On Seeking Clarity, and the Quest for True Vision

Dear Friend and Reader:

In our moment of history, it’s difficult to see anything clearly — ourselves, our lives, the world, the future, even the past. We live with a feeling of being constantly on edge, or on the edge, often straining for clarity. Respecting this state of existence, my 2016 annual edition is called Vision Quest, and it’s focused on our need to go beyond clarity; my intent is to help you discover and focus a vision for your life. That’s what the planets are describing, and what I am hearing.

VisonQuest.

First, though, I have a short story for you, about the spiritual path we call astrology.

One of the first spiritual books ever given to me was Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah. Written by Richard Bach while, unbeknownst to him, Jonathan Livingston Seagull was becoming an international bestseller, this book helped put a lot of people on the spiritual path — maybe even you.

Illusions is the story of an unusual man named Donald Shimoda whom Bach met while flying around the country in his antique biplane, hopping from hayfield to hayfield out in places like Kansas. This was Bach’s version of a Vision Quest.

Shimoda, a fellow barnstorming pilot, has a book of aphorisms containing bits of wisdom for people on the journey of self-awareness. In it is the idea that “we teach what we most need to learn.”

Each autumn, wherever in the world I may be, I set out on the annual edition of Planet Waves. I prepare intimate, spiritually grounded readings for you, relating to the 12 Sun signs and rising signs.

Each annual comes with a collection of articles and art which I think of as being a record of the times in which we’re living.

Each year’s readings reflect the peculiar astrology of the moment, with its special challenges and opportunities. Each is an original journey into the unknown — something I’m now doing for the 17th time. Each of these readings is a marker in time, and all of them are available to return to.

A Time-Honored Spiritual Initiation

Vision Quest is the theme of the 2016 Planet Waves annual. A time-honored spiritual initiation, the vision quest tradition often involves a journey of some kind, always an inner journey though also an outer one.

It’s a journey with a purpose, such as returning to one’s ancestral land for the first time, the experience of being left in the wilderness for days, or traveling a long distance to a meeting with a shaman or teacher. It can also include a service project like joining the Peace Corps. In the UK, the “gap year” tradition is intended as a kind of vision quest, or threshold into adulthood.

Each sign of Vision Quest will include a rune reading or an artifact reading (see next illustration). Above are traditional runes, which I have cast for this project. They provide truly innovative astrology readings, using a divination approach that allows me to get detailed and accurate readings without the natal chart.

The intent of such a quest is to return with greater confidence and a new vision for yourself — or an entirely shifted perspective on your life.

My role with the 2016 annual is to use astrology to take you on such a journey, or at least guide you into one. These readings provide both an extended written interpretation for each sign and rising sign, as well as an extended audio reading. They are designed to stand up to careful review; they are some of my best work.

Yet as I write and record your annual readings, I am reminded of my own need to clarify and develop my personal and creative vision. This has never felt more urgent for me than it does now, so you can be sure that your readings will venture meaningfully, and boldly, into the territory that they open up. Said another way, I am here to teach what I most need to learn.

Your Journey, Reflected in the Astrology

Each year I reach so deep into the planetary aspects, patterns and movements that it feels like I’m relearning astrology for the first time. Then after months of research, I distill the information carefully. I write and record readings that bring your astrology to life; that make it accessible to you; that help you see yourself, and experience your journey, more clearly.

This year, as Saturn in Sagittarius makes a long square to Neptune, then to Chiron, we will be needing clarity. This astrology is all about the dissolving of established forms and beliefs. It will ask many more questions than it will answer, at least at first. Saturn square Neptune seems to be doing most of the asking; Saturn square Chiron seems to be providing suggestions for change.

This is an example of an artifact reading, including objects I’ve collected in my travels since becoming an astrologer. This is the divination set retrieved from my healing cave, the Chironian, after I finished my early astrology studies there. Every sign will get a rune or an artifact reading.

We are also going to experience Uranus conjunct Eris. A new factor in astrology, Eris has had very little written about it compared to many other major discoveries, yet it has so much to offer [you may download my PDF about Eris here].

I’ve watched the movements of Eris every day, in every chart, since we knew of it as Xena the Warrior Princess (its provisional nickname).

Uranus conjunct Eris may be explosive, coming with seemingly impossible shifts in our culture — though also in one’s personal sense of self, of being, of existence. This extremely rare and potentially difficult to handle aspect extends into 2017 — and I will provide information right up to the last event.

Saturn square Neptune is about the dissolving of authoritarian and patriarchal forms. Yet we also know that something must replace them. If we don’t want authority, we must take over as our own inner leader.

We’re also still in the aftermath of Uranus square Pluto. Did this aspect promise so much and yet deliver so little? I will look at what potential remains in what I have called the 2012-era aspect pattern, what opportunities still remain and what learning we can collect on.

In addition, I use a full complement of minor planets — asteroids, centaurs and other new discoveries, keeping the information clear and relevant.

I have the privilege of a friendship with Andrew McLuhan, grandson of Marshall McLuhan, one of my favorite cultural icons (who was an English professor and philosopher). We were discussing how to present ideas for Vision Quest, and he wrote something that I must quote. The McLuhans all have a touch of the mystical to them, though I have introduced the family to astrology.

