Modes of Perception

There are many ways to view a chart...

Our last post looked at four levels of perception: Spiritual, Social, Personal, Practical...

The B.I.D.E. Interpretive System begins as close to the Spiritual level as practically possible. The Symbolic Sentences created with the System need further interpretation to be useful on the other three levels.

I'm going to step through these levels using my personal Symbolic Sentence for the recent New Moon in my chart.

Sun in Cancer in the 12th House
Conjunct
Moon in Cancer in the 12th House

which, for me, becomes

Focusing Character Development in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Nourishing Nurturing Abilities in order to Realize the Oneness of Life.

On the Spiritual level, reading the Symbolic Sentence as it stands, I have the thrill of sensing the potential for growth beyond my mere self into larger arenas of action. The Sentence may seem hugely abstract to you but I chose the options from the System that best expressed where I want to go during the current lunation cycle...

On the Social level, I see the words "Focusing Character Development" as my call to (even though I'm 63 and have spent much of my time circling the Sun in various modes of character development) concentrate on how I can grow even more in my efforts to "Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self". And, to me, transcendence of self doesn't leave the self out of the picture—much like taking a plane ride doesn't leave the earth out of the picture...

Socially, this "New Cycle of Actualization" (conjunction) calls for a "Nourishing" of my "Nurturing Abilities" so I can "Realize" more than ever "the Oneness of Life". How else, socially, can I use my own character in a transcendent way unless I'm aware of the Oneness of us all and give as much nurturance as I can?

On the Personal level, I have to more deeply explore the character I have developed over the years (notice my Saturn and Mars in Cancer) and detect the weak spots, the incomplete virtues, the less than ideal modes of my behavior so I can nourish the nurturing abilities I already have and, hopefully, strengthen them toward a broader acceptance of the Oneness of Life, which empowers me to see others as I see myself and lowers the barriers of personality, letting me reach out to help...

On the Practical level, I need to review all I've learned about my character, my knowledge of methods of transcendence of self, what it really means to nurture, and which techniques actually nourish that nurturance. Even with the long-term focus on my character development, the many years of attempting to successfully, and consistently, transcend a life lived only for myself, and truly nurture others on the path toward the Oneness of Humanity—the countless hours, days, months, years of struggle and partial attainment—I need to buckle-down and do it again...

Mending by Breaking...

Often, the youthful surge of creativity blasts into set patterns and breaks their hold on further growth...

Back on these dates (the last Uranus conjunct Saturn)

12 Feb 1988 at 30 Sagittarius
26 Jun 1988 at 29 Sagittarius
18 Oct 1988 at 28 Sagittarius

the world did have a surge of youthful Uranian creativity that transformed former Saturnian patterns (see Making The Big Leap... for an exploration of this...). Since then, we all have been working to use the creative thrust to inform a new pattern. The following dates (Saturn opposed Uranus)

4 Nov 2008 at 19 Pisces/Virgo
5 Feb 2009 at 21 Pisces/Virgo
15 Sep 2009 at 25 Pisces/Virgo
26 Apr 2010 at 29 Pisces/Virgo
26 Jul 2010 at 1 Libra/Aries

are when we have the opportunity to see clearly the new Saturnian pattern we've fashioned to hold the Uranian spirit...

After this series of oppositions, we will all be able to infuse these, hopefully, well-formed, transformational patterns into our collective social lives.

If you happen to have not utilized these aspects positively, Now is the time to realign your energies and intentions...

Let's use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System to explore various ways to do this (please reference the Information Site for the full System and guides for it's use {also via the red link in the right panel}).

First we need the meanings for Uranus and Saturn:

Uranus
Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

Saturn
Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

Next, we need the Signs involved (I'll wait till we're closer to the date for Aries/Libra);

Pisces
Sympathetic Awareness
Compassionate Understanding
Universal Feeling
Visionary Initiative

Virgo
Discrimination
Systems and Techniques
Careful Considerations
a Service Attitude

And, finally, the meanings for the Opposition:

Resonants in Polarity with
Helps Realign the Situation Toward Sharing by
Creates the Energy to Become More Inclusive by
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by

I'm going to choose the meanings I feel best express the current state of the world as regards these functions and energies and their relationship. Note that, due to the organic philosophy of planetary-pair aspects, I'm putting the slower planet first...

