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Venus in Aries

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2012-02-08T09:04:07-05:00

Early on February 8th, Venus made her way into Aries, the first of the planetary trio of sun, Mercury, and Venus to make her way into the first sign of the zodiac this year.

In Aries, Venus casts a more outgoing, fun, light on our relationships and modes of relating. Less about tradition and decorum, Venus in Aries allows us to try new things - it certainly is a good time to begin many kinds of relationships.

Of course, Aries is all about asserting oneself, while partnership is an "us" project, rather than a "me" endeavor. That's one of the reasons that the Goddess of Love's time in Aries is often consider to be a bit problematic: if we're too focused on what we want, we won't be thinking of the other person. Selfishness can obviously sour a relationship.

But there's more to the "debility" of Venus in Aries. Venus is after all the image of the feminine, and Aries is an assertive sign. According to traditional thinking - of which there is still plenty around - little ladies ain't supposed to be outgoing, assertive, and in control. Heck no, they're supposed to sit around demurely waiting for the man to take the lead.

To tell you the truth, I think both reasons for the debility of Venus in Aries are kinda bunk. I'm not much of a fan of traditional roles based on gender, and I'm happy that we are (slowly) transcending those limitations. Yet I don't think much of the idea that we ought to give up our own wants, needs, and what we need to become all that we can be as individuals in favor of relationship.

Thinking that compromise and sacrifice of our individual needs for the glory of relationship has a long history, but it really got a shot in the arm back in the Neptune-in-Libra days (roughly the 1950s). But other people can't make us happy - they can only share whatever happiness we have.

That can be a hard pill for die-hard romantics to swallow (although Saturn, stationing in Libra, might prescribe exactly that pill). But it is what Venus in Aries is trying to teach us: I can relate to you, but only to the extent I am already myself.

Venus will be in Aries until March 5th, so you have time to think about it.

(the photo is a statue of giant woman at a traffic circle in Ecuador)

square pegs

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-12-23T09:04:03-05:00

The moon is in buoyant Sagittarius, and we're just past the Winter Solstice (so the light will begin to grow again in the Northern Hemisphere). Plus, Jupiter, the Cosmic Santa, is stationing to move direct on Christmas Day. So is everyone feeling fine?

Not quite. Although it seems that many of us are floating away from the stress in an appropriately Sagittarian bubble of what-me-worry? it's hard not to feel some pressure from the cardinal t-square between Uranus in Aries and Pluto in Capricorn. That square is making it hard to chillax for the holiday season, and the intensity of the last six months or so (recently amped up by the eclipses and stations) can keep the pedal to the floor - even if we are only racing around our own minds.

Astrologically, although we are awash in the lighter aspects listed above, the sun is now in Capricorn. His first order of business, on Thursday, was to square Uranus. Luna is racing to meet up with Sol on Saturday, which means that she will be in Capricorn, also triggering the square. Then, on Thursday the 29th, the sun will meet up with Pluto.

The effect of all that is that we have an entire week when not only the moon but the sun is triggering the t-square. Hardly a relaxing time!

The new moon in Capricorn on Saturday is not far from Pluto (although not too close, either), and it is the new moon after the solstice. If we take in that energy passively, it is a time to see the direction things are heading. If we take a more active approach, it is an excellent time to set our intentions for the very active year ahead.

In fact, the entire period from the solstice on Thursday through the Jupiter station on Sunday can be taken as one long period of intention-setting. The tough Scorpio moon earlier last week should have helped us to clear out some emotional baggage, making us lighter as we go forward.

Scan the news, and you'll see that things have hardly been easy over the past few weeks. The intensity of December's cosmic activity has not been brought down to Earth very smoothly. That sounds very much like Pluto's "make it worse so it can get better" strategy.

Not that Pluto is all that invested in it getting better. But we should be. Take these few days to juggle your outward-going active energy with your inward-directed awareness. It's hard to remain in balance - but at least try to decide which you will fall when you get knocked off the log you've been rolling.

(the photo is of a goat in the Ecuadorian Andes, so I'm assuming a mountain goat)

kim jong's ill

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-12-19T17:09:50-05:00

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il died on Saturday. The death was apparently due to natural causes, although like everything else coming out of North Korea, there is plenty of room for speculation.

Kim died on the same day as Czech poet, philosopher and one-time president, Vaclav Havel. The difference between the two men could not be more blunt, and the world's reaction reflects this. Havel's death was met with sadness and recollection of a liberating moment in Czech history. Kim's death was met with curiosity about who will succeed him at the helm of the wackiest country in the world.

The astrology of these events leads to the eclipse of December 10th. At the eclipse, the nodes of the moon (points associated with eclipses) were angular in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. That's no reason to think a past or present president will die, but it does signify comings and goings.

The lunar eclipse, and particularly the nodes, is square to the sun in the chart of North Korea (using Nicholas Campion's Book of World Horoscopes; there isn't a specific time). Eclipses have a reputation for being bad news for the leader's of affected countries. It's not such a big deal these days, of course, unless you happen to be running an egomaniacal show a la Ramses the Great (which, uh, Kim was in fact trying to do).

At the solar eclipse of November 25th (considered even worse for kings and the like), Mars was square to North Korea's sun (the sun stands for the ruler in the chart of a country - especially one with a king, dictator, etc.).

Pluto was also just past a trine to North Korea's sun (exact on December 5th), an indication of transition and transformation in leadership.

2012 will see more hits to the country's sun from Mars, as he retrogrades in Virgo. Jupiter will be offering a supportive trine throughout the year.

If the sun of North Korea is being hit, so is Kim Jong Il's son, Kim Jong Un. He is the third Kim to be in line for the leadership of the country. That's good news and bad news for him: He may be getting a country for Christmas, but it's North Korea.

the revolution may not be televised

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-12-17T18:29:11-05:00

Despite grave reservations of many people, the U.S. Senate passed a bill this week that will allow the United States military to detain - indefinitely - people suspected of terrorism. Most troubling, it includes American citizens who are captured within the United States. Senator Al Franken has likened the bill to President Roosevelt's wholesale detention of Japanese citizens during the Second World War.

While President Obama initially threatened to veto the bill, it is apparent the measure will now be signed into law. Apparently the language of the bill was changed to make it palatable to the President. Of course, because those caught under the bill will not necessarily be tried or even charged, we'll never know how it is actually implemented.

This dark news comes just after the full moon eclipse last week, although the bill was finally debated when the moon was in protective Cancer, and voted on when the moon was in Leo. It also came on the heals of Trickster Mercury moving direct (and so indicating reversals and perhaps subterefuge). But the real astrological forces at work are Pluto and Uranus.

Uranus, in the sign of Aries, represents revolutionary energy. Rogue individuals and groups are common with Uranus in this very individualistic sign, and for sure some of them are dangerous. The problem is that "dangerous" is relative to your perspective. As we see more and more protests in the streets over the next few years, there are going to be charges that those who challenge the status quo are essentially terrorists (and some will be).

Pluto is working to transform government and the power structures of our world. Pluto doesn't sit on one side of an issue or another - although many astrologers are quick to try to clam Pluto's energy for their cause. Pluto actually amps up all sides of an issue, driving both the forces of change and the resistance to it. So, as we get to see Occupy Wall Street and other protests demanding change, we also get to see police officers in military gear (and maybe soon military personnel acting as police) trying to squelch that change.

No one will win. The change that is being created is both deeper and different from that anticipated by any one individual or group. But this week's news certainly scores one for the frightening forces of control and repression.

eclipse round up

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-12-11T10:27:49-05:00

The early part of last week was characterized by some easy, productive aspects. Even the moon in Aries, setting off the cardinal t-square, seemed to be more inspiring than tense (oh, there was plenty of tension, but I'm speaking relatively).

As we got to Thursday, we were pulled into the vortex of the full moon lunar eclipse and Uranus station. These two important aspects happened within 12 hours of each other, essentially blending their energies into one mega-aspect.

The Uranus station suggests a theme of change, innovation, and movement. In the sign of Aries, we can add direction, and personal needs standing out above other considerations. The trick to handling Uranian energy (especially in Aries), is to assert yourself without running over others like a freight train. It's not as easy as it sounds.

The eclipse, on the other hand, was on the Sagittarius/Gemini axis. Here we are challenged to find the big picture, a perspective that can encompass all the individual stories. A good strategy is actually to connect with others and see what they have to say - not easy as both eclipses and Uranus stations don't encourage patience.

Taken as positive energy, these last few days were a chance to open up to our own truths, to recognize and accept things that we weren't aware of or didn't want to face. There's an almost reckless courage that comes from full moons and Uranus stations, and that can be very helpful. Once the window is open, the fresh air comes in. You may have felt like you said too much or opened up a bit more than you would have at other times. Now that the moon is in Cancer, you may want to retreat a little. But the fresh air feels good.

Looking at the news, I found that on the collective level, things were gruesome. Beginning with the Virginia Tech shooting, all I found was stories about murders - old and new. Again, now that the moon is in Cancer, we'll be feeling more protective, and we're likely to see that the madness of the shootings over the last few days creates greater suspicion and more calls for 'law & order' - which will probably be applied to peaceful protestors.

Take the next few days to integrate the energy and insights of this weekend. It was a powerful time, and if we can get past ego defensiveness, the growth opportunities are great.

(the picture is of the Ecuadorian Andes, for no particular reason)

you said wha?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-12-04T10:58:55-05:00

After the quiet of the long Pisces void, the moon is in Aries. Luna's already met up with Uranus and squared Pluto, and she's heading for an edgy square to Venus at 5:56 pm EST. An active, outgoing approach to relationship is called for, but if that doesn't appeal there could be some partnership tensions.

A few minutes later, retrograde Mercury will square Mars, and we could say exactly what we think (at least at the moment). This aspect will also spur us to action, although we can be very impulsive when these two planets rub each other the wrong way. With Mercury retrograde, we might wind up going back to an old issue (perhaps something from late October).

The tension calms later in the evening, with easy lunar aspects. At best, today should have us busy early on, then doing a little fine tuning later. At worst, difficulties encountered early in the day can be worked out in the evening. With Venus trining Mars at 10:07 am EST Monday morning, we might find that all's well that ends well.

Scorpions need not apply

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-11-28T07:55:08-05:00

You might think that as an astrologer I would like to see astrology in the news. I suppose I might, if the news were at all helpful to astrology, but that's rarely the case.

This past weekend, another example of "no news is good news" made it into the press, with the report that a Chinese firm has said that Virgos and Scorpios have strong personalities and are too moody, and they would not be hired. Apparently, Capricorns, Libras, and Pisces are especially encouraged to join the firm.

The story is a bit dodgy. It was reported through Yahoo News and it did not name the firm. In fact, it comes from a job ad posted at Wuhan University, through an English-language training company. And although they are in China, they are concerned about Western sun signs. If it weren't for the serious atmosphere in China, it might be dismissed as a hoax.

But no matter! Like the 13th zodiac sign that made the papers last February, controversy has been stirred up and astrology looks silly. The idea that one or two zodiac signs would not be good for a job sounds - and is - preposterous. I can imagine how many people are looking at their wonderful Virgo and Scorpio coworkers and shaking their heads at the stupidity of astrology.

Some fans of astrology might be tempted to say that the problem is with astrological sun signs. If you wanted to know how a person would do at a job, you'd need to see their whole chart. But even with all the signs and aspects taken into account, along with synastry, you still wouldn't know how the energetic pattern of the chart is manifesting. It's a complex Cosmos, and astrology is only one piece of the puzzle.

I did know a Gemini woman who was head of speech pathology department at a hospital. She unwittingly assembled a staff of about 8 other Gemini's, making an entire department of Twins! But that type of thing is a Mercurial mystery, not a plan for running a business.

Some astrologers were upset when Finland barred companies from taking astrology into account in hiring people, but I thought it was a good idea. They also banned psychological tests, and I liked astrologers being put in the same company with psychologists. And I also thought the reasoning in both cases is sound - hiring people ought to imply a degree of personal responsibility on the part of the employer, and tests (physical, psychological, or astrological) are likely to wind up discriminating against people who would do a fine job.

The damage is done. A story like this has about 30 seconds of news appeal before its gone. No one who thought, "how stupid!" is going to give it a second thought. Mercury is retrograde, and I'll bet he's laughing.

Sagging hopes?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-11-22T13:39:12-05:00

As the sun moves into Sag each year, my Leo heart breathes a sigh of relief. There's something about Virgo-Libra-Scorpio (the time of year, NOT the people!) that is difficult for me.

It may not be a Leo thing: Thanksgiving (and Christmas before the calendar change) is a Sag holiday. The external darkness of this time of year somehow calls us to make our own light: Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza are all about light. It is odd that the time before the solstice, when the light is reaching its minimum, that turns to corner for so many of us.

Usually, there's a bit of light in the mood when the sun hits Sag. We've waded out of the dark Scorpionic waters, and are floating above the ground, taking the long view. There seems to be so much potential in Sagittarius, like the arrow that is about to be let loose from the archer's bow.

As I've been saying (but I'll say it again), since the eclipses last June and July, the tension of the cardinal t-square has been growing. Things really came to light when the sun was in Libra, and Scorpio featured all the power struggles associated with that sign.

So, will things calm down with the sun in buoyant Sag? Not likely.

For one thing, we're in for the duration as far as the t-square goes. All we need these days is the moon to be in a cardinal sign (which it is 1/3 of the time) for square to be set off. So the avalanche of change will continue no matter where the sun is.

But we have to remember that Sag has a darker side. It's a great sign for searching for the truth, but when it thinks it's found it, watch out for dogmatic insistence on the One True Path.

What we're likely to see, in politics and protests, is more entrenched views and high-minded positioning on the issues. OWS may come out of the next month freed from the accusation that it doesn't have specific demands or a direction. But the ideological attacks on the protesters (as a rationale for more physical attacks) is likely to grow. We may also see a resurgence of the Tea Party, and perhaps a new force coming to play in the picture.

The rhetoric will be Sagittarian, but these are Uranian/Plutonian times. We see the action through the Archer's lens this month, but it is those two giants who create the scene.

black & white

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-11-21T09:55:09-05:00

Today, the moon is in Libra, the sign of balance. It's a placement that is usually associated with a drive for emotional harmony. Consideration of the other is such a prime part of the Libran picture that it is often considered to be a fault - the sun, symbol of the sense of self, is in fall in Libra.

Yet as soon as the moon left Virgo last night, I felt the growing tension. There was no surprise, however, because since at least the eclipses this past summer, things have been very edgy every time the moon goes into a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, and Capricorn).

No wonder, when we consider that the moon's first order of business was to oppose Uranus in Aries, then Luna went on to square Pluto in Capricorn. Tomorrow, she's meet up with Saturn. The moon is reminding us, over and over again, of the cardinal t-square between those three heavy planets.

The sun's time in Libra this year was another powerful trigger to the square (the OWS movement really began to heat up when the sun was entered the cardinal sign in late September). I'm sure things will reach another peak when Sol goes into Capricorn. If you count all the triggers - including the upcoming eclipses - we'll be busy for the next several years.

I want to reflect a moment on the pace of change we have been feeling, and the rapid acceleration of change we are about to experience. The cardinal t-square has been working subtly for a long time, stoking up the engines of transformation. Since Pluto went into Capricorn, or at least since the economic collapse of 2008, tension has been growing. The riots in London this summer were perhaps the flagship moment of eruption, and it's been just one thing after another since then.

When Obama was elected in 2008, I remember many of my friends breathing a sigh of relief that change was on its way. Most of them were sorely disappointed very quickly. Although efforts to vilify Obama for economic conditions that developed over the decade before he was elected are childish, the truth is that his administration represents business as usual. From the hiring of a Monsanto executive to oversee aspects of agriculture to the DEA's attack on medical marijuana in California, Obama has disappointed those who thought we were headed for real change.

But although Obama was not the catalyst for change many people had hoped for, change is on its way. The Tea Party began the process, and although much of the Tea Party is just a cardboard cutout of the Republican party, it is fueled by the same genuine discontent with the system that we see with Occupy Wall Street.

The demand for change is often not clearly thought out, and strategies for implementation are lacking in both cases. This is often used to dismiss the movements, but that is a grave mistake. The American - and French - revolutions got started without much more in the way of a mission. The American constitution wasn't wasn't written until about a decade after the Declaration of Independence. That's the way revolutions happen - make the change and develop an alternative plan later.

Yet we don't know where the next level of change will come from. The Tea Party seems to have been eclipsed by OWS. Although the Occupy movements are strong now, what will happen next is unclear. Just as it now seems quaint to think of the election of Barrack Obama as the turning point, so we may look back to the relative innocence of the Tea Party and OWS.

As the wheels of change spin, we come to see that even the most absolute, black and white distinctions fade to shades of grey. That's a reason for great hope, and considerable fear, when we consider that the Uranus-Pluto square is not exact until pretty deep into next year.

fog

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-11-11T09:14:04-05:00

This has been quite a week. We began energized by the moon in Aries. Mars, the Warrior, aspected Neptune, blending Arian energy with Neptunian illusion. Then Neptune stationed on Wednesday, casting a deep fog across everything. On Thursday, Chiron stationed in Pisces, Neptune's home sign. And on Friday, the last aspect before the moon goes void is a square to Neptune.

All week long we have been rolling through Neptunian uncertainty, but we've been driving with our foot heavy on the accelerator rather than the brake, thanks to Mars (as I learned in my Safe Driving course, people actually do tend to drive faster in the fog). Neptune is associated with sacrifice and martyrdom, and Chiron is often referred to as the Wounded Healer.

The news this week was certainly full of confusion, especially on Wednesday, when Neptune stationed. Rick Perry probably drove his presidential campaign off the side of the road by forgetting which three federal agencies he would cut if he were to win the election. The Republican debate on Wednesday night was apparently quiet Neptunian.

Mars/Aries has a sexual energy, and indeed this week has seen a lot of sexual news, although heavily tinged with Neptune/Chiron. Herman Cain's presidential campaign has had a monkey wrench thrown into the work by multiple accusations of sexual misconduct. Cain's self-defense has been anything but clear.

