What's Important To You?

I was going to look at Elvis Presley's chart in this post but that will have to wait. There's a more important topic that should be dealt with since I've launched into showing you how the interpretive system in my book (Astrological Repair Manual) can be used to arrive at more honest and positive insights into those strange entities called charts.

As you noticed in the last post, while considering Adolf Hitler's chart, my focus isn't from the ground, up; it's from the sky, down...

I didn't try to find the evil actions of Hitler in his chart, I considered the positive factors in his life-blueprint and gave a few reasons why he didn't fulfill his positive potential. Hitler was born with all the positive potential for creative contribution to our human family as any of us but his environment and his own free-will conspired against his developing a desire to be a trustworthy member of the human race.

Our ego minds seem to never get enough of seeing life as good/bad, white/black, for me/against me...

But, we all have higher or, if you prefer, deeper minds that can bridge the gap between "good" and "bad" and find a position of Best, for ourselves and for others we relate to.

Here's an analogy to help you see why I propose that a top-down interpretation is always better than a bottom-up one:

Let's consider a view of the ancient alchemical elements Earth, Water, Air, Fire. In fact, that ordering of the elements (which is at least 4,000 years-old) is very valuable for getting from a street-view of astrology to a cosmic view of the potential our inner solar system contains.

Important Note: This consideration goes beyond how much of each element you have planets in. Don't forget, we All have All the elements at our disposal. Matter of fact, the view I propose can help us "activate" those elements we may think we don't have...

Earth is where we all live, the place of daily chores, relationships with other humans, and, eventually, our body's grave. If we fashion an interpretive process that sticks to the Earth, we only have at our disposal a view that's limited to concrete processes; and, our range of tools is reduced to our own physical experience or the "indications" of chart factors borrowed from other's physical experience...

When we shift to the Water perspective, we don't lose our Earth bearings because Water encompasses and enfolds Earth. What we do, though, is to widen our range of tools in our astrological kit. We have now the powerful tools of empathy, sympathy, compassion and concern. Our astrological bedside-manner becomes more valuable because we're relating to the other person (or, even ourselves) with a gut-level understanding. The trials and temptations of a merely physical life are tempered at the fountain of fellow-feeling...

It takes more willed work but transition to the Air perspective has valuable rewards, for ourselves and those we may counsel. Now, we have a point-of-view that encompasses and enfolds both Water and Earth yet can operate above their enticing attractions and give us a far-seeing approach that can warn more effectively of approaching danger or steer more efficiently across the canvas that Earth and Water have given birth to...

Finally, for we earth-dwellers, is the realm of Fire. Few can maintain their position within this framework for long, mostly because they have no tools to help them maintain their interpretive focus at this intuitive and dramatically dynamic level of astrological awareness. The Fire perspective enfolds and inspires creative responses at the levels of Air, Water, and Earth...

I claim that the system I present the basics of in my book, in the section at the back called The Instructions, and which I'll be using to consider the charts of famous people {and regular folk like you and me when you begin to contribute to the comments section about your experience with it}, this system can and does operate at the Fire level. It stays above the possible confusions of the Air level, above the possible swampings of the Water level, above the possible petrifications of the Earth level, while still offering aid and assistance for all those realms.

Download the book, try the system on yourself or a few friends (be sure they get to pick their own options!), and seriously consider sharing your experience in the comments. The more we Share, the more we Grow.

Next time, Elvis' chart...

Messenger of the Gods

We just left Venus and were nearing Mercury in the voyage from the Free-to-Download book, Astrological Repair Manual. This is Chapter 12 and includes just a bit about retrogradation...

"It’s getting pretty warm now, so close to the Sun. Things are heating up as far as cycles go, too. We’re at Mercury, dealing with a function that may seem very cut-and- dried, but certainly is not.

"Mercury: Intelligence, Concrete Thought, Perception, Communication. All these things can seem so normal that they hardly need comment. But comment I must since they’re all ripe for illusion and disarray!

"As I’ve affirmed before, none of these astrological functions stands alone; they all work together. If we use our free will to hide, subvert or bury any of them, we open the floodgates to problematic living. That being true, our intelligence and our different ways of communicating certainly shouldn’t operate in a vacuum. The first function that will help Mercury's functioning is the planet we just left—Venus. Feelings and values are the perfect complement for intelligence and communication.

