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From Archetypes to Assassination; my study begins

May 12th, 2011 . Posted in Archetypal Cosmology, In the News, Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations | 10 Comments »
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Hello, friends.

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged here, but I have a good excuse:  I started my Master Degree Program with The Graduate Institute in Archetypal Cosmology and Conscious Evolution last week.

Ay, yi, yi, new terms and concepts are jumbling around in my brain at a fierce and furious rate!  So far we’ve reviewed the history of astrology and how we have arrived at the state the discipline now occupies; the history of psychology (much shorter than astrology!) and the developments that have led to the integration of the two disciplines, and the theory of archetypes.

Plato, the originator of archetypal hypothesis. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)


Archetypal theory is where this learning really veers off from anything I have done before.  This may surprise you since the study of astrology is the study of archetypes.  But honestly I think I had astrology and its archetypes cordoned off as a beautiful and elegant system of theory which was remarkably applicable to “life.”  We are being encouraged to view archetypes (as best as I understand it now, which is almost definitely extremely limited) as the actual fabric of “life”, the mind of supreme Consciousness expressed in patterns which are replicated throughout time and various cultures.

For many years I have been fascinated by “Consciousness” and have devoted most of my time to exploring this topic.  I am one who believes that Consciousness/God not so much made the world but “becomes” the world, and that that sacred energy is existent within its creation, including within us.  I feel this energy to be not only existent, though, but reachable, connectible, close, intimate, and a willing conversationalist.  I also subscribe to the belief that our universe is being recreated in every second of time by an ultimately munificent and playful universal spirit.

It seems to me that archetypal theory limits Consciousness to certain ways of being.  It’s almost like saying God obeys certain rules even as it creates.  Can this be so?  We are also learning that archetypes operate on every level of reality, from the most sublime to the most mundane, and that the outer world is a fairly gross level.  Our thoughts and feelings are somewhat more subtle, and further there is a collective level in which these archetypes are acted out on the global and universal stage.

Within this schema, the astrological signs and planets have their various meanings because they each express a certain archetypal phase of development.  Which leads to another issue:  does God develop?  Does Consciousness evolve?  We know that evolution is a certain method of furthering the aims of the organisms on this earth, on this plane, but does the archetype of evolution apply to God?

Supposedly we are each tuned into the various archetypes depending on the placement of the planets in our own particular astrology charts.  We embody the entire range since all of the signs are present at our birth, but our own attunement to the different archetypes depends on which planets were in which signs when we were born.  Some examples of archetypes:  hero, mother, warrior, scholar, lover, and many, many more.

From God to bin Laden

Pardon me as I range from God to Osama bin Laden’s murder last week.  I bring it up because it is an astounding example of archetypal energies at work.  Look at the chart below.

I’m sure you can get a sense just looking at the chart that there is a massive opposition from all of those planets grouped together at the bottom to the one planet, Saturn, sitting alone at the top.  There is only one outlier, Pluto, which forms a connecting angle to both the singleton at the top and the stellium at the bottom.  My professor, Glenn Perry, said that in his 35 years of astrological study, he has never seen a configuration like this.  Six planets in a single sign is a rare event indeed.  Looking purely at archetypes, here is the event in keywords[i]:

  • Aries (six planets!) – warrior,  assertion, survival, weapons, ammunition, head, violations, fights, battles.
  • Pluto – transformation, catharsis, cleansing, death, power, penetration, destruction, subversion, coversion.
  • Saturn – order, organization, executive, status, accomplishment, structure, limits, authority, perseverance, success, obstruction.

Carl Jung, modern father of psychological archetypes. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

These were the archetypes active at the time of the event.  Years ago I took a creative writing class and the professor gave us disparate, unrelated words and asked us to write a short piece that brought these words together into a coherent story.  If you were asked to write a story given the keywords above, what would you write?  From our perspective we may write a story similar to what happened on May 2 in Abbottabad.  What would we write, using the same keywords, from the point of view of the government of Pakistan?  What would we write using the same keywords if we were members of al Qaeda?  What was happening in your life that weekend?  These same archetypes were expressing themselves everywhere, but the various perspectives would lead to a very different story, wouldn’t they?

A lot to think about, no?  If you see some patterns here that I’m missing, please let me know.  I’m a beginner again, back to square one.  This is my first week of study; I hope you’ll hang in here with me.  I’m sure I’ll become more coherent in time.

[i] These keywords come from Introduction to AstroPsychology, by Glenn A. Perry.

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

A Spectacular Lineup

April 29th, 2011 . Posted in The Basics | 1 Comment »
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Hi, friends.

Just a quick post to alert you to a line-up in the morning sky tomorrow that should be absolutely spectacular – certainly worth getting up for!

The astrological chart is below, for just before dawn.  In it, at the left in the 12th house, you can see the line-up of planets.  Starting at the top is Uranus, then the Moon, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter.  The Sun is below the horizon line in the 1st house because it has not quite risen yet.  If you’re too late, and the Sun has risen, it will be too bright to see the others.

Only Uranus is not visible to the naked eye.  Supposedly you can see it with a good pair of binoculars, but only if it is very dark where you view it.  The Moon will be just a sliver, but when you locate it you should be able to see the additional four planets between the Moon and the horizon.

If you have Google Sky as an app on your Smartphone, take a look at the lineup there.  It’s really gorgeous but I wasn’t able to figure out a way to show you the image.

The next day should be fairly spectacular too, but the Moon will be lower in the sky and a smaller sliver as it approaches the New Moon.  So I’m not sure you’ll be able to see it.  The other planets should be visible though.