But the most obvious Mars/Neptune/Chiron issue this week has been the charges against Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky, who is accused of sexually abusing boys for years (and at the college). Legendary Penn State coach Joe Paterno was fired, as was the college president. Paterno reported the abuse to his boss, but did not call the police. However you feel about Paterno getting fired, Penn State students apparently decided to make him a martyr, and rioted on his behalf. Martyrdom is another Neptunian theme.

Other Neptunian themes in the news this week included the economic markets' dips and recoveries amid new fears about the Euro, both from Greece and Italy (Greece's Prime Minister was also sacrificed this week, after pushing too hard in the wrong direction). Bangkok's floods are the worst in decades, and very Neptunian. The conviction of the leader of a U.S. "kill team" in Afghanistan is yet another Mars/Neptune saga.

We've seen extremes this week. Various victims (Neptune), including those of sexual (Mars) abuse and war (Mars) have had their voices heard, and perhaps some healing (Chiron) will take place. In other stories, we've seen people going off half-cocked, fired up with Martial energy but aiming with Neptunian uncertainty.

this is only a test...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-11-09T09:25:13-05:00

Today is a busy day in the skies!

The Taurus moon meets up with Jupiter at 10:20a EST, creating enthusiasm and perhaps a bit of overindulgence (I don't know how much we can overindulge at that hour in North America, but our European friends should have fun!). The moon goes on to make an easy trine to Pluto, suggesting that decisions can be put into action later in the day.

Can be. But probably shouldn't be. Neptune stations to go direct today at 1:54p EST. We feel Neptune stations a day or so on either side, but they are most intense right around the station itself. The feel of Neptunian times is, like the planet itself, somewhat unclear and confusing.

On the upside, Neptune stations can help us to get in touch with other realities. Neptune can open us up to nonmaterial planes, both higher and lower.

At best, we can feel our connection to each other, to all other beings, to nature, and to the Cosmos. To one degree of intensity or another, we can generate compassion and realize our common experiences of love, joy and pain.

But Neptune, particularly when applied to the material world (as the lunar aspects today may tempt us to do), can also create false hope, misplaced faith, and poor judgment. That's why today might be a better day to meditate and dream than to put ideas into action. This week, thus far, has encouraged us to go off half-cocked - much energy saying "Go!" while Neptune has blurred the lines of reality.

It becomes very interesting when we see that FEMA has chosen to test the Emergency Broadcast System at 2p EST today, just six minutes after Neptune stations. It's harder to imagine a better symbol for Neptune (which can create fear and a sense of hopeless uncertainty) stationing in Aquarius (the sign of mass communication) for the last time (for the last time in about 132 years, anyway).

Maybe the test will go smoothly. After all, the very idea of the test is scary enough. The EBS is a holdover from the Cold War. We all knew that had it been an actual emergency, we were toast. But look for signs that what we are hearing about the test and the system are not quite what is said. I don't want to sound paranoid (another Neptunian trait), but perhaps the real point of the test is to remind us to be afraid.

money don't get everything, it's true

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-10-30T09:45:15-04:00

With Jupiter in good aspect to Pluto this week, and the sun getting into the mix (from Scorpio), we saw a deal on Greek debt that - for the time being - has reduced tensions in Europe, and buoyed the stock markets across the world. Although the optimism in September couldn't be attributed to these aspects, we did learn during the Jupiter-Pluto trine that consumer spending increased last month.

Of course, power issues took on a more typical Scorpionic tone as Occupy Wall Street protesters clashed with police all across the country. The injury, in Oakland, of an Iraqi War veteran during the protests served to galvanize the movement in cities from New York to Memphis to Denver.

As we head into November, there will be a great deal of Neptunian energy around to put various spins on what has happened over the past few months, and a heavy does of Sagittarius will get us to believe we are right and that the cause (whichever one) is worth fighting for. As I've been saying for some time, with Uranus in Aries we are seeing many "rogue" groups - the Tea Party, Wikileaks, Anonymous, and now OWS - trying to course-correct by going to extremes.

Whether you see them as heroes or terrorists depends on your political perspective more than anything else. What is clear is that people are once again interested in politics. And the economic strain we've been under since Pluto entered Capricorn in 2008 is providing the fuel for that fire.

tunnel vision

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-10-25T08:50:45-04:00

Each month, as we head into the new moon, we begin to feel the pull inwards. Generally speaking, it is a quiet time of the month.

Not so lately, and especially not this time around. The new moon will be at 3:56p EDT on Wednesday the 26th, in the sign of Scorpio. The Scorpio new moon is a powerful one, an opportunity to get in touch with inner power, but also a point where life and death meet. The Scorpio new moon is always fairly close to Halloween and Samhain, after all.

But before we get to Scorpio, the moon is passing through Libra. Of course, the sun just left the sign of the Scales a few days ago, and it was a busy time. That's because with Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto in cardinal signs, the sun "triggered" these cosmic giants and the aspects among them.

In fact, for the last several months, each time the moon has been in a cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) it has also triggered the "Cardinal T-Square" in the sky. That's about a third of the time! If you look back three or four months, you'll see how much change we've really had. The Euro crisis, Occupy Wall Street (and beyond), and the emergence of class warfare as a topic of political discussion all would have been just about unthinkable six or seven months ago.

As we move into the new moon, we'll be looking both forwards and backwards. Change certainly isn't going to stop or even slow down, new moon or not. But a quick glance at the headlines shows that there is a good deal of retrospective for things that have been in the news: Qaddafi is buried, Wikileaks may be stopping operations, and Michelle Bachman and Rick Perry are drifting farther from the center of attention.

This new moon represents something of an implosion of power. Personally and collectively, it is not a quiet time, but a pull towards our deepest core. Assume that life is going to change: what types of transformation would you like to bring about? What are you willing to fight to hold onto?

These questions need honest answers. We'll be asking them over the next few days, in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.

can we discuss this rationally?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-10-12T08:23:10-04:00

Probably not

As the full moon highlights the Aries/Libra axis, we are pushed and pulled between concern for self and other. On one level, that makes for possible relationship tension, as our need to fulfill who we are personally can clash with relationship expectations - that's a theme that has been bubbling around us since Saturn and Uranus took up residence in these signs.

But more generally, the conflict is between the status quo (Saturn in Libra) and the energy of change (Uranus in Aries). Pluto, contributing from Capricorn, is intensifying both sides of the equation. This full moon has not added too much to the soup, but has turned up the heat under the pot.

We can see this in news stories from all over the world, from the disgraceful trial of Yulia Tymosshenko in the Ukraine to Burma's more hopeful actions of releasing political prisoners (some of them, anyway).

Perhaps most obvious is the growing momentum of the Occupy Wall Street protests, along with the growing criticism of them. What may have seemed like a few kids "playing Sixties" a few weeks ago now has the support of organized labor and a number of others. But as support has increased, so has the backlash against the protests and the protestors.

For those who have an idealized image of the 1950s and 60s protests, it might seem that it was all about guitars, joints, and problems finding a port-a-potty. Images of fire hoses, billy clubs, and raging anger might not come to mind, but protests are not particularly welcome when they question those in power. Pluto will be gaming both sides, amping up the demonstrator's anger as well as the condemnation.

It is through the debate and even outright fighting that results that real change happens - no one was gonna do anything because a couple of hundred people were camping in a park. Note how the protests didn't even get coverage until the police began acting brutishly - as in the senseless macing of two young women.

Serious change is serious business.

a bridge too far?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-10-03T09:01:10-04:00

Occupy Wall Street got almost no press in its first week.

Then the NYPD was caught on tape macing two young women, the number of arrests climbed, and suddenly OWS was on the map. This past weekend, the NYPD continued to do its part, by arresting more than 700 people as the protest marched over the Brooklyn Bridge.

There is controversy about whether or not the police actually led the protestors onto the roadway and then began arresting them. What actually happened is still very unclear, and likely to remain so.

Photo: Brooklyn Bridge, circa 2000, by Frank Feery.

All of this happened over the weekend, when the moon was in Sagittarius, and making generally harmonious aspects. We were building towards a Mars-Jupiter square on Sunday evening. Take it all together, there was a lot of powerful, idealistic energy around for the past few days. And as upsetting as the story is (no matter which side you take), it's clear that things could have been worse.

Today, the moon goes into Capricorn. Since at least mid-August, every time the moon has gone into a cardinal sign, there has been a heating up of the Uranus-Pluto square. The London riots, the panic over hurricane Irene, and the execution of Troy Davis all took place when the moon was in cardinal signs, as examples.

Monday and Tuesday are likely to be tense days. On Wall Street, the protestors outside may not be making as much of an impact as the Greek debt crisis has inside the stock exchange. The Uranus-Pluto energy amps up all sides of the equation, pressure from within and without.

Uranus in Aries highlights individual rebellion, but is also associated with rebel groups (Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party share the same frustration, from different perspectives). Whether the rebels are freedom fighters or terrorists depends mostly on your own point of view. Whether clamping down on them is restoring the rule of law or oppressing the people is also a matter of your attitude.

As the status quo becomes harder to maintain, both sides will push harder. Keep your eyes open over the next few days. The revolution may not be televised, but it is probably going to be on YouTube and Facebook.

dreamtime

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-26T08:19:03-04:00

The energy of the past weekend will extend into Monday, as the Sun-Uranus opposition is echoed by Mercury opposing Uranus. This configuration sets off the cardinal square in the sky between Uranus and Pluto, making it a very high-energy time.

The news is full of stories that reflect this energy. President Obama's newly-found tough guy stance had him saying that the Republicans would "cripple" America. The NYPD was caught on camera macing some rather nonthreatening protestors (ah, but I guess they are threatening). Palestinian President Abbas has called for a Palestinian Spring (them's fightin' words).

But then again, the news isn't all bad. Boeing has finally delivered its first 787 Dreamliner. This new plane is made from a carbon fibre that is much lighter than metal, and reduces fuel consumption by 20%. For an eco-conscious globe on the move, that's pretty good news. Of course, the cost overrun and delay in getting the plane delivered has had serious consequences for the economic health of Boeing - an ironic outcome, if you think about it. And hey, the King of Saudi Arabia has given women the right to vote in municipal elections (probably the only ones that matter if the king is making such decisions).

In our personal lives, too, the energy is likely to feel quite unsettled. We are heading towards a new moon in tight aspect to Pluto (Mercury is still in the mix, too) and eventually Saturn. At least through Wednesday, the tension will be running high, and power struggles are likely at every level.

Don't let anyone tell you that the Libra feel of this time will smooth it all out - Libra may try to put a nice face on things, but the underlying movement is titanic.

Since we're all likely to act with determination, it is at least a good idea to make sure the cause we are fighting for is a worthy one.

power struggles

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-17T17:42:56-04:00

I knew that there would have to be a prominent female in some kind of trouble. Venus in Libra opposing Uranus made me think it must be all about some wildly unconventional woman. And I guess at the end of the day I was right, but not in the way I imagined.

Michele Bachman is certainly a Uranian woman - vying with Sarah Palin as the Tea Party's foremost female. But she was really into the Pluto these last few days as she jabbed Rick Perry about mandatory vaccination of 11 and 12 year old girls against HPV. Preventing HPV is a way to prevent cervical cancer, but it is also perceived as a way to prevent a sexually transmitted infection.

Bachmann was on Leno, explaining herself last night. Power struggles surround the debate. On the one hand, it is Plutonian in its focus on sexuality and STIs. But Bachmann's point about whether girls' vaccination should be mandatory speaks to the question of who should have control over our health. Whatever your feelings about the HPV vaccine, you might pause before endorsing the government's ability to stick you with whatever they feel you need to be stuck with.

No easy answers... that's what Uranus and Pluto in square are all about. We've got work to do, and Michele Bachmann stepped in to guide us towards the tough questions this week. She's our Venus in Libra, for the moment.

start the revolution without me

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-14T07:55:49-04:00

While the major planetary aspects this week have not been especially tense (today's Jupiter/Mercury trine is great for focused communication - students should fair well), yesterday's moon in Aries set off the Cardinal Square between Pluto and Uranus.

It's getting to be a weekly occurrence - every time the moon goes into a cardinal sign, we get a bit more of the Cardinal Square delivered to us. Scan the news for stories and see how many you can find. What you'll see is a lot of what I like to call Pirate energy: throw a revolt, start a revolution, demand change at any price.

When Democrats demanded that Anthony Weiner resign his post in the House of Representatives, they must've figured that it was a certainty that another, more proper, Democrat would replace him. After all, his district is 3 - 1 Democratic and hasn't elected a Republican since 1920.

Bad calculation, it turns out, as a Republican did indeed win the special election.

What we're seeing is anger and frustration at a system(s) we know isn't working. It's likely that many voters in the Brooklyn/Queens area that voted in the Republican don't share much of his political perspective. But details don't matter when the Plutonian/Uranian craving for change kicks in.

The need for change is real, of course. Uranus/Pluto is all about deep, relentless transformation. Yet what really needs to change can't be transformed at the level we are used to dealing with things. We can flip back and forth between the options we can see, and we can throw ourselves against the walls of the box we are trying to climb out of. Really, though, all we are doing is creating the energy that drives the real engines of change, deep below the surface.

just to be clear

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-09T08:30:04-04:00

Yesterday's opposition of Neptune to Mercury created a kind of one-day Mercury retrograde, although with its own special flavor.

In the Northeast, flooding resulted in the evacuation of one hundred thousand people as what was left of Tropical Storm Lee soaked the region on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the Southwest, millions of people lost their power, a Mercurial kind of event, but one that was caused by a Neptunian sewage spill.

Also, with the 10th anniversary of 9/11 just days away, the federal government has reported that there is a "credible" threat of a terrorist attack. That kind of vague but unsettling information has a very Neptunian feel, with unknown terrorists infiltrating the country and lurking about unseen.

Mayor Bloomberg also made a Neptune/Mercury comment yesterday, although one that shows a more constructive use of the energy of the day. He suggested that it is time to retire the term "ground zero" for the World Trade Center. That name has always carried an ambiguous energy, and it really was not used by New Yorkers for very long after 9/11. The BBC article on the use of the term is interesting reading.

extended labor

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-05T08:26:58-04:00

Labor Day began as a celebration - or really an acknowledgement - of American labor. Not simply labor in the sense of work, but with respect to unions, the organization of workers. Collectively, workers have a better chance of making their needs known and getting them met than they do as individuals.

Unions aren't too popular in the United States. Not only are employers predictably against them, a great many workers do not like them. An editorial in the Anchorage Daily News highlights how politicians want to be able to tell their constituents that they fought against labor unions. Odd, considering that most of any politician's voting base must be workers.

The decline of labor unions has paralleled an increase in working hours and a decline in real wages in the U.S., where workers have less vacation time, less access to health benefits, and fewer rights than in virtually all Western democracies.

Ironically, the labor news on the day before the holiday weekend was that there were no new jobs created in August. That news came as the moon was in Scorpio, and it served as a sobering balance to the high-flying aspects of the day.

What Labor Day has come to mean is mainly the return to work after summer. That actually only applies to students, of course, since most people work pretty much throughout the summer, anyway. But there is a sense of buckling down that comes after Labor Day. Tonight at 10:03 p.m. Eastern time the moon will go into Capricorn, an appropriate sign for the beginning of the work year.

a rough week

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-04T10:28:38-04:00

The cardinal T-square made yet another stop-off in the Middle East this week, this time visiting Israel. In the midst of the Arab Spring revolutions, Israel has been something of a pillar of stability. Foreign relations sunk to new low, though, as both Turkey and Egypt - the two countries in the region historically most supportive of Israel - expressed concerns over Israel's military actions.

Things are not going well with Turkey and Egypt, but it was the domestic situation in Israel that was perhaps most significant. Hundreds of thousands of people have held an extended protest throughout the country over the past week. The protesters are largely from the middle class, and they are concerned with both the high cost of living and the uneven distribution of wealth in Israeli society.

Israel has only one planet currently activated by the cardinal T-square, its Venus at 5 degrees Cancer. Venus rules the Israeli fourth house of home, and so is quite important in the chart. It is being transited by both Uranus and Pluto, although neither is exact at this point in time. Saturn was on Israel's Neptune in July, and has been transiting the 8th house since the Spring of 2010, when the blockade of the Turkish flotilla took place.

Coming on the heels of the London riots in August, it is hard not to see the signs of rising discontent with the status quo. In the United States, we have thus far remained republican in our protests, endorsing the Tea Party as our protest mechanism rather than taking to the streets. General strikes, a European staple, are unknown in the U.S., but as the protests in San Francisco showed last month, mass action is a possibility. With Pluto in Capricorn, the push-back can also be forceful.

The point, though, is that if we really want to see the deep changes of the T-square at work, we can't focus too much on any one side of any one issue. To oversimplify is to miss the deeper process. Many people relate the T-square's energy to the past configurations in the 1960s - but is there any one person, movement, or action that could personify that entire era?

Instead, we have to recognize that each action is in a sense "turning the wheel" of change, and the direction we are actually headed is both open and unknown.

abundance

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-09-02T09:29:57-04:00

Today, the sun will be trine to Jupiter. This naturally fiery pair will be in the earthy signs of Virgo and Taurus, suggesting abundance and material wealth: Think King of Pentacles.

We could overdo it a bit, especially with too much food, and perhaps with too much work. But the Scorpio moon will help to keep us from going too far overboard. Like a deep keel reaching down into dark waters, the Scorpio moon helps to keep the buoyant sun-Jupiter ship in balance. A little reminder of serious issues even amidst celebrations, it can be kind of like digging your fingernails into your hand to stop from laughing at a solemn occasion.

Today's energy is very constructive, so use it well. Prudence, rather than excess, is suggested (but you don't have to be a prude about it!). At best, we will experience deep appreciation for what we have, even as we recognize that all that we build is ultimately transitory.

Collectively, we can see the same process at work. The economic forecast was dimmed yesterday (it wasn't glowing to begin with), and unemployment in the U.S. remained flat at 9.1%. Scorpionic news even as the Obama and his Republican foes argue over the best course of action.

