Tag Archives: karma

Weekly Forecast January 28: Jupiter Turns Direct, Mars Enters Pisces

Seeing Through the Mists. © Pat Paquette, 2013.

Jupiter is waking up, and he’s pretty grumpy. I know how he feels.

As ruler of Sagittarius, Jupiter is said to be in “detriment” in his opposite sign, Gemini. Sagittarius is the seeker who asks the Big Questions in order to find truth with a capital “T.” Gemini is about a lot of information – the more and the more-detailed, the better. For the grand champion of Trivial Pursuit, there’s joy simply in knowing stuff. Better still if it’s trending on Twitter.

Being retrograde in Gemini has been the Big Guy’s worst nightmare. The neurons are firing left and right on information overload, but the left and right sides of the brain aren’t talking to each other. How the hell can you get the big picture if one half can’t or won’t talk to the other?

Apparently, though, Jupiter has been talking to us, and you can listen to him here. This remarkable recording was made by Thomas Ashcraft, an amateur astronomer in New Mexico. In a post on Space Weather (scroll down about halfway on the page), Aschraft is quoted as saying it felt nice to be bathed in Jupiter’s beams. At the time of his recording, Jupiter was in close conjunction with the Moon – one of the astrological aspects most often associated with good feelings. So, let’s see if I have this right: Planet Jupiter sends radio laser beams to earth that penetrate the bodies of human beings and make them feel good, but there can’t possibly be anything to such a ridiculously superstitious pseudoscience as astrology.

Whatever. Where’s my coffee?

In other science news this week (science and technology being a very Aquarius thing), there’s evidence that human DNA is growing. According to some researchers, we’ll eventually have twelve strands of DNA instead of just two. Hmmmm, twelve. Does that ring any bells? We’re mutating! I’ve long believed it likely was happening, probably due to the enormous stress we’re under as a species. Mutations in human genes aren’t anything new. I’ve got mutant blood and toes, and there are plenty of other examples. But to actually change our DNA might suggest a new species of superhumans. I can just hear the theme to 2001.

Kidding aside, we’re experiencing growing pains and have been for quite some time as our consciousness expands. I’ve heard plenty of stories from clients and readers, but last week was off the charts with reports of past-life experiences, meetings with karmic connections, people and animals passing over, and waking dreams. Maybe it was the Full Moon in Leo, which rules the heart. Some astrologers and alternative healers believe we’re going through a collective opening of the heart chakra. The heart is the true seat of the mind; the brain is just a tool. Aquarius, the sign opposite Leo, synthesizes both. Uranus, ruler of Aquarius, is the Awakener, and he is in favorable aspect with Jupiter. What’s more, both planets were favorably aspected to the Full Moon. So, it makes sense that we’d be having these mind-blowing experiences. I know that for some of you they are disorienting and uncomfortable. All I can say is, do your best to stay grounded.

Jupiter returns direct on Thursday after a long nap that began on October 4. Planetary energies are particularly powerful at stations, so this week could be quite extraordinary. Have a look at where Jupiter is transiting your natal chart (or, alternatively, order one of my StarGuide forecasts), and ask yourself whether the activities associated with that house have been stalled since early fall. They sure have for me, and I’m counting on being able to get back on track within the next couple of weeks. It may take that long, too, as it takes the outer planets a bit of time to get moving again following a shift in motion.

There’s other big news this week, too. Also on Thursday, the Sun forms an exact square with Saturn. I mentioned this aspect in last week’s forecast, as it featured prominently in the Full Moon chart. My take remains the same – i.e., that big plans may indeed be able to get off the ground, but that blast-off is going to require an awful lot of fuel. That means more effort on your part and a strong commitment to see your projects through.

Saturn himself is beginning to slow down to turn retrograde on February 18, so if you’re willing to make a commitment now, you can accomplish a lot. And here’s an extra bit of good news: once Jupiter returns direct, all ten planets will be direct until Saturn’s station. Ceres returns direct on February 4, and then all of the asteroids will be direct, too. This is a short window, and it’s the only one we’ll have in 2013, so now is the time to act!

