Category: Evolutionary Astrology

There is a correlation between our inner being and the vast universe. Evolutionary Astrology illuminates your current life Soul-intent while analyzing and reviewing past life gifts and blockages. Because the Soul is the most profound level of our being, it produces the widest and most meaningful context for direction in our lives. As the old saying goes, you can’t know where you are going if you don’t know where you have been. I provide the “a ha” moments as you uncover subconscious blockages and bring latent gifts to life. No matter how many times we reincarnate we are never the same person again – make the most of each life – live a life that is most in tuned with the universe and nourishes your soul most deeply.

The Astrology of Lobsters – the State of Maine

Still in Maine- smelling the ocean air as I write this. Just had the best lobster spring rolls at the Kennebunkport Inn but that is not the purpose of this blog. Maine became a state on March 15, 1820 as a part of the Henry Clay orchestrated Missouri Compromise. This allowed Missouri to come into the Union as a slave state and Maine, a former arm of the Massachusetts Colony, as a free state. Maine also became the first state to provide freedom and voting rights to all men regardless of color…yes, darn it, only men.

I ran a chart for Maine on their Statehood date – and used the city of Portland as “birth place” because it was the capitol of the State until the 1840’s. Wow – does it surprise me that everyone here is so friendly and it is State where people come to the aid of their neighbors?  People come up to you on the street if you look the least little bit lost and go out of their way to give your car the right away. Look at that 11th house! A Stellium is when there are five or more planets in one house. Maine has seven planets, asteroids and stars in the 11th. This is the house of social, group interaction.

The Sun is conjunct Pluto in the 11th so the life force of the State undergoes change and transformation – it came in as a tail end of Massachusetts, a northern wasteland many thought a throw away used only to get Missouri into the Nation with as minimal amount of bloodshed as possible. Now it is one of America’s premier vacation lands and our chief supplier of lobster and blueberries. 

Interestingly enough Maine’s North Node is in Aries in the 11th so as a State it will realize its full potential as a leader in group humanitarian activities. Hmmm, what did I say about Maine being the first state to provide freedom and voting rights to men of all races? I think it got off to a good start and it has been making up to women every since.  Currently, both Maine Senators are female and Margaret Chase Smith served as Senator from 1949 – 1973 and was the first woman to have her name entered as a presidential candidate by a major political party in 1964.

With the Moon and Mercury also in Aries in 11th it is easy to see how the image of the no-nonsense, straight shooting New Englander came about. They say what they mean and they don’t ramble on about it.

Maine always suffers from the “red headed step sister” image to its sexier New England states. While it did have the Bush’s of Kennebunkport (too bad it is such a pretty little town), it couldn’t compete with the Kennedy’s of Cape Cod. Think of New England sports and skiing in Vermont and New Hampshire come to mind. It takes a few minutes to think of the summer sports on the miles of beaches and the skiing in winter of Maine. The cause for this? I believe it is in the 8th house -the house of personal power. Maine has Neptune there – the planet that deals with spirituality – and Uranus – the quirky quick change artist in conjunction with one another in the 8th. Neptune is great in the spiritual realm and there believe me if you can’t meditate and zone out while looking out from the craggy beaches into the blue clear ocean you will never be able to do so anywhere else. On the physical plain, however, Neptune causes illusion and confusion. People don’t have a clear image of Maine except for lobsters.

Neptune and Uranus together “dooms” Maine to a fuzzy existence without a clear and easy definition. However, I think they wouldn’t want it any other way. It is as though Mainers are saying if you are lucky enough to find us we will be your friends forever.  I am so glad I found you Maine – and hope to be your friend for a long time.

Sorry, have to go – I see a long walk on the beach in my near future. Did I say this place is amazingly spiritual?

The Astrology of Lobsters

Today I am writing to you from the shore of the Kennebunk River which feeds into the Atlantic Ocean up here in Maine. Maine – where you can sleep on the second floor with your windows open in August…where you fall asleep to the distant mournful call of the ever alert fog horns and wake up to the clanking of the ship bells. Maine – where you can start growing claws from eating fresh lobster but get all your antioxidants from the blueberries which are everywhere. Ah…..

