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| A Second View of the Beginning of Time Dear Imagineer: Seven years ago, in particular, in December 1996, Saturn crossed the Aries Point, the first degree of Aries. A used Saturn without air conditioning would be important crossing the Aries Point. Actual Saturn working that degree more than likely arrived with events and changes that rooted us in our current reality. The Aries Point, the first degree of the sign Aries, acts like a planet; that is, there is nothing actually there in terms of an object, but the point is alive. It responds, and when it does, it can come with events that affect many people. First I'll describe the point astronomically as best I can within my technical limits. This is all by way of background. Also called the Vernal Point, the first degree of Aries is the beginning of the tropical horoscope, that is, our horoscope. There are two horoscopes: one that is cast using the actual constellations as a background, and another that relies upon the seasons. The second one is the one that Western astrologers use; the first, also called the sidereal (pronounced sy-dairy-all, and meaning 'stellar') horoscope, is used by our friends over in India. The Aries point is the place in the sky with which the Sun exactly aligns on the first day of spring. This is also called the Vernal Equinox. On this particular day, day and night are equal all over the world, which is because the sun is shining its rays on the equator at an exact 90-degree angle. It happens that on this day, the sun is aligned with the constellation Pisceus. That's why the age we're in is called the Age of Pisces. Because the world's orbit wobbles (over very long periods of time), the Vernal Point moves. Each century, spring comes one day earlier. Thus, the Aries Point is slowly wobbling back toward Aquarius and is moving toward the Age of Aquarius. Some people say we're already here; other say it starts in no less than 300 years; others say we're in a long transition between one age and the next. That story does not factor into today's article. So the Aries point is this mobile location in space, mobile but moving very slowly. But from the internal referencing of time on Earth, it's an important day. It's the day we begin the astrological year and use to calculate what you might call the beginning of time, or a reference point for the beginning of what we think of as time. All the other tropical signs are referenced mathematically from the Aries point; every 30 degrees of arc, a new sign begins. When the sun reaches any of the cardinal signs -- Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn -- a new season begins. These four points, which are 90 degrees apart, are called the cardinal points. They are at 90-degree angles; they make a cross. The angles are called "squares." So it makes some sense that the Aries Point has a distinct astrological function; without it, we would not have a tropical horoscope to work with. Martha Wescott offers this commentary in one of her glossaries: "Contact with the world at large; dealings with individuals not personally known; being brought to public attention; awareness of the general public." Now, to go one shade fancier. All four cardinal points work in a way similar to the Aries Point. They are part of the same energetic architecture. When something happens on one of the points, it's like it's happening to all of them (one's natal angles, that is, the ascendant and midheaven, work much the same way). When the sun reaches each of the cardinal points, the seasons change and while each is different, they all share the common energy of a change of seasons, and we know how distinct that is most places. So, when a planet enters a cardinal sign, it's what you might call news. We know that recently, last week, actually, Saturn entered Cancer, thus crossing one of the cardinal points. Okay, now to go yet another shade of fancy. Now, some astrologers cast a second point into their charts to represent the energies that the planet Saturn conveys. It's called Kronos, the Greek name of Saturn. I describe him as a point because that's what he is; not a planet, but a calculated point that has a mathematical orbit that circles the sun like a planet and sometimes acts and feels like a planet, but which does not have an actual physical body or existence. Kronos exists in math, in some people's minds, on charts and in something called the 'collective unconscious', a term coined by C.G. Jung if I'm not turning on the news late. Kronos, one of eight such bodies, exists kind of like an astral planet, but I suspect that it may work on one of the higher planes of reality than astral -- these things are mapped out somewhat, and my guess would be the mental or etheric level (the point feels too transparent to be coming from the astral or causal levels). Kronos and three other points were discovered by a German astrologer named Alfred Witte, whose work dates to the beginning of the 20th century. For more about Witte, check this link: http://www.astrologer.ru/Witte/biography_eng.html Four others were later discovered by an astrologer, a student and colleague of Witte, named Sieggrun. Here is a link: http://finblake.home.mindspring.com/bfwitte.htm Anyway -- Kronos is a kind of super-Saturn. Saturn is the lord of time and this critter Kronos takes its time orbiting the zodiac. A lot of time. Saturn is considered pretty slow, moving through a sign