Planet Waves Astrology: The Rock in the River

“Your astrology readings are, in a real sense, timeless,” Andrew said. “You don’t resort to fads and trends. The value of your astrology is that it’s a rock in the river. You can never step in the same river twice, but a good rock will carry you over and back every time.”

In this edition we are returning to the use of primal instruments. Shown above are a djembe (right) and a doumbek (left). We are also using odd instruments like mason jars along with occasional electric instruments.

One of my clients, someone who gets the annual every year, is an 83-year-old professional astrologer named Ann Cortese. She puts it this way:

“I never cease to be amazed at how many times, during my birthday year, I refer back to the annual edition of my birth sign report that you offer. It is amazing to me, that no matter what time of the birthday year I refer back to it, it has something to offer. To me it has become not only an annual upcoming preview of one’s year ahead, but a continual informative year-long reference guide.”

Ordering information for Vision Quest, the 2016 annual edition, is below, in a separate item. It explains the pricing structure, which favors those who pre-order early.

I do have a request for you: we’ve received many comments from our readers about the amount of email we send. Part of why we have to send email is that people defer purchasing till they’ve been reminded several times. We are up against bulk mail blockers and people’s frustration with email.

In order to keep down the amount of email we have to send, I would request that you please order as soon as you know you’re interested. That will be very helpful to everyone, saving much repetitive work and interruption, and you will get the best price.

From Sound Quest to Vision Quest

For those who purchase all 12 signs, I have a special gift to offer you, and mean special when I say it. I’ve begun Vision Quest with a kind of Sound Quest: a series of musical compositions done with my musical mentor Daniel Sternstein and his collaborator from another project, Dan Grimsland.

We have been creating a series of ambient compositions, many featuring slow, primal drumming (mostly on djembe and congas), flowing, watery bass lines and sublime synthesizer pieces. Those who purchase all 12 signs will receive access to a full download of the compositions as soon as it’s done.

As for your readings, I expect to have them ready for you by the first week of January.

Thank you for your participation in the Planet Waves annual reading tradition. Thank you for bringing your own vision quest to Planet Waves, and for joining us on our bold adventure.

With love and gratitude,

PS — The best way to find out what Vision Quest has to offer is to check out the 2015 annual, which you can do at no cost, in its entirety. My personal goal is to go deeper every year, tuning into the moment as intimately as possible, never losing sight of the world around us. Here is a summary of the Planet Waves annual edition’s history, which dates back to 1999.

Vision Quest Pricing and Purchasing Information

This short article will answer nearly all of your questions. We are beginning the pre-sale tonight with all 12 signs offered as a package. The reason to get all 12 signs is so you can read your Sun, Moon and rising sign, as well as those of the people you are closest to.

Chart for the autumn equinox of 2016. Planet Waves readings are one of the few places anywhere you can find thoughtful, coherent information about the minor planets and asteroids.

Expected delivery is the first week of January. That can change; I prefer to work well and deliver solid work.

The final sale price will be $127 for all 12 signs, as soon as the readings are published. During the pre-order phase, the price will be considerably lower. Because you’re one of our valued customers, we’re making available to you a special offer of $77, equivalent to $6.41 per sign. This offer will last until Friday, Nov. 20.

This includes all of the audio and extended written readings, the articles and artwork, and a download of the full set of musical compositions that go with Vision Quest. You may pre-order that here now.

For 2016 Backstage Pass and 2015 All-Access Pass Holders

If you hold a Backstage Pass or an All-Access Pass, we will send you separately your discount product code that reflects your membership level. Please check your email for that Friday. We will send it a couple of times. This price will increase to $77 in a week and we will hold it at that price until publication; if you order before Nov. 20, you can get it for $57.

Galaxy Pass holders have Vision Quest included with their membership.

Individual signs will go on sale in several weeks, beginning at $24.95 per sign. For the price of just three signs you can get all 12 — and you will want them.

Thank you for your business. Planet Waves is 100% sponsored by your memberships and reading purchases.

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Heartspell: Creative Numerology

by Christine DeLorey

When I wrote my book Life Cycles back in 1999, this is how I opened the chapter on the 6 Year Cycle. It applies very much to what is happening on Earth in 2013, which is a 6 Global year. (2+0+1+3=6)

“Our most basic instinct is survival. But when we, our loved ones, or our beliefs are threatened, we can take some astonishingly extreme protective measures. However, we often fail to realize that the extremes we run to can turn out to be more dangerous than the original threat. There are now three powerful lanes of energy open to you. On the left and right, there are the unstable fringes of opposite extremes. The center lane is balance, and this is where you need to focus.”

6 represents love, home, family, responsibility and affairs of the heart.  A lot of healing needs to take place in these areas. It is said that “time heals all wounds”, but what this really means is that it takes time for healing to work its magic, and we need to be patient with this.

Forgiveness is the key. We cannot heal from past experience without it. It starts with self-forgiveness because every change we want to make in the outside world starts within our hearts. In this year’s atmosphere of guilt and blame, we have a lot to learn about forgiveness. And learning what a situation most needs is part of the healing process of 6; the process of making things better.

