Eric in Toronto
I’ll be presenting a workshop in Toronto, Ontario in mid-June. As the Sun slides into Solstice and we approach the rather stunning Capricorn Full Moon, is a rare full-day workshop on working with Chiron. This is a participation-based class that will benefit both professionals and students of astrology (including beginners), focusing on counseling techniques using Chiron. We will see and learn from experience how Chiron works in individual birth charts, and go beyond ‘keywords’ and theories into practical reality. The class begins at 10 am on Saturday, June 18. Location of the workshop: Orchard View Library, Yonge & Eglinton area, 33 Orchardview Blvd., Toronto. 9:45 am to 4:45 pm. $45.00 for members of ATI or 55.00 for general public (prices Canadian). Contact Ursula Fugger in Toronto at urfugger@hotmail.com for any other information including where to stay, etc., if coming from out of town.
As for This Weekend
We are heading into a rather unusual astrological weekend, with many planets making or approaching mutual aspects. Venus opposes Pluto in close, harmonious aspects to Neptune, the lunar nodes and Juno; the Sun trines Jupiter, which is close to its exact station direct; and Mars in Pisces is working up to an exact square to Pluto in Sagittarius, exact next week. On Saturday, Mercury joins the Sun and Venus in Gemini. This all represents a lot of activity and a lot of progress.
Meanwhile, the Moon enters Aquarius in a little while (2:09 pm EDT), making a conjunction to Chiron, then coming through the Sun-Jupiter trine overnight Friday. Saturday night is the Moon-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius — an interesting time for sure.
The air signs dominate the energy: ideas, discussion, direct and relating.
Esoteric Gemini
Here is a bit of what Alice A. Bailey has to say about the astrological sign Gemini, from her book Esoteric Astrology.
“This sign is sometimes called the ‘constellation of the resolution of duality into a fluid synthesis’. Governing as it does all the pairs of opposites of the zodiac, it preserves the magnetic interplay between them, keeping them fluid in their relations, in order eventually to facilitate their transition into unity, for the two must finally become the One.”
“That which has entered through the two pillars of Hercules (Jachin and Boaz), as through the sign Gemini, has entered to stay.” [Note, decodes is the J and B of the High Priestess card of the Tarot.]
“This is the force which produces the changes needed for evolution of the Christ consciousness at any particular point in time and space. It is always compatible to the requirement.”
“As we study Gemini…let us bear in mind [its] cause initiating nature and the fact that [it has] a more specifically psychic effect and subjective influence than [its] strictly phenomenal and physical effects would lead one to imagine.”
“Gemini is, therefore, one of the most important of the twelve signs and its influence lies behind every one of them — a fact but little realized as yet by astrologers.”
“The mutable cross brings about those conditions which will produce great periods of change in the life of the planet, of a kingdom in nature of of a human being. Mercury plays a part in this.”
The stress level, or rather, the success level, in your life will be directly related to your ability and willingness to change — with willingness getting more credit than skill. As has been said of other walks of life, it’s not what you have, it’s what you do with it. Therefore, make the most of what you have, and be willing to recognize your own value in any situation.The past couple of years have come with many intense lessons in self-sufficiency, living your true values and organizing your financial life around its most important task: taking care of yourself. It has become abundantly clear that you really must be your own first line of defense when it comes to self-care, though this will not always be the case. It is, however, the case at the moment.If there is a ‘spiritual’ reason for this, it involves creating a state of mind where you are simply not afraid that your needs will not be met, because you don’t need them to be met by another person. Once you are firmly in a self-sufficient state, you will notice that your relationships occur on distinctly more equal terms — and that time is not far off.At the same time, a whole new cycle of experience has begun for you professionally, though it may take surprising turns that you could never have predicted. Yet while you may not have predicted them directly, you are certainly involved in projecting your thoughts into the future and designing something truly innovative.
Progress is another word for change. Events will progress to the extent that you recognize that building your place in the world is directly related to building your character, though this process usually requires us to leave as much behind as we want to become. The time really is right for you to do this in a meaningful way. You have a lot of help — so it won’t be as hard as you think.
Aries (March 20-April 19)
There are times when you can push fear away, and there are times when it’s wiser to work it through gradually; the second is a much better idea at the moment. It would help enormously to speak, write and gain a mental understanding of what’s really an emotional condition — one that is unlikely to be a source of any real problem. Your imagination is what’s working overtime and if you would take some time and clear the contents off that great stage, you’ll discover that you have much more creative, and pleasurable, enterprises to focus on.
