`` As if - the explanation of Emergence

Under Construction


Planets


Yeah I'm the wanderer
Yeah, the wanderer
I roam around, around, around - Dion - The Wanderer


Index



Planets


In the following descriptions of the planets, which can only give a brief introduction to the rich mythology of each one, it is important to bear in mind the nature of the elements as specific types of relationship. To recap: Fire is the relationship of sameness, and so relates to truths, facts, and very often is the cause behind remembering, but also of imagining and dreaming. Earth is the relationship of difference, and so is all material things, but also such differences as class, race, gender, and so on. Air is the relationship of internal difference, and so is everything that is sensed, and the icons, those building blocks of the mind that enable us to make sense of both the outer world, and the inner world, by combining the senses, feelings, and memories, and in the process amplifyiny what is important by increasing the connections that drag its icon to centre stage. Water is the element of the whole self, which makes it a silhouette of everything that we are not, everything that is unknown except by the shape that it has in our being. Because we don't know the detail of those spaces, we form feelings about them, i.e. we only feel if we can allow the space for others.


It is also worth bearing in mind that the planets only have meaning because their regular and predictable wanderings have accompanied the evolution of life, and the history of humankind, over millennia. As we develop and create new possibilities, so the planets develop new meaning. Meanwhile, the archetypal and elemental meaning remains as it always was. None of the planets are intrinsically good, nor intrinsically bad, they simply carry their own particular meaning, and in doing so each is able to add its own flavour to the moment, and in doing so contribute to the influences that affect our lives. There are never definite outcomes because of them, but they do alter the probabilities of events, by setting an agenda somewhat in the manner of fixtures in the football season that predict games but not results. Also, in describing each planet, I will doubtless be somewhat repetitive, bacause the brroader potential within each abstract function can have many subtle variations in meaning.


Planets turn retrograde when their apparent motion across the sky seems to go backwards, which is due to the relative motion of the Earth around the Sun being such that the other planet 'moves' less quickly than the Sun. It is the case that the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon never go retrograde. Mandala astrology explains retrograde motion as being different in affect from direct motion due to the elemental order being reversed. Naturally, the consequences of this are highly dependent on what sector the planet is in, together with what sector the planet in question will next be in. For instance, when retrograde a planet that is active at the decan level, or above, will, in sectors 2 or 3, always move into, or towards, a decan that elementally is earlier in the order, and so may be thought of as bypassing its usual route around the Zodiac. The exception is when planets make ingress into a lower sector. For direct planets, the elemental order is actually reversed, making ingress a somewhat special case where planets moving from sector 3 to sector 1 effectively have retrograde motion anyway, so when planets with these positions turn retrograde they are in fact adopting the natural order, and so will behave as if they are moving with direct motion. At least, that is the theory that explains why retrogrades are different. NB. There are many variations to this rule, depending on the sectors involved, and this is what explains the differences in modality of not just signs, but of all sectors. Modality being whether sectors are cardinal, fixed, or mutable.


Planets that feed on Air

Each planet is the performance of a transformation; an alchemy from one element to another. This creates two overlaying sets of groups of three planets; one set organised by the elemental source of the planets, and the other set organised by the elemental product. Here I choose to organise by source, as it has to be one or the other.


The planets that feed on elemental Air are the planets most rooted in the Self, Air being the element of subjective parts. Largely we are talking about the mind, so whenever we do anything because of what is in our mind, then we are chanelling one of these three gods/planets/chakras; the Earth, the Moon, or the Sun.In what we can say about these three we ought to be careful to understand that these planets start in the Self, and they end in the Self. What they are doing is arranging, separating, and joining together the contents of the self/mind such that the abstractions that are icons of mind, that are what we as sentient beings are composed of; that these formless objects can manifest as perceptions of our life; so that our subjective differences can become the objective difference of our reality, the objective sameness of our awareness, or the subjective wholeness of our being, our heart - the self that is both what we are, and defines what we are not.


