Opdagelsen og udnyttelsen af olie i 18-hundredetallet gjorde hvalerne aldeles lykkelige. Indtil da var det hvalolien, som var den største kilde til belysning og til en vis grad til madlavning. Men da petroleum blev udviklet, forsvandt grundlaget for hvalindustrien – heldigvis for hvalerne. …Read More
Under et ophold i et meditationscenter og tilbagetrækningssted for mange år siden, lavede jeg horoskoper for fire personer, som skulle have lidt underholdning i løbet af deres månedlange ophold på stedet. Til min forbløffelse havde de allesammen en Mars/Venus konjunktion. Hos de to af dem befandt konjunktionen sig i 8. hus, og de havde aflagt et cølibat løfte. Og jeg undrede mig over, hvad Mars/Venus havde med åndelig udvikling og seksuel tilbageholdenhed at gøre?
Ikke særlig meget. I virkeligheden var parforhold så vanskeligt et område for disse mennesker, at de fandt det nemmere at trække sig tilbage fra social interaktion og hengive sig til bearbejdelsen af de indre guddomme og dæmoner. En Mars/Venus konjunktion er en ganske god motor, hvis man skal konfrontere sit begær. Disse to planeter har absolut intet tilfælles; det er biologi, der bringer dem sammen, og biologi er meget svært at styre.
Planeter i sig selv er ren energi, og det er, når denne energi kanaliseres gennem mennesket, at mennesket begynder at tildele dem forskellige betegnelser såvel som tiltrækning, drivkraft m.m. Den rene energi bliver omsat til behov og drifter hos individet, og manifesterer sig i en psykologisk betonet adfærd. Denne adfærd har konsekvenser, og disse konsekvenser bliver til de faktiske omstændigheder, der kendetegner individets liv.
Venus er en massiv og gennemtrængende tiltrækningskraft, som virker på et molekylært niveau og derved er en skabelon for de former, vi ser i naturen. Et magnetfelt er et godt eksempel – det har en naturlig harmoni, som er usynlig, men kan ses hvis man drysser jern støv omkring magneten. Det er en karakteristika af Venus, at den opleves af mennesket som smuk og harmonisk. Individets evne til at opfatte denne harmoni er præget af Venus’ position, tegn og aspekter. Således er vi allesammen tiltrukket af skønhed, men opfatter skønhed meget forskelligt. Vi udvikler vores egne unikke smag, og forelsker os i mennesker og ting, som på forunderlig vis er i samklang med denne smag. Denne tiltrækning er hinsides al logik og fornuft – ingen Merkur på spil her – og det sker på et næsten biologisk plan.
På den anden side af jorden repræsenterer Mars en ydre drift mere end en indre tilstand. Denne ur-drift har med overlevelse at gøre, og overlevelse har med forplantning at gøre. Mars viser, hvor vi satser for at sejre, og Mars i horoskopet afspejler, hvordan vi manifesterer denne energi og på hvilket område. Mars er primitiv, og under overfladen er vi også primitive – noget der tydelig kommer til syne, når vi går i krig. Civilisation bestræber sig på at beherske denne farlige energi, og når det lykkes, bliver Mars et nyttigt redskab fremfor et våben. Mars’ omløb minder meget om et skjold, hvilket er et fint symbol for planeten, når energien er anvendt rigtigt – der er godt at kunne forsvare sig.
Det er i sagens natur, at Venus indhenter Mars i sit omløb rundt om solen, og det sker i et mønster, hvor en serie konjunktioner falder i et tegn i den ene halvdel af dyrekredsen for at blive afløst af en serie i den modsatte halvdel. Således var den sidste konjunktion på 16 grader Skorpion i december 2004, og den næste bliver på 1 grad Skorpion den 25. oktober 2006… konjunktioner ”falder” 15 grader bagud hver 21 måneder. Når Venus møder Mars starter en 1¾ års cyklus, som er en del af en 3½ år dobbelt-cyklus med eftertryk på et bestemt tegn, og i øjeblikket er det Skorpionen. Mere om det senere.
Er man født med spændingsaspekter mellem Mars og Venus er udfordringen at integrere disse helt forskellige energier, og det er ikke en nem sag. Mars’ primitive energier er meget forstyrrende for det indre behov for harmoni, som Venus repræsenterer. Når Venus møder samklang med et ydre objekt, og en tiltrækning opstår, tilskyndes Mars til at handle, og denne handling kan være mere grov eller begærlig, end man egentlig ønsker. Der sendes for stærke signaler. Balancen bliver forstyrret hver gang. Er Venus og Mars i opposition, vil man have en tendens til at projicere den ene eller anden drift på det modsatte køn. Er der en kvadrat er det endnu vanskeligere at integrere de to drifter, som på almindeligt sprog hedder kærlighed (tiltrækning) og begær (forplantning).