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Universal Feeling
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by
Clarifying a Service Attitude.

Obviously, from Your perspective, other choices may be more appropriate. Also, when the House meanings are added, the whole thrust of the situation becomes more explicit. I'll put my own House placements into that last Symbolic Sentence as an example:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of Universal Feeling in order to Be Aware of My Worth
Is Reborn into a Larger Sphere of Activity by
Clarifying a Service Attitude in order to Merge With Others.

Yes, very seemingly abstract—quite a mouth-full—yet, for me, very personally meaningful...

I'd love to see some of Your personal examples in the Comments.........

Making The Big Leap...

This image is the current position of the New Horizons spacecraft, launched January 19, 2006, cruising past Pluto in July, 2015...

From the image, we can see that this intrepid spacecraft is between Saturn and Uranus' orbits; yet, Saturn and Uranus are now on opposite sides of the Earth...

They were conjunct on the following dates:

12 Feb 1988 at 30 Sagittarius
26 Jun 1988 at 29 Sagittarius
18 Oct 1988 at 28 Sagittarius

In the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System, Saturn's meanings are:

Defining
Clarifying
Structuring
Organizing

and, Uranus' meanings are:

Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

Before we can understand the current opposition of these planets we need to consider the beginning of the cycle back in '88...

But, first, we need another set of meanings from the B.I.D.E. System, Sagittarius:

a Broad Viewpoint
Philosophical Appraisal
a Top-Down View
an Idealistic Awareness

The final set of meanings necessary to analyze the Uranus/Saturn conjunction is the set for the conjunction itself:

Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Engenders New Possibilities by
Lets the Past Meet the Future by
Closes One Cycle and Opens Another by

So, according to the way these meanings are combined into Symbolic Sentences in the B.I.D.E. System [see the Information Site (red link in the right panel) for guides about using the System...], and only using the first option in each set of meanings, we have this possibility for:

Uranus in Sagittarius
Conjunct
Saturn in Sagittarius

Transforming a Broad Viewpoint
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Defining a Broad Viewpoint

Seems we can't do a proper job of transforming until we do some defining... But, to add more depth to that interpretation, I'll change Saturn's meaning to the second option and Sagittarius' meaning to the last option:

Transforming a Broad Viewpoint
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Clarifying an Idealistic Awareness

If you were alive and conscious back in 1988, I'd love to see Your Comments on that interpretation for the Uranus/Saturn conjunction or your Own choices from the B.I.D.E. System. Something else that would be great to see in the Comments are Your Symbolic Sentences with the House meanings added...

Here are the dates for the current Uranus/Saturn Opposition:

4 Nov 2008 at 19 Pisces/Virgo
5 Feb 2009 at 21 Pisces/Virgo
15 Sep 2009 at 25 Pisces/Virgo
26 Apr 2010 at 29 Pisces/Virgo
26 Jul 2010 at 1 Libra/Aries

We'll explore the potential meanings for this important opposition in the next post...

Cycles

Cycles are the backbone, lifeblood, and purpose of astrology.

Astrology was born from an awareness of cycles; three in particular: the yearly cycle of the Earth around the Sun (or Sun through the seasonal zodiac), the monthly cycle of the Moon's relationship with the Sun, and the daily cycle of the Earth's rotation (which moves the zodiac through the Houses).

There are 44 other important cycles in astrology: all the other pairs of planets, similar to the Sun/Moon cycle.

I've claimed that this blog exists for two important reasons: serving as a laboratory for exploring the multitudinous ways the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System can be used and a source of feedback from You that I can use to help shape the next ten volumes of Astrological Repair Manual.

So...

Following will be three versions of cycles using the first option in each category of the B.I.D.E. System (see the Information Site {red link in the right panel} for all the options...).