Forgiveness isn’t some switch that we activate once in a while. Forgiveness is a permanent way of being – not taking everything so personally; not being so needy for approval; and letting petty issues go. Without that, we get stuck in unnecessary emotional traps in which love is weighed down by unreasonable conditions.

On a global level, the pain of generations cannot heal until it is fully acknowledged. Pain that is buried must surface. This emotion can only leave the body by feeling it and expressing it outwardly. And wherever there is pain, anger is not far away. Healing occurs within our physical blood-pumping hearts. The heart both receives and generates LOVE. Just as importantly, the heart is our physical connection to the metaphysical. The heart is where everything meets.

The heart — of anything — is the center from which everything flows and balance is gauged. The more we center ourselves in our hearts, the less heartlessness there will be in the world.

6 represents healing on a large and accelerated scale and, because it is occurring in the sensitive and nurturing 2 energy of the 2000s, much of this healing is emotional and sensory in nature. 2013 is a time to assess the damage and find the most loving and effective ways to improve conditions. We do this by delving beneath the symptoms — the effects — to find true cause.

In 2013, hurt feelings will rise to the surface to find acceptance and support for their pain. We need to be patient with the many phases of forgiveness because some of those feelings may feel quite contrary to who you think you are. We are all holding feelings inside that we do not want to feel. But the extreme emotion of hatred, for example, cannot leave this Earth until we allow it to leave our bodies. Hatred is condensed anger which has not been allowed to move and is therefore devoid of light. And since everything starts within, all hatred is self-hatred. It is the self that needs to heal now.

Wherever our emotions are blocked within the body, the pressure produces some kind of reaction, disturbance or symptom which manifests as illness. The balm that releases and heals hurt feelings is acceptance of those feelings, no matter what form they take. That is self-acceptance.

Healing, psychology, mental health, emotions, the pharmaceutical and medical industries, alternative medicine, health insurance, and all kinds of health-related methods and issues are likely to be in the spotlight in 2013.

When we find the root cause, we find our answer because that is where a wrong step was taken. If we go back and find out what that step was, even though we cannot change what happened, a valuable lesson is learned and we can stop repeating the mistake which has held us back. For many of us, 2013 could therefore be a time of memories, nostalgia, and looking back.

The laws of cause and effect also work in the opposite direction. By looking forward and anticipating what needs to happen in order to reach a goal, we can be well prepared, armed with knowledge, and less inclined to make mistakes.

Until we accept ourselves fully, we will manifest a non-accepting environment around us, in the form of people who believe theirs is the only ‘way’, and everyone had better get in line, or else. The belief in superiority and inferiority among people — this system of hierarchy — creates a moral justification for selfishness which, thankfully, cannot hold as humanity continues to find its balance.

We have to learn to take the good with the bad. And we have to accept that the bad exists. This does not mean that bad things cannot be changed. Of course they can. But to change them, we must recognize them, name them, and stand up for what we believe is right. Taking the good with the bad also means that we have to acknowledge the improvements made – as well as what is wrong. This creates a balanced perspective and an accurate assessment of how we are proceeding.

At the same time, 6 teaches us that ‘positive thinking’, without acceptance of reality, and the feelings it triggers, is self-deception. To think positively means facing reality head on, regardless of how it makes you feel, and being determined to deal with it in the most responsible way. 6 is the number of responsibility.

It is natural for us to learn from our mistakes. That was the nature of the 5 energy of 2012. We all had strong lessons to learn last year. But what if we don’t learn? What if we keep making the same mistakes and continue to cause harm? What if we deliberately continue that behavior knowing the damage it does? In the 6 cycle, we must take responsibility for our actions — or be held responsible for them. 6 represents accountability.

Not only must we learn from our mistakes as we go, but we must also release ourselves from the guilt that often accompanies one’s recognition of a mistake. In other words, we must let go of the adverse results of past mistakes and move on with the empowering effect of what they taught us.

Learning from mistakes includes self forgiveness. Only then can a mistake truly evolve into experience. And only then can you set realistic priorities. 2013 is a time to patiently observe the details of any situation and organize them in a way that makes things easier for all concerned. 6 is the number of problem-solving. To solve a problem is to bring balance into it.

When we focus too heavily on one area but willfully ignore other areas, we close ourselves off from the big picture and cannot see the forest for the trees. And we cannot see the damage we do as we push our way forward with our ‘blinders’ on. What a mess we make when we refuse to look at the consequences of our actions. In a world that has been so horribly out of balance, 2013 brings us to a critical balance point in the human journey — an opportunity to straighten up, see what’s really happening in all areas of life — and finally acknowledge what most needs our attention. 6 is the number of priority. And, in the true spirit of balance, we have to learn how to juggle.

The nature of the numbers 2 0 1 3 enables us to look at and measure potential, weigh things up, and learn what works and what doesn’t; knowing what is a responsible way to proceed, and what is likely to cause harm. 6 is the number of stability and fairness, both of which are forms of balance.

