#1 Ascendant - 1st House - Keynote: Individual Action and Self-Assertion (Ascension)
Commitment to mindfully productive and efficient action, in service of self. A commitment to succeed by moving forward, out of comfort zone and into the mainstream of living. Movement, focus and flow.
#2 Nadir - 4th House - Keynote: Subjective Personal Life, Home & Heart, Coexistence
Emotional and Physical Feng Shui, in the home of the psyche, the body and household, healing and emotional wellness, for myself and immediate partner. Become more communal and less of a homebody. Commitment to inner wellness, stability and harmony.
#3 Descendant - 7th House - Keynote: Others, Key Partnerships, Social Life, Service
Serve, Love and Give as much and as often as possible. Cease living in isolation (even when in solitude)... all service, generosity and overall benevolence I get for myself I also give to others however I can. Commitment to love, relationship and significant others.
#4 Mid-Heaven - 10th House - Keynote: Objective Public Life, Time, Occupation, Obligations (to self and society).
Fill time up wisely, waste not want not, expand horizons in the outside world, establish structure/system for managing my time, responsibilities, obligations and outside activities intelligently and efficiently.
JDZ
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Inner and Outer Personality (as defined in Astrology)
The Ascendant or Rising Sign determines the primary nature, temperament, physical appearance and outlook on life... all of which characterizes our outer orientation to the outside world. Yet this factor alone does not determine everything about our personality as the world perceives and vice versa... There is also the Sun, Moon and Inner Planets, not to mention the Lunar Nodes and Part of Fortune, all of which play a part in the expression of character. Speaking as one with mostly all Earth and Water Signs to color and influence my Natal Luminaries and Planets, I find that having a dynamic Leo Ascendant is not enough by itself to make me an extrovert life of the party kind of individual... in my own private personal space sometimes, but never in group or social situations.
Do we look to the Ruling Planet of the Chart... its Sign, House and Aspects? How about Planets located in the 1st and 7th Houses of the natal chart, and those close to the Ascendant (or closely aspecting it) especially? This provides some modification as does weighing the emphasis of different Elements in the Chart. I think these factors all play a part in determining how introvert or extrovert the native is, and yet there is something more to consider here...
The Core of the Individuality, Personality and Self-Image, is The Sun and The Moon. Regardless of how the outer persona of the Ascendant plays out when the individual is simply "being oneself", without the mask of outer personality and purpose used as a front... the Ascendant here simply provides a focus of perception and expression consistent with the luminary (inner) nature of the individual in question. It adds a third component of expression natural to the Ascending Sign which modifies but does not change the nature of the Sun and Moon positions.
There are those who say the Sun represents the Inner Character while the Moon rules over our more superficial personality traits in response to environment. Others say it is The Moon that is inner reflection and feeling while The Sun is the outward expression. Given the nature of the Sun and Moon as rulers of Leo and Cancer respectively, I am inclined of the Sun as outer and the Moon as inner, though recognizing it may be a bit more complex than this.
What do others think about this?
JDZ
Do we look to the Ruling Planet of the Chart... its Sign, House and Aspects? How about Planets located in the 1st and 7th Houses of the natal chart, and those close to the Ascendant (or closely aspecting it) especially? This provides some modification as does weighing the emphasis of different Elements in the Chart. I think these factors all play a part in determining how introvert or extrovert the native is, and yet there is something more to consider here...
The Core of the Individuality, Personality and Self-Image, is The Sun and The Moon. Regardless of how the outer persona of the Ascendant plays out when the individual is simply "being oneself", without the mask of outer personality and purpose used as a front... the Ascendant here simply provides a focus of perception and expression consistent with the luminary (inner) nature of the individual in question. It adds a third component of expression natural to the Ascending Sign which modifies but does not change the nature of the Sun and Moon positions.
There are those who say the Sun represents the Inner Character while the Moon rules over our more superficial personality traits in response to environment. Others say it is The Moon that is inner reflection and feeling while The Sun is the outward expression. Given the nature of the Sun and Moon as rulers of Leo and Cancer respectively, I am inclined of the Sun as outer and the Moon as inner, though recognizing it may be a bit more complex than this.
What do others think about this?
JDZ
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The Neptune Square & Midlife Crisis
Affecting a generation of people around mid-life (40-42), with Neptune in Scorpio, at this time, due to Neptune's slow orbit of 13-14 years per zodiac sign. Today is an exact hit for me at 2:15 p.m. today!
Self-scrutiny ***
Valid during many months: This transit is often a part of the "crisis of middle age," since it occurs when you are about forty-two. During this period you are likely to intensely question your life, your goals and how far you have fulfilled your ideals. Depending upon the results of that evaluation, you may begin to make certain changes. The problem is that this is not the best influence for making well-thought-out changes in your life. There is a great danger that you will go off half-cocked in pursuit of some dream that is unrealizable and not even worth realizing. It is very important to use this period for self-scrutiny, but it is not a good idea to act yet.
If you act too quickly, you will only create severe disturbances in your emotional and domestic life or in your work. You are likely to operate on the basis of partially formed ideas about yourself and your needs. Unfortunately, since you are in your forties, you have probably convinced yourself that you know who and what you are. And perhaps you have known, but the function of this influence is to make you reevaluate who you are, which at this moment you do not know. The best solution is to recognize this situation and simply allow yourself to see the truth, whatever it may be. Give yourself plenty of latitude and have whatever experiences seem necessary. Just don't make any permanent commitments during this time. You don't want to spend the rest of your life with the consequences of ill-considered actions taken under the influence of a passing delusion.
Many of the insights you receive during this period will be real, and many will not be real. Only the passage of time will allow you to determine which are which.
Transit selected for today (by user):
Neptune Square Neptune, , exact at 14:15
activity period from middle of March 2008 until middle of January 2010
Self-scrutiny ***
Valid during many months: This transit is often a part of the "crisis of middle age," since it occurs when you are about forty-two. During this period you are likely to intensely question your life, your goals and how far you have fulfilled your ideals. Depending upon the results of that evaluation, you may begin to make certain changes. The problem is that this is not the best influence for making well-thought-out changes in your life. There is a great danger that you will go off half-cocked in pursuit of some dream that is unrealizable and not even worth realizing. It is very important to use this period for self-scrutiny, but it is not a good idea to act yet.
If you act too quickly, you will only create severe disturbances in your emotional and domestic life or in your work. You are likely to operate on the basis of partially formed ideas about yourself and your needs. Unfortunately, since you are in your forties, you have probably convinced yourself that you know who and what you are. And perhaps you have known, but the function of this influence is to make you reevaluate who you are, which at this moment you do not know. The best solution is to recognize this situation and simply allow yourself to see the truth, whatever it may be. Give yourself plenty of latitude and have whatever experiences seem necessary. Just don't make any permanent commitments during this time. You don't want to spend the rest of your life with the consequences of ill-considered actions taken under the influence of a passing delusion.
Many of the insights you receive during this period will be real, and many will not be real. Only the passage of time will allow you to determine which are which.
Transit selected for today (by user):
Neptune Square Neptune, , exact at 14:15
activity period from middle of March 2008 until middle of January 2010
Monday, November 30, 2009
Astro Integration
*Self Unfolding - From the Solar or Innermost Self Perspective, The Sun is first and the Ascendant comes in third, after the Moon. Eternally and esoterically this is correct. The Astro key is below, the corresponding numbers for each illustrated major life theme emphasized.
1-My Essential Purpose - To be a good and smart worker, taking full responsibility, High-Minded, Expansive and Integrative, Healthy and Whole, Uplifting the Personality via High Morale and Spiritual Strength of Character (of Will) at core. To be clear and present, undistorted in perception and thinking.
2-My Essential Nature - Passion and Imagination, Appetite and Desire, Sensitive and Intense, Secretive about feelings, Warm yet Detached, Insightful and Imaginative, Revolutionary, Interest in Arts and Mysticism, the Occult and Astrology.
3-My Outer Purpose/Nature - Strong Personality, Positive and Hopeful, Assertive and Energetic, Ambitious (to an extent) and Aspirational w/ regard to Future. Choosing the road of Higher Consciousness, of courage and faith in Self, optimistic and fun loving in my outlook and pro-active or pioneering in my approach.
4-My Outer Environment/Structure - A need for organization, keeping on top of responsibilities at home and work, keeping lists, staying mindful, alert and busy. Will work separately on a post relating the Astrological Houses (and their corresponding natural signs) to the tasks and activities of daily living.
5a-My Work and Self-Assertion: Doing - Getting/Earning/Making Money
5b-My Love and Appreciation: Having - Having/Spending/Saving Money
6b-My Knowledge, Perception, Cognition: Learning - Practical & Imaginative Intellectual involvement and interest(s).
6c-My Relationships, Connections, Friends: Seeing - Other People w/ like-minded interests, Cooperation and Group Interaction
7-My Most Intimate Relationships - Family, Close Partners, Friends and Lovers
8-My Key to Self-Healing, Understanding & Freedom - Quest for Wholeness and Self-Integration, Existential Angst and Evolution, Innermost Wounds & Healing
9-My Expansion, Abundance and Good Fortune - The Full expanse of Creation (The Sun)
10-My Responsibility, Duty and Discipline - The Ground and Ground Rules (The Earth)
11-My connection to Higher Self, Liberation - Cosmic Intelligence and Intuition (The Sky)
12-Universal and Divine Love, Transcendence - Cosmic Love and Imagination (The Heavens)
13-Universal Power and Desire, Resurrection - Cosmic Power and Evolution (The Wheel of Birth & Death and REbirth)
14a-Dharma, Individual Path Forward, Future - "The General of mine Army" - Dominance
14b-Karma, Personal Regression, The Past - "The lazy disorganized crew" - Defaults
(to be continued...)
---------------------------------------------
SPIRIT-SOUL-MATTER: Ego & Energy, Mind & Body
1-The Sun - Spirit, Will, Energy & Intuition - "The Light"
2-The Moon - Soul, Psyche, Feeling & Imagination - "The Night"
3-Ascendant/Nadir/Descendant: Body, Personality, Action & Expression, Appearance
4-Mid-heaven/Descendant/Nadir: The Cross of Matter, Environment, Public, Function
*plus Vertex, Aries Point and Equatorial Ascendant, Key Angles/Cusps
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[1b/2b - North and South Lunar Nodes: Karma, Dharma & Evolution]
[3b/4b - Part(s) of Fortune & Spirit: (Parts of The Moon & Sun respectively): Points of Integration and Coordination (of Sun-Moon-Ascendant) that lead to Good Fortune and Spiritual Upliftment.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL LIFE THEMES
5a-Mars - Work - Action - Movement - Self & Physical Body
5b-Venus - Love - Enjoyment - People & Personal Possessions
6a-Mercury - Knowledge - Information & Personal Communications
6b-Venus - Relationship - Friends & Personal Connections
7a-Ceres - Nurturing (Self & Other)
7b-Juno - Intimate Others
7c-Pallas - Communications
7d-Vesta - Personal Growth
8-Chiron - Healing and Spiritual Path
--------------------------------------------------------------------
UNIVERSAL LIFE THEMES
9-Jupiter - Spirit and Blue Sky or Mind - Expansion - FIRE
10-Saturn - Matter and Earth or Body - Limitation - EARTH
11-Uranus - Omniscience - Wisdom - AIR - Ether
12-Neptune - Omnipresence - Love - WATER - Essence
13-Pluto - Omnipotence - Power - WATER & FIRE - Energy
------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUL JOURNEY - PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
14a-North Lunar Node - Destiny, Evolution, Straightforwardness
14b-South Lunar Node - Origins, Regression, Complacency
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**The other Earth-Centered perspective begins at Birth (and the birth of each moment) with the Ascendant and Moon, yang and yin, outer and inner personality (sense of self) respectively, in response to early environment. Then the Sun actively develops and reveals itself overtime via the Planets, beginning with fastest moving Mercury then Venus (innermost planets that are of it's own thinking/feeling process, often in same sign), then Mars and the Outer Planets (Jupiter out to Pluto) where by the evolutionary experience unfolds for the individual via collective connection, to the world (Mars/Jupiter/Saturn) & the universe (Uranus/Neptune/Pluto) at large...
JDZ
1-My Essential Purpose - To be a good and smart worker, taking full responsibility, High-Minded, Expansive and Integrative, Healthy and Whole, Uplifting the Personality via High Morale and Spiritual Strength of Character (of Will) at core. To be clear and present, undistorted in perception and thinking.
2-My Essential Nature - Passion and Imagination, Appetite and Desire, Sensitive and Intense, Secretive about feelings, Warm yet Detached, Insightful and Imaginative, Revolutionary, Interest in Arts and Mysticism, the Occult and Astrology.
3-My Outer Purpose/Nature - Strong Personality, Positive and Hopeful, Assertive and Energetic, Ambitious (to an extent) and Aspirational w/ regard to Future. Choosing the road of Higher Consciousness, of courage and faith in Self, optimistic and fun loving in my outlook and pro-active or pioneering in my approach.
4-My Outer Environment/Structure - A need for organization, keeping on top of responsibilities at home and work, keeping lists, staying mindful, alert and busy. Will work separately on a post relating the Astrological Houses (and their corresponding natural signs) to the tasks and activities of daily living.
5a-My Work and Self-Assertion: Doing - Getting/Earning/Making Money
5b-My Love and Appreciation: Having - Having/Spending/Saving Money
6b-My Knowledge, Perception, Cognition: Learning - Practical & Imaginative Intellectual involvement and interest(s).
6c-My Relationships, Connections, Friends: Seeing - Other People w/ like-minded interests, Cooperation and Group Interaction
7-My Most Intimate Relationships - Family, Close Partners, Friends and Lovers
8-My Key to Self-Healing, Understanding & Freedom - Quest for Wholeness and Self-Integration, Existential Angst and Evolution, Innermost Wounds & Healing
9-My Expansion, Abundance and Good Fortune - The Full expanse of Creation (The Sun)
10-My Responsibility, Duty and Discipline - The Ground and Ground Rules (The Earth)
11-My connection to Higher Self, Liberation - Cosmic Intelligence and Intuition (The Sky)
12-Universal and Divine Love, Transcendence - Cosmic Love and Imagination (The Heavens)
13-Universal Power and Desire, Resurrection - Cosmic Power and Evolution (The Wheel of Birth & Death and REbirth)
14a-Dharma, Individual Path Forward, Future - "The General of mine Army" - Dominance
14b-Karma, Personal Regression, The Past - "The lazy disorganized crew" - Defaults
(to be continued...)
---------------------------------------------
SPIRIT-SOUL-MATTER: Ego & Energy, Mind & Body
1-The Sun - Spirit, Will, Energy & Intuition - "The Light"
2-The Moon - Soul, Psyche, Feeling & Imagination - "The Night"
3-Ascendant/Nadir/Descendant: Body, Personality, Action & Expression, Appearance
4-Mid-heaven/Descendant/Nadir: The Cross of Matter, Environment, Public, Function
*plus Vertex, Aries Point and Equatorial Ascendant, Key Angles/Cusps
---------------------------------------------------------------------
[1b/2b - North and South Lunar Nodes: Karma, Dharma & Evolution]
[3b/4b - Part(s) of Fortune & Spirit: (Parts of The Moon & Sun respectively): Points of Integration and Coordination (of Sun-Moon-Ascendant) that lead to Good Fortune and Spiritual Upliftment.]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
INDIVIDUAL/PERSONAL LIFE THEMES
5a-Mars - Work - Action - Movement - Self & Physical Body
5b-Venus - Love - Enjoyment - People & Personal Possessions
6a-Mercury - Knowledge - Information & Personal Communications
6b-Venus - Relationship - Friends & Personal Connections
7a-Ceres - Nurturing (Self & Other)
7b-Juno - Intimate Others
7c-Pallas - Communications
7d-Vesta - Personal Growth
8-Chiron - Healing and Spiritual Path
--------------------------------------------------------------------
UNIVERSAL LIFE THEMES
9-Jupiter - Spirit and Blue Sky or Mind - Expansion - FIRE
10-Saturn - Matter and Earth or Body - Limitation - EARTH
11-Uranus - Omniscience - Wisdom - AIR - Ether
12-Neptune - Omnipresence - Love - WATER - Essence
13-Pluto - Omnipotence - Power - WATER & FIRE - Energy
------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUL JOURNEY - PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE
14a-North Lunar Node - Destiny, Evolution, Straightforwardness
14b-South Lunar Node - Origins, Regression, Complacency
-------------------------------------------------------------------
**The other Earth-Centered perspective begins at Birth (and the birth of each moment) with the Ascendant and Moon, yang and yin, outer and inner personality (sense of self) respectively, in response to early environment. Then the Sun actively develops and reveals itself overtime via the Planets, beginning with fastest moving Mercury then Venus (innermost planets that are of it's own thinking/feeling process, often in same sign), then Mars and the Outer Planets (Jupiter out to Pluto) where by the evolutionary experience unfolds for the individual via collective connection, to the world (Mars/Jupiter/Saturn) & the universe (Uranus/Neptune/Pluto) at large...
JDZ
Friday, November 20, 2009
Natal Chart Analysis (Numerological Revision)
An ongoing assignment, to be added to and revised overtime as necessary...
Paying attention also to the specific numerological placements and order (1-17):
1-Sun in Virgo/2nd House conjunct Jupiter in Virgo/2nd
2-Moon in Scorpio/5th House conjunct Neptune in Scorpio/4th
Sextile Uranus-Venus-Mercury Stellium in Virgo/3rd
3a-Ascendant in Leo w/ Mars Rising (in Leo/1st House), Nadir in Libra, Descendant Aquarius, Vertex Sagittarius.
Chart Ruler: the Sun in Virgo/2nd House conjunct Jupiter (& Rolling Virgo Stellium)
3b-Part of Fortune in Libra/4th House conjunct Nadir (4th House Cusp) opposite Saturn in Aries/10th.
4a-Mid-Heaven in Aries with Saturn (Aries/10th) conjunct and Mars (Leo/1st) Trine,
Mars Ruler of MC is in Leo/1st (which disposits again The Virgo/2nd house Sun.
4b-Part of Spirit in Taurus/10th conjunct Vesta (in same) trine Sun conjunct Jupiter in Virgo/2nd.
5-Mars in Leo/1st House (Rising & in Dignity) trine MC and Vertex
6-Mercury in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Venus/Uranus & Pluto (all in same) sextile Moon conjunct Neptune in Scorpio in 5th.
7-Venus in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury/Uranus & Pluto... same as Mercury (above) in all aspects.
