Full Moon March 2013

Full Moon March 2013

I haven't directly connected with many people at this Full Moon but I've noticed some excitement as well as a sense of challenge and frustration in those I have seen. A Facebooker commented that my note that this Moon suggests a need for harmony was met with a bit of understandable skepticism.

The axis of the Full Moon, Moon on one side of the Earth, Sun on the other, is Aries Sun and Moon in Libra. That's ME, Aries, balanced against WE, Libra. The "me side" is tremendously energized and that in itself needs balance. We do better when we are not, or do not feel alone.

What is going on in the astrological picture these days is bigger than huge. I've been writing about this time in current history since the last century, so large are the changes at hand. When I began writing about this time, it was all speculation (on solidly based astrology). Now, we're there, and it's time to move through and WITH the processes at work. The Full Moon is a little thing, but an important link with the big picture. So we have Aries and Libra, the Self and the Other, in an emphasis, during this period of monstrous change, for culture, society, governmental structures, and the very life of planet Earth.

For a success, we start within, Aries, the Self, and bring that self into harmony with the Other, Libra. This is a key to how we need to move through this period of transition, this time of creation of a new world. There are "sides" at work here and what will NOT work is investing heart and body on one side or the other. That's the message of this Full Moon. In order to make it work we have to develop the understanding, and even compassion, for and with the selfish (negative Aries) and the fearful. It should not be missed that the most reactionary, antagonistic, and greedy, are that way primarily out of fear, fear of the Other, fear of change.

Risking (loss) is what Pluto in Capricorn is about. Capricorn is the order, social, governmental, business, religious, and is fundamental to how the world works. It's a reliable and needed thing. It's the difference between explosive chaos, and harmony. It's a good thing, but as it becomes crystallized it needs to be broken up and restructured in order to grow, to progress; and there are forces that will challenge the structure to that end. The planet will offer weather events, earthquakes, and volcanism. The human population will offer Arab Springs, Occupies, democracy, and human rights movements. The structure, that tends to resist change, includes businesses, corporations, and governments. If one looks at human history there are massive changes and developments through the ages. Are we to imagine that somehow this period will be the exception? That if we just hold on, that things will work out?

Astrology is about the perfect harmony that is possible. Every astrological factor has a balancing factor, and enhancements, and supports. With astrology we always have guidance and suggestion. Do we somehow sidestep the chaos that way? Sorry, no. If there's an avalanche, or a tsunami, that may be it, or perhaps not. We cannot predict the outcome as much a get a sense of the territory we will traverse, of the weather (figuratively as well as literally).

A Full Moon is about awareness. Notice the things that have come to the fore with this Full Moon. The Supreme Court is considering the Defense of Marriage Act, which allows States to deny the right of marriage to LGBT persons. If that isn't a Libra matter I don't know what is. Libra is the Sign of marriage and of the Seventh House, the marriage and partnership place of the horoscope. The awareness quality of a Full Moon is also brought out today by the news of the appropriations bill slipping through a stealth permission for the biotech industry to carry on unregulated. That means they're able to avoid the scrutiny of the USDA and the courts and to go ahead with genetic modification experiments that threaten farmers and the food supply, not to mention the health of consumers.

I look at the chart for lunations set for the White House to get a sense of how the lunation affects the country as a whole, and particularly for what it says about government and political matters, domestic and international. Then I look at the chart set for where I live, because. Starting with D.C., three of this charts factors have a "hit" on D.C.

The Full Moon set for the White House

THE NATION

Among the ways astrologers can focus the chart of an astronomical event that represent the atmosphere for the entire planet, is to set the charting for a specific location. An interpretation of that chart can them be used for a particular area.

To get a sense of how the processes represented in the Full Moon chart apply to the country as a whole, I look at a chart that shows the event of the New Moon in Washington, D.C.  Two things strike me particularly in the D.C. setting (our government, the chief executive, the congress, the court). One is the continued and unsurprising indication of matters financial; the resources and values of the nation, financial well-being (or lack of it), the treasury, the banks, money that's owned and invested in behalf of the country. That is on the see-saw axis with money owed, foreign debt, taxation, insurance, where resources are shared or tied in "outside" as the financial support given to other nations (e.g. Israel, et al.), and with world banks. Not all of that end is about money however, here we are also concerned with life, particularly the casualties of war, but also of sexual matters (of course those relate to birth), death, and the mysteries of life, what is hidden and secret (as much of finance is, e.g. money has no value per se, it is the belief there is value that makes it so).

It is easy to see the relevance and timeliness that the astrological model provides here, but it's more difficult to arrive at an application of the information. Sometimes there may be a relatively clear answer to questions, but in this time the questions are big ones. Does the government continue financing war and acting as the world police, that is causing not only crushing debt, but costing lives and the reputation of the nation? The Cardinal Signs in emphasis Aries, Libra, and Capricorn all challenge the Cardinality of our Cancer nation. The astrology of these times is reflective of massive and global restructuring.

