Humans, Meet Comet

A 4-photo mosaic of Comet 67P as photographed on 19 September 2014

by the Rosetta spacecraft from 28.6 km away from the comet's center

(photo credit: ESA/European Space Agency)

By now most of us have heard that ESA’s Rosetta mission has put its Philae landing craft on the surface of a comet.

The comet’s name is Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P to its friends). It’s not an excessively large object, which makes the feat of catching up and syncing with it quite an amazing feat.
Space is a very big place. Moreover, it’s not a very forgiving place even for those not watching out for aliens and possible science fiction-like villains. So applause to the European Space Agency team which threaded the proverbial space needle.

(No, not the one in Seattle.)

Seattle's Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Standing 605 feet

(184 meters) tall, it affords people an amazing view while testing their

relationship to heights. (Yes, I've been there!)

(photo credit Jordon Kalilich, July 2011)

Word of the successful connecting of spacecraft to comet was simultaneously received here on Earth at 16:03 (4:03 p.m.) by two receiving stations -  ESA’s facility in Malarque, Argentina and NASA’s in Madrid, Spain - and confirmed by ESA’s operations center in Darmstadt, Germany, which gives us the following chart...

Rosetta Lands on Comet

November 12, 2014 - 16:03 (4:03 p.m.) GMT /17:03 (5:03) Darmstadt, Germany

(glyph chart)

Rosetta Lands on Comet

November 12, 2014 - 16:03 (4:03 p.m.) GMT /17:03 (5:03) Darmstadt, Germany

(text chart)

...a chart which is rather fabulously interesting for two reasons. The first is that this chart has 28 degrees of fixed signs on all four axis points - which is a lovely sort of comment on ‘affixing’ the spacecraft to the comet, as it evidently had to ‘hook on’ using some sort of harpoon-like device. Moreover, since 28 degrees of any sign is receptive  by nature (odd numbers initiate, even numbers receive-respond) this is a quite sensible human undercurrent saying ‘we did it!’... which is more about us (humankind) than anything else. Humans need validation. We need to know we’re capable and we need proof of it at least every once in a while.

In action, fixed signs tend to ‘glue things down’ - and validate the completion. With Sedna just behind the Ascendant, this is something of a ‘letting go’ of ideas of ourselves we have had up to this point. This is a maturation - and an event which for some reason is going to ask that we (Ascendant) act with (Sedna) the kind of ‘mature awareness’ about the fact that this achievement, for all that it is something long-dreamed of (it took 10 years for Rosetta to reach the comet) there is still much to be learned.

But that Saturn-Descendant-Venus in Scorpio trining the Moon placed barely minutes shy of the Nadir (IC) of this chart? That is mankind standing on its planet - Earth - recognizing their own abilities.

Cancer - the sign the Moon rules - is also on both the third house of communications and fourth house of nation, native populations and planet. So there’s a lot to think about. We’ve taken a solid step, but there’s still much to be learned. That Saturn (representing time) and Venus (symbolizing results) are at the Descendant (and in delay-friendly Scorpio) also speaks to more than 28 degrees of Scorpio (a display of mastery) here being just about ‘putting the word’ out about the landing. That’s valid certainly as a start, but what this also speaks to is the idea that there will be some delays in ‘capitalizing’ on what is learned from this mission, as well as the fact that what does come to be learned will be/become useful over a rather extended period.

Beyond that, there’s an interesting metaphysical tie to comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s discovery chart, timing the chart to noon as a worldly event applying to all:

Discovery of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P)

September 20, 1969 - noon (USZ5/-6) - Almaty Kazakhstan

(glyph chart)

Discovery of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P)

September 20, 1969 - noon (USZ5/-6) - Almaty Kazakhstan

(text chart)

See that rising at 28 degrees of Scorpio - and Neptune right behind that Ascendant?

Neptune is going direct in just a few days - the post on same will be the next one up here at the blog. As for 28 Scorpio, Saturn is going to be arriving at 28 degrees of Scorpio in just a couple of weeks - and that happens exactly as Jupiter goes retrograde on December 6th.

Things are tying together. To ‘rank’ this astrologically, the nature of life is that we will all be paying more attention to the Saturn-Jupiter end of things simply because Saturn and Jupiter represent attributes like making an effort, holding to your plan, learning more or better, recognizing right from wrong ...things we can (and probably should) opt to do every day. Neptune isn’t like that. Neptune is not just ill-defined, it’s not supposed to be defined - a quality which has led me to many an odd question and answer with friend, acquaintance and client.

(Them) I don’t like Neptune

(Me) No one likes Neptune. It's a good thing Neptune doesn't mind.

(Them) No...you don’t understand. I NEED to know what things are. Isn’t there any way to be sure under a Neptune transit?

(Me) Sorry, but by the time you know what something is, it’s no longer astrologically Neptune. Definitions are Saturn.

On the other hand, Neptune IS the biggest dog on this planetary block when seen in astrological order. Saturn may symbolize time and all we come to build in our lives but Neptune is the inevitable understanding that nothing is permanent or entirely predictable, if only because in order to predict something we would need to invest our ego in the prediction and Neptune negates ego and acts or choices inspired by or made under the auspices of ego.