It is here on the banks of the river that you can also see astrology in action. Every morning and every evening the tides rush to an recede from the shores – every 12 hours and 24 minutes without fail. When the tide is out the river basin is so exposed that you can actually walk across the rocky floor. When the tide comes in the water is so high it rises the boats that had been asleep on the rocks and you are lucky to get an inch or two into the river bed without falling to your hips in water. Cold water I might add – the water never heats up here even in August. 

That my dear friends is astrology in action. It is taken for granted even in the least spiritual circles (although I can’t account for birthers or non-evolutionists because who knows what goes on in their heads) that the Moon controls the tides. Let me repeat that – the Moon controls the tides.

We also get the word lunatic from the Latin for Moon –Luna– because people act oddly during the full Moon.  When I worked as a lobbyist for an engineering association many  button down collar, conservative  engineer types admitted that many nuclear power plants put extra security on during the full Moon because of the increased threats.

OK so the Moon controls the tides and our emotions. Why then is it so odd to think that the Sun influences our inner life force and Mercury our thought patterns and Mars our masculine warrior energy? Is it OK for the Moon to do things because we can’t help but prove it’s power over our lives so we have to accept it?
So many people who accept the concept of full Moon madness scoff at astrology without realizing how incongruous their argument.

Think about it – I know I will but first it is time for another lobster roll.

Happy Birthday Mr. President

Barack Obama will turn 49 years old on August 4th. Sorry – I am going to do a little political rant – so if you aren’t into politics skip this paragraph. Yes, to all who say he is aloof he does have the lion energy of Leo the King at his core. Deal with it. I am sorry, I like the man and I think he has passed a heck of a lot of legislation while trying to clear 8 years of errors in a very short time period. Is he perfect? Has he done everything 100 percent correctly? No. He does have the problem of being human. However, he is smart and doing his best to get us back on the right track.

My diatribe over let’s look at his chart on the eve of his birthday. What I constructed above is a tri wheel. In the middle is his birth chart – his natal chart. The center is his progressed chart. A progressed chart is simply a marking of how the planets have moved in his chart only since his birth. A progressed chart is unique to each person. The largest outer chart marks the transits of the planets on any particular day – these are the same for everyone living in Washington, DC in this case.

Anyone can get a tri-wheel of progression at any time to see what influence the planets are having on your life at that moment.

The first thing that I notice is that his progressed Mercury and Mars are in Libra in the 12th house. Typically the 12th house is one of withdrawal. Planets in the 12th house are often muted and turned inward. Ironically, I was born with Mars and Mercury in the 12th house in Libra – writing is easier than speaking for me and it has taken me years to express my Mars anger and drive overtly and not look for vengeance and to just seethe inwardly.

With his progressed Mercury and Mars in the 12th and in the co-dependent sign of Libra it is no wonder that his orations have been missing the mark of late. It also accounts for his extreme concern with the “other side”. Libra is all about caring way too much about helping other – being co-dependent. This progression will remain in place until early next year…so those of like who like his speeches and want a little more fire will be disappointed for a bit longer.

Even Pallas Athena – the asteroid of androgynous female healing power is transiting his 12th house. So he has a lot of power bottled up in 12.

I am glad he is going on “The View” tomorrow – because transiting Mercury (unlike progressed) is in the 10th house – the house of social status and in conjunction with his natal Uranus and natal Lilith. Lilith is the asteroid who shows where we want to defy society. So he should have a good time with some of the wackier members of the panel.

So wait until next year you fire and brimstone Progressives – our Barack will be back.

The Clash of Mars and Saturn

Last week I was speaking about astrology to a group when I mentioned that there is precious little difference between Hitler’s and JFK’s charts… except Hitler had that bad Mars- Saturn combination going on which made him a little – shall we say. scum sucking evil. They both had the bull eye’s for charisma and the ability to sway people with speech – it is just Hitler had a bad combination of Mars and Saturn which, when badly aspected is often an indication for violence. The only time when I am doing a synastry chart of two people that I really lay things on the line and say, hey be careful here, is when I see the Mars of one person badly aspected the Saturn of another. That often indicates a propensity for violence in the relationship.

