Dionysus Direct, Deucalion Retrograde

Amzinybe (Eternity) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

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Are you wondering if there’s anything afoot for Valentines Day, astrologically speaking?

That answer would be ‘yes’ as asteroid Dionysus and TNO Deucalion are going on station as of the date of this blog with both actually taking their station turns on February 14th.

In going direct at 17 Gemini, Dionysus is taking a ‘direct stand’ in trine to the degree at which Mercury’s recently concluded retrograde started back on January 21st. Does this mean these two issues have to be connected? Not necessarily, but it is likely that these days which follow in the wake of Mercury going direct holds a few notions about things each one of us feels we need to do (which isn’t about ‘needing to get it done’ but rather some underlying ‘requirement’ to do it). That’s a Dionysus quality - which yes, may seem a bit odd if you’re thinking of Dionysus solely as the Greek version of that rowdy wine-swigging Roman god, Bacchus, everyone’s favorite good-god-to-go at a good-time party.

But that’s the point - the astrological point, at least: asteroid Bacchus is about the celebration as the good time and the party. And Dionysus? Well, Dionysus, the celebration is more of a ceremonial or even sacred type of event - which is probably a good thing as in going direct at 17 Gemini, Dionysus is doing so in conjunction with fixed star Rigel (teaching/learning through/about the mind) and TNO Chaos (endless potential), the combined influence of which is virtually unlimited, but not precisely romantic.

Yes, it does speak to choices. And this being Valentine’s Day, we know a whole lot of people are going to be making all sorts of choices. (Ahem!) In fact, with the Moon moving through Sagittarius (the opposition sign to Gemini) during the day of the 14th, and Dionysus turning to direct motion late in the evening (UT/+0 time), there are likely to be all sorts of things going through our heads all day.

(Oh goodie ... a think-a-thon!)

As for Deucalion, let’s just remember what Deucalion is before embarking on any astrological dance steps here. Like Chaos, Deucalion is a TNO, which first and foremost means that both objects orbit way out there in the cold vastness of the Kuiper Belt (beyond Neptune and thus metaphysically beyond all which we can ‘imagine’ and everything which is - or which could be only about the 'us,' whether we think of that 'us' as our Self as an individual, or some 'group' or segment of humanity ... even Existence).

-link to post-

Deucalion: Freeing Our Will

And after that? Well, after that comes the real Cubewano quality, that being how Deucalion, like Chaos, is not affected by Neptune’s more than powerful magnetic resonance. Said magnetic and Neptunian quality does affect Pluto. And it also affects Ixion, both of these points being astrological tiger-traps we all manage to tumble ourselves into along the line. (And sometimes, repeatedly all along that line!)

But Chaos? And Deucalion? Both of these points represent notions which at some level are free from outside influence ... as they come along and deliver the unexpected. That Dionysus stands with Rigel and Chaos is a chance to learn more about what matters - and an invisible question posed as to whether it matters to us. Add to that how Deucalion going retrograde at 15 Scorpio is in part a universal announcement that we haven’t yet gotten to the point where we can move ahead because the person who needs to move on isn’t who we are yet being in this moment?

Fifteen degrees of each of the four fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius) is what’s known as the ‘cross-quarter’ point. It’s a reference to having gotten through half of that zodiacal quadrant’s ‘business’ - or in this case, having gotten to the half way mark without having yet quite enough to move any farther.

In Scorpio, the question is how we handle the feelings and values of others in our own terms - or in terms of our Self and that Self’s perhaps Self-ish emotionality. After all, Scorpio is where we put questions of (Taurus) security to the test - and that security is not ‘about’ “them,” but rather a question of whether we are able to deal whatever it is ‘they’ (or life) is presenting us with.

Do we feel rejected? Neglected? Are we of the nicely independent opinion that others need to have their brains, priorities and morals inspected?

To whatever extent we are merely reacting to what others do, say or are now, that’s the degree to which we’re not taking advantage of some opportunity to achieve mastery.

No, not over them - over our Self, which would be both the business of Scorpio (getting us to own our own vulnerability at least enough to get past them so we can think, plan and make decisions based on choice and not instinct) ... and Deucalion, as Deucalion is a point which presents a challenge (sometimes a crisis) which is either emotional in nature or which promotes or provokes general emotionalism in order to get us to be independent of whatever is capable of causing us to (Neptune) feel overwhelmed (or stirred up) and to thus rise above the storm, discarding that which was weighing us down in the process.

Some of us will beat a (retrograde) retreat now and think things through (which would be more  Deucalion than Dionysus). Then again, some of us will go right through this cupid-like and chocolate-covered time and learn from all we see, hear and experience. That Deucalion is going retrograde in a degree (17 Gemini) which emphasizes planning not done (or) executed solely on an individual basis does indeed favor not going solo at the moment.

