Heartbeat: a dark night in Iowa

At 2:30am on May 2, 2018, while most women were fast asleep, Iowa’s legislature voted to ban abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected. Medically speaking that’s around six weeks, when the embryo is roughly the size of a pea, often before a woman even realizes she’s pregnant. If Iowa’s pro-life governor, Kim Reynolds, signs the bill into law, women in that state will no longer have the legal protection of Roe v. Wade to exercise total autonomy over their pregnancies during the first trimester. Or will they?

The chart below shows the Heartbeat vote [outer wheel] and Iowa’s statehood [inner wheel].

The Heartbeat chart shows the legislature’s heavy hand, Saturn in Capricorn, directly impacting matters pertaining to women’s bodies, inner wheel Sun-Venus. Saturn, fueled by nearby Mars-Pluto Rx in Capricorn, gives the vote its warlike-powerbroker edge. Mars-Pluto Rx also squares Iowa’s natal Pluto in Aries, as if to aggressively challenge the right to the citizenry’s self-determination. Heartbeat’s Jupiter Rx in opposition to Iowa’s Moon in Taurus along the 2nd – 8th axis amplifies that this decision was a legislative battle over the rights of fertile women and affirms reports that the vote took place using the state budget as a political football. In an effort to force the House into action, Sen. Rick Bertrand, R-Sioux City, said a group of Republican senators had threatened to withhold their votes on critical budget bills needed to end the 2018 legislative session.

Heartbeat’s tight Moon-Venus opposition in Sagittarius-Gemini triggers Iowa’s Jupiter Rx in Gemini along the 2nd-8th axis: “Tonight, Republicans, you have once again made a choice — a choice to debate legislation that devalues the bodies and decision-making skills of Iowa women and girls”

The increase in appointments of conservative federal judges, thanks to the sitting President, has given abortion opponents hope that Iowa’s Heartbeat decision could be the one to challenge Roe v. Wade.  “This law, if signed, I believe could very well be the very bill that overturns Roe v. Wade,” said Sen. Jake Chapman, R-Adel.

The chart below describes Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of laws that restrict or criminalize access to abortions [inner wheel] with the Heartbeat decision on the outer wheel.

Heartbeat’s powerbroker Mars-Pluto Rx conjoins the Roe v. Wade Jupiter, and Heartbeat’s Uranus squares the Roe v. Wade Sun-Mercury, indicating that a big legal battle is surely the intention behind Heartbeat.  Roe v. Wade’s Neptune on Heartbeat’s Moon gives a highly sensitive, reactive feel around maternity issues, while  Heartbeat’s Neptune square to the Roe v. Wade Mars makes us wonder how effective a challenge to the existing law would actually be. Neptune-Mars is more likely to reap a tangled web of unintended consequences with no speedy solution.

Meanwhile, in a year in which the rights of women have been in the forefront of  national news, we wait for the Governor of Iowa to act, or we wait until November elections when Jupiter will transit Iowa’s anaretic Mars!

AFTERNOTE: Iowa’s governor signed the bill into law Friday, May 4, in Des Moines.

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Henry VIII, Donald Trump, and the yoga of Mars-Pluto Rx in Capricorn

The primordial standing pose in yoga, Tadasana or Mountain Pose, steadies the breath, assesses concentration and focus, supports awareness of where and how we stand in the world, and prepares us for action. Ask any serious yogi: to actively, intentionally stand in stillness like a mountain is not as easy as it looks.

To the untrained observer, Tadasana appears completely static, but nothing could be further from the truth. Properly executed, Mountain Pose activates every part of the body, as we consciously root to the Earth (reality) while opening to the sky (possibility). From this fulcrum is the potential to move in any direction. Qualified yoga instructors help us to practice this most basic yet difficult posture.

Why am I thinking of Tadasana now? On April 26,  two compelling forces meet in the zodiac: Mars and Pluto meet at 21 degrees Capricorn 17’. Warrior Mars is intent on climbing the proverbial mountain, while Powerbroker Pluto has just begun his retrograde descent. “Get out of my way, idiot,” is not the sort of comment either of these energies could let go unanswered. Tadasana represents a dynamic alternative: to stand in temporary stillness consciously acknowledging the presence of other. It’s a doing/non-doing posture that doesn’t provoke the reptilian brain’s fight-flight response but has the potential to foster a powerful union.

