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...

Earth's Moon

We've left Mars and have arrived in orbit around the double planet—Earth/Moon. I'm still mostly quoting from my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual. We're up to Chapter 10 and there are only 14 chapters (plus, the "Instructions" that show you how to begin interpreting your own chart...) so, not long from now, we'll be exploring the ideas in the current book in some very creative ways and I'll begin to discuss ideas for the revised and expanded edition which I'm working on now.

Let's check out the first part of Chapter 10:

"Here we are, finally approaching Earth—birthplace of astrology. First, we cuddle up to the Moon, home of much lunacy...

"Let’s look at that last word more closely since a major purpose of this book is to repair mis-perceptions, and various lunacies are still far too prevalent in the astrological community.

"In Old English, lunacy was born in the phrase mona seocnes or, to attempt a translation, 'monthsickness'—insanity alternating with periods of clear mindedness. This clearly describes many practitioners of astrology, but, if it were up to me, I’d reverse the order and say they seem very clear-minded for periods punctuated by bouts of insanity...

"Let’s be clear. It’s insane to say that astrology predicts events (and, of course, I'm using the word 'insane' in its original meaning: not healthy) This may be really hard for some folks to understand, but here it is: Astrology does not, will not, and never has predicted events. What?! Yes. It's the absolute truth, even if some astrologer 'predicted' something for you. (If an astrologer tells you something is going to happen, don't you think that, if it does, there may just be a bit of self-fulfillment in that?) What astrology does predict or reveal is Meaning.

"O.K. What if an astrologer says some event happened in your past, and that, in fact, it did happen? Believe it or not, what happened is that the astrologer saw a meaning in the chart and made a very good guess at the exact event. Here's some proof of that:

"Many years ago, I had the opportunity to talk to two men, born of different mothers but at the same time at the same hospital. Since they had the same chart you'd think they would have had the same events happening in their lives, right? Well, all it takes is one contrary occurrence of something to disprove a theory and here it is:

There was a strong indicator in their charts at a certain time, and I asked the first man what happened. He said his father had died. I asked the other man, with the same chart, what happened, and he said he'd been on his first nude beach...

"Obviously, the same chart had shown two very different events! Then, I asked the first man (by the way, I interviewed these men separately), "What did it mean when your father died?" He said that he'd felt like he'd had shackles removed (his father had been rather authoritarian). I asked the other man, "What did it mean to be on your first nude beach?" He said that he had dropped his shackles... They used exactly the same, and not so common, word to describe what two very different events meant.

"See? Astrology predicts meanings.

"By the way, it’s also insane to attribute the mental faults of some astrologers to the effect of the Moon. The Moon has nothing to do with it. None of the planets have anything to do with it. It’s the influence of environment coupled with free-will that warps folks into the fields of lunacy. ‘Nuff said.

"So, what’s this big, beautiful Moon good for? It just happens to be, from our view on Earth, the fastest cycle we have—27.3 days to be exact—the archetypical Month!

"Think of it as the second-hand on a cosmic clock with ten hands. By the way, my saying, just a second ago, 'from our view on Earth', may be the most important thing we can consider. Astrology from any of the places we’ve been so far, including this Moon, would be very different! It’s very definitely a thing about point-of-view...

"The cycle of the Moon gives us many things. One of the most important is a cycle we can definitely feel—if we’re not stone-cold numb. Whether or not you’ve been keeping up with the cycles of your chart, you most likely have a clear feeling for what a 'month' means for you—even if only in terms of what you can get done in that amount of time. If you look at a month as the time the Moon spends going from where it was when you were born, around the cycle of Signs, and back to your birth-position, you’ll have a marvelous indicator of your personal style-of-living. The Instructions ( in the free-to-download book) will help you find your personal Moon position and the recommended web sites plus our Forum will tell you how to track it [the forum died but will be reborn when the new edition is published...].

"The Moon in astrology also acts like a 'trigger' for other cycles. (I must reiterate: the actual Moon is not making things happen) Tracking it around your birth chart while being aware of when it’s 'over' your other planets' positions is a solid exercise in making the internal chart (the one in your unconscious mind) reveal itself in the symbolic chart (the one on paper or your computer screen). I'm being as basic as possible in this book for good reason—roots must go deep for trees to stand tall..."

Next time we'll discover some basics facts about how the Earth and our view from it create the Houses of astrology...

