Category Archives: General Musing

Ask Real Astrologers: What Are the Effects of Comet Lulin?

This week’s question comes from Rossa in the U.K.:

Do either of you ladies have any insight into what effect the new Comet Lulin will be having astrologically during the next month? I’ve read that it is currently travelling through Scorpio and Libra towards Leo and will be at its brightest and visible to the naked eye on Feb 24. With an eclipse coming up in Leo on February 9, I wondered if there was any connection?There’s some info on it here: Techastronomy Article on Comet Lulin

Libra ponders . . .

Neith’s response:

Thankfully, Rossa, Pat has done more research in this area and on Comet Lulin in particular, because I admit to knowing little to nothing about the effects of comets. Traditionally they were considered malefic and harbingers of doom, but whether that is true or not may be a matter of perspective because human beings are very good at justifying whatever it is they wish to believe.

That said, this is an excellent opportunity to gather information about the effects of this particular comet over the next month. If those people with key planets or chart angles at 19-20 degrees Virgo are affected, please let us know. Perhaps the comet will amplify Saturn’s impact by transit, and if that is the case we will likely see greater rigidity and sticking with the status quo out of fear.

Good question, Rossa! Thanks for bringing this celestial event to our attention.

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s response:

Rossa, first of all I want to thank you for this great question! Because it’s not visible with the naked eye, Comet Lulin hasn’t been in the news headlines, and with everything else going on in my life, it wasn’t even on my radar screen. As the old saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” I just love it when our readers alert us to things like this. This is the whole point of having not just a website, but a real community.

With my back injury, I can’t sit for long at the computer, but I’ve been researching this oddity little by little over the past week, ever since your question came in. Tseka also sent me some links to get me up to speed on the basics. All I can say is that this thing is bizarre, and I believe it is a wildcard that may invalidate any predictions based on known astrological patterns. Could that apply to individual charts? I think it might.

For example, we’ve just had the second pass in the Saturn-Uranus opposition. Well, Lulin will conjoin Saturn on February 24, the day before it reaches its closest point to Earth and when it also may be visible to the naked eye. With new technologies discovered over the past decade or so, astrophysicists are learning more and more about phenomena such as comets, and they now know that comets carry a powerful electromagnetic charge. How could that energy not affect planetary transits, especially considering that Lulin is moving very close to the ecliptic, the path that the planets appear to take around the Earth.

What’s more, Lulin is moving backwards, and so I am looking for clues that it may be somehow “undoing” the expected effects of certain planetary transits or perhaps causing them to manifest exactly opposite of how we might predict. This is just conjecture on my part, and there won’t be any way to know for sure until enough time has passed. According to some astrologers, the effects of comets aren’t noticeable until the Sun or Mars crosses the point of perihelion (the comet’s closest point to the Sun). Lulin was at perihelion on January 10 at about 18 degrees Scorpio by my calculations, so we may not know more until November.

By the way, note that when astronomers talk about a planet or, in this case, comet, being in a certain constellation, its position is slightly different according to the calculations of Western tropical astrology. It has to do with precession of the equinoxes, which is too complicated to get into here. But you’ll notice, if you look at star charts, that Saturn currently appears in late Leo, and that’s where the conjunction will take place on Feb. 24. For our purposes, the conjunction occurs at 19 degrees Virgo.

I am slowly working on an article on Lulin for my personal blog, The Pisces Chronicles, and hope to have it up in a few days. It will depend on how my back is doing. In the meantime, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the birthday and get-well wishes. Due to time and energy constraints, I haven’t been able to respond, but I want you to know that all of your good thoughts mean a lot to me and I’m sure they are contributing to my healing.

Much love and many blessings to all…

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Ask Our Readers: Fallout From the Eclipse To Report?

The New Moon eclipse at 6 degrees Aquarius is behind us now but like a stone dropped in a pond, the affects are starting to cause ripples for many of us. Where it fell in your chart and what, if any, natal planets and aspect patterns were triggered are places to start looking for results.

