Full moon with mercury neptune square.

It is quite amazing that I haven’t blogged these waters since spring! What happened to time? Well, I know. I’ve been swamped. I found courage in my heart and thought it wise to arrange an astrology conference here in Norway, and time flies when arranging stuff like this! But the result looks good; and even though I haven’t gotten around to make an english version of the page; here is the link. Dunno if it is the best I could do with transiting Neptune going back and forth on my Mercury, but come april, and I’ll know for sure. 

We will also go chasing for the northern lights even further north and have an awesome workshop with the eminent Maurice Fernandez as a little vorspiel. Included in this event is dog sleighing, reindeers, sami lecture and wild nature. Can’t get better, now can it? The details are soon ready, so stay tuned.

In the meanwhile all eyes are on the east coast of the US. Forgotten (well almost) is the election. And understandingly so. With a full moon on the Taurus-Scorpio axis and an exact square between Neptune in watery Pisces to the wild Sagittarius Mercury there is good astrological reason to be slightly worried. Neptune is unpredictable and it is the raw force of nature, untamed and sometimes so wild. 

News are ticking in and it will hit within the hour..

My thoughts goes to my friends on the east coast..stay warm, strong and safe.

 

 

Martians on the horizon

For the avid astrology student, the signs of the times are profoundly clear. Mars is all over the place as he is squaring the nodal axis and will continue to do so for quite a while. When any planet touch the nodal axis, especially through the squares and conjunctions, this planet takes the leading act in the show. When the main character in the drama of life is Mars, we can only brace ourselves, stay off coffee and try not to be overly reactive.

Last summer had an equally strong Mars vibe, when he was conjunct the nodal axis in Gemini. Part of the scenery was the Norwegian massacre the same day as the aspect was exact. This doesn’t mean that we’ll see equally horrendous violence; but there will be tension building up until 14th of april, when Mars will go direct again and a release after. So with the stacked up planets in Aries and Mars, the ruler, going direct, we will need our rational side to gracefully move through it. I can inform you that during this Mars-Nodal axis scenery, the court case of ABB of last summers massacre, is allover the news. During the days when Mars will go direct, the killer will explain himself to the court. 

Despite the imminent gloom of doom that martian times can inflict, last night the eager mind got other ideas to chew on as Mr. Steven Pinker, psychologist ( and born with Mars conjunct his north-node ) was invited to Skavlan, scandinavian talk show host with a huge audience. Mr Pinker has written a book about violence through the ages and said that even tho we are more aware of issues going on in the world today (and might think that everything is worse); the world is a much better place now than ever. Humans have evolved, and especially since WW2. This is in accordance with the views proposed in the Bailey material, which offers a lot of information about the destiny of humanity, and especially mentions the period from WW2 up until 2025 as important (which coincides with the final stages of Neptune and Pluto transits through Pisces-Cap) So good news in other words.

Mars himself have gone through his own transformation, as archetypes do. What comes from the raw instinct, mutates during cultures and times and we end up with archetypes that sometimes are distorted to the worse and sometimes to the better. Mars went from Ares in the greek mythology to Mars in Roman mythology. Ares was 700 ft tall and an angry fellow, mostly found on the battlefield. Mars was a more rational dude: associated with craft men, builders, farmers and strength.

So as we become more civilized through the evolution of consciousness, we also get better control over this raw, primitive, sometimes childish energy, wanting only justice for oneself and lacks a balanced view. We get more control over the need to dominate, our competitiveness, our defense mechanisms and the desires that dictates that we need to have this or that now in order to be in harmony. People often gets angry when they have it their way, like ABB (infamous terrorist mentioned above). The answer is NOT to kill people, as Mr. Pinker shared with us yesterday. Apropos; Mr.Breivik himself was born under a Sun-Mars influence.

So as we are three days away from the Sun entrance into Aries; its journey in the land of Uranus-Pluto (and with the added touch of Mercury rx) and then into Mars direct period, we have a loooot of Mars on our plate. Mars rules the adrenals and they are related to the hormone cortisol and adrenaline. If the body is constantly stressed and anger-defensemechanisms are on overdrive, this can break down the body. Do your yoga, practice harmlessness and mindfulness and if anger gets the better of you, readjust, forgive, release and move on.

On the other hand maybe the conflict is necessary. Maybe it is time to put down boundaries and let people know what you truly feel. Mars is authentic and honest. Being honest without being defensive is a little piece of art. And the synthesis happens within you.

Sol

Astrology and fatalism

2012; a year of fatalism?

Astrologers sometimes meet clients who are so afraid of impending doom, that they kindly ask the astrologer to be gentle and to promise not to tell if there are bad signs up ahead. We can sit with a person for an entire reading and be full of promise, focus on the good sides of the chart and there is no response. However, if one mentions one negative aspect of the chart that could benefit of being worked with; this is like a magnet and it steals the entire chart reading. Why is it that we are so afraid of the future and think so badly of ourselves that this can occur? With predictions; it is feared and wanted at the same time.

