Dateblog: January 2015

January 2015 by Sign

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In terms of personal planets (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars), January 2015 begins with three of the five (and we really shouldn't count the Moon in this discussion as the Moon changes signs about every couple of days) in Capricorn - a sign known for looking ahead and working to carry out plans ... and alternately, for loses (often of stature or reputation) and the reality of life's consequences and world/worldly responses - either for what we've done prior to now or what we're in the throws of doing (or trying to do) now.

By January 4th, that 'solidity' of thrust ... that's going to begin to change. It may not be obvious or evident in any giant way, but as Venus and Mercury move into Aquarius (with Mars already in Aquarius) the emphasis (and thus our mental space) is going to stop being so absorbed by or focused on hard facts and more prone to considering (read: zeroing in on) and responding to things as being relative to other issues, matters and details - much of which is going to be  basically pertaining to those eternal things which form the basis for our life: home, family, mortality ... the land, sea and sky, and all which comes from, or abides in any such location.

Just keep thinking 'basics.'

That shift (the shift in thinking and focus) is going to alter the flow of things. Mars in Aquarius - in pragmatic terms - often represents the motivation to get something done on a broadly unified scale even as it tends to impact, fragment and break apart that which may still be cohesive, but which no longer serves a positive function in that state ... which makes what's going to happen now in many ways dependent on what  what we have come into this period doing, feeling, and being motivated by. With Pluto having just entered the shadow of its 2015 cycle there are things which are going to change or be transformed - some of which at least are going to reflect Pluto's ongoing approach to fixed star Vega, charisma's star. That Pluto isn't going to conjunct Vega (exactly) during 2015 is actually a sign that more and more is going to change and that many of the things we have been 'enchanted' or moved by in times or years past are on the move. They're going to change - and no one can stop that change, insistent though they may be.

For the Mercury watchers (that would be most of us) there's another interesting note to attach to this Mercury-entering-Aquarius moment ... namely that as Mercury enters Aquarius (Venus having already done so), that's also the same date that Mercury will be entering its retrograde shadow as the Mercury retrograde which begins on January 21st (UT/+0) at 17 Aquarius will in time back down to 1 Aquarius - and from 0 to 1 degrees (the movement of one degree) is something Mercury does rather swiftly.

The net of this takes us back to that 'subtle shift' of attitude, 'vibe' or perspective mentioned in terms of Venus and Mercury exiting Capricorn in the sense that though there is a tendency for much of the world to hit the ground running on January 2nd (even if the Orthodox Church hasn't yet celebrated Christmas, meaning their holiday season isn't over yet!) ... that this year that 'hitting the ground running' is going to be colored or affected by the fact that pretty much the whole of January 2015 is going to be a 'hurry up so we can slow down' (or stop) exercise which will manifest in any of a billion ways, hastening and hustling us through the first couple of weeks so that come the 21st, we know what we're attending to.

Or at least waiting for. (At least that's the thought.)

 January 2015 by Element

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And it's not like we're likely to be entirely unjustified. Looking at the month by element, both planets most associated with the rise and fall of lives, regimes, religions and plans in general (Jupiter and Saturn) are now both in fire signs. Added to that, Uranus is also in a fire sign, and since all three planets are in separate signs, what we have implied here is a grand trine (ongoing and virtually immutable) flow of energies which we will be living with until Jupiter exits Leo this coming August, describing a period of time where we can change things and change our approach to life (our 'relationship' to our world) ... or we can have our world thrust change upon us.

(Take your pick.)

That Uranus is going to perfect its conjunction to the lunar South Node this month promises fractious relationships, startling news/events and a number of personal breakthroughs - some of which may be fairly breathtaking (though what that means is individual - some people gasp long before others do!) ... and that it will do as Uranus - which is now in direct motion - is going to be beginning to "close in" on slower-moving Pluto in anticipation of perfecting the Uranus-Pluto square which has been with us now for quite a while symbolizing eruptions of uncontrollable, transpersonal events which are quite literally changing our world.

That square won't perfect until mid-March. But let's just say that the closer we get to Uranus perfecting its conjunction to the lunar South Node (which occurs on January 19th), the more flexing and innovative thinking is going to be called for not just in external life and in terms of what we do (or choose to do/not do) but in who we are - and because this event is currently traversing degrees 12, 13 and 14 of respective signs (with the conjunction of Uranus/Node occurring at 13 Aries-Libra)(the South Node being in Aries and the North Node being in Libra) this entire month is likely to be particularly focal for anyone who with natal placements at one of these degrees in any sign... if particularly (she says, thinking of people in the news) those among us with primary chart indicators (Sun, Moon, Ascendant/Descendant, Midheaven/Nadir) at 13 Aries, Libra, Cancer or Capricorn, followed by those with placements at 13 Pisces, Taurus, Virgo and/or Scorpio.

The first group will face or be facing issues directly. The second group will be facing them obliquely, which is to say that because 'Thing A' happens, 'Consideration B' becomes important.

As to the nature of this particular ripple in the works, this transit - Uranus/South Node - is about a 'shake up' (or shift) in how we relate to our own nature as well as that of others. And though the likes of those news makers (the two I'm thinking of being politicians) and myself (my Midheaven is at 13 Capricorn) are likely to be particularly impacted on a core and/or internal level, there are going to be plenty of things floating around for everyone to be bouncing off of (or around about) - all while possibly getting bruised by, or through the process of participating in doing all that relating, relational or relationship tra-la.

