The Astrology Blog 27 June 2022
All times in BST
“Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.”
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”
“The decision of whether or not to bear a child is central to a woman’s life, her well being, and her dignity.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Ruth_Ginsburg
So we all know what has just happened in America. I waded through the deluge of media reporting to get to a clearer understanding, so here’s my summary.
In brief, the US Supreme Court gives 9 people the power to make final and usually irrevocable decisions that affect the whole country. So a majority of 5 is a winning vote. There are 8 Associate Justice members and 1 Chief Justice.
The original point of this case was to discuss a Mississippi ruling about the legality of abortion after 15 weeks, but it spiralled into the issue of abortion itself at every level, a point that had already been leaked to the press weeks earlier. On Friday morning it was announced that the Supreme Court held that the Constitution of the United States does not confer ANY right to abortion.
The vote was 6 to 3, but Chief Justice John G. Roberts criticized his conservative colleagues for taking the additional step of overturning Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), the two landmark cases which had both reaffirmed a woman’s right to abortion.
Abortion legislation has now been returned to individual States but it’s already known that some States have immediately banned abortion from the point of conception (ie never, countless clinics have shut shop and gone home) while others will impose their own timeframes.
This is a direct legacy of Donald Trump who said that the decision, and others recently announced by the court, “were only made possible because I delivered everything as promised.” His general views on women are widely reported and documented.
The newest Associate Justice was nominated by Trump, Amy Coney Barrett (b 28 January 1972, Aquarius with Moon in Cancer) devout Catholic and mother of seven. She’s on record as saying that judges are not policymakers and that she does not impose her personal convictions on the law. Oh that’s alright then.
Now cast your mind back to 18 Sept 2000. This was when Ruth Bader Ginsburg (b 15 March 1933) died at the age of 87 and she was the lead topic of my blog in that week. My choice of quote for that week was from her –
“I’m dejected, but only momentarily, when I can’t get the fifth vote for something I think is very important. But then you go on to the next challenge and you give it your all … There’ll be another time, another day.”
I’m absolutely sure that I’m not alone in thinking that this mind blowingly horrific decision would never have made it through if RBG had still been with us. This awesome lady was an Associate Justice for the Supreme Court from 1993 until her death. She was famed as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights, winning many arguments before the Supreme Court. A tragedy that she wasn’t here to win this one.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg left a breathtakingly significant legacy of change and achievement in her political work and feminism. Humanitarianism is the top quality of a highly evolved Pisces, plus her Moon in Scorpio, Moon’s sign of “fall” and another water sign, is the showing for her work in re-empowering women. She made a lifetime’s work out of addressing the power/gender imbalances and abuses so deeply rooted in society, she was a champion of true equality. She must now be turning in her grave.
Other women in a position of power are speaking up on social media –
“I am heartbroken that we may now be destined to learn the painful lessons of a time before Roe was made law of the land … a time when the government denied women control over their reproductive functions, forced them to move ahead with pregnancies they didn’t want, and then abandoned them once their babies were born. For the mother of a non viable pregnancy now forced to bring that pregnancy to term; for the parents now watching their child’s future evaporate before their very eyes; for the health care workers who can no longer help them without risking jail time.” Michelle Obama
“Here in New Zealand we recently legislated to decriminalize abortion and treat it as a health rather than criminal issue. That change was grounded in the fundamental belief that it’s a woman’s right to choose. People are absolutely entitled to have deeply held convictions on this issue. But those personal beliefs should never rob another from making their own decisions.” Jacinda Ardern
THE ASTROLOGY
PLUTO
Countries as well as individuals have horoscopes so an obvious starting point is the chart for America, cast for the moment of the declaration of independence in Philadelphia, 4 July 1776, 16:50 –
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/United_States_Declaration_of_Independence
There’s been a lot of talk recently about America’s Pluto Return (something that individuals can’t experience as Pluto’s orbit is 248 years). America’s natal Pluto is at 27.33 Capricorn (ie also where Pluto is now) so the Return has been going on all year, with Pluto moving backwards and forwards over this exact degree/minute. Here is a reminder of the retrograde cycles of the slower moving planets for this year –
2022 | Turns Retrograde | Turns Direct |
Jupiter | 28 July 8.43 Aries | 23 Nov 28.48 Pisces |
Saturn | 4 June 25.15 Aquarius | 23 Oct 18.35 Aquarius |
Uranus | 24 August 18.55 Taurus | 22 Jan (2023) 14.56 Taurus |
Neptune | 28 June 25.26 Pisces | 3 Dec 22.39 Pisces |
Pluto | 29 April 28.36 Capricorn | 8 Oct 26.07 Capricorn |
Pluto will get back to 27.33 Capricorn for the third and final time 28 December. But next year Pluto will move on into Aquarius but retrograde back into Capricorn, finally turning direct again at 27.53 Capricorn on 10 October 2023. In other words, that is when Pluto will be “stationary direct” just one third of a degree away from America’s natal Pluto which indicates a huge turning point.