If you get up before 6 am, you may be able to see Saturn just setting in the west and Venus just rising in the east.  This is the exact Venus/Saturn opposition I spoke about in my Weekly Forecast.  You can see it on the chart above connected by a red line from Venus at 11° Aries and Saturn at 11° Libra.

In the ancient world visual configurations like this would have been filled with meaning.  Saturn alone in the west and all of the planets lined up opposite in the east would have spoken about a revolt against the king (Saturn), with many allies coming together and supporting the crown prince (Jupiter).  Actually as I’m writing this, outside of the happenings in the mid-East and Africa, I think about Prince William’s marriage today.  Billions of people gathered to support him today, and who didn’t have a twinge of revolt against Prince Charles, William’s father, with all those images of his wedding to Diana and the outcome of that marriage?

Anyway, see you outside (at least in spirit) tomorrow morning!

A Fun Look at Aries

April 18th, 2011 . Posted in The Basics | 2 Comments »
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Hello, friends.

Just before the Sun leaves Aries I wanted to share with you Debra Silverman’s excellent video on the sign Aries.  With energy and humor she accurately portrays the essential elements of this dynamic sign.  Enjoy!

On my other blog, Astro4Business Intersections, we’re doing a series on Leadership through the Signs.  To check out the posts exploring Aries see:

Aries Leadership – Let’s Get Started!

Aries Leadership – Nancy Pelosi

Aries Leadership – Maya Angelou

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Neptune Musings

April 7th, 2011 . Posted in Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations | 10 Comments »
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Hello friends.

Neptune has been in my mind so much these last few days, precipitated, I assume, by her ingress into her home sign, Pisces, this week.  She’s also been in my dreams in the form of the sea.  Last night the sea was rising all around my house, a lovely sea-foam green color.  I was unmooring a boat in my garage and packing it with food in case I needed to float on the rising tides.  I was trying to decide whether to fasten my boat to something in my home so I could always find my way back again, or whether that strong rope would just pull me under when the waters rose too high.  Always practical even in dreams, I decided to bring a strong knife so I could cut myself free if I needed to.

Tobacco Label, 1866. Neptune rules intoxicants of all kinds. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

I think the gallery of pictures included in this post are beautiful representations of Neptune but you’ll note they are all male.  I think of Neptune as female or as a formless energy, which is why I use the feminine or neuter pronoun when I speak about her.

As Neptune enters Pisces she forms an exact square aspect to my natal Sun, representing an open channel from Neptune to my conscious awareness.  So I thought I’d just share some musings and see if we can catch a glimpse of her today.

I’m using OmmWriter for this piece, which adds a touch of Neptune to a writing session.  OmmWriter is software for writing that provides light background music.   Music is very Neptunian because it permeates space and crosses boundaries.  Think of the scene in The King’s Speech when both the King and his coach both know the words and melody to Way Down Upon the Swanee River and Camptown Races.[1] These songs were based on the experience of living in the South of the United States during the 19th Century yet were favorites of these two men living in England in very different social spheres and strata.  The songs not only crossed the bridge between two continents but between these two men.  This is a perfect example of Neptune at work in social consciousness.

Triumph of Neptune, 3rd Century Mosaic. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

In the U.S., music and sport, both Neptune realms, helped to bridge the divide between the Negro and Caucasian populations in the 20th Century in a way that no amount of rhetoric or philosophy would ever have accomplished.  Why sport?  Isn’t sport something martial, ruled by Mars, or the Sun, or Jupiter?  Yes, certain aspects of it have been, especially in the past when sport was practice for the hunt or for warfare.  Sport now represents something very Neptunian.  It is a coming together across boundaries to enact a “religious” experience for its players and followers.  Think of the ecstasy in a city whose team has just won a pennant. 

I remember when Philadelphia won the World Series; everyone in Philadelphia was rejoicing, hosanna!  The city of brotherly love erupted in joy, brother to brother, sister to sister, parent to child, businessman to steelworker, Black to White.  There was no one who didn’t deserve a smile, no one who didn’t understand what his neighbor was feeling no matter their color or social class.  When you looked into someone’s eyes, there was that shared experience:  “We” did it!  “We” won!  Unity.  Neptune.

The Neptune energy will use whatever tools are at hand to compel people to drop below their consciousness of differences and find the realm of unity.  Sport works.  So does science.  Darwin’s[2] work is a scientific representation of the Neptunian perspective.  Certainly there are other theories from which to view the world.  Neptune’s unification is only one step on a continuum from complete absence of awareness to complete differentiation down to the smallest atom.  But Neptune’s realm is the level where consciousness is not split into parts and this level exists in and around us all the time.  Neptune focuses on the trail through history where each life form developed from the last; where the similarity among succeeding generations is the salient point, not the distinction.

In the multi-faceted experience of being conscious Neptune holds the awareness of unity.  You can see it everywhere.  In storytelling, Neptune is the archetypes that are played out again and again throughout literature, television, and movies.  In fashion Neptune is the trends which sweep the world and level distinctions:  blue jeans, peasant blouses, 4″ stilettos, make-up, hairstyles and colors.

Fresco by Luca Giordano, 1682. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Neptune courses through art.  Art with lasting appeal appeals because it expresses feelings that everyone experiences.  The artist is a channel for the commonly held feelings of man, even when men don’t know they are feeling that way.  Each person responds because they recognize their shared humanity in the dance or painting or design.

An apt metaphor for Neptune is air travel, with the plane zooming across the boundaries that are drawn so carefully on land and vehemently protected with fences, borders, walls, and languages.  Yet when flying in the plane and looking down, every distinction dissolves and just the green and brown and blue beautiful earth is below.  Neptune is also the clouds which obscure from above and below; obscure but allow light to shine through always.

