Mars in Leo – let me see your war face!

Mars changed zodiac sign last Friday, moving from Cancer into Leo.

Yes, the god of war has dried himself off and is back in more familiar territory – albeit still feeling slightly washed-up but happier nevertheless to be ashore once again, basking in the light of the Lions sunny kingdom! Cancer, you see, is a water sign and Mars, ruling Aries, is of the fire element. It doesn’t take a genius to fathom that fire and water don’t mix; they tend to have a detrimental affect on one another. This change is good news for Cancers, who can now relent from the steaming rage of the last 2 months. Leo’s too should be receiving a boost with Mars on their side; fire and fire is a much more reciprocal mix but can go BOOM if not tempered. So watch out for that.

Ye olde astrologists saw Mars as a predominantly ‘malefic’ planet in terms of its effects and therefore believed that it only ever portends bad tidings! These days, and since the advent of modern psychological astrology, our perception of any planet lends more to our own free will. Mars can indeed be a right nuisance if you let it but, if you take the bull by the horns, as it were, it’s energy can be put to good use. Mars represents our urge towards action, it pushes, achieves and get things done and is quite physical. Sports people tend to have a strong Mars in their charts (much research has been done on this) but on the shadow side so do tyrants and murderers as Mars can be violent, aggressive and downright belligerent if not handled correctly!

In terms of events in the world at large, the ‘energy’ of a planet as it moves into a new sign always seems more potent than during its general transit. Almost as if it’s making a song and dance of it’s arrival to a new domain. In Mars’ case there’s somewhat of a crash-bang-wallop effect, especially now, what with the sign in question, Leo, being of the same element (they also make good singers/dancers). I distinctly remember the last time Mars moved into Leo, about seventeen months back. There was a broad-daylight stabbing on Oxford street amidst the crowds of shoppers and commuters; Mars is traditionally associated with Ares, the god of war (violence?) and even rules sharp Implements (knives?); Leo is like the actress, craving the limelight and centre of attention (broad daylight! Hmm?). Here you can see, incidentally, how this blending of archetypes was played out. What about this time around? On 16 October 2009, the very day of Mars’ ingress in to Leo, you may have seen reports of a woman who became victim of an apparent IRA car bombing. Hello, Mars in Leo – Mars can also play usurper in a conflict – this time a bold (Leo) yet underhanded explosion (Mars). Bastard! No one ever said astrology was pretty.

Mars has decided to take an extended vacation in Leo, making lions of pussycats at the very least. Due to an astronomical anomaly known as ‘retrogression’ he will in fact spend a whopping seven months in this sign, compared to the usual two! Since the shift happened more than a few days ago now, it’s effects are already becoming apparent. I certainly felt it like the proverbial smack to the face, just as anticipated, but the way in which it will affect us all largely depends on our predisposition and where in each of our own skies Mars is reeking havoc:

And now for some cryptic fortune cookies – laced with stardust and baked at one billion degrees centigrade in an oven which also happens to be the beginning of time itself!

Aries
Fold your arms and stamp your feet all you like; rules is rules! Anyway, sport’s suppose to be fun, unless you’re pregnant!

Taurus
There’s no place like home, especially when deserted by kith and kin, eh? Where do you get the temerity?

Gemini
Rocket-boots is Mars’ gift to you. Socially you’re in good stead so put another pair on your Christmas list!

Cancer
As quickly as you’re calming down, you’re becoming a bit of a show-off. Fair enough, flaunt it! Money burns holes too.

Leo
If ever there was anything as scary as a lion on fire, check yourself! Grrr. But if it gets the job done…..

Virgo
Like a pressure-cooker that needs to let off steam, but trying to locate your nozzle causes you to spin, which in turn makes you dizzy!

Libra
The future is a white-hot poker; be careful where you sit. Tsssss!

Scorpio
You’re going straight to the top! Whether there’ll be anyone left to constitute a hierarchy when you’re through is your call.

Sagittarius
Leave the big philosophical why’s and what for’s ’til the day you meet your maker. In the meantime, why not take a holiday?

Capricorn
Settle a fiscal feud with your beloved with a compromise and build your own porn empire! The bank might get behind you too! Ooh, ménage à trois?

Aquarius
People suck! But of course they care, it’s just for the next seven months they’ll have a funny way of showing it.

Pisces
Someone’s pissing in your pond! It’s time to get ill. The government can save you now with a free swine-flu vaccination!

Retro Mercury and Gremlins 2

Sunday 6th September, and our hot and tiny red-like solar sibling, Mercury, has apparently come to a standstill again, hanging there in the night sky. It’s always night in space.

A train de-rails. The machine swallows your card, which is actually made out of plastic! Somewhere else, a car alarm sounds; as if of its own accord. Strange beings communicate with machines, telling them to stop, slow down, or go crazy, or haywire, or just simply completely malfunction! The more we resist the more we founder. Our thoughts are connected too, you see. Machines, after all, are nothing more than an inferior attempt at creating that which already lives within each of our skulls – a brain, for convenient, easy access to files and folders. Betwixt these worlds demands interface of synapse with silicon. Enter Mercury – AKA Hermes – of greek mythology. Messenger to the gods and goddesses of the polytheistic worldview. In a modern society his workload would surely increase as messages grow beyond that of mere word of mouth passing one entity at a time. We excel in the distribution and redistribution of information, and our now-trickster Mercury presides over all of these things.

Right now his modern equivalent, a planet by the same name, is on a break and is retrograde. Had you observed it’s movements from a sort of dome-viewing-shed, not unlike our very own Gamesmaster, Patrick Moore; you’re eyes might surely delight in the spectacle (or even monocle!) of a planet retracing its steps back through space. It’s like the slowest U-turn you’ll ever see.. But it’s all a lie! He’s the trickster, remember! It’s nothing but a really convincing optical illusion that lasts about three weeks, roughly three times a year. Thanks to our forebears’ much head scratching – probably scratching off enough collective scalp to refill a whole chain off Little Chef salt-shakers – we no longer need brace at the thought of planets occasionally lassoing themselves on miscellaneous space-poles and subsequently encroaching our skies.

It’s actually quite safe and normal. A retrograde occurs when a planet appears to slow down in its orbit of the Sun and, after coming to a complete standstill will appear to begin to reverse. After regressing back through space for a spell the planet then slows again to its ’station-direct’ point and then resumes normal forward motion. Certainly this is how it looks if you observe any planet from Earth during its retrograde phase. This being a ‘geocentric’ or earthly perspective of the solar system is the only reason this illusion takes place. If you were floating out in space though, every planet moves continuously in one direction around our great ball of fire! And say for instance you were on Mars, well every so often, the Earth itself woul appear to pull the very same manuver!

In Greek mythology Hermes plays messenger and mover between mankind and the pantheon. This being the basis for Mercury’s modern day rulership over communication and the way in which we deal with and assimilate information (and the technology synonymous with all of the above), oh, and short journeys too. Our own birth charts will even tell us how each of us are predisposed to deal with such matters by Mercury’s placement in zodiac sign and house.

Gremlins Too!

