Heavenly Truth

Mars Retrograde: Keep it Simple

We are all motivated by different desires. No matter what they may be, Mars plays a  large role in how, when, and why we pursue those desires, whether it's fast and furious or slow and steady, whether we are pursuing happiness, security, or success.

Mars stationed retrograde at 23 degrees and 5 minute of Virgo on January 23rd.

A good way to begin to understand the meaning of any planet going retrograde is to run the gamut of re words. For instance, when Mercury retrogrades we're asked to reconsider. When Venus retrogrades, we are often given the opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with someone. During this Mars retrograde period, we're asked to regroup and while it's in Virgo, reorganize.

Virgo is a sign of discrimination and elimination. It shaves away that which is not needed to get to the essential and pares down that which has become bloated and overdone. As Mars retrogrades through this sign until April 14th, sift through your life with an eye on what's useful, necessary, and functional and discard what unnecessarily complicates. Keep it simple.

Virgo may like efficiency, but keeping it simple doesn't always work, especially if Virgo loses sight on what's essential. It is a sign that likes simplicity, but also control. Not only is Mars retrograde, which tends to channel energy inward (see redirect) but it's also in Virgo, which has a hard time letting the energy flow outward without trying to control the flow so much that it risks clenching too hard, stopping the energy flow altogether (see restrict). Over the next couple of months, watch for warning signs of impending implosion due to control issues, excessive anxiety/worry, or stuck energy building up the tension level, like water pressure behind a dam.

Because Mars represents our drive, will, and to a certain extent our power, by extension it also represents our energy, especially physical energy, so keep a watch over your health during this period as well. When we're emotionally clogged, it's easier to get physically backed up as well (Virgo rules the digestive system--guard against anxiety and tummy upset). While it also depends on the disposition of Mars and other energies in your own chart, steady exercise and mindful eating is favored over pushing yourself beyond your limits or an excess of anything during this retrograde period. Plan and direct your exercise and nutrition, but don't deprive: deprivation carries the energy of restriction and self-punishment, a shadow of Virgo. Take your vitamins and wash your hands and all that, too, of course.

Like organizing your closet, organizing your life in a literal and metaphorical way can help you use your resources wisely and be more efficient over this retrograde period. Part of a wise strategy may also be being honest with yourself about what is and isn't in your control, and letting go of the things you aren't really in charge of anyway.

Just like you can't stop communicating for three weeks during Mercury retrograde periods, likewise you can't stop moving forward on anything at all for the nearly three months that Mars is retrograde. However, slow and steady, with probably some periodic readjusting, may be the best pace for now.

A Page From an Astrologer's Diary: Progressed Moon Enters the First House

An astrologer is always experiencing life on a couple of dimensions (pun intended!) On one hand, they're engaged in whatever is going on in their life at the moment like everyone else, and at the same time, they're wondering what this current event has to do with Mars trining their Midheaven or Pluto squaring their Ascendant. The good and humble astrologer is always taking notes from their life and the lives around them to see astrology in real life action, outside of the key words and fixed descriptions of what a certain astrological event is supposed to produce. Sometimes it takes a pretty horrific event to grab an astrologer's attention away from the analyzing dimension, but still; somewhere in our mind, we are thinking "wow, this is horrible and I'll probably be scarred for life, but what fascinating material for my astrology blog!"

Which is exactly what I have been thinking as I've been experiencing the rare event of my secondary progressed moon entering my first house.

I've been feeling it for about a month, and it's about a week or two away now from the actual crossing over. It's not uncommon to feel these shifts even two months before they happen. In my book, Astrology of the Moon, I compare a progressed moon shift to passing through a tunnel: 

Imagine going through  a tunnel. You see it approaching ahead of you, even before you enter it. The change in the light and in the air becomes apparent soon after you enter the tunnel and may take a bit of an adjustment if it’s dark. As you continue to move through the tunnel, your eyes adjust and you get used to the new rhythm, the new environment. As you reach the end of the tunnel, you see it coming. The light is changing again, ahead of you. There is a natural anticipation of the shifts that happen as we see them coming. When it comes to the progressed moon, we may see a period of our life approaching. We often feel a change in the air. 

Developments in your chart, especially when it comes to the progressed planets, do not tend to happen overnight. While there are times when events in our lives are of such a magnitude that they can alter us forever in a moment, our general evolution is a slow progression. Awareness of new truths and changing attitudes tends to build in us over time, even if the realization of what’s been brewing in our subconscious happens suddenly. There will come a point, as each of these progression periods begin, where you start to notice the shift, notice that you’re feeling differently lately. For many people, this starts even a month or two before the actual progression period begins. Because we are always gradually developing, the shift from one progression to another is a slow build of the changing needs of the heart. But it may also take a month or so of sitting with the new energy to really notice that something has changed for you.

Here is a list (ah, my Virgo heart sings at the word), in no particular order, of the things I've noticed happening for me as I personally experience this shift.

• I seem to be taking almost everything personally, which is not characteristic for me. While I have become more empathetic and sensitive over the years, I seem to regard every traffic slight and every external schedule delay or change personally. Heaven help you if it's my turn to merge and you speed ahead of me. I'll either curse you or cry about it! I've invited you over 3 times to my house for dinner and you can't get it on your schedule? How mean!

• I seem to be focusing on drawing out my 'unlived lives', undeveloped parts of me that, due to focus on other things and other areas, haven't had much of an opportunity to surface, such as a sudden desire to purchase cookbooks and cook every night, or begin weight training at my local gym. I am curious to see if these desires continue and how linked they may be with the classic connection between the first house and the body.

• My progressed moon has been in the sign of Capricorn for the last 2 years, and will remain there for another 5 months, so coupling that with the first house entry seems to have increased the hunger for The Next Big Thing. I'm not interested in little projects that may want to draw my attention. I'm looking for the next project that will really matter to me, that will define my life, that will light me up and Start My Life Anew. I'm wanting to launch. The trouble is, while I long for direction, I've got these first house butterfly wings that are still drying as I've only recently emerged (emerging) from the 12th house chrysalis and don't know what these wings can do or where I want them to take me yet.

• Here's a fun one in that it seems so clearly correlated with its astrology: Uranus is square my Ascendant and Descendant, so naturally as my progressed moon crosses the Ascendant, it's squaring Uranus as well, and opposing my Descendant (did you catch all that, newbies? Sorry if you just choked on the jargon). Lately I have been recognizing how intense my frustration when anyone (including myself) attempts to identify or label me, even with 'good' labels. I am none of the things you think I am, or that I think I am, and as soon as you want to understand me, I cannot be understood, nor truly seen, and am resentful that I must define myself so that you (or I) can understand what I am as we have our casual conversation. Who are you talking to? I don't know, either. I feel keenly attuned to the idea that I am always in progress and process, therefore a slice of me in any moment will not tell you who I am in the whole. I think anyone could say that, but my awareness of it is intense these days.

Coming home from another fabulous NORWAC last night, I had this image relentless playing out in my head as all these thoughts was rising: I have just been thrust through the front door and onto the porch, rather abruptly, though not with rude intent. The door slams against my back. Palms and back against the door, heels still on the edge of the threshhold, I stand motionless as I face the world in front me.

Mercury Retrograde, Schmetrograde

All the astrological heavenly bodies periodically go retrograde except for the sun and the moon. If you were to observe a planet in its orbit across the night sky this week, you would see Mercury seeming to slow down, stop (station), and start going in a backward direction (retrograde). Of course, Mercury is not literally going backward in its orbit, but it appears to us to be doing so. Mercury appears to go backward a few times a year for about 3 weeks at a time, give or take.

The 'shadow' period of a retrograde planet encompasses the retrograde period and then some. The shadow period is the length of time it takes for a planet to get back to the original place in the sky it was before it started going backward.

Observe the example illustration below. Each sign is made up of 30 degrees. In this example, on September 4th, Mercury reaches 7 and 1/2 degrees of Libra. On September 24th, it reaches about 22 and 1/2 degrees of Libra. It then begins to move backwards through Libra. On October 15th, it will find itself all the way back at 7 and 1/2 degrees of Libra. By October 31st, it will make it out of its shadow period, when it reaches 22 and 1/2 degrees of Libra.

Why You Care

It's nothing to fear, but it is a period when a little extra care goes a long way. When a planet goes retrograde, and when it is in its shadow period before it's even begun moving backwards, the earthly things that planet symbolizes often start to behave in unusual ways more frequently than normal. Since Mercury rules communication, it rules all objects and methods that are used in communication, including fax machines, computers, email, and objects used in transit for short trips such as cars, buses, bikes, etc. So the stereotypical but not-so-funny-at-the-time snafus begin to happen: parking tickets, undelivered/misdelivered emails, computer programs not working correctly, any electronic equipment malfunctioning or breaking - you get the picture.

We seem more vulnerable to miscommunication during this period, especially if you assume the other person understands you or don't think or see things through to their outcome without clarifying and double checking. Appointments missed or meeting places miscommunicated, arguments/hurt feelings created by lack of explanation or assumptions.

It is important at this time to communicate thoroughly and clearly, but the reason goes deeper than wanting to avoid troublesome circumstances. Any time a planet retrogrades, it is a time when reflection and review is needed. Frequently, during a Mercury retrograde period, we often find that some error or some miscommunication was set up a long time ago, and only now comes to light during the period of retrogradation. It's the Universe giving us a chance to clean up messes that have gone unnoticed for too long, so things come back so we can do that.

But sometimes it seems like a non-stop comedy of errors. Good luck, people.

International Astrology Day, March 20th 2011

International Astrology Day is the day that the Sun enters Aries and begins a new astrological year. This year it's on March 20th. Many great events are taking place all around the U.S. and world to celebrate, from conferences, to festivals & fairs, to online events. Here are a few I've found. Get out and meet your local astrological community!

Seattle Washington.TOTALLY FREE EVENT. March 20, noon to 3 pm, Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. Full details here.

Portland Oregon. $5 admission. March 19, 11:30-4:30. Full details here.

Eugene Oregon. $5-$10 donation suggested. March 19 2-4 pm. Maude Kerns Art Center , 1910 East 15th

San Francisco California. $80. March 19, 10-8. One day conference on outer planets. Full details here.

Los Angeles California. NCGR chapter. $5. March 20, 1pm. Private home of Angel Thompson 1809 Washington Way, Venice, CA 310-779-6878 near Abbot Kinney and Venice Blvd. Ful details here.

Roswell Georgia. FREE. Saturday March 19 from 11am to 7pm; Sunday March 20 from 1pm to 5pm. Details here.

York Pennsylvania. FREE Sunday, March 20, 10 AM to 5 PM at New Visions Books & Gifts 525 Hillcrest Road, York PA. RSVP by March 16 to Lisa Benjamin: Lisa@astromythic.com. Details here.