Because the universe just loves synchronicity, I then was asked to do a chart for a person who then tells me he has not a clue when he was born because he was adopted twice and the state in which he was born did not put the time on birth certificates. Hmm. No time. That is an astrologers nightmare because time tells us the rising sign – the indicator of how we express ourselves in the world. It also places all the planets and asteroids in the proper houses.

Through the process of rectification we can try to find the birth time or get close to it so I asked him a few questions. Of course, he had a disrupted home life – 4th house – but I wanted to know if it was just odd or truly burdensome. The tale he told would put Dickens to shame. He was adopted at birth because his parents couldn’t afford another child but his adoptive mother died when he was still a child. Then he was then adopted by an abusive family which he escaped from at 18 and never looked back. Yes, I would say that was burdensome.

When someone is suffering from limitations or burdens I often look to Saturn. Now I know you Capricorns will get all over me but I am sorry – Saturn is an indicator of restriction and boxing in – where you see Saturn in a birth chart it shows the area where people carry worry and concern or are restricted in. When doing a transit chart, Saturn shows us where we are feeling pain and burden at that time.

Had he told me a story of generally happy but changeable home life, adopted here and then suddenly moved to another house I would have looked to the quick change artist Uranus. His story was all very Saturnine, however.

When I computed the chart I noticed something else interesting. On that day, Mars and Saturn were almost in conjunction (sitting right next to) one another. Ah ha – Mars and Saturn – violence – I placed this Mars and Saturn combo toward the middle of his 4th house because the violence began when he was seven and ran the chart from there. I told him to see if the interpretation I did for him resonated in other areas to see if we had hit the hit the right timing and indeed it did. Bingo!

I am so glad he got out of that situation and has not let it shade his adulthood. He is amazingly well adjusted for having gone through that Hell. Saturn and Mars dealt him a bad hand but he overrode it….well Dickens always liked a happy ending.

The House – the angles

As promised I am going to explore each of the houses of the Zodiac. Of course, I won’t go in order – what fun is order? (The darned rising air sign always acts up on me.) However, I am starting with the first house because it is the first of the angular houses – 1, 4, 7 and 10. These are houses of high importance and actually act as anchors of the chart. For instance, yours truly here has NO Earth signs in her char. Not one planet was in an Earth sign when I was born. I am all air and water with a dash of fire thrown in. Now imagine a chart with no Earth to hold it down. I should always “out there” – never focusing – either in the depths of water’s mysteries or just flipping around the atmosphere. (Another reason I hate to go in order.) However, if you look at the angles – the sign on the cusps of those angular houses you see that I have pretty good anchors. Thank the universe for small favors.

My rising sign – is in Libra an air sign, yes but a cardinal sign – a sign of leadership. The cusp* of the 4th house anchor is Capricorn – a cardinal Earth sign which vibrates to Saturn, the task master. My 7th house anchor is Aries – a fire sign but again it is cardinal. Finally my 10th house cusp is Moon Child – another cardinal sign this one in water. I have all 4 cardinal signs on my anchor (angular) houses. These keep me focused – give me a goal and give me the drive to succeed.

Fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius – are signs of strength and stubbornness and they vibrate to the second, fifth, either and eleventh houses. Mutable, more adaptable, less focused signs of Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces vibrate to the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth houses.

That is why it is important to look at the entire chart. Without strong angular houses my chart interpretation would be vastly different. Next time, I will look at one of the angular houses…maybe the first; maybe the tenth….depends on how I feel. 🙂

*The cusps are the signs that sit at the door of each house. Look at the small outter wheel on the chart to find them.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA

Happy Birthday America. What? You thought a country can’t have a birth chart? Well, I have to admit some of them are hard to find. Some countries that have been around since before dust was invented have no real known birth time. I mean, when did Egypt become Egypt for goodness sakes? However, our chart – that of the USA – is easy because we had a defined time when people signed a document saying – we are now a nation. Those founding fathers were so organized.

