Site Update

My original intention was to have a blog about music and the stars. The Irish name of the blog Ceol-music and Réalta-star was chosen accordingly. However, after working with this for some time, I noticed that the two subjects attracted completely different people. I have decided therefore to move the music posts to a separate blog. Click on link for My Irish Music Blog.

This is a new referral service that I am trying out.

Winter Solstice 2011

A few miles outside Dingle, up above the village of Lispole is a field with ancient standing stones that are aligned to the setting sun at the winter solstice. We have been participating in a little celebration there for several years with six or seven other people. This year about 200 people showed up due to the involvement of the Lispole Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). The GAA is concerned about losing young people to emigration and have set out to make known some of the special features of this interesting and beautiful place and to bring people in.

After sunset we all went to the Seal Centre for refreshments and presentations, with slides, of local points of interest. Recent research shows there were people inhabiting Dingle Peninsula 10,000 years ago. And the cow was here 6,000 years ago. We have lots of old stuff here-come see for yourself.

Saturn opposite Uranus

A friend in the US recently wrote that he heard there is to be an important star configuration on 30 July 2010. He wanted to know what is special about this date. Here is my response:

The planet Saturn has been doing an opposition dance with Uranus since October 2008 and the last opposition in this series will occur on July 30, 2010. I will focus on these two planets for now. Saturn represents structure and form as well as conservative institutions such as banks, governments and orthodox religions. Uranus was discovered around the time of the American and French revolutions and it tends to have a revolutionary effect, tearing down old rigid structures. You only have to reflect for a moment on how the banks and the Catholic Church have fared in the past two years to see what can happen when Uranus opposes Saturn. Also, Saturn and Uranus were in exact opposition on US election day 2008 when the forces of change (Uranus) opposed and pushed out the more conservative party (Saturn.)


The star chart here is for 30 July, 2010 and it shows the opposition of Saturn and Uranus. You can click on the image for a larger, clearer view. The outer ring shows the zodiac constellations and the inner ring, the zodiac signs. Saturn is trying to maintain his balance in the sign of Libra while Uranus is in fiery Aries. You will see that Mars is conjunct Saturn and the Moon is conjunct Uranus. 0 degrees Aries and 0 degrees Libra are the points where the Sun stands at the spring and autumn equinoxes and are called cardinal points. Planetary events at the cardinal points are said to be more intense and dramatic. Also, Uranus is conjunct Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. Astrological events connected with Jupiter tend to be big.

The Moon moves quickly relative to the other heavenly bodies and it could act as a kind of trigger at this time setting off the effects of the on-going opposition of the slower planets. You will see from the news, even now as the tension builds up, that the Catholic Church and the Pope are in trouble once again. This time there is an attempt to remedy the child abuse issue with a change to Canon law. However, included in the document is the statement that the ordination of women is a grievous sin and anyone even assisting in such a dastardly act is subject to excommunication. To make matters even worse, it appears that the punishment for child abuse by a priest is that he merely be defrocked. Putting the two issues in the same paper, somehow equates the two and this caused a revolt by various women's organizations, a Uranus-like opposition to an institution equated with Saturn.

The star chart shows also that both Saturn and Uranus are in a stressful square to Pluto. The latter might have been demoted to less than a planet but its effects are still powerful and volcanic. As the god of the underworld he forces that which is hidden in the depths up and out into the light. So, fasten your seat belts.

New Moon before Easter

-----------New Moon before Easter -----------------------Ganganda Greida


The new Moon before Easter occurred this year on Monday 15 March. For a few nights after this you can see, in the west after sunset, the crescent Moon lying on its back in the form of a bowl or chalice. Within it can be seen, like the Host, a reflection of the whole Moon. Rudolf Steiner called this the Grail and used the Nordic name of Ganganda Greida.

Ganganda Greida, means something like provisions or nourishment. The expression occurs in an old legend of Parsifal written in the Nordic language similar to modern-day Icelandic. The legend originated in the 13th century and was probably based on Chrestien de Troyes’ book on Parsifal.

I was unable to take a photo this time due to cloudy weather. If you have a clear sky after sunset, it is well worth while taking a look as the mood is quite special.

Saturn square Pluto

This blog post will deal with the relation of Saturn square Pluto to earth and to mankind in general rather than to the individual. The planet Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn and is associated with authority, the government, business and orthodox religion among other things.

Pluto is the ruler of Scorpio and it was discovered as recently as 1930. It is associated with some of the happenings of that time for instance organised crime and atomic power. It also has to do with sex and with mighty sub-earthly forces. Pluto acts like a volcano, it brings matters from deep beneath the surface out into the open.

Please note that the outer ring of the star charts shows the constellations and the inner ring, the signs. Click on a star chart to get an enlarged, clear picture.

--World War l-- Saturn conjunct Pluto------Huang He Floods--Saturn opposite Pluto










Charles Harvey in his book Anima Mundi indicates the importance of looking at the complete cycle of a planet through the zodiac. Pluto spends about 21 years in each zodiac sign. From November 1983 until November 1995 Pluto was in sign of Scorpio and AIDS was the big topic during that time. Then Pluto was in Sagittarius until November 2008 when the focus shifted to religious matters and it was during this time that the sexual abuse by the clergy was exposed. About the time that Pluto moved into Capricorn the large banks and building institutions started to come under the spotlight. Inappropriate lending practices and the overblown value of properties were exposed.

