New Moon in (sidereal) Aquarius…Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 5:34:34 PM EST. Time to celebrate Fat Tuesday, AKA Mardi Gras (Carnival), the day before Ash Wednesday which begins the Lenten season of fasting in the Christian Church. Mardi Gras is also known as Shrove Tuesday, the day of confession, yes, but also a day for eating sweet pancakes and other sinfully delectable foods before the fast of Lent begins. Continue reading
Venus and the Venereal Game
A pride of lions; a school of fish; a leap of leopards; a parliament of owls; a shrewdness of apes; a clowder of cats; an unkindness of ravens…are “terms of venery, colorful collective nouns that evolved in the Middle Ages of Europe when the sophisticated art of hunting demanded an equally sophisticated vocabulary.”…from one of my all-time favorite books given to me by my mother long ago, James Lipton’s An Exaltation of Larks or the Venereal Game. The venereal game is not directly related to the term “venereal disease,” though both are similarly linked to Venus, goddess and astrological indicator of love and wild animals. Continue reading
Deflation or Inflation? Saturn and Ketu in Venus-Ruled Signs
Saturn is transiting in sidereal Libra currently, and Ketu (the Moon’s South Node) is transiting in sidereal Taurus, both signs belonging to Venus, which in mundane astrology symbolizes currency and its circulation, banks, stock exchange, commodity and cattle markets, revenue and securities, etc. Continue reading
Mars Retrograde Cycle: Sparking inner fire, valor and drive to get the work done
Kuja (Mars) is the graha that signifies our efforts to find security in a world that is often fraught with danger, upheaval and loss. In relation to our view from Earth, Kuja will become completely stationary (vikal) from Jan. 23-25, after which it will retrograde (vakra) from Jan. 25 until April 15 (tax day :)). When a graha is stationary it is the strongest, and when retrograde it is also very strong. Kuja’s manifestations can be “good” and/or “bad” depending on its placement and various aspects in the natal, mundane and transit horoscopes. Continue reading
Astral Waves Holiday Newsletter
All that we behold is full of blessings. ~William Wordsworth
Greetings all! As we are winding down 2011, there will be one final solar eclipse occurring in sidereal Scorpio on November 25, 2011 at ~6:20 AM UT, followed two weeks later by a lunar eclipse in sidereal Taurus on December 10, 2011 at ~14:32 UT. As I have written before, eclipses have a significant role to play in worldly affairs, and they also can trigger changes in our personal lives. Continue reading
Mars Ingress into Sidereal Leo
Been feeling at loose ends? Emotionally frustrated or vulnerable? Lacking some manner of focus or energy? If so, then it may be time to celebrate because Mars is leaving sidereal Cancer and entering Leo today at 12:36 PM EDT. Since Sept. 9, Mars has been transiting through Cancer, its least favorite placement in the zodiac, its sign of debilitation (fall), where… is represents a “disturbance in the force.” Continue reading
Fall Equinox Chart – September 2011
Leo rises in the Fall Equinox chart for Washington, DC, at 12 longitudinal degrees and 29 minutes, in the nakshatra called Magha. This nakshatra is ruled by the Pitris (Ancestors), so it is especially fitting since the equinox occurs during the Hindu festival of Sradda (September 13-27), when karmic debts are repaid and offerings are given on behalf of one’s familial and spiritual ancestors. After Sradda will be my favorite Hindu festival of the year, Maha Navaratri (Nine Nights of Mother Divine), a blessed time of year, particularly for those of us who worship the Holy Mother in any of her forms (September 27 to October 6). Continue reading
Autumnal Equinox
All of nature dances in the play of polarity, the in-and-out breath of creation through which the primal forces of yin and yang constantly oscillate. Nowhere is this play more evident than in the changing seasons. On Sept. 23, 2011 at 9:04 AM UTC (5:04 AM EDT), the northern hemisphere will once again experience Autumnal Equinox, when we begin to “fall” into Yin Time, when nature begins its evolutionary cycle back to center. Continue reading
Happy Summer Solstice
Happy Summer Solstice
The summer solstice occurs on June 21, 2011 at 17:16 Universal Time. I am writing about this in relation to the Northern Hemisphere, where I live; in the Southern Hemisphere, the seasons are, of course, reversed. On the summer solstice, the Sun reaches its highest point of declination (the movement north and south of the ecliptic), when it is located directly overhead at noon on the Tropic of Cancer. On this day, we will experience maximum daylight hours. According to the Hermetic tradition of ancient Egypt, the Divine Sun-God becomes fully enthroned at the summer solstice, when He is thus able to pour forth His most powerful divine blessings upon us. Continue reading
Spring into Spring-Transformation Time!
As I write this, we have just passed the Full Moon in Virgo, the constellation relating to self-improvement, health and healing, and we are also approaching the spring equinox, which occurs on Sunday, March 20 at 23:21 UT. The spring equinox marks the time of year in the Northern Hemisphere when Mother Nature rebalances and begins to awaken herself. Spring is also the time of year when we take an especially deep breath and renew our commitment to awakening ourselves, perhaps with a focus on improving health and well-being. Continue reading