Omaha Nebraska. Psychic Full Moon Festival, Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 5:00pm - 9:00pm, PS Collective 6056 Maple St, Omaha, NE 68104. "Each reader will list their own prices at their table. Small cover charge at the door." Details here.

London England. Astrological Association of Great Britain. "will be gathering in their usual pub – the Union' at 88-90 George Street, London W1U 8PA from 7:30 PM to 11:00 PM on Saturday 21 March for a few drinks together." Details here.

AFAN, the Association For Astrological Networking, is keeping an updated list which contains these events and new ones as they become known here.

12 Signs of Procrastination

Aries procrastinates because it's too busy racing to comment !FIRST! to every Facebook and Blog post.

Taurus procrastinates because it is too comfy right now. Laziness is the new efficiency!

Gemini procrastinates because it's multi-tasking: write in 12 Across, text John Doe, place that order online ... WHOOPS WHAT'S THAT SHINY THING OVER THERE BERIGHTBACK!?

Cancer procrastinates because it has to make a mix tape to express how it feels about it before it can do it.

Leo procrastinates because it can. The peasants will just have to wait.

Virgo procrastinates because it requires something to be done perfectly and since it will never be perfect, it must never come to be!

Libra procrastinates because it simply can't decide what to do!

Scorpio procrastinates because it's got to get to the bottom of what's really going on before it can do anything about it.

Sagittarius procrastinates because it simply would rather be doing something more fun, and has gone off to do just that.

Capricorn procrastinates because it hasn't delegated, and therefore must do everything.

Aquarius procrastinates because it has to do it in a way no one else has done it yet.

Pisces procrastinates because it hasn't made it back down to earth yet.

Yes, I'm writing this instead of working on what I'm 'supposed' to be working on. That's the beauty of it!

Which Astrological Sign Am I Really? Beyond the 13th Sign Ophiuchus Debate

Today I got a question from a client of mine who has been experimenting with Vedic astrology. He was wondering about his sun sign because in the Vedic system of astrology, he's a Leo, but in Western astrology, he's a Virgo. He said he was really identifying with the creativity of Leo and feeling stifled by Virgo. He was unsure of which sign he really is and asked me which one was "real".

I really welcome this kind of question. It really opens the door to think about what astrology really is and what it can do beyond simplistic categorization of personality traits. It's an elegant system, but it is by no means as tidy as we'd like to think. Many people who are against or ambivalent about astrology balk at it because they can't believe that life can be reduced to 12 boxes--and they're right.

But even in more complex astrology, there is still the great mystery of life and its meaning. Astrology, like many other tools used to try and divine meaning and truth (psychology and other sciences are among them, not just tools of the so-called 'new age'), is not about definites, but about the act itself: sitting in the question and using a tool to focus one's attention on the question often yields results, even if that tools is simply two hands folded in prayer, to any god you like.

 

So here's what I told my client. What would you have said?

First of all, it makes sense that you'd identify with Leo to some extent. Leo is firey and you have two very strong elements in fire: Sagittarius rising and Sagittarius south node in the first house (possibly the most firey of all influences in your chart). Also, you have Venus in Leo. So there are plenty of factors in your western chart to 'explain' the identification with Leo.

Second, you might be going through something personal right now that wants to embody what you think Leo represents. Just for speculation, I could imagine that if someone was feeling thwarted or stifled for reasons they are unsure of or aren't sure what to do about, then identifying with a symbol that seems to mean more freedom and creativity would certainly give them hope, "true" or not.

This would be less of an astrological right or wrong thing as much as what symbols, metaphors, and archetypes speak to you, inside and outside of astrology. Astrology doesn't 'make you', it's just labels, and it can be useful because understanding the labels sometimes helps you understand more about what's inside. So if you don't want to be a Virgo because you don't like the sign, in a way you can't just change the label and make it true, yet in another way, the label doesn't actually matter anyway in a sense that it's what's inside that matters - the label is only to aid in deciphering the inside. "Mislabeling" something wouldn't change what it is, only the perception of what it is.

And third, perhaps the Vedic system as metaphor and philosophy just makes more sense to you. There are plenty of people form whom that's true (try almost ALL of India at least!) That's a big question that astrologers can't really agree on an answer to amongst themselves anyway. Some astrologers have tried to reconcile it by saying Vedic seems more true for fateful, event-based questions and Western for personality/psychology. Some choose sides. For me, I honestly (and not just to be politically correct, but sincerely) think whatever tool you use, western astrology, vedic astrology, tarot cards, palm reading, dice, tea leaves, phrenology, throwing the bones, runes, or any other silly thing is merely just a tool through which to 'scry', to divine meaning. So they are all 'real' to me, so long as as they are used skillfully and with clear intent. So, this, in a way, is a discomforting answer if you're looking for definition or certainty. But it's an answer that permits a lot of personal experimentation and freedom.

One more thing: astrology is truly only as good as its interpreter. Each sign and planet have a spectrum of traits and that spectrum is wide. Many people, for example, will think that their sign doesn't fit them at all, when really it's not the sign that's flawed, it's the narrow and sometimes poor interpretations of fallible  humans trying to dumb down a vast archetype into 20 'key'words or less. Hence everyone thinking that Scorpios are all about sex, and  Virgos are always  critical and all Cancers think about is having babies. Pop astrology and the true art of astrology are frighteningly far apart.

Whatever the reason for questioning one's astrological 'label', you are the final word on you.

---

Incidentally, a very interesting book was written a few years back called Under One Sky, in which several different astrologers employing different astrological interpretation techniques analyzed the same chart. Quite interesting!

Eddie Izzard

I just enjoyed watching Believe: the Eddie Izzard Story, and of course, less than half-way through I got curious about his chart. He's got a massive stellium in Aquarius with a Virgo Rising and Pluto right on the Ascendant.

The thing about Eddie that became apparent early on in the docu was not only how relentlessly he worked at his craft (6th house) but also how long it took him to receive any real praise for his work. He knew he wanted to be an actor and performer from age 16 and pressed on, constantly working and refining (Virgo Rising). Clearly it paid off but it was a long time in coming. That Mars/Saturn conjunction in the 5th house (performance) no doubt correlates with that stamina and commitment as well--believing in one's art and oneself.

Eddie Izzard is a transvestite and as that tends to not be the norm in social behavior, one might attribute that as the strongest trait of the 'rebel' Aquarius planets. But so much of Aquarius is being willing to believe in yourself even when no one else does. It's not just about confidence, but about knowing who you are, and Aquarius pursues that by stubbornly (a word many people, including Eddie, use to describe him) sticking to what they know to be true about themselves. They've got to, because so often they encounter situations when they are the only one that does believe in what they know about their true selves.

"It's what I call the madness. If you think you can perform and the whole world is saying that you can't perform then you're obviously mad. If you hold onto that madness and hold onto it and hold onto it and hold onto it for years and then later it comes good and you can actually perform, then it proves that you weren't mad. And you just have to surround that little bit of belief and hold onto it as long as you can."

His south node in Aquarius is conjunct the Sun, which rules his north node and, contrariwise, Uranus, which rules his south node, is in the same sign and house as his north node. With this unofficial 'mutual reception', there seems to be a theme of believing in yourself carried over from the past to the present and future, but moving from the Aquarian way of doing so, which can sometimes fall into the habit of expecting people to think you're a freak and you don't belong and using that as a reason to be on the fringe or not participate in society or show your stuff (except as a way to shock or rebel), to a Leonine way of doing so, which is very celebratory and inclusive, even if it doesn't put one on center stage (or even if it does as in this case!)

His biopic is called "Believe" because of something a friend said to him. During one of his street performances at Covent Garden, someone in the audience had tied him up quite tightly so he could do his escape artist bit, and he couldn't get out; he had to dismiss the audience and have someone else untie him. His friend said: "if you think you can't get out, you will not be able to get out. You have to believe you'll get out; it's psychological."

'You've got to believe you can be a stand up before you can be a stand up, you've got to believe you can be an actor before you can be an actor, you've got to believe you can be an astronaut before you can be an astronaut. You've got to believe; you've got to imagine yourself in that situation,' Eddie says.

Seems like a quintessential statement for a combination of things in his chart: the imagination and faith of a Pisces Moon, and the stubborn dedication of the 6th house planets and Mars/Saturn in Aquarius, surely.

What about his Virgo Ascendant? It certainly echoed the non-stop dedication to work, and it was clear that he was always working to perfecting his act, and he's also not lacking in humility when self-assessing. At one point in the film he's talking about developing his technique for shifting from street/acting performance to stand-up:

"So in the end I decided to just work on one show until it was good and then people would come, as opposed to write shoddy, quick stuff and then shove it in people's faces and say 'look, it's brilliant'. Cuz it wasn't."

With Pluto on the Ascendant in Virgo the dedication can turn into obsession, especially if there's a feeling of not being good enough (and let's face it, there always is when Virgo is present--that's the fuel it burns!). One might chalk his dedication and relentlessness up to the 6th house and Mars conjunct Saturn once again,but other people in his life realize and remark how he always seems to be running from or toward something or both with his relentless schedule (9 in the morning until 3 or 4 am every night, they say!). All of these factors might exhibit these behaviors, but where we find Pluto, we tend to find defense mechanisms and escapist techniques to outrun our fear and our deepest pain. Eddie's mother died when he was young and toward the end of the film when thinking of her, he realizes in an emotional moment: "everything I do in life is trying to get her back ... I think if I do enough things that maybe she'll come back ... yeah, I think that's what I'm doing."

Astrological Forecast for 2011: Vive la Révolution!

The new year begins with Jupiter, planet of possibility, hope, and expansion, conjuncting Uranus, planet of change, innovation, and rebellion, on January 4th. There is a feeling of "new beginning" with this one, even thought it's at the end of the last sign of the zodiac, and it's compounded by the fact that the first (partial) solar eclipse of the year also occurs on this day (a new moon). Uranus and Jupiter together create a big leap toward freedom: Uranus wanting to crash through barriers and Jupiter wanting to climb higher and higher, neither one wanting to be confined, told no, or follow the rules. In Pisces, heart-centered knowing and intuitive response to life is highlighted. This is happening in 27 degrees of Pisces, so wherever you find this degree in your chart, a revisioning wants to take place.

This is not about picking apart your vision and disillusioning yourself, but actually becoming re-inspired, allowing yourself to hope again. With the first significant planetary meeting being these two 'freedom lovers', and the last year or two being very challenging for many people as the new Pluto in Capricorn energy forced us to deflate and deal with the real, Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces are encouraging you to unfurl from the fetal position. Come out from under that rock. Do you dare to look beyond the survivalism that has governed many of us in the past couple of years? What do you wish for the year? For your future? This is not the time for new year's resolutions (a Capricorn word), it's the time for new year's possibilities.

