The Secret Garden Issue July/August 2017

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017

IAM INFINITY #14 July/August 2017

Smiljana Gavrančić (Serbia) - Editor, Founder & Owner

Victor Olliver (UK) - Associate from the Astrological Journal of the AA GB

Sharon Knight (UK) - Associate from APAI

Frank C. Clifford (UK) - Associate from the London School of Astrology

Mandi Lockley (UK) - Associate from the Academy of Astrology UK

Wendy Stacey (UK) - Associate from the Mayo School of Astrology and the AA GB

Jadranka Ćoić (UK) - Associate from the Astrological Lodge of London

Tem Tarriktar (USA) – Associate from The Mountain Astrologer magazine

Athan J. Zervas (Greece) – Critique Partner/Associate for Art & Design

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The iris means different things to different people and cultures.

Some of its most common meanings are:

Royalty Faith Wisdom Hope Valor

Original photo by: Rudolf Ribarz (Austrian painter) – Irises

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www.londonschoolofastrology.co.uk

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CONTENTS

7 – IAM EDITOR‘S LETTER: „Destiny‘s Gate―; Electric Axis in Athens by Smiljana Gavrančić

11 – About Us 13 - Mikhail Gorbachev And Uranus Return In 2014; „The Guardian of Europe― by

Smiljana Gavrančić 21 - IAM A GUEST: Roy Gillett & Victor Olliver 29 – IAM A GUEST:

Nona Voudouri 34 – IAM A GUEST: Anne Whitaker 38 - The Personal is Political by Wendy

Stacey 41 - 2017 August Eclipses forecasting by Rod Chang 48 - T – squares: An Introduction by

Frank C. Clifford 57 - Astrology – What is Astrology? by Alexandra Karacostas 59 –

REPORT FROM PERUGIA 2017 60 - MAHĀVIDYĀS AND ASTRO-COUNSELLING by

Nunzia Coppola (Meskalila) 72 – Oracle by Wade Caves 82 – IAM HORARY: Two missing cats - similar charts, different story by Tania Daniels 85 - The synastry of Brangelina: a marriage of opposites by Victor Olliver 91 - IAM ARCANUM; The Emperor or Lord – Major Arcana IV; Who is the Emperor/Lord? by Tara Aal 93 - IAM ARCANUM; Total Eclipse Of The Heart by Kim

Buckley 99 - IAM THEATRICAL; Johnny Depp ~ All Hands on Deck by Mandi Lockley 102 - The "explosive" New Moon of July 2017 in the sign of Leo; Truth or dare? by Nona Voudouri 104 - PLUTO AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY by Alan Oken 108 - Some thoughts on the North Node, newly in Leo… by Anne Whitaker 111 - JOHN KERRY by

Marguerite dar Boggia 115 - Who‘s your Dada? by Alan Annand 125 - Astro Walk, from A to Z, through my allotment by Jadranka Ćoić 128 - The Relocated Composite Chart Part 2 by

Margaret Gray and Armand Diaz 131 - Ivanka, Ivana, Donald — and the Black Moon Lilith by

Christina Rodenbeck 133 – IAM HOROSCOPES: July/August 2017 by Cassandra Tyndall

139 – IAM A MYTH: Venus and Pluto on the American Stage by LeAnn Lacy

IAM Infinity

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IAM EDITOR’S LETTER

„Destiny’s Gate“; Electric Axis IN ATHENS

Smiljana GavranČIĆ

Three primary (and familiar) incarnational axes are the:

• Ascendant/Descendant axis - magnetic axis

• the Midheaven/IC axis - gravity axis

• and the Lunar Node axis - karmic (or fate) axis

But, there is one more axis... We can call it Electric Axis! The Vertex/ Anti-Vertex axis is also nicknamed the Electric Axis.

The astrological Vertex is a sensitive point on the chart (any chart) that during unusual, extraordinary times feels like an electric, fortunate „turning point― or a meeting with „Destiny's Gate―. So anyway, based on the astrological Vertex being located on a "turning point" in your sky chart, it then probably has something to do with "turning points" in your life. It does. Based on it being located in the 5th through 8th houses, then you can also bet it quite often has something to do with „meetings of people―.

July 10th, 2017, „Folli Follie―, Athens, Greece, 7:37pm, the Moon was at 2° Capricorn 29‘, Mars was at 3° Cancer 59‘. My Vertex is at 3° Cancer 26‘ (so my Anti-Vertex is at 3° Capricorn 26‘). In the chart of Greece Democracy from 1974, you can find Venus (jewelry – necklace, etc.) at 3° Cancer 29‘. So, at 7:37 pm on July 10th, in Athens – I got my „blue stone― in the famous „Folli Follie―. If I add now that at 2° Capricorn 13‘ I have midpoint of my Sun and Uranus and at 4° Capricorn 19‘ I have midpoint of my Venus and Pluto – you will understand why this moment was „speaking― for me so much!

I knew it that my trip in Athens had a purpose, as everything in life, but than, I fugured that I went to Athens only to get this „blue stone―. I opened the „Destiny‘s Gate― within me...After shopping, my friend Virna took me to the beautiful restaurant „The Black Duck Garden―, and we were sitting in the beautiful garden, eating tomato cherry‘s salat. Soon after that, I have decided to transform „working title― for this issue from #TheFingerInTomatoSoupIssue into #TheSecretGardenIssue. After all, in every secret garden – there is some tomato... Also, my trip was „colored― by one cat. I have to admit you, I do not hide, I am not a „cat person―, I am a „dog person― and I love my dog Lolla... In other words, I do not like cats!

The ruler of my Vertex is the Moon, at 15° Cancer 43‘, in my 8th, in applying square with Pluto (ruler of my Asc) at 21° Libra, but also in strong applying trine with my Venus at 16° Pisces 52‘, so, I have the „exit― and I can always transform myself. It is a sudden turn of fate, a radical awakening of perception.

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Can mythology reveal anything about the Vertex? Yes. The Roman god Vertumnus has roots in the Latin word vertere, to change, turn or spin. Vertumnus was a lesser god of gardens, fruit trees and seasons. Youthful and alluring, he had the power to change himself into various forms, just as the seed changes from root, to branch to leaf to fruit. Vertumnus used this ability in his avid pursuit of the goddess Pomona.

As the myth goes, Vertumnus fell in love with a strikingly beautiful goddess (in some versions nymph) named Pomona. Although she rejected all suitors, he fed his passion with the sight of her by changing his form and passing her gardens daily as a soldier, a harvester, a fisherman, etc. Ignoring him, Pomona remained devoted only to the cultivation of fruit trees. Vertumnus persisted and one day he altered his form to that of an old woman, greeted her with a passionate kiss, and proceeded to enter her gardens.

Vertumnus, (as the matron), talked to the goddess, attempting to convince her of the rewards of relationship and the dangers of rejecting love. The qualities and integrity of the youthful god Vertumnus were discussed. Finally, "she" told Pomona the story of a young man who cruelly took his own life after being spurned by his hard hearted love. He told of how the gods turned the rejecting woman into stone, but still Pomona was not persuaded.

Finally in exasperation, Vertumnus dropped his disguise and stood naked before Pomona in his true form. She thought she was seeing the sun immerge from behind the clouds and in the glorious light of Vertumnus, she opened her heart and reciprocated his love. Together still, they attend the gardens and fruit tress of the countryside.

The theme of this myth centers on a seemingly chance moment where an outstanding event occurs. To Pomona, it was like an epiphany, a sudden turn of fate, a radical awakening of perception. To Vertumnus, it was at first a well planned strategy, then finally an act of spontaneous desperation. Imagine his surprise when Pomona finally received him!

Love, relationship and union are highlighted here, not just in the desire of Vertumnus, but also in the story he told of the young man's rejection and the tragic consequences that followed. The imagery of the gardens, fruit and vine add to the feeling of ripeness, an event finally ready to happen, a fruitful experience.

„Making― this issue, for me, was very „sensitive―(intuitive). „Folli Follie― means – „crazy craziest―

„A CAT ARGUING WITH A MOUSE― – Sabian Symbol for my Vertex – interesting, isn‘t it?!

With Love,

Smiljana

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Chris Brennan is a professional astrologer from Denver, Colorado, USA. He is the author of Hellenistic Astrology: The Study of Fate and Fortune. Former President of the Association for Young Astrologers and former Research Director of the National Council of Geocosmic Research, he is currently an associate editor of The Mountain Astrologer magazine and he also serves on the board of Kepler College. He teaches online courses on astrology with students from around the world, and he offer certification through his course on Hellenistic astrology.

www.hellenisticastrology.com/book

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About Us

IAM – Infinity Astrological Magazine is a bimonthly online magazine, founded in 2015. IAM is for professionals astrologers, students of astrology and for all astrology lovers. Serbian astrologer Smiljana Gavrančić is the founding editor and owner of IAM. She specialises in exploring significant degrees in Mundane Astrology and her writings have appeared in the Astrological Journal, in The Mountain Astrologer blog and in ISAR‘s International Astrologer.

As of November 2016, all issues of IAM have become part of Alexandria iBase Project, a digital astrological database.

From March 2017 IAM is on featured in the Astrodienst section ‖Understanding Astrology‖ along with The Astrological Journal and The Mountain Astrologer.

IAM is associated with most relevant schools, journals and people in the astrological field.

- Victor Olliver (associate from The Astrological Journal, The Astrological Association GB) - Tem Tarriktar (associate from The Mountain Astrologer) - Frank C. Cllifford (associate from the London School of Astrology) - Sharon Knight (associate from APAI) - Wendy Stacey (associate from Mayo School of Astrology and The Astrological Association GB) - Jadranka Ćoić (associate from The Astrological Lodge of London) - Mandi Lockley (associate from Academy of Astrology UK).

Special members are Melanie Reinhart (The Faculty Of Astrological Studies), Roy Gillett (the president of The Astrological Association GB) and Athan J. Zervas (astrologer and Art&Design associate for the magazine).

All of IAM issues are non-thematic and in every issue there is a cryptic phrase on the cover that refers to either the essence of the skies for the two months ahead or to a main article. But there is more to it! All cryptic phrases, when read together in a sequence, reveal a story in progress. It is like a puzzle and every issue adds one more piece to it.

From the standard 70 pages of the inception issue (the cryptic phrase was The #782 Issue), today the magazine counts circa 160 pages per issue with the firm intention to grow even more in the future. About 60 astrologers from all over the world write in the magazine and more are always welcome. A future goal for the magazine is to organise conferences about astrology all around the world. www.infinityastrologicalmagazine.com

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Mikhail Gorbachev And Uranus Return In 2014 „The Guardian Of Europe―

Smiljana Gavrančić

It is generally well known that every 7 years, Uranus, the planet of changes and awakening of the cosmic mind, changes its sign within the Zodiac If 7 years is multiplied by 12 (analogues to the fact that the Zodiac consists of 12 signs), we get that the Uranus cycle is 84 years, i.e. this is as much as it takes for it to get through the whole of Zodiac, which means that living long enough to experience Uranus return is a very significant moment in one‘s life, especially having in mind that many do not live long enough to experience it. Realistically, it is possible to experience only one Uranus return.

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The last USSR President, the winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace, the man who deserves credit for ending the Cold War – Mikhail Gorbachev has recently experienced Uranus return. Uranus, in his chart, is at 13° Aries in 10 (the country‘s reputation) from 10 (he, as a ruler), thus, precisely the days of the Great Easter Cardinal Cross (April 2014) were very significant for this man, but also for the whole of Russia, the Russian people, having in mind that from his chart we can follow the destiny of this nation, even after his rule. He was supporting reforms, both internal and external. Relations with the West were significantly improved during his rule and he was the first Soviet President who visited the United States, upon the invitation of the then American President Ronald Regan. When Regan and Gorbachev met in Reykjavik on 11th October 1986, in order to talk about decreasing the nuclear ballistic missile weapons in Europe – Chiron (healing) was at 21° Gemini, at the same degree of the ruler of Ascendant of the United States of America (Washington D.C.), Mars, whereas the Sun (President), in the chart of the New Russia, will find itself on this very degree in few years time. The result of this meeting was signing of the Agreement. The Great Cross of 2014

If we look back now to the recent Great Cardinal Cross, than we find that this combination has activated the Sun (President) at 13° Cancer in the chart of the United States, then the Sun (reputation, power) at 13° Libra in the chart of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, but also his Venus in the directions (diplomacy, foreign relations) at 13° Capricorn, as well as the progressive Sun of Russia at 13° Cancer. Added to all this is the aforementioned Uranus at 13° Aries of Gorbachev. Further, having in mind that the recent situation about Ukraine (and accession of the Crimea to Russia) has significantly worsened the relations between Russia and the West (the United States of America and European Union) and that the very Gorbachev appealed to both sides, to the American President Obama and Russian President Putin, to find a peaceful solution in order not to violate the unity of Ukraine, it is not difficult to conclude that Uranus from 13° Aries in his chart is something that is important and it is here that we should consult the chart of his Uranus return.

Uranus came again to his natal position on 19th April 2014, just before the very Great Cross. Finally, Gorbachev offered his assistance in facilitating a peaceful solution related to the Ukraine crisis. Mercury at 29° Aquarius lives in his Uranus, as the ruler of his 3 (negotiations) from his 10 (him, as a ruler). The last degree (29°) of free and humanitarian Aquarius quite certainly points out to one great synthesis of openness towards finding a peaceful solution.

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Uran‘s return

Those who read my article USA and 13º Virgo - 13º Pisces Axis (you can read this article at www.astrolgosmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.com) will recognize this axis in the Ascendant – Descendant axis of Uranus return of Gorbachev, which only points out to a very strong connection of this person, and by this of the Russian people and Russia with the United States in the times ahead. Further, another interesting thing is the position of the Moon (people, nation) at 21° Sagittarius (where is Trump‘s Moon too) in exact opposition with the ruler of Ascendant of the USA (Washington D.C.), Mars, but also with the Sun (power) from the Russia‘s chart, as well as with the Moon in the directions (as everything in the directions moves by 1° in 1 year), in the Davison‘s chart (joint horoscope) of the USA and Russia, during 2014.

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The Southern Triangle

The very mystical fixed star ATRIA (21º Sagittarius), from the constellation of Triangulum Australis (the Southern Triangle) is something which I have noticed as pattern! Even the „ticket― for entering in the White House is axis 22 º Gemini/22 º Sagittarius (take a look for my article about the White House and 22 º Gemini at my blog www.astrologsmiljanagarvrancic.blogspot.com)

Specificity of this star is that it represents a kind of secret, invisible connecting and associating. It has being related to architecture and masons. It implies secret societies, coded messages, illuminations, Holy Grail. If I just tell you now that George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st President of the United States, has in his chart the Sun at 21º Gemini and that he was also the Director of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) – you will understan well the meaing of ATRIA. For example, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, has in her chart Venus (ruler of her 7th – husband) at 21º Gemini too. The most interesting detal is the Sun of Russia (president) at 21 º Gemini too – well known that Putin is the former KGB agent... 21º Libra

However, as precisely this, 2014, the Moon in the directions (people, nation) of the United States is at 21° Libra (Spica, the gift from the sky) and as it resolves this opposition through 21° Gemini - 21° Sagittarius, by a trine-sextile, it seems that there will be an option of getting out of this tensed situation. The Moon of the United States carries along all the planets from Cancer in the USA‘s chart, amongst other things the very Sun (President, rulers) at 13° Cancer, activated by the Grand Cross, so it is here where diplomacy (Libra being the symbol of diplomacy and kindness) can balance all the misunderstandings, conflicts (oppositions). 21º Aquarius

At the very degree of Neptune‘s exaltation, at 21° Aquarius, is the Ascendant (circumstances in the country) of Ukraine (24th August 1991, 18:36, Kiew, Ukraine – I got this chart from one astrologer from Ukraine who thinks that this chart „speaks― much more proper), therefore, it is not hard to conclude now that this degree will be supported both by 21° Gemini and 21° Libra, but also by 21° Sagittarius… Practically, we are getting a Great Air Trine which will be activated with the help of 21° Sagittarius, i.e. the Moon in the chart of Uranus return of Mikhail Gorbachev, i.e. the Dragon configuration.

Let us also look at the Ascendant-Descendant axis in the directions of the Ukraine at the moment of the fifth Uranus – Pluto square, i.e. in the days around the Great Easter Cross. What do we see? We see that it goes through the axis 13° Pisces - 13° Virgo and that it is precisely identical to the axis I link to the United States, as well as the Descendant – Ascendant axis from the chart of Uranus return of Gorbachev 2014. All these are indicators that everyone will be mutually directed towards each other, and that a solution may be found in a dialogue (a Great Air Trine points towards the intellect, the mind…).

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„The Guardian of Europe―

The largest star in the sky, Sirius, is deemed to be the ―Guardian of Europe‖. We know that the Sun (13° Cancer) in the chart of the United States is in a very close conjunction with this star (14° Cancer 15‘). I have already mentioned in the text above that this year, 2014, the Sun in the progressions of Russia is at 13° Cancer. However, it is interesting here that Gorbachev in his past life horoscope (Dwadasamsa chart) has his Sun precisely at 13° Cancer, which is why it is clear to us why in this life he has the need to bring harmony into peace and relations with the West, above all, with the United States…

Also, I have noted in this chart that the Moon is at 14° Aquarius, where the Moon is in Davison‘s chart (joint horoscope) of the United States and Russia, where the Moon was on the date of the Great Cardinal Cross. This is a close conjunction with the star Rotanev (16° Aquarius) from the constellation of Dolphin which can point out towards saving from every trouble through kindness and kind nature.

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The ruler is always the ―extended hand‖ of the whole nation, depending on which he, himself, is open to change – this will reflect onto the overall nation, state… The fifth Uranus-Pluto square (of 21st April 2014) has activated the fifth energy center (the throat Mercury chakra) and it is needed here, in silence, to change the convictions for the circumstances around us to change. Precisely Ascendant- Descendant in the chart of Uranus return of Mikhail Gorbachev goes through 13° Virgo - 13° Pisces axis, which is the axis of Mercury‘s exaltation and fall, thus, it is needed here to make a balance between the Mind, which has a tendency of taking, analyzing, thinking, and is of utmost intelligence (13° Virgo) and Silence (13° Pisces)… Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin

After all, we have to notice that Trump‘s Solar Arc Mercury (ruler of his natal Sun at 22° Gemini) was at 13° Virgo, in the moment of Gorbachev‘s Uranus‘ Return in 2014. If you remember, axis Asc/Desc of Gorbachev‘s Uranus‘ Return was exactly over 13° Virgo/13° Pisces. Moreover, for me the most interesting thing is that my prenatal eclipse was the lunar one, and it went over 13° Pisces/13° Virgo. So, here, the main „homework― is to learn to be in silence, not to speak, to know to keep the secret, very well. If we look for more, we can see Trump‘s Solar Arc Moon in April 2014 at 26° Aquarius (US has the Moon at the same place), in exact oppostion with his natal Mars at 26° Leo! In my article Uranus in Taurus 2018 (you can read some

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 part of this article at my blog www.astrologsmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.com) I have found that every 26°of every fixed sign „calls out― Algol (26° Taurus) and brings conflicts in the world. I have to add that 26° Taurus would be the clear image of Moscow, the capital of Russia. Even Gorbachev has at 26° Taurus the beginningof his 9th house (his future life, his purpose, abroad, etc...). In Dwadasamsa chart (chart of past life), Trump has his Mars at 21° Gemini (in oposotion with his natal Moon 21° Sagittarius – this place within the Zodiac I have mentioned at the beginning of this article several times)! Also, I have noticed Tump‘s MC in Dwadasamsa at 22° Aquarius, which is very close to 21° Aquarius (Asc of Ukraine).

If we take a look on Putin‘s chart too, we can see his IC at 21° Aquarius (Asc of Ukraine), his natal Sun at 13° Libra (which I have mentioned at the beginning of this article). In April 2014 his secondary progressed Moon was exactly at 26° Leo (Trump‘s natal Mars and in oppostion with US Moon 26° Aquarius), all in Grand Fixed Cross with 26° of fixed sign, „calling out― Algol!. His Solar Arc South Node was at 21° Libra (Spica), speaking about very karmic things in this story. His Solar Arc Venus (diplomacy) was at 13° Capricorn, „calling out― The Grand Easter Cross over 13°. In tertiary progressions Putin‘s axis IC/MC went over 26° Taurus/26° Scorpio –more than enough to understand this story very well...

Chart source:

"Horoscopes of the USA and Canada", Marc H. Penfield

„The Book of World Horoscopes―, Nicholas Campion

http://www.esoteric.kiev.ua/astrology/ukraine1.html

http://www.astro.com/

Smiljana Gavrančić is the editor, founder and owner of IAM-INFINITY Astrological Magazine. She obtained her astrological education at the Institute for Astrological Research and Education ―Johannes Kepler‖ in Belgrade, graduating in October 2010, after studying International Law at Belgrade University. She is an International Certified Professional Astrologer (ISAR C.A.P.) and a member of ISAR (International Society for Astrological Research) and of the Astrological Association of Great Britain. She specializes in mundane astrology and she practices karmic/hermetic astrology, astrology of degrees/archetypes (mythology, fixed stars) and synastry. She is writing her first book Special Degrees in Mundane Astrology. She blogs at www.astrologsmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.com in English and in Serbian.

www.infinityastrologicalmagazine.com

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The Importance of Astrology The 49th Annual Conference of the Astrological Association 8-10 September 2017 at Wyboston Lakes near Cambridge

www.astrologicalassociation.com

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IAM A GUEST Interview with Roy Gillett & Victor Olliver Smiljana Gavrančić

Roy Gillett – „One Love―

IAM: Dear Roy We are very happy to host you in our summer issue #The Secret Garden. In front of Us is the 49th AA Conference. I think that it would be great to start this interview talking about the same. Can you share with our readers what The Astrological Association does prepare for Us this year? We suppose that you can‘t tell Us right now who will get The Charles Harvey Award this year?

ROY: As usual there will be a packed programme. This year there are fifty-one sessions, offered by thirty-seven speakers. It speaks of the high standard that the vast majority of delegates choose an option and attend nearly every session. It seems to energise them with enthusiasm to meet old and make new friends during the evenings and lunch times.

After the predicable world angst in 2016, this year‘s theme ‘The Importance of Astrology‘ could not be more pertinent. Much woolly and unpleasant thinking, and the consequent actions, could have been avoided, if the Saturn/Neptune square [following on from the upheaval during the Uranus/Pluto square] had been understood and used to guide a better way through the year‘s dangers.

It has been a difficult year in peoples‘ personal lives as well. So, this year‘s Conference could be a vital place to find ways to improve our experience of all levels of our lives....and/or just to let our hair down and talk astrology to our hearts‘ content.

The Charles Harvey award nominations are in the hands of the APAE organisations and schools right now. It is amazing how many worthy astrologers there are to consider. We will have to wait just a little longer to learn who they have nominated and the Conference to know who receives the award.

IAM: What about next, 2018 year? We all know that it is going to be very special for The Astrological Association of Great Britain, because it will be the 50th Conference.

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ROY: It is amazing that unbroken for 50 years, through some pretty challenging times for astrology, all who understand its true nature and value have come together to share the highest standard of knowledge. Since 1983, nearly everyone one of the sessions offered at Conference has been recorded. All are now available digitally and can be ordered on our website at [https://www.astrologicalassociation.com/shop/recordings/mp3-index.php].Yet, the Astrological Association Conferences are more than the sessions; they are the time of year when the whole community from a wide range of schools and astrological traditions can come together and enjoy understanding and being understood.

Yes, 2018 will be a very special celebration of these 50 years of conferences. A lot is provisionally decided and in the midst of being ratified with speakers and all. So, I am afraid this will have to tease your anticipation at little longer. We plan to have many arrangements ready to announce at the 2017 Conference. We hope to see you there! „What You Do Not Wish For Yourself – Do Not Do To Others―

IAM: Your new book Reversing the Race to Global Destruction was published this year. What did inspire you to write this book and can you share with our readers what is the main message from your book? After all, can astrology as profession heal this planet?

ROY: Why did I write it? My first astrology book, ‘Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth,‘ written between 2004-07 and published in 2007, used astrology to anticipate the impending economic crisis. When it happened in 2008-09, I wrote ‘Economy Ecology and Kindness‘ to show astrology reveals the intrinsic failure of the way the world does business; since origins of modern capitalist colonialism in the late 17th century. It also shows why economic strategies that might seem to work short-term are the very opposite to a proper solution. In 2015, looking back to what I had written in 2009, it was clear that the world economy and our relationships with each other were moving in the wrong direction. Furthermore with a massive focus on outer planets in Capricorn due 2018-20, many dangerous moments of truth were [are now!] imminent.

What is its main message? Capricorn demands efficiency. Competitive, exploitative capitalism may claim to be efficient, but it is intrinsically wasteful and destructive – exploiting the planet‘s resources, setting individuals, groups, societies and countries against each other – at each other‘s throats. Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter in Capricorn has only happened twice [545CE and 1284CE] in the past 3,500 years. Through 2018-20, these outers will combine intermittently with inner planets in Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn. Earth stelliums always focus economic reality. Pluto is about death and transformation. In Capricorn, it is about radical transformation of the world‘s economic and social structures. The proper efficient new way much be based on kindness and cooperation, economic use of resources. We do not need to go without, but rather focus on what we genuinely need. Bearing all this in mind, ‘Reversing

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 the Race to Global Destruction‘ considers the misconceptions and healing alternatives, not only in our economy, but also our belief, scientific, legal, political and communication systems that support that economy. It argues that cooperation in a world based on kindness and the Confucian principle ‘what you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others‘ is the only truly efficient way of organising our affairs.

Can astrology as profession heal this planet? Not on its own – only we can do that. However, it can help as it does in our individual lives and when advising clients. There we know that understanding

and working with the transits leads to much happier and more successful lives. So, it can be for the world. For thousands of years of history, wiser people than us have offered similar solutions and been heard for a time, and then seen their message degraded and institutionalised into proselytising movements. Today, our power over the world is greater than ever before. Maybe now we cannot afford not to listen and apply the wisdom to our secular institutions. The alternative is quite frightening to consider.

This is why I wrote ‘Reversing the Race to Global Destruction‘, hoping it would contribute to what many others are thinking along these lines

IAM: In 2016-17, Astrological Association‘s income from sales and subscriptions of publications (Astrological Journal, Correlation and Astrology & Medical Newsletter) rose 15%. The editor of AJ, Victor Olliver, is very happy. We wish you to continue with this trend and to make even bigger % very soon.

ROY: 2018 also marks The Astrological Association‘s 60th birthday. Over these sixty years, the highest standard of astrological knowledge and practice has been available in The Astrological Journal, published continuously since 1959, and, since the 1970s, Correlation for Astrological Research and the 1980s Astrology and Medical Newsletter. The Association is determined firstly that this tradition should continue and be enhanced in tune with the publishing technology of the times and secondly that everything recorded should be available to more and more people. The result is today‘s glorious standard of finish publication, and also the online availability to members anywhere in the world of every copy of all three of these Journals. As more people become aware of this, membership is increasing. Everyone is encouraged to spread the word. Join The Astrological Association [https://www.astrologicalassociation.com/shop/membership.php] and have a look yourselves. Tell your friends. It is a great way to learn more about astrology and the great things individuals and the world can do with it.

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IAM: Victor made a joke and he suggested that We ask you – Are you still hippie at heart?

ROY: After the Manchester atrocity, it was heartening to see the ‘One love‘ themed concert that drew together and helped so many of the younger generation. ‘One love‘ has be my preferred closing to messages for nearly 40 years now. Not just because I like to remember Bob Marley [it is always good to do that, but he came later], but because ‘one love‘ is the very heart message of the 1960s from the Peace Corps through to the Uranus/Pluto-in-Virgo driven Summer of Love, and then on to Neptune in Sagittarius through the 1970s, when the wise travelled the world. The drugs, even the music and sexual promiscuity, were no more than experimental bi-products of a generation escaping the elements of brutal, if unintended, arrogance in their parent and grand parent generations. The sad paradox is that it was the drugs, music, and sex that endured into the increasingly materialistic self-indulgent 1980s right through until our present day. In a sad contrast, genuine one love was marginalised away from the mainstream into idealistic sub-groups always there to be heard and help, but often dismissed as middle class dreamers, or worst of all ‘scruffy hippies‘.

In the sense of genuine ‘one love‘ for all, I am both one of these dreamers and a hippie. Surely I am not ‘the only one‘! Are not most of us, when we have the courage to strip away the self-indulgent commercialisation that the self-serving system insists [falsely] is the only unavoidable reality?

IAM: What you would love to give as advice to IAM? And what do you think about your synastry with our magazine? We have two charts, in first chart we had the Sun at Algol, and when progressed Sun changed the sign, at touched 0º Gemini, We decided to make a new chart, as in myth about Gorgone Medusa, We even changed the birth place, now We are „living― in other country. Which chart do you prefere more? We had our second delivery, and this time we were born around the lunar eclipse at 22º Leo!

ROY: Interestingly, The Astrological Association also has two charts. Comparing the four in detail would require a major article, but there are a couple of basic points that stand out. To show these, I have simplified all four charts to include just the main planetary points [see attached document].

The Association‘s 1958 birth chart with Saturn in Sagittarius rising and Jupiter conjunct the MC, shows what a challenging, but unavoidable task our founders set themselves and those that were to follow. The Association had to face problems and sustain a balance in the full light of public scrutiny.

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We were energised by the Sun immediately before its Summer Solstice high point, but struggled to be recognised due to the eight house Uranus and Moon conjunct Pluto across the Leo/Virgo cusp with Regulus at the midpoint. The chart of the Association becoming a charity in 2013, does not change our mission, but regenerates it. The strong grand trines in water offer essential nourishment. The Moon/Venus conjunction in Leo, squared the nodal axis, applies the pressure to use this nourishment so astrology can be recognised and loved throughout the world. The task is no easier, but the resources are constantly coming.

The IAM 2015 birth chart also defines its fundamental mission. The late Taurus Sun applying to join Mars, Mercury and Moon to make a Gemini stellium across the MC clearly shows this mission to be communication in the broadest sense. With Virgo, the other Mercury ruled sign, rising this communication will conscientiously detailed. Venus in Cancer in the tenth emphasis the sense of family. Jupiter in Leo in the eleventh trined Uranus in Aries in the eighth shows an innovative service to this family. The Moon being just in the second day of its Gemini cycle marks the project is very much at its fertile beginning.

By way of contrast the 2017 chart has a greater feel of maturity, getting on with the work in hand. The lunar energy is rising strongly, but applying to an eclipse in less than 3 days. So, this would not be good as a birth chart. The bottom half on the chart is packed between the second and fifth houses, focussed on Aquarius and Aries. Mercury and Sun in Aquarius in the third, masses of astrological communication, Pisces in fourth devotion to the needs of others, a busy Aries fifth house, the courage to create and encourage new ways of achieving your goal.

So, as with the Association, but in a distinctly differently focussed way, the IAM second chart represents the means by which IAM reinforces and delivers its mission to communicate astrology to the world. Long may you continue! Victor Olliver‘s „Army―

IAM: Dear Victor, we are more than happy to host you again in our magazine, in this joint interview with Roy Gillett. This time the main reason is that In 2016-17, the Astrological Assoc ation‘s income from sales and subscriptions of publications (Astrological Journal, Correlation and Astrology & Medical Newsletter) rose 15%. We know that you are very happy, but can you share with us how do you feel?

VICTOR: Thank you Smiljana – and love the cover of this issue of Infinity. I am delighted that income is up, and is a testament to the growth of the Astrological Association in general. Last year‘s conference was hugely attended, and this year‘s (at Wyboston Lakes) also looks to be another winner. The 2018 conference will most probably be the biggest ever.

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IAM: Since you became the editor of The Astrological Journal we all noticed the new style and a lot of changes. What is ‘the secret‘ for success? Do you do it all alone, or you have ‘army‘ around you?