It seems we can draw a parallel between the Mercury retrograde cycle’s effects and the events of the sci-fi comedy-horror Gremlins 2; where a state of the art skyscraper-of-the-future is brought down overnight by an army of malevolent little monsters known as Gremlins: a grotesque transmutation of a quite harmless and altogether cuddlyer, former self.

Interestingly enough, this film aired on 2 October, 2008, a week or so into a retrograde cycle!

Clamp industries, owned by Daniel Clamp, have a rare creature occupying a cage in their genetics lab: an adorable little fella by the name of Gizmo who becomes orphaned when his guardian dies and his dusty old shop full of trinkets and ‘junk’ is demolished to make way for another of Clamp Industries’ super futuristic complexes.

This point in the flick can be likened to Mercury’s usual ‘direct’ motion across the backdrop of the zodiac; everything at Clamp Industries (a metaphor for our wider world of technology and commerce) appears to be running smoothly, with only the odd rotating door malfunction or communication snafu to contend with – like any normal day on civilized earth!

There are two rules in this movie. Gizmo should not get wet, or else he will multiply. His species (Mogwai) are not to be fed after midnight either, since this is the catalyst for the transformation from cute little teddy bear into sadistic, slimy little goblin, or Gremlin. However, Gizmo is a curious little creature, tiring quickly of his office-drawer hideaway and escapes; an attack of the hose ensues, more Mogwai are spawned and, of course, start to get hungry!

Once fed and adequately cocooned, the Gremlins are unleashed into the Clamp building and onto its residents; thus the forward motion of Mercury comes to its ‘station’ and there it sits for a day or so, like the cocooned Mogwai, waiting to be reborn for a complete role reversal.

The Fun Begins and ‘big rich-man-building not so tough now!’

Everything this marvel of architecture has to promise is put to the test and Clamp Industries are having a right old time attempting to contain and expel this invasion. The Gremlins, in their child-like deconstructive naivety, tear the place apart – exploiting any weakness and doing anything in their power to level man’s proud creation of wonder and convenience – turning the very object of such grace and efficiency against its creator. For the Mogwai: they do this for nothing more than their own insatiable thirst for mischief and pure amusement, cackling at every human misfortune along the way.

Mercury is traditionally associated with the ‘trickster’ and its retrograde motion seems to bring out this (Gremlin) tendency in abundance. Trains, planes and automobiles; telephony, computers etc. are all at the mercy of Mercury retrograde in that they can simply fail or misbehave all of a sudden or intermittently. Similarly attempts to ‘get away for the weekend’ can be hindered by any number of errors down to miscommunication or misinterpretation of the related facts and timetables, or maybe just a flat tyre.

Nevertheless these events are necessary to make us more aware of the inherent discrepancies in our world of information. Upon the climax of Gremlins 2, the Mogwai are dispensed (soaked and electrocuted to be precise) and a great mess is left to clean up, suggesting that Clamp didn’t handle this retrograde period particularly well! The two ‘station’ points of a retrograde are said to be its most intense. In the case of Mercury returning to direct motion, the station (Gremlin expulsion and aftermath) signifies the catapult from which our mercurial endeavours can now launch unhindered, provided the requisite attention to detail, born of taking a temporary back-seat, was amply tended. Mercury will no doubt leave a similar mess for us all to clean up, only at the end of this phase will we gain the knowlege and win back the reliability of our tools in order to do so!

So it’s back to work for Daniel Clamp and company. Armed with fresh insight pertaining to areas of improvement to their – once considered – infallible fortress. Likewise, holding off and letting the Gremlins run rings around our world is sure to bestow us with new invaluable knowledge of how to best move forward, just as soon as these buggers cease! (In approximately 3 weeks!)

 

Don’t forget your CHIP & PIN!

 

Lunch time, Monday 11 May 2009, for all its routine niceties; Red Leicester and tomato sandwich, salt ‘n’ vinegar crisps and a water, came with a hint of realisation.

Not something you can sprinkle on sliced, fried potato, bag-up and win a prize for, mind. But certainly a familiar flavour of months passed. I’d wandered into town to pay some bills and check up on album releases. I still enjoy the artwork but don’t get to see much of it these days, the Internet is closer to my bed than the shop. Don’t worry, for every album I own I assure you I’ve recorded one myself and have let the world have it for free, or at least, I will do!

With 15 minutes to spare, I surely had time to get me some grub! Ah, but the universe had conspired against me, for it was Monday after all.

‘Are you paying by cash or card?’

‘Cash?’ I was sure.

‘I’m sorry, you’ll have to go to the self service check-out’

Firstly, I need to apologise for the fact that as I wrote the speech for the cashier just then (see above) I’d got it into my head that she spoke as if the tip of her tongue lived between her bottom teeth and lip and therefore imagined her to have that very voice as I typed – funny how time can distort one’s memory! Most of the derogatory stereotypes of girls from Stevenage are a bit of a myth though, an exaggeration of characters I’m sure crop up in every town – but she wasn’t one of them.

Let it be known that every single transaction I’ve made in Tesco, Stevenage going as far back as I can remember up until now, save for tobacco purchases, have indeed been made at the self-service checkout but today I had hard cash nuggets I was willing to spend on a one-to-one basis. And I would have my way! Apparently there was an issue with the tills, affected by some sort of gremlin that had rendered them no longer available to accept or process cash! I would later learn that this was due to a far more serious nation-wide hic-up and every store in the UK was affected! And that my friends is the one same weakness I’ve always felt Captain Picard’s mortal enemies, a race called the Borg, would fall prey to eventually, the peril of being of one collective hive-mind, or, centralised computer database system; one goes down, we all go down! Not so tough now eh? Tills on strike are they? Rage of the Machines! So off I wandered over to the self-service, only to meet a queue that chased itself back through and around the clothing isle! What?! Are credit and debit cards not a ubiquitous commodity of the modern age? (I thought of that bit later; I was too morose at the time to be so witty!)

Apparently not! I weighed the options up in my head whilst looking back towards my old friend, the cashier, who now had bananas piled up in front of her, next to many loaves of bread!

Card I’d decided, I’ll pay by card. I’ll admit defeat at the hands of clever-clogs, who really was quite well spoken for this side of the M25, do what I usually do, and pay by card. Although for the record, I’m still angry at some invisible adversary for not being able to break the mould just this once!

‘Are you paying cash or card?’

I giggled slightly as i said ‘Card! as if to say ‘isn’t this all fun!’

She laughed, along with me I’m sure, but I could have sworn my reliably sporadic and unpracticed clairvoyance told me it was mockery! Thankfully it was all over a few minutes later, five minutes after my lunch had ended and I was due back at work! Damn!

The realisation came as I was walking back to the office and it dawned on me that, for all the fun I’ve been having lately, making the most of the incipient Spring, gallivanting off here and there, I’d had a slight hiatus from the world of astrology and was near enough out of sync with the movements of the planets above. Could this be? I wondered.

It had certainly been over 3 months since I’d written ‘Beeep, beeep….’ an article concerning the last Mercury Retrograde phase, when transportation, communication and their applicable technologies seem to go all askew. Yes, I think we’re about due for the next one, taking place in Gemini, if I’m not mistaken!

