STARCAST Notes, Dec. 5, 2024
Good evening. This mailing contains today’s horoscope and STARCAST. The article is included in a separate mailing. I mention two resources in STARCAST — the first are the charts for Mercury Rx + Sun + Great Attractor and the murder of Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare. That document is here.
Second is my interview with Brent Tully, leader of the Laniakea/Great Attractor team at the University of Hawaii. That is on Planet Waves FM. If it does not take you directly to the show, tap the link again.
Here is the video that visualizes the structure I’m talking about. The red dot is the Milky Way galaxy; we are at the far trailing end of Laniakea, and behind us in the other direction, the next stop is Pisces-Perseus, 250 million light years from Earth.
Aries (March 20-April 19) — All creation involves a process of revision, which means seeing again. Therefore, shift your perspective and look at the same thing from several different angles. Look at different times of day. Notice how you feel when you wake up, throughout the day, and when you go to bed. You seem intent on making something, which could include making something of yourself. Here is a clue: you may have moments of hesitation, or of being risk-averse. Study those carefully. Consider the best- and worst-case scenarios. Is there really a hazard, a danger or a peril? Consider that this is in relation to that fragile thing known as the ego. Actual ideas certainly threaten the mental frame that thought them incorrect. So you might consider: what if I’ve got this right? What if I’m wrong? Then you may get a better sense of what you’re “re-visioning” or why you are hesitating.
Taurus (April 19-May 20) — Have you ever noticed the mysterious connection between Taurus and Sagittarius? Jordan, the first-ever web developer of Planet Waves, did not know much astrology, and he invented the sign “Sagitaurus,” which then manifested many ways over the years. Well, the Sun is now in Sagg, and there is a connection: the nodes of Venus, your ruling planet, run through Sagittarius and Gemini (more or less perpetually). Think of this as an anchor. It represents your mystical calling. This is also about your love of language, and the voice within that sometimes just does not stop. And the illuminated mental quality that you experience, and your love of faraway places. This is the other you, who does not need to be bribed with pumpkin pie and hot cocoa to get out of the house. This you — the adventurer, the explorer and the philosopher — is singing to you right now. What is it saying? What is your soul whispering to you?
Gemini (May 20-June 21) — All good writing is rewritten. Music is learned by repeating the same techniques and the same pieces until they become innate. When speaking, a close connection to language grants a more precise expression of meaning. And all of these apply to life generally, where one way or another, there is a lot of repetition. Sometimes it’s about lessons not learned. Sometimes it’s about topics that we strive to master. And there is now a strong focus on cultivating your ability to learn — and learn well. I would propose an idea that I’ve never heard or read from another person. You can be sure you’re starting to understand something when you can formulate specific questions. You have gained a level of mastery when you can explain the ideas or process to another person without referring to notes. Remember, you are striving for deep knowledge, which is rare in our times.
Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Jupiter is closely associated with your sign, and the Sun is now forming its once-per-year opposition to it. To my eye, this alignment is about opportunity related directly to the work you do every day — and it could be big. Look for the international angle (thanks to the internet, I can now say this even to people who have never left Toledo). Yet there is a little twist, some angle of the plan that may not be easy to spot. It will manifest either as a challenge, as a delay or as a situation that is calling for more information. Work through this carefully, without rushing. It may take a month or so to get right, and the delay will not hurt you. Pretending the problem does not exist will. My best read on this astrology is to practice the art of knowing when you do not know. For those new to the approach, this starts by verifying every fact until you find the problem.
Leo (July 22-Aug. 23) — If you’re feeling some intense vibes in the air, that’s about Mars slowing to a stop in your birth sign or rising sign. Yet this is relative motion; the planets all keep moving. So what is really happening is that due to a shifting point of view, you get a better line of sight and emotional alignment with certain qualities in yourself. Those very qualities come closer to you, or you draw closer to them, and through that experience they seem to magnify. This could manifest as intensity. It could express as more direct perception that shakes you up a little. And you may experience a complete reversal in your position that takes you by surprise. However, this is all a process, and it’s just beginning. Long ago, Bono wrote a line that I just love: “You don’t know if it’s fear or desire.” So you might transform that into a question and ask yourself which of those you are experiencing.