Taurus (April 19-May 20)
You seem to be moving through more incarnations of yourself than a Hindu yogi. All these fast changes are designed to help you build confidence, something you would not ordinarily lack except that you seem to have lost your ability to discern whether people are telling you the truth about how they feel. Strange, though, how much of truth comes from the interpretation you bring. You may not want to look at the deeper motives of those you’re trying to suss out. One argument against doing so is that it’s dangerous trying to discern what others want when you’re not entirely true what you want yourself.
Gemini (May 20-June 21)
Surprising developments are in the cards, the stars and your appointment calendar, so get ready for what may be one of the most exciting adventures of recent memory. Events that develop promise to send you one message, which is that you really are free. This is not necessarily freedom in the form of choosing every trace of your destiny. Rather, the sense of being liberated comes from the ability to respond in the moment to what you see, feel and have the option to experience. The only real trap is denial, and the only remedy for denial is plunging directly into the heart of what is so.
Cancer (June 21-July 22)
Your life seems to have turned into a whirlwind safari the past couple of weeks, and I reckon you’ve experienced more inspiration in some days than you might know what to do with in a year. I assure you, however, that at the moment, people and the experiences you have with them are more important than any creative process, no matter how brilliant it might seem. Life is not a documentary. It is an actual experience. I suggest you stick to the here and now, and leave the memoirs for later.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23)
You may think you’re being led on some kind of wild ride by your emotional impulses, but I would suggest something more fundamental and creative is at work. Your whole life is leading to a fairly monumental turning point that will become apparent between now and midsummer, but these kinds of life changes are always made of many smaller transitions. Often they can include contemplating a single highly unusual possibility. So whatever ideas or desires seize and possess you this week, you can be certain they are something other than a whim, no matter how strange or unsettling they may be.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22)
You may have the idea that others are trying to rattle your cage or get you riled up for no good reason. But I suggest you take people’s desire to boil your pot as either a compliment, or very good information. True, you need to be the judge of whether attention directed at you is negative or positive, but a lot of that is in the perception. I suggest you give people a chance, be they friends, suitors or those in your immediate surroundings. Remember how much you’ve benefited from the energy and inspiration of others lately. What you’re getting now is just a little more personal, and your responses can be as well.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23)
You may think that everything you’re up to is all about ideas and little else. But please don’t forget the power of an idea: everything in this world starts with one. From the look of your chart, you’re working up to a series of revelations that can change your life and change your world. I suggest that nothing be considered out of the question — remain as open minded as you can and just take the ride of your own potential. At the moment, no matter how strange you think you’re being, or how ‘out of balance’ you may feel as a cute little Libra, you’re perfectly safe going completely overboard, at least on the drawing board.
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22)
Scorpio planet #1, Mars, has been brewing the waters of Pisces for a couple of weeks now. This may be raising your awareness around something you went through in the summer of 2003, though at this point you may not be talking about it quite yet. However, if you’ll take some time and get a sense of how you really feel, you’ll notice that what happened in the past really is in the past. And you’ll also notice that you’ve come a long way since then. Pay attention to your subtle feelings, and keep a discussion going, particularly with those you love most. Both will do you a lot of good.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22)
You may feel like you’ve been pushed through a hole the size of a quarter, and this is unlikely to be your favorite mode of transportation. If you want to explore alternatives, you’ll need to make some adjustments, which will probably involve your speech patterns and communication skills. Changes will come fairly easily now; nobody will even notice that you’ve changed not just your style but also your content and your message. Your own self-consciousness tendencies may lead you to believe that others are more aware of you than is actually true. The reason you need to work on your presentation is precisely because people tend so dependably to be anything but conscious.
Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19)
There is a seeming contradiction in that you’re burning bright and are at your most attractive, but you may be the least inclined to do anything about it. It really is up to you, but I suggest you make your decisions consciously, and ask yourself if you really are lacking interest in what it seems that, at the moment, you don’t care for. You may need to peel back a layer or two and get at your real desires; if you can find them, and remain aware of them, they have a very good chance of being met. This could involve an amorous situation, or a long-held-back creative desire that you’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)