Each of us is experiencing this Mars-Pluto Rx conjunction somewhere in our lives. Those with natal planets or angles in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) near 21 degrees will feel Thursday’s energy most profoundly. Grappling with survival and how to muster strength and determination for the long road ahead, tensions in present time are high, making it easy for us to get triggered, Certainly the inclination to defend the ME over embracing the WE is more likely to occur when there’s a perceived threat.

Tadasana helps us to access a momentary state of neutrality. It’s NOT about falling asleep or checking out. Being fully awake and ready, yet able to stand open and strong through discomfort, is more life-affirming than invoking the damaging and extreme consequences of aggression, Mars-Pluto style. Huge potency is available when we harness the intrinsic life force of Mars and the profound alchemy of Pluto. If nothing else, standing in Tadasana is an opportunity to witness, learn, and heal inwardly, which incidentally will come in handy in late June when the Mars retrograde cycle commences.

So, about Mars and Pluto… they meet somewhere in the zodiac every two years, yet we must travel back in time 489 years to find the most recent example of a Mars-Pluto Retrograde conjunction in Capricorn, back in time to England and the reign of Henry VIII.

Henry will forever be remembered for the sadistic rampage he conducted in the years following the April 26, 1529, Mars-Pluto Rx conjunction in Capricorn, which destroyed many lives among those who served and loved him, and terminated the monarchy’s affiliation with the Catholic Church.  It’s a history lesson well worth reflecting upon now.

Educated, accomplished, with a preference for enjoyment over governing, Henry was also devoutly Catholic and author of a 30,000 word best-seller defending the supremacy of the papacy in response to the schism of Martin Luther. His marriage to his older brother’s widow, Catherine of Aragon, resulted in seven pregnancies, but only one surviving child, Mary. Henry’s desperation for a male heir (natal 1st house Mars in Virgo square 10th house Jupiter in Gemini: very sensitive about public perception of his virility) in addition to lusting after his wife’s lady-in-waiting (natal 11th house Cancer Sun square 8th house natal Aries Moon: a constant need to prove himself sexually and be known for his prowess) prompted him to seek an annulment from the Pope, on the grounds that Catherine was not a virgin when they married.

In early 1528, Henry dispatched his “Fixer” and Lord Chancellor, the powerful Cardinal Wolsey, to negotiate with the Pope to make the marriage disappear.

Annulment should have been a foregone conclusion – other monarchs had gotten them easily, and on much less legitimate grounds. The problem in this case was that Catherine’s nephew Charles V had just sacked Rome and therefore held the Pope essentially prisoner.

With the annulment now an international issue, Rome was between a rock and a hard place. As a concession to Henry, the Pope agreed to convene a legatine court in England to rule on the marriage’s legality, with the Fixer and Italian Cardinal Campeggio as papal Deciders. The Vatican orchestrated as many delays as possible both before and after Campeggio arrived in London at the end of 1528.

Though Catherine was able to procure the papal dispensation granted by Pope Julius II to permit her marriage to Henry, she was subjected to repeated pressure to enter a convent. Ultimately, her resistance provoked Henry and his “Fixer” to play dirty by threatening to separate Catherine from her only daughter. Here it becomes painfully obvious that standing in Tadasana was not in Henry’s repertoire.

The dirty tricks would’ve been initiated around the Mars-Pluto Rx conjunction of April 26, 1529, when Henry’s natal 5th house (children-romance) was activated by this powerful planetary duo. Henry’s 9th house (religion, legal systems) was receiving a barrage of stubborn Taurus transits: a Sun-Saturn conjunction along with Mercury Rx, suggesting delays, pessimistic legal outcomes, self-defeating beliefs and harsh, punishing behaviors. His 10th house (leadership-reputation) was receiving a Venus-Uranus transit which conjoined natal Jupiter in Gemini (in detriment) and squared natal Mars, indicating both Henry’s expectation of success in becoming free of Catherine as well as his wrath when that was legally denied. T. Neptune in Pisces was activating Henry’s 7th house (marriage). Henry needed to believe his marriage was never legal so that he could pursue his obsessions, securing a male heir and his making his mistress, Anne Boleyn, queen.

