IN 213 YEARS

IN 213 YEARS

Sun conjunct Galactic Center

12/18/2012 @ 27° 01' 52 Sagittarius
12/21/2225 29° 59' Sagittarius
12/21/2226 00° 00' Capricorn -- the location of the Galactic Center

It is cute and a reminder of our smallness in the scheme of things. In order to have a photograph of our Milky Way Galaxy though, you would need a vantage point from outside of the galaxy, and a good ways away in order to fit the whole thing in the viewfinder. So this picture is a gotcha from whoever started it. It is actually a photo of the Andromeda Galaxy.

The Milky Way Galaxy is organized into spiral arms of giant stars that illuminate interstellar gas and dust. Our Sun is in a finger called the Orion Spur. Some of the brightest stars and most famous celestial objects of this constellation (Betelgeuse, Rigel, the stars of Orion's Belt, the Orion Nebula) are neighbors of sorts to our sun, located within the Orion Arm. When we look at it, we're looking into our own local spiral arm. This is not a photograph, it is a portrait. To photograph our galaxy, you'd have to be outside of it, and that's a long, long way.
For more visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/gallery/galaxy-location.html
http://earthsky.org/space/does-our-sun-reside-in-a-spiral-arm-of-the-milky-way-galaxy

Hello fans of Astrology in Astrophysics. Doing some cleanup on one of my computers I came upon these calculations that I'd made for the 2012 whoop-de-do. Then as now I prefer to stick to the astrology that I know, and not suddenly jump on a Mayan track and pretend that I know something about Mayan astrology. Not necessarily part of the Mayan thing was the notion, that at the time of the Winter Solstice, also known as the Winter Equinox, that the solstice Sun, viewed from Earth, would be exactly on the Galactic Center in that alignment looking toward the Sun from the Earth (GC then, behind the Sun). Imagine the center of our galaxy (we call the Milky Way, aka Via Lactea) at the moment of the Equinox, that our Sun would transit or eclipse that precise center point.

I came upon this by accident and thought to use it here because it depicts the baloney of the so-called alignment of the 2012 Winter Solstice Sun with the Galactic Center. I was gratified to find the word BULLSHIT in the caption with it. Yes folks, it will be 210 years until the event. Then, the marker "C" will have the year 2225 beneath it.

In this photo (probably composit since it is such a huge chunk of space) we look toward the Galactic Center from Earth. It's a rather unpreposing part of the Galaxy. When we zoom in, and we have now, but I'll leave those photos for another time, we find a bright globe. That globe is made of light being sucked into the Black Hole there. I continue to be gratified and amazed at what space exploration has given us in such a short span of time. I know that this will spread out over the page, but I just can't bring myself to smallerize it.

I pointed out that would not occur until the year 2225 and 2226.  I may have said something along the lines of the carnival barker's "Close, but no cigar." Which I suppose was the prize for whacking the base lever with a big sledge hammer to send a weight up to ring the bell at the top, "Close, but no cigar." In fact, at the solstice in 2012, the Sun was just a teeny bit less than three entire degrees away from the center.

Here's another view with other galaxies, stars, and objects identified. The letters are abbreviations for astronomical catalogues-published lists of known stars, nebulae, supernova remnants, galaxies, and other objects in space.

The New General Catalogue (NGC) was originally published in 1888 by the Royal Astronomical Society and lists 7,840 objects.

The Index Catalogue (IC) lists an additional 5,286 galaxies, nebulae, and star clusters discovered between 1888 and 1907.

Names with the letter M are Messier objects, named after Charles Messier, a French astronomer. In the 1760s and 70s, he hunted comets and made a list of the 103 objects he found that looked like, but were not comets. All Messier objects can be seen with binoculars or small telescopes under clear, dark skies.
From:
http://www.mnh.si.edu/exhibits/evolving-universe/science/kidcat.htm

These are undeniably exciting times, before and after 2012, but there are real astrological events that fit our reality quite well. We'll have to wait until 2225 for whatever is implied by the solstice Sun exactly conjunct the Galactic Center.

Aloha!


© Copyright 2015 Tim Rubald

What about Mercury retrograde in a birth chart?

What about Mercury retrograde in a birth chart?