And hey - on another note - last week Michele Bachmann "joked" that the East Coast earthquake was a sign from God. What jest will she make now that Sarah Palin's Alaska was hit by a quake yesterday?

goodnight, Irene

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-29T09:07:03-04:00

So what happened on the East Coast, particularly New York City, over the past weekend?

On the surface, we were threatened by a massive hurricane and took precautions. Some areas were hit rather hard (check out this video from Spencertown, in upstate New York), but the city escaped the worst of it. All's well that ends well.

If you were in the city over the weekend, you know that a strange and eery vibration informed everything that happened. Cases of water and canned goods hoarded into homes, bathtubs filled with water (is that to drink?!?), and boarded homes and businesses were part precaution, part panic. Mayor Bloomberg's decision to shut the city down as early as Saturday morning seemed extreme, especially the risky move of hundreds of hospital patients.

But even extreme actions don't fully capture the mood. On Facebook, the general feeling seemed to be that this wasn't going to be any kind of storm of the century, and that everyone was over-reacting. But why?

As a table-setter, Neptune's retrograde into Aquarius earlier in November has revived something of the mass panic feel that characterized the watery planet's time in that sign. The impending release of Contagion will revive the bird flu issue, for example.

What better fear than a mass epidemic or natural disaster to play on us with Neptune in the sign of the Water Bearer? During those years, we did have the Asia Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the swine flu issue (or nonissue), and of course the poisoned mail after 9/11. Just as Neptune was leaving Aquarius, the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan, and radiation poisoned air and water. As one Facebook follower pointed out, our fear of the wrath of Mother Nature is a reflection of our unwillingness to seriously address global warming.

A little closer to this past weekend, Mercury stationed to go direct on Friday. Misinformation - and perhaps some disinformation - informed our decisions.

The tough Mars aspects to Uranus and Pluto of two weeks earlier were also being revisited. Those aspects coincided with the London riots. On Thursday and Friday of this past week, the moon was in Cancer, going over those same points, and Mars was squaring Saturn. The strong overprotectiveness that we felt, along with the authoritarian response, resonated with these aspects.

Add together Neptune/Aquarius and Mars/Cancer/Saturn, multiply by Mercury stationing, and you have a recipe for paranoia. Over-reaction to the storm is one manifestation. Perhaps Mayor Bloomberg had London on his mind and felt the need to exert control in advance.

Yet there is something deeper about what happened this weekend, and it is more specific to New York. As you know, we are approaching the 10th anniversary of 9/11/01. For all New Yorkers, this grim milestone is a reminder of the many losses, personal and collective, that that day brought.

The next few weeks will be a collective "visit to the cemetery" for us all. There will be a number of events, and strong media coverage. For example, National Geographic channel premiered its interview with President Bush last night.

Astrologically, the resonance of this past weekend with 9/11 was very strong. If you look at the chart for the moment the first plane hit the World Trade Center, you will see that this past weekend Saturn was one degree past the ascendant and tightly conjunct the 9/11 Mercury, while Mars was in partile conjunction with the 9/11 midheaven.

My assessment is that in a sense we "relived" 9/11. Transportation was shut down. No baseball or Broadway. Lower Manhattan was evacuated, and there was talk of cutting off the power there. Airports were closed and the skies were silent.

It wasn't all over-reaction and panic, of course. Some prudent decisions were made. But what we felt was amplified by the strong resonance of this past weekend with 9/11.

do as i say

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-25T08:23:04-04:00

Okay, so we all know that Mercury is retrograde until tomorrow evening.

Three days before the retrograde might not have been the best time to finally decide to put up a Facebook page and open a Twitter account, but I did. The funny thing about retrogrades is that not only do we experience snafus in the area of life described by the planet, we often feel a real compulsion to do the very things we know we might be better off delaying.

A few clients have asked me about when they can safely go buy new electronics, for example. During Venus retrogrades, we often feel that we want to begin a new relationship. And during Mars retrogrades - well, we want to do a lot of things.

Anyway, it was no surprise when yesterday morning I logged onto my Facebook page and found myself confronted with the setup screen. It wanted me to upload a photo, invite friends, and all the other first steps - steps I had taken a month before.

Later in the day, I just forwarded through all those screens, and eventually got back to my page, just as I had left it the day before. But in the meantime, I decided to take my own advice, and rather than anxiously or angrily dealing with the Mercurial setback, I went to the zoo.

the absent sun

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-23T07:54:45-04:00

It is worth noting that on yesterday's sun-Neptune opposition, those not present - particularly men - were making headlines. We had both bright and dark images of men as leaders, yet neither was with present - the absent sun.

Martin Luther King was one man not with us yesterday, although in Neptunian fashion he was here in spirit, as his memorial opened in Washington.

More darkly, as Libya appears to join the Middle Eastern dictatorships that have fallen, their leader, Moammar Gadhafi was nowhere to be found.

wedding bells

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-22T08:55:06-04:00

I somehow missed it!

With Venus in Leo opposing Neptune in Aquarius, I expected that we would have a story about a prominent female in the news sometime over the weekend.

But it wasn't until this morning that I realized that this weekend was Kim Kardashian's wedding! The event had all the elements - Kim standing in for Venus in Leo, with USA Today even describing it as a 'royal' wedding. And of course, there is a ton of illusion (Neptune) and lots and lots of media (Aquarius) surrounding the event.

Today, we might see a more serious manifestation of the sun-Neptune opposition, as Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, representing an extreme of solar power (ah, yes, sadly even Leonine energy can go wrong) is pressured by the international community and rebels in his own country to step down.

And/or, we might just see another movie star gathering Neptunian attention - Charlie Sheen, are you there?

In our personal lives, it can be a matter of seeing clearly versus over-idealizing someone or something. We might find someone to be a 'star' in our lives, or we could decide to step into the limelight ourselves. Either way, it could be the case that today's fanfare fades as quickly as the hoopla about Kimmy's wedding will.

By the way, there is no particular reason why today's picture is a Marigold.

ideally...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-20T09:41:41-04:00

On Sunday and Monday, Venus and the sun will take turns making oppositions to Neptune. The book on these aspects suggests getting taken for a ride by a con man of one type or the other... seeing too much in a potential lover, or following an ideal that comes crashing down. With Mercury and Neptune both retrograde, it certainly is the case that we could act on misinformation. But...

Neptune-in-Aquarius issues like health care and immigration can get a fresh look under these oppositions. We'll be revisiting these issues over the coming months, until Neptune returns to Pisces next year. What these oppositions do is to give a personal face to public issues.

For example, there are two stories in the news about immigration. President Obama's recent decision about deportation procedures includes the possibility of gay marriages being considered ground for an undocumented immigrant staying in the U.S., and a San Francisco couple is using this to appeal deportation.

Perhaps even more powerfully, the man who rescued a kidnapped six year old girl in New Mexico has revealed that he is an undocumented immigrant.

These two news stories put personal faces of love (Venus) and heroism (the sun) on the immigration issue, throwing Leonine light on the Aquarian debate. A higher manifestation of the aspects over the next two days could be greater compassion. Venus in opposition to Neptune - sharing the love, transcending the boundaries.

freedom

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-16T13:50:54-04:00

India's popular anti-corruption leader Anna Hazare was jailed yesterday. The Indian government said it was necessary to prevent violence... leading Hazare to comment that the current Indian government has more in common with the British Raj than a true democracy.

We've seen a lot of clamp-downs on freedom for our own protection lately. San Fransisco's BART system cut off cell phone use over the weekend out of fear that protests would turn violent, leading to both controversy and retaliation (see yesterday's post).

Uranus-in-Aries rebels like Hazare, Wikileaks, and Anonymous are challenging government and business power structures, which are responding in a Pluto-in-Capricorn way. Pluto will transform the powers that be, but in Plutonian fashion will probably do so by bringing both sides to an extreme.

But the powers that be are concerned. BART allowed the protests to go on yesterday without turning off passenger cell phones. They took care of the protesters the old fashioned way - with police in riot gear. No arrests were made.

please turn off your cell phones...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-15T07:15:04-04:00

Here's a question a lot of people have been asking me in the past few days: "Something's going on astrologically, right?"

Last week's Martian aspects to Uranus and Pluto gave us a taste of the Uranus-Pluto square that we'll be living with for the next several years - and the results were not encouraging. Anger was the most prevalent emotion, erupting into violence not only in the usual hot spots like the Middle East, but also in the usually-stable U.K..

But although the fiery energy of the T-square is perhaps most obvious, Neptune's influence can also be felt. From the largest internet hacking caper in history, to the court decision that will probably send U.S. health care reform to the Supreme Court, to the coordination of the London riots via Twitter and other social media, the seeping, covert energy of Neptune is all over the past week.

If governments were not happy with Wikileaks, they must be freaking out over Anonymous. The group hacked into a variety of law enforcement sites last week, releasing embarrassing data about police practices. Then, yesterday, the group released private customer's information as a retaliation for San Francisco's transportation system cutting off cell phone use.

BART claims it cut off cell phone use because riders planned a disturbance. Watching London burn last week must have made them anxious to avoid a similar scene. But Anonymous has made sure that such simple measures can't be used without a second thought. And of course, shutting down communication networks is also a strategy used by governments in the Middle East and particularly in China. There are no easy answers.

Rogue groups like Anonymous capture the energy of Uranus in Aries. Whether any one group is viewed as heroic or terrorist is largely a matter of perspective. What is certain is that over the next seven years we will see increasing influence from these groups. Sometimes we'll cheer them on as they challenge the existing power structures, sometimes we'll see them as the lunatic fringe.

Either way, going to extremes is part of what the Uranus-Pluto square is all about - deep change that is created as we whirl between polarities.

It seems many of us felt personally the same kind of energy that was so apparent in the collective. This week's moon in Aries (especially on Wednesday) will have us revisiting the Uranus-Pluto square. Take a deep breath...

taking care

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-13T14:37:48-04:00

As predicted (by me), the return on Neptune to Aquarius has led to a reexamination of the issue of health care reform in the U.S..

Aquarius is all about the collective, and Neptune has the capacity for compassionate action, and of course for caring. Hospitals and nursing homes are under Neptune's sign, Pisces, for example. Care for the masses is thus very Neptune-in-Aquarius.

Hardly has Neptune returned to the sign of the Water Bearer (he retrograded in just a bit more than a week ago) than the Health Reform Act has been dealt a major setback. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that forcing Americans to buy private health insurance is unconstitutional, a ruling that conflicts with a prior Appeals Court ruling. The conflicting rulings suggests a strong probability that the issue will go to the Supreme Court, and that could mean the end of Obamacare.

With Mercury and Neptune both retrograde, it's hard to see an outcome. Rick Perry's Tea Party candidacy seems to suggest dark days ahead for liberal causes... but that requires an understanding of the Uranus-Pluto dynamic, too much for a Saturday.

Personally, I have been a long-time advocate of universal health care in the U.S., but I think that we need a government-run system, not private insurers profiting from mandatory enrollment. As a strong advocate for health care reform, I nonetheless agree with recent ruling, although undoubtedly with a very different motivation than others who are cheering it.

no show

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-12T09:27:45-04:00

Yesterday's cosmic energy was full of mixed messages.

The void moon in Capricorn suggested applying oneself to routine tasks. Working is always a good idea when the moon is in the sign of the mountain goat, and while a void isn't a great time to initiate, you can often sail easily through daily matters.

On the other hand, the moon's last aspect before going void on Wednesday night was tense square to Saturn, and during the day it made edgy quincunx's (150 degree aspects) to the sun and Mercury. The explosive Mars-Pluto opposition also happened during the void, early Thursday morning.

What all that means is that there was a great deal of internal combustion cooking during a time when sailing on autopilot might have been the preferred option.

It seems that managing to hold back and not saying anything might have been the best strategy. Texas Governor Rick Perry didn't make it to the Republican debate Thursday night, and his absence may have put him in the pole position for the 2012 Republican nomination. I didn't watch the debate, but reports are that things were not exactly inspiring.

Today, the moon is in sociable Aquarius. There are a couple of challenging aspects, including a square to Jupiter that is exact at 6:20 p.m. EDT. After that, the moon heads towards a trine to Saturn. The evening's energy should be outgoing and optimistic.

Having a direction or purpose to guide our meetings is a good idea, and we might find that idle discussion wends its way around to politics or ideals. The Jupiterian energy might push us towards a bit of excess, but the evening really calls for good manners.

out of the ordinary

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-10T13:31:14-04:00

A friend of mine recently summed it up like this: "Everything is getting beyond itself."

Maybe it's the end of the Mayan calendar. Maybe it's the Cardinal Cross in the skies. But today's Astroblog doesn't explore either causes or synchronicities, just the facts.

Consider:

9 of the 10 warmest years, since we've been keeping track in 1880, have been in the last decade. The 10th year was 1998.

Of the 20 largest stock market percentage losses in a single day, 5 have been in the last decade.

And, interestingly enough, there have only been 20 perfect games pitched in major league baseball, going back to the 19th century. Four of them were pitched in the last decade. Three were pitched in the last two years. And had a bad call not foiled on perfect game, 3 would have been pitched within a three week period in 2010.

Just a few facts that seem to indicate that things are indeed getting beyond themselves.

mobbed up

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-09T09:21:50-04:00

The London riots began as Mars entered Cancer, setting off the Summer Ingress (when the sun enters Cancer). No doubt this summer will be remembered as the summer of the riots in England.

Mars didn't just enter the sign of the crab, of course. This week he's aspecting Uranus and Pluto, setting off the square between the two of them. That aspect will be in orb for years to come, and we've seen signs of it in action already. The riots in the U.K., however, serve to get our attention. In a world filled with violence, it matters when a Western city like London is rocked by mayhem - we don't notice the Middle East as much because we're used to such things happening there.

Mobs - angry, but also looking to make a little on some looting - are quite characteristic of Uranus in Aries: it's The Age of the Pirate (click here for my article on the topic). Mars later makes an aspect to Pluto in Capricorn, bringing in a sense of festering anger at the status quo. Rogue groups and Power Brokers will face off - neither will win, but in the process we will dig up deep issues about who is in charge and what needs to change.

With the Uranus-Pluto square in orb for years to come (to 2016, if you give it ten degrees), we'll be seeing a lot of this energy. Many aspects of the old power structure and the ways of life we have become used to will have to change. If we can accept the need for change, we might make the transitions less violently and with more compassion.

More patient astrologers will find the exact moment that the riots began and the astrological triggers. But the big picture is that our attention is focused on a city much like any other in the Western world, and we aren't as safe and secure as we might like to think. That's the symbolic message of the situation in London.

Gathering clouds

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-08T09:24:43-04:00

At this writing, the New York markets are not yet open. Everyone is speculating about whether they will come tumbling down, or if the S&P downgrade of the U.S. credit rating will be shrugged off by investors. A shrug-off could certainly happen: after all, professional investors often by 'junk' bonds and very iffy penny stocks. But markets run on psychological contagion just as much as rational assessment, and with Neptune back in Aquarius and Mars about to square Uranus and Pluto, a mild reaction seems unlikely.

Some people are apparently hoping for a crash, a way of clearing out our old system so that we can begin building a more sustainable, sane economy and society. As much as I'd like to see change, I don't think we are ready for such a dramatic shift. Bread lines and mass unemployment are more likely to fuel violence and mindless destruction than to stir up universal compassion at this point. The London riots over the weekend are an example.

Those riots are also yet another example of Neptune in Aquarius - as they were apparently coordinated via a network of Blackberrys, making them harder to trace than other social networking devices. With Mercury opposite Neptune, getting a clear idea of what happened may take some time, if it happens at all.

We are in the most energetically packed week of the month. Between now and the full moon on the 13th, the energy will be running fast and furious. Mars squares Uranus later tonight, then Pluto on Wednesday, followed by Saturday's full moon.

You might want to get a bag of popcorn and watch what happens in the world, as issues bubble up and burst open. But in our personal lives, those same energies can lead to a sense of frustration and anger. The Dog Days of summer are hot this year, so try to chill.
.

Up, Up, and Away...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-07T11:30:18-04:00

The moon has climbed out of the Scorpionic waters and has begun floating through Sagittarius. There are two things we are likely to see as a result.

The first is a general improvement in our individual and collective moods. Sagittarius has an openness and a hopefulness that is much harder to come by when Scorpio is the dominant sign. Even with the moon making some tough aspects today and some very hot aspects just around the corner, the feeling should be a bit lighter than the past two days.

On the other hand, Sagittarius is also associated wi

th beliefs and belief systems. The optimistic energy of the sign can also be used to fuel polarized ideological fights. We could see this in the fallout from the S&P downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and Governor Rick Perry's faith-based rally on Saturday.

In our personal lives, Sagittarius gives us a choice between exploring new possibilities or clinging dogmatically to beliefs we may have outgrown.

A nice Venus/Saturn sextile tonight supports relationships and social activities. It's more of a nice family dinner than a wild party, but that might feel right just now. A bit of elegance wouldn't be out of place, given the signs involved (Leo/Libra).

The sextile could also serve to provide some stability in the financial markets, although the Mars/Uranus/Pluto aspects early Tuesday morning are already beginning to build, returning us quickly to the Scorpionic tension.

Bond, 006+

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-06T10:15:41-04:00

Standard and Poor dropped the U.S. government's credit rating from AAA to AA+ late on Friday, around the time that the Moon in Scorpio was squaring Venus (associated with values and valuables). Scorpio is associated with banks, investments, and financial institutions.

The economic impact in uncertain, although it can hardly be considered a shot in the arm for the economy. Interestingly, the S&P report said that the political system in the U.S. has become less stable, a reminder that our 50/50 political stalemate has consequences beyond getting our ears chewed off by cable news networks.

The fallout of the decision is likely to be intense at least through all of those Sunday-morning political talk shows. When the moon reaches Sagittarius later on Sunday and into Monday, we may see a more optimistic response (floating away from the issue) and/or more polarized ideological debates.

