Astrology and Astronomy: The Starry Reasons Ophiuchus Raises His Head

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Beth Turnage
Glyph of Ophiuchus

Glyph of Ophiuchus

(Astrology Explored) Of all the things that seem strange in this world, one of the strangest is this.

Why would a statement about commonly known astronomical phenomena, by a Community College professor, no less, cause a worldwide stir?

Astronomer Parke Kunkle’s assertion that a new zodiac sign should be added to the 12 constellations that we know as the zodiac has caused quite a bit of consternation and confusion among enthusiasts of astrology who took this bit of information to mean that that the zodiac had actually changed causing a new sign added to the pantheon of zodiac signs. This consternation has been fueled by the media, which ran with this story like the jockey who rode Secretariat.

Professor Kunkle professes surprise at the media attention and demurs this in an interview with Charlie Jane Anders in which Anders reports:

“And no, Parke Kunkle didn’t tell the Star-Tribune that the zodiac ought to include 13 signs instead of 12 — especially since he doesn’t believe in astrology at all. (He highly recommends Phil Plait’s page about astrology.) He did mention that astronomers tend to reckon the sun’s position with 13 constellations instead of 12, and Ophiuchus is the 13th.”

But make no mistake, in the in Minnesota Planetarium Society Facebook page Kunkle’s statement mentions horoscopes specifically and the dates of the “New Zodiac” and affirms this in a comment with:

“This is factual. The sun being “in” a constellation is accurately described by this chart and no one would dispute the fact. Whether this poses any issue for the purported relation between the position of planets – and the sun – and human personalities or fates, is strictly in the domain of non-science.”

For astronomers and astrologers alike this an old story, a 2,000 year old story, in fact. It is so old in fact, that the Ophiuchus debate was settled that long ago.

Astrologer Jack Fertig responded to this as a comment on the Minnesota Planetarium Facebook page:

“Astrologers have answered this one so many times we can only suspect that the astronomers who repeat this canard are being intellectually dishonest.”

So the question remains, why Parke Kunkle out the ranks of everyday and world-class astronomers alike and why now?

Sleuthing Professor Kunkle’s birth data is no easy task. Up to now he wasn’t a public figure. To get even a smidgeon of data this astrologer did what she rarely does; take the information from a paid public database.

The date retrieved was March 8, 1946. Since it is not from a birth certificate and not from the person or family members, this information is rated on the Rodden scale as DD (dirty data). (Anyone who can confirm or deny this date or give additional details please leave a comment.)

Of course this leaves us without a birth time and a birthplace. This means that for the purposes of interpretation we have to ignore house placements, the ascendant and the moon. What we are left with are the planets except for the moon, and the aspects between them.

Parke Kunkle has his Sun in the dreamy sign of Pisces conjunct Venus. This is a potent combination. Pisces has a rich reputation, straddling as it does the depths of both heaven and hell. It can either be a sinner, saint or both, and because of Pisces chameleon like demeanor we may not know which until it is too late. What we love about Pisces is their infinite compassion for the human condition and their willingness to help even on hopeless causes. It is known that Pisces are suckers for a sob story, even their own. What frustrates us with Pisces is that their sense of reality is often quite stretched, not matching that of other people in their immediate world. With the planet of beauty and love sitting along side his Sun, people like him. He is charming, caring and in general a helpful guy. His Mercury though is in fleet footed Aries, which gives him a tendency to be the victim of what I call tongue-in-cheek of foot-in-mouth disease. Aries likes a good argument, just to get the juices flowing. Unfortunately for Professor Kunkle, his Sun, Venus, and Mercury combination is in stress aspect to his natal Jupiter, Chiron, and Neptune. This isn’t the first time Professor Kunkle has said a few things that are a little out there, and won’t be the last. Unfortunately, Saturn the planet of duty, responsibility and limitations sits on this last combination. Saturn here maybe making him look like an authority on the subject, but ultimately brings a few slings and arrows all on its own.

The only aspect one can find that might be related to fame is the progressed moon transiting Kunkle’s natal Neptune. Neptune in some fashion is often prominent in the charts of public figures since it lends charisma and magnetism. However, as Carol Rushman says, “ Neptune is also the plant of illusion, delusion, elusion and confusion . . . You see life through a veil, not as it is . . .”