Also: none of this is optional. If you're thinking you'll just put everything on hold or hide in some mental (or other type of) hole, you certainly have the choice to do that but the world (that thing you're supposed to be relating to and working on your relationship with?) ... the world will have moved on without you, which brings this all back to the most important thing I ever heard one of my astrology teachers (Robert Hand, as it happens) say: use the energy wisely, lest it use you unwisely. 

Plus that's not all ... (she said, well aware that she may be sounding a bit like a late-night infomercial, which is ridiculous seeing as I'm about as bad at sales and marketing as any human being has ever been) ... January is also playing host to an approaching square to Neptune (in Pisces) by a Saturn which is newly in Sagittarius. That will set in virtually as soon as the new year dawns (read: on January 2nd), and it's likely to be felt as an on-and-off 'haunting' awareness which we're all going to also be contending with not just this month ... and not even just into March, as in the case of the current 'ramping up' of various Uranus/Pluto square pressures and situational anxieties. 

No ... with Neptune-Saturn, we're not getting off that easily: this transit will be with us in various forms through November of 2015, promising all sorts of issues having to do with habits and things we are habituated by - and the many forms of 'addiction' which riddle our lives and world, be that an addiction to a substance or a belief or a perspective on sex, love, work, money, power, violence, happiness, exercise, food, politics - or anything else. Saturn-Neptune contacts being always about reality versus hope and facts versus denial in favor of something "prettier" (or at least more appealing), this is the sort of lengthy square aspect which we would expect to manifest both in our lives and through things in life which effects lives on a global and somewhat 'indistinct' (or) 'impersonal' way or scale.

The Saturn side of this brings the effort to structure, restructure, limit or withstand to the table where the Neptune energetic will inspire ... and then again, also dissolve, whether 'dissolution' or 'dissolving' means eliminating that which stands between you and something (or two separate things) where the elimination of some factor, thought, issue is taken on either because of a depth of feeling which is not only not about the Self (Neptune = lack of personal or individual ego) or because that which we have been sure of comes to no longer function or serve a positive purpose.

Mind you, any of this can be positive: squares ask us to balance different functionalities, much as an engineer balances the substance and structure of a wall against the structure and function of a ceiling. Then again, any of this can be detrimental. And all of it (or any of it) can be hugely informative, most of all as to what the realities and facts really are ... as opposed to what we might want them to be, or what we were hoping they were or would become.

All of which is far more about us than others or our world ... which is probably worth a thought or two.

And fortunately (read: whether we like it or not) Mercury retrograde is going to donate just that dynamic to our universally human personal cause.

So we are going to be learning something going forward. But what are we about to learn - and learn about?
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Eclipse Notes: Aspects, Effects and Returns

A circumhorizontal arc - an optical phenomenon caued by ice crystals in high level cirrus clouds

(photo credit Jeff Kubina, June 2007)

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Eclipses are funny astrological beasts. Sometimes they time out some very fun times - particularly if you’re talking about a lunar eclipse, as lunar eclipses (like all things lunar) tend to be ‘framed’ by feeling where solar eclipses, as emotional a time as they may indicate, are more focused on lifestyle and evolutionary life events than any particular emotional goal, needs or fervent hope. Plus lunar eclipses tend to be prompt. That is, with a lunar eclipse the effects are immediate - and if the eclipse aspects your chart with any acuity - often memorable.

But the emotional ‘high’...? Those effects tend to be relatively short-lived. Three months is pretty much the standard duration - which may be disappointing when all is bliss but rather reassuring when events which time with a lunar eclipse go really and truly bad.

Solar eclipses, on the other hand, are less defined - and they’re curiously reflective of the process of an eclipse. The Sun represents life. Or ‘illumination’ as in understanding and inner clarity. And when an eclipse happens, the Moon - a satellite which is closer to Terra Earth than the Sun is - that Moon intervenes...which metaphysically is what happens with a solar eclipse: something about life (yours, or life in general) ‘blacks out’ your sense of understanding. Or your ability to ‘shine.’

Yet solar eclipses aren’t metaphysically ‘cruel’ or about 'failure' even if they’re often challenging and in sync with losses and mistakes. Indeed, lore teaches that eclipses are about causing us to shed something we may or may not like or prefer - and even which we may have stuck with/invested ourselves in over many a year. But in some way...and at some level, that loss, that change, whatever else it may be is also about eliminating something which in some way is now keeping us from being that person we are capable of being going forward.

And why aren’t we that person? Well... you know.,.. it may just be easier to keep on doing (saying, thinking, acting) in a manner which ‘settles’ when it comes to our capacity? Or maybe we're just doing what has worked well enough for us over a lot of years.

On a metaphysical level, whatever our reasons are they’re excuses. Very human and perhaps heartfelt excuses, but (metaphysically) excuses, nonetheless. And those ‘excuses’ or those singular or many ways of ‘escaping’ our true capacity (read: the truth of our Self and who we really are) are what solar eclipses tend to affect. Generally effects are neither subtle nor convenient - and in that last bit (in particular) are seldom entirely to our liking. In fact, any solar eclipse which aspects your natal chart with acuity will manifest as some sort of situation which includes some degree of being (and feeling) at a lack for control.