Hvis man er født med konjunktionen, er alle relationer præget af en opvejning af, om man skal være harmonisøgende eller villig til at tage en konflikt. Man vil opleve samspillet mellem forældrene som præget af dette dilemma, og der vil faktisk være en større konflikt, som afspejler tegnpositionen. For eksempel, er Mars/Venus i Skytten (1997 & 1995, 1965 & 1963) vil der være emner omkring retfærdighed, retsager, rejser og udlandet, der splitter familien. Arrene fra disse oplevelser vil derefter præge ethvert forhold, og konsekvensen vil for eksempel være, at man diskuterer indædt, hvem der har ret, eller at man er voldsomt uenig med hensyn til tro og principper.
På det erotiske område, vil det heller ikke gå stille af, fordi det er en kønsmæssig forvirring, idet manden vil har en tendens til at være feminiseret, mens kvinden vil agere for maskulint i forhold til gældende normer. At finde balancen er livets store udfordring. Hvornår skal man tage initiativet, og hvornår skal man være passiv? Hvornår skal man glide af, og hvornår skal man tage kampen op? Når balancen findes, har vedkommende en vældig energi, som kommer til udtryk i kreative udfoldelser. Dronning Margrethe, med hendes Mars/Venus i Tvilling er for eksempel et multitalent, som oversætter, illustrerer og kreerer konstant. For at finde denne balance gælder det om at tæmme Mars – begæret – men ikke stække den.
Den kommende Venus/Mars konjunktion i Skorpionen den 25. oktober er helt unikt, fordi det sker i konjunktion med Solen, og begge planeter er derfor “forbrændte”… det vil sige, at der er en orkanagtig energi omkring forløbet. Sagen er, at Venus/Mars konjunktionen vil finde sted sammen med Solen hver 32 år. Det afspejles i vores liv i 32 års alderen, ved at Mars og Venus kommer tilbage til deres oprindelige positioner. Derfor er 32-års alderen altid markant i forbindelse med at nulstille vores personlige relationer for at mærke efter, hvad vi ønsker i parforhold, vores erotiske liv og vores kreative udfoldelser.
Den 32-årige Sol/Mars/Venus konjunktion finder sted i samme tegn hver gang, men flytter sig forlæns 3 grader hver gang. I 320 år – siden 1686 – er det sket i Vægtens tegn, hvilket har været ganske godt for Venus, men knap så godt for Mars. Men i år skifter det altså til Skorpionen, hvor den så vil være indtil 2326. Måske har dette eftertryk i Vægt været medvirkende til en ny æstetik, og en afbalancering af kønsroller i de sidste tre århundreder. Og måske vil den næste epoke vise en meget større fokus på død og seksualitet, og en fascination af psykologiske og okkulte interesser, som udforsker disse hemmelige områder. Det er dog sandsynligt, at kvinder (Venus i Skorpionen) vil føle mere fremmedgørelse på dette område end mænd.
I mellemtiden er det nærliggende at undersøge, hvordan tingene vil udvikle sig i oktober. Storkonjunktionen vil i hvert fald have megen relevans for folk med vigtige planeter i Skorpion. Set fra et horar synspunkt vil det vise radikalt ændrede parforhold, specielt fordi Venus går fra værdighed til eksil, mens Mars går fra eksil til værdighed, idet Mars hersker traditionelt over Skorpionen.
Se horoskopet: 25.10. 2006 kl. 0 Vædder horoskop
Det er storkrisernes tid, når konjunktionen opstår, fordi på dette tidspunkt vil være op til seks planeter i Skorpionens tegn – Solen, Månen, Merkur, Venus, Mars og Jupiter… alle de synlige planeter på linie med undtagelsen af Saturn. Det første, man tænker på i denne forbindelse, er en økonomisk krise forårsaget af gæld og en stramning fra bankernes side. Det er nu, at Saturn/Neptun konjunktionen for alvor aktiveres, og det bliver svært at rette op på noget, der begynder at skride. Det er her ethvert økonomisk korthus falder sammen. Det, der falder er stort, og det falder med et øredøvende brag. (Islandske investorer i Danmark, huspriser, Google, karteller, mastodonter.)
For det andet er der tegn på et magtspil, hvor de største brikker flyttes i hemmelighed. Næsten alt, der foregår på det politiske plan, vil blive fordækt – det er sikkert – og når Mars på 25 Skorpion danner en kvadrat til Saturn på 25 Løve vil der være et voldsomt og uhyggeligt pres. Denne kvadrat har en morderisk karakter. Der er sket mange uheldige ting, når der har været en ophobning af planeter i Skorpionens tegn – blandt andet myrderierne i Rwanda, og Estonias forlis.
Set positivt, er det en tid, hvor Venus, Jupiter og Solen også kommer i konjunktion – det sker i midten af November på 27-28 Skorpion – og traditionelt varsler kombinationer af disse tre planeter fred og forsoning. Derfor midt i mørket og det uhyggelige pres, kan der forekomme muligheder for at bilægge stridigheder. Der er en meget stor sandsynlighed, af de mørke skygger forsvinder med ét, når Jupiter og alle de andre planeter kommer ind i Skyttens tegn i november.
