Venus-Saturn and endings

I had been planning to write again on the fateful encounters brought by the Vertex point this week, but the solar eclipse at 22° Scorpio fell within a few degrees of my Ascendant and other situations rose to the surface. (1)

I have a friend (his wife of 30 years calls him “our Maverick Warrior” – he has Sun conjunct Chiron in the natal chart) who took his last breath on Saturday night. He was at home, where his body stayed in repose for 24 hours, surrounded by immense tenderness, beauty, and great love.

He has Capricorn rising in the natal, so Saturn is the chart ruler as well as the Annual Perfected Lord of the Year. (2)

He was born in June. In his 2012 Solar Return, the Ascendant is 22°19’ Libra, Saturn is precisely there, at 22°46’ Libra.

Saturn at birth was 16°54’ Aries. The leaded one turned retrograde 37 days after he was born. Now, by progression, Saturn is back exactly to his birth position: 16°54’ Aries.

The gentleman’s natal Midheaven is 3°34’ Scorpio. As he left this mortal coil, transiting Venus was at 3°46’ Scorpio conjunct the natal Midheaven, with Saturn at 5°58’ Scorpio standing guard closely nearby.

It was a dignified and peaceful passing. This is a simple tribute to Venus and Saturn, now traveling together in Scorpio, crossing his Midheaven and guiding my friend on.

On Sunday night I went to a festive goodbye dinner for another friend who is moving to a far away country. He has 4° Scorpio Ascending — another chart meeting transiting Saturn and Venus. It was an enchanted evening with rounds of affection, cocktails with fresh orchids as garnish, and champagne and superb food. No one wanted to say goodbye. (Come to think of it, maybe I was part of Venus-Saturn at the table too — I was the oldest female, but kept up quite well with my younger companions.)

The often-present fog and clouds were gone when I got home and the night sky was beautiful — the gibbous Moon, Jupiter close to Aldebaran in Taurus, Betelgeuse, Rigel and Orion. I know these are the easiest to find in the sky, but I was so happy that I could clearly see them all. I wish one of my star gazing friends had been there with me; we could have identified many others, but it was an exquisite final scene to a weekend of rare and tender beauty.

Please enjoy these fine writers on various themes of the time.

Margaret Gray has a piece on her site, Mars Conjunct Pluto in Capricorn – A Psychological Astrology Perspective. (The conjunction is also exact this week.) She writes: “What is ending and what is beginning? This Mars/Pluto conjunction represents the ending of a Mars/Pluto cycle that started with the last conjunction at 4°21’ Capricorn in February 2010.“

Over at Cosmic*Intelligence*Agency, a site with many wonderful articles, Margaret also has an in-depth blog on the Yod appearing on December 21, 2012. Jupiter is at the apex of the Yod, which is also called the “finger of god.” “Astrologically the term ‘finger of god’ has been mostly interpreted as bringing our attention to a core theme described by the apex planets’ identity and placement by house and sign, which we have undertaken at a soul level to integrate in this lifetime.”

David Crook of Stellar Insights keeps informed on lots of fronts. He has a graphic of the morning sky where, if you have clear skies, you can see Saturn, Venus, and maybe even Mercury. He also has pieces on this week’s lunar eclipse and the cease-fire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Always a keen observer of world events, Dharmaruci at Astrotabletalk looks at the US post-election: America’s Fragile Exceptionalism. “The US is in a similar position to the UK 100 years ago, when it was starting to lose its place as the world’s biggest and wealthiest Empire, and it had the same transit, Pluto opposite the Sun, but Cancer-Capricorn instead of Capricorn-Cancer.”

Diana Rosenberg researched fixed stars for 30 years. Her website has information about her book, Secrets of the Ancient Skies, published shortly before she passed away in June. The site, Diana’s Fixed Stars, has lots of her articles. In Medusa’s Head, Diana thoroughly documents Algol, known as “the most evil, violent and dangerous star in the heavens.” She concludes: “Some of the fixed stars are harsh, yes. But to a purpose. Each defines an area that will be tapped for good or ill; the tests are intense and unavoidable. Algol, like the other stars, confers tasks upon us which, if comprehended and accepted, offer great rewards of power and creativity. These stellar challenges are not to be feared, but understood and used in a positive manner.”

Richard Nolle’s December 2012 Forecast is available. For a start: “December opens up with the tail end of a Mercury Max (ending on the 4th), so you can expect that it takes full concentration just to get by for the first few days of the month. Assume that nothing will work out short of close supervision and full follow-up, and you won’t be far wrong.”

Robert Zoller is the teacher of medieval astrology. He has an archive of work on his site, including The Guardian Angel and Astrology, which begins with a mention of James Hillman’s view of the psychological significance of the daemon or guardian angel. Robert writes: “We are not tabula rasas or clean slates upon which our parents and educators delineate our subsequent histories. Rather, each incarnating soul brings with it, in the form of its daemon, a goal or agenda which environmental and parental influences can either collaborate with or interfere with.”

Demetra George’s October Newsletter has an article on Saturn in Scorpio: Transits and Time Lords. She describes an easy-to-try technique (which I mentioned in the story of my newly departed friend).

How many of us are lucky enough to have a sibling who is also an astrologer? My sister Kate Plumb has a very thoughtful look at Scorpio Eclipse Season. (Speaking of luck and siblings: we each have Mercury conjunct Jupiter – in different signs – in our natal charts.) Kate says: “I wrote this blog because I was struck by how many people’s lives have been temporarily or permanently altered this past month here on the East Coast from Hurricane Sandy and the second storm. Adding to that are all the people across the country who have finished their activities around the Presidential election. Crises and transformations of this magnitude are what Scorpio is all about. Is there a purpose? What are we supposed to think when our home and all our earthly possessions have floated away? What new decisions and commitments have to be made as a result?”

Footnotes:

(1) Last week’s TMA blog

(2) See my link to Demetra George’s article where she teaches this simple method.