Moon Calendars 2019

I wanted to post a few words as we go into the New Moon on the 6th March which is a hugely important moment as Uranus also ingresses Taurus on this day. I’ll be commenting more on this momentous subject in time for this event.

I would also like to add a word to remind you that when you join the Shamanic Healing Circle’s Inner Circle, in addition to your regular Distance Reiki Healings which I send to each member on each of the Cosmic and Earth Festivals of the Sacred Year, all members receive complimentary copies of our entire e-book collection and our “Working with the Moon” Guide which contains our Full Moon and New Moon Calendars. These are offered each year as an almanac to accompany your own Moon-work and have been very well received by readers over the years.

I created the Shamanic Healing Circle because I knew that we have need of dynamic spaces of support which are articulate, and which bring meaning to our lives as we tune in each day more and more to the divine energy at the cosmic and at the terrestrial levels. If you haven’t already joined us you can jump in here. Newsletters are free and joining our Inner Circle costs only £12.50/month.

 

Wildfires

It’s not even March and the UK is burning.  The photos of Saddleworth Moor are extraordinary. So, here we are, the Moors are already burning, means that not only are temperatures high but rainfall too has been so low that the grassland can catch even in February. As the Guardian Newspaper put it “The fire, near Marsden, spread across an area of 1.5 sq miles and could be seen from miles away as crews from across the region battled through the night to contain it. Adam Greenwood, a station manager at West Yorkshire fire and rescue service, said the blaze was “one of the highest flame fronts we have seen” and had spread rapidly due to the unseasonably warm and dry weather“.

In the same period we also have school children striking in order to point out to the adults around the table that this laissez-faire, business-as-usual attitude, is simply not working. It is not working for the school children and it is not actually working for the adults either. It is just that the adults don’t seem to be able to stop themselves. On this occasion, the Prime Ministers office said “it was good that pupils are politically “engaged” but argued that they need to be in school to become the future professionals who can help solve climate change”.

As one Guardian journalist pointed out elsewhere “For 30 years scientists have been making clear the catastrophic and inevitable consequences of climate change. CO2 emissions are altering our planet, and it will lead to humanity’s destruction unless we do something about it”. Honestly, how many PhDs does it take to state the obvious? Clearly, the government doesn’t listen to the folks with PhDs either, so why bother going through all that education just to have the can kicked even further down the road?

Only today, eco-protesters — who created an eco-village on the proposed site of the disputed third runway at Britain’s Heathrow Airport — were forced out of their camp by bailiffs.

To the kids, and indeed to most sane people, it is obvious that more air-traffic over London is not the answer. In fact, it is exactly part of the problem. Even the ex-Mayor of London who had vehemently opposed the new runway managed to absent himself from the government vote which passed the plan last year. In the actual vote, a total of 415 MPs backed the proposal to expand Heathrow, while 119 voted against it. This gave the government a huge majority of 296 for the plan, with Conservative MPs on a three-line whip to support the third runway. (Note — defying a three-line whip is very serious, and can result in the whip being withdrawn from an MP or Lord. This means that the Member is effectively expelled from their party but keeps their seat and must sit as an independent until the whip is restored.) The project was thus voted by a 296 majority.

We don’t seem to learn. Time is running out and the systems of governance have to start taking the situation on board. We simply cannot go on like this.

For the moment change has at least been gradual. But for anyone who knows anything about complex systems, they also know that systems are buffered until they reach saturation. At this point, gradual change can become rapid. We all did this in our school chemistry class by looking at pH and the behavior of a buffer. You add a drop of acid and nothing happens. Then a drop more. Then a few drops more. The pH remains almost constant. And then, at one very specific point, the pH changes radically. We have reached the buffering capacity of the buffer. And then things change. Fast. No more capacity to absorb is left. We have pushed the system as far as it can cope. This is clearly where we are heading with the environment. The children are clearly awake. But when the adults?

In my next article, the first of a new series, we will be addressing The question of Weather Magic and Shamanic responses to climate change. 

 

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Image credits:
This image is used to illustrate a wildfire but did not come from Saddleworth Moor as all photos of this tragic event are copyright to agencies or press. I thank Manfred Morgner for sharing his photo on Wikimedia and allowing others to use it under the creative commons.