It just doesn’t guarantee happiness or success. We may be delighted with where we are at the moment - and then again, we may be wondering who the ‘right person’ is (and how to get close enough to them) with regards to whatever we’re trying to accomplish, whether that’s romantic or entirely otherwise.

Deucalion won’t be going direct again until July 27th, and during the whole of that time it will only move two degrees. By the time it goes direct we will (hopefully) have learned a deal more about our Self ... about what works for us, what we can agree to be 'about' or stand for (or against), and that which may work in the moment but which we know in the long run isn't going to generate the rewards or ‘harvest’ which emotionally we might be thinking of ... but which we know at the bedrock of our heartfelt recognition isn't either likely - or not actually the truly and functionally universal answer.

Deucalion always asks us to rise above our emotions, whatever they may be and be about. To have an 'emotional regard' for the whole of an issue or situation is very Deucalion. To parse that down to bias or something which is emotionally convenient violates the Deucalion premise, virtually insuring that we'll get 'swamped,'

By what?

By whatever will incite or produce and understanding of why emotional convenience is actually seriously inconvenient.  

So ...! Between now and then, either we’ll 'get it' and it won’t be good, or we won’t get it and we will realize just how we have squandered other opportunities  - and in some cases the lives of others we care about - by being so focused on one thing ... or even just one facet of one thing ...as to be willingly blinded to so much else, as to be emotionally unwilling to speak or stand for what we know is universally true about one of us... and therefore all of us as human beings.

That we will not name in the world and which we will not look at in our Self is the thing which will most upset and in moments upend us - and lest we forget, we deny such things and turn away from them not because they are not worthy of our attention, but because we know we are guilty of having not given something which merits attention its due.

That is also Deucalion. 

As for Dionysus, it will be in direct motion for nearly the balance of the year, going retrograde next December 8th at ... (do you want to guess?) ... 22 Leo, the degree at which Jupiter went retrograde last December as Saturn (then at 28 Scorpio) crossed the degree line denoting the start of our 2014-2015 efforts to grow, prune, structure, restructure and slowly develop that which will provide us with a framework which allows the rest of life to blossom.

Are these factors connected? They don’t have to be, but they may be ... in which case, by the time Saturn finishes its yearly round (which happens in early  August) and we wrap all that up, maybe we’ll be in the mood and just the right position to celebrate something which from here is yet an ocean of emotional experiences - and understanding - away.

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Saturn Crossing

A photographic mosaic of Saturn from Cassini photos taken during December 2012

(photo credit: NASA, JPL, Caltech Space Science Institute)

Between November 12th and 20th, Saturn will be at 15 degrees of Scorpio. The degree 15 Scorpio is known to be…well…let’s just say one line of thinking describes it as ‘an under-developed Scorpio degree’…which when you’re talking Scorpio amounts to a degree which picks up more on the instinctive than the thoughtful and more on the survivalist notion than any sort of aware form of endurance where whatever happens becomes a basis for insight and new, ever more constructive plans.

Then again, this is a degree which ‘detaches.’ And that is a useful idea to contemplate as we also consider that 15 Scorpio is one of the zodiac’s cross quarter degree.

The first half of any of the four zodiacal quadrants is about learning and all that we experience while being in ‘learning mode.’ Then comes the second half of the quarter – the putting what you’ve learned into action, seeing what you’ve learned and dealing with taking on learning to master what you’ve learned.

Another part of this first/second half of the quadrant thing seems to be about whether we like or even still believe what we started out thinking. For instance..the second quadrant of the zodiac (the lower right hand quadrant natively ‘colored’ by the dynamics of Cancer, Leo and Virgo) is all about learning to interact…and learning how to interact. The time period which ‘lays down’ the general thinking/patterning for this quadrant being between ages 7 1/2 and 14 (this coming from a variation on the Greek teaching of Profection, in case you’re wondering) describes this as a time which gears us up to make friends…and which then confronts us with the (Cancerian/4th house) emotional challenges of having and being a friend.

In short, by the time we have matriculated our little person selves from 7 1/2 to 14 we will probably have a very different idea about what relationships are as compared to that we came in with as the ‘magical thinking’ of childhood melted away around age 7 and we took on realizing that we exist in this world as individuals.

Okay…so Saturn entered Libra (the first sign of three in the 3rd quadrant) back in late 2009. And ever since then, we have all been going through a whole lot of experiences, searches seeking opportunities and (in general) lessons and growth which could roundly be associated with the zodiac’s 3rd quadrant – the quadrant natively inhabited (“colored”) by the signs Libra, Scorpio and Sagittarius. The age period implied here (which ‘patterns’ this period) is our middle-teen period: roughly ages 14 through 21, and if you recognize that as a rough time in human growth as a whole, then you recognize why the signs and houses of the 3rd quadrant have such a wily reputation. And yes, by the time Saturn reaches the end of Sagittarius (in 2017) we will, one and all of us, like as not have a whole different opinion of what it takes to make things happen in this world…and what it means to stand as an individual amidst other individuals, making, supporting and reaping the rewards (or earning debts) depending on which alliances we make.