Lest you think this Neptunian effect is being overly stressed here, there’s one more item which at least from the astrological perspective is highly noteworthy when it comes to this Rosetta event, and that would come from the launch chart:

Rosetta Launch

March 2, 2004 - noon (BZT2/+3) - Kourou, French Guiana

(glyph chart)

Rosetta Launch

March 2, 2004 - noon (BZT2/+3) - Kourou, French Guiana

(text chart)

Don’t be fooled here - there are squares and such in this chart as well, but with only sextiles and trines showing the presence of a Grand Sextile (which by definition will include two grand trines and six kites) in a launch chart which in having Jupiter in opposition to Sun/Mercury is nothing if not man seeking inspiration and knowledge from the heavens.

There’s just one thing: that which comes out of a Grand Sextile is seldom what we think. So while this Grand Sextile did play out as a 'grand opportunity' (sextiles=opportunities) to begin yet another phase of space exploration, Grand Sextiles are not only metaphysical but spiritual images which speak to actions we will take which lead us to understand both our capacities (as in this landing) and the idea that what we have done...or who we are, individually or as the inhabitants of a planet...is but a very small part of all which there is and that we are all subject to That Which Is - the forces of Jupiterian growth, Saturnine time and both our Neptunian goodness and an equally subversive human desire to be held wholly and humanely harmless despite the ravages of our ego.

So now we've been validated as a race. We're feeling a bit more accomplished and capable about ourselves.

What does that mean we're going to learn next?
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Atropos-Lyrids: New Ends

 The Three Fates by Christian Friedrich Staizel (1797)

In Greek mythic terms fate is a process, not a single or finite thing. That we know because there are three ‘Fates’: Klotho (inceptions or beginnings), Lachesis (duration, extent) and Atropos (endings). Together they describe the whole experience arc, however that may come to happen and whatever it may apply to.

This version of ‘fate,’ in other words, is about how we deal with facts as they come to be presented - an idea which mirrors the idea that the astrology of asteroids refers to life factors we encounter along our ‘path.’ The asteroids - specifically here asteroids Klotho, Lachesis and Atropos - whether aspected in our personal natal chart or 'bestirring' us to take note as they go in and out of retrograde - so we are given basic notice about moments, situations, meetings and such things as relationships, negotiations, efforts, feelings - as each goes through its 'process' of inception to end.

How we respond to such moments and that 'thing' and what we experience through such responses, these are the things which, in teaching us that life is not entirely “up to the Fates,” empower us to become that we should be.

Or at least that's what we think. Somewhere along the way something may occur. Maybe you'll get diverted from one thing to another, effectively 'ending' the original effort. Maybe you'll just give up on something which has outlived its use or usefulness.

And there is that other little matter...the one which says that when it comes to the Fates, we have no control. In that, Greek Fates are just like any other tale of the inevitable. And we humans don't like not having control.

After all, if you don't have control, you don't know which emotional button is going to get pushed...which is the emotional side of Atropos, Klotho and Lachesis as they represent what we must contend with along our merry (or even not so merry) way.

Yes, we can learn from such moments...or not. And what we learn may help us...or not. In general, its probably safe to say that where Atropos is concerned we cannot hold on.

Then again, maybe we don't want to.

Either situation is equally likely as Atropos enters the station 'allowance' on April 14th in anticipation of going retrograde on April 16th. Some of us will meander through these days, some will confront some ‘fateful’ sort of moment in time. Atropos can represent losing something, finishing something, terminating something, changing our mind. It can even refer to finding something which fills a gap, ‘ending’ some sort of personal, group - even societal deprivation.

It all depends.

In going retrograde at 27 Leo, that which happens involves others…and what we learn from it, or what we need to do (or not do) because of it involves others – and often the world or society in which we live. As a degree of influence, 27 Leo tends to be hasty and is known for causing things to ‘blow up in one’s face,’ creating injuries and resentments which given Atropos’ influence may require taking a step back or reconsideration.

As in all things Leo, the idea of the thing…the ‘vision’ is powerful and sometimes magical, thought it isn’t always practical or well received – particularly when we aren’t taking the perspectives and agendas of others into account. So with Atropos going retrograde this year one day after the joint Pluto station and Libra lunar eclipse…

- link to -

A Plutonic Lunar Eclipse

…that suggests many a change of direction, attitude or perception reflecting either situations which ‘move’ us or those which – in keeping with the incoming Taurus solar eclipse – evoke or refer to values which stir emotions or which are typically (even known to be) emotionally sensitive.

If we were only to think of this ‘teaming up’ of events in terms of Pluto’s station, we would say that Atropos turn to retrograde in Leo denotes the beginning of some internal transformation – one involving some personal ‘vision.’ And purely in Plutonic terms, that would bracket us into an April 2014 to mid/late September 2014 timetable as once Pluto goes retrograde it will be in retrograde until September 23rd.