But as it turns out, this isn’t about Professor Kunkle at all. It just so happens that transiting Mercury in the last decan of Sagittarius is crossing over the fixed star Ras Alhague, which is the head of Ophiuchus at 23° Sagittarius. Transiting Jupiter, the planet that pushes things over the top, transiting Uranus the planet of the unexpected makes a challenge aspect to transiting Mercury, illustrating the misinformation that spread rapidly. Where Professor Kunkle comes in is that his South Node, the planet of the past and Karma, and his Sun, Venus and Mercury combination is caught up in the transiting positions making him a channel for the voice of long denied Ophiuchus.
Horoscope Chart Professor Kunkle and Zodiac Interview

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Astrology and Astronomy: The Ophiuchus Debate

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Beth Turnage

Kepler's Rendition of Ophiuchus

Kepler's Rendition of Ophiucus

(Astrology Explored) Why you don’t add every Tom, Dick and Ophiuchus to your Zodiac Wheel

Astronomer Parke Kunkle has discovered there are other constellations in the sky besides the twelve we are familiar with. He is so impressed with his discovery that he wants to add a new zodiac sign to the pantheon, Ophiuchus, the snake handler. He has gotten a lot of people riled up wondering what is their zodiac sign. Talk about identity crisis! This is his reasoning:

“The Earth spins and, like a toy top, the spin axis moves around, pointing in different directions. Today, Earth’s spin axis points toward the pole star, Polaris. Around 3000 BC Earth’s spin axis pointed toward Thuban. Wait 26,000 years and the north star will again be Thuban. Astronomers call this motion of the spin axis precession. About 130 BC, Hipparchus noticed that the Earth’s spin axis had changed directions, so astronomers and astrologers have known about the Earth’s precession for over 2000 years. 

“But this means that if the sun was “in” a certain constellation on a particular date, it is in a different constellation on that date today. For example, the sun was in Pisces on March 1, 2000 BC but it is in Aquarius on March 1, 2011 AD.”

Not so fast, Professor Kunkle

When the original zodiac was named the first day of spring, the vernal equinox aligned with the Sun’s entrance into the constellation of Aries. Of course the ancients were well aware that there were many more constellations in the sky than twelve, but what makes these twelve constellations so special was that the sun appeared to be traveling through them. This was a powerful observation as the apparent path of the sun moved a smidgeon less than one degree each day almost matching the 360 degrees we mark in a circle. In a year then the Sun appeared to travel through twelve constellations to come back to the first day of spring. This was how the zodiac wheel we know so well was defined. Everything appeared to mesh, a Universe that ran in synch with the movement of our sun.

But the Earth is a bad actor

We all know what happens when a top spins. Eventually as it slows, it wobbles. Well, the earth wobbles too, and the result of this wobbling is that, as Professor Kunkle points out where the Earth axis point to true north has changed. But unfortunately for Professor Kunkle the whole debate about how astrologers define the zodiac was decided two millennia ago, when ancient astrologers realized the constellations in the sky didn’t align with the first day of spring. What made more sense to the astrologers of the day, in a civilization powered by the planting and harvesting of crops was to keep the year in as divided by the equinoxes. Each 30 degree slice of the movement of the sun retained the names of the zodiac sign for which they were originally named. This is what we call the tropical zodiac. And despite the fact that the tropical zodiac does not align with the constellations of today, the characteristics of we associate with those zodiac signs hold true today, suggesting that it is the movement of the sun, not the constellations themselves that give each of the zodiac signs their special joie de vivre.

Now some of you with a more detailed understanding of astrology and/or astronomy are asking, “Yes, but Vedic astrologers use the sidereal zodiac. Wouldn’t Kunkle’s argument affect them?” Well, no, boys and girls, because Kunkle’s argument has another flaw and that has to do where Ophiuchus is placed in the heavens.

So where does this Ophiuchus character come in?

Ophiuchus as a constellation is said to be between Sagittarius and Scorpio. However, take a look at this star map as rendered by Nasa. You will note that the traditional zodiac signs have the main body of their stars at or very near the plane the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun. However, even today, with all the earth’s wobbling, our buddy, Ophi, by comparison has the bulk of his stars set off quite a bit from the plane of the ecliptic. Granted a few of his snaky parts cross over the line, but close enough is only good in the game of horseshoes. Sadly our pal Ophi is rather like the Harry Potter character Nearly Headless Nick who is excluded from the yearly Headless Hunt because his head is not totally detached. But who knows, even among astrologers this debate exists, though as it stands we aren’t looking to change any astrology textbooks any time soon.

