The Astrology Blog 5 October 2020
All times in BST
“When we love someone our love becomes demonstrable or real only through our exertion – we take an extra step, or walk an extra mile. Love is not effortless. To the contrary, love is effortful. “
The Road Less Travelled – M. Scott Peck, American Psychiatrist
https://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/M._Scott_Peck
CHECKING CHARTS
If you want to see the sign and degree of the planets in your own or any other natal chart, to check against the signs and degrees important this week as outlined in the blog, here’s the link to Astrotheme. Enter your data into the boxes provided:
https://www.astrotheme.com/horoscope_chart_sign_ascendant.php
I’m acutely aware that since the outbreak of the pandemic that this blog has evolved into a different format. I always used to reference world events when appropriate but these days looking at the astrological picture at a universal level has become as important as looking at the personal and particular. When Covid went from an epidemic to a pandemic the message was clear – we’re all in this together and we will be until it’s over. And it will be over, at some point this will be history just as all other pandemics are now history. A significant point on the Covid timeline in terms of the astrology is 12 November, which I’ll be referencing further on in this blog.
LAST WEEK’S FULL MOON, CHIRON & DONALD TRUMP
So starting with “the universal”, last week we had the Full Moon at 9 Aries conjunct Chiron at 7 Aries. Chiron is known as the Wounded Healer, and is prominent in the astrology of both illness and recovery. In the context of the moment it’s a clear showing for the coming to light of the illness of a world leader, Aries being the first sign of the zodiac, the leader of the pack, the individual, and ruled by Mars god of war.
Why is this appropriate symbolism for Donald Trump? He’s a Gemini, the sign that rules language and communication, but is born on a Full Moon, which means that his Moon is in the opposite sign of Sagittarius, a sign known for truth and wisdom (evolved) or for buffoonery and blurting out opinions without filtering (unevolved). Oppositions can “inflate” so it’s here where I would locate both his spin doctor abilities and his outrageous statements. More importantly though Trump is a Solar/Mars archetype, with Mars in Leo conjunct his Leo Ascendant.
We find many amazing performers and creative individuals born under the Sun’s sign but the flipside of Leo is pride (hubris) and an excessive need for admiration and recognition. There’s cleverness in all of this too. He may be narcissistically disordered but, with the utter conviction of the narcissist to personal entitlement, he did manage to talk himself (Gemini) into the presidency of the US. No mean feat. His history of playing down the Covid dangers, risks and reality (eg statements about it being over soon, it won’t damage America, refusing to be photographed wearing a mask, ridiculing Biden for wearing a mask and so on) are a reflection of the “I’m above the law” beliefs.
For this reason I don’t believe that this is a hoax. Trump has so much invested in that Mars in Leo warrior/Sun god image, in his invulnerability, in the message that he is bullet proof and that this illness would somehow never include him, that he would play down any illness that he did get and probably has a history of doing just that. We can only imagine the rage of the wounded Lion, how he reacted to the discovery that he was not exempt after all. He is merely mortal.
Chiron exchanged his own god status for mortality as this was the only way in which he could rid himself of the agony from a wound that couldn’t heal, that would be with him for eternity. There’s a clear parallel echoing here in the reverse of this, a man needing to learn that he is not a god.
HOW IMPORTANT IS CHIRON?
As I as saying last week Chiron is the new kid on the block, discovered just over 40 years ago in 1977, the era of spiraling awareness of the mind – body – spirit connection. So Chiron may be an infant in terms of years in our consciousness, yet he has already found his way into most Ephemerides, the book of tables that tracks the journeys of all the major planets. Chiron is here to stay.
However the only way to discover the nature or weightiness of any planet is empirical – ie to put it to the test historically to see how it has shown. With centuries behind us of other astrologers doing this for the other planets we’re on sure ground. With Chiron it’s a new exploration, and one that was brought to my attention by a student, about fifteen years ago. She was horrified to find that I wasn’t including Chiron in my work and challenged me to look at my own horoscope. She said, pick any painful event in your life and then see where Chiron was. She was right. From then on Chiron had my attention.
Trump announced his diagnosis by Tweet – the data for which is Friday 2 October, 12.54, from The White House, just after the Full Moon. This gives a chart of 24.14 Cancer rising, which means that the Descendant – crucial Angle of the chart representing relating – is 24.14 Capricorn. In turn this means that Saturn and Pluto, both newly direct at 25 and 22 Capricorn respectively, are sitting on that Angle. Chiron is sitting on one of the other of the four major Angles, the Midheaven – where we locate status and leadership.