On Friday, both Mars and Venus enter news signs. The erratic energy of Mars in Aquarius gives way to the hypersensitive and sometimes escapist tendency of Mars in Pisces, while the reserved demeanor of Venus in Capricorn turns to a more social but emotionally detached Venus in Aquarius. Sounds like a lot of drinking ending in one-night stands. Or drinking to drown the sorrows of being stood up. Or maybe just a lot of drinking.

Saturn: Whatever you do, do it responsibly.

Wishing you all much love and courage,
Pat

Saturn and the Inner Journey of Capricorn, Part II

Detail from Capricornus, from Johannes Hevelius’s Uranographia, 1690.

Interestingly the Romans thought of Saturn not only as a God of agriculture and time, but as a God of liberation, and there is also a key here to the higher purpose of Saturn and Capricorn.

The Soul in Capricorn has to journey up the mountain from the very depths of humanity to the very heights of Christ consciousness, and this is no small task. The higher purpose of Capricorn involves choosing a spiritual path and understanding the laws of creation so that we may create heaven on Earth.

Capricorn rules the knees, and this symbology is important in understanding the soul’s journey through Capricorn. It is Saturn’s job, at personality level, to bring Capricorn to his knees so he develops insight and humility and turns his attention away from the trappings and excesses of materialism that would keep him trapped in ego.

Saturn is a wise teacher bringing important lessons and guidance to support us in making choices that align with our highest good. The word creation comes from the Latin creõ, which means to create, make, produce, beget, give birth to, prepare, cause or choose. So in creating heaven on earth, there is an element of choice: it is through our choices and actions that we create heaven on Earth, or not.

[quote cite=”The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology”]Only when the Capricornian subject learns to kneel in all humility and with his knees upon the rocky mountain top to offer his heart and life to the soul and to human service, can he be permitted to pass through the door of initiation and be entrusted with the secrets of life. Only on his knees can he go through that door.[/quote]

Karma can be thought of simply as the law of cause and effect, and there seems to be a common belief that it refers to the results of our actions. Yet according to some Buddhist traditions, karma specifically refers to the volition, motivation, intention and action that creates the result. It is more about the action and intention than the result. So our personal karma is our past actions and intentions that planted the seeds for the results we are currently experiencing.

Saturn is bringing us the important lesson that these seeds ripen over time, and that if we truly want to create heaven on earth, we need to change our actions and plant different seeds! Once our intentions, motivation, thoughts and actions are fully aligned with divine will, we are liberated from the cyclic existence that keeps us trapped in ego and the physical realm (Samsara), and Saturn has fulfilled his role as a god of liberation.

Saturn is not only about restriction and limitation, because karma is not only about restriction and limitation. Conventionally many people feel that natal or transiting Saturn is “blocking” them in some way. This might seem to be the case from the perspective of the ego-personality that isn’t getting what it wants, but in reality Saturn brings important lessons about natural law, nature’s cycles, rhythms, potential, and possibility.

From the ego’s point of view spiritual progress is ‘one insult after another’
~ Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

At personality level, Saturn teaches important and necessary natural laws. The nature of the physical realm is one of limitation, because everything works according to change and cycles of time. This lesson lies behind the old story of King Canute, who tried to hold back the tide. The limitation is not imposed by Saturn, but actually by our own mind. It is King Canute’s mind that is limiting him, in narrowing his view of reality to only that which he can control with his small ego. The lessons of Saturn are guiding us beyond our small mind, beyond the limitations of ego and the intellect, so we can see the greater reality, the truth of our own being.