First the cycle of Signs, then the cycle of Houses, and, finally, a special aspect cycle (a Planet Pair cycle): conjunction, semisextile, sextile, square, trine, quincunx, opposition, then the Waning continuation of that progression. [Note: the B.I.D.E. Full Aspect Cycle has 36 aspects, so this is a subset of the full cycle...]

Just before I display these cycles, keep three things in mind:

* every phase of each cycle has three more choices in the B.I.D.E. System...

* you can learn one heck of a lot by studying these cycles' meanings and seeing how they're Similar and how they're Different...

* the cycles, naturally, don't end at the end of the lists below; they continue around again...

» One Version of the Sign Cycle «

Aries
Individual Awareness
Taurus
Personal Resources
Gemini
Diversity of Ideas
Cancer
Emotional Security
Leo
Dramatic Concern
Virgo
Discrimination
Libra
a Harmonizing Attitude
Scorpio
the Urge to Blend Perspectives
Sagittarius
a Broad Viewpoint
Capricorn
an Objective Attitude
Aquarius
Humanitarian Considerations
Pisces
Sympathetic Awareness

» One Version of the House Cycle «

1st House
Focus on the Present
2nd House
Focus on my Resources
3rd House
Be Aware of My Immediate Environment
4th House
Anchor Myself
5th House
Dramatize My Concerns
6th House
Be of Service
7th House
Begin (or, Refresh) a Relationship
8th House
Deepen Relationship
9th House
See the Broader Perspective
10th House
Make the Situation as Objective as Possible
11th House
Make My Social Position Secure
12th House
Realize the Oneness of Life

» One Version of the Planet Pair Cycle «

Conjunction
Begins a New Cycle of Actualization
Waxing SemiSextile
Creates a New Pattern for Action
Waxing Sextile
Increases Awareness of More Inclusive Considerations
Waxing Square
Provides for a Break with Past Compulsions
Waxing Trine
Brings a Sense of Future Fulfillment
Waxing Quincunx
Induces Reflection on the Path to Fulfillment
Opposition
Resonants in Polarity
Waning Quincunx
Expands Social Horizons
Waning Trine
Induces Insight into the Needs of Society
Waning Square
Increases Dedication to Social Transformation
Waning Sextile
Instills a Desire for Aiding Social Organization
Waning SemiSextile
Enables Deep Evaluation of a Process

* Don't forget: there are three more options for each phase of each of those cycles in the B.I.D.E. System (see the Information Site).

* And, please remember: Your comments or feedback are graciously welcomed!

Arianna Huffington

We'll be looking at three critical Planets in Arianna Huffington's chart—Jupiter, Mars, and Venus.

Mars and Venus because they define the boundary of activity for all but the Planet Jupiter—that single Planet forming the "handle" or focal-concentration point for the entire chart. This "Bucket Pattern" has been considered in two other posts here: Walt Disney and Barack Obama.

Huffington is a Greek-American author and syndicated columnist. She used to be on the "Right", politically, and is now said to be on the "Left". Yet, those labels don't quite name her allegiance. She's actually been referred to as "coming from the fourth dimension of political time and space". Her Huffington Post is a wildly popular Web destination.

Our last post took pains to explain the creation of B.I.D.E.'s Symbolic Sentences and the Information Site (red link in the right panel) has much more to help you use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System.

Before we look at Arianna's Jupiter, Mars, and Venus, it's important to note the Sun/Moon placement, since the Sun and Moon always define our "Life Battery". Since the Sun and Moon are closely conjunct and since they're within 7° of the 9th House, we have (according to the choices I've made {but, you can certainly choose other phrases from the System...}):

Moon/Sun in Cancer in the 9th House
Nurturing and Focusing Character Development in order to Realize the Ideal.

Now that we have her Prime Source of energy and expression defined we can consider the Planets, Signs, and Houses that define the range of action for her Life Battery.

Mars in Libra in the 12th House
Externalizing Awareness of Others in order to Utilize the Resources of Her Unconscious Mind.

Venus in Gemini in the 8th House
Evaluating Diversity of Ideas in order to Find the Depth of the Issue.

Can you see how those Planet placements give a hint of what's driven her interest in and increased her love of writing as well as establishing a Web Site that evaluates and urges action on issues of world concern?