Fresh off the last Mercury retrograde which ended December 30th, every planet starts out the new year direct, a good feeling of forward motion. Jupiter steps on the gas when it enters Aries on January 22nd while Saturn's putting on the brakes on January 25th, stationing retrograde. Jupiter and Saturn are often considered 'planetary pairs', maintaining a natural yin-yang relationship with each other (Jupiter expanding and hopeful, Saturn contracting and realistic), but the difference between them becomes ever more apparent as they reside in opposing signs. Jupiter in Aries wants to thrust forward, staking its claim, while Saturn, retrograde in Libra, makes it even more challenging to do the Libran work of bridging the gap between people, ideas, systems. Polarities in every corner, from political, religious, business, and social environments are likely to become more apparent and problematic, as the emphasis seems to be tipping from Saturn's admonishment of 'let's all get along' to Jupiter fanning the flame of 'I deserve better and more.' And apparently this is just what we need.

Besides the obvious relationship-oriented Libran energy and the me-oriented Arien energy, a more subtle balancing act is at work. Saturn in Libra is about teamwork and getting sometimes opposing sides to find a compromise, but sometimes in the pursuit of the happy medium, stalemate occurs. Heads butt and no one wants to concede, so nothing gets done. The fire of Jupiter in Aries being direct while Saturn takes a back seat for a while can be used to break up stuck energies by getting us to reconnect with what we want and to act on it while too much vacillation in waiting for everyone to sign on or no one to be offended has been failing.

Can this passion be overdone? Most certainly. With Uranus joining the fray and entering Aries on March 11th, the push for the 'don't-fence-me-in-I'm-gonna-do-what-I-want-with-or-without-your-agreement' is gigantic, and Jupiter's capacity for overdoing things can get the better of us. It's quite possible to use all the rebellious, entitled, impulsiveness to wreck what we've achieved so far. Oppositions are about a balance of energies. We're being given a chance to remember that compromise and sharing doesn't mean the loss of our will or our passion (Aries) and flatlining with a plastic smile on our faces. It means finding a way, finding common ground. From their meeting in Pisces (re-visioning) to Aries (action), we are being urged not necessarily to trample others, but not to hesitate or hold back our desires, either.

'Moderation in all things,' Libra would remind us. 'Including moderation,' Aries would add.

Where Aries begins in your natal chart is where you're being urged to begin a revolution, or continue the one that began last summer when they joined up in Aries in 2010. Jupiter and Uranus will both come within range of squaring Pluto in Capricorn (although Uranus will never be exactly square Pluto--it will get closest around the end of July). Part of the transformative power of Pluto in the sign of Capricorn is to strip away all the dead cells of systems, governments, rules, and structures that don't work and have already begun to decay.

It's not about being opposed to systems, rules, and structures but about creating BETTER systems, rules, and structures that ARE supportive and DO what they are supposed to do. A good visual might be to imagine a building that appears to be in good order simply because it's still standing, but should actually be condemned and demolished because its insides have become completely unsafe and crumbling and its now a fire hazard. Jupiter and Uranus entering Aries and squaring Pluto in Capricorn can be the kind of purging, demolishing fire to create regrowth, but it can be a powerful and destructive force to be caught up in. During the summer months (June-August), each of the personal planets will trigger the energy of this square 2 or 3 times, provoking it and INvoking it, causing this period of time to seem the most volatile and create the most events to manifest. Chaos may seem to reign but creation is always messy.

 

"Today many things indicate that we are going through a transitional period. When it seems that something is on the way out, and something else is painfully being born. It is as if something were crumbling, decaying, and exhausting itself while something else, still indistinct, were arising from the rubble."--Vaclav Havel

 

The 'revolution' each of us may have on a personal level is, at its heart, about freedom, and not the kind of passive "I'm grateful to live in a free country" mantra we say when we speak in school about freedom. Whether it's the freedom to discover who you really are, the freedom to speak your mind, the freedom to love who you want to love, the freedom to perform the mission you were meant for in this world, it's about passion, not passivity. It's not about what you have the 'right' to do or be--that almost comes second to the force of doing or being itself. Something is being born and it needs to force of life and the desire for it to do it. This is not about counting your blessings, this is about Seizing The Day.

This is also a time of deconditioning ourselves--not just large systems, but our own internal response to it. We ingest what we are fed by the 'system'  and then it regulates us from the inside. Capricorn is about what is considered socially respectable and Capricorn's ruling planet, is in Libra, a sign that knows how to fit in. With Pluto in Capricorn, the it's the deconstruction of what's been conditioned in us as right, appropriate, and the unquestioned traditions of what you're supposed to do to be an upright citizen, a good man/woman/homeowner/parent/you-name-it. Jupiter and Uranus in Aries can speed that deconstruction along, but our personal Pluto-in-Capricorn journey has to start with us recognizing what we've agreed to because that's just the way it's done.

Total anarchy and rebellion isn't necessarily required (frankly, I'm thankful for traffic laws and schools and other things societal regulations have benefitted us) but it's time for these things to be looked at more suspiciously to clear out the cobwebs. Planets or angles in your natal chart between 3-8 degrees of cardinal signs, especially, are being affected deeply by this Pluto deconstruction. What are the 'laws' you have internalized? What have you chained yourself to voluntarily? We are invited to look closely at those handcuffs and see whether or not the key to them doesn't just happen to be in OUR pocket and not the guard's pocket.

Just a couple of weeks after Uranus enters Aries, Jupiter in Aries opposes Saturn in Libra on March 28th, again bringing a confrontation between the work of creating true harmony and real, fair, balanced structures (Saturn in Libra) in a way that isn't so crippling that it debilitates our individual will and growth potential as a force of our own (Jupiter in Aries).There may be an effect where things in our individual lives (and the larger story of the world around us) explode from the pressure of 'revolution meets regulation' and come to a head while these squares are in effect. However, Jupiter will enter Taurus on June 4th and shortly follow it's square up with a trine to Pluto on July 7th, almost as if to say 'now that I've kicked up a fuss and gained a little elbow room for myself, I can play a bit nicer, just so long as I've made my point.' It can also be about stabilizing what has just been 'painfully born.'

Neptune takes its first step into Pisces in over a century, dipping its toe in its own sign from April 4th to August 4th before retreating back to Aquarius until 2012. So far we've seen Neptune in Aquarius, closely aligned with Chiron in the last couple of years, making us aware of our humanity, connecting us, many times through our own woundedness, unifying us THROUGH and BECAUSE OF our humanity. Equal rights become the focus as we are made conscious of the real pain NOT having equal rights creates in the lives of all those people who are considered to stand out in some way because they are not normal (Aquarius: the outcast). Neptune in Pisces takes us further into that, dissolving more boundaries between us, maybe even prompting us to unite in a collective mythology as human beings a la "We Are The World." In Aquarius, we should all, as individuals, have equal rights. In Pisces, we simply are One.
 
The big paradox here, then, seems to be us figuring out how to be individuals as well as part of a global community. Aries, the beginning sign of the zodiac, the power of the will and life itself, and Pisces, the ending sign of the zodiac, the merge into the great ocean, the dissolving of boundaries--this paradox has our sense of the world and ourselves constantly changing sizes like Alice in Wonderland: Are we one or are we many?

 

"The single planetary civilization to which we all belong confronts us with global challenges. We stand helpless before them because our civilization has essentially globalized only the surfaces of our lives. But our inner self continues to have a life of its own."--Vaclav Havel

Uniting the best of Aries and Pisces seems to urge us to bring our best selves to the table--not our most behaved selves or our most perfect selves, but our most passionate selves, and contribute that to the global comunity. "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."--Harold Whitman

Rethinking Venus: Venus Retrograde in Scorpio

As with any craft, the longer you're in it, the deeper you want to go into its components to get better and better at it overall. Most people understand that after you've been doing something a long time and can do it in your sleep, you can get bored with your craft. I've been doing astrology long enough to fall prey to the boredom, I'm sure, but I never get bored.

Instead, I get confused.

I know all the puzzle pieces in astrology. Insert planet A into sign B and all that. Some people might say I've even gotten pretty good at twisting those pieces around into little pockets of meaning (I did write a book and all, I suppose). While many people spend time trying to figure out the next new puzzle on their horizon such as midpoints or sesquiquadrates or the elusive triple-yod-summersault-dismount trickybob, I like to dig as deeply as I can into the elegance of the core components of astrology: the planets, signs, and houses; to re-enchant myself with the foundations themselves. I know it's time for another excavacation when suddenly everything I seem to know about one of these components simply dissolves when I try to pick it up. File empty. These days, ask me about Venus and I'll search my brain's database, only to find that the files have been stolen and a sticky note left in its place: "I.O.U."

And then, like a good little Virgo with Capricorn Rising, I panic and fret while all the while trying to fake it so I can keep my reputation in good standing. Yes, yes, Venus, yes. Be right with you. Just, um, gathering my thoughts and opening up my programs. Wait, where's my laser pointer and my headset?!

It's not that I've forgotten the keywords. I can recite them just as well as the next good little astrological monkey. Venus: Relationships, Charm, Beauty, Creativity, Art, and so on. But it's not enough to parrot the words inherited from every beginning astrology book one's read. This 8th house girl has to know WHY? What are the roots that have birthed these branches? It's come time for me to dig into the very soil from which our modern understanding of the Venus archetype has grown. So I'm dutifully going about it in Gemini south node fashion: a stack of books and a list of mp3 workshop recordings, and back to the myths themselves to do my own distillation process. Hopefully when I stir them all in the 8th-house pot, the themes, truths, and patterns will rise to the Neptune-in-Sagittarius-conjunct-my-north-node frothy top.

Is it a coincidence that I've got the Venus Research bug as it retrogrades in Scorpio, the sign of research and mysteries, over my Midheaven? Goddess, I hope not!

I hope to have more to offer in the future, but my preliminary findings (one with Cap Rising must talk like that to sound official, you do understand) have drawn my attention to the trouble with the white-washed Venus that has been most celebrated. Venus wants to make everything 'pretty', just like herself, right? She wants us all to get along and play nice, or at least pretend to play nice. I'm not interested in standing on a feminism soapbox here as much as I'm interested in wholeness, as in, don't just show me the pretty parts, show me all of it (even you, Venus). It's not about finding the tabloid dirt on Venus to prove how ugly she really is. What really intrigues me is the definition of beauty itself, beyond the symmetry of faces or the argument of pastels over fluorescents. I found this paragraph from Anne Massey's book Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols & Myths to be particularly provocative:

Our view of Venus has become sanitized over the centuries, removing whatever we as a society are not comfortable accepting. This would naturally account for the fact that we still like to place women on pedestals where we can admire their beauty (and no doubt lament the lack of our own in some way by comparison, I'd like to add). Fashion magazines are a prime example. The faces of women who grace the pages have been airbrushed to the extent that there appear to be no lines, creases, or imperfections, let alone a wrinkle or a laugh line. With each brush stroke, a part of the woman's personality has been erased. (italics mine, bold added)

Venus is retrograding through Scorpio right now (I think I mentioned that!), creating a seemingly perfect time for us all to ask questions about the raw truth that lies beneath any image of beauty or any bonds of love. In marital love, for example, we recognize the lines from the age-old vow: "for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part." Well. We can certainly recognize Saturn's stamp on all of that. After all, until death do us part is pretty committed and serious. But we can recognize Venus in it too, I hope (especially in Scorpio). The depth of the passion in a commitment like that has to be profound.

