New Moon in Aquarius ... Sun in Pisces

According to NASA, 'a new moon occurs when the moon and sun are at the

same geocentric ecliptic longitude.' Astrologers refer to that as 'conjunct.'

(NASA-Goddard Space Center, June 2011)

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Like every other last degree of any sign, 29 Aquarius is imparted with a stressful sort of energy either about trying to get something done before some deadline, or before it can’t be done any more.

Then again, you may be all about getting past ‘this’ in order to get to that next thing ... person ... opportunity.

It’s all in the way we approach this moment of a New Moon, yet either way, what we have been doing - even if we continue doing it - is going to change. In real time and daily awareness terms this change is likely to be subtle. But it will change now as the cycle begun back on January 20th (UT/+0) at the 0 Aquarius New Moon moves out of last (lunar) month’s more physical/’doing’ first decanate sort of mode into a more reacting-to-that-which-is-going-on third decan sort of mode.

But still conceptual mind you, meaning this next month’s issues and emotional (lunar) concerns are going to center in the idea of the thing as it stands right now rather than the (earthy) physicality of it or the (elementally watery) emotional cost of it - or the (fire) vision of possibilities, good or otherwise.

The New Moon at 29 Aquarius (glyph chart)

February 18, 2015 - 23:47 (11:47 p.m., UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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The New Moon at 29 Aquarius (text chart)

February 18, 2015 - 23:47 (11: 47 p.m., UT+0) - Aries Wheel (Location Not Specific)

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Year 2015 is starting out with two air sign cycles, which either means we’re going through a time when we’re very much emotionally invested in ideas and concepts ... or when we should be.

It depends - and considering Aquarius’ reputation for being a sign which delivers things in a singular impassive manner which even when it isn’t directly critical can sometimes feel terribly denigrating, like as not we shouldn’t be looking for a particularly cuddly time.

And yet... the Sun is about to move into Pisces, that most universal of emotional periods. So what could this possibly be about?

For one, it may be about the fact that this New Moon has only two aspects, the first of which comes from  Mars being at 29 Pisces at this New Moon ... and the second of which comes from Saturn doing Saturn things at 4 Sagittarius.

29 Pisces to 29 Aquarius being only thirty degrees, this ‘critical’ (read: intense) degree Aquarian Moon comes inscribed with a note of feeling daunted. Or maybe frustrated.

Plus ... (and maybe more importantly) ... 29 Pisces is the degree of the Solar Eclipse our lovely Planet Earth is going to experience in just over a month now on March 20th.

Twenty-nine degrees of Pisces is just like 29 degrees of Aquarius in that it can either represent our trying to fix something or make it work as it should before some ‘deadline’ or point where for whatever reason it “won’t matter any more” ... or our trying to get through something or past something (think: ‘I’m just counting the days until...’) because you want to get to the next thing, which here is theoretically an Aries thing pointing to wanting to be able to do things the way you think they should be... or the way you think you should be being able to do them.

And all of this - being so very Piscean in nature means this is all about the reality of those desires and hopes of yours. Pisces is not exactly about the ‘thing’ we’re trying to do, you see ... its about all the emotional issues which could possibly come up while we’re doing that thing. Or because we do that thing.

Or even because we though we could ... or should do that thing.

And given that this is Pisces we are talking about, not only is the ‘thing’ something which we have some depth of feeling about ... but whatever happens to that thing or to our efforts ... that will also affect our emotional perspective and/or sense of calm in such a way that we begin to realize somewhere in our heart of hearts where we have been ... and probably still are (to some extent, and probably more than we know or want to admit to) in danger of allowing our Self to be led astray.

Not by others, mind you - but by that Self of ours which is either by being too malleable or too indeterminative (probably much to our dismay) gets us into some sort of jam with ourselves (read: not necessarily with others, but surely with our Self) because our own history leaves us vulnerable to marginalizing or negating that part of our Self which if correctly valued becomes the lynchpin which actually does make things work.

It’s just getting to that issue which we’re unlikely to like.

Meanwhile, this New Moon is also in a square to Saturn while Saturn is sitting at the apex of a t-square which the New Moon itself isn’t (by standard orb) a part of.

Plus Saturn’s sitting at 4 Sagittarius, a degree it arrived in on February 9th and which it will remain in through its date of station (March 14) until in retrograde Saturn reaches 3 Sagittarius on April 18th.

And yes, it will return to 4 Sagittarius (a degree known to go from quiet to savage in nothing flat if properly provoked) later this year, between October 31st and November 8th, to be exact.