Chiron is not in aspect to Saturn and Pluto, but the three planets between them stamping the Angles constitute the hallmark of the moment. In other words, it doesn’t look good for him. This is reflected in his natal chart as he has Saturn and Venus at 23 and 25 of the opposite sign of Cancer. When I was looking at his chart a couple of months ago with a student we were considering those big transits and I commented that it was like the stuff of assassination ….or at least divorce, as Saturn is ruler of his 7th (where we locate the life partner) and Venus is love.
The fact that it could end in a way that nobody expected, or even shockingly, is also indicated by the fact that Melania has a Sun – Saturn conjunction in her own chart at 6 and 11 Taurus respectively – so Uranus is in the middle of transiting those planets (and to put that in perspective that’s a transit that happens only once every 84 years). Bottom line is that, with the heavy mob of the outer planets active in both of their horoscopes, life cannot stay the same. Also Elisabeth Brooke – here at the moment running Summer School groups – pointed out that the MOON’S NORTH NODE is currently transiting Trump’s Sun of 22 Gemini, indicating the arrival of issues related to karma and destiny.
MERCURY & VENUS – BOTH LINKING TO URANUS
Speaking of Uranus this planet is back in the news this week with both Mercury and Venus making aspects to this erratic planet –
Wednesday 7 October
- Mercury 9 Scorpio opposite Uranus 9 Taurus 21.36
Sunday 11 October
- Venus 9 Virgo trine Uranus 9 Taurus 00.09
These aspects are being underlined in importance because both Mercury and Venus have recently changed sign (Mercury entered Scorpio 27 Sept and Venus entered Virgo 2 October) and these aspects are their first since starting on these new journeys. Also as Mercury is now slowing down in readiness for turning retrograde in the middle of next week this means that Mercury will make this aspect not just once but three times. Here’s the timeline coming up –
- 7 October – Mercury 9 Scorpio opposite Uranus 9 Taurus
- 14 October – Mercury turns retrograde at 11 Scorpio
- 20 October – Mercury 9 Scorpio opposite Uranus 9 Taurus 2nd time
- 28 October – Mercury slides back into Libra
- 3 November – Mercury turns direct at 26 Libra
- 10 November – Mercury re-enters Scorpio
- 17 November – Mercury 9 Scorpio opposite Uranus 8 Taurus 3rd and final time
So pay close attention to what unfolds for you in the middle of this week, especially if you have planets or Angles at or close to 9 Taurus or the opposite sign of Scorpio. Mercury – Uranus combinations can be extremely lively, bringing news of the unexpected, exciting, surprising or even shocking kind. Either way, whatever you’re planning or agreeing to, whatever new journey you’re embarking upon, is likely to be full of twists and turns rather than a straightforward journey from A to B. This definitely includes new sexual relationships and attractions.
Throw into the mix that Mercury in Scorpio is one of his “mute” placings – eg look out for what is not being said, read between the lines, someone going silent on you – and we can see that this is something of a magical mystery tour at best, deliberate deception at worst. Love affairs started at this time will be of the intense but difficult to resolve kind. Control issues also come to mind, as in don’t try to impose your own will on others or don’t allow others to do the same to you. Generally keep your wits about you and, when in doubt, keep quiet and keep your own counsel. This is a dodgy time to be the keeper of secrets or to pass on confidences. If there’s anything complex going on, and there probably will be, better to let matters unfold in their own way.
URANUS & LOVE
Uranus rules the collective and groups. These aspects from Mercury and Venus are at least partly related to social distancing concerns. On Saturday we had a tourist test positive for Covid at the local surgery and the news went around the village like wildfire. This morning we found out it was a false alarm, the guy is in hospital and very sick, but the full test was run and it turned out that he’s not sick with Covid but something else. Uranus can often indicate things going haywire or things that create panic.
We are so used to being a safe haven here, as even the few tourist cases in the summer were managed quickly and efficiently. But there was definitely a message this weekend around complacency. Suddenly everyone was anxiously checking in with themselves, how careful have I actually been? Did I kiss or hug anyone? We’ve all read in the news about the concern of drunk people not being able to observe the distancing rules, and I’ve definitely seen that in action over here during the summer! I’ve also noticed that the more of an emotional nature someone has, the harder it is for them too. There are a few in my immediate circle and community who find it impossible to do the volte face – the “about face”, a total change of position – which is what made me think about Scott Peck for this week’s quote, and his book The Road Less Travelled which is about the journey of personal development and awareness, and which is based on his whole definition of love.
