Leaves change late here in Florida.  Photo copyright by Lorna Tedder.

A few days ago, in spite of everything in my life being absolutely fantastic, I hit a couple of days of unexpected emotional turmoil.  There was just no way to explain it and I couldn’t shake it for a day or two. 

As usual, I like to experiment and explore the scientific side of things when I can.  My relationship with a particular friend has turned me into a “data whore” in this regard as we log a number of daily stats as part of our health regimen and goals.  It is through this collection of data over the last year or so that I have been able to uncover my exact food sensitivities and lost approximately 30 pounds in a matter of months (more on that in my upcoming 20 Pounds in 30 Days: A Food Rebel’s Best Way to Lose Weight).

It’s also because of that extensive data collection that I have records of unexplained mood swings.  I’ve noticed that I’m most likely to have an unexpected change in feelings (emotions) when I have a  Moon Conjunt Vertex transit.  This is the transiting moon conjunct my natal vertex.   Of course, that happens about once a month.  It’s vital for me when I have such influences (astrological weather) that I don’t make any impatient decisions or send any scathing break-up letters.  I’ll certainly regret it in a couple of days when my emotions (Moon) are past that turning point (Vertex). 

As I’ve discussed in other articles on the Vertex, Moon-Vertex conjunctions are very powerful in regard to emotions, whether it’s a Moon transit every month or  a conjunction in your progressed chart.  The monthly transits tend to be more like “hiccups’ in my emotional structure, whereas in the progressed chart, they are more like earthquakes that change my feelings drastically, making me very aware of something or someone and often portending either falling head over heels in love or a heartbreak.  On a few occasions, my feelings for someone or something have just…made a 180-degree turn, sort of like a light switch suddenly turned off or on. 

So check your current transits and your progressed charts (and your solar return chart) at astro.com and see what your astrological weather looks like–and where that Moon and Vertex are.

(My novella, A Reverence for Trees, is currently available in the Kindle Lending Library on Amazon.)

Photo copyright by Sergey Yeliseev; creative commons license

This trio of articles covers finding out how the partial solar eclipse of November 25, 2011 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse.

Here’s Part 3: 

3. Planets in conjunction/opposition to eclipse

Since I covered this scariness of an eclipse hitting exact on the degree or opposite degree of a planet back in January 2008 and in several subsequent posts, I’ll quote from what I’ve written previously and then tell you what to look at for this eclipse.

So what happens when an eclipse conjuncts one of your natal planets?  Some people say it’s like the transformational blast/upset of Pluto acting on that planet.  In other words, if the eclipse is at the same degree as a particular planet in your birthchart, then the life areas represented by that planet will be where you have a sudden upset…more like a nuclear strike on that planet.  

Or so some say.  But let’s look into my chart for the past few years, as well as my private journals, and see what was shaping up for me then.

Ah, how about 28 August 2007?   The lunar eclipse was at…4 degrees Pisces.  Strange….that’s the exact degree of my Ascendant.  What was happening in my life that day?  Well, the first thing was a couple of emails asking if I was going bankrupt and closing Spilled Candy, and within 48 hours, there were 1000’s of people screaming at me on MySpace, calling me all sorts of very un-nice things and emailing lies about me.  A lot of wonderful people came to my defense, too, and knew how difficult those days were for me because of  family health issues and a few close friends knew I was having major problems getting oxygen at that time, but for the most part, nobody knew I was having all the symptoms of heart failure.  But that one particular day was a bolt of out the blue when things just couldn’t have hit any harder or any worse as far as my reputation.  And what does the Ascendant represent?  How the outer world sees you.  Oh, and just for grins, it was also conjunct a fixed star that represents destructiveness and sorrow.

So here are the past few years’ big eclipses, those big drama-producers.  Keep in mind that some say that lunar eclipses tear down and get rid of while solar eclipses regenerate.  Hmmm, yes, a lot of Pluto similarities in that idea.

Let’s try 14 March 2006, with a lunar eclipse at 14 Virgo.  Exact conjunction with my Black Moon Lilith.  That was the day I realized something had been going on behind my back and ended the relationship.  My instincts caused me to ask a particular question and the answer I got shocked me.  It was a major event for me, and one that changed the course of my life.

How about 29 March 2006?  Solar eclipse at 8 Aries 35.  The closest in my chart would have been Eris, the asteroid that represents sexuality, but the conjunction wasn’t exact.  My records don’t show anything substantive occuring that day.

Let’s try 7 September 2006, with a lunar eclipse at 15 Pisces.  Nope, nothing close.   The solar eclipse two weeks later at 29 Virgo?  Nope, nothing close BUT a friend with Pluto at that exact degree had a major death/rebirth issue that day.

Moving into 2007,  let’s look at 3 March with a lunar eclipse on my birthday at 13 Virgo.  Close to my Black Moon Lilith but off by a degree.  No major trauma or drama that day. Meanwhile, the 18 March solar eclipse at 28 Pisces wasn’t close to anything and passed uneventfully as well.

The 28 August eclipse, I’ve already discussed, but how about the one right after, on 11 September when the solar eclipse at 18 Virgo 24 was to mean regeneration?  Interesting.  I have my Vertex (turning points) at 18 Virgo 42. which is pretty darned exact. Were there any turning points in my life then?  Yes, a personal one.  I remember the date because of a letter I received.  It was a good thing, regenerating in a very nice way.

So here we are in 2008 with some eclipses coming up.  Am I nervous?  Hell, yeah.  Excited, too.  I went a little farther back in my own charts than I’m showing here because there are details I don’t care to share, but what I’m seeing is that, in general, when the eclipse is exact to something in my chart, rather than even a degree off, there is a dramatic effect in that area of my life.  If the eclipse is lunar, then yes, it does seem to be about things being destroyed whereas solar eclipses tend to bring new life into those areas of my life.

 

And from another article in June 2010:

If I fast forward, the next two significant eclipses for me personally occurred  in August 2008, which  was conjunct my Natal Jupiter/Mars.  That eclipse heralded a tremendous expansion in how I saw relationships and what I knew was possible as well as how I thought about sexuality.  The following January 2009, an eclipse was conjunct my Natal Saturn, and oh, but yes, it was definitely a time of constriction and hard lessons.  Saturn is definitely a teacher, and especially when given a power burst by an eclipse.

This June 26, 2010 eclipse is conjunct Pluto in capricorn, so externally, we all have the possibility of big change in structures, governments, and institutions.  This is the equivalent of a Pluto-Pluto conjunction, which we humans will experience around the moment of birth!  But on a personal level, internally, this eclipse might get your attention in an extra-strong way if you have a conjunction or opposition.  How?  Here are a few ways it might manifest for different celestial bodies:

Sun:  who you are, your personality

Ascendant:  how you appear to the world

Moon: emotions, Mother

Mercury: communications, intellect, mental processes

Venus: romance, creativity, finances

Mars: sex, aggression

Jupiter: expansion, business,

Saturn: constriction, lessons

Uranus: shake-ups, bolts from the blue

Neptune:  spirituality, deception, illusion, uncertainty

Pluto: regeneration, death and rebirth

Chiron: wounding/healing

Juno:  marriage

Lilith: addictions,  instincts

This November 25 eclipse of 2011 isn’t conjunct any of the above.  However, there are a few interesting connections to watch.  It’s conjunct (within minutes) the fixed star known as Dschubba, which correlates to mass catastrophe, sudden assaults, immorality, and battle skills.  In opposition, within 1 degree, is Mirfak, which represents meteorological events affects large numbers of people.  Sounds a little ominious, yes, but not nearly as bad for everyone as the one last June of 2010!

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This trio of articles covers finding out how  the partial solar eclipse of November 25, 2011 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse. 

2.  House Placement

Where does this eclipse occur in your natal chart?  In other words, which of the 12 “houses” of your astrological chart will be most affected?  A house is like an area, sector, or theme of your life. 

Here are the 12 houses and what areas of your life they represent:

First house:  self, ego

Second house:  values, possessions, money, self-worth

Third house:  siblings, neighborhood/community environment, communications

Fourth house:  home,  domestic situation, can mean the mother but in some situations the mother is represented in the Tenth house and the father in the fourth

Fifth house:  romance, children, creative expression, play

Sixth house:  daily life/routine/tasks, health, skills/jobs (not career)

Seventh house: committed partnerships (marriage or business), legal relationships, open enemies

Eight house:  sex, joint finances, regneration, death, transformation, occult

Ninth house:  travel, knowledge/education, foreign cultures, religion, law

Tenth house:  career, the father (though sometimes the mother), authority, Government

Eleventh house:  goals/hopes, friends, groups

Twelfth house:  mysticism/spirituality, hospitals, prisons, secrets, hidden things, unknown enemies

To find out which houses are affected, you must know what’s in your chart.  If you don’t already know, go to astro.com and create your own natal chart (it’s free) using your place of birth, birth time, and birth date.  You must know your approximate birth time and place or this exercise will NOT be accurate. 

Look on your chart for  the house that 2 degrees of Sagittarius occurs in.  This is where you’ll most feel the effects.  Then look at where 2 degrees Gemini shows up in your chart–opposite of the eclipse.  This house will also be strongly affected.  

 If you don’t know how to find this at astro.com, then I recommend you find an astrologer to pay for this information (I don’t do this, sorry, so please don’t ask).

Continuing my example from the previous article in this trio, my own themes are playing out in travel/education expansion and local community and communications, with the eclipse occuring right smack dab in the middle of my Ninth house and the middle of  its opposite house, the Third.  Combined with looking at parallel eclipses and house placement, I’m most likely to feel that pull between my neighborhood and travel over the next few months.  In fact, it’s already shaping up that way….

