Saturn's in Libra now. Isn't that nice?

Saturn entered Libra 
July 21, 2010

The change really makes me glad.  I don't go on much about the personal in this blog but Saturn in my life lately brings to mind those apartment building size tractors they use in open pit coal mines; a huge, inevitable, unrelenting machine.

Saturn moved into Virgo September 2 of 2007*.  On October 29, 2009, it made an initial duck from Virgo into Libra.  January 13, 2010, Saturn began a retrograde that took it back into Virgo from Libra on April 7.  May 7 it resumed forward motion and on July 21 was back in Libra where it will travel until October 5, 2012, when it goes into Scorpio. 

I wish I could draw a picture; dates, retrograde, direct, blah, blah, blah.  It's summertime, how about a metaphor?  Saturn jumps in the Libra pool and swims a bit then gets out in order to take care of a chore, then goes back in the pool for the duration.  The swimming pool metaphor's a little weak because Virgo is Earth and Libra is Air.

Traditional, conventional, long time astrology has Saturn EXALTED in the Sign Libra.  Planets are said to have affinity for certain Signs and to not work so well in other Signs.  The astrobabble for this is "dignity" and "debility."  DIGNITY refers to conditions of placement where a planet is strengthened and DEBILITY to conditions that are said to weaken a planet.  A planet is said to have dignity here and debility there ("here and there" can be Signs, degrees, Houses, etc.).

Saturn's stuff includes RULERSHIP of the Signs Capricorn and Aquarius (until the 19th Century astrologer(s) Raphael came along with a wish to fit the then freshly discovered Uranus and Neptune into the scheme of things and suggested Uranus for Aquarius and Neptune for Pisces - traditionally under the lordship of Jupiter).  Personally, I like Uranus for Aquarius but also give Saturn equal time for that Sign.  That's just me.

Traditional sign rulership has more to do with how the signs reinforce, positively or negatively, the essence of a planet - hence, the term "essential dignity." 

-- Rob Hand

Rulership is one sort of dignity.  Saturn is DIGNIFIED in Capricorn and Aquarius because it RULES those Signs.  Saturn is thought to be weakened in the opposite Signs, Cancer and Leo.  The astro-babble is that Saturn is at DETRIMENT in Cancer and Leo.

Saturn gets his greatest dignity in the Sign Libra, the Sign of his EXALTATION.   Conversely he reaches his FALL in the Sign opposite, Aries.  What's with Saturn in Libra being so good, said to be the best Sign placement for the planet?  That's such a big question that I am going to skip it. Too involved, too technical, and too boring to all but a few astrologers. I'm not trying to shirk an explanation, only saying that to do an explanation justice is more fitting to a long book chapter or a pamphlet, not a blog entry.  Suffice to say, Saturn works well in the Sign Libra.

Here's some of what the 17th Century astrologer William Lilly wrote about Saturn:

[Houses] In the Zodiack he hath two of the twelve Signes for his Houses, viz. Capricorn his Night-house, Aquarius his Day-house; he has his Exaltation in Libra, he receives his Fall in Aries; he rejoyceth in the sign Aquarius.

[Triplicity] He governeth the Aiery Triplicity by day, which is composed of these Signs; Gemini, Libra, Aquarius;

Lilly also gives more detail on Saturn in what are called "terms" but we'll skip that in favor of some basic Saturn information.   Saturn takes about 29.46 years to circle the Sun, spends about 2.5 years in a Sign and about 4.5 months of each orbital period appearing to move backward through the zodiac from our perspective on earth (called retrograde motion).

 

Let's be happy now with a lighter touch from the old man, a more considered, humanitarian application of structure and authority.  Maybe there will be a better crop of political candidates this November, more amenable to care for people rather than the current batch, which are mostly in the pockets of corporate interests.

The Sign Saturn leaves, Virgo, is an Earthy work Sign.  Saturn's now in Libra; more concerned with harmony and humanity than with the world as a work farm.  Cheers for Saturn in Libra!

* UT/GMT dates

Eclipse ~ Part I

In my email this morning (June 25, 2010) was an inquiry about an upcoming partial lunar eclipse.  While I’ve written many times and lectured and taught about eclipses, I thought it might be as good a time as any to revisit the topic.

My friend commented that she’d heard this was an auspicious eclipse.  One gets a sense of benefit from that word, auspicious, that is not (in my experience) usually connected with an eclipse.

In the simplest terms, an eclipse is an obscuration, a dimming or elimination of the light from one of our planet’s most important lights, sun or moon.  For that reason, eclipses most often have a negative connotation with regard to the astrological “what does it mean?”

Where astronomy splits from its mother, astrology, is that astrology offers some meaning we might derive from an analysis of the greater whole while astronomy is primarily about measurement of a piece of the whole (how far, how bright, elemental composition, motion, etc.)

The question of auspiciousness comes to some degree from the lunation process.  A lunation follows the waxing and waning moon through eight stages:  New, Crescent, First Quarter, Gibbous, Full, Disseminating, Last Quarter, Balsamic, and back to New.  The process of New Moon to New Moon takes about 29.5 days.

