Astrology: Forecasting 2012; February

Note: fed-up with the rather ‘lame’ interpretations that we find in magazines each month, i’ve decided to ‘try’ some of my own, but i already find myself falling into the usual kinds of ‘traps’, that come about when using astrological speech.

The month begins with Venus opposing a retrograde Mars, so ‘it seems’ [many] break-ups may already be ‘well’ underway, but with these planets in ‘receptions’ to each other, some people will retain that friendship feeling, but others will be feeling ‘the loss’ of a much ‘loved one’ even more acutely.

The 4th sees Neptune return to Pisces, but there is no stating the often said, ‘over sensitive’ or ‘psychic’ bollocks/rubbish from me. Its meaning is ‘there’ of course, but i prefer to not even try to understand it, my astrological world often stops at Saturn rings nowadays.

On the 7th Mercurial matters get totally subsumed by a Solar over-lord, ‘who really should know better’; or maybe you will spot ‘one’ person who is in ‘power’ who shows their weaknesses, so watch-out ‘secretaries’.

This day also sees Saturn going retrograde, so watch-out for ‘tears’ before bedtime, and a whole new approach to Saturnine ‘parts’ of your life. For me, Saturn is my 2nd ruler, so i’ll get my ‘finances’ in order, or even better before the 7th.

The 8th sees Venus in detriment, in Aries, soon to conjunct Uranus on the 10th, again its an inner/outer planet aspect, and that could bring almost ‘anything’ with it. ‘Mutant sexual acts’ ha ha, the reported ‘death of love’ full-stop, or even a mass love-in of some sort, who knows.

The 13th gives a Mercury trine Saturn aspect, with Mercury about to dip into its fall and detriment, so a brief ‘reprive’ [of sense] before ducking-down into some nasty ‘mental’ business, which will suit some, but not others.

Note: I went-out today and people we’re very much ‘up’, with a lot of mental chatter, i should’ve predicted that, with Mercury and Saturn in ‘air’ signs, and the ‘easy’ trine between them. Oh dear Robert, it should really be that simple, because ‘that is it’, at its most basic meaning, and i missed it; keep it simple stupid.

The morning of the 14th brings Mercury in ‘antiscion’ conjunction to Saturn only hours after the ‘trine’, so whatever happens ‘of these planets’ on the 13th seems to continue, [but in a slightly form] on the 14th.

The rest of the month seems to carry-on with nothing-much changing.

Mars is sesquiquadrate Jupiter on the 16th, with Mercury also sextile Jupiter, and all ‘this’ just days before Mercury opposes the retrograde Mars, and that ‘may’ equal a few intense days of slightly better economic news.

Followed by a quite substantial split, but ‘what in the world’ can we see from Mercury in Pisces opposing Mars in Virgo in the outside World? i haven’t a clue; have you? but ‘by rights’ Mercury should have the upper-hand over Mars by means of ‘sign’ reception, with it getting-pulled into Virgo.

As for me, this opposition ‘aspect’ falls with Mercury conjunct my Saturn, so i hope it doesn’t bring harsh financial news, or work troubles, as Mars is my 10th house ruler.

But it looks as if i can ‘expect’ something pretty big, so i’ll keep an ‘eye’ on this one.

Astrology: What is it, that i am doing…

… that is ‘different’, and ‘better’, [if i could possibly say that] than other blogs on Astrology.

But self-confidence is ‘key’, and i’m only expanding on what others have said, [admittedly because i want to], well you’ve got to get some ‘fun’ out-of-it too, haven’t you.

I say this, as i often get comments like ‘awesome’, ‘excellent’ etc, and people saying they can’t wait for more.

Now, i don’t want it ‘all’ to go to my head, especially as many other sites get similar comments, and i know i’m not the best in the World, and i don’t want to be, i just want to put some good stuff out-there.

But if i had to do a bit of self-analysis, then it has to be ‘down’ to my approach of ‘my’ chosen subject.

The first but ‘crucial’ factor has to be that i ‘know’ my subject, and that has to be an advantage.

