The lunar nodes is a pair of mathematically calculated sensitive points of intersection of the orbits of the Moon and the Sun.
The North Node, also known as the ascending node or Rahu or Dragon’s Head is the part of the ecliptic where the Moon passes out of south into north latitude – the upward movement.
The South Node, also known as the descending node or Ketu or Dragon’s Tail is 180º opposite of the North Node, the point where the Moon passes out of north into south latitude – the downward movement.
For an earlier discussion about the nodes, refer to the article “The Moon Nodes and the Force of Destiny”.
This article explores the astrological symbolism behind the nodal movement.
The nodes take 18 years, 7 months and 9 days (~18.6 years) to make one complete revolution.
Each Zodiac sign transit takes about 18.6 months (~1.6 years).
Rudolf Steiner has spoken about the “cosmic breathing” – a rhythmic time cycle of 18.6 years that expresses itself via the lunar nodes movement.
The North Node (ascending node) is pointing towards the future and is of Jupiter nature.
The South Node (descending node) stands for the past and has a character of Saturn.
This symbolism makes sense since Saturn rules over what has been done, structured and ultimately resulted in a karmic outcome, which can be either “credit” or “debt”.
Jupiter rules over expansion and is the inherent force of optimism that inspires the future looking consciousness.
Using the North–South Nodes correspondence with Jupiter–Saturn helps astrologers to conceptualise the movement of the nodes and their alternation between retrograde and direct phases.
Human life can be divided into a sequence of full rotations of the nodes, 18.6 years each. Each North Node return – or simply its transit of the natal North Node – heralds an advent of a new phase of life.
A human leaves the safety of the mother’s womb and begins exploration of the physical world, the immediate vicinity, parents and siblings. The natal chart is the snapshot of that moment with its ascending lunar node describing the vector of current incarnation.
The first nodal return takes place at 18 years, 7 months and 9 days. The human being is ready to step outside of the family circle and cast away perceived (or real) chains of parental authority. Hence begins the rebellion for independence. Building one’s home, the place of dwelling.
The second nodal return takes place at 37 years, 2 months and 20 days. By then it has become obvious that the parental role has been taken by the society that imposed its own rules and laws. Time to reevaluate, refine and relieve oneself from no longer relevant dependencies. The larger circle of relatives, friends, neighbours and peers has left the person wondering “what’s next in my life”?
The third nodal return takes place at 55 years, 10 months and 28 days. The career has passed its culmination. Some may want to retire from the world, others seek to redefine themselves. In either case it’s a renewed search for the soul and its place in a larger picture.
The fourth nodal return happens at 74 years and 5 months. The fifth is at 92 years, 1 month and 9 days. Both bring the feeling of the sky-heaven closer to the individual consciousness, the vicinity of the spiritual home is becoming more real and may even become attractive. The eternal pull upwards is here to stay.
Each South Node transit of the natal North Node marks halfway distance between adjacent North Node returns. The transits happen during the years of 9, 27, 46, 64 and 83. They mark an important period of reintegration of key life learnings that happened during the first half of the North Node phase. Time for reconciliation and adjustment of one’s approach to life. Correct to evolve.
Now that the bigger picture has been painted, one can intuit the role of the direct phases of the lunar nodes.
Human life develops in a to and fro manner, it consists of larger and shorter cycles. The nodes direct phases have a character of the South Node transiting the natal North Node during which the predominant Jupiter–Saturn polarity of the nodes becomes inverted to Saturn–Jupiter dominance.
This Saturnian flavour heralds the phase of retrospection, debt handling and solidification. One can’t meaningfully advance without reconciling their past.
Relatively short phases of the nodes direct movement offer time window during which a certain slowing down can be felt. The direct phase brings the flavour of reassessment and internalisation, one is invited to remember what they have achieved of failed to achieve during the previous nodal phase — and make corrections if deemed necessary.
Natal charts that have the nodes in their direct phase may point at a life during which the person should be paying attention to their past.
Karmic balance, either negative or positive, will play an active role in the current incarnation. It is a good idea to periodically do some kind of regression work re-establishing connections to one’s past lives. The South Node transits of the natal North Node will offer auspicious time windows for such exploration.
Another possible scenario, is the “going against the grain of time” type of personality. A number of scenarios is possible. The person can be past-oriented, rejecting modernity in favour of classicism, whatever that means to them. The person may have a strong interest in history, displaying an innate ability to embrace and integrate deep learnings of the humanity as a whole, the analytical side of Saturn. Another possibility is an affinity with institutions that deal with all kinds of time-related matters.
In any case, having direct nodes in the natal chart isn’t a curse of any kind. Rather it’s an invitation for deeper self-understanding and acceptance of oneself as something much bigger than a “snapshot” of a single life time. Perceiving oneself as a cosmic river with its natural ebbs and flows, the sense of cosmic breathing.
As the Moon Nodes travel along the Zodiac in a non-constant manner, they reveal the notion of polarity of time.
During their natural clockwise retrograde phase, the emphasis is on the future and the nodal axis is ruled by the forces of the nature of Jupiter – expansion.
During their alternative counter-clockwise direct phase, the axis is influenced by the forces of the nature of Saturn – karma, introspection and reintegration becomes the dominant flavour of that time segment.
The Moon Nodes Direction add-on for Time Nomad astrology app allows for further exploration of direct and retrograde phases of the Moon nodes as well as the nodes movement through the Zodiac. The add-on fully integrates with all relevant charts and astrological reports.
Is it possible that the houses and the signs are somehow connected? Does one rule another, and if so which one is the master and which one is the subordinate?
To better answer this question we are going to explore their commonalities and differences. But first let’s understand how they came to be.
If the Zodiac signs or houses weren’t invented, an astrological chart would look like a clean circle – geometrically pure and beautiful but lacking specifics that make charts different.
The Zodiac signs are essentially divisions of time along the ecliptic — a trajectory traced by the Sun throughout the year. An astrological year begins with the March equinox that loosely marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere where the Zodiac was “invented”. The course of the year is divided into 12 equal parts, each part having its unique name and flavour. That’s a super short description of the Zodiac circle. The Zodiac division applies to the whole world meaning it’s the same for any place on the Earth.
The methodology behind the Houses is somewhat similar. The zero point of the first house is the position of the eastern horizon along the ecliptic — the point of “eternal Sunrise”. Houses are unique for each specific geographical location and its local time.
Adding these extra two circles makes the chart much more descriptive, it now has:
The same astronomical moment in time (usually expressed in astronomical Julian days that can be translated into universal UTC time) produces different charts. Two people born at the same moment in time will display different mental, psychological and health patterns.
As the Zodiac belongs to the world point of view, the houses are intrinsically individual. From the metaphysical standpoint, the sphere of the human head is the reflection of the celestial dome as perceived from a specific location on the Earth.
When your eyes are aligned with the ascendant point which is the east, the back of the head is pointing to the west (the descendant), the top of the head is pointing directly at the midheaven which is the cusp of the 10th house. The whole astrological chart can be constructed inside the sphere of your head.
Knowing the houses means knowing oneself. The houses define each unique personality.
The 12 hour division of time was already in use during Ancient Egypt around 3,000 BC. The Babylonian numeral system was “sexagesimal” meaning based on the number 60. Modern hours and minutes are still divided into 60 parts.
The ancients divided the day and the night into 12 parts in their sundial clocks. This division of time is still in use and is known as “planetary hours” where duration of the day hour is different from the duration of the night hour with a rare exception of the equinox moments that happen twice a year.
From the symbolic standpoint, the number 12 works really well:
Intuitively, it makes sense to divide the circle into 12 parts. Certainly one could divide the circle into any other number of parts, be it 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and so on. They are all valid divisions yet the 12 part one feel the most versatile as it interacts really well with other numbers. It integrates much better, it provides a better mathematical and symbolic model.
The 12 houses only exist because the 12 Zodiac signs exist that in turn only exist because the Sun exists. In other words, the Sun gives birth to both the Zodiac and the houses.
If we take an analogy of a watch face with its hour and minute hands, the Zodiac movement is akin to the slower hour hand, and the house movement is akin to the minute hand (or maybe even second) that moves so much faster.
But both have the same birth origin — the movement of the Sun.
From this point of view the Zodiac doesn’t rule the houses since both originate from the same source, the Zodiac and the houses have symbolical similarities — like piano keys that belong to different octaves.
Both the 1st house and the the 1st Zodiac sign Aries symbolise beginnings of the personality and the Sun annual cycle.