På det personlige plan, vil forholdet mellem mand og kvinde kom ind i en tilsyneladende håbløs og uløselig situation, hvor manden vil have en tendens til at være hård, ultimativ og uden forsonende træk, mens kvinden giver køb på sin værdighed for at overleve. Det er i november, at den tredje og sidste Jupiter/Saturn kvadrat finder sted, og når Venus danner aspekter til disse to vil hun – kvinden i øjeblikshoroskopet – tvinges til at acceptere meget hårde vilkår. Hvor bliver hun glad for at komme ind i Skytten den 17. november.
Fordi storkonjunktionen mellem Sol, Venus og Mars sker med det epokegørende 320-arige skift fra Vægt til Skorpionen, vil der forekomme ting, som synes at være unaturlige eller imod naturens orden. Det vil være imod den traditionelle kulturelle opfattelse af, hvad er fair og balanceret. Magt har ret, og spillereglerne ændrer sig. Man skal faktisk over 3500 tilbage for at opleve en lignende storkonjunktion i Skorpion. Men dette skift er selvfølgelig noget, som kun kan mærkes i det store historiske perspektiv.
It should be simple really. We are born completely defenseless and totally dependant on a woman, who dedicates herself more or less completely to our well being, and without whom we would not survive. For the mother we are probably the most precious thing to have ever happened, and she would not hesitate to give her life for us. We hang on to the mother, and are desperate when she disappears from sight. We rule with our screams of displeasure, and demand to have top priority, which 99% of the time we get. We are fed, bathed, smiled at and pampered with gifts – the center of a hive of activity like a queen bee.
Perhaps it is the psychologists who spoiled the picture. For instead of eternal gratefulness, we have managed to identify the mother and father as precisely those people who have thoroughly messed up our lives. Eminem expresses the zeitgeist of the times – albeit in extreme form – with his dismissal of both his parents.
See chart: Eminem, 17th October 1972, Kansas City, Missouri. Time unknown
His Sun and Moon configure with the Saturn/Uranus trine of the time to make a grand trine which was obviously anything but harmonious. Uranus has an agenda with Saturn, and it is not intended to be a traditional parental scene. Eminem – or rather Marshall Mathers (the two “m”s) – was brought up in a mobile home, and expresses it thus:
“I was a baby, maybe I was just a couple of months,
my faggot father must have had his panties up in a bunch,
cause he split,
I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye,
no I don’t on second thought, I just fuckin’ wished he would die…”
So no father at home, then. Which seems to have made Marshall a little angry, with his Mars at the midpoint of and conjoining Uranus/Pluto in Libra. His Sun also conjoins Uranus and is square the Nodes, which might account for the sudden disappearance of the father, who was just 20 when Eminem was born.
His mother obviously struggled to eek out an existence, travelling from trailer park to trailer park. Eminem wants you to see it from his point of view:
“put yourself in my position,
just try to envision witnessin’ your Mama poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen,
bitchin’ that someone’s always goin’ through her purse and shits missin’,
going through public housing systems, victim of Munchausen’s syndrome…”
Great lyrics, fantastic rhythm – love the song, which is “Cleaning out my closet” from “The Eminem Show” CD. His mother actually sued him for $12 million because he portrayed her as an unstable drug user. She was awarded just $25,000. He probably was a little miffed because of the court case, but it is not like he did not have the money. No stranger to court cases he actually won custody of his daughter from mother Kim, and she now lives with him. Hope he does a good job.
Psychology gets stranded on an uncomfortable premise: that we are formed by nurture rather than nature. In other words the formative influences of the environment after birth – particularly the parents – create the framework of our character. Other psychological views take into account the period of pregnancy. On a scientific level genetics are enrolled as an explanation of family trends and disposition prior to conception, but not behavior. This puts our parents in the firing line.
Astrology of course does not see things like that at all, but recent trends in psychological astrology have tended to enable a transfer of responsibility to the parents rather than the child. It is very disempowering for the person who does this, and can result in misplaced attempts to confront parents with all the things that they did wrong, as if this would change anything. I recall once attending a Buddhist event, where the religious teacher had to deal with a question from a woman in the audience about how she should forgive her mother. First of all the teacher couldn’t understand the question, and it had to be translated several times for him. He finally got it, and chuckled uncontrollably. He pointed out that the need to forgive the mother never occurred in Tibet, where she is the symbol of a beneficent world, love and compassion, and used as such in meditation.
A more empowering view is the idea of attraction, when the disincarnate soul is drawn to the future parents as they have sex, suddenly getting captured into a physical body to begin again the endless cycle of death and rebirth. The bond with the future parents constitutes an irresistible attraction because of many lifetimes of interaction with them, where the roles, according to Buddhism, are often reversed. The soul has already at this point gravitated to what will be the perfect environment for both future development and growth and the settling of old issues. Take note, Marshall.
Armed with this information, the individuals can no longer see themselves as victims of circumstances, but as major protagonists who have a proactive role in shaping their fate. Here lies the key to empowerment, and also the answer to the forgiveness question, which is neither appropriate nor helpful.
Relations with the mother and father are to a large extent related to the Moon and Sun in the horoscope and the major aspects to them. These heavenly bodies represent the filters through which we view our parents, and through which are parents are forced to interact with us. There are two different areas of this interaction, and we are responsible for both. Firstly we may literally have parents that do not treat us well, (though they have given us precious life); here the responsibility is connected with actions in previous existences. Secondly we can make it impossible for parents to interact with us in any other way than our filter dictates. Both cases give access to therapeutic interventions, which may resolve some existential, emotional and identity problems.