VICTOR: I like the idea of having an army. Olliver‘s Army. I couldn‘t possibly put together a magazine like Journal alone. There are all the contributors, our wonderful designer Cat Keane, the sub Ian Tonothy – and Roy Gillett and Wendy Stacey are a huge help in terms of reviewing the magazine and giving feedback. People like Frank Clifford and Anne Whitaker are forever sending in ideas and making suggestions. Certainly the process of commissioning, discussing ideas and editing copy is mainly down to me, but I do feel part of an extended team. I set out to make changes and ready the magazine for a more commercial future, but the task of taking that forward falls to the AA itself, since Journal is their magazine. The ‘secret‘ is really to edit the magazine the way one would edit any other kind of magazine that wants to be read and not just flicked through – you have to seek to interest your audience, work against boredom thresholds, surprise, vary pace and tone, engage with readers, and select eye-catching visuals. Some people may think it‘s worthy just to stack up columns of text with chart wheels rolling all over the page, but that‘s not my approach. Astrology is not some branch of mechanical engineering or tick-tock horology. It is many things including an art, and Journal tries to reflect this reality.

IAM: What are you preparing for us for 2018? We suppose that you will continue to be the editor for so many years?

VICTOR: I don‘t know about many years – I take each year at a time, and I have learnt not to plan too much ahead or take anything for granted, least of all my own meandering life. My three-year commitment ends this year – I can‘t believe I‘ve done this job for nearly three years now – but I am happy to stay in post for the time being. 2018 is a special year for the AA, what with its 60th birthday and 50th conference, so there‘ll be plenty of celebration of the AA‘s work and Journal‘s part in all this. Journal‘s archive going back to 1959 is awesome with work by leading astrologers, past and present. It will certainly be an honour to edit the celebratory issues while also fixing an eye on the future. Astrology is in growth once again. Its amazing diversity is a strength.

IAM: Are you going to be at 49th AA Conference this year, and ofcourse, at 50th next year, too? Any special costume?

VICTOR: I certainly plan to be. It‘s no secret that I have heavy domestic responsibilities and I have to work around these. As for any special costume, my decadent velvet suit probably will suffice. I like people stroking the suit because the fabric is so silkily soft. I am known to purr.

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Roy Gillett B.Ed (Hons Ldn). A student of Tibetan Buddhism and President of The Astrological Association, Roy has been a full-time astrologer and consultant since 1976. He has been an astrology software adviser since 1988, is an astro-finance researcher and an international conference speaker. Roy has published mundane forecasts from 1978, writing The Astrological Journal‘s ―Working with the Planets‖ column since 2002. His books include Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth; Economy, Ecology and Kindness and The Secret Language of Astrology. Published in 2017 his Reversing the Race to Global Destruction uses astrology to question and correct contemporary economic, educational and political assumed ‗truths‘ and show how astro-objectivity, combined with rigorous principle, could start to heal the psychotic malaise that dominates today‘s world affairs.

Victor Olliver is the editor of The Astrological Journal, published by the Astrological Association. He is also media officer of the Association of Professional Astrologers International. Based in the UK, he trained to be a barrister before becoming a magazine feature writer, and then an editor on a number of publications including magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has two awards from the Periodical Publishers‘ Association for his celebrity and travel journalism. He graduated with a distinction diploma in natal and mundane astrology from the Mayo School in 2012. Victor is also the author of the annual Lifesurfing series of astrological forecasting books

The Astrological Journal is available to members of the Astrological Association - here is the details: http://astrologicalassociation.com/shop/membership.php . Alternatively, you can buy individual copies - email [email protected]

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IAM A GUEST Interview with Nona Voudouri „Fly Me To The Moon―

Smiljana Gavrančić

„Εναλλακτική Παιδεία―

IAM: Hello Nona, IAM is so happy to host you. Since this issue #TheSecretGardenIssue – you are starting to share with Us your astrological knowledge. We want to wish you Welcome and to ask you how did you get into astrological world?

NONA: First of all, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the invitation. It‘s my honor to be part of your magazine, among such brilliant astrologers. My relationship with astrology began many years ago. I always read, bought books and tried to decode the symbols of this language. At the age of twenty three, I visited a famous Greek astrologer, Theodora Dakou. She told me many things and among them that I could also deal with astrology. But I had to walk in other paths at that phase of my life. Astrology in the form that exists today for me, came as something inevitable, as something that had to be done. Just like a door full of light, opened at the right time, as if it was the final purpose.

IAM: We met recently, when I was in Athens, in one beautiful astrological school Εναλλακτική Παιδεία. What does it mean - Εναλλακτική Παιδεία? I mean, can you translate it for Us in English? Can you tell Us how did you find out for that school ,and something more about the school?

NONA: Εναλλακτική Παιδεία means ‗‘Alternative Education‘‘. When I decided to study astrology, I started searching and asking at foreign schools, until one day I saw the site of ‗‘Alternative Education‘‘ astrology school, here in Greece. I called, I spoke to Vasia and from that moment everything was done automatically. I think that day was one of the most important of my life. Universe took my hand and led me at the right place, among wonderful people, full of knowledge and sincere mood to share it. I could say so many things about the people who taught me, Vasia Konti, Elena Menegou, Dimitris Koronakis, Giorgos Vasilakos, Yannis Yalamas, Mary Galanou (who is

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 going to teach me Horary Astrology this year) and teachers from other countries like you and Jerry Brione… You are all wonderful, so skilled and so eager to convey knowledge! I feel blessed that I am part of it all. I have spoken with classmates from abroad (the school provides the opportunity to attend courses through an online platform so students from any country in the world are in the classroom just like the others) and they are also excited about the high quality of the school which lacks nothing from other foreign schools as they say, on the contrary.

IAM: I met lovely Vasia Konti (the owner of ‗‘Eναλλακτική Παιδεία‘‘), can you share with Us what kind of teacher she is?

NONA: She is just wonderful as a teacher and as a person too. She‘s communicative, substantial, with huge experience in prediction. She keeps nothing for herself, she loves her students sincerely and gives them opportunities. What she managed with this school, ‗‘Eναλλακτική Παιδεία‘‘, was a huge step for astrology in Greece and it‘s going to change many things to better. I love her so much!

IAM: For me, the most interesting part from your biography is-that you are not only astrologer, you are also an artist, a singer? How music goes with astrology and how your Venus from Scorpio „feels― and „expreses― art?

NONA: Music and astrology have a close relationship. Somehow the mathematics of the universe is expressed by both of them. Concerning my Venus in Scorpio; Feels deep and in an absolute way. If I love a song or a kind of music or a movie, an artist, that‘s it and it‘s forever. If I don‘t like something or someone‘s work it‘s almost impossible to change my opinion. For me, singing is a physical need. And I have decided to behave with respect to this need. For a long time it became a ‗‘job‘‘ and that was dangerous, I realized this would lead my relationship with it in the end. I took a distance and now there is not any problem.

IAM: Your favorite artist is? Did you ever checked your synastry? We are sure there are some signs?

NONA: I‘ m a Libra, I could not have only a favorite artist and as you can understand is difficult for me to choose (laugh). I have been influenced by so many artists, Greeks and foreigners, and many kinds of music. I love the same Maria Dimitriadis and Amalia Rodriguez whose Moon and Mars conjuct my Venus, North Node and Uranus, her North Node conjuct my Mc and her Venus, Mercury and Neptune trines my Moon/Neptune conjuction. Ella Fitzgerald and Robert Plant at the same time, Marika Ninou who was a folk singer and Maria Callas too. They are all of them great singers from different kinds of music as you can see. These days I have obsession with Thom Yorke, for example and a Greek singer, Efstathios Drakos. Thom Yorke‘s Jupiter/Pluto conjuction falls on my Mercury, his Sun conjuct my Sun/Pluto conjuction and his Venus conjuct my Mc. Of course there are more things to say, I mentioned only some of them.

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IAM: Does your chart right now show some signs that you are starting to be involve with online magazine from abroad, e.i. with IAM Infinity?

NONA: Oh, yes of course! Right now, transit Jupiter is on my ninth‘s house cusp. I knew that something good is going to happen when Jupiter stationed on February 2017 at 23 degrees of Libra, exactly where my Mars is, in the ninth house. We know that ninth house is related to publishing and other countries. Mars is the ruler of my third house and Jupiter will be at 23 degrees of Libra again on September. My progressive Moon has recently changed sign and it‘s at 00*37‘ of Gemini right now and it‘s going to conjuct my natal Jupiter in a few days. Recently, I started a collaboration with ‗‘Astro – team by Oroskopos.gr‘‘ too, (Oroskopos.gr is a famous astrological site here in Greece) in which astrologers from ‗‘Εναλλακτική Παιδεία‘‘ are writing. I write too and I am the chief – editor of the team. So, my days are full of writing and other ‗‘Gemini‘‘ and ninth‘s house things all the time as you suspect and I enjoy it!

IAM: What about Draconic astrology? You told me that you would love to explore that astrological brunch more? Did my lecture (which I gave recently in Εναλλακτική Παιδεία) inspired you enough to make some deeper steps?

NONA: I remember the day that Vasia told me about Draconic astrology. ‗‘You should deal with it, Nona, it‘s so you‘‘, she said. When I started searching I was so surprised, it was amazing. When I saw my Draconic chart for the first time, I felt a heart beating. Draconic is like a hidden, valuable key. So, I was seeing maps all the time and I was thinking ‗‘Oh my God, it‘s unbelievable!‘‘. Then Vasia told us about you and your lecture and I said ‗‘Yes! Someone heard my prayers!‘‘. That day was amazing, and I thought how right Vasia was about you. Of course you inspired me and I think not only me, many others too. Draconic has just started for me and I‘m sure, this path will be wonderful.

IAM: What about your synastry with IAM charts? Can you tell Us what did you find between your chart and draco charts of IAM and your draco and natal charts of IAM? What is the main message in your synastry with our magazine?

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NONA: Well, basically I‘ll speak about New IAM. Magazine‘s Jupiter conjuct my Mars, ruler of my third house at same degree , 23rd of Libra. That‘s amazing! North Node of IAM conjuct my Mc, and IAM‘ s Sun trines my Pluto. IAM‘s Pluto conjuct my ASC and Venus/Mars makes an opposition to my Sun/Pluto conjuction and a trine to my Moon/Neptune conjuction. But how awesome is that IAM‘s Sun at 19*22‘ of Aquarius conjuct my Draco Mercury at 19*55‘ of Aquarius? IAM‘s Draco Mercury conjuct my Vx and Draco Moon trines my Sun. My Draco Saturn makes an opposition to IAM‘s Moon but I don‘t think it‘s bad, Saturn is an important planet for me. And we have a Venus/Venus and a Jupiter/Jupiter conjuction. There are so many aspects between all the charts of mine and IAM charts, we‘ll need many pages just for report and analyze them. The important thing is that nothing happens at random.

IAM: Your plans for the future? What kind of article you would love to share with IAM readers in the future? If I ask you at the end for some song which you would love to sing for Us, what you would choose, and why?

NONA: My plans for the future includes a lot of astrology studies, I believe it‘s a one way street anyway; Draconic, Horary, Hellenistic and Mundane. So, practice and studying, writing and music of course. I would like to share many things with you, I‘ve already some of them in my mind. I love that new face of IAM , so positive and dreamy! I am sure that it will inspire all of us for the best. So, a positive and dreamy vintage song from me to you with all my love; ‗‘Fly me to the Moon‘‘.

Nona Voudouri was born and raised in Thebes. Her initial studies were on Music and Vocal Art. Her love for Astrology appeared at an early age. She completed her studies at the ―Alternative Education‖ astrology school. Also attended specialized seminars by distinguished astrologers from Greece and other countries. In 2017, she began a new cycle of courses that encompass Draconic , Mundane Astrology as well as the ancient art of Horary Astrology. She firmly believes that apprenticeship never ends. She collaborates with Oroskopos.gr as a columnist.

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http://mountainastrologer.com/tma/

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IAM A GUEST Interview with Anne Whitaker „From behind the 12th House sofa…― Smiljana Gavrančić

IAM: Hello Anne, We are so happy to host you! Our first question for you will be this: What does happen when „Jupiter meets Uranus―? We are sure that you know why we are asking you this?!

ANNE: Well, just a quick look at the new horoscope for IAM for 8.2.17 does give me a slight clue…! IAM NEW was born in a Jupiter/Uranus opposition year, the last Jupiter/Uranus conjunction in Pisces/Aries having been in 2010/11. The conjunction takes place every 14 years, and I wrote my first book about this potent energy brew during the Aquarian conjunction of 1997/8. In brief, this is a combination of energies regarded as dynamic, unusual, disruptive, expansive, unpredictable – breaking down the old order, stimulating breakthroughs to new levels of expression and understanding, individually and collectively.

So - this is a perfect year for IAM to be breaking new ground; I understand there is to be a print version before long? My Ascendant is on the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint, which might be a reason why my obsession with the cycle has never quite gone away!

IAM: You studied with Dr Liz Greene and the late Charles Harvey at the Centre for Psychological Astrology during the 1990s, obtaining their Diploma in 1998. Can you share with Us some experience from that period of your life? My first thought regarding 1998 is that in this, 2017, we are having the same eclipses like 19 years ago, e.i. 1998, so, We suppose that 1998 was for you so so important?

ANNE: Yes, indeed – it was the year I graduated from the Centre for Psychological Astrology. However, when transiting Pluto hit my third house Jupiter in 1990, I decided I needed a new challenge. This involved getting up at 5am on a Sunday morning every couple of months or so, catching the red-eye plane flight at 7.10 am from Glasgow to London, spending the day studying at the CPA, then flying home on the 7pm flight. My very first seminar was with Darby Costello, on the Ninth House. Rather apt, don‘t you think?

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After five years I had clocked up twenty seminars, which enabled me to finish meeting the total seminar requirement of fifty whole day seminars during 1995-8. There were also supervision groups, supervised case practice, term essays, one year‘s therapy and a 50,000 word thesis to be satisfactorily completed for the Diploma. It was a truly brilliant experience to learn from astrologers of the calibre of Liz and Charles and their fellow tutors at the CPA. Worth getting up for!

IAM: You have a regular column in the UK‘s Astrological Journal, also writing and reviewing for The Mountain Astrologer Magazine and for our magazine - IAM Infnity. Can you tell Us something about all three magazines. How do you feel each one and their editors?

ANNE: I‘ve a bi-monthly column at Dell Horoscope magazine, called ―The astro-view from Scotland‖, which began in January 2017. I think my first article for IAM was in 2016. My association with TMA goes back to the 1990s, and I‘ve had articles and reviews published in the Astrological Journal going back to the late 1980s: I think the first ever one for them was a report on a conference called ―On being and becoming an astrologer‖…

I have great respect for those magazines in the work they do to promote quality astrology in all its diversity of approaches and disciplines. I like IAM‘s particularly wide range of contributors internationally. Regarding the editors: they are all people of integrity, enthusiasm, good humour, and deep commitment to our great art. As a contributor, I have always been treated with respect, openness to suggestions and ideas, and appreciation of what I contribute. I think as a writer you get the best out of editors if you are reliable, get your copy in on time, treat them with respect, take constructive criticism in a positive spirit – and don‘t take yourself too seriously.

IAM: Have you checked your synastry with our magazine? You know that We have two charts? What did you notice? Do you have some advice for our magazine?

ANNE: My horoscope has very strong connections to both: here are just a couple of examples:

IAM OLD‘s ninth house Sun at 28 Taurus falls exactly on my North Node/MC, with IAM OLD‘s three Gemini planets in my tenth house, sextile my ruler, Mercury.

IAM NEW‘s MC at 22 Leo is exactly conjunct my Sun, with all five other Leo planets from my 12th House falling in IAM NEW‘s ninth house. So – you and your magazine are dragging me out from behind my 12th house sofa, Smiljana! I haven‘t agreed to any astrological interviews for years…

Since you ask…just one piece of advice, again coming back to that potent Jupiter /Uranus opposition in IAM NEW‘s horoscope, with the last pass of Jupiter opposite Uranus this autumn: one of the big dangers of Jupiter combined with Uranus is over-confidence, over-reach, over-extension. I‘d advise

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 you to be careful not to take on many more contributors, since that extends the editorial/production task. And there is a limit to which an editorial team can cope without becoming over-stretched, over- stressed, over-tired. Then quality of production and morale can begin to slide. So – take care both of your own wellbeing and that of your brilliant team. Over-enthusiasm can lead to burnout and an enterprise can be damaged or fail because of this.

I know about this from personal experience…I let Jupiter/Uranus enthusiasm driven by a Pluto transit push me too far at the end of the 1990s, then along came a ten-year Neptune transit and I crashed from 2001-2008, not returning to astrological practice till 2012 – a whole Jupiter cycle later. You and your team are doing a brilliant job for our community. But we all have our limits and need to try and live within them….

IAM: For this issue, We made an joint interview with Roy Gillett (the president of AA GB) and Victor Olliver (the editor of AJ). In one part of the interview We asked Victor does he has some his „army― who is helping him to make every issue. He mentioned that one member of „Victor‘s army― is – you, too. What can you tell Us about this?

ANNE: Well, I am more than delighted to know that I am one of Victor‘s ‗army‘. He and I both have an anarchic streak, and a rather black sense of humour, which has a lot to do with our positive working relationship. I greatly admire the energy and media savvy he has brought to editing Journal, and I hope he stays with us for a good long time to come. (The first drink‘s on you, Victor!!)

IAM: And what about ―The Moon‘s Nodes in Action―?

ANNE: Well, you are spot on re the impact of the 1998 and 2017 eclipses on my professional life in more ways than one, Smiljana! In 1998 I submitted my CPA thesis ―The Moon‘s Nodes in Action‖ for the Diploma. There were some plans around its publication the following year which didn‘t come to fruition, and I forgot about it and moved on. However, in 2015 a computer specialist and former astrology student of mine rescued the 1998 files from their computer graveyard and produced a beautiful e-edition of the book.

Thanks at least partly to Astrodienst‘s publishing an extract from it last year, this year 2017 I checked my stats for the free download of ―The Moon‘s Nodes in Action‖ and discovered that thousands of people have taken copies from my www.astrologyquestionsandanswers.com site. I am also receiving very positive feedback.

There seems to be a huge interest in the Moon‘s Nodes. I wrote the thesis partly because of my own obsession– North Node exactly conjunct the MC, what can I tell you?! – and partly because I was impatient with all the theorising (as of 1998, since there have been other quality books written on the Moon‘s Nodes since then) and wanted to investigate the Nodes‘ impact in the actual lives of real people – to test out the traditional claims of the Nodes as having a ‗fated‘ feel to them. I found strong Nodal activity to be present to a very significant degree at times of symbolic – and at times literal – conception, birth and death in the ever-changing patterns of people‘s lives.

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IAM: One „bird― told Us that your articles are part of Alexandria iBase Project since recently? Is that true? And can you tell Us something more about this?

ANNE: Yes. I contacted AiBP at the start of this year, and offered them my two research studies ―The Moon‘s Nodes in Action‖ and ―Jupiter Meets Uranus‖ (the second, e-publication of the original print book, updated to include material on the 2010/11 conjunction) as free downloads to be included in the archive. They accepted, and I am going to put together some articles to donate as well. AiBP is a fabulous project – another visionary Jupiter/Uranus enterprise! Hopefully many of us will contribute to it as time goes on.

IAM: At the end, if We ask you to give the title for this interview with Us, and imagine that this interview is your new book – what would be the title, and why?

ANNE: Aha, I do have a new book in mind, and already have a working title. But I‘m not going to tell anyone yet – not even you !! Why don‘t you call the interview ―An interview with astrologer Anne Whitaker…from behind the 12th House sofa…‖ ( come to think of it, that last phrase might make a very good book title!)

And thank you, Smiljana. You are a truly inspirational person – but I do always worry that you aren‘t getting enough sleep…

Anne Whitaker lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. She has a long background in adult education, generic and psychiatric social work, and private practice as a counsellor, counselling supervisor, and mentor. She has been an astrologer, teacher, and writer since 1983. Anne studied with Liz Greene and the late Charles Harvey at the Centre for Psychological Astrology during the 1990s, obtaining their Diploma in 1998. Her first print book, ―Jupiter Meets Uranus‖ was published by the AFA in 2009. Anne writes at www.astrologyquestionsandanswers.com where her two free research studiescan be downloaded and other eBooks purchased. She has bi- monthly columns in the UK‘s Astrological Journal and in USA‘s Dell Horoscope magazine, as well as writing and reviewing for The Mountain Astrologer Magazine. She is available for astrological consultations, mentoring and tuition both in person (Glasgow, Scotland, UK) and via skype. Contact: email: info@ anne-whitaker.com and via Facebook and Twitt

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The Personal is Political Extract from book, Uranus Square Pluto

Wendy Stacey

Firstly, before talking about any cycle it is important to understand its relevance to human society and consciousness.

‗The personal is political‘ is a phrase that was first coined by feminists and taken up by activists in the late 1960s, and it has a historical and significant meaning for astrologers. We are all born at a point in time at which a multitude of other things is happening. This point in time not only captures the astronomy of birth but a snapshot of the cycles of cultural, political and economic thought. Generations are born into this era, carrying with it the social climate of the time. We think of history in ‗times‘, ‗periods‘ and ‗generations‘ and each of us is born at a time which not only confines us but provides opportunities for the political framework in which we were born. We are all part of these continuous cycles which contribute to the present manifestations of politics and social phenomena.

Interestingly, the phrase ‗the personal is political‘ was turned on its head in later years and many now believe that it is not the personal that is political but rather that the political is personal! Like many other astrologers, I have an interest in psychology and social and economic issues. I have always found astrology to be a interesting synthesis between the two — the great mediator between nature and nurture. Astrologers have created a consistent theoretical framework in order to understand the individual on a political level and to also understand subsequent generations based on the astronomy that they carry with them.

To understand the complexities within your natal chart it is often interesting to consider what was going on around the world when you were born. How were the astrological signatures in your birth chart acted out socially at the time you were born? What have you taken from that moment and how much of this point in history is still lived out in your own life, consciously or subconsciously?

It is interesting to read the newspapers that were printed around the time of your birth, or to search online for information about world events of the time, to see how these describe not just the mundane astrology but also the individual born into the same moment. Although you may not have contributed

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 to the social issues that were going on, your parents were socially involved and you are a product of those times and politics too, and continue to be so.

In late April 1889, when Neptune was conjoined by Pluto, Oklahoma City and neighboring Guthrie were formed by over 10,000 people in a rush to claim the land. Soon after, the powerful Eiffel Tower opened in Paris, thousands died when a dam flooded in Pennsylvania, and hundreds of Germans and Americans died when their ships sank in a typhoon off Samoa; in Austria, Adolph Hitler was born.

A close friend of mine who was born in March 1966 has Venus in Aquarius opposing his Leo Moon, with Jupiter in Gemini in the third house as the focal point of a T-Square. Mercury, which disposits his Jupiter, is conjunct his Aries Ascendant. It is no surprise that the papers during the week of his birth were filled with headlines about the first space docking by US astronauts and about British United Airways buying and building fleets of planes to cater for cheaper holidays and speedier travel. A week later, British Airport Authorities was formed. These were quite pivotal times for how and where people could travel. From the time he was a small boy, my friend‘s dream was to become a pilot. It was the idea of travelling anywhere and at any time that appealed to him. He took his personal pilot‘s license in his thirties, as a hobby, and it is no surprise that later in life he worked for British Airport Authorities, supporting and implementing their flight network infrastructure!

While teaching at the London School of Astrology on this subject one evening, students‘ birth dates were looked at in conjunction with mundane events that were occurring. One woman was born on the day the Thames river was being cleaned out and the sewers of London were being repaired. The woman was a plumber! This was not surprising either for the mundane event or the individual living out her chart with a significant amount of planets in Scorpio.

One other woman was born on the day that Mahatma Gandhi died. Within the class we discussed how his death would have been felt by people in India and around the world and words such as despair and loss of hope were raised. What this particular student shared with the class had significant meaning regarding how the political becomes personal. She talked about her work as a psychotherapist and told us that in her work and because of the clients she worked with, her most common offering was, ‗to take their hope, carry it and protect it for them until they want it returned‘. When we looked at the ephemeris it was not surprising to see that on that particular day Jupiter in Sagittarius was making an opposition to Uranus in the sky.

The point of these examples is to highlight how we all carry the mundane events of our birth time with us in our own lives, irrespective of class, race or gender, and this may be borne out in a number of different ways.

Similarly, during the Uranus–Pluto squares, it is not surprising for astrologers to see clients who are having points at the early cardinal degrees of their charts being highlighted as areas of concern, in particular the luminaries and/or angles, as the Uranus–Pluto square triggers these areas of their chart. Their circumstances are always different but the themes of personal crisis are more common than not. Thus, those born around the solstices and equinoxes will be born with the Sun and possibly other planets at early cardinal and will also pick up the squares that are about to occur.

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Another important point to note here is that due to the unusual orbit and speed of Pluto‘s cycle (travelling faster through some parts of the zodiac than others), we have an older generation that are experiencing Pluto half-returns. Many of those born with Pluto in Cancer (1912–1939) will have Pluto in Capricorn opposing their own natal Pluto. On a mundane level we can see the issue of an ageing society already been addressed (Capricorn is about time), and this will also be felt on an individual level as well. Issues of food, family, the home and respect for one‘s elders will also be addressed as Pluto opposes those with Pluto in Cancer over the 2010s.

Hence, it is not just the astrological significators of the time that tell us about what is happening and about those experiencing it at the time, but also those born within that era paint us a larger picture of how that planetary cycle unfolds, how it works and is lived out on a human level.

Wendy Stacey, B.A, M.A, Dip LSA is the principal of the international Mayo School of Astrology and tutor for the London School of Astrology. She is the Chairperson for the Astrological Association (since 2002), has written over 50 articles for students in the Astrological Journal and lectures globally on psychological, mundane, research and financial astrology. She is the author of books Consulting with Astrology (2012), Uranus Square Pluto (2012, The Houses by Element (2016), Astrology and Relationships (2016) and contributed to The New Generation (2012) and The Professional Astrologer (2016). In 2014, Wendy was the recipient of the UK‘s Charles Harvey award for ‗Exception Service to Astrology‘. Her website is www.wendystacey.com and she can be contacted at [email protected]

www.mayoastrology.com

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2017 August Eclipses forecasting Rod Chang

Watch out! that Bloody bloody full Moon, the Lunar Eclipse will happen on 7th August 2017 at 18:10 (GMT), when the Moon at 15º25‘ Aquarius opposite Sun at 15º25‘ Leo. The high tension we are experiencing now and several important incidents happening in European countries makes me give this kind of warning for this Eclipse season. The astrological configuration of both the Solar and Lunar Eclipses are also suggesting aggressive and revolutionary qualities coming toward to us.

On the personal level, the Lunar Eclipse shows us the result of our work, it gives us a chance to see effort that we have put in before, or maybe you will realise and scream ―what have I done!―

It also has an important impact in our relationship, the houses location of this Lunar Eclipse (Sun and Moon) in your chart can indicate what area you should pay attention to, in your relationship, for next 6 months. More important, if you have any planets or Angles located at 14-16º Leo-Aquarius, you may realise the huge impact that is going to affect your life. Understanding the meaning of the planet that

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 is touched by the Eclipse in your chart can help you prepare and get ready to participate with this life changing point. Fire! Fire!

The signs of this Lunar Eclipse can tell us some qualities of the events we will witness in the next six months. The elements of Eclipses are Air and Fire. Air signs suggest human society related events, political disputes, protests, important social movements. They also suggest natural disasters caused by powerful winds such as storms. Moon in Aquarius emphasises that revolution and social movement could be media focus of this eclipse season.

On another side, the Fire signs suggest aggressive actions such warfare and massacre, as well as bush fire, big fire, explosion, heat wave, drought and famine. Sun in Leo suggests: Royal family, country leaders, celebrities, children, entertainment and wildlife are the areas which will be affected most, especially as the Solar Eclipse will also happen in Leo. Mars conjunct the Sun Jupiter trine the Moon

The planets aspect the Sun and Moon could add flavour to those events. Mars is conjunct the Sun at Lunar Eclipse. Traditional astrology gives both Sun and Mars hot and dry qualities. With both located in the Fire sign Leo and Mars as a planet of action and warfare, this is a double whammy of extreme hot weather and huge aggressive incidents. Those countries which have planets and angles near 6-20º‘ Aquarius-Leo and those which have the Sun, Moon or Mars on the Angles of the Lunar Eclipse chart are more likely to be affected. (for example Mexico, Nigeria, Algeria Tunisia, Italy, Croatia,Poland and most East European country).

On another side, Jupiter is trine the Moon and sextile the Sun, bringing a happy feeling and blessing. During certain situations, wisdom and religion ( or anything you believe) can be helpful. Important aspects during eclipse season Saturn Chiron square

Saturn Chiron square are major outer planets aspect of 2017. Even if it doesn't form a tight aspect during the eclipse season, I invite you to pay more attention to this aspect. It suggests the wounds come from the system, authorities, from political issues to private lives. The domestic issue could be conflict between parents and children, or realising those issues buried deep in the family history. On the Mundane level this could mean social injustice and those victims who have been sacrificed for political or economical reasons, people who have been ignored by society. For example, the change of healthcare in the U.S is going to make millions of people lose their medical insurance. However Chiron does not only bring feelings of hurt, it can also heal, protect from authority, create (or extend) protection towards minority groups through legislation. This is the positive side of the Saturn Chiron aspect but as this is a waning square which has inclined towards making people feel pain and fight to destroy injustice.

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Jupiter sextile Saturn

Although this sextile looks happy, never forget this is the end of the Jupiter Saturn cycle. After the Jupiter Saturn square last year, they have come to sextile before stepping into a semi square. Keep an eye on economic and political situations during August and September, it will give you a clue as to how the global economy will develop and how our society will change. Jupiter square Pluto

Watch out for this aspect, the financial markets usually decline when Jupiter forms a hard aspect with Pluto. It suggests the tension of international dispute, religious conflict, threats to social security systems, corruption and panic in financial markets. As Jupiter exact square Pluto in the end of November and early December last year and March-April 2017, it is worth reviewing what has happened during those times, the sequel of those events might be appearing this summer. Mercury opposite Neptune

Mercury opposite Neptune suggests the challenge of truth, what is real and what is fantasy? Chaotic situations could appear in transport, information, communication and education. IT problems not only happen during Mercury retrograde, and Mercury will be retrograde from 10th August to 6th September and also opposite Neptune on the Solar Eclipse day. This means the influence of this aspect could last very long time even when they are no longer opposite. So back up your data and keep it safe and double check your itineraries when you travel. Solar Eclipse of 21 August

Second solar Eclipse will happen right before the Sun moves into Virgo at 28 º 52‘ Leo on 21st August (18:30 GMT). As this eclipse occurs in the fire sign Leo, the shocking events are related to warfare, massacre, bush fire, big fire, explosion,heat wave, drought and famine as we discussed before.

Those aspects we discussed in Lunar Eclipse are also appearing in the Solar Eclipse. Moreover, this New Moon trine Uranus could make suddenly cause the situation to be out of control. Uranus is related to Nuclear power and nuclear weapons, it would not be a surprise if there was an incident related to these. In another way, the New Moon trine Uranus also encourages people to make changes, from personal life to the political situation and economic system. As Venus square Jupiter, Uranus and Mars sextile Jupiter trine Saturn also happens on the Solar Eclipse day, it suggests that if we can deeply understand the core values of different social classes and of differences of political campaigns, we may be able to work together.

One last and most crucial thing is Mars, it conjunct North Node, widely conjunct the Sun in the Solar Eclipse chart. Any planet conjunct Moon Nodes will impose its quality in our society, people will act more bravely or more aggressively, fighting for their own rights, but this also suggest that the tension and conflicts could be very high.

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Saros cycles

This Solar Eclipse is related to Saros cycle S.S 1 North, same Saros cycles were happened in 1999, 1981, 1963, 1945 and 1927, anything happening during those times (in both Mundane level or Personal level ) could have some developments after this summer.