Photo copyright by  amdcreation; under creative commons license.

This trio of articles covers finding out how the solar, or new moon, eclipse of 25 November 2011 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse.
 
1.        Parallel and related eclipses: 
 
For a better understanding of the Saros and Metonic series, read Parallel Eclipses and How They Influence your Life (Part I), which explains the terminology and gives examples of cycles in eclipses.
 
The  most recent related eclipse occurred 1 June 2011.  To get a feel for what issues might resurface for you with the November eclipse,  think back on what was happening in your life at that time. Also, eclipse patterns repeat in your life every 19 years, so look back at what was happening in your life around 25 November 1992.  (That one’s easy for me–I was giving birth to my very overdue second child–the fun of this is seeing this eclipse conjunct her natal sun in her chart!)   If you blog or keep a journal, that’s not so hard to remember the more recent eclipses but looking back 19 years and 19 years before that isn’t easy, if even possible.  Look at what choices you made at that time–late 1992, 1973, and 1954–particularly the one 19 years ago if you’re fortunate enough to be over 35.  (One of the sweeter things about getting older is that you have a chance to see patterns develop over decades.)
 
This eclipse will in some way reflect what was happening in your life at that time.  Look back and see what themes emerge, what lessons you learned, and whether you’ll make different and better choices this time around.
 
If you have trouble remembering what you were doing, here are a few hints about what was in the news at the time.  Hopefully these events will jog your memory.
 
a.       Late  1992 

-Presidental election — Clinton elected — (I watched Ross Perot dance with his wife after conceding on the TV screen in Labor and Delivery, Round 1, and was back for Round 2 about 3 weeks later)

-1st test flight of Airbus A330

-Anglican Church & Church of England OK female priests

-”Malcolm X” with Denzel Washington premieres

-Queen Elizabeth’s home Windsor Castle catches fire

-Washington Post reports  Senator Bob Packwood sexually harassed 10 women

 
b.     Late 1973

-Good Morning America premieres on ABC (David Hartman & Nancy Dussault)

-Wings release “Band on the Run”

-Britain’s Princess Anne marries commoner, Capt Mark Phillips

-Pres Nixon authorizes construction of Alaskan pipeline

-Skylab 4 launched into Earth orbit

c.      Late 1954

 -Walt Disney’s 1st television program, “Disneyland,” premieres on ABC

-Nobel prize for literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway

- Linus Pauling won the Nobel prize in chemistry

-Ellis Island, immigration station in NY Harbor, closed

-Air Force One, 1st US Presidential airplane, christened

 
The best example for me is the birth of my younger daughter 19 years ago.  It was a time of settling into a more structured life than ever.  If being married with one child was stable for me, then children and a busy career meant I was firmly entrenched in my path and would be for the next two decades.  I was … committed to that life. That cycle is completing now as Aislinn is away at college and finding her ground there.  It’s very much of a time of new opportunities and going back and picking up old passions and discovering new ones.  Whereas the future possibilities had definitely narrowed for me at that time, the cycle is completing and a new one opening up to be defined, structured, and committed to. 

 The dates of the related eclipses were powerful days that presented me with many gifts, Aislinn being one of the brightest.
 

 I suspect that the idea of making definite NEW plans for the future–the next 19 years, surely–and how I handle them will arise again as a result of this eclipse.  More on how that ties in with career and home in my next article on the location of the eclipse in your astrological  “houses.”  Last time, I had put away some of my beloved pastimes and focus on career and home and tiny children.  This time, I get to double back and find the things I put on a back burner until my children were grown. 

Read Part 2 of 3

It’s Eclipse Week here at The Spiritual Eclectic, so watch for more articles this week on how this eclipse will affect you.   Just because I predicted economic collapse 18 months ago is no reason to think this one will be as bad!

Follow the links here to Part 1  Part 2  Part 3  of the next 3-part article as it’s published.

But first, the basics.

Time and Date:

November 25, 2011;  12:10 AM Central (here in NW Florida)

Type:

Partial Solar.  (North Node)

Where seen:

Antarctica, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the tip of South Africa.

General predictions among astrologers:

Mild.  (This is not the horror story of the June 2010 eclipse.)  A challenge for some signs but of the kind to push people to make those necessary changes, finally, and clean up their respective acts. We may see some serious decisions made regarding money and the world economy, taxes, jobs in about 6 months due to the position of Venus to the eclipse and the Galactic Center.  Think ahead to travel, education, expansion, and belief systems–all related to Jupiter’s positive position.

Favorability:

The overwhelming opinion of astrologers I’ve communicated with is that this eclipse will be a good shift toward wrapping up old issues so you can move forward.  Lots of positives that I’m hearing.  Some astrologers are just bent on depressing news and if you look for it, you’ll find it.  This eclipse is not as dire as the one in June 2010…under which we are still laboring.

Sign and Degree:

2 Sagittarius 37

Sabian symbol:

At 2 Sagittarius, “Two Men Playing Chess” with its opposing sign 2 Gemini, “The Garden Of The Tuileries In Paris.”   To me, this feels more like making planned moves, balanced with serenity. 

Most recent related eclipses:

1 June 2011  (Big hint:  what was going on in your life then?  There’ll be some reflection in this eclipse.)  It’s not always a bad thing, so don’t immediately fret.  For me, I was experiencing “Milestone L,” as my best friend called it, referencing my name and a term used in our careers.  We set forth a strategy for all the things I wanted to accomplish and reviewed where I was and where I was going.  Extremely useful! 

Saros Series:

14 North

Last eclipses in this metonic series:

1 July 2000, 19 April 2004, 7 February 2008  (Important: what was going on in your life then? This eclipse will reflect those situations. Read Parallel Eclipses and How They Influence your Life (Part I) ) 

For myself, when looking back at these times, I underwent tremendous life changes within the next few months.   They were not easy, but they all took me to a much, much happier place.  Something was offered to me…an opportunity, let’s say…within 30 days.   I didn’t have to take any of those opportunities, but when I took the chance and moved forward, I was rewarded many times over.  Not immediately, but within the year, I was certainly better off than if I’d not acted on the offer made to me within days after the eclipse.  So I’m eager to see where this one leads me!

Stressful configurations:

Mercury turns retrograde right before the eclipse, so this is a time of revisiting and finishing up old business.  Those family dramas around the Thanksgiving weekend might play out to a new solution or a final showdown!  North Node,  so blazing new trails in big life decisions.  This is new territory to cover, a push to move forward.  Mars and Chiron  double quincunx to retrograde Jupiter indicates more global concerns.  We are not an island, either as a people or as an economy. Jupiter at play here is a strong indicator of shifts in world concerns and business.  Venus enters Capricorn a day after, so perhaps we’ll have a bit more security in our monetary structure and love relationships.  Venus in Capricorn is a little…eh…reserved.

This year’s Winter Solstice promises to be an extra powerful one for setting your intentions for 2011, especially with the boost not only of a Full Moon but a Full Lunar Eclipse occurring 21 December 2010.   This one will be visible in North America, too, the night before the Winter Solstice.  Let’s take a look at a few details and then I’ll recommend for you my favorite Winter Solstice ritual, the Burning Bowl Ritual.

Good eclipse or bad eclipse?   Er…let’s say “powerful.”  The last time we had an eclipse-Winter Solstice conjunction was 456 years ago, in 1554.   The results can be good but this one’s going to bring in some big emotional shift for some people, particularly in the area of relationships.   It’s time to look at what we’ve built or committed to that’s no longer working and shift with the rockiness that’s coming whether we like it or not–and this is a good time to use the Winter Solstice’s first degree of Capricorn to set our intentions for how this powerful eclipse will manifest in this next year.   More on that below, but I find myself humming Jim Steinman’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Time: 

For the Eclipse,  21 December 2010 at 2:13 AM Central  (here in NW Florida)

For the Solstice, 21 December 2010 at 5:38  PM Central

Eclipse Degree:  29  Gemini  — The 29th degree is about culmination (just like that full moon).  It’s a time where we tend to see a lot of heroes…and martyrs.

Hardest hit:  Gemini and Sagittarius will be the hardest-hit signs, particularly those born at 25 Gemini to 5 Cancer, since this Eclipse is on the last degree.  If you have a planet (or ascendant) near the 29 Gemini or 29 Sagittarius, you’ll feel it the strongest in the area that planet represents (Venus = romance, finances, creativity).  Watch the first three days after the Eclipse closely–that’s often when big news or events take place and leave you shaken.  Not hard this year,  right before Christmas.  Maybe that’s why some are referring to this as “The Christmas Eclipse.”

Recommended ritual:  Rather than reiterating, I’ll just send you over to a previous article I wrote on the Burning Bowl ritual, “Better than New’ Year’s Resolutions–A Ritual that Really Works.”   As you read it, keep in mind what you’d like to bring in for the next year and if you’ve been stuck or suffering for this past year(s) or feeling trapped, take the willing step to say goodbye to it…so that you’re flowing with this Winter Solstice’s Eclipse energy rather than against it.

Chiron has just passed my stellium of planets in Aquarius–Moon, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn–and is barrelling toward my Ascendant, natal Chiron, Sun, and Venus.  Uh-oh!

I can’t really say that Chiron has had a huge horrible effect on my stellium, though I suppose I have to admit that I’ve undergone a lot of self-inquiry during this time (as evidenced by over 5 years of heavy-duty blogging through some tough life events), but I’ve come through it a rather serene and happy person.  Given that my Chiron Return is approaching in the next couple of years, yes, I’m a bit nervous.  I’ve heard horror stories. 