8a-Ceres in Scorpio/4th conjunct Juno sextile Sun
8b-Juno in Scorpio/4th conjunct Ceres sextile Sun
8c-Pallas in Libra/3rd conjunct Nadir
8d-Vesta in Taurus/10th conjunct Part of Spirit, trine Sun
9-Jupiter in Virgo/2nd/3rd Houses conjunct Sun in Virgo/2nd & Pluto in Virgo/3rd & trine Vesta
10-Saturn in Aries/10th House conjunct Midheaven in Aries, in Quincunx & YOD with Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo/3rd AND Moon-Neptune in Scorpio/5th
11-Uranus in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury/Venus and Pluto, sextile Moon/Neptune in Scorpio (EXACT SEXTILE w/ MOON in Scorpio)
12-Neptune in Scorpio/4th/5th Houses conjunct Moon, sextile Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Pluto, semi-sextile Part of Fortune in Libra
13a-Pluto in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury-Venus-Uranus and Jupiter, sextile Neptune-Moon in Scorpio
13b-Chiron in Aries/9th House conjunct North Node in Aries/9th (opposite South Node in Libra), opposition (wide) with Mercury-Venus-Uranus in Virgo/3rd
14a-North Node in ARIES/9th House - Conjunct MC & Chiron (at their midpoint)
14b-South Node in LIBRA/3rd House - Conjunct IC & Pallas Athena
15-Elemental Distributions, Planetary Signatures and Rulers, Major Dispositors and Midpoints; a composite summarization of key chart emphases, based on all chart data
16-The Key Configurations - YOD, Grand Trine, Stelliums, T-Squares, etc as MAJOR LIFE THEMES that dictate the core lessons and themes of living.
17-The Natal Chart synthesized and understood in its Entirety
JDZ
Paying attention also to the specific numerological placements and order (1-17):
1-Sun in Virgo/2nd House conjunct Jupiter in Virgo/2nd
2-Moon in Scorpio/5th House conjunct Neptune in Scorpio/4th
Sextile Uranus-Venus-Mercury Stellium in Virgo/3rd
3a-Ascendant in Leo w/ Mars Rising (in Leo/1st House), Nadir in Libra, Descendant Aquarius, Vertex Sagittarius.
Chart Ruler: the Sun in Virgo/2nd House conjunct Jupiter (& Rolling Virgo Stellium)
3b-Part of Fortune in Libra/4th House conjunct Nadir (4th House Cusp) opposite Saturn in Aries/10th.
4a-Mid-Heaven in Aries with Saturn (Aries/10th) conjunct and Mars (Leo/1st) Trine,
Mars Ruler of MC is in Leo/1st (which disposits again The Virgo/2nd house Sun.
4b-Part of Spirit in Taurus/10th conjunct Vesta (in same) trine Sun conjunct Jupiter in Virgo/2nd.
5-Mars in Leo/1st House (Rising & in Dignity) trine MC and Vertex
6-Mercury in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Venus/Uranus & Pluto (all in same) sextile Moon conjunct Neptune in Scorpio in 5th.
7-Venus in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury/Uranus & Pluto... same as Mercury (above) in all aspects.
8a-Ceres in Scorpio/4th conjunct Juno sextile Sun
8b-Juno in Scorpio/4th conjunct Ceres sextile Sun
8c-Pallas in Libra/3rd conjunct Nadir
8d-Vesta in Taurus/10th conjunct Part of Spirit, trine Sun
9-Jupiter in Virgo/2nd/3rd Houses conjunct Sun in Virgo/2nd & Pluto in Virgo/3rd & trine Vesta
10-Saturn in Aries/10th House conjunct Midheaven in Aries, in Quincunx & YOD with Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo/3rd AND Moon-Neptune in Scorpio/5th
11-Uranus in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury/Venus and Pluto, sextile Moon/Neptune in Scorpio (EXACT SEXTILE w/ MOON in Scorpio)
12-Neptune in Scorpio/4th/5th Houses conjunct Moon, sextile Mercury, Venus, Uranus and Pluto, semi-sextile Part of Fortune in Libra
13a-Pluto in Virgo/3rd House conjunct Mercury-Venus-Uranus and Jupiter, sextile Neptune-Moon in Scorpio
13b-Chiron in Aries/9th House conjunct North Node in Aries/9th (opposite South Node in Libra), opposition (wide) with Mercury-Venus-Uranus in Virgo/3rd
14a-North Node in ARIES/9th House - Conjunct MC & Chiron (at their midpoint)
14b-South Node in LIBRA/3rd House - Conjunct IC & Pallas Athena
15-Elemental Distributions, Planetary Signatures and Rulers, Major Dispositors and Midpoints; a composite summarization of key chart emphases, based on all chart data
16-The Key Configurations - YOD, Grand Trine, Stelliums, T-Squares, etc as MAJOR LIFE THEMES that dictate the core lessons and themes of living.
17-The Natal Chart synthesized and understood in its Entirety
JDZ
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Higher-Lower and Equal Planetary Octaves: Personal transcendence & the trans-personal
Where the Sun and Moon, Jupiter and Saturn, are concerned there are no HIGHER octaves, just equal octaves, because the Sun truly is one with Jupiter and the Moon (via Earth) is one with Saturn... though the latter pair clearly indicate a duality, the Moon is private and personal, Saturn more public and impersonal (or less personal than the Moon).
Where the Sun represents Creator (the Circle), and individuals are as Co-Creators (the Dot at Center), Jupiter is the Creation... where the Sun represents pure being and vitality Jupiter is the outwardly expressed form, feeling and imagery that completes it. Where the Moon represents the need for emotional security Saturn is the harsh reality of this inherent insecurity and the way to having more stability (functionality) in one's personal existence.
The rest is as follows:
Mars and Pluto - the Individual and Universal Will, respectively. Keeping the fundamentally important Martial qualities (as with all "lower octaves") intact there is a necessity where Pluto is concerned to transcend all purely personal and selfish motivations/desires and uplift one's central intention for positive action.
Venus and Neptune - Personal and Universal Love, respectively... both are Divine though the vast ocean of Neptune is macrocosm to the personal love of Venus experienced by a lovely local seashore. Neptune is the transcendence of all emotional-personal-material attachments, it is love without any expectation of love in return, and compassion for all beings at the soul level.
Mercury and Uranus - Individual/Personal and Universal/Cosmic Intelligence... Mercury as an individual expression/vibration of Uranus operates at the level of beginner's mind with a flame of inquiry, the desire to know... then the "unlearning process" of Uranus makes us universally aware of the limits of knowledge (as nothing more than signposts pointing to the Truth or reality...) and awakens us to INTUITION, the intelligence that is a bridge to the unknown, beyond what the thinking mind could ever comprehend. The transcendence of identification with all personal-intellectual-emotional thought processes.
JDZ
Where the Sun represents Creator (the Circle), and individuals are as Co-Creators (the Dot at Center), Jupiter is the Creation... where the Sun represents pure being and vitality Jupiter is the outwardly expressed form, feeling and imagery that completes it. Where the Moon represents the need for emotional security Saturn is the harsh reality of this inherent insecurity and the way to having more stability (functionality) in one's personal existence.
The rest is as follows:
Mars and Pluto - the Individual and Universal Will, respectively. Keeping the fundamentally important Martial qualities (as with all "lower octaves") intact there is a necessity where Pluto is concerned to transcend all purely personal and selfish motivations/desires and uplift one's central intention for positive action.
Venus and Neptune - Personal and Universal Love, respectively... both are Divine though the vast ocean of Neptune is macrocosm to the personal love of Venus experienced by a lovely local seashore. Neptune is the transcendence of all emotional-personal-material attachments, it is love without any expectation of love in return, and compassion for all beings at the soul level.
Mercury and Uranus - Individual/Personal and Universal/Cosmic Intelligence... Mercury as an individual expression/vibration of Uranus operates at the level of beginner's mind with a flame of inquiry, the desire to know... then the "unlearning process" of Uranus makes us universally aware of the limits of knowledge (as nothing more than signposts pointing to the Truth or reality...) and awakens us to INTUITION, the intelligence that is a bridge to the unknown, beyond what the thinking mind could ever comprehend. The transcendence of identification with all personal-intellectual-emotional thought processes.
JDZ
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Sun
By Dana Gerhart
You know those little Sun sign scrolls sold in vending machines and grocery stores? Years ago I met the founder of one such company. I'll never forget his enthusiasm. "Where else," he beamed, "can you buy a publication that's entirely about you?" Every line on every page is your story!" We can forgive his overestimating the depth and accuracy of supermarket horoscopes; nonetheless, he put his finger on astrology's fundamental appeal. It promotes a pleasant narcissistic fiction. It makes the grand movement of the solar system all about us. It makes each of us a star.
We're mad for stars. Our obsession with celebrity culture reflects a deep and universal longing: everyone wants to be someone. We want to be more than nature's anonymous display, blooming and fading by the side of the road. Everyone burns (or desires to burn) with a unique and special purpose. We're on a journey-a hero's journey! And happily, Sun sign astrology understands our heroic mission. It democratically upgrades the ancient solar myth: where once astrology was exclusively for kings, now everyone can have a horoscope.
Yet something is amiss in the kingdom. Even as horoscope columns affirm our ambitions and celebrate our radiance, cheering us on our way, there's something awkward in their tone. Sun sign astrologers often mince and prance like servants who must repeatedly assure the king. "Yes, you will have a wonderful day! You'll win your true love, collect plenty of gold, enjoy excellent health, and find victory in battle!" Are such platitudes really the stuff for heroes? For little Suns? Can we imagine the bright center of our solar system quivering as it consults the papers for news of the day's influences?"("What are Mars and Pluto doing to me today?") Maybe this is why some people feel compelled to bolster their spirits with astrological insignias on necklaces and coffee mugs, banding together with other Suns to proclaim "Aries/Taurus/Gemini/etc. rules!"
All this would have had ancient astrologers scratching their heads. For it wasn't until the last hundred years that Sun signs became so popular. Sun sign astrology was invented-by a Sun-ruled Leo, of course. Born in August 1860, William Frederick Allan, who later renamed himself Alan Leo, is considered one of the first modern astrologers. Leo strengthened the notion of character as destiny, steering horoscopes away from predictable fates into psychological profiles laced with spiritual themes. But as a businessman, he was particularly astute. With offices in London, Paris, and New York, and a staff of nearly a dozen people, he produced thousands of horoscopes every year. Like any smart CEO manufacturing a product, he recognized the need to simplify his production line. He trimmed the birth chart to just one factor: the Sun sign. With this master stroke, he created a way to divide people into simple zodiac clusters. Everyone knows their birth date. Without any knowledge of astrology's true complexity, people could easily fit themselves into one of twelve astro-groups. And that's how Sun sign columns were born.
Sun sign astrology is a profitable but ultimately flawed business. Much like fast food, it adds weight without real nourishment, increasing one's craving more than giving true satisfaction. People now wonder endlessly about their identities. Having lost an appreciation for their journey's mystery, they instead keep acquiring more mass. ("On the Enneagram I'm '4,' in Vedic astrology I'm actually a Cancer, in the Chinese system I'm a Rat, and my personal destiny number is a.") Astrologers get calls from people who have jobs, families, mortgages, and driver licenses-yet are hoping the chart can tell them who they are. Our culture is as off-center as the celebrities we like to see crash and burn on our tabloid news.
Losing center is an ironic twist on the Sun's traditional meaning-which is apparent in the glyph itself. The Sun is depicted as a circle with a dot in the middle. A unity with a center as its focal point. There are possibly a trillion galaxies in the universe, each with a hundred billion Suns. Our universe is designed for many centers. Yet we lose this revelation when we worry over much about our personal identities. Our natural radiance dims when we solidify ourselves into conditioned objects, beginning our sentences with "I'm the kind of person who." Pinned by the gravity of taking ourselves too seriously, like a star gone supernova and become a black hole, being at center yields to merely being self-centered.
Alan Leo would be mortified. So to correct our Sun sign narcissism, I propose something even simpler than Leo's master stroke. Instead of reading daily horoscopes, people could start each day by reading their hearts, for the heart offers the most vivid experience of the centering Sun. Try this right now. Simply tune into your beating heart. Stay with the sensation for a few minutes. Feel the life force pulsing through you. Notice how your attention makes the heart grow warmer. After awhile you may feel a pleasant glow. Now shift your thoughts to those activities or people who energize and inspire you. Notice how enthusiasm fires up your radiance. When you come from your heart, you light up. Others are energized by your presence. Just as the Sun is the source of all creative events on Earth, so your creativity can inspire others to express their light-like a flame that is not diminished but builds each time it's passed along. This will be true whatever your Sun sign-Leo, Scorpio, or anything in between.
Returning to Sun Worship
In the center of the Aztec calendar is the Sun god Tonatiuh, "He Who Goes Forth Shining." The Aztecs understood that all good things come from the Sun, but Tonatiuh was no Santa Claus. He had a long and menacing tongue ready to lap up the human blood he required in exchange for his life-granting gifts. Aztec priests routinely sacrificed human hearts to keep the Sun god strong, thus ensuring the survival of their people. Without their blood sacrifice, Aztecs feared the Sun would stop in its tracks and time would stand still. The world would either plunge into perpetual darkness or burn to a cinder.
Of course we know the Sun doesn't revolve around us. Sunrises and sunsets appear as Earth rotates on its axis. Earth circles the Sun and that defines our year. The laws of physics will keep the whole show going, until a few billion years from now when the Sun goes supernova. In the meantime, technology has freed us from worrying about Sun gods. For heat and light we've got electricity, light bulbs, and central heating-that's our immediate experience, that's what our children learn. If it's too cold, turn up the heat. If it's too dark, turn on a light.
So in a way, the Sun has disappeared from our lives, which is exactly what the Aztecs feared. And what's happened? Our sense of time has gone haywire. Life has sped up. Exhausted people with too much to do and not enough time are everywhere. Along with bi-polar disorder, ADD, autism, insomnia and penile dysfunction, two great maladies of our culture are depression and burn-out. Depression is a sign we've lost our fire, our inner Sun no longer rising with the day. Burn-out means there's too much fire, a constant inner Sun frying our circuits. Even though the sky above is hunkey dorey, physically, psychologically, and spiritually, we below are not. Is it because we no longer worship the Sun? Might Tonatiuh be angry? If so, how can we come back to center? Maybe we should propitiate the solar god again.
Blood sacrifice just won't do. Among the Aztecs, blood was the proper currency of exchange between gods and men. Gods gave their blood to create the world and humans were honored to return the favor. Human sacrifice wasn't barbaric; it was a gesture of divine reciprocity. In our culture a more appropriate currency might be light. Light is a metaphor for consciousness. The Sun lights our world and we can return the favor by bringing our consciousness back to the Sun. We can hold the Sun in reverent awareness. Happily, astrology gives us two exquisite means for doing just that.
Get out a copy of your birth chart. More than personality and purpose, the Sun indicates time, and this is embedded in your chart's design. That outer circle with all twelve signs? It represents a year, the time it takes for Earth to make a complete revolution around the Sun, or for the Sun to rise through all twelve constellations. The transiting Sun takes one year to circuit all twelve houses of your chart, metaphorically lighting up each one for about a month. Now look at the cross in the center of your horoscope, indicating the four angles of the chart. These angles were originally devised by the Egyptians, who like the Aztecs, worshipped the Sun. They patterned the angles after the Sun's daily round.
The Ascendant carries the feel and meaning of sunrise; planets transiting this point bring new beginnings. The Midheaven evokes the Sun at noon, high in the sky at maximum glory; the MC indicates where people likewise shine in public strength. The Descendent evokes the setting sun, when the day's work is done; marking the house of partnership, it indicates where we surrender ourselves to another. The IC is the midnight point, when we are deep in sleep and the Sun is also resting from our world. It represents the private foundations of our life-our family, our home, our essential self.
Through houses and angles, birth charts offer a personalized imprint of the Sun's dual signatures, the year and the day. Though rarely discussed as such by astrologers, these two horoscope templates suggest a simple yet elegant way to carry the Sun's centering influence into our lives.
You know those little Sun sign scrolls sold in vending machines and grocery stores? Years ago I met the founder of one such company. I'll never forget his enthusiasm. "Where else," he beamed, "can you buy a publication that's entirely about you?" Every line on every page is your story!" We can forgive his overestimating the depth and accuracy of supermarket horoscopes; nonetheless, he put his finger on astrology's fundamental appeal. It promotes a pleasant narcissistic fiction. It makes the grand movement of the solar system all about us. It makes each of us a star.
We're mad for stars. Our obsession with celebrity culture reflects a deep and universal longing: everyone wants to be someone. We want to be more than nature's anonymous display, blooming and fading by the side of the road. Everyone burns (or desires to burn) with a unique and special purpose. We're on a journey-a hero's journey! And happily, Sun sign astrology understands our heroic mission. It democratically upgrades the ancient solar myth: where once astrology was exclusively for kings, now everyone can have a horoscope.
Yet something is amiss in the kingdom. Even as horoscope columns affirm our ambitions and celebrate our radiance, cheering us on our way, there's something awkward in their tone. Sun sign astrologers often mince and prance like servants who must repeatedly assure the king. "Yes, you will have a wonderful day! You'll win your true love, collect plenty of gold, enjoy excellent health, and find victory in battle!" Are such platitudes really the stuff for heroes? For little Suns? Can we imagine the bright center of our solar system quivering as it consults the papers for news of the day's influences?"("What are Mars and Pluto doing to me today?") Maybe this is why some people feel compelled to bolster their spirits with astrological insignias on necklaces and coffee mugs, banding together with other Suns to proclaim "Aries/Taurus/Gemini/etc. rules!"
All this would have had ancient astrologers scratching their heads. For it wasn't until the last hundred years that Sun signs became so popular. Sun sign astrology was invented-by a Sun-ruled Leo, of course. Born in August 1860, William Frederick Allan, who later renamed himself Alan Leo, is considered one of the first modern astrologers. Leo strengthened the notion of character as destiny, steering horoscopes away from predictable fates into psychological profiles laced with spiritual themes. But as a businessman, he was particularly astute. With offices in London, Paris, and New York, and a staff of nearly a dozen people, he produced thousands of horoscopes every year. Like any smart CEO manufacturing a product, he recognized the need to simplify his production line. He trimmed the birth chart to just one factor: the Sun sign. With this master stroke, he created a way to divide people into simple zodiac clusters. Everyone knows their birth date. Without any knowledge of astrology's true complexity, people could easily fit themselves into one of twelve astro-groups. And that's how Sun sign columns were born.
Sun sign astrology is a profitable but ultimately flawed business. Much like fast food, it adds weight without real nourishment, increasing one's craving more than giving true satisfaction. People now wonder endlessly about their identities. Having lost an appreciation for their journey's mystery, they instead keep acquiring more mass. ("On the Enneagram I'm '4,' in Vedic astrology I'm actually a Cancer, in the Chinese system I'm a Rat, and my personal destiny number is a.") Astrologers get calls from people who have jobs, families, mortgages, and driver licenses-yet are hoping the chart can tell them who they are. Our culture is as off-center as the celebrities we like to see crash and burn on our tabloid news.
