can't keep up

so I'm struggling with what the true nature of this blog should be. I really don't want it to become one of those personal, gossipy blah blahs about my life, that only my family will ever read. but the amount of research I'm trying to do so that I'm writing an informative, entertaining and clear astrology blog is overwhelming.

in the past 10 days, i have started to write about Dennis Quaid's twins and the whole Heparin fiasco (saturn on the south node + natal cancer going retrograde and forming an exact square with transiting venus); Comet Holmes, and my favorite athletes. here's as far as I got on the sports topic:

athletic ability can be signified by mars and jupiter, their contacts, and any reinforcing placements in the chart. now all three of these incredible athletes have such contacts. Tiger has a mars/jupiter sextile, with mars in the 9th house (ruled by jupiter) close to the midheaven, (signifying not only talent, but exceptional talent as the midheaven is the pinnacle of the chart). his jupiter is in aries, ruled by mars, so in effect he has a triple signature by contact, house and signs. Johnny also has a mars/jupiter sextile, with his jupiter and mars also contacting his natal sun by opposition and trine, respectively. this contact, along with mars in scorpio in the 5th house, signifies that he expresses his whole being through his talent, and it is a flamboyant and overtly sexual expression (imho). Federer, by contrast, has absolutely no mars/jupiter contacts in his chart, either by aspect, house position or sign. rather, he has jupiter trine his midheaven and mars sextile his ascendant, indicating the power of aspects to the angles of the chart.

so why weren't these posted? well, for example one, the news moved so fast, that by the time I did the natal charts (without birthtimes), researched the potential rulers for blood (venus) and IV's (mars), and did the transits, it was old old news.

as for Comet Holmes, I got completely distracted by the "oohs" and "aahs" of its magical explosion. did you know that when it was first observed in 1892 it did the exact same thing?? o yes, it has a 6.9 year periodicity, which makes it a jupiterian comet, rather than an oort cloud comet. I so totally love wikipedia!!

on the whole mars/jupiter thing, I was going to do the transits/progressions for tiger's slump, but as usual, got totally enthralled by wikipedia, and didn't get everything lined out until this tuesday (i try to post on sundays). and what is the "sunday posting" thing all about? this whole experience of not being a buck-an-hour-bucaneer is really taking some getting used to. I can post any time, any day, on any topic I want - that's what blogs are all about!

I'll post again soon, as soon as I get another idea...

midpoints

one of the more fascinating things about astrology is that there are so many different techniques to improve one’s knowledge (and eventually, interpretation) of astrological charts. I have been spending some time with midpoints. midpoints are the locations, or points, in a chart midway between two planets. any object in a chart can have a midpoint, but there are several major ones: Sun/Moon, Venus/Mars, Jupiter/Saturn.

the sun/moon midpoint can be thought of as the “sum of you” – where your life force (sun) meets your emotional body (moon). It is also the yin/yang point, where masculine and feminine meet in your chart. depending on the house and sign, you can learn a lot about where you are most completely yourself, where your desire to implement meets your inner sense of surety.

the venus/mars midpoint deals with relationships. in synastry, (comparing two separate charts) any conjunction with your venus or mars can indicate interest (if not outright compatibility) with another person, but if there is a contact with this midpoint it can also signify potential relationship. depending on where this point falls in your chart, it can also indicate specific areas in your life where relationships will be important (if it falls in your 10^th house, it may be your work buddies that are your greatest friends – a whole universe of TV sitcoms are premised on this idea).

the jupiter/saturn midpoint is where the two “societal” planets meet; jupiter as the ruler of philosophies and belief systems, saturn as the ruler of collective norms and forms. this can be your point of greatest strength and authority in society – where you can contribute the most, be a leader, and gain the greatest sense of satisfaction. it can, however, be the point of greatest conflict if not well integrated. the expansive properties of jupiter constantly rub up against the constraints of saturn, leading to either a sense of great frustration if one’s dreams cannot be realized, or feeling like a wet blanket when everyone else is having fun.

midpoints work in your chart, in synastry, or by transit. If you’re having a hard time, but nothing seems to be actively contacting any planets or angles in your chart, check out your midpoints. The outer planets especially move very slowly and they may either be contacting one of your midpoints, or the transiting midpoint of a planetary pair may be contacting one of your planets.

my second saturn return in virgo has just occurred; also, I have numerous midpoints in virgo that transiting saturn will be contacting over the next year or so. this is presenting me with all the usual saturnian issues: health issues and the need to create some discipline around my daily life forms, a sense of isolation and even a fair amount of dread. As it approaches my uranus/sun midpoint, I find myself actively engaging in meditation again for the first time in years and generally trying to re-invent myself, now that I’m retired. other points coming up include venus/pluto midpoint (please please please let me win the lottery!) and neptune/pluto, a point of understanding the limits of power, among other things. as a scorpio, all these pluto midpoints are especially salient to me.

Being in the world

I went to my local Shambhala Center this morning to meditate - actually to receive some instruction on meditation as it has been years since I've practiced this. There was a lot of history and background on the center provided, and then questions from my fellow instructees that our meditation teacher answered, and then we went into one of the shrine spaces and sat meditation for about 30 minutes or so.

well, call me crazy, but it was after this brief meditation that I began to think about what it means to be in this world. to be alive in this universe, as this type of creature. I kept thinking, "I'm not a squirrel". it's not like I have a role in the ecosystem, like a particular plant or animal. I don't behave instinctually. theoretically, I have something called consciousness, and possibly even Free Will. What does it mean for me to be in this world? do I have purpose, or is it completely random that I am here in this space and time?

it was a pretty weighty question to arise from a mere 10-15 minutes of meditation, let me tell you!

so what does this have to do with astrology, you're wondering? well, I'm not sure, but there seems to be some connection with the basic question I've posed above and the human need for systems-of-meaning, of which astrology is one (for me anyway). given that I am not a squirrel, my consciousness requires some kind of meaningful context within which to live; something in between instinct and... enlightenment, I guess. astrology provides this grounding: it is both practical and useful (like instinct) but also is a portal to the infinite connectedness of all things in our universe. I find this both satisfying and comforting.