in about two-and-a-half years and taking nearly three decades to orbit the sun once. Kronos takes more than five centuries to circumnavigate our star once, crossing a single sign in about 42 years. Its calculated orbit is 64.8 times the mean distance of the Earth to the sun. Way out. Some would say that Kronos is the higher vibration of Saturn: the energy of authority and structuring, of responsibility, boundary and necessity, but freed of its worldly mass, its rings, its moons and its numerology. Take the same basic idea as Saturn and incarnate it as a massless point with rearranged mathematics and rhythm and you have something else, something specific and useful. Kronos is the potentized version of Saturn, speaking in the homeopathic sense; in homeopathy, the further you get from the physical form, the more specific and potent the energy becomes. Now, here's an interesting bit, my point in explaining all of this to you. Saturn and Kronos entered Cancer separated by about one week. Saturn has been in Gemini about thirty months. Kronos has been there about 42 years. They arrived in Cancer together, crossing that sign's cardinal point and aspecting the Aries Point exactly. By my best shot at crude calculation, they were conjunct at zero degrees and one arc minute of Cancer last Tuesday evening June 3, their one and only conjunction for this Saturn cycle. That struck me as really interesting. What does it mean? Certainly it's significant because there is such clear signification around all things Saturnian. I would propose, first off, that the real event is Kronos entering Cancer and that Saturn is there as a kind of warm-up act. We certainly need the authority and might of a Saturn-like objects entering the consciousness of our homes. There is no other way we're going to muster the focusing power to run our homes in the efficient way we need to in the coming years otherwise. My sense is that we need to internally take on the Saturn model but with a mind for the soul of Saturn, Kronos: the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law; the enlightened version of the law rather than mundane lower law; the intention leading to action rather than action later being justified with an explanation (as we so often see). If Saturn speaks to a degree of maturity or attaining maturity, Kronos takes that to a much more relevant level of spiritual clarity and respect for higher authority than, for example, mom, dad and the government. I propose that we really need to watch power issues vigilantly where the general public is affected. We are soon to face perhaps the most important presidential election in U.S. history because we currently live with the condition of a rogue government that would make Richard Nixon proud (or perhaps even angry). With so much action around the Aries point (once again -- major activity in the first degree of Cancer in June 2001 presaged the events of Sept. 11) we need to take a little, or a lot, more responsibility for leadership in our own lives and in our own communities. Last, let's check in on the metaphysical angle. The Aries Point is a kind of compass rose pointing to an orientation on the beginnings of time. The first degree of Cancer is like another perspective on that degree; a new orientation on what it means to begin, to begin again, or to call something a beginning. With the Lord of Time, Saturn, and his higher-self Kronos involved in a very unusual conjunction at Cancer's cardinal point, this would not exactly be arbitrary. But we may ask: Why now? ++ Current Sky & Anniversaries Gemini Everything under the full moon is in tune. The Sagittarius moon opposes the Gemini sun aligned with the galactic core. We live in a mini-universe called the Milky Way, this big spiral of stars, and it has a center or core, and if you point to it, that center is located at about 26 degrees 53 minutes of Sagittarius. The sun opposes this degree from Gemini each year for a few days, and those days have begun. In one respect, the moon will come between the Earth and its direct 'view' of the galactic center, perhaps acting like a kind of condensing unit and emanating the galaxy's light mixed in with Sol's. Do you seek information from the galaxy? In the sense that science is a religion, we are likely to find some kind of natural equivalent of 'god' located at the core. My mind dazzles at the thought of how bright the night sky is with stars once you get close to the center, and how strange time and gravity must feel. In a constellation with this event, the chart I'm looking at shows some of these worlds: Mars is square the lunar nodal axis. Rick Levine passed along a tidbit from Vedic astrology yesterday and said that the reasons the Vedics don't like either node is because in both cases it represents something that attaches us to maya, the 'illusory' world in which we live. One point represents Dharma, correct action. The other represents Karma, the challenges and talents we bring from the past. There is a division being drawn and a radical bell of awakening to stay in the moment, neither compelled by Karma or drawn by Dharma. How we just be? Currently Mars says emulate one currently who has more aptitude at this than you do. Mars in Aquarius has a revolutionary feel. There is a righteous antagonism to this combination, and it's moving along slow as Mars gets ready to retrograde much of the summer. Gemini birthdays in this realm are in the mood to put spiritual advancement