Neptune is back in Aquarius, and issues about the collective welfare (health care reform was a Neptune/Aquarius issue) will be prominent over the next six months. That won't undo the energy of the Uranus/Pluto/Saturn square-off in the skies, but it might help to stir up some compassion and a realization that we're all in this together.

Meanwhile, the Neptune/Aquarius energy blends with the rogue energy of Uranus in Aries, as a group named Anonymous has hacked into U.S. law enforcement websites and released scads of internal information about policing practices.

Wikileaks receded as a top news story when Neptune left Aquarius earlier this year - but this story is sure to recapture our collective imagination.

Dark Waters

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-05T08:44:18-04:00

I hope you enjoyed yesterday's Venus-Jupiter aspect, with the moon in sociable Libra. Today's energy is quite different, as the moon has moved into Scorpio. Luna will square Venus late Friday/early Saturday, and yesterday's fun and friendship can become more intense - either more passionate or contentious.

Although we are approaching a nice Venus/Saturn aspect that should make the mood on Sunday a bit lighter (the moon will be in Sagittarius then, too), we can also feel the building of a series of aspects between Mars and Uranus, Pluto, and Saturn that will make for a very hot beginning to next week.

Financial markets are reeling all over the world, and the political situation - particularly in the Middle East - is very volatile. The tension of the Mars aspects is enough to overshadow more positive energies, at least on the collective level.

Rebels and rogues (or Pirates, as I like to call them) abound. That's part of the theme of Uranus-in-Aries, and we'll be seeing a lot of it over the next seven years. From political rebels in Syria to polygamists in Texas, the energy of the rebel is strong. Witness the Tea Party's effect on the recent U.S. debt negotiations.

In our personal lives, we're likely to be feeling something of the same energy. It can make for a difficult time, but as individuals we have a greater chance to steer this energy in a positive direction. Be true to yourself, while being considerate of others, something I like to call Creative Selfishness.

Hacking Coffers

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-04T09:46:32-04:00

Neptune backs out of Pisces into Aquarius at 10:54 Eastern time tonight, but he is already casting his shadow before himself (behind himself?).

Neptune has many facets and aspects. He can signal an inspiring, spiritualizing ability to transcend our usual boundaries. When less evolved energies are involved, Neptune can be about deception, illusions, and dissolution. Personified, Neptune can be a saint or a con artist.

Aquarius is also multifaceted. The energy of this sign includes ideals, as well as the groups that embody them, and the mass communication networks that connect us: radio, television, and the internet.

When a planet changes signs, we often see a news event that shows the issues that are going to be part of the planet's trip through the sign. Not necessarily the only issue, but what we might call the flagship issue. Today, we have two stories that have Neptune in Aquarius written all over them.

The first is the report of the largest-ever internet hacking attack. The Los Angeles Times reports that thousands of companies, organizations, and government agencies were hacked in a coordinated and sustained attack (the hackers not only took data one time, but remained embedded in the sites for as long as five years). The attacks appear to have had support from an Eastern European or East Asian government (fingers are already pointing to China).

Infiltrating the internet is disturbing enough (read the LA Times story and you'll agree), but the other Neptunian story is even more disturbing, as more than 36 million pounds of ground turkey is suspected in a salmonella outbreak. The Associated Press reports that the government can't issue a recall as it isn't sure of the source - not atypical for Neptunian times.

Recent Neptune-in-Aquarius stories included the hyped-up scare over H1N1, swine flu (the story "broke" on a Neptune station). Neptune is indeed associated with viruses and diseases that spread through less-than-obvious means, and of course Aquarius implies distribution through mass means, such as the food supply.

There are even more Neptunian stories... once again, DB Cooper, the aerial thief who disappeared, is in the news. And New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg is giving away money for Aquarian causes - to help keep the state's regents exams in place, and to help minority youth. So, you see, Neptune in Aquarius ain't all bad.

The Friendly Skies

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-08-03T16:22:27-04:00

With Mercury retrograde, it seems a good time to re-sume the Astroblog. Or perhaps it's a bad time... that's the thing about Mercury retrograde, you can't be sure. At any rate, it is appropriate.

Mercury rules transportation, and the FAA shutdown is a very Mercury retrograde story. Republicans want to cut $16.5 million dollars from the $200 million allotted for rural development, which Democrats would like to maintain. The stalemate has shut the FAA down (although the rest of the government is open for business... more or less).

The thing is, with the FAA shut down, it cannot collect revenue on passenger fares - those annoying fees that make every day a Mercury retrograde when you purchase a flight for one price then watch is climb as fees are added. It is estimated that the shutdown will cost as much as $1.2 billion in revenue - about 73 times the dispute amount of $16.5 million.

Passengers are still paying the fees, by the way - but they are going to the airlines rather than the FAA. You can't get much more Mercury retrograde than that.

Bulletin: Astrologer Finds 13th Month!!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2011-01-18T08:19:00-05:00

Scientific Community Rocked by Discovery!!

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - Jan. 17 - Amidst all the flap about a thirteenth zodiac sign, Regis K. Downlander, an astrologer, amateur astronomer, and hotel clerk, has discovered a thirteenth month in the Julian year.

"I was working the night shift," said Mr. Downlander, "and I was just kind of doodling around with a calendar and a calculator, and all of a sudden there it was right in front of me."

Astrologer Finds 13th Month!!

Mr. Downlander sent his findings to to NASA, where astrophysicist Jon Finer had to admit that the astrologer was correct in his calculations. "It's quite a gaffe for the scientific community," Dr. Finer said, "First, that little girl finds a supernova, and now this... we really have to get on the ball!"

Although the actual calculations are quite complex, Mr. Downlander explained it in layman's terms. "You see, there are twelve months in the year, but 365 days, so that means that five days are left over. Then, seven of the months have 31 days, meaning that there are an extra seven days - that makes twelve extra days. Now, we all know days are longer in the summer than the winter, and if you add up the total number of hours, it totals 18 additional days. Bingo! An extra month!"

What to call the new month has been a concern in the scientific community all day. "Since the months September through December are essentially numbered (September means seventh, October means eighth, etc. - Ed), it makes sense to add on another one, but no one seems to know what the Latin word is for 'eleven,'" said Dr. Finer.

"We thought about adding a number on the front end, before seven (September), but Christian groups were up in arms at the thought of a month named 'Sextember.'"

Where to put the extra month has also been the cause of considerable debate. Both Major League Baseball and the National Football League have already begun petitioning congress to bring the month into their respective seasons, thereby lengthening them. It appears likely at this point that the powerful National Retailer's Association will demand that the extra month be placed between November and December, thus lengthening the holiday retail season.

People on the street are baffled about all the new changes. "A new zodiac sign, a new month, the world's going crazy!" said one pedestrian, adding that his employer had warned that no matter how many months there are, there would still be only one week of vacation.

plowed under

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-12-28T09:41:38-05:00

Of the six largest snowstorms in New York City history, two have occurred this year, and three since 2006. A pesky consequence of global warming is that is changes weather patterns in bizarre ways, leading to more snow even as the overall temperature climbs. Oh well.

Interestingly enough, with Mercury retrograde, snowstorms first closed European airports, most notably Heathrow in London, last week, and then their American cousins this week. In the midst of the holiday travel season, the headache has been huge. This echos Mercury's retrograde in the spring, when volcanic ash from Iceland closed airports across Europe.

The picture, by the way, is from last year's storm. I left my camera at my sister's house on Christmas, another Mercury retrograde phenomenon, I guess.

In other news, President Obama apparently called Michael Vick, enthusiastic about Vick getting a second chance in the NFL. Professional sports are always so concerned about the image their athletes - "role models" - provide, that they can be very unforgiving. Vick's role in a dog fighting scheme that killed dogs by electrocution and hanging, among other things, is apparently something the sanctimonious NFL and the President can get past - and in record time. Vick has been rehabilitated quickly enough to come back and be in the playoffs. At least no cannabis was involved... that would have been unforgivable.

dark star

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-12-20T22:11:59-05:00

Tonight's full moon is already high in the sky, casting a silvery light all over Queens, New York, and I'll bet plenty of other places as well.

Today is the darkest day of the year, just before the Winter Solstice. We have less sunlight than on any other day of the year. But this year, it just so happens that the full moon falls on the same day... so while we have the least sunlight, we have the most moonlight.

Or at least we do now...

That will soon change, as the Earth passes between the sun and the moon, gradually darkening the skies. A full moon is always powerful, bringing things to light. A lunar eclipse is a supercharged full moon, one that extends the influence of the full moon both forwards and backwards in time. The solstice is a turning point, the low end of the solar year.

So, what does this very special eclipse mean, besides a little extra drama in the skies?

We'll have to see. Personally, I think that it will really set off the who's-in-charge? power struggles of Pluto in Capricorn. We may soon be waking up to find that the world is different than we have thought it to be (Wikileaks has been working on proving that to us). Although it is also a Mercury-retrograde issue, the Net Neutrality bill is in the Senate, and while it seems to offer some protection for consumers, it will also restrict wireless access to some applications... not all of your favorite websites will be available. Who's in charge?

But you can wait and see for yourself. My only observation is that the only thing that comes between the bright orange glow of the sun and the cool silvery moonlight, is the Earth.

do-over!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-12-11T08:58:04-05:00

Mercury went retrograde yesterday, and I've already experienced a bunch of the typical stuff. One of my email accounts always -always - stops working just as the Cosmic Messenger backs up. I get a message saying that the Certificate cannot be trusted. It's easy to fix, but a bit time-consuming. I like it, though, cuz it always happens right on cue, the day before the retrograde. Then there was the Long Island Railroad train whose doors stopped working... and so on.

But the biggest do-over in the news was the "Celebration" in the Southern United States of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. There were RE-enactments of Georgia's secession convention, and RE-living of the Old South, mint juleps and all. Click here to check out the Associated Press story on the events. But also read the UK Guardian editorial.

As Alabama NAACP president Benard Simelton said, "It's almost like celebrating the Holocaust."

This type of thing - especially a glorification of the "rebel" spirit of the South, is likely to increase as Uranus enters Aries. The Tea Party obviously resonates with the secessionist tendencies of the South (old or new).

most ominous

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-12-02T09:16:04-05:00

Mars squared Jupiter on Monday, and will aspect Uranus on Friday, making for a dynamic week. With the Warrior in Sagittarius and the two Giants in Pisces, it has been quite a row. The sun is also in Sag, amping up dogmatic beliefs, even as the moon sailed through otherwise-compromizing Libra. Saturn is in that sign, however, and the news has been characteristic of that sober planet.

What am I talking about? Pisces, Sag, Libra. Compassion, beliefs, bargaining. But the planets involved have wrangled some of the worst aspects of these signs together...

The U.S. Congress, famous for bailing out GM and banks "too big to fail" has failed to extend unemployment benefits for hundreds of thousands of Americans - not only dooming them but also hamstringing the economy (because people on unemployment tend to spend money). At the same time, Republicans have threatened to derail all legislation if tax cuts are not extended for the richest Americans.

And while many in the new Congress see repealing the feeble health care laws that were passed as a priority, a new report now estimates that retirees will need about $100,000 to meet uncovered Medicare expenses. And the Congressional committee to reduce the Federal deficit has some dire ideas in stock, including cutting 200,000 federal jobs.

Wikileaks is the real news of the week - both in what it has revealed and in the heat that it is under. Hillary Clinton was preaching openness in Central Asia on Wednesday, while the U.S. government is seeking to prosecute Julian Assange, Wikileaks founder.

You can read the news however you like, and take what you will out of each issue. But what no one can fail to see is that we are going to extremes - holding to dogmatic beliefs and ignoring any call to compromise and common sense. It is as though we would rather sink while waving our flag (whatever flag you want to wave) than swim.

In our more personal lives, we might be feeling more like the victims of the power plays that are taking place so far from us. But we are also faced with a question as we barrel ahead with our personal agendas - Are we living out the courage of our convictions, or holding on to yesterday's reality for dear life?

taking a leak

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-29T08:57:01-05:00

With Mercury aspecting Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus over the weekend, we would expect all kinds of information to be flying around. The release of more sensitive U.S. information via Wikileaks is a prime example. The huge (Jupiter) number of documents - over 250,000 - leaked (Neptune) has been creating shock (Uranus) waves all around the world.

The documents show that U.S. diplomats are being asked to spy on U.N. officials and that Saudi Arabia put pressure on the U.S. to attack Iran, among other surprising things. The documents are expected to create a public relations nightmare for the United States and many other countries (to a lesser degree). The heat will surely be turned up on Wikileaks itself.

With Mars aspecting Jupiter today, we will be seeing the effects of the release reverberating around the world.

The same principles can apply in our lives. Think of where you have been active - and verbal - in the past few days, and the reactions you have received. Very possibly you've been making plans and announcing your intentions - to mixed results - and are now ready to put them into action.

Today is certainly a day to act, and in fact this entire week is characterized by aspects to Uranus and Jupiter (Mars squares Uranus on Friday), so what we talked about last week we will be more inclined to actually do this week.

Of course, as with the Wikileaks story, there is likely to be a certain amount of blowback for all concerned.

basic black

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-26T08:36:15-05:00

Today is "Black Friday" in the United States, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and the day that many stores go "into the black" as profits beat out losses.

In ever-increasingly high pitch, the ads have been pulling people in earlier and earlier, with some stores opening up as early as 2 a.m.. Ironically and sadly, Thanksgiving has become the prelude to Black Friday rather than the focus of the weekend.

Also ironically, the use of the term "Black" to describe a day is most closely associated with Black Monday, the day of the stock market crash in 1929 and the beginning of the great depression. Today, Black Friday signals the prayer for big sales that will keep our economy going - a necessary link in our economic chain. Say what you will about the insanity of getting up at 1 a.m. to go shopping - if people didn't do it, we'd all be screwed.

With Mercury aspecting Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus this weekend, sales should be strong. People will spend too much, putting themselves in debt, while keeping the economy moving.

My bank opened at 6, but according to the teller, it will be a waste of time. "Last year," he said, "the first customer came in around nine."

After all, no one's paying cash for anything, are they?

24 new red hats

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-20T13:45:57-05:00

In the shadow of the dual station of Venus and Jupiter on Thursday, the Catholic Church has been in the news. That makes sense, as Jupiter rules conventional religions. The Hierophant card in the Tarot, for example, is very Jupiterian (think - the dogmatic, inflexible side of your favorite Sag).

But the church has actually "changed direction" on a Venusian, or should I say, Venereal (they both have roots in the name Venus) issue, in lifting its absolute ban on the use of condoms. Although the Pope has said that condoms don't constitute a real or moral solution to AIDS, the Church can see the use of condoms with respect to the disease. That should be good news in Africa, where both AIDS and the Church are strong.

In an impossibly funny coincidence, the New York Times has published this story today - "24 New Cardinals Get Red Hats"

popularity contests

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-17T15:36:43-05:00

With Venus about to go direct tomorrow at 4:19p EST, this is no time to be making moves if you are a prominent woman. But Nancy Pelosi will be re-elected as the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives, although this time around not as Majority Leader.

There was an attempt to delay the vote, but it failed, and Pelosi is more or less assured of winning the election today, although with quite a few dissenting votes. I'm reminded of Will Rogers' famous quip, "I'm not a member of any organized political party. I'm a Democrat."

Women are literally dominating the news these days, from the Florida woman who has a confirmed case of cholera to Meg Whitman.

But other Venusian news out of Burma is more interesting and hopeful, as Aung San Suu Kyi was released last weekend after being under house arrest since late 2007. She has spent about 15 of the last 20 years under house arrest, and the reasons for her release are - as with everything in Burma - mysterious. Ms. Suu Kyi is already working on rebuilding her political party.

a three-hour tour...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-11T09:41:08-05:00

Hours after the Neptune station on Sunday morning, the Carnival cruise ship Splendor set sail out of San Diego for a cruise of the Mexican Riviera. All was going fine until Monday morning at 6 a.m. local time, when a fire in the engine room left the ship stranded without power.

Without any power - how Neptunian - the ship listed and rolled with the waves, increasing sea sickness on board. Passengers had to eat "safe" (canned, and so on) rations, and had no phone or internet services. Two tug boats are towing the ship back to San Diego, and they are expected to arrive on Thursday afternoon.

Click here for the Time story on the cruise ship.

foggy with a chance of showers

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-06T07:30:54-04:00

Haiti was shaken by the Uranus station back in January, and the temporary shelters (at this point perhaps a bit less than temporary) have been threatened by Hurricane Tomas on this Neptune station.

Nothing is clear, as we might expect. Last night I checked Google News and read that Haiti had been spared the worst of Tomas, while today I read that floods and mudslides had killed seven people and Tomas had driven Haitians to higher ground.

Neptune rules floods, and generally makes things unclear.

Interestingly, the other major natural disaster this week was a Plutonian volcano, Mt. Merapi, in Indonesia. Now, at his station, Neptune is angular to the east of both islands, indicating a kind of 'near miss.' But Mars is directly angular through both islands, on the midheaven in Java and on the IC in Haiti (and through the Eastern tip of Long Island). Mars is the fiery god of war, more closely linked to volcanos than floods.

In typical Neptunian fashion, even the moment of the station is hard to find, since it occurs at 1:05a Sunday. Because of the clock change, setting the hour back at 2:00a Eastern Daylight Time, there are not one but two 1:05 a.m.s tomorrow! (I verified by checking the station in Pacific time).

It has been a bad week for flying. The Mt. Merapi incident has grounded planes over Java, a plane crashed in Cuba, and a brand new Qantas Airbus A380 was forced to land in Singapore when one of its engines failed (and apparently spewed parts over Indonesia).

Perhaps this is Neptune's way of bidding farewell to Aquarius as he heads towards his home sign of Pisces in April. He will, however, station once more in Aquarius, next November.

On a personal level, this is a good weekend to chill out, space out, or freak out. But by Tuesday, things should be feeling a bit more grounded.

the audacity of hope

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-11-03T10:54:56-04:00

Well, we ought not to be too surprised.