Of Course

Professor Kunkle knows all this. I rather suspect that he is taking pot shots at astrologers, who most astronomers despise because we are not “scientific”. In fact he is quoted as saying:

”In science we deal with a long tradition of fact based investigation. We are not in the business of interpreting the purported relation between the positions of planets and human affairs.

And for all the media attention his pronouncements has garnered:

“I’m having a blast,” Kunkle said. “among other things it calls attention to astronomy.”

So guys and gals

Relax. You are still the zodiac sign you were born with. Your friendly neighborhood astrologer says so.

Nasa Map of Constellations






Ophiuchus image published under a public domain image as described by Wikipedia.

Nasa Map of Constellations for the Northern Hemisphere in June published as a public domain image.


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Astrology and Violence: The Arizona Shooting

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Beth Turnage

Gabrielle Giffords shooting scene

Gabrielle Giffords Shooting Scene

(Astrology Explored) Six are dead, including a Federal court judge and a nine year old girl with some half dozen more wounded. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in critical condition following surgery for a gunshot wound to the head. The dust has not settled on what the congresswoman’s office called an unspeakable tragedy.

President Obama said, “”It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does: listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors.”

The event at a local Safeway supermarket was a meet and greet where anyone who wanted to could speak to Giffords.

Jared Lee Loughner did. He arrived around 10:00 AM and was told by an aid of Giffords to “wait 20 minutes.”

What he came to do wouldn’t take that long.

By 10:11 AM the first call was made to emergency services. Bystanders wrestled Loughner to the ground and held him there until the police arrived.

Gabrielle Giffords was not expected to win her third bid for office in a hotly contested race. Sarah Palin had Giffords campaign pegged on her “crosshairs” list of targeted congressional races.

As a Democrat who advocated pro-choice, pro-gun rights, pro-health care reform her apparently liberal stances didn’t sit well with some of her constituents. On the eve of the Health Care Reform vote, her office was broken into and vandalized.

Of the current political climate in Arizona

“It’s not a good atmosphere right now, though I’m not saying that’s what prompted this,” said University of Arizona law professor Andy Silverman, who knew Roll well. “But things in Arizona are very tense, and we’ve become the incubator for a lot of immigration-related matters and now for the birthers, too.”

The < a href=”http://www.birthers.org/”>birthers purport to “seek strict adherence to the Constitution of the United States of America, regardless to the momentary passions of the body politic.” This group’s position is that President Barak Obama is not a natural born citizen, and therefore should not be president.

Since the attack the YouTube and other internet postings of the alleged shooter have been dredged up revealing an individual with a distrust of the government claiming the government employs mind control by “controlling grammar.”

But is it political vitriol the gasoline that fanned the flames of this rampage shooting? Or, as some have written, that Jared Lee Loughner is a victim of mental illness, speculating he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia? What was his motivation? What can astrology tell us?

Looking first at the chart of the shooting we see Mercury in Sagittarius in the tenth. This is Jared, and from the looks of it, with Mercury in challenge aspect to Jupiter and Uranus in Pisces, he has an ideological point to make. Certainly the moon in Pisces represents Giffords, there sitting on the ascendant, of the event chart, connecting with her natal Midheaven and North Node, waiting to greet her constituents. Glamorous Neptune sits next to her and both of them make challenge aspect to the event Mercury. Just as it happened, the easy access Giffords granted to the people of her district provided Loughner with his opportunity with disastrous results.

But was opportunity all to this matter?

Jared Lee Loughner was born on September 10, 1988 according to his arrest records. We do not have birth time and we are assuming since he went to school in Tucson all of his life that he was born there as well.

Representative Giffords, according to Wikipedia was born June 8, 1970, also in Tucson. For both charts we do not have a birth time. Because of this, the shooting, for which we have a close approximate time, is the inside wheel of this composite chart.