We are all fellow travelers on the road of life. We are one. And amid all the blaming, shaming and judgment that occurs in 2013, we must learn a particular lesson which is vital to our evolution into free will. We are one. But we are not all the same. Each of us is an individual being who is part of a much bigger picture.

Life’s diversity is its power. Not just human life. All life. But the only way for diverse energy to coexist is to understand the principles of balance. Balance does not require uniformity. Balance means adjusting as needed. It means arranging things in a way that enables energy to move freely.

“It is impossible to evolve to the ‘self’ without recognizing
your connection to the animals and the planet.”
-Russell Simmons

One of the reasons that there is so much cruelty in the world is because people with otherwise very loving hearts cannot bring themselves to look at what is going on. Cruelty to animals, and the cruelty we impose upon each other, will be exposed in the 6 energy, because cruelty in any form is extreme energy.

Compassion among humans must start with non-humans. The way we treat animals sets the foundation for how we treat each other. Cruelty is unacceptable on any level. How naïve we are to question whether animals feel pain, or fear, or any of the emotions. They feel it all. Wherever there is life, there is feeling. We would break down with sorrow if animals were able to tell us their stories.

6 represents the principles of both balance and extremes, and there is some panic as the extremes find themselves being pushed back to the outer fringes where they belong. But there is no stability there, and anything could happen. Balance between people will be found this year by embracing those areas on which we agree. Although 6 represents the extremes, it also offers common ground on which to widen the balance and keep the extremes from expanding.

It is from the state of balance that the rules of cause and effect originate — which is why it is so important for people to develop their ability to feel and sense. It’s all about adjustment, like surfing a wave, walking a tightrope, or juggling. The experience is physical, intellectual, and sensory. Material body and masculine spirit work well together. Emotion is now folding into the mix with more power than ever before, and we are experiencing our feminine feelings, our will, our magnetism, our senses, and feet-on-the-ground gravity. The 3 energy, which is symbolized by the triangle, will help us find this balance. 3 is threaded all the way through 2013.

However, people are not accustomed to feeling on such a deep level, and this transition is likely to have some ugly and even dangerous moments when emotion bursts out of the body with no loving intent to guide it.

6 is the number of control. In 2013, this can apply to the control others have over us, and also to our need to take control of our own lives and find a way to live in peace and freedom. Our minds prevent us from doing this by refusing to feel anything unpleasant. Our masculine minds control our feminine feelings, and this is reflected in the sexual divide that has become so obvious — and violent — in recent years. Life will grow increasingly unpleasant until our minds and feelings connect with each other as equals — and produce the inner balance that our evolution depends on. It all starts within.

Just as this balance is not only about men and women, neither is it all about rich versus poor. It’s about greed and the need to control, which exists at every level of society. You don’t have to be rich to be greedy or a control freak! Unevolved 6 is the number of the tyrant, the dictator, and absolute power.

In the outer world, this is projected as the paternal nature of authority and the so-called austerity it is imposing on the people. This is not a father’s love. This is greed in the process of ‘taking it all’. “Austerity” is greed’s heartlessness and contempt for the feelings of others.

6 represents the institutions of this world such as banks, insurance companies, corporations, hospitals, courts, prisons, government, military, religions, etc. In a year of extremes and balance, who knows what will happen as the paternal establishment continues to fight for its position at the top of this pyramid scheme called capitalism. 6 is the number of justice — and the global judicial system will be on display this year along with all the other institutions that make up the industrial/prison/military complex which is the force behind the system. Justice implies fairness, which is balance, and which does not exist as things are.

In this 6 global year, we must learn to trust ourselves to lead our own lives and find solutions to problems as they arise. We need to pay attention to the laws of nature. To understand natural law is to understand how life works.

Have you noticed how quickly the weeks are moving? If so, remember that time is not speeding up. It is we who are slowing down — to the extent that we can finally see how the system works — and who is controlling it. We are now able to notice and understand details we could not previously see.  It is our minds that are slowing down so that we can make sense of our experience instead of always looking for ways to be distracted from it.

Taking a slower approach to life does not mean putting our lives on hold. On the contrary, it is important to enjoy life as much as possible and to live as fully as we can. There is no balance without that! But to experience the natural emotion of happiness, from within, we must feel deep appreciation for what is already good in our lives. Sometimes we have to count our blessings to realize just how blessed we are.

6 is the number of home and family. All those homeless people. All those empty houses. I wonder if someone will find a way to connect those dots and solve a massive humanitarian problem.

This year, people all over the world may be wondering where home really is for them. In 2013, we may all be seeking a stronger sense of belonging and purpose.

There is a lot of healing to be done within individual families because we do tend to hurt the ones we love more than others. This is because we allow familiarity to breed contempt. We lose respect for those we live with because family members see each other as they really are. This applies to close friends, too. They are also family; people with whom we are familiar. Friends are the family we choose.

6 is the number of home — and Mother Earth is our home. At this stage, it is obvious that her survival motions are going to continue. This is not just ‘climate change’ we are experiencing. It is Earth change. We have seen so much environmental devastation — the earthquakes in Haiti, New Zealand, Japan and elsewhere. There have even been earthquakes where there is no fault line, but where fracking is underway. We’ve seen the tsunamis and super-storms, and flooding. Some of you experienced them first hand.

