Dear Readers:

Thursday morning's bombings in London have sent the UK into shock. For readers outside the country, it's important to recognize that England is a densely populated island community, and as such, it has a much closer-knit emotional and psychological feeling than most other places. Events tend to have a powerful impact on the whole nation, which in a deep and meaningful way responds like a family to national tragedies.

On behalf of everyone at Cainer.com, I offer condolences to those who have lost loved ones, and to those who have had their lives shaken by these unwelcome developments. Most of us are experiencing some level of grief, fear and uncertainty in the wake of the news. This is natural; staying in touch with friends and loved ones will help.

It seemed appropriate to provide our readers some information about the astrology, so we're adding the chart and this introduction to the regularly prepared "Astrology Secrets Revealed" column, which follows.

If there was a warning about these events, it came in the form of the Capricorn Full Moon two weeks ago, exactly on the summer solstice -- an extraordinarily large event on a deeply sensitive part of the zodiac. This was the first of two Cap Full Moons; the second is July 21, in about two weeks, as this past Wednesday July 6 was the Cancer New Moon.

To have an exact lunation on the solstice means that the Sun and the Moon simultaneously aligned exactly on what was, in the Northern Hemisphere, a high-energy point for the Sun -- the longest day. This involves the Aries point because the four days where the Sun begins new seasons are all connected in a kind of energy circuit.

In my article on the Cap Full Moons two weeks ago, I wrote, "These early degrees of the cardinal signs (those on a cross beginning with the first degree of Aries, which is the first degree of the tropical zodiac) are hot, hot degrees lately, they have wide impact, and this grand cross makes aspects to the charts for many recent news events going back even unto the autumn of 2000."

That article, with a number of predictions, is here.

Among the "many news items," I was referring specifically to the Sept. 11 attacks, and numerous subsequent events, which were preceded by a solar eclipse on the summer solstice on June 21, 2001. The bottom line with an exact lunation on the solstice is an event that will affect many people in a far-reaching way. These old eclipses can have impact for years.

Wednesday July 6 came the New Moon in the sign Cancer exactly between the Capricorn Full Moons. It was a big day -- the day London was granted the Olympics for 2012, as well as during the G8 summit in Scotland. And this is in the midst of vastly important news in the US, including the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor this past weekend, and many developments in the situation involving the Karl Rove / Valarie Plame spy situation that relates to how the US and the UK wound up at war with Iraq (please see truthout.org for background). So this series of lunations, aspecting one of the most important Sept. 11 charts (the June 21, 2001 eclipse), are quite literally setting the world into motion.

As part of the background, we also are right on the cusp of Saturn moving into Leo and opposing Chiron -- a portent of big change (see main article below, on Saturn in Leo).

Here is the chart for Thursday's bombings. I will give it a basic look today, and continue this discussion on the Planet Waves homepage, available to everyone, on Friday.

The Sun, located at 15+ Cancer, is square Mars at 17+ Aries, as well as square the lunar node. Mars, notably is exactly occupying the degree of the April 8, 2005 solar eclipse, and the Sun is about to square that degree.

We have the feeling of something "going off" and because it involves two eclipses, the recent April 8 eclipse and the more distant, pre-9/11 June 21, 2001 eclipse; thus we have the image of an event with a widespread impact. And the Sun is square the nodes. The Sun square the nodes says "turning point." Note also that the Sun always represents the king or the president, so it's a turning point for our leaders. And the Sun is applying to Mars; the Sun is doing the pushing, but it's also the thing at the point of change. This could be very damaging for people now in power.

Mars, on the North Node, is right in the 9th house cusp, suggesting a foreign enemy combatant. But -- because Scorpio rules the 4th house of home and security (Scorpio) -- we have an image of a domestic enemy as well, but cloaked in secrecy because it's associated with Scorpio.

The late degree Cancer Moon also speaks of a well-developed situation. However, because the Moon is at new phase, there is the sense of something just begun. It's as if one cycle is completing and another is beginning at the same time. But they are two different cycles.

