School of Sagittarius

Dear Friend and Client:

One of my clients told me today that her Concordance was not so Harmonic. Eclipses rarely are. When eclipses happen, we are experiencing the Venturi effect of time. Venturi, named for the 18th century Italian scientist who discovered the effect, is how carburetors turn liquid fuel to gas: by accelerating the flow of air and fluid through a narrow space, creating a rush of air that turns the fuel to vapor. Such is the effect of an eclipse on our existence in the fluid of time. We go from a slow-moving heavier substance to a lighter, more rapidly moving (and more volatile) substance.

This equals change and change is not easy, and even positive change is rarely welcomed. Eclipses guarantee relief from the status quo. They can seem like periods of intense testing, purification, stress and ultimately a measure of enlightenment. They are almost always big turning points; I say almost because there must have been an eclipse at some point that failed to manifest an effect on someone somewhere. But that's as far as I'll go. They are generally turbulent and unpredictable (and not the darling children of the ancient astrologers, but I personally like them). Some eclipses are friendlier than others, and this one was one of the more gentle ones. They can be a lot more wrenching than what we just experienced. Consider the summer of 1999 for a potentially instructive comparison, August 11 to be exact.

To look superficially, Saturday could seem like it was disastrous -- far from the fifth-dimension ascension that was being predicted on some Web pages. That's the day that the diplomatic compound in Saudi Arabia was car-bombed, representing a significant expansion of the war in the Middle East (which has tended to stay away from that country). This was followed by another attack in which 18 Italians were killed in Iraq. November has been the bloodiest month of the war, which we supposedly won in May.

However: a lot is moving underground right now. The international picture is shifting very rapidly and far more is going on behind the scenes than in front -- we are in Scorpio time, after all. The same is true for us personally. We are now in the zone between two eclipses, which is like being inside a hidden celestial valley. The message is to slow down and look at your life more carefully in this unique space. In particular, look at what you call your spiritual beliefs, because all of a sudden you're likely to have to live as if they were true. With a solar eclipse, a veil is lifted or, in the extreme, a cover is blown. With Sagittarius, we are talking about the contradictory levels of belief that can cause us to defy our own values, desires and needs.

I am not the first person to point out that what is often called "spirituality" is largely a set of ideas that conceal something else. These ideas usually exist in place of a tangible worldview that can be confirmed by one's senses, experiences and analytical skills, and expressed in one's daily actions. You with me? Ideas are great. They are the source of just about everything in the human realm. But they're also a drug. Ideas can and often do cover over reality. For example, it's perfectly safe to be "pro-war" as long as nobody is firing rocket-propelled grenades at your house and as long as your teenage sons are not being drafted out of high school. Beware: the draft boards are being reactivated.


Peering into the Nov. 23 Eclipse Chart

Last night I recast the chart for the Nov. 23 total solar eclipse in Sagittarius. I've been looking at different versions of this chart for a year or so, and recently lost the one I used to write the 2003 horoscope. In the past year, I've added a lot of minor planets to my basic chart -- I currently use about 64 planets, including asteroids, objects beyond Pluto, and Centaur planets such as Chiron, more than double what I was using at this time last year.

This chart was nothing I had ever seen before.

As I added planets to the figure (I copy them from a computer display by hand onto the paper), there was an obvious trend: many were collecting in Sagittarius, as if a big magnet had drawn them there. They include the Sun and Moon in an exact conjunction, plus Juno, Ixion, Quaoar, Vesta, Psyche, Mercury, Pluto, Eros, Apollo, Sisyphus, Sappho, Venus, and Orpheus. That is to say, about a quarter of all the planets on a rather long list fall into one sign, the sign of the eclipse itself. On top of which, Sagittarius is not an ordinary direction in space. The signs point out in different directions, and each has what you could call a view of space. Sagittarius contains two extraordinarily influential galactic points; one is the core of our home galaxy, which is at 27 degrees Sagittarius (almost at the end), and the other is a point called the Great Attractor, at 15 Sagittarius (right in the middle). The Great Attractor is a thing way the heck out in space somewhere toward which a million galaxies, including our own and the entire local group, are being drawn at the rate of 24 million miles per day. There is something very, very big located in mid-Sagittarius and nobody knows quite what it is. How very Sagittarian!