The last 12th house and the last Zodiac sign Pisces symbolise the completion and transformation from one cycle to another. What has been accomplished and what became karmic debt or karmic credit.
The Midheaven marks the beginning of the 10th house and is the second most important point in the chart.
The corresponding Zodiac sign is Capricorn, ruled by Saturn. The symbolism of career building, creating something tangible in the world throughout a person’s life span.
Having correspondence rather than rulership really helps in analysing the charts. How well each house interacts with the Zodiac sign into which the house cusp falls defines what kind of life challenges and opportunities are active in one’s life.
Is the first house in Aries or is in Pisces? Two different personalities emerge out of this placement.
Is the 10th house cusp in Sagittarius or in Virgo? The person’s interaction with the world will depend on that.
Having symbolic correspondence between the houses and the Zodiac signs allow us to answer the question of “this house of my chart is empty, what does that mean?” One way to tackle that is to look at the house-to-sign relationship. Another way is to observe that a human life is usually focused around a certain theme that is shaped by the planets and aspects they form. It’s the topic of one’s life “master thesis” — an invitation to stay focused and keep working on what is important and available.
Putting it all together reveals the interconnectedness between planets, the Zodiac and the houses.
Number | Sign | Ruler | House qualities |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Aries | Mars | “me”, personality, appearance |
2 | Taurus | Venus | taking things from the world, earnings |
3 | Gemini | Mercury | close surroundings, siblings, short actions |
4 | Cancer | Moon | roots, family, upbringing, subconscious, mother |
5 | Leo | Sun | creativity, love, procreation, affairs |
6 | Virgo | Mercury | health & diseases, service, patterns |
7 | Libra | Venus | partnerships, relationships, conflicts |
8 | Scorpio | Mars & Pluto | sex, occult, wealth |
9 | Sagittarius | Jupiter | body, studies, long actions |
10 | Capricorn | Saturn | skills, profession, career, father |
11 | Aquarius | Saturn & Uranus | groups, communities, social sphere |
12 | Pisces | Jupiter & Neptune | large institutions, transformation, karma |
What becomes apparent is that both the Zodiac signs and the houses inherit energies of corresponding ruling planets.
For example, the 6th house exhibits qualities of Mercury, while the 7th clearly relates to Venus and so on.
This raises the following question…
It would be very tempting to conclude that both the Zodiac and the houses are ruled by the planets. That clearly makes sense when looking at the table above.
In reality energies of the houses and the Zodiac signs are much broader than those of individual planets. Houses often blend qualities of several planets, for example, the 5th house has certain tones of Venus (love, affairs, creativity) that are powered up by the Sun. One may say that the 5th house corresponds to the Sun-Venus duo.
More complex houses like the 8th, the 11th and the 12th have dual planetary correspondences by definition thanks to the discovery of the three trans-Saturnian planets namely Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. How could the ancients think that the 12th house related to Jupiter only? There must be some Neptune in the mix.
The fundamental astrological unit of the solar system is the planets that all have originated from the one source, the Sun. Pretty much every flavour of the human psyche can be described using a combination of planetary energies that are the archetypes behind each planet and its reflected light.
The Zodiac and the houses are the next two steps down the ladder of causes and effects. They are both divisions of time and space and inherit certain qualities of their corresponding super principles, the planets.
Once one has learned the planets and their archetypal energies it becomes much easier to understand and navigate the mysteries of the Zodiac and the houses.
]]>Yet these two planetary energies is the driving force through which economies grow, prosper and eventually suffer inevitable hardships — all in due time and according to the dynamics of expansion and contraction.
Every Jupiter–Saturn conjunction loosely marks a beginning of new cycle of development of ways we use to manifest our ideas and intentions in the material world. It’s about how we create wealth as well as how we distribute wealth. The word “we” can be taken at both personal, country or world-wide scale.
We shall talk about the opposing energies behind this pair of planets in the context of the three major conjunctions that took place during the year 2020 — Saturn & Pluto, Jupiter & Pluto and Jupiter & Saturn — and how this eventful year marks the beginning of the period of “discovering the new world” — the one that is full of contradictions and painful adjustments. So buckle up.
Jupiter and Saturn are the two largest planets of the solar system that are clearly visible by the naked eye. Both planets correspond to the two “alpha” gods of the Greek pantheon:
– Saturn or Kronos is the old king from the ancient times of Titans – Jupiter or Zeus is the current king of the new generation of gods that superseded Titans
As the myth goes, Zeus won the victory over Kronos in a series of huge cosmic battles and the new young generation of the gods established its rulership over heavens. The planets of the classical astrological chart all named after the new victorious gods… with a single exception — Saturn is still there!
As a side note, we are talking about the classical charts that only contain planets visible by the naked eye. Modern charts introduced Uranus (it wasn’t discovered until 1782), another “alpha” god of the sky that ruled until Saturn ambushed him and took over the reign.
Saturn is positioned at the edge of the visible solar system and carries the symbolism of limits. It’s the skin that can only stretch so far without being ripped apart.
The “alpha” Jupiter doesn’t wish to know any limits. Jupiter is the king of heavens and expresses itself through the force of expansion, optimism and thunderbolts.
Just as the old and established tends to naturally resist to the new, so does the Saturnian energy that tends to constrain Jupiterian expansiveness. These are the two planets that most of the time don’t know how to talk to each other.
On the positive note, Saturn brings grounding and concreteness that Jupiter often painfully missing. Jupiter is the king of expansiveness and potential bloating, it has a very strong air element. Saturn enjoys the rule of structure supported by precision and logic.
It is easy to see why both planetary energies are essential to life that grows and develops through experiences of painful yet shaping lessons. That process is usually called “maturation” when we talk about our personal development.
The dialectical polarity of Jupiter and Saturn plays out very clearly in everyone’s life. Eventful periods come with movement, growth and new opportunities. Debt-laden periods of life make us stuck repaying overdue bills and perhaps feeling somewhat demotivated and fearful.
A good understanding of Saturn is the key to make Jupiter work in meaningful ways, that’s unless one choses to live a flamboyant life and is prepared to die early or end up being bankrupt once Jupiterian steam runs out. By itself, Jupiter is unlikely to get far without consistent and orderly nature of Saturn.
Keeping personal Saturn “happy” by having a healthy degree of common sense and accountability is beneficial to Jupiter. When Saturn isn’t stressed out, Jupiter can deliver a great degree of inspirational ideas and opportunities. One needs to be constantly aware of their Saturn’s health levels and spare it from excessive shock therapy that Jupiter may joyfully impose.
Pretty much same applies to the economy of the country and the world.
In terms of their dominant values most of successful economies of the world can be grouped into two broad categories:
The USA is a great example of Jupiter domination that enjoys the paradigm of unchecked growth while strongly believing that future rewards will compensate yesterday’s debts. “Growth” is the name of the god.
China is much more respectful towards Saturn with its emphasis on preservation of societal norms and traditions while still relentlessly growing and expanding.
Other economically strong countries like Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia have strong affinities with Saturn and aren’t the biggest risk takers, they naturally shy away from the unknowns of Jupiterian expansion keeping it safer and more predictable.
And finally, the so-called “world economy” or “global economy” entity is a mixed bag of princinples that behaves like a bad co-dependent marriage. Everybody is hooked onto its monetary gifts and a promise of wealth while being somewhat aware that it’s a bit like playing poker in Las Vegas.
Each Jupiter–Saturn conjunction opened a new chapter of the modern history:
1921 — Beginning of “The Roaring Twenties”, a decade of economic boom and prosperity also known as “crazy years” in Europe.
1940-1941 — Coincides with the Second World War and slicing the pie of the world’s wealth as the aftermath. The biggest winner is the US, its economy receives an unprecedented amount of wealth.
1961 — A decade devoted to Vietnam war, cold war and sexual revolution.
1980-1981 — The US economy enters deep recession, emergence of new “loose” monetary policy that promotes growth through tax cuts and defence spending.
2000 — The dot-com bubble bursts paving the way to even more speculative monetary tendencies that culminate in the Global Financial Crisis of 2007–2008.
2020 — Emergence of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) wreaks havoc in already over-levered global financial systems that will take years to understand and correct.
There are three major planetary cycles that influence the economical subsequently political situation in every major country of the world and the world itself. The cycles begin with a conjunction and develop through to the next conjunction:
Usually those conjunctions don’t happen all at once… unless it’s the year 2020. The world has experienced all three of them within a time window of a single year.