Losing center is an ironic twist on the Sun's traditional meaning-which is apparent in the glyph itself. The Sun is depicted as a circle with a dot in the middle. A unity with a center as its focal point. There are possibly a trillion galaxies in the universe, each with a hundred billion Suns. Our universe is designed for many centers. Yet we lose this revelation when we worry over much about our personal identities. Our natural radiance dims when we solidify ourselves into conditioned objects, beginning our sentences with "I'm the kind of person who." Pinned by the gravity of taking ourselves too seriously, like a star gone supernova and become a black hole, being at center yields to merely being self-centered.
Alan Leo would be mortified. So to correct our Sun sign narcissism, I propose something even simpler than Leo's master stroke. Instead of reading daily horoscopes, people could start each day by reading their hearts, for the heart offers the most vivid experience of the centering Sun. Try this right now. Simply tune into your beating heart. Stay with the sensation for a few minutes. Feel the life force pulsing through you. Notice how your attention makes the heart grow warmer. After awhile you may feel a pleasant glow. Now shift your thoughts to those activities or people who energize and inspire you. Notice how enthusiasm fires up your radiance. When you come from your heart, you light up. Others are energized by your presence. Just as the Sun is the source of all creative events on Earth, so your creativity can inspire others to express their light-like a flame that is not diminished but builds each time it's passed along. This will be true whatever your Sun sign-Leo, Scorpio, or anything in between.
Returning to Sun Worship
In the center of the Aztec calendar is the Sun god Tonatiuh, "He Who Goes Forth Shining." The Aztecs understood that all good things come from the Sun, but Tonatiuh was no Santa Claus. He had a long and menacing tongue ready to lap up the human blood he required in exchange for his life-granting gifts. Aztec priests routinely sacrificed human hearts to keep the Sun god strong, thus ensuring the survival of their people. Without their blood sacrifice, Aztecs feared the Sun would stop in its tracks and time would stand still. The world would either plunge into perpetual darkness or burn to a cinder.
Of course we know the Sun doesn't revolve around us. Sunrises and sunsets appear as Earth rotates on its axis. Earth circles the Sun and that defines our year. The laws of physics will keep the whole show going, until a few billion years from now when the Sun goes supernova. In the meantime, technology has freed us from worrying about Sun gods. For heat and light we've got electricity, light bulbs, and central heating-that's our immediate experience, that's what our children learn. If it's too cold, turn up the heat. If it's too dark, turn on a light.
So in a way, the Sun has disappeared from our lives, which is exactly what the Aztecs feared. And what's happened? Our sense of time has gone haywire. Life has sped up. Exhausted people with too much to do and not enough time are everywhere. Along with bi-polar disorder, ADD, autism, insomnia and penile dysfunction, two great maladies of our culture are depression and burn-out. Depression is a sign we've lost our fire, our inner Sun no longer rising with the day. Burn-out means there's too much fire, a constant inner Sun frying our circuits. Even though the sky above is hunkey dorey, physically, psychologically, and spiritually, we below are not. Is it because we no longer worship the Sun? Might Tonatiuh be angry? If so, how can we come back to center? Maybe we should propitiate the solar god again.
Blood sacrifice just won't do. Among the Aztecs, blood was the proper currency of exchange between gods and men. Gods gave their blood to create the world and humans were honored to return the favor. Human sacrifice wasn't barbaric; it was a gesture of divine reciprocity. In our culture a more appropriate currency might be light. Light is a metaphor for consciousness. The Sun lights our world and we can return the favor by bringing our consciousness back to the Sun. We can hold the Sun in reverent awareness. Happily, astrology gives us two exquisite means for doing just that.
Get out a copy of your birth chart. More than personality and purpose, the Sun indicates time, and this is embedded in your chart's design. That outer circle with all twelve signs? It represents a year, the time it takes for Earth to make a complete revolution around the Sun, or for the Sun to rise through all twelve constellations. The transiting Sun takes one year to circuit all twelve houses of your chart, metaphorically lighting up each one for about a month. Now look at the cross in the center of your horoscope, indicating the four angles of the chart. These angles were originally devised by the Egyptians, who like the Aztecs, worshipped the Sun. They patterned the angles after the Sun's daily round.
The Ascendant carries the feel and meaning of sunrise; planets transiting this point bring new beginnings. The Midheaven evokes the Sun at noon, high in the sky at maximum glory; the MC indicates where people likewise shine in public strength. The Descendent evokes the setting sun, when the day's work is done; marking the house of partnership, it indicates where we surrender ourselves to another. The IC is the midnight point, when we are deep in sleep and the Sun is also resting from our world. It represents the private foundations of our life-our family, our home, our essential self.
Through houses and angles, birth charts offer a personalized imprint of the Sun's dual signatures, the year and the day. Though rarely discussed as such by astrologers, these two horoscope templates suggest a simple yet elegant way to carry the Sun's centering influence into our lives.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Saturn conjunction Uranus: Fundamental changes
Saturn conjunction Uranus: Fundamental changes
Beginning of October 2009 until beginning of July 2010: This is an extremely powerful influence, for it represents powerful internal forces for change colliding with powerful resistance from the external world. You are trying to escape the routine, dull and ordinary aspects of your life. You try to find new things that will make your life more exciting and stimulating. But with every effort of this kind, circumstances, duties and obligations seem to hold you back and keep you stuck in an oppressive situation.
You may get to a point where the pressure is unbearable, and then you will make a sudden break for freedom. You may suddenly leave a relationship, an oppressive job or your place of residence, without warning anyone.
On the other hand, it may be possible to create a balance that enables you to sustain a great deal of tension over a long period of time and accomplish a great many changes in a highly structured way. Tasks of considerable difficulty are often accomplished under this influence, and people make Herculean efforts that would otherwise be impossible for them. Serious study and long-range projects requiring great concentration and effort can be undertaken.
Even though this may seem more productive, it really depends upon your situation. Very often a sudden break with what feels like an oppressive situation will clear the air and allow you to make a new and better beginning. On the other hand, it can cost you more than you are willing to pay. But the patient, hard-working manifestation of this energy may create severe mental and physical tensions, even to the point of physical illness. You have to decide what you can handle realistically and determine for yourself the proper course of action. At this time in your life you must make changes at the most fundamental levels. If you do not, in approximately fourteen years the consequences of not making these changes will become very obvious, and you will be confronted with the same issues again under more difficult circumstances.
Beginning of October 2009 until beginning of July 2010: This is an extremely powerful influence, for it represents powerful internal forces for change colliding with powerful resistance from the external world. You are trying to escape the routine, dull and ordinary aspects of your life. You try to find new things that will make your life more exciting and stimulating. But with every effort of this kind, circumstances, duties and obligations seem to hold you back and keep you stuck in an oppressive situation.
You may get to a point where the pressure is unbearable, and then you will make a sudden break for freedom. You may suddenly leave a relationship, an oppressive job or your place of residence, without warning anyone.
On the other hand, it may be possible to create a balance that enables you to sustain a great deal of tension over a long period of time and accomplish a great many changes in a highly structured way. Tasks of considerable difficulty are often accomplished under this influence, and people make Herculean efforts that would otherwise be impossible for them. Serious study and long-range projects requiring great concentration and effort can be undertaken.
Even though this may seem more productive, it really depends upon your situation. Very often a sudden break with what feels like an oppressive situation will clear the air and allow you to make a new and better beginning. On the other hand, it can cost you more than you are willing to pay. But the patient, hard-working manifestation of this energy may create severe mental and physical tensions, even to the point of physical illness. You have to decide what you can handle realistically and determine for yourself the proper course of action. At this time in your life you must make changes at the most fundamental levels. If you do not, in approximately fourteen years the consequences of not making these changes will become very obvious, and you will be confronted with the same issues again under more difficult circumstances.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Insights - Astrological-Personal-Universal
Astrological references to Ken Wilbur synthetic reference of Causal, Astral and Physical Bodies... those *embodying* the five sheaths of maya or illusion (original ignorance).
Causal Body & Bliss Sheath - "ALL of US" - The Sun (universal energy, heat & light)
Astral Body & Intellectual/Mental-Emotional/Energy Sheaths - "US" or "YOU and I" - The Moon (human intelligence, thought/feeling and vital energies, subjectively and personally experienced via interpersonal relations)
Physical Body & Physical Food Sheath - "I ME & MINE" - The Ascendant (and most especially Houses 1-4). All that incarnates in form and is nourished by food, by the Earth itself, which most distinctively of all gives the masked appearance of being separate (my self and my reality, Ascendant/Horizon and Mid-Heaven/Meridian respectively), My World and World-View as coming from a unique most individual (separate) perspective.
While the Moon and Astral Body represent a "living past" which IS the present (here and now) experience, and ever changing reality, The Ascendant and Sun are together that NOW reality, of clarity, consciousness, choice and freewill, forever marching toward a projected living future *in the present*.
The Moon, as Earth's satellite (its subjective/soul existence) magnetizes and directly connects to the opposite polarities (the shadow side) of Sun and Ascendant (and Mid-Heaven)... meaning the opposite angles, the Descendant and Nadir, are primary indicators of the past shadow (or trail) that the Ascending Sign or Rising Sun leaves behind when continuing along its immediate worldly path of active manifestation, which is then projected upon others in interpersonal relationship(s).
Likewise the sign 180 degrees (opposite) the Sun is a key indicator of one's Solar past from the unique perspective of the Sun Sign. Where the Sun develops overtime along its soul path and purpose the Moon takes on and is modified by the past or shadow/polarity of the Sun Sign. While the Solar perspective remains forever future-oriented, a vital presence connected to a source, to the eternal (unchanging) present moment.... It leaves a shadow of past experience, of personal karmic baggage, behind which is at the root of self-undoing and gives purpose via contrast to the Sun and its Higher Purpose.
To be continued...
JDZ
Causal Body & Bliss Sheath - "ALL of US" - The Sun (universal energy, heat & light)
Astral Body & Intellectual/Mental-Emotional/Energy Sheaths - "US" or "YOU and I" - The Moon (human intelligence, thought/feeling and vital energies, subjectively and personally experienced via interpersonal relations)
Physical Body & Physical Food Sheath - "I ME & MINE" - The Ascendant (and most especially Houses 1-4). All that incarnates in form and is nourished by food, by the Earth itself, which most distinctively of all gives the masked appearance of being separate (my self and my reality, Ascendant/Horizon and Mid-Heaven/Meridian respectively), My World and World-View as coming from a unique most individual (separate) perspective.
While the Moon and Astral Body represent a "living past" which IS the present (here and now) experience, and ever changing reality, The Ascendant and Sun are together that NOW reality, of clarity, consciousness, choice and freewill, forever marching toward a projected living future *in the present*.
The Moon, as Earth's satellite (its subjective/soul existence) magnetizes and directly connects to the opposite polarities (the shadow side) of Sun and Ascendant (and Mid-Heaven)... meaning the opposite angles, the Descendant and Nadir, are primary indicators of the past shadow (or trail) that the Ascending Sign or Rising Sun leaves behind when continuing along its immediate worldly path of active manifestation, which is then projected upon others in interpersonal relationship(s).
Likewise the sign 180 degrees (opposite) the Sun is a key indicator of one's Solar past from the unique perspective of the Sun Sign. Where the Sun develops overtime along its soul path and purpose the Moon takes on and is modified by the past or shadow/polarity of the Sun Sign. While the Solar perspective remains forever future-oriented, a vital presence connected to a source, to the eternal (unchanging) present moment.... It leaves a shadow of past experience, of personal karmic baggage, behind which is at the root of self-undoing and gives purpose via contrast to the Sun and its Higher Purpose.
To be continued...
JDZ
Saturday, September 26, 2009
The Moon
by Dana Gerhardt
I've always been drawn to the Moon. As a beginning astrologer, I found Moon signs, aspects, and house positions far more compelling than those for any other planet. The Moon tells the juiciest stories. Our Moon remembers when we cried out in our diapers, wanting nurture, the warmth of touch, a breast or bottle of milk. It remembers what happened next, whether our needs were met and we learned our world was generous and cheerful or stingy and impatient. Aspects to the Moon describe our interpretation of mother's mothering, whether we experienced her as comforting and supportive or smothering and resentful.
The Moon was also there when we first stamped our feet and tossed our head in that special way we have. Surprised parents looked and asked if we thought we were the Queen of Sheba. Well yes, weren't we the Queen of Sheba? For the Moon's memory stretches even further back, into other lifetimes, when we picked up certain gestures, habits and expectations no one else in our family seems to have. The Moon represents a deep imprinting, physical and emotional, harboring mysteries a team of psychologists could not itemize or explain. Its reactions are instinctive and spontaneous. Its boundaries are porous, its core so sensitive, even in our elder years it can receive a cruel remark with the unprotected vulnerability of a child. The Moon remembers everything and wants only our happiness. It's the first to raise a fuss if our needs aren't getting met.
When I began talking with people about their charts, I naturally went for the Moon, asking about their childhoods, prying into old angers and recent wounds, collecting gestures, tones of voice, and other psychological clues. "Of course," my teacher said one day, "in a reading you don't immediately start talking about someone's Moon." The pained expressions of a few first clients came back to me and made new sense. Oh! The Moon is not an astrologer's dart board.
As my practice grew, I discovered not all astrologers had learned this lesson. Amy was nervous about her first session with me. Her last reading was with a prominent astrologer who'd said that with Uranus conjunct Amy's Moon, her mother hadn't wanted her, and she was destined to repeat this rejection until she dealt with her past. Amy, whose boyfriend had just broken up with her, left that reading shaken and in tears. Amy's mother may have been stressed and less than comforting when Amy was born. But over the long stretch of their relationship, the two were close companions, supporting each other's independence, and sharing many sweet and quirky Uranian traits.
Most astrology books say that anyone with a Moon-Pluto aspect must have had a horrific mother. And yet a number of my Moon-Pluto clients have complained, "Every astrologer I've seen wants to talk about my terrible mother. But frankly, my mother wasn't that bad. I love her and I don't feel traumatized." What I've learned from these and other clients is that the Moon's expression is complex. Reduce it to a simple psychological formula at your peril. It is true that over time, a few of these Moon-Pluto clients would stumble into a tear-provoking memory of helplessness under their mother's power. And while the memory released an integral piece of their own psychology, reflecting a buried need to defend against intimacy, it did not negate the rich and often supportive connections they experienced with their mom. Sometimes these lunar breakthroughs went the other way, as with my Scorpio Moon client who always felt her mother resented her, until she discovered how tenaciously her mother fought to save her life during an early childhood illness.
As a novice I thought I knew everything by knowing someone's Moon. But over time my understanding of this placement has become more like the Moon herself: It waxes and wanes. Sometimes the Moon is a potent, luminous presence. Other times, she's a cold glyph staring back from the chart with no depth or poetry. With some clients, the Moon can dominate an entire session. With others, or with the same client at another time, the Moon won't even appear. For years I've had a reputation as a Moon expert, but periodically I have to keep asking: What do I really know when I see someone's Moon? What do I know when I see my own?
The Living Moon
Vedic astrology invites us to think of the planets and luminaries as sacred living entities--as goddesses and gods. Even though I hang out with a circle of women who like to call the Moon a "goddess," I don't come to this language easily. I've never believed the orbs above hold deities like smiling marshmallow centers. I can believe in powers greater than myself. And while they may not sit at vast control boards within the planets, orchestrating all fates below, perhaps they do speak through the planets. What orbits above or appears on charts below may be like the holy statues in shrines at Hindu temples-visible messengers of a living deity. I am most intrigued by this adjective "living." It suggests to me that when I'm puzzling about the Moon, instead of opening an astrology book or consulting the night's Moon phase, I can also look for the Moon in my very own life, in my body, emotions, and moods.
I learned volumes about the Moon when I got pregnant. Surely it was the Moon who overtook my body, filling it out like a ripe fruit, nurturing the new and fluttering heartbeat inside. I knew nothing about having a baby! I read books, I watched my diet, but mostly I stood aside and watched this mystery unfold through some agency greater than myself. Once my son was born, surely it was the Moon who taught me the exquisite relief of having someone else to worry about. Overnight, self-centeredness, the constant burden of pushing forward "important" projects and shuttling from one entertainment to the next, dissolved. From the Moon, I learned the incomparable pleasure of reflecting another being's light.
But there came a time when I didn't want to be a mother anymore. I got tired of pleading with Branden to brush his teeth, wipe his nose with Kleenex, and stop tormenting the dog. I didn't want to watch "Lamb Chop" in the morning and "Barney" at night, or play with tow trucks and fire engines on the living room floor. I cringed at the sound of his sweet three-year-old voice, "Mom, will you play with me now?" I wanted to be attentive to his needs, validate his feelings, set boundaries, open possibilities, do everything the psychology books said I should, but periodically I ran dry. I lost patience and became the wicked witch.
I can see my struggle depicted in my son's birth chart. He has a Moon/Jupiter conjunction, opposite Venus, squared by Mars. I have guilty memories of enacting that Mars square. One morning in particular I had waged a long battle trying to get Branden to brush his teeth, wash his face, sit on the potty, so I could get him dressed and packed for day care. He inched so slowly down the stairs. "Let's go honey, Mommy's late for work." And then he just stood there, surveying the day. More nagging from me and a few paces further, he stopped at the flower bed and asked me (as he often did) if he could pick flowers for his day care mommy. I said we were too late today; he stamped his feet and let out a cry shrill as an ambulance siren, and I lost it. Screaming unkind words, I stalked back, grabbed a fistful of flowers and threw them at his feet.
I'm often asked by anxious moms what squares or oppositions to their child's Moon mean. "Don't worry," I want to say, "You'll find out. Watch what you do when you're hungry, hurried, angry, lonely or tired." A Moon/Jupiter/Venus/Mars t-square? There I was, Branden's impatient, adventurous, indulgent and angry mom, in a scene far worse than any from my own childhood that I've complained to a therapist about.
Enter my Moon. It's in the 12th house, square Saturn. A guilty Moon. I'm supposed to take care of others' needs, especially my son's. Or, in the more psychologically correct version: I'm supposed to take care of my needs first so that I'm always strong enough to take care of others' needs, especially my son's. But in the 12th house, I trance out of touch with my feelings. Like abandoned rabid dogs, they lunge, snarling and biting at anyone near. This begins my Moon/Saturn mantra: "I am not good enough, I am not good enough." A 12th house Moon is a caretaking Moon; it is a hungry, victim Moon. It colludes with my 11th house Cancer South Node and says: Serve others before you serve yourself, then break down like a child.
Enter Branden's lunar nodes. His 1st house North Node points towards developing self reliance and independence, while his 7th house South Node clings, at times draining vital energy from the others he can't be without. Rebalancing self and other is his soul's mission. He's got a lifetime to work on it. So of course I knew it was not his most important project as a toddler. But many times I ventured, "Branden, can you play with your stuffed bears tonight instead?" "They are not people," his 7th house South Node would cry.