Secondly, i’ve chosen to write it in a ‘style’ which isn’t entirely astrological, but as ‘snippets’ of ‘life’ told with the astrology, not so much ‘tagged-on’ but integrated in with common english.

Thirdly, the ‘stories’ i tell are ‘ones’ anyone can put forward, only ‘mine’ combine an interesting slant, and possibly ‘angles’ you don’t get elsewhere, but always readable, so even if you know little about Astrology its not that important, as i try to explain them as i go along.

Fourthly, its also down to choosing your individual post idea well, because if you can’t do justice to it, and add in some new idea’s its perhaps not worth doing.

Fifthly: choose your ‘time’ to write and publish ‘well’. Using Astrology gives you another advantage here, i have ‘timed’ this post to come-out as the Moon conjuncts an exalted Venus, which just happens to ‘fit’ with the ‘bloatedness’ of this post.

Sixthly: Always make it well-written, as nothing puts-off the reader than an unreadable post, hence i usually re-read/write and edit it at least two or three times before publication.

Sadly there are people out-there who can’t write, many of the comments i get are so mixed-up, as to be nonsense, and that is ‘just’ a few words, not hundreds.

Seventh: Don’t sit on an ‘idea’ for too-long, as many a ‘good’ one is lost this way, and sometimes it really is best to write it all up immediately. And also know when to ‘stop’, as an over-continuance can spoil a post.

Lastly, i’ve kept this post reasonably brief, as i don’t want to give ‘all my secrets away’, but you get the ‘idea’. But believe me, there ‘is’ much more to ‘it’.

So, the best ‘trick’ is always [to try to] wrap-up posts within themselves, leaving no loose ends.

Finally: I don’t want to come-across as a big-head, but this cannot be avoided in a post where you are upping yourself, but remember i’ve done [just this, this time], to help you see some of my ‘workings’ and nothing more.

Astrology: Mars retrograde

It dawned on me that one reason the retrograde station of a planet was seen as a bad place for a ‘planet’ was simply because ‘it is standing still’ albeit momentarily, and this goes against the very nature of the planets, who are defined by their movement.

But why is the retrograde station more malefic than the direct station? i think that has to be because it goes against the natural order, which is ‘forward’, simple as that. The direct station must be because its a change of direction, and the loss in ‘speed’ can’t help either.

We must see this as an important factor, because the Sun and Moon never retrograde; and again, ‘life in the main’ is all about moving-on, [sometimes quite quickly], so a retrograde period really puts the ‘brakes’ on ‘for a while’, not so much stopping, but slowing ‘life’ down to a more reflective pace, [maybe].

We must also consider it as ‘going over old ground’ too. Although we ‘hardly’ realise that we are ‘doing just that’ most of the time, meaning….

… the trouble with a planets retrograde motion is… … if you pointed-out to someone a planet was going Rx, and something was possibly ‘happening’ differently [to/for them] during that Rx period, i think most people would be hard-pressed to find something they could say that has changed, so although we know it happens, it is often hard to pin-down, certainly internally, as we ‘do’ when a planet is ‘direct’..

I have already noted a ‘change’ in a few things.

Its happening in Virgo, [so you may have expected] some ‘things’ of this ‘sign’ to appear, and so along comes ‘reforms’ in the British ‘health service’ which are now front page news; but i say, let’s see where they get to by the end of the retrograde period.

Virgo also sees talk of ‘moving’ [relocating] the London ‘design’ centre/museum.

And there’s big news of an oil refinery closing and the potential of chaos it would bring to the ‘car’ owners. Here Mars is all ‘about’ the ‘combustion’ engine, whilst ‘refinery’ and ‘chaos’ are very ‘apt’ Virgoan states of being.

Also just at the ‘time’ of the ‘station’ there’s news of Iran and a ‘blockade/closure’ of the straits of Homuz, which would threaten oil tankers movements, not surprisingly we see the ‘stationed’ Mars on the 7th house of one of Iran’s mundane maps, so the possible threat of a war-like state between the West and Iran seems to be more than feasible just now.

