Learning Astrology 03 - Book Recommendations - Essentials of Your Astrology Library

If you want to study and practice Astrology then you must love to read and problem solve.  No one book is adequate and many will scratch the surface in a way that is more misleading than helpful (as is the case with most Sun Sign books).  Keeping in mind my first post, almost all books you buy that are current will use the Placidus system as the default.  If that's the case, then why not simply write from that perspective?  Well, I've found the Whole Sign system not only makes a certain kind of sense, but is easier to learn and teach because the Signs and Houses align perfectly (30 degrees for each and contained within each 30 degrees).  With the Placidus and other House Systems, you end up with irregular House widths, some spanning more than 30 degrees and other less.  In beginning studies this design creates a fairly significant hurdle to learning, as you have to come to understand concepts like interception and deal with bizarre chart configurations if a person is born near either of the poles.  House Systems are hotly debated topics and can really cause your head to pop off, so to simplify for the purposes of learning for the first time, I'm going to use the Whole Sign system, which means the first book you will need to buy is Demetra George's Astrology and the Authentic Self.

As you will see from your Astrology chart (printed from Astrodienst), we will be working with many additional Energy Points, including the 4 Asteroid Goddesses (Pallas Athena, Juno, Ceres, and Vesta), which means you will need to purchase another of Demetra George's works, Asteroid Goddesses.  I have brought in and use these Energy Points to balance out the chart so that there are an equal number of masculine and feminine energies.  But before you start reading this book, you will need to get a good "Cookbook", a text that gives you the basic explanations of Energy Points, Signs, Houses, and Aspects.  Believe it or not I recently came across a good new book by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma, Take Control with Astrology, which nicely fits the bill.  Another good nuts and bolts book is Joann Hampar's Astrology for Beginners.  But if you want to take the training wheels off right from the start, then the book to get is Robert Hand's Horoscope Symbols.

The final set of books to buy focus on the Moon and the Nodes of the Moon, which emphasize our deep personal selves and our destinies in this and past lifetimes.  You will need to purchase Amy Herring's Astrology of the Moon and Jan Spiller/Karen McCoy's Spiritual Astrology.  And lastly you need to buy Marc Edmund Jones book The Sabian Symbols, which will give you a simple inroad to imaginative language about your chart based on specific degrees of the Zodiac.  So for each Energy Point in your chart you can read a Sabian Symbol about its degree placement.

Recap

Here are the books to buy and have handy for your study of Astrology and your Astrology Chart:

• Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George
• Asteroid Goddesses by Demetra George
• Take Charge with Astrology by Lisa Tenzin-Dolma
• Astrology for Beginners by Joann Hampar
• Horoscope Symbols by Robert Hand (if you want to do charts for others as well as look at your own)
• Astrology of the Moon by Amy Herring
• Spiritual Astrology by Jan Spiller and Karen McCoy
• The Sabian Symbols by Marc Edmund Jones

And here's the place to buy them: Alibris Books

In the next blog post, I will talk about how to read and use these books with your Astrology Chart to create your Astrology Profile.

Knowing Really Is Only Half the Battle

This morning I had a very important chance encounter with my Astrology mentor and instructor Randy Wasserstram.  I am gradually working my way into colleague status and certainly felt a great thankfulness to have the chance to talk to him today.  The conversation ranged, but a large portion of it dealt with my Spiritual Awakening, which I am still deep in the middle of and, on some days, like today, just trying to survive.  Randy knows my chart and he knows what it means when I say I have a good road of hoeing still in front of me thanks to tPluto squaring the Stellium of nEnergy Points in Aries while tUranus opposes nUranus and prepares to conjunct the very same Stellium during the same duration of time.  Mercilessly tSaturn is 5d approaching nSaturn in opposition, which means, it, too, is lighting up my Aries Stellium.  And last and certainly not least, tNeptune and tChiron (Aquarius) both square my nNeptune in an exact (0d separating) aspect.  Oh, and just for shits and giggles, they are both Retrograde, which means they will form an exact square with Neptune yet again before moving on to form an exact square with my Ascendant!  There are no atheists in foxholes!

Thanks to Retrograde motion, my Uranus opposition is also in a tight approaching degree (less than 2).  Approaching and separating energy are very important and an element in beginning astrology often ignored.  When you have aspects approaching, energy is building, and when you have aspects separating the energy is releasing.  Retrograde motion can make certain transits particularly wearing because you get a 3/3 experience, 3 approaches and 3 separations, a really good "driving the point home" experience.  I want to share my story because we all get some dose of what I'm getting.  Hopefully most of you will not have the kinds of transits I'm having, but if you happened to have been born in 1968, then the outer planet to outer planet aspects are something we're all getting (such as the Uranus opposition along with the Neptune square and the Saturn opposition).  How much it affects you depends on other Energy Points in your chart.  I happen to have Neptune 2d separating from my Ascendant, so any aspect to my nNeptune have a profound effect on my Ascendant (my presentation of self and the perception people have of me).  To say both are going through tremendous change would be putting things lightly!

So what happens when you look into your chart or a client's chart and you can see years of turmoil and struggle?  Lots of choices abound and most of mine involve metaphors about "treading water", "holding on by my fingernails", and "battening down my hatches."  You may be feeling some of those same feelings as well if you were born between 1967 and 1969.  The lesson here, I believe, is perseverance and a deep appreciation for the mundane.  My breakfast this morning, both company wise, food wise, and location wise was wonderful and deeply valued.  I am happy to make it through another day, knowing that eventually the pressure from Neptune, Chiron, and Saturn will relent even if Pluto and Uranus have plenty in store for me for a while yet.  2012, when the first exact square between these two occurs, will mean my Stellium gets the double whammy.  By then Jupiter will be helping me out and I should get some positive energy by conjunction.  