"Wonder why they seem to be at odds so often? Check your culture; look closely at the social environment these functions develop within. From where I’m sitting in the United States, I must admit that this country’s culture has been very unkind to a smooth marriage of these two functions for far too many years. I’m sure that the situation is similar in most cultures around the world. It hasn't always been this way. I know that there were times and social situations when it was different, families and groups within which it is different, and I predict that the whole world will get it right eventually. Since the two planets are physically close, and since their cycles are similar in duration, one could wonder deeply at the rank perversions heaped upon using them together.

"To cut our feeling from our thinking is a crime. Yet one of the most valuable uses for astrology is to hold our various functions and their proper relationships up to us in a symbolic mirror. We can See what should be and, most often, find the best way to iron out persistently irritating wrinkles—those warps of function induced by family, culture and the press of living in a world changing faster than it ever has before.

"I mentioned the phenomenon of 'retrogradation' before—the apparent backwards flow of a planet’s function. I pointed out that I hate that word 'retrograde', but I haven’t come up with a suitable alternative yet... I also pointed out that, when a planet is doing 'that', it’s a time to focus on the function's meaning in an internal way, to ponder the depth of the function in our lives, to let the function dive into our unconscious. Then we can return with fresh energy for the journey.

"Mercury does this internal journeying about every three months; it lasts for about three weeks. This Mercury Retrograde period has gotten some of the worst astrological coverage! What’s been said has had a quality of 'negative truth'—an inappropriate reporting of only the undesirable aspects. The real problem is that this 'negative truth' is touted as the Whole truth. Just because many people suffer from erratic thinking during these periods, just because they are forgetful or can’t concentrate on what they think is important—these things are no reason to blame the planet Mercury or to make a baldfaced assumption that Mercury Retrograde is somehow automatically a bad time, to be merely suffered through.

"Think about this: People are told that they have an opportunity, every three months, to use their perceptive qualities to find fresh and highly individualistic solutions to things that may have been causing some bafflement in their lives. These people believe what they're told, at least enough to give it a try. So, they schedule time during this period, time apart, to reconsider a few things, to look at things from other angles, to Let some new thinking happen.

"I can hear someone saying, 'Naw... I really don’t have the time to slow down and rethink anything. My spouse and my boss wouldn’t understand. Do you have any idea how hard it is already, just trying to keep up?'

"Actually, I do understand. I pity this person’s inability to understand that continuing to barge ahead when their natural cycles demand internal action might be the cause of the problem.

"I just love to talk to the people I’ve met who have Mercury Retrograde in their birth charts. They usually have a lifelong ability to do this 'backward' thinking. And they just happen to be some of the most creative, original people I know!

"Being this close to the Sun is starting to get to me. Its' ferociously brilliant splendor is acting like a plasma magnet. I’m being pulled toward its' awesomely prodigious, life-giving waves of light...

"Come on! You don’t want to miss the fun, do you?"

Till the next post.........

What's Your Point-of-View ?

Last post we checked out the Moon as the fastest and most intimate Function in astrology. Now, we'll look at the Earth's cycle in the second half of Chapter 10 from my Free-to-Download book, Astrological Repair Manual:

"If I said the Moon cycle shows the Style of living, then the Earth shows the actual Central Focus of a life. The Earth is going around the Sun, right? In astrology, the Sun is referred to as the Central Focus of life. It's easy to see why, since without it, we’d be dead! So why am I confusing things and calling Earth the Central Focus? It’s because the Sun’s cycle is the reflection of a moving Earth, and astrology is all about our point-ofview from the Earth. I needed to remind you that the Earth is moving ‘cause it’s so easy to forget...

"So, we’ll pair the Earth-Sun year-long cycle of Central Life Purpose with the month-long Moon cycle of Style of Living that Purpose, and we’ll have the most important Couple of all the astrological Relationships. So important that, with just Sun- Sign and Moon-sign and an understanding of how to blend their meanings into one 'chord', you can impress and astound anyone by explaining the Core of their psychology.

