A Taurus New Moon: Self-Divining

 A New Moon against a field of stars....

On Saturday, April 21st, a New Moon at 1 Taurus will begin the lunation month leading into May’s solar eclipse.

Typically, the month before a solar eclipse is a bit of a bumpy ride…so what does this lunation bring to the metaphysical party?

For one, it’s happening at 1 Taurus, a degree which by default is about us…either physically or in terms of what we do. Taurus being an earth(y) sign, the issues are tangible. Or maybe our object or aim is.

Taurus is also the first of the zodiacal ‘fixed’ signs, ‘fixed’ here describing it’s astrological “modality.” What this tells is is that the tenor of feelings (the lunation) we are likely to…or perhaps need to approach things with…there’s some consideration in the mix. Taurus isn’t (by and large) hasty. Emphatic? Sometimes. Enraged? Also sometimes.

The core of the Taurean process is discovering what’s of worth. And that process is what leads to the building of self worth. Though this isn’t about learning per se (that would be Gemini), Taurus is about explorations which lead to an understanding about what’s safe and not safe – hence this sign’s association with security, which many simply interpret as ‘money and things’ (materialism).

 an image of Taurus from a 15th century medieval book on astrology 

The biggest challenge for anything (or anyone) Taurean is to see down the road. You know, how what I do or grab or hold onto today affects me next week, next month or ten years from now. Taurus is the first of four fixed signs – sign number one in the fixed sign process which, providing we work through all the challenges, leads to a kind of personal security which gives us the self assurance (confidence in self) which others respect, will always support and which can rescue us come what may.

So that’s something of the Taurean ‘vibe’ which is the basis for this lunation. Because of this vibe, we can assume that some of us are going to have our chains rattled this month (so that we can see what the nature of our self worth and security really are) and some of us are going to be moving ahead with developing/working on something of worth which we are invested in and thus recognize our own value as part of.

2012 - the Taurus New Moon

(Aries Wheel  - location not specific) 

 

1 Taurus in particular – as a degree – speaks to the emotional side of this process. Descriptions speak of an insecurity which can manifest as sensitivity – or then again as cruelty. The Sabian Symbol for 1 Taurus is ‘An electrical storm’…which in itself speaks to feelings of not being in control and the dangers we may feel because we could get ‘zapped’ at any moment.

Then again, this symbol also images being struck with a ‘bright idea.’ Whether we manifest the positive, negative or a bit of both here…? That’s all about our native self worth.

And it’s not all that simple.

This New Moon (Sun conjunct Moon) is going to form up between Scheherazade at 0 Taurus and Tantalus at 2 Taurus. Scheherazade being ‘the telling of tales’ and Tantalus being ‘temptation’ and often ‘temptation to do that we know we shouldn’t do,’ it’s to be expected that situations will tempt us to find excuses for things. Or to do things and ‘justify’ it in our mind (and to others) even though that niggling tug in our gut is telling us we’ve done something wrong.

 Scheherazade Went on with Her Story 

- an illustration done by Virginia Frances Sterreff in 1928

This would also be a time when situations already committed to or actions taken (somewhere in the past) come to light. Or maybe they become the foundation of a discussion about the ‘value’ (worth) of going forward in some way which (Taurus) matters to you and/or your security.

Because we’re in the month before a solar eclipse, this New Moon does carry an extra dollop of whammy. Namely, through such Taurean (Scheherazade, Tantalus) feelings we are being forced to focus on something which isn’t working correctly. Or at least the (Gemini) idea of it.

With Medusa at 4 Scorpio (in opposition to the New Moon) there is some ‘frightening truth’ (Medusa) to face – oppositions always being about facing something. Those of us who are willing to do this work ourselves will do so. But those who are card carrying members of the ‘me good, me entitled, my life is rosy’ club will like as not encounter people who will ‘stand in’ for this Medusa vibe, making sure we are forced to at least acknowledge (if not deal with) where we have gone astray of what are – in all likelihood – our own standards.