The Earth - Earth from Air


Traditionally the Earth is not recognised as a planet in Astrology, although there is the Ascendant, and all twelve Houses, and these do move. The whole Zodiac rises in the East each and every day; one degree takes on average only four minutes to appear or disappear at the horizon; one sign takes on average two hours. We inhabit this planet, so it is very much where we manifest anything that gets manifested, and manifesting is a very specific form of doing something real. There are three ways for reality to emerge, the first is from the laws of Nature, i.e. from the truth of elemental fire; the second is from the unknown void of elemental water; the third is from air, and it is this last one that constitutes manifesting, i.e. it is causing change in the world around us - as we experience it - by applying what we have in our mind - the subjective parts of our being.


In mythology the Earth is Gaia - Mother Earth, consort of Uranus the sky god. Traditionally, the contrast to the dynamic nature of the sky, and the nurturing nature of our environment, has led to a rather sexist attribution of feminine to the Earth, which is only so in that all things are born of the Earth. However, in these gender fluid days, we should find it easier to see that the Earth itself is overall gender neutral, and that all such considerations are very much relative, internally, between various individuals and entities on Earth. Maybe if the masculine in us all were to see the Earth, our home, in less feminine terms, we might become less abusive towards it, only taking, and giving back so little.


The Earth - 'Keep it real', indicating earth from air, the differentiation of objects by mind. This may sound like magical thinking, and it is; it is when the parts of the self change the relationship of things starting from within the self, and ending outside of the self, i.e. the individual rearranges the World, the idea of the change is causal on reality - but always via the self wanting change to occur, and being able to effect change, and then the truth of that causing alteration as a reality. The process is the reverse of sensation [when earth causes air], it is the downward causation of the mind imposing itself on reality.


N.B. The Earth never goes retrograde, which corresponds to the mind never directly affecting reality. Our thoughts make our reality, but cannot move mountains. However, if we can change our whole self in such a way that it changes the objective fact of a situation, that change of fact will be a change of reality. This is what hides behind the bizarre truth of projecting Ki, as when practising Aikido.


So the changes that take place due to our own Earth, focused by our Ascendant [aka Rising Sign], these are manifestations, i.e. they are us taking the abstract, hence hollow, icons and filling them with the detail that allows them to become perceptions of Reality. We fill our icons by creating relationships of difference from other icons, thereby creating the web of information that is our own personal manifestation of our own existence.


The Moon - Water from Air


Traditionally the Moon has the following characteristics: rules over Cancer; exalted in Taurus; held in detriment in Capricorn; held in fall in Scorpio.


In mythology, the Moon, Selena to the Ancient Greeks .


The Moon - 'The Mirror of Galadriel', indicating water from air, the formation of the heart of the individual, the shape of their whole being from the sum of their parts, i.e. the creation of the cups that desire to be fulfilled by the satisfying of want. The heart of each of us is our centre, but whenever the parts that form us leave spaces, through constituting incompatible or disconnected things, those voids form vacuums that need to be filled. This is how desire arises, it literally means to 'want', in the old fashioned sense of to lack. All elemental water has this quality of lacking something, and because we can not know the void as any kind of iconic object, only as the edges that form its abstract boundary, we rely on feeling to inform us of what is important, and what is potentially possible. This allows us to know the unknown, and to recognise those things that could fill the spaces within us. Whenever we form a cup within our self, then we are being the Moon.


N.B. The Moon never goes retrograde, which corresponds to the mind never directly affecting reality. Our thoughts make us feel, but cannot move mountains.


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The Sun - Fire from Air


Traditionally the Sun has the following characteristics: rules over Leo; exalted in Aries; held in detriment in Aquarius; held in fall in Libra.


In mythology, the Sun was Ra to the Egyptians, Helios and Apollo to the Ancient Greeks, and Sol to the Romans.


The Sun - '', indicating fire from air, the becoming conscious, and even aware maybe, of the contents of the self, i.e. creating a source of memory, the stuff of spirit. Technically speaking, I would say that we 'do' the Sun whenever we are aware of our conscious position, i.e. whenever we know our own heart. That is, the self has a centre, the thing that emerges from all the parts of the self, and which is both the whole self, and the heart of the self, and defines the boundaries of the shadow self - that which we are not. Whenever we are aware of our centre, we are experiencing that part of our self that is most important at that moment; it may be a thought about a thought, about a memory, about a feeling, or about an emotion, but whatever it is, it has centre stage among our thoughts, and as such it forms the peak of our spirits at that moment, and it normally becomes an experience that we can remember.