However, it’s a little hard for me to believe that I’ll have more horror stories to dredge up about my childhood or my youth or my past.  I think I’ve done a stellar job over the last few years of working through all those hurts, honoring them, and releasing them.  Still, with Chiron’s transit of my Ascendant beginning next year (March 2011 to December 2012), I’m just a little concerned.  I don’t know why except for stories I’ve heard of great hurt or great awakening to past hurt.  I’m almost tempted to say, “Huh? There’s more?”  One of my dearest friends tells me he’s amazed at how much I’ve endured in my life–I didn’t really see it as unusual until he pointed it out.  But if I’ve worked through so much, what is there left?

One astrologer suggested I look at Chiron’s previous hard transits  to my Pisces Ascendant and see what was going on during that time frame.  Since I was born with Chiron conjunct my Ascendant (2 degrees within my First House),  I have only 3 to look at:  two squares and an opposition to my Ascendant, which correlate to my IC, Mid-Heaven, and Descendant.  He suggested that whatever happened at my Descendant will be the opposite of what to expect when Chiron conjuncts my Ascendant since it’s 180 degrees on the other side of my birth chart.  Hmmmm.

I looked back at the exact dates and a month or so on either side of the squares and opposition and discovered something very unexpected.  Chiron’s transits at IC, Mid-Heaven, and Descendant were all about a change in residence and career.  These weren’t harsh events but they certainly were big ones.   Here’s how it all  played out:

Chiron conjunct Ascendant:  I was a newborn!

Chiron square Ascendant (or roughly, Chiron conjunct IC):  I moved into my first home (makes sense at the IC!), married, and then changed careers a few months later when I started my Defense Department career.

Chiron opposite Ascendant (or roughly, Chiron conjunct Descendant:  this was a biggie.  On the exact date of this transit, my then-husband and I were signing a contract to move into our new home with our two small daughters AND I sold my first novel, thereby beginning a new career in addition to my existing career with the Department of Defense.  I’d had no plans at all to move but my then-husband came home one day and suggest we just put the house on the market to see what might happen in that particular housing market–and it sold 8 days later.  We had to scramble to find a new house, for me to finish overnight revisions on my first novel for my editor, and to be gone to Canada on a mandatory business trip for two weeks.  This change came at the suggestion of my spouse (Descendant). 

Chiron square Ascendant (or roughly, Chiron conjunct Mid-heaven):  My then-husband and I didn’t move but it was under serious consideration.  We actually looked at jobs in another state where his employer’s headquarters were and where a lesser version of my DoD job was.  We took an extra-long weekend trip with the kids and checked out housing and school systems but decided we just really did not like the location at all and that the school system was far inferior to what ourchildren had been used to–and the best job there for me was a significant paycut and prestige downgrade.  Back home, word got out to my boss that I was thinking of leaving and I was transferred to a more nurturing office…but at a price of having a promised promotion delayed by another two years. 

Note that Chiron did not transit any significant planets or asteroids  during my divorce or the time of my ex moving out or any significant changes in household occupants.

So…Chiron conjunct Ascendant is almost on the proverbial horizon.  With all these past changes or serious consideration of changes in residence and career, what will this transit bring?  I’m not sure, but a change in residence and career is definitely a possility.  My divorce decree will all me to move out of the county just as this transit begins and there are quite a few appealing job opportunities both locally and far away that will become available around that time.  What’s the opposite of my Descendant conjunction back in 1993?  Moving out of the home I moved into?  Relaunching my writing career in some different way?  Who knows?

Will Chiron’s transits mean a change in residence or career for you?  I don’t know.  I suggest you look at your chart and at what was happening  at the conjunction, squares, and opposition to your Ascendant and see what the common themes are.

Partial lunar eclipse, view from Australia.  Photo copyright by  wiccked; creative commons license.

This trio of articles covers finding out how the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse.

How the June 2010 Full Moon Eclipse Might Affect You (Part 1 of 3)

How the June 2010 Full Moon Eclipse Might Affect You (Part 2 of 3)

and Part 3….

“This is the equivalent of a Pluto-Pluto conjunction, which we humans will experience around the moment of birth!”

 

3. Planets in conjunction/opposition to eclipse

Since I covered this scariness of an eclipse hitting exact on the degree or opposite degree of a planet back in January 2008 and in several subsequent posts, I’ll quote from what I’ve written previously and then tell you what to look at for this eclipse.

So what happens when an eclipse conjuncts one of your natal planets?  Some people say it’s like the transformational blast/upset of Pluto acting on that planet.  In other words, if the eclipse is at the same degree as a particular planet in your birthchart, then the life areas represented by that planet will be where you have a sudden upset…more like a nuclear strike on that planet.  

Or so some say.  But let’s look into my chart for the past few years, as well as my private journals, and see what was shaping up for me then.

Ah, how about 28 August 2007?   The lunar eclipse was at…4 degrees Pisces.  Strange….that’s the exact degree of my Ascendant.  What was happening in my life that day?  Well, the first thing was a couple of emails asking if I was going bankrupt and closing Spilled Candy, and within 48 hours, there were 1000’s of people screaming at me on MySpace, calling me all sorts of very un-nice things and emailing lies about me.  A lot of wonderful people came to my defense, too, and knew how difficult those days were for me because of  family health issues and a few close friends knew I was having major problems getting oxygen at that time, but for the most part, nobody knew I was having all the symptoms of heart failure.  But that one particular day was a bolt of out the blue when things just couldn’t have hit any harder or any worse as far as my reputation.  And what does the Ascendant represent?  How the outer world sees you.  Oh, and just for grins, it was also conjunct a fixed star that represents destructiveness and sorrow.

So here are the past few years’ big eclipses, those big drama-producers.  Keep in mind that some say that lunar eclipses tear down and get rid of while solar eclipses regenerate.  Hmmm, yes, a lot of Pluto similarities in that idea.

Let’s try 14 March 2006, with a lunar eclipse at 14 Virgo.  Exact conjunction with my Black Moon Lilith.  That was the day I realized something had been going on behind my back and ended the relationship.  My instincts caused me to ask a particular question and the answer I got shocked me.  It was a major event for me, and one that changed the course of my life.

How about 29 March 2006?  Solar eclipse at 8 Aries 35.  The closest in my chart would have been Eris, the asteroid that represents sexuality, but the conjunction wasn’t exact.  My records don’t show anything substantive occuring that day.

Let’s try 7 September 2006, with a lunar eclipse at 15 Pisces.  Nope, nothing close.   The solar eclipse two weeks later at 29 Virgo?  Nope, nothing close BUT a friend with Pluto at that exact degree had a major death/rebirth issue that day.

Moving into 2007,  let’s look at 3 March with a lunar eclipse on my birthday at 13 Virgo.  Close to my Black Moon Lilith but off by a degree.  No major trauma or drama that day. Meanwhile, the 18 March solar eclipse at 28 Pisces wasn’t close to anything and passed uneventfully as well.

The 28 August eclipse, I’ve already discussed, but how about the one right after, on 11 September when the solar eclipse at 18 Virgo 24 was to mean regeneration?  Interesting.  I have my Vertex (turning points) at 18 Virgo 42. which is pretty darned exact. Were there any turning points in my life then?  Yes, a personal one.  I remember the date because of a letter I received.  It was a good thing, regenerating in a very nice way.

So here we are in 2008 with some eclipses coming up.  Am I nervous?  Hell, yeah.  Excited, too.  I went a little farther back in my own charts than I’m showing here because there are details I don’t care to share, but what I’m seeing is that, in general, when the eclipse is exact to something in my chart, rather than even a degree off, there is a dramatic effect in that area of my life.  If the eclipse is lunar, then yes, it does seem to be about things being destroyed whereas solar eclipses tend to bring new life into those areas of my life.

 

If I fast forward, the next two significant eclipses for me personally occurred  in August 2008, which  was conjunct my Natal Jupiter/Mars.  That eclipse heralded a tremendous expansion in how I saw relationships and what I knew was possible as well as how I thought about sexuality.  The following January 2009, an eclipse was conjunct my Natal Saturn, and oh, but yes, it was definitely a time of constriction and hard lessons.  Saturn is definitely a teacher, and especially when given a power burst by an eclipse.

This June 26, 2010 eclipse is conjunct Pluto in capricorn, so externally, we all have the possibility of big change in structures, governments, and institutions.  This is the equivalent of a Pluto-Pluto conjunction, which we humans will experience around the moment of birth!  But on a personal level, internally, this eclipse might get your attention in an extra-strong way if you have a conjunction or opposition.  How?  Here are a few ways it might manifest for different celestial bodies:

Sun:  who you are, your personality

Ascendant:  how you appear to the world

Moon: emotions, Mother

Mercury: communications, intellect, mental processes

Venus: romance, creativity, finances

Mars: sex, aggression

Jupiter: expansion, business,

Saturn: constriction, lessons

Uranus: shake-ups, bolts from the blue

Neptune:  spirituality, deception, illusion, uncertainty

Pluto: regeneration, death and rebirth

Chiron: wounding/healing

Juno:  marriage

Lilith: addictions,  instincts

This trio of articles covers finding out how the partial lunar eclipse of June 26, 2010 might affect you astrologically by looking at parallel and related eclipses, house placement, and planets in conjunction or opposition to the eclipse. 

Part 1

Part 2

2.  House Placement

Where does this eclipse occur in your natal chart?  In other words, which of the 12 “houses” of your astrological chart will be most affected?  A house is like an area, sector, or theme of your life. 

