Featured Post Archives - Page 2 of 8

December 9, 2020 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

Big Planets Big Meeting IS a Big Deal!

They are the two biggest planets in our solar system. On December 21, 2020, Jupiter will join Saturn. They do this dance every twenty years in what is called a Great Conjunction (conjunction means a coming together and “great” because they’re the biggest planets. Their cycle is the longest of the original planets, prior to the discoveries made possible by the invention of telescopes. So is this a big deal? In a word, YES!

There are two ways in which this conjunction is extraordinary. The first has to do with proximity. In their travel, planets go around the zodiac as well as up and down within a certain band-with. Not every time they reach the same point on the orbital racetrack are they at an equivalent vertical position, said to be “parallel.” Riding at the same elevation in the sky, they practically merge, appearing like one big star to the unaided eye. With magnification, Saturn will look like it is sitting atop Jupiter. That definitely does not happen every time the quicker giant planet overtakes its ringed neighbor. When I looked across more than eight centuries, from 1600 to 2420, there were only two other instances of Jupiter and Saturn appearing as one bright object, in 1623 and 2417. There were a half a dozen other times when they’re almost as close but are distinct: a trio of conjunctions in 1682-83, 1961, 2080 and 2140. Had you been alive in 1623, you probably could not have seen their merging because they were so close to the Sun they would be obscured by the Sun’s brilliance. If you’re young enough, you may live until 2080 and be able to check how close they are then (on March 14) – they wont be quite as close as this year. This is definitely the best viewing until 400 years from now. Maybe in a future incarnation you can see this very rare phenomenon again!

This article from EarthSky.org has a great explanation and helpful illustrations.

If you haven’t seen Jupiter and Saturn, you’re missing something!

Though they travel near one another in the zodiac for several months, more often than not, when Jupiter passes Saturn in their dual-decade dance, it happens just one time. Rarely, they join in a series of three instances, spaced months apart. You might think this is not so rare if you only examined the past hundred years, when there were two triplets, in 1940-41 and 1980-81. In the same period mentioned above, there were only three other triplets, in 1682-83, 2238-39 and 2279. This conjunction is not a triple but it’s special in another way, having to do with the element of the sign where it occurs.

Jupiter-Saturn meetings strike a drumbeat for cultural changes and developments, and this one holds the promise for a whole new era. The 2020 meet-up heralds the end of almost two centuries dominated by Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in signs of the Earth element and ushers in a period of over a century when Jupiter’s and Saturn’s paths cross in Air signs. This is part of a long-term cycling through the four elements, usually with seven pairings in an element before migrating to the next.

The Earth element is associated with material objects, practical concerns, and wealth and tangible assets. The Earth era premiered with a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in 1802, but it was followed by a throwback to the prior era with a conjunction in the Fire element in 1821. The long stretch of Earth conjunctions began in 1841. Soon afterward, transportation progressed from steamships to railroads, then trucks and automobiles, followed by airplanes and space travel. Communication technology developed beyond books, letters and newspapers to telegraphs, telephones and satellites. In the 20-year period from the first conjunction in an Air sign in 1980 to 2000, the last conjunction in an Earth sign, we added personal computers, the internet, cell phones and the Apple watch, which was only dreamed about in 1946 in the cartoon strip Dick Tracy. The growth of banks and financial institutions and the amassing of great personal or family fortunes accompanied these other advancements. And in the process, the earth itself has been abused and trashed. And in the last Earth period from 2000 to 2020, income disparity and the wealth gap between the “top one percent” and everyone else has skyrocketed.

We’ve now moved past the Industrial Revolution and Robber Barons of the Earth period and we’re living in the Information Age. Communication and information are associated with the Air element, as are relationships. As with every element, there are three signs in Air. Gemini correlates with education, neighborhoods and community. Libra is about connections (who you know), cooperation and fairness. Aquarius is the sign of friendship, associations, humankind and humanitarianism. The long period of Air sign conjunctions will run from 2020 to 2159, with an extension for two more cycles from 2179 to 2218, after which the prominent element shifts to Water. Thus this 2020 conjunction is the turning point, and is known as a Great Mutation, a Great Conjunction that shifts to a different element. People will matter more than things.