A momentary blip two years ago, brought on by a serious economic downturn, doesn't do much to shake things up in any fundamental way. Pluto, Saturn and Uranus weren't going to bring about an "easy" revolution. Things will get more intense, and there will be more fuel added to the fire so that the pot can really boil, and boil over.

Change isn't easy. Evolution is not really like a butterfly turning into a caterpillar (that's metamorphosis, anyhow). It's more like the dinosaurs going extinct so mammals can take over... not exactly the kind of agenda you can endorse if you're a brontosaurus.

And change isn't what anyone - or any party, or any viewpoint - wants it to be. All of our debates are the pushing and pulling that turns the engines of real change, which go where they will, not where we would like.

Oh, well.

irony

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-10-30T11:52:48-04:00

Just hours before Halloween, the day when Americans dress up as something they are not (but must have some feeling about), and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are holding a dress-up version of a rally in Washington. The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear is considered to be so full of mocking hyperbole that the Washington Post has mused whether Stewart and Colbert have themselves entered into the very process they are mocking.

That's pretty ironic. Being so over-the-top that you are mistaken for the real thing might be okay in professional wrestling, but it's hard to see how it could work in politics. Or anyway, it should be difficult.

This is all happening against the backdrop of the usually-fun moon in Leo, the perfect sign for dramatic demonstrations. But Leo is also the sign of royalty. Politics in the United States is becoming such a Hollywood event that perhaps Stewart and Colbert really are on their way to the White House. A recent poll showed Stewart one of America's most trusted newspeople. He was somewhere behind Glenn Beck. It's hard to say what's next, but my bet is a reality TV show featuring the Obamas.

It's been very hard to keep up with all the Venus retrograde news. Women have been in the headlines for the past few weeks, particularly in politics, although in other areas of life as well. And just yesterday, 18 year old Alixandria Mills of the United States won the Miss World Pageant in Beijing. Imagine that such things as Miss World still exist. And the competition was held in Beijing, of all places.

My guess is that she'll be considered at least Vice Presidential timber by 2012.

feeling over the hill?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-10-20T10:15:34-04:00

More Venus retrograde news...

Apparently, over the past weekend the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas asked Anita Hill, now a professor of law at Brandeis University, to apologize for her remarks at the Justice's confirmation hearings back in 1991. Hill turned the voicemail message over to campus security, but apparently it is the real deal. Mrs. Thomas says she was extending an olive branch to Hill.

Hill said she has no intention of apologizing, because she testified truthfully and stands by her testimony. Click here for the CNN story.

Thomas, an African-American conservative nominated by George H. W. Bush, has remained true to his ideology, with a decision record closer to what one would expect from Patrick Buchanan than Thurgood Marshall.

back in the day

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-10-17T10:08:03-04:00

In more Venus-retrograde news, Pope Benedict XVI canonized Mary McKillop, an Australian nun. Among her many accomplishments, McKillop was noted for exposing the "scandalous behavior" of a local priest. At the time, she was excommunicated for five months, but was allowed back into the church, where she was apparently a real challenge to authority.

It's nice to see that the Pope is doing something to recognize abuse in the church and to ratify the role of whistleblowers.

McKillop died in 1909.

Venus retrograde in the news

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-10-16T14:06:28-04:00

First, a bit of context...

When Venus is retrograde, we tend to reconsider our relationships. That's true on a personal level, but also on a collective level as well. But with Saturn sailing through the sign of relationships, Libra, we are even more focused on the structure of our partnerships.

This Venus retrograde has seen us focusing on gay relationships. However, rather than bringing up the issue of gay marriage (okay, New York gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo has come out in favor of it), we have been dealing with the issue of gay relationships, per se.

It started with the story of Tyler Clementi, the gay Rutgers student who committed suicide after his roommate internet-broadcasted him having sex. Since then, the issues have been cascading, most recently with Joel Burns, a gay Fort Worth councilman pleading with teens not to commit suicide. (By the way, Fort Worth is in Texas!)

"You will get out of the household that doesn't accept you. You will get out of that high school, and you don't ever have to deal with those jerks again," Burns said. "Things will get easier ... Please stick around to make those happy memories for yourself."

Sadly, we still have to deal with these issues. And with this Venus retrograde, the emphasis has been on the heavier side of the issue. It has not been so much about going forward with gay rights, as about loss and pain. Republican candidate for Governor of New York, Carl Paladino went on a rant against gays at a talk to an orthodox Jewish group - no doubt helping Andrew Cuomo to make his point about gay marriage.

Then there is the Justice Department's overturning of the Bill Clinton's "Don't Ask - Don't Tell" policy - and of course who benefits from that and in what way is a real head-scratcher.

There are other Venus retrograde stories, too. A woman in Jerry Brown's campaign suggested calling California Gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman a "whore." Whitman was offended.

It isn't about Venus, but California could legalize cannabis next week, and sadly the U.S. Justice Department has promised to enforce the federal laws, nonetheless. So much for change in the Obamaian world.

errata

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-10-01T10:07:37-04:00

“Any idiot can face a crisis. It’s day to day living that wears you out.”

That quote was ascribed to Henrik Ibsen in my October Newsletter, when in fact it came from Anton Chekov.

And Mercury isn’t even retrograde.

be the coyote

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-09-29T23:47:03-04:00

This isn’t any kind of endorsement of the Native American Trickster, or anything profound like that. I’m referencing the Warner Bros. cartoon character here.

Sure, we all grew up thinking the coyote was the ultimate schlemmozel, a foil for the speedy Road Runner (and Bugs Bunny, in one cartoon). And it’s true, the coyote had his issues.

But such resilience! Such perseverance! At least three times in each episode, he had his dreams of a delicious dinner cancelled by his fowl nemesis. Yet did he ever give up? Did he ever decide that his dream was impossible? Did his doubt ever stop him from believing that the next ACME product was “the one” that would snag his speedy quarry?

The coyote serves as a model in trying times, as life slaps our dreams around, as we light too-short fuses and go dashing off cliffs in pursuit of something better, as we open flimsy parasols as our only defense against a falling boulder.

Be the coyote.

You could do worse.

back on track

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-09-18T08:46:58-04:00

Mercury’s retrograde was all that we could have hoped for, and the last few days since his station to go direct have been even more hectic. In the midst of all of this, I took a couple of weeks off from the Astroblog.

This last week has really seen “power” shifts, consistent with Pluto’s station on the 14th.

The powerful surge for Tea Party candidates, who are not only worrying Democrats but also moderate Republicans, coincided with Pluto’s station on the day of the primaries.

Then there was the storm on Thursday. New York was virtually impassable as the Long Island Rail Road was shut down west of Jamaica, resulting in snagged roadways deep into the wee hours of the morning, blending the energies of Pluto and Mercury (the latter stationed direct on the 12th).

Other Mercury retrograde news to catch up on include the woman who scarred her own face with acid, rather than being attacked in Starbucks as she originally said. And Lindsay Lohan failed a drug test for cocaine and may have to return to jail (because in the U.S. having a problem with drugs is a crime rather than an illness... and using drugs is always a “problem” here, too).

Today, Jupiter and Uranus meet up in Pisces. This high-energy combo’s power will be schmeared across the next few days, as the sun opposes the two giants on Monday.

ka-Ping!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-09-03T09:43:19-04:00

After a busy few days at the end of August, I finally had a bit of time to look at the news...

Apple has a nice history, astrologically. Most of their product launches land at auspicious times, although there have been a few exceptions. Its new social networking site for musicians, Ping! was launched with Mercury retrograde, and is already drawing media attention (like this story) for attracting scams and spam.

Apparently, the site is literally awash in spam. It seems that it is also very difficult to link up with Facebook, although that may be as much of a virtue as a problem. If Ping! takes off, that would just about do it for MySpace, the historical home of quick & dirty web pages for bands.

all aboard!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-26T09:10:52-04:00

You know, there’s usually a transportation story with Mercury retrograde...

There was the famous Jet Blue incident a while back, and then air travel was halted over Europe this spring... This time, it’s the trains in the Northeastern United States.

Now, blaming train mishaps on Mercury retrograde is a bit difficult, since even on a good day things don’t go all that smoothly on the rails. But two significant incidents happened on Monday and Tuesday.

First, a cable fire affected signals on the Long Island Rail Road, effectively stopping train traffic in and out of Jamaica - the busiest railroad bottleneck in the world - for an entire rush hour. As of today, service is still not back to normal. Then, on Tuesday, Amtrak needed to halt Northeast Corridor service due to low-voltage power problems.

In an Associated Press release, from the Kansas City Star (click here for the full story): the director of the National Association of Railroad Passengers said the most likely cause of the Amtrak problem was software issues in a computer system the railroad is upgrading. We shouldn’t take it was a sign of “an antiquated, decrepit or underfunded system,” says he.

Well, we can always take to the roads. Although in another Mercury retrograded story, there is apparently an 11 day old traffic jam in China, which is expected to last into September.

Eh. Maybe I’ll just stay home.

cloudy with a chance of Neptune

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-21T09:53:56-04:00

Two more stories in the last day have gotten my attention, as Mercury retrogrades and the sun opposed Neptune.

First, there was the Rocket, Roger Clemens. Yesterday he was indicted for lying to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs during his February, 2008 testimony.

Clemens, a Leo, seems to really represent the haughty arrogance that can be the negative side of the sign. Leo is ruled by the sun, which yesterday opposed Neptune (drugs) in Aquarius (the people, congress). It all fits together so very well, astrologically.

Interestingly, it turns out to be none other than Clemens’ good friend, Andy Pettitte, who provided the key piece of evidence. According to one congressional member, neither Clemens nor his then-trainer were “articulate” enough by themselves to warrant an indictment.

Then there is the disturbing story of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who was accused of rape and molestation in Sweden. Assange has said that the accusation is a “dirty trick” in retribution for his site’s publication of Afghan war papers, something that greatly angered the Pentagon.

Dirty tricks are certainly a possibility with the sun opposite Neptune. It may be a long time before we learn the truth about this, although with Neptune involved the story may drag on for a while and then just fade away... ala Swine Flu.

and of course

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-20T08:52:11-04:00

Since Mercury is stationing, the picture I put into the previous post showed up not as the troops I intended, but as the image I used months ago in another post of protesters at the G20 summit.

But it will probably mysteriously have changed again by the time you read this...

clear as a bell

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-20T08:14:49-04:00

With the sun opposing Neptune today as Mercury stations to retrograde, it would be a poor time to say anything with certainty. The issues of the day may get us carried away, but the odds are there is a fair amount of misinformation in air.

You can see that in your personal life, especially at work or if business deals are on the menu. But that same energy is coloring the “big” issues of the day, as well. We’re still in the shadow of the Jupiter-Saturn opposition that began the week, pitting the status quo against the forces of change and the values of community against the individual. In the great paradox of things, we often see the energy of one side mixed with the other - for example, Aries’ warrior stance affecting the collective.

The now prominent “Ground Zero Mosque” (actually an Islamic Center about two blocks away) is one of the flagship issues, especially since President Obama said last weekend that they have the right to go ahead with the plans for the center. The president later clarified that having the right doesn’t make it a good idea.

But the president is speaking in the United States, where attention to detail is not a strength - this is the land of KISS (Keep it simple, stupid), after all. Apparently, one in five Americans think President Obama is a Muslim (click here for a story on this). That’s odd, considering all the hoopla about his pastor’s remarks during the campaign. Oh, but that was two years ago.

Daisy Khan, according to the Washington Post, wants to know when “Muslims will be accepted as plain old Americans ?” Yet, that may be a little difficult when Saudi Arabia, a country that follows Islamic law, produces stories like this.

Yet some things are clear, like the pullout of U.S. combat troops from Iraq. To the extent anyone really pays attention, this was taken as very good news. Of course, 50,000 American troops will remain as “advisors” (geesh, they must be chewing the Iraqi’s ears off with all their advice). Clear as a bell.

Venus in ashes

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-18T08:51:41-04:00

Sure enough, the last few days around the first quarter moon brought up relationship issues and prominent females, and the Scorpio moon made its dark energy felt.

First, poor Dr. Laura. She didn’t call anyone anything, she used a word that you can’t say (unless you’re say, Kanye West). But you can’t even use that word to talk about that word. You have to call it the N-Word. A few years ago, the NAACP had a ceremony where they “buried” the word. Apparently, it’s a zombie.

Ironically, of course, is that in not even allowing someone to say it, we exponentially increase its power. Lenny Bruce understood that... but his understanding didn’t keep him out of jail.

A California judge decided that he won’t decide on the gay marriage ban until December. Some folks will no doubt say that this issue - which predictably came to a head this week as Saturn and Jupiter came to an opposition in Libra-Aries (check the forecast, I said it would...) - is delayed because of the upcoming elections. But you and I know that it’s Venus’ retrograde in October and November.

And even more soberly, the New York Times reported yesterday that a young couple was stoned to death in Afghanistan - for eloping. They were lured back to their village, where friends and family joined in their collective punishment. Saturn rules stones, and he’s in the tradition-oriented sign of Libra, dealing with relationships.

Abject cruelty, vapid stupidity and self-righteous moralism are not ruled by any planet in the heavens, but are found in quantity here on Earth.

triggers

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-12T08:56:46-04:00

Today’s early-morning blast in Bogota, Colombia can be seen as another manifestation of the Jupiter-Pluto square that was angular in that country on August 3rd. In fact, the time of the blast, around 5:30 a.m. corresponds very closely to the square, with the ascendant for the blast on the aspect’s sun and the midheaven on its moon. Click here for the BBC story.

For the most part, today is a quiet day, with the moon void-of-course until 6:42 p.m., EDT. However, as soon as Luna arrives in the normally balanced sign of Libra, she’ll begin making aspect to the Jupiter-Uranus-Saturn-Pluto T-square. Creativity might be running very high this evening, but so may tensions. Relationships (of all kinds) will be particularly vulnerable, and this is a time when feelings that have been submerged for a time may come to the surface, in both constructive and challenging ways.

a girls best fiend?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-10T09:16:01-04:00

The last few days have seen Venus making aspects to Saturn, Uranus, and - most recently - Pluto. My prediction, and I do make them every so often, was that we would see prominent women in the news.

And sure enough, Naomi Campbell, Mia Farrow, and now Campbell’s former agent, Carole White, have been making headlines, not in the entertainment world, but in a war crimes court. The three women have slightly different versions of the same story, which centers on events at a dinner party hosted by Nelson Mandela in 1997.

The upshot of it is that former Liberian President Charles Taylor is alleged to have given Campbell “blood diamonds” as a gift. Proof that he gave her the diamonds is apparently crucial in his trial for crimes against humanity... something of a head-scratcher in itself, in that a man that is accused of insighting the rape and murder of 100,000 people ought to have left a more obvious trail than one that needs to be substantiated by celebrities. Still, blood diamonds are bad business, and they would link Taylor to much more than flirting with a supermodel.

Campbell appears to be dodging the full story out of fear for her life, while Farrow is going full-court with her version. With Venus in her home sign of Libra, odds are that the women will be okay.

In our personal relationships, the last few days of Venusian aspects have come at the time of the new moon. Tensions may be running high, but this is an excellent time for course-correction and setting intentions for the future.

a very long hot summer

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-09T09:18:23-04:00

Last week’s planetary activity was highlighted by a Jupiter-Pluto square on the 3rd, triggered a day later by Mars aspecting each of those two planets. Looking around the world at the places where the aspects were “angular” (on the horizon, or overhead), we can see that it is indeed a long, hot summer. The position of the sun at the time of these aspects also seems to be very relevant, especially as “heat” is the theme this summer.

Los Angeles and Moscow are battling fires. A 14 year-old boy is accused of setting a wildfire near Los Angeles. The Associated Press reports that 700 people per day are dying of the Moscow fires and their acrid smoke. The political fallout might work its way all the way up to Vladamir Putin, who - like Obama with the Gulf oil spill - could wind up taking the heat for not having superhuman capabilities against the forces of nature.

To add absurdity to tragedy - and more tragedy - a contestant in a sauna context died in Finland. The man had been a room at a temperature of about 230 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees above the temperature at which water boils) for about six minutes. There is something very Superhero (or Arch-villain) about Jupiter/Pluto. More power is demanded...

Colombia and Venezuela had the square angular - more directly than Finland - and indeed, Venezuelan President Chavez has urged Colombian rebels to put down their arms. He’s afraid they will be perceived as forces in line with Venezuela. Of course, if they listen to him...

Finally, Haiti had Uranus angular at the aspect, and the sun angular when Mars triggered it a day later. Wyclef Jean, of the Fugees, is running for president, a job that one must really want to have.

It’s a hot summer, and the theme seems to be about getting burned...

Saturn returns

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-05T09:30:44-04:00

Companies have Saturn returns, just like individuals.

I caught this story today about Green Mountain Coffee (click here for the NY Times story), a company founded in 1981 and at its Saturn return.

Apparently, Green Mountain has built its reputation on being a “green” company (although I’m sure the name comes from its Vermont location). Problem is, Green Mountain has been doing great business lately.

But much of their sales come from disposable coffee pods, those little one-shots that make individual cups of coffee. Considering the plastic and aluminum structure of the pods, they are bit less than green. Stepping up to the challenge (always a good strategy when Saturn is involved), Green Mountain is apparently working on a more eco-friendly pod.

Still, this is Saturn, and they were outed by the Times....

storm warnings

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-03T09:11:26-04:00

Today features a major aspect between Jupiter and Pluto. Power struggles can reach phenomenal proportions, but with Jupiter in the picture, it is usually a matter of principle, at least from the perspective of the participants. Righteous anger is a potential manifestation, and that can be dangerous. After all, we can feel a bit guilty when acting out of anger, but throw in some righteousness behind it, and the temptation is to take off the gloves and really dig in.

The ongoing troubles in Pakistan and Afghanistan seem to capture some of the energy of this aspect, as they have been at the center of international news all week.

The aspect is “angular” (rising, setting, overhead) through East Asia, where it grazes the coast of Vietnam and goes through the island of Java in Indonesia, and cuts through China. It is also powerful through Central Africa and “Mittle Europa,” including a line right through Warsaw.