Pluto transformations are metamorphic. They take time and they involve pressure…most of all that internal pressure which gets us to back away (retrograde away from) one thing so that we can take on something else. Or maybe both things in tandem or synthesis.

Pluto represents the energy of tearing one thing down and purifying the concept so that something better can be put in its place. Whether associated positively or negatively Pluto times displays of passions – even obsessions – because we don’t want the alternative.

And the real Pluto question is that: what’s so wrong about the alternative (and) why are we reactive to that alternative?

Those insights…plus whatever feelings have been (or are being) touched on as we move into and through the April 15th lunar eclipse will play out initially in the three months yet to come on a primary level – and evolve from there.

It’s not necessarily a scary process – just one we need to attend to, which in true Plutonic manner will become more ‘sticky’ the more we try to avert, avoid or control it to our pleasure.

Nothing Scorpio is ever simply about us – and that includes Pluto, symbol of all outcomes Scorpio and Scorpionic. We may want to control the outcome – in fact, most Scorpio situations will define, regulate or place constraints of some sort on us. Such measures can be perfectly simple, such as learning how to bake a cake, work a latch or otherwise conduct yourself in sensible company…or they can be exotically trying to one’s ability to negotiate.

War, surgery, debt, taxes and sexuality are all Scorpionic subjects – need I say more?

But they reason they are Scorpionic? That’s the important part here – and important to keep somewhere on our mental desk over the next few weeks as new input, new ideas and more insights are likely to be in the offing.

Why?

Because it’s meteor shower time.

Produced by Comet Thatcher (which is currently still moving away from Earth as part of its 400+ year-long orbit) the Lyrid Meteor Shower begins April 16th and extends through April 25th as part of whatever Aries-Taurus themes have us dealing with who we are not to others in this world, but in our own eyes.

Such insights may or may not be major. And if you’re wondering why Scorpio and Pluto seem so important here as we consider Atropos and the Lyrids, that would be because comet Thatcher’s origination point – it’s ‘radiant’ as seen from Earth is in constellation Lyra.

And guess where Pluto is?

We think of Pluto as being in Capricorn because Capricorn is the constellation which intersects Earth’s path around the Sun – the ecliptic. That’s the rule for constellations being included in our zodiac. But apart from that, as of 2013 Pluto came into standard 5-degree orb of Lyra’s best-known star, Vega – our symbol of charisma and charismatic communication, indicating a period when many people and ideas we were taken by will lose their appeal or validity as we discover new ways of thinking and new priorities to go along with those new approaches and aims.

Constellation Lyra

Pluto’s primary conjunction of Vega will be completed by the end of 2016, though the changes which will inevitably occur between now and then will take several more years to play out. For some, the overall effect of this time will bring them more into line with a flesh-and-blood (Capricorn) reality they’ve been less than fully affected by. For others, needing to consider (or reconsider) how they’re going about embodying some goal, persona or message will become a focus worthy of time, dedication and effort.

It all depends. On what? On you, and where you are right now, coming into this time. Whoever we are and whatever we’re trying to do, this long-term, multi-year Pluto-Vega conjunction will challenge many a notion of identity, structured values and worth, particularly in light of how we ultimately regard our Self as a citizen of, and in this world.

It’s all just to...think about.
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Comet ISON: “Cancel the Funeral”

Provided by the SOHO solar space observatory, Comet ISON is clearly

visible near the top, emerging from its encounter with the Sun

(photo credit: SOHO, NASA, Spaceweather.com) 

While much of America dashed off in the middle of the night to partake in Black Friday shopping…while a friend of mine back east studiously ignored his Thanksgiving Day sink load of dishes (I got the email, which is how I know about this sulk)…and while the blog astrologer tried to sleep off chasing the NASA and Spaceweather feeds (that’ll show me…)…

While I slept, Dr. Tony Phillips and the rest of the gang at Spaceweather (and NASA) had a busy night of proving we had all subjected ourselves to a serious case of pre-demise. And the above  - “Cancel the Funeral” was exactly what as of this morning (November 29th) was the official word on ISON.

Link to: Spaceweather.com

In other words, Comet ISON is still there. If you go to Spaceweather and click on the film loop, you can now see the comet approach...apparently dive 'into' the Sun and then - miraculously - reappear.

(Says a lot about just how dense rock can be, doesn't it? And what does that say about us?)

Among other things, this says we should be getting some pretty brilliant sky watching in the next little while as ISON comes out from behind the Sun (behind vis-à-vis our position here on Earth). And by the by…if you think it’s unusual for scientists, astronomers and astrologers to be caught out looking dim when confronted with the universe, uh…thanks, but that wouldn’t exactly be the truth. We who are fascinated with watching and figuring out and correlating what we knew with what we’re learning – we do this stuff all the time.

In astrology (so you know) there are really a couple of schools of thought on this stuff. A large proportion of the astrological community is still wedded to ancient texts in a way which would make you think there’s nothing new under the Sun (any sun, anywhere in the universe) which is just a silly thing to assert. With all due respect to those who read this post and are religious, this same ‘all the truths were spoken back then’ stuff seems unlikely to the max. After all, if Deity existed then Deity still exists – what makes us think that a Deity who allegedly ‘cared’ so much about us a couple of thousand years ago that we were given chidings and lectures…why wouldn’t that Deity care enough about us not to communicate with us in modern times?