Take a child with a Moon/Saturn aspect. The story is often that the mother appeared not to give unconditional love and security. The child grows up early, maybe even feels that it has to take responsibility for the mother in an unhealthy role reversal. There is a deep and unfulfilled hunger for emotional succor. But what is the mother’s story? Perhaps she had to work all hours to support her child and simply did not have any emotional resources left. Perhaps she did try to hug and cuddle the child, but from day one the child mysteriously rebuffed advances. Perhaps early health issues created a situation where the child simply could not be comforted, and this affected the whole future bond. Perhaps the mother was too young to be responsible, or too old to be an enthusiastic mother. Perhaps no one could get through the inherited emotional armor the child brought into this life.
The aspects of Eminem’s Moon to Uranus on one side – trailer park boy – and Saturn on the other actually perfectly reflect the struggle to provide a home in a gypsy-like existence. Moreover, without this upbringing Marshall Mathers would never have been able to reach out to the collective and speak to them:
“I never would have dreamed in a million years I’d see,
so many motherfuckin people who feel like me.
Who share the same views and the same exact beliefs
it’s like a fucking army marchin in back of me.”
Which brings the possibility of a reframe that puts the whole experience of childhood in a different light. Would Eminem have preferred to have been brought up in suburbia and never have reached so many people? This is a question that can be put to everyone with a difficult Saturn aspect – what have they gained through the struggle that they would not be without today?
Every difficult aspect to the Sun and Moon has a disempowering story regarding the parents, and an empowering one. If you take the Sun in Libra conjoining Uranus and squaring the nodal axis in Cancer/Capricorn, this may show a young father – a teenager in this case – fathering a child and suddenly disappearing. No role model here, just a childhood with father figures who come and go as the mother turns her attention to different men. With no male hero to identify with, Marshall Mathers developed an extreme individuality, and he touched the latent extremism in the world’s youth with his wicked rhymes (Mercury in Scorpio). Having a father figure to guide and discipline him would simply not have equipped him for a destiny in which he excoriates all father figures – not least major American politicians and their wives.
Dealing with a client who has a problem with a parent, it works to take a deeper look at the habit of blame, and to replace it with the attitude of personal responsibility. Blame leads nowhere helpful. There is no dignity in it. A woman with a Sun/Pluto aspect may find that the father was remote, or dictatorial, or hidden behind the mask of a newspaper. This person can back up the experience with anecdotes, memories and anything else that will enroll the listener in a view that depicts the father as perpetrator and the person as victim.
Here is another view of this aspect: the father had to work nights in the first year of the childhood. When he tried to relate to the Sun/Pluto child, it was the child who had already performed the emotional amputation, groomed by lifetimes of experiences of trauma and loss of male role models. The residual pain – the abyss in the heart – was activated by the early disappearance of the new father. The only known survival mechanism was pretending the father did not exist. The father wants closeness – even behind the pages of the newspaper – but it is denied. Later in life the young woman is equally unforgiving of men who appear to reject her, overreacts and drops potential male partners before they can hurt her.
In actual fact the woman herself is the architect of her fate, and herein lies a message of hope. Things that are done can be undone. The motivating energy for the survival mechanism of amputation lies in a core of anxiety within. The person must get into touch with this core energy, if behavioral patterns are to be changed.
Psychotherapy can be very cathartic in resolving these issues – indeed there are hardly any other tools to this job. It is natural to go through a process of projection and blame in relation to parents. And some parents have really harmed their children, for example through physical or psychological violence or sexual abuse. No catharsis will be achieved without reliving in full intensity the emotional pain suffered as a child, and this necessitates remembering the anger, hatred or pain. But once these emotions have been burned in the crucible of consciousness, then it serves no further purpose to project the negative emotions any longer.
There are universal spiritual values that go beyond psychotherapeutic tools. Whilst it is tempting to see the experience with the parent as the prime cause of subsequent behavior, the core energy existed before the parental abuse, and was only triggered by it. The individual carries the imprint of the events within at birth, and it is clearly visible in the horoscope.
A therapeutic intervention that takes this into account would use the remembered experience with the parent as the tool for accessing the deeper energy of the astrological pattern that primed the child to have the experience.
For example, a client with a Moon/Pluto square might have experienced a complete alienation from the mother. Tracing this alienation to its apparent source, the client will perhaps recall occasions when the mother froze her out as a form of punishment – acting as if the young child was invisible. The resultant emotional state would have been one of loneliness and dislocation, a sense of non-existence, a feeling of being deprived of the means of survival from the very person who was supposed to ensure ones survival. Only by revisiting this state can some kind of catharsis be achieved that can change grown-up behavioral patterns, and psychotherapy is needed to do this.