The magnetic poles are melting at a much faster rate than scientists predicted, and sea levels are rising. Mother Earth is our only means of sustenance, and yet we are raping and bleeding her to death to extract her resources. Is it any wonder that the issue of rape — blatant attacks on the feminine — is now so prominently reflected in our daily lives? People all over the world are finally aware of the ongoing violence against females. Something amazing is happening in India which has always had a dismal reputation for women’s rights. The Indian people are standing strong against that now.

But it’s not just about women. Feminine energy is the will of both men and women, and, so, an attack on the feminine is an attack on the will of humanity!

Already this year, there has been flooding in Pakistan, bush fires in Australia, snow in Jerusalem, and extreme weather conditions worldwide. Environmental matters are always part of the 6 year experience.

And talking of Jerusalem…

6 is symbolized by the hexagram or six-pointed star. The most obvious representation here is that of Israel and the Star of David. Israel always plays a major role on the world stage but, in 2013, it is likely to receive more attention than usual. Established on May 14, 1948, one of Israel’s biggest karmic lessons is that of equality. Even the Israeli flag places the Star of David at the center of an equals sign!

May 14 occurs in calendar week 20, and 1948 was a master 22/4 global year. Anything can happen – including an escalation of the violence – or genuine moves towards real and lasting peace. Part of Israel’s karma is to find its own center – its HEART – and show the rest of us how peace is achieved. The Israeli flag symbolizes that. Can it happen? I don’t know. 2013’s 6 energy gives us all an opportunity to become our higher selves, but that is always challenged by the extremes that 6 also represents.

The love of guns — bullying — the culture of intimidation and violence — and even the international arms build-up — are all linked to a single cause which perpetuates and expands the problem. The need to arm oneself, at any level, is based on fear — a natural emotion which we would prefer to eliminate because we don’t like the way it feels. Our own fear is easily triggered by those who will use it to control us — including the arms industry whose interests are served by war and the stirring up of fear, and who make their fortune by supplying both sides of the conflict.

Accepting fear as a natural emotion does not mean we have to be constantly afraid. Fear is only one aspect, the most basic aspect, of our vast emotional range. If you think that it’s just ’common sense’ that keeps us safe, you are right. Fear is the most common sense we possess. Fear is the alarm that sounds when survival is threatened. Fear is not the problem because on the other side of fear sits its only antidote: courage. Emotion is our inner music, and fear and courage are part of the same chord.

Every emotion has wisdom to give, if we seek to understand it. Facing our fears means facing the facts and knowing what we’re up against. Fear holds us back until we allow its message to evolve into intelligence. Every feeling, every emotion, every sensation, is teeming with information about the reality of our situation.

Paranoia, on the other hand, is extreme and irrational fear, which refuses to be soothed by reason, and this is something we may see a lot of, or even feel, in 2013.

Emotion, and all the feelings and senses that spring from it, is our honesty trying to communicate with our minds. The more the mind shrugs off — denies — and refuses to listen to what we are really feeling, the harder it is for us to recognize dishonesty, and the easier it is for others to control us by using our own emotions, especially fear, against us.  As denial lifts, intelligence increases.

“Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.”
Native American saying

6 reminds us that effective communication depends on outer expression and the willingness to listen. This applies not only to the mind and emotions, but to all aspects of our lives. Balance requires give and take. Balance is the result of cooperation and peaceful intent. Be creative, be friendly, but listen well. Language itself has become ‘industrialized’ — for the purpose of manipulating people’s hearts and minds. 2013 is an opportunity to free our hearts and minds from all that. Listening well can make all the difference to our perception.

There is also the question of censorship. Without the freedom to listen, there is no such thing as freedom of expression.

6 is also the number of entertainment, and there will be a lot of focus on the entertainment industry in 2013, as the theme of responsibility makes its judgments — and adjustments. But this is also a year in which creativity can soar to new levels and help to free and open people’s hearts to truth.

We could even see aspects of the 1960s reappearing this year. The ’60s was such an eventful decade in which people all over the world called for peace and love — against a backdrop of war and devastation — when feelings ran deep and hard and when art reached new levels of expression. The music, fashions, and awareness itself evolved in the ’60s. But now, in the 6 year of 2013, we know so much more than we knew then, which gives us a tremendous advantage when it comes to changing what is wrong with our individual and collective lives.

There is so much more to be said about the 6 energy. I will be writing more as the events of 2013 — the drama, the extremes, and the balance — unfold.

“Strength does not come from physical capacity.
It comes from an indomitable will.”
-Gandhi

 

About the Author
When our calendars changed from the 1000s to the 2000s, numerologist Christine DeLorey noticed a distinct vibrational shift in the world – from the electric, masculine and mind-based #1, to the magnetic, feminine and emotional #2. The ‘man’s world’ we have always known is now coming into balance with the rise of the feminine. As a result, we are developing Free Will and evolving. Christine’s work combines traditional numerology methods with new understandings that are evolving out of this major numeric transition.