The second item that I find in focus in the lunation set for Washington is keyed to the "homeland," to our real estate, resources, market values, land values, farming, agriculture, the property of the people, personal and public as well. It also represents the "opposition Party." That last I'm not certain that plays out since while one Party seems to control the Executive and Senate, the other Party controls the House, and Court (and is making very large gains in States' governments). The location in focus also includes the "waters," oceans, sees, rivers, lakes and what is sometimes symbolized by water, secret depths, and ownership of all of these.

The focus with this second item is benevolent. There's a sense that the understanding that would support the poles of an argument may be ameliorated by communication and sharing that leads to understanding. Needed and suggested is a resolution of polarity not by denial but by finding common ground. It is not a big surprise to me when I see the extreme Right wing in support of causes generally presumed the province of the Left; as in the Libertarian notion to end our foreign involvements and the Left's support of bringing troops home and cutting military spending. What is called for, what the horoscope suggests, is healing of separation via shared humanity and concerns. The short term solutions to a need for jobs sometimes suggests abandoning environmental concerns as with the XL pipeline and hydraulic fracturing, but most every parent hopes for a healthy future for his/her children and that those children will enjoy the natural beauty that the parent experienced during his/her childhood. That's just one example, the more effort that is made to find what is "like me" in the opposition, the more chance of a sane progress is possible. Most religions are about peace in their foundations but are the source of so much violence throughout history. This is an epochal time. Change is inevitable, positive change will come from education and understanding.

The lunation chart only shows what is, and what is, is not easy. The pangs of the birth period we are in last for years. When I wrote the article some years ago about this time my suggestion was for the period "May 2007 through March 2020, nearly 13 years of effect, actual or symbolic, as you would have it." We are in the heat of it now.

The Full Moon Set for Hawai'i

HAWAI'I

Setting the Full Moon chart for Hawai'i gives us a different orientation; an emphasis on leaders on one hand and the aina, the homeland, on the other. The fiery Aries, Martian, element on the homeland reflects the threats from North Korea as well as concerns for preservation. Here, jobs vs. environment are not quite like the mainland challenge, and yet it is very much the same. Do we preserve the oceans, reefs, and fish, or do we allow practices that harm them in order to preserve jobs? Do we work to preserve clean air, water, and soil? Is there a way to do both? Once again, the suggestion is of dialog. In Hawai'i it is increasingly important for the people to consider the big picture, the long term, the keiki, and to communicate with, and work with and watch, the behavior of elected leaders, from the Governor, to the Mayor, to the County Council. Of course the representatives in Washington need attention too, but it is on the local level that Hawai'ians need to focus in order to influence the big picture. Hawai'i's dependence on oil is more so than for any other State. The power of corporations is no less here than on the national scene. We can work for the benefit of the people, or allow business to control and own, as they have since plantation days.

Hawai'ians can increasingly feed corporate investors by accepting monopoly control of things like energy and communication, or can encourage legislators to support home grown business, agriculture, and trade. For Hawai'i it is time to make the voice of the people heard. Real media will support the effort, not the canned silliness from the mainland. There is real programming to be had, but the bottom line is the cost, and as long as we accept it, we get the cheap. How about news that matters for growth, change, and development? Every day it's who drowned, someone saw a shark, someone was stabbed, a house burned, a bicyclist was run over, and views of Honolulu traffic that affects only a small segment of the population. It's time for the people to learn the issues that are decided out of view and make their thoughts known. We can't do that with media focused day after day on "if it bleeds, it leads." The resolution of matter of two years of teachers without a contract might have been resolved in days or weeks instead of years if all the discussion was available, as if it mattered, instead we get Kardashians from the mainland.

The Full Moon charting suggests some good legislative luck that fits with that contract resolution. It looks like there's potential for some genial getting along, for confidence and optimism from the Islands that's especially reflected in the international tourist trade, increasing from Down Under, Japan, Korea, China, and their neighbors. The outlook is good for leaders to influence and inspire.

In terms of where this all comes from, you may want to stop reading now because I decided to put the astrology at the end. I know that some just like to hear the story and don't care where the story comes from.

THE ASTROLOGY

I've been looking at, and writing about charts for lunations (New and Full Moons) since I wrote the Astrology page in the Berkshire Eagle's Sunday "Sampler" in the 1970s. While I may have missed studying a few Full Moon charts since then, I can't recall any which struck me as does this horoscope for this Full Moon. I know that's astro-babble; always the struggle in writing about astrology, how to say something useful.