However the root energy will be felt in the body – this is the core Moon/Pluto energy which is neither good nor bad in its essence, and it existed at birth before the mother exhibited damaging behavior. The client can be guided into this body experience; perhaps it is felt as a vacuum in the stomach or solar plexus area, or as a knot or pressure. This root physical experience is what gets triggered by events in the outer world, but in childhood and today. By identifying the trigger it is possible to reprogram reactions to it, and thereby get more empowering results in life.
Today society is storing up plenty of material for future generations of children to react to, as work trends involve both parents in the market place from the early hours of the morning, leaving the bringing up of children to state institutions. Guilty parents make up by showering gifts on their neglected children, who are left to the TV and computer screen to form their views of society. It seems almost as if society and the media are supplanting parents as the primary formative influences. We will probably still blame the parents though, until we grow up, earn money, buy all those desirable items, and have children of our own.
Adrian Ross Duncan 18th October, 2006
| Writing sun signs is one of the underrated skills in astrology, and those that have success at it are either very skilled astrologers, or extremely good at hitting the nerve of their readers. Normally both. Famous sun sign astrologers become icons for millions, and these icons can earn a lot of money. One of the most famous in the UK is Jonathan Cainer, who earns well over two million dollars a year from the newspaper who employs him, and the telephone lines to which customers subsequently ring for more information.Understanding the basics of astrology and writing very well are the two prerequisites for success in the field of sun sign astrology, but in this article I will just deal with the first. The basic technique is simply to make an equal house horoscope for each sign, and study the subsequent house placements and aspects of the Sun, Moon and planets. For example all Leos will currently have Saturn in their solar first house of Leo, and Neptune in their solar 7th house of Aquarius, and therefore partnerships will be profoundly affected by the Saturn/Neptune opposition that occurs three times, in August 2006, February 2007 and June 2007.
The Saturn/Neptune opposition last occurred in 1972, so it is a major long-term trend that tends to undermine all forms of structures, bringing an element of chaos and material difficulty. On a high level, it replaces material values with spiritual, and generally it brings sacrifice and loss. A further complication in 2006 is that Jupiter squares both planets from Scorpio, making a fixed T-square of great power. This puts the focus on the difficulties of expansion, and – because Jupiter is in Scorpio – the likelihood of hidden manipulative forces where there are elements of secrecy or even corruption. This T-square culminates in September and October, which is the time when political and economic difficulties will evoke a lot of frustration and despair. Fortunately, Jupiter moves on into Sagittarius in November 2006, and already in the spring of 2007 it makes a long trine to Saturn, and thereby also resolves many of the difficulties that occurred earlier, and in particular it makes the Saturn/Neptune opposition much easier to deal with. With this in mind, let’s look at how each of the 12 signs will resolve the challenges which they are facing now. Aries The Saturn/Neptune opposition falls from the 5th to 11th house for Aries, and this shows challenges connected with children, self-projection and creativity. Socially there are circumstances out of Aries’ control, which simply must be accepted. There can be a responsibility for a friend or group, which is difficult to shoulder, or simply a sense of social isolation. The square from Jupiter in Scorpio in the 8th can show compromising economic or sexual factors. This is no time to have a love affair! When Jupiter moves into the 9th, creative blocks are removed and there is a renewed faith in what the future can bring. Difficulties with children and lovers are resolved. Taurus For Taurus the Saturn/Neptune opposition falls from the 4th to the 10th house, showing factors that undermine basic structural systems in life, like the family and the profession. There may be special responsibilities towards parents to be shouldered, or domestic sacrifices to be made. The square from Jupiter in Scorpio in the 7th indicates a deadlock in relations with others, and a total lack of compromise from someone who is not prepared to budge. When Jupiter moves into Sagittarius, the powers that be will be more willing to compromise, and there will at last be both emotional and financial flexibility. This is a time when money becomes available after a period of drought. Gemini In this case the Saturn/Neptune opposition falls from the 3rd to the 9th house, which indicates that there are troubles in the all-important area of communication, travel and education. Doubts regarding education processes can undermine the sense of direction. Sibling problems will seem impossible to resolve. Separations by distance will evoke sadness. The square from Jupiter in the solar 6th house brings ideological confrontation and power battles at work. Very few agreements can be reached at this time. However, when Jupiter moves into the solar 7th, strong partners will be a source of inspiration and provide the encouragement to resolve doubts and disagreements. Everything will be seen in a positive light instead of a negative. Cancer The Saturn/Neptune opposition in this case falls from the 2nd to the 8th house, undermining both the economy and self-worth of the Cancer, and creating a difficult material situation which no amount of hard work can seem to resolve. It is unlikely that banks or other institutions will help, leading to many worries both materially and emotionally. The square from Jupiter in the solar 5th suggests that children, love affairs or failed creative projects may be a black hole that sucks away the resources. When Jupiter moves into Sagittarius, trining Saturn in the Spring of 2007, these matters can again be resolved because of new and beneficial circumstances in the working environment, and perhaps connections with abroad that improve the economy in some way. Leo With Saturn in this sign, and opposing Neptune in Leo’s 7th house of partnerships, this sign has been feeling the pressure – both in the personal life and relationships – for some time. Self-doubt and a sense of confusion about the life direction has dampened the irrepressible boisterousness of Leo, and a sense of having little control in the development of relationships may give a certain feeling of helplessness. The square from Jupiter in the solar 4th indicates that there is both domestic expansion, but that this does not harmonize with personal and relationship needs. When Jupiter moves into Sagittarius there is a radical change of mood with a creative boost and far better conditions for children, creativity and love. Virgo With Saturn in Virgo’s solar 12th house, Virgos generally are in a withdrawn phase of their life, and the loneliness is increased by the