Venus in Capricorn

  Wringin Lawang, a 14th century Majapahit split gate in Trowulan

 (photo credit: Gunkarta, September 2007)

The bare bones here are that Venus enters Capricorn on Wednesday, January 9th at 4:12 a.m., UT/+0 time. And Venus will be in Capricorn until early on February 2nd.

So we have the whole of January in which to do our Venus-in-Capricorn thing.

But what is that ‘thing’ about? Knowing all the popular concepts of Venus as love and Venus as pleasure (and how people far prefer such concepts to anything else one might say about Venus), if the metaphysical Venus means anything, it’s all about getting what you want out of life.

Venus represents results. And how we relate to what ‘results’ tend to be in life, that’s our natal Venus. All the pluses, all the minuses of disappointment and elation, they’re all read through our natal Venus placement.

That said, Venus is results because Venus speaks to how we go about getting or generating results. So Venus isn’t “fate,” per se. By placement, sign and aspect, Venus shows how we will tend to go about trying to get the results we allegedly want – and how realistic we are about how that works.

Or not.

Given whatever your natal tendency is, and that natal tendencies tend to be a life-long ‘habit’ we can only change through acknowledging and ‘retraining’ ourselves (think of it as quitting a really bad nicotine habit), planets through the signs represent ‘transiting times’ when aspects of our lives are up for understanding and when change can be more effectively and easily mastered.

Which is why we pay attention to transits, capiche?

Known as the sign of ‘achievement, social status, and success’ Capricorn is the most worldly of all zodiac signs in that it stresses everything which happens in the world and our need to understand that, learn about it and utilize it in our life.

What that buzzword list doesn’t convey is that effort is required. Social standing (or social status) is only partly that which we might otherwise refer to as ‘class and caste.’ Yes, that’s the ‘static’ reading of Capricorn, but especially as planets transit through this sign, it’s more about building our lives and what having aims and goals requires of us to know and understand. Everything has pluses and minuses, as we know. And that Capricorn is the sign of law as a ‘regulating force’ should tell us that Capricorn is a sign of consequences.

An old gavel and book of court minutes from the 1800s on display at the

Minnesota Judicial Center (photo credit: Jonathunder, April 2008)

This leads us back to Venus, a planet which on the metaphysical level could be thought of as something like a hinge. If the universal law is for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction, Venus represents the moment where one turns into the other, where what we do turns into how others react to us, or where what we do generates results.

Or doesn’t.

Ruled by Saturn, Capricorn is all about the time we have in life, the time it takes to get anything done, the rules of the road which we need to observe in reaching our goals. All things Capricorn remind us that we don’t exist in a vacuum. So while your ‘group’ may be all about a certain set of standards, your group’s standards are also – at some point – going to meet up with feedback from the world.

That would be your group’s Venus ‘hinge,’ which as we see Venus moving through Capricorn is likely to get activated…along with all the other places in the world and in your life where the public-and-private sectors are likely now to intersect.

For instance: January is a natural month when new laws, codes, rules…and other sorts of Capricorn-ish things go into effect. So to have Venus doing it’s Capricorn transit during January really emphasizes this fact. And that Pluto is also in Capricorn tells us that there are some rather significant changes in the works.

In fact, if we remember that Pluto is all about those obsessions, those passions, those cravings which seem to be about what others think of us. But they’re not. Pluto is really about the illusion we have that others can make us feel better about ourselves and all we go through trying to make that dream into a reality. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t…

Let’s just put it this way: there are hardly any ouches worse than Pluto ouches. Neptune is close, but where Neptune pits us against our own feelings, there’s always some sort of public twinge to the Pluto aspect, which raises the really awful specter of humiliation.

We should have known. But we didn’t because we didn’t want to know. That’s the Pluto lesson in a nutshell: knowing, whether you like what you learn or not, is always better. Forewarned is forearmed.

Venus conjuncts Pluto by transit on January 16th, having come into orb of Pluto on the 12th and not leaving Pluto’s orb until January 20th. So despite the fact that the Sun and Mercury are also in Capricorn as Venus toodles its way into the sign (on the 9th), this is probably the crux of this Capricorn Venus transit and thus when we’re likely to feel maximal Venus effects (courtesy of Pluto).

But there’s another factor here named Juno. Juno is also in Capricorn as Venus shows up, and while the Sun and Mercury scoot on ahead (both reaching Aquarius on the 19th), Juno lingers in the Pluto environs, giving us to know that discipline of self is really critical or called for during this time. Those who will not exert that effort for their own part (or who haven’t) are likely to be those who get notified that there are rules – new or otherwise – which are now going to levy the discipline which hasn’t been mustered.

 Juno and Argus

by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611)

Oh yes…Tantalus is in on this act. So some will be tempted to try and get away with something. Or maybe this is when bad choices, bad manners, bad acts all get slammed in that singularly Saturn/Capricorn way.

That as Venus enters Capricorn it also comes into range to square Uranus (in Aries) only doubles down on the idea that these are changing times and that we need to change with them.

This is also a signal that there will be three distinct camps: those willing to change, those against change and those who are going to get changed.