The t-square which doesn't involve the New Moon appears to be bent on eliminating or 'dissolving' something (the goal being Neptune). But there's something in the way.

And that which is in the way evidently is waiting on something else ... which is a problem everyone is having, transferring the gumming of works all along some (Saturn) timeline time.

In terms of the New Moon configuration however, Saturn squaring the New Moon tells us to consider what we do in the weeks ahead carefully. Like all squares, ‘weighing’ each ‘side’ of every issue is important, though in the end the resolution of squares depends on not dealing with each thing separately but as part of a structural balance either in its own right or in terms of some balance which must be struck (most likely with your Self) about how to go about things.

For some, this process will be the proverbial piece of cake. For most of us, however ... things won’t be insipidly or blissfully easy. That we are given to know here because that which is ‘challenging’ the New Moon (Saturn) is also the foundational ruler of Aquarius, sign this New Moon is in.

Again, some of us have sufficient self-discipline or healthy enough work habits (you know, the stuff of Saturn structuring) to not go overboard in any (or every) direction. But not all of us are likely to be as seamlessly integrated. Fissures and fractures of every kind may well arise during this lunation ... or as a result of something done during this lunation.

Or maybe this lunation is about avoiding just that. Will we make some sort of concerted effort to embrace that which is universal and systemically functional, allowing for differences while honoring the whole?

Are we even willing to feel?

That quality or quotient of feeling - that may be greatly absent in some minds and some situations until the lunar cycle itself hits next month’s watery eclipse. Lore describes 29 Pisces alternately as a stoic and fearful, as a great spirit of deep wisdom and a cosmic nitwit fully capable of snatching defeat from those glistening jaws of victory.

Astrologically, Mars sitting at the degree of next month’s solar eclipse sets its clock to ticking.

Or ticking more loudly, perhaps we should say. That the New Moon occurs at 23:48 (11:48 p.m.) on the 18th and the Sun exits Aquarius only three minutes later speaks of being pushed to some edge within our Self even as we’re pushing ourselves to some edge where letting go and accepting our mortality becomes our only choice.

To some degree, the Sun's passage through Pisces is always lived behind the scenes. Problems occur when we're hiding from our Self - or from reality, to whatever extent ... with the problem being that so long as the Sun remains in Pisces its perfectly possible we may not notice. Or that we'll make some excuse, because under Pisces our first instinct is to try and make sure nothing is ever about us - that's the basic emotional position.

And yet it is about us. Entirely about us. This moment and this cycle, this isn’t about ‘them’ ... what they say, what they want, what they may come to think, feel or do.

It’s about us: the core, crux and most private parts of us. If you have something you don’t want to think about, this is the kind of cycle which can evoke it. If you know you’ve done something you don’t want to feel you were a part of, this cycle can get your heartstrings strung up tight.

We’re all going to go about our lives wearing our social(Aquarian lunar cycle) masks, day in, day out.

But inside we’re going to be wrestling with some melting dream of important personal measure.
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Dionysus Direct, Deucalion Retrograde

Amzinybe (Eternity) by Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1907)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-link to post-

Deucalion: Freeing Our Will

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By what?

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

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

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

That is also Deucalion. 

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

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

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You Were Searching ...

Italy's Telescopio Nazionale Galileo

(photo credit, Giovanni Tessicini, September 2012)

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One of the things about human nature I like best is curiosity - which is probably a good thing, as I’m a very curious person ... or at least that’s what people have told me over the years. And yes, I am aware how that labeling me as a ‘curious person’ may mean several things most of which I surely am.

I am curious. I have also always been curious about nearly everything, a fact I attribute to an aversion to  boredom plus having been left to amuse myself  through most of my growing-up years.

So ... From one curious person to those curious enough to type search terms into search bar of browsers because you’re on a search to understand yourself better, I’m with you so thoroughly that here at astroPPM I’m taking on search terms (as time and transits allow) to help you in your quest.

And here’s today’s handful, as always pulled from the search phrases which Google/Blogger lists for people who decide to come and vision this here-now blog.

ASCENDANT DISCORDIA
Any time we talk about any of the angles (the Ascendant, Descendant, Nadir/IC or Midheaven/MC) it’s important to know whether you’re talking about a planet which by degree falls before the cusp line (heading into the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house) or after the cusp line (in the 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house). This is one of those areas of astrology which have been statistically tested (according to scientific standards) and the results are really interesting, though not illogical if you think the thing through.

Put simply, the planet, asteroid, dwarf planet, node or whatever else which is positioned just before the angle cusp line is more potent and determinative in terms of that house’s operations than those which fall just after that 1st, 4th, 7th or 10th house cusp line.