In the chart below we see the chart for the shooting as well as for Jared Loughner and Gabrielle Giffords. Quite eerily we see that Loughner’s Mars is sitting on Giffords planet of wounds, Chiron and his Chiron is sitting on her Mars. This is an unusual configuration and we will talk more about the importance of his Mars in a future piece. The event Pluto, the planet of death and tranformation squares Loughner’s Mars and Giffords’ Chiron. In my personal research on violence in cases of people who plan murders of other people Mars and Pluto in energetic connection indicate the deliberate nature of the crime. Law Enforcement believes that Loughner targeted Giffords and the astrology charts do not disagree.

Next: In True Crime and Astrology–The Fractured World of Jared Loughner

Image used under a Creative Commons License as shown on Flickr.

Astrology Chart Giffords Shooting

Astrology Chart Giffords Shooting


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Astrology and the News: Massive Animal Kills Captures Media Attention

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Beth Turnage

Google Maps 'Aflockaplypse'

(Astrology Explored) Fellow astrology blogger Lynn Hayes asked our Astrology Blogger group if anyone found any astrological correlations between the recent massive bird kills reported in the media for the past several days. Various colleagues speculated on shifts in the magnetic field (since birds navigate by them) and the effects of newly discovered planets but there was no one conclusion.

This is not surprising since a plethora of theories have sprung up about these kills, from fireworks, to sudden cold air masses and even to “alien activity.” Still in astrology we practitioners have a love of our synchronistic events so it is only natural for us to look for a portent in the activity of the skies.

Digging into the phenomenon in more pedestrian sources this astrologer found the map below with an intriguing pattern of reported mass animal kills.

Map of recent animal die-offs

The pattern looked familiar. Since we recently experienced a solar eclipse I looked at that eclipse path of that but did not find a correlation. However, take a look at this:

Path of Lunar Eclipse December 21. 2010

Wow! The reports follow the path of the eclipse with the heaviest concentration in the area where the eclipse cast its shadow during the light of day, the United States.

But apparently, despite the media attention, wildlife experts assert that mass die-offs are not that uncommon.

“This is really not the unusual thing that people are trying to make it into,” said Robert Meese, an avian ecologist at the University of California, Davis. “A lot of this stuff happens without anyone documenting it.”

And:

Records kept by the United States Geological Survey list at least 16 die-offs of more than 1,000 blackbirds or starlings over the past 30 years, said Marisa Lubeck, a spokesperson for the USGS in Denver. But group deaths among animals have been going on for a lot longer than that.

In a review study published in 2007 in the journal Ibis, researchers looked through European and North American bird journals and other references dating back to the late 19th century. They found frequent reports of deaths of birds in the hundreds, thousands or more.

So the question becomes why is does the media focus on events that are natural and not so unusual events to point of even coining a name for them, which in this case is Aflockalypse?

As one commenter said responding the news reports:

Why should we believe these “experts”? If they don’t even understand why this is happening and give us bogus excuses like “it’s because of fireworks,” or “cold stress”, etc. etc. – why should we believe them. If it is true that these phenomena “happen all the time” then why are we watching these news stories so carefully – if these incidents are being reported with such emphasis, they must somehow not be like the typical mass deaths that the “experts” are used to?

Well perhaps the answer is in the stars after all. Take a look at the chart of the Winter Solstice eclipse:

Mercury is the planet that is associated with communications and with birds. Notice that Mercury is the caboose of a choo-choo train of planets, that which we call a stellium, involving the Sun, Pluto and Mars. Pluto and Mars together represent death and destruction, favorite topics for the media news mill trying to get our attention (and our ad dollars). All of that is opposite the moon, representing the public in the sign ruled by Mercury, Gemini. If there was ever a topic that fits the bill of this eclipse it that of birds falling dead from the sky.

Eclipses are famous for focusing our attention on a certain area in our lives for a time period from six months to some sources up to a year. Certainly the sychronicity of reported animal kills following the path of the Winter Solstice eclipse shows that our attention is fixed on the path of the eclipse. No doubt, if we believe the scientists, there are animal kills in other part of the world that are not being reported as assiduously. As the media hype for a supposed 2012 apocalypse ratchets up, we can expect more of these alarming stories to be portrayed in the media. Our job as discerning consumers of the news is not let these news bites shape our view of the world. That is for us to do.