The legatine court did indeed convene at the end of May. On June 21, Catherine gave the speech of her life. https://thetudorchronicles.wordpress.com/tag/legatine-court/  Testimony continued until July 13, when Campeggio summarily postponed proceedings to break for summer, resulting in no decision. At this point, Henry took matters into his own hands. Mars-Pluto’s influence would fuel the feeling of invulnerabilty. Deciding he didn’t need Rome’s permission, Henry established his own church, ostracized the failed “Fixer” and eventually charged him with treason, married Anne Boleyn, and when their child Elizabeth was born he declared his daughter Mary illegitimate.

King Henry VIII to six wives he was wed. One died, one survived, two divorced, two beheaded.

Boleyn was eventually beheaded by the paranoid, lust-driven, power-obsessed, vengeful monarch, supported by the parliament and clergy.  Violence and tragedy followed in Henry’s wake, as he destroyed his wives in succession, as well as anyone in the kingdom who dared to challenge his authority.

Fast forward to 2018. As mentioned earlier in this post, we’ve got a new Mars-Pluto Rx conjunction in Capricorn unfolding. Certain character traits of Henry VIII bear  similarities to a modern day would-be autocrat.

Like Henry VIII, Trump will feel this Mars-Pluto Rx conjunction in Capricorn in his natal 5th, with the added difficulty posed by T Saturn Rx presence there. T. Mars-Pluto Rx is quincunx Trump’s natal 10th house Sun-North Node in Gemini, creating volcanic pressure and possible neurotic, obsessive or destructive decisions or speeches. T. Saturn is quincunx natal 12th house Pluto, exacerbating his deeply unconscious desire for power, control and the need to manipulate 5th house matters (children/mistresses). We might wonder if, like Henry, Trump is capable of using his children/mistresses as pawns in his insatiable need to amass power. Jupiter, 5th house ruler, is currently in a retrograde transit of Trump’s 3rd house. What kind of communication is happening among the children/mistresses and the President? With T. Jupiter quincunx Trump’s 10th house natal Sun-Uranus which oppose his natal Moon, it’s fair to surmise that communications are uneasy, full of secrets and/or undercurrents, challenging his ability to function well in public or feel comfortable in his own home.

Like Henry VIII, Trump’s 7th house is experiencing a Neptune in Pisces transit. Does Melania, dressed almost militantly in white, look ready to disappear? That decision would have financial implications one way or another, as T. Neptune is quincunx Trump’s natal Jupiter in Libra in his 2nd house (money). You stay and look the part, I pay you well. T. Sun and Uranus activate Trump’s 9th house (legal and foreign issues ) with T. Uranus trine natal Mars and Ascendant. The president may not be not sleeping well.

A healthy outlet for his restlessness could prevent his actions from becoming problematic. Are there any brave yoga practitioners available near the White House?

When in doubt?  T A D A S A N A

The primordial standing pose in yoga, Tadasana or Mountain Pose, steadies the breath, assesses concentration and focus, supports awareness of where and how we stand in the world, and prepares us for action.

 

I WILL SURVIVE: Chiron’s Aries ingress

This morning Chiron begins a new 50 year cycle through the zodiac at 0 deg. Aries, a place it hasn’t visited since 1968, a very hot year indeed.

What does Chiron’s Aries ingress mean for those of us who may feel, for one reason or another, that we’ve got about as much vitality as a drowned rat? That we’ve been on the receiving end of a bum deal for what seems far too long?

Chiron at the zero point awakens life force, catalyzes the now or never understanding that FIERCE DETERMINATION is what it’s gonna take to get out of the mess we’re in, shake off the doldrums, and GRAB onto life with an affirmative YES.

Something needs our immediate, urgent attention. The desire to survive and really live life stokes the FIRE IN THE BELLY. Let’s use that fire to to create, to heal, to love. We can do this!

Malefic Monday: OOB Mars-Saturn conjoin in Capricorn

Monday, April 2, astrology’s two traditional malefics, Mars and Saturn, conjoin in success-oriented Capricorn (8 deg 57′) for the first time this century. Mars’ ambition is for new territory; Saturn’s is to hold onto what’s already been conquered. Impatient, passionate, and youthful, Mars perceives Saturn as a stick in the mud, out-of-date, an obstacle to progress. A ruthless energy is stirred up when the two vie for dominance. In this case, Mars is out-of-bounds (further south from the celestial equator than the Sun ever gets) and not inclined to follow established rules.

• Faster – Bigger
• Hot – Cold
• Youth – Maturity
• Impulsivity – Caution
• Motion – Stasis
• Passion – Apathy
• Anger – Repression

When both planetary energies are positively harnessed, their tenacious resolve is hard to beat. On a personal level, it may be time to update our modus operandi: identify what’s working, retire what’s not, and create time and space to explore new strategies.