Note: its always ‘worth’ noting that often a previous horoscope for a country, to the current ‘one’ still resonates even afterwards, take the 1801 UK chart as an example.

So once again the Media hasn’t let us down with its World coverage, and let’s not forget Nick Campion’s World Horoscope’s, which has helped this post to be created.

Note: Its funny but out of ‘all’ the posts i’ve written, the ‘ones’ which seem to produce the most fresh and original material are the posts on retrograde motion, especially when a planet is ‘turning’, whether its into retrograde or direct motion, making me think this has to be one of the ‘top’ area’s for ‘new’ astrological ‘understanding’ and possible research, [at least for me].

Astrology: Coley and my 8th house rulers

On my journey around the ‘houses’ i have [so far] found Henry Coley to be pretty accurate in what he suggest as house rulers house positions, and their meanings.

The eighth house is always a ‘tricky’ one though, as it house meanings can seem so distant from what we recognize as our ‘self’.
But a ‘part’ of ourselves it is; even though a lot of it is made manifest through a partner and what they bring to your life, and of course ‘death’ which for most of us is only experienced ‘once’, and is rather ‘final’.

Of course ‘others’ death’s are frequently experienced in our lifetimes, so it has more than a ‘singular’ meaning. Although ‘your’ death, is most definitely shown your eighth house. I always worry about my ‘heart’, as Leo is on my 8th house cusp, and although i was born with what felt like a strong ‘heart’, [because of the Sun in the ‘angular’ 7th house, with no malefic planets aspecting it], i know that after many years of smoking i have weakened it, but if i gave-up, it would part repair itself.

Unfortunately my father’s mother smoked heavily and even when i saw her weakened body near death and swore not to end-up the same way i never was able to take the ‘lesson’ from her death onboard, more’s the pity.

Strangely at 46 years old i haven’t seen many of my near family die, but as i get older these ‘days’ are sure to come, and with more frequency, so i will have to learn to deal with it ‘when it comes’. This has been a fair ‘constant’ in my life, [up-to-now], and has really helped me live a ‘good life’, with little sorrow.

Now, with no wife, comes little knowledge of what ‘dowry’ they may bring, but i have always thought that with the Sun in the 7th house, any ‘monies’ they ‘may have’ would pretty much stay with themselves, or i’d have to fight hard to get ‘at’ what is their’s, but this ‘angular’ placement should show they have looked-after what they ‘have’, although its quite irrelevant if i never marry or get seriously attached to someone.

Coley says, someone with this position could marry a wealthy person, which always helps, [i suppose], and he says this person may be a ‘foreigner’, and the marriage may be in his or her foreign country, [which is simply saying you will either marry in your or their’s country], which seems quite obvious.

And he says it’s also likely that i would outlive them, which in itself is good, but what if you also marry someone who has their lord 8 in the 7th, is it ‘then’ a battle to see who will out-survive who?

He says no more, and neither have i anymore to add, only perhaps with lord 8 Mercury, also ruling in a sizeable part of the eighth house, and also placed in the seventh house, it must surely double-up this ‘meaning’.

And so it is with the next ‘house’, the ninth, which has two rulers placed in the same house.

More of that soon-ish.

Astrology: Forecasting 2012; January

Just before the new year a friend asked me ‘what kind of year will 2012 be astrologically’?

I answered i don’t really know, but i thought it will be different for everyone, depending on what planets ‘hit’ [aspect] your planet’s in your natal chart.

I did say that for ‘us’ with Jupiter in Gemini ‘natally’ things would pick-up in June when Jupiter returns there.

But on a general level, here’s what i could’ve said…

… firstly no-one really uses the 01 01 2012 midnight chart to calculate the year ahead. The ingress chart of April 2011, [0 degrees Aries] is still in ‘play’ along with the 0 degree Capricorn ingress chart, at least until April 2012.

But to answer her question i am going to pick-out month by month what it is that i would look at. It is not everything i would look at, but gives you an idea of what it is i do.