Text used in newspaper image from Tech News Daily. Image created from Newspaper Generator.


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Political Astrology: We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Post

Posted on December 24, 2010 by Beth Turnage

Obama Hope Picture(Astrology Explored) We interrupt our regularly scheduled posts on ancient Christmas traditions to bring you speculations on the U.S Political scene and President Barack Obama.

President Obama’s grand slam victory at getting key points of his agenda passed in the final session of a lame duck Congress startled Republicans and delighted Democrats. Indeed the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” is a turning point in our policies toward our military, freeing our fighting forces of the onus of figuring out whether or not it is OK to let people with alternate sexual orientations die for their country. This lightning rod issue has bedeviled the U. S. Congress and Senate before and since its inception in 1993 as an imperfect solution to a dilemma straddling morality and political correctness. So this resolution to an imperfect solution was a surprise to say the least.

This along with other small victories, getting the government funded for the next three months, authorization of additional months of assistance for the unemployed, extending tax “cuts” for all of us, a food safety bill strengthening federal power to inspect food processing plants; a deal to confirm about 20 of President Obama’s judicial nominations to the federal bench; and ratification of the New START treaty with Russia, is an impressive list of legislative achievements.

And the amazing thing is that all these things were done during Mercury Retrograde.

Now any astrologer worth his or her salt will tell you that any or all of these bills shouldn’t have passed and may be reversed, reworked or repealed. But, but, but, seeing that Obama rallied the legislative troops in the eleventh hour, seeing that Obama made his announcement to run for the presidency while the moon was void of course, that he was sworn into office on Mercury Retrograde, well it just makes an astrologer scratch her head and say, “My stars!”

There is only one group of people for who Mercury in Retrogrades works favorably, those who were born during a Mercury in Retrograde period. And Obama, according to his Hawaii birth date, was not.

This just only works into certain conspiracy theories that Obama’s stated birth date, place and time is not his real one. This wouldn’t be so unusual. For years, Ronald Reagan kept all his real birth data secret from all but his family and his astrologers. But I’m sure I’m not the only astrologer wondering if the data we were given is correct. The astrology says the passage of these bills shouldn’t have happened, but it did anyway under Obama’s leadership. First, last and always I believe the astrology, so something else astrologically has to be going on.

What do you think? Because I don’t have an answer to this one.


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Astrology and Mythology: Saturn’s Story and Saturnalia

Posted on December 22, 2010 by Beth Turnage
The Roman God Saturn

The Roman God Saturn

Saturn is one of those planets that people have a hard time wrapping their head around. After all, what good is hardship and limitations? Why would we embrace difficulty and want? What good does this planet do in our lives? What better time then to explore the meaning of Saturn during this time of the winter solstice, when the Romans celebrated Saturnalia, the feast of the god Saturn?

The Feast of Saturn, which in Latin was called the Saturnalia, was celebrated as a state holiday for one to three days around the winter solstice, between the end of one planting season and the beginning of the next. A series of religious observances for various gods stretched this period by custom by for a least a full week, from what we would call December 17th to December 23. During this week many of the traditions that we associate with our Christmas, decorating trees outside the home with baked goods and treats, homes with garlands and wreaths, the giving and receiving of gifts, visiting friends and grand dinner parties were part of the festivities.

At the beginning of the holiday Saturn was sacrificed to according to Greek ritual, with the head uncovered and the linen wrappings that bound his feet during the year removed. After the ritual, a public feast was held which was to honor the golden era over which Saturn ruled.

During the holiday>, restrictions were relaxed and the social order inverted. Gambling was allowed in public. Slaves were permitted to use dice and did not have to work. Instead of the toga, less formal dinner clothes (synthesis) were permitted, as was the pileus, a felt cap normally worn by the manumitted slave that symbolized the freedom of the season. Within the family, a Lord of Misrule was chosen. Slaves were treated as equals, allowed to wear their masters’ clothing, and be waited on at meal time in remembrance of an earlier golden age thought to have been ushered in by the god. In the Saturnalia, Lucian relates that “During My week the serious is barred; no business allowed. Drinking, noise and games and dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping of frenzied hands, an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy water—such are the functions over which I preside.”

So how did a festival of license and the reversal of the social order come to be associated with stern Saturn?