opposition to Neptune in the 6th. Either there are issues at work that create a degree of dissatisfaction and isolation, or the actual daily life is simply difficult to get through, whilst health may also be an issue. The square from Jupiter in the 3rd may be good for the spiritual knowledge that blossoms through isolation, and there can be excellent conditions for psychological insight, but there may also be troubling themes connected with communication, both as regards family and work. Then Jupiter enters Sagittarius and the solar 4th, then far greater satisfaction is felt, and there should be fortunate domestic circumstances and a happier partner. Libra Saturn in Libra’s solar 11th house shows current difficulties in social relationships, as well as pressure caused by lack of economic resources for professional expansion. The opposition to Neptune may show a long-term challenge connected to a particular friend in need of solace. There may also be a dilemma connected with children that has no easy solution, perhaps because a child is in an unhappy environment. Jupiter in the solar 2nd shows expenses connected with these issues that can drain the economy unless there is considerable restraint. Unnecessary expenditure on prestige items is not the way to go! When Jupiter enters Sagittarius, many of the social difficulties evaporate, and there is a far more outgoing style. This is a time when then can be creative breakthroughs. Scorpio With the Saturn/Neptune opposition falling from the 10th to the 4th houses, this is a time of professional power play that absorbs a lot of energy, undermining domestic happiness, as well as making it difficult to advance professionally. The square to Jupiter in Scorpio shows an internalized psychological struggle which is in desperate need of catharsis. Scorpio’s need for personal expansion is prevented by the situation at home and at work. When Jupiter moves into Sagittarius, the professional blockages are removed, and perhaps some kind of promotion or economic boost will happen. At home, new creative possibilities arise. Sagittarius Jupiter as ruler of Sagittarius is placed in the solar 12th house in this period, bringing an uncharacteristically introverted and even rather sorrowful year until November 2007 in which there can be a lot of self-doubt and broodiness. With the Saturn/Neptune opposition from the 9th to 3rd houses, there is likely to be a conflict of views and opinions with important people which even a Sagittarius cannot handle, which may be a contributing factor to a self-chosen isolation. Travel and education are particularly badly affected by long-term factors that are hard to solve. However the entry of Jupiter into Sagittarius radically changes everything, and there is an emergence of optimism and hope. In 2007 it will be possible to harvest really positive results after the struggles of the previous year. Capricorn Saturn in Capricorn’s solar 8th house has brought a period of anxiety for Capricorns, making them particularly sensitive about threats to their status. With Neptune in the 2nd house, the inability to establish a reliable economic framework gives the sense that hard-won professional gains can be swept away by fate. On an emotional level too there is little security as Capricorn is confronted with sexual insecurity, and feels very dependent on the partner. With Jupiter in the solar 11th, there can also be difficult issues with friends that may well have an effect on the economy. This whole T-square in fixed signs may well indicate large scale corruption too. The movement of Jupiter into Sagittarius brings a more philosophical approach to the things Capricorn has no control over, and brings the chance of much greater psychological and spiritual insight. Aquarius Neptune in Aquarius’ first house has brought many changes in life quality in recent years and a new creative approach. However the opposition of Saturn in 2006 and 2007 from the solar 7th house shows that Aquarius is compromised by relationships, and somewhat a prisoner of circumstances. This necessitates taking a low profile in relation to others, in effect putting them first. With Jupiter in Scorpio squaring the opposition from the solar 10th, there can be professional expansion, but personal circumstances make it difficult to take advantage of the opportunities. However, when Jupiter moves into the solar 11th house, a far more favorable situation arises, and Aquarius can take full advantage of the expansion of the social sphere that will result. This brings much greater optimism and better circumstances for partnership. Pisces Perhaps Pisces gets through the Saturn/Neptune opposition better than many. Pisces can feel quite comfortable with Neptune in the solar 12th, and the current position of Uranus in the1st trine Jupiter in the 9th brings a dramatic opening of horizons with many travel opportunities. The Saturn/Neptune opposition is an irritation factor because of the gnawing demands of working life, and Pisces will have some difficulty accepting the daily grind when there are so many more exciting perspectives. So there is trouble at work, and these demands put the brakes in many of the hopes and dreams that Pisces has. When Jupiter comes into Sagittarius and the solar 10th house the opportunity comes to translate ideas into achievement. This is the time to get down to work and make dreams into reality. It is a fortunate thing that the Saturn/Neptune opposition, which starts with a difficult aspect to Jupiter, ends with a positive aspect to an empowered Jupiter in Sagittarius. Politically this has led to a stalemate situation in most areas. The US is mired in Iraq and President Bush is beleaguered. The EU has agreed not to do anything about its political structure, and there is an ingrained resistance to allowing new countries to join. All this will change when Jupiter comes out of the T-square. There will be a new optimism and steps will be taken to expand the EU. Whilst there is no getting away from the troubles of the Saturn/Neptune opposition, for example high prices and the undermining of executive powers, the strong Jupiter will bring hope and a spirit of optimism. Adrian Ross Duncan 20th June 2006 |
| There must be a lot of people with planets in the last 5 degrees of mutable signs who are mightily relieved. Just as Pluto was about to give them some heavy treatment, a bunch of astronomers in Prague stripped it of its planet status, and reduced it to a dwarf. A friend with Moon 27 Sagittarius was on the phone immediately. Now he would not have to move, his family life would not experience meltdown, demons would not arise from the depth of his unconscious and torment him. Pluto, now just a spherical block of ice like so many more in the Kuyper Belt, had just been awarded the same status as the asteroid Ceres, and the next dwarf planet out there, Xena (note 1), which is in fact larger than Pluto.This demotion of a planet is not new. Ceres was discovered in 1801 and was awarded the status of a planet, but as many more asteroids started to be located, then it was demoted again. New astronomical advances have similarly shown many large objects beyond Pluto, and scientists began questioning whether Pluto, which is minute in relation to the gas giants Uranus and Neptune, should really be a planet.
