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Cry, Baby, Cry

Astrological analyses of world events are always fascinating. Tem has initiated lively discussions on our Facebook pages, and Shelley Ackerman’s Karmic Relief is always a timely and informed synopsis.

Jamie Funk’s article includes BP’s chart, while over at Planet Waves, Eric Francis is monitoring Oil spill news updates.

I’m writing more personally today, with apologies in advance to those who prefer a more objective approach.

April 20 was Chiron’s entry into Pisces, the day of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. Chiron is the shamanic journey, the wisest teacher, and the traveler out of ordinary time. Pisces’s greatest strength is to open the doors of perception, and, if conditions are lined up, can bring a glimpse of interconnectedness.

Last week I was listening to early news reports about the oil spill: the scramble to figure out what was happening and the impending economic catastrophe that it would bring. After the technical and business commentators, an environmentalist spoke of the water, the complexity of the sea life, and the fragile coastline. When he mentioned the sea turtles, I started sobbing. I know nothing about sea turtles, but somehow their plight and vulnerability opened me up to a grievous sorrow for the whole sea life.

There is often some distress at the heart of Pisces, especially with Chiron newly into the sign, and I felt a crack open into an experience of a deep sorrow. I pulled myself together and got on with things after awhile, eased that I had had a deep cry. As a Pisces Sun, I am finding that it is the willingness to allow myself to feel that seems to keep me upright and moving in some semblance of “forward” these days — on most days, that is.

To consider another recent change in the heavens: Ceres moved into Capricorn on March 19, and it squared the Sun at 0º Aries at the spring equinox on March 20. A square demands attention and the equinox chart sets the stage for the year. Although building for months, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano in Iceland quickened dramatically on March 20, just as Ceres ingressed into Capricorn. Pluto, the powerful lord of the underworld, has been committed to the sign of moving earth since November 2008.

Pluto rules hidden things and the journey into darkness to see what is there. Ceres is the goddess of grain and all that flowers on the Earth. She is known as the goddess of agriculture and is connected to the environment. And now, as she travels with Pluto, we are witnessing acute devastation to the environment. Ceres moved slowly to 4º Capricorn, where she stationed on April 28, and stays within a degree of Pluto until early June, when she retrogrades back into Sagittarius until conjoining Pluto again in October.

I’m remembering Demeter/Ceres’ grief and devastation at the loss of her beloved daughter, Persephone. She is the deep mothering principle and sustainer of life, while Pluto’s fate is that of destroyer (and creator). These two together suggest a grievous loss, the deep pain of attachments and separations.

I called an old friend today who was born with Ceres conjunct Pluto in the natal chart to talk with her about this. She said she has felt deep sorrow recently about not being with her eldest daughter and her new, first grandchild. She then spoke about feeling the Earth (she has the natal Sun, Venus, and Mercury in Taurus) and her grief at the extreme pollution. She’s lived in Hawaii for much of her life and talked to me about seeing lava as the blood of the Earth and her sense that Gaia herself is grieving.

Later, on the day of my Chiron in Pisces/sea turtle meltdown, I went for a walk by the creek and sat for a while by the water pummeling over the astonishingly green mossy rocks (Oregon is beautiful!). The vibrancy of bubbling water reminded me of the cardinal signs starting to come on strongly with the imminent great leap of Jupiter and Uranus into Aries.

Meanwhile, the oil erupting from the Deepwater Horizon spill continues at 25,000 barrels a day with no containment in sight. I spoke tonight with another old friend who has engineering in his background and Chiron conjunct the Ascendant in the natal chart. This gentleman told me that there are creative technologies waiting to be tested and utilized to help contain the oil spill. Here’s to Jupiter and Uranus bringing revolutionary technologies into the world, right when needed!

In the park that day, walking back from my time at the rocks, I overheard two young men saying goodbye to one another. There was a closeness in the air and one fellow said to the other with great certainty in his voice, “Don’t worry; something good will come of this.”