Round and round I went, until one morning, the image of the Moon, its reflective light, parceled in phases, from dark to full to dark again came as a message. The Moon receives and holds the light of the Sun, as a mother receives and contains the world of the child. But the Moon goes through phases and so do moms: We can't receive all the time! What the psychologists omit, or pay thin lip service to, the Moon remembers, the Moon enacts. When the Moon is fully illuminated, it demonstrates the height of our reflective powers-our capacity to listen and intuit another's moods and needs. Nights when the Moon is dark teach the necessity of pulling back and shutting down. The inner Moon must likewise make her parched return to the well, shaking off the light of her life's many Suns. Neglect these cycles, however, and the inner Moon will take her revenge.
That's how it is with living gods. They fight, they play, they cheat, they lie, they love, they hate; in short, they live. A key difference between polytheism, the "many living gods" concept, and our more familiar western monotheism, which gives us one supreme Father, is that when there are many gods, the deities get to have both good and bad qualities. Check out the myths of any indigenous people and you'll find their gods have and do it all. But when there's just one God, he's not allowed any darkness or evil. What's bad is cast out, like that devil Lucifer, fallen from the bosom of our one Christian God. As above so below: When we don't allow our gods any fallibility, we likewise won't admit it in ourselves.
This expectation of perfection runs deeps, and it profoundly shapes our thinking. It gives us internal pictures of perfect Moon mothers, "on" all the time. With each new child-developmental theory, a mother acquires new expectations of perfection, now nurturing this, refraining from that, as though there were nothing else in her life to worry about. Perhaps this is the real source of mother rage, and why our fairy tales are filled with so many wicked stepmothers and so few smiling real ones. Of course I believed that mom was responsible for all my problems until I became a mother. Now I wonder: Where is the psychological theory that instructs mothers to listen to their inner Moons? I once heard Anne Wilson Schaef describe an aboriginal tribe that approached its mothering in a more polytheistic spirit. Each child had many mothers; all the women in the tribe shared the nurturing role. That meant any mother was free, in fact encouraged, to go on a "walkabout" when the spirits spoke and told her to withdraw and be alone.
We're a solar people. The notion that we can or should be present all the time is a particularly solar one, for the Sun is always full and shining. We bring this expectation to work and into all our relationships, especially our loves. Here too our disavowed Moons may seek revenge. When I'm in relationship with another, my emotional nature is reflective, reactive, and changing. Yet it can't be said too often: One cannot receive all the time. Even if I secretly know this about me, I will consistently forget it about you. And forgetting this means falling into the perfect mother archetype. If I'm angry because my partner isn't meeting my needs, I'm demanding my perfect mother, and my inner Moon has transformed me into a dependent child. This is one of the lessons of John Gray's milestone book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Intimate relationships are subject to emotional cycles, Gray teaches. Men retreat emotionally to renew themselves, women rise and fall in a cycle of emotional highs and lows. Acknowledging this is how we can receive and nurture ourselves-and steer clear of the perfect mother trap. The only thing Gray got wrong is that these cycles aren't rhythms of Venus or Mars. It's what happens when two Moons are involved.
In a solar return, horary, or event chart, we read the Moon's house as an area of changeability. But how do we honor this changeability in a natal chart? What really do I know when I see your Moon? What do I know when I see my own? I should know that you and I are fluid and changeable, reflecting, reacting, and withdrawing, cycling from dark to full to dark again. This is deeply meaningful information, a profound clue to the swing and dance of life. It's why Lord Siva, the Hindu god of destruction and creation, honors the Moon by wearing the lunar crescent on his crown. The Moon teaches that we exist in relationship-to ourselves as well as others-by gaining consciousness and losing it, by cycling in and out of light. This is true for men and women. Everyone has a Moon! But when I was the mother of a toddler, I searched in vain for the psychological theory that would help me teach this cycle of intimacy to my son, how to pull away and return, so he could learn this was natural and desirable, so that twenty years hence, he wouldn't lose the thread to his own emotions and shut down, or periodically hate the woman he loves, because he was first so disappointed in his mom.
When Moon Meets Moon
Astrologers presume that when two people have compatible Moons, or flowing aspects between one's Moon and another's planets, this will be a comfortable relationship, with plenty of shared sympathies and intuitive understanding. The Moon describes what we want from family life and the way we like to be at home. Venus and Mars hold the passion in a relationship. But for day-to-day compatibility-whether we like to hang up our clothes or leave them in scattered piles on the floor-this is the province of the Moon. When Moons are compatible, people say things like "I've always felt so at home with Bob" or "The minute I met Janine, it's like we'd known each other forever."
If only the relationship stayed that way! The longer we're together, the more time we have to discover each Moon's secret hallways and trapdoors, so that what once was familiar and attractive can become irritating and strange. I've had three relationships with men whose charts had a common lunar signature. One had a Virgo Moon, the others 6th house Moons. I have a Virgo Ascendant; the attraction is understandable. A man will often seek a woman to embody the traits of his inner Moon. My men initially loved the way I did Virgo, smart and organized, health-conscious, analytical, and self-possessed. What a miracle it was to realize we agreed on everything. We were so alike! But in each relationship, it wasn't long before I found myself being accused of bad behavior. They said I was judgmental, picky, and unsupportive, all shadow Virgo traits. In my twenties, with my first husband, this was probably a fair complaint. I was only my Ascendant then. During the ten years of my next relationship, with the help of a mountain of books and a couple of therapists, I worked earnestly to whittle this mask away. I learned that men didn't like to be criticized (Oh!). I developed new tolerance and patience. I dialed up the fun of my Leo Moon and reveled in the adventurousness of my Sagittarius Sun. When I entered the next relationship I was thrilled to finally be a different woman. But four months into our love affair, on one dark and very long night, I heard those familiar words: "I think you're judgmental, critical and negating." I was floored.
A friend of mine has a saying: "If ten men say you're drunk, lay down." Perhaps, despite the prior ten years of inner and outer work, I was still nothing more than my critical Virgo Ascendant. But strangely, each time this accusation was hurled, I felt that my critical, judgmental lover was negating me! So who was doing the Virgo really? And why did I keep attracting men with this sensitivity? Was it my own 12th house Moon, opposite the 6th, inviting me to play a familiar role as victim, reciting its treasured "Why do they all crucify me" script? When Moon meets Moon, it's like walking in a house of mirrors!
What really happens when one Moon shines into the dark emotional waters of another? When I look at you, do I see your Moon or mine? When one reflection meets another, we get an optical illusion called "projection." What I see in you may actually be something I don't see in myself. This ambiguity is threaded into our astrological symbolism. A man's Moon, for example, is said to describe his emotions, as well as his mother and his wife. Not being a man, I'm ill-equipped to fully sort this out, but even a woman's Moon has a dual role, describing both her feelings and her mother. Most days I feel as unlike my mother as an orange to a tomato, so how can my Moon be both of us? And why is my Moon different from my sister's, when the same woman was our mother?
I have a Leo Moon and I tend to describe my mom in Leo terms. I see her as an artist, an actress, a narcissist, a child. With my Moon in the 12th house of spirits, I acknowledge my mother as the one who taught me about fairies and magic and all things spiritual-as well as victim scripts and blurred emotional boundaries. My sister has a Capricorn Moon. She describes my mother in Capricorn terms, as a dictator and career woman, ambitious, withholding, and cold. My sister's Moon is in the 3rd house of communication. She considers my mother overly talkative, full of ideas and promises, but ultimately unstable. Each of out charts reflects a different aspect of my mother's chart. My 12th house Moon reflects my mother's Moon sign, Pisces. My sister's Capricorn Moon reflects my mother's Capricorn Ascendant.
New age philosophers like to say we choose our parents. Maybe there was a trip to a giant shopping mall in the upper worlds (about which we might wonder, "What were we thinking?!"). A more pragmatic explanation may be point of view. When we look at our parents, we select the details that corroborate our expectations; the rest we minimize. So we "choose" our parents through our planetary filters; in essence, we create them by what we choose to believe about them. My mother suffered from post-partum depression when my sister was born, which is consistent with the Capricorn tone of my sister's Moon. But my mother complains that as a baby, my sister was cold and distant, never smiled at her, and never seemed to like her since the day she was born. Each claims only to have reacted to the other's first move. I, on the other hand, with my more expressive Leo Moon, was a warmer, more loving child, or so my mother claims. And unlike my sister, I can remember my mother often being encouraging and creative. Was her Moon reflected in my waters, or mine in hers?
The Moon is memory, container of our past. But it is also porous, reactive and changeable. After my last Virgo Moon man, I entered a relationship with a 10th house Aquarius Moon (opposite my Leo). What a relief! No longer was I "judgmental" and "picky." After the gauzy veil of romance wore thin, we were trading insults like "You're such a narcissist" and "You're always working. You never have time for me." It took a few years for our respective Moons to throw tantrums and negotiate the territory, but now each is quite at home with the other, and not at all the same Moon as was with our prior partners.
If the Moon describes our habitual and changing emotional life, plus the traits of our mothers and partners, there can be no astrology text capable of summing it all. That is why, when practicing astrology, before saying much about someone's Moon, you should wait for the Moon to rise in the reading of its own accord. In fact, you should make your deepest study of your own Moon, so you can keep its neediness and projections out of the way. Then your Moon can do what it does best: listen, reflect, intuit and nourish the radiant Sun in front of you.
I've always been drawn to the Moon. As a beginning astrologer, I found Moon signs, aspects, and house positions far more compelling than those for any other planet. The Moon tells the juiciest stories. Our Moon remembers when we cried out in our diapers, wanting nurture, the warmth of touch, a breast or bottle of milk. It remembers what happened next, whether our needs were met and we learned our world was generous and cheerful or stingy and impatient. Aspects to the Moon describe our interpretation of mother's mothering, whether we experienced her as comforting and supportive or smothering and resentful.
The Moon was also there when we first stamped our feet and tossed our head in that special way we have. Surprised parents looked and asked if we thought we were the Queen of Sheba. Well yes, weren't we the Queen of Sheba? For the Moon's memory stretches even further back, into other lifetimes, when we picked up certain gestures, habits and expectations no one else in our family seems to have. The Moon represents a deep imprinting, physical and emotional, harboring mysteries a team of psychologists could not itemize or explain. Its reactions are instinctive and spontaneous. Its boundaries are porous, its core so sensitive, even in our elder years it can receive a cruel remark with the unprotected vulnerability of a child. The Moon remembers everything and wants only our happiness. It's the first to raise a fuss if our needs aren't getting met.
When I began talking with people about their charts, I naturally went for the Moon, asking about their childhoods, prying into old angers and recent wounds, collecting gestures, tones of voice, and other psychological clues. "Of course," my teacher said one day, "in a reading you don't immediately start talking about someone's Moon." The pained expressions of a few first clients came back to me and made new sense. Oh! The Moon is not an astrologer's dart board.
As my practice grew, I discovered not all astrologers had learned this lesson. Amy was nervous about her first session with me. Her last reading was with a prominent astrologer who'd said that with Uranus conjunct Amy's Moon, her mother hadn't wanted her, and she was destined to repeat this rejection until she dealt with her past. Amy, whose boyfriend had just broken up with her, left that reading shaken and in tears. Amy's mother may have been stressed and less than comforting when Amy was born. But over the long stretch of their relationship, the two were close companions, supporting each other's independence, and sharing many sweet and quirky Uranian traits.
Most astrology books say that anyone with a Moon-Pluto aspect must have had a horrific mother. And yet a number of my Moon-Pluto clients have complained, "Every astrologer I've seen wants to talk about my terrible mother. But frankly, my mother wasn't that bad. I love her and I don't feel traumatized." What I've learned from these and other clients is that the Moon's expression is complex. Reduce it to a simple psychological formula at your peril. It is true that over time, a few of these Moon-Pluto clients would stumble into a tear-provoking memory of helplessness under their mother's power. And while the memory released an integral piece of their own psychology, reflecting a buried need to defend against intimacy, it did not negate the rich and often supportive connections they experienced with their mom. Sometimes these lunar breakthroughs went the other way, as with my Scorpio Moon client who always felt her mother resented her, until she discovered how tenaciously her mother fought to save her life during an early childhood illness.
As a novice I thought I knew everything by knowing someone's Moon. But over time my understanding of this placement has become more like the Moon herself: It waxes and wanes. Sometimes the Moon is a potent, luminous presence. Other times, she's a cold glyph staring back from the chart with no depth or poetry. With some clients, the Moon can dominate an entire session. With others, or with the same client at another time, the Moon won't even appear. For years I've had a reputation as a Moon expert, but periodically I have to keep asking: What do I really know when I see someone's Moon? What do I know when I see my own?
The Living Moon
Vedic astrology invites us to think of the planets and luminaries as sacred living entities--as goddesses and gods. Even though I hang out with a circle of women who like to call the Moon a "goddess," I don't come to this language easily. I've never believed the orbs above hold deities like smiling marshmallow centers. I can believe in powers greater than myself. And while they may not sit at vast control boards within the planets, orchestrating all fates below, perhaps they do speak through the planets. What orbits above or appears on charts below may be like the holy statues in shrines at Hindu temples-visible messengers of a living deity. I am most intrigued by this adjective "living." It suggests to me that when I'm puzzling about the Moon, instead of opening an astrology book or consulting the night's Moon phase, I can also look for the Moon in my very own life, in my body, emotions, and moods.
I learned volumes about the Moon when I got pregnant. Surely it was the Moon who overtook my body, filling it out like a ripe fruit, nurturing the new and fluttering heartbeat inside. I knew nothing about having a baby! I read books, I watched my diet, but mostly I stood aside and watched this mystery unfold through some agency greater than myself. Once my son was born, surely it was the Moon who taught me the exquisite relief of having someone else to worry about. Overnight, self-centeredness, the constant burden of pushing forward "important" projects and shuttling from one entertainment to the next, dissolved. From the Moon, I learned the incomparable pleasure of reflecting another being's light.
But there came a time when I didn't want to be a mother anymore. I got tired of pleading with Branden to brush his teeth, wipe his nose with Kleenex, and stop tormenting the dog. I didn't want to watch "Lamb Chop" in the morning and "Barney" at night, or play with tow trucks and fire engines on the living room floor. I cringed at the sound of his sweet three-year-old voice, "Mom, will you play with me now?" I wanted to be attentive to his needs, validate his feelings, set boundaries, open possibilities, do everything the psychology books said I should, but periodically I ran dry. I lost patience and became the wicked witch.
I can see my struggle depicted in my son's birth chart. He has a Moon/Jupiter conjunction, opposite Venus, squared by Mars. I have guilty memories of enacting that Mars square. One morning in particular I had waged a long battle trying to get Branden to brush his teeth, wash his face, sit on the potty, so I could get him dressed and packed for day care. He inched so slowly down the stairs. "Let's go honey, Mommy's late for work." And then he just stood there, surveying the day. More nagging from me and a few paces further, he stopped at the flower bed and asked me (as he often did) if he could pick flowers for his day care mommy. I said we were too late today; he stamped his feet and let out a cry shrill as an ambulance siren, and I lost it. Screaming unkind words, I stalked back, grabbed a fistful of flowers and threw them at his feet.
I'm often asked by anxious moms what squares or oppositions to their child's Moon mean. "Don't worry," I want to say, "You'll find out. Watch what you do when you're hungry, hurried, angry, lonely or tired." A Moon/Jupiter/Venus/Mars t-square? There I was, Branden's impatient, adventurous, indulgent and angry mom, in a scene far worse than any from my own childhood that I've complained to a therapist about.
Enter my Moon. It's in the 12th house, square Saturn. A guilty Moon. I'm supposed to take care of others' needs, especially my son's. Or, in the more psychologically correct version: I'm supposed to take care of my needs first so that I'm always strong enough to take care of others' needs, especially my son's. But in the 12th house, I trance out of touch with my feelings. Like abandoned rabid dogs, they lunge, snarling and biting at anyone near. This begins my Moon/Saturn mantra: "I am not good enough, I am not good enough." A 12th house Moon is a caretaking Moon; it is a hungry, victim Moon. It colludes with my 11th house Cancer South Node and says: Serve others before you serve yourself, then break down like a child.
Enter Branden's lunar nodes. His 1st house North Node points towards developing self reliance and independence, while his 7th house South Node clings, at times draining vital energy from the others he can't be without. Rebalancing self and other is his soul's mission. He's got a lifetime to work on it. So of course I knew it was not his most important project as a toddler. But many times I ventured, "Branden, can you play with your stuffed bears tonight instead?" "They are not people," his 7th house South Node would cry.
Round and round I went, until one morning, the image of the Moon, its reflective light, parceled in phases, from dark to full to dark again came as a message. The Moon receives and holds the light of the Sun, as a mother receives and contains the world of the child. But the Moon goes through phases and so do moms: We can't receive all the time! What the psychologists omit, or pay thin lip service to, the Moon remembers, the Moon enacts. When the Moon is fully illuminated, it demonstrates the height of our reflective powers-our capacity to listen and intuit another's moods and needs. Nights when the Moon is dark teach the necessity of pulling back and shutting down. The inner Moon must likewise make her parched return to the well, shaking off the light of her life's many Suns. Neglect these cycles, however, and the inner Moon will take her revenge.
That's how it is with living gods. They fight, they play, they cheat, they lie, they love, they hate; in short, they live. A key difference between polytheism, the "many living gods" concept, and our more familiar western monotheism, which gives us one supreme Father, is that when there are many gods, the deities get to have both good and bad qualities. Check out the myths of any indigenous people and you'll find their gods have and do it all. But when there's just one God, he's not allowed any darkness or evil. What's bad is cast out, like that devil Lucifer, fallen from the bosom of our one Christian God. As above so below: When we don't allow our gods any fallibility, we likewise won't admit it in ourselves.
This expectation of perfection runs deeps, and it profoundly shapes our thinking. It gives us internal pictures of perfect Moon mothers, "on" all the time. With each new child-developmental theory, a mother acquires new expectations of perfection, now nurturing this, refraining from that, as though there were nothing else in her life to worry about. Perhaps this is the real source of mother rage, and why our fairy tales are filled with so many wicked stepmothers and so few smiling real ones. Of course I believed that mom was responsible for all my problems until I became a mother. Now I wonder: Where is the psychological theory that instructs mothers to listen to their inner Moons? I once heard Anne Wilson Schaef describe an aboriginal tribe that approached its mothering in a more polytheistic spirit. Each child had many mothers; all the women in the tribe shared the nurturing role. That meant any mother was free, in fact encouraged, to go on a "walkabout" when the spirits spoke and told her to withdraw and be alone.
