When Your Chart Ruler Goes Retrograde

I'm a Saggitarius rising, so that means my chart ruler is Jupiter. My Jupiter is in Scorpio, in the 11th house, and it just went retrograde last night. This is a pretty big event for me.

Jupiter has just turned retrograde at 23 degrees of Scorpio, near my Neptune in Scorpio (12th house) and opposite my 5th house Saturn. It will turn direct at 13 degrees Scorpio, conjunct my 11th house Venus at 14 Scorpio, near my natal Jupiter at 6 Scorpio, and still opposite my Saturn. So... the old Neptune/Venus issues are coming up, and it's also triggering the path Saturn took a few years ago when it raked its nails through Scorpio (2012-2015, boy do I remember that time) during my Saturn Opposition.

Here are the themes and issues being triggered for me now, albeit in a much more peaceful way than when Saturn blew through:

• The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
• Undo the damage, break the spell that was cast
• Re-cast a better spell; redesign a better life; hone your intentions like a blade on the sharpening stone
• Wake the Fuck UP - don't allow yourself to drift into complacency, there's no time (Saturn) for that, I don't care how lucky you think you are
• Focus on creating healthy relationships
• Stand up for yourself and your needs - ask for what You want
• Self Love
• Open heart so you can receive
• Pay Your Debts
• Healthy boundaries (in love and in money) - this means not too foolish, and not too guarded, either
• Use your precious energy wisely; Use this TIME (Saturn) wisely
• Don't invest in unwise situations that have no longevity
• Beware energy vampires
• Beware opportunistic predators
• Radical Self Care
• Create what you want and need in your life
• Star Tarot - I can create anything I need
• Listen for guidance and trust that everything will arrive to you as you need it
• Relax, rest, tend your garden
• Cultivate the ability to Conjure Joy, under any circumstance - Make this your superpower - death-defying freedom and joy (god if this isn’t the ultimate Jupiter in Scorpio in the 11th house theme, I don’t know what is lol) 
• Galadriel, a light when all others go out
• The Audacity of Hope
• Be Lucky
• Wish, Dream big

So, in a way, this is a pause to see what I've done so far in my year of Jupiter Return. And WOW, honestly, it's been amazing. I got a promotion/raise, moved to a better house, have paid off some debts, scored what I needed and then some. I think if anything, I haven't aimed high enough. Now is the time to sift through it all and determine where to hitch my lucky star for the next, and final, pass-through. I have to pay attention. Can't fail this lesson. It's a second chance.

I have to make it good. No, I have to make it AMAZING.

Asteroids, fixed stars, and comets (oh my!)

Asteroids, fixed stars, and comets have been gobbling up my attention lately. From the new comet ISON that is approaching perihelion (orbiting the sun) tomorrow and visible in our early morning skies (EST) beginning tomorrow or Friday -- IF she doesn't burn up in the sun's atmosphere, that is -- to learning more about Chiron, Nessus, Pholus, Sedna, and Karma (all asteroids and all very useful in chart analysis, especially synastry), to reading up on all the fixed stars - all very fascinating. I'm just wishing I could read faster, or at least just download it automatically into my brain. Good thing I have the long Thanksgiving weekend to dive into all of this.

Comet ISON photographed Nov. 15, Credit: Damian Peach

I am tempted to get up early tomorrow, Thanksgiving morning, to attempt to see ISON, but I may have missed the best window to see her. (Marina at Darkstar Astrology feels this comet is a she, and I agree. She gave an excellent write up in her Weekly Horoscope for November 25 - December 1.) As she begins perihelion, and thus only visible very close to the Sun - difficult and dangerous to view without the proper equipment - she may get burned up in the Sun's atmosphere while traveling around our beautiful home star. I hope she pulls through! Many astronomers and stargazers will be watching this one closely, as will I. Over the weekend I will attempt to see her just before sunrise. She is brilliant green with a long, dazzling tail and I hope she will be with us for a long time. Marina Darkstar calls her a "gorgeous, green witch" and likens her to be a harbinger of sacred feminine energy, a Lilith comet full of the power of healing feminine energy - something that our planet desperately needs to be cosmically sprinkled with right about now. If she pulls through after dancing with the extreme heat of the Sun what a gift she will be.