Astrological research it is done with a clinical eye; no room for emotion, nor prejudice; the chart of a mass murderer is of equal importance as the chart of a saint. The astrologer knows, due to the multivalent nature of the archetypes, that a mass murderer and a saint can have the same chart. The astrologer also knows that predicting specific events with astrologer is not what we are after; (well, some are) . We can, as Rickard Tarnas says, understand that “that astrology is not concretely predictive, but archetypally predictive. That is, the birth chart and transits indicate which universal principles are emphasized, in what combination, and when. They do not give information such as “You will get an offer of a job as editor-in-chief for a large publishing firm on April 26, 2004,” or “You will meet your soul mate on the beach at Waikiki at sunset on New Year’s Day in 2005.” It may not be impossible for a gifted clairvoyant to do something like this, but astrology has a different character.”  

A student of astrology studies death, accidents, insanity, pedophilia, divorce, incest, eating disorders, cancer and other forms of tragedy. We study weather and natural disasters. Nuclear disasters. You’d might think that the astrologer has some weird kind of fetish for wanting to understand all the workings of nature. It should be said that we also study births, love forming between two people, marriage, new opportunity, work change, upgrades and fortunes of any kind, let’s say winning Idol. So it suffice to say, we study life, in all it’s magnitude.

Life can be surreal and absurd, and deeply unjust. And we feel that we are put here on the planet with a looming faith hanging over our heads. History is filled with gloomy stuff. Humanity is, in many ways, scarred, by aeons of wars, illness, deaths and loss. It is as the history of humanity lives in our veins, and indeed in our DNA. We live with life and the news everyday. And now more than ever.

The astrologer is often confronted with the issue of free will. It is absurd to think that we have a total free will. We would be God to have that (now I do think that we can realize this part of our nature, but that is an entirely different story)  If I had free will, I would simply create world peace right now. Justice for all. But I have a relative will. By this I mean that I have a willpower that could possibly move my life into a new direction. Astrologers talk about clearing karma; said in less new-agey way, this simply means taking responsibility where that is needed, learn from your mistakes and move on, not stay in the pattern. This is life-altering. The past changes under these circumstances.

In evolutionary astrology we speak about evolution in terms of either being something you volunteer to do, or a catharsis that you create subconsciously in order to evolve. Evolve we must anyway, evolution is the basic function of all life; it is life itself as nothing is still. Fatalism occurs when we are afraid of our own power. When we are weak and have little faith in ourselves; when we feel guilty cos we feel deep in our subconscious that we do or live something that is out of harmony with truth, when we are scarred by earlier mistakes and our own ignorance. Never blame yourself for what you couldn’t see. Life is too short. Simply learn. And move on. Heal, forgive and breath out again. This can take you out of fatalism. Of the fear that there is an evil God there somewhere who is ready to take away your happiness any day now.

What we evolve to do in life, is live it by the moment. No guarantees for the future. No comfort for the pain the we create for ourselves, simply methods to let those emotions go. And what happens afterwards is that you are freed up to use your own energy in a more constructive way. The emotional side of you do not steer the ship. The clarity of your mind does. So when the astrologer studies Saturn in the sixth house and starts to shed light of the multitude of expressions this aspect can take, and you sit there with your sixth house Saturn; you wont feel gloomy. You wont hear only the bad stuff, you will hear the positive side as well. And you wont feel that misfortune will come to get you; you know that you are moving in the right direction. That is the power that we have, to be willing to move in the right direction. What you cannot do anything about, you have to release and surrender to. That is out of your hands.

The hype of 2012 is here, now. I baptize this year, the year of Fatalism coming to the Fore. So many of our projections, fears and pains will surface; I needn’t be a psychic to see this. It is human nature. Where the expectation has started filling up, an emotional process is imminent and unavoidable.

Thus, this is a year of great spiritual potential….Yay!

Christmas around the corner

I am in a reflective mood; it is probably a consequence of us getting closer and closer to 2012. Not that I am too concerned about that year, thinking of the huge amount of projection it has been a victim of; but this is, as all years, the culminating phase of a year; and for me that is a natural time to reflect. Besides, Norway is darker than dark. December without snow is like walking in a cave. I kind of like the introversion, it really is a time for deep thinking and meditation.

This past year; still not over tho, has been quite a ride. The nodal axis in Sagittarius and Gemini has been wild; probably a little extra wild for me,  since this is my natal nodal axis and spun an intense learning phase in my life. I’ve learnt so much and encountered so many people, all inspiring in their own way. However; dark side of this aspect is the fundamentalism, both relating to the über-rational Gemini, being intelligent just for the sake of , well, being intelligent; and the no-debate-at-all fundamentalism of Sagittarius. I’ve met those as well, charging at me for being who I am.