We're a solar people. The notion that we can or should be present all the time is a particularly solar one, for the Sun is always full and shining. We bring this expectation to work and into all our relationships, especially our loves. Here too our disavowed Moons may seek revenge. When I'm in relationship with another, my emotional nature is reflective, reactive, and changing. Yet it can't be said too often: One cannot receive all the time. Even if I secretly know this about me, I will consistently forget it about you. And forgetting this means falling into the perfect mother archetype. If I'm angry because my partner isn't meeting my needs, I'm demanding my perfect mother, and my inner Moon has transformed me into a dependent child. This is one of the lessons of John Gray's milestone book, Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus. Intimate relationships are subject to emotional cycles, Gray teaches. Men retreat emotionally to renew themselves, women rise and fall in a cycle of emotional highs and lows. Acknowledging this is how we can receive and nurture ourselves-and steer clear of the perfect mother trap. The only thing Gray got wrong is that these cycles aren't rhythms of Venus or Mars. It's what happens when two Moons are involved.
In a solar return, horary, or event chart, we read the Moon's house as an area of changeability. But how do we honor this changeability in a natal chart? What really do I know when I see your Moon? What do I know when I see my own? I should know that you and I are fluid and changeable, reflecting, reacting, and withdrawing, cycling from dark to full to dark again. This is deeply meaningful information, a profound clue to the swing and dance of life. It's why Lord Siva, the Hindu god of destruction and creation, honors the Moon by wearing the lunar crescent on his crown. The Moon teaches that we exist in relationship-to ourselves as well as others-by gaining consciousness and losing it, by cycling in and out of light. This is true for men and women. Everyone has a Moon! But when I was the mother of a toddler, I searched in vain for the psychological theory that would help me teach this cycle of intimacy to my son, how to pull away and return, so he could learn this was natural and desirable, so that twenty years hence, he wouldn't lose the thread to his own emotions and shut down, or periodically hate the woman he loves, because he was first so disappointed in his mom.
When Moon Meets Moon
Astrologers presume that when two people have compatible Moons, or flowing aspects between one's Moon and another's planets, this will be a comfortable relationship, with plenty of shared sympathies and intuitive understanding. The Moon describes what we want from family life and the way we like to be at home. Venus and Mars hold the passion in a relationship. But for day-to-day compatibility-whether we like to hang up our clothes or leave them in scattered piles on the floor-this is the province of the Moon. When Moons are compatible, people say things like "I've always felt so at home with Bob" or "The minute I met Janine, it's like we'd known each other forever."
If only the relationship stayed that way! The longer we're together, the more time we have to discover each Moon's secret hallways and trapdoors, so that what once was familiar and attractive can become irritating and strange. I've had three relationships with men whose charts had a common lunar signature. One had a Virgo Moon, the others 6th house Moons. I have a Virgo Ascendant; the attraction is understandable. A man will often seek a woman to embody the traits of his inner Moon. My men initially loved the way I did Virgo, smart and organized, health-conscious, analytical, and self-possessed. What a miracle it was to realize we agreed on everything. We were so alike! But in each relationship, it wasn't long before I found myself being accused of bad behavior. They said I was judgmental, picky, and unsupportive, all shadow Virgo traits. In my twenties, with my first husband, this was probably a fair complaint. I was only my Ascendant then. During the ten years of my next relationship, with the help of a mountain of books and a couple of therapists, I worked earnestly to whittle this mask away. I learned that men didn't like to be criticized (Oh!). I developed new tolerance and patience. I dialed up the fun of my Leo Moon and reveled in the adventurousness of my Sagittarius Sun. When I entered the next relationship I was thrilled to finally be a different woman. But four months into our love affair, on one dark and very long night, I heard those familiar words: "I think you're judgmental, critical and negating." I was floored.
A friend of mine has a saying: "If ten men say you're drunk, lay down." Perhaps, despite the prior ten years of inner and outer work, I was still nothing more than my critical Virgo Ascendant. But strangely, each time this accusation was hurled, I felt that my critical, judgmental lover was negating me! So who was doing the Virgo really? And why did I keep attracting men with this sensitivity? Was it my own 12th house Moon, opposite the 6th, inviting me to play a familiar role as victim, reciting its treasured "Why do they all crucify me" script? When Moon meets Moon, it's like walking in a house of mirrors!
What really happens when one Moon shines into the dark emotional waters of another? When I look at you, do I see your Moon or mine? When one reflection meets another, we get an optical illusion called "projection." What I see in you may actually be something I don't see in myself. This ambiguity is threaded into our astrological symbolism. A man's Moon, for example, is said to describe his emotions, as well as his mother and his wife. Not being a man, I'm ill-equipped to fully sort this out, but even a woman's Moon has a dual role, describing both her feelings and her mother. Most days I feel as unlike my mother as an orange to a tomato, so how can my Moon be both of us? And why is my Moon different from my sister's, when the same woman was our mother?
I have a Leo Moon and I tend to describe my mom in Leo terms. I see her as an artist, an actress, a narcissist, a child. With my Moon in the 12th house of spirits, I acknowledge my mother as the one who taught me about fairies and magic and all things spiritual-as well as victim scripts and blurred emotional boundaries. My sister has a Capricorn Moon. She describes my mother in Capricorn terms, as a dictator and career woman, ambitious, withholding, and cold. My sister's Moon is in the 3rd house of communication. She considers my mother overly talkative, full of ideas and promises, but ultimately unstable. Each of out charts reflects a different aspect of my mother's chart. My 12th house Moon reflects my mother's Moon sign, Pisces. My sister's Capricorn Moon reflects my mother's Capricorn Ascendant.
New age philosophers like to say we choose our parents. Maybe there was a trip to a giant shopping mall in the upper worlds (about which we might wonder, "What were we thinking?!"). A more pragmatic explanation may be point of view. When we look at our parents, we select the details that corroborate our expectations; the rest we minimize. So we "choose" our parents through our planetary filters; in essence, we create them by what we choose to believe about them. My mother suffered from post-partum depression when my sister was born, which is consistent with the Capricorn tone of my sister's Moon. But my mother complains that as a baby, my sister was cold and distant, never smiled at her, and never seemed to like her since the day she was born. Each claims only to have reacted to the other's first move. I, on the other hand, with my more expressive Leo Moon, was a warmer, more loving child, or so my mother claims. And unlike my sister, I can remember my mother often being encouraging and creative. Was her Moon reflected in my waters, or mine in hers?
The Moon is memory, container of our past. But it is also porous, reactive and changeable. After my last Virgo Moon man, I entered a relationship with a 10th house Aquarius Moon (opposite my Leo). What a relief! No longer was I "judgmental" and "picky." After the gauzy veil of romance wore thin, we were trading insults like "You're such a narcissist" and "You're always working. You never have time for me." It took a few years for our respective Moons to throw tantrums and negotiate the territory, but now each is quite at home with the other, and not at all the same Moon as was with our prior partners.
If the Moon describes our habitual and changing emotional life, plus the traits of our mothers and partners, there can be no astrology text capable of summing it all. That is why, when practicing astrology, before saying much about someone's Moon, you should wait for the Moon to rise in the reading of its own accord. In fact, you should make your deepest study of your own Moon, so you can keep its neediness and projections out of the way. Then your Moon can do what it does best: listen, reflect, intuit and nourish the radiant Sun in front of you.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Seeing + Feeling + Doing = Intuition = Self-Integration
Jungian astrological terms for the four angles of the cross of matter, in the natural horoscope, are Intuition for the Ascendant, Feeling for the Nadir, Sensation for the Descendant and Thinking for the Mid-Heaven. On this note, I seek to understand where I am aligned naturally in myself, at the very beginning, at the Ascendant or Rising Sun, the horizon of conscious being where my only true reference point of existence is.
Sensations and thoughts, emotional thinking, and all the content of the mind is ultimately secondary, they are effects not causes. Intuition, the true center of all "positive thinking" and visualization as we understand these, is the deepest experience of SEEING (The Sun) FEELING (The Earth/Moon) and DOING (Earth/Ascendant), where the doing arises out of deep feeling and clear seeing, the source (sun) and ground (earth) spring (moon) of being.
In speaking of action, the fundamental intuitive aligning factor is already in place... and from here the next important is to LIVE IT which means "just do it!" and not to think about it more, over calculate, keep score, worry how I am doing, and all that psychological nonsense... the nonsense and useless thinking which gets stored at the dark or shadow side (and south node) of the Moon and personal planets like Mercury and Venus.
The goal is cut clear to INTUITION, the central aligning, seeing/feeling factor, where visualizing is acting and ideals made manifest through the Individual, the ONE channel through which the universal and personal are integrative and co-creative.
JDZ
Sensations and thoughts, emotional thinking, and all the content of the mind is ultimately secondary, they are effects not causes. Intuition, the true center of all "positive thinking" and visualization as we understand these, is the deepest experience of SEEING (The Sun) FEELING (The Earth/Moon) and DOING (Earth/Ascendant), where the doing arises out of deep feeling and clear seeing, the source (sun) and ground (earth) spring (moon) of being.
In speaking of action, the fundamental intuitive aligning factor is already in place... and from here the next important is to LIVE IT which means "just do it!" and not to think about it more, over calculate, keep score, worry how I am doing, and all that psychological nonsense... the nonsense and useless thinking which gets stored at the dark or shadow side (and south node) of the Moon and personal planets like Mercury and Venus.
The goal is cut clear to INTUITION, the central aligning, seeing/feeling factor, where visualizing is acting and ideals made manifest through the Individual, the ONE channel through which the universal and personal are integrative and co-creative.
JDZ
Monday, September 7, 2009
Full Moon Pisces
*This is the real deal right here, forwarded to me by a friend today, very true to my own experience of this Full Moon period...
Full Moon in Pisces today 9/4!
Dearest Friends
As of this morning, Friday September 4 at 9:03 AM PDT (CA time), we have
been blessed with a beautiful Full Moon in Pisces (chart in attachment).
Compassion, art, creativity, mysticism, meditation, healing, channeling
and dreaming... are all favored this coming month (until the next Full
Moon in Aries on October 3). As we naturally experience oneness with the
entirety of life and become acutely aware of our multi-dimensionality, we
are able to access higher realms of consciousness effortlessly.
This Moon asks us to balance our dreams with our reality. This is a time
to come into alignment with what our hearts dictate, no matter how crazy
this may seem to those around us. If we have been staying in a job, a
location or a relationship just out of a false sense of safety -or worse,
fear of change!- now is the time to fine tune our life circumstances with
our true purpose. It is important that our souls soar freely. When we
follow our intuition and take a leap of faith, we shall be amazed to
realize that the universe supports us energetically, financially and
emotionally in the most magical of ways.
This is a time to tap into our inner resources, brain storm with ourselves
and like-spirited others, come up with new ideas for our businesses, our
relationships, the places where we live and how we live. This is a time to
go deeply into our thoughts and the ways we communicate. We are likely to
find ourselves separating from -or avoiding- fear based, manipulative,
egotistical individuals (they may also be serving a bigger plan by
rejecting us!!!). Anger or turning away is sometimes the most appropriate
response in the face of what threatens our integrity. We spontaneously
X-ray situations and people. This enables us to detect the lies and
realize that not all is what it seems. Intense discrimination is called
for at this time!
We are regenerating at a cellular level which also means that we should be
paying close attention to our diet. It is recommended to eat the way
Nature intended us to: fresh, raw, organic fruit, vegetables and sprouts,
making sure we drink plenty of pure, energetic water, breathe deeply,
exercise in harmony with our bodies (yoga, swimming, walking...) and sleep
enough in an electronic-free, quiet bedroom. Our night visions should be
particularly significant during this month as we literally dream our
reality into being.
Now is the time to free ourselves from whatever has been blocking the flow
of our higher self. If we ask for divine guidance with a pure heart,
spontaneous healing can occur, the fulfillment of our highest purpose can
take place and turmoil can be replaced by peace.
We are truly entering a month where the separation between what was and
what is becoming is more and more visible. The gap between those who give
faith to the collective subconscious promoting fear, scarcity and lack,
and those who are becoming true masters of their own destinies by giving
power to their divine self to create financial abundance, happiness and
love, is deepening.
The question this Full Moon asks of all us is: what reality are we
choosing for ourselves?
In Loving Light.
M.
Michelle Karén M.A., D.F.Astrol.S.
www.MichelleKaren.com
Astrologer, author of
Astrology For Enlightenment
Atria books, Simon and Schuster
Full Moon in Pisces today 9/4!
Dearest Friends
As of this morning, Friday September 4 at 9:03 AM PDT (CA time), we have
been blessed with a beautiful Full Moon in Pisces (chart in attachment).
Compassion, art, creativity, mysticism, meditation, healing, channeling
and dreaming... are all favored this coming month (until the next Full
Moon in Aries on October 3). As we naturally experience oneness with the
entirety of life and become acutely aware of our multi-dimensionality, we
are able to access higher realms of consciousness effortlessly.
This Moon asks us to balance our dreams with our reality. This is a time
to come into alignment with what our hearts dictate, no matter how crazy
this may seem to those around us. If we have been staying in a job, a
location or a relationship just out of a false sense of safety -or worse,
fear of change!- now is the time to fine tune our life circumstances with
our true purpose. It is important that our souls soar freely. When we
follow our intuition and take a leap of faith, we shall be amazed to
realize that the universe supports us energetically, financially and
emotionally in the most magical of ways.
This is a time to tap into our inner resources, brain storm with ourselves
and like-spirited others, come up with new ideas for our businesses, our
relationships, the places where we live and how we live. This is a time to
go deeply into our thoughts and the ways we communicate. We are likely to
find ourselves separating from -or avoiding- fear based, manipulative,
egotistical individuals (they may also be serving a bigger plan by
rejecting us!!!). Anger or turning away is sometimes the most appropriate
response in the face of what threatens our integrity. We spontaneously
X-ray situations and people. This enables us to detect the lies and
realize that not all is what it seems. Intense discrimination is called
for at this time!
We are regenerating at a cellular level which also means that we should be
paying close attention to our diet. It is recommended to eat the way
Nature intended us to: fresh, raw, organic fruit, vegetables and sprouts,
making sure we drink plenty of pure, energetic water, breathe deeply,
exercise in harmony with our bodies (yoga, swimming, walking...) and sleep
enough in an electronic-free, quiet bedroom. Our night visions should be
particularly significant during this month as we literally dream our
reality into being.
Now is the time to free ourselves from whatever has been blocking the flow
of our higher self. If we ask for divine guidance with a pure heart,
spontaneous healing can occur, the fulfillment of our highest purpose can
take place and turmoil can be replaced by peace.
We are truly entering a month where the separation between what was and
what is becoming is more and more visible. The gap between those who give
faith to the collective subconscious promoting fear, scarcity and lack,
and those who are becoming true masters of their own destinies by giving
power to their divine self to create financial abundance, happiness and
love, is deepening.
The question this Full Moon asks of all us is: what reality are we
choosing for ourselves?
In Loving Light.
M.
Michelle Karén M.A., D.F.Astrol.S.
www.MichelleKaren.com
Astrologer, author of
Astrology For Enlightenment
Atria books, Simon and Schuster
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Sun/Moon/Rising + Planets/Angles & Lunar Nodes - As Cause(s) & Effect(s)
Sun is the Cause - Moon is the Inner Effect(s) - Rising/Ascendant is Outer Effect(s)
Moon is the Inner Cause behind the Rising/Ascendant Outer Effect, though in itself is an immediate inner effect of the cause which always is The Sun
Ascendant is the Causal Factor behind all outward Manifestation and its Effects... the inner being stored at the Nadir or I.C. and the outer world at the M.C. or Mid-Heaven, marking the upper (MC and Houses 7-12) and lower hemispheres (IC and Houses 1-6).
Descendant makes the horizon and horizontal perspective where the lower and upper, inner and outer, meet in the present moment, here and now. The Ascendant (or Self) interacting with The Descendant (or Other) in the dance of life, fleeting and transitory yet rooted in Eternity (The Sun).
The Planets indicate this entire interaction and how it develops/unfolds in the evolution of an individual human persona (inner planets) as well as collectively in society (Jupiter-Saturn) and universally for all Humankind (Uranus-Neptune-Pluto).
The Nodes are the ultimate effects or karmic consequences of our causal actions and activity that inevitably breed effects:
Suffice to say, good Karma leads one to the insight, wisdom and inspiration of the forward flow (North Node) willing to embrace the unknown and take the high road... where taking a path of strong resistance leads one to a state of least resistance in the process of one's spiritual/human journey.
Negative Karma is clinging to old ways and habits, where one relies on the path of least resistance (i.e. the "comfort zone") and in doing so is inwardly creating more inner resistance to change, growth and living in the present, free of the past.
**More to come at a later time... to see further elaboration on this topic (overtime) visit http://cosmicexploration.blogspot.com
JDZ
Moon is the Inner Cause behind the Rising/Ascendant Outer Effect, though in itself is an immediate inner effect of the cause which always is The Sun
Ascendant is the Causal Factor behind all outward Manifestation and its Effects... the inner being stored at the Nadir or I.C. and the outer world at the M.C. or Mid-Heaven, marking the upper (MC and Houses 7-12) and lower hemispheres (IC and Houses 1-6).
Descendant makes the horizon and horizontal perspective where the lower and upper, inner and outer, meet in the present moment, here and now. The Ascendant (or Self) interacting with The Descendant (or Other) in the dance of life, fleeting and transitory yet rooted in Eternity (The Sun).
The Planets indicate this entire interaction and how it develops/unfolds in the evolution of an individual human persona (inner planets) as well as collectively in society (Jupiter-Saturn) and universally for all Humankind (Uranus-Neptune-Pluto).
The Nodes are the ultimate effects or karmic consequences of our causal actions and activity that inevitably breed effects:
Suffice to say, good Karma leads one to the insight, wisdom and inspiration of the forward flow (North Node) willing to embrace the unknown and take the high road... where taking a path of strong resistance leads one to a state of least resistance in the process of one's spiritual/human journey.
Negative Karma is clinging to old ways and habits, where one relies on the path of least resistance (i.e. the "comfort zone") and in doing so is inwardly creating more inner resistance to change, growth and living in the present, free of the past.
**More to come at a later time... to see further elaboration on this topic (overtime) visit http://cosmicexploration.blogspot.com
JDZ
Monday, July 27, 2009
Jupiter & North Node meets Saturn & South Node
North Node equals Jupiter plus Uranus, Neptune & Pluto (Solar)
South Node equals Saturn plus Mercury, Venus & Mars (Lunar)
Saturn (and South Node) represents the embodiment of collective humanity, insofar as that collective is physically incarnate... it is the collective yet individual karma one brings when confronting the Outer Planets (North Node) beyond it... it lays the ground or foundation for spiritual/trans-personal life by introducing personal karmas, shadows, and all that is to be healed (via Chiron) so that Divine Light at Jupiter may keep shining, ever brilliant and expansive...
Jupiter (and North Node) represents the individualized/personal experience/activity of the cosmic collective, insofar as this cosmic vibration manifests as individual character or a Higher Self awareness. In this instance South Node energies (personal planets) are raised to the higher octave vibrations of the outer planets. Mercury takes on qualities of Uranus, Venus becomes Neptune and Mars transforms into Pluto.
Saturn and the South Node keep one anchored and grounded, not overstepping one's bounds, for they represent the centripetal force of gravity and the necessity of confronting personal karma for the purpose of healing and letting go. At best, their constricted influence knows the limits of externally expanding and by confronting shadows or demons this returns the individual his/her true nature as it already is.
Jupiter and North Node expand the individual self to multidimensional levels of being and becoming... the forward moving flow and centrifugal force that takes the individual to higher conscious outermost planet experiences beyond the confines of Saturn, beyond the individual ego and its limited perspective. It teaches us, in working well with Saturn, that the individual is essentially one with the Infinite.
The outer planets (collective) need an material counterpart for the purpose of contrast and grounding and this planet is Saturn. The inner planets (individual) need a spiritual counterpart for the same purpose and this planet is Jupiter. By default, Jupiter is essentially one with the Sun and opposite the Moon, while Saturn is essentially one with Earth/Moon and opposite the Sun.
JDZ
South Node equals Saturn plus Mercury, Venus & Mars (Lunar)
Saturn (and South Node) represents the embodiment of collective humanity, insofar as that collective is physically incarnate... it is the collective yet individual karma one brings when confronting the Outer Planets (North Node) beyond it... it lays the ground or foundation for spiritual/trans-personal life by introducing personal karmas, shadows, and all that is to be healed (via Chiron) so that Divine Light at Jupiter may keep shining, ever brilliant and expansive...
Jupiter (and North Node) represents the individualized/personal experience/activity of the cosmic collective, insofar as this cosmic vibration manifests as individual character or a Higher Self awareness. In this instance South Node energies (personal planets) are raised to the higher octave vibrations of the outer planets. Mercury takes on qualities of Uranus, Venus becomes Neptune and Mars transforms into Pluto.
Saturn and the South Node keep one anchored and grounded, not overstepping one's bounds, for they represent the centripetal force of gravity and the necessity of confronting personal karma for the purpose of healing and letting go. At best, their constricted influence knows the limits of externally expanding and by confronting shadows or demons this returns the individual his/her true nature as it already is.
Jupiter and North Node expand the individual self to multidimensional levels of being and becoming... the forward moving flow and centrifugal force that takes the individual to higher conscious outermost planet experiences beyond the confines of Saturn, beyond the individual ego and its limited perspective. It teaches us, in working well with Saturn, that the individual is essentially one with the Infinite.
The outer planets (collective) need an material counterpart for the purpose of contrast and grounding and this planet is Saturn. The inner planets (individual) need a spiritual counterpart for the same purpose and this planet is Jupiter. By default, Jupiter is essentially one with the Sun and opposite the Moon, while Saturn is essentially one with Earth/Moon and opposite the Sun.
JDZ
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Twelve Houses of Life - One thru Seven - The Present Moment
House 1 - All matters pertaining to my physical body, personal self, physical exercise and other personal practices. How am I caring for and keeping the vehicle in good condition.
House 2 - All matters pertaining to finance, earning, spending, budgeting, planning, and overall managing of resources; also any activities involving the management of personal possessions.
House 3 - The ways in which I reach out to others, via phone, internet/email, personal and business, leisurely and work related correspondences, general communications, reading and writing.
House 4 - All immediate domestic matters of house and home, personal time for chores and errands, all household tasks and matters at hand; also, rest and relaxation, downtime, reflection and inward contemplation, self nurturing, family obligations
House 5 - Life as a creative process, the joy of being and becoming (simultaneously), meaningful creations and recreation, children, romantic affairs, artistic pursuits, all that is joyful, that we choose to do with personal time
House 6 - What I am obligated to do, private and public duties/responsibilities, a system for completing all tasks at home and on the job, for living a functional self supporting existence by taking full responsibility for the implementation; also, physical and mental health programs to keep the 1st House of self functioning optimally, regular exercise, nutrition, good hygiene.
House 7 - Social engagements, activities (committed or otherwise) with others (or any intimate other); the ties that are formed from the experiences in Houses 1-6, like-minded friends and close partnerships, having a social agenda as an addition to the practical agendas of House 6.
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Houses 8-12 I refer to as collective/universal themes that indicate an individual's growth and prosperity overtime, relationship to humanity and with a higher consciousness or God.
8th House is death and rebirth, of things seen and unseen (outer and inner & transformation
9th House is Self Expansion, Cosmology, Spiritual Philosophy, and all that gives meaning
10th House is Success, Aspiration, public standing, contribution & social function/reputation
11th House is Friends, groups, mentors, higher beings, all who share common hopes/dreams
12th House is the essence of the 11th turned inward, solitary experience, prayer & meditation
The idea is to focus specifically on the first seven houses (the moment) and outline as elaborately as possible all areas of life of central importance, including all items on your task list, appointments, engagements, routines, etc. Then having developed a workable system from these, one develops naturally in houses 8 through 12 which are indicative of broader life themes which can take many different unique individual forms (especially in the 9th House of Cosmology and its continuous discovery of new meaning).
JDZ
House 2 - All matters pertaining to finance, earning, spending, budgeting, planning, and overall managing of resources; also any activities involving the management of personal possessions.
House 3 - The ways in which I reach out to others, via phone, internet/email, personal and business, leisurely and work related correspondences, general communications, reading and writing.
House 4 - All immediate domestic matters of house and home, personal time for chores and errands, all household tasks and matters at hand; also, rest and relaxation, downtime, reflection and inward contemplation, self nurturing, family obligations
House 5 - Life as a creative process, the joy of being and becoming (simultaneously), meaningful creations and recreation, children, romantic affairs, artistic pursuits, all that is joyful, that we choose to do with personal time
House 6 - What I am obligated to do, private and public duties/responsibilities, a system for completing all tasks at home and on the job, for living a functional self supporting existence by taking full responsibility for the implementation; also, physical and mental health programs to keep the 1st House of self functioning optimally, regular exercise, nutrition, good hygiene.
House 7 - Social engagements, activities (committed or otherwise) with others (or any intimate other); the ties that are formed from the experiences in Houses 1-6, like-minded friends and close partnerships, having a social agenda as an addition to the practical agendas of House 6.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Houses 8-12 I refer to as collective/universal themes that indicate an individual's growth and prosperity overtime, relationship to humanity and with a higher consciousness or God.
8th House is death and rebirth, of things seen and unseen (outer and inner & transformation
9th House is Self Expansion, Cosmology, Spiritual Philosophy, and all that gives meaning
10th House is Success, Aspiration, public standing, contribution & social function/reputation
11th House is Friends, groups, mentors, higher beings, all who share common hopes/dreams
12th House is the essence of the 11th turned inward, solitary experience, prayer & meditation
The idea is to focus specifically on the first seven houses (the moment) and outline as elaborately as possible all areas of life of central importance, including all items on your task list, appointments, engagements, routines, etc. Then having developed a workable system from these, one develops naturally in houses 8 through 12 which are indicative of broader life themes which can take many different unique individual forms (especially in the 9th House of Cosmology and its continuous discovery of new meaning).
JDZ
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Mundane Astrological Alphabet
Fill in the blank spaces under each house archetype (and its natural rulers) with your daily agenda and all specific aspects of your mundane life that are active and relevant. The first six houses of individual self-hood or responsibility have more specific and immediate entries like "do my budget" (2nd House) while 7-12 are larger longterm personal and spiritual themes, which for the most part are determined by the activities of Houses 1-6.
1st House - Aries - Mars & Sun/Mercury - Self, Physical Exercise, Spiritual Practice
2nd House - Taurus - Venus & Moon/Earth - Money, Possessions, Earning, Spending, Budgeting
3rd House - Gemini - Mercury & Mars/Venus - Communications, Phone Calls, Emails, Writing and Reading, all Correspondence
4th House - Cancer - Moon & Earth - Immediate activities around the home and all downtime, rest and relaxation, self-nurturing, sanctuary, reflecting and being
5th House - Leo - Sun & Moon - Self Expression & Recreation, Romance, Leisure, Creativeness and a sense of Purpose (following your bliss)
6th House - Virgo - Mercury & Saturn - Work Duties, Social Responsibilities, Programs & their Implementation, including Exercise & Health (1st House) and writing lists (3rd House), and making money (2nd House) and doing chores (4th House). Divide into two parts: Individual and Social Agendas, their design and implementation
7th House - Libra - Venus & Saturn - Socialization via the activities in Houses 1-6, the inevitable inter-connection with others of like mind and interest
8th House - Scorpio - Mars & Pluto - Self-Transformation, Regeneration/REjuvenation, Feng Shui, a path of letting go and moving on, releasing all that is no longer needed
9th House - Sagittarius - Jupiter & North Node - Cosmology, Inner & Outer Journeys, Seeing the big picture, Living according to the Vision or Dharma of individual truth. Includes both Individual and Social areas of learning and activity
10th House - Capricorn - Saturn & South Node - The Long Road to Success, with temptations (saturn, south node) along the way, reaching Self-Mastery and the Highest Achievements, Social Function and Reputation, Contributions
11th House - Aquarius - Saturn/Uranus & Jupiter - All friends and group activities which act as mentors, beneficiaries, higher beings, or simply friends with shared ideals and dreams. That aspect of the ideal or spiritual experienced in group interactivity.
12th House - Pisces - Neptune/Pluto & Jupiter - The Spiritual Life, the connection to God, Prayer, Contemplation, Meditation, and all inner spiritual work, that aspect of the ideal or spiritual experienced in solitude or confinement
JDZ
1st House - Aries - Mars & Sun/Mercury - Self, Physical Exercise, Spiritual Practice
2nd House - Taurus - Venus & Moon/Earth - Money, Possessions, Earning, Spending, Budgeting
3rd House - Gemini - Mercury & Mars/Venus - Communications, Phone Calls, Emails, Writing and Reading, all Correspondence
4th House - Cancer - Moon & Earth - Immediate activities around the home and all downtime, rest and relaxation, self-nurturing, sanctuary, reflecting and being
5th House - Leo - Sun & Moon - Self Expression & Recreation, Romance, Leisure, Creativeness and a sense of Purpose (following your bliss)
6th House - Virgo - Mercury & Saturn - Work Duties, Social Responsibilities, Programs & their Implementation, including Exercise & Health (1st House) and writing lists (3rd House), and making money (2nd House) and doing chores (4th House). Divide into two parts: Individual and Social Agendas, their design and implementation
7th House - Libra - Venus & Saturn - Socialization via the activities in Houses 1-6, the inevitable inter-connection with others of like mind and interest
8th House - Scorpio - Mars & Pluto - Self-Transformation, Regeneration/REjuvenation, Feng Shui, a path of letting go and moving on, releasing all that is no longer needed
9th House - Sagittarius - Jupiter & North Node - Cosmology, Inner & Outer Journeys, Seeing the big picture, Living according to the Vision or Dharma of individual truth. Includes both Individual and Social areas of learning and activity
10th House - Capricorn - Saturn & South Node - The Long Road to Success, with temptations (saturn, south node) along the way, reaching Self-Mastery and the Highest Achievements, Social Function and Reputation, Contributions
11th House - Aquarius - Saturn/Uranus & Jupiter - All friends and group activities which act as mentors, beneficiaries, higher beings, or simply friends with shared ideals and dreams. That aspect of the ideal or spiritual experienced in group interactivity.
12th House - Pisces - Neptune/Pluto & Jupiter - The Spiritual Life, the connection to God, Prayer, Contemplation, Meditation, and all inner spiritual work, that aspect of the ideal or spiritual experienced in solitude or confinement
JDZ
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Sun-Moon-Ascendant - "I, Me & Thou"
This is the thought I am planting into new soil for further growth and unfoldment overtime, perhaps in this very same posted area of the blog...
SUN & MOON represent the inner self, or "How I see myself"
SUN & ASCENDANT (or Rising Sun) represents the outer self expression or "How others see me"
The "I" is inner, the "Me" is outer.... this is the basis of understanding where the individual self, its three-part personality (prior to angles, nodes and planets...) is divided into two by way of inner-outer, our dualistic perspective, and the ultimate unity which is the Sun itself, detached from outer planetary activity/awareness, and connected with all other Suns in the Universe...
The Sun is Spirit individualized, astrologically stated, the circle of infinite and dot of individuality, the eternal being of the dot ultimately connected to (and dependent upon...) that of the circle. Where the dot begins all individual creative expression and experience, it is here that the Moon (the inner) and the Ascendant (the outer) have dualistic meaning, from which all other factors spring and develop...
The MOON & ASCENDANT indicate the personal sense of self, our inner and outer persona(s), which is a product of environment as well as heredity, they essentially indicate "How I see others"... If the Moon indicates the 2nd person, how I see myself through you, then the Ascendant is not only me in the 3rd person, it is everyone in the 3rd person or it is the world at large (as I personally see it, my outlook...). Qualities of my self that I share with the outside world, my mask of personality, is how I feel connected to the outside world, in body (at the Ascendant) and in soul/psyche (at the Moon).
The SUN (not its sign, just the Sun alone...) is that aspect of our core personality which embodies the Individuality or Character, the Higher Power of the Self, the vitality and consciousness that is the self connected spiritually and cosmically while essentially detached from (and creating...) all forms of this sentient world on Earth.
[Incidentally, the Earth itself is the very substance of the Sun and the stuff the Moon and Ascendant are made of. According to Esoteric Astrological tradition, it is said to be 180 degrees from the Sun and thus in the exact opposite position/sign degree as the Sun sign... thus attributing importance also to the polarity of dark, shadow and form as well as to luminosity, energy and conscious reality]
J D Z
SUN & MOON represent the inner self, or "How I see myself"
SUN & ASCENDANT (or Rising Sun) represents the outer self expression or "How others see me"
The "I" is inner, the "Me" is outer.... this is the basis of understanding where the individual self, its three-part personality (prior to angles, nodes and planets...) is divided into two by way of inner-outer, our dualistic perspective, and the ultimate unity which is the Sun itself, detached from outer planetary activity/awareness, and connected with all other Suns in the Universe...
The Sun is Spirit individualized, astrologically stated, the circle of infinite and dot of individuality, the eternal being of the dot ultimately connected to (and dependent upon...) that of the circle. Where the dot begins all individual creative expression and experience, it is here that the Moon (the inner) and the Ascendant (the outer) have dualistic meaning, from which all other factors spring and develop...
The MOON & ASCENDANT indicate the personal sense of self, our inner and outer persona(s), which is a product of environment as well as heredity, they essentially indicate "How I see others"... If the Moon indicates the 2nd person, how I see myself through you, then the Ascendant is not only me in the 3rd person, it is everyone in the 3rd person or it is the world at large (as I personally see it, my outlook...). Qualities of my self that I share with the outside world, my mask of personality, is how I feel connected to the outside world, in body (at the Ascendant) and in soul/psyche (at the Moon).
The SUN (not its sign, just the Sun alone...) is that aspect of our core personality which embodies the Individuality or Character, the Higher Power of the Self, the vitality and consciousness that is the self connected spiritually and cosmically while essentially detached from (and creating...) all forms of this sentient world on Earth.
[Incidentally, the Earth itself is the very substance of the Sun and the stuff the Moon and Ascendant are made of. According to Esoteric Astrological tradition, it is said to be 180 degrees from the Sun and thus in the exact opposite position/sign degree as the Sun sign... thus attributing importance also to the polarity of dark, shadow and form as well as to luminosity, energy and conscious reality]
J D Z
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Heart of the Rising Sun - Astro Synthesis in the Dance of Creation
I Circle of Spirit - Luminaries & Planets, Ascendant & Angles, Lunar Nodes & all Sensitive Points/Parts
Looking at life from the transpersonal cosmological perspective, to see the grander picture which is the universal dance of creation... and my part in it!
II Cross of Matter - Ascendant, MC/IC, Descendant and the Twelve Houses of Life
Labeling more specifically, in terms of my own life, what the twelve houses signify. Example using my own life...
1st House - Exercise - Physical & Mental (i.e. jogging, yoga, sitting meditation)
2nd House - Money - Earning it, Spending it, Budgeting & Making Connections
3rd House - Correspondence - Emails, Calls, Appointments, communications in general
4th House - Downtime/Reflection - Thinking, Journaling, Talking to Friends, Relaxing
5th House - Pleasure/Leisure - Everything done for fun, creative and romantic ventures
6th House - Work Duties - Showing up on time, performing of tasks & responsibilities
7th House - Social Connection(s) - Everything we do in the public company of others
8th House - Feng Shui - The elimination of dead matter, creation of space and flow
9th House - Cosmology - Man's quest for meaning, cosmic puzzle developed overtime
10th House - Aspiration(s) - Long term ambitions, goals, and heights of achievement
11th House - Friends, Guides & Mentors - Those whom we connect with that uplift us
12th House - Spiritual Life - What is my connection to God or Source Energy?
III Crescent of Soul - Individual Dharma & Personal Karma - What does my natal chart, Planets-signs-houses-aspects, reveal about my life, it's flow, function, purpose, aspiration and destiny?
Begin with the Sun-Moon-Ascendant as your fundamental and immediate NOW reality, each relating and integrating in a way that gives further expression, experience and evolution via the Inner & Outer Planets, the Angles, Nodes, Parts and Points. How does all this synthesize in your daily moment to moment existence? Astro-Synthesis is key to understanding that the whole (the individual) is greater than the sum of its parts.
IV Abhyasa & Vairagya - Laws of Vibration, positive thinking, feeling and action, and the letting go, the detachment from or death of something in our lives, clarification and purification of consciousness (external & internal) and returning to the Source. The role of the Outer Planets (especially Pluto) and Lunar Nodes play in the Sun's complete unfolding evolution. Here we blend the cosmological archetypes with the Reality of the Universe (and human life) as it is seen in the light of divine consciousness and awakening.
JDZ
Looking at life from the transpersonal cosmological perspective, to see the grander picture which is the universal dance of creation... and my part in it!
II Cross of Matter - Ascendant, MC/IC, Descendant and the Twelve Houses of Life
Labeling more specifically, in terms of my own life, what the twelve houses signify. Example using my own life...
1st House - Exercise - Physical & Mental (i.e. jogging, yoga, sitting meditation)
2nd House - Money - Earning it, Spending it, Budgeting & Making Connections
3rd House - Correspondence - Emails, Calls, Appointments, communications in general
4th House - Downtime/Reflection - Thinking, Journaling, Talking to Friends, Relaxing
5th House - Pleasure/Leisure - Everything done for fun, creative and romantic ventures
6th House - Work Duties - Showing up on time, performing of tasks & responsibilities
7th House - Social Connection(s) - Everything we do in the public company of others
8th House - Feng Shui - The elimination of dead matter, creation of space and flow
9th House - Cosmology - Man's quest for meaning, cosmic puzzle developed overtime
10th House - Aspiration(s) - Long term ambitions, goals, and heights of achievement
11th House - Friends, Guides & Mentors - Those whom we connect with that uplift us
12th House - Spiritual Life - What is my connection to God or Source Energy?