The following timeline shows the astrological perspective of the last 120 years of the modern history. Notice that the year 2020 is the only year when all three conjunctions take place.
Saturn–Pluto | Jupiter–Saturn | Jupiter–Pluto |
---|---|---|
1901 | ||
1906 | ||
1914-1915 (x3) | ||
1918 | ||
1921 | ||
1931 | ||
1940-1941 (x3) | ||
1943 | ||
1947 | ||
1955–1956 (x3) | ||
1961 | ||
1968 | ||
1980–1981 (x3) | 1981 | |
1982 | ||
1994 | ||
2000 | ||
2007 | ||
2020 | 2020 | 2020 (x3) |
2033 | ||
2040 | ||
2045 | ||
2053-2054 (x3) | ||
2058 | ||
2060 |
* (x3) here signifies that exact conjunction took place 3 times during that year(s) due to the involved planets alternating between direct and retrograde phases of movement.
The picture is clear: 2020 is the pivotal year that ushered the whole world into a new period of economical growth, conflicts and opportunities. Some of the old ways will not survive, some new realities will emerge and we all will have to be ready to dynamically adapt to the every changing terrain under out feet.
The current economical model, both domestic and global, is mostly following the recipe known as “extend and pretend”. That’s the old school ruling class model of operation (extra strong Saturn) as they simply can’t conceptualise making any significant changes to avoid any meaningful wealth redistribution at any cost, “not during my term” type of thinking.
As the result of tension between Jupiter’s expansion and Saturn’s control the next 5 to 10 years may witness some uncomfortable changes:
Once again the opposing forces of Jupiter and Saturn challenge the current economical and social systems in a quest of pushing the human history towards its next phase of the spiral of development.
It is a great time to embrace uncertainty.
The first two decades following 2020 will be challenging but stimulate our creative potential and inventiveness. It is very unlikely that anything will return back to how it was before. The era of 1950s and 60s will be long remembered as the “golden age of prosperity” that brought so much luck and economical opportunity to the generation of baby boomers (the prize for the hardships of the World War 2).
The future is certain to bring new paradigms and technological advances that will give the edge to those who are ready to adapt. The process won’t be smooth but in the long run it’ll be worth it. The current world order is “running out of oil” and is heading for an inevitable restructuring.
One of great lessons of Saturn is its ability to endure long-term projects. The great lesson of Jupiter is the spirit of creative enthusiasm. When both are joined together, a new world can truly emerge.
]]>These broad Grand Chapters of human life are delineated by what is known as the Saturn return that defines the three distinct periods of:
Each of these three descriptions represent a different aspect of Saturnian energy, and the three of them combined pass the sense of a spiral-like development of every human being that (provided you accept the model of reincarnation) follows the infinite progression:
… ➝ birth ➝ growth ➝ accomplishments ➝ wisdom ➝ birth ➝ …
This repeating spiralling cycle ensures that the human soul is busy attaining ever greater degrees of sophistication and accomplishment. It effectively guards against stagnation that naturally develops during the age of wisdom since the renewable energy of striving and learning belongs to the young.
And if we toss aside the model of reincarnations, Saturn returns still offer a useful way to perceive each human life in terms of succession of meaningful periods that may shed some light at the mysterious “meaning of life” question.
The Saturn return is often seen as a challenging period time during which the person needs to reassess their past actions in the light of what’s possibly coming to them in the future. Some major changes may come out of that period and significant changes are never easy.
Yet certain misunderstandings make a Saturn return sound like an unavoidable trying and unpleasant event that just needs to be dealt with hunkered down with a “it shall pass” mantra.
One common mistake is to see the return as an independent one-off event to get through — which it isn’t. Each Saturn return is a recap of previous 29 or so years of life and an invitation to the next cycle of personal evolution.
The Saturn return signifies a period of time when current position of Saturn crosses its Zodiacal position at the moment of birth as described by the natal chart.
Saturn crosses that mark on the ecliptic approximately each 29.5 years.
The crossing begins when Saturn is about 5º away (before) from the exact conjunction and develops until Saturn reaches about 5º separation from exact conjunction. For simplicity sake we use the average 5º as the “orb” for transiting Saturn. Each astrologer may have a slightly different orb preference, some prefer even tighter orbs.
If we continue with the 5º orb example, then each Saturn return represents a period of time during which Saturn hovers around the point of exact conjunction. This period of time can display a significant variance:
The time window of Saturn return is defined by a possible retrograde movement of Saturn during that period. If Saturn goes retrograde during its return then:
The illustration below shows both scenarios.
The strength of a Saturn return is directly linked to its duration. Triple exact conjunction will consist of direct Saturn, retrograde Saturn and concluding direct Saturn passage over its natal (at-birth) position. Such direct–retrograde–direct pattern offers some extra time to reflect and adjust certain beliefs and attitudes during Saturn’s retrograde phase and prepare for the second direct exact conjunction of Saturn. It’s the year to always keep Saturnian values in mind and be aware that certain corrections and reconsiderations may be desired to achieve the most positive outcome.
A much shorter single pass Saturn transit of about 3 months culminates at the moment of its exact conjunction. Such transit is of a more dynamic nature and its outcome depends on how well the person has prepared themselves… years in advance.
Saturn is a Roman name of the ancient Greek god Kronos that rules over boundaries, structure and time. Modern words like chronometry, chronometer (time measurement) and chronic (as in disease) all come from the principle of Kronos.
An interesting side note: While Kronos establishes boundaries, Mercury (Greek Hermes) rules over the principle of crossing the boundaries.
To better understand Saturn returns one needs to learn appreciate the core actions of Saturn:
Saturn performs a function of a “celestial accountant” through its nature of precise measurement and the ensuing sense of responsibility towards all kinds of resources that it cultivates in human minds.
Each Saturn return is akin to taking an exam. Firstly, one needs to make sure they’ve done their homework during the whole period of about 29 years leading up to the Saturn return. Secondly, one needs to form some ideas as to what they are heading towards in their life.
The outcome of a Saturn return isn’t really punishing. Saturn acts in an impartial manner reinforcing patterns that the individual has cultivated in the preceding time period.
Movement of Saturn around the Zodiacal circle is akin to the movement of a watch hand. Using astrological houses makes more sense than using Zodiac signs: houses are more specific to each individual than more generic Zodiac signs.
Depending on what house system one uses, Saturn will spend varying amounts of time in each sector of the circle. Simpler house models that are based on equal divisions of houses and don’t use the midheaven point (for example, whole sign, equal house) take Saturn ~2.5 years to cross.
More sophisticated house models (for example, Placidus, Koch, Regiomontanus, Campanus) produce houses of varying size depending on geographic location and date of the natal chart. They are more complex but traditionally trusted to be more specific as they reflect more of celestial mechanics.
The starting point is the house of Saturn’s natal position. It sets the “tone” for the next 29 years during which the person will travel through their time and will shape patterns that will be assessed during the first Saturn return.
Saturn’s natal position and especially its aspects with other planets provide important clues about early development and maturation processes that the young person is likely to go through.
The first chapter of life can also be subdivided into three parts — family, siblings and learning — each just under a decade long.
The first Saturn return is the person’s first encounter with the “celestial accountant” and for most young people it may be a confusing time period that will eventually project them into their 30s.
Generally Saturn favours persistence and structure, and those who spent time training themselves and developing the sense of responsibility and professional discipline are more likely to have an easier transition — they have done most of their work in preceding years — this approach strongly resonates with Saturnian values and principles.
And what about the others who may not have had an equal opportunity or were distracted by events out of their control? Saturn doesn’t punish, instead it gives the chance for new beginnings. The first Saturn return presents a clear opportunity for a reboot, and one needs to be aware of that and open to try things again, perhaps taking a slightly different angle. They may still well succeed since time doesn’t always move in a linear manner!
The second “productive” period of life unfolds between approximately 30 and slightly under 60 years of age. As Saturn makes the second passage over the houses, the person goes through similar experiences yet transposed to a different octave.
Place of work replaces family, career replaces relationships with siblings and capital building is the former learnings “transposed” to some kind of financial denomination.
Creating one’s own family is a metaphor for a pattern giving birth to new patterns, similar to how fractals and crystals grow. The structure of creative multiplication unfolds in a Saturnian manner.
By the age of 56-60 years an individual usually forms a picture of what they have managed to achieve and what has eluded them. Nobody’s perfect and Saturn isn’t here to punish. Its function is to reveal structures and ensure ever repeating growth of life.
