Composite by Osk Ingad Alden and Pat Paquette, 2015.
The pace remains fairly low key this week, and yet our thoughts start racing in a struggle to make sense of the barrage of information we encounter daily.
Many people understand or are beginning to realize that much of the information we receive is meaningless. It’s like loading up on junk food, which is cheap and readily available. After living on a diet of this stuff for so long, one tends to develop a taste for it, and then it’s hard to appreciate healthy alternatives. In time, real food becomes a distant memory.
Likewise, many of those born since the 1980s don’t remember what real journalism was like. We had I.F. Stone, Seymour Hersh, George Seldes, Michael Herr, Frances FitzGerald, David Halberstam, Alexander Cockburn, Hunter S. Thompson, and several others. Of those still alive, Sy Hersh is the only one I know of who is still working. I don’t think I could name five other journalists in the entire world with their level of skill, commitment, and integrity. It’s telling that Hersh is an outcast among the mainstream media, some of whom accuse him of making up facts in his exposes of government lies and corruption.
Many people suspect that we’re not getting the truth, or we’re getting only half of it (goddess only knows which half). But there’s no consistently reliable information, and so we fill in the gap with what we think we know about “how things are.” Some just give up in frustration and even stop caring. This is the perfect environment for propaganda to proliferate, like germs in a school bus on a warm, wet day. This is going to change, though – and soon – as an increasing number of people wake up out of the collective trance. We’ll start noticing the shift after Saturn returns direct at the beginning of August and moves closer to a square with Neptune in November. Economic difficulties this summer will play a major role in the public’s new-found hunger for the truth.
I bring this up now, because this week we have a window on what’s ahead. On Thursday, Mercury enters his home sign of Gemini, the sign of communications, information, and knowledge. On Sunday, he opposes Saturn in Sagittarius, the sign of truth and truth-seekers. Ironically, Sagittarius also is the sign of beliefs, especially political and religious convictions, which are not always based on facts. At its worst, Saturn in Sagittarius represents an ossified belief structure that is not flexible enough to adapt to new information. When one is absolutely convinced that the planets revolve around Earth, he will not change his beliefs no matter how much new information is discovered proving that the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun. Even worse, if he’s in a position of authority, he’ll suppress the truth and have anyone who dares to speak of it thrown in jail.
Belief systems are structures of the mind. When an entire belief system is based on a factual error, correcting the fundamental mistake collapses the whole structure. Put another way, changing a rigid belief system usually can’t be done with a piece here and there. It needs to be knocked down and rebuilt from the ground up. That’s what we’ve been seeing in the collective conscious for the past four years under the Uranus-Pluto square, with Saturn and Pluto in a mutually supportive relationship. That relationship changed when Saturn entered Sagittarius in late December, but it will reconnect from mid-June to mid-September.
Alone, Sunday’s Mercury-Saturn opposition would be enough to kick a load-bearing beam in belief structures, but it gets help from th Full Moon in Scorpio, the sign of breaking down in order to rebuild, regenerate, and transform. New information that doesn’t fit with our belief system might be rejected out of hand as ridiculous, or it could create doubt. We think of doubt as a negative state, mostly because it’s uncomfortable. But it’s far better than rigidly clinging to erroneous beliefs. Change is uncomfortable, especially when we’re talking about breaking through mental and emotional defenses. We are in a vulnerable state, confused and disoriented.
The metaphor I always come back to is the caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly. This isn’t a pretty New Age ugly duckling turning into a swan thing. It’s violent and dangerous. I can barely stand to watch those time-lapse videos of a caterpillar turning into a pupa. His whole body shakes and twists, and his head explodes, like the creature in the Alien movies popping out of the character’s stomach. Once inside, he digests himself with his own enzymes and melts into caterpillar soup. His tissues break down completely, and then, like magic, butterfly cells take over and start multiplying to form wings, legs, and antennae. When his new self is complete, he breaks out of his casing. This is not a happy moment. He’s totally disoriented. He’s got these things on his back that his DNA tells him are “wings,” but right now they’re crumpled, wet baggage. This is the most dangerous moment. While his wings are drying in the sun, he is free lunch for predators.