Neptune is the elusive unified theory of everything, which I think will be revealed while Neptune is in Pisces.  It is also the colors and lights of the meditative state, and the sounds which connect all beings.  It is the open state of consciousness in a baby, before language sections off knowledge into separate and distinguishable parts.

Neptune represents love when it is given without borders, compassion when spread beyond home base, and freedom when it is gained through the inner doorway.

Roman mosaic, Tunisia, late 2nd Century BCE. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

Now that Neptune is in Pisces it will bring to its home everything it has gained in the whole last cycle of 168 years.  Everything it has learned, everything humans have accomplished, every joy and each degradation the earth has endured, every new birth and every permanent extinction of a species.  All of the joy and all of the sadness will come into the sign Pisces.  We will all become aware of what the last 168 years has brought to us and we will experience it on a feeling level.  We will gain the opportunity to address and correct the errors we’ve made.  Neptune in its home will be active, pulling each being into its mystical, connected realm.

In its home it will strengthen.  It will seep into art, music, storytelling, medicine, religion, and provision for the needy.  It will melt barriers.  It will erupt as the sea to wash everything clean.   It will bring people to consciousness of their interdependence in whatever way it takes.  This is Neptune’s warning so it bears repeating:  it will bring people to consciousness of their interdependence with each other, with all life forms, with the earth, with the galaxy, in whatever way it takes.  It will foist a scientific breakthrough that will rearrange our understanding of nature, as it did with Newton[3] two cycles ago when it was in Pisces and with Darwin during the last time it was in Pisces.

How do we work with the Neptune energy?  Neptune is accessible in the outer world through the arts, team sports, and through fields based on compassion, such as nursing and social work.   In the inner realm, Neptune is accessed through meditation, music, and movement arts such as dance and Tai Chi.  You can feel the Neptune pulse in your body or listen for its sound in your mind.  You can visit the sea and let the rhythm of its tides heal you.  And of course, Neptune speaks in your dreams.  Neptune brings great joy as you let the consciousness of unity permeate your life.

Some folks are more or less attuned to the energy of Neptune as indicated by stronger or weaker contacts in the natal chart.  If you’d like to test the strength of Neptune in your chart, see this article by Donna Cunningham, How Strong Is Your Neptune?  Here’s the Score!

For another look at Neptune, see this post in my other blog, Blending Without Drowning. How Saturn Saved a Neptune Type.

For a look at transiting Neptune, see this post in my other blog, Neptune Transits, Mermaid Calls.

[1] Both songs were written by Stephen Foster, an American composer, in the mid-19th Century, the last time Neptune was in Pisces.  Foster had an exact Sun/Neptune aspect in his natal chart.

[2] Darwin published The Origin of the Species in 1859, the last time Neptune was in Pisces.

[3] Newton published Principia in 1687, the prior time Neptune was in Pisces.

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Full Moon Illumination

March 31st, 2011 . Posted in Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations, This Astrologer's Life | 12 Comments »
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Hello, friends.

I’m writing this post experimenting with OmmWriter, a desktop tool that a friend told me about.  One thing I like about it right away is that it allows you to write with your whole screen; all of the little bars, buttons, tabs, search fields, etc., etc., etc., are gone.  It’s like having a blank piece of paper in front of you.  There are different background styles; the one I’m using now looks like a light blue sky on a snowy day with a few bare trees across the bottom.  Very calm.  There is also soft music playing in the background, which is supposedly better with earphones.  With my good earphones at home in the U.S. and me in England, I only have the pair I bring to watch movies on the plane, which unfortunately are in several pieces having fallen apart on the way over.

March 19, 2011, Super Full Moon in Virgo. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

I want to share a dream I had at the last Full Moon to demonstrate a few different things:  the power of the unconscious to aid our learning of astrology (the unconscious loves astrology!); the actual content of the dream which illuminated an aspect of astrology that was fairly mute for me; the power of the Full Moon to bring something to light; and the reciprocal relationships between two houses in the birth chart.

The Dream

(Uh, oh.  Here I run into one of my first things I don’t like about OmmWriter.  I often write with two pages open on my screen: one with the facts, figures, times, dates, etc. to the left and my actual writing page to the right.  This way I can glance back and forth between them, checking information as I go along.  As far as I can tell, I can’t do this with OmmWriter.  I wrote this dream down as soon as I woke up last week so I’d like to have it right here to refer to, rather than having to toggle back and forth.)

I dreamed about my father’s brother who we used to call Uncle Pal.  Uncle Pal passed away a couple of years ago and I hadn’t spoken to him in many years although I loved him dearly when I was a child.  The dream definitely felt like it was set in an in-between place, not in this world.  I was asking him questions about my father when they were boys.  I asked him how it was to grow up with a mother in and out of the hospital with tuberculosis.  I asked him if my father had always been so unhappy, whether he had displayed this when they were children or did it come later in life?  We went on to talk about how I couldn’t ask my father these questions myself because by the time I was old enough to have them I had been banished from my father’s house for a string of things he disagreed with.

Virgo laborers, Master of the Housebook, Anonymous. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

My uncle told me in the dream that since he was six years younger than my father he didn’t know whether my father was unhappy as a child.  He said there were many people around to take care of them and that my father took care of him.  He also told me that he spoke to my mother and father several times on my behalf, trying to encourage them to bring me back into the family.

Then in the dream my Uncle was smoking opium or marijuana and was angry with me for not sharing my spiritual knowledge with him.  He told me that I had found the answers he was looking for and that I was withholding them from him.  I realized I couldn’t really put into words what I knew, that it wasn’t on the level of words.  He continued to insist that it was my responsibility to figure out how to share it with him; he had shared what he knew with me and now it was my turn to share what I know with him.

