Dec

28

Slowing Down

Filed Under Astrology trends | 2 Comments

thich-nhat-hanh-i-have-arrivedTen years ago, along with several hundred other pilgrims, I took a retreat with walking-meditation master Thich Nhat Hahn. We learned to walk very very slowly, mindful of every step, with little concern for our destination. All that mattered was just the rise and fall of each foot, one at a time. This past week that education has really paid off. With Mars and Mercury both retrograde, and the collective jittering with the lunar eclipse, there’s no going anywhere fast. I keep reminding myself of that as cars inexplicably slow in front of me. I hear Thich Nhat Hanh saying “I breathe in, I breathe out,” as every grocery store or theater ticket line I choose moves like molasses in winter; the people ahead of me all seem to be having complicated problems. When there’s no moving quickly, there’s just this delicious choice: Become impatient and frustrated–or deepen one’s appreciation for life. That’s the rich offering of this strange astrological time.

In fact my mother (who lives in Slovakia) emailed much the same message this morning. She wrote: Last year I fell on the ice when I was carrying in an armload of wood. Some logs landed on my dogs and I laid there frozen in place, trying to figure out a way to get up amongst the dogs licking my face. I just began to laugh hysterically while I worried about a possible broken hip and fear of not being able to get inside my house or anyone finding me. Obviously I did manage to right myself unscathed and not repeat my episode that winter. Yet the memory looms as I again set out with armloads of wood and the fear perched relentlessly on my shoulder. On warmer days I make 2 or 3 extra trips inside with enough wood to carry me over for the times the ice man wags his finger and tells me “Not today!”

Mercury goes direct on January 15 (just after the solar eclipse). Mars is retrograde until March 10.

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Dec

14

The Wrath of the Feminine

Filed Under Celebr-astrology | 3 Comments

tiger-woodsThe Moon rules women–mothers, daughters, wives; also one’s own emotional seas and tides. It rules the public too, whose affections can storm, ebb, and flow with the passion of Mother Nature. Tiger Woods knows this intimately now, as Uranus, strengthened by its direct station, recently squared his Moon, liberating sordid images of the feminine from his underworld and splashing his public persona with embarrassment and shame.

At the same time, a celestial event went largely unnoticed by astrologers: Venus disappeared from the sky just as Tiger’s wife smashed his SUV with a golf club. Or rather Venus slipped behind the blazing presence of the Sun, a condition marked by astrologers as being “under the Sun’s beams” which means to lose power. I’ve often wondered about the truth of this judgment, having met a few individuals with Sun/Venus conjunctions who visibly shine with feminine grace. Certainly this year it’s clear that Venus does not go quietly into the underworld. She’s taken a powerful man (the Sun) down with her. And with less fanfare, she’s given us other images to ponder. During the week that Venus disappeared, Oprah (that media priestess of the divine feminine) brought us an incredible love story about a powerful man who actually served and honored his mate! Edward Kennedy’s courtship of Vicki is a fine counterpoint to Tiger’s more disposable view of the feminine. Oprah also showcased one of this season’s most important books: Half the Sky, with its unblinking, heartwrenching portrait of contemporary gender inequality.

Venus will be out of our view for about six weeks, as she transitions from Morning Star to Evening Star. It is a significant turning point in her cycle. May it bring a new turning point in our culture’s regard for the feminine. When Venus emerges as the Evening Star (at the end of February), she’s considered to be more mature, more harmonious and wise. May we all be so as well. As for Tiger, Uranus is approaching the cusp of his partnership house, about to oppose his Ascendant. Life will not be easy, but he will change; how is up to him.

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