In truth, Astrology has helped me immensely.  Without it and the narrative it provides for the energy I am feeling day in and day out, I'm not sure I would be able to manifest a positive response.  I am also thankful for the support I have in my life from my partner, Betsy, my parents, our new family living with us, and my wonderful friends and professional colleagues.  Knowing is half the battle, the other half is the doing and learning.  Hopefully as I write about the doing and learning, I will be helpful to others.

Learning Astrology 02 - You Have Your Chart, Now What?

This post assumes you have your astrology chart from Astrodienst printed and available to you as you continue reading.  If not, go back to the first post and get your account set up, chart info entered, and your chart printed out.  I'll be happy to wait for you. 

So you have your chart in hand; what are you looking at?  You are looking at a story, told through symbols and data. Let's look at the middle of the circle and work our way outward.  The X in the middle of the circle represents you at the location and time of your birth on Earth.  Image a three dimensional projection/hologram of our solar system where the earth is about the size of a beach ball and you are standing in the middle of the hologram.  All the planets are moving and you have a hand held device that will allow you to enter your birth data (time, location, date).  Once entered the hologram moves all the planets into position using that data.  A little red dot appears and blinks on Earth where you were born.  If you were to draw lines from your point of birth to each planet, the Moon, and the Sun and extend that line through the planets to the constellations behind the planets, you would have the angle of degree each planet, the Sun, and the Moon in relation to a zodiac constellation.  So, if you were born between March 22 and April 22, the line would pass through the Sun and hit a degree of the Zodiac sign Aries.  In my case, being born April 12, my Sun is at 23d of Aries.

In our imaginary holographic planetarium, you want to leave with a print out of your solar system birth moment, so you hit the print button on the hand held device and everything that is 3 dimensional gets compressed down into 2 dimensions and printed out in the form you see the chart you got from Astrodienst.  The blinking red light is replaced by the X and Earth is replaced by the hub circle in the middle with 12 spokes coming out.  The 12 spokes make up 12 pie pieces, which are numbered 1 to 12 starting from left, going down, and around counterclockwise.  In the Whole Sign system, the each house is occupied by one sign (as well as the Equal house system);  in other house systems houses and signs are irregular and signs will overlap from one house to the next.  If you are interested in a detailed explanation of house systems, feel free to visit the wiki page.  For purposes of getting started, I've chosen the Whole Sign system as described by Demetra George in her book Astrology and the Authentic Self: Integrating Traditional and Modern Astrology to Uncover the Essence of the Birth Chart, which you should immediately purchase!  There will be several other books to buy.  The study of is astrology is nothing if not a source of many book purchases.

In each, but not necessarily all of the pie pieces, you will see symbols representing the Sun, the Moon, planets, asteroids, and calculated points.  Collectively I refer to these symbols as Energy Points.  I do not sloppily refer to everything as planets because they are the most abundant of the astronomical  bodies symbolized.  The Sun is a star and the Moon a satellite.  Ceres has been upgraded to dwarf planet  (from an asteroid) and Pluto downgraded to 134340 (an asteroid number, from a full planet).  Other points in the chart are calculated and do not represent a body in space, such as the Part of Fortune or the Ascendant (when the Sun crossed the horizon at birth).  In an astrology chart, in the narrative of the symbolized story, each point exerts energy on the chart and the individual; they interact energetically through angular relationships known as Aspects.  The Aspects are shown by red and blue lines, which as a whole, make up your personal  Cosmic Circuit Board.  The moment of your birth is frozen as a snapshot of the location of all the energy points in your chart, and you will see I use quite a few more than the traditional base 12 that make up classical chart interpretations after the discovery of Pluto (Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, the Ascendant, and the Midheaven).  It is especially the addition of Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta that bring into balance the old masculine dominated system (where only the Moon and Venus represented the feminine).

If you track your eyes away from the chart circle down to the left bottom of the chart page, you will see a legend that identifies all the symbols with the Energy Point they represent.  The legend also includes symbols for each Aspect relationship between Energy Points; the most obvious to point out quickly are the blue triangles for Trines, which are Energy Points approximately 115 to 125 degrees apart, and the red squares for, yes, Squares, which are Energy Points approximately 85 to 95 degrees apart.  These energetic relationships have a host of knowledge and interpretation, which will unfold in discussion further into the blog entries.  If you want to explore aspecting now in greater detail, visit the wiki page.  You now have 3 of the 5 elements of astrological interpretation: Energy Points, Houses, and Aspects.

The 4th element which you see on the outer rim of each pie piece includes the symbols for the Signs.  Astrodienst nicely color codes the Signs to match with their elemental signature.  Aries, the first Sign of the Zodiac is red (for Fire) and looks like a fancy V, which symbolizes the horns of the Ram.  Next to Aries going counterclockwise is a green symbol that represents Taurus (an Earth sign) with a circle and two tips on the top to represent the horns of a bull.  The signs move around the circle in a procession of Fire, Earth, Air, and Water.  In a default chart, not cast for a person, Aries rules the First House, Taurus rules the Second, Gemini rules the third and so on.  Rulership simply means that the Sign and the House go together energetically; Aries is a Fire Sign and the First House is a Fire House.  Most charts do not have Aries filling the First House.  In the case of my chart, Scorpio fills the First House.  In your chart, which Sign fills the First House?