And why does that make sense? That makes sense because it is the energy you bring to the subject which changes it, not what it is to begin with. Any object (planet, node, dwarf planet, etc.) sitting within a degree or two of the angle is metaphysically that energy which is being applied TO that angle.

(Astrology students, please take note. In my experience, this idea, the collection of rules known as the Doctrine of Sect and the old rule which says ‘the good or bad which comes out of the house (and thus any planets or objects positioned in the house) is determined by the condition of the planet ruling the sign on the cusp of the house’ ... those three rules sort out more confusion in charts than anything else. But maybe that’s just me.)

As to Eris (Discordia) on the Ascendant, any form of Eris on, behind, or in the house (while conjunct the Ascendant) speaks to several very different themes. One involves a tendency ... ability ... some might even call it a talent ... to cause or create discord through what you say or do. This can be negative, as in the case of someone who just likes to pick an argument or rabble-rouse for the sake of upsetting others. Then again, it could be a very positive quality, as in the case where someone stands against some evil being done. Or where someone stands up for those who have no ability to protect, defend or stand up for themselves.

Planets close to the Ascendant also often manifest as a quality others see in us, as the Ascendant describes and times not just our actions, but the general personality and manner of physical presentation. Astrologers often refer to the Descendant as a ‘performance point,’ or the place in the chart to look at when thinking about what we ‘put out there’ and (in return) how others react/respond to whatever we offer - and that true, if in terms of specific acts and people that we interact with, generally by choice (a big exception here would be in the sense of the 7th house representing ‘open enemies,’ lawsuits and such).

The Ascendant is generally more associated with personality and appearance - by which we mean both your daily outfit and sense of style and your height, general body shape and (often enough) particular traits which tend to surface with any given sign being on the Ascendant.

So with Eris - an energetic which arises most often with a quality of ‘unpredictability’ in the mix - on the Ascendant we may be unpredictable. Or, in the sense that the Ascendant is “now” and thus the aperture for the rest of the chart, we may be skilled in being unpredictable.

Ascendants are tough quotients to control, hence the terribly human ability to open the mouth and just change feet. (As a Pisces, might I suggest this is a good reason to keep up good foot hygiene?) This challenge is not just about the Ascendant however - it’s common to every calculated point in the chart (as opposed to asteroids, planets and such, all of which have physical mass). Something with mass we metaphysically can ‘get a hold of’ and thus teach ourselves how to deal with, forming habits, mannerisms and whatnot in the process.

But the Ascendant? Like the lunar nodes, like Lilith the Black Moon, the Ascendant is something we cannot train, we cannot tame - we can only be aware of on an ongoing and consistent basis... which, since ‘being in the now’ is what we all should theoretically be doing anyway, isn’t intrinsically a negative.

And at that level, Eris may well provide some sort of personal warning: care about what you do and say, lest others not care about you or anything you end up saying.

One last comment here: being that Eris has been in Aries since 1926, understanding the Mars of any given chart (Mars as ruler of Aries) is going to help in understanding and utilizing this placement. Through Mars experiences and maturation the Eris of such a chart will sharpen and/or mellow, affecting the external life (in particular) of this person (or company, etc.) over time.

TYPHON ORBIT
Typhon being an object which I’ve seen variously listed as an SDO (Scattered Disc or Disk Object), a TNO (Trans-Neptunian Object), a centaur (think domestic cousin to all those international comets) or just plain asteroid, its orbit originates out in the Kuiper Belt (beyond Neptune) rather in the district of Eris (speaking of Eris).

Also rather like Eris, Typhon has a egg-shaped orbit which goes from ‘way out there’ to rather more ‘in close, towards here’ - with ‘here’ being our lovely Planet Earth, of course.

 a diagram of TNO Typhoon's orbit

(diagram courtesy of JPL's Small Body Database)

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The difference between Eris’ orbit and Typhon’s however, ends with eggish-ness and proximity, specifically because where Typhon and Eris sort of ‘meet up’ in purely theoretical distance-from-the-Sun sorts of measures is different.

In short, Eris comes in towards the Sun to a distance of 37.91 au (one ‘au’ or Astronomical Unit being the mean distance from the Sun to Earth) which is about where Typhon is at its farthest from the Sun.

Why is that important? It’s not if all you’re interested in are orbits - in which case, at it’s closest to the Sun (the perihelion point) Typhon is at 17.5 au - a distance which puts it inside Neptune’s orbit, inside Uranus’ orbit and not all that far (in astronomical terms) from Saturn.

