The Astrology Blog 15 August 2022
All times in BST
“We all owe death a Life.”
Salman Rushdie
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Salman_Rushdie
“Love, by its true definition, is unconditional. As soon as we put a condition on love, it becomes something else entirely.”
Anita Moorjani – b 16 March 1959, time unknown
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LAST WEEK’S FULL MOON – CONJUNCT SATURN/SQUARE URANUS
So if you’re new to astrology/astronomy a Full Moon is that moment each month when the Moon in her 28 day cycle reaches the point exactly opposite the Sun. The Moon then receives all of the Sun’s light and we thus never have to ask what sign is the Full Moon in. It’s always the sign opposite the Sun, so at this Leo time of year the Full Moon is in Aquarius. The New Moon two weeks later is when the Sun and the Moon unite in the same sign, the coming one being 4 Virgo on 27 August. When I say this to non astrologers it’s amazing how many people say oh yes, I hadn’t actually clocked that before!
The Sun moves 1 degree a day. So with a Full Moon at 19 Aquarius and Saturn at 22 Aquarius it took three days for the Sun to oppose the Moon and then Saturn. Last Thursday I posted on Facebook –
The astrology tho is not as great as the astronomy this time! This Full Moon is at 19 Aquarius and conjunct Saturn at 22 Aquarius, exact at 02.37 BST tomorrow, and the Sun opposite Saturn exact on Sunday 18.12 BST.
The Sun is our sense of self, our vitality and the life force, Saturn is the enemy of the Sun, so between now and over the weekend is not the easiest of times, a lot of people are struggling with serious issues. If that includes you just remember, astrology tells us that “this too shall pass”.
In medieval times Saturn was the end of the known universe and therefore the end of life, hence his link to health issues and death. Saturn as the enemy of not just the Sun but the Moon as well – the Lights of life – is illustrated in the fact that where one is strong the other is weak –
- Sun rules Leo – Saturn’s masculine sign of detriment
- Moon rules Cancer – Saturn’s feminine sign of detriment
- Saturn rules Aquarius – Sun’s sign of detriment – and Capricorn – Moon’s sign of detriment
- Sun is exalted in Aries – Saturn’s sign of fall
- Saturn is exalted in Libra – Sun’s sign of fall
In last week’s blog I also commented on the fact that this Full Moon – whose job it is to illuminate and bring a matter full circle – was re-invoking the symbolism of the Saturn square Uranus. This is an aspect that was exact three times last year (Feb, June, Dec 2021) but they’re still travelling in that alignment, and will continue to do so until the gap between them widens.
Last week’s sequence actually started with the Sun square Uranus on 11 August, the day before the Full Moon. On this day Venus was also on those “critical degrees”, moving from 29 Cancer to 0 Leo, just as the attempt to rescue the beluga whale stranded in the river Seine came to the expected tragic end. The whale, who somehow was 3,000km away from the nearest beluga population north of Norway, was already too weak to eat and starting to suffer. After hours of heroic effort the only answer was to euthanize, reflected in the third feature of the same day, the Mars – Neptune (sleep, compassion, pharmaceuticals) sextile.
The euthanasia of Freya the walrus in Norway, on Sunday, the day of the Sun – Saturn opposition, is another story. There appears to have been very little effort – none? – to find alternatives. The authorities (Saturn) stepped in and that was that. Am not even going there.
On Friday morning I was shopping in the village. Someone driving too fast hit a cat, right in front of my eyes. I’ll spare you the details but I cried all day and most of the next, especially as it turned out that she had left kittens, and I couldn’t get the images out of my mind.
While I was an emotional mess the Greek women stepped in and dealt with it all. They were not unmoved, but I was reminded again how stoical and practical (Saturn) Greek women are, especially the older generation. I’ve noticed many times that they’re much more pragmatic around death than the Brits are. This is reflected in the culture of funerals taking place the next day, there’s no “in limbo” period.