Astrologically, the solar eclipse is the ‘big dog’ on the block. So though this lunation has its own valid process, it does embrace the heart of the ‘breakdown’ period which precedes every solar eclipse.

Another piece of information on this lunation is given us by Venus and Byblis both being positioned at 14 Gemini – a fact we care about because Venus rules Taurus. The Sabian for this degree (14 Taurus) is ‘Two Dutch children talking to each other, exchanging their knowledge.’ That’s at least a signal of talking to people of like heritage, and probably a desire to build alliances. (Or maybe to get your stories straight before you each go home to your mothers!)

Interestingly, both 14 Gemini and 1 Taurus have a ‘reputation’ in lore for being difficult in the sense that when we see something positioned in either degree we know that there is a problem to be met which has to be dealt with before any good can come of the situation. 

The overriding Taurus lunation issue – as described (sensitivity, cruelty, self-protection through denial, maybe?) – is plainly emotional. Or maybe emotionally provocative. Add Venus in Gemini and we have some concept or idea which either seems emotionally challenging, or which requires that we face some ‘scary issue’ (Medusa) if we are to capitalize on.

On its own however, 14 Gemini is a call for greater perspective and objectivity.

But then we need to add in Byblis. The specifics of the Byblis story have to do with child abuse – specifically, sexual relations with children. But since not everyone is a pedophile (nor will we all deal with such ugliness) in a greater sense, Byblis is about ‘trying to defend the indefensible idea.’

Venus/Byblis thus stands for ‘the idea of getting what you want (Venus) through undesirable means.’

I know…much symbolic drama for something which is in the end, rather regular. But that’s the point. The incoming solar eclipse will be at 0 Gemini: there is some ‘starting anew’ coming at us, with a lot of us having some old ‘idea’ of life (or facet of life) being given up along the way.

Two more items about this New Moon. One is that asteroids Lust (over focusing) and Amphitrite (something you’ve gotten used to) stand with TNO Chaos at 13 Gemini…a degree behind Venus/Byblis. That’s a picture of all which has been done or gotten from (TNO Chaos) something you’ve been over focused on and gotten used to.

 Planet Venus, wreathed in clouds of sulfuric acid,

showing us that Venus is not all sweet - and that

sometimes dealing with that which is difficult

 (life's more 'acidic' moments) in time gets us to

where we want to go. (photo credit: NASA-JPL)

Coupled to Venus/Byblis, this is very much the image of needing perspective. And when we take all that back to the lunation, it would appear that this month we all are going to be either challenged…or getting a lot of clarity on something which our ‘habitual response’ (Taurus) to having challenged is that insecurity or snarkiness thing.

To everything, there is a season (turn, turn, turn…). 

Apparently it’s time to get real with ourselves.

The last note for this blog-thought is that as this lunation occurs, Neptune is conjunct Niobe at 3 Pisces (conjunct royal star Fomalhaut at 4 Pisces), with all in square to the nodes. Just to make this a little more pickle-like, Juno is exactly conjunct the North Node.

Put simply, this means we (North Node) need to use some (Juno) self discipline this month. Or maybe a better word for this particular Juno placement might be 'integrity.'

Whichever word you choose, North Node/Juno in early Sagittarius is the need to do something which works. It's also all about recognizing what doesn't work and getting to the fixing of problems. The object is applied functionality - getting to your goals in a manner which doesn't just work for you, but which works all around.

Not that glitches and negative feedback is going to be putting a smile in our day, no. South Node in early Gemini promotes a desire for 'wealth and power' - which in your life may be literal, or maybe just the ability to have your way and not be bothered with having to listen to anyone.

That may work in the short run. But then again, with a solar eclipse about to happen in conjunction with this degree ('eclipsing' that idea), is that really a good bet?  

And about that Neptune-Niobe/Fomalhaut thing...standing at the ‘t’ of a t-square, this is something of a pretty good image putting us all on notice about how illusions of grandeur are self-defeating.

Again, we probably need a little (Juno) self-discipline. Or something!