As with much else, we tend to come into the 3rd quadrant focused on the goal, and only along the way realize that it’s the composition of the journey which counts. And since the 3rd quadrant faces the 1st quadrant (across the wheel of the horoscope) that means what is being ‘drawn’ on and what is being challenged, critiqued or otherwise tested is our (Aries) sense of self…our (Taurus) security OF self…and our (Gemini) willingness and ability to think things through, make choices and then either follow through or learn differently (and make/remake our choices) so that in time, we get where we need to go – as a person, that is.

The temptation of the 3rd quadrant is to de-emphasize the human in favor of that which society recognizes. Success is framed as finding those avenues of expression which are true and which truly express who you are.

And 15 Scorpio divides this pack.

In crossing 15 Scorpio, Saturn is timing out the separation between a period of trying things out and one when we more or less play ‘for real.’ Over the past few years our choices may have worked well or worked not so well, but for a lot of us (this being where individual charts would register or not register) have not really had our own lives altered or marred or challenged by choices which didn’t pan out.

But from now until 2017 when Saturn leaves this quadrant, things are going to change. The change will be subtle but real – and worth thinking about now and again. There’s been a marked sort of ‘Teflon’ quality to mistakes being made during the past couple of years – have you noticed? A lot of people who you could have sworn should have paid a ‘bigger price’ for something simply haven’t. Or maybe you’ve noticed how you can hold yourself to every best standard in the world (or to not a single standard) and sometimes it all sort of comes out in the wash?

If we take this concept out into the greater realm of metaphysical theory, being that this shift is (at some level) about the difference between learning and applying/trying out what we've learned (or even decided in spite of evidence to the opposite!)...this is an exhalation against the inhalation of learning. This is the testing of your foothold (what you think you know) as opposed to putting your full weight on a decision or directive drawn in nearby sand. 

Saturn shifts equate to slow growth - and the enduring achievement which long-term, attentive dedication to some cause earns us in return. In Scorpio, Saturn is at some level about all those things we can't 'build' into our life but which change us through our assimilating some quality thereof...or the more 'wholesale' being reoriented by...all of which we encounter, assess, develop opinions of - and yet feel drawn to learning from (or exploring more of) despite any previous plan.

Scorpio distracts. Whether it distracts us onto a better route with greater potential reached via more challenging growth or lesser returns courtesy of the benefits of an easier passage - that's mostly about where our native Saturn is positioned and where Scorpio falls in our chart.

At their best, this pairing keeps us directed - if hopefully not so stringently that we end up being deprived of 'special' treasures we find along the way.

(And yes, if they're so special, maybe we'll have to make a Saturn/effort to keep them included in our life, yes.)

Saturn’s rulership of Capricorn and that Capricorn is the first sign of the next quadrant implies that this is such a critical growth period and who we ally ourselves with is now sufficiently important that…well, life is going to do whatever life has to do in order to get us to pay attention to what we’re doing, how we’re doing it and who we’re doing it with.

All that begins shifting…now. The actual passage of Saturn through 15 Scorpio may or may not get your attention. What follows, however? That’s likely to affect you not only from now until 2017 (when Saturn leaves the zodiac’s 3rd quadrant) but in the period of 2017–2019 during Saturn’s transit of Capricorn.

And that brings up karma. We all know that Scorpio is the sign of karma, and the 3rd derivation – the communication or thought associated with Scorpio is a 3rd harmonic function. That third sign IS Capricorn. And Saturn does rule Capricorn, a sign known for upholding structures and structures which either hold us up…or, as in the case of the criminal courts, simply hold onto us… that’s where the legendary toughness of Scorpio decisions come from. That’s where we get the image of Scorpio as a sign which decides once and baby, that’s it!

This is also where we can understand – with some pretty darn good clarity – why the best Scorpio decisions and alliances are made through calm and considered choice, not passion, bias or manipulation.

Saturn pushing through 15 Scorpio may well expose some of our errors or reveal ‘flickers’ of things which are not so very good. You may well be tempted – especially given that there will be much going on and we’re all somewhat still beleaguered from the whole Scorpio eclipse thing – you may be tempted to see the ugly and simply ignore it.

Don’t.

That which we do not correct now we carry with us.

I know that sounds trite…and like some truly moronic statement which should merit nothing more than a giant “DUH!”…but what I’m referring to now is karma.

We are moving through one of our own…well, call it a karmic checkpoint. That we let go of or fix, or even begin to let go of or begin to fix over these next few days we will surely work through and add to a list of accomplishments which not only back us up but support us through the next couple of years.

That we shun dealing with, are overly afraid of or which we allow ourselves to be so ‘wearied by’ that we don’t get to them…? Those are the things and the qualities which will trip us up over the next few years. The names may change. The locations will certainly change, no question. But the themes…?