Now, let's look at the Major Focus of her whole life:

Jupiter (retrograde) in Pisces in the 4th House
[I'm adding the word "Uniquely" to the sentence to indicate the retrogradation]
Uniquely Amplifying Visionary Initiative in order to Fertilize the Situation.

Look back over those Symbolic Sentences, then check out these quotes from Arianna. Considering those ideas may lead you to create different Symbolic Sentences than I did. If you do, please let us know in the Comments!

M. C. Escher and Uranus/Saturn

M. C. Escher may just be the most unique artist ever...

His chart shows a conjunction of Uranus and Saturn and both are retrograde as well as looking across the chart at most of his other planets...

Since my stats programs show new people arriving here every day, I want to take the analysis of his Uranus/Saturn with the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System rather slowly—step-by-step...

First, I recommend you go to the Planet/Sign/House and Aspect Cycle pages, on the Information Site (red link in the right panel), and click the link that says "Download This Page". With that information in hand, it will be much easier to follow the next steps...

So...

Let's take Escher's Uranus first. It's in Sagittarius in his 5th House.

Look at the words for Uranus on the Planet/Sign/House page:

Transforming
Breaking Obsolete Traditions of
Seeking the Truth of
Exploring Fresh Ideas about

I'm going to choose "Breaking Obsolete Traditions of" for this example. (if you feel another phrase is better, write it down so you can create your own example...).

Now, a phrases for Sagittarius:

a Broad Viewpoint
Philosophical Appraisal
a Top-Down View
an Idealistic Awareness

I'll choose "a Broad Viewpoint" (what's your choice?)

Now, the 5th House:

Dramatize My Concerns.
Externalize My Creativity.
“Test The Waters”.
Provide an Example.

I'll choose "Dramatize My Concerns.".

We first put down the words for the Planet, next the words for the Sign, next the words "in order to", and, finally, the words for the House. This gives us:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of a Broad Viewpoint in order to Dramatize His Concerns.

Notice that in the House phrase I changed "My" to "His". So, that's my rendition of Escher's Uranus in Sagittarius in the 5th House. What's Yours?

Doing the same steps for his Saturn in Sagittarius in the 5th House, I got:

Structuring an Idealistic Awareness in order to Externalize His Creativity.

Remember, both those planets were retrograde so even the words we've chosen to interpret them need to be considered in the most unique and individualistic way possible...

Now, we need a phrase to represent the aspect—Conjunction:

Begins a New Cycle of Actualization by
Engenders New Possibilities by
Lets the Past Meet the Future by
Closes One Cycle and Opens Another by

When I consider the Symbolic Sentences I created for Uranus and Saturn, I think "Engenders New Possibilities by" fits quite well. (what would You pick?)

Now, we put the aspect phrase between the two Planet/Sign/House Sentences and we get:

Breaking Obsolete Traditions of a Broad Viewpoint in order to Dramatize His Concerns
Engenders New Possibilities by
Structuring an Idealistic Awareness in order to Externalize His Creativity.

I'd Love to see what You decided to create for Escher's Uranus/Saturn! Why not put your interpretation in the Comments!!

Harrison Ford

Our last post was about a film producer, Walt Disney, and this one is about an actor, Harrison Ford.

Before I get into interpreting various factors in Ford's chart I want to alert you to a companion site to this blog, the "Information Site" (which you can access with the red link in the right panel). It's a space to collect various aids and guides to using the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System—the Centerpiece of this blog. Over time, as the next ten books in the series are developed and we explore the ideas here in the blog, I'll be posting more and more information at our companion site. I urge you to visit there and explore the deeper reasons for this blog and the book that inspired it—Astrological Repair Manual.

Harrison Ford's chart shows a decided clustering of planets, often called a "Bundle" pattern. This configuration shows a concentration of functions and energies in relatively few areas of activity. The planets that border the bundle, Uranus and Neptune in Ford's case, are normally within range of at least a wide trine. We'll use the B.I.D.E. system to explore his bordering planets in just a bit...