So that’s the Taurus lunation image. We may seek much in life and from our world, but in the end, none of that matters. What matters is whether we are satisfied with ourselves.

Remember the famous line from the old movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’…? Just before it ends, Glinda asks Dorothy what she’s learned. Her answer is all about how when we go looking for our heart’s desire, we don’t have to look any farther than our own back yard.

As a human being, that’s inside ourselves.

‘….there’s no place like home…there’s no place like home…’

May you always feel welcome, safe and secure in your own heart.

Metonic Musings: The Shape of Eclipses to Come

 Solar Eclipse over Cook Islands 2009 via NASA

Sometimes what isn’t there is as important as what is there. The absence of communication can say volumes. The lack of any real challenges can become boring – or dull our ‘edge.’

Yet when you’re talking astrology, that lack, that absence tends to say that things aren’t getting stirred up. They aren’t being highlighted and rewarded…but then again, they aren’t getting challenged and manifesting as a bunch of prickly problems and funky situations.

Eclipses cycle backwards through the zodiac. Why that is has to do with a bunch of planetary and orbital mechanics I’m pretty sure you don’t want to go into here – at least not in detail. This cycle – called the Metonic cycle (not important) is 19 years, or 235 months long (rather important).

That means that every 19 years we encounter the same sort of ‘challenge’ with regards to our life. This 19-year Metonic cycle can begin when we’re born, yes. But then again, it can begin at any time during our life. Why that’s true is because of a different set of cycles – the Saros (or ‘Sarconic’) cycle.

For practical astrological purposes, the Saros factor has everything to do with the idea that astronomically, eclipses are members of a given (Saros) ‘family.’ Each Saros group gets a number which, remembering that eclipses are really just a perspective on the Sun and Moon as seen from Earth, means the sequence plays out in a series of ‘eclipse paths’ which meander from pole to equator (or vice versa), then finally just…end.

Metonic cycles? They're a whole other thing. The 235-month Metonic cycle is a set ‘order’ of lunar phases. The Moon goes through all the New-Full combinations on the list, then starts back at the top, repeating it all, lunation by lunation.

Why we don’t have eclipses every month is simply another piece of planetary/astronomical mechanics: an eclipse requires that a New or Full Moon be within 15 degrees of where Earth’s path around the Sun (the ecliptic) intersects the Moon’s path around Earth.

Suffice it to say it’s most common for there to be two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses every year.

But it can be more. According to the NASA Eclipse Web Site (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov) in the 5,000 years between 1,999 BCE and 3,000 CE there will be twenty-five years where there will be FIVE (count ‘em, five) solar eclipses.

(As an astrologer, I’m not sure I want to think about what those years would be (or were) like. I’m guessing something between ‘unsettled’ and ‘upheavals galore’ probably about covers it.)

Metonic cycles are the easiest of all these cycles to remember. Why? Because they’ll begin with something big. Nineteen years later, something else will happen which ‘rings’ the same celestial ‘bell.’ I have a personal eclipse cycle which began at age 7; every 19 years or so I have some sort of cataclysmic health crisis.

It’s a test – and obviously one I’ve passed, because I’m still alive. And that’s part of the point here: good or troublesome, eclipses are part of our educational progress. I’ve learned things through being injured that I never would have learned had I been hale and hearty throughout my life. I’ve learned a lot about medicine. And what pain is…and isn’t. I’ve learned what it means to be poor and emotionally unsupported. And how, at the most unexpected moments, someone you don’t know may just step up and help out.

Bottom line, what have I learned? I’ve learned not to pin my expectations on goodness or badness. I’ve learned to accept each person and thing as it comes along. That doesn’t mean I have to like it…it just means I have to accept that my ‘expectations’ (hopes, dreams, etc.) mean nothing in the greater scheme of things.

And that makes sense, since I'm a Pisces and these eclipses all hit my Sun. Pisces is all about learning to confront our own emotions. Being the third and most global of the emotional 'water' signs, Pisces asks that we recognize how much in common we have with others...and what it means that we have all that in common with them - whether or not they want to acknowledge it.