It is relevant to ask: how is Pluto taking all this? The answer is – not very well at all. The evidence of Pluto’s discomfort could be found not far from Prague – in Vienna. On the day before the decision about Pluto’s status was made, Natascha Kampusch escaped from an underground dungeon concealed in the garage of one Wolfgang Priklopil. Kidnapped by this wolfish man at the age of 10, she had been kept as his slave for 8 years. Distracted by his cell phone whilst Natascha was vacuuming his car, he failed to see her make her escape. And when he realized she had done so, he took his black BMW to the nearest railway line, and threw himself under a train. The story of this abduction and escape riveted Austria, Europe and indeed the world. It had all the elements of a fairy tale. Like Little Red Riding Hood, the girl was wearing a red outfit when dragged off. She dreamed of chopping the Priklopil’s head off with an axe. Wolfgang. But it is of course the mythological symbolism that catches the astrologer’s eye. Just as Pluto ripped Persephone from Demeter’s arms and dragged her into the Underworld, Priklopil dragged Natascha off to his dungeon. She was there for a Venus cycle – the 8 years it takes for Venus to return to its exact phase in relation to the Earth. On her return to the surface, Pluto’s status was diminished, but Demeters’ – Ceres – status was advanced. So, yes, Pluto experienced some discomfort. But not enough for my friend with the moon at 27 Sagittarius to start celebrating. It’s an odd thing, but Austrian newspapers at the time triumphantly showed pictures of the passports of both the victim and the perpetrator, and armed with a magnifying glass it was relatively easy to see both their birth dates. A study of the solar horoscopes for them both reveals fascinating information. See chart: Natascha Kampusch: 17 Feb 1988 Vienna. 0 Aquarius AS/Equal House Natascha was born around the New Moon in Aquarius with the Sun sextile a Mars/Jupiter trine in fire signs and Venus in Aries. No victim here but a fighter and a winner. As she herself put it in her first address to the media: “He was not my master. I was just as strong… he took on the wrong one (person) — and he and I both knew that.” Obviously having someone like Priklopil as your only companion for 8 formative years is going to mess up relationships, and her Venus in Aries in precise square to Neptune shows her as an angry victim who anyway had to grieve the loss of the only man who she has ever related to in her lonely years in the 9 foot long 6 feet wide dungeon that was her home. As she said: “It was Wolfgang (Priklopil)’s own decision to throw himself under the train. I sympathize with Wolfgang’s mother. I can feel with her and put myself in her position. I, and both of us, think of him”. Well, yes. It must be difficult not to. It is interesting that someone with such an incredible story is born just a few days after Saturn and Uranus simultaneously entered that sign of hardship – Capricorn. With Mars on the degree of the Galactic Centre and soon to progress onto the Saturn/Uranus conjunction, perhaps it picks up the energy of this black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Obviously this stellium shows extreme experiences at the hands of men – extreme hardship and extreme cruelty. The only man she has known, and intimately, was a psychopath. Yet at the same time, this powerful Mars, trining Jupiter in Aries, shows someone who combines bravery and spirit with an incredible self-discipline learned from her years of incarceration. Pluto might be expected to be prominent in her chart; it had just turned retrograde in Scorpio, and Mercury, also retrograde, was to go back to 12 degrees Aquarius to make the exact square to Pluto. There it dwelled in progressed square to Pluto (within a degree) from the age of 3 to the fateful age of 10 at which time she was led underground. Pluto at birth is semisquare Mars, and really this was a time of undiluted horror for her – in a tiny room without windows which she was not allowed out of night or day for the first six months of her captivity. Interestingly her Ceres is a 17.26 Aquarius conjoining Mercury, and at the exact mid-point of (and precisely septile to) Mars on the one side and Venus on the other. Ceres is the Roman name for the Greek goddess Demeter, who lost her daughter to Hades. The gods intervened and returned Persephone to her mother, but unfortunately she had eaten that fateful fruit of love, the pomegranate, whilst in the arms of Hades, and is condemned to periodically return. Just after progressed Mercury, now direct, conjoins Natascha’s Ceres, she also escapes and is returned to the world. There is evidence that if you want to escape, it is good to wait for good aspects to come along, rather than bad. When Natascha found the right moment (Note 2), the Sun was at 0.11 Virgo and in precise trine to Uranus and Saturn. The moon was at 26.24 Leo in precise trine to Mars and Jupiter. And for those who are beginning to get interested in Ceres, it was at 17.26 Aquarius at