Part 1
Notes on the New Moon in Virgo 2012
The spinning clash of yin and yang, of dark and light, spirals through these times and generates new life, births both easy and still. No part of our world is immune. You have only to witness the life of a neighbor for clear examples. Everywhere you look or listen you see or hear or feel the struggle. Left and Right, fear and hope, love and hate, calm and frenzy, violence and peace. The clash is building a crescendo beyond control, even by the most powerful; shock and awe and walls of fire wax and wane from all sides. The Earth burns, storms rage. The question is no longer us and them. It never was. It is always we.
There was a sort of seeding going on in the1960s* that I've written about before and probably will for at least another few years as that seeding reaches a stage of vital and rapid growth. Some of what is developing is magical, beautiful, marvelous and incredible. Some is terrifying and fits better with doom and gloom prophecy than anything has in a long time.
* The larger scale cycle for the planets Uranus and Pluto is approximately 127 years.
When I first took note of the resonances in time between now and the Sixties what struck me most dramatically (aside from world-wide riots and war) were the assassinations of leaders. [1] Now we have riots and wars and assassinations but what is different is that it seems the assassinations that were singular in the Sixties are multiples in these times. [2]
No matter what happens on the smaller scale these mighty waves of challenge (“a swirling mass of gray and black and white”) are ever present. That said, I thought I'd make a note or two about this New Moon, not because it is especially significant but to stimulate some interest and discussion that uses the objectivity of astrology to open pathways of understanding. Think of the Taoist symbol of yin/yang. Within the white is a central spot of black and in the black a corresponding spot of white. Think how we've arrived here from some amazing miracle of whatever origin story to which you subscribe.
The New Moon of September 15, 2012, saw the seeding point of the cycle that carries us to the next New Moon on October 15. The process is more detailed as every day in the cycle has a regular rhythm that's been going on for eons, but for this let's just consider the message of the New Moon for that 15th September to 15th October period. The seeding point was at the degree of 24 Virgo (23° 37' exactly). There are many sets of symbols and images offered for individual degrees but a more basic system marks each ten degrees (decans) of a Sign by the other Signs of the same element. Virgo is the Mutable (changing) Earth Sign and is associated with the first ten degrees of that Sign. The next ten are given to the middle decan by the next Sign in order of Earth Signs, so Capricorn, and the final ten are given to the next Earth Sign, Taurus. That puts this NM in the Taurus decan of Virgo.
Virgo's planetary affinity is with Mercury, also in Virgo at the NM, having raced around the back side of the Sun from our Earth view; soon to be visible as an evening star (when it gets far enough from the Sun's rays to be visible). Mercury passed around and was "in the heart of the Sun" on September 10 (like the Sun/Moon dance, another important cycle). So this New Moon has a double message of emergence. On the 16th Mercury enters the Sign Libra bringing a bit more gentleness to the mental realm but with a connection to the Venus/Mars link covered later in this article. Mercury has emerged from the blaze of the Sun and the Moon will soon be visible in the evening sky after sunset. The ancients would often time the first visibility of the New Moon as the beginning of the cycle but for at least three thousand years astrologers have calculated the moment of conjunction beyond what could be seen.
So there is a treble influence of Virgo in this cycle. What that means for us are issues of refinement, purity, detail, of giving attention to the small things. I'm sure you can think of many examples of small events that ripple out to have huge consequences. The refinement and purity of Virgo suggests the starting point for living through this period comes from within, from self-understanding and self-analysis. It's time to give real attention to your purest beliefs and to put them into practice. The practices of kindness, giving, smiling, and forgiveness actually have real (Earth) effects that "ripple out," that can help us turn the corner for a path of improvement for humanity. There are years of challenge ahead (as there have always been) but we can love this planet. It is an island and we must share it.