Notice, though, that very near the center of the cluster in his chart are the Sun and Moon in close conjunction. Not only does the over-all pattern speak of his ability to massively concentrate talents and potentialities but the center of the pattern—the point of greatest focus—holds the two planetary functions that are the "Power-Source" of a person's character.

Two interesting qualities of his nature are revealed in something he says in a short video that was made about his love for aviation. He says that flying gives him a big sense of freedom but also a great sense of responsibility and goes on to add that freedom without responsibility is "not so engaging"...

For me, it's easy to see his love of responsibility in that tightly clustered bundle pattern and, because of the strong and steady focus of that pattern, it becomes easy to see him linking it to a need for "big freedom" with flight—a very interesting way for him to "engage" the rest of his chart {alert: houses without planets are not "empty"} and have the freedom balance the concentrated responsibility of the main pattern.

One last bit of revelatory character in his flying career: of the many planes he owns, his favorite is a slow, steady, and trustworthy vintage aircraft...

Now let's apply the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System to Harrison's Neptune, Uranus, Moon, and Sun (don't forget that the Information Site has guides to help you do what I'm about to do...).

~~~~~~~~~
Harrison Ford's "Defining" Functions

Neptune in Virgo in the 12th House conjunct the Ascendant
[I'll be merging meanings for the 12th and 1st Houses]
Being Idealistic about Systems and Techniques in order to Explore the Value of Transcendence of Self so He Can Truly Be Who He Is.

This high and wide Necessity in Ford's character is in a flowing and creative relationship with:

Uranus in Gemini in the 9th House
Seeking the Truth of Intellectual Freedom in order to Realize the Ideal.
~~~~~~~~~
Those are some HUGE defining functions yet Ford works with them by concentrating their power on the
Sun/Moon Conjunction in Cancer in the 10th House
[here I'm merging the meanings for Sun and Moon]
Nurturing a Focus on Character Development in order to Be Who He Is In The World.
~~~~~~~~~

One last character note because of that last interpretation: Ford is known for keeping his private life extremely insulated from the glamor of Hollywood . . .

If there's anything you don't understand about the way the B.I.D.E. system works or why it can be an important tool in honest, affirmative astrology, please post a comment.

Soon I'll have a special page on the "Information Site" that explores why I created the system and how I've proven its value...

Barack Obama

An Experiment...

Apart from showing you another example of my interpretive system in action, this post has two experimental qualities:

1) Unlike the posts for Elvis and Janice Joplin, I'm going to cover more than just the Sun/Moon Combination. True, the post about Hitler covered more, but in a tentative way... So, even though I'm trying to go slow for now, to ease into how to use this unique system, Obama's chart just demands I cover more than Sun/Moon.

2) I'm also experimenting by using a living person who is in the forefront of much of the News and has an extremely active and thick aura of media-meaning engulfing his real character. Many astrologers will settle for the media-man and try to fit the chart to that electronic ghost... I choose to start with the man's chart and see him from the inside, out...

So, if you haven't been here before, I recommend you download (Free) my book or, at least, the short version of how to use the B.I.D.E. Interpretive System. You can follow along with my examples and, hopefully, come up with a few of your own interpretations; and, share those in the Comments!

Mr. Obama's chart (which will open in a separate window) shows an archetypical "Bucket" pattern (most planets within half the circle) yet has a uniqueness due to having two "handles" for the bucket (even though the two handles have more than 3 degrees between them, which the link I just gave you says is the limit; though, in Obama's case, one of the handle-planets is the ruler of the other's Sign, "pulling-in" the conjunction).

So, we'll look at Obama's Sun (of course), his Moon and Neptune (the "rim" or defining functions of the Bucket), and Saturn and Jupiter, the Handles or Focus of the whole chart.

I hope you have the basic materials of the system at hand as I use my intuition to select words and phrases to construct the five Symbolic Sentences that go very far in sketching-out the major soul-components of Mr. Obama's character.

His Central Life Purpose

Sun in Leo in the 9th House:
Vitalizing Creative Response in order to See the Broader Perspective.
~~~~~~~~~
The Defining Functions for His Primary Talents

Neptune in Scorpio in the 12th House:
Being Idealistic about an Analytical Attitude in order to Utilize the Resources of His Unconscious Mind.

