end of said opposition.)

That doesn't mean this is any better or worse as a moment in time. But there is that to consider - this is just a moment in time. Lunations (lunar cycles), including Lunar Eclipses (one of which we will meet up with next month) are seldom life changing. They often indicate an emotional moment we 'never forget' or a shift of circumstance which will then lead to something solar which will mark our life actually changing.

Think of it this way - again, the Moon is about our emotions and thus reactive. It is thus not the 'thing,' it is how we feel about or react to 'the thing'...especially when the signal involves Taurus/Scorpio.

Moving on, the last set of 'players' in this moment of drama are Neptune and Chiron, with Neptune playing the part of the ideal against the illusion (the mystical magician who incites, eludes, entices and asks what we really know...about ourselves most of all)....and Chiron asks us that really, really pesky question about whether we're going to get off our duff and get to doing that thing we don't know how to do (yet) but which needs doing anyway.

This is an amalgamation of necessity versus insecurity, confusion of ideals with reality and the question of when (or if) we are ever going to stop wishing-dreaming-hoping-postulating-objecting and get to the trial-and-error in life which in time (granting false starts and missteps) gets us where we want to go.

Positioned in Aquarius, sign of society, this obviously indicates a 'social component' to this Full Moon moment. In a 3rd decanate position, the provocation is from 'others,' whether societal or 'personal others' - people in our lives.

In SEMI-SEXTILE to Uranus/Byblis, it's a given that we're in an emotional tangle about whatever is in the works now. That's on top of the Full Moon indicator of the critical degree and the Taurus/Scorpio nature of this moment. Are our values correct? Are our values to be kept private or made public? Do we need to cooperate more with the world (personal or public) around us? Do we need to pay more attention to what we do in the world and maybe the effect that has on our world or on us because of what we do or don't do in that world?

That Neptune/Chiron are also in SQUARE to Sun and Moon in this figure (obviously sitting within orb of the midpoint creating a transiting t-square)...that tells us about the nature of the challenge life is handing us. It's Aquarian. It's about our ability to be part of the world public and our world private. It's about our misgivings about that world and what we are doing about it (probably nothing...much talk, much complaining, musing, postulating...but little doing). It's about what needs to happen in our own life to satisfy that niggling thing inside which makes us - at some level - not so comfy with who we are. Or how we're acting or have acted. How we've chosen.

The amalgamation of this moment is a classic one: it's the reality of our lives versus how we wish things would work with the truth of the rebuttal being not about 'them' but about things inside us. Life is trying to get us to examine our gut. Maybe that stomach ache is more about what we've 'swallowed' - about ourselves. And maybe it was willing, maybe it wasn't. Maybe it was a truth, maybe it was wasn't. Maybe it was useful, maybe it undercut us in ways we were trying so to avoid.

Whatever it is, it's time to at least take a look. And acknowledge, maybe. Some of us will do something about it. Some of us won't. Those who do will move on into a season of evolutionary changes. Those who don't will have change inexorably thrust upon them.

What we do and how we go about doing it - in the end - is individual. There is no right or wrong here, only knowing, ignoring, discovering and/or denying.

What to learn? That we like or that we need? That's pretty much the question - and good luck to all of us with that!

 

Sun entering Scorpio: Life, Intensified

An Aries Wheel (all 0 cusp) chart of the Sun entering Scorpio

Mercury having entered Scorpio only a few days before the Sun does is a clue to 'think ahead.'

And if that's true, by inference or implication, the Sun's entering into Scorpio on October 23rd at 12:36 (+00/UT) may well mark a change of feeling, a change of attitude, a shift in situational dynamics, preferences, goals or responses. These may happen to you, and to those around you. They may be aimed at you, or completely cut you out of some loop.

As seen marked by green lines in the horoscope above, there are two 'circuits' of activity which are in action at this time.

One is a grand trine - an ongoing flow of actions or energies - between Moon in Taurus (values, security, worth/self worth), Ceres in Capricorn (caretakers of process) and Juno in Virgo (directed action towards a purposeful or useful goal). All figures in this 'sealed' figure of the grand trine are in early numbers of respective signs, telling us this is about what you or others are doing. Or not doing, of course.

Many people think of grand trines as wonderful simply because they require no effort to keep in motion. But what if you had a grand trine representing inertia? Or what if a grand trine spelled a giant problem barging about breaking up your life?