The Astrology

This dream came on the night of the Super Full Moon in Virgo with the Sun in Pisces.  Virgo is on the cusp of my fourth house, with the opposite sign, Pisces, on the cusp of my tenth house.  So this Full Moon straddled my fourth and tenth houses.

The fourth house governs our roots, our ancestors, our family of origin.  The tenth house governs the role each of us play in the world.  The fourth house is the very bottom of the chart and represents your base of operations, the shoulders you stand on to make your own mark in the outer world of the tenth.  In the dream my uncle addressed both houses:  the fourth-this is your family legacy, and the tenth-this is your responsibility to give.

When I woke up I started thinking about my ancestors, something I have seldom done.  On both sides of my family there is a striking Virgo influence.  On my mother’s side, my Irish grandfather was a bookkeeper and payroll clerk in the coal mines of Pennsylvania; my mother and my aunts were bookkeepers.  On my father’s side, my father and uncle were scientists and academicians, and my uncle was also a writer.  My grandfather was an Italian immigrant building contractor.    Workers all, and specifically work ruled by the sign Virgo: work requiring specificity, a mind for details, and organizational ability. And work that yielded concrete outcomes.

Pisces Dreamers, Master of the Housebook, Anonymous. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

I could see in the dream how my becoming a CPA was directly in the lineage of my ancestors.  There is a family ethic of hard work and engaging in the daily duty of life to provide for and sustain others.  None of these people were wastrels; nor were they artists, or entrepreneurs, or politicians, or wealthy.  They were grounded laborers working with their minds with a family history of having left their homelands for the opportunity to work in America.  And I have been such a worker too.  As a young mother I took on the responsibility of providing for my son with ease and without support from my family.  I never chafed at the routine of day-to-day work; instead I relished it and still do, sitting at my desk day after day.  These indeed are my roots.  But who am I?

My uncle seemed to address this question in the dream, too.  With Pisces on the cusp of my 10th house, the house of our most public face engaged with the most mystical sign, he seemed to be saying, your gift is your spiritual knowledge, why are you not sharing it?  With the tools from my family, earnest work, specificity, and articulation, I can navigate and articulate the shadowy mists of the Pisces realm.  And if I don’t, then I leave others to try to find their own way, which can lead in unhealthy directions like drug use and escapism (remember he was smoking opium or marijuana.)

Full Moon Dreaming

I can’t overstate the impact of this dream and my appreciation for the tool of astrology to interpret it.  The astrological literature says that the fourth house can be relatively unconscious in a person’s understanding of themselves.  Most of the other houses are much more engaged with others and their meaning is apparent as we see our actions reflected in and impacting other people.  But the fourth house is the most private part, the midnight side.  I’ve done a fair amount of reflection about my early childhood family; I’ve had to!  But the context of the ancestral family and the themes that run through it, and how those themes support my own contribution but do not define it; this dream brought all this to light – illuminated it, like the Sun illuminates the Moon completely at the Full Moon.

One more point:  my mother has the same Virgo/Pisces 4th/10th configuration, as do I, as does my son.  Hmmmmm.  Passing this along through the generations?  Are we mimicking our family customs rather than bringing our own contribution to the world?  Who will break the chain?

You can use this dream in two ways.  First you can look at where you have the Virgo/Pisces dichotomy and see if you can see how the earthy, grounded Virgo energy and the ethereal, mystical Pisces energy balance and inform two houses in your natal chart.  Or you can look at the signs on the cusp of your 4th and 10th house and see if one describes your family archetype and one describes your ultimate intention for your work in the world.

What’s on the cusp of your fourth house?  Have you worked much with your family archetype?  Let us know what you’ve discovered in the comments.  Perhaps in future posts we can look at each pair to see what it reveals.

My OmmWriter Test

As for OmmWriter, I found it nice for writing but I prefer MS Word for editing.  Of course, I only played with the free version.  There is a very inexpensive upgrade that may have more features.  Have you tried it?  What do you think?

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Astrologer’s Desktop – From my world to yours

March 17th, 2011 . Posted in This Astrologer's Life | 8 Comments »
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This woman from Pompeii reminds me of me - and I like that she survived! (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Hello, friends.

There’s so much going on these days, both personally and globally, that I’ve found it hard to focus on any one topic long enough to write about it.  But I don’t want to get out of touch with you!  So this post is sort of a brain-hologram, citing some of  the astrological and related items vying for attention in my mind.  Maybe one or two will strike a chord with you.

  • I’ve definitely decided to attend and have been accepted to the MA program at The Graduate Institute which begins in May.  The program is a two-year, mostly online, course in Archetypal Cosmology and Conscious Evolution.  Here is an excerpt from my application essay:

    • In spite of my study of astrology, consulting, and writing there are still fundamental questions that I do not feel I have answered.  My time at the Ashram [10 years] and 25 years of meditation and other spiritual practices have given me many answers.  But when it comes to astrology I have not found a way to bridge my spiritual knowledge and the tenets of astrology.  I want to be able to support people in working with their life’s purpose but I haven’t examined that purpose in astrological terms to a point that I can easily apply my wisdom to other people’s situations through astrology.

    The fundamental questions I’d like to explore while I attend the Institute are:  Why do people go through what they do?  Why do they suffer?  What insights can I offer them which allow them to gain a new framework for their life?  How can I help others through astrology?  And after hearing Dr. Perry [the director of the program] speak the other day, what is this universe such that the laws of astrology work as they do?

    I feel that the program in Archetypal Cosmology is just what I am looking for.  It seems like, initially, a framework to examine the psycho/spiritual meaning of life.  I look forward to taking the time to really contemplate the issues; to bring myself to a deeper and deeper awareness of my own knowledge through the structured application of my mind which a course of learning provides.  I look forward to exposing myself to this newly articulated astrological wisdom, to learning the construction, and hopefully, to contribute to the evolving understanding.

  • My Leadership through the Signs series on my other blog, Astro4Business Intersections, is going really well.  People seem to be getting a lot out of looking at real-life leaders through the lens of the Sun Signs.  And I’ve learned a ton myself.  I really enjoy learning about people’s lives; it’s probably why I like astrology so much in the first place.

    • I’m trying to cover at least 3 people for each sign, and I’ve managed to reach that goal with Aquarius and Pisces.  I hope and pray I can continue.  It takes a lot of research and sometimes I’m in the middle of a study when I realize there is not enough material available to truly understand someone’s leadership style.  This happened to me with Aquarius Betty Friedan.  I read and read and took copious notes before realizing that none of the material clearly showed how she led.  Certainly she was a leader in the 1960’s women’s movement but her style of leadership was too obscure for the study.  It did lead me to fellow Aquarius Germaine Greer, but by that time I needed to move on to someone whose information was more readily available.

    I may be running into the same issue with Aries Nancy Pelosi.  I’m reading everything I can on her, but within my timetable of one week per person I’m not sure how far I’ll get.  This project takes a lot of focus and time.  I enjoy it and think it’s really useful; it also hones my thinking for a book I’d like to write in the future.  You’d think after all these years studying astrology, which is the study of time, that I’d have figured out how to create more of it!  If anyone has suggestions for other Aries leaders, let me know.

  • In a few days I’ll be returning to England to spend five weeks with my grandson, Teddy.  Those of you who have been reading for a while know that this is a two-three times per year event and with my school starting in May I wanted to be sure I went now.  I try to keep up on my blogging when I’m with Teddy, who is about 2 ½ now.  Usually my writing gets a little erratic while I’m there, but I will try to post the weekly forecast on my Astro4Business blog and note the major events in this one.  And there are major astrological events coming up in the next few weeks so be sure to check often or subscribe so you don’t miss a post.  I know the RSS feed isn’t set up for this blog yet.  I have to ask my genius son when I’m in England to put it up for me.  Thanks for your patience.
  • Japan, Japan.  All our love, respect, and healing energy are flowing your way.  The events there are so catastrophic that I haven’t felt it was proper to explore the astrological underpinnings.  But of course they are there, particularly since the earthquake happened on the day that Uranus moved into Aries.  A new start, huh?

    • A respect for nature and for human ingenuity goes hand in hand with the study of astrology, and trust that the natural cycles are for our benefit, as hard as that is to see sometimes.  Life, death, transformation, birth, destruction, destiny:  these are the daily contemplations of every astrologer.  And yet this knowledge doesn’t make it easier to sleep at night, or to focus on our day to day activities in the midst of such a calamity, does it?

    All of the outer planets made an appearance in this disaster, one after another.  Pluto in Capricorn, an earth sign, brought an earthquake.  Next, Neptune, the god of the sea, responds with a tsunami.  Then Uranus, which rules nuclear energy, decides he’s not to be outdone.  Every time I hear about that Uranium in that Japanese power plant I send a prayer to Uranus, please, we respect you; you don’t have to outdo your brothers.  But in Aries he’s looking for a fight and not likely to be easily pacified.

  • Time for a swim!

    There’s tons more on my desk, both in my astrology world and my accounting world.  Tax season, of course, and I continue to woo a large non-profit client and seem to be making some headway lately.  This is a dream client and one I could parlay into other non-profit work which I love.

    Astrology work has also been very busy, with Straight to the Point Response requests coming in several times a week.  I really like this SPR work; it enables me to look at specific issues in business and life without delving into a longer and more comprehensive reading.  I get to interact with many different people and it tunes me into what’s happening out there in people’s lives.  It suits my Gemini/Sagittarius nature to a T.

    Then there’s the constant information flowing in through the various magazines and newspapers I read.  There’s always something fascinating happening which leads me to Wikipedia for a birth date and then to my astrology program to see what I can glean from the person’s chart.  I just wish, as I said above, that there was more of me or more time to share with you everything fascinating in this world, through the lens of astrology.  But little by little, step by step, I will share what I can.  One thing I know for sure, the source is unending so there will always be more in the future.

  • And last but not least, in El Paso where I live, it’s in the mid-eighties today, the pool cover came off the pool early this week, and I’m going swimming before I head off to cold and damp UK.

All my best to all of you.
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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.



Astrology is so vast; where do I start?

March 8th, 2011 . Posted in Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations, The Basics | 11 Comments »
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A regular reader of this blog left a wonderful comment the other day on my other blog, Astro4Business Intersections.  She had read my Monthly Forecast and asked this question:

How does one begin to focus with astrology and look for main ideas? … When I teach and work with a really difficult piece of literature, I often tell students which is the central character or idea for focus and then encourage them to read all of it and allow the other information to sift or ebb/flow as it may.

I thought this was a great tip:  to pick a main focus and let other information flow as it may.  I’ve thought about this a lot in the last few days and realized that, given different temperaments, different people may want to dip into to the pool of astrological knowledge at different places.  Here are five suggestions for ways you can get your feet wet in astrology without drowning in TMI.

First snowdrop in spring. (Source:Wikimedia Commons)

1. The Zodiac Signs – The zodiac signs are an excellent place to start, especially now as we’re on the cusp of the Equinox.  Each month, study the Sun sign for that month.  For example, while the Sun is in Aries from March 20 to April 20, focus only on Aries.  For thirty days, read everything you can on Aries.

If you’re in the northern hemisphere and you see signs of spring, think, there’s Aries.  Skim astrological articles    for mentions of Aries.  Read about Aries and its ruler, Mars, in Wikipedia and mythology.  Collect some descriptions and ask your Aries friends if these characteristics fit them.

Don’t read about any other sign – really immerse yourself in Aries.   Then on April 20, move on to Taurus.  You won’t believe how deep your knowledge will go if you focus on just the signs each month for one year.

2. The Outer Planets – This is a special interest of mine.  The outer planets correspond to broad movements in society.  They are called generational planets because everyone born within a certain generation has them in the same sign – you could say that the characteristics of the outer planets in their signs define a generation.

When I first began reading people’s charts I began my study by reviewing the position of the outer planets rather than the more commonly read personal planets.  To me, the outer planets revealed the backdrop, the societal stage that the person entered when they were born.  I think you can only understand a person within the context of their historical environment and its challenges.  I still keep this factor in mind whenever I look at a chart.

If this is your interest, study Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.  Read everything you can on the astrological interpretation of these planets as well as their mythology.  Find out the sign they currently inhabit and see if you can see the impact of the planet in the world.  When you listen to the news or read the paper or watch television or movies, look for the activity of the planet in trends and headlines.

Uranus enters Aries this week, so it’s a great time to begin this kind of study.  Focus only on the outer planets to get a broad understanding of astrology and society.

3. Sun, Moon, and Ascendant – For a more personal immersion in Astrology, focus on the Sun, Moon, and Ascendant.  And since the person we know best is ourselves, focus only on your own chart.  Get to know the sign and house of your Sun and Moon.  Read about your Ascendant and the planet that rules your Ascendant.  See if you can relate to what you discover.  List ways you are like your Sun, Moon, and Ascendant and ways you are different.

This choice will get you into the houses of the chart.  Note the house of your Sun, Moon, and ruler of your Ascendant.  Learn everything you can about those houses.  See if you recognize the importance of these areas of life to you.  If you learn these chart factors thoroughly, you will lay a sound foundation for understanding your own life dynamics.

Ares (Mars), Athenian black-figure amphora C6th B.C., Worcester Art Museum. (Source:Wikipedia)

4. Mars – Another good place to start is with the planet Mars.  Mars represents the active, outgoing principle in our lives so his movements and influence are very apparent.  I find Mars the easiest planet to track because he’s hard to miss!

Mars is in Pisces right now and is moving through the signs at the rate of about one each month.  Find out exactly where Mars is traveling through your chart right now and track him as he aspects your planets, changes signs, and changes houses.  Read everything you can about Mars and feel for his energy in your body and your vitality For example, with his ingress into his own sign Aries on April 1, watch for changes in your energy level and in how much you get done in a day.

Tracking Mars is one sure way to see the impact of astrology in your personal world and the world around you.

5. The best astrology blog – The best astrology blog for beginning and intermediate students of astrology, besides this one, of course, is Donna Cunningham’s blog, Sky Writer.  Donna covers basic topics with wisdom and decades of experience, and her writing style is engaging and easy to follow.  She speaks in lay-person terms and covers a wide range of topics.  You can also search her archives for any of the suggestions I have listed above.

Her comments section exhibits one of the most active readerships in the astrological blogosphere but if you’re a beginner, stick to Donna’s blog articles only.  The comments can tend to get a bit technical for the newcomer.

As you engage in your study, be sure to bring your questions here to the comments section.  As you see from this reader’s comment, her question inspired a blog post that many people will appreciate.  And I love questions:  my Gemini/Sagittarius nature finds the question/answer format the easiest to respond to and I always learn something new myself!

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Maintaining Balance

March 1st, 2011 . Posted in Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations, This Astrologer's Life, Transits | 4 Comments »
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Hello, everyone.

How are you?  I haven’t posted to this blog in a while and I am missing you all!  This is a busy season for me in my alter-ego as an accountant.  I don’t do many tax returns but the ones I do are complicated and take a lot of time and attention.  But astrology is always in the back of my mind.

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa. (Source:Wikipedia)

Prakruti/Vikruti

I’ve been thinking a lot about balance.  As you may know, I went to the Ayurvedic Institute a couple of weeks ago for panchakarma, a week of purification, massage, hatha yoga, herbal remedies, and rest.  One of the interesting facets of Ayurveda is their concept of prakruti and vikruti.  According to this ancient science of health and longevity, we are each born with a certain balance of the elements which manifests in three basic energies, or doshas.  The three doshas are kapha, pitta, and vata.   When we are conceived, these three doshas form a certain balance in our bodies.  Not that they are in equal amounts; one or two are usually dominant and the third is less so.  Everyone has a bit of each; the balance of the three is called your prakruti.

The current state of your body and emotional balance is called your vikruti.  Your current state is affected by changing conditions such as weather, diet, stress, exercise, or fatigue.  To be in balance your current state, your vikruti, should be the same as your original state, your prakruti.  If they are pulled off course by the varying circumstances in life, then you may experience physical and emotional symptoms, symptoms which if left in place long enough can lead to disease.  In order to restore your original balance, lifestyle, diet, and other adjustments can be made to bring your vikruti back in line with your prakruti.

Prakruti = Natal Chart?

I’ve been thinking about this because of its correlation to the birthchart in astrology.  If we correlate the birth chart with the prakruti, the balance among the elements when you were born, we could say that your birthchart is your particular blueprint for balance during this lifetime.  Just like prakruti and vikruti, we would strive to maintain our original state of being as shown in the birthchart.  In this way the birthchart is not something to be managed but more of a magnetic north, pointing the way to your most natural state of being.

