The Astrology Blog 7 March 2016
I “met” a fellow astrologer last week through the phenomenon that is Facebook. Liz Gunn lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina and her work centers around the theme of “Know your chart, know yourself”. You can read more about Liz and her work on her website:
http://lizgunn.net/
Regular readers will not be surprised to hear that Liz’s approach resonates completely with me. In this work we are never far removed from the question, what is astrology for? Sun sign columns keep astrology alive in the public eye, although this is something of a double edged sword as they are inevitably generalized, focus only on predictive content and many are written just for entertainment purposes. Some are professionally written, and insightful, some are just plain silly. When we enter the realms of horoscopy though we enter into the world of self awareness, the road to change, and we forge a spiritual link with something that is bigger than we are. Astrology, when followed truthfully, helps us to navigate the complexities of this life and the nature of the relationships that make up our world. It is a tool of enormous authenticity.
Liz’s approach of “know your chart, know yourself” acknowledges this, and my weekly blog works along the same lines. In other words, “know the current picture, know what to expect”. If we are aware of the current astrological climate then we know what the weather forecast is likely to be. Last week I was publicly and furiously accused by another astrologer of “planting the seeds of fear and negativity” and of “not admitting that astrology works mostly on the power of suggestion.” Firstly, to be alarmist was absolutely not my intention. However, this blog is never sanitized and never will be. I don’t see the point of being a “good news” astrologer. That is not what astrology “is for”.
Secondly, astrology is NOT the power of suggestion. It is the symbolic face of astronomy. You wouldn’t be able to locate past events in a horoscope if astrology didn’t work at a craft level. So, for example, inharmonious (the word “tough” was objected to but it’s the same thing) aspects – squares and oppositions – can reflect those who square up to us or oppose us, or situations that stretch us or which require tough measures. That’s life. In my view it’s better to know when such pictures are being formed. Thus we are not broadsided by them, we are prepared, we can deal with a matter, know it is happening for a reason, sometimes even save ourselves from prolonged headaches, and move on. That is what this blog “is for”. And if that’s me being a last word freak, I don’t care!
Jupiter, Jerry Hall and Rupert Murdoch
So, moving on… the big story in the celeb world this weekend was a wedding, which I write about because I love the astrology at work, in their own charts but also in relation to this week’s aspects – see the blog below.
At first glance the news that 59 year old Jerry Hall was marrying Rupert Murdoch just a week ahead of his 85th birthday suggested the two major cycles of the second Saturn Return for Jerry (Saturn’s cycle being 29 and a half years) and the Uranus Return for Rupert (Uranus’ cycle being 84 years). The timing of the major cycles is approximate and must always be checked in the Ephemerides (table of planets) and on closer examination it turns out that they met in Australia last August, by which time these two events were already done –
• Jerry Halls natal Saturn – 26.47 Scorpio – so second Saturn Return November 2014
• Rupert Murdoch’s natal Uranus – 13.54 Aries – so Uranus Return April 2014 to February 2015
The relevant astrology is far more delightful. Note first of all the fabulous synastry between them –
• Jerry Hall – natal Sun 10 degrees of Cancer
• Rupert – natal Jupiter 10 degrees of Cancer
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Rupert_Murdoch
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Jerry_Hall
There is no known birth time for Jerry Hall (which means no known Ascendant – Descendant, the horizon of the chart that is vital for relationship interpretation, and no exact Moon position) but she has Jupiter conjunct Pluto in Leo, with Jupiter at 29 degrees, the position of the fixed star of Regulus, the heart of the Lion, associated with fame and success. This symbolizes her own success story, she’s worth $15 million in her own right, but also seems to reflect her relationships. She has synastry with Mick Jagger here too, with his stellium of the Sun, Jupiter, Pluto and Mercury all conjuncting each other from 2 to 11 degrees of Leo. So Jerry is Sun in Cancer but has her own Leo streak, which in turn describes the nature of her partners, Leo being the archetype of a nature that is bold, creative and centre stage.
The astrology confirms this. Her 5th Jupiter Return (a 12 year cycle) was exact last August, the month she was introduced to Murdoch. If she had consulted an astrologer – should I marry this man? – any astrologer worth their salt would have said YES!
The Jupiter threads are woven throughout this story. Murdoch has the Moon in Sagittarius (one of Jupiter’s signs, that rules amongst other things all matters/people from overseas) and it is extremely common for men with this Moon sign to marry women from different cultures or with foreign connections of some kind. Three of his four wives fit that bill.