So off I clopped with glee, certain I’d have rhyme and reason for this corporate chaos! And there it was, 5:01am GMT on 7 May, Mercury began to reverse in the zodiac sign of Gemini, and everything started to make sense again! Now, as I’ve explained in previous articles, this reverse cycle is merely an illusion created by the relationship between the Sun, the Earth and any given planet – it’s orbit determining when and for how long these apparent reverse cycles occur. I wont go into too much detail here as I have already done so in the aforementioned articles on the Rogue mag and Rogue astrology blogs, so feel free to have a read! The Image below shows this phenomenon in action using layered intervals of photography taken from the same vantage point, somewhere here on planet Earth, just so you can be sure I’m not completely barmy! It can be a tricky idea to get your head around at first, but in time and with the appropriately pondered mental 3D model, you can imagine just how it all works. For instance, here it is in all it’s 2D glory!

Good Day, England! Don’t forget your CHIP & PIN!

 

An earthly perspective of retrograde motion

 

 

Pisces. A Bit Flippin’ Late, sorry!

…Originally posted on Roguemag Thursday 19th Feb 2009 – Welcoming Pisces!

 

In terms of the zodiac, today is the beginning of a new month. Indeed the astro-geeks calendar would read ‘Thursday the 1st of Pisces’.  Happy Birthday to any fishes celebrating their birthday today (and hereafter) and commiserations too, for being born on the cusp of Aquarius; it’s hard enough for Pisces as it is (I imagine) to reconcile the paradoxical forces within, without throwing a third fork in the road to further stifle and confuse this souls’ journey!

 

I say this because birthdays on the cusp can evoke a kind of astrological identity crisis within people born straddling any two signs – owed to the irregularity of our natural cosmic calendar – which seems to shift its borders annually within a margin of about one or two days.  Some people – like my good friend Max, born on the Libra/Scorpio cusp – will be positively assured as to which sign they best fit and, even though in 2008 Max’s birthday fell within the boundaries of the scorpion, he insists on Libra as his rightful birth-sign.  Having known the guy for some years now I would happily corroborate his more soft and lovely ‘airy-fairy’ Libran traits over the more scalding, dark waters of our deep and mysterious Scorpio cousins. On the other hand some people will claim to simultaneously posses the characteristics of both signs adjoined by the respective cusp. Which is similar to the cosmic-plight of our Cod-father, Pisces:

 

‘A-ha this-a-way, a-ha that-a-way’ 
Pisces holds true two polarities of a universal dilemma; between the need to exist in the realm of the living, and a yearning to escape the limiting confines of the very same mundane existence! We can see this symbolised by the Pisces Glyph i which is similar to the two fishes swimming away from each other whilst their tails are forever bound by what looks like a thread; perhaps the very fabric of our concrete universe. This theme of ‘escapism’ is precisely why Pisces rules over things like music, film, drugs and alcohol, as well as religion, spirituality and institutions; hospitals and the like – all things which transcend an otherwise merely physical and fleshy – solely-subjective – human occupation because Pisces is also about deep empathy for humanity. Pisces is the place where we [attempt to] merge with the infinite and forget ourselves as lonely individuals.

Neptune, who rules Pisces in modern times, was the god of the sea: our fishy friends’ realm of residence. The interesting thing about water is: it goes anywhere and everywhere it can without question, permeating every nook and cranny it can reach, and almost entirely without volition, save for that of gravity and the ushering of riverbanks and dams. This is symbolic of Pisces’ urge towards the path of least resistance and the notion of ‘laziness’ so commonly associated with this watery sign but also intimates the huge scope of sympathy Pisces has towards his fellow man – all embracing compassion and understanding – having ‘been everywhere’ all at once like the one vast body of water that unites the globe, which we know as the ocean. This also endows Pisces with great intuition and the ability to synthesise mere facts and cold stats and turn them into something more fluid and meaningful (although the more earthy-types might consider this a bit of a wishy-washy approach!) and therefore Pisces is naturally associated with the poet and the creative muse, since intuitive and creative juices must flow like a river.

So Very Pisces
All of this doesn’t just go for people born with their Sun in Pisces either; everyone has Pisces (and its ruling planet, Neptune) somewhere in their birth chart and it’s here where we see these forces play out in a very personal way. It’s just that for Pisces sun-sign-people at least, these inclinations can sit at the very core of their being to varying degrees, which in turn makes for the best musicians, drug-addicts, carers and hospital porters of the entire zodiac! I would hazard that the more musical of you, even if you’re not strictly ‘Piscean’ will probably have some kind of emphasis of this sign and/or Neptune in your birth chart. Rogue-pundits might all rally to get Charlie Frame to disclose his full birth details to me as I feel there would be some interesting supporting influences in these areas being the loveable neo-music-Nazi that he is! Any of you heroin-addicts out there too, probably have some ‘hard-angles’ in your chart between these components, thus distorting your perception of reality – one of Pisces/Neptune’s potential dangers – moderation, please! However, let me know and I can have a look for you!

I quoted ‘laziness’ earlier because a very close Pisces friend of mine, Colin, recently highlighted this tendency within himself. Now, I know Colin as a very typical Pisces with a lot of Pisces in his  birth chart as well as a healthy dose of Aquarius too – which lends to our mutual ability to finish each others sentences and comprehend each other before words are even formed in our minds. My own astrological contribution to this relationship is having a Sun in Aquarius, Mercury and Mars in Pisces and Neptune in its own (12th) house (which altogether explains my affinity for all my Pisces brothers – Love ya!).Astrologically speaking myself and Colin fill in the missing Aquarius/Pisces components in each of our respective charts which results in a more complete whole made up of a shared, strong Pisces/Aquarius energy. In reality this makes us rather adept at waxing philosophical, spiritual, abstract, anti-establishmental and transcendental – not to mention all musical – and wax we will, well into the small hours. Let me not forget the much enjoyed/endured ‘substance-abuse’ over the years so characterised by our respective Pisces slants. (it was our shared love of melodic-hardcore-punk and hashish-bongs that kicked off our friendship some 10 years ago!)

I’m not lazy, you’re all just crazy!
I’ve come to like an idea that the 12 signs of the zodiac are actually a framework for the progressive evolution of a single soul. Starting with the young souls at Aries and moving step by step through each sign up to Pisces; the wise old soul. If this were true, do you not think, having witnessed so much drama and activity (eleven lifetimes worth), that this idea of laziness is born of an old soul just wanting a rest? Who also has a head too full of ideas from so many lifetimes, having walked every walk and being so indiscriminately sympathetic towards every single man and overwhelming possibility available, which in the end results in pure indecision, confusion and therefore inertia? followed by boredom and then perhaps a tendency towards escapism? Be it booze, bongos or Buddha? This is just an idea, a worst case scenario perhaps.