It happens that several other planets are collected in Scorpio, where the Sun currently is. Those include (in order) Toro (an asteroid), Hylonome (a Centaur), the South Node (a calculated point), Achilles (a Trojan asteroid out by Jupiter), Pholus (a Centaur), Pandora (asteroid) and Diana (asteroid), which all constitute a more average-sized big pileup in one sign. But both are clustered together. Overall, about a third of all the planets I use are grouped within about 41 degrees of longitude -- within less than one-eighth of the wheel! Here is what it looks like:

http://planetwavesweekly.com/charts/sag_eclipse.html

Here is what a simpler chart looks like using only the major planets and asteroids -- it pretty much says the same thing:

http://planetwavesweekly.com/charts/sag_eclipse_maj.html

Like you, I'm sitting here wondering what this all means. Obviously it must mean something. Many diverse planets are involved. But I haven't mentioned one remaining wild detail. This eclipse occurs in opposite (directly across the sky from, in early Gemini) something called Black Moon Lilith, or the "true lunar apogee." It is not a "thing" as we usually think of things, but rather the place in the Moon's orbit where the Moon goes furthest from the Earth. It's sometimes cast into astrological charts. Please, don't ask me how people come up with this stuff. But Black Moon Lilith is a gem. I would describe her as the indescribable core essence of femininity.

Lilith is conjunct Chaos. Chaos, a brand-newly discovered little planet orbiting our Sun well beyond Pluto. It's named for the prime creation god of the Greeks -- the conscious substance before the beginning of time that created the gods themselves. The conjunction is close. Its opposition to the eclipse is close. Be an astrologer and follow the numbers for a minute. Gemini and Sagittarius are opposite signs and degrees divide a sign into 30 bits.

Maybe that evokes some imagery for you. If so, please, do tell.

Here is something else that really looked interesting.

Sappho (an asteroid about emotional and erotic bonding among women, and emotional affinity within groups of people in general, prominent in the Sept. 11, 2001 chart) is conjunct Venus is conjunct Orpheus is conjunct the Galactic Core. Voila:

Maybe Orpheus, one of the Argonauts of Greek mythology, descends to the core of our home galaxy in a kind of mass retrieval of the feminine soul. Maybe we'll all wake up lesbians the next morning. Or maybe we're going to experience the Womanly Concordance. In any case, there is the imagery of a quest far away or deep within, involving bonding akin to that which happens among women under the best of circumstances. Perhaps there is a message for how we respond to the violence and grief we witness in the world. It can divide us, or it can draw us together.

Off in another part of the sky, Mars (in Pisces) is lined up rather exactly opposite Jupiter (in Virgo) exactly square Pluto and Mercury (in Sagittarius) is aligned with the Great Attractor (in Sagittarius) -- nice and tight, like an architect drew it. This chart is not talking in blurs and murmurs. Its lines are clean and very pointed. They align with prodigious objects in deep space. Looked at one way, there is a gargantuan issue around ideology coming to a head right now. Looked at another way, we are being offered a full-on recharge of feminine energy, galactic style. The galaxy is aligning with a series of lenses in front of it that offer a dense cluster of stars colored in the form of the bonding of women with women, and of the feminine consciousness teaching us to feel our way into a collective safe space of sanity.


The Eleventh Commandment

Today, a rather Sagittarian story made big news, and I think it offers a clue to what's taking shape. Roy Moore, the chief justice of Alabama, was removed from office by a special judicial ethics court because he refused to comply with a federal court's order to remove a statue of the Ten Commandments from the court lobby. Two well-documented themes of Sagittarius are religion and the higher courts, and Pluto in that sign adds an image of the zeal with which Roy Moore pursued his personal convictions with the utmost confidence that he would be vindicated. He counted on public officials and other judges cowering. After all, nobody wants to be on the wrong side of the Ten Commandments, particularly when they're etched in two tons of ugly granite, and particularly in Alabama. Well, guess again.

The Alabama Court of the Judiciary held, "Any person who undertakes a solemn oath to carry out a public trust must act in a manner that demonstrates both respect for and compliance with established rules of law of the institution that person serves. Here, however, we are faced with a situation in which the highest judicial officer of this state has decided to defy a court order. The Supreme Court of the United States has said:

No man in this country is so high that he is above the law. No officer of the law may set that law at defiance with impunity. All the officers of the government, from the highest to the lowest, are creatures of the law and are bound do obey it.

"We respect and hold in high regard the right of every American citizen to express his or her views. However, when an individual, especially a judge, undertakes a position of civil authority, that person must conform his or her conduct in the exercise of public duties according to the established rules of law and accepted rules of ethics."