For forty years, since my early years of studying astrology, I have been waiting for this time of Air sign Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions. Living through the period initiated by the 1980-81 conjunctions, I was upset that we weren’t making enough progress in equality and fairness, and that we weren’t following the example of the first Earth Day in 1970. Reagan was elected in 1980 and removed the solar panels Jimmy Carter had installed on the White House. Racial tensions have not calmed down. Women have not ascended to an equal status. I had and continue to have high hopes, although reality has not always lived up to the ideal. (Jupiter relates to optimism; Saturn to realism. There’s always a balancing act between them.) With the conjunction at the first degree of Aquarius, I thought this would be the true beginning of the Age of Aquarius, a time of “brotherhood.” Many people erroneously think the Age of Aquarius occurred in the hippie days of the late ‘60s when the associated song came out. Actually, it’s an astronomical phenomenon related to a cycle of more than 26,000 years, with periods of approximately 2,160 years assigned to each of the twelve zodiac constellations according to where the spring equinox occurs. (Here are two articles, one I wrote and one written by a colleague, describing the Age of Aquarius in more depth.)

I do think we’re headed toward more equality and harmony among the people of the world, but it won’t happen immediately. What I didn’t anticipate was the extreme fight a dying breed would put up. Power in the hands of (mostly) white (mostly) men won’t easily yield to the demographics of an increasingly multi-racial population. And the trend, worldwide, toward more authoritarianism caught me off-guard. Capricorn is the sign of authority and control and Pluto is the planet of big bucks and power (which go hand-in-hand in America even more so since the Citizens United decision in 2010). Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008 in the midst of the subprime mortgage crisis and ensuing Great Recession. But that didn’t quell rising wealth inequality. And during the pandemic, the uber-rich have gotten even richer and the poor, poorer. Governments have clamped down on the populace, especially in places like Hong Kong and Chile, but we’ve seen civil rights violations by unidentified armed federal agents attacking protestors in this country, too.

The trio of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto traveling together through most of 2020 brought international (Jupiter) virus and death (Pluto) as well as restrictions (Saturn) and widespread (Jupiter) economic (Pluto) hardship (Saturn). The concentration of these three powerhouse planets in one sign has been too much! Saturn and Pluto are usually very difficult while Jupiter normally has a reputation of being beneficial. As the biggest planet, it’s main function is to expand whatever it’s contacting. So it made the bad stuff worse. We’ll be happy this combination ends before the New Year and the three planets start to spread out by the end of January. Had the Great Conjunction been in the final degree of Capricorn, the ripple effects of this heavy energy would have continued over the next two decades. Instead, because Jupiter and Saturn beat their drum in Aquarius, we have a Great Mutation and the beginning of a New Age. And none too soon.

Think about this: Aquarius = Aqua (water) + r + i + us = the connecting force of water + R (plural of to be: we aRe), shifting from I (Individuals) to Us (Unity).

November 3, 2020 By Janet Booth

Election Decision: A New Day Dawning or More of the Same?

In October, I entered a “Mundane Challenge” sponsored by a chapter of an international astrology organization of which I’m a member. “Mundane” is used in astrology as a term for worldly matters and events in the news. It wasn’t a “contest” to determine a “winner.” The goal was to predict the election outcome – not necessarily to be right – and to “show your work,” explaining the techniques used to reach conclusions. At an event in early December, five astrologers (myself included) will present their findings. Without going into great detail here, I will share some of what I submitted and then add a little to it.

Both presidential candidates have strong career success indicators in their charts or they wouldn’t have risen to the position of running for the highest office in the land. Born at a lunar eclipse full moon, Trump has had a “larger than life” story. Biden’s more modest beginning set him on a path of building a public presence over time. In 2019, in his personal updated chart, he had a solar eclipse new moon, providing a “late bloomer” boost. At Inauguration Day 2021, the ruling planet of his career area is close to the updated position of his Sun, the leadership planet, boding well for him. Becoming the Presidential candidate, win or lose, is a crowning achievement he’s sought for decades.