The rule with squares is all about the ‘measured’ response and the grappling not as much with the problem as with ourselves when it comes to approaching the problem. Astrological squares tend to represent situations or habits where we so favor one side of the question or the thing we like doing that we neglect a balanced approach.

Once we learn that we need to do what we need to do and that all must stay in balance, then we become the architects of our lives. There are more structures built on the principle of square angles – the 90 degree angle – probably than anything else. Look at almost any room. The walls and ceiling meet at a 90-degree corner. Engineering is the science which teaches us how to balance structure against load…the wall against the ceiling, so that what gets built doesn’t just stand, but becomes stronger for the unity.

Astrology’s square aspect is just like that. And when we favor one thing over the other…the not changing or the trying only to favor our desire to escape effort, responsibility, change or having to see ourselves as part of some ‘whole’…then we run into problems when the ceiling caves in!

This Venus-Uranus effect is strongest from when Venus enters Capricorn on January 9th through January 17th, with a ‘high point’ (when the square is perfected) on January 13th.

Considering that all these squares and conjunctions occur in 1st decanate degrees (that is, degrees between zero and nine of a given sign) whatever goes on during this period is about what we do, don’t do or have/haven’t done…or some physical circumstance which pertains to our life. With Capricorn being part of any and every chart, obviously there are things which will pertain to everyone. But it’s also safe to say that anyone with chart placements (planets, nodes or axis points) between 5 and 9 degrees are going to ‘feel’ things more acutely.

They also have a better chance of being able to change things. Or start something new. Or be a ‘mover and shaker’ in something – large or small, public or private – which happens or is under way.

Venus transits are not thought of as ‘major’ in terms of life events. But our feelings about ourselves and our lives are often reflected by Venus passages. Accomplishment and achievement are Capricorn issues. How you feel about yourself in this regard is likely to be tested during this time. Particularly in the chart of women (don’t ask me why, it just works this way!) marriage is a Capricorn thing. And considering how the happiness of one partner plays out in the life of the Significant Other, unless you’re a male in a homosexual relationship, this Venus passage may spell a whole period of effort, reassessment…or maybe just planning for the future, particularly if a change is sorely needed.

On the whole, Venus in Capricorn is thought of as a good time for steady progress, though the Uranus and Pluto aspects which go along with this Venus passage tend to say a light hand on the tiller and a willingness to flex are likely to be needed. With Pluto also transiting Capricorn, we are all already on notice that old ways and old standards are in transition. It’s a whole ‘old guard’ on its way out, making way for new ways of being, doing and regarding life as a whole.

Don’t expect huge shifts here. With the indicators we have talked about happen during the waxing phase of the Moon we know that these factors pertain more to the new than the old, telling us that old ways, old habits, old concepts of power and functionality are still pretty much entrenched.

But change is in the wind and sweeping in upon us. Uranus in Aries is a very personal sign of change. Pluto in Capricorn is a sign of changes in the public, cultural and commerce arenas.

And let's not forget that Venus is making this shift into Capricorn the very day after dwarf planet Eris goes direct. Given what we've learned about celestial stations, this means Venus' Capricorn ingress...and to some degree the entirety of Venus' transit of Capricorn (i.e., the rest of January) is going to either be about dealing with Eris effects in our life...learning from Eris effects...or trying to move past Eris effects.

(If you missed the Eris post, it's the one right before this one.)

 We have very few images of Eris, but here's one of Eris and its moon Dysnomia as imaged

by the Hubble Space Telescope.

(photo credit: NASA-JPL)

The standard astrology here is that any 'event' which happens after the actual station is about dealing, coping, evolving from what we've learned or what we're learning in the moment of the station. (Events prior to the station would indicate things yet to occur.) So at some level, Venus' transit of Capricorn is about those unexpected, unanticipated, unheard of 'Eris Effects' in our life...just as Eris' station, in leading into this Venus-Capricorn ingress has been about restructuring, starting anew and the care needed in order to not just 'do the quality thing' but have a quality life.

Maybe we're questioning what that word 'quality' really means, too.   

The smart mentality now takes stock of what’s coming down the pike. If you use this time to imagine, plan and assess, you’ll do well. Paying attention to the broader indicators and – especially as the Sun and Mercury reach Aquarius – the mass market, the public mood, the word on the street…while it’s not what you should bet the farm on, it is worth thinking about as a sign of what lies ahead. And where you want to be not just in terms of 'how it looks' but in the sense of what life is...and really should be.
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Seeking our Bali

 A Martinique coconut palm...ah, paradise!

Oh, how we all so want life to be good! However we define that term, we wish life would just be what we want it to be.

That image is our Bali.

Yesterday’s blog was all about Mercury entering Aries – an ingress which happens on March 9 at 5:48pm (UT/+0). But since Bali will be going into retrograde on March 11th at 12:56pm (UT/+0) that means Bali enters its station ‘window’ just before Mercury enters Aries.

So first a ‘Bali essence’ begins to enfold us. Then Mercury enters Aries, focusing our thought on who we are, what we can be, what our life is in this moment, what we have, what we lack, what we think, what we want to do…

You can see how this might go together, right?

Where Bali is going retrograde is also worth some ponder time. The degree is 17 – which means the two days prior to Bali’s going retrograde and the two following will be filled with whiffs and wafting emotionalism.