What Is Your Major Motivation?

We're still with Mars but I'm going to introduce a new way to look at the Signs of astrology. So, here's the rest of Chapter 9 of my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual:

"I think it’s time to introduce the signs of astrology. I’m going to do it by sketching out what Mars using each of them could look like. You’ll have a chance to do this for all the functions in all the signs in The Instructions (in the free-to-download book). Remember, though, that just because you might start with Mars using a particular brand of energy, and even though that way of being assertive has a tendency to be prominent your whole life, there is a slow and steady moderation. Time and the tides of the cycles bring opportunities to act in differing ways and with differing results. Some see these as obstacles to their 'natural' way of motivating themselves, some as chances to refine and expand their innate drives. This is seen in what's called astrological progressions.

"Plus, there’s the other truth of astrology (I’ve been saving this one for the right
moment): We all have all twelve signs. When you look at a complete birth chart, and when you realize that the whole chart is a symbol of your whole life, you’ll know that all the signs or energies of astrology are there in that wheel, that you have all those energies available to use. Most people have four or five much stronger than the rest because that’s where their planets lie, that’s where the cycles of the functions begin their evolution.

Now, let’s look at Mars with each of the signs; but realize that this is just an introduction to your own interpretations in The Instructions. As you read each of these different ways of asserting ourselves, see if some of them seem like friends or work-mates or relatives... Also, if you know which Sign your Mars is in and these words don't seem like you, consider that I'm still being extremely optimistic (from necessity) plus, you could have another planet heavily modifying your Mars.

"Mars using Aries is a motivation that springs ahead with such energy that restraint is next to nil if there are no other functions to slow it down or moderate it. Thankfully, it’s uncommonly rare for anyone to have all ten planets in Aries! This is the first sign of spring and has all the youthful energy that it implies. People with Mars using Aries seem to have unending energy supplies. They have no problem asserting themselves and usually learn quite early that everyone else just seems to act differently. Goal and action seem to occur simultaneously—no timeouts and no restraints. But, since people with Mars using Aries do have other functions in other signs, they have the potential to channel all that energy without busting a seam against any obstacles.

"Mars using Taurus is, in important ways, a polar opposite to the motivator using Aries. This combination still shows a very determined way of acting (we’re still in the early phases of the energy cycle, just after the rush of the rebirth), but the application of drive is more deliberate, more restrained, more focused.

"Mars using Gemini has a chance to be motivated in multiple directions simultaneously. This is a combination that can diffuse energy and spread motivation out. Sometimes this manifests as an ability to operate on multiple levels of energy use or in parallel lines of endeavor.

"Mars using Cancer is an assertiveness that’s motivated by strong feeling. Here is where things are not just done to be finished but to attain some value. This is when people are able to externalize their feelings in ways that make others want to act on those feelings.

"Mars using Leo is extremely outgoing yet has quite a bit of natural restraint. This is the combination that acts toward clear goals, being forward when necessary and holding back if action would impede future forward motion.

"Mars using Virgo has the ability to finely focus energy use. This is a Mars that can seemingly wait forever to act at the “right” moment. This is disciplined motivation, moderated drive.

"So far, we’ve covered Mars using what can be called the 'personal' Signs. The next six combos will show a more social orientation.

"Mars using Libra is the situation of working toward a balance in outgoing and incoming energy. Actions are intended to accomplish what’s necessary to engage other’s motivations.

"Mars using Scorpio also seeks to fathom how others can be brought within the sphere of action, but the intensity of analysis is sharper, the thrust of intention is deeper.

"Mars using Sagittarius takes flight and looks for distant goals that can lead yet farther. Action here is initiated for ideal reasons, socially grand designs, or future possibilities.

"Mars using Capricorn has all the ambition it needs and also the practical reasons for having it. Motivation streams toward practical solutions. Assertiveness aims at accomplishments that endure.

"Mars using Aquarius is action in the social arena, motivation that is fitted for group goals, assertiveness that stimulates a consensus.

"Mars using Pisces is the way to make peace—act as if you were the other, act for the other, or, like the Zen mind, act without acting...

"This round of motivational types was meant to be illustrative only; certainly not
definitive! When you consider that Mars must act in concert with nine other functions, much of what I’ve indicated can be woven with other thread, colored by other filters. Still, the essence of these various ways of externalizing our drives remains.

