 View Our Latest Posting Below! Updated 10/22/2002 |
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THE LARGER CONTEXT: A SYNOPSIS OF WHAT FOLLOWS Greetings Astro-amigos! Although we start with a look at 2002, the larger theme relates to New Year charts in general. The calendar system that much of the world uses considers midnight at the end of December and the beginning of January as the point where the New Year commences. There are other systems that are more "organic" in the sense of being tied to natural cycles, but nevertheless, we do regulate much of our lives around the calendar months in true chronological fashion (using the logos of Chronos or Saturn, the regulator). Of course January first is close to the Winter Solstice, a natural staring point for the year as the light principle starts to wax in the northern hemisphere, but falls about 10 days later honoring 10 degrees of Capricorn and again this is consistent in sign and numerology for the ruler of Capricorn, the 10th sign, by old Father Time himself, Saturn.
I have found that the point of the new year midnight Sun, around 10 degrees of Capricorn, despite its somewhat arbitrary nature, is apparently quite sensitive, perhaps due to the attention that so many give it. I have named it the Morpheus point for the dark Goddess of the Dream, born of Night and Hypnos in the Underworld. Dreams leave the Underworld either by the gate of horn or the gate of ivory and are either enlightening or misleading. Similarly, our ambivalent relation to chronological time, which can either help us to awaken to our human limits or keep us lost in our busy-ness. Briefly, I have been watching closely the transit of planets over this New Year point. Beginning here with New Year 1990, which, along with 1989, was a major watershed year for many of today's themes of War and Peace, including, to name but a few, the retreat of Russian forces out of Afghanistan, the breakup of the USSR, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Savings and Loan scandal (Papa Bush authorizes $300 billion and then another $7.8 billion to initiate the war on drugs), the Dalai Lama awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Tiananmen Square massacre, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Time buys Warner for $13 billion, Oliver North found guilty in the Iran-Contra scandal and last but not least, mysterious crop circles begin to appear in the U.K. 1990 witnessed transits over this Morpheus point of many outer planets during the great alignment, including Saturn, Neptune, and with Uranus close by. The 2000 chart that features the close Pluto-Chiron conjunction, like 89-90 involves another major alignment in earth, near May Day. And then there is 2001, which brought the ominous Pluto/Neptune midpoint and Tail of the Dragon here, to the Morpheus point, (could morphing dragons be involved?) around 9/11. Finally, in 2012 and 2013, as the Mayan Calendar ends, when Pluto, divinity of the Apocalypse (uncovering) is at this critical degree, I think we can expect the masks to come off. Get ready for the Coming Out Party of the Millennium! Among many themes, represented so powerfully in 89-90, I imagine that the calling card of crop circles, perhaps left by extraterrestrials, could be followed by undeniable, widespread contact, and their fantastic technology that has been kept so well hidden by the power elite, utterly transfigure our world. (See www.disclosureproject.org). Will the Dreamer awaken or be drawn further into the Nightmare? NEW YEAR 2002 ;)
Let's start with a preliminary look at New Year's Eve 2002. Although I think that after we examine some of the charts from around the new millennium, we will be provided with an added perspective, we can return to 2002 again later. Those of you like me are very interested in getting a clearer picture of the coming year, so here it is.The year ends and begins with the hourglass shape that has been prominent throughout much of 2001 due to the bunching of planets around the opposition of Jupiter and Saturn to Pluto. The hourglass is also a reminder that Saturn/Chronos is involved. I have wondered about what time the hourglass is presenting to us. Are we being asked to consider the end of time, as in the ending of the Maya calendar in 2012? Or is this the beginning of time? The answer appears to be both, especially with Saturn in the sign of the twins and the way the hourglass keeps filling up on one side and the other. Time and Timing is of the essence this year!  It is said that all is well that ends well, and if we consider the lunar eclipse at the very end of 2001 that involves an exact square between Mars and Pluto, plus a lunar eclipse of Saturn just a couple days before, I would say that 2001 does NOT end well. And hence 2002 is off to something of a difficult start with this T-square involving the three heavies, Saturn, Pluto and Mars, with the Moon's nodes moving ominously closer to the opposition. This terrible trinity has a close connection with the events of 9/11/2002 and they seem to be offering more heavy-duty power struggles for 2002. The dragon nodes bring eclipses to bear in May and June, 2002, just as the opposition makes its final appearance with the God of War nearby. It looks like a messy May and June. May Day! May Day!However, there are some saving graces. Most graceful is Venus the ruler of the chart and since winter midnight puts Capricorn at the nadir, our new years tend to be graced by Libra rising (at least for most of the world). And this year rings in with the healing conjunction of Chiron with Venus and Sol. We can probably be thankful that Saturn has moved back from his exact opposition to Pluto and is now trine to spiritual Neptune and grounded Ceres, offering hope for more understanding and appreciation of common ground. Mars is mellowed a bit by his trine to Jupiter and sextile to the Sun and Pallas.