into action. The galactic themes and the impasse-dissolving full moon speak to this clearly, and Mars suggests that a significant degree of decisiveness will be present in your life. Life seems to be a process of activity, but it is more easily navigated as a process of decisions. Everything we face offers us a point of decision, from a single idea to the notion of 'the end'. Perhaps this will help. You are in an extended period of radical awakening in the entire life you consider to embrace the term 'relationship'. Only you know the challenges you've faced going back years in a seemingly endless run, particularly in the very most personal aspects of your life. And only you know what you've gained in this process, what you've learned and the way you're slowly coming to trust your power in the face of powerful others. The aforementioned conjunction of Saturn and Kronos suggests strongly that you are in tune with your times. What is important to you is now very important to society, so you have reason to never lapse into the fear that you don't have your work cut out for you. That's actually a very good state of affairs on the planet; one need never worry about unemployment. Mercury and Venus in your sign in your anniversary chart suggest you will not be wanting for either love or money, but with these planets in your sign, they represent what you have to offer the world at this time. Energy invested into altruistic projects will serve you immensely, and that's not a contradiction. Altruism exists even in the case of personal gain; the only real question is the initial motive. And you have certainly questioned your motives quite a bit lately, have you not? No matter how you ask, no matter what you put yourself through, you should pretty much come up with the same answer. Leadership is calling you in strange and intuitive ways. You really are free, and you really are worthy of it. Weekly Webcast Every Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. PST or 11:45 a.m. EST, I do a live webcast at http://www.voiceofvashon.org/ hosted by Susan McCabe. It's not always on time and in fact I missed last week's -- apologies for the lack of advanced notice. Planet Waves by Eric Francis http://www.PlanetWaves.net/ June 13, 2003 Aries (March 20-April 19) When you cross paths with someone, you don't necessarily meet them again, or when you do, the nature of the relationship can be radically different. Relationships come with all kinds of unexpressed potential, both for helping and for harm. Often it's fear that keeps us from expressing the more creative potentials, and fear that leads things to turn out for the worst. But in the coming months, your relationship to fear is going to change substantially. It can no longer be the elusive, nameless something-or-other it's been for so long. So for starters, give it a name. And when you feel fear, see how far back you can trace that particular strain of emotion. Taurus (April 19-May 20) What once seemed far away is right near you now. There may be very little point in attempting to make amends by protracted effort or distant travel; what's happening in your immediate environment is the test of truth. It would seem that the overly rigid psychological patterns of one of your parents have left you with a diminished sense of what is possible in your life, though you tend to see it as an issue of 'the world' not being ready, or being too conservative, for your eccentric tastes. That may be true, but if so, then it's exactly the reason for the kind of progress that you're attempting to offer those around you. Gemini (May 20-June 21) The pace of thought and of life is about to pick up for you rather dramatically, and many of your old doubts are likely to evaporate. That means an increase in the relative speed with which you take a good idea and put it into action. No one attempt to put theory into practice is the last word on the subject. Putting things into practice means practicing, and practicing implies that there will be errors. But the only real error we can make in life is acting out of accord with our own deepest values. Your values are not going to let you sleep any time soon, but they are not about to let you down, either. Cancer (June 21-July 22) You may not be sure if you're feeling the pressure to conform or the ability to be innovative, but any contradiction between the two modalities of life is beginning to disappear quickly. At least that's the great potential for this stage of your life. Getting anything truly creative done in material form requires a degree of regimentation, and a touch of the Promethean spirit that's always a sign of true leadership -- and putting ideas forth is a form of leadership. When that process matures, as it appears to be doing quite beautifully for you, there is no longer the struggle between what you are offering and what the world wants. What you deliver is just what's needed. Leo (July 22-Aug 23) You have a knack for being quite particular about what you want, and for getting it. But recent developments suggest that you may be getting something quite a bit different than you've requested. Fight if you want, but I don't recommend it. Circumstances in the outer world of people and things are about as good for you now as any person on the planet can reasonably hope for. What's changing is an inner orientation that's beginning to flush your deepest insecurities out of your unconscious. This is the best thing you could hope for, because unless you see a fear, you cannot deal with it appropriately. Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) Events of recent weeks have unlikely worked out as you've planned it so carefully and for so long, and this may serve to throw you into a bit of a mental spin. For the most part, you'll have two options for how to respond. I won't mention one; the other will be to express your leadership talents, which are running at full strength right now. Leadership for you has always meant being a clear communicator and holding others to their responsibility to see both sides of the issue. Now you can add simple charm to the equation. You have that certain je ne sais quoi working for you. Work it right back. Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) If you're not feeling a drive for achievement stronger than you have at any time before, it's only because you've assumed that the agreements you've made in the past are totally inflexible. And they may have been for a while there, but you may finally be starting to see the light of the wider world. Wider means envisioning yourself far from where you are now, both in location and in ideology -- and wider in terms of your self-concept. You most definitely have two distinct ways you think of who you are when it comes down to 'who you really, truly are'. Recent developments have left you wondering which to believe. Yet it's clear that you're thinking too much and not trusting yourself enough. Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) Slowly the climate of the world around you seems to be adapting to who you are. This is not an illusion. You have a distinct style and often business colleagues, your spiritual community and even your closest friends seem to have very different ways of interpreting experience. It's as if you're always the non-conformist among the non-conformists. But their feelings and experience is starting to catch up with yours, and to a real degree your private world and the larger world seem to be merging into one reality. This gives you freedom, and yet it subtracts a degree of resistance and friction which you often use to define your reality. True, the cost of a more peaceful world is a world with less conflict. Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22) You currently have a clear perspective on how complex everyone else is, and recognize the extent to which others seem to be divided, send mixed messages or present multiple facets when one would do quite well. But you may not be in tune with what's moving you on the deepest levels, or understand how it feels to experience yourself from the outside. If life has seemed like a long, drawn out impasse lately, reach across inner space tune in. How you experience the people around you is not enough; how they experience you is quite a bit more complicated. That usually doesn't make a difference, but it does now. Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) Mature relationship is much more than a meeting of two people, and it implies a level of responsibility that goes far beyond the world's concept of 'commitment'. In practice, relationship, at times, calls upon us to relinquish any measure of self-interest and simply take care of the people who have been sent to us, be a resource for them, or reassure them. It also involves understanding our own needs very clearly and being totally honest with ourselves about when they are not being met. What to do about that particular fact is another issue entirely, but you're at a point where agreements must be based on one standard, not two or three. Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) Life is about agreements. Most of the agreements we make are unconscious and are codified on a kind of touchy-feely emotional level that involves a mixture of not asking too much, not offering too much, and getting caught in situations we can't get out of. The nature of your commitments is changing fast right now. In short, they must move up to the level of full awareness of the terms, conditions and expectations. That doesn't sound to cozy or romantic, but in reality it opens the way for the expression of true feelings. Some core areas of your life lacking shape and definition, and a totally honest discussion will give everyone a lot more freedom to be. Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) You're probably aware of the inner reconciliation process which seems to be gathering momentum. First it was necessary to see the division which over the years has had you constantly working against your own cause despite your best intentions. Structural flaws are often very difficult to see, and often the only way to find them is by their results. But the motivation for healing them has to come from a much more positive place. Now that you've had a taste of how good your life can be when you've attained some measure of inner peace, you've got some serious incentive to work for it. How do newspaper horoscopes work? Planet Waves Weekly and PlanetWaves.net are edited by Eric Francis, with help from Chelsea Bottinelli and the Vision List. This newsletter is $49.95 per year and published 52 times per year plus the monthly horoscope. We encourage our readers to contribute their artwork and writing to the Planet Waves project and to cultivate themselves as creative forces in the unusual and socially formative times in which we live. |
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