Venus: Gratification 2012 Station/Retrograde

  In the Meadow by Pierre Auguste Renoir (c 1890-1894)

Planet Venus goes retrograde on May 15th at 2:34 p.m., UT/+0 time. Because we give any celestial object a two-day before/two-day after ‘station window,’ that means Venus’s station effects begin on May 13th and last through May 17th, with the six weeks of Venus in retrograde stretching on beyond that.

The general ‘rule’ for celestial stations holds here: events which strike you as being of import which occur during these days can be major ‘turning points’ in life.

Those which happen prior to the start of retrograde tend to indicate things which have yet to unfold or play out.

Those which happen during the station if after the start of retrograde generally are part of something which has already happened – a consequence, a result, a response. This may or may not be the end of the matter, but if the celestial object (in this case, Venus) is already in retrograde it’s likely that nothing substantive will evolve from here until the retrograde ends – which in this case will be June 27th.

Pop astrology (which sounds like something which would have a label saying it’s ‘cosmically carbonated’…)…pop astrology refers to Venus as money and luxury and beauty and love. All of which Venus can be connected to. But the real ‘astrological Venus’ is a precept which in broad-stroke terms can probably best be described as ‘the cause/effect factor.’ Depending on the nature and quality of what we put out there…that determines the reactions others have to us. 

That ‘quality’ – and the ‘quality’ of our presentation as we put said ‘quality’ out there is the Venus of it all.

And once you have that stuffed in your brain (slid into your brain?) understanding why Venus retrograde is generally known as a touchy time becomes not all that mysterious. Any planet which goes retrograde functions within. We live here on Earth and during a retrograde, the retrograding object is falling behind in relative perspective from here on Earth - which rather readily explains why the Sun and Moon never go retrograde. (The Sun isn't going anywhere and the Moon never leaves Earth’s orbit.)

photo credit: NASA-JPL

The important thing about all of this is that we’re Earth (or earthly, if you prefer) entities. Even astronauts haven’t yet ventured away from Planet Earth to any distance. So to think of retrograde as being here on Earth and not being able to connect with the planet whose precepts are in retrograde (because it is behind the Sun) is a decent way to think about the whole thing.

In the case of Venus, Venus is all about cause – effect. So it’s pretty darn hard on us when those we are accustomed to getting reactions from suddenly are off-line.

Who does that leave us to get appreciation and applause from? Answer: ourselves. And though this doesn’t sound like much fun (and doesn’t tend to be much fun, either) what it does describe is what we might call a ‘quality control loop’ which is totally ours to own. Venus retrograde isn’t a great time to make a statement to others, no. But it’s a perfectly fine time to be thinking things through. How to do them…how would others react to this or that…what if I…how would that look or work…

It’s a good time for tinkering with projects – or with how you go about being yourself. Though the biblical verse did not say ‘a time to sulk, a time to mope…’ if the person writing that had known their astrology, they might have added this rather pragmatic line. And yes, a smattering of sulking, a pound of pouting, a measure of moping is to be expected. But those who make a decision to change their ways, to ‘fix’ themselves on the INSIDE are in a good way under Venus retrograde. It is, in short, a great time for private projects. Just remember – it’s NOT external. So this isn’t the moment to dye your hair green. This isn’t the moment to go and splurge on something fancy-schmancy for the house.

Internal. Think private and internal. 

When Mars went retrograde earlier this year, our ability to connect with the cosmic essence of ‘getting it into gear’ was missing. So though we wanted to get things done, things ‘out there in the world’ weren’t reacting. We weren’t connecting to them in any truly efficient way. I know people who made advances while Mars was in retrograde. Nearly all of them lost those advances (or finished those projects) before Mars came out of retrograde.

So did they waste Mars retrograde? Not at all. For one, the gains they made – whatever they were – those are real. What seems more in question here is whether they will have learned anything from what earned them the advantage…and garnered them whatever disadvantages they might have then encountered. A friend of mine got a job not long after Mars went retrograde – and then lost it before Mars went direct. Sure, there were a few corporate machinations which went with his being laid off, but the greater observation would be someone had to go and they decided it was him.

What he doesn’t know (unless he reads this blog, in which case I’m going to get a tout-de-suite phone call) is that he had been sufficiently ‘beaten down’ by the time Mars went into retrograde that his assertively edgy, highly Martian energy had become subdued. But the minute he was in and the paychecks started hitting his account, his less tolerant, less ‘team player’ energetics began to return.

Less team player works when you’re a freelancer (which he had been). It doesn’t work as well when you want to work corporate.

There are five ‘inner solar system’ symbols (inner here meaning inside the orbit of Earth) which we meet up with everyday: the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars and the Moon. So like Mars, Venus is something which though we think of it as being something we operate in the world, it’s personal. It therefore starts in, and with us.