Keep in mind we are also juggling the incoming Saturn-Uranus opposition at 20 degrees Virgo-Pisces exact in about a week, so for some of us it’s been more of a cascade than a single event. The eclipse conjoined the cusp of my third house and the web cam I ordered arrived and immediately turned into a huge distraction. At the same time, I had to drop all that and follow my Aries spouse to town to get his pickup truck worked (another in a series of interruptions courtesy of having Uranus in Pisces in the fourth). Between needing to devote time to my astrology work and the challenge of attempting to do that working at home, I’m beginning to feel like a darn tennis ball being slammed from one side of the court to the other.

Pat, who had the eclipse take place in her first house, wrenched her back on her day job attempting to move something too heavy and awkward, so she is moving very gingerly right now.

Anyone else have a tale to tell about their trials and tribulations of juggling the eclipse and Saturn-Uranus? By the way, today and tomorrow the Moon is in Pisces and will conjoin Uranus and oppose Saturn, so expect more little surprises!

Libra with Scorpio risingposted by Neith . . .

Saturday Archives: Saturn in Synastry . . . Neith’s Take

folk's wedding in 1944Pulling a post on Saturn in synastry from the archives for Saturday (Saturn’s Day) seems like a good idea. It is also important to remember Saturn aspects in synastry can provide the foundation for a lasting relationship . . . not such a bad guy after all?

A friend requested my take on how Saturn works in synastry between the charts, and as a true Libra Sun person with a life-long fascination with how relationships work, how could I say no?

Over the years, I’ve done a lot of reading relating to synastry, and I’ve looked at a lot of different relationships plus my own — especially my own!  When it comes to Saturn, I still favor Steven Arroyo’s work in this area.  He is a fellow Libra and has done extensive astrological relationship counseling over the years.  Another favorite, Liz Greene, has what I consider The Book on Saturn:  Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil.  Between these two astrologers and my own experiences, Saturn in synastry is simply not the bad guy that traditional astrologers have made him out to be.

This is not to say there aren’t synastry aspects with Saturn that are not tough to deal with; there are.  Saturn forming squares and inconjuncts to the Moon and Venus in particular can be difficult to resolve.  However, conjunctions and oppositions, as well as squares, show up with great frequency in chart comparisons of couples that have been together — and happily — for many years.  One of the key factors may be that most of the time there has been some kind of formal documentation of the relationship, such as marriage, wills, etc.  Saturn likes it very much when both partners sign on the dotted line and announce to the community that they are a couple.

Conjunctions, trines, sextiles, and oppositions between Saturn and the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Ascendant, and Descendant are all aspects that can indicate a durable relationship.  Saturn acts as a stabilizing element and helps ground the relationship in time and space.  When the synastry has loads of Jupiter and Uranus intra-aspects for fun and freedom, I like to see a good solid Saturn aspect to provide some balance.  If I don’t see one or two, then it’s likely that the relationship will burn brightly, and then both partners will move on.

My SO’s Saturn is conjunct my Moon-Neptune, which falls in his seventh House — a classic aspect for the long run.  Traditional astrology says I will experience this as oppressive and run into lots of resistance to the natural expression of my emotional nature.  I will own up to some of that, but after 17 years of being essentially happy and comfortable together, my overriding experience has been one where I find him emotionally dependable, and this creates a feeling of security for me.  OK, I have Taurus on the cusp of my seventh house, so I like a partner who others may find boring, but that’s the beauty of astrology: we can determine what type of partner best suits us.

While we love to look chart comparisons, I feel I must reiterate — one more time — that chart comparisons start with the individual!  And if as an individual you are not yet in a place to be a good partner, please acknowledge that to yourself if no one else.  My Libra side tells me the willingness to compromise is a very important aspect of being a good partner.  To make healthy compromises, we need to know exactly what is and what is not negotiable.  This goes right to the heart of being a good partner . . .

Libra with Scorpio risingposted by Neith . . .

Image: This is the wedding photo of my Libra mom & Cancer dad . . . they were married just a week shy of 63 yrs when she died March 2007. One of the reasons I believe in the possibility of lasting reasonably happy relationships!

Astrology Poll: Yep, It’s That Time Again!

Traffic jams, server crashes, misunderstandings … it can only mean one thing. That’s right, Mercury is retrograde again!