III Crescent of Soul - Individual Dharma & Personal Karma - What does my natal chart, Planets-signs-houses-aspects, reveal about my life, it's flow, function, purpose, aspiration and destiny?
Begin with the Sun-Moon-Ascendant as your fundamental and immediate NOW reality, each relating and integrating in a way that gives further expression, experience and evolution via the Inner & Outer Planets, the Angles, Nodes, Parts and Points. How does all this synthesize in your daily moment to moment existence? Astro-Synthesis is key to understanding that the whole (the individual) is greater than the sum of its parts.
IV Abhyasa & Vairagya - Laws of Vibration, positive thinking, feeling and action, and the letting go, the detachment from or death of something in our lives, clarification and purification of consciousness (external & internal) and returning to the Source. The role of the Outer Planets (especially Pluto) and Lunar Nodes play in the Sun's complete unfolding evolution. Here we blend the cosmological archetypes with the Reality of the Universe (and human life) as it is seen in the light of divine consciousness and awakening.
JDZ
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Uranus and Freedom from the Known - Transcending Jupiter-Saturn Consciousness
Jupiter shows us where a man or woman can just flow and be authentically oneself, within the social context of role playing, and naturally a lot of good comes out of this. This accompanied more often than not (in the average individual) with shadows of arrogance, carelessness or extravagance, an overly-cavalier and/or self-indulgent attitude toward life and (in some cases) a refusal to own up to what one chooses not to see in oneself. Out of control drunken behavior being a clear example of Jupiterian energy at its lowest half-cocked vibration. Jupiter, at its highest function, is the guide or philosopher who gives one an encouraging approach of positive inspirational thinking as a guide to living, with an optimistic outlook.
Saturn shows where it is not always okay to be freely self expressive, setting limits, enforcing rules and restrictions, adhering to codes of conduct, being fully accountable for daily responsibilities and having restraint or discipline. It is what we face each day based on the awareness that man or woman is not so perfect and free as the over-confident Jupiter has him/her thinking he/she is. There are skills to learn to make a living, errors and problems to be fixed , healing and growth that come through struggle and effort, or the discipline of a regular practice. Saturn's approach is modest and self-effacing, forever showing us how we can "do it better or right".
The excesses of Jupiter are tempered and there is a willingness to admit to a Reality or Truth (the outer planets) much greater than oneself alone. As large as the Sun is, and it's fullest expression via its largest planet Jupiter, is is but one Sun in a Universe of infinite others, and the capacity to learn new truths, explore new lands, and expand beyond anything one previously thought IS indeed a possibility! The first step to humble self and be willing to learn, inquire, see more to life beyond limits of the individual ego and personality perspective(s).
Chiron the wounded healer is a bridge from the middle to outer planets... it indicates a need for total healing and transformation that one must go through as a result of experiences in the world (Jupiter & Saturn). It is the crisis point where one must face the inner wounded aspects of oneself to go further beyond, to see clearly and act intuitively. Chiron is the key to Uranian cosmic consciousness.
It is only at URANUS, after having endured and gone beyond Chiron's testing ground, that the insight to life is clear. It is here that we are truly objective, feel the four winds, tempering Jupiter with Saturn, enlivening (or enlightening) Saturn with Jupiter, knowing when to switch back and forth, sometimes in the mundane physical world of Saturn other times in the formless spiritual realm of Jupiter.
What Uranus reveals intuitively to each individual has to be personally experienced, yet it's Truth differs slightly from Jupiter in that the Cosmic Wisdom beyond what one already personally knows (via Jupiter) reveals a truth previously unknown, and which is most relevant to the present moment or matter at hand.
JDZ
Saturn shows where it is not always okay to be freely self expressive, setting limits, enforcing rules and restrictions, adhering to codes of conduct, being fully accountable for daily responsibilities and having restraint or discipline. It is what we face each day based on the awareness that man or woman is not so perfect and free as the over-confident Jupiter has him/her thinking he/she is. There are skills to learn to make a living, errors and problems to be fixed , healing and growth that come through struggle and effort, or the discipline of a regular practice. Saturn's approach is modest and self-effacing, forever showing us how we can "do it better or right".
The excesses of Jupiter are tempered and there is a willingness to admit to a Reality or Truth (the outer planets) much greater than oneself alone. As large as the Sun is, and it's fullest expression via its largest planet Jupiter, is is but one Sun in a Universe of infinite others, and the capacity to learn new truths, explore new lands, and expand beyond anything one previously thought IS indeed a possibility! The first step to humble self and be willing to learn, inquire, see more to life beyond limits of the individual ego and personality perspective(s).
Chiron the wounded healer is a bridge from the middle to outer planets... it indicates a need for total healing and transformation that one must go through as a result of experiences in the world (Jupiter & Saturn). It is the crisis point where one must face the inner wounded aspects of oneself to go further beyond, to see clearly and act intuitively. Chiron is the key to Uranian cosmic consciousness.
It is only at URANUS, after having endured and gone beyond Chiron's testing ground, that the insight to life is clear. It is here that we are truly objective, feel the four winds, tempering Jupiter with Saturn, enlivening (or enlightening) Saturn with Jupiter, knowing when to switch back and forth, sometimes in the mundane physical world of Saturn other times in the formless spiritual realm of Jupiter.
What Uranus reveals intuitively to each individual has to be personally experienced, yet it's Truth differs slightly from Jupiter in that the Cosmic Wisdom beyond what one already personally knows (via Jupiter) reveals a truth previously unknown, and which is most relevant to the present moment or matter at hand.
JDZ
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
More on Lunar Nodes - Past, Present, Future & Beyond
The South Node of the Moon keeps the "Lunar Self" in a private coccoon of self-protection and ultimately isolation. Any attempt at facing the present forward moving current of life meets only with resistance... that is, until seen with keen observation, complete attention and total acceptance. When seen in the light of detachment, more objectively, the understanding/awareness of all psychological conditioning and afflicting karmas that keep us stuck where we are, unable to progress wholeheartedly (with presence), it becomes clear the need to drop it entirely and take action immediately. This is the role of the South Lunar Node, and the keywords are acceptance, attention, release & letting go.
The Future orientation of the North Node (as contrasted w/ past orientation of South Node...) is all about the forward moving action which naturally proceeds from the very process of letting go... to let go is to move on, plain and simply put. Here I am challenged to take what appears to be the high road, the path of strong resistance, and still continue to "go with the flow". Creating, visualizing and manifesting new (often previously unforeseen) realities and positive experience. Using the creative power of my thought and the inner guidance of my feelings, I have the potential to expand beyond what I previously thought was possible in my private South Node world.
While the South Node, being tied to the past, is a line of least resistance within itself, eventually a great deal of resistance builds up once that comfort zone is no longer so comfortable... and this becomes clear as one attempts to meet the present reality or situation with the mindset of the past. Conversely, the North Node, indicator of present-future potential, appears to have strong resistance because it has not yet been practiced... yet as adjustments are made the North Node is perceived to be the very forward moving flow of a river that is heading to highest destiny or dharma. This being the very power that one fears (even more than failure) within oneself, it is there just waiting to be practiced and manifested outwardly.
All other factors in the chart indicate essential and existential planetary and earth bound (Ascendant & Angles) energies which express themselves spontaneously and are experienced by the native. It is the Lunar Nodes, however, that indicate to us whether we are regressing (south) or progressing (north) along the path of life.
Joel D Zenie
The Future orientation of the North Node (as contrasted w/ past orientation of South Node...) is all about the forward moving action which naturally proceeds from the very process of letting go... to let go is to move on, plain and simply put. Here I am challenged to take what appears to be the high road, the path of strong resistance, and still continue to "go with the flow". Creating, visualizing and manifesting new (often previously unforeseen) realities and positive experience. Using the creative power of my thought and the inner guidance of my feelings, I have the potential to expand beyond what I previously thought was possible in my private South Node world.
While the South Node, being tied to the past, is a line of least resistance within itself, eventually a great deal of resistance builds up once that comfort zone is no longer so comfortable... and this becomes clear as one attempts to meet the present reality or situation with the mindset of the past. Conversely, the North Node, indicator of present-future potential, appears to have strong resistance because it has not yet been practiced... yet as adjustments are made the North Node is perceived to be the very forward moving flow of a river that is heading to highest destiny or dharma. This being the very power that one fears (even more than failure) within oneself, it is there just waiting to be practiced and manifested outwardly.
All other factors in the chart indicate essential and existential planetary and earth bound (Ascendant & Angles) energies which express themselves spontaneously and are experienced by the native. It is the Lunar Nodes, however, that indicate to us whether we are regressing (south) or progressing (north) along the path of life.
Joel D Zenie
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Todays Transiting Alignment - Earth, Air & Water
*Numbers in parenthesis indicate degree of sign position
Jupiter (22)Chiron (25) & Neptune (26) - Aquarius & Air (fixed)
Moon (20+) Uranus (24) Mars & Venus (29) - Pisces & Water (mutable)
Sun (2 Taurus) Saturn (15 Virgo) Pluto (3 Capricorn) - Earth Trinity
Mercury (21 Taurus)
(Not a grand earth trine, but each sign of the Earth Trinity is active)
Also: Sun in 2 Taurus trines Pluto in 3 Capricorn, indicating strength of purpose in matters of grounded practical (earthly) concern. Mercury at 21 Taurus Trines Saturn in 15 Virgo to add skill and know how, an efficiently functioning plan... with skill and combined, all matters of earthly concern are no longer seen as a burden.
Aquarius and Pisces Stelliums indicate change is in the air, and a higher consciousness, a guiding light in the collective Pluto in Capricorn darkness. How they effect each individual depends on his/her natal or progressed chart(s).
To more clearly give an example that I know most about(my own current tranits), I have given immense attention to this for the purpose of attaining a sharp clarity and wise intuitive guidance (Aquarius)with regard to real issues in my life... Mostly it's (Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune) in my 8th House (change & death), and continued (w/Uranus/Mars/Venus) in the Ninth, by offering a new possibility and hope for a fresh start elsewhere, perhaps closer to my true home.
My overall theme, consistent w/ the Nature of Aquarius/Air and Pisces/Water (and the 8th & 9th Hses) is a leap of faith, moving boldly forward into new and unknown territory, keeping that calm inner strength and peace amidst all of it happening.
More to come later & I will gladly address anyone's questions about their own transiting natal influences at this time...
JDZ
Jupiter (22)Chiron (25) & Neptune (26) - Aquarius & Air (fixed)
Moon (20+) Uranus (24) Mars & Venus (29) - Pisces & Water (mutable)
Sun (2 Taurus) Saturn (15 Virgo) Pluto (3 Capricorn) - Earth Trinity
Mercury (21 Taurus)
(Not a grand earth trine, but each sign of the Earth Trinity is active)
Also: Sun in 2 Taurus trines Pluto in 3 Capricorn, indicating strength of purpose in matters of grounded practical (earthly) concern. Mercury at 21 Taurus Trines Saturn in 15 Virgo to add skill and know how, an efficiently functioning plan... with skill and combined, all matters of earthly concern are no longer seen as a burden.
Aquarius and Pisces Stelliums indicate change is in the air, and a higher consciousness, a guiding light in the collective Pluto in Capricorn darkness. How they effect each individual depends on his/her natal or progressed chart(s).
To more clearly give an example that I know most about(my own current tranits), I have given immense attention to this for the purpose of attaining a sharp clarity and wise intuitive guidance (Aquarius)with regard to real issues in my life... Mostly it's (Jupiter/Chiron/Neptune) in my 8th House (change & death), and continued (w/Uranus/Mars/Venus) in the Ninth, by offering a new possibility and hope for a fresh start elsewhere, perhaps closer to my true home.
My overall theme, consistent w/ the Nature of Aquarius/Air and Pisces/Water (and the 8th & 9th Hses) is a leap of faith, moving boldly forward into new and unknown territory, keeping that calm inner strength and peace amidst all of it happening.
More to come later & I will gladly address anyone's questions about their own transiting natal influences at this time...
JDZ
Friday, April 10, 2009
Beyond Venus (from Libra into Scorpio)
Every now and again, due to strongly Libran inclinations, I am tempted to look for that same frivolous momentary joy that others indulge in at parties and large social gatherings. It is so familiar and common, and yet I am outside of it (much of the time) looking in, unable or unwilling to merge... to do so is just a phoney awkward attempt to fit in. The same holds true online as I make more friends who share my common values and language, spiritual and otherwise... when the convos end is there really any relationship, any real communion or something akin to love and appreciation, or are we all really just playing "make believe". All is based on a concensus, a common group interest (Libra), and from this point we relate. It is just not the same thing as the bond one has with family and the closest of friends.
Shifting from this pleasant and pretty view of the world of the Libran approach, which is valid so long as it is a way of staying happy in the present, I see the Scorpio.... beyond the fair weather friends and acquaintances, beyond the pleasant courteous conduct at work, and beyond all the spiritual interests I share with others... no matter how "you and I" have in common, have read the same books, etc. With Scorpio, ruled by Mars & Pluto (inseparable octaves, individual & universal respectively), the show is over, the gig is up and the curtains go down. Here one sees the aloneness of being and the greatest desire for solitude. Scorpio, sign of the (human) jungle reminds me that nobody else is paying my rent or looking out for me, this reality is seen in most heightened form in war, where the soldier becomes ever so acutely aware of how alone in the jungle he/she really is (even as others are experiencing the same).... save your own ass or die.
It is said that character or integrity is taking full responsibility for one's own life, and this involves a very real and close up examination of one's own wishes and fears, of what I want and do not want, committing to focus on the positive while simultaneously "negating the negative". In the lightness of being, in the fleeting moment, we are to appreciate one another's company and benefit from the energy vibes of others (and vice versa), however there inevitably comes a point when we can no longer suspend disbelief, the masks are removed and the roles dissolved... now what? We can only ask ourselves what is next, once the party is over, the previous illusion dissolved into memory... a whole new birth of experience, allowing all manifestations and people to flow in and out alternatively, easily and effortlessly, fully present and unattached, embracing the eternal yet forever changing beauty of now...
JDZ
Shifting from this pleasant and pretty view of the world of the Libran approach, which is valid so long as it is a way of staying happy in the present, I see the Scorpio.... beyond the fair weather friends and acquaintances, beyond the pleasant courteous conduct at work, and beyond all the spiritual interests I share with others... no matter how "you and I" have in common, have read the same books, etc. With Scorpio, ruled by Mars & Pluto (inseparable octaves, individual & universal respectively), the show is over, the gig is up and the curtains go down. Here one sees the aloneness of being and the greatest desire for solitude. Scorpio, sign of the (human) jungle reminds me that nobody else is paying my rent or looking out for me, this reality is seen in most heightened form in war, where the soldier becomes ever so acutely aware of how alone in the jungle he/she really is (even as others are experiencing the same).... save your own ass or die.
It is said that character or integrity is taking full responsibility for one's own life, and this involves a very real and close up examination of one's own wishes and fears, of what I want and do not want, committing to focus on the positive while simultaneously "negating the negative". In the lightness of being, in the fleeting moment, we are to appreciate one another's company and benefit from the energy vibes of others (and vice versa), however there inevitably comes a point when we can no longer suspend disbelief, the masks are removed and the roles dissolved... now what? We can only ask ourselves what is next, once the party is over, the previous illusion dissolved into memory... a whole new birth of experience, allowing all manifestations and people to flow in and out alternatively, easily and effortlessly, fully present and unattached, embracing the eternal yet forever changing beauty of now...
JDZ
Friday, April 3, 2009
North Node Aries - South Node Libra
For the sake of clarification, it is worth it (as a writer) to clarify one point regarding eastern philosophy and religion in general. It still does have its great importance, particularly where meditation, yoga and other down to earth spiritual practices are concerned. This inherited wisdom, astrologically my lunar south node, exists primarily as an internal guidance system, a reminder to let go and go with the flow... A shift in emphasis is needed, from passivity to action, without neglecting the occasional need for passive reflection and the courtesy/respect I naturally to extend to others.
As a good friend said in response to me today "it's like going to school to learn how to speak english". Some of us don't need to be any more sensitive, just more assertive and true to ourselves by having a thicker skin and firm boundaries. Then that sensitivity has value, when it comes from an individual with a strong spine, one who can totally and completely stand on his/her own two feet. Those of us born in the Aries North Node period (all of us born in 1968) must emphasize autonomy, acting not reacting, leading not following, and ultimately to reach that point where the opposite south node qualities naturally are blissfully showered upon us like "pennies from heaven"... this is our inherited wisdom which need no further emphasis, just let it be...
Peacefully
Joel
As a good friend said in response to me today "it's like going to school to learn how to speak english". Some of us don't need to be any more sensitive, just more assertive and true to ourselves by having a thicker skin and firm boundaries. Then that sensitivity has value, when it comes from an individual with a strong spine, one who can totally and completely stand on his/her own two feet. Those of us born in the Aries North Node period (all of us born in 1968) must emphasize autonomy, acting not reacting, leading not following, and ultimately to reach that point where the opposite south node qualities naturally are blissfully showered upon us like "pennies from heaven"... this is our inherited wisdom which need no further emphasis, just let it be...
Peacefully
Joel
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Beyond Subject and Object
I hope to make this real short and sweet. My sincere thanks to all who've responded, in a most supportive and helpful way, to this post and to those of the recent past. The shift of topic is not so radical or contradictory as it may seem... in previous postings (i.e. "ending the me") I focused upon the illusion of self, or rather "self-consciousness", and how this gets in the way of true self-actualizing awareness and activity. In this series the focus is on the illusion of others, or self-consciousness in relation to others and the futile ever demanding drive that folks (like me, in my less conscious moments...) have, to seek the approval and admiration of others... without first having earned it. To earn it one must first understand and realize that to impress others is meaningless in itself... if I make my Self truly happy then chances are others will respond in kind.. and vice versa. In short, there is no me and no you... there IS an *I and an Us*, both of which imply unity, a non-dual Mahayana state that Buddhists speak of. This happens when we "cease to attribute qualities to subject and object", if I understand it correctly. The two ultimate hindrances to success and realization are just these... conciousness of self and consciousness of others. (Self) Awareness is a different reality, experiential and non-intellectual, because it already IS prior to the contrived activities of ego. In pure awareness alone there is truth, reality, liberation and realization, no self and no other(s).
JDZ
JDZ
Saturday, March 14, 2009
The Five Fire Planets
SUN - BEING, ACTING : Spirit/Source of Life - The Will to Be, Authentic True Self
MARS - DOING, GETTING : Ego/Motivation & Desire - The Will to Do, External Physical Self
JUPITER - BECOMING, LEARNING/UNDERSTANDING : The Higher Blue Sky Mind, Abundance, Joy, Faith in the Higher Order of an expanding Universe.
URANUS - LIBERATING, ACTUALIZING/AWAKENING : Omniscient Higher Intelligence, Intuitive Flashes of immediate knowing and re-creating...