 
Now this could suggest a belief in reincarnation on my part but my own natal Mercury in Pisces seldom allows me to arrive at any definite conclusions about anything, for I understand how limiting and narrowing-an-effect absolutes can have on the human psyche (look at the Christians; check out the ‘Holy Wars’ – death, segregation – see?) the Jury is always out with me. This doesn’t mean that I wont play with ideas though. like an artist might continually rework a masterpiece that may never be complete or ever see the public light of day.

Recommended Piscean greats:

Mitch Hedberg – Comedian
Kurt Cobain – Grunge champion
Brant Bjork – Desert Rocker
Albert Einstein – Scientist
Billy Corgan – Pumpkin
Dave Gorman – TV person
Mark Thomas – Political activist, Comedian

Horoscopes
It was my intention to see the astrological year out with some short fortune-cookie-style ‘scopes. A box of 12 astro-McNuggets if you will. It seems I got carried away (see above!). By the time we reach mid-March the Sun will be in Aries, so a new astrological year will be upon us. Yes indeed, life starts afresh once again with the onset of spring! I’m very excited about this and I’ve begun to notice a smatter of daylight lingering when I leave the office at 5:30 everyday; natures climb towards our (brief) sunny season. Joy!

. .. So, once again I have consulted the planets of our solar system to bring you these bite-size treats:

Pisces i 
Treat yo’self and look yo’best! Clothes for your body and Grease for your hair. You’re the one that they want, ooh, ooh, ooh, honey! Happy frikkin’ Birthday! Also see above, that was all for you!

Aries ^

April’s on the horizon-ish. Here’s a head start since the rainy season is imminent, so stash some cash under the mattress; Mars speaks of friends having crazy-mad plans betwixt now and then!

Taurus _ 
Some sort of Sibling rivalry is on the cards. This means war! Pack your cupboards with budget lines of finger-nibbles; I smell a food fight! Wouldn’t want to waste the expensive stuff now, would we?

Gemini ` 
Let THEM entertain YOU! But by all means throw a party to celebrate the coming spring. Just be careful not to talk the hind-legs off of your veritable entourage of kindly donkeys!

Cancer a 
Gambling sure does pay. Right now for you that goes doubly so. You’ll do so well in fact they’ll think your on The Real Hustle. There’s a job in it too so Play your cards right! (cough!)

Leo b 
I spoke to a Leo recently who mentioned their ongoing quest for paid work. The sun in Leo’s 6th house certainly does highlight this fact! And who said astrology was  a load of nonsense, eh? There is your focus for the coming month!

Virgo c 
Fluffy love and funny friends, are what abounds as this month ends. So even if you feel sad, smile dear Virgo, you’ve such panache and style!  Something else concern’s shared resources, with nothing at all to do with horses!

Libra d 
I’ll let you into a secret. There’s a twenty-note down the back of the sofa but it’s not yours. Quick, go now! Mind that wrestle with the moral-aligator on your way downstairs though; you’re own conscience is all that stands in the way. I’ll stay well out of this one!

Scorpio e 
The sun graciously illuminates an ongoing focus on local activities. Play fair and this might just be a very rewarding time. Hot-headedness may just be your undoing but sell it as ‘enthusiasm’ however, and you’re laughing!

Sagittarius f 
Whoa! you’re on fire, and don’t we all know it! Jupiter, you’re ruler, is in Aquarius all year but that’s an air-sign, not water, remember? You’ll burn but you’ll love it… and possibly go down in history as The Incredible Flaming Man!

Capricorn g 
You’re not seriously considering cosmetic surgery are you? If you must, may I advise DIY? Either way you’re bound to stand out amongst the crowd this month. It’s just you can’t trust all these trainees Uranus has coming out of the woodwork after the fallout of the recent recessions’ spate of unemployment!

Aquarius h 
Those little chav bleeders are out to smite you! I’d say hold on to something but they’re intent on kicking the walls in. Only the God of your chosen religion can protect you now!

‘Beeep, beeep… Attention! This planet is reversing!’

We entered yet another astronomical Mercury Retrograde phase on Sunday 11 January. if you were to look upon this tiny, hot planet through a telescope it would be travelling in the opposite direction to normal. But this in itself is an entirely regular occurrence which all planets must go through at some point during their solar orbit. This time the trickster, Mercury (aka-Hermes of Greek myth) transits the zodiac sign of Aquarius.

Since this illusory reversal began I’ve been somewhat intrigued because there always seems to follow an earthly happening or two which reflect this change of direction; astrologers believe that the movements of the planets throughout the zodiac directly correlate to worldly events. And this time? Well as you may know, on the 15th January an aeroplane came down shortly after leaving US soil.

Ex-plane?

The textbooks will tell you how Mercury rules over communication, short journeys and transportation; themes which, through the mythology of Hermes, are inexplicably linked. And Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, God of the Sky!

The retrograde cycle in Mercury’s case is said to send all that it governs into chaos, while the sign in which Mercury travels back through can, evidently, hint towards the flavour of these events. So here we have transportation (in the form of a metal bird – Aquarius’ animal affinity is said to be an Albatross!) We also have Sky, and a little bit of chaos! Oh and it did look like a very short journey, eh? I can joke because thankfully no one died!

And if it still makes no sense!

That’s okay because on a subjective human level the retrograde cycle is said to skew the way in which we process information and language. Actually publishing such an article as this is said to be a futile thing to do when Mercury is in reverse because, when all this blows over, there is likely to be a shift in the decision making process and I may even regret having even written this piece, if not at least fancying parts of it up for ‘review’ – which holds a very Mercurial tone! Oh well, if so, then so be it! Fortunately, for me, these cycles can be very beneficial since in my own birth chart – that is to say when I was born – Mercury was retrograde back then in 1981, so I tend to benefit, mentally speaking, from such times! The rest of the year is a nightmare, however! This is also the case for many other individuals.

Some of you may remember an article I did for Roguemag on the last Mercury retrograde back in October which highlighted the government’s role in the pending economic crisis; Libra was the last sign for Mercury to retrograde in, a sign synonymous with government and the act of balance, right when the US government proposed their financial bail-out! Although I addressed the themes related to a then-Libran phase, I did also draw a parallel between a favourite childhood film of mine and the general Mercury Retrograde cycle, in hope of entertaining and educating you as to the meaning of all this. And since Retrogrades are all about covering old ground…Well then, below is a link to that very article:

Gremlins <– Link!

The Current Aqaurian Phase of retrogression lasts until February and will see Mercury cross over back into Capricorn. This will be a significant time for both Aquarians and Capricorns alike but will hit us all in some way. Collectively it will more than likely reek havoc in the public sector whilst reversing through Aquarius, affecting groups and people en-mass. I then predict a few issues with governments, buildings and other ’structures’ once the planet retraces it’s steps through Capricorn.

See you on the other side!

Dan.

Horoscopes 2009 – From Out Of The Rubble

2008? Rubbish?