In this week’s poll, we want to know whether you are experiencing anything unique to Mercury retrograde in Aquarius. Not all Mercury retrogrades are created equal, after all. To give you an example, an astrologer we all know and love dropped his Palm Pilot in the fish tank while Mercury was retrograde in Pisces.

Ruled by Uranus, Aquarius is associated with friendships, humanitarian efforts, the Internet, electronic gadgetry of all kinds, space travel, and political revolutions. Feel free to leave us your individual stories.

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Next week, Mercury retrogrades back into Capricorn, so please come back for part two of this poll.

Happy Mercury retrograde!

Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Saturday Archives: Natal Chart in Synastry – Neptune

Neptune-related issues continue to crop up both in my life and in the lives and relationships of friends and clients, so I decided to pull this article on the effect Neptune has in our natal charts for today’s Saturday Archive post. In my personal opinion, Neptune is the most difficult planet to deal with in relationships, because it is so easy to mislead ourselves and others with only the best of intentions and the highest motives.

Neptune-animatedNeptune is so good at creating illusions and causing us to second-guess ourselves, it’s no wonder this post got put on hold. However, I have been seeing Neptune aspects showing up with great frequency in chart comparisons lately, so I thought I would take another shot at the elusive one.

Reading over on Elsa P’s blog the other day, I came across a great description of the way Neptune operates, especially in synastry. Here is the quote: And then he said the perfect “Neptune” thing. “It’s not that you look like a whore, it’s that they want you to be a whore… they wish you were a whore so when they look at you, you’re a whore.

If Neptune is playing a major role is synastry (aspecting the personal planets in particular) wishes truly can become horses and you can ride off into La La Land, no problem. We want to believe the best of anyone that we care about, and in general that’s no bad thing. One or two Neptune aspects, especially Venus-Neptune aspects, can amp up the romance factor and make all concerned very happy. If there are some good solid Saturn aspects to keep all parties grounded in something resembling reality, Neptune aspects add a nice touch to the overall relationship.

Where unrealistic expectations and projections start to become problematical is if there are several Neptune intra-aspects (same planets from both charts). For example, if Neptune is conjunct or square Mercury, it’s very easy for miscommunications to start snowballing. We can read way too much into the simplest statements and end up thinking someone is head over heels in love with us when they are putting out “friends only.”

Neptune on the Ascendant is often found in the charts of actors and actresses, allowing them to appear to be someone they’re not. All of us watching them perform are part of the agreement to suspend disbelief and see them as the role they are playing. For an ordinary person, Neptune on the Ascendant can create problems because it can be difficult to know exactly how others are seeing us in our day to day interactions in the world at large. Our friends and lovers are ga ga over their idea of who we are, not the actual person. Conversely, Neptune can lead us to believe we are quite undesirable unless we have ourselves painted to the hilt. The beauty industry makes big bucks off this . . . really big bucks.

There is a great deal to be said for consulting a trusted neutral third party if Neptune is heavily involved in synastry to help sort out what is really happening. I know I have brought up unmanifested potential before with Neptune aspects. I have Moon conjunct Neptune natally and can usually see the possibilities inherent in an individual. The dicey part is that those possibilities may never materialize.

Libra with Scorpio risingposted by Neith . . .

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Ask Our Readers: What Are Your Hopes and Fears for the New Year?

The coming year is astrologically charged, with Saturn and Uranus in a continued opposition, Venus retrograde, and six eclipses. The latter is especially rare and indicates that 2009 will be a highly significant year.

In this week’s reader survey, we’d like to know what your hopes, wishes, and fears for the coming year are. We decided not to make it a poll, because we didn’t want to limit the broad range of possible answers.

Personally, I’m looking forward to sweeping changes in my personal life, with the continue series of eclipses in Aquarius and Leo, which fall in my first house of self and seventh house of personal relationships. My love life started picking up within two weeks of the first eclipse of this series last February and heated up over the summer, only to crash and burn at the lunar eclipse in mid-August. I’ve been picking up the pieces ever since, and there are new developments that look promising as we head into the next eclipse pair in late January and early February.