Sometimes it’s very very discouraging. Sometimes it’s comforting. After all, if I know squat, then I’m not responsible to know squat. And to answer the question which inevitably arises next (seeing as I am an astrologer), astrology is NOT fate. Astrology tells us when the clockwork of time, space and existence – vis-à-vis our individual charts and the world – will bring us a particular challenge. Whether we reach out or grab hold or give something a try or reject it utterly…that’s up to us. That’s free will. Yes, an astrologer can tell you what you will tend to do – our ‘habits’ are written in our natal chart.

But so are the possibilities.

Those possibilities are written best and most clearly in a couple of particular symbols, one of which is the North Lunar Node.

Everybody loves doing their ‘South Node stuff’ – that’s easy. We get it. We’re good at it. We enjoy it. It feels native.

Nobody likes their ‘North Node stuff.’ It’s difficult precisely because it takes us out of our comfort zone.

In other words, it’s all about growth. It’s about putting on our big-boy (or big-girl) pants and going out and doing what we can do in this world, not just what we want to do in this world.

And about those Nodes…when is it that you think they’re most globally active?

Answer: during eclipses.

The following illustration is purposefully small. All I’m hoping you’ll do is look at the patterns and the colors.

 

What is this an illustration of? It’s an illustration of the months of the eclipses between the year 2000 and 2017. The months of the year go down from January on the top. The years go across, starting with the year 2000.

Solar eclipses are highlighted in yellow, lunar eclipses in blue. This chart is really about the solar eclipses, and if you’ll pay attention to the blocks of color around them, you’ll see that all the solar eclipses taking place in water are highlighted by two months (before and after) in turquoise. Those in air are sort of a teal-ish blue. Those in earth are highlighted in green, and those in fire are highlighted in a tawny, orange-yellow.

Much of the time, solar eclipses repeat for two years in a given sign before moving on, backwards, through the signs.

Now I’ll invite you to look at just a section of that table. It illustrates eclipses for the years 2011-2017…

We’re in 2012. Please note: this is the last time we are going to have an eclipse in air until after the year 2017. That means a lot of (airy) ideas are going to go by the wayside this year. It also tells us that we will be rebuilding those over the next five years or so.

Considering how the solar eclipses during this time will concentrate in the elements of earth and water, we can expect that things are going to get muddy. And yet, since earth and water are also the most nature’s most fertile and stable of combinations, we obviously have the opportunity to build anew and create something reliable.

Still, there are a couple of catches. The years 2013 and 2014 are focused on Taurus and Scorpio. Individually – which is to say psychologically – this is likely to be a very trying time, especially for those who have self worth issues. If you’re someone who thinks ‘things’ and the admiration of others (or even just the ‘group’ you run with) proves your value, watch out!

More than that, on a global basis this Taurus/Scorpio time is likely to be raucous and contentious, particularly where finance (economics), debt, taxes, inheritances, war, ‘life-and-death’ issues, and the food chain are involved.

Between 2014 and 2015 you may have noticed a red vertical line. What is that about? That’s about the fact that the eclipse sequence goes directly from Taurus/Scorpio to Pisces/Virgo – skipping over Aries/Libra. And that...I can't help but think that's a blessing. There are a lot of people who think the world - particularly our human world - is coming to an end. As an astrologer, I know of no clearer celestial sign which would say ‘no it isn’t.’

Still, that doesn't say things are going to be easy. Instead of testing our sense of existential existence or ability to be who we need to be to have a life we can respect ourselves for having, life is going to go from testing our self worth and satisfaction (through every and any means) directly into two-and-a-half years of raw emotional provocation.

Part of that is the Pisces concept I outlined above. The other side of the coin will be Virgoan: the means and methodologies - the ability to get the thing done and the standards and morality we bring to the process.

Considering we're talking eclipses here, there are going to be a lot of really painful moments. And this 2013-2017 period is going to be particularly tough on the so-called 'Yuppie' generation. Their Plutonic obsessions, predilections, standards (or lack thereof)...it's all going to come out - the magnificent good and the unbelievable self indulgence.

