Here’s a look at how the planets are distributed in the solar system — most of them are skewed off to one side, and just about everything is in either Aries or Pisces. It’s one thing to describe the astrology — being able to see the chart can give a clearer impression. A concentration of planets like the one we have now almost always comes with a sense of things going wildly out of control — we have a lot of gravity pulling in one direction. The planet you cannot see in this chart is Saturn in Libra on its own, exactly opposite all those points in Aries.
From this chart you can see most of the activity developing in the solar system. To get an idea of the names of the points, click the ‘glyph key’ at the top of this page. The two conjunctions I mentioned in yesterday’s audio are visible: the lowest two planets are Eris and Mercury, both in Aries. Mercury is ‘talking backwards’ in retrograde motion, and it’s still conjunct Eris, a fairly new and very distant planet from the Sun. Mercury-Eris is a nice image of the current mental madness of the world.
The other big conjunction currently happening is Sun-Jupiter, the next two planets up. That conjunction was exact yesterday but it’s still within one degree today. Saturn in Libra is opposite that Sun-Jupiter conjunction. Saturn is retrograde, so it’s not exactly clear what the ‘other side’ is saying — Saturn retrograde in Libra kind of disappears into the shadows of all that Aries heat and light.
Note that Mercury, Jupiter and Eris appear close to the Sun, but remember that these planets are all different distances from the Sun; the astrological chart distorts that fact. It only shows longitude (proximity along the wheel) rather than the distance of the planet from the Sun. Were the distances from the Sun in shown proportion, they would not fit in the wheel — Eris would be about six miles away from your computer screen, so they all have to be contained within the circle.
Also in Aries are Mars, the Black Moon Lilith and Uranus; these three are still close to the Aries Point, pushing up the volume. That makes a total of seven points clustered in impetuous Aries. There are more, if you do a wider search of the minor planets.
Next door in Pisces there are currently four major points — in order from bottom to top, they are Venus, Ceres, Chiron and Neptune. Now, that would be a lot of Pisces and a lot of water any day, but when you contrast it with all the heat and fire of Aries, that’s pretty special. Signs of opposite elements are places where we find some of the most striking contrasts in the zodiac, and here the most watery water sign is next to the most fiery fire sign — and both are stuffed with planets. So, when you think of the world (including your life) as it is at the moment, remember this little chart, and see if you notice how the contrast fits the scenario.
PS, somehow I forgot to reset Sprite to EDT, which by the way does not matter because I use it to search aspects, which happen when they happen, whatever you call it. However, when I cast the chart manually and used EDT, look at the ascendant.
Good point, Amanda – We are all obviously in need of some Alkaseltzer – with the radiation and all.
KatLyons: and here i thought you were making a funny joke on Alkaseltzer…. “Alkazeera to the rescue!”
FYI: Walt Whitman birth data from Kepler 7 database is:
5/31/1819
1:45 AM
Huntington, NY
Also – I meant “Al Jazeera” I wish these blogs has a spell-check – not that Al Jazeera would probably be in it.
I know I am on a Walt Whitman kick right now, but his poetry gives a voice of bell-like clarity to the current Aries and Pisces condition – so much so, that, honest to God, I think if they read his poetry as commentary on Alkazeera, it would offer an accurate account of events and meaning of events in the Middle East and Japan (and in each of us alive now on the planet, joined together for better and for worse.)
AND, not surprisingly to astrology lovers, his chart mirrors the current “weather”: (Aries AC/North Node/Mars forming a grand trine with 9th Sag. Uranus/Neptune and 6th Leo Moon AND a 12th house Pisces Pluto, Chiron, Saturn, Vesta in close conjuntion.
A few days ago in an article about Neptune in Pisces, Eric mentioned that no one was alive now who had experienced that particular condition Well, Walt Whitman’s mature writing was being done during this period and gives it a voice. His work is a universal and yet sharply focused celebration of the individual spirit in exquisite relationship with the political and spiritual condition of life (without ideology – except, not suprisingly, his passion for democracy.)
His fantastic, epic poem “Song of Myself” is nothing but a voice of Aries and Pisces, begins:
“I celebrate myself and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.”
I just found this funny little gem of a commentary on politicians:
“The little plentiful manikins skipping around in collars and tail’d coats,
I am aware of who they are, (they are positively not worms or fleas)…”
Peace to all.
OK. Eric. Thanks. With Pallas smooching Mercury, I shall either develop some insightful analysis involving five houses, five signs, and sevens aspects… Or I shall wind myself into the crazy house tonight. Either way, I suppose I’ll learn more about houses, signs, aspects and… THE CHART.
Eerie sidenote: The building next door to mine, which used to be a facility to house the families of sick people from all over Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, sick people at extended stays at the only Northern hospital, is now the headquarters of the main aurora viewing company. The clients? Japanese tourists. Not only are all the touring buses parked, but there is a giant trench being dug. Major fuel spill. It seems that the fuel may have seeped UNDER the building. It will have to be dug out. And although we are sitting pretty at -10 today… We are thawing. Every day, many times a day, I am physically reminded of the fact of what is happening in Japan. If ever I thought we were far removed, I am reminded always now, in so many ways, that the usual or trained perspective regarding so many “ordinary things” is… no longer relevant.