There's another bit of this NM charting that catches my eye and that is from the planets whose orbits sandwich Earth, namely Venus (inner) and Mars (outer). There's a bit of a clash going there where Morning Star Venus challenges Evening Star Mars. Venus in Leo is showy and bright in the Sagittarius decan of that Sign while Mars is deep and quite serious in the Pisces decan of Scorpio. Venus is interested in showing power and flash (Morning Star Venus is considered war-like at times) while Mars is looking to build and gather power in subtle and secret ways. There is a double clash between the freedom and closeness of Leo and Scorpio and that of Sagittarius and Pisces. Nobody's good here. Nobody's bad. All these elements and all these challenges are part of our evolution; of how we will get out of the messes that wax and wane in our world, in civilization, in humanity, and in how we get along with one another, nation to nation, race to race, culture to culture, religion to religion, parent to child, husband to wife.
These are some of the issues that the Cosmos offers us these four weeks.
(There is much more than this going on in this period, planets exiting and entering Signs, pausing and changing direction of apparent motion, and the very significant Earth clock of the Fall Equinox as the Sun enters the Sign Libra. All of it and more adds beautiful refinement to what astrology offers us but I think sometimes that small bites are nice.)
Part 2
The Full Moon September 29, 2012
There are many techniques astrologers use to shed light on the unfolding of specific times. It is fascinating how easily we may go this way or that in time to find reflections of the past as well as of the future. This is science although many avoid a connection with that word. Etymology that tells that the word science is derived from roots to separate, cut, and divide. What we do is take an element of the whole, in this case of the solar system and more distant bodies in the galaxy as well, and piece it out for comparisons based on thousands of years of tracking life on earth and individual lives (among other developments). Common sense teaches us a lot from the simple; such as when we can see the Sun it is normally warmer than when it is night and we cannot. Then comes the art part of astrology where meaning is attached. Sun = light, warmth, and so on. Beyond that astrology can become extremely refined and detailed. Science and art details are interwoven and unfold a story. That’s how astrology works.
In Part 1 we looked at the pattern of the astronomical event of the New Moon for the information it might provide until the following New Moon. The astronomical location and nature (astrology) of the New Moon has a message. We may look at a charting of the Solar System at the moment of the New Moon and compare that to other maps both astrological and geographic.
The peak point to which the New Moon takes us is the Full Moon when the Moon and Sun are on opposite sides of Earth. At the day of Full Moon you see the Sun set and the Moon rise simultaneously if your view of the horizon is relatively unobstructed and you’re not in Polar Regions. The Earth responds in many ways to the phenomenon, not the least of which is gravity. The tides reach extremes at those two (New and Full) events. Why are we able to get meaning out of this? Who knows? Astrologers have had more than three millennia to work at it and to record their findings for the use of subsequent generations.
The Full Moon has special relevance to the final two weeks of the lunar cycle. New Moon, the entire (4 weeks) cycle. Full Moon, the last half of the cycle (2 weeks). The entire cycle is remarkably represented by that Virgoan song, the Rolling Stones’ “Salt of the Earth.” That although the Full Moon polarity is the Sun in Libra opposed by Moon in Aries, a self/other theme. The overall story of the entire period is Virgo. Want to know more about what Virgo represents, listen to that song. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a complete description of Virgo by a long shot. Virgo also represents the Vestal Virgins, the Virgin Goddess, and much more. The symbolic side of astrology is so rich and deep it makes Alice’s Adventures Underground look like a walk in a very small park. This is also not to play down the importance of equinoctial Libra or the polarity at Full Moon. The palette astrology provides is a rich and varied one.
Looking back there was a lot of dynamism in the New Moon chart. Parans* of Mercury and the Node, Mercury and Pluto, Sun and Jupiter all occurred very closely over Mecca. Now it would take a week to explain all of what that means but for now just combine “big stuff” (coincidentally?) active at the heart of the Islamic world. And have Alexandria, Jerusalem, and Benghazi been in the news? Well, those places were highlighted too (with Mercury/Jupiter, and Neptune/Node). If this stuff isn’t real (and there is a lot more), if this stuff isn’t science, then I’ve been wasting my time for fifty-plus years. You want weather? Typhoon Sanba happened right on the line marking where Neptune would be at the bottom (structural center) of the New Moon chart set for that location; Neptune, god of the sea. On September 26, 2012 Indonesian police and navy pulled hundreds of survivors from the Indian Ocean after a ferry collided with a cargo ship and sank, also with Neptune active for the location.