"Time to move on. There is much to do at Earth!"

The Ancient Warrior

We saw some of the positive potential of chaos in the last post and we're moving on to Mars. Here's part of Chapter 9 from my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual:

"Rusty red, not a gas ball—Mars looms near. Place of pink skies and global sandstorms. Most likely candidate for extensive human settlement—in this solar system. Full cycle real close to two years. Mythological cloak, red with the blood of sex and war...

"Mars, the astrological cycle of
Motivation, Externalization, Drive, and Assertion.

"Yes, Mars the astrological cycle; not Mars the planet. As this book progresses, I’m attempting to talk in two languages while giving you the truth about only one of them. The first language is what most people use to refer to various aspects of astrology. The second language is something that can only be understood through experience. The second language uses most of the basic words from the first language but uses them in different and deeper ways. Like referring to Mars as a cycle. Yes, I know, I’ve called most of the previous cycles 'planets' before divulging their cycles. I think it’s time, since we're getting so close to Earth, to reveal more of the truth. Up until now, I’ve been sliding into the second language slowly. The prime reason is that I’m writing this book for those who know nothing about astrology as well as those with a competent working knowledge. Starting with one language and sliding into the other is a tricky venture, but absolutely necessary if we want to use astrology to truly help ourselves or others. The Instructions (in the free-to-download book) will definitely spell out all the basics in this second language. O.K. Enough disclaimer.

"Since the cycle of Motivation is close to two years, we have an opportunity to discover, and easily check, a concept that explains one of the most perplexing regular occurrences in our experience—the way that things can seem to be going along just fine, and, 'all of a sudden', they slow down or even stop and reverse their trend. In the traditional lexicon of astrology, this is called retrogradation. I personally don’t like the word. Retro may be fine in fashion, but when we need to get things done, it’s a potential bother. Potential only, though. If we can see that there is a natural reason for cycles to progress forward, then appear to retrograde and finally finish their course, we can turn bothers into blessings. Because of the view from Earth, all the planets but the Moon and Sun (I know the Moon is a moon and the Sun is a star but, again, we’re talking in two languages) have a period when they look like they’re going backwards (but they aren’t).

"In terms of cycles, this is a forward motion with a period of time when it’s naturally appropriate to slow down or even reverse our intentions or motivations, check ourselves, analyze plans, and then resume with a better plan, direction, or thrust. Imagine you’re on a train or trolley and you’re passed by another one. There’s a moment when it can seem you’re moving backward. It’s all about relative perceptions. This is one way to understand why the planets seem to retrograde. Now, maybe I can talk about this using only the second language. I’ll be talking about the cycle, Mars, but this phenomenon of retrogradation happens, in different time frames, with all but the Sun and Moon.

"So, at the beginning of the Mars cycle, we’re all full of the rebirth of a new motivation, drive, or period of assertion. We really cruise, plowing through obstacles, climbing mountains of resistance, and making good headway. When we reach the first quarter phase of the cycle, we make a point of reinforcing the strength of our intentions, sometimes shifting gear into a higher vibration of drive. Along we go, and, near the middle of the cycle, things get more uphill, or possibly we find our fuel running low. Maybe others are naysaying our progress. I’m happy to say that this is perfectly natural, even if it is 'against' some of the principles of our highly materialized culture. For a few months out of the two years of the cycle, just when we reach the time of bringing it to personal fulfillment, we should slow down. We’re getting ready for the transition to the second half of the cycle. At this time, it's appropriate to share our motivation and drive with others, even act for them or pick up their loads. We need the time of 'reversal' or slow-down to make sure that we don’t run off past others, that we can moderate the thrust in order to give it social value.

"This phase of the cycle, so necessary to proper growth, has a decided element of internalization about it. A certain reaching-in; finding what the rest of 'us' needs... Our culture often doesn’t like or doesn’t even permit this type of cycle. Hence, many of the frustrations of many of the people! If we were talking about the outer cycles, the internal phase it’s months. When we get to Venus and Mercury, it’s less. For all the functions, there's a time when we need to either slow down or go inside (even if we’re still acting outside) to gain a larger perspective. It happens in the middle, right when youth wants to forge ahead and age sits back and nods...