The ascendant, rising sign, of America – our outward personality feature – is Sagittarius. Makes sense – Sag. is the explorer and expansionist sign. It is the sign that keeps reaching and growing. The downside of Sagittarius is not knowing when to stop speculating or taking risks that are too large and cannot be sustained. We have seen this in economics as well as warfare.

Sagittarius is the sign of spirituality – and we are often called a religious nation. It also makes us prone to the shadow element and that is the dances we do periodically with religious fundamentalists. Does it surprise anyone that when Pluto was in Sagittarius for the last 15 years we saw the rise of the religious right and the president who was wedded to them?

The ruler of our Ascendant, Jupiter, is the 7th house – the house of “the other” and is in conjunction with the Sun and Venus. So we expand to the other and make ourselves known in the world. Venus helps us spread our art and music….our greatest export are movies. Mars is also in the 7th house – and so our warrior strength is also spread around – remember the 7th house deals with other people on rather intimate levels.

Uranus, the quirky changeable guy, is also in our 7th house. We are the nation that comes to the aid of others, yet dropped the atomic bomb – twice. We are based on the great ideas of the Constitution but do things like Iraq and Vietnam. Get the picture?

It always cracks me up that we have Virgo on the Midheaven (career and social status) and Vesta, the burning heart’s desire and ruler of Virgo in Virgo’s 6th house – the house of work and health. Think of it – Virgo vibrates to the 6th house, and is ruled by Vesta. We have Virgo in the house of career – Virgo is all about precise work – being the worker bee – getting the job done. Vesta is in the 6th house – so our burning heart’s desire is to work! Gee, have we been the country of the worker? Are we known to be workaholics-italics? Did we invent the phrase “work ethic”? Too bad this astrology stuff is all hokum.

Neptune is also on the Mid Heaven. Neptune gives a person their spirituality but when it comes to the physical side of things Neptune creates illusion and delusion. So again, we have that very prominent spiritual aspect that we present to the world. However, how many times do we perceive ourselves in a totally different way than others do? To many Americans we are always the good guys with the white hats. We are shocked when we realize that in many parts of the world we are considered aggressors. We just can’t see it. Growing up in North Jersey, the NY Yankees were gods to me. When I go back there I always laugh at the level of Yankee mania. It was stunned when I left the area to learn that the Yankees are hated by the other teams. Remember the play, “Damn Yankees?” Well it is a bit like that – we can’t believe others see is in a different light than we perceive ourselves.

Now I am not really sure if a country can have a “past life” but take a look at our South Node. It is in Aquarius in the 2nd house – the house of self worth. Our North Node is in Leo the nightly lion in the house of power in the 8th house. I am not sure the purists would like this but I think a case could be made that this shows the change in the land that became America from a more Aquarian Native American society to the world dominating Lion American Nation. I am not one to buy into the idyllic concept that Native American society was utopia but you have to admit that they existed in a more laid back – less driven society than the white men who destroyed them. Their idea of what made a person worthy and ours is vastly different and while there were many inter-tribal wars, the concept of being a world military leader was not in their modes of operation.

Our Moon is in Aquarius – ruled by Uranus – the quirky guy. So we are rather touchy people. With the Moon conjunct Athena, the goddess of war AND healing (versatile lass) so again we are emotionally attached to this warrior and good guy image. Our Moon is also attached to Ceres, the ancient symbol of Mother Earth. Mother Earth – abundance – the breadbasket of the world — get it? These images are at our emotional core.

It is funny, our Chronic wound issue, is in Aries in the 5th house – the house of creativity. We are known for work and growth and movement. Do we give a lot of credence to creativity? Not so much – we fear we are not powerfully creative people – we are the worker bees. 🙂

Of course, my buddy Pluto was in Capricorn at the time of our birth – and because it is so slow moving it is just NOW returning to Capricorn again. Reread my entry on Pluto being the changer and Capricorn being the ruler of authority figures. Sadly, we also saw the French Revolution at this time and it was an example of changing authority run amuck.

So there you go America – this is who we are – one big confusing mass of work, growth, meddlesomeness and change that you just have to love. I know I do. Happy Birthday to us all!

What in the universe is a “house”?