"Certainly, there are other important considerations, like two or three of the other planets close to each other or the Sun or Moon very near another planet, but Everything else in a chart depends on this 'battery' of Sun/Moon. Nothing else would happen without it.

"While we’re here where astrology actually lives, it’s time to get into a little more detail about what the Signs and Houses of astrology mean. We’ll start with the Houses, since these are the Space within which everything else happens.

"There you are, a newly born babe, taking your first breath (the most accurate moment to use in a birth chart). The space that surrounds you has Meaning. Your unconscious mind is already working overtime, though the conscious ego will take years to catch up, if it ever really does... The unconscious is noting the directions and the various cyclic energies that are ranged around you. Powerful connections are being made between your deep psychological state and the actual space that surrounds you. The imprint of this moment of birth is so profound that an astrologer can look at a chart’s meanings and sometimes actually deduce some of the physical happenings at that moment. Certainly, the moment is powerful enough that it becomes, in the full detail of a complete birth chart, the 'blueprint' for the rest of your life.

"To the East, where the path of the planets rises, is what has been called the 'Ascendant' or the beginning of the First House. At the highest point of the planets' path is the 'Midheaven' or the beginning of the 10th house. These two positions define the circle of the Houses. There are actually twelve of them, and their meanings will be given in detail in The Instructions. For now, let’s look at these two defining positions' meanings.

"The Ascendant is the position of your most individualized perspective on life— your 'mask', in the old meaning of that word—what the medicine man wore to let a part of his unconscious come out, certainly not something put on to hide behind. If you don’t know your time of birth accurately and you can’t find it in the records, you need to locate a well-seasoned and rigorously honest astrologer to do what’s called 'rectification'. This is a complex method of working 'backwards' to deduce a time of birth. Much can be told from a chart that’s approximately correct, but it will be significantly general information, true for many people born at or around the time of your birth.

"The Sign that was rising on the Ascendant when you were born is the energy you characteristically use to individually perceive the world. Any planets that are near the Ascendant will blend their functions with your perceptions and become some of your very best 'tools' in life.

"The Midheaven is the position of your characteristic way of Growing into the world. It shows the way you can best be 'objective' about life and, with its accompanying Sign is often used to guide people toward a profession. (Again, I must stress that the chart doesn’t 'say' which specific profession. What’s indicated is the meaning that the profession has in your life. Rather than saying 'doctor' or 'nurse' or 'counselor', for instance, you might see the meaning of 'helping others', although this is a very simplistic way of telling you what a good astrologer could say about your Midheaven and its relationship to other factors in your chart.)

"All the other Houses in your chart derive their meanings from these two—your individualized way of perceiving life and your unique way of growing into it. The Houses can be thought of as the Activities of your life while the Signs are the Energies you use in those Activities and the Planets are the Functions that channel those Energies in those Activities. Another way to say this is that the Function 'uses' the Energy to 'perform' the Activity. You’ll get a lot of practice with this basic astrological formula in The Instructions (in the Free-to Download book) when you begin interpreting your own chart!

"So, the Houses are determined by where and when you were born and define your Space of Activity. The Signs are determined by the motion of the Earth around the Sun and define the Energies that are used in that space.

"There is a moment in the Earth’s journey around the Sun that we call Spring— when day and night are equal and day is beginning to be longer than night. This moment and the place the Sun is in at that time is what we call the beginning of the Sign Aries. In a very important way, saying what Spring means is saying what Aries means. There is another time in the Earth’s journey around the Sun that happens when night is longest and day is shortest and day is just beginning to increase again. This time and the place the Sun is in then is called Capricorn and (without using any of the negative meanings) saying Capricorn is the same as saying Winter. These two Signs and times determine all the other Sign’s meanings, similarly to the Ascendant and Midheaven giving meaning to all the other Houses. I’ll direct your attention to the web site link in The Instructions that goes to Khaldea where you’ll find more than enough information to go as deeply as you desire into the lush fields of Sign and House meanings...

"Earlier in this book I said something to the effect that nothing in astrology has meaning without everything else—kind of like your head means nothing without your neck... Even things like the Ascendant or the first House, which give meaning to other factors, don’t have meaning by themselves. It’s our position on the Earth and it’s relationship to the rest of the solar system that give meaning to Ascendant and first House.