The candidates’ history of winning or losing was an important consideration. Both Biden and Harris have won every election in which they’ve run. (Biden lost primaries but never an election in over forty years.) Pence lost in two consecutive attempts before a decade’s break from running and finally making it into Congress. Trump barely eked out an electoral college victory after losing the 2016 popular vote. In 2018, he encouraged people to vote in the mid-terms as if he was on the ballot; that was a resounding defeat. In 2020, Biden and Harris enjoy a repeat of a new or full moon activating their same natal planets that were similarly stimulated around the time of all their winning elections. A full moon at the career point (top) of Trump’s chart heralded his victory in 2016. This year, the new moon nearest the election is at the bottom (home point) of his chart, signaling a possible change in residence. That same new moon highlights Pence’s natal Jupiter but he has lost before with a connection to this usually fortuitous planet. Perhaps it’s time for him to return to broadcasting, ruled by Jupiter. (He gained notoriety doing a radio talk show in Indiana between his failed campaigns and his office tenures.) At the time of the certification of the vote in 2016 and at the 2017 inauguration, Trump had important highlights to his career area and its ruling planet. No such luck this time.

A key technique I used for the “challenge” was examining the chart for the moment each candidate accepted the nomination. This was fascinating! The charts were similar in many ways since both Biden and Trump accepted at nearly the same time of the evening a week apart in cities geographically close. The slower planets were in the same locations in the two charts, which had nearly identical degrees on the four crucial chart directions – degrees that are only two degrees from the same positions in the 2021 inauguration chart! The main differences were in the signs of the quick moving planets and their connections to the slower ones. The slow planets, continually indicating big change, were not aggravated by quick “personal” planets at the Democratic convention. A week later at the Republican convention, a quick planet applied stressful pressure to them. The candidate with the most favorable acceptance chart was the first one nominated for a place on the ballot: Kamala Harris. (Regardless of the election outcome, her career has taken a giant leap forward with this nomination.) There’s more to the charts than this brief synopsis provides, all favoring the Democratic ticket.

In checking the “astrological atmosphere” surrounding the election, I identified prior elections with planetary cycles similar to those happening now. A major one occurred twice in recent years, both times with significant shifts in the balance of power between the parties: the 1992 mid-terms, when Republicans had a resounding victory in the House during Bill Clinton’s first term, and the 2008 “hope and change” election of Obama and Biden. Another repeating feature mimics conditions in 1976, when the Presidency went to the Democrats following the corruption of the Nixon administration. These factors show 2020 “leans blue” and just might color results across the board.

Of course, we can’t ignore how Mercury is at a standstill ending its retrograde on Election Day 2020, exactly as it was in 2000. Al Gore conceded late that night and hours later, retracted his concession. Then recounts and court battles ensued for weeks, ending up at the Supreme Court. There’s likely to be some confusion and hub-bub this time around, too. However, I don’t think the overall results will be as close and therefore the outcome should not end up in the hands of the High Court.

The following additional comments are beyond what I submitted in the “challenge.”

Biden has a Scorpio Sun with Sagittarius rising. Thus his ruling planets are Pluto and Jupiter. These two are now traveling together and very powerful. The recent full moon with the Sun in Scorpio and Moon in Taurus echoes Biden’s natal chart signs, likely a positive indication for him. In contrast, Mercury rules Trump’s (and Pence’s) Gemini Sun and it is motionless (going nowhere) on Election Day, as mentioned above. This is an indication of weakness. Trump has Leo rising. That sign’s ruler, the Sun, is opposite Uranus now (nearly exact at the recent full moon). This shakes things up for him personally and for him as the head of state, a position associated with the Sun.

Throughout 2020, the planet of karma and accountability (Saturn) has been traveling across from Trump’s natal Saturn and his Venus, the planet in charge of his career and reputation area. This relationship shows strong opposition from outside oneself. Although his impeachment trial ended in acquittal, that doesn’t erase the charge and he will go down in history as an impeached (and weakened) president.

On a practical political level, in the presidential race, Trump has never polled over 50%, whereas Biden has exceeded that important threshold in multiple polls over the course of many weeks. (Per nbcnews.com, Hillary Clinton touched 50% just twice in 2016, in two-way match-ups, which did not reflect the election’s total choices.) Trump’s approval percentage has been consistently in the 40s since 2015. His base is loyal but he hasn’t been able to expand it to a majority. His “unfavorable” rate has been above 50% for his entire term (per RealClearPolitics.com), a hurdle nearly impossible for an incumbent to overcome in a referendum bid for reelection.

My conclusion and prediction: Biden wins.

July 5, 2020 By Janet Booth Leave a Comment

Holy Uncle-Samoly!