And that would happen why?

That would happen because you are letting go of that thing you feel so comfortable doing, being surrounded by or feeling part of (etcetera).

You’re in free-fall with/within your Self, without being able to fasten on some inner (Sun) knowing.

 Shown as calculated for the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio,

the five degree orb of aspect surrounding the conjunction.

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With the conjunction (an aspect which extends to five degrees in either direction from the eclipse), eclipse effects are very personal. They’re about our life and how we perceive it - for better and for worse. (And maybe both.) Whatever planet, axis or other point is being conjuncted, the eclipse will manifest through whatever ‘flavor’ is exhibited by that combination of point and sign, making the conjuncting eclipse something along the lines of transformative tofu.

 Shown as calculated for the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio,

there is a three degree (plus/minus) orb of aspect surrounding the sixty (60)

degree standard sextile aspect which from 0 Scorpio would occur at 0 Virgo

and Capricorn, respectively.

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As opposed to this, the eclipse-by-sextile (the sextile being a 60-degree aspect) is the signature of opportunities lost... or about to be found, depending on how you come into any given eclipse period.

Sextiles seldom exhibit requirement or necessity, however positive they may be - and that can be a positive where utilization of a natural ability or talent - the ‘voicing’ of it gets involved. On the other hand, having an eclipse aspecting your chart by sextile can represent the ‘blacking out’ or elimination or destruction of some avenue or choice - or some opportunity you may have had. In such, eclipse energies sometimes seem like Pluto, which tends to point to a ‘transformation’ which reverses existent to non-existent (and vice-versa) depending on where, how and what in the chart is aspected.

But eclipses aren’t Pluto. Eclipse effects differ from those regarding Pluto in that Pluto manifestations tend to apply to our personal feelings - the why we’re feeling them, whether we have any right-minded reason to feel that way and whether such emotional drives (cravings, desires, aims) are safe or dangerous in practice or theory. Against that, eclipses are more ‘situational.’ Yes, they can (and sometimes do) manifest as a physical illness or accident. But the ‘eclipse factor’ in that mix is about how our lives are changed by the eclipse and thus all about how we need to change who we are being or how we are going about doing what we’re doing (or living our life) in order to take best advantage of some challenge... or simply in order to cope.
As with most things astrological, the greatest challenges, problems and gains are associated with the squares and as with sextiles, trines, semi-sextiles and inconjuncts (aka quincunxes), there are two different squares to consider. The first is the ‘departing square’ (or departing whatever other aspect) - a reference to the idea that the ‘event’ (in this case, an eclipse) is occurring within a three-degree orb of sixty degrees from whatever natal chart point you want to consider.

ASPECT EXAMPLES: The October 2014 solar eclipse will be at 0 Scorpio and the October 2014 lunar eclipse will occur under the sign of Aries. If this position is within the three-degree orb of sextile to some point in your natal chart (which would be in Virgo for the solar eclipse and in Aquarius for the lunar eclipse), then your chart is being eclipsed by sextile.

Do you have a point within five degrees (plus or minus) of 0 Leo - which is to say between 25 Cancer and 5 Leo? If so, that point is being eclipsed by square - and because from Leo to Scorpio is moving forward through the zodiac, that is referred to as a “departing” (i.e., from the point in your chart) square...and conversely, were it ‘behind’ in astrological/zodiacal order, that would be the approaching square.

Departing aspects are about something wanting to be built, developed or utilized as a point of personal growth. 

Conversely, approaching aspects are about finishing, completing or achieving something. When a solar eclipse occurs in a position to eclipse that departing momentum, that aim or the ability to pursue that aim changes - often dramatically - either for better or worse. When a lunar eclipse hits at the departing aspect (or within orb of it), something dramatic may well happen - but in the end the aim itself generally remains ‘out there.’ No, it may not work as we thought it would and depending on the natal point(s) being eclipsed the experience may no longer be desirable.

But it’s there. That’s the difference between lunar and solar eclipses: where the Moon symbolizes all things which elicit or reward our feelings, the Sun refers to life itself and therefore things we have to learn about and contend with.

 With the October 2014 solar eclipse at 0 Scorpio, the two squares will occur in Leo

and Aquarius. Given that squares are given five (5) degree standard orb, this means

these squares start at 25 Cancer or Capricorn and end at 5 degrees of Leo

and Aquarius.

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Squares pose particular questions and challenge our sense of balance. A square successfully handled requires that we both accept limitations and our responsibilities to act, embrace and balance qualities which differ against each other whether those qualities are intrinsically ours or exist with regards to something we are doing or attempting to accomplish. To have one’s chart eclipsed by square poses a challenge - one from which we will (generally) prefer to retreat out of a sense of being thrown ‘off balance’ or because something we had counted on (or believed in) has been removed, eliminated or proven invalid.

 Oppositions also get a five (5) degree standard orb, which puts the opposition to

October 2014's 0 Scorpio solar eclipse at 0 Taurus and the extent of opposition

orb between 25 Aries and 5 Taurus.