Moon in Gemini in the 7th House:
Nurturing Conceptual Versatility in order to Initiate Sharing.
~~~~~~~~~
The Focal Release of His Talents

Saturn in Capricorn in the 3rd House:
Clarifying a Desire for Enduring Patterns in order to Make Connections.
closely linked with
Jupiter in Aquarius in the 3rd House:
Being Optimistic about Humanitarian Considerations in order to Be Aware of His Immediate Environment.
~~~~~~~~~

I can hear more than one person saying something like, "Whew! It's all so abstract!!".

My answer: Would you rather use a bunch of bits of concrete "indications", usually borrowed from others, to form an interpretation that limits and constrains your understanding of a living human being?

Certainly, as I've mentioned in past posts, these Symbolic Sentences, or Affirmations, are not intended to give quick and easy "answers"; they, just like the Symbols of the chart, need interpretation. And, here comes yet another experimental aspect of this post: I'm not going to show alternative Sentences for Obama (each Planet/Sign/House combination has 64 possible Sentences in the system...) and I'm not going to (in this particular post) start the process of giving more concrete shape to those Symbolic Sentences. I'm going to leave that up to you...

See you in the Comments.........

A Positive Interpretation of Hitler's Chart ?

Click Image To Enlarge

Overheard at the Café:

Susan: "Well, of course he was evil. His Venus was retrograde in the 7th House. And, his Moon and Jupiter were both in Capricorn—cold man..."

John: "Yes, and Neptune and Pluto in the 8th, my God what a bad position!"

Andy: "Then there's his will-to-power with Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th..."

Really? Is everyone with Venus retrograde in the 7th and Moon and Jupiter in Capricorn cold?

Know anyone with Neptune and Pluto in the 8th? You do!? Hm... Trick question: they were conjunct back in the late 1800s and won't be again till the 2060s... Do you think they thought or will think that was or will be a bad position?

Mars in Taurus and Saturn in Leo in the 10th... Let's kill 'em all before they breed!

Far too many astrologers are working their craft backwards. They learn a bunch of good/bad "indications" and use them like a bludgeon—beating people with good clubs or bad clubs so they'll fit into the mold—the predetermined "meaning" of the chart factors. No room, it seems, for free will; no time for grace; no patience with positivity...

I've known people to attend a class on positive thinking, leave with malice in their hearts, then claim the methods didn't work.

I've also known people who had all the "bad" aspects and all the "afflicted" positions in their charts who turned out pretty well. In fact, if you look at my chart, you'll understand the utter unfairness of a student of mine, asked to analyze the chart (not knowing it was mine) and tell me who they thought it was. They said, "Charles Manson"...

Naturally, trying to guess who belongs to a chart is a hapless profession but I did the experiment to prove a point—back-reading a laundry-list of "indications" into a chart is exactly the wrong way to do astrology.

Certainly, if someone, due to their own free-will or the oppression of another's free-will, becomes evil, astrology can see the factors that were warped. Try reading this biography of Hitler while keeping in mind what those folks in the Café were saying and you can see some of the places in Hitler's chart where the wrong external or internal pressure was applied. This still does not justify reading a chart and attributing negatives automatically...

It's my very carefully considered opinion, after forty years of study and counseling, that astrology must be used to help foster the positive development and/or help heal the negative experiences of fellow members of our human family.

That's why I took 20 years to create a system of interpretation that was as honestly positive as I could make it—a system that gives people the best possible chance to use the blueprint of their chart to help them develop their latent potential toward constructive and affirmative ends.

This system is available in The Instructions of my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. In fact, I'm going to use the system to reinterpret those claims made by my imaginary Susan, John, and Andy. 

Since each combination of Planet, Sign, and House can have 64 interpretations in the system, I'm purposely going to choose the ones that emphasize Adolf's challenges. Even though the symbolic sentences produced by the system are positive, I think you'll see where he needed more encouragement at a young age, more positive nurturing, more constructive use of his free-will, more support for the soul inside that was abused and frightened...