"When we get to the last chapter, you’ll get a feeling for how even this solar system gets its meaning from the rest of space...

"Most of my time on this Earth has been spent learning to find the core meanings of the various factors of astrology. The journey has been wild with discovery and, at times, perilous with risk. I mentioned two languages earlier—the one that astrology has crystallized into traditional words and meanings—and the one that holds the truth. Even though you’ll be able to interpret your own chart (in a basic way) by the time you finish reading this book, you won’t have reached the end of that interpretation until you die. The reason I've stuck with astrology for so many years is that its deepest meanings are the 'seeds' that give meaning to everything else. The structure of astrology is, at root, the structure of our psyche.

"Bold statement, that! Hard-won truth, too. Back behind all the lunacies of popular astrology, far deeper than anything I can say about the subject, is the ocean of our unconscious mind. Our mind, because, at that level, it is a collective mind—heir to the full history of humanity and parent to any individual ego consciousness. There is a man, someone I’ve called the Einstein of psychology—Carl Jung. If you want to delve into this magnificent arena of the origin of consciousness, read Jung...

"And what about our feelings? Ah! We must travel to Venus to begin to unravel the mysteries of feeling..."

We'll also be exploring Venus in the Houses in the next post...

Father Time Is All Spaced-Out

We've left the Transpersonal realm of astrology and are orbiting Saturn. Since this blog was created to discuss the ideas in my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual, I'll let portions of Chapter 6 speak for themselves:

"We’ve left the three transpersonals far behind but clearly not forgotten. As we approach Saturn we notice it’s quite a bit bigger than Neptune or Uranus, obviously composed mostly of gas, but with a bright, pastel yellow atmosphere.

"Hmmm... This character is the one who cut off his father’s penis...[ back in Chapter 4 ] This is the guy called Father Time and he carries that sharp scythe...

"This is also the planet that gets the worst press from traditional astrologers.

"So what’s wrong with this function? Nope, not gonna answer a question like that; I’m too hopelessly optimistic. I’ll answer this one instead: What’s right with this planetary function?

"First, the most right thing about Saturn is that is represents Structure. After having been through the realms of Regeneration [Pluto], Visions [Neptune], and Transformation [Uranus], it can feel pretty good to pull some structure around oneself—get things organized, clarify issues, make a few definitions. Of course, if we were going the other way [from Saturn, out], we’d be leaving this structure and looking forward to a transformation of possibly rigid definitions, checking to see if our clarifications are really clear enough, changing the priorities of our organizational plan.

"This ability to see any function from both 'directions' is a valuable talent to have if you’re thinking about using astrology. It isn’t enough to just stay free of limiting categories for any particular planetary function, it’s also important to see the function operating in many different roles.

"Language and our use of it become critical factors when we begin to apply astrological knowledge to our lives. For example, take my use of the phrase 'limiting categories' two sentences ago. Limitation is also one of Saturn’s functional purposes, but a healthy limitation of some field of endeavor is very different from imposing limiting categories on ourselves.

"Let me say this another way. Astrology has ten major functions, represented by the cycles of planetary bodies, that can be used to gain meaning about the various aspects of our character....Since all the functions can be used with all the other functions, you need to stay flexible in the way you view their meanings. You can’t go so far that a function changes its basic meaning just because it’s interacting with another one, but it's important to know that these meanings certainly can bend and sway. Kind of like that time you went to some social gathering and had to keep certain aspects of yourself from showing too strongly...

"This whole discussion of language, meanings, and the need to be clear about words is quite Saturnian, too. It’s like a relationship where Saturn is dancing with Uranus and Saturn is doing all the leading. If Uranus were to lead, there would be meanings changing into each other. Confusing? Try thinking back to last chapter’s discussion about the bad kid changing into a good citizen. It was the same person the whole time—their Saturnian structure didn’t change—but they went through some amazing Uranian transformations."

There will be more about Saturn in the next post...

I hope these ideas from the book spark discussion in the comments or , at least, some questions. Remember what my instructors used to say: "The only stupid questions are the ones you don't ask".