You know sometimes the simplest questions never get asked or answered. We astrologers forget that words and phrases we so often toss around without thinking are not ones that everyone else uses in their every day lexicon! Nothing is more annoying that someone addresses me in “shop talk” so I want to take a few minutes today to get back to fundamentals.

For instance, what is a house? The famous song talks about the Moon being in the 7th house. Where is that house, 7 Moon Lane? A house is nothing more than a 30 degree swath of the sky. Because we live on a relatively circular planet that travels in a relatively circular path around the Sun, we perceive the sky above us as a circle and a circle has 360 degrees. Because there are twelve houses, each house is 30 degrees of the circle. But why twelve houses?

The ancient Sumerians and Babylonians are credited with devising the astrological system we now use in the West although it is entirely possible that some other civilization came up with the whole thing and these guys get the credit because they had a written language. So the Sumerians and Babs could have cribbed the whole system from someone else and just wrote it down. Regardless of the oddities lost in the mists of history, twelve is a very powerful number. It is a number that vibrates to the wisdom of a powerful circle. There were twelve tribes in Israel, twelve disciples followed Jesus, there are twelve months in the year, and our modern clock is divided into two groups of twelve hours. It is considered to be the ancient number of completion as it signals the end of childhood and the beginning stages of adulthood. Additionally, the ancient numbering and measuring systems are based on this number, as evidenced by terms such as a dozen (12), a gross (12 times 12), a shilling (12 pence) and a foot (12 inches). So 12 was a number of power, wisdom and a power circle – makes sense they would use it for the zodiac as well. Therefore, the zodiac pie is divided into 12 equal 30 degree pieces.

We anchor that pie in the sky, if you will, with the Eastern and Western horizons. The Eastern horizon is the point where the 1st house begins and then the circle moves in a counter clockwise direction down to the second house and up and around again so that the 12th house borders the first.

Each house influences a part of our life but more on that later. I will spend some time on each house in the next few months.

Happy 4th all — of July not house…although the 4th house vibrates to home, hearth and patriotism!

ARIES IN THE HOT SEAT

Ok so I heard from some of my Pisces rising friends when I detailed the saga of poor Pisces being stuck on the first house. Whine Whine Whine J So I will now show you that every sign has a house which makes it feel less than comfortable if you will. Today I will risk the wrath of Mars and explore what happens to Aries when it is placed in the house of OOKEY SPOOKY…. The house in which Pisces feels totally at home I might add…. That is, the 12th house.

“What?” (Thunder clapping in the background.) “Twelfth house again? I WON”T. I hate it. No way. I hate all that karmic crap all that touchy feely connection to past lives and connecting to the god source baloney. NO NO NO NO – hear me NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.” “Oh, you ARE the god source? Oh, I didn’t mean baloney – you know when I get mad… I sometimes…..OK OK don’t get all huffy, already.”

Aries stomps off. There has to be a way out of this. After all, Aries is the warrior, a cardinal leadership sign. It can change and shape things to it’s will. Yeah, I will get someone else to do this. What better mark than Pisces. He looks to his right and sees Pisces happily communing with the universe in the 12th house.

“Oh Pisces my fishy friend. How are you today?” His voice is dripping with just enough untypical honey that Pisces incredible intuition kicks in. “Ah, fine Aries – fine. It is a beautiful day in the cosmos but what do you want.”

Aries is taken aback. Pisces isn’t quite the pushover she seems. Darn. “Oh nothing. Just a teeny weenie favor. You love being here in the 12th house and I just don’t get it. You know the compassion, the peace the joy of all as one – I gotta move, I gotta conquer I have to butt my ram head against great obstacles. Can you please – because you are such a compassionate creature – take my turn on the 12th house? Pretty please with butter?”

Pisces rolls her tail. Oh come on. “Thank you for the compliment but you know the 12th house with all that karmic connection might just be good for you. Actions have results – and you need to slow down and see your results once in awhile.”

Slow down? Slow down? This fish is bonkers. However, Pisces is starring right into Aries soul with her deep, penetrating eyes with such intensity that the warrior loses his nerve for a second. Recovering he huffs, “I have no time for THIS. I have things to do.” Pisces smiles peacefully knowing the lesson will be learned someday and swims off.