Here are the 12 houses and what areas of your life they represent:

First house:  self, ego

Second house:  values, possessions, money, self-worth

Third house:  siblings, neighborhood/community environment, communications

Fourth house:  home,  domestic situation, can mean the mother but in some situations the mother is represented in the Tenth house and the father in the fourth

Fifth house:  romance, children, creative expression, play

Sixth house:  daily life/routine/tasks, health, skills/jobs (not career)

Seventh house: committed partnerships (marriage or business), legal relationships, open enemies

Eight house:  sex, joint finances, regneration, death, transformation, occult

Ninth house:  travel, knowledge/education, foreign cultures, religion, law

Tenth house:  career, the father (though sometimes the mother), authority, Government

Eleventh house:  goals/hopes, friends, groups

Twelfth house:  mysticism/spirituality, hospitals, prisons, secrets, hidden things, unknown enemies

To find out which houses are affected, you must know what’s in your chart.  If you don’t already know, go to astro.com and create your own natal chart (it’s free) using your place of birth, birth time, and birth date.  You must know your approximate birth time and place or this exercise will NOT be accurate. 

Look on your chart for  the house that 5 degrees of Capricorn occurs in.  This is where you’ll most feel the effects.  Then look at where 5 degrees Cancer shows up in your chart–opposite of the eclipse.  This house will also be strongly affected.  

 If you don’t know how to find this at astro.com, then I recommend you find an astrologer to pay for this information (I don’t do this, sorry, so please don’t ask).

Continuing my example from the previous article in this trio, my own themes are playing out in career vs home, with the eclipse occuring near the end of my Tenth house and the end of  its opposite house, the Fourth.  Combined with looking at parallel eclipses and house placement, I’m most likely to feel changes in responsibility  in my career and home environments over the next few months.

For those of you looking for rituals, prayers, or meditations for the Full Moon eclipse on June 26, 2010, I’m not providing a full-length ritual but I do have some powerful suggestions that you may wish to incorporate into your spiritual work.  I realize that many of you are doing work specifically for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and for health issues, so I’m focusing on those here today.  I think you’ll like the imagery.

Using the astrology signs:  This particular Full Moon is always very powerful to me, especially if it’s close to the Summer Solstice (earlier this week on June 21, 2010).  That’s because the Sun is in Cancer and it’s very much a father-feel to this time of year as the Sun is at its height and the days are longest.  Sun in Cancer is a gentle and fluid form of masculine, protective energy, yet Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which is feminine, fluid, emotional, nurturing.  And this particular Full Moon is in decidedly non-watery, non-fluid, non-emotional, structured and staid Capricorn, an earth sign.  To me, this is about as opposite as you can get.  But…it’s the perfect time for manifesting, especially manifesting emotional things or things that need…”flow.”  Capricorn is the best of all astrological signs for manifesting.  Think of making something rock-solid.

Recommended tool/image to incorporate for a beautiful ritual or prayer: 

Water.  Leave a sealed container of pure water out overnight in the light of the full moon. 

Try to time your prayer/ritual/meditation for the time of the eclipse—here on the Gulf Coast of Florida where we’re watching the oil overtake our white beaches and threaten our groundwater if Tropical Storm/Hurricane Alex comes ashore, the timing is 6:31 AM  Central Time, with the Ascendant in Cancer and the eclipse in the Sixth House of Health and Daily Life.   

During your spiritual work, focus on the some aspect of the water that you would like to manifest solidly .  For example, the water may represent purity of the Gulf of Mexico.  If you’re seeking to improve your health, it might represent contamination in the body being washed away.   It might represent the flow of emotion in a relationship or the ability to be fluid under hard times.   Since this eclipse is under a T-square formation and has many sharp and upsetting angles,  think not so much of disruption but of change to something purer, something that flows better for you. 

Drink the entire container of water during your spiritual work as you visualize it purifying, flowing, etc.

Throughout the next 28 days, drink water as often as possible instead of other liquids, and each time you do, recall this working and bless yourself.

Don’t forget to read the other astrology articles focusing on the eclipse this week!

Protests in China
US & Russia agree to Nuke reductions
US Drone attack in Pakistan
iPhone hacker reveals SMS vulnerability
 
b.      31 December 2009

Suicide Bomber hits CIA base in Afghanistan
Roadside bomb kills Canadian journalist, troops
EPA critical of Natural Gas Drilling plan
 
c.       27 June 1991

Slovenia invaded by Yugoslav troops
Iraq accused of concealing nuclear project
Regional telephone system go down after computer failure
Martial Law ending in Kuwait
Rain disrupts Wimbledon–Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, etc
President Zachary Taylor exhumed to test for arsenic poisoning—none found
 
 
Wow, after reading the top headlines, I’m a little nervous! Granted, the news tends toward the dramatic and the negative, but these were where our external focus was on those dates. 
 
In my own life, I’d just achieved a huge career milestone that was extremely stressful and had earned an appointment to bind the US Government in contracts with Department of Defense contractors. It was a turning point in my career.  However, my marriage was on extremely shaky ground, and I was having to make a decision of whether to stay or go.  I chose to stay, which was a turning point that locked me into another 13 years that were mostly difficult and restrictive.  The dates of the related eclipses were powerful days that presented me with many gifts.  
 
As I approach this eclipse, I’m faced with some similarities to those times. I’ve learned to let go of the stress and have a different point of view of how to handle career choices, even though there’s some definite pull back toward the work I was doing then and loving, but in a more balanced way.  As far as the decision to remain in an unhappy relationship and to give up my own wishes to make others happy, I’m in a far different place now.  So for me, there’s a theme of responsibility here—of being given tremendous responsibility and of taking responsibility for 100% instead of 50% of a relationship in order to make it work.  I suspect that the idea of responsibility and how I handle it will arise again as a result of this eclipse.  More on how that ties in with career and home in my next article on the location of the eclipse in your astrological  “houses.”  This time, it feel as though much of that responsibility is lifting and I’m at a point of freedom I have not felt before.

Read Part 2 of 3.

It’s Eclipse Week here at The Spiritual Eclectic, so watch for more articles this week on how this eclipse will affect you.

But first, the basics.

Time and Date: 

June 26, 2010; 6:31 AM Central (here in NW Florida)

Type: 

Partial Lunar.  That means that the Full Moon won’t be entirely obscured by the Earth’s shadow.

Where seen: 

Australia and East Asia (after sunset);  Parts of North America and South America (before sunrise)…and, if you’re in Antarctica, I think you’ll have a good view.

General predictions among astrologers: 

Intense emotion.  Aggressive behavior.  Explosions, economic collapse (in many countries), terrorist activity, upheaval, war, concerns about Korea, concerns about the BP oil spill—not necessarily on the DAY of the eclipse but over the next 6 months with a special emphasis on the July-August time frame.  Hmmm, so far I haven’t seen any light, fluffy prognostications.

Favorability: 

The overwhelming opinion of astrologers I’ve communicated with have the same negative opinion, summed up best as “We’re screwed.”  The most positive astrologers have said that if you’ve done the worked on your problems and learned from your lessons, then you’ll be okay.

Sign and Degree: 

4 Capricorn 46, sometimes read as 5 degrees

Sabian symbol: 

At 5 Capricorn, “Indians rowing a canoe and dancing a war dance”  with its opposing sign 5 Cancer, “An automobile wrecked by a train.”  

Most recent related eclipses: 

July 7, 2009 and December 31, 2009  (Big hints:  What was going on in your life then?  There’ll be some reflection of that now.)

Saros Series:

120

Last eclipse in this metonic series: 

June 27, 1991  (Important:  what was going on in your life then?  This eclipse will reflect those situations.  Read Parallel Eclipses and How They Influence your Life (Part I) )

Stressful configurations: 

Eclipse conjunct Pluto, T-square, Eclipse conjunct Fixed Star Kaus Medius, Jupiter conjunct Uranus, Uranian Planet Hades at 29 Gemini, Black Moon Lilith at 29 Aquarius, Uranus entering Aries, Chiron entering Pisces, Jupiter opposite Saturn, Uranus opposite Saturn, Sun opposite Pluto, Pluto in Capricorn, (Hah-Pluto in anything!).  Just look at the pic—X marks the spot?

How Powerful, on a scale of 1-10: 

Oh, probably about a 9.5.  Astrologically, this is probably the most powerful eclipse in over 500 years.  Check out an excellent article on past eclipses with the eclipse-Pluto conjunction at Lunar Eclipse June 2010 Conjunct Pluto http://funkastrology.co.uk/lunar-eclipse-june-2010-conjunct-pluto/.  Oh, and when you read it?  Keep in mind my Chinese Astrology article and my “explosive” predictions at Predictions for The Year of the Metal Tiger: What’s Happened Before, What’s Yet to Come .

After my first Neptune-Sun relationship ended, I became fascinated with what astrology tells us about this conjunction—to the point that I tried for the next 6 months to date nothing but men with the same birthday as the first.  Let’s just say that this conjunction in synastry can be that good.  Or…that bad.

What I discovered in looking at a variety of synastry  charts is that Neptune conjunct Sun tends to go in one of two directions:  either idealistic Shangri-la relationships or ones filled with deception, depending on which type of chart.  I wish I’d known this before my second Neptune-Sun relationship!

Neptune has such, well…NEBULOUS…energy.  It’s the planet of uncertainty, spirituality, idealism, deception, escapism, mysticism, fantasy, fogginess.  It may not seem that idealism and deception could be represented by the same planet, but there are qualities of non-reality to all of these examples.