Those are likely to remain constant, as what we are doing for the next few years is learning and growing through what amount to ‘remnants’ of that which we haven’t dealt with in this past couple of years.

In day-to-day terms, Saturn moving through 15 Scorpio brings an aura of ‘what needs to be done’ interspersed with moments of laughter and lightheartedness. Given that same set of days (November 15-20) will also play host to the Leonid meteor shower its likely to be a lively time, if nothing else.

Then there’s Vesta. Asteroid Vesta – the energetic of paying the cost to do what’s important to you (and/or promised) against the actual cost of doing what’s important to you (and keeping promises) – is moving into Libra at 12:42 p.m. on November 15th. (Yes, just in time to inaugurate this entire party.)

For the past couple of months, Vesta has been in Virgo, giving us to know what the ‘cost’ of responsibility and irresponsibility is…what the cost of feeling is, and what it can cost us when we’re unfeeling. Or when we just feel our own feelings and don’t bother remembering that we’re not the only human on the planet.

Now Vesta is going to move into Libra. Ordinarily I would just make mention here of how we’re all about to find out what our relationships are worth to us. And aren’t worth to us. And what they cost us by our being in them. And (of course!) what we ‘cost’ ourselves by not being in relationships which are truly ‘right’ for us, never mind what others say.

Ordinarily I would just say that and move on to other matters. But in THIS case…since Saturn is making its move at the very same time Vesta is making its move…and all that is happening as we move into and through the latest meteor shower….

Let’s just say this much: if it occurs to you that you need to cover your bases, cover them. If you realize that you’re not really ‘in the right crowd’ or that there are work people, play people and companions in life (or whatever list you want to work up for this occasion)…then deal with it. Put out an email or two. Make a call. Go do that coffee or grabbing a quick bite.

You remember that old saying ‘Make Love, Not War’? At the moment, the real question strikes me as being more about whether we even yet know what love is – especially when it comes to loving our Self and appreciating our Self for all the good, all the frailties, all the strengths and all our innocence.

I’m also pretty sure we’re about to get an extended set of lessons, lectures and situational quizzes on the subject.

Which begs the question…do you know where your celestial #2 pencil is?
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The Lunar Nodes at Cross Quarters

This header image is based on a photo of Main Street in Old City Dubrovnik

by Alex Proimos of Sydney, Australia (July 2011)

Pretzels. That’s what first came to mind when I started thinking about the nodes moving backwards through fifteen degrees of Scorpio and Taurus. After all, the normal astro-celestial movement is forward and the idea of the zodiac’s cross-quarter points is of the infamously famous ‘move on’ sort.

(Or if you want to be more benign and Zen about it, ‘walk on’.)

Occurring at 15 degrees of each of the zodiac’s fixed signs (or on a more esoteric level, at the half-way mark in houses 2, 5, 8 and 11), the cross-quarter points are where gathering information and learning about something shifts into ‘doing it’ gear.

Or at least ‘trying it’ gear.

And yes…if you have some planet, node or axis positioned at 15 degrees of any of the fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius), this may explain why – in terms of whatever that symbol is – you’re always struggling with the ‘do I know enough?’ or ‘do I HAVE to?’ or 'are they going to like/approve of me (or what I do)?' issues.

Or maybe you’re just hesitant (read: reluctant) when it comes to getting started, with once you’re in gear being a whole other thing.

Taurus and Scorpio being signs which are natively 1st quadrant and 3rd quadrant in the zodiacal sense, the stakes here are pitting the ‘learning how’ and ‘learning about how my life works’ first quadrant process against the 3rd quadrant ‘what works?’ with others, or in terms of who (or what sort of company or organization) you should be dealing with.

Basically, the first-against-third quadrants are more ‘who am I and how do I operate’ where the second-against-forth quadrants are more about what we do and whether the world likes what we do: one-three is directly personal and two-four is a bit ‘offshore,’ if you will.

That doesn’t mean we won’t get offended if someone sneers at us, obviously, but there’s a difference between someone saying ‘you baked a lousy cake’ (or you hired a lousy employee) and ‘you’re a lousy so-and-so.’

Of course there are some cross-collateralizations here, I will freely admit. Maybe you’ve noticed this and maybe you haven’t, but people who are born under 2nd or 4th quadrant signs (Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces) seem to have a bit of a harder time separating themselves from what they do. And when you add in not just Sun but also Moon, then take where each falls in the natal chart it all gets a bit complicated and everybody has sensitive spots.

But then, we are humans. And humans, it seems, were born to get real and realer as time goes along by having their soft spots poked, prodded and otherwise stimulated.

(No, don’t go there. Google/Blogger has rules, don’t you know!)

Into all this comes the Nodes of the Moon. Defined as that place where the Moon’s path around Earth intersects Earth’s path around the Sun, the nodes are the ‘intersection’ of our very personal world (the Moon) with the greater life around us (the Sun). And thus they are about how and where we interact with the world and with other people.