N.B. The Sun never goes retrograde, which corresponds to the mind never directly affecting reality. Our thoughts make us aware, but cannot move mountains.


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Planets that feed on Water

The planets that feed on elemental Water are the planets most rooted in the wholeness of the Self, Water being the element of subjective wholeness. Largely we are talking about the complement of the mind that is the emotions, so whenever we do anything because of what is in our heart, then we are chanelling one of these three gods/planets/chakras; Mercury, Venus, or Mars. In what we can say about these three we ought to be careful to understand that these planets start in the Self, but where the Self defines that which it is not; and therefore they do not remain in the Self. What they are doing is applying the Self to the objective shared world, and in the case of Mercury bringing that back to the Self as new perceptions, new mind, i.e. as answers and more questions.


Mercury - Air from Water


Traditionally Mercury has the following characteristics: rules over Gemini and Virgo; exalted in Virgo; held in detriment in Sagittarius and Pisces; held in fall in Pisces.


In mythology Mercury, Hermes to the Ancient Greeks, was the messenger of the gods .


Mercury - '' , indicating air from water, the formation of questions in the mind, from the emptinesses in the shape of the self. This gives Mercury the quality of curiosity, the desire to know, and particularly the inspiration to build on whatever knowledge one already has. That may be through academic research, or through gossip - there is no inherent judgment in Mercury. The only thing that matters is what is already known and what is unknown - Mercury loves to disclose secrets.


When Mercury goes retrograde the path from water to air bypasses fire and earth, and does so without interruption leading to greater interest in one's own feelings, rather than curiosity about the truths of reality. Retrograde Mercury is likely to be more interested in what is already known, and rather less curious about the knowledge of others. This can lead to a way of thinking that is more conservative, traditional, and even parochial.


Venus - Fire from Water


Traditionally Venus has the following characteristics: rules over Taurus and Libra; exalted in Taurus; held in detriment in Aries and Scorpio; held in fall in Virgo.


In mythology, Venus - Aphrodite to the Ancient Greeks, was followed by a retinue of cherubs, including Cupid [Eros], and they are always represented as babies, because the most desireable thing, for life and evolution, is the happy ever after of offspring. Venus loves both Mars, and Vulcan [Hephaestus], these being facets of the masculine, active principle, that offers her the prospect of the fulfillment of her desire. But as individuals, Venus is in us all, because we all have desires to experience the fiery truth of love.


Venus - 'Turn on your love light', indicating fire from water, the formation of desire is an awareness of that which is lacking and which also fits the individual. Where the Sun is us gaining the illumination of awareness of consciousness, of what we know, Venus is consciousness of what we do not have, and which fits our being. Also, Venus is a consciousness of that which does not fit, so we are also channelling Venus when we feel disgust and hatred.


When Venus goes retrograde the path from water to fire cannot be immediate as it should be, it goes the long way via air and earth, leading to thoughtful and possibly material desires, rather than love for love's sake. Venus retrograde, like the other personal planets, is rather cautious, and less impulsive when it comes to matters of the heart, or perhaps we should say less aware of the truth of desires, and more so of what is known.


Mars - Earth from Water


Traditionally Mars has the following characteristics: rules over Aries and Scorpio; exalted in Capricorn; held in detriment in Taurus and Libra; held in fall in Cancer.


In mythology, Mars - Ares to the Ancient Greeks, was thought to be 700 feet tall, which is exactly how you feel when you are winning, and Mars is all about winning. Every war, or sporting event, every competition, is Mars in action. Mars counts the slightest difference, and in doing so separates the winners from the losers. In this Mars is more like the farmer who ploughs the land, separating ridge from furrow, or the surgeon who cuts open the patient with a scalpel. Any re-arrangement, especially of the physical, is us doing Mars.