The period before the third Saturn return unfolds between approximately 60 and 76 years (the current average life duration) or even longer depending how much life energy one’s body has been granted by mother Nature.
This period enjoys return to the roots, perhaps in the form of extended family, and often seeking inwards.
During that period Saturn is making its third and final traversing of the houses, beginning from the natal position. This gives a third precious opportunity to review what has been experienced and perhaps correct certain things for better.
In the advertising industry they say it takes three times for a viewer to see an advertisement before they can finally remember it. And that’s the essence of Saturn: rinse and repeat until core lessons learned and progress is made.
A human life is made out of a number of cycles and arguably each planet introduces its own periodic influence. Astrology as a whole can be seen as a study of a circle!
One more interesting way to divide one’s life is described in an earlier story “The seven ages of man”. This is an experiential method that is based on the idea of the soul travelling through the planetary spheres in a linear matter.
So here we go, travelling in spiralling circles and along a line, both are wonderful metaphors of one’s life development.
Saturn functions as a celestial rhythm setter that has always been associated with everything “chronological” – plans, obligations, commitments and ultimately dividends translated either into a monetary equivalent or a lasting bond of loyalty.
It does pay back to cultivate a sense of timing and long term obligations — the attitude naturally supported by Saturn. The fruit aren’t gathered instantly, instead they will reveal themselves over a longer period of time. Saturn return is one of those milestones along the life’s path that celebrate and support long term commitments that may take many forms: from enduring personal relationships to thorough studies and focused professional development.
]]>Each Saturn–Pluto cycle lasts about 33–38 years and tends to project a strong shaping influence on the world economy and politics. Economy is the beating “heart” of the world, it creates things and makes them move. Symbolically the heart or the “core” corresponds to the energy of the Sun — the very center around which everything spins. It’s the Sun that makes the world go round… and so does gold.
Gold has always been the “alpha” metal. Certainly, there are metals that are more rare and perhaps more valuable than gold. Take for example rhodium, it’s super rare, super reflective and extremely resistant to corrosion while having a high melting point. It’s a “specialist” metal that is used in a number of industries and products, perhaps most well known for its jewellery use as a shiny protective coating for silver.
Yet gold beats them all thanks to a sheer variety of its applications. Gold can be used everywhere. It’s super malleable and easy to work with. Technology, beauty and health all benefit from gold. Gold is extremely friendly to human body, even more so that silver. In medicine, fine injections of gold stimulate flow of blood from the center to periphery and alleviate age-related illnesses, for example rheumatoid arthritis.
The unique feature of gold is its “liquidity” in many meanings of the word. Gold is a perfect storage of “value”. If one wants to freeze their assets in time, one often buys gold. Gold may not bring dividends but its anti-corrosive qualities preserve initial value and thus anchor wealth to a more stable reference point.
Gold has always been seen as the metal of the Sun. Its looks, its warmth, its powerful attraction — all its qualities speak of the “king” of all planets, the source that holds and spins all bodies of the Solar System.
Gold, platinum and most other precious metals weren’t born on Earth. They arrived with 20 billion billion tonnes of asteroidal material that endlessly bombarded proto-Earth.
Gold can only be born as a result of a star going supernova, meaning collapsing onto itself and exploding. The process powerful enough to squeeze hydrogen atoms into heavier elements like gold and beyond.
Symbolically and physically gold belongs to the Sun, it’s the star material, hence its incredible allure and value. All mined gold on this planet came from that ancient asteroidal bombardment.
One may think that Mercury is the symbolical driver of economy. Yet the true force that moves the world’s production and innovation is in the Sun. Mercury is the agent facilitating communication and exchange, while the Sun is the powerhouse behind any large scale economical activity.
Just as the gravity of the Sun spins the planets, the value of gold moves world economies. Gold is a relatively heavy metal, it speaks solidity and endurance. Gold speaks “investment” and gold attracts investment.
Out of all planetary combinations, Saturn and Pluto is the most dense, frozen and “underworldly” of all. Saturn is the celestial taxman and Pluto is the king of underground riches.
The underworlds over which Pluto/Hades rules is a magical kingdom deep down in the interior of the Earth. That kingdom is richer than anything one can imagine. Geologically speaking, gold and other precious metals that were originallypart of the Earth eventually sank into the planet’s core taken deep down by its molten iron. The amount of precious metals in the core is such that it can cover the entire surface of the Earth with a four metre layer. But it’s very-very hard to get! That’s the domain of Pluto.
In 1971 the dollar has been unlinked from gold and the following “lost decade” of economical turmoil and financial tightening brought us to the next Saturn–Pluto conjunction of 1982 marked by the so-called “Reagan recession” and other painful events like Mexico’s default.
The most recent 38-year long Saturn-Pluto cycle of 1982–2020 brought about globalisation, digital economy and investment boom… all vigorously fuelled by debt. Never before the world encountered the mountain of debt that high.
As the result the value of dollar has been continuously sinking against gold. By 1982 gold price moved up to $447, the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 raised the bar to just below $1,000. By 2012 gold reached $1,500. In 2020 gold price was just slightly shy of $2,000. Decrease of value of US dollar was accompanied by increase in property prices while the wages mostly stayed the same.
By the year of 2020 the dollar became extremely diluted in its “real value”. The world is increasingly finding itself in the situation when a need for economical reforms outweighs perceived comfort of the old ways.
Reevaluation and establishing a new economic model is the cosmic function of pretty much every Saturn–Pluto conjunction. The old ways have to be let go and the new ways need to be agreed by all major world actors.
A good example was 1944 when the world has prepared itself by agreeing on a new monetary system during talks in Bretton Woods, Hampshire. The dollar was pegged to the gold standard at $35 per ounce price mark. Then closely following Saturn–Pluto conjunction of 1947 ushered the world into the new era of prosperity.
The last decade of that era witnessed a breakdown of dollar-gold relationship in 1971 that followed by an economically rough decade that took us to the 1982 Saturn–Pluto conjunction.
Years around 1982 gradually shaped the new economical methodology with its overreliance on paper fiat money that can be easily created in any amount out of thin air. Thus the period of 1982–2020 is characterised by the investment boom and further departure from the stabilising value of gold.
The advent of electronic money like Bitcoin and Ethereum is another step forward towards creating an “imaginary” measure of value that may or may not correspond to something real in the world. Yet there’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies. The wrongness is mostly due to the current crisis of capitalism that has notoriously mistaken greed for creativity.
Future success or failure of the unfolding 2020–2053 Saturn–Pluto cycle hinges on healthy policies that will utilise the power of both gold standard and electronic money.
Each Saturn–Pluto conjunction usually unfolds during a 1-3 year period and that’s the most impactful period in terms of future decision making. Once the power of conjunction recedes, stabilising influence of the Sun begins to activate principles on which the world has agreed (or disagreed) on. Will that process be productive or painful depends on our decisions around each Saturn–Pluto conjunction.
]]>This mysteriously unstable nature of money has puzzled many people. Economists, politicians, bankers, investors and ordinary curious blog writers like myself have all pondered upon what makes money work and what makes money fail?
In this article we are going to look at the notion of money from an astrological standpoint, specifically focusing on the great Jupiter–Pluto polarising force that, apart from numerous other things, is responsible for wealth creation, attraction and redistribution.
We shall see how the first two major economic breakdowns of the 21st century:
both unsurprisingly coincided with Jupiter–Pluto conjunctions and induced major stress testing of economic resilience on all countries and their citizens.
Before taking a deeper look into the astrologic nature of economic crises, let’s focus on the topic of the nature of money.
History of humanity runs deep, its written records stretch up to 6,000 years back in time. We do know that gold and its value were already mentioned in records from about 5,000 years ago.
Throughout the history gold was used as a measurement and a regulator for value of goods due to its scarcity and unique physical properties. Gold has always been seen as metal of the Sun and the ancients often treated gold as a sacred substance.
According to the esoteric knowledge, development of the world trade and exchange is governed by the Sun principle of illumination and reaching out from the core to the furthest periphery. Thus money is the principle of the Sun physically embodied on Earth by the metal of gold.
As it happens with all powerful substances perceived from the position of greed and power, the influence of gold’s potential corrupts its bearer. So far all known empires that were built on the premises of accumulation and domination ultimately failed due to ensuing overreach and corruption.
