Fecunderground ~ 30 July 2008
It is true that we stand on the verge of a solar eclipse on August 1st in Leo and a lunar eclipse on the 16th across the Leo-Aquarius axis. It does seem that a heap of attention is directed toward these two eclipses, perhaps because of the totality of the solar eclipse and anticipated globally impacting events such as the Olympics in China, the upcoming political party conventions in the United States and speculation as to what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad meant exactly when he said, "The big powers are going down," One thing for sure, Leo energy can be counted upon for some drama and embellishment. Monday, the U.S. media sources went crazy over the fact that Qantas Airlines had a second airplane incident within just a few days. This second incident actually was relatively minor, and Qantas remains one of a handful of airlines with a record of no fatalities. Perhaps the point of watching media hysteria is to extract a personal theme. In the interest of preserving credibility, exaggerate not.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles area experienced a notable 5.4 earthquake. If you happened to be there, your nerves certainly got rattled, your balance center impacted and it felt like a significant event. Meanwhile, the media enjoyed the frenzy. Enter Dr. Kate Hutton, a seismologist from Cal Tech. God bless this woman. She’s the voice of reason in a cauldron of chaos that propitiates to the gods of thought, logic and clarity. When I lived in L. A. and we had tremblors or quakes, I couldn’t wait for her to do a press conference. I always felt better as soon as she spoke. She comes out, gives the facts about the quake and lays out a track of what to expect. No hysteria, just solid details and calculable expectations. Today she told Californians that within the next 24 hours there’s a small probability - 5% - of a larger quake. After the first day, the odds drop to 1% that a larger related quake follows. When the media pressed her to speculate on which fault it was - like that really matters that much - she refused to go off on a tangent of speculation. Tidily, she returned to facts. She urged Californians to think of this quake as a drill. There will be larger quakes in the future. From this we can deduce: Learn what to do. Be prepared. Go on living your life without turning into Chicken Little.
I’m not suggesting science rules or that we should we use facts to replace instinct and intuition. I am a fan of astronomical facts and data and seek to apply those details in a manner useful to extracting more insight from features newly appearing for astrological assessment and improving cosmic instincts. I don’t care about convincing fact-wielding scientists astrology works. Nor am I interested in engaging in a witless and war with the onslaught of Christian-based, fact free astrology hate e-mails I’ve been receiving of late. There’s no point in preaching to the choir or tone-deaf parishioners. During the supercharging emotional arcs stimulated by the upcoming eclipses, all we can do is re-center, self focus, find our perfect personal place on the bell curve of the collective consciousness. Thought must not become a skewed hyperbolic series of hyperboles birthed in drama and failing to fit the context of the prevailing and hopefully guiding planetary patterns in order-oriented Virgo. In resetting and reclaiming simple and basic truths, each person finds a place in which creative critical thought and intuition find cooperative habitation in the psyche and consciousness.
Actually, if we look beyond the obvious, into the slightly inobvious, we find the fields of creativity and inspired thinking full and well fertilized by a large collection of Virgo influences. Virgo energy, well applied, renders discernment, definition and distinction while inspiring dedication to dutiful deeds, sprouting creativity and developing dharma. Most of us have heard by now, from this astrologer or that one, that two classical planets, testy Mars and taskmaster Saturn, tediously seek to hoe straight lines in the daily drill fields of life. Looking ahead, we can anticipate four classical astrological bodies in Virgo starting August 10th until August 29th with a three day break of three bodies only, That’s a lot to process. Warning signs, red flags, tripping hazards, new rules to follow seem to pop up with each blink of an eye. What to do? In block diagram, work to simplify complications by considering more alternatives and selecting the course that logically tracks out as most direct and intuitively feels “more right.” Eating quality food helps as does the routine of maintaining refreshing daily hygiene and personal activity.
If we look further into influences that reside in the deeper, darker places of our solar system, we find a heap of fecund influences, desperately seeking to infuse the creative spirit with clearer options and more insightful alternatives. Some astrologers contend that applying these smaller bodies - small change if you will - and some of which will never be other than small solar system bodies, makes it such that one cannot see the forest for the trees. Perhaps the classic planets function as the nouns and verbs of astrological architecture and these influences render beautifully descriptive and function helpful adjectives and adverbs. I’m not a fan of consciousness clear cutting. Personally, I’ll take the forest - because a bear can only walk into the woods halfway and then what?