That’s the Pluto process. We may not digest ourselves into physical soup, but our minds can turn into complete mush. It’s no coincidence that many people become depressed during this time, to the extent that they may need medical treatment. And because we aren’t butterflies, the Pluto process takes longer than two weeks. It can take two decades, or two or two hundred lifetimes. So we have to just accept that and not try to hurry the process. Some of us might be drying our wings, but most of us are somewhere between half-digested caterpillar and almost-butterfly.
Click on image for larger view.
The Full Moon in Scorpio on May 3 (Monday, May 4 in the Eastern Hemisphere) is in a harmonious aspect to Pluto, Scorpio’s ruling planet in modern astrology. If you’re at a critical stage in your personal transformation process, you get an extra push to break through now. How much of a push and how hard it is to move forward depends on where the Full Moon lands in your chart, and we also need to look at Jupiter, as he’s in a T-square with the Sun and Moon by exact degree. It’s easy to see in the chart to the right.
You’ll feel this influence the most if you have planets or key chart points at 11-15 degrees of the fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius. Planets in Aquarius will get the strongest charge, as they are the outlet for the tension inherent in the T-square. However, there is possible opportunity here, with Jupiter the position directly opposite. Jupiter is usually a positive influence, even in oppositions and squares. The challenge is that opportunities require action, and to get the most out of whatever is being offered to you, you’ll have to stretch beyond your current limitations.
Planets in mid-Leo have a conjunction by transiting Jupiter, so there is opportunity here as well, and with fewer challenges. Taurus and Scorpio planets represent something reaching a culmination or resolution. For example, if you have Venus at 11-15 Scorpio, a relationship challenge presents an opportunity to get beyond obsession, jealousy, or a need for control. If your birthday is between May 1 and May 5, this is a high energy transit for you, with the potential to meet someone new or to develop a deeper relationship with a current partner.
Mercury’s opposition to Saturn acts as an additional catalyst for transformation, especially if either planet is making a challenging aspect to a key chart point or planet in your natal chart. Something – a news article, a piece of information, a cautionary tale from a friend – causes you to doubt long-held beliefs. You may not give it much thought, but a process will start in the background of your mind. If Mercury and Saturn are making easier aspects to your natal planets, messages or information you receive support a new direction in your thinking about serious matters. For example, if, like many people, you are questioning why the United States is so interested in Ukraine or whether Islam is an inherently violent religion, you will stumble upon information you need. Sometimes when I’m focused on a topic, I’ll run across a vital piece of information in an archived magazine or newspaper article or a footnote in an online book. I’ve also started translating keywords so that I can conduct searches in foreign languages. As commonplace as this is, it stills seems like magic to me.
There are a few other aspects this week worth mentioning. On Tuesday, Mars sextiles Chiron, followed by a Venus-Chiron square on Wednesday. The way to handle both of these aspects is by putting yourself in the other person’s shoes. Yeah, it’s cliché, but there’s no better way to say it. When people do or say things we find hurtful or irksome, it’s an almost automatic response to think of them as selfish, ignorant, or insensitive. Yet, if we really try to understand where they’re coming from, if we listen with the intent to hear rather than using what they say to reinforce our negative opinion of them, we often find that they didn’t do anything we wouldn’t have done in similar circumstances. It doesn’t mean we have to agree with them or excuse bad behavior, but we can show them the respect of hearing them out, and we’ll come away with a more accurate read of the situation. Things are not always as simple as they look from the outside.
Also on Wednesday, there’s an easygoing sextile from the Sun to Neptune. We’re better able to sense what others are thinking and feeling and to make nonverbal connections. If you think of it, try a little experiment. While you’re talking to someone, see if you can “hear” the deeper conversation going on beneath the surface. I’m not talking about subtext or body language, although you might pick up on that more under this aspect. Sometimes there are what I call “energy exchanges,” subconscious communications that may have nothing to do with the verbal discussion. It’s something like telepathy.
Lastly, I imagine some of you want to know whether there was an astrological “cause” for Saturday’s deadly earthquake in Nepal. The short answer is “no.” I know there are some who believe it’s possible to predict earthquakes using astrology, but I haven’t yet seen a systematic approach tested and proven with statistically meaningful data. Some earthquakes do occur under planetary configurations consistent with earth or weather events – this one does – but but many don’t. And even though there are some markers in this chart for movements in the Earth’s crust, I doubt that anyone looking at it six months ago would have predicted a massive earthquake in the Himalayas.