Industrial economies and the economic model of capitalism are relatively new systems that have their own share of successes and breakdowns. Capitalist economic system heavily depends on availability of money, aka the capital.
To remain successful capitalism needs endless expansion, which exposes its core problem: a “sustainable expansion” is easier said than done. Money and free markets are like blood and veins for ever expanding capitalist markets. This alone means that gold isn’t a reliable money material since gold resources are limited and scarce.
Thus the modern notion of money lost its underlying “value” and ultimately became a “promise” to deliver goods or services. Since money became an instrument of borrowing from the future, an unmanageble Everest-sized mountain of debt has emerged that nobody seems to know how to deal with.
Now turning our gaze to the classical Greek mythology. Jupiter is the Roman version of Zeus, the alpha-god who became the victorious King of the gods after defeating the Titans with essential help from his brothers, Poseidon (Neptune) and Pluto.
Consequently the celestial world has been divided into three spheres of influence: Zeus became the ruler of the sky, Neptune’s domain are the oceanic expanse and Pluto received the underworlds, a domain referred as Hades, full of immense treasures. The three brothers symbolise three foundational types of power and influence.
While Jupiter naturally rules over forces of expansion and accepts no limits, Pluto acts as a force of accumulation that stores immense riches in its underground domain. It is easier to think of Jupiter as the orchestrator while Pluto is the aggregator. In ancient Greek the name Plouton stands for “giver of wealth”.
The post World War 2 economic miracle was shaped by American affinity with Jupiterian values of optimistic expansion. Yet long-term pursue of the model of unlimited growth is hardly a viable strategy here on Earth with its inherently limited resource pool.
As soon as further expansion becomes unsustainable, Pluto takes stage as a counteracting principle. Pluto is the ultimate hoarder, the black hole that enriches itself by sucking in wealth and possessions. It is a natural and universal principle that acts by removing old systems so that new sprouts can bring the balance back in a new form that isn’t corrupted by past mistakes.
Jupiter–Pluto cosmic couple is perfectly designed for keeping expansion viable through necessary introduction of periodic collapses. Nothing personal here!
The first tangible shock that impacted the Everest-sized debt pile was the Great Financial Crisis that unfolded during 2007–2008. The crisis was a consequence of unchecked and irresponsible expansion of financial markets into the real estate domain.
It could well be the first direct consequence of money becoming “abstract” ie. detached from real world values as a direct result of decoupling from the gold standard. The lack of limiting influence of gold stimulated blindness and greed of financial institutions that began to see money as purely numbers game with sole purpose is to generate more money.
Corresponding Jupiter–Pluto conjunction developed itself through the second half of 2007 and was relatively short-lived in astrological terms, yet its effects were profound and did hurt a lot of people.
If one thinks that the 2008 GFC was a hard one, just wait for the unfoldment of events triggered by the 2020 Jupiter–Pluto conjunction.
By comparing astrological charts of 2007 and 2020, it becomes very clear that the GFC of 2008 was a mere “preview” of things to follow during the years of 2020 and further.
First of all, Jupiter–Pluto conjunction of 2020 is “well seasoned” by overlapping Saturn–Pluto conjunction, a very rare event especially given the current strength of Pluto that is at extremely close approach to the ecliptic plane with a latitude slightly under 1º. That happens only twice during 248 years of Pluto’s full orbital period.
The second strengthening factor is that it’s a “triple” Jupiter–Pluto conjunction due to both planets turning retrograde and direct thus producing not one but three moments of exact conjunction — stretched in time through a longer period of just under 11 months.
Just having these two astrological alignments is enough to make any astrologer tinkling with excitement of “Holy cow, something BIG is going to happen”.
The severity of 2020 crisis is further amplified by “timely” arrival of coronavirus that came about at the right moment to test our over-leveraged and over-complicated economy. One may notice that the crisis unfolds itself in a well orchestrated manner, all according to the stars and planetary placements and there’s a little reason to believe that things will get back to normal soon enough.
We should expect a rebalancing action of Pluto that will take away certain amounts of wealth. It’s not going to be fair or nice as crises tend to present opportunities in an asymmetric manner: those with strong Pluto energies are likely to gain, while many others will inadvertently lose much of their possessions.
Pluto is synonymous with accumulation of riches. And we’re already witnessing how wealth attracts even more wealth. Just look at the example of Jeff Bezos and the likes. Companies that have built crisis-proof revenue streams and ground their success in future-proof technology, data, etc. — will benefit greatly. Many weaker “wishful” business models are likely to cease operating under pressure of reduced demand.
The third decade of the 21st century will witness a major disruption of supply lines and significant redistribution of capital. A number of things will need to be reinvented and those who can intuitively see into the future are likely to benefit the most.
One of the most significant innovations could well be a dramatic change in what money is and what money represent. Aligning money to gold worked as long as the world had just a handful of mostly self-sufficient states. Industrialisation, globalisation and capitalism demanded a shift from gold standard towards “promise” as a value. Now this breaks down as well — we have just learned that we’re not good at keeping our promises but really good at piling up mountains of debt.
The next kind of money will be based on information and technology. Personally I don’t believe that the current cryptocurrency market is the final answer. It’s the first step towards measurable and secure monetary system.
What’s missing is a great challenge to the governments that shakes them out of their preferred “business as usual” ponzi-style model of endlessly projecting debt onto future generations while retirement-age politicians and government officials continue living like it’s 100 years back in time.
Cryptocurrencies will come with a number of requirements that we all will have to get used to. The most obvious is that all money will become traceable. We won’t be able to store cash in a pot for a rainy day. We will get over that.
Both industries and societies will have to adapt to a certain scarcity that new monetary system will impose. The need for scarcity will be the lesson from tumultuous first decades of the 21st century. Systems that will embrace the necessity of financial scarcity will perform better in long term, just like a lean and slightly hungry runner always outruns a well-fed, smoking and drinking couch occupier.
There’s a healthy attitude in treating money as unobtanium and achieving more with less. In other words the “real stuff” economy should run financial markets, not vice versa.
]]>But there are moments in time when Mars and Neptune talk to each in a way that is just like when hot sparks come in contact with a volume of otherwise cold and immobile pool of petroleum. Boom! The result is an unstoppable fire of a truly global proportion.
And that’s what has happened in America on around 26 May, 2020. A momentous ignition, a spark of stupid and blind police violence has shocked large masses of people out of their daily routine.
Police murdering a black person followed by protests and accompanying riots is an ever-present sad feature of American life. There’s nothing really new, just recall all those years:
1965 Los Angeles, 1967 Newark, 1967 Detroit, 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. assassination, 1980 Miami, 1992 Los Angeles, 2001 Cincinnati, 2014 Ferguson, 2015 Baltimore, 2016 Charlotte and current 2019 Minnesota — all events share the same unchanged pattern: brutality of authorities followed by mass expression of anger and demand for change.
It appears there is a deeper underlying cause which periodically sends its tremors through the society. The American society experiences its symptoms while the root cause of the disease remains at a “subterranean” depth.
It seems that no matter how forward looking the American society strives to be, its underlying foundations have a great weakness, something that can be seen as a karmic debt that has to be repaid one way or another — there’s no other way around it since the law of karma expresses itself through its unavoidable returns: good deeds will bring more good, inflicted suffering will reflect itself back to those who initiated it.
The simple fact that a significant part of early American economic success rests on practice of slavery (aka crime against humanity) and unfair treatment of minorities still remains an unresolved fault line that is gradually developing into a multitude of cracks running across the foundations of the country.
Over hundreds of years the underlying division between “white” and “black”, “north” and “south” had morphed into the politics of “us” and “them”, “right” and “wrong”, “good guys” and “bad guys”. The underlying idea always remained the same: some are more right than others and thus should decide for everybody thanks to their supreme nature.
This fault line has never healed and indeed has very few chances to heal since the core political and economical model is forced on growth at all cost, grossly outdated, burdened with unpaid debt and patched with multiple band-aids of good intentions.
In short, the cost of slavery is the future lack of unity. And that lack of unity in the American society is what will bring the system down, at the right time when repayment of this karmic debt can’t be deferred any longer.
From the astrological perspective, time period of Mars–Neptune conjunction provides a time window when the energies of those otherwise incompatible planets can actually “talk” to each other.
Mars–Neptune conjunction happens approximately once in two years and lasts about a month, such time period is long enough to allow corresponding astral energies to produce an effect on human psyche.
What’s more interesting is that an event may happen shortly before the conjunction has formally begun, in such a way that it offers a context for unravelling.