Also as an abbreviated post in Facebook Soul Centered Psychological Astrology

February 25, 2014

My friend, it may be that Mercury on the near Earth side of its orbit is good for inner work; case in point, my article, written a few days ago. One of the reasons I thought there is rich value for counselors is my suggestions as to how to make positive use of the times Mercury is retrograde. Like you, experience has been my teacher and has disabused me of the doom and gloom of the things that are supposed to go wrong while Mercury slides between the Earth and Sun. “Retrograde planets in a birth map were anciently said to be weak or debilitated. . . That it continues to retrograde for a period after birth might detract from its capacity to incite progress . . . “, writes Nicholas Devore. With attention, we see that the business that causes chaos is often in our heads. 

          While it looks as though the tree falling on the car was just an unfortunate accident, we really don't know. Maybe the driver was in a rush and parked in an unfamiliar place. Maybe it was just coincidence. Maybe Mercury was direct in motion when it happened. If such Cosmic Authorities as Astrologers go off on the problems of Mercury Rx, aren't those who pay attention to such authorities on the lookout for "Mercury Rx distress"? I have a friend who regularly writes about news items during those Rx periods, but I find an equal amount of similar stories when Mercury is swinging around the far side of the Sun, in the same direction as the Sun. People aren't blaming the hard drive crash on little Mercury when Mercury is direct.

          In your case, "in the old days" (hopefully), Mercury Rx in a nativity had the astrologer looking for mental challenges like deafness, or what used to be called retardation, or at least a speech impediment, or being held back in school. While any of those things might occur for a Mercury Rx native, wider examination will often show brilliance. The actress Hedy Lamarr, while she's fading in the dust of time now, was once viewed as one of the most beautiful women in the world. Her Sun in smoldering Scorpio, had been crossed by Rx Mercury (5° 11’ past the Sun, about to go direct a week later, to chase after the Sun once again). To enhance her mystery and beauty, she had the Moon just over Neptune in Leo, but that's off-topic. She had plenty in her life that fit with the depths of Mercury Rx, but to point out that that factor has little effect on mental brilliance, her career might have taken a different direction.

          She spent much of her time in a workroom with drafting table and equipment. "It was Hedy's idea for a secret communications system - specifically one that could guide a torpedo using a technology called "frequency hopping" - so that signal couldn't be intercepted." [It was 1940, and German U-boats were wreaking havoc in the Atlantic torpedoing ships, very often with women and children aboard trying to flee the Nazis - something Hedy knew a little about, being born to Jewish parents and having fled Austria on a ship she knew was carrying Louis B. Mayer.] Her idea got a patent. "Today, frequency hopping is used with the wireless phones that we have in our homes, GPS, most military communication systems - it's very widely used,” said Richard Rhodes in his biography, "Hedy's Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, the Most Beautiful Woman in the World." So much for Rx Mercury twisting the mind into something not so useful. Of course, those delineations were from olden times when astrologers were looking for mental aberrances in Mercury Rx natives.

Note: Mercury is retrograde as I write this, so any errors are his fault. There are several articles here on Mercury's retrogrades. Under the title of the blog, Astrology STARTALK from Tim Rubald, is a search box. Just type in Mercury to pull them up.

 Copyright © Tim Rubald 2014

How to cope when Mercury’s retrograde

How to cope when Mercury’s retrograde

Question for the astrologer:

Just droppin by to talk 'bout freakin Mercury w/ my favorite astrologer! Mercury is usually my favorite planet but not when it's retro. Man, Mercury retro has one heckuva timin, Tim! I take (re-take!) the Bar next week and it would be while Mercury is retro, huh? Arrrrgghh! In practicin some multiple choice questions & essays I'm noticin the words are jumbled up and I'm misreadin some of the questions... I find myself havin to PUMP THE BRAKES on my Speedy Mars mentality and T-A-K-E M-Y S-W-E-E-T T-I-M-E. very frustratin to say the least... but as they used to say in GI Joe cartoons, I am forewarned and bein forewarned is bein forewarmed (I'm gonna leave that typo as an example of my point! That shoulda read forearmed! LOL!!!) Anyway, just wanted to gripe 'bout Mercury retro. Grrrr. Lookin forward to its goin direct! LOL!