So now you have 4 of the 5 elements that make up the Astrology Chart, so what is the Fifth Element (besides a pretty fun movie with Bruce Willis)?  The Fifth Element is Free Will or Spirit or Soul or Consciousness.  It is the part of the Astrology reading that is made of the person or people "looking at" the chart through a pair of eyes and interpreting with a Mind.  It is also the most important and powerful element.  Astrology is not deterministic in a Grand Sense, which is to say, no free will exists and all we are left to do as human beings is react to Fate.  However, Astrology does provide us with boundaries and some things that are determined, in the same way that being born male or female gives us certain determinations or being born in American or Japan, being tall or short, and so on.  Even with these "determined" aspects to our lives we still make choices and some are guided as easier or harder depending on these determinations.  If you will allow me a bit of play, you will have to be very "determined" if you are female and want to play football in the NFL in the US. 

With certain energies in certain places in your Astrology Chart, you will have inclinations, limits, boundaries, encouragement, and so on with regard to spiritual and behavioral matters.  Some of us resonate strongly with "relationship energy" and others resonate with "career" energy; all of us have some blend or another.  We can embrace our energy or "rail" against it; that's the choice of consciousness.  The Astrology Chart is your Cosmic Circuit Board that shows how energy flows in your body and life.  Once you can read your chart you can determine better your choices and understand better how the world interacts with you, including people, places, and individual situations.

Recap

So, to recap, the chart you are looking at is made up of the 5 following components:

1. Signs (12 in all)
2. Houses (12 in all)
3. Energy Points (We will be using 20 primary points and a few extra secondary points)
4. Aspects (Angular relationships between energy points - basically, the conjunction, sextile, square, trine, inconjunct and opposition)
5. Free Will

To learn Astrology you will need to put all of these components into deep memory so you can recall meanings without having to look them up each time, which will we will begin working on in the next blog entry.

Learning Astrology 01 - Getting Started - Getting Your Free Chart

There are many ways to enter into the study and practice of astrology ... many different doors.  I want to take you through a particular door and down a particular path to help reduce confusion until you are in a better position to evaluate all the variables that make up the Astrological Field.  To help this process I want to actually throw some of the complexity out in front to show why trying to teach all the nuances at the beginning can be more self-defeating that self-enlightening.  The field has an over 5,000 year history, beginning with Babylonian Astrology around 3,000 BC.  As you can imagine, there are probably well over 100,000 in and out-of-print texts (including cuneiform) about the subject.  All three major civilizations have a form of Astrology: Western (Europe/America), Eastern (China/Japan), and Indian (India/Pakistan).  Within each civilization there are many different branches and interpretations (think of the denominations of Christianity as an example).  In Western astrology, you have Evolutionary, Psychological, Ancient, and Predictive.  Deeper in you will discover that there are over 15 different House systems that can be used to construct a chart (Placidus, Koch, equal, whole signs ... just to name four).  There is even a schism in the West  and East between tropical and sidereal astrology that leads to some very unruly debate.  With all this knowledge and information swirling around beginning can be a bit overwhelming, which is why most beginning books just pick a door and get going.  Its a good process, probably the only useful process, but one I want to reveal the assumption all the books make explicitly because so many new students start out believing there is one "correct" way to know and practice astrology when, in fact, there are many.  It can be come extremely confusing to go down one path and get far enough to figure out that there are many paths and you could have actually chosen a different one to start.

Here are three different systems that could be starting points, with the most common one at the beginning.  If you pick up most any beginning book on astrology through Amazon or in the US, you will be cast into Tropical Astrology using the Placidus House system.  It is most often the default system in the West.  With a little bit of knowledge you could begin with a Sidereal system, either Vedic (Indian) or Western (made popular by John Frawley and Robert Powell).  With a little bit more knowledge, you could begin with Cosmobiology, developed by Rheinhold Ebertin, which is a system that throws out the Houses altogether, works with a 90 degree dial, and utilizes midpoints.  If you have made it this far and want to keep going, then here is the big reveal.  I will be teaching you astrology using the Tropical system and the WHOLE SIGN House system.  If you want to understand the difference between Tropical, Sidereal and Cosmobiology right now, then your should read Vaughn Paul Manley's web page on Tropical versus Sidereal and the Wiki article on Cosmobiology.  Now, let's get started!

I firmly believe that getting started with astrology should begin with a copy of your birth chart in hand.  You should obtain a fully rendered chart and have it handy at all times when you read an astrology text or this blog.  So this very first entry will walk you through the steps to get a free chart that contains a large number of energy points and shows all your primary aspects (lines connecting one energy point to another) ... your cosmic circuit board if you will.  Below is my birth chart, fully aspected (click on the image of the chart to enlarge, a new window/tab will open):

I obtained this chart from Astrodienst (http://www.astro.com) and you should go there right now and get your account set up and your chart cast and printed off.  Here's the steps to follow and its important to follow them correctly since there are a number of charts you can get and there is one I want you to use specifically through out this learning process.