In the Western Hemisphere, the line of the aspect cuts through the far eastern coast of the United States, around Boston, then down through the Dominican Republic. It is especially strong in Venezuela and Colombia, in South America, places to watch. The U.S. National Hurricane Center announced the formation of a tropical depression which is apparently headed up the East Coast of the U.S., so the effects may be meteorological as well as political, at least in some parts.

But “the” story to watch for the Jupiter-Pluto aspect may be the question of whether a mosque will be built in New York City near the World Trade Center site. That issue is scheduled to reach a new peak today, as the city landmark commission is expected to unanimously reject landmark status for the building, opening up the possibility for renovations for the mosque.

cojones

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-08-02T08:56:32-04:00

I can only assume that Sarah Palin is aware that the word she used to describe what she says President Obama lacks on immigration is Spanish. She must have used it ironically, although - and it’s early in the morning and I’m still on my first cup of coffee - I fail to see what the irony could be.

Palin made her comments this weekend, as Mars opposed the Saturn-Uranus opposition. In Libra, Mars is most likely to express itself in words, and aggression is often put in a very civil form.

Iran’s President Ahmaninejad also offered to negotiate one-on-one with Obama, another example of Mars-in-Libra aggressiveness - “we can talk, but only on terms you would never accept.”

The energy of the weekend will continue to move us forward as we approach the volatile Jupiter-Pluto square tomorrow morning. Look for evidence - at the international and very local levels - that righteousness might be getting out of hand. There’s always some danger around when people or groups are sure they are in the right.

who's in charge here?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-07-27T21:37:10-04:00

Saturn and Uranus had their last opposition in a series of five yesterday. The oppositions go back to 2008, when the first one occurred on Election Day in the United States. Two news stories seem to sum up the energy, which pits the conservative powers-that-be against upstarts and revolutionaries.

The first is the breaking of the Wikileaks story. Wikileaks has done it again, in Uranus-in-Aries fashion, by publishing secret documents. That truly annoys the powers that be, which in this case is the previously Uranian but in this case Saturnian Obama administration. The documents show the war in Afghanistan is going poorly, that the Pakistanis are playing on both sides, and that many Afghan civilians are being killed. As secrets go, that’s hardly ground-breaking stuff, but it is the stuff that folks on the Saturnian side of the fence don’t want getting out. Transparency isn’t a priority, and they can always yell “National Security!” when someone o close to a truth they don’t want to get out. This round goes to Uranus.

And so does the next. A Utah court overturned the conviction of polygamist Warren Jeffs for marrying (performing the ceremony) a 14 year old girl to her 19 year old cousin (there is no mention in the article I read about whether polygamy was involved). Jeffs is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, a renegade (Uranian) group. So score one more for Uranus.

me, i prefer coffee

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-07-19T21:15:29-04:00

Back when they got their start last winter, I predicted dim times ahead for the Tea Party.

They launched their project - going on the offensive - with Mars retrograde, after all. Astrological logic says you shouldn’t go on the offensive when the Warrior is retrograde (appearing to go backward in the sky). It’s not that passions don’t run high, but rather that they cannot be properly expressed with Mars backpedalling through the zodiac.

Since then, the Tea Party, led by Sarah Palin (Tina Fey will be busy for years to come) has stayed in the news and appears to be becoming a viable political force in the United States. I find this problematic for a host of reasons, but not least because it could mean I was wrong about something.

True, I have also said that “rogue” groups will be prominent with Uranus (and Jupiter) in Aries, and I have harped on how the “Pirate Mentality” will be strong for a while. The Tea Party looks like a kind of Disney-fied version of what I’ve been talking about, although I am not entirely sure that they are as kookily harmless as they may appear. The Boston Tea Party was the beginning of the American Revolution, after all, so there are fighin’ words in that name.

But it occurred to me recently that their getting their start with Mars retrograde may not have doomed them, after all. The U.S. progressed Mars went retrograde in 2008, and so the Tea Party is in a way in harmony with the nation. More than that, the energy of the Warrior is turned internally when retrograde, which would focus any of the nation’s belligerent tendencies back on itself.

I bring this up now that the NAACP has asked the Tea Party to repudiate racism and the only Democrat endorsed by the party (talk about a token!) has refused to be associated with them.

more than oil is spilling

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-07-15T08:20:46-04:00

It is often the case that we see and feel an eclipse most strongly before or after it occurs.

Sunday’s eclipse, on the 11th, seems to be a case of the shock waves coming afterwards. Monday and Tuesday seem to have been fairly dreadful for a lot of people. There was a kind of low-level crankiness, and the complaints of fatigue were numerous. Yesterday, things seemed to get somewhat back to normal, at least enough for me to take a look at the news.

Two stories seem very eclipse-related. Remember that Pluto ties into these past two eclipses, and that means things which are buried (and come to the surface).

Well, oil is still a buried thing coming to the surface all over the Gulf, but we can’t blame that on the eclipse. BP has been under criticism for its handling of the disaster, and around the lunar eclipse a couple of weeks ago it got a ribbing for its safety procedures. Even Exxon felt justified in saying a few words against BP.

Yesterday, as the moon made a trine to Pluto, it came out that BP lobbied the British government for the 2007 transfer to Libya of a prisoner convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie/Pan Am bombing.

The other case-in-point is also just another node in an ongoing story, the Vatican’s response (?) to priests’ sexual abuse. Click here for the Associated Press story. The Vatican extended from 10 to 20 years the statute of limitations on sexual abuse, but did not put in place measures to see that such cases are reported.

Plutonian power meets Plutonian power.

angular features

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-07-11T09:21:32-04:00

Today’s solar eclipse at 3:40 p.m., EDT, will only be seen in the South Pacific and the south-western coast of South America. But the eclipse is “angular” (rising, setting, or directly below) in Paris, and Tokyo, places to watch.

The eclipse is setting in Madrid, and the lines also pass through the Netherlands, although they miss Amsterdam. As far as I can tell, the game plays right through the eclipse, so we’ll see what happens in the World Cup.

Neptune is overhead in New York City at the moment of the eclipse, nipping the West Side of Manhattan below Central Park and a slice of Brooklyn that cuts through Coney Island (an extremely Neptunian place). The nodal axis also passes through Sacramento, so keep an ear out for Governor Schwarzenegger.

The energy from an eclipse is not all that local, however. We all feel the tension, like late on a hot afternoon when we suspect a thunderstorm is on the way. While full moon lunar eclipses tend towards overt explosions of energy, new moon solar eclipses like todays have a quiet intensity about them. If anything happens, it is most likely more of an implosion, a collapsing inwards, than an outward-moving energy.

But often nothing happens. There are exceptions, but like most thunderstorms, lightening seems to hit something only rarely. That takes little away from the feeling of the experience, however. Issues that normally bubble beneath the surface can come to a full boil around eclipse season, if we put a lid on the pot.

At best, we can think of a solar eclipse as a powerful new moon, a good time to set intentions for the coming months. Starting tomorrow, begin to move forward with your projects and put your ideas into action.

Today, I guess you can join the estimated 700 million people watching the World Cup Final.

fire cracker

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-07-06T08:29:43-04:00

Yesterday’s Uranus station saw tensions mounting, and occasional explosions.

Interestingly, Toronto was again in the news, this time with a blackout. The G20 have all gone home, but the Queen of England was in town. Torontons (I’m sure that’s not what they’re called, but I like the sound of it) seem to have really stepped up and handled it well. The blackout occurred within an hour of the station.

The rest of the world was certainly very keyed up, although I’m not entirely sure that you could tell the difference from any other day. The “state of emergency” was extended in Thailand, where Jupiter and Pluto were angular at the eclipse (but Burma was also under the station, and no news from there).

On a more local level, it was either too hot in New York for people to really be acting up, or else we swallowed our irritation. A brilliant idea or two may have popped into our minds, although it usually takes longer for those to reach the surface.

the other eclipse

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-27T17:48:13-04:00

While we are between two eclipses, it is perhaps a good idea to reflect on the more popular eclipse, the one at the box office.

Eclipse is the latest installment of the Twilight Saga, a series of stories about vampires. I don’t really know much about it, but the posters and trailers give off a vibe that reminds me more of 90210 than
Dracula.

Ever since Tom Cruise starred in Ann Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (and maybe before that), the undead have become a strangely sexy symbol in popular culture. Teen books are full of vampire stories. Buffy was hot. But why?

Dracula, back in the day, was scary stuff. The novel by Bram Stoker is a winner, and very cleverly written. The classic film starring Bela Lugosi debuted in 1931, right around the discovery of the planet Pluto. No one thought Bela was sexy, just scary.

Dracula was one of the classic horror monsters for years, together with Frankenstein’s monster, The Mummy, and The Wolfman. All but the last made it to the big screen within two years of the discovery of Pluto.

The planet Pluto is closely associated with death and rebirth. Pluto, after all, was the Roman god of the underworld, the equivalent of the Greek’s Hades. On a good day, Pluto is all about dying and being reborn, as in the story of Persephone, who spends half of each year in the underworld (causing winter) and half in our world (summer).

But if things go awry, there can be problems. Pluto is associated with some fearful transits, largely because unprocessed emotional experiences can resurface years after they were buried. In this way, they become the “undead,” just like the Count. There is indeed something creepy about repressed emotional material when it resurfaces, especially if it isn’t processed as it emerges from the grave.

The tendency is for that energy to go amuck, wreaking havoc all over the landscape of our lives, at least until we acknowledge it and work to incorporate it back into ourselves. Like Dracula, it can sap our life’s energy. Like Frankenstein’s monster, it can do harm equally when in the midst of anger or while trying to be gentle.

With anger bubbling up within the collective like the oil in the Gulf (see the post about the protests at the G20 summit for an example) it is no wonder our attention turns to vampires. The oil spill itself is an example of the undead, a grisly reminder that we power our light-filled world with the corpses of beings that were around millions of years ago. And like Frankenstein’s monster or the mummy or Dracula, we can’t stop the 100,000 barrels of oil that are spilling forth each day. It is so much a time of feeling out of control.

So why would the undead become sexy? For one thing, the Pluto-in-Scorpio generation is now in their twenties, and they have a decidedly goth outlook on life (and death). A group which was born back in the day when sex and death were equated so strongly in the public’s mind (via AIDS) is sure to be comfortable with the dark side.

But if we’re feeling that things are out of control and the undead cannot be stopped... I guess we might be tempted to join ‘em...

Gee... 20?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-27T17:36:43-04:00

In the wake of the eclipse and an earthquake, the G20 summit is off and running... into trouble. The meeting of the world’s most powerful leaders is beset by violent protests - and in Canada, no less. Imagine if they had held the thing in Greece!

Problems are heating up, as this G20 meeting occurs between the two eclipses. Saturday morning’s lunar eclipse helped “bring to light” the anger and doubt that is simmering. But the upcoming solar eclipse is preceded by Uranus stationing on the World Axis at 0 degrees of Aries. independence and a distrust for authority are all but guaranteed with a picture like that.

Still, I doubt the G20 folks really know what’s going on, and doubt further still that they are in much of position to do anything about it. Sure, Pluto in Capricorn challenges existing institutional structures, but a big part of what we will be learning is that no one is really in charge... as hopeful and scary as that may be.

Preclipse

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-25T08:07:18-04:00

As we approach tomorrow morning’s eclipse at 7:30 a.m. EDT, we can see that the world news is already heating up. Remember that this is a lunar eclipse, occurring on a full moon, so things tend to come to light. It is an active time, as opposed to the more powerful but less over solar eclipse we’ll be having in two weeks.

The resignation of General McChrystal is one example of things coming to a head. So is the release of poll number showing President Obama’s popularity at an all-time low. Anger seems to be spewing out of everyone, from the French World Cup team to hotel workers in Toronto.

Speaking of Toronto, the 5.0 magnitude earthquake there - a somewhat uncharacteristic spot for one - comes just in advance of the G20 summit there. Can it be hard to miss the symbolism? The shakiness of the planet’s leadership “system” and the degree of uncertainty we are all feeling is indeed like the tremors of an earthquake.

But I have to comment on the restaurant in Arizona which is serving meat made from real lions as part of a World Cup promotion (they watch soccer in Arizona? It seems so... ethnic...). The restaurant owner pointed out that lions are protected, but not endangered, and said that since Africans eat lion meat, it should be okay for Americans, as well.

Whoo-hooo! The Wild West rides again. With ethical thinking like that, who knows who we’ll be modeling our behavior on next.

happy solstice

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-20T23:33:46-04:00

Monday morning at 7:28 a.m., EDT, the sun reaches his solstice point, marking the peak of his northward climb in the skies.

So, happy solstice! and a Merry Summer to All!

The astrological intensity is already building towards the powerful eclipse on the 26th, and our collective edginess is growing. Still, this is a time to appreciate the warm rays and long days, and all those we share them with.

I’ll be back to the snappy astrological analysis and pithy comments in a day or two...

"i did it all by myself"

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-16T09:15:04-04:00

Coming out of the new moon, we’ve had a series of nice Venusian aspects which offer the possibility of tempering the strong drive for independence which began around the 8th with a little recognition of the other’s perspective. With so much energy pulling us to go our own way, it is helpful to at least look out the window and wave others as we race past them on our way to wherever it is we feel we need to go.

Still, the “rogue” energy of Uranus-in-Aries is strong. The recent arrest of an American in Afghanistan is a case in point. The Voice of America reports that Gary Faulkner was hunting Osama bin Laden with a handgun, a sword, a dagger, and night vision goggles. Most significantly from an astrological perspective is that the press has dubbed Faulkner the “American Ninja,” suggesting yet another image that we can add to the list of rogues, pirates, and other off-the-grid personalities.

Remember that one difference between going your own way and going rogue is intention. We’re all gonna take matters into our own hands a bit, but there’s a difference between singing “I gotta be me” and deciding to become an assassin. In public matters, expressing oneself is one thing, grabbing your night vision goggles and dagger is another...

the week that was on 201st street

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-12T09:16:31-04:00

I’ve spoken to enough clients and friends to know that our experience here wasn’t exactly typical, but then again the Jupiter-Uranus-Aries energy seems to have been both strong and explosive this week.

My own experience of getting stuck in traffic was a nightmare on Tuesday, as time pressure mounted for me to get where I was going. But then again, I was on Long Island, so no big surprise there.

But what a week for 201st street! We had two deaths on our block (both after long illnesses), and two major traffic accidents. The number of near-misses was pretty high, too, and all seemed to involve people blowing through lights or stop signs. Uranian impulsiveness pushes us to break the rules - even the rules that make sense.

And my nephew’s school bus got hit by a car... necessitating a trip to the hospital for the elementary schoolers...

a move to the right

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-10T07:29:59-04:00

This week has seen a great deal of activity, with Jupiter entering Aries on Sunday and meeting up with Uranus on Tuesday. The results have been somewhat clouded by the Mercury-Neptune square on Wednesday, but it does seem like the energy has been leaning towards reversals and rogue groups.

That things have been tending in favor of the right end of the political spectrum does present something of an anomaly to the usually progressive (if revolutionary) Jupiter-Uranus energy. But in Aries, things tend not to be progressive so much as forceful, and the meeting of these two planets is square to Jupiter in traditional Capricorn. And I guess it all depends on what your idea of “progress” is, too.

The usually tolerant Dutch voters have - through a split in the vote - given the far-right a real boost. Everyone, the Dutch included, is kind of shocked that the anti-immigrant party won so many seats. Click here for a story on this.

Women also won a number of primaries in the United States, which might seem quite progressive, but once again, it is the Uranus-in-Aries rogue Tea Party spirit which seems to be infusing things.

The Gaza Flotilla is back in the news, with the story breaking that Israel will allow soda and snack food into the area.

And Helen Thomas, a quirky Uranus-in-Aries character (heck, she was born before the last time Uranus was in Aries), has retired after making inflammatory remarks about Israel. Thomas is approaching her Pluto opposition (which says something, given the 246 year orbit of the planet), but most significantly she was born at the Uranus-Jupiter opposition of 1921, so she really resonates with this aspect. Or, I suppose, we could say she doesn’t resonate well with it at all...

One story referred to Thomas as a “tarnished icon” but most of her colleagues seemed to think she was just a bit weird. She was, however, one of the few reporters to question the invasion of Iraq back in the flag-waving early days of the decade. No wonder Ari Fleischer was quick to lead the call for her to retire.

truth or dare

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-08T08:49:21-04:00

With Jupiter newly in Aries and the conjunction with Aries today, we are seeing a strong pull towards rebellion... and also clearing up some old business...

A great example of the rebelliousness and rogue activity of Uranus in Aries can be seen in the case of Army Specialist Bradford Manning, who leaked information to Wikileaks, including videos of US helicopter strikes that killed civilians (including a Reuters employee... Click here for the full story).

The combination of going off the grid (by leaking information) and doing so with technology (Wikileaks) is perfect symbolism for Uranus/Jupiter, which often has to do with new technological innovations (the iphone 4 is due out, but I’m not sure this is on par with the moon landing). That it is happening in Aries shows the go-your-own-way mentality at its strongest.

If the system isn’t working, we’ll have to find a way around it. Rules matter less at times like these, for better or worse. We can see the stubborn refusal of the system to change in the ordeal of Armando Gallaraga’s almost no-hitter and Bud Selig’s refusal to reverse the call. The guardians of the system are scared in such times...

Television gives us an instant replay on the umpire’s decision -whether or not Major League Baseball wants to admit it. Specialist Manning gave us an instant replay on an action in Iraq, whether or not the Army wants to admit it. In both cases, the system ain’t moving... at least not yet, and not under it’s own steam.

Sometimes we’re gonna cheer those who break the rules and take matters into their own hands, and sometimes we’re gonna be upset. Here’s a clue - are they giving us information, or blowing us up to get their message across?