(I just don’t get that.)

As for astrology and astrologers, a lot of astrologers haven’t even gone beyond the classical to asteroids, dwarf planets and such – never mind following the NASA/Spaceweather feed around.

If nothing else, you know where I was over Thanksgiving, right?

Personally, I’m thinking of this whole Comet ISON affair as (in part) a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t reflexive dealing with our lives. The science part will sort itself out over the next weeks, months and years of course.

As for ISON…considering the worldwide press on this comet, at this point we are dealing with an object which at least represents something ‘out there’ which has our attention. We thought it was over…but it isn’t over. And now, according to science, whatever this ‘thing’ is in our life…it is going to become a ‘brighter factor’ as we move forward. Whether this pertains to something you thought you had lost which now you realize isn’t lost…or something you thought was a negative which has revealed itself as a positive which will be a ‘light’ to you in weeks to come.

Something 'out there' which has been maybe physically, but maybe mentally or emotionally 'heading towards us' remains intact.

But then, so do we. And what that means in each of our lives has yet to be revealed. Some of it will be evolving in present tense, but just as ISON entered our

Being someone who tries to take their cues from a world and universe which is always trying to get me to pay attention to said cues…I’m prone to letting this matter go now. After all, the ‘survival’ image provided by the SOHO image (above) – of all things labels royal fixed star Antares.

You know…the star which tells us not to obsess?

Link to: Antares - Royal Star of Persia

Sometimes our ‘time cues’ seem odd because the flowing of energetic ‘waves’ caused by moving objects takes time to reach us. Fortunately with ISON we now have an opportunity to move forward feeling our own solar consciousness in action. This comet was only 'discovered' (brought to our conscious attention) back on September 12th - that being when this very ancient object got close enough that we of Earth took notice of it.

So whatever took almost three months to get here...it will like as not take time to resolve. Or complete. Or maybe it will take you that long to reach some decision.

Whatever it is, considering ISON's timing, we have an opportunity now to move forward and see - and feel ourselves seeing - some pretty brilliant things. So whatever comes of this solar system steeplechase, no doubt we yet shall see. In the meantime, it seems a good sign that we can cancel the cosmic funeral because there’s no comet demise which requires mourning.

Just thought you’d like to know.
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R.I.P. Comet ISON

Imaged by the SOHO space observatory, Comet ISON heads towards the Sun,

an encounter which was timed to 1:45 am (ET) on November 28 2013

Comet ISON has not survived its encounter with the Sun.

Links with amazingly clear motion images of ISON diving into the Sun are posted at Spaceweather.com on the page for November 28, 2013.
 

Metaphysically, this event suggests our having absorbed what we needed to 'see' (literally or otherwise). Or maybe we've dismissed, destroyed, or otherwise 'eaten up' that which was presented to us.

(And yes, for Americans that may have started with a Thanksgiving feast - as for Jews it may have been about the heart-warming qualities of Hanukkah - though either way there's probably more to it.)

Here's the chart (an Aries wheel, and thus not location specific) of the event as calculated for 1:45 (ET) on November 28, 2013...

The Sun is at 6 Sagittarius, a degree which centers in the identity of service. There is a great sense of existing for the benefit of the group which comes with 6 Sagittarius - a quality which is interestingly paired with a Sabian Symbol reading 'CUPID KNOCKS AT THE DOOR OF A HUMAN HEART.'

6 Sagittarius asks us to understand that what we do for ourselves...especially purely for ourselves eventually comes to nothing. 'Cupid' knocking at the door of our heart is a request that we allow ourselves to apply the substantial mental resources promised by 6 Sagittarius to the whole of our life - and to have a life which fits what we can do for others, not merely for our own pleasures.

What this means to you in your life of course, is highly individual. An astrologer would read this in terms of what house 6 Sagittarius falls in and what sort of relationship your chart says you have with your natal Jupiter (...if I may be allowed to say something so bold in public, of course!)

But you know where you are, right? So you know what's been on and in your mind. You know where in your life you've been trying to 'gain ground' or move forward and what the issues have been there.

ISON is just bringing home a 'quality' which like as not rings through a great deal of that. Like all astrological moments, ISON's diving into the Sun isn't the do-all, be-all answer to anything.

It's just a facet of a much greater story. You know - the story of Life. (And yes for you, Your Life in particular.)

Another (earlier) shot of Comet ISON made by SOHO showing the breath of the solar wind. (photo credit: SOHO, Spaceweather.com, November 28, 2013, 8:07a.m./ET)

But everything - from soup to nuts to planet to existing in a soup bowl of time ladled from some endless vat...?

That also is involved. And that this moment has happened not in sync with an event to cause any one of us to stop and reflect - but in sync with events which have caused entire cultures and nations to stop?

That's straight-forward metaphysics.

And for once, fairly straight-forward metaphysics at that.