The wide sextile between Pluto and Neptune that has closed a bit from Pluto's passage inside the orbit of Neptune, points a finger of God or yod at this same Jupiter and to put it another way, their midpoint is now conjunct the new year's Sun and opposite Jupiter. The transforming power of these two most distant divinites of the deep is not to be underestimated nor avoided without consequences. Certainly our planet is being called upon to do some deep soul work this next year. The trinity of brothers that rule the three realms, Neptune and Pluto from below and Jupiter appropriately at the mid-heaven, are in this powerful combination with the deep midnight Sun shining darkly on. Our deepest spiritual/material roots are getting a radical re-planting. How will this affect our flowering?
Turning back the clock a couple years to New Year 2000, we find a chart that deserves close attention. Midnight New Year 2000 can be considered the beginning seed moment for the Year, Decade, Century, Millennium, 2000+ Great Age and perhaps even the 26,000 year Great Cycle. Here is that chart:
NEW YEAR 2000 Earth Mother Ceres, Goddess of Grain, fortunately ends and begins our millennial story with the promise of a beautiful harvest in Libra. And as usual, lovely Libra rises this winter midnight starring a Venus of artistic harmony and married balance. (Although we know that not all artists are harmonious nor marriages, for that matter.) The Goddess of Love in the sign of the far-reaching Archer graces the house of our security, but first a waning Lady Luna in Scorpio must do her Persephone, disappearing with earthquake act. With the Moon and so many other planets in the early degrees of signs, the picture is very complicated. On the bright side, the silvery One is making her final sextile to Sol, Juno and Mercury, while on the dark side, She is semisextile to Ceres and all the stellium of Sagittarius planets including (widely) her neighbor and ruler, Venus. More ominously however, this afflicted lady is part of a fixed grand square along with Neptune and Uranus, the nodes, Pallas and Saturn. Luna's menstrual mysteries will feature blood -- heavy feelings, but the wounds are symbolic. Surely, Security depending on material possession looks to be in for a major Underworld journey before more idealistic Venus can do her beauty walk. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the chart for New Year 2000 is the conjunction of powerful Pluto with the universal teacher, Chiron, in his favorite, equine sign, Sagittarius. Pluto brings depth to the dualistic physical and mental intensity of the Archer. Chiron was the wounded healer. He knew the healing arts that he learned from living in the wild and was painfully wounded by one of Hercules' poison arrows. Chiron is also called the maverick in today's astrology, possibly due at least in part to its orbit between Saturn and Uranus -- not quite fitting into any category, neither radical nor conservative. Pluto offers us riches from his deep shadowy realm. Although the wealth from Hades is not always easy to behold, it is usually material that does profit us to face and integrate. The millennium has been given a multi-faceted gem to ponder in the form of Pluto together with Chiron. The suggestion is clear that shadowy material and deep wounds are being brought up for healing. Vesta's sacred hearth adds purity and dedication to both this remarkably close conjunction and to the stellium in fiery Sagittarius and the third house of communication. Hark, the Herald Mercury, who likes this placement but has a ponderous tone here in Capricorn near the Great Goddess Juno (exactly conjunct the Pluto/Neptune midpoint) and the midnight nadir. Multi-tasking, Hermes/Mercurius at once tells the story of Chiron's descent to the Underworld and announces the coming of the newborn Sun. 
Depending on the tradition one chooses, with Juno as Wife, Mother and Midwife
conjunct the reborn Winter Sun/Son and Mercury as alchemical Metal, Magus and Angel (angelos = messenger) we can envision the Christmas nativity scene (complete with horses and goats in the stable) or the alchemical hierogamos and divine birth of the All-Embracing Solar Self found in the dark prima materia of the Horny Goat (Capricorn). The midpoint of Pluto and Neptune certainly adds the transformative power to the potent mix.The fourth house is the lowly manger and Neptune adds the Piscean dash of salt and twist of lemon as Martyr and Savior, but Neptune is in Aquarius conjunct the Tail of the Dragon and so there is the hint of mint as the Water-bearer pours out a new drink of ambrosial spirits. Is this perhaps also an announcement of the end of the old Christian epoch and the beginning of the new ambivalent era of Divinity in Designer Genes. Today St. George Bush still fights the self-projected evil dragon, tomorrow will we be able to welcome the shape-shifting reptile who comes to us in a flying saucer or in saucer-shaped cells as DNA messages from Universe Central? Fifth house Uranus, also on the cross of Mater says that we will struggle (especially with Mars nearby) for scientific clarity and objectivity to create our brave new world against the rigidity of Saturn in Taurus, the dramatic protection of Pallas' cities and the deep emotional patterns of our waning Moon. Uranus becomes the revolutionary as his need for change is thwarted and creative genius is poured into surprising channels. Mars gets help from a sextile to Jupiter in Aries and inversely our 7th house partnerships are powered by Zeus' lightening bolt directness. Saturn brings his sickle to bear on the 8th house fruit of our shared resources. To the extent that we have not shared our stock (Taurus) fairly, so will it be diminished. With the other hand, Saturn/Chronos will be blessing our generosity and patient perseverance. At the top of our grand square (which can also be the base of a pyramid or other lovely and practical structure) sits the Goddess Fortuna sitting on the head of the Dragon and playing with the Earth ball, while Pallas moves back to protect and advise. With our fortune in Leo, there is a sense of Leela or divine play involved, even though the drama has a serious tone. The Dragon of DNA has set some high goals for us, but the throw of the dice is still a vital part of the game. TWO ALIGNMENTS TO OPEN AND CLOSE THE MILLENNIUM ;) In the context of these New Year charts, I would like to turn to the two alignments, which I view as helping end the old millennium and begin the new one. Paging back again to midwinter, the old Moon of 1989 is perhaps a fitting way to present what is probably the alignment of the previous century, coming as it does so close to the axis of the galactic center and involving all the planets and especially our two solar heavy-weights, Saturn and Jupiter. Although a large grouping of planets in close proximity (or in opposition, which is still alignment) is always a potent indicator of focus, when Saturn and Jupiter are involved, the effects on solar tidal forces are greatly magnified. I have studied the correlations with solar activity and the 11 year sunspot cycle and also earthquake activity to find very strong connections with alignments (conjunctions and oppositions) of these two massive planets. Gribbons described the scientific basis to this phenomenon in his book The Jupiter Effect and more recently, Percy Seymour has refined this study. Indeed, the large quake that destroyed much of downtown Santa Cruz, CA did come very close to this New Year, 1990. The October before, when Jupiter and Saturn were more closely in opposition, (and incidentally, during a major geocentric tee-square) a huge solar flare and proton flux storm hit the Earth's magnetosphere with a force many times stronger than any ever recorded. On the international scene, a major symbolic and literal barrier to globalization, the Berlin wall, was crumbling while the galactic center beamed our aligned and solar maximized system a message of unification and Pluto at perihelion and midway into the home sign of Scorpio set the apocalyptic tone of the millennial end times. Pluto as Shiva was dancing with Kali Ma the dark mother of time over Eastern Europe. The geocentric form of the chart is a volcano erupting or a funnel. Either way, the energy is flowing out of Jupiter into the 8th house of union and transformation of group resources. Plutonium is de-structuring the old forms while Jupiter is throwing his bolts of lightening and arousing thunder, bringing expansion into the global union -- the next level of evolutionary organ-ization. ;)