We don't like to think about it, but Scorpio knows the frightening truth of love in the face of poorer, sickness, and death. As Venus retrogrades through this sign, perhaps we are being shown what is terribly beautiful in its power and horror, not just pretty or easy. Singer Lily Allen (May 2 1985) has just lost her baby at 6 months pregnant, while Venus in Scorpio retrograded right over her Pluto. Love meets horror and loss? You betcha.

So what is my point, that Venus, and especially Venus in Scorpio, is actually ugly, frightening, painful and ultimately ends in death? No, it's even worse. That the face of Venus that is love, human love, contains all those things, Scorpio or not. Retrograde or not. It also contains timelessness, ascension, safety through the howling winds that life blows at us sometimes, vulnerability in the best sense, and every love song you've ever heard. Let's honor its raw and provocative power that isn't always pretty, but supersedes prettiness with its elegance and flawed purity.

This is one of the best Venus in Scorpio photos I know, and surprise, surprise, it has nothing to do with leather, vampires, or heavy eye makeup:

photo credit: unknown. Do you know? Please comment and let me in on it!

So how does the chart reveal the similarities but the differences alike? There are a few theories, such as the idea that twins 'split up' the chart's energies and express some traits stronger than their twin or that environmental factors make up the other half of the astrological picture, that external stimulus and life events dictate how each twin uses their chart to respond to life. Or is it the core of modern astrology and the belief in free will: that no one can predict what an individual soul's choices will be, only their lessons, struggles, and strengths?

Countdown to your Soulmate? Love, Astrology, and Fate

With the Sun in Libra, the horoscopes inevitably turn to relationship talk. But with Saturn in Libra too, we're focusing not on true love or happily ever after, but how to make these things real. What are the real steps to finding love and making it last? How do we know we're with the 'right' person? Forget the romance of soul mates, Saturn says. Once you find love, how do you manage to live with them and stay in love?

Astrology, at least predictive astrology, tracks life's internal (and external) clock. The timing of events--when they'll take place and what they might be--is a big deal in astrology, and the biggest question is often When will I get married/find love? Even more important than wealth, a successful career, or a healthy mental attitude, the question of love seems to top the charts.

Can astrology tell you when you'll meet the one? Some astrologers say no. Some astrologers say maybe.

What if a clock, astrological or not, could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate?

In the movie Timer, Oona is dying to meet her soulmate. She obsesses about it and her decisions about life and relationships, even casual ones, are marked by it. She's a woman with a mission. Her timer is blank, which means her soulmate, wherever he is, has not yet had a timer implanted himself. Oona tentatively dates men without timers, convincing them to get one as soon as she can bring it up, so she can see if they are her 'one'. "What's the point in continuing without a guarantee?" she says.

So many questions are brought up by this concept; my Libran Mercury in the 9th house is spinning with weighing the options. Your timer doesn't guarantee you'll instantly like/love the person. It will only identify that they are your soulmate. What if you meet your soulmate before you're even of an age to sustain a mature relationship? What if you get a timer and it says you won't meet your soulmate until your 50s or beyond? And if you're not due to meet your soulmate until much later, do you abstain from relationship and sex until you find your one like Oona, or do you have fling after fling like Steph? What if you accidentally fall in love with someone who's not your soulmate? Gasp! And the big one: should you get one or not?

Would you opt for one? Why or why not?

The timer brings up more questions than just whether or not one has a soulmate. It's based on a big assumption that fate is in precise operation; not just fate in love, but fate in life: that your decisions will lead you to the same place as the decisions of one other specific person and you will meet up at the right and fateful moment. Can't miss. While some people believe in fate to that extent, others think this idea sounds absurd. Yet that's exactly what happens every day - two people find themselves in the right place at the right time and begin a relationship. If it leads nowhere, they think nothing of it. But if it leads to happily ever after, they may look back and think about 'that fateful day,' saying things like "little did we know that our lives were about to change forever..."

Is astrology our timer? Not implanted in our wrist, but in our very DNA, as symbolized by our entrance on earth at an exact moment? This astrologer thinks its not that easy. But nevermind that land mine; try this one on for size: The timer brings up the same question that astrology does for a lot of people:

Do you want to know your future?

It's fun to speculate which signs may want to know the future and which wouldn't. Earth signs Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn might like it so they can plan for the future (and Capricorn will probably take it all the way to the couples retirement plan and have a honeymoon savings account). Fire signs Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius, with their love of living in the moment, may not enjoy being confined to a feeling of fatefulness, no matter how lovely the prize. Aquarius might say not out of a distate for being so predictable. Gemini might be too curious to avoid it, and try getting a final answer about the question out of Libra! And the mysterious water signs: I can picture Cancer, with it's desire for security leaving it wanting to know, but I think the water signs in general, including Scorpio and especially Pisces, could go either way: loving the obsession or the romance of it all or respecting the mystery of life and its ability to change and to surprise us, like a moving river.

If the answer can be reduced to an equation in the natal chart, it certainly isn't just sun sign.

But what about the timing of love in astrology, you say? Many say there are time-honored and accurate techniques in predicting love and marriage. But the astrology I've encountered merely shows me potential and freedom in those potentials. If your progressed Venus croses into your 7th house, are you destined to get married, meet your best friend, or begin an art business with a female partner? The potentials are just that: potentials.

So, soul mates, yay or nay? And if so, would you want to know? Here's some wise words in closing from one of my favorite tv gals, whom I have to say, I agree with for the most part:

(ignore the subtitles!)

Project Runway Season 8: Gretchen Jones, Master Manipulator or Misjudged?

Though it is my favorite show on television no matter what the season, season 8 of Project Runway hasn't exactly been the most scintillating of all the seasons (I still miss season 4's Christian Siriano, what can I say!?) but it did get somewhat more interesting when Tim dressed down designer Gretchen Jones for "manipulating, controlling and bullying" her team members in episode 5.

Gretchen said she was hurt by what Tim said. In her after show video blog, she said she was trying to be a cheerleader, not a leader. She said she didn't try to tell people what to make but just went around making sure people finished what they'd committed to.

Gretchen has a Capricorn Sun, as well as Mercury in Capricorn conjunct her south node, so she comes with a wealth of instinctual knowledge about how to get things done. She is practical and has a good sense of how to manage time and materials in general, but also an inherent ability to strategize. Not only does Capricorn provide that ability, but Mercury so close to her south node means she inherently comes with a strong and logical mind. When she focuses on a goal, she immediately starts working out the steps to get there.

Capricorn has been called the sign of the 'manager' because of these traits of know-how coupled with an ability to see how the bigger picture needs to shape up. When Gretchen was "making sure people finished what they'd committed to," she was in prime Capricorn form. Capricorn is not known for it's compassion or sensitivity, mostly because of another saying that we find in the astrological literature of Capricorn frequently which is the phrase "ends justify the means." Capricorn is more concerned with getting to the goal than how it gets there. A Capricorn ideally wants to live with integrity and be thought of well, but it's often not about being liked rather than being respected. Getting what they set out to do done and being a person of their word is a Capricorn intention.

However, the excesses of Capricorn's fixation on the end goal can end up manipulative. While Capricorn isn't sneaky in the same way that maybe Scorpio or Gemini might be, they can be quite hungry for accomplishment and prestige. Gretchen seemed to suffer from hubris after her first two wins right out of the gate which probably fueled her solar ego and allowed The Boss to come out, steering others, however indirectly or unintentionally, toward the ends she wanted.

Her seeming backpedaling (according to the judges, not her) on her opinion of Team Luxe's collection (first she seems proud of it, then she's calling it garbage that she had to salvage) can be attributed to her Mars in Libra. For Libra, everything is relative, and her desire for approval (Libra) clashes in her chart with her desire for respect (Capricorn) in sometimes incongruous ways, like it did in this example. We defend ourselves with our Mars too, so her style of defending herself (in Libra) is likely to be in almost siding with the opposing opinion to diffuse the confrontation. Once her Capricorn Sun was sure she wasn't aligned with a success, her Mars in Libra took over to agree and diffuse, hence the backpedaling.

Was she truly hurt by Tim's remarks? Her Pisces moon suggests she was. With Pluto conjunct Saturn in Libra, squaring her nodes, her interactions with other people are probably often the trickiest spot in her life. She probably has difficulty trusting others and sharing space with others, not out of a lack of desire, but with Capricorn being more comfortable for her (south node), the challenge of softening and sharing clashes with her independent and self-sufficient nature, so it's easier to just get things done rather than bringing people's feelings and ideas into the mix and letting it complicate things.

Her Pisces moon, though, suggests she does have a very tender heart and doesn't want to hurt others. But even her Venus in detached Aquarius makes it difficult to see her soft side until you've gained her trust. We can probably expect her to keep trooping on and getting the job done on Project Runway.

Happy Birthday Carl Jung! An Astrological Vignette

It's Carl Jung's would-be 135th birthday today, so in celebration, I'm taking a look at his natal chart. According to Astro.com's calculations, he has about 1-1/2 degrees Aquarius Rising with an "A" birth time accuracy rating. Click the image to enlarge the chart.

For more on Carl Jung, be sure to follow the links below to read my posts about Carl Jung and the Publication of his Red Book. All charts interpreted throughout this blog are done so via the Evolutionary Astrology philosophy and methodology, which you can read more about here and here.

Starting with the south node and the past/prior-life carryover influences, his south node is found in Libra in the 8th house, indicating a strong ability and predisposition toward awareness of the nuances of the hidden layers that take place in any human transaction. He would rarely take refuge in certainty, but be more inclined to recognize that for everything he observed and every conclusion one could come to, there were always more possibilities and equally opposite possibilities. He came into this world with an inherent understanding of how to balance these possibilities by committing to none wholeheartedly, at first.

On a personal level, a south node in the 8th house in Libra carries double partnership themes: first through the obvious association of Libra, being the sign of relationship, but secondarily through the 8th house, commonly referred to as the place of "other people's resources." Often a south node in the 8th house finds someone who tends to take shelter in another, whether it's financially, emotionally, or multiple levels, and/or is at least very influenced by the presence of another, as either a symbiotic relationship or a one-sided dependence.