Given that Pluto is god of the underworld – he drives things underground – and in mythology is known for the Rape of Persephone the implications are clear. Pluto also symbolizes everything to do with power and control, and also obliteration. Pluto was discovered in 1930, coinciding with atomic power. It’s immediately obvious that this ruling is not about abortion but about patriarchy, as echoed by Lilith – read on.
America’s Pluto is in the 2nd House of money. The bottom line for this legislation is that it’s the impoverished, as ever, who will suffer. The rich – poor divide just widened into an even deeper hell hole chasm.
PALLAS
The other clearly significant feature of the US chart that jumped out as soon as I looked at it is the Moon. In all questions relating to women the Moon, with her 28 day cycle, is the top consideration. She rules everything to do with conception, pregnancy and motherhood, and she rules all phases of womanhood – the maiden, mother and crone. In charts for countries the Moon also rules the people as the collective.
In the US chart the Moon is exactly conjunct an Asteroid –
- Pallas 26.32 Aquarius conjunct Moon 26.58 Aquarius
From Jamie Partridge on Astrology King –
Pallas is named after Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom, courage, just warfare, strategy and skill. Modern astrologers have linked her to these things but also creative intelligence, political nous, pattern recognition and the relationship between father and daughter.
Now look at the box above again and you’ll see that Saturn (authority, patriarchy) has just turned retrograde almost exactly conjunct this position, just one degree away. Saturn is an enemy of the Lights (the life forces of the Sun and Moon) being in “detriment” in the signs that they rule –
- Sun rules Leo/Moon rules Cancer – Saturn’s signs of detriment
- Saturn rules the opposite two signs of Aquarius and Capricorn – the Sun and Moon’s sign respective signs of detriment
Again and again I’m reading the words “going backwards”. The huge importance of Saturn is confirmed in the chart for the Supreme Court announcement (10am, Washington, Friday 24 June) –
- The all important super sensitive start of any chart, determined purely by time is the Ascendant – 26.24 Leo, therefore Descendant – 26.24 Aquarius
- So Saturn at the beginning of his retrograde journey is conjunct the Descendant to within one degree. To put that in perspective Saturn is conjunct any point of any horoscope only once every 29.5 years so this is fine timing
- Descendant is the Angle of the “significant other” – relationships or groups
- Uranus (the collective) is on the other super sensitive Angle, the Midheaven, the Angle of authority and represents the shock overturning of existing structures (like The Tower in the tarot)
LILITH
I really liked Jamie Fay’s article that she posted on my Facebook group page The World of Astrology, calling my attention to Lilith, especially in the context of the inevitable uprising to come –
The World of Astrology – https://www.facebook.com/groups/131108987086161/
Lilith is not an Asteroid but, like the Moon’s Nodes, is a position in relation to the Moon’s cycle. Her astronomy gets complicated, and again like the Nodes there is a “mean” and a “true” placing – ie averaged out or exact. So you’ll find that you have 2 possible positions for Lilith in any horoscope and you can read more here –
https://www.astro.com/astrology/in_lilith_e.htm
The relevance of Lilith at the moment is that she’s in Cancer and will be conjunct this week’s New Moon. In terms of meaning what we need to know is that Lilith is the she-demon, Adam’s first wife, banished from the Garden of Eden for not complying with and obeying her husband. In astrology Dark Moon Lilith symbolizes feminine rebellion, unrepressed sexuality and the refusal to take the subservient role.
From Astrotheme –
Lilith or the Dark Moon represents the uncrossable threshold, taboos, the individual’s provocative and fascinating side, including on a sexual level. She symbolizes violence and “untameability”, the radical and deep-seated refusal to submit.