Since our memories may be rusty, here’s what we can learn from the past. During the 20^th century, Mars and Saturn conjoined in Capricorn a total of six times. In the US, a Republican President was sitting for all six of these conjunctions.

• *December 14, 1901: 15 deg Capricorn
• *January 3, 1930: 04 deg Capricorn
• January 11, 1932: 25 deg Capricorn
• *January 31, 1960: 12 deg Capricorn
• *February 23, 1988: 00 deg Capricorn
• February 28, 1990: 22 deg Capricorn

Interestingly, Mars was out of bounds during four* of these 20^th century conjunctions. A brief historical overview corroborates a disinclination to abide by rules during those periods.

December 14,1901: 15 deg Capricorn                                                                                      Theodore Roosevelt had recently been sworn in as President following the assassination of William McKinley. Political radicals were being rounded up, military spending was increased, and immigration policies were tightened. The US was then at war with the Philippines, one of two Spanish colonies (the other was Puerto Rico) ceded to the Americans after the Spanish-American War. Yes indeed, the nation that initially fought colonization was now a colonizer. Speak softly and carry a big stick, Roosevelt’s motto, captures the flavor of the secrets, lies and atrocities of US imperialism of the early 20^th century.

January 3, 1930: 04 deg Capricorn                                                                                              On US soil, the Watsonville riots broke out in California, marking five days of brutality for Filipino farm workers at the hands of hundreds of white men armed with pistols and clubs, an ugly reminder of the racial and socio-economic tension during the Great Depression. In Europe, a second Hague conference on German war reparations opened, during which Germany would announce that it would no longer pay reparations for WWI. As anti-Jewish sentiment rose in Germany, the first Nazi to hold a cabinet post, Wilhelm Frick, was soon to be appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs and Public Education. Much later, at Nuremberg, he would be tried, convicted and executed as a war criminal.

January 31, 1960: 12 deg Capricorn                                                                                            Joseph McNeill, a 17-year-old college freshman, was refused service by a waitress who said, “We don’t serve Negroes,” when he tried to purchase food to eat at the bus terminal in Greensboro, North Carolina. He and three friends, also African American college students, took a stand against segregation the next day at a Woolworth’s whites-only lunch counter, refusing to leave until they were served.  Meanwhile, in Chicago, 15 cops were indicted for aiding burglaries of businesses they were assigned to patrol. In Washington, D.C., the White House held discussions around planning a covert action to overthrow Cuba’s Fidel Castro. In Moscow, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev proposed a 1/3 reduction in Soviet armed forces so that military funds could be shifted to nuclear weapons and missiles. The Soviet Union successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)

February 23, 1988: 00 deg Capricorn                                                                                             In the most sweeping criminal action since Watergate against former White House officials, indictments were handed down just a few weeks after the Mars-Saturn conjunction to Lieut. Col. Oliver L. North, Rear Adm. John M. Poindexter and two other key participants in the Iran-contra affair, on charges of conspiracy to defraud the US government by illegally providing Nicaraguan rebels with profits from the sale of American weapons to Iran.

During these four 20th century Mars-Saturn conjunctions we see many familiar themes: military budget increase, tightening of immigration, US imperialism, racial and socio-economic tension sparking violence, student activism, illegal police actions, tension with the USSR-now Russia, and White House criminal investigations and indictments.

Any wild guesses about news headlines in the coming weeks?

Fb: a whole lotta shaking goin’ on

February 4, 2004, was the day five dudes, Eduardo, Andrew, Dustin, Chris and Mark, launched their website from a Harvard dorm room to fellow University students. Who could’ve predicted their project would eventually become a global social networking giant with over two billion monthly active users and Mark as CEO?

Below is Mark Zuckerberg’s untimed natal chart (inner) with the Facebook Website Launch untimed chart (outer).

Notice Mars in its detriment in Taurus exactly opposing Zuckerberg’s natal Pluto in Scorpio, an obsessive, ambitious aspect that gives potential for power struggles as well as great success. Mars in Taurus conjoins Zuckerberg’s natal Mercury, anaretic in Aries, demonstrating mental strength and stability. Fb Launch’s innovative Aquarian Sun squares off with Zuckerberg’s acquisitive Venus in Taurus, while its Neptune in Aquarius exactly squares his natal Saturn in Scorpio, as if to test self-confidence while offering the chance to interface with a new non-material reality. The material boy in the non-material world. Finally, the lunar North Node, about to conjoin Zuckerberg’s natal Venus in Taurus, shows that the project has promise of tangible worth.