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Oppositions differ from squares by being a flat-out confrontation. Sometimes that’s with others or something in or about our overall life and sometimes that’s with ourselves as we belly up to the mental bar and come to grips with something about our Self or our assumptions.

When we experience an eclipse by opposition, something (or someone) either vanishes from our life (which could be as simple as their changing jobs and no longer being part of our workday) or as we become ‘confronted’ with a need to be or do something and all it is going to take to deal with that. Eclipses by opposition often reveal qualities about our Self which we have either been ignorant of or unperturbed by so long as they didn’t cause problems...which (voila!) the eclipse period provides feedback on.

 Like oppositions, trines also get a five (5) degree standard orb. Unlike oppositions

however, trines do have departing and approaching formats, giving us a departing

trine to the October 2014 Scorpio solar eclipse with a position of 0 Pisces (and thus

an orb of affect between 25 Aquarius and 5 Pisces) and an approaching trine

between 25 Gemini and 5 Cancer.

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Having some point in your chart be eclipsed by trine is to not be able to ‘escape’ some process which is continuing to alter whatever attribute is being described by the planet/symbol being trined. Less of an obvious ‘hit’ to your life or lifestyle than the the conjunction, getting eclipsed-by-trine is potent enough to keep us on track with necessities and highly likely to eliminate a sense of personal ease (or a willingness to ‘take it easy’).

So much for trines being all pleasant, eh?

Two last aspects, which are by nature the inverse of each other: the 30-degree semi-sextile and the 150-degree OR 210-degree inconjunct or quincunx.

(above) Like trines, squares and sextiles, both semi-sextiles and inconjuncts have

approaching and departing and approaching formats. However, unlike any of those

aspects, semi-sextiles and inconjuncts are most useful when the orb is kept limited

- often to an orb as small as one and one-half (1 1/2) degrees. This gives us semi-

sextiles to the October 2014 0 Scorpio eclipse (0 Scorpio 25, to be exact) at

0 Sagittarius and Libra with orbs allowing for effects between 29 Scorpio and

2 Sagittarius or 29 Virgo and 2 Libra... and inconjunct positions at 0 Aries and

Gemini with effects extending to between 29 Pisces and 2 Aries and/or

29 Taurus and 2 Gemini.

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Put in simplest terms, the semi-sextile is about getting past our own feelings while the inconjunct is about our personal feelings about what it takes to adapt to being part of a group, system or process. In other words, they’re both about adjusting to what we feel or think about things it’s just that the semi-sextile process is more about a conversation in our head we have to work through (mostly) on our own where the inconjunct is about something outside of our Self. Either way, when eclipsed both of these points tend to speak to responsibilities and how we respond (or sometimes more to the point, how we don’t respond) to the standards, morals and ethics of responsibility.

As noted, lunar eclipses tend to have a duration of around three months. By the end of that time the ‘heat’ of our feelings will have cooled and we will have learned a lot - most of all about our Self. Solar eclipses however, run a longer course. Instead of three months their duration is three years, which may well mean that we will at times be under several overlapping eclipse cycles. Also: at about two-and-one-half years after the eclipse itself things tend to surface or happen. Whatever occurs, it could not have happened or we would not have been in a position to care or take advantage of this opportunity or information had we NOT gone through whatever happened at the time of the eclipse.

That may be the most interesting thing of all about solar eclipses - whatever else they are, solar eclipses are also a rather ultimate form of the ‘delayed gratitude’ lesson... a lesson which perhaps is meant to teach us to handle the moment and to recognize life has much, much more to offer if we will just keep walking, whether that’s physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually.

RETURNS: The one exception to the (above) statements made about how long eclipses last concerns personal returns. If an eclipse - either solar or lunar - occurs within five (5) calendar days of EITHER your birthday (i.e., your yearly solar return) or your monthly lunar return, eclipse effects will be far more pronounced. If the eclipse occurs within five days of your personal/monthly lunar return, get your emotional raincoat on, particularly during the first month after the lunar eclipse. Whether effects taper off over the next few months as they normally would depends on your natal chart - most specifically the astrological ‘condition’ of your natal Moon plus whatever point the eclipse is in aspect to.

However, if an eclipse - solar or lunar - occurs within five (5) calendar days of your solar return (birthday), those eclipse effects can be expected to (lunar eclipse) last... and indeed (solar eclipse) dominate the whole of your solar/birthday year.

We just can’t say this often enough - and this is actually one of the biggest of big markers astrologers look for. A lunar eclipse around the date of your birthday can speak to a year which will have lots of ups and maybe an equal amount of downs and will often mark dramatic changes of circumstance, mindset or heart (personal or otherwise) over the course of that year, but a solar eclipse around the date of your birthday speaks to a year which could (just possibly) change the charted course of your life - or your ability to have the life you’ve worked long and hard to chart out for yourself.

Mind you, an eclipse around the date of your birthday is NOT enough to predict tragedy. I mention this here because people tend to jump to conclusions about such things. So please understand: even if an astrologer sees a solar or lunar eclipse around the date of your birthday it’s no sign of doom.

In fact, it’s a sign of an opportunity. No, everything may not be the way you want it to be. But that’s the point. Life is bigger than any of us know and we can’t know how to define all the possibilities.