Trump and Solar Eclipse

If a Personal Chart has any planet connecting touching by the Eclipse point this suggests a huge change in life for that year, therefore if you have any personal planet or your ascendant, descendent M.C I.C is on 14-16º Leo-Aquarius, or 27 Leo to 0 Virgo, you are coming to a turning point of your life. People usually ask about what is going to change. First we look at the meaning of that planet and think about what you want to change in that area of life. Even though we can not control everything in our life but if we can use this powerful eclipse energy to work, it can be very effective. U.S President Trump has his Ascendent on 29 degree Leo, the Solar Eclipse is right on it and nevertheless he was born on the Lunar Eclipse day, this means the Eclipse has a very powerful influence on him. Ascendent is about his presence, outlook and relationship with this world. When the Eclipse happens on Angles usually suggesting a huge change of personal life, this could be very difficult for him.

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Crucial timing of next six months

2nd - 23rd August Moon wobble time ＊＊＊＊＊

28th October - 18th November Moon wobble time ＊＊＊＊＊

15th November - 10th December Saturn tight conjunct Galactic centre ＊＊＊＊＊

15th August Waning Moon square trigger 2017 Feb Lunar Eclipse point

29th August Waxing Moon square trigger 2017 Feb Solar Eclipse point

04th November Full Moon trigger 2017 Aug Lunar Eclipse point

10th November Waxing Moon square trigger 2017 Feb and Aug Lunar Eclipse point

18th November New Moon trigger 2017 Aug Solar Eclipse point

10th - 23rd June Neptune stationary

30th July - 8th August Uranus stationary

21st - 30th August Saturn stationary

21st - 24th Novembre Neptune stationary The area that may be affected according Astro map of Solar Eclipse

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Asia Pacific: China (East Coast), Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, India, Iran, Arabian Peninsula.

Europe and Africa: Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Rep, Balkans, Russia, Algeria, Gulf of Guinea area, Somalia and South Africa.

North and South America: West coast of US, States between 93-103 W, Virginia, North Carolina, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela , Chile, Argentina, Carbine Island. The area that may be affected according Astro map of Lunar Eclipse

Asia Pacific: Korea, China (East Coast), Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia , India, Iran, Iraq, Gulf countries.

Europe Africa: UK, France, Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Russia, Turkey, Algeria, Gulf of Guinea area, Somalia

North and South America: West coast of US, States between 89-99 W, Virginia, Hawaii, Mexico, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile. Countries most likely to affect by Solar Eclipse zodiac degrees

Sun near 28 Leo: Poland* (1991 Democrat ) Ukraine (1991 IND PROC) Uruguay Senegal Estonia Cyprus Belarus Latvia (1991 IND)

Moon near 28 Leo: Malaysia*, Sudan

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Asc-Des near 28 Leo : Brazil, Cuba,Guyana,Iraq*,Lao, Lebanon, Paraguay, Timor, U.A.E,

MC-IC near 28 Leo: Cyprus, Estonia, Italy*, Lithuania, Qatar, Singapore*,Tunisia* Countries most likely to affect by Lunar Eclipse zodiac degrees

Sun near near 15 Leo Aquarius: Bolivia,Grenada,Ivory Coast, Jamaica,Mexico, Netherlands, NIger, Singapore, Sri-Lanka

Moon near near 15 Leo Aquarius: Guyana, Ivory coast, Mauritius, Pakistan, Uganda

Asa-Des near 15 Leo Aquarius: Ecuador, Luxembourg,

MC-IC near 15 Leo Aquarius: Bolivia, Chad, Chile, Crimea,

Gabon, India, Japan, LatviaLithuania, Moldova, Netherlands, Russia,Iran

Rod Chang has studied astrology for over twenty years, both through self-study and through the LSA and the Faculty of Astrological Studies. His favourite aspects are mundane astrology and a humanistic approach to astrology. He has written a number of books on astrology in Chinese and has taught it in Mandarin for around ten years. He is co-founder of the Academy of Astrology with Jupiter Lai, which aims to promote Western Astrology to Chinese speakers. Rod is also working closely with other Asian astrologers in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong in order to establish an Asian astrology network. www.rodmagic.pixnet.net/blog www.academyofastrology.co.uk

www.academyofastrology.co.uk

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T – squares: An Introduction Frank C. Clifford

A T-square is formed when (at least) two planets in opposition (180°) both aspect a third planet by right angle/square (90°). This third planet, known as the apex, is situated around the midpoint of the opposition. All three 'legs' should be within an acceptable orb of each other (8°).

A T-square reveals certain life stories ('scripts') - the major events, challenges and themes - encountered in our lives. Planets in aspect to each other reveal a dialogue between planetary principles/energies, but the T-square configuration is a dynamic pattern that links and interlocks these energies. Its importance is due, in part, to the fact that it involves at least three planets and ties up numerous houses by rulership, so its influence will be felt in many corners of a horoscope.

In The Contemporary Astrologer's Handbook (Flare, 2007), Sue Tompkins writes:

This energizing configuration can dominate the life and the chart. A T-square usually describes the most pressing problems in the life; by dealing with them, an individual stretches themselves and often makes noteworthy contributions to the world. So while indicative of obstacles and lessons to be learned, a T-square offers huge potential for personal growth.

When interpreting any configuration, it's important to consider the particular aspects involved in that pattern (in this case, it's an opposition and two squares). These shed light on the kind of dialogue between the planets.

The opposition:

The confrontational or divisive nature of the opposition demands an awareness and balance of the planets involved. Ideally, there can be an integration of these conflicting parts, or at least a truce. An opposition reveals major relationship patterns and themes, and it's certainly the case that we tend to stick with the 'nicer' of the two planets and project the more 'difficult' one onto other people. Unless dissociate (out of sign),1 an opposition involves a polarity (e.g. Leo-Aquarius), and it's important to understand the interplay between these signs.

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The squares:

Both ends of the opposition are in square to the apex. Squares appear as dynamic, recurring obstacles across our path - ones that require effort in order to create something of value. Research suggests that our greatest life accomplishments can be described by the nature of the planets in square to each other. At worst, they can seem like the hardest tests we face; we feel paralysed until we master them. With squares, there's no pain without gain and 'no guts, no glory'.

In particular, the most dynamic, compelling part of the T-square is the apex. Understanding the apex (focal point) of a T-square - the planet involved, its sign and house position and other aspects - is the key. In fact, it is the solution to what drives the struggle inherent in the opposition.

In some examples, there are two apex planets receiving squares from the opposition. These are not always conjoined, but the midpoint degree of these two planets at the apex is significant in terms of synastry with other charts. And it is very sensitive to transits, directions and progressions (see Margaret Thatcher's chart below).

Some astrologers pay attention to the missing fourth leg - the empty space opposite the apex - but I focus on the areas of the chart directly involved in the configuration. But saying that, I'd always consider the meaning of an apex's polarity, which would naturally include the sign at the missing fourth leg.

Some Tips

Pulling apart the various legs of a T-square or other configuration is the easiest way of grasping what it means as a whole, so I'd recommend starting with each individual planet. There are also a few useful points to remember when delineating this (or any) aspect pattern:

Look for common links between the planets, signs, elements, modes or houses involved. For instance, it might be a T-square in fixed signs - the issues around the configuration will be more rigid, wilful, determined, stuck. Or it might be a mutable T-square, which concerns itself more with the distribution and processing of information and a flexible, (over)adaptable approach to situations or issues. Or one planet might rule the signs in two of the three legs, creating a dominant theme to the configuration, e.g., Mercury opposite Jupiter in Gemini, both square Mars in Virgo - creating a Mercury signature in the T-square. These 'double whammies' (repetitive statements) are often the basis of an overtone in the chart.

The next stage is to pull apart the various planetary pairs/combinations. Start with planets in opposition and then in square (and any conjunctions). In the first example below, we have Mars- Uranus, Moon-Mars, Moon-Uranus, Mars-Pluto, Uranus-Pluto, Moon-Pluto (and, if you wish, each planet with the MC). Tackle these individually, considering their meanings and core principles. How do they act, react and interact in combination?

Look for a 'release' aspect - one that's foreign to the configuration (e.g, a trine from the apex of a T- square). This will show a constructive 'way out' - room to breathe - that can help to motivate us to explore the positive sides to the configuration without getting too tunnel-visioned or immersed in the 'set' configuration itself.

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Example One: Plunging Emotional Depths

The first example belongs to director Roman Polanksi. Polanski's T-square suggests dynamic achievement through crisis, conflict and challenge (cardinal signs). Mars in Libra in the 1st opposite Uranus in Aries in the 7th speaks of wilful independence, disagreement and a need for space vs. fighting for freedom, rights and justice. A sudden act of violence and controversial (Uranus) sex (Mars) are two further manifestations.

The opposition is square to the Moon conjunct Pluto in Cancer on the Midheaven. This apex/focal point demands resolution by achieving recognition (MC) and creating a powerful, intense emotional impact or response (Moon-Pluto in Cancer) by exploring buried feelings, trauma or obsession (Moon- Pluto in Cancer) in the outside world (MC). It also suggests some powerful, seemingly non-negotiable (Pluto) experiences around his mother or wife. In Aspects in Astrology, Sue Tompkins suggests the aspect has much to do with "primal feelings" and "plunging and diving deeply into … feelings and relationships".

There has been a bizarre interplay between the plots of Polanski's films and events in his own life, and as astrologers we can see this most vividly in his T-square. His films have often contained dark, violent, sexual conflicts, and his life has had its share of horror, murder and sex scandal. Obsessed with horror movies and sharp edges and razors (Mars), his first few films had claustrophobic settings (Moon-Pluto square Uranus) and were known as the 'apartment trilogy'. Knife in the Water is about a love triangle, Repulsion centres around a woman driven to murder and insanity, and in Rosemary's Baby a woman is betrayed and manipulated into carrying and birthing the spawn of the Devil (Moon- Pluto in Cancer). Polanski went on to repeat the Moon-Pluto theme in Macbeth (Lady Macbeth must truly be one of the oldest literary embodiments of Moon-Pluto) and in Chinatown, in which a private

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 eye plunges into a complex web of deceit and murder, incest and corruption all related to the city's water supply.

Together, Moon-Pluto in Cancer and Mars opposite Uranus are themes that have appeared most dramatically in his private life. His mother perished in Auschwitz and young Roman fled to Poland to start a new life. Many years later, his wife Sharon Tate was eight months into carrying their child when she was murdered savagely by the Manson followers - one member plunged a knife into her body (including her womb - Moon-Pluto in Cancer) sixteen times. (Tate's Ascendant is at 21° Cancer and Jupiter nearby at 18°, tying in with the apex of Polanski's T-square.) And on 10 March 1977 (with TR Pluto near his Ascendant), a sexual incident with a thirteen-year-old girl (Samantha Geimer, born 31 March 1963) led to six counts of drugging and raping a minor. Pleading guilty, Polanski fled to Europe on 1 February 1978, one day before sentencing. (Being unable to return home feels like yet another embodiment of Uranus square the Moon-Pluto in Cancer.) He remained a fugitive (Mars- Uranus?) until he was arrested at the request of the US authorities on 26 September 2009 in Switzerland. He was later released and declared a 'free man' on 12 July 2010 by the Swiss, one day after a Solar Eclipse at 19° Cancer, exactly conjunct his MC, which unlocked the pattern and began a new cycle.

The True Essence of Libra

As a mediator to warring sides, Libra understand the art of diplomatic negotiation and arbitration. But Libra knows that the concept of compromise is overrated: no one gets what they really want. (Jimmy Carter - Sun in Libra and Libra Rising - once said, "Unless both sides win, no agreement can be permanent".) Upon closer inspection, cardinal Libra has an agenda. It seeks agreement through the full acceptance of its needs by the other. At first, it attempts to have those needs met through the line of least resistance - gentle, logical persuasion and charm (Libra sends you to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip). But when faced with stubborn obstruction or an impasse, Libra reveals itself to be an iron fist in a velvet glove by sending in the troops.

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was born with a Sun-Mercury conjunction in Libra and Mars in that sign as well. Although her remark that "the lady's not for turning" speaks of the firmness and inflexibility of Saturn rising in Scorpio, many of her remarks convey the very essence of Libra: "I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end" and "I don't mind how much my ministers talk, so long as they do what I say". Politician Roy Jenkins said, "She does have the advantage of being almost totally impervious to how much she offends other people".

Upon her arrival at Downing Street as Prime Minister on 4 May 1979 (chart below is set for the time of the following words), this Libran paraphrased another Libran, St Francis of Assisi:

Where there is discord, may we bring harmony.

Where there is error, may we bring truth.

Where there is doubt, may we bring faith.

And where there is despair, may we bring hope.

It was not to be. In the sky that day, Mercury was conjunct Mars in Aries and both were opposed by Pluto in Libra. Over the next eleven years, Thatcher would go to war against Argentina and do battle with the miners, the labour unions, the IRA and countless members of her own cabinet. Libra attempts

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 resolution and reconciliation and aims for a course of action that's free from strife, but this sign is usually found at the heart of ongoing conflict - where Libra is needed and where it is most effective.

These words of prayer were spoken as 29° Virgo was rising - Thatcher would put an end to the Labour Party years of government: the strife and strikes, the 'Winter of Discontent', and the stranglehold of the trade unions that were able to bring the country to a halt. When she'd finished her prayer and entered Number 10, Libra (her Sun sign) was rising. Thatcher felt the country was divided. What she envisioned was a new era of working together to restore balance, fairness and pride in the country (Jupiter was in Leo and had returned to its position in the 1 January 1801 Union Chart). Ironically, it would be the perceived unfairness of the Poll Tax that would eventually 'do her in'.

Another facet of Libra, of course, is its reputation for indecision. It's interesting to read that, with major political decisions, Thatcher agonized over 'doing the right thing' and would encourage her advisors to argue all sides until she was of firm conviction. After that, she rarely showed doubt or hesitancy. Astrologer Richard Swatton, in From Symbol to Substance: Training the Astrological Intuition (Flare, 2012), reveals a deeper motivation behind Libra's decision-making anxiety:

Libra's worries are not just about an exaggerated need to always be fair, but, according to the myth of Maat, they hook into matters of divine judgement, guilt, truth, life and death. In the hall of death, Maat weighs the heart of the dead on her scales of truth in order to judge the value of the life lived. On a deeper level, therefore, the root of Libra's famous indecisiveness is the fear of punishment following some kind of cosmic judgement - a clue perhaps to why Saturn is exalted in this sign.

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Example Two: The Conviction Politician

This leads us neatly to the T-square in Thatcher's horoscope. Much has been written of Margaret Thatcher's Saturn rising in Scorpio (the Iron Lady who was '"not for turning") and the elevated Moon in Leo within a degree of Churchill's Moon and conjunct her Neptune (the domineering Attila the Hen who handbagged ministers into submission and had a vision to restore Britain to its Victorian 'greatness'). And there have even been some comments as to the personal allure of her Venus in the 1st House ("femininity is what she wears, masculinity is what she admires"). A summation of the latter placement - along with Scorpio Rising - is perhaps best left to François Mitterand, who said she had "the mouth of Marilyn Monroe and the eyes of Caligula".

But in Margaret Thatcher's chart, there is a powerful T-square: an exact Jupiter-Pluto opposition that squares both Mars and the Sun in Libra. The apex's exact mid(dle)point is 14° Aries and Libra, which itself is the midpoint of Thatcher's Sun and Mars. I wouldn't consider the Sun and Mars to be conjunct (the orb is 10°), but both planets in their own way had a pivotal part to play in expressing the potent Jupiter-Pluto contact throughout her professional life, particularly when transits hit Mars (9°), the apex and Sun-Mars midpoint (14°) or the Sun (19°) in Libra.

I've found that the mid-cardinal degrees (say, 14° to 16°) of the zodiac are those most associated with getting things done, of meeting and dealing with conflict, challenge and obstruction. All four points on this cardinal compass are combative, confrontational areas of the horoscope. With this T-square, Thatcher has been elevated and praised for greatness (Sun, Jupiter) and vilified and hated with a venom usually reserved for tyrants (Mars, Pluto). It reveals a woman of enormous energy, stamina, indefatigable spirit and seeming invincibility (with an intense, some have said arrogant, certainty that she was right). Not a revolutionary chart (the fixed signs do not relish change and Libra is traditional), Thatcher's is a powerfully transformative and crusading one.

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Jupiter opposition Pluto can be seen in a number of her resolute opinions and hardline policies. From free market globalization, privatisation and the creation of a Yuppie consumer society, to her alliance with Reagan against the 'evil empire' of the Soviet Union and her determination to liberate enterprising individuals from a controlling state, she was seen by many as an inflexible 'conviction politician' on a mission.

In the charts of political leaders, Jupiter speaks of where there can be expansion (and overexpansion) during their tenure. In Capricorn in the 2nd opposite Pluto, there was a focus on revitalizing the economy, encouraging entrepreneurs by owning shares and buying their council houses (stone- cladding - Capricorn - was one popular method at the time!), a credit and (over-)borrowing boom, the demolition of the welfare state (originally based on the Libran principles of equal opportunity and the equitable distribution of wealth), and the 'denationalization' of British industries.

This opposition speaks of the trials she faced from the miners (Jupiter-Pluto has links to mining and deep exploration), the trade unions, the Falklands War and the IRA plots and assassination attempt (Jupiter opposite Pluto in Cancer suggests religious, patriotic extremism). Her shadow government jobs were also apt: pensions and National Insurance, the Treasury, fuel and power, transport, and education. Her white paper, Education: A Framework for Expansion, was published on 6 December 1972, two weeks before her Jupiter Return in Capricorn. One exact Jupiter cycle later her government privatized British Telecom, the first major act of selling off the nation's companies.

Transits to these important degrees of Libra (9°, 14° and 19°) would prove to be instrumental in the key times of Thatcher's political life:

9° - Saturn conjunct natal Mars after her second consecutive election defeat (25 October 1951) at Dartford.

14° - Saturn stationed at 14° Libra when she resigned as a candidate for Dartford in early 1952. One Saturn cycle later, it was the Argentines who surrendered, ending the Falklands War.

9° - Uranus reached 9° Libra in mid June 1971 when her plans to end free milk for schools received much public opposition (she was dubbed 'Thatcher milk-snatcher').

14° - When Uranus reached 14° Libra and headed towards her Sun, several events occurred that would later hold significance politically for Thatcher: in October 1971, Parliament voted in favour of entry into the EEC. Soon after, there was a miners' strike, Bloody Sunday - which escalated antagonism towards the IRA - and unemployment figures surpassed one million (they would later surpass three million - for the first time since the 1930s).

9° - When Pluto hit 9° Libra, Thatcher battled Edward Heath (born with Venus at 7°, the Sun at 17° and Saturn at 19° Cancer) for the Tory leadership and won. The election of Reagan (his rectified MC is 12° Libra) as US President and the Jupiter-Saturn conjunction of Dec 1980 at 9° Libra heralded a decade of power, expansion for the rich, and 'Thatcherism'.

14° - When Neptune reached 14° Capricorn in 1990, Thatcher faced various challenges to her leadership, including much criticism over her stance on the Euro and the Tory 'poll tax'. These weakened and undermined her position (Neptune) and led to her resignation in November 1991. Nigel Lawson's resignation at 6pm2 on 26 October 1989 in Westminster (when Neptune was 9° Capricorn opposite Jupiter at 10° Cancer) began the events that would trigger her downfall. At the time of Lawson's resignation, Pluto at 14° Scorpio was setting and conjunct her Saturn-Ascendant.

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Synastry - some examples

Neil Kinnock, her Labour opponent for seven years, has the MC at 18° Aries. While another adversary, Arthur Scargill, has Venus at 15° Capricorn.

Her successor, John Major, has Jupiter at 15° Cancer (possibly on the Descendant). Tony Blair, who kept Thatcherism alive with New Labour, has Venus at 15° Aries square Uranus at 15° Cancer. The father of the modern Conservative Party, Benjamin Disraeli, was born with Saturn at 15° Libra. Current Tory PM, David Cameron, has his Sun at 15° Libra.

The two most famous Thatcher impersonators during her 'acid reign' in the 1980s were Janet Brown (the PM's personal favourite) and Steve Nallon, whose acerbic portrayal was often featured on TV in the satirical puppet show Spitting Image. Brown's MC is at 15° Libra and Venus at 15° Capricorn. Her new career was sparked off when Thatcher became PM (TR Pluto crossed Brown's MC). Nallon, whose portrait of the PM was not as gracious as his counterpart's, has the MC at 14° Capricorn (Saturn stands at 16° Capricorn on the MC opposite Mars at 16° Cancer on the IC). TR Neptune over his MC at the time of Thatcher's resignation effectively brought an end to his career, making him as redundant as the PM herself.

Margaret Thatcher - as portrayed by Janet Brown, Steve Nallon (Spitting Image) and Meryl Streep

Portrayals of Thatcher by 1) Janet Brown,2) Steve Nallon and 3) Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep, who played Thatcher in the 2011 film The Iron Lady, has the Moon at 14° Taurus (on Thatcher's Descendant) and the IC at 18° Libra (on Thatcher's Sun). The film focused on her domestic life after power - it spent much time depicting a lost and bewildered former leader who resorted to talking to her deceased husband. It also offered flashbacks of scenes showing her triumphs, political battles and work ethic (Streep's Saturn is at 1° Virgo, near Thatcher's MC). When the film was released on 30 December 2011 (US) and 6 January 2012 (UK), Streep's Solar Arc Pluto was at 14° Libra and her Moon at 14° Cancer.

In each of Thatcher's major battles - and some were titanic power struggles (Jupiter-Pluto square to the Sun and Mars in Libra) - the mission, as far as she was concerned, was to restore balance and democracy (Libra), to defend "values and freedoms fundamental to our way of life", and to reinstate the 'great' in Britain. The break-up of trade union power (apex Mars in Libra in the 11th), the marginalization of Socialism and the reversal of Britain's economic decline were her key battles. She saw herself as a figurehead (Sun) for this crusade (Mars), yet so many of her policies and decisions contributed to a vastly different and unequal legacy.

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At Thatcher's birth, the Sun and Mars were rising in the Falkland Islands - the place that was to cement her reputation for leadership, iron will, strength and dominion (Sun, Mars). The Brits won the Falklands War on 14 June 1982, as Saturn stationed at 15° Libra. War had been declared on 2 April, with Mars at 9° Libra and Saturn at 19° Libra.

Jupiter opposite Pluto is also indicative of the vast money her husband made - firstly through his preservatives firm, then its sale to an oil company (oil is often linked to Pluto) - as well as his international business ties and support of South Africa under apartheid. It was his financial support that enabled her to train as a barrister, and Denis (born with Venus at 15° Aries) was her cornerstone while she worked her way up in Parliament. The couple had met in February 1949, as TR Saturn was on her MC and TR Neptune at 14° Libra - some weeks after she had been selected as the Tory candidate for Dartford. They married on 13 December 1951, when TR Saturn was at 13° Libra.

With Mars in Libra, Thatcher never had much interest in debate but she did thrive on argument. At its best, Mars in Libra cherishes its own ideal of democracy, equal opportunity and a free society and economy. Rather than the rashness that so often characterizes Mars in its own signs, in Libra there's a firmness of resolve towards a logical argument, a clever combative stance, a skilful persuasiveness and a strong rationale (Air) behind decisions made and kept:

The codes of right and wrong lie at the bottom of every decision... They account for her inflexibility... and for the lack of imagination or real interest in debate. (Penny Junor, Margaret Thatcher: Wife, Mother, Politician, Sidgwick & Jackson, 1983.)

T-squares are like pressure cookers: underneath, there's a huge amount of tension needing to be released - stress from parts of ourselves that are at odds with each other. T-squares are usually the source of much energy and edginess, and they demand resolution, action and discharge. There's sometimes a state of paralysis because we are aware of the importance - and fearful of the influence - of these matters in our life.

The most outstanding and memorable aspects of our character and life stories are found here. So too are the self-defeating, frustrating 'blocks' that can accumulate if we don't understand (or perhaps if we overemphasize) this configuration of enormous potential and transformation.

Frank Clifford has built an eclectic career as a consultant, publisher, lecturer, and writer of a dozen books (including Getting to the Heart of Your Chart). He recently completed a series of mini-books (Humour in the Horoscope, The Midheaven: Spotlight on Success and Dialogues (with Mark Jones)) and continues to write for (and guest edit) The Mountain Astrologer. In 2012, Frank won The Charles Harvey Award, a lifetime achievement award for ‗exceptional service to astrology‘. In 2017, he will begin courses online with The London School of Astrology, www.flareuk.com , [email protected]

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Astrology – What is Astrology? Alexandra Karacostas

What is astrology? Frequently I am asked if I ―believe‖ in astrology and if I think we have ―free will.‖ Or if we are ―predestined.‖ By way of response, I usually begin by clarifying a few possible misconceptions.

Astrology is neither a religion nor a faith. It is a symbolic, archetypal language used to understand the world at large as well as the world within. It is the study of nature‘s celestial cycles from the universal to the minute.

When describing the connection between the heavens and earth, the micro and the macro, astrologers say: ―As within, so without.‖ And ―as above, so below.‖

Astrology is framed by both the motion of the sun and planets, and other objects of our solar system, and their context against the celestial backdrop. In short, astrology uses the relative positions of the heavenly bodies as a mirror to reveal the stage upon which we, individually and collectively, act. Until the seventeenth century, astrology and astronomy were essentially the same science. By noting and observing the cycles of planets, or ―wandering travellers‖ as the ancient Greeks referred to them, astronomers/astrologers were able to identify and document specific patterns in the heavens. Thus, they began to correlate certain kinds of patterns or phenomena to particular events relevant in daily life.

The most obvious is the daily cycle commencing with the sunrise and ending at sunset. One of the most useful cycles since ancient times correlates to the moon‘s cycle. It was used extensively for planting crops, commencing wars, predicting weather patterns and more. In fact, today it is still used by many for some of the same reasons.

Each one of us is unique! Even if twins are born within a minute of each other the likelihood of them experiencing and responding to life in the same fashion is unlikely. The key differences lie in an individual‘s experience and ensuring choice or response to specific events. Though the timing of particular events in the twins‘ lives will undoubtedly be closely linked, their individual reactions from moment to moment will determine separate outcomes.

It is how we use our innate qualities that is significant. In other words, our choices fulfil our potentials. We all get what we need, not what we want, especially when it comes to personal and collective growth!

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The late Dane Rudhyar, a highly respected philosopher, author and the grandfather of modern astrology wrote, ―Events do not happen to us, we happen to events‖. Though this idea may be a bit esoteric, he captures well what modern science is now discovering through quantum physics. It is the connection of all things at the quantum level that explains the ability of far flung objects, like a human being and an asteroid or galaxy to influence each other.

In order to exercise free will there must be a context within which to function. This context is revealed and articulated in astrological charts, or maps. Our horoscope does not MAKE us who we are. It is simply a reflection of our own unique potentials and capacities. What makes us who we are is comprised of genetic heredity, our socio-economic and educational background, our cultural and ethnic roots, etc… In a horoscope, an astrologer can identify family patterns and dynamics, inherited strengths and weaknesses. What we do with those is up to us, our empowerment lies in choice. This is where consciousness, awareness and self knowledge is critical to our destiny!

Another one of my favourite astrological sayings is ―our character is our destiny.‖ It is unrealistic to think that an apple seed will grow up to become an orange tree. We all have natural limits and boundaries! As a human, for example, we can only consider how to nurture ourselves as a human, not as something else. And the same follows for an individual amongst many, or a country amongst nations. All entities have their unique potentials, capacities, and limits. Our empowerment lies in choice. And astrology is a tool that helps us to become informed.

We often hear that ―timing is everything‖. Knowing what phase of a cycle we are currently in can be greatly advantageous. Opportunities come and go, but unless we personally reach out and grab them, they simply pass us by. We can benefit in various ways by more fully comprehending our journey towards authenticity, in becoming who we really are. The symbolic language of astrology is a tool that can help us do just that.

There are numerous types of astrology used today. There is Natal astrology which deals with the individual. Mundane astrology explores national, international and economic cycles. Meteorological astrology is used to study weather patterns and cataclysmic events. Electional astrology helps us determine the best time to initiate a project. Financial astrology concerns itself with macro and micro economic cycles. Relocation astrology helps us identify what particular qualities in us are highlighted by relocating to different geographical locations. There are others as well, and as our world and universe expands we continually discover new ways to apply this body of information and wisdom.

So what does this mean for YOU? What is going on in your life? For everything there is a place and a time and, as nature would have it, a sequence to how life unfolds. I invite you to reflect on the cycles, patterns, and habits of your life. How can you increase your awareness, fulfill your creative potential, and refine your relationship to the world? You can ―paint‖ your life with the strokes of choice, to fully become the magnificent being you are!

Alexandra Karacostas is a professional astrologer, teacher, and writer based in Chico, California. She has been a student of astrology since 1975. Alexandra currently serves on the board of OPA, the Organization for Professional Astrology. Contact her at http://www.WisdomAstrology.com or e-mail [email protected]

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REPORT FROM PERUGIA 2017

IAM - Infinity Astrological Magazine got the exclusive right to present You lectures from the IX International Conference in Perugia (Italy) „PATHS TO KNOWLEDGE― - July 2017. Thanks to Meskalila Nunzia Coppola (ISAR VP for Italy) in this issue We present You – her article: MAHĀVIDYĀS AND ASTRO- COUNSELLING and Oracle by Wade Caves.

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MAHĀVIDYĀS AND ASTRO-COUNSELLING Nunzia Coppola (Meskalila)

Jaya Ganeshaya Namaḥ. OM Namaḥ Shivaya. Om Namoḥ Bhagavateḥ Vasudevaya.

Aiṃ Sarasvathi Namastubhyam Varade Kāmarupini Vidyārambhaṃ Karishyami

Siddhir Bhavatu Mey Sada

he contents regarding Tantra were inspired by the Teachings I directly received from Langta Baba of Tarapith and his Guru Jaya Kāli Brāhma Mahi Tārā Mahākāla Vināsini. To them I extend my heartfelt gratitude.

PREMISE

Astrology has a divine, cosmic and human matrix; as such it promises individual evolution within the framework of cosmic history. It also helps to improve our life on earth because we become aware of several possible futures. Since it is a sacred path, it must be used for the good of mankind after being taught by qualified masters. Teaching Astrology is a very noble responsibility; apart from knowledge, ethics and qualitative contents, it requires skills and tools capable of increasing the socio-affective expertise and interpersonal abilities of future astrologers. Even before practicing or teaching Astrology, we must not only find the ‗hub‘ of our own insights from amongst the planetary storylines, but also learn to practically and emotionally coordinate our consultations and teaching activities.

By doing we may be able to manage complexities, accumulate internal resources and help students and clients understand the way in which heavenly forces can either thwart or facilitate their path. As astrologers, we should make our own inner journey, explore the origins of our desires, and navigate remote karmic nostalgias while gathering more and more knowledge about astrological theories and techniques. Afterwards, when bending our professional practice and teaching to the good of mankind, our service will become cosmic expansion; when we acquire harmonious detachment from fruits (Niṣkāmakarma), our profession will create synergy between the sacred and the profane, the cosmos and the earth. By improving ourselves, we can offer our clients quality service and help them to see the Light beyond phenomenal events.

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Astravidya, the astrological path I have designed for those who wish to study karmic Astrology, combines astronomy, interpretative techniques and rules, with the instruments of Gestalt counselling and Tantra practices in a sidereal environment. Last year, after giving an intensive Seminary on Gandanta, I presented the Sri Yantra and the 16 Goddesses of the Lunar Phases with their protective and maternal characteristics. This year I shall present the 10 Great Ladies of Knowledge breathing in the essence of the planets whose effects they enhance. The goal of this article is to provide Astrologers with a tool to understand themselves thanks to the teachings of the Mahāvidyās. By meditating on each of the Ten Mothers, astrologers may learn to recognise their weaknesses and transform them into strengths; they will also learn to serenely live with the parts that cannot be improved. Before accessing the world of the Ten Magnificent Goddess, I shall provide some introductory notes about Gestalt Counselling, Tantra and the Graha.