I took that as a mantra for those moments when the sad and grievous seem pervasive.

I feel that grief also allows for more joy, more real presence and awareness of the whole picture, and may be a needed part of the feminine re-balancing that many are experiencing and writing about.

P.S. Anyone out there feeling the need to stimulate a good cry and propitiate Chiron in Pisces, here’s a suggestion: Cats

27 Comments

  1. Beautifully said. There is sweet hope in your words. I felt comforted. Yes, something good will come of this.
    Thank you Mary for some perspective.

  2. Lovely writing Mary, I like that personal touch, really makes the astrology come alive. Thanks again for the link. I woke up today thinking of the similarities of these two lastest major environmental events. The oil spill and the volcano. One a natural explosion and one a man-made explosion, yet the Earth responds in the same way, spewing out lava and oil. Non-organic from the natural one, organic from the man-made one.

  3. Hey Jamie & Jacquelene,

    Thanks you both..

    Jamie, I love your work…bringing in all kinds of eclectic ideas..

    Best to one and all and our dear home planet..

    Mary

  4. Thank you Mary, for your heart-felt writings, maybe Chiron in Pisces will open all our hearts and help us to make the necessary changes in our lifestyles before Pluto gives us no choice. And thank you for bringing Ceres into the limelight, I had wondered about her conjunction with Pluto. Maybe her brief entry into Capricorn is a preview, before going back into Sag for a few months, this would be a good time to reinvent our belief systems about the interconnectedness of all. I highly recommend “Biology of Belief” by Bruce Lipton for his inspiring work. I love your column! blessings, Robbie

  5. It’s refreshing to read a message from the heart as it is a time when we need to drop our persona just to take a deeper breath and sense the connection of all beings. What I’ve noticed in many pockets of our country, is that pollution is okay as long as it brings in jobs. When the recent nuclear reactors were okay-ed, a certain mayor of township invited the waste to be buried in his local, thinking it was perfectly safe but most of all that the disposal facility would bring jobs and boost the current economy. As bad as the oil spill is, hopefully it will serve as a wake up call, yet again. Don’t know how many more wake up calls it will actually take to finally try something new? On a positive note, it feels wonderful to awaken, and what a time to be alive and part of the transformation!!!!

  6. Thanks, Mary – this was spot on as far as current events, in my mind. Also, if I may say so, the ‘personal’ seems to work very well for you. Many things in the article resonate with me personally as well. I have a Pisces Moon and often have similar ‘turtle’-like experiences, especially lately. I too have Sun, Venus and Mercury (rx) in Taurus. Seems we Taureans are really under the gun with Mars in Leo and the recent powerful Scorpio Full Moon. Ouch! I do feel the support coming from Pluto trine my Sun, in the sense that awareness of environmental tragedy is increasing dramatically. But when I think of Plutonian events – even with a trine it seems it’s either ‘bad, or worse’. Coincidently I have Mercury conjunct Ceres (within a few minutes) conjunct the South Node. These disasters I feel are going to haunt me for a long time- for one thing, I’m a Katrina evacuee from New Orleans. I feel so badly for the hits that city keeps taking. Two weeks back I was watching ‘Benjamin Button’. At the very end of the film the ‘magic’ clock is being washed away by the post Katrina flood. I can’t help thinking -what are we about to lose forever?

  7. This is the kind of writing I can learn from, retain and really apply. Thank you.

  8. Hi Mary,
    I apparently had the same Chiron into Pisces/Sea Turtle meltdown! On Sunday night at the dinner table, after following this story in its increasing direness for the past several days, I was trying to process my feelings about it and just started to cry. I am not prone to crying much (natal Moon/Saturn conj.), but this got me, and I was surprised. The Pisces into Chiron connection makes sense; I hadn’t thought of that. I am just feeling this deep sadness for the earth, as we just spew our toxins into her lifeblood. I think this is heading in a way, way worse direction than anyone told us at the beginning of it.