The closest I’ve seen to a method that could be valid is to track the paths of eclipses. The difficulty is that eclipses can occur months in advance or months after an earthquake, so it’s not a reliable forecasting tool. There are four or more eclipses every year, some of them more remarkable than others. The most we can do is to look at their paths over Earth and identify a general region where there might be corresponding earthquakes up to six months before or after. Of course, there are several powerful earthquakes every week, especially around the Pacific “Rim of Fire,” so it’s easy to say, “Hey, I was right.” I don’t count the high average. It’s the ones like Saturday’s tragedy that we need to be able to predict accurately, and so far, I haven’t seen any evidence we can do that. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible with more research.
In the meantime, our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones.
Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat
© Pat Paquette, RealAstrologers.com, 2014.
RealAstrologers 
Lots to watch for this upcoming week, indeed. BTW, I ran across this comment in a blog called Exopermaculture: “The Web of Life: Might the enormous Chile volcanic eruption have reverberated into the enormous Nepal earthquake? I.e., not that one ’caused’ the other, but that Earth, like all mysterious living entities, is a resonant field, so that whatever occurs anywhere, reverberates everywhere. Remember ‘the flutter of the butterfly’s wings’? Well, add to that, in this case, the fact that the two locations on Earth happened happen to be ‘antipodal’.”
If true, it makes one think.
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Joe, I’m familiar with the theory about seismic activity on opposite sides of the Earth. I’ve also read the theory that a major shift on one side of the Pacific Rim of Fire can cause a shift on the other side. It totally makes sense. I suppose it would be fairly easy to prove, because the data are readily available. You just need to determine what’s statistically significant.
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Read on Stellar Insight that the earthquake in Nepal hit on it’s axis points of 15 degrees, where Pluto resides and where the square it. Ironically the last earthquake happened during the last Pluto/Uranus square in the 1930’s. Oh it’s really sad and my prayers are with them.
Yes, the news media is nothing more then threads of the truth. I’m from Canada, which I believe (hope I”m not bias) is a bit better then the United States. My mother started watching the US news about 10 years ago, since she lived in Seattle for a bit. When she came back to Canada, she viewed things in a completely different context. She still will only watch US news, but she seems out of touch somehow. Really I’m not trying to bash the US news media, because Canadian content in the news can be way off base as well. However, I have noticed this effect.
Have a great one! CJ
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As for U.S. media, bash it all you want. It deserves it. I’m not familiar with Canadian media, so I can’t speak to their accuracy and objectivity. However, Canada is one of the countries that has sent military “advisers” to Ukraine.
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CJ, thanks for that info.
I found a chart (bi-wheel) on Stellar Insights FB page, if that’s the one you’re talking about. It looks like he’s got the Oct. 1965 Uranus-Pluto conjunction on the inner wheel and Saturday’s quake on the outer wheel, and he’s using houses and angles from the inner wheel, not the chart for the quake itself. On both charts, the times are wrong, and he’s using a location that’s 50 miles from the epicenter. The location wouldn’t make a huge difference, but the time inaccuracies do. Nepal has a strange time zone, UT+ 5:45. The charts note that, but still don’t have the correct time. US Geological Service gives time on Saturday as 6:11: 26 UT, which is 11:56 a.m. local time (also the time in news reports).
He says in his FB post that current t. Pluto on the IC of the 1965 chart is “too close to be accidental.” Well, no, it’s not accidental. He chose that chart for what reason, exactly? It seems rather random. I mean, if you play with enough charts, you’ll eventually find something that fits. However, even if you could make a good case for it, his time if off by more than four hours. As you know with these outer planetary aspects, they remain at the exact degree and minute for several hours, but there is a specific hour/minute/second when they are exact. The ephemera available online usually give the planetary positions at midnight only, but both Rudhyar and Nolle calculated the exact time. Rudhyar gives 3:17 p.m. EST on 10/9. Nolle gives 8:09 p.m. UT. Rudhyar most likely did his calculations by hand, so Nolle probably is correct. But in any case they are only 8 minutes apart (not bad for a manual calculation!). The time in Nepal would have been 1:54 a.m. on 10/10.
Even if Stellar Insights had everything correct and comparing current transits to the 1965 conjunction was relevant, my point about the inability to predict doesn’t change.