Gestalt Counselling

Counselling is the art of using listening and empathic communication to help individuals in difficulty. It requires the ability to recognise problematic situations and support individuals in their moments of difficulty. Counsellors help clients increase their own abilities, encourage propositional approaches, support them in their choices, and stimulate their strong points. Counsellors help individuals to recognise and elaborate difficult events so that they can manage them more successfully. Gestalt counselling is extremely helpful in astrology. If Tantric tools are also added, then counselling becomes a path of mental and spiritual growth.

Tantra

The term Tantra has many common meanings: loom, warp or thread for the pearls of a necklace (mālā), sacred text, etc. Philosophically it is made up of tanoti, to expand, ―extend‖ and trayati, to free: expansion of consciousness to obtain freedom. The root tan, to weave, also indicates the weave in which the energies of the Universe merge with individual lives. Tantra is the great loom on which earthly, cosmic and divine events are woven.

Tantric philosophy developed in India over 3000 years ago. It was initially a tradition orally passed on by a Master to his pupil. Later, numerous texts were written; each text was entitled Tantra preceded by a word defining its contents, for example Todala Tantra. Every treatise transmits its own system, some of which is kept secret to preserve its teachings. This part is usually encrypted in a symbolic language known as Sandhyā bhāsha, in other words twilight communication. Strange metaphors, profound concepts and memorised semantic patterns create a subliminal language that can be understood with the help of a Guru.

In Tantra, there is no difference between mental states, physical symptoms and spiritual consciousness: everything is sacred. Spiritual currents usually recommend either giving up desire or using asceticism to overcome it. And yet we cannot avoid it; even ascetic life is based on a strong desire - for liberation. In fact, creation occurs after divine Desire, expressed in the respiratory act producing the primordial sound. Primordial Unity is gradually split into 36 vital parts (Tattvas) and then the Universe is born. The two Opposites that emerge during the first fragmentation still maintain the vibration of the unified Power-Consciousness.

This primary difference still contains a profound link between the static Tattva of Cosmic Consciousness (Shiva) and the dynamic Tattva of Cosmic Energy (Shakti). Subsequently, cycles of movement and repose develop in a continuous process of creation, conservation and destruction.

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According to Langta Baba of Tarapith, lunar energy must be merged with solar energy; after that, one should unite with the energy of the Cosmos, and only after these two steps can one enjoy the profound union of Śakti and Shiva in one‘s own heart. The goal of this merger is the ascent of the Energy that attracts, absorbs and contains the Cosmos with its Universes. Karmic astrology can be a tool to reach this goal and, in the best of cases (after many enlightened lives), may facilitate the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī quiescently present in all the human beings. Astrology exhibits cosmic synergy through the planetary movements of the Graha.

Graha and planets

The literal meaning of the term Graha cannot be translated with the word ―planet‖. I believe it is useful to distinguish between the two terms, both very ancient, but with different meanings. The Greek etymology of the term planet refers to wandering, the action performed by the stars in the night sky compared to the background of fixed stars. This definition embraces only the astronomical importance of the celestial body and the effects of its rays. Instead the etymology of ―Graha‖ refers to the properties of taking, grasping, touching, brushing lightly against, eclipsing, entrapping lightening and obscuring.

Hence the term Graha also indicates the possibility to cause or receive obscurement: its force is made by light, shadow and semi-darkness. The Graha are: The Sun star, the Moon satellite, the planets, the intersecting points Rahu and Ketu. Their nature is governed by the laws of astronomy, by the quantity and quality of light, by rays that brush lightly against objects, animals and persons. But they have an added value: they are also Deities with precise iconographic features. Their qualities are manifest in events, to which each of us reacts according to the quality of the encounter between personal archetypes and those of the associated Deities.

When we are born and suck in our first breath, the energy from the combination of the Graha breathing at that very moment and in that place, connects with our physical and mental energy. An ensemble of collective archetypes and cosmic symbols immediately create the outline of a possible future, closely linked to some multiple events of our past karma. Astrological art includes several remedies (Upāya). The Way of Tantra prefers the ones that produce syntonic frequencies and direct contact with cosmic energy after having navigated in their own depths inhabited by emotions, certainties, difficulties and potentialities. Constant practice leads to harmony between High and Low until it finds the road to Liberation (while still alive, if possible). This path is facilitated if it is accompanied by the relationship with the universal Mother: Śakti, who by assuming tremendous, stupendous Forms resounds and bestows meaning on cosmic energy. Although these Forms may appear as seditious, terrifying, fierce and destabilising, they symbolise the shattering of the obstacles created by conditioning, as well as by crystallised roles and unbalanced expectations. Every Goddess makes it possible to find beauty, magnificence and kindness behind their ostensibly terrifying traits. Each one expresses the female essence beyond their ordinary roles. At the same time, they amplify consciousness. The Dasha Mahāvidyās (Dasha ten, Mahā great and Vidyā revelation, manifestation, knowledge, wisdom and erudition) bestow strength and meaning to the Graha.

THE MAHĀVIDYĀS

The cult of the Mahāvidyā is dedicated to the Goddess in her ten primordial Matrices. I shall very briefly narrate one of the several myths about their apparition.

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Sati, daughter of King Daksha, fell in love with Śiva, the ascetic God who spent all his time meditating. Sati managed to make Śiva fall in love with her and he then asked King Daksha for her hand in marriage. The King refused because he considered Śiva to be a savage without the means to make a living. Sati, however, married Śiva, shed her royal robes, went to live with him, and espoused his asceticism. One day Daksha organised a party and invited all the Deities, except Śiva and Sati who decided to go anyway. Realising what would happen, Śiva tried to discourage her. Unsuccessful, he tried to use his authority. Sati reacted by multiplicating her form and becoming manifest in the Ten Mahāvidyās. Each one occupied a region in space surrounding Śiva who remained stunned in their midst. At the same time, each Form made Śiva understand important truths.

From the magnificent Kālī to the astounding Kamalā, every Mahāvidyā is invoked with several mantras, from the most secret to the most popular. Each one may be associated with different approaches to consciousness. They disclose the nature of dreams. Meditation on their image turns myths into reality, improves reactions to the influences of the Graha and fortifies one‘s intentions. The cult can take place at the simplest to the most complex level. There are paths suited to every situation and to all human types, according to one‘s personal nature and the sphere to which one belongs. Those who choose the ascetic path (Sadhanā) would desire union with the Deity, with the help of a qualified (Ādhikāri) Guru. Those who do not wish to practice asceticism can draw closer to the powerful Goddesses using generic mantras and yantras. The Mahāvidyā accept the most heterogeneous intentions. This path is particularly suited to those who practice Karmic astrology and for spiritually- oriented astrologers. However, anyone can experience it, meditating on Mahāvidyās as archetypes or symbols, instead of Divinity. In this article, I am only illustrating a very simplified way to meditate on the Goddesses, mostly as a planetary remedial. The worship of each Goddess may mitigate the problem caused by the difficult planetary position. In fact, every Mahāvidyā is associated with a Graha on which it bestows intrinsic qualities and regulates excesses.

These are the connections between Graha and Mahāvidyās: Kālī (Saturn), Tārā (Jupiter), Shodasi (Mercury), Bhuvaneshvari (Moon), Bhairavī (ASC), Cinnāmāstā (N Node), Dhumavati (S Node), Bagalāmukhi (Mars), Mātangi (Sun), Kamalā (Venus)

Mahāvidyās and Graha occupy specific directional spaces, because they govern their own distinct and separate field. According to Parashara, these are the directions assigned to the Graha: (Surya) E, Moon (Chandra) NW, Mercury (Budha) North, Jupiter (Brihaspati) NE, Saturn (Shani) West, North Node (Rahu) SW, Mars (Mangala) South, Venus (Shukra) SE.

These are the directions assigned to the Mahāvidyās: Tārā-Zenit, Kali-North, Sodasi-NE, Chinnamasta-East, Dhumavati-SE, Bagalāmukhi-South, Bhairavi-Nadir, Kamala-SW, Bhuvanesvari-West, Matangi-NW.

What immediately springs to the eye is that the directions of the Mahāvidyās are not matching the directions of the corresponding Grahas, except for Bagalāmukhi and Mars.

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Each Mahāvidyā cannot rule the same space of her associated Graha, otherwise the reciprocal influence has not any chance to develop. Respecting reciprocal direction develops a harmonious relationship, so that the Power of Mahāvidyās together with the rays of the Graha may generate incredible combinations for inner awakening.

Now let us immerse in a detailed description of the Goddesses and the results obtained by meditation. The associations between the paraphernalia of the Goddesses and the qualities an astrologer could develop are described in the parentheses. The four parts in bold at the end of every description refers to:

• The planetary energy to improve one‘s astrological skill.

• The message imparted by the Goddess according to that energy.

• The corresponding aspect of counselling that makes consultations worthwhile.

• The astrological technique more suitable for that kind of energy.

1. NORTH – KĀLĪ, THE LADY WHO TRANSCENDS TIME

WEST - SATURN

Black or blue as the night, Kālī is the cosmic womb that nourishes vital energy through the cycles of birth, death and rebirth. According to a simplistic vision, especially in the eyes of westerners, Kālī appears cruel and terrifying. Instead her appearance shatters polarising illusions and encourages us to transcend the stereotypes cloaking consciousness. She is the dark force that helps to transcend Time. The task of every astrologer is to distil the quality of time. Standing on Siva, her four hands indicate the qualities to be cultivated by an astrologer. In three of her hands she holds, respectively, a sword (direct communication), a severed head (renouncing to judgement) and a trident (balance between Will-Icchā, Jñana-Knowledge and Action-Kriyā). Her fourth hand is raised in a gesture of blessing (empathy of the astrologer). She wears a necklace with fifty-two human heads (the number of letters in the Sanskrit alphabet) and two heads as earrings (ability to listen). Her tongue lolls out of her mouth (every consultancy must create wonder, as if it were the first time). Her energy bestows force and meaning to Shani‘s rays.

Shani: Discover your destructive side and use it to break the patterns that block healthy change.

Kālī: Look at my eyes and see them resplendent with Love.

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Gestalt Counselling: lovingly communicate even the most difficult situations to those who consult you.

Technique: Sade sati (Saturn transiting towards 12th, 1st and 2nd from the Moon).

2. ZENITH - TĀRĀ. THE LADY WHO HELPS CROSS THE OCEAN

NORTHEAST - JUPITER

Star, Saviour, Liberator and Ferrywoman, Tārā is invoked at a moment of impasse. Tārā also means pupil, hence associated with the vision and observation of the night sky to find the polar star. Her radiant energy comes from inner sounds. Tārā‘s skin is blue; she wears a necklace of human heads and has eight snakes on her head. She dances on a corpse, has four hands and holds a sword (sincere communication), scissors (ability to discern), a severed head (does not pass value judgements on clients) and a lotus flower (ability to extract the best even in difficult conditions). After the ocean was churned and Siva drank poison to save the universe and was wracked with pain in his throat, Tārā took him into her womb and gave him her breast milk to drink. The beneficial rays of Guru-Brihaspati- Jupiter come from Tārā‘s energy; therefore, the cult of this Goddess preserves from the difficult positions of the planet.

Jupiter-Brihaspati: expand your wellbeing through a harmonious vision of events and creation

Tārā: regulate your speech, by appreciating the harmony of the sound-silence and the interval between the two.

Gestalt Counselling: help people finding their own way to overcome dangers and achieve wellbeing.

Technique: stars consideration.

3. NORTH EAST - SHODASI OR TRIPURĀSUNDARĪ. THE GODDESS OF DESIRE

NORTH - MERCURY

Shodasi or TripurāsundarĪ is the Beauty of the three worlds created by the perception of the Universe and profound feelings. She is called Lalitā ―She who plays or rejoices‖. She teaches that the goal of creation is returning to the state of joy. Portrayed as an extremely beautiful sixteen-year old (Shodasi) permeated by unparalleled splendour, she is seated on a lotus holding a bow made of sugarcane (ability to balance flexibility and seriousness during consultation) and arrows (ability to convey a truthful message). Shodasi means sixteen, like the sixteen Lunations (Tithis). She is associated with the planet Mercury. By irradiating Mercury, the glowing energy of the Lady of the three worlds not only reinforces the efficacy of mental energy, through willpower and the quality of action, but also improves the awareness of the first three states of consciousness: waking consciousness, dream state

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Budha: Navigate into your consciousness to find the best mental orientation.

Tripurāsundarī: Search inside yourself where is the direction towards beauty and light of the universe.

Gestalt Counselling: Try to maintain a balance between nurturing and detaching.

Technique: Primary and Secondary Directions

4. WEST - BHUBANESHWARI, QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE

NORTH WEST - MOON

Mother of all creatures, Bhuvaneshvari or Māyā is the Lady of the celestial spheres that emerge out of her womb and is associated with the invisible particles that make up the universe. She represents Space, and emanates a soothing light. Her cult fosters cosmic vision and preserves from the narrow- mindedness caused by ethnocentrism. She neutralises every form of racism and fosters equal opportunities amongst peoples and universes. She represents the development of an evolutionary plan encouraging benevolent situations to begin a project. Pleasant and benefic, Bhuvaneshvari has a luminous face, black hair, three eyes, fleshly lips and a delicate nose. Her breasts are coloured with sandalwood paste and saffron. She is the colour of the rising sun; her diadem is the crescent moon. She has four arms. In one she holds a noose (ability to grasp the right prediction) in another a goad (ability to motivate the client to improve); with another hand, she makes a gesture to drive out fear (ability to reassure the client) and uses another hand to bestow a blessing (ability to help). Her symbol is a water vessel conch shell: the emotional mind.

Chandra: use the lunar cycle to enhance your relationship with the celestial spheres.

Bhuvaneshvari: discover the mysteries of the four cardinal points, be oriented.

Gestalt Counselling: find the beginning in the east, search for the light to the north, discover maturity to the west and conclude everything to the south.

Technique: Lunations and planetary phases.

5. NADIR - BHAIRAVĪ, LADY OF FEAR AND TRANSFORMATION

EAST - ASC

BhairavĪ possesses the brightness of a thousand rising suns. She is the Goddess of the three unified lights: Agni (fire), Vidyut (lightning) and Surya (the Sun). The early morning musical Rāga is dedicated to her. She represents the devastating emotion of unexpected transformation. She inspires spiritual activities to transcend limitations. She has three eyes, wears a diadem with the crescent Moon, and smiles sweetly. She wears red clothes and a garland of severed heads. She has four arms. She holds a beaded necklace to recite the mantras (what astrologers should do) and a book (learning

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 from sources). She makes a gesture against fear and one of blessing. Bhairavī represents anger and rage, feelings that are both negative and positive. She indicates the terrible, burning power of words not mitigated by forms of control. She is manifest in the visual power of the tiger: to focus on the chosen objective (Ekagrata) and exclude everything else. Bhairavī impresses on the Ascendant the trait of clearly showing all emotions, echoing and burning the characteristic fears of the Sign and its rulers. She is also Mantrini, not only a mantra expert, but also devourer of negativity.

ASC: face your fears and perceive your nature, beyond what is normally visible

Bhairavī: manage your emotions and discover what is hidden behind the fire of your yearnings.

Gestalt Counselling: learn not to reveal latent powers if the client is not ready to focus on them.

Technique: House system.

6. EAST - CINNĀMĀSTĀ LADY OF LIGHTNING

SOUTH WEST – NORTH NODE

Cinnāmāstā appears naked in the act of cutting off her own head. In one hand, she holds the sword and in the other her own severed head (astrologers transcend their own ego and opinions to immerse themselves in the reality of the client) while her severed head drinks the blood spurting out of her bleeding neck (process of absorption and transformation enlightens astrologers and makes them able to illuminate). She wears a snake like a sacred rope (astrologers often meditate on Mother Kundalini). She has three radiant eyes and dances on the bodies of Rati and Kama (astrologers act with profound empathy, but also with detachment). Cinnāmāstā represents life, sex, nourishment, death and rebirth. Her gruesome image suggests the functioning of the ecosystem with life that feeds on death, but also the power of transformation. The couple under her feet represent the sexual energy that generates pleasure and life. Blood is the life force. Despite the fact she appears in such a terrifying form, she bestows unexpected enlightenment. Cinnāmāstā cuts the knots (granthi) and is associated with Rahu. She dissolves all ties that envelop, imprison, influence and annul identity, but also the ties preventing evolution and liberation. She offers cosmic wisdom and transcendence.

Rahu: recognise what prevents you from advancing towards liberation.

Cinnāmāstā: begin your transformation, sever the knot between heaven and earth, body and spirit.

Gestalt Counselling: help clients in their transformation process by becoming aware of their illusions.

Technique : Nodes and Kāla sarpa.

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7. SE - DHUMAVATI, THE GODDESS WHO RELEASES SMOKE

SW - SOUTH NODE

Dhumavati is the smoky clouding of the negation that blocks the obvious. She represents poverty and suffering, and all the less pleasant aspects of life. She is tall, has big ears, big teeth, a long nose, sagging breasts, fulminating eyes and trembling hands (astrologers must overcome their fear of appearing negative or loosing clients when something unpleasant must be communicate). Dhumavati drives a chariot pulled by a crow (astrologers must know how to govern the dark forces that appear in people‘s horoscopes); she holds a sieve (astrologers must know how to discern between useful, evolutionary information and harmful information) and makes the gesture of bestowing a blessing on those who transcend appearances and successfully see in Her the image of the divine Mother. Dhumavati reinforces Ketu‘s shadows and helps people overcome the feeling of disapproval by accepting their less noble parts. Since she is also associated with Jyeshtha Nákṣatrā, she proclaims that darkness offers us the possibility to access the light, and that the absence of thoughts or images brings us closer to a profound, enlightening meditative state.

South Node: overcome the ghosts of your karmic past.

Dhumavati: learn to understand the pain caused by any abandonment either suffered in the past or caused to others

Gestalt Counselling: help the client to find the solutions required to progress, through their sad, painful experiences.

Technique: Qualities and friendships of planets.

8. SOUTH – BAGALĀMUKHI, LADY OF SPELL

SOUTH - MARS

Bagalāmukhi freezes, stuns, immobilises and silences hostile forces. By the spell of her sounds she annihilates conflicts and confusion. She neutralises negative communication, bad intentions and the defamations that come from adversarial individuals. She paralyses negative energies using irrefutable reasoning. Her secret sound blocks our inner and outer enemies. She wears yellow clothes and flowers and sits on a golden throne surrounded by lotus flowers. With one hand, she wields a club to beat a demon (astrologers block indecision) while pulling his tongue out with the other (astrologers eliminate incorrect or dangerous words, expressing themselves correctly while giving an effective answer). Bagalāmukhi uses verbal Fire to activate Mars‘ rays. During crucial discussions, she encourages a short and unexpected pause, thereby teaching that in a heated debate or discussion in full swing, a differed answer becomes very powerful. Since it involves a combustive Martian force, the mantra must be recited with positive intentions, thereby creating the right, compassionate solutions.

Mars: by discovering what blocks you, try to understand your true intentions and perform the right action.

Bagalāmukhi: persevere on the path of knowledge, do not manipulate others and moderate your words.

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Gestalt Counselling: help clients to find their path by exploiting moments of suspension to block negative energies.

Technique: Horary questions.

9. NORTH WEST - MĀTANGI, THE LADY OF SONG

EAST - SUN

Mātangi, the Lady of Song, is the Goddess of knowledge, of all audible sounds, of sonorous vibrations and of all that transcends the usual forms of beauty. Since she is the secret form of Sarasvathi, she inspires the right words and the most harmonious movements to communicate with the masses. She is emerald green, plays the Vinā (astrologers harmonise the words of the sacred texts with the individual rhythm of the person they should help); she also plays with a parrot and listens to the sounds he makes (astrologers must enhance their ability for active listening) and sits on a golden throne (astrologers ensure that their role is respected). She also possesses another, less pleasant form: Chandālinī, the Lady who in the light of day and without having to hide, overturns cultural conventions and reverses aesthetic models (astrologers go beyond usual appearances to discover the Energy of symbols and archetypes). Mātangi‘s Energy consubstantiates Sun. She inspires wisdom and the ability to identify oneself with every reality, even the more unpleasant. She makes one aware that to be truly luminous a person must collaborate with others and in turn accept their collaboration. She represents the energy of sound, the promise of clouds and the hum of water.

Sun: accept and overcome what you dislike, thereby finding beauty and purity beyond appearances.

Mātangi: be faithful to the sacred scriptures, albeit by finding your unique, personal way to express what appears in the horoscopic chart.

Gestalt Counselling: go beyond words to help clients remove obstacles and discover their talents.

Technique: Returns.

10. SOUTH WEST - KAMALĀ, THE LADY OF THE LOTUS FLOWER.

SOUTH-EAST - VENUS

Kamalā, the Lady of the Lotus Flower, governs love, beauty and joy, even in their earthly forms. She inspires and sustains plans, and emanates the sense of wonder experienced by human beings, thereby making the terrestrial sphere enchanting. Four elephants pour nectar over her body. She holds two lotus flowers (astrologers must be able to see the beauty and goodness of the human soul) and exhibits the Mudrā to grant gifts and to reassure (astrologers must always be benedictory and reassuring). She wears a diadem of precious jewels and a silk sari. Her luminous Energy bestows vigour and splendour to Shukra (Venus) and vivifies and illuminates her rays. To adore Kamalā, all one must do is admire nature and contemplate the beauty of creation and its creatures. She ensures fertility, wellbeing, beauty, abundance and safety. Kamalā is the secret form of Lakṣmī.

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Shukra: search for the root of your desires to consecrate both material and spiritual wellbeing.

Kamalā: rediscover your feeling of wonder.

Gestalt Counselling: help others to regain their ability to be amazed, to give and receive love.

Technique: Nine Harmonic.

CONCLUSION

I would like to conclude by recalling some important details:

1. Those who choose spiritual life do not search for earthly enjoyment, but greater union with the Cosmos and their chosen Deity.

2. Enlightened creatures cannot be influenced even by the planets ... because they have chosen to surrender to the infinite and to the wellbeing of every living creature.

3. As individuals who are not yet enlightened, but lucky enough to be familiar with Astrology, our duty is to improve ourselves and help others to do so, life after life.

This article was written to inspire a way forward to teachers of Karmic Astrology who wish to develop a level of evolutionary teaching for themselves and their students. It is also a valid tool to improve the quality of consultations. Every consultation can become creative and insightful when Karmic Astrologers honour the Mahāvidyās and become aware of Their presence, function and power. Reawakening the Energy of the Goddesses requires a journey into our inner depths to discover the ability to give and receive compassion, devotion, creativity and freedom. The Mahāvidyā direct and guide our steps in the right direction. And they remind us that the main goal of life is joy. Whatever method we use during consultations and teaching, with or without being spiritual oriented, we should help students and clients to rediscover and reclaim their joy for life.

―Mother, let the whispers of my soul become a song to your name.

Let my journey become a sacred wandering.

Let all my actions provide Joy, and become part of your cult!

Oh, Supreme Goddess, I always see you with my mind‘s eye,

In you, giving, having and being merge happily in a reciprocal and harmonious relationship.

May this harmony persist in all of us!‖

From Soundarya Lahari of Shankaracharya

WISHING YOU LIGHT, JOY AND WELLBEING

SO THAT YOU MAY FIND THE BEST FUTURE FROM AMONGST ALL YOUR POSSIBLE FUTURES

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Meskalila (Nunzia Coppola) is D.F.Astrol.S, counselor in psychosocial Gestalt, CIDA delegate, ISAR VP and MAPAI. In India, where she lived for fifteen years, she has followed the paths of initiation with Aghori Langta Baba and Jay Kali Brahma Mahi Tara Mahakāla Vināsini. She has trained children with severe multiple disabilities with Nada yoga. She conducts seminars on meditation and Chakras, according to the Shakti path. Expert in cultures, myths and oriental disciplines, she lectured for the Department of Research and sociological methodology at University ―La Sapienza‖, Rome. She is the founder of Astravidya School of Karmic Astrology. An expert in supervision, she conducts workshops by the means of astrological and ancient worldwide myths. She translated into Italian Deborah Houlding‘s ―The Houses. The temples of the sky‖, Edizioni Capone. She wrote with Michele Colafato and others ―Masters, spiritual leadership: paths, models and methods‖, edited by Edition Angeli, 2006. She wrote for the series Psicoguide, edited by Cittadella ―M come meraviglia‖ and ―D come desiderio‖. She wrote ―The Moon and her Goddesses. A way to karmic astrology‖ edited by By Edizioni Capone (Chiaraceleste). She is the founder and president of the Cultural Jayavidya Association. Her site is www.jayavidya.org . She has been awarded as Global Outstanding Astrologer by The Indian Institute of Oriental Heritage. She also won the title of Woman Astrologer 2016 by the same Institute.

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Oracle Wade Caves

Through astrology, fundamental truths about life, nature and the cosmos are presented to us. We categorize astrology as an occult art. A direct translation of the word ―occult‖ is ―hidden,‖ and we take that as if it means knowledge that needs to be unearthed, exhumed from a deep, dark, concealed place. In my experience, this is rarely the case. The greater truths are always right before us, all around us, hiding, as it were, in plain sight.

I love this quote by the naturalist philosopher Viktor Schauberger, in which he says:

―The majority believes that everything hard to comprehend must be very profound. This is incorrect. What is hard to understand is what is immature, unclear and often false. The highest wisdom is simple and passes through the brain directly into the heart.‖

What Schauberger intends to convey is how essentially bound we are, as natural organisms, to truth, that it is as accessible to our ears and hearts as the ground is to our feet. Studying the occult means nothing more than observing the world around us from a mindfulness place. In studying astrology, we learn and experience what all occult sciences ultimately teach us – that all is connected, nothing is without meaning, and that all things are essentially united in each other. Complexity is the device of the mind. What is true is simple and honest, yet easy dismissed when we expect truth to take the form of something more convoluted.

Today I want to give what might be the simplest presentation of my career thus far, and with this topic I find myself more motivated and inspired than I ever was in presenting the quirkier details of this

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 technique or that. Today we explore the astrological 9th house, a house whose intrinsic mysticism is too often overlooked and, as a result, too often under appreciated.

What life topics are designated to a house is far less important a thing than considering how the connection between a topic and its house was established in the first place. Themes are not simply doled out to the houses as a matter of convenience – ―Here, we have the subject of illness, let‘s go ahead and put that in the 6th house since the 1st through 5th are taken. And let‘s not forget about partners and lovers and those who openly oppose us – we haven‘t placed those yet, and the 7th house is free and open so let‘s assign these there.‖

It doesn‘t work that way. The assignations are not random. There‘s fundamental symbology at work in determining a house‘s quality and significations. The ancients asked themselves a specific set of questions, the answers to which then aggregate to reveal that house‘s intrinsic nature. Examples of these questions might be – is the house diurnal or nocturnal? What aspect, if any, does it form to the ascendant? Is the house angular, succedent, cadent? Is it rising in diurnal motion toward the midheaven, or falling and descending to the lower depths? We then consider which planet‘s nature might cause them to joy in that house, if any do at all, and how that connection further shapes that house‘s meaning.

But again, over time, we forget to acknowledge the why behind house signification and simply accept the symbolic output – ―this topic goes to this house.‖ Today we will unpack the ninth house, with an aim to put it all back together again.

The associations of the 9th house will no doubt be familiar to you. We are told, from traditional texts, that this house signifies such things as philosophy, justice and the rule of law, higher education, religion and faith, long distance travel, dreams. What is the common thread between each of these areas of life? What unites them?

Admittedly these have a very strong Jupiterian flare. Straight through the tradition we see that Jupiter is the natural significator for philosophers and clergymen, lawyers and mystics. Lilly, in his Christian Astrology, describes those who are signified by a dignified Jupiter as ―magnanimous, faithful, bashful, aspiring in an honorable way at high matters, in all his actions a lover of fair dealing, desiring to benefit all men.‖ The connection between the 9th house and Jupiter is easy enough to make.

We might even be tempted to extend that association by saying there‘s a flavor of Sagittarius here as well, being Jupiter‘s diurnal, fiery domicile. This connection is usually made because Sagittarius is the 9th sign in the natural order of the zodiac, but this kind of thinking is where modern astrological thinking tends to wander off. Sagittarius and Jupiter start picking up reverse significations, as if by a very bizarre process a house can push its rulerships onto signs and planets. Suddenly Sagittarius picks up 9th house significations of foreigners, long distance travel, universities and churches.

We see this with the other signs, too. The 2nd sign, Taurus, gets bundled up with the 2nd house to signify finances and values, the 11th sign Aquarius is pushed to govern social groups and friends, and the 12th sign Pisces becomes associated with self-harm through addictive vices like drugs and alcohol. These are modern ideas, unsubstantiated ones at that if we are to base our understanding on the historical development of house symbolism.

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It is true that there are some connections between the houses and the signs, but the scope is limited. Aries and the 1st house both rule the head, Taurus and the 2nd both rule the throat, etc. Libra points westward, as does the 7th house. Capricorn points southward, as does the 10th house. But that is where these associations begin and end.

In the interest of transparency, I should say that I‘m making a loose assertion that this is a modern method of approaching the houses, but truthfully this kind of thinking has been around for centuries and was admonished by Nicholas Culpeper in the 17th century:

―Some authors hold an opinion that the signs carry the same signification in order that the houses of heaven do, and Aries should signify life, Taurus estate, Gemini brethren and short journeys, you know the rest. Truly, my own opinion is that many authors invented whimsies, and when they had done, set them down to posterity for Truth; who taking them up without trial, clothed tradition in plush and left poor reason to go in rags. An author said so; ergo ‘tis true, right or wrong.‖ (Nicholas Culpeper, Astrological Judgement of Disease, x.iv)

To start to understand how the 9th house has picked up the signification it has, we should first acknowledge its place in the astrological scheme.

The 9th house is a diurnal house, meaning it is above the horizon. Diurnal houses are more outwardly expressive, and generally tend to make external imprints rather than internal. To see the distinction here, let‘s quickly look at an example: the 3rd and 11th houses. Both form a harmonious sextile to the ascendant, and so are supportive houses to the native or querent. The sextile from beneath the earth holds the lunar qualities of connection, things that we come into life with. Siblings are given to the 3rd house – they are the blood we are born into – as is our immediate community and neighborhood – those things that are implicitly familiar to us. The 11th house is diurnal, and so holds the solar quality of selection. Friends belong to this house – they are the family that we choose, the people we value and acknowledge as fulfilling some key role in our lives.

The previous example comes from Deborah Houlding‘s The Houses: Temples of the Sky, and I think it illustrates the distinction between diurnal and nocturnal houses nicely. We can demonstrate this again by looking at the 4th and 10th houses. Both are connected to the ascendant, both angular, but one reflects lunar qualities and the other solar. The 4th house, the angle under the earth, is connected to our ancestry, from whence we originate, and it speaks to our relationship with the concept of home and family history. The 10th is the upper angle, where everything is made manifest and visible. It shows where we point our soul‘s arrow, where we seek to make our distinguishing mark on this world and differentiate ourselves from our family. You cannot understand the 10th house without understanding the 4th, as they mark two vantage points in observing the bearings of one‘s life.

Can you see the difference between how houses forming a similar aspect to the ascendant accomplish united tasks, but are somehow modified by their placement above or below the horizon? It‘s a simple distinction, seemingly minor, but loaded with implication and derived meaning.

The 9th house is also revered as a benevolent and beneficial house, the least difficult of the cadent houses, partly because of the trine it casts to the ascendant. Trines are aspects of support, historically described as aspects of ―perfect love‖ and of the nature of Jupiter.

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We truly start to see the associations pour in as we consider the classical scheme of planetary joys. Without understanding the joys, it would be difficult to grasp how and why the 9th house is associated with dreams and mysticism, which today many mistakenly assign to the destructive nature of the 12th house.

The planetary joys form a very old system, and place each of the seven traditional planets in a house that naturally suits their temperament. It seems to me that the house meanings and the assigned joys of the planets evolved together, neither of them being in the position of chicken or egg. Evidence for this is shone in Manilius‘s work, Astronomica, one of the oldest astrological texts we have available to us today.