Mars - 'Just do it' , indicating earth from water, the desire to reshape the world to fit the self, which originates as much from what is not as from what is, and the fulfillment of that desire. Mars creates difference, that is Mars separates, and is analogous to the farmer who divides the soil by ploughing, as much as the more traditional view of Mars as the god of war aiming to separate heads from bodies. Either way, Mars is the desire to create difference, and so elementally is earth from water, like the sign Taurus.


When Mars goes retrograde the path from water to earth goes via air, rather than via fire, leading to thoughtful and possibly cautious action, even procrastination, rather than just getting on with it. Retrograde Mars believes in 'one hand for yourself and one for the ship', rather than throwing caution to the winds.


Planets that feed on Earth

The planets that feed on elemental Earth are the planets most rooted in the differences of reality, Earth being the element of objective difference. Largely we are talking about the material world, so whenever we do anything because of what is real, then we are chanelling one of these three gods/planets/chakras; Jupiter, Saturn, or Chiron. In what we can say about these three we ought to be careful to understand that these planets start in the Self, but where the Self defines that which it is real; and therefore they include reality entering the Self. What they are doing is applying Reality to the Self as manifest experience of objective differences.


Jupiter - Fire from Earth


Traditionally Jupiter has the following characteristics: rules over Sagittarius and Pisces; exalted in Cancer; held in detriment Gemini and Virgo; held in fall in Capricorn. Also, Jupiter has been considered to be 'the Great Benefic', i.e. Jupiter is traditionallly always a good presence.


In mythology, Jupiter - Zeus to the Ancient Greeks - was the ruler of Olympus, chief amongst all twelve Olympian gods. It was he who defeated his father, Chronos, aka Saturn, freed his siblings, and defeated the titans in the war between gods and titans. Also, it was he who commanded Prometheus to create the race of mankind, and he who breathed life into them. Added to this, Jupiter dispensed justice, and fathered countless heroes.


Jupiter - 'Glad to be alive', indicating fire from earth, the perception of difference, Jupiter is the very action of creating life - breathing life into clay - Jupiter is there whenever material reality surpasses itself and emerges into the bright light of spirit; that is, Jupiter on the one hand is the conception that initiates new life, and it is the enjoyment of living that creates memorable moments that grow one's spirit. Jupiter takes separate items, and in joining them together creates the unity that is spirit, that is elemental fire. But it is not just material differences that are united by Jupiter, the abstract that is earth is all kinds of difference, so we see Jupiter just as much in the justice that sees all people as equal under the law, or we may say, in the eyes of God. It is also the way in which humour works, by the joining together of two disprate things and creating a unity that turns expectation on its head.


When Jupiter goes retrograde the route from earth to fire does not take the long road, through air sensing reality, water feeling that personally, and sharing the personal experience to create the awareness of fire - a process that is not so very different from sexual procreation - rather, there is a short circuiting direct from earth to fire, the quality of mercy is strained, as we rush to judgment with no involvement of our person. In essence the retrograde exhibits prejudice, and the manifestation of that can impact any aspect of life where openness is required, leading to a frigidity in all sorts of ways.


Saturn - Air from Earth


Traditionally Saturn has the following characteristics: rules over Capricorn and Aquarius; exalted in Libra; held in detriment in Cancer and Leo; held in fall in Aries.


In mythology, Saturn - Chronos to the Ancient Greeks - was a Titan, not a god; the son of Uranus and Gaia, who castrated his own father leading to the birth of Venus from the ocean waves. Saturn was also the husband of Rhea, and father to Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, and some of the other Olympians. To understand this mythology, we have to see castration as a making impotent, a cutting off from rather than a simple cutting off. Uranus gives us knowledge from spirit, but in life we find reality overrides what we know of spirit, with a much louder and more insistent voice; ideas from memory, intuition, and psychic perception are always quiet compared to the harsh reality of Reality.