As we come into Venus retrograde, some things are going along in a just plain nifty fashion…and some are probably glitchy. With Venus going retrograde in the latter part of Gemini (at 23 Gemini, to be exact), we are given to know that others are giving us feedback indicating what is and isn’t working. Venus having entered the ‘shadow’ of its retrograde back on April 11th, mental issues and ideas having arisen since that time are uppermost on our mind – this being because Gemini is an airy, theoretical sign about thought, communications, ideas…and our mentality, priorities and choices. It’s about what we’ve learned and whether we use what we know.

And why would it be about all such things? So that we LEARN, people! (Oy, I feel like such a mother…!)(maybe a muthah, not sure…)

Whatever isn’t working now…you’re likely to project. You may think it’s ‘about them’ or ‘their fault.’ You may well think you’ve been rejected or forgotten or discarded, even if that’s not even vaguely on the other guy’s mental radar. (Unless they’re thinking the same about you, of course!)

Under Venus retrograde in general finances tend to be an issue. Either they’re being discussed, harped on or in a scramble, or they may be a source of difficulty. Any or all of these are really less about the money per se than they are about you and either your mindset about money…or what you’re doing/not doing to earn it or keep it. There are those who simply think there can never be enough money. Then again, there are those who have ‘decided’ there is only one thing they can do to earn money. Or that they ‘can’t get a job.

All of these things are not about the money itself – they’re about your thinking. And from that point of view, Venus retrograde is a simply splendid time, as it’s a premier indicator when it comes to thinking over what we’re going to do with our lives which is of value…and which therefore can cause the effect we want – in this case, income.

A lot of people are changing jobs. A lot of people don’t have jobs. But of those who do have jobs (even careers – didn’t mean to leave you out!) there are many people who got into their ‘chosen’ career for the wrong reasons. In other words, they’re not happy doing what they’re doing.

Is life ever long enough to be doing something we really don’t like doing for a lifetime?

I know perfectly bright people (even a few brilliant people) who when I point out how unhappy they are with their current job they reply ‘but that’s all I know how to do.’ Really? When was it that smart people got so dim about their capacity.

Or maybe it’s not really that? Once we get into a field of endeavor, we not only get comfortably secure with the pluses and minuses of everyday life…but we also begin building a reputation. I submit to you that this may be the real problem with bright people who “can’t” change fields of endeavor: the thought of going back to being a small(er) fish in a big(ger) pond…well, maybe it terrifies them.

A long time ago now, someone not intending to be kind to me at all said a very true thing. He said ‘most people would rather sit there being miserable with what they know than risk standing up and making a difference in their own life.’

Several months after he said that (and trust me, I quit my job that day then broke up with him that very evening!)…master astrologer Robert Zoller said just about the same thing. I paraphrase here, but basically what he said was that a horoscope is ‘fate’ only because most people won’t exert the effort to turn ‘fate’ into free will.

At some level, effort equals risk. What we risk is the known – and that is our status quo: our Venus. The effort and risky part of risk – that’s Mars. Together they create the friction which results in growth, sex, pleasure and the deliciously scary part of life’s adventures, life’s risks.

It’s worth noting that Venus and Mars also do go retrograde pretty much in pairs. This year Mars went first, retrograding in Virgo (functionality: how well is your life working?) and now Venus is going retrograde in Gemini, asking us what’s worth putting that (Mars) effort into?

 Mars, Venus and Amor by Titian (c 1530)

 

Those who make ‘course corrections’ and ‘fine tunings’ of their plans (or total jettisoning of old plans in favor of new plans) will over the next two years, build on the basis of what they learn or recognize now. Come 2014, Venus will go retrograde first. It’ll be going retrograde in Capricorn, which suggests it’s at that point when we’ll either see and reap the success planted here in 2012 or…given that Mars is going retrograde in 2014 in Libra (our relationship to our world) we’ll be hit with personal-feeling, very frustrating shortfalls and an ever-increasing sense of lack of personal fulfillment.

Another useful idea to ponder when we talk about the ‘personal’ symbols (Sun, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Moon) is that while they are pozzolutely personal, they’re also personal for everybody. So while we need to think in terms of ourselves, we do ourselves a favor by remembering that everyone else has a life and feelings and hopes and aims as well. They may not process problems at the same level we do, but their problems are real to them, nonetheless – and they don’t always function the way we think they will.

Yet another friend…a well-to-do, highly trained medical professional - he and I had an interesting conversations a while ago. It was about hunger. I’ve been hungry in my time, and knowing his history, I pointed out his never having been there.

His reply: no, I’ve never been hungry. But some of my patients are hungry and I sometimes try to imagine what that’s like.

First of all, I wish hunger on nobody. But more than that, I realized that his well-heeled, fortuitous upbringing had blessed him materially without giving him the slightest bit of ability to recognize the value of what he’s got. That lack of having ‘gone without’ limits his ability to be satisfied – and satisfaction (along with security) is the Taurean hallmark and very much connected with Venus (ruler of Taurus and Libra).

It even limits his ability to connect with his patients. 