The bottom line is that “falling in love” is not love, because of the erotic element and attachment, ie we don’t “fall in love” with our children. Scott Peck writes that love is not about our own feelings! Love is about how much we sincerely and genuinely care for the other person’s feelings, for their well being and growth. Love is not about self gratification and the honeymoon fusion stage never lasts. If we truly love another person then we will sanction their dreams and wishes, even if we don’t figure in them. And if we truly love others then at the moment that also means that we will demonstrate that love by not hugging them, by entering into love as something “effortful” and not behaving in a way that simply makes ourselves feel fleetingly better.
Venus now in the health sign of Virgo underlines this message too. This is actually Venus’s sign of “fall” as it’s one of Mercury’s signs – it’s a mind sign rather than a heart one – and it’s a combination that’s known for being either prim and proper or for being too critical or picky. It’s the love perfectionist. At least Venus’s link to Uranus is by trine – harmonious – so this bodes well for a great and safe Saturday night out, and also for starting a new romance in a gentle way. If you’re single and searching clock the person who’s introduced to you by mutual friends. Online dating of the sensible and serious kind also gets a big tick.
MARS & PLUTO
Back to Scorpio, this sign is traditionally ruled by Mars and co-ruled by Pluto. These two planets square up to each other at the end of the week –
Friday 9 October
- Mars 22 Aries square Pluto 22 Capricorn 14.20
As Mars is currently retrograde this is the second of the three squares (we had the second square to Saturn last week) and now here’s the timeline for Pluto –
- 13 August – Mars 23 Aries square Pluto 23 Capricorn 1st time
- 9 September – Mars turned retrograde at 28 Aries
- 9 October – Mars 22 Aries square Pluto 22 Capricorn 2nd time
- 14 November – Mars turns direct at 15 Aries
- 23 December – Mars 24 Aries square Pluto 24 Capricorn 3rd and final time
So this timeline is working alongside the one for Saturn that I posted last week. Again it indicates that the current universal picture is teeming with issues that won’t or can’t be resolved until the end of the year. If you have planets or Angles at or close to the degrees and signs being referenced here then the same will apply to a personal issue in your own life, or in the life of someone very close to you.
THE WEEKEND – JUPITER & NEPTUNE FINALE
Along with the Venus – Uranus combination the coming weekend also culminates with the final alignment between Jupiter and Neptune. The Sun aspects both planets first by difficult aspects and then the big aspect is exact early on Monday morning –
Sunday 11 October
- Sun 18 Libra square Jupiter 18 Capricorn 13.36
- Sun 18 Libra quinqunx Neptune 18 Pisces 16.32
Monday 12 October
- Jupiter 18.44 sextile Neptune 18.44 Pisces 08.12
The first Jupiter – Neptune alliance was 20 February and the second was 27 July. The first one was just as the pandemic was starting and the WHO reports show that on 20 Feb six countries reported new cases, but the numbers were low, eg The United States confirmed one more case in California, bringing the total number to 16. Hard to believe that this is only 8 months ago as the US is now at the top of the list of affected countries with over 7.5 million cases.
The symbolism of the combination of these two planets definitely suggested a correlation, Neptune ruling all that is invisible, and which permeates and spreads –
Neptune’s discovery in 1846 coincided with advancement in the world of photography, film and pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and chloroform was used for the first time the following year. Also in 1847 the word anaesthetic, derived from the Greek word for “insensible”, first came into use. Gas was replacing oil for lighting, and the advent of street lights opened up a whole new night world with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
So, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it’s the glamour of the movies and its icons, or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from stark reality or anaesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of the bottle. (from my first book, Astrology for Today)
Put that together with Jupiter whose main principle is expansion and it’s a clear picture for a pandemic. It’s also clear symbolism for the rush to find a vaccine although it’s now abundantly clear that this is unlikely to happen any time soon, or at least not in any safe way. Overall it seems that this final alignment will mark, or hopefully will mark, the end of the “out of control” phase in some way. We’ll see. But nothing lasts forever and historically all pandemics do come to an end.
At a more personal level the closing of this particular cycle is important in terms of how we have all reshaped our lives this year. We’ve still got the third and final and arguably more important Jupiter – Pluto conjunction to come in about six weeks time, so it’s not an easy time in terms of ongoing restrictions, but at the same time the closing of these big cycles indicate milestones. Take a leaf out of Jupiter’s book and choose optimism, look at what you’ve learned this year or how you’ve reshaped your priorities, pay close attention to what comes to fruition this week and continue to stay focused. Life goes on, we can still love, dream and achieve,
Until next week,
With love from Greece
Joanna .