"Mars itself is usually perceived as all about going forward. But, if you consider the times when a prudent pause actually gave you more energy, this concept will seem more natural. If the Mars cycle only meant forging ahead, thrusting without let-up, it would really have a hard time getting along with the other cycles, causing steam leaks and explosions in our well-crafted psyche. What’s that you say? Oh...

"Another truth about astrology is that, even though it mirrors cycles we have inside, we have the free-will to warp and bend those cycles and energies. There have been times when I’ve thought the main reason to use astrology was to fix what’s broken. Sure, it can help a lot with this kind of healing, but imagine using it before the breakdown, imagine using it to educate children about the natural cycles within themselves, giving them a real head start in life!

"So, what about the Ancient Warrior? This was what folks used to think Mars meant. This is how people have misused this energy for centuries. This is the kind of thinking that this book is out to change. If you look far enough back in the history of the word 'war', you’ll find a meaning close to 'mix'. War is a particularly horrid way of mixing it up. I probably don't have to tell you that it will take many individuals committed to other ways of integrating differing opinions to wipe war off the face of the Earth. Impossible? Only if it’s impossible for people to get along. Impossible? Only if people don’t look for frames of reference that can include their views and others’ at the same time. Impossible? Only if people refuse to try..."

Next post will still be Mars but we'll start to look at the Houses of astrology...

Asteroids and Chaos

We've left Jupiter and are entering the asteroid belt. Our journey mirrors the one in my free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual.

Let's look at Chapter 8:

"Here we are traveling through what’s been called the Asteroid Belt—many thousands of carbony or rocky planetoids, chunks of stuff that some think are left over from a destroyed early planet and others think haven't been together long enough to make a planet; jury’s still out...

"The thing is, that since they first called it a belt, astronomers have found bodies orbiting in something more like a sphere with the majority of them huddling in the somewhat flat plane of the major planets. Also, this conglomeration of bodies between Jupiter and Mars used to be the big thing in small bodies. Now we know there are large groups between Saturn and Neptune, not to mention all those Hordes out past Pluto (check out the first few posts of this blog for Xena and her Hordes).

"The critical thing for an astrologer to consider is what can be done, with such a wide variety of objects orbiting in such a wide variety of places, when the astrologer comes to the point of trying to draw any logical, interpretive conclusions. Sad to say, there are many astrologers who don’t stop to consider many things before they blithely offer up their opinions. Result? Chaos; in the astrologer’s mind and in any soul unwitting enough to bite this particular apple.

"One outstanding example of this unconsidered (though, probably, sincere) approach to interpreting this realm of chaotic bodies is the object dubbed Chiron. Discovered in 1977 and having an orbit that takes it between Uranus and Saturn, this small celestial traveler has been given way too much responsibility in the traditional astrologer’s bag of tricks...

"The first major consideration before attempting astrological interpretation of this kind of object is, 'What about all the other ones?' Sure, some astrologers interpret a few of the asteroids in their practice, but the critical difference between planets and this host of other bodies is that they are a host, a multitude, a legion. Back when we were hovering near Xena, I said one approach for hordes-interpretation was to, '...think of a sheath or aura around the chart, a non-localized group of potentials and energies that each individual can tap into IF they can manage to begin using the other planetary functions consciously.'

"That was said for the bodies out beyond Pluto, but it can certainly be applied to the asteroid belt and this plethora of small bodies. Another consideration is the length of their cycles. This depends on physics, but with this legion spread over most of the extent of the solar system, we witness cycles from less than a year to many hundreds of years...

"One approach would be to use 'the sheath or aura...of potentials and energies' and give it special attention when we find a concentration of these denizens of chaos. Since the Hordes of Xena have very long cycles, they would represent a congregation of energies that society-at-large can use; the flock between Jupiter and Mars would be oriented toward the transition between Social Expansion (Jupiter) and Personal Motivation (Mars-teasermeaning).

"I should make it clear that since astrology deals with the mirroring of solar system cycles in the lives of people (and cultures or individuals), everyone is always 'using' these energies and functions. The goal is to make this cyclic-meaning more conscious. And, to be as progressive as possible, astrology is not the only way to do this; just the one I’m writing about...

"So, in other words, these hordes and legions are a cloud of cycles and meanings that don’t have the clarity or precision of interpretation that planets do. They do, however, let us consider the value of chaos in our lives.