Tim Rubald:::  Hi Mariama, it looks like you really get it. Mercury's retrograde path brings it nearest our planet. Mercury functions don't have to be chaotic if you "pump the brakes," and take your sweet time. The reason words are jumbled and things seem confused is that the brain stuff is spinning too fast. [Please! Metaphorically.]

          That is completely controllable. Pause, breathe, space out for a minute, and stop thinking, or just notice thoughts as they come, and don't hold on to them. Let them go. There is nothing to worry about, nothing to fear. Mercury is giving a lesson that multitasking is not your friend. Take one step at a time (good for walking on icy sidewalks too). Now, what is in front of you, is what you are about. Take care of that. If it is studying, just study. If it is eating, just eat. If it is lovemaking, just give all attention to that. In your head already is what you need to know to pass the Bar. Take it one step at a time. You might pause to envision the steps you take (the bigger picture) that include the question. Pause if the answer doesn't jump out, and connect the question to the larger process. Make your best guess and move on to the next question. Come back to it if you have time to review. Mercury's help is wasted if dissipated. You don't want to dilute it. For best results take it full strength. Take your sweet time. It is sweet. It is precious. This moment will never be again.

          A lot of misinformation about retrogrades is passed down from astrology teachers and by books. The goofs become clearer the more you work with watching and "listening," letting the planets speak. Mercury retrograde seems to be an area where some of what's passed down is correct, but a lot of it is misleading. Don't think of Mercury going the "wrong" way. Think of an amplified Mercury function as the planet moves Earth-side of our Sun.

PS Since Mercury's been after me to get back to sharing; since your question is applicable to plenty of other folks. I'm going to put this question and my answer on my blog.

***************

          This is especially good advice as Mercury makes the closest to Earth part of its orbit. That's the time when the mind is so active that one forgets what one's doing right in the middle of doing. Pause. Be patient and things fall back into order. Do not multitask. That's a recipe for disaster.

Mercury orbits (as does Earth) counter-clockwise around the Sun. The retrograde happens in the part of the orbit that brings the planet nearer to Earth. As it goes around the far side of the Sun from Earth, it appears in "forward" or direct motion.

          The reason astrologers connect Mercury retrograde with computer, equipment, and transportation problems, is pretty much always due to the human factor. Those problems may spike a bit while Mercury is retrograde, but I doubt it. Notice all the similar problems that occur when Mercury is direct in motion, as it swings around the far side of the Sun. I expect that greater attention is at work, which is exactly what Mercury retrograde is really about, a stimulation of mental activity. We are more aware of SNAFUs when Mercury is retrograde, because we are more aware. We experience Murphy’s Law at work, because we are expecting it to work. That doesn’t mean that some astrologers are completely wrong, they are just right, for the wrong reasons.

          For more on Murphy’s Law’s many applications see:  http://www.murphys-laws.com/  Among Murphy’s Laws listed there are:  Murphy's Laws - If anything can go wrong, it will; Love Laws  - All the good ones are taken; Real Estate Laws - At least one check will be "lost in the mail" every month; War Laws - Friendly fire - isn't; Sewing Laws - The scissors cut easiest past the buttonhole; Murphy Volunteer Fire Department Laws - If it's stupid but it works, it ain't stupid; Nurses Laws - Doctors only ask your name when the patient isn't doing well; Cars Laws - An oil leak will develop; EMT Laws - All bleeding stops... eventually; Mothers Laws - Mother's way is best. If you don't believe it, ask her; Political Laws - No matter who gets elected, Government always gets in; Music Laws - At least one mobile phone will ring during a rehearsal or concert; and a favorite, Martial Arts Laws - You are not Bruce Lee.

          So remember, the best way to neutralize the Murphy’s Law effect of retrograde Mercury, is to take it easy. If the glass shatters on the floor just as you’re headed out the door, don’t blame Mercury retrograde. Pause, take a breath and admit to yourself it wasn’t because of an earthquake, but because of where you put the glass (or something beside it), or the cat making a point (I didn’t say you may leave). Most mistakes, most accidents, are human in origin, not cosmically perpetrated by the zippiest little planet in our solar system.

Note: Mercury is retrograde as I write this, so any errors are his fault. There are several articles here on Mercury's retrogrades. Under the title of the blog, Astrology STARTALK from Tim Rubald, is a search box. Just type in Mercury to pull them up.

 Copyright © Tim Rubald 2014