In Astronomica, Manilius assigns marriage to the 10th house, a result of his assigning Venus her joy in the southern angle. We now associate marriage with the seventh house, though some relation to the 10th house remains in the form of ―status change.‖

Manilius also put Saturn in the 4th house, and the logic there is strong in my opinion. The 4th is the darkest house. Thrust well beneath the earth, it shows the inner bowels of the ground below us, including the barrenness of mines and caves. The northern direction, toward which the IC points, has long been associated with undesirables and underworld mythology. We still see the influence of Saturn in the 4th when we consider its association with old age and the elderly.

The problem we have with Manilius‘s scheme is that it places nocturnal Venus in the diurnal hemisphere, and diurnal Saturn in the nocturnal. What I‘m presenting for you today is the version of planetary joys that is shown in every other work, where Venus is gently arranged in the nocturnal hemisphere and Saturn is elevated to join his diurnal counterparts, the Sun and Jupiter, above the horizon.

In the interest of time, I aim to be brief in explaining the associations of the five planets. Notice the diurnal planets – Saturn, Jupiter and the Sun – are all arranged in the upper hemisphere. Notice too that the benefics Jupiter and the Sun rejoice in houses that form an aspect the ascendant, while Saturn is found in a cadent house.

The nocturnal planets – Mars, Venus and the Moon – are all below the horizon together. Venus and the Moon both joy in houses that form an aspect to the ascendant, while malefic Mars remains cadent from it. Mercury is in the 1st house, where light intermingles with darkness, as it is at the ascendant where a planet emerges from the nocturnal realm into the diurnal realm.

Mercury rejoices in the 1st house because he delights in pleasures of the intellect – thought and invention, word-craft and oration – and because the house‘s connection to daybreak mirrors his own dual nature. On the balance, those born with Mercury in the 1st house are said to have a penetrating mind.

Venus joys in the 5th house because it is the house of recreation and enjoyment, procreation and sexual intimacy. Those born with Venus in the 5th house are likely to have a deep appreciation for romance, and kind and generous children.

Mars delights in the troublesome elements of the 6th house, all connected to illness and disease and servitude and toil. Mars in the 6th tends to make good surgeons and doctors, especially when Venus is also placed here.

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Jupiter rejoices in the house opposite the Lesser Fortune, Venus. The 11th house is associated with our benefactors and friends, those who support us in our aims and ambitions.

Saturn rejoices in the malevolency of the 12th house. Paulus of Alexandria, in his 4th century text Introduction to Astrology, tells us that those born with Saturn in the 12th by day live to overcome their adversaries, as Saturn there afflicts the 12th house of secret enemies.

Having gone ‗round the chart, this brings us back to the two luminaries, and to set the stage for the 9th house I think it best we start with its opposite – the 3rd.

The 3rd house is the joy of the Moon. What you may notice straight away is that we have the two luminaries rejoicing in houses opposite each other. This pattern is shown elsewhere in the scheme of planetary joys: Jupiter and Venus, the two benefics, rejoice in the 11th and 5th respectively; Saturn and Mars, the two malefics, in the 12th and 6th. Only Mercury occupies a house without an opposite counterpart.

The Sun and Moon were anciently seen as a celestial image of royalty. The Moon signified queens and was herself called Goddess or Dea, the divine spirit of earth, whereas the Sun signified kings, was called God, and represented the divine spirit of the upper regions. Together these two formed a regal pairing, and so the houses of their joy were set opposite each other.

The 3rd house is a nocturnal house, and will have these familiar associations: writing and reading, communication and schooling, children, neighborhoods, short journeys and travel. Again, it‘s very common to see people misappropriating the origin of these house meanings to Gemini, the 3rd sign of the natural zodiac, or to its ruler Mercury.

This ―sign-equals-house‖ equation is the astrological version of a homophone. The meanings of the 3rd house originate from the Moon herself. Because of her rapid movement, the Moon was said to be the ‗internuncio‘ between the planets, the messenger and agent, the traveler.

The connection to neighborhoods and children and schooling all stem from the lunar function of establishing tribal knowledge. As the planetary body closest to us, the Moon represents that which is common to us all. The kind of education that the 3rd house signifies is communal, what we all learn together as a cohort in our early, formative years. There is nothing special or unique about this education; everyone participates, everyone contributes. And this might help make sense of why, in historical texts, those signified by the Moon were often called ―vulgar‖, which when traced back to its Latin root simply means ―common‖ or ―ordinary.‖

The lunar connection also highlights why short distance travel belongs to this house. Mercury, of himself, has only a loose association with travel. Commerce he governs, but commerce is not given to this house. Medicine and thought and oration too, but these aren‘t given to this house either.

Journeys are, however. Why? As hinted at before, this is due to the Moon‘s swift movement in our sky. She constantly disconnects from one planet to join to another, a celestial image of what humans do when they go out from one place and head toward another.

And why short travels in particular? Again, this connects back to the lunar qualities of the 3rd house – communal, common, connected. The affairs of this house do not cause us to venture too far from our tribe, physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually.

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Now when we contrast this against the significations of the 9th house, a similar-yet-distinct dynamic begins form. Remember that the Moon gives the quality of connection, the Sun gives selection. Through the Moon‘s influence, the 3rd house signifies common education that unites us. The 9th house shows the kind of education wherein we specialize and distinguish our knowledge from those of our peers. The 3rd house shows travel that is near and familiar to us, the 9th house shows travel that takes us far from what is familiar, broadens the mind and gives us access to the kind of information and experiences that our tribe cannot claim.

The 3rd house, through the Moon as the earth Goddess, gives us knowledge from the earth, for dealings with everyday things – how to write, read, communicate. Knowledge of higher things – philosophy, justice, mysticism and spirituality – these come from the Sun God himself, and through him a connection to higher realms of the angelic beings.

In ancient civilizations, solar deities such as the Greco-Roman Apollo were those in the pantheon responsible for divination, revelations and dreams, visions, meditations. As a result, wisdom and supreme knowledge were given to this house, as well as giving and receiving counsel, and astrology itself.

I want to pause on this for a moment to say that many historical texts argue that astrology is mercurial. I don‘t often like to find myself disagreeing with ancient texts, but on this point, I do so gladly. Astrology is only mercurial insofar as it relates to mathematical principles and calculations. Astrology is not unlike the law – there‘s the legal code, or the letter of the law, but it is meaningless until a judge takes it upon himself to acquaint himself with the law and interpret its relevance to everyday situations.

Similarly, astrology needs the activation of celestial and earthly symbolism to make it matter. This is the Sun‘s role. Each of the planets play their own part – the Moon brings the soul connection between astrologer and client, Mercury the logic and mathematics, Venus the love and emotive concern for those around us, Mars the bravery to say what needs to be said, Jupiter the generosity of spirit, Saturn the deliberation and dedication to the study of astrology. But for all the planets‘ unique virtues, they must all channel their contributions through the oracle of the Sun, the divine king of the heavens, the center of our astrological and astronomical scheme. Astrology, to me, is wholly solar, and as such, allows access to something that is wholly divine.

Now I speak of the luminaries‘ godhead, but I do so metaphorically. I am not suggesting we take the Sun and Moon up as proper deities in a literal sense, as was the case in millennia past. I am, however, hoping to use ancient belief to paint a picture of how these two houses take on similar yet distinct images of the life experience.

We can see this connection between the Sun as divine and the Moon as material mirrored through another astrological technique: the use of the Part of Fortune, sometimes called the Lot of the Moon, and the Part of Spirit, or the Lot of the Sun. The controversy for their calculation has been quieted in recent years, but I think it‘s worth reviving.

There are two competing views for calculating the Part of Fortune, or Fortuna, or the Lot of the Moon: some say that in daytime charts we take the longitude of the Moon, subtract the absolute longitude of the Sun and then cast that off from the ascending degree; and, in night-time charts, we subtract the longitude of the Sun from the Moon and cast that difference from the ascendant. The Part of Spirit, or the Lot of the Sun, would then be whichever formula is left unused.

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This makes no sense to me. I concur with Ptolemy (later echoed by ibn Ezra and Lilly) when he explicitly instructed us to take the daytime calculation for both day and night charts. When using the same calculation, Fortuna lies the same distance away from the ascendant as she does from the Sun, essentially plotting the Moon‘s phase as a hylegical place by using the ascending degree as a starting point. The lunar symbolism is therefore inbuilt in Fortuna‘s calculation.

To reverse the calculation puts the sect light forward instead. This was a popular idea in the Hellenistic tradition which obsessed over sect, and was repeated throughout the medieval texts as authors copied and expounded upon the works that came before them. But we must remember, Fortuna is the Lot of the Moon, the earth goddess Dea. Fortuna is said to signify the body, fortune, and substance, and is even used as a hylegical point in length of life techniques. Anciently these things tied to the material, earthly nature of the Moon. It‘s nonsensical to lead off with the sect light; the Sun has nothing to do with these matters. The Lot of the Sun, however, signifies those things that faith, prophecy, religion and good reputation. Do you see how these Parts are meant to connect back to the core tenets of their corresponding luminaries?

A decision to reverse the formula for Fortuna strips the calculation from its philosophical relationship to the Moon, and vice versa for the part of Spirit, and instead tacks these calculations onto the sect light. We then start grasping at straws as we attempt to explain why the Lots of Fortune and Spirit mean what they do when they‘re derived from something other than their namesake luminaries.

We don‘t have time to discuss this further here, but it is a point I felt worth mentioning as it demonstrates another way astrologers distinguished the role of the Moon and Sun in terms of body and spirit, like how the worldly and the divine are split between the 3rd and 9th houses.

Let‘s now return to our discussion on the houses. In natal astrology, the 9th house tells us how the native responds to counsel, to what degree they are inclined toward higher education, whether they feel pulled toward a spiritual path or toward something more material and earthbound, etc.

The sign on the cusp of the native‘s 9th house and the placement of its ruler will tell us what kinds of teachers and gurus we are drawn to, what messages resonate with us best on a spiritual level. As an example, those with the Moon ruling the 9th house will seek to understand the ways in which all things are connected. Those with Mars ruling the 9th often look for a religious path that emphasizes taking charge, advancing forward and claiming the self as opposed to allowing the self to dissolve into a collective worldview. These two natives may claim the same religion, but how they would express it couldn‘t be more different.

As a horary astrologer, I find myself surrounded at astrology conferences by those who take an interest in divination, tarot and horary – all 9th house subjects. Once in New York, I was sat at a table with several horary astrologers, and each of them made certain comments that caught my attention. ―I always seem to get property questions,‖ one would say. ―How funny, I get so many relationship questions,‖ said another. ―I wish I got relationship questions, I only ever get approached for questions relating back to career,‖ said a third.

I made a quick hypothesis, and in a short matter of time the root of these patterns emerged: for the woman who overwhelmingly received property questions, her 9th-ruler was placed in her natal 4th house. For the woman who received relationship questions, her 9th-ruler was placed in the 5th, with its dispositor in the 7th. And for the man whose received questions centered on career matters, his 9th- ruler was placed in the 10th.

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I‘ve played with this observation over time, and it seems to hold reasonably well that where the 9th- ruler is in our chart tells us what areas of life the people around us trust us to give reliable advice. The connection is easier to see when the 9th-ruler is in succeedent or cadent houses. It can be less obvious when the 9th-ruler is in an angular house, because these houses have layers upon layers of meaning due to their orientation in the celestial scheme.

The 1st house shows the self, personal health, rising above adversity, first light. The 9th-ruler in the 1st should hearken some connection to these issues, and likewise for the other angles: the 7th house shows interpersonal relationship and things that attack the self; the 4th house shows things that are hidden from view, deep down, difficult of explaining; and, the 10th shows those matters that show our soul‘s path, the heights that we aspire to. With a little thought, it should become clearer what the connection is to your 9th house, the sign on its cusp, its ruler, its sign and the house it is placed in. It might be a neat exercise for you to try at home and with other astrologers around you.

In fact, I thought it might be fun to demonstrate this together using the chart for a well-known individual, whose identity will be revealed in just a few moments. Before we start, I will say that absolutely no element chart selection went into this at any stage. I Googled famous individuals with a specific advisory job, and decided I would use the very first person Google recommended that had a confirmed birth time with a Rodden rating of AA. There was no pulling-of-strings to make this theory work.

For the most part, I am going to avoid everything in this chart not directly linked to the 9th house, and will approaching this from a classical point of view.

First, we note that Aries is on the cusp of the 9th house, ruled by the malefic planet Mars. Mars is in the 10th house in Gemini, in an applying conjunction with 10th-ruler Venus. This is the chart for an individual who made a career on giving advice of a particular kind. To establish what kind, I look at the other houses being drawn into signification. Mars is in Gemini, with Mercury in the 9th house. Mercury obviously has something to tell us, and I notice that he rules the 2nd house of finances. Somehow, we‘re getting a picture here of a career in advising and counseling that touches money in some way or another.

But notice that Mercury is retrograde and peregrine, Neptune is on the cusp of the 2nd house (also retrograde), and Saturn is very near to the degree of the 9th house. In some quadrant-based systems, Saturn would be bang on the cusp of the 9th. All of these things considered, there‘s an image of corruption with the advice. Can we find that substantiated elsewhere?

In fact, we can. Within the 9th house we have a Moon applying to a peregrine Sun, dark and combust. Combustion is indicative of secrecy and concealment, and possibly imprisonment. The Moon‘s application to the Sun as 12th-ruler suggests that through the actions of giving counsel and advice, the native will self-implicate and find himself imprisoned, or at the very least, undone by his own actions.

Mars ruling the 9th, but also ruling the 4th, being in so manifest a house as the 10th, gives us reason to believe that this individual‘s actions will influence his family and family legacy, either negatively or positively. Scorpio on the cusp of the 4th shows that every advance forward is accompanied by the sting of a scorpion to the family unit.

Taken alone, these are all very basic interpretations, so basic that I would be embarrassed to rely on these alone in an actual consultation. But notice how they stack and compound; what we see is actually what we get here.

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For the grand reveal – this is the chart of Bernie Madoff, one of the most infamous financial advisors who orchestrated perhaps the largest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history, which led to the financial ruin of thousands of investors. The aftermath of Madoff‘s confession and subsequent conviction destroyed his family, even resulting in the tragic suicide of his eldest son, which is shown in the nativity by the Moon‘s application to the 12th-ruler the Sun in the 9th house. If the 12th house connection isn‘t obvious, the 12th house is the 8th from the 5th, thereby showing the death of children. It isn‘t irrelevant that Pluto sits on the cusp of that house as well.

I would also like to demonstrate the use of the 9th house in horary, and to do this I am choosing to call on a historical chart – one from Lilly‘s case files. Personally, I tire of traditional astrologers falling back on Lilly‘s chart work as if he‘s the only historical astrologer with charts of value. That said, this is one of the few that I think need to be shown and regularly discussed, because it underlines a few critical points in horary technique: firstly, horary astrology is not fatalistic; secondly, it is not appropriate to limit horary to yes or no questions; and, thirdly, it exhibits how the 9th house was used to help an astrologer dial into the mind and craftiness of his querent or subject.

In this question, labeled ―If attain the Philosopher‘s Stone?‖, came with this description by Lilly:

―An ingenious man with much seriousness propounded the question above, viz., whether he should obtain the Philosopher‘s Stone? Or, that elixir by which such wonders are performed? That there is such a thing I verily believe; that it may be attained I am as confident: but as it is a blessing beyond all blessings upon earth, so I hold, that it is given but to very few, and to those few rather by revelation of the good Angels of God, than the proper industry of man. This question must admit of this manner of proposal; whether the knowledge of the querent is so able, or he so cunning, as to produce to effect by his art what he desires?‖ (William Lilly, Christian Astrology, pp. 442-443.)

The devil here is in the details. Notice how Lilly mentions that he must approach this question as a matter of divine revelation. Is the querent sufficient in and of himself to produce the Philosopher‘s Stone, and if so, will the pathway be revealed to him by the angels of God?

As ever, the querent is shown by the first house, the sign on the cusp of the first house, and its ruler. We have Virgo rising with Mercury as its ruler, an appropriate signification for a student of the occult arts. Mars rules Aries, the sign on the cusp of the 9th house. Lilly will judge the capability of the querent from the relationship between and disposition of these two planets.

The judgment is simple and straightforward. Mars is in the 12th house, a strong testimony of its significations remaining hidden from view. Mars is in square to both Mercury and Saturn, all in fixed signs. Mercury has just stationed direct and is very slow in motion, a traditional indication of a sluggish mind. Lilly makes an important note that Mercury squared Mars while retrograde, and will square him again now direct. From this we can judge that this isn‘t the first attempt the querent has made at producing the Philosopher‘s Stone. He was unsuccessful once, and he will be unsuccessful again.

Lilly urged the querent to desist his attempts as the materials he was using were having a deleterious effect on his body. You can see this from Mercury‘s besiegement between 6th-ruler Saturn, whose excessively cold and dry natured is exacerbated in earthy Taurus, and Mars in the 12th house, whose excessively hot and dry nature is worsened in the fiery sign of Leo.

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The point in showing this chart is the way in which Lilly approached the question. It might have been simple enough to look and see if Mercury was receiving an application from the Moon – the Moon shows the focus of the question, things sought after, and could have suitably signified the Philosopher‘s Stone from that perspective. Or, Lilly could have used the 11th house and its ruler, as this house shows us those things in life we pine after and wish for beyond all else.

Instead, Lilly made use of the 9th to explore how deep our querent‘s capacity for true wisdom was. How close was this querent to the gods? How easily did he convene with angels? The chart shows that the querent‘s desperation after an elixir that glorified the material was driving him further from the divine, further from true knowledge and further from celestial wisdom. I don‘t aim to demonize the material; it is so important, but it must take its place in the order of things. It is my belief that the Philosopher‘s Stone is a metaphor, the prize that comes when we finally find the beauty in growing old, when we rejoice in the lifecycle of Nature herself, and as is so succinctly worded in the Harry Potter books, when we ―welcome Death as an old friend.‖

I encourage each of you to take some time to look deeper into the 9th house in your own astrological practice. For the horary astrologers here, how can you use this house differently to help you understand your client‘s ability to perform the job or task they intend to undertake? How about the reliability of a surgeon, or financial advisor your client intends to consult? For those working in natal consultations, what does your client‘s 9th house say about their inner relationship to higher power, or to counsel and advice? Are they advantaged by these positions, or hurt by them?

Should such a thing as the Philosopher‘s Stone exist, surely it would only reveal itself to those sage souls who have made peace with their own mortality, and have detached themselves from the material in this world. This is the essential meaning of the 9th house, to choose what is higher, to choose the divine. As astrologers, we‘re uniquely positioned to choose the divine each day. When we practice our art, we become roving ambassadors for the 9th house, the house of the Sun‘s joy, and I cannot think of a better honor than that.

Wade Caves, based in San Francisco, USA, is an astrological consultant, speaker and educator specializing in horary, electional and classical astrological technique. Wade was certified with honors from the Mayo School of Astrology in London, and is well versed in both traditional and modern psychological methods of chart delineation. Wade‘s passion and focus is not only in understanding the historical and philosophical origins of astrological symbolism, but finding new and reliable ways to put this information to good practical use in a consultation setting. He is the editor and annotator of the 300th anniversary edition of William Lilly‘s History of His Life & Times (Rubedo Press, 2015).

Wade received his certification as a horary practitioner from Deborah Houlding‘s School of Traditional Astrology (STA) in 2013, and now serves as a faculty member. He began tutoring for the STA in October 2015 and delivers the Practitioner‘s Level Horary Course as an intensive attendance program.

Wade has a busy consultation practice, lectures widely and publishes frequently on horary through journal articles and online podcasts. https://wadecaves.com/

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IAM HORARY Two missing cats - similar charts, different story

Tania Daniels

I love cats. For many years, I always had more than one. Nevertheless, I live close to a country road where people like to speed up in their cars. I have lost a lot of my cats there. Recently I had three. One of them had a kitten, but often left home for her journeys (cat A). The other one (B) nearly never left home, a female, very shy and not fond of being hugged.

Both of them got lost, shortly one after the other, during a village festival. I asked an horary for each of them, wanting to know if they were alive and would come back. The charts are very similar. But the little differences explain, why the first came back and the second not. These differences also teach us, to look at the chart as a whole, and not just to focus on its details.

Here is the chart of cat ―A‖, which was first missing. /1/

The animal is described by the 6th house in Sagittarius and its ruler Jupiter, the benefic in sect. He is angular and thus strong and the exaltation ruler of the AC, a hint that something positive is coming out of this question for me as the querent, the more so as Venus is elevated in the 10th house, aspecting the AC.

Jupiter is retrograde and mutually applying a trine with the Sun, natural ruler of life and ruler of the 9th house (travel). Its retrograde motion and the lack of hard aspects to the malefics describes the cat coming back. Furthermore, Jupiter is in the 4th house which represents my home.

The Moon has just separated from a sextile to the Sun and is now going to apply the major benefic. She is in the turned 9th house (applying the 5° rule) . /2/

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While it‘s true that Saturn (the ruler of the radical 8th house of death) is in the 6th house (the cat), he is nevertheless retrograde and thus leaving the house. In addition, there is a separative mutual reception between Saturn and Jupiter, which may be considered as some kind of life guarantee. Last but not least the Moon will apply Saturn only after having met Jupiter first.

Nailing things down, we can say that

• The cat is described by a lucky planet (Jupiter)

• It is applying to the Sun (Life), the ruler of the cat‘s 9th house (travel)

• The Moon (which represents myself) is applying to Jupiter, so something positive is going to happen to me.

Everything in this chart is positive and promising. Indeed, cat A came back the same evening. /3/

Now let‘s have a look at the second chart, apparently very similar.

In this chart, the cat is described by the 6th house in Capricorn and its ruler Saturn, the major malefic. Saturn also rules the 8th house. As Jupiter for cat A, also Saturn is retrograde, but in this case, he is separating from an opposition to Mars, the malefic out of sect and natural ruler of accidents. He is next retrograde applying to Venus, the ruler of the 4th house in Libra, in which Saturn is exalted. Venus is even more elevated than in the chart before, but she is approaching a square to the AC and she is the benefic out of sect and in her detriment, and thus not able to bring any help through. She rules the 4th house, which not only describes one‘s ―home‖ but also the end of things and the grave.

Let‘s now see what the Moon does.

She rules the 12th house of secrets things or information which just does not come up. Also Saturn, the significator of the cat, is in the turned 12th house.

As in the chart before, she is only at a 3° distance from the Sun, but this time, they apply by square, which describes problems or difficulties.

This aspect would not be so worrisome, if the Sun wasn‘t the turned 8th house ruler of the cat, which confirms the negative information of Saturn ruling both the 6th and the 8th house. There is no mitigating reception between these two planets.

The Moon then translates the light to Saturn (lord of the 8th) by square.

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Summarizing we can say that

• The cat is described by the major malefic

• The significator of the cat also rules the 8th house, linking both together

• The cat‘s significator is separating from Mars

• The Moon is applying to the derived 8th house ruler

This cat hasn‘t come back and no information regarding its whereabouts has so far come up and probably never will.

/1/ You can find a deeper analysis of this chart on by blog: http://www.taniadaniels.com/pied-piper-of-hameln/

/2/ William Lilly, Christian Astrology, p. 33, 151

/3/ Fore more details, see my article mentioned earlier.

Tania Daniels, born in 1972 became interested in Astrology in 1998 and finished training in psychological astrology in 2002 at the Berlin school of the German Astrology Association (DAV). In 2009, Tania started studying a master‘s course in Horary at the School of Traditional Astrology (STA) with Deborah Houlding. In 2015, she became involved in Hellenistic Astrology and is currently completing her studies with Chris Brennan. She has also enrolled in Robert Zoeller‘s Medieval Astrology Course. Tania‘s articles are published in German, English and Italian in the main astrological journals. She gives readings in Italian, German, English and Spanish. Her other interests are Ayurveda, naturopathy and Past Life Regression Therapy. Tania has three children and lives in Italy near Perugia. Her website is www.taniadaniels.com and you can find her page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Klassische.Stundenastrologie

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The synastry of Brangelina: a marriage of opposites Victor Olliver

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt (aka Brangelina) are the current Hollywood golden couple – each beautiful, rich, successful, famous, popular, family- oriented and philanthropic. Together, their bliss is beyond compare. Is such apparent perfection possible this side of Heaven? Victor Olliver analyses the synastry of the superstar duo – and discovers a fractious furnace of complementary opposites

Introduction for Infinity readers: I wrote the first version of this synastry report on Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie a few years ago. Then they were the ―Hollywood golden couple‖ with everything going for them (i.e: We all just knew it couldn‘t last. Yet…). I then updated it in 2014 just after their opulent wedding. By then the pair had been together for a few years, had accumulated six kids and a vast pooled fortune, and squillions of brownie points for their charitable works and donations. But no Oscars. This is the version that is below. Seemingly, only death would separate them – except for that pesky Mars-Mars square of theirs which, to astrologers, pointed to a huge potential for power struggles. Only a fool would say that this aspect was terminal for matrimonial bliss. Astrology can pick out the fault lines but who‘s to say an earthquake is inevitable? We have yet to find the perfect synastry chart which assures eternal union – in love. Real life is just too complicated to reduce to elaborate formulae for success or failure – but we can try.

We should bear in mind that in terms of ordinary life, Jolie-Pitt are exceptionally privileged. Both get their own way a lot of the time. What we call a fanciful whim they might label a poolside executive decision. Aside from fabulous wealth and transient beauty (but for Neptune‘s digital preservative in movies), they are feted globally and have a reach last reserved for the gods we no longer believe in. To examine their synasty, then, is useful iconoclasm for the techniques used are indifferent to the celebrity or otherwise of the parties. Stripped of all the tinsel, they are laid bare astrologically, just as if they were another Mr and Mrs Smith – which just happens to be the title of the movie on which they romantically bonded.

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I have not altered a word of this version. Make of it as you will.

On August 23, 2014, Hollywood superstars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were finally married in a $2m ceremony – with all six children in attendance along with just 16 invited guests. Her actor father Jon Voight was absent though he conveyed his best wishes on their nuptials in a press release. The bride wore white, reportedly. The location was the couple‘s $35m Chateau Miraval in Nice, France. And the timing was not accidental: the wedding marked the 10th anniversary of their relationship, ever since they bonded on the set of the hit movie Mr & Mrs Smith.

Hello! magazine reported: ―After the wedding ceremony, the family returned to the Great Hall in the main house for a celebration lunch with ‗local hams, cheeses, freshly-caught sea bass, Italian pastas and champagne, as well as Chateau Miraval rose wine‘ - Angelina and Brad's own brand.‖ There were three different types of cake.

No one could accuse them of rushing into wedlock. They exchanged vows with eyes wide open after a decade of familiarity and intimacy – and still elected to commit, in cold blood, as it were. I make this point because their union, astrologically, is not the stuff of fairytale: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are sun-sign opposites (Sagittarius and Gemini respectively) making for a passionate, dynamic, vocal, volatile relationship between two driven people based in part on intriguing contrasting traits. ―The sparks fly at home… I tear his shirt,‖ Jolie has admitted.

So, this is not a Cinderella story. More, Who‘s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

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How each mirrors the other‘s (hidden or undeveloped) half - the mechanism of ―opposites attract‖ – is key to their union.

Pitt‘s chart is grounded and practical (earth weighted score: 14 – fire coming a poor second with a score of 7). Saturn not only co-rules his 1st and 2nd houses – with a four-planet lunar stellium in Capricorn - but also sits in the 2nd in Aquarius: the self, finances and other material possessions are subject to much responsibility and consideration under this sober planet‘s wings. Yet despite apparent ―heaviness‖, his chart reveals that with Sagittarius rising (amplifying adaptability, personal impact and extroversion) he is drawn to the more carefree/communicative/ever curious qualities of Gemini, with that sign on his descendant - the chart area which helps identify the kind of people we are drawn to or need.

In contrast, Jolie‘s fiery horoscope is strikingly impractical, or at least not money-motivated (even if her personal net worth is estimated close to $145m) with no planets in earth and an untenanted 2nd house (area of income and certain material assets). She is mainly fire and air, impulsive, adaptable and free-spirited in unchecked mode. She has said acting allows her to travel and have ―fun‖. With Cancer rising, her descendant point is of course in Capricorn; one of Saturn‘s signs. Jolie needs a partner possessed of an essentially serious/dutiful nature and the material rigour she may lack.

Enter Saturnian Pitt.

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In their synastry chart (featured) her sun on his descendant and Neptune on his ascendant accentuate both the powerful attraction of contrasts as well as a romantic, ―psychic‖ bond that may be prone to misunderstandings or confusion. Her 2009 statement doubting that ―fidelity is absolutely essential for a relationship‖ may have as much intrigued as puzzled Pitt.

That they find each other fun and stimulating is indicated by his Jupiter conjunct her Jupiter/Moon/Mars: all located in the 4th house of the home denotes an expansive or large family of abundance – they have, as noted already, six children, three adopted, and vast homes in LA, France, Italy, etc. His ascendant trine her Jupiter also points to a shared sense of humour and encouragement.

With her dignified Mars conjunct his Jupiter, she brings a more overtly expressed sexuality into the relationship – ―He always makes me feel sexy and desirable,‖ she has said – and greater energy to try new things (it should also be noted that she has a cardinal weighted score of 17 – a born initiator). Pitt has diversified his movie roles in recent years, such as into satirical comedy; and this may be one result of her dynamic and more playful influence.

His Jupiter sextile her Sun encourages her to broaden her horizons (such as with the large family) while her Jupiter trine his Saturn factors in ordered thinking and planning in taking advantage of opportunities for mutual expansion. For instance, photos of their twins were sold to Hello! and People magazines for a record $14m, all donated to their Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Indubitably, they identify well with each other‘s career goals, with his ascendant trine her Midheaven and her ascendant sextile his Midheaven. Since Mr & Mrs Smith, Jolie has said a number of times that she‘d ―love‖ to work with Pitt again. At the time of writing they are shooting movie By The Sea together, with Jolie acting and directing.

Their shared humanitarian interests help to cement the bond. Her 11th house Sun/Mercury powers a benevolent or social activist vision, reinforced by her 9th house lunar stellium of global awareness (conjunct his Jupiter) – matched by Pitt with his own natal 9th house conjunction of Pluto/Uranus and a selfless Neptune in his 11th. In 2006 alone the couple donated over $8m to charity. In recent times, UN Special Envoy Jolie has conducted a high profile campaign to raise awareness of rape in conflict zones, and was hugely praised by UK former foreign secretary William Hague. In 2014, Jolie was made an honorary dame by the Queen for her campaign work in fighting sexual violence and for services to UK foreign policy. The Tomb Raider star was presented with the award during a private audience with the monarch at Buckingham Palace on October 10, 2014, just as her 1st house transiting Jupiter trined almost exactly her 9th house MC and natal Jupiter. Though she cannot be addressed as ―dame‖ she can add the initials of the award after her name – DCMG.

Pitt has supported 39 charities, according to the looktothestars.org website.

The solar contrasting nature of their relationship is reflected in many oppositions and squares in their synastry chart. His Sun opposite her Mercury and her Sun quincunx his Mercury indicate a communicative relationship but the risk of major disagreements with a need to work for balance or an agree-to-disagree strategy. Even Jolie admits they argue a lot.

Their Venus-Venus opposition underlines the romantic energy between them with shared values and social interests, but emotional mirroring may provoke difficulties in maintaining harmony. His Moon (representing home as well as emotional nature) quincunx her Mercury and her Moon square his Mercury do suggest squabbling over domestic and personal matters with each viewing the other as

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 over-critical: reports claim they‘ve argued over red meat, the kids‘ nanny and Jennifer Aniston, among other issues.

Her Jupiter square his Moon, Mercury, Venus and Mars can suggest joint self-indulgence (the $2m wedding being but one small example): Jolie (Jupiter) tendentiously views herself as the teacher in the union (she claims to have brought ―order‖ to his life) while Pitt (Venus) may think she is too preoccupied with the outer world – or big political or charitable issues – perhaps to the detriment of other life areas. The square provides further astrological evidence of domestic rifts and a tendency to rash and costly acts (such as spending a reported $40m on an Italian estate). Both have to compromise to avoid meltdown.