Saturn’s Backstory

Saturn in the Roman world was the god of agriculture. Saturn was the father of Jupiter (Zeus) and the son of Uranus. Uranus in mating with the earth mother Gaia produced by her children that he hated. He cruelly imprisoned them in the depths of Gaia, causing her pain. Gaia implored her children to rise up against their father and end her suffering, and Kronos (Saturn) agreed to help her. She fashioned for him a flint sickle to use against his father.

Saturn used the sickle to castrate Uranus, thereby destroying his procreative power.

But Saturn started his rein with violence against his father, and grew to fear the same outcome for himself especially when the Furies made a prophecy that one of his own children would depose him. To avoid this fate, he swallowed each of his own children as soon as each was born.

His wife Rhea fashioned a plan to keep Saturn from snatching another of her babes from her arms. When Zeus, (Jupiter) was born she gave Saturn a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow. After Zeus came of age his mother pleaded with him to free his brothers and sisters. Saturn was deposed as prophesied as Zeus marshaled ancient gods to stand with him against Saturn. Saturn was imprisoned in the bowels of the earth (or in Hades according to other versions) never allowed to see the light of the day again.
Thus we can see where Saturn is associated with fears and imprisonment. But where do we make the connections with boundaries and social order?

The overthrow of Uranus established Saturn as the king of the gods, but also signals for us a point of evolution in the human race, where during the Neolithic period we gave up our nomadic ways and settled on and farmed the earth.

How can we trace the story of Saturn to this period of time?

Wikipedia tells us:

The detail of the sickle’s being flint rather than bronze or even iron was retained by Greek mythographers . . . Knapped flints as cutting edges were set in wooden or bone sickles in the late Neolithic, before the onset of the Bronze Age. Such sickles may have survived latest in ritual contexts where metal was taboo, but the detail, which was retained by classical Greeks, suggests the antiquity of the mytheme.

With humans bound to the land and forming communities, borders, fences and trading agreements became necessities to help humans maintain order. So it was Saturn became associated with boundaries, restrictions and limitations as well as establishing and keeping the social order.

The spirit of license lasted for only a short time, and at the end of the festival another Roman activity we are well acquainted with started, that of the settling of accounts. Yes the Roman practice of the payment of debts and taxes after the holidays has followed Western Civilization since. When you go to pay those credit card bills and first of the year property taxes you can blame Rome.
The Romans honored Saturn in the Saturnalia because they believed he ruled over a golden age of peace and plenty, the gifts that a well-ordered Universe could provide to humanity. Saturn in our own lives can function in our lives the same way when we accept our own responsibilities to ourselves and our community.


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Path of Total Lunar Eclipse on Winter Solstice

Posted on December 20, 2010 by Beth Turnage

In the cosmic dance of the heavenly bodies, a full lunar eclipse occurs when the earth lines up in a direct line with the moon and the sun, shielding the moon from the light of the sun.

Not all inhabitants of planet earth can view this phenomenon. Because the moon is smaller than the earth, it can only cast its eclipse shadow on part of the earth. For this eclipse, the inhabitants of North America get to view it in its entirety. Below is a map of the eclipse shadow as the moon rises and sets.

Path of Lunar Eclipse 12/21/2010

Path of Lunar Eclipse 12/21/2010

1st image: Public Domain Image from NASA.

2nd image: Public Domain Image as documented on Wikipedia


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Celtic Astrology–The Symbolism of the Winter Solstice

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Beth Turnage

Ceridwen

Ceridwen

The entrance of the Sun into the last of the Cardinal signs had a special significance to the ancient Celts. While this time is the start of the sign of Capricorn for us, in the Celtic lunar calendar this event happens at the end of the Month of Elder, called Ruis (sounds like “r’ uhish”) and marks the birth of the “new king” that will reign over the year.

Solar, signifying the masculine and lunar events corresponding to the feminine principle had equal importance in the complex mythology of the Celts. The day before the ingress signified the death of the old Sun, which then become the prisoner of the King of the Underworld. The New Sun is born on the Winter Solstice as the child of the goddess Ceridwen. The Sun was regarded as the son of Ceridwen, and the God Celi, incomprehensible spirits from whom all life came.

One story of Ceridwen runs concurrent with the story of the birth of the Sun, which reveals more of the underlying meaning of the birth of the masculine principle.