What does the Moon represent? In this chart, it has a double or even triple meaning. First, it's the ruler of the 12th house (because Cancer is on the 12th house cusp, so the Moon rules that house). As such, it represents the "secret enemy" who is depicted by the 12th, and all the secrets of the 12th. But the Moon always represents the people themselves, that is, the general public; and it always has a lot to do with the question at hand.

Saturn's position exactly on the cusp of the house of secrets is very strange. It's as if Saturn is standing there guarding a lot of secrets. We've seen enough of those secrets leak in recent weeks (think: Downing Street Memo) to know what else might be in there.

And that Saturn is about to come under the spotlight. The Moon is about to make a conjunction to Saturn, sitting on the 12th house cusp. Note what is in the 12th proper: Mercury conjunct Venus in Leo. That looks like a lot of money, or like money is a hidden issue. Or that the hidden issue is "worth a lot," whether financially or spiritually. Note that the Venus and Mercury, representing the secrets or the money, are in Leo; note that the Sun, which rules Leo, squares Mars, the foreign combatant. We get a picture of whose money or wealth is at stake, and what is being fought over.

There is much else in this chart. It is rather shockingly apropos of the event itself and of the connection to history; the question is, how will the public respond? How will we experience that Moon conjunction to Saturn? Moon-Saturn-Cancer looks like heavy emotional fear, which would be by far the worst way to respond, in the long run because fear makes us susceptible to believing what is not true.

This chart, with its confusion between domestic and foreign, between friend and enemy, fear and security, and with its strange sense of secrecy, is very reminiscent of the Sept. 11, 2001 chart. But the difference is that the 7/7 chart has the sense of an imminent confrontation, and we, the people are a lot more involved. I'll have more to say on Planet Waves Friday.

Please stay tuned.

Yours truly,

Eric Francis
Paris, France

Saturn, Leo, History and Herstory

I checked the chart for this. Wouldn't you? Saturn is in Leo, fitting the unusual "dam burst" signature.

Pluto, Jupiter and the Moon are in Cancer. Too much of a goo thing. Note the 2nd house is where we find much of the action in this chart. Molasses, or half-refined sugar, is an important commodity and worth a lot of money. From the psychological perspective, we can infer from the 2nd house Pluto that the owners of the factory were making up for their insecurity and self-esteem crisis by stockpiling the molasses (represented by Jupiter in Cancer). Either that, or there was a glut on the market.

Isn't it all starting to make perfect sense? Just think what astrologers of the future will be writing about us. Just wait.

Next week, I'll continue with thrilling news from the next two cycles of Saturn in Leo, 1946-1948 and 1976-1978, which get even more interesting and are genuinely rich times in history. We'll visit the wake of World War II, the founding of Israel, and the McCarthy Era; we'll meet the Test Tube Baby, the Space Shuttle, Son of Sam, the energy crisis, and the Iranian hostage crisis that led directly to the election of Reagan-Bush

But so far I would sum Saturn in Leo up with a few lines from the Grateful Dead, written by Robert Hunter, sung passionately by Leo Jerry Garcia:

Long distance runner what you standing there for?
Get up, get off, get out of the door...

Here are a few of your questions for the week -- only one of which covers Saturn in Leo directly -- I can't write anymore today and this column is due with the editors! More on the people of Saturn in Leo on Planet Waves Weekly, unless I write about Karl Rove -- I haven't decided yet.

Note: here is my introduction to Saturn in Leo from this page three weeks ago. This has the ingress chart, a Saturn sign-change table and other information too.

And I'm continuing to blog daily at PlanetWaves.net, tracking the very interesting political developments of late. Thanks for being such happy subscribers -- see you there!

NOTE TO READERS: I'll be in London August 4-8 doing in-person astrology sessions, and teaching a class on Chiron Sunday evening, Aug. 3, 2005. If you're interested in either, please write to chelsea@planetwaves.net.

