Hanukkah Chart

Hanukkah always falls on the same date in the Jewish calendar. It is when we mesh that calendar with the Western calendar that the days move around. This year it begins tonight….by the way, next year it starts on November 27!

The Jewish calendar is lunar so let’s take a look at the Moon tonight. The chart above is calculated for sundown, which is 4:28 PM EST today, December 8. Fittingly, the Moon is in Libra, in the 5th house. Since this is a holiday of gifts, fun and celebration, Libra – the sign of friendship and sharing with the other person is a good sign for the Moon to be in. The 5th house is the house where we express our creativity – where we have fun and are kids so be a kid tonight on Hanukkah!

Just beware of gossipy family members! The ascendant is in Gemini – the sign of communications – and it’s ruler, Mercury is in Scorpio – the sign that loves to ferret out secrets. Because Mercury is in the 6th house – the house of work and health – be careful not to tell that snoopy old aunt you hate your job or your feet hurt if you don’t want it spread around the family like wild fire. Jupiter and Vesta in retrograde on the ascendant will make people want to share a bit too much.

With Juno, the asteroid of loyalty in the 7th house, the house of intimate relationships – be sure to have lots of people who REALLY mean something to you over this year. Show and tell them how much you really love them.

And Happy Holidays all!!!

That Funny Lunar Eclipse

Remember when I said that the Lunar Eclipse would cut across linear time? Well it sure did. Saturday I was scheduled to represent First Book (a great charity that gets books into the hands of kids) at a gift giving fare at a local church. I had known for weeks that my shift was 10a- 12 noon. However, when I woke up Saturday morning I was convinced that I had the whole morning to play around because my shift didn’t start until noon! I was enjoying the morning, drinking up the eclipse when I suddenly heard my blackberry sound the 15 minute alarm.

I couldn’t help but laugh – the eclipse was having fun with me. By making me forget the correct time for my appointment, the universe allowed me to have some eclipse time. Had I remembered the 10:00 AM start I probably would have been spending eclipse time getting ready – and while I had to rush around the house like a chicken with its head cut off – I was able to spend time with the moon AND get to the event in time.

How did you feel the eclipse?

Moon and Jupiter – Appearing Together Now!

There are many spots on planet Earth, including the East Coast, where you can get a good shot of a Moon/Jupiter conjunction. For the next few nights look to the right of the silvery Moon and you will see a bright dot – that is Jupiter. The Moon is now 7 degrees Taurus, and retrograded Juptier is 3 degrees Taurus. Now we know that the Moon and Jupiter are NOT right next to one another in the sky; four degrees of Taurus is a long stretch of  property. However, it gives you a good idea of what we mean by a conjunction.

You can see this conjunction on the chart above. Look on the right side in the seventh house. You see a quarter Moon and then slightly downward is the big 4 – that is the symbol of Jupiter.  Charts are snapshots of the sky at a moment in time!

The Dark Moon May 10 – 13

The Dark Moon also called Lilith is astronomically the three days before the New Moon appears. The Moon, of course, cycles around us and appears with different “faces”, the full Moon, half Moon, quarter Moons. A new Moon is when it lies directly in the path between Earth and Sun, and appears to us to be in conjunction with the Sun. However, the three days before the Moon goes “new” every month it disappears totally from our view. To the ancients, it was a dark, mysterious time. Unfortunately, over the years as we moved from matriarchal religions to more male dominated religions, the dark and mysterious Moon has become demonized. It became the symbol of the “bad girl” and the baddest of them all is Lilith.

First mentioned in Sumerian mythology about 3000 years ago, Lilith was seen in Hebrew stories as the first wife of Adam. She was not too happy with the plan that she should submit to Adam and be that happy helper stuff that Eve fell for so she said “bye bye Adam” and went off to make her own way in the world. So forevermore, she was called the bad girl – the fallen woman – of the Hebrew Bible. Because the Moon has always been associated with the feminine the dark Moon, the time of mystery and secrecy eventually bore the name of Lilith.

Astrologically, the time of the dark Moon is the time when we should get in touch with the hidden side, with the side we hide from society because it is not acceptable. This is the time we need to assess why we keep the side hidden and why we dance to the rules of society.

Where Lilith is on your astrological chart indicates the area where we will often have a spiritual crises because we are hiding a part of our true self so as not to risk disapproval. Is it in Aries? Well, where is your fear of charting new courses? Gemini? Well, always seeking the unusual in travel is fun but are you running away from something? Scorpio Lilith brings passion and pushes us to be free of sexual inhibitions.

So use those dark days to see what you have kept hidden from yourself for fear of repercussions and assess if that is still working for you.