Jupiter is joyful, as the photos show. Murdoch announced that he was the happiest and luckiest man alive. Jupiter is also BIG. With their Sun/Jupiter conjunction in their synastry in Cancer (family) their wedding was a huge family affair, with a seemingly endless parade of children on both sides ranging from ages 12 to 57. Huge wealth is of course in the picture too.
What’s happening this week?
As usual start by noting that if you have natal planets or angles at or close to any of the signs and degrees featuring this week then unfolding events will be especially significant for you. Here are the usual links for checking the position of your own planets and angles:
http://www.alwaysastrology.com/birth-chart-calculator.html
You can also try this calculator, which lists all your planets and angles rather than bringing up the visual of the horoscope, so for non astrologers it’s easier to use.
http://astro.cafeastrology.com/cgi-bin/astro/natal
As the week gets underway the Sun in Pisces takes the lead, and here’s the sequence –
• Monday Sun 17 degrees Pisces sextile Pluto 17 degrees Capricorn (04.39)
• Tuesday Sun 18 degrees Pisces opposite Jupiter 18 degrees Virgo (10.58)
• Wednesday New Moon/Total Solar Eclipse at 19 degrees of Pisces (01.56)
Jupiter and Pluto are currently in trine to each other, a harmonious aspect created when planets are in signs of the same element (this time earth) and therefore 4 signs or 120 degrees apart. These two giants come together by trine approximately once every 13 years, so it’s a big event. The last time was October and December 02, and July 03, in the fire signs of Leo and Sagittarius.
This time around they have already formed an exact trine once (11 October 2015 at 13 degrees), the second one is now very close and will be exact next week at 17 degrees, and the third and final trine will be 26 July this year at 16 degrees. This week starts with the Sun playing into this aspect so the themes are already in evidence.
So what does this team signify? In traditional astrology Jupiter is the “Greater Benefic” – he’s good for us and whatever widens our horizons is his job. From Be Your Own Astrologer –
Jupiter’s main principle is expansion and he is the bringer of joy, good fortune, opportunity, higher education, freedom and travel. He rules all things connected to overseas, both people and places. He is also the planet of truth and humanity, ruling the law, justice, religion, philosophy and the higher mind. His nature is optimistic, encouraging and extrovert.
Pluto in a nutshell, also from Be Your Own Astrologer –
Pluto was discovered in 1930, coinciding most notably with the discovery of nuclear power and the rise of psychoanalysis through the work of Freud, Jung et al. Hence Pluto is associated with the latent power of either potential annihilation or transformative healing. He also signifies plutocracy, the wielding of power through wealth.
In mythology Pluto is the god of the underworld and he rules all that is hidden, invisible, secret or taboo. Entering into therapy constitutes the exploration of our own underworld, unearthing our buried issues in order to heal. One of his images is the Phoenix, the legendary bird of rebirth. His nature is transformative, uncompromising, intense and extreme.
Typical Plutonic types are primarily powerful. Arguably their strongest gift is that of insight and many Plutonic types are natural psychologists, sleuths or healers. Pluto is at his most powerful for those individuals who have a Plutonic/Scorpionic theme to their horoscopes.
So, putting these two planets together by harmonious aspect signals enormous potential of the transformative kind. In short, seize any chance that smacks of turning your life around in a positive way, even if the results won’t be immediate. Don’t be afraid of the hard work, but embrace it. The last trine sequence as mentioned earlier was Jupiter Leo/Pluto Sag which was major for me, being natally Moon Leo in the 9th (Jupiter’s natural house) Sun Sag and Scorpio Ascendant. I spent that time writing my first book and it was published in July 03, exactly as the sequence came to a close. I didn’t make much money from it – even my publisher said if you want to make money from writing then it has to be a novel! – but it was a huge personal achievement for me and a definite milestone in my astrological career. 2002/3 was also the beginning of The Greek Island Summer School – teaching astrology abroad is textbook Jupiter.
So the Jupiter – Pluto combination signals opportunity and definitely favours the entrepreneurial spirit too. Ask Bill Gates – he has these planets conjunct in Leo in his 2nd House of money. Back to the Jerry Hall story – she has these two planets conjunct too (we don’t know the house as she has no recorded birth time), and Rupert Murdoch has them both in his 7th House (partnership and marriage).