A few thoughts on Brexit as Pluto conjuncts the South Node

 

The power is rising. Pluto at 22° of Capricorn conjunct Venus at 25° Capricorn, on the South Node of the Moon. What are we to make of this?

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn (now at 17° of Cap), now slowly catching up with Pluto. Saturn, as we know, is to do with time, limitations, structure, government. It is what is unchanging, or slowly changing. Venus represents our values. This conjunction on the South Node is about a dissolution (Pluto) of our Values (Venus) that have been formed in the past (South Node). Capricorn is the sign of Cardinal Earth, so solid yes, but not so solid that it can’t, in the end, give way to new structures. There is an element of new beginnings here.

If we look at what is happening in the UK, we see a Government that is incapable of making any choices about the future relationship with Europe. They call it “kicking the can down the road” something the present Government has done very successfully for two years since the 2016 referendum. At the present time, the UK should leave Europe on the 29th March, and the “meaningful vote” is the 12th of March. If it is not once more canceled at the last minute.

Let us be clear. Chaos will reign if the UK slips out of Europe with no deal signed. Some think this will be simple and straight forward. Of course. Easy to say. With businesses relocating, Honda closing a factory, and indeed, now British Steel facing over a million euros of extra carbon credits. In the absence of a Brexit deal, British Steel must buy around 6 million tons of carbon on the open market, at a cost of around €110 million by March 15, according to Bloomberg.

The value system (what it means to be independent, what it means to “take back control”, what it means to be British) which comes from the past (South Node) is at this time deeply questioned.

We have the choice to move towards a more inclusive society, a more caring society, a society in which money (represented by Taurus which Venus rules) plays a less central role.

We can evolve. We can move towards this North Node destination in Cancer, or, we can follow the old ways. But our friend Pluto is saying that these old values have to change. We have to let go of them in order to evolve. We cannot keep the old system, which is clearly not working (look at the poverty and homelessness in the UK, the world’s 6th richest nation). So, what will happen?

I don’t see the astrology as a harbinger of catastrophe. The astrology shows us what can happen when we don’t change. When we don’t allow the old values to pass as we create newer ones based on our times and upon our evolving sense of self. We can hang on. But the lessons of Pluto are in that sense often fairly hard. You don’t mess with Pluto, who generally has the last word. A double warning is also coming in the form of Uranus in Taurus (Fixed Earth). Things are going to move, and this does mean possessions, materials, money, and resources. So with Pluto gradually reaching up to the South Node, there is a very good reason to take note.

The UK might pause, although its leader seems determined for a 29th March exit of the EU, come hell or high-water. And she may get just that. Or she might pause and listen to what a majority of experts and advisors are saying. She might listen to reason. Clearly, Britain is not ready for this step. We are going to climb down and do things differently. Pragmatism over impetuosity. In the end, we shall see soon enough.

For me, its clear from the skies that this is a time for caution, for prudence. To allow things to evolve gradually rather than precipitating an earthquake which Uranus will be only too happy to offer, should we be willing.

The astrology is here not to moralize or take sides. It is here to help us find the most prudent path for the many, not the few, as we negotiate this rendezvous with Pluto on the South Node.

Chiron’s two entries into Aries and their significance

And so, finally, on the morning of 18th February the asteroid Chiron finally left Pisces for his new home in Aries.

If Pisces takes us into the unknown depths of mutable water, the wounds so inflicted and represented by Chiron in this sign must carry with them some mark of the infinite. On the one hand the pain of our separation from source, and on the other the seemingly limitless ills of humankind. The problem is that Pisces will inevitably be followed by Aries and we will, therefore, somehow, have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and begin again, creating a new story of healing. This post looks in detail at the astrological context of Chiron’s two entries into Aries and attempts to offer some insight as to their significance.

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Chiron first entered Aries on the 17 April 2018. The asteroid advanced, stationed, then went retrograde, returning to Pisces for some months before definitively returning to Aries this week. We might therefore justifiably wonder about the differences between Chiron’s two entries into Aries.

It is often said that a planet that has entered or ingressed into a sign and then returns albeit briefly to its former sign has forgotten something. The image of a person leaving home in the morning without something vital to the day’s business comes to mind.

If we concentrate on the holistic aspects of the chart, we might say that if Chiron was ready for Aries in April 2018 perhaps the other planetary archetypes were not. We thus need to compare the charts of Chiron’s first and second ingress into Aries to better understand what might previously have been lacking. This approach has the potential to shed fresh light on the nature of Chiron’s true entry into Aries in 2019.