Lets face it, just because a season is supposedly ‘Jolly’ by default it doesn’t guarantee it will be. Of course, you know this. So we all did hopefully try and make the best of wrapping up this frightful year’s end; given all the trauma of the last quarter. Its fast becoming a cliche to even mention words like ‘credit’ and ‘crunch’ in the same sentence (I now suck my teeth with shame for apparently jumping on the bandwagon!). Before now the only folk that could tell you anything of recession were hairdressers and stylists – not to mention our bald friends – and now everyone thinks they’re an expert! We may as well have postponed Halloween instead and bust-out the ghouls and goblins as consolation for the starkly contrasted height of misery and anguish promised by the recently pending season. But then life is what you make of it, isn’t it? And we have this much talked about ‘free will’ to choose whether or not we will in fact respond to such disconcerting events with alarm and distress or watch them pass you by unaffected, rather like being awake in an operation under local anesthetic: ’sure, I don’t like what I see but I’m high as a kite and numb enough to not let it bother me’.

But now for the future!

Many people ask me if I just make-up these predictions, and many people, the same people, believe that all astrologers fabricate their own prognoses. I cannot speak for everybody in the field but, although I do take a more tongue-in-cheek approach to my forecasts, I assure you that many late nights, full of painstaking calculation, are endured by myself in order to bring you these horoscopes and I credit every reader for their intelligence enough to penetrate the cryptic metaphors and euphemisms and read between the lines to decipher a very personal message.

Each sun-sign’s particular slice of pending possibilities for the year ahead are detailed below. But before I set upon you with insights into your futures: it looks like the new year is shaping up to be a rather nice one indeed! Oh Joy! Venus has been spreading harmony throughout the earth-human collective of late and still for a few more days yet, as she moves through the cool air of Aquarius, which has been great for getting together en-mass and petering the heat off of Pluto’s recent crash into Capricorn; the bringer of these recent controversial economic times. As we launch into 2009 Jupiter will take Venus’s place on 5th January, injecting bounce and optimism into all who inhabit this lonely rock! Just what we need, I think.. .

CAPRICORN – Transformers, Robots in Disguise
Jovial Jupiter has been with you all through 2008 making you the luckiest of the all the zodiac. So after looking back on a successful year the last thing you probably want to hear is that Jupiter is now leaving your sign shortly after Pluto, the planet of death and taboo, enters the earthy realm of the mountain goat (You, Capricorn)! This theme of death is not to be taken literally but big personal changes are afoot in the coming year. On first glance Pluto’s manifest effects are anything but rosy although, in time, the true value of these much needed changes will become all the more evident, another plus is that the lord of the underworld is moving through the zodiac faster than usual, like a dwarf on speed! So the wait shouldn’t be all that long – a decade or so.

SAGITTARIUS – Cheap flight to anywhere but here!
Never to make light of the current climate but I must remain impartial and I cannot help what I see. So lets hope you’re low on the pecking order; a subordinate, cleaner or dinner lady perhaps? …CEO you say? Oh dear! Pluto screws your cash flow but maybe, in the long term, its for the better! Just keep telling yourself that anyway. Really though its time for you to dream of pastures new, sharp-shooter you, and reinvigorate your core values. Thankfully there will be plenty of willing friends to lean on this year but it may require some kind of uprooting before the dust settles and you know exactly where you are. If the worst happens and, for instance, your company ‘goes under’ may I suggest a little sojourn? I’m sure no one will notice if you scrape a little cream off the top, as it were, to facilitate such an adventure. After all it will only be swallowed up by some fat cat or whoever’s handling the administration – capiche?

SCORPIO – Comfy chair
You’ve likely seen the pace of life go through the roof of late, what with you modern ruler, Pluto, literally racing through the zodiac – owed to its rather eccentric and inconsistent orbit of our solar system. So long as you haven’t overdone it already, your old-time ruler, Mars, should have kept the enthusiasm flowing throughout this period too. This year heralds the opportunity to bring the fruits of your recent efforts back down to earth in some sort of tangible and even lucrative form. It’s all about the real hard graft from now, but there’s no need to wander too far as inklings to opportunity can be found in the deep, dark recesses of your very psyche – and is also quite likely to knock on your own front door! So keep your head down but by all means, take time to kick back and relax, thus tuning yourself to the inner realm of consciousness. Therein lies the ‘gravy’ for many-a-festive-bird to come!

LIBRA – Black & Decker
If by the time you reach springtime your house hasn’t literally fallen to bits through neglect, you may find you’ve landed yourself a pretty sweet job (? I know, its true) But if your career is coasting along nicely it might be wise to make a few modifications around the house anyway, and I’m not just saying this because I live with a Libran either, that would be cruel! Pluto, although dwarfed, is still sizable enough to swing like a wrecking ball through your abode, in a manner of speaking. Possibly manifesting when you lose the plot in a moments foray only to have the place come crashing down around you like a bad game of mouse-trap or dominoes. Nevertheless amongst your plight you will likely discover a new talent never before so apparent from which you can catapult yourself right to the bank and place a deposit on a mortgage for your new gaff, ready for your pending children. I did mention making babies, yes? In many ways be careful, please.

VIRGO – Binoculars and a microscope
2009 promises rewards for a job well done and the feeling of well-being that comes with it. You’re a sucker for the details anyway but you’re likely to pay extra close attention to your work this coming year, whilst becoming a lot more enthusiastic regarding your endeavours. Saturn spent the last year or so getting you in shape, teaching you everything the hard way perhaps, but now the gruelling grind of daily affairs receives much deserved temperament. Those of you who are single can look forward to the odd sordid affair or two but if the other party – or indeed parties – isn’t game, well I’m sure you’ll find a tree to hoist yourself up for a good old perv at your neighbours particulars. Otherwise, those of you firmly established with a significant other should watch for a tendency to spunk your just deserts all over a horse! By that I mean no gambling, you dirty little bugger!

LEO – Bananas
We all love people don’t we? Everyday people on the street are easy to deal with, so too our friends. Superiors and those in authority on the other hand are likely to be your bone of contention this year. Trust no one in that league or of that calibre. There’s likely to be upheavals on the work front but it’s not massive vocational or career breaking stuff, just that which is a means for you to get by each day, so its still kind of significant. In times like these, underhanded motives and less than admirable traits shine forth amongst those we consider the organ grinders, and you? Well you’re just the monkey! But you get to take the moral high ground in any case as a humble worker. All that said, any other ‘monkeys’ you meet along the way will be an inexhaustible source of luck and even saucier pleasures, stick together and don’t take no shit! eek?

CANCER – An inconspicuous case
Everyone changes but you, or so it would seem! Pluto will keep you guessing as to who you can actually trust this year. A process of separating the wheat from the chaff has begun and you will likely be interested in that which motivates others, with a view to potentially ’setting up shop’ with someone close. I’d say a nice cold business partnership is safest, as this kind of a sky could also suggest marriage is on the cards. Though this is much more likely to singe one of those delicate heartstrings of yours, owed to the air of uncertainty that abounds. So best to keep it professional, at least for the time being anyway. Once you figure he/she is actually a complete bastard/bitch you can just take the money and run, eyes free from tears – essential for a sharp exit!