January: there’s no doubt [in my mind] what the biggest event is, Mars going retrograde, happening just under every two years.

Venus runs it close at a year and a half, and it certainly is not like Mercury which retrogrades 3 times a year.

So look-out for something Martian, but in the Mercurial sphere, [as it is in Virgo] going into ‘trouble’ around the 24th. [Just use your mind-power to see what is developing around this time]. Its not much ‘use’ trying to guess ‘what it will be’ too early-on, but news stories will start to show where the action is, like the British ‘media’ ethics enquiry changing ‘tact’.

Also look at the Venus trine Saturn aspect on the 13th as it happens at 29 degrees of the signs which are in mutual reception by sign, so i guess we’ll have ‘something’ coming-up which will be of a great ‘culmination’ before things change significantly. Again it could be anything ‘in the sphere of’ Venus mixed with Saturn.

On the 14th Venus enters Pisces and spends its time until the 7th of February ‘exalted’ there, but as it is also in reception to Jupiter, this is probably a ‘golden’ period of the year, as both planets are ‘benefics’ and neither are retrograde, but the ‘highlight’ of the period [comes all to soon] on the 15th, when Venus trines Jupiter, and that’s a pity as these planets indicate such a ‘lovely’ time.

Then there’s a ‘blip’ on the 19th as the Sun squares Saturn, but its ‘mixed’ malign influence doesn’t last long, as soon thereafter the Sun changes sign.

Its pretty quiet ‘after that’ up until the end of the month, with nothing but Jupiter square the New Moon on the 23rd, perhaps showing a ‘stilted’ optimism, for the month ahead on the economy.

As for me personally, i look forward to the time when Venus conjuncts my natal Saturn around the 28th. A couple of days when a possible boost to my finances may occur, or my love-life may improve, but on writing this ‘bit’ [right now] it all ‘sounds’ a little too much like a ‘vague’ newspaper or magazine forecast, and surely i can do better than that for myself, i’ll have to go away and ‘think’ a bit harder.

Astrology: A call for help

Christmas can be a ‘strange’ time with some people acting ‘out of character’. And maybe this time of relative freedom and excess gives some people the chance to be express themselves more, be it for good or bad.

And this is exactly what did occur over this year’s festive period, and this is why i just had to ‘report’ this ‘incidence’ to you all, and the planets perhaps show why it took place then.

Here in England a woman made over 750 hoax calls to one counties emergency services, [that’s 999 here, or 911 in the ‘states’], and all between December 24th and 27th, so that is a lot of calls.

Now this is rather ‘excessive’ by anyone’s standards, and the lady involved would seem to be seriously disturbed.

Now, it would be fascinating to know her ‘birthdate/time’, but in the absence of ‘that’ the ‘planets’ between the dates mentioned will have to be used.

Well its of no doubt, with the Sun squaring Uranus just before the beginning of these events the stage was set for some very ‘quirky’ self expression, putting herself up against the authorities, the [Sun].

And with the end of the ‘period’ coinciding with the Sun conjuncting Pluto, it saw the ‘ending’ of this excessive/compulsive behaviour, for this woman at least.

Its also worth noting where the Moon was during most of this period, being in Capricorn, where its in its ‘fall’ seems appropriate if only in the ‘way’ she let herself down.

Usually the ‘folk’ [Moon] knowledge would be to ‘never’ do this kind of troublesome act, as ‘its’ well-known amongst most people not to do it.

But maybe by its ‘very’ placement here in Capricorn, gave a time when it was kind of ‘right’ or ‘appropriate’ to ‘act’ in a rather ‘lowly’ and ‘despicable’ manner.

We must also consider the sign of Virgo, which when in its ‘highest form’ is a sign which conforms to doing the ‘right’ thing, but Mars here is partly susceptible to ‘causing’ this kind of trouble, by doing the ‘wrong’ thing by being troublesome.

But it takes a load of ‘fixity’, and a rather ‘determined’ mind to set-out to do this ‘act’.