And what sign is Bali going retrograde (at 17 degrees) in? Scorpio.

SCORPIO?

 Arizona bark scorpion photographed under black light

photo credit: Bryce Alexander (2008)

Well…that surely puts a bit of a spin on the whole thing, doesn’t it? Scorpio is an interactive sign. And ‘interactions’ can be with other people…or institutions, companies, situations, groups – you name it, if its you and something you are involved in or are thinking about getting involved in or are unavoidably connected to, Scorpio is the water/emotional sign which governs how the ‘stuff’ which happens in and as a result of that connection affects you.

Oh sure…we all like to think that Scorpio is what’s being done to us. And yes, there are a very few situations where things are definitely and truly beyond our control. But 90% of Scorpio doings are because we choose to be involved. We choose to invest in such-and-such a stock. We choose to take that job. We choose to have sex with…uh…you know – them. 

We chose. We choose to get involved and out of that involvement (which would be Scorpio Part One) comes the emotional results (Scorpio Part Two).

Objects in direct motion indicate situations in life which are thrust upon us, creating the described dynamic. The first two days here (March 9-11) Bali is still in direct motion.

Then it goes retrograde. Bali retrograde at its best is our ability to be happy with and within ourselves. It’s the ability to not need others or to become someone we actually are happy with, at some very essential, everyday-basis.

Obviously this is an optimal. Bali as a concept is one of those ethereal ideas – paradise – which are not ever really a lasting factor in human life. We have happy moments. Blissful days and periods of time. But let’s face it – eventually the trash has to go out.

Particularly the emotional trash!

As Bali goes retrograde, it’s also within celestial hoo-ha distance (e.g., mere minutes of longitude) of Huya.

Remember Huya? Huya is the rainmaker…by taking something we have learned the hard way and turning it into a positive for others, we make their lives better and more fertile (rain as life-giving water) and thus we are fed.

We love Huya people. We respect Huya people. John Lennon…Oprah Winfrey…Abraham Lincoln…Martin Luther King, Jr….these are people who took things which hurt them or hurts thrust upon them or those they loved and turned that into a gift given to others. And in return, they are loved for what they have done.

That’s Huya.

The “dotted line” between the Bali and Huya concepts is not hard to see – the difference being that one is something you want for yourself (Bali) and the other is something you realize others need to have a right to experience (Huya).

Tanah Lot (Bali) sunset

photo credit: Kris Martin (2007)

 

With Mercury entering Aries, this would be the time to think about it. Those who refuse to will probably have situations arise which make them wonder why their life isn’t happier (the ‘anti-Bali’ effect) or why what they so want continues to be denied them (the ‘anti-Huya’ life situation).

Maybe it’s because they think only about themselves (Mercury/thought …in Aries/Self, ego)?

And maybe this is the time when they should think more in terms of how to be someone who does something so that good things happen to them?

Just in case this sounds too altruistic for cupcakes, one more little note on the astrological bulletin board…namely, that come the 11th, Nemesis (already in retrograde), moves out of Libra back into Virgo. This is about the input of challenge coming not from other people in specific moments, but from more all-encompassing situational functionalities.

Considering all which is going on around the world, it would not be surprising to hear of systems becoming problematic and both health care and civil service personnel (including militaries) are in focus.

The theme of Nemesis – the warning, the willingness to stand up and say no, this is not okay even when it’s not a popular thing to do is likely to pop up in any number of ways.

'A Glimpse of Paradise'

by Marie Ballan 

And one more thing here. We are in a period of flux. Those in areas of the world where trouble is evident are feeling it, but even if everything around your block, your town, your city seems normal enough – something is going on. Things are shifting, changing, feeling unpredictable. Uranus at 29 Pisces represents this instability; it’s a time for all of us to be feeling more and learning from our feelings…learning what is worth something and what is simply vanity.

The changes are not over yet. In celestial terms, they’re under way, but not nearly yet done.

That just means we have more to learn and more to realize about life and about ourselves; by our willingness to learn our lives will be empowered or not, crippled or not, enhanced or not, stripped down or not.

Clinging to the status quo is not going to be allowed until that status quo has itself changed. So let go. Learn to rely on yourself instead of some external standard and like as not you will come out – in time – with Huya/Bali in spirit, if not in life or hand.

Neptune: The Non-Look of the Thing

In the annals of things one shouldn’t say in a given manner, the title of today’s blog probably ranks high. After all, the ‘non-look’ of a thing is rather like saying ‘confused precision’ or ‘demonic goodness’…or one of my fave John Lennon lines of all time about someone getting gradually injured. (That comes from a great Lennon poem called ‘Arimenta Ditch’…which I may have spelled wrong, yes.)

Yet when you talk about Neptune, to say something has a non-look is actually vaguely apt. Neptune is the there/not-there precept which in positive mode represents elation and inspiration, and which in negative mode is delusion, lack of coherence – even deception (of self or others, Neptune doesn’t care!).

And why would all this be? Well to look at this in the science-astronomy light, that could be taken in two ways. For one, Neptune is the last ‘true planet’ out there as you move away from the Sun in our solar system.