In the judicial history of this country, this is a very big deal. Contrary to the sanctimonious pontification of the U.S. Supreme Court quoted by the Alabama ethics panel, judges often hold themselves above the law. They are subject to all kinds of political manipulation. They sentence people to die in trials where the defendant's lawyer fell asleep. Appeals are written before arguments are heard. And their actual conduct is almost never subject to judicial review; they are nearly impossible to sue. Here, Moore became the poster child for what happens when ethical responsibility is taken seriously, and when people rise above fear and social pressure for a brief, glorious moment. Were it an omen. ++


Scorpio Birthdays Through the 22nd

You are in a resolution and transition stage of your cycle, wherein an old way of life is quickly drawing to a close in preparation for something entirely different. You are discovering that there are many ways to think of yourself, and that how you think of yourself really makes a difference to how you experience yourself. Two potentials show up in particular: dark and light. True, the two work together as balancing forces in the psyche, but your (usually unconscious) identification with one or the other leads to a different quality of feeling-tone in life. You make this choice each time (for example) you opt for optimism or pessimism; in how you expect people to respond to you; and in deciding how you think people feel about you.

What bubbles and simmers in the subconscious vat of Scorpio finds expression and meaning in Sagittarius, slowly working its way from one into aspect of you into the other. This process of movement has begun to gather momentum. It may feel like quickly working out something very deep. While you still may not want to speak of what is better left unsaid, you certainly do put it into practice a lot more readily. In more recent months you have seen the benefit of making a distinct effort to see things from the perspective of close partners for long enough to make a fair judgment. The trials of your life in the past four or so seasons have resolutely demonstrated this is a virtue, and that if affords you actual power in your relationships rather than the illusion of power you previously had. If you understand where others are coming from, that's as close to a guarantee of cooperation from them that you've got. And it's a small price to pay.

It seems like you are ready to try something new and unusually daring for yourself, perhaps like you're leading yourself to take a chance on your newfound priorities or self-value. How would it feel to bet on yourself as a winner a little more often? That's the dare, really. It's one thing to know you have a potential, and another thing entirely to take a risk requiring you to count on that potential being real. Faith itself is much of what creates the outcome you want. That's because faith is an active, living force within you, not merely an intellectual concept or emotion.

Still, you have to do something with your anger, perhaps just vent it, or use it as a creative force. The problem with your anger, for the most part, is that you're right, and that makes it all the more difficult to give up. When one is proven wrong, anger often has a way of seeing its own futility and giving up. When one is evidently right, there is within most people a calling for equalizing the score. But fairness suggests that while seeking justice is reasonable, you're not objective enough to be the judge. So as you move through these four seasons it's best to seek the advice of impartial observers before taking action. Understand how others feel before communication breaks down and while understanding is still possible. This will save you a lot of trouble. Don't be attached to your own point of view and don't let push come to shove. A little diplomacy will take you a long, long way.

In the end, prudence is what convinces you to be a little less principled and a lot more compassionate toward yourself and others. Common sense persuades you to respect what you don't understand. In this life we can always count on the existence of forces more mysterious or more powerful than ourselves. The question whether we choose to acknowledge their existence -- and what kind of relationship we choose to have with them.


Your Weekly Horoscope

Aries (March 20-April 19)
After an extended period of deep healing, it's important to take it easy. Then all of a sudden you have to push it, or life hands you a situation or meeting that's clearly an option you can exercise. In assessing your choices, remember that you're not deciding anything on the basis of who you were in the past. You will know because the act of choosing feels different. The person you're creating yourself to be is obviously someone you're not accustomed to being, which is precisely the point. Stay on that unfamiliar edge of your own inner reality, and you will meet people on theirs. That, cousin, is where the action is.

Taurus (April 19-May 20)
So, now you know. Your doubts have been erased, along with a lot of false memories, misperceptions and values that had no relationship to who you were, what you wanted or what you knew to be true. How does the world look now that you're seeing it on your own terms? Remember well; pay attention. The next step is to live in the world on your own terms, which has everything to do with seeing yourself as an independent person, not someone's spouse, child, student, prisoner or subject. Most people never get there; it's way too much responsibility. I can assure you that there's no challenge that won't come with a matching reward.

Gemini (May 20-June 21)
You're becoming aware of a lot of things you never expected to know, consider or imagine. There's absolutely no logic to the sequence of revelations, but such are encounters with the truly strange and numinous. Even the most casual encounter has the power to reveal long-sought-after information about the nature of why your relationships are the way they are. All this vulnerability you've cultivated has left you open to reality and to both seeing and accepting the truth of who people are. Now what you're being offered is a chance to relate directly to them and for them to know you exactly as you are. Every meeting counts, even passing a stranger on an escalator.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Don't be afraid to take any opportunity to pause and assess the situation. You seem to be about to make an important move, something that's out of character as far as most people have your character analyzed but very much in harmony with the essential nature you live and breathe. You're an initiator and creator, and an element of surprise and immediacy are critical to the outcome you're seeking. Therefore, study the chess board from every angle and get your people organized. There comes a time in the next seven to ten days when the whole plan reaches critical mass and action becomes the fruit of knowledge.