So now we have the North Node (the “should do” end of the nodal axis) entering 15 Scorpio as the South Node (the “what I like to do”) side of the equation is entering 15 Taurus, an event which starts on June 23rd (this Sunday, UT/+0 time) and continues on into July 8th.

June 23rd happens to be the date of a Full Moon, so we know this Nodal shift begins in a celestial 'spotlight.' It's also just days shy of Mercury going retrograde, so things, and the thought processes of various folks are going to be set on 'high' - and with Jupiter at 29 Gemini about to move into Cancer, things are likely to be pretty intense, to say the least!

Ergo...depending on how well we each do with adjusting our outlook, this will probably be a time to enjoy...or for struggling through.

And why would that be? Well just to begin with, there is that ‘fixed sign’ thing. Being that the Taurus Challenge is all about how secure we are with ourselves, anything that tends to make us feel invalidated or ‘less than perfect’ in our own eyes rouses the bullish snort and much pawing of tender ground. And since the Scorpio Challenge is all about how well we are able to negotiate with others in a give-and-take sort of manner so that we can all join forces and depend on each other as we move ahead and towards our goals, with the South Node in the “don’t invalidate me, bro!” Taurus end and the North Node in the Scorpio “we should get along, which optimally means you should agree with me” end of things, the past year and something (or so) has felt like something of a cosmic set-up which brings the worst out in everyone.

Why this is so difficult for us is all about the fact the Nodes are a continuum. It’s a lot easier (not to mention more convenient) to think of them as separate things, but they’re not. So when we do what we want or like to do (embracing the South Node of it all), if – or to the degree that we ignore or don’t pay any attention to the necessity of the situation (the North Node getting along with others) we fall afoul of our own ‘but I want to see it MY way!’ sort of thing.

There are of course, places and times in life when it’s simply ducky to say ‘we agree to disagree.’ And hopefully we’ve done that rather than resorting to launching WWIII (or IV…or V…or XXVII) because someone doesn’t agree with us.

But that doesn’t always happen. I had a raucously bad week(plus) this past April when an astrologer I know just couldn’t accept that I wasn’t into their particular area of expertise and wasn’t buying into their rationale(s). No matter how many times I said ‘I’m sure there are many on your wavelength, I’m just not on the list - but I wish you entirely well with your studies…’ this person snarled, snorted, barked and snapped.

Evidently they hadn’t taken their daily does of Node Tonic. For some reason it was very important to this person that I should validate their thoughts and choices, and they aren’t the only one I know of going through this cycle. I’ve seen all sorts of people either wanting validation or getting all snarky because their choices didn’t get someone’s endorsement.

But wait…isn’t the idea to be secure in our own choices? If we are, when we are, where we are secure others thinking differently becomes interesting instead of threatening.

So if we go to war because someone is different, is that about them – or us? War is a Scorpio reaction which at it’s most basic metaphysical level says ‘my sense of safety requires that I exert force in order to restore control at a level I think of as safe.’

Question: does that define what is safe? Or does that define one’s sense of vulnerability?

That would seem to be the general lesson of the Nodes passing through Scorpio (North) and Taurus (South): learning to work with others without feeling you need to control others (or dictate terms of control to them) in order to feel secure or ‘good’ about yourself. And as with all things astrological, if we don’t do the work…or to the degree that we aren’t willing to challenge ourselves, life will bring on the situations and interactions which will promote or provoke those tests and testy situations.

It’s not about ‘them,’ it’s about us – but the human thing is (sure as shootin’, so to speak) that we’ll blame others first.

And this is where Nodal motion makes this whole idea really all the more interesting. Usually, objects moving through the zodiac go from zero to twenty-nine degrees of any given sign. With the Nodes, it’s from twenty-nine back down through the sign TO zero. So where we’re used to the ‘personal and private’ giving way to the ‘emotionally challenging and interactive’ to the worldly ‘public’ sort of process, what the Nodes represent is a different sort of life process which starts “out there” and which through the emotional process “brings things home to us.”

And that's what made me think of pretzels. It was the quirk of the twist, the way life is engineered to move us forward as part of the process of making things more elemental which got me.

(And yes, I like pretzels. Also yes, I think life is crispy and often salty!)

Since the Nodes are calculated points, they don’t have “mass” (like planets and asteroids do). So this idea, this ‘function’ is more esoteric, more nebulous in nature than other things. I always say that if the symbol has mass, we can “retrain” ourselves and eventually form a positive habit. That doesn’t seem to be true where calculated points like Ascendants, Descendants, Midheavens, ICs, the Part of Fortune (any of the Arabic Parts, really), Black Moon Lilith and the Nodes are concerned.

All such ‘calculations’ are just what the word implies: they are ideas and concepts which we calculate the effect of and which we are right or wrong about by turns…which leads (hopefully!) to learning through both our mistakes and triumphs.