Consider that in Virgo two Kuiper Belt bodies, one a dwarf planet and plutoid, offer up rich underworld imagery for use, Makemake and Typhon. Another Kuiper Belt body of the resurrection, recreation variety, Logos, wants to add more than it’s two cents to insure the message of the others remains upbeat and useful.
The last few Galactic Times have dealt some with Makemake, an influence from Rapa Nui that insists upon clear self expression, amalgamation of life’s stimuli and presumably some kind of synthesis of incoming facts, data and beliefs into something that looks like one’s own personal “brand.” Makemake supports the “take the best, leave the rest” axiom. Listen and consider. Decide what works for you. Adopt it and move on. Makemake says you can change your mind when presented with an improved idea as an evolving soul without fear of being labeled a flip flopper. Mars and Makemake align on August 8th, coinciding with the Beijing Olympic’s opening ceremony. Don’t the commentators always say the games are to promote cross-cultural understanding as much as they are to sanction athletic superiority and national chauvinism?
Of the transformational variety, the small solar system body Logos (now just past 20 Virgo) works its mojo. This body possesses the same orbital sign considerations as Sedna, re-enforcing the messages of physical security and sustenance as one’s number one priority followed by choices that feed the soul. Secure your personal sense of well-being as the foundation of consciousness. On August 3rd, Mars aligns with Logos. Since Mars carries an edge, it might be helpful to consider the potent applications of Logos.
Logos works to create a belief in one’s destiny or dharma. In this process, Logos acknowledges a power need for self-nurturing and commitment to one’s cause and perception of one’s position in the universe without stressing a need to “fit in.” One’s natural place becomes the natural order. These attitudes are free of arrogance, solipsism and the urge to use falsified “facts” to prove a point one knows is incorrect. There is an active belief in one’s reasoning ability. To keep these agendas clear, one might apply unending affirmation procedures, capitulation ceremonies (where one surrenders to divine will) or apply shamanic rituals of disassembly, purification and reassembly.
Logos supports the Virgo substrate by demanding a declaration of what works for a person in establishing a basic, secure life style. With primal issues satisfied, Logos urges a person to create a usable spiritual doctrine that comes into play every day with every task making every act a spiritual affirmation of one’s soulful existence. Do all things with reverence and appreciation and a clear sense of connection to whatever one believes makes the Cosmos run.
Then there’s the undesirable Typhon, a consort of discordant Eris who also now travels through in Virgo. He’s a grisly hideous monster with an abundance of heads and body. Typhon has the knack for subterranean earth shifts, disruptions in lava flow and the power to create ill winds. Come late August, Saturn aligns with this body, issuing heightened weather pattern advisories.
Despite the grim mythological stories, the task is to sort the imagery and extract progressive archetypes. Since the key orbital points for Typhon align in the Virgo-Pisces axis, there is an intrinsic urge to understand balance of parts and wholes as in grasping details while simultaneously getting the big picture. This skill set creates the ability to reduce overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, thus avoiding fatigue and overwhelm. To engage the essence of Typhon, much like the myths of Pholus, Chiron, Pluto, Makemake and more, a ceremonial retreat into the underworld works wonders. The isolation into contemplative space (whether in a real kiva or cave or not) ultimately silences overactive minds. Instinctive understanding replaces the urge to think, rethink and second guess.
Fecundity prevails within underworldly influences. When you think about it, Virgo’s (and Ceres’ too) fields of grain are dependent upon the underworld. Without roots of grain, seed sprouted in Pluto’s subsurface domain, there would be no sustenance for humankind. Presently Mars, Saturn, Typhon, Logos and Makemake in Virgo and as seen in the following kluge, there’s an abundance of celestial nutrition all conspiring to improve the grain of life.
August 5th: Venus, Mars, Saturn, Typhon, Logos and Makemake in Virgo.
August 10th Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Typhon, Logos and Makemake in Virgo.
August 19th Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Typhon, Logos and Makemake in Virgo.
August 22nd - August 29th Sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Typhon, Logos and Makemake in Virgo.