If you want a modern day Lilith she’s Frasier’s gothic ex-wife who appears sporadically throughout the series, who is not violent but is definitely scary –
“A running gag throughout Frasier is that Frasier’s father and brother, Martin and Niles, are never pleased to see Lilith. Martin finds her “weird” and usually shouts out in shock when he unexpectedly sees her in his and Frasier’s apartment. Niles resents her for mocking the vows at his wedding but forgives her when she apologizes. Lilith’s presence frightens Martin’s dog Eddie, terrifying the normally defiant dog into obedience. Martin’s live-in physical therapist, Daphne Moon, who fancies herself as having minor psychic abilities, routinely suffers debilitating headaches when Lilith is in town, citing an evil spiritual presence.” (Wikipedia)
WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Again look back to the box above and you’ll see that Neptune is “stationary retrograde”, ie been stuck on 25 degrees of Pisces for weeks and now starts making the backwards loop, the exact turning point to retrograde motion being tomorrow –
Tuesday 28 June
- Neptune turns retrograde at 25.26 Pisces
Again we have a key astrological feature showing itself in the US chart, which has a Midheaven of 25.41 Virgo. The opposite point to this is the IC (beginning to 4th House of home, family, roots) which is therefore at 25.41 Pisces. I find this deeply disturbing as Neptune rules anesthesia and pharmaceuticals as well as the tides of emotion. How many backstreet abortion tragedies lie ahead?
MARS
The god of war is on the homestretch through one of his own signs of Aries, slugging it out with Saturn and Pluto who are both, as noted, showing strongly in the US astrology –
Monday 27 June
- Mars 24 Aries sextile Saturn 24 Aquarius 23.50
Saturday 2 July
- Mars 27 Aries square Pluto 27 Capricorn 03.10
If you’re fighting a battle of your own, and especially if you have planets or Angles at or very close to the degrees of these signs, then this is an important week for you. The saying of pick your battles carefully comes to mind. Self care is also a sensitive theme as Mars, who loves to operate at full speed in head on Aries, is definitely being cautioned and slowed down. Don’t take any risks when driving, or in anything with a danger factor involved. I’m expecting an injury story at Wimbledon. But otherwise this is good astrology for steady work and wrapping things up before Mars changes sign, moving on into Taurus at the beginning of next week.
NEW MOON CONJUNCT LILITH
So midweek brings the now much anticipated New Moon –
Wednesday 29 June
- Sun 7 Cancer square Jupiter 7 Aries 02.01
- New Moon 7 Cancer conjunct Lilith 7 Cancer 03.53
- Venus 7 Gemini sextile Jupiter 7 Aries 04.53
So in the natural sequence of things the Moon and the sign of Cancer rule the 4th House, which as already noted above is where we locate all family concerns. In the physical body the Moon and the sign of Cancer rule the womb.
The New Moon at 7 degrees of this sign coincides not only with Lilith in the same place but also with the very positive Venus – Jupiter alliance, both at 7 degrees of their respective signs.
These two planets are the “benefics” and Venus is the other planet that rules women. Jupiter (go back to the box) is slow moving as he’ll get as far as nearly 9 Aries and then turn retrograde, and one of Jupiter’s top concerns is the law and justice of all kinds.
In terms of uprisings or protests in the US this would indicate that the first half of this week is going to be tinderbox sensitive, and the individual stories will be heartbreaking. What happens now to all those women whose abortions have been cancelled, and the implications for their future and all their families?
But Jupiter unraveling may yet be a positive showing for the unraveling of this crazy legislation. In the media the general feeling is that November (when Jupiter turns direct again, at 29 degrees Pisces, the position of a Fixed Star called Scheat who symbolizes suffering) will be a crucial time as this is the big voting time of year in the US. Attention will be on those determined to include new legislation for their own State.
In the context of day to day life any Venus – Jupiter combo is good news for all the pleasures and goodies of life – love, luck, money, opportunity and travel being at the top of the list. But just look out for that slowing down factor of Jupiter turning things around, of things unfolding in slower or less obvious ways. Remember that Jupiter just loves to sow seeds though, so whatever you undertake at this time is likely to bear very rich fruit by the end of the year.
MERCURY
The last word goes to Mercury who is at full speed and on the homestretch of annual the journey through his own sign. However he is also picking up the outer planets –
Saturday 2 July
- Mercury 24 Gemini trine Saturn 24 Aquarius 11.40
- Mercury 24 Gemini square Neptune 25 Pisces 21.54
Monday 4 July
- Mercury 27 Gemini quinqunx Pluto 03.13
Treat these aspects with caution, as you would when Mercury is retrograde, especially the last two. Uncertainty, confusion or blind spots are the hallmarks to look out for, but they should be fleeting. Mercury will also be changing sign next week, moving into Cancer less than half an hour after Mars moves into Taurus, so these two will be joining forces and I’ll be talking more about this next time,
Until then, with love from Greece
Joanna