* A simultaneous alignment of factors rising, setting, culminating (up), and anti-culminating (down) at a specific location.
What does the Full Moon tell us? It occurs at 11:19 PM EDT on September 29, 2012 (3:19 GMT the next day). One gets a sense of its effect in a location if charted for that location, and a lunation may be calculated for any place for refined information for that place. There are mapping tools that assist in locating hot spots for those who like globetrotting adventure. When I’m only in my own little zone I usually use where I live and leave it at that. With an eye to sharing I’ve run these lunation charts for the White House to give the view from the seat of American government (that location includes the Congress and Court).
That’s enough for this exercise. Send me a few notes of your thoughts [to STARTALKER@aol.com] and collect your prize.
Appendix to Part 1
From 1968 and just as relevant today.
SALT OF THE EARTH
(M. Jagger/K. Richards)
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the lowly of birth
Raise your glass to the good and the evil
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Say a prayer for the common foot soldier
Spare a thought for his back breaking work
Say a prayer for his wife and his children
Who burn the fires and who still till the earth
And when I search a faceless crowd
A swirling mass of gray and black and white
They don't look real to me
In fact, they look so strange
Raise your glass to the hard working people
Let's drink to the uncounted heads
Let's think of the wavering millions
Who need leaders but get gamblers instead
Spare a thought for the stay-at-home voter
His empty eyes gaze at strange beauty shows
And a parade of the gray suited grafters
A choice of cancer or polio
And when I look in the faceless crowd
A swirling mass of grays and black and white
They don't look real to me
Or don't they look so strange
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the two thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth
Let’s raise our drink
To the salt of the earth
Let’s raise our drink
To the salt of the earth
[1] Some of the Sixties assassinations: January 17, 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, the Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo was assassinated by a Belgian and Congolese firing squad. June 12, 1963 – Medgar Evers, an NAACP field secretary was assassinated by a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Jackson, Mississippi. November 2, 1963 – Ngo Dinh Diem, President of Vietnam, along with his brother and chief political adviser was assassinated. John F. Kennedy, President of the United States was assassinated on 22 November 1963. February 21, 1965 – Malcolm X was assassinated by members of the Nation of Islam in New York City. September 6, 1966 – Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid was stabbed to death. August 25, 1967 – George Lincoln Rockwell, leader of the American Nazi Party was assassinated. April 4, 1968 – Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis, Tennessee. June 5, 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, United States Senator, was assassinated in Los Angeles as he took the Presidential Primary in California.
[2] Some of the recent mass shootings: January 8, 2011 - Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is target of an assassination attempt in Arizona in which six people are killed and 13 wounded. April 9, 2011 - Tristan van der Vlis opened fire in the Ridderhof mall in Alphen aan den Rijn, south of Amsterdam, killing six. July 22, 2011 - a gunman killed 69 people at a youth summer camp as well as eight others earlier with a bombing in Oslo, Norway. December 13, 2011 - Gunman Nordine Armani killed three people, including a 17-month-old toddler, and wounded 121 in a central square in the eastern city of Liege, Belgium. February 27, 2012 - A student opens fire in a cafeteria at Chardon High School in Ohio, killing three students and injuring two others. April 2, 2012 - Korean-American One Goh killed seven people and wounded three others in a shooting rampage at a Christian college in Oakland. July 20, 2012 - A masked gunman kills 14 people and wounds 50 others when he opens fire on moviegoers in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, Colorado. August 5, 2012 - A gunman shoots six people dead during Sunday services at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.
Copyright © 2012 Tim Rubald
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