OK so check out these asteroids (the numbers are the official catalog numbers for asteroids/stars, go to astro.com and use their Free Extended Chart and plug the numbers in to the "additional asteroids and fixed stars" box at the bottom of your birth chart information form):


Love, Sexual and Relationship Asteroids:

Juno - Marriage, commited and bonded relationships, legal ties and protection of rights within the relationship.Marriage and commitment in relationships. Check synastry for connections. Transits and progressions can signify timing of marriage. Working through relationship betrayals, infidelity. Sharing power within relationships in a balanced manner

Vesta - Devotion and dedication to beliefs, tantric sex and passion for ritual; sex as a spiritual transformation. Becoming whole within ones self. Not needing outside validation to be who you really are. Finding sacredness within and without.  

Ceres - Mother, nurturing, feeding emotional and physical needs. Taking care of each other. Enhances the ability to nurture the self and others - also for those suffering from the loss of a loved one. Children who have lost a parent or other primary care giver.
 
103 Hera - Marriage, commited and bonded relationships, legal ties and protection of rights within the relationship. Marriage and
commitment in relationships. Check synastry for connections. Transits and progressions can signify timing of marriage.
 
447 Valentine - True love
 
1221 Amor - Love as felt idealistically and romantically. Unconditional love, how you express it.
 
763 Cupido - the look of love; Indicator of sexual attraction in synastry. Matchmaker, vain, romantic.
 
201 Penelope - represents devotion and fidelity
 
16 Psyche - Perseverance of love, connection of a psychic nature, awakening of intuition, soul seeking completion
 
433 Eros - erotic love. Represents what turns you on, sexual attraction.
 
1388 Aphrodite - impulsive love and attraction, love inspired by fated events, animosity turning to magnetism, charisma. Indicates attraction in synastry.
 
1943 Anteros - the brother of Eros, love returned or love avenged. The answer to love's longing, a place to finally meet.
 
2101 Adonis - spell bound love, sexual magnetism, the desire to arouse, please and fulfill the beloved. Potent tie. An attractive male. Your ideal male. What is your Adonis by sign and house?
 
4450 Pan - Seductive and earthy sensuality, creative, wily, and likely to instill "panic" to produce change or contact
 
4386 Lust - potent sexual attraction and connection. Sexually motivated, lustful. Lascivious personality or behavior. Non-committed sex. President Clinton has Lust conjunct his ASC, as does Gene Simmons of KISS.
 
7328 Casanova: A promiscuous male. Seducer of women. A player, uncommitted.
 
875 Nymphe: An overly-sexed individual. An indicator of sexual addiction.
 
2063 Bacchus: Sexual orgies, groupies, highly sexual and unrestrained. 

1036 Ganymede - An indicator of same sex attraction between men. Ganymede was the lover of Zeus.

And these are just a few! My favorites right now are Nessus (7066), Karma (3811), Sedna, and of course Chiron, mainly for healing purposes. Finding these in my own charts and those of my friends and family and how they interact with my own is fascinating to me. It really explains a lot about what we are all here to teach each other and how our journeys intersect and overlap. Doing charts will be much more interesting now - and more precise. This makes my Mercury/Mars conjunction in 9th house Virgo very, very happy!!  I will start posting about each of these separately soon.

As for fixed stars, these are a little different because, as the name suggests, they are fixed in place and don't roam around or orbit a planet or solar system like the asteroids, comets and planets in our solar system do. They show up in people's charts in pretty much the same sign and degree for long periods of time, often within 50-100 years or so, so people born in the same generation will have the same fixed stars in their charts, so the House placement is what really counts here, as well as what personal planets or other significant asteroids or chart points they conjunct. They really give a flavor to just, oh say, plain old Mars in Saggitarius. If it is now Mars in Saggitarius conjunct Lesath the intense fixed star of  "the nature of Mercury and Mars. It gives danger, desperation, immorality and malevolence, and is connected with acid poisons” and suddenly we're talking about a whole 'nuther Mars now. If that Lesath Mars is in the Eighth house, conjunct Uranus and square Pluto in the Twelfth, then we may have a psychopath on our hands! Or at least the tendency towards that type of behavior.

Honestly I'm so overwhelmed with learning about all these chart and synastry influencers that all I can say for now is, wow, 10-planet based astrology is like first grade math, and full-spectrum astrology that includes the fixed stars and asteroids (and lunar orbit points, like Lilith) as depth providers is like college calculus, psychology and astronomy all combined (actually quite literally). It really helps pinpoint details in charts, especially connections (for good or bad) in synastry charts. If only I had known this years ago!