World War ll-- Saturn square Pluto----India & Pakistan Conflict--Saturn conjunct Pluto










In mundane astrology, we look at the current planetary positions and aspects in relation to events occurring in the world. At this time the planet Saturn is in the sign of Libra (constellation Virgo) and is square to Pluto in the sign of Capricorn (constellation Sagittarius.) The aspect was exact on November 15. Due to the retrograde movement of Saturn the square aspect will occur again on 31 January 2010 and once more after Saturn goes direct on 21 August 2010. With this last contact of the series of squares, the planet Uranus will also be involved being opposite to Saturn and square to Pluto.

Vietnam War Protests--Saturn opposite Pluto---Watts Riots--Saturn opposite Pluto










In his book Cosmos and Psyche, Richard Tarnas relates Saturn-Pluto contacts to very difficult and negative, even evil, events in the world, including the Cold War, First World War, India-Pakistan conflict, international terrorism, massacres, Middle East crisis, political corruption, Second World War and World Trade Center destruction. One event not mentioned by Tarnas, the Huang He Floods in China in 1931, is considered to be the deadliest natural disaster ever recorded. Human casualties were estimated to have been in the region of 3.7 to 4 million people.

World Trade Center Disaster-Saturn opposite Pluto










The book Results from the Biodynamic Sowing and Planting Calendar by Maria Thun has a chapter on weather observations. She says that Pluto in square aspect to one of the old planets, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter or Saturn, causes volcanic eruptions and in regions with no volcanic activity there will be violent storms. Such an aspect with Moon or Mercury would be very brief whereas with Saturn it could last for several weeks.

We won’t know for some time what events will accompany the current Saturn-Pluto square. Here in Ireland we are experiencing the heaviest flooding in living memory and similar flooding is occurring in the UK. The swine flu vaccination program is in full swing with a product that, according to news reports, has not been properly tested while the manufacturer is being been indemnified by the Government. The first death attributed to the vaccination was reported yesterday in England and thousands of people have reported adverse effects. Some people might also be concerned that the Hadron Collider in Switzerland was started up again, after a previous aborted effort, last Friday.

November 2009--Saturn square Pluto----August 2010-Saturn square Pluto & opposite Uranus










I generally try to keep an upbeat mood in my blog but I think we do need to acknowledge that this is indeed a challenging time. By Autumn 2010 we should begin to see a change for the better.

Technorati Tag:Saturn square Pluto

Planetary Birthdays

Sun

Almost everyone is aware of their birthday and most people seem to enjoy the day. On our birthday the Sun returns to where it was in the heavens when we were born. Viewed from the earth (geocentric view) we can say the Sun has gone a full revolution through the twelve signs of the zodiac. Instead of just our birthday, we could call this our Sun birthday or Sun return.

Moon

We also have a Moon birthday, the day on which the Moon returns to the zodiac position it was in at our birth. This occurs once a month. Feelings of contentment, stable emotions, good mood and receptivity often accompany this return.

Mercury

The planet Mercury never wanders far from the Sun when viewed from Earth. Our Mercury birthday occurs therefore not too far from our Sun birthday. It can be before or after but can not vary more than a month and a bit. It encourages effective communication.

Venus

The planet Venus also stays close to the Sun but not quite as close as Mercury. Our Venus birthday or the return of Venus to its position at birth can be before or after our birthday but not much more than three months. Harmonious interactions with others, a state of cooperation, agreement, friendship, participation and aesthetic judgments are its signatures.

Mars

The planet Mars takes about 2 years, a little bit less, to complete its cycle. So about every two years we have a Mars birthday. The effects of this are most noticeable on the first Mars Return. The young child begins at this time to exert its will by saying “no” and even taking a step backwards for the first time. The drive to assert oneself, to survive, the desire to make things happen can manifest on this return.

Jupiter

The planet Jupiter takes a little less than 12 years to complete its cycle. Jupiter has to do with thinking, especially in a philosophical or religious way. It was at age twelve that Jesus went through a huge transformation and was then able to teach in the temple. A Jupiter birthday or Jupiter return is generally experienced as a good and beneficial time and can feel quite expansive.

Saturn

The planet Saturn takes about 29.5 years to complete its cycle. It could be considered the most important of the planetary birthdays and has a special connection to karma and destiny. A Saturn return is a time for us to realign ourselves with our pre-birth intentions. Life circumstances can change quite substantially at this time. See my previous blog post about Saturn return.

Ω

Moon Node

The Moon Node is the point where the Moon intersects the path of the Sun. Every month the Moon crosses the path of the Sun once on the way up-North Node and once on the way down-South Node. It takes about 18½ years for the Moon Node to return to its birth position. Rudolf Steiner stated that the days and especially the nights around the Moon Node return are the most important ones of our life and that at this time there is a thinning of the veil between the physical and spiritual world.

It is interesting and really worth while to look back over our lives, to pick out the significant events and see how they relate to the various planetary birthdays. To look up a previous or a future planetary birthday, you would need to have a computer program or you can purchase a booklet, called an ephemeris, that lists the position of the planets at various times. The computer program that I use is called Solar Fire.