    I have had the fortune of meeting, and touching, a sea turtle at the Maui Aquarium. That was the most memorable moment of my trip to Hawaii, actually. There is something it their eyes that is wise and older than old. It breaks my heart to think of them dying in the oil.

    Thank you for sharing this. I think it’s important to honor the strength of the emotion this is bringing up for us.

    Dena

  9. Beautifully written MARY you express yourself so well. I am sorry you have been crying lately. I think this disaster is going to propel different thinking just like it did in the 70’s with the first big Santa Barbara spill. And the new technology is waiting in the wings. On the Ceres/Pluto situation I have transiting Ceres Pluto/Saturn on my Sun now as well as a long term progressed Ceres Pluto conjunction. I recently changed my diet (gave up wheat and dairy) and I cannot tell you how much better I feel. The Chiron thing I feel all the time (my ruler conjunct him) -out of time sense- and the existential pain – but unfortunately have no tears, just the sadness that we have to have so much suffering.
    xox
    xox

  10. Hi Ron,

    Thanks for stopping by and your wise and hopeful comments!

    You are, as you know, a key witness to my emotional process..

    (Other readers may be interested to know that Ron & I were born just a few days apart, same year..)

    Love to you and the whole beautiful family of girls!!

    Mary

  11. Hi Chris,

    Wow, what a beautiful report..coming from New Orleans and all..and your question of “what are we about to lose forever?” is profound (and very Piscean I guess)

    Thank you for writing..and I appreciate you taking the time to express your deep feelings…

  12. And, thank you both Laura and Robbie,

    It’s so nice to hear that what I’ve written has been helpful!!

    Thanks for the reminder of Bruce Lipton..I think that all the suggestions and reminders of the resources we have is invaluable for us all at this time..

    Love,

    Mary

  13. Beautiful piece. I had a similar sea turtle meltdown a couple of days ago. It just so happens that my Sun, Venus, and Mars are in Pisces. Five generations of my family have called the Gulf waters home. It is my spiritual nesting place, where I go to lick my wounds. This is profoundly sad, and much in the line of what we have come to expect this year with the astrological conditions.

    My only hope is that Jupiter and Uranus will lead us to a new possibilities, and that Ceres, Chiron, and Pluto will bring awareness, compassion, and healing along with all of the change.

    I feel as though we are now off the “grid” and must cling to the hope that Gaia will reign.

  14. Hey Dena,

    Thanks..you girls with Moon Saturn have a very needed role to play!!

    Crying isn’t required, except for maybe those of us excess water types..

    Please read my sister Kate’s comment above…she’s a very fine NY astrologer with a nice strong, reliable, earthy temperament.. 😉

  15. And my dear sister, Kate,

    Thank YOU for commenting..

    I loved what you said about the pain you feel with Chiron, even though you don’t have the excess water condition 😉 that needs to cry!!

    I appreciate your concern about me crying, but it’s really helpful for me..it feels good in a way, and always better afterwards when the tears have washed away..a relief, you might say..

    Hugs & kisses from the west coast to my dear ones (upstairs and in the basement)

  16. Hey Skye,

    My heart is right there with you..”I feel as though we are now off the “grid” and must cling to the hope that Gaia will reign.”

    I’m also relying on Jupiter/Uranus and the very firey and earthy ones among us for balance/inspiration, etc. these days..

    Thanks you so much for writing..many blessing to you and all those in your family who have had the blessing of living on the beautiful Gulf waters..

    Love,
    Mary

  17. Having lived on the Gulf Coast for much of my life I am saddened by this disaster. I too had a sea turtle meltdown. It will take many years to partially recover and some things will never be the same. It is so sad that we can not break our dependence on oil more quickly. Most of us live in places where we have to have a car to live. May we all accept the challenge of changing society by making the best enviromental choices in our personal circumstances. This Aquarian is crying too.

