Astro Weather April 2009

New Moon March 26, 2009
The new moon occurred in Pisces under the influence of the nakshatra Uttara Bhadrapada. This lunar mansion has the power to bring cosmic rain, varshodyamana shakti, which is typical of March weather patterns. It consists of two stars, Pegasi and Andromedae which form the two legs of the back part of a funeral bed. Like the myth of Andromeda, it signifies the release of bondage, the release of kundalini, the release of life through death -- the deep sleep of consciousness. The deity associated with Uttara Bhadrapada is Ahir Bhudhanya, the serpent of the deep. This lunation cycle may have us going deep to uncover repressed issues hidden in our deep subconscious. And it may be a bumpy ride since all three benefics, Mercury, Venus and Jupiter are debilitated.

Venus Retrograde
Although Venus is in her sign of exhaltation, her retrograde motion has weakened her presence and on Friday March 27, 2009 she was completely done in by a combustion with the Sun. Astrologically Venus represents how we get what we want, and the nature of the love we receive. When this power is afflicted, relationships may loose some of their luster, communication may not be as sweet, or or we may not be able to get what we want as easily as when the planet is strong.

When Venus is retrograde, it is a great time to turn our relationship radar inward and reassess any problems, differences, or unresolved issues. It is not necessarily a time to break up relationships, but to gain awareness of their value. The good news is that when Venus does go direct, she will still be in Pisces and will regain her exhaltation status. If you can get through these bumps, she will bless you with her sweetness by April 17, 2009.

Jupiter in Capricorn
Jupiter has been transiting the somber sign of Capricorn since December 9, 2008. I for one am tired of learning to live within my means; but the good little Saturnine girl that I am will not indulge her impulse for immediate gratification. I can wait -- at least until Jupiter makes its three month Aquarian visit appropriately arriving on its own day, Thursday, May 1, 2009 -- and will celebrate Beltane.

Mercury in Pisces
On Sunday March 22, 2009 Mercury slipped into its sign of debilitation, Pisces, and will remain there until April 6, 2009. Mercury rules the lungs and immune system, and sure enough I started to get sick with a sore throat (Venus) on that day. Mercury also rules thoughts, ideas and the nervous system. I have to say my thinking has been more emotional and anxious since this change and am trying to carve out meditation time to heal. Mercury also rules business and commerce, as well as liars and thieves. The good news, is that even though the economy is still weak, liars and thieves are too, and they will be exposed.

Full Moon

Tonight's full moon will be in the sign of Leo, in the nakshatra of Purva Phalguni and about 8 degrees from Saturn. There is a lovely mutual exchange between Saturn in Leo and the Sun in Aquarius tied to this lunation that will mellow Saturn for just a few more days. Uttara Phalguni is known as the "Star of Patronage" and it has the power of giving prosperity through marriage or union (chayani shakti).

The symbol for this nakshatra is the rear two legs of a bed. A bed represents a place of rest and relaxation, and thus Uttara Phalguni is about comfort. It a also a sign of healing. The main deity associated with this nakshatra is Aryaman, one of the 12 Adityas, or solar deities. He is associated with hospitality and friendship. We can expect this full moon cycle to be recuperative. Enjoy.

Astro Weather March 2009

Venus retrograde March 6 - April 17, 2009
March begins under the influence of a Venus retrograde cycle. A planet is described as retrograde when it appears to be moving backwards through the zodiac. Astrologers view this change in perceived motion to be alchemically reflected in shifts of consciousness. For example Mercury retrograde cycles change the direction of how we think. Venus retrograde changes the direction of how we receive love and creative inspiration. In Vedic astrology, retrograde planets are believed to be more powerful. In Astrology of the Seers, David Frawley writes:

Retrograde planets often indicate a karmic result. They may be functioning to fulfill some karmic debt or promise or to clear up affairs from the past.

The last time Venus went through a retrograde period was the late summer of 2007 when it passed through the fire/water Gandanta degrees of Leo and Cancer (see Astro weather posts July, August, and September 2007). What was going on during that time may be thematically reflected and/or resolved by this current retrograde cycle.