Saturn - 'Seeing is Believing', indicating air from earth, the sensing of difference, Saturn is the perception of change, of the passage of time, and we 'do' Saturn whenever photons enter our body causing us to sense whatever it is in the real world that has changed. Saturn, then, is all of the senses, and the perception of any data about differences, generally about the real world, but it may be perception of the data of, say, the average IQ of Americans, a number that is slightly lower than 100. Such information becoming formed as icons within one's own mind, and originating in the real differences between even relatively abstract facts, that is doing Saturn.


Frequently, in the past especially, reality has been harsh and unpleasant, and so Saturn has come in for a bad rap. Also the reality of the passage of time does no one any favour in the long run, so for that reason too, the perception of mortality makes us think badly of Saturn. However, it is not Saturn that causes the death and destruction, that is the role of Pluto, invisible Lord of the Underworld. Saturn can bring great benefits, especially when combined with Venus, when the heart's desire is known as a reality - for instance, as with Donald Trump.


However, Saturn must always be seen as us 'flying by the seat of our [own] pants'. We alone have to take on board the facts of reality as they are presented to us, and through that - wwhether boring or delightful - we must learn the things that we have to face. This is what gives Saturn its rather dour reputation for work and duty, but when seen in the company of its siblings - Jupiter and Chiron - we can percieve Saturn in a whole new light, and know both its good and bad sides in equal measure. Because Saturn is the alchemy of elemental Air from Earth, Saturn is closest in nature to Libra, the sign in which it is traditionally exalted, and perhaps it is from this that the derivation of balance comes for Libra.


When Saturn goes retrograde .


Chiron - Water from Earth


Chiron was unknown as an astronomical object and so has no place in the traditions of Astrology. Modern astrologers have suggested various affinities for Chiron, but with little agreement.


In mythology Chiron was the centaur who taught the heroes of Ancient Greece, and who was wounded by one of the poisonous arrows of Hercules. The venom of the Hydra would have killed Chiron, but he was an immortal and so had to endure suffering instead, much as did Prometheus. In mythology, this kind of suffering suggests a Christ-like hurt that arises because of the love that the one suffering has for the one who is the cause of that pain.


Chiron - 'One man's meat is another man's poison' , indicating water from earth, the shaping of the individual whole by difference, defining what is not, and so what is needed, or what is invasive. Chiron is both nurturing and healing, and/or sickening and debilitating. Elementally this makes Chiron similar to the sign Scorpio.


When Chiron goes retrograde .


Planets that feed on Fire

The planets that feed on elemental Fire are the planets most rooted in the truth of facts, Fire being the element of objective sameness. Largely we are talking about the spiritual world, the world of meaning, so whenever we do anything because of what is true, then we are chanelling one of these three gods/planets/chakras; Uranus, Neptune, or Pluto. In what we can say about these three we ought to be careful to understand that these planets start in the application of truth to the Self, but where the Self defines that which is true; and therefore they include truth as facts, changing our manifestation of reality and of the other aspects of Self. What they are doing is applying facts to the Self as manifest awareness of objective truths.


Uranus - Air from Fire


Uranus was unknown as an astronomical object and so has no place in the traditions of Astrology. More recently Uranus has been associated with the sign Aquarius, and is seen as revolutionary, unpredictable, and technological in nature.


In mythology Uranus, or Ouranus, is the original sky god, who creates the world with his consort Gaia, and fathers the Titans who are the forerunners of the Gods. Uranus is castrated by his son Chronos [Saturn], and from his blood, or semen, falling into the ocean, is born Aphrodite [Venus]. There is quite a lot to unbundle here: Firstly, the Titans; these are like gods, but where the Gods are archetypes that we humans give form to, the Titans can be seen as something more fundamental, more basic, although they also get some kind of personality, and so are also archetypes that we can channel [exemplify]. A good example is Chronos [Saturn]; Chronos is time, and more fundamentally change, so we can equate Chronos to light, the photons that are the emergent consequence of every energetic change, and which are therefore causal of gravity. This leads to Saturn being the human archetype of change, hence of sensing the reality around us. So it is that Chronos, the titan, is equated to Saturn, the god. In being Saturn, Chronos separates us from direct experience of the spirit, of Uranus, and we normally only sense what is via Saturn, i.e. by receiving photons through our senses. In this way, Uranus is literally cut off, except when we channel Uranus directly, in which case spirit is able to communicate with us as imagination, inspiration, and in modern times via technology such as radio, TV, and the Internet, that bypass the limitations of physical presence, or its lack.