Venus, the ruler of the south node, is found in the 6th house in Cancer. The 6th house experience may find him with a tendency toward subservience or deference to others, especially those who he perceives to be an authority to him in some way. There is an innate humility that may have often worked against him, since the planet that rules his south node also squares it. In Cancer, perhaps this was most often done with family members; or a not so literal translation may be a tendency to withdraw into himself, perhaps to hide a feeling of shame, unworthiness or a sense of not measuring up.

Given the overall amount of 7th house, Libra, and Venus importance in his chart, the tendency toward a being split inside himself or a tendency to project part of what he may see in himself onto another instead, seems great. An example of this is his well-documented feeling of living in two worlds: one in the present as a normal schoolboy, the other as a sort of melancholy, 18th century hermit, studying the mysteries and living in "God's World"¹.

Mercury is also squaring his nodes, indicating his opinions, intellect, and ability to communicate what he intuitively knew was at stake in how he was to evolve in the current life. His 'voice,' or lack of voice/speaking up', could have given him some karmic problems in the past.

His north node lies in Aries in the 2nd house, which speaks to a need to end the second-guessing, playing too nice, and hesitating/indecisive tendencies that might accompany a Libran south node, and to be less invested in what others think or will accept (and hiding what they won't accept) and just putting it out there, standing behind it and himself, developing enough confidence in himself to be able to stand on his own without 'backup' or endless justifications, proof, explanations or hand-holding. There no longer needs to be an investment in convincing others to be on his side and supporting him (Libra, 8th house), but a trust in one's own support, power, and will to be more than enough. To go out on a limb for himself, so to speak.

The Venus and Mercury conjunction in Cancer in the 6th house might have him going through the work and study to gain enough skill and practice to be able to back that confidence up. Teachers/partners would probably come along that would spark his own intellect, which he would then carry forward with until it was time to move forward into independence (toward the north node lesson) instead of backward into reliance on the shelter that the teacher's theories and opinions might provide, even if Jung himself differed (which he did, often, the most famous case, but not certainly an isolated one, being the split between he and Freud).

Everything in his chart conspired to move him forward in his soul work, with his cooperation and choice (more or less; some things just land on us and force us forward!) Here are just a few of them:

• His Sun on that 7th house cusp, which indicates a need to develop a strong sense of ego awareness and identity within the context of relationship, but often as an outgrowth of it, as a way to contrast what he is from the person he is trying to relate to. Of course a Leo Sun helps to have a healthy sense of self-referencing. Uranus not too far away ensures a constant need to detach from partnership when it threatens his freedom or forces too much compromise to his integrity.

• Aquarius Rising presents a view of the world that is markedly set apart from 'the norm', a unique filter that is always set apart, seeing what is different as objectively as possible. Saturn in Aquarius in the first house indicates the challenge of creating a new, internal (Rx) structure that reflects this difference, the ability to detach from expectation to be in integrity with oneself and one's true nature. Saturn is widely opposed Uranus (as it is exactly in the sky today at the time of this writing, on Jung's birthday), indicating the dance between breaking free of someone's hold on him and recognizing that the freedom only comes from creating the internal rules of true independence, without the shelter of another's approval or dependence on the rebellious urge at their disapproval to propel him into that autonomy that must be built brick by brick on his own. Saturn's location in our chart often reveals where we must stand alone ('on our own two feet').

• Pluto in the 3rd house reveals a potential attachment to ideas and the seeking of new ideas, which would constantly have one pulling ideas apart and constantly questioning, something that can work poorly (or TOO well, depending on your perspective) with a Libra south node, which can have a tendency to vacillate. However, Pluto is in Taurus, along with the Moon in this house and sign as well, indicating that the comfort zone is more likely to be in fixed ideas and/or hard data. It is in a T-square with the Saturn Uranus opposition, indicating that his views, his ability to form conclusions as well as renew them when needful, is a huge factor in resolving the "your way/my way" dilemma for him.

• Finally, the Yod, involving Pluto's quincunx to Jupiter and Mars (and the sextile between those two). A Yod tends to produce a feeling of 'mission', a feeling of being propelled/compelled forward, almost as if one's will is overridden by a higher will like a monkey on one's back (or the 'finger of god' as the Yod is often referred to). The Yod's top two points have a personal, spiritual truth component to them. Jupiter, representing one's sense of larger truth is in the 8th house, indicating that these truths have a gut/intuitive feel to them, and come from the unconscious, from dreams, from archetypes and mythology, from hidden messages and symbolism, and a natural talent with those things.

Mars, in Sagittarius, echoes Jupiter here, but also has it's own meaning: the will and resultant actions that need to be taken to deliver one's truth to the masses, through publication, speaking, or any number of methods. But it all hinges on the Pluto work: detaching appropriate from the security of only presenting the facts and common sense and provable, and discounting other ways of knowing, while all the while they surge in him.

This may be why the Red Book was such an intense and frightening undertaking for him (which actually began with black books), for it represented a voluntary dive into the madness he perceived that was creeping up on him from around the edges of his sanity. Read more about the Astrology of the Red Book here. Read more about Carl Jung here or here.

1 Reference: Red Book, page 195

Constance McMillen: Uranus and the Art of Being Yourself

Constance McMillen is the 18 year old Mississippi girl that wanted to bring her girlfriend to the prom and sparked nationwide interest when her request was denied, her prom cancelled, and a 'decoy' prom created as an attempt to satisfy and thus silence her. Perhaps some may say it's old news by this time, but Constance McMillen caught my attention again today and I decided to have a look at her chart.

Constance was born January 5th, 1992,¹ during the Uranus Neptune conjunction in Capricorn. She's also a Capricorn Sun, so she's carrying quite a bit of Capricorn energy, as are many kids around her age.²

Without a birth time, only the planet in sign placements can be determined, which is unfortunate, but still so revealing. Constance has 4 planets in Capricorn, the Sun, Moon, Uranus, and Neptune, as well as her north node, all lined up in one big stellium cluster.³

Her Sun and Uranus in a tight conjunction so the very core character traits and principles that make up her identity (Sun) are fused to the process of individuation (Uranus): sifting through what one's been conditioned to be by society, family, the media, etc. and discarding what doesn't ring authentically true about who you really are.

A strong Uranus is a classic signature for rebellion, yet Constance has said sincerely in interviews that she did not intend to do it to be rebellious or cause an uproar, she simply wanted to be herself and go to her own school's prom, as she felt should be her right. "I'm not going to go to prom and pretend I'm not gay. There's no point"--she said in an interview on Ellen. With Uranus principles being such a core component of her identity, Constance's challenge isn't to rebel against societal pressure as much as it is to be independent of it, to be able to know what is right for who she is and assert that, live that truth. Rebellion happens on the frequent occasion that what we want isn't in alignment with what others want us to be, and we have to break from convention and disappoint and annoy others. But Uranus itself is pursuing your own Truth and your inherent human right to do so.

Neptune is conjunct her Sun on the other side, also rather closely, aligning her identity with a strong sense of idealism, and a consciousness pointed toward the highest and purest ideals. Neptune can also represent a place in our lives where our personal boundaries are low. Neptune is where we are open, spiritually, empathetically, and intuitively. Yet Uranus often represents where we have strong boundaries, even when we don't necessarily intend to, because our apparent and inherent differences from the mainstream become most obvious with Uranus' location in our chart (and the area of life that it's location represents). So we naturally feel a boundary, a distance from others, in this area of our lives.

With Neptune close to her Sun as well, and her relative youth and inexperience, there is a vulnerability to overidentifying with the ideal, what she's representing on a larger scale overpowering her own sense of self. She could get swept up into others' well-meaning plan for her by using her to push an agenda, which would be just as problematic for her, in a way, as it would be for her to have compromised her rights and personal truth in the first place by allowing authorities to tell her who she can and can't accompany to prom.

It's a good thing she's got experienced advocates on her side, such as her mother's friends (elders=Capricorn) who encouraged her to go to the ACLU (the American Civil Liberties Union)  and the ACLU itself, an organization (organizations & institutions = Capricorn) dedicated to equal human rights on many fronts. With all her Capricorn in her chart, she will benefit from experienced elders showing her the way to achieve her goals, but she is inherently developing self-sufficiency and the ability to self-govern. Building a strong sense of identity over her life will incorporate her becoming stronger and more committed to living according to her own integrity and ability to stay clear about her personal goals and agenda.

She comes from the small part of a generation that had Uranus and Neptune actually conjunct in Capricorn, a mini generation that seems like it will be the new lawmakers, who will not only revolutionize (Uranus) the law-making process but also create new rules based on an ideal (Neptune) of individual rights (Uranus). It's appropriate that she's utilizing an organization (the ACLU) to change the rules themselves, rather than just rebelling outside of the system, which would not bring about the system changes that represent the actual changes needed. Uranus and Neptune in Capricorn is about a vision of making people outside of conventional definitions have a place within the system. That's a tall order!

She's also part of the Pluto in Scorpio generation which is carrying the work begun by the Pluto in Libra generation of marriage equality into the sexual freedom component of the marriage issue, pushing the taboo of "alternative" sexual preferences into the light, perhaps even making them less 'alternative' than ever before.

But back to Constance herself. She's not an attention getter. Her south node is in Cancer, which is typically a more introverted and cautious energy, and her wealth of Capricorn tends to present a more conservative style of self-expression. Her Mercury and Mars are conjunct each other in Sagittarius, another indication of a girl with passion for her ideas and ideals. Saturn lies in Aquarius, indicating it's difficult for her to do the work of allowing herself to be truly herself. It will take discipline to step out of the Capricornian desire for others to view her as respectable without catering to rules that are not appropriate for her. She's probably a good, down to earth student (3.86 gpa!) who happens to have been thrust into the spotlight for doing the difficult but ultimately self-affirming work of just being herself. Applause!

_{1: Birth Data Source: Constance's MySpace Blog
2: The Uranus Neptune conjunction in Capricorn was in effect from 1990 to 1994, with the strongest periods in 1992 & 1993.
3: Since no birth time is known, the moon's position is potentially false. However, it was in the sign of Capricorn all day, so her Moon must be in the sign of Capricorn, although if she were born in the evening, it will be further separated from the stellium.}

_{Photo credit: AP Photo via McMillen's family}

What is Evolutionary Astrology?

Evolutionary Astrology is a term that has been coined by Steven Forrest and Jeff Green, to refer to a set of techniques as well as a philosophy in practicing astrology. Evolutionary astrology (often referred to in shorthand as simply "EA") is practiced in an individual way by each practitioner, but there are basic ideas¹ that are central to the core of its philosophy and its techniques.

The Philosophy: Evolution

 Evolutionary Astrology. It's most basic principle is right in its name: that humans evolve, over the course of their life as well as from lifetime to lifetime. Reincarnation is at the core of evolutionary astrology philosophy, but it's not so much a doctrine as it is a natural observation in that babies and children don't seem to be entirely a product of their environment; there seems to be something inherent in their personality, their needs and desires (above merely the physical needs for food and emotional need for safety & love). There is 'someone home' even in a new being, so evolutionary astrology seeks to understand what came before.