It feels planetary triage to me right now. All this Aries and Pisces: cutting through spiritual materialism: Aries/Pisces. There’s an opportunity for a new beginning, Aries, using the gifts and struggles (Venus, Chiron, Neptune) of the endings/past, Pisces.
Aries has a sharp knife right now ~ good time to cut through BS.
I like your house/syntax thing, Eric.
The syntax for me here is to cancel my memberships in clubs that make no sense. First club resignation: “Reasonable behavior to solve insane problems (like nuclear power) Club”. However, I’ll support the folks who have the stomach to remain in that club: Rachel Maddow, Helen Caldecott, etc. …. but won’t pay my dues anymore.
Refusing to “reasonably” respond to insanity, for me, looks like: coming from the heart to support sanity and a healthy environment ~ no matter how unreasonable it appears ~ without attachment to the outcome.
Seems fitting for Buddha’s birthday. Makes sense that the Buddha nature is very Taurean. If anybody knows about attachment and letting go of it, it’s a Taurus.
Michele, not sure about that interp but I would want to look at the chart and see, for example, what houses involve Gemini and Virgo; what aspects Mercury is making; what sign it is in.
This day is certainly like no other in that I have given up to the Universe; no planned ahead plan or routine of mine is going to manifest today, that is for certain!
Jumping in with another beginner question… I keep reading that having Mercury in the 12th is like being in a constant state of Mercury retrograde. That’s kind of twisty. So, let’s say that’s true, for a moment, and this lovely retrograde merc squares the twelfth house merc? Do they cancel each other out and make a merry merc?
Or, if not, should I save myself the trauma ( & not hide under the bed) and defiantly switch from Placidus (default) to Koch, where merc is oh wow… now an 11th house planet. Hmmm… So now I’m wondering if it’s better to confound the dreamscape and shadows or actual people around me.
This is not a completely off-topic question as I note that the chart above has some action in the 12th. Venus, for example. Or Neptune… Neptune in the 12th? That must be rather fascinating?
Would the book by Oken that Jere mentioned explain these things?
AHHH!!! Light begins to dawn on marble head, as my dad likes to say! Now it’s all starting to make sense! Thank You!
Love ~
However, at any one moment, there are only 12 rising signs possible in the whole world, so extremely large land areas will be covered by each rising sign. Most of the US east of the Mississippi would be Aries rising for most of the two hours after this chart’s time. But there will be subtle differences in the charts that are meaningful, so that’s why an accurate time and place are necessary.
shamika —
the time and location of birth for someone born today would shift their ascendant and therefore the rest of the house cusps.
but all of the planets would still be in the same signs. the degrees for the fastest planets would shift a bit. and the moon moves quickly enough that it may be in a different sign later in the day (in fact, given that it was at 29+ taurus early this morning, it is most certainly in gemini by now). but the big groupings of aries and pisces planets will still be in those signs no matter where a person is born today.
Hi everyone
This is all DEEPLY fascinating – thanks to everyone for posting – does anyone else have suggestions for good books to start with? Thanks Jere 🙂
I’m going to try to understand my (is it ‘progressed’ to see where ‘I’m at’ right now??) chart now – I know where to find the resources at least 🙂
I’m not ever going to be an astrologer (I’m working really hard at learning tarot – good interpretations book recommendations also gratefully accepted as I’m finding this quite difficult and feel I need to work on getting to know them and pull out their meanings for me instead of being confused by two different ‘viewpoints’ blah blah) but it would be great to understand (and apply!) when you all say ‘yeah…and mercury is square my…’ and take it to another level perhaps
Eric – thanks for all the charts and explanations recently – perhaps I wasn’t paying attention before but I’m learning a lot now!
Love…
Another question please? As far as the people born today/under this chart, wouldn’t it only apply to those born in Kingston NY? Would not the chart change for peolpe born outside of Kingston, based on the answers to my previous question? Thank You, Peace.
Love ~
Thank You all so much for very interesting explanations, they gave me a great deal of insight, and some ideas to keep in mind the next time I see a chart.
Jere: Thank you! That was perfect, now I get it. 🙂 Peace.
Love ~
There is some saucy energy in play alright.
The quarter moon chart is extremely interesting. Friday’s horoscope is based on it. There are a LOT of “minor” planets in range of that Sun-Moon square.
and moon in cancer coming up… mmmm… does that cardinal business get a special jolt?
I know. Fuck me.
The Aries Point is stalking us. Or maybe just me.
“However, when I cast the chart manually and used EDT, look at the ascendant.” – eric
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
😉
damn.
Tomorrow is my birthday and I have all of this power in my natal 4th and 5th houses, in my 7th in the solar return, and in my 4th in the progressed chart. Looking forward to the energy of radical growth and change.