Uranus - '' , indicating air from fire, the downward causation of memory on mind, i.e. the downward causation of imagination, creating mind from memory of what was, or from what was not. Uranus also gives jumping to conclusions, the realising of consequences when we put two and two together. When this happens the truth that arises from the combination creates a new iconic image in the mind, and we know something new, we have a brainwave.


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Whenever we realise external facts, such as by remembering accurately, or deducing correctly, then we are doing Uranus, you could even say we are channelling the god Uranus. Icons are then created in our minds, and these cannot help but alter our subjective being - because they are the building blocks of our subjective selves. However, that is another emergent step that may take one or more of four paths, elementally speaking.


When Uranus goes retrograde we are no longer realising facts due to remembering our own particular manifestations of reality. Rather, we follow the path through the unknown, so we recall from the subjective feelings that go with the facts. Naturally, this emotional response to remembering has tremendous scope to confuse us, as much as inspire us.


Neptune - Water from Fire


Neptune was unknown as an astronomical object and so has no place in the traditions of Astrology. More recently Neptune has been associated with the sign Pisces and is seen as dreamy and compassionate in nature.


In mythology Neptune - Poseidon to the Ancient Greeks, was the god of the ocean, but Ocean was a Titan, that is, Ocean was more a concept of a separation, just as Prometheus was the concept of foresight, and Chronos was the concept of Time. Ocean is not just the sea, but any division between land, and properly [I suggest] Ocean should be seen as any void at all. In this case Neptune, the earth shaker, creates all chasms according to the laws of truth. Chasms are within things, and so have subjective truth, and so elementally are water. Hence it is correct to interpret Neptune as the alchemy of water from fire, which is the same alchemy as the sign Pisces.


Neptune - '' , indicating water from fire, the downward causation of memory on the whole self, i.e. the effect of the laws of Nature on the whole/heart of the individual self, which is something that was, and maybe still is, affecting that self by moving its heart, its centre, to where it was not, rather than by what it is. Moving it possibly to somewhere unknown, somewhere that can only be guessed at, and then known as a feeling - something is absent, causing pangs of desire, or at times compassion.


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Whenever we are moved by external facts, such as by sympathy or empathy, then we are doing Neptune, you could even say we are channelling the god Neptune. Such experiences occur when some true facts hit us, altering the meaning of the subjective icons within us, and therefore changing our abstract shape, which is the same as shifting our heart - we literally undergo a change of heart.


When Neptune goes retrograde it acts immediately, fire being adjacent to water, and the realisation of facts strikes us without altering our internal content, i.e. we know nothing new, we simply feel moved because the action of Neptune is to do just that. Normally we would experience the facts through some perception of reality, but when retrograde we are more likely to remember something, perhaps becoming nostalgic, or mournful, or even feeling love.


Pluto - Earth from Fire


Pluto was unknown as an astronomical object and so has no place in the traditions of Astrology. More recently Pluto has been associated with the sign Scorpio and is seen as destructive and regenerative in nature.


In mythology Pluto - Hades to the Ancient Greeks, is the lord of the Underworld. Hades was noted as having a helmet of invisibility, a cloaking device in modern parlance. This is just another way of saying that Pluto functions invisibly as the law behind all reality.


Pluto's motto should be 'Divide and conquer', indicating earth from fire, the power to separate and rearrange, in action. This really is no more than reality following the laws of Nature, but it is the downward causation of those laws on whatever is. In its application Pluto is also the power of knowledge to alter reality. Knowledge incorporates the power of truth, of science, whereas belief, while motivating, is less powerful because it is a state of mind, and that may be mistaken.