Leo (July 22-Aug 23)
There are no simple risks. But risk is the essence of success. What appears to be a rather complicated situation today will look far simpler in about a week because another set of facts or another order of reality imposes itself on your beliefs. It's always impressive when a wide variety of concerns and conditions evaporate in the light of an entirely different perspective. In this case, it's going to teach you to see the largest possible picture and the most far-reaching explanation of events. In other words, this is not merely about you, and it's not just about the here and now. The events of your life are part of a much greater process of which you are not the exact center, but are certainly an integral part.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
One experience after the next is leaving you feeling like someone you never expected to be. We can call that a good thing, because it is. The tendency of most experiences on this plane of existence is to narrow the mind and foster prejudice -- seen one, seen 'em all. Now, the stark uniqueness of everyone you meet is becoming plainly apparent, and the world is lit in a different light. Meet the one-of-a-kind face to face, head on, directly and in plain language. Don't be afraid to let the encounter get hot; very likely it's going to be very good. Remember, we're all capable of the same things and ultimately there is no purity. Go for real and you won't go wrong.

Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
Intrigue will be giving way to compassion; one is often a substitute for the other. The world is plenty darned fascinating, but certain people around you need attention rather than awe and wonder. They may not realize it yet but the issue is that they're suddenly in rather unfamiliar territory themselves, and may have lost a sense of who they are. You can offer a gentle reminder, but the best way to convey the message of wholeness and presence is to attend to the tasks that call for your expertise, depth and clarity. You have come a long way in the past few weeks and are serving as an important role model to someone who really needs the guidance. Have faith in yourself.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Fortunately you know how to turn those boiling moments of inner storm into rare opportunities for growth, and fortunately you can do it with little notice. Now you have a bit more notice, as Mars and Pluto, your two ruling planets, meet at a 90-degree angle during the next week. If you're in conflict, check immediately for old beliefs that are not true. You are about to renege on a compromise you made long ago and may not even be aware you agreed to. Those are the worst kind. Look, in particular, for the feeling of compromise within yourself. Know it when it shows up. Follow it to the source and take back what's yours.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 - Dec. 22)
If you feel like you're making an effort that's just not paying off, look for the pattern. Listen to the voices of people who say, "I'm messed up and I'll always be messed up because that's the way it is where I come from." You were taught to make a sacrifice that reaches into the core of who you are, that is, to give up something that was essentially you. However, the issue should be so clear and the sense of futility of this whole worldview so obvious that seeking a better way is the most natural thing in the world. Just listen and respond to what you hear. Listen to tone of voice in particular. You will know what to do.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20)
If you can set aside the urge to flee from a certain situation or condition in your life, you'll be rewarded with an experience that allows you to reach to a level of awareness you rarely reach. You will also learn something about the power of pain as a catalyst for healing. Neurologically it works quite literally in this way, and psychologically as well. You are receiving a message, and if you hear the whole thing, it comes with full instructions for how to resolve the situation that has caused you so much difficulty for so long. The only cost, and for some it is a cost, accepting a little more freedom than you're accustomed to.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
How would you describe your life in the 20th century versus your ideal life in the 21st century? You know, the 21st century is not that far off. I can pass along this prediction: that whole Y2K thing is basically a joke, and the New Year's Eve terrorist plot will be foiled by Bill Clinton even though you won't hear about it. Wait -- that's already happened for the rest of us. You can start making plans, because for you the Turn of the Millennium happens in about six weeks. Your life has represented a modernizing influence on the world, and you've had a much greater effect on the lives of those around you than you may yet realize. In the next episode, the world will have its inspiring effect on you.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)
Mutable signs such as Pisces are famous for signifying slow processes, delays and eventual results. But eventually is arriving, and it's arriving rather suddenly. Fish people are not known for laying out exact plans on graph paper with little budget estimates written in the left-hand column of every page. Aviation, after all, is a study in wings and prayers. However, somewhere in your scrapbook is an early draft of Plan A, and that's the one you need to dust off, because it's the most likely candidate right now. Try this on; it's a little old, but I think it still fits: "I am nobody's employee. I am an international entrepreneur."