The Shattering Truth...

In our continuing voyage into the solar system from far within our unconscious minds (just like the readers of my book, Astrological Repair Manual, a free download) we come to a point where we must face the Utter Truth...

What's your reaction when you know the truth you've glimpsed will bring major change to your life, change that may mean letting some treasured things be left behind?

I'll let part of chapter four in the book, about Uranus and its 84-year cycle, speak for me:

"When we look at the half and quarter cycles of this function, some very interesting meanings emerge. The half-cycle is 42 years—smack in the middle of middle age. The quarter-cycle first occurs at 21—an age at which many of us have an insatiable urge to irrevocably separate from parental dictates, even if we’ve already made a physical separation...

"But separation isn’t an absolutely necessary part of Uranus’ function. It does accompany many folks’ experience of this unconscious power but, if we’re prepared for
the action of transformation and are fully ready to face the truth of a situation, we can navigate the changes and keep our treasured possessions—mental, emotional or physical.

"If we contemplate one twelfth of a Uranus cycle, we see some of the reason for what people have called the '7-year-itch'.

"Since one of the purposes of Uranus’ cycle is facing and incorporating the rock-bottom, radical truth, I want to say a few words about 'Good & Bad', 'Positive & Negative', and 'Abstract & Concrete'.

"We’ve been dealing with some big abstract concepts so far: Regeneration [Pluto], Idealism [Neptune], Transformation [Uranus]; and, as we travel in closer to the Sun, we’ll be dealing with concepts that will feel a lot more concrete. Truth is, there’s an abstract and concrete side to most everything. The events we live through as we regenerate [Pluto], idealize [Neptune], and transform [Uranus] are quite concrete. Similarly, when we get to the functions that appear mostly concrete, we’ll still have the abstract psychological powers lurking behind them.

"As far as the polarities of 'Good/Bad' and 'Positive/Negative' are concerned, the truth of the matter is that the old maxims about focusing on the positive bringing good and focusing on the negative bringing bad are fascinatingly true. The catch is that you have to absolutely focus on the positive and, before you can do that, you have to absolutely know what the most positive view is.

"And, when it comes to astrology in general, it's very important to remain rigorously positive. Even if some of the books on astrology detail various negative qualities and, even if you find your expression of those factors as negative, you still need to focus on the positive. How else can you change negative to positive?

"Plus, there's a harmful practice that's too prevalent in astrology, where people use the negative interpretations of astrological factors to excuse their negative behavior—'Sure I do that. It's because I'm a (fill in the blank).'.

"One of Uranus’ functions is to bring us the shattering truth when we’ve been either purposefully or unknowingly clinging to half- or partial-truths. This can be painful or shocking but, when we get to the other side of any crisis, we can usually see the wisdom of the 'unnecessary' strife. And, even if we still can’t make sense of what’s happened, there are the functions of Neptune and Pluto out there (in here) to help us dissolve the clinging falsehoods and bring them to a state of regenerative wholeness.

"Yes, I’m a hopeless optimist! But my experience of life has included a great quantity of shock and pain and dissolution and, thank God, necessary regeneration. What I’m left with after all this inner work is the ineradicable conviction that life has many tests and trials, we all must face some of them, and we all have the sacred duty to maintain our faith and hopefulness that we will see the truth, we will find the dream, and we will experience rebirth into ever-higher understanding and meaningfulness.

"If not... there’s hell to pay!"

Please do respond in the comments! New to astrology? Great!! As my instructors used to say, "There's no stupid question except the one you don't ask..."

Would A Scientist Lie To You ?

One thing that needs more discussion in astrological circles is whether astrology is a science or an art; or, some of both.

The trickiest part of this issue is whether the science some astrologers try to incorporate into their work is Real Science...

I hadn't imagined that my other blog would be contributing to this one since this blog is all about You helping me with the huge task of revising and expanding my little, free astrology book. I'll definitely be exploring this relation of science and astrology in the new version of my book.

Well, the unexpected happened! I just finished a post on the other blog that speaks to the whole issue of whether the science practiced in the mainstream can be trusted...

Check out Would A Scientist Lie To You ? and come on back and leave Your Thoughts and Feelings!!