Her Saturn in Cancer opposition to his Moon-Mercury-Venus-Mars stellium – along the financial axis of 8th and 2nd houses – is challenging: problems are likely over control of family resources leaving Pitt feeling oppressed in some way, Jolie (Saturn) viewing him as lightweight at times. Suspicions may arise of ulterior motives over money; and disagreements are likely over timing in financial or professional affairs.

In the synastry chart, her 4th house stellium square his (largely) 2nd house stellium denote possible sparks over resources and her wish to expand the family, among other things: Pitt has reportedly barred more adoptions for now against Jolie‘s wishes. She has complained they hardly spend time together because of parenting demands and reportedly has moaned he doesn‘t always pull his weight in the home. There are unsubstantiated claims that he has demanded domestic economies to her annoyance. Not all these stories can be given credence: but on the principle there‘s no smoke without fire, it may reasonably be inferred that the domestic environment is a lively arena of differing perspectives, generously debated.

A very important aspect in their synastry chart is Mars square Mars: this warns against either one attempting to control the relationship or risk rows. Power struggles would appear to be integral to attraction and tension, linking their private realms and personalities in constant tussles. Her powerful, impulsive Aries Mars is often synonymous with overt sexual expression while his Capricorn Mars is a lot more guarded and formal (not in the bedroom necessarily; but socially) – we may conjecture that he may at times be embarrassed by her apparent lack of inhibition. His lower-key life approach could rankle with her. It‘s worth noting here that Saturn-ruled Mars is compatible with his advanced interest in architecture.

Not to be overlooked is the house position of his Mars: the 1st, traditionally associated with Aries. No matter how anger, energy and sexuality are expressed, both push hard to have their own way. Their households can be stormy, noisy places.

Difficult lunar aspects shed more detail: his Moon opposite her Venus reflects their passion but feelings are easily hurt and each can lead the other into indulgence – too much partying, sexual gratification, etc. Perhaps family focus has diminished this risk. His Moon opposite her ascendant and square her MC does suggest that despite mutual support over careers, rapport can break down. Work demands clearly are a cause of friction.

Her lunar quincunxes to his Uranus, Neptune and Pluto possibly indicate irreconcilable frustrations over different energy levels or philosophical approaches: his Pluto (personal power), for instance, may not meet her expectation of expressiveness, though this is impossible to confirm. She may feel at times he underplays his part in the world.

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Other irreconcilable differences include her natal detachment capability in relationships to his affectionate stability (his Capricorn Moon/Venus quincunx her Mercury in Gemini in the synastry chart) and their different ideas about responsibility (Saturn quincunx Saturn).

There‘s little in the synastry to doubt that the Pitt-Jolie union is a love match (―She‘s my soul mate,‖ Pitt has said) and one welded by passionate feeling, a shared sense of humour, genuine shared ideals about the world and love of their large brood. However, as solar opposites, their differences in temperament and approach are huge, and their test as a couple may be in the challenge to internalise that ―half‖ in the other that first drew them together rather than fighting its manifestation in daily life.

Chart sources: https://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Pitt,_Brad http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Jolie,_Angelina

Victor Olliver is the editor of The Astrological Journal, published by the Astrological Association (https://astrologicalassociation.com ). He is also media officer of the Association of Professional Astrologers International. Based in the UK, he trained to be a barrister before becoming a magazine feature writer, and then an editor on a number of publications including magazines, newspapers and electronic media. He has two awards from the Periodical Publishers‘ Association for his celebrity and travel journalism. He graduated with a distinction diploma in natal and mundane astrology from the Mayo School in 2012. Victor is also the author of the annual Lifesurfing series of astrological forecasting books.

www.madamearcati.blogspot.com

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IAM ARCANUM The Emperor or Lord – Major Arcana IV Who is the Emperor/Lord? Tara Aal

If I have infinite ideas, abundant imagination, open psychic channels and ancient wisdom of the mysteries, what will come of it? If I birth a child, give it all the love and nurturing possible, is it enough? Creativity, fertility and abundance cannot survive in the world without the balance of structure, protection and boundaries. Without using my masculine power, my psychic channels distort with unwelcome disturbances. My child would be eaten by the wolves. My ideas might never move from imagination to reality. I would be defenseless and aimless, full of receptivity, but lacking action.

The Emperor stands for masculine power. He is a leader, harnessing worldly power and the power of nature. His partner, the Empress, is pregnant with life, symbolizing creativity and earthly abundance. The Emperor builds and maintains the structure that will protect and guide life. Together they represent ‗mother‘ and ‗father‘, personally and universally. He is order and authority. All 4‘s in the Tarot stand for stability (stable table has four legs). His kingdom is built with strategy. His people trust him to guard the perimeter.

Aries is associated with the Emperor. Quick to think and act, mature Aries responds to emergencies and urgent situations with courage and capability. He is direct and honorable. Unafraid to make decisions, even in stressful circumstances, he excels at execution. And seriously, he is capable of literal execution and punishment when necessary. Empowered Aries will use his sword when needed. He will never stab you in the back. He confronts eye-to-eye, fist-to-fist. When fighting is necessary, he fights fairly.

I feel the Emperor reflects a combination of Aries and the King of Swords (commonly associated with Aquarius). With his ability to think clearly and rationally in the moment, he is a master of his mind. He transforms thoughts and ideas into reality. For centuries, the Emperor in us has built empires, enabling countless creations, inventions, learnings and teachings; the gestation, birth, growth and

THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 maturation of all things. In all places, from homes and small tribes, to complex universities, the Emperor‘s role is to build stability around the vulnerable center. Masculine power sets the perimeter, from simple rules, to major commands, to physical safety. This requires a combination of mental and instinctual prowess.

Ideas for Interpreting the Emperor/Lord in a Reading

Someone in a leadership role, unafraid to make decisions. Someone making critical decisions that may not be received well. The need to decide and act, even if it may cause conflict. Structure is needed for success. Take charge! Protect yourself and pay attention to areas of vulnerability. A defensive person. Stability is needed – make it happen! Do not be afraid to execute, even if it is not inclusive of everything/everyone. Someone overly dictatorial. As an obstacle: someone in leadership with a very masculine nature (maybe you). Abuse of, or addiction to, power/wielding power. Setting boundaries may be needed to accomplish your goal. Confront something directly (maybe yourself).

Emperor/Lord Invocation

I invite my own authority to come forward. I am my own authority.

I have the power for transform my thoughts and dreams into reality through structure.

I protect myself and all my creations. I am in charge, setting boundaries others naturally respect.

I have courage to act in my power and I use my power to accomplish my goals with pure intention.

Tara Aal has been practicing and teaching astrology and tarot since 2011. She completed Laura Nalbandian‘s three-year Evolutionary Astrology program and is a certified Soulsign Astrologer through Adam Gainsburg‘s Immersion program. In her hometown, the Seattle area, Tara practiced astrology and tarot privately, at Stargazers Bookstore and Higher Wellness Health Care Practice. She was a co-host and repeating guest on local radio shows. Relocating to New York City January 2016 and Los Angeles February 2017, Tara offers private sessions and continues writing and speaking. She lectured at NORWAC 2014 and 2016 and will lecture at UAC 2018. Her website is www.TaraAal.com

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IAM ARCANUM Total Eclipse Of The Heart Kim Buckley

A Solar Eclipse will take place on the 21st of August when the Sun and Moon join forces. This is a powerful combination of energies. They can either feed each other‘s souls or destroy each other‘s purpose. The Moon guides us in the darkness and the sun gives us life force. When the two merge to become one does something get lost? Eclipse energy usually brings about big changes in both our inner and outer world the energy can be used to seed new ideas, relationships and behavioural patterns. It can also be used to end certain cycles in our lives particularly with matters of the heart.

The Sun represents our life purpose and the Moon represents are emotional needs – they will meet at 28 degrees Leo. Dialogue will take place between these two sources of light and although we cannot hear the whispers of what they have to say, we will feel the effects here on planet Earth. The Sun is the natural ruler of Leo, which is a fixed sign, so whatever changes occur will probably be for the long term and will impact both our personal life and environment.

Wondering what to write about for this addition of IAM, I remembered a very good friend of mine meeting her partner 19 years ago around the 22nd of August 1998 the last time there was a Solar

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Eclipse in the final degrees of Leo. Interestingly both Eclipses involve the North Node, which is associated with the soul‘s purpose / journey and the meeting of soul mates.

The sparks of this love affair started in May 1998 my beautiful Gemini friend Sasha left the UK with her band members to work in the Maldives. Sasha was a very sexy and provocative rock singer who loved belting out songs with her powerful yet husky voice. Playing alongside her was a guy called Lenny, a Piscean Guitarist. Sasha and Lenny had known each other for a while there was plenty of sexual chemistry between them, however one major problem stood between them Sasha was married to the Band‘s manager Chris.

Lenny was secretly in love with Sasha but didn‘t have the confidence to approach her. Lenny sensed that Sasha was extremely unhappy in her current marriage. Chris was a very abusive husband and caused Sasha much pain both physically and mentally. It was soul destroying for Lenny to sit back and watch Sasha go through the abuse. He often fantasised about how he would rescue and protect her from ever being hurt again. He longed to shower her with love, compassion and respect but he understood that somehow Sasha had to find the strength to take responsibility and stand up to Chris it was the only way, she needed to empower herself.

A week or so before the Eclipse Chris had lashed out at Sasha for the last time this was the turning point, she was no longer willing to be bullied, so she left and ran straight into the arms of Lenny who was there ready and waiting, he swore from that day forward he would always protect her and never let anyone hurt her ever again.

This was the beginning of a very serious relationship. They flew back to the UK and by the time the Solar Eclipse occurred in August they knew they were meant to be together.

I picked three cards to see how the relationship begun and how both Lenny and Sasha felt about each other at the early stages of the relationship.

Lenny‘s card is the Three of Cups it is ruled by Venus and Cancer. For Lenny this relationship was the birth of something wonderful the love was overflowing such a pleasurable time one of celebrations he had found his soulmate.

Lenny somehow knew that this relationship would bring an abundance of happiness and joy into his life. Also interesting is the number 3 because there were 3 people involved at the beginning of the relationship and Lenny managed to win Sasha‘s heart.

The Three of Cups is ruled by Venus and Cancer and Sasha went on to be the Mother of his children. She looked upon Sasha with deep love and affection he found her beautiful in everyway she evoked powerful emotions in him that he had never experienced before .

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Sasha‘s card was the Two of Pentacles which is about making a choice, so something might not have felt right for Sasha and she had to pause and weigh up the pro‘s and con‘s of the relationship.

Sasha had just left a very volatile relationship so was feeling emotionally bruised and unsettled, she may have felt unsure about committing to another relationship but at a crisis point in her life she may have rushed her decision to settle with Lenny because he offered a safe place for her to recoup and heal.

Whilst Lenny was enjoying the ride on the love boat, Sasha was looking for the anchor. She may have asked herself many questions, Where would they live? Will he treat me like Chris? What would they do for money?

At that point in time she needed stability. Her Taurus moon must have been screaming out for some normality . So although she felt a lot of powerful emotions and love for Lenny she also had some reservations of where it would lead.

Luckily her curiosity and her need to share her life and thoughts with another washed away any doubts.

The likely outcome of the relationship was the Four of Wands and what a beautiful card for any relationship. It talks about creating solid foundations, harmony, happiness, love and putting down roots.

Full of positivity and optimism for the future with the opportunity for growth and that‘s exactly what happened they set up home together and went on to have children a beautiful son and daughter that have given the couple much joy .

Over the years they have created a beautiful family home and supported each other through very challenging times. They are soul mates, best friends and will always love and care for one another.

They have worked hard to stay together and sometimes it has not been easy but they have sailed through the storms and come out the other side a little bit battered but still holding onto what they have built.

Sasha and Lenny have been a solid couple over the past nineteen years, but I always felt that they both sacrificed a part of themselves when they merged as a couple. Their creativity had to take a back seat as the chores and responsibilities of daily life gradually took over and somehow they have managed to lose their true identity, which happens to many couples over the years. They went from thriving to surviving and the cracks started to appear – resentment, anger and dissatisfaction started to set in.

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So now as we approach the Solar Eclipse in August 2017 once again in the final degrees of Leo I cant help but wonder what energy does this eclipse bring for these beautiful souls. So I have selected another three cards to see how things may turn out.

How Lenny feels now about the relationship? How Sasha feels now about the relationship? What the likely outcome will be?

Lenny‘s card is The World reversed this is all about stagnation, and difficulty in making a final decision he is struggling to let go of something that is no longer bringing him inner happiness, peace and joy.

He may feel restricted and cannot see a way forward. Lenny may understand that an ending is near but he just can‘t face dealing with change, he really needs to turn something around within.

He is unwilling to look at the reality of the situation there is a need for restructure and transformation he needs to understand that you cannot delay or control the Universal flow of life. People change and relationships evolve. If Lenny can turn his world upside down and allow a bit of chaos rather than always playing it safe then maybe he can find the courage to tread upon a new path one that let‘s his light shine bright and fills him with vitality and enthusiasm to live life to the fullest.

Sasha‘s card is the Two of Swords she understands that a very important decision needs to be made with regards to her relationship. So many thoughts running through her mind she is at a crossroads and unsure of which path to take.

Sasha can no longer hide away she needs to take the blindfold off and look at the reality of her situation. Something needs to change this life choice will transform her journey for the forcible future. No more stalemate this is no longer feasible she must make a choice based on both emotions and logic not one or the other.

When she started this relationship it was the Two of Pentacles and now she has the Two of Swords being a Gemini maybe Sasha always needs to have two options available but everybody knows you cannot have your cake and eat it this only leads to heartbreak and pain.

Sasha needs to use the solar eclipse energy to empower her soul and either end her relationship with Lenny or refresh it. There is no inbetween she can no longer afford to remain in her current position.

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The likely outcome is the relationship is renewed with love , passion , abundance and once again their hearts open up and allow the flow of love. Or they both decide on equal terms that their relationship is no longer satisfying and it‘s time to move on.

They will have to wind down their life together to make way for new people to enter . Love can flow once again if they are both prepared to let each other go.

Soul mates do not have to be together forever they meet for a karmic reason to help each other with a life lesson. If Lenny and Sasha go their separate ways it will be amicable and they will still hold a special bond between them that nothing or nobody will ever break.

Interestingly Sasha is about to embark on one of the biggest adventures of her life she has booked a solo flight to Texas in order to witness this year‘s Solar Eclipse. She is aware that her relationship is at crisis point and there is an urgency to make a final decision with regards to what path she takes. This Eclipse will infuse her soul with the vitality she needs to be strong and face any challenges that prevent her from taking action and following her heart.

I admire and feel inspired by the courage that Sasha shows she is brave enough to take the journey of a lifetime and travel alone to Texas , she senses a cycle of her life is coming to an end and is not afraid to let go and trust that the universe will guide her in the right direction.

We may all learn something from the eclipse if we open up our minds and hearts and listen.

Card Images are from The Gilded Tarot Deck © Copyright Llewellyn Publications Ciro Marchetti Barbara Moore

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I studied two Tarot courses several years ago with the wonderful Sue Merlyn Farebrother who teaches at both Treadwells and the LSA check them out if you are interested in learning Tarot. Sue has over 30 years of Tarot knowledge and lectures all over the country. I will always be grateful to Sue for introducing and teaching me all about Tarot. I then went on to study Astrology at the London School of Astrology with the fabulous Frank C Clifford. I passed the Foundation course and I am still to tackle the diploma, but I am determined to go back and at least give it a go. Frank and Sue have been great mentors, they have inspired and motivated me to set up my own online business where I can combine my knowledge of Tarot and Astrology to empower and help others. I have recently completed the TF2 course with Tarot Foundations run by Biddy from Biddy Tarot; this has enhanced my intuition skills and was able to get a different perspective of the cards and their meanings. Further to completing TF2 I applied to be a Certified Biddy Tarot Reader, I managed to pass the required tests needed in order to become a Biddy Tarot Reader. I have also recently become a member of the International Tarot Foundation. www.psychicpassage.co.uk

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IAM THEATRICAL Johnny Depp ~ All Hands on Deck Mandi Lockley

Are the characters that actors play reflected in their charts? Absolutely! As the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie tops the charts, let‘s take a look at the horoscope of Johnny Depp to see where we might find Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands and company.

The first thing you notice about Depp‘s chart is rebellious, unconventional Uranus in the 1st house conjunct Mars. Depp has the performer‘s Ascendant of Leo, so he goes out into the world on display, wanting to be seen, but with Uranus in the first, he doesn‘t want to be seen as ordinary and traditional. Mars conjunct Uranus suggests that he puts a lot of his energy into nurturing this self-image. Mars in Virgo though is the perfectionist, suggesting he wants to do things right and be good at what he does. On the other hand, Mars in Virgo in the 1st House can be shy and reticent about pushing itself forward. However, such is the influence of Uranus on that Mars that he just can‘t help himself, that planetary combination is just chomping at the bit to express itself one way or another.

So how does it express itself in the characters he plays? Think of three of his most famous roles - Jack Sparrow, Edward Scissorhands and Willy Wonka - all unconventional, rebellious, outsiders. Played to perfection! Depp himself is in disguise when he‘s in these characters, barely recognisable as himself. Note that Mars and Uranus are widely conjunct Pluto, the master of camouflage and transformation. Note too, that all of his most famous roles are darkly comic, sometimes bordering on the darkly tragic or the just plain dark. That shy Mars in Virgo sandwiched between Uranus and Pluto is the path his Leo Ascendant must tread to find its way to shine.

And here‘s a thing. Look at the pics below of Depp in his most well-known roles. In every case, he‘s playing an unconventional, dark character, an antihero (Mars-Uranus-Pluto). But look at his hands. They‘re always occupied with some prop. This is not just a reflection of his Sun in Gemini (Gemini rules the hands and lends lots of fidgety nervous energy to the Sun), but it comes back to that Mars-

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Uranus conjunction in the 1st House. His most iconic characters carry sharp, pointed objects – blades, swords, scissors, sticks etc. Mars of course rules sharp, pointed objects, particularly those that cut and Mars in Virgo further suggests dexterous digits. In the first house, this facet of his chart has become a big part of his on-screen identity, in a weirdly Uranian way.

What about the rest of his chart? After all this talk of his characters as unconventional outsiders, look at that Moon in Capricorn in the 6th House. This is a man who takes his work very seriously and needs to follow the rules, if only his own rules. Note also the Jupiter in Aries in the 9th, a placement that suggests the urge to jump right in and take big risks on things he believes in whenever the opportunity arises. However, a very tight square to Jupiter from the 6th house Capricorn Moon suggests that Depp has a good business sense and will only take a calculated, well thought out risk. For example, he was told that Jack Sparrow would be career suicide, but instead, Pirates of the Caribbean has become one of the most successful and long running movie franchises. Far from stereotyping him, Sparrow has actually expanded Depp‘s appeal into the mainstream, while still allowing him to play the weirdest and wackiest oddballs in Hollywood.

Out of costume (and in it) he embodies a deconstructed kind of glamour, rejecting the highly groomed Hollywood look in favour of grungy scruffiness. Despite this image, along with the outré costumes and make up of his characters, he can‘t escape his heartthrob status. The astrology says it all - Neptune, (glamour, illusion, idealism, romanticism) makes a creative Quintile aspect to his rebellious Mars-Uranus conjunction in the 1st House, suggesting that his personal style and the oddball characters only add to his personal allure. Close to the 2nd House cusp, the Mars-Uranus Conjunction also suggests that this image is at least part of what has made him so bankable. And of course Pluto in the 2nd - widely Conjunct Mars and Uranus – symbolises a drive for making money.

What about his reputation? Look at the Taurus MC, with its ruler Venus highly dignified in Taurus and conjunct Mercury in the 10th. This suggests someone who comes across to the world as charming and attractive, someone idealistic on the one hand / idealised on the other.

However, Saturn‘s transit through Sagittarius has not been kind personally and has had consequences for his reputation. Between January 2015 and January 2017, Saturn, the planet of reaping what you sow and taking responsibility, has Squared or Opposed, in turn, his Uranus, Mars, Pluto, Chiron and Sun. In February 2015 he married actress Amber Heard (with Saturn exactly Square Mars). Heard filed for divorce in May 2016 alleging that he had been physically and verbally abusive, taking out a restraining order. By this time, Saturn was Squaring his Chiron in Pisces and had made its first Square to Pluto. A divorce settlement was reached in August 2016, with transiting Saturn stationed direct and exactly Square his natal Pluto – when a stationary planet makes an exact transit, it suggests an

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 incredibly intense period. As part of the settlement, Heard dismissed the restraining order and the divorce was finalised in January 2017, wrapping up what must have been a most challenging chapter in his life, just as Saturn was done with its transits of his mutable planets, having made one exact Opposition (divorce) to his Gemini Sun in December 2016.

Chart details from: http://www.astro.com/astro-databank/Depp,_Johnny (Rodden rating AA)

Mandi Lockley is a London based astrologer and author and former student of the London School of Astrology. She has written for the Journal of the Astrological Association of Great Britain as well as for numerous websites, including her own Astroair blog. She published the e-book Saturn in Scorpio: Your Guide through the Dark in 2012 and has recently been published as a fiction author. She is committed to self-development – emotionally, spiritually and intellectually – and believes in doing her best to live life purposefully, in service to others and in harmony with the cycles of the universe. These values are also the focus of her client work. www.mandilockley.blogspot.co.uk/

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The "explosive" New Moon of July 2017 in the sign of Leo Truth or dare? Nona Voudouri

This July declared his intentions from the beginning and no doubt most of us understood that they were not so peaceful. We are witnesses to an intense and demanding planetary setting that does not exclude the New Moon of the month. It takes place on 23/7, at Leo's 00 ° 44‘ degree and comes in a conjuct with Mars and a square with Uranus.

On its own, this combination preaches us for the sound that will be heard; This New Moon makes noise. Mars who is embracing with New Moon will be able to set on fire situations with the blessings of Uranus, but all the shots do not come out of the same weapon and definitely not for the same purpose. Somewhere the key is hidden; There is a shot that marks the start of the speed race and there is also the pulling of the pin that arms the grenade. Since we are talking about the New Moon, which is always about starting and triggering issues, let's try to turn the energy creatively as much as possible. Besides, there is also the supporting trine of Chiron at the same time that will help us to trace the meaning and move forward.

Generally:

Avoid extinguishing situations for anger will be the honored feeling of the days. Pay attention because accidents are a common phenomenon these days and be careful to excessive speeds. Try to avoid disruptive movements that have as their starting point the weakness of managing your temper, if it is to revolutionize, let's have at least a cause.

Prefer setting goals, think about reorganizing the areas of your life affected, be athletic, manage the energy of days creatively, make sex, not war! Let us not forget that these days the Venus-Saturn opposition already function that will bring "nortures" since many relationships will be tested.

On a cosmic level, the New Moon may function as a detonator of violent events and revolutionary movements on a planet with many possible sources of ignition. Unfortunately, with the Mars-Uranus square, there are many possibilities of accidents by public transport.

The purpose of astrology is not to scare you in any case. We must understand that we are capable of small miracles when we are able to recognize the signs of the universe and to manage its energy positively. When Mars is a serious part of the picture, energy is always violent. In this case it is not even alone; Uranus is there and that‘s not make things better. People often get used to dart this energy

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 impulsively and aggressively either to themselves or to the others. We must therefore recognize that to the extent permitted, this energy must be channeled dynamically but in a positive way. Be that wonderful lion of 00 ° 44‘ degree (A lion on a hill looks at the sun that rises - confidence in yourself and the ability to organize and manage) in the field affected by New Moon in your personal horoscope and transform this hot energy into something creative and impressive!

http://www.enallaktikipaideia.com

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PLUTO AND THE TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY Alan Oken

I recognize and affirm that I am a center of pure self-consciousness. I am a center of will, capable of observing, directing, and using all my psychological processes and my physical body consciously.

Roberto Assagioli

The Act of Will

I am using the above quote from Dr. Assagioli‘s fine book, ―The Act of Will‖ to introduce this article on Pluto for a very specific reason—Pluto is a First Ray planet. As such, it embodies the principle of will/power as well as the energy field of the ―Shiva Principle,‖ those energies of destruction, transmutation, renewal, and regeneration. When positive and we are conscious enough to perceive its influences, Pluto brings to us the opportunity to release some aspect of ourselves that inhibits our evolutionary growth. This is always accompanied by loss as Pluto is the ruler of Scorpio and thus has much to do with the realm of death and release. This loss may be a person, place, thing, idea, habit, addiction, or feeling. But no matter the form that this loss may take, in essence that which must pass on embodies an archetype of experience that at best is of no further value to us and at worst keeps us back from our own creative development. But when Pluto is acting negatively and we are not conscious enough to transform its energies with an ―act of will‖ that comes from the soul, then we are really in trouble! It is then when Pluto works to create a downward spiral of obsessive-compulsive behavior that destroys and ruins our lives. In essence and to quote some anonymous person from a Facebook posting, ―Pluto represents an offer we cannot refuse.‖

What is this offer? Plainly stated, ―Transmute or die!‖ Any time Pluto is in major aspect with a planet in the natal chart, it intensifies the indications of that globe. If the aspect is an easy one (sextile or trine), then such intensification may well bring many benefits into one‘s life. For example, Pluto trine Venus can easily create wealth especially from inheritance (if the 8th house is involved), the amplification of one‘s own talents and abilities (if the 2nd house is involved), marriage or business partnership (7th house influence), etc. But if the aspect is a difficult one (square or opposition), then this intensification will tend to bring destruction. Taking this same example of Pluto and Venus, a

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 hard aspect between them can create loss of inheritance (8th house), the denial of one‘s own talents and abilities or the inner resistance to make the most of oneself (2nd house), financial conflicts in marriage and partnership (7th house), etc. In addition the hard aspects of Pluto and Venus bring jealousy and obsession into the realm of personal relationships while the trine or sextile between the two aid in the gradual evolution of positive social contacts.

By understanding the evolutionary intent of the Soul, we will be able to identify the evolutionary lessons that are represented in this life for any individual…

Jeff Green

Pluto—The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul

Pluto is extremely important in the lives of those of us who are undergoing the process of fusion of the Soul with the personality. It is this process that we may categorize as ―the evolution of personal consciousness‖ and this is the goal for all truly spiritually oriented men and women. Pluto is therefore the agent of death, whether this is the death of those desires that delude the senses, the death of our attachment to the forms of such desires, or the total death and surrender of the illusions of separation as the lower self gradually merges with the Higher.

I am speaking now of that death that comes with our liberation from non-regenerative physical, emotional, and mental habits or what we can call ―the path to resurrection.‖ In this sense Pluto serves as the vehicle for the First Ray, the positive effects of destruction and the need of the right use of Will in order to effectuate such evolutionary changes within us. Pluto thus represents that process which breaks down the sense of selfishness, egocentricity, separateness, and narcissism that characterize the unenlightened personality. When this ―positive destruction‖ has fulfilled its mission, we will find that our personal will has become the Will-to-Good of the self-realized Soul. Pluto is then experienced as a purifying energy that in its external mode of expression, leads to the disintegration of unredeemed form (form that has not be infused with selfless Love) so that the Human Spirit may enter the personality life and triumph. This Human Spirit is the indwelling Christ Principle which is the incarnation of Love and thus the vivifying energy of the Life of the Soul.

This is why, from the esoteric and soul-centered level of astrology, Pluto is the ruler of Pisces, the sign of the World Savior. In essence the World Savior is the incarnation of Love within each one of us. Our job if you will is to recognize and identify ourselves with this totally transpersonal energy of Love and let it shine forth out into the world, a world that desperately needs It. This plutonic process of the breaking down and detachment from forms, especially on the emotional level, is the most difficult for people in general. This is the Sacrifice that the personality renders out of Love to the Soul. In effect, the person who gives up a lover to whom she is compulsively attached but who is not good for her evolutionary development is indeed making this sacrifice. What will follow is the ―emptiness of death‖ and the need to hold steady in that emptiness so that true healing may take place and the resurrection of Love may occur. When this process is correctly accomplished a new love will always emerge, always. But it will never appear in the same form as the ―inferior love‖ that was sacrificed. If it does appear in the same form, then the plutonic process has not been correctly completed and the person will have to start once again from the beginning until the same crisis of release appears. By this time we are weaker than before and have to search even deeper for the Will-to-Good within ourselves. This is what is meant by the definition of Pluto as the planet of regeneration or degeneration or my earlier mention of Pluto‘s mission as ―Transmute or die!‖

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The Earth, the material realm, and the physical plane represent the polarity to Pluto. It should be noted that the astrological opposite to Pluto (representing the Law of Death) and its sign of Scorpio is Venus (representing the Law of Attraction) and its sign of Taurus, the earthiest of the earthy signs and the embodiment for the desire to incarnate. Incarnation is not only representative of physical rebirth. To the esoteric astrologer, our thoughts and feelings also (re)incarnate again and again during a given life. This is called ―habit‖ which when taken to an extreme results in compulsions and addictions. Pluto is the force that when positive breaks down such incarnated patterns of negative activity but when negative, Pluto reinforces such non-regenerative habit patterns. Such aspects in the natal chart as Mars square Pluto, Saturn square Pluto, and the Sun square Pluto indicate a life where resistance to regenerating transformation is very strong. This is especially the case should such square involve the fixed signs, and Scorpio or Taurus in particular.

It is in the physical world that our attachment to our desires is the greatest and our illusions, the strongest. In these times of collective economic stress for the majority of people in the USA and the world, and immense and amazing hoards of wealth for the very few, the ―Lords of Maya‖ will play havoc with human consciousness as wealthy political demagogues play on the fears and illusions of the masses to gain even more control. But after all, Pluto is in Capricorn, the sign of politics, corporations, and accumulated power. Uranus in Aries is square to Pluto throughout 2012 (until 2015 actually) and there will be a continuous battle between the incoming energies of the new social paradigms and the existing power struggles. What just happened last year in Libya is a very good example of this type of conflict.

Pluto and the other First Ray planet (and ruler of Taurus on the esoteric level), Vulcan teach those lessons that relate to the process of the detachment from matter, whether this is the matter of physical form, the matter of our emotions and desires, or the matter of our thoughts (so-called ―thought-forms). Pluto may bring change, temporary darkness, and cyclic death, but Pluto can never destroy consciousness. On the contrary the work of the two First Ray planets serves to free the individual so that he or she may become more closely in touch with the consciousness aspect of Life, known in these Teachings as the Soul.

Pluto is the instrument for the development of the Spiritual Will (the Creative Will) and when this is processed through the Soul of the individual, the quality of Spiritual Will transforms into the Will-to- Good which is one of the most important intents and purposes of consciousness. The development of consciousness comes about through the test and trials of walking the Path for this ―voyage‖ as many of us know is filled with release, loss, and the reorientation of the desire nature. This is one reason that Pluto is considered the personality-centered ruler of Scorpio, as it facilitates the many deaths and transformations associated both with this sign and the Path to Light. Birth and rebirth are painful processes. The physical and emotional pain a woman endures in the process of giving birth is analogous to the esoteric process of the unfolding of consciousness. The mother (―mater‖ in Latin, giving rise to the word ―matter‖) is pulled apart and broken as the child moves out of the womb and onto the Earth. The water flows and the chord is broken. What was once existing as one as mother and embryo and thus creating a whole, has now become two and all duality is painful in nature.

The birthing of the individual out of the womb of its previous form of containment (no matter how secure and comfortable) is absolutely essential for evolutionary development. This ―Cancerian state‖ can only be the temporary home of primordial nourishment; it cannot maintain itself after birth. Somehow we must sacrifice our comfort zones in order to live consciously and Pluto and the transits of Pluto (especially to the Moon!) will see to that. Indeed, the Tibetan Master tells us in his book

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―Esoteric Astrology‖ that those of us who insist upon living within the instinctual states of our biological karma can be called ―blind units‖ who are lost. Once we emerge from this enveloping psychological womb and have transcended our attachment to ―mommy‖ and thus are connect by the cord of consciousness to the Mother (Soul), we may ―build a lighted house and therein dwell.‖ To be in a position to ―buy‖ this house, we must mortgage our personality to the bank of consciousness and although there is no interest on the loan, we certainly have to pay our dues!