Zuckerberg left Harvard after sophomore year and moved lock-stock-and smokin’ hot Fb to Silicon Valley, where it would have his undivided attention. By 2010 he was Time Magazine’s person of the year. Fast forward to 2012, when Facebook made its stock market debut on May 18 at 11:30am. While the price itself hardly moved at all that day, Facebook set a record for IPO trading volume.

Below is Mark Zuckerberg’s untimed natal chart (inner) with that of Facebook’s Initial Public Offering (outer).

Here one can’t help but notice abundant Jupiter in Taurus conjoining Zuckerberg’s natal Sun, indicative of a lucrative venture. The lunar nodes are tightly opposed to Zuckerberg’s, along the analytic, data-driven Gemini and expansive, global Sagittarius axis.  Saturn, exalted in Venus-ruled Libra, quincunxes Zuckerberg’s Venus-ruled Sun in Taurus, indicating, among other things, a huge financial turning point in the young man’s life.

Fast forward once more to March 20, 2018, and Facebook’s data scandal involving Cambridge Analytica and the US 2016 Presidential election. Below we see Zuckerberg’s untimed natal chart with the Aries Ingress chart.

Notice Jupiter Rx in Scorpio closely opposing Zuckerberg’s natal Sun, an uneasy time when one’s reputation or leadership could be challenged. Exhaustion is a distinct possibility. There could be legal problems. Arrogance and/or promising more than can be delivered could lead to a steady diet of humble pie. Also notice Mars in business-driven Capricorn within a degree of Zuckerberg’s natal Neptune, a discouraging combo possibly involving deception.

Next we look at Mark’s secondary progressed planets around his untimed natal chart.

With his 2P Sun and 2P Venus conjoined at 26 degrees Gemini, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see there’s a whole lot of data going on in Mark Zuckerberg’s world. How will he create harmony through the many conversations he is undoubtedly having during this crisis?  2P Mars Rx is within a degree of Zuckerberg’s natal Saturn in Scorpio. As much as he may desire to move beyond this episode, it appears that retracing steps in a forensic-like fashion is the more likely trajectory. It’ll take considerable effort to contain emotions, and with 2P Mercury in Gemini quincunx natal Mars Rx in Scorpio, hopefully he has someone at home or elsewhere to confide in.

How is the data scandal likely to affect the whole concept of Facebook? Let’s look at the Fb Launch chart with the Aries Ingress chart.

The North Node in Leadership Leo opposing the Launch chart’s Sun-Neptune in populist Aquarius indicates the need for perspective. Fb leaders would do well to walk around in the people’s shoes for a while. The inventive yet naïve idealism that gave birth to Facebook is in the spotlight, exposing inherent vulnerabilities and deficiencies. Healing them is essential in order to re-gain strength and win back the people’s trust. Saturn in Capricorn opposing the Launch chart’s Saturn in Cancer is a maturing influence which demands both serious re-examination and hard work to get back on track. Uranus in Aries squares the Launch chart’s Mercury in Capricorn, an erratic influence during which it may be wise to review the business model and make changes where necessary. Shortly after its Taurus ingress in May 15, Uranus will perfect a conjunction to the Launch chart’s Mars on May 31, at 0 deg Taurus 49’, further emphasizing an unpredictable, volatile period which could signal significant change in Fb’s modus operandi.

Finally, we have a look at the Facebook’s IPO chart in relation to the Aries Ingress chart to see how the ongoing data scandal may affect Facebook’s net worth.

Sobering Saturn conjoins the Fb IPO chart’s Pluto within 15 arc minutes, a heavy and frustrating time, to say the least. Serious obstacles may present, limitations become evident, resources may shrink, debt is possible, and change is difficult. The unwieldy digital beast doesn’t shift so very gracefully. Jupiter Rx in Scorpio is quincunx the Fb IPO’s Venus Rx in Gemini. Legal issues will force decisions, especially about finances and investments. During this period, the best intentions need to be palpably demonstrated. The search for answers to problems that exist will inevitably cost a pile of money. Finding solutions to undo damage will cost more. Looking forward, Uranus will oppose the degree of the Fb IPO Moon starting July 1st. It is not a secure time, and Facebook, as we know it, will likely struggle to stay relevant to we the people.