American “Black Lives Matter” protests of 2020 began 26 May as a reaction to murder of George Floyd by police officers on 25 May 2020.
It usually takes more than a single conjunction to trigger a significant event. Observing planetary positions in relationship to the fixed stars can provide additional clues as to why certain events happen at a particular moment in time.
The Sun is always a powerful translator of stellar astral energies and anything of magnitude does depend on its invigorating input.
Protests are noble in their intention, they demand for respect of human dignity. Neptunian qualities of sympathy and sensitivity appeal to large masses of people in such a way that makes them collectively emotional and truth seeking. People are getting in sync with each other, mimicking how the ocean forms its huge waves full of unstoppable energy. Neptune always acts through mass and volume.
Mars — being the archetype of direction, fire and cutting action — becomes amplified by Neptunian movement and expresses itself through chaotic acts of civil disobedience and outright aggression towards those who hurt people in the first place (read “police and authority”).
Acts of looting and arson are genuine expressions of Martian energies under intoxication of Neptune. It is fascinating to observe that nearly all American protests involved looting and arson. And yet it makes total sense from the astrological perspective as people under intense Mars–Neptune influence express their anger by acting violently (Mars) yet chaotically (Neptune), effectively producing an ocean of fire.
It is futile to look for a specific “bad” mastermind (conspiracy theories about Antifa, etc.) as protests are messy, chaotic, disorganised and sporadic by the nature of forces involved. A degree of organised behaviour may appear later but not in the first days, it’s just not how crowds work.
To better understand any kind of protest — including the one that comes from one’s own partner — we should try to embrace the most unlikely union of idealism, chaos and hurt–anger reaction. While it may look like a grown-up’s tantrum at the first sight, there is depth and reality to it.
Historically the USA was shaped by the forces that lack “understanding” of Neptunian values and the principles of compassion and universality that it governs. It’s the blind spot that American political and economical system ever failed to understand.
Ultimately, what American protests are asking is the introduction of Neptunian values of sensitivity and sympathy and abandonment of brutality.
America understands Jupiter and it’s principle of expansion extremely well and that’s what made it so strong — an entrepreneurial spirit of a highest degree! Yet the problem with Jupiter is that it is easily goes out of bounds, becomes unchecked and forgets to care about details. Hence abandonment of sound economical and banking practices, financial gluttony and trumping over an average “Joe or Jane Citizen” with excessive force — all because “Growth” is the name of American God.
This surprising forgetfulness of human compassion and blind pursuit of shareholders’ profits is what enabled the slave–based society which America is still carrying strong imprints of and thus invites the necessity of karmic retribution which is likely to come from the domain of chaos ruled by Neptune — if not in 2020 then in near future — that’s unless some bright heads will emerge and steer the society away from the precipice and ultimate collapse.
]]>The whole economy of astrological services has been built around the perennial question of “will I get rich and lucky in love?” This is “astrology lite” that has been traditionally targeted at mass market and appeals to the human nature of having desires.
Yet, at the time of crisis — like the Year 2020 of Coronavirus — a deeper underlying reality of this ever-morphing world reveals a tad more of its predominantly hidden nature to the eye of a keen observer. The depth of astrological insight is gaining an increasingly objective value when it comes to anticipating tectonic shifts affecting the society and its economy… and reminding us about being prudent in avoiding making wrong moves.
The pleasure of surface lies in its immediate availability. You know, phases of the Moon and Mercury retrograde will never cease to send ripples through Twitter. They are of predominantly entertaining value, as arguably both the Moon and Mercury are the two fastest bodies and relate directly to the spheres of thoughts, feelings and emotions. They are astrological powerhouses of “here and now” that can be placed under the “oops, I did it again” category of planetary influences.
The challenge of depth is of a magnitude harder but its gratification is of a much more significant nature. It reminds us of those mythological deep ocean divers who go through immense perils and hardships in order to discover and retrieve sunken treasures.
Luckily we don’t need to risk our lives to do “deep astrology” — it’s accessible to everyone who is willing to postpone the addictive chase of the Moon’s rabbit and focus on the slow and significant.
Very broadly speaking, astrology addresses two kinds of questions:
The first question is akin to psychoanalysis, it explores the roots of personality and its dominant traits providing the client with a framework for self-understanding and, more importantly, self-appreciation — it may come as a complete surprise but one of the predominant personal problems is hidden self-hatred, the lack of self-acceptance. The therapeutic function of astrology allows the client to make peace with themselves, to plant the seeds for their genuine self-appreciation. Better love life naturally develops as the result of profound astrological readings — and the second question’s answer has the chance to materialise itself.
It can be said that in the context of personal readings astrology doesn’t really predict much, it rather reveals latent potential.
The predictive side of astrology can be experienced when the astrological insight dissects the world’s progress through time. Observing changes in planetary patterns through larger periods of time, one may discover (and thus successfully predict) significant future events, the kind of events that influence each and everybody, just like it is witnessed by us during the year of 2020 via its unstoppable tectonic changes.
Given complexity of the modern world, it is much safer to acknowledge that we don’t fully understand it, at least financially.
There’s no better way to become bankrupt than to keep following experts’ advices. Experts do what they do because that’s how they get paid while remaining safe and not having “skin in the game”. Any financial expert who can actually demonstrate lasting success following their own ideas will immediately cease teaching because common knowledge destroys competitive advantage.
Astrology, when practiced at the deep level, does allow to see certain milestones through which the world is guaranteed to pass — so that we can take off our preferred rosy glasses and free up some time to better prepare and adjust for the future.
Indeed, there is time in plenty. Deep astrological vision enables the discovery of larger and slower planetary cycles that follow one another with predictable regularity and equally predictable action on the world and its citizens. We may not necessarily guess the nature of the action in advance but there is a number of techniques that help us fireproof our lives and gain that completive advantage that experts aren’t aware of.
Preparation is the key to survival and prosperity that follows. I’ve seen way too many people taking on massive mortgages and increasing business debt while shrugging away any warnings about a high probability of economical implosion.
“Who knew!” they exclaim now. Well, some astrologers cetainly did.
Significant astrological events like Saturn–Pluto–Jupiter conjunction of 2020 don’t happen every other year (in fact this kind of event is super rare) but we do know when they occur with absolute certainty — years, decades and centuries in advance.
An obvious predictive technique would be to look at the symbolism of Saturn–Pluto conjunction in the tropical sign of Capricorn. While it have been elucidated at length in “The timeline of Saturn – Pluto conjunction of years 2019–2020–2021 and its karmic meaning” it can be summarised as “a stress test of structures by the force of pressure and inner tension”.
This is the stress test under which no house of cards stands a chance. It doesn’t take much to see the most obvious house of cards — the current financial system has been purposefully “liberated” since the Reagan/Thatcher era that unsurprisingly began around the previous Saturn–Pluto conjunction of 1981–1982–1983. You see, that kind of change takes years to fully develop and solidify itself into tangible reality. It’s not a punctual happening, it’s a process that needs time to mature.
Ironically, the economical “liberation” has began under the sign of… Libra. Balance of the scales has been tilted away from prudent equilibrium towards speculative opportunism and financial laissez-faire, a model of “the achiever is always right”.
Now, at the time of Capricornian reckoning of 2020 the houses of cards and Ponzi schemes of wealth come under the scrutiny of natural laws and if the universe takes its due course, one shouldn’t bet too much on a V-shaped recovery.
How would the mythological “deep astrologer” prepare in advance? A few common sense measures can be:
If such preparations have been made then Saturn–Pluto conjunction doesn’t come as a nasty kick in the guts but rather as an expected and much required adjustment.
Any potential future opportunities will be much more accessible to those who have that kind of readiness and extra flexibility.
It’s simple, always be ready for the next one. Watch the cycles of big planets especially Jupiter (~12 years) and Saturn (~29.5 years) and all aspects they make.
Trans-saturnian planets are powerful too but their periods are even slower and are of somewhat hidden nature mirroring their huge distances from the Earth and lack of visibility by the naked eye.
On the other hand, events produced by the fixed stars are of punctual, sharp nature — as discussed in the “Influence of the Fixed Stars, an astrological interpretation of Notre-Dame de Paris fire, 15 April 2019” story.
Looking much deeper into the future… a “really big event” will be the next Saturn–Pluto conjunction of years 2053–2054:
Some very big changes are due to happen in 2050s — a mere 33 years from now, giving us enough time to plan and act wisely.