The Saturn-Uranus opposition is taking place in my second and eighth houses, so I expect continued challenges and breakthroughs in my financial situation as well. I’m sure something unexpected will happen, and I can’t even begin to guess what it might be.

As for the world at large, I do have some anxiety there, and I don’t believe we are going to get too far into 2009 before all hell breaks loose. For those who have been hoping for change, we are going to get it, and it may fall into the “careful what you wish for” category.

What I most wish for in 2009 is that many more people will experience a spiritual awakening.

And, of course, I wish you much love and many blessings for the New Year!

Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Yes, the Saturn-Uranus opposition is going to continue to get my attention, too, since Saturn remains in my tenth house and Uranus in my fourth. So far it’s been all about meeting obligations and remembering everything has to be done in the correct order with attention to detail – yes, Virgo in action. Uranus keeps stirring up my home life, much to my Libra Moon’s distress.

For all of us Venus-ruled Libra and Taurus folks, a Venus retrograde is always something to take note of, and Venus will be retrograde in Aries from March 6 to April 17. The last time Venus went retrograde a couple of years ago, I sure noticed it. It was similar to a Mercury retrograde but in matters related to love, creativity, etc. We love to get feedback on these events and will keep you posted as they arrive on the scene.

Don’t forget (as if you could) this will be Pluto’s first full year in Capricorn and if you haven’t noticed, frugal living is coming back in style everywhere we look. We can still enjoy life, just not in the same manner we had become accustomed to over the past 15-plus years.

Stay alert and practice kindness to others and yourself. Have a wonderful and exciting 2009.

Libra with Scorpio risingNeith

Astrology Poll: What’s Your Favorite Winter Holiday?

The Sun enters Capricorn on Sunday, the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

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While many cultures and religions around the world have different feast days throughout the year, the solstices are celebrated just about everywhere in one form or another. In Christian-dominated countries, most people celebrate Christmas, perhaps forgetting that it had its origins in a much older tradition that revolved around the four cardinal points of the zodiac.

We would love to know how our astrologically inclined readers celebrate the winter holidays. If you live in a foreign country and aren’t as proficient in English as you would like to be, don’t let that stop you from leaving a comment! Help enlighten us all as we celebrate the return to the light.

Love and peace to all.

Pat & Neith

Ask Real Astrologers: How Can I Use This Heavy Pluto Transit?

This week’s question comes from Crystal:

Early in 2009, Pluto in the 8th house will oppose my Sun in the 2nd and square my Moon in the 11th. What areas of my life will be affected? And, how what is the best way to use this period positively?

Aquarius expounds . . .

Pat’s response:

Crystal, if you gave us the correct birth information, then Pluto already is in your eighth house and opposite your Sun, and you should know at this point how things are playing out. Remember, Pluto entered Capricorn in January 2008 and remained there for a few months until he went retrograde and slipped back into Sagittarius. He re-entered Capricorn on November 27. So you are in the midst of this powerful transit.

A Sun-Moon square often indicates internal conflicts, and with your Cancer Sun and Aries Moon, my guess is that you run into trouble trying to take care of others as a way of getting what you want and need, and then perhaps become resentful when that doesn’t work. You do not need to apologize for your needs or to try to keep them hidden. Being direct is good, and then you need to let others decide how to respond, whether to give you what you want or not. If they don’t, attempting to manipulate them will only backfire and make you feel worse. I’m not saying that you do this; it’s just a tendency I see with this configuration in your chart.

Pluto is “at home” in the eighth house, since this is the area of the chart he rules. I suspect that you already are going through a personal transformation and will continue to do so as Pluto transits your natal Sun and Moon. The square to your Moon may be especially difficult, as emotionally challenging circumstances may arise in order to help you grow and evolve consciousness. Also remember, with Pluto transits, the point is to learn to relinquish control. So I’m not sure there is really a way you can use this transit; just be aware of its effects.

If it’s any consolation, a lot of us are going through trying emotional times right now as humanity moves toward a higher state of consciousness awareness. You are not alone.

Much love and courage to you.

Libra ponders . . . Neith’s response:

Crystal, there is no doubt this is an important transit for you and will teach you more than you want to know about how you really feel about your friends and family over the next few years.