Virgo (Aug. 23-Sep. 22) — As you’ve probably read 20 times, Mars stations retrograde in Leo on the 6th, and this may be provoking some anxiety for you. The astrological reasoning here is that the sign before your own is like an energy vortex of unresolved business. With Leo involved, that presents an unusual situation. Your fears may be about a need to “hold it all together.” This is also where your sense of not-quite-comfortable with being visible percolates through your being. Most Virgos will accept the spotlight only reluctantly. You may experience anxiety around being visible, and at the same time, you may have a sense of yourself as having gone missing. Mars moving to retrograde motion could stir the pot on any or all of this. It will also call you within to the place where you can work these things out. And you may decide over the next couple of months to take a more visible and public role in something, even if that seems like a stretch today.
Libra (Sep. 22-Oct. 23) — Nowhere is the effect of the digital immersion more vivid than the concept of a “friend.” Much in the days of old has been written about how few true friends we have in a lifetime; and what the meaning of a true friend really is. Today, we have thousands of “friends” through social media accounts, and at the same time, many people are horribly lonely and isolated. Many feel like they don’t have a friend in the world, which involves the loss of a grounded experience of family. The message of Mars retrograde for you is to remember who your friends are — and to treat them as such. This is also a factor of Pluto in Aquarius (and the two events are related, since Mars will soon make an opposition to Pluto). We think a friend is someone you can depend on, which is sometimes true. I would say a friend is someone who can depend on you unconditionally. Who are those people in your life?
Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 22) — The most important way to honor your professional ambitions is to disabuse yourself from any notion of how you are seen by the world, and take care of doing what is right for you. You worry way too much about your image, even if that’s just a little bit. If your actions are consistent with your personal truth, you’re doing great. However, that means not confusing your personal truth with how you are perceived. We live in a world of images, and that drives a compulsion with what the early esoteric writers called “glamour.” If you’ve ever looked at famous people being interviewed on the red carpet and had a queasy feeling, you know what I mean. If you’ve ever watched people (mostly women) striding in that weird walk wearing absurd outfits along a fashion show runway, crowded by hundreds of photographs, and thought, Hmm, something about this is not right — you’ve caught a glimpse of what glamor creates. It is a charm, a spell, an illusion and a trance — and it has nothing to do with your actual purpose on the planet. You do not need image. You need sincere, daring action.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 22) — Mars retrograde begins imminently, and this is an important opportunity to reassess what you want. Yet there is something here about checking in with a “higher authority,” which means going deeper within yourself to evaluate your intentions. In response to desire, one might dive in; one might hesitate for some reason they don’t understand; and many count themselves out. For you the necessity is to be aligned with yourself. That means acting in accord with your own ethics, and with your priorities — inconvenient, I know. As the retrograde progresses into next year, the questions of desire enter the context of your relationships and how your choices influence others, and how they are shaped by others. You will have to find a point of resolution between “this is my life” and “I have these commitments to someone else.” That’s a wholesome meditation, which you might begin now — the outcome will be far better than if you throw down.
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Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 20) — Mars retrograde between now and Feb. 23 will take you on a long and detailed tour of what your relationships are really about. There is a question lingering around: what’s the connection between what you want from life, and who you choose to associate with? When you choose to be someone, what are the values that you identify as being necessary for a productive and successful relationship? Usually, there is not so much subtle thought put into things. Though you will be reminded a few times how necessary that is. The details matter. Before you get frustrated or give up on a partnership situation, it will help if you work with the person to determine whether there is common ground; and second, there is the matter of what you both might do with that common ground. That translates to: can you find mutual territory that supports both people? This is what relationships are about, at least on a good day.
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Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 19) — Mars now turns to retrograde motion in your opposite sign Leo. This raises one question, really: what do you want for and from your relationships? For some, this will be a more uncomfortable question than for others. Yet the evaluation will be essential and in a sense, required: either you will consider your desires, and the nature of your wants and needs, or circumstances will compel you to think about them. Desire is one of the most powerful spiritual tools available on this plane of existence. So have that conversation with yourself, and have it with the people you care about. Perhaps it’s a matter of faith, but your astrologer believes that with honest communication and sincere actions, there is common ground where life can work for everyone. This will require patience, generosity and forgiveness. Yet if we want a world of goodwill, I consider that a small cost.
Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — If you are experiencing frustration at work, the solution is to go in more creative directions. Everything you do needs a touch of art. I recognize this is not easy if you’re working on data entry, but then you might develop a whole new way to do it. Whatever you’re doing, retrograde Mars is drawing you back toward your creative well. It’s not enough to achieve, to lead or to get the job done. You need an element of imagination and daring in everything you do, if only to keep you interested in the work. And even that is not deep enough: what you make, create or do for others must involve the element of caring for them. These things may be different from your personal or private creative aspirations. The focus now is on your day-to-day work. And if that happens to be art or music, guiding yourself more deeply toward your personal emotional core is the direction of travel.
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