Based on the charts I’ve reviewed and the relationships I’m aware of with this conjunction in synastry, if one person’s Sun conjuncts another’s Neptune in their natal charts, the result seems to be a “Fantasy Island” relationship.  This is the idealistic, hazy, soul mate relationship.  It can be highly spiritual.  It tends to be idealistic and somewhat surreal.  It’s definitely ungrounded.  You see each other in such an idealized, perfect way that you’re not really sure the other person is who you think or instead is a dream.  This is romance novel perfect love.  As a friend pointed out to me when I was in such a relationship, it was like being on a luxury vacation, a once-in-a-lifetime feeling—or a feeling that it can happen only once in a lifetime.

This particular brand of Neptune-Sun relationship occurred only when natal charts were compared, not in Composite or Davidson charts.  In the natal charts, we can see how each individual both projects and reacts to the other.  It’s not so much about the relationship as how the individuals relate, and there is usually some element of heavenly bliss between the two.    I’ve witnessed a few of this kind of relationship where the couple is caught up in bliss that just gets better every year, and it’s hard to believe how long they’ve been together and sustained the beautiful fantasy they live in.  It is, I think, the ultimate in romantic love.  The deception, if any, is small or either could be classified perhaps as self-deception.

The Composite and Davidson charts are more about the relationship itself, and from what I’ve seen, it’s often the ultimate in romantic deception.  The Composite chart is made up of midpoints of the plants of each individual, creating a chart of  an unreal time and place, but representing how the relationship looks to others.  The Davidson chart is based on the mid-point in birth time and place, and represents how the relationship actually is.  For this reason, I prefer the Davidson chart when I want to know what’s really going on between two people, but both charts are useful.

The most shocking case of deception I have ever experienced in a relationship personally was one where there was an almost exact Sun and Neptune conjunction in our Davidson chart while in our Composite Mid-Point method, the Sun was in exact opposition to  Neptune.  I have charted several other relationship where the positions are reversed—an opposition in the Davidson chart and a conjunction in the Composite Mid-Point chart—but there was that same odd blend of idealism and extreme deception.  Both wanted the other to be something he or she was not.  This seems to be true of all Neptune-Sun relationships I’ve studied  when these conjunctions or oppositions are found in a combined chart.

If you find yourself in a Neptune-Sun relationship, keep your feet on the ground or risk losing your head.  Sometimes, though, it’s worth it.

Astrology is my hobby, and I love learning new things.  I’m a big fan of asteroids and now, thanks to astrologer Eileen Nauman’s articles on the Trans-Neptune Planets, aka the Uranians, I’ve been playing around with my chart and the charts of family and friends to see how the Uranians  show up.  And I’m seeing some interesting connections between the Uranian Hades and the asteriod associate with marriage or marriage needs, Juno.

Hades, from my research, is more about death and sorrow, though there are variations of the meaning.  It’s…unpleasant to say the least.  Probably the best benefit, if there is one, is that it can “prune” away the old stuff, whether we like it or not.  So not to establish any major new concept here, but I thought I’d see what’s happening in my chart so far this year and see what’s going on with Hades.  And maybe even take a look at it with Juno, since my Juno is exceptionally strong this year.

Initially, nothing really stood out so much in the different charts, even progressions and solar returns, though I suspect transiting Hades at the 29th degree in my solar return chart in  2012 will be significant, especially looking at its conjunction with transiting Moon as well as other planets in my natal chart. If you’re mind to look ahead and mark your calendar for around March 2, 2012, it could be a very interesting week for us all.

Where I found something particularly interesting was in the lunar returns (with natal chart), courtesy of the free service at astro.com.  (Please, go look it up and try this on your own–I’m not a professional, you’re not paying me,  and I’m not going to do it for you.)  In the lunar return charts, for specific moon cycles this year, I found some startling correlations in my personal life.

For example:  I looked at the specific lunar month where a romantic relationship ended and there was Juno and Hades in a less than 1-degree conjunction.  Death of a relationship?  Hmmmm.  Definitely the inciting incident that killed the relationship.  In the next lunar month, Hades was conjunct Mercury and Venus.  Definitely the death of any communication and lov…uh…let’s just say I got over it.  He’d completely lost his appeal to me.  The next lunar month?  No Hades aspects…but hey, I sure do like that Juno-Venus conjunction!

My decision to leave that relationship affected several other people, so I checked their charts, too.  One was unaffected, astrologically, and  I have to admit, she’s oblivious to what’s going on.   Another who was deeply emotionally involved had a Juno-Hades conjunction in the lunar month that all hell (pardon the pun) broke loose in her relationship, and the next month had a Hades-Moon-Venus conjunction.

For a man in my life who has recently had his entire world threatened by his past deeds coming to light, Hades was conjunct his Ascendant that lunar month and the next, when ramifications of his past hit at work, Hades was conjunct his Mid-Heaven, showing the damage to his career.

Another friend was served divorce papers a few weeks ago.  His lunar return chart at the time?  Hades conjunct Juno.

I found similar Hades connections in the charts of everyone I know who’s been through a recent breakup.  I found no such connections in the charts of people who weren’t watching a relationship end.

So what if I look back on previous years?  What then?  Going back to my last break-up, Hades isn’t conjunct anything but…it is opposite a Juno-Pluto conjunction.  The guy I was seeing?  Hades was conjunct his Descendant.  When I finally decide to sue my then-husband of two decades for divorce?  North Node conjunct natal Hades and transiting Hades and Venus in conjunction.

I have no idea how accurate this is, but it’s been a fascinating trip through charts thus far.

ADDED, approximately 1 month later:  At the time I tried this exercise, I ran the chart of another person in a committed relationship just as part of my control group and found the Hades-Juno conjunction there as well, in the May lunar cycle for that person.  I didn’t say anything to anyone, but the couple has now split, unexpectedly.

“Mercury’s in retrograde!”  To most of my astrology-loving friends, those two words are worth at least a groan or two.  It’s the herald of a three-week span of mis-communications, car trouble, computer crashes, and all sorts of weird mechanical failures associated with the communication-transportation-mechanical trifecta ruled by the planet Mercury.  It’s all starting April 17-18 2010(depending on where in the world you are) and ending on May 11, 2010.

For years, I focused on all the things that tend to go wrong during a retrograde Mercury.  I dreaded that beastly little planet.  This year, it’s just a blip on the radar because I’ve learned to use it to my advantage!

After all, right now we have two far more “serious” celestial bodies in retrograde—the sandblaster energy of Pluto and the oppressive lessons-learned energy of Saturn, with  the idealistic and foggy energy of Neptune retrograding in late May.  Retrograde just means covering old territory to give it one last look before moving forward with our lives, and that’s not a bad thing but it is about changes and solidifying our new path.  To top that off, Saturn and Uranus are still in opposition in a push-pull between old restrictions/structures and new ways of living, plus we have Saturn squaring  Pluto with a similar sense of tension.  Coming up shortly, Jupiter will be opposing Saturn in a push-pull of expansion-constriction and squaring Pluto in yet another burst of expansion.   Are you detecting a theme here?  Maybe one about expansion and growth, which can either feel like blasting your way to freedom or more like growing pains?   Our world is changing, both on a collective and individual basis.

As for a puny little Mercury in retrograde, I’ve been taking note of what works for me and how to get the most out of what other people consider a terribly non-productive time.  The best news is that Mercury in retrograde tends to make old friends and acquaintances appear out of thin air.  I make it a point to count the old boyfriends, former best friends, and long-lost relatives who just show up during these three weeks.  Normally, it ranges from 6 to 8, with 1 or 2 having held a significant spot in my life at one time.  That doesn’t mean I have to re-engage in those old relationships, but I have an option to reconnect if I wish.

The other thing that Mercury in retrograde is excellent for –for me—is giving old projects a second look.  Rather than starting some new project (a no-no to most people who are the least bit familiar with Mercury in retrograde), I take the opportunity to look back at projects that are half-finished or more and see what needs to be done to wrap them up.  Instead of  starting  a new novel, I might go back and make some revisions on one I shelved a year ago and get it ready for publication.   It’s a chance to tidy up my creative closets and get forgotten projects out to the public.  As opposed to launching new projects,  I turn my spotlight of attention to what’s unfinished, whether it’s a creative project, a home refurbishment project, or organizing the garage once and for all.  I follow the flow of the energy I feel and put it where there’s little to no resistance.

I have some projects that seem to be “Retrograde Mercury Only” projects, and I always seem to go back to them three times a year during Mercury in Retrograde cycles.  I finish them one by one, making a little more progress on them each time before I tire of them.  They’re not urgent projects, and I usually—using Mercury in retrograde at its very, very best—can look at an old idea in a completely new way that will make the results better than ever.

Photo credit by Vitó; creative commons license

Oh, the Vertex, what a game–he’s hiding all the cards.
The Vertex is in charge of finding treasure in the dark,
And watching over lucky clover–isn’t that bizarre?
Every little thing the Vertex does
Leaves you answered with a question mark.  (“The Reflex”—Duran Duran)

Okay, so I like to dance through my house when I’m alone and sing old 80’s tunes that I’ve rewritten to apply to astrological terms.  I can’t help it—I hear the term Vertex and immediately want to sing, partly because I was such a fan of Duran Duran in the early 80’s and partly because the meaning of the Vertex intrigues me.   I’ve found it to be very…telling.

What Is the Vertex and How to Find It

I first discovered this tidbit of astrology when I was looking at how asteroids affect an astrological chart.  My initial mistake was in thinking that the Vertex was just another asteroid to investigate, like Juno, Pallas, Ceres, Chiron, Vesta.  In fact, the Vertex isn’t an asteroid or celestial body at all.   It’s a point on the astrological chart.  To be specific, it’s the point where the ecliptic crosses the prime vertical,  but if you want to know where yours is and have no clue what an ecliptic or prime vertical is (which is most people), hop over to http://www.astro.com and calculate yours free by creating your own natal chart.  It’ll show up on the right side of your chart, somewhere in the fifth through eighth houses.  My Vertex is in my Seventh House of Partnerships, so mine is especially relationship-oriented.  A Vertex in a different house would have a different feel to it.