Sometimes something has to break down the walls and lift our cherished veils so that we can grow, so that we can learn differently, so that we can move beyond our previous conceptions, realizing even as we witness eclipse dramas in the sky how we are  part of something miraculous... something vast and ever-changing and truly universal.

Maybe that’s why eclipses fascinate us so.   


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A Plutonic Lunar Eclipse

The Alchemist by William Fettes Douglas (1853)

With shadows cast and reflections invoked, so we move through the last couple of tense days towards the eclipsing of our inner emotional positions. Occurring at 25 Libra, that eclipse occurs on April 15th – and as it does, Pluto goes retrograde.

That’s a serious astrological combination.

Known for flooding emotions and events which often serve as life markers, lunar eclipses aren’t ordinarily associated with life changing events. Well, at least not in the moment – not unless some other major transit is happening on your individual chart in the area of the eclipse, which in this instance means 25 Libra.

Underwritten by the precept that to not ‘do,’ act, ask or care about who we’re being in life, Libra teaches that failure to take others into account ultimately either gets us nowhere or puts us at odds with Self or others. Thus all things Libra teach some part of why we cannot know unless we ask – even though there is that unsettling reality which says that when we ask, we must be prepared for answers we may not like, want, expect or feel prepared (or even understand how) to comply with.

As a degree in Libra’s last ten degrees (the  third ‘decan’) the lunar eclipse emphasizes connections with others and our world.

But then there’s the Pluto side of this equation, a segment of the conversation which starts with the idea that any station (planetary or otherwise) gets an allowance of several days – it having become this particular astrologer’s choice to say two days prior and two days after the moment of station, if not a little more.

All of which is fine and normal – or as normal as anything referring to Pluto tends to be. As a marker of transformative energetics, Pluto represents that which fascinates us, attracts us, obsesses us…even that which interests us – with our personal (birth chart) Pluto giving us a description of the challenges we face in such a regard. Are we someone who gets totally over-the-top obsessed to our own detriment? With Pluto (regardless of natal sign), those tendencies emerge so often as terrible feelings about our Self. Or sometimes we project that fear of not being able to love ourselves onto others in the form of  shame, embarrassment, denial or those ever-so-popular (if never really what you think they are) human choices known as revenge and retribution.

It’s never about ‘them.’ What we experience in life is always about us. That’s why vengeance doesn’t work – and why humans have learned enough to have coined the expression “revenge is a dish best served cold,” as that’s the only way to emerge from any or all things Plutonic (which would connect to matters 8th house and Scorpionic) with satisfaction and any sense of lasting validation.

You know…the kind of self respect and true self esteem which allows us to advance through life growing in positive attribute instead of simply becoming that most negative of Pluto images, Pluto as rapist – most of all of our own emotional stability and self worth.

At the moment, with Pluto going station-retrograde at 13 Capricorn (Sabian Symbol: 'AN ANCIENT BAS-RELIEF CARVED IN GRANITE REMAINS A WITNESS TO A LONG-FORGOTTEN CULTURE') in combination with a lunar eclipse we can expect an emotional shift (transformation)…or to be ‘shifted’ (diverted from something else, perhaps). The obvious combination of two cardinal signs speaks to action, decisions and taking something on (or committing to something) whatever that may mean in your life, with the square-by-sign between lunar eclipse and Pluto..

…giving us to know that there is a balance of some sort (the square) which is required between where we are ‘going’ and how where we are ‘going’ will affect others, or even who we are or are taken to be.

The Sabian symbol having been discussed elsewhere (you can use the world cloud to find the other posts focused on 13 Capricorn), given Pluto’s position just shy of fixed star Vega (charisma) there is a great deal of ‘pulling back’ (going into retrograde) from the certainty that something we have thought of as ‘charismatic’ is not exactly what we thought it would be: it is becoming transformed in our (emotional/lunar) regard…and thus we are being ‘brought back into balance’ with the necessities of (earthy/Capricorn) reality exerting – or at least beginning to exert a ‘balancing’ pressure on some sort of mass (3rd decan) action or reaction to some (Libra as air sign) idea.

In other words, something is becoming charismatic...or ending its life as a charismatic influence.

Or maybe we're just losing our shine. That happens too. Anyone with any natal axis point, nodal position or planet within a couple of degrees of 13 Capricorn, Libra, Aries or Cancer has been feeling life fluctuating for quite some time now...and this will be a particularly trying and/or insightful passage.

One figures it will be a little easier on those whose charts are unaffected...but we do live on the same planet, after all. And such things count.

Lunar Eclipse at 25 Libra (text chart)

April 15, 2014 - 7:43 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (location not specific)

Lunar Eclipse at 25 Libra (glyph chart)

April 15, 2014 - 7:43 a.m. (UT/+0) - Aries Wheel (location not specific)

Lunar eclipses are typified as ‘high emotional water marks’ which can be tsunami like. Or they can create something more akin to a mental or life-affecting undertow. Where solar eclipses take three years to ‘mature’ and manifest fully, lunar eclipses hit us hard and from there ebb off, generally becoming a factor we understand to cope with over the next three months.