"Chaos is a word, like many others, that now seems to live far from its birthplace. Not to say that words shouldn’t grow and move from place to place, but, like you and me, if they change their identity too many times, we should give them a new name or folks might get confused. Actually, most words like this don’t change their meanings; people just don’t know them well enough. Like 'chaos'.

"It came from the Greeks and originally meant something like the primal emptiness or to gape or be wide open. One thing it didn’t mean back then was disorder or confusion—meanings common today. Some of you may be thinking, 'So the word changed its' meaning. Forget about the old ways of using it.' Well, the fact is, that’s real hard to do, and the reason is lurking right there in all our minds—the unconscious. It remembers, very well, and, when we use words in ways they weren’t born for, we induce chaos in our thoughts. Oops! Did I mean disorder or confusion? Did I mean emptying our minds or making them wider? (Actually, I tried hard in that sentence to leave room for all the meanings of chaos...)

"Let’s leave this discussion behind with the understanding that words can be tricky, we should be wary, and chaos just might be a good thing—in its proper place, of course!

"I feel this is the proper place for an understanding of the potential for using all these otherwise misunderstood space objects as a symbol of the vast and multilevel energies available to us; some deep in the unconscious, some much closer to our waking understanding. It’s my firm conviction, though, that none of us will use them consciously unless we're using the main functions—the planets we all know and love—in consciously controlled ways.

"Let me share a quote from Dane Rudhyar that speaks to this positive understanding of chaos:

'Whereas our ancestors used to dwell in a comfortably static universe in which everything had a well defined and rationally reassuring name, a form and a permanent set of characteristics, today we find change enthroned everywhere.... Against the classical concepts of permanence and identity the realization that all living is a dynamic process of transformation from which no entity escapes now stands backed up by the whole edifice of scientific research and theory. On the ruins of the world of thought dogmatically extolled by nineteenth century minds we witness the reappearance of ancient concepts which were for millennia the foundations of human knowledge. The universe is once more to be understood as an ocean of energies in which two vast complementary tides can be distinguished. Everywhere a dynamic and electrical dualism appears as the foundation upon which all reality stands.'
--- The Pulse of Life (1943)

"Humanity is far from a complete understanding of life, the solar system, or the universe. There will always be more to learn and new ways to use what we already know. As we approach the inner edge of this asteroid belt, let’s just agree that there is more to know, and we can profit from letting our minds open a little bit wider at times. If we can reach a place where our minds feel somewhat empty, we will feel less driven, less oppressed. Our minds might even become broad enough to let new interpretations in, interpretations that include enough reality to have the power to take us closer to the truth."

All comments, critiques, and questions welcomed!

Jupiter's Friend, Saturn

We're going to stay with Jupiter a bit longer but we'll consider it in relation to our old friend Saturn.

From Chapter 7 of the free-to download book, Astrological Repair Manual:

"There is a set of forces within each of us:

Structure, Definition & Clarity
and
Expansion, Optimism & Extension

"Neither is more important, neither is better. Certainly, at different times of our lives, one or the other will become more prominent, but, if we want the best for ourselves, we’ll always keep both close by, even if one of them is standing more forward and taking the temporary lead. Jupiter (nothing for it but to use the common name and rely on your ability to stay above the worst of the common interpretations) is the function we all need to assure ourselves we can find greener pastures for our energies, the symbolic power to take a viewpoint that is high enough and broad enough to serve as the ruler of our hopes and aspirations. Without Jupiter, life would be sterile, and there would be no progress. It’s much more than just interesting to trace this function’s path through its 12 year-long phases.

"It begins with the potential you were given at birth to initiate your life’s expansions—the sign and house Jupiter occupied in your birth chart. [ If you haven’t yet looked back to The Instructions {in the free-to-download book} to find your chart factors, this might be a propitious time to begin. If you don’t want to yet, I’m sure your reasons are valid. ] Naturally, children in their first year of life have a maximum of desire to expand and seek all the opportunities possible. Even people who later ripen into the more austere members of humanity begin with some measure of exuberance and abandon. The second year of Jupiter’s transit brings some kind of contrast to the first since there’s a natural polarity to the flow of the signs and houses (more on this later). Year three sees the potential for a certain productivity along with the sheer delight at so many open fields of discovery. The fourth phase brings the first gearshift or rooting-in of our sense of opportunity—half-way to the middle of the cycle. Five gives us a chance to test the waters with some showing off and six brings a breather while we check our bearings just before the apex of the cycle. After six years of experiencing Jupiter’s power of seeking opportunity, we’ve almost completed one quarter of our first Saturn cycle. Our growing sense of structure is nearing its first attempt at nailing things down.