Furthering the analogy, when we are pulled into other states due to the influence of transits, we can get out of balance from our birthchart.  Here’s a simple example.  Say you have Mars, the planet of activity and will in the sign Aries.  With this placement you are naturally enthusiastic, impatient, hot-tempered, and always moving forward to achieve your goals.  No judgment here; this is your natural state of being.

Along comes a Saturn transit, which restrains the Mars energy, bringing experiences into your life which require more discipline and measured progress toward your goals.  When transiting Saturn meets Mars, it often makes the person feel tired or uninspired or as if their efforts are futile.  If you went to an Ayurvedic physician, she would probably read your pulses and recognize that your energy is low, dampened, out of balance with your natural state of being.

If the same Mars in Aries was experiencing a Jupiter transit, Jupiter might ignite the Mars energy and the person would be even more active and aggressive, chasing even bigger goals.  The Ayurvedic physician might see an elevation of the fire energy, which would also be out of balance for you.

Maintaining Balance

What follows for me is wondering about the emotional and physical effects of difficult astrological configurations and what we may have to do to maintain balance during certain transits.  And even further, whether we can we draw one-to-one correlations between various transits and the likely imbalance in the doshas.  If we can, then we can prescribe lifestyle adjustments which would help maintain the physical and emotional balance while going through and learning from the transit.

The image I get is one of standing in a rowboat, our feet apart, our arms outstretched, keeping our balance amidst the various waves, winds, and rain, constantly making little shifts to return ourselves to balance.  Using our birth charts, we would know the state we were trying to maintain, a perfect balance for us which wouldn’t necessarily look like anyone else’s.  It would be based on our particular configuration.  This would be ideal wouldn’t it – if we could remain so much in the center of our true selves that we stayed upright while shifts occurred around us?

What do you all think?  Can you recognize when your energies are out of balance?  Are there certain patterns that repeat themselves?  I know mine is fatigue – and right now I’m having a Saturn transit to my Mars.  This tiredness is familiar, but I’m still contemplating the solution-more on that later.  Are you having major transits right now?  Are you maintaining your balance?

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Free Will or Destiny?

February 15th, 2011 . Posted in Cycles, Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations, The Basics | 18 Comments »
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Hello, everyone.

(This article is a rewrite of a post I did a while ago on my other blog.  It’s an introduction to a topic I’ll cover here in the next couple of posts.)

I was speaking with a client the other day who had called about a business/astrology question.  After a fruitful conversation she said, “I almost didn’t call you.  I didn’t want the astrology to influence my thinking.”

It sounds odd, doesn’t it, to call an astrologer about a situation but not want the astrology to influence your decision?  Still, I understood what she meant.  It was the classic free will versus destiny dilemma.

I am the master of my destiny

(Source: Wikimedia Commons)

This particular client has a very prominent Uranus in her chart, which represents a rational, even scientific way of looking at things.  She wants to believe she is the master of her destiny.

The planet Uranus was first sighted during the 17th century, the same time that the scientific method was being developed into its modern form by Descartes and Galileo.  Science, as it has come to be practiced today, is based on hypotheses, repeatable experiments, and resultant theories.  What passes these tests is deemed real; what does not pass, is not real.

This scientific method has resulted in immeasurable changes to the way we live, and to the earth we inhabit.  It has ushered in marvelous advances in human society, as old superstitions which could not be proven have died, like the superiority of man versus woman or one race over another.

In the darkness of night, wanderers

Astrology is the ancient study of the cycles of nature.  Many people who don’t believe in astrology have not imagined what life must have been like before the introduction of electricity.  We are well aware of the cycles of the Sun which cause the seasons, and some of us are aware of the cycles of the Moon because they influence the tides.  But before electricity, the night was darker and if you ventured outside, you noticed these bright objects that wandered across the sky.  At times they would disappear entirely from your night sky; at other times they would seem to join other objects or be swallowed by the Sun completely.

In an age of less entertainment, these objects and their travels occupied a much bigger place in our psyches.  With the discovery in the last 300 years of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and the advances that have led to the industrial age and now to our information age many of us are less and less aware of the cycles of nature, including the cycles of the planets.

Yin and Yang (Source: Wikipedia)

The study of astrology is to take a stand and say, the cycles of nature are still influencing our lives.  And further to say, if I understand these cycles I can live my life in tune with them.  When it’s time to sow, I will know it.  When it’s time to reap, I will know it.  But the ability to create our destiny is possibly the most powerful force in the universe and yes, it is free to use as we want.  We don’t have to plant in spring anymore; with greenhouses, heaters, grow lights, fertilizer, and automated watering systems we can plant a crop whenever we want.

To plant with ease, plant within season

What astrology says is, to plant with ease, plant within season.  The planets don’t compel.  As they move through space they mark times of increase and times of decrease.  They plainly show the natural cycles of activity and rest.  And these cycles stamp us at the moment of our birth, some cycles waxing, some cycles waning.  But it is entirely up to us whether we consciously align ourselves with these rhythms.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each belief system.  If you follow the cycles, you have to admit that we have retained our instinctual selves and our activities are a product of natural cycles, just like everything else on earth.  If you ignore these cycles, this sets you free to attempt to master your destiny, based on personal will and desires.

And there seems to be room for all of us, at least so far.  A more Neptune-type person will tend to feel connected to the cycles of life.  A more Uranus-type person will tend to feel more independent and attempt to control life.  And some people are an interesting mix of the two, which makes them call an astrologer, but not want to be influenced by what they hear.