“Ouch, who the he….”

“Sorry Aries.” It is Sagittarius quickly pulling his arrow out of Aries back side. “ I just got a new quiver and oh geez that is going to leave a mark.”

“Think nothing of it friend,” grumbles Aries through clenched teeth. “But quid pro quo perhaps you can pay for pain with a little favor.”

“Sure I am all about universal justice and understanding.”

“Great, then take my turn on the twelfth house.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Ok sure but I promised the Unbonko people that I would sit in on a native tribal ceremony of unity and peace and well I guess I could be late. Hey, why don’t you come with me? It is a wonderful ceremony where everyone sits around and talks about how to bring justice and truth to the world in their every day actions and then there is dancing and then we eat native meals and then.”

“STOP – please you can’t be serious!”

Sag looks blankly at Aries who is pretty much jumped out of his armor at this point.

“You hurt me with your flipping arrow – you owe me now do it.”

“Oh now Aries I do appreciate you speaking the truth because I love truth – I am truth – truth is king tome -0 next to brotherhood…although it is a toss up brother hood – truth – truth brotherhood…..”

“Forget it. Not worth it!” Aries stomps off.

“Don’t even think about it ram!” Aries hasn’t even gotten to the front door of Scorpio’s dark, watery home yet.

“Huh?”

“You heard me. With my fantastic ability to cut through the crap I know exactly what kind of trick you are trying to pull so vamoose..”

Now that is spooky. Scorp is usually freaky but this time she beat even her record at perception. Aries walks off but keeps looking over his shoulder in fear and amazement.

“Oh Libra Libra Libra…my friend the balancing scales.” How are you? Eek, how do you stay on top this large medicine ball all day?”

“It improves my balance and balance is what I seek all the time. I bring people together, I see both sides of their issues ….”

“Issues, issues yes issues – I have one. I need someone to take my spot on the twelfth house and you can help lead people to examine their connection to the universe and balance their beliefs. A natural – I say a total natural at the job.” (This diplomacy makes Aries a little nauseous or maybe it is just the balancing on this stupid ball. Whatever, he has to close the deal on make another conquest…fast.)

“Well yes I would be good – I never know…but if you say I am good well then I must be. I always take the other person’s word for things. I always see myself through others.”

“Yeah it is call co-dependent city.”

Aries went to far. Libra’s eyes fill with tears. “I don’t mean too. I just always think of the other… Is that so bad? “ Aries tries to make the situation right but Libra is so upset he falls off and breaks his arm.

“Darn now you won’t be able to do this for me… I mean, oh you are hurt – poor thing.”

“That is ok, I will get friends to help me – friendship is so important. It makes us see other’s issues and balance them against our own feelings. It is all about the other…”

Libra is still babbling as he is being carted off. Aries is getting desperate and bored. No one has a shorter attention span or faster temper. The other signs are too powerful to conquer – Aries favorite way of doing things and this diplomacy is wearing him down. He walks into a huge garden in search of Earthy Virgo. She is fixing an organic poultice for Libra.

“Did you hear about poor Libra. Some fool knocked her off his scales. Who would do such a thing.”

Aries looks wide eyed an innocent. He can do it with some effort.

“Good thing I have worked all morning in the garden and I have several herbs ready that will heal him. They have to be applied quickly so have to dash off. Sorry Aries, but can we talk later? Come back around 3 and I will have organic breads and teas ready for us and we can have a nice long chant. That is until I have to organize the house again.”

“Um Ok I will try to do that – sounds grand. Yikes what is that?” Few things frighten Aries – well actually Aries doesn’t let on that anything scares him but being the baby of the zodiac he is frighten a lot and just uses his bluster to cover it. But the roar of Leo the Lion sends shivers into his military boots.

“Who dares approach the king of the jungle!”

“It is just me Leo – nice land you have hear.”

“Of course.” That is right – flattery gets you everywhere with Leo.

“Oh mighty and glorious one. Lovely hair day you are having.”

“I always do silly boy.”

“Yes of course. Oh royal one – might I ask a teeny favor of you?”

“Yeah right.”