The Full Moon was almost exactly conjunct my natal Chiron at 18 Aquarius, in 3rd House (cars, your neighbourhood, communication, realm of Mercury) which is also part of my Fixed Grand Cross so I knew I was in the line of fire for this heavy astrology. In the physical body Mercury rules the respiratory function and, after weeks and weeks of soaring temperatures and humidity, the weather did the usual explosion into a massive thunderstorm, again on Friday. At this point I realized that I wasn’t well, I had a chest infection, which explained a lot about no energy all week, no resilience and non stop crying about the poor cat.
Over the weekend I clocked that a few important emails were not being answered and my printer – photocopier packed up. Took a load of stuff down to the newspaper shop to use her photocopier only to find that this was out of action too. Since then a friend has stepped in and sorted my printer, hurray. My Facebook group has been targeted by relentless and extremely unsexy porn images and have had to change the settings to get everything approved by me first. I’m currently declining these at a rate of about 6 an hour as the sender changes name with every post. Everything has been an effort and I’ve reached the point of being officially sick of the heat, but only two more weeks of August to go!
ASTROLOGY & DEATH – THE BIG TABOO
Mors certa, hora incerta – the Latin phrase that translates as “death is certain, the hour uncertain”. Or is it?
When I started working on the seafront in Greece (when I moved here, 27 years ago) a guy came up to my desk and asked me flat out if I could tell him when he was going to die. I asked him if he was joking but he was deadly serious, no pun intended lol. His answer was something along the lines of, well if I knew when I was going to die I’d know whether to live life to the full on massive credit card debts or whether to be sensible.
I didn’t then have the experience that I have now on the subject but I knew enough to say that you probably could see it but it was dodgy territory. In fact I pretty much gave him the same answer that I give clients or students to this day, that it’s shaky ground ethically and, more importantly, you might get it wrong!
I steer away as much as I can from health questions. If you’re sick see a doctor, not an astrologer, unless it’s someone like Elisabeth Brooke who is also a herbalist and specializes in the astrology of sickness.
But I don’t mind breaking the taboo and going on record as saying that, after 35 years of working on horoscopes, I’ve seen enough celestial activity to convince me that the hour is actually certain. I used to think that maybe this applied to just some people but now I suspect it’s for everyone. I realize that this is an extremely controversial statement but if it’s not clear in the chart of the individual it’s loud and clear in the charts of their loved ones. It’s part of every life. And every life has a map. Let’s look at the life and death of Anne Heche.
R.I.P. ANNE HECHE
Anne had an extremely troubled childhood, including sexual abuse at the hands of her father, something her mother denied and which led to their estrangement. Disbelieving or denying someone’s trauma can set the events in concrete and dictate the course of the rest of a life, as the “Me Too” movement showed, a movement that went viral after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke in October 2017. Anne herself reported being targeted by Weinstein.
Anne’s horoscope in my opinion definitely verifies her experience for her. It’s a good moment to remind ourselves that astrology is NOT CAUSAL. Your horoscope is you, you are your horoscope, same thing. The planets don’t make things happen, they show what does happen. It’s your celestial mirror reflecting your life back to you. Anne has an 8th House (where we locate sex and death) Sun – Mercury both opposite Mars (men). In a woman’s chart the Sun so often speaks of the father.
Her feminine planets the Moon and Venus are also “afflicted” – the jargon for a personal planet being in difficult aspect to the malefics (Mars and Saturn) or the outer planets. Her Moon is conjunct Pluto (natural ruler of the 8th House, in mythology linked to the rape of Persephone, and an aspect that often speaks of the absent mother or lack of nurturing) and they in turn are both quinqunx (blind spot) her extremely vulnerable Venus in detriment at 21 Aries/conjunct her Descendant 19 Aries (the sensitive Angle marking beginning of 7th House of partnership).
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Anne_Heche
The fact that she struggled with mental illness throughout her life is well documented, including a psychotic episode after her breakup with Ellen DeGeneres when she drove from Los Angeles to the remote area of Cantua Creek. Wearing only a bra and shorts she parked the car, and walked 2.4 km before reaching a ranch house, where the owner let her in. Anne drank copious amounts of water and later admitted to being on the drug ecstasy (causes extreme thirst).
She had four older siblings, three of whom also died, a sister at 2 months old, her eldest sister from a brain tumour and her only brother from a car crash when he was 18. Anne said his death was a suicide, and it’s tragic that she seems to have decided to go the same way. She was alone in the car, driving at speed, first into a garage and, when that didn’t work, even faster into a house. Medical reports state that Anne had narcotics in her preliminary blood tests.