Or at least it has been. If you’re up on your science news you know that there was some burbling going around a couple of weeks ago about some giant thing the size (even bigger) than Jupiter lurking out there…. waaaaayyyyy out there in the distant Kuiper Belt region, like maybe beyond Sedna-land.

(And trust me…that’s far. We aren’t going there for a quart of milk, not ever!)

But even if this ‘new giant planet’ thing is an actuality, Neptune still is what it is because Neptune still does what Neptune does – which is to say that it controls a huge swatch of space (including objects in that district) via something called ‘magnetic resonance.’ And among those objects ‘controlled’ by Neptune are Ixion (emotional entitlement), Pluto (emotional transformation) and Orcus (emotional experience of consequence).

Obviously Neptune represents Things Emotional. More precisely, it symbolizes (or is said to 'rule') those moments and experiences where we experience feelings which result from something we’ve done or committed to (Orcus being the former, and Pluto the latter as outcome ruler of Scorpio)....or which drive us to do something which in turn will create emotionally transformative (Pluto) or corrective (Ixion) moments.

And all this happens…why? Well, speaking from the philosophic base of it all, this all results from Neptune as the theoretical time/space marker (e.g., hands on the cosmic clock sort of marker) of things which we can get into on faith…or things which we end up disappointed by.

To put it another way, Neptune produces what you don’t believe can happen, and will often prove to you that the fantasy is far more appealing than the reality, which has ‘you asked for it – you got it!’ dollops of glitchy disappointment (Ixion), consequences (Orcus) and giant emotional challenges (Pluto).

Hopefully you've got all that, as (not to be too infinitely and finitely vague about this here) we’re all in for a seriously imprecise dose of Neptune over these next few weeks. You know – sort of like Things Uranus (change) has been in the air for the past few months?

With Neptune, the ‘operative’ rule is to allow yourself not to know. When Neptune is thus ‘an active imperative,’ you don’t know what will happen and you should try not to drive yourself nuts wanting to know what will happen.

Go with the flow! Practice your Neptuuuuunne….mantra! Allow yourself and your life and your everything to be in flux. Do, be and participate, but don’t try and nail anything down. Aim for the optimal but don’t focus on the reward – and don’t be surprised if goals, schedules, needs, priorities – all that stuff – changes here and there because of this and that.

In other words, be in the moment. Just do the Nike thing and do it. 

Neptune favors altruism. Neptune favors humility, modesty and being surprised at how much you’re appreciated, not the reveling in the limelight.

And yet (here we get into the Neptunian deep water)…Neptune is often – in the chart – and emblem of fame.

Why?

Because fame isn’t anything you control. You can’t bottle it (boy, would I be rich or what…!) ….you can’t even define, control or point to it. Fame is just….there. It’s just a nebulous something out there which is. Notoriously, when you revel in it (focus on it) it disappears…or it eats you alive. About the only thing you can do (successful) is ignore it.

That would be the humility part, capiche?

Charts of the famous often have Neptune in the 10th house – a house often associated with achievement. But such people are fascinated by what they do – not the fame itself. Charts of the rich often have Neptune in the 2nd – the house of resources. These are people who aren’t in it for the money (shocking, right?) but who are trying to do something of value. 

Are you beginning to get the Neptune factor? Neptune is often referred to as the ‘negator of ego’ because when you focus on something, that something is not what Neptune delivers…leading us to Neptune Slogan Number Two: where Neptune is concerned, the thing you want most is likely to fall through while the thing you think least likely will prove to be the truth. 

And this implies yet another important idea – namely that allowing yourself not to know is entirely, even dismally different than not wanting to know! The latter, in Neptunian terms, would seem to be the quintessential invitation to disaster – whether you achieve that aim through avoidance (which is very Neptunian, as avoidance’s cousin evasion)…or through intoxication, inebriation or out-and-out addiction (all three of which are related to the Neptunian concept of abandonment, which can be of a thing, a person, your morals or your mind!)…

…it would even seem highly Neptunian to want just to believe everything will be fine. While optimism is a fine, good and positive thing, there is some need in life to be realistic. And with Neptune, that seems to be part of the ticket: moderation and balance. 

So to go a bit Italian-idiomatic parlance here, what’sa my point? You know I have one – and no, it’s not just on my pencil (yes, I still use pencils).

My point is that come March 5th at 7:45 in the evening (UT/+0) Neptune will move into 29 Aquarius – the final degree of Aquarius, and allegedly where Aquarius should be most intense or at ‘critical mass.’

Except..uh…this is Neptune. Is anything Neptune ever felt to be critical?

Why heck yes! Neptune is not only the unknown and the vague and the ill-define, is it the definitely wonderful and the absolutely sorrowful.

And there is that Neptune association with the verb “to dissolve” to be duly contemplated as well.