The Vertex is sometimes called a secondary descendant and usually influences fateful meetings, particularly significant breakups and first meetings.  Its opposite point is called the Anti-Vertex, which some believe to be even more important.  For example, it’s said that Sun conjunct Vertex in synastry (studying two charts, as in a relationship) means an instant, love-at-first-sight attraction.  In any case, the Vertex/Anti-Vertex line form a new Descendant/Ascendant axis with special meanings in relationships.

The meaning of the term is literally “a turning point.”  Think of it as a point that everything else revolves around, or simply as a sensitive spot that can be rubbed either sweetly or a little raw by contact with any planet or asteroid and take on the influence of that planet.  It’s useful for telling how we’ll react to someone and even for foretelling when we’re likely to meet a special person.

How the Vertex Is Activated

The Vertex is activated in one of two ways:  through other people (look to planets and points in synastry charts) or through timing (look to planets and points in transits, progressions, and even solar return charts).

In synastry, a planet or point’s conjunction with the Vertex shows a strong connection between two people.  This is felt most in a  tight orb (2 degrees or less).  Outer planets, such as Pluto, Uranus, and Neptune are more generational and mean that a whole group of people near that person’s age will affect the Vertex, so the inner planets are much better to judge the effects in synastry.

I’ve seen the charts of couples who  have the Vertex of one conjunct the Descendant of another, Vertex conjunct Sun,  Vertex conjunct Juno (the Marriage asteroid), and/or Vertex conjunct North Node.  These are all high compatibility signs and it’s obvious in their relationships.  In my own significant relationships, I’ve never had a Vertex conjunction, though I have recently had several online discussions with a man who has his Vertex conjunct Vertex of mine.   His Anti-Vertex conjuncts my Sun, too, a very good sign.  However, we have not yet met face-to-face, so perhaps I’ll have an update eventually with first-hand experience of these conjunctions.

While synastry charts, including the Composite and Davidson charts, can show the effects of planets and points on the Vertex, charts showing the effects of transiting planets on the individual’s Vertex should not be ignored.  The Sun, Moon, Venus, and Jupiter tend to have positive, expansive results when they are transit the Vertex.  Saturn tends to be very harsh and restrictive, with that feeling of being pinned down.  A personal example of this was when Saturn crossed my natal Vertex (a relationship broke up),  then retrograded over my Vertex (his relationship cemented with someone else), and then crossed my Vertex a third  time (an event in their relationship changed him into a bitter and angry person I no longer recognize).  Saturn conjunct Vertex was very much like being run over by a semi, then a few months later having that semi back up over me and a few months later drive forward over me the third time just in case some part of me hadn’t been crushed.  I’ll have a lot of activity there again in the late summer as most of my personal planets transit my Vertex, and it’s all good this time. (Yay! I deserve good after that Saturn-Vertex hell.)

For more of a long-term forecast, it’s interesting to look at the Vertex in a progressed chart.  When the Moon crossed my Progressed Vertex, I underwent a phenomenal emotional change.   Part of it was that I formed a solid emotional attachment to a new person in my life, but I also came to a turning point in another relationship and walked away without a backward glance.  My Vertex was definitely colored an emotional, mothering shade as the Moon’s transit lit it up.  This effect lasted for several months and was quite intense, and if  the Vertex is supposed to be related to “destined encounters” and “fateful meetings,” then that one certainly qualified.

Another way I like to use the Vertex in readings is with Solar Return charts.  A Solar Return chart predicts the major themes for the year, starting near the birthday when the Sun is again at the same degree as when the person was born. In years where I’ve had children or a significant new relationships, I’ve had Vertex in the Fifth House of my Solar Return chart.  I have one friend whose Vertex is conjunct his Sun, and he’s joyously getting to be a full-time dad for the first time.    Another friend is facing a life or death situation with his Solar Return Vertex conjunct his natal Vertex, both in the Eighth House.   The year that transiting Saturn contacted my natal Vertex three painful times showed up as a conjunction in my Solar Return—and that feeling of restriction was with me almost the entire year.  The last year—and final straw—of my marriage, my Solar Return Vertex was in my Solar Return Seventh House of Parterships and conjunct my natal Descendant.  So it’s always a good indicator to me of where there’ll be significant turning points, based on the House as well as other planets and points, particularly ones in conjunction.

So go, find out where your Vertex is in your natal chart.  Look at your upcoming transits and look at significant past transits and what you were doing in your life then.  Get a feel for how those transits feel to you, how they affect you.  Look at your Progressed charts and your Solar Return.  Then check out the position of the Vertices in your synastry chart with that someone special.  Once you understand how the Vertex works in your life, you’ll never look at your astrology chart again without considering the Vertex or, as I imagine Duran Duran might have said if they’d been singing about the Vertex instead of the Reflex, the Vertex is in charge of finding your treasure in the dark.

Originally published in Third Degree and Rising, 2007.

This is important for reasons I cannot yet fathom, except that I’m looking for what is real.

We’re so sure of what reality is. We gaze at the night sky, at what’s not visible in the glare of harsh light, and congratulate ourselves on seeing the reality that those stars are there, both night and day.

But is that reality? Some of the stars that we perceive as real burned out many generations before we were born. We may see the remaining light of long-dead stars that are no longer there. Or perhaps there are new stars there but their light has not yet reached us. And still other stars are too distant to be seen but burn the brightest.

But what is visible to us and to the rest of the world is not what’s real.

Here on this planet, we look up from its different corners at bears, hunters, dogs, and seven sisters in the sky and clearly see their fixed design as both our lovers and those who passed centuries before us have seen their fixed design in the sky. But the permanence of those designs depends on where you are in the Universe. The stars within those constellations are not clustered in animal and human shapes but rather, we have aligned them in our own points of view to make sense of them.

From Aldebaran, perhaps the Big Dipper appears as the Big Palm Tree. And from Antares, maybe those same stars line up in a different perspective as the Big Waffle Iron. Yet here on Earth, every inhabitant sees the pattern from where we stand.

Reality is not fixed. The patterns we’re accustomed to are not permanent. Some things look a particular way from where we are right now, both where we are in time and where we are in space. That doesn’t mean that it’s real.

These thoughts are important, but I don’t yet know why. They’re important in regard somehow to my ability to love again.

Once upon a time, I was determined not to let past wounds stop me from trusting again and loving again with an unguarded heart, and I put my heart on the line in multiple friendships and more and it was not reciprocated. I let myself get wounded again, and so I’m less inclined now to open my heart to the possibility of being loved as I am than I was a few years ago. My guard is up these days. I really do not like that it is, but it is, and that’s honest. That’s not saying that I’ve closed my heart, but just that I’m a bit more protective of it now.

Now I’m the one who needs the healing touch instead of soothing others’ pain while I leave my own heart wide open. Now I’m the one with the little birdcage bars around my heart.

Because I’m not sure which stars are there and which have burned out and which new ones have been born into a reality I don’t see right now. And I’m not certain yet of how to cluster those stars into a pattern I can recognize.

But I do have faith that it will happen.

Photo copyright:  Aislinn Bailey, used with permission.

Well, she looks at you so coolly,

And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea;

She comes in incense and patchouli,

So you take her, to find what waiting inside

The Year of the Cat.

– “The Year of the Cat,” Al Stewart and Peter Wood

Yes, I came in the Year of the Cat.  The Water Tiger, to be specific.  Maybe that’s why I’m so over-the-top excited about what 2010 has to offer as the Year of the Metal Tiger leaps into action on Valentine’s Day.

Tiger years, once every 12 years on the Chinese astrology calendar, are usually indicative of tiger energies– fierce, bold, full of change, powerful, protective, assertive, unstoppable, spontaneous, exuberant, sometimes a little too brash–but mixed with the element of metal, this 2010 Year of the Metal Tiger could bring a bit of sharpness.

Overall, I expect it to be a terrific year for tigers, even with lots of upheaval and change.  I think the key will be to stay flexible  and expect that there will be great change on both a world and personal level.

Based on history–looking at past Metal Tiger years, there’s been a lot of turbulence in the world at those times, including wars starting and social change.  If I were to predict what I think 2010 will bring us, I would guess that there’ll be some unfounded optimism, quick adjustments to be made, economic drama, and military conflicts that escalate with some surprises.  Keep an eye, for example, on the tie to social upheaval, economic shifts, and political restlessness reflected in the US as the US presence builds in Afghanistan.  Disasters are more likely to be of fire and earth categories, such as fires, volcanoes, earthquakes, explosions, and nuclear/radiological. As a matter of fact, watch for all sorts of unusual breakthroughs and break-a-parts related to energy, particularly the atomic/nuclear/radiological type.

Just for fun, here are a few things that happened in previous Metal Tiger years:

1950: Start of the war in Korea, invasion of Tibet, Atomic Energy Commission began hydrogen bomb, huge focus on communism, McCarthy Era paranoia.

1890: Significant year for shipwrecks, Wounded Knee Massacre,  first electric chair execution, first geothermal well, US Census uses punch cards.

1830: France invaded Algeria, Belgian Revolution, November Uprising (Poland), Indian Removal Act in US, Church of Latter Day Saints started as Church of Christ, first intercity passenger railway operated by steam

1770: Boston Massacre (trigger event for American Revolutionary War), closest approach by comet (Lexall’s) in history, Russo-Turkish War, Falkland Crisis, royal wedding fireworks disaster

Interesting and eerie….   I actually went as far back as the turn of the first millennium and realized that all the bloody battles between countries that I had prepared to list here had no meaning for me–or very little, when I could remember their history. They were just wars and conflicts lost to the centuries.   It made me wonder if, in a few more centuries, the US involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Korean War,  the hydrogen bomb, etc, will simply be another meaningless footnote in the history of Metal Tiger years.