Back in my early days I went to some doctor’s office and he walked in holding a bowl of cherries. Want some? Seasoned by his many years in practice, he sat down and we had our medical conversation over that shared bowl of cherries. Years and years later I realized that those cherries – like all gestures of shared food open a door to humanness.

And I came to think that particularly useful in a doctor, since they're all about humanness. Someday I may go back into that office of the younger doctor and have him offer me an apple or an orange. You never know - life teaches us how to value ourselves, others, each other and what we have to share at the oddest of times.

 Foods by US Department of Agriculture

 

Not shockingly, food is a Taurean – and therefore Venusian – commodity. The necessities of life, that we need to sustain us, give us a modicum of security, those things are Venusian.

Value (the value of something), our values, our ability to evaluate and valuing other - they're all Venusian. The equating of something or someone (or some idea) with some value we hold - that's the Libra side of Venus, and thus something which we think about now and realize we've done well with or need to learn more about come Mars' 2014 retrograde.

Being valued - the more familiar side of Venus (that we link to love and beauty) is where Venus' two signs of rulership come together. Those who think beauty is the do-all, be all, let's  try that out through Venus as Aphrodite concept. If goddess Aphrodite is gorgeous but a bitch, is she still beautiful? Do you still like her, are you still attracted to her if her every desire is selfish, if her every word is caustic?

I’m going to guess the answer is ‘no.’ And the reason for that would be her causal dynamic is faulty.

This is where the cause-effect thing becomes our Taurus reality. Rejection hurts not because someone doesn't like us, but because their not liking us or not giving us that job or not liking our sense of humor - that somehow strikes us down deep inside. It hits our internal sense of beauty - the 'am I okay?' spot. That's generally called security...but only when security meets up with our having values and satisfying the standards set by our own values do we achieve satisfaction: the Taurean gold standard.

Gemini is the sign after Taurus. Venus going retrograde in the sign after its own home sign tells us we're going to be thinking about our value, our values, our worth - and what do to with them going forward. With Venus in an exact semi-sextile to Jupiter and in trine to Saturn (which puts Saturn in an inconjunct to Jupiter), things aren't as we want them to be. Maybe even as we need to them to be. We don't know what's wrong but something is. Or maybe we know what's wrong but don't know how to fix it. Or we don't want to have to fix it.

Part of the 'why's' here involve what we value. Part of the 'why' is what we're doing with our mental (Gemini) resources - those things which are valuable. With Sun conjunct Jupiter just as this station begins, we're probably a bit myopic about things. Some us will need time to sort something out...and some will need some part of Venus' six weeks in retrograde for 'gaining perspective' purposes.

If the image of Venus (Aphrodite's) beauty can be sullied by what's inside, then so can ours. Where our lives are ragged or jagged are where we can make real gains and come to feel better about ourselves by thinking things through and doing some re-evaluating.

Maybe there's more we can do. Or something we need to be brave enough to try. Or some reason we don't like our Self which needs coming to terms with.

It's to think about...and over the next six weeks, we'll probably all be doing some thinking!

.

April 2012: Mars direct / Pluto retrograde

Mars has been sitting around for a couple of months, but no more!

(Carl VanVechten sitting in front of the figure of Mars god of War)

Here’s the simple form of the thing: Pluto is going retrograde on April 10th (at 10:12am UT/+0) and Mars is going direct on April 14th at 3:54 am (UT/+0).

Pluto will do it’s turnabout at 9 Capricorn and Mars will take its station at 3 Virgo.

This becomes more important as we consider that these two planets (or planet-and-dwarf-planet, if you want to be picky about it)…together, these are the modern co-rulers of Scorpio.

AND….Scorpio would be the sign that sits mid-point to this week’s double-station event.

There are as many ways for this to manifest in lives as (yes, I’m going to say it) there are stars in the sky. But some things are constant here – which is why this blog seems well worth posting.

Known for its attention to detail (speaking of picky…) Virgo is really about the refining of the process. Being the second of the zodiac’s three earth signs, there’s a Virgo quality which is implicitly about ‘getting it done’ and how we get it done.

Lore on the degree Mars will station in (3 Virgo) speaks to the difficulties we encounter and persevering despite all. There’s a strength indicated by this degree which may suggest taking on tasks (or ideas or methodologies) which you have long resisted or not wanted to tackle the implementation of. Mars certainly is a pro-active symbol, so don’t be surprised if this week finds you gearing up for something. Or maybe you’ll find the way to get something done.

Those who resist doing anything (especially in areas where Virgo’s association with ‘quality’ is hindered) may well find that situations prompt (force?) them to look at things in a new, different and perhaps more critical light.

 A medieval imaging of Virgo, which says not a lot

about the Virgoan quality of being able to provide

or leave us destitute for not having done 'the 

required work.'

Meanwhile, we also have Pluto going retrograde. That it’s doing so at 9 Capricorn and conjunct Facies brings home the question of how wise we are and have been in our choices, with Facies adding a highly ‘provocational’ touch. What this amounts to is the need to do things wisely…lest you get called on your lack of native wisdom.