Christine DeLorey is the author of the only numerology book that explains these concepts in detail: LIFE CYCLES Your Emotional Journey to freedom And Happiness. She is also the author of the 9-book series: CREATIVE NUMEROLOGY Your Journey Through The Cycles Of Time. A new book is in the works.

Christine’s website, creativenumerology.com has a large international following. It contains a wealth of free information, with weekly and monthly forecasts, and articles about what’s happening in the world. She is also available for private in-depth readings.

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Total Solar Eclipse in Scorpio

web_600_2012totalsolar

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How to Cross an Ocean; How to Light a Fire

“A belief is only a thought you continue to think; and when your beliefs match your desires, then your desires must become your reality.” — Abraham

Dear Planet Waves Reader:

Pisces, as the last sign of the zodiac, represents the primal waters to which thought, action and memory return — and from which they emerge. Seawater contains traces of nearly every element, from oxygen to iron to gold. The history of humanity is contained in the world’s oceans, as rivers course through canyons and cities and carry everything to the shore. Those things carried include the trace contaminants and drugs that have been created during our current age of industry, and which inevitably find their way into the sea — which we then dip into as the supposedly eternal source of food. Meanwhile, scientists have reported a ‘water memory’ phenomenon, where water retains the properties of what it once held, and responds to everything from thought to prayer to microwaves.

Photo by Bev Dulis.

Photo by Bev Dulis.

In calendar year 2011, we will learn a lot about Pisces. You can think of the most watery water sign as the universal recipient. It’s the cosmic realm that contains every element, and is the place where the story of humanity collects from moment to moment. The ocean refuses no river.

Pisces is about to receive two new planets, which will shape our experience of life and be reflected in changes in the world we know. One is Chiron, which made a brief visit in 2010. On Feb. 8, Chiron will return to Pisces, where it will stay until it begins its process of entering Aries in 2018. Chiron, which has a wildly elliptical orbit, is currently moving at close to its slowest speed through the signs (eight and nine years in Pisces and Aries respectively); at the other end of the dial, in Virgo and Libra (where it was in the mid-1990s) Chiron sails through a sign in 18 months — faster than Saturn moves through a sign (which takes about 30 months). So currently we have Chiron in its incarnation as an outer planet, slow and powerful. I have many reasons to believe this transit will take center stage, even amidst the truly momentous changes portended in the transits of 2011.

Wherever it may be, Chiron focuses attention, and the oceans (signified by Pisces) need attention. So too does the vast interior of human consciousness represented by Pisces. This last sign of the zodiac works for all of us as a source of creativity, emotional contact and escape from the hard-edged world of the ego. If not for Pisces, there would not be music or art, and sex would not be the same. We would not recognize the subtle shades of our emotions. Yet we tend to pollute this realm with everything from mind-bending psychotropic drugs to contact with 5,000 advertisements a day.

Melanie Reinhart says of this sign, “Forms disintegrate, the past is dissolved and our separateness is relinquished.” These are processes that extend over time, rather than sudden shifts. Chiron focuses energy and accelerates any movement already underway, instigating its knack for healing first by raising our awareness — or attempting to do so. With Chiron in Pisces (the sign of the hidden dimension), we will see what we’ve been missing.

The other planet entering Pisces is Neptune, which has not touched the waters of the sign it’s so often associated with since shortly after its discovery in the 19th century. Neptune is wrapping up a long journey across Aquarius, which began in January 1998. This transit has in many ways taken over consciousness; at the beginning of this transit in the late 20th century, nobody would have believed we would be walking around with computers in our pockets, checking email 200 times a day, and basically investing our souls into cyberspace.

Photo by Bev Dulis.

Photo by Bev Dulis.

Few would have guessed that every local police department would be feeding information into the FBI database (not about arrests — they’ve done that for decades; I mean about ‘suspicious’ behavior, your employment history, who you associate with, etc.), something more suitable for the old East Germany than the land of Jefferson and Madison. And who would have foreseen the opportunities this same technology creates for countless digital artists and musicians to create innovative work and share it around the world?

Neptune will exit Aquarius and touch the shore of Pisces on April 4, 2011, staying for a four-month visit. Then in 2012 it will re-enter Pisces to stay until 2025-26. This brief visit of Neptune is another harbinger of the 2012 era, representing a distinct shift in the spiritual vibration of the planet and a new phase of what we can call the history of our inner lives. This influence may overwhelm some; to others it will feel like flushing fresh water into a dry lake.

The extended, simultaneous presence of Chiron and Neptune in Pisces is about developing the awareness and discipline to handle deep emotional, and what you might call mystical, energy. You don’t swim across the ocean — you travel in a boat. The same is true for the oceanic multidimensional realms represented by Pisces. You can think of Chiron as the boat, the vessel which includes such tools as perception, analysis, documentation and — most significantly — boundaries.