Evolutionary astrology orients around the natal chart from the perspective that the chart reflects the past, the present, and the future. The chart reveals the past by showing the orientation of the soul as it entered this life, and what came before. It reveals the future by illustrating what the purpose of the incarnation is and why someone has the birth chart they have in the first place. The present unfolds in the entire dynamic of the natal chart 'toolbox' as we make choices in how to use those tools over the course of our life.

What is the natural orientation of this soul and what did this soul bring forward with it as it begins this life? What is the purpose for the incarnation at all? What has this soul come to learn or experience? Evolutionary astrology looks at these questions by looking at the birth chart as essentially the toolbox, the character traits that soul has come to develop and the lessons its come to learn to fulfill it's reason for the incarnation to begin with. The birth chart is not what you are, it's what you're becoming.

In a way, evolutionary astrology is very similar to psychological astrology or any kind of spiritual/karmic view of astrology. It is about digging deeper than prediction or character trait analysis, to reveal the chart as a more dynamic soul plan rather than just a snapshot of one's sealed fate. Evolutionary astrology also comes with a set of techniques that further differentiate it.

The Techniques: Pluto and the Nodes

Aside from the fact that evolutionary astrology interprets every sign, planet, and house as a range of possibilities rather than the perspective of fate or only a possibility of one outcome, such as Saturn in the 7th house means you'll never marry or Jupiter in the 2nd house means you'll be rich, there are techniques above and beyond this perspective to coax forth the past and future elements of the chart.

The Lunar Nodes²

To put it simply, the South Node of the Moon, and everything connected with it, including the sign and house placement, its sign ruler, and any planets in aspect to it, tell the story of the past life or lives: what came before. The North Node of the Moon, its sign ruler, and any planets in aspect to it, tell the story of the way forward: the purpose of incarnation. The planets in aspect to either node as well as their planetary sign rulers have a dual meaning: how to develop and use what the planet represents as a tool in the present life and how it's been a factor in past life conditioning as well.

Pluto and Pluto's Polarity Point

There are several ways that the techniques of Jeff Green and Steven Forrest differ. However, one of the primary differences is in the use of Pluto. Students of Steven Forrest use the south node condition as described above to reveal the past life intent & desires and the north node condition as the future intent, the way forward. Students of Jeff Green use Pluto as representative of the soul's past intent & desires and the opposite 'empty space' of Pluto, it's "polarity point", to represent the future intent, the way forward. The north and south nodes of the moon are still used, but as a further illustration of how Pluto and its polarity point are actualized in the life.

This material, regardless of method, is rich and vast, and its nuances astounding, but those stories lie outside of this simple Introduction to Evolutionary Astrology.

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1 For a more formal list of the core elements of Evolutionary Astrology's philosophy: http://www.forrestastrology.com/General-Astrology/what-is-evolutionary-astrology

2 The north and south lunar nodes are not planets, they are found by looking at where the Moon crosses the path of the Sun as it appears to circle the earth, which it will do twice: once going north, once going south.

Want to learn Evolutionary Astrology? Contact Amy for formal study options. Here are some self-study options:

Recommended Reading

By Amy Herring:

• Astrology of the Moon (the natal & progressed moon - the evolution of the heart)
  

By Steven Forrest:

• The Inner Sky (natal)
• The Book of Pluto (natal)
  
• The Changing Sky (transits & progressions)
• Skymates 1 (Synastry) and 2 (Composite)
• Yesterday's Sky (past lives and the nodes)

By Jeff Green and Deva Green:

• Pluto Vol 1: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul (natal)
• Pluto Vol 2: The Soul's Evolution Through Relationships (natal but in view of relationship needs)
• Evolutionary Astrology: Pluto and Your Karmic Mission / Deva Green
• Forthcoming: Insights into Evolutionary Astrology / Jeff Green and more, edited by Rose Marcus
  

Speculations on the Astrology of Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter

In the popular series of novels Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter, written by Laurell Hamilton, Anita is a gun-toting animator (she raises zombies for a living), necromancer, vampire hunter & executioner, who frequently works with the local police to help solve supernatural crimes. Oh, and she's a master vampire's human servant and sleeps with a werewolf or two on the side. She's a complicated lady and I started to wonder what this complicated lady's astrology chart would look like.

I compiled a list of Anita Blake's traits, such as: loyal, competent, 'shoots first and asks questions later', mistrustful, doesn't like to compromise, requires truth above any comforting lies, keeps her word, protective of her people, talks a lot of smack with bad guys (hiding behind sarcasm), surprisingly sensitive (hates to see others cry, protects the weak, has a stuffed penguin collection), surprisingly naive and idealistic, and of course, a powerful necromancer and eventually, succubus.

Arguments can always still be made to forever tweak the chart in different directions (many of which I made repeatedly with myself), but here is the proposed astrological chart of Anita Blake (click to enlarge).

Aries Rising represents her overall outlook and approach to life: come in guns blazing, don't hesitate, and don't let fear stop you from anything. She's direct and she doesn't let anyone push her around, almost to a fault. Her south node is in the first house in Aries with Mars conjunct, which demonstrates that while she feels most comfortable presenting the Aries face to the world (her Rising sign), she needs to leave behind some of the overactive, 'negative' traits of Aries as she matures over her lifetime, such as the 'my way or the highway' tendency that comes with an overactive first house (first house of Self), or the 'shoot first and ask questions later'--often resorting to violence and extreme self-defense (Mars/Aries) before diplomacy.

The south node often represents the past life orientation of a soul, as well as early life experiences that can leave their mark. Her Pluto in the 8th house as well as Mars on the south node leave a sort of wounded mark on her early life (her mother died when she was 8 in a car accident-Mars-, and death marks her very identity, for better and worse--Pluto on the Sun in the 8th house).

A Scorpio Sun conjunct Pluto in the 8th house represents many things: her intensity, her frequent black & white thinking, her loyalty, her ability to handle dark truths and taboo issues, as well as her ability as a necromancer and animator. Pluto (death and rebirth) fused to her Sun (the core of who you ARE, your identity) in the 8th house of all things hidden. This is an intense mark of transformation (to name only one, her ability to "transform" the dead). She's also got an out-of-sign trine to Neptune in the 12th house, which connects her ability with the dead to the spirit world, magic, and psychic qualities.

Mercury is conjunct her Midheaven in Capricorn. She's got a level head and has the ability to think strategically and recognize what must be done without getting overly emotional about it, in many circumstances. Yet it's opposed her Cancer Moon (which we'll get to in a moment), so her emotions can still cloud her judgment, especially since her moon is squaring her Aries Ascendant and sextiling her Mars/South Node in Aries, which encourages her emotional loyalties and protectiveness to jump straight to action, in 'opposition' to what's sensible just as often as she's able to think about the overall goal and leave sentiment behind. Mercury, not just our thought processes but also our voice, rests on the Midheaven, and she is often the spokesperson, the 'voice' for the monsters both officially in the press and unofficially, such as in her duties as Jean-Claude's human servant. Mercury squares her Ascendant (and Descendant) and opposite her moon, both influences represent her tendency to not know when to quit when she's trading insults with bad guys or making threats.

Throughout the first 8 books, give or take, Anita really struggles with her changing philosophy on her stance on monsters. Are they good guys or bad guys? While Mercury is conjunct her Midheaven, the beginning of the 10th house, it's technically in the 9th, and opposed the Moon in the 3rd house. This sets up a tug of war internally with hard rules of her moral philosophy (Capricorn/9th house) and her subjective, emotional everyday experiences that tell her a different story (Cancer, 3rd house). The 3rd house, being the opposite of the 9th house of philosophy/religion, represents the process of being open to whatever the facts are in front of us and letting ourselves be flexible enough to respond to whatever we are experiencing moment to moment, rather than the fixed, established nature of 9th house truths.

Onto her love life: her Moon is in Cancer which is yet another indicator of her loyalty and also protectiveness. It also explains why she tends to have this secret, mushy side: romantic notions of Sundays watching musicals on the couch with Richard and getting married while her brain (Mercury/mind opposed Moon/heart) argues with her heart about the unlikelihood of that succeeding in reality. Her Cancer Moon also speaks a little to the traditional girl in her (prudeishness, a trait which also comes from her desire for privacy & self-protection of Cancer--the crab shell).

Her Moon is technically in the 3rd house, but conjunct the Nadir, the 4th house cusp, which emphasizes a desire for clan and a protected, sheltered home, but with Saturn also in Cancer and the 4th house, this represents one of the most desired (Moon), but most difficult (Saturn) things for her to do: allow herself some softness, her desire to nurture others to come through, and share enough of herself to build a 'family' that can support and nurture her and vice versa.

Venus is in Leo in the 5th house, representing her tendency to be especially attracted to men like Richard who has that larger-than-life, warm and generous dynamic about them (she notices consistently how his golden hair falls in waves on his shoulders, the strength in his body, and his light-up-the-room smile). It's opposed Neptune, which brings on a tug of war between opening to others and following her own agenda (coupled with the rest of her chart which is geared toward an orientation on the self), which represents the tension in the developing storyline of Anita having many lovers due to the ardeur, represented by the 5th house. Venus and Neptune are also both square Mars, so there's a friction there that both heats up the issue for her and has her fighting herself.

The Mars, Neptune, Venus trio is involved in tension with her north node is in Libra in the 7th house, which represents the ultimate lesson she needs to learn: how to compromise with others and allow herself to have true partnership. Over time she's recognizing more and more that she's not free to do just whatever she wants, whenever she wants, without serious consequences in the lives of those who love her, such as in book 9, Obsidian Butterfly, when she leaves Richard and Jean-Claude to get a grip on herself and move toward a more comfortable dynamic: only herself to worry about and answer to.

There are also countless other dynamics and connections in the chart, but you don't have all day to read this, so get back to work!

Ricky Martin's Reveal: Why Now is the Time for him to Come out of the Closet

Ricky Martin 'came out of the closet' today by revealing that he was gay in a blog entry on his website.

The chart has so many indicators about the timing of his reveal.

Progressed Mercury is closing in on a conjunction of his Venus in Aquarius in the 8th house. This is 2 years away or so from becoming exact, but it's warming up. Progressed Mercury: one's evolving voice and truth, coming to Venus, the way we relate and connect to others. In Aquarius, 8th house, there's a desire to be true to oneself, even if it's difficult, vulnerable, or raw truth.

Venus is part of a grand trine to Saturn in Gemini and Pluto in Libra. Transiting Mars in Leo has just stationed direct this month, which would have shaken this entire configuration, triggering each planet in the matrix: Venus in Aquarius in the 8th: one's personal relationship & sexual truth; Pluto in Libra in the 4th house: facing one's fears about the core of oneself; and Saturn in Gemini in the 12th: the 'hard work' of speaking one's spiritual truth but also confronting one's fixed beliefs and having the courage to challenge and rework them. All these planets are in the hidden water houses, which triggers inner work, but Mars in Leo pushes them forward to express as it forms the top of a kite configuration.