It’s our country’s “birthday” and not very often is there a Full Moon at the anniversary of our independence. It’s even more special if it’s a lunar eclipse! Since eclipses can repeat after nineteen years, this has happened before. A lunar eclipse occurred on July 4 in 1936. Repeats came within a day or two of the fourth, and thus in a 1-2° “orb” (or range of influence) of our “solar return” (the astrological equivalent of a birthday), in 1944, 1963, 1982, 2001 and 2020, which is the last in this series.

With such a big deal as a lunar eclipse on a birthday, we’d expect big events to be associated with it or to occur “around” that time (possibly months before or after). Looking back, we indeed see these years have indeed been very important.

1936

We were in the midst of the New Deal during the Depression and the three-year “dust bowl” was coming to an end. Gone With The Wind was published. African-American athlete Jesse Owens won the 100-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics. The US joined an international brigade to help fight for Spain in the Spanish Civil War.

1944

The tide was turning in the Allies’ favor in WWII with D Day and the liberation of Guam. The gang rape of a black mother by six white men in Alabama, and the failure to indict any of them, provokes nationwide protest and activism among the African-American community. FDR was re-elected for an unprecedented fourth term (which he would not complete). A Supreme Court decision ended “white primaries” in the South in which only whites could vote.

1963

Travel, financial and commercial transactions between the US and Cuba are outlawed. In George Wallace’s inaugural speech as governor of Alabama, he proclaims, “Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever!” amidst a year of major Civil Rights protests. The Supreme Court rules that state courts must provide counsel in criminal cases for defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys, and that Bible-reading in schools in unconstitutional. And of course, the assassination of JFK was the biggest story in 1963.

1982

Amidst a powder keg of anti Asian-American animosity in Michigan, a young Chinese-American was beaten to death in a strip club at his bachelor party by two white auto-workers (a planet supervisor and his laid-off stepson), who thought he was Japanese and the cause of the declining American auto industry. An economic downturn from July 1981 to November 1982 was triggered by tight monetary policy in an attempt to fight inflation. (This was the worst economic downturn to date in the US since the Great Depression.) Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O’Neil and Republican President Ronald Reagan reach a deal to cut spending and raise taxes. After November election, the stock market soars to a new high.

2001

The giant game-changing story of 2001 was the terrorist attack on 9/11, so you might not remember other key events. For instance, despite a recession beginning in March, a giant tax cut favoring the wealthy was passed in May and signed into law in early June, two days after Vermont Senator Jim Jeffords left the Republican Party, shifting control of the Senate to Democrats. In April, an unarmed Black teenager was shot in a police pursuit (wanted on misdemeanors like driving without a seat belt), sparking four days of protest and unrest considered the largest urban disturbance in the US since the 1992 Watts uprising. Following 9/11, the Patriot Act gave sweeping surveillance powers to the government, infringing on 4th Amendment privacy rights. The US invaded Afghanistan, President Bush withdrew the US from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, and China was granted permanent normal trade status with the US.

2020

President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for attempting to withhold aid to a foreign government in exchange for information he hoped would affect the upcoming election. He was not convicted by Republican Senators, who refused to hear witness testimony. A virus pandemic enveloped the globe and the US has failed in its response, reaching record cases and deaths. Black Lives Matter marches have continued non-stop since the Memorial Day murder of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man suspected of passing a forged $20 bill. Just ahead of our birthday, news emerged of Russian bounties paid to Taliban fighters to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan, where the 19-year-long war continues. The President claimed not to know and now seems disinclined to do anything about it. And we’re only half-way through 2020.

The US was born with Mercury in retrograde and we seem to repeat some of the same situations over and over, not learning our lesson. Get ready for more of that. Mercury was ending a backtrack at the 2000 election and remember that hanging chad debacle? Mercury ends its retrograde this November on Election Day, too; don’t be surprised by unclear results or disputed vote counts.

Mercury is retrograde at our birthday, a time when the influences present extend their sway for the coming year. We should think twice before doing anything major to try to avoid what we might regret. Mercury is in a troublesome “T-square” pattern across from the Moon, both perpendicular to the duo of Mars and Chiron, which are a little over 5° apart. Mercury in Cancer inclines us to be whiny and express our feelings, although the Moon in mature Capricorn counters with a stiff upper lip. The Mars-Chiron combo adds gripes about illness or wounds. These two are in Aries, fomenting heated discussions with hurtful potential.