When Jupiter caught up with Saturn again, it was May, new millennium and the Green Witch New Moon near cross quarter finds Venus ruling over her beloved pastures wearing her crescent horns, exactly on the ascendant. Fixed Earth prevails! In the long run, Earth will prevail. For the short term, conservative forces will prevail over the new wave (Uranus and Neptune square in Aquarius, Pluto and Chiron quincunx in Sagittarius). Though the subtle effects of these trans-saturnian powerhouses will eventually have their say in the new millennium. Appropriately, the springtime flavor of new Moon in Taurus ushered in the new, just as the old Moon in Capricorn of the 89-90 alignment said goodbye to the old. The opening conjunction of the new millennium lead to a very unique situation -- every planet is in early separating aspect. (Neptune from Pluto, Uranus from Neptune, Saturn from Uranus, Jupiter soon from Saturn, Mars from Jupiter, etc.) This rare planetary arrangement emphasized the newness of the new millennium, while Taurus paradoxically suggested rigidity or stability. BACK TO THE PRESENT Turning for a minute back to the New Year chart for 2002, the Jupiter retro in Cancer that is directly opposite to the midnight Sun and the ruler of the chart, Venus in three piece Capricorn suit, harkens back to the Jupiter retrograde in Cancer near the same degree, which was the focus of the 89-90 alignment and which we saw co-related to new breakthroughs in globalization. Mars of the 2002 chart is square to Pluto and will eventually be reaching Saturn just in time for the final opposition with Pluto and for the head of the dragon to bring eclipses to bear. I see in Jupiter the possibility of a positive global expansion. Right now, it is rather cloudy (Neptune is making close aspects in most of these charts) and indeed, it has sometimes been hard to tell the good guys from the bad. Certainly King George II will be getting as much done as possible on his agenda of corporate globalization especially while Jupiter is in his and the U.S. Sun sign of Cancer. However, opposition will continue to build and we can certainly expect some major karmic reaction to both Bush and the U.S. as Saturn enters Cancer. In the bigger picture, especially given Jupiter's pivotal position, the final outcome of globalization may be more positive than it looks from today's vantage point. Let us hope so. NEW YEAR'S EVE AND THE CYCLES OF CHRONOS 
Like so many around the world, as we near the end of this year, I find myself with family celebrating the holidays or holy days with meals, conversation, games . . . today was a family day. Tonight, I sit alone in Central Utah, the Moon glittering off a thin blanket of snow as I ponder the previous year and wonder about what will come to pass. There is something very profound about mid-winter nights in the northern hemisphere (and here something might be said about the fact that much of western civilization's symbolism, including astrology, has a built-in northern hemisphere perspective). It will be different in the southern hemisphere and even in the tropical latitudes, although the year ending and beginning makes for similarities.As the Sun sits suspended at the solstice, I too feel suspended between the two realms -- family day and lonely silent night, old year and new. Our month of January is named for the two-headed Janus of the Romans, who was one of their most ancient divinities. He presided fittingly over bridges and his two heads facing in opposite directions were on many Roman coins. A story is told that when Chronos was deposed by Zeus on the isle of Crete, Saturnus (as the Romans called him) sailed to Italy where he was greeted by Janus. Saturn as old father time is often pictured as the grim reaper with his sickle, and still maintains his affinity with Janus as the ruler of midwinter, Capricorn. Fall, at least as imaged via the richness of Scorpio and Pluto's realm, accents a different more colorful, autumn-leafed view of death. But here at January's Winter bridge between years, the trees are bare and Death is dark monster Time, who like the Hindu Goddess Kali (Kala = Time) devours all and everything. It is perhaps not accidental that we choose mid-night of mid-winter as the transition point for our yearly reckoning, as we come face to face with our limits. And of course we also give thanks for the fresh vistas of the new year and honor the light that is once again on the increase. However, the wisdom of Saturn/Chronos suggests that to fully appreciate the new day, we must first fully embrace the cold dark night. Before we make our new year's re-solutions, look at the hard highly in-soluable facts of the past. Permitting the leaden density and even depression of cold Cardinal Earth to fully bind us to the limitations of history and embodied immortality might help rescue our year end celebrations from the thin tinny dissatisfaction of shallow distraction and busy avoidance. Saturn is also a key factor in our chronic attempts to create larger time frames that might measure and transcend our limited human life spans. As the visible planet most slowly moving through the night sky, Saturn's roughly 30 year cycle provides a sickle to slice a 90 year lifetime into youth, adulthood and old age. With the next most slowly moving planet, Jupiter, Saturn makes conjunctions and oppositions that measure off decades and larger time periods that depend on the progression of conjunctions through the constellations. 