One of my favorites, because I'm such a fan of the progressed moon, is the fact that his progressed moon just moved into Virgo last month. The progressed moon is where our emotional attention is, what our heart needs and is ready for. It usually is where a lot of the activity in our lives can be traced back to, since what we put our attention on is what we notice manifesting and what we bring about. In the third house of communication, information, and perception, just entering Virgo, it's about being tired of the B.S., tired of game playing or worrying about what others think of you, and just wanting to cut to the chase and consider the facts. It's also squaring Saturn in Gemini, another trigger for that grand trine to activate.

A few other notables:

• His progressed Venus is within orb of a square to his Ascendant/Descendant - self and other.
• Transiting Uranus is conjuncting his Moon & Mars in the 10th house in Pisces - visible (10th) truth (Pisces)
• Saturn just ran over his Pluto in the 4th house, also part of that grand trine

What do you see?

Astro Vignette: Who Do You Think You Are, Lisa Kudrow?

Lisa Kudrow is the executive producer for the American version of the UK television show Who Do You Think You are? A celebrity stars in each episode, tracing back through their family tree and usually centering on one ancestor as they follow the clues and records to find out who they were. Sarah Jessica Parker starred in the first episode, tracing her ancestor, Esther Elwell, back to the times of the Salem Witch Trials.

In a recent Entertainment Tonight interview, Lisa said:

"The one thing I realize with this show is you see the person that's gonna be taking this journey and then not long after that it's really the story of their long-since-dead relative and then you start getting invested in those people and that story..."

When asked if she sensed a surge of people wanted to go back in time:

"Absolutely... [NBC executives] were logging on to find out about their own family because it's very compelling... you find out even more, that you are actually very connected to some major events in world history that you thought happened to strangers."

Lisa's Chart: Cancer Rising

Lisa's Ascendant is in Cancer, along with her north node and Venus in the first house. This combination produces a desire to know one's self (first house) via an understanding of one's place within the family (Cancer), whether it's the immediate family of one's early childhood upbringing or beyond, such as physical or emotional traits passed down through one's ancestral lineage.

It can be quite eye opening for her to see how her understanding of her origins colors the way she perceives the world (Ascendant). Her south node in Capricorn, although in the 7th house of partnerships, can indicate a tendency toward personal emotional withdrawal even as she takes care of others she feels obligated to. Moving toward her north node in Cancer can mean learning to embrace self-nurture, since Cancer is a sign that's built to nurture whatever it chooses to give its heart to (in this case, it needs to be the self  due to its placement in her first house). However, how we nurture and how we have been nurtured create a full circle, so Lisa is finding out who she is through where she comes from.

Venus plays an interesting role here and speaks the loudest when it comes to understanding Lisa's interest in the show. Venus is about feeling connected by being able to relate to someone, so it's no surprise that the show is not a dry, 'just the facts' kind of show with an impersonal narration, but has a very personal feel and is more about the story of the ancestor. Lisa reveals it above in her interview when she talks about feeling connected to something that you thought happened to a stranger, implying that once you realize your connection to your ancestor, their humanness and what you share between you (albeit over a distance of time), they are no longer a stranger, but truly family.

Jupiter in Astrology: Looking Beyond Luck

Many think of Jupiter as the planet of luck. This is true, but the word 'luck' sells Jupiter short, telling only half of the story. Luck is defined as something desirable that just happens to a person by chance, out of their control, fated. It is true that where Jupiter lies in our chart might be an area of our life where we might find a sort of guardian angel at work, or where we may be able to narrowly slip out of scrapes more easily than some people. But the things we attribute to luck, good or bad, can often be more attributed to what we said yes or no to, the potential we allowed ourselves to see and hope for, in ourselves and in life's ability to bring good things our way.

Psychologist Richard Wiseman has been investigating luck for a decade: who thinks they've got it (or doesn't) and why? Over the years he interviewed 400 different people from both camps, lucky and unlucky, and asked them to try different experiments and report their results. He found themes among the lucky and the unlucky, and not only that; he was able to use what he discovered in the attitudes and behaviors of the lucky to help the unlucky camp become luckier. In his recent article posted on the GoodNewsNetwork, he outlined some of his cases and what we found, stating three similarities he found in the lucky vs. the unlucky. They were:

1. Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition
2. Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine
3. Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune

Let's look at these ideas. First, following one's intuition. While Neptune or the Moon tend to be thought of as the planets that have the market on intuition, Jupiter is the ancient ruler of Pisces, a sign which has very much to do with intuition and believing in things that can only be seen through the eyes of spirit. Jupiter plays a special role, too, because of the faith it takes to trust one's intuition and even to act on it. Faith in this context is believing in things unseen or unproven, and that's where the Jupiterian principle of hope can come in, or a word I like to use, potential. This is not just faith in a higher power, but faith in ourselves as in confidence, or faith in life as in hope.

How about the pitfalls of becoming too reliant on a routine? We may think of Uranus as the planet that likes to shake things up, but Jupiter is about looking for opportunity. Jupiter is the ancient and modern ruler of Sagittarius, embodying the Saggittarian desire to expand its horizons by experiencing the broad world around it. When we are so deeply invested in our routine and our own comfort zone, we are reluctant to upset it, and therefore unwilling to take the inherent risks always involved in saying yes to something new. In addition, routine has us focusing so intently on carrying out our expectations that we may only see what we expect to see, rather than opportunities that may have always been present but are not in our narrow line of sight.

Last, seeing the positive side of one's ill fortune was the third factor Dr. Wiseman listed as present in 'lucky' people. This speaks to Jupiter's alignment with optimism. It's the classic question: is the glass half full or half empty? Either answer is true, but much is revealed in which answer a person most resonates with. Luck and whether or not a person feels lucky is rather subjective, so this is point is less about the objective measurement of how lucky someone is, but almost a measure of happiness. It's human nature to look for evidence that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore evidence that does not. So if one holds a belief that they are (or can be) lucky, openness to opportunity and gratitude for what one already has seems to follow.

The Big Leap is a book that focuses on overcoming your limitations by addressing  the attitudes and beliefs you may hold that keep you from expanding into your potential. The author, Gay Hendricks, speaks about his mentor who said something that really impacted him (paraphrasing): when we are afraid, we hold our breath. The most important thing to do when you are afraid is breathe. When you hold your breath, it's like you're bracing for impact. When you breathe into your fear, it becomes excitement. Next time Jupiter comes your way, take a breath and take a leap!

The Astrology of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook

Facebook celebrated it's 6th birthday on February 4th and it got me curious about its chart and the chart of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg. I still get a huge thrill when the astrology chart of a person, event, or company so compellingly represents the essence of its owner, especially at first glance. Facebook's chart is seems to be no exception.

Facebook's mission statement is: "Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected." While it's evolved over time, it's always seemed to include the idea of connectivity and people coming together, over the Internet, of course. How perfect, then, that its birth happened under a Sun Neptune conjunction in Aquarius. The Sun in a person's chart represents their core identity, and the sign, house, and planets involved with the Sun show how to keep that core warm and able to sustain the person's life. The Sun in a company's chart is no different.

The core identity of Facebook's natal Sun is about Individuals (Aquarius) uniting (Neptune). Individuals are sharing the things that make them individuals: photos, thoughts, experiences, in a seamless way, with no apparent boundary (Neptune) between them and everyone else in the collective community. The Internet itself is an Aquarian dream, technology enabling community, so it's a perfect medium for this kind of mission. Neptune also adds a fluidity to the identity: constantly evolving and morphing, although Neptune's presence on the Sun can indicate a vulnerability to shifting and adapting to its environment so much that it's hard to tell what it really IS. Neptune can add a nebulous quality that can make it difficult for even Facebook to know itself clearly.

I always look at the chart not as a manufacturer of what is, but a guide to what can be. Like a car's user manual gives tips for best performance and has  a recommended maintenance schedule, a natal chart holds the clues for how a person, or even a company, can live its life to the fullest, by remaining true to itself. Facebook's Aquarius Sun reveals that not only does it need to continue to serve the needs of the individual rather than the status quo, but it also needs to remain true to walking its own path - which will often be off the beaten trail, as is sometimes typical and needful with Aquarius. A great example of this is when Facebook got big enough to start collecting serious offers to purchase it, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's creator, turned down the offers. In a 2007 interview with Time Magazine, Zuckerberg said: 

 "We're not really looking to sell the company. We're not looking to IPO anytime soon. It's just not the core focus of the company."

Why didn't he sell? Ideals? Or did he sense he could get more money? Who can say what the motivation was, but if it had anything to do with the reason he gave in the Time interview, it can certainly make that Aquarian Sun happy. Unfortunately, without a time of birth to narrow it down (a common problem with business and mundane charts) we cannot pin down the moon sign, nor the rising sign, and obviously no house placements are available. So my eye wanders next to the Jupiter, Venus, Pluto configuration.

Jupiter in Virgo illustrates that their best method for growth is a steady, humble, and accountable one, where it does not rely on anything but it's own willingness to work hard. Opposite Venus in Pisces, they will have to choose partners carefully, and would do well with an even balance of the visionaries (Pisces) and the pencil pushers (Virgo - sorry Virgo, but I love ya!) Oppositions, especially with Venus, are where we often find people outside of us to help us manage an imbalance inside of us. There is a need for balance between practical growth and the vision. This sounds pretty obvious; one could argue that its something every company needs, but its of particular importance in Facebook's chart, not to mention there's Pluto up there, one's potential unconscious agenda, having the potential to drive a wedge in the balance when not managed with integrity (and sometimes even then).

A house placement for Pluto would be greatly helpful, but it looks like difficulties involving the issue of partnership can reveal (and/or create) skeletons in the Facebook closet. The management of existing and potential partners then becomes a more significant issue (and potential source of landmines) than it already would be for any company. In the absence of house placements such as planets in the first house (the face of the company) or the 10th house (the reputation of the company) as well as the very important moon sign which would represent its customers, I would look to Venus primarily for insight on how best to manage public relations. Venus rules connections and Facebook, as a company and a product, is very much invested in connections, so it can be quite relevant here.