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When Chiron entered Aries in 2018 he was in conjunction with Mercury. This certainly prepared the terrain for a New Healing Story (Mercury) that each of us might begin to tell. At this time the Sun was conjunct Uranus also in Aries, suggesting the force of this encounter could be so powerful it literally knocks us over (Sun – life force, Uranus – expect the unexpected). Such a healing outcome can certainly be seen as powerful but of unpredictable result. Second, and here I note another powerful theme — Venus in Taurus opposing Jupiter in Scorpio. We have already seen that Jupiter’s passage through Scorpio was bringing to light a great deal of hidden or shadow material, the #metoo movement testified to this in no uncertain terms. However, the opposition with Venus (our values) in Taurus suggests to me that Fixed Earth and Fixed Water were not going to be the most suitable terrain for the deep and healthy healing of this new cycle. Almost as though what came up in 2018 would then get stuck high and dry on Fixed Earth (Taurus).

When Chiron entered Aries in 2019, the skies were very different. The planets had indeed moved on and the chaotic Sun/Uranus conjunction along with the Venus/Jupiter opposition have now given way to a very different celestial configuration.

First of all, Chiron now trines the North Lunar Node and sextiles the South Lunar Node. This immediately puts Chiron in connection with our past life karma (South Node) and in connection with our future soul development (North Node). As such, Chiron is now able to engage fully on the Karmic plane. Second, the Nodes have continued their journey and we have the South Node in Capricorn, the North Node in Cancer. This configuration, as discussed by Steven Forrest in one of his podcasts, (see our Shamanic Healing Circle page for the shared podcast), involved a movement towards the healing of our emotional selves. We are leaving the frigid and potentially damaging aspects of Capricorn past lives behind us. A further aspect of significance is that both Capricorn and Cancer are Cardinal signs which means that they represent nucleating points for change in the zodiac, being linked to the solstices.

Not only are the Nodes in Cardinal signs, but they are also squared by Uranus and Mars. Uranus in the last degree of Aries is giving us Cardinal Fire to power this revolution, and Mars is going to make these evolutions concrete in Fixed Earth. It is a powerful square and gives what is called a “skipped step” for those who are born at this time. The square, linked to the Nodes, offer us a clear dynamic to move from past trauma to future healing.

A further powerful aspect is that of Pluto, the transformer, conjunct the Moon’s South Node at 22° Capricorn. Pluto acts as a dissolving force to free things that are held in stasis. You can fight Pluto but Pluto will always win.  As such we see that Chiron, Pluto, Uranus and Mars are now all in powerful relation to the Nodal Axis. In my view, this offers us a hugely dynamic and fertile terrain for healing.

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In a fascinating discussion of this question, the astrologer Gary P Caton points out that the thing that both Chiron in Pisces and Chiron in Aries have in common is that Chiron, in each case, is taking something from Saturn out toward Uranus. In each case, something Saturnian (boundaries, systems, etc.) is being sent out to become more Uranian, more open, electric and free. This, he explains, is because Aries is the sign of Chiron’s aphelion or furthest distance from the sun. It is thus closest to Uranus. (You can find a link to Gary’s podcast on Chiron, here)

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Chiron’s second entry into Aries, therefore, offers us a profoundly different astrological context. With powerful aspects to the Nodal axis, the work presaged by Chiron’s initial foray, conjunct Mercury, can now be realized. The period of activation has finally come to fruition, Chiron can begin his powerful healing mission with the aid of Mars and Uranus square the Nodes, whilst Pluto sits on the Nodal axis offering powerful energies for change. As if to confirm this, we now see Jupiter, no longer in opposition to Venus, but traveling through the sign of Sagittarius of which Jupiter is Ruler. This powerful Jupiter transit now offers us the Firey arrows of the Archer, to trail-blaze in our own healing Journeys.

In the infinite aspect of Chiron in Pisces, we previously connected with the universal sufferings of humankind. In Aries, we move to a place where we can explore concrete acts of healing, releasing past wounds. Aries (or the first house) is always the beginning of a new cycle, a new story.