Because this pairing links the Moon and Pluto, the darker sides of human nature (and vulnerabilities), we can expect to see revelations, ‘outbreaks’ and ‘unearthings' of every sort - good or bad. There will be those attempt to obscure and ‘bury’ much which people can’t bring themselves to deal with the truth of...and though some may be deceitful, many people will simply think they’re doing something good even when in some 'occulted' (hidden) way they are somehow part of the problem.

Those who are open to the type of inspiration and insight which allows them to see both sides of every problem, situation and dynamic will do well here...though there will be some temptation to simply give in or hold on (depending on what mode you come to this time in).

Where Pluto is concerned, to face our potentials as well as our flaws is ultimate strength; those very human but very real emotional frailties which cannot face its own reality will attract whatever will reveal the hidden truth...delicious or deliciously awful (or both) as it may be.

For effectiveness and otherwise it's fortunate that there is a ‘rule’ for handling All Things Pluto. It’s a curious sort of rule, and one which goes right back to that ‘served cold’ concept. Every sign has a challenge and with Scorpio, that challenge is not to lose ourselves to our emotions – which is why as ‘outcome ruler’ of Scorpio, Pluto events (and transits) carry such high human price tags.

Yes, unfortunately it seems to take more and more to get our attention these days. Some like to ‘blame’ such things on the internet or other modern technologies. That such blaming goes on is plainly ‘new age, new page’ unfamiliarity – we humans scream loudly for change, then run from it in person. Our new age (the Aquarian Age) moves all things which were emotionally based into a theoretical and economic mode.

For those down on war, take heart – it’ll probably all become economic. People will still die of course, they’ll just die of economic neglect...and if you don't like that statement welcome to the passionately dispassionate realm of Aquarius and its qualitative Aquarian test: to be an individual while being part of the whole…to use one’s individuality in the advancing of that whole, as one among equals.

No, no elitism is allowed…and we can all expect that ‘lacks of responsibility,’ especially those which are based in economics (individual or systemic, purposeful or accidental, personally moderated or automated, individual and ‘mass market’) are going to become ever more costly.

Lack of responsibility under the Aquarian precept says ‘I must do what I must do because that is what is required in this life.’ Not MY life, not the ‘next’ life…this life.

Astrology…like all other belief systems…is ultimately about what it means to be a human being. We are given rules not so that we can impose them on others but so we can acknowledge them within the scope of our conscious Self and thus be the better person worthy of this life.

Where Pluto is concerned, we must always know what our ‘fact’ is. It may be right or wrong in any other context, but we must know what it is and we must be capable of stating it, simply and clearly, despite what is being said or held forth by others.

If you are being affected by this eclipse/station pairing, you will be feeling this need to understand and clarify your thoughts. It may be the moment for you to feel your feelings and think…or this may be the moment to make your choice or act.

That’s individual.
 

 

That the ongoing Pluto-Uranus-Jupiter t-square is being opposed by transiting

retrograde Mars (in Libra) is a sign of too many issues or options. We will 'need' to take care of many issues...and through trying to prioritize those things (because they can't all be taken care of at once) we will come to know more about our Self - in particular, our most human (lunar) and feeling Self. This isn't defined astrologically as a comfortable process, but it can have a very good outcome.  

Whichever way you go, you will probably encounter some degree of resistance, conflict, objections – any such measures. You may be questioning yourself…and then again, you may find yourself ranged against any number of others who may or may not agree with you.

The Plutonic instruction is simple: know your truth and state it clearly – ONCE. Then be quiet.

After the noise dies down, after the ‘temperature’ falls…then the real fact (or facts) win out. That’s the Pluto equation. Pluto operates positively when and where emotionality is not just controlled, but understood by the one subject to their own emotionality.

And it’s a cycle…just as Pluto has been so likened to the earthly process of volcanism, things must ‘get heated’ in order for them to cool off – which is why you’ll see many people with Scorpio heavily presented in their chart go through such emotionality as part of their personal process.

Did you think it’s about you? No – Scorpio is all about eliciting your reaction so that in learning about others the Scorpio(nic) entity learns more about being comfortable in their own life and skin.

Warning us of that? That’s a premier Pluto manifestation, which makes understanding just that much…?

Well, that may be the whole point at the moment, considering the impending Taurus solar eclipse. We’re experiencing a time which asks us kindly to examine the state and nature of our own self worth.

And if we won’t kindly do that…then life will be unkind in its asking of us to do that much.

Fortunately, there is a good side to all this – which is the grace of all things Pluto: when we can bring ourselves to be kind, that very process…the process of being brave enough to feel another’s hurt as our own…that not only heals them, it heals us through triggering the innate power of sustaining, regenerative energy.

You know…the reward of inner warmth which brings such human comfort in the midst of what can otherwise feel like a terribly inhuman or inhumane life.
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The Pluto Part and the Scorpio Eclipse

Girl with Parrot from the Arabian Nights 1580 by Indischer Maler

This is going to be a very obtuse post. If you’re not into the math behind astrology (plus a few of its esoteric traditions), you probably won’t even know what the fern I’m talking about.

But I will attempt to explain, of course. (That's just the kind of girl I am, after all...)

For those of you who are sort of into the math, the thing I’m referencing – or at least that which began this line of thought is the concept of Arabic Parts.