“Well, I need someone to take over my twelfth house spot and you your royal one – will shine a light so brightly on the universe that the person will have no choice but to see how it is one with Man.”

“Of course I will. But it is not my turn and I never do anything I don’t have to. So be gone.”

“But”

“I said BEGONE.” Leo knows Aries is all armor little guts really and the roaring routine will work like a charm.

Aries heart is sinking and his mood doesn’t brighten when he reaches Cancers door. The door is normally hard to open because Cancer the crab retreats so deeply into her shell but today it is swung wide and Cancer is swimming out her arms full of baked goods and blankets.

“Did you hear did you heat?” Cancers home made bonnet is slipping she is in such a hurry. “Libra has broken her arm. I have to apply all my motherly qualities , all my nurturing and caring to get him better. Oh dear and so close to the 4th of July – you know how patriotic I am – oh and I love a parade. How can I get this done and make all my peach pies in time? Well. It will have to be done. Aries perhaps you can help me out and use your sword to cut up the peaches.”

“MY sword full of peach crap – are you out of your &&&*W** mind?” But Cancer is too far gone to hear the ranting.

“WHOA slow down with those words, Aries.” It is Gemini, the twins, the sign of duality, quickness of though and communications. “I am a wordsmith but some of those are a bit much. What is it with that temper guy?”

“OH sorry Gemini but I am having the worst freaking day.”

“YOU? I had to listen to a two hour speech by Sarah Palin.” Sitting for two hours is hard enough but what that woman does to a sentence shouldn’t happen to a buzzard. Oye. “

“Ok well if you go an take my turn on the twelfth you can have some karmic peace for a while it will help you recover.”

“No sorry twelfth house is too stable for me – I have just been sitting for 2 hours! I have to move, move, move – BYE.”

He has one chance left- Taurus the Bull. Nothing moves Taurus if Taurus doesn’t want to be moved.”

“Yes I have heard. Gemini is such a loud lout he woke me from my nap.”

“Then you will do it.. You can sleep in the peace of the cosmos on the twelfth.”

“Yes but I will have to move to get there. And I just started a new painting with my tail and ….”

“Forget it! I can’t stand it anymore. Nothing can be worse than trying to reason with you boobs. I have had it! “””

And so Aries stomped off to be on the twelfth house of some soul just being born and made darn sure they came face to face with their spiritual questions and destiny or else!

Happy Solstice! What does that mean anyway?

It is the Summer Solstice! Yippee! Ok so what does that mean exactly? It is defined in astronomy as the time when the Earth tips on its axis and the Northern part becomes closest to the Sun. For those of us in the Northern hemisphere it brings the onset of summer. It is also the longest day of the year when we have the most sunlight. Astrologically, it is the moment when the Sun tips into Cancer. As you can see in the chart below – the Sun, signified by the blue circle with the dot in the center is in zero degrees Cancer. This will happen at 7:30 AM Eastern on June 21, 2010.

The word solstice comes from the Latin – sol – Sun -and sistere – to stand still and it does look from our vantage point on the ecliptic that the Sun is standing still in the sky. (Yes, I know it always stands still but they didn’t know that when Latin was all the rage.) We know now that because of the way we are tilting it appears that the Sun is static. The science has changed but not the name. For about three days it seems that the Sun has nothing better to do than pour a heavy concentration of its light right on our little heads. Summer is a time of fire, when the sun is growing our crops and providing the food that will nourish our bodies throughout the rest of year.

Cancer, however, is a water sign and tells us that it is the time for home and the enjoyment of friends of family. Summer is the traditional time for family picnics and reunions enjoyed under the warming rays of the Sun – usually by the water. The United States, a country “born” under the sign of Cancer – July 4, 1776 instituted a day of outdoor family celebration right at this time of sun and water!

Later, as the Sun moves into fiery Leo, we will experience the full intensity of the Sun as we move into the “dog days” of summer and finally earthy Virgo takes over in time of the harvest.

What is the “best” way to celebrate the Summer Solstice? Any darn way you please. However, if can incorporate water and fire elements into the day you will be very satisfied I am sure.