In moving over 15 Scorpio and Taurus, the Nodes are moving out of the ‘operational’ part of the 3rd and 1st quadrants into their 'provocatively personal' realms. That will ‘bring home’ results of what we have or haven’t learned through what was promoted or provoked in the world around us.

And again…this is something of an esoteric experience, for all it may have a real-time manifestation such as the getting or losing of a job, the forming or loss of relationships, business successes or disasters, and so on. All around us we’re seeing folks dealing with what their opinion of ‘right’ is against what the world’s opinion of ‘right’ is and the repercussions of same.

During the days ahead…the actual processing of the two opposing cross-quarter degrees by the Nodes, we can expect a linking of very different ideas. The North Node in 15 Scorpio speaks to guilt and where some people should feel guilty but don’t. It’s sort of a psychosocial checkpoint all about the need to deal with reality, not just what we want life (or others) to be. Meanwhile, the South Node at 15 Taurus can point to a moment of realization and recognition, when we ‘listen’ to our Self and others and realize that there is an actual growth opportunity, a process we can take advantage of.

Those who make changes now will relax and open up. They’ll be able to say ‘I understand’ and begin to remember that others may have a different point of view and that that’s not a disaster.

Far from it – they may actually have something valuable to say.

Those who make the shift will become more ‘operative’ and less about ‘digging in and holding their ground’ going forward. Those who don’t make the shift will continue attacking, sniping, being defensive and otherwise stirring up contentious confrontations where nothing of the sort needs to exist. They’ll look childish – even desperate – to some folks, and eventually (as the Nodes reach the end of their current Scorpio/Taurus traverse), they’ll peter out and be left either empty-handed or without much more to say.

Or folks who want to listen to them say it.

But that’s yet to come - next year when the Nodes cross into Libra-and-Aries. Our 'now,' is a next few weeks of the Nodes lingering at cross-quarters. And that's a time which is likely to be enlightening, even inspiring on one hand…and maybe filled with regrets and ‘why does it have to be this way?’ (or ‘why do they have to act that way?’) in the dim, even darker momentsr.

Providing we remember that the difficulties or challenges which we feel are ours – not theirs - and how their difficulties and challenges are theirs, not ours, all goes well. Or reasonably well, give or take the fact that life isn't perfect. The perfection (the theoretical 'perfectly human' part) comes in when we realize that our Nodal education - in the end - is about learning where ou responsibility ends and ‘their’ responsibility for who they are (and what ‘they’ earn or get saddled with) begins.

Is it easy? No. But it is important, especially if we want our lives to be-and-become more and more intrinsically ours and less-and-less something we feel 'mucked' with by others. So in that light...after we chew through all the reluctance will dawn the understanding that we are here to support each other, not live symbiotic live or a life in contentious alienation or isolation. We are indeed stronger together, but that relies on the unique abilities of each person to be brought to the fore.

If I love you, then I love you for being you. I don’t expect you to be me. I don’t expect you to think like I think and I don’t expect you’ll agree with all my pleasures, my treasures or my preferences. Nor do I expect myself to adore all your pleasures, your treasures or your preferences.

But if I love you…or even like you…or like the idea of getting along with you…or even just living with you on the same planet, then I have to accept that those variations and our differences have merit – an intrinsic merit and one through which I learn a measure of acceptance, the value of discordant experience and ultimately, tolerance.
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Mercury Retrogrades in Leo

 Mercury, Herse and Aglauros

by Marie Pierre Jean-Baptiste (1763)

 

Mercury entered Leo back in late June – June 26th, to be exact. That same day, it entered the shadow of its upcoming retrograde – which would be this Sunday, July 15th (at 2:17 in the morning UT/+0 time, just in case you’re into clock watching.)

Oh…and that date of Mercury’s entrance into Leo? That just happened to be the day between the dates on which Saturn and Venus each went direct.

This all bodes well for those doing something of portent. This bodes as perhaps rather problematic for those trying to stand on ego or I-Me-Mine oriented positions. Leo fosters that, if for the most understandable of reasons: nobody wants to think something they like, really believe in or have labored long and hard on is ridiculous, broken, unacceptable or otherwise being rejected for whatever reason!

With Mercury going retrograde at 12 Leo – a degree guaranteed to carry a bit of waffling Leo ‘can’t I just be proud of myself?’ those with 12 degrees of any sign are likely to be going through a little Adventure In Self Questioning sort of moment. That’s neither good nor bad in and of itself, though with Kallisto (the ‘bear of a time’) also at 12 Leo, it’s likely that nobody’s getting a free ride at the moment.

At least not an emotional ‘free’ ride.

 

This doesn’t mean that anything is truly ‘wrong.’ It’s just that the kudos and ‘atta boy’ (or ‘atta girl’) you’d really like to be getting is in most cases, not going to be forthcoming.

At least yet.

There are those who will finish something now, or who have been working towards something which by hook or crook or fate of finality ends up locking, stocking and barreling out of the gate about now. For them, this is a red letter day – and if something happens now which is a ‘turn of circumstance’ of any note, you will do well to note that note and consider it noteworthy!