And if you do get called on having been clueless (purposefully or innately), your first instinct is likely to be to get all hurt.

This gets us back to the Mars/Pluto combination as the co-rulers of Scorpio. Yes, Scorpio is known as the sign of sex and inheritances, taxes, power, investments (of time, money, emotions…etc.) and so on. But the crux of Scorpio is really our pitting ourselves against our Self. Mars here indicates the proactive choice we’ve made to do something or not do something, and Pluto refers to how we feel about how things work out.

Because Scorpio is by nature an interactive sign, we generally tend to love ‘them’ or blame ‘them’ depending on how things have worked out. But they didn’t do OUR choosing – we did. And that’s the eternal Scorpio point. Scorpio is the polarity sign to Taurus and Taurus is all about self worth and our abilities – or ‘ability to be who we are’ (or are capable of being). In Scorpio, Taurus’ native attributes are tested.

As Mars goes direct (after several very long months of our feeling rather like life has us on some very bizarre treadmill), Mars stands conjunct Regulus, Hebe, Orcus, Arachne, Psyche, Polyhymnia, Thuban and Medea.

Got that?

Of course not! Who would, right? Fine...let’s go through it a little more slowly.

REGULUS: Regulus is one of the Royal Stars of Persia. All of the Royal Stars promise success IF we avoid a particular human no-no, which in this case is the temptation to wreak vengeance. So it’s okay to state your case this week, but the idea of declaring all-out war will probably not bring you any victories.

(Note to the wise here: Pluto’s instruction kit comes with a notice which says ‘when using your Pluto, state your case once – clearly – then HUSH UP’)

This is a good thing to remember when you’re in any sort of power struggle. Debating should be a college sport, not a way of life. (Unless you’re a trial lawyer or something like that, of course!)

 Hebe - by Francisco Javier Ramos y Albertos (1784)

HEBE: This asks us what we can do (Virgo) to make things better. Technically, Hebe is the cup bearer to the gods of Olympus, and in that cup is the drink of immortality, ambrosia. So Hebe is not just about serving the drink, but about providing that which preserves, protects and – considering Hebe is in Virgo - makes things healthier, more effective, more efficient and maybe above all, moral in the sense that whatever we do can ‘pass muster’ and stand the test of time and criticism.

ORCUS: TNO Orcus is – in a word – a symbol of ‘consequences.’ Whenever we see Orcus in an astrological figure, we know we are talking about something which cannot be ‘undone.’ You may have “done it” or it may simply have happened – or someone else may have done something or made some decision. The Orcus touch here conjunct Mars going direct suggests needing to ‘respond’ to something.

ARACHNEArachne is the symbolic idea of something you are entangled in. But as always, such symbols go both ways – so this may pertain to something (or someone!) you’re trying to ‘tie up in knots’ or render helpless.

Considering that Arachne is pictured here in Virgo, the stakes are realistic: this is something ‘real’ going on (or at stake). And with Arachne positioned between Orcus and Psyche (the mind) it’s very likely that its something very real, the thought of which (or the thought of trying to deal with) is tying up your mind.

And let’s remember…asteroid PSYCHE is very large asteroid.  Estimated to be 200km across and of sufficient mass to comprise 1% of the entire asteroid belt, Psyche’s presence in this kind of lineup is the signal that whatever is in the works requires your attention. We have to ‘put our mind to’ whatever this ‘entangling’ (Arachne) situation is.

POLYHYMNIA: One of the fabled Greek Muses, Polyhymnia speaks to the longing for beauty and the requirement that we reflect on things to get the most out of our life.

And you thought you didn’t have to think about things now? Apparently ‘thinking’ (and reflecting) on who we are (Psyche), what we do (Mars) and how well we do it (Virgo) is absolutely ‘of the moment.’

THUBAN: Thuban is a fixed star which refers to something we treasure – or which is worth treasuring. This ‘thing’ can be material…or spiritual, depending. 

Once out of retrograde, Mars won’t cross Thuban’s position until May 10th, though the emphasis on ‘what’s valuable to me’ may well arise at Mars’ April 14th station.

Of course…speaking of stations, let’s also remember that all planetary stations get a two-day before, two-day after ‘station window.’ So Pluto is ‘on station’ from April 8 through 12 (going retrograde on the 10th) and Mars is on station from April 12th through 16 (going direct on the 14th).

Yes, there’s an overlap. April 12th is likely to be an interesting day in many a life. Whether it’s good or bad depends on how well things have been working (or you have been working) coming into this time.

Medea by Henri Klagmann

 

The last symbol in this lineup is MEDEA, an asteroid which summons up the famous story about loving something and being so focused on your own investment in that ‘thing’ you so treasure or long for that you end up undermining yourself. Or, in Virgo, what you need to do – your responsibilities, perhaps? Maybe even your health? (We’ll hope not!) Or your moral or positive standing on some subject or in some field of effort?