The web has been spammed with people voicing their opinions before ever taking a pause to listen. We post so quickly that we don’t stop check, reflect and try to listen. It is a war of opinions and fundamentalism is being exposed everywhere.

I think we all have a fundamentalist within us that we tend to hide, as it is not politically correct to be a fundamentalist or said in other words, to see things as either-or. Maybe you would disagree that seeing things in black and white is fundamentalist; as we tend to associate the word with people who go very far in promoting their vision or opinion. But I think the war of the minds is one we all need to look a little closer on if we actually want unity, of which we speak so warm of in more alternative circles.

If unity is really to exist, then no duality could be entertained, and as long as we really don’t know what the real truth about life is; duality will be entertained. And it is necessary as life is flowing through many people and they all have their own opinion about life. Their opinion is important even if you or I might disagree. In a democracy the end result is consensus; a sort of unity; where we all have to compromise some of our personal needs or beliefs. The multitude becomes unison through actually a weakening of the personal will and a strengthening of the collective power. The will to do and create something of benefit for all; makes it important for us to sacrifice some of our most precious beliefs. This we can only do if there is mutual trust, not exactly a commodity in our society, which is not so hard to understand, thinking of human history. 

However, what this year exposed was not exactly a genuine interest in meeting at the middle. Racisms, fundamentalism, new-age-ism, scientism, humanism, atheism, absurdism (the extreme side of conspiracy theory) and other -isms. The trouble is that one -ism cannot control another -ism. In this world, even holism, is an -ism. It is not holism or atheism or any other -ism in itself that is the problem, it is the way that believers believe that their truth is the best truth that is the problem. When they meet people who are not holists or atheists, they can actually turn into fundamentalists.

What perhaps describes a fundamentalist is the obvious lack of ability to listen to another point of view combined with a lack of willingness to try to understand where the opposing party comes from. The protective self-righteousness is like the shell of a crab, protecting itself from the annihilating threat of truth. Without it, we might loose definition and be without the security our beliefs hold. Are you willing to risk that you might be wrong, that your truth is not actually true and that you have deceived yourself?

As an astrologer, representing something that most rational people (if they exist) consider to be “an enemy of reason”; I ask myself the same questions. Is there validity in astrology or do I believe in it without understanding both its critics and its deeper mechanism. If I was afraid; I wouldn’t ask myself these questions. I would hold on to my resistance with all my mental powers, being defensive when challenged. Sounds like a struggle.Or I could surrender. And let truth appear for me. That is Pisces; squaring the Gemini-Sagittarius axis. Just let go of my precious astrology and see what bounces back.

And who’s in Pisces in 2012? Yay, Neptune, the planet that rules Pisces. Pisces, surrendering to seek a deeper truth, seeking unity. I can only wonder what that will do to the battle of -isms that the nodal axis through Gemini-Sagittarius brought to the fore. Maybe the “me” becomes more “we”? With the current Pluto-Uranus square, this will be an interesting contrast, almost like a living paradox. I am eager to see what this does to the current debates going on related to spirit vs science.

I simply direct you to Maurice Fernandez’s excellent article on Neptune in Pisces if you want to read more about this.

Also; Michael Lutin wrote this excellent article on Saturn in Libra, which we have to live with until beginning of october 2012, and he puts the spotlight on some of problems with constant projections and sheds light on the need for cooperation. It is worth the read

An early marry x-mas to you all! Next year will be a year with a lot of new stuff, new website, new blog etc etc..So stay tuned.

Sol

Fullmoon in Virgo; Glamour and service.

This fullmoon is quite interesting, as it forms a grand square with the nodal axis and floods into the biosphere and the body with a much stronger impact. Fullmoons are always interesting as the moon is not in front of the earth towards the Sun (as it is for the new moon), but behind the Earth within it’s magnetic field. Which means that we are fully exposed to the powerful rays of the Sun, the Soul of our solar system. That is why everything is energized during fullmoons, the system is flooded with the power of the Soul, life force; and it will fire up every corner of one’s being, attempting to makes conscious what is left to linger in the dark on itself, often unprocessed. Thus emotions are felt more concretely, wounds, pain, joys, ecstasy; all is felt more vividly. What is even more interesting with this fullmoon, is the fact that the activity on the sun is reaching its maximum point within its 11th year cycle (in 2012), increasing sunspot activity, and currently there is a solar storm going on. Sounds hefty? 