Astrological figures have no feelings. They are neither innately good or bad. Things are what we make of them - and in the case of grand trines...including the one pictured here, what is already in motion as you come to the moment or event...such things tend to stay in motion.

UNLESS....

Unless what?

Unless some external force is brought to bear - astrologically speaking. In other words, typically the ongoing 'grand trine' situation needs an 'out' ...something which interrupts or 'short ciruits' the ongoing flow. Through that planet/symbol (or incident) things change and  we are able to improve our lot, get a lot done - or maybe escape problems, boredom or simple habit.

And let's face it...even the best of habits can use the occasional freshening up!

With this particular grand trine in earth signs, the 'ongoing' subjects are occuring in reality and involve real things, real assets, real challenges and real necessities.

And you may be wondering why I'm bringing this grand trine up. After all, it doesn't involve the Sun, right? No, it doesn't! The Sun's Scorpio ingress is involved in a whole different configuration - one called a 'magic rectangle'....

 

...but since the Moon is one of the corners of said magic rectangle, the Sun moving into Scorpio is a sign that ongoing situations now stand to be changed. 

How?

Through our handling matters fearlessly (Scorpio), thoughtfully and not merely passionately (Scorpio), by involving ourselves in societal forces (North/South Nodes), by calmly standing up for ourselves/standing our ground (Moon in Taurus) and by aiming at functional ends which uphold moral AND societal standards (Pluto-Ceres-North Node).

In other words, from now until November 22nd when the Sun moves on into Sagittarius we will do ourselves a service by keeping the level of rhetoric/hysteria/intentional force low, relying instead on facts. This sounds strange when we are talking about Scorpio but all things Scorpio are far more successful when we base our choice of method and procedure based on fact rather than passion, yearning, longing or lust. 

Example: when you choose the right lover based on who they really are (as opposed to some lustful impression of the moment), you stand a far better chance of building a happy and profitable relationship than you ever would otherwise. 

Make sense?

Just so we're on the same page here, this doesn't mean  lust as a sensation or emotion of a moment is bad. Lust, whether part of intimacy or strength of motivation which drives you towards some goal is real and has its purpose. But that purpose is personal...and Scorpio is interactive. In being the polarity sign to Taurus (what we want/need in order to feel safe, secure, worthy and comfortable), Scorpio tests our ability to take what we want and our ideas on how to get there and risk that through revealing them to someone else.

Hence, the vulnerability we so often feel in Scorpionic situations.

In and through those risks, Scorpio asks that we weather attempts to change our opinions - most of all of ourselves and what we think of as valuable.

Thus we encounter the power struggles so common with Scorpio.

The more wildly and defensively we react, the more power we are giving up. Not over others, but ourselves; by definition, being on the defensive is not the position of our power.

And so in the end we come to realize that it is by not getting emotional or lustful or defensive...it is through thinking things through and interacting thoughtfully that we not only make gains, but forge bonds of trust and potential. It is understanding, not emotionality which affords us the chance to harness, focus and fully utilize our power.

The Scorpio control we need, seek and have the opportunity to gain during planetary passages through Scorpio (and wherever Scorpio is in our charts) is thus over ourselves, not some other person.

    

El Coloso by Goya

So...looking at the magic rectangle, we see in it two chances labeled 'opportunity'. One involves the Sun. And because that aspect leads into one of the three points defined by the Moon's grand trine, THAT tells us that by embodying all the Scorpio qualities and rules we've just been talking about in changing a status quo...

...put simply, that works.

It will not work merely as a matter of will however. Remembering Saturn has just entered the shadow of its 2011 retrograde and is in Libra tells us a lot.

First, Libra is the sign the Sun was in as the Moon came to full phase only hours ago. And Saturn remains in Libra though the Sun moves on.

Saturn being ruler of Capricorn, it rules that Ceres-Pluto-North Node the Scorpio Sun has an opportunity to affect...or be effected by. And Saturn is exalted (very strong) when in Libra. In a challenging square to the Nodes (north and south) at both the Full Moon and Sun's shift into Scorpio, this Libra Saturn represents the stress between ourselves and our world - our greater social and societal public world and our 'inner circle'  private world.

Parts of it are working. Parts of it are not.

But remember...though we tend to think 'it's them' or 'it's me,' any time we are talking Libra, Scorpio or Sagittarius we're really talking about where the rubber meets the road: the dynamic of intersecting. 

That part we cleanly have input to.