Seeing that Mars makes its turn to direct in opposition to Neptune, Bali and Fomalhaut, it’s to be expected that those who have been kidding themselves (Neptune) and dancing with dreams which are in reality immoral at any level…they’re about to hit an iceberg with the name ‘Titanic’ etched on the side.

As I write (a bit belatedly) on Monday the 9th (as Pluto is about to go direct, I’ve just heard of a fourth legal action among people that I know. All of those legal actions have to do with standing up and saying ‘now wait a minute…’ to people who have tried to slide by or fluff off responsibility for doing things correctly. Effectively. In an ethical and above-board, crossing-the-‘t’ manner.

The legal system per se is not at stake here. What’s being discussed (or contested) is the use of power on someone’s part. That’s Scorpio. Scorpio energies work well ONLY when everyone is equally satisfied. When that doesn’t happen, especially when one person has pleased themselves at someone else’s expense, Scorpio stops being the high flying eagle and zooms right past gray lizard stage, becoming the sting of the scorpion.

All of this is to say this week is likely to be more than feisty, more than interesting and more than thought-provoking. Those who need to stand up for their rights should do so, but are advised to do it CALMLY. No flame-throwing, no dropping houses on anyone (even if it is tornado season in the U.S.!). If you must state your case, do it Plutonically: know your facts, state you position with clarity, then hush up! Let the froth fly. Let others do their thing.

Just wait for the answer.

That’s the point here. Situations which have arisen are not about ‘them’ – they’re about us. The ‘winning’ or ‘losing’ here isn’t about gain or loss, it’s about learning who we are…and maybe who we aren’t. Those we are most polarized by now are provoking our reactions and pushing our buttons, yes. But let’s remember…those are OUR buttons and reactions and people being as human as they are, we attract such folks to us just so that we can learn more about ourselves.

Annoying? Maybe.

Useful? Ultimately.

Could it be easier? Evidently not.

Have a good week then…and remember to look in the mirror now and again. It really isn't about 'them.' Everything which is happening is happening to us for a reason: so we can grow.

Pluto station-retrogrades in the Face of Facies

 Hades (Pluto) - by Agostino Carracci (1592)

It’s a deep and far-reaching concept that Pluto would go retrograde at 7 Capricorn…and not just in the sense of how much emphasis that puts on a degree known for jealousy, owned and projected. There’s a definite stress associated with 7 Capricorn. It tends to  surfaces in and through relationships where one party covets a level of attachment to something or  someone which is purely in, and of their mind.

Pluto taking station at 7 Capricorn spells a moment either of ‘outcome’ – the result of such an obsession – or the revelation that such an obsession existed, and maybe why.

Where it is exposed, there will be a cost. Where it is eliminated, there will be a reckoning with the Capricorn ‘structures of enduring structures’ – or one’s ability to have faith that any “such structure” can viably exist.

In exact opposition to this position – at 7 Cancer – is a fixed star named Mirzam. Known in ancient times as ‘the Announcer,’ Mirzam represents the ‘bringing of information’ which may be vital…and yet which may also be the very revelation we’ve just discussed: that the thing which has been obsessed about is either not what you think it is, not worth the effort, or not anything you would want, given what it’s shown up to be in the hard light of honest reality.

The opposition here would also seem to underscore the possibility of learning that we’ve been played. Even outplayed. How we may even have been not dealt with as real…but rather as a pawn in someone’s personal fantasy which in the end was all about them.

To make this all a little more curious is the fact that Pluto is going retrograde at 7 Capricorn, just shy of a fixed star named Facies at 8 Capricorn – a degree known for an aloofness which in human terms can either grant great perspective or describe a painful indifference to others which in extremes could be highly problematic.

Facies is not actually a fixed star, though it tends to be classed as such in astrological lists. Astronomically, it’s a nebula – a “messier,” number 22, to be exact.

Facies, also known as Messier 22

photo credit: Hewholooks (June 2009, photo cropped to center)

To those into numbers, 22 is an interesting one – an extenuation of bridge number 11 which marks the transition between the common perspective on our own individual life and the ability to see all of life from a higher perspective. By implication, 22 (as in: 2 x 11 = 22) is the duality of 11, implying the seeing of all life from ‘out there’ – which is quite in keeping with the ‘removed’ quality of Facies.

Known as a perpetrator of violence or the victim of same (and disturbingly, sometimes both), connections to Facies stir up energies ruthless and/or aggressive; symbols within 5 degrees of this position, especially if challenged by difficult aspects, often describe exposure to, or an ability to be a source of all such qualities – voiced through that position or point of the chart.

And let’s remember: all points exist in all charts. Facies is obviously not our most pleasant energy, but we do far better to own and acknowledge it than not. I’ve known people who embodied it and people whose charts showed them in total denial of this energy – to the point that you try to talk to them about violence in this world and they’ll get angry at you for doing so, shutting anyone down with all the ruthlessness of Facies.