Until then, watch out for Jupiter and its influence on the stocks and economy.
The “deep astrology” is about working at the macro level, becoming aware of long term planetary cycles that will never cease to shake this material world and forcefully morph our own circumstances.
At the personal level, a deep astrological observer can benefit from their understanding of time patterns and plan their steps following the future planetary patterns — acting independently from popular “market trends” promoted by the experts and avoiding the herd mentality pitfalls.
For the rest of us, who are not billionaires, winning is more often about not losing what little we already have. That’s the wisdom of “deep astrology”.
]]>Not so with the Black Moon! Since the time of its discovery the Black Moon has solidified its presence in the astrological knowledge perhaps due to the two facts: its unique symbolism and solid astronomical reality that objectifies its existence and brings it into our awareness.
Astrological appearance of the Black Moon has coincided with the era of scientific inquiry into human psyche. The period of 1870–1940 witnessed the emergence of psychoanalysis techniques of Sigmund Freud and novel concepts of analytical psychology pioneered by Carl Jung. Those new methods became the foundation for a wide variety of techniques and modalities of psychological and therapeutic practices.
Jungian psychology is of especial interest since its concept of “shadow” — the repressed, suppressed or disowned qualities of the conscious self — is closely related to the astrological nature and symbolism of the Black Moon.
The idea of the Black Moon was introduced by French astrologer Dom Neroman who studied the nature of the Lunar Apogee around 1930s. Dom Neroman was a prolific astrological researcher who used scientific methods with the goal to further progress astrology and dispel its superstitious image by revealing deeper cosmic truths and principles behind this discipline.
His other prominent discoveries include astrogeography and the heptagrams that we discussed in the story called “Finding dominant planet using Heptagrams”.
According to Kepler’s laws of orbital movement, all celestial bodies like planets and asteroids don’t move in perfectly circular orbits — they actually travel along elliptical orbits. Contrary to the circle that has a single centre point, the ellipse has two centres that are called focuses (or foci for more Latin inclined readers).
This how an elliptical orbit is usually illustrated using a highly eccentric ellipse (in this case showing ~0.8 eccentricity). This kind of elongated orbit is common to comets and asteroids. Orbits of major planets like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn around the Sun are much closer to a circular shape.
Adding the main larger planet (the Earth) and its orbiting satellite (the Moon) can be visualised like illustrated below.
In reality, the Moon orbit eccentricity is much lower, only ~0.05, and is not possible to illustrate on a small computer screen: it’ll look like a circle. For the sake of simplicity we’ll be using an ellipse with 0.23 eccentricity, just enough to convey the idea of a non-circular orbit.
The Moon is travelling around the Earth along such an elliptic orbit with two focal points: one occupied by the Earth and another invisible second point that is located about 42,500 kilometres away from the Earth’s centre.
The illustration below shows that — as seen from the Earth — the second empty focus actually overlaps with the location of the Lunar Apogee, the furthest position of the Moon from Earth. More precisely, both the Lunar Apogee and the Black Moon have equal ecliptic longitude and therefore share same Zodiacal position. The Apogee is behind and much further than the Black Moon.
As the result of his astrological exploration into the nature and significance of the Lunar Apogee Dom Neroman introduced the term Black Moon to describe the second empty focus of the lunar orbit.
Unlike the Moon, the second focus (or the Black Moon) moves in a perfectly circular orbit around the Earth and completes each orbit in slightly under 9 years.
An important observation is that the Lunar Apogee and the Black Moon are closely linked in their symbolic meaning but they aren’t exactly the same. The Apogee is located “behind” the Black Moon. One can “see” the Black Moon only when the Moon is on its Apogee. At all other times the Black Moon exists exclusively in our imagination, hidden away from the senses of normal waking consciousness.
The Black Moon relates to both the Moon and the Earth. From the Moon standpoint it’s the “second” invisible Earth. From the Earth standpoint it’s the point of maximum separation between the soul and matter.
Thus the Black Moon points at everything that is hidden and invisible under normal conditions. It hints at the “dark side of the Moon” within each human being, something that is remote and turned away from normal waking consciousness.
Hence the Jungian concept of the “shadow” that fits the Black Moon so well.
“Everyone carries a shadow and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is.”
— Carl Jung
Just as black colour isn’t the colour of evil (consider the Black Madonna as an obvious example), so the shadow doesn’t automatically qualify as “bad”. The shadow encompasses all aspects of human psyche that are not accessible to the light of normal waking consciousness — they may be positive or negative or most likely an agglomeration of those opposites.
The Black Moon represents hidden and unconscious.
The second aspect of the Black Moon’s nature is its connection to hidden layers of latent occult forces. While those energies are deeply unconscious for the majority of people, there is little doubt that that’s exactly what can make one a powerful healer, therapist or a shaman.
By now you may have noticed that the Black Moon has certain similarities with Pluto. They both rule over the domain of hidden. There’s a difference though: Pluto energies belong to the domain of super-matter (think nuclear physics), the Black Moon’s energies are those of hidden yet powerful astral energies, akin to the power of minor aspects as described in the story “Minor astrological aspects and the domain of magic”.
Both Pluto and the Black Moon understand and resonate with the notion of absolute. And this brings us to the Lilith aspect of the Black Moon.
The Black Moon is a correct name when it comes to describing an astrological object that is the second empty focus of the lunar orbit. The Black Moon is a complex principle that can be somewhat described using these three notions:
The name Lilith refers to a biblical story about the first Adam’s wife who disagreed with Adam and thus was cursed and classified as a dark force. That’s most likely to be an archaic oversimplification. In modern set of values we can perceive Lilith in new light — the woman who didn’t wish to blindly obey her husband and had the power to say “no” thus becoming a symbol of women’s emancipation and fight for women’s rights.
The second half to the 20th century witnessed the rise of the “Lilith aspect” of the Black Moon well expressed by the feminist movement and unstoppable global growth of female potential and influence.
The “Lilith” Black Moon can be perceived as one of many facets of this complex astrological entity. Lilith is the feminine symbol that covers the whole spectrum of psychological traits, from rebellious and incredibly stubborn attitudes to the ideas behind female independence.
Time Nomad clearly prefers the use of the Black Moon term since it allows for a wider variety for astrological interpretation.
Commonly misunderstood, the Black Moon suffered a double whammy from modern astrology.
Not only its meaning has been narrowed by using the term Lilith, its most commonly used symbol (or pictogram) is a complete disaster from the standpoint of astrological and occult symbolism.
In visual symbolic language, the cross signifies matter. All planets are material objects and they all have a cross as a part of their pictograms (Mars’ cross eventually became an arrow). Same applies to all asteroids that have a cross at the base to highlight the fact that they are rocky formations.
Since the Black Moon lacking any matter, its correct pictogram doesn’t contain a cross. The Black Moon is represented by a reverted, smaller black pictogram of the Moon which makes a perfect symbolic sense.
Now, the Black Moon pictogram with a cross at its base represents an asteroid Lilith that is a completely different astrological entity.
Time Nomad app uses this symbolically correct pictogram of the Black Moon, reserving the crossed version for asteroid Lilith.
What is a good time to look into your hidden self? Obviously the time when the Black Moon is less inconspicuous.
Every time the Moon is on its apogee, which is the name for its maximum distance from the Earth, it is automatically aligned with the Black Moon.
One can’t see the “real” Black Moon with their physical sight but one can feel how the Moon takes on some of the Black Moon’s qualities. Those times are great openings into the “shadow” or Alter Ego of oneself, and they happen quite regularly, once per lunation or every 27.3 days. Observing the Moon’s cycle of apogees opens the door to the new dimension of astrological insights and interpretations.
Time Nomad app helps to keep track of the moments when the Moon is on its Apogee and therefore aligned with the Black Moon. The easiest approach is to add a “Chart of Today” widget to the Notification Center (the lock screen) of your iPhone or iPad, this way you don’t even need to open the app. For more detailed information, use the “Dashboard” screen that contains the same widget that can be “tapped” to reveal dates and Zodiacal locations of those events.
Discovering one’s “shadow” is perhaps one of the most challenging yet undoubtedly rewarding processes. Use regular passages of the Moon through its apogee to notice and ultimately reveal your unknown self.
Most likely, your Black Moon comes with the both positive and negative influences and traits. That is completely normal, just like any coin has to have two sides to be a coin.