Venus retrograde in Taurus in the 7th: (retrogradation demands that the factor be interpreted as highly unique and internalized, capable of development in ways that challenge the norm.)
Valuing Individual Worth in order to Be Aware of the Other Person’s Perspective.
He was not given enough support for his individual worth...

Moon conjunct Jupiter in Capricorn in the 3rd:
Nourishing and Expanding an Objective Attitude in order to Be Aware of his Immediate Environment.
His immediate environment was ill-equipped to help him be objective...

Neptune conjunct Pluto in Gemini in the 8th:
Being Idealistic about and Regenerating Intellectual Freedom in order to Merge With Others.
He got the intellectual freedom part but was impeded in his efforts to merge with others... (the activity in the 8th is a consequence of the activity in the 7th—see Venus and Mars)

Mars in Taurus in the 7th:
Being Driven by Individual Worth in order to Find a Compensating Viewpoint.
The close conjunction with Venus here, and not having had enough support for his individual worth, made the compensation come from his unconscious—the shaky and defensive soul that he didn't feel he could unburden...

Saturn in Leo in the 10th:
Organizing Dramatic Concern in order to Express his Social Role.
He had the drama and could definitely organize it yet his other challenges and his lack of self-worth warped his sense of his social role...

O.K., now it's your turn; to add some feedback or argument in the comments. Or, at least go away from this post considering how you can help support the development of another member of our human family...

Saturn and Cycles

More from the 6th chapter of my freely downloadable book, Astrological Repair Manual:

"So, now that Father Time is all spaced-out, I’ll reveal another major truth about astrology: no single symbol or function or planet or sign or house (we’ll meet signs and houses when we get closer to Earth) — none of these factors has any meaning all by itself. I can say Saturn means Structure, Limitation, Clarification, Organization, etc. but it gains its meaning from its cycle as it relates to other cycles. How could structure even be defined if there weren’t things that needed to be structured?

"One of the backbone sources for the meaning of any function in astrology is the length of its trip around the Sun. For Saturn, it turns out to be real close to 30 years with the half-cycle at 15 and quarter cycles around 7 years. When I was young it was common to hear: 'Ya can’t trust anybody over 30'. Oh, my! I wonder if those saying it were under thirty and probably not averse to a rather disorganized and freewheeling lifestyle?

"Right around thirty is when most of us have finally 'found ourselves'. We usually find it necessary to stake a claim for the pattern of self we’ve decided to be—lay out the pattern for others, organize our time in society to accommodate the clarity of self we now feel.

"And now I hear some people saying, 'Oh yeah? Thirty was hell!'. But do they realize that whatever difficult or negative period they were experiencing might have been there to clear the decks so they could claim a stronger place for themselves—make a clearer pattern of living?

"The half-cycle of Saturn is just as important for Identity Formation (Key Saturn phrase there). But, at fifteen, we’re putting out (for all to see) 'who we are' in terms of who we were born to and how they raised us. We’re also finding out what others think about that identity pattern and, possibly, trying to either hide it or flaunt it even more. The transition at thirty is qualitatively different. We’ve been through one whole cycle of identity formation and we’re trying to squeeze out whatever doesn’t really belong to the real self—condensing, confirming, clarifying, defining.

"Now, while we're circling this symbol of patterns and organization, would be a good time to lay out one of the most important structural concepts in astrology: the Squaring of the Circle. Every cycle, whether with one planet or two, has a beginning. It has a middle and an ending, too. Simple, eh? Yet many astrologers forget this view of life. They look at the position of a planet in a birth chart and freeze it there, trying to milk it for more meaning than it can give.

"We’re born with the planets at certain positions determined by our time and place of birth. The important thing to remember though is that the planets keep moving and so do we. Life and people evolve. These motions in astrology are called Transits and Progressions and are two topics that must be left for you to discover in the references recommended at the end of this book (and, in the revised and expanded edition of this book to which this blog dedicated). Way before you attempt learning about all the meaning possible with moving planets, you need a firm grounding in the field they move within—the circle or cycle. Each cycle has its moment of beginning when things are new and fresh—either exciting or scary. Each cycle also has its ending, which is the same moment as the beginning of a new cycle. But rather than thinking of this evolution of meaning as an old phonograph record, spinning endlessly, we should concentrate our positive minds and see each ending and rebirth happening on a new and higher level—a spiral of ever-ascending and fulfilling meanings.