1. To create a new account, go to the registration page.
2. Once your account is created (or if you already have an account) and you are logged in, you will be at a page to enter new data, referred to as the My Astro page (link for this page is in the upper right corner of the heading that appears on all pages).
3. Select the link for Add New Astro Data and enter your own data (birth date, birth time, and birth location)
4. Once you have completed the data entry, you will return to the My Astro page and be able to select your own name
5. This link will take you to the Free Horoscopes at Astrodienst page.
6. You want to scroll down that page until you see the option: Extended Chart Selection, A wide selection of horoscope types, house systems, asteroids, etc. (DO NOT select the Chart Drawing, Ascendant option)
7. When you get to the next page, you will have a lot of data to select from, most of it you can leave alone; however, you will need to change the "default" setting under the heading Options > House System to whole signs
8. Scroll down the page until you get to the bottom and see Additional Objects.  Push down your crtl button and click on the words Pars Fortunae, Lilith, Chiron, Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, and Eris.
9. Move your eyes to your right and in the check boxes next to these words select "aspect lines to all"
10. Hit "Click here to show the chart" and you are finished.

Once you have the chart on your screen, print it out.

In the next entry, I will orient you to the data, symbolism, and shorthand that appears on the chart.

Spiritual Resume Reviewed

Yesterday my partner Betsy asked me what my most significant spiritual transformation had been to date.  It was not hard to pick since it was last year when I had my severe panic attack.  For almost a year I talked about the attack in terms of a problem instead of a solution.  I now know that the break down was a solution to an ongoing problem that could only be addressed when I was forced to come to nearly a complete stop in my life.  Fortunately I had enough support around me to allow me to work through the transition without having to rely heavily on modifying drugs and now feel myself on a good path to understanding the deeper lessons that will allow me to enjoy a new equilibrium, one that will be more enduring than my previous one. 

As I thought more about her question, I began to think back to other times in my life when a significant spiritual event, or turn, occurred in my life.  There have been many and some, actually quite a few, were accomplished in a fairly quiet way that only I would really fully understand even if others had been around when they happened.  In other words, the reality show that could be made of my spiritual transformations would be pretty boring from a viewers standpoint -- a dream when I was sixteen, the move from Massachusetts to North Carolina, learning to lucid dream, and so on.  Outwardly not much happened while inwardly a hurricane swept through.

As an astrologer I have become more and more fascinated with the timing of events and the cycle of energy.  As an example, my Jupiter is in Leo in my 10th House and around the time of my first Jupiter return (at 12), I remember a very significant event in grade school, one I look back on as a deeply transforming moment.  By 10 I was showing academic promise to be among the gifted and talented, which meant being tracked and treated a certain way.  My tracking was pretty well established in English and the Social Sciences, but my Math placement was not yet done.  At eleven, when my Jupiter would have been transiting my 9th House of education I was placed in a GT math class for 2 weeks.  At the end of that 2 weeks I was in class when we were working on problems on the board in front of the class.  I was called to work a problem and somehow, even then, I knew that the correct or incorrect answer would pivot my destiny in a particular way, either back to the next lowest math class or into the highest level math class.  I got the answer right and moved into the higher class.

Now what's interesting about being tracked into GT is that once in, it's actually rather hard to get kicked out.  The teachers do more to help you as they see you as a gifted and talented student.  The also forgive more; you have available to you more "bad days" and more understanding.  And you have access to better teachers, assignments, and materials.  You enter and elitist world and, yes, first class is better ... not on all levels, but on many that count.  My second Jupiter return occurred at 24, the year I entered my PhD program, and my third, at 36, occurred when I made the decision to become a father and planned to leave my career at UNC.  It is very helpful to review one's life resume and see the key dates and how the astrology matches up.  Once you see the patterns you can begin to look forward and see how energy will play in your future and how best to anticipate it.

If you have not done a life resume, I highly recommend creating one.  The exercise alone can be personally revealing.  And you don't always have to look for obvious outward examples, like a move or quitting a job, though those may be of importance.  Many internal decisions represent spiritual opportunities for growth or spiritual misses that inhibit growth (say not leaving a relationship when you should or avoiding consequences by lying).  Even when we are similar to others in many and profound ways, we still unfold a unique destiny.  What has been your unique destiny so far?  What boats did you get on for new adventure?  What boats did your avoid, and therefore missed an important journey?  Who did you let in your life and why?  Have you allowed them to overstay their welcome or are you trying to hold onto someone who should be let go?  How have winded through your personal path?

Symbols in Astrology - Meaning on the Degrees of Your Chart

When you were born the Sun was in a particular Sign of the Zodiac, at the time you were born it was in a particular House, and at the date of your birth it was in that Sign at a particular degree.  All the energy points reside at a particular degree at the time of your birth.  I have my Sun in Aries at 23d14m and it resides in my 5th House using the Placidus system and in the 6th House using the Whole Sign system.  The degree placement is very important and many books have been written about the meaning of each degree, beginning with The Degrees of the Zodiac Symbolized by Charubel and Sepharial first published in 1898 and most famously The Sabian Symbols in Astrology: A Symbol Explained for Each Degree of the Zodiac by Marc Edmund Jones published in 1953.

These books provide an easy access into your astrology chart as a novice or beginner student.  If you can read the basic information on each energy point and then look up the degree meaning in one of these books, you can gain immediate access into useful knowledge about your chart without having to fuse together a lot of discrete information (energy point in sign, house, and with aspects to and from other energy points).  Another excellent resource is The Zodiac Image Handbook: The Cardinal Signs - Aries - Cancer - Libra - Capricorn (v. 3) - Paperback (Nov. 1991) by Helen Koppejan and Willem Koppejan (the other two volumes are for the fixed and mutable signs).  These books and the degree meanings rely on vivid imagery in short description to capture the deeper meaning of the degrees.  Below you will find my Sun interpreted through The Sabian Symbols and The Zodiac Image Handbook.  When researching your degree, always use the degree following your existing placement, so for 23d14m Aries, I look up 24d Aries.  In both of these books there is a lower and higher vibration expression of the energy.