In an almost-related story, Union Carbide employees were sentenced for negligence in the 1984 Bhopal disaster, which killed thousands. At the time of the accident, Neptune (which rules gasses) was on the “World Axis” at 0 degrees of Capricorn (which rules business and institutions). Now, Jupiter and Uranus are square to that position of Neptune at 0 degrees of Aries. Predictably, it is the reaction to the light sentences which have been the center of attention. Justice delayed is justice denied.... so what do you do when the system isn’t working....

battered up!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-05T06:29:58-04:00

Neptune, a planet associated with a foggy, dream-like energy, was especially powerful this week, with a “station” (appearing to stop in the sky) last Monday and an opposition from Mars on Friday. The week certainly seemed Neptunian...

Of course, the ongoing BP oil spill (Neptune rules oil) still continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico. Seafood prices are rising, and President Obama is starting to take the heat.

The new Shrek movie seems to have stumbled into an oil slick of its own. First, some theatres announced they would charge $20 per ticket for the movie, but reversed themselves when public reaction was less-than-enthusiastic. Then later this week McDonalds announced a recall of millions of Shrek glasses which are tainted with cadmium, a toxic heavy metal. Incredibly, it turns out the glasses were not made in China!

But the most Neptunian moment of the week came on the baseball diamond, as umpire Jim Joyce blew a call on the last out of what would have been Armando Galaragga’s perfect game. A “perfect game” is an extreme rarity in baseball, with only 20 having been pitched in the entire history of major league baseball, going back to the 1800s. Oddly, it would have been the third perfect game this season (which is nowhere near half over), with the most recent one occurring just a few days before, on May 29th.

Galaragga will probably not see the umpire’s ruling overturned, and he will become the Neptunian martyr who sacrifices himself... in this case, most probably for a good cause - instant replay reviews of umpire calls.

sink whole

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-06-01T06:50:05-04:00

The weekend’s dual Saturn/Neptune station had me fogged out enough that I avoided even checking the news... but this morning it appears that Saturn - and particularly Neptune - were very busy.

Remember that Neptune rules the seas, oils, drugs, martyrs, scapegoats, and things which just disappear... Here’s the Neptunian news roundup...

It seems that Tropical Storm Agatha was implicated in a massive sink hole that swallowed an entire building in downtown Guatemala City...

President Obama’s Memorial Day speech in Illinois was rained out...

Former ABC anchorman Ted Koppel’s son was found dead, apparently after a drinking binge...

One person died and seven were hospitalized, probably as the result of tainted drugs at a San Francisco rave... which was named “POP 2010: The Dream.”

And as if they knew it was Neptunian weekend, the New York Times wrote a piece entitled, “States Create Flood of Education Bills,” in response to Colorado’s recent law, which has been called The Teacher Scapegoat Bill.

I won’t even mention the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico...

rebel, rebel

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-28T08:35:47-04:00

India and Pakistan have seen terrorist attacks in the last 24 hours. Maoist rebels (apparently there are sill Maoist rebels) are suspected of attacking a train in India, while in Lahore a mosque was attacked.

It’s a little hard to get a fix on the exact time that these things happened, but they happened at the full moon in Sagittarius (a sign associated with beliefs and world views) and on the day that revolutionary Uranus moved into Aries. Uranus, Saturn, and Pluto (Jupiter, too) were at least close to rising or culminating at the time of the ingress.

Uranus in Aries is can be expected to stoke rebellion and conflict. At an personal level, it will have many of us asserting our individuality. The next seven years should see a lot recognition that “I gotta be me,” especially where relationships are concerned.

But on a collective level, things tend to get expressed at a lowest-common-denominator level. Rebel bands and survivalist groups form and move into action with this kind of energy behind them. But at any level, from the survivalists in their bunkers in the woods to the corporate raiders in their midtown offices, this is a time when we will see groups “going rogue.”

The Thai government has dealt harshly with the Red Shirt protestors, one of the more obvious manifestations of this energy. Outer planets like Uranus “cast their shadows before themselves”, and in the Thai reaction to the protestors, we see that the forces of the status quo are unlikely to sit by quietly while rebels emerge.

That, of course, is good news and bad, depending on what rebels and establishments you happen to be looking at. Uranus certainly isn’t playing politics here on Planet Earth, and as long as we manifest the potential energy, that is enough for him.

29:59, and counting

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-27T08:14:30-04:00

This morning, the planet Uranus is at 29 degrees, 59 minutes of Pisces, just a hair’s breadth away from Aries. The move officially comes at 9:48 p.m. EDT tonight.

Today is also the full moon, which will happen in the sign of Sagittarius at 7:07 p.m. EDT tonight.

That’s a lot of energy for one day, and we can expect the unexpected throughout the early part of the weekend (I don’t know what to expect on the 30th and 31st, with Saturn and Neptune both stationing). Tempers may be short, and impatience can run high. But so can brilliant insights (if only others would listen to them!!) and streaks of creativity.

On an individual level, the best possible expression of this energy might be what I like to call creative selfishness, the insistence on following our own path in the face of all kinds of resistance. Not without concern for others and their feelings, but with the knowledge that if we aren’t true to ourselves, we aren’t much help to anyone else, either.

Remember too, that much of the resistance you feel coming from others has its source hidden within yourself. The criticisms, warnings, and demands that others place on you and which rankle you are resonating with something inside. Confronting our inner demons quiets many of the outer devils.

On a collective level, we are already hearing about how terror groups have been plotting at a very high rate. Then a convoy of ships carrying supplies to Gaza is riling the Israelis. There are similar stories in the news.

An overall theme is that “the system” isn’t working (Pluto in Capricorn has been making that clear for a couple of years). Given that we have widespread systemic failure, Uranus in Aries urges us to go our own way, individually or in small groups.

The success and wisdom of that are both in doubt. The Nazis came to power the last time Uranus was in Aries, but it was also a time of strength for organized labor. The planets set the key, but we write the melody.

99 cent store

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-23T11:39:55-04:00

Today’s Jupiter-Saturn opposition will no doubt go unnoticed in popular culture. But even among astrologers, this isn’t the Big Doin’s it used to be.

Back before the discovery of the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, Jupiter and Saturn were the two furthest planets anyone knew about, and their 20 year cycle was watched closely for the social and political changes it heralded.

Now that we have Saturn in opposition to Uranus, who is about to square Pluto, the cycle of Jupiter and Saturn might seem as exciting as Pacman is to today’s video games. But... This cycle might catch our attention a bit more if we recognized some of it’s more concrete manifestations.

For one, it closely correlates with the Presidents-Who-Died-in-Office cycle which began with Lincoln and ended with Kennedy (during that time, the conjunction of the two planets was in Earth signs).

Because it is a 20 year cycle and has been falling on the decade line for some time, it has also contributed to the sense that the 60s were different from the 70s... or the 20s were different from the 30s. Social trends have seemed to hinge right on the “0” years for some time (although that is obviously very complex).

The latest cycle began on May 28, 2000. That was right around the time the Dot Com bubble burst and the high-rolling 90s came to an end. We all put out our cigars and put away our top hats, recognizing we might not be such investment geniuses after all.

The Euro was introduced around this time. Actually, the Euro became an electronic currency on January 1, 1999, at the closing semi-sextile of the cycle, and paper currency was introduced on January 1, 2002, at the opening semi-sextile. Thus, the midpoint in time of these two Euro landmarks was the 2000 conjunction.

For most of the past decade, the Euro has been gaining on the dollar as the international reserve currency. The history of the Euro is interesting, and extends back at least to the formation of the European Common Market, although it was really first put into concrete form in 1992. Germany, whose Deutsche Mark was a strong currency in its own right, pushed for the Euro after reunification of East and West Germany made economic ties seem more appealing.

Now, at the opposition, or peak of the cycle, the Euro is in crisis. The PIGS are pulling down the value of the currency, which dropped to 2004 levels on the news of the economic crisis in Greece (the Euro is still strong against the dollar compared with it’s rate at introduction).

As we work through this peak in the Jupiter-Saturn cycle through March of 2011, we are likely to see the Euro severely tested as an international currency. Clearly, the honeymoon period (and it was a rough one, all in all) is over. Jupiter and Saturn represent inflation and recession, respectively, and at present everyone is concerned about these two economic scenarios.

There are other social manifestations of Jupiter-Saturn, and these may get more airplay than economics as the opposition moves from Virgo-Pisces to Libra-Aries for the next two rounds. Still, the Aries energy (supported by Uranus) may have some countries questioning their participation in the Euro.

ouch!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-21T10:34:12-04:00

You know, I’m a Leo.

And I like to have a positive spin on all things Leonine. Each month when the moon passes through the sign of the lion, I get ready for 60 hours of creativity, fun, and a bit of royal treatment.

That’s the way I approached the past few days...

Since last October, however, Mars has been hanging out in Leo, a very long time, because he was doing his retrograde in the sign. Now, astrologers will tell you that Mars has an affinity with Leo, and Mars and the sun get along very well. So maybe the retrograde wasn’t so tough.

But this week has been. From the crackdown on protests in Thailand, to California fires beginning to burn again (sparked by a lawnmower, on top of all!), it has been the negative side of fire for the past few days.

Tensions were really soaring at the first quarter moon yesterday, as the sun (in very late Taurus) was squared by the moon, who also met up with Mars. So it certainly wasn’t a fun, creative time in the collective, and the personal stories I heard indicated that things were pretty tough on a personal level.

So I suppose I have to be thankful that the moon has made it to Virgo...

Such a thing for a Leo to have to say!

seeing double

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-20T08:51:59-04:00

I suppose a pithy analysis of the news would be appropriate... especially as we move towards the Saturn-Jupiter opposition on Sunday. That’s a big one, in which we will be revisiting issues from 2000...

But no...

Today I simply want to point out that the sun moves into Gemini tonight at 11:34 EDT. The moon will be in somewhat serious Virgo after 8:00 p.m., but the atmosphere should be a bit more social than in recent days (Virgo is Mercury’s other sign, after all).

I wouldn’t exactly call this a party weekend, but it probably is a good time to socialize. The nice thing about Gemini is that it gets us out and communicating... we meet up with the neighbors again, after hibernating through the winter in our homes.

Oh, it’s a Gemini rocket, by the way.

the 29th degree...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-16T10:15:43-04:00

The news has been very nautical lately.

Or, as an astrologer might put it, the news has been very Neptunian. With Uranus in the last degree of Neptune’s sign (Pisces) and Neptune chugging towards 29 degrees of Uranus’s sign of Aquarius, these two planets are really egging each other on.

We are seeing quite a bit of disruption (Uranus) on the seas (Neptune). Last week’s crash of the Staten Island Ferry was one such incident. And it echoed the 2003 crash of the same ferry boat, when Uranus was back at the degree Neptune now occupies (sort of an attention-getter for that degree).

Of course, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is another, more potent manifestation. There is disruption (Uranus) of technology (Aquarius) resulting in oil (Neptune/Pisces) spilling into the sea (also Neptune/Pisces).

And Arizona’s controversial immigration law is yet another manifestation. Illegal immigrants are undocumented and unrepresented (Neptune/Pisces) citizens (Aquarius). Like the fish in the Gulf, they have little to say about their fate, while the debate is waged around them.

On a different nautical note, Jessica Watson, a 16 year old Australian girl has completed a 7-month solo voyage around the Earth on a yacht. Now that’s very Neptunian. However, there is some controversy about whether she will get the credit for sailing around the globe, since she took a southern route which may be short of the equatorial 21,600 miles required to get into the books... how very Neptunian.

yikes again!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-08T14:36:09-04:00

It’s a rarity to have two Astroblog posts in one day, but the Staten Island Ferry crash this morning begs for some attention. I’m afraid, however, that I will have to go into a little ‘astrologese’ for this one. I beg your pardon.

When I heard about the crash, I pulled up the chart for this morning and for the crash on October 25, 2003. It’s especially appropriate because it is the same boat, the Andrew J. Barberi (pictured) that was involved in both crashes.

Could it be the Saturn square (7 1/4 years) of the first crash?

Turns out no. But I was intrigued to see that both the moon’s south node and the ascendant of today’s crash were conjunct (to within a degree - in fact the ascendant is within eight minutes) of the Saturn of the 2003 crash. That puts the ascendant and the nodes within a degree of the 2003 Chiron, which was opposing Saturn at the time.

Neptune, which was in the 12th house, two minutes off the Aquarius ascendant in 2003, is within a degree of the 2003 chart ruler, Uranus. And both the moon and Chiron were in Pisces, Neptune’s sign, this morning. Uranus is now at 29 Pisces, exactly 30 degrees (again, within a degree) of his 2003 position (says something about the value of those elusive semi-sextiles, no?).

Perhaps the most telling thing, though, is according the NTSB report on the 2003 accident, the ferry was commissioned in 1981, which means that it is having it’s Saturn return.

Of course, post-hoc analysis can be rich with astrological symbolism, but it would never lead to prediction before the fact.

Today’s crash clearly echos the 2003 disaster, although thankfully it was much less severe. Saturn, Uranus, Chiron, and Neptune seem to have it in for this vessel. Or perhaps they are just testing our resolve.

yikes!

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-08T10:40:35-04:00

The stock market tumbled this week, putting some indexes in the red for the year. Why?

Well, the Euro crisis, stemming from the economic problems in Greece, the first of the PIGS to really go bust, certainly had an effect. (PIGS are Portugal, Greece, Spain... and no one seems sure which Eurozone “I” country rounds out the group... Ireland? Italy?).

But it seems possible that electronic trading programs were the culprits, at least to an extent. Click here for a New York Times article on this. No one is really sure. There seems to be some possibility that automatic programs with sophisticated algorithms may have overreacted to conditions. It is, in some ways, similar to what happened in 1988, when the stock market tumbled.

With Mercury retrograde, it sounds about right that a monkey may have gotten into the feedback loop and caused the selloff. This has been something of a bear of a retrograde, anyway. Perhaps that’s because this particular three week period is coming just before the big changes in late May and June.

But with the Messenger retrograding, we may never know.

ups and downs

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-07T07:54:39-04:00

With dear old Mercury retrograde, it is very hard to get a handle on what’s going on. That’s not unusual, as the news is often wrong at such times.

But with Uranus moving into Aries later in the month and the tension of the last quarter moon, we are getting the sense that something ought to be done. There’s been quite a bit of action over the last few days... although exactly where it is directed seems unclear.

A lot of what has been happening is clearly (well... maybe not clearly) related to last week’s Saturn-Uranus opposition, which blended the flavors of Virgo/Pisces (service, sacrifice, martyrdom) with Aries/Libra (individual, partner) into the revolutionary/conservative tussle between these two giants.

In Britain, Labor is taking a beating by the Conservatives... But of course, since Labor has been in power since the 1990s, it is hard to say who is the revolutionary and who the ‘conservative’ there.

In the U.S., two developments seemed particularly in sync with the prevailing energy.

On the one hand, the Senate prevented a Republican attack on consumer protections in a bill aimed at overhauling Wall Street (which has been turning itself inside-out all week without anyone’s help!). Click here for a story on that.

Then, in one of the most confusing “Who’s-the-Good-Guy?” moments of the week, the FCC said it would ask Congress to let it regulate broadband internet communication. Now, usually FCC regulation means restriction in content, but here, they will be in a role of protecting Net Neutrality (but what will happen to porn?). This was threatened by a Supreme Court ruling last month (check the Astroblog for the week of April 11th for details).

Broadband carriers like Verizon and cable companies would like to control the speed at which broadband works for specific sites. Site owners like Google, YouTube, and Amazon are fighting them and arguing for Net Neutrality, since they would otherwise have to pay fees in order to have their sites as high-speed access. And of course, little guys like Integral Astrology would load at the speed of dial-up.

So, the FCC and Google are in the odd role of good guy... sorta.

Anyway, we will have to wait and see. The only thing that’s clear is that nothing is too clear right now...

Si se puede

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-05-02T08:15:38-04:00

This past week has seen a focus on immigration issues, thanks to Arizona’s controversial new law. There are a couple of different astrological perspectives on this legislation. Click here for article from the Associated Press.

The timing of the law, and the reaction to it, clearly echos the Saturn-Uranus opposition on Monday the 26th. Saturn-Uranus is all about the revolutionary and rebellious in contrast to the traditional and conservative. On one level, this pits the protesters (Uranus) against the law (Saturn), while on another level it sets Arizona (Uranus) against the country as a whole (Saturn). Mostly the former, as I see it.

No matter which way you look at it, however, immigration steps in to take over where health care has apparently left off as an issue. Saturn is in Virgo, and is recalling the days of the Civil Rights and Women’s Movements (among others), back in the 1960s when Uranus and Pluto sailed through that sign.

We are also approaching the Jupiter-Saturn opposition in late May. This is a smaller cycle, which began back in 2000. At that time, you may recall, President Bush was considering immigration reform. After 9/11, the issue was obviously put on the back burner, both as a priority and because of growing suspicion of immigrants.

The opposition of any cycle is the peak, when there tends to be a realization of what the issues really are. It is at that point that the pendulum often begins swinging in the opposite direction. If that is the case, then we should see the Arizona law as provoking a change which runs counter to the law itself.

But with Saturn, Uranus and Pluto making aspects to each other for the next few years, it is doubtful that things will work out so smoothly or obviously. There are even deeper issues in the body politic, and immigration is - in a sense - just one way in which we are debating where we are going.

going rogue...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-26T21:39:07-04:00

So, i finally watched an episode of 24. The show has been on for something like seven years, and I tune in with six episodes left.

Mercury retrograde.

Anyway, two things I noticed... one, Jack has “gone rogue.” This is very Uranus-in-Aries. It’s like the pirate thing, only with principle (see March 31 and April 1 for more on this). And where do you go when you go rogue?

Off the Grid.

Getting off the grid is big stuff these days. The Simpsons went off the grid (the electric grid) yesterday. Pirates are off the grid, of course. And it is where many people will be heading, as Uranus, the planet of revolution (and eccentricities) moves into Aries.

The only question, for many people, will be “what grid were you on?”

actually,

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-24T09:48:16-04:00

With Mercury retrograde, I figure this isn’t a bad time to consider some verbal issues, so with my DSL up to something like normal speed some of the time, I thought now would be a good time. It’s actually almost a week into the retrograde period, and I am finding it to be a very tough one.