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Comet ISON(Update 2)/Phaethon: Rock Comet

 Phaethon by Gustave Moreau (1878)

Apparently the idea of Comet ISON has captured a lot of people's imagination, as it's all over the news, and now people want to watch a live feed on November 28th (Thanksgiving Day in the United States) to see if NASA (or anyone else in the space biz) can tell if ISON has indeed survived its brush with the Sun...

It's all a bit of outer space drama, absolutely. And fascinating to watch. An object out there which is billions of years old is about to have what may be its ultimate fateful encounter with a star. And we humans pretty much get to watch.

That's dramatic.

The whole thing is dramatic - and thus it represents (to us) something which is 'dramatic' or which has some evocative or (for you perhaps) emotional meaning. Or maybe it just promotes some feeling response. Good or bad, whether your instinct is to sit and listen or run away or ignore some learned habit to second-guess yourself,  Comet ISON is about all that which has just in this past little while (generally speaking) shown up in your world. Arriving unexpectedly and totally capable of rattling the windows, chains or foundations of anyone's world (whether it does is about your individual chart) ISON represents some idea, some knowing, some totally unexpected and probably unheralded perspective which has come to be - by whatever measures - injected into our lives.

Will ISON 'impact' the Sun? And to the extent that it does, does that limit the effect of whatever ISON's appearing out of the vastness of the unknown has manifested as in each of our lives?

Over the past few days the solar wind gave ISON a buffeting. But the comet got past. Unlike Encke - which got its tail 'cut off' by a like encounter with a solar CME back in 2007.

Whatever was 'out there' in our lives is still out there. For a day or two it seemed to waver...but it's still on course.

Evidently life wants us to continue feeling this issue in some ever-increasing sort of 'obvious to us' (if nobody else) sort of way.

Scientists are saying that ISON is an object about the size of a shopping center made of rock and ice. That's nothing the Sun couldn't simply absorb in a moment... which by implication says that whatever it is which is so 'foreign' to us, we could absorb it. Yet instead we're treating as some 'strange thing' which has shown up in our world. It's of our solar system - our life environment. And yet for some reason, we've never seen it. It's never registered in our (solar) consciousness - at least not to the degree that we've noticed it.

Until now, that is.

From the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's home page for November 27, SOHO images

of comets Encke and ISON heading towards Earth.

To see this film clip in full, link to JPL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

  

Whatever is working its way through your life, your psyche, it's probably not simple. It's probably not even made up of one single issue or item or factor or possible priority or concern. We probably all knew that, but once NASA piped up and let us know that another comet (Encke) had reached its perihelion (near approach point to the Sun) on November 21st (last Saturday) that made it plain. After all, Encke is a comet, but it's a near (short-period) comet - one which cycles from just shy of Jupiter to the think of Mercury's orbit, marking a 3.3 year sub-cycle of personal growth and challenge.


And now...?

Proving that our universe (even our solar system) is nothing if not entirely capable of surprising us with what we don't know (which maybe is a hint for people to stop acting like such know-it-all's?), today NASA released a new piece of information on asteroid Phaethon.

In short, Phaethon is not "merely" an asteroid. It's a comet without a tail.

Link to: SCIENCE @ NASA (Nov. 27)

If you link to NASA's typically friendly 'chat' on this subject, what you'll learn - among other things - is that Phaethon is the source of the Geminids, one of Earth's yearly meteor showers...the next one up on the calendar, as life would have it. The Geminids begin on December 7th and run through the 17th with a peak hourly rate (of falling meteors) on December 13/14.

And just to make this interesting, the 17th is the date that Uranus goes direct AND of December's Full Moon.

Think what happens in your 'now' could affect your 'then'? Quite possibly so. If so, the 'active' process which will get you to that place...which you may well be thinking about now...would begin on December 3rd.

Why?

Because December 3rd is the date of December's NEW Moon - that which starts in motion whatever it is which either culminates, is discarded, adapted or integrated into a new phase at the FULL Moon.

With me?

So now we're thinking. We're realizing. We're contemplating. (And if you're American, you're probably also getting ready for that annual pumpkink-cranberry-turkey fest thing.)

A time-lapse photograph of the Geminid meteor shower over

Brasstown, Bald Mountain (Georgia) by NASA

The really quirky thing here is the Phaethon part...which is really what got me into writing this post. This Phaethon news isn't really "new news" - the European Space Agency issued the press release on Phaethon's rock-comet-hood back in September.

 Link to: European Planetary Science

Congress Release 2013

But that NASA would bring this up as part of its tightly-packed set of releases regarding all things ISON with the understanding that in our temporal life we are about to go from ISON to the New Moon to the Geminid meteor shower and on into Uranus' station/direct at the Full Moon - all of which then culminates in the Capricorn Solstice at the moment of Venus' turn to retrograde?

There is a whole world of business and economics out there which could probably profit (literally) from taking note of what lies ahead. The New Moon will be in Sagittarius, so we're trying to move ahead. Some will be in that trying to leave something else behind, but no matter - we're trying to move ahead and get on with life and living.