Mind gives place to intuition and reason to pure perception.
~ The Tibetan Master, Esoteric Astrology

It is our egoic ideas that limit us, and once Saturn has “brought us to our knees” at the personality level, we are forced to accept that there is a greater reality happening outside of our small world, of which we are also a part. It is then that we align with our soul path and become receptive to the higher teachings of Saturn. Saturn then becomes the Lord of Liberation by showing us the true path to freedom.

If you have Sun, Moon, and especially Rising Sign in Capricorn, you have an important role to play in creating heaven on earth, by paying attention to your motives and choices and ensuring they are fully aligned with divine will for the highest and best good of all.

Ruth

[hr_small]

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Saturn and the Inner Journey of Capricorn, Part I

Detail from Capricornus, from Johannes Hevelius’s Uranographia, 1690.

Capricorn Season is upon us once again, bringing with it an opportunity to return to the light. While having their feet planted firmly upon the ground, our Capricorn friends have clear sight of the mountaintop and a sure steady method that will take them there.

The sign of Capricorn is associated with practical methodology, steadfastness, business, finances, resource management, ambition and spiritual aspiration. This sign of extremes is associated with both the worst excesses of materialistic egotism at personality level, and yet esoterically is associated with the heights of spiritual aspiration leading to Christ consciousness. We will understand why as we explore the planetary conditions that exist for the soul’s highest development in the mysterious sign of Capricorn.

Esoterically, all world Saviours and Sun Gods are born in Capricorn but also the very worst type of man – hard, materialistic, cruel, proud, selfishly ambitious and egoistic. The head rules the heart in such cases, whereas in the perfect example of the influences of Capricorn, head and heart are perfectly balanced.
~ The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology

As we follow the soul’s journey through the 12 signs of the zodiac, after the Archer clearly identified the path in Sagittarius, in Capricorn it is time to follow the path of light all the way to Christ consciousness.

Two planets are important in creating the conditions for the soul’s experience and development in Capricorn. Saturn is the planetary space-holder (ruler) at both personality and soul level, while interestingly, it is Venus that holds space at hierarchical level. In Esoteric Astrology the Tibetan Master describes the evolution of consciousness in three stages which he refers to as the three crosses.

The mutable cross is where most of humanity currently is. This is where we are largely personality-centered and personality-driven. The fixed cross is where we begin to have some soul awareness and follow a more spiritual path, yet we are still identified with personality, so duality is still present. The cardinal cross is where we are fully integrated, living and expressing our lives as fully soul-centered beings. According to Esoteric Astrology, Saturn cannot follow mankind onto the cardinal cross and so only has influence at personality and soul level:

Saturn’s power is completely ended and his work accomplished when man (the spiritual man) has freed himself from Karma and from the power of the two Crosses – the Common [Mutable] and the Fixed. Esoterically, Saturn cannot follow man on to the Cardinal Cross.
~ The Tibetan Master DK, Esoteric Astrology

Saturn has a reputation for being a serious, strict, limiting, authoritarian, law-giving father figure. He is known as the Lord of Karma and the Lord of Time and is known for being a very harsh taskmaster. Believe it or not, this is ultimately all for the highest good, for it keeps Capricorn on the truest path towards Christ consciousness and prevents any wayward diversions that would tempt Capricorn to stray from his path and become lost in the trappings of material existence.

To understand Saturn’s role we must understand karma and natural law. If you put your hand in the fire, it will be burnt. You are not being punished for putting your hand in the fire; it is simply the result of natural law. The nature of fire is heat, and so anything coming into proximity with it will simply be burnt. Although we are spiritual by nature, Saturn brings us important lessons that we must heed while we are living a material existence: namely the law of cause and effect (karma) and the realities of time and limitation. If we are to plant seeds, grow crops, and harvest them effectively to provide food for our survival, we must heed the cycles of time, and plant and harvest according to the seasons. These are the simple lessons of Saturn.

In Part II, we will take a more in-depth look at the concept of Karma and how it relates to Saturn and Capricorn.