Not only are the Solar aspects important in themselves, but they culminate less than 24 hours later with the Solar Eclipse. Here’s the astronomy –
• A Solar Eclipse – occurs when the Sun is obscured by the shadow of the Moon at the time of a New Moon.
• A Lunar Eclipse – occurs when the Moon is obscured by the shadow of the earth at the time of a Full Moon.
This New Moon/Eclipse falls at 19 degrees of Pisces. If you have planets or angles at or very close to this degree then this event is likely to be significant for you.
What do Eclipses mean? This isn’t a cut and dried picture but mostly Eclipses are considered as “power points” in a developing situation. In other words, they narrow things down with predictive work. A major aspect can be ongoing for months, but an Eclipse is just one date. The most powerful delineation of predictive astrology is –
• A natal theme already present (eg Jupiter/Pluto but it could be anything)
• A major transit activating that theme
• A New/Full Moon or Eclipse falling on a sensitive degree of the natal horoscope – an expected event will mostly then fall within a week either side of that date
• Note that Murdoch’s natal Sun is 20 degrees of Pisces, therefore conjunct this Eclipse
Here’s another example –
Barack Obama (4 August 1961) was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States on 20 January 2009, within two weeks of his 4th Jupiter Return.
• Jupiter ingress Aquarius 5 January 2009
• Obama’s Jupiter Return 0.51 Aquarius 9 January 2009
• The lunation prior to the inauguration date was a Full Moon on 11 January at 21 Cancer, opposite Obama’s Saturn, the ruling planet of his chart.
• The following lunation was a Solar Eclipse on 26 January at 6 Aquarius, conjunct his Jupiter.
• On the day of the inauguration, which is almost exactly in the middle of the two lunations, the Sun was conjunct Mercury at just under 1 degree of Aquarius, and therefore exactly conjunct Obama’s Jupiter.
However, do note that Eclipses have a tricky side too. Look for the symbolism of being overshadowed by another, a light going out or power battles in triangular matters (Earth, Sun, Moon), such as affairs.
What else is happening this week?
There are two other events that share a theme –
• Friday Mercury conjunct Neptune, both at just under 10 degrees Pisces (06.02)
• Saturday Venus ingress Pisces (10.25)
When personal planets (eg Mercury) join the slow moving outer planets (Uranus, Neptune, Pluto) things can swing either way. From Be Your Own Astrologer –
Mercury in Jupiter’s feminine sign can be a fish out of water. With Neptune, god of the sea, as co-ruler this Mercury is at the mercy of feelings and thoughts that are free flowing, boundless, staggeringly deep and teeming with undercurrents… Making sense of emotional matters may be a tall order but this struggle often produces exceptional poets, singers and songwriters. What they cannot say as easily or as deeply as they would wish they express through rhyme and song. The pure voice of Celine Dion can be located in her Mercury in Pisces exactly conjunct beautifying Venus. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, with a Stellium (five planets or more) in Pisces, including Mercury, penned How Do I Love Thee, possibly the most famous love poem in the world.
The tricky side to this detrimented or fallen Mercury is distortion of the truth, from white lies to outright deception. Jeffrey Archer, with the double whammy of Mercury in Pisces opposite Neptune, is a textbook example. Here is the weaver of tales, the consummate story teller, the man whose books have sold 250 million copies, but whose political career was blighted by scandal eventually leading to imprisonment for perjury. When is it “right” and when is it “wrong” to smudge the line between fact and fantasy? It’s all about appropriateness. In a work of fiction it’s a gift, in a courtroom it’s a criminal offence.
The Venus story is much sweeter. Back to Elizabeth Barret Browning, her ruling planet is Venus in Pisces, the love planet in her sign of exaltation. She’ll be travelling through this sign until 5 April so I’ll be talking more about this combination in the coming weeks.
With love from Greece until next week
Joanna
Thanks for the introduction here, Joanna. I’m glad we’ve “met” and found our way into each other’s astrological worldview – similar indeed. I appreciate your writing and the articulation of this beautiful symbolic language we call astrology. I don’t know where I would be in my own development without this deeper understanding of meaning.
New Moon & Eclipse Blessings from North Carolina! xo Liz
Thanks for the lovely message Liz. Likewise, I often wonder how I would navigate my own life if I hadn’t discovered astrology – but thankfully I did! Look forward to sharing with you in the future x