For everybody who isn't into the math, maybe you're wondering what the pepperoni an Arabic Part is. Well, an Arabic Part is a form of triangulation using given points in your chart. And what's the benefit of that? Triangulation being how you find things in space (or in the case of astrology, time/space) Arabic Parts uses three separate points in your chart to synthesize where in (time)space you will encounter your Self in something of a fateful way which....IF you're paying attention, you can learn from.

Like, vastly.

Arabic Parts:

a whole nifty little study of its own.

(Sounds like a commercial, doesn't it?)

The symbol (glyph) for 'Fortuna' or Part of Fortune 

 

There is one Arabic Part in particular most people do seem to know...that would be the Part of Fortune – or “Fortuna” as it is sometimes known. The formula for Mizz Fortuna (or the POF, as those of us tired of writing it out so many times scrawl) is:

Sun – Moon + Ascendant = POF

In other words, the Part of Fortune is the number of degrees from your Sun to your Moon projected from your Ascendant.

And that Ascendant...? The Ascendant is ‘now.’ Quite literally the Ascendant of any given moment is the degree which is 'rising' at the point to the east of you on the horizon where by revolving, Planet Earth is turning into the flow of time.

(Think about how time zones work and this may be a little more obvious.)

It is because of this ‘now’ concept that the Ascendant (the point which was to your east when you were born)  becomes the signature of actions, personality and moment-to-moment experience...in other words, your personal now.

(And yes, the ruler of your Ascendant counts too.)

The Sun is consciousness and intellect, the Moon is memory and emotions. So Fortuna is essentially the difference or distance from your (Sun) conscious understanding (of who you are and other things) and what you are capable of (or capable of understanding) and thus embracing, being, doing or gleaning from....TO your (Moon) emotional standing, reaction to memory, desires, nature, value/values – all that.

That 'from Sun to Moon' distance, when projected from the ‘now’ (Ascendant) is the Part of Fortune – the triangulated focal ‘fine tuning’ point where your mind (Sun), humanity (Moon) ability to recognize the value of who and what you are being finds an important ‘gateway’ into the world, into life.

This is why our Fortuna is considered something we each need to ‘go through’ (be it physically, emotionally or any other which way) in order for you to achieve the fullness of our essence.

For the "let me live up to the trust placed in me as an astrological professional" record, there is one technicality here: the above is the Part of Fortune for people born during the daytime. There’s a whole pile of lore about how the formula should change to 'Moon – Sun + Ascendant = Part of Fortune' for people born at night.

And just to irritate you, in the abstract, the first is the Part of Fortune and the second is the Part of Spirit no matter when you're born.

Whether you were born during the day or during the night, both hold, both have meanings, etcetera, etcetera.

Still with me?

The kind of nifty thing about Arabic Parts is that they're akin to an astrological DIY project. The Arabs (bless their burnooses) (Or is that one burnoose and two burneese?) …were great mathematicians. They really did the heavy lifting when it came to the whole casting of horoscopes thing with all the included trigonometric calculations and such. And when it came to the Arabic Parts, their thinking became a sort of winner-take-call mathematical limbo party since Arabic Parts with any three points you want to correlate: two objects and where you want to project them from. In other words, if you’re into your sex life, instead of using the Ascendant, you might want to use the 8th house cusp as your 'project from' point...or the 12th house cusp if you were into the romance and seduction quotient.

Or maybe you're in a really funky 'who needs feelings?' mood because of the incoming eclipse. I'm with you...so let's keep the Ascendant and use the distance from Moon to Venus to see what degree the (Venus) value of (Moon) feelings is. 

Or maybe you're really ticked off with your partner? Keep the Moon and Venus distance (Moon - Venus) and project it from the 7th house: the house of established (connective) relationships.

It’s a mix-and-match fest, to be sure…which reminds me of when I worked on ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2’ down in Austin, Texas. As you’d head into the building housing the art department, there was this big sign drawn in tastefully old-timey lettering and slightly drippy red paint. It read:

PARTS IS PARTS

And on that movie, they meant it. It was occasionally pretty much a gore fest….and that’s before we got to the real and fake blood. But in the world of Arabic Parts, there always be Parts you ain't never done taken part of yet!

This is where the whole Arabic Part thing got me - with regards to the incoming eclipse, I mean. In chart casting around (all puns intended) for another way to see what the eclipse means (now that it's given me three totally separate and stupendous headaches), I came up with the Pluto Part for this Solar Eclipse:

Pluto – Solar Eclipse + Mars
= Plutonic Eclipse Point

So, okay...now for the math. (I'm into math, can you tell?) The eclipse will be a 11 Scorpio. On the day of the eclipse, Pluto will be a 9 Capricorn and Mars will be at 16 Virgo.

Translate all that into 360 (zodiacal degree) notation, do the math and voila! The “solution” of the eclipse becomes 14 Scorpio.

Why did I choose Pluto and Mars? That would be because the eclipse is in Scorpio and Pluto is the ‘outcome’ ruler of Scorpio while Mars is the action point, which sort of (on a rather theoretical and esoteric level) 'takes the place' of the Ascendant in this equation.

And solar eclipses are the very essence of metaphysical esoteric theory, don't you know.