Every generation experiences good and bad. Eventually, things happen to test us all. Astrologically, how these passages work seem to depend on where you started out and what you haven’t experienced yet. Life is not kind…it’s not unkind. It just is. We are all meant to experience a little bit of everything. Why? Because that’s how we learn to have perspective on our Self (and what that Self chooses to do or not do)...and why it’s important to learn to appreciate one another.

It’s easy to like those "South Node people." You know, the people who are 'like us' and who think as we do? It's harder to understand others. And yet, that's part of our North Node work too.

The more we resist, the more life teaches. Life is about staying ‘sharp’ and eclipse cycles ensure life is never, never dull.

No wonder we refer to those in the forefront as being on the ‘cutting edge’!

Astrology and the Mayan Road

 Planet Earth as photographed by Apollo 17 (photo credit: NASA)

What with this being 2012 and all, I got to thinking about evolution – human evolution. Certainly if you do any kind of a review of humanity and its doings over the past (say,) 6,000 years one thing comes clear: people stay the same, even if their tools and technologies change.

We humans are either very stubborn or very resilient creatures, depending on your perspective. Heck, we’re probably both! There is something to be said about how ‘stubborn’ is another form of perseverance, after all.

Varying not really at all from that, you’ve often heard me speak to division of signs into three ‘decans’ or ‘decanates’ of ten degrees (‘deca’ being the Latin for ‘ten’), right? The first decan (degrees 0-9 of any sign) manifest physically – through our physicality – or through our actions. The second decan (degrees 10-19) is emotional. And the third decan (degrees 20-29) is ‘transpersonal’ – which means that it’s all about what comes “at” us…life’s prompts, information and (yes) critiques.

We act in the first decan, we react in the third decanate.

In the course of writing much astrology as well as other material (fiction) I’ve come to think that language reflects these differences. So I’ll propose that ‘perseverance’ is a first decan word with ‘stubborn’ being the second decan equivalent. As for the third, that’s a bit harder. Third decan terms should always embrace life’s bumps and detours. Maybe ‘enduring’ is the right term here?

I’m not sure. Every time I play this game with myself I get a bit stuck at the third decan.

That said, 2012 is the famous Year of the Mayan Calendar. Did they Maya forecast doom for the human race? If you go hunting around for actual old-time Mayan statements on the subject, you’ll find there’s very little in the ancient (written) record on the subject. There are some spiritual statements in the Popul Vuh (the premier surviving Mayan myth-cycle text)…but apart from that, about all we have is a small (if somewhat grandly stated) inscription on a set of ruins in Mexico.

What it all amounts to – providing you’re not bent on making Mayan beliefs conform to apocalyptic Christian beliefs – is that we’re in for some changes. The Mayan calendar (the Long Count) is not ending. But we are at the end of what might best be termed as a ‘creation’ round.

We do know the Maya held that the ‘world age’ coming now to an end was all about humans coming to be and learning – in essence - who we are and what we’re capable of doing or being.

That, I think we’ve done. By now humans know that we’re capable of incredible good and horrifying bad. We’ve seen our kind be everything one could hope a being could be and as selfish and determinedly blind as any nightmare from the depths of a sickened subconscious.

The divider is us. We decide who we’re going to be. Life isn’t about waiting for someone else to give us permission to be what we think we should be. Life isn’t about waiting for the ‘right time.’ Life is life.

That, the Maya clearly knew. They weren’t saintly, goodness knows – they had their share of wars and other horrible foolishness. But they did understand that with the coming of civilization (starting in about 4,500-4,000 BCE) there was going to be a huge learning curve about being civilized beings.

Think of it as the human school in being human.

Given that, do you think the Mayans projected that we were going to ‘graduate’ from learning who we are and…pffft!…disappear? I’m thinking not.

That one text we have speaks of an investiture to come at the end of this current calendar round. Investiture in what, you ask?

Try this in simpler form: the human completes their schooling. They’ve gone to primary school, secondary school and college. Now what?