And as we do, all those little 'dapples' of light, those 'sparks' of streaming insight streak across our mindful sky.

Thus we will arrive at change - a shift which leads either to disappointment and retreat or a consolidating of those dearly held values and assets which we as individuals... we as humans... hold dear.

But first, we have to confront the fact that life is not black and white. Into all that ISON's appearing has manifested as, into all that Encke's reaching its perihelion has caused us to realize about who we are, who others may or may not be and the difference between daily matters and relationships, feelings and efforts which last a lifetime....

...into all that has come knowing Phaethon is not simply an asteroid, and it's not what we know as a comet.

It's something else. It's something new. We need to rethink or retool.

An asteroid 'as' comet would be something we wrestle with until it 'brings us' understanding. On the other hand, a comet 'as' an intermittent life challenge simply tells us we are never done learning - and for some of us, yes - that is news!

Beyond that is the realizing that we are being 'notified' of 'new things under the Sun' and how we don't know  everything which exists or how everything comes to exist. Or to be what it is.

And that fits too. How so? Well, as an astrological symbol, Phaethon is hasty. Its myth is all about a very bull-headed teen demi-god of the 'don't tell me I can't do that' sort.

(Okay, so that's every teenager on the planet, granted. And most teens think they can go around acting like demi-gods, yes. But you get my point.)

And now that the 'asteroid' we have known as Phaethon is not what we thought it was, what created that haste? Where did it really come from?

Also interesting: the mythic Phaethon came to his (teen, demi-god) end because he thought (prematurely, hasty boy that he was) that he was capable of controlling the chariot of the Sun.

In other words, life. (Or our mentality - the Sun also rules consciousness.)

So while we're watching Comet ISON dive in towards the Sun we also are being told that what has driven our haste...or our conviction...it isn't what we thought it was?

What does that say about us? 

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Update: Two Comets, Not One (ISON and Encke)

A screen shot of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's November 25, 2013 home page posting on comets ISON and Encke

(image courtesy of JPL-Caltech-NASA)

Just when you think you’re up to date, NASA drops out of the black of space with new news. And this time, there’s even film.

No, not some film made by aliens (although that sounds like fun!). And no, not film of some well meaning science type delivering facts (or phaques, if you’re feeling ultra-liberal in the spelling department).

So what's on said film?

Answer: another comet.

That’s right…ISON has company, which is a rather nice thought. After all, comets spend so much of their time whizzing through the empty vastness of space…and here on Planet Earth, it’s the beginning of the holidays. So who among us would deny a wandering comet a little company?

For those of you who have just fallen off your chair (or couch) laughing, I’ll wait a moment. And for those who are thinking perhaps a butterfly net big enough for an astrologer is needed here, hold up.

I really do have a point. It’s quick, it’s simple – and for those who think they never get to see astrology and science in synchronous parallel, it’s really rather grand.

So if you’re interested, start with the link I’m about to give you. It links to JPL…and when you watch the seriously short (seconds long) film clip the link will lead you to, watch for two things: comets moving left to right and the ‘breath’ of the solar wind moving right to left.

Link to: JPL-CALTECH-NASA

I can’t tell you all that much about Encke. The name of the comet comes from Johann Franz Encke, the fellow who calculated its orbit back in 1819 – which argues for good math skills, but not much else.

(For the record, I’m a math geek, so that’s not really a criticism. Far from it, actually.)

What I can tell you about with regards to Comet Encke however, is that this is not one of the long-period comets like Halley, which every 75.3 years comes to visit us from on beyond Neptune in the Kuiper Belt. Halley, Swift-Tuttle (source of the Persied Meteor shower) and Thatcher (source of the Lyrid Meteor shower) all come to us from a realm which metaphysically is about that we don’t know – that which has never occurred to us.

Not so with Encke. Encke doesn’t take 75 years to come around like Halley, and it certainly doesn’t disappear for 415 years between visits like Thatcher.

No, Encke is a whole other kind of comet critter, one which originates inside of Jupiter.

That’s right…Encke is a comet which originates in the asteroid belt. And if we remember that the asteroid belt represents all those many things which we have to ‘meet up with’ and learn about or deal with on our way from motivation or initiation (Mars) to what we might call the Jupiter ‘mastery’ point (or at least the dawning of having a clue as to what you’re doing and how to get it done), then Encke – an object with a perihelion (inner orbital) point smack dab in the crux of Mercury’s orbit – Encke would seem to represent some sort of information or those challenges which seem to come to us on a ‘cyclic’ basis as we are trying to do something, achieve some goal or figure out how to get something done.

The link to Mercury makes this very much about what we do/how we do what we do…and/or how we think and/or communicate. (Or not, of course. Do – not do. Communicate – not communicate. There always is the possibility of the polarity.)

However…as we think of this, then we add in that Encke reached its perihelion just days ago – on November 21st. So we’ve just had the Encke cycle of ‘bringing to us’ reach it’s ‘reaching us’ point.

But what does that mean?