The Sabina Symbols: Marc Edmund Jones

An open window and a net curtain blowing into a cornucopia.  The keyword is MUNIFICENCE.  When positive, the degree is an irrepressible genius for capturing the richer rewards of life and providing a wider distribution for the higher realities and when negative, a petty and smug self-importance in dispensing favors to others. (172)

The Zodiac Image Handbook: The Cardinal Signs

First Image, Outer Symbol: A young man lazily stretched out on a carpet, with his right arm supporting his head, plays with glittering balls, or beads, of different colors.  Standing behind him on the carpet, an almost nude woman wearing only a belt beset with precious stones, is watching him with an air of dominance and disdain.

Janduz calls this the degree of "no value". (89).  On the low level this person is lazy and mediocre.  On the high spiritual level "there is complete control over the senses and a return to the highest purity through morality, so that past mistakes and sinful experiences will not be repeated". (90).

Second Image, Inner Symbol: A window curtain blown inwards, shaped as a cornucopia.

Here is the archetypal symbol of life itself.  Rigidly one repeats one's feelings until suddenly awakened by the entering storm wind, the passion of the gale.

Low and high, negative/shadow and positive, the weak form or the strong form ... all energy has levels of expression along a continuum from very base to highly spiritual.  The weakness of this degree is arrogance and laziness and its highest expression is generosity, sharing, and awareness.  With my Sun on this degree, my life path will run along the continuum of accomplishments.  The degree gives the energy to accomplish but does not ensure that it will be done well or valued.  To dispense favors with smug self-importance suggests attaining a position of power, but treating it poorly.  Storms in life open the rigid mind of this degree, and I've had a few of those storms and hope I am more awakened because of them.

You can easily track down various books that work with each degree and you do not need to know the challenging art of integration to pull the energy point into sign/house/aspect to come up with the proper interpretation of the energy point.  You merely need to know the degrees of each energy point and have book to give you the interpretations of the degree and you are off and running.  This process is a good, simple inroad into astrology.

Tarot Meditation Card for the Day - Osho Zen Tarot - Fire to the South, Sharing

When I make a one card draw the question I like to put in my mind is "What do I most need to contemplate today?"  The card I drew today is Fire to the South, Sharing.

The Osho Zen Tarot Deck makes a number of changes to the traditional Western deck and the use of directions to mark the "court" cards is one of my favorites.  Instead of using the Queen of Wands, we see a triangle pointing downward in the Southerly direction.  When this card is drawn you are asked to think of what you can share "without tak[ing] inventories or put[ing] aside for later."  You "dispense your treasures without limits, welcoming all and sundry to partake of the abundance ..." (50).  Perhaps what you have to share is material: the opening of your home to guests, feeding and entertaining them, or giving money to a charity or people in need without prompting.  Perhaps you have knowledge you are willing to share freely, in a blog or talking openly among friends and strangers alike.  

The more you give, the more you may receive.  But if nothing comes in return, it does not matter.  There is such a thing as "right giving" and it entails no expectation of any thing in return, not even a thank you and certainly not a gift.  However, it has been my experience that the more I give, the more life gives me back in return, especially, sometimes when it may seem hard to give.  During those times I do my best to give my trust to the universe that good energy out will invite good energy in.  How and where do I share openly, am I doing enough sharing, and what are the things, talents, or knowledge that I have to share with a sense of abundance of, "giving it away without expectation or concern"?  How have you shared today and in your life?

Of all the "things" we can share without concern for "running out," Love is the unending abundance.  This card also asks of us to open our Heart Chakras completely, a process that often happens for men via Kundalini rising during the Uranus Opposition at 40 to 42.  The birth of a child can also burst open the Heart Chakra and completely shift our view of the world and how it operates.  In this time of recession, emerging austerity, and future scarcity of world resources (oil, water, food), our sharing will be most crucial, downright necessary in fact for our species to avoid some very painful consequences.  We will need to become abundant with our time and our care of others, family and strangers, wherever they need care.  We are all the Buddha and nothing we own is permanent, so why not share as much and as often as possible.  Share your smile, share your laughter, share simply and at grand level if possible.

2011 in the US - The Year Ahead, The Year of Adjustment

To perform this forecast, I have chosen to look at both the Transits and Progressions of the United States chart (Sibley, 7/4/1776, 5:10PM, Philadelphia, PA) using the Whole Signs system as written about in Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George. In terms of global transits, 2011 will be much quieter year than the last three (2008 to 2010), which included, significantly: Pluto's transit into Capricorn (January 2008); a Saturn (Libra), Uranus (Aries), Pluto (Capricorn) T-square with Saturn opposing Uranus (2009-2010); Chiron/Neptune conjunction in Aquarius; Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Pisces; and Jupiter, Saturn, Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto all moving towards and/or back and forth over the ingress point between signs (Virgo/Libra, Sagittarius/Capricorn, Aquarius/Pisces, and Pisces/Aries). Jupiter separates from Uranus and will move entirely through Aries, Saturn nearly completes its journey through Libra, Chiron permanently enters Pisces and begins to separate from Neptune, Uranus moves permanently into Aries, Neptune and Saturn trine by the end of the year, and Pluto settles more firmly into Capricorn. The ass-smacking square between Uranus and Pluto will not ramp back up until 2012.

