Mercury Retrograde in Cancer – Mind Your Feelings

2014
JUN
07
June 7 2014
Posted by Brian Allemana in Retrogrades | 4 Comments

A jester found his masters fair
Yet always frowned when they were there
"Why so sad?" asked a princely voice
The jester had no other choice
But to answer the regent prince:
"I feel bad I cannot convince
My soul that I am truly free
From existential agony!"
"Lighten up, and have an ale!,"
Called the prince in full regale
"Time is up for this sadness,
End this melancholy madness!"
The jester smiled, for he saw the key:
His sadness riled his soul free!
Then came this wisdom from within,
No famous prince could claim from him:
Those who wrap their face in smiles
Forget the trap of cunning styles
Lost in the ploy of their folly
See not the joy in melancholy!

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Scorpio Full Moon 2014 – Light Inside the Dark

2014
MAY
14
May 14 2014
Posted by Brian Allemana in Full Moons | 4 Comments
Fallen Angel

Artist Unknown

An angel stands before the veil of time, preparing to leap into physical form. Surrounding the angel are a host of others, many of them having taken the journey many times and well aware of the challenges of being human. As the angel hesitates in a sudden clenching of anxious doubt, the other angels take her hand and remind her once again that even though she may at times feel utterly alone, the angel will never, can never, truly be separated from home. The angel feels the fear of the imminent descent simultaneously with the love of her angelic family. Bolstered by the courage in knowing she will always be held, no matter what darkness she has to face on Earth, the angel closes her eyes and leaps.

The sensation of wind envelopes her as she descends, as if another reminder that she is always held, even when in free fall. She opens her eyes — below her stretches the vast surface of the Earth, emerging closer and closer towards her, a view as awe-inspiring as it is fear-inducing. The angel's mind races with the possibilities that can shape a human life, both wonderful and terrible. As the angel hurtles towards her human destiny, the mix of feeling exhilaration and terror is almost too intense for her to bear, and she almost cries out to be returned home when suddenly all goes dark.

A brief moment of total, silent, peaceful emptiness, where all memory is erased — followed just as suddenly by the startled in-breath of a newborn baby, starting her new life in the arms of a lovestruck mother and father, still in the loving sight of the angelic host that holds her.

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The Cardinal Grand Cross – Surf’s Up!

2014
APR
21
April 21 2014
Posted by Brian Allemana in Events, General Astrology | 12 Comments
Be the shark.

Surf the shark.
Image courtesy forwallpaper.com.

A priest, a rebel, a politician and a prostitute all face each other in a high tech gladiator arena...

Nah, not going there this time. Rather than open with an illustrative vignette, I'm going to get right to the meat.

It's Cardinal Grand Cross time, as of Tuesday, April 22nd, though you may have been feeling the energy ramping up for a while. If you've been paying attention at all to the astrology news of the past few weeks you've undoubtedly come across mention of this Grand Cross several times. It's hard to know what to say about it that hasn't already been said, but since it's my job to say things about important things, I'm going to dig in my brain and see what nuggets of wisdom I can produce.

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The Christmas Cross

2013
DEC
25
December 25 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | Be the first to leave a comment

In The Hero With a Thousand Faces Joseph Campbell describes the original Gnostic image of Christ on the cross as Jesus looking straight ahead, eyes penetrating as they peer out unwavering. This is in direct contrast to the images of Christ more often seen in traditional churches, where Jesus is represented as hanging limply, staring down in defeated agony. That image is one of disempowerment, that we, like Jesus himself, are at the mercy of a judging God, that Jesus had to suffer for our sins, and that redemption can only come through proving oneself worthy to God's authority, often through punishment. But the Gnostic image turns this mythology back to the original point - that by saying "yes" to life and all of its pains, dangers, defeats, joys and triumphs we are able to attain Christhood ourselves. Jesus hangs on the cross willingly, not because the cross is a burden of suffering but because it represents the salvation and resurrection of Spirit. It is the cross of space and time, of Spirit projected into matter, and Jesus is representing, as Campbell says: "the umbilical point through which the energies of eternity break into time," which is the central point within (and point of) each of us.

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An Astrological View of Nelson Mandela

2013
DEC
07
December 7 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in Astrology Profiles | 4 Comments
Nelson Mandela July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013

Nelson Mandela
July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013

"There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." - Nelson Mandela

It can certainly be said that Nelson Mandela, who died on December 5th at the age of 95, lived his life with a passion that moved him, and by extension his country, to extraordinary capability. Activist, freedom fighter, world leader and inspiration to millions, he exhibited impressive strength in determination with equally impressive poise. His legacy will live on long after most of his contemporaries on the world stage have passed from memory.

The astrological picture is of a soul that has for many lifetimes been exploring every possible facet of shared emotional experience, from bonding to betrayal, possession to abandonment, in order to understand the very foundations of human nature. Through this, Mandela's soul developed the capacity to understand the emotional realities of others and this had the natural effect of creating a deeply abiding compassion, allowing him to withstand personal suffering for the cause of ending suffering for others. He came into this life readied by lifetimes of learning and service so he could bring forth his own light of truth, kept ignited by faith in a better future and the will to be "the captain of my soul". But to do so he had to come to terms with his flaws while making great sacrifices for the work that would define his life.

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The Chiron Bridge, Part 2 – Wounding as Healing

2013
SEP
08
September 8 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 14 Comments
Achilles and the Centaur Chiron by Pompeo Batoni

Achilles and Chiron, by Pompeo Batoni

A year ago I released part one of this series of articles on Chiron. If you're new to Chiron I recommend reading (or re-reading) that article for some of the basic astronomical and astrological background on this currently highly relevant archetype.

