We are all lucky to have such a brilliant (and prolific) astrologer as Robert Blaschke in our midst. I am especially fortunate to have him as an ever generous friend. Although he was preparing for a teaching trip, Robert offered to send me his research on the swine flu to use for today’s blog.

Here is the Mexico mundane horoscope as a tri-wheel with its secondary progressions for Sunday, April 26 when the transiting Mars-Pluto square perfects.

Here is a summary of Robert’s research:

“Viruses are ruled by Pluto. In the Mexican Constitution mundane horoscope (1) transiting Pluto is in a stationary opposition with its national Pluto at 2°41′ Cancer from January 13 until July 4.

The Mars-Pluto square perfected on Sunday at 9:08 AM PDT. This is forming a transiting cardinal T-Cross in the Mexican horoscope.

One would presume that the outbreak would peak on Sunday, and then subside.

When transiting Mars opposes the Mexican progressed Moon (symbolizing the public) between May 1 and May 4, another flare-up could occur.

It is also of interest that this viral outbreak is taking place as Jupiter transits the Mexican progressed Uranus. This is not good for containment – Uranus rules aviation and Jupiter rules international travel.

Already, some school children in NYC who had recently traveled to Mexico City are reported to have these swine flu symptoms.”

(1)  Described here as BWH#216, that is from the Book of World Horoscopes, by Nicholas Campion, chart #216. Tri-wheel: inner wheel: Mexico Constitution, January 31, 1917; 4:00 p.m. LMT; Queretaro, Mexico (20°N28′; 100°W23′);  middle wheel: progressed to April 26, 2009; outer wheel: Mars square Pluto, April 26, 2009.

Mars conjuncts Uranus in the sky every two years and is exact this Wednesday, April 15, at 24° 27’ Pisces.

Four pirates attacked the U.S. cargo ship Maersk Alabama on April 8, the day before the Full Moon. Captain Richard Phillips offered himself as hostage so his crew would be released unharmed.

On Friday night President Obama authorized the use of force against the pirates if the danger to the captain escalated. On Friday, transiting Mars was at 21° Pisces opposite Obama’s natal Mars at 22° Virgo and square the U.S. Sibly Mars at 22° Gemini. As we all know, Navy Seal snipers killed three pirates and Capt. Richard Phillips was released unharmed. This is a successful Mars on display: the Navy Seals are rightly being praised for their sharp shooting skill and Capt. Phillips for his heroism and bravery in offering himself as a hostage so his crew would be freed. (1)

Of course, there are many sides to any story and, as one blogging headline noted (i.e.,“Doesn’t End Well for the Pirates”), the situation is more complex than the immediate and daring tale of rescue at sea might suggest. (2)

A news report this morning said that “the rescue ending in the pirates’ deaths could ramp up hostilities in the growing wave of pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia, in which crews and pirates have seldom been harmed.” Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, head of the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet, said to reporters: “This could escalate violence in this part of the world, no question about it.” (3) The applying conjunction of Mars and Uranus suggests that this might be quite true.

On a personal note, I wonder where the parallels are: where are our own daring rescues-at-sea? How do we use this week’s planetary alignment? It’s not a frequent conjunction – the last was on April 28, 2007 at 17° Pisces, and we don’t see it again until April 3, 2011 at 1° Aries, which suggests an uncommon moment in time.

Mars with Uranus, of course, has lots of implications: we can fight for freedom and human rights or exaggerate selfish aims. The combination can heat up detachment, inspire quick response, be sudden, surprising, and aggressive, or brilliant, intuitive, and strategic. (Jeff Jawer describes the pair as “raging forces” in his column in this month’s TMA.)

Conditions in the natal chart and levels of manifestation are always a primary consideration, of course, but in keeping with the current motif of courage on the high seas, I would say that the house that holds 24° Pisces in your horoscope is begging to be refreshed and exposed. The conjunction suggests that the contents of the particular astrological house in question are ready to be out in the open and have a grand new cycle in life.

One best possible road for Mars and Uranus is to be an impeccable warrior for truth in the houses’ concerns. Trust the passion for freedom and the inclination towards upsetting your comfort zone, and tell the truth to yourself at all costs.

Press yourself onward and upwards. There may be nothing to lose. Pisces, after all, can relinquish a point of view and fixed reference point with ease and grace.

Imagine for a moment that the coast is clear for you to head in any direction forward in your life. Where are you excited about going, what brings aliveness to your day? What actions inspire your most courageous heart? Harness that quality, because these two great planetary beings don’t come back to such intimate contact for two more years.