While the global transits basically give us a breather, we need to take that time to "batten down the hatches", "stock the root cellar", "pay off our debts", and any other save and conserve measures to protect us from stormy weather and rainy days. The Cosmic Storm brewing with Uranus/Pluto is going to be much more volatile than the last one, when they were conjunct in the 1960s. We will also get a feel for the new way of things as the world economy continues to be stagnant overall and contracting (debt unwinding will become the business as usual if we can detach ourselves from debt accumulation as business as usual). Uranus and Pluto will square in 2012 and dance a "square dance" 7 times until 2015. Given how the global economy represents a "fragile" complex system at this time and entropy is on the rise, we may see many different avalanches over the course of those 3 years depending, largely, on what each world government and the banking system decide during the next two years. If we stick with business as usual (debt to pay for debt), it won't be a pretty picture.

The US, in particular, is going to continue to feel strains, both from the transits and certainly from progressions. I have written about the pVenus/pMars opposition, with tSaturn conjunct pMars, in a previous post, which augers, I believe, a time of fighting to deny the changes we need to make to get society to a healthy place. Mars and Saturn together often indicate war and aggression and tSaturn will be dancing over nSaturn in one hell of a Saturn Return. A lot of what we can expect from 2011 will be set up in the November 2010 election. I suspect we will actually get more of the same even if the Tea Party has major victories and the Republicans return to power in the Congress. Pluto in Capricorn is showing us that the big systems are failing and "work from within" is not likely to bring about any significant change. But what does work from outside look like? It looks like Uranus in Aries in the 5th House of Creativity! America does have tremendous resilience, but what we need is truly revolutionary thinking, not the watered down change offered by Lobbyists for corporate interests.

Whatever we don't do in 2011 to right the ship will only show up in more "men, women, and children overboard" in 2012 when the next Presidential election occurs right near the time of the first exact square of Uranus/Pluto. 2011 will truly be a Year of Adjustment, so let's look at the significant Hot Spots for the year.  Follow this link if you want to see all the monthly charts cast for 2011.

Progressed Venus conjunct Natal Chiron opposes Progressed Mars, Transiting Saturn, and Natal Saturn

This set of configurations represents one of the two Heavy Action areas of the US 2011 chart (the other one involves pMercury, tNeptune, and tChiron conjunct nMoon).  pVenus will progress from 20d29m in Aries in the 5th House to 21d30m over the course of the year, forming a 1d Separating Conjunction with nChiron.  On a societal level, our 1 to 1 relationships and our contracts have merged with the wounding energy of Chiron in Aries (doing whatever we want as individuals without regard for others, and suffering the consequences).  The shadow expression of Chiron in Aries is a wound that comes from doing whatever we want (Aries/5th).  Our greatest asset, Aries independence and creativity, is our greatest potential harm, as deregulation has opened the door for theft at an unprecedented level, one that threatens not only US economies, but world economies.  With pVenus conjunct, we will, at this time, feel the high or low vibration of nChiron in Aries in our 1 to 1 relationships, our marriages, and our business dealings (note the recent review of foreclosure proceedings).

Opposed is pMars at 18d34mR (retrograde) in January and 18d31mR in December, less than 4d Approaching Conjunct to nSaturn (at 14d48m) and in tight opposition to pVenus.  It is a time to strike balance with masculine and feminine energies or watch them go "back and forth" against each other, vying for the upper hand.  Mars and Saturn represent the Great Malefic(s) and here they are conjunct, doubly so since tSaturn is at 17d6m in January and not even 3d Separating Conjunct from nSaturn.  "We have seen the enemy and he is us."  Mars retrograde can mean holding back action, reviewing plans, or becoming impotent.  Unfortunately, pMars will remain Retrograde until 2086 (having gone Retrograde in July of 2006), for an 80 year span. pMars will re-conjunct nSaturn and move all the way back into Gemini.  If American is an empire, then this span will likely show its fall from power or impotence on the world stage over the duration of the time. We are likely to see our "gains" diminish as this progressed energy moves longer and longer through the Retrograde phase.  The positive shift is learning to live with less, re-tooling and rethinking our ambitions.

Among the various great returns in individual charts, the Saturn return is likely number one (Jupiter occurs every 12 years, Chiron returns at 50, and Uranus at 84).  The Saturn return is the "big test" period of our lives when we evaluate what we have done and either give ourselves high marks or learn that we need to make some big changes.  Considering the national and household debt, the state of education, the corrupting influence of banks and corporations, I think we will find this Saturn return about making some big changes.  However, it will be hard, as hard as realizing your marriage is not good, but you don't want to give up the lifestyle you can only have with 2 incomes or 1 person supporting the other.  Obligations, like children or family may add difficulty to making the necessary changes.  Many people reach their Saturn returns, find their lives lacking, and keep staying the course.  Saturn is not a change agent, that's what Pluto is for, which is making its way towards a future square (not in this year) with Natal Saturn in about 10 years.  We are going to have to make dramatic changes to the "unchangeables" - Social Security, Health Care, Education, and the Military.  If we "stay the course" or continue to rejuvenate the old course, we'll find ourselves hitting the iceberg without the number of life boats needed to save everyone.  And like trying to turn the Titanic, it will be too late to make the turn when we actually see the iceberg!