Mars, Aries’ ruling planet, spends the second half of 2020 in a long visit in its home sign due to a retrograde there beginning mid-September. Arguments and impatience are likely to cause trouble and the possibility of armed conflict or martial law are not out of the question, although not necessarily occurring in America. Hong Kong comes to mind as a hotspot and this lunar eclipse is accentuated on the North/South line there. The Middle East is always precarious, as well. At the summer solstice (providing indications for the summer season), Mars and Chiron lines enclosed Israel, Jordon, Lebanon and Syria. When Mars entered Aries on June 27, one of its lines ran right through the Straits of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil travels.

This year, we can’t get away from the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn, which promises big changes in finances, governments, laws and international relations. Pluto also happens to rule viruses and death. The second of three occurrences was on June 29 (the first being April 4 and the last coming November 12). Throughout their alignment, both are square Eris, the dwarf planet of discord and rivalry. Mars joined in the fray around the time of the spring equinox as it passed through Capricorn and will add to the trouble when it joins Eris in Aries three times: August 17, October 3 and December 22. Seeing this coming down the pike and noting the lunar eclipse at our birthday, last fall in my 2020 Highlights, I remarked “Holy Uncle-Samoly!” not knowing what all would develop. Current events are even more dramatic than anything I could imagine, and who knows what’s coming next. Enjoy the fireworks!

July 5, 2020 By Janet Booth

Uncle Sam’s Foreboding Birthday Revisited

With Mercury Retrograde, it’s an appropriate time to revisit something written earlier. So I dug up my post from three years ago and found it’s still interesting reading and rather prescient. See what you think.

July 3, 2017

Uncle Sam’s Foreboding Birthday

The USA was born of rebellion and to this day, protesting is in our blood. Somebody’s always fighting about something somewhere – we’re a rowdy bunch. In the nation’s birth chart, we see this signaled by our Moon (one’s emotional nature and what one feeds on or hungers for) in the sign Aquarius. (While the Moon is important in any chart, it’s especially so when the Sun sign is Cancer, ruled by the Moon. Born in early July, the USA has the Sun in Cancer.) Aquarius is the sign ruled by Uranus, the planet of the common man, and is the sign positioned opposite Leo, the royal sign. We united in opposition to the crown and declared all men to be equal, as the most egalitarian sign, Aquarius, would be prone to do! Uranus, said to rule revolution, was discovered in 1781, about midway between the revolutions in America (beginning in 1774) and in France (1789). Some charts for the USA (including the one I usually use) are based on an early morning time when Uranus was rising at the eastern horizon, which is a key position in any chart and indicates what is being manifested. I think this fits well with our national character, but since there is not a definitive, agreed-upon time for the USA’s birth, I will restrict this analysis to apply to July 4, 1776 in general, no matter what time.

A key planet related to fighting is, of course, Mars, named for the god of war. At our inception, it was in Gemini, a sign of communication. “Them’s fighting words,” old Westerns used to say, although sometimes we battle with more than our tongues. Gemini is also a sign of siblings and neighbors. In some instances during our Civil War, brother fought against brother and neighbor against neighbor. Gemini’s ruling planet, Mercury, is named for the messenger of the gods, who also carried a moneybag. Astrology associates Mercury with commerce. In America, business has long been a bone of contention. In fact, our first act of war was heaving the Brits’ tea into Boston harbor. Mars is situated in the USA chart about halfway between Uranus and Venus at their “midpoint” (which blends their influences). Venus shows what one loves; we love to rebel and we do so with our words and wits (Mars in Gemini).

The Sun in a country’s chart represents its leader, even if not a king; there’s a regal or high-ranking implication (the Sun rules Leo). At the USA’s birth, the Sun was in a 90-degree angle (indicating friction) relative to Saturn, the planet of rules and the law. Saturn was in Libra, the sign of equality and justice. Our tenant is no one is above the law, not even our President. This Sun-Saturn abrasion also represents limitations (think of Saturn’s rings) that affect our leader or even our nation as a whole (the Sun in a chart indicates identity, one’s very being).

The USA is blessed to have the two planets most favored by ancient astrologers, Venus and Jupiter, paired only 5 degrees apart at the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Big and bright and the easiest of the planets to spot in the night sky, they were dubbed “benefics” (good do-ers), and indeed their combination often yields positive results. They herald the bounty and riches of our nation. Our “bread basket,” love of country and “family values” are consistent with the sign Cancer, where Venus and Jupiter joined. The iconic American Dream is to achieve abundance, usually thought to include home ownership (Cancer rules real estate).