The story goes like this:

Ceridwen bore a child that was so ugly she despaired of his future. She decided to use her magic cauldron that could make a portion that would grant great wisdom so at least her son could have that.

“The mixture had to be cooked for a year and a day. Morda, a blind man, tended the fire beneath the cauldron, while Gwion, a young boy, stirred the concoction. The first three drops of liquid from this cauldron gave wisdom; the rest was a fatal poison. Three hot drops spilled onto Gwion’s hand as he stirred, burning him. He instinctively put his hand in his mouth, and instantly gained great wisdom and knowledge.

Ceridwen chased Gwion. He turned himself into a rabbit. She became a dog. He became a fish and jumped into a river. She turned into an otter. He turned into a bird; she became a hawk. Finally, he turned into a single grain of corn. She then became a hen and ate him. When Ceridwen became pregnant, she knew it was Gwion and resolved to kill the child when he was born. However, when he was born, he was so beautiful that she couldn’t do it. She threw him in the ocean instead, sewing him inside a bag of sealskin. The child did not die, but was rescued on a British shore by a Celtic prince named Elffin; the reborn infant grew to became the legendary bard Taliesin.”

Gwion represents the non-initiated soul, one, who in the service of the Goddess of Wisdom, is reborn as a “divine child replete with knowledge”. It suggests that wisdom is ultimately received from an acceptance of feminine knowledge of the divine essence of the cycle of life.

The divine child is born on the day of the Winter Solstice but he remains hidden from us until the first day of the new lunar calendar of the year which is usually around December 24th. The time during the divine child’s birth and this day is known to the Celts as the nameless day. This day that falls outside the thirteen sign, twenty-eight day dichotomy of the lunar calendar. It is sacred to the Queen of the Underworld, Arianhod. It represents the part of feminine wisdom that always remains concealed.

Helena Paterson, author of “The Celtic Lunar Zodiac” says of people born on this day:

People born on this ‘nameless day’ have a cosmic spiritual awareness-time travelers, akin to Australian Aborigines whose dreamtime reflects an evolving creation and creator.

More than the shortest day of the year, the Winter Solstice marks the time of the revelation of the timeless nature of the cycles of life. It tells the story of rebirth of the human spirit, the archetypal spiritual acolyte in all of us, to seek the lessons and the wisdom of the year to come.


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The Solstice Full Moon–Eclipse Forecast

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Beth Turnage

Horoscope of Solstice EclipseYesterday we looked at the symbolism of the next lunar eclipse falling on the winter solstice, an astronomically rare event. Today we will look at where this eclipse will focus your energies for the next six months.

Where does this eclipse fall in your chart? To do this you will need a copy of your chart which you can get from Astrodienst and find out which doorway the zodiac sign Gemini sits on. This is the house that will be activated during the eclipse period.

Eclipse Moon falls in your first house—Your relationship with your mother is examined as it ties to your sense of self worth. There is some idea or image of your mother of which you need to let go. In some manner this idea you have of your mom has influenced your intimate relationships and not always for the better. It is time to reorder your thinking in this area.

Eclipse Moon in your second house—You need to free up your financial future. You are restless with the state of affairs concerning your finances and you feel other people hold the cards. Freeing up your future involves letting go of what you think holds your life secure. Remember that when one door closes it is only so that another can open for you.

Eclipse Moon in your third house—the third house is a mixed bag, containing people and things such as your siblings, books, communication devices, short trips and short courses of study. Just as mutable as its ruling sign, the third house can serve up some or all of these elements in your life. You could for instance take a short trip to visit a brother or sister. You could be traveling to take classes. Whatever it is, you’ve been putting it off. Now is the time to get off the stick.

Eclipse Moon in your fourth house—Changes are due regarding your parents or your home. For those of all with older parents, this may be the time you are forced to make different arrangements for their care. Or you face some decision on how to settle a legal matter regarding your home. Be prepared. Thing may not turn out as you expect.

Eclipse Moon in your fifth house—Love affairs, creative endeavors and your children are the focus in your life for the next six months. It is easy to go overboard in any area, are you wrestle with issues around the things that are supposed to make you happy, but leave you disappointed. It would be quicker and simpler to let go of any expectations, but are you going to do that?