Remember, this is not a star, this is a nebula: a whole group of stars – one described as being at a ‘bulge’ in the Milky Way’s galactic organization.

Cropped from a larger NASA diagram - M22 (Facies) and our

own Sun as part of the Milky Way

image credit: NASA 

Messier 22 is also one of but a few nebula which have already been identified containing planets. There’s also the idea that 32 of its stars have also been identified as variable – meaning their light waxes and wanes on a cyclic basis. This would be in keeping with the fact that not even the worst of all human monsters is a monster in every moment of the day.

And yes, that’s what makes them sometimes so much more disturbing…that nice person next door who waves at you while trimming the roses, even those you think you know dearest and nearest…

…who among us really knows anyone else?

This seems to be somewhat behind Facies’ quality. There is an issue almost of betrayal with this energy –a ‘right’ to do what one wants to do because if you can’t know anything for real, what’s the point?

So Pluto is going retrograde right in the face of Facies. Certainly a 1 degree orb is enough to ‘elicit’ Facies energies.

Anything else we need to know?

(Like that’s not enough?)

Well, sure. For one, Pluto goes retrograde at 7 Capricorn, creating, exacerbating or obliterating all that jealousy stuff. 7 Capricorn is all about the need to learn detachment. 8 Capricorn (Facies) has too much.

It’s a teeter-totter.

Pluto will be in retrograde until mid-September (2011). When it goes direct, it will be at 4 Capricorn, meaning it will cross 5 Capricorn – the degree it went retrograde at back in April 2010 – come October-into-November 2011.

If you’re someone whose life made a great turn back in April 2010, this is something to pay attention to; that process has not yet reached its conclusion.

As for 8 Capricorn, Pluto will enter that degree in the latter part of January, 2012 and given retrograde patterns not be done transiting Facies/8 Capricorn until September, 2013.

This all may be a clue about what our future holds. There’s so much turmoil in our world…some is an out-and-out bloodbath, some is political, some is human-caused or simply natural.

There are world wars, and there is the idea that the world could be at war with itself. We may learn a lot about this – and the difference between these two ideas – during the period when Pluto is transiting 8 Capricorn.

But that isn’t now. Right now Pluto is going retrograde 8:49am (UT/+0) at a position which is going to be opposed by this July's Solar Eclipse at 9 Cancer.

That makes this moment look like an opportunity - or a warning, depending on how we use it.

Of course to use it will, we'll have to come face to face which who we really are - as people. And that’s often the hardest thing any of us ever do.

And thus, what we are most tempted to avoid.

Saturn goes Retrograde: The Rock, the Hurt and the Harm of Convenience

 Artists's rendition of a Huygens probe floating in a methane-ethane

lake on Titan, with parent planet Saturn looming above the horizon

image credit: NASA's Cassini-Huygens collection

Let’s just start with a freeze-dried version of the basic concept here: Saturn goes retrograde at 17 Libra on January 26 at 6:11am (UT/+0).

And Saturn will continue to be in retrograde until it goes direct on June 13 at 3:52am (UT/+0).

What a nice long time to have a nice long Saturn nice time of it!

Or maybe...not so much?

What exactly does this whole 'Saturn going retrograde' mean? And why would this Saturn retrograde adventure be any different than any other Saturn retrograde adventure? After all, don't all the major planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and...well, give or take being a dwarf planet, Pluto) - don't they all go retrograde once a year?

The answer to that is yes. But seeing that the universe (ergo, our solar system) is not a static thing, every moment in (Saturn) time and thus certainly every station and every year's retrograde is different.

Entirely different.

But let's start at the beginning, taking that very first announcement as the simple statement it is: Saturn goes retrograde at 17 Libra on January 26 at 6:11am (UT/+0).

For those of you who know and love grammar, the subject of that sentence is Saturn. As a matter of fact, the subject of the sentence is Saturn even if you don't like grammar!

The point is, all things apply to Saturnine principles in this moment.

The verb here is the 'going retrograde' part. That’s an  indicator: what happens now (and for a wee bit shy of  five months yet to come) is the examining of Self in Saturn detail, the challenging of Self in Saturnine style, and the growing and developing of our capacity as that pertains to creating a world (personal and general) that is lasting, workable and practical. Or at least pragmatic. And possible. And acceptable. And structurally sound.

Because Saturn is going retrograde all this starts on the inside. So we can challenge ourselves to grow, develop, get over ourselves and get to doing what we should do...or we can figure on life presenting us with situations, events, puzzles and relationships which cause us to be challenged at some very internal, personal Saturnine level.

That would be the good ol' basics here. Anything we add to that is a modifying clause - the lettuce and tomato on the burger...the chocolate sauce on the ice cream.

But looking at the list...? Well, it is quite the list! So let's go for the ice cream concept and say we're just having a heaping helping of sprinkles. LOTS of sprinkles!

(And not to worry - in the planetary world, extra aspects don't add calories. Asteroids don't go to you....well, never mind - you get the point!)