A rainbow over Bristol, UK. Rainbows are a quintessentially Neptunian thing - they're there, but you can't touch them. Even try to approach them and you run the risk of having them vanish entirely, leaving you with your dream and the disappointment of its having apparently 'vanished.' The kinds of hopes we assign to rainbows...those are Neptunian dreams which may come to us if we chase after them, may happen to us where we are by just going about our business. And then again, if we get what we dream of, it may not make us all that happy while something we never dreamed possible, probable or even desirable, may make us happiest in the end. The lesson? That we do not know all...that we should allow ourselves not to know.

photo credit: Klafubra 

Society, economics, systems, acceptance, energy, things technological, corporations (not commerce – corporate entities), groups, societies, friendships, ideals and hopes, tyrants and elitists, anarchists and uniters…all such things are really, truly, highly Aquarian.

So as Neptune hits 29 Aquarius, we will propose that a good many of these things on this list will shift into maximal plus, minus or ‘disappeared’ mode. 

Or…they will appear and like some giant toxic boil, swell up and force us to deal with some sort of ick.

Now these things can be very real. Neptune as ‘outcome’ ruler of Pisces points to very real losses – sometimes of a loved one or a much-loved relationship (with someone or some thing). Neptune and Pisces are associated with such things as pensions, annuities, oil and pharmaceuticals…which given that Pisces is a water sign and water signs always imply ‘things fiscal’ could be extended to become a discussion of health plans – insurance and otherwise, though a plan to get healthy is more likely to be Pisces’ polarity sign of Virgo.

Speaking of polarities however, since 29 Aquarius is the polarity of 29 Leo which brings in the whole ‘fixed star Regulus vibe,’ there would seem to be an underlying what you want and what it takes to make that a functional reality which involves NOT “punishing” the other guy (or the Aquarian society or the ‘system’) if your dream appears to go ‘poof!’ now.

Two things to note: one, dreams which disappear now may not actually disappear for all time. Neptune – remember? Two, something which was an unrealistic dream all along may need to have a little encounter with reality now.

In the end what this period may stress for us is that there really is no nirvana. Good times are good times and lovely to look forward to and cherish, but there appears to be nothing more deadly in the human spirit than the thought that we shouldn’t have any responsibilities.

I know – it sounds good. But when you look at the actuarial tables (for instance), people actually seem to thrive on work – a lot of people don’t live well once retired, monetarily or in people terms. Wealth seems to play reasonably well for those who earn it but not so well for those who are born into it unless something along the way becomes their ‘personal imperative.’

Don’t like it? I can’t help that! The idea of responsibility, which is the astrological Saturn. Saturn’s list is daunting: dedication, responsibility, limits, rules, structure, fears, cost, pragmatism, reality, slow-and-lasting growth, durability…and time. 

And that last one is the kicker (all puns intended!) Take our responsibilities away and by astrological definition, we’re out of time.

Saturn partners with knowing/knowledge-based Jupiter rather as guardians of the inner solar system (Jupiter seems to be particularly good at that) but also in the idea that these two planets we can actually see as we stand outside at night here on Earth…these are about things we can ‘see to do’ or make of ourselves.

 Symbolic ruler of Capricorn achievements, the reality of the

Aquarian society we live in and our need to function in this

world, Saturn's present retrograde-in-Libra motion is asking all

of us who we are in this world and what we are going to make

of ourselves, our world and our times.

photo credit: NASA/JPL

Saturn has a whole other relationship with Neptune as that thing which teaches us boundaries and to try …not without fear of failing, but without fears of being a failure. 

If we can for these next few weeks hold onto this idea of experiencing but not pinning our own ‘judgment’ of self on what happens, we will probably be a whole lot better off for it. Against this, we may also find some boundaries melting away. That as Neptune has been pressing to the end of Aquarius while Mercury is in Pisces (Neptune's sign of rulership) and we've seen several public figures start dancing distinctly outside the lines of mental sensibility - even stability? That's very Neptune, and we shouldn't be surprised to see more of the same. Even the unreasonable extents to which such things can go. Neptune-Mercury is a traditional astrological marker of 'delusion' or 'the lie' as often as it marks extreme creativity - the problem is telling which is which!

And for those who are dubious about astrology, let's be clear here (this being a good moment to try for clarity!): planets don't "do" anything. Neptune isn't going to give you a call on the cell or tweet you with morning doings. But as planets move through space they do distort the space they move through. It creates a 'ripple' defined by distance, angle and planetary characteristics. Astrology is the study of using positions of planets to "clock" when effects reach Earth. Much as the Moon tugs on Earth's oceans to create tides, so planetary movements help us track the tides of influence in a global life on Earth which is after all, contiguous with the rest of the E=mc2'd universe.  

Neptune enters Pisces on April 4th (a whole other Neptunian saga!) and we won’t know what we don’t know – like as not – until then!

Can you wait?

What’s your option?

Maybe for the moment we should just enjoy the pluses and figure on a few ‘that’s life!’ minus moments?

Maybe so. And maybe…just maybe that’s what we’re meant to learn and should take with us – moving forward – out of this time.

Everything happens for a reason, right?

New Moon, New Mode

 Earth's Moon and a long shot of Uranus

photo credit (Uranus only): NASA/JPL 

With a New Moon occurring as Uranus is on station with Mercury due to go retrograde in just a matter of days, it's a cinch that the status quo is in for at least a little quiver. And maybe a shake, rattle and roll.

Said New Moon occurs on Sunday, December 5th at 5:37pm (UT/+0). This being the second of six New Moons at 13 degrees of a sign is a metaphor: the continuing trend will be for people to be 'operating' in emotional mode for several months to come!