Two more things to add in here. One is (of course) the fact that ISON is also involved in this period of time we’re all living through. And we’re all trying to sort through what (Sun in Sagittarius) needs doing and what we (Sun in Sagittarius) need to keep on dealing with…despite however we feel about it, here in the wake of this powerful, emotional time we’ve just been through.

But if you saw that film JPL posted, then you also know that the solar wind – the breath of the Sun, as one might very poetically call it – is flowing towards both comets. Back in 2007 (two 3.3 year Encke cycles ago) this same thing happened and literally ‘broke off’ Encke’s tail.

Does this tell us just how powerful our intent and essential being really is? Do we benefit or rob ourselves of the opportunity to be something we’ve never dreamed of by insisting on our own perspective – the ‘brilliance’ of our thinking and the strength of our will?

The scientists are poised with all their equipment, but we don’t know what will happen yet. This all seems to paint something of a metaphysical picture with Encke representing our personal challenges and aims while the Sun represents our consciousness and ability to focus on or deal with life/our life.

And somehow all of this is bound in with something totally strange, totally foreign which comes closes to us on November 28th - Thanksgiving Day in the United States.

Does this mean we will see that which we thought we would never see? Does it mean that something will have finally come close enough or clear enough that we understand it?

We seem to be being posed with a lot of questions right now. But that’s apt enough – certainly one of Sagittarius’ greatest functions in our life is to keep us green and growing, whether that means confronting us with questions, trying our patience or insecurities or giving us opportunities we can’t resist but hardly know how to wrap our minds around.

That’s most likely the point.  Life never tries to thwart us or puzzle us to no end, merely to stimulate us into learning that which will ultimately allow us to grow, utilize our potential and thrive. That 'thriving' may not look or sound like we think it should...

But then, whose universe is it?
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ISON: Beyond Us

Comet ISON Oct 08 2013

(photo credit: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon Sky Center- University of Arizona, October 2013)

Of all the things in this solar system wearing odd names, the one I’d like to know as the ‘who thought THAT name was a good idea’ winner in my book is the Oort cloud.

I’m sorry…but hearing people discuss the Oort cloud inevitably conjures up images of seals line up ‘oort-oort-oort-ing’ as they slap their flippers together.

Just sayin’…

But the word has come up of late – specifically with reference to a comet with the interesting name of ISON (yes, all capitals). Otherwise known to the astronomy logs as C/2012 S1, having come from the distant reaches of our solar system (call it a quarter to Sedna territory) ISON is at this very moment diving towards the Sun – although ‘diving’ is probably not quite the word as I’ve never heard of any reports about jackknifes with double twists coming out of NASA.

In any case, what we are describing is an object (ISON) which has come from “all the way out there” to “all the way in here” – and when we say ‘in here’ we rather mean it. At it’s closest, ISON is predicted to come within 0.0124 AU (1,860,000 Km or 1,150,000 miles) from the Sun.

And when you’re talking about the Sun, that’s close. To give us some idea of how close we’re talking here, Mercury – the planet which lives beyond the realm of sunblock – only gets to within 0.307 AU from the Sun. (As a reminder, one AU is the distance from the Sun to Terra Earth.).

So we’re talking close. Toasty close.

Speaking of our solar system philosophically and metaphorically, to those who believe in the micro-macro reflection of All, this means a lot. It might not refer to any earth shattering event (we certainly hope not – especially literally!), but it’s important all the same. After all, the farther you go ‘out there,’ in theory what you are referring to is the “bigger picture” or the “broader brush stroke” or the “background issue.” That’s the ‘out there.’ When we speak of fixed stars in astrology, they always have a ‘coloration’ more than an ‘action,’ they’re more of a ‘quality’ or esoteric challenge to us which we will tackle however we tackle it rather than the finite description of some object or objective of the moment.
‘Out there’ is the situation, the background against which all else we are doing gets set. Such qualities may be static (as in being a representation of our orientation or ‘where we’re coming from’)… or they may be pro-generative, which is to say, such ‘out there’ quotients – be they fixed stars or anything else ‘out there’ may describe that which motivates or challenges us. 
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Over the millennia, astrology has collected a reasonable body of lore on the so-called “fixed” stars. Oort cloud occupants are a newer research topic seeing as we’re just discovering such objects. But we do know a couple of them. Dwarf planet Eris (discord) is thought to orbit at the edge of the Oort cloud. So that dwarf planet Sedna (representing our being challenged to mature/deal with issues of maturity in our own right) definitely orbits in the Oort cloud…what does it mean that Eris orbits at the edge of this place?

Everything beyond Planet Neptune is by astrological definition, that we cannot know – not for sure. We can imagine, we can dream. We can intuit, we can hope. We can have faith, we can act on faith, we can continue trying because we have faith there’s a reason to keep on trying even when with every moment our doubts and self-questioning grows louder.

(Yes, there’s a reason why Neptune is the #1 problematic marker in astrology. Nobody loves their Neptune…and nobody loves to hate their Neptune!)

The point is…beyond Neptune lies the Kuiper Belt: realm of all which we cannot know for sure. And at some point (around the Eris orbital range) the Kuiper Belt becomes the Oort cloud – the place from which comes all the long-period comets (like Halley) as well as all the centaurs (like Chiron) come from.