This year, Juno, the goddess of loyalty and partnership, will be in conjunction with the Sun as will Mercury. However, this Sun-Juno combination, which is normally of time of committing to someone else, is opposite a Pluto-Ceres conjunction. Pluto is the great transformer – the slow and grinding changer. Ceres is mother Earth. (HMMM Pluto and Ceres are in conjunction in the 6th house of health and physicality and the Earth is erupting toxic oil into the Gulf. Think about that one for a bit.) Add to this mix that the Sun-Juno sisters are in the 12th house – the house of the great cosmic unconsciousness – the house of karma. Can you see what is happening?

A Pluto opposition is a demand to change. Pluto is opposing the Sun – our life force – and Juno – loyalty and commitment and it has karma thrown in. So we will see a time when people are questioning their commitments to others and if it is a karmic commitment – people who came together “like magic” in this lifetime there could be some debt paying to one another. Ceres and Juno in opposition cause “female problems,” i.e. mothers and daughters questioning their relationships. Children particularly from other marriages will be chafing under the rules of the “new mommy.”

So while we are playing on the beach this summer, look out for the sharks. No, not those sharks – the ones that will crop up from the dance of the stars over head!

Happy Solstice all!

.

The astrology of multiples

I have been asked to do a birth chart for triplets, recently, and it made me think about the increased number of multiples coming to Earth right now. In vitro fertilization, when successful, lends itself to multiple births. (We have it to thank for Jon and Kate and Octomom….argh.) What does the growth of multiple births mean astrologically? The question had me confused so I turned to my teacher and astro genius Adam Gainsburg, the founder of SoulSign. As usual, he had some amazing insights.

Multiples are usually born via Cesareans; therefore, their births coincide with times that are amenable to the schedules of doctors and hospitals. Some are emergency births because something goes wrong but the average multiple birth is a scheduled C-section. Therefore, these births usually take place between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM. Where is the Sun at those hours? Well, it is creeping up from the Ascendant, the Eastern horizon and making its way up to the center of the sky- high noon. On the astrological chart that places it in the 4th quadrant, the span between the 10th and 12th houses.

This quadrant deals with the individual’s assimilation into society. Essentially, it is learning to blend our life force into society. This isn’t always easy because we are trying to meld and blend into the norms dictated by another group of people. If a chart is such that a person is in step with society then they will have an easy time but if a person is at all quirky or somehow out of synch with society, their life is going to have conflicts, adjustments and perhaps disappointments. So on a personal level a person forced into this birth situation will have to confront issues of fitting in, self awareness and making concessions.

What are the karmic implications of being born a twin, triplet or quad? Well, because the universe hates simple answers, there can be several. The one I find most intriguing is that they could be one soul coming in to life as several people to experience various life experiences with self. Think about it. Who says that a soul can’t incarnate as more than one person….it is the soul for goodness sakes! (Yeah, you thought I was going to say for Heaven’s sake didn’t you?) If the soul wishes to speed up Earth class, why not incarnate as a twin? It will experience itself in another – perhaps adversarial – perhaps totally loving – body. It is the ultimate in seeing ourselves as others see us.*

Multiples usually band together, some even develop their own language. An increase of multiple births can show the beginning of a return to a more tribal society. Isn’t it amazing how everything comes full circle – from tribal society to individualistic and back to tribal? No, we aren’t going to be dancing around campfires again (unless we totally blow up existing society which we are totally capable of doing.) So if we have increased groups of people linked by this common birth trying to assimilate themselves into society as a whole, those who find it difficult will retreat back to the comfort of their birth tribe. If multiples are more apt to marry multiples, which they are, you can see how these little communities will spring up in society.

I can’t help but chuckle to think it is the most modern of scientific techniques that will make us more tribal. At this time of transformation, it will be interesting to see how this new tribalism will play out.

*I know the term “soul-mates” has been tossed around like an old Frisbee these days, but you don’t have to be born of the same parents to be true soul-mates. The soul can incarnate as male and female in the same life to experience life as a married couple. In the case of multiple births, however, it is a more intimate soul experience because you are actually seeing yourself react to self. It is a much deeper learning experience.