What to do?  If you are not a player at high level, and even if you are, you likely want the system to work and can't abide significant change, then you need to do your best to make changes on your personal level.  Do away with debt any way you can and don't take on any new debt, buy a used car, rent a home.  SAVE, SAVE, SAVE.  If you do buy, but real assets and own them outright ... like land.  We may all be farmers again one day.  Network, build your personal tribe and community of support, consider joining an intentional community, get rooted and learn about your local community.  Learn how to live more simply, carpool,  learn to share resources; these strategies will help you regardless of how the future unfolds.

pMercuryR, tNeptune, and tChiron conjunct nPallas and nMoon

Pallas is not a commonly used energy point unless you are a student of Demetra George after she published Asteroid Goddesses, which I am.  Pallas represents logical thinking, strategy, the art of planning with the mind and it is tightly conjunct the US Natal Moon in Aquarius in the 3rd House (of Communication) and nearly conjunct the 4th House cusp (of Family and Culture).  Americans are "Idealists at Heart" and we certainly have the rhetoric for community activism.  We have also been on the forefront of many changes in community, though not so much of late, probably an impact of pMercury being Retrograde since late 1994. (though gay marriage is staggering forward even as the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell failed).  Retrograde Mercury is also a time for re-evaluation, slowing down, reviewing, and listening!  It is the listening part that America struggles to master, especially since it has such good luck (Part of Fortune conjunct Mercury in Cancer in the 8th) talking and speaking as a moral authority (the mother sign) in its relationships (8th House).

Now, however, is a time to take care of our own, our deep self with the pSun moving through the 4th House and Pisces (6d).  American will be "feeling itself" in the home.  The financial crisis has not only thrown people out of homes, it has driven people back home, trapped people in homes, and opened up wounds in families.  Chiron and Neptune represent a very dynamic combination, much in the same way that Uranus and Jupiter (in 2010) presented.  Unfortunately, the shadow side of these energies represent wounding and delusion and often get more press and play than the higher vibration healing energies available in both.  They will both be Direct at the beginning of the year and the end and Retrograde in the middle.  Chiron will move into Pisces while Neptune will remain in Aquarius.  Most likely, the illusions of the past will hold fast as businesses and government try to reanimate the consumer monster (debt supercycle), military superiority (failed, failing, or unproductive wars), and world authority (while owing everyone else for buying our bonds).  At home we will need to do some serious, deep healing and embrace compassion (Pisces) instead of idealism (Aquarius).  The size and duration of unemployment, and more importantly, underemployment will keep distractions to a minimum as communities and families slow down and turn inward.

In essence, these energies suggest a countrywide turning inward phase.  Coupled with the Saturn Return, America is in for a year of navel gazing while the "powers that be" try their level best to keep the population gazing at the TV.  Distractions may prove harder to come by, especially after the new Congress fails to accomplish anything of import; they will slash programs, but not the budget!

Other Hot Spots of Note

• tNorth Node conjunct nAscendant - Learning to re-present ourselves to the world.  We will know we need a "new look" out in the world.
• pMoon approaches nSaturn - Emotions start to have more of a role in the rules, when pMarsR hits we could have a "boiling point".
• Lunation Cycle - Full Moon - Analyze and Perfect, develop a plan.  We need a long range strategy, but will we get one?  We, as a country, are very used to operating in the Hedonistic Now, and what we need is a "long view".  If we don't start developing one now, when this cycle end s(around the same time Pluto gets out of Capricorn), we may really see a fallen empire in 15 years.  The potential is in the energy for amazing change, but leadership is going to have unite and lead instead of divide and stagnate.
• pAscendant ingress the 10th House.  We need new work, and not just for the unemployment problem, but a new way of thinking about, distributing, and enacting work.  We need, entering Virgo, to bring manufacturing back into this country, adjust the wages, do whatever is needed, but we need people here producing instead of consuming.

2011 will be the quiet before the storm and there will be a storm in 2012 because a soaring stock market and high unemployment are an explosive combination showing the elimination of the Middle Class.  Frustration will likely be the brew of 2011 unless local communities and individuals can begin to create new opportunities and compassion as the world shifts and sifts through an ongoing economic struggle.

Tarot Meditation Card for the Day - Osho Zen Tarot - The Master

The Master is a card unique to the Osho Zen Tarot Deck because it is not a card of the Major or Minor Arcana, giving this deck 79 cards instead of only 78.

When you draw this card, you are reminded that your life is about your own mastership.  People can teach you, people can guide you, people can even tell you what to do (and you can give them all your power); but, ultimately, you are supposed to determine your own destiny and understand your own story.  In Zen Buddhism one tries to follow the Eightfold Path, which involves: the Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration.  In all situations in life there is the Right choice or solution, not too much and not too little.  Not perfect, but optimal ... the best at any given time.  Finding your Zen is about finding your Right Path in life and through life.

Drawing this card raises the question of "where am I?" in my life drama.  What does your mastership look like.  In my own story, at one time, I thought it involved teaching knowledge at the collegiate level.  Currently I am trying out a destiny as a full-time parent, which is a good fit, but only part of the story still unfolding.  I certainly feel in Mastership when working with the Tarot and helping others transform, which was really the basis for my pursuit of my degree and my desire to teach.  What is your Right Path and when you face decisions, do you make them with Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration?  Who is the person in the world you most admire, look up to, would trust to guide you ... well, then you should become that person  or use and leave behind that person because you are meant to be a Master in your own right.

This card is also a reminder, by being outside the standard number of cards, that the Tarot is a tool we use and not a tool that uses us.