In 2013, Pluto transits only three degrees of the zodiac: 9 to 11 of Capricorn. From late April to the end of December, Uranus in Aries will be in a rather tight square to Pluto in the heavens. On the collective planetary level, this will evoke a great deal of social and economic unrest as the new paradigms of the Aquarian Age (ruled by Uranus) come into conflict with the concretized will of those corporate and political leaders (sic!) who maintain their identity with oppressive materialistic values that has so crystalized their personalities in matter that the Light of the Will-to-Good makes of them ―blind units who are lost.‖ Social unrest such as we see in so many parts of the world is likely to continue. If these degrees in the cardinal signs are prominent in your natal chart, you will be working to release yourself from old patterns and introduce new ones into the areas of the birth map in which these configurations appear.

Alan Oken is an American astrologer and author of "Alan Oken's Complete Astrology," a compilation of his prior books by Bantam. A lecturer in astrology and metaphysics, he is also an accomplished linguist, a counselor and teacher. A student and teacher of astrologer and metaphysics since 1967, he speaks and writes in seven languages as well as translating. An international traveler, he lectured in Europe, Mexico, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Africa and the U.S. He published over 200 articles in various astrological and metaphysical journals, and made frequent media appearances as well as having his own radio program in his home town of Santa Fe, NM. By 1994, he had penned six books. He is a student of the works and teachings of the Tibetan Master Djwahl Khul.

www.soulcenteredastrology.com/portugal2017overview

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Some thoughts on the North Node, newly in Leo… Anne Whitaker

…I asked whether astrologers are missing something important by not paying attention to the Nodes, natally and as life unfolds. I think the answer to this is yes, with particular reference to the transiting Nodal cycle and the eclipse seasons which accompany them. The pair of houses highlighted by the transiting Nodal axis and eclipses should be carefully observed…‖(i)

Impetus and inspiration for this post came from a very striking experience I had on 9th May 2017, at around 7 pm. More about this shortly…

The North Node‘s transit through Virgo, South Node in Pisces, from the end of 2015 right through to early May 2017, picking up on a particularly undermining, painful and difficult Saturn/Neptune square from Sagittarius to Pisces, challenged us all, especially when the attendant eclipse seasons in September 2016 and March 2017 triggered off the pattern.

Collectively, we had the pain and trauma of waves of mass migration from the world‘s trouble spots to European countries ill-equipped to cope, with many migrants drowning in overcrowded traffickers‘ boats, their hopes for a better life perishing with them. We had the election of Donald Trump and the shock-waves that sent around the world. We had the UK voting to exit from the European Union with similar effects.

At a personal level, many of us, me and my clients amongst them, had a great deal of personal confusion, uncertainty, family trauma and other types of suffering to deal with. The impression I gained from astrological colleagues especially via social media, was that the Nodal Axis through Virgo/Pisces had challenged us to grow and move forward in our personal paths through a great deal of worldly pain.

As the imminent shift of the Nodal Axis into Leo/Aquarius approached, there was a great deal of positive comment, hope and anticipation across the astro-Web. A move from Virgo‘s dense earth and Pisces‘ deep water to Leo‘s creative, optimistic fire complemented by Aquarius‘ detached, humane airiness would – surely – be easier and more pleasurable to deal with?

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The North Node Crossed my 9 Virgo Ascendant, entering the 12th House, in November 2016 (where it will remain until the Spring of 2018, with the South Node tenanting the 6th House). I was aware in late April/early May 2017 that the North Node‘s shift into Leo was imminent, and read some of the astro-Web‘s outpourings on the subject.

However, I was too immersed in grappling with the inner challenges brought to me by trauma close to home– not of my making – to pay much attention to second guessing what the shift might bring for me personally, or indeed what day it was going to take place.

However, on 9th May 2017, just after dinner, my inner turmoil resolved itself to the point where I was able to take constructive action to put some distance between what I know to be my main path for whatever life remains to me, and the needs of others. (Protecting other people‘s privacy prevents me from being more explicit than this).

In essence, I re-affirmed for myself that night that the energy my intertwined creative life and spiritual path requires, was not going to be given away to grappling with old family pathology from whose grip I have largely managed to extricate myself after decades of tough spiritual work.

Realising that this was a key moment, I put up a chart, and was stunned to note that decisive action I had taken had been almost exactly the moment that the North Node shifted into Leo in my Twelfth House. That night, I was even more aware than usual of the unconditional support my Aquarian husband has always given me to follow my creative path.

Looking for some strong Nodal JPEGS I could use whilst writing this post, I came across this summary – brilliantly appropriate for where I am at the moment – from the website of Alison Gunn, Ph D, an astrologer whose in-depth work I very much admire:

―…In a nutshell, then, this is the dichotomy of the 6/12 nodal axis: you have to find a way to live in the everyday world and, at the same time, keep the issues confronting your ‗immortal soul‘ on the front burner…‖ (ii)

I hope you will find this personal account of interest, and that it will inspire you to keep a close eye on the pair of houses being highlighted in YOUR horoscope over the next eighteen months by the transiting Nodal axis and its attendant eclipses. These are the area in your life which are now ripe for challenge and change!

To end on a pungent, amusing but I think very accurate piece of astrological shorthand from that incomparable astrologer Michael Lutin, couched in the terminology of Alcoholics Anonymous: he invites us to think of the South Node as The Bottle, and the North Node as The Meeting…a very concise way of reminding us that the South Node represents the safe haven of familiar responses and patterns which, if we stick there, leads to no progress. We need to push ourselves in the direction to which the North Node beckons us, if we want to grow and develop to the fullness of which we are capable as this life time unfolds.

______

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Endnotes

(i) from Anne Whitaker, The Moon‘s Nodes in Action, p 157

(ii) from Alison Gunn Ph D, Beyond The Stars Astrology and Tarot, in analysis of the 6th house/12th house nodal axis through the signs

Anne Whitaker lives and works in Glasgow, Scotland. She has a long background in adult education, generic and psychiatric social work, and private practice as a counsellor, counselling supervisor, and mentor. She has been an astrologer, teacher, and writer since 1983. Anne studied with Liz Greene and the late Charles Harvey at the Centre for Psychological Astrology during the 1990s, obtaining their Diploma in 1998. Her first print book, ―Jupiter Meets Uranus‖ was published by the AFA in 2009. Anne writes at www.astrologyquestionsandanswers.com where her two free research studiescan be downloaded and other eBooks purchased. She has bi-monthly columns in the UK‘s Astrological Journal and in USA‘s Dell Horoscope magazine, as well as writing and reviewing for The Mountain Astrologer Magazine. She is available for astrological consultations, mentoring and tuition both in person (Glasgow, Scotland, UK) and via skype. Contact: email: info@ anne-whitaker.com and via Facebook and Twitt

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JOHN KERRY Marguerite dar Boggia

This is the chart of John Kerry, the next President representing the Democratic Party in 2021. The chart is progressed by secondary progression to the date of the election: November 3, 2020.

John Kerry has the Moon (17°+Gemini) in an opposition aspect to the Sun (18°+Sag.) This aspect signifies that he is a strong, willful individual. Depending on the point of the native's development some parents may have a difficult time raising teenagers with that aspect, unless that energy is directed to their interests such as in music, art, sports, or as a leader of their classmates.

When the Sun conjoins the ascendant, it demonstrates as the virtues and vices of the sign of Leo, since the Sun rules Leo. Without his strong Neptune, he could be egotistic. He has willpower, ambition, self-confidence, courage, and generosity. The Moon conjoining the descendant gives it strength. What he wants in a spouse is someone who is caring, sensitive, and nurturing. He has these qualities in himself. When the Sun conjoins the ascendant it also denotes that in that life, one may have excessive challenges and can possibly make great spiritual progress.

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter. There is so much courage and confidence in the native that they take risks. Everything is possible. They have no limits, especially when it comes to physical activity. He is an ardent windsurfer, kite-boarder, motorcyclist, skier, airplane pilot, hockey player, power-boater and sailor.

Uranus conjoining Mars in the 6th house of work, adds to his drive to achieve success. (Uranus rules the 2nd house of income). It may also contribute to accidents and injuries. (6th house)

He was inducted into the elite Skull and Bones Society at Yale University.2 The planets in the sign of Sagittarius and Gemini, endow him with fluent, articulate speech, success as a competent class orator and a talent for being witty. That makes him popular with his classmates. In addition, the concentrated energy of the Sun and Mercury form a funnel with the planets in the western sector of the chart. This emphasizes his courage, ambition, leadership ability, excellence in articulation, communication and wit.

After he graduated from Yale in 1966, he enlisted in the military. At that time the U.S. was embroiled in the Viet Nam war. He was critical of that war. Venus in a sextile aspect to Mercury demonstrated as a "thinker". He used his common sense. Mercury is in the sign of practical Capricorn.

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Neptune conjoining the Midheaven adds to his character, idealism, sympathy and compassion. He would wish to work for harmony, beauty and justice in the world, if he was in a position of power. Neptune is the planet of art, beauty and music. Kerry as a teenager played bass in a band called 'the Electra'. Neptune endows him with a delicate conscience. He was brought up in the Catholic religion. Madame H.P. Blavatsky, the author of "The Secret Doctrine" said that Neptune in an angle signifies an aspirant or a disciple on the Path of Probation or Discipleship.

Neptune rules the 3rd house of writing. He authored three books, one in 1971, another in 1997 and a third in 2003, when he lost the presidential election to George W. Bush.

Most of his planets are in the Western sector of the chart. This is an indication that he is NOT in control of his destiny. Most of his planets are in mutable signs. That gives him flexibility and many interests. It balances his determination and ambition to achieve his goal.

Saturn (23° Gemini) forms a sextile aspect to Jupiter (27°Leo). Jupiter and Saturn are co-rulers of the 1st and 2nd houses. That gives him the opportunity to be financially successful (2nd house)

Mercury and Uranus are the planets most heavily aspected. Mercury is in the 1st house (himself) and rules the 7th house (other people) and the 9th house (foreigners and/or religion). There are many aspects that relate to his 2nd house, that of finance and his 6th house of health.

Uranus is the ruler of the 2nd house and is in the 6th house. Neptune forms a trine aspect to Uranus; Pluto forms a sextile aspect to it. Pluto sextiles Uranus and both form a quincunx aspect to Mercury. Mercury is at the apex of a wide yod,3 a Finger of God aspect. It relates to destiny.

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Mercury sextiles Venus and both form a quincunx aspect to Uranus, at the apex of a yod. These aspects suggest that his destiny might involve his work and/or his health (Uranus in the 6th) his wealth (Uranus ruling the 2nd) his inheritance and/or possible death (Pluto in the 8th and ruling the 11th of organizations (CIA) and the 12th of secret enemies;) his spouse, (Mercury rules the 7th house), his spiritual aspirations or foreigners (Mercury rules the 9th house), his two children (Venus rules the 5th house of children) and his career. (Venus rules the 10th house of his vocation.) Kerry sustained three combat injuries in the Viet Nam war. (6th house)

He has a third yod formed by natal MC (5:50 Libra) (his career) in a sextile aspect to Antiscia4 equivalent Mercury (5:34 Sag.) in the 12th house of secret enemies with both in a quincunx aspect to Antiscia equivalent Jupiter (5:21 Taurus) in his 5th house of children ruling the ascendant and the first house (himself).

The North Node of the Moon conjoins Pluto, making it strong in its own 8th house. Venus, the significator of the 10th house of his career, forms a square aspect to the Nodes and to Pluto. It signifies the great challenges he will face in his career. (10th house) He has the willpower (Pluto) to give him strength.

His progressed Midheaven at the time of the November 3, 2020 election is 23°57' Sagittarius. The eclipse on 12/14/20 is at 23°08' Sagittarius. This signifies that he could be elected as president. That aspect forms an opposition to natal Saturn (23°28' Gemini). That suggests his anxieties and stress at the time of his candidacy and election. The progressed part of fortune (22°47'Aries) forms a SEXTILE aspect to Saturn. I believe he will be elected as president.

After reading David Wilcock's book5 "The Ascension Mysteries" my heart went out to John Kerry. He has a delicate conscience. He has no idea of the challenges that his future holds for him. He may be traumatized when he learns that he may be the next war criminal starting World War III. Either he follows orders or he and his family would be tortured and killed. That is the choice that Obama had. I quote from David Wilcock's Book "The Ascension Mysteries" pages 335-336 as follows:

"A very provocative meeting took place between Obama and the surviving former US presidents on January 7, 2009. Up until this point, Obama did not know what he had gotten himself into. According to Pete, he was taken into a half-hour private meeting with George H.W. Bush in which he was severely verbally abused and threatened. ...

"Up until that meeting, Obama did not know much, if anything, about the Cabal. He was told that he and all of his family would be TORTURED and KILLED if they resisted. Obama apparently staggered out of this meeting into a room in the White House that he thought was private. He held his head in his hands and cried, saying he had been made into a scapegoat."

It is man's destiny to grow, to evolve, to attain freedom and to live in a world based on justice, freedom and brotherly love. The goal for humanity for the Aquarian age is 'brotherly love'. The forces of Light will prevail over the Cabal also known as the Global Elite6.

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∆ ∆ ∆

References:

John Kerry was born on Dec. 11. 1943 at 8:03 AM MWT (war time) in Fitzsimons, CO. 104W48; 39N45

2Link to Astrodienst discussion forum

Link to Wikipedia biography

3A yod aspect is one where two planets are in a sextile position and where they both quincunx a third planet or angle. It forms a "V".

4 A Declination equivalent or an antiscia equivalent planet is one where its degree of latitude above or below the celestial equator is converted into degrees of longitude. The antiscia, also called solstice points, are the reflections or shadows of the normal planet point relative to the 0° Cancer 0° Capricorn tropical solstice axis.

5Wilcock, David, The Ascension Mysteries" Dutton, Penguin Random House 2016,pp. 335-336

6World Bank Whistleblower Reveals How The Global Elite ...

Marguerite dar Boggia was past Secretary, Membership Secretary and Director for ISAR, the International Society for Astrological Research. She was the Publisher of Kosmos, the ISAR journal. She was a co-founder of UAC and its past Secretary and Director. Her goal is to serve humanity and the spiritual Hierarchy of our planet. To that end, she offers FREE, online, three pages weekly of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings as was known by Pythagoras. If you wish to receive these teachings, she can be contacted through her website www.FreePythagorasTeachings.com , which website, she created at the age of 90.

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Who‘s your Dada? Alan Annand

Dada and surrealism

Surrealism, best known for its visual artworks and writings, is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s. Its precursor, Dada, emerged during World War I, and was a reaction to the absurdity of modern times, including the notion of a war to end all wars. The most important center for both movements was Paris, but its ideas eventually went global.

The aim of Dada and Surrealism was to integrate previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into a super-reality. Artists painted illogical scenes with photographic precision, with the intention of unnerving the viewer via bizarre images often developed from the use of everyday objects.

Dada and surrealism feature elements of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequiturs. Although it became a serious medium for visual artists, it also attracted many writers, musicians and dramatists. It often played on words, turning puns into visual images, and delighted in turning the public‘s head on its ear. Many of its core adherents and practitioners regarded Surrealism as, first a philosophy but ultimately, a revolutionary movement.

Mercury the trickster

From the astrologers of antiquity up to researchers of the modern era, eg, statistician Michel Gauquelin, we know that most professions can be attributed to certain planets or combinations of planets. For example, Mars is the significator for athletes, police and military; Jupiter for writers and teachers; Saturn for scientists, and so on.

Although astrologers typically assign Venus rulership of art, in the case of Dada and Surrealism we are confronted with a niche in the art world that might best be referred to as concept art. For instance, Dada and Surrealism, rather than relying upon traditional notions of aesthetics, make great use of illogic vs illogic, incongruity of every kind, puns, and trompe l‘oeil, ie, optical illusion.

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In other words, the Dada/Surrealists are playing games with the audience. If not literally tricking our eyes, they are messing with our minds, and indeed our traditional notions of what constitutes art. Their work is chockfull of ideas intended to provoke discussion and debate. And because of this, Mercury the archetypal trickster may be the most appropriate significator for this whole school of concept art.

If you can accept that notion, let the games begin…

Thanks to Astrodienst (astro.com) for their database and brief bios for so many people. I looked up the Top 30 artists in the Dada and Surrealist movements, and found accurate (Rodden AA) birth data for 20 of them. Their names appear in the table below.

For each artist, I noted their Ascendant and Moon signs. But what I was really interested in were the two planets ruling them – the ascendant lord, and the Moon‘s lord, or dispositor.

The ascendant lord is the key individuating factor, because the ascendant is the fastest moving point of traditional interest in the birth chart. The next most dynamic element of the chart is the Moon, which changes sign every 2.5 days. The Sun, Mercury and Venus are the next most dynamic, but they only change sign every month, so they are poor individuators of anything.

These two – ascendant lord and moon lord – are the planets of interest. So going into this study, I anticipated Mercury might turn up as a signature planet among Dada and Surrealist artists, ie, well- represented among these ascendant lords and Moon dispositors.

The following table lists the artists under consideration. Some art historians may quibble with some inclusions, but there‘s no doubt they are all birds of a feather. Picasso, for instance, was much admired by the Surrealists for his Cubist work, and was courted and encouraged to join the club, but declined.

Table 1: Dada and Surrealist artists with Rodden AA-data

Artist ASC ASC-lord MO-sign MO-lord

Hans Arp VI ME AR MA

Antonin Artaud VI ME CN MO

André Breton VI ME AR MA

Luis Bunuel GE ME SC MA

Jean Cocteau TA VE VI ME

Salvador Dali GE ME PI JU

Robert Desnos CN MO VI ME

Marcel Duchamp LI VE LI VE

Paul Eluard CP SA SC MA

Max Ernst GE ME SG JU

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George Grosz SC MA SG JU

Federico Lorca AQ SA SG JU

René Magritte SC MA AQ SA

André Masson LI VE LE SU

Joan Miro CN MO GE ME

Pablo Picasso CN MO SC MA

Erik Satie CN MO GE ME

Yves Tanguy CN MO AQ SA

Tristan Tzara SC MA TA VE

Edgard Varese GE ME VI ME

I sorted this list by frequency of ascendant lord, and found that Mercury was the ascendant lord a third (7/20) of the time. Moon came second, Mars and Venus third.

When I sorted the list by frequency of Moon dispositor, Mercury and Mars each appeared a quarter (5/20) of the time. Jupiter wasn‘t far behind those two.

Finally, I added the frequency counts for each planet – once if ascendant lord, again if the Moon dispositor – and displayed the results. The chart below shows that Mercury as a key individuator turns up most frequently at 30% (12/40) of the time. Mars is runner-up, appearing 20% (8/40) of the time.

Rationalizing the irrational

Since this was my original hypothesis, no surprise that Mercury emerged as the dominant planet. Admittedly, it‘s a small sample, but we‘re astrologers first, statisticians second, and we do what we can with what‘s available. Having already explained why Mercury the trickster has an affinity with Dada and Surrealism, it only remains now to rationalize the frequency of Mars, as opposed to some other expected planet, say Venus.

For centuries, Mars was the proverbial thorn in the side of astrologers because its lengthy retrogression cycles confounded the ability of astronomers to accurately calculate its orbital motion. For that very same reason, Hindu astrologers called Mars ―Vakra‖, the crooked one, because

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Once we understand the astronomical background, we can better appreciate the astrological associations. Among the traditional planets, Mars is regarded as a rule-violator and a shit-disturber, someone disinclined to go along with the normal order of things. And for that very reason, Mars is an ideal co-significator for the Dada/Surrealist movement. That whole gang of artists liked nothing better than to antagonize, disgust, provoke and vex the entire art establishment of the day, if not indeed, the political status quo.

Now that we‘ve done a ―statistical‖ analysis of key planets in charts of 20 Dada/Surrealist artists, let‘s take a closer look at four principals. In the examples below, I didn‘t cherry-pick them for their astrological attributes, but simply selected the most renowned. André Breton, although his name isn‘t known to the general public, is generally acknowledged as the founder of Surrealism. Max Ernst was a major figure in the Dada movement that morphed into Surrealism. René Magritte was perhaps the best-known of the early Surrealists. And Salvador Dali is so well-known that his name is practically synonymous with Surrealism.

André Breton

André Breton was French. He attended medical school, but his studies were interrupted by WW1, and he was assigned to a neurological ward for shell-shocked soldiers. After his first marriage he settled in Paris, associating with many radical artists and writers of the day, many of whom disdained the contemporary art establishment.

He launched literary reviews, helped found the Bureau of Surrealist Research, and published the seminal Surrealist Manifesto, in which he defined surrealism as ―Psychic automatism by which one expresses, through the written word or any other manner, the actual functioning of thought, absent any control exercised by reason, exempt from any aesthetic or moral concern.‖

Breton was an equal-opportunity agitator, as involved in politics as he was in the art world. For a time he was a communist, until an argument with a leading Soviet writer ended in a fistfight. Later he became something of an anarchist opposed to French colonialism, and supported Algeria‘s war of independence. Even his passion for Surrealism sometimes went too far, his hard-sell tactics failing to recruit Picasso, while his demands for allegiance alienated Dali. Yet without his influence, Surrealism might never have been defined.

André Breton has Virgo rising, so his Ascendant lord is Mercury. It‘s retrograde in the 5th house of creativity. If we consider only sign-to-sign aspects, it‘s associated with Venus and is opposed by an exalted and retrograde (bright) Jupiter, the two prime benefics. This bestows some traditional aesthetics (Venus) as well as philosophy (Jupiter), the latter of which was key, since Breton saw Surrealism as something bigger than art – a philosophical revolution.

Considering only Ptolemaic aspects with traditional robs, Mercury is square the Moon and just slightly out-of-square with exalted Saturn. This liberal T-square reflects perhaps his hope that the masses (the

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Moon) would be so aroused by Surrealism that they would revolt (Moon in the 8th) and overthrow the political status quo (Saturn exalted.)

The Moon‘s dispositor is Mars in fiery Sagittarius, again invoking notions of revolt and radicalism. Mars closely squares the ascendant, which reflects Breton‘s passion and his militant stance on certain Surrealist principles dear to his heart. Within the movement there were many spirited arguments sparked by Breton, some of which ended in fistfights, banishments and mean-spirited vendettas, the artistic equivalent of a fatwa against people who disagreed with him.

Note that Venus and Saturn are in mutual reception between the 2nd and 5th houses, a classic signature for authorship. And like many a person with a dual sign rising, Breton‘s marital life was somewhat irregular, and he was married three times.

Max Ernst

Max Ernst was German. His father was an amateur painter and strict disciplinarian who inspired in his son a penchant for defying authority. After finishing university, Ernst began to paint, and to visit insane asylums where he became fascinated with the art of mentally ill patients. Military service in WW1 was so devastating that he considered himself to have died in the war, only to be reborn again after the Armistice.

Following demobilization, Ernst became active in German art circles, forming friendships with many artists in the Dada movement. He started working with collage, which became one of his dominant media, and experimented with other techniques. He divorced his wife, moved to Paris, and entered a ménage à trois with another artist, sharing the affections of Gala, who later became Salvador Dali‘s lifelong muse and companion. He developed a fascination with birds, whose imagery appeared in many of his works.

He remarried again, divorced, and was briefly interned in France at the outset of WW2 as an ―undesirable foreigner.‖ Thanks to the efforts of friends, he was released, after which he promptly

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Ernst was a great experimenter. He invented frottage, which creates images by rubbing a pencil over a rough surface in order to capture its texture. He also experimented with grattage, which involves scratching the surface of a painting, and with decalcomania, which involves altering a wet painting by pressing something else against it before removing it to leave a composite image.

Max Ernst has Gemini rising, and his ascendant lord Mercury is debilitated in 10th house Pisces. Considering only whole-sign relationships, it‘s with the Sun, lord of the 3rd and therefore the significator of artistic talents and prowess. If we consider Ptolemaic aspects, there‘s only a wide applying square to the Moon.

In Ernst‘s case, his Moon‘s dispositor is Jupiter, which is conjoined Venus in the 9th but otherwise ordinary. However, it‘s worthy of note that Ernst does have a powerful Mars in the 11th, forming a Grand Trine with the Moon and Saturn. As mentioned earlier, Mars is one of those planets associated with innovation, novelty, unpredictability and thumbing one‘s nose at the Establishment.

And finally, like many another dual-signed ascendant, Ernst not only had eclectic interests in art, but a willingness to experiment with relationships. Aside from having many lovers and cohabitation partners, he was married four times.

René Magritte

René Magritte was Dutch. He began taking drawing lessons when he was 10 years old. His mother, who‘d made several suicide attempts over the years, drowned herself when he was 13. After a formal education at an esteemed art academy, he became disillusioned with traditional art and began to experiment with cubism and futurism. After an exhibition of his work in Brussels received abusive criticism, he became depressed and moved to Paris, where his work was soon embraced by the Surrealists.

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Magritte developed an illusionistic, dream-like style of painting that became his signature technique. He became a leading member of the Surrealism movement, and remained in Paris for three years. Although respected as an artist, he couldn‘t make a living, and moved back to Brussels to open an ad agency with his brother. In the lean post-WW2 period, he supported himself by producing fake Picassos, Braques and Chiricos, even forging banknotes.

In the 1950s he returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surreal art and built his reputation all over again, this time in America as well. His work frequently displayed a collection of ordinary objects in an unusual context, giving new meanings to familiar things. Popular interest in Magritte's work rose considerably in the 1960s, and his imagery subsequently influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art.

René Magritte has Scorpio rising, making Mars his ascendant lord. Mars is well-placed in the 9th, and even though it‘s debilitated, it still has the power to express itself in a radical way. It has no sign-to- sign aspects, but does form a trine with Saturn in the 1st house, which perhaps reflected his ability to doggedly persevere with his art through many lean years before he achieved artistic and financial success.

The Moon‘s dispositor is Saturn, which is the lord of the artistic 3rd house. Furthermore, Saturn is conjoined with Venus, the significator of the arts, and in a somewhat wider conjunction with Mercury, the trickster planet that plays a key role in trompe l‘oeil, the optical illusions of which Magritte was so fond.

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With a fixed sign rising, Magritte evidenced at least some persistence in his marriage. Although he once had an affair with his model, and encouraged another artist friend to console his wife by wooing her, their marriage remained intact, with no more than a few intervening years of infidelity.

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali was Spanish. His father said he was the reincarnation of a brother who‘d died nine months earlier. During his adolescence, his father made him view pictures of people in advanced stages of decay from sexually transmitted diseases, which inspired in Dali a lifelong fear of sexual intimacy. In later years, his father disinherited him because of his relationship with Gala, ten years Dali‘s senior, but they later reconciled.

Dali studied art in Madrid, experimented with Cubism, but was expelled for causing unrest. He moved to Paris and met his idol Picasso. He was a highly skilled draftsman influenced by Renaissance masters, but often included both classic and modern techniques in his work, to the consternation of critics.

He claimed Moorish ancestry to explain his love of things luxurious, gilded and excessive. He was highly imaginative, indulging in grandiose eccentric behavior, to the irritation of critics and others who held his work in high esteem.

By the 1930s, Dali had completely embraced Surrealism, both in art and public appearances, which bordered on performance art. After a political argument with André Breton, he was expelled from the Surrealist movement. Ironically, Dali eventually secured a reputation for himself such that his name is more likely than any to evoke Surrealism.

Dali and his muse Gala spent WW2 in America but eventually returned to Spain to live out his final three decades, highly productive and experimenting with multiple techniques, including pointillism, stereoscopic images and holography. Later pop artists like Lichtensetin and Warhol cited him as a primary influence.

Symptomatic of his personality, Dali had dozens of quirks. When signing autographs for fans, he always kept their pens. He frequently traveled with his pet ocelot. He avoided paying restaurant bills by drawing on the back of his checks, correctly anticipating that the restaurant owner would rather keep the drawing than cash the check.

Salvador Dali has Gemini Rising, so his ascendant lord is also Mercury. Here Mercury is both retrograde and combust in the 12th, and in close conjunction with rebellious Mars. So in his case, we have the two ―signature‖ planets of Dada and Surrealism joining forces in the 12th. Since this is the place for ―pleasures of the bed,‖ it‘s perhaps no surprise to note that many of Dali‘s works incorporated either sexual imagery, eg, rhino horns, or juxtapositions of imagery that conjure up the notion of fevered dreams.

The great irony here is that Dali personally avoided sexual intimacy with others. Although Gala had many affairs over the years, Dali was reputed to be content with self-gratification. Astrologically, the rationale for this might be found in the powerful but repressive Saturn in its own sign in the 8th house

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 of sex-for-sex‘s-sake. Alternatively, we might see the mutual reception between Venus and Mars, the archetypal passion planets, as provoking the negation of ―bed pleasures.‖

Back to his ascendant lord, if we consider Ptolemaic aspects, Mercury is in a very wide separating sextile with the Moon, and an out-of-sign square with that powerful Saturn in the 8th. The Moon‘s dispositor is Jupiter, which is in its own sign, strong in the 10th house, and an obvious indicator of the fame he enjoyed.

Last but not least, the Sun as lord of the artistic 3rd is exalted in the 11th, reflecting his prodigious activity, while its close square with a strong Saturn in the 8th might have provided the only channel – an artistic one – for his thwarted sexuality.

Conclusion

Although Surrealism has waned as a contemporary art movement, over the decades, its public appeal has continued unabated, and remains popular with museum patrons. In 1999 the Guggenheim Museum in New York hosted a well-attended major exhibit, and in 2001 the Tate Modern held an exhibition of Surrealist art that attracted over 170,000 visitors.

Although Surrealism is typically associated with the arts, it has also transcended art by instigating creative acts of revolt in the hopes of liberating the imagination. In this regard it has been successful in provoking fierce debate among writers, visual artists and architects of social change. The combination of Mercurial ideas, charged with the fiery passion of Mars, has left an indelible mark on Western society. ~~~

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Alan Annand is a graduate of the American College of Vedic Astrology and a former tutor for the British Faculty of Astrological Studies. His New Age Noir crime novels (Scorpio Rising, Felonious Monk, Soma County) feature astrologer and palmist Axel Crowe, whom one reviewer has dubbed ―Sherlock Holmes with a horoscope.‖

He's also the author of several non-fiction books. Stellar Astrology, Volumes 1 & 2, offer a wealth of time-tested techniques in the form of biographical profiles, analyses of world events, and technical essays. Parivartana Yoga is a reference text for one of the most common yet powerful planetary combinations in jyotish. Mutual Reception is an expanded companion volume for western practitioners, covering the same subject of planetary exchange through the lens of traditional astrology. www.navamsa.com , www.sextile.com

You can find his books on Amazon, Apple, Barnes&Noble, Kobo and Smashwords.

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Astro Walk, from A to Z, through my allotment Jadranka Ćoić

My passion is my allotment and astrology of course, so let me take you through to look at some of herbs or vegetables that I grow or they grow by themselves.

Artichoke - plant ruled by Mars. Their leaf has been used for its potential to lower cholesterol levels, not surprising as the gall bladder is ruled by Mars, it stores the bile (cholesterol) used in fat digestion.

Borage – herb ruled by Jupiter. Everything is used for medical purposes, Jupiter always gives plentifully. The leaves and seeds are god for increasing flow of the milk in breastfeeding women. The leaves, flowers and seeds, all or any of them are helpful in curing absent-mindedness, depression and to give us a courage.

Carrot – vegetable ruled by Mercury. Rich with vitamin A, helps vision, reduce ageing, improves the skin are just few benefits of eating carrots, the best are eaten raw.

Dandelion – weed ruled by Jupiter, oh yes every garden have them, and every gardener hate them but the leaves and roots are good for the liver, gall and spleen.

Echinacea – herb ruled by Jupiter. Echinacea encourages the immune system and reduces many of the symptoms of colds, flu and some other illnesses, infections, and conditions. Seeds and leaves helps with anaemia and indigestion as well.

