29 January 2006 – 4 February 2006
A New Moon occurred this morning in the 10th degree of Aquarius, a degree whose symbolism is described as follows: “A man who had for a time become the embodiment of a popular ideal, is made to realize that as a person he is not this ideal.” We all look for heroes and leaders in our world and we project our hopes and wishes onto these people like a movie is projected on a screen. When we discover the human mortal side of these people, it can be a shock and disappointment. We feel safer when “Superman” is around to save us from danger. We're wiser when we realize that we have to save ourselves.
This New Moon is an opportunity for us all to “outgrow” the need for Daddy to fix things. If we can continue to admire and follow the good qualities in our leaders and ourselves while remaining awake to foibles and flaws, we will find ourselves on more solid ground and less prone to disappointment and angry disillusionment. Note in the chart for this New Moon that Saturn stands alone in the lower right. This Saturn is located exactly on the eastern horizon of George W. Bush's horoscope. He has a lifetime opportunity to admit his humanity and admit that he's made some errors. It is his fate to do this – or not - in the public spotlight. Saturn brings us to reality and offers the painful chance to gain wisdom and maturity. Our free will lies in our choice of learning from this experience or hiding from it.
The issues of pop culture imagery, idealism, and projection along with deception, misdirection, and manipulation are all symbolized astrologically by Neptune and Jupiter in square. We're becoming aware that we're at a crisis of the media, of our information systems. All the “news daddys” like Cronkite and Jennings are gone. “Good Night, and Good Luck” gave us a nostalgic look back at a time when journalists felt responsible to seek out the truth of situations. The media had a public responsibility that came with the right to broadcast. But with the emotional charge of TV's visual imagery, the power to persuade became greater than the power to inform. Public figures who focus this popular imagery became adept at manipulation; and we became cynical and more sophisticated as we were subjected to this manipulation. Look back to the mid 1990's when Neptune (media imagery) and Uranus (technology) aligned in Capricorn, the sign of politics. This was a turning point when reporting disappeared into opinion. This was when those who claimed the Moon was made of green cheese had “an opposing view” to the experiences of the astronauts who walked there. The false assumption that opposition confers equality. One way to obscure the truth is to label everything opinion.
This Wednesday Mercury aligns with Neptune and squares Jupiter. Here's another does of image vs. reality. Mercury combines with Neptune to bring us poetry and music as well as advertising. Our minds are connected and distracted by altered perceptions. Information will come to us that provides new insights. As much as there is confusion, secrets are also revealed. Neptune almost always brings equal amounts of bovine fecal matter with true jewels of inspiration and beauty. With Jupiter and Neptune in this long sustained square angle, those who would dissemble are shoveling fast. Nevertheless, the public is becoming more and more aware of more and more tricks. We are drowning in information and facts and pseudo-facts...lies, damn lies, and statistics. No one has the time or energy to research every question. This is a time when our inner voice, our intuition, is calling. Mercury and Neptune connect us to our inner compass. But we need peace and quiet to hear this inner voice. We need to turn off the bubble machine, turn down the volume, and take the time to arrive at our own truth.
This New Moon is a chance to step back and outside our habitual thought patterns in typical Aquarian fashion. This is one way we can escape the false dichotomy of “good vs. evil” that tries to blind us. We can learn that ideals can be dangerous when confused with reality. We can learn that ideals are to be sought after, that they serve to give direction, but it's the journey that matters more.
When Venus stands still and resumes normal motion on Friday, we can expect a period of ambivalent feelings and confusion about our take on people. These past weeks of retrograde motion have had us slightly out of balance, back-pedaling, and uncertain. As Venus resumes direct motion, we'll have a better chance to achieve and maintain our clarity during these times of historical confusion.
The Sun will follow Mercury into and through the Jupiter Neptune square next weekend. The sense of being adrift, lost in space, sailing a ship of fools, will continue into next week and beyond, lingering into mid-March. Remember it most applies to society and much less to our day-to-day existence. When you've had enough mind-expansion, find a quiet place and enter your inner peace with long slow breaths. It's always there for us.
Notice for Los Angeles area readers:
Ongoing Classes:
Beginning January 21st:
1:00pm– Intermediate Class in Predictions. Using the charts of well-known people, the effects of progressions, transits, and solar returns will be taught and explored. The class is open to people who know the basics of astrology.
3:00pm – Beginner’s Class. All are welcome. There are no prerequisites except an open mind and curiosity. This class will cover the signs, planets, and houses and show how to interpret these symbols and analyze birth chart patterns. Call the New Age Bible and Philosophy Center, 1139 Lincoln Boulevard, 310-395-4346 or me, 818-316-0702, for details.
Long Range Forecast:
March 2nd – Mercury begins three weeks of retrograde motion and two days later Jupiter also begins his retrograde period. Expect more than the usual mental confusion as both our short-range and long-range perceptions are in flux. Jupiter will be moving back into the exact square with Neptune on March 15th. They will separate for a few months before making their last square next fall. Boundary and border issues, law and religion will continue in agitation.
Long-Long Range Forecast:
January 14, 2009 – August 21, 2010 - Saturn makes a series of squares to Pluto newly in Capricorn. The end of business-as-usual politics. The nationalistic dinosaurs will enter their twilight times. The transition to organic regional government will not be smooth…the result may be some corporate feudal mixture.
June 24, 2012 – March 17, 2015 - Uranus in Aries forms his first major hard aspect to Pluto, a square angle, since they were aligned in the second half of the 1960’s. Hippie dreams may come true when the ecology and/or petroleum-based economies fail. Plan to live where there is food and water and you don’t need a car. Plan to live where you’ll know your neighbors…maybe even love them. What a thought! We may have to choose between eating grain on a commune or growing very thin in the city.
Daily Forecasts
Use today's New Moon to make a new start in some area, to take a clear look at what is. Give some thought to your future and what will improve your life.
The Moon is Void from 8:00am/11:00am until 2:32pm/5:32pm when she enters Pisces. Don't try to hit the ground running this Monday. Make a slow and careful start. Clarity diminishes later under the Pisces Moon, but magic and mystery are on the rise.
Make every effort to pay attention to detail today. We need a conscious dose of Virgo to offset the Neptune/Pisces abundance for the next couple days. Unless you're an artist or musician. Creatively we can sail high and wide.
Again the Moon is Void from 8am/11am until just before 3pm/6pm when she enters Aries. Mercury is wandering through Neptune's wonderland today. No big purchases and no final decisions, if you can avoid them. It's time to dream and in fact our dreams may be the most “real” times in our lives this week.
The Day of the Klutzes. The Aries Moon impulses get direction from Venus who's coming to a standstill. If you find yourself going in circles, you won't be alone. We'll all be whirling a bit.
Again a long Void period: from 10:32am/1:32pm until 5:31pm/8:31pm. Get an early start today and look for something of value that's been hidden or ignored. Venus has just begun to move forward.
Enjoy the down-to-earthiness of the Taurus Moon. Embrace your sensuality, eat drink, and be merry. Hug a tree, bask in the sunshine on a warm hillside. Take time to ignore the loud static “out there.”
Visit the Celestial Weather Web Site at http://www.celestialweather.com
Copyright 2006 Rich Humbert