Amanda, I’ve got an ex with a freight train in a Cap. 2nd house.. she’s a powerhouse of a being. She’s also got the Moon opposite all this stuff in her Cancer 8th. Serious issues, that she hides and plows through at the same time!
These cats born now will be ballbusters. Noone will stop them ’til they sort out their own stuff. This is some crazy strength, with Saturn (no less) to balance it out!
Smilin’ at the prospects,
Jere
Edayis, it’s the androgyny time, doncha know?! 555 🙂
..it is pretty amusing though eh!?!
Good laughs for a good morning.
One Love, all,
Jere
you know, i hadn’t stopped to think about all the people born with this as their natal chart…. wow. what an interesting moment in which to be born… i wonder what those people will be like…
Shamika, I think I might have been a little sloppy in explaining the clockwise/counter directions. If you take the circle (chart), cut it in two pieces perfectly horizontal you’ll have your ascendant/descendant line. That’s your first house (on the left) and your seventh house (on the right). The houses will position themselves accordingly running counter-clockwise, down to the right and up into a loop.
..Also, Aries is just the beginning of the ‘zodiac’, not the Universe.. It’s all a big circle.. find the beginning there!?!
As Eric said, pick a point and look at it. Find what resonates and build from there.
..and hey, thanks for asking questions.. that’s way cool!
If I’m still not hittin’ it just let me know, I can calibrate.
Jere
Nice time stamp on this. . .
5:55:55
Did you try that, Eric?!
; )
Speaking of “watery water” Eric, just found on reuters.com that Japan has suffered another earthquake, 7.5, and Tsunami warnings are in effect for the northern coast.
I might just add that for me, all this Pisces, all this transformative feeling that comes to me and I share, is in my 1st house (along with my Aquarian Sun/Merc) and thus I get such a great personal connection to these planets Eric mentions. Most of the Aries planets occupy my 2nd house and it’s there that I realize the heat of that expression of me in what I value in this world.
Please anyone feel free to correct or edit my post.
mm.
Charts like this can say simple things, like drink water.
Some readers/astrologers have the ability to get a gestalt impression that can be helpful.
However, when it comes to specifics, to situations, to counseling, there must be a logic to one’s process. It simply cannot be anarchy. It is the mind that makes sense out of the chart, and at the same time the chart helps us focus our minds. Each astrologer, in part based on tradition and in part based on experience, must develop his or her own syntax and methods. Until you do, it’s best to start with some basic methods, such as sizing up the Moon or the ascendant ruler.
The next step is to identify the house associated with the topic and read that house.
It is way too easy to spin off into oblivion, and create a practice that is not grounded in discipline and therefore yields no actual results. And because everything in the chart is connected to everything else in the chart, looking at one factor with a light touch will lead to looking at the next. The ‘meaning’ is woven into the whole chart.
Shamika, there is no starting point on a chart,.. or I should say “start anywhere!”. You could consider the ascendant, or rising sign as the beginning,.. but I think that limits one’s perspective, although it does give you perspective as far as houses and where what type of activity is taking place.
The thing with a chart is that it gives you a glimpse of the sky, at a particular point in time. And, as we can view in nature, the sky keeps spinning, constantly..
..It’s like a clock, the hands continually blaze forward, not stopping for anything (..except with the cosmos, there are quite a few more hands).
..and the rising sign alters for ‘where’ you are on Earth. ..’cause after all, when you look at your horizon, if you’re in a different location than I, you’ll see something different! ..It’s a big ass ball we live on!
But, for answers sake, left hand side in the middle is your ascendant, or rising sign. That’s the origin of your first house. 6 below (varying in size) and 6 above, the houses are, matched to the signs that occupy them. (very akin to daytime and nightime) The houses themselves run clockwise on a chart in real time, whereas the planets move counter (of course because the Earth is spinning on its axis much faster than all the other planets are going around the Sun, in a chart it seems as if the planets rotate clockwise as well)
..I really hope that helps some..?.. I don’t want to scramble the subject, because it’s way too cool for me to tear it apart. If you want, check out an Alan Oken book, seriously this dude is one of the best cats at defining this stuff. “Soul Centered Astrology” is one of my bibles.
Take care, and have fun with this stuff, it is what you make it.. and more,
Jere
It depends on the situation. Were this a natal chart it would present some challenges for sure — and this configuration will be in the natal chart of, well, about 150,000 people a day as they are born.
Charts are read by house most of the time. The house is where you derive the syntax from. One method is to start with the ascendant, and to size up the condition of the ascendant ruler. Another is to start with the Moon (not shown) and to size up its previous aspect and its next aspect, its phase and its condition.
I have a very basic question to ask in regards to reading, or just looking at a chart. In which direction does one read? In mean, my God, I’ve seen a bunch so far and their all different…lol. Aries is in a different place from one chart to another. So does one read from where ever Aries starts the chart or is there a specific “direction” such as clock wise/counter clock wise? Like I said, basic, at least I think it’s a basic question, I am new at this…lol. Thanks, Peace.
Love ~