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The signature (energy) of expansive T. Jupiter- being squared by earth sign T. Mars just a week before – certainly can reflect a HUGE quake. (is that ‘causing it?’ I don’t know- but its there-moving SOMETHING). Does a having that aspet in a person’s chart make them a strong dancer? It can. It is a BIG NEED TO MOVE. (the body, mind, earth- etc).
So is the aspect ‘causing’ something – or is it just showing the particular energy that is ready for use?
Back to EQ prediction/cause- Also at the Mar/Jup mp of the Quake chart- zero Cancer. VERY SENSTIVE POINT! ~ (and opposite- Nepal’s Pluto (exact)- Republic declared chart)- T. Saturn is currently sq Nepal’s Saturn sq Venus. (loss of a huge level- big struggle faced).
Nepal’s chart – The recent Ingress of Aries chart- and the Quake Chart. Hang out with those for a day or two with some study- the story is there. All over the maps. The Ingress Venus lines up with the Sun (exact) in the EQ chart. Maybe this QUAKE – SCREAMING MOTHER – is a call to LOVE EACH OTHER. (listen to your Ma!)
Isn’t it interesting how we all join together after something like a 7.9? I don’t think its an event that just randomly ‘happens’…….nope. not this astrologer.
*Nepal’s Republic chart- 28 may 2008.
Can we say WHERE in advance- no. Sometimes the path of the SE or LE will show an area that is going to have huge change- and EQ can be that. or war- or drought. etc.
The stars above do give us ‘signs’. I’ve nailed earthquake preditions time and time again. Not the place- but the ‘window’ of the Earth getting ready to speak to us. AND SHE IS SCREAMING. (these days)- I did mention in my facebook page blog (kitchensari.com) that we were in a window of earth shaking. This is not to blow my own horn- I am just a long time passionate professional astrologer- and I think there is nothing that the astrology can’t foretell if we have the insights to read the signs correctly. This helps us to PREPARE. Astrology is THE tool for prediction (in my practice anyhow). Am I always right? No. Was I surprised about the 7.9- certainly not. As a matter of fact- as far as I was concern it was a Week- LATE! :) As anyone knows ‘events’ don’t always happen on the ‘very day’ of a hard transits- sometimes a new moon- or quarter moon will ‘kick it off’. sometimes a slower moving planet will do that.
I live in Los Angeles, and I have seen a very clear pattern of when they hit here. That doesn’t mean that’s the ONLY time they happen- but the BIG ones? Yes, its there (the astro info)- always.
I would hope you might reconsider your very own belief that Earthquakes can’t be predicted. – (or aka- be ’caused’ by astrology configurations-if that is what you are saying)
Of course we don’t ‘blame’ the planets- (anymore than we ‘blame’ the moon for the tide-or do we? its the influence that happens.) the stars help us to see the cycles and patterns and give us a heads up. Its called weather prediction in some circles. The big picture has to be fined tuned to see these things… they aren’t always URANUS trasits – Mother Earth has her moods. :) I love discovering the astrology behind an event. It helps me to process – and reconfirms to me that even as we might ‘see’ we do not often ‘control’ anything but our own attitudes. open mind- open heart.
I have a different view from you- but that doesn’t mean that I do not respect your thoughts. Thanks for sharing them. And thanks for hearing mine out.
And thank you for writing this blog. I know how much work it takes.
Peace and walk in love
Parker the she
*female with a man’s first name.
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Ms. Parker, thank you for the chart interpretations and astrology lesson.
I agree that eclipse paths are a possible indicator. As I wrote above, I think it’s the one method that if studied might prove reliable. I also wrote that there were earthquake signatures in the chart, so I’m really not sure what all the caps and exclamation points are about.
So, you knew a major quake was on the way, and “the story is there. All over the maps” in the Nepal chart. Why, then, weren’t you able to predict where it would be? Maybe because:
Can we say WHERE in advance- no. Sometimes the path of the SE or LE will show an area that is going to have huge change- and EQ can be that. or war- or drought. etc.
Kind of reinforces my point. Thank you.