The moon functions as a shield towards the cosmos; and if you look at the mundane understanding of the lunar properties; you see that it is related to personal interests, home-life, your body, nurturance; all things near and of personal worth. A lunar person is someone who might not care too much about the needs of others, because there is no personal connection to it. Once the personal connection has been established, nurturance will start to flow. Cancer; the sign of the Moon, cyclically needs to withdraw in order to process what has been received; the need for processing is of utmost importance for a Cancer. We all have Cancer in us, as we all have a Moon, but its pure expression might be disrupted and the ability to process is being challenged by either deeming it unimportant, rationalizing or simply not being aware of the need. Processing takes time, and we spend time according to what we value, our values sets our priorities. For instance; I have seen a lot of serious health issues in cases with Moon-Neptune contacts; especially cancer (a plutonic disease). With Moon-Neptune or Moon in Pisces, which is the sign of the Moon in this Virgo-fullmoon phase; the ability to neglect personal needs is pronounced. Skipping meals, not going to the doctors, escaping emotional confrontations, avoiding pain. And on top of that; Moon-Neptune is overly open due to Neptune’s tendency to break down boundaries; the emotions of the collective can totally flood the system of a Moon-Neptune person, feeling a personal connection to all of the world (Neptune sees the one-ness) . So combined with the ability to skip out on processing, this can lead to a congestion of unprocessed emotions and pain in the body. The energy of the cosmos floods the person and destroys functionality.

So for this fullmoon, maybe it is a good thing to reflect on how you nurture yourself and if you give due service to your own body.The glamour of Pisces; loving the world, being emphatic and spiritually open, can take you out of your own center and render your efforts to change the world futile. We all have to connect to the powerful rays of the Sun in order for us to create a change, but first we must makes sure that our routines and our basic needs are being met, otherwise we will exhaust our resources very quickly. Besides, the Solar energy is a powerhouse of strength and light and we have to be able to authentically beam out in every direction if we are to channel these energies right. If we block it due to lack of inner security , it creates imbalance in the system. If we block A LOT OF ENERGY; the strain on the body will be even stronger. A fullmoon can shed light as to where you block your own life force and creativity.  A consequence of blocking it can be that life is not going the direction that you want, that insecurity and distractions always blurs the sight so the path of ones life is unclear. The Moon placement itself can be overly protective, not wanting to spend energy and saving it for a rainy day. The Sun shares. It radiates in any direction, not thinking of how it is being perceived, it simply is. It is always willing to share, to sacrifice. But in order for us to get to that point, we need to have cleared the lower vehicles of the Soul, the personality; the astral, mental and physical realms of ourselves.

Virgo is related to the concept of seva, selfless service; this service is also needed to heal ourselves. It takes effort, discipline and ability to prioritize to get there. When this seva is achieved, the path is ready to be mounted, cos there is protection and understanding of how to stay grounded and safe while reaching for out for our own personal fate, our adventure.

Pluto, as I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.

After living with Pluto back and forth on my ascendant for quite a while, I am starting to get used to it, although at times, it feels like getting swallowed by a gigantic monster over which I have no control, especially when it has been lingering in the 12th house. For the moment it is 8,4 days away from going direct again, and finally leave my 12th house for good this time. Throughout my journey I have yet to encounter a power more tangible and present than that of Pluto’s. And how odd; since it is the smallest little ice-lump out there, even been demoted and stuff. However; after surviving the last couple of years long-hard-transits of Pluto first opposing my Moon, then opposing my Saturn, then conjunct the nodal axis and now finally crossing my ascendant; whilst at the same time squaring itself; I must say; I can not be making this shit up. The themes of death and regeneration, confrontation, power-powerlessness; in depth processes (I thought I knew myself before all these Pluto transits; bah!), emotional transformation; a dealing with the shadow of my own sub-conscious. 

Pluto is “da bomb” as the kids would say it. It is beyond compromise and deals only with clearing the path. Jeffrey Wolf Green calls it the Soul, whereas other evolutionary astrologers calls it the evolutionary impulse of the Soul; both of which reflect back on enormous powers for us to tap into , if we could just get out of the way. In order for us to experience the power that we are; it is of utmost importance that our patterns of dependencies are confronted; and what better way to do that than through some good-ol-rejection. When friends are gone, family left and you feel utterly alone ; where do you find the strength and what do you create ? When nothing around you gives you the confirmation that you think you need; where do you go? When death calls on someone near; how do you continue living?  For me, the answer has been to delve into my inner being, through raja meditation; (thought seed meditation), through yoga, through contemplation and creativity. The challenges of Pluto can be so rough, that a healthy life where there is room for expressing emotions is necessary. We can’t fake it with Pluto, we have to go through the motion. There are no short-cuts; first we have to walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

As I was meditating this morning; I realized what my soul is about, or at least I think I understand. If I simply adhere to my soul, I have to express my utmost passion to the world and no matter how much I at times twist and turn to get away from that; for me it is astrology, or rather; consciousness and its evolution and cosmology.