To be specific here, last month's New Moon having been at 13 Scorpio gave us all (at the very least) a new appreciation - if that's the word for it - for however it is that we feel own, and maybe even isolated in, or by life.

13 Sagittarius is more of a vibe about 'needing to break out of this'...whatever 'this' may be. Interestingly, lore cites this as being a 'Uranian-type' degree as well...yes, even without a Uranus station hanging in the wings.

To be noted is also that lore is specific on this point - the easy way around problems here is not always the productive way to go. Short change yourself or choose some rebellious course in order to try to just bypass the problem ('blow it off' would be the more Uranian term) and trouble surely follows.

Yet this being a New Moon, there is good to be had and established at this point. Just as lunations mark tidal cycles, so any New Moon marks the commencement of some sort of 'new phase.'

With this New Moon we get a whole Sagittarius theme. And where the general theme is Sagittarius, the mode is expansive or about expansion. Of what? Well, that part is up to you! It could be your outlook, your education, your circle of friends, your activities, your income, your belief system, your ambitions - almost anything.

And let's not forget that when we say there's a 'theme,' we mean that across the whole of life's board. That means you could expand your literal horizons by taking a trip, meet new people and through something totally simple...maybe by reading a newspaper or visiting a museum...you could see or hear or learn something which would change your whole outlook on life.

Some people interpret the Sagittarian influence as needing to expand on what they know personally. Others insist on expanding the breadth of their effect. Fiery and inventive by nature, the Sagittarian 'vibe' is about seeing how things work and making them work better.

Of course this generally means meeting up with a few corrections too. As polarity sign to all which is about choosing what to learn and apply (in what order) and organizing that in some cohesive way (said sign being Gemini), Sagittarius tests us and tests our ideas, mentality...and theories. Will what I have designed or decided to do work? 

Some people try new things now out of curiosity. Some people do it because they want to create a bigger, better, means of getting things done - and that applies whether your object is to get through those errands or you're doing rocket science in the cause of curing the common cold. Sagittarius is about 'trying' - and yes, you should take that literally and figuratively! A New Moon in Sagittarius can indicate an 'emotionally trying time,' yes sirree!

But if it does, the point would be to remember what Sagittarius is about. The confusion, the turmoil, the disappointments and the triumphs of Sagittarius are not just about getting ahead, they're about learning how you got there. It's Sagittarius as the 'feedback' mechanism for Gemini, the dynamic which describes how we learn and (yes...) if we learn!

And hopefully we do learn.

One more thought for the day here - that being that this New Moon is what 'aims' us in the direction of the Lunar Eclipse which will happen latter this month. That eclipse occurring in Gemini, the whole idea of 'process' (the how you go about doing things) is underlined a bit more firmly.

A house of cards

(no photo credit given)

Yes, there is a little bit of a 'house of cards' feeling to the whole dynamic of the moment...yet what's a person to do? With a Black Hole directly in opposition to this December New Moon, the 'other way' to do or see things is apparent.

But with the quality of same described here as an opposition, that 'other way' may be what we are faced with but don't want to touch with a twenty foot pole (used to be ten...pole inflation, let's call it)...or that 'other way' may be so foreign and the amount of effort it would take to get there so enormous that getting upset about the whole thing seems to best thing to do.

Or, with Uranus on station, at least the easiest thing to do. Moon plus Uranus is a recipe for emotional instability to be sure. Does this mean the whole lunar cycle will be one filled with roller coaster emotionalism?

Maybe. And if it is, or to the extent that it is, the key to 'why?' lies in a different planetary picture drawn by this moment of lunation:

The above figure is known as a 'Yod,' the proverbial 'finger of God.' What it refers to is the having come to a point (the bottom of the 'Y' shape) which seems to pose a highly vexing problem.

At the top (the situational dynamic) is Sun/Moon on one side (the New Moon we've just discussed) and on the other, Saturn-Niobe in Libra...which could be many things, but which is most likely going to manifest as 'stubborn pride' OR the need to be proud of one's self or what one does.

There's a whole quality to this Saturn-Niobe thing which involves what we 'put out' (responsibilities) or 'put out there' (products of our effort). And this may be totally about us...or it might be all about what we meet up with or face in others.

Given that Yods describe an innate sense of tension, the quality of that tension is described by whatever is at the 'bottom' of the 'Y' - in this case, Medusa/Sabine.

A point which deserves its own blog (one of these days...) Sabine is all about being 'forced into' something or 'held captive' by something (someone). And it doesn't have to be dramatic - though this configuration certainly could point to drama. High and serious human drama.

But even at its lower-case end, this is about a requirement (Sabine...or Sabine/Saturn, if you prefer, given that both symbols lend to 'required effort')...that is scary (Medusa).

Medusa being not quite who most folks think she is, here's a link to the standing blog article on Medusa (LINK). If you haven't already read this article, feel free to when you finish this piece, as it explains a lot about the inner conflict which is human fear and how it's often so much more about us and our imagination than the reality of how difficult something is.