Capricorn, on the other hand, is a 4th quadrant sign. So like Aquarius and Pisces, it's worldly. This is the world and how we interact with IT. 

So....! Will you go out and create the interaction? Will you do it based on thoughtfulness or passion? Will you stamp your feet and make stump speeches or will you simply point out what will work and what is functional and what the rules are - or not?

That is pretty much your choice as of this moment and until the Sun reaches Sagittarius come November 22nd. You can be emotionally reactive. You may well feel very vulnerable. Life situations will tempt you to abandon yourself to this or that passion.

What will you actually do? 

The Mayan Calendar

 Main Plaza (including Temple I) - Tikal, Guatemala

For all the conversation about the 'end of the Mayan Calendar' in 2012, not many understand what the Mayan Calendar is. And isn't. And that there are really three different Mayan calendars - which we will attempt to run through here in the briefest of brief manners.

The first is based on 365 days - one "Haab" (often written as Haab', ancient Mayan-speak being a language full of apostrophes). This calendar is easy enough for us to understand - it correlates to the length of a solar year.

Well, more or less. The actual solar year is not quite 365 days. And the fact is that the rotational rate planet Earth is very, very, very slowly slowing down.

In the grand world of calculating using such things, unless you're NASA or someone like that, even the mathematically persnickety among us generally use 365.2422 as a day-length for one Earthly year. And it's that '0.2422' bit which accounts for leap year; seeing that the Gregorian calendar (the one you use and have hung on the wall with pretty pictures) is basically scheduled for only 365 days a year that quarter of a day has to go somewhere...which is why we have Leap Years.

This 'left over' quarter of a day thing is also why when an astrologer calculates your birthday chart (using exact data) the astronomical day of your birthday will shift back and forth in a 4-year, leap-year sort of cycle. Which is nice if you're one of those people who likes to celebrate your birthday a lot: chances are good that in any four years, at least two out of the four will give you good justification for stretching the party (parties) out.

So that's the Haab - and a bit more just for the sake of it.

The second calendar is the Tzolkin (or again, Tzolk'in), the so-called sacred Mayan 'count of days.' This is a  calendar based on 260 days and which was devoted to divinations on particular ritual dates. The two hundred-sixty part of this count is based on 20 x 13 - a pairing of numbers which has everything to do with various Mayan beliefs, their observations of the heavens (the Maya having been fabulous astronomers, astrologers and philosophical types)... and on a more basic level, the fact that the Mayan numerical system as a whole was based not on ten - as ours is - but on twenty.

And yes, this would suggest the Maya may have cared as much about toes as fingers, but that's another thing (and good on them for doing so if that was the case, too).

According to many if not most, your common Mayan person was not actually all that into the specific day and year in the greater sense that we think of centuries and millennial doings. For them, two things were important: knowing when to plant and harvest, and when to deal with things ritual and sacred. For this they turned to a local daykeeper. 

Daykeepers were priestly-scribe types charged with keeping track of the interlocking, intercalary calculations which kept all in sync - no small feat considering the base twenty and the way the Maya saw temporal progression. But when all is boiled down, what becomes apparent is that the general populace operated with a 'big picture' 52-year window within which their world pretty much operated (give or take an invasion from the city-state next door and all that).

This 52 year cycle is interesting to us as distant contemplatives of a world allegedly now long gone (I say allegedly as I happen to know personally that as of the 1950's it hadn't actually entirely gone away)...at the end of each 52 year cycle word would go out and everybody would pack up and move out of their cities and towns, lock stock and kitchen fire. As they did so, all their houses and rooms in various palaces and temples got filled up with rubble - part of their purification process (and very good at making sure nobody snuck back in).

This brings us also the fact that Mayan temples - the "pyramids" of the Maya are not built in anything of the same manner as those of the Egyptians, pyramids many of us are far more familiar with. The Egyptian pyramids are built greatly of giant, solid blocks of stone - with a few passageways and secret niches. The Mayan pyramids were built as 'rooms,' each of which was filled with (guess what!) building rubble. Said rubble giving the room mass and structural tolerance, once a room was filled with shards chipped off the rocks they were building with (an efficient system if nothing else), a ceiling was laid on and building continued....

...an interesting thought, given the monumental size of some Mayan buildings.