If the social media giant somehow manages to stay flexible, inventive, and authentic through the challenging times ahead, discarding worn out strategies and relationships and investing time and energy in creating new ones, in it could re-invent itself for the next cycle instead of becoming a digital relic.

Mars’ Capricorn ingress: steep climb ahead

Mere hours after today’s new Moon, Mars summarily walked out on indulgent, ideologically-driven Sagittarius in a huff, choosing for his next exploit the earthier challenges of hilly Capricorn. Now, the impatient hot-head must learn to cool his jets and get serious. The jury is still out on whether Mars’ upcoming meetings with two planetary heavy-hitters, perched further up Capricorn’s steep slope, will be a positive influence on the brash younger climber. Nonetheless,  Big-daddy Saturn and notorious underworld figure and powerbroker, Pluto, are waiting on the mountain to show him the ropes. Are you getting nervous already?

Yes, indeed, ropes are a pre-requisite for scaling Capricorn’s heights, more so considering that this ascent is unusually long for Mars, who likes his adventures short and quick. He’ll need to overtake each of the more experienced, slower-moving climbers in succession, before ascending the most dangerous pitches on his own. At Capricorn’s highest elevation he’ll then traverse into the unpredictable, glacial terrain of Aquarius. Experienced mountaineers suggest that, at some point, Mars will be forced to reverse direction if he hopes to get out of this bizarre climb alive.

Dates to watch:

April 1-2, Mars meets up briefly with Saturn at 8 deg Capricorn, where he’ll get sage advice on how to maintain stamina and stay determined.

April 26’s rendezvous with Pluto, just beginning his retrograde descent at 21 deg Capricorn, could be testy, even dangerous, as the two mountaineers, heading in opposite directions, vie for position on the trail. Blind ambition has no place here. Mars would do well to negotiate rather than aggravate Pluto’s pure, raw power. Once done, Mars is officially on a solo mission.

May 14-18, Mars will navigate that last steep pitch at 29 Capricorn and enter Aquarius. During this transition he must be especially watchful for unpredictable events that emerge out of nowhere (sq to Uranus). Lightning, rock slides, avalanche, quakes, and blizzards, could make both progress and retreat impossible. If Mars is sensible enough to stay put, he’ll weather the changeable conditions and continue.

Solstice, almost through the first decan of Aquarius, Mars may begin to question whether his heart is still committed to this adventure (sq. Venus).

June 26, those in the know predict that Mars will turn back for one reason or another at 9 degrees Aquarius, but that, my friends, is a LONG way off and many things will transpire before then. One thing is certain, Mars in forward motion will eventually prevail.

What each of us mountaineers must remember is that somewhere in our lives a steep learning curve lies ahead, requiring courage and cool-headedness, stamina and a strong work ethic, if we expect to experience the exhilaration of success.

Are you in?

Wu Wei: the final lunation

“Our beliefs control our bodies, our minds, and thus our lives.”     Bruce Lipton, The Biology of Belief

Saturday, March 17, is a holy day without obligation. The final lunation of the astrological year, a new Moon in watery Pisces, invites us to lay down those burdens that threaten to drown us, the worries and anxieties that trouble our minds, the pain-insecurities-grief that cripples us, the desires that consume us, the beliefs that imprison us.

It’s a day to raise the white flag and say, I surrender. A day to come clean, be whole, reclaim our divine humanity. A day to experience awe at the vast unknown that stretches before us.  A day to create space for what is to come, to dream our futures into being.

Conjoined to wounded healer Chiron, squaring action-planet Mars, and trining belief- planet Jupiter, this new Moon is a gentle call to heal and rest in preparation for the dynamic next cycle which will require us to operate at full throttle.

Spare a few minutes for non-doing.

In California the new Moon occurs at 6:11 am, just before dawn; on the US east coast at 9:11am; in Cape Town at 3:11pm. By locating 26 degrees Pisces 53′ in our natal charts, we can sense where this lunation is guiding us to yield and be in readiness.

In Taoist texts, wu wei (無 爲) is associated with water and its yielding nature. 