(Come to think of it, the conjunction is exact on April 15. Tax revolt, anyone?)

Notes:

(1) online.wsj.com/article

(2) www.talkingpointsmemo

(3) online.wsj.com/article

On the spring equinox, March 20, Michelle Obama joined a group of middle school students to break ground for a White House herb and vegetable garden. (1)

The previous New Moon, on February 24, had the Sun and Moon at 6°34’ Pisces, with the asteroid Ceres, the goddess of agriculture and grain, at 7°12’ Virgo. The opposition from Ceres was the closest aspect to the lunation; we can see the asteroid’s signature in this simple, yet important, event.

This year’s garden is the first at the White House in 60 years since Eleanor Roosevelt’s “victory garden” during World War II.

Ceres is in Virgo from November 3, 2008 until August 3, 2009. Ceres, the largest asteroid and named for the Roman goddess of grain, signifies all things related to food production, i.e., agriculture, farming, gardening, horticulture, plants, and the nurturing of seeds. The White House garden is one highly visible sign of the tremendous growth in home gardens, as fuel prices and population concerns bring awareness of food sources, safety and availability to communities around the country.

Organic food and sustainable farming methods have many advocates, but Californian Alice Waters is famous for her efforts. She opened her first restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, in 1971, and has promoted organic and small farm products in her writing and cooking. Among her many food-related endeavors is the “edible education” project that has been introduced into many California schools. Keenly aware of the current crisis in childhood obesity, Waters teaches young people about food and is an advocate for policies that promote good eating habits. (2)

In a profile about her on March 16 on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Alice Waters said: “I have been talking nonstop about the symbolism of an edible landscape at the White House. I think it says everything about stewardship of the land and about the nourishment of a nation.” (3)

Another recent project founded by Alice Waters was the Slow Food Nation event in August 2008. This was a gathering of 50,000 people (“it was the largest celebration of American food in history”) in San Francisco in support of sustainable food production. (4)

Working with Slow Food and being a famous cookbook author and restauranteur, how delightful to find that Alice Waters is a Taurus Sun and Cancer Moon. She was born on April 28, 1944 in Chatham, New Jersey. Waters has the Sun in Taurus conjunct Mercury and the Moon in Cancer conjunct Mars and Ceres. (I did not find a birth time for her, but the Moon was in Cancer that entire day that she was born.) What a beautiful signature of someone deeply connected to Mother Earth and motivated to provide food and nourishment to the public.

One other telling astrological note: Michelle Obama has the natal North Node at 11° Cancer, conjunct Alice Waters’s natal Ceres at 11° Cancer. What a lovely connection between two individuals who are crossing paths in support of a highly visible project that is designed to bring nourishment and sustenance to many people. (5)

Notes:
(1) www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/20/Spring-Gardening

(2) wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Water

(3) www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/13/60minutes

(4) wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food_USA

(5) Michelle Obama, January 17, 1964; sunrise; Chicago, IL (41°N40’, 87°W39’).

Venus, planet of beauty and love, is remarkable in the evening sky now. On February 27, she reached her maximum brilliance of 4.8 magnitude and, if you’ve had clear nights where you live, you’ve been able to see her at her very best.

She’s now as far from the Sun as she can be; she stands on her own out of the Sun’s rays and appears at her brightest. Venus is following the Sun; she appears after the Sun has set in the western sky. When she reaches this far distance from the Sun, she is also moving very slowly and about to turn retrograde. (Venus goes retrograde every 18 months for about 40 days each time.)

On March 6 Venus stations at 15° Aries and starts her deliberate walk all the way back to 29° Pisces.  (She actually gets to the degree of her station direct on April 11.) Since she is moving very slowly again, Venus stays at 29° Pisces until she moves direct on April 17.

Venus is the Evening Star now; the Greek astrologers called her Venus Hesperus (i.e., “setting in the West”). As she stops and goes retrograde, Venus is moving closer to the Sun. As she gets closer to the Sun she is less visible, and Venus will disappear from the sky for about two weeks beginning around March 23. Still retrograde, she will reappear in the sky before sunrise on April 3, now the Morning Star, or Venus Lucifer (“the light bearer” to the Greeks).

This period, when Venus disappears from the sky, was famously important to the Mayan astrologers who saw it as Venus’s descent into the underworld. The Babylonian astrologers considered Venus’s reappearance in the morning sky as the time to go to war.