I have had; and maybe still have a hate-love relationship to astrology. I hate the fact that we are not thought very high of in society; and obviously that sort of credibility I still crave; I hate that it gives me the opportunity to know so much, sometimes too much, it confronts me with my own fear for the future. I often think that living without astrology would be easier; I could live in a state of ignorance; And life would be easy as the life of a skeptic; sticking to what science can prove is what paves the way for most people. In many ways, this seems like an easier option. Living with astrology is living in a greater universe; trying to figure out the macro-aspect of it, not just dealing with what is materialized. Through the years I have seen that both of these two issues of anatagonism relates directly to the state of my emotional life and thus to Pluto, which works on developing the emotional capacity inherent in all; we have to be stronger to carry bigger challenges. Otherwise we will opt for a life in safety based on survival, based on the appraisal of others; the comfort of the consensus.

If I am to call myself an evolutionary astrologer; I have to deal with the soul and what it is, I can’t skip the theme. The consensus attitude is that believing in the Soul is being religious, we say that the Soul has a plan, a purpose; and that is for some, thinking higher of life on earth than it deserve. However; when we look at everything around us, it all has a purpose; the material plane is filled with purpose. An entity of life cannot exist without finding a function; even a parasite has a function. Nature is so filled with this sense of order and intelligence, perfect with it’s anomalies. But that is just the physical plane. What I am exploring is the plane of consciousness.

With the nodal axis trotting through Sag-Gemini; what you believe in (Sagittarius) was bound to come under the critical light of the left-brain oriented Gemini. And many times we see the Sagittarian archetype turn into the Pollyanna sort of alternative, who believes anything just because there is an intuition that there is more “between heaven and earth”. These are the more devotional types who revolt the rational, academic mind, it is too wordy and analytical. Intelligence will always breed doubt and doubt is so necessary to move to the next level; which is again surrender (knowledge has a boundary).

Being born with the nodal axis in Gemini-Sag myself, I have had an interesting time during this transitt. Natal Pluto is in my ninth house and Saturn has been conjunct Pluto this year. And on top of that I have had Pluto on my ascendant; the nodal axis on my Moon, nodal axis and Saturn; LOL is all I can say. In the depth of my doubts I have the astrology of poetry going on in my chart. For those acquainted with the language; these are the transits of doubt and with the awesome potential of total rebirth with Pluto on the ascendant. I was slow to get out of the womb when I first came, this new birth has been equally slow, but with Uranus squaring the whole process; light is ahead; I have a Promethean High in the process; cos it makes sense and is simply poetry in motion.

In case you are going through a though Plutonian process and meet up with the ultimate Bad, find courage in Uranus and the insights that you can gain. And always, when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death; use your lamp. Only shadows are frightening, even if going through the motions can be painful.

Norwac, astrology community and the future

Norwac is currently happening in Seattle and it is very hard to be on the other side of the planet AND sit still. Must be the current Aries moon that pulls me out of my current setting. Astrology is a profession where you are mostly alone, working on your own and managing your own business from wherever your service is situated at. For the most time, that is fine, but from time to time the social urges overcome me and I would so love to hang out with my astro-peeps. Luckily we have the net tho, and this has proven particularly fruitful for yours truly, the aquarian. I get to hang out with an international community of astrologers, online. And the presence of astrologers on the web has brought forth a lot of talent, a new sense of community and finally it is connecting the dots, fueling astrologers to create a group of mind, working together for bringing good astrology out to the people.

I remember when the web first appeared. There was the first astrology online and it was Susan Miller or other sun sign related astrology. Today you can find all kinds of astrology, from the most nerdy research into the astrology of the particular, to the more general and sun-sign oriented astrology.

Astrology is thought to be “entertainment” or “prediction” in the consensus frame of mind. I think that this poses a great challenge to most of the astrologers out in the web today, as many use the web to gain a clientele or marketing, which is okey, the challenge is to not loose integrity while doing it. And that seems to be a work in progress and not an easy task.

I think that some people are able to balance this perfectly, for instance maintaining a web-forum for education and actually participating themselves, like Maurice Fernandez‘s excellent forum for learning. He is providing service, education and do take seriously the need to take astrology to the next level. Kudos! Also a super favorable mention to Dawn Bodrogi who also provides the web with interesting articles, deep and substantial. There is a lot of work behind this sites, work that is not simply commercial, but true to the heart of astrology, wanting to share this beautiful language with the world in a way that can make people see what it is. There are off course many more, like Planetwaves (love this name) , Darkstar and Soulvision, plus a new surge of interesting new astrologers representing the Uranus in Scorpio/Sagittarius generation like Adam Sommer and Ari Moshe Wolf. And many, many more I still haven’t had the pleasure of getting to know. The blogosphere is dynamic, active and inclusive and there is a growing body of knowledge available for those who looks for it.