Chiron’s second ingress into Aries tells us in no uncertain terms that we are now fully empowered to take on the hero archetype — to work through remaining past life karmas and now ready to set out, once more, as the authors of our own healing story.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to know more about how Chiron affects your own chart, you are most welcome to get in touch. I will be delighted to help you with your own Chiron journey. 

 

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Image: Apollo Chiron Asclepios
MAN Napoli /  Image created: 1st century AD

 

On a shamanic astrology

It’s indeed been a while. And for reason. One of the things I am more and more aware of is the process of “wu-wei” or doing through not doing. No. Not an elegy for laziness, but a healthy respect for the limits of what is achievable at any given moment.

The more I reflect on the Zodiac and the movements of the planets, the more I realize the impatience we feel would be the astrological equivalent of saying, Oh! Why can’t Mars just fast forward to Leo? No, Mars happily won’t. Because there is in the universal wisdom a process which will take Mars from Aries as we begin something, through Taurus where we incarnate it in some material form, and then woah! We need some more information which Gemini is going to furnish with aplomb! And then Cancer, as we build a home for whatever we are doing, be it a physical building space or a virtual one. And then, only then, are we going to tap into that Leo energy, playfully creating and taking things on to the next level.

Of course, it won’t stop here, the point of looking at this process is to realize that everything is moving in this fashion and we are better off incarnating each sign in the cyclical process than trying to cut corners and play snakes and ladders with the Zodiac. For sure, when we do, we find the snakes, and we will slip back to where we were, for what is not done in order, is quite simply undone.

A second aspect is something I am also more keenly aware of, that is touched upon in the new header image for our Circle, posted above. On the left, a massive oak, on the right, the Cosmos. And in between, somewhere in between, there we are, living in this material 3-D existence.

As above so below, or as the Hermeticist put it: Quod est inferius est sicut quod est superius. Et quod est superius est sicut quod est inferius, ad perpetranda miracula rei unius. {What is below is similar to that which is above. That which is above is similar to that which is below, so accomplishing the miracle of unity}.

 

Our miracle is to take part in this unity, and this means bridging the gap between Earth and Cosmos. One step at a time, one day at a time. And this means that our Astrology is not just rooted in the Heavens, but rooted on Earth as well. Some call it Shamanic Astrology, but in reality, all astrology is linked to the physical process of standing out of doors, at night, and being able to navigate in the celestial, as much as we know our way through the forest, over the river, and find our way to our cozy back door.

A simple practice in this navigation is to look at a chart, each day, and note the position of the Sun, and the position of the Moon. Then, when you go out, you can identify that degree — I look out of my window and I know that as I write this — the Sun indicates to me the precise degree of 28 of Aquarius. We need neither telescopes nor any complicated excuses. Check the chart. Check the sky. It turns out that today Black Moon Lilith is at 29° of Aquarius, so she is conjunct the Sun, and therefore in the same angle. I look at the Sun, I look at Lilith. The two are together for this part of the journey. If we now look in the celestial space between Sun and Moon, we have Uranus in the last degrees of Aries, and Mars in the first degrees of Taurus. Again, it is easy to look up and get the feeling for where they will be. As dusk falls I may see Mars. Certainly, I will know where to look.

As the dusk falls I will also see the Moon, and she has, as I write now moved into Leo. In a couple of days, she will be on my own Natal Sun. Another part of the divine journey thus marked out for me. I can feel the energy building, the Divine marriage of Sun and Moon between Heavens and my own Chart. I appropriate the experience, it is my own personal journey too! The Moon is conjunct her North Node, at 26° of Cancer, so when I look at the Moon I will also be looking directly at the North Node too. And again, no telescopes or fancy instruments.

Armed with the simplest of phone apps or a link to Planetwatcher, we can deepen the manner we navigate the skies, and in this way grow daily more in phase and harmony with the Divine Timing. Mars will not leap into Leo! In a few days, the Moon will be full. I will look back over the past two weeks and feel inside what has grown since the Dark Moon, 14 days ago. It is a process of being “in time”. Which is to say living minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day. This is the wisdom of the Zodiac and I believe it worth sitting with.

Namaste!

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* Photo from the original edition of the Emerald Tablet, extracted from De Alchimia, Chrysogonus Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541 Français : Edition originale du texte latin de la Table d’émeraude, traducteur inconnu. Extrait de De Alchimia, Chrysogonus Polydorus, Nuremberg 1541