So here's the list - and thus the real un-freeze-dried version of the original sentence:

Saturn will go retrograde at 17 Libra on January 26 at 6:11am (UT/+0) in conjunction with Drakonia (at 17 Libra) and Haumea (at 18 Libra) while in opposition to Eris, Tantalus and Dionysus (at 21 and 20 Aries, respectively)...all as Eurydike enters Pisces, Hera enters Aries, Lust enters Aries…and with Medea going direct a few hours later at 12 Gemini.

Does this sound like a waltz in the park to you? At the very least it’s a complicated dance number. Much choreography and intricate movement involved...lots of attention needing to be paid to not swinging one’s arms and hitting someone else in the nose!

You know, the simple matter of exotica.

Okay…now since I don’t want to repeat all of the last blog, let’s just pay lip service to Saturn being a symbol of working for achievement, earning and/or the concept of walls as things which can limit, things which can support (say, a roof) or things which can for plus or minus protect us from stuff…out there (wherever ‘out there’ may be).

Libra, which is so often so annoyingly (to me) talked about as a sign of romance and marriage partners when it’s really about personal OR professional relationships and our ability to relate without any emotional intimacy implied…

Yes, you heard me – Libra is not about romance. At least not romance as I conceive of it, meaning emotionality. Libra is an air sign. It may thus be the idea of romance, but it’s not true intimacy. So if you’re someone who has this whole ‘romantic notion’ about love and SOs (Significant Others) in your head, Libra may be your idea of romance.

Then again, that may be why so many marriages fail – which also works, since Libra is the sign of ‘open enemies’ and lawyers.

Anyway, Libra isn’t about romance per se, but it is about relationships and our ability to relate. With Saturn in Libra, our concepts of same, our ability to relate and how we go about relating to others and our world is going through a Saturnine, slow-motion examination. (And for some, an exhumation, but let’s not go there!)

Saturn symbolizes ‘that which we earn we shall in time, achieve’ to the nth degree. It also symbolizes how that which we try and get away with (or avoid) ends up biting us in some fleshy part of our anatomy.

That Saturn is going direct at 17 Libra adds a note of ‘theoretical emotionality,’ whether that’s conviction about something, enthusiasm for something or objection to some idea. This is ‘a meeting of the minds’ or a clash of ideas, ideals or priorities. At it’s best it’s an agreement to disagree or a willingness to negotiate.

But don’t be too sure about that ‘willingness’ thing. Not even mentioned in the list above is the fact that at the moment of this change of direction the Moon has entered Scorpio, a sign which asks us to find solutions which take everyone’s needs into account but which tends to (unfortunately!) be our desires to have our own way.

And if you look at this – a chart of the station…

Saturn's January 2011 station 

(Aries wheel/location not specific)

….you may well notice the Grand Trine (in green) with two light blue sextiles reaching up towards the top of the chart. It’s a ‘planetary picture’ called a kite. And with kites, it’s the tail which guides the kite.

That ‘tail’ is the south node at the bottom of the chart. And since South Nodes are about ‘the easy way out’ and what with this one being in Moon-ruled Cancer, we end up back at that Scorpio Moon. 

But it could be okay, you say. 

Uh, yes, I reply. It could, but it probably won’t. Did you happen to notice that this Scorpio Moon is conjunct Niobe?

I get called down fairly regularly for being an astrological pessimist when what I’m doing is simply reading the celestial signs. What’s wrong with being realistic (she said in her most cranky voice)? Given that Niobe is the pride which precedes getting shot down, though this (yes) could be calling others on their bad or irrational or selfish behavior, let’s be real! The likelihood is that this is pride challenging us all to be more inclusive, more charitable, more caring about the emotional needs and points of views being expressed by others…but the reality is that this it’s highly, highly unlikely that those – particularly those in who have the Scorpio power (or power over money, sex or convention) in hand – it’s really unlikely they’re going to do whatever the “hard” or “unpopular” thing is. That would be the Moon ruling the South Node part.

And yet….and yet and yet and yet….The North Node, the ‘highest’ form of this figure is in Capricorn. And we are talking about a Saturn (ruler of Capricorn) station. So maybe some people will actually do the hard (North Node) thing, come what may.

Maybe. I’m not betting any mental pizza on it…but maybe.

So back to that list. With Saturn going retrograde conjunct Drakonia, the question is who is the player and who is being played? With Haumea at 18 Libra add in ‘shape shifting’ in order to get one’s way.

Is that you or someone else? And if it is you, did you play yourself or someone else? Maybe even both?

The opposition to Eris (discord), Tantalus (temptation) and Dionysus (sacred celebration) gives us a whole aura of that which is sacrosanct…which casts all sorts of questions into the fog.

 Dionysus - a 2nd century statue (Louvre, Paris)

Taken together, this is is a big giant mish-mosh of ‘what’s right? what’s wrong’ which is complicated by personal desires and (like as not) personal alliances….which….well, are they real? Are they an ‘alliance of convenience’ and dare you pay the price for that?