Many people think that astrology is difficult. I keep a little page on FB to inspire and promote astrology, and whenever I mention something of a more complex nature, people stop commenting. Whenever I go purely interpretational, people respond. This is obviously what people still want from astrology. Astrology can reflect the archetypal energies in work and this provides good reason for astrologers to go there. But should we go there and do we overdo it? Is it correct to go so deeply into the energies of the moment and project onto them whatever each astrologer is able to read out of them? These are the things that I think about for the moment.

I am an esoteric at heart, this is something that becomes more and more clear for me. As an esoteric I feel my work is to liberate people, along with myself. I am thus deeply confronted with the need to create space for the evolution of consciousness, making it possible for each and one of us to think for ourselves. Backside of astrology ,when it is purely predicative or grossly oversimplifying, is that it does the opposite. People get addicted to predictions and maybe yes, it is a substitute for a spiritual connection within, a longing to find some sort of God in their lives. Astrology is giving voice to the consciousness of the Universe, the inner being of all life, so it is understandable that it would take such a position.

I wonder what would happen to astrology if there was successful meta-analysis and double-blind-tests. If it really was consensus that astrologers do the work of psychologists and coachers, and go even deeper into the realms of the Soul.

And when the current idea that we are creators of our lives will mature and evolve to what it actually means, how will the art of prediction change? Most serious astrologers today promote astrology that inspires people to evolve, instead of just stating how it would turn out. The presence of the blogs are greatly contributing to this.

Uranus is in Aries and squaring Pluto, while Neptune is making a little pit-stop in Pisces and it is growing increasingly clear for me what this is about in relation to our place in time. The forces of the mind and the intuition are working together to develop a mind that is more sensitized to the subtle realities. Whereas Neptune in Pisces will most likely force humanity to surrender our hope of ever knowing for sure what life is about, Uranus in Aries will most definitely bring some interesting science. Pluto-Uranus are often present in huge shifts in our scientific methods, new inventions etc. I must say I am very exited!

It is such a paradox, Uranus in Aries and Neptune in Pisces. Whereas Uranus in Aries is opposing anything that smells of external authorities i.e a God or something similar, like planets supposedly having control over our lives, Neptune in Pisces is opening the boundaries of our ego’s and necessitating a need to harmonize with truth, no matter how we feel about it. These two forces are clearly representing a certain dichotomy. One side of this is the materialist, the ateist (ateist normally have strong martian influence) and the other the new-ager, typically extremely Neptunian. These two transits spurred a fight between the two fractions and it is so clear that there is still no link between God and Science, between consciousness and science. Astrology tho, might provide this link. I find that super-exiting!

Enjoy life people

I borrowed a photo from the artist Bill Bell..Visit his website for more funny and beautiful art.

Aries and Sagittarius; a tad too much maybe?

I am increasingly amazed over the power of the transiting nodal axis and its rulers. It seems they take up a lot of space, being so important in a birth chart, they are equally strong in transit.

And those of you who have been around for a while, might have noticed the correlation of Gemini and Sagittarius to the left and the right part of the brain. One for rational, organized and detailed activity, the other for non-linear, abstract and intuitive mode. These two signs, along with the rest of the mutable cross, deals with knowledge. What we think we know, what we believe, what we are made to think, and that which is proven to be right. And then, what we can’t understand, nor mentally grasp, yet is a part of our creative mind, our perception and intuition. Today the maze of knowledge is even crazier than before. I read the other day about a spiritual teacher who listed “headucation” on his CV. I read that (my perception again) as being a negative phrase addressed to regular education, consensus science and traditional dogma. 

No doubt this is a interesting situation. Education is so important. But is is also a great responsibility to express yourself as an educator. Especially if what is expressed locks the door to reflecting freely on conflicting theories. I am very interested in rhetorics. How we say something is often more important that what we say. Astrology might be filled with sinners in that sense, as it states something without adding the “maybe”. A lot of spiritual knowledge is like that. It defines the truth. This is it! This is what you have searching for! etcetc. Same goes for a lot of pseudo-skeptics out there.

In Sagittarius we think we see the truth. We see something bigger than the scientific mind. We philosophize, we search for a bigger meaning, we get in touch with our intuition and then we think we know for sure. The Sagittarian is thus a good salesman. In order to sell something, you have to believe in it. Maybe this is why religious, alternative, political, scientific, any field of isolated knowledge is filled with bombastic statements. Incoherent often, as it lacks holistic approach, but bombastic non-the-less. People read inspiring literature, feel the love that it describes, but have no ability to turn the other cheek, hasn’t gone through the emotional maturity process a spiritual integrated person has to go through in order to walk the talk. That is the next sign, Capricorn. Prove it or as is said; “if you don’t live it, it wont come out of your horn!”.