Three Presidents of the modern era were all born relatively near a solar eclipse in the summer of 1946 at 6°49’ Cancer, only a degree away from Jupiter’s position at the USA’s birth. This solar eclipse was 7 degrees from George W. Bush’s Sun, 2 degrees from Donald Trump’s Mercury, and less than a degree from Bill Clinton’s Midheaven (the important top point of a chart, indicating career and status). All three men present Jupiter’s qualities of hope, humor and homespun philosophy, which America found appealing enough to put them in the White House.

However, also in the summer of 1946, Chiron, an asteroid nicknamed “the Wounded Healer,” was traveling in Libra, teamed up with big Jupiter, which magnifies all that it contacts. Both Jupiter and Chiron came to the USA’s Saturn degree, 90° from the USA’s Sun. This can be interpreted as each of these men, born with their natal Jupiter and Chiron activating the USA’s Saturn-Sun abrasion, present the potential for big harm to the respect (Saturn) of the country’s highest position (Sun). Of these three Presidents, Trump’s Chiron is closest to the USA’s Saturn and thus the injury he can do may exceed the wounds of the other two. Thus far, we have seen Clinton nearly thrown out of office over a lie and Bush taking us into the prolonged and basically unwinnable Iraq war based on a lie (that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which were never found). Will a lie, or perhaps his many lies, also be the undoing of Trump? Time will tell. And the time may be upon us before long. To add a little spice to this stew, consider that Vladimir Putin’s Sun is in Libra only a degree from the USA Saturn and exactly 90 degrees from the USA Sun. He is not a friend to America and he may well play a role in the unfolding drama.

The USA’s 2017 Birthday

The Moon at our birthday is in Scorpio, the sign of transformation and evolution, a water sign signifying deep emotions. The Moon is a key indicator of the people, and as our country’s Sun-sign ruler, it definitely signifies the populace. We are shifting and our feelings are an important part of the process. Women, also related to the Moon, will play a key role in the coming changes.

At our birthday, Jupiter is in Libra, close to the exact degree of the USA’s Saturn and Trump’s Chiron (both 9 degrees from the square to the USA Sun). Jupiter closes in on that degree about a week later, around July 12 (the exact date depends on the unknown USA birth time but it’s within a day or two, at the most, of the 12th). Jupiter is famous for bringing things out into the open. Keep your eyes on Putin’s and Trump’s first face-to-face meeting as world leaders on July 7 or 8 (details to be determined) at the G20 Summit in Hamburg, midway between our July 4 birthday and the July 12-ish Jupiter visit. Whatever these two do or do not discuss may not seem tremendously significant at the time, but I suspect it will set some wheels in motion that will turn out to be very important. It probably won’t be a love-fest since Venus is in a rough relationship with Jupiter at the USA’s 2017 birthday. Although these two had a good relationship at the nation’s birth, the current connection isn’t likely to deliver the wished-for goodies since it activates the difficult link between the natal and birthday Sun with natal Saturn. Venus is the planet of values. Russia’s clash with America’s, but whose will Trump tout? So far, he hasn’t criticized Russia or Putin on any issues. But an altercation may be in the offing. Mercury and Mars are conjunct at our birthday, roughly 6-7 degrees apart, echoing the USA natal Mars in Mercury-ruled Gemini. Lots of heated discussions are in store, as is our wont. We love our fightin’ words, which is where we started this discussion. And oh, by the way, Trump’s Sun is at the degree of the USA Mars. He exemplifies our pugilistic nature. And rather than making American great again, it’s more like he’s at war with the nation he was elected to lead.

June 6, 2020 By Janet Booth

A Trio of Summer of Eclipses

Most of the time when we have eclipses, there’s a pair, one new moon and one full moon, in either order. Not as often, there’s a trio, like we have in 2020. When there are three, none of them is likely to be total, and indeed, none of this trio is. The first eclipse is a lunar eclipse full moon on June 5. Next is a solar eclipse new moon, exactly on the summer solstice – and that combination is very rare and extremely potent. Third is another lunar eclipse full moon, this one on Uncle Sam’s birthday July 4-5 in the overnight wee hours. When there’s a full moon on a birthday, it points to a big year and an important crescendo, even more so when it’s an eclipse!