 

 

 

 

Jupiter stations Rx at 23 Scorpio: BIG, dirty secrets get exposed

BACKGROUND:  Jupiter, the solar system’s largest planet, symbolizes the forces of expansion and growth that benefit both self and other, as well as the opportunity to broaden mental, material, and ideological horizons. At its best Jupiter encourages benevolence, strong ethical standards, and a reverence for justice; at its worst, hypocrisy, fanaticism, and intolerance, when Jupiter is not only power hungry, but self-congratulatory.

While in Mars-ruled Scorpio, Jupiter can generate warlike fervor to either discover the truth or spread dis-information, to expose what’s hidden from public view or manipulate the collective’s weaknesses for its self-aggrandizing purposes. When enlightened Jupiter behaves with dignity, power, and confidence; when unenlightened this Jupiter devolves towards cruelty, manipulation, and Machiavellian behavior.

CURRENT EVENTS:  Jupiter’s transit through Scorpio, began last October, exposing sordid evidence of corruption, collusion, and abuse of power at the highest levels of political and entertainment spheres. Thursday evening, March 8 (8:46pm PST) Jupiter stations retrograde at 23 degrees Scorpio, marking the beginning of a 4-month revisit to the degrees of Scorpio between 23 and 13. Which stones were left unturned on its initial fly by?

HISTORIC EVENTS:  Looking back to periods when Jupiter stationed retrograde at 23 degrees Scorpio, the most recent was 83 years ago, March 10, 1935 (UTC). Shortly beforehand, on January 30, Adolf Hitler was appointed German Chancellor. Less than a month later, on February 26, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, Hitler took the first major step towards the re-armament of Germany by authorizing the reinstatement of the German air force, the Luftwaffe, in flagrant violation of WWI’s Treaty of Versailles which prohibited German military aviation.

Hitler planned to keep the Luftwaffe secret and reveal its existence to foreign governments very gradually so as not to arouse their alarm, BUT those plans abruptly changed when Britain announced plans to strengthen its Royal Air Force.  At this point Jupiter had stationed retrograde at 23 degrees Scorpio, Hitler’s Jupiter-sized ego kicked in, and not to be outdone by Britain, he made his Luftwaffe decision public. Jupiter in Scorpio’s megalomania escalated quickly.

Seen with hindsight, it’s hard to mistake this short calendar of ensuing events during the first weeks of Jupiter’s retrograde cycle as anything less than blatant consolidation of power and control to mobilize for war:

March 13, A guild was established requiring applicants to pass a master’s examination and be listed on a roll before they could pursue work in a manual trade, effectively prohibiting German Jews from pursuing this kind of work.

March 16, Hilter formally renounced disarmament and re-introduced conscription.

March 17, Nazis arrested 700 pastors of the oppositional Confessional Lutheran synod before they could publicly criticize the state church regime. Meanwhile back in the USA, the German Consul General placed a wreath adorned with a swastika in a chapel at Harvard University in commemoration of war dead.

March 18, A Harvard University student organization demanded the removal of the swastika wreath.

March 19, Nazi Germany exempted Jews from conscription. A mock lights-off bomb drill was held in Berlin that evening, subjecting non-complying households to fines or arrest.

March 20, France petitioned the League of Nations for a special session to discuss a threat to international peace.

March 21, Both France and Italy formally protested Germany’s decision to re-arm.

March 22, Germany launched the world’s first public television station.

March 23, Joseph Goebbels announced that advertising would be banned from German radio starting October 1.

March 26, In Lithuania four Nazis were executed and 77 others imprisoned for plotting a German takeover.

March 27, in Berlin thousands of Nazis marched in protest of the Nazi executions in Lithuania.

March 28, a Nazi propaganda film, The Triumph of Will premiered in Berlin.

March 29, An unspecified number of Catholic nuns and monks were arrested because they allegedly transported foreign currency across borders.

March 3, The German state music institute rejected the renewal of non-Aryan memberships.

April 2, The Nazis announced possession of anti-aircraft weaponry and Goering was named Commander of the Anti-Aircraft Force, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

April 3, Austria violates the Treaty of San Germain by announcing an increase in military forces beyond the imposed limit of 30,000.

April 19, The Nazis announced that pacifism during war or national emergency would be punishable by death.  

April 20, Hilter received 60 new war planes as a 46th birthday present.

April 25, The Nazis took control of all press in Germany, allowing the Reich to shut down newspapers, or remove and appoint publishers and editors. Newspapers were ordered to serve only the interests of the government.