“Moons” are one of the first and most obvious markings of astronomical events experienced by us critters on this planet.  Moons are utilized for everything from hunting and fishing, to the timing of religious observances (Easter, Diwali, Saga Dawa, Ramadan, Passover, etc.)  New Moon timing for religious purposes usually doesn’t kick in until the moon begins to pull far enough from the sun’s rays to be visible in or after the sunset (crescent).  The more obvious Full Moon is the one that gets popular names such as Harvest Moon.

Some lunations or “moons” are deemed positive or auspicious and some not so much.  Every eclipse will also be linked with this or that “moon" because an eclipse is a "moon".  Considering lunations from an astrological (it means something) perspective, the more precise alignment that results in an eclipse steps up or enhances whatever the meaning of the lunation.

We can get an idea of the auspiciousness of certain moons by their names.  I’ve picked a few at random.  Some North American indigenous peoples call the midwinter Full Moon, the Starvation Moon.  That would likely be an inappropriate name for it in the southern hemisphere where seasons are flip-flopped.  The name Harvest Moon was given to the first Full Moon after the Autumn Equinox and northern hemispherites from North America (some tribes refer to the Grandmother Moon) to Europe celebrated it for much the same reason.  I’ve heard it said that its light extended the hours available to harvest.  Personally I’d rather not be swinging sharp harvest tools by moonlight.  The bounty of the harvest gave way to celebratory feasts such as the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA.

 For much of the world, the calendar is lunar based.  Probably the oldest lunar calendar in use is that of China which begins with the first New Moon after the Sun enters the Sign Aquarius.  Chinese New Year is an example of auspicious endeavor coming by way of splendid celebration, parades, fireworks, new clothing and special foods.  While celebration and ritual are practiced to “seed” the year ahead, some years are said to be more auspicious than others and a year may be said to benefit or challenge the native of one Chinese Zodiac year Sign more or less than it does the native of another Sign.

This is given to offer some hint as to how an eclipse might or might not be auspicious.  Many other factors can go into the mix.  For example, an eclipse that occurs in a good relationship to a benefic planet (Venus or Jupiter) might be considered auspicious.

A Hindu blog I came upon informs us that the eclipse is a “Chandra Grahan”.  I know that Chandra is Sanskrit for Moon; I will assume Grahan indicates eclipse.

(Although I’ve given a few years of my more than fifty years studying astrology to an investigation of Jyotish, Vedic, or Hindu astrology, I am no expert in those techniques.  I believe that any form of astrology when understood and practiced with expertise and heart has value; Western Tropical (my practice), Vedic, Chinese, Classical, Mayan, etc.  I remember a Mick Jagger line, “It’s the singer, not the song.”)

Here is information on the Chandra Grahan given by Paramahamsa Swami Sivananda

“At the time of the eclipse, people bathe in the sacred rivers. They do charitable acts. They give cows, money and gold. The day after the eclipse they feed the poor, the Brahmins and the Sadhus. After the eclipse they clean their houses, vessels, etc., and take a bath before they start cooking.

“Those who do Japa [mantra] at the time of the eclipse derive great benefits. The effect of Japa and Sankirtan [sacred song, call and repeat] during the eclipse contributes towards relieving the suffering of humanity and also of the planets. These people receive the blessings of the gods. They attain perfection quickly. . . .  You will shine in your own glory. This is the spiritual significance of the eclipse.”

From http://www.astrojyoti.com/EclipseGrahan.htm

There are many, many variants to the moon’s motion and relation to Earth.  There’s a slightly less precise alignment than an eclipse that is very nearly as dynamic in effect as the eclipse alignment that astrologer Richard Nolle’s named a “SuperMoon”.  Eclipses and SuperMoons are often linked with geophysical phenomena like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the like.  I’ll write more about these special lunations at some point in the future.

Eclipses tend to occur in groups so the Lunar Eclipse this time is followed by a Total Solar Eclipse on July 11.  I’ve been writing about eclipses here in a general way in order to address the question of auspiciousness.  Many times I’ve been called upon to evaluate a specific eclipse in the sense of meaning and effect as applied to the world and individuals.  I will leave that for another blog entry since this one has grown large enough.

 Eclipses in 2010 (UT/GMT dates)

Annular Eclipse of the Sun, January 15 at 25° 01’ Capricorn
The instant of greatest eclipse occurs at 07:06:33 UT

Partial Eclipse of the Moon, June 26 at 04° 46’ Capricorn
Greatest Eclipse:  11:38:27 UT

Total Eclipse of the Sun, July 11 at 19° 24’ Cancer
Greatest eclipse occurs in the South Pacific at 19:33:31 UT.

Total Eclipse of the Moon, December 21 at 29° 21’ Gemini
Greatest Eclipse:  08:16:57 UT

Astrological information from Jim Maynard’s Celestial Guide.  Best astronomical eclipse data is from Fred Espenak at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/

The time of greatest eclipse will be near but not exactly the same as the time of the New or Full Moon alignment.

Welcome to Spring!

It is the time of the Vernal Equinox.  The Sun enters the Sign Aries on March 20 at 17.32 UT (that’s 1:32 PM Eastern, 10:32  AM Pacific). 