In the meantime, let's just say that Medusa may be a fear of knowing what the truth is, the process of learning something new (without which, you're rather held like the Sabine captive) or that, in combination with the New Moon and Saturn/Niobe in Libra, the jig is up - you have worn some sort of mask but others have now got your number.

The "rule" with a Yod is that the 'solution' to the puzzle is defined by the point which is half way between the 'points' of the 'Y' - between the New Moon and Saturn/Niobe.

Interestingly however, there's nothing there. But with Saturn at 14 Libra, Niobe at 12 Libra and the New Moon at 13 Sagittarius, it's pretty safe to say that said 'midpoint' is 13 Scorpio. And what's 13 Scorpio about?

The Sabian symbol for 13 Scorpio pictures 'An inventor performing a laboratory experiment' which if nothing else emphasizes the new, and a need for cautious application of focus and known facts. This being an emotional degree of a watery emotional sing (Scorpio), we know the subject is not only emotional in nature but emotionally evocative and interactive. So this is not just about us - the 'me, myself and i' of life, though this is about who we are on the inside (and thus why our emotions get evoked). There is an interactive quality to the solution to this Yod, and it involves dealing with fear, dealing with pride, and getting on with getting on in the greater scope of life.

But wait...13 Scorpio....haven't we talked about that degree just recently? Isn't that the degree of last month's New Moon? 

So it was...so it was, so it was! And we've already experienced that dynamic.

Does this mean we have to go back there and do that again?

Probably not. More than likely, this is a karmic and cosmic indicator that we have not yet actualized the solution to last month's challenges. They are still on our plate. Or maybe a new form of them (the "New Moon") gets handed to us. We often think that we can slide right by, blow things off (Uranus on station, remember?) and all will be hinky-dinky.

Well, apparently not. And for those still unwilling to deal with cosmic karma, one other note to jot down on the mental scratch pad: come December 20/21st (depending on where you are) there is going to be a Lunar Eclipse. And that Lunar Eclipse does have two objects sitting at 13 Scorpio: Atropos (endings) and Venus.

You remember Venus in Scorpio, right? The sticky wicked of our recent Venus retrograde?

So many people like to think of Venus as mere mortal beauty. The precept is so much more...and so much more eternal, considering how looks inevitably fade. What we put out comes back to us. Or to put it another way, for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. Or to put it yet another way...Like attracts like.

There is no escape from who we are because we will inevitably attract that which will teach us to be our better selves...or to struggle with our ineptitude: the reflection of our unwillingness to respect the person we are.

The Astrologer's Notes: Venusian Pesonality Economics

 October by Chase William Merritt

What to say...how not to make light of anyone's difficulties? The 'I don't have any idea what to do about it' going around is so a reflection of Neptune in late Aquarius, Pluto in early Capricorn, Uranus in late Pisces, Saturn in Libra...

...and this dollop of Venus on top? It's everyone standing there saying 'look at me!', 'pick me!', 'appreciate me!', 'love me!'....We're all so starved. Some for money, some for love - and most of us (at some level) for that sense of self worthiness which empowers us. Which allows us to get out there and know how things can be done, inspire people to join in.

Venus in Scorpio is hard. It forces us to fall back on who we are in a way which makes us feel secure. Add a little

Neptune in late Aquarius and it becomes a fog, a veil of tears, a clouding of our certainties. 

We just aren't sure. That strength which would be inspiring altruism melts away into insecure unwillingness to take a risk. And because we won't risk - because everyone wants someone else to fix things - nothing gets done. Nothing gets fixed. Those what have hoard. Those what don't have, hate. It's not anybody's recipe for success.

People resist change until desperation drives them beyond where they can afford to resist. They say  desperate times may call for desperate measures - which would be why necessity becomes the mother of  innovation.

Or muthah's it, I'm not sure. 

It would be so nice if people would let go of old ways and narrow-mindedness...but they're scared to.

Talk about being scared of being broke...Neptune in late Aquarius plus a Scorpio Venus retrograde? People are scared of being stripped of their beliefs, ideals which have kept them feeling coddled and cozy, no matter how wrong they are.

Neptune in late Aquarius is so the bringing to the for of all that. And all that goes with that - the blindness to caring what really happens when you care more about the ideal than the reality.

 Volcanic Sunset by Vincent-Phillips

Then there's the whole Pluto in Capricorn thing. All the problems in people's lives? That's exactly what needs changing. Where and what we all lose is where we need to focus our effort.

But I get it...it takes effort. It's very uncomfortable. It requires sacrifices. People marvel at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, but I bet not one in a hundred thinks about what that kind of transformation must feel like - not to mention that it's going on inside a cramped chrysalis.

Can you imagine?

Then come the moment your need to get out. Who thinks about the effort it takes for a new butterfly to break out of that shell? And within minutes or maybe an hour after that it's supposed to pump blood into its wings and take off and....what, fly?

Yes, it's instinct. But the process of doing all that? That  takes effort.

Maybe because humans think so much they think themselves right out of their ability to make things better...right until complete necessity forces them to fight to stay alive, yes.

Pluto in early Capricorn is maybe a our chrysalis phase. Part rearranging our parts - plus then forcing us to learn how to live a whole new life.

No wonder nobody's liking it!