Let me begin with an attempt to untangle some understandable English from this. Astrologers look for the New Moon to tell about the month (cyclical, not calendar) until the next New Moon. The peak periods of the entire cycle come with the First Quarter, the Full Moon, and the Last Quarter. What's cool is that you can see all of these except the New Moon in the sky (the New Moon occurs with the Moon between Earth and the Sun and is obscured by the Sun's radiance - unless it's one of the rare New Moons where the Moon aligns so closely as to eclipse the Sun). The astrologer looks at these frozen moments, 0º New, 90º First Quarter, 180º Full, 270º Last Quarter, and charts each of the four for information. The biggest deal is New, then Full, then the Quarters. I wrote about the last New Moon and am skipping the Quarter Moons but will look at the Full.

I've read letters from some people who don't want any astronomy in their astrology. "Just give me the interpretation, Tim." I have to avoid that because it is important to distinguish what I do from what a fortune teller does. My interpretation is actually the translation of a precise moment in our solar system, not from some feeling or sense or voice of an Indian Guide. Maybe I'll put a chart or two in this to show you what I translate.

This is the most dynamic Full Moon charting that I can ever recall seeing. What that points out to us, the translation, is how remarkable and perhaps important this time is for everyone; everyone, because the entire planet experiences lunations. Some are going to be felt more strongly by individuals, nations, etc., than others, but this one has some universal characteristics that point out an important time for our planet and everything on it.

Those who've been following my work and writing know that I've been writing for years about this time period we are in now. That's particularly in reference to the cycle of two planets that have been dramatic actors in the times of my life that were also dramatic, for me, and for the world. I'm speaking of the 1960s. This time we are in now, is resonating with the same energetic that was operative then, only more so. [The larger scale cycle for the planets Uranus and Pluto is approximately 127 years.] This Full Moon links with those two planets in an immediate and powerful way, not only via the Sun and Moon on opposite sides of the earth, but also by other factors in the solar system active simultaneously. I will not attempt to include and delineate everything in the chart but just a few that seem especially apropos to this period (New Moon March 11, next New Moon April 9, 2013).

Venus, Sun, Uranus and Mars are together in just over 5° of one another, all in the hot, fiery, Sign of beginnings, Aries. They are all four opposite the Moon and at a right angle with Pluto. The suggestion is about a process of development, of breaking away to create something new. The Moon is also 90° from Pluto, really 270° from when she crossed over Pluto on March 6. What she asks for in this sky message is for us to learn to integrate our feelings and needs with the deep transformation that is at hand. It requires more than observation but also inner work along the lines of "to accept the things I cannot change." There are great sociopolitical processes at work, simply look at the news today (oh, boy).

The July 22, 2011 bombing and massacre in Oslo occurred with Mars triggering the Uranus/Pluto 90° square that defines these times astrologically (Rudhyar, "crisis in action"). Mars-inspired events are likely in this period as well although I do accept the premise that shared unity of focus on peace can calm the storm, "maybe I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one."

I've written elsewhere about the rare and dynamic current relationship of the planets Uranus and Pluto, how we are in a developmental crisis in their cycle, the force of which was birthed in the nineteen sixties. See this post in Gather and scroll down to the "Dear Claudia" commentary for an important continuation of the article. http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977413046

This Full Moon acts as a support and a trigger to the huge marker of planetary evolution, the cycle of Uranus and Pluto, that is about revolutionary, planetary change on a massive scale. While I don't suggest they have to do with the geologic or meteorological, the Full Moon does, in and of itself since it occurs so near the Equinox with the Sun at zero declination, right smack on the Earth's equatorial plane in space, ALSO, with Venus, Moon, Mars, and Uranus also having crossed or about to cross that plane. Imagine the challenge to the juggler spinning plates as four different fruits of different sizes are placed on them.

Aloha!

© Copyright 2013 Tim Rubald

Saint Patrick & Mercury Retrograde

On the radio this morning I heard a story on Irish Jews, an NPR program I think, you can look it up. So, Shalom to you all and Erin go bragh! Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The three times a year that Mercury swings between the Sun and Earth many focus on Mercury Retrograde. During most of that inner swing Mercury moves through the Zodiac in a direction opposite to that of the Sun. From an astrological standpoint (understanding derived from a view of space from Earth) Mercury is in stronger emphasis then. The astrologer and writer Richard Nolle, in an effort to move interpretation away from silliness, prefers to note the entire swing of Mercury "earth-side" as "Mercury Max." (He's quite the namer,* also the man who gave us the term "SuperMoon" that's been mainstreamed so much as to remove it from the realm of astrology).