Debra

Dear Debra

The Saturn return is when Saturn returns to the sign it was in when you were born. In other words, it involves your Saturn sign rather than your Sun sign. The word "return" is astrological jargon for when a planet, any planet, orbits back around to where it was when you were born.

We have planetary returns on a fairly regular basis. Mars returns to its natal position every two years; Mercury between one and three times a year; Jupiter every 12 years. The Sun and Moon are also said to return; these are called the "solar return" (your birthday, when the Sun is in the same position as when you were born) and the "lunar return" (and a kind of monthly mini-birthday, when the Moon is in the same position).

People have their Saturn return at the time they turn around 29 years old, since it takes Saturn about 29 years to go once around the Sun. In a recent edition of this page, I covered the basic technical details of the Saturn in Leo phase to warm up the subject. That link is here. And if you're curious about the Saturn return specifically, there's a Saturn return resource for readers of this page, which is kept on my site.

But you raise a different question, which is what's the effect of Saturn occupying your Sun sign -- that is, the sign determined by just your date of birth, and the one you check when you read the newspaper. And the answer is going to depend on what kind of astrologer you ask; there are two main categories.

One looks at the exact natal chart (an astrologer you would consult for a session) and the other (principally a newspaper astrologer, or an astrologer writing a newspaper column) looks at the planets in the sky now (because your date of birth is not known to them, and not necessary for the wide-audience work they do).

Someone doing your natal chart is most likely going to say that Saturn going over one's Sun has the most impact when the exact transit occurs. For example, if you're born on Aug. 21 of any year, you're not going to experience the exact transit of Saturn in Leo on your Sun for nearly two more years. If you're born July 24, you're going to get the transit right away. For most dates in between, we would need to check the time, but basically, anyone born the first eight days of Leo is going to experience the transit right away.

This is a truly important life transit; it happens just once every three decades and it represents a major phase of growing up, personal adjustment, getting your act together and that kind of thing, and it is in many respects kind of like a mini Saturn return because you really feel the effects of Saturn. I would sum this transit up as an opportunity to work right up to the edge of your limits. Since most people work so far from their potential, working right up to your potential can be an extremely productive time. And it peaks at the time Saturn makes its exact meeting or series of meetings with your Sun.

People writing newspaper horoscopes are pretty much all going to comment on the sign change of a major planet like Saturn as if Saturn not only affected all Leos, but affected everyone else too. You will read in many Leo horoscopes, "Saturn, now in your birth sign, means so and so." Or, "Saturn, now aspecting the sensitive area of your chart where you work with security issues, is saying you need to feel safer." (We'll track some of these comments by astrologers when the time comes, and compare their statements and ideas. They are already starting to appear, and they will make an interesting study.)

You may ask, as many people do, how both methods can be true? That is, how can the exact effect of the transit be so meaningful, as well as how can astrologers writing Sun sign columns in newspapers make statements that apply to all Leos or all people?

Think of it like the weather report. It's possible for the weather forecast to tell you it's raining (I personally believe those things except when they tell you what's already happening, such as, it's now 29 degrees.) And that fact can be accurate and meaningful for everyone.

But that does not tell you what to wear. You can take the information that it's 29 degrees and you can wear a parka and big furry boots (for Americans reading, 29 degrees is pretty warm out, getting close to human body temperature of 37 degrees). And, a meteorologist can say, "It's looking like rain, you might want to bring an umbrella."

With astrology it's possible to make rather accurate statements without knowing everything. Those accurate statements are often based on the changes of planets moving in and out of signs. And the thing about these transits is that they really do affect everyone, on some level; some people are more or less sensitive to them, and different astrologers are more or less intuitive when it comes to suggesting how a large, sweeping change affects people specifically, or their readers specifically.

Of the two, I would suggest that the people writing for a large audience are the ones we want to get it right in the first instance. A natal astrologer who has unimaginative, negative ideas about Saturn can mess up individual people; but someone writing for an audience of millions who spreads unhelpful propaganda about Saturn can perpetuate ideas in the culture that last for generations.