birth and at the moment of escape it was at… 17.26 Aquarius. No orb. One Ceres cycle. So who is this guy Wolfgang Priklopil, who spent the midnight hours building the concealed dungeon and equipping it with advanced electronic surveillance systems until ready to pounce on his captive? See chart: Wolfgang Priklopil: 14th May 1962 Vienna. Ceres 19.43 Gemini. AS 0 TA This is someone who robs innocents from their mothers. Venus is at 19.33 Gemini – just 10 minutes of arc from Ceres. The Mercury/Venus conjunction in Gemini obviously gives a predisposition for schoolgirls. Mercury looks blameless enough, but it actually goes stationary by progression on the Venus/Ceres conjunction, dwelling on them within a degree from the age of 5 to 19. What goes on in these years? Mercury moves from retrograde to direct motion at 11.51 Gemini which is exactly where it is in 1998 when he abducts Natascha. Trine Saturn at 11.21 Aquarius. A great planner. Quincunx Neptune – imaginative. Finally, Wolfgang left this world when progressed Mercury returned to degree of birth Mercury. He did not get very far. His grand achievement – the abduction – took place as Natascha was going to school on the morning of March 2nd 1998. Abduction: 3rd March 1998 School start. Vienna The abduction took place just after a solar eclipse at 7.55 Pisces which was exactly opposite Priklopil’s Pluto. This was his moment of destiny – the time when he took an irrevocable step into the dark side. The eclipse conjoined Jupiter and squared transit Pluto, which at this point was exactly square his natal Pluto. As Priklopil is born with Pluto opposing Jupiter, this was a unique moment. In fact, the astrological detective could – if presented with Priklopil’s date of birth at the time of the abduction – have seen that this was the time when his dark fantasies about imprisoning a schoolgirl would be activated. The abduction chart and the natal chart echo major themes of domination and imprisonment. The fact is detectives visited Priklopil’s house to question him, but never searched it. The abduction also took place with an exact Venus/Mars sextile, echoing the same sextile in Priklopil’s birth chart. Natascha Kampusch has a lot of catching up to do. She has chosen to limit her contact with her parents, who had divorced prior to her abduction. At present communication with them is limited to the phone. A live interview had the highest viewing figures ever in Austria and generated huge licensing revenue, which Kampusch is reported as having donated to women in need in Africa and Mexico. She has granted other interviews in return for a package including housing support, a long-term job offer, and help with her education. (Note 3) She’ll probably manage all right if her horoscope is anything to go by. One of the main consequences of the new dwarf planet status of Pluto, is the promotion of Ceres, and the iconic story of Priklopil and Kampusch emphasizes the power of Ceres, making a strong case for its inclusion in the standard astrological chart along with the other major planets. Judging from its effect in this story, and a glance at the charts of people I know well, it seems Ceres is very connected with the mother archetype and the motherhood role. One client I know has Ceres between Uranus and Pluto and claims, because of extreme childhood experiences, that her mother is a psychopath. Another returned to his mother country after many years when his Sun progressed conjoined Ceres. The Greek myth points to the connection of Demeter with famine, and embedded in Ceres is the latent tendency for extreme contrasts between nurture and abandonment and loss. As regards Pluto there are probably other stories coinciding with the date of its demotion from the pantheon of the gods. As a rule events in the field of astronomy tend to be reflected by events on earth. When Voyager flew past Uranus, the space shuttle Challenger exploded. When Voyager flew by Neptune, millions joined hands across the borders of the Baltic countries, dissolving the borders and the domination of the Soviet Union. The New Horizons space probe (Note 4) will arrive at Pluto in 2015. Expect to see an interesting demonstration of its effect. As the years go by – if the Prague decison holds – Pluto will be redefined in school text books. It will lose some of its iconic power. Will the atom bomb go the same way as Priklopil? How will psychology fare? But right now it is firmly enconsed in the horoscope, and – sigh of relief – clients are still having traumas and crises. Clearly, as astrologers, we have not lost a planet – we’ve gained two. Now where is Ceres in my horoscope… not to mention Xena! Adrian Duncan 19th September 2006 1. Xena’s position is currently 21 Aries – noticed anything? – and an ephemeris can be found at www.astro.com 2. Natascha escaped at 12.53 on August 23rd 2006. 3. Wikepedia: www.wikipedia.org 4. An Atlas V rocket carrying the New Horizons spacecraft on a mission to Pluto lifted off at Cape Canaveral on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2006 at 14.00. |