Eclipse Moon in your sixth house—People you count on, co-workers, health care professionals, employees are curiously absent their support and even their presence. Maybe they have their own health care issues but the upshot is you are forced to scramble to cover these labor shortages. You must learn not to stress over what you can’t control.

Eclipse Moon in your seventh house—Problems with communications upset relationship and partnership issues. Your partner wants more control and you want things the way they used to be. If this is describing your relationship with your spouse this might be the time to seek out couples counseling. Things must change but at least with counseling you can work on a way to do it together.

Eclipse Moon in your eighth house—Other peoples resources are an important theme. Maybe your tax return will be less than expected, or that insurance settlement doesn’t pan out. In any case, there is little you can or should do yourself. Hire a lawyer and let him and the other guy hash it out. It will be worth the money. Don’t be stubborn when it comes settlement time. As far as eighth house sex goes, you’ll find that you aren’t quite ready to share your feelings.

Eclipse Moon in your ninth house—You have romantic dreams of getting away, heck even running away from it all. To do that you’d have to leave a whole bunch of people behind which would be horribly irresponsible, wouldn’t it? Whatever you do, you need to carve a little time for some daydreaming and to expand your mind.

Eclipse Moon in your tenth house-Work and home issues battle for your attention. Yes, you will be stretched, and no you can’t do everything yourself. Trying to do so will only land you in the hospital and sooner than you think. To manage the next six months, marshal your forces, hire some help with the house, and roll with the punches.

Eclipse Moon in your eleventh house—A wealth of people bop in and out of your life at quite unexpected times. Think of this time when you , by process of elimination, come to know what it is you expect from your friends and associates. You will learn who you can trust and you can’t.

Eclipse Moon in your twelfth house—You sense undercurrents that other people do not. You perceive deception that other people tell you is all in your head. Hello! This is how people with natural psychic gifts live everyday. Maybe this is just a short period of heightened perception but if you are open to it, it will open new worlds of understanding about how the Universe works.


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Full Moon in Gemini–The Long Nights Moon

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Beth Turnage

Eclipse MoonThe last time it happened was in 1991. The next time it will happen is in 2094. This rare is astronomical and astrological event is a total lunar eclipse that falls on the Winter Solstice.

Nasa tells us that the eclipse will be visible throughout most of eastern Asia, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, the Americas, and Europe. The eclipse will be visible after midnight in North and South America. The moon will be at its maximum northern position staying above the horizon a long time while the sun will be at its lowest point in the sky. This gives an special emphasis to the name of December’s full moon, the Long Nights Moon.

In Celtic mythology the Winter Solstice marks the death of the “old king” an allegory for the old year, and the birth of the “new king”, the New Year. There will be endings, but in these events are the seeds of new growth. In Celtic legend, the “new king’s” birth is hidden until December 24th, when the days start to visibly lengthen. The period in between the solstice and December 24th is called the nameless day, a period suspended between death and birth and belonging to the realm of the underworld.

Eclipses act like an exclamation point in the transit chart, marking by it position a point in your natal chart that will be of special emphasis in your chart for the next six months. When talking about the moon we are dealing with such topics as our mothers, the past, our home environment, the things that make us feel secure. This lunar eclipse will happen with the moon at 29 degrees of Gemini.

29 degrees of any sign, poised as it is on the cusp of the next sign, calls for a decision. Are we going to sit on our heels and have the world pass us by? Or are we going to go forward like the tarot card “The Fool” and fall into our next adventure? Seeing that the next sign is Cancer, which is ruled by the moon and talks about all the topics mentioned above, how is that going to translate into our lives? Cancer’s survival strategy is to hold on with a tenacious grip. But let us not forget that opposite that Cancer energy is powerful and transformative Pluto in Capricorn, wresting away, by force if necessary, the very things that make us feel secure. Whatever happens the name “Long Nights Moon” is an especially apt description.

So what do you look at in your chart to see where you will be concentrating your energies, where you want to hang on and where you should let go? Most people can look at which house the eclipse falls in, but more advanced students and also, professionals, can also look at the aspects to Mercury, the ruler of Gemini and Saturn, the ruler of Capricorn in their charts.

Tomorrow: Eclipse Predictions

Photo published under a Creative Commons license from Flickr.


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