One part of the silliness of many of the descriptions of what Mercury Retrograde is supposed to "mean" is quite valid and true. That is that the increased focus of Mercury retrograde is a lot of "re"; re-trograde, re-do, re-act, re-try, re-start, re-peat, etc. You may insert just about any "do over" words that you wish and would likely be correct. The reason for that in terms of the astrology is that Mercury will repeat, three times, aspects (ways of looking or dealing with themes, archetypes, myths, symbols) that it makes to any chart (person, place, event, thing).

That makes a potential of a lot of focus on some particular matters or themes in our lives. This retrograde (warning, a teeny bit of astro-babble follows) begun on February 22, ends today, March 17. The retrograde period itself sees those aspects via the retrograde only getting their middle (retrograde) hit in that time frame but those same hits occurred before the retrograde when Mercury passed through that area of the sky, and will repeat a third time after Mercury resumes forward movement. That gives us a time frame for that repeat zone (I'll just be approximate here since there may be 1 day variances depending on time zones). Mercury ends the retrograde today at 5° 37' of the Sign Pisces, so for the beginning we go back to when Mercury was there the first time and it is about February 8. Mercury began Rx on February 22 at 19° 52' Pisces so that tells us what I call the "Retrograde Zone", 5°37' to 19° 52° Pisces. Mercury passes that point on about April 6. Ta-da! The three-peat zone is from February 8 to April 6.

Consider your matters of concern that have had repeat focus from February 8 until today and understand that you have another chance to learn from experience and work things out somewhere in the time until April 6.

Of course it might be easier to offer you the Murphy's Law silliness that you've probably heard, things go wrong so just watch out, but how helpful is that? Shouldn't we be attentive anyway, all of the time if we can be? Real astrology isn't fatalistic, it is observation and possibility. The possibility is that there are issues that we are all dealing with that may be unique to us or to a larger group or area that get focus by this back and forthing.* One thing that comes to mind for me is the House, Senate, Executive craziness over the budget. Your issues may be much more under your control though. Have fun with it. Live your life. The planets simply reflect it, they don't rule it.

Love to you and Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

*I am aware that is not a word, but you understand it, so maybe it is now?

Copyright © Tim Rubald 2013

MERCURY!

For February 16, 2013, but plenty for ANY Mercury cycle*

Today, from our view here, Mercury reaches it's greatest separation from the Sun. Mercury's been a lovely Evening Star since January 31 and is about 18° higher than the setting sun tonight (that's probably just a bit less than the width of two fists at arm's length). That view from here will see the separation hold just about the same as Mercury "turns the corner" (albeit a round one) and begins heading toward the path of Earth's orbit. On the 22nd in Hawai'i and the 23rd on the Mainland Mercury will appear to stand still from our Earth view and look to be moving backward in comparison with the direction of the Sun during the days that follow.  On March 4, Mercury will be between Earth and Sun and subsequently move enough away from the Sun's rays to be seen in the pre-dawn sky as Morning Star. It will move farther and farther to the "right" side of the Sun until it seems to stop moving from Earth view, to begin moving in the same direction as the sun moves (no longer retrograde). It will be at its greatest height away from the Sun rise as Morning Star Mercury on March 31 and continue on its journey with the sun, picking up speed slowly as it moves around the "back side" of the Sun from Earth.

That whole swing from greatest elongation in the evening to greatest elongation in the morning is what astrologer Richard Nolle calls "Mercury Max." While grounded, observational astrologers have been aware of this for millennia, somehow modern astrologers simply lump the retrograde period with the retrograde behavior of the other planets with not much regard to any but planetary symbol sorts of differences. I've been regarding the larger cycle for many years now as one of the less regarded bits from my very early mentor, Dane Rudhyar, who used words for parts of the cycle such as Promethean and Epimethean for the retrograde and direct phases within (roughly) the Morning and Evening star periods. Experience taught me that the simplistic "Mercury retrograde" delineations were mostly silly and often very far off base. If things were as chaotic and disastrous as some of the reports of what Mercury retrograde is about, human life on this planet would have ended ages ago with the possible exception of the Three Stooges who'd be living like Adam and Eve in some tropical paradise.

So, if you're an astrologer, please incorporate some of the mechanism of the solar system into your understanding and see how things work out in your own experience. If you are not an astrologer, this "Mercury Max" period (that includes the retrograde) should be seen as a time of heightened and sometimes exaggerated Mercury function. It's not that Mercury retrograde messes things up; enhanced Mercury dumps so much communication and mental activity on us that we just might be tempted to over-do on things Mercurial (mental, day-to-day work and communications, local travel, and general work and busy-ness). To take advantage of the enhanced Mercury, take time to pause and breathe, allow your heart, spirit, whatchamacallit, to prioritize and then follow those priorities rather than thinking that multi-tasking is an admirable practice; sorry folks, it isn't. 

* For any Mercury cycle, this color.

© copyright Tim Rubald 2013

Autumn 2012 Virgo to Libra

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