Tarot Meditation Card for the Day - Osho Zen Tarot - 6 of Air, The Burden

In the Osho Zen Deck a number of the Air cards are not what you would describe as "happy" cards (2/Schizophrenia, 3/Ice-Olation, 4/Postponement, 7/Politics, 8/Guilt, and 9/Sorrow); not surprising in a deck based on Zen Buddhism, which considers the mind the ultimate source of suffering in life.  So, when you draw the 6 of Air, the Burden, look at your life and see where you are taking on the burdens of others.

Life can be an uphill climb much of the time and doing it without extra weight on our backs is certainly the way to go.  Here the figure on the bottom represents the querent who is trying to climb the mountain of life with someone riding him, and as if to really drive the point home, there is a rooster on top of the Fop unwilling to make his own climb.  The card, though, has a double meaning.  It is very possible that the Fop being a burden is the querent as well.  Are you burdened or a burden to others?

In either case the card expects us to refuse to continue to accept the burdens of others or to stop being a burden to others.  This challenge can be very personal, especially if family members are tied to the reading or the first thought that crosses the mind of the querent is of a family member.  This card is not about helpful support but the clear abuse of another person's goodwill and strength.  If we immediately think of a person in our life when this card appears, then that person needs to be challenged as does the expectation to carry that person's burden.  In essence, we all get one life to make as our own in this lifetime and we should not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of ... and this card is about ALLOWING.  Nor should we take unfair advantage of others when we can "walk on our own."

A young couple walks down the high street, window shopping.

Recently I have met a number of accomplished astrologers who have been more than willing to share knowledge and recommend great astrology books.  One such person I met through Facebook and he recommended three volumes from Helene and Willem Koppejan entitled The Zodiac Image Handbook: The Cardinal Signs, The Fixed Signs, and The Mutable Signs.  These books assign meanings to each degree of the Zodiac similar to the Sabian Symbols communicated by Marc Edmund Jones.  Today I have been reading each of the degrees associated with energy points from my Birth Chart.  The title quote comes from the 12th Degree of Taurus, where my Mars sits (in my 7th House).  At the beginning of the description is, perhaps, the best, ideal description of community, that I wish to share in this blog entry.

"A human found another human.  The two-in-one -- the 'one-two' --do what every couple loves to do: walking and talking among shops (Gemini) after joyful work.  They have saved some money and want that to be circulated back into the community (Aquarius), and they would buy something of beauty made by another human's life energy.  Wise accumulation of goods is a proof of one's inner wisdom and discernment, and one's being well-placed in the 'recycling process' of the community where one earns a living (Taurus)."

Book Recommendations - Astrology of the Moon by Amy Herring and Astrology and the Authentic Self by Demetra George

Amy Herring is a student of Steven Forrest and her book Astrology of the Moon reflects his Evolutionary Astrology approach.

The book focuses on two primary readings of the Moon in the chart, its placement in the birth chart and its progressed status at any given time in your life.  She is thoughtfully non-deterministic, writing about general influence and possible ways to manage the energy of your natal and/or progressed Moons.  Each section (natal Moon and progressed Moon) is broken down into two sub-sections: by Sign and by House.  Each sub-section has headings that cover the positive and negative influences.  In the by Sign section of the natal Moon chapter, the repeating headings are: Living, Loving, Losing Your Way.  While this book is a cookbook, it is one of the highest and most useful order.

Once you have read up on your natal Moon sign, get a chart cast that shows your progressed Moon and read about your current Lunar influence.  The Moon progresses through each sign at roughly 2 and 1/2 years.  If you use the Whole Sign system, like I do, then it will progress through each House and Sign at the same time.  If you use an unequal house system, most commonly Placidus, then the progressed Moon can stay in a House while moving out of a Sign or stay in a Sign while moving out of House. Herring reminds us to stay cognizant of the fact that we are always, for our entire life, defined by our natal Moon's fundamental energy even as our progressed Moon EVOLVES us.

While Herring does not talk about the Lunation Cycle, her book is an excellent companion to Demetra George's Astrology and the Authentic Self, which does lay out the Lunation Cycle.  

We are all born into a specific area of the Lunation Cycle, which is made up of the Eight Phases of the Moon cycle: New, Crescent, First Quarter, Gibbous, Full, Disseminating, Last Quarter, and Balsamic.  You determine your phase based on the location of your Natal Moon from your Natal Sun.  In my case my Moon is 178 degrees from my Sun, placing me in the very last section of the Gibbous Moon Phase. The keywords for this phase are: evaluate, analyze, and perfect (148).  Like the fixed quality of my Natal Moon (in Libra in my 12th House), I will spend my life time working on "analyzing self-expression in order to find better techniques for doing things or facilitating personal growth." (148).  Following the movement of your Progressed Sun and Progressed Moon, your pMoon will eventually "catch up with" and pass your pSun and restart your Lunation Cycle.  Movement through each phase takes almost 3 years and full cycle is completed around 30 years.

To get the full sense of your Lunar Story, begin with Herring's book and read about your Natal Moon and current Progressed Moon.  Next, get George's book and determine your Birth Lunar Phase and your Current Lunar Phase.  My Lunar Story begins with my Moon in Libra in my 12th House.  I was born near the very end of the Gibbous Phase and found it worthwhile to read about the Full Moon Phase (which is about clarifying my purpose, illuminating and fulfilling my ideals).  Currently my pMoon is in Taurus in my 7th House, which is about regaining peace and equilibrium in my one-to-one relationships.  I am also in the Balsamic Phase of my Current Lunation Cycle, which will end and begin anew in 2013.

I highly recommend both these books.

For an outstanding and much more detailed review of Demetra George's book, visit this link.