Maybe we need to apologize to our local butterflies. We so take them for granted. We watch in wonder and delight. Maybe we should add a big "good job!"

 Der Schmetteringsjager by Carl Spitzweg (c.1840)

Then there's Uranus...rolling back and forth at the very end of Pisces. People think they can escape feeling, not realizing that what they're feeling which makes them want to escape is the whole and total deal.

And terribly unproductive. Like life is going to go away? 

We don't like being forced to deal with what we feel about our feelings - especially when our feelings are what we know we shouldn't be feeling. Or when we've been deluding ourselves that we feel good about something but we know it's wrong.

It's all about control - and Uranus says we don't have control and that scares people more than they can deal with really knowing. People know they need to change. And they know - somewhere deep inside - that what we refuse to deal with is exactly what ends up dealing with us...often in ways we don't like.

Escapism is so much more attractive than innovation. Excuses are so much easier than breaking out of our old mold, yes even if the old chrysalis is exactly what's keeping us from spreading our wings, showing our colors, shining in the sun and...yes, flying.

People say they have faith. Religious or not, they all seem to have some feeling life happens because it happens because that's what life is. I like the old metaphysical saying: unbeknownst to us, the universe is unfolding as it should.

But it's as easy to fall back on Bob Dylan. You know...the times, they are a'changin' ?

The only thing which can be entirely relied upon is change. Change goes on without change. 

I wish (that being a real Pisces term) that people would get that all the instability of feeling, all the disruptions of society - it's all about getting us to let go so that as Uranus moves into Aries next year we'd be ready to do and be something new.

Think they'll get it? 

Maybe. Then again, there are always a bunch in any lot who prefer to remain sitting on a stick.

The old is on its way out. I guess it's just not going to  vamoose without a fight, though.

And then there's that Saturn in Libra...do people not get that what you give determines what you get? Those having such a hard time 'getting' need to 'get' that what they're 'giving' isn't what people what to get! 

Oh, I'm hearing that Bob Dylan thing again....

We have to think differently. Do differently. We need to think in terms of appealing to people in some new way now that the old way isn't working.

It's either that, or change our name to Outmoded. Hi, I'm little Miss Outmoded. Got anything old and unusable for me to natter around with today?

Seriously! I so wish people would get it that it's pretty apparent how its time to pay attention to working on (Saturn) what we do, how we do it and who we do it to, with, and for. Our act needs working on.

Or maybe we just need to get a new act?

Hard choices are in the works. Wherever Saturn is, ends and pruning and sacrifices follow.

For a planet with rings, Saturn is not all that well rounded. It sort of behaves like a cleaver. Or a wall. Or a big, fat dead end.

Then again, with every end comes a new beginning. Something just has to pry our grubby little mitts off whatever we're so determined to hold on to.

 The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

And there is that Saturn ruling Capricorn thing too. That so ties together the how we interact with others and the what supports our world. We're all in for some  enormous transformation and the easy or hard of that totally depends on how realistic we are, how willing we are to deal with the facts instead of resorting to our  whiny 'why can't I...!!' thing.

(sings): whoa, baby - there's a lot of whining going around.

I'd make a really, really lousy Elvis.

Whatever.

(A brief pause here while I indulge in my daily sulk....)

We've all been sinking into a morass of late. It's so Scorpio Venus retrograde. Life as a putridly stick torrent making things hard, harder, hardest...

...and oh, would you mind acting cheerful while it hails fire, frogs and hail?

People probably think I actually blame Venus retrograde for stuff when the truth is I don't. Transits only mark the time unfolding.

The fault lies not in our times (she said with dignity, striking a presidential pose) it lies in our stubbornness! Our reticence! Our desire to have someone else make the sacrifice or provide the offer or make the change SO WE DON'T HAVE TO!!!!

Unfortunately, that's just not the way it works. The job situation may be terrible, yes. But that's because nobody is giving an inch - or a damn. We're all at a Scorpio stalemate.

It's a big giant game of chicken out there. And those who retreat the most or hold on the hardest, they may well graduate from chicken to turkey.

We all need to change what we're doing or how we're doing it (Venus), who we're doing it with or the standards we hold ourselves to (Saturn). We need to get over our narrow mindedness and thinking someone else is or isn't responsible!

The truth is we're all responsible. For everything. And if everyone would give, everyone would get. Today's problems aren't about a lack of abundance, they're about a dirth of unwillingness.

And everyone wants to imagine its everybody else at fault. Trouble is, we know it isn't.

Somewhere down inside, we know we're just (Neptune) kidding ourselves. And we wish we were kidding others. Unfortunately we're not. And we hate them for knowing what we don't want to know about ourselves (Venus). 

 The Moon at Crescent Phase over Kingman Arizona

photo credit: Beth Woodrum (November 27, 2007)

Change is upon us (Pluto). We can either get with it or get gotten good by it (Uranus). That which is lost to some is lost to all, and the sooner we start thinking in terms of what IS instead of what should be (Pluto), might be (Neptune), could be (Uranus) and what we just plain want (Venus), the sooner we can all get back to doing what needs doing, reignite the engine of stability and productivity...

...which is - in the end, I mean - the genius of human accomplishment at its beautiful (and actually? Saturn) best.