So we think in terms of how astrology suggests comets (in general) bring news or ‘information from afar’ and we know this is part of what ISON is about. Then we check the records (JPL, NASA and such) and we note that unlike Halley and Chiron, scientists list ISON as ‘non-periodic.’

Metaphysically, we would think ‘non-periodic’ refers to a one-time issue, idea or event. But then again, it may refer to a one-time chance, a once-and-for-all transformation of your life or attitudes – a lot of things.

Scientists aren’t all positive ISON is going to make it through it’s close encounter with the Sun.

Some things come to us and then just…fade away. Or to look at this metaphor from the position of our life as the Sun, some things come at us and we just burn them to a crisp before they can get to us.

But is that bad? Or is that good?

Another thought on the Oort cloud: as the ‘outer layer’ of our solar system, it is the Oort cloud which first receives the 'tidal’ energetics of the Milky Way – and it is this small but recordable galactic push-pull which is thought to be vital in releasing new comets from the Oort cloud. You know…so they can head on into the solar system and wander through our metaphysical neighborhood. And though it’s not like Earth is just down the block or anything, it is interesting to think of this particular comet – which was only discovered on September 21, 2012 – being part of the reflective and reflexive process of existence which has now got a whole bunch of people sort of breathlessly watching this comet.

Will it survive its encounter with the Sun?

We do have a few notes on ISON, which are as follows…after a photo sessions with the Deep Impact spacecraft in January/February 2013 (Deep Impact is on its way to study Comet Tempel), Hubble in April/May 2013 and the Spitzer Space Telescope in June (this is a comet with a good PR firm, no question)…on October 1st, ISON got very (very) close to planet Mars.

Comet ISON moving through the signs

And since we know that Mars was at 21 Leo on October 1st, we know where ISON was. SO...using the standard astrological 5-degree conjunction orb, things which manifested in your world or life between September 23rd and October 9th or so (give or take a time zone) will have paved or poked your Mars/ISON quotient in terms of being an action or activation point at which something which you didn't know about began to manifest. That Mars is involved suggests something which involves action or passion or drive or aims. That an ‘unknown’ like ISON was involved may mean you didn’t understand ‘what was coming at you.’

We each would have reacted in terms of a.) where our natal Mars is charts and…b.) wherever 21 Leo falls in our birth charts. The nature of this combination when looked at through Mars’ position suggests unknown encounters and tests of perception which we may or may not prove apt at. Because lore on this degree says matters come out best if/where/when we are able to apply a sort of ‘insightful sensitivity’ to the situation, ‘the thing which happens’ and ‘what it means that it happened’ may…or may not be connected.

That’s probably part of what we need(ed) to think through. You know, as part of the thing ‘coming at us.’

 Comet ISON in parallel (conjunction by degree) with Mars

(diagram courtesy of JPL Small Body Database Browser)

As of November 17-18, ISON was seen passing fixed star Spica, putting it at 24 Libra, a degree which focuses on how we deal with the subject of relationships at a purely personal level which has everything to do with our ability to care as much for ourselves as others and as much for others as ourselves. That Spica and Arcturus are both currently at 24 Libra doubles up on asking us ‘how brilliantly’ we’re handling our affairs, particularly when it comes to the question of responsibility – to/for ourselves or for others.

And just to make things lively? Just as ISON shows up, so does Rhadamanthus – a symbol of transcendent justice. Wherever we see Rhadamanthus, rising to the higher (less me-oriented) sense of justice is either required…or being questioned. (And no, that’s not a swell choice.)

 Comet ISON at it's perihelion point (closest approach) with the Sun

(diagram courtesy of JPL Small Body Database Browser)

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On November 22nd, ISON dropped below Mercury, which would put it in mid-Scorpio territory. So as of November 22nd, this ‘thing coming towards us’ (which remember, is part of us/our lives we are not aware of or not wanting to think about) becomes mental and emotional. It may form a blockade, it may just represent something which sticks in your mind, it may signal the surfacing (the ‘beginning to see’) something or some situation with far greater clarity – a sort of ‘in your face’ clarity.

It’s about this time that SOHO (the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) will pick ISON up and track it on towards it’s appointed rendezvous with its perihelion – it’s closest approach to the Sun, and thus to our life.

The SOHO spacecraft

(image credit: NASA, December 2011)

This event which will happen on November 28, 2013 (Thanksgiving Day), after which ISON will grow brighter.

That’s right…metaphysically, we can expect that whatever this confluence of ISON/Sun represents in your life to become something brighter or of ‘greater magnitude’ after the technical perihelion. AFTER the comet begins to turn away again from the Sun.

From our mind.

From our life.

As an astrologer, I can’t say I think ISON is the do-all, be-all of transit passages. But in looking at the dates provided, comet passages are just as real and just as valid a part of the universal tapestry as anything else. So…if you look back to July and you follow life events forward, are you now in a position to see and live your personal opportunities, new, old, expected, renegade and otherwise?
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