Answer: they invest themselves in life, based on all they’ve learned thus far.

The overtones of the writings we have from the Maya speak to an understanding that we are the stuff of the stars. Life is life. Einstein (and others) redefined this by saying ‘everything is energy.’ But long before the scientists got there, the Maya wrote the trees are our cousins. Life is contiguous.

 Albert Einstein as photographed by Doris Ulmann in 1931

What’s really changing now is our orientation to All Which Is. We think of ourselves as separate creatures. But plainly – whether you’re thinking Maya or thinking physics – we’re really not. Everything truly is connected. So when we don’t care about someone else, we’re denting the world, the life we live in…our own life.

(Try that out next time you’re wondering if you’re your brother’s keeper.)

Astrology’s timekeeping mechanism – the astrological ages – is both shorter and longer than the Mayan ‘calendar clock.’ The ‘creation round’ (my term) is 5,125 years long – roughly. (It’s actually 1,872,000 days long, which doesn’t interface cleanly with a solar year.) On the other hand, a full astrological ‘Great Year’  is 25,920 years long. That’s the time it takes for Earth (as a planet) to go through its axial “precessionary cycle.”

Since there are twelve zodiac signs, this comes down to each astrological ‘age’ being 2,160 years long. So in the time that the Mayan creation round has run its course, astrology has pretty much defined two astrological ages – that of Aries and that of Pisces. (It’s a PREcessional cycle – it cycles backwards.)

One thing the Maya have over astrologers: a fixed date. The traditional date for the beginning of this creation round is August 11, 3113 BCE. Astrology is fudgier than that…partly because astrological ages are natural (planetary/cosmic) functions which meld one into the next rather like colors in a rainbow.

A double rainbow over the bay of Pocitos

 in Montevideo, Uruguay (photo credit:  Madrax)

If you were alive and humming in the 1960s you probably heard about a musical called “Hair.”  

Remember? Everyone went around humming ‘this is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.’

That Age is now upon us. It’s still coming into force, but considering that sociologically, Aquarius is about the idea of class-versus-equality, freedom-versus-anarchy, energy, technology, social systems, science, income, individuality-versus-‘being part of the group’ and the ever-yearned for idea that we would be accepted in and by this world for who we are…you get the drift.

So how does this fit with Mayan statements on the end of their ‘sun’ (creation cycles were referred to as a ‘sun’ or ‘world’)?

Let’s go back to that human education thing. The Maya said that this ‘sun’ (creation round) was about learning who we are as beings. As humans.

Now we’ve learned that. (At least hopefully...) That means we need to ask the next question: what are you going to do with your humanity, now that you know what humanity is capable of?

If we look at the Age of Aquarius as our signpost, there is likely to be a marked tendency on society’s part (and ours, as individuals) to make any ‘first move.’ That alone gives us a hint as to why we see things are as sticky in our world as they are at this time.

A horoscope wheel for the Age of Aquarius

We’re emerging from the water sign Age of Pisces. Pisces is a notoriously emotional sign. Many think of it as our ‘downfall’ but that’s not exactly the Piscean gig… all things Piscean (including Pisces people) are in this world to get us to feel our feelings.

That’s the hard part. We love the fantasy of life. We love hoping and dreaming. It’s reality that a lot of us have trouble with. The yearning for an emotional stamp of approval everyone born in the Pisces Age will live with for the whole of their life…THAT’s what we’re carrying forward – as a race and as individuals – into the Aquarian Age.

 

A horoscope wheel for the Age of Pisces

Another part of Pisces is a distinctly emotional ‘us and them’ quality. For the past 2,000 years (plus), humans have lived in, and upheld a ‘have/have not’ emotional mentality. Some accepted it, some fought it. Aquarius is a tricky sign, mostly because it tests our intellectual capacity. It’s not a ‘feeling’ sign per se. Aquarius is all about the greater perspective on the idea…or the idea of the greater perspective.