GEMINI – Rose tinted spectacles
You’d be best to take a cue from the recent economic upheaval, perhaps plan a trip to a faraway land until all this blows over, provided you have the cash left over to do so; finances are set to be more than a fickle affair if you just stay put. The good news is you’re probably itching to expand those horizons of yours in some way and will take a broad philosophical approach to all that ails and abates you. So if escape just isn’t an option, curl up with a good book, self help or something of that ilk would be a wise choice. Becoming a zen master and orchestrating your own destiny wont keep the bailiffs from knocking at your door, but newly acquired skills such as the Vulcan neck-pinch or Jedi mind-trick should buy you enough time to book a last minute flight or flat-out convince them ‘these aren’t the droids you are looking for’.

TAURUS – Group therapy
As you awake from the nightmare of 2008 and wipe the crap from your eyes, you’ll notice your outlook on life has begun a gentle metamorphosis which promises to continue into the new year and beyond. You’ll want to know ‘what the hell is really going on?’ in a very broad sense, and will likely search every downright dirty hole and back-alley in your quest to penetrate the darker side of life’s mysteries. You could end up befriending a few sinister types along the way in order to quench this insatiable new thirst of yours, and Jupiter does tell me that your reputation is on-the-up this year, to the point where you’re about to gain recognition for all your heartfelt endeavours. It’s all about how people will remember you when you’re dead, so watch out for who’s watching you and you might not end up shamed and nude on the nine o-clock news!

 ARIES – Inflatables
With Pluto molesting your career prospects in 2009, change is in the air. Depending on how well (or not) you take this, you may succumb to a cut-throat attitude when pursuing your chosen objectives. The scary thing is, as the year kicks-off, Jupiter endows you with all the support you need from your peers and colleagues. So be careful just who you alienate as you climb that mountain. Cut your losses by all means but don’t confuse the good, the bad and the ugly. You have more than enough power to break on through, that’s a given, especially when something slightly more esoteric or out of the ordinary might tickle your fancy. Just beware that a ship must sink before your new vessel can set sail. As captain you are doomed to go down with it but all you women and children, of course, are saved. Success is only a lifeboat away!

PISCES – Breadcrumbs
This is your year of selfless benevolence, time to reach out and touch others with a kind hand – and with absolutely no hope of reward or recognition! Giving should be reward in itself, right? but then, is that really selfless? Chase not these petty, momentary satisfactions and soar for a birds eye view of the landscape! It’s this theme that will be driving you throughout the year so be sure to put things straight and for the best. Pluto is set to teach you a lesson or two about the dynamics of friendship, or even, you will spot where these dynamics are lacking and relinquish some of your entourage to the pit, never to return. Whilst you shouldn’t be focusing on any particular gain or outcome for yourself this year at least: I can tell you, when the chips are down in 2010 and Jupiter moves into your own sign it will all have been worth it. But you would have done it anyway, of course!

AQUARIUS – Brown Paper Bag
You’re no stranger to the crock of shit 2008 heralded, but you cannot deny there have been some good times too – all part of the roller coaster ride of life! We notice how roller coasters get bigger and more extreme as time goes by, but as they say: ‘it gets worse before it gets better’ and this ride is almost over. With the recent holiday season shoving you round one final hokey bend or corkscrew, you might feel like Santa skipped your house on Christmas eve. Don’t worry because he’s under orders from the King of the Gods himself, Zeus, who promises to drop round your belated gifts in the new year when Jupiter, the most benevolent planet of them all, will bestow you with a Goodyear (?) – or perhaps the stars just mean one new tyre for your motor, useless!

Russell Ross

The General Public Vs the BBC

‘Russell Brand resigns and Jonathan Ross apologises after they are suspended by the BBC over prank calls on Radio 2.’

Saturn is moving ever closer to a tight opposition with the planet Uranus, presently within one degree of being exact. The publicly perceived diatribe of comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross blatantly resonate the nature of these planets’ waxing aspect to one another.

First of all we have Uranus occupying Pisces: the sign of the escapist; yearning to move beyond and transcend the physical realm! Under this theme of escapism come many sub-categories and we can associate Neptune-ruled Pisces with drugs, alcohol, religion, television and music…hmm radio too?

Seemingly!

Uranus’ archetype comes in many guises too – sewn together by a common thread – here we see the maverick, the pervert, the genius, the madman and the oddball behind Uranus’ mask. Uranus also rules over that which is new or innovative, yet to be assimilated into the human collective since new ideas and concepts tend to be looked upon with suspicion and caution at their genesis – take the LHC in CERN for example: a unique experiment in the name of the potential advancement of science. I’m sure in years to come, we (or in fact they) will look back and laugh at our reaction to the emergence of this new technology, rather like we can now when we consider the advent of the internal combustion engine and how, for a while, nobody wanted to travel in a machine which harnessed its propulsion from a controlled explosion under a bonnet – look at us now: most people have more than one car and we take their inner workings completely for granted! I kid you not, but it just goes to demonstrate how Uranus brings us things that are not necessarily widely accepted at first.

Saturn is Father-Time himself, representing tradition, age, limitation and authority. Like the headmaster he’ll shake his finger if boundaries are encroached upon. He teaches us to know our limits. The opposition causes conflict in its polarity; opposites that require reconciliation.

The outspokenness of comedians Brand and Ross on BBC radio 2 (Uranus in Pisces) were taken by some as pushing the boundaries (Saturn) of contemporary humour a little too far. Then again the very reason Russell Brand was picked by the BBC to present was to add more ‘edge’ to its roster of presenters in hope of appealing to a younger audience! But the limits to which this could go were, until now, uncapped by the BBC. Something which Uranus has now decided to shake-up and test as fulfilling his part in this Saturn-Uranus opposition.

The reaction from the public was clearly divided into two opposing camps: most of those who complained, it was reported, were of the older demographic: late-thirties, forty-plus. And the moral support which the duo received was from the younger, fifteen to thirty bracket.

Saturn can be thought of here as the older generation; at odds with the younger, Uranian, collective of individuals – now we can see one way this alignment is playing out in the real world. It’s not over yet though, since this opposition still waxes until 4 November, when it will be exact. The planets involved and the aspect formed between them tell us nobody is particularly in the ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ – these planets and the themes they represent have every right to exert their influence but a balance needs to be struck between the tried and tested, more traditional (Saturn) and the new, bizarre but forward-looking (Uranus). I feel for the moment however, Saturn is winning, what with the complainants up in arms and seeking reparation via the sacking of the two celebrities - but then it is Saturn imposing itself on Uranus in this transit - although I do see that Brand has now resigned (you can’t fire me ‘cus I quit) Uranus-style; a bold move in the face of adversity? Perhaps, since the battle still wages in the sky after all. This is only the first of 3 oppositions occuring between these planets, with a further two fated to occur in the coming months. Tradition, rebellion! Keep ‘em peeled peeps!

Mercury Retrograde – Retrospective

24 September – 16 October 2008, Libra

 

In spite of the pervading sense of ‘bad press’ astrology’s yearly hat-trick begets, these tri-annual celestial sojourns can be most enlightening to the earnest astrologer and an eye opener to the more skeptical too: a time when astrology appears to ‘shout’ its loudest on the outer, mundane level of day-to-day human existence. Manifesting more tangible, even if wholly undesirable results.