The idea aspect of astrology is vitally important, and it works on every level, whether it is your personal chart with your time of birth, or a statement a writer makes to everyone. Astrology is all about ideas. Watch for ideas that send you on bum trips, and make sure you check against other writers who bring a little more spirit, imagination and sense of humor to the work.

Let's see what people say about this. Remember to get as many opinions as possible and make up your own mind.

Sun Opposite Moon in Natal Chart

Dear Eric,

I understand that I have Sun in Virgo and Moon in Pisces. Since these are "opposite" signs, does this mean I am well rounded, or just confused? Lots of water in my chart (ascendant is Cancer) so maybe I'm just a "mud puddle"!? Please tell me what Sun and Moon in opposite signs really means. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Renee

Dear Renee,

Remember that different aspects mean different things to different people. Everyone born under the Full Moon is going to interpret and express that event differently in their lives. While there are many ways it can affect your psyche, one quality I've been tracking for a long time is how people's parents get along depending on the lunar phase they were born under.

I got curious about this when I read in one of my favorite astrology books a long time ago that people who were born under the Full Moon had parents whose relationship was tense and polarized. Rather than accepting this without checking it out first, I started listening to my clients' descriptions of how their parents got along and contrasting this with their Moon phase at birth.

What I learned is that hardly anyone's actually parents get (or got) along, regardless of where their Sun and Moon are placed. You learn all kinds of interesting things when you become an astrologer. But the position of the Sun and the Moon will reveal something about the WAY they did or didn't get along; something about the dynamics of the relationship that is copied over into the client's personality.

Then the client hast to deal with it. And that's often a lifetime growth project.

Now, you have the Sun and Moon, two of the most important things that describe a person's experience of life, at opposition. Rather than give a definite meaning, let's consider some of the ways that feels in general.

-- There is polarity between your Sun and Moon. There's a feeling of having two distinctly opposite sides of your nature, two approaches to life, or two distinct identities with this. With the Full Moon, the difference in viewpoints is clear.

-- The Full Moon is a peak of energy. It's like high tide rather than low tide. Because of this, quite a few people are born under the Full Moon, and it would be interesting to check statistics.

-- Symbolically, we can infer that this peak was somehow expressed in your parents' experience of having you come into the world.

-- The Sun in Virgo is intellectual and wants to think clearly, whereas the interior-oriented Pisces Moon is quite emotional and non-intellectual, and lives in a world of feeling. These two forces can cause a type of tension in between what one wants and what one needs.

-- Oppositions work in relationships, all relationships. This would include something about your parents, as well as something about how you relate to people.

But here's an interesting thing to consider. On our planet, we generally consider things to be opposite when they are male and female. However, at the time of the Full Moon, the Sun and Moon always occupy signs of the same gender polarity. While you could debate the wisdom of this until the oxygen ran out of the atmosphere, all the opposite signs are the same gender. Aries and Libra are "masculine" signs (despite being ruled by Venus and Mars, respectively). Taurus and Scorpio are "feminine" signs (despite also being ruled by Venus and Mars, respectively).

Isn't that interesting? Libra is a masculine sign ruled by Venus. Scorpio is a feminine sign ruled by Mars. It's very yin-yang the way the masculine and feminine energies contain and contrast with one another. Astrology works with some very subtle concepts associated with the notion of "opposite."

And as these come, Virgo and Pisces are not so opposite. They have a great deal in common: an orientation on service, a natural sense of spirituality, being hard working, being nervous and many other traits. The yin-yang of the personality are in complete opposition and therefore possess a type of true harmony. But you may have to work quite consciously to maintain that harmony, particularly by honoring both sides of your psyche. I am sure there are times when one side dominates the other and you find that you've gone out of whack.

This will often happen as the result of a relationship situation. With Cancer rising and a Pisces Moon, do you really have a sense of where you begin and where everyone else ends, particularly on an emotional level? You might want to investigate that one. That Virgo Sun of yours definitely wants the facts.