The first boundary is where the collective realm ends and the individual realm of self begins. That is represented by the imaginary line between Pisces and Aries. Uranus has been in Pisces for seven years, stirring things up. In February, Uranus enters Aries, illustrating a radical transformation in our sense of self, and how we express the whole idea of self. We dearly need this shock to our self-awareness. I am trusting that Uranus is going to light the fire of curiosity about self, and remind us how being centered within ourselves is the key to sanity. I don’t mean narcissism and I don’t mean egotism. I mean learning to focus our sense of being at our own core, and relate to the world from that alert, mindful space.

Photo by Eric Francis.

Photo by Eric Francis.

What will protect us from Uranus in Aries turning into an eruption of vanity is Chiron and Neptune connecting us to the spiritual depths of Pisces. It’s as if Chiron and Neptune are helping us reach aspects of soul awareness and Uranus in Aries is helping us project our life force through our personality and body. Together, these transits — which last for years — will help many people wake up to the beauty of existence, to life and to participating in the changes that the world is going through.

Speaking of that — the planets I’ve just described that are making changes in 2011 add momentum to another outer-planet change, which is Pluto in Capricorn. That has been in progress since about 2008, and has come with many changes in society, some of them jarring and frightening. We think of this variously as the banking crisis, the recession, the foreclosure crisis, the turmoil in government, the big hole in the Federal Reserve, and of course the general sense that everything might collapse tomorrow. That is Pluto restructuring the institutions of the world — and our ideas about them. Pluto in Capricorn is liberating something from deep within these institutions — WikiLeaks is a good example. They are having their corporate structures rearranged, and we are having our minds rearranged. We have to think about where and how we fit in differently than we did yesterday.

So it’s a good thing that we have Uranus in Aries reminding us to wake up to who we are. Now, here is a clue about 2012. That’s the year that Uranus moving through Aries first meets Pluto moving through Capricorn. This is called the Uranus-Pluto square. This is part of the cycle that delivers some of the most radical astrology ever documented by historians — the astrology of revolution and of revelation. Think of how this is developing — society changing, perhaps seeming like it’s ‘failing’, while at the same time individuals are awakening to our creative power, one at a time getting into the process of creation and change.

The Uranus-Pluto square describes the place where radical self-awareness (Uranus in Aries) meets the vast and sweeping changes that the world is going through (Pluto in Capricorn). We all know the world is changing, and we all know that many of us feel a profound need to rethink who we are and find our role, our place of participation, our point of influence. We may feel driven by passion (Aries) and practical needs (Capricorn) as part of an urgent series of awakening events. The thing to do in the midst of it all is to feel: to be present with your feelings, and to notice what your senses are telling you.

Uranus in Aries is here to light the fire of self, and Chiron and Neptune are here to guide us across the ocean of our soul.

Yours & truly,

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Jupiter Opposite Pluto 3

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Jupiter Opposite Pluto 2

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Jupiter Opposite Pluto 1

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Total Solar Eclipse: A Warning about Water

by Kirsti Melto

The Scorpio New Moon on November 13, 2012, was a powerful total solar eclipse. Eclipses can be stressful, but they offer us a moment to pause, to notice the matter which calls our attention, and to choose a new path if necessary. In Finland we are experiencing the Scorpio eclipse at full force. We are in the midst of the worst environmental crisis in our history.

Often the energy of an eclipse can be felt before the actual event. On November 4 a waste water pool at the Talvivaara mine in Northern Finland started to leak and spill out poisonous water at a speed of 5,000 to 6,000 cubic meters an hour. The mining company’s attempts to block the leak failed and the waste water pool drained empty. Part of the contaminated water gushed right away out of the mine area and continued into nearby rivers and lakes. Part of it ended up in emergency pools, but the emergency pools lack bottom structures, so the water which contains toxic heavy metals, chemicals and uranium will eventually soak through the soil into groundwater.

The Talvivaara mine is one of the largest nickel mines in Europe. Talvivaara applies a new method, bioleaching, to extract the metals from ore. The production started in 2008 and the short history of the mine is full of problems. Finally, a couple of weeks ago the situation got totally out of control.

The eclipsing Moon on November 13 was at its perigee, which means that it was closest in its orbit to the Earth. The eclipse was forming a semi-square aspect (45 degrees) to Pluto, the ruler of Scorpio. Mining, toxins and pollution belong to the dominion of Pluto. Uranus is square to Pluto. The Uranus-Pluto square has been called the 2012 aspect. Uranus governs modern technology and the metallic element uranium. It is associated with sudden events and breaks. The transiting Uranus is in exact square to Finland’s natal Pluto at 4+ degrees Cancer (Finland, December 6, 1917).

Neptune stationed direct just before the eclipse and in the chart it is in conjunction with the stationary Chiron. The energy of stationary planets is concentrated and powerful. Leaking and absorption belong in the rule of Neptune. Chiron raises awareness. Saturn in Scorpio is in aspect with Uranus, Chiron and Neptune. Saturn represents boundaries and structures. Besides the aforementioned square from the transiting Uranus, Finland’s Pluto in Cancer received transits from Saturn, Chiron and Neptune, too.

The eclipse is square to Nessus in Aquarius. Nessus speaks of the abuse of power. It has correspondence with poisons and sometimes with eczema. The local residents near Talvivaara mine have suffered from itching and skin symptoms for some time. In recent years the transiting Nessus has been hovering over the natal Uranus of Finland at 20+ degrees of Aquarius. On November 4, the day when the leaking started, Nessus stationed and turned direct.