This is by no means a rare stellar feat. Mercury will ‘go retrograde’ approximately three times a year for roughly three weeks at a time. Before the current Libran phase 2008 already saw the inferior planet retrograde in Aquarius and Gemini (Libra’s air-sign fraternity). That the cycle works progressively through the air elements’ signs is no coincidence either… But wait!

Mercury Retrograde? What?

Astrologically speaking a retrograde occurs when a planet appears to slow down in its orbit of the Sun and, after coming to a complete standstill (‘station-retrograde’) will appear to begin to reverse. After regressing back through the zodiac for a spell the planet then slows again to its ’station-direct’ point and then resumes normal forward motion. Certainly this is how it looks if you observe any planet from Earth during its retrograde phase. This being a ‘geocentric’ or earthly perspective of the solar system is the only reason this illusion takes place. Out in space every planet moves continuously in one direction around our great ball of fire. Astrologers are only concerned with the solar system as it appears from our point of view since we are, in a manner of speaking, determining the effects celestial bodies have upon human beings; so it just makes more sense!

When Mercury is retrograde, all that it governs astrologically is thrown up into the air for questioning and review; settling only when the planet resumes direct motion. Even at this point, however, it will still need to cover the same ‘ground’ once again in order to get back to the point it originally stationed and turned retrograde. This is symbolic of the whole process of reconsideration that takes place in ones mind or left-brain; which are traditionally associated with the planet Mercury.

In Greek mythology Mercury is Hermes, messenger of the gods; mediator between mankind and the pantheon. Here we have the basis for Mercury’s modern day rulership: communication, short journeys and the way in which we deal with and assimilate information (and the technology synonymous with all of the above). Notably, our own birth charts will tell us how each of us are predisposed to deal with such matters by Mercury’s placement in zodiac sign and house.

This is certainly not a time to arrive at any premature conclusions. Efforts to negotiate and reach agreements are thwarted by Mercury’s backward motion. ‘Don’t sign on the dotted line’ (at least not yet) is a handy metaphor to keep in mind. Events of this time come under the scrutiny of our objection whilst Mercury is ‘reversing’ and we are urged globally to rethink, reorganize, review, redo and renegotiate our affairs linked to the sign Mercury currently occupies and, on a personal level, the house in which Mercury is transiting in each of our natal charts.

The benefit of this cycle comes from the careful re-ploughing of the mental soil. Putting things off until Mercury’s station-direct is advised.

If forward motion is consciousness, then a retrograde can be likened to unconsciousness and as such we are more attuned to the subtle codes and symbols lurking under the surface of the psyche. Mercury is said to put us more in touch with these at this time and can bring revelations in thought during this phase. So acting on our impulses too soon could negate the potential enlightenment Mercury promises with each retrograde.

Gremlins Too!

It seems we can draw a parallel between the Mercury retrograde cycle’s effects and the events of the sci-fi comedy-horror Gremlins 2; where a state of the art skyscraper-of-the-future is brought down overnight by an army of malevolent little monsters known as Gremlins: a grotesque transmutation of a quite harmless and altogether cuddlier, former self.

Interestingly enough, this film aired on 2 October, 2008, a week or so into the retrograde cycle!

Clamp industries, owned by Daniel Clamp, have a rare creature occupying a cage in their genetics lab: an adorable little fella by the name of Gizmo who becomes orphaned when his guardian dies and his dusty old shop full of trinkets and ‘junk’ is demolished to make way for another of Clamp Industries’ super futuristic complexes.

This point in the flick can be likened to Mercury’s usual ‘direct’ motion across the backdrop of the zodiac; everything at Clamp Industries (a metaphor for our wider world of technology and commerce) appears to be running smoothly, with only the odd rotating door malfunction or communication snafu to contend with – like any normal day on civilized earth!

There are two rules in this movie. Gizmo should not get wet, or else he will multiply. His species (Mogwai) are not to be fed after midnight either, since this is the catalyst for the transformation from cute little teddy bear into sadistic, slimy little goblin, or Gremlin. However, Gizmo is a curious little creature, tiring quickly of his office-drawer hideaway and escapes; an attack of the hose ensues, more Mogwai are spawned and, of course, start to get hungry!

Once fed and adequately cocooned, the Gremlins are unleashed into the Clamp building and onto its residents; thus the forward motion of Mercury comes to its ‘station’ and there it sits for a day or so, like the cocooned Mogwai, waiting to be reborn for a complete role reversal.

The Fun Begins and ‘big rich-man-building not so tough now!’

Everything this marvel of architecture has to promise is put to the test and Clamp Industries are having a right old time attempting to contain and expel this invasion. The Gremlins, in their child-like deconstructive naivety, tear the place apart – exploiting any weakness and doing anything in their power to level man’s proud creation of wonder and convenience – turning the very object of such grace and efficiency against its creator. For the Mogwai: they do this for nothing more than their own insatiable thirst for mischief and pure amusement, cackling at every human misfortune along the way.

Transportation & (mis)communication

Mercury is traditionally associated with the ‘trickster’ and its retrograde motion seems to bring out this (Gremlin) tendency in abundance. Trains, planes and automobiles; telephony, computers etc. are all at the mercy of Mercury retrograde in that they can simply fail or misbehave all of a sudden or intermittently. Similarly attempts to ‘get away for the weekend’ can be hindered by any number of errors down to miscommunication or misinterpretation of the related facts and timetables, or maybe just a flat tyre.

In early September a fire broke out in the Channel Tunnel, causing much damage, injury and loss. Mercury was still direct when the fire hit but transiting its retrograde shadow; the part of the zodiac it will eventually have to backtrack through in weeks to come – suggesting that the events during this waning direct motion will soon be up for debate. Lo and behold! On 24 September, upon Mercury’s station retrograde, a power failure on a train warned of further delays to the resumption of normal service. Then on 29 September (5 days into retrograde) the government called for a ‘Channel Tunnel safety review’. Delays and reviews are common denominators when considering Mercury retrograde but there are even more astrological components at work here. Venus, for example, rules Libra – the sign where this retrograde is taking place and therefore Mercury in Libra will be taking his cue from Venus during this phase. Venus is currently over in Scorpio, associated with Hades (Pluto), lord of the underworld, traditionally associated with subterranea and tunnels! Channel Tunnels?

A planets ruling influence (in this case Venus in Scorpio ruling Libra) is always coloured by its disposition in the sign it occupies. Convoluted as this may seem, the astrology of this event gets even more intricate when you consider one of the classic Scorpio archetypes – The Phoenix – concurrent with the death/rebirth characteristic of Scorpio; rising from the ashes. Presumably ashes from a previous fire!

A bit closer to home and I was out for a drink on the same evening just before I caught Gremlins 2. My local Old Town establishment was the subject of a sewage problem and subsequent digging in order to repair this fault was taking place, and had been all that day. Again: subterranea, tunnels – sewage? Enough!

Not quite!

A good number of minor incidents have had me enthralled since Mercury’s station retrograde, which I have meticulously journaled along the way. A few of which are included below. I have ommited the more banal examples for fear of overstaying my welcome in your brain.