Pluto, in applying the laws of nature, ultimately forces death upon us, because all material things must be recycled. The nature of material things is to exhibit difference and change, and the ultimate change is death and disintegration, and then rebirth as something new. Plutos rule is 'Render unto Ceasar..., and so gives us taxation and the absolute power of money in the world of business. Of course, business is not the only world, but all worlds of difference are Pluto in action.


It is important to realise that the laws of Nature are the laws of physics that emerge from mathematics, and that these have no independent reality, only independent truth, such that once a thing has existed, either as truth or reality [which is also truth], then that truth will always be the case, even after the reality changes. The rule of this duality is that truth comes first. Following truth comes the necessity of being, and following being comes change. After change we see the void that is the potential of possibility, and when possibility becomes realised, then we find that more truth, new truth, has emerged.


Whenever we exert power, such as by spending money, then we are experiencing Pluto, you could even say we are channelling the god Pluto. The necessary thing for it to be Pluto is that the outcome is materially real. As external events change the facts of the matter, such as the stock market going up or down, our potential to do Pluto changes with our wealth. As the public's perception of a politician changes, so does their ability to remain in power and to effect change on a national scale; this too is Pluto.


When Pluto goes retrograde the path from fire to earth is no longer immediate, rather the facts must change the self - a change of heart, and that must create, or at least rearrange, icons within the mind, and those icons by being changed, must perform the seemingly magical step of changing the external reality we exist in. This takes some explaining, because it is tempting to jump to the conclusion that Pluto enables us to defy the laws of Science. But that is not the case; for power to exist in the first place, it must be true to life - the facts are necessarily the facts of the matter - consequentially it must be that matter carries on obeying the laws of nature. However, the material world we inhabit is a quantum world, and within that world of dice playing gods, the mind has an important part to play in collapsing the wave function, i.e. of crystallizing events. When we catch sight of retrograde Pluto, personally, the facts of spirit, of what has been true, and of what is true, these facts cannot but govern the material situation, because that is what powerful facts do. Some of those facts, such as gravity and other laws of Nature, act directly, while other facts act indirectly through human agency - and crucially, through the agency of anything that can act as a quantum observer, i.e. anything that has internal parts. So it is not just humans that have the capability to exert power from the inside, but even the tiniest atoms, even hydrogen can do so; even the hydrogen atom's proton can do so because of its electric charge and the behaviour of its internal quarks.


Transits


The chart for any moment is just a map, a starting point - for life, when it is a birth chart. But in addition to our beginnings, each day brings new moments, and each of these has its own chart, its own new planet positions, and the thing about planetary positions is that they are entirely predictable, and necessarily must stand in some relationship with the planets of each and every birth chart. Then we say that the planets of the new chart are in transit to the planets of the earlier chart. Traditionally, transits are only recognised when making traditional aspects to any planet of the birth chart, but really, the relationships exist at all times, always changing as the planets move, but it is only at certain times that those relationships become significant enough to become influential in a life, or even compelling for human experience.


Whether or not a planet becomes noticeably influential, and the manner in which it does so, all depends on which two planets are involved in that relationship, whether they occupy a sector where they can be self-actuated, and whether they provide the elemental reqirements of the other planet. Then some result can occur which will either be conventional to those planets, or if they are brought together in unusual ways, then some new thing will emerge that is not normally seen. Then there is the question; from which areas of the chart do the planets operate, leading to influencing the actors involved in whatever happens - do you do unto others? Or do others do unto you?


Because planets are always 'on', to some extent, they may not be 'on' in a manner cunducive to harmony with another planet. Disharmony occurs because of difference, and that difference may be a clash between the personal and the collective, or between reality and knowledge, or between truth and ambitions. There are many possibilities for discord, and nearly always they are seen as originating in difference. However, differences may be overcome, in various ways, and that is where we come in. Our role is to make the difference, and to manifest our personal truth, our spirit, our free will, and thereby make choices.


The transits, as with the birthchart itself, do not point to an inescapable fate, any pre-determinism is only of the position of the planet, meaning that any effect is analogous to the fixtures of the football season - not only do we never know the result in advance, but there is every chance that the teams playing may be swapped around, or even knocked out of the cup.