Temple II - Tikal, Guatemala

 

Between the building and the necessity to clear out and fill everything with rubble once every 52 years, this suggests a flourishing market in rubble as a commodity in everyday Mayan life. Who knows - there may have been some sort of 'rubble exchange' with Mayan traders jumping up and down yelling prices for sacks of rubble.

But I digress...

That the two calendars discussed - the Haab' and the Tzolk'in - interfaced (through multiplication of days) in what we call the Mayan Long Count is why and how the Mayan calendar concept has come down to us as time being a function as 'wheels within wheels.' It is also this Long Count which is going to come to a close in December of 2012.

Yet one true and very Mayan concept about the Long Count makes all the fuss and bother about the world ending rather extraneous - a fact which may annoy Hollywood filmmakers who have come up with disaster movies based on the idea that the world is suddenly going to end come December, 2012. That fact is that the Long Count is the only calendar known constructed to run both backwards and forwards. And this may seem like a big yawn and 'so what?' until you recognize that the Maya, in projecting that there had been an entire Long Count before they came to be would have no real motivation for saying the world was going to end in 2012.

Au contraire...Mayan beliefs - which were far ahead of their day - are that time and thus life are an eternal continuum. There was an essential belief among the Maya that 'we are the stuff of the stars' and that nothing of the essence which is Creation and That Created is ever lost. It may change form, but it remains as part of the cosmos.

In case you don't recognize that concept, today we call that E=mc2'd.

Yes, the Maya were a bit ahead of their time. One wonders if Einstein ever have them a thought or two.

With all this said, there are either two or three charts for this Mayan Long Count we should probably take a gander at. The first would be that for its inception, a date which is recorded as August 13, 3113 BCE - which is why today we are sort of 'celebrating' the Long Count's birthday. Here's that one:

Mayan Long Count - Inception

August 13, 3113 BCE/Tikal, Guatemala

In short - taking into particular conception that after Sun and Moon the planet most watched by the Maya was Venus, this would appear to be a picture of mankind learning how to live with civilization.

Venus exactly trine Black Moon (aka calculated Lilith) from Cancer to Pisces suggests it is our emotionalism and our ability to deal with our own feelings and our feelings about being part of a greater society (or in this world) which makes the difference. And whether you're considering Things Atomic or religions which came after that of the Maya (western religions, in particular) this concept of sin and redemption, or purity, or the 'broken-ness of the world' all amount to this very question.

According to this image, Pallas (wisdom) is conjunct fixed star Thuban - the indicator of struggle. So the gaining of wisdom isn't easy. And given Pallas being inconjunct to obsessive/transformative Pluto, that process of learning is constant (inconjuncts = adjustment) and not all that comfortable. The inconjunct being an aspect which always connects signs of unalike and discordant nature, here we have the 'idea(s)' of wisdom at odds with 'concrete success.'

But remember, in true astrological style, this is a door which also opens both ways. So in one direction we have the 'right idea' or the 'right/correct/wise' thing being at odds with success in the sense of achievement, leadership, power and wealth. You know, all the modern popular biggies. But in the other direction, we have the 'proof of the pudding' thing - that reality may prove all our concepts of wisdom or things built from those 'wise concepts' not so wise. This too can be applied to anything from A to Z, giving us materialism versus humanistic values, societal need versus planetary ecology, even real life versus religion.

Considering that, maybe the whole 2012 thing...could that merely be the coming of many of these debates to a head? Popular rabble rousing (not to mention Hollywood) is always talking about 'the end of the world,' but frankly, the end of the world has been being forecast since anyone realized there was a world which could possibly end. And things do end - our conceptions of life, they end by evolving and becoming new concepts. In the light of the fact that the Mayan Long Count is indeed a calendar which by Mayan design extended backwards as well as forwards, does that not suggest that if the end of this Long Count means anything, it means a shift in human not planetary evolution?

For that answer - astrologically - we look to the chart for conclusion of the Long Count. And here we get into a little bit of a flurry. If you Google on this matter, what you'll find is that there are a couple of different calculations for the date; having done the math personally (oh, the things young astrologers do with their evenings!) I can see where both December 21 and 23, 2012 work. 

(Don't ask...you don't want the whole explanation here.)

So here are both charts. First, the one for December 21, 2012....

Mayan Long Count - Ending #1

December 21, 2012/Tikal, Guatemala

...and here's the chart for the 23rd...