Ruth

[hr_small]

Ruth Hadikin – Soul Astrologer

To get your personal Soul Sign/Life Purpose Report (FREE with a consultation), contact Ruth via her website. You can also request a FREE mp3 download, “The Energetics of Soul Astrology.”

Weekly Forecast October 4: New Moon in Libra, Venus Retrograde

In our fast-paced world, time is the one thing we don’t seem to have enough of. So when we have to go back and rethink our plans or re-do something, we often think of it as wasting time.

Likewise, we tend to think that going back means we’re losing ground and not moving forward.

This week’s aspects will dispel those notions and may even help us perceive a different concept of time itself.

The New Moon in Libra just as its ruler, Venus, is going retrograde seems like a mixed message. On one hand, we begin a new cycle, while on the other, we have to go back for something we missed. I don’t see these two paths as contradictory at all. Retracing our steps is part of the process of growth and moving forward – if we view the process as a whole, as part of a cycle. As we progress along this time-space continuum, alternative routes open to us.

Moving through the summer’s cardinal T-square – or trying to, anyway – many of us were able to see where we needed to go, but we just couldn’t get there. Rather than stopping and waiting for the opening to appear, we kept moving, but without a vital piece of information or a critical event that needed to happen before everything else could fall into place.

Before I take the week chronologically, let’s have a look at the interplay between Venus, Pluto, and Saturn, who are in a powerful three-way reception. Venus, planet of love and desire, is in the sign ruled by Pluto, planet of transformation. Pluto, meanwhile, is in Capricorn, ruled by Saturn, lord of time. Saturn is in Libra, ruled by Venus. And so we have the “circular path” that is the Sabian symbol for Thursday’s New Moon.

Saturn and Pluto are both karma planets. Pluto represents the “underworld,” or what I prefer to call the “otherworld.” This is where the underpinnings of our physical universe live, and it’s where we can work to transform. As lord of time, Saturn represents manifestation on the physical plane. Once we transform our energy underpinnings, what manifests in our physical world changes, too. With Venus in Scorpio, we need to be especially mindful of what we’re attempting to manifest. If we try to control the results for gratification of our immediate physical desires, we remain stuck in fear and attachment.

Venus retrograde in Scorpio is asking us to release ourselves from those attachments. You know you’re attached when you’re obsessing about someone or something.

So, that’s a rather long introduction, but it’s important to keep these concepts in mind this week as we take advantage of this exceptional New Moon to put all the pieces together and move into the new territory we’ve been exploring for most of this year.

On Tuesday (late Monday in far western time zones), Mercury squares Pluto, which may bring those obsessive thoughts to the surface. If this happens, don’t fight it. Those thoughts that keep spinning ’round and ’round in your head are trying to get your attention. Work on figuring out the message, which will contain invaluable information about what you need to work on to achieve your goals.

The Moon enters Libra on Wednesday and begins its monthly journey over the degrees of the cardinal T-square. On Thursday, she conjoins Mercury and Saturn and then carries that energy forward to the New Moon, which occurs at 2:45 p.m. on the East Coast of the United States.

Venus turns retrograde on Friday morning, but you’ll likely start feeling the effects early in the week, if you haven’t already. With Mercury in Venus-ruled Libra, you might even be experiencing some low-level effects of Mercury retrograde.

Mercury conjoins Saturn on Friday as well, which can help us get a grip on reality. Reality can be depressing sometimes, but it’s a lot easier if you work toward aligning your goals with your true purpose in life. If you don’t know what that is, I strongly recommend an astrology reading or some other method, such as Tarot.

Also on Friday, Ceres re-enters Capricorn. She was part of the cardinal T-square back in April when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, and then she went retrograde and returned to Sagittarius for four months. As I noted in my New Moon post on Saturday, Ceres is now moving toward conjunction with Pluto (exact on October 19). This reinforces the theme of venturing into your deep psyche to reclaim something you need in order to advance. Be attentive for the next few weeks to fleeting memories of your past. In some cases, they may not be so brief but could be right in your face.