At 9:15 am PDT an exalted Venus in Pisces turned to retrograde motion. It will remain in watery Pisces during the entire retrograde. When an exalted planet goes retrograde its power is dimmed to near debilitation. As the planet of relationships, arts, and pleasure, Venus retrograde slows down the flow of energy to these areas of our lives. We may feel blocked from receiving the things we love. Or perhaps old loves or unresolved issues from the past may come up for us. It is not a great time to start new relationships, but it is a good time to re-access what gives us pleasure.

During this 44 day period, Venus will pass through the Piscean nakshatras of Revati (3/6 - 3/22) and Uttara Bhadrapada (3/22 - 4/17 - 5/13) and make a close conjunction to the fixed star Alpheratz in the Andromeda constellation. This fixed star is considered auspicious, and relates to the Greek myth of a young Perseus saving Andromeda from the wrath of Poseidon. According to the story, as Perseus was on his journey back to Seriphus, he came upon a beautiful girl named Andromeda, who was chained to a rock in Ethiopia. Her parents had angered Poseidon, who demanded Andromeda’s sacrifice to a horrible sea monster as punishment. Perseus insisted on her hand in marriage in exchange for killing the monster, and her parents agreed. Using his special weapons, he killed the beast, and took his beautiful bride. This constellation has a lot to do with Venusian themes of beauty, love, marriage, and sacrifice.

The nakshatra Revati is associated with wealth, abundance and prosperity as well as with beginnings and endings. Venus will spend most of the retrograde in the nakshatra Uttara Bhadrapada whose deity is Ahirbudhnya, the serpent of the deep, which syncs nicely with the myth of Andromeda.

The sign of Pisces is associated with fish and the deep sea and we may expect to see these watery symbols pop up in the collective consciousness. Today CNN had plenty of synchronistic headlines: Pink (Venus) Dolphin spotted in Louisiana, Inventor Flies Under Water, and Obama to reverse Stem Cell Ban, Unhappily ever after: Why bad marriages hurt women's health (a Venus retrograde headline if I ever heard one -- for more visit mt new sister blog Starsync).



Vedic astrology offers wonderful remedial measures, called upayas, to soothe afflicted planets or difficult transits. Some of these remedies include wearing gemstones and chanting mantra. White crystals, such as diamond and white sapphire, emit a frequency that resonates with Venus. By wearing these crystals we imprint our field with this vibration and thus strengthen the Venus frequency within us. In the Vedic tradition, Venus, Shukra, is the son of the great seer Bhrigu who taught his descendant all spiritual sciences and Vedic scriptures. As Venus rules chanting of mantras, tantra, alchemy and the medical arts, these pursuits are great remedies. Venus retrograde is the perfect time to reconnect with these practices -- especially on Venus' day, Friday. A mantra one might use is: Om shum shukraaye namah.


Morning Star/Evening Star
Venus is perhaps one of the most beautiful celestial bodies in the night sky. There is an eight year cycle associated with her dance and retrograde patterns as viewed from the Earth. A Venus cycle includes 5 retrogrades over 8 years, cutting a path in the shape of a star or pentagram.



This phenomenon was observed by ancient sky-watchers and mystics, and became the basis of many myths involving death and resurrection. Christians, Mayans, and Hindus all describe the return of the morning star as symbolic of the return of their teachers. The Babylonians called Venus the double-phased Ishtar -- the morning star of war and the evening star of love. Greek astrologers called the morning phase of Venus Lucifer ("the light bearer") and the evening phase Hesperus ("setting in the West"). The Mesoamericans linked the morning phase of Venus with Quetzalcoatl, one of their major gods, believing that this was a time when leaders are struck down and natural disasters occur.

Venus will spend the next 44 days retrograding through the stellar influences of Pisces, the most mystical sign of the zodiac. The evening star begins a shamanic journey disappearing behind the sun to become completely combust on Friday, March 27, 2009. She will re-emerged as the morning star in early April and go stationary direct on April 17, 2009. Venus will be the morning star until December 2009. Keep praying for peace.

Namaste!

Astro Weather February 2009

Comet Lulin
When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes. ~ Shakespeare, Julius Caesar II

Historically astrologers have described comets as evil omens, heralding cataclysmic events, sudden political upheaval, and even the death of kings. An astronomer would define the intermittent appearance of this phenomenon as a relatively small extraterrestrial body consisting of a frozen mass that travels around the sun in a highly elliptical orbit. The word comet stems from the Latin cometes meaning long-haired, describing the characteristic tail of a comet that develops the closer it gets to the Sun.