The North Node - Hitch Your Wagon to This-Here Star

I love the North Node. There is an inherent sweetness to North Node astrology. To me, it exists to show us our way up and out of darkness. The South Node (opposite North Node in every chart) shows us where we have already been, what we are already experts at, and in some ways you could call this "home" because it is so ingrained in us, so familiar. Yet, I like to think of the South Node as the solid launching point from the last life or experiences we already have under our belt while the North Node is like our homing beacon, the lighthouse in the dark night of the soul that shows us how we need to aim ourselves in order to get to the next level. The South Node has already manifested; the North Node is a light fairy that leads us toward and helps us become our higher selves, develop our higher soul vibrations into future material form. It is our "soul goal." Because of this, I tend to look at the positive traits of the planet and house that the North Node is located in (although there are positives and negatives to everything). If we are talking about reaching higher, forward, upwards then naturally we are going to have to aim for the positives in order to evolve and grow spiritually to the next level of being. The North Node shows us the way.

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The Seventh House - Love, or Pain?

Is the Seventh House a house of love and pleasure, or of pain? Most people would knee-jerk to a reaction of "Love, of course! It is the house of partnerships and marriage!" The Seventh House is where astrologers traditionally look to see if there is partnership and/or marriage potential between people. If your personal planets fall in my Seventh House, and my personal planets fall in your Seventh House, and my Seventh House planets get along with your Seventh House planets, then we should go ahead and start our wedding registry, right? I am not so sure anymore. It is also the house of open enemies, and what I have often seen is that when someone is your so-called "soul mate," they end up bringing you at least as much pain as pleasure. That is because, in my opinion, a soul mate is not here to bring you everlasting compatibility, cooperation, and bliss, they are here to be your mirror. They are here to push your buttons so you can grow and learn lessons, often painful ones. "Life is pain," after all. Our level of attachment to things (people, outcomes, ideas, etc., as well as material things) is in direct correlation to the amount of pain and suffering we experience. And what are we more attached to than our significant others, our soul mates, our partners? I'm going to go out on a limb here and posit that not much else is as significant to us humans as that. 

I'm not trying to be a Negative Nelly here or poo-poo the love and compatibility that can often be found in Seventh House synastry, because that is indeed also real and wonderful. I just think that sometimes, if we can read a chart objectively without harboring any romantic illusions, we might be able to foreshadow some pain that may come along with the pleasure we often wish to only see. Because astrologers tend to look at the Seventh House as the house of love and romance (I beg to differ - I often see the Fifth House as more of that), the ugly side of partnerships and soul mating is swept under the rug. I'm just dragging that crap out and shining a big ol' light on it. Hell, somebody's gotta do it. 

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Astrobsession is born! 11/11/13, 7:11pm EST, Tallahassee, FL, USA

My obsession with astrology now has a home! Let's do the chart for this baby and see what I've unleashed into the world.

November 11, 2013 at 7:11pm (I'm digging all the 11s), Tallahassee, FL USA.
(I use alabe.com for quick birth charts with known birth times. For more indepth charts, such as synastry charts, charts that show fixed stars, midpoints, , etc. I use astro.com or astrotheme.com.) 

Rising Sign is in 15 Degrees Gemini 
(This is fitting actually, since it is a BLOG. Gemini in the first so communication about a variety of interesting topics will be front and center. So far no other major planets in the 1st. However I bet I will find some interesting fixed stars and such. More on that later.)
Extremely active by nature, you like to get around, meet people and do different things. Very restless, you just can't seem to stay put. You need to be involved in several projects at once in order to keep your mind stimulated. You like to read books and to write letters and to talk -- constantly. Seemingly ageless, you will always appear to be much younger than you really are. Very adaptable and inquisitive, you are always open to new ideas and experiences. A "jack-of-all-trades", you are lively and versatile. Because of the high nervous tension that you always seem to have, athletic activity would be a good way for you to burn off energy. But be careful of a tendency to experience things only superficially -- try to dig in and absorb things at a deeper level.

Sun is in 19 Degrees Scorpio.
(And this fits too. I like it deep and meaningful and I use astrology to go deep and find meaning. And the "obsession" thing is Scorpionic as hell too. And dead sexy. And this Sun is conjunct Saturn in the 6th house so no one will be able to accuse me of not taking this seriously. Unless I show up to do charts in a French Maid costume. Which I might. Skype, anyone?)
Intense and complex by nature, you have extremely strong emotional reactions to most situations. Feelings are often very difficult for you to verbalize. Therefore you have a tendency to be very quiet - - to brood and think a lot. You seldom get overtly angry, but, when you do, you are furious and unforgiving. When you make an emotional commitment, it is total -- you are not attracted to superficial or casual relationships. If you are challenged, you take it as a personal affront and tend to lash out and fight back in a vengeful manner. You love mysteries and the supernatural. A good detective, you love getting to the roots of problems and you enjoy finding out what makes other people tick. You are known to be very willful, very powerful and quite tenacious! 

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