PLUTO - EVOLVING, TRANSFORMING/RESURRECTING : Ominpotent Soul Power, Death & Rebirth, Eternity & Spiritual Evolution
*In continuing with this train of thought I will follow through with the other planets (including above) that qualify as yin/feminine/water planets, and those that are Earthy and Airy (like MERCURY & VENUS).
**Ceres is the EARTH Mother, and the one body w/in the Asteroid Belt considered a planetoid; therefore it is the mother of the other 3 Asteroids, and modified by their influences, just as the Ascendant is modified by other Angles & House Cusps.
Water Planets: EARTH/MOON, CERES, JUPITER, NEPTUNE, PLUTO
Airy Planets: MERCURY, VENUS, PALLAS/JUNO, SATURN, URANUS
Earthy Planets: EARTH, MERCURY, VENUS, CERES/VESTA, SATURN
***Chiron is the Maverick... it is said to rule over the Mutable Cross (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) and is all about elemental integration... therefore the writer associates this other major Planetoid with a little of all the elements.
JDZ
MARS - DOING, GETTING : Ego/Motivation & Desire - The Will to Do, External Physical Self
JUPITER - BECOMING, LEARNING/UNDERSTANDING : The Higher Blue Sky Mind, Abundance, Joy, Faith in the Higher Order of an expanding Universe.
URANUS - LIBERATING, ACTUALIZING/AWAKENING : Omniscient Higher Intelligence, Intuitive Flashes of immediate knowing and re-creating...
PLUTO - EVOLVING, TRANSFORMING/RESURRECTING : Ominpotent Soul Power, Death & Rebirth, Eternity & Spiritual Evolution
*In continuing with this train of thought I will follow through with the other planets (including above) that qualify as yin/feminine/water planets, and those that are Earthy and Airy (like MERCURY & VENUS).
**Ceres is the EARTH Mother, and the one body w/in the Asteroid Belt considered a planetoid; therefore it is the mother of the other 3 Asteroids, and modified by their influences, just as the Ascendant is modified by other Angles & House Cusps.
Water Planets: EARTH/MOON, CERES, JUPITER, NEPTUNE, PLUTO
Airy Planets: MERCURY, VENUS, PALLAS/JUNO, SATURN, URANUS
Earthy Planets: EARTH, MERCURY, VENUS, CERES/VESTA, SATURN
***Chiron is the Maverick... it is said to rule over the Mutable Cross (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Pisces) and is all about elemental integration... therefore the writer associates this other major Planetoid with a little of all the elements.
JDZ
Saturday, March 7, 2009
On Self-Actualization & the Loss of Self
I can see/understand how the reality of "no self" inevitably is misunderstood by most here in the West... This is understandable considering none of us were raised in India or Tibet.
Abraham Maslow, Transpersonal Psychologist, says in his book "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" that self-actualization is a complete/total absence of self-consciousness. There is nothing passive or self-denying about this... rather a self-actualized being is like a top spinning so fast you cannot see it spin.... it appears to be still yet is in constant motion. When absorbed in myself it is very clear how much less is actually accomplished. Thinking of yourself is not BEING yourself... simply put. Therefore real self-improvement and empowerment is only possible where the soul ceases to be an object (an ego) unto itself
As a learned Buddhist will point out, all faculties of human beings... our body, senses, perceptions, cognition and consciousness "do not in truth add up to a self". The seemingly separate and solid individual entity is nothing at all in isolatio. All that I know and understand, enjoy and appreciate, came not from myself alone but through an interdependent relationship with OTHERS...
The reason we are here on this planet is to work on ourselves individually... and whether one has a child and family it really makes no difference... it is still YOUR child and family therefore parenting is also self-centered. Yet we are brainwashed by society everyday to believe we must keep building ourselves up, buy this product, do this workout, etc... It takes a very astute awareness, I think, to see the difference between a spontaneous self-awareness, which is positive and pure, and a self-consciousness which is obviously negative, contrived and awkward, especially when in the social or personal presence of others.
".... still in a room full of mirrors, all I could see was me, so I took my spirit and I smashed my mirror, now the whole world is here for me to see..." Hendrix
Jdz
**Copy and Paste Link for a totally cool video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrG1i_z2Kc
Abraham Maslow, Transpersonal Psychologist, says in his book "The Farther Reaches of Human Nature" that self-actualization is a complete/total absence of self-consciousness. There is nothing passive or self-denying about this... rather a self-actualized being is like a top spinning so fast you cannot see it spin.... it appears to be still yet is in constant motion. When absorbed in myself it is very clear how much less is actually accomplished. Thinking of yourself is not BEING yourself... simply put. Therefore real self-improvement and empowerment is only possible where the soul ceases to be an object (an ego) unto itself
As a learned Buddhist will point out, all faculties of human beings... our body, senses, perceptions, cognition and consciousness "do not in truth add up to a self". The seemingly separate and solid individual entity is nothing at all in isolatio. All that I know and understand, enjoy and appreciate, came not from myself alone but through an interdependent relationship with OTHERS...
The reason we are here on this planet is to work on ourselves individually... and whether one has a child and family it really makes no difference... it is still YOUR child and family therefore parenting is also self-centered. Yet we are brainwashed by society everyday to believe we must keep building ourselves up, buy this product, do this workout, etc... It takes a very astute awareness, I think, to see the difference between a spontaneous self-awareness, which is positive and pure, and a self-consciousness which is obviously negative, contrived and awkward, especially when in the social or personal presence of others.
".... still in a room full of mirrors, all I could see was me, so I took my spirit and I smashed my mirror, now the whole world is here for me to see..." Hendrix
Jdz
**Copy and Paste Link for a totally cool video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZrG1i_z2Kc
Friday, March 6, 2009
Ending the Me
**NOTE: The combined role/function of the Outermost Planets, Pluto and Neptune, results in the ultimate dissolution of ego and personality, vanity and a deluded sense of self...
If I could drop the me entirely then the above title would not be 'ending' it would just be the end. Since I am only a regular human being, and not enlightened, the ending process is gradual... though at times one experiences a sudden awakening, what Zen Buddhists call a "mini-satori". Breakthroughs and moments of spiritual awakening exist to encourage us further along the path, even as we inevitably return to the mundane drudgery of an ordinary confusing existence (samsara).
It seems to this aspirant/writer that the sense of self is the greatest hindrance to all that one truly values and seeks in life... predominantly "The Kingdom of Heaven". In certain instances, in Buddhism, the ego is likened to the devil himself... the ultimate source of confusion, dysfunction and deception.
Yet everything we understand and strive for is to strengthen the me, the feeling of self-enclosure and overall alienation. Personal ambition it seems is all about one's ability to gain power for oneself, and to block out the rest of the world lest one chooses to engage others for manipulative or pragmatic purposes. Whether one succeeds in the endeavor of building up the ego or fails, the end result is more or less the same... superiority or inferiority, in the end there is no difference really as both are deluded.
Why do so many people see therapists in this country? Admittedly there was a time when this was very helpful... but now? From the therapist's point of view, emphasizing the 'you', it can be a positive way to bestow insight upon the patient/client, however for that patient to leave the therapist's office with thoughts of "ME ME ME... this what I MUST DO" it seems is only self-destructive. For every effort, however noble, I make strengthen the me, an equal and often greater force of negative works in the same way. Try all you want to get better, you will create more internal (and maybe external) enemies just by the very act of trying to strengthen or empower the self. As the Buddha himself says "no self, no problem"...
As much as I like certain new age philosophies that encourage us as individuals, I think it is easily misunderstood. People use the Law of Attraction to build their wealth and satisfy their personal desires, all of which are impermanent and leading inevitably to the need for MORE. To be understood correctly, one must on the one hand accept the self-absorbed nature of being human, and in this comprehension let it go completely. How do you go with the stream of well being? How do you keep in alignment with Source Energy? By letting go of the biggest upstream entity of all... the little personality self that is always demanding things like happiness, satisfaction, attention/approval from others.
"The germ of defeat is in every selfish thought"... Charles Haanal (Master Key System)
Jdz
If I could drop the me entirely then the above title would not be 'ending' it would just be the end. Since I am only a regular human being, and not enlightened, the ending process is gradual... though at times one experiences a sudden awakening, what Zen Buddhists call a "mini-satori". Breakthroughs and moments of spiritual awakening exist to encourage us further along the path, even as we inevitably return to the mundane drudgery of an ordinary confusing existence (samsara).
It seems to this aspirant/writer that the sense of self is the greatest hindrance to all that one truly values and seeks in life... predominantly "The Kingdom of Heaven". In certain instances, in Buddhism, the ego is likened to the devil himself... the ultimate source of confusion, dysfunction and deception.
Yet everything we understand and strive for is to strengthen the me, the feeling of self-enclosure and overall alienation. Personal ambition it seems is all about one's ability to gain power for oneself, and to block out the rest of the world lest one chooses to engage others for manipulative or pragmatic purposes. Whether one succeeds in the endeavor of building up the ego or fails, the end result is more or less the same... superiority or inferiority, in the end there is no difference really as both are deluded.
Why do so many people see therapists in this country? Admittedly there was a time when this was very helpful... but now? From the therapist's point of view, emphasizing the 'you', it can be a positive way to bestow insight upon the patient/client, however for that patient to leave the therapist's office with thoughts of "ME ME ME... this what I MUST DO" it seems is only self-destructive. For every effort, however noble, I make strengthen the me, an equal and often greater force of negative works in the same way. Try all you want to get better, you will create more internal (and maybe external) enemies just by the very act of trying to strengthen or empower the self. As the Buddha himself says "no self, no problem"...
As much as I like certain new age philosophies that encourage us as individuals, I think it is easily misunderstood. People use the Law of Attraction to build their wealth and satisfy their personal desires, all of which are impermanent and leading inevitably to the need for MORE. To be understood correctly, one must on the one hand accept the self-absorbed nature of being human, and in this comprehension let it go completely. How do you go with the stream of well being? How do you keep in alignment with Source Energy? By letting go of the biggest upstream entity of all... the little personality self that is always demanding things like happiness, satisfaction, attention/approval from others.
"The germ of defeat is in every selfish thought"... Charles Haanal (Master Key System)
Jdz
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Ad Adendum: On Gratitude
In a more positive note of appreciation, which is necessary in the act of total acceptance (or surrender), I should say that my co-workers are mostly very pleasant to work with, I do see a number of people during the day whose presence alone is worth appreciating and giving full attention to. In the end it is inevitable that the mind weighs all the pros and cons of any (job) situation and with most jobs (like mine) the negative far outweighs the positive... thus it is easier to emphasize the negative more, though perhaps this is ultimately the reason why things are as they are in the first place.
While the writer makes no pretense about being unselfish, and is feeling unusually ambitious and self-centered at present, it is not without appreciation for those in my life with whom I have friendly and positive (and sometimes negative) rapport. In this case I am thankful and grateful, beyond words, to all addressed herein...
There is only one thing in this world truly as important to me as my own success and happiness (from a less selfish perspective....), and that is the people in my life who really matter... to me personally.
Sincerely w/ Gratitude,
JDZ
While the writer makes no pretense about being unselfish, and is feeling unusually ambitious and self-centered at present, it is not without appreciation for those in my life with whom I have friendly and positive (and sometimes negative) rapport. In this case I am thankful and grateful, beyond words, to all addressed herein...
There is only one thing in this world truly as important to me as my own success and happiness (from a less selfish perspective....), and that is the people in my life who really matter... to me personally.
Sincerely w/ Gratitude,
JDZ
Pluto's Present Challenge - Contentment versus Complacency
Each day of facing this present reality, the conditions of ordinary life as they are right now (particularly at home, at work, and the immediate surrounding neighborhood...), one is challenged to reach a point of "radical acceptance" or surrender, which in the heat of the moment seems unreasonably demanding. For all the great teachers speak of "accepting what is" and being content... the future will unfold naturally from a successful present. Yet when the present moment is so very dull, and the people surrounding have so little to offer you personally, then all one has really is the ability to remain bored without getting overwhelmed or over-reactive to the outside world (i.e. customers and patrons). This being what Buddhist Pema Chodron refers to as "cool boredom".
What happens however when one becomes too comfortable with being bored, accepting and surrendering, thus feeling passive in the face of circumstances and not having the will or faith to really take that next giant leap? Perhaps one is bored merely from having not taken that leap into a world of much greater possibility... and learning to accept this boredom that I myself have created is the only choice for this given moment. So it seems there is a fine line between positive contentment and passive complacency... with room for that discontentment which initiates change.
As important as it is to keep flowing positively with a hectic yet mediocre existence, which offers little for my time and effort, I still will only be happy fulfilling my true (external, creative) purpose, which at this time is to write. So to not complain (under my breath) too much about wanting to be elsewhere, while at the same knowing that to stay here indefinitely is entirely unacceptable is the trick. As much as some people say they are proud of how long I've held the library job, what makes others happy (no matter how close they are to me personally..) does not make me happy. It's been suggested that I really try hard to make a boring job interesting, which I believe I am already doing quite well... considering.
It really comes down to embracing and accepting how crummy it is to be here, to be totally present with this and not expect it to be anything better or other than what it is... not running away from the reality of how much it sucks. Maybe then and only then does one really and truly find the indomitable will to change and transform present conditions, from the inside out.
In anticipation of a brighter better future...
Joel
What happens however when one becomes too comfortable with being bored, accepting and surrendering, thus feeling passive in the face of circumstances and not having the will or faith to really take that next giant leap? Perhaps one is bored merely from having not taken that leap into a world of much greater possibility... and learning to accept this boredom that I myself have created is the only choice for this given moment. So it seems there is a fine line between positive contentment and passive complacency... with room for that discontentment which initiates change.
As important as it is to keep flowing positively with a hectic yet mediocre existence, which offers little for my time and effort, I still will only be happy fulfilling my true (external, creative) purpose, which at this time is to write. So to not complain (under my breath) too much about wanting to be elsewhere, while at the same knowing that to stay here indefinitely is entirely unacceptable is the trick. As much as some people say they are proud of how long I've held the library job, what makes others happy (no matter how close they are to me personally..) does not make me happy. It's been suggested that I really try hard to make a boring job interesting, which I believe I am already doing quite well... considering.
It really comes down to embracing and accepting how crummy it is to be here, to be totally present with this and not expect it to be anything better or other than what it is... not running away from the reality of how much it sucks. Maybe then and only then does one really and truly find the indomitable will to change and transform present conditions, from the inside out.
In anticipation of a brighter better future...
Joel
Monday, February 23, 2009
Luminary, Planetary, Angular & Nodal Synthesis
1-SUN = Eternity & Presence (Eternal Now) - Objective Center of Spirit (yang), Higher Consciousness & Energy
2-MOON = The Present-Past - Soul (yin) to the Spirit (Sun), Mind to the Body (Earth) & Feeling
3-ASCENDANT = The Present-Future - Individual Character (yang), Outward Personality & Physical Body (Sun & Earth)
3a) Mid Heaven = The Future Outcome - The Forward (Ascending)Path of Ascendant
3b) Nadir = The Past Origin (or subject) - Mother, Home & Family to Ascendant
3c) Descendant = The Present Other (or object) - Horizon, Others & Partners
4-EARTH (Polarity) = Space-Time-Matter - The Subjective Center of Awareness (yin) & Body, Light & Dark, Shadow & Space
4a) Moon & Ascendant - Personality, Inner & Outer Persona(s)
4b) Nadir & Descendant - Relationship, Community/Society
4c) Mid Heaven & Vertex - World/Others, Fated Encounters/Events
4d) East & Aries Points - Idealism, Fame/Contribution
5-Mercury - Mars + Sun/Yang - Concrete expressions/manifestations of Solar Creation
6-Venus - Ceres + Moon/Yin - Concrete devotion and implmentations of Lunar Formation
7-Jupiter - Chiron - Neptune - The Transcendant Free Spirit, Sage & Healer
8-Saturn - Chiron - Uranus - The Genius or Fully Actualized Self & Teacher
9-Uranus - Neptune - Pluto - The Outer Planets, Agents of Change & Universality
10-Sun - Jupiter/Saturn - Pluto - The Sun at its destination and peak of perfection
**These Planets & The Sun (in #10) correspond (at this level 10) to the Ascendant, Mid Heaven and North Node respectively, in reference to the path of destiny, dharma & completion of all Earthly tasks at hand. The latter are nodal points of achievement, similar to what a gold medal or trophy represents to olympic and athletic competitors.
11-North lunar node - Sun/Jupiter/Pluto - Individual Dharma, Destiny & The Future
12-South lunar node - Moon/Saturn/Pluto - Personal Karma, Sanctuary & The Past
Part of Fortune - Ascendant/Moon + Earth = blessings & gifts from the South Node
Part of Spirit - Ascendant/Sun + Earth = achievement & aspiration of North Node
2-MOON = The Present-Past - Soul (yin) to the Spirit (Sun), Mind to the Body (Earth) & Feeling
3-ASCENDANT = The Present-Future - Individual Character (yang), Outward Personality & Physical Body (Sun & Earth)
3a) Mid Heaven = The Future Outcome - The Forward (Ascending)Path of Ascendant
3b) Nadir = The Past Origin (or subject) - Mother, Home & Family to Ascendant
3c) Descendant = The Present Other (or object) - Horizon, Others & Partners
4-EARTH (Polarity) = Space-Time-Matter - The Subjective Center of Awareness (yin) & Body, Light & Dark, Shadow & Space
4a) Moon & Ascendant - Personality, Inner & Outer Persona(s)
4b) Nadir & Descendant - Relationship, Community/Society
4c) Mid Heaven & Vertex - World/Others, Fated Encounters/Events
4d) East & Aries Points - Idealism, Fame/Contribution
5-Mercury - Mars + Sun/Yang - Concrete expressions/manifestations of Solar Creation
6-Venus - Ceres + Moon/Yin - Concrete devotion and implmentations of Lunar Formation
7-Jupiter - Chiron - Neptune - The Transcendant Free Spirit, Sage & Healer
8-Saturn - Chiron - Uranus - The Genius or Fully Actualized Self & Teacher
9-Uranus - Neptune - Pluto - The Outer Planets, Agents of Change & Universality
10-Sun - Jupiter/Saturn - Pluto - The Sun at its destination and peak of perfection
**These Planets & The Sun (in #10) correspond (at this level 10) to the Ascendant, Mid Heaven and North Node respectively, in reference to the path of destiny, dharma & completion of all Earthly tasks at hand. The latter are nodal points of achievement, similar to what a gold medal or trophy represents to olympic and athletic competitors.
11-North lunar node - Sun/Jupiter/Pluto - Individual Dharma, Destiny & The Future
12-South lunar node - Moon/Saturn/Pluto - Personal Karma, Sanctuary & The Past
Part of Fortune - Ascendant/Moon + Earth = blessings & gifts from the South Node
Part of Spirit - Ascendant/Sun + Earth = achievement & aspiration of North Node
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