Fennel – herb ruled by Mercury. Fennel is very popular as an ant flatulent, due to the carminative properties of the aspartic acid found in fennel. It can be used by everyone, from infants to the elderly.

Garlic – plant ruled by Mars, natural antibiotic, used in middle ages as a cure against the plague. Extremely potent taste, and not so pleasant odour after eating, but the benefits are greater than unpleasantness.

Honeysuckle – plant ruled by Mercury. Leaves and flowers are used to ease gout pains.

Ivy – plant ruled by Saturn. Some of health benefits of ivy include its ability to reduce inflammation, eliminate congestion, speed healing, soothe the stomach, increase oxygenation of the body, boost the immune system, and heal the skin.

Jerusalem artichoke – plant ruled by the Sun. Rich in potassium the small potato like roots are good for lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol.

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Knapweed – herb ruled by Saturn, and it helps control bleeding.

Lemon verbena – herb ruled by the Sun. Calming, relaxing tea, made of leaves are good for anxiety or nerves, or just a nice relaxing tea for a busy afternoon or evening.

Mint – herb ruled by Venus. Mint promotes digestion and is great palate cleanser. When your stomach feels sick, or you have indigestion, drinking a cup of mint tea can give relief.

Nasturtium – herb ruled by Venus. The leaves and petals are extremely nutritious as they contain vitamin C and iron. The leaves also have antibiotic properties which are at their most effective just before the plant flowers.

Oregano – herb ruled by Mercury. The leaves help easing the breath and may help with menstrual cramps. It can also be used to treat dandruff.

Parsley – herb ruled by Mercury. It helps digestion and parsley is diuretic. Rich source of antioxidants. Parsley is an excellent source of vitamin K and vitamin C as well as a good source of vitamin A, folate and iron. The world healthiest food!

Rosemary – her ruled by the Sun. Rosemary can boost the immune system and improve blood circulation. It is often used to help treat indigestion. It helps when you have headache. And it great help to improve concentration, memory, accuracy and sometimes mood.

Sage – herb ruled by Jupiter. It is good for the liver, another organ ruled by Jupiter. Apparently it helps hair to stay without greys.

Thyme – herb ruled by Venus. It clears the body of phlegm, and it is excellent remedy for shortness of breath. Also it kills worms in the belly, it is good for healthy gut.

Violet – flower ruled by Venus. Violet blossoms are to eat, and leaves are to drink. They are not harmful at all, and everyone can use them. The leaf and flower have been used for thousands of years by millions of people as an antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic agent.

Water lily – flower ruled by the Moon. How can one Cancerian have a garden without water lily? We can use leaves and flowers to cool inflammations. Syrup or conserve according to Culpeper cools ―distemperature‖ of the head.

Yarrow – herb ruled by Jupiter, and it helps to reduce the bleeding applying leaves to the wound. Jupiter rules the blood and yarrow improves blood circulation.

Zodiacal garden, yes all gardens are rich source of astrological significators and can help us have a healthier life, even if we do not do anything else but digging, sowing and growing our own food, it is enough.

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And for the end all information in this article are for information only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any diseases. Always use professional medical advice and these herbs should not take the place of any prescribed medication.

Jadranka Ćoić was born and raised in Croatia and in 1991, she moved to London. She works as an accountant but spends free time either practicing astrology or growing vegetables on her allotment in accordance with Moon cycles. Jadranka started studying astrology more than fifteen years ago with The Faculty of Astrological Studies. She is the Lodge‘s Beginner‘s Class Tutor, as well as organiser of the annual Astrology and Healing Seminar. Contact her at [email protected], or find her in Facebook www.facebook.com/jadranka.coic

http://www.astrolodge.co.uk/

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The Relocated Composite Chart Part 2 Margaret Gray & Armand Diaz

In the last issue, we discussed the relocated composite chart, explaining what it is, and some ideas for using it in relationship analysis. In this issue, we go deeper into the relocated composite chart.

A: One thing I think is very important is to look at the relocated composite chart itself, even if you‘re using a Davison chart. Although you can use astrolocality mapping to see where planets are angular, or in aspect to the angles - and that‘s important - you need to look at the chart itself to see where planets are in a given location. For example it may be that you see that Venus is on the descendant via astrolocality, and that looks great, but when you look at the actual chart you discover that the Sun is in the sixth, and that may or may not be what the clients are looking to emphasize. Of course with a midpoint composite, you only have the chart to work with and can‘t do astrolocality mapping.

M: I work more with relocated charts than with astrolocality, because I think it is more specific. I also like to ask people where they are drawn to - there are lots of reasons why people want to go to a particular destination or place to live. I‘m less inclined to suggest places than to assess the locations that people give me. When clients come in and they are thinking of moving, I‘ll ask them to give me a list of places they are considering, and then work with the charts of those places. Of course, I will look at the astrolocality and if I see somewhere that really stands out, I will mention it to the client.

A: A question that astrologers have to deal with when it comes to people relocating is that sometimes, the relocated natal chart for one member of the couple is really strong in a place, while that same place is rather challenging for the relocated composite chart.

M: I think it all goes back to the individual. Sometimes people will come in and say, ―My priority is my career,‖ and if career isn‘t highlighted in the relocated chart, we have to tell them about it. It could be that as a couple, it looks like a lot of great things can happen in that place, but career isn‘t really emphasized. Then it‘s going to be there choice. I always tell people that they aren‘t going to get

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 everything in one place, and so they need to decide what the priority is going to be. You know, it‘s a bit like friendships, one place isn‘t going to meet all our needs. It might be difficult to have a house in Rome and a place in San Francisco, though, so most people need to make choices. Some places may not be ideal for an individual, even if it is very good for the couple.

A: Well, in this Saturnian realm, there‘s always a choice to be made, a cost to the benefits.

M: Yes, and maybe sometimes the result is that they decide that they aren‘t moving as a couple. It may be that one of them decides, ―my career is too important to me,‖ or something else takes priority. There‘s a choice to be made.

A: I think that the constraints that we‘re under matter a great deal. There‘s rarely an open palate when it comes to relocation - often there‘s very limited choices.

M: Also, we‘re currently living in a world where a lot of people are moving because of conflicts, they are refugees, and so it‘s not out of choice. All of these individuals, couples, and families are moving because they need to and they really don‘t have much input into where they wind up. It‘s something that has frequently been the case in history, but it is a very strong trend now. This brings us beyond the chart itself to the traumas that are involved in moving in those circumstances.

A: I think that goes beyond what we think of as refugees. The political and economic situation across the Western world is changing also, and that is going to affect migration patterns. So that‘s another dimension of it: not only do we assess the strengths and challenges of a place where the couple has met or that they are considering moving to, we also have to look at the relocated composite chart and see how they can make the most of places they have wound up in - whether by choice or not.

M: Relocation can be huge in a relationship. It can revitalize a partnership, it can emphasize whole new things, or it can also throw up all kinds of challenges and problems. It often feels very different when you move - that‘s especially powerful if the couple feels stuck in a certain place - the energies shift around and it just breaks some patterns. I highly recommend it to couples: try it, if the relationship is in trouble, it‘s worth a try, if it doesn‘t work, then fine.

A: If it‘s possible for the couple to make a move, then it may be something that will really benefit them. Sometimes, a couple is in a place where the energies are especially heavy, and moving out of that situation is like a breath of fresh air. That sometimes happens, I think, when a couple has moved away from the place where the relationship began, and maybe the dynamics have shifted.

M: Sometimes, even just a holiday can help to connect in a different way, to help revitalize a relationship. At least it shows the potential of emphasizing a different aspect of the partnership. This is a very interesting area for astrologers to work, and it really has a lot of possible benefits for clients.

www.relationshipsandastrology.com

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Margaret Gray, MSW., is a consulting and teaching astrologer, based in Dublin, Ireland with a foot in Hawaii! Her work is grounded in a Jungian based psychological approach, integrated with a soul-based perspective. Her focus and interest is in the astrology of Relationships. Margaret is also a certified Mediator and works primarily with couples and families. She is the author of a chapter on Relationships in the book Transpersonal Astrology: Explorations at the Frontier, which was produced and edited by Armand Diaz and two other colleagues. More information at www.astrologypsychological.com

Armand Diaz, Ph.D., is a consulting and teaching astrologer based in New York. His astrology spans a range of schools and techniques, as he applies an integral approach to his work with an emphasis on the evolution of consciousness. Relationship work forms the core of his astrology practice, and he specializes in helping individuals and couples through transitional points in their partnerships. This is the basis for his most recent book, Separating Aspects: The Astrology of Breakups, Divorce, and Other Partings. Armand is also the author of Integral Astrology: Understanding the Ancient Discipline in the Contemporary World, and he is co-producer and co-editor of Transpersonal Astrology: Explorations at the Frontier. More information at www.IntegralAstrology.net.

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Ivanka, Ivana, Donald — and the Black Moon Lilith Christina Rodenbeck

In a natal chart Black Moon Lilith marks an important point of dark power. Lilith in conjunction with the Lights, the Sun and Moon, is extraordinarily significant.

In essence, Lilith is the opposite of the Moon. She is an unMother, unCarer, unNurturer, unscrupulous. She is unbound by convention or taboo. She is an outcast, the wronged woman, the first wife, the femme fatale, Glenn Close, chaos. We all have this energy somewhere — more or less acknowledged, more or less controlled, more or less hungry. For more articles on Lilith (and how she can work very well), click here.

So I was intrigued by the following observation. Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump‘s daughter and, we are assured, right-hand woman, has Lilith conjunct her Moon in Sagittarius at around 8°. Now this is within a few degrees because we don‘t have the exact birth-time, but it must be tight because on the mid-day chart, it‘s exact. It‘s an interesting conjunction for a woman who professes to advocate for mothers in the workplace.

This led me to wonder about Ivanka‘s own mother (often represented by the Moon in a person‘s chart) — and sure enough Ivana Trump has Lilith almost exactly conjunct her Sun. (Lilith 29° Aquarius, Sun 1° Pisces)

Like mother (Sun-Lilith), like daughter (Moon-Lilith). What the mother displays externally, the daughter internalises.

And there‘s more: Ivana‘s Lilith is right on The Donald‘s Descendant, the angle of partnership. It must have felt like fate when he first met the Czech model. He looked at her and saw Lilith.

And there‘s more Lilith to this Trump triangle.

Donald, Ivanka and Ivana all have Moon in Sagittarius. Donald and Ivanka both have Lilith in Sagittarius. Donald‘s Lilith is at 5° and Ivanka‘s Lilith is at 8°. Her Moon is around that point too. Her mother‘s Moon is at 0° Sagittarius.

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Like father (Moon-Lilith), like daughter (Moon-Lilith). The Moon in Sagittarius tends to be philosophical in outlook (!), an emotional risk-taker, unboundaried. Combined with Lilith… one can but speculate… but surely this is someone who believes the rules do not apply to them.

In case, you‘re wondering, Eric Trump has Lilith at 2° Pisces — on his mother‘s Sun — and Donald Jr has a Jupiter-Lilith conjunction at 28° Gemini, a few degrees from his father‘s Sun. Of course, his Jupiter-Lilith echoes Donald and Ivanka‘s Lilith in Sagittarius.

(Melania‘s Lilith is at 18° Leo. She is outside the Trump‘s Lilith vortex.)

~ https://www.oxfordastrologer.com/2017/02/ivanka-ivana-donald-black-moon-lilith.html

Christina Rodenbeck runs a busy astrological practice from her parlour, writes one of the web‘s most widely read astrology sites The Oxford Astrologer (www.oxfordastrologer.com) , keeps two cats, two daughters and a long-cherished partner amused — and when it all becomes too much, she retires to paint in her garden shed. She was brought up in Cairo and now lives in Oxford. Her books include Madonna in my Pocket; Meditation: Simple Routines for Home; Work and Travel (Busy Person‘s Guide) and Egypt (Fiesta).

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IAM HOROSCOPES July/August 2017 Cassandra Tyndall

July 2017

Aries

Mars, your patron planet spends the majority of July in your domestic scene. Anything to do with your home and family will be your priority. Mars brings progress so you can invigorate anything that has been stuck. Decisions pertaining to projects around the home may be on the cards. Renovations, repairs or finalising details about a move are all possible. In the tender and emotional sign of Cancer, you‘ll be driven to toward action and change regarding family relationships and dynamics.

The Sun will also activate your home zone until the 22nd, encouraging you to complete odd jobs or spruce up the home. Potential confrontations are possible on the 10th when powerful Pluto aligns with the Sun.

Taurus

Your ruling planet, Venus, triggers your cash flow zone from the 5th. Under Venus‘ touch, you‘ll be prompted to try a variety of options to improve your income stream. Having more than one job or earning some extra cash through a side project will help keep your pockets full. Adopting a flexible approach and trying new things is the way to financial success this month.

Your adaptability could be rewarded on the 19th when Venus and Jupiter link. As the two most favourable planets in the heavens, this supportive aspect can bring support to your future money- making endeavours.

Gemini

A planetary interplay highlights your chatty nature and your money sector this month. Venus enters your sign from the 5th, emphasising your natural charm and communication skills. Under Venus‘ influence, making changes to your appearance or personal style is also possible.

Two hot planets, the Sun and Mars have been firing up your money zone since June. Until the 22nd, you can tap into extra motivation and enthusiasm for improving your cash flow.

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Your ruling planet, Mercury enters your learning and writing zone from the 6th through until the 26. During this time, catch up on any study, reading or podcasts that encourage your curious mind.

Cancer

July will be a confidence boosting month as action planet Mars tours your sign. Tackling a personal challenge or setting yourself some new goals will be the flavour of July. Under the influence of Mars, you may need to embrace some healthy selfishness to explore your own personal interests. Whether you want to be more active, get fit or develop a pet project, you‘ll need to make yourself a priority.

The Full Moon on the 9th will trigger your relationships. With powerful Pluto in the mix, you may need to make an honest decision about where a current relationship is at.

Leo

Busy Mercury buzzes through your own sign from July 6 – 26. During this period, you may want to get to know yourself better. Explore the things that make you tick, or improve your self-understanding by reading books or blogs on areas that interest you. You‘ll get to re-visit this process in August and September, July is a month to get the ball rolling.

The Sun, your patron planet makes his annual pass through your sign from the 22nd. As you celebrate your birthday, you may feel that inner knowing that you‘re approaching dramatic and exciting shifts for you to unleash your full potential.

Virgo

Your ruler Mercury whips through a portion of the Zodiac very quickly this month, suggesting that you too can make fast progress. The 15th sees a link of opportunity to Jupiter, the luckiest planet in the sky. Under his influence, you can expect a growth of new ideas and concepts that can propel your forward. Uranus sends a supportive ray known as a trine, opening exciting new possibilities to move forward. Topics including travel, teaching or the internet is highlighted. What might seem sudden or shocking initially can act as a catalyst to steer you in a better direction.

Libra

Travel, adventure and discovery will be topics on your radar this month as your patron planet tours your 9th sector. If you‘ve been longing for an experience outside of the norm, you can connect with the right influences on the 19th when Jupiter gifts you with an opportunity. Coming into contact with someone uplifting and inspiring can steer you on the right path.

Obstacles or challenges may present themselves on the 24th as Saturn faces off with Venus. Big picture visons versus the details may temporarily dampen your enthusiasm. This brief influence can test your resolve and act to increase your determination.

Scorpio

Electric Uranus will act as a catalyst to shift you on a course correction, especially on the 18th. What may seem sudden or shocking initially can redirect you upon a more authentic path. A deep yearning for something with more meaning and purpose in your life will inspire change.

You can confidently move toward topics such as learning, teaching, travel and publishing. If a course of study or a far-flung destination beckons, you‘ll feel the call to say yes. The Full Moon on the 9th

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 will trigger powerful Pluto. Under this lunation a decision will require truth and honesty about which direction to take.

Sagittarius

A potent Full Moon will highlight your finances on the 9th. With powerful Pluto alongside the Moon, you can deeply delve into your deepest money desires. Pluto can also trigger control either your own, or someone else‘s control issues around your money. Action planet Mars can assist you in being proactive about your choices, especially in regard to your debts, loans and investments.

With sweet Venus touring your relationship zone, you may need to seek help regarding any financial issues. A partner, business or professional, may have the right networks or information at hand.

Capricorn

Honesty in relationships is a key theme for you this month as a potent Full Moon triggers your personal or professional interplay. Action planet Mars can help you with a proactive outlook or initiating plans with your partner. If you‘re looking to take a certain relationship to the next level, Mars‘ influence can help. If you‘re single, Mars can inspire you to dive back into the dating game. Sweet Venus touring your busy sector suggests you could meet someone in the most unlikely of circumstances.

Aquarius

A push/pull energy between your obligations and your need for rest will be triggered under the Full Moon on the 9th. Honour your most intuitive and personal needs as this annual influence suggests slowing down. With action planet Mars setting a punishing pace in your day-to-day routines, carve out some time under the Moon‘s glow to just be still, especially if you‘ve been busy taking care of other people.

Curious Mercury tours your relationship sector from July 6 – 26. Be sure to communicate what you need and want then. Make an effort to get to know someone better, and in turn, give yourself the opportunity to be heard.

Pisces

The most joyful and fortunate sectors of your solar chart are triggered under the Full Moon on the 9th. Spending time doing the things you love will give you a sense of pleasure. Quality time with children, a new romance or a creative outlet will revive your zest for life. Action planet Mars will keep you busy socially. You might like to initiate long-overdue catch ups with friends or work colleagues. Being proactive in expanding your career networks and connecting with important people who can help you in the future is also possible.

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August 2017

Aries

A breakthrough or exciting new beginnings are possible under the New Moon Eclipse on August 22. Living your life with more happiness and joy, or aligning your inner priorities with your outer world are possible. Love and romance, children or a creative pursuit can also be energised as your ruler Mars, makes an impact. Due to Saturn‘s influence, you can expect long lasting results from this eclipse.

Priorities will be further highlighted under Mercury‘s retrograde passage. Time management and streamlining systems will allow the time and space for the more of life‘s‘ joyful pleasures. A spring-clean and a throughout de-clutter can help from August 13.

Taurus

Bold and confident decisions can be made at home when Mars pairs up with the exciting New Moon Eclipse on August 22. Completing renovation projects or upgrading to a living environment that suits your style is possible. If you have no plans on moving, adding a little luxury will help you feel like a Queen/King in your castle. The dynamics of your family relationships may undergo changes due to the dramatic nature of the eclipse. Taking on a more central role with children, grandchildren or extended family members may take up more of your time.

Gemini

A retrograde phase from your patron planet may prompt you to consider your options at home. Whether you‘re considering renovating, moving or would like to make some changes with your family dynamics, August is a month to research the possibilities and formulate a perfect plan. Execution can happen next month once Mercury is back to normal and action planet Mars can help you make progress.

A sweet money cycle can help you create more income or manage your spending habits as Venus tours your financial zone. Taking control of your income and overheads is highlighted when Venus faces off with powerful Pluto on August 15/16. Devising a sound financial strategy to manage your budget can help you plan for the rest of the year.

Cancer

Sweetness in the form of little indulgences, luxury‘s or support can make you feel great thanks to Venus in your sign until August 26. Pamper yourself. Add a few extra pieces to your wardrobe or treat yourself to something you‘ve been holding off from or telling yourself you can‘t afford.

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Your finances may undergo a breakthrough as energetic Mars fires up your cash zone for the first time in 2 years. A bold confident attitude to money can help you make progress toward your cash goals. A dramatic eclipse can bring breakthroughs financially. Whether you goal is to save for the long term or invest or spend extra cash, you can get clear on a plan that may be holding you back from abundance.

Leo

Planetary triggers this month can highlight a turning point or breakthrough regarding living a more authentic life. A New Moon Eclipse on August 22 can encourage you to make peace with your past or let go of some limiting habits or ideals. Getting in touch with your essential needs and desires can open up a future path of authenticity and happiness.

Energetic Mars also aligns with the Eclipse prompting you to make any necessary adjustments with confidence and clarity. Opportunities to live a more authentic life may also pop up, saying yes holds the promise of a happier and more fulfilling life.

Virgo

Pulling back from obligations and responsibilities can help you carve out the time you need to rest and rejuvenate. Mars‘ tour through your 12th house will encourage you to pursue your private or spiritual desires rather than kicking goals in your outer world. Rest and relaxation are highlighted so if possible, spend some time on holiday or get off the grid until early September.

A New Moon Eclipse on August 22 will be a timely reminder of your need to step back from non- essential tasks. Creating a home and work balance is vital for you now and with the combination of active Mars and a New Moon, you can make it happen.

Libra

Impressions are everything, especially at work while Venus tours your career sector until the 26th. Consider updating your professional profile including your resume and social media accounts. Venus is social by nature. Accept invitations to work events, conferences or fundraisers you may normally opt out of. Your charming nature and impeccable manners can take you far this month.

Taking charge in your friendships is highlighted as action orientated Mars inspires you to initiate catch ups and get togethers. Expanding your social circle and networks is possible as a New Moon Eclipse can catapult you towards being at the right place and the right time, and rubbing shoulders with the right crowd.

Scorpio

Mars, your patron planet can inspire you to tackle work related challenges until early September. A can-do attitude combined with courageous leadership can help you get noticed. A dramatic New Moon Eclipse on the 22nd will bring a brilliant portal of opportunity for career progress. Striking out in a new direction, especially if your current position is past it‘s expiry date. Authenticity is key when it comes to your career and life direction and this eclipse will encourage you to not settle for anything less.

Saturn ends his retrograde phase on August 24. Limiting issues surrounding money will begin to shift. You may also become increasingly aware of your responsibilities regarding cash flow.

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Sagittarius

Your thirst for travel and adventure may be triggered under the exciting New Moon Eclipse on August 22. Knowledge, wisdom and a craving for learning can also be activated under this influence. Exciting opportunities for travel and adventure may beckon, where broadening your horizons will be necessary. Consider a course of study or a trip to somewhere you‘ve never been. It doesn‘t have to be anywhere fancy, exotic or foreign as long as it widens your perspectives.

Saturn turns direct on August 24, shifting any limits or boundaries that have been placed on your restless spirit. Like a horse behind the gate, you‘re ready to bolt into endless adventures.

Capricorn

Two eclipses will activate your money zones in August. A Full Moon eclipse on the 8th may trigger your dreams for a brighter income stream. This may prompt you to seek a higher paying role or even a change in your employment. Extra cash can also be found through a sideline project or a part time business. The 22nd highlights the big eclipse of 2017, where you can let go of past money limitations and access opportunities for a brighter financial future. A big investment, a savings plan or paying off debt may become your financial priority now.

Aquarius

Personal and professional relationships have the potential to move quickly this August. Thanks to a New Moon Eclipse on the 22nd, a bright and bold new future can develop with the key people in your life. As this eclipse aligns with the powerful North Node alongside action planet Mars, leave relationship dramas behind and move forward into unknown possibilities.

With Mars in play, a confident attitude can help you take on more of a leadership role with other people. A proactive approach can also help you release past pain.

Pisces

Time out to tap into your deepest spiritual perspectives will be triggered under the Lunar Eclipse on August 8. Rest and relaxation will be nourishing, especially if you‘ve been burning the candle at both ends. As one of the more intuitive places of your solar horoscope, this lunation may help you tap into your own inner knowing. Old or sabotaging habits may also come into play now. As this eclipse is attached to the karmic South Node, releasing old wounds, attitudes or habits will be a big key in moving forward into the future.

Cassandra Tyndall is an avid professional astrologer, writer and teacher, based in Brisbane, Australia. Her interest in Astrology started when she was a child reading horoscopes in her mother‘s magazines. Known for her honesty, passion and insight, Cassandra offers consultations to people all over the globe. With over 10 years experience, Cassandra combines ancient and traditional methods with a modern day spin to enhance specific predictions and offers practical and inspired guidance. Cassandra is known and respected for bringing the symbolism of the signs and planets and using this as a tool for helping you discover inner knowledge, clarity, wisdom and benefit. Cassandra‘s work has featured in Wellbeing magazine, Women‘s Health and Fitness as well as numerous websites. She is the former president of the Young Astrologers Association (NSW) and was on the board of the Federation of Australian Astrologer‘s.

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IAM A MYTH Venus and Pluto on the American Stage LeAnn Lacy

Venus is known for her refined beauty, charm, even popularity. With her frivolous reputation, she isn‘t usually linked to war and politics, however it seems she is playing a vital role in the current issues facing the United States. No matter what political or ideological positions one holds dear within their hearts and minds, it seems that ever since the US elections and inauguration America‘s Venus has descended into the Underworld. In December of 2016, America‘s Venus progressed into a partile square with natal Pluto, which uncannily coincided with an explosion of distress, disgust, and dismay around what, and who, is of value.

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Given the social side of Venus, it is no wonder that the United State‘s popularity has fallen around the world (especially in recent years) while progressed Venus has been applying by square to Pluto in America‘s birth chart. But who really cares about popularity? Venus. On the surface, one‘s charisma and likeability can be seen as a shallow topic. However, it is a force in the world that unites people, inspiring a sense of value and partnership. Nations stand together when they are allies (Venus) and when there is money (Venus) at stake. So, America has fallen (Pluto), in the eyes of so many. What happens when Venus reveals the shadow of Love?

Even a simple reading of Venus‘ various myths reveal that she has a vindictive, even violent side, and often casts a shadow of revenge, betrayal, deception, exploitation, and manipulation in her wake. Some would passionately argue that America has been a manipulative and controlling force in the world since its birth as a nation, but when America‘s Venus descended into a progressed square with Pluto last December (2016), perhaps now the majority of Americans will consciously come to terms with our role in creating an Underworld on Earth. Venus‘ role as the abusive mother in law in Psyche and Eros who almost murders Psyche, and her unrelenting acts of revenge and hate in a variety of other myths, are just a few examples of the wrathful shadow traits that Venus expresses. Perhaps now that she has squared off with Pluto, we, as a nation, are being challenged to see how we have been dabbling in this sort of shadow ‗love‘ all along. So here we are now, in the eye of the progressed square between Venus and Pluto, and I am wondering as an astrologer is there any hope that this square can become a moment of profound awakening for us as a nation?

Shortly after the election, during the 2016 holiday season, evidence of this progressed square came to light in the consciousness of many Americans. Countless people shared experiences of dismal family gatherings at Thanksgiving and Christmas bemoaning how beloved holidays were more troublesome than ever as passionate political arguments seized the festivities, causing aged parents to fight with adult children, adult brothers and sisters to argue rather than celebrate, and even resulting in the break up of family bonds and lifelong friendships. So-called ‗conservative‘ and ‗liberal‘ family members alike felt betrayed, misunderstood, and deceived by loved ones as the progressed square became closer to exact. To this day, some are still not speaking to each other. A War of Values may have

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 always been brewing on a collective level it seems, but since last fall this value war has exploded in such consciously personal ways, pitting families and friends against one another, and small business employers against employees. Could this personal level of fighting be an inkling of hope? What I mean is, now that Americans are waking up in a very personal sense, might they be able to make concessions or compromises, perhaps even make peace in this war of values? Even America‘s relationships with historical allies around the world (Australia, UK, come to mind) have been threatened like never before by the scorching squabble between America‘s progressed Venus and Pluto. It seems the progressed square wants to expose the life threatening (Pluto) consequences that our values (Venus), as a nation, have had upon our own citizens, and upon life around the world.

In the past months of 2017, the argument between Venus and Pluto has continued to get louder and louder, exposing what we really value most in this world. Venus and Pluto are both about money, and much of this battle circulates around the allocation of money. Perhaps we are what we value? It seems the consumer materialism of America is no longer contained in the malls and car dealerships around the nation, but has now found its way into the funding of the healthcare of millions of people. Healthcare is very personal (Venus) indeed. Our very survival (Pluto) depends upon it. Under the current Venus-Pluto fight, millions of lives are threatened on the healthcare front and on the war for oil and global dominance front, making citizens on both sides of the political aisle face the very personal life and death consequences of their values. Venus, the intimate goddess that she is, spares no one as she challenges the god of the Underworld: even the lives of children with life threatening illness and the elderly who have worked their whole lives are not spared in this War of Values. Refugee children and families who are fleeing war zones for their lives are also betrayed by Lady Liberty in the wake of this square. The impassioned battle over investing our federal and state money in education and health care versus war and corporate subsidies (welfare), has hit a boiling point under this progressed standoff between Venus and Pluto. The election hacking story line currently riveting America also demands citizens to decide if they value an honest, unadulterated electoral process, or if their values are rooted in ‗the ends justifies the means‘ as long as ‗my side‘ wins. This square off between Venus and Pluto is demanding all of us to ask ourselves, as a collective, what do we truly value? Who are we, really?

In answering this question, the hope of Venus and transformative power of Pluto has exploded into our daily lives. Millions of women and their allies have taken to the streets in protest, wearing pink ‗pussyhats‘ as a symbol of support and solidarity for women's rights and political resistance against what many of the 99%ers would say is a regime of corporate Plutocracy here in the States. Black Lives Matter continues to courageously expose the brutal racial injustices of society, exposing the horrors of the American legal system (much of which is privatized for profit). The quest for LGBTQ rights in marriage

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THE SECRET GARDEN ISSUE JULY/AUGUST 2017 and in the marketplace continues, as people unite to push forward values of inclusion and love over fear and hate. In public education an explosion of value-based battles continue to mount against the Umbridge-esque Betsy De Vos (Harry Potter villain) who has publically joined the Plutocracy (uncannily, her brother happens to be Eric Prince, founder of Blackwater, a billion dollar for-profit, private death army) in making policy that fiscally privileges privatized yet publically funded education for those who want to exclude children and students that aren‘t like them. With Venus and Pluto joining forces under the progressed square, the question of who are we as a people is demanded of everyone. Are we a people who fund (value) death (Pluto) or life (Venus)? Does it need to be reduced to a binary choice? Of course not, but the progressed square we are currently experiencing is a direct challenge, a call if you will, to us as a nation – perhaps to all of us around the world - to negotiate, reflect, bend, grow, and build something together (Venus) from the ashes (Pluto) of this war of values. Pluto wants to transform us into a more mature, wiser collective, one that relates and loves (Venus) beyond the shallow serve-myself-kind of love.

Venus has her work cut out for her. As she squares off with Pluto, he happens to be positioned in America‘s 2nd house of values and money, making me hope that Pluto desires to transform our Venusian shadow material by rising it to the surface during these embroiled times: making us, as a nation, confront our own shadow. As our leader in chief plays with fire in North Korea, news of using nuclear weapons has taken center stage making this a profoundly high stakes moment before humanity. It feels to be a Plutonian moment for all life on the planet, yet perhaps we can take refuge in the fact that Venus is not just a pretty face, but is rather the driving force at the core of what makes this human experience worth preserving in the first place – Love. Pluto, let us recall, was transformed by the arrow of love that was shot on the command of Venus so perhaps during this square off with Venus, she may be the only force that can profoundly enrapture him by Love. Maybe their square off is taking hold of our collective tendency to embrace the shallow ‗serve myself kind of love‘ that dwells in the shadow of Venus. Perhaps Pluto is transforming us as a collective, as a nation of people, into a nation whose values preserve the bonds of humanity and life. Perhaps this progressed square, with all its pain and suffering, will bring about a profound awakening to who we really are.

LeAnn Lacy is an astrologer and clinical hypnotherapist in California, USA. In addition to an astrological counseling practice, she is a member of the International Society for Astrological Research (ISAR), and an apprentice in Steven Forrest‘s Apprenticeship Program. She has also studied at Kepler College, and at Mark Jones‘ Pluto School integrating an evolutionary and therapeutic approach to astrological counseling. LeAnn has a BA in literature and liberal studies, a Masters degree in Teaching and Educational Administration, and is currently a doctoral candidate studying Depth Psychology and psychotherapeutic techniques at Pacifica Graduate Institute, in Santa Barbara, California. Her main areas of astrological interest at the moment are family dynamics, ancestral patterns, and soul centered astrology. www.healingheartmindsoul.com

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www.infinityastrologicalmagazine.com

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„I SAY TOMATO, YOU SAY TOMATO....―

„Shall We Dance― – Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers

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IAM Infinity

www.astrologsmiljanagavrancic.blogspot.com

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