The longer night of the winter season is now in equal balance with daylight.  From this point the length of daylight grows. 

It is the beginning point of the Zodiac that astrologers use as measure.  An astrological chart for the equinox moment is said to contain information relevant to at least the Spring season and perhaps for as much as the twelve months to follow.

Imbolc, Brigid, and Groundhog Day

We often talk about the connections of astrology with the season cycle. The Solstices and Equinoxes mark zero degrees of the Cardinal Zodiac Signs. The midpoints in time between Solstices and Equinoxes are "Cross Quarter Days," holy days based on the seasons.

The middle of Aquarius comes early in February and brings Imbolc or Brigid ~ Candlemas (February 2) ~ the newborn Sun God is seen as a small child nursing at the breast of the Mother. Energy is directed toward blessing and empowering new beginnings. At this Holy Day the Goddess of Fire and Inspiration, Brigid, is honored. To the Irish she is the Triple Goddess of Poetry, Healing, and Smithcraft. The Light of the days continues to increase.

Aquarius tells us it is a time for our unique individuality to manifest as well. It is a time of Initiation ritual, of beginnings. Coming at lambing time, Imbolc (or Oimelc) celebrated the beginning of the end of winter. New lambs were born, and a dish made from their docked tails was eaten. This survived into Christian times as the Feast of Brigid: the saint was a Christianized version of the pagan goddess of the same name. http://www.livingmyths.com/Celticyear.htm

Brigid's festival is Imbolc, when she ushers Spring to the land . . . This mid-Winter feast commences as the ewes begin to lactate and is the start of the new agricultural cycle. During this time Brigid personifies a bride, virgin or maiden aspect and is the protectoress of women in childbirth. Gailleach, or White Lady, drank from the ancient Well of Youth at dawn. In that instant, she was transformed into her Maiden aspect, the young goddess called Brigid. Wells were considered to be sacred because they arose from oimbelc (literally "in the belly"), or womb of Mother Earth.

Imbolc also is known as Oimelc, Brigid, Candlemas, or even in America as Groundhog Day. As the foundation for the American Groundhog Day, Brigid's snake comes out of its mound in which it hibernates and its behavior is said to determine the length of the remaining Winter. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/brigid.html "Brigid." Encyclopedia Mythica from Encyclopedia Mythica Online.

-- from handout material at a January 2005 talk I gave. Although there are a couple of sources given, I'm not certain where I got some of this. It didn't just pop out of my head or from the belly of Aquarius for that matter even though I have Venus quite near that place. -- Tim

Meteor shower astrology

A friend wrote me this morning and it got me thinking.

She included a news clip about this morning’s meteor shower and wrote: “Hi Tim, Any horoscopic effect of the likes of this?”

I replied that I love looking into the night sky; especially from places with little or no light pollution. That’s another one of the many things that inspire my calling. Sometimes, if I happen to awaken “pre-dawn” and happen to remember there’s something to look at, I see a special sky show. I missed this one.

In terms of horoscopic effects, I don’t see astrology as any kind of cause and effect thing. My view is that astrology is a reflection, and so offers another perspective on life, on whatever.

This Orionid shower represents a convergence of Earth’s orbit with the debris field left by a comet (this famous one, Halley’s). Particles of the debris fall through the atmosphere and light up.

While I’ve never made a study of an astrological reflection of such an event, I would do it something like this. I’d translate the location of the event into Zodiacal longitude in order to know where it might apply in an horoscope. That opens a big can of worms in that the belt of the Zodiac is relatively narrow in terms of the whole of the space around the planet. If the location is way above or below the belt the convention is to drop lines down (or up) from the location to where they would be if within the belt, if space could be squished down into a disk.

Then, knowing where the event is occurring Zodiacally, I could plug that into a horoscope (stylized round map) and begin to apply some of the symbology/mythology to the individual or whatever in question. I would consider the symbology of the region of space, of Halley’s Comet itself, what stars, what constellations, if there are any planets currently in the region, and so on. Then I’d apply that via its location in the individual horoscope to get more information on the intersection of the event with the person.

http://meteorshowersonline.com/images/orionidsnorth.jpg You see by looking out into space just from this picture you see Orion, a constellation. Here’s another view. http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/images/orionids/skymap_north.gif]

The astrological background would be the palette of myth, symbol, and scientific measure. Orion is the Great Hunter and in the Tropical Zodiac the constellation extends from about 8º Gemini to 6º Cancer. Had I the time to make an evaluation I’d include all of that and especially links including major stars like Betelgeuse, Rigel, Bellatrix and others. There are symbolic applications that can be made including the comet, these stars, the constellation, the Zodiac, and more.

A meteor shower might be a blip astrologically that we’d link with what it looks like, bright displays, streaks of light, enhanced wonder, even joy at a natural display. It might coincide with some flashy dreams, some moments of inspiration, illumination of an individual’s hunt, and so on.

There are astrologers who utilize a great deal of focus on the stars and constellations who could offer much more than I can. Because a meteor shower is such a flickering and transitory event, I’ve not thought to make much of a study of them. I am open to the possibilities though.