For those who are working on some project OR who are busy following a course of action they are determined not to be distracted from Edisona (the ‘bright idea’) sheds a little light on your topic from 15 Leo – one of the zodiac’s cross-quarter degrees. The most frequent result of input which shows its informational face now is that you’ll need to double back or make a few adjustments based on what you learn. HOWEVER…! There are some folks who will realize that they’ve been kidding themselves. Or that they’ve been led amazingly astray.

This is one of the interesting things about Edisona – and about tracking orbits of asteroids in general. (Yes, I have a giant chart on same with all sorts of orbital numbers and distances.) When you start logging these things, you start noticing the ‘near-and-far’ patterns.

What do I mean by that?

Simply this...when Edisona is at it’s farthest from the Sun (its aphelion point) it’s closest neighbors are Juno and Scheherazade. Juno represents the kind of discipline we need to exert inside our Self in order to keep ourselves on track. It’s the sort of energetic which keeps us from believing in just any-old-thing. It’s the concept that we should look before we leap, the need to know who we’re dealing with and the soundness of that old slogan you never gamble with anything you cannot afford to lose.

On the other side of Edisona is Scheherazade, ‘the telling of the tale.’ In most instances, Scheherazade is harmless. But sometimes Scheherazade is the tale which gets sold because someone feels the truth will not get them were they want to go.

Edisona – representing ‘illumination’ on the conscious or mental level – asks us to take both ideas into regard. And that requires thinking things through…which is an obvious Mercurial quotient.

At Edisona’s inner orbital position (it’s perihelion) it is flanked by the perihelion points of Byblis (defense of the indefensible) and Lilith (emotional denial)…neither of which sound like such a ‘bright idea’ but which often enough, people resort to anyway.

In considering this, we should probably wonder where all these points are at the moment – vis a vis their orbital cycles, I mean. Lucky for us, looking such things up is pretty much of a breeze using the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) data bank and orbital image generators, from which all the following images come, with the date set for July 15, 2012.

First up, an image of Edisona in orbit:

  Edisona in orbit at July 15, 2012

Next, a reference check on where Edisona’s outer-reach (aphelion) neighbors are.

  Juno in orbit at July 15, 2012

 Scheherazade in orbit at July 15, 2012

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Finally we come to the images for Byblis and Lilith, the positions of which may well tell us whether we may be kidding ourselves, lying to others or in complete denial about what the truth of some situation really is.

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 Byblis in orbit at July 15, 2012

 Lilith in orbit at July 15, 2012

Of course this could be the other way around, you know…with all of these points (with the interesting exception of Edisona) pretty much near or at their aphelion (as far away from the Sun as they get) this could be an image of our trying to ‘offload’ responsibility.

That’s the problem with being human…just about the time you’re sure it’s all about them (or their fault) the truth appears to become some form of a lesson for us to learn about ourselves – that lesson being the offset to that ‘I’m so sure it’s them’ opinion.

Remember: we all fit into each other like yin and yang. We know people, we are attracted to people and circumstances because there is some form of ‘mirror image’ or ‘mirroring.’

 Mirror image of Tewkesbury Abbey

(photo credit: Pauline Eccles, first published by

geograph.org (UK) in July, 2009)

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With the former (the mirror image) we get either our twin, the easy agreement which can be twice as right or twice as wrong…or we can get the polarity – I say light, you say darkness and together we learn about the cycles of a day.

As for ‘mirroring,’ there is the ‘strictly psychological’ form of mirroring which involves echoing what you’ve just heard someone say either because you want to make sure you understand, because you are afraid of having some other point of view or because you are echoing what was said in order to elicit further comment.

For those of you who are into the astrology of asteroids, you’re probably saying ‘okay, so what about Echo?’ Which is valid.

But no, Echo is not at either end of its orbit either (I checked). Although… considering that at the moment of Mercury’s station asteroid Echo is sitting with Pelion and Child suggests either:

1.) much ado about children

2.) difficulties we have with accessing our ‘inner child’ (sorry, but that trite sort of phrase just works here)

…or,

3.) an act of childish nature which we are in the process of doing or more likely, have already done.

 Though we would all like to think that the 'Echo' in our

life is about someone else, since the whole of the horoscope

represents our Self, the 'Echo' we do not want to 'hear' (or

acknowledge that we have heard) is more often than not,

something we 'know' but do not want to know - which makes

any moment which summons the concept of Echo along with

that of Lilith (emotionally-based denial) an important one.

Echo by Alexandre Cabanel (1887)

 

And why is it that we’re going through all this tra-la about Edisona? Positioned at 15 Leo, Edisona is at one of the zodiacal ‘cross-quarter’ points. In this case the quadrant involved is the 2nd, indicating that matters at hand have to do with moving from a learning and ‘taking in’ phase into a phase all about applying what we think we already know in the process of learning more. That Mercury is ‘reversing course’ at 12 Leo would be one very good indicator that we still have ‘work to do’ on whatever project is now at hand…even if that project is going on vacation!