Keep noticing dark patterns that may be preventing your success or could be responsible for unconscious manipulative actions towards others thus darkening your karma and making things different for the future. The Black Moon has a “witchy” side that isn’t likely to play in one’s favour in its disowned condition. There’s a force there, it needs to be objectified and brought to the light of consciousness.
The Black Moon also potentially comes with a package of past traumas that may have been wilfully forgotten, erased from conscious memory. But they haven’t forgotten about us, actively redirecting the circumstances away from fuller and more accomplished lives. It takes a good degree of inner honesty and self-acceptance to successfully deal with your own “shadow” but the promise and the potential are both there, seize them!
]]>On the other hand, the energies of Mercury are quite literally the source of our daily “bread and butter”. All kinds of human activity rest on communication — we are social creatures that harness the power of interpersonal exchange to fulfil a vast variety of daily tasks.
No other planetary archetype provides us with so much practical skills than Mercury does. Our interaction with the Mercurial domain is perhaps the most conscious of all interactions. That is why the symbol of a young winged Mercury is so universally loved and related to.
Perhaps it’s that intuitive closeness that projects the periods of Mercury retrograde into the spotlight of human awareness, highlighting our genuine worries and insecurities. Should it really be like that? We will attempt to answer this question.
In order to get a better understanding of Mercury energies, one needs to look at Mercury as the governing principle behind all kinds of exchanges. It is worth noting that Mercury is the Roman equivalent of the Greek god Hermes.
The name Hermes is thought to originate from Greek “herma” (ἕρμα), the word that describes a heap of stones that serves as a boundary marker. While down on Earth Hermes was revered as the swift god of travellers, his primary celestial function was the one of the messenger of the gods as nominated by Zeus himself in recognition of Hermes’ equally ingenious skills in negotiation and trickery.
Young Hermes was not only able to steal sacred oxen from his half-brother Apollo, the solar god, he was also able to trade them back while earning a good profit. This impressive negotiation skill set became the hallmark quality of Hermes on Earth where he was also recognised as the god of both merchants and thieves.
In Roman culture Hermes became known as Mercury — the name possibly originated from the Latin word “merx” that means merchandise and commerce, or alternatively from a more ancient root “merĝ-“ that stands for boundary or border.
The domain of commerce, trade and messaging is governed by the energies of Mercurial nature. Most of trade implies the existence of boundaries and the exchange of merchandise and finance that flows across clearly demarcated areas of influence.
Not unlike seasons of the nature, trade and commerce follow the principle of cycles of expansion and contraction separated by periods of standstill and equilibrium. With its retrograde movement Mercury introduces another quality, the one of recharge through internalisation. Before going further into this mysterious process, let’s first clear up the notion of a retrograde movement.
Simply put, a retrograde movement happens during a period of time when the planet visually moves in the direction opposite to its normal progression. The retrograde effect is of a purely visual nature. The planet still moves in the same direction but at some segments of its elliptical orbit the Earth “overtakes” that planet producing an illusion of the planet slowing down and reversing. That’s pretty much what each of us regularly experiences watching other cars while driving on a highway — the visual trick of relative speeds.
When it comes to retrogrades, Mercury is the most prolific of all planets. This fact highlights the special relationship between Mercurial energies and the know how of alternating between the movement of externalisation and the one of internalisation.
Mercury is the swiftest planet of all and the closest to the Sun — thus Mercury goes retrograde fairly often. At any given year we experience 3–4 retrograde Mercury periods of about 21 days each.
The opposite of retrograde is the “normal” direction of planetary movement that is traditionally called direct. There is also a newer trend that uses the word “prograde” instead of direct. Time Nomad sticks to the traditional astrological parlance and therefore uses the word direct as the opposite to retrograde.
We believe that “direct” is a more symbolically correct term, it clearly conveys the direct nature of expression of planetary energies.
The famous symbol of Mercury is his staff called the caduceus that comes from Latin “cādūceus” that in its turn comes from Greek kērū́keion (κηρύκειον) meaning “herald’s wand”. Hermes–Mercury received his staff in his famous trade deal with his half-brother Apollo.
The caduceus carries a rich symbolism that can be read in several ways:
This expressive symbol brings us closer to revealing another important function of Mercury — the initiator into hidden mysteries.
Mercury has the powers to move from the world of visible to the world of invisible, it is the interfacing principle between life and afterlife. The guidance of the dead is one of its primary functions that reveals the true depth of occult forces that it possesses.
Turned on its side, the caduceus offers further clues to the nature of Mercurial energies.
The two oscillating sinusoidal waves point at the powers that control transition between visible and invisible, external and internal.
Even though Saturn is the ultimate measurer of time, Mercury embodies the function of regulating the passage through time crossings and pivotal moments. This function if well visible in this illustration borrowed from earlier story “What is Planetary Hours, part 2”.
The caduceus principle is easily recognisable in this graph of the sequence of the days of the week. Mercury is not only the “axis” along which the unfoldment of time is happening, Mercury controls crossings between periods of time.
The highly regular nature of Mercury retrograde movement periods is yet another hint at its regulating function known since ancient times — statues of Mercury were often placed at the crossroads symbolising its helping influence on travellers and merchants as well as its domain crossing know how.
No story about Mercury omits its sweet looks and its omnipresent wings. The sense of lightness and agility is equally the symbol of eternal youth as well as profound degree of fluidity that Mercury, both the god and the metal, possess.
While all classical planets have a clear masculine/feminine separation, it’s never that simple with Mercury who’s nature is equally male and female. We have previously discussed the notion of gender in the story called “Masculine, feminine and transgender in astrology“.
The caduceus yet again symbolises the process of unification and removal of the male/female opposition in favour of a more integrated male–female nature that is, according to some esoteric writers, the distant future when humanity will be able to rectify the painful split caused by the separation of sexes and the resulting feeling of being inherently incomplete, forever seeking (and never finding) the mythical second half.
The male/female split is also one of major factors that contribute to the processes behind ageing. There is a symbolical promise in the image of forever youthful lightweight Mercury and the keys that it holds!
Mercury also controls mental processes, it gives the ability to think rationally, provides with creative intuition that connects ideas with reality.
During retrograde periods Mercurial function of the mind is turned inwards. Those periods are of great value for their qualities of introspection, careful planning and strategising. Ideas and thoughtfully crafted intentions of the retrograde period can manifest in more solid outcomes once Mercury is back to its direct course.
On the occult side of things, it is believed that when the mind is equipped with Hermetic knowledge, it is capable of piercing behind the veil that separates the invisible domain of causes from the visible world of consequences. Thus retrograde periods are great time windows to penetrate the fabric of reality and witness the unfoldment of the universe itself and your personal role in this process. That is certainly easier said than done… yet the Hermetic science is there, the gifted and curious ones can be trained in that discipline.
What are the pitfalls and outright superstitions that make a Mercury retrograde more confusing that it should be? Below is the summary of effective strategies that help us better navigate through retrograde periods.
Popular advices along the lines that “Mercury retrograde means emails may not arrive” or “Don’t go for job interviews or engage in any kind of negotiations” serve little justice to the real significance of Mercury retrogrades.
Mercury retrograde is not the time for superstitious avoidance. Quite the opposite, your intellect is capable of looking deeper and analyse the situation better. Use this opportunity to ponder upon your questions before rushing into action. There is a power of insight at your disposal.
Mercury retrograde is not about avoiding making decisions, purchases or launching new initiatives. There are countless examples of successful actions that took place during Mercury retrograde periods.
Those periods are more about doing the right thing rather than assuming a “head in the sand” position. The right thing is to follow the internalising flow of Mercury and discover the deeper facts and truths, about yourself and the people around you.
Any disconnect or communication breakdown that will happen is due to happen because of inherent instability that has not been recognised, the flaws in the system design.
Being overly cautious will not mitigate those deeper issues. What helps though is performing simple and direct tasks that belong to the “here and now” domain of Mars-inspired action. It is a good time to shift one’s focus from the terrain of the mind full of potential convolutions to the domain of physicality and simplicity.
And finally, one thing is clear about Mercury retrogrades, that is no matter how well prepared one may attempt to be — duplicate everything possible, avoiding certain actions, etc. — the retrograde effect will appear along the fault line that one doesn’t know yet. That is the nature of events that bubble up from the domain of unseen to the world of consciousness.
Discovering why something happened may not be an easy task. Yet there is a certain truth behind those “malfunctions”. Events that happen during Mercury retrogrades are often the precursors of bigger trends, they are the first symptoms and a great help in predictive astrological work!
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