Significantly, during the time Venus is invisible, she will conjunct the Sun. This occurs on March 27: Venus retrograde conjuncts the Sun at 7°16’ Aries. This is an important moment in this backtracking process. For all of us, Venus going back to meet the Sun suggests an opportunity to align our desires and our sense of delight with our creative purpose. The Sun symbolizes the drive for realization and fulfillment of purpose in each of us. Venus is in Aries, pioneering her own way, and impetuous and eager for the newest pleasure. She’s stopping soon, though; she can’t go any farther and must reevaluate and reconsider what it is she really wants. With the infusion of solar intent on March 27, we may find ourselves hearing a deeper — or subtler — call to what is our true heart’s desire. Whatever comes into our minds or hearts at that time may be showing us a notion of happiness that is truly sustainable.

Venus will go back to the very poignant last degree of Pisces. From April 12 to 23, Venus stays at 29° Pisces. This is in her sign of exaltation and a critical degree.  It’s as if we’re collectively reclaiming some deep sorrow, offering, or sacrifice. If that degree is sensitive in your chart, it may be a deeply personal experience of an exquisite yearning for love, tinged perhaps with an awareness of loss or impermanence, that somehow is revisited or rediscovered. Transiting Mars is also conjunct Venus on April 21 at 29° Pisces. Certainly that will be a passionate moment for some; a union of the masculine drive and feminine desire nature suggests a powerfully creative force. Venus, after all, has gone back to allow her mythological consort Mars to catch her again. The personal desire nature is focused and strong; how will we direct it?

Venus is now at 15° Aries, the degree of her station on the 6th, and her stories are starting to appear.  I’m thinking about a few people I know well and seeing hints of the retrograde themes thus far. One friend with Taurus rising has Venus stationing retrograde in her 12th house, near natal Juno in Aries. In a conversation this morning, she said she was feeling drawn to have a past life regression, or some sort of process to uncover what it is from the past that is impacting her current relationship life. Her natal ruler, Venus, is in Sagittarius, which is inclined to keep looking forward; this desire to look back and in to find a possible hidden motivation is not her usual style.

Someone else has Libra at the Midheaven. Venus is now turning retrograde in her 4th house and will cross back over the nadir before going direct. This person is weighing what she really wants to do in her career. A newly diagnosed health issue has suddenly gotten her attention. (Venus also rules Taurus, which is on the cusp of her natal 6th house of illness.)  She told me that she’s feeling like she needs to discover what she really loves to do and make that part of her work life.  She has made the association that when she figures out the next career move, it must be toward what she really loves to insure her health will improve. (She is not an astrologer.)

A gentleman (with natal North Node in Aries in the 5th) has been in a relationship for several years and has felt certain about wanting to move forward with a more serious commitment. Taurus is on his 7th-house cusp. Now, as Venus is slowing down and becoming more guarded and deliberate, his partner is talking about a commitment and my friend is suddenly unsure. He says this sudden feeling of caution has surprised him.

Another person I’ve spoken to recently also has Venus ruling the 7th house. She is happily married and feels confident with her partner, but she’s noticing that her circle of friends may be changing. There are friends in her life to whom she suddenly is not feeling connected. Nothing traumatic or difficult has occurred, just a gentle and gradual awareness that her values and her life have changed and certain people may not remain as close as they have been before.

We can all look to the houses ruled by Taurus and Libra to see where we have a chance to carefully reevaluate what we have and what we may really want. The degrees of Venus’s stations are also very important; in this cycle, that is 15° Aries and 29° Pisces.  In her regular motion Venus moves about a degree everyday. With the retrograde cycle, she moves slowly and spends about 12 days in each of those sensitive degrees.

Look in your own chart for where these degrees fall. If you have planets or angles at 15° Aries or 29° Pisces, this period will be especially important and personal for you.

For all of us, Venus retrograde is a chance to look again at what we cherish, to let assumptions about what is dear to us fall away, to acknowledge what has changed, and to move onward with confidence that our real heart’s desires are within our grasp.

For a wonderful sojourn with Venus, I highly recommend Anne Massey’s Venus: Her Cycles, Symbols and Myths. She explains beautifully the geometry of Venus’s stations in the sky and a great deal more. I reviewed it for TMA here.

On February 19, Neptune and Pluto were exactly septile. This is just one in the current series of septiles between the two planets (beginning in 2001 and ending in 2012). The septile is a 7th-harmonic aspect, which is 1/7 of 360°, or 51°26′. This time, transiting Saturn has also been in a 7th-harmonic aspect with each planet – it is biseptile (103°) to Pluto and triseptile (154°) to Neptune.

What to make of all these crazy numbers?