Mayan Long Count - Ending #2

December 23, 2012/Tikal, Guatemala

Obviously the chart for the 21st is a solstice chart, but solstices being not nearly as notable an occurrence close to the equator as at higher latitudes, it may be not all that shocking that they weren't quite the event in the land of the Mayan that they are in say, London or Melbourne. When you live near the equator things vary, yes. But you aren't anticipating the kind of climate shifts you expect in say, Toronto.

The most basic of the differences in these charts pertain to the position of Sun and Moon. Either way we are talking about a Sun in the 1st (and physical) decanate of Capricorn, an area of the zodiac all about what we aim at, what we make of ourselves and the standards to which we hold ourselves as individuals and as people with responsibilities to others, including society.

Zero Capricorn (December 21st) embodies these ideas in a very self/worldly sense as a steward of their environment, personal and global and lore tells us that this is a degree of great endurance and patience. Two Capricorn (December 23rd) is different in that it's a degree all about finding the support you need not in your environment, but in yourself. This degree challenges the finding of harmony and indeed calls for a reduction in manageable prospects; what may under other circumstances seem boundless is here defined as needing a somewhat 'smaller' framework so that each thing can be built in turn with care and attention to the whole.

Unfortunately we can't look at the Moon of these charts with certain accuracy, simply because the Mayan day started at dawn and dawn occurs at a one hour over here in this place - which would at that moment be a completely different hour and not dawn in some other place. I've set the charts shown here for Tikal - a city known as the Queen of Mayan cities - for convenience of conversation and because Tikal means a great deal to me, personally. But if the Mayan Long Count means anything global, it can be about one single place.

So...sorry. About all we can say about the Moon is that it's in Aries - the sign of "I Am" and the physical being, initiation and physicality on the 21st and in Taurus, sign of self worth, resources, talents and value on the 23rd.

But we do have one other global factor well worth looking at: Venus - sacred planet of the Maya. Seen in these charts, Venus stands conjunct fixed star Antares, a star which promises success if obsessions are avoided. Connected with Venus, the first 'obsession' which indicated here is what is 'gotten' out of any given action or transaction.

On the 21st, Venus is at 6 Sagittarius, a degree all about being of service to the whole or the group. Situated with Antares, this would say that yes, the contribution is for the group but it must be done in the right spirit (in other words, not for what you're going to get out of the deal).

On the December 23rd, Venus will be at 9 Sagittarius, a degree which speaks about a 'fire' and the possibility of getting 'burned.' Those who believe in apocalyptic visions for this period as the 'end time' will like as not latch on to this symbol, though astrologically this 'burning' is as likely to be 'burning with inspiration' as with fever or because volcanoes are raining lava down hither and yon.

Perhaps most telling in both these charts is that Sun in both stands conjunct Juno and square Uranus at 4 Aries. Juno is many things, all of which come back to one's ability to provide security/secure leadership. In square to Uranus at 4 Aries this is a challenge of discernment - in other words, just because you can do something (or because it sounds interesting) doesn't mean you should do something.

Considering our world, these symbols have a lot of meanings global, societal and personal. But maybe most important to realize is that there isn't anything to say the end of the world has come. If we compare the 2012 charts to the 3113 BCE chart, the message would be that as a race we have spent a long time learning and that now we need to concentrate more on not how to do it, but why we would (or shouldn't) do things.

And that may be the key. Mankind has spent a goodly number of thousands of years conquering the world, the environment and so on.

But conquering our tendencies? The aberrations of our emotions? Our cravings when put against our sensibilities and that all same comes from what would seem to as yet be a pretty irrational hold on that oh-so personal commodity, the human ego?

If we are indeed one with the stars, if we are E=mc2'd, then what makes us separate is the same thing which drives our desires: ego. Ego is what makes us think we're 'all that' as a race. It causes us to kill each other. Ego causes people living on a planet with literally billions of human beings on it to think they need to make yet another human life.

Ego causes mankind to think we're better than other creatures - and in the end more of a life force on this planet than the cockroach (even though we apparently know cockroaches could last though an atomic bomb we set off when we ourselves wouldn't survive).

Ego makes us think we are 'all that' and the champagne bottle sitting in the kitchen sink of the universe.

Maybe it's time we got over or past that?


   

A Chip off the ol' Intel Silicon Block...!