(You have heard the expression work hard, play hard, right? That’s what I’m referring to!)

Mercury will be retrograde from July 15th into the semi-wee hours of August 8th, when it will go direct just before dawn, UT/+0 time. During these weeks, we will all be examining what it takes to achieve our aims. Some of us will be having to face the idea that our choices just don’t work – at least not in current form! Leo being a very ‘headstrong’ sign, this is not a time when anyone tends to take critique all that well, though it would be a grave mistake to believe that all Leo bravado is built on fact, success or even sensibility to functionality. As one half of the Leo-Aquarius polarity, Leo is a lesson in creating for an ultimate purpose…and with the success of that ‘purpose’ being ours to propose, but not ultimately to fully define.

Let’s use an example here, taking ‘celebrity’ (a Leo concept) as our example. Pausing only to point out that in astrology celebrity is not the same as fame (celebrity is about the person and fame is about society’s appreciation of their accomplishments, achievements or creations)…anything which we purposefully ‘create,’ be that a child, an image or a product – the eventual ‘judgment’ on any one of those and its success is ultimately up to others, including people we personally will never meet.

That’s Aquarius. Aquarius is the mass of society. It’s ‘people’ not individuals. Leo polarizes into Aquarius by understanding that you can’t please all of the people all of the time and yet, we are each and every one of us dependent – at some level – on how others regard us. 

Those who, as the saying goes, ‘read their own press’ get so self-involved that eventually others are repelled. And that makes sense: to become self-involved excludes others.

Given all of this, Aquarius becomes the sign of reward for whatever we are and whatever we do which finds its place in what we might call the ‘greater marketplace of mankind.’

And that’s what Mercury in Leo is all about.

On the very-much-plus side here is that Mercury is going into retrograde in a perfected sextile to Venus – an indication that these weeks ahead can be a highly productive time. That Mercury is conjunct Kallisto on the date of its station says that we have either had a ‘bear of a time’ (Kallisto) or that we are having one…and that we probably need a ‘time out’ to think things through.

Mercury retrograde is an excellent time to think things through. It’s also good for making plans, for straightening things out, for having private conversations, for asking questions and for checking out all the possibilities before you settle on one as your choice in how to proceed.

If something comes to a head during the two days prior to Mercury going into retrograde (July 13-15) the indication is that something lies ahead which will change things. That ‘other shoe’ hasn’t yet dropped.

If something of note or import happens in the two days after Mercury goes retrograde (July 15-17), this is a further comment on something which has already taken place. Think it over…maybe you need to amend some position, attitude, choice or priority?

Mercury being trine Pallas at 10 Aries (and thus conjunct the trio of Child, Echo and Pelion discussed earlier) is yet another vote for recognition that we don’t know everything. That’s a totally neutral statement which at the moment may prove useful.

Maybe you need to admit you don’t know everything? Maybe even anything?

Do you need to admit that to yourself? To someone else?

Indecision is highly likely at this point and the smart money is on thinking, talking and investigating. 

Declarations and any other form of ‘betting on results’ is highly risky at this moment and the more that has to do with something you either want, want, want …or which you think you “should” do (societal obligation) the greater your chance of making a challenging, if not problematic choice.

Don’t let your ego get the best of you!

Oh yes…all these considerations, especially those involving risk or speculation should be doubled where money is concerned. Leo is the sign of athletics, competition and the stock market (as distinct from investments in anything solid) and all such matter are…well….something of a horse race at the moment.

 Spacecraft Messenger giving us a close-up

view of planet Mercury ( photo credit: NASA 2009)

Among astrologers, Leo retrogrades are infamous for instability in financial dealings. Some – undoubtedly – will be fine, but the name of the game now is likely to be volatility. Were there an eclipse, we’d worry giant time. As things are though, there’s just enough instability (especially with Uranus having just gone retrograde) to suggest things aren’t settled or predictable.

Take it as another form of that ‘other shoe’ thing.

With Mercury due to retrograde all the way back to 1 Leo, those who are willing to review and revise are likely to do well moving forward. This applies equally to products and life plans, so don’t be stingy – give yourself some latitude.

Mercury retrograde is a well-known headache when it comes to getting answers from people, sorting out final terms and finding exactly the right way to get anything done.

On the other hand, it’s also exactly the right time to figure out how to put the question so that it will in time get answered…and to have some idea of what you will do no matter what that answer is.

It’s a very good time to get informed on the parameters of any deal pending or in process.

It’s a good time to think ahead and work out how to get from here to there, pretty much across the board.

And for those on vacation? For you, it’s a good time to think about how pleasant it is not to have to think about anything. After all, there will be all those things which need accomplishing once you get home.

So! Stay in touch – at least with yourself! You’ll thank you for it in the end, I’m sure.

Anon and au revoir!