I am not saying that people are not trying to live it. Maybe more than what is healthy. It can lead to massive suppression of emotions. And then, when the going gets though, the lid flies off  and the monster takes over, quickly followed by a guilt trip or self righteousness.

The things that we believe in are dear to us. They supply an emotional support system for us. Understanding reality is important, we are made with brains and eyes and live on this rock in a vast universe under constant threat; comets, epidemics, famine, pollution, death. So we need a system of thought that creates pillars. Makes it easier to live.  Those systems of thoughts we build together with our allies, those who agree, who seem to be able to say that what you experience as truth is similar to what they experience as truth. We hold on to these people as they empower who we are. It is the axis of Aries-Libra that has been so highlighted in the last couple of weeks. You are either with me or against me. Diplomacy has lost in favor of the fervent preacher or politician, poor Saturn retrograde alone there opposed by those warmonger buddies over in Aries, yeah, Eris just met up with her favorite pals, Mars and Jupiter. Provocation is an understatement. Debates turns into a reality show where offended emotions triggers the next sentence that comes out of the mouth.

It is a war of paradigms. Science meets what can’t be proven. Some people think it is ridiculous that all should be proven, but is that just a defensive attitude because one doesn’t really know whether it is actually true or not?  A scientist would say: if it is there, it should be possible to prove it. Or? What it all boils down to ; is there something beyond the brain, is there a Soul? Or is is all just the brain? If there is disagreement upon these vitals, there cannot be a discussion, there can only be statement vs statement and wounded emotions.

When I talk about reincarnation, I cannot know. I can theorize. There are those who claim that they know, but personally I am skeptic of people no matter what they say, because we all say so much to gain importance or to sell something. The commercial alternative business is filled with that. I am aquarian, and for those of you who knows an aquarian or two, knows that we can be annoyingly rational and skeptic and even arrogant when we meet more emotional people. I know how easy it is to delude oneself. But I also think that it is easy to delude oneself to think that there is only the brain. Brainiacs. They seem to have lost touch with something precious and mysterious and deeply empowering. And this is not the type of empowering that knowledge brings. Knowledge will always be replaced by something else sooner or later, so that is not true power, it is a power you have to defend when the knowledge is challenged or is about to change. Maybe certain principles will stand the test of time , most likely, but a lot of other stuff will appear as equally true. This is why knowledge is so confusing and words are so misused. The more you read, the less you often know. Gemini south-node is a testimony to that. Mental overload, system confused, insight lost, freedom lost.

Our belief system will come under a threat cyclically if we are not grounded in a more holistic (meaning both sides of the brain) approach. The thing is not to reject anything, but find the middle road. A scientific mind can be dry, lacking heart and soul and come off as arrogant and sarcastic.  A mind that hasn’t been trained to think can come off as naive, unaware and simplified, where there is a quote for everything, but not an explanation to anything.

None of those are willing to admit their own limitation. This is a great weakness and the trouble with the Sagittarian archetype, found equally in the charts of hard-core skeptics and over-the-top alternative pollyanna people (ah, the beauty of astrology)

We all have a responsibility to the rest of the world and when you truly serve the world, you take this responsibility seriously. You try to stay away from sensationalism, from glamour and from bombastic statements. You stop dabbling in conspiracy theories and you start to understand the power of a word. It has ripple-effects. What you say has importance and really, none of the thoughts that we have in our minds are truly ours. All the time it is a constant communication with the environment, nature and people that creates the inner mental environment.

Thus, words can create harm and pain. If you take time to listen, maybe a lot of invasion of mental concepts would stop to affect you. Find out for yourself. The thing that really could be releasing is that eventually you realize that you know nothing. Maybe that is a liberated mind..We come from innocence and go back to it, after having developed our minds in between. Richard Tarnas calls the modern man the individuated man. In evolutionary astrology we have a theory about life, from consensus to individualized to spiritual. In the spiritual we go back to surrendering. We understand the limitation of knowledge. But we are still aware.

These nodes will be so much about the mind-games, intelligence, dogma, ideologies, rationality, science (as in the paradigms in science, not actual scientific method) and communication. Due to the hard-core ideologies that Jupiter-Mars, now in conjunction in Aries represents, I am not at all surprised that Osama, a symbol of fundamentalism, the dark side of Sagittarius, was killed.This is the signature of the crusader and we will just see what comes out of this..I am listening, ear to ground, well aware of the hubris of my own perception.

Enjoy and have a learning experience..If you are stuck on a head trip, get a cold shower and release the emotional grip argumentative people are so good to throw out. You don’t owe anything to anyone, be free enough to see for yourself. The alliances often demand loyalty. That is cowardice. That is not being free. That is a subtle emotional grip on your mind that is often called brainwashing.

My yogateacher said today; “if you change the way you look at things, the things that you look at will change” (proverb from some yoga tradition probably)…That is a good way of checking for yourself if you harbor attachments to your belief system, no matter which direction it goes..