When interfacing with the public, again in the absence of other public relation chart clues, Venus in Pisces would indicate the necessity of maintaining the appearance of openness, non-aggression, and always a sense that it's not about a hierarchy of power as much as a collective, participatory effort. As all businesses tend to want to do, painting an optimistic picture of itself will be a good thing in some ways, but tricky. 'Less is more' might be a useful adage here, since overwhelming the public with 'hard core realism' can send a wave of paranoia and backlash, and with 400 million users,¹ that's a wave big enough to drown anything. There's that tricky Neptunian/Piscean influence again; while there is such a thing as vision, optimism, and one's best intention, Venus in Pisces here has a vulnerability to going down the dark road of white-washing and manipulation of the 'spin' it puts on its activities when communicating with the public. Whether it's right, wrong, or simply the best means to an end, Pluto and Jupiter in this configuration say to me that there's huge potential for something to go boom if those skeletons come out of that closet. If they do have any (um, yeah) they'll be very big (Jupiter), very scary (Pluto), and very devious although they may try to appear innocent and have been created out of naivete (Pisces).

Another important issue to manage will be the 'truth-lite' public relations need  (Venus in Pisces) and the fact that Mercury is in Capricorn and conjunct Chiron. Mercury in Capricorn is about direct, down to business type of communication, although it can lean to the side of information being delivered on a "need-to-know" basis in order to get one's message across with the most effective outcome. Chiron feels like an Achilles' heel to me here, where it's vulnerable to shooting itself in the foot (forgive me for the hopefully amusing and playful reference to the Chiron myth). So, communicating as clearly and efficiently as possible, but not without strategy, is needful. Giving the appearance of connecting in an open way (Venus in Pisces) and doing so by communicating matter-of-factly (Mercury in Capricorn) might be a good balance.

Back to the idea of Jupiter and sustainable growth, Mars in Taurus supports the Jupiter agenda of sustainable growth (which so far has not exactly been the case as it's growth is so rapid its head is probably spinning!). However, Mars at 0 degrees Taurus is a double-edged sword: on one hand, it's direct and in stable Taurus, so there's a sense of the possibility of staying power. However, it's in what some consider a critical degree,² which can be an indicator of instability. Again, because I see the chart as a prescription, not a promise of glory or doom, the key would be for Facebook to govern itself with slow, steady growth. It will also need to be especially humble, careful, and vigilant when it reaches the inevitable breaking point that any company does, where the skeletal structure that has supported it is now becoming brittle and needs to be repaired or cave in entirely, usually due to rigid and eventually outdated processes and policies.³

Congratulations, you made it to the end of this very long entry. There is no way this would fit into a Facebook status update!

1 http://blog.facebook.com/blog.php?blog_id=company&blogger=4

2 Critical degrees vary for different signs. In Taurus, it's said to be 9 and 21 degrees, but many astrologers consider 0 and 29 of any sign to be critical because it is on the threshold of the change from one sign to the other and can often indicate instability.

3 The Tower card in the Tarot always comes to mind for me in these cases. It does not necessarily have to be that the tower was flawed and therefore could not stand, but that everything inevitably decays, especially if it is not continually renewed and reinvented. Sustainability has nothing to do with stasis, but with measured growth.

How to Interpret a Natal Chart Using the Evolutionary Astrology Method

When a student begins studying astrology, the basic components can be easily learned from a book and memorized, to a certain extent. Putting puzzle piece A together with piece B can also be done rather efficiently. But when it comes to putting the puzzle of an entire chart (and therefore an entire person) together, it can be easily overwhelming. A natal chart isn't just the sum of its parts, and must be understood on a foundational level to see how all the parts really fit together. Once the foundation is understood, themes start to emerge and you can transcend the parts and understand the whole. This is the holy grail for any student!

There are many ways to start dissecting the puzzle of a natal chart. Many people start to dive into a chart by starting with the Sun, Moon, and Rising sign so as to understand a sort of basic vignette, and then add the rest of the planets in one by one to that foundational understanding. Many people assess the bigger picture by analyzing a sort of hierarchy of planetary 'weight', such as which planets are stronger or weaker because of their dignity or debilitation (fall, exaltation, rulership, or detriment). Still others will look at groupings of planets, to determine which elements or modalities are strongest, or the Jones' patterns such as the Bucket or the See Saw. All of these are fine ways to begin, and all are an attempt to get a sense of the foundation of a chart, an understanding of the primary cornerstones of a chart on top of which everything else in the chart can rest. I'm going to illustrate a different way of discovering the foundation of a chart using the nodes.

The Chart Behind the Chart

I look at the foundation of a chart as well, but because I am an evolutionary astrologer,* I use the nodes of the moon to understand a person and a chart's foundation. I ask two questions of the chart; first, rather than trying to understand or predict what this person will do, how they will behave or what good or bad luck will befall them based on their planetary placements, I ask the chart 'Why is this person here?' Before I try to understand what someone with a Sun in Aries IS, or how they'll behave, I try and understand why that soul needs their Sun in Aries to begin with. To do that, I first start with understanding the north and south nodes of the moon: why they're here, and where they came from - the orientation they entered this life with, respectively.

Second, rather than assuming someone will epitomize all expressions of their natal chart placements as if they were a walking astrological stereotype, I assume that the chart tells me not what that person IS, but what they are becoming. Therefore, I ask the chart, 'What is this person trying to learn?' Having a birth chart represents the tool box they were given when they were born, but they still need to learn to use each tool (planet in sign and house) effectively. Once I understand the nodes, I can look at the rest of the planets in their signs and houses in the chart and understand why this person has the toolbox they do.

Mystery Actress

It's with these two things in mind that I interpret any chart, and I'll demonstrate the resulting techniques here. This is the chart of a mystery actress. I chose a famous person because while a famous person's life is not revealed only through what the public knows about them, it at least gives some ability to place biography with astrology. I will reveal her name at the end of this interpretation. Be good! Don't skip to the end.

First I take stock of the south node, including it's sign and house, and any planets in association with it, through rulership or aspect.  What I try and do is create a metaphor from the symbols that gives a sense of where this soul's orientation was as she entered this life, and so sometimes it can be helpful to think of the south node and it's condition as giving clues to the past life of the soul that show us the attitude they may have been used to as they entered this chart and this life.

The South Node

So in this chart I'm considering Aquarius, 11th house, Saturn conjunct and ruled by Uranus in the 6th house. While many metaphors could be created from this chart's south node situation, this speaks to me of someone who felt like she was under constant restraint, (Saturn) that things were difficult or her outlook always seemed limited. With the ruler of Aquarius in the 6th house in Virgo, that emphasizes a possibility of feeling crushed under a sense of duty or too much responsibility, like the older child having to take care of the younger children if the parents are unable or unwilling to. Because of the Aquarius element, and in the 11th house, there might have also been a feeling of feeling like an odd man out, like she either only fit in with the misfits or didn't fit in at all, probably because of limited resources and maybe even poor social standing.

So this soul enters this world and probably experiences circumstances in early childhood that reinforce this orientation, sort of reliving or recreating what one is used to which lays a foundation for the soul to realize what it wants to grow out of or away from, and into the north node. The qualities of Aquarius can lend a strong sense of individuality and also detachment from others, especially in the 11th house of 'the public' or one's peers, but with Saturn there, it further emphasizes a feeling of being restrained, always having to hold in what one really is perhaps, or feeling limited because of what she is, like how class, race, or education can set one apart from a community that has a majority in a different class, race, or education level, for example.

The North Node

Moving toward the north node, we see that what this woman has come to do is get in touch with Leo, 5th house energy. Since Saturn is conjunct the south node, it is opposite the north node, and for he to be able to bring her Saturn energy forward into good use for this life, she'll need to let go of some of the old ways she may have responded to Saturn, like letting go of a habitual tendency to do things the hard way, or to hold back what she really is out of a misguided sense of individualism or out of a fear of feeling like an outcast. Leo and the 5th house experiences will help her reinforce a sense of it "being ok to be you and me," helping her be present in the moment instead of pulling away from the drama of a moment out of a fear of getting swept up, being exposed, or letting go. People and experiences that help her learn how to play, and how to let go of systematic or objective thought in situations where a more spontaneous and organic response would be better, will help her learn to trust herself and therefore enjoy herself and life more. This soul has come to feel the warmth of those who love her for who she is, and the more she is comfortable with herself, relaxes and trusts life, the more enriched she will feel.

The Toolbox

The ruler of her north node can assist her in living the soul's north node intention. The ruler of Leo, of course, is the Sun, and her Sun is in Scorpio in the 8th house. She needs to build a sense of identity which is based on a more whole and deep view of herself - not just the easy or good parts, but taking her to the depth of herself. The 8th house has been called the house of "Sex and Death," which sounds a bit strange but really, 8th house activities are anything that take us to our edges, have us braving the skeletons in our closet or our deepest fears, which is where we can also find our deepest strength and courage. In Scorpio, she does this by embracing intensity and a sort of 'all or nothing' attitude at times, as well as being willing to penetrate the pretty stories that we tell ourselves to escape from life's hard parts and really look what's beneath the surface - of life and herself.

At this point, we can start making our way around the rest of the chart to think about each placement in light of this soul's past and intent. Obviously the stellium of planets in Scorpio and the 8th house we've discussed above with the Sun, but how about the fact that Venus and Neptune and even Mercury are all in a conjunction? Venus conjunct that Sun reveals how relationships and connections with others will help her clarify her identity, and the fact that it's in Scorpio and the 8th house shows the kind of relationship she needs: one that is deep enough to say the true things and reveal the raw truths of ourselves. What an effective urge for this soul to use to break through old patterns of feeling distanced from others. With Neptune conjunct her Sun, also in Scorpio and the 8th, it is also a fundamental desire in her consciousness to open up to spiritual priorities, helping her develop a sense of strength that is based on the softness and opening effect of Neptune rather than the hardening of boundaries and closed habits of Saturn on her south node. Mercury in this house and close to Neptune has her more likely to think with fluidity and on a more intuitive level rather than strictly the objective and factual.

We can simply continue the rest of this way throughout the chart. Mars in Leo in the 5th but bridging into the 6th shows a passion for self-expression and to bring it into her work, to live her daily life with that passion and learn to surrender to the joy of a moment and the drama of a moment by letting creative ecstasy overtake her at times - in fact, much of this chart is in the fire or water element, including the ascendant, which helps to soften and open. Her Taurus Moon is like an anchor that roots her, giving her a steady heart which can help her stay solid in her own values through a basic building of her own self-esteem (2nd house), perhaps helping her let go of any shame she might have left over, perhaps even inexplicably, from the feeling of being an outsider and the more comfortable she gets with herself, the less she'll feel she has something to prove.

Everything I've discussed here can be taken deeper, but this has been an overview of how this technique works. If you're interested in learning more about the nodes in this light or seeing another example, visit my website to purchase a 4 hour video I did on the nodes: "The Chart Behind the Chart." In this video, I go into each step to analyze the nodes in detail and go through another couple of examples more thoroughly than I've done here.

This chart belongs to the actress Demi Moore.

*There are two common 'branches' of evolutionary astrology. While I am familiar with the techniques of both, and often use some of both, I am primarily trained by Steven Forrest and fall more along the lines of his interpretation of the nodes.