"The first half of any cycle is all about taking the new materials we have to deal with and shaping them according to the vision we (hopefully) had at that magic moment of rebirth. If we aren’t facing our astrological cycles and our very lives in this way, we’re shortchanging ourselves!

"The exact middle of any cycle is the time when the vision of the beginning can flower and fruit—come to its highest personal consummation of expression.

"From the middle to the next rebirth is the time to share the fruits we’ve garnered with others—to make the function(s) valuable in others' lives.

"The two quarter phases—halfway from beginning to middle and halfway from middle to rebirth—are times we can use to firm up our directions, shift gears, if necessary, to get back on course, make sure our roots are firmly planted (personal or social), and gain strength for the push to the color and magic of the middle or the raking of leaves and the seed-tending of the time near rebirth. You're going to find that The Instructions and its system of interpretation [at the end of the free-to-download book] don't deal with these moving functions. Like I've said before, this book is all about giving you the right Perceptions so that any further studies you might engage in can be positive and profitable. If I'd never mentioned this important concept of the General Cycle, I would have been shirking my duty..."

We've finished the first consideration of concepts in the 6th chapter of the book. Once I've covered all 14 chapters, we'll go back and consider things in more detail. Hopefully, you'll be leaving your comments as we go along so I can consider where and how to reconsider these basics of astrology...

The Leap from Uranus to Saturn...

We've been considering Uranus recently and we'll soon be moving in toward Saturn on this trip to the center of our astrological solar system (just like the reader in my freely downloadable book, Astrological Repair Manual {which I'm currently working to revise and expand while using this blog to solicit your thoughts and feelings...}).

We've already considered, briefly, the realms just beyond Pluto, Pluto itself, Neptune, and Uranus. If you've just arrived here, I recommend going back through the last nine posts (this is a new and tender blog and the posts are bite-sized...) and seeing where we've already been...

It is significant that I'm taking a pause from posting about the book right after I related some of the material from the chapter about Uranus and just before we move on to Saturn. The reason is that we all are in the middle of a Saturn/Uranus opposition—the time when those planets are looking critically at each other (please understand that the "looking" is totally metaphorical...) and revealing "messages" from our unconscious minds to our very small ego-minds—messages that resonate with Change and Transformation that we can bring to the sometimes overly organized realm of day-to-day material considerations...

I've been spending time recently in a few astrological forums, AstrologyWeekly (which has sadly been experiencing server problems the last few days), Astro.com, and Skyscript and the discussions about the Saturn/Uranus opposition are becoming extremely interesting!!

I'll put the dates for the current Saturn/Uranus opposition and the previous Saturn/Uranus conjunction below but be aware, the conjunction was the beginning of a cycle of the transformation of organized processes and procedures and the current opposition is a time of reaping the fruit of the conjunction (even if you weren't even born yet when the conjunction happened. {this is a good place to remind my readers that I cherish comments in this blog from people that have no idea what I'm talking about...}).

We had the beginning of a Saturn/Uranus cycle on these dates:

12 Feb 1988 at 30 Sagittarius
26 Jun 1988 at 29 Sagittarius
18 Oct 1988 at 28 Sagittarius

We're in the middle of the culmination (opposition) of this cycle. Here are the dates:

4 Nov 2008 at 19 Pisces/Virgo
5 Feb 2009 at 21 Pisces/Virgo
15 Sep 2009 at 25 Pisces/Virgo
26 Apr 2010 at 29 Pisces/Virgo
26 Jul 2010 at 1 Libra/Aries

I hope I get a multitude of comments about this post...

Even if I don't, the next post will cover the chapter in the book about Saturn—one of the most misunderstood planets in astrology...

Go ahead, leave a comment. I dare you! Remember, the only stupid question is the one we don't ask...