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that I was using a word - a common word - with uncommon frequency. Actually, I was using it in a variety of situations, apparently as a marker in my conversation, a way of saying “this is important.”

The thing is, although I found myself using this word with uncommon frequency, I actually started hearing others using it as well. Was this just a case of my being more sensitive and perceptive to the word, or was it actually being used more? There is probably no way to tell, but I think the word is actually being used more and more, and for the same reason that I am using it - to serve as a conversational marker. Actually, since I have become aware of it, I am trying to use it less.

Here’s another word that has emerged over the last few months: “Conventional” - with regard to produce. It seems that in places like Whole Foods, you can buy either “Organic” or “Conventionally Grown” fruits and vegetables. Dr. Andrew Weil also used this distinction in one of his recent columns, and I have seen it elsewhere as well.

It’s a funny thing, because it makes “Organic” sound so new and special. But the truth is, throughout most of human history our food was organically grown. And while there is no single marker in time when we began using pesticides and artificial fertilizers, we can say that “conventional” farming is far less than a hundred years old. As we have added in GMO foods and irradiation, “conventional” produce has become more and more unconventional.

Just a thought for Mercury retrograde.

variosity

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-22T22:21:56-04:00

Mercury retrograde is not without it’s serious side, including my DSL working at about 1/3 speed and mail missing from my inbox. The former problem (which appears to be former in the good sense as well as the sequential one) has stopped me from adding to the Astroblog for a few days. It is also causing me a devil of a time trying to make these posts look like I want them to... something somewhere is wrong and I can’t introduce paragraphs where I want them.Today is Earth Day, a holiday with a place in our consciousness about 3 quantum levels below Columbus Day and a smidgeon above Secretary’s Day (but remember, there are very few secretaries around these days). I offer a picture of a burning oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, as a reminder that a bit more attention to the environment might not be a bad idea. Or perhaps I am just in a grouchy mood (although with the moon in Leo, you’d think I’d have on my smiley face).One more little errata in this unfocused post... it seems I severely misunderestimated the effects of the Aries new moon last week (around the 14th). The moon passing over Uranus and then the sun and moon meeting in the sign which is about to receive him apparently caused more of a stir than I had imagined. No doubt that is a reflection of Uranus’ pending entry into Aries, next month.At any rate, a good number of people felt the tension. Relationship issues boiled up (logical, since Aries opposes Libra, the sign of relationship) but lots of folks had work issues. Interesting....

backpedaling

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-18T11:36:15-04:00

The volcano eruption in Iceland may have us wondering about the Plutonian forces at work, but the consequences are very Mercurial when we consider the air traffic delays across Europe (click here for the BBC story). Of course, more Mercury retrograde stuff is sure to be coming our way (or is it “becoming our way”?) At any rate, between now and May 11 (or 12, or even 15th), it would be good to back off of activities which require a lot of support from electronics.

In another Mercury-retrograde event, Apple announced that it will delay some international sales of the iPad because demand in the U.S. is so strong. So, you see, the retrograde doesn’t always work against you...

and, of course, I’m having trouble getting this post to look as I want it... so excuse the odd placement of the picture...

Mapping it out

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-17T12:52:13-04:00

I’m here in San Jose at the MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) Scientific Conference. There’s all sorts of great information available, based on good, solid studies that are taking place.

For example, there is a study showing how MDMA (Ecstasy) can be used to facilitate healing in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. Other studies are showing positive results for the use of entheogens (psychedelics) - particularly mushrooms - in patients with advanced cancer and other end-of-life conditions.

Almost a thousand people are here. It depends which way you look... sometimes it appears like any other scientific conference, with MDs and PhDs in slacks and blazers representing universities. But turn your head a bit and it can look like a Grateful Dead concert. All are welcome.

Our optimism is tempered with a bit of reserve, of course. No matter how good the studies are, and no matter how enthusiastic we are that psychedelic research is (slowly) moving forward again after almost 40 years, it’s obvious that we are long way from having these valuable substances accepted in the scientific and mainstream communities.

A plenary session with Dr. Andrew Weil yesterday afternoon brought that message home. Dr. Weil talked about how the source of research is often more important than the content. He pointed out that a general practitioner figured out that aspirin could help prevent heart attacks back in the 1950s, but it took 30 years until that idea was accepted - when more “scientific” researchers came up with the same idea.

More to come on this interesting conference in the days ahead...

the (Plutonian) week that was

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-11T09:27:52-04:00

Since Pluto’s station on Tuesday night, the Plutonian news has been pouring in...

First was the U.S. Appeals Court ruling in favor on Comcast, which said the FCC does not have the power to regulate broadband internet services. Many fear that this threatens Net Neutrality, (click here for a story on this) the principle whereby you have the same access to the Astroblog as you do to any other site. Imagine if “preferred” websites loaded 10x faster than others.

Then, Virginia’s Governor Bob McDonnell revived Confederate History Month, which USA Today called a “noxious tradition which his predecessors had dropped” (Full USA Today Story). Predictably, the Confederate History Month agenda left out slavery, that oh-so-Confederate institution which is the shame of this country. Pluto was quick to intervene, however, and McDonnell had to admit the omission.

Thai protesters were involved in the bloodiest clashes with the government in 18 years. Although there are very deep ideological differences, and so far a different modus operandi we can see in the Thai protests an echo of our own Tea Party movement. More pirates to come, I am sure.

Not one, but two United States representative were threatened for their views and votes on Health Care Reform. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Washington Senator Patty Murray were threatened by yahoos. Murray’s predator threatened to kill her, but we were not told about the nature of the threats to Pelosi. The combination of violent threats with the issue of Health Care reform melds Pluto’s station with Saturn’s retrograde into Virgo.

Unfortunately, we may be seeing more of this type of thing, as we become ever more polarized and angry. The rogue energy of Uranus in Aries suggests individuals and groups acting on their own set of rules. This isn’t the only - and certainly not the best - expression of the Uranian energy, but at the collective level it is hard to manifest things in a very evolved way. And Pluto amps up the intensity, making things worse before they get better.

There were other Plutonian events this week... the tragedy of the West Virginia mine (Pluto rules the underworld) and the Indonesian earthquake. In fact, there was a lot of Plutonian news. Take the time coming into the new moon on the 14th to set your own personal intention for the coming month. Remember to keep your own attitude as positive as possible.

crunch time

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-06T09:29:36-04:00

With today’s Pluto station at 10:33 EDT, it’s no wonder that we’re getting a steady dose of power-struggles in the news...

President Obama was talking about limiting nuclear weapons (which are, of course, Plutonian).

But the most Plutonian story, so far, has to do with Wikileaks, a sight which publishes “leaked” information. Now, leaks are Neptunian, and Neptune in the mass-media sign of Aquarius is probably the best symbol for Wikileaks overall. But Pluto brings up secret and repressed information.

Wikileaks has recently published a video which it claims shows U.S. troops killing Iraqi civilians in 2007, for example. As an additional bit of Plutonian intrigue, the U.S. intelligence has charged that Wikileaks is a threat to the U.S. military. Click here for the full story.

These Plutonian times are more intensified in the days around Pluto’s station. We will feel the same energy in our own lives. Be aware of power struggles at home and at work. Watch for deep, corroding anger. And a certain morbid fascination with death is also not too unlikely.

as if to prove my point

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-04-01T09:43:07-04:00

Just last night, I wrote here in The Astroblog that pirates would be one of the flagship symbols of Uranus in Aries (scroll down to find that post).

Then this morning I found this picture of militia members on The New York Times website. Note the skull and crossbones on his shirt. Militia’s are a kind of pirate group. Although not out for treasure, per se, they represent the same kind of rogue group mentality.

We saw and heard a lot about militia’s during the Clinton era, as they seem to surface mostly in response to Democratic administrations. Like pirates, militias are groups which operate outside of society. Although they tend to espouse some kind of philosophy or belief system, it usually comes down to a simple us-vs.-them, survival mindset, very reminiscent of scurvy buccaneers, indeed.

ahoy, matey...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-31T22:02:54-04:00

Remember... You heard the sad news here first...

As Uranus heads towards Aries, we are beginning to get a sense of what the planet will have to offer in the way of mass media, and, I am sorry to report, it looks like it’s going to be about pirates.

Yes, although they were wildly popular only a few years ago, it is all too apparent that the swarthy devils are making a comeback. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 (or is it 40?) will be coming out, the Tea Party is dressed in their finest eye patches, and the Food Network was featuring unshaven guys saying “Arrgh!” tonight.

Pirates are, of course, a respectable symbol for Uranus (the planet of independence) in Aries, the sign of the warrior. Not the best, and certainly not the “highest” symbol we could imagine, but appropriate on a mass media level. Pirates are independent warriors, for sure. And they are out for themselves, certainly a Uranus-in-Aries theme. The last time Uranus was in Aries, from 1927 to 1935 saw a spate of popular pirate films, including Treasure Island (1934) and Captain Blood (1935).

At best, Uranus in Aries represents what I like to call “creative selfishness” (you’ll be hearing a lot more about this as time goes on), the courage and the will to follow our own star, recognizing that we can’t really be there for others if we aren’t first there for ourselves. But “at best” ain’t always the order of the day, and the other side of Uranus in Aries can be plain old selfishness, the inability to give a hoot about who you hurt on your way to get what you want.

It won’t be just about pirates. You have to allow for all kinds of updated versions of the pirate theme... in outer space, futuristic wasteland cities, and so on. But pirates.

Let’s hope some of those pirates have hearts’a gold... Aarrrgghhhh....

have a cuppa?

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-26T23:11:00-04:00

With the sun/Pluto square on Thursday, the natural prediction was a power struggle, and sure enough, the Senate sent the Health Care bill back to Congress for revisions. Meanwhile, the Tea Party wants to oust Democratic lawmakers who voted for the bill, which seems to suggest that another word for Tea Party is “Republican.” Health care coverage is, of course, a “liberal” issue that was championed by such famous progressives as Kaiser Wilhelm and Richard Nixon.

Buying some wine tonight, I overhear

d a customer in conversation with the liquor store owner. They were lamenting the bill. That insurance companies cannot drop them if they get sick did not impress them, and they seemed to actually feel bad the preexisting conditions would not be quite the same problem they have been. But the customer was most worried about pharmaceutical companies, who he feared would not have enough money for research and development. Such concern was touching...

At any rate, the Tea Party is just skimming the surface of the Plutonian anger which is brewing over this and many other issues. The sun/Pluto square asked the question: Who really has the power? And the answer, on a deep level, is “no one.”

Except Pluto, of course.

sprung

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-21T11:56:30-04:00

It’s not that lots of things haven’t been happening in the last week, but I’ve had a sense that waiting until the sun was in Aries was the polite move.

Over the last ten days or so, the collective ice has been melting and things have started moving again. President Obama started pushing for Health Care again just after Mars went direct on the 10th, and the vote is probably going to be today.

As the sun clicked off his last few minutes in Pisces yesterday, the unseen were seen, as Immigration Reform and the 7th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq were protested. Pisces is often about victims, and the Pope’s apologies to victims of sexual abuse were received rather poorly, as might be expected with a Mercury-Pluto square in the sky.

On a more personal level, projects seem to be moving much easier, and a degree of optimism is in the air. That could be the balmy Spring weather, of course...

out of the sand trap

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-16T12:15:08-04:00

With Mars moving up to speed again, we are seeing things start to get moving. You can notice that many things which were put on hold back in late December are now gearing up for action. I’ve been seeing this in the personal lives of many of us, but we can also see it in the news.

For example, the somewhat bizarre Tiger Woods story broke just after Thanksgiving, and after a few weeks (Mars went retrograde on the 23rd of December), Tiger decided to take a hiatus from golf. That hiatu

s last almost exactly as long as the retrograde (Mars went direct last week, on the 10th), as he announced he will be playing in the Masters tournament.

I don’t hold out much hope for President Obama’s health care overhaul, even if they manage to get a bill passed. But what looked like a complete dead stall at the beginning of the year is certainly in action again. The bill was initially ready for a vote just around the time of the compassionate Jupiter-Neptune conjunction on December 20th, but Republicans vowed to delay the bill, and delay they did, while Mars was retrograde.

Then there is the Tea Party Movement, a nondescript group of renegades which got its kick-off while Mars was retrograde - not a good time to launch an aggressive attack on government. But yesterday they were allowed to start collecting signatures to recall a New Jersey Democratic Senator (the national office). The Constitution doesn’t provide for recall of representatives by the people (although the Senate itself can expel a member with a 2/3 vote). My guess is that the recall won’t be allowed to go through - it is a national, not a state issue. But in these Plutonian times, it isn’t a safe bet either way, regardless of Mars retrograde.

I gob a colb

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-13T09:36:13-05:00

itchy eyes, itchy ears... achy...

A lot of people just now are experiencing a minor cold-like thing, although my nephews, for whom I will babysit later today, have had a stomach virus. Why mention this in the Astroblog?

Well, Mars stationed on Wednesday, and that was what I would call the epicenter of this itsy-bitsy pandemic. Around Mars and Saturn stations, you frequently see people coming down with minor colds and such. Saturn depresses immunity and saps energy, thus allowing the germs in. Mars rules infections, which is self-explanatory.

All of which does nothing to make me feel much better. I think I will go have an Advil....

In the mean time, I have added a “Comments” option, below. Now you’ll be able to share your experiences of having a cold and such!

Venus and Pluto

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-12T07:16:12-05:00

Two very different manifestations of the Venus-Pluto square took place yesterday, with women squaring off against the powers-that-be.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was criticized by China (which is kind of a badge of honor) for remarking about the “many brave Tibetans who have sacrificed their lives fighting for freedom.” The Chinese think that Pelosi ought to keep quiet about their “internal affairs.” It’s kind of like a female Davey up against a very weird Goliath.

But it didn’t make big news even in the realm of U.S.-China relations, which was sparked up in the midst of the tense Mars station. That’s because the U.S. listed China up there with North Korea and other human-rights violators. China shot back that the U.S. has a terrible human rights record itself.

The Chinese did mention our world-leading domestic incarceration rate, but they put their focus on the sub-prime lending debacle and the ensuing economic problems for the world economy. Apparently making bad loans is not only bad business according to the Chinese, it is a human rights violation on par with the Chinese’ own practices of executing people (for all kinds of things) and harvesting their organs for sale while the victims are still alive.

The other Venus-Pluto manifestation that I caught was the bizarre story of “Jihad Jane,” a Pennsylvania suburbanite with no apparent religious leanings, who began making friends (and plans with friends) on the internet. Just plain weird...

Rarin' to go...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-07T11:26:14-05:00

You may have noticed over the last few days how... energized, you’ve been feeling. There’s a desire to get projects off the ground and moving forward. Ideas are flowing fast and furious, and you’re ready to go.

Problem is, our enthusiasm isn’t being matched by the world. You put it out there, all right, but it’s hard for the flame to catch.

This is a good example of how retrograde planets work. When a planet is retrograde, we feel its energy intensely, but in a more inner way. That is, we recognize and are moved by the energy of the planet in a more conscious way, but we find it hard to act on that energy.

Mars is slowing down... really slow, in fact... and he’s stopping on Wednesday. Mars rules drive and ambition of all kinds, and assertiveness and even aggression. So, with Mars retrograde - and especially right now before the station - we feel the impulse to go forward very strongly, but getting things moving is somewhat difficult.

The moon is waning, with the new moon on the 15th, and that also slows down the energy. And the sun is in Pisces, the “last” sign of zodiacal calendar. So things should pick up over the next few weeks, as Mars goes direct, the moon begins growing and the sun enters Aries.

President Obama’s “last push” for health care reform is perhaps symptomatic of Mars retrograde. He really wants to get the thing passed, and he feels energized and ready to fight for it. Obama even joked that the fight for health care reform has contributed to his elevated cholesterol, a symbolic “blocking of the arteries” and an impediment to the free flow of blood (which is ruled by Mars, particularly when it is “boiling”).

As for the rest of us, it’s a similar situation. Revved up and rarin’ to go... but too much traffic to really hit the accelerator....

Venus in Aries

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-03-06T12:44:19-05:00

This past week, as Venus met up with Uranus on the 3rd and as she prepares to move into Aries on the 7th, a wave of news has been generated about women in the U.S. military. And the news is hardly good...

Time magazine reported on Captain Holly Graf of the Navy, referring to her as a Captain Bligh who was known for her cruelty and demeaning attitude towards those in her command. She was relieved of duty, a story which broke on the day that Venus conjuncted Uranus.

But before we judge Captain Graf too harshly, we might look to a story which is posted as March 8th on the Time website. This story is about women in the military and the great risk of sexual assault that they face, particularly those who are serving in Iraq. Venus of course represents women, and Aries is the sign of Mars, the Warrior, so the story will be “official” on Monday when Venus is in Aries. But it is posted now, when Venus is still in Pisces.

Venus in Pisces is often associated with a compassionate, caring attitude, one of universal love. But the shadow side of Pisces is victimhood, and it is apparent that women in the military are being victimized - by their fellow soldiers - at a horrifying rate. So perhaps we can understand why Captain Graf acted the way she did.

do what i say, not what i do...

Armand@integralastrology.net — 2010-02-27T11:25:14-05:00

So, as we are about to enter March, my frustration with Apple’s iWeb application led me to find a new program for web construction, Rapidweaver. I hope you like the new look of the site.

Of course, I did this on the 26th and 27th, and these were exactly the days I cautioned would be something like a mini Mercury retrograde.
Huh.

Well, we’ll see what happens.

Oh, and you may have noticed I’m using the European date format...

In concert with the spirit of the day, the Daily News charged New York Governor David Paterson with “playing fast and loose with the facts.” Well, yeah. What else do you do when Mercury and Neptune get together?

But the BEST was the story which CNN and local Channel 12 “broke” about the 140 year old “original” hot dog at Coney Island. Too funny. But it’s great to see that the spirit of P.T. Barnum lives on.