"It’s always interesting to look at what society has scheduled for us at various times in our lives and compare that with what our internal cosmos wants us to do. Reaching the ripe young age of six brings with it a deep desire to share with others our first full sense of what optimism means to us. Of course, most six-year-olds don’t think of it this way, but that doesn’t stop it from happening. We’re at our first peak of feeling our oats, and we need outlets to share that feeling without it getting stepped on. One good reason for needing that easing up on a six-year-old is that Saturn's first quarter cycle is at seven years old and there is a natural tendency to get a bit serious then. Compare Saturn's structuring and limiting challenges at seven with Jupiter's seventh phase and you can see one of the potentially toughest times in a young person's life. Jupiter's year seven should be a time of finding special others that can share our particular brand of positivity; eight, a time of deepening those ties; nine, an opportunity to take some first steps in social expansions; ten, the first reception of solid social rewards; eleven, the beginning of learning to network our abilities; and, twelve, a rebirth, with many gold stars on the wall! In the chapter that deals with the most expansive of the functions, I can be nothing but positive.

"That sketching-out of the first twelve years of growth and expansion may have sounded nearly idyllic and there are many other factors in a chart to consider to see the details of anyone's first 12 years. But I must speak the truth about what’s possible. If not now, when? If not me, who? Also, consider this: that 12-year cycle of expansion and opportunity continues, on higher and higher levels, throughout one's life... So... We all can tap into the positivity of the Jupiter cycle throughout our lives.

"Plus, there’s Chaos ahead and we can use all the upbeat attitude we can get our minds into!"

Promiscuous Gods

We left Saturn behind (in this trip ever deeper into the astrological solar system from the free-to-download book, Astrological Repair Manual) and we're arriving at Jupiter. I'll let the book speak for itself:

"Approaching Jupiter, largest planet in this system, 300 Earth’s-worth of gaseous colors swirling in riotous flow...

"Jupiter Optimus Maximus (the Best and Greatest) for the Romans; Zeus for the Greeks—god of sky and thunder.

"For everything that Saturn pulls in and tightens, Jupiter loosens and expands. Rather than focusing on a clearly defined territory of meaning, Jupiter magnifies things to their widest potential. Instead of limiting, he amplifies.

"Jupiter’s full cycle is very close to 12 years and its meanings have to do with opportunities and how we give them birth, fill them with optimism, and reap their
rewards.

"In mythology, this character represents what most of us think of when the word promiscuous is used—many sex partners. In fact, this “god” impregnated many mortal women. (It's interesting that the word promiscuous comes from Latin roots that mean to mix very well.) Jupiter was also the supreme ruler of all the other gods, sat on his throne on the highest peak of the world, and issued proclamations that none dared to question. I’ve been mentioning some of the mythos of the planets as we’ve been traveling, and I think you’ve noticed that I don’t adhere strictly to the myths' "official" interpretation. It’s not that I think the myths have little to offer; it’s that there’s more than any one particular myth-meaning in every planet. The planets and their symbolic meanings predate the urge that societies had for making myths. The planets' cyclic meanings run deeper and spread farther than all the myths ever told.

"Fact is, we have the whole solar system inside us, including all the changes this system has gone through in its history. Our unconscious minds resonate and vibrate with the energy of the cosmos. And, when I say that, I’m just repeating something that’s been said in every culture and religious tradition since stories started to be told.

"This is something that Saturn would caution against—dangers abounding for those who go too far, dream too high, probe to deep! Jupiter shrugs and says, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”

"There have been many times in my astrological career that I’ve wanted to rename everything, even astrology itself. Names carry so much power to bend minds and too often blind us to the true identities circling around us. I believe there’s a place in all of us (part of that deeper, collective unconscious mind) that knows well the names of Jupiter and Saturn, knows their exploits and their reputations. This is the part of the unconscious that needs a good airing out in the light of day. And while the dirty laundry is flapping in the breeze, we can dive even more deeply into what preceded these notorious characters."

We'll do that in the next post...

Your thoughts and feelings?

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...

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".