First, let’s consider the number seven: In mathematical terms, it is an irrational number, i.e., a number that cannot be represented as a simple fraction, a number that is “uncountable.” To the mind of the symbolic thinker, the number is associated with all that is strange and unusual.

To quote an anonymous web author: “If we were to examine every class of occult teaching from the Hindu, Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew, or modern school, whichever one may choose, in every case – and without a single exception – we will find that the quality of the number 7 stands for the expression of that mysterious God force in Nature.”  (1)

We get a glimpse here of why astrologers associate the septile with larger forces of destiny at work, or fated events.

While trying to get a grasp of the septile aspect, I went back to John Addey (1920 – 1982), a key voice in bringing Pythagorean understanding of numbers into modern astrology. He wrote Harmonics in Astrology in 1976; it is now back in print after many years. He writes that the number seven (and the 7th harmonic)  ”is a difficult number to pin down” and “somewhat elusive to interpret.”

I tend to trust him in this matter, as the gentleman had two natal septiles: between Saturn in Virgo (6°) and Mercury in Cancer (14°), and between Jupiter in Leo (15°) and the Sun in Gemini (24°). (2)

More recently, Michael Meyer and Edward Gillam have written extensively and thoughtfully on the topic.

Closer to home, TMA publisher Tem Tarriktar wrote in his 2004 article that it was the “dominant planetary aspect of this decade.”  Do read it here, as Tem references the aspects’ previous appearances at significant moments in history. I also mentioned this septile in an earlier article, having been taken with Robert Wilkinson’s name for it: the aspect of “grand irrationality.”

And now, here we are with the aspect partile in the sky again. Almost all of the earlier partile aspects in this series (16 out of the 17 aspects that formed between 2001 and 2008) had Pluto in Sagittarius, and now Pluto is solidly in Capricorn.

Whereas barely a few months ago, media outlets hedged around suggesting any similarity between the current situation and the Great Depression, now, with Pluto firmly ensconced in Capricorn and joined by Saturn, there is a media fixation on the worldwide financial meltdown, and words such as “collapse” and  “catastrophe” are part of the daily headlines. In an article called “Soros sees no bottom for world financial ‘collapse,’ ” published on the very day the septile was exact, for example, financier George Soros said, “the world financial system has effectively disintegrated,” adding that “there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis. (3)

This is occurring at the same time that others are anticipating widespread euphoria about the Age of Aquarius: “When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars,” etc.  Although Jupiter and Mars have been conjunct in Aquarius many times since 1900, now Mercury, Neptune, Chiron, and the North Node are there as well. This is a moment when the Aquarian capacity to unleash heretofore untapped creative potential for the good of the whole is quickened enormously.

Neptune and Pluto, the higher octave planets, have us feeling as if we’re on a precipice. Joined by Saturn, the feeling is tangible. In many sectors, people are deeply anxious; there is a pervasive fear of what’s ahead. Others are tuning in to the great possibilities and mysteries of an unborn magnificence that our time is about to witness.

Many of us are experiencing both, along with other strange permutations as well!

I’d like to include a heartening interpretation of Neptune septile Pluto (as if it appears in your natal chart) from the book Astrology 101: Beginner’s Guide to Reading Your Chart by Gyan Surya.  (4)

“You have a destiny to fulfill as a midwife of the spirit, having the need and ability to transform and transmute the deepest reaches of your being. This is felt as a divine imperative in your life, and despite any personal sacrifice, you never waver from the path. It is your mission, and you realize you are meant to share the fruits of your efforts to assist others with their transformation. You have great insight, compassion, understanding, and imagination, as well as a profound acceptance of and reverence for the cycles of life, death, rebirth, and transformation. You gravitate naturally to the role of the spiritual surgeon, supporting and nurturing while also prodding, testing, and tempering. You are deeply committed to penetrate through illusion and uncover the bare, unvarnished truth. Any work in the area of depth psychology would be ideal for you. You may often be aware of the hand of Spirit guiding your decisions and directing your process of unfoldment.”

Many thanks to my sister, Kate, a very fine astrologer, for suggesting this septile as a topic for a blog. And to my esteemed colleagues and good friends, Tem Tarriktar and Robert Blaschke, for taking time for conversations with me as I tried to formulate my thoughts on such a big idea. Thank you all. This blog is truly a group effort. Yeh Aquarius!

References:

(1) the number seven

(2) John Addey, June 15, 1920; 8:15 am BST; Barnsley, England (53N23, 1W28); birth data:  “A”

(3) Reuters article

(4) Astrology 101