Upon Mercury’s station I was witness to many erroneous telephone calls at my workplace; printer errors (we had the engineer out three times in less than two weeks!); a couple of no-shows to interviews which transpired as due to miscommunication; both myself and a close (skeptical) friend have been experiencing problems with our own telephones dropping signal recently as well as plentiful issues with internet connectivity – a darn sight more than usual too; strangely enough the keys I’d misplaced and decided were as good as gone showed up on day two of retrograde in the original place I already knew I’d left them but checked ten times over in the previous week to no avail! – demonstrating (as mentioned before) how the unconscious effects of mercury can bring things to the surface; six days into retrograde and I went for lunch with a friend and the staff member serving seemed to get in a muddle over our order, charged me triple for two drinks and when it came to the price of our food he even defied that which was written in plain ink on the printed menu. His inability to assimilate the simple written word on that day had me most perplexed. I’d loved to have seen his horoscope; finally on day twelve I called a friend to see how a mix of a recent live recording was going only to be told it had been postponed until he had a new computer for his studio! I’m still waiting.

And must I mention trains again? Oh yes!

Every month, for many months now, I purchase a season ticket for my daily travel to and from the office. This month my ticket decided to stop working in the turnstile: the magnetic strip had failed. I put up with this for a few days until I was advised to get my ticket changed for a fresh one. The inspector had the audacity to blame me for this, saying that It was due to my keeping the ticket next to a credit card in my wallet, something I had done for months with no issues whatsoever. So off I trot to queue for a new ticket and, once down to the front of the queue, I couldn’t help but notice via the medium of passive eavesdropping that the guy in front of me had exactly the same problem. Turning around to banter this fact with the stranger behind me revealed he too had the same issue! Please, I tell you no lies. As a student of astrology I was delighted! As a commuter I was just late!

 Certainly there is nothing out of the ordinary about any of these setbacks, other than the sheer multitude of their occurrences during the retrograde cycle. I’ve always been skeptically inclined towards astrology and so do watch for this sort of thing all the time, but each time a Mercury retrograde approaches, these days I tend rub my face with glee, knowing that the world around me is going to go haywire for a spell. So please watch after the 16 October as it all settles back to normal and progress can resume.

If you don’t know something’s broke, you can’t fix it!

Nevertheless these events are necessary to make us more aware of the inherent discrepancies in our world of information. Upon the climax of Gremlins 2, the Mogwai are dispensed (soaked and electrocuted to be precise) and a great mess is left to clean up, suggesting that Clamp didn’t handle this retrograde period particularly well! The two ‘station’ points of a retrograde are said to be its most intense. In the case of Mercury returning to direct motion, the station (Gremlin expulsion and aftermath) signifies the catapult from which our mercurial endeavours can now launch unhindered, provided the requisite attention to detail, born of taking a temporary back-seat, was amply tended.

So it’s back to work for Daniel Clamp and company. Armed with fresh insight pertaining to areas of improvement to their – once considered – infallible fortress. Likewise, holding off and letting the Gremlins run rings around our world is sure to bestow us with new invaluable knowledge of how to best move forward and improve in whichever areas are highlighted by the zodiac, just as soon as these buggers cease!

Until Next Time.

Since this article was written in hindsight, you may be feeling a little cheated since I’ve not really given you anything to look forward to in order to see for yourself exactly what I’m banging on about. Firstly, it’s only right I do this backwards, considering all of the above! Furthermore, by January 2009 the next retrograde cycle will be upon us, not to mention the fact that Hermes will be cramming four retrogrades into the year too! So there’s plenty more where that came from. Again we will see Mercury retrograde in the air-elements; Aquarius, Gemini and Libra. So collectively: thought, communication, technology, relationships, friends, hopes and wishes are accentuated once again. This time though Mercury will actually backtrack for a short stay in the earth-signs during each retrograde – bringing more flavour to the occasion – earth is: food, cash, work, inanimate objects, rationality, structure, foundation, bricks and buildings. Anything ‘solid’. Enjoy!

Welcome to my 9th house!

It is my intention with this blog to document and chart my progress through an astrological education. This year (as Pluto massages my natal ascendant through retrograde motion) I decided to take the ancient art more seriously and get qualified!

And so it begins, the fleshing of the bones. Please bear with me as I update this blog.. .

Astrology, to me, is a delicate synthesis of the myriad components which, when understood as part of a greater whole, can offer wisdom and insight of such invaluable worth that the ‘..preposterous notion that planets, so far away can have any affect at all on the daily lives of human beings’ seems hardly worth fighting for – the proof, my friends, is in the pudding.

I’m certainly not without my scepticism (Saturn conjunct Jupiter in Libra in the 9th house). I find I often vacillate between the utmost inspiration on behalf of this art and absolute doubt; bereft of belief only to swing back when the silent voice of the stars seems to answer my questions through mere perseverance on my part.

Astrology asks that we understand its symbols as innate forces which transcend the written or spoken word and that we do this as individuals from our own vantage point. Which – all waffling aside – basically says; be your own astrologer! (and nice to everyone else!)

The crux of this quest for human individuation is an idyllic that lives, in at least myself, that we can actually all get along, with nothing to hide from one another; since the birth chart tells all. I particularly don’t want to live in that world, but then i was born in 1981 and therefore am supposed to be a part of this epoch. (thus understanding my own place in the greater whole) – this particular generations’ quest towards this dream of Utopian perfection is a victory to be savoured by our childrens’, childrens’, childrens’ children! perhaps!

Back on earth this kind of thinking doesnt appear to sit too well amongst the cynicism and ‘cliche-policing’ of my peers and contemporaries, but with my Sagittarian ascendant comes this unrelenting sense of hope, and as much as I understad the realism of such seamingly ‘far-out’ ideals, it’s great to have such a positive driving force and frame of reference, underpinned by the most alluring sense that there’s always something new and exciting waiting around every corner. Having said that, the tempering visited on this particular ego mechanisim by having Saturn cojunct Jupiter and Capricorn intersecting my first house keeps me wary as to how far I’m actually capable of taking my ‘whims’.

All of this is of course a purely subjective standpoint; I can’t convince you just as much as no one else has convinced me of the unequivocal validity of this ‘pseudo-science’. Which is why it has taken me from the age of 5 to the blossoming age of 27 to really take this cosmic bull by the horns. So through a steady and perpetual process i’m forging relationships with these archetypes and symbols and watching them work in my own life through my own particular lens and focus. These words may be rendered mute by some readers, and vice versa. I would challenge such with the idea that this very disposition is due to factors in the birth chart, colouring and filtering all that we metaphorically digest as we look, watch and learn. So here astrology offers us a paradox; that we can objectify the subjective. And this in itself, and in my experience, is wholly liberating!

I don’t intend to arrive at any ultimate conclusions through astrology about the meaning of life or the nature of existence. I’m here, in the now, and that’s enough; to be grateful for my eyes, these fingers, each breath – but seriously one of the seldom spoken fundamentals of astrology is the respect of the cycles life takes. And that means all of life, nature, you and me. Know your cycles, and know thy self!

Dan