A lot of these questions will ultimately only be answered once Saturn comes out of retrograde this June. But the road we choose now – that definitely defines how smooth or rocky the path between here and there is going to be. And since this is Saturn – what the price for said choice is or isn’t going to ultimately be.

Personally, as I think this celestial equation through, I keep coming back to that Nodal issue with the easy way out being the Scorpio Moon. Considering Scorpio is debt, that says it’s easier to take on debt than pay it off.

Following a different cosmic chain – that which has Saturn’s position in Libra ruled by Venus and Venus in Sagittarius leading then to Jupiter in Aries and ultimately Mars/Sun/Sappho/Hel in early Aquarius, there’s a whole Aquarian and rather ‘group’ or ‘societal’ flavor to this station which would seem to be either the difficulty of majority rule or the difficulty being experienced by the greater group (or the economy OR the masses)…or that there’s simply universal (Sappho) Hel to pay which is coming from one of those arenas.

 Sappho embracing her lyre by Jules Elie Delaunay

What you may not know about this post is that it’s being written way far in advance of the actual date. Good astrology should be able to be read right off the charts, with no current news bulletins involved. So when I say my non-Sherlockian-trained instincts of deduction take me back to the South Node/Scorpio Moon/Niobe thing, especially seeing as the outcome ruler of Scorpio (Pluto) is sitting in Capricorn just out of orb to the North Node tells me that there has already been some emotional upheaval. North Node at 0 Capricorn (a whole other message we’ll get to in a moment) and Pluto at 6 Capricorn says that six months ago the ‘society’ took a turn.

Six months ago was late August. August 2010 saw fires in Russia, Bolivia and Canada, devastating floods in Pakistan, an oil spill in China, political scandals in Denmark, Italy and the Philippines, BP getting the Deepwater Horizon well sealed, and swelling debt and economic destabilization prompting labor unrest in China, President Obama’s signing of a bill to help US States and Europe dealing with debt and (in paritcular) the further  destabilization of an already overstressed Greece.

Choose your subject – it wasn’t a pretty global month and everywhere you go this would seem to be a playing out of what happened then, whether it’s dealing with death (Scorpio) of citizens (Cancer), national (Cancer) or systemic (Aquarian) debt (Scorpio) – or the Deepwater Horizon rig blowout, which has been blogged about ad nauseum and which fits this picture pretty darn well, right down to the kite, which in having the Nodes lined up vertically is a great picture of oil drilling.

A metaphysical picture, of course.

With Eurydike entering Pisces…well, I’m not sure what to say. The mythic Eurydike martyrs herself for her lover who then can’t save her because he’s either too curious or too insecure to proverbially resist opening the oven door to see if the soufflé is actually puffing up. Of course the minute you open the door, the soufflé collapses.

Talk about your self-fulfilling prophesies! Yet that could be one of the flavors of the moment; Eurydike entering Pisces is a terribly plaintive cry of agony which would apparently be because one can’t deal with their own (bad) choices (...which strikes me as somewhere between ‘eeewwww!’ and ‘ouch!’).

Hera (internal emotional guidance) entering Aries is a pointed directive to care for our human selves and all that we hold as human about ourselves. With Lust (focus) also entering Aries, this could be some being so focused on themselves and what they want that everyone else in the area is left to fend for their own needs…or it could be a very natural (re)determination to take on what one really needs to do: I guess no one else is going to help me, so I ‘d better help myself! 

The kicker is this Medea going direct in Gemini a few hours later. Tricky, tricky….

Medea by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (1868)

Medea’s story has her using her powers as a sorceress to help her lover Jason. She will do all and anything to save him...help him...to shower him with advantages, fair or not.

Anything!

This is a woman who would even murder her own children to be with Jason, to have him, to be able to love him.

And yet...there's this one little problem:Jason's not quite as much in love with Medea.

Thus it's rather predictable (especially since this is a Greek myth) that we come to an end of the story where Medea is...betrayed. (read: dumped)

But the real issue is not that she loved the wrong guy, but that the very power of her love for someone, in the end, destroyed her.

(I think I’m now voting for the ‘ouch’ outcome.)

Taken all together, this is a rather grand set of ruffles atop the basic Saturn-going-retrograde concept. For various reasons, we had all better get more realistic about now just what we do in life or how we handle life, but what we expect out of life.

This is about proportions, not ability. This is a picture of the grandiose on all sides being unrealistic. It applies up and down the line – from among the high and mighty to in the souls of the meagerly provided for and ignored.

Saturn is perhaps the greatest symbol of ‘leveling’ we have. And in Libra, we can get leveled, be on the level or get more level headed. All this starts with and within ourselves, no question. But it’s also about what we’re willing to work for, the reality of our standards and life and the world all around us.

Pass the pizza, please. I need to have a serious think. And yes, a slice of something before I face all that ice cream and all those scads and mounts of sprinkles.

Did I mention that Saturn is known for not just durability, but cold?

See you around the old cosmic sundae!