Chip maker giant Intel is celebrating a birthday today - it's 42 years old. Having had it's 11th house of marketplace (meaning, income) just eclipsed, we can expect some changes a-comin' around the ol' digital Intel corral.

intel's Corporate Chart

One interesting thing to note about this chart is that its Sun stands conjunct Drakonia and Kallisto. Drakonia is the signature of 'playing,' 'being played' or 'being a player'...and when coupled to Antares and asteroid Child at the Nadir, that suggests a couple of things.

Child is just what you think it is. In a person's chart it can be your kids or you own childhood. But in a corporation's chart, it's far more likely to be 'about children' - either as your market or something you need to be concerned about with regards to exposure to or use of your product. 

Fixed star Antares is a symbol of all you can do/get done providing you don't get obsessed. So add child and the idea of 'player' or 'playing' in the big digital Intel world and a bunch of issues jump to mind. And let's remember - anything posed at the Nadir/IC of any chart is the thing the chart (or life of the entity/person) is 'built on.' 

Voila! This is a perfect image of Intel's importance to everything children grow up using, everything they can run afoul of while growing up, and everything Intel might do to enhance or assist their formative years.

But it's not just children, per se - it's the kid in each one of us. As much as companies like Intel want us to be fascinated with products they have a profitable part in building and bringing to market there is that problem of obsessions. Even addictions. Evidently Intel has to guard against that. Or use its chips to prevent that or provide ways for parents to guard their children against those many adult no-no's.

This last is especially apropos when we consider Kallisto in the mix. Kallisto is all about getting turned into a 'beast' before one is finally reprieved and set amongst the stars. Coming from the 11th house this implies Intel is vulnerable to being made into a 'villain' in the marketplace from time to time - even if someone uses their chips for some nefarious purpose.

Given that the Solar Eclipse of July 11th was at 19 Cancer, it not only hit both the Cancer 11th house cusp which describes Intel's reputation, income and market share (etc.)...this eclipse affects the Sun-Kallisto-Drakonia group simply because they're in this 11th house. Also in the 11th, the eclipse hit Mars (taking action), Orcus (judement for deeds done which cannot be changed) and Eurydike (sacrificing or paying the price) head on, too.

This implies Intel is taking some hit. And that it's going to continue taking a hit; there's also a Leo Venus in this 11th house and it too is connected to Drakonia. That sort of suggests stocks. Players in the market. Maybe a bad marketing ploy or defective products - something.

All and all, this is about Intel's position in the market, it's got a strong line towards the gaming side of things and let's not forget, chips aren't just about computers!

The whole of this 11th house complex being ruled by the a Taurus Moon in the 9th adds to this thought by telling us that the 'source' of whatever is going on is probably overseas. Does this point to some sort of electronic espionage? Maybe, but given this is an eclipse and thus a long-term shift, it's more likely to concern where the company is going and how they're going to profit from and by going there.

With Pluto wending its way back and forth through the 4th house of basics, 'home life' at a point where it's working over servant/servile Hebe ("what I bring to you") and Atlantis (the scary thought of having to abandon something you know) ...and with the 'what I don't really want to contend with' point (asteroid Lilith) going to be  conjuncted by Pluto early next year...that's another sign of change.

Third sign: the January 2011 Solar Eclipse is going to hit Intel's Vega/15 Capricorn 5th house cusp. And because Saturn rules Capricorn and Saturn is the premier symbol of business...well, by jove, I think we've found it.

Intel is about to make a big business move, probably involving something overseas from its US home base. Given the general emphasis on 'play' seen in the income producing 11th at the foundational IC core and the fun, film and theme park oriented 5th house to be eclipsed early next year, like as not Intel is moving ever more towards things having to do with 'entertainment.' The company is probably working behind the scenes right now on some form (or forms) of media we aren't even all that aware of. 

The world is Intel's digital oyster. Either that - or if all goes terribly wrong, Intel may get eaten like an oyster.

Why would I say that? Well, the solar chart suggests Intel is in for a very hard run for it's money. Yes, literally.

Intel - Solar Return 2010

And don't kid yourself - the company is aware of it, too.

The good news is that with Spica on the Ascendant, there is something very new and brilliant brewing. With Eris at the De-scendant, it's going to either disrupt or truly rock our world!

Will they give us even a little hint about what this is all about?

Probably yes - a hint in mid-January (2011) about things which will happen in May (when Jupiter conjuncts the Descendant of this chart).

So keep your digital ears on, and in the meantime, happy birthday to Intel! Let's hear a big digital cheer!

Do you think they're serving chocolate chip ice cream at corporate headquarters today?