The real tragedy is that fame, wealth, beauty and two children could not protect her from her own demons. She had the brains too, with her own net worth of millions made not just from acting but also from screenwriting and directing, classic Gemini gifts. But any early abuse sabotages adult relationships and it is not a question of intelligence. In fact, a lot of research shows the opposite, that highly intelligent people can have serial disasters in the love department. EQ and IQ are miles apart.
When the crash was announced on 5 August I thought it would almost certainly be connected to some relationship drama, especially as the only big transit that was imminent was Chiron (our emotional wounds) at 16 Aries very close to her Desc/Venus 19/21 Aries, but not exact as we’d expect to see.
I now see that Jupiter was heading back for the second of a three legged transit opposite her 12th House Uranus 29 Virgo (and therefore transiting the degree of 29 Pisces, the Fixed Star of Scheat, associated with misfortune and suffering, including suicide). 12th House planets can signify self undoing and those lost to us, either through bereavement or estrangement – her mother? Uranus rules splits. In a clearly psychotic state was she somehow punishing her mother by replicating her brother’s death?
All the Fixed Stars have “natures” aligning them with one or two planets. Scheat is the nature of Mercury – Mars, reflecting the same opposition in Anne’s natal chart. You can check the natures of all the Fixed Stars on Deborah Houlding’s website –
https://www.skyscript.co.uk/stars.html
When I looked at Anne’s progressed chart I think the story is even clearer –
- progressed Venus 12.00 Gemini (chart ruler, as she is Libra rising) in 8th House
- opposite natal Mars 11.54 Sag (ruler of 7th, therefore the significator for the partner)
- textbook astrology for a relationship – ie rulers of the 1st and 7th coming together, by any aspect
She separated from her last long term relationship four years ago so am speculating that someone new had come into the picture but that it went horribly wrong. Or at least wrong enough to set off all her triggers.
A Venus – Mars progression on its own is not enough though, even with Venus in the 8th. The other progression that I think is crucial is –
- Progressed Saturn 7.57 Taurus sesquiquadrate Pluto 22.56 Virgo
There’s an aspect you don’t see me mention often. It’s a minor but challenging aspect of a square and a half – ie 90 degrees plus 45 degrees. They’re difficult to spot. But when these minor but inharmonious aspects are formed by progression – like the quinqunx, formed when two planets are 5 signs apart – they can be highly malefic in nature and signal times of acute crisis.
This progression is exact to 1 minute of arc (ie 1/60th of a degree). It also involves two slow moving planets, Saturn the Grim Reaper in Taurus, the sign of Fixed Earth – there are the brick walls – hell bent on destruction to wipeout Pluto.
Anne was pronounced brain dead on 12 August, the day of the Full Moon, and in Californian law that means “legally dead”. Her request to be an organ donor was honoured, she was peacefully taken off life support as soon as recipients were found and the procedure immediately scheduled, all on Sunday 14 August, the day of the Sun – Saturn opposition that was followed just a few hours later by the Mars (surgery) trine (benefic) Pluto (rebirth). To show their respect staff at the hospital did a walk of honour for her.
SALMAN RUSHDIE
The biggest news story is of course the attack on Salman Rushdie, again on Friday. The dominant aspect of his horoscope is the opposition of his Mars at 21.12 Taurus (sign of detriment) in the 1st House of the self/physical body opposite Jupiter at 18.47 Scorpio in the 7th House (where we locate open enemies as well as partnership).
Jupiter rules religion, and in this case the opposition to Mars is the clear showing of the fanatic with a knife. Mars rules all that cuts, from the surgeon’s skillful scalpel to the butcher’s hacksaw.
At the time of the Full Moon (Moon at 19.21 Aquarius opposing the Sun at 19.21 Leo) Saturn was at 22.06 Aquarius and Uranus was at 18.52 Taurus. The latter is a particularly weighty factor as Uranus is also stationary retrograde, will make the exact turn in the middle of next week at 18.55 Taurus. It hardly gets more shocking (Uranus) than an attack leaving life changing injuries. It was amazing to read the report from his son, saying that his defiant sense of humour was still intact, hence the choice of quote from Rushdie for this week’s blog. Geminis are often impish with a knack for bouncing back.