My birthday’s coming up in just a few weeks, and you know what that means?  I’m finishing up a year when my Solar Return Sun was in my Eighth House. Yeah….

I admit, I’d been really dreading this past year for a long time now.  I have heard dire warnings from astrologers to consider traveling just to make certain that my Solar Return Sun was either in the Seventh House of relationships and partnerships or in the Ninth House of education and travel.  Any place but in the Eighth House!   The idea was that I might be at some other spot on the planet at that exact moment and by traveling on my Solar Return birthday to somewhere else, it would change the position of the houses within my Solar Return Chart.  Lost yet?

A Solar Return Chart is a special chart for your birthday year based on where you are on the day that the Sun is in the exact place that it was on the day you were born. Though my birthday is March 3rd, my solar return usually takes place on March 2nd.  A chart is cast for that day when the Sun matches its position on the day of my birth and it’s like a natal (birth) chart for the entire year–yep, with planets and houses and everything.  The thing is, while the planets for that day are in the same conjunctions, oppositions, squares, etc, regardless of where you are in the world, the houses can change–a little bit, at least–if you travel, thereby putting a planet in a more favorable house.  Some astrologers believe you can alter your chart for the year by making a birthday trip and others think that your chart reverts back to where you live most of the year and so a trip out of town just isn’t worth it.  Most people can’t afford to fly to Europe for a better chart, anyway.

For me, it didn’t really matter that much.  I would have had to travel out of the country to have made any difference with an Eighth House Sun, and it would have adversely affected a lovely stellium (a whole bunch) of planets in my Seventh House of relationships.  I accepted that there was little chance of escaping an Eight House Sun and instead, made plans to enjoy a quiet day at home in my garden and try not to be too afraid.

What makes an Eighth House Solar Return Sun so terrifying?

When it comes to astrological charts and their twelve life sectors, called “houses,” the scariest piece of the pie is the Eighth House, followed closely by the mysterious Twelfth House.  The Eighth House is about death, sex, regeneration, other people’s money, secrets.  If your Sun is going to be shining a light on all those issues for you in a coming year, then yes, it can make you anxious.

I’d heard so many horrendous stories–though in hindsight, they were mostly from amateur astrologers who knew just enough to assume the worst and then blather about it.  Even the best of astrology websites talked about a Solar Return Eighth House Sun bringing massive change and upheaval.  And let’s face it:  for most of us, the idea of change is frightening.  We think of change as away from the security we know and love–and even sometimes hate–and rarely toward a good thing unless life has been really terrible recently.

Take heart, fearful ones, because here’s how it manifested for me.

Looking back over the past eleven months,  I have to agree that it’s been an extremely important year where death, sex, secrets, other people’s money, and regeneration were all spotlighted for me.  Most definitely a year of transformation but not in a bad way at all…and that’s after being at a nicely serene and happy place in my life the previous year.   If you feel good about where you are in your life, then the idea of change is something you’re probably quite resistant to.  But life can get even better.

Death — Death is probably the biggest concern when it comes to the Eighth House.  I did in fact have to face mortality issues throughout the year.  The second time happened half-way through the year when an X-ray technician failed to follow my doctor’s orders for a routine exam, resulting in a lot of un-necessary X-rays and ultrasounds–as well as a month of excruciating worry because the medical offices involved tried to cover-up their mistakes, leaving me to think they’d found “something really bad.”  The first mortality issue occurred at the beginning of the Solar Return year.  A medical problem cropped up that had some dire consequences but I found metaphysical ways to deal with it and over the course of the year, it went away.  One of the big lessons for the year was in figuring out how to let go of emotional wounds that caused physical illness and injury.  Overall, this year about the death of a lot of old ways of thinking that no longer served me.  It was also about the death of a few key friendships, but to be honest, I don’t miss them and am surprised at that.

Other People’s Money — This wasn’t a particularly big area for me except that my debt increased somewhat.  I was able to make changes in my retirement accounts before I lost major bucks in the stock market, so that part was good.  Seeing everyone’s retirement accounts drop and how people who planned to retire soon had to change their plans, I rethought how I look at retirement and realized that I probably never will.  Instead, I’ll take mini-retirements and have fun along the way instead of deferring life to when I’m oldest.  That in itself was an eye-opener about how I want to design my future.  I also borrowed money to make some  long-overdue house repairs and updates, including repairs that weren’t finished after Hurricane Katrina.  These reflect Second House possessions issues (on the opposite side of the chart) but were more about transforming my ideas on money.

Secrets — I’ve always been very good at keeping secrets (when asked) but this was the year I finally made the distinction of where other people’s secrets were hurtful because the secrecy made them my burden to carry and somehow not the responsibility of the person who’d instigated the secret.  I hadn’t realized what anchors I’d attached my helium balloon out of loyalty to friends.  Most of my dealings with secrets overlap into the other Eighth House issues I had.  The paradox of it is that while I’ve been living my life “in the open” for several years now, people I was loyal to were not, and their secrecy and dishonesty had a negative effect on my health.  What I learned from the Eighth House is that I will not be hidden by other people in my life, whether it’s my views, my existence, or my feelings.

Sex – I really don’t know what to say about this one.  I think I went into the Solar Return year wondering if I was going to discover that I’m really a closet lesbian or get a sudden craving for a sex change.  I didn’t feel that I’d partner up with anyone on a definitive long-term commitment basis, which made me wonder how the year would go.  I’m leaving the year with some new perspectives on sexuality and much more relaxed than I’ve ever been.  Overall, the sex was fantastic–best ever!

Regeneration — If the Eighth House is about death and rebirth, then yes, there was much regeneration for me this past year.  Not just transformation, but regeneration. While a lot of my old ways of thinking died and were reborn or re-focused into something even more productive,  this regeneration was never a bad thing.  It always got me to a higher level of being and to increased vitality and happiness.  I saw a physical regeneration that astonished me.  To an outsider, these may seem small but they were huge changes to me. I’d ignored dermatologists for years but one visit and a prescription skin regimen and I was doing the very uncharacteristic thing of staring into a mirror for 30 minutes at a time.  The changes made me look as I had maybe fifteen years ago, back when I had had no appreciation for my appearance because most of the people in my life spent their time pointing out my flaws. A new pair of contact lenses had big ramifications, too, not just for the sake of appearance but eased my aggravation with reading glasses.  I discovered a few health products that helped me detox and feel better than ever. I felt more vital and aware of my body than I probably ever have.

In summary

So, yes, an Eighth House Solar Return Sun brought big changes–good changes–into my life.  I’ll have another Eighth House Sun in a few years and I’ll keep in mind that they don’t have to spell disaster–they can mean better changes than I’ve ever known existed.

Meanwhile, because my birthday is coming up (solar return time!) AND I have Jupiter crossing significant points in my chart right now, I’ll probably focus a bit more on astrology over the next month.  Hmmm, no, I’ll probably talk more about applied astrology this year than usual–lots of interesting things happening in my chart right now with my vertex, Juno, Solar Return Sun in the Eighth House, Jupiter Return, changes in signs in my progressed chart….yes, a dynamic time for me, and that means that maybe I’ll be able to share something from my own chart that’s useful to you.

I have a lot of friends who read Tarot cards–and every last one of them is pretty good at it!   Invariably, when we get together, we somehow end up drooling over the beautiful artwork of the newest deck among us and “throwing cards” for each other.  Whether we do this separately or in groups, it always turns into a brainstorming session where there are new insights to be discovered in how we’re approaching our own peculiar situations.  I’ve noticed that no matter how many different groups and how many different readings, certain trends tend to emerge.

An extremely talented psychic who uses multiple decks of cards in his readings once told me that almost every reading he does falls into one of two categories and rarely does he see anything remotely differently.  They’re either about romance/relationships or they’re about–to a lesser degree–job/money/career situations.  These seem to be the two most important questions on seekers’ minds, and I can attest to that, based on the questions and interest my articles and books on the Law of Attraction receive and what people most want to attract into their lives.

When I was married and trying to get my writing career off the ground, my questions were always about…of course…my writing career.   When I was single and trying to figure out what my heart wanted now, my questions were about romance and relationships.  That’s rather typical, I suppose, that you’re more acutely aware of what you don’t have currently but would like to achieve.  These are those “rockets of desire” that Abraham-Hicks talks about in their Law of Attraction books.  My questions for the past year have been a mix of both as I’ve tried to navigate where it is I next want to go with my career and creative work as well as feeling the pull toward partnering up in a long-term relationship

The work issue comes up occasionally for me, and the readings are always very similar:  huge shake-ups–to the core–in my Department of Defense career field but with me being in a good place.  All that turbulence around me but I’m okay, happy even, and finding more and more balance between the day job with the nice paycheck and the creative work, like here at The Spiritual Eclectic or writing novels I love.  Regardless of which friend is reading, which deck is being used, where the reading takes place, or the date of the reading, this has been the trend over the past year, but with an ever increasing smoothing out for me in terms of my own path, even though the path is jagged all around me and drops off into nothingness at times for others.