Which one are you?  Weigh in by leaving a comment below.

If you’d like a “scientific” way of assessing the strength of Uranus and Neptune in your chart, check out these links to Donna Cunningham’s blog, Sky Writer.  She spells out a scoring system which is an interesting way of weighing the different parts of your chart.  For Uranus, see How Strong is your Uranus?  Here’s the Score! For Neptune, see How Strong is your Neptune? Here’s the Score! If the math or the symbols overwhelm you, let me know.  I’ve set up an excel spreadsheet and I’ll plug in your numbers.

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Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

Hello, Chiron. Nice to Meet You.

February 13th, 2011 . Posted in Questions, Mysteries, and Explorations, Synchronicities, This Astrologer's Life | 18 Comments »
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Hello, everyone.

Dhanvantari, the Hindu God associated with Ayurveda. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Today I want to share a recent experience I had which shows why I have such an abiding faith in astrology.  Last week I went to the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Panchakarma.  Panchakarma is an Ayurvedic program which involves special diet, herbs, oil massages, bathing the forehead in oil, rest, enemas, and various other therapies.  At the end of the week, we were given advice about diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes particularly suited to our constitution to support our continued healing.

I went to the Institute because I had gotten quite sick last fall.  Even though I never take antibiotics, I ended up taking two really intense prescriptions.  I decided to take the antibiotics because of the complications if my situation went on too long, but I also committed to myself that I would go to Panchakarma afterwards in order to flush and cleanse my system of any residual effects of the antibiotics.  As it turned out, I couldn’t even take the full round of the antibiotics because I had a fairly severe allergic reaction to them.  But I had taken them long enough to do the job.  Sure enough, the bacteria that was causing the problem was eradicated.

The Ayurvedic Institute is an intriguing place.  Not only is there a wonderful staff facilitating the Panchakarma , but the Master Teacher and Founder of the Institute, Dr. Vasant Lad, was on site and we were allowed to attend his lectures in the Ayurvedic Studies Level 1 class each evening.  We learned along with the students the stages of the progression of disease according to Ayurveda as well as chanted in Sanskrit and listened to marvelous stories from Dr. Lad’s many years as an Ayurvedic Physician.  To me, these lectures were the best part of the whole week.

I also volunteered myself as a subject for his Ayurvedic Studies Level 2 students.  Each Panchakarma client meets with Dr. Lad twice during the week, but as a subject in his class, I met with him and his students for a much longer time.  Jyotish, the Vedic form of astrology, is also a part of his knowledge and teaching and it was more than fascinating to see my Vedic chart on the board and discussed in medical terms with the students.  You can imagine how exciting it was for me to learn about my astrological chart and its medical strengths and weaknesses from such a Master.

All week long I was wondering, what is going on in my transits?  Why am I here at this time, exposed to all this knowledge, all this healing energy, all this wisdom rooted in scriptures which I have already studied fairly extensively but with an entirely different emphasis – a healing emphasis?

(By the way, he said my chart shows I am an excellent writer, that last sentence notwithstanding.  Or this one, for that matter.)

I’m writing this post on the evening of the fifth day.  Panchakarma is over and I can finally get my computer out again.  (We had signed a statement that we wouldn’t use computers or television for the five days.)

Chiron training Achilles by John Singer Sargent (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Chiron on the Scene

I haven’t emphasized Chiron in my study of astrology.  He wasn’t really highlighted when I first learned astrology, and although he is included with the planets by many astrologers, I hadn’t really let him join into my normal crew.  But I knew that since this was an issue around healing, I’d better check on him too.

I ran my transits for the month of February, checking all of the outer planets and whether they are affecting the planets in my natal chart.  I knew there had to be something, because this week felt so important on so many levels.

The only major transit I am having this month is transiting Chiron in square aspect to my natal Sun.  The Sun represents our essential Self.  What little I know about Chiron, I know in Greek mythology he was known as the wounded healer and the teacher of many of the Greek heroes and gods.  My astrology program, Solar Fire, offers interpretations for each transiting aspect.  This is the interpretation for Chiron square the Sun:

[This] is time to change the way you see and express yourself and allow your true light to shine. As a result you may discover hidden skills you never knew you possessed, sparking a whole new field of learning ultimately providing a great source of healing. You have the chance to heal wounds, physical and/or emotional, and realign your identity with your true purpose. In some cases it is possible that you suffer an illness which forces you to consider your lifestyle and make appropriate changes. If you are able to face this challenge and make the necessary changes, then you can approach life with renewed vigor and a new sense of purpose.

Isn’t that interesting?  I’ve never done this kind of program before in my life and I just happen to do it under this Chiron/Sun transit.  And I must admit, I was really fascinated by the whole field of knowledge.  With my past learning of Indian philosophy as a springboard I was able to dive into another stream of the wisdom I so respect.  I’m actually considering pursuing the Level 1 course as an adjunct to my astrology practice.  I haven’t made a decision yet, but when I read the above interpretation of the transit, it seemed a confirmation that this week may turn out to be bigger than I think.

And I certainly think Chiron deserves another look.  My natal Sun is in the house of healing and health and Chiron is the healer of the zodiac.  It’s kind of a wonder I’ve never delved into him before.  I’ve often observed that transiting planets show up in our lives in flesh and blood people who bring the experience of the planet.  I do think this experience brought me face to face with Chiron, don’t you?

Hello, Chiron.  Nice to finally meet you.

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To read the first post in this series, see Astrology, Ayurveda, and Elements

Check out my other blog for all things business, including weekly and monthly forecasts.
Astro4Business Intersections

Copyright 2011. All rights reserved.

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