So why would the ancients attribute the sudden appearance of a hairy ball of light with doom and gloom. Well history is filled with accounts of the observation of comets that occurred simultaneously with all sorts of upheavals, as well as births of kings and leaders. Any unusual light body would have been interpreted as a message from the heavens, and of course kings were seen as the expression of God on earth.

For the past month astronomers have been observing Comet Lulin, named after the Lu-lin Observatory in Taiwan where it was was jointly discovered by Asian astronomers in July of 2007. Comet Lulin will be closest to Earth on Feb. 24, under the dark skies of a new moon in Aquarius opposite the fixed Royal star Regulus in the constellation Leo. And it will transit within 2-3 degrees of a retrograding Saturn in Leo in exchange with the Sun in Aquarius. To the ancient astrologers of Persia, Regulus was called the Watcher of the North. It is a star of Kings with a rich mythology that gives success, but with the price of revenge or a fall from grace. As Saturn is in a mutual exchange with the Sun, the significator of kings and rulers, the transit of this comet through the same stellar fields does seem to portend a scandal or fall from power.

In addition, this comet is a little different. While all the planets and most of the other objects in the solar system circle the sun in a counterclockwise direction, Lulin's orbit is clockwise and thus appears to be traveling backwards through the constellations. One headline caught my eye: Here comes Comet Lulin, a backward-flying lulu passing Earth only once, at its closest Monday. For fans of the 12th Planet Theory of Zecharia Sitchin , this unusual orbit and the word 'Lulu' is significant.

According to his theories of Sumerian cosmology, Nibiru was the twelfth member in the solar system family of planets. Like this comet it has an unusual orbit that may be perpendicular to the ecliptic. Perhaps millions of years ago Niburu had a catastrophic collision with the planet Tiamat, which was located between Mars and Jupiter. The rubble formed the planet Earth, the asteroid belt and comets. Niburu was the home of a powerful alien race called the Anunnaki of Sumerian mythology, who, Sitchin claims, survived and later came to Earth and created a colony in the Mideast. Sitchin suggests they subsequently genetically engineered our species, originally as slave animals to work in their gold mines, by crossing their genes with those of Homo erectus.

Two of the colonials, Enki and Ninki created a being called LU.LU. by mixing the Life Essence of animals with the Life Essence of the gods. This LU.LU. (which means mixed), would go on to receive more god-like attributes as a result of Enki's creator-ambitions, and subsequently humans were created.

Ninki, the Lady of Life carried the first “mixed worker” to term and gave birth to the LU.LU. Later, fourteen “birth goddesses” (female Anunnaki) were used to produce additional workers. This solution was only a moderate success in that the Lulu was a hybrid and incapable of procreation. In addition, the “birth goddesses” had become weary of continually being pregnant. Eventually, Enki and Ninki were able to modify the genetic structure of the Lulu in order for it to be able to produce itself. They thus created the “Adama” (for all you Battlestar Galactica fans).

This name association of the Lulin comet with the LU.LU comes at a time when the news is full of stories about fireballs, satellite collisions, and UFO sitings. We also have a 'mixed race' leader who will be making his first Presidential address on the night that Comet Lulin is closest to the earth, transiting near the "Watcher of the North" and Persian star of kings. Wonder what will be revealed? Is Obama a "rebellious" lulu and "servant" of the people as he professes? I'd also keep an eye on Persian kings, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

New Moon Tuesday February 24, 2009, 5:36 pm pdt
The Presidential address will occur just three hours after Tuesday's new moon in Aquarius. It falls in the nakshatra Shatabishak which is known as the "veiling" star. It is secretive in nature and wants to keep certain aspects of self hidden from view. But Shatabishak also means "the one hundred physicians". Shatabishak usually brings a healing crisis that leads to revitalization: ie it may take a lot of work to heal our economy, but there is a promise of restoration.

PS Another intriguing ritual timed with this event is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. . . the last feast day before the 40 day fast. Interesting synchronicity.