  18. Resonate so much with the bit about Pluto/Ceres. Glad to see more astrologers bringing it into the spotlight. Since she has conjuncted Pluto I feel she has been given more credibility. We are reminded that she is more than just an asteroid now by her brush with powerful but fellow dwarf Pluto.
    But I have had a few battles with some male astrologers, who despite being totally fine with Chiron, seem to think that Ceres is insignificant. I don’t think you can call the Icelandic Volcano insignificant! These two environmental disasters that came about recently and other events have made me realise just how important she is. It been even more poigniant in my own life with child “abduction” issues in dealing with my daughters father and wanting to relocate. And yes very emotional…

  19. Dear Mary

    thank you so much for this honest heartfelt writing – and for what it has evoked for so many of us. For me, the majesty of astrology lies in the way it shows so eloquently that the large processes of collective life and the tiny movements of individual creatures all reflect “as above, so below”.

    The personal and the collective are different facets of the same diamond. They are of equal value, and belong together. So sharing personal experience is vital.

    I, too, have been to deep and painful places in response to Chiron’s shift into Pisces. And emerged this week, a little further on on that “stormy journey of the soul”. Reading of other people’s experiences in response to your honesty makes me feel very much part of an empathic community….

  20. Oh Mary, I can so relate to your article. I have a Sun/Chiron conjunction in Pisces opposing Pluto, a long-time love of the sea and her creatures and I have found myself sobbing uncontrollably most days for the past couple of weeks, in relation to the oil spill. Now, to go watch the cat video.

  21. Dear Mary, thanks for the article! I’m Pisces with Pluto in Leo on the Asc., so inconj. in my natal chart and have been feeling a deep, deep sadness esp. abt. the Gusher of Oil in the Gulf of Mx. but also abt. the rampant corruption in congress. Off topic, but have been reading Nosterdamus, and others who mention the constellation Ophucus between scorpio and Sag. Is it possible to address this?

  22. Hello to everyone,

    Thanks for writing..it is so good to feel everyone!!

    Love,

    Mary

  23. Anne speaks my mind most clearly. So glad to read an article that connects so vividly the manifestation of archetypes on the world stage with how they are mirrored in the “micro” world of our hearts. It is making this connection that, in my opinion, helps make the “big” ideas of astrology sink in and make sense and there is not enough of this type of writing out there. It is also making this connection that aids the potential for real change because it helps all of us to understand how we are all connected to everything that is happening around us. Our choices matter and the effects will be felt on multiple levels. Pluto in Capricorn right now is teaching us this lesson about responsibility most handily.

    Thanks for this. More please!

  24. Hi Dear Mary,
    I love your idea that grief allows for “more real presence.” I can only hope that this injury to our dear Gaia raises the consciousness of more and more people.
    I too sobbed recently, but it was a photo of a pod of dolphins that set me off. Their innocence….. As a Sun/Moon Gemini you can guess how surprised I was to feel the intensity of a gut wrenching sob. But at the same time there was a great connection to the our beautiful planet and a certain determination grew within me.
    Let’s all get together with the Unity Wave on May 21st @ 6:00 pm Central Time and raise the vibration of the planet.
    Love to all.
    Mar

  25. I am so thankful that you are on the planet
    at this time, Mary. You write with your
    heart and it is so big with expressions of
    true intentions for balance for the planet.
    You are loved my friend.
    Lavandar

  26. Earth Angels

    That speciesism
    Deaf to the wisdom
    of faery lore
    Killing the goose,
    the whales,
    and untold fruit
    bearing trees that might have
    saved us untold pain
    Our lives depend
    on microbes, photosynthesis,
    beings never catalogued,
    processes not understood
    Focused on ephemeral
    opinion,
    name and number
    fantasies
    Realities we have yet to take in,
    fall,
    collateral damage
    to thoughtless bravado,
    petty greeds and rivalries.

    (c) March 26, 2008 Laurie Corzett/libramoon

  27. beautiful Laurie!

    Thank you for sharing your poem..

    Mary


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