Which brings-in the ‘fixed’ signs, now Capricorn is a cardinal sign, and with the Moon conjuncting Pluto during this ‘time period’ it obviously helped to keep her in the mood, and with the Moon in ‘fixed’ Aquarius conjuncting Venus at the end ‘of this period’ her pleasure-ride had reached its conclusion.

But it was really Jupiter that was ‘there’ on a ‘mission’, i believe his ‘stationary’ place on the 25th at 0 degrees of Taurus was what really made her steadfastly stick to her guns, and sad to say some people’s experience of this fixed earth sign, if they have poor intelligence is to doggedly continue on a ‘path’ others would see as ‘ridiculous’, but this Jupiter was slowing-down and turning around, and that’s partly why she ‘hit’ it hard, [a bit like how ‘hard’ it is hitting me with not knowing her date/time of birth], only joking there, still, what can be done with her, as we can’t blame the ‘planets’ motions on affecting her ‘life’ now can we?

But with events like ‘these’, she almost ‘personified’ Jupiter’s course, and the other planet’s rather negative actions.

But it still leaves us with a few unanswered questions, especially ‘why’ the authorities let it get to over 750 calls? i refer back to this posts title, [a call for help].

Now, is it possible that some ‘planetary’ groupings can possibly ‘tip’ someone over-the-edge? by hitting home hard, yes i think so. But you must have some kind of ‘genetic’ [planetary] make-up to make you susceptible to doing this kind of behaviour, and the ‘time’ must be right too.

So that brings us to the ‘everlasting’ theory that [some people do find Christmas a stressful time], and i’m sure the ‘operators’ at that ‘centre’ found it so.

So she rang the place you normally ‘call for help’ 750 times, but probably never asked for the ‘help’ she really needed most, and it wasted the countries resources in the process.

Now a few words on ‘what’ our ancient Astrologer’s said about any planet going from retrograde motion to station and direct motion.

They said its like a ‘prisoner’ getting released from jail’. Now this ‘metaphor’ can be applied to many a situation.

And as Jupiter obviously symbolises the emergency services, [in one sense], we can simply see it as bringing-out the ‘help’ services, and so with it still being retrograde [only just] as she started the calls, she was ‘on the phone’ almost knowing she wouldn’t get ‘the services’ out, [or maybe not even really wanting to, as then she couldn’t continue on her path, for one thing], meaning too, she was somewhat sure in the knowledge the hoaxes would lead to no ‘vehicles’ being released, i.e. the ‘prisoner’, here seen as [transport] wasn’t being ‘let-out’ easily, in those last few hours of a retrograde Jupiter.

And she may of ‘sensed’ that Jupiter would soon be ‘freer’, [to act] when it turned-direct, still, she was never going to be the ‘human’ agent of that massive a ‘change’ [of what Jupiter represents] by herself now, was she.

But after Jupiter went ‘direct’ there was every ‘chance’, [in her mind] that something would eventually ‘give’, so that’s probably partly why she continued, and also ‘because’ these professional’s have to answer every 999 call, and cannot do otherwise, [so to someone who is hoaxing] its like a ‘present’ that is always ‘given’ time and time again.

So with Jupiter stationary and then going direct, and slowly ‘getting’ out of a bad position, [what is more appropriate] than continuing to call-out for help, and knowing your call can never be refused, for what is i imagine a very ‘lonely’ woman, who probably felt that all her Christmasses had come at once.

Note: of course, i do not know all the details of what made her do the things she did, and ‘what she is like’ as a person is only a best guess at most, you understand. And its hard to mix a person’s motives to the planets motions, but i hope you get the general idea.

Final note: when writing on any story you must always take the ‘little’ basic Astrology you know, [like the meaning of a planet going ‘direct’] and think about ‘what’ is happening at this time, to allow you to ‘come’ to a greater understanding, and not to be ‘scared’ to think a little further about something that might be ‘phrased’ one way, but could mean a ‘whole-lot-more’ if you allow yourself to work on it, and let it develop.