So this Plutonic Eclipse Part should, though we like to think of ourselves as controlling our environment and getting what we want our of life (anyone laughing?) would be expected to reference more of our experience of being transformed BY life situations which end up getting us in touch with and transforming our Self, lest we dedicate our lives to being a cast-in-concrete, stuck whatever.

So what about 14 Scorpio?

14 Scorpio speaks to being ruled more by the heart than the head. This vibe helps with insight into the motivations and desires of others, but doesn't necessarily help you do anything with it or do anything other than sell yourself out for same. Despite the fact that indiscretion is a temptation in either the 'giving it out' or 'receiving' mode here, there is a deal of compassion, which like as not goes to wanting things to be good rather than having the (Scorpio) determination to make them good.

Considering this information, an Arabic Part structured to correlate the eclipse and Pluto, might well ask about the (Mars) choices we're made and if that's what's causing some of the problems we have whether we're being too strong or not strong enough.

Remember...it's not external events which count here - it's why you were led to be in the place where those events took place. Even if its an illness, metaphysics teaches that there will be something you will learn through the experience of being sick or injured, and that's more of what we're looking at here.

Then there's the world of totem animals, which is particularly interesting when it comes to Scorpio, as Scorpio has three (count 'em) totem animals: the scorpion, the gray lizard and the high flying, sharp-eyed eagle. Considering the traits which go with this degree, this would seem not be the eagle or the scorpion, but rather the lizard which lives in survival mode like the scorpion does but unlike the scorpion is not "poisonously driven" by instinct alone.

Then there's the Sabian Symbol for 14 Scorpio: CHILDREN PLAYING AROUND FIVE MOUNTS OF SAND  with its keynote ‘Early steps in the development of a mind seeking to be attuned to the higher level of human evolution.’

Five is known as the number of mankind, perhaps giving us a clue about this 'transformation' being about how we treat mankind, how we regard mankind, our human values, what we decide we will commit to with regards to human kind...or (on a totally different level) what it means to follow or not follow the traditional course of human kind. (Cultural or family traditions, perhaps)

The would seem to be an attempt to 'build' or perhaps a need to 'smooth' out the sand in this image, with sand being the idea of something solid yet easily shifted - and maybe a bit irritating, too.

The reference to children could refer to something we do, have done or have run across simply through being 'an innocent.' Or it could be a reference to some quality or habit we picked up in the course of our childhood. Or perhaps it's someone we relate to playfully and without all the judgments and boundaries we meet up with in adult society. 

Since the equation we’re dealing with is an Arabic Part, it means that through this means we assist ourselves in arriving at the ‘solution’ to the intensely felt experiences which are part of this eclipse.

While thinking about these ideas broadly, understand that when we talk about Arabic Parts this is not about two parties. No, this is all you, all me, all each one of us...and fully to do with what we are doing to yourself, or about who you are being in your life, or how you are dealing with how you came to be where you are...

Or not.

If we were doing this exercise with your chart, it would be even more personalized (and yes, I invite you to try it out and let me know what you think about the solution).

About orbs...Arabic Parts are purely theoretical, as opposed to the Ascendant, which at least is a real point on a real horizon at any particular real point in time. But this is just math. So the orb should be small - one...maybe two degrees plus or minus at most.

Some use squares, oppositions and the rest of the aspects to Arabic Parts. I don't - but if you feel a yen, feel free to! 

My perspective means that anyone with a planet, dwarf planet, axis point or node at (we'll be generous) 12 to 16 Scorpio should take note here: this Arabic Part would seem to have your eclipse number! 

• How the eclipse operates is described by the actual eclipse with the underlying meaning of the eclipse being a constant (having the outmoded stripped away so that we need to be/become more true to Self).

• The degree of the eclipse tells us the psychological factors which will be focused on (11 Scorpio: the tendency to be overcome by greater forces because you're over-focused on nuances, personal suspicions regarding self or others and the experience of possessive/jealous affections so noted with Scorpio).

• Objects, axis points ‘set off’ in our charts (planets, dwarf planets, cusps or nodes) describe the thematic avenue through which the energy will travel in your life...don't expect anyone else to have the same eclipse experience you do!

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Try it! I’ll even start you off by saying that 11 Scorpio – the degree of the eclipse – translates to 221 in what is known as “360 notation” (zodiac degrees as numbered all the way around the cycle).

Let’s make it simpler yet…here are the degrees for zero of every sign:

Aries – 0

Taurus – 30

Gemini – 60

Cancer – 90

Leo – 120

Virgo – 150

Libra – 180

Scorpio - 210

Sagittarius – 240

Capricorn – 270

Aquarius – 300

Pisces - 330

For whatever placement you have in any given sign, just add it’s degree to the above. Example: a Saturn at 18 Libra would be 180 plus 18 which equals 198. Once you have anything in 360 notation you can add and subtract to your heart’s content, remembering that if you end up with a number over 360 you just subtract “one full circle” of 360 and you’re back in business.

Arabic Parts are funny things. I study them a lot, though I don’t tend to use them a lot…except for what we might call “special occasions.”

Of which this is one…so give it a try. You may learn a lot about what you need to ‘go through’ to learn what you actually need to learn about yourself over the 3-year span of this eclipse.

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