Transits are cyclical, just like the orbis of the planets, making each aspect in turn, sometimes more than once due to the planet having a retograde moment. This means that the aspects made by the transiting planet will be either approaching, or departing, the transited planet, as much as they will be approaching or departing the exact point of aspect. One thing to note is that approaching aspects generally occur before departing aspects, and so tend to speak of causes, while departing aspects speak of consequences. If we wanted to be philosophical about it, there is an interpretation that can be made using Aristotle's four causes: the material, formal, efficient, and final causes - the 'why' of something's existence and change; the 'what' it's made of - its form; the agent of change; and its purpose.


The Earth by Transit


The Earth, being the planet we occupy, provides the manifest realities of each and every moment, so whereas the birth chart is a foundation, something to build on, that describes how we naturally are, the transiting Earth, seen as the rising Ascendant and turning houses, gives character to the current moment. So for any four minute, on average, block of time, at any place on Earth, there is an individual character unlike any other, and its relationship to you is what influences your experience of manifest reality; how you experience your environment as a reality. The rising Ascendant could be thought of as setting the key of life for that moment, while the relative positions of each planet form something akin to a musical mode.


A perfect example of the importance of the Ascendant to the moment, is given by Gareth Bale's wonder goal for Real Madrid against Liverpool, in the final of the 2018 European Cup, held in Kiev.


The Moon by Transit


The transiting Moon - .


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The Sun by Transit


The transiting Sun - .


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Mercury by Transit


Transiting Mercury - .


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Venus by Transit


Transiting Venus - .


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Mars by Transit


Transiting Mars - ' .


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Jupiter by Transit


Transiting Jupiter - '' , .


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Saturn by Transit


Transiting Saturn - .


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Chiron by Transit


Transiting Chiron - .


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Uranus by Transit


Transiting Uranus brings the irresistable power of truth to create an icon within the mind.


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Neptune by Transit


Transiting Neptune brings the irresistable power of truth to make us feel the unknown - compassion is just one such unknown; the unknown suffering of another person, when we viscerally feel their pain, that is one way of doing Neptune.


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Pluto by Transit


Transiting Pluto brings the irresistable power of truth to apply the laws of Nature to reality. Part of those laws include the laws of man, imposed as yet another facet of our reality. These laws are economic, and societal. The include the hierarchy of the 'Haves and the Have Nots.' Kings and peasants are all governed by Plutos law. In the natal chart, Pluto shows our personal experience of power, while by transit we experience power in the moment, either exerting it, or being on the receiving end. Either way, there is


The ultimate truth of Pluto is that all things must die. The ancients correctly identified this lord of the Underworld as working invisibly, yet our culture [for obvious reasons] has consistently confused the Grim Reaper with Saturn, blaming time for our mortality. A new look at that old devil [courtesy of Liz Greene, perhaps] would show us that Saturn is the change that brings life, while it is truly Pluto that terminates it, with his cold, wintery hand. Death is inevitable, yet when Pluto comes calling, there is often a question mark over who will stay and who must go.


Retrograde Motion of Planets


Retrogrades are planets moving backwards, or rather appearing to do so. As such they do not follow the usual elemental sequence of fire - earth - air - water, but the reverse, earth - fire - water - air. Also, because the direct motion of planets, in following the Mandala of the Zodiac bring emergence on a more individual level than the source, when retrograde we might expect the demergence to occur with the change bringing an effect at the group level. NB. All sector levels are relatively more individual, if smaller, or more collective, if larger. It performs like a spiral winding inward, or unwinding if retrograde.


The Sun, the Moon, and the Earth, are all always direct in their motion, that is they always follow the normal progression of the elements - fire - earth - air - water; which is only to be expected because the mind [parts of self] that drives their function is always apparent. The other planets though, may turn retrograde at times, and when they do their function is altered. Ultimately they still produce the same alchemy - otherwise they would be a different planet! But the route by which they achieve their purpose becomes reversed.



(External Website) An explanation of the nature of Signs


(External Website) An explanation of the nature of Aspects


(External Website) An explanation of the nature of Houses


(External Website) Back to Astrology



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