April 27, Germany announced its submarine construction project, another violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

April 28, Announcing Hilter’s restoration of the German army, a ceremony was held to remove the black crepe mourning bows from German standards.

Jupiter’s retrograde period in 1935, beginning with its station at 23 degrees Scorpio, reveal the hidden intentions of the Third Reich. Although WWII officially began in 1939, conflict was clearly underway from this Jupiter Retrograde station onwards.

Can we expect contemporary big, dirty secrets to seep out after tomorrow’s Jupiter station Rx at 23 Scorpio? Will they be as shocking to the world community as those of Germany 83 years ago? Will announcements bring justice or prevent it? Will they benefit the whole or target isolated individuals or communities?

Can we learn from the past? Do we have choice?  We look back 83 years further, to 1852, another Jupiter- station-retrograde-at-23-degrees-Scorpio year, to the build up to the Civil War and to Frederick Douglass for some answers.

…to be continued

Harveywood dissolves, but the show must go on.

He may be among the disappeared at the 90th Academy Awards, but he still holds court on a gilded casting couch along Hollywood Boulevard. How the Academy decides to address the absence of entertainment industry predator-mogul, Harvey Weinstein, will certainly set the tone for this evening’s  pomp and circumstance.

The melting of Harveywood, the fervid hunt for other predators and the pulling back of the curtain on Hollywood’s big little lies about sexual assault, harassment and sexism are making for a fraught awards season. Maureen Dowd NYT

The chart below, constructed for the 5pm PST ceremony, provides strong astrological indicators for tonight’s glittery proceedings. The tight quincunx between the setting Piscean Sun-Neptune conjunction (film industry) and the 12th house Leo North Node (what the king keeps hidden) lets us know how very uncomfortable the Academy is with the exposure of Hollywood’s dirty little secrets, and not only because of guilt and shame.

About the Academy Awards, Janice Min, former editor of the Hollywoood Reporter, states: It’s a perfect confluence of two industries historically built on the objectification, fetishization and peddling of women — fashion and Hollywood — and both are fighting for their reputation and relevance right now while still hanging onto their codependence, hoping the moment we are in doesn’t subsume a pretty damn good business relationship. How far can this moment really go without completely endangering and questioning everything Hollywood has held dear?

The event chart shows that, in addition to reputation, profits and power are at stake.  Look to the 5th house where both Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn reside. A T-square hinges Pluto (power in entertainment) to an opposition between the 2nd house Moon in Libra (money generated by dazzling the public with beauty) and the 8th house Uranus in Aries (handling taboos is a matter of life and death).

Body language and appearance will speak volumes at the ceremony. The event’s Virgo Ascendant worries about creating the right impression. Its trine to Saturn in Capricorn is restrained and almost businesslike. Every detail about the evening’s proceedings will have been tirelessly analyzed and obsessively curated. Mercury ruled Virgo will calculate each spoken word for its proper impact. The presentations will aim for flawless.

The exact (by degree) conjunction of Mercury-Venus-Chiron in Pisces in the event’s dominant 7th house squares a fiercely protective Mars in Sagittarius AND trines Jupiter in Scorpio in the 3rd house.  The evening’s spoken word will need both finesse and a multi-pronged approach: put people at ease, speak to the integrity and spirit of filmmaking, and address the egregious wrongs done to women at the hands of industry predators.

If you’re looking for emotional reactions, they are likely to happen later in the evening as the Moon moves into exact opposition to Uranus, opening the way for unexpressed feelings to burst forth. Let’s see how women fare tonight. We are a bit harder to ignore nowadays!

 

 

 

 

Practically perfect full Moon in Virgo

Ushering in today’s full Moon is a whoosh of feminine energy thanks to a watery Venus-Jupiter trine, offering assurance that the sum of all the little things really do help achieve positive outcomes AND an earthy lunar trine to Saturn to help steady nerves and keep emotions contained so we can focus on the many tasks at hand.

The Virgo full Moon asks us to remember that the whole of anything functions best when all its various parts are healthy and functioning together. It’s a great time to discern what’s working and what’s not, what needs support to thrive and what’s outlived its usefulness and the wisdom to know the difference!

If evening’s (PST) lunar opposition to Neptune brings anxiety or second guessing, best to let any feelings of inferiority dissolve in a warm bath and turn in early with a good book rather than indulge in that extra glass of wine.

Tomorrow’s another day.