Here, as a watery and emotional Piscean Age gives way to an intellectual/thinking Aquarian Age there’s a lot of scrambling going on. Seeing that one of the great ‘signatures’ of “worldly water” is money, a lot of people are carrying the ‘us-versus-them’ concept forward based on wealth.

The problem there is that won’t wash in Aquarius. Though Aquarius is the sign of income, it’s only about income because income is supposed to be the ‘effect’ part of the ‘cause/effect’ measuring our contributions to this world.

At the risk of offending a lot of Christian readers, I’m going to go back to the concept of apocalypse and without reciting all the history suggest that what is really ‘apocalyptic’ in human terms is realizing your efforts are (or have been) for naught. It’s that moment of getting out of college with your fabulously shiny degree only to realize you know nothing in Big World terms.

The term ‘investiture’ really is the clue here: it tells us that we’re all graduating from college and being required to invest ourselves in a world which is a whole lot bigger than we thought it was. We’re facing the realization that while there are certainly people in this world who will help us, there are also people who will take advantage of us. Or want nothing to do with us, particularly if we cling to our emotional sense of entitlement.

Faith isn't the 'make or break' issue in the Age of Aquarius that it has been during the Age of Pisces. Yes, you have to have faith to make it through life, but the faith has to be in yourself. You have to recognize that you have something to give and that it’s up to you to give it – and be compensated for the ideas and ideals you hold and live up to.

Some people will point to success or money as their ticket to social or societal acceptance. But in the end, as this new Age really comes into force, that's going to count less than who they really are - as a person.

Where this Mayan ‘Sun’ gives way to a new ‘World’ is where the Piscean Age gives way to the inquisitive, theoretical world of the Aquarian Age. In Aquarius, the All is the All. It’s not your culture, it’s that culture exists, and what you’ve learned from being someone of a culture which enables you to make a worthwhile contribution to that Whole.

The Maya told us that this would be when we would need to be letting go of preconceptions (about life) built up over the past 5,100 (plus) years. That’s not easy. The Aquarian Age tells us that while we need to value the feelings of the collective we also have to be an upstanding, thinking individual.

The shaking, the ‘fires’ which you hear were supposed to erupt? Remember, back then people wrote in a metaphysical language as a matter of course. Literalism itself is very Aquarian Age, but probably not helpful. The beginnings of the Mayan age now ending (back in 3113 BCE) would have been in the early years of the Taurean Age. And in that age, Pisces would have been in the 11th (societal) position.

 A horoscope wheel for the Age of Taurus

In modernist terms, might that make those ‘fires’ and ‘upheaval’ our current economic life-quakes? Could ‘fires’ be more about people ‘getting fired’?

That seems quite a stretch, yes. But in metaphysics, it’s worth thinking. If what we’re talking about is ‘burning down’ and ‘shaking up’ then in the eleventh house of an Age, that would be economics and social systems.

And yes – we would be scared. That would be entirely Pisces. But that’s the point – we’re supposed to be able to feel the repercussions of what we do, both in our lives and that of others.

Why? So that we’ll do better. So that we’ll stop acting like celestial teenagers and grow into our full human, humane and humanistic potential.

Being human is the first decan. Being humane is second decan. And this time, I have no issue: humanistic is definitely the ultimate and worldly third decan definition.

How did the Mayans know all this? We'll probably never know the details there. But they do seem to have thought through - and come to understand - a good deal about human nature. From what we know, they seem to have derived much of their philosophy from math (and numerics) based on astronomical cycles. And when you combine astronomy and philosophy, what do you get? Astrology - that way of thinking about life which even now suggests that there is a reason why all things happen when they happen.

I believe it was Shakespeare who wrote that the issues of life lie 'not in our stars, but in ourselves'...which written but a differently is to say 'in our Self.'

We are. We exist. We are - as the Maya thought of it - 'the stuff of stars.'  So our answers, like our challenges, lie within. They're all part of knowing who we are and recognizing that the person we hold ourselves to be is the 'cause' which creates the 'effect' in our life.

You gotta love those Mayans, right? They’re very, very cool.