With all due respect, hanging out with an earthquake chart after the fact can be illuminating, but PREdiction means seeing it before, not after. Nor is predicting a general window for a big quake somewhere on the planet “nailing” it, especially when there are so many earthquakes a day/week/month/year – four magnitude 7+ since the beginning of the year, 16 since the beginning of 2014. If you reduce the magnitude to 6.5, then that number increases to 67. That comes out to an average of one a week, which means that if you predict a “general window” of two weeks, chances are very good that you will get a hit.
In April 2014, with the cardinal grand cross almost perfected and a couple of eclipses on the way, there was an 8.2 quake in Chile. If astrology could predict earthquakes, we all should have seen that one coming years in advance, especially since it’s in a major earthquake zone. Or what about the magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Chile in 2010 that was so powerful it produced a slight shift in Earth’s axis? Science did see that one coming, right down to the exact location and magnitude. They just didn’t know when. With the location pinned down, it should have been easy for astrology to predict the timing, if indeed we knew how to do that. But we don’t.
As I also wrote above, I think it is possible that SOMEDAY we might be able to predict earthquakes using astrology. However, that is going to require a thorough study, starting with the major earthquakes. Do the charts have anything in common? Can we come up with a set of indicators that we could run through a computer program to scan the earth for possible locations? Maybe we could run it backwards and forward for eclipses, and we could cross-check it with scientific predictions.
Obviously I believe astrology is a powerful tool, or I wouldn’t be in this profession. But I also think it’s important to admit what our limitations are and not to make unsupported claims.
P.S. Yes, I “blame” the Moon for the tides. :-)
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Hi Pat!
Nice to meet a fellow passionate astrologer.
I didn’t say that I ‘nailed this one’ – just that I saw it coming. (a week before).That wasn’t the ‘nailing’ I was speaking of. (I was speaking of the past ones i\I have nailed-two days off on Norhridge for example). I think its nice that we are having this discussion- and that you are open to hearing other views-I do thank you for that. Like I said I wasn’t blowing my horn-just using myself as an example that yes- they can be predicted.
I just felt compelled to write about my direct experience. You are so correct – looking over the charts after an event is a great learning tool. I am sorry if I miffed you- that wasn’t my intention at all. Its your blog- and I thank you for writing it. I just have a different view. And i see other astrologers that predict EQ all the time- so I am not alone. Lets just join forces in helping Nepal with our love.
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Hey, Ms. Parker. Thanks for the reply and the kind words.
I wasn’t miffed. I’m always happy to get comments, especially by other astrologers. I’m just concerned about making claims for astrology that can’t be verified. We get enough grief as it is. Opinions are one thing; there’s room for many points of view. The ability to predict earthquakes with astrology isn’t an opinion. Either we can or we can’t. And so far, I have seen no evidence that we can. “Seeing an earthquake coming” isn’t a prediction, unless you can say where it will be, at least within a ballpark range.
Sure, there are other astrologers who make predictions about earthquakes. I’d be interested in links you might have to anyone who has made accurate, specific predictions. I don’t know of any who have been correct about time and place consistently, with a systematic method that can be explained, if not replicated. The latter is important, because some astrologers also are psychic, so maybe that really was the key to their success. BTW, I know someone in the LA area who is extremely sensitive to earth vibrations and knows when a strong earthquake in the California zone is coming (like 4-5+).
Do you get The Mountain Astrologer? There was a long article in the Oct/Nov 2014 issue on predicting earthquakes. The astrologer, Ema Kurent, wrote that earthquakes are absolutely predictable with astrology, and she provided a long analysis with a lot of historical data and a list of factors to consider, including a technique she developed using backwards progressions. I’m waiting for Part II, in which she will make some predictions so we can see how it works. Until she shows she can do this — either in TMA or in some other forum — I have reservations, although she gets a lot of credit for attempting to define a system. We need more of that.
Richard Nolle makes his predictions based on “supermoons.” He has been remarkably close on some dates, but without locations (even general) or magnitude, it’s not a predictive tool. Using his dates with an analysis of eclipse maps might be something to try.
I heard of a Vedic astrologer who allegedly predicted the Sumatra earthquake and tidal wave, but I can’t remember where, so don’t know how he did it (if he did) or if it was just a lucky guess.
Evidently geologists have some idea of where the “big one” is going to hit in California. So maybe we should start looking at the charts to figure out when.
http://www.laweekly.com/news/good-news-people-a-mega-earthquake-could-set-off-other-temblors-5514011
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