Astrological craft teaches that the combination of a major transit and a lunation – and a progression which in this case is progressed Mercury sextile progressed Mars – are the markers for a life event.
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK?
Here’s your “at a glance” of the celestial calendar for the week ahead –
Tuesday 16 August
- Mercury 18 Virgo trine Uranus 18 Taurus 18.47
Thursday 18 August
- Venus 8 Leo trine Jupiter 8 Aries 09.04
- Mercury 21 Virgo quinqunx Saturn 21 Aquarius 20.07
Friday 19 August
- Sun 26 Leo quinqunx Pluto 26 Capricorn 17.07
Saturday 20 August
- Mars ingress Gemini 08.57
Sunday 21 August
- Mercury 24 Virgo opposite Neptune 08.42
MERCURY
We can see from the list above that this week Mercury is the lead player so let’s isolate the Mercury thread –
Tuesday 16 August
- Mercury 18 Virgo trine Uranus 18 Taurus 18.47
Thursday 18 August
- Mercury 21 Virgo quinqunx Saturn 21 Aquarius 20.07
Sunday 21 August
- Mercury 24 Virgo opposite Neptune 24 Pisces 08.42
Not the easiest of pictures when a personal planet is picking up aspects to outer planets – Uranus and Neptune – with that blind spot aspect to Saturn in the middle for good measure. The quinqunx is awkward by name and awkward by nature, be careful what you agree to and don’t take risks, especially when driving. Note that the Sun – Pluto combo repeats this aspect on Friday, so there’s a hidden hand at work in some way or other. Temporary glitches may have to be juggled.
But overall I would treat this like a retrograde Mercury week and delay things like final decision making until next week if possible. Factor in that you may be missing bits of a puzzle or that new information coming in could change a plan or a project. Mercury has one more aspect to go, to Pluto next Monday, before changing sign and moving into Libra at the end of next week, when a lot of things will clarify. Mercury will turn retrograde in Libra but that’s still several weeks off.
THE BENEFICS
Venus is known as the Lesser Benefic, Jupiter as the Greater Benefic. They benefit us, Venus with love and money, Jupiter with anything that makes our world bigger and better, such as travel and education. He is the grand master of opportunities and expands everything he touches.
So this is the top feature of the week and is packed with blessings, especially as this is Venus’ first date on her new journey through Leo. The only thing to bear in mind is that Jupiter is currently retrograde so look out for the “re” factor – reworking, replanning, rethinking etc. This can show as changes of plan or going back to plan A or even an ex. This is classic astrology for second chances that are worth exploring.
Also remember that Jupiter is generosity and the joy of giving. Coupled with Venus this means giving/receiving the sweet things of life or the things that are needed. Love the other quote for this week from Anita Moorjani about not attaching conditions to love. Find your benchmark person. Mine is obviously my sister, what would I be doing to help right now if this were Sue? She was a huge giver and taught me everything I needed to know about unconditional love.
MARS INTO GEMINI
This is a hugely important ingress and to recap from last week here’s the timeline –
- Mars is retrograde phase once every 25 months for periods of around 65-80 days at a time
- 20 August – Mars enters Gemini
- 30 October – reaches 25 degrees Gemini and then turns retrograde
- 12 January 2023 – turns direct again, having looped backwards to 8 degrees Gemini
- 25 March – enters next sign of Cancer
Mars won’t make any aspects this week or next, but clock what unfolds for you on the ingress as these starting points are often packed with clues. The good news is that, like Venus this week, Mars’ first aspect on his new journey is going to be the lovely sextile to Jupiter on 1 September.
My final message would be to get ahead with anything that’s important to you as next week is another mishmash of yet more major features, including the Sun moving into Virgo and the New Moon at 4 degrees of that sign, Uranus turning retrograde, Mercury changing sign and Venus’ turn to collide with the Uranus – Saturn square. Nothing is set in stone at times like these,
Until next week take care, with love from Greece
Joanna