Total Solar Eclipse in Scorpio

Total Solar Eclipse in Scorpio. Click here to view larger chart.

The solar eclipse took place in conjunction with a plutino called Huya. The eclipse chart’s Huya forms a sesquiquadrate aspect (135 degrees) to Finland’s Pluto.

Semi-squares and sesquiquadrates are minor aspects, but there is no reason to overlook them. Just keep in mind when working with them that the orb has to be tight. Semi-squares and sesquiquadrates are irritating and frustrating in nature and they require practical action. They belong to the same aspect family with squares and oppositions.

At the time of its discovery in March 2000, Huya was the biggest and brightest trans-Neptunian object found since Pluto. Like Pluto, Huya spends part of its orbit closer to the Sun than Neptune. It is currently inside the orbit of Neptune and will come to perihelion in 2015.

Huya is named after the rain god of the indigenous Wayuu people of Colombia and Venezuela. In Wayuu mythology Pulowi and Juya, a married deity couple, is associated with procreation and life. Juya is a male, a wanderer, a hunter, a warrior, and a seducer. He is a master of rain, and he lives in a distant place beyond the Sun. The Wayuu inhabit the arid Guajira Peninsula. The lack of water is a huge problem there.

The Wayuu have had to deal with problems caused by the coal mining industry. Their environment has been polluted and they suffer from health problems. They are forced to relocate and leave their ancestral land. In the coastal area the Wayuu people for their part have practiced artisanal sea salt mining for centuries. In recent years there has been struggle between the Wayuu and the government that has industrialized the salt production.

The Wayuu believe that the life cycle doesn’t end with death, but that a relationship with one’s bones continues. Burials are important. According to their tradition, a few years after the first burial, a woman gathers the bones of the deceased and cleans them. Then the remains are buried again. Long-dead Wayuu are believed to return on the Earth in the form of rain, which assures the rejuvenation of vegetation and life.

The traditional Wayuu style of living seems to be on a collision course with the changes caused by modern technologies. A Wayuu leader, Jorge Montiel, has said: “We will not be removed from the lands where our ancestors are buried. We are defending the animals, the forests and the water. This planet can’t withstand any more contamination. What good is all this wealth from oil and coal if we are dying of diseases and misery?”

The astrological meaning of Huya seems to tell something about the interaction between man and nature and about the consequences of our actions on the environment.

One more minor aspect is worth mentioning. There is a decile (36 degrees) between the eclipse and the Galactic Center. A decile belongs to the same aspect family with quintiles, and these aspects are found in the pentagram pattern. F. Sakoian and L. Acker write about this aspect group: “One of the abilities unique to this family of aspects is the capacity to understand the inner relation between seemingly isolated sets of circumstances.” About decile they say: “The division of the circle by ten suggests the number ‘1’ since ten reduces to one by adding its digits – ‘1’ is the number associated with will power, action and new beginnings.

Centaur planet Echeclus is conjoining the Galactic Center at the moment. Echeclus was discovered in 2000 and initially classified as a minor planet. In December 2005, a cometary coma was detected around it. After the cometary outburst it was given a double designation as a centaur and a comet and renamed 174P/Echeclus. There was another outburst in 2011. Like Huya, Echeclus comes to perihelion in 2015.

In Greek mythology centaur Echeclus was killed in a fight between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. He was hit in the face with a lance that lacked its point. Eric Francis has delineated: “It has a tendency to break apart and explode. It’s a comet-like centaur, with a 35-year orbit. The name is associated with gluten. Echeclus was killed by being hit in the face with a spear. I take this as losing face, or having one’s identity shattered. So there is something here about how we finally no longer identify with what is wrong with us, but this can only happen after we identify with it for a while.”

The mining company and the Kainuu ELY Centre (centre for economic development, transport and the environment) certainly have lost their face. Regulations have been broken, there has been deficiency in control, and authorities did not intervene fast enough. The Finnish government has been inept in handling the situation.

The police have started a preliminary investigation concerning the leak. The Talvivaara mine is under suspicion for an environmental crime. There is also a need for amendments to legislation. A massive clean-up needs to be done. A danger for the last safety bank to fail is hanging in the air. Protests have been held and people are demanding the closure of the mine.

Disasters like the one we are currently facing in Finland happen everywhere on the Earth. We have reached the point where we have to recognize our personal responsibility for the pollution and take action for the future of this planet. Australia has just set a good example by creating the world’s largest network of marine reserves, protecting oceans around its coast. The Earth needs our protection.

 

About the author
Kirsti Melto is an astrology researcher and writer for Planet Waves, and has been doing the chart resource for the annual edition for many years. Planet Waves has published Kirsti’s Lunations blog since 2007. Kirsti is an office secretary in sector for education in Kotka, Finland.

 

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November Solar Eclipse

November Solar Eclipse

November Solar Eclipse

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May Solar Eclipse

May Solar Eclipse

May Solar Eclipse

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