That’s a very eggish orbit, not to mention one which explains why Typhon might be listed as a centaur - a denotation which approaches fitting with Typhon as an astrological reference, Typhon being (in the chart) a point which carries with it very ‘primal’ energies. Things like eating, sleeping, breathing and such are often referenced by Typhon in the chart if not always on a physical basis (thank goodness) but also in terms of our reactions to things, such as when we react to something as if something truly dangerous or life-threatening was at stake. Typhon isn’t about explaining why a person reacts as they do, but rather refers to the level at which they react.

Currently positioned at 22 Libra (where it is keeping conjunct company with dwarf planet and ‘shape-shifter’ Haumea) Typhon is describing primal reactions which keep (Haumea) changing in nature and/or emphasis, with some (if not much) of the lack of ‘settling on one thing’ being attributable to simply being overloaded.

With an orbital time period of 235.25 years, Typhon moves at about the rate (astrologically, give or take) that Pluto does (read: not all that quickly). Typhon entered 22 Libra late on December 26, 2014 (UT/+0) and will be there until it retrogrades back out of 22 Libra on March 1st, after which it will return to 22 Libra on October 9th and remain there until October 16, 2015.

SWATCH REGROGRADE MENTAL FAME YRS... 
I confess, this one stumped me - except for the thought that someone wants to know why their Swatch watch is running backwards.

Answer (should that be the case): I haven’t a clue.

On the other hand, I do wonder how this search term led to astroPPM. Would you consider posting a comment to explain how that happened?

Like I said above ... I’m a curiously curious person.

WHAT DOES SAPPHO IN AQUARIUS MEAN?
I appreciate the full sentence here - complete with question mark. (Yes, that’s how it showed up in the back room here at the blog - with question mark intact.)

As to your question, Sappho in Aquarius is at one very distinct level connecting universal (Sappho) appeal (“the striking of the common chord”) to the idea of a mass (Aquarian) marketplace, with Sappho adding qualities of grace and the ability to ‘distill’ ideas into the mix. Finding ideas, methodologies and success through this combination would require finesse and an ability to state all matters simply, if meaningfully.

And while we’re on the subject of Aquarius...

WHY ARE AQUARIUS SO POWERFUL
The simple answer here is “they aren’t - at least not all of them.” Aquarius succeeds where it understands the overarching ideal as well as all the fundamentals which hold things together and make them work, qualities which reflect this last-of-the-air-signs’ twin rulers, Saturn and Uranus.

Reflecting this, most of the problems found in Aquarian situations or as symbolized by planets and other things being positioned in Aquarius have to do with attempts to escape responsibility, impatience and the unwillingness to accept ideas or value those whose lives, aims or goals differ from our own, judgments and decisions based on incomplete or biased information and simple, unadulterated haste (wherever that surfaces) ... all of which represent desires likely to do harm to current endeavors whether or not the eventual aim is terminally compromised.

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So that’s it for today - mostly because the next subject on the list I want to tackle is a giant thought unto itself.

(No, I’m not telling you.)

But like others, if you search for something about astrology and end up here at astroPPM ... if your search string hits the Google list in this blog’s backroom (which I check pretty much daily) I may be answering your questions too.

And I’m just fine with doing so. In the Aquarian Age creed we will all search for individuality and a way not just to fit in but to find a place which really ‘works’ for us. But if that place doesn’t give back - if it’s all about you (or you and yours), or to the degree that anyone (including you) becomes isolated, ultimately all will come to naught.

In other words, freedom and individuality are both very good things - very essential items to focus on throughout this incoming Aquarian Age. But when (or if) freedom and the quest for individuality ends with, or becomes an end in itself all about the Self, that defeats the purpose of this Age - an Age which if nothing else is about that which works functionally everyone in spite of their age, creed, religion, origin, gender, marriage status, ethnic origin, financial, health, educational status or whatever else.

And no, not everyone is going to be okay with that. During this age, ‘might makes right’ will be tried and tried again - as often in the name and form of that which it seeks to defeat as otherwise ... which is a very interesting form of 'like attracts like' few who consider themselves opposed to or actual enemies of others generally fail to consider - never mind admit, own and act on.

That which in the end survives to ultimately endure (keyword: ultimately) will be that which is respectfully earned and which is based and grounded in respect which is earned long term and - in keeping with the Aquarian credo - which also does not apply simply to who we are or what we do, but which reflects systemic growth and changes which again are functional and workable on a global, unrestricted and un-restrictive bases.
 
And so in short (which describes me well) I’m good with answering your searching search questions. Query on!
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