Note: About the gif-image I found it on Rickard Wisemans blog. Click on the image. And see for yourself..:)

Inspiration

Inspiring times indeed! And that despite all the crazy stuff that is going on in the world. I dunno if it is the seven billion people that we have become that creates such massive news or if it is the world spinning around its axis in a faster pace. Maybe it is both. I think so, since we are being nudged from time to time by life itself. Solar activity boosting, supermoons, earthquakes, speed, speed , speed. All is hyped. Aries in on the run.

What has reached a new level of understanding, is that we are living on a pulsating, living, growing, changing earth. Once the continents were one, and then they “drifted” apart. At least that was what they said when we went to school. I think “drifted” sounds pretty gentle and calm , as if it was a boat that just floated on a stream. The fact is probably that it was earthquaked and vulcanoed (yes, that should be a word) to split, just like what is happening in the Afar region in Ethiopia, the world’s hottest place, constantly brewing with active vulcanos and splitting the continent. Soon (ahem, relatively speaking) Africa will look slightly different. But this is not a place that is habitable, evidently. The Afar people call it hell.

This touches so deep in the human psyche, as our consciousness is one with the earth we live within. The apocalyptic thought pattern, being a constant reminder of the finite universe, is an inheritance of the instinctual mind. The reptilian brain is our connection, not just to our ancestors, but also to our origin. Creating an earth is an act of pure violence (not evil). Life is forging us, sometimes through massive impacts, due to the density of matter. The more dense, the harder the hit.

Creation as a metaphor is apt when it comes to understanding our own evolutionary path on an inner level. The sensitive, attuned , non-material mind is much more likely to sense the signs of creation, than a mind identified with the senses and the material matrix. D0 we need the whole bombardment or is it enough with a little nudge? 

We are living in a time where this is not just knowledge available for the spiritual seeker, but for those who listens. A part of humanity is free, due to knowledge that has been freed. Reflected through the mayan mirror, this is a time where unity consciousness has started. Unity , first and foremost, is non-dualism. Non-dualism is not really non-dualism, unless dualism is included. In practical living this means that you will continue to be who you are, change what doesn’t work, work on your emotions and still be unaware from time to time. But the attachment to the outcome will be gone. The attachment to the perfected human life-form in order impress the Gods, to liberate one from the human flesh. Those times are fading out. And the time of the group-mind is making itself heard more and more. And in the meantime, we purify and mature, which means choosing between the instinct and the mind, seeing that there is a choice. If we indulge in fear, we have in one sense, gone backwards in time. Choosing love is a privilege. Doing it when the shit hits the fan is true power.

Pisces and the zeitgeit

We are in a massive surge of Pisces these days, with both Mars-Chiron-Sun-Mercury and Uranus in the sign of the fish moving in opposite directions, being a perfect master in creating chaos. The Fish is related to natural resources, as oil. The situation in Libya and the bombing of a oil installation in Iraq the last couple of days is throwing the world marked , already quite flaky, into a new situation of insecurity.

Clearly this is just a little teaser for the upcoming transit of Neptune into Pisces starting april of this year, marking a transition that will last until 2025, when both Pluto and Neptune will cross into Aquarius and Aries. The collective issues we will face in these years between now and then will be about the natural resources of the world , while we are starting to really feel the pressure of the 7 billion people walking the surface. Pisces is Nature. Nature needs to be a part of our consciousness. We need to take better care of it, this we have known for years, however, with Neptune ingress into Pisces, nature will shout it’s message loud and clear. Solidarity will no longer be optinal. Many people will go into futility and feel that it is all hopeless , feeling disempowered and disillusioned.

Now, the good news is that Uranus will at the same time be in Aries, at least for the first seven years of this transit, stirring the independent minds around the globe. Difficult times creates heros. Necessity dictates creation. Maybe we will find a new solution to the energy problem of the world, something that would be unthinkable even today. The best thing would be that the economical system would go through a real revolution and with the upcoming squares of Pluto in Capricorn to Uranus in Aries in the period 2011-2015 stirring changes in corporate structure and innovation, necessity might just dictate those changes. More corruption will be exposed.

Today, the world is more connected than ever before, with internet and media. We are globalizing, and even more so with Neptune into Pisces, connecting all to all. Or as Neale Donald Walsh has put it (Sun Neptune dude btw); “As the new spirituality begins to become the pervasive spirituality of the planet, we’ll find that we have abandoned our philosophy of contradictions in which we say we’re all one but continue to try to win.”

Yes, I guess it will be more pressing to share than to hoard while pretending to be spiritual. Living according to spiritual principles, connecting with earth and sky, opens up the mind and heals the instinct, making us realize that abundant living is not a mental concept but a real possibility, if we only understand what real abundance is.

Photograph by Sara Bernhard