Eclipses by definition occur near the path of the North and South Nodes (which are an intersection of the Moon-Earth orbit and the Earth-Sun orbit). They form an axis of opposite degrees which slowly moves backward through the zodiac at a pace of about eighteen months per pair of signs. The Nodes have just left Cancer-Capricorn and moved into Gemini-Sagittarius. The North Node shows us the direction for growth even if growing pains are part of the process. The South Node shows what it would be beneficial to shed or put in the past. The South Node also shows what comes easily, which we can fall back on or use as a springboard to go toward the hard things the North Node is calling for.

The new instructions beckon us to bring out the best of Gemini: curiosity, education, communication and community. Using Sagittarius associations in positive ways will help us in that regard, such as higher principles or religious beliefs, freedom, the media and the internet, and international contact. The old slogan “Think Globally, Act Locally” expresses it best. Negative Sagittarius traits might hold us back, such as not being serious enough, being easily sidetracked and pontificating. We’re finishing a period of moving in the direction of Cancer energy: caring concern and a love of home, family and nation. What we should have been leaving behind are negative Capricorn affiliations: judgment, authoritarianism and repression.

The June 5 full moon eclipse is in Sagittarius highlighting the South Node newly into Sagittarius. Laws relate to this sign and there are some old ones that could stand to be changed. A key feature of this eclipse is the Moon and Sun forming a T-square pattern with Mars, the planet of anger and action. We see this shown by the protest marches around the world. Mars in Pisces isn’t usually outwardly angry, but Pisces is the sign of the underdog, so that’s who people are fighting for now. Mercury is in Cancer, indicating emotional communication, and Mercury is riding high in the sky, beyond the Sun’s range that defines the normal planetary path (said to be “out of bounds”). Voices are loud and will not be silenced.

In two weeks, summer begins the afternoon of June 20 and less than nine hours later, the new moon solar eclipse in Cancer kicks off the new season with a bang. What happens at the time a season changes reverberates throughout the following three months. The Moon and Sun at the first degree of Cancer are a little more than a degree away from the North Node at the end of Gemini, emphasizing our new marching orders to look around, listen, learn and speak up. Because Cancer is a water sign, we put feeling into these endeavors.

The eclipse chart set in our nation’s capital has Uranus on the rise, less than three degrees from the horizon (Ascendant). This could bring rebelliousness and surprises. Uranus in Taurus can literally mean sudden movement of the earth, such as earthquakes, not necessarily that one will happen in the DC area (but it’s not unheard of – there was one in 2011). Mars is still in Pisces, close to this sign’s ruling planet, Neptune (adding even more emotion and sympathy). Its square with the Sun, nearly exact on June 5, continues, now about five degrees from exact. This would mean its effects are dissipating somewhat except that this eclipse is at the season change, so the fiery feelings persist throughout the summer season, reinforced by the Moon being exactly square Mars at the solstice.

The most difficult of the trio of eclipses is apt to be the third in early July. By then, Mars is the sign it rules, Aries, having entered on June 27. Mars spends the remainder of 2020 in Aries, a long time in one sign, because it’s retrograde here from September 9 to November 13. This powerful planet at its strongest can bring impatience, decisive action (whether wise or rash), selfishness and war or military involvement. At this eclipse, Mars is approaching Chiron a little more than five degrees away (they join July 14). Chiron can show where a weakness needs to be strengthened or a wound needs to be healed. Mars wants us to take action to cure what ails us. This eclipse is also very near the second of three conjunctions of Jupiter and Pluto (June 29), which portend big changes, extremes in economic matters, and the potential for high death tolls. Covid-19 is not going away any time soon, unfortunately, and the economy is still in serious danger.

This is a precarious time! On the individual level, improving communication and maintaining perspective and humor are in keeping with the Gemini-Sagittarius nodal shift. The robust Mars energy can be utilized for physical activity and competing. Be careful of temper and try to find ways to channel anger into constructive action.

Big Planets Big Meeting IS a Big Deal!

Election Decision: A New Day Dawning or More of the Same?

Holy Uncle-Samoly!

Uncle Sam’s Foreboding Birthday Revisited

A Trio of Summer of Eclipses

Search this Site

Donate

eNewsletter Sign-up

Search this Site

Donate

Follow Janet

eNewsletter Sign-up