The similarities in readings related to my romantic life have been even more remarkable.  They all reflect each other well, and there are rarely any surprises, although some interesting new developments are now showing on the horizon.  Throughout the past year, the theme that has emerged prominently has been one of “romance at a distance.”   Quite accurate for this past year.  Every man in my life was either already living hundreds of miles away or living close-by but deployed/moved within a few months of our meeting.  One, a young Navy Seal demi-god named Tyler, left for a sudden new assignment two weeks after our first date, though neither of us knew it when we met.  The only local romantic interest who didn’t leave the area during the year was away on business far more than he was at home.  So the repeated readings of “romance at a distance”–a term used independently by several readers–proved to be accurate.  It was also the fluidity I needed to get me through a year of much change and regeneration when I knew I didn’t need to be in a more settled relationship.

I was sure last fall that one of my relationships was going to be going into a higher spin–and not certain which one either–when Lord Midlight read for me, looking at a six-month period that ends today.  I had met someone new and interesting over the summer and the first words out of his mouth were, “I”m back from the desert and I’m not going anywhere.”  I knew absolutely that this man was going to be in my life through the late summer and autumn months.  Lord Midlight told me, without batting an eye, that these six months would be filled with “romance at a distance” and that I’d be perfectly content with it that way.  And…I was.  The new guy had too much baggage and though I tried off and on for five months to create a good connection with him, it fizzled until there was no fizz left.  Though it was an active dating period for me and I had some grand times with consistently sweet and sexy young men, my real romantic spice was with someone who was seldom in  town.  Little things happened between us that really endeared him to me, fulfilling my feelings of a higher spin in one of my relationships. Lord Midlight and the others who’d read for me over the autumn months were all right–romance at a distance but very hot when it was in town. And, with him, though I wanted to see him more often, I really liked our relationship the way it was.

The most recent readings I’ve had have all continued to show that trend, all repeating that same phrase:  “Lots of romance coming 2010, in a big way, and solidifying later in the year but at a distance–and you’ll be perfectly content with it that way.”

They’ve all found it necessary to point out that not only will I have a fulfilling relationship that has some aspect of physical distance between us, but that I’m–gasp!–okay with it that way.  There’s always some hint of confusion that I could be content if I’m not with someone 24/7.  The readers’ own filters become obvious as they, in light of their own relationships, don’t quite understand the contented nature I could find in one at a distance.

Having this pointed out to me so frequently over the past year, and especially over the past month or so, I’ve been thinking more about it and about what I want in a relationship.  Though I’m feeling more and more of the pull toward a long-term partnership as all sorts of things line up in my astrological transits–various Juno transits and conjunctions, Juno conjunct Vertex, solar return focuses on the fourth-fifth-seventh houses, progressed chart configurations–there’s a part of me that rebels.  I realized this only last night under circumstances that might make other women feel a little lonely or upset or needy.

I was alone in my home.  My daughter was out at a photo shoot.  Of the two men I had expected to see over the weekend, one had an adverse reaction to the H1N1 flu shot and the other had an obligation to his child.  Friends I’d hoped to spend some time with were out of town. My other daughter was busily finishing a task for her psychology research lab and didn’t have time to talk.  Even my 80-year-old mom was out checking on a sick friend and wasn’t available when I called.  I was most definitely alone and going to be that way for the evening.

But instead of feeling lonely–at all–I relished my time alone, my independence, my home with its jasmine incense burning and candles flickering and the aroma of dinner cooking in the oven.  There was a very sweet feeling in my house and I was content with it.  I also cranked out a ton of creative work that I enjoyed every second of.  I took a break and sat down to dinner and a Netflix episode of Torchwood and that’s when it hit me.  If I had a man in the house full-time, he’d be playing video games or watching TV or listening to distracting music while I was working on this particular night and would expect me by his side for the evening, even it I was more enthralled with my own work.  The truth is, for as much as I like having a man in my home, I like my alone-time, too.    So I’m perfectly content with having a great time with a guy when he’s around but I’m also content when he goes off and does his own thing–his job, his creative work, his friends, his athletics–and leaves me to mine.  I also had to wonder if maybe my enjoyment of my alone-time is an energy that pushes away having a live-in mate because I’m secretly not wanting to give up that part of me again as I did for so many years when I was married with small children and two careers at the same time.

These aren’t things we’re supposed to admit to a romantic partner–”I adore you but could you please go play with your friends for a little while now and let me have some me-time?”–and my last few romantic partners became defensive no matter how sweetly or logically I put it.  It’s strange even to admit it to myself because it’s a delicate balance.  However, my Tarot-reading friends have forced me to confront this part of myself that says I must, for my own sanity, hold aside a part of myself to relish just being me and me alone.  The rest of the time, I can be deliciously emotionally merged with someone but yes, there must be a little safe-room there for me to take sanctuary in and it’s in no way a rejection of anyone I care for.  Instead, it’s an affirmation of my caring for my own SELF.

So yeah, romance?  Bring it.  And if he’s not around 24/7  to hover over me or get underfoot, well, I guess I’ll just be content about having it that way.

The Helix Nebula.  Photo Credit NASA, ESA, C. R. O’Dell (Vanderbilt University), M Meixner, and P. McCullough (STScI)

Astrology has certainly had its share of skeptics and non-believers—and for good reason: most people are familiar only with vague one-liner newspaper horoscopes that can apply to almost anyone. If you’ve spend any significant amount of time exploring whether the planets have an effect on your life, you’ve already discovered that there is a vast cosmic sea of details far greater than a one-liner for a sun sign can ever tell. Whether you’re a Pisces or Aries sun sign is such a teensy part of the whole universe.

Truly! When was the last time you saw a newspaper or magazine one-liner horoscope that forecasted your day based on planetary oppositions, what Chiron is sextile to, the impact of Pluto on your chart’s vertex, the fixed star conjunct your Ascendant, or how Uranus moving across your stellium in Gemini may mean renewing your Xanax prescription?

No, astrology is not a science. It’s a language. Or maybe a symphony. It’s all about patterns, just like the English language or maybe even the patterns and rules of dissonance and harmony in music.

Life happens in cycles, whether it’s the cycle of a day or a millennium. We know the sun will rise daily, moving 1 degree each day, and that the moon will complete one full cycle every 28 days. We know that a full cycle for the asteroid Chiron, symbolic of inner healing and wholeness, is compete at around 50 years, the age by which a person usually has acquired the wisdom to counsel new victims and survivors of the same wounds that, for the 50-year-old, festered for years. By age 50, most people are either too bitterly focused on old wounds to become whole or they’ve made the kind of progress that will allow them to help others heal from the same wounds they themselves have cleansed and healed.

We know that Pluto’s cycle will be the span of a human lifetime or a little longer, and as such, it represents a generation. Those becoming adults now are of the Scorpio generation, babies born during the years Pluto passed through the span of space associated with the constellation Scorpio, and the last generation to share this honor came of age during the American Revolutionary War.

Biological phases, generations, and beyond all have their own cycles and patterns of movement, and when we assign different celestial bodies to represent different patterns, we call it astrology.

I’ve personally found natal charts (birth charts) to be the most thorough predictors of personalities, far more so than Myers-Briggs and various other personality type indicators. I’ve used it to decide to meet a romantic prospect I would otherwise have rejected –and been wonderfully validated! I’ve looked at the astrological weather to have an idea of how to deal with certain situations, like whether I’d be more hard-edged and competitively focused or a softer, romantic focus and which would be better for starting a new high-energy take-no-prisoners business project or a sweet new relationship. I’ve tried my hand also at horary astrology, which is used to answer questions as a type of divination tool.

By now, you probably have a better idea of how extensive the field of astrology is. You may even be wondering where to start, try these resources, including free articles. Or search these titles in the search box above.

“Moon Rituals and Meditations: New Moon, Full Moon, and Eclipses

Moon rituals and meditations for each month, including timing, correspondences, and suggested ideas to make a full moon, new moon, or eclipse extra meaningful to you.

“Terrifying” Uranus Venus Conjunction Experiences (Astrology Lesson Time)

The Uranus-Venus conjunction manifests as disruptive passion in your astrology chart.

Moon in Aquarius Rituals and Meditations: August 2009 (Lunar Eclipse)

The August Full Moon in Aquarius, aka the Sturgeon Moon, occurs on August 5, 2009 at 7:55 PM Central time here in the Florida Panhandle.

Total Solar Eclipse: July 2009

The total solar eclipse of July 2009 will have a big effect on everyone, particularly those with planets in the sign of Cancer.

July 2009 Eclipse: Saros 110

The July 2009 Eclipse (7/7/09 full moon lunar eclipse) : Saros 110

Moon in Capricorn Rituals and Meditations: July 2009 (Lunar Eclipse)

The July Full Moon in Capricorn, aka the Buck Moon, occurs on July 7, 2009 at 4:22 PM Central time here in the Florida Panhandle.

Moon in Sagittarius Rituals and Meditations: June 2009

The June Full Moon in Sagittarius, aka the Strawberry Moon, occurs on June 7, 2009 at 1:12 PM Central time here in the Florida Panhandle.

Eclipse Conjunction: A Pluto-Like Effect on your Planets

An Eclipse Conjunction with your personal planets or ascendant can have a Pluto-like effect on your astrology chart.

Parallel Eclipses and How They Influence your Life

Parallel Eclipses show patterns that influence your life– a look at the metonic and saros cycles.

Solar Return Fun: The Importance of Your Rising Sign for the Year

The importance of your rising sign or ascendant in your solar return chart and how it shows both the influences and romantic/contentious relationships in your life.

The September Full Moon in Pisces, aka the Corn Moon, occurs on September 4, 2009 at 11:03 AM Central time here in the Florida Panhandle. Last month’s Full Moon was about letting your dream take you by the hand. This Full Moon, I feel, is all about…instead of hoping someone or something will inspire your dream, YOU are the inspiration for your dream. More on that….