If you would like a Chiron reading — looking at the issues of wounding and paths to healing indicated by Chiron in your personal chart — please submit a reading request.

When we are unconscious of the effects of our psychological wounds we tend to either identify with them as a victim or vigorously deny them. In either case we are resisting their resolution. Who in their adult years wants to look again at the pain of trauma suffered decades prior? Yet our wounds do not simply go away nor can they be let go of on a whim. The kinds of wounds represented by Chiron are not healable by taking a pill, reading a self help book, finding that special lover or having something cut out with surgery. These things may help, or even be necessary for our survival, but they will not "cure" us. We cannot simply apply a salve to soothe that centaur beast within. We must look it in the eyes, dare to mount its back and ride it as it teaches us, like Chiron carrying Achilles, gaining wisdom, strength and healing power. By consciously engaging our wounds, the debaucherous, sabotaging centaur becomes wise and gentle and we begin our journey towards wholeness.

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The Grand Sextile/T-Squares of 2013

2013
JUL
28
July 28 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 2 Comments
Grand Sextile chart, courtesy of solpurpose.com. A good article on the subject.

Grand Sextile chart, courtesy of solpurpose.com. A good article on the subject.

There's been a bit of online hubbub regarding the so-called Grand Sextile that occurs on Monday July 29th, lasting from late morning all the way through evening. As you can see from the chart at the left, this configuration creates a shape of what looks like a six pointed star. We could dig deep into the symbolism of this shape appearing this way in the heavens, but it's unlikely that many of us will experience any profound divine realizations, at least no more than what we can experience on any other day.

Much has been written about the Grand Sextile, which I won't go into too much detail here. However, the Grand Sextile is not the entire picture. In fact, the Grand Sextile would mean a lot less without the t-squares, because t-squares carry with them potential for real change, pumping energy into the system to move out old baggage and motivate creation of new solutions to old problems. T-squares deliver the message: "Enough stalling! Get your ass in gear and get your life going!" You will need to fight to succeed or fail trying; or as Yoda said: "Do or do not, there is no try." It's the kind of energy that doesn't let us off the hook until we've worked up the wisdom and strength to manifest our higher purposes. T-squares carry the potential for great power, whereas the Grand Sextile is more of a lazy energy, bringing blessings but on its own ultimately not much victory.

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Sagittarius Full Moon Lunar Eclipse

2013
MAY
23
May 23 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in Full Moons | 10 Comments

The seemingly faraway sound of keys clanking inside a lock echoes off walls of stone and misery, awakening a man imprisoned for heresy. He has had weeks in darkness to think about his fate, left to rot in a dungeon for espousing a scientific point of view that ran counter to that of the prevailing powers of church and state. Fearing his ideas could spark a revolution, the man was hastily thrown in prison and forgotten.

But unbeknownst to him, he had an ally in the court, a voice of reason able to cut through the fears of the powerful. His ideas made it to the ears of royalty and it was decided that he should be sent on a mission to prove himself. A voyage across the sea to collect new information in a completely foreign land was determined the best course to decide once and for all if he was right.

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Healing After the Boston Event

2013
APR
15
April 15 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 10 Comments
Healing the World

artist unknown

Astrologers have been talking for a while about the explosive nature of Pluto squaring Uranus. This aspect is currently intensified as Pluto, the planet of destruction, very recently turned retrograde in Capricorn, the sign of infrastructure. It is thus applying into square aspect (tension, crossed purposes) with Uranus, planet of sudden change, in Aries, the sign of cardinal fire. Put these symbols together and you have a volatile soup of energy waiting to explode.

But why today? Mars stands at one degree after the Sun at 25 degrees Aries. Given the planets involved — Mars (fire, aggression), the Sun (free will), Uranus (sudden change and revolution) and Pluto (destruction), it's not surprising to see a tragedy such as this. Saturn in Scorpio at a precise inconjunct to Uranus shows us that this event is directly tied to the collective soul work of humanity.

But why should this happen at all?

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Jupiter Direct in Gemini

2013
JAN
30
January 30 2013
Posted by Brian Allemana in General Astrology | 4 Comments
Having a Gas at Jupiter

© 1986 Paul McGehee

A benevolent lord sits on his throne and bestows graces upon his people. He assigns them tasks, in accordance with their skills, and instructs them to report back to him on their progress. The lord's kingdom is repaired and expanded, and the knowledge contained in its libraries and stewarded by its illuminati reaches its peak. The kingdom has arrived at an intellectual renaissance, with due care taken to apply objective rigor to the acquisition of facts and data. The kingdom's sciences and academia flourish, its pride in its reason and rationality impenetrable. The lord smiles equally on himself as on his subjects for their jobs well done.

Then enters the lord's jester, barking crazily about the death of mental reasoning, crying in grief for the loss of scholarliness and truth. "What is this strange comedy, dear jester?" asks the bemused lord. "Are you mocking our great achievements in advancing the minds of our people?"

"Oh my lord, I would not dream of it!" cries the jester. "But, my most gracious high lord, the news is terrible! I just spoke with the old hermit in the mountain. He told me all about the world, the places we haven't explored, even truths about magic, physics and mythical creatures. Oh, all our knowledge, all that research...". The jester begins to weep.

The lord gives him a moment, then asks impatiently: "And?!"

"We've got it all wrong!"

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