We happen to live in a very amazing time when the winter solstice points towards the center of our Milky Way galaxy, which is located between Sagittarius' arrowhead and the stinger of Scorpio. Given our propensity to measure time from mid-winter, it is very reasonable to say that we are now also standing on Janus' bridge between one great Platonic year (roughly 26,000 solar years) and the next. Exactly what bearing this huge time cycle has is probably beyond our reckoning, but it does certainly accent this mid-winter call to honor the old and dark before moving towards the bright and new. We are also acquainted with the precession of the spring equinox from the constellation of Pisces to Aquarius and this appears to be a valuable indicator for watching the great Platonic months (roughly 2000 solar years) tick around the cosmic clock. However, using the winter solstice as a pointer accents the movement of Platonic month from Sagittarius to Scorpio. With the rather Plutonic beginning to this millennium, Scorpio might also be a fitting sign for the next great age. And of course we have just recently witnessed the turning of a millennium, which roughly co-relates with the ending of a two thousand year period marked by the birth of Christ. That we have chosen as a society to celebrate Christ's birth around the time of mid-winter again points to the importance of the chronic, timely symbolism of this great teacher. Astrology likes to locate points on the infinity of the circle of time to begin its process of meaning making, suggesting that the beginning of any cycle has the seed of the entire cycle contained within. There are many ways that we can go about using Chronos' sickle to slice the sphere of being. As mentioned above, the conjunction of any two or more planets makes a handy marker, as does particular formations such as grand squares (when 4 planets are all 90 degrees from each other). We can also use calendar times, and although they are perhaps not as fundamental, as generally accepted transitions, they are still fair game for astrology and often seem to have very profound effects on the individual and group psyche. To a certain extent, new months, but definitely new years, centuries and millennia, tend to capture the imagination. With this in mind, I want to take a closer look at some recent New Year's charts and a couple major planetary alignments that continue to speak to me on a deep level, and I propose, can be used as a key to unlock meaning of this very rich Time. Go in Beauty... SEPTEMBER 2001 COSMIC WEATHER REPORT The intensity of September blew me right off the astrology path but now at least I get to do some retrospective detective work. The chart for the first instant of September 2001 can be read, with the help of hindsight, to be a harbinger of particularly difficult times. The Saturn/Pluto opposition is close to the ascendent /descendent, along with the Moon's nodes and the Mars/Chiron conjunction so close to the descendent, that it looks like especially ominous Cosmic Weather patterns are on their way. It has become clear by association that Saturn in Gemini, among many other things, will come to represent the structure of World Trade and almost a literal glyph for the twin towers. Vesta nearby and approaching conjunction is the purifying fire and all-purpose intensifier and together with Saturn in the 12th house (which is also called the house of secret enemies), calls forth a picture in my mind of the Tarot card of the Tower being struck. The nodes add the larger karmic and galactic dimension, as they are conjunct the galactic center and anti-center, which just happen to be conjunct the solstice points, activating huge time cycles. Gemini rising brings special emphasis to Mercury, who we will come to see playing a major role on the morning of 11 September. Exactly at the midheaven is Uranus, the shocker, with the ;;) Moon approaching conjunction and suggesting deep emotional surprises in store for this month.Seven of twelve signs are holding planets around the 8 degree mark making for a bunch of aspects including oppositions and yods to both Neptune and Ceres. The Sun, also at 8 degrees is closing on the tee-square to Pluto and Saturn. The full Moon on the 2nd of September will make the grand square, indicating intense stress about to move (mutable signs). The very pronounced 6th house with major heavies from the Warrior Goddess Athene, to Pluto, Divinity of the Apocalypse, Chiron the Maverick and Mars, point to extreme health concerns. Mighty Mars about to move above the horizon and into the house of partners and open enemies also sounds menacing. It has been clear for some time that the Saturn/Pluto opposition, especially with Mars retrograding nearby and near perigee, was just waiting for a trigger to move from sizzle to explosion. Few folks from the general population, let alone star-gazers could have foreseen the mind boggling dis-aster that we can now read into the chart for September 1st and come to fruition in just a few days. ;;) By 8:46 am on the morning of 11 September the planets had moved into this configuration:The hourglass that we had pointed out in earlier months now is quite well defined within the opposition of Vesta and Athene on one side and dramatic ruler Venus opposing and Sun quincunx Shocking Uranus on the other side. (Is time running out or in or just running the show?) Vesta had moved closer to Saturn while Athene was closing on Pluto (Athene would seem to be connected, as protector of the Polis, to the Fire and Police Departments). But perhaps the most striking element of this chart is the exactness of the only planet outside the hourglass, Mercury, and on the ascendant trine to Saturn. Of course, Mercury is the ruler of Gemini, wherein Saturn is placed and also the archetypal trickster, thief, trader, messenger, and ominously in this case, guide of souls into the underworld or undertaker. The other strong indicator is the Mars/Moon opposition so close to the Moon's nodes. Mars, so prominent in the early evening sky for so long due to his close approach to Earth, had just entered the sign of Capricorn which is ruled by Saturn and emphasizing the violence that was so obviously directed at the world of big business, in the form of the World Trade Center. The nodes, especially being so close to the prime axis of the solstices and the galactic center, suggest a much larger karmic dimension to the violence and emotional response that Mars and the Moon characterize. Certainly much will be written by astrologers about this event and we are only reporting on the high points here, but the indications are fairly clear that the overall flavor of the Saturn/Pluto opposition, pitting radical transformation against structural resistance, is well expressed and the trickster and opportunistic nature of Mercury is certainly at play. I would definitely love to know more about all the planning and patterns that brought us to the events of 11 September, 2001, but it seems very clear to me that there is a great deal of deception going on and that the good guys and bad are not nearly so clearly delineated as we are likely to want to believe. The larger meaning represented by the galactic dimension also suggests to me that we will only understand the fuller implications over long periods of time and within the very largest perspectives. |
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