I am on vacation until November 12th, and until then I am posting some oldies but goodies along with more timely stories as internet access becomes available. From 2007:
I've lately been feeling more dissatisfied than usual with the imaginary nature of the zodiac in modern astrology. The planets are in real places, and their relationships with each other are real, but the constellations that are supposed to be behind them and influencing them are not there. This is partly due to precession, but actually the neat 30 degree segments they were divided into several thousand years ago are also a fiction, because nature is never like that.
I think this is really undeniably true which is what makes the skeptics so crazy. The sky isn't cut up into nice little 30 degree segments which we call the zodiac, astrology is a symbolic system and not an astronomical system. Yet there's no doubt that it works so we have to wonder why.
In a way western astrology is more straightforward than Vedic astrology in this respect. A western astrologer will tell you that the zodiac we use bears no relationship to the stars. I don't want to put words in the mouth of a Vedic astrologer, but their astrology takes precession into account, so there seems to be more of a relationship with the stars, but actually the neat 30 degree fiction still remains.
This is not to say that western astrology doesn't work, because it does, and it does so very well. But as an astrologer, what turns me on is my symbolic relationship to the sky, that is the foundation, that is what moves me, and that is what in large measure is not there. It's like modern western astrology for me is part relationship to the sky and part tea-leaves.
I have a fantasy that when we take a body on planet Earth we are given this map which contains our quest and our mission (the Sun sign) and a description of the tools that we are given to accomplish this mission (the rest of the chart). The symbols are given to us in the shape of the Sun, Moon and other planets because we can identify with them. We look up at the Sun and we feel warmed by it. We look at the Moon and we experience its mystery. Mercury is the quick mover, the messenger that delivers communications. Mars is fiery red and rules over anger.
Yet there can be no doubt that the planets themselves have a powerful influence. A client who has been going through a difficult Chiron transit said last week "So this wasn't just a random series of events?" And we were able to pinpoint exactly when the difficult times occurred so that she could see what the changes were all about. Understanding our astrological makeup and cycles gives us a greater perspective over our life so that we can live more effectively and in a more integrated fashion.
Like Dharmaruci I am also becoming interested in the Fixed Stars and have bought the Brady book and I'm trying to figure out how to view the stars in my Solar Fire program. (Any help with that would be greatly appreciated!!) Meanwhile, the Astrology.com site has a page with the position of the major stars and other interesting details that may prove useful for us.
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
I've hade the same feelings about the fixed stars, but only those along the ecliptic, or as far away as the moon reaches; its then you see the conjunction in the sky that it seems imo to be significant. But you can't say a conjunction of 1 degree is less than a finger's width in the sky if the star in question is way off the ecliptic. Interesting when comets track across fixed stars though.
Add the fixed stars into Solarfire as extra ring points; I keep a few odd ones there most of the time. Email me if you need help.
I know what you mean. I got a Fixed Star Report from Brady and it absolutely blew my mind. The fixed stars add so much depth to the chart through their "parans" and parallels. Check out this website:
http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Fixedstars.htm
It has so much information!
Jason
Hi Lynn,
My Solar Fire program is down at the moment, but I do recall a special feature in Solar Fire that displays fixed stars and asteroids in all chart calculations. When the program is up and running again, I'll be able to provide more information.
With the approaching Saturn - Pluto square I couldn't help but notice a powerful intricate t square developing to culmination on Christmas eve. Here are the coordinates....
1 pm EST Dec.24 New York, NY
Sun/Pluto conj.... 3 '03 Capr.
Moon ............. 3 '15 Aries
Saturn............ 4 '17 Libra
This dynamic t square is profoundly connected to the Mars station
of Dec 20th (19 '34 Leo) by semi/sesqui-square.
Points of contact to the US chart..
The Mars station squares the US Vesta (19 Taurus)
"The asteroid Vesta (security interests) is rarely used by astrologers, but in the U.S. horoscope, its position at 19 degrees of Taurus marks a highly magnetic point, with this degree often prominently featured in business horoscopes." (quoted by Neptune Cafe "The Astrology of the Credit Crunch")
The US natal Venus at 3 '06 Cancer (representative of the wealth of our nation).
Although the following article is two years old, US Homeland Security still regards each holiday season a major cause for concern....
Al-Qaeda Prepares To Blast USA On Christmas Eve
09.11.2007 Source: Pravda.Ru
U.S. special services have warned about the new imminent danger. FBI agents said that al-Qaeda, the international terrorist network, had been working on large-scale terrorist acts during the recent two years. Al-Qaeda will strike the USA again in December of the current year, the FBI said.
A recently published report says explosions may sound in large shopping malls of Chicago and Los Angeles. The terrorist acts, which al-Qaeda is going to conduct on Christmas Eve, are to undermine the U.S. economy, the report runs. The FBI obtained the information about the extremists’ plans in September, but the Bureau decided to make it public only now.
Continued....
http://english.pravda.ru/world/americas/09-11-2007/100570-al_qaeda-0
Thanks all for your comments, and Jason thanks for posting that link! David Crook had posted it on his Facebook page and it's a wonderful site. There is so much to learn about astrology, and someday I hope to master these stars. :)
The effects of the Dec 24th Christmas eve Sun/Moon/Pluto/Saturn t square may be equally applicable to Pakistan. The Mars station will be within one degree of Pakistan's natal Sun (20 '32 Leo) square natal Jupiter (18 '57 Scorpio) and semi/sesqui-square to the Sun/Moon/Pluto/Saturn t square.
See Pakistan's birth chart.....
http://www.stariq.com/Main/Articles/P0008428.htm
Here's a related article by Dharmucci
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Benazir Bhutto and the Moon-Mars Eclipse (3 Cancer)
I’m often in a state of slight doubt around astrology, suspecting that if pushed I could make any set of symbols fit around any event or person. But then something happens that makes you realise that astrology does work after all. The death of Benazir Bhutto was, for me, a case in point.
Continued...
http://astrotabletalk.blogspot.com/2007/12/benazir-bhutto-and-moon-mars-eclipse.html
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.