As Pat noted Pluto entered Capricorn for the first time from mid-January to mid-June this year and you may have gotten hints as to what to expect. With your Sun on the cusp of your second house and Pluto transiting the cusp of your eighth house, your values and personal finances will be highlighted and if you have a 401k or other investments those will be up for review. The square to your eleventh house Moon could find the nature of your friendships and relationships with women in particular undergoing deep changes.

Pluto generally plays nice in your natal chart with an exact sextile to your Mercury giving you a willingness to dig a little deeper than most into the “why’s” of life. Having Pluto conjunct the cusp of your fourth house does suggest powerful family bonds or an occasionally contentious relationship with your family, a theme continued by your natal Sun-Moon square. Pluto’s transit will stir all these issues up too and allow you to deal with them for one and for all. Keep in mind Pluto transits last quite awhile and create lasting changes.

If there is one lesson Pluto teaches us by transit, Crystal, it is about learning to detach one’s self from a specific outcome. In fact the more energy we invest in events unfolding according to our wishes, the less likelihood of that happening. Pluto in Capricorn is beginning the process of teaching everyone about how to do more with less and you may be getting a jump start on finding out what that means to you personally.

Best of luck!

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Weekly Forecast December 8: Mars Square Uranus, Full Moon

Our galaxyChallenging astrological aspects combined with all the rushing around for the holidays make this one of the most intense weeks of the entire year. I’m seeing the effects already, as I’m sure many of you are, too.

Yesterday the boat I was on crashed into the dock. Apparently, something went wrong with the steering, and the captain didn’t realize it until he tried to land and discovered he didn’t have control. A hysterical “hang on!” blared over the speaker system, but there wasn’t enough warning to secure people and possessions.

That is a perfect metaphor for this week. But hopefully my message to “hang on” is not hysterical, and it’s with enough warning to be useful to you.

You may have gotten a taste of things to come last Friday and Saturday, when Mercury and the Moon amplified a mutable T-square. T-squares in the mutable signs — Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Pisces — tend to bring swift and sudden change, and this is all the more true with Uranus recently direct in Pisces. Uranus is the planet associated with unpredictable events, which of course aren’t always bad, but even pleasant surprises can throw us off balance and require us to completely upend our lives.

This week, we get a brief respite on Monday and Tuesday, when the Sun and Mars both will make favorable aspects to Chiron. Both the Sun and Mars are about the ego, and we need healthy egos in order to relate well with others and move through our lives with confidence. When we know ourselves and what’s in our heart, making tough decisions is easier.

After Wednesday, the tension begins building toward Friday’s Full Moon. On Wednesday and Thursday, the Sun and Mars square Uranus. Cautioning you to slow down isn’t going to be much help, because, like the captain of my boat, you may not realize until it’s too late that you’re about to crash, and at that point, the only thing you can do is hang on or try to break your fall. I’m writing metaphorically here, but there are going to be some physical accidents, too. Do try to be mindful, and don’t take any unnecessary risks, especially if Mars and Uranus are transiting sensitive areas of your natal chart.

Friday’s Full Moon occurs in a close square with Saturn and Uranus, which are in opposition for the next couple of years. Neith already has done a thorough report, which is well worth reading again. I tell you, when Neith starts issuing cautions, I sit up and take notice!

Now, one interesting thing she points out is that the Full Moon closes the mutable T-square and makes it a grand cross. This does increase your options for handling whatever is thrown your way. Indeed, I believe that this Full Moon may provide a gateway to a reality shift. That’s why I chose this week’s image, showing our galaxy spinning around the Galactic Core. In Western tropical astrology, the GC is at about 27 degrees Sagittarius, not far from this Full Moon at 21 degrees Gemini-Sag. Even if you don’t intentionally open yourself up to greater possibilities, they may find you all by themselves. That said, the g-force of acceleration could be extremely uncomfortable.

Hang on! And much courage and love to all…

Aquarius, the sign of astrologyPat

Image: Artist’s conception of our galaxy, the Milky Way, dominated by two major arms spiraling around the Galactic Core. Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech.